New Study: Gov. Murphy’s School Policies and Inaction Will Cause Long-Term Damage to NJ Kids and the State Economy
Posted On12/30/2022 byAt long last, and only after a great deal of public outcry, Gov. Murphy’s Department of Education finally released the full dataset from last spring’s state tests. This means that we now know the district-level results and community leaders, school administrators and parents know where and how much remediation is needed — and there is…Read More
New Jersey Teachers Pay for Fat Compensation for NEA as Well as NJEA Leadership
Posted On12/28/2022 bySunlight has repeatedly documented (here and here) how New Jersey teachers pay the highest dues in the nation to the NJEA and its national parent, the NEA. Combined dues are now running about $1,400-$1,500 per year, depending on the district. The data shows that the NJEA takes a whopping 70% of total dues ($999) —…Read More
Truth In Accounting 2022 Survey: New Jersey’s Financial Condition Is Dead Last in the Nation
Posted On12/21/2022 byDespite federal pandemic relief funds, record tax revenues and a lot of happy talk from Gov. Murphy, New Jersey’s long-term financial condition was ranked the worst in the nation. That’s according to Truth In Accounting (TIA), which just published its 13th annual review “Financial State of the States 2022.” While the Murphy touts New Jersey’s various…Read More
NJEA President/Montclair Mayor Sean Spiller’s Run for Statewide Office Begins and New Jersey Teachers Are Forced to Pay for It
Posted On12/16/2022 byApparently brushing off potential legal troubles in Montclair, NJEA President/Montclair Mayor Sean Spiller’s campaign for statewide office has begun in earnest. Below is a recent mailer from Spiller’s Super PAC, “Protecting Our Democracy.” Note that the mailer talks about a campaign to “safeguard personal freedoms, preserve voting rights and create an economy that works for…Read More
Blue States During COVID: More School Closures, More Learning Loss — Just Like NJ under Gov. Murphy
Posted On12/15/2022 byThe74 conducted a study of the relative learning loss in Democratic (Blue) and Republican (Red) states and found that Red states offered almost twice as much in-person instruction as Blue states during the 2020-21 school year. Less in-person instruction meant less learning. The study quotes Chad Aldeman of Georgetown’s of Edunomics Lab: Because remote learning…Read More
Kudos to Star-Ledger for Calling Out Murphy, Teachers Unions for Sitting on Student Test Data
Posted On12/13/2022 byOnce again, the Star-Ledger has stepped up with a powerful editorial that aims to hold Gov. Murphy and his teachers union allies accountable for not putting New Jersey students first. The editorial questions Murphy’s unconscionable delay releasing the full student data from last spring’s state tests, so schools can get busy remediating the learning loss….Read More
NJSpotlight Roundtable on the Teacher Shortage Is Sponsored by the NJEA: Will It Be Open and All-Encompassing?
Posted On12/09/2022 byNJSpotlight News is hosting a virtual roundtable on “worrisome signs and possible solutions” about the shortage of teachers in New Jersey. All well and good except that the main sponsor of the event is long-time and substantial NJSpotlight donor (see here and here), the NJEA, and Sunlight wonders whether the roundtable will be able to explore all…Read More
Gov. Murphy, ASW Jasey and ASM Caputo Would Prefer to Bury the Facts About Student Learning Loss, Just as the NJEA Would Wi$h
Posted On12/09/2022 byIn the wake of the Murphy administration’s very belated release of the results from last spring’s standardized tests, and the revelation that student scores plummeted, NJ101.5 asks “Does NJ Have Too Much Standardized Testing in Its Schools?” This is an odd question to ask when it is clear that without the state’s standardized tests, we…Read More
NJEA Leadership Funds Gov. Murphy’s Presidential Ambitions with New Jersey Teachers’ Highest-in-the-Nation Dues
Posted On12/01/2022 byThe New Jersey Globe reported that the pro-Murphy, dark money Super PAC “Stronger Fairer Forward,” which is run by Murphy’s wife, contributed “more than $300,000” to various Democratic campaigns across the nation in this fall’s elections. Recall that Stronger Fairer Forward received $750,000 from the NJEA’s Super PAC, which means that a good deal –…Read More
JerseyCan, Urban League of Essex County Organize a Forum on NJ Learning Loss While Gov. Murphy, NJEA Remain AWOL
Posted On11/28/2022 byTo the everlasting shame of Gov. Murphy and New Jersey’s largest teachers union, the NJEA, it has been left to two New Jersey non-profits, JerseyCan and the Urban League of Essex County (ULEC), to address COVID-related learning loss. It is simply outrageous that Murphy’s Department of Education has yet to fully release the 2021-2022 assessment…Read More