By John Mooney
Hosting weekend gathering of various stakeholders is part of broader political strategy addressing issue he doesn’t control
He has virtually no say over what happens in his city’s public schools, but Newark Mayor Ras Baraka has been talking a lot about education lately.
The latest example was the “Newark Community Education Convention” held over two days this weekend. Baraka hosted a variety of stakeholders – from community activists to charter school leaders to foundation funders – to encourage what he called a citywide dialogue about Newark’s schools.
The centerpiece of Baraka’s agenda has been the end of the state’s 20-year control of the city’s public schools. While he continued to press that case this weekend, the players who probably matter most in making that decision were notably absent from the conference held at Bethany Baptist Church and Rutgers-Newark.
Neither state-appointed schools Superintendent Cami Anderson or any of her senior staff were on hand, even though Baraka said they were repeatedly invited to the event.
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