Board approves consent agenda; committees report grants, facilities work and staffing updates

The Hoboken Board of Education on Feb. 2025 approved its consent agenda, which included personnel appointments and resignations, contracts, grants, donations and other routine items presented on the public agenda.

Committee reports presented the background to many of the consent items. The curriculum committee reported approval of a memorandum of understanding between Hoboken High School and Stevens Institute of Technology for participation in the ACES pre‑college summer program for students from economically disadvantaged families, acceptance of a Project Lead the Way Computer Science Expansion Grant of $10,000, and planned grant submissions to the New Jersey Department of Education for expanded high‑school computer science access and climate education/resilience programs. The district’s ELA supervisor, Christy Gaudio, completed final requirements to be an Orton‑Gillingham MC trainer on Feb. 5, which the committee said will allow the district to run in‑house trainings.

The facilities committee reported two consent items: monthly Violence and Vandalism Bureau reports and the routine facilities use requests listed on the agenda. The committee also discussed ongoing maintenance such as tree trimming, planned upgrades to stadium locker rooms, and a planned boiler replacement at Hoboken High School (the board said the boiler is on order and officials anticipate no interruption to high‑school operations). The committee said it is moving toward replacing scaffolding at the historic Demarest property with netting to improve appearance while preserving historic elements.

The finance committee noted the auditors’ management report showed no findings in the categories reviewed. The committee also reported an emailed notice received during the meeting that federal funding projections for the current budget cycle are secured; state funding levels remain unknown pending the governor’s budget address scheduled Feb. 25. The board accepted a donation of a piano valued at $5,800, including shipment and retuning, to be delivered to the high school. The board also noted a new agenda item concerning the Special Education Medicaid Initiative (SEMI) plan required by the state.

The governance committee summarized personnel items on the agenda including resignations, new appointments, athletic and theater stipends, volunteer and chaperone approvals (including a classroom‑without‑walls trip to South Africa), and a contract for the district’s interim school business administrator and board secretary. That contract names Dana Sullivan to serve as interim school business administrator/board secretary from 04/01/2025 upon the retirement of Joyce Goode on 03/31/2025 and through 06/30/2025.

The wellness committee reported approval of a tri‑op girls ice hockey agreement with Weehawken and Secaucus High Schools for next year, naming Hoboken as the local education agency for the program. The committee also reported the district received a $100,000 recreational improvement grant, with all or a portion earmarked for improvements to the Brandt rooftop project, and described a peer‑mediation initiative at Hoboken Middle School. HMS also hosted a winter athletics and activities expo and plans a second Tiger Pride Assembly.

The board’s recorded roll call on the consent agenda shows unanimous votes in favor of the motion to approve the consent items listed on the public agenda.

Ending: The board removed one agenda item (a Fund 20 list of personnel) to the March 2025 agenda. Several items flagged by committees — notably the SEMI plan and the interim business administrator contract — will be reflected in the public minutes and appear in posted agenda materials.