By Susan K. Livio, NJ Advance Media for NJ.com
TRENTON — State Senate President Stephen Sweeney says he remains committed to passing legislation that would require businesses to provide paid sick days and for nonprofit hospitals to pay property taxes.
But he doesn’t see either issue gaining momentum until after the Assembly elections in November.
More…
Read MoreBy Kelly Heyboer, NJ Advance Media for NJ.com
NEW BRUNSWICK — The email that Rutgers football coach Kyle Flood allegedly sent to an instructor in one of his player’s classes would be forbidden on several other schools in the Big Ten, according to a NJ Advance Media survey of campus policies.
[…]The faculty union, which represents professors and part-time lecturers at the 65,000-student state university, called on Rutgers President Robert Barchi last week to clarify exactly when and if coaches can speak to faculty about athletes.…
Read MoreBy Samantha Marcus, NJ Advance Media
TRENTON — Senate President Stephen Sweeney says his proposal for a $1 trillion low-interest pension loan program is a “long shot,” but the federal government should help states get a handle on their crippling pension debt.
Late last month, Sweeney (D-Gloucester), who is considered a likely 2017 candidate for governor, suggested creating a nationwide Federal Reserve loan program to rescue states threatened by high government worker pension shortfalls.…
Read MoreBy Scott Logan
[…]But faculty members said it was indeed unusual, and cause for concern, if Flood was regularly in direct communication with those responsible for teaching his team members.
“There is a general understanding that only academic support personnel should talk to us – and we’re under no obligation to listen,” said David Hughes, an anthropology professor who leads the faculty union.…
Read MoreBy Adam Clark, NJ Advance Media for NJ.com
The average raise for New Jersey teachers this school year is about 2.5 percent, according to a new analysis by the New Jersey School Boards Association.
The average raise is based on the contracts between about half of New Jersey’s school districts and their teachers unions, according the school boards association.…
Read MoreBy Kelly Heyboer, NJ Advance Media for NJ.com
NEW BRUNSWICK — Rutgers University will offer scholarships to freshmen in several health majors to cover a 60 percent tuition hike students said took them by surprise, campus officials said.
Tuition for several majors in Rutgers’ School of Health Related Professions — including sonography, dental hygiene and nuclear medicine – were scheduled to jump from $345 to $552 per credit this fall.…
Read MoreBy Kelly Heyboer, NJ Advance Media for NJ.com
NEW BRUNSWICK — The Rutgers University instructor who received an email about an athlete from football coach Kyle Flood was likely a part-time lecturer making less than $5,000 per class, a faculty union official said Wednesday.
The president of the Rutgers American Association of University Professors-American Federation of Teachers, the university’s faculty union, did not name the instructor involved in the case that triggered a campus investigation into Flood’s conduct.…
Read MoreBy Dan Ivers, NJ Advance Media for NJ.com
NEWARK – Hundreds of city teachers who had been languishing without assignments have been placed back into classrooms as school officials continue to explore way to close a significant budget deficit.
[…]Newark Teachers Union President John Abeigon characterized Cerf’s presentation as misleading, and said “dozens” of aides and clerks faced layoffs while the higher-ranking employees many view as responsible for the deficit remain unscathed.…
Read MoreContact: Nat T. Bender, 908-377-0393, nbender [@] aftnj.org
EDISON—American Federation of Teachers New Jersey President Donna M. Chiera on the PDK/Gallup Poll of the Public’s Attitudes Toward the Public Schools:
“These national poll results are important because they reinforce that we all want true accountability so we can identify gaps where students could be missing relevant lessons at the school and district level.…
Read MoreBy Samantha Marcus, NJ Advance Media for NJ.com
TRENTON — All over New Jersey, public workers and Gov. Chris Christie have waged court fights over everything from pensions to pay raises.
They’ve fought in lower courts, the state Supreme Court, and, in one case, state troopers say they’ll be asking the U.S. Supreme Court to step in.…
Read MoreBy Ted Sherman, NJ Advance Media for NJ.com
UNION — Last November, Kean University spent $35,000 to fly a delegation of New Jersey public officials and school administrators to China to mark the anniversary of its branch campus in the southeastern province of Zhejiang.
University officials called it a celebration of the “unique partnership” that led to the creation of the China campus.…
Read MoreOver 11,000 National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) policyholders who filed claims for damage are in the Hurricane Sandy Claims Review process, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) announced today. FEMA has already validated and begun providing additional funds to policyholders taking part in the Hurricane Sandy Claims Review.
“If you believe your flood claim was underpaid for any reason, we encourage you to do what so many of your neighbors are doing and ask FEMA to take another look,” said Roy Wright, Deputy Associate Administrator for FEMA’s Federal Insurance and Mitigation Administration, which runs the NFIP.…
Read MoreJoin the AFTNJ Committee On Political Education (COPE) Scholarship Committee the first annual AFTNJ Nick Yovnello Social Justice Scholarship Awards Brunch. We are proud to present the first scholarship to Corinne Reilly-Ferretto, a student activist from New Jersey City University.
| ” Over the past two years I have discovered a lot about myself through organizing. A colleague invited me to a NJ United Students meeting, exposing me to the world of social justice. |
Gov. Christie continued to wage verbal war against teachers’ unions at an education forum in New Hampshire on Wednesday, saying the unions deserved a “political punch in the face.”
The word political was a qualification to the sentiment Christie expressed in an interview this month with CNN’s Jake Tapper – spurring the president of the American Federation of Teachers, Randi Weingarten, to accuse Christie of promoting “a culture of violence.”…
Read MoreBy Brenda Flanagan, Correspondent
[…]“Recently, we just got finance back. But unfortunately, because we don’t have the governance piece back, we really can’t do much,” said Newark School Advisory Board Chair Ariagna Perello.
She says Newark should reassign the 400 teachers now pigeonholed in what’s called the Excess Pool. They’re not permanently assigned to classrooms, but they’re still getting paid.…
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