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The Newark Board of Education has quietly scheduled a public hearing and vote to extend Superintendent Roger León’s contract to 2030, according to a public notice posted online over the weekend.
The public hearing, meant to give the community a chance to weigh in on the proposal to extend León’s contract, is set for 5:30 p.m. on Sept. 25 at Ann Street School, just half an hour before the scheduled board meeting that day. As of Wednesday, the public hearing had not been listed on the district calendar on the board’s website.
At the board’s August meeting, community members called for more transparency and public input after news about the board’s plan to extend León’s contract was first reported by NJ.com and Chalkbeat.
State law requires school boards to provide the public with at least 30 days notice before voting on a superintendent’s contract, in addition to a public hearing before the vote, with at least 10 days notice of the hearing.
Essex County Superintendent Joseph Zarra first approved the district’s request to extend León’s contract to 2030 in July, according to letters obtained by Chalkbeat. Zarra also authorized an additional three months at the end of León’s proposed term, pushing the extended end date to Sept. 30, 2030.
The proposal requires board approval, and if passed, it would make León one of the state’s longest-serving superintendents.
This isn’t the first time community members have called for more involvement in the process to renew León’s contract since he was hired in 2018 under a three-year contract. In 2019, the first year of his contract, the school board, at a “sparsely attended” public hearing, voted to add another two years to that contract, extending it to 2023. There was also no notice of a public hearing ahead of that decision on the district website.
León’s current contract took effect on July 1, 2023, after public scrutiny over reports in 2023 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.
León’s appointment in 2018 made him the first Latino to lead the district and the first superintendent since the city regained control of its schools. After his appointment, León and his team created a 10-year plan for the district known as “The Next Decade,” which will be in its fifth year this upcoming school year. The plan spans from 2020 to 2030 and is Leòn’s vision to improve district schools following 25 years of state control.
During the 2024-25 school year, León’s base salary was $308,971, according to the district’s budget that year.
Jessie Gómez is a reporter for Chalkbeat Newark, covering public education in the city. Contact Jessie at jgomez@chalkbeat.org.
