Hespe offers Cami a contract: Has Baraka been “played” already?
- Cami Anderson–will she sign?
Cami Anderson, the controversial state-imposed superintendent of Newark schools, has been offered a new one-year-contract, that, despite restrictions on her freedom to act, will allow her to continue imposing the “One Newark” plan that has become a severely divisive issue among residents of the state’s largest city.
Several sources close to the Newark Public Schools administration and state Education Commissioner David Hespe say they believe she will accept the contract and stay for at least another year. The contract, the sources say, is renewable for another two years.
The offer of the contract—which had been predicted by Anderson herself two weeks ago—is a direct slap at newly-elected Newark Mayor Ras Baraka who continues to demand her resignation. His successful campaign against Shavar Jeffries–an Anderson supporter–was a referendum on her and her plan to close the city’s neighborhood schools and replace them with charters and other privatized schools. Just last week, he predicted Anderson would leave because he believed “cooler heads will prevail.”
His reference was to an expectation that Hespe would persuade her to leave. But, apparently, quite the opposite has happened—Hespe is now trying to persuade Newark leaders, including Baraka, to open a “dialogue” with Anderson to resolve the problems her plan has caused.
“Hespe is shopping around the idea that community leaders should sit with her to open up a dialogue,” said one Newark schools leadership source who asked not to be identified. “He has reached out to a number of community leaders, butHespe offers Cami a contract: Has Baraka been “played” already? | Bob Braun's Ledger: