Trenton, NJ – The New Jersey State Board of Education today acted on the recommendation of Education Commissioner David Hespe in returning the areas of operations and personnel to local control of the Jersey City School District. Commissioner Hespe also established a working group that is tasked with establishing a plan for returning the final area of instruction and program that would provide full local control to the district by as early as the end of the school year.
The state's school monitoring system – called the New Jersey Quality Single Accountability Continuum, or NJQSAC – is the framework that evaluates districts in five areas of management: operations, personnel, governance, fiscal management, and instruction and programming. State-operated districts that demonstrate functionality in each of the five areas of NJQSAC can regain local control. Jersey City already had governance and finance returned to local control, and today’s State Board action returns local control in the areas of operations and personnel.
“This has been a long time coming, but we’re seeing the kind of success, particularly under the leadership of Superintendent Dr. Marcia Lyles, that is pointing toward a new beginning for the community,” said Commissioner Hespe.
The working group established by Commissioner Hespe will include practitioners, school experts and members of the school community, to explore the return of local control in the remaining area under state control, instruction and programming. Commissioner Hespe said the working group would be tasked with creating a plan to address the area of instruction and programming.
The return of each area of local control will be accompanied by a robust and specific transition plan that sets forth expectations and support for the district and board of education. The commissioner reiterated that all transition plans that are developed and approved by the department will focus not only on improving efficiency and effectiveness in operations and academics but also building capacity and accountability in the community to ensure that progress continues and that the abuses that led to state takeover never reoccur. If the requirements of the transition plan are not met, the state will place the district back in intervention status.
“It is clear that community engagement is an important driver of student achievement,” said Commissioner Hespe. “If our overarching concern is what is best for the children of Jersey City, then improved community engagement, involvement and decision making must be our goal.”
Jersey City became the first state-intervention district in New Jersey after the Kean Administration enacted legislation in 1988 authorizing the state to assume control of failing school districts. State takeover of Jersey City schools occurred the following year.