About 200 angry teachers confronted Education Commissioner Bret Schundler on his way into a Wanaque political function Monday night, demanding answers on aid cuts and pensions during a dramatic, impromptu curbside debate.
The protestors from around North Jersey began arriving shortly before 7 p.m. at the Golden Age Hall after word spread among teachers that Schundler would be coming. As he drove up, they rushed toward the parking lot, chanting, “Save our schools, save our schools!”
After a moment inside the club, Schundler came out, shook protestors’ hands and then addressed the crowd as they quieted to listen.
So began a lively, 30-minute back-and-forth that gave teachers a rare chance to pitch their many questions straight to the top of the education chain of command.
One woman, welling up in tears, leaned in close to tell him she’d been a teacher for