Civic Parent

A condemning report -it was not a good sign when a capable business admin (Frohnapfel) resigned.

“In Frohnapfel’s memo, dated two days before he unexpectedly resigned, he described the report as presenting “serious concerns.” He pointed to its findings as reasons he did not believe Crisonino deserved a $16,368 salary increase for which he said Fernandez had asked him to budget. Fernandez had pushed for Crisonino and five other “inner circle” administrators to receive such raises against “both reason and common sense,” Frohnapfel wrote.”

The School District of Jersey City

https://www.facebook.com/share/16G3GzJSaD/?mibextid=wwXIfr

Former JC Schools Administrator Complained of ‘Preposterous’ Raises, Special Ed Report That Found Financial Lapses In an internal memo sent two days before he resigned last fall, a former acting business administrator of the Jersey City Public Schools (JCPS) expressed concern about reported financial deficienci…

Brand new to municipal budgets? Don’t know where to start? Try this out:

✅ Go to your local town/boro/citywebsite
✅ Look for a “finance” or “budgets” page
✅ Look for the “User Friendly Budget”
✅ Download it
✅ Scan it and see where your curiosity guides you

Want an assist? Check out the 2nd post in the series “Welcome, Settle In. Let’s Go Over How to Find and Open Your City’s Budget” for 5 quick steps to get started

https://civicparent.org/2025/10/16/take-your-seat-at-the-table-what-you-need-to-feel-more-included/

When I dug into my first budget 15+ years ago in , I had trouble even finding it online…I was so unfamiliar with my local municipal government.

We all start somewhere…the key is to take that first step.

Launching a new series on Civic Parent…
Take Your Seat at the Table: A Taxpayer’s Guide to Demystifying Your Municipal Budget. This is a plain-language walk through the NJ user friendly budget.

This past week I helped co-moderate a debate for with .wintner. It was so well organized and a great example of civics in action, and I felt prepared and able to participate in part because I had been working on this series.

I’ll be sharing this series to help taxpayers feel more included, informed, and empowered to ask questions…engagement that is needed not just around election time but all throughout the year.

Civic participation starts with understanding and everyone deserves a seat at the table.

See the latest at civicparent.org.

I’m honored to share that I’m being recognized by Team Wilderness at their Blazing the Trail Gala on October 9th, 6–9pm at The View at Lincoln Park.

If you know Civic Parent, you may know how much I care about youth, equity, and civic engagement. Team Wilderness embodies all of this—by taking teens outdoors to hike, rappel, and most importantly, develop self-confidence.

My journey with Team Wilderness started in 2015 at a Jersey City BOE meeting, when a group of teens proudly told me they were holding snowshoes… in Jersey City. That moment—and their confidence—stuck with me. I joined the founding board shortly after, and spent the next 9 years helping the organization expand its reach and mission.

In 2024 alone, Team Wilderness served over 600 youth who spent 11,200+ hours outdoors. 95% reported feeling more confident in themselves. These are real outcomes, in a city that needs real investment in our kids.

If you’ve ever learned something from Civic Parent, I’d love for you to pay it forward. Come to the Gala. Or make a donation. Or simply help spread the word.

🎟️ Buy tickets: https://www.teamwilderness.org/blazing-a-trail-gala
💸 Donate: https://www.teamwilderness.org/donate-1
🏞️ Learn about Team Wilderness: https://www.teamwilderness.org/

Thank you 🙏

https://civicparent.org/2025/09/28/blazing-a-trail-on-oct-9th-with-team-wilderness/

Blazing a Trail on Oct 9th with Team Wilderness I’m using Civic Parent to share an ask on behalf of a local nonprofit I care deeply about: Team Wilderness. Team Wilderness is a local nonprofit that aims to “bridge the nature gap for kids from ma…

Sharing: learn about forced migration with this informing lecture from professor Dr William Westerman that will be hosted at St. Aedan’s Church (in the newly renovated Stewardship Hall) this coming Thursday at 7 PM. All details in the flyer below.

Happy Mother's Day to all!
Briefly sharing a new post now available for Civic Learners (emaio sign-in required). Includes a simple data visualization to help detail the revenues side of the schools budget in .
Learning bit by bit takes time but is worth the investment.

I'm slowly updating my site to support sustainable engagement. Leave a comment below if you have questions about the new way forward.

Latest post: https://civicparent.org/2025/05/10/jersey-city-public-schools-2025-26-budget-recap/

Open access links to give context on latest updates:

New Way Forward: https://civicparent.org/2025/04/21/a-new-way-forward/

Response vs Reaction (a civic reflection): https://civicparent.org/2025/04/28/response-vs-reaction-a-civic-reflection/

Jersey City Schools Budget 2025/26: A Deeper Look at Funding Explore Jersey City's 2025/26 school budget insights, highlighting a significant increase in local funding and missed public engagement opportunities.

The School District of Jersey City will hold its 2nd hearing on the 2025/26 school budget today at 6pm

I reviewed the budget which was confusing (and that’s problematic from a transparency point of view) and I tried to break it down, but questions remain
Members of the public are invited to speak on the budget. You have until 3 PM today to sign up and can do so by filling out a short request form online:
https://www.jcboe.org/apps/pages/index.jsp?uREC_ID=1536962&type=d&pREC_ID=1667573

My post is on my site: https://civicparent.org/2025/04/21/jersey-city-public-schools-insights-re-the-2025-26-board-of-ed-budget/

The School District of Jersey City will hold its 2nd hearing on the 2025/26 school budget today at 6pm

I reviewed the budget which was confusing (and that’s problematic from a transparency point of view) and I tried to break it down, but questions remain
Members of the public are invited to speak on the budget. You have until 3 PM today to sign up and can do so by filling out a short request form online:

https://www.jcboe.org/apps/pages/index.jsp?uREC_ID=1536962&type=d&pREC_ID=1667573

https://civicparent.org/2025/04/21/jersey-city-public-schools-insights-re-the-2025-26-board-of-ed-budget/

Good morning. Sharing a few recent updates

1) A civic reflection on "reaction" vs "response" https://civicparent.org/2025/04/28/response-vs-reaction-a-civic-reflection/

2) For Civic Learners: A review of the JCBOE 2025/26 schools budget (it was confusing and I tried to break it down, but questions remain). https://civicparent.org/2025/04/21/jersey-city-public-schools-insights-re-the-2025-26-board-of-ed-budget/

I'm re-imagining my approach to Civic Parent with tiered access to my content. Tier 1 = Open, Tier 2 = Email Sign-up, Tier 3 - monthly subscription (similar to Substack but not on Substack...hosted natively on my Wordpress site). Learn more here: https://civicparent.org/2025/04/21/a-new-way-forward/

Response vs Reaction (A Civic Reflection) If you’re new to the local community space as it relates to learning about budgets, property taxes, or just unpacking the question of “what is local government,” then I’m wr…

Introducing a new way forward for Civic Parent. After a prolonged break, I will be re-launching Civic Parent with a new focus on teaching in, and with, community.
Learn more at the link below.

A New Way Forward CPAs Can Enhance Local Civics This a brief welcome to a new way I’ll be sharing content on Civic Parent. I am introducing tiered access to both content and means of support from this site. In…

Today I participated in the inaugural Don Malone PhD Housing Conference at Saint Peter's University. Was great to be back on campus sharing insights and memories. Don loved and was a fierce advocate for affordable housing. I wrote up a post about him here (check out the link) and will be sharing more about his work in my new series about affordable housing, centered on the housing crisis in
https://ow.ly/L6Fi50VGFX1