Camden school board rejects all renaissance school proposals
The Camden Board of Education, in a move that surprised everyone including its own members, rejected all four proposals to build renaissance schools in the city.
Camden school board rejects all renaissance school proposals
The Camden Board of Education, in a move that surprised everyone including its own members, rejected all four proposals to build renaissance schools in the city.
The early morning decision (just after midnight) came after a closed session meeting in which the board discussed the four applications.
The proposals for Ben Franklin Academy, Camden Center for Youth Development and Universal Company were voted down by every member.
The Kipp Cooper Norcross Academy, which scored highest on the rubric and was rumored to be the chosen one, was rejected by a lack of majority vote. Board members Felicia Reyes-Morton and Barbara Coscarello, both of who served on the review committee, along with board president Kathryn Blackshear and board vice-president Martha Wilson voted ‘yes’ for the Kipp project.
As expected, Sean Brown, Sara Davis and Kathryn Ribay voted ‘no’ (Ray Lamboy, who has recently been a vocal critic of the proposals review process abstained from all votes).
The tipping ‘no’ vote came from city attorney Brian Turner, a rookie board member who often sits quiet at meetings. Turner arrived to the board just before the vote-- almost six hours after the meeting had started -- and voted down all proposals. As he walked out, I asked him why he voted the way he did but he declined to comment.
Cooper University Chief of Staff Louis S. Bezich sat through the entire meeting and was shocked to hear the board’s decision.
The board’s vote “was not consistent with the process,” Bezich said, referring to Kipp’s scoring on the rubric.
“It seems like a rejection of the Urban Hope Act and not just our proposal,” Bezich said. Asked what the group’s plan is now, he said: “We’re going to have to talk to the state and school board officials.”
Board vice-president Martha Wilson said the state could potentially veto the board’s decision.
Thanks to the Camden Board for ultimately opting to trust Camden citizens to run their own schools. In my view they made the right choice.
Please, Board members, focus now on hiring a superintendent. Please let the Board's choice pick their own executive team.— John Scanlon- they rejected a kipp school? what is wrong with them?— Northeaster
- Northeaster, clearly you're either misinformed or ill-informed, but the fact is the parents and residents don't have to accept everything that's presented to them just because of who the presenter is: they have a responsibility to be duly diligent and to carry out their duties accordingly.Camden's parents, residents and School Board didn't just reject a KIPP school; They rejected another attempt by power broker, George Norcross, to grab more power and control. This is a significant event in the the political life of a man who, just this past Spring was boasting that he "never loses"!
— camdenred - "The Kipp Cooper Norcross Academy, which scored highest on the rubric and was rumored to be the chosen one, was rejected by a lack of majority vote."
It is not a surprise that it was the chosen one with name "Norcross" on it. What is this? Mutiny in Camden???— EIK - "Board vice-president Martha Wilson said the state could potentially veto the board’s decision."
The Governor or the Education Secretary to the rescue of "The Kipp Cooper Norcross Academy"??— EIK - Lamboy furniture.— albrock
Prior to covering Camden, Claudia wrote about South Jersey’s interesting dead as the South Jersey obituary writer. Before arriving at the Inquirer in 2010, Claudia covered crime in Rochester, NY, which, like Camden, has struggled to emerge from the fall of its industrial peak several decades ago.
You may contact Claudia at cvargas@phillynews.com and follow Claudia on Twitter here.
