Mayor Baraka released a statement to the media yesterday as follows:
I have sent a letter to State Public Schools Superintendent Cami Anderson, demanding her immediate resignation, because of her repeated circumvention of and disregard for district, state, and federal regulations, in order to advance her experimental and unproven ‘One Newark’ so-called ‘reform plan.’
Ms. Anderson has failed to meet academic benchmarks that she declared for herself, failed to follow federal and state regulations, refused to conduct the District’s affairs with transparency and public accountability, and failed to work with the democratically-elected members of the Newark Public Schools Advisory Board. She has also created a hostile working environment in the Public Schools for its staff, teachers, and other personnel, and manipulated her power to usurp the rights of our residents to have input into the governance of the public schools that build our children’s future.
As a long-time Newark educator, I am extremely conversant with the needs of our residents and our youth. I have devoted much of my life to enabling them and empowering them. Superintendent Anderson’s misguided plans and activities endanger our students’ future and therefore our City’s future. If we are to continue to transform Newark into a City we can all believe in, then Ms. Anderson must play her role by relinquishing her office to someone who has a greater commitment to rule of law, honesty in government, and the future of our youth.
