District presents "reimagining" plan as enrollment falls and programming shifts; bilingual classes and staffing adjusted

Hackensack's acting superintendent and central office administrators used Tuesday's board meeting to lay out a "reimagining" plan aimed at stabilizing programming and operations amid long-term enrollment declines and a district budget shortfall.

Acting Superintendent Andrea Oates Parchment introduced the reimagining team and said it would roll out smaller, targeted updates to families in the weeks ahead. "We are going to share parts of that plan," she said, describing a team of 14 staff members and a lead facilitator, Laura Martin.

Central office presenters told the board enrollment peaked at about 5,795 students in 2018-19 and has fallen to 5,046 this year; projections show 4,926 students for 2026-27, a decline of roughly 15% from 2018-19. The presentations connected enrollment to state aid and staffing formulas and showed recent student-teacher ratios have moved from about 13.5:1 down to roughly 11.4:1 this year; next year the district expects about 12.8:1 given planned reductions.

Moncloa, director of multilingual and world language education, outlined multilingual programming changes. She said the district would continue ESL services and expand bilingual ELA at the high school, but several elementary full-time bilingual classes will be combined across grades due to staffing constraints arising from the fiscal crisis. "This was not our wish," Moncloa said; administrators described the grade-mixing as a temporary, enrollment-driven adjustment.

Darius Pemberton, director of special services, announced a partnership with the South Bergen Jointure Commission (SBJC) to provide specialized classroom programs, related services and transportation. Pemberton said SBJC is a partner (not a vendor) and that the district would not amend IEP minutes or reduce services; he stressed parental rights remain and that class sizes remain within state code maximums.

The reimagining team also outlined building-level changes such as shared assistant-principal assignments at certain elementary schools and a timeline of parent information sessions (July dates for various schools and August orientations). A one-page handout for parents will be distributed by June 30 with assignments, enrollment counts and programming details.

Community concerns surfaced during public comment: several parents and staff urged the board to avoid combining bilingual elementary grades, arguing it disproportionately affects multilingual learners. Trustee and staff responses said the changes are being made to balance limited staff and maintain compliance; the district pledged additional communication via building-level meetings and materials in Spanish and English.

Why it matters: Enrollment declines and a multi-million-dollar budget shortfall continue to force program and staffing decisions. The district framed the reimagining plan as both a damage-control response to the fiscal situation and an effort to preserve core instructional programs while targeting savings.

Quote: "We wanted to come tonight and over the next few months focusing on an asset lens, trying to talk about what we do still have and what we do still offer," said Laura Morgan, reimagining team lead.

Next steps: The district said it will publish a single-page parent handout by June 30, hold building-level meetings in July, and provide ongoing updates to trustees and families.