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JACKSON
An Orthodox Jewish school group successfully bid $13.1 million to purchase Sylvia Rosenauer Elementary School.
Asbury Park Press
UPDATE: The Jackson school board and Bais Yaakov of Jackson fully executed the contract for the sale of Sylvia Rosenauer Elementary School on March 28.
JACKSON - The sale of Sylvia Rosenauer Elementary School is off.
In a lawsuit filed in Ocean County chancery court last week, the would-be buyer alleged that the Jackson school board changed the terms and conditions of the group's agreement to purchase the 62-year-old school for $13.1 million.
The intended buyer, Bais Yaakov of Jackson, is an arm of the Lakewood-based Bais Faiga School, itself the all-girls' component of the Lakewood Cheder School.
The two sides spent months "discussing the contract" through their attorneys but, in late February, the school board "accused (Bais Yaakov) of delaying the execution of the draft contract" and demanded they close on the purchase by March 24.
The school board also shortened the mortgage contingency period to 10 days, despite the original bid specifications allowing for a 60-day contingency period.
Bais Yaakov offered to submit a $655,500 deposit, or 5% of the $13.1 million purchase price, according to the complaint. Instead, the school board sent a contract requiring an "initial deposit" of $1.3 million, 10% of the purchase price, and an additional $5.2 million deposit, 40% of the purchase price. Those requirements weren't included in the bid specifications, Bais Yaakov argues.
The Asbury Park Press independently confirmed that the original bid requirements, posted on the district website, specified a 60-day contingency period that allowed the board to cancel the deal if the winning bidder hadn't obtained financing. The only mention of deposit was a 10% bid guarantee, with a maximum $20,000 value, that Bais Yaakov said was included in their bid package.
On March 10, the Jackson school board told Bais Yaakov that it was "going to move in a different direction."
Adam Pfeffer, an attorney representing Bais Yaakov, did not return requests for comment.
In a statement, district spokeswoman Allison Erwin said "we strongly disagree that the Jackson school district changed the terms of any agreement," but declined to comment further.
On March 19, the school board unanimously passed a resolution authorizing district executives to put Rosenauer out to bid again, including to other bidders, or explore alternate uses for the property if a contract wasn't executed.
The sale of Rosenauer was meant to fill a budget hole in the 2024-25 school year. The district's financial problems are multifaceted, but can largely be attributed to a revamped school funding formula that has seen its state aid cut nearly in half since 2017 while transportation costs ballooned as more Jackson children attend non-public schools.
Under state law, school districts are required to provide transportation to all children within its purview, even if those students attend private schools. If transportation can't be provided, the district must pay the child's family $1,177 in aid-in-lieu for each student.
Enrollment at Jackson public schools declined by 8% between the 2017-18 and 2023-24 school years, during which the town's Orthodox Jewish community grew substantially. Orthodox families send their children to private religious schools, most of which are located in neighboring Lakewood.
But following an injunction and the resolution of a myriad of discrimination lawsuits against the town, school groups -- including Bais Yaakov -- and developers have won approval for new school campuses across the town, building campuses for as many as four schools and thousands of students.
With fevered interest in opening schools, it's likely that Rosenauer won't be the last Jackson school to hit the auction block.
Faced with a $13 million budget gap in the 2025-26 school year and a declining public school population, the school board agreed in February to merge its two high school student bodies into one at Jackson Liberty High School while sending seventh- and eighth-graders to what is currently Jackson Memorial High School and fifth- and sixth-graders to Carl W. Goetz Middle School.
Christa McAuliffe Middle School is slated for closure. The building is expected to be rented or sold, but its fate is still uncertain.
Mike Davis has spent the last decade covering New Jersey local news, marijuana legalization, transportation and a little bit of everything else. He's won a few awards that make his parents very proud. Contact him at [email protected] or @byMikeDavis on Twitter.