NEWARK SCHOOL VOTE: Tricks, lies, and videotape
Where decisions are made for, but not by, the people of Newark
All you really need to know about the Newark school board election Tuesday can be found on some videotape clips.
The first was recorded at a cocktail reception at the North End Bar April 3, held to raise money for school board member–and candidate for reelection– Tave Padilla.
Padilla is running on a slate organized by, and beholden to, Newark Mayor Ras Baraka. Baraka, of course, promised to support an independent elected school board once the district was freed from state control. Baraka also regularly complains about the growth of privately-operated charter schools that divert funds from the public schools.
But, now, Baraka–because of the money he can generate and the organization he can put into the streets–controls the “independent” school board–and he has backed pro-charter candidates in four straight elections.
An independent school board? How can a school board be independent if it’s controlled by a mayor and his machine? How can it be free of politics? How can it be cleansed of the same sort of nepotism and cronyism that led to the state takeover of Newark schools 24 years ago?
Nearly all you need to know about Tuesday’s school board election can be found in a brief videotape recorded at at meeting at the North Ward Bar. Here is the link to the tape so take a listen:
First, you hear the voice of state Sen. Teresa Ruiz (D-Essex) already claiming CONTINUE READING: NEWARK SCHOOL VOTE: Tricks, lies, and videotape |
