The computer system that keeps a Jersey City public high school’s attendance records was hacked and the number of absences for nearly a dozen students was altered, multiple sources told The Jersey Journal.

Two sources said at least one Ferris High School student gained access to the system and reduced the number of sick days accumulated by nine students, making them eligible to graduate, be promoted to the next grade, or simply pass a class. A student with more than 17 absences from a course is ineligible to pass that course.

Jersey City school district spokeswoman Norma Fernandez confirmed that the district and police are investigating the hacking incident, but she provide few details.

A source at the high school with knowledge of the incident described the students involved as two 10th-graders, four 11th-graders and three 12th-graders. The source, who is not authorized to speak on the record, said it is believed that students paid a small fee to have their accumulated sick days reduced.

This scandal comes one year after police say four Dickinson students used a keystroke app to hack into the school’s computer system and change grades.

The alleged hacking was discovered when a teacher and the school’s attendance department found that there was a discrepancy between their student attendance records.

“We are looking into how extensive a problem this is,” Fernandez said.

It hasn’t been determined how the student, or multiple students, gained access to the system. Fernandez said teachers input classroom attendance into a program from their classrooms and the records are then recorded by the attendance department.

It’s possible, Fernandez said, that a teacher may have left the attendance program open in the classroom and a student accessed it; or that a student discovered a teacher’s password for the program.

Jersey City Board of Education President Sudhan Thomas also confirmed the breach and said there is “no reason to believe these incidents are connected with the earlier hacking incidents at Dickinson High School.”

Students leaving school Friday afternoon had a range of feeling over the hacking incident. A 10th-grade boy said changing some absentee days is not a big deal.

“It’s not a lot compared to the number of days we have to be here," he said. "I don’t see anything wrong with it.” The half dozen boys he was with on the Montgomery Street sidewalk agreed.

Another 10th-grade boy said everyone at school was talking about the story of the hacking after it was posted online.

“It’s probably a failing kid, one of the lazy ones. Who else would change their attendance record.” he said.

“I think they should kick the person out of school,” said an 11th-grade boy as he left school Friday.

A 12th-grade girl said she was “surprised they were able to break into the computer system.”

The sources said school officials attempted to cover up the breach of the system.

It is unclear when Ferris officials alerted the district’s central office. After the Jersey Journal requested information Thursday morning about the possible hacking, Fernandez responded at 6 p.m. that "At this time, we do not have information about such an incident.”

Friday morning Fernandez said the district was notified by Ferris High School officials to the possible breach Thursday afternoon. Later Friday morning, Fernandez sent another email to The Jersey Journal, saying that Ferris High Principal Jaime Morales “refreshed my memory that this is part of an incident that started in May and had been reported to the district.”

Fernandez said police were notified at the time and the school conducted its own investigation, which found more discrepancies. The police were again notified, Fernandez said, and they are investigating the incident as a possible cyber-crime.

Earlier Friday morning Fernandez was a little tougher on Ferris officials, saying in an interview that “We’d like to be informed sooner so we could take action. We are reinforcing the importance that (the central office) be kept abreast.”