Lizette Delgado-Polanco is resigning from her role as head of the Schools Development Authority effective April 26, following months of mounting scrutiny into the controversial agency’s alleged “patronage” hiring practices.
Lizette Delgado-Polanco speaks during an Assembly Budget Committee hearing earlier this month.. (DANIEL J. MUNOZ)
“It is with a heavy heart that I leave the SDA, but I am proud of the work we have achieved together over these past months to serve our 31 SDA Districts,” Delgado-Polanco said in a letter sent to the governor’s office dated April 23.
Delgado-Polanco is also a close ally of Gov. Phil Murphy and vice chair of the New Jersey State Democratic Committee. Murphy’s office could not be immediately reached for comment.
“I made the decision to resign after much deliberation because the work of the SDA should be about delivering high-quality educational facilities for our students; politics should not be in the conversation. We need to keep the focus on providing a thorough and efficient education for New Jersey’s most vulnerable children regardless of their zip code,” she added.
A NorthJersey.com report found that under Delgado-Polanco’s watch, dozens of longtime workers were let go as part of a “restructuring,” only for their posts to be filled by friends and family of Delgado-Polanco who made six-figure salaries and often lacked many relevant qualifications.
The SDA provides financing for the construction of school facilities in the state’s 31 neediest, poorest school districts, called Abbott Districts.
Opponents of the SDA, such as Senate President Stephen Sweeney, D-3rd District, have called for the agency to be absorbed into the Economic Development Authority.
