School board: charter school payments higher than expected
The city’s public school district must give more money than originally anticipated to local charter schools for the 2014-15 school year, district Business Administrator William Moffitt announced at a Dec. 9 meeting of the Hoboken Board of Education.
After fall enrollment numbers showed a higher concentration of Hoboken residents in charter schools than had been projected, the district’s full payment to charters this year will total $8.5 million, $216,871 more than expected.
Hoboken currently has three charter schools, and some residents attend nearby charters in Jersey City.
The board majority has made some negative comments against charter schools this year and has sought a legal ruling to keep one local charter school from expanding. Charter schools are considered public schools, but they operate as independent school districts.
In New Jersey, public school funding follows the child. If a Hoboken resident attends a charter school, the Hoboken district is required to pay the charter school 90 percent of that student’s education costs, as determined by a formula.
This funding system has been cited by school board members as the main factor behind their decision to challenge the expansion of HoLa Charter School to seventh and eighth grade in court. None of the candidates in the recent school board election publically endorsed the lawsuit, and one actually reversed her stance on it before the election. However, several advocated strongly for changing the law so that charter schools would instead be funded directly by the state.
Currently, the pre-determined per-pupil charter school payment is around $12,000, meaning roughly 18 more Hoboken residents are enrolled in charters this fall than had been projected.
In light of charter school payment bump and a $669,000 reduction in school choice aid announced in July, Moffitt said the Hoboken school district has instituted a spending freeze on general and discretionary items. Spending on health and safety and other items deemed necessary is not included.
Also at Tuesday’s meeting, the district’s auditor Dieter Lerch presented his report on the 2013-14 school budget. According to Lerch, the district was able to maintain a $1.5 million surplus.
Lerch explained that school budgets must be balanced under the New Jersey constitution. “The only way a surplus is created is if you don’t spend everything that was budgeted,” he said.
Moffitt said the district’s surplus fell within state limits, which permit a surplus equal to two percent of the operating budget.
The district had devoted $700,000 of its 2013-14 surplus to a maintenance reserve, $100,000 to a capital improvement reserve, and $500,000 to paying down its food service deficit.
The 2014-15 Hoboken district budget included some controversial cuts, including the outsourcing of bus service for special education students to private contractors. But Moffitt said this year’s cuts reflected this year’s specific budget situation, driven by the growth in charter school payments in particular.
Thomas Molta named new Hoboken OEM Coordinator
Mayor Dawn Zimmer announced Monday that she has appointed Thomas Molta as the Coordinator of Hoboken’s Office of Emergency Management, filling the vacancy created when Kenneth Ferrante was promoted to police chief beginning on Dec. 1.
Molta is the president of the 100-member Hoboken Volunteer Ambulance Corps, where he has served for 34 years. He previously served for 25 years in the Hoboken Fire Department and retired in 2010 as a Fire Captain. Molta has been involved in the emergency response to many major events including Hurricane Sandy, Hurricane Irene, the World Trade Center attacks, PATH train crashes, apartment building fires in the 1980s, and the Henkel Chemical Plant incident in 2002.
Hoboken startup splits for Manhattan, citing hiring difficulties
Digital health care startup Spreemo is moving on from Hoboken. Early next year, the company will relocate its office and 40 employees to lower Manhattan, according to a Crain’s New York Business report last Monday.
Spreemo’s new office in the Financial District will be nearly triple the size of its 2,000-square foot space at 33-41 Newark St., according to Crain’s, and the company plans to hire 55 more workers.
The company’s founder suggested in a statement that such an expansion simply wasn’t possible in Hoboken. For the workers Spreemo wants, it seems, even one stop on the PATH train is too far.
“People just out of college who live in the city want to work in the city,” Spreemo co-founder and CEO Ron Vianu told Crain’s. “We made a decision that being in New York would greatly help us expand the team at the rate we need.”
If Spreemo successfully creates 95 jobs in New York City over the next ten years, it will also net $600,000 in tax credits from the Empire State Development Corp, according to Crain’s.
“Transforming the state’s business climate has been one of our top priorities in order to create jobs, and today we’re seeing that approach continue to deliver results for New Yorkers,” New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo said in a statement. “Spreemo’s decision to relocate to New York City and expand their workforce here is another sign that the local economy is on the move.”
Community invited to final Southwest Park public meeting
Members of the public are invited to attend a fourth and final public hearing to discuss the proposed concept plan for the first phase of the Southwest Park. The meeting will take place on Thursday, Dec. 18, from 7 to 9 p.m. at the Multi Service Center, located at 124 Grand St.
“This park won’t just bring much-needed green space to southwest Hoboken, but it is also an important component of our flood resiliency plan,” said Mayor Dawn Zimmer. “We look forward to breaking ground in 2015 and then expanding it into a larger park through the redevelopment process.”
The concept plan for the first phase of a Southwest Park was developed based on community feedback from prior community meetings and an online survey. The plan for the park also includes flood management infrastructure to hold over 200,000 gallons of stormwater. Additional information is available at www.hobokennj.org/swpark.
In October 2013, the City of Hoboken acquired a one acre property bounded by Jackson Street, Observer Highway, Harrison Street, and Paterson Avenue as the first major installment of a new Southwest Park. Starr Whitehouse, a landscape architecture and planning firm with expertise in parks design and green infrastructure for stormwater management, was hired to lead the planning process for the Southwest Park.
Join the Jewish community and local politicians for the 13th annual Menorah lighting
The event takes place on Sunday, Dec. 21, at 5 p.m. There will be hot latkes, donuts, chocolate gelt, dreidels, glow in the dark Chanukah glasses, dancing and more. The event is free and all are welcome. A children’s program begins at 3:40 p.m. inside City Hall and features the return of the Small Wonder Puppet Theater performing the story of Chanukah and music and dancing. Kosher pizza will be served. Performance begins at 4 p.m. and tickets are $15 or $10 in advance. For more info, to RSVP and for all of your holiday needs, call (201) 386-5222 or visit www.JewishHoboken.com.
Chanukah at City Hall is co-sponsored by Shoprite of Hoboken.
Garden Street School presents original musical on the Christmas spirit
Garden Street School of the Performing Arts, located in Hoboken, is proud to present the third annual performance of their original musical, “A Hoboken Tale”.
The musical, written by local resident Dan McLoughlin, is a fictional tale about an old shopkeeper named Mr. Fabrini who is struggling to stay in business. But there’s something magical about his shop, and the townspeople soon realize how important it is to try and save it from closing. The mysterious snow globes he sells each tell a story, and through these stories we find out the true meaning of Christmas.
The musical features original Christmas songs, tap dancing, ballet-dancing fairies and classic holiday music. The cast is made up almost entirely of children and is directed by Broadway star Lisa Capps (“Les Miserables,” “Phantom of the Opera”), and is produced by Dan’s wife Annie McLoughlin, owner of Garden Street School of the Performing Arts.
“A Hoboken Tale” will be performed at Hoboken High School, 800 Clinton St., Hoboken, on Friday Dec. 12 at 8 p.m., Saturday, Dec. 13 at 7 p.m., and Sunday Dec. 14 at 5 p.m. Tickets are $12 and children are free.
Hoboken tree lighting ceremony rescheduled due to weather
The Hoboken City Hall Christmas Tree Lighting ceremony originally scheduled for Tuesday, Dec. 9 has been rescheduled to Monday, Dec. 15 due to inclement weather. The event will take place starting at 5 p.m. outside in front of Hoboken City Hall at 94 Washington Street.
Local school children & performers will sing favorite Christmas songs with host and MC Elvis the Elf along with a special appearance by Santa Claus.
Riverside Medical Group welcoming patients at new Maxwell Place clinic
Riverside Medical Group is now accepting adult and pediatric appointments in its newest state-of-the-art facility at Maxwell Place, located at 1111 Hudson St.
With over twenty-five locations already caring for New Jersey, the Maxwell Place clinic boasts more than 7,000 square feet of space, one family practice MD, Dr. Isaac Zaki; two pediatricians, Dr. Omar Baker and Dr. Jeani John; Advanced Practice Nurse Sarah Vranesichan; orthopedic foot and ankle surgeon Dr. Alonnah A. Wilcher, and ear nose and throat/facial reconstruction surgeon, Dr. Shari Reitzen from NYU.
New patients and walk-ins are always welcome. Complimentary validated parking is available along with access to Riverside’s flagship location until 10 p.m. Riverside accepts all insurance providers.
Riverside will also provide free prenatal classes and open houses to pregnant women at the new clinic.