Monday, May 23, 2022

6th to 12th Graders in Hoboken Public Schools Score Low Again in Mathematics, Reading, Science, and College Readiness - US NEWS AND WORLD REPORT


It is helpful to look at independent, third party evaluation of the Hoboken Public Schools rather than public relations materials released by the district's PR efforts. For instance, latest test score data from the **2022** US News and World Report finds that over half the 6th to 12th graders in the Hoboken public schools are reading BELOW grade level, over 90% are BELOW grade level in mathematics, and 99% are BELOW grade level in Science. 

Moreover, on a score from 1-100, the school scores a 17 on college readiness (set of skills, behaviors, and knowledge a high school student should have before enrollment in their first year of college)

These results are from a district that is only 20% free or reduced lunch. A community that allocates the district leadership over $27,000 per student. A district with a very low student to teacher ratio (well under 15 students to 1 teacher). 

The kids in this district are victims of poor pedagogy, incompetent leadership that appears to not have a clue as to what to do to raise achievement levels of students,  and excuse makers unable to effectively educate students.

Results from 2021....no improvement at all

Click to Enlarge 




Wednesday, May 18, 2022

2021-22 Hoboken High School Resident Enrollment: 344 Students

How many students are enrolled in Hoboken High School? A relatively simple question that is often challenging to find a clear answer. 

Using the 2022-23 ASSA Hoboken Enrollment Report as well as the disaggregated count of "choice" enrollment in the the district supplied by the New Jersey Department of Education, we find that there are 344 Hoboken resident students in Hoboken High School. When one also adds in the number of students attending Hoboken High School based on the NJDOE choice program, the enrollment reaches 467 students. This is a school that was built to house 1500 students in the early 1960's. This in a district that claims "skyrocketing" enrollment yet continues to accept students from out of town. 

The district should honor the commitment it has made to all students who have been accepted into the choice program until graduation. But it is contradictory for the district to claim enrollment is skyrocketing while at the same time the district is actively recruiting and taking the maximum number of out of town students into the district (163 students). The choice program should either be terminated or the district leadership and administration should significantly curb discussion and claims around enrollment increases outside of normal year to year variation. 

ASSA Report

9 Grade: 146 students

10 Grade: 92 students 

11 Grade: 93 students 

12 Grade: 77 students 

SPED: 59 students 

TOTAL = 467 students 


CHOICE PROGRAM 

9 Grade: 31 students 

10 Grade: 31 students 

11 Grade: 28 students 

12 Grade: 26 students 

SPED: 7 students 

TOTAL = 123 students


467 Students - 123 students = 344 students  




2022-23 ASSA REPORT: https://www.scribd.com/document/574775642/Oct21-ASSA-Report

2021-22 Choice Program by Grade: https://www.scribd.com/document/574775260/NJDOE-Choice-Program-Hoboken-2021-22







Monday, May 16, 2022

CRB Meeting May 16, 2022 at 7PM

 










May 16, 2022

 
Dear friends and neighbors, 
 
I don’t know how I missed this!  There is a CRB meeting tonight at 7pm coincidentally scheduled two days before the City Council votes to add Hoboken residents to the CRB.  And it includes at least two applicants that violate our existing Cannabis Laws.  More on this below...
 
BUT FIRST: PLEASE NOTE: I am moving my pre-meeting for the County Planning Board meeting to 630pm tonight instead of 7!  If you want to join my meeting tonight – it will be quick! - please email me and I will send you the Zoom Link.  Also I am correcting the link to email Mayor Bhalla (and me) to ask that he push his representative on the Hudson County Planning Board – John Allen – to vote in favor of Hoboken neighbors and not in favor of the mayor of Jersey City.  
 
Contrary to their efforts to impose and support the commonsense cannabis legislation that was passed on April 6th and signed by Mayor Bhalla on April 8th, it seems like the Bhalla administration is rushing to approve as many dispensaries in Hoboken as possible.  With absolute discretion on how to move forward, what other explanation could there be?  
 
The three applicants being considered tonight are:
  • 86 River Street – this is to add a recreational cannabis license to a location that was already approved for a medical license a block away from the PATH train.  The key difference is that the recreational license currently will not require appointments, whereas I believe the medical license was granted partly because it would be by appointment only.  Interestingly, our laws technically prohibit this from being granted because the new recreational license is within 500 feet of another license – the Harmony medical license at 95 River Street.  The City Council has approved on first reading an amendment that would grandfather both dispensaries and would not require that they meet the location constraints and will be voting on second reading on Tuesday.
  • 1427 Grand Street.  5th Ward.  This location is a one-story location in the I-1 zone, directly east of the Biergarten on the corner of 15th and Grand and one block north of the viaduct.  The applicant has indicated they have secured 17 parking spaces at the Park and Garden parking garage at 15th and Park.   
  • 321 Washington St.  1st Ward (3rd location) Located less than 600 feet away from both Demarest and Stevens Cooperative and violates our current laws.  This property btw is 1.5 blocks away from 128 Washington which the CRB declined two weeks ago.    
 
The Bhalla administration and the current CRB Board are taking the position that if applicants submitted their 3 page applications to the CRB before April 28th, when our common sense cannabis laws went into effect, then these new laws don’t apply to their application.  This isn’t backed by any precedent or law, this is a policy they have made.  They are citing “Time of Application” which is a state law that specifically relates only to land use boards (planning and zoning) which the CRB is not.  As a matter of fact, Hoboken's Corporation Counsel Brian Aloia has said repeatedly that it is only an advisory board and not a land use board.  If this policy continues, then even the cap of 6 dispensaries may be in jeopardy.  
 
The planning board, however, is another story – the planning board IS a land use board and the Supreme Court of NJ has held that the “Time of Application” law applies when an applicant’s application to the land use board is substantially complete.  And it further states that just submitting an incomplete application doesn’t get you excluded from the “Time of Application” law.  So hopefully the Planning Board will apply the statute to any applicants to the Planning Board whose applications were not substantially complete on April 28th.  Including the proposed Blue Violet dispensary at 628 Washington St. who I understand may not yet be deemed complete.  For those opposing this location because of its proximity to two schools – now is your chance to speak up and raise this as an important issue.  #morevoices
 
The CRB has already endorsed 5 of the 6 locations allowed under our laws.  But right now, I don’t even know if the Bhalla administration plans to enforce this provision.  It seems like they don’t have any plans to which is incredibly frustrating to say the least.  He has the discretion to choose in favor of residents, and take the position that the recent laws we enacted – to restore what we had before CP Russo misled us – do apply, instead of a path and policy that favors the cannabis operators and their landlords over Hoboken residents and families.  
 
Whether you agree or not, write to Mayor Bhalla who sets to tone on this for our community and tell him your views.  I mentioned before that the feedback I have received so far is about 85% wanting restrictions, and 15% wanting less (or no) restrictions.  I will tell you if this changes.
 
Please forward to everyone you know who may be interested in this newsletter.  Feel free to email me at councilwomanfisher2@gmail.com or call me at 201-208-1674 to discuss what you have read or anything else that is important to you.    
 
 
TiffanieFisher
Hoboken City Council, 2nd Ward
 
Engage. Inform. Advocate.
“More Voices are Better”
 
Follow me on Facebook or Twitter



CITY OF HOBOKEN Hoboken Cannabis Review Board 94 Washington Street Hoboken, New Jersey 07030

Jason Freeman, Business Administrator Leo Pellegrini, Dir. Health & Human Services
Michael Russo, Council Member

PUBLIC MEETING OF THE HOBOKEN MEDICAL CANNABIS REVIEW BOARD SCHEDULED FOR MONDAY, MAY 16, 2022 AT 7:00 PM

The Hoboken MEDICAL CANNABIS REVIEW BOARD (the “Board”) will host a virtual meeting to discuss the business of the Board. The meeting will take place via the Zoom platform beginning at 7:00 PM on Monday May 16, 2022, and will be recorded.

Please be advised that due to the current State of Emergency due to the COVID-19 outbreak, and in accordance with guidelines issued by the State of New Jersey for public meetings during this time, the May 16, 2022 , Authority meeting will be held virtually and will be available to the public via Zoom (instructions below).

When: May 16, 2022 07:00 PM Eastern Time (US and Canada) Topic: Hoboken Cannabis Review Board Meeting

Please click the link below to join the webinar: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82253610084
Or One tap mobile :
US: +13017158592,,82253610084# or +13126266799,,82253610084# Or Telephone:

Dial(for higher quality, dial a number based on your current location):

US: +1 301 715 8592 or +1 312 626 6799 or +1 929 205 6099 or +1 253 215 8782 or +1 346 248 7799 or +1 669 900 6833

Webinar ID: 822 5361 0084
International numbers available: https://us02web.zoom.us/u/kttfAIDve

Public portion will be held virtually at the end of the agenda. Comments from the public will be limited to 5 minutes per person. Those who wish to comment must be dialed in through Zoom.

page1image1087030288 page1image1087030576

Following is the link to the agenda and agenda packet: http://hobokennj.iqm2.com/Citizens/Detail_Meeting.aspx?ID=2427

Please email pcarcone@hobokennj.gov with any questions regarding this meeting.

  1. Call to Order

  2. Reading of Announcement regarding the open Public Meetings Act

  3. Reading and Approval of Minutes of the previous meeting

  4. Committee Reports

  5. Matters Scheduled for Review:

page2image1088086032

A. 86 River Street, CRB-22-6

page2image1088091840

Block/Lot: Zone: Applicant: Presenter(s): Description:

222, Lot 5
C-1
Terrapin Investment Funds II, LLC James Burke, Esq.
Retail Cannabis License

B. 1427 Grand Street, CRB-22-7

page2image1088113552

Block/Lot: Zone: Applicant: Presenter(s): Description:

122, Lot 14
I-1
The Jersey Joint Inc. Sean Mack, Esq.
Retail Cannabis License

C. 321 Washington Street, CRB-22-9

page2image1088134304

Block/Lot: Zone: Applicant: Presenter(s): Description:

214, Lot 9
C-2
Culture Hoboken Inc. Charles J. Harrington Esq. Retail Cannabis License

  1. Public Comment Section

  2. Adjournment

Thursday, May 5, 2022

City Reaches 5 year Agreement with Hoboken Public Schools for 9000 sq feet of The Jubilee Center

Jubilee Center in Hoboken
Jubilee Center- Hoboken 
The City of Hoboken and the Hoboken Public School District recently announced a new lease agreement that will provide additional classroom space for the Hoboken Public School District at the Jubilee Center. The City Council approved the lease at a meeting on May 4, 2022. The consideration for the lease is $15,250.00 per month ($183,000 per year) for an initial term of 5 years (see below).

The five-year lease permits the district to use all three floors of the Jubilee Center for early childhood education. The space will be allocated to four Head Start preschool classrooms for 60 children in the Pre-K3 and Pre-K4 programs.

Back in February of 2021 and after a lengthy negotiation, the City of Hoboken announced plans to purchase the Jubilee Center at 601-603 Jackson Street, potentially using the property to host community programs and possibly house public school classes.

According to City officials, Hoboken was able to receive a low-interest loan from the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to cover the cost of the building—valued at $3 million. The plan was to then rent space out to community entities, using the revenue from those leases to cover the cost of the loan and thereby eliminate any impact on Hoboken's municipal budget. In March, nonprofit TRUE Mentors moved into the first and third floors of the Jubilee Center to provide free one-on-one, group, and educational mentoring programs to Hudson County youth between the ages of 7- and 18-years-old.

Under the terms of the lease agreement, the Hoboken Public School District will use all three floors of the Jubilee Center (9000 sq feet) from 7 a.m. until 4 p.m. while TRUE Mentors will continue to use the facility from 4 p.m. to 9 p.m. until June 30. Starting in September, the district will have access from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.

The Hoboken City Council adopted an ordinance authorizing the lease agreement on Wednesday, May 4, by an 8-0-1 vote. Councilman Michael DeFusco was absent.