Collaboration Is Key As Hillsborough Schools Begin 2021

HILLSBOROUGH, NJ — As new board members were sworn in at the Hillsborough Board of Education's reorganization meeting on Monday night, it brings hope that the district can once again work together.

Cynthia "Cindy" DeCavalcante Nurse and Paul Marini were sworn in on Monday, while Benjamin Wilson Kidd will be sworn in at the next meeting due to a delay in paperwork. The three new members are replacing Ann Harris, Judith C. Haas, and Lorraine Soisson after defeating them in the November election.

The BOE also appointed Jean Trujillo as President and Jane Staats as Vice President.

During the meeting, there were many comments from the public and staff about the need for collaboration.

"I'm hoping this new year and new changes that you as a board can find a way to move forward and learn to openly listen to each other and work cohesively to fix the divide the district has been seeing over the past year," said Dina Gordon during the public input.

"We've made no secret of the fact that over the past few months we faced many challenges as a district and certainly we face even more with the coming months being in the high zone, possible having a new variant of COVID out there..." said Henry Goodhue Hillsborough Education Association (HEA) president. "The HEA remains open to collaborating with all parties — the administration, the board of education, the community as a whole — to find ways to meet the needs of all stakeholders... There is no way we are going to be successful if we don't address them together and with a new board, I would like to reextend that offer."

The BOE spoke at length about how to work on collaborations and ended up adding an additional meeting for Monday, Jan. 11. No action will be taken at this meeting but the board will discuss how to expand collaboration and include stakeholders in future planning.

Watch the full meeting below:

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