Stuff in the ‘Political Spending and Influence’ Category
The Evidence Is Mounting: Teachers’ Unions Drove School Closures, Which Harmed Kids
Posted On11/15/2021 byMultiple research reports show that teachers’ unions, including the NJEA, put the interests of their members over the interests of the kids by pushing to keep schools closed during the pandemic It is widely recognized that school closures harmed kids, both in terms of substantial learning loss – especially in minority communities – and in…Read More
Congratulations to Montclair Parents on Your Elected School Board Victory!
Posted On11/08/2021 byIn a repudiation of NJEA President/Montclair Mayor Sean Spiller’s massive conflict of interest, Montclair voters overwhelmingly chose to change from a mayor-appointed school board to an elected school board. It was a rout: 70% to 30%. Journalist and Montclair parent, Andrew Rice, wrote an excellent piece on Montclair as well as the general anti-Democrat…Read More
Harvard Study: Teachers’ Union Strength Determined Whether Schools Were Open During COVID
Posted On11/02/2021 byIn a new report, Harvard Business School professor Joshua Coval has shed light on the facts behind COVID-related school closures. Coval analyzed the data about which school districts opted for remote learning and found that it wasn’t COVID-related issues like case numbers or vaccination rates that drove the decisions. Rather, Coval found: “If you want…Read More
Setting the Record Straight: This Election, the NJEA is BY FAR the Biggest Special Interest Spender
Posted On10/29/2021 byThe head of New Jersey’s elections watchdog, ELEC’s Jeff Brindle, said it best: “Never before have two legislative races topped $6 million in one election” – referring to the 2nd and 8th districts. Why is New Jersey spending more and more every election? The taxpayer-funded NJEA. News reports get the facts wrong. They identify…Read More
Excellent NJSpotlight Report Details the NJEA’s Massive, Taxpayer-Funded Support for Murphy
Posted On10/27/2021 byKudos to Jeff Pillets and NJSpotlight for their excellent, balanced report on the NJEA’s massive, taxpayer-funded support for Gov. Murphy’s re-election. Pillets gets quotes from all sides of the debate, including from Sunlight and NJEA President Sean Spiller. Sunlight particularly liked this quote from Ben Dworkin of Rowan University: “In the NJEA, the governor has…Read More
Gov. Murphy and the NJEA: Quid Pro Quo
Posted On10/12/2021 byJohn Reitmeyer’s piece for NJSpotlight says it all. Gov. Murphy has increased spending by 30% since he entered office, and “much of the big increase in spending is helping fund increases in aid to K-12 schools and record-high public-worker pension contributions …” In order to do so, Murphy increased taxes on the wealthy and corporations, both…Read More
Fact check: Despite Stellar Investment Returns, NJ’s Public Pensions Are Still in Crisis
Posted On08/13/2021 byThere’s lots of happy talk coming out of Trenton about the state of New Jersey’s public pensions. This plays very nicely into Gov. Murphy’s hands by providing a seemingly rational basis for Murphy’s decision to drop a whopping $6.9 billion (15% of the entire state budget) into public pensions. Unfortunately, the reality is that despite…Read More
Does NJEA President-elect/Montclair Mayor Spiller’s Pricey Fundraiser Portend a Run for Governor?
Posted On08/10/2021 bySunlight has been active on social media about NJEA President-elect/Montclair Mayor Sean Spiller’s fundraiser for his dark-money Super PAC. We highlighted the pricey levels of sponsorship that are clearly meant to extract maximum dollars from deep-pocketed supporters as well as the use of a non-union facility for an event that was putatively honoring union leaders….Read More
Federal Money Shores Up NJ’s Budget, But Gov. Murphy Opts for Election-Year Spending Rather than a Sustainable Path
Posted On07/21/2021 byThe gusher of federal money has certainly been a boon to New Jersey as well as other states. This has had a number of positive ramifications, most importantly filling state coffers so that even perpetually in-deficit state governments like NJ’s are now running budgetary surpluses. This has allowed NJ to increase spending (in an election…Read More
NJEdReport: Gov. Murphy Takes Care of His NJEA Pals Over Kids in Poor School Districts. Where Is Mark Weber and NJPP?
Posted On07/15/2021 byNJ Ed Report published an excellent report today about how the NJEA’s Center for Teaching and Learning (CTL) is sending unqualified teachers to teach in high-poverty, Abbott districts. Thankfully, NJ Ed Report is a trusted outlet for NJ Department of Education (DOE) whistleblowers who blew the whistle on teachers being allowed to teach all-important physics classes…Read More