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Newark Mayor Pens Letter To President Regarding State Of School District

NEWARK, N.J. (CBSNewYork) - Newark's Mayor is asking for the Commander in Chief to weigh in on how to fix New Jersey's largest school district.

Mayor Ras Baraka has been a vocal opponent of the reorganization of the state-controlled school district, so he sat down and wrote President Obama a letter.

"We're not really getting enough movement from the state so we want the federal government to at least intercede in what's going on, observe, monitor, shed some light on what's happening," he said.

The four-page letter outlines concerns about expanding charter schools and not handing the district back over to Newark residents, WCBS 880's Monica Miller reported.

Newark Mayor Pens Letter To President Regarding State Of School District

"Special needs students not being placed where they should be placed at, English language learners' rights being violated, so all of these things are concerns for us," he said.

The school district and New Jersey Education Department have not responded to requests for comment.

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