Newark’s school superintendent, Cami Anderson, a
Chris Christie appointee because the school district has been run
by the state since 1995,
reportedly suspended five principals indefinitely. A local
opinion journalist says the principals were suspended for comments
they made at a community meeting opposing Anderson’s reform plans,
which include closing or repurposing up to a third of the
district’s schools.
The local report was
picked up by the Education Week’s blog, which made sure to
frame the story, as opponents of Anderson’s reform proposals have,
as an extension of Christie’s “bullying” tactics. In this
narrative, Anderson suspended the principals not because they were
subordinates who openly challenged a proposal by their school
district’s chief, but because Chris Christie is a bully and so is
Cami Anderson.
Comments by one of the principals, transcribed by Ed Week, that
they are not allowed to speak to the press, however, suggest the
suspension could be related to that, given that the principals
spoke at a public forum. That forum was organized by Ras Baraka, a
city councilman who also happens to be a fellow principal, on leave
because he is running for mayor in this year’s election.
Baraka, who unsuccessfully fought the attempt to be put on
leave even though the idea that you can run a school and a mayoral
campaign in a major city seems untenable on its face, has
been a vocal
opponent of the plan. Baraka’s comments about the suspension,
meanwhile, suggest he believes some government employees can act
like “military” dictators, just not Anderson (or, presumably,
Christie). His statement, via Bob Broun’s Ledger:
Ms. Anderson’s action in suspending the four principals
is the last straw in a chain of inept, and horribly out-of-touch
decisions. The people of Newark need to hear the views of those
within the school system who disagree with Ms. Anderson. The four
principals have a constitutional right to speak out. The Newark
school district is not a military dictatorship, and Ms. Anderson is
neither an army general nor a police chief. Her behavior must be
governed by the principles of our democracy.
Whether Baraka believes a police chief can act like a military
dictator isn’t hard to divine; two years ago the councilman
proposed requiring food service establishments open late to hire
armed security guards, while almost every candidate for mayor has
come out in favor of more police and more aggressive policing in
Newark.
As to Anderson’s reforms, they revolve around closing some
public schools, and replacing others with charter schools, which
have exploded in popularity in Newark over the last decade or so.
While opponents of Anderson’s plans claim they don’t represent the
community, the high level of enrollment and demand for charter
schools by Newark parents belies that claim. The plan, too, is not
immune from criticism by supporters of charter schools. One
component, which would subsume local public and charter schools’
application processes under one unified district-wide application
process, has been
rejected by a a number of local charter schools who wish to
preserve their ability to select their populations, as the city’s
magnet schools (of which, disclosure, I’m a graduate) also do.
Opponents to Anderson’s plan, however, have not appeared to
provide many alternatives of their own. Despite calls for more
“resources” at school, the FY2013
budget for the school district (whose enrollment is about
30,000) was north of $1 billion. High school graduation rates are
under 70 percent, while the the number of murders in Newark
hit a 24 year high last year. Insofar as opposition to
Anderson’s plan translates to support for the status quo, it’s not
likely to gain much momentum, the attempt to fit it into the
“bullying” narrative emerging around Chris Christie
notwithstanding.
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