NJEA president questions Christie's plan to cut school aid

Thursday, 11 February 2010 16:19

Dislikes idea of postponing pension contributions

Barbara Keshishian, president of New Jersey Education Association, the statewide teachers' union, Thursday reacted with concenr to Gov. Chris Christie's decision to cut state education aid by $475 million and to refuse any contributions to the state's pension funds.

"The NJEA understands this crisis is real, and that the budget must be balanced,'' Keshishian said. "The governor's proposal to cut state education aid would not be advisable under normal circumstances. These are not normal circumstances, but like many of the band-aids and gimmicks of prior years that he justifiably condemns, his order could have serious unintended consequences for the future of our public schools.''

Keshishian said many school districts use the excess surplus funds from one budget year as revenue to support programs or property tax reductions the following year.

"With this order, the burden is on the governor to ensure that he has adequate funding in his fiscal year (2010-11) FY2011 budget to fund the public schools of New Jersey, she said. "With this order, he has assumed full responsibility for maintaining the future quality of the state's public schools, which are among the very best in the nation.

We are also distressed that the governor has announced his intention to continue the destructive practice of not funding the state's pension funds,'' Keshishian added. "It is precisely that failure by prior governors and prior legislatures that has led to the underfunding of the pension system. Teachers and school employees have contributed billions of dollars to that system in the past 15 years while the state has consistently failed to contribute its fair share.''

Keshishian described as outrageous that Christie "would openly encourage the Legislature to continue the fiscally irresponsible practices that have brought us to this point.''

"The NJEA's goal is to protect the best public education system in America, and we will never abandon that goa,'' she said. "It is the responsibility of the governor and the Legislature to ensure that today's public schools — and those of tomorrow — have the resources they need to educate the next generation of children at the highest levels.

Cutting their budgets is not the path to that goal. It is the path to educational ruin.

— TOM HESTER SR., NEWJERSEYNEWSROOM.COM

Comments (7)

It's amazing how distorted people's facts are. Out of the last 8 billion dollars paid into the pension fund for NJEA members, 6.5 billion CAME FROM THE TEACHERS, with only 1.5 billion coming from the state. In 11 of the last 15 years, the STATE HAS NOT PAID ONE CENT towards our pension, and if any of us did that, we would be jailed. Now it is the STATE who is BOO HOOING and wants us to pay even more. It's time for them to pay up. Your governor refuses to reinstate a tax on millionaires that expired in December....THAT TAX (NOT A NEW ONE) WOULD PAY FOR EDUCATION. PERIOD. But your gov wants to give those millionaires a break, so that he can tax teachers. Call a spade a spade. Chris....you want war....you've got it.

Regardless of the economy the NJEA, like most unions in this country, always want more. The private sector struggles and is forced to cut production and unfortunately lay off employees.Unions are first in line for tax payer money.Isn't that why they put so much effort into lobbying politicians, particularly the wonderful democrats of of our great state of New Sleazy. They have become so blinded by their belief that they are so deserving of more they have lost touch with reality. We finally have a fiscally responsible Gov in this state of entitlements and unions willing to do something productive. Of course those complaining the most will be the special interest groups like the NJEA. What the NJEA should realize is that the NJ taxpayer has had to sacrifice year after year with property tax increases for their perpetual - we always want more and are not willing to sacrifice too - mentality. With each and every year my opinion of unions, which once was fairly favorable, has dwindled down to near hatred due to their arrogance. I have no sympathy what so ever for the NJEA. As a retire physician I have seen relentless cuts in doctors fees on a yearly basis. We don't like it but people need care and we provide it regardless. Stop you selfishness and suck it up. May privatization of the education system should be considered. God knows the cost analysis of teaching a child does not support the results.

While everyone complains about unions, they also impact on non-union jobs. Through history, the current worker protection laws, the benefits, the pay that we enjoy now were brought about by workers who ultimately gained the support of those in government who could make laws to let this happen. It was not through the sudden enlightenment of the robber barons of the past that people have decent conditions.

People ask, why should the unions get something I haven't? Well, flip it...why aren't more people asking, why should I be forced to give up decent pay, health benefits?

I have worked in both public and private sector. In private sector, we had union workers in some positions. This also benefited the non-union people, as it was hard for the company to justify giving the factory workers better benefits than those in the office.

Destroy unions, and you destroy the groups that do have enough strength to stand up for keeping benefits and pensions...and when they don't have them, there is even less chance of anyone else getting them either.

Exactly who are all of the people villifying teachers? Are they the very successful business men or women who make 3 figure salaries after a few years with bonuses to boot! Perhaps our lawyers, who charge hundreds per hour with no questions asked. Could it be my plumber, electrician or mechanic who make at least $100 per hour! After 25 years I got a 1% raise the last contract- down from 1.2 % the contract before.. Not enough to cover the increase in taxes, gas for my car and food. After a master's degree, additional college credits and experience I am not only proud, but also successful in teaching your children how to read, write, do math, use technology, get along with others and be the best they can be! All the teachers I know are the same. I, like every teacher I know, contribute to my pension. I, like every other teacher in NJ, get no PAID holidays or days off-we get paid for the 184 days we work. Jealous-then you spend all the time, energy and effort all of us teachers did to get a degree. And, we work in spite of having summer's off . FInd any teacher that isn't looking to make money over the summer. We are professionals, we are educated as professionals, please treat us as professionals.

As Americans, we all have a right to speak, and that certainly includes the uninformed like yourself, as well as teachers. We have not brought this state to the brink of bankruptcy, you can blame a one-two punch by 2 former governors (one Democrat and one Republican) for that. Between Jim Florio and Christie Whitman, they played accounting games with the funding of our pensions in the 1990's. Florio did it to avoid raising taxes again after his unpopular 1 percent sales tax increase. Whitman did it to fund an enormous tax cut to fuel her reelection. Who benefitted from these accounting gimmicks? You did. Every person who enjoyed these tax cuts benefitted off of our loss. The pension fund for public emplyees was fully funded until politicians started retracting funding in order to pay for tax cuts. They overestimated the growth the stock market would create for these funds, then when the market went South, the pension funds became insupportable. Now teachers are being villified, when in actuality we are the victims. It is our retirement that we have worked very hard for that is in jeopardy. Shame on politicians for not telling the truth about this. We all make trade-offs in life. One sacrifice teachers have made is to trade high salaries for good benefits and job security. We sacrificed salary increases for maintaining those benefits in each contract negotiation. We're being asked to do it again. In our district, we have already been prepared by union leaders not to expect salary increases in the next contract. This has happened before, we take flat salaries for 3 years while the economy recovers (usually within a year or 18 months). Then you all start getting your raises, while we continue to live on less. And all the while we are caring for your children, doing our jobs like the professionals we are, and enduring our scapegoat status.

I've a friend who has taught for 15 years. He is fantastic at what he does, universally liked and respected in his school district, and supports a wife and two kids with his salary. He makes very little, comparative to private company salaries, and told me that because they make so comparatively little, insurance is one of the few perks they receive.

I have taught part-time for approximately the same 15 years, and if it weren't for my regular, full-time job, I would never be able to donate my time and teach. My teacher friend and I VOLUNTARILY started a percussion ensemble for kids. For 13 years, I've not received a dime, nor did he. I considered becoming a full-time teacher, but the pay cut would've been over 50%; I don't know anyone who could afford that.

In the past 15 years, I've seen very dedicated, hard-working teachers that are attempting to teach kids distracted by text messages and Facebook. From what I've seen, these teachers deserve every penny they earn, because they truly do earn their pay.

Ms. K - Your organization has almost single-handedly brought this state to the brink of bankruptcy. At a time when people are losing their jobs, your locals are still demanding 5% increases. They are also refusing to pay for ANY of their health care coverage, and they don't care that the increases to their Cadillac plans and their 4 - 5% salary bumps are wrecking the finances of local school districts. In this moment of fiscal emergency, why not step up and tell NJsians that your teachers would be glad to work for one year at the same salary as last year? Is that asking too much?! If you're not prepared to make that announcement, just SHUT UP!

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NJEA president questions Christie's plan to cut school aid

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