JACKSON, N.J. — Jackson Board of Education member Erica Osmond has proposed selling Jackson Liberty High School and McAuliffe Middle School as a potential solution to fund repairs for older district schools, including Goetz Middle School and Jackson Memorial High School.
Key Points
- Jackson Memorial grad pushes to sell Jackson Liberty because it’s ‘worth more money’.
- Jackson Liberty’s 150 acres would make a great spot for Orthodox Jewish Yeshiva campus.
- Says money from selling two newer schools could be used to fix problems at two older schools.
- Jackson Liberty could accommodate 3 to 4 more Yeshiva schools on the campus.
Osmond said she graduated from Jackson Memorial High School, which was built in 1963. Osmond said her children also attend Jackson Memorial. She said that her idea to sell off Liberty High School, built in 2006, for $70 million, has nothing to do with her ties and affection for Memorial.
Instead, she feels Liberty, and nearby McAuliffe Middle School could fetch more money. They are both located next to Jackson’s border with Lakewood and if sold, would be turned into major campuses for Orthodox Jewish Yeshivas. Liberty, with 150 acres was designed for expansion. It could include more middle schools, high schools and elementary schools.
It would sell quickly and be put to immediate use.
The district, however, suggests keeping Liberty and McAuliffe because they are newer schools. Jackson Liberty is a more modern facility built on a campus that has three baseball fields, a new football stadium, modern technological amenities, three softball fields, and many multi-purpose fields. It features a modern culinary arts kitchen, modern media studios, a greenhouse, and other modern amenities the nearly 65-year-old Jackson Memorial building does not have.
During a recent board meeting, Osmond questioned whether current plans would prevent the district from facing similar issues in the coming years.
“I keep coming back to five, six, seven years—we’re going to be right back where we are. Are we making the best choice?” she asked.
Osmond suggested that Jackson Liberty, being a newer facility and located near Lakewood, could be one of the district’s most valuable assets.
“I would bet that they are worth the most of all of our properties,” she said.
She’s right. In fact many large Yeshivas are reportedly waiting for the day Jackson Liberty is put on the market. The district could even find itself in a very lucrative bidding war, but that won’t solve the district’s long-term or short-term budget problems.
She proposed using money from selling McAuliffe Middle School to renovate other older district schools and suggested temporarily converting Jackson Liberty into a middle school before ultimately selling it.
“Would it make sense to do that? Would that help sustain us?” she asked, acknowledging that the idea is complex.
It would be like selling your Land Rover so you can buy spare parts for your 1965 Ford Galaxy Four-Door and your 1985 Ford Bronco, because those cars have nostalgia and history and you’d be left with a lot of extra cash in your pocket.
Osmond also noted the legal and logistical difficulties involved in selling multiple schools.
As the district continues discussions on how to address aging school facilities and long-term planning, board members are weighing different options to balance financial concerns with the needs of students and staff.