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Senator says Dept. of Education response "woefully insufficient''

State Senate Majority Leader Barbara Buono (D-Middlesex), chairwoman of the upper house's Legislative Oversight Committee, Friday said she will offer a resolution during Monday's Senate voting session to grant the committee subpoena power so it can obtain the documents and testimony necessary to conduct a thorough review of the issues leading up to the state's failed effort to obtain $400 million in federal "Race to the Top'' education aid.

"On Monday, I will ask the Senate to take the extraordinary, but not unprecedented, step of granting the Legislative Oversight Committee subpoena power so we can conduct a meaningful hearing next week,'' Buono said. "This action should come as no surprise given the administration's disturbing pattern of rejecting requests for information and denying the Legislature an opportunity to properly investigate the circumstances surrounding a failed attempt to secure approximately $400 million in federal Race to the Top funding.

The state Department of Education was granted a nine-day delay by Buono to provide the information but failed to meet the deadline. Education officials this week told Buono that at least some of the material had to be reviewed by the state Attorney General's office. The governor's office has declined comment on the matter.

"Key people who were at the heart of this process have either declined the committee's invitation to testify or have simply not responded,'' Buono said. 'We have extended a good faith effort to learn about what went wrong. We will not be thwarted in fulfilling our responsibility to better position our state to take advantage of federal funding opportunities.

"We have been left with no choice but to seek to use the Legislature's subpoena power to compel the handover of vital documents and correspondence and require the attendance of key individuals,'' Buono said. "The Legislature holds the primary constitutional responsibility for ensuring every child receives a good education. We also have an obligation to maintain the system of checks and balances that ensures the integrity of state government. This resolution does nothing more than allow our coordinate and co-equal branch of government to fulfill its constitutional responsibilities.''

The senator added, "This process is not about assigning blame, but assuming responsibility. This is not about harping on one mistake, but correcting a process that broke down multiple times. Unless we have an ability to see how the entire Race to the Top process unfolded, we cannot achieve those goals."

— TOM HESTER SR., NEWJERSEYNEWSROOM.COM