Two current Jersey City Board of Education Trustees, Matt Schapiro and Luis Fernandez, along with five former board members, have endorsed the “GAS” slate ahead of Tuesday’s election.Â
By John Heinis/Hudson County View
“I believe this is the strongest slate of candidates Jersey City has seen in years. With their deep and diverse experience along with keen individual judgement, Vidya Gangadin, Neil Abadie, and Dominique Smith clearly show they are who we need to join us on the Jersey City Board of Education this year,†Schapiro said in a statement..
“On our Board of Education, it is integral that we have diverse voices, differing opinions, and genuine respect among members. Vidya Gangadin, Neil Abadie, and Dominique Smith are precisely the candidates whose vision and bearing will best serve the students of Jersey City,” added Fernandez.
In a separate string of endorsements, former Trustees Carol Lester, Carol Harrison-Arnold, Bertram Okpokwasili, Micheline Amy and Sangeeta Ranade – the former an ex-board president.
“We have one sitting Board Member who wanted to name a school after herself instead of President Obama, and another who joined her in trying to close one of the highest performing public schools outside of downtown,” Ranande said.
“We should reject school board members who now pretend they fought to return local control to Jersey City, while practicing politics of division, fear, and pettiness in Trump-like fashion. We need to elect effective and responsible leaders like Vidya, who I served with on the Board and led the District’s turnaround.”
Ranande is the first person to formally fire a warning shot at the opposition slate, Education Matters, in what has been an uncharacteristically tepid affair thus far.
Endorsement coming from a man (Schapiro) that literally acts like a big baby on Board of Education stage…huffing and puffing. Banging things. Leaning/slouching on the Chair. These are not the antics of a professional board member let alone someone endorsing another person.🤦â€â™‚ï¸