At a glance
The Hudson City School District Board of Education spent most of a three hour night on money. A consultant helping the district through a business official vacancy walked the board through a draft 2025-26 budget that is $1.74 million short, built on a 2 percent tax levy increase, $1.1 million in reserves and $200,000 from a retirement reserve. A board member then spotted what he said were incorrect sums on the state aid pages, which if he is right would mean about $700,000 more in aid than the draft shows. The district's architect, its financial advisor and an energy services team pitched two separate projects for the May 20 ballot: an $8,345,000 capital bond presented as having no tax impact, and an $8 million energy performance contract that would buy out the district's solar lease. No budget decisions were made, and the board was told it has until its March 25 meeting to put either project on the ballot.
Roll Call and a Draft Budget Preview
The meeting opened with the Pledge of Allegiance and a roll call read by the board clerk, then went straight into a community budget workshop. The superintendent leaned hard on the word draft.
Key points
- Seven people answered the roll call, and a motion to accept the agenda as presented was seconded and put to a voice vote
- The superintendent said twice that what was coming was a draft budget, and introduced Anita Murphy, who has been helping build it during the absence of a business official
- Murphy will stay on once a new business official arrives and continue until the board reaches a final budget
- The draft carries a proposed tax levy increase of 2 percent, which the presenter said is below the district's cap, and continues investments in classroom instruction and student supports
- Budgets from 2021 through 2024 included federal ARP and ESSA money, and the presentation put budget growth at 4.33 percent over the past five years
- The presenter tied the draft to the district's vision and mission statements and to six keys, including strengthening leadership capacity, data driven practices and a tiered approach to support and intervention
The captions record nothing but a placeholder from 00:28 to 08:28, so whatever happened before the Pledge of Allegiance is not in this record. The captions also do not label speakers, so most attributions on this page are by role rather than by name.
Tax Cap, Reserves and a $1.74 Million Gap
Anita Murphy, a retired district superintendent at Capital Region BOCES, took the board through the revenue side and told them plainly that staying under the tax cap has left money on the table. The draft she showed does not balance.
Key points
- Murphy said the district has not come close to its tax cap over time, and that going to the cap of 3.55 percent would generate about $390,000 more in revenue
- The draft builds in 2 percent because that matches what the board has done historically, though Murphy said she would suggest the district probably cannot do that this year
- The draft uses $1.1 million in reserves plus $200,000 from the retirement reserve, which she said keeps the district above the 4 percent the state comptroller points to
- Foundation aid shows a difference of about $375,000, and the district is at the state's 2 percent minimum increase
- On the expense side, general support is up $127,000 and instruction is up $773,000, with transportation the big driver because it was under budgeted last year
- Debt service is dropping, which Murphy noted also means less building aid, and she suggested the district will eventually need building projects to keep that line level across time
- The gap in the draft is $1.74 million, or about $1.3 million if the board went to the tax cap
- Murphy credited the superintendent for not filling positions that did not need filling and for an earlier spending freeze, which should return money to fund balance for next year
The captions render the draft's projected revenue as $56,000, which cannot be right for a district budget of this size, so that figure is not reported here. The expense side is reported as about $58 million because a board member said the 58 million number aloud later in the discussion, and the gap figures are reported because a speaker said $1.3 million in cuts aloud.
Board Questions on State Aid Math and Transportation
A board member worked through the state aid pages on screen and concluded the sums were wrong, which would shrink the gap. The board also pressed on whether transportation is budgeted at what it actually costs.
Key points
- A member said the difference column totals a $764,000 increase in state aid while the center column shows only a $26,000 increase, and concluded that the sum on the aid page and on the revenue page are both incorrect
- He said that would mean state aid is about $700,000 more than the presentation shows. Murphy said she would check the spreadsheets with the former interim business official and that she hopes he is right
- Transportation aid is reimbursed at a rate of 50 percent based on the prior year, so if the district is on pace to spend $5.6 million on transportation, that aid figure will rise
- Murphy confirmed that Title One, IDEA and competitive grant funds never appear in the general fund budget voters vote on, and warned against relying on grant funds to carry necessary staff
- A member asked whether the $58 million expense figure is essentially this year's budget rolled over, and Murphy agreed it is, with one staff position not being filled and an increase in transportation to meet actual spending
- A member said the $5.3 million transportation line is almost exactly what the district spent in 2023-24, and that the district has been rolling the budget over without gut checking the actuals. Murphy said she does not think transportation is underestimated but agreed the increase is sizable and that this is not a place to roll the dice
- Murphy framed the stakes plainly: cutting $700,000, cutting $1.3 million and cutting $1.7 million are very different problems
- On the tax cap, one member said they are personally comfortable with 2 percent and that the community appreciates the district not always going to the cap. Another said that if the choice is cutting staff versus a slightly higher levy, their sense is the community would rally around the higher levy
The board took no vote on the tax levy or on fund balance. Murphy said both would be a conversation over the next couple of weeks, and that the tax cap question should come sooner rather than later.
What Happens If Voters Say No
The superintendent closed the workshop with the unknowns still sitting in the budget and what a defeated budget would mean, then read the budget development calendar.
Key points
- Still unknown: state aid until April 1, out of district BOCES placements and the transportation for them, and outstanding grant applications. Administrator contract negotiations are complete
- A grants presentation is planned for an upcoming board meeting
- If voters defeat the budget, the district can hold a second vote in June or adopt a contingency budget right away
- If a budget is defeated a second time, the district must adopt a contingent budget, under which the tax levy cannot be increased from the prior year
- That would mean reducing spending by the amount of the levy increase plus the budget gap, and a contingent budget also restricts equipment purchases, certain nonunion salary increases and community use of school facilities
- The calendar runs from a March 25 budget workshop through the May 20 vote, with a June 17 statewide revote date if needed and implementation on July 1
Food Service: Lunch Participation Hits 70 Percent
The district's food service director and a Capital Region BOCES program director reported that lunch participation has climbed sharply, and walked the board through a local sourcing program and a redesigned menu.
Key points
- The BOCES shared food service program is in its fourth year in Hudson. It now serves 36 districts and roughly 60,000 students a day, up from two districts when it started
- Lunch participation was under 60 percent in September of 2022-23 and reached 70 percent this past September. Breakfast peaks around 30 percent and remains the big opportunity
- October numbers were over 9,000 breakfasts and roughly 22,000 lunches
- The school lunch fund operates separately from the general fund. Hudson is a district where everybody eats free, and it can carry up to six months of fund balance
- A board member pointed out that last summer's high school cafeteria renovation and new furniture came out of school lunch funds, not general funds or taxpayer dollars
- A harvest of the month program has featured corn roasted in the husk, ten kinds of apples with tasting notes, kale and sweet potatoes, with the director working through Cornell Cooperative Extension to find nearby farms
- The kitchen runs a grab and go cooler, a rotating four week salad and sandwich menu, a daily vegetarian or vegan option and a halal chicken sandwich, and the director was explicit that the kitchen is not halal certified
- A cook the director named Hannah turned an idea into a signature item, New York smash potato nachos, which the director said she is gifting to the district
The food service director introduced herself as Lisa and the BOCES director as Jeff, but the captions damaged both surnames, so only first names are used here.
Three Years of Building Upgrades
The facilities director opened a long block on buildings by listing what has been done since 2022, then handed off to the consultants who would pitch a capital project and an energy contract.
Key points
- MC Smith gym: pad replacements, bleacher hardware upgrades, new module seats, acoustic tiles and a sanded floor with new logos, at roughly $350,000
- High school gym: all new hoops replacing ones original to the 1970 building, wall pads at the north and south ends, and shot clocks, at roughly $100,000
- Cameras started as a $20,000 project, with a $1.7 million smart schools bond expected to carry the rest of the work
- Air conditioning in the 1997 wing: the district went out for $1 million, and material costs meant only 12 of about 20 classrooms were done, now called phase one
- Cafeteria seating, signage and flags came to $450,000, and electric vehicle charging at both schools to about $50,000, with six level two ports at each school and different rates for employees and the public
- Also listed: classroom and faculty room flooring, interior and exterior batting cages, replaced trucks and carts, two new poly salt spreaders and new sidewalks at the elementary school
- The facilities committee was named as the superintendent, Willette Jones, Calvin Lewis and Kjirsten Gustavson, plus the department clerk
An $8,345,000 Capital Project With No Tax Increase
The district's financial advisor showed existing debt dropping off in 2030, and said that creates room for a project of about $8.3 million without raising the local share. The architect then walked the scope, building by building.
Key points
- Jason Schwarz of the district's financial advisory firm said retiring debt in 2030 could be replaced with new debt, holding the local share of the tax levy flat
- That supports an $8,345,000 capital project with no tax increase. He assumed about 91 percent of the project would be building aid eligible, with the district receiving about 71 percent back from the state on eligible costs
- Asked what a future capital project would mean, Schwarz said the district would be at its limit for the foreseeable future and would need reserves or a tax increase for anything more
- At MC Smith the scope includes rebuilding the tennis courts down to the subbase at about $400,000, attic floor openings, 21 exterior doors at the end of their useful life, reshingling the 1997 wing sloped roofs, interior fire doors and hardware, steam boilers, emergency lights, an emergency generator, six renovated toilet rooms, aging diesel and gasoline tanks and a salt shed upgrade
- At the high school: sidewalks, a damaged exterior wall at the cooling equipment, exterior and interior doors, glass infill, gym acoustic panels, original carpeting, pool drainage, ceiling and lighting, more toilet rooms, auditorium seating, sanding and restriping the gym floor, about 20 folding classroom partitions and a 24 by 40 foot storage building
- The architect said escalation was carried at 5 percent rather than the usual two and a half to three, because of tariffs, and that $65,000 is included so the district can borrow through the state at a better rate
- Construction documents could start the day after a vote, but no real construction would happen until summer 2026, likely spread over two summers
- Asked as a frame of reference what rebuilding the high school would cost, the architect said schools run about $500 a square foot now against about $300 in the past, against roughly 400,000 square feet, and said he sincerely doubts the state would approve a new building in this climate
- To make the May 20 ballot, the board would need to act on a SEQR determination and then a bond resolution at its March 25 meeting, a legal minimum of 45 days before the vote
- A board member asked that materials like these be sent out earlier than other board updates, and the facilities director offered another facilities meeting the following week
The captions damaged the construction cost subtotal and the escalated construction figure the architect read aloud, so neither is reported here. Only the $8,345,000 total is used, because several speakers said it separately.
Energy Performance Contract and a Solar Buyout
A second team pitched an $8 million energy performance contract that would pay for itself out of guaranteed energy savings, replace the high school boiler room, and buy the district out of its third party solar lease.
Key points
- Justin of Energia, the district's energy consultant, said these projects are construction projects funded by guaranteed energy savings, with fixed pricing, no change orders, and a shortfall check to the district if the savings do not materialize
- Four companies responded to the RFP. The captions clearly name Honeywell, Johnson Controls and Energy Systems Group; a fourth company's name was garbled
- Johnson Controls described an aging steam boiler room at the junior senior high that is original to the building, domestic hot water heater replacements at the elementary school, a rooftop replacement, the remaining non LED lighting, and possible additional rooftop solar at the elementary school
- The project is about $8 million and pays back in 17.98 years, just under the 18 years state law allows
- Guaranteed district savings were put at just over $400,000 a year, with a building aid rate of 58.5 percent and $390,000 in guaranteed utility rebates, including an $81,000 National Grid rebate
- Year one net cash flow back to the district was put at $423,000, with almost $3 million flowing back over the full 18 year term. Year one carries a tax exempt lease payment just under $700,000 over a 15 year term
- The other energy conservation measures together drive $150,000 in annual energy savings. The district currently spends about $700,000 a year with National Grid
- The ground mount solar array behind the athletic field is owned by a third party, now Tesla, under a power purchase agreement. The district is in year eight, the asset was described as worth roughly $4.5 million, and a 2026 buyout would cost just over $1.1 million
- Presenters said that without a buyout, the district keeps paying, and at the end of the term Tesla would either extend or remove the system
- Three propositions would go to voters May 20: the budget, the roughly $8.3 million bond, and a third asking voters to approve the energy contract, which would add 10 percent to the state aid rate and bring it to about 68 percent
- The resolutions sought on March 25 would only appoint Johnson Controls and let it begin a comprehensive energy audit at no cost or obligation. The actual contract would come back to the board, possibly in June
- A board member said the capital project and the energy contract together are a lot to take in with only two weeks to decide, echoing a concern the member said Amanda had voiced, and added that they were not pointing fingers or assigning blame. The facilities director cited turnover in the business department, saying he will have his eighth boss in three years next week
The presenters described the annual solar lease payment the buyout would eliminate as $139,000, and a district staffer later described the same payment as $130,000. Both figures are in the transcript and the summary does not pick between them.
Student Activities, a Zoo Trip and Senior Class Plans
The student council vice president filled in on the student representative report, then a teacher and two class officers brought trip proposals to the board.
Key points
- The student council vice president, subbing in for the student representative, reported the musical Annie running March 21 to 23, a just finished club court tournament, a dodgeball tournament at the end of the week, badminton finals the next day, four mock trial competitions, a Model UN at Bard on March 29, an NHS Carousel cakes fundraiser, a Brooks barbecue fundraiser for the class of 2026, and spring sports starting the following week
- A teacher who works with the district's English language learners proposed a free field trip to a zoo on April 30, running 8:00 AM to 8:00 PM, open to English language learners in grades nine through twelve
- The teacher said the group is just under 60 students and that maybe under 50 would go, that the trip supports life science and biology work on habitats, ecosystems and animal behavior, and that follow up would be a written and oral assignment
- The teacher said the trip is also a way to bring in parents who tend not to come to school activities because of the language barrier, and that many of the students have never been to a zoo
- Two class officers presented prom and senior trip plans. Prom is at The Falls in Greenport with an old Hollywood glamour theme, photos at the waterfront at 5:00, dinner catered, a DJ, and tickets at $25
- The senior trip is June 9, 2025 to Coney Island and Luna Park, with bus transportation, all day ride wristbands, $10 for three additional rides, a bag lunch and six chaperones. Organizers estimated around 56 students and said they would rent another bus if more sign up
- Asked about swimming, the students said no one is swimming and the trip is for the amusement rides
The captions damaged the names of the student council vice president, the student representative she was filling in for, and the teacher who proposed the field trip, so none are given here. The zoo's name was also garbled and is not reported. The student who gave the report is a student council officer, not a member of the board.
Personnel Vote, Staff Recognition and Department Reports
The board handled personnel items, the superintendent handed out Spotlight on Excellence recognitions, and four administrators reported on technology, hiring, student supports and teaching and learning.
Key points
- A motion to approve personnel items A1 through 4 and B1 through 5 was seconded and put to a voice vote
- The superintendent recognized about a dozen staff members with Spotlight on Excellence awards, including Austin Ellsworth in technology, custodians Paul Monroe and Joe, teaching assistant Tracy Simmons, Shannon Sullivan for Model UN work, and Anthony Markham in central office. Teachers organizing a summer student trip to Italy, France, Switzerland and Germany were also recognized
- Reminders: kindergarten screening April 15 and 16 from 9:00 AM to 3:00 PM at the elementary school, pre kindergarten applications now open, spring sports registration open, and the February newsletter available
- Instructional technology reported a new cybersecurity awareness program replacing the district's previous one. Staff onboarding ended March 5 and phishing simulations started March 6, with a reporting button for real phishing emails
- The same administrator described a wellness committee that ran a six week Hudson Wellness Challenge on hydration, sleep, movement, food, sunlight and gratitude, and a staff recess day with workshops run by staff, from pickleball and boxing to felting and crochet
- Human resources reported working with a software vendor to digitize personnel files going back before 2022, a credit discovered from the previous two years, coach CPR and first aid certifications with two coaches still pending, interviews being set for a principal position and a junior high life skills teacher, and 22 teacher interviews accepted ahead of a recruitment fair
- The student supports report covered a completed high school sensory room with two more nearly done, a protocol and training video in progress, a planned April trip to Yale for up to 30 students from the 21st century after school program with grant funds covering costs, a Brockport research institute visit on Thursday to observe the 21st century programs, and recreation rooms with meals for after school students
- Teaching and learning reported about 96 feedback forms from the March 7 superintendent's conference day, which included the two hour mandated reporter child abuse training, hosting the Columbia County All County Music Festival in the auditorium, a call for K through 8 ELA and math teachers for the summer scholars program, and PLC work at the elementary and junior high schools
The captions go blank for roughly 40 seconds in the middle of the human resources report, around 145:49, so part of it is missing from this record. A shorter blank stretch also covers the photo break after the staff recognitions.
Junior High Named a TSI School
The district learned the Thursday before the meeting that the junior high has been designated a school in need of targeted support and improvement. Administrators explained how the designation works and what has to happen next.
Key points
- The designation is based on the low performance of one subgroup. The administrator said the state email identified the district's Hispanic students at the junior high
- A junior high administrator said staff were briefed Monday morning, a letter went home to all families Monday afternoon, and the letter was also shared with staff who could not attend
- Schools are identified by a level one on a combination of indicators, including attendance, core subject performance and student growth
- Next steps are forming a team of classroom teachers, administrators, other staff and parents, conducting a needs assessment through surveys and interviews, identifying key priority areas, and writing an improvement plan that the district approves
- The designation runs about two years. If the school does not improve it moves to comprehensive support and improvement, and the elementary school has already had one year as a TSI school
- The district plans to invest in a new assessment tool so it can see how students are progressing against the standards, with staff and administrator training first
- A board member pointed out that the designation rests on last year's test scores, GPA and attendance data, so the first of the two years is already two thirds gone, and asked what can be done between now and the end of the year
- The answer was to build a plan the district can actually do, with measurable goals it can monitor. Another administrator said the district started preparing last year because elementary students move into the junior high with the same population
The captions drop out for roughly 25 seconds near 176:48, in the middle of the answer about how the elementary school's designation was handled.
Consent Agenda, Upcoming Dates and Executive Session
The board closed with the consent agenda, a read of upcoming meetings, and an executive session on real estate.
Key points
- A motion to approve consent agenda items A through J was seconded and put to a voice vote
- No one had signed up for public comment
- Upcoming: facilities committee March 25 from 4:00 to 5:00 PM in the district conference room, policy committee March 25 from 5:00 to 5:45 PM in the high school library, and a Board of Education meeting with a community budget workshop at 6:00 PM in the high school auditorium
- Also: policy committee April 8 from 5:00 to 5:45 PM in the high school library, and a Board of Education meeting with a community budget workshop April 8 at 6:00 PM in the auditorium
- A motion to enter executive session to discuss real estate was made at 8:56, seconded and put to a voice vote, with no further business to follow
The captions render the March board meeting date as March 5 in the upcoming dates read out. It is reported here as March 25 because two speakers earlier in the meeting said the next board meeting is March 25, and the committee meetings read out alongside it are also March 25.
The captions record the motions and the call for all in favor, but not the responses, so this page says motions were put to a voice vote rather than that they passed.
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.