Jersey City charter high school to close June 30
Acting state Education Commissioner (and former Jersey City Mayor) Bret Schundler announced on Monday that CREATE Charter High School in Jersey City would close on June 30, saying the school had been “under review” by the state’s Department of Education for poor test scores and other deficiencies.
The school, founded by former Jersey City Councilman Steve Lipski, issued a statement through its board president, Stephen Stamos:
“The Board of Trustees of CREATE Charter School was notified yesterday, March 1, 2010, by newly appointed Acting Commissioner of Education, Bret Schundler, that its charter will not be renewed by the Department of Education, effective as of June 30, 2010. We believe the decision of the acting commissioner is incorrect on both factual and legal grounds. Accordingly the board intends to continue discussions with the Department of Education and take whatever appropriate steps are advisable to insure the continued good work of CREATE.”
16 file to run in JC Board of Ed election
Sixteen people filed to run in the April 20 Jersey City Board of Education election.
The election is to fill three seats on the nine-member board as members serve staggered three-year terms. The responsibilities of board members include voting on school policy and approving the school district budget.
The 16 candidates running for election are: Kevin Armstrong, Sebastian D’Amico, L. Terry Dehere, Evelyn Farmer, Carol L. Lester, Gerald Maurice Lyons, Gerald McCann, June A. Mulqueen, John R. Muniz, Marimer Navarrete, Aura Ordonez, Hiral Patel, Anthony Sharperson, Angel Valentin, Sterling Waterman and Arthur Zigman.
Dehere, McCann and Valentin are the incumbents running for another term.
However, the list could shrink as candidates have until this coming Monday, March 8, to withdraw their names from contention.
Rescheduled appearance by noted scholar this Thursday
Hudson County Community College President Dr. Glen Gabert announced recently that the Feb. 11 appearance of Dr. Michael Eric Dyson, which was cancelled because of the snowstorm the previous day, has been rescheduled for Thursday, March 11. Dr. Dyson will appear that evening in the Scott Ring Room of the College’s Culinary Arts Institute/Conference Center, 161 Newkirk St. in Jersey City — just two blocks from the Grove Street PATH station.
Dyson is the renowned social analyst, best-selling author, ordained minister and University Professor of Sociology at Georgetown University. A prolific author whose writings have explored the lives of Malcolm X, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., singer Marvin Gaye and entertainer Bill Cosby, he has also written about the cultural significance of rap in Between God and Gangsta Rap, on Hurricane Katrina in Come Hell or High Water, and on matters of race in America in Debating Race.
Tickets obtained for the original Feb. 11 lecture will be honored. For more information, call (201) 360-4199.
Duprees comes to Jersey City
When the vocal group The Duprees performs at the Loew’s Jersey Theatre in Jersey City this coming Friday, March 12, at 8 p.m., there will be a pre-show “Meet & Greet” Buffet with The Duprees from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m., presented in cooperation with nearby Hudson County Community College at the college’s Culinary Conference Center’s 1st Floor Banquet Room, 161 Newkirk Street. In addition to meeting band members, the $15 ticket also covers an “American Boardwalk Buffet.”
For more information, call the Journal Square Restoration Corporation at (201) 795-1854.
Scam artists targeting NJ elderly
I n the age of elaborate Ponzi schemers like Bernie Madoff, the public shouldn’t forget about the small time grifters who still prey on the unsuspecting.
Recently there have been reports of thieves trying to scam the elderly out of thousands of dollars. According to police in Hunterdon County, here’s how the scam works. A man calls the victim and says he’s the victim’s grandson. He claims that he has been arrested in Canada on a minor charge and needs bail money wired to him. If the victim seems skeptical, sometimes a second man gets on the phone and pretends to be a jailhouse cop.
Last month a man in Clinton Township fell for the scam and wired $3,979 to the thief before realizing he had been had.