Hoboken 1st Ward Councilman/mayoral hopeful Mike DeFusco is calling for a “state of the art” high school complex to be built in the northern end of the Mile Square City.
[fve]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iyDmzC0sqHM[/fve]
“Every child in Hoboken deserves access to a top-notch public education, and as Mayor I will make it one of my first priorities to begin planning for a new, state-of-the-art High School complex in the Northern redevelopment area, above 14th Street,” DeFusco said in a video posted on his YouTube page on August 11th.
“We need to think big and make sure families see that we are investing in the future and giving their children everything they need to be successful.”
Also in the video, DeFusco added that “an excellent public education is the yardstick by which great cities are measured,” vowing to working with the public school district to put Hoboken into this conversation.
“While the City government is not directly responsible for our schools, the Mayor and Council are the sole land use authorities and can author redevelopment plans and negotiate for land,” the candidate said.
“We must provide the leadership and set the tone to help advancements like this happen. Working with county, state and federal agencies and fostering public/private partnerships can bring funding opportunities to help defray costs.”
If we chart the right course, I’m confident our superintendent and school board will take the opportunity to do what is best for our students,” he added.
DeFusco isn’t the first Hoboken mayoral candidate to discuss policy initiatives ahead of what will inevitably be contentious campaign leading up to the November 7th election.
At a fundraiser last month, Freeholder Anthony Romano (D-5) also expressed an interest in partnering with the Stevens Institute of Technology to build a new Hoboken school, while Councilman-at-Large Ravi Bhalla unveiled a recreation program agenda last week.