The township was named after Thomas Jefferson, the President of the United States at the time the Township was created. Jefferson Township was formed as a township by an act of the New Jersey Legislature on February 11, 1804, from portions of Pequannock Township and Roxbury. As of the 2020 United States census, the township's population was 20,538, a decrease of 776 (−3.6%) from the 2010 census count of 21,314, which in turn reflected an increase of 1,597 (+8.1%) from the 19,717 counted in the 2000 census. Robert Becker, superintendent of the Dover school system, said he thought officials should've taken action immediately to "curtail the hateful speech and behavior, ejecting those responsible while employing corrective action.Jefferson Township is the northernmost township in Morris County, in the U.S. "Jefferson Township High School has over 1,000 students and to admonish all of them, for the actions of one or a group, is unfortunate." "Unfortunately, the actions of a few have now tarnished the reputation of an outstanding student body, school, and community and for that, I am very sorry," Tierney said. Tierney said the alleged behavior exhibited during Friday's game does not characterize the high school student body. "By no means am I accepting or defending their behavior, but it is our responsibility as adults to work together with our children so that they can learn from their mistakes." "The students involved are children and often children make poor choices," Tierney said. In a statement Monday, Jefferson Township Superintendent Patrick Tierney called on parents to model appropriate behavior for their kids.
The superintendent of a New Jersey school district says administrators are investigating after several students and fans allegedly made racist comments to members of an opposing school's basketball team during a game.Īccording to NJ.com, Jefferson High School students and fans chanted "ashy knees" at a black player for Dover as he shot free throws during Friday's game, and fans chanted "build the wall" while the opposing team, which has several Latino players, warmed up.