Christie administration blames Corzine on charters

The Christie administration said Monday that New Jersey's failure to win a federal grant for charter school start-ups was the fault of a weak and understaffed state charter operation it inherited from Gov. Jon S. Corzine.

Democratic leaders criticized Gov. Christie last week after the state's failed bid for $14 million in education funds was made public by The Inquirer.

New Jersey's low-scoring application - combined with the Christie administration's unsuccessful effort to secure a $400 million federal Race to the Top education grant - indicates that education is not a priority for the governor, the lawmakers charged.

When asked about losing the grant, Christie spokesmen initially cited the governor's support of school choice and said efforts were being made to strengthen the charter program. The state plans to reapply for the grant, probably in the spring, according to state officials.

A week later, the administration ramped up its defense and blamed Christie's Democratic predecessor.

"We inherited an office [of charter schools] that was decimated," state education spokesman Alan Guenther said Monday.

The Corzine administration lost about $17 million in federal charter aid, Guenther said.

In 2009, during Corzine's tenure, New Jersey's application for about $13 million from the same start-up aid program was rejected, he said. A spokesman for the U.S. Department of Education confirmed that the application was denied.

In 2008-09, Guenther said, the state also was denied almost $4 million it was to have received in the third payout of a 2006 grant that would have totaled more than $10 million.

The reason, Guenther said, was that federal program officials said New Jersey was not opening enough charters or spending the money it was given fast enough.

New Jersey got only $100 that year, according to state records.

The state was awarded charter start-up grants, which usually cover three-year periods, three times before 2006. The federal program was launched in the mid-1990s.

Assembly Education Committee Chairman Patrick J. Diegnan Jr. (D., Middlesex) said again Monday that he wants acting Education Commissioner Rochelle Hendricks to speak to his committee about what went wrong with the state's application.

Hendricks was asked to appear Thursday but may not be available, Diegnan said.