It is being reported that the superintendent of the Hoboken School District will be receiving a contract extension. The Hoboken Board President was quoted in a recent article on the topic (see full article below).
“We believe that Johnson is the ideal leader to continue guiding our district toward even greater heights,” said Board of Education President Ailene McGuirk in a statement Tuesday. “Her proven track record speaks for itself. Under her leadership, the Hoboken Public School District is now the highest performing traditional public K-12 district in Hudson County, a testament to her dedication and expertise.”
“By approving Johnson’s contract, we are securing her invaluable expertise and unwavering dedication to our students for an additional five years,” McGuirk said. “Her continued leadership will be essential as we strive to maintain our position as a premier school district.”
"This constant lying is not aimed at making the people believe a lie, but at ensuring that no one believes anything anymore. A people that can no longer distinguish between truth and lies cannot distinguish between right and wrong. And such a people, deprived of the power to think and judge, is, without knowing and willing it, completely subjected to the rule of lies. With such a people, you can do whatever you want." - Hannah Arendt (14 October 1906 – 4 December 1975) German historian and philosopher
By Mark Koosau | The Jersey Journal
Hoboken Superintendent Christine Johnson, who has been both widely praised and harshly criticized, is expected to receive a new contract that would extend her stay in the city’s school district until 2029.
The Board of Education is expected on Tuesday to approve the new pact, which will run from 2024 to 2029 and replaces Johnson’s current deal, which runs expires in 2026.
Johnson has been with the school district since 2015 and was formerly the superintendent of Boonton in Morris County.
“We believe that Johnson is the ideal leader to continue guiding our district toward even greater heights,” said Board of Education President Ailene McGuirk in a statement Tuesday.
“Her proven track record speaks for itself. Under her leadership, the Hoboken Public School District is now the highest performing traditional public K-12 district in Hudson County, a testament to her dedication and expertise.”
Johnson, who oversees a 3,501-student district, has often been under the spotlight in the Mile Square City. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Hoboken was the only school district in Hudson County to offer full-time, in-person learning during the 2020-21 school year and later instituted a vaccine mandate for students.
She has been criticized as well, most notably when she and the board of education delayed news of a proposed state-of-the-art, $241 million high school that was placed on a special referendum ballot only two months later.
Critics claimed the late announcement of the new school proposal was intentional, an attempt to fast-track the plan with little public discussion.
The referendum was soundly voted down in January 2022 and brought upon a tensely contested school board election that same year.
Johnson also received scrutiny over the use of the title of “Dr.” during her tenure despite not earning her doctorate degree until August 2022.
Despite the controversies, McGuirk cited Johnson’s accomplishments such as “her dedication to innovation and technology” through different programs, expanding AP courses, including one on African American studies, and “her emphasis on arts, athletics, and extracurricular activities.”
“By approving Johnson’s contract, we are securing her invaluable expertise and unwavering dedication to our students for an additional five years,” McGuirk said. “Her continued leadership will be essential as we strive to maintain our position as a premier school district.”
A copy of the proposed contract was not made available and McGuirk would not say how much Johnson will earn annually under the new deal. Johnson was paid $211,707 salary in the 2023-24 school year, and her current contract calls for a raise to $230,360 for the 2025-26 school year.
Johnson did not respond to a request for comment on her new contract. Her current salary makes her the fourth-lowest paid superintendent in Hudson County above superintendents in Harrison, Secaucus and East Newark.
