Hudson County’s schools, public offices and civic institutions lost one of their most durable builders when Frank J. Gargiulo died on June 16, 2026. He was 87.

Best known as North Bergen’s public works commissioner and the longtime superintendent of the Hudson County Schools of Technology, Gargiulo spent decades shaping the public life of the county, moving between education and politics without losing sight of service. His career began in the U.S. Army, where he served as a lieutenant, and continued in education as a principal and football coach at St. Joseph High School in West New York before he entered elective office.

He won election to the New Jersey General Assembly in the 32nd Legislative District in the 1985 landslide and served from 1986 to 1988. By 1989, he was North Bergen’s elected commissioner of public works, a post he held for decades, according to Hudson County Community College. In 1990, he took on the role that would define his legacy, becoming superintendent of the Hudson County Schools of Technology, a position he held until 2019.

Under his leadership, the district expanded in ways that changed the educational map of Hudson County. High Tech and County Prep opened as full-time vocational high schools, and Explore 2000 Middle School became New Jersey’s first vocational middle school, a milestone that gave younger students access to a model that had not existed in the state before. Hudson County Community College said his career in education and public service benefited Hudson County youth and students for decades, and that description fit the scale of his work.

When the new Hudson County Schools of Technology campus in Secaucus was named the Frank J. Gargiulo Campus in 2018, the ceremony offered a public measure of what he had built. Gargiulo said then that working with students and staff was one of the most rewarding parts of his long career in education, and that the students deserved “a quality space to study and prepare themselves academically for the future.” He also said, “I am humbled by the decision to dedicate this campus in my name.” At the same event, Tom DeGise, the Hudson County executive, said, “Today is a remarkable day for the students and residents of Hudson County,” and added that the opening of the campus “would not have been possible without Superintendent Gargiulo’s commitment to providing the best resources to our students.” U.S. Sen. Bob Menendez said the campus would help “the next generation of Hudson County residents” reach for the stars.

Gargiulo remained active in local public life late in his career, including service on the Hudson County Community College Board of Trustees in 2022. At that time, the college’s president, Dr. Christopher Reber, said, “Commissioner Gargiulo brings extraordinary education and public service leadership to the college.” Reber also welcomed him to the board, a fitting acknowledgment of a man whose work had long bridged classrooms, county government and civic institutions.

He also brought a broad academic background to that work, with a bachelor’s degree from Notre Dame University and master’s degrees from Seton Hall University and Columbia University, according to Hudson County Community College. He was married to Eugenia Gargiulo for 58 years; her 2020 obituary identified her as his high school sweetheart.

Frank Gargiulo will be remembered in Hudson County not for a single office, but for the institutions that bore his imprint. He helped build schools, guide county government and steady the civic machinery of North Bergen for generations. The campuses, students and public programs he touched will remain the clearest record of a life spent in service to the county he called home.