Miscellaneous
The past few weeks were filled with incredible mobilizations in order to protect the Lincoln Annex School in New Brunswick, which is at risk of being sold to Robert Wood Johnson in order to expand the Rutgers Cancer Institute. If the plan goes through, students could end up at a warehouse school outside of the fifth and sixth wards. But it’s also important to remember that the fight to protect New Brunswick schools did not begin with the threats to Lincoln Annex, nor will it end there, regardless of what the end result may be. For many longtime community members, the controversy over the Lincoln Annex is reminiscent of what happened with the Redshaw School, where students were put in the warehouse school for nearly 10 years while the new facility faced significant delays in construction. In addition, for years, courageous parents throughout the city have been working to ensure that school facilities in New Brunswick have adequate air conditioning, which remains an ongoing problem. Parents in Unidos por Escuelas Dignas have put pressure on the Board of Education to retrofit school buildings with air conditioning, and they’ve made major strides in making sure that New Brunswick kids have access to comfortable and healthy learning environments. Today we are joined by Jenifer Garcia, a Rutgers student and an alumnus of the New Brunswick School system. Jennifer spent time in the warehouse school while Redshaw was under construction. We are also joined by Yolanda Moncada, president and founder Unidos por Escuelas Dignas, someone who has helped get the group off the ground and is an active member of the new coalition to defend the Lincoln Annex.