Lakewood's Superintendent Quits: Superintendent Lydia R. Silva says that board members participated in rumor-mongering, personally advocated for third-party vendors, suggested the board fire all teachers to save money and made "disparaging remarks about immigrant parents, that they should all go back." (Asbury Park Press)
Chris Christie isn’t quitting, though, even though NJEA head Vince Giordano made a special request: “My reaction to Vince asking me to resign is: Life isn’t fair. I’m not going to resign,” Christie said.
The Star-Ledger Editorial Board reviews Sen. Ruiz’s tenure reform, and adds its pleas to the growing list of advocates who believe that the elimination of LIFO (last in, first out when laying off staff) should apply to all teachers and principals, not just new hires.
The Press of Atlantic City reports that South Jersey towns with the highest unemployment and poverty would be “hardest hit by school funding reforms proposed by the State Department of Education and Gov. Chris Christie.” While most districts (except for Abbotts) will get increases in state aid of about 2%, Atlantic County, for example, will see a 2% decrease. For more on funding, see here from the Wall Street Journal.
The Star-Ledger reviews the efficacy of the new anti-bullying law after six months of implementation. The superintendent from Roxbury says that law is "a bureaucratic nightmare that saps staff time and imposes extra costs, while turning counselors into disciplinarians.” Garden State Equality, though, says it’s a “resounding success.” A survey from NJ School Boards Association found that members thought there were significantly increased costs in money and staff time.
NJ Spotlight examines the 10% of school boards that didn't move elections to November. Here's the final list.