Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the ECDC Lease topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Hackensack board approves one-year ECDC lease extension, cites roughly $400,000 in savings
Summary
The Hackensack Board of Education voted to renew the Early Childhood Development Center lease with Saint Francis Church through June 30, 2027, reducing monthly rent and shifting utilities and repair responsibilities to generate roughly $400,000 in district savings as it plans a transition for preschool students.
The Hackensack Board of Education on June 16 approved a one-year renewal of the lease with Saint Francis Church to keep the district’s Early Childhood Development Center (ECDC) in its current location through June 30, 2027. The board president said the agreement provides stability for preschool students while the district develops a transition plan.
Under the renewed terms the board will pay monthly rent of $28,152.50 — described at the meeting as a 50% reduction from the previous school year — and share utility costs with the landlord, a change from a prior arrangement in which the district paid 90% of utilities. The board’s repair responsibility was limited to the first $5,000 per incident; larger maintenance obligations will be the landlord’s responsibility. Officials said the renegotiation has yielded at least $400,000 in anticipated savings, including lower rent, reduced utilities and the elimination of mandatory custodial overtime.
Board members framed the renewal as a practical short-term step that gives the district time to plan a smooth move of ECDC students and staff back into district facilities as intended. The board’s facilities chair and acting superintendent both praised the negotiations and said the contract reduces the district’s near-term operating costs while preserving services for the current 2026–27 school year.
The motion to approve the lease renewal passed on a roll-call vote during the facilities portion of the consent agenda. Trustees also approved routine facilities items, including required lead-testing reporting to the state. The board’s materials state the district first leased the ECDC space in 2013 as a temporary location and later invested district funds in the facility; the one-year extension is intended to allow “thoughtful planning for a smooth transition.”
The board president said families and staff will be kept informed as the district develops the transition timeline and logistics. No specific sites or a final relocation plan were disclosed at the meeting.
