Jersey City is not properly funding its public schools.
Hundreds of JCPS employees have received layoff notices aka "pink slips" due to systemic underfunding. The time to act is NOW.
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How you can help.
Contact your Board of Education & City representatives.
We elect members of our community to govern on our behalf.
It is our civic responsibility to communicate our concerns & express our priorities.
Please help send the message: our public schools should be a priority. Fund our schools.
Tell them: No pink slips.
Below is an email campaign, created by the PS #5 PTA, to help you get started.
Jersey City has lost $27 million in state education aid in 2019/20 alone.
The proposed budget included a local school tax levy that failed to protect the jobs of hundreds of JCPS employees.
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Thank you to the PTA of Dr. Michael Conti PS #5 School for this information & advocacy.
Key Facts You Need to Know:
The Jersey City School District currently falls $100 million short of adequately funding our schools. And that number is going to increase over the next seven years due to changes in NJ state aid to schools. The cuts are HERE.
If we don’t start raising more local funding for schools, we will be underfunding our schools by $212 million (in today’s dollars). We need a meaningful plan to ensure that any surplus funds to the city, that any cost savings from City Hall, that any recaptured dollars from breached development deals, should be allocated in full to the schools. We need action, and ideas to generate revenue for our schools.
It is time to for the City to get off of the sidelines and become an active and willing participant in leading this charge. Starting now- as they set this budget cycle!
The Call To Action:
As concerned citizens, parents, teachers, administrators, and residents of Jersey City, we need to take action and ensure that our City Council puts the interests and welfare of our children first in this matter.
We are asking all concerned parents and residents who care about this issue to:
Send an email to the city council representative for your “ward.” Also send an separate email to each Board of Education trustee.
Demand: no pink slips. One layoff is one too many. Jersey City Public Schools are *already* under-staffed.
Email Tips:
It's ideal to send individual emails addressed directly to each councilperson and board trustee. You can copy and paste the letters below.
We realize time is tight, so if you want, you can also send a single email using the form below.
What Should the Email Say:
Below is a template email you can use - feel free to edit and make it your own!
A community's priorities are reflected in how public dollars are spent.
Tell our elected officials: we value our kids & want to fund their education.
Letter to Elected Board of Education & City Representatives
The PTA Advocacy Team at Dr. Michael Conti PS #5 School created this letter that we can share with Board of Education and city officials. I am sharing on CivicParent to help spread the word & the advocacy.
You can use the automated email below, which will send the note (which you are free to customize) to the Board of Education trustees, Mayor Fulop, all the council representatives, and the respective Council aides. If you don't want to send to all of those individuals at once, simply copy/paste the note below into your email and send to a subset of representatives. If you don't know your ward - use the map below to find out!
All the BOE and city officials' contact information is provided below for your reference.
Advocate in the manner you feel most comfortable.
PS #5 PTA School Funding Advocacy Action: Keep the pressure on the BOE & City Leadership: No Pink Slips!
Read or Edit the Petition
If you check the "opt-in" box above, you'll be kept in the loop on advocacy updates. Otherwise, your email will not be used.
Not sure which City Ward applies to your home and/or school?
No problem, we've got you covered! Find your home or your school on this ward map of Jersey City
City Representatives:
Council President - Rolando R. Lavarro, Jr.
Aide: Talita Elizeu
Councilman at Large - Daniel Rivera
Aide: Kevin Duron
Ward A Councilwoman - Denise Ridley
(201) 547-5098/5060
Aide: Barbara Stamato
Neighborhood: Greenville
Ward B Councilwoman - Mira Prinz-Arey
(201) 547-5092/5101
Aide: Lekendrick Shaw
Neighborhood: West Side
Ward C Councilman - Richard Boggiano
(201) 547-5159/5172
Aide: Angelica Sanchez
Neighborhood: Journal Square
Ward D Councilman - Michael Yun
Aide: Vernon Richardson
Neighborhood: Heights
Ward E Councilman - James Solomon
Aide: Laura Bustamante
Neighborhood: Downtown
Ward F Councilman - Jermaine D. Robinson
(201) 547-5338/5361
Aide: Asheenia Johnson
Neighborhood: Bergen-Lafayette
Board of Education Trustees:
Sudhan Thomas - Board of Education President
Lorenzo Richardson - Board of Education Vice Presidennt
Marilyn Roman - Board of Education Trustee
Matthew Schapiro - Board of Education Trustee
Mussab Ali - Board of Education Trustee
Gerald Lyons - Board of Education Trustee
Joan Terrell Paige - Board of Education Trustee
Gina Verdibello - Board of Education Trustee
Gevonder DuPree - Board of Education Trustee
[email protected]
Additional resources about Jersey City's funding crisis
Learn, educate, advocate
Jersey City's Public School Funding Crisis - A Civic Overview from NJ Together
Learn more at NJTogether.org/Education.
Additional insights & analysis from CivicParent:
