Stuff in the ‘The Taxpayer-Funded Political Machine’ Category
The NJEA Wants All-Remote Learning but Will It Support Right-Sizing Staffs and Budgets?
Posted On08/27/2020 byNorthJersey.com’s Terrence McDonald reported that several school districts are having to shift to all-remote instruction because teachers are threatening to take paid leave, leaving the districts without enough staff to open schools. McDonald noted that the NJEA had “already chalked up a win this month when Gov. Murphy reversed course and said he would allow…Read More
The NJEA Hits the Trifecta with Murphy’s Budget; the Rest of NJ, Not So Much
Posted On08/26/2020 byGovernor Murphy presented a nine-month FY2021 budget yesterday that props up state government spending by issuing bonds and raising taxes. As analyzed by NJ Spotlight’s Jon Reitmeyer, there is virtually no state government belt-tightening: state spending will “still top $40 billion for a traditional 12-month fiscal year … even as he is projecting steep revenue…Read More
Record’s Stile Rightly Eyes New Direction but Misses Murphy’s Active Role, Conflict of Interest
Posted On08/19/2020 byThe Record’s Charles Stile wrote and op-ed entitled “How Murphy’s ‘dark money’ allies allow governor to play good cop/bad cop with Trump,” which rightly focused on the cozy relationship between the dark money Super PAC New Direction New Jersey (NDNJ) and Governor Murphy. Stile deserves credit for previously scrutinizing NDNJ and recognizing that 70% of…Read More
Murphy Wins at Supreme Court but NJ’s Future Generations Lose
Posted On08/14/2020 byCongratulations, Governor Murphy. Unsurprisingly, the NJ Supreme Court has ruled unanimously that you get to borrow up to $9.9 billion to cover budget gaps due to shortfalls and costs related to COVID19. This is good news for NJ’s most powerful special interests, the public sector unions, who are Murphy’s political supporters. Unfortunately, this is bad news…Read More
NDNJ Poll Gives Murphy High Marks – But Remember that the NJEA Paid for It
Posted On07/15/2020 byToday the New Jersey Globe published an article on a new poll paid for by New Direction New Jersey (NDNJ) that showed Governor Murphy getting extremely high marks for his handling of COVID and just about everything else. The Globe correctly notes that NDNJ is run by Murphy allies and that it advocates for Murphy’s…Read More
Success of New Healthcare Law Depends on Persuading Teachers: Will the NJEA Deliver?
Posted On07/02/2020 byAfter months of behind-the-scenes negotiation and to widespread acclaim, Governor Murphy signed into law S-2273/A-20, a healthcare reform bill that promises to reduce the cost of health benefits for both teachers and taxpayers. This widely praised new law aims to reduce school district (and thus taxpayer) costs by $640 million per year and teacher costs…Read More
Will the NJEA Let Schools Reopen? Will They Demand More Money?
Posted On06/30/2020 byIn the June 30 Wall Street Journal, Daniel DiSalvo of the Manhattan Institute discusses the issues presented (see below). The NJEA has made clear that it expects greater funding to provide for COVID-related safety measures, but with tax revenues lower and budgets strained, where will the extra money come from? What will be the NJEA’s…Read More
Political Organizers Extend Domination of NJEA Leadership
Posted On06/23/2020 byInsiderNJ reports that Al Beaver has been named head of the NJEA’s Government Relations Division, its lobbying and political operations arm. Beaver is a long-time UniServ political organizer, and brings yet another political organizer into the NJEA leadership ranks. As discussed in SPCNJ’s most recent report on teachers’ dues, the NJEA’s Executive Office is dominated…Read More
Rather than Address His Conflicts of Interest, Spiller Hurls Mud and Falsehoods
Posted On05/05/2020 byWell, SPCNJ’s FACTS have apparently gotten under NJEA Vice President and Montclair mayoral candidate Sean Spiller’s skin. We were surprised to see a Spiller campaign mailer (largely funded by the NJEA) designed as if Spiller were running against SPCNJ for mayor. But Vice President Spiller, SPCNJ is a non-profit research organization not a candidate for…Read More
At PTA Forum, Spiller Wants To Talk About Anything But His Conflicts of Interest
Posted On04/29/2020 byKudos to moderator Jon Fortt who knew his facts about NJEA Vice President/Montclair mayoral candidate Sean Spiller’s conflicts of interest and asked the right questions. Fortt rightly pointed out that a NJ Superior Court ruled that Spiller’s conflict of interest disqualified him from serving on Montclair’s Board of School Estimate (BoSE), so it is a…Read More