North Bergen Board approves emergency Horace Mann repairs, raises service contract caps and hires new after-school provider

The North Bergen Board of Education on Aug. 14 approved a series of personnel moves, contract awards and policy updates, including an emergency contract to repair severe water and plaster damage at Horace Mann School and several increases to professional-services spending limits.

Board Attorney Jack Gillman called the meeting to order at 5:01 p.m., and board members voted unanimously on the items. The most urgent action was awarding an emergency building-envelope contract to Spartan Construction Co., Inc. for $98,000 to address water damage and failing plaster at Horace Mann School. The resolution says contractors observed spalled plaster, damaged window trim and areas where ceiling plaster had fallen; the contractor will address the most critical parapet and masonry areas immediately.

Why it matters: district officials told the board the damage threatened occupied interior spaces and that emergency provisions under New Jersey law justified the award without a formal bidding delay.

The board also approved multiple not-to-exceed increases for existing professional-service contracts. The Board raised the cap for Sportscare/KidsCare Institute Inc., the provider of PT/OT assessment and services for the Child Study Team, from $800,000 to an amount not to exceed $1,100,000, citing unanticipated additional costs. Legal-service caps were increased for several firms: Cleary & Giacobbe (to $45,000), Kevin Hanly (to $62,000) and Weiner Law Group (to $115,000). Environmental services from New Wave Environmental were increased to a cap of $160,000; Vision Media’s PR/crisis-management cap rose to $50,000; accounting/audit services for Lerch, Vinci & Bliss were increased to a cap of $115,000.

A construction-related change order also moved through the board: Change Order No. 044 for the North Bergen High School West renovation reimburses ALNA Construction $80,577.31 for extra work (column boxouts and related slab work). That amount will be deducted from the project contingency, reducing the contingency to $466,130.45 with no change to the contract total, the board report states.

On student-facing services, the board approved an agreement with Right At School, LLC to provide after-school programming at multiple elementary schools. The contract authorizes use of school facilities and provision of snacks at minimal cost to the district, and the board ratified execution of the agreement.

Personnel and policy actions were extensive: the board appointed Dr. Luis Ramirez as District Supervisor of Special Services (effective Aug. 15), approved a slate of new and reappointed teachers for the 2024–25 year, approved transfers and leaves, accepted several resignations, adopted multiple policy revisions (including policies on curriculum content, physical examinations, attendance, service animals and student suicide prevention), abolished a pandemic-era policy on remote public meetings and adopted evaluation tools for the superintendent and business office staff.

Academic reporting: Superintendent George J. Solter Jr. reviewed the spring NJGPA results during audience participation, saying ELA scores outpaced math and that the district will examine readiness and curriculum adjustments; he also announced that Student Growth Objectives (SGOs) will no longer be required for tenured teachers. Solter reminded teachers about classroom access during the week prior to opening.

Public comment and benefits questions: NBFT representative Carol Toomey questioned notification procedures for teacher transfers and raised concerns about the prescription benefit plan; Assistant Superintendent for Business Steven Somick said the plan follows state directives and offered support through the health benefits office. Toomey also asked about an AI policy; Solter said the district is working with Strauss Esmay on policy development.

What happens next: emergency repairs at Horace Mann are to begin under the awarded contract; construction and contract adjustments for the NBHS West project will continue under the established contingency funding. Several contract increases were approved to cover current-year needs; the board authorized the superintendent to submit the ARP late-liquidation consolidated application to the New Jersey Department of Education. The meeting adjourned at 5:40 p.m.

Votes at a glance: all recorded motions during the meeting were approved by the seven members present (Haissam Jaafar, Luis Diaz, Claudia Baselice, Mark Rogers, Kanaiyalal Patel, Ruth Shaw and Hamadi Bengabsia).