NJEA Leader Stepping Down

One of Gov. Chris Christie's biggest antagonists is stepping down.

New Jersey Education Association President Barbara Keshishian's term expires on Aug. 31.

She will be succeeded by Burlington County mathematics teacher Wendell Steinhauer as head of the state's largest teachers' union.

Keshishian has been the face of the group that became a lightning rod for the Republican governor.

He enacted pension and health benefits reforms that the union bitterly opposed.

Christie has since revised teacher tenure laws, taking away lifetime tenure, and vocally supported merit pay and school vouchers, which the union staunchly opposes.

Keshishian once described the union's feud with Christie as a "war," and the NJEA has spent millions in ads to discredit the governor and his policies.