Jersey City schools chief: No 'One Newark plan' in Jersey City

By Terrence T. McDonald/The Jersey Journal
on March 12, 2014 at 4:48 PM

A massive and controversial plan to overhaul Newark's school district by closing some schools will not be replicated here in Jersey City, according to Schools Superintendent Marcia V. Lyles.

The reorganization plan, dubbed One Newark and spearheaded by state-appointed Newark Schools Superintendent Cami Anderson, would relocate, consolidate or close one quarter of the district?s schools that officials say are underutilized. The plan has met with stiff resistance from a large segment of Newark?s population, with critics saying there?s no evidence it will increase student performance.

But Jersey City parents don?t have to fear, Lyles said yesterday during a wide-ranging discussion about the district with editors of The Jersey Journal. The One Newark plan wouldn?t work for Jersey City, and there are no plans to close schools, she said.

?We don?t have underutilized buildings,? Lyles said, adding that increasing the district?s performance is ?doable? without shuttering facilities.

?It?s a ?mission possible? in Jersey City without closing, disrupting, etcetera,? she said.

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