Secaucus Schools Considering PreK Expansion At Clarendon

SECAUCUS, NJ — There were many revelations at the Secaucus Board of Education meeting Thursday night:

1. Redistricting pushed back to Sept. 2025: First, school superintendent Erick Alfonso formally announced the district is delaying to Sept. 2025 plans to redistrict its two elementary schools. (This was already announced earlier this week in this letter Alfonso sent home to all parents.)

"We really listened to parents who told us their many concerns with this, and that they felt it was rushed," Board president Kelli D'Addetta told Patch after the meeting. "We received so many emails, so many calls, having parents stop me on the street, outside CVS. We said what is the rush to do this? There is no rush."

Alfonso said many parents presented "legitimate concerns" and he wants to respect them.

"We listened to all of you; thank you for your concerns and support," he said publicly Thursday night. "We are definitely taking it into consideration."

This is the proposed plan to house PreK-2nd grades at Clarendon Elementary, and 3rd-5th at Huber Street.

Millridge School, currently for PreK, may not house students at all and instead become BOE offices, said Alfonso. Alfonso said he still very much wants redistricting to happen; it remains a key goal of his, for all these reasons he cited at the Jan. 29 special meeting on this topic.

2. Here is probably the biggest news of the night: Alfonso and the BOE are considering building an expansion wing, most likely at Clarendon Elementary.

After the meeting, both Alfonso and D'Addetta explained why they think Secaucus will have to expand at the elementary level: First, Gov. Phil Murphy declared all towns in the state must start offering full-day PreK by the 2027/2028 school year. Secondly, in addition to RVR — the luxury apartment building nearly finished by XChange — two more final apartment buildings are coming to XChange. They will be built in the next few years, and will house approximately 500 apartments total.

These two things will result in approximately 300+ 3- and 4-year-olds entering the Secaucus school district in 2027/28. This is according to student population predictions the district has already done, said Alfonso and D'Addetta. That's why Secaucus submitted an application to the state DOE to start offering full-day PreK, which will be available to families via a lottery system.

"We cannot just wait until '27 and then scramble to find a place to house them," said D'Addetta after the meeting. "We have to start preparing now."

The school district would first have to do an expansion plan and see where expansion makes the most sense (it is likely Clarendon, said D'Addetta, as there is much more space there than at Huber Street). Then the district would have to get voters' approval to issue a bond (in the millions) to fund the construction, said Alfonso.

This means every resident of Secaucus would be asked in a public referendum (vote) whether they approve issuing a bond to expand Clarendon School. Should a majority of Secaucus residents vote to expand Clarendon, property taxes will almost certainly go up for all homeowners in town, although it is far too early to say by how much.

3. Mayor Mike concerned about a property tax increase: This is what prompted Secaucus Mayor Mike Gonnelli to speak at the meeting.

"In Hudson County, mayors don't find out about things last minute," he said. "Last minute is not good for me to find out about stuff that's going on, when it affects the town as a whole."

Gonnelli said after the meeting he was referring to the possible expansion at Clarendon. Should a referendum happen, and the school district has to borrow money:

"This now affects all Secaucus residents, all taxpayers, not just school parents," said Gonnelli.

He pleaded for the Board to "work together," meaning work with the town.

"A referendum to increase your budget is something that people really can't deal with: Senior citizens, people who don't have kids in school," said Gonnelli. "If we work together we can address that, as long as we work together. We have to be a team ... Taxes are my number-one issue, I try my best to keep taxes stable."

Gonnelli also continues to play it coy as to whether he supports redistricting or not.

"They have a year to figure this out," was all he would say Thursday night.

4. Finally, a stakeholder committee will be formed to discuss how exactly redistricting will be carried out in the next year, should it get Board approval. That committee will be composed of two district administrators, two teachers, two mental health professionals, two parents and two Board members.

Gonnelli asked that two Council members also sit on that committee:

"I want to have two members of my governing body on that board, alright?" said Gonnelli. "I am asking you if you'd do that."

Alfonso agreed to the mayor's request.

"We will be adding two council members to the committee," the superintendent told Patch Friday.

A Google form will be sent to families with children in elementary school who are interested in joining this group.

Again, redistricting cannot happen without a majority vote from the elected members of the Secaucus school board. Some Board members, such as Enrico Bolognino and Melissa Howard already said publicly they support the idea. Other members of the nine-member board have been mum. No matter how much Alfonso wants this to happen, he needs a majority vote from the board.

"Board members and I have been in discussions with the Mayor and Town Council members to consider expansion options for our elementary schools. We are looking over details and aim to present a plan at the upcoming meeting next month," wrote Alfonso in this letter home to parents Wednesday.

Secaucus Superintendent Pushes Redistricting; Many Parents Displeased (Jan. 30)

Secaucus Making A Dramatic Change At Its 2 Elementary Schools (Jan. 19)

Watch the Feb. 15 school board meeting here. Alfonso starts speaking about all this at minute 30:54.

Mayor Gonnelli does not speak until the public comment portion, minute 47.