In an early and sudden move by incoming Newark Schools Superintendent Roger Leon, 31 employees -- including several high-ranking administrators -- were told Friday they would be fired if they didn't resign by next week, two sources with knowledge of the matter told NJ Advance Media.

The overhaul, first reported by Chalkbeat Newark, comes a week before Leon takes the helm as the district's first School Board-picked leader in 22 years. The state returned local control of the schools to the board earlier this year.

A school district spokeswoman did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Saturday.

The shake-up appears to target employees associated with former state-appointed superintendents Cami Anderson and Christopher Cerf, often criticized for bringing in "outsiders" to run the district, and foreshadows Leon's likely departure from their vision.

A native Newarker, Leon has worked in the district for 25 years, as a principal and later as an assistant superintendent. He officially begins his tenure July 1.

Those asked to leave include Chief Academic Officer Brad Haggerty, the head of student enrollment, chief information officer and chief data officer, according to a list obtained by NJ Advance Media.

Lower-ranking workers, including 10 assistants are also on the chopping block, raising questions among staffers about the larger strategy and vision behind the restructuring.

It's not clear what this means for the district's summer school program or its controversial enrollment process, as the people who led those divisions will be leaving.

"The big problem I see: This is 31 people that do some pretty essential functions in the district," one person with knowledge of the overhaul said. "People were literally packing up their things on Friday. One wonders what that does for the operations (of the district)."

"How do you feel that this is going to benefit the children of Newark?" the person said.

Three assistant superintendents were also demoted, sources said.

Employees were told Friday to submit their resignations and accept a buy-out package or face termination at Tuesday's School Board meeting, the sources said. One person close to the matter said Haggerty and interim Superintendent Robert Gregory (who also applied for the superintendent position) were the ones who told employees about the cuts; Leon was not present.

New leadership always signals a major reorganization and staff shake-up, but sources said in this case, district employees were not expecting the move so soon and without a clear transition plan for how to continue day-to-day functions.

While Leon submitted a list of cabinet members for the School Board to consider, it's not clear what the plan is to replace other positions.

Karen Yi may be reached at kyi@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter at @karen_yi or on Facebook.