Drama surrounding theater director rises in Hoboken
More drama surrounded Hoboken Theater Director Paula Ohaus at the Tuesday, May 10 school board meeting.
The Board of Education voted yes on legislation to extend the deadline for notifying non-tenured teachers that they will not be hired back. The current date was extended to May 15.
Parents say that the board intends to not re-hire Ohaus, as well as Cheng-Yen Hillenbrand, the founder of the Johns Hopkins program for gifted students. In addition to Ohaus and Hillenbrand, four other district employees’ jobs are also on the line.
Elizabeth Markevitch, a former Board of Education candidate, created a Facebook event in an attempt to get people to come out to the meeting to speak against moving the deadline.
In April, Ohaus resigned, saying she felt “harassed,” but rescinded her resignation just before a board meeting in which students and parents packed the room supporting her. Ohaus has been credited with operating a very successful theater department at Hoboken High School. However, complaints against Ohaus include having students over her home and driving them in her personal car, which, according to the board, could be a liability issue for the district.
Hoboken Chamber forms ‘Women in Business Council’; announces new members
The Hoboken Chamber of Commerce has formed the “Women in Business Council” and also elected two new members to the Board of Directors.
Joyce Flinn and Lana Santorelli were elected to the board during the May 2011 meeting.
“We are excited to have both women join the board based simply on their accomplishments,” said Chamber President Mike Novak in a statement. “The facts that they are both women, Washington Street merchants, and in the culinary and arts industries, are all bonuses for the Chamber.”
Flinn owns Amanda’s Restaurant and Elysian Café with her husband. Santorelli is a contemporary artist, and an accomplished author and cook. Santorelli will move her art gallery from Manhattan to 628 Washington St. in June.
“I am very excited to deepen my involvement in such a vibrant area with the opening of my new gallery space on Washington Street,” Santorelli said in a release. “As a proud part of the Hoboken community, I am excited for the opportunity to work together with other business leaders and creative minds to make Hoboken an even more inspiring, cultured, and thriving place to live and work.”
The Women in Business Council’s Kickoff Event, a barbeque at the Hoboken Business Center, 50 Harrison St., will take place on May 26, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.
“There will be an outdoor tent set up with seating for more than a 100 persons, a great program, and great food being catered by Chamber Member, the Secret Chef (owned by Ellen Savastano),” according to a release.
Hoboken holding ‘citywide gate sale’ on May 21
The city of Hoboken will hold the second annual “Hoboken Citywide Gate Sale and Flea Market at Church Square Park” on Saturday, May 21, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. The city will produce a map of individual gate sales around the city, and the flea market will occur at Church Square Park on Fourth Street between Garden Street and Willow Avenue.
To participate, contact Hoboken’s Director of Cultural Affairs Geri Fallo at (201) 420-2207 or email gfallo@hobokennj.org.
County budget introduced with tax increase
County Executive Tom De DeGise introduced a $480 million 2011 fiscal year budget at Wednesday’s freeholder caucus meeting, saying that the tax levy will rise by 4.57 percent to $281.65 million. This is an increase of approximately $12.3 million over 2010.
“The tax rate will rise from $4.10 to $4.64 per $1000 of equalized value. But this is only our third tax rate increase in eight years,” DeGise noted.
Property owners in Hudson County pay an overall tax rate that comes from adding the county tax rate, municipal taxes, and school taxes. The school and city tax rates are approved by those entities.
“Hudson County continues to endure aftershocks from the financial earthquake of 2008-2009,” DeGise said. This has caused the equalized valuation of all properties within the county’s 12 municipalities to significantly decline again this year. The total amount of decline was $4.75 billion, a loss of more than 7 percent.
Revenues that were derived from a once-robust property market continue to fall. DeGise also said that fees from the Register’s Office continue to decline, as do returns from our interest on investments.
Communities divide up the increase based on assessed values in each community. It is uncertain yet which towns will feel the greatest impact. Last year, the budget impacted Jersey City and Hoboken the most.
A public hearing on the budget will be held on Friday, June 24, in the Hudson County Annex Building at 6 p.m.