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| NJEA Executive Director Vincent Giordano. |
At School Choice Now!,
we stand for educational options for all students, with a particular focus on
ensuring that students from low-income families have a chance to attend a
school—public or private—that will give them the best chance to succeed.
NJEA Executive Director Vincent Giordano may be comfortable saying
“Life’s not always fair” to families across the Garden State desperate for
high-quality options, but we’re not. And
we’re pretty sure that teachers, who work tirelessly in public and private
schools all across the country to educate our kids, wouldn’t take too kindly to that dismissive attitude, either.
Today's AP story reports that
the NJEA spent $11.3 million lobbying in
2011. To be specific, they spent that money fighting against a host of education reforms across the state, among them the Opportunity Scholarship Act. The bill, which would create a scholarship tax credit program that would serve children attending schools in the state's poorest-performing districts, has bipartisan support in both the State Senate and Assembly.
Let's be clear—that $11.3 million is not just tops among education groups in the state. It's more than any
group has ever spent in a single year in the history of the state.
A total $10.8 million—more than 90 percent—of that total was spent on
advertising, a significant increase over the previous record of $6.6 million. Those ads were aimed at stopping the agenda put forth by Governor
Chris Christie, which included a robust education reform package, including passing of the OSA
for low-income families. They used that money for billboards, television, radio and Internet ads, and a banner plane. Is that really the best way to spend money?
Maybe the teachers union can put that money toward better
use, like helping teachers or students—two groups the union purports to
represent and help.
- American Federation for Children | Alliance for School Choice, MSG
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