‘It’s a war zone’ — More teachers speak after officials lash out at NJ 101.5 report

IRVINGTON — State inspectors found health and safety violations at Irvington High School that weren't addressed until late into the school year after the district was ordered to do so by the state Department of Health.

District officials acknowledged the violations, which were documented by state inspectors in January after New Jersey 101.5 last week exposed the unsanitary and crumbling conditions inside the high school this year as well an uptick in violence and lack of control over the student body.

Local officials criticized New Jersey 101.5's report, which was based on extensive photos and videos provided by a whistleblowing teacher, because the Department of Health's Consumer, Environmental & Occupational Health Service noted in a May 11 letter that certain violations had been abated.

Ronald C. Hunt, an attorney for the school district, said New Jersey 101.5's report "contained unfair and potentially slanderous descriptions about the Irvington Public School District and Dr. April Vauss," who the article pointed out is married to a mayor known for throwing black-tie balls attended by the regional Democratic Party elite.

"Dr. Vauss is a private individual who has not put herself out into the public arena and is there just to do the best she can to improve the lives and outcomes for the students in Irvington," Hunt's letter says.

"Nonetheless, your article contained numerous misstatements, erroneous facts, and photographs that are undated and without location details to attempt to portray Irvington and its residents, which are mostly black and Latino, in a negative light in order to garner support from your audience and viewers."

But district officials declined to provide New Jersey 101.5 with documents detailing those violations and repairs. Instead, they provided photographs of empty hallways and classrooms as proof that all is well. They then declined to explain why many parts of the building have been allowed to fall into such disrepair.

Meanwhile, questions about student behavior at Irvington High School remain unanswered, and some new ones are being raised about conditions at one of Irvington's middle schools.

More teachers come forward: They're scared

After New Jersey 101.5 reported some students were disrupting the school with fights, threatening teachers and skipping class, local officials questioned the accuracy of the story, calling it unfounded and misleading.

But other educators are now talking to us, insisting the detailed descriptions of the bad behavior are true.

A teacher who was at Irvington High School said many educators feel scared in the building, especially when they are not on the first floor, where a police officer is stationed.

“The third floor of the building is like the wild, wild west. It’s not safe. What are they waiting for, for somebody to get seriously hurt?” the teacher, whose identity New Jersey 101.5 agreed to protect, said.

The educator said teachers without tenure are scared to lose their jobs if they complain, and when complaints are made the problems are frequently not addressed.

“They’re not happy and they don’t feel like anybody is listening to them, so they go in and do the best they can.”

Mayor insists there have been no riots

Mayor Tony Vauss, who is married to schools Superintendent April Vauss, challenged New Jersey 101.5's report by telling a local news website, "There have been no riots in or around the school."

The whistleblowing teacher described fights that have broken out in the building as near-riotous. The teacher provided videos recorded from social media showing brawls clearing out classrooms and pile-on fights in the hallways. In one video, a girl has her hair pulled out. In another video, a mass of students weaves through moving traffic at a busy intersection.

New Jersey 101.5 also obtained through an Open Public Records Act request several years of police documents that recorded every police call to the high school. During one Tuesday afternoon in May of last year, police arrested three suspects at the high school on charges of rioting.

Teachers are too scared to intervene

A teacher at one of the two middle schools tells New Jersey 101.5 that conditions at their 6-8th-grade school are just as bad as the high school. New Jersey 101.5 agreed to keep the teacher's identity confidential for fear of reprisals by the administration.

“A lot of times the teachers are too scared to intervene. They’re hiding in their classrooms with the doors locked and the kids are left unattended in the hall to fend for themselves," that teacher said.

“There’s rats, mice, there are roaches, there’s mold, the children are served sometimes expired milk, expired breakfast, there’s no toilet tissue in the bathroom for the students,” the teacher said.

The educator also indicated there are problems “with students attacking each other, threatening teachers. It definitely is a war zone.”

The teacher said other staff members do not complain to school officials about these situations because “you can be threatened, you can be harassed, you can be retaliated against.”

“If something goes on, you’re supposed to be quiet about it because you don’t have certain powers and positions to make decisions or changes.”

The educator said many of the middle school students are spiraling out of control “because they (school officials) don’t properly document the fights when a child brings a knife to school or threatens a teacher or threatens other kids. A lot of times it’s swept under the rug.”

'It’s hard for them to get an education'

The other high school teacher who came forward after our report said conditions in the school are not healthy or conducive to learning.

“I saw mouse droppings on my desk,” the educator said. “Some teachers, they’d be in the middle of teaching and one (mouse) would just come running out."

“You have teachers who are letting students who don’t belong in their class sit in their classrooms because it’s better than having them roam the hallway.”

The teacher said it’s frustrating that the superintendent is claiming the problems and issues brought up are not serious or do not exist — even after the state inspection. New video provided to New Jersey 101.5 shows active flooding in the high school's lower level earlier this month.

"If that’s really what the school looks like and we’re all delusional, then you know what? She needs to invite the press to come in there and take a look themselves and show that we are all crazy,” the teacher said. “It’s hard for students to do their work, it’s hard for them to get an education.”

Teachers union responds

New Jersey 101.5's initial report quoted a New Jersey Education Association spokesman saying the union has been "working tirelessly to address" the problems and pushed back at the teacher's characterization that nothing had been done.

Michael Bycock, the union local president of the Irvington Education Association, said "there’s no question more work needs to be done" but "without significantly more aid from the state for facilities and public safety in our most impoverished communities, meaningful progress will remain elusive."

Irvington is expected to receive $138.4 million in state education aid to bolster a budget next year of $233 million.

Report a correction 👈 | 👉 Contact our newsroom