At a glance
The School Board held its annual organizational meeting, swearing in officers and committee appointments for the 2026-27 school year. Mark Depace was elected board president and Matt Macker vice president. The board adopted annual policies including parent engagement, attendance, code of conduct, and purchasing rules, and reappointed attorneys, auditors, and consultants. Interim Superintendent Brian Bailey, serving his final meeting before retirement, was recognized for a year of steady leadership.
Oath of office and board elections
Board members took the oath of office. Mark Depace was elected board president and Matt Macker vice president after board nominations and votes.
Key points
- Leslie Zap swore in the board clerk and interim superintendent before the meeting opened.
- Diana Howard nominated Mike Zibella for president; he withdrew, citing time constraints. Mark Depace was elected unanimously.
- Three members were nominated for vice president: Mike Zibella (who withdrew, after nominating Diana Howard for the position), Matt Macker, and Diana Howard. Matt Macker was elected vice president with 5 votes.
- Superintendent Bailey read Robert's Rules procedures governing board elections, including rules on nominations, seconds, and voting.
Committee appointments
The board appointed members to standing committees for the 2026-27 school year: policy, finance, facilities, and audit.
Key points
- Policy committee: Amanda Grubler, Diana Howard, Mark Depace.
- Finance committee: Matt Macker, Diana Howard, Moren Sheridan.
- Facilities committee: Moren Sheridan, Lou Zap, Mike Zibella.
- Audit committee: Mark Depace, Matt Macker, Mike Zibella. Audit committee members took an oath of office.
- Amanda Grubler proposed forming a quarterly academics committee to review student data and define academic excellence beyond test scores. The board discussed the idea; no vote was taken.
Policy and facilities committees will develop processes for accepting community member applications. Audit committee will meet next week with the district's internal auditor.
District officers and designations
The board reappointed school district officers, compliance coordinators, attorneys, consultants, and auditors for the 2026-27 school year.
Key points
- Brian Bailey was appointed clerk pro tem and took the oath of office.
- The executive director of curriculum was named district-level dignity act coordinator; associate principals were named building-level coordinators.
- Title IX coordinators and investigators were appointed, including the executive director of curriculum as coordinator and several administrators as investigators.
- Legal counsel Keenan Bean PC and bond attorney Rodenhousen Shale and Polado LLP were reappointed.
- Raymond Pursuer CPA PC was reappointed as external auditor for the 2026-27 school year to audit 2025-26 finances.
- Insurance broker Metswood Insurance and architect Weston and Samson (formerly Rybeck) were reappointed.
Official depositories and investment accounts
The board designated Bank of Greene County, TD Bank, Webster Bank, and NY Class as official depositories for school funds and set deposit account assignments.
Key points
- TD Bank was designated for extracurricular activity funds for Hudson High School and Hudson Junior High School.
- One board member asked whether two separate activity funds would be needed now that the junior and senior high schools have consolidated. Superintendent Bailey recommended keeping the same structure this year to limit changes.
- NY Class was designated for several district deposit accounts.
- Additional banks (TD Bank, Community Bank, Key Bank, Bank of New York, US Bank) were approved for investment or borrowing depending on rates.
Annual policy adoptions
The board adopted policies required for annual readoption, including parent engagement, attendance, and code of conduct, plus several purchasing and investment policies.
Key points
- Parent engagement policy 1900 was adopted with one added line strengthening notice in students' home languages.
- Attendance policy 51000 was adopted as a placeholder; it will go back to the attendance committee for a larger revamp to match district work on improving attendance.
- Code of conduct policy 5300 was adopted after a final round of staff feedback, subcommittee work, and legal review. Changes strengthened clarity on when level responses are used and removed ambiguity. A student-facing pamphlet version and an implementation subcommittee were proposed for the fall.
- Investment policies 6240 and 6240R, purchasing policies 6700 and 6700R, and purchasing authority policy 6710 were adopted.
- Independent education evaluation rates were adopted for the 2026-27 school year.
Amanda Grubler and Cheryl will meet next week to discuss implementation timelines. A summer meeting with the code of conduct subcommittee is planned to review the work.
Personnel agenda and tenure recognition
The board went into executive session to discuss personnel matters, then approved the personnel agenda. One teacher receiving tenure, Ryan Turble, attended with family.
Key points
- The board entered executive session at 6:43 PM and exited at 7 PM to discuss the employment history of particular persons.
- Personnel agenda items A2 through A14 and B1 through B10 were approved.
- Item A1 was approved separately; Lou Zap recused himself from that vote.
- About a dozen staff members were approved to receive tenure in September 2026. Superintendent Bailey recognized Ryan Turble, who attended with family, and invited all tenure recipients to a formal celebration in September.
District safety plan comment period
The board opened a 30-day comment period on the 2026-27 district safety plan and scheduled a public hearing for August 25.
Key points
- The comment period runs from July 7 through August 6, 2026.
- A public hearing is scheduled for August 25 during a special board meeting.
- Superintendent Bailey noted the plan may need updates to reflect the junior-senior high school consolidation, including whether to treat the buildings as one physical plant or two for safety purposes.
- The district will work with Questar's health and safety staff and scrub the plan to use position titles instead of individual names.
Consent agenda and additional policies
The board approved the consent agenda and adopted the organizational chart and a new policy on disclosure of wrongful conduct. Two policies pulled from the code of conduct were approved on first reading.
Key points
- Consent agenda items A through EE were approved.
- The organizational chart, policy 3230, was adopted. It includes department chairs and consolidates the junior-senior high school principalship. HR personnel will be supervised by the executive director of business and finance.
- Policy 9645, disclosure of wrongful conduct, was adopted. This is a new policy recommended by NYSBA.
- Policies 5365 (visitors to schools) and 5370 (public conduct on school property) were approved on first reading. These were pulled from the code of conduct to stand as separate policies.
NYSBA convention and board training
The board discussed upcoming professional development opportunities, including the annual NYSBA convention in Buffalo and a leadership conference in Albany.
Key points
- The NYSBA convention is October 22-24, 2026 in Buffalo. Hotels sell out quickly; board members interested in attending should notify the clerk by the next board meeting.
- Mike Zibella expressed interest in attending the Buffalo convention.
- A leadership conference is scheduled for July 24-25, 2026 at the Desmond Hotel in Albany. Mike Zibella plans to attend.
- Other board training opportunities were shared by Leslie Zap and Matt Macker.
Columbia via County Players facility request
The board discussed a request from Columbia via County Players to use district space for rehearsals with Hudson students and waive rental fees. No vote was taken; the board deferred to existing policy.
Key points
- The group has been waiting since November 2025 for permission to use district space for rehearsals.
- Students involved will receive stipends. The group will perform for free at the elementary school and at Winter Walk.
- The board reviewed the facility use fee policy. Columbia via County Players appears to be a category 3 group (community group providing civic or cultural activities), which requires fees unless the use incurs no additional district costs.
- Some board members expressed concern about waiving fees given the district's tight budget.
- No resolution was on the agenda. The board decided to adhere to existing policy without taking action.
Board discussion and superintendent remarks
Board members shared updates, and Interim Superintendent Brian Bailey gave his final remarks before retirement.
Key points
- Diana Howard reported that handing out diplomas at graduation was exceptional. She praised the students' decorated caps and their plans for the future.
- Mark Depace highlighted a program by Neighbor Running on Warren Street offering free running shoes and a summer running program to junior and senior high students.
- Bailey reported that extended school year programs for students with disabilities, the ASP summer program, and the National Inventors Hall of Fame week all started July 6.
- Bailey praised the graduation ceremony, calling it loud, touching, and a proud moment. He thanked the district for the opportunity to serve and said becoming a Blue Hawk meant a lot after 33 years in education.
- Bailey reported that DD Barrett's office is continuing its grant application for the outdoor classroom.
Mark Depace thanked Brian Bailey on behalf of the board for his year of steady leadership, kindness, and respect, and wished him well in retirement.
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.