"getting canned" == "terminated from employment". In other words, I do hope that your employer is reasonable, and not looking for a reason to let you go.

Twitter Bootstrap is a CSS framework that uses jQuery. By using Bootstrap's Javascript features, you're pulling in jQuery, and using it. If you want to go beyond what Twitter Bootstrap provides, you have jQuery at your fingertips. But TB provides a lot already, and will save you a ton of time. Even if you only use it for dialogues and modals, it will save you time.

Mojolicious is a server-side web framework. It facilitates Model/View/Controller style web design. It offers templating, routing, and a lot more.

Dancer is another good alternative with low barriers to entry (although Mojolicious installs from a single tarball in under a minute). Both are pretty easy to learn.

Catalyst is more of a chore to learn, but extremely powerful and configurable. With the power and configurability comes headaches. But it's a solid choice for large projects.