North Bergen municipal and school officials broke ground on their new Junior High School West Campus this afternoon, set to open for the 2023-2024 scholastic year.
By John Heinis/Hudson County View
“This is a special day for North Bergen as our vision for opening a new school is now coming to fruition,” state Senator (D-32)/North Bergen Mayor Nick Sacco said in a statement.
“When this new school opens next year we will not only have a tremendous new facility for our 7th, 8th and 9th graders, we will also be able to reduce class sizes throughout the district. I would like to thank Superintendent Solter, our school administrators, board of education members, professional staff and everyone else who is making this moment possible.”
The North Bergen Junior High School West Campus, located at 8511 Tonnelle Ave., will house grades 7 through 9, along with Culinary Arts and Expanded Career Technical Education programs for grades 9 through 12.
This will include the return of vocational programs like carpentry, plumbing, automotive tech and other disciplines that will prepare students for in-demand careers.
The plan will also add an auditorium, turf field and student walkway as well as provide for renovations to air conditioning, lighting, and accessibility on the North Bergen High School campus.
“Opening this new school is a key part of our district reorganization plan and I’m excited to see construction now beginning,” added North Bergen Superintendent of Schools Dr. George Solter.
“North Bergen students deserve excellent facilities that support their learning, growth and development, and the fact that we will be able to deliver that in a way that also meets our responsibilities to keep costs under control for local taxpayers is a huge win for our community.”
With renovation of the new school beginning, the board of education’s goal is to provide a student/parent tour in the spring of 2023 and the building to be open for grades 7 through 9 in September of the 2023 school year.
The project is happening after North Bergen voters overwhelmingly passed a $60 million school bonding referendum in 2018.
It faced delays due to a lawsuit that ended up being dismissed as well as the COVID-19 pandemic and Hurricane Ida, which caused significant interior flooding at the site.
