Bayonne High School students have staged a mass walkout this morning to protest the nearly 300 layoffs the Board of Education approved last night in an attempt to balance the school budget.
Bayonne police said the students appear to be marching three blocks on City Hall in an orderly fashion. Superintendent Patricia McGeehan also was not available for comment.
Video of the walkout shows Bayonne police monitoring the students' activities. The students later assembled at the Don Ahern Veterans Memorial Stadium, the school's football field, where Principal Richard Baccarella spoke to them.
Last night the board voted 5-3-1, to layoff 261 non-tenured teachers and a number of other employees to cut into what officials have said is at least a $6 million budget shortfall.
The board approved a $133.1 million budget that included a 3.5 percent tax increase and nearly 100 layoffs, but it was rejected by the state Department of Education.
Here is a video of students marching from the school.