At the last minute, Gov. Christie threw out the compromises his Ed Commissioner Bret Schundler negotiated with the NJEA and submitted a proposal that was stronger on reform – but without the union's support. It will be VERY interesting to see how NJ fares in RTTT Round 2:

"There's still a wide variability," said Charles Barone, director of federal policy for Democrats for Education Reform, a Washington, D.C think-tank that has closely tracked the applications.

"A lot more have seen union buy-ins this time, because they realize the states would apply, anyway," he said. "But it still comes down to if you don't have robust reforms, you won't get high scores."

The Governor's Argument

That has been Christie's argument. He has repeatedly said that the reforms he is seeking, including new rules on teacher tenure, seniority and merit pay, go beyond whether the state gets the federal money. The state has applied for $399 million, the top end of the range it would be eligible for.

Schundler, Christie's education commissioner, took the same line yesterday in his first comments since the application was filed.

Schundler himself had to do an about-face after he negotiated a compromise with the New Jersey Education Association that would have left tenure reform off the table, only to have Christie publicly reject the deal and slap at his commissioner in the process.

Before a throng of reporters, Schundler yesterday acknowledged an "error" in reaching a deal last week without the governor's say-so, but said the application would not be hurt for lack of union support.

"I don't think the application will be compromised at all," he said. "Whether or not there will be more points for bolder reforms or more points for union support that is something we never knew ourselves. That is kind of a guess."

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