Disabled students at Dickinson High went nearly a year without an elevator. The district withheld records.

For almost the entire 2025-2026 school year, the only elevator in William L. Dickinson High School’s main building sat broken. Students in wheelchairs. Staff using crutches. Teachers carrying heavy materials. All of them had to find another way.

The elevator outage created serious accessibility challenges. Employees told the Jersey City Times that students and staff with disabilities were left without a working lift for months. And when the newspaper asked for records that might explain why, the district pushed back.

What happened

Here’s what we know: The elevator in Dickinson’s main building broke down and stayed that way for nearly the entire school year. The outage affected students who relied on it to get between floors, teachers with mobility issues, and staff who needed to move equipment.

Beyond the broken elevator, what’s troubling is what happened next. The Jersey City Times filed a public records request for documents that might shed light on the cause of the delay—things like work orders, maintenance reports, possibly emails about the repair timeline.

Months later, the district responded. But it didn’t hand over everything. Instead, officials partially denied the request, citing a legal exemption—a law that, according to the state’s Open Public Records Act (OPRA) experts, simply does not exist in this context.

How we got here

New Jersey’s Open Public Records Act is meant to give the public access to government records. There are legitimate exemptions—for things like ongoing investigations, personnel matters, or trade secrets. But those exemptions are specific, and they’re listed in the law.

The district cited an exemption that legal experts say doesn’t cover the kind of records the Times requested. The district’s claim is that the records could be withheld based on a provision that wasn’t designed for this purpose. That’s not just a bureaucratic misstep. It’s a denial of the public’s right to know what’s happening in a public school.

What it means for Hudson County families

If you’re a parent in Jersey City, this story hits close to home. It’s not just about one school. It’s about whether the district is being transparent about how it serves students with disabilities—and about how it spends taxpayer money on basic maintenance.

For families with children who use wheelchairs or walkers, or who have other mobility challenges, the message is unsettling: a critical piece of infrastructure can break, and the district might not explain why it took so long to fix. That affects trust. It affects daily life. It affects a child’s ability to get to class, to participate, to feel included.

What people are saying

Staff at Dickinson High shared their frustrations with the Times, describing the daily hurdles the outage created. “It’s like they forgot we exist,” one employee said, speaking on condition of anonymity. Students in wheelchairs had to be carried up stairs by staff. Others missed class time because they had to wait for assistance.

The district has not commented directly on why the elevator took so long to repair. In its response to the records request, it offered a legal justification that appears to be unsupported. The Jersey City Times is pursuing the matter further.

What comes next

The Times has indicated it may challenge the district’s denial of records. For residents, the next step is to stay informed. The school board meets regularly, and public comment periods are an opportunity to ask questions. If you see a building issue affecting students—anything from a broken elevator to a leaky ceiling—write it down. Take a photo. Ask for records. The law is on your side.

This story isn’t over. But for now, one thing is clear: a school is supposed to be safe and accessible for everyone. When that breaks down, the public has a right to know why.