(TRENTON) – Assembly Education Committee Chairman Patrick J. Diegnan Jr. (D-Middlesex) released the following statement Friday on New Jersey losing out on $60 million in federal Race to the Top funding. This denial comes after the Christie administration lost out on $400 million in previous Race to the Top funding and a $15 million federal charter school grant:
“This is yet another lost opportunity for New Jersey’s children.
“When coupled with the bungled Race to the Top application and the failed charter school grant process, New Jersey’s schools have been denied nearly a half-billion dollars in federal aid.
“The Christie Administration simply has to do a better job. Hopefully, they finally realize that all stakeholders must be involved in future applications.
“Political ideology should never trump the educational needs of New Jersey’s children.”