In an editorial, 200 Jersey City public school parents thank four board of education trustees for what they saw as taking a stand for special education students in the district.
Thank you to the four Jersey City Board of Education Trustees Tia Rezabala, Dr. Matthew Schneider, Dr. George Blount, and Lorenzo Richardson for stepping forward as champions for our Special Education students.
By voting yes to add Special Education to the February Board agenda, you chose action over silence. Thank you for ensuring that students with disabilities are not an afterthought but a priority.
At the February 19th meeting, Trustee Tia Rezabala moved to add an agenda item establishing a timeline for releasing the “Special Education Agreed Upon Report Part 2.”
Though the motion fell short of the five votes required, it brought the voices of too often unheard students to the forefront.
For context and an understanding of why the community has been looking for answers for so long regarding Special Education:
• In June 2023, the Board authorized Lerch, Vinci & Bliss LLP to conduct an agreed-upon procedures report on special education. The firm signed its findings on September 19, 2024 and Special Education Agreed-Upon Report 1” was reportedly sent that fall to former Business Administrator Dennis Frohnapfel and Dr. Fernandez.
• In October 2024, Frohnapfel shared a memorandum which mentioned the report and a finding to the BOE before resigning, yet the board didn’t publicly acknowledge receiving it at the time.
• In August 2025, Acting Deputy Superintendent Gerard Crisonino, who oversaw special education, was escorted from the district office; in September 2025, the board voted to approve his retirement.
• Not until November 2025 were the findings of “Special Education Agreed-Upon Report 1” discussed publicly, citing overpayments, unsupported invoices, and errors on the 2022–2023 state aid application.
• At that same meeting, Trustee Tia Rezabala asked whether board members had received the October 2024 memorandum, which mentioned the report and a finding, referenced by the Jersey City Times.
• Trustee DeJon Morris, former BOE President, confirmed they had received and read it, raising questions about the year-long gap between internal awareness and public disclosure.
This leaves the public with urgent questions about the year-long gap between internal awareness and public disclosure. Concerns have been publicly raised regarding the state of Special Education since 2019.
The urgency is real; the district’s results for the spring 2025 New Jersey Graduation Proficiency Assessment show that only 14.2% Special Education Students are graduation-ready in ELA and only 1.4% in math.
Behind these numbers are children and families navigating complex systems every day. These students are among the most resilient, creative, and determined in the district.
They deserve systems built around possibility, not barriers, and representation at the highest levels of decision-making.
We now ask the remaining five board members: Board President Noemi Velazquez, Board Vice-President DeJon Morris; Trustee Afaf Muhammad (Special Education Chair); Trustee Alpa Patel; Trustee Natalia Loffe who voted “No” to reflect on your vote.
Our children are counting on you, when you advocate for the most vulnerable, we strengthen the entire district.
Stepping up for this community takes courage. Equity is not a slogan, it’s a responsibility.
The “Special Education Agreed Upon Report Part 2” must be released and a public timeline must be set. Our children cannot afford delays measured in years.
Sincerely Concerned JC Community;
Aimee Sharrock (PS 37); Fallon Zatorski (PS 37); Sujay debsikdar; Jessica Taube (PS 17 and (PS 37, formerly PS 33); Ivonne Garcia (PS 27); Ryan Joseph; Alissa Nann (PS 37); Steven Plesnarski; Jacqueline Bello(PS 17); Anne Percoco, (PS 17) parent; Louisa Lippi (PS 17); Samanrha Moore (39 School); Lois Christie; Khendra Harris; Kimberly Weller (PS5); Mackenzie Dimitri; Chermaine SweeneyWilliams PS 15; Aaron Dimitri (PS 37); Chermaine SweeneyWilliams (PS 15); Tishawnna Rose; Kasmereia Jackson (PS 39); Anjali Prakash; Timothy Ryan (PS 37); Phillip Plimmer; Vanessa Rodriguez (PS 41); Krystal Patrovich (PS 30); Wai-Sing Chew (PS 5); Maurice Beaufort (PS 30); Lisa Welles JC resident; Kristen Hansen, JC resident; Sweta, Danforth; Priyam Patel (PS 16); Sneha Dsilva (PS 3); Nerisa Narain (PS 17); Morrell Daniels (PS 16); Syringa Ko (PS 5); Constance Hicks. (PS 39); Priscilla liu (PS 16); Jesse Liu , (PS 16); Gerard Abate (PS 37); Kimmie Cheng (PS 5); Heran Haile (PS 16); David Tekieli-Putnins (PS 16); Jeremy zuttah ( PS 16); Leslie Bailey PS16; Aditi Bhatnagar (PS 16); Jeff Chuang (PS 16); Emily Pecot; Jaepil Lee (PS 16); Elizabeth Mitolo; Lenny Shulgin (PS 16); Kyongjin Kim; Jeremy Hadidjojo (PS 3); Kate Cappello (PS 37); Leanne Jacangelo (PS 16); Nicolas Lecomte; Soren Godfrey (PS 37); Jillian McCauley; John McCauley (PS 37); Vinutha Nanjundappa (PS 16); Lara Battema (PS 28); Sara Goral (PS 37); Ankur Desai (PS37); Jen Figueroa (PS 37); Hua Wang; Nathalia Londono (PS 37); Vanessa Eng; Jessica Faulk; Dolores pogacic (PS 37); Olesya Karpenko PS37; Evelyn Omar (PS 37); Saurabh Paul (PS 37); Meredith Burns; Sheba Kunhimohammed (PS 37); Vaibhav Sagar (PS 37); Smaranda Grajdieru (PS 37); Sardar Brijpal Singh Chugh (PS 37); Chintan Shah (PS 37); Kirsten Meister (PS 37); Saurabh Gupta (MS 4); Santoshi Parikh (PS 16); Tova McCall; Eve Weissman (PS 17); Tae Kim(PS 5); Mariana Aciar (PS 3); Eleni Pontika (PS 37); Adolfo Kurczyn (PS 16); Sonali Sharma PS 37; Aurelia Pelletier (PS37); Madhuri Ahire(PS 37); Zeke Hughes; Lesnin Lobo (PS 37); Tessa Tekieli (DAECC); Sabrina Braswell (PS 5); Paul Mack, William’s (PS 16); Kim Kyongjin (PS37); Nicolas Lecomte(PS37); Aikanshi Mehta (PS 16); Kaity Ocquaye (PS 34); Diane Walston; Rachel Sky (PS 16); Theresa Filazzola (PS 37); Ryan Olive (PS 37); Tony Green PS #17; Kristine Cann (PS 41); Kristine Cann (PS 41); Hasmeet Chugh (PS 37); Danielle Cafiero (PS 37); Caitlin Pidcock; Jannet Park (PS 16); Rosanna Silber; Keira Stewart (PS 37); Jenna Canty (PS 37); Joanna Rivera (PS 37); Andrea Worthington (PS 16); Alexandra Zukerman (PS 3); Michael Pelletier (PS 37); Heidi Bramson (PS 3); Mitchael Rykaczewski; Liya Ibragimova (PS 16); Mruga Shah (PS 37); Brittani Bermudez (PS 37); Jennie Contuzzi (PS 39); Yoon Ko (PS 37); Ariana Fink (PS 37); Jennie Zambrzycki (PS 37); Amy Davila; Nicole Taykhman (PS 3); Tami Ortenau; Melisa Baker; Terrie Wilkins; Christine Dillon (PS 16); Holly Mourgues (PS 5); Kindred Shulgin (PS 16); Elena Kareva (Danforth); Anna Gurskaya (PS 16); Micki Boas (LCCS); Anthony Vargas (PS 16); Jeremy Ng (PS 16); Nadine Santos (PS 38); Courtney Vollmar (PS 37); Stephanie Tabao; Kirsten Zayas (PS 37); Sylvie Lamarre (PS 37); Jessica Vantassel (PS 37); Meredith Davis; Jennifer Odello; Ashwini Kabra-Danforth; Amy Kommatas (PS 16); Joshua Grossman (PS 37); Susan Lee (PS 16); Maria Guzzardi (PS 37); Clarissa Stein (PS 37); Roshini k; Wei Cheng Liao; Ritesh Udapudi (PS 16); Lingling Chen PS3; Suzanne Dimase (PS 37); Shujie Hu (PS 16); Rosa Carreras PS22; Amruta Udavant (PS 37); Lana Falcicchio (PS 37); Tetyana Wolff-Yankiv (PS 16); Jennifer Bryson (PS 37); Jenna Gomez Nourie (PS 37); Haoying Kamiya (PS 16); Shohini Bhattacharya (PS 16); Neha Sabnis (PS 16); Andreas Lehmann (PS 16); Vishal Gupta(PS 16); Jessica Kirollos; Ashley Whitehead (PS 39); Michelle Winschuh; Katie Franklin ps28; Elthea Gordon (PS 39); Kyle Winschuh (PS 37); Devon Whitehead (PS 39); Michelle Winschuh (PS 37); Jonathan Brooks; Ranshaw Bruce; Tauheesha Richardson (PS 39); Jamillah Moore (PS 39); Jahmari Carson; LaKeisha Jenkins; Chi Nguyen (PS 16); David Kamiya (PS 16); Nimanthi Rajasingham; Dina Astrakhan (PS 16); Gerard Gaskin (PS 17); Monique Moore; Christina Melendez; Janice DeRito (PS 16); Raksha Ghulati (PS 37); Paul Tagliareni (PS 37); Jenny Jenn (PS 37); Ariel Hassan (PS 14); Melissa Clark (PS 39); Kristen Hensen (JC Resident); Shaneka Quaver (PS 39); Tina Difeo (PS 37); Alisha Cipollone (LCCS); Chritina Mulligan (PS37); Samaranda Grajdieru (PS 37); Sylvia Goulart (PS 26); Heather Mayone (PS37); Amy Tiso Loizides (PS 37); Denise Dash (PS37); Brendan Doohan (PS 28); Katarina Schwarz (PS 37); Keith Murphy (PS 37); Marcy Castelgrade (PS 37); and Janice DeRito (PS 16)
