Paterson moving forward with controversial school closures
By: Joe Malinconico
Paterson Press
PATERSON - Facing a legal challenge over Superintendent Laurie Newell's controversial school closure plan the board of Education voted 6-3 on April 1 [2026] to move ahead with the shutdowns.
.....
Two of the board members opposing the unpopular closures - Kenneth/ Simmons and Corey Teague - recently field a potions with the New Jersey Department of Education saying Newell and the district has not complied with state law regarding school shutdowns.
..... One of the alleged violations cited by Simmons and Teague was the fact that the Paterson school board never voted to close Norman S. weir School, Alexander Hamilton Academy, Renaissance School 1 and Young Men's Leadership Academy - the city's four choice elementary schools.
.....
Newell announced on January 23 [2026] that the four choice schools would be phased out by June 30. [2026]
..... The superintendent addressed the controversy in brief comments before the school board;s vote on Wednesday [04/01/2026] night.
.....
"I know that some have expressed concern that the district has done something illegal by not submitting a resolution to the board," Newell said. "That is simply not true."
.... Simmons said New Jersey's Office of Administrative Law has scheduled a hearing on April 6 [2026] regarding his petition seeking to overturn the school shutdown plan. Simmons said he thinks the district tired to undermine the pending court complaint about the closes by rushing to conduct the vote before the hearing. but he said there are numerous other flaws in the way the plan had been rolled out.
..... Newell gave a different version of why the vote took place on Wednesday [04/01/2026] night.
..... "Bringing the resolution forward now has given the team the time to look at every component, to be well prepared as possible, the superintendent said, "and we can now move forward with a clear and thoughtful plan."
.....
Mayor Andre Sayegh, Paterson's three state legislators, the local chapter of the NAACP, parents, students and teachers all have expressed concerns about the school closures. But the number of residents speaking against the shutdown at school board meetings has decreased dramatically.
..... During Wednesday's [04/01/2026] meeting a young woman who graduated in 2022 from Alexander Hamilton, commonly known as AHA, urged officials to keep the school open.
.....
"Closing schools like AHA is not just shutting down buildings, it's shutting down opportunities," she said. "AHA was more than just a school to me. It was a support system, a family, and somewhere I could be safe."
..... Now a senior at Paterson's Rosa Parks High School, the young woman credited Alexander Hamilton with giving her the academic foundation that eventually got her accepted at her "dream school" Penn State University.
..... Under Newell's plan, students no in the choice programs will be enrolled in their neighborhood schools. But parents complained that neighborhood schools were not safe and were failing to proved an adequate education.
.....
Newell repeatedly has said the choice schools closures are designed to provide a more equitable education throughout the district. But neither she nor her staff has made any public presentations on exact how that equity would be achieved. The district currently is considering cutting as many as 200 teaching jobs because of budget problems.
..... Joining Simmons and Teague in voting against the shutdown plan was Alex Mendez Jr. Voting in favor were Valerie Freeman, Della, McCall, hector Nives, Mohammed Rashid, Kenneth Rosado and Joel Ramirez.
..... The resolution also contained the next phase of the districts' move toward middle schools. The plan calls for School 21 to have grades 6 through 8, while schools 10, and 26 would have children only throughout the fifth grade.
.... In other changes, the resolution said Paterson's gifted and Talented academy - the top-ranked elementary school in New Jersey - would no longer include the second grade. Kilpatrick School would expand to include the fourth and fifth grades.
..... Finlay, two schools ion south Paterson, School 9 and Dr. Hani Awadallah, would add a new "scholars" program, something Simmons said was designed to replicate the success of the Gifted and talented school.
..... Joe Malinconico is editor of Paterson Press. Email:editor@patersonpress.com.