Board of Education

John Paff, a political watchdog from Somerset County, has been fighting for two years to get answers about a meeting that took place in Hoboken in 2006.

CLOSED QUARTERS? According to John Paff, an invitation-only meeting called by Mayor David Roberts in 2006 to discuss the school district was in violation of the Open Public Meetings Act. But there was no governmental body willing to follow through on Paff’s allegation.  

In an area known for its corrupt politicians and - lately - lawsuits over access to public records, governmental openness is very important to taxpayers.

But not all of them have time or money to fight for it.

This is especially true if it's happening in a different town than their own.

The following commentary submitted to edmecka.com Website Contact Form

Name: m.f.k.
Email: Hidden by Request
Subject: Education
Question/Comment: Hi,

I am a bit concerned about the priority of education in the City of Hoboken. Not sure where to address this, but your site came up and decided it was a good place to start. Who is the contact person for such an issue?

As an educator, I know that education is the root of a positive environment and a thriving area.  NJ has and continues to have high standards for education across the board. Why should Hoboken fall through the cracks?

HOBOKEN - The union that represents school cooks, maintenance workers and building engineers are meeting with members tomorrow over concerns that money may have gone missing from the organization's coffers, school officials confirmed yesterday.

The Hoboken school board ended its 2007 calendar year with arguments among the same board factions that have defined meetings since back in April, when three newly elected "reform" candidates took their seats shortly after the district received a new superintendent.

Although Tuesday's meeting began with 15 eighth graders from the Brandt and Demarest schools singing Christmas carols, the goodwill quickly evaporated into heated exchanges between school board members and at times the public.

The most controversial issue of the night was the first reading of the state's new nepotism policy for the schools, which the state Department of Education is requiring all 31 Abbott school districts (urban "special needs" districts receiving special state aid) to adopt.

The measure proved controversial because the policy calls for the "prohibiting [of] any relative of a board member or chief school administrator from being employed in an office or position in that school district."

The policy was created with the intent of avoiding "both the reality and appearance of conflict of interest in employment," according to the resolution.

Several board members were offended by the resolution, arguing that the measure could be discriminatory against future district employees who have good qualifications but are related to a board member or administrator.

The measure would not penalize any current employees who are already related to a board member or administrator.

Several school board members reacted passionately to the resolution, with former Board President James Farina, who is also the longtime city clerk, describing the policy as "unconstitutional" and warning of potential litigation against the district as a result.

HOBOKEN — Board of Education President James J. Farina was re-elected tonight, but the other three incumbents were swept out of office.

With 97 percent of ballots counted and not counting absentee or provisional votes, Farina received 1,260 votes. Challengers Carrie Gilliard had 1,074 and Rose Marie Markle had received 943. They will serve three-year terms.

Tricia Snyder was elected to fill a one-year unexpired term.

New Jersey Superior Court Judge John O'Shaughnessy heard arguments this week in a lawsuit concerning tapes of three closed sessions held by the Hoboken Board of Education in 2005.

Hoboken resident Elizabeth Mason filed suit in November of 2006 in order to have the tapes made public under New Jersey's Open Public Records Act, after her written request to see the minutes was denied by the board earlier last year.

According to Steven Kleinman, the Attorney representing the Board of Education on behalf of the firm Scarinci and Hollenbeck, the judge reserved his decision until a later date.

The Board of Education delayed a decision last week to vote to approve minutes of three closed meetings - from 2005.

The minutes are of two closed executive session meetings held on Aug. 30, 2005, and another one on Sept. 6 of that year.

Board members raised questions about the accuracy of the minutes, particularly after Board Secretary David Anthony said no tape existed for a controversial session in which four members had got up and walked out early - so the minutes were pieced together from the recollections of those who remained.

A new state report has laid out in intricate detail how much it should cost to educate a child in New Jersey, from the price of the average teacher to that of textbooks and supplies.

The 98-page report released yesterday is at the center of Gov. Jon Corzine's plan to revamp the state's school funding formula to better match the needs of individual students, as opposed to those of districts as a whole.

Using data from 2004-05, the report set a total base per-pupil amount of $7,367 for K-8 districts and $8,496 in K-12 district.

HOBOKEN - The former president of the city's Board of Education has been reprimanded by the state for voting to promote his brother and for voting for a contract for Freeholder Maurice Fitzgibbons, whom he serves as an aide.

Carmelo Garcia, who is still on the board, was reprimanded by state Education Commissioner Lucille Davy last week at the recommendation of the state Ethics Commission. It is unclear what, if any, practical consequence the reprimand has.

TRENTON, N.J. (AP) -- New Jersey voters would decide whether the state should create 21 county school districts under a plan considered Wednesday by legislators looking to cut the nation's highest property taxes.

The referendum would ask voters to approve the shift next year, a massive undertaking for a state with 616 school districts spread across 566 municipalities.

If the plan goes through and voters approve, new countywide districts would begin operating on July 1, 2009, and would be led by county school chiefs appointed by the governor.