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Hawthorne Public School District board meeting, Sep 15, 2026

1 h 19 min · 0 public speakers

AI in schools ▶ 38:06Phones in school ▶ 43:01Safety, weapons and police ▶ 38:06

This board doesn’t post agenda times. Click a board member to jump to where they first speak; we list only members whose voice our check named. Video length 1 h 19 min.

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What happened

What happened at this meeting

Hawthorne board president and superintendent present 2026⁠-⁠2027 board and district goals 9:33

  • The board president presented three board goals for the 2026⁠-⁠2027 school year and asked the board to formally adopt them. 9:33
  • The superintendent and the assistant superintendent presented district goals covering school safety and security, gifted and talented education, high-level instruction and artificial intelligence. 16:06
  • Anthony Puluse read a resolution on a memorandum of agreement and salary guides with the Hawthorne Educational Secretaries Association, Abigail Goff moved the curriculum and instruction resolutions, and Erica Mulkey-Koltzan read the personnel resolutions. 52:39
  • A speaker said 24 and 26 would be tabled and 23 would be voted on, with the understanding that data for the agreement would be received next month. 59:35

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Item by item (11)
  1. Opening, roll call and minutes 4:15
    • No one spoke during public comment on agenda items. ~4:42
    • After a roll call, the board took up approval of minutes from the August 18th, 2026 regular meeting and the August 24th, 2026 board retreat. 6:06
  2. Student representative report 6:53
    • A student representative reported that the fall pep rally took place on September 3rd and that the annual fall club fair would take place on September 25th. 7:17
    • The student representative said the student council was planning the annual fall spirit week and Homecoming Spirit Week. 7:17
  3. Board goals for the school year 9:33
    • The board president said the goals focus on strengthening the committee structure, celebrating student and staff achievement, and advancing governance through professional development. 10:54
    • The board president said the New Jersey School Board Association would join the board at its October 13th work session and that the board would take at least 3 governance-focused training sessions each year. 12:00
    • The board president asked the board to formally adopt the 2026⁠-⁠2027 board goals. 15:24
  4. Superintendent's district goals presentation 16:06
    • The superintendent said a gifted and talented community survey drew 179 responses, and the assistant superintendent described professional development including teacher-led microlearning sessions. 16:06
    • The superintendent said a security vestibule would be installed at Hawthorne High School in the summer of 2027 and a visitor management system would be implemented at all 5 schools. 21:23
    • The superintendent said the district would adopt a policy and guidelines for the appropriate and ethical use of artificial intelligence. 38:06
  5. Committee liaison reports 40:46
    • Alex Clavijo said the finance committee discussed the upcoming budget and health insurance, and that invoices of $20,000 from Solutions Architecture for auditing referendum expenditures had been retracted and voided. 41:09
    • Abigail Goff said the curriculum committee discussed a virtual mental health platform at no cost to the district and a Title I intervention plan with 7 teachers and 1 coordinator. 43:01
    • Gisselle Vega said the buildings and grounds committee discussed third floor renovations and a security vestibule at the high school and a possible PSE&G incentive program for HVAC units. 51:26
  6. Educational secretaries agreement 52:36
    • Anthony Puluse read a resolution to approve a memorandum of agreement and salary guides with the Hawthorne Educational Secretaries Association for July 1st, 2026 through June 30th, 2030. 52:39
    • One board member thanked the parties involved in the negotiations, and another board member said they were glad the parties came to a positive resolution. 53:42
  7. Curriculum and instruction resolutions 54:43
    • Abigail Goff moved resolutions CI 1 through CI 28. 54:47
    • A speaker asked how the board could approve contracts in CI 23, CI 24 and CI 26 when no fees were listed. 56:56
    • A speaker said CI 24 and CI 26 would be tabled and CI 23 would be voted on with fee information expected next month. 59:35
  8. Personnel resolutions 1:00:21
    • Erica Mulkey-Koltzan moved personnel resolutions from P1 through P56. 1:00:26
    • Alex Clavijo thanked the volunteer coaches. 1:02:21
  9. Finance resolutions and bill list 1:02:46
    • Alex Clavijo presented acceptance of a donation of $3,000 from Hawthorne NJCPAC for the Special Programs Department and moved F1 to F2. 1:02:48
    • The board took up approval of the bill list for September 2026. 1:06:32
  10. Buildings and grounds and policy resolutions 1:07:14
    • Gisselle Vega moved resolutions BG1 and BG2 on behalf of the buildings and grounds committee. 1:07:19
    • Gisselle Vega moved policy resolution P01 on behalf of the policy committee. 1:08:07
  11. Public comment and board comments 1:08:44
    • The meeting was opened to public comment on educational issues or school matters. 1:08:44
    • Alex Clavijo welcomed the new student representative and thanked the administration and board members for their summer work. 1:09:10
    • Gisselle Vega reminded the community that school buses are on the road and asked drivers to stop for them. 1:09:56

Written by software from the meeting's transcript and checked sentence by sentence against it.

Other meetings

Other meetings of this board

Video: posted by the district as “BOE Regular Meeting 9-15-26”