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Experts say the Newark Board of Education’s late-night move to extend Superintendent Roger León’s contract without public notice or debate was ethically questionable and potentially “totally improper.”
In a surprise move Thursday night, one Newark school board member suddenly requested to switch her abstention on a September vote on León’s contract extension, which failed last month, to a “yes” vote without any formal motion to reconsider.
Both the board president and board counsel said Thursday that this verbal switch constituted an approval for León’s contract extension, and he would remain in office through 2030. The district’s general counsel, Brenda Liss, who is the district and school board’s attorney, said the decision was made possible under Robert’s Rules of Order, a set of rules used by public bodies to conduct business.
The vote switch created confusion among members and the public and reignited familiar concerns about the district and school boards’ transparency. Community members have repeatedly demanded more transparency around León’s contract extension requests and have instead witnessed automatic renewals and limited public discussion.
And experts Friday said the officials’ explanations for why they proceeded without prior notice don’t add up.
Bruce Bishop, executive director of the national Parliamentary Procedure Institute, told Chalkbeat the board’s procedure was not in line with Robert’s Rules. While Liss’s assertion that board members may change their vote if there are no objections is correct, Bishop said, there is a time limit. Once the board moves on to other official business, the time to swap votes has passed.
Because the prior meeting where the original vote was taken had been adjourned, and then a new meeting a month later was called to order, minutes were approved, and a quorum was established, “then certainly by any definition, other business took place or was introduced, and it would be totally improper” and “totally unauthorized” for that board member to change her vote from an abstention to a yes.
“It’s simply too late to authorize that,” Bishop said.
Betsy Ginsburg, executive director of the Garden State Coalition of Schools and a longstanding school board member and board president, said while she doesn’t think “there’s anything illegal” about what the board did Thursday, “it’s not part of the orderly process by which you want a public body to conduct business,” she said. “If you’re going to do something that big, it should at least be an agenda addendum.”
Bishop did note that Robert’s Rules — or any parliamentary rules — create mechanisms by which board members could reconsider or rescind a prior vote. But that would mean giving proper notice and allowing time for debate or discussion in public.
“Absent a motion to reconsider, you can’t just reconsider something,” Bishop said. “If you’ve got an open meeting law, then it would require public notice that the board intends to revisit the issue that they considered last month,” he added. “None of that happened.”
Newark’s school board has quietly approved León’s contract extensions before
Decisions like these have underscored how the promise of community oversight and a more responsive leadership may differ from the reality of the school board and district’s governance. The board’s murky procedural practices also highlight how Newark Public Schools, New Jersey’s largest school system, is rebuilding its governance from scratch after 25 years of state oversight.
The contract extension makes León one of the longest-serving superintendents in state history.
Attempts to quietly move León’s contract extension to allow him to “accomplish the goals” laid out in his 10-year plan have happened before. Those attempts have been made with few opportunities for public input. In 2019, school board members added two years to León’s original contract at a sparsely attended board meeting, extending it to 2023.
School leaders were criticized in 2023 after reports that León’s contract had been automatically renewed because of a clause that extended his term by five years.
In August, Chalkbeat obtained León’s contract extension proposal only through a public records request. The district has also denied Chalkbeat’s public records request for León’s annual evaluations between 2018 and 2025, citing records laws that protect personnel documents.
The school board has also given little insight into other decisions it has made in the past.
In 2023, the board unanimously appointed a charter school teacher to fill a vacant seat, but after an unexplained delay to swear him in, the board eventually appointed someone else. In 2024, former member Dawn Haynes abruptly resigned from her role without a board explanation. Chalkbeat later found that Haynes resigned over a settlement with the district related to her daughters’ legal claim over alleged racist experiences at a Newark high school.
While parents and school advocates have raised concerns over how León addresses issues such as racism in schools, student achievement, and support for vulnerable students, others say extending his tenure to 2030 is necessary for “stability” of the school district.
During a September public hearing to extend León’s contract, Denise Cole, a longtime community advocate who fought for the return to local control, said keeping León on until 2030 is “a simple matter of stability, continuity, and fairness.” Parents raised a long list of complaints, but only a few opposed the extension, while others questioned why the board was considering it three years before Leon’s contract ends.
Ginsburg suggested upcoming elections may have added urgency to the contract extension request and underscored a need for stable leadership in an uncertain time.
The looming gubernatorial election could mean changes for Newark’s public schools, where more than 90% of students identify as Black or Latino, and just under half of district students require English language and special education support.
Republican candidate Jack Ciattarelli has said if he wins, the state’s education department may place more scrutiny on “underperforming” districts like Newark, impact funding for English language learners, and institute changes to the school funding formula that could devastate Newark schools’ budget.
The Newark school board also has an election next spring where four board members’ terms end. Among those whose terms are up is member Josephine Garcia, who was on the committee to appoint León as the district’s first superintendent under local control. Board president Hasani Council, Allison James-Frison, and newly appointed board member Melissa Reed — the member who switched her vote — are also up for election next April.
And while it can be easy to criticize Newark’s governing slips, Ginsburg said, she urged empathy and understanding for board members who are volunteers conducting business in a politically turbulent time.
“It is a scary time for board members all across the state, not just in Newark,” Ginsburg said. “The level of rhetoric has gotten so extreme that just about any decision that boards make that has some amount of impact is not just going to be criticized thoughtfully, it’s going to be criticized in irrational and emotional ways.”
Jessie Gómez is a reporter for Chalkbeat Newark, covering public education in the city. Contact Jessie at jgomez@chalkbeat.org.
Carly Sitrin is the bureau chief for Chalkbeat Philadelphia. Contact Carly at csitrin@chalkbeat.org.
