Here are two emails received by NJ Education Report. The first is from Superintendent Roger Leon to staff members and the second  is from Newark Teachers Union President John Abeigon. NJ Ed Report reported on Tuesday that the union and Leon were involved in a game of “chicken” over the last day of the 2023 school year.

Email From Newark Superintendent Roger Leon to staff:

Good afternoon.
This district does not have “snow days” like other school districts. This is not a new reality for our staff in Newark, but a fact that has been true more than a decade. Since the start of this school year, it has become increasingly clear that maximizing instructional time for all of our students must be our highest priority. Two extra days off would detract from our ability to do so. As I have repeatedly addressed with your union leadership, the last day of school will be June 23, 2023.
-Mr. Leon

Response by Newark Teachers Union President John Abeigon:

Colleagues,

Thank you for informing us of the emails you have been receiving. Superintendent Leon has been sending emails (see above) to staff and CC’ing their principals if they reached out to the City Council, Legislators, or School Board inquiring about his promise to change the last day of school if we didn’t have any closings because of inclement weather.

[This youtube video referenced by Abeigon is is from the August 2022 Teachers Convocation and shows a Central Office staff member promising union member if there are no snow days the district will change the last day of school from June 23d to June 21st,]

We sent notice to the Reps about the many inaccuracies in this letter, but we wanted to address the entire membership directly about the most important issue being raised here. Always remember that [Newark Teachers Union] members are protected by the law and contract. This action that was taken by the Superintendent is textbook harassment and intimidation. If you or any of your colleagues received an email like this, send it to us immediately.

We understand that things like this can be intimidating, and it becomes very easy to just go along with the status quo to prevent further discomfort. I suspect many of you might be afraid of sending us your letters. But, unfortunately, change rarely comes without some discomfort, and ignoring harassment and bullying does not make it go away. It just emboldens the bully to go further. The more people who stand up against injustice, the harder it is for management to retaliate. Never forget that.