Opinion

Garden State fertile ground for reform

Jeanne Allen Senior Fellow, Center for Education Reform
Font Size:

Talk about a first 100 (plus) days for the history books.

New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie’s bold leadership in the Garden State is a profile in how a wonderfully-stubborn adherence to core values can actually lead to a productive discussion on—and progress towards improving—a state’s schools.

Just yesterday, Christie submitted an application for federal education funding that called for a bold new merit pay plan for the state’s teachers. He sent the application to Washington without—and this is literal, not figurative—the signature of the state’s teachers union or local union affiliates.

In the bizarre world of Obamaland education policy, the “buy-in” of a state’s teachers union gives the state a markedly greater chance of getting federal money than actually implementing reform. With this in context, Christie had a decision to make: deal or no deal.

In one hand was his core belief in merit pay, opposed by the unions. But dangling in front of him was an interesting proposition. The union bosses had agreed to a watered-down version of the plan…and agreed to sign their names to the application if Christie abandoned his belief that good teachers who advance student learning deserve real financial rewards.

It was an enticing proposition. In fact, a version of the application that included the signatures of union bosses was drafted before Memorial Day weekend.

But over the holiday, Gov. Christie’s principled stubbornness kicked in anew—and he ordered his staff to rewrite the plan, write out the unions, and keep his bold merit pay goals in place. Now, thanks to this principled—but likely unpopular—decision, New Jersey remains fertile ground for reform.

Not surprisingly, the union’s president, Barbara Keshisian, announced today that she was “deeply disappointed, totally frustrated, and utterly outraged,” (her words!) at Christie’s decision to move ahead with a plan that didn’t include union buy-in. She castigated him for “choosing the path of conflict,” a hilarious statement from a union president who has authorized blistering television attack ads on the governor for weeks upon weeks.

In politics, we hear a lot about the horrors of conflict, disagreement, and arguments. People portray these things are earth-shatteringly bad. But don’t we elect people who, as they always say in their campaigns, will “fight for us.” Sometimes, there is a fight.

And as for the union boss, let’s be real.

Often, “the path of conflict”—especially with an intransigent teachers union—is better than the path of compromise. Sometimes, sweetheart deals aren’t what’s best for an education system desperately in need of reform. Sometimes, just sometimes, the principled, stubborn, and “utterly outrageous” governor who puts kids, not unions, first—is the smartest guy in the room.

Jeanne Allen is the President of the Center for Education Reform (CER), a Washington, D.C.-based organization driving the creation of better educational opportunities for all children by leading parents, policymakers and the media in boldly advocating for school choice, advancing the charter school movement, and challenging the education establishment.