Hoboken School Candidate Profiles: Want New Buildings? Support The President On Education?

HOBOKEN, NJ — Six people are running for three spots on Hoboken's school board this year. Below, they answer (or decline to answer) questions about their stance on new school buildings, who they supported for president last year, and more.

Back in 2022, voters defeated a proposed new high school building and building reconfiguration 2-1. But many have said the older buildings need to be addressed. The candidates were asked about that, and their answers are below. READ MORE: Hoboken School Referendum Fails Amid Lopsided Results

While school elections are non-partisan, local officials have highlighted impacts from recent federal actions, such as cuts to the Department of Education (DOE press release here) and laying off special education staff. Candidates were asked to answer how national politics might affect the local district, and who they voted for last year.

While some candidates are together on a slate, voters can choose any three.

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The Hoboken Board of Education oversees the school budget and five regular district schools: Hoboken High School, Hoboken Middle School, and three elementary schools. The town's three charter schools are public but have separate school boards.

This year, the candidates for three open spots are:

• Leslie Norwood (incumbent)
• Antonio Grana (incumbent)
• Elizabeth "Lizy" Velez
• Russ Koyfman
• Laura Block
• Tim Smith

Read the first three profiles and Q&A below; the rest will be posted tomorrow.

School Board Candidate Profiles (Second Half Tomorrow)

Name: Laura Block

Age: 49
Length of time you've lived in Hoboken: 15 years
Public service in Hoboken: While I have not held elected office in Hoboken I have been an active volunteer since my daughters were very young. I have volunteered with the PTOs at each school my children have attended. I volunteered as class parent all of my years at Wallace Elementary, I currently volunteer for Hoboken Public Education Foundation and I coached rec soccer for many years when my children were eligible to play.
Family: Husband Andrew, Daughters, Norah (14) and Alexandra (11)
Do you have kids who attended or attend the Hoboken public schools? If you chose to send them elsewhere, why? Yes, both daughters have attended the Hoboken Public Schools since Pre-K 3 and are currently attending Hoboken Middle and High School.
Do you have immediate family members working for local government? Who? No
Do you have a full-time job? If so, what is it? If not, how do you earn a living? Yes, I work for Audible, Inc. in Newark, NJ and have been employed by them for 8.5 years.
How many properties do you own in Hudson County, and where? I’ve been a proud renter in Hoboken and Hudson County for over 15 years.
Educational background: Millburn Public School District (K-12), Pennsylvania State University
Other experience: Served on the board of the Penn State Women’s Network of New York / Tri-State
Who are your running mates, if any? Tim Smith
Website where voters can find more information: https://www.facebook.com/profi...

Longer Questions. Answers must be kept to 250 words or fewer.

1. Please tell us what makes you more qualified for the job than your opponents. I am running as a district parent who only wants the best for our schools. I am not tied to any political candidate in Hoboken and will work with anyone to deliver the best results for Hoboken’s students. In the past 12 years I have watched this town transform in ways unimaginable. I’ve seen our growing population and their needs in terms of public education. I am non-political, unbiased and willing to fight for every child in this district.

2. What is the biggest challenge facing Hoboken's schools, and how will you address it? Facilities and enrollment growth. Our biggest challenge as of now are our aging facilities and being able to provide for our younger population as they grow and come through our school system. If elected, I will help to look into every single avenue to secure funding to improve our buildings.

3. What is one creative idea you personally have for the school district that no one else has brought up yet? Creating and maintaining a good, working relationship with the city and their recreation department. Being able to offer our children who reside in Hoboken access to our fields, pool, gyms (especially over the summer) is top of my list.

4. What is your overall impression of the job that the public schools are currently doing? Having been in the Hoboken public school district for over 10+ years, I feel as if Dr. Johnson and the staff are doing an excellent job. I couldn’t be happier with the education both of my children have been receiving.

5. For whom did you vote in the 2024 presidential election? With proposed cuts to the Department of Education and various federal grants, do you see national politics affecting Hoboken's schools in the next few years? What do you think should be done about that, if so? The Board of Education is a non-partisan position however I voted for Kamala Harris and Tim Walz in 2024. I feel lucky to live in a state where the Governor still believes in funding public education and values the work of our teachers.

6. Did you support the new $241M school facilities plan in 2022? What do you think should be done about the school's buildings and facilities? Yes, I fully supported the facilities plan in 2022. The school's buildings and facilities are in dire need of upgrades for our growing student population. I think we need to figure out how to secure funding to expand/upgrade our buildings to meet the future educational needs that the increasing district population will require.

7. Do you believe all public school students should get free lunch? If so, how would you fund it? I fully support funding free lunches for children who are in need.

8. Do you think the district should have some involvement in programs for all children in town, regardless of their school, such as the summer camp that exists now, or no? Do you think the district should allow Hoboken children who attend High Tech High, County Prep, or Hoboken Charter School to participate in Hoboken High sports? Yes, I think it would be great for the district to have involvement in programs that allow them to use our facilities. As for children attending county schools, I don’t see any harm in them being able to participate in our sports program as allowed by law.

9. Just for an offbeat question, do you believe the first snow day of the year should be done via remote learning, or a "traditional" day off? (Please note that "I'd leave it to the superintendent" is not an answer for this or the other questions, because we're looking for your personal opinion, not a future decision.) Growing up in NJ and having fond memories of snow days as a child, I’m all for the kids having a traditional day off.

Name: Leslie Norwood

Age: 54

Length of time you've lived in Hoboken: Almost 28 years

Public service in Hoboken: I’ve served one term as a Trustee for the Hoboken Board of Education and am seeking re-election. I have served on a variety of BOE committees as a Trustee and am currently the Chair of the Curriculum Committee. I also serve as the Superintendent’s designee on the Hoboken Public Library Board, where I serve as the Chair of the Building and Grounds Committee.

Family: I am married with 2 children.

Do you have kids who attended or attend the Hoboken public schools? If you chose to send them elsewhere, why? My children have been educated in the Hoboken Public School District since Pre-K. One now goes to school at Brandt Elementary School and the other at Hoboken Middle School.

Do you have immediate family members working for local government? Who? No.

Do you have a full-time job? If so, what is it? If not, how do you earn a living? Yes. I work at a trade association as a securities law attorney and federal lobbyist focusing on public and infrastructure finance.

How many properties do you own in Hudson County, and where? I own one property in Hudson County, which is my home in Hoboken.

Educational background: I earned a J.D. from Boston University School of Law and a B.A. from the University of California at Berkeley. I have been admitted to the bar in 3 states, a number of federal courts and the U.S. Supreme Court.

Other experience: I have long been an active volunteer in the community, including with the Brandt Parent Consortium for Pre-K, Brandt PTO, Hoboken Community Center Food Pantry, Cub Scout Den Leader, Hoboken Special Needs Parent Advisory Group, and as class parent. I served for 5 years on the Board of the Hoboken Public Education Foundation where I led an initiative to fund teacher training in the Orton-Gillingham method

Who are your running mates, if any? Antonio Grana, Lizy Velez and I are running together on a slate entitled “Leadership that Delivers.”

Website where voters can find more information: https://www.leadershipthatdeli...

Longer Questions

1. Please tell us what makes you more qualified for the job than your opponents.

I am seeking re-election as I am in the last year of my first term on the Hoboken BOE I have been an advocate for the students of this district back to 2016 when my eldest son was in Pre-K3, which was long before I was elected to the BOE. My concerns back then were the conditions of the facilities, especially the bathrooms, and I volunteered to spend days painting sea creatures on the walls of a Pre-K bathroom. When my youngest son had challenges learning to read and was later diagnosed as dyslexic, I began to advocate as a parent for teacher training in the Orton Gillingham Approach, which is a structured and multisensory way to teach literacy to all children.

I believe my analytic, financial, and advocacy skills from almost three decades of experience as an attorney and lobbyist focused on state and local government finance for capital projects provides relevant experience as the District faces significant challenges relating to its capital facilities.

I strongly believe in educating yourself for any role. Beyond the statutorily required training classes for all trustees of boards of education, in May of 2024, I earned the New Board Member Boardsmanship certification from the New Jersey School Boards Association, and am on track to earn the NJSBA’s Certified Board Member certification by January.

2. What is the biggest challenge facing Hoboken's schools, and how will you address it?

In my mind, the biggest challenge facing Hoboken’s schools are space constraints. The academic rigor and offerings led to Hoboken High School students matriculating in June to the most competitive colleges and universities. The Transitional Program for 18-21 year old disabled students offers life skills and job training opportunities, including locally at the W Hotel. And the rest of the student body has a panoply of offerings to meet their interests and needs including AP courses, dual enrollment college courses, and innovative tracks such as aviation and finance. It is important that the District have facilities that are designed to support academic excellence.

3. What is one creative idea you personally have for the school district that no one else has brought up yet?

The role of the Board of Education is one of oversight over the Superintendent as the chief school administrator, the budget, and district policies and procedures. I think Superintendent Johnson has done an excellent job developing innovative programs such as the aviation program, the innovation lab and the new financial literacy lab with Bloomberg terminals at HHS. I strongly support her efforts to close achievement gaps, including through using the Orton Gillingham Approach to close literacy gaps, executive functioning and study skills training, as well as high impact tutoring and a summer intensive algebra prep course.

In September I was appointed by the NJ Commissioner of Education as 1 of only 2 school board members statewide to serve on the NJ Department of Education's Individualized Education Plan (IEP) Improvement Working Group. For the next 3 months, the Working Group will examine current practices related to the development and implementation of student IEPs across local education agencies, with a focus on enhancing procedural consistency and ensuring meaningful parental involvement. We will produce a report by December to provide the NJDOE with actionable recommendations for improvement, which will hopefully include new ideas to ensure students with learning differences get the supports they need.

4. What is your overall impression of the job that the public schools are currently doing?

The results speak for themselves. The Hoboken Public School District has been on an incredible upward trajectory, and I look forward to continuing to support that trend. Hoboken High School’s ranking in the State of NJ went from 265 in 2019 to 148 in 2025. NJSLA scores have steadily increased. Our student body has gone from just 7 AP Scholars 5 years ago to more than 140 today. In 2015, 22% of AP scores were 3 or higher; in 2025, 79% of scores were 3 or higher.

It is important to recognize that all children learn at different paces or in different ways, and it is the Hoboken Public School District’s obligation to provide programs to serve them all.

The District’s efforts into its Portrait of a Graduate highlight its desire to educate well-rounded students who are critical thinkers, effective communicators, skilled collaborators, creative innovators and globally and financially literate citizens.

Aside from rigorous academics, the District also has a variety of athletic programs, travel opportunities, and award-winning theater, mock trial and debate programs.

5. For whom did you vote in the 2024 presidential election? With proposed cuts to the Department of Education and various federal grants, do you see national politics affecting Hoboken's schools in the next few years? What do you think should be done about that, if so?

I voted for Kamala Harris in the 2024 presidential election.

As a result of the presidential election last November, Title 1 funding for schools with low-income families will likely be cut, and recent cuts to USDA programs will have real effects on local families, nonprofits, and school meal programs. I think that state and local funding may be needed to support students and their families who may be experiencing food insecurity and other challenges.

6. Did you support the new $241M school facilities plan in 2022? What do you think should be done about the school's buildings and facilities?

I voted in favor of the 2022 school facilities referendum. However, my feeling that the process was flawed, in that there should have been more community involvement and transparency, spurred me to run for the BOE. I ran for BOE after the referendum in part because I felt that my professional experience in infrastructure finance would be helpful with future capital projects. With 3 school buildings over 100 years old and the other 2 past “useful life”, it is clear that the existing facilities are in need critical renovations. Also, the District has additional space needs due to 4 buildings being deemed at or over capacity by the state. One of my children is at Brandt and the other is at HMS, and clearly both are over capacity. The number of students attending District schools has increased on par with the demographic study that was released prior to the 2022 referendum. A new demographic study is anticipated to be completed in October which will reflect the fact that over 5,000 new residential units have been proposed over the past few years. The BOE has already pursued a long-term lease for Pre-K space at 38 Jackson Street. Considering that The National Center for Education Statistics reports the average size of a U.S. elementary school is approximately 473 to 485 students, additional space will be necessary. The District must plan for the future to ensure that it can fulfill its legal requirement to educate any student residing in town.

7. Do you believe all public school students should get free lunch? If so, how would you fund it? During COVID all public school students received free school breakfast and lunch.

I thought universal free lunch was a wonderful federal program that removed any hesitance or potential stigma to free school lunches. Unfortunately, budget cuts at the federal level have put even the core Free and Reduced Lunch program at risk. I think it is most important to be able to continue to serve free and reduced cost lunches to those that are economically challenged, even if federal support is reduced or eliminated. If workable, I would support providing free and reduced cost snacks and dinners to economically challenged students attending afterschool programs. I applaud the Hoboken Community Center’s partnership with the Hoboken Public Schools for launching in September a Weekend Backpack Program. This program is aimed at combating weekend hunger among school-aged children and is funded by a grant from Hudson County. The goal of this program is to help ensure that children who qualify for the Free and Reduced Lunch Program have access to nutritious food over the weekends, a critical component for their health, well-being, and academic success. On Fridays, qualifying students take home a backpack with a variety of shelf-stable, easy-to-prepare food items, such as: oatmeal packets, granola bars, instant mac and cheese, fruit cups, shelf stable milk, and cereal cups. The backpacks are returned on Mondays.

8. Do you think the district should have some involvement in programs for all children in town, regardless of their school, such as the summer camp that exists now, or no? Do you think the district should allow Hoboken children who attend High Tech High, County Prep, or Hoboken Charter School to participate in Hoboken High sports?

I feel that the YWCA summer camp program is a wonderful program that has been run at Wallace Elementary School for the past two summers, and provides all families in town with an economical, local summer camp option that includes swimming at the Hoboken High School pool. There are other programs for the entire community including Wee Passport Mommy, Daddy, Caretaker & Me programs and summer soccer pick-up games on Taglieri Field. When these programs are workable, they should be encouraged.

Per NJSIAA conference rule, Hoboken children who attend county schools such as High Tech and County Prep are eligible to participate in Hoboken High School sports, if the county school does not have a team in that sport.

Unfortunately, space constraints and funding limitations are an issue for all public schools, and limit the Hoboken Public School District’s ability to open sports and extracurriculars to children who do not attend District schools. It should be noted that per state law, the District does not send tuition to the county for students living in Hoboken that attend county schools, as those schools are funded out of county taxes. Per state law, for every student living in Hoboken that attends a charter school, the District is required to send a tuition payment to that charter school, as calculated by the state.

9. Just for an offbeat question, do you believe the first snow day of the year should be done via remote learning, or a "traditional" day off? (Please note that "I'd leave it to the superintendent" is not an answer for this or the other questions, because we're looking for your personal opinion, not a future decision.)

This is the type of decision best left for the Superintendent, considering the facts and circumstance at issue. However, I do enjoy the first snow day with my children and feel that teachers do too, as their children likely have a snow day as well!

Name: Tim Smith

Age: 44
Length of time you've lived in Hoboken: 18 Years
Public service in Hoboken: Hoboken United Board of Trustee, Parent Soccer Coach for 7+ years
Family: Wife, Cindy, son and daughter
Do you have kids who attended or attend the Hoboken public schools? If you chose to send them elsewhere, why? Yes, HMS and HHS
Do you have immediate family members working for local government? Who? No
Do you have a full-time job? If so, what is it? If not, how do you earn a living? I left my full-time job when my second child was born to stay home with my kids. I work part-time, nights and weekends, seasonally.
How many properties do you own in Hudson County, and where? I do not own property.
Educational background: Randolph-Macon College
Other experience:
Who are your running mates, if any? Laura Block
Website where voters can find more information: https://www.facebook.com/profi...

Longer Questions. Answers must be kept to 250 words or fewer.

1. Please tell us what makes you more qualified for the job than your opponents. I listen more than I talk. I have spent years at school drop-off listening to district parents, teachers, and staff. I spend time at the fields listening to charter and private school parents. Time at coffee shops hearing from parents with grown adult children. At restaurants conversing with child-free couples. And now I spend time at parks speaking with dog parents. What separates me is my ability to reach a broader Hoboken community, not just district parents. I want to listen to what the district needs are and communicate those needs. I have the time to listen to ideas and concerns. To find out what the community is willing to provide the district. We need everyone to work together.

2. What is the biggest challenge facing Hoboken's schools, and how will you address it? I believe the biggest challenge facing the Hoboken School District is aging facilities and space. I want to get involved to learn more about the spaces we currently occupy. I want to learn about the conditions of the school buildings. I want to know that we have safe building and enough space for our staff and students, and Our classrooms, offices, auditoriums, gymnasiums, and fields.

3. What is one creative idea you personally have for the school district that no one else has brought up yet?

Increase BOE engagement with district parents by having a member of the BOE attend school PTO meetings biannually. Sharing who the BOE is and what we do. When and where the BOE meets.

4. What is your overall impression of the job that the public schools are currently doing?

The Hoboken Public School District is doing an excellent job educating the students. I really feel the entire staff is working hard to continuously up the rigor year after year.

5. For whom did you vote in the 2024 presidential election? With proposed cuts to the Department of Education and various federal grants, do you see national politics affecting Hoboken's schools in the next few years? What do you think should be done about that, if so?

[Note: Smith declined to answer the first question about for whom he voted.] Hoboken cares about our public schools regardless of who votes for who in national elections. I prefer to look at the situation locally rather than talk about national politics. I don’t see the loss of these federal dollars as a major hit to the district. (I think we will have to make choices with our budget, just like we are doing at home. We can get creative and find ways to get through without these federal funds. We could search and apply for private grants and additional state grants.)

6. Did you support the new $241M school facilities plan in 2022? What do you think should be done about the school's buildings and facilities?

The $241M 2022 referendum was voted down 2-1. The community was clear. I don’t want to spend the next 15 years pushing for a school building the community does not support. Now we need to move forward. What does the district need in terms of facilities and how can I help communicate that to the community? What would the community support doing for the district in terms of facilities? I need the council people and community leaders to work with us. It can’t just be the public-school parents.

7. Do you believe all public school students should get free lunch? If so, how would you fund it?

I do not support universal free lunch at the expense of the district. I believe each student has their own dietary needs and preferences. We have a diverse district that enjoys a variety of foods. Parents should continue to make lunch choices that are best for their child.

8. Do you think the district should have some involvement in programs for all children in town, regardless of their school, such as the summer camp that exists now, or no? Do you think the district should allow Hoboken children who attend High Tech High, County Prep, or Hoboken Charter School to participate in Hoboken High sports? I believe that Hoboken City provides summer programs for all Hoboken children and is better suited to plan programming for all Hoboken children. I support the school district contributing in ways that they can, such as student volunteers; but we must be sure not to spend funds that should be spent on our teachers and students.

State policy dictates the qualification of a student to participate in district NJSIAA activities. The district does not allow or disallow students to participate; the district follows state policy. A student who attends county schools is permitted to participate in district extracurriculars. A student that has left the district to attend a private or charter school is not permitted to participate in district extracurriculars. Hoboken Public School District must follow the state code in the use of their taxpayer provided funds.

9. Just for an offbeat question, do you believe the first snow day of the year should be done via remote learning, or a "traditional" day off? (Please note that "I'd leave it to the superintendent" is not an answer for this or the other questions, because we're looking for your personal opinion, not a future decision.)

When schools are closed due to unsafe weather conditions, I would prefer no remote instruction for the day. Our teachers often have children of their own and it is difficult to juggle a remote teaching schedule with their children’s needs. I would support remote learning for extended weather disruptions when teachers have a little more time to prepare and adjust.

See the other three candidate profiles Tuesday.

Deadlines

The November school elections will be held concurrent with the General Election on Nov. 4.

To see deadlines to register, get a mail-in ballot, and other key dates, look here.