Parents and residents urge Bayonne council to restore police officers at private schools

Ryan Walker, a public commenter, opened the public-comment period by urging the council to restore police coverage at All Saints Catholic Academy after the city removed an on-site officer there.

“Removing police officers from schools is absolutely the wrong decision,” Walker said, arguing that the city’s stated budget constraints should not become a reason to leave students without daily, visible security. He added that if the police presence is the solution, “officers need to be in front of all schools.”

Stephanie Walker, who identified herself as a parent at All Saints, said the change was communicated with little notice—“a day before it was happening”—and asked that the prior program be restored through the end of the school year while a longer-term plan is developed. “Give us the time to do that. And until we’re able to do that, the prior program should be restored in full,” she said.

Multiple other speakers framed the decision as a failure of process and transparency. Christine Peters, speaking as a taxpayer, called the removal discriminatory toward nonpublic schools and warned it risked leaving students and staff “cowering in their classrooms” if a serious incident occurred. Robert Aishek, another parent, called for “a full postmortem” and demanded to see the internal audit the administration cited when explaining the change.

Councilwoman Weamer told the room the council had not made the operational decision to remove officers. She said the council’s priority is student safety and promised the body would work toward a “workable solution” quickly. An official in the chamber also told parents that funding for school coverage can be requested through the board of education and pushed back on circulating “misinformation,” saying officers can be restored once a funding request is made.

Several parents and residents proposed near-term fixes: temporary reinstatement of on-site officers while a transparent review takes place; a public safety review with community input; and structured patrols or rotating coverage if staffing is constrained. Speakers also urged exploring regional support and county resources, and called on the administration to publish the internal audit or provide a clear explanation of the budgetary rationale.

The meeting record shows no formal council vote on school security during this session; the council handled the subject during public comment and answered questions about available funding routes and next steps. Several speakers asked the mayor’s office, law director and police leadership to provide a public update and to outline what immediate interim protections will be in place.

Next steps noted during the meeting: the council said it would work “within the confines of the law” to pursue an administrative solution and suggested parents route formal requests through the board of education or the mayor’s office. Speakers left the meeting asking for a clear timeline and documentation of any internal audit findings referenced by the administration.