It's not enough and it's not appropriate, to simply tell our most challenged urban families, trapped in over 200 failing schools, that "life's not fair." That is the expressed attitude of some in the educational establishment in our state. It is not mine. It can no longer be the attitude of this legislature. Our job is to make the future better for every child in a failing school. We cannot simply accept failure or even mediocrity. We must demand excellence.Business administrators across the state are anxiously awaiting final numbers, reassured that state school aid won’t be less than last year, but unsure whether there will be any meaningful increases. The $213 million – which represents a 1.7% increase over last year -- won’t be evenly distributed across districts, but instead will be funneled through the School Funding Reform Act formula. From NJ Spotlight:
The opportunity to get a great education should not be a function of the zip code you live in — it should be a hallmark of growing up in New Jersey.
State Treasurer Andrew Sidamon-Eristoff said a "vast majority of districts will be getting a slight increase." But the administration also for the first time will be using the state's funding formula in the distribution of aid, he said. The funding formula ties aid directly to the number of individual students and their needs, meaning students with limited English or low-incomes get additional sums -- or for scores of districts, especially those with falling enrollments, a decrease in the money they receive.(Additional coverage from the Star-Ledger, The Record, Courier Post, and PolitickerNJ.)
It is well-known to you that I believe we have work to do to improve our k-12 education system in particular. We have great outcomes in some districts. But we have terrible performance in others.
That is not right, it is not fair and it is not moral.
So I ask you again to pass this year the education reforms I put before you in my State of the State address. We need to reform tenure. We need to pay the best teachers more. We need to expand charter schools in our failing school districts. And we need to give choice and hope to those students and parents now trapped in failing school districts by passing the Opportunity Scholarship Act.
Labels: charter schools, Christie, OSA, tenure