Fortunately, Mark Biedron, President of NJ’s State Board of Education, seems to agree. Mr. Biedron recently told the Star Ledger that “the people of Newark having local control over the school district…is a good thing.”
On Wednesday, Mr. Biedron will have an opportunity to act on this belief when the State Board votes on whether Chris Cerf should become Newark’s next Superintendent.
If the State Board approves Mr. Cerf, it will be continuing a 20 year history of disenfranchisement for Newark’s nearly 300,000 residents, who have had no say in this decision.
If the Board rejects Mr. Cerf and instead approves a candidate selected by Newark’s popularly-elected Board of Education, it will be putting Mr. Biedron’s admirable philosophy into practice.
There is plenty of precedent for allowing Newark to select its own superintendent.
Newark, Jersey City, and Paterson are all state-controlled school districts. Yet Jersey City’s popularly-elected Board of Education selected its Superintendent, Marcia Lyles. Paterson’s Superintendent, Dr. Donnie Evans, was selected by a committee that included members of Paterson’s popularly-elected Board of Education, along with other community leaders. In contrast, Newark’s popularly-elected Board of Education has had no voice in selecting Mr. Cerf, who was nominated for this position by Governor Christie.
Approving Mr. Cerf is also difficult to justify because Mr. Cerf lacks the qualifications necessary to run New Jersey’s largest school district. Unlike Jersey City’s and Paterson’s leaders, Mr. Cerf has no prior experience as a superintendent.
Nor is there a record of success in related public-education positions on which to base Mr. Cerf’s nomination. In fact, Mr. Cerf’s tenure as New Jersey’s Commissioner of Education was marked by numerous poor decisions regarding Newark, including:
- Appointing and continuing to support Newark’s prior Superintendent, Cami Anderson,
whose policies and behaviors generated broad-based rejection and rebellion
from Newark residents;
- Improperly giving in to a demand from Ms. Anderson “to allow her to
retain full control over 28 low-performing schools, which resulted in New
Jersey failing
to comply with federal requirements; and
- Forcibly maintaining State control of Newark's schools by
dramatically lowering the district’s scores on the State’s monitoring system (QSAC) from
the scores that Mr. Cerf had given the district less than a year earlier.
We encourage Mr. Biedron and the other State Board of Education members to vote no on Mr. Cerf’s nomination and to allow Newark’s popularly-elected Board of Education to nominate the district’s next Superintendent.
Newark’s residents have been deprived of their right to democratically control their public schools for 20 years. It is long past time to correct this wrong!
If you agree, please sign and share. Save Our Schools New Jersey will share the letter and list of people who have signed with the State Board of Education before Wednesday's vote.
Rosie
Grant, Piscataway, NJ
Parent
and nonprofit leader
Michelle
Fine, Montclair, NJ
Parent
and professor
Judy
DeHaven, Red Bank, NJ
Parent
and writer
Valerie
Trujillo, Jersey City, NJ
Parent
and public education advocate
Jacklyn
Brown, Manalapan, NJ
Parent
and educator
Julia
Sass Rubin, Princeton, NJ
Parent
and professor
Linda
Reid, Paterson, NJ
Parent
and nonprofit leader
Melissa
Katz, South Brunswick, NJ
Future
educator
Bobbie
Theivakumaran, Metuchen, NJ
Parent
and investment banker
Lisa
Winter, Basking Ridge, NJ
Parent,
technology manager and former Board of Education member
Marcella
Simadiris, Montclair, NJ
Parent
and educator
Michelle
McFadden-DiNicola, Highland Park, NJ
Parent
and public education advocate
Bill
Michaelson, Lawrence Township, NJ
Parent
and computer scientist
Marie
Hughes Corfield, Flemington, NJ
Parent
and educator
Rita
McClellan, Cherry Hill, NJ
Parent
and administrator
Sarah
Blaine, Montclair, NJ
Parent,
attorney, and blogger
Susan
Cauldwell, Spring Lake, NJ
Parent
and nonprofit leader
Heidi
Maria Brown, Pitman, NJ
Parent
and educator
Julie
Borst, Allendale, NJ
Parent
and special education advocate
Susan
Berkey, Howell, NJ
Parent
and educator
Darcie
Cimarusti, Highland Park, NJ
Parent
and Board of Education member
Amnet
Ramos, North Plainfield, NJ
Parent
and educator
Elana
Halberstadt, Montclair, NJ
Parent
and writer/artist
Ani
McHugh, Delran, NJ
Parent
and educator
Jill
DeMaio, Monroe, NJ
Parent
Tamar
Wyschogrod, Morristown, NJ
Parent
and journalist
Lauren
Freedman, Maplewood, NJ
Parent
and public education advocate
Lisa
Rodgers, South Brunswick, NJ
Parent
and business owner
Laurie
Orosz, Montclair, NJ
Parent
and public education advocate
Michael
Kaminski, Mount Laurel, NJ
Parent
and educator
Ronen
Kauffman, Union City, NJ
Parent
and educator
Frankie
Adao, Newark, NJ
Parent
and social media specialist
Kathleen
Nolan, Princeton, NJ
Parent,
researcher and lecturer
Sue
Altman, Camden, NJ
Educator
Jennifer
Cohan, Princeton, NJ
Parent
and publicist
Daniel
Anderson, Bloomfield, NJ
Parent
and Board of Education member
Debbie
Baer, Robbinsville, NJ
Parent
and educator
Dan
Masi, Roxbury Township, NJ
Parent
and engineer
Susan
Schutt, Ridgewood, NJ
Assistant
principal and public education advocate
Karin
Szotak, Madison NJ
Parent
and business owner
Tiombe
Gibson, Deptford, NJ
Parent
and educator
Lisa
Marcus Levine, Princeton, NJ
Parent
and architect
Kristen
Carr Jandoli, Haddon, NJ
Parent
and public education advocate
Jean
Schutt McTavish, Ridgewood, NJ
Parent
and high school principal
Virginia
Manzari, West Windsor, NJ.
Parent
and businesswoman
Stephanie
LeGrand, Haddonfield, NJ
Parent
and public education advocate
Melanie
McDermott, Highland Park, NJ
Parent
and sustainability researcher
Nora
Hyland, Asbury Park, NJ
Parent
and professor
Beth
O'Donnell-Fischer, Verona, NJ
Parent
Susie
Welkovits, Highland Park, NJ
Parent
and Borough Council President
Gregory
M. Stankiewicz, Princeton, NJ
Parent
and nonprofit leader
Margot
Embree Fisher, Teaneck, NJ
Parent
and former Board of Education member
Stephanie
Petriello, Dumont, NJ
Parent,
educator and business owner
Laura
Begg, Bernards Township, NJ
Parent
and public education advocate
Gary
C. Frazier, Camden, NJ
Parent
and community activist
Debbie
Reyes, Florence Township, NJ
Parent
Christine
McGoey, Montclair, NJ
Parent
Regan
Kaiden, Collingswood, NJ
Parent
and educator
Moneke
Singleton-Ragsdale, Camden, NJ
Parent
and administrator
Liz
Mulholland, Westfield, NJ
Parent
and former educator
Mary
Shaughnessy, Bloomfield, NJ
Parent
and writer
Parent,
pastor and educator
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