NJEA’s Communications Director Stephen Wollmer sat down with NJToday’s Managing Editor Mike Schneider to respond to Gov. Chris Christie’s attack on the union and the governor’s call for Executive Director Vincent Giordano to resign.
The controversy stems from comments Giordano made Sunday on NJTV. Giordano was discussing options for parents of children in failing school districts, saying that all parents have the opportunity to take their children out of those districts. When it was brought up that many in urban areas couldn’t afford other options, Giordano replied, “Life’s not always fair and I’m sorry about that.”
Gov. Christie pounced on Giordano’s statement yesterday after a town hall meeting in Westfield, saying “I cannot express how disgusted I am by that statement by the head of the largest teachers’ union in our state.” He added, “He [Giordano] should resign today.”
Wollmer said the governor has been attacking teachers and the NJEA since he came into office because they stand in the way of the governor’s agenda to privatize education.
Wollmer attempted to clarify Giordano’s controversial statement, saying it was uttered within a broader discussion of school vouchers. According to Wollmer, Giordano meant to say “the only way to give these kids the help that they need is to stay working in those public schools.” Wollmer called vouchers a strategy for abandoning public schools because resources are taken away from schools that are already disadvantaged.
WATCH VIDEO:
When it comes to discussing who’s done what for urban kids, Wollmer said it was “time to set the record straight.” The NJEA, he said, has for decades supported adequate funding, Abbott decisions, programs that help kids in the urban districts, and invested $4 billion in the Center for Teaching and Learning which has helped kids in Newark, Paterson and Jersey City.
The governor, on the other hand, has done nothing other than cut $1.4 billion in his first year and freeze over $3 billion in school construction and modernization money, said Wollmer
Christie has claimed that the union’s leader earns $500,000. But Wollmer said the correct number is $310,000.
When it was pointed out that the governor makes less in salary, Wollmer said “We don’t want to talk about the governor’s compensation. We don’t want to talk about the governor’s wife’s compensation. We’re not going to do that today.”
Wollmer refused to be pressed on the issue of salary, saying “it’s not about how much you make, its about what you do.” And the governor’s outrage on behalf of urban kids rings hollow to Wollmer. “He has done nothing but take money away from them. And now he’s trying to sell himself as the champion of urban education. That dog will not hunt.”
Related: Christie Calls for NJEA Executive Director’s Resignation
I think it’s time that our union start educating the public about what life as a teacher is truly like in our schools. Perhaps, we should be showing NJ that teachers are now underpaid, must pay for our benefits AND pension contributions, use our own sick time (as we do not pay into disability), and must juggle teaching along with a myriad of other responsibilities.
Recently I was watching the “Honorable” Governor Christie in an interview with Ophra Winfrey. In that interview I was disgusted at his attitude towards teachers and public education. I am from the midwest, but it was evident that Christie had public schools and teachers on his hit list.
Like it or not, Governor Christie, not every family can afford private schools. One reality is that many private schools do not want to “deal” with the challenging students with academic, behaviorial, or emotional issues. Many private schools also insist on certain levels of parental involvement, but for children who’s parents that work more that one job, this is nearly impossible…clever way to exclude children from economic disadvantage families, even if the school offers scholarships. And like it or not, for many students from the economically disadvantage families they struggle to “fit” in, because they can’t “dress” right, or have the right shoes, or laptop, or phone, or, …. everything else that sets them apart from them keeping up with the Jones.
There is so much that is involved in a childs education other than the teacher in their classroom. there is also the responsiblity of the parents involvment with there children and their school and teacher. It’s a complete package. Private schools are only the answer for those who can afford them and do not have trouble making children because they do not have to keep them, they just throw them out and the public schools and teachers have to deal with them disrubting their classrooms.