Race to the bottom: NJEA successfully torpedoed our shot at $4.35B in Fed ed funds

Score one for our beloved teachers union. Today Secretary of Education Arne Duncan announced the 15 finalists for his federal "Race to the Top" school reform effort. New Jersey didn't make the cut.

The NJEA vehemently opposed pursuing the money because it came with "strings" attached. Real radical stuff like merit pay for teachers, more funding for charter schools, and measureable improvements in under-performing districts. You know, all the things that are anathema to a career union hack enamored with maintaining the status quo.

When your #1 priority is protecting your fat pension you can't worry about trivialities like trying new ideas to improve test scores. Tying teacher pay to student achievement might rock their members' world; years of service and a pulse are what matter most!

At a time when our state could really use an infusion of cash to help improve our schools the NJEA made sure that we won't see one thin dime from the Obama Administration's education stimulus package.

So when your school board starts cutting programs or keeps using outdated textbooks while your kid's test scores remain flat make sure that you thank your local NJEA union rep for a job well done.

Posted at 15:29 by Chris Wysocki   [/nj_politics]   Comments | Perm Link |
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