At a glance
Hudson's Board of Education spent most of this meeting on two things: how the high school plans to move attendance, graduation and test scores this year, and what happens to the John L. Edwards building. High school administrators told the board that 21% of high school students are chronically absent right now and that last year's graduation rate was 69%, then walked through Blue Hawk Academy, the alternative program now in its third year and third model. The developer Penrose returned to remind the board of its proposal to turn John L. Edwards into 65 units of senior affordable housing, ahead of the November 13 public vote on selling the building. The board approved a charter creating a new finance committee, named members to its audit, policy, facilities and finance committees, and heard that three search firms have submitted proposals for the superintendent search. A Blue Hawk student and a parent used public comment to defend the program, and a teacher asked the board to look at class by class attendance, not just whether students get in the door.
Roll Call and the Student Representative's Report
The board opened with the pledge, a roll call and a motion to accept the agenda, and the president warned that an early executive session was coming. The student representative then reported on spirit week, hall sweeps and a Model UN trip that fell apart over transportation.
Key points
- Eight names answered the roll call: Mark DePace, Amanda Grubler, Kjirsten Gustavson, Diana Howard, Matthew Mackerer, Maureen Sheridan, Michael Zibella, and Leona Prova
- The president apologized in advance for an early executive session and said the board would keep it as short as possible
- Quarter 1 has finished at the high school, and spirit week runs the following week with a different theme each day, including wearing pink for breast cancer awareness on Wednesday
- Hall sweeps are running every period because students linger in the hallways, and the student representative said they appear to be working
- Powderpuff was rescheduled because the girls volleyball team advanced to sectionals, and the golf team won its conference
- Unity Day is October 22nd; the varsity club has a blood drive on November 17th and a volleyball tournament on December 6th
- The Model UN field trip on the night's agenda cannot happen because of problems with approval and transportation, and the student representative asked for a policy so academic teams have a clear path to getting transportation approved
YouTube auto-captions garble surnames. Seven of the eight names map clearly to the district's board roster and are spelled here accordingly. The eighth is left exactly as the captions render it, because it matches no name the archive can confirm.
High School Priorities: Attendance, Graduation, Test Scores, Restorative Practices
The high school administrative team presented four priorities for the year. It is the first of three building presentations, with the junior high in November and the elementary in December.
Key points
- The four priorities are reducing chronic absenteeism, increasing the graduation rate, improving academic performance on tests, and strengthening a restorative school culture
- The goal is to reduce chronic absenteeism by 5%; a chronically absent student misses on average 2 days or more a month, which is 10%
- Staff meet weekly with counselors, social workers and psychologists, and Darren Collins works as an attendance person for the district and makes home visits when needed
- The goal is to increase the graduation rate by 5%, with about 30 students currently set up in credit recovery through Questar to free up their schedules for more credits
- The goal is to improve Regents passing rates by 10%, alongside a new assessment given three times a year in English and math from the elementary grades through 11th grade
- For restorative culture: 100% of staff receiving restorative justice professional development, two evenings where families and community members can sit in a circle, and 10 to 15 students trained this year to facilitate circles
- The presenter said the restorative work builds trust and relationships, which in turn supports attendance, engagement and achievement
The captions spell the high school administrator's surname three different ways across the meeting (Rearen, Rearden, Rearan). It is written here as the captions most often render it.
After the board's questions, a district official said the presentation would be updated before it is posted with the minutes, to add baseline data on chronic absenteeism, academic success and Regents improvement so the 5% and 10% targets make sense in context. The junior high presents in November and the elementary in December.
Blue Hawk Academy: How the Program Works and Its Early Numbers
Blue Hawk Academy is in its third year and its third model. Staff described a program built on a daily morning circle, close family contact and rides to school, and showed early attendance and grade data for its students.
Key points
- The program serves 9th through 12th graders and currently has 17 ninth graders; in its first year it served grades 7 through 12
- Staff named as part of the program: Larry Walker, school counselor Katie Davis, driver and monitor Darnell Harris, teaching assistant Eric Gregory, a social worker, and a substitute administrator, Megan Platt; all of them also work elsewhere in the district
- In year one the program was fully virtual with a different school day, and students felt separated from the high school; last year they had mostly separate classes, which strained the high school schedule; this year they take regular classes with everyone else after a first period circle
- The program has a van, and staff pick up students who need a ride and make home visits when a student has not been seen for a few days
- Last year's eighth graders who are now in the program had a GPA just under a 60; 30 days into this year, it is over 71%
- On attendance, staff cited 24 days on average per student in eighth grade, against 4.1 in the first 30 days of this year
- Out of seven sophomores in the program, six showed higher academic improvement
- Staff said two ninth graders who last year flat out refused to go to any class are now going, and that there has never been a fight in Blue Hawk
The presenter said plainly that the eighth grade figures cover a full year while this year's figures cover only the first 30 days of school, and a board member asked about that directly. The numbers above are quoted as spoken and are not comparable spans.
A video about the program played for roughly five minutes (about 25:54 to 31:12 in the transcript). The captions catch only fragments of it, so parts of what was said on screen are missing from the record.
Board Questions on Blue Hawk, Credit Recovery and Chronic Absenteeism
Board members asked how students get into and out of Blue Hawk, how credit recovery works, and where chronic absenteeism stands now. Staff said absenteeism at the high school is not down from last year.
Key points
- Entry to Blue Hawk starts with a recommendation from a teacher, a parent or the student, followed by an application, a meeting with the student, a meeting with the family and a signed contract; students can enter after 9th grade
- Leaving the program requires a meeting with staff, the parents and the student to talk through whether it is really the best option, and some students have chosen to leave
- Credit recovery runs on 30 purchased slots overseen by a Questar teacher, with a pre-test and post-test per unit and a Questar staff member on site one day a week
- Asked whether chronic absenteeism is down in the first 30 days, staff said it is not down from last year; students who have left the country but are not yet enrolled elsewhere still count against the district until they come off the rolls
- Staff said the high school is at 21% chronically absent
- Last year's graduation rate was 69%, with 117 seniors in this year's cohort; a board member worked out that a 5% improvement means roughly seven or eight students
- The van is also used to bring parents to events such as meet the teacher night, and drivers log vehicle checks and mileage before and after each trip
- Asked what happened with the scheduling consultant who worked with the district last spring, staff said she gave recommendations, some of which were used and some of which were not feasible with the staff on hand
Penrose Returns on John L. Edwards Ahead of the November Vote
With a public referendum on selling the John L. Edwards school set for November 13, the developer Penrose came back to refresh the board on its proposal. A senior developer new to the project walked through the design, the sale terms and the timeline.
Key points
- Penrose proposes a rehabilitation and adaptive reuse of John L. Edwards using historic tax credits and low income housing tax credits, producing 65 units of senior affordable housing in studios and one bedrooms, plus 20 units of supportive housing for seniors at the property
- Rents would be restricted to 60% of area median income or below, which the developer said comes to about $1,100 a month for those units, with utility allowances on top so the net rent is lower
- Seniors means 55 and older; amenities would include a fitness center, common areas, a community garden, a stroll path and outdoor green space
- Exterior changes would include a new elevator tower for accessibility and a solar array for on site power in an all electric building
- The company described itself as about 50 years old, based in Brooklyn, specializing in affordable and mixed income housing, with over 47 historic rehab projects totaling about 2,300 residential units
- Milestones reached: the historic preservation part one submission is in, the competitive 9% tax credit application is submitted, and the rezoning was approved by the Common Council; the purchase and sale agreement was executed in April with a four month due diligence period, at which point Penrose deposited $100,000
- The agreed purchase price is 'just about $2.1 million,' the developer said; a question from the floor referred to it as 2.15 million and asked whether it covers the debt on the building, and the answer was yes
- If the vote passes and the tax credit award comes in around March, closing could be early to midsummer, with a construction period of a little over a year and the property potentially fully occupied by the first quarter of 2028
- Asked what happens without the 9% credit, the developer said Penrose would most likely exercise an extension option and reapply in the next round
The 65 and the 20 unit counts were both said, but the presenter did not say whether the 20 supportive units sit inside the 65 or on top of them; asked later about parking she said 'there are 65 units.' The remaining debt on the building was answered as 'probably around 1.7 1.6,' which the captions leave unresolved, so no debt figure is stated here. A question from a resident at about 54:36 is lost from the captions and only the answer survives.
The public vote on selling the building is November 13, 11 a.m. to 8 p.m., and the board will hold a special meeting that evening to receive results. Penrose still owes the board a parking space count and said a traffic study has been done, with modifications to the main entrances and circulation under discussion with its civil engineers.
Committee Reports and the Superintendent Search
The audit, facilities and policy committees reported, followed by the board president's report. The headline was the superintendent search: three firms have submitted proposals.
Key points
- The audit committee has not met; the member reported the audit is on target to be completed on time and a meeting will be set once the auditor gives word
- Facilities: the capital project team is meeting with the architect and district staff and reviewing drawings, with a meeting held on the 9th of the month; deteriorated pavers in a bus loop are to be replaced, and bathroom updates including ADA work are on track
- The swimming pool is being evaluated beyond retiling; the member described it as a 56 year old pool, adding he was going from memory on the number
- The tennis courts are on track and the committee discussed adding pickleball striping during resurfacing; the greenhouse may be delayed by paperwork with the company erecting it, but raised beds and other pieces are moving ahead, and part of the food grown is to be prepared in the cafeteria
- The energy performance contract was signed September 30th, and the first goal is finalizing boiler designs
- Policy: the expanded committee, which now includes community members, met last week, wrapped up a set of IT policies and began revamping the HR and personnel section, comparing Hudson's to other districts; policies are now posted on BoardDocs
- President's report: a second board retreat of the calendar year was held October 7th, facilitated by Mark Snyder from the state school boards association, focused on communication, process, workflow and developing board goals
- Superintendent search: the board reached out to five firms with experience in districts of its size and region; one declined, one did not respond, and three submitted proposals, which the board would review in executive session, with some invited to speak and a decision ideally at a November board meeting
- The president welcomed Mike to the board and commended the clerk for attending state association clerk training, which has already changed the agenda's structure
The state school boards association is spelled four different ways by the captions (NISBA, NISSBA, NISB, NISBO), so it is described here in words rather than by an acronym the transcript does not settle.
Executive Session and the Personnel Agenda
The board went into executive session early to discuss employment history, and came back roughly half an hour later to approve the personnel agenda.
Key points
- A motion carried to enter executive session at 7:09 p.m. for the purpose of discussing the employment history of a particular person or persons
- The board returned and a motion carried at 7:40 p.m.
- A member moved to approve personnel agenda items A 1 through 7 and B 1 through 11, with a brief exchange about whether there was a 12th item; a member said item 12 was information only
- The motion was seconded and the president called for all in favor
The transcript jumps from 65:23 straight to 96:35, about 31 minutes with nothing captured. That is the executive session, which is closed to the public by law, but the beginning of the motion to come back out is also missing: the record picks up mid sentence at 'at 7:40 p.m.' So what exactly the board resolved on returning is not in the transcript.
Public Forum: Blue Hawk's Students and Families, and a Teacher on Attendance
Three people spoke. A Blue Hawk student and a parent both asked the board to protect the program, and a teacher asked the board to widen how it thinks about attendance.
Key points
- The president reminded speakers of the three minute limit, that comments about district personnel or students cannot be entertained, and that the board researches questions rather than answering on the spot
- The clerk called Vinnie Hamilton as the first speaker
- A Blue Hawk student said the daily circles help, that rides from Mr. Harris matter because a lot of students need them, that Mr. Gregory helps with schoolwork, and that they would not have passed last year without the program; asked what could be improved, the student said it is pretty good the way it is
- A parent of a Blue Hawk student thanked the staff for three years of support, described post pandemic learning loss and behavior as the backdrop, said punitive measures do very little, and voiced support for the shift to restorative justice schoolwide
- Laura Bender, speaking as a teacher, asked the board to add class by class attendance to the conversation, not just day to day attendance, because students are coming into the building and not making it to several classes a day
- She said she can try her hardest in the classroom but cannot do anything with nobody in her seats
The clerk announced only two names during public forum, Vinnie Hamilton and Laura Bender, but three people spoke. The transcript does not make clear which speaker Vinnie Hamilton was, so the student and the parent are described here by their role only.
Superintendent's Update: Trap Club, Absenteeism, Threats and Facebook Comments
The superintendent's update ran through a proposed trap club, district attendance numbers, retroactive appointments, communications, threats of violence in the buildings, and whether the district should turn off comments on its Facebook pages.
Key points
- A proposed trap club has documents, a charter and interested students; the insurance company gave a green light with caveats, the attorney is reviewing the parent waiver, and discussions with the union are still needed, with a charter approval expected to come back to the board by November
- Picking up on the public comment about attendance, the superintendent said the elementary school was 30.8% chronically absent last year, which works out against a 180 day school year, and called the numbers daunting
- He said adult attendance is one of the largest indicators of student attendance
- On retroactive appointments, which appeared again on the night's agenda, he said staff are building an HR handbook and consistent hiring practices, called the current pattern bad practice, and asked the board's grace one last time
- Lauren Griffin is the district's new communications person, and the district is working toward one district wide look and feel, with three community feedback meetings planned on communications
- The superintendent asked the board whether to turn off comments on district Facebook pages, noting the district is not allowed to remove negative or hurtful comments and has no one positioned to answer them; several members voiced support, and one asked that any change be explained to the public first
- On threats of violence: the first incident was about three and a half to four weeks ago, a letter went to families explaining what can follow a verbal threat, including child protective services involvement, a home search or charges, and buildings are running near daily announcements on kindness and language
- Because it keeps happening, staff discussed a short module taught to every student at once explaining what counts as a threat and what follows; the superintendent credited the Hudson City Police Department and the district attorney as partners and said the district will keep informing the public when incidents occur
Board members spoke in favor of turning comments off, and the superintendent said explicitly that no decision had to be made that night. The transcript shows no motion and no vote on it.
Consent Agenda and a Round of Policy Reads
The board approved the consent agenda including a hand carried item, then worked through policies on records management. It held one policy back for wording fixes and approved the charter creating a finance committee.
Key points
- The consent agenda, items A through W, was approved, with a hand carry for item W: a change in title and a memorandum of agreement for Tyler Kitzman, moving into a director of facilities role
- A follow up motion carried to make that title change probationary until June 30th, 2026
- On the records policies up for second reading, a member flagged that the Word document title says 'student records' while the policy itself is about school records, and that the document contradicts itself on whether the records management officer and the records access officer are the same person
- Rather than adopt it as written, the board agreed to fix the language at the policy committee before the next board meeting and to have the member send along her suggested wording
- A member also asked that digitized records request forms be true fillable forms rather than PDFs people have to print and photograph; staff noted the regulation already allows a request by email that includes the required information
- The finance committee charter passed its second read and the board voted to approve it, creating the committee
- The facilities committee charter was not on the agenda for a first read and will come back when it is ready; it will use the policy committee charter as its template and include community members
- Everything else in the policy section was a first read, including an AI policy on when staff and students may appropriately use AI; going forward, changes on first reads will be marked in red
Committee Appointments and Annual Designations
With a new board member and a new finance committee, the board reassigned committee seats and swore in the audit committee. It also made two annual designations.
Key points
- Audit committee: Mark DePace, Matthew Mackerer and Michael Zibella were appointed for the 2025-26 school year, and each was sworn in individually
- The president noted he must serve on the audit committee as board president, that the charter calls for three members, and that while the charter says it meets six times a year it has more often met three or four times
- Policy committee: Mark DePace, Amanda Grubler and Diana Howard were appointed, with Amanda Grubler staying on as chair, and the draft policy committee meeting schedule was approved
- Facilities committee: Kjirsten Gustavson, Maureen Sheridan and Michael Zibella were appointed, with Kjirsten Gustavson as chair
- Finance committee: Matthew Mackerer, Kjirsten Gustavson and Maureen Sheridan were appointed; the president said it should meet at least monthly with the time still to be determined
- The policy and facilities committees will include community members this year; the audit and finance committees will stay board members only for now, though all meetings are open to the public
- Alyssa Sabatino was appointed liaison for the education of homeless youth from September 17th, 2025 through December 31st, 2025
- The director of student services was appointed to additional designations for the year: section 504 compliance officer, Medicaid compliance officer, opioid program director, director of school health services, and HIPAA compliance officer
Board Goals, Upcoming Dates and a Second Executive Session
The board reviewed last year's goals and argued, productively, about what a board goal even is. It set a November target for adopting new ones, then went back into executive session.
Key points
- Last year's goals were student first, policy, and community engagement; the board self evaluation required by its own policy did not happen and members agreed it must this year
- A member who is a special education teacher said the goals as written are not measurable and read more like a mission statement than goals, and that board goals should look different from district goals
- She proposed four: appoint a permanent superintendent, improve community engagement and connections, improve academic achievement, and support the health and wellness of the district, staff and students
- Members agreed the superintendent search deserves a place in the goals because that is where a large share of the year's time will go
- Another member proposed a goal on defining a clear and replicable budget development process, so the work is tied to performance needs and school operations and spread across the year rather than crammed into budget season
- The president floated a board activity calendar or presentation schedule so the board can ask for specific academic data at set points in the year
- The president will pull suggestions into a draft and circulate it, with the conversation continuing and goals memorialized at the November board meeting
- Upcoming dates were read out: student success committee October 29th, policy committee November 12th, the John L. Edwards referendum November 13th, a special board meeting that evening in the MC Smith auditorium, and the facilities committee and regular board meeting on November 18th
- The special meeting will run late because polls close at 8 p.m. and the board will sit as results come in; a district official said she changed the process and picked her three best poll workers to lead each polling location, hoping for a quick night
- A motion carried to enter executive session at 8:43 p.m. to discuss the employment history of a particular person or persons and the proposed acquisition, sale or lease of real property, with no further business after
The transcript ends with the board entering executive session at 8:43 p.m. The president said there would be no further business afterward, but no adjournment is captured, so the formal close of the meeting is not in the record.
One member will send her suggestions to the president and another member; the president will assemble a draft and send it around, and the board plans to adopt goals at its November meeting.
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.