Hunterdon Central Teachers Speak Out About a School-Sponsored Drag Show. Do They Have a Voice in Today’s NJEA?
Posted On11/15/2022 byA friendly teacher sent Sunlight a copy of a letter written by a reportedly “large group” of Hunterdon Central Regional High School teachers (here’s the Hunterdon teacher letter ) criticizing their superintendent for the way a school-sponsored drag show was handled and the resulting loss in instructional time. Sunlight asks whether these teachers have a voice…Read More
While Gov. Murphy Eyes a 2024 White House Run, NJ Had the Nation’s Worst Business Climate for Every Year He’s Been in Office
Posted On11/10/2022 byAs New jersey moves on from the midterms, we all need to be reminded that for the 8th year in a row, New Jersey came in dead last in the Tax Foundation‘s rankings of state tax climates for businesses. That means that New Jersey has been dead last for every single year of Gov. Murphy’s…Read More
NJEA Spends Another $70,000 for Last-Minute Independent Expenditures in Hillsborough and Sparta
Posted On11/08/2022 bySunlight has discovered $70,000 in last-minute spending on school board elections from the NJEA’s Super PAC, Garden State Forward. Recent filings with ELEC reveal that Garden State Forward spent $44,888 in Hillsborough Township for direct mail and digital ads. The filing describes the spending as “non-partisan” and the school board race is non-partisan, while…Read More
From 2011-2020, NJEA Spent $493,372 in 43 New Jersey School Districts. Here’s a List.
Posted On11/07/2022 byFor our last post before election day, Sunlight mined its database of the NJEA’s traditional PAC, NJEA PAC to look at NJEA PAC spending school board elections for the decade 2011-2020. All told, NJEA contributed $493,372 in 43 different school districts. That’s an average of $49,337 every year spent on school board races where a…Read More
The NJEA Tilts the Scales in Wayne, Sparta, Ringwood and Old Bridge (and Elsewhere) School Board Elections
Posted On11/03/2022 bySunlight wants to update our reporting on NJEA funding for local school board races. In Wayne, Sparta, Ringwood and Old Bridge, the NJEA’s traditional PAC, NJEA PAC, is helping to tilt school board races in favor of union-friendly candidates with $35,100 in direct donations. Added to this is the $205,234 we know was spent by the…Read More
The NJEA Is Dropping Big Bucks to Dominate New Jersey School Board Races
Posted On11/01/2022 byThis year’s school board elections have drawn a lot of attention and are more hotly contested than at any time in recent memory. As Sunlight has documented, the NJEA is running a well funded, multi-pronged campaign against parents seeking greater control over local education policies. One prong of that campaign, the NJEA-friendly, dark-money Super PAC…Read More
NJEA President Spiller Uses Teachers’ Dues to Fund His Personal Political Ambitions
Posted On10/26/2022 byMontclair Mayor/NJEA President Sean Spiller is not shy about pursuing his own political ambitions and he’s willing to appropriate millions of dollars of teachers’ dues to do so. Spiller is a walking conflict of interest, who is always and everywhere looking out for Sean Spiller. Good for Spiller; not so good for New Jersey teachers….Read More
NJEA Spends (At Least) $205,342 on School Board Races to Fight Wave of Parent Activism
Posted On10/24/2022 byThe NJEA’s Super PAC, Garden State Forward, looks like it has spent $205,342 on New Jersey school board races. So far. This makes sense, as the NJEA has launched a multi-pronged, statewide campaign against the wave of parents seeking greater control over their schools, and $200,000 in mailers would strongly augment the campaign. Here are…Read More
NJSpotlight Continues to Align Its Education Reporting with Its Major Financial Sponsor, the NJEA
Posted On10/20/2022 byThe decline of NJSpotlight News as an unbiased news organization continues. Here are two recent examples. First, NJ Spotlight covered Monday’s Assembly Education Committee hearings on learning loss caused by pandemic-related school closures, but only from one point of view. In the video piece — entitled “Teachers ask for less learning-loss messaging, fewer state assessments” — NJSpotlight provides…Read More
In the Lacey and Ocean School Districts, It’s the NJEA Against Parents with Teachers Reluctantly Caught in the Middle
Posted On10/19/2022 byWe now have on-the-ground confirmation about the tactics and reach of the NJEA’s well-funded, statewide campaign against parents who dare to speak up at school board meetings or run for school board this fall. As part of the campaign, union leadership seeks to thrust teachers into local political battles, but it looks like some teachers…Read More