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Bogota board hears superintendent’s report, approves consent agenda and facility updates
Summary
At its Sept. 16 meeting the Bogota Board of Education heard student and superintendent reports highlighting new uniforms, athletic wins and graduation‑pathway statistics, approved several bundled consent items including a BHS auditorium change order, and set the next meeting for Oct. 28.
The Bogota Board of Education met on Sept. 16, 2025, at Bogota Borough Hall and heard a student representative report and a superintendent update before approving multiple consent‑agenda items and adjourning.
Student representative Jimenez Vargas opened the substantive reports, saying, “We’re off to an incredible start to the 2025–26 school year,” and recapping eighth‑grade orientation, the new school uniforms credited to student Isaac Crespo, and recent athletic results, including the football team’s home‑game win and cross‑country and volleyball successes. Vargas also announced the fall play, Peter Pan, which will be staged in the Steen School gym while the district’s auditorium is renovated.
Superintendent Damian Kennedy reported graduation‑pathway figures for last year’s class of 89. According to Kennedy, 47 graduates met graduation requirements via the NJGPA alone; 24 combined the NJGPA with a substitute assessment such as the PSAT, SAT or ACCUPLACER; 17 met requirements using only a substitute assessment; and one graduate used a portfolio appeal. Kennedy also said the board’s October meeting has been moved from Oct. 21 to Oct. 28 to accommodate calendar conflicts.
Kennedy provided facility and schedule updates: an elevator at the district’s career and technical education (CTE) building was installed and the CTE building is expected to open in about one to two weeks; work on the high‑school auditorium should be complete in roughly three to four weeks; and Bixby School’s gym construction is similarly targeted at three to four weeks. He reminded the community of back‑to‑school nights and said the district is coordinating a possible date change to avoid a religious holiday.
During a lengthy statement the board’s presiding officer praised administrators, teachers, custodians and volunteers for completing recent projects, defended the board against social media criticism about costs and highlighted the launch of courtesy busing after redistricting. The presiding officer said safety upgrades — described in the meeting as partitions or "man traps" — have been added to limit unauthorized access to school buildings after a recent incident and to protect students.
On routine business the board moved and carried multiple consent‑agenda motions. The board approved the meeting agenda and the minutes from Aug. 26, 2025; approved grouped education items (6.1–6.20 moved as 6.21); approved grouped personnel items (7.1–7.17 moved as 7.18); approved grouped finance items (8.1–8.7 moved as 8.8); and approved a change order for the BHS auditorium project (9.1). Each motion was seconded and recorded in the minutes as "motion carried." The transcript does not provide a full, itemized roll‑call tally for each vote.
No members of the public spoke during the scheduled public‑comment periods. The board adjourned the meeting after the consent items and closed the session.
What happens next: the board’s next regular meeting will be held on Oct. 28, 2025, per the superintendent’s announcement.
