Tag: NJEA

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Judge green-lights parent’s lawsuit against New Jersey public school teaching ‘Islam is the true faith’

th6

June 24,2018

the staff of the Ridgewood blog

Chatham NJ, If it were not for these two moms, Nancy Gayer and Libby Hilsenrath, the Islamic propaganda videos would still be rolling inside the Chatham Middle School.
A federal judge has refused to toss out a lawsuit brought by a parent against the Chatham, New Jersey, school district, which showed seventh-graders a pro-Muslim video that included an invitation to convert to the “true faith.”
In denying the school district’s motion to dismiss the case, U.S. District Court Judge Kevin McNulty said the motion was worth only “minimal discussion.”

Kate Oliveri, an attorney with Thomas More Law Center, is representing Libby Hilsenrath, whose 12-year-old son attends Chatham Middle School. Oliveri said the decision to let the lawsuit proceed came as no surprise.
“The motion to dismiss was a further attempt by the school district to bully and silence Mrs. Hilsenrath,” she said. “The school district ignored the legal standard and ignored the facts, attempting instead to fool the judge with a poor attempt at sophistry.”

The lawsuit claims that seventh-grade students at the Chatham Middle School were forced to watch a set of videos in their World Cultures and Geography class that sought to convert them to Islam. Here is a sampling of what the students learned by watching just one of the 5-minute videos:
God gave Muhammed the noble Quran
The Quran is a Perfect guide for Humanity
The Quran is divine revelation
Islam is a shining beacon against the darkness of repression, segregation, intolerance and racism​
The Beautiful Quran is Guidance for the wise & sensible.
Then came the topper. The video ends with this: “May God help us all to find the true faith, Islam.”

A musical version of an Arabic poem plays in the background throughout the video. The lyrics describe Christians and Jews as infidels and praises Muhammed for slaughtering them: . . . “their white shining swords red with the blood of infidels
. . . until they looked like meat on the butcher’s block.”

When Libby Hilsenrath first brought her concerns to the school board’s attention, on Feb. 6, 2017, they were dismissed out of hand.
And, when she and fellow parent Nancy Gayer appeared on Fox News’ Tucker Carlson Show a week later to express her concerns to the nation, she was roundly condemned by the school community. [See interview with Tucker Carlson below]

Because of Hilsenrath’s attempts to persuade school officials to remove the videos and stop the Islamic indoctrination of her son and the other seventh-grade students, she has been subjected to a barrage of vicious personal attacks on social media and in public venues across her community.
Oliveri said the Chatham Board of Education and certain school-district teachers are “waging a war” against the religious protections afforded by the First Amendment.
“They attack religious liberty by enticing young school children with a direct call to convert to Islam and providing a step-by-step guide on how to effect that conversion,” Oliveri said. And then when two parents complained, the school district embarked on a concerted effort to smear their character.

TMLC attorney Kate Oliveri
If anything remotely this aggressively Christian were presented to public-school children in any corner of the United States, the ACLU would be ready to pounce with a lawsuit. But the ACLU is curiously silent in the New Jersey case.
Thank God for the Thomas More Law Center, said James Komaniecki, president of RestoreAmericanLiberty.com.
“Thank Almighty God that TMLC is taking these people to the mat on this,” said Komaniecki. “If we don’t stand up to radical Islam in our own nation, we will be undermined from within until nothing remains of our own culture and Christian faith.”
The federal lawsuit was filed Jan. 23 in the New Jersey District Court against several officials and teachers of the Chatham Middle School and the school district.
Richard Thompson, president of TMLC, said the absurdities introduced to students at Chatham Middle School are the same ones being introduced to students at schools across the U.S.
“Witless school officials have converted classrooms across America into Islamic indoctrination centers,” he said. “These schools do not educate, they propagandize. Under the guise of teaching social studies courses, teachers promote the religion of Islam in ways that would never be legally allowable for Christianity or any other religion.
“Because the explicitly stated goal of Muslim leaders and organizations is to dominate America by a ‘civilization jihad,’ these schools collude with them to jeopardize our national security.”
The Thomas More Law Center is a national public interest law firm based in Ann Arbor, Michigan.
“To protect our children and our nation from the insidious Islamic propagandizing going on in our public schools, courageous parents like Libby Hilsenrath must take the time to know exactly what their children are being taught,” Thompson said. “And if it’s Islamic propaganda, take action to stop it.

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Legislators need to show courage to ‘bring public-sector workers in line with everyday working people’

group_njea_logo_300x143

June 20,2018

by Christian Barranco

Christian Barranco, of Pompton Lakes, is a union electrician and the Labor Liaison to the New Jersey Organization for Economic Growth, a Wayne-based political action group supporting economic growth.

Trenton NJ, Democrats in the New Jersey Legislature recently introduced and moved through committee a bill to end the abusive practice that allows public-sector workers to bank unused sick days. The bill is bitterly opposed by public-sector unions. But we think the fight is worth it. If legislators show an uncommon amount of courage, New Jersey taxpayers can rid themselves of this absurd fiscal burden and bring public-sector workers in line with everyday working people.

As a union member, I can say with authority that no worker in the private-sector trades in New Jersey gets to bank unused sick days and vacation days and walk away at retirement with a five- or six-figure lottery check. Most private-sector trade unionists don’t even get sick days or vacation days at all. In our professions, if you don’t go to work you don’t get paid, period. And most private sector workers must either use their sick days and vacation days or they lose them; they’re not a supplement retirement fund and should never have been allowed to be used as one by the public sector. But decades of limp leadership in Trenton from both Democrats and Republicans allowed the practice to get to absurd heights — or from the taxpayer’s standpoint — ridiculous lows, forcing some towns to even borrow money to pay off retiring employee: ABSURD!

According to one report in NJ Spotlight, Jersey City public workers had amassed $116 million in banked days last year — and when the former police chief retired, he was due $512,000 in unused day. Newark owes its public workers $52.5 million. The County of Passaic, according to one filing, owes approximately $76 million in unused sick and vacation days to its employees.

Think of the things that could be done with that money, starting with property tax relief. Roads and bridges could be rebuilt, or parks upgraded for all of us to enjoy if we had a conscientious and responsible government.
Teacher union leaders are aghast

The teachers union leaders — who mistakenly believe that they are part of the larger labor movement — are aghast that the Democrats would betray them and take away their cherished perk. It is arrogance that makes them feel that way. It’s long past time when the system was corrected to protect private-sector workers who pay the indefensible perks granted to public-sector employees.
The teachers complain that the perks are necessary to make up for a lack of raises. Nonsense. If public employees in general think they are so underpaid that they need to game the system to get compensated for unused sick and vacation days, they can always jump to the private sector and see how the rest of us live.

Under the proposed legislation, every public employee would be able to keep whatever amounts they have earned up to the effective date of the law. Those who had already saved at least $7,500 would earn no more. Those who have not, and new hires, would be able to bank up to $7,500 in sick time, but most would not be paid for it. Instead, individuals could use the value of their accumulated sick time to pay for either health insurance premiums or co-pays over the first five years after retirement. Only veterans could receive a cash payment for future unused days.

The legislation is not ideal, but it is far better than anything Republicans have come up with and far more courageous than Democrats ever dared to be — until now.
We know the proposal is in part a retaliation against the notorious NJEA teachers union for funding a campaign against Sen. Steve Sweeney last fall. Regardless of the motivation, the objective is a worthy one. If the NJEA is going to be corrected for its abuses of influence, and it helps the average taxpayer, that’s great news. Motivations for the legislation are not the issue, the results are. If homeowners and small business owners are no longer forced to fund expensive going-away presents for retiring public employees, that’s a good thing.

It will be interesting to see which lawmakers cave in to the NJEA pressure. Look for the weak-willed lawmakers who are in office only to keep collecting a paycheck to either appease the public-sector union bosses or sneak into a corner and hide. Those that do, should be held accountable next year when the state Assembly members will face re-election. Let’s keep an eye on who votes for the taxpayers and who caves into the abusive deals with the NJEA.

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NJ Senate Hearing on Reports of Teacher Sexual Misconduct, Failure to Report Child Abuse in Schools to Be Held Thursday

Trenton_New_Jersey

May 30,2018

the staff of the Ridgewood blog

Trenton NJ,  The Senate Labor Committee (Chairman Fred H. Madden, D-Camden/Gloucester) and the Senate Education Committee (Chairwoman M. Teresa Ruiz, D-Essex) will meet jointly Thursday, May 31, at noon to hear testimony from invited speakers on the topics of teacher sexual misconduct, the reporting of child abuse in schools and the process for tenure charge arbitration in the case of teacher sexual misconduct.

Speakers will include child advocates, state education officials and representatives of school boards, school administrators, teachers’ unions, county prosecutors and parents.

The joint hearing has been called in response to the release online of several videos showing teachers’ union officials in several New Jersey school districts telling individuals that they do not need to report alleged cases of teacher-on student assault or teacher-on-student sexual assault.

The hearing will be held in Committee Room 6 of the State House Annex in Trenton.

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Project Veritas : NJ Teachers Union President Will “Bend the Truth,” Cover Up Child Abuse in Schools

Screenshot 2018 05 03 at 8.40.49 AM e1525351396823

May 3,2018

the staff of the Ridgewood blog

Hamilton NJ, according to James Edward O’Keefe ,Project Veritas last month they sent undercover journalists who blanketed the state of New Jersey visiting dozens of teacher’s union offices. We wondered, how union leaders would react to claims that teachers were physically and verbally abusing students?

What you’re about to see is a man who is a union president, with a PHD, A LEADER; not working for children like the sign above his head says, but working to what he calls, “Bend the truth” and hide a potential crime.

In this undercover investigation, Hamilton Township Education Association President David Perry details the steps the teachers union would take to protect a teacher who physically abused and threatened middle school students from losing their job.

Dr. Perry says he would misrepresent the events of altercations between teachers and students by back-dating reports and instructed the teacher to not tell anybody about incidents with students.

The union president also stressed that a teacher who abuses his students needs to come to the union after any incident so that they can create a report that would best protect them from students that come forward about abuse.

Veritas will be releasing more undercover videos of teachers unions from ALL ACROSS THE COUNTRY in the coming days and weeks. To be alerted as soon as they are published, sign up for our newsletter and check in to www.projectveritas.com frequently for any updates.

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Reader says teachers’ union protects incompetence with tenure

Ridgewood EA teachers protest

Our rankings might improve if we fired a bunch of these entitled thugs and replaced them with educators interested in working with our kids. But we can’t because the teachers’ union protects incompetence with tenure. All they’re doing is trying to get more wages & benefits for their members. They have no interest in preparing our children for the workplace of tomorrow. Let’s try and get some younger teachers willing to raise their “give a crap” level than the current bunch of lazy thugs we’ve got.

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Ridgewood High School All Set for #NationalSchoolWalkout initiative

RHS_Sign_theridgewoodblog

March 11,2018

the staff of the Ridgewood blog

Ridgewood NJ, Nice to see the $105,000,000 school budget not go to waste and of coarse its always a please seeing adults use children for political purposes . The #NationalSchoolWalkout initiative is promoted by Women’s March Youth Empower. The national walkout is to take place March 14 at 10 a.m. for 17 minutes—one for each person who killed on the Marjory Stoneman Douglas campus on Valentine’s Day. Per the group’s web page, other participating high schools in Bergen County include Hackensack High School, Paramus High School, Lyndhurst High School, Fusion Academy in Englewood, Paramus Catholic High School, Ridgewood High School, Emerson Junior/Senior High School, Tenafly High School, Cresskill High School, Pascack Hills High School in Montvale, Northern Highlands Regional High School in Allendale, and Mahwah High School.

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U.S. Supreme Court to Hear Unions vs Free Speech Case

supreme_court_building

February 23,2018

the staff of the Ridgewood blog

Washington DC, The Supreme Court is scheduled to return to Washington next week after nearly a month off. The justices will hear a number of important oral arguments, including a case involving free speech, and public employee unions.

Next Monday February 26th , the U.S. Supreme Court will hear arguments in one of the most anticipated cases of the year, the case of Janus v. American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees, Council 31.

This case could have an enormous impact on big union states like New Jersey and may impact many unions political influence like the NJEA.

The case focuses on Mark Janus who is not a public sector union member but has to pay fees ie inion dues anyway. Janus argues these fees “violate his free speech and free association rights.”

This case involves forcing public employees who opt out of union membership to pay a fee for the “fair share” of costs associated with collective bargaining. Mark Janus, an Illinois state employee, argues that forcing him to subsidize the union he has declined to join violates his free speech and free association rights.

The court will look at whether to overturn its 1977 decision in Abood v. Detroit Board of Education, which held that public employees could be forced to pay an agency fee.

This very issue was before the court in 2016 when Justice Antonin Scalia died. The court deadlocked 4-4 in Friedrichs v. California Teachers’ Association, thereby upholding the lower court ruling in favor of the California Teachers Association.

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The Educational Monopoly is Beginning to Break Up

Ridgewood EA teachers protest

November 27,2017

the staff of the Ridgewood blog

Ridgewood NJ, according to Kerry McDonald is a Senior Contributor for Intellectual Takeout , ” Parents are fed up. As mass schooling becomes more restrictive, more standardized and more far-reaching into a child’s young life, many parents are choosing alternatives. Increasingly, these parents are reclaiming their child’s education and are refocusing learning around children, family, and community in several different ways.”

It started as a trickle but now over two million U.S. children will be avoiding the school bus altogether in favor of homeschooling, an educational choice that has accelerated in recent years among both liberal and conservative families.

On top of homeschooling, an additional two million children will be educated this fall in charter schools. According to recent U.S. Department of Education data, the number of students currently enrolled in charter schools increased from 0.9 million in 2004 to 2.7 million in 2014, while the number of children enrolled in traditional public schools declined by 0.4 million during that same period. Taxpayer-funded but administered by predominantly private educational organizations, charter schools allow parents flexibility in choosing a school that is better aligned with their expectations and their child’s needs. Charter schools are often exempt from district policies and collective bargaining agreements that can halt innovation and experimentation, allowing them more instructional and organizational freedom. Demand for charter schools often outweighs current supply, with statewide charter caps, admissions lotteries, and long waiting lists leaving many parents discouraged and angry.

When Gov. Chris Christie leaves office , one of his clear legacies will be the growth of charter schools in New Jersey, with school enrollment more than doubling in his eight years in office.In July , his administration finished the job, announcing the final approval of five more schools to open this fall. That brings to 89 the number of charters that will be open when Christie steps down in January.

There will be close to 50,000 students enrolled in charters this fall, according to the state, up from less than 25,000 when he took office. More than 56,000 seats will be authorized with the latest approvals.

Advancing technology has also played a key roll . As online learning improves and expands, more parents are choosing virtual schools for their children over traditional public schools. Data from the non-profit organization, International Association for K-12 Online Learning, find that 310,000 young people in grades kindergarten through 12th grade participated in fully online programming in 2013, up from 200,000 in 2010. In addition to homeschoolers, charter school students, and virtual learners, more than four million children will avoid a traditional district school this fall to attend a U.S. private school.

 

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New Jersey’s public-pension system currently holds less than 38 percent of what the state owes its retirees

Phill Murphy Clear Water

November 27,2017

the staff of the Ridgewood blog

Trenton NJ, according to Michael Lilley in the article New Jersey Public Unions, Ascendant https://www.city-journal.org/html/new-jersey-public-unions-ascendant-15568.html ,

“New Jersey’s public-pension system currently holds less than 38 percent of what the state owes its retirees, which amounts to a $135 billion shortfall. Adding to this unfunded liability, the state also owes retirees $67 billion for future health-care payments, and has set aside no money for that obligation. That’s a combined tab of $202 billion. The entire state budget, by contrast, is $35 billion. To fund its obligations properly, the state would have to put aside $4.8 billion a year, or almost 15 percent of the budget; those costs are expected to grow to $11.3 billion by 2027. Unreformed, the cost of these benefits is unsustainable. During his campaign, Murphy promised to fix the pension system by fully funding it, though he wouldn’t give specifics.”

A very ugly reality for the governor elect , but even uglier for taxpayers is the fact that ,” Murphy’s problem, however, is that his biggest allies, especially the teachers’ union, contributed mightily to the pension mess over the years by winning plush benefits, acquiescing to accounting gimmicks that made the system look well-funded, and fighting against cost-saving reforms. Murphy has already proposed $1.3 billion in new taxes, and without making the changes to the pension system that the unions oppose, the state’s taxpayers face years of additional tax increases and spending cuts to pay the pension bill.”

Lilley goes on , “Murphy’s pledge helped win endorsements from the NJEA and other public-sector unions. By law, public school teachers must join the NJEA or, if they decline, pay a so-called agency fee to the union representing 85 percent of dues. The money is deducted from their paychecks, which are largely funded by local property taxes. Last year, the NJEA took in over $120 million in union dues and agency fees. Since 1994, the union has collected $1.85 billion, and it has invested much of this money in New Jersey politics: since 1994, the NJEA has spent $874 million on political activities, or about 56 percent of its annual operational expenditures, an average of $38 million a year.”

A beholden bought ad paid for  politician and a massive pension short fall can mean only one thing ,massive new taxes .

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New Jersey Teachers Union (NJEA) Spent $5.7M of Union Dues on Election Activities in November

Ridgewood Teachers

November 17,2017
the staff of the Ridgewood blog

Ridgewood NJ, According to recent filings with the Election Law Enforcement Commission (ELEC) , the New Jersey Education Association spent about $5.7 million in union dues on the recent general election. It did so through Garden State Forward, a Super PAC (political action committee) that the teachers union founded four years ago.

The amount spent was almost seven times more than the NJEA spent from voluntary donations to its regular PAC. NJEA communications director Steve Baker confirmed that all the roughly $5.7 million came from membership dues. Many NJEA members erroneously believe teachers union spent only funds from voluntary donations on recent political battles .

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New Jersey Teachers Union Head Receives $1.2 million in Salary and benefits 

REA, ridgewoood teachers

October 10,2017
the staff of the Ridgewood blog

Ridgewood NJ,  everyone in the Village remembers the contract talks for teachers salaries. Over the years there have been threats to strike , non signing of recommendation letters and so on, but this takes the cake yesterday the  Star-Ledger reported the NJEA president Ed Richardson is making $1.2 million in salary and benefits .

Once again New Jersey taxpayers are sucker punched and teachers are forced to cough up almost $1000 in union dues for Richardson and his buddies at the top to play around with.  Property taxes go higher and people vote with their feet.

Only in a state like New Jersey can an organization like NJEA continue to exist unfettered without ever having to answer to anyone about its unfettered power and intimidation.

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New Jersey Ranked the 2nd Most Teacher Friendly State

Ridgewood Teachers

September 26,2017

the staff of the Ridgewood blog

Ridgewood NJ, Teaching can be a profoundly rewarding career, considering the critical role educators play in shaping young minds. But many teachers find themselves overworked and underpaid. Historically education jobs are among the lowest-paying occupations requiring a bachelor’s degree, and teacher salaries consistently fail to keep up with inflation. Meanwhile, the law demands better student performance, but some critics argue that it deprives educators of guidance and positive incentive to improve their own effectiveness in the classroom.

This combination of job pressures, low pay and lack of mobility forces many teachers to quit soon after they start, a pattern that has led to a perpetual attrition problem in America’s public schools. According to the National Center for Education Statistics, about a fifth of all newly minted public-school teachers leave their positions before the end of their first year, and nearly half never last more than five. Many teachers, especially novices, transfer to other schools or abandon the profession altogether “as the result of feeling overwhelmed, ineffective, and unsupported,” according to ASCD, a nonprofit focused on improving the education community.

In some states, however, teachers are more fairly paid and treated than in others and therefore less likely to face a revolving door of teacher turnover. To help America’s educators find the best opportunities and teaching environments, WalletHub’s analysts compared the 50 states and the District of Columbia based on 21 key indicators of teacher-friendliness. Our data set ranges from teachers’ income growth potential to pupil-teacher ratio to teacher safety. Read on for our findings, expert insight from a panel of researchers and a full description of our methodology.

WalletHub ranked states that are most conducive to be a teacher , New Jersey placed second . The top 5 were New York, New Jersey, Illinois , Connecticut, Pennsylvania.

Read the whole report :https://wallethub.com/edu/best-and-worst-states-for-teachers/7159/

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NJEA Flexes Its Muscles, Takes on Sweeney

Steve-Sweeney-Atlantic-City-finances

file photo Senate President Stephen Sweeney

Chase Brush | September 25, 2017

The teachers union faults the Senate president for his stand on public-employee pensions and school funding — and they want to make him pay.

What has 200,000 members, a deep-pocketed super PAC, and one of the most powerful presences in all New Jersey politics?

It’s the New Jersey Education Association, and it’s not to be trifled with.

That’s the apparent message being conveyed by the relevant-as-ever group this election season, as it continues to wield its influence in several state and local races following a hard-fought primary and ahead of a November general election. Through special-interest spending and public endorsements, the group has sought to advance its agenda by aligning itself with both Republicans and Democrats, ultimately making itself known in nearly every corner of the state.

The organization has issued endorsements in 37 out of 40 legislative districts, including one for Democrat Phil Murphy in the state’s high-profile gubernatorial election.

https://www.njspotlight.com/stories/17/09/25/njea-flexes-its-muscles-takes-on-sweeney/

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New Jersey Department of Education Teacher Evaluations for Ridgewood Schools.

RHS

file photo by Boyd Loving

September 10,2017

the staff of the Ridgewood blog

Ridgewood NJ, New Jersey Department of Education Teacher Evaluations for Ridgewood Schools.

New Jersey Teacher Evaluations 2015-2016

The database shows the number of teachers at each school who were rated ineffective, partially effective, effective and highly effective under the state’s teacher evaluation system. The state did not name the teachers or release their individual evaluations to protect their privacy.

 

Ridgewood High School   89 Effective 45 Highly Effective 134 total rated
Benjamin Franklin            36 Effective  20 Highly Effective 56 total rated
George Washington         36  Effective 19 Highly Effective 55 total rated  
Hawes                                 11Effective 18 Highly Effective 29 total rated
Ridge                                  25 Effective 9 Highly Effective    34 total rated
Somerville                        19Effective 13 Highly Effective 32 total rated
Travell                              10 Effective16 Highly Effective 26 total rated
Orchard                            18Effective 6  Highly Effective 24 total rated
Willard                              29Effective 4 Highly Effective 33 total rated