Post-Spiller, New Tone and Optics at NJEA: Member Voices, Trust, and Transparency Are Now the Focus. But Still No Accountability for the Spiller Debacle.

Looks like there has been a significant change in tone and optics at the post-Sean Spiller NJEA. All of a sudden “member voices,” “transparency,” and “honesty” are now leadership priorities, with a new strategic plan and mission statement. There’s even a new series of meetings across the state to explain to teachers how NJEA decisions are made and how they can make their voices heard. One cannot help but notice that this new-found focus on members’ interests follows on the heels of the notorious Spiller Debacle — that $45 million waste of teachers’ highest-in-the-nation dues while hiding the truth from them. In our recent report, Sunlight called leadership “out of touch” with its own members’ calls for more transparency and a larger voice in the governance of the NJEA. Now it looks like new NJEA leadership (without candidate Spiller) has quietly taken the criticism to heart. So far, the change has been confined to tone and optics. NJEA leadership has still not come clean about the Spiller Debacle and continues to stonewall members’ demands for answers and accountability, but it’s pretty clear they know their members are not happy about the Spiller Debacle and are trying to appear responsive to the discontent. We’ll see where it goes, but a small victory for teachers in which we’d like to think we played a small role.

The Spiller Debacle. As our readers know, Sunlight consistently reported on the Spiller Debacle. We reported on the profligate waste of $45 million of teachers’ dues on Spiller’s vanity run. We reported on Spiller’s massive conflict of interest and the opacity of leadership’s decision-making process. And we reported on how leadership hid the truth from teachers, so that the waste of $45 million of their dues occurred without their knowledge or consent.

NJEA leadership was “out of touch” with members. Sunlight also reported on how, when teachers finally learned the truth, they were angry. We reported on the lawsuit filed by two courageous New Jersey teachers challenging the use of their dues for politics. We reported on the teacher-sponsored a on-line petition calling for greater transparency and a larger voice for teachers in the governance of the NJEA. And in our most recent report, we detailed how new NJEA leadership stonewalled members’ demands for answers and accountability and we called them “out of touch” with their own members’ interests and concerns. It’s pretty clear we were right: leadership was out of touch and they knew it. With Spiller gone, they could act.

A new tone and new optics to regain member trust and buy-in. As soon as newly-elected President Steve Beatty took office in September, he made clear in an interview in NJEA Review that

“We must listen to our members and what they care about. And we need to act on what members care about.”

In the October Review, he spoke of “transparency in action and purpose.” In his President’s Message, he described the new plan that would:

“look in the mirror and honestly assess ourselves — our practices, our processes, and be honest in how we move forward — gaining member trust and buy-in …”

Which unmistakably suggests that Beatty knows leadership lost members’ trust and buy-in.

In the November Review, Beatty announced that leadership had launched a new strategic planning process, which he described as:

[A]n integral part of ensuring authentic member voice and establishing the legitimacy of the process …”

The new tone and optics have continued into 2026. In January, the NJEA Delegate Assembly adopted a new “Strategic Purpose, Mission and Vision.” Beatty noted that the NJEA’s previous mission statement was more political in nature, providing a “strong foundation for advocacy and organizing …” — perhaps a tacit admission that the previous mission statement allowed for the Spiller Debacle. Beatty pledged:

“Most importantly, we will keep member voices at the center of that process.”

Looks like a tacit admission that member voices previously had not been at the center of the process.

Vice President Petal Robertson echoed Beatty:

“This process was about listening to members and making sure their priorities shaped the outcome.”

As did new Secretary-Treasurer Tina Dare:

“This framework … elevates our shared priorities … It’s a tool we will use in all of our important decision making, beginning with he development of the budget …”

No more dues spent on politics, Ms. Dare?

A new statewide tour to give members a “voice.” In the February 2026 NJEA Review, Vice President Robertson revealed that the NJEA had launched a “Do You Know” series, and the January session was “Do you know how decisions are made for NJEA?” Here’s Robertson:

“Want to know how NJEA decisions are made and how you can make your voice heard? Join us on Jan. 21 and invite a friend.”

So rather than acting as a “Spiller for Governor” Super PAC, the new NJEA wants to keep members informed and hear their voices. Quite a change in tone and optics.

New tone and optics but not transparency or accountability for the Spiller Debacle. Unsurprisingly, the new tone and optics have not included any transparency about or accountability for the Spiller Debacle. After all, almost all of new leadership was the same leadership that participated in the Spiller Debacle and they no doubt want to bury the whole sordid affair. But the change in tone and optics is notable and an admission that leadership needed to regain member trust and buy-in — after losing them with the Spiller Debacle. We’ll see where the new tone and optics lead, but this change is a small victory for teachers in which we would like to think we played a small part.