Last night’s news about the slashing of staff at the Camden School District was expected, but still shocking. Already, frustration is boiling over. At the district budget meeting, a resident’s comment was cut off for going over three minutes, and security nearly ended up escorting him out. For that resident, and anyone skeptical of these policy decisions, is there anyplace to be heard?
Earlier in the day, Marian Wright Edelman spoke at Rutgers-Camden. Most of the conversation was about violence, but she did encourage a young man to run for school board, calling it the most important of all elected offices. Except, of course, here in Camden, school board members are appointees.
These two things are related. As I’ve written before, communities rally when their institutions are threatened. And with (according to Inquirer reporter @JuliaTerruso) 20% of school staff and 32% of district staff losing their jobs (some of the better jobs for Camden residents, by the way), along with multiple school takeover announcements yet to come, things are going to get chippy in Camden.
Camden district employs 2,700 so layoffs amount to a 20% reduction in school staff, 32% reduction in administration. #inq
— Julia Terruso (@JuliaTerruso) April 2, 2014
But without an elected school board, without an upcoming mayoral election, and without any say in the superintendent’s decisions, Camden has few places, if any, to go for change. In Newark, like in D.C. before it, a mayoral election is swinging on education issues, as Ras Baraka has taken a lead in that race. Camden won’t have that opportunity.
That’s why this fall’s referendum to make the school board in Camden elected is so important. It’s in part about giving some say back to Camden residents about the future of its school system (although by then, most of the most drastic reforms will be enacted), but it’s also a potential early indicator that the status quo needs to watch its back politically. In a relatively short period of time, the political structure here has alienated the police union (by moving to a Metro Police force) and attacked the public school system (by shifting jobs from the public sector to charters and Renaissance schools where if rehired, teachers will need to join a separate union, thus losing their accumulated benefits). People are starting to ask where the base will be for its coalition moving forward.
Until the fall, there is literally no electoral way for Camden’s voice will be heard. So it will be heard in 3 minute snippets at public meetings, in spaces and forums like this one (I’d like to encourage students, parents and teachers to submit their thoughts for this space), and protests like the one referenced below:
@iamcamdennj @SaveCamdenSchls @camdenvictory @SteveDanley @stopthefreezeNJ @philmdunn @MJ_Fine help Camden speak out pic.twitter.com/4EYiWqhrFB
— Teachers 4 Democracy (@CamdenEANJ) April 2, 2014
Camden residents simply do not have a say in what is happening to their education system. There is a state-appointed superintendent, a mayoral-appointed school board, and a public participation process that is more about token participation than listening to community. As we’ve seen in Newark, residents will get desperate and more aggressive when they feel they have no impact over things that directly affect their lives. How sad that we will likely now watch that script play out here.
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