Seven candidates are vying for three seats on the Hoboken Board of Education in the Nov. 7 elections. Two slates of three candidates each are facing off against each other, plus one independent. Voters can choose any three they want.
The separate slates are headed up by the two incumbents in the race — Peter Biancamano and Sharyn Angley, who come from different political sides. Biancamano is running on the Educate/Collaborate slate with mothers Lauren Eagle and Anne Marie Schreiber. Sharyn Angley heads up the Hoboken Proud slate, which has been endorsed by mayoral candidates Jen Giattino and Ravi Bhalla. She is running with moms Chitali Khanna and Melanie Tekirian.
Patricia Waiters is running independently.
The school board has nine trustees who serve for three-year terms. The board oversees the district’s six public schools, including roughly 1,900 students and a $72 million budget. They also are involved with disbursing charter school funding, although they don’t have direct oversight.
Issues and controversies
One of the more controversial issues dealt with by the board over the last few years is the board majority’s attempt to prevent the city’s charter schools from expanding, and to prevent new charter schools from opening. They say these schools take too many resources from the other public schools. It was the board’s “Kids First” majority that originally supported suing the State Department of Education and the HoLa charter school to overcome state approval for HoLa to add seventh and eighth grades. They additionally cited alleged socioeconomic segregation.
In February of 2016, Angley voted to continute the HoLa litigation, but the suit was ultimately unsuccessful. Biacamano voted to halt the litigation against the charter school.
The Kids First group that initially supported the lawsuit retired its name, but some of those involved ran last year under the banner of Forward Together, endorsed by Mayor Dawn Zimmer at the time. They are part of the current board majority.
The board eventually relied on private donations to fund part of the proceedings, after initially spending tax dollars. Board members who dipped into their own pockets included Jennifer Evans, Irene Sobolov, Thomas Kluepfel, and former trustees Jean Marie Mitchell and Leon Gold. None of them are currently running.
The issue left some feeling that charter schools and other public district school were pitted against one another, something that at least one candidate alluded to in comments for this story.
Another issue to be faced by trustees will be the need to continue to adapt to the changes in the district, especially as more young families stay in town and use the public schools. One parent complained last year that parents aren’t being encouraged enough to enroll their children in the Connors school downtown and that there isn’t enough space for the southwest’s growing population.
There were some reconfigurations in buildings in time for this school year, in order to adapt to ongoing changes. The middle school moved to a new location this year separate from the high school. That school is now in the spacious Demarest building on Fourth Street. Brandt Primary School has been adding a grade level each year to accommodate demand in the area, and currently goes up to second grade, with the possibility of adding more grades.
Educate/Collaborate
Peter Biancamano, a lifelong Hoboken resident, has served on the board of the past six years. During that time he chaired the finance and facilities committees.
He said his biggest accomplishments include the hiring of Superintendent Dr. Christine Johnson as well being an approachable liaison between parents, the community, and the district.
He said some of his key concerns are space constraints, a need for open communication, and the budget.
“Down in the southwest we have an influx of families living in that area now, and Connors school just can’t hold the amount of students that are now in that area,” said Biancamano. “We need to ensure we have space capabilities for everyone in Hoboken and not just uptown parents at the Wallace School. Every voice needs to be heard.”
Biancamano said that he believes they need a more transparent budget and “we have to have to have to stop relying on raising taxes. It’s been raised the past five years.”
He said he believes the communication process needs to be streamlined.
“Dr. Johnson has done a good job of providing information on the new website and ensuring we are on social media, but no one knows it’s there,” said Biancamano.
He suggested having student liaisons at the school to communicate with the board.
Eagle is a 15-year Hoboken resident in southwest Hoboken and mother of two. She began the parent volunteer group at St. Francis Mile Square Early Learning Center and worked with the PTO president at Connors on school initiatives.
She said she has three main focuses including a transparent budget, clear, consistent communication between the district, parents, and the Hoboken community, and a balance in educational opportunity among the district’s schools.
“I want to make sure that no matter which school you go to, they all have the same focus on all the elements from activities to educational learning to ensure a well-rounded student,” said Eagle.
She said she feels she will be an asset to the board because of her past work at L’Oreal, where she balanced a multimillion-dollar international capital budget and worked with competing brands and internal departments to ensure money was being spent wisely.
As for communication, she suggested that representatives from each of the parent organizations at the different schools meet consistently to discuss their schools and possible collaboration opportunities. She also suggested that the board have a community member liaison who can act as a parents or community members a point of contact with follow-up questions or issues they are having.
Schreiber, a 20 year Hoboken resident, has served on the board of the Elysian Charter School for the past five years. Her three children attend the school.
“Education is important to me, and I’d like to bring the skills I have developed while at the board of Elysian to serve and better the Hoboken community,” said Schreiber. “That includes fiscal management. As a charter school we have to do more with less, and I want to make sure that we are responsible with residents tax dollars and ensure the district is getting more bang for their buck. I know the role of the board, the governances, and the fiscal oversight.”
She said “I chose for my children to go to Elysian because I do believe in school choice and I liked the small class size and progressive education. It is a wonderful fit for my children.”
She noted, “We all believe that we should be bringing all the schools together. We live in a mile-square town and it shouldn’t be charter school-versus-district school or old Hoboken versus new Hoboken. We all live and work together.”
Hoboken Proud
Incumbent Sharyn Angley and mothers Chitali Khanna and Melenie Tekirian are the Hoboken Proud slate. They are the slate publicly endorsed by the two mayoral candidates.
Angley, a 15-year resident and mother of three, has served on the Board of Education for the past three years.
She has served as both vice president and chair of the finance committee. She has also been a member of the facilities committee, negotiations committee, and long-range facilities committee.
Angley said she should be reelected because she is still motivated by the positive experiences her children had and she wants to “ensure children have a positive, fulfilling educational experience.”
“I listen, I work well with others, I am even-tempered,” said Angley about her time on the board. “I don’t shy from responsibility and I don’t hide from challenges.”
She said the slate “represents the belief that strong schools and a strong community go hand in hand. Strong schools bring pride and value to our community and proud community support will help our schools continue to thrive.”
Angley said she is most proud of her part in the hiring of Dr. Johnson as well as helping to facilitate her new five-year contract.
She said if reelected she will want to help tackle the space constraints the district is facing as enrollment has been increasing.
Khanna, an 11-year resident and mother of two, has served for three years as an officer of the Wallace School PTO.
She said she is running because she has witnessed the “wonderful things happening across the district” and she wants to “give back to the community and ensure we provide all of our district children with the best educational opportunities.”
She said she would be an asset to the board not only because of her active involvement in building a stronger PTO community, but also because she has 14 years of leadership experience in budgeting, public accounting, and internal auditing.
She said at Wallace she “initiated collaboration with the other district PTO leaders in an effort to bring together parents throughout our community and share ideas through district adult socials. [We] and plan to hold a district-wide PTO event during the current school year.”
“I believe a strong school is the result of strong parent involvement,” Khanna added. “Our students benefit when we all work together.”
Kahnna said if elected she will combat the negative stigma in the community about the school district as well as ensure adequate spacing for increasing enrollment.
Tekirian is a 20-year Hoboken resident and mother. She said she was motivated to run for the school board because of her daughter’s positive experience at Wallace.
She said she wants to bring her “talents, time, and passion to the board to ensure the schools deliver an amazing educational experience.”
“As a mother of a district student I bring my direct experience and vested interest in our schools to the role,” said Tekirian.
She added that she has 25 years of business experience including people management, leadership, budgeting, and negotiations. “I will always put our students first,” she said.
She said if elected to the board she will raise awareness about the schools’ programming. She will support the administration and teachers in their efforts to continue to improve the district. She said she will work to help devise a multi-year strategy to prepare for facility upgrades and districts space needs.
Independent
Waiters, a resident since 1978, is a community activist who has run for election to multiple positions in the past including freeholder, and Board of Education, and hoped to be appointed to the Hoboken Housing Authority.
“I’ve been running for the past 10 years for change and diversity,” said Waiters. “I have no strings attached, no political bosses endorsing me. I don’t owe anyone anything. I am my own individual, that is why I am running independently.”
She said she is most proud of the work she has done for the community including senior citizens and acting as a point of contact to voice concerns of parents and residents at various community meetings.
“People know me,” said Waiters. “They can always count on me.”
She said she is an outspoken go-getter who can not be intimidated.
“I will always vote with my opinion and what I think is best but I am willing to worth with [other members of the board],” said Waiters.
She said if elected to the board she will address segregation issues and issues of equality through changing the lottery system as it still leaves room for segregation.
“I wont stop at the municipal level,” said Waiters. “I’ll go to Trenton at the state to fight for what’s right and what we need and what’s right for the children.”
Marilyn Baer can be reached at marilynb@hudsonreporter.com.
