Early this week, New Jersey blew $400 million in federal education aid after botching the application process. Now the other shoe has dropped. Gov. Chris Christie has fired Bret Schundler, the state education commissioner who had shepherded the bid. According to our state news partner, NewJerseyNewsroom.com, Schundler had told the governor that New Jersey had corrected its application mistake when it made its presentation on it. A tape of that presentation made public yesterday showed that was not the case. You can read Tom Hester Sr.’s full story on NewJerseyNewsroom.com here.
But in one of those only-in-New-Jersey twists, NJ.com is saying Schundler demanded to be fired instead of resigning so he could collect unemployment. Here’s what Schundler told the Web site:
“I asked if they would mind writing a termination letter, instead of a resignation letter, because I do have a mortgage to pay, and I do have a daughter who’s just started college,” he said in an interview this morning. “And I, frankly, will need the unemployment insurance benefits until I find another job. … And they said fine. They said sure.”
