Page 26 - 40thAnniversaryNJPSA

Pension and Health Benefits reformed process issues in tenure cases by agreeing to
arbitration, not the Office of Administrative Law as the final
Reforms, Tenure Resurfaces and arbiter of these cases. NJPSA fought hard to ensure that
the evaluation requirements of the bill, which would apply to
Strange Alliances teachers and principals, were fair and based upon national

principals’ standards and research-based evaluation models.
The topic of pension and health benefit reform was a particular We also fought to the bitter end, actually relying on a final floor
focus of the time. Christie merged a unique alliance with amendment to the bill, to ensure that certified supervisors, not
Senate President Steve Sweeney, a union official representing outside vendors, would perform all evaluations of teachers and
Ironworkers, who also supported pension and benefits reforms NJPSA members.
for public employees. By June 28, 2011, Sweeney had
shepherded through the Legislature and Christie had signed The passage of this bill was just the beginning, since the State
major pension and health benefit reforms including Chapter Board of Education and the Christie DOE needed to “put the
78, which provided for employee contributions to health meat on the bones” of the law through administrative code.
insurance premiums based upon a percentage of the premium Often, this is where a new law can be misinterpreted before
linked to salary ranges that would be phased in over four implementation, but NJPSA’s GR Team did not permit this
years. The reform package also eliminated the Cost of Living to happen. NJDOE staff did attempt to permit the bypassing
Adjustment (COLA) moving forward, increased the retirement of the hard fought language requiring certified supervisors
age for future employees while reducing their pension benefit, to do teacher and principal evaluations, but we fought back.
and established a phased-in, seven-year state repayment Additionally, we testified on all proposed rules regarding
schedule of the unfunded liabilities of the pension funds, which educator evaluation and participated in every work group
New Jersey has since extended several times. A new School established. NJPSA staff met with NJDOE staff to develop
Employees Health Benefits Plan was established. NJPSA compromise approaches that would ultimately be fair to
worked in alliance with NJEA and our colleagues in the public all when implemented. We even drafted the matrix, with
employment sector throughout this controversy. NJPSA member input, for the mandatory principal practice
component of the evaluation tools. The association’s expertise
Previously unheard of alliances between a Republican in leadership and evaluation helped define these conversations
Governor and Democratic political bosses led to unusual and regulations to safeguard our members’ rights to a fair and
pieces of legislation, which included bills and policy decisions relevant evaluation system in practice.
that expanded the number and scope of charter schools in
New Jersey and our interdistrict public school choice program. Another educational issue of great controversy during this
New legislation established a Renaissance school in Camden time was the state assessment system under PARCC. End-
County to ensure that the South Jersey political boss received of-course assessments in multiple grade levels in ELA and
equal treatment in education as the Essex County boss. mathematics, plus science subjects, taken on a computer
were mandated on a short timeline for schools. Principals

And, the issue of tenure, never asleep for long, resurfaced and supervisors took the brunt of the public outcry as parents
with both Democrats and Republicans looking for a bill they began an opt-out movement refusing to have their children
could vote for. Senator Teresa Ruiz of Essex County, a relative participate in the assessments. The NJDOE’s stubborn
newcomer to the State House, was charged with developing insistence upon the assessment system and its link to
a solution. NJPSA, in collaboration with the NJEA, worked educator evaluations continued the public outcry eventually
out complex legislation with the bill sponsors that once again, leading to future court actions on graduation requirements and
maintained our members’ due process rights, yet further new legislation establishing an 11th grade test to go into effect