Charter School Enrollment for 2022-2023

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Hoboken Project Form 9-25-19 by Tony Petrosino on Scribd

 

Hoboken residents form group to campaign against school board plan to bond for $241 million high school

At the Hoboken Board of Education’s first public meeting to discuss its plans for a new taxpayer-funded high school, resident after resident came out against the proposal.

Many didn’t realize how many others shared their view, and the passion and energy in the room soon brought them together into a coalition against the school board’s plan.

As the date of a Jan. 25 referendum on the $241 million bond to help build the school nears, that group is ready to hit the streets. Members have created signs and slogans and plan to canvass until election day so that residents know what’s on the ballot and how it might affect them.

“When people say this is a grassroots community movement, this is one of those instances where it really is,” said Pavel Sokolov, who helped organize the group with fellow resident Matt Majer.

Members’ motivations vary. Some see the timing of the vote and its presentation to the community as an attempt at voter suppression. Seniors living on a fixed income are concerned about what would be a $496 spike in annual property taxes for the average homeowner. For others it is an issue of equity.

The referendum in question would allow the Hoboken Board of Education to execute a plan to build a new four-story school on the site of JFK Stadium and convert the existing school into a middle school. The state-of-the art facility would have an ice hockey rink, competition-sized pool, rooftop football field and two performing arts theaters.

The Board of Education and district superintendent have called it a solution to a capacity challenge they see the district facing as more students continue to enroll, particularly in the lowest grades. Mayor Ravi Bhalla has publicly endorsed the plan.

Members of the coalition against the referendum, dubbed the Hoboken High School Concerned Citizens Information Exchange, take issue with the board’s basic theories around student population growth, beginning with the fact that the existing building is more than 50% below its maximum capacity.

But for many that is only a starting point for why they want the plan rejected.

To Jerome Abernathy, a proposal filled with recreational amenities seems intended to draw in more affluent families who often opt for charter or private schools; rather than invest in the current students, who are largely students of color (only about 15% of Hoboken public school students are white, while the city is more than 80% white).

He cites test scores that show only 13.6% of the high school’s students scored high enough to be considered proficient in math by federal standards in the most recently reported school year, 2017-18.

“My view is that the school should be focused on serving the kids that go there, increasing the performance of their students,” said Abernathy, who is also the president of the Hoboken Library Board. “Instead, they’ve engaged in this effort to try to attract upper middle-class families that have chosen other alternatives. This whole idea that you’re going to spend a quarter of a billion dollars to build an ice hockey rink — who is that really for?”

One of Sokolov’s top concerns is that the vote is just weeks after the winter holidays and only a few months after November’s general election, in which Board of Education, council and mayoral seats were on the ballot. The proposal was not made public until after Election Day.

Advocating for voter enfranchisement may seem antithetical to his political identity, said Sokolov, who chairs the Hudson County Young Republicans. But he called himself an advocate for both voter enfranchisement and public education.

“I’m an immigrant and a son of immigrants and I benefited from a great public school here in New Jersey,” Sokolov said. “I went to Rutgers.”

The coalition, which meets weekly, isn’t a partisan one, Majer said. And while he’s against the referendum, he’d be more comfortable with it passing if voter turnout is high.

Now that New Year’s Day has come and gone, the group plans to begin making itself seen around the city and to cater its pitch to the type of resident it encounters, Majer said.

A resident of Jefferson Street with kids in the schools may be inclined to vote “no” if they know what type of construction would occur on their street, he said. A young renter who may not be in the city long enough to raise children might care about a tax increase trickling down to the price they pay for rent.

Abernathy is optimistic the group can win. Majer less so.

“I’m very proud, I’ll say, no matter the outcome of this result, that we’re able to share this info and get people involved,” Majer said.

Planned Upgrades to the Hoboken High School Building as Submitted to the NJDOE

 The following are the planned upgrades to the Hoboken High School Building as submitted to the NJDOE by the Hoboken School District. Total cost for the upgrades are estimated to be $23.7 million dollars. 

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Register to Vote in the Upcoming Special Election on January 25th - Hoboken

 Register to vote        

 
Tomorrow, Jan. 4, is the last day to register to vote in the upcoming special election on Jan. 25 in which voters will be asked if they approve a bond proposal question that would allow the Hoboken Public School District to bond for $241,050,000 for a new high school.  
 
To register to vote in the special school district election, you must be a Hoboken resident, a United States citizen, a resident of Hudson County for 30 days before the election, and 18 years old or older.  
 
To register online, go to https://voter.svrs.nj.gov/register.  
 
Residents may also register at the Office of the Superintendent of Elections, located at 257 Cornelison Ave., 4th Floor, in Jersey City. This office will be open from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. on Tuesday, Jan. 4. The Hoboken City Clerk's office will also accept voter registration applications from 4 p.m. to 9 p.m. on Tuesday, Jan. 4. 

Applications can be found at https://www.state.nj.us/state/elections/voter-registration.shtml#vrf.  
 
The Hoboken Board of Education will host its third public meeting on the proposed new high school on Thursday, Jan. 6 in the auditorium of Hoboken High School at 800 Clinton St. at 7 p.m. 
 
Additional public meetings will be held in-person at Hoboken High School on Monday, Jan. 17, at 7 p.m. and virtually on Thursday Jan. 13 at 7 p.m. Login information will be announced by the district at a later date.  
 
For more information, go to http://www.hoboken.k12.nj.us/.
 
For questions or to request more information, email ProposedNewHHS@hoboken.k12.nj.us.

Enrollment and Capacity in the Hoboken Public Schools- 2020 Hoboken District Audit Report

There seems to be a fair amount of discussion recently around capacity and enrollment in the Hoboken Public Schools. Here is a table (J-18) from the most recent Hoboken School District Audit Report. Three things seem to stand out. First, whatever is going on at Wallace with enrollment surpassing capacity has been going on since at least 2011. This likely requires some type of explanation. Second, no other school building's enrollment is at capacity. Finally, remember Calabro students have moved into Brandt School and the numbers should be adjusted accordingly but still remain below Brandt's capacity. So, we need to be sensitive to the hyperbole and rhetoric being used on the issue of enrollment and capacity.

Hoboken District Audit Report (Table J-18) 
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Hoboken Councilperson Fisher is First Elected to Come Out Against $241M School Referendum

Hudson County View is reporting that Hoboken 2nd Ward Councilwoman Tiffanie Fisher is the first elected official to come out against the upcoming $241 million school referendum on January 25th.

“I am not a yes vote on the New High School as currently proposed. I think the proposal is a Ferrari when maybe all we need is a Honda (or something in between) and would like to know if there is a different proposal that is a better fit (more affordable but still amazing) and determined based upon a process that is more transparent and involves input from many public stakeholders, not just a small few,” she said in an email blast last week.

“I actually support the need for a new High School, but my current view is a ‘not this / not yet / no on this proposal, and please try again.’ The BOE gave us this path by saying if this proposal is not approved, they would bring another proposal back in a year. Let’s take them up on that offer.”

She added that the proposal is actually closer to $330 million after the interest of the three-decade financial commitment is factored in, as well as that she decided to weigh in since mail-in ballots had just gone out.

“As an informed taxpayer, although I strongly believe the enrollment wave justifies expanded facilities, I am not confident that the Ferrari version of a school costing taxpayers $330 million is what is best for Hoboken without knowing if there is another alternative that could cost less and be a better fit,” Fisher continued.

” … And importantly, if you get to buy a new car using other people’s money, shouldn’t you have to explain why you need to spend so much to everyone you are borrowing the money from, not just those who will get to ride in it (which in this case are about 10% of Hoboken residents and taxpayers)?”

The project would be four stories tall and approximately 374,700 square feet with a 110 car spot garage underneath the school that will allow the first floor of the school to be elevated to comply with FEMA regulations.

The proposed Hoboken High School would have 27 general classrooms, 11 specialized learning rooms, and six self-contained special education rooms.

The price tag would lead to an approximately $496 annual tax increase per household, the school district has confirmed. Fisher said in a prior email that the school tax increase would be around 20 percent and the overall tax increase would be about six percent.

Last month, Mayor Ravi Bhalla and his three top allies on the city council, Emily Jabbour, Jim Doyle, and Phil Cohen, came out in support of the “transformative project,” indicating it would improve children’s quality of education along with increasing local property values.

New Jersey Board of Education Approves Mandatory Graduation Exam for High School Juniors

As of September of 2021 a new graduation requirement has been approved by the state Board of Education for New Jersey high schoolers. The policy will be in effect for spring 2022 for 11th graders.

Juniors will take the New Jersey Graduation Proficiency Exam, testing students in English and math in the computer-based exam.

The move is getting pushback from the state's largest teachers union, the New Jersey Education Association, which argues students shouldn't have to take a mandatory test to graduate at all.

The computer-based exam is aligned with the standards for 10th grade English, Algebra I and Geometry, Department of Education spokesman Shaheed Morris said. Students are required to take the test, and only those who fail will be allowed to meet the graduation requirement through alternative assessments or a portfolio appeal process, according to the state.

New Jersey has long required students to pass an exit exam in order to graduate from high school, even as most states have moved away from such tests. But what was once a singular test here has turned into a complex, confusing and ever-changing set of requirements since 2016.

The new exam will be in place at least for the classes of 2023 through 2025.

Read More: NJ.COM; Education Law Center; State of New Jersey DOE; 

Hoboken Board of Education Opposed Elysian Charter's Expansion of 36 Students in December 2019 Due to Hoboken District Enrollment Concerns- The Hoboken District Now Claims "Explosive" Enrollment Gains...Which is it?

In 2019 the Elysian Charter School requested a slight enrollment increase from the New Jersey Department of Education. The request was to increase the enrollment capacity of the school by 36 students over four years. The change would have expanded the student population of Elysian from 288 to 324 students. 

Unfortunately, the Hoboken Board of Education opposed Elysian's request for an enrollment increase. The district claimed they were concerned of losing funding because of a decrease in the district enrollment- even though the district provided no evidence that these 36 potential students would attend Hoboken district schools if the expansion was denied. 

Now in 2021 the same Hoboken Board of Education claims “skyrocketing” and explosive enrollment although many question the accuracy of such numbers. One such critique comes from Ms. Maureen Sullivan, a former Hoboken Board of Education member from 2009 to 2013. 

There was and continues to be great interest in Elysian School in Hoboken: “Our waitlist remains robust and demand for our school is at an all-time high, evidenced by our record-breaking 914 applicants from our most recent lottery in January."

Denying a small charter school 36 seats is not the action of a school district currently claiming they are experiences explosive enrollment growth. Perhaps the Hoboken Board of Education and the Chief School Administrator want both the perception that enrollment is growing AND that any loss of students to the district would have a financial and segregative effect on the district. 

The Hoboken Board of Education also made an argument to the state about the segregative effect of the 36 students. However, most people will remember a similar argument by the Board resulted in a 3 year lawsuit against the Hola Dual Language Charter School (see a pattern here) which the Hoboken District initially and lost again upon appeal. There was no segregative effect. 

note: A number of Board members and the Superintendent were involved in the 2017 Hola lawsuit, the 2019 Elysian Expansion opposition and the 2021 explosive enrollment $241 million bond issue. 

Summary: In December of 2019 the Hoboken Board of Education denied an expansion of 36 students over 4 years to Elysian Charter but less than 2 years later, the Hoboken superintendent and Board publicly and claim explosive enrollment growth although many disagree with the accuracy of the Board's numbers. The Hoboken Board of Education has consistently been against any expansion of charter school enrollment increases yet claims explosive enrollment growth in the district. 

On Tuesday, December 10, 2019 the Hoboken Board of Education passed Action 9.23 which was the Approval of the Opposition to the Elysian School Expansion. The motion was initialed by Board Trustee Melanie Tekirian and was seconded by Trustee Chetali Khanna. All board trustees votes yes (Malani Cademartori, Sheillah Dallara, Alex De La Torre, Jennifer Evans, Chetali Khanna, Ailene McGuirk, Melanie Tekirian, Sharyn Angley) with a single abstaining vote by Trustee Thomas Kluepfel. 

Elysian Opposition by Tony Petrosino

Hoboken Uses Fake Numbers To Push for a High School Palace

Maureen Sullivan 

  The following is an opinion piece published by   Ms. Maureen Sullivan. Ms. Sullivan served as a Hoboken Board of Trustee Member on the Hoboken Board of Education from 2009 to 2013. 

Dear Editor:

How can we trust Hoboken Schools Superintendent Christine Johnson to build a high school costing a third of a billion dollars (including interest) when she can’t do basic percentages?

The 10-page brochure posted on the district’s website makes the case for this gold-plated school — by using completely phony numbers. 

Some examples:

–It says Hoboken’s Pre-K through 12th grade enrollment has increased 127% in the last 10 years. The actual number appears to be just 15%, but Johnson doesn’t give the actual numbers or tell us which years the bars on the graph represent. And, of course, if you change the base year to one in the late 90s or mid-00s, enrollment is flat.

–It says Hoboken’s Pre-K through 5th grade enrollment has jumped 154% in the last 10 years. The actual number also appears to be just 15%. Johnson again doesn’t give the real numbers or tell us which years the bars represent.

–It says Hoboken’s population has grown 180% since 1990. The true number: 81% (33,397 to 60,419).

Why can’t Johnson get the numbers right? (And why is the brochure so sloppy, with typos and mislabeled years?) Perhaps her F in math is not surprising, given that only 8% of Hoboken High students were proficient in math for their grade the last time the state test was given. (Statewide average: 44.5%)

And why is she muddying the waters by combining Pre-K and K-12 students in these numbers? The brochure says the greatest need is for Pre-K space. That may be true, but then why is she planning to build a high school?

In any event, the state fully funds the annual $16 million Pre-K program; the district does not need to provide a district building for these children. They can be housed in private Pre-K schools or other private buildings, and many already are. What’s more, the Pre-K enrollment is stagnant, falling from 899 in 2018-19 to 870 the next year, then rising to 917 last year and now falling to 865 this year (that last number comes from the referendum brochure). May 2020 Pre-K projection for 2020-21: 1,050. Actual number: 917, or 133 fewer.

The public-school district has a long history of overestimating enrollment numbers. In most years since I moved to Hoboken in 2001, the budget document has generously overestimated the expected enrollment for the next year. In the spring of 2020, for instance, it projected 294 more K-12 students to sign up for the 2020-21 school year than did. Enrollment actually fell by 19 students. In 2019 it said it expected 972 Pre-K children for 2019-20; the official census that October counted 870, some 29 fewer than the year before.

It would be reckless for Hoboken to hand over hundreds of millions of dollars to this superintendent. She’s proven herself incompetent. Vote No in the referendum Jan. 25.

Maureen Sullivan

Fact Checking PREK Enrollment Growth and Hoboken Population Growth Based on Hoboken Board of Education Meeting December 14, 2021

News12 New Jersey reported on the Hoboken Board of Education meeting on Tuesday December 14, 2021. Full details of their coverage along with a video can be found by clicking HERE. Present below are inconsistencies with statements by Dr. Johnson and the Board of Education concerning population and enrollment growth in Hoboken and in the school district. 

Since the argument and justification for the new $241 million bond is predicated on population and enrollment numbers and projections, this is an important issue.

Based on reporting from News 12 New Jersey, Superintendent Johnson and the Hoboken Board claim there was a 154% increase enrollment in PreK enrollment from 2010-11 to present. 

In 2011-12 there were 624 PreK students. In 2021-22 there were 905 PreK students. This represents a 45.03% enrollment increase not a 154% enrollment increase. Since the argument being forwarded for a new high school is based on population and enrollment growth, this is a non-trivial issue. 

Below are screenshots of 1) the 2011-12 ASSA Report and 2021-22 ASSA Report for Hoboken, 2) the Superintendents claim of a 154% increase, 3) a calculation of the percent change in PreK enrollment 2010-11 to 2021-22.

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According to US Census numbers, the population is Hoboken in 1990 was 33,397. The population in 2020 was 60,419. That is an 80.9% population growth NOT a 180% population growth as Superintendent Johnson and the Board asserts. Below are screenshots of 1) the district's claim, 2) US Census Data for Hoboken, 3) a calculation of the percent change in population growth 1990 to 2020.

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Since the argument being forwarded for a new high school is based on population and enrollment growth, this is a non-trivial issue.

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Former Hoboken Board of 

Education trustee Ms. Maureen Sullivan also commented on social media about the erroneous numbers that were presented to the public by the Board of Education and Superintendent Johnson. Either someone did not review the presentation beforehand, someone is deliberately trying to deceive the public or there is gross incompetence within the Board.

Pulled From Twitter: Comments and Questions on Proposed Facilities Upgrade and new High School

The following was shared by Paul Presinzano on Twitter (@presinzano4hob1):

Board of Education meeting Tuesday December 14th at 7pm

Meetings will be held in the Demarest School Auditorium, 158 Fourth Street – Second Floor, Hoboken, NJ

First, we need to listen to all information then ask the right questions before a decision. My comments/questionsare to help reflect on the proposal and how the community benefits.

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For a 3D video of proposal please click here:https://youtu.be/4FRbwZHO4ik