Nine candidates seek four seats in the Newark Board of Education election this April

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Nine candidates will pit experience against fresh energy as they face off for four seats in this year’s Newark Board of Education election.

One is an incumbent running to keep his board seat, two are returning challengers, and six are newcomers bringing a mix of city-held leadership positions, educational experience, and parent perspectives to the race.

In the April 21 election, voters will elect three candidates to serve a three-year term and one for a one-year term.

The winning candidates will be responsible for deciding policies in New Jersey’s largest school district, which serves more than 40,000 students, and managing the district’s more than $1.5 billion budget. The city’s public school board is also tasked with holding the superintendent accountable.

The nine-member board also reviews and approves policies that address academic recovery efforts, support for the district’s vulnerable students, fixing old school buildings, overcrowding, youth mental health, and new cellphone bans, among others.

The board has recently faced criticism from parents, advocates, students, and teachers who say they want more transparency and input in decisions about the city’s schools in the district, which officially returned to local control in 2020. In October, the Newark school board’s sudden decision to flip a member’s vote to extend Superintendent Roger León’s contract raised ethical questions about board procedures. The proposal to extend Leon’s contract initially failed in September after parents and advocates raised concerns about district issues.

This year’s school board race is also the second time the city’s 16- and 17-year-olds will cast their vote in the election. Last year, only 73 teens voted in the election despite targeted efforts to get the city’s more than 7,000 eligible youth voters to the polls.

The Newark Board of Education race is one of two Essex County school board elections held in April, when turnout typically hovers around 3% to 4%. The school board has the authority to move the election to November when voter turnout is typically higher.

This year’s “Moving Newark Schools Forward” slate includes incumbent board president Hasani Council, two newcomers, and a returning candidate:

• Council was first elected to the city school board in 2020 and is also the chief of staff for his father, South Ward councilman Patrick Council.
• First time candidate Mark Comesañas, is a Newark parent, former educator, principal, and the executive director for My Brother’s Keeper Newark.
• Newcomer Quamid Childs, a Newark parent, is the vice chairman for the Newark North Ward Democrats, member of the Essex County Democratic Committee, and former commissioner on the city’s supplemental zoning board.
• West Ward district leader and returning candidate Jordy Nivar has also joined the slate after running in the 2025 election.

Council, Childs, and Comesañas are vying for three-year terms while Nivar is running for a one-year term.

The “Moving Newark Schools Forward” slate has won every election since 2016, and eight current board members were part of that group. The slate typically garners support from state and local politicians, including Mayor Ras Baraka and state Senate Majority Leader M. Teresa Ruiz.

The slate is up against three first-time candidates, each running independently for a three-year term on the board:

• John Farrell is a social studies teacher at Phillp’s Academy Charter School.
• Tawheed Peters is a city parent and Rutgers University Newark alum.
• Lisa Gray is a school social worker with 20 years of experience working in the district’s Office of Early Childhood.

The remaining two candidates will battle Nivar for the one-year term seat on the board. Returning candidate Latoya Jackson, who founded the nonprofit T.O.Y.A, Through Obstacles You Adapt, is running for the fourth time this year after running in the 2023, 2024, and 2025 elections. Nivar and Jackson will compete against newcomer Tammy Hollaway, a member at-large for the New Jersey PTA Board of Directors.

Candidates discuss policies they would enact as board members

The nine candidates gathered at Bethany Baptist Church in Newark last Thursday for the city’s first school board debate hosted by the NAACP Newark. During the debate, the candidates discussed district policies they would revise and expand, plans to boost academic achievement, and issues they would champion as board members.

Council, a Newark Public Schools alum, said he is currently working with board members to develop the district’s new cellphone policy after former Gov. Phil Murphy signed a law requiring all New Jersey school districts to adopt new restrictions on the use of cellphones and other internet-enabled devices in K-12 schools. Council added that he is running for school board again because he wants to make sure that “our students are receiving an equitable education.”

Childs, who is running with Council on the “Moving Newark Schools Forward” slate, said he wants to expand the district’s mental health resources by providing more counselors for students and offering mental health support for parents.

Nivar wants to strengthen the connection between teachers and parents and improve school lunches after experiencing poor quality lunches himself as a Newark student years ago.

Slate member Comesañas proposed to work with local organizations and city departments to “maximize philanthropic dollars” meant to help students succeed academically. In his role as executive director for My Brother’s Keeper Newark, Comesañas collaborates with community organizations to expand opportunities for youth. He also wants to see bilingual guidance counselors in schools to help students from all backgrounds.

Jackson, the four-time school board candidate, agreed that the district should work with organizations with similar goals to improve education and direct money to boost student civic learning. An advocate with the South Ward Environmental Alliance, Jackson added that “there are a lot of grassroots groups” working to help students and families.

Gray, who noted that her experience in education is rooted in community and the classroom, said she feels that students, parents, and educators “don’t have enough of a voice in what’s happening” in the district. During Thursday’s debate, she said she champions a model called a “support sandwich,” with “parents on top, students in the middle, and educators at the bottom,” to draw in community feedback before district decisions are made.

Hollaway wants to improve the district’s transportation policy following recent winter snowstorms that interrupted public bus service. She also proposed strengthening student-to-teacher pipelines and the district’s anti-bullying policies after being bullied as a young student.

Peters agreed that the district’s anti-bullying policies need improvement and said his youngest daughter came home crying after dealing with a bully. He believes school board members need to work with schools to “fix the culture” and help students understand that people come from different backgrounds.

Farrell said he wants to see the district improve its transparency and “meet people where they are at.” He added that the district’s old school buildings need repairs and should take priority over buying or leasing new ones. Farrell added that he is running to do his “very best for kids” in Newark.

Jessie Gómez is a reporter for Chalkbeat Newark, covering public education in the city. Contact Jessie at jgomez@chalkbeat.org.