For a second year running, Jersey City taxpayers won’t be shelling out more of their money for school taxes. This was the takeaway from Acting School Business Administrator Dennis Frohnapfel’s half hour, 25-page, 2024/2025 budget presentation at last night’s Board of Education Meeting. The budget, which passed unanimously, totaled $1,035,721,424, a modest increase over the prior year of $482,481. For 2024/2025, school taxes on the average Jersey City home — assessed at $475,711 — will come to $4,661. Frohnapfel was clearly elated, thanking the administration and the Board of Education “two fu ..read more

The dust has settled on last month’s Board of Education ouster of Trustee Younass Barkouch as vice president, but bad blood remains. At Monday’s caucus meeting, Vice President George Blount recounted a professional development conference Blount and Trustee Alpa Patel attended in New Orleans earlier this month. Barkouch was originally planning to attend, but last month the board voted against approving his attendance at the conference, shortly following his removal. “I’m glad that you enjoyed the conference, Dr. Blount, and I hope you’re happy to hear that thanks to your vote last we ..read more

A litigation consultant hired by Local 1839, American Federation of Teachers, representing faculty at New Jersey City University, has ripped a state monitor’s analysis of the troubled school as misguided. In a 31-page assessment, Christopher W. Young, of New York-based Resolution Economics, says that while the conclusions reached last month by State Comptroller Henry Amoroso “appear logical,” they often miss the point. They are prone to fail, he said, “for the same reasons that many of the historical strategic and financial decisions at NJCU failed – they lack financial and strategical detail ..read more

At last night’s unexpectedly heated special Board of Education meeting, Vice President Younass Barkouch was removed from his position and replaced with George Blount. The move came after several members of the coalition that recently voted Barkouch and President Dejon Morris into power were upset with Barkouch’s failed allegiance to the group. The vote to remove Barkouch was 7-1, with Trustee Natalia Ioffe abstaining. In casting his lone dissenting vote, Barkouch said, “I will not be forced into an allegiance.” When introducing the motion, Trustee Afaf Muhammad claimed that Barkouch ..read more

Describing himself as someone “spiritually rooted in the Catholic faith, with personal values that align with those of Jesuit education and traditions,” Hubert Benitez will succeed Eugene J. Comacchia as the 23rd president of St. Peter’s University, it was announced this week. Benitez, selected from among a pool of more than 200 candidates, will take over July 1, 2024, following the retirement of Comacchia who served 17 years as president. For the last two years, Benitez served as president/CEO of American International College, a private school based in Springfield, Mass. He is a peer r ..read more

After weeks of confusion and uncertainty in the aftermath of last month’s Board of Education meeting, the board officially instated Dejon Morris and Younass Barkouch as president and vice president, respectively.  At the February 29 meeting, five members of the board held a vote to remove former President Natalia Ioffe and former Vice President Noemi Velazquez from their positions after expressing doubts about fulfilling the duties of their positions. At that meeting, Ioffe, Velazquez, four trustees, and nearly all of the present administration left the building before the vote coul ..read more

A state Office of Higher Education gunslinger is laying down the law to financially troubled New Jersey City University. Unless the school, founded in 1927, can dramatically reverse its persistent high debt, enrollment declines (this year excepted), underfunded capital needs and questionable real estate deals, it should prepare to be absorbed into another institution, the state agent has concluded. While he says the current administration “has performed well under its amended spending plan,” attorney Henry J. Amoroso – named August 29 as NJCU’s monitor – the first ever to ride herd on a publi ..read more

In hopes of nurturing local talent and future scientific leaders, Jersey City Medical Center, an RWJBarnabas Health facility, in partnership with Liberty Science Center, hosted the 33rd annual Hudson County STEM Showcase. More than 400 students showcased their projects across various scientific and engineering disciplines, with the aim of honing their technical skills, creativity, and critical thinking. The showcase, held on March 11 at Liberty Science Center, presented projects across 22 categories, ranging from environmental science to advanced robotics. T ..read more

A drive to make safe drinking water available to all Jersey City public school students and staff has entered its third and final stage, Schools Superintendent Norma Fernandez said recently. Since the start, Guarini Plumbing, a local vendor, has been entrusted with plans to replace lead service pipes that deliver water to city school facilities with new equipment that will allow the safe consumption of water from drinking fountains and kitchen faucets. Now, Fernandez said, the district is down to its 13 remaining educational facilities which accommodate about 7,000 students. James Nelson, edu ..read more

In a tumultuous Board of Education meeting last night, five trustees voted to oust the president and vice-president. The vote came a day after the president filed an ethics complaint against a fellow trustee and after years of building tension over issues involving the superintendent, hiring, promotion, and school conditions. Newly elected trustee Dejon Morris was elected to replace President Natalia Ioffe and Younass Barkouch was elected to replace Vice President Noemie Velazquez. The five insurgents said they had acted out of frustration with the Ioffe’s and Velasquez’s failure to perform t ..read more