Blue Jersey Focus - Senator Loretta Weinberg

Video of the virtual charter opponenents (0.00 / 0)

via Teaneck Patch, here's video of the people who showed up at the Armory this morning to let the Guv know what they think of what the virtual charter school would cost them:

It's not a particularly snappy signature, but here's what I think we need in the next NJ Democratic State Chair.  

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by: Rosi Efthim @ Thu Dec 08, 2011 at 22:48:25 PM UTC

Good chants (0.00 / 0)

"No taxation without representation!" "We want a say in what we pay!"  

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by: JeffO Teaneck @ Fri Dec 09, 2011 at 03:39:26 AM UTC

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Coincidence? I think not! (0.00 / 0)

If a virtual charter school is what I think that it is, which is a charter school that students throughout the state attend in an online classroom rather than a physical classroom, then it could be based anywhere.

Is it coincidental that this virtual charter school is proposed to be based in the hometown of Governor Christie's #1 adversary, Senator Loretta Weinberg and could conceivably cost them millions of dollars?  Probably not.  If I am right about this, then our petty bully of a Governor is plunging to depths that seem extreme even for him.

As I said previously, the concept of a virtual charter school is an interesting one, but if it is intended to serve students throughout the state, then its costs should be shared by state income taxpayers, not local property taxpayers.

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by: Bertin Lefkovic @ Thu Dec 08, 2011 at 23:29:36 PM UTC

Not a particuarly helpful conspiracy theory (0.00 / 0)

I'm no fan of Christie -- I agree he's a repulsive bully. And I have no desire to defend any current or future charter school in Teaneck, whether virtual or not. But in my opinion, Mr. Lefkovic is off base with his conspiracy theory, which I suspect is concocted soley by what he's read here.

As the senator says on camera, the primary founder of the Garden State Virtual Chart School (GSVCS) resides in Teaneck. And in today's edition of our local weekly The Teaneck Suburbanite, it's reported that he's an observant Orthodox Jew, which makes Teaneck an altogether likely place for him to choose to live. What's interesting, however, is that he pulled his child out of a Yeshiva and put him/her in the Teaneck public school system for what he hoped would be a better learning fit in the secular subjects. And, according to The Suburbanite, he's happy with the results.

The reason why Teaneck is listed is listed as "the address" for the GSVCS is because that's where this founder lives and from where he submitted his application.

Of course it's possible that some of this is PR hype. But I'd be wary of such conspiracy theories, which was even voiced by a Teaneck resident at a recent meeting. As the Teaneck schools superintendent and Teaneck BOE president have said, their dispute is not with the founder or this school, but with the State Department of Education.

And of course, beyond the present controversy, I think citizens in Teaneck and around the state are beginning to see huge problems in NJ's disastrous charter law. It needs to change, and no toothless "suggestion" is going to make that happen.      

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by: JeffO Teaneck @ Fri Dec 09, 2011 at 04:38:30 AM UTC

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