Tuesday, January 8, 2013

Christie Made Promises, Then Kept Promises


Promises Made, Promises Kept
2012 Sees Promises Fulfilled in Major Areas of Reform


“For New Jersey, the corner has been turned. Today, the debate is not about who to blame for our failures, it is how to build on our successes. It is no longer about how to deal with devastating decline; it is now about how to push New Jersey even further ahead. To be better than we thought we could be. … Now it’s our job to finish the task.” -Governor Chris Christie, State Of The State Address, January 17, 2012


Promise Made: Tenure Reform

“Tenure reform will lead to even greater student achievement because replacing underperforming teachers with even an average teacher raises each classroom’s lifetime earnings by over a quarter of a million dollars. Let’s act on real tenure reform now. Let’s replace despair with hope in every classroom in New Jersey.” – Governor Chris Christie, State Of The State Address, January 17, 2012

Promise Kept



"The evolution of this law is a blueprint for effective public policy …”
– New Jersey Education Association President Barbara Keshishian

“[T]his legislation serves as an essential fiber in the fabric of promoting our schools.”
– New Jersey Principals and Supervisors Association Executive Director Patricia Wright

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Promise Made: Performance-Based Pay For Teachers

“We have given some of our urban schools a signal that hope is on the way.  … You and I both know that this is a good start, but only a start.  There is much more work to do. … First, reform tenure – by measuring teacher effectiveness, both with professional observation, and objective, quantifiable measures of student achievement – and then by giving tenure to those with strong evaluations, and taking it away from those whose ratings are unacceptably weak.  … [P]ay teachers more when they are assigned to a failing school or to teach a difficult subject.  Compensation should be designed to attract and retain effective teachers where we need them most …” – Governor Chris Christie, State Of The State Address, January 17, 2012

Promise Kept



“[T]his is the way government should work.”
– American Federation of Teachers President Randi Weingarten

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Promise Made: Higher Education Reform

“[I] signed Executive Order 51 and created the UMDNJ Advisory Committee with the charge of taking a real in-depth look at the challenges facing our system of medical education. …[Their] report will serve as my administration’s blueprint for achieving this long-overdue reform and ensuring that we reduce our potential for error, which has happened before and led to some real embarrassment at UMDNJ which I am intimately familiar with unfortunately and allows us to realize our potential as a state, to be a national leader in medical education supporting our biotech and pharma industries here in New Jersey.” – Governor Chris Christie, Press Conference, January 25, 2012

Promise Kept


“This is a legacy day for the state of New Jersey.”
– Senate President Stephen Sweeney

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Promise Made: Mandatory Drug Court For Non-Violent Offenders

“Experience has shown that treating non-violent drug offenders is two-thirds less expensive than housing them in prison. And more importantly – as long as they have not violently victimized society – everyone deserves a second chance, because no life is disposable.” – Governor Chris Christie, State Of The State Address, January 17, 2012

Promise Kept


"[W]e can save taxpayer dollars and, more importantly,
help these individuals get their lives back.”
– Assemblywoman Bonnie Watson Coleman

“We believe, as [Governor Christie] does, that everyone
deserves a second chance … No life is dispensable”
– Delia Bass-Dandridge, President of the Rescue Mission’s Board of Directors

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