Hobokenites For A Better Bond

As taxpayers and Hobokenites, we have a responsibility to support a quality education for Hoboken's children. However, this does not mean that we should give the Hoboken School Board a blank check to build whatever they want.

The Hoboken School Board has put forth a $241 million bond proposal for a new high school which would have an ice rink, swimming pool, and more. This is great for Hoboken's children, but is it worth the extra $496 in property taxes that the average homeowner would pay annually for 30-years?

This is in addition to other non-capital cost increases that will be passed on to taxpayers in the future.

What we would have liked is for our elected school board to include us in these conversations before they put a proposal on the ballot. Instead, they waited until after the November election to announce an expensive proposal and a public hearing schedule in the middle of the holidays for a vote in January when nothing is on the ballot.

The public hearings are for the school board to sell us on the proposal, not to listen to us.

The school board works for us, not the other way around.

They have essentially put the community in a my way or the highway situation where you either support a $241 million project without state aid, or it is implied that you don't support the children.

That is a false choice.

This is what we are proposing instead with a NO vote.

- Forcing the school board to have dialogue with the community where they present their evidence of future and current enrollment needs.

- Allowing the School Board to present the public options for future school designs that meet current and future enrollment needs. Whether this is new construction and/or renovations.

- Sending a message to the Hoboken School Board that the way they handled this process is unacceptable.

Thank you for taking the time to learn more about the Hoboken School Bond. Stay tuned for more updates on the January 25th vote.