The State of New Jersey recently lost out on $400 million in federal "Race to the Top" education grants due in part to an application error. Fired State Education commissioner Bret Schundler admits he made the mistake, but the Senate Oversight Committee still convened a hearing on the issue today.
Last week, the committee was granted limited subpoena power and Schundler was the only witness forced to testify today. He said under oath that another reason the state lost a shot at the money is because the application didn't have the backing of the teachers union. Originally the application did have the New Jersey Education Association's support, but a comproise on reforms was nixed by Governor Chris Christie.
Schundler says part of the reason the compromise was axed is because Christie didn't like hearing New Jersey 101.5 FM radio host Jim Gearhart criticize him and say he caved in to the union.
That statement bothered several senators who wondered why Mr. Gearhart was deciding policy for the Christie Administration. The Governor denies it by the way.
Video from the hearing as well as extended audio can be found on this website's main page and on www.nj1015.com
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment