TRENTON, NJ – Governor Phil Murphy on Thursday announced he will keep schools in New Jersey closed until at least May 15th.
“It is in this vein, that today I’m announcing that our public schools will remain closed through at least Friday, May 15, another four weeks. I made this decision in careful consultation with Judy and the Department of Health, as well as Dr. Repollet at the Department of Education, among other key stakeholders. Let me be perfectly clear. There’s nobody who wants to open the schools more than I do. I’m a father of four kids, one of whom is in high school, and I want him to return to his regular classrooms. But I can’t do that right now. But I remain hopeful we can. We cannot be guided by emotion. We need to be guided by where the facts on the ground, science, and public health take us. And that means it will not be saved to reopen our schools or start sports back up for at least another four weeks,” Murphy said, “I know this is hard. It’s hard on all of us. I’ve got a senior in college, his graduation ceremonies have been canceled. It’s hard. But if we all keep pulling and working together, I hope that it will put me in a position, in a month’s time, to make a different announcement. There is no doubt we are saving lives and we must maintain the course.