A New Jersey parent says students in the Glen Ridge Public School system were forced to keep a promotional image of Democratic Rep. Analilia Mejia on their school-issued Chromebooks this week.
The parent, who spoke anonymously to The Post out of fear of retaliation, said the desktop background was set district-wide and appeared on children’s laptops starting last Tuesday. The image featured biographical information about Mejia’s career, including legislation she introduced to raise the minimum wage to $25 an hour. Students were reportedly unable to change the wallpaper even if they wanted to, and the parent claimed a Spanish teacher threatened to send their child to the principal for attempting to do so.
“I was outraged,” the parent told The Post. “We’re in the school system because we’re the number one public school system in the state. We’re here for the education. I’m not here for political propaganda.”
The parent added: “Marketing to a 13-year-old and a nine-year-old is disgusting.”
Mejia, who represents New Jersey’s 11th Congressional District covering suburbs around Newark including Maplewood, Montclair and Belleville, was a local labor leader and nonprofit director before Gov. Mikie Sherrill chose her as a successor to fill the House seat Sherrill vacated earlier this year. The district is approximately 17.5% Hispanic according to census data. The Cook Political Report rates the seat as “solid” Democratic, with Mejia favored to defeat Republican Joe Hathaway on Nov. 3.
The wallpaper changed to an image of “Guardians of the Galaxy” actress Zoe Saldana on Wednesday, which the parent attributed to pushback. “I’m sure it’s because the parents went nuts,” they added about the switch.
Mejia told The Post she and her team were not involved in the district’s decision, but responded supportively to the recognition. “While neither my team nor I were involved in the decision, I’m honored to be among the Latino leaders recognized during Hispanic Heritage Month,” she said. “Latinos are integral to New Jersey’s culture, history, and strength, and I commend the school district for striving to represent the full diversity of our community to its diverse student body,” she continued. “Happy Hispanic Heritage Month!”
Hathaway, Mejia’s Republican opponent, sharply criticized the incident when reached by The Post. “This photo looks like something ripped out of North Korean propaganda, with Mejia standing watch as some kind of ‘Dear Leader.’ It’s absolutely ridiculous,” he said. He added: “Imagine the outrage you’d hear from teachers and left-wing progressives if every student in Glen Ridge opened their school computer and saw a locked image of our President staring back at them. Socialist messaging has no place being forced on our kids.” He concluded: “We need to get back to basics of reading, writing, math, and science, for our children to succeed.”
The anonymous parent raised a similar political concern, questioning why the district had not instead featured Secretary of State Marco Rubio, whom they described as the highest-ranking Hispanic American in US history. “They clearly understood that this was not the right thing to do,” the parent added.
News of the Chromebook backgrounds first spread after the Libs of TikTok X account posted about it, sharing a screenshot and tagging the account of former Trump administration official Ajit Pai with the message: “INBOX: Student Chromebooks at Glen Ridge Schools in NJ reportedly had their desktop background changed and locked to a promotional image of NJ Democrat Rep. Analilia Mejia. This is ILLEGAL!”
The Glen Ridge Public School system did not respond to The Post’s request for comment.