Failure at a Higher Level is STILL FAILURE

by: Hudson Observer

Mon Jul 30, 2007 at 11:08:37 AM EDT

The State Education Commissioner has announced that Jersey City schools are doing just fine - sort of. After almost twenty years of being run by state appointed leadership, the Jersey City school system is passing in two out of five areas. Only here could a sixty percent failure rate be seen as praise-worthy. Incredibly, "instruction and programming" - translated as "actually educating your kids" - not only received a failing mark, but the lowest mark of all areas

How do Jersey City's public officials react to this? Prince Charlie Epps says he is "ecstatic" about this "historic moment". Court Jester Jerry Healy practically broke his arm patting Prince Charlie on the back. What the hell am I missing out on? Since when does a 40% success rate call for such celebration? The schools exist to educate kids, not to provide jobs for Prince Charlie and his Court.

Hudson Observer :: Failure at a Higher Level is STILL FAILURE

Twenty years after the Jersey City schools were taken over for "'deep-rooted and endemic'' problems, including poor educational quality, political patronage and fiscal mismanagement," we've managed to improve fiscal management. "Political patronage? Prince Charlie has a gift-wrapped seat in the State Assembly that he's giving up, and BOE Vice-President Franklin Williams is actually the same pathetic excuse for an administrator as he was the day he lost control of the schools to the state. Yes, we enjoyed losing control of the schools so much that we kept the person responsible for losing them in the first place.

The Board of Education reads like a who's who of toadies in Hudson County. Angel Valentin ran as an at-large candidate for the Jersey City city council back when Big Lou Manzo was trying to succeed Glen Cunningham. Gerald McCann is a former Jersey City mayor - the one who was led out of City Hall in handcuffs, giving Brett Schundler room to win. Susan Mack is also a member of the political plum do-nothing Hudson Redevelopment Authority. Anthony Cucci is another former mayor, who was BBFL with uber-convict Robert Janiszewski. Ed Cheatam is a former affirmative action officer for Hudson County - a job which must have truly taxed his constitution.

Yeah, we've made a LOT of progress. No wonder an entire generation of Jersey City kids have had to endure school failure. No wonder the next one will, too. No wonder the state doesn't want to be associated with it.