Newark school board meeting Tuesday–more outrage?
The last meeting of the elected Newark school board erupted in boos and catcalls when state-appointed superintendent Cami Anderson stormed off the stage, closely followed by her senior staff. The next meeting is scheduled for Tuesday at the Rafael Hernandez school in the North Ward and, already, tension is building—with the board president saying Anderson should expect “outrage” in the face of her attitude toward the city’s residents.
“State superintendent Anderson: You own this situation. For the third year in a row, you have forced your plans on the Newark community without the measure of stakeholder input that anyone, lay or professional, would consider adequate or respectful,” wrote Antoinette Baskerville-Richardson, the board president. She called on Anderson, appointed by Gov. Chris Christie, to impose a moratorium on her plan—called “One Newark”– to close neighborhood public schools and expand charters—or resign.
“You are obviously painfully aware of the depth and breadth of community discontent,” Baskerville-Richardson wrote.
It is a measure of the gulf between Anderson and the board that each has a