Protesters occupy Department of Ed lobby, demand charter school reform
TRENTON - Protesters angry about the Christie administration's charter school initiatives briefly occupied the lobby of the state Department of Education this morning, chanting, "charter reform now!"
The group of about 50 people from Highland Park, Edison, New Brunswick, Teaneck, Montclair, Cherry Hill, Voorhees and South Orange said the state was dividing their communities by considering charter schools there.
"Why, when we have a high-performing district, would they approve a charter school?" said Rita McClellan of Cherry Hill.
A State Police trooper responded to the protest and asked the residents to leave the department's lobby after they were told that no one from Commissioner Christopher Cerf's office was available to speak with them.
The protesters delivered several boxes of petitions against applications for charter schools in their communities before peacefully going back outside. They said the state was refusing to listen to their