Majority of Newark board promises legal action against Cami
Seven of the nine members of Newark’s elected school board said they would go to court to seek the end of the city’s school reorganization plan known as “One Newark,” the dismissal of state-imposed school superintendent Cami Anderson, and the return of local control of a district seized by the state in 1995. The board members contend Anderson has violated both school board policy and fire safety codes.
“We will not wait until they destroy Newark’s public schools, ” declared Ariagna Perello, the vice chair of the school board in a new conference on the steps of City Hall.
Four other board members–Antoinette Baskerville-Richardson, Philip Seelinger, Donald Jackson, and Marquis-Aquil Lewis–joined in the news conference. Statements in support of the board action by members DeNiqua Matias and Kahlil Rashidi were read by Perello.
Board president Rashon Hasan, viewed as an Anderson ally, and member Rashied McCreary did not join their colleagues in condemning the superintendent and the man who appointed her, Gov. Chris Christie. McCreary is a teacher at the KIPP charter school chain; charter schools have been major beneficiaries of the public school closing and student dispersal plan Anderson called “One Newark.”
The board members, led by Perello, expressed increased frustration with the chaos that attended the opening of school under the “One Newark” plan earlier this month. She cited the problems at Barringer High School where many Majority of Newark board promises legal action against Cami | Bob Braun's Ledger:
