Decision delayed on returning control to districts State to take at least 1 more year for Newark, Paterson, Jersey City schools Friday, June 02, 2006 • BY JOHN MOONEY • Star-Ledger Staff A decision on when and how Newark and the two other state-operated school districts will go back to at least some local control is probably still another year away, according to the state's education chief. Acting Commissioner Lucille Davy yesterday laid out the revised timetable before the Assembly education committee, saying that new state monitoring system will start in the three state-run districts in the next school year. Seven other school systems under heightened oversight will also see new monitoring next year, she said. The rest of the state's 618 districts would come under the new system thereafter. But in some of her most detailed comments to date, Davy set a date -- the end of the 2006-07 school year -- when officials should be able to determine the fate of the state's decade-plus oversight in Newark, Paterson and Jersey City schools. "A year from now we will know which areas, if any, in each district is ready to go back to local control," she said. "It could be sooner than that, but that's the outside date." Davy said each district will face different time frames, but added that she was confident they would all see at least some ceding of the state's role. "Each faces different challenges, and their transition plans will be different," she said. "They understand, and we believe, this is not a blank check and everyone suddenly goes back to local control. There will be high expectations." Jersey City's schools have been under state operation since 1989, and Paterson and Newark were taken over in 1991 and 1995, respectively. The takeovers followed records of mismanagement and low student performance, although the state's oversight since then has brought mixed results. Assemblyman Patrick J. Diegnan Jr. (D-Middlesex) yesterday pressed Davy for a specific timetable, expressing some frustration that the new monitoring system passed by the Legislature last year was still without its final rules. Beyond that, state officials have been talking for years about the how and when to return local control in the districts, and upon hearing the new time frame, Diegnan told Davy: "We're going to hold you to that." The new monitoring system -- known as the Quality Single Accountability Continuum -- would revamp how the state oversees all of its schools, laying out a checklist of dozens of areas that districts will need to meet in finance, instruction and personnel. The evaluations will be completed on an annual basis by the districts themselves, and then checked and reviewed by state officials. Those falling short in specific areas could face intervention by outside professionals or the department itself. The detailed rules are currently before the state Board of Education, with final adoption still months away. Field tests of the system are also under way in several of the districts, including the three takeover districts. Davy faced a host of questions from legislators about the new system, from how the state would evaluate the quality of instruction to whether the department itself had the staff to carry out the task. John Mooney covers education. He may be reached at jmooney@starledger.com, or (973) 392-1548. © 2006 The Star-Ledger. Used by NJ.com with permission.