Kyrillos Submits “The School Children First Act” Reforming Teacher Tenure and Pay

Trenton— State Senator Joe Kyrillos (R- Monmouth) has introduced legislation, S-2881, aimed at providing all children in New Jersey with an effective teacher in their classrooms. “The School Children First Act” will reform teachers’ tenure and pay structure, and bringing these important protections in line with the state constitution’s mandate of a “thorough and efficient” system of public education. The legislation is modeled after Governor Christie’s teacher tenure and salary reform proposals.

“We cannot, as a state, tolerate a public education system in which some children have access to good teachers while others do not,” said Kyrillos. “We must make the system work better for kids by rewarding excellent teachers and removing those who are not effective in the classroom. In order to meet the state constitution’s requirement of a thorough and efficient system of public schools for all children, we must put their needs above all else in every facet of our educational system. That includes how tenure and compensation are earned.”

The legislation replaces traditional teacher tenure with protections that must be earned and maintained through annual evaluations that rely heavily on classroom observation, making it easier to identify and remove ineffective teachers from the classroom.

The pay structure of the teaching field will be reformed as well. Student achievement will play a role in determining salary awards under the bill, a change from the current system which compensates teachers based on seniority.

“The new system puts students first by protecting and rewarding teachers who are effective, aiding those who need to improve but still show promise and passion, and moving those who are persistently ineffective out of the classroom,” Kyrillos stated. “All the while, this legislation protects educators from arbitrary or politically motivated termination.”

Under the bill, tenure is earned after three annual evaluations of “effective” or “highly effective”. A teacher loses and must re-earn tenure after one rating of “ineffective” or two evaluations of “partially effective”.

“Teachers who are performing well or who clearly will perform well with additional mentoring and guidance have nothing to fear from this type of reform,” said Kyrillos. “However, the new system improves on current practice by stopping the excuses for educators who are clearly incapable in the classroom or have burned out.”

Finally, the bill as drafted prioritizes students’ needs by ensuring that a school’s most effective educators are retained if staffing reductions are made. “I’ll take a great third year teacher over an ineffective veteran of the system any day of the week,” said the Senator. “When staffing decisions are made, our children should have access to the best teachers whether they’ve spent two or twenty years in the classroom.”

Kyrillos said he hopes that the debate over his bill will be based on its merits rather than fear. “Change is always difficult in government, but I hope that those who disagree with this bill do so based on fact rather than fear mongering,” he said. “A system that makes it too difficult and costly to remove teachers who are failing, that unnecessarily creates winners and losers among our state’s school children because of red tape and bureaucracy, is neither thorough nor efficient.”

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Christie Interview With Sean Hannity

Governor Chris Christie will be interviewed by Sean Hannity this afternoon at 4:30.

770 AM or listen online here.

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Trump Withdraws From Presidential Race. Declares Victory

By Art Gallagher

The Donald announced that he won’t be a candidate for President and that he will continue as the star and co-producer of Celebrity Apprentice raising “lots and lots of money for charity.”

He then said he would have won the Oval Office had he run.

With Trump and Mike Huckabee both out, the race for the 2012 GOP nomination will be a lot less entertaining.  Time will tell if that is good or bad.  Entertaining gets people to pay attention.

I don’t believe Trump was ever serious about seeking the nomination.  Yet I liked the role he was playing.  He, more than anyone was able to lay a glove on Obama.  He got under the candidate in chief’s skin.  Taking politically incorrect positions actually helped Trump’s agenda.   He created room for “real” candidates to take on the President.

If he had his druthers I think Trump would have played the gadfly through the summer.  But NBC needed to let their affiliates know if Celebrity Apprentice was going to be back on the air in the fall.  The Donald made the business decision he was always going to make.

Hopefully Trump will continue to speak out.  He can do the country a service positioning himself as a conservative counter punch to Michael Moore and his ilk.

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Pallone Wants A Progressive Senate Slot

Photo credit: Politickernj.com

With Congressional redistricting and the certain loss of one House seat on the minds of most New Jersey Congressmen, Frank Pallone is looking ahead to a 2014 run for U.S. Senate.

Pallone distributed slot buckets paid for by Pallone for Senate to delegates of the NJ Democratic convention in Atlantic City last week, according to Politickernj.

Pallone passed on a chance to run for Senate in 2002 when a scandal plagued Robert Torricelli dropped out of his campaign for reelection.  Frank Lautenberg came out of retirement and won Torricelli’s seat after the State Supreme Court ruled he could run even though the statutory deadline for replacing candidates on the ballot had passed.

Pallone raised and spent over $1 million in the hopes of going to the Senate in 2005 as Jon Corzine’s replacement.  Corzine resigned from the Senate during his only term to become governor.  Corzine selected Robert Menendez over Pallone as his replacement in the Senate.

Now Pallone is betting that Lautenberg, who is 87 years old, will not seek another term.

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Bin Laden Had Porn Stashed In His Compound

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Christie To Hold Town Hall Meeting Wednesday In Monroe

Governor Chris Christie will travel to Middlesex County for a Town Hall meeting in Monroe Township on Wednesday May 18th.

The meeting will be held at the North American Headquarters of Villeroy and Boch Company, 3 South Middlesex Avenue.   Seating is first come, first served and the doors will open at 12:45 PM

In order to ensure adequate seating, attendees are requested to RSVP here.

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APP Plays The Race Card

By Art Gallagher

The ignorant fools on the Asbury Park Press editorial board have joined the left wing media chorus that will taint anyone who is critical of the Obama administration as racist.

In their editorial today, Fox resumes tired refrain, the disgraceful demagogues of Neptune smear Fox News, its viewers, or “devotees” as they call them, and “the right” as “bile-ridden,” stupid (“vacuous”), and racist.

The outcry over rapper Common’s appearance at the White House poetry night is what set off the race baiting yellow journalists of Gannett.

In case you missed it, Common is best known for his ” A Song For Assata” in which he glorifies JoAnne Chesimard, the former Black Panther and Black Liberation Army member who murdered NJ State Trooper Werner Foerster on the NJ Turnpike in East Brunswick on May 2, 1973.   In “A Song For Assata” (Chesimard changed her name to Assata Skakur) Common wrote and sang, “Your power and pride is beautiful. May God bless your soul.”

Apparently Fox News broke the story of Common’s White House appearance.  The APP race mongers lament that Fox couldn’t give Obama “even a week” to bask in the success of the Bin Laden killing before “bashing” the President again.

The news of Common’s White House invitation made national news, including in the APP and its sister rags, prompting a strong reaction, especially from the New Jersey law enforcement community.  NJPBA President Tony Wieners  issued the following statement:

New Jersey State PBA Denounces Cop Killer Support

New Jersey State PBA President Anthony Wieners denounced rapper Common appearance at the White House. Wieners who is in Washington to honor officers during Police Week called Common’s take on Chesimard “utterly ridiculous”. “Lets not rewrite history to glamorize a terrorist from the 1970’s” , he said. “ In 1973 Chesimard killed a New Jersey State Trooper and then in 1979 she took two of our members hostage in her escape from jail, that’s the facts. While she may change her name, she may even have songs written about her, but in the end she is a cold blooded terrorist. No one should be praising her or lending her support.“

Wieners noted the irony of the controversy over Common occurred during Police Week. He should be ashamed of his presence at the White House this week while the nation’s law enforcement community gathers there to add more names to its wall of officers killed in the line of duty. “This week each year is our annual pilgrimage to Washington D. C. to honor those who have made the ultimate sacrifice. New Jersey State Trooper Werner Foerster is on that wall. As we pursue modern day terrorist, let us not forget those who made sacrifices to pursue the terrorist of our past. Let those terrorist of the past know that we will never falter in our attempts to bring them to justice.”

The APP apologises for Common because he wrote the rap more than a decade ago and he has written songs that extol “self-respect, community and taking responsibility your life and actions” since he glorified Chesimard.  They bash the “Fox chorus” condeming Common’s appearance at the White House as “ignorant” and “empty headed” because “most Fox commentors and fans” don’t appreciate the virtuous raps that Common wrote.

Well the APP apparently didn’t appreciate this Fox commentator who likened Common to Shakespere and said his lyrics are being taken out of context.  They ignored this Fox commentator  who wrote a poem of her own that says the President should be working on more pressing issues instead of attending a poetry reading.

The APP got one thing right in their disgraceful editorial.  They said:

What’s good about America is the ability of artists to express themselves freely, even when we disagree with their viewpoint or positions. What’s great about America is that even the ignorant get a soapbox to spew their empty-headed rhetoric.

That last line is self-referential, even though the APP didn’t mean it to be.

America would be even greater if the traditional 4th estate maintained its traditional role of skeptics of the government charged with holding our leaders to account.  The APP and the rest of the leftstream media should refrain from playing the race card every time criticism of their darling in the White House sticks.

The media’s use of the race card to silence Obama’s critics was very effective in the 2008 campaign, especially after they successfully used it to smear even former President Bill Clinton’s criticism of candidate Obama during the South Carolina primary.  We’ve seen that the media will employ such disgraceful tactics again in support of Obama during the 2012 campaign which has already started.  This is yellow journalism of the worst kind, designed to silence legitimate critics and thwart debate.

The APP should be ashamed.  Its customers, readers and advertisers alike, should put them on notice that there will be consequences to such irresponsible trash.

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Oceanport Officials Hail Monmouth Park Deal, Reiterate Call For Gaming In Meadowlands

The Monmouth Park Task Force is pleased the New Jersey Sports and Exposition Authority has reached an agreement with developer and entrepreneur Morris Bailey for a five-year private lease to operate Monmouth Park Racetrack in the Borough of Oceanport. The NJSEA expects to turn over track operations to the private operator by June 1, 2011.

“Governor Christie’s announcement of the agreement comes with the approach of Opening Day on May 14^th.  Monmouth Park Racetrack is poised to return to its place as the premier location for thoroughbred horse racing. We look forward to Mr. Bailey’s plans for revitalizing the facility and capitalizing on the OTW’s. I look forward to seeing Monmouth Park under his management.” ‘ Said Mayor Michael J. Mahon, Task Force ChairmanThe Oceanport Task Force on Monmouth Park has been hoping a lessee would step forward who would be committed to maintain Monmouth Park as a racetrack and would be willing to forge a partnership with the Thoroughbred Horsemen to bring the industry to sustainability. This is critical for the Borough as we look to preserve jobs, protect the environment, maintain open space and preserve this historic centerpiece of horse racing in Monmouth County and the Jersey Shore.” Said Mayor Michael J. Mahon

“The Oceanport Task Force on Monmouth Park has continued to maintain the position that VLT’s, slot machines, or an all out gaming casino in the Meadowlands is the only way to protect horse racing in New Jersey. All the surrounding states of New York, Pennsylvania, Delaware and Maryland now have some form of gaming at their race tracks.

“This uneven Playing field enables our competitors to lure New Jersey horseman out of State with larger purses and better quality horse racing.” said Task Force member and Councilman Joe Irace. “This will continue to challenge the industry as Mr. Gural takes the reins at the Meadowlands and Mr. Bailey begins operations here at Monmouth Park Racetrack. The Borough of Oceanport  will continue its long standing relationship with Monmouth Park and welcomes Morris Bailey to our community.”         

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Putting Taxpayers First, Governor Christie Announces Agreements to Continue Live Racing at the Meadowlands and Monmouth Park Without Purse Subsidies

Trenton, NJ – Making good on his commitment to put the horse racing industry on a self-sustaining path, Governor Chris Christie announced tonight that live racing at the Meadowlands and Monmouth Park will continue throughout 2011 and beyond.   Beginning on June 1, both tracks will be in the hands of private-sector operators who, according to an agreement in principle, will assume the costs associated with running live racing at those venues.  The private operators will also be responsible for all simulcast wagering at the tracks, the operation and future development of off-track wagering facilities and the continued operation of the State’s account wagering system.

“I was determined to bring this deal home,” Governor Christie said.  “There are many beneficiaries: We’re saving a New Jersey tradition with the continuation of live horse racing at the Meadowlands and Monmouth Park; we are saving and creating jobs; and we are helping to preserve New Jersey farmland and a way of life for many people, from horse farm owners and employees, to jockeys to racing enthusiasts.  I want to thank all involved, from staff in the Governor’s Counsel’s Office, to the executive staff of the New Jersey Sports and Exposition Authority, to Mr. Gural and Mr. Bailey, as well as representatives of the thoroughbred and standardbred horsemen.”

“First, I want to thank Governor Christie and his staff for all their hard work on something I initially thought was impossible,” said Jeff Gural, the New York investor and developer who will assume control of and redevelop the Meadowland Racetrack.  “The deal that we’ve reached together will be good for the taxpayers, good for horse racing and great for the Meadowlands. I look forward to returning the Meadowlands to its former glory and pre-eminent position in horse racing in the United States.”

“I’m excited by the fact that we are completing a transaction that will bring about a new era for horse racing in New Jersey and Monmouth Park,” said Mr. Bailey.  “I want to thank all of the parties involved, especially Governor Christie and his staff and the thoroughbred horsemen, for working so diligently to meet the challenges we confronted.  With what we are accomplishing, we are creating one of the premiere race tracks in the country that will provide an attractive and exciting atmosphere to appeal to established horse racing fans and, I believe, the broader public.”

Since December of last year, the NJSEA has been negotiating with Mr. Gural over the lease of the Meadowlands Racetrack. Mr. Gural will assume all operations at the track beginning on June 1.  He has successfully re-negotiated labor contracts with track employees and has taken steps toward the development of an off-track wagering facility in Bayonne.  He has also worked with the harness racing industry on a reduced slate of racing days for 2011.  In addition, Mr. Gural plans to invest more than $90 million through the construction of a new grandstand at the Meadowlands and the development of an Off Track Wagering facility in Bayonne.  These investments will create construction jobs for the State as well as permanent employment opportunities for New Jerseyans.

In April, the New Jersey Sports and Exposition Authority selected Morris Bailey as the winning bidder of an Request for Proposals for the lease of Monmouth Park.  Mr. Bailey will assume track operations at Monmouth Park on June 1 as well.  The thoroughbreds will also run a reduced slate of racing days for 2011, similar to the 2010 racing schedule.  Mr. Bailey will also take over the operation of the OTW site in Woodbridge and will work with Mr. Gural on the development of future OTW’s.

Mr. Gural and Mr. Bailey are successful real estate executives with proven track records in the gaming industry.  Both are also horse racing aficionados who are committed to reversing the decline of the industry.

Taken together, these deals will put the New Jersey horse racing industry on the path of self-sufficiency and, as a result, save New Jersey taxpayers millions of dollars annually and end the racing industry’s reliance on purse subsidies.  Both private operators will pay property taxes and Payments in Lieu of Taxes (PILOT payments) as required by law.

With today’s action, the Governor has demonstrated his continued commitment to ensuring the preservation of live horse racing in New Jersey.  The agreements reached today are subject to the execution of formal contracts, formal board approvals and other regulatory approvals.  In addition to today’s developments, Governor Christie has taken many other steps this year to provide the racing industry with the tools it needs to become a vibrant, self-sustaining industry. 

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Kyrillos Pushes Bill Empowering Parents to Force Education Reform

Hosts Discussion on ‘Parent Trigger’ Legislation Embraced in Chicago, California

Trenton— Senator Joe Kyrillos (R- Monmouth/Middlesex) today joined with the Heartland Institute to host a discussion with legislators and business, civic, and education leaders regarding proposed legislation that would give parents in failing school districts the authority to affect immediate change. The Parent Empowerment and Choice Act (S-2569), dubbed ‘the parent trigger’, would force certain organizational and administrative reforms in a school through community petition.

“Today in New Jersey, parents and students in failing school districts have two choices: move or to pay for a private education,” said Senator Kyrillos. “That is unacceptable to me, and it should be unacceptable to every taxpayer that foots the bill for a system that is too often unresponsive and slow to change. If enacted into law, my bill would give parents in these districts- some of the poorest and most dangerous in New Jersey- the ability to build a better tomorrow for their children by forcing immediate improvements to a school that is failing to educate its students.”

Kyrillos’s bill allows parents in a failing school, as determined by student test scores, to force the following changes through majority petition:

Reorganization as a charter school

Replacement of administrators and/or staff

Establishment of a tuition voucher system for any public or private school in New Jersey

The requested change would be required to take effect 180 days following certification of the petition.

Kyrillos noted that troubled districts in Illinois and California are embracing similar proposals. “Parents in one of California’s worst school districts, Compton, are already using the parent trigger to affect change, and Mayor-elect Rahm Emmanuel has voiced initial support for this reform in Chicago,” he said. “This is not an ideological issue. This is about rejecting the notion that children in failing schools should be denied a quality education because of administrative hurdles, legal obstacles, and an educational establishment that is resistant to change.”

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