HUDSON COUNTY — Officials at the Hudson County Schools of Technology – the county’s public schools – formally informed the parents of their respective student/athletes that the current high school athletic programs at County Prep in Jersey City and High Tech in North Bergen will cease operations at the end of the current school year.
The decision to officially end the respective athletic programs at the schools was made late Thursday afternoon.
“It’s really tough,” said Richard Myrlak, the supervisor of athletics for the Hudson County Schools of Technology and the Hudson County Board of Education secretary. “We’re talking about people, jobs, programs, kids. It’s about the kids. As you can tell, the kids are very upset. As of right now, it’s a done deal.”
The move comes three weeks after all 12 Hudson County mayors unanimously supported a proposal that eliminated the funding for the two athletic programs, citing duplication of services and allegedly illegal recruiting activities as the main reason.
From that point on, there were ongoing negotiations between the municipalities, Hudson County representatives, the Hudson County Board of Education and the Schools of Technology, but they could not come to an amicable and serviceable funding agreement.
“I cannot comment on the negotiations,” Myrlak said.
So the Schools of Technology, unable to fund the athletic programs on their own, decided to eliminate athletics in order to stay open. It’s also part of the massive cutbacks in educational services proposed by Gov. Chris Christie. The Hudson County Schools of Technology will lose a reported $4.7 million in state funding in the next fiscal year, already forcing the school to lay off almost 40 teachers and staff members, as well as eliminate the adult high school education program.
Some of the local mayors justified their insistence to end the programs.
“Under these economic times, the Schools of Technology are operating duplicated services,” North Bergen Mayor Nicholas Sacco said. “It’s costing our towns way too much money, so we believe that the student-athletes should be able to come back to their hometown schools to play. They already do that in football, so why can’t they do it in other sports?”
Currently, if a County Prep or High Tech student-athlete wants to play football, he can at his hometown school, because the two county-run schools do not offer football. However, if they play other sports, they do so for their respective schools – with the towns fitting the bill.
“The estimated cost for both schools in the athletic budget is $550,000,” Sacco said. “But in a town like Weehawken, it’s already at $250,000. The big cost comes in transportation. You can’t even imagine how much this costs. Our cost in North Bergen right now is $70,000 in transportation just to and from games. But these kids at the Schools of Technology get transported home to their doors after practices and games. There are as many as 10 buses out there taking kids home from both schools. It’s an athletic program that is phenomenally expensive.”
Weehawken Mayor Richard Turner wholeheartedly agreed.
“I don’t think we’ve ever had all 12 mayors agree on something so fast,” Turner said. “We got together and signed this letter within three hours. It was unprecedented.”
Turner believes that the Schools of Technology athletic programs are recruiting the best athletes to attend their schools.
“I know that they are recruiting the top athletes from all the different towns in the county,” Turner said. “There is no reason for them to be competing for athletes. This is done for the egos of the adults running the programs.”
Turner believes that the money given to the Schools of Technology could be spent in better ways.
“In today’s economy, the emphasis should be on jobs,” Turner said. “Those students should be receiving training for jobs, not duplicating already what we do in our schools.”
Hudson County Schools of Technology Superintendent Frank Gargiulo was not in his office Friday morning and could not return calls.
Apparently, the student/athletes can continue to attend their respective HCST schools in the future, but if they want to compete in athletics, they will have to do so in their respective home school districts.
“There are going to a lot of tough decisions being made by these kids in the coming months,” Myrlak said. “Logistically speaking, it’s going to be an issue for some of them to compete at other schools.”
It would mark the end of some of the best athletic programs in Hudson County. The High Tech softball team, which has won the last two NJSIAA state sectional championships, becoming the only Hudson County program ever to do so, has become a local powerhouse. High Tech’s boys’ and girls’ basketball teams have been very strong, as has their soccer program.
County Prep won the NJSIAA state sectional baseball title last spring and has also been a staple of athletic success with its softball, basketball and track and field programs.
Myrlak said that the Schools of Technology might look into the possibility of forming “lifestyle” sports programs, like offering judo which High Tech currently does.
“Or we could offer sports that other schools don’t offer,” Myrlak said. “But that’s only if the economy changes. We have to right now worry about seeing how far we can go to run the schools, but I believe the schools will go on.” – Jim Hague