At a glance
The Hudson City School District Board of Education decided to fill its vacant seat by appointment rather than by calling a special election, and agreed to ask the community for letters of interest. The board also appointed Amy Skiff of an outside advisory group as interim treasurer from September 2 through November 30, after accepting the sitting treasurer's resignation effective September 1. A new ENL teacher, Mitch Stern, was welcomed, and a resolution passed letting the superintendent appoint qualified staff between meetings so short-term openings can be filled quickly. Two Mill Street neighbors used public forum to ask the board to hold on to a reverter on a former school property the district transferred to the city in 1983, arguing a deed restriction limits the land to park use. The meeting was short, opening at 5:30 p.m. and adjourning at 5:56 p.m.
Roll Call, a Remote Member, and the Agenda
The board opened at 5:30 p.m. with the pledge of allegiance and a roll call read by the board clerk, then accepted the agenda as presented.
Key points
- The meeting was called to order at 5:30 p.m.
- Amanda Grubler, Diana Howard, Matthew Mackerer, and Maureen Sheridan each answered the roll call
- A board member stated that, pursuant to Open Meetings Law section 104 paragraph 4, Maureen Sheridan was participating remotely
- A motion to accept the agenda as presented was made, seconded, and put to a voice vote
- Kjirsten Gustavson joined the meeting later, during the discussion of the vacant board seat
The captions record names being called but not every answer. Three roll call entries, read as 'Mark', 'Kirsten Gustiffson', and 'Leona Prova', have no audible response in the transcript, and a [Music] artifact at 01:53 covers the end of the roll call. Who was present and who was absent cannot be settled from this transcript alone. The captions also do not record the tally after any 'all in favor' call in this meeting.
Personnel Agenda and a New ENL Teacher
The board moved the personnel agenda, then welcomed Mitch Stern, a new ENL teacher.
Key points
- A motion to approve personnel agenda items A 1 through 5 and B 1 through 11 was made, seconded, and put to a voice vote
- A speaker said they had met Mitch Stern the previous week and during new teacher orientation
- Stern will be an ENL teacher, the speaker believed at the junior high
- He most recently worked as an ENL teacher at another district's high school and did some student teaching in Kingston
- Stern arrived after the introduction was read, and was introduced again later in the meeting
Superintendent Given Authority to Appoint Between Meetings
The board passed a resolution authorizing the appointment of qualified personnel to district employment on the superintendent's recommendation, so that openings can be filled without waiting for a meeting.
Key points
- The resolution authorizes appointing qualified personnel to employment in the district upon the recommendation of the superintendent
- A board member explained it was intended to address openings that need to be filled in the short term, between meetings
- One member spoke in support, saying schools should be able to staff as quickly and efficiently as possible to give kids what they need
- After the motion, second, and a call for all in favor, the chair said 'Resolution passed'
Short-term hires can be appointed on the superintendent's recommendation rather than waiting for the next board meeting.
Treasurer Resigns, Outside Group Brought In
The consensus agenda included a contract with an outside management advisory group to temporarily cover the district treasurer's role after the treasurer resigned.
Key points
- A board member flagged item B of the consensus agenda, a management advisory group contract
- The contract is intended to temporarily fill the treasurer's role in the district
- The board had just accepted the treasurer's resignation as of September 1
- As written, the arrangement runs three months
- A motion to accept consensus agenda items A through D was made, seconded, and put to a voice vote
Vacant Board Seat: Appoint or Hold a Vote
Continuing a discussion from the previous meeting, members weighed appointing someone to the empty board seat against running a special election, and leaned toward appointment.
Key points
- One member repeated their earlier position that there is too much going on to run nominations, candidate meetings, and a vote, and that the board should simply appoint someone
- Another member said they felt torn, noting the board and the superintendent are both different than they were last spring, and asked what it would take to make sure the board is representative of the community
- A member said the board had made provision with the John Edwards sale for a ballot initiative, but did not believe the two could be paired in time to meet the legal requirements for filling a vacancy
- That member suggested soliciting letters of interest from the community, as has been done in the past, and making an appointment at a future meeting
- A member noted the appointment is short-term, because whoever fills the seat would need signatures again in May
Maureen Sheridan was asked whether she wanted to add anything. The captions catch the start of that answer at 07:44 and then lose roughly 30 seconds of it, from 07:57 to 08:31, leaving only the fragments 'by opening it up' and 'And when I was'. That position is not recoverable from this transcript.
Designing the Letter of Interest Process
Members worked through how applicants would apply and be considered, with the board clerk describing how the district has handled board vacancies before.
Key points
- The board clerk said that during an earlier stint as clerk, letters came in ahead of time and were reviewed, applicants came to a meeting and were interviewed, the board voted by tally, and she read out the results
- A board member said no formal vote was needed to solicit letters of interest and communicate that publicly
- One member suggested giving applicants prompting questions to answer in their letter, similar to how the policy committee works, to give the process structure
- Members agreed to email their suggested questions to one member, who would pull them together and bring them back
- One member raised asking the student council for input, noting the council had run a candidate forum with questions during the last campaign season
- Letters will come to the board clerk, who will share them out, and applicants will be invited to a meeting to answer questions
- A member described the final step as a nomination by seated board members and a vote, held in public
Deadlines Checked, and Where the Board Landed
Members checked the calendar for a special election before settling on the appointment route and a slower, more deliberate process.
Key points
- A member said they believed November 3 is the 90-day mark for filling the seat
- A speaker said they and the board clerk had gone through all the landmarks required for a special election, and that the vote would fall on November 13
- A new member elected that way would not begin until the November 16 meeting, still within the boundaries if the board chose to vote
- A member said the appointment route removes the emergency sense of urgency, and that slowing down to ask the right questions and give people ample time to apply is better than going as fast as possible
- Kjirsten Gustavson said a seat running only through June is a big commitment and daunting to ask of someone with little preparation time, and asked that the process be accessible to people who have not been preparing to run a campaign
- A member summed up the temperature of the room as forgoing a vote, soliciting letters, and building a process for the appointment
- One member asked to push the question collection to next week rather than that week, since it was Thursday night
In describing the special election timeline, a speaker says the landmarks were needed 'in order to get to the 40 49 days.' The captions dropped or doubled a digit and the real number cannot be recovered, so it is not reported here. The November 3, November 13, and November 16 dates are stated cleanly in the transcript.
No motion was taken on the vacant seat. The board clerk said none was needed to solicit letters of interest. Members agreed informally to gather questions and continue at a later meeting, and a member noted that if the board cannot decide at that meeting it can decide at the next one.
Upcoming Meeting Dates
A board member read the important meeting dates into the record.
Key points
- September 9, 2025: policy committee meeting, 5:00 p.m., in the library
- September 16, 2025: facilities committee meeting, district conference room, 4:00 to 5:00 p.m.
- September 16, 2025: Board of Education meeting in the auditorium at 6:00 p.m.
Amy Skiff Appointed Interim Treasurer
A resolution left off the agenda was taken up on the spot so the district would not go without a treasurer, and the board appointed Amy Skiff for three months.
Key points
- A speaker noted the resolution to appoint Amy Skiff of the advisory group as treasurer had not been put on the agenda, because it was contingent on approving the contract
- The district needed a treasurer because the sitting treasurer would be gone within the next week, and the appointment falls within the contract window, which ends November 30
- A speaker explained the treasurer position is civil service: the district intends to canvass for an active list, and if there is none, advertise, interview, and hire provisionally until the person takes and passes the test
- The board clerk read the resolution: the Board of Education appoints Amy Skiff to the position of treasurer from September 2, 2025 through November 30, 2025
- A motion to approve was made, seconded, and put to a voice vote
District Office Positions Held Open
A speaker told the board they do not plan to recommend filling open district office positions for several months while the organization is reviewed as a whole.
Key points
- The speaker said there are open positions in the district office they do not intend to recommend hiring for in the next four to six months
- The reason given was the need to look at the organization as a whole before committing to long-term hires, to provide the best service to staff, students, and the community
- The speaker said the district has millions of dollars in grants and that Dr. Price's departure leaves a large gap in that responsibility
- The speaker said the district has had no one in what they called the CNI position since a departure in June
- The speaker said they may bring forward a recommendation to have someone in place for a few months in the interim
The speaker refers to 'Dr. Price' and to a second person the captions render only as 'Dr. JT', which is not a recoverable name. No surname is spoken for the second departure, so the person is described by role only.
Public Forum: Mill Street Land and the 1983 Transfer
Public forum was not on the agenda but was opened anyway, and two neighbors asked the board to keep its hold on a former school property the district transferred to the city in 1983.
Key points
- The board clerk read the public comment policy: residents, students, employees, and business representatives may address the board on programs and operations other than personnel matters, board members do not respond directly during the forum, and comments are limited to three minutes with written supplements accepted by the clerk
- A resident who gave his first name as Jack said he has no affiliation with the district other than living in the city of Hudson, and that he and his neighbor had addressed the previous board in May or June about a development proposed across the street from their houses on Mill Street
- He said a deed restriction limits the land to park purposes, that the school transferred the property to the city in 1983 in the context of the men's city softball league, and that the land is still mowed by DPW and used as open space, including a soccer game there the previous week
- He described a legal protection he called the public trust doctrine, which he said requires the city to get permission from the New York State Legislature before selling the property for another use, and said the city moved forward after this was explained to it
- He asked the board to consider its three surplus properties in the city together: the John L building being redeveloped, a parcel underneath it with no development potential that he said is categorized as a special environmental area because of flood waters, and the parcel across from his house with limited development potential because it is downstream
- Josh Kip, of 230 Mill Street, said the field has been in use for softball an entire lifetime and is still used with kids and grandkids playing kickball, said the city rushed the process, and asked the board to withdraw its February 2024 resolution
- Josh Kip said the board should hold on to the reverter until a responsible and lawful plan is made for the property
The first speaker is announced as 'Jack Horn' at 20:01 and addressed as 'Mr. Hornley' at 22:07, and his own introduction breaks apart into 'Hi, my name is Jack' and 'Street.' Because the two versions of the surname do not agree, only his first name is used here. The captions spell the street 'Mil Street' throughout; it is written as Mill Street above.
Under the policy the clerk read, board members do not respond to comments during public forum. The transcript records no reply, no motion, and no board action on either request.
Adjournment at 5:56
With the meeting dates read and no executive session planned, the board moved to adjourn about 26 minutes after it opened.
Key points
- A board member said the important meeting dates had been read and that there was no executive session planned
- A motion to adjourn the meeting at 5:56 was made and seconded
- The transcript ends on the call for all in favor, so the closing vote itself is not in the record
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.