Sunday Leftovers

In The Lobby wonders if the NJ State Legislature is in play, given Buono's weakness and the incentive to Christie to turn over the Senate so he can appoint friendly judges. I wondered the same thing earlier this week in NJ Spotlight.

Carl Golden says that Buono's choice of union leader Milly Silva as a running mate has "the appearance of a last-ditch effort to inject a dash of drama and, by bucking conventional wisdom, attract media attention, which has been lacking so far." Alfred Doblin of The Record says Silva was a "poor choice" because her "qualifications to assume the Governorship are slight." Here's my take on how the choice of Silva undermines Buono's education platform.

Silva’s qualifications to assume the governorship are slight - See more at: http://www.northjersey.com/columnists/doblin/doblin_080213.html?page=all#sthash.ar0MdMvr.dp " Here's my take on Milly Silva.

Silva’s qualifications to assume the governorship are slight - See more at: http://www.northjersey.com/columnists/doblin/doblin_080213.html?page=all#sthash.ar0MdMvr.dpuf

The Trenton Times reports on the sorry state of Trenton Central High School where "roofs are still leaking, the paint is still peeling, and the floors are still buckling, and the state still has not funded comprehensive repairs." The Times Editorial Board urges the School Development Authority to "accelerate the process" of necessary repairs. Here's the Trentonian's take.

The Walton Foundation has donated $2 million to the Newark arm of Teach for America.

The Star-Ledger reports that Plainfield Public Schools has been "chastised" by a state comptroller for excessive legal expenses and inadequate vetting of law firms. According to DOE district budget data, Plainfield has $1.5 million reserved for legal expenses, which seems like a lot.

Brian Osbourne, the superintendent of South Orange-Maplewood who was offered the helm at Ann Arbor Public Schools at a considerably higher pay grade, has decided to stay in New Jersey, salary cap and all. The Alternative Press has the letter Osbourne sent to Michigan saying, "thanks, but no thanks."

The Asbury Park Press reports that parents of special needs students in Brick Township are protesting the district's decision to move 60 kids with disabilities into one elementary school. In other special education news, Jackson Township is looking for ways to cut its current budget of $1 million to transport students with disabilities to out-of-district placements.

More districts in Hunterdon County are outsourcing teachers' aides in order to save money.

Rutgers has had good success with a program designed to help students from Camden, Newark, Piscataway, and New Brunswick. Rutgers Future Schools takes seventh-graders from those cities who, in the past, were never able to meet admissions standards, and supplies them with with round-the-year tutoring and summer enrichment programs. (Star Ledger)

The Press of Atlantic City filed an Open Record Request with the DOE for the number of high school students who failed both the High School Proficiency Assessment (HSPA) and the alternative test given to students who fail the HSPA three times. The DOE denied the request.

This week the NJ Department of Education was supposed to release the list of newly-approved Interdistrict Public School Choice schools. It didn't. Stay tuned.