For close to two hours in the North Ward’s Bolden Student Center, Anderson was animated and purposeful, hardly reflecting someone with one foot out the door.
“You can reach me anytime, I’m available,” she told a reporter afterward.
But that door shut yesterday, when state Education Commissioner David Hespe abruptly announced following a meeting with Anderson that she would be leaving her post after a tumultuous four years leading the state’s largest district.
It was a busy day of departures. Gov. Chris Christie also announced state treasurer Andrew Sidamon-Eristoff, health commissioner Mary O’Dowd, and banking and insurance commissioner Ken Kobylowski would also be stepping down.
But Anderson’s departure was the most dramatic. Whether she was pushed out of or chose to leave the $255,000 post is uncertain, but either way, it was not a complete surprise to everyone else given persistent rumors for weeks, if not months.
The second jolt came with the news of her likely replacement: former education commissioner Chris Cerf, the man who appointed Anderson and hardly seemed a prime choice to calm the roiling waters of Newark.
