BoardBlog

By

Ray Pinney

I’ve looked at life from both sides now,
from win and lose, and still somehow
it’s life’s illusions I recall.
I really don’t know life at all.

            Joni Mitchell

When Joni Mitchell wrote the lyrics for Both Sides Now she was dealing with the mysteries and endless questions that come with love and life. Recently, as that song played in the background, I thought of the appointment of Bret Schundler as the acting commissioner of education. Granted, that is a strange connection. I will explain it in this blog now and possibly to a therapist later.

After Mr. Schundler’s name was announced, I heard a few grumblings from those in the education community who would have preferred that the new commissioner be an “educator.” You know, someone who taught and was an administrator and possibly even someone with experience in higher education. Those people feel that the commissioner of education needs to have that field experience in order to be successful. The commissioner is viewed as the leader of the New Jersey educational community.  Saul Cooperman, who served as commissioner of education in the 1980’s, is the poster boy for this model. 

But that is just one view of what the commissioner of education does. Lets look at the other side. Read the rest of this entry »

By

Ray Pinney

Deep Throat: “Oh, I can’t tell you that.”
Bob Woodward:  ”But you could tell me that.”
Deep Throat:  “No, I have to do this my way. You tell me what you know, and I’ll confirm. I’ll keep you in the right direction if I can, but that’s all. Just… follow the money.”   All the Presidents Men, 1976

When Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein of the Washington Post were reporting the Watergate story and looking for answers, Woodward’s secret source, Deep Throat, counseled him to “Follow the Money.”  That has turned out to be advice that is applicable in all times and many situations.

I thought of that quote when I recently heard David Rosen, the Legislative Budget and Finance Officer for the Office of Legislative Services, testify before the Assembly Budget Committee to give them a mid-year update on the state’s budget. His projections for the state budget are bleak. State revenue is still dropping and it does not appear that it will increase anytime soon. Any growth that might occur will be small at best.  What perked my ears up is when Mr. Rosen explained that 75 percent of the  budget is tied up in aid going to school districts, municipalities, Medicaid, Homestead Rebates, and higher education and that “if you are looking to cut … that is where the money is“.

Make no mistake about it:  the legislature and the governor will have to make cuts and public education may not be spared this year. Read the rest of this entry »

By

Ray Pinney

There is a new leader in New Jersey who is making headlines.  He’s a big man, a bit brash, perhaps a bit cocky, and he likes to speak from the hip. His style is obviously different from his predecessor and he is promising change that will lead us to goals we could never imagined.  Back in June he had his detractors and he still had his doubters even through last autumn. Many would never have believed he’d be where he is now in January. But… enough about Rex Ryan, the New York Jets head football coach. Let’s turn our attention to our new Governor Chris Christie.

Before I do that, I must apologize for the sports analogy. If you follow sports, you probably know about Ryan and the Jets. Right now Ryan is the favorite of long suffering Jet fans. Ryan has transformed them from dour pessimists to giddy optimists. If you don’t follow sports, but are married to a fan, ask your spouse about them because there is a lesson about leadership there.  Read the rest of this entry »

By

Ray Pinney

“Listen, I don’t think the appointment of Bret Schundler sends any signal to the NJEA.  The election of Chris Christie, sends a signal to NJEA.” Gov-elect Chris Christie at his  Jan. 12 State House press conference

At the press conference that introduced Bret Schundler as Governor-elect Chris Christie’s nominee for commissioner of education, many of the questions focused not on Mr. Schundler, but on the NJEA.  That is because the reporters are anticipating, some might even say hoping, for conflict between the Christie administration and the NJEA. That makes for good news stories. 

The question I have  (I am sure many of you have the same question) is what does the appointment of Bret Schundler mean to the rest of us involved in education?  While it seems from Chris Christie’s remarks and the campaign banter that the NJEA and Governor -elect Christie have yet to offer each other an olive branch, the message being sent to other educational groups by the Christie administration is not as confrontational. Read the rest of this entry »

 By

Ray Pinney 

I have known Mike, who is a board member, since I started working at NJSBA almost 12 years ago. That is long enough to know that he is not afraid to speak his mind.  

Mike is in a “quandary” about Assemblyman John Burzichelli’s bill A-4297, which would make membership in NJSBA voluntary for school districts.  While he is a certified board member and thinks our training is worthwhile, he sometimes feels that we are not aggressive enough in our advocacy efforts.  He thinks that maybe we would be more aggressive advocates for boards of education if membership in our organization were voluntary and we were not part of the state’s pension system. 

The interesting thing is that, like Mike, I too am in a “quandary”, though my “quandary” is different than Mike’s.  Read the rest of this entry »

By

Ray Pinney

It’s December, my schedule has been hectic and suddenly, Christmas is less than a week away. Despite the Christmas songs emanating jubilantly from the radio, my holiday spirit was nowhere to be found. 

I decided to look for Santa Claus. I was sure that after I found him, my holiday spirit would return.  So I looked for him where I know he has been seen in past years - in the halls of the State House in Trenton where once upon a time he filled the legislators’ stockings with money for pet projects. (I should note he filled the stockings of legislators of all beliefs and political parties.)  This year, however, that is far from the case.  As I was walking the halls of the State House, I got the distinct feeling that the Grinch had taken up residency . Read the rest of this entry »

By

Ray Pinney

The biggest question mark after Republican Chris Christie won the election was “How will he work with a legislature controlled by the Democratic Party?”  Will the legislators put up roadblocks to the governor’s agenda?  Will Chris Christie be willing to compromise and work with the lawmakers?  Those are all good questions and we will soon find out the answers. But in recent weeks, we have found one issue where both parties seem to have found common ground: moving school board member elections to November. 

I know that most board members view this change as misguided because it moves a nonpartisan election to a partisan election date and will most likely lead to a greater influence of party politics in board elections.  Despite the opposition of most school board members, I think that moving the school board member elections to November, along with eliminating the vote on the school budget (if the budget is at or below cap), will occur in the next legislative session. This is just speculation on my part as I have tried to read between the lines. While it is only speculation, I think it will be nearly impossible to stop this from happening once the issue starts to gather steam. Let me explain why. Read the rest of this entry »

 By

Ray Pinney 

I don’t know if it is me but it is hard to believe that we are in what is called the holiday season.  The season runs from Thanksgiving all the way to the biggest of all American holidays: the one where more families and friends come together to enjoy food and yearly rituals - Super Bowl Sunday. Some of you may argue that the holiday season ends on New Years’ Day but I beg to differ, since even non-football fans attend Super Bowl parties. 

No matter how long the holiday season is, it is supposed to be a time of good fellowship and warm feelings.  But if a recent Quinnipiac University poll is to be believed, New Jerseyans are saying Bah Humbug!  Maybe I should be more precise: they are not saying “Bah Humbug” to the upcoming holidays, but to how we should deal with the states fiscal crisis. 

The Star-Ledger article that reported on the poll indicates that New Jersey residents realize we are in a budget crisis and think that Governor- elect Christie “should use the ax, not the tax, to solve the problem,” according to Read the rest of this entry »

  By

Ray Pinney

The miracle of any good choir is that it unites a group of good singing voices and turns in a great performance.  A choir is a perfect example of something where the whole is greater than the sum of the parts.  To be truly great a choir must have many different voices. It is the blend of the voices that makes a choir performance special.

In many ways NJSBA is the choir for local school districts.  We bring together the many different school districts and our collective voice is stronger than any district’s voice would be individually. It is a choir made up of our largest urban districts and our smallest rural districts, districts that house students from some of our state’s richest households and some of our state’s poorest. Sometimes the rich and the poor are found within in the same district. 

In recent days there has been some public criticism levied at both NJSBA and the local school board members. Read the rest of this entry »

By

Ray Pinney 

Throughout the course of history when nations felt their national security was threatened they usually had to do something to strengthen themselves.  They had two primary options: upgrade their military technology and capabilities, or forge alliances with other nations for protection (an option especially useful for smaller nations). Such alliances were particularly popular in Europe in the early 1900’s.

A similar line of thought, from time to time arises in the area of teacher contract negotiations.   There is the idea that at the bargaining table, the deck is stacked in favor of the unions. In order to even up things, we need to combine school districts for the bargaining process. The feeling is that a group representing, say, five or six school districts, will have more strength at the bargaining table than just one. With the state’s budget in a crisis mode, the call for changing the way contracts are negotiated has come from several legislators. Read the rest of this entry »