With the school district election just five days away, Hudson Common Sense has an editorial about the vote: "Hudson's School Vote Has Been Captured." It is recommended reading as voter prep.
RodgerDodgerMay 14, 2026 at 5:03 PM Can the Board answer why they are cutting so many teachers but the salaries of athletic coaches are increasing by $62,788?
1/3 - If we’re going to take seriously the view of someone who, as far as I can tell, has never spent time working in, nor particularly cares for, public schools, I hope we can also take a moment to consider the view of those who have and do:
If our “voter prep” includes the views of someone who seems unable to conceive of public schools as anything other than a scam, then I hope we can also consider the views of someone who believes public schools are a moral, social, and economic good. So:
Most of the “vote no on the HCSD budget” arguments I’ve seen go something like this: “HCSD spends a lot of money and they’re not getting results, so we should vote against the budget to teach them a lesson.” Let’s break that down.
First: How do we know HCSD spends a lot of money? Because $40,000 per student is more than tuition at some private schools, and other districts spend less. That is definitely a lot of money, and we should absolutely be intentional about where and how it’s spent. But we shouldn’t confuse ourselves by comparing that number to things that are not comparable: Private schools, for instance, hardly ever provide transportation or a full spectrum of support services for all students (let alone admit those students in the first place); charter and independent schools regularly supplement with private donations and foundation aid; and districts with a smaller proportion of students living in poverty (compared to Hudson’s 67%) don’t need to spend as much to support student needs.
The HCSD budget also includes all of the general costs associated with running a school district, many of which are outside the district’s control, and most of which have risen significantly in the last year. Transportation costs and the district’s healthcare pharmacy plan, for example, have both risen by 26%. (Unlike the royal we of “Hudson Common Sense”, I do want public school employees to have health insurance. I want that for everyone.) At the same time, state aid (which funds 50% of the HCSD budget - the other roughly half comes from property taxes) has remained flat. That’s why a 5.8% tax increase this year translates to a 1% higher budget with many cuts to central administration, student services, and instructional staff. Yeah, we spend a lot of money. There’s also a lot to pay for.
A quick disclosure, since FNE wonders.. our editors are products of 12 years of public schooling each, at a fraction of HCSD's per-pupil cost, and have taught in some of the toughest after-school programs in the country, including Boston. Also public schools in Singapore and Southern Africa.
Credentials are not the question, and should not prohibit anyone from sharing an opinion.
The question is whether $42,000 per student produces children who can read. And if it is worth making Hudson unaffordable and "displacing" the working middle class.
FNE's reply is to complicate it and appeal to emotion.
The oldest move in education: a question becomes complex the moment the answer embarrasses the institution.
P.S. FNE writes, "(Unlike the royal we of 'Hudson Common Sense', I do want public school employees to have health insurance.)"
HCS never wrote that, never implied it; the strawman is beneath the rest of the comment. Public school districts across America insure teachers on per-pupil budgets near $17,000. Hudson pays roughly two and a half times that and sits in the bottom 10% of New York.
The question is not whether teachers should have insurance. It is why Hudson pays Manhattan prices for bottom-decile results. Your category of your chosen retort proves the entire thesis of the article.
I think you are making some implicit claims here that I would challenge: Why is it required that there be transportation for kids living in Hudson proper at all? They can't walk or bike? And if they can't because Hudson's streets are unsafe, we should fix that. It would be cheaper in the long run.
Health insurance is an unavoidable cost and it is rising but you are only talking about health insurance for teachers. There's other staff that gets to enjoy it. Are they all needed? How many of them are directly contributing to the academic success of the students?
I am of the opinion that the school tax is a very narrow tax: Its sole purpose is to fund what is necessary to give kids a proper education. Any staff isn't strictle necessary to achieve this goal should not exist and be eating up the proceeds from the school tax.
This may sound callous but in reality, most people exist under these constraints: The job that I held for the past 20 years is not some charitable endeavor by my employer but predicated on the idea that I am adding some sort of value. Otherwise they wouldn't pay me a salary and health insurance. This should be even more true for something that is financed by taxes.
2/3 - Second, how do we know HCSD isn’t producing good results? Well, according to the most recent statewide assessment data, only about 30% of HCSD students scored proficient in their reading and math exams, putting Hudson in the bottom 10% of districts in New York State. That is absolutely a problem, but it’s one that’s worth putting in perspective. First, if our district takes the blame, we also need to take the credit. This year HCSD is graduating seniors to some of the most selective colleges and universities in the country, including Cornell, Howard, U Chicago, Wesleyan, Wellesley, and Vassar. Second, HCSD also has a significant proportion of students coming from economically disadvantaged homes (67%), with all of the attendant challenges of poverty and chronic absenteeism (20-30%). Students can’t learn if their basic needs aren’t being met, and students can’t learn if they’re not consistently in school. These numbers don’t excuse the emergency of student achievement at HCSD, but they do provide a more accurate context for discussion.
(Additionally, it’s really important to say: just because test scores are one of the easiest metrics with which to track and compare students does not mean they are the only important thing, or even the most important. Ask any parent what the point of education is, and I’ll bet most will choose imparting a love of learning, a sense of self-efficacy, kindness, collaboration, and perseverance, over “being really good at tests”. Obviously the choice is not either/or, but it’s worth saying out loud.)
HCSD should be doing everything we can to help all students succeed. And the good news is that as severe as these challenges are, we also know what works: Highly engaging, differentiated instruction; progress monitoring; multi-tiered systems of support; restorative support systems; embedded school counseling and mental health services; robust family engagement; supportive and accountable attendance procedures; after-school, Saturday, and Summer school tutoring; consistent school leadership… The list goes on. The bad news is that just because the solutions are known, doesn’t mean they’re easy to implement, and it doesn’t mean they’re cheap. That’s why “school turnarounds” typically happen on a 3-5 year timeline.
The poverty point is well-taken; 67% economic disadvantage is a real headwind. (See our previous Special Report on the 15+ after school focussed NGOs working on this...)
Two observations:
First, the comparison cuts both ways.
New York charter networks serving higher-poverty populations than Hudson spend roughly half what HCSD spends and significantly outperform it on state assessments.**
The variable is not the money. It is the model, or in our case the Tammany Machine.
Second, run FNE's logic out. If poverty and absenteeism drive the outcomes, then the family, not the school, is the determining variable?
HCS believes that is broadly true. The interesting fact is that no one in Hudson's progressive coalition (including FNE here) will say it out loud.
It is the same move as blaming the cop and never the repeat adult criminal. FNE has, perhaps inadvertently, made the case.
** Reference: Success Academy Bronx 4 (82% economically disadvantaged) but has 98% math proficiency.
Success Academy Harlem 3 (82% economically disadvantaged) posts 94% math and 85% reading.
Hudson, with a less disadvantaged 67% population, posts 25% math and 31% English Langauge Arts.
New York City charter schools operate on roughly $17,000–$19,000 per pupil. HCSD spends $42,000.
The teacher in Manhattan has more expensive rent, groceries, sales tax et al. than even Hudson. Also the kids in those programs do not have: - Kite's Nest - $20k per attendee CoH Youth Center - Promise Neighborhood - Spark's apprenticeship program & UBI - see full list on our last Special Report.
Also - it is worth repeating again; of course HCSD has excellent students and excellent teachers. We have met a few. But the system as a whole is broken and crooked.
And since former Mayor Kamal commented on College admissions by HCSD students on FB… where is the verified data on how many unique students got into and will be attending which colleges.
Insiders speculated that the list of colleges represents a few students getting into many top schools. Not many students getting into and attending top schools.
The real metric here is total student debt and life time earning potential.
If HCSD is a good school for many students, more students will get merit and need based bursaries and scholarships, take on less debt, and start life ahead. No country has as much scholarship and aid for above average and top students as America.
The sticky wicket is getting into a good but expensive school, without scholarships or aid. It’s like Hudson government, expensive and results not guaranteed outside select departments.
You can’t compare Hudson to charter schools. Charter schools can send a kid home anytime they want. They do not need to accept them. Hudson has no choice.
Why not both? A local charter and Hudson’s public school competing for the same kids, that is how most of America works. That is exactly why we argue for school choice and vouchers. Competition makes both better.
That there isn’t one within 30 miles of Hudson is the real conversation and likely design of labor unions.
Regardless, you don’t need charters to find success and a reasonable price in public schools. Most public schools rock and even with equal or higher poverty rates outperform HCSD all the time.
- Kingston CSD, serves kids who are 65% economically disadvantaged, same as Hudson. Spends $10,000 less per pupil. Gets 43% math proficiency. HCSD gets 25%.
- Union City, NJ public schools (75% free-reduced lunch, open enrollment) outperform comparable districts at roughly $21,000 per pupil.
- Brockton High School in MA (68% economically disadvantaged) went from the state’s worst large school to above state average in 5 years on $17k per pupil.
None of these schools can send kids home. Same rules. Better results.
3/3 - For my part, I believe HCSD is now on that path to excellence and achievement for all students, which is why a “no” vote would have such a devastating impact on our students. The proposed budget has already cut three central administrative positions and 23 instructional and support positions, in addition to more cuts in transportation, software, and other services. Withholding funding now until test scores improve might feel like advocacy, but it isn’t a recipe for school success. Remember that list above? It all costs something.
As frustrating as it might be, we can’t prevent the cost of public education from rising any more than we can prevent the cost of our gas, groceries, and healthcare from rising. Refusing to pay more to fund our schools is like refusing to pay more for gas at the pump: we can, but it means we’re not going to be driving as much or as far.
I believe our students deserve high quality instruction, mental health supports, art, sports, and extra-curriculars, but not at the expense of our community members going hungry or unhoused. So if that’s what the 5.8% tax increase would mean for you and your family, then by all means, vote no. But if you can find a way to get by with the tax, in the same way you already find a way to get by with higher bills at the pump and for groceries, then please vote yes. And then join me in continuing to advocate for excellence for young people, and also for an economic system that works for everyone, that doesn’t ask communities to choose between healthcare, rent, groceries, and basic educational opportunities for our kids.
Three thoughtful comments, (FNE), none of which engaged our main argument in this editorial that Gossips posted. All of which just says, in a nice way, more taxes, same outcome.
The Common Sense piece was not about whether HCSD spends well, which is the case you try to make.
It is about whether the election authorizing the money is structured fairly, and whether the teachers' union and HCSD are playing fair. (Governance Capture).
You answered a piece we did not write. But we appreciate the gumption.
Here is a slideshow summarizing the piece we did write; https://www.instagram.com/p/DYUwzhwgjsC/?img_index=1
So, FNE, if you believe in your message that HCSD is worth backing with more more money, 2 simple questions:
1 - If Hudson schools work and the teachers' union represents the public interest, why has New York State United Teachers (NYSUT, joined locally by Hudson Teachers' Association (HTA)) blocked every Albany effort to move the school vote to November and to eliminate the double-defeat rule?
Both rules/laws suppress turnout. Both favor the side with the professional phone bank funded by opt-out dues.
Please defend a calendar engineered for low turnout? Or is there another reason for this off cycle election?
2 - Why do Hudson parents who can afford Hawthorne Valley consistently choose Hawthorne Valley, and then take advantage of HCSD-funded transport to bus their children there?
That is not a community endorsement of HCSD.
It is parents happy to let HCSD pay for the bus, but who would rather pay tuition twice ($25k plus per year extra) than trust HCSD with their children...
Look at what people (with options) do with their feet and their money.
That is what they believe. The rest is politics and virtue signaling.
Wow. That’s a lot of words to overlook the obvious.
VOTE NO AND SEND THE MESSAGE: our kids are worth more than being treated as cogs in what amounts to a sinecure factory. TEACH THE KIDS TO READ, WRITE AND DO BASIC MATH.
The problem is, FNE, is, first, you don't acknowledge the problem: a majority of our kids can't read or read or write sufficiently to do well in life. Se condly, district leaders refuse, especially these last five years, to do anything about it. There are plenty of programs that work. Maria Suttmeier was beginning to make some progress. But the last five years have been a disaster for our kids. And we certainly are NOT on "that path to excellence and achievement for all students." Quite the opposite.
I hope the “embedded school counseling” has improved 1000%. There was so little educational and career guidance if you didn’t want it for yourself…well…. Good luck.
Thanks Ken. But my wife says if I do another Board Member stint she'll divorce me then kill me; or is it kill me then divorce me.... I say, let's give it a try. This district needs some adults on the board who care about ALL kids learning -- and are willing to work to make that happen.
Why a 30k increase in running the pool? Why does it seem that Hudson does not have its priorities in order?
Community Services Recreation - Appropriations include costs of lifeguards and supplies to run the swim program for the members of the community. Proposed Budget Budget Dollar Percent 2025-2026 2026-2027 Change Change Salaries $37,132 $66,415 $29,283 78.86% Contractual Expenses $1,000 $1,000 $0 0.00% Materials & Supplies $2,500 $3,000 $500 20.00% $40,632 $70,415 $29,783 73.30%
Good Morning to Hannah Black and Friendly Neighborhood Educator,
Please provide us with the exact, specific dollar number that should serve as the ceiling on what taxpayers should expect to pay per pupil at the Hudson City School District.
This is on the Unfiltered Hudson, NY Community Board.
It was posted by the Hudson City School District Booster Club and reads as follows:
Our school budget vote day is coming up, and critical programs - including sports, art, and music - are facing devastating potential cuts if the budget does not pass.
We cannot let these programs disappear. We are looking for student volunteers to help wave signs, bring positive energy, and remind our community to VOTE to protect our future.
Community members need to see exactly who these budget cuts affect. Wear your Blue and Gold, bring your instrument, or hold your hand-painted artwork! Let's show our community what is at stake.
Want to help? Fill out the form in the comments below, send us a DM, or Email us.
Thanks once again to Carole for her kindness. I'm posting this because I know everyone isn't on Facebook, and as I've said before, it's important to push back in every . . .space. . .that we can. We have to meet them where they are.
It's notable that the word "taxpayer" never shows up in this invite.
I always thought that using other people's children under eighteen years old in any public policy or political campaign is, minimally, in bad taste. Do ten year olds understand concepts like taxes, mortgages, household budgets? How about thirteen year olds?
What's at stake is a not necessarily small segment of "our community" getting priced out of "our community". Do ten and thirteen year olds understand that?
Jonathan Spampinato has been doing a good job of pushing back, and providing context, over on the Unfiltered Hudson, NY Community Board. Maybe he's a Write-In option?
What's so interesting to me, is that neither Lily nor Hannah will provide a number - an exact number - of how much each (already struggling) taxpayer should be required to shoulder per pupil. Is $50K enough? $75K?
And that phrase "protect our future", well if about 72% of Bluehawks - which as a Hudson High School graduate, is being wildly overplayed - can't do grade-level math, and about 66% of students can't read at grade level - what future do they have? Can that 66% of Bluehawks even read and comprehend that post?
As for those people, including some former HCSD educators and administrators, who are saying things like, "our kids are so much more than test scores", or that "test scores aren't everything", when one applies to college, or to technical school, are academic transcripts and SAT scores no longer requested?
It’s wild that a main source of information, where even the police and Mayor’s Office post official statements, is an “unfiltered” Facebook group that created after a schism between moderators at the original Hudson Community Board, leading to a new page so the founder can freely call newcomers “cidiots” to her heart’s content. A town square for townies. But it’s hard to find anything on there in between the mess of low quantity AI ads from local businesses and uninsured contractors.
Exactly. Why on earth are we cidiots expected to support a community that, because we are "transplants" and our grandfathers didn't work at the cement plant, we will never be part of? There are many communities in Hudson, but the nativists have made it VERY clear that we are not part of theirs, so I feel very little responsibility for supporting their educational system.
- Commenters here have even attended in-person meetings to discuss the issue and our piece. But no response to us, the public, or offered data-driven answers to our editorial on the cost ($45k per year), and our editorial on the captured (read; rigged) election.
~
We can only assume that the collective $45k per kid per year spending in Hudson is the floor. And that HTA and HCSD do not feel shame in stacking the deck against its own taxpayers in a special election, that has to be won twice by one side, to win.
That the "response" and motivation for a "Yes" vote on the budget has not addressed student performance (or lack thereof), only adult compensation and discretionary extra-curriculars, is telling.
The real issue in Hudson that cuts across HCSD, City Hall, and Columbia County, is not the monopoly (HCSD + HTA) extracting rent and imposing a Deadweight Loss on our coerced residents.
It is the total lack of substantive dialogue.
One side trades in subjective feelings, affirmation, and "lived experience" only they can comprehend and transmute. Questioning the Community™ is sacrilege.
The other side trades in objective facts, measurable return, and the same rules for everyone. Questioning the spreadsheet is welcome.
Now... everyone retreats to their bubbles, convinced they are "right"... yet HCSD students are still far below average, on average, and the fiscal and legal tsunami is coming for Hudson and its schools no matter what.
It is stunning that in a town with several PhDs in related fields, with 100-plus people paid to read, write, and teach, reading and writing, no substantive argument for a "Yes" vote, or an honest diagnosis of the problem and how it will be fixed, has been offered other than a paid for Wheeler video and 3 paragraphs with on facts or solutions, posted in a FB group that makes Nextdoor look like the New York Times.
Meanwhile, unpaid volunteers, parents of toddlers, and retired residents who have already served several tours of duty (Go Peter M.!), spend hours searching for truth and urging a fix. Citing common sense solutions that make poorer states like Mississippi, Louisiana, Tennessee, and Florida trump NY and Hudson.**
If anyone disagrees with HCS, or anyone else, and wants to make a reasoned case on this topic, please consider submitting a Guest Op-Ed before 5pm tomorrow, Sunday the 17th.
We will run it alongside, nay, on top of, our Editorials, in this week's Special Briefing newsletter for our subscribers. We will not comment on it or fact-check it. And if you think you have a good case, but have a hard time writing it convincingly, we will gladly help you with neutral editor, long-time resident, and former teacher from Kinderhook, to wordsmith it with you.
Suggestions for a Guest Op-Ed or Letter to the > Editor format and how to submit: https://www.hudsoncommonsense.com/write > More about Hudson Common Sense: https://www.hudsoncommonsense.com/aboutus Shared Facts. Different Opinions. Pluralism > Groupthink
** The "Mississippi Miracle" peer set, states with child poverty ≥ NY's roughly 18–19% that beat NY on 2024 NAEP. Manhattan Institute, New York State Math Standards Keep Changing While Students Stagnate (March 2026)
ReplyDeleteRodgerDodgerMay 14, 2026 at 5:03 PM
Can the Board answer why they are cutting so many teachers but the salaries of athletic coaches are increasing by $62,788?
1/3 - If we’re going to take seriously the view of someone who, as far as I can tell, has never spent time working in, nor particularly cares for, public schools, I hope we can also take a moment to consider the view of those who have and do:
ReplyDeleteIf our “voter prep” includes the views of someone who seems unable to conceive of public schools as anything other than a scam, then I hope we can also consider the views of someone who believes public schools are a moral, social, and economic good. So:
Most of the “vote no on the HCSD budget” arguments I’ve seen go something like this: “HCSD spends a lot of money and they’re not getting results, so we should vote against the budget to teach them a lesson.” Let’s break that down.
First: How do we know HCSD spends a lot of money? Because $40,000 per student is more than tuition at some private schools, and other districts spend less. That is definitely a lot of money, and we should absolutely be intentional about where and how it’s spent. But we shouldn’t confuse ourselves by comparing that number to things that are not comparable: Private schools, for instance, hardly ever provide transportation or a full spectrum of support services for all students (let alone admit those students in the first place); charter and independent schools regularly supplement with private donations and foundation aid; and districts with a smaller proportion of students living in poverty (compared to Hudson’s 67%) don’t need to spend as much to support student needs.
The HCSD budget also includes all of the general costs associated with running a school district, many of which are outside the district’s control, and most of which have risen significantly in the last year. Transportation costs and the district’s healthcare pharmacy plan, for example, have both risen by 26%. (Unlike the royal we of “Hudson Common Sense”, I do want public school employees to have health insurance. I want that for everyone.) At the same time, state aid (which funds 50% of the HCSD budget - the other roughly half comes from property taxes) has remained flat. That’s why a 5.8% tax increase this year translates to a 1% higher budget with many cuts to central administration, student services, and instructional staff. Yeah, we spend a lot of money. There’s also a lot to pay for.
FNE - Welcome to the conversation.
DeleteA quick disclosure, since FNE wonders.. our editors are products of 12 years of public schooling each, at a fraction of HCSD's per-pupil cost, and have taught in some of the toughest after-school programs in the country, including Boston. Also public schools in Singapore and Southern Africa.
Credentials are not the question, and should not prohibit anyone from sharing an opinion.
The question is whether $42,000 per student produces children who can read. And if it is worth making Hudson unaffordable and "displacing" the working middle class.
FNE's reply is to complicate it and appeal to emotion.
The oldest move in education: a question becomes complex the moment the answer embarrasses the institution.
P.S. FNE writes, "(Unlike the royal we of 'Hudson Common Sense', I do want public school employees to have health insurance.)"
HCS never wrote that, never implied it; the strawman is beneath the rest of the comment. Public school districts across America insure teachers on per-pupil budgets near $17,000. Hudson pays roughly two and a half times that and sits in the bottom 10% of New York.
The question is not whether teachers should have insurance. It is why Hudson pays Manhattan prices for bottom-decile results. Your category of your chosen retort proves the entire thesis of the article.
I think you are making some implicit claims here that I would challenge: Why is it required that there be transportation for kids living in Hudson proper at all? They can't walk or bike? And if they can't because Hudson's streets are unsafe, we should fix that. It would be cheaper in the long run.
DeleteHealth insurance is an unavoidable cost and it is rising but you are only talking about health insurance for teachers. There's other staff that gets to enjoy it. Are they all needed? How many of them are directly contributing to the academic success of the students?
I am of the opinion that the school tax is a very narrow tax: Its sole purpose is to fund what is necessary to give kids a proper education. Any staff isn't strictle necessary to achieve this goal should not exist and be eating up the proceeds from the school tax.
This may sound callous but in reality, most people exist under these constraints: The job that I held for the past 20 years is not some charitable endeavor by my employer but predicated on the idea that I am adding some sort of value. Otherwise they wouldn't pay me a salary and health insurance. This should be even more true for something that is financed by taxes.
2/3 - Second, how do we know HCSD isn’t producing good results? Well, according to the most recent statewide assessment data, only about 30% of HCSD students scored proficient in their reading and math exams, putting Hudson in the bottom 10% of districts in New York State. That is absolutely a problem, but it’s one that’s worth putting in perspective. First, if our district takes the blame, we also need to take the credit. This year HCSD is graduating seniors to some of the most selective colleges and universities in the country, including Cornell, Howard, U Chicago, Wesleyan, Wellesley, and Vassar. Second, HCSD also has a significant proportion of students coming from economically disadvantaged homes (67%), with all of the attendant challenges of poverty and chronic absenteeism (20-30%). Students can’t learn if their basic needs aren’t being met, and students can’t learn if they’re not consistently in school. These numbers don’t excuse the emergency of student achievement at HCSD, but they do provide a more accurate context for discussion.
ReplyDelete(Additionally, it’s really important to say: just because test scores are one of the easiest metrics with which to track and compare students does not mean they are the only important thing, or even the most important. Ask any parent what the point of education is, and I’ll bet most will choose imparting a love of learning, a sense of self-efficacy, kindness, collaboration, and perseverance, over “being really good at tests”. Obviously the choice is not either/or, but it’s worth saying out loud.)
HCSD should be doing everything we can to help all students succeed. And the good news is that as severe as these challenges are, we also know what works: Highly engaging, differentiated instruction; progress monitoring; multi-tiered systems of support; restorative support systems; embedded school counseling and mental health services; robust family engagement; supportive and accountable attendance procedures; after-school, Saturday, and Summer school tutoring; consistent school leadership… The list goes on. The bad news is that just because the solutions are known, doesn’t mean they’re easy to implement, and it doesn’t mean they’re cheap. That’s why “school turnarounds” typically happen on a 3-5 year timeline.
The poverty point is well-taken; 67% economic disadvantage is a real headwind. (See our previous Special Report on the 15+ after school focussed NGOs working on this...)
DeleteTwo observations:
First, the comparison cuts both ways.
New York charter networks serving higher-poverty populations than Hudson spend roughly half what HCSD spends and significantly outperform it on state assessments.**
The variable is not the money. It is the model, or in our case the Tammany Machine.
Second, run FNE's logic out. If poverty and absenteeism drive the outcomes, then the family, not the school, is the determining variable?
HCS believes that is broadly true. The interesting fact is that no one in Hudson's progressive coalition (including FNE here) will say it out loud.
It is the same move as blaming the cop and never the repeat adult criminal. FNE has, perhaps inadvertently, made the case.
** Reference:
Success Academy Bronx 4 (82% economically disadvantaged) but has 98% math proficiency.
Success Academy Harlem 3 (82% economically disadvantaged) posts 94% math and 85% reading.
Hudson, with a less disadvantaged 67% population, posts 25% math and 31% English Langauge Arts.
New York City charter schools operate on roughly $17,000–$19,000 per pupil. HCSD spends $42,000.
The teacher in Manhattan has more expensive rent, groceries, sales tax et al. than even Hudson. Also the kids in those programs do not have:
- Kite's Nest
- $20k per attendee CoH Youth Center
- Promise Neighborhood
- Spark's apprenticeship program & UBI
- see full list on our last Special Report.
Also - it is worth repeating again; of course HCSD has excellent students and excellent teachers. We have met a few. But the system as a whole is broken and crooked.
DeleteAnd since former Mayor Kamal commented on College admissions by HCSD students on FB… where is the verified data on how many unique students got into and will be attending which colleges.
Insiders speculated that the list of colleges represents a few students getting into many top schools. Not many students getting into and attending top schools.
The real metric here is total student debt and life time earning potential.
If HCSD is a good school for many students, more students will get merit and need based bursaries and scholarships, take on less debt, and start life ahead. No country has as much scholarship and aid for above average and top students as America.
The sticky wicket is getting into a good but expensive school, without scholarships or aid. It’s like Hudson government, expensive and results not guaranteed outside select departments.
You can’t compare Hudson to charter schools. Charter schools can send a kid home anytime they want. They do not need to accept them. Hudson has no choice.
DeleteFair enough on charters.
DeleteWhy not both? A local charter and Hudson’s public school competing for the same kids, that is how most of America works. That is exactly why we argue for school choice and vouchers. Competition makes both better.
That there isn’t one within 30 miles of Hudson is the real conversation and likely design of labor unions.
Regardless, you don’t need charters to find success and a reasonable price in public schools. Most public schools rock and even with equal or higher poverty rates outperform HCSD all the time.
- Kingston CSD, serves kids who are 65% economically disadvantaged, same as Hudson. Spends $10,000 less per pupil. Gets 43% math proficiency. HCSD gets 25%.
- Union City, NJ public schools (75% free-reduced lunch, open enrollment) outperform comparable districts at roughly $21,000 per pupil.
- Brockton High School in MA (68% economically disadvantaged) went from the state’s worst large school to above state average in 5 years on $17k per pupil.
None of these schools can send kids home. Same rules. Better results.
What’s the difference?
3/3 - For my part, I believe HCSD is now on that path to excellence and achievement for all students, which is why a “no” vote would have such a devastating impact on our students. The proposed budget has already cut three central administrative positions and 23 instructional and support positions, in addition to more cuts in transportation, software, and other services. Withholding funding now until test scores improve might feel like advocacy, but it isn’t a recipe for school success. Remember that list above? It all costs something.
ReplyDeleteAs frustrating as it might be, we can’t prevent the cost of public education from rising any more than we can prevent the cost of our gas, groceries, and healthcare from rising. Refusing to pay more to fund our schools is like refusing to pay more for gas at the pump: we can, but it means we’re not going to be driving as much or as far.
I believe our students deserve high quality instruction, mental health supports, art, sports, and extra-curriculars, but not at the expense of our community members going hungry or unhoused. So if that’s what the 5.8% tax increase would mean for you and your family, then by all means, vote no. But if you can find a way to get by with the tax, in the same way you already find a way to get by with higher bills at the pump and for groceries, then please vote yes. And then join me in continuing to advocate for excellence for young people, and also for an economic system that works for everyone, that doesn’t ask communities to choose between healthcare, rent, groceries, and basic educational opportunities for our kids.
THANK YOU!!
DeleteThree thoughtful comments, (FNE), none of which engaged our main argument in this editorial that Gossips posted. All of which just says, in a nice way, more taxes, same outcome.
DeleteThe Common Sense piece was not about whether HCSD spends well, which is the case you try to make.
It is about whether the election authorizing the money is structured fairly, and whether the teachers' union and HCSD are playing fair. (Governance Capture).
You answered a piece we did not write. But we appreciate the gumption.
Here is a slideshow summarizing the piece we did write; https://www.instagram.com/p/DYUwzhwgjsC/?img_index=1
So, FNE, if you believe in your message that HCSD is worth backing with more more money, 2 simple questions:
1 - If Hudson schools work and the teachers' union represents the public interest, why has New York State United Teachers (NYSUT, joined locally by Hudson Teachers' Association (HTA)) blocked every Albany effort to move the school vote to November and to eliminate the double-defeat rule?
Both rules/laws suppress turnout. Both favor the side with the professional phone bank funded by opt-out dues.
Please defend a calendar engineered for low turnout? Or is there another reason for this off cycle election?
2 - Why do Hudson parents who can afford Hawthorne Valley consistently choose Hawthorne Valley, and then take advantage of HCSD-funded transport to bus their children there?
That is not a community endorsement of HCSD.
It is parents happy to let HCSD pay for the bus, but who would rather pay tuition twice ($25k plus per year extra) than trust HCSD with their children...
Look at what people (with options) do with their feet and their money.
That is what they believe. The rest is politics and virtue signaling.
Wow. That’s a lot of words to overlook the obvious.
DeleteVOTE NO AND SEND THE MESSAGE: our kids are worth more than being treated as cogs in what amounts to a sinecure factory. TEACH THE KIDS TO READ, WRITE AND DO BASIC MATH.
The problem is, FNE, is, first, you don't acknowledge the problem: a majority of our kids can't read or read or write sufficiently to do well in life. Se condly, district leaders refuse, especially these last five years, to do anything about it. There are plenty of programs that work. Maria Suttmeier was beginning to make some progress. But the last five years have been a disaster for our kids. And we certainly are NOT on "that path to excellence and achievement for all students." Quite the opposite.
DeleteI hope the “embedded school counseling” has improved 1000%.
ReplyDeleteThere was so little educational and career guidance if you didn’t want it for yourself…well…. Good luck.
PLEASE WRITE IN PETER MEYER WHEREVER YOU SEE A BLANK.
ReplyDeleteThanks Ken. But my wife says if I do another Board Member stint she'll divorce me then kill me; or is it kill me then divorce me.... I say, let's give it a try. This district needs some adults on the board who care about ALL kids learning -- and are willing to work to make that happen.
DeleteWhy a 30k increase in running the pool? Why does it seem that Hudson does not have its priorities in order?
ReplyDeleteCommunity Services
Recreation
- Appropriations include costs of lifeguards and supplies to run the swim program for the
members of the community.
Proposed
Budget Budget Dollar Percent
2025-2026 2026-2027 Change Change
Salaries $37,132 $66,415 $29,283 78.86%
Contractual Expenses $1,000 $1,000 $0 0.00%
Materials & Supplies $2,500 $3,000 $500 20.00%
$40,632 $70,415 $29,783 73.30%
Throwback to the soundproofing capital investment for the gym...
DeleteSusan Troy submitted this comment by email:
ReplyDeleteGood Morning to Hannah Black and Friendly Neighborhood Educator,
Please provide us with the exact, specific dollar number that should serve as the ceiling on what taxpayers should expect to pay per pupil at the Hudson City School District.
The exact, specific number.
Thank you.
Susan Troy submitted this comment by mail:
ReplyDeletehttps://www.facebook.com/share/p/1EQFq7aQE1/
This is on the Unfiltered Hudson, NY Community Board.
It was posted by the Hudson City School District Booster Club and reads as follows:
Our school budget vote day is coming up, and critical programs - including sports, art, and music - are facing devastating potential cuts if the budget does not pass.
We cannot let these programs disappear. We are looking for student volunteers to help wave signs, bring positive energy, and remind our community to VOTE to protect our future.
Community members need to see exactly who these budget cuts affect. Wear your Blue and Gold, bring your instrument, or hold your hand-painted artwork! Let's show our community what is at stake.
Want to help? Fill out the form in the comments below, send us a DM, or Email us.
Let's stand together to save our programs!
----------------------------------------------------------
Thanks once again to Carole for her kindness. I'm posting this because I know everyone isn't on Facebook, and as I've said before, it's important to push back in every . . .space. . .that we can. We have to meet them where they are.
It's notable that the word "taxpayer" never shows up in this invite.
I always thought that using other people's children under eighteen years old in any public policy or political campaign is, minimally, in bad taste. Do ten year olds understand concepts like taxes, mortgages, household budgets? How about thirteen year olds?
What's at stake is a not necessarily small segment of "our community" getting priced out of
"our community". Do ten and thirteen year olds understand that?
Jonathan Spampinato has been doing a good job of pushing back, and providing context, over on the Unfiltered Hudson, NY Community Board. Maybe he's a Write-In option?
What's so interesting to me, is that neither Lily nor Hannah will provide a number - an exact number - of how much each (already struggling) taxpayer should be required to shoulder per pupil.
Is $50K enough? $75K?
And that phrase "protect our future", well if about 72% of Bluehawks - which as a Hudson High School graduate, is being wildly overplayed - can't do grade-level math, and about 66% of students can't read at grade level - what future do they have? Can that 66% of Bluehawks even read and comprehend that post?
As for those people, including some former HCSD educators and administrators, who are saying things like, "our kids are so much more than test scores", or that "test scores aren't everything", when one applies to college, or to technical school, are academic transcripts and SAT scores no longer requested?
Thank you for cross-posting Ms. Troy
DeleteIt is worth naming the mechanic at play here.
The Booster Club's "Community" is not a description; it is a loyalty test.
Vote yes and you are in.
Ask about the tax bill and you are out.
Some nativist Hudsonians run the same mechanic with "real Hudsonian"... or "from Hudson".
The word does not describe; it admits.
If you do not blindly support Community™, you are not Community™.
It’s wild that a main source of information, where even the police and Mayor’s Office post official statements, is an “unfiltered” Facebook group that created after a schism between moderators at the original Hudson Community Board, leading to a new page so the founder can freely call newcomers “cidiots” to her heart’s content. A town square for townies. But it’s hard to find anything on there in between the mess of low quantity AI ads from local businesses and uninsured contractors.
DeleteExactly. Why on earth are we cidiots expected to support a community that, because we are "transplants" and our grandfathers didn't work at the cement plant, we will never be part of? There are many communities in Hudson, but the nativists have made it VERY clear that we are not part of theirs, so I feel very little responsibility for supporting their educational system.
ReplyDeleteAnd 48 hours later:
ReplyDelete- We contacted HTA. No response.
- Commenters here have even attended in-person meetings to discuss the issue and our piece. But no response to us, the public, or offered data-driven answers to our editorial on the cost ($45k per year), and our editorial on the captured (read; rigged) election.
~
We can only assume that the collective $45k per kid per year spending in Hudson is the floor. And that HTA and HCSD do not feel shame in stacking the deck against its own taxpayers in a special election, that has to be won twice by one side, to win.
That the "response" and motivation for a "Yes" vote on the budget has not addressed student performance (or lack thereof), only adult compensation and discretionary extra-curriculars, is telling.
The real issue in Hudson that cuts across HCSD, City Hall, and Columbia County, is not the monopoly (HCSD + HTA) extracting rent and imposing a Deadweight Loss on our coerced residents.
It is the total lack of substantive dialogue.
One side trades in subjective feelings, affirmation, and "lived experience" only they can comprehend and transmute. Questioning the Community™ is sacrilege.
The other side trades in objective facts, measurable return, and the same rules for everyone. Questioning the spreadsheet is welcome.
Now... everyone retreats to their bubbles, convinced they are "right"... yet HCSD students are still far below average, on average, and the fiscal and legal tsunami is coming for Hudson and its schools no matter what.
It is stunning that in a town with several PhDs in related fields, with 100-plus people paid to read, write, and teach, reading and writing, no substantive argument for a "Yes" vote, or an honest diagnosis of the problem and how it will be fixed, has been offered other than a paid for Wheeler video and 3 paragraphs with on facts or solutions, posted in a FB group that makes Nextdoor look like the New York Times.
Meanwhile, unpaid volunteers, parents of toddlers, and retired residents who have already served several tours of duty (Go Peter M.!), spend hours searching for truth and urging a fix. Citing common sense solutions that make poorer states like Mississippi, Louisiana, Tennessee, and Florida trump NY and Hudson.**
If anyone disagrees with HCS, or anyone else, and wants to make a reasoned case on this topic, please consider submitting a Guest Op-Ed before 5pm tomorrow, Sunday the 17th.
We will run it alongside, nay, on top of, our Editorials, in this week's Special Briefing newsletter for our subscribers. We will not comment on it or fact-check it. And if you think you have a good case, but have a hard time writing it convincingly, we will gladly help you with neutral editor, long-time resident, and former teacher from Kinderhook, to wordsmith it with you.
Suggestions for a Guest Op-Ed or Letter to the > Editor format and how to submit:
https://www.hudsoncommonsense.com/write
> More about Hudson Common Sense:
https://www.hudsoncommonsense.com/aboutus
Shared Facts. Different Opinions.
Pluralism > Groupthink
** The "Mississippi Miracle" peer set, states with child poverty ≥ NY's roughly 18–19% that beat NY on 2024 NAEP. Manhattan Institute, New York State Math Standards Keep Changing While Students Stagnate (March 2026)