Superintendent Appointment Left Off of Feb 9 Meeting Agenda- "shouldn’t have come as a surprise"

In an article entitled "Hoboken Board of Education Feb 9 Meeting Agenda" posted by The Jersey Journal on it's website and reported by Mark Maurer, a key trustee of the Hoboken Board of Education, was quoted on Monday, February 8 as saying it was not likely that a decision about selecting a new superintendent would be made at Tuesday's Board of Education meeting.

On Tuesday evening February 9, at a sparsely attended Board of Education meeting, the non-agenda item calling for the nomination of and the vote for a new Superintendent of Schools for the Hoboken Public School District took place (see official agenda below).

Questioned after the meeting took place and as reported by The Hoboken Reporter, Board member Minutillo said the public should have remembered that the Board mentioned in September of 2009 that it might hire a superintendent in February. “We’ve always been about process and fairness,” she said in a later interview. According to the Hoboken Reporter in the same article, "they (some Board of Education members) were sent a memo over the previous weekend from Minutillo, who chairs the committee handling the superintendent negotiations, stating that the board would not be voting to approve a contract for last Tuesday."

One side note...two Hoboken Board of Education trustees who successfully ran on and have been aligned with the Kids First team have publicly disassociated themselves with Minutillo and the remaining members of the Kids First coalition following the events leading up to and including the Tuesday, February 9th vote.

For those who may want to review the New Jersey Open Public Meetings Act-- Please click HERE.

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From the Jersey Journal's website....

The Hoboken Board of Education is meeting tomorrow night at 1115 Clinton St., at 7 p.m.

Rose Marie Markle, president of the Hoboken Board of Education, said it is not likely that a decision about selecting a new superintendent will be made that night. Rumors have circulated that Fort Lee Assistant Superintendent Frank Romano was offered the job over the other candidate, Dr. Gayle Griffin, a former Newark associate assistant superintendent, but Markle said declined to comment. The evening’s agenda is as follows:

Board President Report and Board Committee Reports.
Approval of minutes.
Report of Interim Superintendent.
a. Personnel: postings, resignations, re-appointments, appointments, program staffing, transfers, full and part time staff, training, stipends, substitutes.
b. Curriculum and Instruction: Curriculum and instruction matters; field trips
Business Administrator: financial reports and actions; payment of bills and payroll; food service program; facility matters; grants; student placements and services; workshops.

Hoboken BoE Agenda 2/9/10