According to an editorial in The Star-Ledger, the New Jersey Education Association (NJEA) has ensured that New Jersey will receive none of the $4 billion dollars available to states in the Race to the Top program. The NJEA "bristled" at charter school expansion and remains fundamentally opposed to merit pay, two reforms President Obama has emphasized in the program.

New Jersey had requested for up to $400 million, but did not make the first cut (see who did). "The New Jersey Education Association urged members not to participate," the newspaper editorial explains. The state is invited to apply again for the second round, but the editorial notes, "It doesn’t appear any change on the union’s part is in the offing."

NJEA spokesman Steve Wollmer is quoted as saying the union is "very comfortable" opposing the Race to the Top program, confirming that they would rather stand against the President's reform measures and forfeit $400 million in federal funding.

The editorial concludes, "The union’s inflexibility doesn’t place students first."

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