Newark mayor demands city schools return to local control in NYT op-ed
Source: Jessica Mazzola | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com
October 20, 2014 at 12:39 PM, updated October 20, 2014 at 12:42 PM
NEWARK Less than three weeks after Mayor Ras Baraka sent a letter to President Barack Obama criticizing school Superintendent Cami Andersons controversial One Newark school overhaul plan, he has written a New York Times op-ed demanding the return of city schools to local control.
The Newark public school district has been under state control since 1995.
Nearly 20 years later, it is clear that the state has failed on all counts, Baraka wrote in the editorial. Local control must be returned to Newarks public schools immediately.
Baraka pointed out several incidents of what he called the states maladministration of Newarks public schools, and blasted Andersons One Newark plan. The mayor has consistently been critical of the state-appointed superintendents policies.
Baraka also criticized Gov. Chris Christies efforts to reform the citys schools, saying that his administration own[s] the failure of the states policies.
Read more: http://www.nj.com/essex/index.ssf/2014/10/newark_mayor_demands_city_schools_return_to_local_control_in_nyt_op-ed.html
R.Quinn
(122 posts)Local oversight is always the best oversight. The last thing we need is more state and federal bureaucrats messing with our school system. Never ends well.
BumRushDaShow
(128,934 posts)taken over by the state and currently run by the state's "School Reform Commission" since 2001... And today, it's no better (in terms of accomplishments or finances) than when it was seized. In fact the financial piece is in a complete shambles and 2 weeks ago, the SRC announced that they had summarily canceled the teachers' current contract... doing so out of nowhere, in the dark of night. Fortunately today, a judge put a halt to that nonsense (although the SRC plans to appeal).
http://www.philly.com/philly/education/20141021_Judge_temporarily_bars_SRC_from_imposing_terms_on_teachers__union.html
There is a provision in the state law that allows for the city to take control back once a plan for running it locally is submitted. And there is finally some rumbling going on in City Council and from some of the city's State Senators and Reps, to start moving in that direction. Hopefully if Wolf gets in, we can start that process and go back to having a real School Board again for the first time in almost 15 years..