In the seemingly never-ending saga of Chris Christie versus the teachers and the New Jersey Education Association (NJEA), their union , the Governor has mounted a frequent, and often bitter attack on the educators in the state.
To hear him tell it, the teachers are responsible for the budget deficit in the state, as a direct consequence of their pensions and health benefits. Why, the primary obstacle to budget reform must be NJEA and its central tenet, teacher tenure. Abolish both, and not only would the deficit disappear-- POOF-- but also all the problems of low student performance would instantaneously disappear as well. We could have more charter schools, vouchers to improve school choice, and a sudden jump in student achievement all over the state.
Never mind that many of the schools in New Jersey already rank among the best in the country, with high achievement, high student graduation rates; these he never mentions. Only the failing schools, in places like Newark, Camden, and Jersey City -- which by coincidence also seem to be failing cities in so many measures.
With that as background, we turn now to the latest savior of public education in New Jersey, currently Acting Commissioner of Education, Christopher Cerf. In the wake of the Christie foul-ups that led to the loss of $400 million in Race to the Top funds, Christie got rid of Bret Schundler, then Commissioner of Education, and nominated Cerf, whose background included a variety of political appointments, as well as time with the New York city schools chancellor's office. As of late Feb. 2011, his appointment has not been confirmed by the Legislature-- and in light of recent revelations, that may never occur.
See, it's this way: in February, the Newark Star Ledger revealed that Cerf's home address in Montclair, New Jersey, was on record as the location of an educational consulting firm that just happened to be recommended for work on reforming the Newark school systems. Faster than you can say, "Conflict of Interest?", Cerf started spinning:
Cerf acknowledged Tuesday that he had a hand in the creation of the firm, but said he was no longer connected with it. He said he is now merely lending his address to the consulting firm because it needed a New Jersey mailing address.
"When this little consulting company [Global Education Advisors] was formed, I was part of the creation of it," he said. "I severed my relationship to it literally right after its formation. I have never received any compensation from it."
He said he never did anything with the company. "I have no presence or association with it. I have never taken a nickel from it," he said. "I never actually did anything with it, so I’m not in any way, shape or form related to it."
He asked The Star-Ledger not to publish this story because he said he did not think it was very important.
Even though Cerf didn't think it was very important, he immediately sat down with the Star Ledger in an attempt at damage control.
What is particularly curious about this kerfuffle is that it isn't the first time Cerf has not been as "pure as Caesar's wife." When he was working for the NY chancellor, it was revealed that Cerf had not disclosed his equity in the for-profit Edison School Ventures, as required by law.
Little is known about Global Education Advisors, despite their obvious talent for procuring a consulting contract. According to Cerf, the company is run by Rajeev Bajaj, who also seems to be president of Sangari Global Ventures, which lists Cerf's brother, Randall, as its CFO. And most of the work of SGV has been delivering instructional materials in Latin America.
So, to return to the question in the title, Mr. Cerf, What's Up with That?
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