Newark School Officials Regain Personnel Control From State DOE

NEWARK, NJ — After years of state oversight, Newark public school officials will have much more leeway in their personnel decisions thanks to a recent NJ Department of Education decision.

On Wednesday, the NJDOE announced that it will be returning “local control over the area of personnel” to the Newark Public Schools District, which the state agency has been managing for nearly two decades.

The state’s decision was based on the district’s recent 100 percent score on the New Jersey Quality Single Accountability Continuum (NJQSAC), administrators said.

Newark now has local control in three of five NJQSAC categories; the city received local control of Operations in 2007 and Fiscal Management in 2014, state officials said.

“The return of personnel to local control will involve a detailed transition plan that sets forth expectations and support for the district and board of education to ensure personnel continues to be managed well into the future,” NJDOE officials wrote.

"Newark Public Schools continues to show it is on pace to obtain full local control," Commissioner David Hespe said. "We are pleased with the progress being made in the district in better serving the children of Newark."

“I could not be more excited by today’s news,” Newark Public Schools Superintendent Christopher Cerf stated in a Wednesday news release. “The district has worked tirelessly over the past year to address concerns identified in previous QSAC reviews. That hard work has now been recognized with scores above the critical threshold of 80 in governance and personnel, the granting of our equivalency waiver, a state board decision to return personnel, and a clear expectation that full control of governance will be restored upon showing that this progress is sustained over the next year. I look forward to working in partnership with the Newark community to make this transition, and to continue our progress towards the goal of full local control.”

Mayor Ras Baraka stated that the state’s decision was “good news” for Newark residents.

“We are approaching the day that the parents, students, teachers, community leaders and clergy have fought to achieve for many years,” Baraka stated. “It has taken protests, marches, meetings, lawsuits, political campaigns, coalition building, lobbying and the justice of our cause to bring us close to regaining control of our schools… It is time for the state to return full control of our schools to the people of Newark. The transition to full local control is within sight. Newark residents can look forward to community forums which will feature a full vetting of the process for the return of local control.”

Parent Coalition For Excellent Education Executive Director Muhammed Akil called the decision a victory for Newark.

"For decades, parents in Newark have rightfully demanded empowerment, accountability, and needed improvements within the school district,” Akil said. “Today’s decision by the state is the result the collective work of many groups in Newark. Mayor Baraka, Superintendent Cerf, the City Council, the School Advisory Board, civic and religious leaders and many parents have been working diligently to improve our public schools and return them to local control.”

Photo: Wikimedia Commons, Jim Henderson

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