The New Jersey Office of the State Comptroller concluded that New Jersey City University’s “improper budgeting” of federal COVID-19 relief funding led to a $14 million deficit one year later. Acting Comptroller Kevin Walsh said his office found that NJCU had planned to use its $14 million in federal Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund allocation […]
Education
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Two McNair Students Compete in National STEM Competition
Two McNair Academy High School students, Aditya Jain and Ehtesham Suhail, will compete in this year’s Regeneron International Science and Engineering Fair in Dallas May 14-19 after emerging as gold-medal winners at the Hudson County 65th annual STEM Showcase earlier this year. The Jersey City Medical Center hosted the showcase this year for the seventh year […]
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Officials Break Ground on New STEM High School at Science Center
Officials gathered yesterday morning to break ground on the construction of Liberty Science Center High School, the first of several buildings that eventually will comprise the ambitious “innovation hub” called SciTech Scity adjacent to Liberty Science Center. Slated to open in 2025, officials hope to establish LSCHS as a world-class public magnet STEM academy providing […]
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Racially Charged Debate Overshadows Budget at Board of Ed Meeting
The adoption of the Jersey City Schools’ first $1 billion budget was overshadowed last night by angry, racially charged denunciations and passionate defenses of Superintendent Norma Fernandez and an all girl’s school slated to open this Fall. Touched off by a rumor that a faction of the board would call a no-confidence vote on Fernandez, […]
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Tempers Flare at Board of Ed Caucus over Charges of Racism
Several members of the Board of Education expressed frustration with the schools’ administration during last night’s caucus after hearing renewed allegations of racism and favoritism in hiring and promotion. Madonna Morris, a twenty-year employee in the the schools’ human resources department, singled out the director of human resources for criticism. “Most of us within and […]
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Bank Gifts Building to After-School Program for ‘Under-Resourced’ Youth
A Jersey City faith-based nonprofit recently learned it can bank on the good will of a local lending institution. Provident Bank has gifted its former branch at Bergen and Harrison Avenues, to New City Kids, which offers after-school musical and academic classes to urban “under-resourced” kids and teens. (The bank will continue operating five locations […]
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Alleged Racism in Hiring and Bullying Take Center Stage at BOE Meeting
Complaints about hiring practices and bullying dominated Thursday night’s Board of Education meeting. Several staff members approached the podium to talk about perceived racism within the district’s hiring practices. Some parents said the district had not done their due diligence in complying with the harassment, intimidation, and bullying (HIB) policies in schools. Elizabeth Perry wanted […]
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Faculty Union Rallies to Press State for Additional Aid for NJCU
They all came: students, teachers, union leaders, politicians from across the board, and, of course, the interim president of New Jersey City University. All of them came Monday to a union-sponsored “Fund NJCU” campus rally to plead the case for the survival of NJCU, to demand that Gov. Phil Murphy and state legislators come to […]
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Tax Hikes Probable with Cuts to School aid and end to Covid Money
With state aid to Jersey City Schools falling quickly and federal Covid relief to the city ending, further tax hikes are likely. Tucked into Governor Murphy’s $53.1 billion spending plan unveiled on Tuesday was another massive cut in state aid to Jersey City schools. The cuts were not unexpected. “This is close to what I […]
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DeGise Suspended from Teaching Post in 2016
In 2016, Councilwoman Amy DeGise was suspended from her teaching position at Hudson County Prep. Six years after the suspension, details remain elusive. Students who may have knowledge of the incident have graduated, and others who currently work at County Prep either said they were unaware that DeGise had been suspended or were unwilling to […]