Dive Brief:
- On Wednesday, Jersey City Mayor Steve Fulop announced that the state plans to hand full control over the city’s schools and their instruction back to the district early next year.
- The schools have been under state supervision since 1989, thanks to financial and academic troubles, but regained much of their independence in 2007.
- Fulop credited the approval to the hiring of Superintendent Marcia V. Lyles in 2012, after her predecessor was forced to resign.
Dive Insight:
The announcement is a bit of an aberration in the current K-12 environment, as more states contemplate increasing control over struggling schools and districts. Several states, including Tennessee and Louisiana, have formed “recovery school districts” or similar entities, with an aggressive focus on charter school takeovers and results.
Those efforts have been met with mixed results and considerable backlash. But, as the case of Jersey City demonstrates, finally making it work enough to shake off state involvement can be a political coup. Fulop's potential gubernatorial bid would likely benefit, as will Lyles' upcoming negotiations over her new contract.
Still, some cautioned that the announcement is a bit premature. The state board of education still has to finalize the agreement, and some Fulop allies told The Jersey Journal that they were put off by the early fanfare.