At a glance
A speaker announced a new three-year contract between the Hudson City School District and the Hudson Teachers Association, retroactive to July 1, 2023, saying it makes Hudson teachers among the highest paid in the region and that the union's membership has ratified it. The board also heard a detailed plan to relaunch the district's diversity, equity and inclusion work as a new DEI Community, drawing 19 interested candidates and 11 interviews, and took questions on a possible varsity football merger with Chatham that a district survey found about 75 percent of respondents favored. Members opened and closed a public hearing on local law number three, which would extend real property tax exemptions to disabled and low income property owners, then moved to accept it. The transcript never captures the responses to any call for 'all in favor,' so nothing on this page should be read as a recorded vote result. The recording also starts about four and a half minutes into the meeting, skips roughly 17 minutes around executive session, and cuts off mid-sentence at 53:03.
The Agenda, and a Missing Opening
The recording picks up already in progress, at the acceptance of the agenda. Anything before that, including the opening and the roll call, is not in this record.
Key points
- The first usable line is at 04:28, so the transcript contains no opening, no Pledge of Allegiance and no roll call
- Because the roll call is missing, this record does not show who was present or who chaired the meeting
- A member moved to accept the agenda as presented and the motion was seconded
- The chair called for all in favor, and the transcript captures no responses to that call
This transcript names no board member at any point. Every motion, second and comment below is therefore attributed by role only, or not attributed at all. That is what the record supports.
Student Representative's Report
The student representative ran through student activities coming up over the next two months, pausing once to ask whether they needed to speak louder.
Key points
- The class of 2025 is planning a Queen of Hearts dance for Valentine's Day, which the representative thought would be February 14th or that Friday
- Model UN members are getting ready to travel to Harvard, where they will stay overnight for three days
- Student council is hosting a dodgeball tournament on March 8th
- A multicultural talent show is set for March 27th, hosted with the Multicultural Club and a second group whose name was garbled in the captions
- The representative said that was everything for the report, and the board thanked them
This was the student representative, a student and not a board member. The transcript does not give a name.
Executive Session, and a Gap in the Record
The board moved to an early executive session, and the transcript then goes silent for roughly 17 minutes.
Key points
- The chair said there was a need for an early executive session
- The resolution said the Board of Education would enter executive session at 6:05 to review the employment history of a particular person or persons
- The transcript captures no second and no responses, so it does not show that the board voted to go in
- After 06:28 there is nothing until 23:11, about 17 minutes with no usable text
- Any business the board conducted in that window, in or out of executive session, is absent from this record
The stretch from 06:28 to 23:11 produced no transcript at all. Readers who need that portion should go to the district's own minutes or the video.
Relaunching the District's DEI Work
A district presenter walked the board through a rebuilt diversity, equity and inclusion program, explaining what went wrong with the earlier Equity Ambassadors posting and what the new DEI Community will do instead.
Key points
- The presenter read the district's DEI mission statement, which is posted in the DEI section of the district website, and described it as a labor of love
- The original Equity Ambassadors posting gave no clear guidance on meeting criteria or stipend payments, was not very descriptive, and focused on a seed program
- The original posting also set meetings on Tuesdays, which the presenter said conflicts with the HTA union president's meetings and is a busy day for district and building administrators
- The new DEI Community member posting spells out the mission statement, what it takes to be a member, the reporting structure, selection criteria, qualifications and responsibilities
- Members will have monthly assignments, and a DEI Community strategic plan part two is now posted on the district website
- The plan follows New York State's culturally responsive sustaining framework and its four pillars: welcoming and affirming environments, inclusive curriculum and assessment, high expectations and rigorous instruction, and ongoing professional learning
Book Study, Implicit Bias Training and How Goals Get Set
The presenter described the two other pieces of the plan, a book study and implicit bias training, and the document the team will use to pick and measure its goals.
Key points
- The book study will use 'Culturally Responsive Teaching and the Brain' by Zaretta Hammond, looking at the neuroscience behind learning
- The presenter said they are in a book study now, having finished six chapters with the last three to go
- Themes include identity, voice and agency, building relationships and community, and identifying the benefits of culturally responsive instruction
- Implicit bias training will come through New York State United Teachers, covering what bias is and how to challenge biases, stereotypes and microaggressions
- Asked whether that training would go to all teachers, the presenter said it starts with the DEI Community and reaches the teaching staff later
- The team will use a pre planning document, kept as a Google Document and pulled into a spreadsheet, to name a possible inequity and write SMART goals aligned to standards
- Because the group meets once a month, it will address only one to two areas at a time
DEI Kickoff Date and Board Questions on Candidates
The presenter gave the kickoff date and hiring numbers, then answered two board questions about who applied and how many were interviewed.
Key points
- The first DEI Community kickoff meeting is January 31, 2024, from 3:30 to 6:30
- The posting drew 19 interested candidates
- Interviews were held last week and were being finished this week, with an announcement planned for Friday
- Asked how many people reapplied from the old group, the presenter said two
- Asked whether all 19 candidates were interviewed, the presenter said no: some candidates balked at the 3:30 to 6:30 time and may join in the future, for a total of 11 interviews
Questions on a Varsity Football Merger with Chatham
A district staff member took board questions about a possible football merger, explaining how yearly merger approvals work, why enrollment makes three levels of football hard alone, and what a survey found.
Key points
- A community informational meeting was held last week, followed by a survey sent to parents of current players, anyone interested in playing, and parents of the youth football program
- Mergers through Section Two in New York State run year to year, with paperwork resubmitted and the section board reapproving each season, so the arrangement would not have to be long term
- Hudson is currently in its second year of a swimming merger with another district, which the speaker offered as an example of how the process works
- Asked whether Hudson could field three levels of football on its own, the speaker said they did not know, pointing to trouble fielding enough players among current 10th, 11th and 12th graders and similar numbers coming up
- The speaker called getting back to three levels the biggest positive: modified for grades seven and eight, JV for nine and ten, and varsity for eleven and twelve
- Hudson has not had JV football in at least five years by the speaker's estimate, and Chatham lost its JV team a while ago as well
- A JV schedule would mirror the varsity schedule, unlike the current modified schedule, so JV players would face the teams they will meet at varsity
- The speaker said the survey came back about 75 percent in favor, with the remaining 25 percent split between opposed and undecided, on what they believed were 78 responses
The speaker listed several conference opponents by name and the captions garbled most of them. Only Chatham, named repeatedly as the proposed merger partner, is identified here; the swimming partner's name was too garbled to report. The survey response count was given with the speaker's own hedge, 'I believe 78.'
Public Hearing and Motion on Local Law Number Three
The board opened a public hearing on a local law extending real property tax exemptions to disabled and low income owners, heard no comment, closed it, and moved to accept the law.
Key points
- The hearing on local law number three opened at 6:41, covering income levels for disabled low income real property tax exemptions under section 459-c of the New York State real property tax law
- A speaker explained this is a law the board held a hearing on about a month ago, revised to include disabled and low income owners in addition to senior citizens
- No one offered questions or comments, and a motion to close the public hearing was made and seconded
- A member then moved to accept local law number three, reading a resolution reciting that the board conducted a duly noticed public hearing on January 23, 2024 and deems adjusting the income limits appropriate
- The motion was seconded and the chair called for all in favor; the transcript captures no responses to either that call or the one to close the hearing
The resolution says the income limits 'specified below' will apply, but the actual dollar figures were never read aloud and do not appear anywhere in the transcript. They are not reported here.
Workplace Violence Policy and the Personnel Agenda
The board took up a policy on its second read and then set the personnel agenda, pulling one item out for a later vote.
Key points
- Policy 8130.2, on establishing and maintaining a safe and secure workplace for employees, came up for second read
- The presenter asked whether anyone had questions, noting the board could adopt it that night
- A member moved to adopt policy 8130.2, described as workplace violence prevention, and the motion was seconded
- A member then moved to set personnel agenda items a through S while pulling letter e, saying it would come up for a vote at another time
- Both motions drew a second and a call for all in favor, with no responses captured in the transcript
Welcoming a New Junior High Administrator
The district introduced a new administrator who will work with the Junior High School principal, and he spoke briefly about his first weeks.
Key points
- The new hire is an educator with over 15 years of experience in districts of various sizes
- He most recently served as an associate principal for the Highland Falls Fort Montgomery Central School District, following four and a half years at the middle school level in another district
- He replaces Carolyn Miller, who left the district for another employment opportunity
- He will work directly with the principal of the Junior High School
- He holds a New York certification in physical education and a school building leader professional certification, and attended West Virginia University and SUNY Cortland
- In his own remarks he praised the support system, the dedicated staff, the students and what he called a caring community
- The presenter noted he spends free time with his wife and two daughters, grilling, and attending games as a New York Jets season ticket holder, which drew a joke from the board
The captions render the new administrator's surname four different ways in the space of a minute and garble his first name too, so no name is given. His prior district, his degree-granting institutions and the grade span on his physical education certification were also garbled and are left out or described loosely.
Superintendent's Update: A State Grant and Student Advisory Teams
No one had signed up for public comment, so the superintendent used the slot to report on a grant, recent visits with students, and a coming presentation.
Key points
- The chair confirmed nobody signed up for public comment
- The superintendent thanked everyone who came to family fun night last Friday, including staff and board members
- The district won a Stronger Together grant from the state department, which the superintendent called a team effort and the first of more grants to come
- The superintendent thanked a staff member, named in the captions only as Pat, for working through the grant applications
- The superintendent said they met that day with the junior high sixth, seventh and eighth grade student advisory team and was proud of what students want for the district
- The superintendent gave a tentative date of February 27th, the last board meeting of February, to present a 125 day report, saying changes over the past few Tuesdays had pushed things back
The staff member thanked for grant work has a surname the captions garbled, so only the first name appears. The phrase for the coming presentation is captioned as '125 day' and the full name of the report is not clear from the transcript.
Consent Items and a New Teachers Contract
The board moved to approve its consent items, and a speaker then announced that one of them was a new three-year contract with the Hudson Teachers Association.
Key points
- A member moved to approve consent items a through T, the motion was seconded, and the chair called for all in favor with no responses captured
- A speaker then announced a new three-year contract between the Hudson City School District and the Hudson Teachers Association
- The contract is retroactive to July 1, 2023 and, as read aloud, runs through July 30, 2026
- The speaker said the contract makes Hudson teachers among the highest paid teachers in the region and has been ratified by the union's membership
- The speaker said the board believes the contract is fair, equitable and financially responsible for taxpayers, and that the board listened to the union's feedback and priorities
- Under the contract, teachers will more extensively collaborate with administrators to provide additional supervision throughout district buildings
- The speaker closed by voicing support for the football merger and thanking community members who came out, and the transcript cuts off there
The last line is at 53:03, in the middle of the thank you for the football merger, and one name in that thank you is too garbled to report. Whatever came after, including adjournment, is not in this record. As with every other motion here, the responses to 'all in favor' were never captured, so the consent items were put to a voice vote whose outcome this transcript does not show.
About this page
FUTURE HUDSON is an experiment in civic engagement: every public meeting of the City of Hudson since January 2026, transcribed and made readable, so any resident can follow what the city is deciding without attending every meeting. This page covers one meeting; see the full archive.
How it was made
The meeting video was transcribed automatically; the transcript was then organized into sections and summarized. The raw transcript is above, every claim can be checked against it.
What to be skeptical of
The transcript is automated and contains speech-recognition errors; names and numbers may be wrong. This page has not been reviewed by a human. Nothing here is an official record, the school district's official minutes are authoritative.
About coverage of this body
Board of Education meetings are livestreamed by the Hudson City School District to its own YouTube channel. The school district is a separate government from the City of Hudson. If a meeting is missing from the archive, the recording was likely not posted. See the archive index for the full coverage note.