I wish I could attend this rally. If there are any plans to allow for people who can't make it to be represented, please let me know. I couldn't agree more with Ms. Raab.

Please sign the Save Our Schools NJ petition for local approval of new charter schools, so communities can stop fighting this battle every few months and focus on educating our children! http://www.change.org/petitions/new-jersey-communities-want-local-control-over-new-charter-schools-2

Every signature generates letters to the Senate Education Committee members and to Senate President Sweeney. The bill already passed the NJ Assembly and we are up to 15 Senate supporters, and climbing. Your signatures are critical to helping pass this legislation and to protecting our public schools!

Hua Mei Charter School launched their web page; please take a look and sign the petition in favor of Hua Mei for promoting public school choice.

http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/hua-mei-charter-school-petition/http://huameicharterschool.org/support/

And for others who can't attend this Friday's rally opposing Hua Mei's application and supporting LOCAL control over the charter school application process, please e-mail Acting Education Commissioner Chris Cerf urging him to once again REJECT this "Boutique" Mandarin immersion charter school.

We CAN make a difference and have a voice in this totally undemocratic process!

Here's Cerf's e-mail address. Your message doesn't have to be long, but be sure to include your full name and the name of the town in which you live. Thanks again for all your support and signatures.

commissioner@doe.state.nj.us

Jutta: I am not sure you understood my posting. I am OPPOSED to the school and would like to attend the rally in opposition to the school, but I can't.

And, in M/SO, we do have public school choice. People can opt to go to Seth Boyden if they choose.

To others who responded, thanks. I have signed the petition and will send emails to the Commissioner.

Public Policy has to be amended when it comes to Charter Schools. If they want to open up a school, that is great; but, allowing them to siphon funding away from the corresponding school budget without voter endorsement is unacceptable.

PLEASE, TO all say NO to Charter Schools. we do not need it so say NO.no NO AND
NO.

Julia Sass Rubin has stated many times in the press and elsewhere that she has a child in a charter school, no big surprise there...Save Our Schools NJ is very clear that they do NOT oppose charter schools--they SUPPORT local choice in the charter school approval process, as do I. Big difference.

Or if you don't believe me:

http://www.saveourschoolsnj.org/aboutcontact/

Last but not least, here's Ms. Rubin's bio from a recent op-ed she wrote for NJ Spotlight:

"Julia Sass Rubin is an associate professor at the Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Policy at Rutgers, a mom of a charter school student, and one of the founding members of Save Our Schools NJ, a nonpartisan, grassroots, completely volunteer organization whose members believe that every child in New Jersey should have access to a high quality public school education."

http://www.njspotlight.com/stories/11/1012/1519/

Ms. Raab, it is clear that Ms. Rubin's position is it is ok for her child and family to have access to a free public charter school but not ok for the rest of us. Otherwise why participate in a rally that clearly is to oppose a specific charter school and not the legislation currently in place. If you and Ms. Rubin were rallying in Trenton to get the lawmakers to change the process perhaps it wouldn't be so hypocritical of her. But fact is the rally for Friday is clearly opposing a specific charter and not the legislators in Trenton who have stalled educational reform, so Ms. Rubin can dress her hypocrisy any way she chooses but it doesn't change the fact that she does not want us to have educational choice and opportunity but a ails herself of it freely.

Oh Woho, now you are bothering the good people of Maplewood? For Maplewood readers, "WoHopeful" stole my moniker from NJ.com and started posting vitriolic, vile posts about the West Orange school district, me, the superintendent, the Mayor, the town council, and more on the West Orange Patch. He has stolen other people's monikers, such as Westorangevoice, which he now uses on Nj.com West Orange forum. Additionally, he has posted under other names, such as Joe Arronziola, WOMS, WoMadam, and probably more. That being said, 'WoHo' doesn't give a rat's butt about 'choice'. He only cares about his property taxes and the dissolution of the public school system in New Jersey. He supported William Eames for Senator and spends much of his time maligning Senator Codey as well. That about sums up Woho's M.O. Please pay no attention to the man behind the curtain.

Oh yea, and SOS-Wo (Save Our Schools West Orange) opposes this Charter School as well.

Ms. Cumming, unfortunately you leave out the part where you are a misguided shill of the WO School Superintendent who spammed the township residents on his behalf with attacks on Board of Education members when his job was supposedly on the line. But let's not digress.

It is important that the residents have all of the facts, and clearly Ms. Rubin participating in a rally that targets one specific charter school when she herself enrolls her daughter in a free public charter school in a posh NJ suburb is hypocritical. She then attempts to veil her hypocrisy by telling us she opposes the current laws, however she is not marching on Trenton she is targeting residents of West Orange, SouthOrange and Maplewood to prevent the same educational opportunities and choice she available herself of. Unfortunately you and Ms. Raab appear to be easily duped by her charade.

Contrary to your belief, Mrs. Cumming has a name and a face and stands behind every single word she writes and everything she does. You are a nameless, faceless poster who doesn't even have to courage to post under your own name. As for Ms. Rubin, where she sends her child to school is irrelevant. Her group is not in charge of the rally opposing the charter school. But the parents in West Orange, South Orange and Maplewood will continue to oppose this effort to pull money from our school districts to fund a program that is of no benefit to our children, nor the taxpayers. Oh, and if anyone wants to read about my 'misguided' efforts to support the West Orange Superintendent, please go to: http://westorange.patch.com/articles/superintendent-of-schools-anthony-cavanna-under-review. At that time, Woho was posting under Westorangevoice, another name he stole from someone else.

And I must point out that Woho's personal interpretation of the goals of the rally that I -- along with other community activists in Maplewood, South Orange, West Orange (among other Essex County towns) are organizing -- are factually incorrect. The Jan. 6 rally has ALWAYS been about two things:

1. Letting Acting Commissioner Chris Cerf know that the vast majority of Maplewood, South Orange and West Orange residents OPPOSE the "Boutique" Mandarin-immersion charter school that's now on the DOE's short list for one political official to approve before the decision is actually made; and

2: Supporting LOCAL voter control to the broken New Jersey's charter school law that gives one appointed official in Trenton the power to decide how local school taxpayer-funded money is spent.

But--again--if you don't believe me, here's our description of the rally on a Patch event link:
http://patch.com/E-jW8p

And I continue to point out that your issue is with the legislators in Trenton Ms. Raab and not with the founders of a single charter school which you and Ms. Rubin have chosen to single out and vilify. Why not take your case to Trenton and march on the State Senate who has failed to see the merit of the legislation you seek instead of opposing the educational opportunities and choice for local children and families.

Ms. Rubin's hypocrisy of opposing the Hua Mei Charter school when she herself enrolls her child in a public charter school in a posh NJ suburb is appalling. Why didn't she work to improve her local schools? Why didn't she avail herself of a private school when clearly she has the means to pay for it. She then attempts to veil the apparent hypocrisy by saying she is an proponent of charters but just doesn't like how they are approved. Well again, instead of villifying a single charter school application, go to Trenton and make her case with the legisilators and stop opposing educational choice and opportunites for the children of South Orange, West Orange, and Maplewood.

So funny that Woho mentioned Trenton and lobbying state legislators. Just happens that in addition to helping organize Friday's rally--where Sen. Dick Codey, Assemblywoman Mila Jasey and Assemblyman John McKeon are scheduled to attend--I am also working to get charter reform legislation passed in the state legislature to give LOCAL control over the charter school approval process so communities don't have to fight OVER AND OVER again to let the state Education Commissioner know our views...And again, that's one of the main issues we are hitting at Friday's rally.

But--if you don't believe me--here's an article I wrote for Barista Kids and Baristanet earlier this week about the Hua Mei rally and why it's also about why NJ desperately needs charter school reform legislation:

http://kids.baristanet.com/2012/01/op-ed-join-our-rally-in-opposition-to-hua-mei-charter-school-and-in-support-of-local-control/

As I wrote in the piece:

"This is why we have scheduled a rally in opposition to Hua Mei and in support of local control over the charter school approval process."

Last but not least, OK, you got me--- I admit that I haven't been to Trenton yet this year (Hey--cut me some slack. it's only Jan. 4) Nevertheless, Woho can rest assured that I'll be in and around the Statehouse this term working to get bi-partisan charter school reform legislation -- that was overwhelmingly passed by the New Jersey Assembly last year-- passed and signed into law in 2012.

Go Marian!!!! 100% behind you.

Thanks for your hard work, Marian. I emailed Commissioner Cerf this week, and I hope others will as well. We need to also keep the pressure on our elected officials, however. Even if Hua Mei is denied this round, they will certainly be back. Legislative reform is our only hope. Good luck!!