City officials say Lauren Wells is pursuing other avenues.
NEWARK -- A top ranking education official in Mayor Ras Baraka's administration has resigned, a city spokeswoman confirmed Wednesday.
Lauren Wells, who was appointed the city's chief education officer in 2014, stepped down, city spokeswoman Marjorie Harris confirmed.
"Dr. Wells has served the city and the mayor well and has decided to pursue other challenges. We wish her the best in her future endeavors," Harris said in a statement to NJ Advance Media.
The future of the role remains unclear.
"There will be announcements forthcoming about the role of the Chief Education Advisor to the mayor," Harris said Wednesday.
Wells could not immediately be reached for comment.
Though the city does not run the Newark school district - which has been controlled by the state since 1995 - Baraka's administration has been very engaged with district leaders and critical of district policies throughout his administration. Baraka, a former Newark principal, vocally opposed Superintendent Cami Anderson's controversial 'One Newark' reforms, and worked with Gov. Chris Christie and Anderson's successor, Chris Cerf, on an agreement to begin transitioning the school system back to local control.
In a Washington Post op-ed last year, Wells described her role as not only interacting with the mayor on educational issues, but also with parents, students, and educators.
According to state pension records, Wells was earning $84,795 annually in the role.
Wells marks the latest Baraka administration member to leave the city. The mayor has had several changes to his communications team, fired his corporation counsel, and reconfigured the Newark public safety department, since making initial appointments when he was elected in 2014.
Jessica Mazzola may be reached at jmazzola@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @JessMazzola. Find NJ.com on Facebook.