Christie’s education rhetoric doesn’t add up
Published on Tuesday, January 11, 2011
NJEA President Barbara Keshishian issued the following statement in response to Governor Christie’s State of the State address:
“NJEA is eager and willing to enter the discussion over education and pension reform in New Jersey, because we have much to add to that discussion.
“It calls for honesty and candor, yet today Governor Christie painted a picture of his first year in office that does not match up with the experience of people who lived through it. He conveniently failed to mention his $1.3 billion in cuts to public education, but students, parents, and all New Jerseyans have paid steeply for them in larger class sizes, reduced programs, and higher property taxes.
“He may have forgotten, but New Jerseyans remember his administration’s bungling the $400 million Race to the Top application, and his foot dragging on the $268 million in federal jobs funding that could have saved 3,900 New Jersey jobs if he had acted more quickly.
“Instead, he wants to strip teachers of due process rights in order to fire more of them, while openly advocating for private school vouchers and more charter schools.
“His vision for pension reform is fatally flawed because he still refuses to admit his role in