Jackson parents say closure of Rosenhauer school is 'heartbreaking'

JACKSON — Ashley Stallworth did not know when her three children left Sylvia Rosenauer Elementary on Tuesday to begin summer break that it would be the last time they would be in the building.

Two days later, Jackson School District officials announced that Rosenauer Elementary would close immediately and the building would be sold to help reduce an $18 million budget gap.

"We were very upset. I don't want to start crying," Stallworth said as she recalled the moment she learned the school would close. "We love that school so much, so it really was heartbreaking."

Stallworth told her children the news on Friday morning, before they had a chance to hear it from their peers. In September, they would be attending a different school in Jackson. School officials have not yet said which of the five other elementary schools will take Rosenauer students, or whether the students will be split up.

"I wish they had told us before school got out and not two days later, because then the kids might have had some closure, and the teachers and staff too. Like, to say goodbye," Stallworth said.

Jackson School District is facing a financial crisis this year following seven years of declining state aid, a 2% annual cap on tax levy increases, and high inflation. The combination initially drove a massive $30 million hole into the district's 2024-25 budget.

Under pressure from parents and local lawmakers, Trenton officials agreed to pass a measure that allows schools like Jackson to raise school taxes over the 2% tax levy cap one time, but by no more than 9.9% of the school tax levy. The measure also restores a slice of the state funding that was cut – about $4.5 million for Jackson schools.

Despite that help, Jackson school officials say that still leaves an $18 million gap to close in the 2024-25 budget.

At the same time, the district's private school busing costs continue to rise from year to year as Jackson's population of Orthodox Jewish residents grows. The district also faces higher educational costs for its public school students, who need more academic support than past student populations.

Since 2018, the number of English language learners in the district has grown from 3% to 8%, according to the New Jersey Department of Education. In addition, the proportion of students considered to be economically disadvantaged increased from 23% in 2018 to 30%, according to the department.

In the past five years, the school district's student population has dropped by more than 500 to 7,567 last year. Yet its yearly state funding declined more rapidly. School board President Giuseppe Palmeri said annual state funding was as high as $46 million seven years ago, but is now down to $23 million.

"We've already cut and eliminated over 215 staff members" since funding cuts began seven years ago, Palmeri said. "There's not much more we can cut and successfully provide a thorough and efficient education to our students."

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State Assemblyman Alex Sauickie, a Jackson resident who attended Rosenauer Elementary in his youth, said Gov. Phil Murphy's administration was to blame for Jackson's funding crisis.

The state's school funding formula is "taking the income tax dollars that all residents of Jackson paid to the state, and instead of Jackson's children getting it back in 'state aid' for their schools, it's going to other districts," Sauickie said in a statement to the Press. "What's worse is this administration could have fixed the problem in any of the past seven years… This governor chose not to despite members of the Legislature like me speaking about Jackson's situation on the Assembly floor, testifying at budget committees, meeting with the Commissioner of Education, and introducing legislation to fix it."

Program cuts coming to Jackson students

In addition to closing Rosenauer, Jackson School District officials plan to cut 70 teacher and staff positions, increase class sizes and eliminate courtesy busing. As a result, any elementary school student who lives within 2 miles of their school, or any high schooler within 2.5 miles of their school, will have to walk or find other transportation.

District officials say they are also planning to reduce sports programs, after school activities and clubs, and eliminate after school enrichment programs.

"Making up for a $18 million deficit unfortunately requires broad, painful actions," Superintendent Nicole Pormilli wrote in a letter to parents on Thursday. "We are heartbroken, and we know our Rosenauer family will be as well."

About a half-dozen parents of Rosenauer students contacted the Press Friday and said the school, which serves roughly 260 students in preschool through fifth grade, is a close-knit community with caring, talented teachers.

"It's an amazing school," said Sharon Jones, a mother of three Jackson students. Her youngest is going into third grade and is a Rosenauer student.

"In my son's second grade class… most of them have been together since pre-K," Jones said.

She said her youngest child broke into tears when she told him the school was closing and he would be attending a different Jackson elementary school next year. The township has five other elementary schools, two middle schools and two high schools.

"He realized he didn't even get to say goodbye," Jones said.

The selling off of Rosenauer Elementary remains unofficial until the Jackson Board of Education finalizes its school budget in July. The board scheduled its next budget hearing at 6 p.m June 26 at the Fine Arts Center of Jackson Memorial High School, 101 Don Connor Blvd.

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Allison Scher said she planned on attending and wants to convince the school board to hold a ceremony at the school with students and staff.

"My son… was going into fifth grade (at Rosenauer), and it's really devastating for him," she said. "He was a safety-in-training, and now I believe that's all going to be taken away from him, because he's going to be redistricted to another school that probably already selected that achievement (from) their own students."

Rosenauer staff would traditionally hold a "clap out" for graduating fifth graders who were moving onto middle school, Scher said. Staff and students would line the hallways and clap as the fifth graders walked through the building for the last time, she said.

Scher said she wants to see the school opened for a similar ceremony to be held one final time.

"I feel that all the children that attended Rosenauer this year… should have that opportunity to say goodbye to their teachers, and should have the opportunity to walk out of that building on a positive note," she said. "(It will) give them closure and (help them) understand that, you know, it's okay. And I think that they need those teachers to tell them it will be okay."

Palmeri, the school board president, said he would continue to fight for solutions that do not require cutting important programs.

"The central office, the superintendent, no one is supporting this tentative budget," he said. "We're being told we have to put up this budget… We're doing what we're told and directed to do by the Department of Education."

Palmeri said he would not vote to eliminate courtesy busing in a township where many roads lack sidewalks. He said the board also remains committed to keeping a strong athletics program in Jackson, even if it is scaled back under the coming budget.

"I'm fairly confident that this budget is not going to pass, because it will destroy a very good district, a strong district, a district that has a lot of caring teachers and staff and parents that love this town," he said. "So we're going to do what we can. We have a couple of cards left up our sleeve."

Amanda Oglesby is an Ocean County native who covers education and the environment. She has worked for the Press for more than 15 years. Reach her at @OglesbyAPP, aoglesby@gannettnj.com or 732-557-5701.

This article originally appeared on Asbury Park Press: With Rosenauer closing, Jackson parents describe students' heartbreak