For 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 few thousand dollars can go a long way.
Note that these totals do not include any independent expenditures by the NJEA’s Super PAC, Garden State Forward.
The breakdown is as follows:
- Jersey City – $174,300
- Elizabeth – $50,400
- Camden – $36,600
- Edison – $31,800
- Belleville – $22,600
- Linden – $22,500
- Paterson – $17,525
- Passaic – $15,000
- Toms River – $14,000
- Plainfield – $11,000
- Hillside – $9,500
- West Orange – $7,750
- Lodi – $7,500
- Piscataway – $7,500
- Vineland – $7,000
- Wayne – $7,000
- Woodbridge – $5,500
- East Rutherford – $4,000
- Englewood – $4,000
- Pleasantville – $4,000
- Newark – $3,000
- Park Ridge – $3,000
- Ringwood – $3,000
- Prospect Park – $2,500
- Sayreville – $2,200
- Colonia – $2,000
- Hamilton – $2,000
- South Orange – $2,000
- Jackson – $1,500
- Mahwah – $1,500
- New Providence – $1,500
- West Caldwell – $1,500
- Cliffside Park – $1,000
- Fords – $1,000
- Iselin – $1,000
- Parlin – $1,000
- South River – $1,000
- Wanaque – $1,000
- Dover – $650
- Maplewood – $500
- Old Tappan – $500
- Pompton Plains – $347
- Stafford Top. – $200
Once again, the data underscores how the deep-pocketed, state-level NJEA can swoop into local school board races and create an uneven playing field in favor of union-friendly candidates.