PTA Presidents' Council Urges Action on Charters

The South Orange Maplewood Presidents' Council continues to urge parents of students in the school district to take action regarding two proposed charter schools.

The Council — which is an organization consisting of all PTA, PTO and HSA Presidents in the South Orange-Maplewood School District and an Executive Board of past Presidents — has garnered of the proposed charter schools for its active opposition to the charter proposals.

Nonetheless, over the weekend, the Council sent an email urging parents to contact local government officials in support of two charter reform bills, sign a petition for charter reform, and .

"As you know two charter schools have been proposed for the South Orange Maplewood School District," read the email, which was signed by Council co-presidents Cecelia Cancellaro and Suzanne Turner. "Many members of our community have shown their strong support for two pieces of legislation that would allow community members to have a say in whether charter schools open in their districts. Assembly Bill 3852 has made its way through the Assembly Education Committee and we are awaiting a full Assembly vote. Senate Bill 2243 still hasn’t been posted in the Senate Education Committee. Our state legislators have already signed on to these bills."

The email also asks parents to attend a rally organized by Save Our Schools NJ. The rally, titled “Rallies to Fix NJ’s Broken Charter School Laws," is taking places simultaneously in three locations on Tuesday, June 21 at 7 .m. The closest rally location is in Millburn at Taylor Park.

Two charters are currently proposed that would directly impact the South Orange-Maplewood School District: , a Mandarin-immersion K-5 school that would be located in Maplewood; and the Rita L. Owens school, a paperless charter for middle schoolers that would be located in Irvington. If approved, both would open in September 2012. While the Owens school would be located in Irvington, Hua Mei's founders propose renting the currently empty former St. Joseph's School on Franklin Street in Maplewood.

Council leaders also note that, while . The Council email asked, "If you are a South Orange Village resident who supports charter law reform, please reach out to your Village Trustees and urge them to support such a resolution."

The email also stated that the Council will be sending a petition supporting charter reform to Acting Commissioner of Education Christopher Cerf in coming weeks. Meanwhile, a petition supporting the proposed Hua Mei Mandarin immersion charter school is also circulating.