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One of Newark’s longest-serving school board members, who faced removal from her seat this year and has spoken out about racial harassment and tensions at a controversial district high school, has suddenly left the board, Chalkbeat has learned.
Dawn Haynes, who was serving her third term, has stepped down from the Newark Board of Education effective immediately, according to multiple sources.
First elected in 2018, Haynes recently faced criticism from Newark Public Schools Superintendent Roger León and other district leaders after her daughter filed a legal claim against the district alleging religious, racial, and gender discrimination and other harassment during her time as a Newark School of Global Studies student. In November 2024, the Newark school board voted to ask the state education department to recommend the removal of Haynes due to a conflict that stemmed from her daughter’s legal claim, but the petition was shot down in January by the state’s education commissioner.
The vacancy was announced by board President Hasani Council after an executive session during Saturday’s board retreat. The news comes just weeks after April’s school board election, though Council didn’t identify Haynes by name. Council added that the board is soliciting nominations until June 2 at 4 p.m. to fill a one-year term up for election next year. The vacancy announcement is posted on the district’s Facebook page.
Paul Brubaker, the district’s communications director, and Council did not respond to questions on Monday about the board’s vacancy or Haynes’ departure. Haynes declined to comment.
For the last three years, Haynes, who would have been up for reelection in 2027, and her daughter had been vocal about alleged racial discrimination that students and teachers said they faced at Global Studies. In her claim, her daughter, Akela Haynes, also alleged that between September 2020 and December 2022, she “suffered pervasive and consistent” discrimination, sexual harassment, assault, battery, intimidation, bullying, cyber-bullying, emotional distress, and other inappropriate and unlawful treatment.
Haynes’ departure comes a month after the Moving Newark Schools Forward, a political slate heavily backed by Mayor Ras Baraka and other powerful Democratic lawmakers, won the three seats up for election in this year’s school board race. Haynes was part of the Moving Newark Schools Forward slate, which has consistently won every school board election since 2016.
The new vacancy has already drawn attention from this year’s school board candidates. Ade’Kamil Kelly, who ran on the Prioritizing Newark’s Children slate, announced on Saturday that he submitted his petition to fill Haynes’ seat. In his letter of intent shared with Chalkbeat, Kelly writes that he is a passionate advocate for youth and education. He has spent several years “developing and leading programs” that support youth’s “academic growth, social development, and civic engagement,” the letter reads.
During a school board candidate forum in March, Kelly, who ran alongside first-time candidates Shana Melius and Nathanael Barthelemy, said the district’s harassment, intimidation, and bullying policy wasn’t being properly enforced, particularly in light of complaints of racism and harassment.
“I understand the vital role the Board plays in shaping policy, setting priorities, and ensuring every student has access to a high-quality education. If selected, I will bring a thoughtful, equity-driven perspective to this work,” reads Kelly’s letter of intent submitted to the Newark school board.
Haynes’ departure from the board is the latest fallout from the racial tensions reported at Global Studies.
In January, Chalkbeat Newark obtained a scathing draft of a consultant’s report that found Newark Public Schools leaders failed to “quickly and consistently” respond to racist and bigoted incidents against Black students and teachers at Global Studies. León in 2023 said that the report, commissioned by board members that year, on Global Studies’ cultural, religious, and racial dynamics, would remain internal and inform the district’s strategy on race.
Following León’s comments, the district released three recommendations from the report conducted by the consulting firm Creed Strategies that urged a review of the effects of “anti-Blackness” on the school system, foster conversations about racial issues, and create an environment that is racially conscious and inclusive. León has not said how the report has informed the district’s diversity policies or other school strategies.
Haynes, a Malcolm X Shabazz High School graduate and a city hall staffer, is known for her efforts to raise student performance and improve school culture and diversity. Haynes has also been active in working against gun violence in the community and for helping families, parents, teachers, and youth as the former president of Harriet Tubman Elementary School’s Parent Teacher Association.
During her time at Shabazz, Haynes was part of the ROTC program and later joined the U.S. Air Force, according to her biography on the district’s website. After the Air Force, Haynes went to Lincoln Technical Institute, where she earned her certification as an electronic systems technician.
Jessie Gómez is a reporter for Chalkbeat Newark, covering public education in the city. Contact Jessie at jgomez@chalkbeat.org.
