The Paterson school board regained full control of the school district in early 2018, after a 20 plus-year state takeover. Dr. Leila Sadeghi of the Bloustein Local Government Research Center analyzed and evaluated the documentation provided by the district and produced the first of two just releases annual reports: ‘Transition Plan for the Return of Local Control to Paterson Public Schools’ progress report that was submitted to the New Jersey Board of Education on January 8. The progress report uses a scorecard to track whether the district is carrying out the activities in the transition plan, such as choosing and evaluating a new superintendent, ensuring that school board members attend training sessions and submit a balanced budget.

The scorecard and report may be found here.

The Center is also working with the Jersey City school district on their first annual reports, set for release in February 2020.  It also continues to work with Newark and plans on releasing its final report in April.