N.J.’s Race to the Top Application Goes to Washington

The Christie Administration submitted its “round two” application for the Race to the Top grant competition on June 1. But in a dramatic about-face, the final application reflects the reforms originally cited by the administration in its application in early May, rather than those in the version that the New Jersey Education Association endorsed last week.

The short-lived NJEA endorsement included areas of agreement between the administration and the teachers union on seniority, tenure and merit compensation. New Jersey stands to obtain as much as $400 million in federal Race to the Top grants. The few grants that were awarded in the first phase of applications went to states that achieved buy-in from key stakeholders such as school boards and teacher unions. During the first round, the NJEA had urged its local units not to endorse the state’s Race to the Top application.

Among the reforms in the June 1 application are merit pay programs that compensate individual teachers based on student achievement. The plan also rewards effective teachers who accept assignments in low-performing schools.

In addition, the application proposes to make it easier for school districts to terminate ineffective teachers, using teacher evaluations based on student achievement. Educational effectiveness would replace seniority as the main factor in deciding which teachers to retain during layoffs.

“Please know that my administration is committed to implementing these initiatives regardless of whether or not this application is successful,” Christie said in a letter to the U.S. Department of Education. “Indeed, I am so committed to them that I decided that they should not be compromised to achieve a contrived consensus among the various affected special interest groups.”

In all, 389 New Jersey school districts and charter schools signed a memo supporting the application.

NJSBA Supports New Version The State Department of Education’s final application reflects the version that NJSBA endorsed on May 18. The full text of the letter from NJSBA executive director Marie S. Bilik that expresses the Association’s support for the Race to the Top application can be found at NJSBA's website.

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