Hoboken Board of Education Severely Misprojected 2020-21 K-12 Enrollment by 1500% Costing Taxpayers Over $3.7 Million Dollars as Part of a 10% Local Tax Levy Hike During Recession and Pandemic

When not busy denying Elysian Charter School a request to increase enrollment (see official letter) or going to court to revoke the charter of the award winning and recognized Hola Dual Language Charter School, or arguing about previously approved PILOT payments for charter schools, the Hoboken Board of Education requests money. A lot of money. And in 2020-21 it requested $3.7 million more than it should have requested.   

In a May 27, 2020 interview, Hoboken Board of Education Trustee and President Sharyn Angley was quoted as saying that the enrollment for the Hoboken School District for the 2020-21 school year would be 2514 for grades K-12 and that this projected increase was the reason for a 7.95% tax levy hike in the midst of the pandemic. 

The Board President also indicated that Hoboken’s "dramatic" enrollment growth allowed the NJDOE “to provide the district with an additional enrollment adjustment tax levy waiver of 7.95% [on top of the allotted 2%] in order to educate these new students with additional teachers, instructional supplies, technology, and special education needs" This additional 7.95% to the tax levy for the projected enrollment of 2514 for K-12 had a price tag of $3.7 million dollars. Incredibly, she projected a nearly 300 mid pandemic student enrollment increase for the 2020-21 school year. 

So, how did these projections work out?.... 

.....not so good. 

ACTUAL K-12 enrollment for the 2020-21 school year was closer to 2238 students (plus 17 special education students) NOT the 2514 students that Board Trustee Angley and the Board assured in May 2020. That is an increase of about 20 students or an underestimate of 276 students. This projected overestimate has cost the Hoboken taxpayers millions of dollars.

Moreover, the Hoboken School District gained an additional 18 “Choice” students in 2020-21 (offsetting the possible addition of 17 special education students) going from 147 Choice students to 165 choice students. The district RECEIVES money for choice students...over $2,500,000 (see picture below). BTW, "Choice" was a program I helped bring to the district in 2009. 

From Hoboken Board of Education "Budget at a Glance" 
Click to Enlarge 

"School Choice" students are a money making proposition for the district and basically keep the high school open since Hoboken High School enrollment would be around 270 students without School Choice students 

From: https://hudsoncountyview.com/after-more-state-aid-cuts-hoboken-boe-oks-83-8m-budget-with-9-95-school-tax-levy-hike/

Instead of 2514 K-12 students for 2020-21 as projected by the Hoboken Board of Education, the New Jersey Department of Education has reported an enrollment of only 2238 K-12 students for 2020-21. Cost? $3.7 million dollars. 

At the Hoboken Board of Education Meeting  on May 11, 2021 where the budget for 2021-22 was voted on and approved unanimously, there were no comments from Trustee Langley about last year's enrollment projections. 

Even if an enrollment adjustment WAS allowed by the NJDOE....why did the Board of Education decide to take such an adjustment in the middle of a pandemic, recession, and widespread economic turmoil? 

LONG LASTING IMPACT: As has been mentioned before...this extra money for the wrong projections will now stay IN the Board budget going forward...adding close to $48 million extra dollars over the next decade and the Board's continued attacks, lawsuits, and efforts to curb the success of Hoboken's charter schools at all costs: 

* in millions of dollars 

	WITH 7.95% INCREASE*	WITHOUT 7.95% INCREASE*	DIFF*
2019	48.3	48.3
2020	53.1	49.266	3.834
2021	54.162	50.25132	3.91068
2022	55.24524	51.2563464	3.9888936
2023	56.3501448	52.2814733	4.06867147
2024	57.4771477	53.3271028	4.1500449
2025	58.6266906	54.3936449	4.2330458
2026	59.7992245	55.4815177	4.31770672
2027	60.995209	56.5911481	4.40406085
2028	62.2151131	57.7229711	4.49214207
2029	63.4594154	58.8774305	4.58198491
2030	64.7286037	60.0549791	4.67362461
2031	66.0231758	61.2560787	4.7670971
			$51,420,000