In Union County, the Elizabeth School District, already facing a teacher shortage, is in the midst of a very public battle between Mayor Chris Bollwage and the teachers union. Bollwage made a statement on Twitter Aug. 24 threatening retaliation if union members don’t agree to a contract settlement and if they strike on the first week of school. “Anyone who participates will never receive a promotion,” Bollwage wrote, referring to a rumored strike.
Union president John Griffin, who said no strike was planned, calls the mayor’s threat an abuse of power. But this war of words has some questioning Bollwage’s influence over the school board and just who controls the schools.
We talked with Politico New Jersey education reporter Carly Sitrin, who has been reporting on the feud. “Hiring and firing and promotional decisions are exclusively made by a district superintendent,” she noted. “So the mayor weighing in here was surprising and has turned into this very public battle for who really controls the second-largest school district in New Jersey.”
