Outcry For Transparency After Newark Superintendent’s Contract Renews

NEWARK, NJ — A controversy surrounding Newark’s school superintendent is heating up in the Brick City, leaving many community members demanding more information about how Roger León’s work contract was renewed.

León’s contract was automatically renewed for a five-year term at an annual salary of $290,000 last May. Some parents and advocates have questioned whether it violates a state education law that requires boards to give the public 30 days of notice when superintendent contracts are extended or altered, Politico reported.

The automatic renewal happened in May because of language written into the contract in 2019, and approved at an August board meeting, NJ Spotlight News reported.

Tap Into Newark elaborated on the circumstances behind the renewal:

“The superintendent’s contract that ends in June of 2023 has a clause that states that unless informed in writing by May 15, 2022, his contract will automatically renew for another five years. May 15 came and went with no notice, no public input and no announcement that the contract had been renewed through 2028.”

The superintendent’s contract renewal went unpublished and without a public hearing until a NJ.com editorial was posted last week, calling it “outrageous.”

A spokesperson for the school district said that there was a “positive evaluation” of León’s performance before the automatic renewal.

School board members defended the renewal last week, saying it was not hidden from the public and that “miscommunication” and “misunderstanding” were behind the controversy, Chalkbeat reported.

The school board has since voted to approve the hiring of a lawyer who would represent them in the matter, NJ.com reported.

According to the district website, León is the 21st superintendent of Newark’s public school system. The Newark native is the first superintendent elected by a locally controlled board of education after more than two decades of state operation.

‘NEWARK’S CHILDREN DESERVE BETTER’

The situation has raised an outcry for transparency from many Newark advocates.

On Monday, three parents and nonprofit leaders sent a letter to New Jersey Department of Education Acting Commissioner Angelica Allen-McMillan, writing that Newark has “higher expectations and a far stronger value system” since it regained local control from the state in 2018 after allegations of severe mismanagement.

The letter – which is signed by Shennell McCloud, CEO of Project Ready, Jasmine Morrison, executive director of Unapologetic Parents, and Tafshier Cosby, senior director of organizing and partnership of National Parents Union – follows below.

Dear Commissioner Allen-McMillan:

“We believe the process to renew a Superintendent’s contract without a public hearing raises serious legal questions. As concerned citizens, taxpayers, and parents of the City of Newark, we were deeply troubled to learn through news reports, listed below for your review, that Superintendent Roger Leon’s contract was secretly renewed for a five-year term last May without a shred of public process or community engagement.

“We plan to call on the Newark School Board to reverse the contract renewal until a proper public hearing can be scheduled, and we believe the New Jersey Department of Education also has a critical role to play.

“We are writing to you as parents, specifically, parents that love Newark. Like so many Newark parents before us, we have fought to provide opportunity for our children and to ensure equity in our district school system. This has been our challenge - and we continue to wake up every morning dedicated to this cause so our kids and future generations can make something of their lives. We have no authority other than our voice, so we ask that you please help us investigate this matter.

“It is our hope that you can please help the City better understand the actual process that led to Mr. Leon’s renewal as Superintendent and bring much-needed public transparency and accountability to this issue.

“Newark’s public schools are in a moment of crisis. Due to the extraordinary challenges our students faced during the COVID-19 pandemic, just 13 percent of Newark students are doing math on grade level, and just 27 percent are reading on grade level. These numbers are unacceptable and should serve as a call for leadership, community support, and the development of new ideas and initiatives.

“As parents, we want to fully understand Mr. Leon’s plan to address Newark’s severe learning loss. We believe that Mr. Leon should have the opportunity to answer these and other questions before his reappointment is considered.

“Finally, and most importantly, as Newarkers, we have seen firsthand what happens when we lose sight of transparency and strong governance. We remember losing control of our education system to the state. In recent years, through hard work, we were able to gain back local control, elect a School Board, and ultimately build a localized checks and balance system. We fear this siloed decision on Mr. Leon’s renewal represents a time long passed in Newark, and these actions represent a system of governance that we worked so hard to fix. If we do not address this issue immediately, we fear that the City could quickly begin following the same path that took local control away from Newark in the first place.

“It is clear that what happened this Spring regarding Mr. Leon’s renewal was wrong - there is no other way to say it. While this way of doing things might have been accepted years ago, Newark is a different community now - with higher expectations and a far stronger value system. We hope this letter can help create a collaborative, community-based, and transparent public process where Newark’s families, community members, and advocates will not be shut out of the public discourse. Newark’s children deserve better and our great community deserves a voice and accountability.

“We would like your direction and assistance so we can act together and address this issue now.”

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