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New Jersey school board elections, 2017
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Elections
A total of 17 New Jersey school districts among America's largest school districts by enrollment held elections in 2017 for 53 seats. Two school districts held elections on April 25, 2017. The remaining 15 school districts held elections on November 7, 2017.
Here are several quick facts about New Jersey's school board elections in 2017:
- The largest New Jersey school district by enrollment with an election in 2017 was Newark Public Schools with 34,861 K-12 students in the 2014-2015 school year.
- The smallest New Jersey school district among the nation's largest with an election in 2017 was Brick Township Public Schools with 9,604 K-12 students in the 2014-2015 school year.
The districts listed below served 279,357 K-12 students during the 2014-2015 school year, according to the National Center for Education Statistics.[1] Click on the district names for more information on each one and its school board elections.
| 2017 New Jersey School Board Elections | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| District | Primary Election | General Election | Runoff Election | Regular term length | Seats up for election | Total board seats | 2014-15 enrollment |
| Newark Public Schools | N/A | 4/25/2017 | N/A | 3 | 3 | 9 | 34,861 |
| Passaic Public Schools | N/A | 4/25/2017 | N/A | 3 | 4 | 9 | 14,215 |
| Bayonne School District | N/A | 11/7/2017 | N/A | 3 | 3 | 9 | 10,007 |
| Brick Township Public Schools | N/A | 11/7/2017 | N/A | 3 | 2 | 7 | 9,604 |
| Cherry Hill Public Schools | N/A | 11/7/2017 | N/A | 3 | 3 | 9 | 11,390 |
| Clifton Public Schools | N/A | 11/7/2017 | N/A | 3 | 3 | 9 | 11,433 |
| Edison Township Public Schools | N/A | 11/7/2017 | N/A | 3 | 4 | 9 | 15,060 |
| Elizabeth Public Schools | N/A | 11/7/2017 | N/A | 3 | 3 | 9 | 27,218 |
| Hamilton Township School District | N/A | 11/7/2017 | N/A | 3 | 3 | 9 | 12,317 |
| Jersey City Public Schools | N/A | 11/7/2017 | N/A | 3 | 4 | 9 | 30,845 |
| Middletown Township School District | N/A | 11/7/2017 | N/A | 3 | 3 | 9 | 10,054 |
| Paterson Public Schools | N/A | 11/7/2017 | N/A | 3 | 3 | 9 | 30,058 |
| Perth Amboy Public Schools | N/A | 11/7/2017 | N/A | 3 | 3 | 9 | 11,472 |
| Toms River Regional Schools | N/A | 11/7/2017 | N/A | 3 | 3 | 9 | 16,125 |
| Vineland Public Schools | N/A | 11/7/2017 | N/A | 3 | 3 | 9 | 10,935 |
| West Windsor-Plainsboro Regional School District | N/A | 11/7/2017 | N/A | 3 | 3 | 9 | 9,782 |
| Woodbridge Township School District | N/A | 11/7/2017 | N/A | 3 | 3 | 9 | 13,981 |
Issues
Districts strive to achieve local control
Jersey City Public Schools
The New Jersey State Board of Education voted to return full local control to Jersey City Public Schools on July 5, 2017, ending 28 years of the state's takeover. The state's board gave the district local control over its instruction and programming, which was the last category the state was still supervising. "This is truly a historic day," remarked Arcelio Aponte, president of the state board. "The path ahead will certainly be a promising path, a hopeful path for the children of Jersey City."[2]
Jersey City Superintendent Marcia Lyles said the return to local control was only the beginning. "We have only just begun," she said. "Today's action acknowledges that hard work and signals that we are on the right path." In the months following the vote by the state board, the district planned to work with the state in developing a transition plan.[3]
The process of returning local control began in 2015 when the state granted the district control over several areas including school governance and finance. At that time, it withheld control of school instruction and programming. In 2016, the district regained control over operations and personnel/HR.[4]
New Jersey first took over Jersey City Public Schools in 1989, citing a 75-page report that accused the district of “academic bankruptcy.” In doing so, it became the first state in the nation to take over a school district.[5] At that time, the New York Times reported that Jersey City schools were “crippled by political patronage and nepotism, weak administration and management, fiscal irregularities, [and] indifference.”[3] The high school graduation rate in the district was less than 60 percent in 1989, according to the Hudson Reporter. In 2016, the district's four-year graduation rate had risen to almost 75 percent.[3]
Newark Public Schools
Full local control was returned to Newark Public Schools by the New Jersey State Board of Education on September 13, 2017, after 22 years of state oversight. Newark Mayor Ras Baraka remarked on the return: "We now have control over our own children’s lives. It doesn’t mean that we won’t make mistakes or there won’t be any errors or obstacles,” he said. “We have the right to make mistakes. We have the right to correct them ourselves. We think that we know what’s best for the kids in our city."[6]
The state originally took over the district in 1995 after a judge said that “nepotism, cronyism and the like” had caused student performances to plummet, as well as what the judge said was “failure on a very large scale.” Following the state takeover, the Newark Board of Education had little control over finances or operations in the district. Most choices about curriculum and programs were made by a superintendent appointed by the state, and the city could not override personnel decisions made.
Once a school district is taken over by New Jersey, its performance is measured by the Quality Single Accountability Continuum (QSAC), the state's method of monitoring schools. This measures a district's performance in five areas: instruction and program, personnel, fiscal management, operations, and governance. In order to qualify for the return of local control, a school district must score adequately in each of these areas. As a district transitions towards this, it is often the case that it meets adequacy in one measured area at a time and regains that portion of its control.[7]
You can view a timeline of the key events leading up to the district's return to local control below.
Baraka-backed Newark Unity slate returns to election
Ballotpedia staff summarizes issues in the Newark school board election.
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The Newark Unity slate of candidates, endorsed by Newark Mayor Ras Baraka, ran in the 2017 school board election. This election was the seventh consecutive race to feature a slate of candidates backed by Baraka. Reginald Bledsoe, Josephine Garcia, and Flohisha Johnson made up the slate, which published the following statement on its website:
| “ | Our focus must be on a high quality, equitable school district, in support of all of Newark's children.
The next school board will, in all likelihood, shepherd in local control for the first time in over 20 years. Having voices from diverse backgrounds including, parent, advocate, supporter, educational leader as well as legislative experience and the willingness to stand up for all of our children will help shape what local control will look like from all angles. We need a school board with experience fighting in support of local issues from a local perspective. We need a school board of strong characters, men and women from diverse backgrounds with whom our parents and children can look up and recognize a partner in their education, striving for excellence and accepting nothing less.[8] |
” |
| —Newark Unity Slate (2017)[9] | ||
Three candidates—Leah Owens, Tave Padilla, and Deborah Kim Thompson-Gaddy—ran as members of a slate of the same name in the 2016 election. All three won spots on the board, leaving it fully composed of Baraka-backed candidates.
Baraka helped form a seven-member majority on the Newark Board of Education from 2011 to 2015 through his Children First Team slate. The 2015 election resulted in the Children First Team (CFT) accumulating a seven-member majority on the nine-member board. The team, organized by Baraka, first became a part of the board elections in 2011. Baraka was then the South Ward representative on the Newark City Council. He served on the council from 2010 until 2014, when he was elected mayor of Newark. Baraka backed three candidates for the board each year. From 2011 to 2014, the CFT won at least two seats in each election.
Paterson Public Schools
Paterson Public Schools has been under the control of the State of New Jersey since 1991. Since then, its school board has served only in an advisory capacity. The board has had little control over finances or operations in the district, and most choices about curriculum and programs have been made by a superintendent appointed by the state.
Once a school district is taken over by New Jersey, its performance is measured by the Quality Single Accountability Continuum (QSAC), the state's method of monitoring schools. This measures a district's performance in five areas: instruction and program, personnel, fiscal management, operations, and governance. In order to qualify for the return of local control, a school district must score adequately in each of these areas.[10]
As of the 2017 school board election, Paterson Public Schools had regained control of three of those areas: fiscal management, personnel, and operations. In an op-ed published in North Jersey, Paterson city councilman Andre Sayegh said, "I am encouraged that the district has made significant strides in the two remaining categories and I am cautiously optimistic that local control will be attained before the end of this year."[11] If local control were returned by the end of 2017, the members serving on the district's board would be the first in 26 years to exert full control in district matters.
Academic performance
- See also: Public education in New Jersey
| Education terms |
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| For more information on education policy terms, see this article. |
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NAEP scores
- See also: NAEP scores by state
The National Center for Education Statistics provides state-by-state data on student achievement levels in mathematics and reading in the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP). The chart below presents the percentage of fourth and eighth grade students that scored at or above proficient in reading and math during school year 2012-2013. Compared to three neighboring states (Delaware, New York, and Pennsylvania), New Jersey had the highest percentage of students scoring at or above proficient in all categories.[12]
| Percent of students scoring at or above proficient, 2012-2013 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Math - Grade 4 | Math - Grade 8 | Reading - Grade 4 | Reading - Grade 8 | |
| New Jersey | 49% | 49% | 42% | 46% |
| Delaware | 42% | 33% | 38% | 33% |
| New York | 40% | 32% | 37% | 35% |
| Pennsylvania | 44% | 42% | 40% | 42% |
| United States | 41% | 34% | 34% | 34% |
| Source: United States Department of Education, ED Data Express, "State Tables" | ||||
Graduation, ACT and SAT scores
The following table shows the graduation rates and average composite ACT and SAT scores for New Jersey and surrounding states during the 2012-2013 school year. All statements made in this section refer to that school year.[12][13][14]
In the United States, public schools reported graduation rates that averaged to about 81.4 percent. About 54 percent of all students in the country took the ACT, while 50 percent reported taking the SAT. The average national composite scores for those tests were 20.9 out of a possible 36 for the ACT, and 1498 out of a possible 2400 for the SAT.[15]
New Jersey schools reported a graduation rate of 87.5 percent during the 2012-2013 school year, highest among its neighboring states.
In New Jersey, more students took the SAT than the ACT in 2013, earning an average SAT score of 1521.
| Comparison table for graduation rates and test scores, 2012-2013 | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| State | Graduation rate, 2013 | Average ACT composite, 2013 | Average SAT composite, 2013 | ||||
| Percent | Quintile ranking** | Score | Participation rate | Score | Participation rate | ||
| New Jersey | 87.5% | First | 23 | 23% | 1521 | 78% | |
| Delaware | 80.4% | Fourth | 22.9 | 15% | 1351 | 100% | |
| New York | 76.8% | Fourth | 23.4 | 26% | 1463 | 76% | |
| Pennsylvania | 85.5% | Second | 22.7 | 18% | 1480 | 71% | |
| United States | 81.4% | 20.9 | 54% | 1498 | 50% | ||
| **Graduation rates for states in the first quintile ranked in the top 20 percent nationally. Similarly, graduation rates for states in the fifth quintile ranked in the bottom 20 percent nationally. Sources: United States Department of Education, "ED Data Express" ACT.org, "2013 ACT National and State Scores" The Commonwealth Foundation, "SAT scores by state, 2013" | |||||||
Dropout rate
- See also: Public high school dropout rates by state for a full comparison of dropout rates by group in all states
The high school event dropout rate indicates the proportion of students who were enrolled at some time during the school year and were expected to be enrolled in grades nine through 12 in the following school year but were not enrolled by October 1 of the following school year. Students who have graduated, transferred to another school, died, moved to another country, or who are out of school due to illness are not considered dropouts. The average public high school event dropout rate for the United States remained constant at 3.3 percent for both school year 2010–2011 and school year 2011–2012. The event dropout rate for New Jersey was lower than the national average at 1.4 percent in the 2010-2011 school year, and 1.4 percent in the 2011-2012 school year.[16]
State profile
State profile
| Demographic data for New Jersey | ||
|---|---|---|
| New Jersey | U.S. | |
| Total population: | 8,935,421 | 316,515,021 |
| Land area (sq mi): | 7,354 | 3,531,905 |
| Race and ethnicity** | ||
| White: | 68.3% | 73.6% |
| Black/African American: | 13.5% | 12.6% |
| Asian: | 9% | 5.1% |
| Native American: | 0.2% | 0.8% |
| Pacific Islander: | 0% | 0.2% |
| Two or more: | 2.5% | 3% |
| Hispanic/Latino: | 19% | 17.1% |
| Education | ||
| High school graduation rate: | 88.6% | 86.7% |
| College graduation rate: | 36.8% | 29.8% |
| Income | ||
| Median household income: | $72,093 | $53,889 |
| Persons below poverty level: | 12.7% | 11.3% |
| Source: U.S. Census Bureau, "American Community Survey" (5-year estimates 2010-2015) Click here for more information on the 2020 census and here for more on its impact on the redistricting process in New Jersey. **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. | ||
Presidential voting pattern
- See also: Presidential voting trends in New Jersey
New Jersey voted for the Democratic candidate in all seven presidential elections between 2000 and 2024.
Pivot Counties (2016)
Ballotpedia identified 206 counties that voted for Donald Trump (R) in 2016 after voting for Barack Obama (D) in 2008 and 2012. Collectively, Trump won these Pivot Counties by more than 580,000 votes. Of these 206 counties, two are located in New Jersey, accounting for 0.97 percent of the total pivot counties.[17]
Pivot Counties (2020)
In 2020, Ballotpedia re-examined the 206 Pivot Counties to view their voting patterns following that year's presidential election. Ballotpedia defined those won by Trump won as Retained Pivot Counties and those won by Joe Biden (D) as Boomerang Pivot Counties. Nationwide, there were 181 Retained Pivot Counties and 25 Boomerang Pivot Counties. New Jersey had one Retained Pivot County and one Boomerang Pivot County, accounting for 0.55 and 4.00 percent of all Retained and Boomerang Pivot Counties, respectively.
More New Jersey coverage on Ballotpedia
- Elections in New Jersey
- United States congressional delegations from New Jersey
- Public policy in New Jersey
- Endorsers in New Jersey
- New Jersey fact checks
- More...
See also
| New Jersey | School Boards | News and Analysis |
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Footnotes
- ↑ National Center for Education Statistics, "ELSI Table Generator," accessed November 22, 2016
- ↑ NJ.com, "N.J. ends state takeover of Jersey City's public schools," July 5, 2017
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Hudson Reporter, "Jersey City public schools to regain local control," July 9, 2017
- ↑ Hudson County View, "Jersey City set to regain full local control of school district from state in 2016," October 7, 2015
- ↑ Newark Trust, "New Jersey was the first state to takeover of a school district. FACT OR FICTION?" accessed September 12, 2017
- ↑ The Washington Post, "Largest New Jersey city regaining control of its schools," September 13, 2017
- ↑ Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; no text was provided for refs namedone - ↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ Newark Unity Slate, "Candidates," accessed March 20, 2017
- ↑ New Jersey Department of Education, "Quality Single Accountability Continuum (QSAC)," accessed September 21, 2017
- ↑ North Jersey, "Like Newark, Paterson could regain full control of its schools," September 14, 2017
- ↑ 12.0 12.1 United States Department of Education, ED Data Express, "State Tables," accessed May 13, 2014
- ↑ ACT, "2012 ACT National and State Scores," accessed May 13, 2014
- ↑ Commonwealth Foundation, "SAT Scores by State 2013," October 10, 2013
- ↑ StudyPoints, "What's a good SAT score or ACT score?" accessed June 7, 2015
- ↑ United States Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, "Common Core of Data (CCD), State Dropout and Graduation Rate Data File, School Year 2010-11, Provision Version 1a and School Year 2011-12, Preliminary Version 1a," accessed May 13, 2014
- ↑ The raw data for this study was provided by Dave Leip of Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections.
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