Newark’s shameful response to Cerf’s charms and lies.
There was a time–just a year ago–when the way a parent activist like Sharon Smith was treated at Tuesday night’s Newark school board would have caused a storm of protest. But that was before the city’s mayor, Ras Baraka, cut a deal with the governor to allow a national advocate of privately-operated charter schools to become the city’s state-appointed school superintendent. Now Smith–and many others–have been silenced through the charms and lies of one man, Christopher Cerf. Silenced and marginalized.
Not to mention co-opted and bought out.
Just in time for that governor, Chris Christie, to try to gut the school district by reducing state aid by 70 percent–while increasing state support for public schools in nearby and lily-white Essex Fells by 1,225 percent. Essex Fells–with its $175,000 annual median family income–compared to $39,000 in Newark.
Tearing the heart of the public schools while saving charter schools from reductions.
And did Cerf or anyone on his staff or the Newark school board mention Christie’s class and race war against the people of New Jersey’s cities. Nope.
Cerf just spouted on about the “great progress” Newark has made “in the last five years”–the years of Cerf and his hireling and protégé, Cami Anderson, now safely ensconced in her own consulting firm. He called it “building on the progress” since 2011–and not one person raised even an eyebrow to wonder who disasters like Newark’s shameful response to Cerf’s charms and lies. |:
