School board member resigns, blames teachers union
TRENTON » A city school board member, who allegedly flipped the middle finger to the public at a meeting, has flown the nest.
Jane Rosenbaum stepped down as a member of the Trenton Board of Education on May 4, according to her letter of resignation sent to Trenton Mayor Eric Jackson that was obtained by The Trentonian through a public records request.
“It is with great reluctance that I am succumbing to the pressures of the Trenton Education Association by tendering my resignation from the school board,” Rosenbaum wrote, hoping the mayor would appoint her successor swiftly. “I would simply like to point out to those who have called into question my commitment to public service that the TEA’s bullying of Board Members has led also to the resignation of Jason Redd and Guillermo Gomez both of whom were strong advocates for Trenton’s students. My leaving the board at this time will serve only to empower those whose interests do not always, or perhaps ever, coincide with those of the district’s children and will make it increasingly difficult to find those willing to serve.”
On April 30, Rosenbaum, who had served on the board since 2011, was escorted out of the meeting by board attorney James Rolle Jr., according to video obtained by The Trentonian.
Right before Rosenbaum hits the exit, she looks back at the crowd and makes a gesture with her hand.
Those in attendance at the meeting said it was clear that Rosenbaum gave the public the middle finger while the school board member claims she was gesturing for her belongings.
“I did not flip off the audience and I did not say anything,” Rosenbaum said a couple days after the meeting. “There isn’t because there can’t be because I didn’t do that. I got up because I was angry and I didn’t grab my bag. I pointed to that and somebody came after me with my bag.” The incident was set off when a parent was addressing the school board. Members of the audience are heard in the video yelling, “Wake up Jane” and “Is she asleep again?”
The Trenton Education Association (TEA), which is the city’s teachers union, took offense to Rosenbaum’s maneuver and her lack of apology for her actions.
“Jane Rosenbaum’s resignation letter to Mayor Eric Jackson is just one more example of this board’s blatant disrespect and disregard for this community,” TEA President Naomi JohnsonLafleur said this week. “For the last six years, Ms. Rosenbaum has frequently slept through Trenton Board of Education meetings ... It is sad that an adult, an adjunct college professor at Rider University took no responsibility in her letter for giving the public participants the finger and telling the high school student in attendance to “shut the f*** up.” We teach our students to take responsibility for their actions, but Ms. Rosenbaum begins her letter by blaming her resignation on the Trenton Education Association.”
Members of the Trenton teachers union allege Rosenbaum mouthed, “Shut the f*ck up” after the “Wake up Jane” comments were made at the April meeting. In the video, the audience can be heard gasping at something, though the reason for the gasp is not captured on the recording. Rosenbaum was previously targeted in 2016 for sleeping at a board meeting by the teachers unions, which was reported by The Trentonian.
“Ms. Rosenbaum has made no apology for her actions, inappropriate language to the public, nor sleeping at board meetings,” Johnson-Lafleur said. “Further, the Trenton Board of Education under the leadership of President Gene Bouie, has made no apology to the public for this unacceptable behavior. Simply put, there continues to be no accountability on the part of Mayor Jackson’s Trenton Board of Education.”
Jackson, who is leaving office at the end of this month and is not seeking re-election, appointed all the current board members.
Bouie previously told The Trentonian that the district was investigating the accusations, noting he didn’t hear any profanity.
“Boards of Education must be held accountable to the public, since they are making critical decisions that impact the lives of our children,” JohnsonLafleur said. “Two years ago, a board member voted on the district budget without knowing the difference between a deficit and a shortfall. The board voted to privatize paraprofessionals and outsource speech, occupational therapy and physical therapy services. The budget cuts were overall an assault on our special needs students. The Trenton Education Association spoke out then and will continue to speak up and speak out.”
The union’s leadership said it has been so vocal the past Jane Rosenbaum four years because of the school board’s “reckless decisions.”
“The list is lengthy,” JohnsonLafleur said. “There have been failed superintendent searches and an illegal hiring of a past acting superintendent. Most recently, the board has voted to starve a High School’s budget in an effort to shut down Daylight Twilight although there are no financial challenges. Again, there is little transparency and no accountability from these board members who are primarily noneducators with little history of the community and no children attending our public schools. Would they make these decisions if their children were being impacted?”
Johnson-Lafleur said the unions sees itself as “watchdogs for the students and parents of this community.”
“We do not and will not condone a board member sleeping and voting of serious matters without knowing what is going on,” she said. “We do not approve of board members flipping the bird or cursing at community members. We will not excuse board members when they are non-receptive to the parents of our preschool disabled students. Since the board members will not hold themselves accountable, and since the mayor who appoints them does not hold them accountable, we must.”
It is unknown if Mayor Jackson has or will fill Rosenbaum’s vacancy before he leaves office. A Trenton school board member is a volunteer position.
TEA said it is also filing an ethics complaint related to the birdflipping matter.
“We do not need board members of this kind,” Johnson-Lafleur said. “Trenton students deserve better.”