Christie Fights For Quality Education; Buono Falls Short

Buono's Failing Grade On: Rewarding The Best Teachers Buono's Opposition To Performance Pay And Flip-Flop On Tenure Reform Stand In Stark Contrast To Governor Christie And Bi-Partisan Reform Leaders Who Want To Recruit And Reward The Best Teachers  Buono On Performance Pay: "There Is A Growing Body Of Research Indicating That Short-Term Incentive Plans And Pay-For-Performance Programs Do Not Work And Often Result In Poorer Outcomes." (Candidate Questionnaire, Home News Tribune, 10/30/11) Buono's Tenure Reform Flip-Flop: "I did vote for it, but I had grave concerns that it seemed to be the tail wagging the dog without a meaningful evaluation piece already established and tested ... Unfortunately, I think some of my fears are being realized." (John Mooney, "Buono Begins To Divulge Details Of Her Ambitious Agenda," NJ Spotlight, 9/4/13) Governor Christie: “[T]he kids of this city deserve better, they deserve much better, and their teachers by voting for this contract showed they want to give it to them. … So, three years and twelve days ago when I stood in Newark the day after election I could have not envisioned this realistically but in my heart this is what I was hoping for. That Newark would lead a transformational change for education in America.” Mayor Booker: “Newark has the opportunity to be a national leader in compensating teachers fairly, and has a chance to show that unions and school districts can work together in the interest of both teachers and students. Our failure to advance this contract would not only be our own — it would have implications for countless urban districts across the country, and it is a failure that both our teachers and our kids cannot afford.” (Mayor Cory Booker, “Newark Can Lead In Fair Teacher Compensation,” The Star-Ledger, 10/27/12) Better Education For Kids Executive Director Derrell Bradford: "This bill is monumental … In 2009, if you told me we'd have tenure reform, I would have looked at you like you had two heads." (Heather Haddon, “Christie Hails Tenure Bill as Victory,” The Wall Street Journal, 8/6/12) New Jersey School Boards Association Executive Director Marie Bilik: "The new law creates an essential link between the tenure process and teacher performance. It also calls for an objective evaluation system to help ensure consistency …” (New Jersey School Boards Association, “New Jersey School Boards Association Commends Christie, Legislators on Tenure Reform Act,” Press Release, 8/6/12) New Jersey Principals and Supervisors Association Executive Director Patricia Wright:“NJPSA applauds the enactment of this vital legislation because it seeks to enhance the effectiveness of every educator working in New Jersey’s public schools ...” (New Jersey School Boards Association, “New Jersey Principals and Supervisors Association Statement on Enactment of Landmark Tenure Reform Legislation,” Press Release, 8/6/12) The New York Times: “Newark and its teachers’ union deserve praise for the groundbreaking contract that the two sides have hammered out. …The need to improve teacher performance has long been evident in Newark, whose perennially troubled schools do a particularly poor job of preparing its 37,000 students for higher education. …Despite this grim picture, school officials say, the current teacher evaluation system — based on haphazard observations by administrators — rates 95 percent of the district’s teachers as ‘effective.’ The new contract, which raises starting and midlevel salaries, includes a rigorous evaluation process that takes student achievement into account.” (Editorial, “School Reform in Newark,” The New York Times, 11/17/12) The Star-Ledger: “Mark this as another landmark achievement for Gov. Chris Christie and Democratic leaders; more important in the end than even the pension and health reform.”(Editorial, “A huge win on tenure,” Star-Ledger, 6/24/12) The Times of Trenton: “[W]e applaud the overarching efforts intended to make it easier to get rid of bad teachers and reward good teachers.” (Editorial, “N.J. teacher tenure reform is long overdue,” Times of Trenton, 6/24/12)           • “It’s a change that’s long overdue.” The Bergen Record: “We particularly like that the bill strengthens the merit review process for new teachers. …This is a marked improvement over the current formula and drives home the point that teaching, while an honorable profession, should be the choice of the serious, those willing to commit the time to make a difference.” (Editorial, “Tenure reform,” Bergen Record, 6/21/12) The Philadelphia Inquirer: “[L]ong overdue changes to an antiquated system that was designed to protect teachers' rights, but has become a tool that too often makes it nearly impossible to get rid of teachers who no longer, or never did, belong in front of a classroom”(Editorial, “N.J. tenure debate is near conclusion,” Philadelphia Inquirer, 6/22/12) The New York Post: “The reform is a major achievement that should help dig public-school kids out of a failing school system.” (Editorial, “Christie’s tenure coup,” New York Post, 6/22/12) The Wall Street Journal: “[The bill] marks a significant shift in the nation's oldest teacher job-security law, requiring all teachers to undergo annual performance reviews and making it easier to fire poorly performing educators.” (Heather Haddon, “Christie Hails Tenure Bill as Victory,” The Wall Street Journal, 8/6/12) Senator Teresa Ruiz (D-Essex): “It was about what I thought was right and what we know, that the teacher has the greatest impact on our children and what happens in the classroom.”(John Mooney, “Compromise, Caffeine, and Trade-Offs: Behind NJ's New Tenure Reform Bill,” NJ Spotlight, 8/7/12) Senator Kevin O’Toole (R-Bergen): “[This] landmark achievement of bipartisanship was made possible in large part by Gov. Christie’s fierce leadership and sponsor Senator Ruiz helping to propel students’ needs in front of special political interests." (Jarrett Renshaw, “Gov. Christie hails signing of tenure reform bill as 'a great day for good teachers’,” The Star-Ledger, 8/7/12) Assemblyman Patrick Diegnan (D-Middlesex): “This is meaningful tenure reform that does what’s best for our children while balancing the protection of due process for our principals and teachers.” (Assembly Democrats, “Diegnan, Caputo, Coutinho, Jasey, Watson Coleman & Coughlin Tenure Reform Bill Now Law,” Press Release, 8/6/12)           • Diegnan: “Our focus will be where it should be - making sure we have the best teachers in the classroom.” Assemblyman Ralph Caputo (D-Essex): “This is a significant step toward creating a sustained process to expeditiously remove ineffective teachers from our schools.” (Assembly Democrats, “Diegnan, Caputo, Coutinho, Jasey, Watson Coleman & Coughlin Tenure Reform Bill Now Law,” Press Release, 8/6/12) Assemblyman Albert Coutinho (D-Essex): “These reforms will ensure that our students have the best and most effective teachers in the classroom and that taxpayer money isn’t wasted on a long and arduous process of removing the ineffective ones.” (Assembly Democrats, “Diegnan, Caputo, Coutinho, Jasey, Watson Coleman & Coughlin Tenure Reform Bill Now Law,” Press Release, 8/6/12) Assemblywoman Bonnie Watson Coleman (D-Mercer): “This is sensible tenure reform that ensures only the best teachers will be in our classrooms … We’re streamlining the process but also ensuring fairness, and in the end our children win.” (Assembly Democrats, “Diegnan, Caputo, Coutinho, Jasey, Watson Coleman & Coughlin Tenure Reform Bill Now Law,” Press Release, 8/6/12) Assemblywoman Mila Jasey (D-Essex/Morris): “These historic reforms balance the needs of our students while ensuring that teachers are treated fairly … This will help us remove any ‘bad apples’ swiftly while, at the same time, making sure good teachers aren’t unfairly targeted for political reasons or otherwise.  In the end, it’s the students who will win out.” (Assembly Democrats, “Diegnan, Caputo, Coutinho, Jasey, Watson Coleman & Coughlin Tenure Reform Bill Now Law,” Press Release, 8/6/12) Assemblyman Jay Webber (R-Morris, Essex and Passaic): “New Jersey’s education system has taken a giant leap into the 21st century … This new measure will go a long way in ensuring that students will now have the most qualified teachers in their classrooms.” (Assembly Republicans, “Webber Tenure Reform Bill Signed Into Law,” Press Release, 8/6/12) Senator Joe Kyrillos (R-Monmouth): “Congratulations to Governor Christie, Senator Ruiz, Senator O’Toole and other colleagues for making this significant bipartisan step toward overhauling New Jersey’s antiquated tenure laws.” (Senate Republicans, “Kyrillos: Full Tenure Reform Improves Education, Lowers Taxes,” Press Release, 8/6/12)