Judge: State broke the law when it fired Newark attendance counselors
Anderson fired attendance counselors
In 2013, a time when the state-operated Newark public schools suffered from one of the highest truancy rates in the state–if not the nation–its state-appointed superintendent fired all of its attendance officers. Now, three years later, with the district experiencing an even worse absenteeism problem, an administrative law judge has ruled the system acted “in bad faith” and broke New Jersey’s truancy law.
Administrative Law Judge Kimberly Moss, citing the statutes requiring all districts to take action against truants, concluded former state-appointed superintendent Cami Anderson “violated (the statute) by abolishing the position of attendance counselor that is statutorily mandated.”
Anderson, Moss wrote, took the action as part of a plan to close a budget shortfall of $57 million–a shortfall caused primarily by $33 million in payments of district funds to privately-run charter schools. But, while school districts and other public agencies have broad powers to abolish jobs and lay off workers, they may not break the law to do it.
“The testimony in this matter has shown that there is no one in the NPS (Newark Public Schools) who is looking for truant students since the attendance officers were laid off,” Moss wrote in a ruling on a case brought by the Newark Teachers Judge: State broke the law when it fired Newark attendance counselors |: