Acting Superintendent Charles Voorhees updated the Secaucus Board of Education on steps the district has taken this year to advance the board’s goals, emphasizing stronger communication, fiscal stability and increased student voice.

Voorhees said the district prioritized “better communication,” noting that each principal now publishes regular newsletters through S'mores to give parents and students timely updates. He described broader community engagement efforts—such as participation in the town carnival, the town’s 125th anniversary events and 9/11 memorial ceremonies—as reinforcing school–community ties.

The acting superintendent credited the administrative team, including Business Administrator and Board Secretary Grace Yeoh and Assistant Business Administrator Pat Kikuchi, with work to “balance the budget without sacrificing jobs or programs.” Voorhees said the 2025–26 budget presented April 30 accounted for rising costs and that the district’s bond rating rose from AA-minus stable to AA in 2024–25.

Voorhees outlined five other priority areas: stabilizing district leadership by converting secondary supervisors to 12-month positions, increasing student voice by reinstating a student board representative, expanding professional development for board members, maintaining a strategic capital projects plan and focusing on student supports. On professional development, he said training attended in June prompted consideration of changes including earlier agenda distribution and a 48-hour deadline for trustees to notify committee chairs of open-session questions.

He also described efforts to ensure compliance with recent state policy changes affecting the gifted-and-talented program and noted that, as of June 30, New Jersey school districts are no longer required to publish certain notices in print newspapers and will instead post them online and at district offices.

The board did not take any formal policy action during the report; Voorhees said staff will continue implementing the goals and bring specific proposals to future meetings.