TRENTON – State Senator M. Teresa Ruiz (D-Essex), who serves as chair of the Senate Education Committee, issued the following statement regarding today’s announcement by the U.S. Department of Education that New Jersey will have the opportunity to compete among nine Race to the Top finalist states for a share of $200 million in federal education funding:
“New Jersey, without a doubt, is among the states leading the education reform movement in this country. We have demonstrated a strong commitment to improving the quality of education in this state, and for months, have engaged stakeholders across all sectors in a dynamic conversation about how best to do that.
“Today’s announcement by the U.S. Department of Education that New Jersey will have the opportunity to vie for additional funding for these initiatives is exciting news. A competition of this kind can only bring more energy to the discussion in our schools, and in our communities, about our efforts to bring about reform. Most importantly, it will give us a chance to secure funding that will be critical to implementing some of the strategies necessary to facilitate educational excellence statewide.”