Democratic lawmakers blame Christie administration for lapse, saying education isn't a priority for the governor
Clik here to view.
Teacher Harmony Waldron speaks in 10th grade Mandarin class at The Barack Obama Green Charter High School in Plainfield on Thursday September 16, 2010. TRENTON — Democratic lawmakers said Monday that New Jersey's missing out on a $14 million federal grant shows that education isn't a priority for Gov. Chris Christie's administration.
Federal grants to help launch new charter schools were announced in August, but it went virtually unnoticed in New Jersey when the state was not among the recipients.
When the Philadelphia Inquirer reported today about implications of not getting the money, it got the attention of lawmakers. The grant would have given each new charter school in the state $150,000.
Comments from the federal reviewers indicate the state didn't have an adequate plan for measuring the success of charters, among some other flaws.
Of 17 grant applications considered, New Jersey's and four others were denied.
"This is stunning, but also sadly another indication of the lackadaisical approach this administration has toward educating children," Assembly Speaker Sheila Oliver, a Democrat, said in a statement. "The Christie administration again dropped the ball and submitted a very sketchy, thrown-together application. New Jersey taxpayers and children will once again pay the price."
She and other Democratic lawmakers seized on the issue largely because it echoes the biggest scandal so far in the first year of Republican governor's term. That came in the August, when the state barely missed out on a federal Race to the Top grant that would have been worth some $400 million.
In that case, it appears to have been a minor oversight in the application paperwork that cost the state the funding.
Education Commissioner Bret Schundler was fired in the aftermath.
Christie's education agenda includes pushing broader school choice and expanding charter schools, which are independently run but funded by taxpayers.
Alan Guenther, a spokesman, for the state Education Department, said Monday that the state is making it easier to launch charters.
"We expect that the proactive reforms being pursued by Gov. Christie and Acting Commissioner Hendricks will result in a dramatic increase in the number of new charter schools in New Jersey and yield a positive outcome in future funding applications," he said in a written statement.
A spokesman for Christie did respond to a request for comment.
Previous coverage:
• N.J. Department of Education sees surge in charter school applications
• Charter school applicants hope to boost number of charter schools in N.J. cities
• N.J. Department of Education receives record number of charter school applications
• Acting N.J. education chief announces $30M in low-interest bonds for charter schools
