Speaking of Schundler, here's an article about him and his newly hired #2, Andy Smarick (with a quote from DFER NJ's Kathleen Nugent):

Bret Schundler's top staff at the state Department of Education is shaping up into a mix of old and new, keeping in place several department veterans but also bringing in a roster of newcomers especially from the state's school choice movement.

The commissioner's most important appointment has yet to arrive. Schundler has named Andrew Smarick, a well-known fellow with the conservative Thomas B. Fordham Institute, to be his deputy commissioner, the No. 2 position in the department. He starts August 2.

Much of the speculation in Trenton is around the policies and politics that will come with Smarick, a big school choice advocate and vocal critic of urban school turnaround efforts.

Few doubt Smarick will seek to shake up the school establishment, and while he wouldn't comment last week, he has indicated his own interests in bringing changes specifically to Newark, a state-operated district at its own crossroads.

"I'm especially excited to get to lend a hand to the effort to improve Newark's schools," Smarick wrote in Fordham's blog, where he announced his new job.

"The city has a set of superb charter organizations, a remarkably strong nonprofit support infrastructure, and a hard-charging mayor."

A former deputy assistant secretary in the U.S. education department and founder of an Annapolis, Md., charter school, Smarick is a big hit with certain reform groups in New Jersey.

"Andy Smarick's joining is a huge win for our state," said Kathleen Nugent, of Democrats for Education Reform—New Jersey. "As one of the foremost thinkers and strategists on education reform, he will prioritize initiatives that promise the greatest impact and steer a strong course for New Jersey education."

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