|
the update |
Update forthcoming on salaries and retro dates....
We
will be meeting with district's reps in the next few
days....We will do our best to insure it is done right
as well as timely.
Thanks again for your continued patience and
support..
Bob |
_____________________________________
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Loud applause from Jersey City teachers as 4-year
contract is approved in split Board of Education vote
http://www.nj.com/news/jjournal/jerseycity/index.ssf?/base/news-10/1274423136154330.xml&coll=3
Friday, May 21, 2010
By MELISSA HAYES
JOURNAL STAFF WRITER
Members of the Jersey City Education Association stood
in rapturous applause after the Board of Education
approved their new contract last night.
Union president Tom Favia gave the vote two thumbs up as
members crowded around him in celebration.
Hundreds of union members packed the gymnasium at School
11 in support of the four-year contract, which calls for
a 4.34
percent raise for the current school year,
followed by 3.1 percent, 3.2 percent and 2.88 percent in
subsequent years.
Before the vote, Favia implored the board, which voted
down a contract in March that called for raises of 4.35
to 4.7 percent, to support the teachers.
"At this stage of the game, these teachers have become
demoralized because they feel you don't appreciate what
they
do," he said.
"Our teachers can teach anywhere in the state, but every
teacher in the state can't teach in Jersey City."
The board adopted the contract in a 4-3-2 vote. Board
president William DeRosa, vice president Sue Mack and
members Peter Donnelly and Carol Lester voted 'yes.'
Members Patricia Sebron, Francis Thompson and Sean
Connors voted 'no.'
Members Angel Valentin and Sterling Waterman, who were
backed by the union in the April election, said they
supported
the contract but abstained based on a state
ethics ruling.
Sebron said 4.34 percent in the first year was
"extremely high."
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Education Law Center News |
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New Jersey voucher supporters have unveiled the
latest version of legislation to divert $360 million
in tax dollars to private and
religious schools, at
the same time the State's public school
students are
reeling from a massive $1 billion aid cut proposed
by Governor Christopher Christie. Read
More ... |
NJ CUTS SCHOOL AID BELOW LEVEL APPROVED
BY FEDS
Several NJ advocacy organizations have asked
Secretary of
Education Arne Duncan to investigate
Governor Christie's midyear
state aid cuts to
schools to determine if they put NJ out of
compliance with requirements in the federal stimulus
program.
Read
More ....
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THE RIGHT WAY TO COMPARE NJ EDUCATION FUNDING
ELC unveils a new, more accurate method to compare
per pupil
funding among districts. Read
More .... |
MEMO TO LEGISLATURE: IT'S YOUR
FORMULA,
NOW FUND IT!
Just two
years ago, with great fanfare, the NJ Legislature passed a new
school funding formula: the School Funding Reform Act of 2008 (SFRA).
Legislators touted the SFRA’s "weighted student formula," which is a
funding method based on the cost of educating all students to
achieve the State’s curriculum content standards while also
providing
additional funding to help pay for needed programs for low
income (at-risk) students, limited English proficient students, and
students with disabilities.
In passing the SFRA, legislators also vowed to use the
formula
each year to set the amount of state aid for local districts
and to fund that amount in the annual State budget. They pledged not
to return to the pre-2008 days when Governors and the Legislature
simply ignored prior formulas and funded education — or not — based
on arbitrary, back-room deals driven by political, not educational,
considerations.
Hammering this crucial point home, the NJ Supreme Court last May
ruled that the SFRA is "thorough and efficient" but
ordered the
Governor and Legislature to "fully fund"
the formula in the annual State budget.
Yet Governor Christopher Christie has already signaled he will
not follow the SFRA law or the Supreme Court order in his
proposed FY2011 State budget, to be released March 16. Instead, the
Governor recently announced that he may propose a 15%
across-the-board cut in state school aid, a proposal that directly
conflicts with the new formula.
Read More ...
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NJ SWEEPS THE EDUCATIONAL OSCARS
NJ's stands out as a national star in the performance of its
public
schools, achieving new heights of education equity for all students. Read
More .... |
|
NJ BULLYING COMMISSION ISSUES URGENT
CALL FOR REFORM
Noting that nearly 160,000 school children miss school each
day
because they fear being bullied, the NJ Commission on Bullying in
Schools issued a report today aimed at reducing school
harassment,
intimidation, and bullying: "There
Isn't a Moment to
Lose: An Urgent Call for Legal Reform and
Effective Practices to Combat Bullying in New Jersey Schools." Read
More .... |
|
ABBOTT PRE-K HAILED AS NATIONAL MODEL BY NEW AMERICA FOUNDATION
The New America Foundation recently released a report,
"Education
Reform Starts Early: Lessons from New Jersey's
PreK-3rd Reform," in
which New Jersey is touted as a "national leader in early
education." Read
More .... |
NJDOE DROPS 6,900 CHILDREN FROM
PRESCHOOL COUNT
Newark, NJ, December 3, 2009
The New Jersey
Department of Education (NJDOE) has revised the method for
calculating the number of three- and four-year-old children eligible
to attend the nationally acclaimed Abbott preschool program.
More>>
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NJ CHARTERS: WORTHY OF THE HYPE?
Dr. Bruce Baker of Rutgers University analyzes the
performance of
NJ charter schools. While some do well,
charters overall are
ranked among the lowest, performing
far below suburban and
middle class public schools, and
at levels comparable to schools in
the poorest
districts. As the State moves to fast track
charter
expansion, Dr. Baker's commentary is a Must
Read. See
Analysis .... |
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STATE MUST INTERVENE
TO ELIMINATE JERSEY CITY PRE-K WAIT LIST
ELC is calling on
NJ Education Commissioner Lucille Davy to immediately
respond to a report that over 100 three- and four-year
old children in Jersey City are waiting to be enrolled
in the district’s Abbott preschool program.
More>>
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MORE EVIDENCE LINKING
ABBOTT FUNDING TO IMPROVED STUDENT OUTCOMES
Another research study has linked the additional
funding provided to
New Jersey’s 31 urban school districts under the
landmark Abbott v. Burke school funding case to improved student
outcomes.
More
Detail and the Study Documenting Dramatic Gains.... |
