The good news for many Jersey City students who will go back to school on Sept. 10 is that the district has spent the summer repairing trailers that serve as classrooms alongside most of the district’s schools. Many of the elevators in disrepair in certain schools have also been fixed in time for the reopening. The district has also implemented a new program to provide substitute teachers, and has done away with a controversial contract with an outside firm.
However, the bad news for some parents and kids is that despite numerous complaints, the food the vendor who provides meals at most of the schools will be dishing it out again this year.
Trouble with trailers
Nearly all the schools in the district use trailers to make up for the lack of space in the main buildings. Out of a total of 52 trailers, 49 are used for classrooms. A review of their condition earlier this year showed that many needed to be repaired or replaced at an estimated cost of $400,000 to $3.6 million.
“Kids don’t like the food and most of it ends up in the trash.” – Lorenzo Richardson
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“This includes plumbing and electrical,” he said. “We’ve also increased security and completed safety inspections.”
The normal life span of a trailer is from 12 to 15 years, and more than half of those in Jersey City are beyond their useful life. Most the trailers are in the 20-year age bracket. The oldest is 37 years old, the newest are about 14 years old.
Some parents said the handrails and stairs leading to the trailers are still in disrepair, but Campana said these items are always the last to be fixed.
Other work in the school included upgrades to a cafeteria, work on some of the gyms and the modernization of elevators, including the opening of elevators that have not worked in years.
Controversial company for substitute teachers replaced
The district has discontinued its contract with Source for Teachers and opted to recruit its own substitute teachers. Substitute teachers fill in when a regular teacher is absent. Source for Teachers had been contracted to supply substitutes to all the regular public schools.
Last year, some board trustees and a number of parents complained about the quality of substitutes the company provided. Public meetings were filled with parents complaining about inattentive or irresponsible substitutes.
Board Trustee Lorenzo Richardson also noted that the company exceeded its $4 million contract by $600,000. The district is currently disputing the charge, saying it would not pay it.
Meanwhile, Schools Superintendent Dr. Marcia Lyles said the district has developed a substitute list of 300 teachers from 650 people who submitted applications. The district will provide two days of training.
Lyles said the district is in a strong position going into the new school year.
“We have very few vacancies,” she said. “We have no elementary teacher vacancies at this time and only a handful of special education and secondary school teacher vacancies.
Quality of school lunches still questioned
Historically, kids always complain about school lunch. But for some parents and several school board trustees, the quality of lunches in Jersey City schools is no laughing matter.
This became more evident when the trustees were asked to vote on a new $4 million contract with Marymount Corp., a Brooklyn-based supplier of school lunches. For more than a year, board members have heard a litany of complaints from parents and others about the quality of food being served.
Richardson, a very vocal critic of the vendor prior to his election last year, questioned why the board was giving Marymount a new contract after having heard so many complaints.
“Kids don’t like the food and most of it ends up in the trash,” Richardson said. The district, however, is required to award the contract to the lowest bidder unless there is significant evidence to show there is a problem.
Campana said there have been complaints at the board meetings about some schools, but not all the schools, and the company has addressed those problems each time one is brought up.
Board Trustee Marilyn Roman said the district needs to start documenting these complaints.
“Otherwise we’ll be stuck with this company forever,” she said.
Trustee Gerald Lyon said the schools need to build a file and provide a mechanism for complaints, forms that can be filed out by principals whenever there is an issue.
Al Sullivan may be reached at asullivan@hudsonreporter.com.