Gov. Christie visited Montclair High School, where he was met with TV media vans and a group of student protesters. We’ve learned that the principal tried to eject a camera crew shooting student protesters, but the governor’s PR staff intervened. A tipster tells us kids who had organized the protest were told they had to be respectful and aim the protest at Christie’s policies and not at the man.
Christie met with and answered questions from students involved in the Civics & Government Institute (CGI) at MHS and then held a press conference. Christie is visiting because of teachers’ salary freezes and staff cuts; Christie is offering more state aid to schools that freeze teacher pay. One female student broke down in tears while asking questions of the governor.
Christie says he finds news that the executive director of the New Jersey Education Association make $550,000 a year, which was broken by a radio reporter at the news conference, “shocking’ and “obscene,” and adds “I’m not going to fix 20 years of mistakes in one year.” Regarding teachers’ unions, Christie says, “These bullies need to be taken on and I’m taking them on. I have to stand up for the taxpayers of the state.”