HUDSON COUNTY – Sources say that all 12 Hudson County mayors supported a proposal Friday that will eliminate the funding for the two athletic programs at the Hudson County Schools of Technology, namely County Prep in Jersey City and High Tech in North Bergen, citing duplication of services and allegedly improper recruiting activities as the main reason. The schools are public and part of a countywide school system to which local residents can apply.
The Hudson County mayors met Friday afternoon and all signed the letter that was immediately sent to the Hudson County Board of Education, as well as to Hudson County Executive Tom DeGise and Schools of Technology Superintendent Frank Gargiulo, officials confirmed.
“Under these economic times, the Schools of Technology are operating duplicated services,” North Bergen Mayor Nicholas Sacco said Friday. “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 do so through his hometown school, because the two county-run schools do not offer football. However, if they play other sports, they do so for their county school – with the towns footing the bill anyway.
“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. 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.”
Sacco believes that the athletes who attend these schools should be participating athletically in their hometown schools.
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 away from other 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.”
Officials from the Schools of Technology were not available for comment by press time. —Jim Hague
Our Digital Archive from 2000 – 2016
