N.J. Senate approves Christie-backed bill to allow private companies to manage schools in poor cities | NJ.com

N.J. Senate approves Christie-backed bill to allow private companies to manage schools in poor cities | NJ.com:

N.J. Senate approves Christie-backed bill to allow private companies to manage schools in poor cities

Published: Monday, January 09, 2012, 5:31 PM Updated: Monday, January 09, 2012, 10:29 PM

Robert Sciarrino/The Star-LedgerActing Education Commissioner Christopher Cerf, right, listens as Gov. Chris Christie speaks in this April file photo.

TRENTON — A bill backed by Gov. Chris Christie that allows private companies to build and manage up to a dozen public schools in three of the state’s poorest cities was approved by the state Senate 34-3 today.

Known as the Urban Hope Act, the bill gives businesses unprecedented control over public education in Newark, Camden and Trenton, districts where school construction has ground to a halt in recent years.

If it passes today in the Assembly, as expected, the bill will become Christie’s signature education reform achievement since declaring one year ago that 2011 would be "the year of education reform."

The Schools Development Authority is responsible for construction in these and other low-income

The State of the Governor's Education Agenda

Christie was not short on ambition when it came to education, but how did he fare on his own promises?

On the last day of its session yesterday, New Jersey's state legislature passed one pilot bill to open up a dozen "renaissance schools" and another to allow districts to move school elections to November.

It was an anticlimactic end to a year that Gov. Chris Christie said would bring sweeping changes to public education.

Still, pension and health benefit reform and a 2 percent cap on school taxes are no small accomplishments, and the governor helped drive the debate over issues like tenure reform, merit