Newark Public Schools elections (2014)

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2014 Newark Public Schools Elections
General Election date:
April 23, 2014
Table of Contents
About the district Method of election Elections What was at stake? Key deadlines Additional elections External links
See also
New Jersey Newark Public Schools Essex County, New Jersey ballot measures Local ballot measures, New Jersey

Three seats on the Newark Public Schools advisory board were up for general election on April 23, 2014. Board members Antoinette Baskerville-Richardson and Philip Seelinger ran for re-election, while fellow incumbent Alturrick Kenney decided to campaign for a seat on the Newark City Council instead. Baskerville-Richardson, Seelinger and newcomer Reginald Bledsoe ran as the "Children First" slate endorsed by mayoral candidate Ras Baraka. Although challenger Donald G. Jackson Jr. edged out Bledsoe for the third seat by less than 100 votes, both Baskerville-Richardson and Seelinger won re-election.

About the district

See also: Newark Public Schools, New Jersey

Newark Public Schools is located in Essex County, New Jersey

Newark Public Schools is located in Essex County, New Jersey. The county seat of Essex County is Newark. Essex County is home to 787,744 residents, according to the United States Census Bureau. Newark was the largest school district in New Jersey, serving 35,543 students during the 2011-2012 school year.

Demographics

Essex County underperformed in comparison to the rest of New Jersey in terms of higher education achievement in 2012. The United States Census Bureau found that 31.8 percent of Essex County residents aged 25 years and older had attained a bachelor's degree compared to 35.4 percent for New Jersey as a whole. The median household income in Essex County was $55,027 compared to $71,637 for the state of New Jersey. The poverty rate in Essex County was 16.1 percent compared to 9.9 percent for the entire state.

Racial Demographics, 2012
Race	Essex County (%)	New Jersey (%)
White	50.0	73.8
Black or African American	42.1	14.7
American Indian and Alaska Native	0.7	0.6
Asian	5.0	9.0
Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander	0.1	0.1
Two or More Races	2.1	1.9
Hispanic or Latino	21.3	18.5

2013 Party Affiliation, Essex County
Party	Registered Voters	% of Total
Democratic	229,181	46.58
Republican	45,808	9.31
Libertarian	143	0.03
Green	76	0.01
Other	51	0.01
Unaffiliated	216,799	44.06

Note: Percentages for race and ethnicity may add up to more than 100 percent because respondents may report more than one race and the Hispanic/Latino ethnicity may be selected in conjunction with any race. Read more about race and ethnicity in the census here.

Voter and candidate information

The Newark Advisory Board consists of nine members elected to three-year terms at-large by the district as a whole. There was no primary election, and the general election was held on April 23, 2014. Three seats were up for election in 2014 and three seats will be up for election in 2015.

The filing deadline for school board candidates to get on the ballot in the general election was March 4, 2014 and the deadline to amend a petition or withdraw was March 10, 2014.

Elections

2014

Candidates

At-large

• Antoinette Baskerville-Richardson
  • Incumbent
  • Graduate, Montclair State University
  • Retired educator, Newark Public Schools

• Philip Seelinger
  • Incumbent
  • Firefighter, Newark Fire Department

• Reginald Bledsoe
  • Student, Montclair State University

• Crystal Fonseca
  • Community relations and outreach, Jersey City Incinerator Authority

• Donald G. Jackson Jr.

• Rachelle Moss

• Shakima K. Thomas

• Ronnie Kellam
  • Student, Essex County College
  • Security officer, Conway Stores and McDonald's Corporation

Election results

Newark Public Schools, At-Large General Election, 3-year term, 2014

Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Nonpartisan	Philip Seelinger Incumbent	20.1%	2,894
	Nonpartisan	Antoinette Baskerville-Richardson Incumbent	19%	2,734
	Nonpartisan	Donald G. Jackson Jr.	16.8%	2,421
	Nonpartisan	Reginald Bledsoe	16.4%	2,352
	Nonpartisan	Crystal Fonseca	12.1%	1,743
	Nonpartisan	Rachelle Moss	8.3%	1,198
	Nonpartisan	Shakima K. Thomas	4%	575
	Nonpartisan	Ronnie Kellam	2.8%	405
	Nonpartisan	Write-in votes	0.3%	48
Total Votes				14,370
Source: Essex County, New Jersey, "2014 School Board Election," accessed June 11, 2014

Endorsements

Antoinette Baskerville-Richardson, Philip Seelinger and Reginald Bledsoe received endorsements from Newark mayoral candidate Ras Baraka as the "Children First" slate.

Campaign finance

Candidates received a total of $30,232.00 and spent a total of $1,888.00 as of the second campaign finance filing deadline on April 14, 2014, according to the New Jersey Election Law Enforcement Commission.

Antoinette Baskerville-Richardson, Philip Seelinger and Reginald Bledsoe, who ran as part of the "Children First" slate, received a total of $12,923.00 and spent a total of $1,888.00. Crystal Fonseca was the only other candidate to have filed a campaign finance report as of the second filing deadline. She reported $17,400.00 in contributions but no expenditures.

Past elections

Information about earlier elections can be found by clicking [show] at the right.

2013 Newark Public Schools, At-Large General Election, 3-year term, 2013 Party Candidate Vote % Votes      Nonpartisan Khalil Sabu Rashidi 26.3% 3,223      Nonpartisan Ariagna Perello 24.7% 3,020      Nonpartisan Rashon K. Hasan 18.8% 2,304      Nonpartisan Philip Seelinger 15.5% 1,893      Nonpartisan Sheila Montague 9.7% 1,191      Nonpartisan Gerrell Elliot 4.7% 571      Nonpartisan Write-in votes 0.3% 33 Total Votes 12,235 Source: Essex County, New Jersey, "2013 School Board Election," accessed February 18, 2014 2012 Newark Public Schools, At-Large General Election, 3-year term, 2012 Party Candidate Vote % Votes      Nonpartisan DeNiqua Matias 21.3% 5,721      Nonpartisan Marques-Aquil Lewis Incumbent 15.8% 4,237      Nonpartisan Rashied McCreary 13.8% 3,720      Nonpartisan Ariagna Perello 13.5% 3,628      Nonpartisan Tara Williams 11.7% 3,151      Nonpartisan Masiel Valentin 10.1% 2,712      Nonpartisan Philip Seelinger 6.3% 1,701      Nonpartisan Rafael A. Brito 3.7% 983      Nonpartisan Rashon Kashif Hasan 2.9% 788      Nonpartisan Swapan Basu 0.7% 182      Nonpartisan Write-in votes 0.2% 45 Total Votes 26,868 Source: Essex County, New Jersey, "2012 School Board Election," accessed February 18, 2014 2011 Newark Public Schools, At-Large General Election, 3-year term, 2011 Party Candidate Vote % Votes      Nonpartisan Eliana Pintor Marin Incumbent 15.4% 5,111      Nonpartisan Alturrick Kenney 14.4% 4,806      Nonpartisan Antoinette Baskerville-Richardson 13.7% 4,550      Nonpartisan Tave Padilla 13.6% 4,508      Nonpartisan DeNiqua Matia 13.4% 4,459      Nonpartisan Chris T. Pernell 12.9% 4,298      Nonpartisan Ariagna Perello 6% 1,981      Nonpartisan Philip Seelinger 5.3% 1,774      Nonpartisan Donald G. Jackson Jr. 3.4% 1,133      Nonpartisan Willard Andrews 1% 346      Nonpartisan Alfred McIntyre 0.8% 254 Total Votes 33,260 Source: Essex County, New Jersey, "2011 School Board Election," accessed March 24, 2014

What was at stake?

Three seats on the advisory board were up for election on April 23, 2014. The board has served in a strictly advisory capacity since the state government took over administration of the district in 1995. Despite this lack of legal authority, recent Newark school board elections featured competitive elections and endorsements from significant politicians such as then-Mayor Cory Booker. Local political operative Anthony Salters referred to the annual school board elections as a "blood sport." Star-Ledger journalist David Giambusso argued that the board's composition "reflects Newark’s political leanings and can drastically affect how reform efforts [...] are received in the city." Board Chairperson Antoinette Baskerville-Richardson won re-election, despite initially announcing her intention to run for a seat on the Newark City Council instead.

Issues in the election

Replacing Superintendent Cami Anderson

Six of the eight candidates who ran for the Newark Advisory Board participated in a candidate forum hosted by the Newark Trust for Education on April 8, 2014. Neither Rachelle Moss nor Shakima K. Thomas attended. All six participants broadly agreed that the state should relinquish control of Newark Public Schools and that Cami Anderson should be removed as superintendent. They also agreed that Superintendent Anderson's One Newark reform plan is flawed and that the district's central administration does not reach out to the community enough. Significant differences in opinion arose only when the candidates discussed how to find Superintendent Anderson's replacement. Crystal Fonseca, Ronnie Kellam and Donald G. Jackson Jr. argued that the district should hire an internal replacement who is already familiar with the Newark school system. Reginald Bledsoe, who was the only member of the Children First slate to weigh in on the topic, suggested that the district should conduct a statewide search for a new superintendent and added that experience in urban education should be a primary qualification.

Issues in the district

Superintendent Cami Anderson

Local control and reform proposals

Since 1995, the New Jersey state government has exercised control over Newark Public Schools. In 2013, the Newark Students Union led two mass boycotts against state control of the district in April and November, with the April walkout reportedly drawing about 1,000 students. Superintendent Cami Anderson, who was appointed by Governor Chris Christie, had put forward a district reform plan labeled One Newark that includes school closures, teacher layoffs, Teach for America hirings and changes to the district's enrollment system for both traditional and charter schools. American Federation of Teachers President Randi Weingarten sent a letter to Governor Christie criticizing Superintendent Anderson's plan to use teacher performance evaluations instead of seniority in deciding which teachers to layoff. She concluded the letter by arguing that the state should relinquish control of the school district.

On March 27, 2014, Newark residents staged a rally in Trenton, New Jersey to protest the Superintendent Anderson's One Newark reform plan. Attendees in the state capital included Advisory Board Chairperson Antoinette Baskerville-Richardson, Newark mayoral candidate and City Councilman Ras Baraka, State Senator Ronald Rice and New Jersey Education Association President Wendell Steinhauer. Journalist Mark Bonamo estimated that more than 200 Newark residents joined the protest in opposition to state control of the district and the superintendent. During his speech to the crowd, Baraka argued, "We have the right to govern our own lives. We have the right to govern our own school system. We have a right to keep our school buildings open. [...] No one wants this One Newark plan, and no one wants Cami Anderson. One of the first steps that we make sure happens is that she gets the first ticket on the first train out of town. We've had enough." Newark Students Union President Kristin Towcaniuk added, "The momentum to take back control of our public schools is growing and cannot be underestimated. [...] Chris Christie's appointed puppets are trying their hardest to privatize our schools and layoff experienced teachers, all while ignoring the law that requires the state to properly fund Newark schools." On April 3, 2014, more than 500 students joined a walkout to demand more funding for Newark Public Schools and to rebuke Superintendent Anderson's One Newark plan.

Advisory Board relations

Superintendent Anderson's relationship with the Newark Advisory Board had also grown increasingly contentious. During a January 2014 board meeting with hundreds of parents, residents and district educators in attendance, Superintendent Anderson was heckled continuously by the crowd. AFT President Randi Weingarten also attended to denounce Superintendent Anderson's reform proposals, encouraging the opposition in the crowd by pledging AFT's support and stating, "the nation is watching Newark." Superintendent Anderson and her staff left the meeting after community activist Natasha Allen allegedly referred to the superintendent's biracial child by asking, "Do you not want for our brown babies what you want for your brown baby?" In February 2014, Superintendent Anderson announced that she would no longer attend board meetings on the basis that they "are no longer focused on achieving educational outcomes for children."

Principal suspensions

On January 17, 2014, five Newark principals were suspended indefinitely by the district administration. The district refused requests to explain the exact cause for the suspensions, stating that it was "confidential" but acknowledging that it was due to an investigation "launched regarding an incident that occurred on or about Jan. 15, 2014." Four of the suspended principals spoke in opposition to Superintendent Anderson's One Newark reform proposal on January 15 at a community meeting. Newark Councilman Ras Baraka denounced the suspensions and demanded Superintendent Anderson's ouster, arguing that the principals "have a constitutional right to speak out" and adding that, "The Newark school district is not a military dictatorship, and Ms. Anderson is neither an army general nor a police chief." The five principals and a local parent who was banned from the premises of a district school for vocally protesting Superintendent Anderson's reforms have filed a federal lawsuit against the superintendent. In the lawsuit, they argue that she violated their constitutional right to free speech and claim that the district administration was engaged in a "concerted effort to undermine, intimidate and coerce" both the community and district employees. The day after the lawsuit was filed, three of the principals were reinstated to their schools and the other two were reassigned to different schools in the district.

Key deadlines

The following dates were key deadlines for the Newark Public Schools election in 2014:

Deadline	Event
March 4, 2014	Last day to file nominating petitions
March 10, 2014	Last day to withdraw or amend a nomination petition
March 13, 2014	Drawing of names for candidate positions on the ballot
March 26, 2014	Last day to file first campaign finance report
April 2, 2014	Last day to register to vote
April 14, 2014	Last day to file second campaign finance report
April 16, 2014	Last day to apply by mail for an absentee ballot
April 23, 2014	Election day
May 13, 2014	Last day to file final campaign finance report

Additional elections on the ballot

This election did not share the ballot with any other elections.

Recent news

This section links to a Google news search for the term "Newark + Public + Schools + New + Jersey"

All stories may not be relevant to this page due to the nature of the search engine.

Newark Public Schools News Feed

See also

• New Jersey
• Newark Public Schools, New Jersey
• New Jersey school board elections, 2014
• List of school board elections in 2014
• School board elections, 2014
• Essex County, New Jersey ballot measures
• Local ballot measures, New Jersey
• Brawling in Newark headlines New Jersey school board elections
• Slates, incumbents prevail in New Jersey school board elections

External links

Suggest a link

• Newark Public Schools
• Newark, New Jersey
• Essex County Clerk