New Jersey’s Governor Chris Christie is devoted to charter schools. As he has repeatedly demonstrated, he despises the New Jersey Education Association, and charters seldom are unionized. So he gets a twofer: he can privatize and bust the union at the same time. In his state of the state speech, he said he would expand the charter sector. No surprise. But David Hespe, the state commissioner of education, made the goal concrete: 50,000 charter “seats.”
Hespe’s remarks at the state’s annual School Choice Summit at Saint Peter’s University in Jersey City echoed Christie’s Jan. 12 speech. The governor called charter schools a resounding success for the state and said he would “aggressively prioritize” regulatory relief for charter schools.
Charter schools are public schools that operate independently from traditional school districts. If a student leaves their home district to attend a charter school, that district must send a portion of it’s average per-pull funding to the charter school.
Christie has authorized dozens of new charter schools since taking office but the initial flood of new schools has slowed in recent years. Overall, Christie has added 39 new charter schools while closing 17 charter schools for poor academic performance or organizational and fiscal issues.
The state has about 41,500 students enrolled in charter schools and the number will expand to 46,000 as existing charter schools add more grade levels, according to the state Department of Education. The state has not identified a specific timeline for the 50,000 seat goal.
In total, New Jersey more than 1.3 million public school students, Department of Education spokesman David Saenz said.
Christie said his administration will explore ways to create greater flexibility in the teacher certification for charter schools and ways to make it easier for charter schools to find buildings.
To sum it up, the charters take money away from public schools, causing them to lose teachers, increase class size, and cut back programs. This is odd because the state has 1.3 million students, but not quite 50,000 in charters. So the vast majority of students will suffer harm so that the small number in charters can get some of the money the district schools need.
The state will lower standards for teachers in charter schools, thus providing greater flexibility.
The state will seek ways to fund the construction of charter schools or give them public space. One way to ease that problem would be to seek contributions from the New Jersey hedge fund managers who are strong supporters of charter schools.
The strangest thing about this scenario is that New Jersey is one of the highest performing states on the NAEP, usually scoring either second or their behind Massachusetts. At the same time, it has some cities that contain desperately impoverished families. Charter schools will not diminish their poverty nor will it alleviate the segregation that characterizes these districts, like Newark, Camden, and Paterson.
What Governor Christie’s plan will do is to damage the overall condition of public education, in order to push forward his goal of more “charter seats.”
Diane Ravitch's blog 
This year is shaping up to be quite remarkable: Christie in Jersey, Elia/Flanagan/Cuomo in NY, and many similar efforts to privatize public education resources around the nation, versus Opt Out. The privatizers are coming at Opt Out full bore. Will the moms and their allies (BAT, sympathetic educators, local politicians who actually listen to their constituents) have the staying power to match BIG MONEY? Opt Out is the only organized resistance to the privatizers with any punch.
Many thought last year was a crucial year (and it was). But this year is even more crucial than last–the stakes are higher. Big Money says it will just run over the moms. We’ll find out in a couple of months.
LikeLike
As someone who lives in NJ, I can say that without a doubt, Christie is the worst so called education governor in generations or maybe ever. He is the anti-education governor. He has been on the attack against public schools from day one of his reign of errors. He has constantly demonized and swift boated the NJEA, unionized teachers, their benefits and defined benefit pensions. He has portrayed NJ teachers as selfish, greedy special interests. He blames NJ’s economic woes on the too “rich” and too “generous” teachers’ pensions. He calls urban schools failure factories. From his harsh comments you would think that NJ schools were the worst in the nation. The reality is quite the opposite from his toxic bilge. It will take a long time to undo the damage that he has done.
LikeLike
He appears a nasty, vindictive bully. Why would anyone think this man should be President?
LikeLike
2o2t,
No one does except Christie himself.
LikeLike
Every county in New Jersey should arrange to offer viewing of “Still Waiting for Superman” or “A Backpack full of Cash.” Threatened communities need to understand what is at stake and have information to counter the narrative of what the corporate sales pitches will bring them.
LikeLike
What??? Isn’t he way out on that campaign trail refusing to go home and grab a mop? How is he jabbin that chubby finger at “you people” from so far away?
LikeLike
Another public education initiative from ed reformers that ignores existing public schools.
I think it’s stunning that they never even notice the huge, glaring oversight at these conventions and in the press releases. One would think there would be at least some token show of support, if only because most of these people are public employees.
If you’re a public school parent or student your schools are just missing. Public schools are simply not considered worthy of any discussion or support.
http://www.nj.com/education/2016/01/njs_charter_school_goal_50000_seats.html#incart_river_home
LikeLike
If you read ed reform lately you notice something- they’ve quietly added publicly-funded private schools to the mix with charters- vouchers, in other words.
Were vouchers part of the privatization plan all along or is this a new front in the political campaign?
LikeLike
Compatible bedfellows, Chiara. Charters and vouchers.
LikeLike
New Jersey is one of the most segregated states in the nation. The only possible way to desegregate Newark schools, for example, would be to cross city lines in defining school districts. Essex County could function as the school district. The white communities around Newark would most likely oppose these changes. Those with means would place their children in private schools. It is no accident that standardized test scores correlate well with poverty rates. Families with greater financial resources are able to offer their offspring a diversity of educational advantages such as tutoring, music lessons, summer camp, travel.
LikeLike
“Charter schools will not diminish their poverty nor will it alleviate the segregation that characterizes these districts, like Newark, Camden, and Paterson.”
It has been 30 years since the first Abbott ruling, which provides NJ’s poorest districts with about 20% more funding than its wealthiest. 30 years and dozens of billions haven’t nudged the needle on educational outcomes or poverty, and per Orfield, NJ’s schools are right up there with NY’s in terms of hypersegregation.
One of the lead attorneys for the poor districts in the Abbott case, Paul Tractenberg, has said that the segregation and isolation of those districts is essentially offsetting any good being done by the extra money.
30 years. Zero meaningful, actionable solutions from the district system. And an increase in charter seats that amounts to 0.3% of NJ’s public school enrollment — to be filled by kids zoned for schools that neither you nor any of your loyal fans would ever consider sending your own or a loved one’s child to — is what will damage the overall condition of education in NJ?
LikeLike
Tim,
Segregated charters solve what problems?
NJ needs to desegregate its schools and communities.
LikeLike
I don’t understand the connection between what you quoted and what you went on to say. The issues are poverty and segregation. Until we solve those issues, the poorest and least white schools are going to continue to have the “worst” education (if one defines “education” by test scores, that is). No, public schools can’t necessarily correct poverty or segregation any more than charters, but charters weaken public schools (where the majority of kids still go), thereby diminishing any chances that schools may have to help kids living in poverty. And since segregation seems to be a big concern for you (which I agree with), why are you such a charter supporter when it’s been shown repeatedly that charters increase segregation?
LikeLike
I’ll answer the easiest question first: non-integrated charter schools that draw their students from non-integrated district schools have no impact on school segregation. In the words of an expert in the field, Iris Rotberg, who I’ve quoted numerous times, “The primary exceptions to increased student stratification [caused by charters] are in communities that are already so highly segregated by race, ethnicity, and income that further increases are virtually impossible.” This description perfectly applies to New Jersey’s hypersegregated communities (with one exception, the small city of Hoboken, where the charters are whiter and more affluent than the district schools).
As for money, the Abbott rulings ensure that the districts with the poorest children receive more funding than the average of the wealthiest districts in the state–about 20-25% more. New Jersey has had the most equitably funded schools in the nation for years and hasn’t managed to take even baby steps in terms of outcomes. To quote from a report co-authored by Tractenberg:
“New Jersey has taken extraordinary steps to upgrade financial support for education in its poorest communities through the Abbott decisions, in contrast to the gap in money in many poor communities in neighboring states. Money can buy important things such as good preschool training, strong facilities and educational resources, if it is well targeted, but it does not typically buy the same kind of teachers, curriculum, level of instruction, level of peer group, academic support, and positive competition, and stability of enrollment of classmates and of faculties that are usually found in white and stably diverse schools.”
On top of everything else, New Jersey actually has very strong and specific school integration language in its state constitution . . . which has been ignored and flouted for decades.
When Diane says something like “New Jersey needs to desegrate its schools and communities,” it is a bromide. Of course that’s what New Jersey needs to do, but New Jersey and New Jerseyans have done an bang-up job of not doing it for a really long time now, and there is no indication that they are going to pick up the ball and run with it anytime soon. In the absence of any meaningful, actionable solutions on the part of the districts, I support well-regulated nonprofit charter schools as an option for families who want them.
LikeLike
“New Jersey has had the most equitably funded schools in the nation for years. . . ”
And that doesn’t necessarily mean that the funding has been adequate either. Even “the most equitably funded schools” may not be adequately funded.
LikeLike
“We have a moral and ethical duty to ensure that all students have the opportunity to attend a high-quality school,” Hespe said. “Every parent should have the right to choose a school that meets their child’s needs, whether that be traditional public schools, charter schools, interdistrict-school placements, vocational schools, or private schools.”
Are ed reform politicians at the federal and state level planning on running on private school vouchers, or will we just see private schools quietly inserted into their platform(s) and funding schemes without any explanation?
Any explanation for why we were told repeatedly this was about “public education” and now they’re adding publicly-funded private schools in state after state?
Why not just drop the pretense and go to a straight voucher system? It would be more honest and then we could have an actual debate on whether we want to privatize public education.
LikeLike
Christie complains about that there is no money to pay the pension system. If he used the money that was lost in failed charters and stolen by bad charters and cut the pay of charter administrators, he would have the money for the pension
LikeLike
A. The amount that is spent annually to educate NJ’s charter school students is infinitesimal compared to its pension shortfall ($113 billion, plus another $80 billion or so in unfunded health benefits)
B. Did you check to make sure NJ’s districts are willing and able to re-absorb 42,000-odd kids without getting any additional money for them? Unless they are, there goes your savings.
It seems like your plan is more about killing charter schools than seriously addressing New Jersey’s financial crisis.
LikeLike
Well, if the districts haven’t sold off their infrastructure to charter school management companies…then there is the bloated administrative structure (and their bloated salary structure) that will no longer be necessary… Has NJ actually been investing in its public schools or have they been following the starvation diet plan? Closing the achievement gap makes a nice easy target for politician talking points. It keeps the narrative focused on the schools and allows us to forget societal issues that really need to be addressed in a much larger context than just our educational system.
LikeLike
The pension shortfall is a direct result of those funds being used to cover operating budget shortfalls over years (going back at least to the Whitman administration in NJ), which were caused by outsourcing/de-industrialization, tax cuts and corporate welfare policies benefitting the same people pushing for charter schools.
It’s a perpetual motion shock doctrine machine: state and local budget shortfalls are worsened by tax cuts for the rich and corporate welfare sold under the guise of “economic development” – Xanadu, anyone? – which are then filled by “borrowing” money from public worker pension funds. When the economic cycle inevitably turns down, communities are pitted against each other over a shrinking pie, and we inevitably hear teacher and other public sector workers blamed for “unsustainable” pension obligations.
Heads they win, tails we lose: the Overclass has structured things in such a way that they get over, no matter the destruction they cause.
LikeLike
Christie is a bloviating whale who cannot control what comes out of his mouth. or what goes into it. He is a megalomaniac, and the people in his state hate him. He is an absentee governor, only willing to please his donor masters. He has taken the state to the lowest depths, and all he can rant about is his hatred for public servants (though he is the worst of all, costing taxpayers millions in defending him, security detail, and expense accounts for his deep-pitted appetite). We can’t wait to get rid of him.
His biggest educational “problems” are Newark and Camden. Likely those 50,000 seats will be in either city. If the people of these towns continue to fight, he may not get his wishes. Sadly, Ras Baraka is either now silent (on his stand against for-profit charters) or is walking hand in hand with Christie. Reports seem like the latter. I hear from Newark parents first hand–the majority don’t want charters. I recently spoke with a Newark mother, who hates the charter her child attends–but was stuck there through One Newark’s app. She said she was looking to move to Belleville or thereabouts, and soon, to get her daughter into a “neighborhood public school.” Perhaps all of the Newark residents should move out, leaving the schools empty.
LikeLike
“. . . who cannot control what comes out of his mouth.”
Are you sure that you have the right end of the alimentary canal in that sentence?
LikeLike
Duane, any bodily organ or function, no matter how disagreeable, is demeaned when compared to Christie, since it/they still serve a useful purpose. The same cannot be said of Christie.
LikeLike
“Christie has added 39 new charter schools while closing 17 charter schools for poor academic performance or organizational and fiscal issues.”
And in that time, how many truly public schools have had to be closed due to those reasons?
LikeLike
I may be playing naive here. However, I fail to understand the concept of a charter school. What’s the difference! And, why would a for-profit run a free school?
You can skip – the google(able) definitions. I been there. I couldn’t find one piece that could answer, satisfactorily, my why(s).
I plan to discuss in depth.
LikeLike