It doesn’t look good for Newark’s neighborhood schools
The committee that is supposed to figure out how the state will give up control of the Newark schools after 20 years has scheduled its first public meeting Wednesday night (Sept. 23). The “Newark Educational Success Board” (NESB)– established in a deal between Gov. Chris Christie and Newark Mayor Ras Baraka–is supposed to find out what the community thinks but the committee has only met secretly since its creation in June. The members of the committee–five appointed by Christie, four appointed by Baraka (with Christie holding a veto over the mayor’s choices)–won’t even say how many times they’ve met secretly because they are under a gag order that forbids its members from making public statements. All questions must be directed to the mayor’s office and the mayor has a major political stake in the perception of its success.
So much for the word “public” in public education. So much for transparency. But that may be the least of its problems.
Early signs are not promising for those favoring, not just a return to local school control, but also a restoration of traditional neighborhood public schools after 20 It doesn’t look good for Newark’s neighborhood schools | Bob Braun's Ledger:
