The rumors were true. Marist High School will remain open for the 2017-2018 school year after announcing in late March that it was at risk of closing if unable to raise $1.5 million. While the school did not hit that mark, the $755,571 it raised through its “Save Marist NJ” campaign was enough to convince the Marist Brothers, who own and operate the school, that Marist and its supporters have the support and fundraising capacity to continue providing a quality Catholic education. The school’s Financial Committee reviewed proposed budget projections for 2017-2020 and sent them to the Marist Brothers Finance Committee, which sent its recommendation to the Marist Brothers Council last week. Faculty, parents, and students kept their fingers crossed. Head of School Alice Miesnik said her hope never waned, and it was vital that the hopes of students and faculty not wane either. Marist alumni, families of prospective students, families of current students, and complete strangers all contributed to keeping Marist afloat. Click here for more.
The Bayonne Board of Education (BBOED) voted for a 40-percent staff reduction at a meeting on Wednesday, April 26, in order to alleviate a $6 million budget deficit. Reductions include 261 non-tenured teachers, eight engineers, 15 secretaries, two bus drivers, and other part-time and aide positions. The decision comes after the board’s proposed budget, approved at a March BBOED meeting, was denied by the Department of Education (DOE) earlier this week. The Bayonne School District has a total of 646 full-time faculty. The proposed budget assumed 85 layoffs last announced in March, which are included in the 261 announced at Wednesday’s meeting. Some layoffs are effective immediately, while others are effective June 30, the day the current teachers’ contract ends. The day after the layoffs were announced, on Thursday, April 27, students walked out of class and were joined by parents and teachers at city hall. Students then continued to Bayonne High School, where hundreds rallied outside, chanting “Where’s our money?” directed at central office administrators. Click here for more.
The City of Bayonne announced on Friday, April 28 that it’s closed on a 30-acre development on the former Military Ocean Terminal Base (MOTBY) with Atlantic Realty, a Woodbridge-based developer. The developer is expected to build a three-story residential building consisting of 525 units, park space, new roads, and contributed construction of the Hudson River Walkway. Construction on the development, in a section of the base called “Bayonne Bay West,” is expected to start by spring of 2018, according to a press release from Bayonne Mayor James Davis. The land was slated to be sold for $20.7 million in 2006, but the city spent a $14 million deposit in 2007 on its operating budget. Then in 2010, after the City sold 131 acres of MOTBY land to the Port Authority to build a container port, three developers, including Bayonne Bay West, sued the City, claiming the Port Authority sale would negatively affect their property values. Click here for more.
