What's Wrong Here? Plenty - That's What!

Last Month's Ruling on COLA Benefits for Retirees

The most important aspect of this ruling is that it opens up the door to have the state cut all benefits based on the debt limitation clause in the state constitution yet the Star Ledger reports:

But in a ruling issued Friday, Hurd decided that although the retirees have a statutory guarantee that there won’t be any reduction in their pension benefit, the state cannot be required to pay for the cost-of-living adjustment.

However Judge Hurd, when specifically asked whether the base pension could be reduced, refused to comment declaring that he was “not answering that question. That question is not before me.”

***************
Here we go again- "All pigs are equal but some pigs are more equal than others!"

Is there something inconsistent here or is it me?

A Preview of Privatized Education

This article was brought to my attention by Frank Vespa on FB. 

I had already read the previous NYT article 

"An investigation into New Jersey’s halfway houses.

Unlocked, Part 1

As Escapees Stream Out, a Penal Business Thrives

(June 17, 2012)"

and this adds more fuel to the fire. It surely demonstrates the direction privatized education will take once it is firmly established New Jersey.

******************

Finances Plague Company Running Halfway Houses

By SAM DOLNICK

Published: July 16, 2012 82 Comments

 A company that plays a critical role in New Jersey’s corrections system, running halfway houses as large as prisons, has had such severe financial difficulties over the last four years that it contemplated filing for bankruptcy in 2010, according to newly disclosed documents.

An investigation into New Jersey’s halfway houses.

 Senior executives at the company, Community Education Centers, even feared at the time that they might not have enough money to pay workers, the documents show.

 Community Education’s senior vice president, William J. Palatucci, is one of Gov. Chris Christie’s closest friends and political advisers, and Mr. Christie has long championed the company.

 Not long before Mr. Christie took office in January 2010, Community Education defaulted on its debt, the documents show.

 Since then, the state, while paying the company tens of millions of dollars a year for its services, has not closely examined Community Education’s financial standing or operations, according to the documents, former company executives and state officials.

 If Community Education were to collapse, that could significantly disrupt New Jersey’s corrections system, and if the company remains financially hobbled, its halfway houses in New Jersey could continue to suffer.

 The documents also suggest that Community Education’s chief executive, John J. Clancy, highlighted Mr. Palatucci’s ties to Mr. Christie in an effort to impress investors and secure desperately needed financing for the company.

 The documents were submitted on Friday in federal court in Newark in an employment lawsuit brought against Community Education by a former executive. They portray a company that has been in crisis and trying to fend off creditors, even as it has mounted a robust lobbying and public relations campaign.

 The New York Times, in a three-part series last month, detailed extensive problems in New Jersey’s halfway houses, including escapes, violence and drug use. The system of halfway houses, which the state has long promoted as a national model, handles thousands of inmates annually who are leaving prison or on parole.

 Community Education has dominated the system for over a decade, and more than 15 former workers told The Times for its articles last month that the company had kept staffing levels very low in recent years to save money. As a result, the workers said, the company did a poor job delivering counseling and other services intended to help inmates make the transition to society.

 The company’s financial difficulties have not stemmed from its government contracts in New Jersey, which have steadily grown over the last decade, according to the documents and interviews. Community Education has instead run into trouble after an aggressive expansion foundered in states like Alabama and Texas. The resulting shortfalls have been a factor in staff and other reductions in New Jersey.

 Michael Drewniak, a spokesman for Mr. Christie, declined on Monday to comment on Community Education’s finances, referring questions to the Corrections Department.

 Asked about Mr. Clancy’s emphasizing the political influence of Mr. Palatucci, Mr. Drewniak said, “We have no way of knowing the veracity of that assertion, but it would be inappropriate for any company to do that.”

 The Corrections Department, which is part of the Christie administration, said there was nothing about Community Education’s finances that warranted concern.

 “The company has consistently maintained its services under the terms of its contracts with the Department of Corrections and, like all similar providers, was scrutinized for financial stability prior to any contract award,” the department said in a statement.

 In a statement, Community Education said it had been hurt by the financial crisis but was proud of the work that it continued to do. “C.E.C. has never had a disruption of a contract in New Jersey or any other state, never missed a payroll, and never had a basis that necessitated disclosure of a nonissue,” the company said.

 The documents in the lawsuit, including depositions from current and former Community Education executives, show that the company was under threat of bankruptcy in 2010 because it borrowed too heavily for its national expansion and could not make debt payments.

 The company, which is privately owned, received roughly $300 million annually from government contracts around the country in 2009 and 2010. But one projection by the company in 2009 showed that because of its debt burden, it would soon have only $13,702.02 in cash on hand.

 “Everybody in that building was aware on a daily basis that we were making choices of who to pay, who not to pay, “ Community Education’s former treasurer, Frank English, said in a deposition, referring to the company’s headquarters in West Caldwell, N.J.

 “Everybody knew that the company was struggling,” Mr. English added.

 Asked directly whether the company had contemplated bankruptcy, Mr. English said yes.

 He added that the company had hoped that it would not come to that and had always found a way to meet its payroll.

 Nevertheless, another former company executive, Chris Rausch, said in a deposition: “We were short cash. We couldn’t afford any extra head count.”

 “We were cutting heads,” he added.

 On the brink of bankruptcy, Community Education received $235 million in financing in December 2010, at interest rates as steep as 15.25 percent.

 The documents in the lawsuit indicate that the company’s finances have not improved markedly since then. Despite the new financing, the company remained in debt even to its auditors.

Finances Plague Company Running Halfway Houses

 Several documents about Community Education’s current finances — as well as sections of testimony — were not available for review because they were filed with the court under seal.

 After the articles about the state’s halfway houses were published in The Times last month, state lawmakers said the system should be regulated more tightly. The Legislature, which is controlled by Democrats, approved a measure requiring the Corrections Department to provide more information about halfway-house operations to the Legislature.

 But Mr. Christie, a Republican, used a line-item veto to weaken the requirements. His aides said the measure was burdensome, but some lawmakers contended that he was trying to protect Mr. Palatucci, the company executive who is his close friend.

 Since the 1990s, the state has allowed Community Education to obtain its contracts through a nonprofit organization that the company controls, skirting a state law that excludes private companies from this work.

 Last year, the office of the state comptroller, Matthew Boxer, raised alarms about this arrangement. After conducting an audit that harshly criticized state oversight of the halfway-house system, the office concluded that regulators were kept in the dark about Community Education’s finances.

 The Christie administration took no action in response to the comptroller’s warning.

 Mr. Clancy founded Community Education in the 1990s, promoting large-scale halfway houses as a solution for states seeking to scale back their prison systems. Since that time, he has courted politicians of both major parties while obtaining government contracts in New Jersey.

 Community Education has a total of 1,900 beds in six halfway houses in New Jersey, which 7,700 state inmates and parolees cycled through last year. The company has hundreds more beds for county and federal inmates.

 The company received about $71 million in the 2011 fiscal year from state and local government agencies in New Jersey, out of total halfway-house spending of roughly $105 million.

 The court documents show that in an effort to forestall bankruptcy, Community Education has had to give investors without substantial experience in corrections a role in running the company.

LLR Partners, a private-equity firm in Philadelphia that invested $53 million in the company with a partner, and other investors have been involved in deciding how to allocate personnel.

 “That’s done in an interest to maximize their investment?” Kevin J. O’Connor, the plaintiff’s lawyer in the lawsuit, asked at a deposition.

 “Yes,” answered Mr. Rausch, who was dismissed in 2009 after clashing with Mr. Clancy.

 The court documents stem from a lawsuit filed against Community Education last year by its former chief financial officer, David N. T. Watson.

 Mr. Watson contends that Mr. Clancy lied about the company’s financial turmoil when recruiting him and improperly fired him in December 2010.

 Mr. Watson and his lawyer, Mr. O’Connor, both declined to comment.

 Last month, responding to questions from The Times about the lawsuit, Community Education vehemently denied that it had experienced financial problems.

 “The company has never defaulted on any payment of debt,” the company said in a statement. “No financial issues existed that would have required disclosure.”

 That denial was described in the first article in The Times’s series, published on June 17.

 In depositions made public on Friday, however, five current and former Community Education executives, including Mr. Clancy, repeatedly acknowledged that the company was in default in 2009 and 2010.

 “It was in default for a lot of that time,” Mr. Clancy said. “It could have been all of that time.”

 Asked on Monday about the discrepancy, the company stood by its previous statement and added: “The referenced event concerns compliance with certain financial covenants contained in the company’s loan document. Those issues were subsequently remedied.”

 The court documents offered new insight into ties between Community Education and Governor Christie.

 In his deposition, Mr. Clancy said that he was a Democrat who supported Mr. Christie and that he was standing with Mr. Christie on the night he won election in November 2009.

 “The correct person won, which should make for a better 2010,” Mr. Clancy wrote to Seth J. Lehr, a co-founder of LLR Partners, the company investor.

 Mr. Lehr responded, “Relationships matter, and that’s a deep one for you and Bill”; that was a reference to Mr. Palatucci.

 Soon after, Mr. Clancy told another company executive to emphasize Mr. Palatucci’s connections to Mr. Christie in the information the company was sending to banks and potential investors, Mr. Clancy acknowledged in his deposition.

 At the time, the company was in dire straits and seeking capital. Mr. Clancy wanted the investors to know that Mr. Palatucci was co-chairman of Mr. Christie’s inauguration committee, and Mr. Christie’s former law partner, according to the deposition.

 Mr. Clancy said in the deposition that he considered Mr. Christie a friend. “ ‘Friend’ does not mean more business,” Mr. Clancy said. “ ‘Friend’ does not mean anything more than we were friends.”

 The depositions also raise new questions about a $130 million contract that Community Education received in 2011 to house federal immigrant detainees and county inmates in Newark.

 Immigrant advocacy groups have long asserted that the contract, which was administered by Essex County, was written in a way to ensure that only Community Education could receive it.

 In depositions, former company executives said Mr. Clancy had been so certain that Community Education would receive the contract that he used it as leverage in negotiations with investors.

 Community Education, which was the only bidder, received the contract. The company said Monday that it had not had an unfair advantage in the process.

Also Please read- NYT article

 An investigation into New Jersey’s halfway houses.

Unlocked, Part 1

As Escapees Stream Out, a Penal Business Thrives

(June 17, 2012)

Education Reform and Reformatory Reform - Are They Really Different?

“This place is like a jail!”

How many times have you heard kids say that about school?

Well, out of the mouths of babes. They won’t be far from wrong in the near future!

Prior to the 1980s private prisons were unheard of !

Since then the privatization of the prison systems with its over two million inmates has skyrocketed.

  I certainly think that privatization of public schools with its over fifty-eight million students (inmates) is not far behind!

I sure hope that I am wrong.

*******

http://www.economist.com/blogs/democracyinamerica/2010/08/private_prisons

“Mother Jones reporter Suzy Khimm, writing at Ezra Klein's spot, observes that the portion of Arizona's prison population now residing in privately owned and operated facilities is 20% and growing. "Nationally," Ms Khimm notes, "there's been a similar surge in private prison construction as the inmate population has tripled between 1987 and 2007: Inmates in private prisons now account for 9% of the total US prison population, up from 6% in 2000." Should we welcome this development?”

*********

http://money.cnn.com/2010/08/17/news/economy/private_prisons_economic_impact.fortune/index.htm

“The move has translated into big business for industry leaders like Corrections Corporation of America (CXW), The Geo Group (GEO) and Cornell Companies, Inc. (CRN) (just last week, The Geo Group and Cornell finalized a merger valued at $730 million).

According to research firm IBISWorld USA, private corrections is a $22.7 billion industry with an annual growth rate in the last half-decade of 4.7%. While growth slowed from 2009 to 2010, projections for the industry remain largely optimistic.”

"States have had challenging situations where they have to look at operating costs. We provide savings of anywhere between 5 to 15% or more [versus a public correctional facility]," says Damon Hininger, chairman and CEO of Corrections Corporation of America (CCA), the industry's leader.

Private facilities can offer these savings, in part because they don't have to contend with the hefty employee pension and wage obligations that government agencies do.

"Private corrections companies can pay a lower wage or pay fewer benefits, particularly no pensions," says John Roman, senior researcher at The Urban Institute.

*********

Mr. 'Tough Guy' in Action

 It's really easy to be "tough" with State Police protection at your side!
How "tough" would he be without them. With his attitude he wouldn't last ten minutes in a Seaside bar without getting punched in the face or maybe worst!
Give me a cadre of cops (with guns) accompanying me at all times and I'll be  toughest guy in town!
What BS!

Believe It or Not - Practice Makes Perfect

This letter brings to mind a story told to me by a colleague who was teaching physics in a neighboring community.

After a classroom observation the supervisor mentioned to the teacher -

"That was an excellent lesson. How long did it take you to prepare it?"

My friend paused and then replied "About ten years!"

Does experience count? 

I think so!!
Unfortunately, I think for many,  obtaining jobs for those who are connected and saving money counts more!

And The Beat Goes On!

This letter was sent to me by one of our readers.
I think it pertains not only to Social Security but also to the New Jersey State Pension Fund. 
Essentially, all governors and their cohorts in the Assembly and Senate from Whittman on, have raided the Fund so as to give the illusion of lower taxes and thereby effectively bought votes with our money.
Like it or not, your money was inessence contributed to the political campaigns of all these politicians so as to help ensure their reelection.
And the sadist part, the beat go on with Christie and his minions in New Jersey government.
P.S.
Thanks Marguerite for the letter!

This Montana woman stated it quite clearly.
Alan Simpson, Senator from Wyoming , Co-Chair of Obama's
deficit commission, calls senior citizens the Greediest Generation, as he compared "Social Security" to a Milk Cow with 310 million teats.

Here's a response in a letter from PATTY MYERS in Montana ...
 I think she is a little ticked off! She also tells it like it is!

 "Hey Alan, let's get a few things straight!

1. As a career politician, you have been on the public dole  for FIFTY YEARS.

2. I have been paying Social Security taxes for 48 YEARS (since I was 15 years old. I am now 63).

3. My Social Security payments, and those of millions of  other Americans, were safely tucked away in an interest bearing  account for decades until you political pukes decided to raid the account and give OUR money to a bunch of zero ambition losers in  return for votes, thus bankrupting the system and turning Social  Security into a Ponzi scheme that would have made Bernie Madoff proud.

4. Recently, just like Lucy & Charlie Brown, you and your ilk pulled the proverbial football away from millions of American  seniors nearing retirement and moved the goalposts for full  retirement from age 65 to age 67. NOW, you and your shill commission is proposing to move the goalposts YET AGAIN.''

5. I, and millions of other Americans, have been paying into Medicare from Day One, and now you morons propose to change the rules of the game. Why? Because you idiots mismanaged other parts of  the economy to such an extent that you need to steal money from  Medicare to pay the bills. And you've spent more than any administration in history.

6. I, and millions of other Americans, have been paying income taxes our entire lives, and now you propose to increase our taxes yet again. Why? Because you incompetent bastards spent our money so profligately that you just kept on spending even after you  ran out of money. Now, you come to the American taxpayers and say you need more to pay off YOUR debt. To add insult to injury, you label us "greedy" for calling "bullshit" on your incompetence. Well, Captain Bullshit, I have a  few questions for YOU.

 1. How much money have you earned from the American  taxpayers during your pathetic 50-year political career?

2. At what age did you retire from your pathetic political  career, and how much are you receiving in annual retirement benefits from the American taxpayers?

3. How much do you pay for YOUR government provided health  insurance?

4. What cuts in YOUR retirement and healthcare benefits are  you proposing in your disgusting deficit reduction proposal, or, as  usual, have you exempted yourself and your political cronies?  It is you, Captain Bullshit, and your political  co-conspirators called Congress who are the "greedy" ones. It is you and your fellow nutcases who have bankrupted America and stolen the  American dream from millions of loyal, patriotic taxpayers. And for what? Votes!  That's right, sir. You and yours have bankrupted America for the sole purpose of advancing your pathetic political careers. You know it, we know it, and you know that we know it.  And you can take that to the bank, you miserable son of a bitch.

 If you like the way things are in America delete this.
If you agree with what a fellow Montana citizen Patty Myers says, PASS  IT ON!!!

Have a wonderful day!

Working Hard or Hardly Working?

Trippin' With The Gov!

Was he docked or did he use his "Personal Days"?

- - Private Education is Just Grand - - Many Grand for Some!

Aint Private Education
Just Grand!
But Certainly Not for the
Students
The tuition at Stevens
is $41,942 !

Witnessing the Extinction of an Endangered Species

"Walker's victory could bring more efforts to weaken public unions" 


Read it at:
http://www.cnn.com/2012/06/06/politics/wisconsin-recall-unions/index.html?hpt=hp_t2



"First they came for the  Communists  and no one complained,  then they came for the  Jews  and no one complained,  then they came for the  Gypsies  and no one complained then they came for me and there was no one left to complain."

Dear Friends (I think)

I have had a major catastrophe!  Both of the hard drives in my computer failed simultaneously and I have lost all data. I have bought a new computer but I don't have the email addresses for the people to whom I send my blog notifications.
If you would send to me your email address and that of any other people who you think might be interested in this blog I will appreciate it.


My email is   wsautter@optonline.net


Thanks

Walt


 PS
I just saw in the paper that Judge Hurd refused to reinstate the pension COLA! Maybe I should have spelled his name with a "T".
PSS
I have also noted that judges in NJ did not have their pensions effected by the new pension laws? Very curious isn't it??

Iris Hits The Nail on The Head

If This Doesn't Piss You Off - Check Your Pulse - You Must Be Dead!

"Hey - This pension reform thing is working great -
For my buds!"

Gov. Christie's pension issue: N.J. probe looks at running mate, double-dipping

N.J. Gov. Chris Christie with Lt. Gov. Kim Guadagno in November 2011. Despite Guadagno's involvement in a criminal investigation of pension abuse, Christie has not appointed a special prosecutor.

By Mark Lagerkvist
New Jersey Watchdog

New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie — a rising star in the national Republican Party — called an overhaul of the state pension system his "biggest governmental victory." He now faces embarrassment from flaws his reforms failed to fix.
But his reform did little to stop the age-old New Jersey practice of double-dipping, in which employees "retire," start collecting a pension, and then are rehired, often the next day. Christie's own deputy chief of staff collects $219,000 a year from the state — a $130,000 salary as a top aide to the governor plus $89,000 in state pension.

Worse for Christie, a criminal investigation is under way involving his running mate, New Jersey Lt. Gov. Kim Guadagno.

As a county sheriff in 2008, Guadagno made false statements to enable her chief officer to pocket nearly $85,000 a year in retirement pay while drawing an $87,500 annual salary. The double-dipping scheme first was reported by New Jersey Watchdog in 2010.

The state's investigation is assigned to the Attorney's General's Division of Criminal Justice, a unit where Guadagno once served as deputy director. Despite the apparent conflict, Christie has not appointed a special prosecutor.

A spokesman for Christie and Guadagno declined to comment. The Attorney General's Office did not respond to questions.

Pension abuses are so rampant in New Jersey that even the agency investigating Guadagno has its own controversy.

Twenty-three supervisors and investigators for the Attorney General’s Office and DCJ are using legal loopholes to draw salaries and pension pay, New Jersey Watchdog found. On average, each pockets $164,000 a year — $96,000 in salary and $68,000 in pension.

Most "retired" for just one night. Those officers left their positions with the Attorney General’s Office only to return to the same employer the next morning with new job titles — and two paychecks instead of one.

In a continuing series of investigative reports, New Jersey Watchdog exposed similar double-dipping practices involving 125 officers employed by prosecutors, 18 officials from a state Homeland Security Unit and 44 county sheriffs and undersheriffs — in addition to the Guadagno story.

Democratic State Sen. Fred Madden is a "triple-dipper" who collects more than $241,000 a year from public coffers — $49,000 as a legislator, $106,983 as a police academy dean and an $85,272 pension as a State Police retiree.

"I don't have a problem with it at all," said Madden.

The Guadagno controversy -
While Madden and others profit from loopholes in pension rules, the circumstances surrounding Christie's second-in-command raise questions of fraud and deception.

Guadagno was elected sheriff of Monmouth County in 2007. She previously worked as an assistant U.S. attorney and as an assistant New Jersey attorney general. From 1998 to 2001, Guadagno served as deputy director of the DCJ — the unit now assigned to investigate the case in which she's a major figure.

In 2008, Guadagno hired Michael Donovan Jr., a retired investigator for the county prosecutor, as the sheriff’s “chief of law enforcement division.” She announced the appointment in a memo to her staff.

The focus of a criminal investigation of pension abuse, Chief Michael Donovan takes an oath of office in the Monmouth County, N.J., Sheriff's Office on Sept. 22, 2008. Donovan's job title was fudged to allow him to collect his pension and his pay at the same time. The swearing in was witnessed by his mother, Emily, and then-Sheriff Kim Guadagno, now the state's lieutenant governor. Donovan was sworn in by Judge Lawrence M. Lawson.

But there was a problem. As a sheriff's chief officer — a position covered by the pension system — Donovan would be required to stop receiving pension checks and resume contributions to the state retirement fund.

Guadagno fudged the job title, so Donovan could double-dip. In county payroll records, the oath of office and a news release, Donovan was called the sheriff's "chief warrant officer" — a low-ranking position exempt from the pension system.

A chief warrant officer oversees the service of warrants and other legal documents. In contrast, the sheriff's official website identified Donovan as "sheriff's officer chief," supervising 115 subordinate officers and 30 civilian employees.

On Guadagno’s organizational chart, Donovan was listed as chief of law enforcement — and the position of chief warrant officer was conspicuously absent.

The ruse allowed Donovan to collect an $87,500 salary from Monmouth County in addition to an $85,000 pension as a retired county employee.

A Conflicted Investigation - When Guadagno was elected as Christie's running mate in the 2009 election, she resigned as sheriff.

In 2010, state Treasury pension officials began to ask Monmouth County about retiree Donovan's employment. "I would respectfully request that former Sheriff Guadagno be contacted..." replied her successor, Shaun Golden, in a letter forwarded to the Treasury.

The Treasury denied the existence of any correspondence or email contact with Guadagno or Christie regarding Donovan. Officials also rejected requests for records of the Treasury's inquiry.

In response, New Jersey Watchdog filed a formal complaint with the state Government Records Council, a body consisting of gubernatorial appointees and cabinet officials. One year later, the council has yet to render an advisory opinion.

Meanwhile, the state Police and Firemen's Retirement System's Board of Trustees took action of its own.

"It's a double-whammy," said PFRS chairman John Sierchio. "If you're going to retire under one job title and come back under another title, we have a problem with that. The chief of sheriff is a covered title under the pension system — and they should be contributing instead of drawing out."

The PFRS board voted in May 2011 to call for a criminal investigation of Donovan and parallel instances involving John Dough, of Essex County, and Harold Gibson, of Union County. The case was referred to DCJ.

However, the investigation is riddled with a maze of potential conflicts of interest:
•DCJ is probing allegations involving its own former deputy director, Guadagno.
•Nearly two dozen DCJ investigators and supervisors are "double-dippers" who collect state paychecks and pensions.
•Attorney General Jeffrey Chiesa, a Christie appointee, is ultimately in charge of the probe of fellow cabinet member Guadagno. Chiesa is also former chief counsel to Christie.
•Despite evidence of possible wrongdoing by his lieutenant governor, Christie has not appointed a special prosecutor or authorized an independent investigation.

One year later, the PFRS board remains in the dark. "I keep asking, but we haven't been told anything," said Sierchio.

Lt. Gov. Kim Guadagno of New Jersey. When she was a county sheriff, her office fudged a job description and organizational charts to allow an aide to double-dip on his pension. Guadagno has declined to comment.

Sean Conner, a spokesman for Christie and Guadagno, refused to listen to questions about Guadagno's role or the need for a special prosecutor.

"Let me stop you right there," Conner told New Jersey Watchdog. "If it was referred to DCJ, you need to call DCJ."

The Attorney General's Office did not respond to questions about the investigation.

Back in Monmouth County, Donovan has another new job title — but he’s still a double-dipper. In February 2011, Golden named him undersheriff in charge of law enforcement — a strikingly similar position, but one apparently exempt in the labyrinth of pension rules. Donovan currently gets an $86,000 annual pension on top of his $92,000 salary.

While sheriff's chief, Donovan pocketed $227,000 in retirement checks. Since he did not re-enroll in the pension system, he avoided $18,000 in contributions to the retirement fund. If state authorities ultimately determine Donovan violated pension rules, he could be forced to repay $245,000.

Reform...except for double-dipping - Pension fraud and widespread abuse are nothing new in New Jersey.

The federal Securities and Exchange Commission accused New Jersey of pension fraud in 2010. It was the first time the SEC had taken action against a state government over public pension funds.

According to the SEC, New Jersey misled its bond investors from 2001 to 2007 by failing to disclose it had not met its obligation to fund public workers' pension funds. The lawsuit was settled with a cease-and-desist order, which the state accepted without admitting or denying the charges. The alleged fraud occurred on the watch of four previous governors.

Christie vowed to overhaul the pension system. With the state facing a $45 billion pension shortfall when he took office, the new governor spearheaded legislation that he signed into law last year.

"We are putting the people first and daring to touch the third rail of politics to bring reform to unsustainable system," stated Christie in a news release. “We are once again showing the people of New Jersey that our state is leading the way on the biggest challenges before us and remains unafraid to do what is hard, but necessary."

But the reforms did little to halt widespread double-dipping by numerous public employees, including Christie's deputy chief of staff.

Louis Goetting gets $219,000 a year from the state — $130,000 in salary as a top aide to the governor plus $89,000 in state pension payments from an early retirement deal. Christie hired Goetting in 2010 as a budget guru to help trim the cost of government.

In addition, Goetting (pronounced “getting”) received two golden parachutes from public coffers before joining Christie — severance packages of $190,000 from Brookdale Community College in 2009 and $180,000 from University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey in 2002.


Gov. Chris Christie of New Jersey has touted his pension reforms, which have done little to halt the practice of double-dipping by public employees, including his deputy chief of staff.

The bottom line: Goetting has gotten more than $1.1 million in pension and severance pay — and he still draws a six-figure salary from the state.

In answer to questions about Goetting's double-dips, the governor's press office has reiterated a statement Christie issued last year: "There is no one in my administration, myself included, who understands about the operation of this government better than Lou Goetting does. And so the people of New Jersey have gotten an incredible bargain.”

Pension reforms will not be complete without an investigative staff to monitor potential abuses, according to PFRS chairman Sierchio. He noted there are 275,000 retirees — but no investigators assigned to review complaints.

"We don't have anybody watching the store," said Sierchio. "We've got an $80 billion pension system, and nobody to investigate anything. Once you get your pension, you never have to look over your shoulder.

Why Not Whys Instead of Hows?

All the recent clamor about student loan rates got me to thinking about my own college days.

I graduated from a rural, north western, New Jersey high school in 1960.

My family lived on the edge. My father was in his seventies and disabled. We lived solely on his monthly Social Security check (I know – “socialism, entitlements, feeding at the public trough, etc.”) but without it we wouldn’t have survived.

Upon graduation I sought a college with the lowest possible tuition. The one I found was East Carolina College in Greenville, North Carolina however even that was more than I could afford when I considered the costs of transportation.

As a result, I joined the work force delivering coal for the local lumberyard.

After a year of hard labor I accumulated two years of tuition money and was admitted to Montclair State College.

Enough about me.

What does this have to do will the current banter regarding student loan rates?

Well, I clearly recall the tuition rate that I paid in 1961was -  are you ready?

      One hundred and fifty dollars per year!

If it weren’t for that minimal tuition rate, I and many like me, could have never moved from the poverty class to the middle class. I’d still be shoveling coal for a living!

As you can see below, the rate for the same college today is approaching ten thousand dollars per year!

Now I know what many of  you will say.

“Yes, but everything was cheaper then and a dollar was worth much more than today.”

All this is true but let’s use some simple arithmetic to give these numbers current day prospective so they can be fully appreciated.

First, consider that tuition rates have increased 6400% over the past forty-five years ($150 to $9674).

My first teaching job in 1965 paid a starting salary of $5200. Today a starting salary hovers around $50,000 a less than 690% increase.

In 1966 I bought my first new car, a fully loaded Pontiac Lemans (one of the most popular and stylish cars of the day). The cost - $2750!

A similar car today (a Honda Accord) goes for approximately $23,000, an 840% increase.

Gasoline prices (another topic of popular controversy) were at $.33 per gallon. Today - $4.00 per gallon – a 1200% increase.

Even housing has risen at a significantly lesser rate than college tuition. In 1965 a new single family, split level sold for about $25,000. Today that same house bears a price tag of about $450,000 – an increase of  a mere 1800%.

The education “reform” movement in New Jersey and elsewhere throughout the nation proclaims that vouchers and privatization will lower costs.

All colleges, both public and private participate in the “free market” in that they are obliged to compete for students (customers).

Based on the aforementioned  statistics it certainly appears that the “free market” when applied to education does not reduce costs. When compared to the price rises of other “commodities” it may be actually increasing costs to the consumer?

It appears that college tuition rates have “gone wild”.

How does this relate to public education?

Here’s how!

Why have no questions been asked as  to why college costs have skyrocketed  beyond all other costs? Only questions about interest rates on the loans that are required in order to pay them have been raised!

The same vein of discussion occurs pertaining to health care costs. Again, little asked as to why costs are so high but instead how and who is going to pay them!

The whys of  the costs of both of these vital services are never called into question?

Interestingly enough however, when it comes to costs of public education and public services which have risen not near so dramatically, the conversation immediately changes from “How do we pay for it?” to “Let’s limit costs by reducing salaries and benefits and putting caps on budgets”.

Why is this approach to solving cost problems applied only to public services and public servants and never to purveyors the services that engage in the most egregious price rises of all?

Maybe I Was Too Extreme in My Cynicism - Probably Not!

As you well know, I have frequently doubted the motives of the organizers of “education reform” groups such as B4Kids and Students First.

At times, after writing these articles,  I  began to question my own cynicism.

“Maybe I was being too extreme in my suspicions?”

Several days ago, the flyer below was sent to me.

Any trace of self-doubt has since disappeared!

******************************************** As you open your pocketbooks for the next natural disaster, please keep these facts in mind: The American Red Cross President and CEO Marsha J. Evans' salary for the year was $951,957 plus expenses.      The United Way President Brian Gallagher receives a $675,000 base salary along with numerous expense benefits. UNICEF CEO Caryl M. Stern receives $1,900,000 per year (158K) per month, plus all expenses including a ROLLS ROYCE. Less than 5 cents (4.4 cents) per donated dollar goes to the cause. ****************************************************** PS There are some worthy organizations however: The Salvation Army's Commissioner Todd Bassett receives a salary of only $13,000 per year (plus housing) for managing this $2 billion dollar organization. 96 percent of donated dollars go to the cause. The American Legion National Commander receives a $0.00 zero salary. Your donations go to help Veterans and their families and youth! · The Veterans of Foreign Wars National Commander receives a $0.00 zero salary. Your donations go to help Veterans and their families and youth! · The Disabled American Veterans National Commander receives a $0.00 zero salary.  Your donations go to help Veterans and their families and youth! · The Military Order of Purple Hearts National Commander receives a $0.00 zero salary.  Your donations go to help Veterans and their families and youth! · The Vietnam Veterans Association National Commander receives a $0.00 zero salary.  Your donations go to help Veterans and their families and youth!   Please share this with everyone you can.

Tenure Reform -Cutting Higher-Paid Teachers

I found this article on the Internet.

Mr. Krausser is right "on the money"

Tenure reform is all about cutting higher-paid teachers
6:52 PM, Mar. 23, 2012 - Asbury Park Press

Gov. Chris Christie’s tenure reform is really all about money. Any type of tenure revision will allow administrators to remove seasoned teachers, who make the highest salaries*

This type of age discrimination will result in having millions of extra dollars in local and state budgets. This money will not be given back to the taxpayer. It will allow politicians to have even more money to use on pet projects.

This is the reason tenure reform is getting bipartisan support. Both Democrats and Republicans will have a field day spending taxpayer money.

Remember, for more than 15 years, both parties raided the teacher pension fund. Now that there is no money left, they have to find another way to take from the middle class.

In the interim, public schools will deteriorate because young, high-quality teachers will leave the profession, knowing that after working for 10 years they will be out the door. Tenure reform also will result in many age-discrimination lawsuits against boards of education, which is just what we don’t need in this state.

If Christie really wanted to improve education, he would introduce legislation that requires administrators to spend 10 years in the classroom as a teacher. Most administrators are teachers who couldn’t teach but had political connections.

The biggest problem in education is the lack of leadership in our public schools **.

Edward M. Krausser

Wall


*Let me add that taxpayer's money will not be saved by cutting high paid teachers. Those "savings" will go into the pockets of the CEOs and highly paid executives that will run the private schools which are soon to replace today's public schools.
** Many of today's "educational leaders" are self proclaimed, well connected  "experts" with a good line of educational jargon and theory but little or no actual teaching experience.

And The Beat (Down) Goes On!

The definition of Tenure - Merrian Webster

: the act, right, manner, or term of holding something (as a landed property, a position, or an office); especially : a status granted after a trial period to a teacher that gives protection from summary dismissal

********************

I read in the Ledger again today about the Governor's plan to “reform” tenure. I decided to lookup the exact meaning of the word. 

Based on that definition it appears to me that  the tenure “reform” plan is not to “reform” tenure but instead to eliminate it.

Awarding five year contracts is not at all tenure as it is defined.

“Reform” evidently means to allow the awarding of consecutive, short term contracts granted at the employer's whim. That certainly is not cited in the definition of “tenure”.

The Ledger went on to praise the Newark School Superintendent (Cami  Anderson) for her removing eighty “poorly performing” teachers from the classroom.

It described her anguish regarding tenure in that she was unable to readily dismiss “poorly performing” teachers.

And could  it be that some of her angst arises from the fact that she and all superintendents in New Jersey have lost tenure and therefore no one else should be tenured? I’m just asking!

Needless to say the Star-Ledger editor and she both fully support the elimination of  teacher tenure and seniority rights in New Jersey Public Schools.

I looked up some statistics pertaining to the Newark School System.

“Newark Public Schools, with 75 schools, 7,000 employees and a student population of 39,440, is the largest and one of the oldest school systems in New Jersey. Its origin dates back to 1676 and Barringer High School in Newark’s North Ward, is the third oldest public high school in the nation.”

A little fourth grade math tells me that eighty out of seven thousand is 1.1%.

So let me get this straight!

We should eliminate teachers rights for the 98.9% so as to enable the easy dismissal of the 1.1% of “poorly performing” teachers?

Let's pretend I was teaching a class and 1.1% of the children failed a test. Should I then justifiably punish the entire class for the poor performance of those few? 

Do you think I might be called to the principal’s office if I did?

Suppose I were to tell him that I punished everyone because just punishing the 1.1% was far too difficult for me to do? How do you think that excuse would work?

I'm sure you get my point.

The straw man issue of the expense and difficult of removing “poor performing” tenured staff which is constantly cited as justification for “tenure reform”.  Please take a moment to read my article of Sunday, February 19, 2012  - “$100,000 Questions About Tenure” (which I have added below) and you will see what I mean.

Teachers have spent fifty years, legitimately building the profession into one with a modicum of respect, decent wages and benefits. Now within just a few years those gains are being er
oded and destroyed, all without protest.

In spite of the Governor's claim of a powerful NJEA, it has done little in response to the current attack on teachers. The union has been docile and completely ineffectual at best.

Trust me, all this is a guise to lay the ground work for the complete privatization of public education in New Jersey and throughout the country.

The loss of tenure and seniority will further weaken and destroy what is left of the teaching profession.

 When privatization is finally accomplished the corporations which will run the schools will then not have to deal with teacher rights and tenure issues. They will be able to hire and fire at will, pay low wages and reap great rewards for themselves and their executives.

*************

$100,000 Questions About Tenure

The constant cry from those wishing to eliminate tenure is that the cost of firing a tenured teacher is extreme (the claim is up to $100,000).

Why does it cost so much to remove a poorly performing, tenured teacher?

Because lawyers charge school districts exorbitant  fees in order to carry out the process.

Instead of ending tenure for all teachers, the majority of whom are doing well, why not limit the cost of firing the poor ones?

We should look at capping the outrageous legal fees that are paid by school systems each year.

The State is certainly very good at capping all other aspects of school district spending why not cap these?

If this was done, some questions might arise.

Would lawyers take tenure cases filed by school districts at reduced fees?

Last year,  New Jersey admitted 3037 lawyers to the Bar. Estimated job openings were 844 leaving a surplus of  2193 . The median wage for New Jersey lawyers is $43.84 per hour. *

If the law of supply and demand works, it should be easy to hire lawyers to pursue these actions.

Another question might then be, would districts be able to obtain the “best” lawyers if legal costs were capped?

Well, if the charges brought against an individual are valid and well documented, I don't think districts need Johnny Cochran to win the case!

Another cost saving measure might be, having the State hiring a group of salaried lawyers to be leased to school districts at  nominal rates. These lawyers could then pursue tenure charge cases instead of having districts spend outlandish sums by hiring independent law firms.

If the real motivation behind ending tenure is only so that “poor” teachers can be fired without huge cost why not investigate these alternatives?

(My own opinion, this is not the real motivation for the elimination of tenure.)

PS

Does anyone really think that the Governor (who is a lawyer) and the legislature (which is in majority composed of lawyers) would ever even suggest much entertain these types of action?

It's much easier and more fun to beat up on teachers!

* http://economix.blogs.nytimes.com/

Education Reform in New Jersey 2012

I just got a look at Governor Christie's Education Reform Plan guide lines for 2012.
Here they are:
(1) Teachers each day will fill lamps, clean chimneys.
(2) Each teacher will bring a bucket of water and a scuttle of coal for the day’s session.
(3) Make your pens carefully. You may whittle nibs to the individual taste of the pupils.
(4) Men teachers may take one evening each week for courting purposes, or two evenings a week if they go to church.
(5) After ten hours in school, the teachers may spend the remaining time reading the Bible or other good books. (6) Every good teacher should lay aside from each pay a goodly sum of his earnings for his benefit during his declining years so that he will not be a burden on society. (don't count on the pension)
(7) Any teacher who smokes, uses liquor in any form, frequents pool or public halls, or gets shaved in a barber shop will give good reason to suspect his worth, intention, integrity, and honesty.
(8) The teacher who performs his labor faithfully and without fault for five years will be given an increase of twenty-five cents per week in his pay, providing the Board of Education approves. (at least it's not a wage freeze like last year!)
(9) Prepare for school events such as the popular Christmas pageant. Decide what to include in the program each year, teach each student what his or her part is and decorate the building for it.
(10) Bulletin boards in every room must display a large, (very large), flattering picture of the Governor. (that is if one can be found !)**
(11) A copy of “My Pet Goat” must be kept handy at all time in case the school comes under “Lock Down” while the Governor is visiting so that he may read it to the children.**
(12) To keep the school room neat and clean, you must:
-Sweep the floor at least once daily
-Scrub the floor at least once a week with hot, soapy water
-Clean the blackboards at least once a day
-Start the fire at 7 a.m. so the room will be warm by 8 a.m

The following is a list of additional rules for female teachers
(1) You will not marry during the term of your contract. You are not to keep company with men.
(2) You must be home between the hours of 8 p.m. and 6 a.m. unless attending a school function.
(3) You may not loiter downtown in any ice cream stores.
(4) You may not travel beyond the city limits unless you have permission of the chairmen of the board (Frank Sinatra?)
(5) You may not smoke cigarettes.
(6) You may not under any circumstances dye your hair.
(7) You may not dress in bright colors.
(8) You may not ride in a carriage or automobile with any man unless he be your father or brother.
(9) You must wear at least two petticoats.
(10) Your dresses must not be any shorter than 2 inches above the ankles.
(11) Women teachers who marry or engage in unseemly conduct will be dismissed.
(12) Women teachers must carry an aspirin tablet with them at all times.**

*Raymond Bial’s One-Room School (Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1999 - **with some of my embellishments)
The good old days of teaching!
If teachers don't stand up and fight back, they may return sooner than you think!