[Anonymous]

Dear Jersey City Friends —

While I have been involved in many civic issues in Jersey City over the years, this one is hitting closest to home. I am writing in the hope that you will join this fight. It won’t take much of your time.

The PS37/Cordero PreK Annex at 180 9th Street is a wonderful public school with classrooms for 3 and 4 year old PreK students. We are very fortunate that Jersey City parents are offered free, universal preK for our young children. It provides a very viable education option for some, and the only education option for others.

With more and more young children in the Hamilton Park Neighborhood, throughout Downtown, and in the city at-large, it is vital that we utilize all available classroom space for what is sure to be a large influx of PreK students into the public school system.

Right now, the building which houses the PreK Annex is owned by the City of Jersey City. The Jersey City Board of Education leases the building from the City for $1 per year. For the next school year, the city administration has demanded the JCBOE pay $750,000 for use of the school building. This is money the JCBOE needs for books, supplies, teachers’ salaries, programming and the many other costs of public schools.

The Board of Education is not able to pay $750,000 for use of the school, so the city administration is threatening to shut the school down. That’s where we come in.

As Jersey City residents, we must tell the administration that they must not close down this vital school, leaving our youngest children to be bussed to other parts of the city.

Here are 5 things you can do right now:

1)Plan to attend the Jersey City Redevelopment Agency meetingthis Tuesdaythe 18th at6pmat 30 Montgomery Street in the 14th Floor Conference Room. You may speak on behalf of the school or just be there to show your support. This is vitally important as the JCRA is the city agency that officially owns the building where the school is housed.

2)Send an email to Mayor Steven Fulop at[email protected]and CC to Council President Rolando Lavarro at[email protected], Councilwoman Candice Osborne at cosborne@jcnj,org, Councilwoman Joyce Watterman at[email protected], and Councilman Danny Rivera at[email protected].

Here is a sample email which you are free to copy/paste or write with your own words:

Dear Mayor Fulop —

I am a resident of Jersey City and I do not want the PS37/Cordero PreK Annex to be closed next year. Please make it available at an affordable price to the Board of Education so it may stay open.

Thank you very much,

________________

3)This Mondayand all next week, call the Mayor’s Office and ask to speak to the mayor. The number is(201) 547-5200. Tell the Mayor or whoever takes the message that you want the Cordero PreK Annex to remain open to our public PreK students. That’s it. Just send that simple message.

4)Forward this email to any friends who live in Jersey City. This must be a collective effort.

5)Let me know what you are doing. I want to thank you and it will help gauge how our outreach efforts are going.

For more information on this vital issue, please clickhereto read Brigid D’Souza’s excellent overview in the Jersey City Independent. And please reach out to me via phone or email if you have any further questions on the issue or would like to devote more substantial time to make sure this issue is resolved in our children’s favor.

Thank you very much,

Matt Schapiro

President, Hamilton Park Neighborhood Association & Downtown Coalition of Neighborhood Associations

260 9th Street

Jersey City, NJ 07302

201.417.1966c

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