A decadelong economic boom has transformed Jersey City’s Paulus Hook neighborhood into one of the most desirable in the city. But the influx of new families has led to chronic and often chaotic overcrowding at P.S. 16, the elementary school that serves the area.
Toddlers in the school’s Pre-K program have to be bused throughout the city because the building has no room for them. District leaders have said for years that busing pre-K students to other city schools was a temporary solution. But next year, all of the kindergartners at the school — which serves students through the fifth grade — will be bused to other locations as well. The issue has become a constant complaint from frustrated parents speaking at school board and City Council meetings, and it’s become a key issue in Jersey City’s pivotal and crowded school board election.
The school is situated amid brownstones, boutiques and brunch spots, but space is scarce in the area, and any building plan would need to be run by state officials who are grappling with even worse overcrowding in other cities…