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North Bergen Mourns Passing of Former Commissioner Frank Gargiulo
North Bergen Mayor Nick Sacco and the Board of Commissioners announced the passing of former Commissioner Frank J. Gargiulo, an Army veteran, educator, and longtime public servant who helped shape North Bergen and Hudson County for decades.
Gargiulo attained the rank of Lieutenant in the United States Army before beginning a career in education as a teacher, football coach, and later Principal at the former St. Joseph High School in West New York. A graduate of the University of Notre Dame on a full football scholarship, he earned master’s degrees from Seton Hall University and Columbia University.
He spent nearly three decades with the Hudson County Schools of Technology, first as a principal and later as Superintendent of Schools. Under his leadership, High Tech High School and County Prep High School expanded into full-time vocational high schools, and Explore 2000 Middle School became New Jersey’s first vocational middle school. The district’s campus in Secaucus bears his name.
Gargiulo was a former member of the New Jersey General Assembly and was first elected to the North Bergen Board of Commissioners in 1989. He served for 34 years, including as Commissioner of the Department of Public Works, before retiring in 2023. He also served as a trustee of Hudson County Community College and was named North Bergen’s Veteran of the Year in 2022.
“Frank Gargiulo was truly one of a kind,” Sacco said. “Frank helped transform the lives of thousands of young people through his visionary leadership of the Hudson County Schools of Technology, while also devoting nearly four decades to the people of North Bergen.”
DPW Commissioner Anthony Vainieri Jr. said he would continue Gargiulo’s work. “I am honored to continue the hard work and dedication to the department that Commissioner Gargiulo started,” Vainieri said. “May he rest in peace.”
Funeral arrangements will be announced as they become available.
