JERSEY CITY, NJ — Six years after Hudson County officials announced a Science High School would be built for students around the county, those plans seem to have fallen apart.
Liberty Science Center High School — a "world class public high school dedicated to STEM education" —was expected to open in fall 2025.
While the residential aspect of SciTech Scity is going ahead — in fact, 500 luxury apartments built by Alpine Residential began leasing last month — the high school may never be finished, Jersey City Mayor James Solomon said last week.
Solomon first made the comments at a Jersey City Heights neighborhood association meeting last week, according to Hudson County View — comparing the project to the Centre Pompidou museum project that was canceled due to lack of state funding.
Solomon's spokesman confirmed the comments for Patch this week, saying that due to Jersey City's budget deficit, the city would be unlikely to give its annual $2 million contribution.
"We would need to find $2 million a year in funding, and due to the deficit left to us by the prior administration, we cannot afford it," city spokesman Nathaniel Styer told Patch. "We’ll have more details on our plans with the county soon."
Officials held a groundbreaking in 2023. But there were delays, and an infusion of $73 million more last year.
Currently, students in Hudson County can apply to the Hudson County Schools of Technology, which has several campuses — but these are magnet schools for certain vocational specialties, like dance, environmental science, and cosmetology, admission is very competitive.
Jersey City also has a magnet school, McNair Academic, considered one of the best public high schools in the country —but its acceptance rate is below 25 percent.
Each town has its own free public high schools, as well as several charter schools, but the new school would have added a choice.
In October of last year, Hudson County Executive Craig Guy announced that the county commissioners would vote on $73 million in additional funding to complete the school.
"Since day one as county executive, I have made opportunity and service the hallmarks of my administration," Guy said. "In keeping with this, I am elated that today we are taking a crucial step toward making Liberty Science Center High School a reality...Liberty Science Center High School and the current HCST campuses will provide a world-class educational experience...
"We share an obligation to provide transformative educational options that will propel our students to meet the weighty challenges of the future."
Patch has reached out to county officials to get a status update on the school, and will revise this story when more information is available.
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