Commissioner Cerf is strongly encouraging all superintendents and charter schools across the state to cancel school tomorrow.
This is the administration that:We respect that decisions need to be made at local level, but it's most important that we consider the safety of our students & staff. [emphasis mine]
- Imposed a pay cap on district superintendents.
- Forced local districts to budget for payments to charter schools that had no local oversight.
- Is forcing a testing regime and teacher evaluation system on all districts that will cost millions.
- Hatched secret plans to take over Camden's schools.
- Appointed a superintendent in Newark who overrode the duly elected school board's decisions on charter schools.
- Secretly met with some school board members in Jersey City as a prelude to installing a favored superintendent there.
- Continues to string along Paterson on regaining local control.
- Overrode the decisions of the duly elected school board in Perth Amboy.
- Wants to create a "super district" of schools from all over the state based on the failing post-Katrina New Orleans model.
- Wants to override county superintendents and local control through a system of Regional Achievement Centers, funded by out-of-state money.
Let's be very clear: when it comes to education policy, the Christie administration and Chris Cerf's NJDOE do not respect local control of schools. They never have; they never will.