Over the summer, an estimated 10,000 teaching positions and thousands of ESP positions went unfilled, due to $1.3 billion in state school funding cuts imposed by Gov. Chris Christie and the Legislature.
But that was before NJEA members took action.
In a major victory for New Jersey students, the U.S. House of Representatives on Aug. 10 passed the Education Jobs bill by a vote of 247-161 – paving the way for an estimated 3,900 laid-off teachers and school staff to return to school in September.
The legislation, which brings $268 million in federal funding to New Jersey, passed the U.S. Senate on Aug. 6. It was signed into law by President Barack Obama following House passage.
NJEA and its affiliates sent over 64,000 emails to Congress in support of the bill – more than a fifth of the 302,000 sent by all NEA affiliates combined.
NJEA sent a flyer to all members telling them of the win – and informing them of the next steps NJEA intends to take to bring laid-off members back to work.
The legislation was spearheaded by New Jersey Senators Robert Menendez (D) and Frank Lautenberg (D), and provides $10 billion in education jobs funding to beleaguered state governments, which have laid off hundreds of thousands of school employees.
In addition to Lautenberg and Menendez, eight New Jersey Congressmen – all Democrats – supported the legislation: Reps. John Adler, Rob Andrews, Rush Holt, Frank Pallone, Bill Pascrell, Donald Payne, Steve Rothman, and Albio Sires.
New figures from the U.S. Department of Education estimate that some 161,000 teachers and school employees who had received pink slips will be heading back to school this fall as a result of the law. In New Jersey, an estimated 10,000 teaching positions are unfilled due to 7,000 retirements and another 3,000 layoffs. Thousands of educational support professionals have also lost their jobs.
The federal funding will help reduce rising class sizes and soften the blow of Governor Christie’s $1.3 billion in state aid cuts, which have already had a profound impact on the state’s public schools.
On Aug. 13, NJEA Secretary Treasurer Marie Blistan and dozens of Gloucester County school employees attended Sen. Menendez’s press conference in Glassboro to publicly thank him for his efforts in making education a priority, even in difficult economic times.
“NJEA and its over 200,000 members are and have always been committed to promoting a quality system of public education for all students and that mission will never waver,” Blistan told reporters, parents, and school officials who gathered at the event. “We applaud Senator Menendez, Senator Lautenberg and the members of Congress who supported this legislation for recognizing that in order to have a brighter future, we must make our public schools a priority.”
Resources from the U.S. Department of Education include:
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