Newark will impose a moratorium on some rent evictions following two positive cases of coronavirus diagnosed in the city, Mayor Ras Baraka announced Sunday.

“There have been many Newark residents who believed the mythology that it would not come to Newark; but it’s here,” Baraka said at a city hall press conference, as cases across the state continue to multiply.

The moratorium will apply to evictions for anyone directly or indirectly affected by a quarantine order. The city also instituted a 60-day extension on tax payments and a waiver of associated fees and the suspension of water shut-offs, Baraka said. He signed an executive order putting those changes into effect during the press conference.

The Garden Spires apartment complex used to be a different place.

Not long ago, the two Newark residential buildings were on the brink of being uninhabitable due to unsafe and unsanitary conditions.

Roaches were hiding in the baby food sold at the first-floor supermarket. Rodents were turning up dead. Abandoned apartments were a sanctuary for old furniture, cats and squatters.

By Ronald Chaluisán Batlle

On April 21, 2020, Newarkers will finally have the chance to choose. The question is: will they go to the polls in large numbers so they can participate in addressing the critical issues facing the city's public education ecosystem?

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On July 12, 1995, history was made when Newark schools came under state control. On July 12, 1995, history was made when the people of Newark began their struggle to regain the right to choose their public school leadership.

Now, on April 21, 2020, Newarkers will finally have the chance to choose. The question is: will they go to the polls in large numbers so they can participate in addressing the critical issues facing the city’s public education ecosystem? Will they go out and vote, aligning their actions with the ideas present in the civics curriculum that the district is restoring to the curriculum? Or will they stay home?

Newarkers have been fighting against the idea of state control of the school system for at least 50 years and for the right to select their school leadership for 25 years.

By Paul O’Neill

A thriving charter sector that serves roughly a third of the 55,000 students there is now a crucial part of an upswing in scores and parent satisfaction. But in December, Superintendent Roger León sent an open letter to the state education commissioner attacking charter schools, Paul O'Neill says. We should be working together, he says.

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Almost six years ago, I co- founded a non-profit organization called the National Center for Special Education in Charter Schools to help families who want to exercise the same sorts of school choice opportunities for their kids with disabilities as are available to other children. Since most charter schools are independent public schools that operate outside of district control, we found that there were few coordinated efforts in the charter sector to ensure access, equity and strong academic outcomes for kids with disabilities. Across the country charter schools, authorizers and other stakeholders are communicating and collaborating, and sharing best practices, but there is still a lot more collaboration to do.

More and more, the center is finding that our work takes us beyond charter, into places where common challenges are impacting children across all public school options, including in Newark. Traditional public schools, charter schools and other sorts of alternative schools here are all part of the mix and can be strengthened by mutual supports and collaboration. We see no benefit to drawing lines that we won’t cross or building walls between charter schools and districts. But not everyone seems to view public education from this perspective. Especially lately.

Political rhetoric has ramped up as we begin a big election year. Too often we encounter an antagonistic divide between proponents and opponents of charter schools. Advocates for the traditional public school structure often call for limits to charters, or at least to for-profit charter schools (a confusing term; charters are public schools and a small percentage of them are managed by for-profit organizations that provide services to a school by contract).

By Ras Baraka

First and foremost, Superintendent León has no authority to close charter schools. The decision comes from state Education Commissioner Dr. Lamont Repollet, Baraka says.

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Several years ago, when state-appointed superintendents closed more than 20 Newark Public Schools, they said it was a necessary step to strengthen our public education system.

Most city residents accepted these decisions, despite the displacement of children from neighborhood schools and added transportation stresses for their parents. I do not recall tasteless flyers portraying those school leaders as despots circulating around the city, like those aimed at current Superintendent Roger León today, attacking him over his recommendation to close four charter schools.

The posters are not only mean-spirited, but based on ignorance of actualities.