Botched application cost New Jersey $400 million in federal education money
Senate Majority Leader Barbara Buono (D-Middlesex), chair of the Legislative Oversight Committee.TRENTON — Senate Democrats are gearing up for a showdown with the Christie administration over the state’s Race to the Top application, pulling out a rarely used weapon to force officials to testify about the botched bid for up to $400 million in federal education money.
The Senate plans to vote Monday to grant the Legislative Oversight Committee subpoena power to compel the Christie administration to produce documents and put top aides in front of the panel, Senate officials said.
“It’s an absolutely necessary step that we need to take in order to do our job and see what recourse there is for the Legislature to make sure this doesn’t happen again,” said Senate Majority Leader Barbara Buono (D-Middlesex), chair of the committee.
The panel intends to meet Monday after the Senate session to issue subpoenas for officials to produce documents and appear at a hearing it will hold Thursday, said Derek Roseman, spokesman for the Senate Democrats.
The man at the center of the firestorm, former education commissioner Bret Schundler, said Friday he will comply with any subpoena. “I’m not going to go hire a lawyer or anything like that,” he said.
Gov. Chris Christie fired Schundler last month, saying his commissioner misled him about whether the department tried to fix an incorrect question — which Schundler denies. New Jersey lost the competition last month by 3 points, missing nearly 5 points by answering a question wrong. States were not allowed to add information after the June 1 deadline.
The administration is reviewing the Senate’s request for Christie’s Chief of Staff Rich Bagger and Communications Director Maria Comella to testify, said spokesman Michael Drewniak.
Thursday’s hearing will be the second on the issue held by Democrats, who control the Legislature. Earlier this month, an Assembly committee quizzed state Department of Education officials for seven hours. Top Christie aides and representatives of consultant Wireless Generation declined to appear.
The Legislature has granted itself subpoena power five times in the last 20 years and most recently issued a subpoena in 1993, said Peter Mazzei, librarian for the nonpartisan Office of Legislative Services.
Former education chief Bret Schundler at his home in Jersey City.Senate Democrats Friday released records received from the state Department of Education, including one e-mail that showed a member of the Wireless Generation consulting team reviewed the incorrect answer before the deadline.
Schundler made the error by editing out correct information — data from the state’s budgets in 2008 and 2009 — but said the consultant should have caught the error.
“We stand by our work in support of the state’s Race to the Top application, and look forward to discussing this matter further at the appropriate time,” consultant spokeswoman Andrea Reibel said in a statement.
The company turned down the request to testify at the hearing Thursday. The state Attorney General is reviewing the consultant’s contract.
By Matt Friedman and Lisa Fleisher/Statehouse Bureau staff