Senate President Attends NJEA Summer Leadership Conference

Trenton – Senate President Steve Sweeney attended the New Jersey Education Association’s virtual Summer Leadership Conference today to discuss the Legislature’s work surrounding the Education Support Professionals (ESP) Job Justice Bill, school funding, pension payments, the state budget, and the state’s next steps concerning the COVID-19 pandemic.

“With NJEA as an important partner, the Legislature has accomplished a lot in the past year,” said Senator Sweeney (D-Gloucester/Salem/Cumberland). “As part of the 2022 state budget, we made a full payment to the state’s pension system, which will benefit our dedicated educators across the state. Together we are working to maintain the health and safety of teachers, and NJEA leadership is helping design the Garden State Health Plan to further reduce healthcare costs for educators. The NJEA also worked closely with us to protect non-teaching jobs from being unfairly subcontracted out by schools and county colleges.

“I particularly want to thank members of the NJEA leadership; President Marie Blistan, Vice President Sean Spiller, Secretary-Treasurer Steve Beatty, Secretary-Treasurer-elect Petal Robertson, Executive Director Steve Swetsky, Deputy Executive Director Kevin Kelleher. This is a collaboration of which I am very proud, one that will carry forward in the months and years ahead.”

Participating in the New Jersey Education Association’s Summer Leadership Conference are the newly elected NJEA local presidents across the state. Joining Senator Sweeney in today’s session were Governor Phil Murphy and Assembly Speaker Craig Coughlin.

“We greatly appreciate Senate President Sweeney, along with Governor Murphy and Speaker Coughlin, meeting with our local affiliate presidents today to talk about what is at stake in the upcoming election,” said NJEA Vice President and President-elect Sean M. Spiller. “We have worked together over the last two years to strengthen our profession, and we are going to work just as hard in the months ahead so we can continue to keep our public schools the very best in the nation.”