The New Jersey Charter Schools Association sponsored a Hoboken mayoral candidate forum yesterday moderated by HCV Chief News Correspondent John Heinis.
By Daniel Ulloa/Hudson County View
The event was hosted at Birch Hoboken at 92 River St., with parents from Hoboken Dual Language Charter School (HoLa), Hoboken Charter School, and Elysian Charter School almost exclusively making up the roughly 130 people in attendance.
Former U.S. Treasury official Dini Ajmani introduced herself and explained that she raised their children in Short Hills and enrolled them in private schools after a short stint in public institutions.
“What’s important is parents have that choice,” Ajmani said, later indicating that the city has been mismanaged for years and it’s time for a change.
“The office needs some with experience, especially when it comes to finances … I think a fresh perspective would be helpful, which is why I’m jumping in.”
2nd Ward Councilwoman Tiffanie Fisher praised Hoboken’s three charter schools, saying they “have done a wonderful job.”
She noted the historic discord between district and charter schools – using the dispute over the payment in lieu of taxes (PILOT) revenue at 770 Jackson St. as an example – and said that kind of division would end if she were mayor.
Councilwoman-at-Large Emily Jabbour noted she is a social worker with two daughters in the public schools who decided to get active in her community after one of her daughter’s schools held an active shooter drill.
“I think we need a new set of priorities: A lot of that is focused on bringing people together … I know at times people have not felt seen … I’m committed to having conversations that can be very challenging,” she asserted.
4th Ward Councilman Ruben Ramos noted he is a second-generation Hobokenite and that he had two children graduate from charter schools, in addition to being a public school teacher for 29 years.
“I might have my opinion, but I rely on you … I have no problem having a conversation: We signed up to do the difficult tasks.”
3rd Ward Councilman Mike Russo explained he was also born and raised in Hoboken and his four children attend public schools in the city, noting that he’s been a charter school survivor from the beginning.
He noted that quality of life issues like e-bike drivers who don’t follow the rules of the road and package thieves can make life difficult for residents, also highlighting affordability.
“Housing is something I think we need to focus on. We need to focus on housing people across the socioeconomic scale: The mayor, on that salary alone, wouldn’t be able to afford to live in the city of Hoboken ….”
Heinis then asked: What actions you have taken, and will continue to take if elected Mayor, to fairly represent the interests of all of Hoboken’s public school children, including in decisions around PILOT funding.”
Russo said he sponsored an ordinance for PILOT revenues to include the three local charter schools.
“Not only the public schools but the charter schools are getting a piece of that pie,” he noted.
Russo argued that developers contributing to schools if they want to build is basic fairness.
“I’ve also been a charter school supporter,” Ramos, answered, noting that he joined Russo in sponsoring the measure to have PILOTs fund charter schools.
“Charter schools are public schools as well,” he continued.
Jabbour said she has worked hard on improving education during her tenure on the council and admitted that she did not initially understand the intricacies of the 770 Jackson PILOT, which was approved prior to her being elected in 2017.
“Each family has a different set of needs … I appreciate the advocacy that made me understand more …”
Reiterating an earlier point, Fisher was critical of Mayor Ravi Bhalla’s administration, again exclaiming that the charter and public schools were pitted against each other.
“Some of us have PTSD from the last seven years … The administration was unwilling to meet with the public schools, much less charters,” she argued.
Fisher took credit for easing acrimony between public school and charter school supports, noting that a parent told her recently that those tensions no longer exist.
“I do not believe in PILOTs. PILOTs divert money from our schools,” Ajmani asserted, claiming tax breaks ultimately leads to the underfunding of the schools – to the tune of $9 million annually.
“These developers have figured out how to buy influence: If they are the ones who put you there, who are you negotiating on behalf of?”
Ajmani concluded that is why she is not taking any donations developers as part of her campaign.
Heinis then asked: “How will you ensure that charter school families have equal access to city resources like mental/physical health services, school resource officers, crossing guards and recreational programs?”
“We need to do a better job in investing into those and allocating it,” Jabbour said, calling for building for facilities and better communication, noting that a Nixle alert after a shots fired incident locked down schools in December last year went out far too late.
Fisher said safety is very important and the issue called to the forefront after a nanny was assaulted at Church Square Park in broad daylight on Halloween last year.
She said she is working with parents and others on safety concerns and also said she has a plan for a new recreation center.
To that end, Fisher also detailed an idea to set up a volunteer advisory committee on recreation with a range of stakeholders, including charter school parents.
Ajmani also believed that charter schools should receive their fair share of resources, noting that many luxury buildings have gone up in the city without giving back.
“Those facilities are sitting empty all day long … Let’s set up a private public partnership.”
Russo noted that they all agreed on giving charter schools more access to resources (“I’ll make sure that happens every single day”), which was a no brainer, but the solutions are a bit more complex.
Russo explained that one of the charter schools could be housed inside the Hoboken Boys & Girls Club with some relatively modest renovations.
“I’m the only mayoral candidate who has a specific plan,” he added.
Ramos lamented the lack of communication with the charter schools, echoing the sentiment that they had often been forgotten or left behind.
“We’re committed to doing quarterly meetings with all of our schools,” he pledged if elected.
Ramos also wanted to find the charter schools recreational space to minimize their costs and liked the idea of using the Boys & Girls Club. While a similar plan had worked in the past, it has been put on ice for now.
“Unfortunately the current administration … gave great resistance,” Ramos explained.
The forum also had an interactive component where the candidates interacted with charter school parents before and after the question and answer session, which lasted about 40 minutes.
Mayoral candidate Pat Waiters did not attend.
Don’t understand Emily’s constant recitation over and over about school shooter drills.
How is she going to protect us from the violent killers like the series of trans school shooters?
Oh yeah, she won’t.