newjerseynewsroom.com

Democrats charge New Jersey education not a priority for governor

The Christie administration has lost out on a bid for a $14 million federal grant that would have provided every new charter school in New Jersey with $150,000, and Democratic legislators are charging the setback shows that education is not a priority for the governor.

While Gov. Chris Christie has maintained the expansion of charter schools are a priority, especially as a way to give inner city children a potentially better education, federal officials who reviewed the state's application contended that, among other flaws, the administration did not have an adequate plan for measuring the success of charters.

The Philadelphia Inquirer broke the story.

"This is beyond disappointing and another major setback for New Jersey's education system under Governor Christie," Assembly Speaker Sheila Y. Oliver (D-Essex) said Monday. "It was bad enough that New Jersey missed out on $400 million in federal funding through the administration's bungled Race to the Top application, but now we miss out on $14 million for our charter schools because of another botched application.

Christie will be in Washington Tuesday evening to give the keynote address at the Foundation for Excellence in Education dinner at the Mandarin Oriental Hotel.

"This is stunning, but also sadly another indication of the lackadaisical approach this administration has toward educating children," Oliver said. "I don't want to hear any excuses this time, either. Since this federal program was launched in 1995, New Jersey has won four awards, including $6.2 million in 2006. This should have been a routine application."

Seventeen states submitted applications and five, including New Jersey, were turned down.

Alan Guenther, a state Education Department spokesman, told the Associated Press, that the state is attempting to making it easier to launch charters.

"We expect that the proactive reforms being pursued by Governor Christie and Acting (Education) Commissioner Hendricks will result in a dramatic increase in the number of new charter schools in New Jersey and yield a positive outcome in future funding applications," Guenther said.

Assembly Education Chairman Patrick J. Diegnan Jr. (D-Middlesex) said, "Regrettably, one can only conclude that Governor Christie does not consider the education of our children to be a top priority. This administration has raided school surplus funds, cut state aid for schools, botched the $400 million Race to the Top application, attempted to vilify teachers, failed to name a new education commissioner and failed to fill the statutorily mandated position of secretary of education."

— TOM HESTER SR., NEWJERSEYNEWSROOM.COM