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Cliffside Park trustees push for full-time counselors; district reports HIB investigations and near-full staffing
Summary
Board members praised placement of guidance counselors in every school, the district reported four HIB investigations (three alleged, one confirmed) and administrators said staffing for 2025–26 is nearly complete with about two vacancies remaining.
Cliffside Park Board of Education members at the May 16, 2025 meeting celebrated plans to place a dedicated guidance counselor in every school and heard administrative reports on disciplinary and staffing matters.
A board member said putting guidance counselors in each school is on the agenda and described the change as a move away from part-time counselors who split time between buildings: “Now we’re not gonna have a guidance counselor running from one school to another only being there half time,” the board member said. The change was framed as a response to student mental-health and family needs.
Administrators reported four Harassment, Intimidation and Bullying (HIB) investigations: three alleged investigations and one confirmed case. The transcript states that counseling and restorative practices were provided in all four cases and that disciplinary action was taken in the confirmed case. Doctor Hayes reported those counts during the meeting.
On staffing, administrators thanked principals, supervisors and the business office for recruiting teachers and said the district is “fully staffed for the 25, 26 school year” with the exception of what was described in the transcript as roughly two remaining vacancies. The district also announced engagement of auditors for the end-of-year audit and listed summer programs, summer school sites and project graduation among ongoing items.
The transcript excerpt documents these discussions and explanations but does not include formal votes on the guidance-counselor placements or HIB-related disciplinary actions in the provided portion of the record. Where the transcript gives specific counts or clarifications, this article notes them as stated on the record.
