Christie: Longer School Day, Year Only For Worst Schools

Gov. Chris Christie has assured a 10th grader attending Thursday's town hall meeting that his proposal to extend the school day and year won't affect her.

The teenager asked Christie why he proposed having students spend more time in the classroom.

The Republican governor joked that his four children have asked the same question.

He then said that his proposal would be restricted to the worst-performing schools in the state.

He said Asbury Park would be among the possible districts because half the high school seniors couldn't read at an eighth-grade level in recent tests.

Christie has proposed spending $4.5 million in the fiscal year that starts July 1 to fund a pilot program where districts can apply for grants to test ways to lengthen the school calendar.

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