Crisfield Not Suprised N.J. Not Race to the Top Winner

Millburn Schools Supt. James Crisfield isn't surprised New Jersey wasn't one of the nine states chosen for the Race to the Top grant on Tuesday.

The U.S. Department of Education announced the District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Maryland, Massachusetts, New York, North Carolina, Ohio and Rhode Island would receive up to $400 million in federal grant money. New Jersey was a finalist in the grant competition.

Millburn school officials have said districts could receive at least $100,000 if the state won the grant process. But Crisfield said he didn't expect to receive any funding from the grant although he wouldn't turn it down if it happened.

Further Crisfield said he knew the state wouldn't receive the grant money when Gov. Chris Christie decided to go ahead with the grant application without the support of the New Jersey Education Association. The union had signed onto an earlier version of the application, but the governor rejected the compromise.

"I knew as soon as the governor told the union one thing and did something different we were in trouble," he said. The move doesn't show federal officials education leaders in New Jersey are working together.

New Jersey placed 11th, behind Ohio by three points, in the rankings, according to information posted on the federal website (pdf).

But Crisfield wouldn't go so far as to say the loss was Christie's fault. He said the governor likes to make statements, including about the state's teachers union, and he was sure the press release from Christie's office would make a statement that would say something about the union.

Christie, though, has not released a statement. But state Education Commissioner Bret Schundler said in a statement he was disappointed by the decision "but our commitment to bold, meaningful reform remains firm."

"This process has allowed us to move quickly and vigorously to craft much-needed education reforms, while securing the unanimous, bipartisan support of the legislature for the plan embodied in our Race to the Top application," he said in the statement. "This fall we must act swiftly to implement the education reforms the people of New Jersey deserve and demand to transform schools in our state that are failing, improve the quality of education for every New Jersey child and challenge the status quo wherever it is necessary."

But the NJEA did blame Christie for the loss for funding in its statement from union President Barbara Keshishian.

"New Jersey's failure to win Race to the Top funding is a direct result of Gov. Christie's misguided decision to hijack the grant application process for his own political purposes," she said in the statement. "He now owes the people of New Jersey an explanation for why his application failed. And he owes students and taxpayers an apology for undermining a process that could have brought much-needed resources and genuine reform to our state's public schools."

While not blaming the governor, Crisfield did say he believes his actions have been an attack on public education. He used to think the governor was only attacking the unions. "They he told people to vote down their budgets," he said.

He also cited the governor's new cap on superintendent, assistant superintendent and business administrator salaries. The district hired a new assistant superintendent for curriculum and business administrator last week, and the cap means they both will be making less than eight other administrators in the district, he said. There are four or five administrators who would make more than the superintendent at the capped level, he said.

"I have to wonder about his motives," he said.