By John Mooney
Bill spurred by ongoing controversy would require local approval of plans to shut or sell buildings
Newark’s fight over school closures is heading to the Legislature, as a bill was introduced yesterday that would require explicit local approval of any closing of a school in the state-controlled district — or in any district in the state.
Reflecting a debate that is resonating in other states, too, the bill is the latest step in a protracted battle in Newark over state-appointed Superintendent Cami Anderson’s plans to close or consolidate more than a dozen schools.
A petition calling for local votes on the closures has garnered more than 3,000 signatures, according to organizers.
The school-closing plans are part of Anderson’s “One Newark” initiative that would reorganize the district and move to a universal enrollment system including the district’s charter schools. Gov. Chris Christie highlighted Anderson and her plans during his State of the State address on Tuesday.
But the shutdown plans have also faced strong resistance in some pockets of the community, even while hundreds of families have attended enrollment fairs over the last week to start picking their new schools for next fall.
The bill would surely slow those changes, if not prevent some of the closures outright, by instituting a public process – similar to what’s required for hospital shutdowns — for any planned school closing or sale.
State Sen. Ronald Rice (D-Essex) is the prime sponsor of the legislation in the Senate, and state Assemblywoman Bonnie Watson-Coleman (D-Mercer) is the Assembly sponsor. At a Statehouse press conference yesterday, Rice and others stressed what they said is the Christie administration’s sale of closed school building to charter schools.
The bill faces long odds of winning passage in the Legislature, and it’s even less likely to be signed by Christie. But it has already gained some influential backing, with state Sen. Teresa Ruiz (D-Essex), the Senate education chair, voicing support during the press conference.
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