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Newark Superintendent Roger León’s contract would be extended to 2030 under a proposal approved by Essex County Superintendent Joseph Zarra, according to letters obtained by Chalkbeat.
The proposal, outlined in the district’s letter requesting Zarra’s approval obtained by Chalkbeat, will be considered by the Newark Board of Education at its Aug. 21 meeting. If approved, it would put León at the helm of New Jersey’s largest school district for 12 years, making him one of the longest-serving superintendents in the state.
State law requires school boards to hold a public hearing before voting to extend a superintendent’s contract and provide at least 10 days notice before holding the hearing.
León’s current contract took effect on July 1, 2023, after public scrutiny over reports that his contract was automatically renewed the year before. It is set to end on June 30, 2028, according to a copy of his 2018 contract that allowed for an automatic, five-year renewal at the end of it.
Zarra approved the extension and authorized an additional three months at the end of León’s term, pushing the end date to Sept. 30, 2030, according to a copy of Zarra’s July 21 response to the district’s attorney, Brenda Liss. Any changes to the terms of León’s contract must be reviewed and approved by the county before the required public notice and hearing of such changes, according to Zarra’s letter.
During the 2024-25 school year, León’s base salary was $308,971, according to the district’s budget that year.
The Newark school board has not yet posted the agenda for its Aug. 21 meeting, the first of the school year after a virtual retreat on Aug. 16. The district also has not publicly announced its plans to consider extending León’s contract.
León was appointed as Newark’s schools chief in 2018 –– making him the first since the city regained control of its schools and the first Latino to lead the district. At that time, he was hired for a three-year term that extended to June 30, 2021, according to board documents
Newark Public Schools Communications Director Paul Brubaker and school board President Hasani Council did not confirm on Wednesday whether the board plans to discuss León’s contract extension at its Aug. 21 meeting. The district also denied Chalkbeat’s public records request for León’s annual evaluations between 2018 and 2025, citing records laws that protect personnel documents.
So far, the proposal has elicited mixed reviews from community members.
Newark Teachers Union President John Abeigon praised the proposed extension during a call with Chalkbeat on Wednesday, saying that “longevity has its place” and comparing it to how a teacher’s skills improve with experience over time.
“We like longevity in the education field. And I think that the same thing applies for superintendents,” Abeigon said. “Communities have to give a superintendent an opportunity to be successful. Some of them are going to be greeted amicably by the community. Some will not, but the proof is going to be in the pudding.”
Fatoumata Bah, a rising senior at Science Park High School, said the decision to extend a school superintendent’s contract should be driven by public input.
A big decision like that should “not just be made behind closed doors,” especially when families and students have been critical of the leadership, said Bah to Chalkbeat on Wednesday.
A Newark Public Schools student since seventh grade, Bah said she would like to see better communication between the superintendent, schools, and students, a responsibility that she feels should be spearheaded by León. The rising senior said providing more mental health resources for students is important to her, and although the district has created initiatives such as this year’s mental health summit at Montclair State University, Bah doesn’t always receive the information.
“I didn’t even know about the [mental health summit] that they had, but upon further research, I found out about it. So I think that says a lot about … the communication with the students … that they serve,” Bah added.
Extension could make León one of NJ’s longest-serving superintendents
This is not the first time the district has sought to extend León’s contract. In 2023, school leaders were criticized after reports that León’s contract had been automatically renewed in May 2022 due to a clause in his contract that extended his term by five years. The clause said that board members needed to alert León by May 15, 2022, if his term, set to expire on June 30, 2023 at the time, would not be extended the following year.
That move prompted dozens of Newark parents, teachers, students, and advocates to attend a board meeting in January 2023, where they raised issues affecting public school students at the time. Current and former students at Newark’s School of Global Studies brought up concerns over allegations of racist harassment at the school that former students said were unaddressed, high school teachers shared their worries over the lack of bilingual teachers supporting English language learners, and advocates criticized the board’s handling of the superintendent’s contract renewal.
Under state law, boards of education are not required to provide public notice or hearings for new contracts, including contracts that replace expired contracts for tenured and non-tenured employees. But according to that same law, a 10-day public notice on a hearing is required for extensions, amendments, or other alterations to the terms of existing contracts, along with a 30-day notice prior to a school board’s action to alter a contract.
Lisa Gray, a former social worker in the district’s Office of Early Childhood, called the proposal to extend León’s contract a “nightmare.” Gray, who left the district last fall after more than a decade because of issues with her supervisors in the workplace, said she is concerned about test scores, diversity in schools, and teacher retention under León’s tenure.
“Another thing that I was disappointed about with was [León’s] 10-year plan, because people are saying ‘oh he wants to stay on to finish his 10-year plan’ but I’m concerned that there is no plan to desegregate the schools,” Gray told Chalkbeat on Wednesday. “It’s time for us to thank Roger León for his service and move on to another administrator.”
León’s 10-year plan, known as “The Next Decade,” is in its fifth year this upcoming school year. It spans from 2020 to 2030 and is Leòn’s vision to improve district schools following 25 years of state control.
If the board approves León’s contract extension, his tenure would rival other long-serving superintendents in the state.
Mark Toback was the superintendent of Wayne Township Schools for 11 years from 2014 to roughly 2025. Charles T. Epps Jr. led Jersey City Public Schools for 11 years, from 2000 to 2011. But it’s Murray A. Chittick, former superintendent of East Brunswick Schools, who may hold the longest tenure in New Jersey, serving for 28 years between 1929 and 1957.
The Newark school board will meet twice this month, first virtually on Aug. 16 at 6 p.m. for its retreat meeting and then again on Aug. 21 at 6 p.m. at 765 Broad Street for its first regular school board meeting of the year.
Jessie Gómez is a reporter for Chalkbeat Newark, covering public education in the city. Contact Jessie at jgomez@chalkbeat.org.
