Governor Chris Christie will hold a town hall meeting in Old Bridge today, 3PM at the Richard Allen Cooper Civic Center, 1 Old Bridge Plaza. Doors will open at 2:30.
The Governor is expected to announce a series of education reforms including pay and tenue for teachers and school vouchers.
During a conference call with the media after taping the Oprah show on Friday Newark Mayor Cory Booker, Governor Chris Christie and facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg each committed themselves to transforming Newark’s school system into and symblol of educational excellence that will become an example for the rest of the country.
Booker declared, “Failure is no longer an option,” for Newark’s school children. He pledged that he was putting everything on the line, including his career, to create a school system based on accountability and results that will give Newark’s children a educational foundation for success.
Christie said that he was committed to each child in Newark receiving a world class education and that the current results of the Newark school system are unacceptable. He said the three men came together,” because of our belief that education is a civil right and our absolute commitment to each other that we are going overcome whatever obstacles get put in our path to be able to provide a better and brighter day for the children for the City of Newark and hopefully by example, for children who are being failed by their school systems across America.”
Zuckerberg said he was interested in shining “a really bright spotlight on Newark, to make it an educational hotspot for education across the nation that people can look to see what is possilble.”
The initial response from New Jersey’s political and educational establishments has been petty and cynical. From Assembly Speaker Sheila Oliver to Education Law Center’s David Sciarra to Newark Teachers Union President Joseph Del Grasso to Senator Richard Codey, the defenders of the status quo reveal their self interest and that of their constituencies to continue to profit from a failed system that costs New Jersey residents obscene amounts of money and costs Newark’s children their future.
The Republican establishment is complicit with the defenders of the status quo by their silence. Since Christie’s inauguration in January my inbox has been filled with press releases from Republican leaders voicing their support of each of the Governor’s bold initiatives. Since word of this initiative leaked out last week….nothing.
The biggest obstacle that Booker and Christie will face in transforming Newark’s school system is cynical resignation. Things in Newark have been so bad for so long that we really believe nothing will make a difference. That is why nothing does.
If you live in New Jersey the condidtion of Newark and its school system impacts your life, past, present and future. Suburan bliss may numb the pain, except on the days your property taxes are due.
If Booker, Christie and Zuckerberg fail in their project to transform Newark’s schools, we all fail.
(HIGHLANDS, September 24) – Republican congressional challenger Anna Little – responding to the release yesterday of House Republicans’ “Pledge to America” – today praised the document as a “governing agenda that will take power away from Washington and put it back in the hands of the people, where it belongs.”
“For too long, too many decisions have been made in Washington by political elites who don’t seem to care what the American people think,” said Little. “Every decision that’s made in Washington is a decision that’s not made by individual American citizens – and when you add to that the fact that Washington elites don’t seem to be paying attention to what the country wants, you just make the problem worse. That’s not what our Founders wanted for us, and that’s why the ‘Pledge to America’ is not just a governing agenda that will take power away from Washington and put it back in the hands of the people, where it belongs, it’s a modern-day restatement of the principles on which our nation was established.
“It’s not surprising, when you stop to consider that the ‘Pledge to America’ was created by actually listening to the people,” Little continued, “and therein lies its strength. The agenda laid out in the Pledge is an agenda that will respond to America’s demand for lower taxes, spending cuts, and reforming the way Washington works.
“If Washington elites – like my opponent, Frank Pallone – would spend more time listening to the people than to each other, they’d be a lot better off. And if they actually had faith in the American people, we’d all be a lot better off.
“Our campaign has garnered national attention because of our ability to mobilize grass-roots volunteers. And when the reporters ask what’s our ‘secret’ for getting them to come out and do the hard work, I explain very simply that there’s really no secret at all – people everywhere will help if you just listen to them, and respond to their needs. They’re coming out to help our campaign because they know that in doing so, they’re actually helping build a brighter future for themselves and their families.
“The simple fact is, you cannot change Washington without changing the people in Washington.
“The good news is, there’s an election in 39 days. And then the people will have a chance to make their voice heard!”
