NJ Education Report

Yesterday Gov. Christie signed the Urban Hope Act, which allows non-profits to build, manage, and operate up to four “renaissance” schools in three districts: Camden, Newark, and Trenton. Here’s a statement from the Trenton’s mayor Tony Mack:

The City of Trenton administration opposes the amendment adding Trenton, New Jersey to the Urban Hope Act (Assembly Bill 4426, Senate Companion Bill 3173).

The bill, which is scheduled for action in the Assembly and Senate today, if passed, would finally give parents another option to educate their children to prepare them for a knowledge-based economy. The administration learned that Trenton is included in the bill from stakeholders—mostly vastly overpaid administrators—who fear that years of doing absolutely nothing to educate our mostly Black and Latino children in a creative, effective and measurable way would finally be exposed.

Oops. No, that was a send-up from a blogger who goes by Catalyst. Here’s the real press release from Mayor Tony Mack, who indignantly objects to the passage of the bill (signed yesterday by Gov. Christie) which allows non-profits to build, manage, and operate up to four “renaissance” schools in Newark, Camden, and Trenton.

After carefully reviewing information provided by the Trenton Education Association, which is included generally in this press release; [sic]the administration is opposed to this initiative. First, limited school funding will follow the participating students to the proposed renaissance schools. Leaving many Trenton residents without guaranteed employment, the renaissance schools will promote the privatization of workforce. Second, the bill permits the School Develop Authority [sic] and districts to transfer public funded items like facilities and land to private entities. Trenton Public Schools currently have initiatives in place to improve our schools. The passage of this amendment would deplete vital resources for the initiatives.

Compare Mayor Mack’s response to officials in Camden who, according to NJ Spotlight, are at least reconciled to the idea that, as Camden board president Susan Dunbar-Bey put it, “Change is going to take place, whether we like it or not.”

Of course, there’s politicians and then there’s Tony Mack. For details, check out this recent column by Kevin Manahan, who describes the “bungling, corruption, cronyism, defiance and downright stupidity by the Trenton mayor in his first 20 months.” Mack’s gone through eight business administrators and four police directors, although there’s no word on turnover of press release editors.

Advocates for the Trenton’s inclusion in the Urban Hope Act, including Trenton’s representative in the Legislature, Bonnie Watson Coleman and Reed Gusciora, can count Mack’s opposition as confirmation that they did the right thing.