At a special meeting on Thursday, the board voted 6-0 with one abstention after a public hearing where most speakers asked that it maintain a traditional spring election. But its action does not end the debate — the city council can still switch the date by the deadline, and a third option gives residents a means of changing the date via petition if elected officials don’t act.

In a related matter, the board — via a show of hands — consented not to fill Sean Connors’ old seat under an April election scenario. However , it also opted to still look for interested candidates if the city council acts under the same law to move the contest. The act would extend Connors’ and two other expiring terms (Patricia Sebron, William DeRosa) by eight months.

In part to help districts save money, Gov. Chris Christie signed a measure into law last month allowing a voluntary switch via any of the three scenarios.

While the board election would remain nominally nonpartisan if switched, it would have to remain in the fall for four years before any effort to change it back. Ward E Councilman Steven Fulop has proposed having the council exercise its independent option of placing the question on a referendum for the November election, which, if approved, would delay any switch for at least a year.

If the board election is somehow still switched this year, it would merge the contest with highly partisan presidential and congressional races. And it would follow two April elections during which the board enjoyed its highest turnouts in history.

Voting against the change were Board President Sterling Waterman, Vice President Carol Lester, Marvin Adames, Carol Harrison-Arnold, Angel Valentin and Suzanne Mack. Sebron abstained, given voting for the switch would extend her term in a year her seat is up for re-election. DeRosa, also up for re-election, was absent.

Residents against the switch said they wanted to keep the board election free from the direct influence of the city’s Democratic and Republican organizations while placing a premium on focusing on local education issues, and a provision preventing residents in November from voting on the school tax levy if an increase falls below the state’s cap limiting any increase to two percent. Any tax levy must still be voted on in a spring election.

“Politics aside, I really believe concerns about the board of education election could be lost in a general election,” Harrison-Arnold said to applause. “We need to have individuals showing up at the polls… voting for the board of education.”

Regarding a board estimate that switching the date could save it about $175,000, district watchdog Riaz Wahid insisted that even so, that would equal a savings of only “1.1 cents per property owner per day” and obscure important issues such as the board’s $268,000 settlement to force last year’s retirement of then-superintendent Charles Epps, as well as the board’s paying at least $1.2 million for current garbage collection to the Jersey City Incinerator Authority (JCIA) for the first time ever — an amount that could increase depending on the outcome of negotiations. Wahid contends the JCIA payment amounts to double-billing, as residents already finance the agency via the city part of its tax bill.

“As for the $175,000, the money will go to somebody else,” Wahid insisted. “Let’s look to other districts to see how they deal with the change and see if it’s successful because once we change it, we can’t change it back until four years from now.”

But resident Gilbert Moore told the board it should not overlook any potential area for savings and accepted the board’s initial estimate. He contended “politics” are at play even in the traditional April contests, claiming a check of state campaign finance reports would reveal candidates who take contributions from politically active individuals also donating to council candidates.

“If it’s going to save our district money to move it to November, let’s save the district money and move it to November,” urged the parent, one of a half-dozen speakers endorsing the change during the two-and-a-half hour meeting.

Parents Akisia Grigsby and Oscar Lakra joined Wahid in asserting any switch will give short shrift to school district issues, rendering the estimated savings meaningless. Lakra insisted the board election must stay focused on “picking our people who are going to be our voices when it comes to education.”

“I sincerely believe that for the kids in Jersey City, we need to take the political system away from the educational system,” said Lakra.

Arnold B. Williams, a city businessman who heads the local group Keep Our Schools Public, opposes any switch and criticized Fulop’s proposal.

“Let Councilman Fulop walk around this city and gather required petitions for a referendum,” he told JCI. “Just like any regular citizen would have to do.”

If the current election date stays in place, it assures the issue of who should become the next superintendent will remain very relevant as the board moves forward with the intent of replacing Epps by July 1.

Mack, while endorsing not changing the date, expressed concerns that potentially having new board members vote on superintendent candidates might compromise the process. She noted that, under the board’s current timetable, applicants could be screened in time for the board’s scheduled April 26 meeting — nine days after the election.

Valentin and Waterman countered the matter would still be an issue if the new state law, allowing the date, change never developed.

“The reality is there is the chance that this will not be the same board that will vote on the superintendent,” Valentin said. “There’s a good chance of that happening.”

In the matter of Connors’ vacancy, the board decided not to fill the seat if the election stays on course for April, though a special committee headed by Mack on the subject will keep its options open in case the date is still pushed back eight months.

Waterman said that the board, which had earlier assumed an April election, felt it was better to focus on other issues than try to replace Connors for the last two months of his term. Yet he advised Mack that the recently enacted law that lets the council switch the date even if the board doesn’t requires the board to reconsider.

“I suggest the chair have these names (of possible replacement candidates) in case we find out by Feb. 17 we have to fill the seat,” he urged Mack.

Though the board did not fill the vacancy Peter Donnelly’s resignation created last year, with only two months left, Lester said she could back the move this time with Connors’ seat — even for an April election.

“I would just like us to make a decision right now,” said Lester, fearing the state could impose a choice on a district it still partially controls, though it didn’t do so for Donnelly. “We’re kind of in a climate right now that’s trying to disempower school boards.”

File photo of board members Carol Lester, Carol Harrison-Arnold and Marvin Adames by Steve Gold.

As a Jersey City resident and voter, I was pleased with the decision of Ward E Councilman Steve Fulop announcing that he will introduce an ordinance at the next City Council meeting that will place a referendum on November’s ballot that will allow voters to give their preference for the date of school elections.

As everyone in our city knows, Mr. Fulop supported the past two board of education elections which led to the majority in the current board. It would be so easy to let the current board members to decide to keep the election on April or to move it to November with a very simple vote, especially if they have the majority.

Mr. Fulop chose to let the Jersey City residents and voters decide what they want to do.

I would like to thank you personally because you set an example of empowering the voters and residents. I know you believe like many of us that if we all work together we can make a big difference in our city’s’ future.

Sincerely,

Nabil Youssef

Former City Council Candidate
Jersey City

Her hiring had been the subject of a protest on Jan. 17; Sue Curry and her group Parents and Communities United for Education demonstrated outside the district’s central office, arguing that the state’s hiring of Coyle was an unfair intrusion upon interim superintendent Franklin Walker. Walker and the board insist they welcome Coyle’s help.
 
Coyle, a former city associate superintendent and onetime PS 27 principal, said nothing at the meeting when resident Josephine Paige asked if she was interested in the permanent superintendent position.
 
Asked the same question by JCI, Coyle declined to comment.

Curry sounded conciliatory Thursday, telling Coyle, “We’re looking forward to looking for you so you can hear all parents concerns in all areas of our children’s educational process.”
 
Coyle told JCI she has already met with some concerned parents since she returned to the district.
 
“A lot of people have a misconception as to what my role is,” she said. “I have already been busy meeting with concerned people in the district, including parents and parents organizations, and will continue to do so when approached.”

Her state assignment is set to end June 30.

The group’s placards carried messages such as “Fix Our Schools Now” and “Healthy Students, Healthy Schools, Now and Forever.”
 
“We the parents and the community are calling for you to fix our schools,” Curry demanded, appealing to interim superintendent Franklin Walker.
 
She alleged the board has done nothing since conducting an initial facilities assessment in February 2009 “to maintain our schools in a safe and healthy manner.”

Resident Jayson Burg concurred, telling the board, “We really need to have our schools taken care of. Our custodians and staff take pride in what they do.”

Once the election is switched, it stays in place for at least four years. Residents would not be allowed to vote on a school budget in November if it does not exceed the state’s 2-percent spending cap.
 
Trustee Suzanne Mack said restoring a ninth board member could be instrumental in deciding on the election date. Mack has endorsed the possibility of switching the election partly because it could save money; vice president Carol Lester cited one estimate that the switch could save about $178,000.
 
The board split 3-3 with an abstention on Lester’s motion to further discuss the issue at an upcoming caucus. The stalemate, however, does not stop board president Sterling Waterman from scheduling a discussion on the issue before a Feb. 17 state deadline.
 
But unless the city council or residents step in to approve the switch before that time and the board fails to act, the election stays in April.

Ward E Councilman Steve Fulop announced yesterday that he would propose a referendum on the vote date, saying he was in favor of a switch to November “because it will increase turnout and cut costs, but I understand both sides of the argument.”
 
Mack noted that the board of education voted in a tie, and could act to prevent that by filling Connors’ seat.

Just last year, the board opted not to replace Peter Donnelly, who resigned in February almost two months after Connors left, leaving a board less prone to tie votes. Other recent ties included a 4-4 deadlock to hire a superintendent search firm in January, causing board member Carol Harrison-Arnold to switch sides and break the deadlock, and, while Connors was still serving, two other votes on picking the firm in December (with Patricia Sebron abstaining). Those moves delayed selection for about another three weeks until an exasperated Harrison-Arnold ended the stalemate. Sebron was absent Thursday.

Board member Marvin Adames initially wanted to cut off Mack’s discussion, criticizing the timing.

“I don’t want to discuss it here tonight for the first time,” he told her. “There are a lot of questions from all board members. I don’t think it’s a good idea for the board to put it up for discussion at this particular time.”
 
Mack countered the new state law makes it critical for the board to consider the move. She said that in addition to having a full board in place, trustees cannot allow a vacancy to carry until January if the switch is approved.
 
Still, Mack assured Adames she was not trying to ram the move through. “I was just trying to bring it up to others on the board to see if they wanted to discuss appointing a replacement.”

Under Mack’s motion, approved 5-2, a board committee will initially evaluate replacing Connors. Joining her were Waterman, Harrison-Arnold, Lester and Waterman. Though he did not object to further discussion, Adames joined Angel Valentin in opposing the final resolution.

On the new election law, the board will only have about two weeks to make a decision if Waterman posts the matter for discussion. If he doesn’t and the council does not intervene, the April election stays in place. If it is switched, the non-partisan board contest will be incorporated into the national presidential and congressional races.
 
Yet the prior two April contests have proven to be highly successful locally, particularly in 2010, when there was a record turnout. This success prompted the board to extend the voting time this year from 7 am to 9 pm. If the date is switched, the polls will stay open for 14 hours, but they would open at 6 am.

The politically hot issue of finding a new superintendent could be taken out of play if the board sticks to its desired timetable and hires someone by July 1.
 
The prospect of including the board race with partisan races rankled Arnold B. Williams, head of Keep Our Schools Public. Williams claimed the Hudson County Democratic Organization would eagerly use the occasion to politicize school issues.

“It’s important that the board not vote on this tonight,” pleaded Williams, who lost to the organization last year in a primary for county freeholder. “Take a year. Take two years, if you will.”
 
Further, he charged local allies of Christie (who initially favored forcing the change statewide before compromising) hope to see political advantages as a result.
 
“It’s partisan and it’s not in the interests of children of this district,”said Williams. “Keep Jersey City’s public schools public.”

Mack insisted the board is obligated to examine the issue carefully.
 
“I think we need to study it,” she said, claiming the board received incorrect information indicating it had to vote on the switch during a discussion at its Jan. 23 caucus. “I think we need to look at it very carefully for the sake of our children. Why am I going to committee meetings, as an elected board member, if I don’t have the right information?”
 
Valentin made clear he didn’t need to see any more data. “To me, the school year doesn’t start in January,” he said. “It’s ridiculous… I think if it has to be considered, it should be in June.”

Lester, who won in the record-setting April 2010 election, seemed most interested by the potential to save $178,000.

“I usually have a single-track mind when it comes to chunks (of money) that could buy a new lab for kids somewhere,” she observed. “So I want to learn more about the financial implications of moving the elections.”
 
While a frequent critic of how the district spends its money, watchdog Riaz Wahid, told board members he doubted any savings from the switch will make a dent in tax bills given a near $631 million budget.
 
“We don’t want be ‘columnized’ — pushing Column A or Column B,” he told the board, regarding all the partisan office seekers board candidates would have to compete with for the public’s attention. “We want the people to be educated on Board of Education issues.”

Following the vote, Waterman would not specifically commit to scheduling the matter for further debate, saying only, “It will be my decision.”

File photo by Steve Gold 

“I am personally a proponent of changing the date to November elections because it will increase turnout and cut costs, but I understand both sides of the argument,” said Fulop in a statement. “Nevertheless, I think the residents deciding themselves rather than the politicians making this decision is the best approach always.”

By law there are three means of changing when this vote will occur, either by City Council ordinance, the board of education vote, or a public referendum.

“I have been one that thinks April elections are better however this is a positive approach to working through a tough decision. Empowering residents to decide the direction of the City is always best,” said BOE Member Marvin Adames in the statement.

BOE president Sterling Waterman agrees that putting the decision in the hands of the voters is a good one, but the decision should be made sooner than later to give more time for voters to familiarize themselves with the issues facing the BOE.

“While I agree that a referendum for public vote is a good idea, I think the earlier its done the better,” said Waterman. “So many folks are for and against the election moving to November and it behooves the Council and the BOE to allow folks to be heard now. If we are to do a referendum, it should be done, asap, as in April.”

If successful, Jersey City would join the more than 50 New Jersey municipalities that have opted to switch their election to November.

Jersey City Board of Education Will Look at Pros, Cons of Moving Elections from April to November: Jersey City school officials may opt to move school elections to November to take advantage of state legislation signed into law this month by Gov. Chris Christie.

Repairs Finished on Jersey City’s Natural Gas Pipeline that Ruptured: The pressure in the pipe was reduced sufficiently to allow most of the residents back into their homes at 5 p.m. and repairs to the 20-inch high-pressure gas main were completed by 11 p.m., PSE&G spokeswoman Eileen Leahey said.

Federal Judge Dimisses Jersey City Developer’s Latest Lawsuit Seeking to Void Deal to Sell 7 Condos to City for Nominal Sum: A federal judge in Newark has thrown out a case brought by the developer of a downtown Jersey City condominium complex who claimed the city is forcing him to hand over seven residential units for a dollar a piece.

Crime Blotter: U.S. marshals are on the hunt for a Newark woman who committed a vicious carjacking in Jersey City just over two years ago and was a no-show in court Friday; Despite being cut during a robbery, a 37-year-old Jersey City woman chased a purse snatcher Sunday afternoon until he dropped the stolen bag, police reports said.

Today’s Best Bets:

Meet us tonight at Barcade for the Jersey City Independent/NEW Winter Meet & Greet. The staff of JCI and NEW will be on hand drinking beer, playing video games, and meeting/greeting. There will also be goodies and giveaways.

In Statewide News:

Gov. Chris Christie’s “Historic” Appointments to New Jersey Supreme Court Bring Diversity to All-White Panel: Stressing the importance of maintaining diversity at the highest levels of New Jersey’s judiciary, Gov. Chris Christie Monday nominated an openly gay African-American mayor and a Korean-American assistant attorney general to the Supreme Court.

New Jersey Colleges take Advantage of Law Allowing Partnerships with Private Developers: Several state colleges are partnering with private developers for construction projects thanks to the New Jersey Economic Stimulus Act of 2009.

New Jersey Police Departments Consider Using Stun Guns: New Jersey is the last state in the union to permit police to have stun guns, but in doing so also has established one of the toughest set of criteria in the nation as to how such weapons may be used by officers, according to law enforcement officials.

Two Bills Would Exempt New Jersey from Federal Sports Betting Ban: Two House bills that would legalize sports betting at New Jersey racetracks and casinos were announced Monday by members of the state’s congressional delegation.

Coyle, known in Jersey City schools for her involvement in the so-called “SWAT team” group of administrators who would show up at schools unannounced, will provide what the state says is “technical assistance to the district in the areas in which it has failed to satisfy the quality performance indicators.” The move comes after the city failed to pass muster on a state assessment of the school system.

Curry called the move for additional oversight “unneeded and unwanted.”

“There’s a stigma that parents don’t care, but there are different issues that parents have,” she said, including safety issues such as removing lead from schools, an effort the SEOC has championed in the past. “If you make the effort we will come. We think this is a democratic process and then the state comes in.”

In a statement, the SEOC said, “We demand on Tuesday that Governor Christie stop stealing our children’s educational future by imposing his [politicized] view[s] of [the school system]! In Jersey City, the school budget is $636,000,000. We are the second largest school district in the state. This [state control] is over the budget, not the success of our children.”

“If the state has not provided a thorough and efficient education to our children in over 20 years, then it’s not about our children,” the group continued.

Curry added that the Coyle’s appointment was made with a lack of respect for the city or residents. The announcement, which was made late on Friday, did not give the city or residents a chance to voice their concerns over increased state control, Curry said.

“That’s just not how you do things,” she said. “You’ve got to get involvement from the community and parents. That’s what rallied up the parents.”

However, Justin Barra, a spokesperson for the Department of Education, said the concerns over state involvement have become overblown, and that Coyle’s 6-months post will be limited to the areas of Jersey City schools the state already oversees. This includes the instruction and programs, personnel, and operations for the district.

“All the state is doing now is sending out [Coyle] to be on the grounds for overseeing these three areas,” says Barra. “She has no new power or authority. [She] has deep roots as both an educator and in Jersey City.”

Coyle’s term, which the state does not expect to extend, will run through June 30th.

The move is also welcomed in a statement from the BOE, which says, “[Coyle] will work collaboratively with the Interim Superintendent, Mr. Franklin Walker and the Board Members to provide support in several administrative areas, which will ultimately benefit the students of Jersey City.”

Ward E Councilman Steve Fulop, who has publicly backed some elected members of the city’s BOE, added that while voters’ choices for members should be respected, “there is always the risk of lame duck appointments, pay raises, new hires [and] contract extensions during a transition.”

Although he says the interim superintendent has not shown signs of this, “the state overlooking this one aspect outside of the [superintendent] search, only until the board selects a full-time super, is not a bad thing.”

Woman Struck by Truck and Killed Identified as 62-Year-Old from Jersey City: The woman who was struck and killed by a construction truck on Friday at the intersection of Grand and Prescott streets has been identified, authorities said.

Two-Family Home on Van Horne Street in Jersey City Cited for Illegal Apartments: A Jersey City family of seven has been forced to move in with its downstairs neighbors after city inspectors cited their building’s owner with having illegal apartments, officials said.

New Jersey Woman Gives Birth On Train To NYC: A New Jersey woman got the morning commute of her life when she gave birth on a PATH train to New York.

Altar from St. John’s Episcopal Church Ends up on eBay: An altar from the shuttered St. John’s Episcopal Church in Jersey City has turned up on eBay, for sale by a New York importer at a nearly $50,000 price tag.

Jersey City Teen Heading to 2012 World Artistic Pool Championship: A Jersey City teenager who first picked up a pool stick last year is preparing to head to a national trick-shot competition in which he’ll be the youngest player cueing up bank shots.

Crime Blotter: Two people were shot Monday night on Sheffield Street near Rutgers Avenue in Jersey City, police say; On Friday, Jersey City police arrested three men inside a Bergen Avenue building known for drug trafficking after a man inside tossed suspected heroin out a window, officials said. A 21-year-old Jersey City man walking his dog Friday night was held up by a man wearing a ski mask and pointing a gun, according to police reports.

Today’s Best Bets:

Farms in the Heights and Pershing Field Garden Friends host a screening of Food Miles at the Vietnam Veteran’s Memorial Community Center at Pershing Field and will be followed by speakers and a Q&A (7:30 pm, free).

Meanwhile, Sea of Otters and Glen Coleman play a free show at Lucky 7 (8 pm).

In Statewide News:

Gov. Christie in Action: State of the State address, Busy Day in Trenton to Come: Today is jam-packed in Trenton as Gov. Chris Christie takes action on scores of bills by noon, followed by the State of the State address that was postponed last week to pay tribute to the late minority leader, Assemblyman Alex DeCroce.

New Jersey Gas Prices on the Rise: AAA Mid-Atlantic says the average price of regular gasoline in New Jersey on Friday was $3.30, up 5 cents from last week. That’s also much higher than it was a year ago, when motorists were paying $3.02.

But education reform is one of those catchphrases such as “tax relief” or “war on terror” that sounds less ambiguous than it is. Everyone wants the best interests of schoolchildren, and many feel that schools are not doing enough to help low-achieving children, primarily in high-poverty areas, succeed. But reasonable people differ greatly on what a quality education is and how that can be achieved.

The national drumbeat for “school reform” usually calls for more choice, in the form of voucher programs and more charter schools, and more accountability, in the form of school and teacher evaluation based on student test scores. Recently, Governor Chris Christie and acting Education Commissioner Christopher Cerf have been pushing four bills that would expand charter schools, offer vouchers for private and parochial schools, privatize failing schools, and evaluate teachers in a large measure on student test scores.

To parents and officials in Jersey City, school reform tends to mean emphasizing transparency and good governance rather than choice and accountability. Locally, reform means getting rid of inefficiencies at the central office, eliminating cronyism, and hiring a superintendent who plays by the new business rules of educational leadership today. Even local parent and vocal “reform” advocate Shelley Skinner, who is deputy director of Better Education for Kids (B4K), an advocacy group for merit pay, tenure reform, and vouchers in select districts, speaks publicly about the need to change “ethically challenged practices” rather than overhaul schools.

“I’m looking for someone who is responsive to parents, gives more flexibility for principals and teachers, and a real house-cleaning” within the board of education, says Felicia Noth, Parent Council head at PS5. Board president Sterling Waterman says he “expects bold and innovative ideas” from any new superintendent, including the interim, and that he personally does not support vouchers, although he “has no problem with charter schools.”

With the departure of Epps, who had been superintendent since 2000, the Jersey City Board of Education gets to pick its own superintendent for the first time since 1989, when the schools came under state control. In 2007, the state returned to the district control of two benchmarks, finances and governance, which covers the firing and hiring of superintendents.

Parent groups and local education professionals in Jersey City, however, have feared for months that the state might still swoop in and appoint a superintendent by fiat. A spokesperson for the New Jersey Department of Education reiterated that the hiring choice is entirely in the hands of the Jersey City Board of Education now. Yet in a recent email to BOE president Sterling Waterman, Acting Education Commissioner Cerf chastised him for allegedly mangling the selection of an interim superintendent and took the tone of a corporate manager making the case to fire a subordinate. “It is now abundantly clear to me that this board is not interested in pursuing an agenda of transformational change for the children of Jersey City,” Cerf wrote, after the selection of Walker. (Cerf himself was in fact a private sector manager, as president of Edison Schools, the largest for-profit private manager of public schools, which today functions as EdisonLearning.) He and Waterman met in late December to smooth things over, and Cerf was apologetic, while Waterman made clear that he welcomed state assistance in the national search process.

But the potential tussle with the state over the hiring process has not buried, for the moment, divisions within the Jersey City school board itself, which hews to an old and a new guard. On the current board of nine volunteers, four are new within the last two years, including Waterman. In October, other new board members Carol Lester, Carol Harrison-Arnold and Marvin Adames voted along with Waterman and Sue Mack in favor of the agreement that ended Superintendent Epps’ contract last month. More recently, outgoing board member Sean Connors has publicly derided Waterman and, separately, Ward E Councilman Steve Fulop, through the letters of this paper.

The Board has control over a budget of more than $630 million for the city’s schools, much of which is state money. That amount is $150 million more than the city budget. That leaves a conspicuous job opening on the top of that $630 million pile, which Walker’s appointment fills only temporarily.

“There’s the opportunity to do something very meaningful,” says Fulop. “This is a unique window to attract some real talent.” Fulop has been a driving force behind the recent changes in the Board of Education composition, even as he tries to distance himself from being seen as a kind of ed-board Svengali.

Two years ago, the councilman established a screening committee for Board of Education candidates. The committee vetted candidates for the board and then put forth a slate of three names in 2010 and 2011 who received support from Fulop, in the form of marketing, endorsement, and fund-raising. Both years, those candidates won, with several running as outspoken critics of superintendent Epps.

Now, 15 volunteers are vetting applications from potential Board of Education candidates for the 2012 spring election, to fill at least three seats. The current chairperson is Ellen Simon, who has a young child herself and saw volunteering on the committee as a chance to help the public school system. She and Fulop both emphasize that the group’s choices this year are independent and not beholden to Fulop or his views.

Councilman Fulop is upfront about his own ideas about reform, which align with those of national “education reform” press darlings, such as Secretary of Education Arne Duncan, former Washington DC schools chancellor Michelle Rhee, New York mayor Michael Bloomberg, and, lately, Chris Christie. He says he is personally a “big believer” in changing teacher tenure policy, charter schools as options, and accountability for school administrations. “If we attract the right person, a proactive progressive voice will be able to attract meaningful private dollars,” he adds.

In June 2010, Fulop co-hosted with Shelley Skinner a lecture at City Hall by Whitney Tilson, a wealthy hedge fund manager and prominent spokesperson for the education reform movement. Tilson told his audience that teacher quality was the single most important aspect of a good education, that to ensure good teachers we should make it easier to fire the bad ones, and that bad teachers could be uncovered through comparing students’ test scores over time.

Today, Fulop, a declared candidate for the 2013 mayoral race, distances himself from Tilson and his ideas. Moreover, he stresses that his personal views are irrelevant to his committee or to his mayoral run, since he is not on the school board. Instead, the councilman says he’d like the city council to interact with the board on issues such as facilities, potentially transforming empty buildings into new schools instead of selling them, and after-school programs.

For their part, vocal parent groups such as Jersey City Coalition of Parent Teacher Organizations (JCCPTO) and Parents and Communities United for Education (PCUE) worried early on that their voices would not be heard in the search for the new superintendent. Their fears that the BOE would not listen were allayed by several public meetings, at which both groups presented their own search criteria. Among the criteria for superintendent candidates listed by JCCPTO were five years experience as a superintendent and commitment to public schools “over initiatives that would undermine them such as charter schools, vouchers, etc.”

Although some parents are agitating for Walker to stay on permanently, the new superintendent is just as likely to come from outside Jersey City. And it is possible that whoever she is will be as young as Newark’s new superintendent Cami Anderson, who is 40, with young children who need to go to school. Like Noth and Waterman and thousands of other parents, she may find herself gaining inside knowledge about the schools by dropping of her child there every day.

“We all agree schools have to be better and have better management,” says Dan Levin, a Cordero parent-teacher-partnership board member and good government advocate. “The most direct influence and stakeholder is the families. To someone not at the schools it doesn’t matter if the superintendent transition is smooth or bumpy—let’s move on. To parents, it is critical.”

The final public meeting on the superintendent search process is Friday, January 20, at PS11 at 6:30 pm.

Photos by Eric Schkrutz