Chris Christie’s School Choice Achievement.

My wife Kathy recently shared this Facebook post:

I posted these comments:

This cartoon has real substance. Newark, New Jersey public schools were so bad that the state had to take control in 1995. But no progress took place until beginning in 2010, when new Governor Chris Christie initiated his charter school program for inner cities. At that time, Newark parents, most of whom could not afford private schools, had no choice but the terrible public schools. Under Christie, parents flocked to the new non-union, privately run charter schools opening up. By the time Christie left office in 2017, 1/3 of Newark’s kids, 12,000, attended charters. These are parents who voluntarily exercised school choice. Tom Moran, editor of the NJ Star-Ledger, called the education improvement “dramatic” and Christie’s charter school reforms a top achievement. Moran, usually a major Christie critic, said there has never been “a Democratic governor who did as much for poor minorities” as Christie. And school choice was a centerpiece of that achievement.  

School choice is a major issue for me. I believe education tax dollars should follow the student—every student—with the parents making the choice of schooling options. Inner city parents need that choice the most. But every parent should have that choice. It’s not just a civil right. It is an individual, that is, a moral, right. Charter schools are a small, but important, step forward for school choice. 

It’s pleasing to see someone from the “other side” give credit where credit is due. Here are some excerpts from Tom Moran’s Chris Christie: Remember the upside (Tom Moran | Star-Ledger Editorial Board, Published: Mar. 15, 2020, 7:04 a.m.):

Christie did big things, and one of them was that 2011 reform, known as Chapter 78. It saved taxpayers billions of dollars, and it left our teachers, cops and other public workers with benefits that are still far more generous than most taxpayers enjoy.

His reforms improved schools in Newark and Camden dramatically, and he had to bang his head into brick walls to get it done. It’s not just that he built one of the best charter school sectors in the country, the traditional schools improved, too. And it was no right-wing model; his plan was almost the same as Barack Obama’s, and Cory Booker was his chief ally in the fight.

I torture my Democrats friends sometimes by asking them to name a Democratic governor who did as much for poor minorities. What, for example can Jon Corzine or Phil Murphy put up to match Christie?

Here are some excerpts from Tom Moran’s Ex-NJ Gov. Chris Christie speaks from hospital bed after COVID-19 diagnosis, feisty as ever

I’ve had more head-banging fights with this man than anyone in my career but I respect him. He was a consequential governor, and not just because of the fiscal reforms he launched. He transformed urban schools in Newark and Camden. And his bail reform freed thousands of low-income defendants who couldn’t pay bail. What Democratic governor did as much for poor people of color? 

Related Reading:

Charter Schools – Good, but Not the Long-Term Answer

As NJ State Closes 3 ‘Failing’ Charters, What About the Parents and the Children?

Real School Choice Depends on Free Exercise of Individual Rights

Newark's Successful Charter Schools Under Attack—for Being Successful

Charter Schools and their Reactionary Enemies--Part 1

Charter Schools and their Reactionary Enemies--Part 2

Charter Schools and their Reactionary Enemies--Part 3

NJ Mom Should Demand More Educational Freedom for Herself, Not Cut Down Others’ Freedom

A Newark, NJ Mother Demonstrates the Educational Power of Parental School Choice

Dividing Parents Over Charters and Traditional Government Schools

‘Investing’ of ‘Resources’ In Education Is Up to the Taxpayer

Backlash Against NJ's Charter School Expansion

Parents’ School Choice Rights Shouldn't Depend on Winning Elections

On Neo-George Wallaces Standing in the Schoolhouse Door, Keeping Children IN, rather than OUT

Toward a Free Market in Education: School Vouchers or Tax Credits? My Objective Standard article and letter replies:

• How can a tax-credit program keep government from regulating private schools, and is such a program politically viable?

• Would the Federal Government Permit States to Implement a Tax Credits Program?