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Paterson board rejects motion to pause middle‑school restructuring after extended public comment
Summary
After nearly three hours of public testimony focused on planned closures and reconfiguration, the Paterson Board of Education voted down a resolution that would have recommitted review of the district's middle‑school model and related school‑closure plans, recording six no votes and three yes votes.
The Paterson Public Schools Board of Education considered a resolution to recommit for further review any plan, proposal, or administrative action tied to the district's proposed middle‑school model, school closures, and grade reconfiguration.
Commissioner Teague read the resolution aloud and asked the superintendent to prepare a comprehensive review of prior decisions, current enrollment and demographic data, facility utilization, fiscal impacts and implementation timelines before any final action. The resolution said prior boards cannot bind the current board and called for updated documentation before proceeding.
The item drew one of the meeting’s largest public‑comment turnouts. Parents and community members pressed the board to halt closures of several schools—most prominently Norman S. Weir and Alexander Hamilton Academy—arguing the district had not provided adequate notice, transportation plans or safety assessments. “I want my reputation back. I want my job back. I am innocent of everything that I was accused of,” said Alexander Cardillo in remarks that also requested a public statement of exoneration. Parent Sonia Shabazz summarized legal and safety concerns: “Under New Jersey law, superintendent cannot close a school unilaterally,” she said, and asked the board to produce a legal opinion, updated safety assessments, demographic projections, and transportation impact studies.
Rosie Grant of the Patterson Education Fund urged greater transparency and public engagement and said the fund and the district had joined a lawsuit aimed at recapturing federal community‑schools funding; other speakers cited the New Jersey Administrative Code and asked for feasibility and traffic studies before students are reassigned.
Board members debated the resolution’s scope and the balance between undoing past planning and protecting district finances. Vice President McCall said the motion must be complete and fair to all schools that were affected in prior phases; several commissioners asked for detailed cost estimates and the possible state impacts of reversing prior actions. General counsel and staff told the board that the superintendent and administration could prepare the requested studies and that state responses could take weeks.
On roll call the recommit resolution failed, with six commissioners voting no and three commissioners voting yes. The board did not take final action to rescind any closures; members said the resolution’s failure means the current implementation steps will continue to be governed by the administration’s work and any subsequent board votes. The meeting adjourned shortly after the vote.
What’s next: The resolution asked the superintendent to present updated enrollment data, facility utilization analysis, a fiscal impact assessment and related documents; commissioners and speakers said they expected follow‑up public sessions to review those materials prior to any final, binding vote by the board.
