PHOTO: Addressing more than 500 members of the New Jersey Jewish community at the OU Advocacy-NJ legislative breakfast on Sunday, Governor Chris Christie spoke about the moral obligation to provide educational choice to students throughout the state.
“We will not fix those 200 failing schools and will not help those thousands of students until we change the underlying failed system that created those failing schools in the first place,” said Gov. Christie, adding that it is “well past time to bring competition to the educational system.”
Gov. Christie also acknowledged the high level of political involvement and activism within the New Jersey Jewish community. “I hear from your community all the time that [educational choice] is a foundational issue,” he said, encouraging the breakfast attendees to continue their activism on the issue.
Several legislators and other elected officials also attended the breakfast held at Congregation Keter Torah in Teaneck, including Congressman Bill Pascrell (D-NJ). Senate Majority Leader Loretta Weinberg and Assemblywoman Valerie Vainieri Huttle were recognized for their leadership and sponsorship of the Special Education bill. If passed, the bill would allow children with special needs to attend an accredited religious nonpublic school with a special needs program. In addition, Mayor of Jersey City Steve Fulop delivered greetings.
The legislative breakfast provided an opportunity for the Jewish community to meet with its elected officials to discuss Jewish day school affordability and other issues affecting the Jewish community in advance of November’s state-wide elections.
“We are honored to have the Governor and so many state legislators join us at this important event,” said Josh Pruzansky, Regional Director of OU Advocacy-NJ. “Their presence and participation in our legislative breakfast demonstrates the importance of our community in both the State House and in municipalities around the state.”
“Jewish day school affordability is one of the most important issues to the New Jersey Jewish community and, as such, we are committed to working with the governor and the state legislature to find creative means for helping Jewish community day schools and families. Our community members, our day schools and our schoolchildren are mobilizing around this issue,” said Maury Litwack, Director of State Political Affairs and Outreach.
“Many other states, including New York and Pennsylvania, have programs in place that support nonpublic schools and families in ways that are beneficial to the entire state. It is time for New Jersey to implement similar policies for its citizens,” Pruzansky added.
The New Jersey office of OU Advocacy was established two years ago and opened its office in the Teaneck community earlier this year. Its efforts have resulted in more than $7 million dollars for the non-public school community, including $1.6 million for Jewish day schools.
PHOTO CAPTION:
(Photo credits: Yossie Weintraub, Lakewood Shopper, TLS-18)
Governor Chris Christie addresses more than 500 members of the New Jersey Jewish community at the OU Advocacy-NJ legislative breakfast held at Congregation Keter Torah in Teaneck.
Thank You Avrumy Flohr and the rest of the gang for representing our community. We appreciate it.
Pure lip service. Everyone knows that a voucher bill cannot get through the NJ legislature.
When is our community going to realize that public schools are entrenched in American society? That America led the world in public education because universal education must precede universal suffrage? That the great American educational ladder is not a government grant but a a necessity for the survival of the democratic state?
The State will never cease to run the schools because it is in the schools where each generation receives the torch of liberty and the American way from the previous. Like the term or not, it is the schools that indoctrinate the citizens of this nation to believe in equality, service of country, and patriotism. This is a roll too important to be relinquished into private hands. It will never happen.
School choice will always be limited to an experimental group and cannot possibly be funded on the scale of the population of a town like Lakewood.
Thank You Honorable Josh Pruzansky and Thank You Honorable Governor Chris Christie
Sorry i voted for him.
He’s got an overbloated ego amongst other things
The OU breakfast was terrific – attended by 600 people from all over the State. Josh did an amazing job and the Governor gave a great speech on the new directions we are taking in education and the future pathways we must take to ensure all children a thorough and efficient education.
Education here and in NJ is rapidly changing. 20 years ago, no one would have guessed that Charter schools would would be dotting our cities. Some charters in NJ have added specialized courses of study, such as Hebrew.
Another very significant change in NJ’s educational landscape is the Interdistrict public school Choice Program where students can choose to leave his/her district to attend a participating Choice School at no cost. Currently, there are about 134 schools participating and the program is growing. No One would have envisioned this program growing at such a rapid rate just a few years ago. And it was Governor Christie who made this statewide program a reality.
Recently, the State has taken over the City of Camden and some new dynamic changes are being made to a City that has failed its population for decades. I would not be surprised if during lame duck, we see a voucher pilot program put into place in the City of Camden.
First year of voting and we will not vote for Christie. My class mates want
A better New Jersey.
Can someone please list what there is to like about Christie? Are all his supporters poll reactionaries?
Here is what is to dislike about Christy:
1) appointed Bruce Harris (of the unnatural orientation) to the NJ Supreme Court
2) He collaborated with a bad-check writer who became a mosar
3) He signed a law to prevent parents from seeking treatment for their children when they have “unnatural inclinations.”
4) He has done more than any governor to threaten the independence of the third and most important branch of government, the judiciary.
His opposition to the recent NJ appeal’s judge who ruled that unnatural marriage violates the NJ constitution is surprising. Let’s see how vigorously his solicitor general argues the case in the NJ Supreme Court.