Newark Board of Education is a comprehensive community public school district that serves students in pre-kindergarten through twelfth grade in the city of Newark in Essex County, New Jersey, United States. The state took over the district in 1995 -- the third takeover statewide -- and returned control in 2018, after 22 years. The district is one of 31 former Abbott districts statewide that were established pursuant to the decision by the New Jersey Supreme Court in Abbott v. Burke which are now referred to as "SDA Districts" based on the requirement for the state to cover all costs for school building and renovation projects in these districts under the supervision of the New Jersey Schools Development Authority.
As of the 2020–21 school year, the district, comprised of 63 schools, had an enrollment of 40,423 students and 2,886.5 classroom teachers (on an FTE basis), for a student–teacher ratio of 14.0:1.
The total school enrollment in Newark city was 75,000 in 2003. Pre-primary school enrollment was 12,000 and elementary or high school enrollment was 46,000 children. College enrollment was 16,000. As of 2003, 64% of people 25 years and over had at least graduated from high school and 11% had a bachelor's degree or higher. Among people 16 to 19 years old, 10 percent were dropouts; they were not enrolled in school and had not graduated from high school.
The district is classified by the New Jersey Department of Education as being in District Factor Group "A", the lowest of eight groupings. District Factor Groups organize districts statewide to allow comparison by common socioeconomic characteristics of the local districts. From lowest socioeconomic status to highest, the categories are A, B, CD, DE, FG, GH, I and J.
History
In 1948 schools were racially integrated. There were black teachers, all of whom classified by the district as "permanent substitutes", teaching all grade levels.
The district is one of three districts in New Jersey (along with Jersey City Public Schools and Paterson Public Schools) that has historically been under "state intervention", which authorizes the state Commissioner of Education to intervene in governance of a local public school district (and to intervene in the areas of instruction and program, operations, personnel, and fiscal management). Chris Cerf was the state appointed superintendent of Newark. Cerf said he would resign on February 1, 2018, the day local control was be returned to the district.
Roger Leon, a life long Newark resident and educator was elected by the local school board to replace Cerf by a unanimous 9-0 vote and took office July 1, 2018.
In a referendum held as part of the November 2018 general election, voters chose by a 3-1 margin to have the district function as Type II district, in which the board of education is elected by the residents of the city.
Administration
Core members of the district's administration are: Roger Leon, district superintendent of schools Valerie Wilson, school business administrator
Board of education
The district's board of education, comprised of nine members, sets policy and oversees the fiscal and educational operation of the district through its administration. As a Type II school district, the board's trustees are elected directly by voters to serve three-year terms of office on a staggered basis, with three seats up for election each year held as part of the April school election. The board appoints a superintendent to oversee the district's day-to-day operations and a business administrator to supervise the business functions of the district. As one of the 13 districts statewide with school elections in April, voters also decide on passage of the annual school budget.
Members of the board of education are: