Hua Mei decides not to apply for a third time

By Philip Sean Curran, Staff Writer

A group of parents decided last week to end a bid to open a Chinese-language charter school after the state rejected its most recent attempt last month, said one of the founders of the school.

Maplewood resident Jutta Gassner-Snyder said Feb. 1 that the founders of Hua Mei school made that decision based on comments by Gov. Chris Christie that he opposed expanding charter schools into the suburbs.

Hua Mei was proposed as a language-immersion elementary school that would have served South Orange-Maplewood and West Orange.

The plan was to open in September as a K-2, and then gradually add grades until the school reached the fifth grade.

This was the second time Gassner-Snyder and the other founders sought state approval, having failed at their first attempt last year.

The school was one of 17 charter-school applications that acting Education Commissioner Chris Cerf considered. He ultimately approved eight, but not Hua Mei; Cerf’s office has not stated publicly why Hua Mei was turned town.

School administrators in both districts were opposed to the school, as were local politicians and school board members.

School board President Beth Daugherty, an opponent of Hua Mei, could not be reached for comment by press time.