NJ Ranked 49th Out of 50 States for Financial Condition: A “F” for Every Year Under Gov. Murphy
Posted On10/22/2024 byAnother dismal ranking for New Jersey’s financial condition under Gov. Murphy. New Jersey’s long-term financial condition ranked 49th out of the 50 states, according to Truth In Accounting’s “Financial State of the States 2024.” That’s an improvement from 50th last year, but New Jersey has still been dead last in the nation for 8 of…Read More
Teachers Continue To Show They Do Not Want to Spend Their Hard-Earned Money on Politics, But NJEA Leadership Continues To Spend It
Posted On10/18/2024 byContinuing our perusal of the NJEA’s 2022 IRS Form 990, we looked at member donations to the NJEA’s traditional political action committee (PAC), NJEA PAC. Contributions to NJEA PAC are a good barometer for members’ enthusiasm for NJEA political spending because NJEA PAC is funded by a voluntary, separate dues stream that members must opt…Read More
Jersey City Mayor Fulop: Sean Spiller Can Spend Millions to Run for Governor Because It’s “Other People’s Money” — But It’s All NJ Teachers’ Dues
Posted On10/11/2024 byMayor Fulop makes a great point: it’s easy for Spiller to spend other people’s money. Politico New Jersey Playbook‘s, Matt Friedman continues to do an excellent job of reporting on NJEA President/former-Montclair Mayor Sean Spiller’s run for governor. Friedman reports that NJEA-funded, pro-Spiller Super PAC Working New Jersey is already flooding the state with mailers, TV…Read More
NJEA Continues to Pour Money into Education Law Center, NJ Policy Perspective, and NJ Working Families Alliance
Posted On10/09/2024 byThe NJEA’s 2022 IRS Form 990 is finally available, so we can update the NJEA’s funding for its network of allies. The NJEA continues to fund three key allies: the Education Law Center (ELC), New Jersey Policy Perspective (NJPP), and the New Jersey Working Families Alliance (NJWFA), all of whom help to ensure that the…Read More
Sean Spiller Is Running for Governor but Is Still Under State Criminal Investigation. Is this the Kind of Candidate NJ Teachers Would Choose to Support with $43 Million of Their Dues?
Posted On10/04/2024 byAt the very least, Sunlight had good timing. Ten days ago, we posted our blog asking where was Attorney General Platkin’s investigation of Gov. Murphy’s pals Sean Spiller and Brendan Gill for (allegedly) misusing state health benefits. Five days later, Politico picked up on a Press of Atlantic City article on one of the three…Read More
Where Is Attorney General Platkin’s Investigation of Gov. Murphy’s Pals Sean Spiller and Brendan Gill for (Alleged) Abuse of State Health Benefits?
Posted On09/24/2024 byWe were doing some research and came across this picture of a Zoom call where the NJEA endorsed Gov. Phil Murphy as the Democratic nominee for a second term. Unsurprisingly, Murphy and all of the top leadership of the NJEA were present. But then we noticed Attorney General Matt Platkin on the call, appearing right…Read More
NJEA Website Adds a “Spiller for Governor” Section to Push Teachers to Become Campaign Organizers and Workers
Posted On09/17/2024 byA few weeks ago, we posted a blog with the (slightly) hyperbolic title of “NJEA Leadership Wants to Turn the NJEA into a Giant ‘Spiller for Governor’ PAC.” Now it looks like we were spot-on. The NJEA has revamped its website by adding a new “Spiller for Governor” section front and center, with a large…Read More
NJEA President Sean Spiller Tries to Use Teacher Shortage to Bolster His Run for Governor
Posted On09/11/2024 byNJEA President/Democratic candidate for governor Sean Spiller blames New Jersey’s teacher shortage on a politically convenient scapegoat, former Republican Governor Chris Christie. But Spiller provides no evidence for his claim, while there is much evidence that the cause is elsewhere. Sure looks like a political stunt to animate teachers to support Spiller’s candidacy and justify…Read More
Backing Spiller for Governor Costs Money: NJEA Hikes Teachers’ Highest-in-the-Nation Dues to $1,082
Posted On09/04/2024 byThe NJEA has long had the highest dues in the nation, but now by an even larger margin. NJEA leadership just hiked teachers’ annual dues to $1,082 from $1,038, a 4.2% increase. That’s up 8.2% over the past two years. The second-highest dues belong to the far-larger California Teachers Association (CTA) which increased their dues…Read More
NJEA Leadership Wants to Turn the NJEA into a Giant “Spiller for Governor” PAC
Posted On08/29/2024 bySunlight gets a lot of comments on its Facebook page from retired teachers who bemoan that the NJEA used to be an association focused on education and the well-being of teachers but is more of a political organization now. Current events have shown how right they are. Below is the top of the NJEA’s current…Read More