WEA Drops Race to the Top Support After Christie Reverses Schundler

The Westfield Education Association has dropped their backing of the state's Race to the Top application after Gov. Chris Christie's decision to overturn a deal reached by his education commissioner and the New Jersey Education Association.

WEA President Kim Schumacher informed Schools Superintendent Margaret Dolan and Board of Education President Julia Walker today that she is pulling her support after Christie's decision, which reverses several NJEA concessions Education Commissioner Bret Schundler agreed to last week. Schumacher said she cannot agree with the governor's decision to submit an application to the U.S. Department of Education which includes a merit pay proposal and teacher tenure reforms.

"I can't agree to the terms," Schumacher said in an interview. "I can't be a part of anything new."

Media reports said that Christie objected to the deal Schundler reached with the NJEA over the application which could bring $400 million in federal education aid to New Jersey. The reports said that the governor learned of the deal through media reports and was furious at Schundler, a Westfield High School alum, over the decision. The deal Schundler reached brought support from the NJEA and many local unions, including Westfield's, which gave the application a strong shot in the federal competition.

Race to the Top is the Obama Administration's multi-billion education reform funding program. The federal government is accepting state based applications for various reform proposals, including teacher reform, assessments and charter schools. In the applications, the federal government is looking for support from local school districts and the teachers' unions. New Jersey first round application, identical to the one Christie submitted yesterday, failed after the NJEA did not support it. In the first round, Tennessee and Delaware, where the teacher unions supported the applications, won the funding.

In the second round, New Jersey is up for $400 million in funding for education reform. Of that, half of the funds would be allocated to local school districts who agree to adopt the plan. As an enticement to endorse the application, Schundler offered , if the application was successful. He also noted that the district could back out of the program even if the application was successful.

The application was supported by Dolan and Walker with Schumacher only endorsing after the deal was reached between Schundler and the NJEA. At the time, Schumacher said she could not support the application because Schundler refused to release details. She also told to the BOE last week that she did not trust the Christie Administration on education issues, noting that in March, Schundler told school districts to expect a cut in state aid of no more than 15-percent and Christie two weeks later cut state aid to districts by five percent of the total school budget. In Westfield's case, the cut equaled 90-percent of state aid.

"This is why I said what I said," Schumacher said in an interview with Patch today. "I don't have a lot of trust in the state government with education."

The developments come hours after the WEA, and teacher unions from neighboring communities, are slated to picket in front of the North Avenue office of Senate Minority Leader Tom Kean Jr. (R-Westfield) and Assemblywoman Nancy Munoz (R-Summit). During the picket, Schumacher is scheduled to lead a group in holding a meeting with the state legislators on education issues. Schumacher told Patch that she plans to discuss Christie's reversal of Schundler with Kean and Munoz. Kean, a member of the Senate Education Committee, has been one of Christie's biggest legislative supporters.

Dolan said she and the BOE are still supporting the Race to the Top application and are still waiting for more details on the changes that the governor has placed in the final application.

"The Westfield board and I supported the application and truthfully all we know is what we've read in the media and have gotton no other notice," she said.