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Press of Atlantic City - Gov. Christie signs education bills on tenure, social media into law By
NJ Spotlight - Christie in Camden to Laud After-School Program, Sidesteps Other Issues...Governor takes questions from schoolkids, pointedly ignores press hoping for even oblique reference to scandals... 'Cerf said it was not just about adding time to the clock: “Longer day, longer year doesn’t add any value unless it is quality time,” he said. “It could mean lots of different things. It could be summer work, it could mean tutoring.” Cerf acknowledged that one of the big issues is the potential cost of programs, all but precluding a change in the statewide calendar. Christie’s next state budget is to be presented in February, with considerable pressures on revenues and required pension contributions. “A statewide mandate would run into serious budget realities, and also undermine local decision making,” Cerf said...'
Politickernj - In Camden, Christie unveils after-school dinner program, avoids 'Bridgegate' queries
Press of Atlantic City - Gov. Christie signs education bills on tenure, social media into law By
DIANE D'AMICO Education Writer Posted: Thursday, January 23, 2014 9:52 pm
The Press of Atlantic City In the hectic last few days of the state Legislative session, dozens of education bills were approved and sent to Gov. Chris Christie for his signature.
Most, but not all, were signed, and over the next few weeks and months school officials will learn what new requirements they may face.
State four-year college professors will now have six years to get tenure, rather than five, and tenured professors hired from other states can transfer tenure to New Jersey. State colleges will also have to develop a policy for the emergency administration of epinephrine for anaphylaxis when a medical professional is not available.
Christie let expire bills that would have required all schools to be equipped with emergency light and panic alarms, take measures to deter steroid use among students and train school bus drivers on interacting with students with special needs. Those bills can be reintroduced in the next Legislative session but must go through the entire review process to be reapproved.
State Senate President Steve Sweeney expressed surprise at Christie’s “pocket veto” of dozens of bills approved by the Legislature, noting that many were “simple, commonsense pieces of legislation that passed with bipartisan support.”
Of the six education bills that Christie let expire, he provided an explanation for only the one, which would have required schools to install emergency lights and panic alarms linked to local law enforcement. He said the recommendation should instead be submitted to the School Security Task Force for review.
New Jersey School Boards Association spokeswoman Jeanette Rundquist said in an email that the association agrees with the approach to address concerns about student security in a more comprehensive fashion.
The governor also let expire a bill that would have created a Student Dropout Prevention Task Force and the Office of Dropout Prevention and Reengagement of Out-of-School Youth in the Department of Education. Earlier this month Christie vetoed two other proposed task forces that would have studied mandating full-day kindergarten in New Jersey and ways to make college more affordable. In both cases, Christie lauded the intent of the bills, but said the task forces were unnecessary and duplicated work already being done by state agencies.
The dyslexia screening bill (S2442/A3605) had been controversial over concerns about the cost, but a compromise was reached that limited screening to only students who were showing signs of a reading disability, rather than all students as proposed in the original legislation.
The social media bill (A3292/S2886) requires instruction for students in grades six through eight on the responsible use of social media as part of the state’s standards in technology. The commissioner of education would provide districts with sample learning activities and resources.
Sponsors said students don’t always understand the possible repercussions of their actions on social media.
“Social media is powering the world today and can affect college prospects, job opportunities and much more,” said Assemblywoman Valerie Vaineiri Huttle, D-Bergen.
The recent proliferation of school and community gardens also led to a law that allows schools to serve produce from community gardens as along as the soil and water sources have been tested for contaminants, and the produce is handled and stored in accordance with health and sanitation requirements. It also gives immunity from liability for school employees who serve the produce in good faith.
A resolution designating February of each year as Teen Dating Violence Awareness and Prevention Month in New Jersey does not require any action by schools, but does encourage high schools to to “observe the month with appropriate activities and programs.”
The School Boards Association supported many of the new laws, but does still have some concerns with a few. One, co-sponsored by Sen. Jim Whelan, D-Atlantic, will allow districts to adopt salary polices as long as five years, an increase from the current three years. The association noted that the move is voluntary. It urged its members to exercise caution when considering the adoption of a salary policy that extends more than three years.
Taxpayer money should not be committed to an agreement that would extend for too long as this would lead to inflexibility and prevent boards from reacting to changes in the tax base, reductions in state aid, and other economic factors, the association said. The desire for stability in labor relations needs to be balanced against a board of education’s responsibility to manage district operations, personnel and finances.
NJSBA successfully worked with the bill’s sponsors to remove a provision that would have obligated boards of education to pay salary increments to employees under expired contracts.
Contact Diane D'Amico: 609-272-7241 DDamico@pressofac.com
NJ Spotlight - Christie in Camden to Laud After-School Program, Sidesteps Other Issues
John Mooney | January 24, 2014
Governor takes questions from schoolkids, pointedly ignores press hoping for even oblique reference to scandals
Gov. Chris Christie traveled to Camden yesterday to talk about education reform, a reliable standby for a governor who badly wants to change the subject these days. But even his education agenda continued to raise more questions than answers as to what’s next.
The visit to Thomas Dudley Elementary School was markedly low-key. The governor came to praise a pilot program in six district schools that provides after-school activities and an evening meal to students -- no more, no less.
Actually, the Camden visit was mostly a photo opportunity. The governor spent close to 20 minutes talking to students about their after-school program and taking questions about everything from his dreams as a child (pro-baseball player) to his favorite movie as an adult ("The Godfather").
Christie did not take questions from the press.
Given Christie's call for a longer school day in his recent State of the State, there were some expectations that he might announce that he was taking the after-school program statewide. But the Camden initiative will stay in Camden, at least for the time being. And questions about the governor's new education agenda remained unresolved.
In fact, administration officials said Camden was just one tangential idea, with the broader plan remaining under development, with no precise process or even timetable at this point.
State Education Commissioner Chris Cerf was on hand for the event and said afterward that he was looking at a number of options for the governor’s proposal.
He downplayed the possibility that there would be a stand-wide mandate, such as extending the current 180-day calendar, but appeared to be looking at an assortment of possibilities that may apply to different districts in different ways.
“It is literally under design,” Cerf said of the broader plans. “Ideas are being generated, and thoughts drawn out. We’re balancing a number of considerations.”
Cerf said it was not just about adding time to the clock: “Longer day, longer year doesn’t add any value unless it is quality time,” he said. “It could mean lots of different things. It could be summer work, it could mean tutoring.”
Cerf acknowledged that one of the big issues is the potential cost of programs, all but precluding a change in the statewide calendar. Christie’s next state budget is to be presented in February, with considerable pressures on revenues and required pension contributions.
“A statewide mandate would run into serious budget realities, and also undermine local decision making,” Cerf said.
“We’re not spending time bickering with each other,” the governor said, “We’re spending time trying to find common ground with each other.”
He alluded to the state‘s takeover of the district almost a year ago, and said proof of the progress was the cooperation that the state had seen from local officials, including Camden Mayor Dana Redd, who was also on hand.
The Camden program has been paid by federal funds, Camden officials said, serving about 125 students in each of the six schools with a late afternoon or evening meal. One of the conditions is that they stay after school for enrichment, homework help, and other programs.
With the governor unavailable to press questions, others were left to parse his responses to the questions from adolescents for any clues to his state of mind, such as when one boy asked him if he liked his job.
“I’m never bored, I’ll tell you that, I’m never bored,” he said.
Another asked about how he keeps everything under control.
Christie initially smiled at the question: “It depends on the day, it depends on the day.”
“This is what you have to learn in life,” he said. “You can try to control everything, but you can’t. Sometimes things go out of control, and what matters is how you fix it. Sometimes, I think I do a pretty good job controlling things, and every once in a while, it doesn’t work out. It just means you have to fix it when it doesn’t work out.”
Politickernj - In Camden, Christie unveils after-school dinner program, avoids 'Bridgegate' queries
By Bill Mooney | January 23rd, 2014 - 5:07pm
CAMDEN – This beleaguered waterfront town has often been the place Gov. Chris Christie comes to in order to unveil urban initiatives.
Beset by poverty and crime, this town has been something of an incubator for public safety and educational programs during Christie’s first term.
Today he announced an after-school dinner pilot program in conjunction with Aramark, but as he finished his remarks and moved toward the gym exit at the Dudley School here, there was no respite from questions about “Bridgegate” as reporters hurled queries at his departing figure.
Earlier today, it was revealed that now the U.S. Attorney has issued subpoenas in connection with the intensifying investigations into Fort Lee lane closures of last September.
So it is understandable if even the most innocuous of remarks tends to take on an overtone in the wake of the burgeoning investigations.
For instance, Christie told an audience of schoolchildren, educators and dignitaries here about how important the role of fatherhood is in his life.
“All of the rest of this stuff is temporary. Being governor is temporary.” And a bit later he re-emphasized that idea: “All of us are in these jobs temporarily.”
The pilot effort unveiled here began Jan. 1 and involves six schools in the Camden district, including from 75 to 125 children at each school.
The prepackaged meals are served from 3:30 to 4 p.m., and the kids select milk and fruit.
A child who does not have to go hungry has limitless potential, Christie explained. “We have an inherent responsibility to provide every child with a high-quality education, regardless of where they live in the state.”
Again, it is understandable – perhaps unavoidable - that Christie’s statements on whatever the topic happens to be are viewed in the greater context nowadays of how he responds to the most far-reaching challenge of his political career.
Today the topic was improving the chances for a sound education in a place where the governor has forged a longstanding partnership with Mayor Dana Redd, lawmakers and educators.
Christie referred to the temporary nature of their jobs, his included, as being stewards.
“What are we going to use that stewardship for in the time that we have it,’’ Christie asked, and then answered in regards to himself: “The next four years is going to be about trying to finish the job in education.
