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Incumbent Hasani Council and his three running mates took their oaths for the Newark Board of Education on Thursday, marking their commitment to help oversee a district of more than 41,000 students grappling with low state test scores, aging buildings, and growing numbers of vulnerable students.
Council was reinstalled to his role as board president, and Quamid Childs, Mark Comesañas, and Jordy Nivar took on their duties during Newark school board’s reorganization meeting. The board also voted members Vereliz Santana and Helena Vinhas as co-vice presidents.
Council, Childs, and Comesañas will serve three-year terms, while Nivar will serve a one-year term. They are responsible for deciding policies in New Jersey’s largest school district and helping manage the district’s more than $1.6 billion budget. The city’s public school board is also tasked with holding the superintendent accountable.
The nine-member school board also reviews and approves policies that address academic recovery efforts, support for students with disabilities and English language learners, fixing old school buildings, overcrowding, youth mental health, and new cellphone bans, among others.
The board is inheriting new challenges this year. The district’s state test scores in math and reading remain below state averages, Republican lawmakers are calling for more oversight of Newark’s spending, and the number of English language learners and students with disabilities continues to grow.
Before giving their inaugural speeches, Council, Childs, Comesañas, and Nivar took turns calling family members, friends, and campaign volunteers up to the podium as they were sworn in by the district’s school business administrator, Valerie Wilson. They read their oath of office statements, noting their requirement to uphold the law and “impartially and justly perform all the duties.”
During the meeting, Superintendent Roger León said the new members “symbolize the greatness of Newark Public Schools.”
Council, first elected in 2020, said on Thursday that he was grateful to the community for choosing him to serve a third term on the school board. He told his board colleagues that there’s already a lot of work to do.
“We do this because we actually believe in this work and making a change for our students’ lives. I didn’t run for school board to accelerate my career. I will continue to do the work every single day,” said Council, now the longest serving board member.
This year, only 3% of Newark voters participated in the school board election, with only 36 16- and 17-year-olds casting their ballots in their second year of voting, according to unofficial counts reported last month.
Childs, a Newark parent, vice chairman for the Newark North Ward Democrats, and member of the Essex County Democratic Committee, told Chalkbeat he is concerned about the city’s recurring low turnout in school board elections. As a school board member, he wants to help the district engage parents better and boost transparency into district decisions, Childs said.
“If we can’t get the parents engaged, we can’t get the children engaged,” Childs added.
Nivar also told Chalkbeat he wants to focus on creating more equity in schools, specifically, ensuring that sports teams across the district have the equipment they need. As a baseball coach and youth mentor, Nivar said he sees how much parents struggle to purchase bats and gloves for their children to play, which can be costly.
“So for us to give the coaches the right equipment, the right representation, the right back-up, it’s a win-win situation for the child.” Nivar said.
Comesañas during the meeting said he was honored to serve the city he loved and was eager to start his work on the board. The executive director of My Brother’s Keeper Newark, the policy and advocacy arm of the Newark Opportunity Youth Network, said he will continue to keep students at the center of his decisions.
Jessie Gomez is a reporter for Chalkbeat Newark, covering public education in the city. Contact Jessie at jgomez@chalkbeat.org.
