The Record reports on N.J.’s status in the Race To The Top federal competition, and quotes NJEA spokesman Steve Baker, who argues that RTTT “continues to follow the error of NCLB in its emphasis on test scores.”

The Star-Ledger Editorial Board urges Governor-Elect Christie to maintain N.J.’s public preschools because they “represent the single greatest success story Trenton can claim over the last decade.”

Robert Aloia, Bergen County Special Services District is retiring among a flurry of accusations of profligacy, but The Record notes that he will walk away with a $1 million retirement deal:

A school administrator who is not performing up to the standards any reasonable taxpayer would expect can be terminated with little to no financial hardship. We ask not whether the district will have to pay a cool million to Aloia. That is a question for lawyers familiar with the wording of Aloia’s contracts to determine.

What we ask is: Who is writing and approving these contracts?

The Gloucester County Times reports that eight teacher unions and their respective boards are headed into contract mediation.

The Record reports that local schools are using periods usually reserved for electives for test prep:

“It’s all about the tests — it’s unfortunate, but that’s the way it has gone,” said Hasbrouck Heights math supervisor Joseph Mastropietro. “The key is we want them to graduate from high school and move on to college.”

The Asbury Park Press argues that Christie should “play hardball” with unions:

Targeting the state work force of about 73,000 alone won’t do it. It represents only about one-fifth of the state’s 400,000-plus public employees. And local government — municipal, county and schools — accounts for about two-thirds of all government spending in New Jersey. If Christie wants to reduce the overall tax burden in New Jersey, he must address the excesses of all public workers.

And the Asbury Park Press calls for an Atlantic City Board member to resign for a violation of the Code of Ethics.