Free Republic

A state senator is accusing the New Jersey Education Association of “resorting to KGB tactics” through its effort to gather information about political skirmishes over schools through its Center for Honesty in Education. The teachers’ union says the center aims to combat disinformation and dangerous rhetoric in local school districts. But Sen. Ed Durr, R-Gloucester, said it’s a bid to squash parents and community groups who challenge the indoctrination of children in schools. “This is outrageous that because parents want to voice their concerns and their opinions about their child’s education that they’re encouraging teachers and board members now to...

Two former school district employees, including the one who oversaw its affirmative action policies, filed race discrimination suits in September, saying they were fired because they're not Hispanic. Bernice Marshall, the former human resources manager, and Edmund Treadway, the former transportation manager, argue in Superior Court filings that the Perth Amboy School District is favoring Hispanic job candidates and employees. "No one's paying attention to the kids," said Marshall, who is African-American

NEW JERSEY EDUCATION ASSOCIATION 180 West State Street Post Office Box 1211 Trenton, NJ 08607-1211 609-599-4561 www.njea.org Pledge to be an Educator for Obama Now more than ever, we need to elect a President who shares our vision for a stronger America. President Barack Obama has earned the NEA’s recommendation because of his unwavering support for education and students and his commitment to a vibrant middle class. To show our support for NEA here in New Jersey, NJEA is asking members to take the pledge and become an Educator for Obama. By taking the pledge, you can volunteer to spend...

New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie scored a big win for his agenda in June when he persuaded the state legislature to pass a public employee pension and benefits overhaul. The bill, which the governor’s office said would save New Jersey taxpayers $120 billion over 30 years, was the product of a yearlong negotiation between Christie and the Democratic leaders of the state senate and assembly, though it did not receive the backing of most Democrats in either chamber. Those that did support the bill are now paying a political price, with the state’s most powerful union, the New Jersey Education...

An investigation into New Jersey's largest teachers union finds that the Internal Revenue Service has an outstanding lien against the New Jersey Education Association for $56,730.31 in back taxes. The lien involves unpaid taxes from as far back as 2005, though most of the teacher union's unpaid taxes are from 2009 and 2010. The federal tax lien was issued against the NJEA on December 7, 2010, and has been on file with the Passaic County Clerk's office since December 21, 2010. The investigation was conducted by Education Action Group with the assistance of Mark Kalinowski, founder of North New Jersey...

NJEA president at rally accuses Gov. Christie of trying to start a 'middle-class civil war' Published: Friday, February 25, 2011, 2:30 PM Updated: Friday, February 25, 2011, 3:25 PM Matt Friedman/Statehouse Bureau TRENTON — In front of a crowd of thousands of protestors, the president of the state’s largest teachers union accused Gov. Chris Christie of trying to foment a civil war within the middle-class. “All of New Jersey’s middle-class is hurting, but this governor and his right-wing supporters are trying to start a middle-class civil war,” said New Jersey Education Association President Barbara Keshishian. As she spoke, thousands of...

Top Official at NJEA (New Jersey Education Association) discussing what he describes as a rigged election in Hudson County, NJ. www.theprojectveritas.com

“Teachers Unions Gone Wild,” a video released Monday by James O’Keefe, a self-described investigative journalist and filmmaker, and his team at Veritas Visuals, contains footage that is described by the organization as: “NJEA Union Teachers call black students n*****, talk about slandering Christie, say they want to “f*** with kids,” and brag about rigged elections and voter fraud.”

TRENTON — Conservative activist James O'Keefe has released a video — titled "Teachers unions gone wild" — claiming to show undercover footage from a New Jersey Education Association leadership conference at the East Brunswick Hilton hotel. The video shows people identified as teachers playing arcade games on "their dime," chanting about kicking Gov. Chris Christie "in the toolbox," and talking about how hard it is to fire a tenured teacher. NJEA spokesman Steve Baker said O'Keefe is "completely and utterly discredited." "It’s James O’Keefe and that’s all you need to know," Baker said, citing O'Keefe's legal troubles in the past....

As Governor Chris Christie goes to war with the NJ teachers union, let's review what he's up against. NJEA director Vince Giordano received $421,615 in salary and $128,508 in deferred compensation last year, according to tax filings released last spring. NJEA president Barbara Keshishian earned $256,450 last year. VP Wendell Steinhauer and Secretary-Treasurer Marie Blistan were paid $170,974 each. Meanwhile, the governor earned a measly $175,000. Christie's war with the union escalated earlier this summer when a union official suggested praying for the governor's death.

As their country and state go bankrupt, some New Jersey teachers react to a proposed payfreeze with profanities, fat jokes and comparisons of their governor to Pol Pot and the KKK. Robert Reboli, a basic skills and remedial English teacher at Madison Avenue Elementary School in Irvington, has some advice for his fellow educators as they prepare to fight Gov. Christopher Christie’s proposed state budget: “Never trust a fat fuck.” That’s what Reboli posted on a Facebook group called New Jersey Teachers United Against Governor Chris Christie’s Pay Freeze, which has more than 57,000 fans -- a powerful grass roots...

Thirty-four of 39 school budgets in the county were defeated. School districts spending plans were massacred at the polls during the annual school elections Tuesday as voters used the ballot box to vent their frustrations about higher taxes. According to unofficial results at press time, only five of 39 school district budgets were passed, a 12 percent approval rate, the lowest this decade and possibly longer. The only other time this decade that fewer than half the budgets failed was in 2006 when only 17 of 39 budgets won approval. School officials said the results were not surprising given the...

Teacher retirements could jump seven-fold, with as many as 30,000 veteran educators exiting before the next school year if the Christie administration alters benefits and pension rules, the NJEA said Thursday. The state teachers union warned of chaos in the classroom and “irreparable damage to every school system in the state” following news that the administration is working out the details of a plan to change the rules for those who receive medical benefits and pensions through the state. School employees and retirees make up the largest group in the system, and Education Commissioner Bret Schundler said it was hoped...

Gov. Chris Christie today said students skipping class to protest teacher layoffs were “pawns” of the teachers’ union and should not face disciplinary action. Dozens of students cut class to protest outside Bridgewater-Raritan High School this morning. In Cliffside Park, students spilled onto the sports field at 9 a.m. today to show they opposed the district’s proposal to cut 25 teachers and 20 other staff members to deal with a $1.8 million, or nearly 40 percent, cut in state aid, according to a report in The Record.

This time each year vir tually every school in New Jersey shuts down for at least two days so a fraction of the state's 176,735 public school teachers can go to Atlantic City for the annual New Jersey Education Association convention. This has to rank among the biggest scams perpetrated on the public. Name one other profession in which people are given time off from work for professional development but are free to go nowhere near the convention. Yet, since 1920, state law has dictated that teachers must be permitted to attend the convention without using a personal, vacation or...

(CBS/AP) TRENTON -- Sarah Maris has been very pleased so with the education her 14-year-old has received in New Jersey so far. "It's just been excellent," the Fair Haven resident said. But she's concerned how the quality of education will be affected by a proposed 4 percent cap on annual property tax increases. Parents like Maris are worried a spending cap, approved by the Assembly and slated for a Senate vote this Monday, will cripple New Jersey schools that produce children with math, reading and SAT scores that rank among the nation's best. "I'm very worried my child in first...

Governor Corzine has his new nominees posted. They are all mostly Union supporters, but, Look at this one: STATE BOARD OF EDUCATION Nominate for Appointment Kenneth J. Parker (Berlin, Camden) Nominate for Appointment Edithe Fulton (Toms River, Ocean) Edithe Fulton is the former president of the New Jersey Education Association.

Last week, Florida's supreme court ruled that public money can't be spent on private schools because the state constitution commands the funding of only "uniform . . . high-quality" schools. How absurd. As if government schools are uniformly high quality. Or even mostly decent. Apparently competition, which made even the Postal Service improve, is unconstitutional when it comes to public education in Florida.

A Marlboro school bus driver and a bus attendant were arrested last week following an incident in which a 5-year-old boy was left alone on a school bus for about four hours. On Aug. 11, Geraldine Kauffman put her son, Justin, who has a language disability, on a bus headed for the Marl-boro Early Learning Center’s (MELC) special education summer program, but Justin never made it to school that day. According to a press release issued by Monmouth County Prosecutor Luis A. Valentin last week, bus driver Cynthia Pekarchik and bus attendant Judith Eckel returned the bus to the municipal...

A proven friend of children and public education NJEA’s 125-memberpolitical actioncommittee unani-mously voted toendorse Sen. John F.Kerry for president.NJEA PAC convenedat the NJEA Summer LeadershipConference on Aug. 7 to considerpresidential and congressional candi-dates for the November elections. Thecommittee also endorsed nine incum-bent candidates for Congress. “John Kerry is a proven friend ofchildren and public education,” said NJEA President Edithe A. Fulton.“He has earned the support of ourmembers by supporting the issuesthat matter to them the most.” Fulton said the Kerry/Edwardsticket has pledged to fully fund thefederal “No Child Left Behind Act,”and to fix its many flaws, includingits insistence on measuring...