>> Major funding for NJ is resigned -- provide any party by NJM Insurance group should serving the needs of residents and businesses for 100 years, Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey, an independent licensee of the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association.

And by the PSEG foundation.

>> Tonight, school shooting threats.

School districts forced to close after three kids posted shooting threats on social media.

Plus on the stump.

Mikie Sherrill and Josh Gottheimer holding dual events today looking to secure their congressional seats but speculation is mounting both have their sights set on a higher office.

>> They can't declare yet to they don't want to get into a situation where they have got expenses for the house raise that c mop against the governor's race.

combating the teachers raise by using virtual instruction.

>> The person who comes in is an adult to make sure they are staying on task while the teacher who is certified is teaching from the online platform.

>> Selling your water system to private companies.

Communities are grappling with aging infrastructure costs but will it pay off?

>>>> We want residents to think about this as a permanent sale and minute loss of democratic control of their water resources because once it is sold, it is under the private company's hands.

>> NJ Spotlight News begins now.

♪ >> From NJPBS Studios, this is NJ Spotlight News with Briana Vannozzi.

>> Thanks for joining us this Monday night.

We begin with a few key stories we are following an unnerving start to the week for students in South Jersey.

Alterable schools are closed today throughout Gloucester and Camden counties after shooting threats were posted to social media Sunday night naming specific schools to be targeted.

According to police, three kids have been arrested and charged with making the threats.

Officials with the Harrison Township Police Department say one was identified as a 15-year-old.

The other two suspects are from would very and Glasgow but names and ages are not being released.

In the post believed to have originated on TikTok, the kids threatened shootings that would very Jr. senior high school, holy Angels Catholic school, Haddon Heights Jr. senior high school and Oak Valley school.

Districts that opted to remain open today added heightened police presence according to their online statements.

The threat comes on the heels of the deadly school shooting in Winder, Georgia in which four people were killed.

Also tonight, New Jersey has a new U.S. senator.

George held me is being sworn in as the 81st person to represent the Garden State in the upper chamber.

The 44-year-old was escorted to the new senior senator, Cory Booker, his old boss.

He was tapped by Governor Murphy to replace Bob Menendez following his resignation last month and after he was convicted of felony corruption charges.

He will serve in the rolled until the winner of the November general election is certified.

Credit Congressman Andy Kim and pretty special are the front writers and the governor has committed to appointing the winner.

Help me is taking over seats on three committees, Senate foreign relations, finance committee and the Senate banking and Urban affairs committee.

In somewhat turning to her somewhat stunning turn of events, Chrisman Rob Menendez, the son of the senior endorsed Kim in his bid for the seat.

The two toward small businesses in Newark's north ward on Friday talking to owners about their needs and concerns.

While they have managed to reconcile any differences, does not appear Governor Murphy has.

Murphy has not formally endorsed Kim but has said he will back the Democratic ticket.

Kim ousted First Lady Tammy Murphy's poetic running in the U.S. Senate primary.

The national nursing shortage we are experiencing is going to get a lot worse before it gets better.

That is according to a new health workforce study which projects New Jersey will have one of the worst nursing shortage problems in the nation.

An expected 24,000 jobs will be vacant by 2036 according to the survey from the federal health resources and services administration.

Only Georgia, California and Washington are expected to have more severe shortages according to the report.

The largest nursing unit says over eight third of nurses left their jobs in 2020.

Many others have gone through bitter fights with her health care systems over new contracts.

Health care workers across the country have been retiring in large numbers since the pandemic citing the trauma and unsustainable work environments.

State and federal leaders have been working for -- have been looking for ways to add to the ranks by bringing in more money to train nurses, hire more faculty and get less expensive to get a nursing degree.

>> Support for the medical support is provided by Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey, an independent licensee of the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association to >> For political candidates in New Jersey, September means locking into their campaigns and kicking the race into high gear.

All 12 of New Jersey's congressional seats are on the ballot this fall it is a race that is still away that has everyone talking.

With two highly likely yet undeclared candidates crisscrossing the stage to clear a governor seat to >> Incumbent gosh -- Josh Gottheimer stood before a mountain of road salt to promote fully restoring a different kind of salt day and local tax deductions.

>> We have to bring the full salt shaker back and give families a tax cut.

>> Meanwhile incumbent Mikie Sherrill gathered officials in Woodland Park to discuss her bill aimed at promoting gun storage safety in the wake of last Wednesday's shooting at Apalachee High School in Georgia.

>> Just having to unlock a gun safe can be a strong deterrent from actually picking up the gun and pressing the trigger.

>> I have been crisscrossing the state.

They have been building up with other candidates, supporting them.

>> Michael Rozman set these campaigns are doing double duty.

Waldo -- while both stump, they are both eyeing the governor's office.

It is a delicate political dance.

>> They cannot declare yet.

They don't want to get into the situation where they have got expenses for the house raise that would come up against their cap in the governor's race so they're trying to keep that line of separation between their two campaigns.

>> Charles bill would require gun shops to offer secure storage and safety information and tax credits of up to $500 for those who buy a gun safe.

It is an issue that resonates well beyond her district.

?

my opinion is there is no reason why someone buying a new gun cannot be given a trigger lock at the same time.

You are making sure you are helping to avoid mass shootings.

>> me as a Montclair mom telling people to securely store their firearms is not going to cut it.

It is why I'm trying to mandate it.

She has made no secret of her grander political ambitions.

Can we look forward to your candidacy for governor?

>> I'm considering that but you can look forward to my candidacy for the 11th District of New Jersey.

She just released her first campaign video.

A seven-figure TV and digital ad by that does not mention her opponent.

Two her patriotism runs deep shared her optimism is relentless.

Go boldly New Jersey forward.

>> you will notice her TV commercials are geared toward name recognition should there geared toward positive name ID.

They are not necessarily geared toward the house raise.

>> it is a sore point with her 11th district Republican challenger.

A solid Trump supporter who accuses her of being distracted by a bigger political goal.

>> My opponent Mikey Cheryl is busy planning her next political move, I think the governor see what our district is left hundred Gottheimer debuted a new website to solicit taxpayer comments on the salt deductions which Republicans have promised to extend pastor asked ration date next year.

It is an issue that carries will be on the fifth congressional district across New Jersey which has the highest property taxes in the nation.

>> The moocher states, these ruby red states are trying to stick it to us again and we are not going to let them.

They're trying to extend the 2017 tax hike bill and our taxes higher.

We are not going to allow it.

Code both candidates would arrive late to a gubernatorial prime contest including Steve Fulop, the Newark Mayor Ras Baraka, president of the NJ EA, a funder of NJ Speight -- of NJ Spotlight News and Steve Sweeney.

Timing is everything.

Neither Gottheimer or Cheryl are likely to announce campaigns for governor before the November election but afterwards the county on kicks in to the June primary in 2025.

Briana: Vice President Kamala Harris and Former President Trump are hunkered down tonight as they prepare to go head-to-head tomorrow in their first and likely only debate of the election cycle.

It is a high-stakes moment for the two who have never met in person and is expected to be there most significant single event in the race to the White House.

For more on what to expect, I'm joined by Democratic China just Dan Brian and GOP strategist Chris Russell.

Good to see you both.

It feels like a political news cycle, the election cycle has sort of kicked into high gear again now we are in September.

It sure does look like Mikey Cheryl is running for governor with the new ad out.

We are waiting for Josh Gottheimer.

What is the strategy here based on this campaign video?

It is interesting.

>> I think you're going to see a number of Democrats that are running in the cycle and considering running for governor next year using this election as a way to springboard themselves statewide talking about more than just federal issues, talking about statewide issues as well.

A lot of these districts used to be swing districts.

They are pretty safe now.

.

Using it to bolster yourself for this cycle and moving into the next cycle is pretty smart.

>> It has been the worst kept secret at least in political circles for the last year Mikey Cheryl and Josh Gottheimer would be running.

None -- neither have formerly put in -- but there have any the ring.

However Republicans countering that?

>> I agree.

It is a terribly kept secret because we all know they are running.

Campaign finance laws prevent them from getting out there in the way they could.

They're going to use the money they have in their congressional accounts to run campaigns that brought in their name and their message to people.

It is to be expected.

They are camp -- that -- they are campaigns that have yet to begin to >> Let me switch to what will be happening tomorrow night.

Kamala Harris and Former President Trump are taking the stage.

This is a consequential moment.

It is somewhat make or break given what happened to President Biden in the disastrous performance in the summer.

>> Exactly.

I will one more thing as well.

I don't think we are getting any more debates.

Especially if Kamala Harris underperforms.

I think she is going to do very well tomorrow night but there is no way president Trump would do another debate with her so I think this is a one and done tomorrow.

I think she is going to show people why the Democratic party unified behind her so quickly and so energetically and why there is been so much energy behind her candidacy.

You hate to say so much rides on one night but there is no question this is a big one.

>>>> The momentum, you cannot deny it.

Since Harris took the ticket to -- the ticket.

We are seeing two different ways both candidates are going at their debate prep.

His their concern that President Trump will not be able to restrain himself on stage?

There is a lot of talk about his debates with Hillary Clinton and whether or not we will see some of that version of Trump revived.

>> I thought his debates whether it might not have been artful for some but his debates against Hillary Clinton were effective.

His bad debate was the first one against Biden in 2020 and he learned that lesson should he let Biden implode in front of him and did not get in his way for the most part.

I don't think either candidate will have that kind of performance President Biden had but both have clear objectives.

Her honeymoon period is wearing off.

Polling is a dead heat in the national popular vote and in the swing states.

She has to prove she is more than just the pomp and circumstance of a convention and the honeymoon she had coming in.

President Trump needs to focus on policy.

He cannot be baited into fights with her and I'm sure she is going to try to get him to do that.

If he focuses on policies like immigration and energy he can win this debate because -- a lot of people have argument with this.

He is more moderate than Kamala Harris.

You can occupy the center and do a good job for himself if they can be disciplined to do that.

>> All do respect to my good friend Chris, I think calling Donald Trump more moderate than Kamala Harris is a -- I'm not sure I fully agree with that.

I think Donald Trump is a danger to the party, a danger to the country.

She put out a big issues page today on her website.

I'm sure she is going to be talking a lot about her policy and issues tomorrow night.

The polls are going to go up.

They're going to go down.

Early voting is starting soon.

You cannot celebrate when you get a good pole.

You cannot sweat the bad ones.

This is going to be a roller coaster.

This is going to be razor thin going into November.

Good to you -- >> Good to talk to you both.

Briana: The school year is well underway here.

Some districts are still facing large teacher shortages.

In some cases that has translated to your class sizes or courses being taught from the curriculum turn in Patterson and Jersey City, two of the largest districts, vacancies are so high officials have turned to virtual teachers to fill the gaps.

Joanna Gagis reports.

>> Our preference, hands down is to have in person teachers should this is a Band-Aid.

Jersey City superintendent Norma Fernanda says her school district was left with no other choice but to use a virtual teaching model to fill the 45 or so teacher vacancies they had this year.

Explain how it works, she says -- >> They are able to sit through a virtual class in their building for a period where there will be a paraprofessional with the students assisting as the teacher is on the monitor remotely interacting with the students.

These are certified teachers in the content area.

>> Jersey City is a few days into using this teaching company as a substitute for classroom teachers.

They partnered with them last year to bring high-intensity tutoring into the school and expend the partnership when they learned they had teachers with New Jersey certifications.

Patterson is starting its third year using a similar program called X -- called proximity.

>>>> We have over 2000 teachers.

What we are missing is 149 teachers.

>> the contract with proximity to fill 75 of those vacancies comes at the cost of $2 million for this year.

Patterson schools pay the same amount last year as well.

>> What I believe it is we should have a certified teacher in every single classroom teaching in person.

The next best is if we have a certified teacher who can work with our students virtually, then we will take about too.

Without having that as an option, I would have almost 150 vacancies filled with substitutes and I am grateful for the innovative thinking that we have this online platform.

>> How are you going to measure the success of this program, this virtual teaching option?

Are you parsing out any of that data specifically to make sure it is working?

>> We have the leadership team working closely with the principles.

We are able to look at each and every classroom to see the effectiveness of everything.

Not just the program but to see how we are working with all of our teachers.

>> Leaders in education including the largest teachers union in the state and an of NJ Spotlight News says this has to be a last resort even though they are hearing of more districts utilizing the option.

>> It>> is problematic on a number of fronts.

As we come out of COVID, we are all cognizant of the fact virtual learning will import to keep someone safe is not the best way to engage in instruction.

That being said, we are saying we cannot fill positions so we are going virtual.

>> Patterson is using proximity across upper and lower grade levels in the district where Jersey City is using it only in high schools.

Part of the reason for that is it is easier to find teachers for the lower grades but the chair of the Senate education committee is not a big fan of the solution.

I get Patterson situation, very difficult but the ester needs to show they have worked to try to find those teachers and they have not been able to.

>> Could you envision teaching -- envisioned districts continue in this way because it becomes a green option and is it a good option?

>> No, it cannot be.

It needs to be after they have tried everything possible and I have had districts that say we did sign up bonuses, we have done everything.

For temporary solutions, I understand we have to do it.

>> The other education leaders feel there is so much more than is to be done to attract teachers into the profession.

Briana: Joanna will have more on the teacher shortage tomorrow night when she will talk to those on the front lines, eaters in education offering up their own solutions.

Turning to our spotlight on business report, the mayors of nine towns are suing the state over a new affordable housing law Governor Murphy signed in March calling the law and unconstitutional unfunded mandate saying it will place unnecessary strain on our towns without inviting any resources to make it work.

The lawsuit which is led by Montebello in Bergen County challenges the formula used to determine how many affordable units towns have to build over the next decade.

It argues cities should old affordable housing instead.

In response, fair share housing center says New Jersey has a shortage of over 200,000 affordable units and calls the lawsuit a smokescreen to undermine and delay the implementation of New Jersey's landmark new affordable housing law.

Suburban towns have long thought -- have long fought affordable housing mandates and claimed they place a strain on resources.

The coalition expects more will sign on and they will pay for what is expected to be costly litigation.

Finally tonight, residents in handful of towns this November have to make a critical choice.

Whether their municipality should sell their public water and sewer systems to private companies.

It has become an increasingly enticing offer for town leaders who are trying to balance their books while keeping up with the rising costs for infrastructure upgrades.

As opponents tell Teddy go, it is a -- tell tell it Goldberg it is a risky gamble for precious resource.

>> South Orange Village water utility is starting to show its age.

>> Much of the system was built in the early 1900s.

>> The storage tank and the Brentwood waters for need minutes work and it will take time and money to find and replace hundreds of lead service lines.

>> The estimate is somewhere between five and 15% of the lines.

>> Douglas Newman led a task force to outline South Orange's options in how to handle the water utility going forward.

The village might sell the whole thing to New Jersey American water, a private company that does maintenance South Orange and supplies many municipalities stay wide.

>> Because of the capital infrastructure costs that are on the horizon, because of the lead line placement and fast as an example, all South Orange does not have to deal with that directly, the bulk water supply pricing we think will go up.

>>>> We remain slightly more than a penny a gallon.

When we look across the board of what people pay for in their lives for the opportunity to have clean safe liable dependable affordable water we think is very sound investment.

It is a small amount of money.

>> President Mark McDonough is trying to buy the water utilities for South Orange in Gloucester Township.

He will be successful if voters approve two referenda this November.

He argues a private company is better suited to clean and deliver drinking water than some places as communities pull the cost of expensive upgrades.

>> They operate better if you have a better base to work from.

The time small town wastewater systems is really challenging now.

A lot of mayors have realized this is not a business they want to be in.

>> One of those mayors is Jody.

They have changed out the water meters.

They are changing in lead pipes.

They came into the community when they hit the ground running.

>> She leads Salem city where voters approved a sale to New Jersey American otter last November.

>> We are not carrying the assurances and the staffing issues with the water and sewer that will help us be able to hopefully bring on staffing and other areas.

>> She says there were minor bugs in transitioning to a private company but that had Salem held onto its water, the city would have had to jack up rates.

New Jersey American water has promised multiyear rate freezes in communities they have joined.

>> That will be true as long as American water has control over those rates but once it goes to the Board of Public utilities as part of a right case, the Board of Public utilities is going to set a new rate for all ratepayers and they are not going to honor an agreement American water had with the Township >> Their motives are profits.

Nonconsumer affordability.

>>>> Some groups have argued against private ownership of utilities fearing price hikes and loss of control.

Food and water watch organizer Sam DeFalco says communities like South Orange should think long and hard before voting.

>> We want residents to think about this as a permanent sale and permanent loss of democratic control of their water resources because once it is sold, it is in the private companies hands.

>> Which could be a good thing or a bad thing pending on your perspective.

>> Support for the business report is provided by Riverview Jazz presenting the first annual Jersey City Latin Jazz Festival on Saturday, September 14 at exchange Place Plaza in Jersey City.

Performance schedule and further details for this open to all event can be found online at Riverview Jazz.org.

Briana: That is going to do it for us tonight.

Before you go, a reminder to download the NJ Spotlight News podcast so you can listen to us anytime.

I'm Briana Vannozzi.

For the entire team at NJ Spotlight News, thanks for being with us.

Have a great night.

We will see you back here tomorrow.

>> New Jersey education Association, making public schools great for every child.

RWJ Barnabas health.

Let's be healthy together.

New Jersey realtors, the voice of real estate in New Jersey.

More information is online at NJ realtor.com.

>> NJM Insurance group has been a part of New Jersey for over a century's pretty we support our communities through the corporate giving program, supporting arts and culture related and nonprofit organizations that serve to improve the lives of children, rebuild communities and help to create new generation of safe drivers.

We are proud to be part of New Jersey.

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We have got New Jersey covered.

♪