JACKSON, N.J. — What appeared to be a completed transaction to sell the former Christa McAuliffe Middle School has instead emerged as an unfinished deal facing unanswered questions over zoning, municipal approvals, and public transparency.
The Jackson Board of Education voted in December to approve the sale of the former middle school at 35 South Hope Chapel Road for $40 million. The buyer has been widely identified as Beth Medrash Govoha (BMG), the Lakewood-based Orthodox Jewish rabbinical college and one of the world’s largest institutions of advanced Jewish learning.
The district has repeatedly described the sale as a key component of its financial recovery following years of declining state aid and budget reductions. However, documents obtained through an Open Public Records Act request reveal the transaction has not yet closed and remains under negotiation.
The school district is negotiating the sale with Beth Medrash Govoha (BMG).
Located nearby in Lakewood, BMG is the world’s second-largest yeshiva with nearly 10,000 students. Operating as a rigorous Orthodox Jewish seminary, the institution recently expanded its regional footprint by purchasing the former Christa McAuliffe Middle School in Jackson for $40 million to expand its educational facilities.
The only problem is that the McAuliffe school is located in a PFE zone, which is not defined in the municipal code. The township code specifically limits higher education institutions to other zones.
Jackson Township and the school district now have a problem, possibly a big one, and a political nightmare scenario for Jackson Township Mayor Jennifer Kuhn and her close ally Council President Mordechai Burnstein.
Municipal action could be required to finalize the deal for the district. Making matters more interesting is Giuseppe Palmeri, the former school board President who made this deal happen, is now on the council too.
Changing the ordinance or zoning could hurt Kuhn’s election campaign in November, so the council will have to get creative politically to either hide the change, or blame it on the planning board somehow. They could even blame the Department of Justice order which first highlighted the problem several years before the sale.
In response to an OPRA request filed by Shore News Network seeking the purchase agreement between the district and BMG, school officials denied access to the contract, stating the sale is “not yet finalized.”
“As the sale is not yet finalized, this portion of your request is denied under N.J.S.A. 47:1A-1.1,” the district wrote, citing exemptions covering “inter-agency or intra-agency advisory, consultative or deliberative material” and information that could provide “an advantage to competitors or bidders.” The district said the contract may become available after the anticipated closing later this summer.
OPRA denial confirms negotiations continue
The district’s response provides the clearest indication to date that significant work remains before the transaction can be completed.
While the Board of Education authorized the sale months ago, the purchase agreement itself remains confidential because officials say negotiations and deliberations are still ongoing.
The district also denied releasing documents beyond those already publicly available regarding certain aspects of the transaction, although it acknowledged responsive records exist concerning zoning and the Public Facility and Education, or PFE, designation. Officials directed the requester to documents already posted on the district’s McAuliffe sale webpage.
The refusal to release the contract leaves many details unknown, including whether the agreement contains contingencies related to zoning approvals, municipal action, or other conditions that must be satisfied before closing.
A zoning issue that may determine the sale
The most significant unanswered question involves how the property can legally be used as college level yeshiva by BMG once ownership changes.
The former Christa McAuliffe Middle School sits within an area identified on Jackson Township zoning maps as Public Facility and Education, commonly referred to as the PFE designation. Yet a review of Jackson’s land-use ordinance reveals the township code does not appear to establish a corresponding PFE zoning district with permitted uses, lot standards, setbacks, or other regulations typically associated with municipal zoning districts.
That distinction matters because the proposed buyer is not purchasing the property to operate another public middle school.
Beth Medrash Govoha is a post-secondary religious educational institution. Unlike a K-12 private school, it operates as a higher education institution, raising questions about whether that use is permitted on the property under Jackson’s existing zoning regulations.
The issue is not whether Jackson permits schools. Public elementary, middle and high schools already operate throughout the township.
Instead, the question is whether a religious college qualifies as a permitted use on land designated for public educational facilities.
Questions previously raised by the Department of Justice
The apparent inconsistency between Jackson’s zoning map and ordinance is not a newly discovered issue.
According to publicly available court records, the U.S. Department of Justice raised similar concerns during its civil rights lawsuit against Jackson Township, alleging that while the township’s zoning maps referenced PFE planning districts, the ordinance itself did not establish corresponding zoning regulations.
The lawsuit ultimately ended in a federal consent order rather than a judicial ruling on the merits of the zoning issue.
Since then, Jackson amended portions of its ordinance to define “Higher Learning Institution,” a category that includes colleges, trade schools, professional schools and religious educational institutions.
However, defining a land use is not the same as identifying where that use is permitted.
Publicly available ordinances do not clearly identify a zoning district where higher learning institutions are permitted as of right within the township’s PFE-designated properties.
What approvals may still be required?
Because the purchase agreement remains confidential, it is not publicly known what municipal approvals, if any, remain outstanding.
Land-use attorneys familiar with New Jersey’s Municipal Land Use Law note several possible paths depending on how township officials interpret the ordinance.
Those could include a determination by the zoning officer that the proposed use is permitted, Planning Board review if operational changes require site plan approval, an application to the Zoning Board of Adjustment for a use variance if the use is not permitted, or amendments to municipal ordinances if officials determine the current code requires clarification.
At this point, no public announcement has identified which process, if any, will be required before the transaction can close.
Financial stakes for the school district
For the Jackson School District, timing remains critical.
The district has repeatedly pointed to the McAuliffe sale as an essential source of revenue after years of significant reductions in state education aid forced school closures, staffing reductions and budget cuts.
Christa McAuliffe Middle School was one of Jackson’s most recognized schools, earning designation as a National Blue Ribbon School before ultimately closing amid the district’s financial challenges.
The $40 million sale represents one of the largest property transactions involving a former Jackson public school and is expected to play a significant role in the district’s long-term financial planning.
Any delay in closing could affect those plans, although neither the Board of Education nor district administrators have publicly discussed potential impacts or remaining contingencies.
Public answers still pending
The sale of the former McAuliffe Middle School now extends beyond a routine real estate transaction.
It has become a test of how Jackson’s zoning regulations apply to higher education institutions, how municipal land-use decisions intersect with the township’s obligations under a federal consent decree, and how much information the public can obtain before one of the largest school property sales in township history is completed.
For now, the Jackson School District has confirmed only one thing with certainty: despite the Board’s approval months ago, the transaction has not yet been finalized.
Until the sale closes and the purchase agreement becomes public, key questions surrounding the future of the property—and the legal path required to reach the closing table—remain unanswered.
