Teachers' union offends Christie

TRENTON - A teachers' union's memo hinting that Gov. Christie should die has escalated a war of words in a state already squabbling about public schools and how much they cost.

The memo from the Bergen County Education Association to its locals reads in part: "Dear Lord this year you have taken away my favorite actor, Patrick Swayze; my favorite actress, Farrah Fawcett; my favorite singer, Michael Jackson; and my favorite salesman, Billy Mays. I just wanted to let you know that Chris Christie is my favorite governor."

Association president Joe Coppola said that the item was a joke and that it wasn't meant to be made public. He apologized on Friday, saying he had made an error in judgment.

The New Jersey Education Association also was contrite. It issued an apology Friday, saying that the attack wasn't funny and that it took away from the serious discussion the group would like to have with the governor.

NJEA president Barbara Keshishian said she would try to apologize personally to Christie.

At an appearance in New Brunswick on Friday, Christie did not see any humor in the memo, and used it as another chance to blast the teachers' unions.

"They said they didn't intend it to be public," said Christie. "So, private prayer for my death would have been OK?"

One Republican lawmaker called for the state attorney general to investigate.

The memo escalated a war of words. During the Republican's run for governor last year, he didn't mind offending the teachers' union.

He refused to meet with the NJEA as it interviewed candidates to consider whom to endorse. And he attacked the union on the campaign trail.

"Frequently, the leadership of the NJEA has been a strong advocate for the status quo, whether the status quo is succeeding or failing," Christie said in July.

The union endorsed incumbent Democrat Jon S. Corzine in the election, and paid for fliers, staffed phone banks, and knocked on doors on his behalf.

This year, the state education association has aired television commercials critical of the governor.

The friction intensified last month when Christie proposed a state budget that called for state and federal aid to school districts to be cut about 11 percent. Many districts are getting cuts deeper than that and most say they expect to lay off staff.

Christie says that he'll give extra aid to any district where educators agree to freeze their salaries for the year and start paying a portion of their health insurance costs. Layoffs, he says, will be the fault of the unions, not him.

Steve Baker, an NJEA spokesman, said the group hoped the memo dustup would create an opportunity for the group to meet with Christie to talk about the future of the state's schools.

"Frankly, we have been talking at each other and we haven't been talking with each other," Baker said.