Christie, NJ Teacher's Union Disagree On Task Force Report
TRENTON, N.J. (CBS) - A task force charged with improving the effectiveness of teachers in New Jersey has issued its report. As expected, the governor likes it, and the teachers union doesn't.
The report suggests an evaluation system not just for teachers, but for principals too, and that student performance be one of the standards considered. Governor Chris Christie says most of what's in the study will be embraced by the administration, but not so much by the New Jersey Teachers Association.
"They (the NJEA) haven't seen the report yet. They don't know what it says, and they're already opposed," Christie said.
Union spokesman Steve Wollmer insists the panel was, in effect, rigged from the get-go.
"The findings of the report were already in his executive order, which was issued last summer. He said that they would conclude -- which they did -- that at least 50 percent of a teacher's evaluation would be based on a student's test score."
Actually, that standard would be phased in over time. Christie plans to sell his plan statewide over the next month, parts of which are likely to be implemented through administrative action.
Reported by David Madden, KYW Newsradio
