Paterson, NJ – Mayor Orders All 52 Public Schools Closed

Paterson, NJ – Paterson students have been told they don't have classes Friday.

The Paterson Board of Education ordered all of the city's 52 schools closed after the latest round of inspections determined the buildings were "imminent hazards," meaning they were unsafe for occupancy.

Mayor Jose "Joey" Torres originally ordered 26 of the schools closed on Thursday before the Board of Education voted to close them all in order to avoid confusion for students and parents.

According to the Board of Education, Superintendent Michael Glascoe was notified at 4 p.m. Thursday that 26 of the 52 schools in the Paterson School District were closed due to fire code violations. There's no word yet on whether or not the schools will remain closed on Monday.

The Board of Education said some of the violations are as minor as the placement of extension cords while others are as major as non-working fire alarms.

The mayor of Paterson, Jose Torres, said the district has known about the violations for the past year and they were supposed to fix the problems by the start of the school year.

The Board of Education, however, said the mayor's timing is suspect and that it is nothing but a political move. [wnbc]