Good evening everyone. We're going to get started. Welcome to the May special 2025 Hoboken Board of Education meeting centered on the presentation of our budget for the 2025 2026 school year. Thank you all for being here. If you are joining us this evening to speak on
agenda or non-aggenda items, please use the signup sheets which are located down front at the podium. Miss Sullivan, can you please read the statement of compliance? This meeting is being held in conformity to the Open Public Meetings Act, NJSA
104-6. Proper public notice of this meeting was published in the local papers on April 30th, 2025. If any board member or member of the public in attendance believes that the meeting is in violation of the open public meetings act, the hope and board
of education requests that they make a statement at this time. The board wishes to make those in attendance aware that this meeting is being recorded on video and will be broadcast by the board at a later date on CATV channel 77 and FiOS
channel 46. The full meeting recording will also be made available on board docs which can be accessed through the district homepage. The Hoboken board of education is comm committed to per preserving the decorum of the public process and is mindful that we live in
the electronic age of computers, cell phones and other electronic communications devices. Nevertheless, we respectfully request that all meeting participants kindly silence their electronic devices during the course of the meeting. And if use of the device is
necessary, we ask that you please leave the meeting room if you need to conduct personal business. Thank you, Miss Sullivan. Please rise for the pledge of allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands. One nation under
God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. Miss Sullivan, can you please call the role? Yes. Sharon Angley here. Milani Kadamatori. Sheila Delara here. Alex Delator here. Antonio Grana here.
Shitali Kana here. Thomas Flfel here. Leslie Norwood here. Ailen Mcgurt here. Thank you, Miss Sullivan. So, thank you for coming and joining us this evening for the presentation of the 2526 school year budget. Um, for those of you
in the audience, if you want to move a little bit closer to be able to see the screen, please feel free to do so. We welcome you down in the front. And, uh, I guess we will let Miss Sullivan kick off the, uh, the budget presentation. Okay, we wanted to begin with a little
bit background about state aid and the funding formula. In 2010, the state of New Jersey implemented a statutory cap of 2% on the increase to the tax levy over the prior year. There are a few very specific reasons you can qualify
for a waiver to exceed the 2% limit, such as increases in health care costs, enrollment, or deferred pension costs. If a district does not increase the tax levy by the full 2% or they do not utilize eligible waiverss, the district can bank that
additional tax levy increase for use in any of the next three budget years. This unused increase in tax levy is known as bankked cap. Hoboken also qualifies for bank cap based on a calculation done by the state of New Jersey to determine the
local fair share of taxes based on property value and income. The state of New Jersey has determined that Hoboken has the capacity to pay more in local taxes than they are currently paying. This calculation results in Hoboken being eligible for banked cap in the
amount of $169 million. Please note that this banked cap amount is only the ability for Hoboken to raise taxes, not actual money in the bank or an actual increase in taxes. The current state aid funding formula
known as SFR determines state aid based on enrollment, property values, and income. In 2018, S2 legislation was passed which provided a aid to districts to hold them harmless if they would have realized a decrease in state aid from
the prior year. This aid was reduced each year and is eliminated in the 2526 budget. Based on enrollment growth, state aid for 2526 excluding the preschool expansion aid is $8.7 million for Hoboken, which
is less than 201819 state aid by about $1.8 million. In 2020, in addition to the basic state aid, the district also started receiving federal funds for COVID relief. These funds were available to the district until September 2024 to
purchase supplies, pay for student support services, and for building maintenance. The 2526 budget is the first budget since 2020 where these additional funds are not available to the district. This information was provided to give you some background information
before we get into the specifics of the 2526 budget. For the 2526 budget, the total operating budget is $88 million. 73.8 million or approximately 84% of the budget is
funded with local tax levy. The increase in the school tax levy for 2526 is $6.4 million, which equates to approximately $236 per year for an average homeowner. So, I'm going to walk you through a
little bit about the structure of the presentation this evening and what you can hope to learn by being here and listening to us. You'll gain an understanding of who the Hoboken Public School District is and the student population that is served. You will gain
further information around what specific programs and personnel are being invested in and why investing in public education is a moral imperative. You will also learn when it's time to invest in the Hoboken public schools and where exactly your tax dollars are needed. And
finally, we'll talk about how you can help our district continue to grow, thrive, and succeed. So, who are we and who are the students that we serve in the Hoboken Public School District? The Hoboken Public School
District is a comprehensive prek through 12 educational center for learning. We're a district that serves uh prek 3 and prek4 students all the way through grade 12 students. We serve prek through three and prek4 students in nine
different preschool locations. We have three elementary schools. We have a middle school and we have a high school. Our vibrant, diverse, growing school community is home to creative and motivated students. Our district boasts unique programs that take students
around the world that learn about other cultures and we compete in international competitions while we win championships on athletic fields and earn awards locally as well. Since every learner in our district is
different in some way, our district prides itself on offering a whole array of programs and services that meet the needs of each and every student in our district. Uh we have programs such as the John's Hopkins gifted and talented
program. We offer uh services such as response to intervention uh programs for English language learners. Um, and we are also entering our third year in our elementary uh level dual language Spanish immersion
program. We offer pre-advanced placement courses and advanced placement courses at the high school level. We offer collegiate dual enrollment courses to both middle and high school students as well. Our district offers in-class uh
and pullout resource courses. We offer self-contained preschool disabilities and transition life skills classes for students with special needs. Also, we have reading specialists, multi-disiplinary child study teams. We
have PCBs in the district. We also have job coaches um that work with our students um who are in need of support as well. Um, in the Hoboken school district, we also have guidance counselors, youth development
specialists, we have nurses in every school, we have health mental health clinicians, and we have student assistance counselors. Um, our students are supported both in and out of the classroom. Um, and in an effort to help develop the whole child, the Hoboken
Public School District provides robust co and extracurricular programs. Um, we offer more clubs and activities than most, uh, public school districts do. We have strings and theater. Um, we have band and chorus. Our students have so many
opportunities to show their creative uh, sides. Um, on the athletic fields, they shine and they compete in a multitude of NJSIA sports. uh their participation in clubs and in micro and macro institutes
allow our students to show their passions and explore their passions as well. Um investing in our schools make all of this a reality and if you help us with this budget um it can make all of this uh possibility a reality for our
students and for our community as well. This is our current vision and mission. Both these statements were developed five years ago when we created our last strategic plan which was also nearly 5 years since we completed our last demographic study. The current
trajectory of which in terms of student population is in line with that study. We are currently engaged in the process to designing a new strategic plan which will result in the creation of new vision statement, new mission statements
and new district goals. This includes our update when we design what a portrait of a graduate uh looks like and will make a very important updated to our long range facilities plan. Thanks Antonio. As a parent of two
children in the district, both from preK3, I've seen firsthand that vision and mission take hold and flourish. Let me highlight a few of our tremendous recent achievements. 151 college colleges and universities accepted Hoboken High
School students. 20.1 million in college and university scholarships, a new district record. 77 AP College Board Scholar Awards, a new record. 53 seal of biiteracy recipients in Spanish, French,
Dutch, and Italian. Another record, and Hudson County mock trial high school champs for 2025. Not only has our progress led to student achievements, it's also led to largecale success. Over the past few years, our district has been named the
best community for music education. was awarded the New Jersey Lighthouse District for equitable practices, has received high performance status by the New Jersey Department of Education, and has passed the last three New Jersey
CUAC process with high marks. And that's not all. For the first time, our elementary, middle school, and high school have been ranked by US News and World Report. Lastly, we are very proud to have earned
lighthouse awards for all five of our schools by going through the rigorous national blue ribbon schools of excellence process. We know that the work is not done as we continue to strive to reach new heights. Um I want to continue on on
some of the accomplishments that Alex just highlighted and talk specifically about um the areas of English language arts and math and our achievements. And as you may recall, this board presented last year that the Hoboken public school district had attained the status of the
highest performing traditional K12 district in all of Hudson County. And uh we are very proud and I am proud that once again we have earned that distinction for 23 24. What this slide is showing is our longitudinal
achievement in both content areas from 2015 through 2024. And we compare ourselves to the rest of the state of New Jersey. As you can see, 10 years ago, we were woefully underperforming that average. Um from 28
however our performance in both these areas and math surpassed that of the state and has continued year after year even with population growth even with co the academic performance measure for this chart that we use um for those
interested is NJSLA these results are from a committed direct push we have in our programming methodology and development of our people I'd like to add a little side note that US News and World Report, Alex ranked the states today. Um, and New
Jersey was ranked number one in education. This is why we believe that New Jersey and Hoboken offer the best public education opportunities anywhere. So, what are we investing in? The future, of course. The uh but it's not
only the future of our children. Uh, we're investing in the future of our local community. And I would go so far as to say u of our democratic society. Uh by ensuring free access to quality public education, we provide all
students regardless of background or circumstances with equal access to the tools and experiences to reach their full potential. Public education removes barriers to their success. that we also strengthen
democracy with informed and engaged youth. In addition to rigorous academics, district students participate in a wide range of programs that develop and hone their individual interests and skills through the arts, sports, and a broad range of other extra
extracurricular activities. These enhance the growth of the whole child and teach valuable lessons in discipline, commitment, critical thinking, teamwork and friendship. Beyond the academic programs, uh this budget funds certain
categories of significant expense. Top among these are teacher salaries and health care benefits and rightly so. Our teachers are the frontline staff in the important work of public education. The budget also funds
Hoboken's three charter schools and the 1,000 students they serve. Transportation is another cost driver, not only for field trips and team sports, but for the daily travel needed for students who attend the out of district schools best suited to their
special needs. All school facilities require regular maintenance, of course, and some more than others. Three schools here are more than 100 years old, and these aging buildings often require extra attention. We all walked under scaffolding on our
way in here tonight, for instance. And like all of us, the district has rising insurance and utility bills. Okay, this next slide uh speaks to the district's enrollment growth. Um last year in 23 24, our 10-year enrollment
growth reflected a 38% increase um in grades prek through 12. Just one year later, our 10-year enrollment growth reflects a 41% increase in that same population. On this side, you'll see the 10-year
enrollment growth in grades K to 12 reflects a 43% increase with 1,85 K to2 students in 20145 growing to 2587 K to2 students in 202425.
You'll also see on this slide a 10-year enrollment growth of 36% for our for our preschool population between 1415 and 2425. Thank you. In this budget, we will open new classrooms and add new staff to
accommodate enrollment growth. We will also update curriculum as part of our evaluation and renewal process. We will introduce a new K to2 financial literacy initiative, offer content area professional development and training around a v variety of instructional
strategies to improve student learning outcomes. We will continue to expand upon the robust middle school athletics program, grow the dual language program in our elementary schools to second grade, and put forward new courses in both the middle school and high school
programs of study. An investment in education always pays the highest returns. When is it time to invest in our schools and where are your tax dollars needed? So, let's talk a little bit about revenues. Um, just so so as was
mentioned before, the vast majority of the um revenue for New Jersey public schools and for local school districts comes from the local tax levy. Revenue in a school district budget is defined as the total amount of money that is brought in during the fiscal year which
runs from July 1st through June 30th. And in order for a district's budget to be considered balanced, it revenues must equal its expenditures. Our total revenues for the 2526 school year are projected to be at
88,41192 as Dana mentioned and they will come primarily different sources. local tax levy which is 74 approximately 74 million state aid approximately 8.6 million the fund balance of 3.5 and
miscellaneous revenue with a bit over 2 million. Uh it's important to understand that when we say miscellaneous revenue, we mean from uh known sources. For example, if we are awarded a competitive grant or if we receive a donation from the Hoboken Public Education Foundation,
budget fund balance money is left at the end of the previous school's year and is usually used to build up capital and maintain reserve accounts to offset the tax levy in any upcoming year's budget. As Antonio indicated, revenues and
expenditures must match, or in other words, be the same in order for a school budget to be balanced. Just as our revenues total $88,411,92, so do our expenditures. Expenditures in a school district's budget refers to all the
money spent on goods and supplies, services, salaries and benefits, and training. In reporting out expenditures, rather than listing everything, we typically will group expenditures in such a way that makes it easy to understand how
money is being spent. For example, as you can see in our presentation, we have created nine categories of expenditures. Our categories and projected expenditures as follows. Salaries and benefits, largest one, 54 million. The charter school's
contribution 13 million. Special education and summer programming approximately 7.7 million facilities approximately 4 million co-curricular activities 3.6 million transportation 3
million instructional materials about 800,000 general administration about 700,000 and support services about $1.3 million. It is important to note that in some years charter schools contribution is a decrease from the previous year and
sometimes it's an increase. That amount is not gener generated arbitrarily by the charter schools. It is generated by the budget software and is based upon the number of seats filled by Hoboken residents and factors such as the amount of money spent on special education
services. So going back to some of the cost drivers uh I touched on earlier, I want to highlight uh a couple in particular. Uh the salaries and benefits uh make up about 62% of this budget. Um with health
insurance rising by 14% uh this year and is projected to increase another 15% in 2026. uh that salaries and benefits includes 26 new teachers that Mr. Larret uh
hinted at uh previously. Uh 26 new teachers and support staff to address the enrollment growth and maintain appropriate class size. Uh we anticipate an additional $1.7 million this year for a special
education costs. Uh this includes new out of district placements, extended school year programs and support services. And two final things, transportation costs related to special education are up $440,000 and extracurricular and
co-curricular programs are up by about $700,000. Sorry. So, as we've reviewed, this budget is going to expand both academic and co-curricular programs. It ensures that we have adequate staffing for our growing student population. It provides
funding for teacher and paraprofessional training and the introduction of registered behavior technicians. It provides funding to upgrade educational spaces, technology infrastructure, and maintains aging facilities. And finally, it introduces new tools to better engage students,
families, and community members. So, how can you, the Hoboken community, help our district, continue to grow, thrive, and succeed? And here we ask for your support for the school budget.
When you invest in our schools, you're investing not only in our school district, but you're investing in Hoboken and helping our students grow, thrive, and succeed. Education, we feel, is a moral and civic imperative. As described
earlier, our total operating budget is 88 million. Our total tax levy is approximately 74 million with a tax levy increase for next year of 6.37 million which represents a
9.44% increase in the tax levy. This tax levy increase equates to $236 per year or $20 per month for the assessed value of the average home in Hoboken.
Just want to point out that we are not the only district in New Jersey experiencing budget challenges this year. If you look at the news at all, there's many districts across the state that are experiencing um heavy tax increases or serious choices they have
to make about uh discontinuing different services, extracurriculars, or closing schools. More detailed information about the budget can be found on our website. Um the userfriendly budget is posted there on the first page of our
website. And if you have any questions and would like to contact us, there's an email address set up just for the budget as you can see on there. There's also information on our Facebook page and again also on the front page of our website. Uh there's a link to the
user-friendly budget. I would like to say a few words of thanks about the development of this budget. Um as many of you realize, we have a a new face up here with us, Dana Sullivan, who's serving as our interim business administrator while we undergo
a search for a permanent replacement for Joyce Good, who retired in March. So, uh, going through a transition of business administrator in the middle of budget season is certainly a, um, a robust experience. I'm not really sure what the other word I would use for it
is. So, I would like to say a ginormous thank you to Vicky Lopez who is the assistant in the business office who has been, you know, here through last year's budget and this year's budget. Um, to Miss Sullivan joining us um, in this process and really rolling her sleeves
up right away. Dr. Johnson of course who's always so thoughtful about um what programs need investing in but also our um main office staff who has been very involved specifically Anamea in looking for grant monies that can be brought into this budget that offset the burden
on the local taxpayer and then of course our um finance committee led by Mr. Clubfell. Um, we are just very pleased with everything that's gone into this this year. And I think looking at a tax increase that is $20 per month on the
home of average assessed value here in Hoboken is really something that um we can all be very proud of because we are not cutting teachers. We are not cutting programs. We have growing enrollment and the investments in this budget reflect the types of actions that any community
would want to see to continue servicing all the students who move in, but also providing a world-class education that is in line with everything that's happening, you know, statewide. I always tell people when they start to ring their hands a little bit about schools, you know, New Jersey is typically number
one or number three in public education. And it was nice to see us get back to number one in in some rankings today because our standards are very high and as you can see the students in the school district are exceeding those standards and we're very very proud of them, the teachers and all the hard work
that has gone into this. So we'll now open up for public comment on agenda items. And while we're retrieving the sheet, a reminder before we open for public comments. Over the years and most recently, the board has been asked why it does not prohibit or stop comments
about school district employees from individuals who speak during the public comment portion of our meetings. The short answer is that the law prevents the board from censoring comments made about district personnel. The board does not condone, nor is the board a party to comments as such. However, just because a speaker may have the right to say what
he or she feels, it does not absolve the speaker for liability for any comments that could be viewed as defamatory by an employee. Should speakers say something that subjects them to a civil suit, the responsibility falls squarely on the speaker and not on the board. Board policy requires that all speakers please
state their name, municipality of residence, and business affiliation if any. Speakers are allowed five minutes and Vice President Angley will quietly motion when the speaker has 30 seconds remaining. Please address all comments to the chair. Board policy states that the board welcomes comments on matters
of interest to the board, but this is not an opportunity for dialogue or debate between speakers and board members or the superintendent. We have no one signed up for public comment. I'll I'll throw it out to all of you if anyone has a desire to
comment. Going once. Going twice. We also have no one signed up for comments on non-aggenda items. So, we are going to move to adjourn our meeting. Is there a motion? Motion. Second. Second.
Meeting adjourned. Have a nice evening and thank you for coming out and joining us. We have to vote on the say I. We have to We have to all say I I I I Heat. Heat.