Saturday, December 4, 2010

Governor Christie: November 30th Talk on Superintendents Pay and Boards of Education Like 'Kids First' Tying to Sue Him

Here is a video of a speech Governor Chis Chistie gave to the Foundation for Excellence in Education on November 30, 2010, just 7 days after the Hoboken Board of Education authorized their outside attorney to take "any and all" legal action to pursue the review and approval of a contract for their candidate for permanent superintendent of schools. He speaks about the fact that 70% of Superintendents in NJ make more than he does. He also talks about districts trying to sign contracts before the February deadline. The Governor takes shots at elected schools boards (like the Kids First Board of Education Majority in Hoboken) trying to sue him. Many of these New Jersey districts are suing the Governor over the right to go over the cap that he created. This is essential viewing....especially given the current litigation that the Hoboken Board of Education has decided to enter into against the Governor.

What do I envision? I envision contracts that will eventually be at the cap and will incorporate a few fairly easy "merit targets" to get the superintendents salary tens of thousands above the cap. But, you will see that the Governor also envisions that and will not buy it. I watched the whole video of this speech on CSPAN today--- it ended with a standing ovation. This is going to be an interesting battle... -Dr. Petrosino