Here's what happens when folks in charge of education can't
answer simple questions correctly.
Since taking office in January, New Jersey Republican Governor
Chris Christie has been in a highly visible, very personal battle
with the teacher's union, the NJEA. Christie slashed the education budget and then demonized teachers as overpaid
bureaucrats. NJEA officials fired back, noting
that the heavyset governor loves cutting budgets
but NOT his caloric intake. It's been nasty.
Last May, New Jersey had to
prepare its submission for "Race to the Top," a federal program that grants
funds to states that demonstrate a commitment to education reform. The 10 highest-scoring states would win
significant federal grants. NJEA
officials and Christie's commissioner of education sat diplomatically together and
answered the 1000-page questionnaire.
Over Memorial Day weekend, the Governor's
office revised the submission to incorporate some new policies which the
NJEA had refused to endorse. Unfortunately, one answer
to a question that asked for data from the years 2008-9 was revised incorrectly,
using data from 2010-11. As a result, when
it was sent to Washington, the submission was dinged 5 points, and New Jersey placed 11th, just 3 points shy of
a critical 10th-place finish . Which cost the
state $400MM in federal funding.
Okay kids, can you spell "RECRIMINATION"?
"(The Governor) basically hijacked the whole process
for his own political purposes"..."This is like losing 200 points on the SAT
because you didn't write your name on the top sheet"..."It's
astonishing that the administration's failure to proofread their own homework
would lead to losing out on this funding"...and on and on and on....
Christie blamed Washington,
saying "(Obama) is going to have to explain why he is depriving us of $400
million because one of his bureaucrats in Washington couldn't pick up the phone
(to get the right data)." To which
Democratic Senator Frank Lautenberg responded, "Blaming President Obama is like
blaming the teacher when you didn't do your homework." It's nasty.
And so, as the war of words erupts
among the adults, the kids are heading back to school. There they will find there are fewer
activities, fewer supplies, and a lot fewer teachers (some 4000 or so may lose their
jobs).
The new school year hasn't even begun, but the kids have
already received an excruciating lesson. Civics 101: Fat Cats and Bureaucrats.
You can read previous installments of
the quick Sliver in our online archive. Just go here: http://archive.constantcontact.com/fs015/1103023679528/archive/1103033975377.html
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