What Is Sen. Lesniak Thinking?!

by: Jersey Jazzman

Fri Dec 16, 2011 at 10:00:00 AM EST

I know the Elizabeth schools have become a cesspool; witness the arrest of BOE President Marie Munn on charges of lying to get free school lunches for her children.

I know former BOE President Rafael Fajardo is not a particularly sympathetic figure, what with all the charges of nepotism and political pressure on teachers floating around him.

But still: what is Sen. Lesniak thinking in posting this bill?

1. a. No member or employee of a local board of education shall:
be a candidate for any elective public office, except that a member of a board of education may seek reelection to that office;
be a candidate for, or hold, any unpaid position or any employment with a political party, organization, or club;
make any contribution, as defined in section 3 of P.L.1973, c.83 (C.19:44A-3), except that a member may make a contribution to the member's own campaign for reelection;
participate in any way in any campaign for elective public office, other than the member's own campaign for reelection, or for any office of a political party, organization, or club;
display campaign material or signs on the member or employee's person, vehicle or property;
permit the member or employee's name to be used on campaign material, except that the campaign material of a member seeking reelection may display that member's name;
distribute, sell or purchase tickets to, or attend, any event sponsored by, or for the benefit of, any candidate for elective public office or political party office, or any political party, organization, or club; or
use the member or employee's official position to influence the political action of another person.

This is crazy. This bill would keep every employee of a school board - yes, that includes teachers, principals, custodians, support staff, and even bus drivers - from running for office or donating to a political campaign. Marie Corfield, a teacher who ran a great race for Assembly and who some say could win if she chooses to run again, could never have been a candidate and kept her teaching job.

It's clearly unconstitutional and doesn't have a chance in hell of surviving a court challenge. Still, it's a slap in the face of everyone who works in schools and chooses to participate in democracy.

Senator, the way to reign in abuses by school boards is to maintain strong worker protections - like tenure - and to continue to vigilantly pursue those who misuse their positions of power. It's not necessary to even entertain the idea of destroying the civil rights of educators, let alone actually post a bill that would do just that.

I'm a teacher; I'm not all that hip to the political machinations of Trenton. Maybe there's a reason to do this, but I can't think of one that's worth introducing a bill that is in clear violation of the civil rights of those of us who serve children.