NJEA Outlook on Gov. Murphy's School Funding Formula

Steve Adubato and Ed Richardson, Executive Director, New Jersey Education Association, discuss Governor Murphy's plans to fully fund the School Funding Formula and increase the state public employee pension payment.

#205 3/17/18

Excerpt:

"We're pleased to welcome back Ed Richardson, Executive Director, New Jersey Education Association. Otherwise known as the NJEA. To disclose, a longtime supporter of New Jersey.... NJTV News, as well as our broadcast. Ed, real quick, as we do this program in the Spring of 2018, the issue of school violence... huge issue. Huge issue. The President put on the table the whole question of teachers being armed. You say? Absolutely not. And it's the last thing that our members want. Or anyone else in the school community for that matter. I never thought I would say this, but I agree with the president of the National Rifle Association, who said, "You couldn't possibly train educators enough, nor would they be predisposed in a situation like the Parkland situation to actually fire at a student." It's just the wrong answer. And... What about... sorry for interrupting. What about some of your members who say, "You know what? I own a gun legally." Of course. "And I want to do it." Should it be...? No. I mean, come on, imagine yourself in that situation, and the real armed professionals do show up and address the situation. Who's the bad guy? How do you figure that out? Because you have multiple... Do you think people have simplified this? ...people in a school... Do you think the President has oversimplified it? Very much. Very much. We need sensible gun control, gun legislation. I know the state is looking at that. The federal government is looking at that. Republican Congressmen... Yeah. ...are talking about that. So let's have that conversation. But then, let's also look at things that we need to do to better secure our schools, to deal with potential mental health problems, including among our students, and make sure that they have the right resources available to them to help them. Let's talk economics. Shifting gears. No real good segue. And we just hope and pray that our students and our teachers who help our students every day remain safe. So... Absolutely. ...the biggest change from the last administration... You may have remembered Chris Christie as governor, and his relationship with the NJEA? Hard to forget. And the relatively new governor, Phil Murphy. The biggest difference is? Attitude. Approach. Respect. You know, Governor Murphy has said from the beginning, throughout the campaign, in the transition, and even just this morning, I heard him speak at an event, and he said, "We are not always going to agree on everything, but we will always have respectful dialogue, you will always be part of the dialogue." We didn't have that with Governor Christie. So on the issue of public employee pensions, I don't know if it's the numbers, eighty billion dollar..."