Dear Editor:
In 2001, North Bergen violated NJ DEP regulations when it illegally removed a taxpayer funded ballfield in Braddock Park and replaced it with its 17 trailer preschool.
Mayor Sacco promised the trailers/students would be removed from the park in 2002, when a school which was being built, would be completed.
It didn’t happen.
Since 2001, North Bergen has broken multiple promises to remove its aged, decrepit, pre-K trailers from the park. Even though the trailers clearly violated/violate important State safety regulations, North Bergen officials falsely contend otherwise.
On 06-08-2017, NJ DEP told North Bergen “Removing the trailers as quickly as possible is the only scenario we are considering, and is what the Township has assured us will happen. Allowing the trailers to remain permanently is not an option.”
In 2018, NJ DOE approved a North Bergen BOE Long Range Facilities Plan (LRFP), subject to a referendum, which was designed to buy the vacated Hi-Tech HS campus in North Bergen for $10M and convert it into a middle school, thereby freeing up classrooms in the neighborhood elementary schools so that the preschoolers could be moved out of the park and into them.
In the referendum, North Bergen voters approved $60+ million in bonds to facilitate the LRFP and the State gifted North Bergen an additional $10 million.
On 02-14-2020, NB Schools Superintendent Solter reiterated “Under the terms of the referendum…The reshuffling of middle and high schoolers will create space in North Bergen’s elementary schools for the pre-K students, according to the plan.” (1)
Just a few months later, North Bergen reneged again, telling the State it wants the pre-k to remain in the park and it ignored NJ DEP’s directive to remove the preschool before 09-01-21.
North Bergen claims it can’t fit all its pre-K students into the elementary schools, even though its LRFP contains architectural drawings showing there is more than enough room in the elementary schools for all the preschoolers.
North Bergen blames school overcrowding as the culprit, but an analysis of the school population shows otherwise. Total school enrollments from 2012-2020 decreased by more than 9% (2) and the 2018 LRFP even states “The District is planning for decreasing enrollments”. Furthermore, the acquisition of Hi-Tech added 2000+ more seats to the school system.
North Bergen officials have duped taxpayers, the voting public, NJ DEP and NJ DOE, while wasting millions of dollars of taxpayer money in State penalties, legal fees, etc.
The NJ Attorney General needs to fix these corrupt goings on ASAP and ensure that preschoolers have state-of-the-art facilities that don’t jeopardize their well-being, and taxpayers get their Braddock Park ballfield back.
Please complain to: citizens.services@njoag.gov
(1) https://www.nj.com/hudson/2020/02/north-bergen-school-realignment-delayed-a-year-trailers-will-remain-in-braddock-park-until-2022.html
(2) https://www.nj.gov/education/data/enr/ https://www.nj.gov/education/finance/fp/ufb/2020/reports/17/3610/UFB21_3610.pdf
10/2012 8114 8095
10/2013 8075 7777
10/2014 8051 8068
10/2015 7866 7874
10/2016 7713 7735
10/2017 7658 7664
10/2018 7497 7528
10/2019 7549 7528
10/2020 7373 7347
—— ——
– 748 (-9.2%) – 741 (-9.1%)
Submitted by,
robert walden
