Jackson steps down from school board

By Chris Sykes, Staff Writer

A longtime member of the Orange Board of Education has cited physical ailments in his decision to resign from the body.Rev. Reginald Jackson announced his decision to leave the school board during its Oct. 11 meeting, a district official said.

In a statement following Jackson’s decision, Mayor Eldridge Hawkins Jr. said he would seek input from residents on who to name as  Jackson’s replacement.Jackson said he had planned to leave the board shortly, but decided to move his decision ahead a month.

He added that while he is relieved to have stepped down, there are many issues in Orange’s public schools that still need to be addressed.“I was going to do it in November, but I think I’m going to have to get something done to my hip,” Jackson said. “I had always planned to step down any- way once I became involved with starting a new charter school here in Orange to avoid any conflicts of interest.

I spoke with the State Ethics Committee. They said that since the new school won’t open until next year, I could stay on the board for this year.”The school, Arete Academy Charter School, was scheduled to open in September. As with a large number of schools which had received approval early this year, Arete was forced to delay its opening to September 2012.“There’s still a lot of work to do for next year when our new school opens here in Orange,” said Jackson, “‘Arete’ is a Greek word that means excellence.

That’s what we’re going to be shooting for: excellence.”Jackson said with his activities at the school and in his church, his duties with the boards of Essex County College, New Brunswick Seminary and St. Barnabas Healthcare, and  his responsibilities as executive director of the Black Ministers Council of New Jersey, the workload “became too much.

”Hawkins said he believed Orange has a “deep pool” of residents who would be capable, through talent and skills, of filling Jackson’s position on the seven-member board. Residents can express interest in the position by submitting a resume and statement of goals to the mayor’s office by Tuesday.

The options include sending an email to Lawanda Henry at lhenry@ci.orange.nj.us; or by mailing  Mayor Eldridge Hawkins, City Hall, 29 North Day Street, Orange, N.J. 07050. Managing Editor John Zucal contributed to this article.