WEEKEND QUOTABLES

Chris Christie and Rahm Emanuel share a laugh during a segment attacking Medicare for All on ABC's "This Week." 

MapLight reporter Andrew Perez

"Rahm says no one at a bunch of Michigan and Wisconsin diners told him to take their health care away which is probably somewhat true since who in a diner would start talking to him at all." -- Common Dreams

Lori Lightfoot to Ted Cruz

But don’t you dare lecture us with half-truths, cherry-picked statistics and debunked rhetoric designed to score political points with your base and your donors while you, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) and the other Republicans in charge of the Senate sit in dereliction of your duty day after day, shooting after shooting. -- Washington Post

Amanda Kass

 “I think highlighting that there are lots of police and fire pension systems that are underfunded is accurate,” said Amanda Kass, associate director of the Government Finance Research Center at the University of Illinois-Chicago. “I don’t think it’s accurate to indicate that the majority are on the brink of insolvency.” -- Sun-Times

Rich Miller

But President Donald Trump, who had problems everywhere in suburbia, only won McSweeney’s district by a mere 1.6 percentage points in 2016. And then Democratic Comptroller Susana Mendoza won it last year by 2 points. Trump isn’t doing much to improve his popularity in the suburbs, so 2020 could be even worse for Republicans in that part of the world. -- Capitol Fax

Tom McNamee, Sun-Times Editorial Page Editor

The last sentence of the editorial made the point. The words were mine, but the clarity of thought was all Marca’s: “When we fully understand, as a society, that school nurses are not ‘extras’ — because kids with disabilities are not ‘extras’ — we predict this chronic shortage of nurses will magically disappear.” -- Marca Bristo made us all listen...

As Democrats increasingly unite around solutions as big as the problems we face, the media still puts up panels featuring politicians with little relevance like Rahm Emanuel and Chris Christie solely to attack the progressive energy in our party. pic.twitter.com/oJmLQI4N7j

— Justice Democrats (@justicedems) September 8, 2019

Trump: “Who will pay for the Wall?”
Audience: “Mexico will pay for the Wall!!” “Mexico!!”#BrokenPromise

— Diane Ravitch (@DianeRavitch) September 6, 2019

Environmental Justice: Water crisis in Newark worse than Flint, on Booker/Christie's watch

A pallet of bottled water is delivered to a recreation center, Tuesday in Newark. 

Former Newark Mayor and presidential candidate, Sen. Cory Booker is acting like he just discovered that the lead-contaminated water system has been poisoning the children and families of his city for years. The latest figures from federal observers show that children in Newark's Essex County are in fact nearly four times more likely to have elevated blood lead levels than those in Flint.

Now, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has issued a dire warning about lead contamination, and New Jersey environmental officials found a problem with “ineffective corrosion treatment” at one of the city’s two water-treatment facilities.

In addition, according testing found that 2 out of 3 filters tested in three Newark homes failed to effectively reduce lead contamination.

In a tweet on Wednesday, Booker called on the federal government to step in.

"Everyone deserves clean, safe water," Booker wrote. "It's shameful that our national crisis of lead-contaminated water disproportionately hits poor black and brown communities like my own."

But where has Booker been up until this past week when the media started shining light on the crisis? He still hasn't taken any responsibility for the problem even though he was Newark's mayor from 2006 to 2013.

Small point...He might have used that $100M he got from Zuckerberg as a start in alleviating the problem instead pissing it away on charter schools.

As The Root reported earlier this year, in an open letter to Donald Trump, Newark Mayor Ras Baraka urged him to spend money on fixing the city’s and the nation’s old water-delivery systems, rather than a border wall.

Former Gov. Chris Christie was even worse. He actively covered up the crisis and downplayed the need for federal intervention.

The Klonsky Bros. will be talking environmental justice and toxic racism tomorrow, 11-noon CT, on Hitting Left with Chicago socialist alderman, Byron Sigcho and Juliana Pino, policy director at the Little Village Environmental Justice Organization. Tune in to WLPN 105.5 FM in Chicago and streaming live on lumpenradio.com

WEEKEND QUOTABLES ON VETS DAY

 "I’m about to lose everything that I own and become homeless," Roundtree said. "I don’t want to be that veteran on the street begging for change because I haven’t received what I was promised." -- Shelley Roundtree, Afghan War vet

 When the guns fell silent in 1918, both victors and vanquished turned against the black and brown men who had fought in what the victory medals then being struck for each allied soldier called “The Great War for Civilisation”.  -- David Olusoga in The Guardian

"If Watergate is algebra, this is calculus. It's one thing to subpoena John Dean. It's another thing to subpoena a Russian oligarch." -- Rep Mike Quigley, Intelligence Committee member

 Sitting next to Emanuel was New Jersey’s former Gov. Chris Christie. “We agree, don’t we, Rahm?” Christie asked at one point. “Don’t tell my mother,” said Emanuel. --MRE on Stephanopoulos show

“I understand why charter schools exist,” said Alessandra Biaggi, who will represent part of the Bronx in the State Senate. “But we’ve got to focus on improving our public schools.” -- New York Times

Mr. President, with all due respect, you are wrong. The fires in So. Cal are urban interface fires and have NOTHING to do with forest management. Come to SoCal and learn the facts & help the victims. Scott Austin, Pres IAFF 809. @IAFFNewsDesk https://t.co/d3jY0SeosF

— Pasadena Fire Assn. (@PFA809) November 10, 2018

With Trump seated before him, French President Macron says: “Patriotism is the exact opposite of nationalism. Nationalism is a betrayal of patriotism. By saying “our interests first”... we erase what a nation holds dearest... its moral values.”

— Peter Alexander (@PeterAlexander) November 11, 2018

WEEKEND QUOTABLES: Not dropouts at CPS. Rather, 'transferring to motherhood'

FOX 32 News Chicago

Sarah Karp, BGA

"[At CPS] There was widespread misclassification of students...They were classified as transfers. In some cases transferring to motherhood." -- FOX 32

Stanford charter researcher Margaret “Macke” Raymond 

“[Ohio] Be very glad that you have Nevada, so you are not the worst.” -- Ohio charter schools have become a joke — literally

Curie High School is one of many high schools falsely labeling dropouts.

Bernie Sanders

“This campaign is sending a message to the billionaire class, and that message is you can’t have it all." -- Iowa speech

Scott Walker

“The first step is, we’re going to deal with collective bargaining for all public-­employee unions because you use divide-­and-­conquer.” -- N.Y. Times Magazine

Chris Christie on Clinton's shift to the left

 “I thought that Elizabeth Warren wasn’t running for president,” -- The Guardian

WEEKEND QUOTABLES

"Black Turnout in '64 and Beyond." -- 1964 Freedom Summer voter registration project. (NY Times)

Newark Mayor Ras Baraka

Gov. Chris Christie likes to say that he is “the decider” of what happens in Newark’s public schools. What that means is that he and his appointees now own the failure of the state’s policies. -- New York Times

Kristen Crowell

"Actions have consequences, and United Working Families is committed to a fifty ward strategy to ensure voters have their say,” Kristen Crowell, executive director of United Working Families, told Ward Room. “The City Council may not want [the question of an elected representative school board] on the ballot—but we are determined to put this on the ballot so all of Chicago has a voice." -- The Ward Room

Rousemary Vega

“When they closed Lafayette, we asked Alderman Maldonado to fight for our schools. He didn't listen. We asked the school board why they closed our school while they continued to spend money building new privately operated schools in rich neighborhoods, and while the city continued to give our tax money to private developers downtown. They flat out ignored us parents. [26th Ward candidate Juanita Irazarry]  is listening.” -- Grassroots Illinois Action Press Release

Prof. Mitchell Robinson

"When traditionally prepared teachers leave the profession, it’s a bug–when TFA recruits leave, its a feature.” --  Washington Post

The sell-out disease

SEEMS TO BE A LOT OF THIS GOING AROUND LATELY.

Maybe SEIU #73 leaders somehow spread the sell-out disease to New Jersey.

Booker & Christie

The New Jersey Education Association (NJEA) is now backing former Newark Mayor Corey Booker, one of its own worst enemies, for senator. Look, they even give him a full page on their website to prattle on about his love for school vouchers. On several occasions, Booker has let it be known that he wanted to make Newark N.J. the capitol of privately-run charter schools. He's also in bed (figuratively speaking, of course), with hated N.J. State Supt. Cami Anderson and her boss Chris Christie.

N.J. Blogger Bob Braun tries to make some sense of it all here.

SAVING AND TRANSFORMING PUBLIC SCHOOLS

I just got this week's special Saving Public Schools issue of The Nation and it's a good one. But the title is somewhat misleading. It's not just about saving public schools, but transforming them and changing the entire system of public education in the process.

The lead editorial, "Our Public Education System Needs Transformation, Not ‘Reform. I would argue, it needs transformation and reform. The great lineup of ed-activist writers includes: Dana Goldstein, Kenzo Shibata, Diane Ravitch, Lee Fang, Pedro Noguera, Gordon Lafer, Daniel Denvir, Michelle Fine, and Michael Fabricant. Don't miss.

The editors write:

A truly progressive vision for public education shouldn’t focus on stories of how a few kids competed their way out of blighted neighborhoods. Instead, it should focus on taking back that stream of money going to charter chains and corporate tax cuts and redirecting it toward schools anchored in strong communities and using proven methods for teaching kids—the very methods deployed in schools where the rich send their children. Indeed, the most disadvantaged kids should get even more support for their schools than their privileged suburban counterparts.

WAR!... Rahm has declared war on the city's retirees and has found some allies in the 7th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals which has given the mayor the green light for his three-year phase-out of the city’s 55% city subsidy for retiree health care. This will be upwards of a 50% increase in medical costs for retired city workers, many of who live on a fixed income.

But if its war he wants, it's war he'll get. As Brother Fred points out:

Bad news for the employees. But bad news for Rahm as well. These employees are voters. 28,000 retiree voters.

WEEKEND QUOTABLES

Rich Miller

A quick note to Bruce Rauner: The next time you try to claim that Gov. Pat Quinn is "personally" under federal investigation (an allegation that, as far as anyone can tell, is not true), it's probably best not to say it while standing next to a different governor who actually is "personally" under federal investigation. -- Crain's

Marian Wright Edelman

Racially discriminatory school discipline policies contribute to the Cradle to Prison Pipeline crisis with a Black boy born in 2001 having a 1 in 3 chance of going to prison in his lifetime and a Latino boy a 1 in 6 chance of the same fate. -- Huffington

Chicago Trubune Columnist Eric Zorn 

I see that Emanuel's supporters are nervous enough about the prospect of a challenge from Lewis that they're already dialing up the histrionics, clutching their pearls and fanning themselves with premature and utterly phony concern over a "conflict of interest." -- Tribune

Doing "their jobs"

Ferguson Police Chief Thomas Jackson

 "I'm truly sorry for the loss of your son. I'm also sorry that it took so long to remove Michael from the street. Investigators were doing "important work" trying to uncover the truth and collect evidence during those four hours...They were simply trying to do their jobs." -- CNN

NYT Columnist Frank Bruni

Around that same time, there were movements on scattered college campuses to attach so-called trigger warnings to texts whose evocations of, say, anti-Semitism or rape might prompt emotional turmoil in students. This echoed moves years earlier by officials at some elementary, middle and secondary schools to prune standardized tests of words that might distress students, either by summoning life’s harshness, reminding them of their deprivation or making them feel excluded. “Poverty,” “slavery,” “divorce,” “hurricanes” and “birthdays” were on a list drawn up by New York City educators, who later abandoned the plan. -- The Wilds of Education

WEEKEND QUOTABLES

"I am the decider, and you have nothing to do with it.” -- Christie to Mayor Baraka

Kristen Crowell

“Certainly, it is our opinion that the current leadership is not doing enough to take care of our folks." United Working Families will focus on “finding, recruiting and supporting candidates who are going to be with us.” -- Chicago Teachers Union, progressives form new Chicago coalition

Inquirer Editorial

No wonder 13 percent of the nation's 3.4 million public school teachers either change schools or quit the profession every year. Understanding the difficulties urban teachers face, many believe those educators in particular aren't paid enough for all they do. That sympathy has helped dampen criticism of Philadelphia teachers' refusal to agree to contract concessions. The estimated teacher attrition rate in U.S. schools has doubled in 15 years. In some urban districts, teacher and student dropout rates are almost identical. -- Teachers drop out, too

David Callahan (Inside Philanthropy)

Yup, we’re fascinated by the big money. And we’re especially focused on tracking the emerging billionaire philanthropists who’ll be creating foundations bigger than Ford and Rockefeller. Already you can see the philanthropic pecking order getting turned upside down by new money. That’s just a hint at things to come. --WSJ

Eugene Robinson

“Israel is acting as if it is free of moral responsibilities." The onslaught on a tiny enclave people can’t escape is “wrong by any reasonable moral standard.” -- Washington Post

WEEKEND QUOTABLES

Christie tells Baraka, "We are the deciders..."

Gov. Chris Christie to Mayor Baraka

"I also made very clear to [Baraka] that it is the state government that runs the school system in Newark, and that while I will talk with him and hear his ideas, that we are the deciders on what happens in the school system.” -- Thom Hartman

Chicago Alderman "Slow Eddie" Burke

“There are a lot of weirdos roaming around..." -- Sun-Times

Times reporter Jennifer Medina

In the car, the police said, were three semiautomatic handguns, along with magazines loaded with more than 400 rounds of ammunition — all bought legally at local gun stores. -- New York Times

Pope Francis

"The time has come for everyone to find the courage to be generous and creative in the service of the common good, the courage to forge a peace which rests on the acknowledgment by all of the right of two States to exist and to live in peace and security within internationally recognized borders." -- At Israel's Separation Barrier 

WEEKEND QUOTABLES

Hoboken Board of Education president Leon Gold

“We are creating separate but equal school systems." By capping property taxes and fueling charter expansion, Christie “is increasing the segregatory effect of charter schools, while raiding our budget.” -- Salon

John Hagedorn

UIC Criminology Prof. John Hagedorn

But the reasons for Chicago’s medium to high homicide rate are not what police do, but what the city has not done. The problem isn’t gangs so much as the desperation of young black men. We don’t need magic policing tricks but real jobs, decent education, adequate housing, fair police and other steps on the long, hard road of reducing inequality and violence. -- S-T Voices, "What's really driving down murder rate"

Billionaires With Big Ideas Are Privatizing American Science

“For better or worse,” said Steven A. Edwards, a policy analyst at the American Association for the Advancement of Science, “the practice of science in the 21st century is becoming shaped less by national priorities or by peer-review groups and more by the particular preferences of individuals with huge amounts of money.” -- New York Times

 Chicago Magazine

Despite spending more than $1 million of his [Pritzker's] own money, he lost the primary to Jan Schakowsky. The experience left him feeling bruised—and eventually convinced him to take his uncle Jay’s advice. “He told me that I could accomplish many public policy goals by making money and going without the public life,” Pritzker told the Tribune a few weeks after the primary. -- J.B. Pritzker: The Other Mayor of Chicago

False Consciousness

Hilarious Chris Christie

Was he auditing my philosophy class about multiple perspectives? Or maybe studying Freudian psychology? Now he sort of admits knowing about the GWB debacle as it was happening. But he says, it hadn't yet entered his "consciousness."

"The first time that this really came into my consciousness, as an issue" was when an e-mail from Port Authority Executive Director Pat Foye "was leaked to the media and reported on." -- CNN

It must have all been lodged in his superego.

Bruce Rauner, similarly claims no knowledge of Gery Chico's involvement with the charter school that bears Rauner's name. Rauner bankrolled the school and finagled millions more in loans from the state (Chico is the State Supt). Chico's law firm, in turn, made millions from the school. Rauner sits on the board.

Neither can Billionaire Republican gov. candidate Rauner recall how money he gave to scandal-ridden UNO charters was used. Rauner’s family charity contributed $800,000 to the scandal-tarred United Neighborhood Organization in recent years, including $750,000 to help expand the Hispanic community group’s network of 16 charter schools in Chicago. But Rauner says he wasn’t aware UNO used some of his money to make up for the suspended state funding.

He also claims he never knew convicted Illinois political fixer Stuart Levine even though Levine made $25,000 a month trying to get government business for a company owned in part by Rauner?

Yes, none of this has entered his consciousness either.

WEEKEND QUOTABLES

Roger Ailes (NYT)

Fox News Chief Exec. Roger Ailes 

“I’m walking around, and I feel just all this anger. I can’t figure out where it’s coming from.” -- NYT Sunday Book Review 

Eric Holder 

“A routine school disciplinary infraction should land a student in the principal’s office, not in a police precinct.” -- New York Times

Mark Anderson 

 Remind me again: Isn't Pat Quinn supposed to be a man of the people who chose Vallas because he had a “servant’s heart”? -- Ward Room

Historian Eric Foner 

 I'm certainly against this testing mania that's going on now where you can judge whether someone really understands history by their performance on a multiple-choice test. -- The Atlantic

Wendy Katten, director of Raise Your Hand 

What Chicago parents are lacking is the choice to send their child to a well-resourced neighborhood school with funding to provide a well-rounded education that their child can walk to without worrying about traveling unsafe distances. That choice is slipping away as the district aggressively disinvests in neighborhood schools. -- Crain's Chicago Business

James Merriman, N.Y. Charter School chief 

Said that while some charters were “not getting the job done” for special education students, the district schools’ attrition numbers were also “no great shakes.” [80% of children with special needs left charter schools within 3 years-M.K.]  -- New York Times

Sorry Rahm. Rauner's toast.

 If “we don’t fundamentally change direction, we’re toast.” -- Bruce Rauner campaign ad

Sorry Rahm. But your boy Rauner is toast. I know, I know, you're officially supporting Quinn, the Democrat, in the governor's race. But, everyone knows you and Rauner are tight. Even though he's supposedly a Republican, he's been one of your many wealthy patrons you're counting on to get yourself re-elected in 2016 and prevent a Chicago de Blasio scenario. He's also your guy when it comes to school closings, smashing teacher unions, and expanding privately-run charters.

Being a Republican for billionaires like Rauner, is like being a member of the Chicago Yacht club. It's not a political statement, it's a statement about your class. Even fellow state Republicans aren't buying it. And like you, he's not even a real Chicagoan. He's an interloper who bought an apartment here so his kid could go to Walter Payton, one of the city's top selective-enrollment schools. Of course it also took a phone call to pal, Arne Duncan, who then made a phone call, and so on. Even the wealthiest in Rahmville, need "a guy." Isn't that how you started out?

But Rauner's problem, like his prototype Romney, is that he lacks the self-discipline to pull off the populist charade ("I'm not a career politician") needed to get himself elected governor. Sooner or later, even with their newly-minted starched plaid shirts and Eddie Bauer vests, these guys can't help but blurt out there disdain for working people and those living in poverty and they become a political embarrassment. Remember Romney's "47%" video?

In Rauner's case, despite all the money he spent on flacks and messaging experts, he just couldn't get his shit together on the overwhelmingly popular issue of raising of the minimum wage (not even talking about a living wage). Despite his previous denials and flip[ant]-flops, after saying he favored cutting the MW by a buck and hour, newly-surfaced September video has him proclaiming Romney-style, that he's ‘adamantly, adamantly’ against raising the minimum wage.

He's basically handed over the Gov's race to Quinn who has his own problems after the great pension robbery and his reviving the political corpse of Republicrat Paul Vallas.

Like I said, Rahm. He's toast.

Not so funny thing is --- Rauner's GOP rival, most likely to get union support in the primary, is even worse on MW than Rauner. Sen. Kirk Dillard says he's against the government setting ANY minimum wage wants the “marketplace” to decide how much or how little workers should be paid. He probably thinks slavery or involuntary servitude could put the state's businesses in a more competitive position.

And speaking of toast... Chris Crispy Christie.

Newark teachers got the shaft [Updated]

Warning to teachers. Please don't watch this video immediately after eating.

I was sickened to see Randi Weingarten and Tea-Party Gov. Christie on Morning Joe, fawning over each other and over the deal they cut on the Newark teachers' contract. It was the worst display of seat-at-the-table unionism I have seen in years. Both are hailing the deal as a "model" for the rest of the country. I hope against hope that it isn't. Christie called it "the most gratifying day of my governorship, by far." That should tell you something about the deal right there. New Jersey Education Commissioner and chief privatizer Chris Cerf (not be be confused with Che Guevara) called the contract "revolutionary." Union President Joseph Del Grosso was a little more restrained, calling it a "roadmap" and  “a step in the right direction for the teaching profession."

I can understand why many Newark teachers voted for the contract (actually, only a slight majority of city teachers even voted and 62% of them voted yes). They have been forced to work without any contract these past two years, under the state takeover of their schools, and now will receive some retroactive pay. They were also given some input into the design of their own evaluations which are still based largely on student test scores along with peer evaluation, and which will determine whether they receive "merit pay" from now on. So the argument could be made that this was the best they could get. Of course, that's not what Weingarten and Christie are saying.

Teacher pay is now also dependent upon the largesse of billionaires Eli Broad and  know-nothing power philanthropist Mark Zuckerberg who can pull the plug on his $100 million gift at any time -- for example, if Christie or Newark mayor Corey Booker were to be defeated in the next election. This is the same kind of top-down manipulation and leveraging of Gates and Broad grant money that Michelle Rhee and former Mayor Fenty pulled off in D.C. before voters gave them the boot. Newark schools have been turned into beggars operating largely on private funding to circumvent public decision-making. A Tea Party dream come true. 

Teachers are no longer guaranteed pay step and lane increases based on credentials. They can win bonuses for teaching in low-performing schools (not a bad idea in and of itself). Teachers who are deemed "ineffective" based on a test-based, value-added formula, can elect to be rated by an independent "peer validator." That review will be considered before determining their final ratings or whether they should be fired or "mentored." However, Newark School Superintendent Cami Anderson will have the final say if an agreement on a teacher's competence can't be reached. What? Where's the union grievance procedure in all this?

The Star-Ledger reports that Christie is now threatening the NJEA:

The AFT is only affiliated with Newark teachers; the rest of the state’s more than 100,000 teachers are aligned with the New Jersey Education Association, which insists merit pay is discriminatory and a recipe for low morale. "I hope that they would look at this as a model," Christie said of the NJEA. "If they don’t, they’ll become dinosaurs, because this is where education in America is moving, and you can either be part of the difference or you can be run over by it."

Edweek reports that critics of the contract include the members of a new political "caucus" or party within the NFT. Called the New Caucus, the group has posted a number of documents that pick apart aspects of the contract.

The New Caucus seems modeled on the rise of similar groups, such as the Caucus of Rank-and-File Educators in Chicago, from which emerged Karen Lewis, the hard-charging president of the Chicago Teachers' Union; and the the Movement of Rank-and-File Educators, a similar one in New York City.

Weingarten was one of Christie’s most prominent critics last year, when he slashed state pensions and health benefits by shifting more costs to public workers. Christie joked that if he could find common ground with Randi Weingarten, then Democratic President Barack Obama should be able to get along with Republicans in Washington. Buckle up, folks. 

WEEKEND QUOTABLES

Pat Deutschman

Pat Deutschman

When the Florida commissioner of education, who is appointed, not elected, tells a room full of hundreds of elected school board members to basically stop questioning the testing regime and to do as we are told, something is terribly wrong with the balance of power and I honestly feel is a significant challenge to democracy. -- Citrus Cty. Chronicle. Pat is a member of the Citrus County School Board. She can be reached at: deutschmanp@citrus.k12.fl.us.

Florida T-Party Gov. Rick Scott

"Parents and taxpayers expect measurement. We've got to measure, we've got to find out who the best schools are. We have to have a good measurement system, but we have to make sure we don't have too much of it." -- Tampa Bay Times

Gail Collins

TRENTON — Gov. Chris Christie today called for the privatization of the Higgs boson. “Binding the earth together is something that could be handled much more efficiently by the for-profit sector,” the Republican governor and deeply available vice-presidential prospect said. “Auctioning off the rights to the Higgs boson will create American jobs and balance American budgets.” --NYT,  Our Political Black Hole

Valerie Strauss

Yes, you read that right. The [Texas GOP] party opposes the teaching of “higher order thinking skills” because it believes the purpose is to challenge a student’s “fixed beliefs” and undermine “parental authority.” -- WaPo Answer Sheet

Christie just another teacher-bashing corporate reformer

N.J. teacher writes

My parents, both public school teachers, along with the many great teachers who shaped my life, were my inspiration when I changed careers and became a teacher in 2003. As I return to school this year, the calls for “reform” and the negative atmosphere created by the vociferous “blame the teacher” brigade make me question my career change.

The largest piece of the governor’s proposals focuses on improving teacher quality. The plan purports to value teachers and claims their effectiveness is the most important variable in how children learn; however, the “top-down” dictatorial approach asks for no input from teachers, the same stakeholders the governor claims to value so highly. In fact, teachers would be stripped of the right to collectively bargain compensation policies and work rules. During a stop at my school to advance his plan, the governor took no questions from teachers. The governor’s proposals appear to focus less on quality and more on reducing cost, undermining the quality teaching staffs successful districts have recruited and developed. -- Andrew Romanelli is a special-education teacher at Hopewell Valley Central High School. (NJ.Com)

WEEKEND QUOTABLES

Where's the Zuckerberg $$?

"We don’t know what the foundation is doing or how they intend to spend the other money. With that money comes a responsibility to the public to be clear about its use." -- Newark Teachers Union President Joe Del Grosso

From Education Nation

"This (teacher salary issue) really strikes home for me because when I know passionate, excellent teachers who've left the classroom, it's not because of lack of dollars, it's lack of voice. We want a chance to be the decision makers. We're on the ground, we know what need to be done and we want the chance to do it." -- Melanie Allen, a Boston teacher.

Monty Neill

"The Obama-Duncan plan for ―flexibility‖ in the administration of the ―No Child Left Behind‖ (NCLB) federal education law offers little more than a leap from the frying pan to the fire – and even adds gasoline to the fire." -- FairTest

Cheating

"Cheating scandals have been rolling up the East Coast like a hurricane this year, from Atlanta to Washington, Pennsylvania and New Jersey." -- Sharon Otterman, New York Times

John Kass

Perry makes No Child Left Behind seem like a fairy tale with a happy ending. And if he loves government muscle so much, shouldn't he have run for mayor of Chicago? -- Tribune

It is 'her business,' Gov. Christie

Watch Gov. Christie snort at public school mom who asks why he's cutting public school funding, "It's none of your business." He pretends she asked him where he sends his kid to school. She didn't. Christie is a bully and a demagogue.

Christie, GOP want to eliminate Supreme Court's power to rule on school funding

Gov. Christie toasts Arne Duncan.

New Jersey has become the model for national corporate reform assaults on teachers and public education in general. It's the state where the T-Party types like Gov. Christie, Obama Democrats, including Arne Duncan, and Billionaire Boys Club members like Mark Zuckerberg, have joined hands to support the right-wing agenda.

Now look where Christie's "reform" agenda is heading. Christie and state Republicans are hatching a plot to take away the power of the Supreme Court over matters of school funding. 

A Republican strategy memo laid out Friday in an e-mail from Senate Minority Leader Tom Kean Jr. to his caucus asked fellow GOP senators for feedback on a three-pronged education plan after Tuesday's Supreme Court order requiring the state to invest $500 million more in 31 poor school districts. 

The plan includes supporting a constitutional amendment that would end judicial involvement in school-funding decisions and give the state wiggle room to reduce funding in lean budget years. The resolution, sponsored by Sen. Steven Oroho (R., Sussex) and cosponsored by the other 15 members of the GOP caucus, was introduced in January but hasn't gained traction. It would require voter approval.-- AP Wire

Yes, they want to elliminate the Supreme Court in school funding matters. A segregationist's dream. The only question now is, will state and national Dems (Duncan) reach across the aisle on this one? Probably not, but nothing surprises me these days