Bret Schundler in Teachers Under Attack!, by Mike Spina

On Education: Fired as Education Commissioner after failed $400M grant

Perhaps the most egregious mistake of the Christie administration in the Governor's first year in office was New Jersey's failed Race to the Top application to the federal government. This fiasco would take on even greater importance when Gov. Christie fired his Education Commissioner Bret Schundler.

"Race to the Top" money was being made available to the ten states which scored the highest on a federal application. Despite lack of support from the NJEA, New Jersey was named one of the 19 finalists. [Prior to the application] Schundler announced that he had reached a compromise with the NJEA. But Gov. Christie vetoed Schundler's compromise deal with the NJEA and the application was submitted without union support.

Had Schundler's original application been filed, N.J. would have likely finished 4th, thus earning $400 million. Instead the application was three points short of the 10th spot. [Because the application also included a clerical mistake], Schundler took the heat.

Source: Teachers Under Attack!, by Mike Spina, p.104-105 Feb 17, 2011

On Education: NJ lost $400M in federal funds due to lack of union support

Let's examine the compromise that Schundler agreed to with the NJEA by looking at more of his testimony before the senate committee.

"We submitted a strong application to the Federal government in connection with the Race to the Top grant competition and almost overcame steep odds against us," testified Schundler. "With hundreds of millions of dollars at stake, states were competing aggressively, and to beat the favorites, NJ needed to overcome disadvantages in 3 areas that accounted for a lot of competition points.

its lack of union support for proposed reforms
the fact that so much of its reform agenda was in the proposal stage, not already enacted; and
its inferior education data-tracking capabilities."

"The NJEA asserts that if Christie had accepted those compromises, NJ's grant application would have won union support, causing us to finish in 4th place, and to win $400 million for our schools. The Governor made a bad decision when he vetoed our agreement." Source: Teachers Under Attack!, by Mike Spina, p.111-112 Feb 17, 2011

The above quotations are from Teachers Under Attack! How NJ Governor Chris Christie's Personal Vendetta Against Teachers Will Destroy Public Education by Mike Spina. Click here for other excerpts from Teachers Under Attack! How NJ Governor Chris Christie's Personal Vendetta Against Teachers Will Destroy Public Education by Mike Spina. Click here for other excerpts by Bret Schundler. Click here for other excerpts by other Governors.
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