On thing is consistent everything that Schundler's touches is a flop.  An example of this is his Golden Door Charter School.

In an article dated December 18, 1999, the Jersey Journal compares the scores of two Charter Schools in Language, Math and Science.  The article states, "...the Golden Door School had the lowest overall proficiency scores in the county with only 1.8 percent of students proficient on the test.

    "Sixty-two of the Golden Door students were labeled proficient in science.  But the figure was just 15percent in language arts and only 6 percent for math.

    "Golden Door's lackluster performance mirrored that of many charter schools statewide.  In many of the alternative-style schools, their scores failed to meet the level of more traditional schools.

    "Thomas Favis, director of the city's teacher union, said he believes the dismal test results among many charter schools should be a red flag for the state to monitor them more.

    "The Golden Door's test results are horrible.   Their scores are below even the city's worst schools.  The state needs to get off its ass and hire people to monitor these (charter) schools.  You just can't give them a million dollars and walk away.  There has to be more accountability.   Nobody's going in there to see what they're doing."

    Several weeks before the horrible scores were published in the Jersey Journal, the founder of the Golden Door, Mayor Bret Schundler, wrote a "letter to the editor".  The title of his opinion was "Major gains in reading" which appeared on December 13, 1999.

    Schundler boasted, "Kindergartners at the Golden Door Charter School came in reading at 24th percentile nationally.  After completing just one year at the school, however, these same children are reading at 39th percentile nationally."

    I responded by explaining that 50 percentile is average.   This means 61 percentile of other students who took the test identical test during the same testing period, scored higher than the Golden Door's students. 

    Advantage, a for-profit company receives 20 percentage of $4 million is mis-educating students.

    Again, the Golden Door has troubles.  The state Department of Education place the school on a 90-day probation and ordered it to address more than a half-dozen accounting and other fiscal problems, including a $600,000 deficit on a total budget of $4.4 million last year.  The state audits said there was, "material weaknesses in internal control and a failure to meet state bidding requirements. 

    Doesn't the state know that Schundler doesn't believe in "bidding".   Look at the Jersey City Council agenda.  It has all "non-bidding" contracts.  That's how Schundler rewards his friends who contributes to his campaign.

    Part of the $600,000 deficit included about $200,000 to pay legal fees for the services of school attorney Colin Danzis.  Danzis' law firm contributed about $13,000 to Schundler's last mayoral campaign.

    However, Schundler the reformer should be taken to task.   The state revealed that only one-third of the funds is spend on instruction.

    Schunder's Golden Door ranked dead-last amoung Hudson County fourth-graders in a state-mandated test.