NJEA PAC Questionnaire for 2021 General Election "*" indicates required fields LD #* Candidate's Name* First Last Address* Street Address Address Line 2 City State / Province / Region ZIP / Postal Code Work Phone*Cell Phone*Email* PLEASE INDICATE YOUR SUPPORT OR OPPOSITION FOR EACH ITEM BELOW: 1. Maintaining employee rights to collective bargaining* Support Oppose 2. Private school vouchers including tuition tax credits and “opportunity scholarships”* Support Oppose 3. Funding county colleges at the 1/3 level required by law* Support Oppose 4. Maintaining seniority rights* Support Oppose 5. Pre-school expansion* Support Oppose 6. Making college more affordable and lowering student debt* Support Oppose 1. POST-PANDEMIC SAFETY & POLICY As schools prepare for in-person instruction in the fall, school employees remain concerned about the safety of indoor activities due to COVID-19. New Jersey has long ignored school infrastructure issues and many school districts continue to struggle with aging buildings as well as dated ventilation systems. Currently, not all age groups can be vaccinated and there is no mandate for students to receive a COVID-19 vaccination. QUESTION: How can you help school employees address safety concerns and address school infrastructure needs going forward both in regular operating and SDA districts?*1. POST-PANDEMIC SAFETY & POLICY (continued) Furthermore, recovery from the pandemic is going to be a long-term effort. In spite of the hard work of teachers and educational support professionals, student learning was not the same and meeting students’ social-emotional needs is critical to their recovery and learning. Policymakers often create solutions without including education stakeholders in all facets of the discussion.QUESTION: How will you help ensure that the education community leads the conversation around post-pandemic education policy?*2. STATE BUDGET/SCHOOL & HIGHER EDUCATION FUNDING American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (ARPA) funds and state borrowing have provided public education (K-12 and higher education) the funding to not only meet basic needs, but also to ensure students have the programs they need to recover from the pandemic.QUESTION: Please explain how the legislature can help ensure school districts and county colleges will continue to be able to meet their operating costs when this funding is no longer available. Will you support additional revenue raisers?*3. PENSIONSThe state has budgeted the full actuarial pension contribution in their 2022 budget.QUESTION: Are you committed to the state continuing the full actuarial pension contribution each year and the goal of staying on the path toward fully funding the pension system?*4. HIGH STAKES TESTING NJEA believes that standardized tests should be valid, equitable to all students, and serve as one indicator among many that quantify a student’s academic achievement. We do not support standardized testing as a requirement to receive a high school diploma.QUESTION: What role, if any, do you believe standardized tests should play in a student’s academic life; a teacher’s evaluation; and a student’s graduation?*5. SCHOOL REGIONALIZATION & CONSOLIDATION Over the past several years, multiple proposals have surfaced that would eliminate K-8 school districts, require the creation of K-12 regional districts, and create county-wide school districts, sometimes without voter approval or public input.QUESTION: What importance do you place on the role of local stakeholders in deciding the structure of their schools? Will you ensure that any legislation dealing with regionalization and consolidation will require voter approval?*6. CHARTER SCHOOLSWhen the charter school law was proposed, NJEA supported the creation of charter schools as laboratories of innovation. However, charter schools today are not serving this function; they are simply replacement schools which, in many instances, drain funds from, and do not have to meet the same standards as, traditional public schools. NJEA is currently proposing legislation to address charter school financial transparency, while also holding charter schools to the same standards as traditional public schools in the areas of teacher certification and data collection requirements.QUESTION: If you support this, how would you help us move it to the governor’s desk? If not, how do you propose to ensure public charter schools are held to the same standards as traditional public schools?*7. STRENGTHENING THE TEACHING PROFESSION NJEA remains concerned that the number of students entering teacher preparation programs is on the decline.QUESTION: How can the legislature help encourage more people to enter the teaching profession? What can policymakers do to ensure that the pool of teachers reflects the diversity of the state?*