Camden school board member steps down

Camden school board member Barbara Coscarello stepped down this week after 61/2 years.

First appointed in 2009 by Gov. Jon S. Corzine, Coscarello said she wanted to focus on the nonprofit management consulting service she owns, as well as her job as a sociology professor at Camden County College.

Coscarello has been through numerous transitions as part of the school board, most recently in 2013, when the state took over the failing district, relegating the board to an advisory role.

She said Superintendent Paymon Rouhanifard, appointed by Gov. Christie, had surprised her and some other board members with his willingness to listen to their points of view.

"It is an adjustment when you can't take a vote on something you're not in favor of," she said. "But he has really taken our opinions into account."

A resident of Camden for 28 years, Coscarello was last reappointed by Mayor Dana L. Redd in 2013. She said that she would continue to follow developments in the district and that she had told the mayor's office she would help the board in any way she could.

Redd is expected to name a replacement to the nine-member board.

When the state takeover was announced in 2013, Coscarello spoke in opposition to Christie's decision to appoint an outside superintendent, rather than selecting one of the candidates the board had interviewed.

But this week, she said Rouhanifard had made progress in starting to turn around the district, which has long been the lowest-performing in the state. In particular, she cited his outreach to families, many of whom felt ignored by previous superintendents.

"He has done more in two years than our last five superintendents combined," she said. "They were nowhere near as cooperative. We had people who would walk out of meetings, who wouldn't give us documents we requested. Many of them wouldn't even respond to the public. He at least answers their questions, even if they don't like the answers."