North Bergen board approves new hires, stipends, leaves and a $50,000 juvenile services grant

The North Bergen Board of Education on Jan. 15 approved a broad slate of personnel actions and financial items, including new teacher appointments, substitute hires, stipends for professional development, multiple leaves, acceptance of a $50,000 Hudson County Juvenile Community Service Project grant and acceptance of the district’s fiscal-year 2024 Annual Comprehensive Financial Report (ACFR) and corrective action plan.

Personnel approvals included Resolution No. 1 appointing Alicia Garcia (Resource, Horace Mann) and Edith Marin (Speech, Pre‑K/Kennedy) as provisional teachers effective on or after Jan. 16, 2025; Resolution No. 2 approving a roster of substitute teachers (several names listed in the minutes) with one abstention recorded for that vote. The board also approved clerk and security hires, one‑on‑one aides for special education, reappointments of custodial staff, and extra‑curricular moderators and stipends as detailed in the meeting packet.

Stipends and salary items included a $2,000 professional development stipend each for Krista Welz and Laurie Troiano, a Title IV–funded salary payment of $24,769 to Tasha Murphy, and a $3,000 ‘‘self‑care’’ stipend (paid as $300 monthly) for certain aides performing additional duties; motions on these items passed by recorded vote.

The board accepted a $50,000 grant award for the Hudson County Juvenile Community Service Project for Jan. 1–Dec. 31, 2025, and recorded allocations for program director, supervisors, client counselor, clerical and finance consultant positions and a supplies/equipment line of $7,000 as listed in the minutes; the motion carried with one abstention (Luis Rabelo).

On fiscal and oversight matters, the board accepted the FY2024 ACFR prepared by Lerch, Vinci & Bliss and approved the accompanying corrective action plan. The financial reports of the Secretary and Treasurer for December 2024 were received and filed, and the board certified no major-account over-expenditures as of December per NJAC requirements.

Under student‑safety business, the board approved Student Safety Data System (SSDS) Period I reporting for Sept. 1–Dec. 31, 2024, and affirmed Harassment, Intimidation and Bullying (HIB) investigation findings for incidents noted at Franklin, John F. Kennedy, Lincoln and McKinley schools as recorded in the minutes.

During audience participation, Superintendent Dr. George J. Solter Jr. thanked board members for Board Member Appreciation Month, outlined Title I parent sessions and extra-help NJSLA/NJGPA preparation plans, and reminded members the Ethics Commission disclosure portal is open. Carol Toomey, president of the North Bergen Federation of Teachers, asked about Career Academy administrator salaries and the academy’s opening timeline; Margaret Roberts asked about the junior-high school model. The meeting adjourned at 5:32 p.m.

All actions described reflect motions and recorded votes in the Jan. 15 meeting minutes; where the minutes list numerical amounts, those figures are reported verbatim. Items requiring further detail (for example, exact lists of substitute hires, full EWO supporting documents, or specific payroll warrant numbers) are on file in the Board Secretary’s office as noted in the minutes.