If I may, I'd like to uh call to order the April 28, 2026 meeting of the High Point Regional High School Board of Education. Please stand. >> I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the
republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. Open Public Meetings Act statement. The New Jersey Open Public Meetings Law was enacted to ensure the right of the public to have advanced notice of and to attend the meetings of public bodies at
which any business affecting their interest is discussed or acted upon. In accordance with the provisions of the act, the board of education has caused notice of this meeting to be published by having the date, time, and place thereof posted on the district's official website on the public notices
web page, as well as posting at the Augusta, Branchville, and Sussex post offices and the clerk of the burrows of Branchville and Sussex in the townships of LA uh Frankfurt, Lafayette, and Wantage. I noticed the change in there. Excellent. Uh our mission statement,
High Point Regional High School in partnership with staff, family, and community is dedicated to the quest for individual excellence. By fostering high standards of achievement, we prepare students to become responsible and productive members of a diverse society.
May I ask for attendance roll call, please? >> Mr. Anderson, >> here. >> Miss Longberg, >> here. >> Miss Diaz here. Miss Sakis >> here. >> Miss G here. Mr. Van Stone >> here. >> Miss Hill,
Miss Weise, >> Mr. Gun >> here, >> Dr. Beverly >> here. >> We do have a quorum. >> Do have a qu um I'm just going to note for the public uh due to the resignation of Wanage Representative Allison Orsy. Effective
April 20th, 2026, the High Point Regional High School Board of Education is now accepting letters of intent along with a resume from interested residents of Wantage to fill the vacancy for the period ending December 31st, 2026.
To qualify for this uh board of ed vacancy, individuals must be a resident of Wantage for at least one year, be a citizen of the United States of America, be at least 18 years of age, be able to read and write, and be a registered voter in Wantage, New Jersey. Letters
and resume should be sent to the board secretary and received by 3 p.m. on Tuesday, May 19th, 2026 to be considered. This vacancy will also be posted on the district website and in the Wantage Municipal Building.
As such, it's not on our agenda, but I uh would I need to make a motion, I guess, to um ask for nominations for the position of vice president uh now that we also have
that position uh unoccupied. So, I'd like to make a motion uh to ask for those. Can I have a second? >> Second. >> Any uh comments or discussion or nominations at this? >> I nominate Lara Longberg.
>> Any other nominations from the floor? Okay. uh with just a single nomination then uh I will uh make a motion to uh have Larara Longberg enter as uh the vice president of the High Point Board
of Education for the remaining term this year. Uh can I just Well, I guess she has to accept that. I should ask her to accept as >> uh
so I have that motion that's with a second. >> Okay. So now she accepts. Given that I'll ask for a roll call on that motion. >> Okay. Mr. Anderson. >> Yes.
>> Miss Diaz. >> Yes. >> Makis. Yes, >> Miss G. >> Yes, >> Mr. Van Stone. >> Yes, >> Mr. Dunn. >> Yes, >> Miss Longberg. >> Yes.
>> As I did. >> Okay. >> Yes. >> Right. Even with reduced. >> Yes. >> Well, Mer, you can relocate when we come back.
>> Feel awkward to get up now. Yes, >> congratulations. >> Thank you. >> Congrats. >> Uh that behind us, uh a motion will now be made that the High Point Regional High School Board of Education enter executive session to provide an update on legal, personnel, and negotiations items which are exempt from public
participation pursuant to New Jersey Public Law 1975, Chapter 231, Open Public Meetings Act. Any discussions held by the board which need not remain confidential, will be made public when appropriate. Minutes of the executive session will not be disclosed until the need for confidentiality no longer
exists. The board will reconvene in public session in person and virtually at the conclusion of the executive session. Is not anticipated that any action will be taken and we expect that uh we will return at approximately 700 p.m.
Uh I'll make that motion. May I have a second? Second. All in favor. >> Any opposed? have a uh motion to return to public session, please. >> Motion. >> Uh motion in a second. >> Second. >> All in favor? >> Any opposed? Okay. Uh return to public
session. May I have a approval of minutes? Uh, I'll make a motion to approve the regular meeting minutes from March 24th, 2026 and the executive session minutes of March 24th, 2026. I'll make that motion. May I have a second? >> I'll second.
>> Any uh comments, corrections on those? Okay, seeing none, take a roll call. >> Mr. Anderson, >> yes. >> Miss Longird, >> yes. >> Miss Diaz, >> yes. Miss Sakus. >> Miss G.
>> Yes. Mr. Anstone. >> Yes. >> Miss Hill. >> Miss Wise. >> Yes. >> Mr. Dunn. >> Yes. >> Our first public comment section of the evening on agenda items only. In accordance with the open public meetings act. We will open the public comments at
this time. Each speaker should state his or her name and address. You will have three minutes to address the board which will be timed by myself. We will limit this section to no longer than 45 minutes. Please be respectful and mindful that your comments are being recorded.
And as usual, we have two methods to address the board, one in person and one virtual. Um, if there are no in-person comments, I do have one set of comments to read that was submitted earlier to our uh virtual platform. Give
me one second. Please find that and uh okay the it came via email. Uh the
writer is not identified in the email nor is the location of the writer. Uh I will just mention is it not >> it's in it's just the email address right? >> It should have her name right next to the email address. >> Yes. So but I don't know if that was the
writer or not or just that is the writer. Okay. So it came from uh Isabella Fet. Please consider keeping Mr. O at our school is the title. Good morning. I wanted to reach out because I know the recent budget cuts mean some making some very difficult decisions
about staff. I understand that everyone brings something valuable to our school, but I truly believe that cutting Mr. O would be a significant loss. Mr. O is not just a teacher who comes to work for a paycheck. He genuinely cares about his students and goes above and beyond to make sure each of us is taught in a way
that works best for us. He adapts his teaching style to meet each student's needs, recognizing that everyone learns differently. Mr. O is always on top of his work with students, reminding us to keep up with assignments and even even helps us stay organized with daily
action plans and reminders about work for other classes. The only reason why I'm taking academic support again was because I thought Mr. O would be uh the teacher. Beyond the classroom, Mr. O also coaches several sports teams. I am
confident that if he stays, he will continue to support students not just academically but also through coaching and mentoring in sports. His dedication to our schools and student uh is truly unique and he has had a positive impact on so many of us. Anyone who knows Mr.
Rose speaks highly of him. He creates a welcoming environment and always motivates us to do our best. I sincerely hope that after reading this, you will reconsider the decision to cut Mr. O and recognize the difference he makes every day at our school. Thank you for your
time and consideration. Have a great day. That being the only uh virtual comment and none others in the room, I'll entertain a motion to close public comments. >> I'll make it in a second. >> All in favor?
>> Any opposed? Excellent. Um moving on to presentations. First up, Dr. Ripley, prior to the public hearing on the final budget, I believe he has another announcement. You know, I don't know if we all remember from our own childhood, but
perhaps when you uh or a parent sent your children off onto that school bus and the trust and the moment of truth to watch your child smile and wave to you as you let them go off to school and the gut-wrenching moment that was and the
trust that you placed in that in that bus driver. Well, we have exceptional bus drivers and today uh April 28th, 2026 is school bus driver appreciation day and we want to say thank you to our bus drivers. The office of school bus safety would like to recognize the
school bus drivers in the state of New Jersey for their hard work and dedication to the job. Thank you for keeping all our students safe during the transportation process. Happy school bus driver appreciation day. Thank you to all of our drivers and all the drivers
of our Senate districts and all those who drive a school bus for your commitment as educators. And I mean THAT and I say that and I can see my little boy with his big thing in the window. My wife took a picture of him on the bus
and he's just waving. And I didn't realize how quickly those moments would pass. So those of you who have little ones, cherish that. You're like, "Yeah, yeah, yeah. It's really hard." I understand. So, we're also here this evening to hear
about the proposed budget as was discussed last month in the preliminary budget, but here's a presentation of the allocation of those resources. One of the things that's very important that the board and the community recognize
that at its core, this budget protects, assures, ensures, and focuses on the student experience. We are all here for the student experience. And we are all here also to be good
stewards of that which has been placed into our responsibility by the trust of our community. And those resources are increasingly scarce. We hear often about the nature of school funding and how it's changed and how it has um reduce
funding to our community, to our county, and that many schools have seen significant cuts in state aid. It doesn't mean that there is equitable distribution of those state aid dollars across the state, but it does demonstrate that High Point and our
local communities have seen a reduction in state aid. And some of you may be saying, "Yes, but didn't you increase state aid this year?" Well, we'll get to that. So, here uh our budget, as you see there, preserves programs while managing federal state aid reduction respons
responsibly. We did see significant cuts in federal funding. Significant. Now, I'm not whining about that. I'm presenting to you the issues without just these are the facts. And we did see
significant reduction in federal monies. We did see a marginal increase in state aid. And so, we'll get to that in a second. All right. So, tax levy increase of 3.9%. See, I don't go right to the general fund, which I could because we did
reduce spending, by the way. So, while it does say an increase of the tax levy is 3.9%, and that is not insignificant. I'm not avoiding it. I acknowledge that 3.9% is uncomfortable, perhaps disquing for some.
However, we have reduced spending in this budget, meaning our general fund budget, the budget that has been placed before you for overall spending and is less than it was last year, in spite of the fact that the tax levy has gone up
3.9%. So, what does that mean? That means we're getting less revenue from state and federal monies. And so to maintain the integrity of our facilities, of our programs, of our staffing, of the student experience,
more money has to come from the local community even as we continue to cut the operating budget. So you see here budget priorities, academic programs, staffing, co-curricular activities, athletics,
professional development, and other essential operations like transportation, which by the way, High Point, it's not a small piece of pie. A facility that the community takes great pride in our facility. Anytime we have visitors, anytime we have someone
come and observe and look and visit what we have at High Point, it is a source of great pride. And I and I remember anytime we've ever done a survey of the community, one of the uh motifs is that there is a tremendous degree of pride in our facilities. And we as stewards of
those facilities must make very difficult decisions. And so to ensure the student experience, not just the student experience for this fiscal budget, but for the student experience for the next 20, 30, 40 years, we must be good stewards of those facilities
placed in our trust. Tax impact factors. Each community uh will experience a mild or to some degree. We're not really certain because those numbers have not been clearly communicated to us. So, as
I'll get to that that slide that I typically have as to how much a $200,000 home would see an increase or a decrease, those numbers are not clearly defined sufficient enough for me to feel confident to provide for those numbers. And so, we see that uh those the tax
implications on our communities are based upon a rolling student enrollment over three years and equalized property valuations and income determined by the NJ DOE. All right. All right. Where do the tax dollars go? Now, I thought this looks
really good on my screen in my office. Clearly, from afar, it does not. Thankfully, I put those numbers on the right. As you can see, 70% of our costs of our fixed costs are well, salaries and benefits. And so as
we've managed diminishing resources over the last 8 plus years, much of that has come from managing our staffing numbers and needs efficiently and effectively. And so as I say frequently during those
eight years, we have not reduced staff for the purpose of having to cut budgets. We have managed the reduction in staff and we've reduced significantly over those years. I think it's 27.5
uh certificated educators during those eight years. We have reduced through retirements or people leaving and not and so we've had to be very strategic in making those decisions. All right. Then we see transportation 14% and that's not going to go down.
That's not going to go down. As a matter of fact, that 14% when it's audited might be 18% depending on what happens elsewhere in the world. special ed tuition. Another increasing uh fixed cost well non-fixed in that we
have no ability to we have to respond to that. We can't we can't dictate those numbers. All right. Uh when I speak about transportation, we have the best transportation coordinator in the business and I feel very confident that we are efficient and lean in the
capacity and the allocation of those funds. Supplies, materials, text 6%. I'm not a fan of textbooks, but I guess to some degree it's a necessary expenditure. Uh, purchase services and vocational school tuition. I will bring
that up later on. Next, bud budget appropriations. What does that mean? Where is the money coming from? As you can see here, our general fund. When I talk about the general fund, that's the that's our spending. Last year was this. This year is this. As you can see, it is
a reduction year-over-year of 10 and whatever that number is. I can't see it from here. Anybody can see. Can anybody see that? >> You're all laughing at me. Says, "Of course I can see it. What is your problem?" I don't know. All right. Uh, so you can
see the uh the we we've lowered spending by 198,000. However, there's more to the story. Here is that reference to what I was talking about the reduction of federal monies, federal grants, idea, ESSA used to be called uh NCLB, ESA,
various permutations over the year. Title one, title 223 Perkins. We have seen a reduction year-over-year by $272,000, a significant reduction. No debt service. I don't imagine you'll be seeing that ever again, but then again, I can't predict, at least in the
near future, we will not be seeing that. Finally, the total budget has been reduced by $470,625 or 1.8% year-over-year. So, this is what our budget was that we presented to the board of the community last year, and this is what it is now, demonstrating
that we've reduced by almost $500,000, reduced spending by almost $500,000 in spite of increasing costs across the board. All right, here, this is very confusing. There's a lot of numbers that they tell when you do representations. Don't make
busy stuff like this. So, I'm just going to go through it. General fund increase of the tax levy by 718,000 or 3.9%. I'm not going to try to shy away from that. I'm acknowledging 3.9% is higher than we would like. It is it is we recognize as
a community can only bear the weight of so much and I understand that. I'm trying to demonstrate, however, that is a shift that as we continue to control and reduce spending, more because of the
state and federal funding, more burden is placed on the local community in this instance, 3.9%. I could go into a lot of things about how the state funded this. It would be boring and long and I might miss a dollar or two. Nevertheless, they shifted the manner in which they're
funding districts this year and said, "Hey, we're going to give you all this money." They're not necessarily giving us money from the state. They're giving you the ability to exceed the 2 the 2.0% tax levy requirement by using local funds. So, the state says, "We're going
to fund you, but you got to take it from your local community. You don't have to go out to referendum. You could, as a matter of fact, we could have gone to approximately 7.7% according to what the state said. Of course, that's too much. We would not do that. It is objectionable. And some of
you saying, "But didn't you do that a few years ago?" Yes, we did. I acknowledge that as well. So, we went with 3.9 because we must sustain the facilities and the student experience, which is why we're all here. All right.
Monu tuition is listed. Thank God for our brothers over the hill. They have been firmly in institutionalized into our community and they are part of the character and the essence of who we are as a community and they have made us a
better place. Uh tuition other budgeted fund balance. This is money left over at the end of the year. Someone said that's a lot of money. Well, when you're dealing with $26 million when you come in at 504, you're thinking to yourself, hang on baby, we may not make payroll in
June. and you're thinking that's $54,000, but what it does is that it takes a while for that to bear out over time. And so if you'll go to certain places that fund balance in the past, last year we made sure that it was a million. What you're someone could say,
well, you you overt tax the community. No, what we did was we we we continued to lower the general fund, but we still we do not make fiscally responsible decisions on April 28th only. Every
single day we determine whether an expenditure is viable, necessary, or efficient. Even if it's been budgeted, that's why there are times when I will deny an expenditure and someone say, "But it's in my budget." That applied on April 28th. It does not apply in the
future because we still have to manage scarce resources throughout the year so that we can play the long game with budgeting. All right. Sorry. Um, school choice dropped by 13%. uh other revenue uh semi dropped. Uh state
aid went up by 59%. What are you crying about, Scott? That's an increase of 1.71%. Yes, but we also saw as I suggested in the previous that the special revenue fund 20 went down by 45.7%. All of which leads to spending reduction
of $470,000 or 1.8% year-over-year. Again, tax levy up 3.9% spending down 1.8. 8%. All right, another chart. You all love charts. State aid tax levy total general
funds. We're looking at here is uh over a course of time a longitudinal study. We've lost state aid in the last 13 years of 3.3 million. An average of $254,000 a year. The tax
levy has gone up by 3.26. See, look at this. The tax levy has gone up less than the state aid has been reduced. And so the state aid reductions every year are 254,000. Our tax levy has gone up or 251,000.
That means we've lowered spending, not increased to address this. All right. And again, I understand the tax levy is going up 3.9%. It is a we are managing making very difficult disciplined decisions to ensure the viability of the
district for our students and our community and again the general funding over that time has dropped by 1.06% while the tax levy on average over 13 years has gone up by 1.55%.
As a matter of fact, if we had gone to 2% each year, irrespective of the year that we had the big increase, if we had gone up 2% every single year for the last 13 years, the tax levy would be $1.1 million higher than it is right now.
And that's just one year. So on the bottom, small print, it's all small to me. All right. This excludes $3.8 8 million in Sussex Tech tuition, an increase of $322,000 annually. Why do I put that up there? Well, Scott, that's been going on for 15 years. Why do you
put it up? Because no one ever talks about it did not exist in in Sussex County for years. I'm not contending with it. I'm not uh against for I'm just using and explaining this as a matter of course that formerly this expenditure
did not exist and $322,000 over the last four uh 13 years has gone to Sussex Tech tuition where otherwise it would have went to High Point students. I know they're in our district. That's why we're paying for them. Nevertheless, this is an expenditure that does not
exist 15 years ago. So if you add state aid reductions over the last 13 years of 3.3 million, Sussex Tech costs of 3.8, you have a combined impact of 7.1 million that is going against the local taxpayer that no one discusses because
it's you get in the weeds too much as some of you are feeling right now thinking, "Oh my gosh, you're in the weeds." I'm trying to paint a picture as to where we are and why we're here. All right, here's just an example of those 13 years. As you can see, the red
is where we reduced below the tax below the tax level reduced year-over-year. And then over here is where we increased. Again, if we had the average is 1.55% over that 13 years. Again, the purpose here is to be good
stewards. Every decision in this budget reflects careful stewardship of public resources. Every decision has been done with discipline and purpose. We do not reduce programs. We do not reduce staff for the purpose of reducing
staff to make the budget. We do not shift the burden in a way that would compromise the student experience or student opportunities. So we fund the things that matter most in the most efficient effective manner. It is our
hope to return to a below 2% or 2% budget next year, although that remains to be seen. Any questions? >> Yes. >> Um why did the semi billing go down?
>> That's just the um the number that they had uh audited for us this year. whether we last year perhaps were inefficient in the manner in which we audited our um expenditures. We we will like if that's
the case we will see an increase next year and that's my responsibility irrespective of other forces and so there is the possibility that the manner in which we applied for semi was not as thorough as it otherwise should have
been and we therefore seeing so in a year from now if that number increases you can remind me I will tell you that that was the reason I'm not certain that that's the reason, but I'm allowing for that as the likely reason.
>> Do we have uh any inkling of where other schools are? Some of them have already released their numbers. I don't know specifically nor would I speak specifically but I think that uh many in the area
might be there there's a possibility they'll be higher 3.9%. I will not speak definitively but there's a possibility again the county other than one district
in general has been reduced painfully over the last 8 n years and uh it's been a challenge and and continuity has been focus continuity uh efficiency and maintaining the standards that this
district requires and demands and deserves has been our our purpose and I'm confident that we have maintained that over the years. Thank you for your attention. Um,
next we have our student council representative Oriana. Speaker, the house will give us an update on the student council. Probably could have let you go first, George, but maybe that was interesting to um
even everybody. Uh, just here once again to speak about what has happened so far in April. um where we had actually celebrated Earth Day and Arbor Day um Wednesday last week and Friday last week where students were able to plant tomato
marble or zenia seeds during lunch. Uh there were also coloring pages and uh a green scene spirit week where last Wednesday uh we wore green for Earth Day. Um where Thursday was also a reuse
recycle rewear day where students wore thrifted items and on Friday there was an outdoor adventure day where students were dressed for hiking, camping or the beach. Uh for assistant principal appreciation week, uh Talamaro
interviewed Mrs. Sarno and Mr. Emma asking them would you rather questions um with a student from MediaTek filming it and so the video is available on social media pages especially YouTube. Uh student council members also make
cards and a healthy snack basket basket um in order to form a gift. Um for the month of May for the future uh our character word of the month is compassion and the presentation for the
character word will be made on Friday. Um during the month of May there will also be voting for council officers across each individual level except the senior class of course as well as for the larger student council as a whole.
Uh the class of 2026 will also have a fun day on May 26 with canvas painting craft during lunch and there will also be more planning of teacher appreciation week uh for the senior class of 2026 specifically. There is also senior
decision day on Friday as well for college career and military decisions. Uh and there will be an ice cream party during lunch uh for all seniors. The dinner cruise is also on May 27th and further in the future on June 5th, there
is the grand train for the junior class of 2027. They have collected money for the prom which is going to be on Friday, May 22nd at the mansion at Mountain Lakes. And they also are working on creating a movie night further in the future for June outside
on the football field. Um, they're also creating senior shirts to sell next month. And as I previously mentioned, each individual class except for the senior class are voting for class officers in May as well. But apart from that,
>> that is all I have for you this evening. >> Thank you, sir. Next, our HBA president Elizabeth Sun. Welcome. >> Feel like I should apologize for my casual attire. Um, we had our track meet today. Um, so good evening. I wanted to
start with kind of piggybacking off of George. We also have elections next month for HBA um for my position as well as our treasurer Christina De Mo. So, I just wanted to thank you because it has been an absolute privilege of working
alongside with everybody that's in here. So, I do hope to continue as the president of the HBA. So, this isn't me saying that I'm not. I just wanted to say thank you. So, so far it's been such a great year. Um, I also wanted to thank Dr. Ripley for the meetings that I have been in with him. He truly does treat
everyone here with dignity and respect and I know he preaches that often. Um, but it has been I know you don't get to see it behind closed doors and I have gotten to see that with our admin. Um, so I just wanted to point that out. So hopefully um I'm continuing on for the
next two years. Um, but we'll do elections next month. So that's kind of where we are as an executive team. Speaking of Christine Dateo as our treasurer, she put on a trip for our staff to go to see Hamilton on Broadway. So we did that last Saturday. So, we had
a nice turnout and that was awesome. And then she also because we were talking about how I guess they had fun when it used to be the the Mets trip and sorry, but I'm a Yankees fan and I know we have some admin who are Mets fans. So, I said, "Well, how about she got a game to go to that was a Yankees Mets game and
then maybe more people would go." So, she just booked this week for a trip on September 13th. It is a Mets Yankees game. Um, so that'll be in the works um, come fall. And we did win down the track if you were wondering. Um, so the boys
won 95 to 45 and the girls was 8357. We had 17 seniors. So we celebrated our senior day. So thank you to our athletic program too, Mr. Dexter. um he arranges for us to have flowers and posters and banners and um
acknowledge the work this truly coming back as a head coach this season too. Our seniors have been such um such a huge part of setting the standard and they have led with such dignity as well. Um we have had zero drama on the
track team. So it's been so nice for our underassman to see and we are trying to really build that program up. the girls team has doubled since last year in size. So, I'm happy about that. So, I just wanted to thank Mr. Dexter for his support. Mr. Perry was down there and he gets to, you know, introduce them and
the seniors were walked in with their parents as well as the unified team. So, that was there as well with our seniors and their parents. Um, so anyway, so that's I think all I have. So, thank you.
>> Thank you. Mr. John Tal principal report >> I forgot something. >> No, no, no, no. I'm saying if I did I know you still in my if I miss something. >> Greetings everyone. We see everybody again. Um just wanted to go over a few
things. Uh we have a lot of activities that you heard from student council. a lot going on a busy time of of the year and it's a great thing and a lot of a lot of great things that are happening. Just want to talk about some things that we've had in the last month or so and some things that are to come. We had our national honor society induction ceremony. We talked about that a little
bit last month. We do all of our honor societies together. Our NHS as well as all of our satellite honor societies. So just want to run through the list of um advisors. Mr. Miner, Mrs. Emma, Miss Carol Matthews, Mr. Baker, Mr. Slenian, Miss Aarino, Mrs. Regal, Mr. Lola, Mr.
Carlo, Mrs. Sheice, are all part of that honor society. Um, and they kind of facilitate that. What's great about our ceremony, which we've transitioned over the last two or three years, is the students are the ones that are running the show. So, very few adults are actually speaking um on the evening of,
it's all a script um thanks to the help of Mr. Trell, Mr. McCarthy, um, and many others. And the students are the ones that are delivering the message throughout the night. So, that's a pretty cool thing to be able to sit there and honor that. I had to stand up a couple times to acknowledge some pledges. Um beyond that they're just doing their things. So really proud to
see our students run that. Over 100 students that were recognized um and inducted into different ceremonies. Many of them into two, three or four um societies uh for that. A couple things that are coming up um this um this next month as May starts on the first as
George said, college career military decision day is on Friday. We've tried to brand that in the last couple years and make it very broad. Um, as you know, many of us when we went to school, it was decision day for college and that was it. Um, that's not the case and has been the case for several years, right? When we celebrate everybody's path and
everybody's journey, everybody's path and everybody's journey is different. Um, so we want to make sure we get everybody involved with that. Some are going right into apprenticeships, some are going right to unions, um, some are going to just straight to work, some are going to the military, um, some are going to two-year schools, some are going to fourear schools, some don't now, right? And all that is is really
important for us to honor and recognize. So, we're looking forward to that. that is going to be led by our senior class and also by the guidance department. Some fun activities for staff um as well. Um May 18th through May 22nd is going to be a mental health awareness week. We have an organization of club
called bring change to mind. Um is a mental health awareness program. It's a volunteer program that um Miss Cheyenne, Miss Kario run, advis. Uh it's really grown a lot this year and we have a good group of students that's really leading a lot of activities. So they're constantly coming to me and say can we do this? and then like, okay, how do we
do it? That's always going to be my answer is pretty much going to be yes. How do we figure it out? How do we make it happen? Um, so we're we're happy about them. Again, doing that. That's kind of post the AP exam week and that's a good time to have a lot of those things that are coming up. Um, senior scholarship dinner is on the 20th at 6
p.m. Many of you like to attend that as well. Just talk to Dr. Ripley about how that works. Um, Red Tail Lodge, youth night. Um, there'll be over 300 people in the room. Um and again looking forward to just a fantastic celebration of our seniors um on that evening and without the community donors that we have that night. I don't know how many
we're going to have yet. We're not there yet, but we're getting pretty close. We would be able to have that evening. So looking forward to that event as well. The problem as George talked about um on the 22nd senior dinner cruise on the 27th. We have over 150 seniors going. Um it's like 80% 85% of our entire class.
So that's a fantastic thing. Um we're hoping and praying for good weather that night cuz it's great weather. It's the best trip I think that we can take. Maybe next to my watch, but it's really, really cool trip. And then the senior trip is the fifth and that's going down a great adventure during the day. Wishing luck in the roller coasters.
We'll see how that goes. Um, if you were in the media center, were you in the media center previously? So, you had a little bit of a sneak preview. I told you about last week our expanded heritage month museum and our world heritage days. So, you had a little bit of chance. kind of doesn't make as much sense sitting there looking at it, but you can see that there's a lot of things
happening um in the in the museum and also in the media center. That was all led by our library outreach society students um Mrs. Aludo, Miss Vlet, and a couple other teachers that got behind it. Um last year we did black history museum that was there first and again
all student led and they said we want to do something each year to recognize a particular culture, right, a defined area. Um and we think that that's important versus trying to do something small each year. here. We want to bring something really big like that in. So, um if you didn't see him, there's a little AF created this. Miss Le, one of
our um English special ed teachers created this. This is as you walk in and it's like a road map to what's happening um all the activities that happen. Again, all student le. So, there's Guess Who, there's Hispanic athlete trivia. There's Latinx fashion, the big set in the middle that you probably saw from our fashion marketing program. Hidden
figures of history, immigration history. Um, tala tiles are up top where the students are painting tiles. Like if you if you walk this hallway up here, I'll go up left of the ramp and see those butterflies. Um, on a Holocaust memorial hallway that was from last year's um,
museum as well. Um, there's a whole Latin jazz. Um, there's a demarzo, Hispanic poets, blackout poetry, which I actually really um, type of activity. You're basically given a piece of paper from a book and you create your own poetry using a black marker um, and just
creating it. It's really, really fun. I had no idea what I was doing, but Mr. VZ and a couple students encouraged me. I didn't do too bad, so I felt like I got a C, so I was happy with that. Um, the Latin X refrigerator poetry, another really cool thing, just really creative ideas from the students where they take a post-it note, and you put it on whiteboards. Um, and you create your own
poetry, and there's like five stations of of postits. Um, and it just gets reset each time. Um, there's fingerprinting. My son's class had a fingerprinting station, which I saw. I'm very happy with that. I went back to my criminal justice days, and that was a fun activity over in the corner. Um there's a painting activity. One of our
ESL students from Mr. Russell actually had a market mcato. Um so if you if you look into the the annic or into the media center and that kind of it looks like there's a little bit of alley in the back that was all like a farmers market. Uh if you go back there you'll see all types of things fruits and vegetables created. Um you'll see
fabrics music. Um again that was through ESL program and Mr. Russell did that. Um the gal is one other ESL students walk you through the whole thing today. um and he's from Mexico City originally. So, it's really cool to to hear from him and him show me what it was like to go through an actual market that was really
fun as well. Um they had some painting stations and artwork as well. Just really proud of our students. There's two more days of that um tomorrow and also on on Thursday. But again, it was facilitated by teachers but led by students and nothing better um than that overall. So, just wanted to say thank you to them. Also, thank you to Jess
Cardinal um for leading our every 15 minutes program and also Miss Bean for assisting that. That was a very tough sensitive um event last last uh week but very impactful. Um a lot of tears and a lot of understanding what that means. Just want to say thank you to them. It's a big project that they started planning
um back in September. um in terms of aspect of it. Also, thank you to Miss Tolder, our nurse, because she's working with Miss Gonzalez's construction manufacturing students, Zach Leto, Michowski, and they are opening a little free library over if you're walking out there
all the way to um where like closed bin towards soccer field up the steps up there between the two fields. A little free library is going to be constructed there um designed by construction manufacturers, built by them. Um and building ground is going to help it up and that's going to just be a nice great thing. Again, we have one in the hallway
here. We wanted to get one since that was outside. Um, bring a book, drop off a book, grab a book. Um, again, that was a sol project and we're really happy with that. Um, got the time to spend with Dr. Ripley last week with Tyler Mororrow, who was a superintendent um, roundt student um, of the year.
Fantastic time to sit with students from all the county, eighth grade and seniors. There are some sixth graders there as well if it's a K to sixth graders, but just a a really nice time. Um, so thank you, Dr. Dr. for allowing me to participate in that and thank you for um you know continue to do that. It's a great thing um to see the
students in that environment and sitting with other students as well. In the same week we also had Erikica Alaswani um she was recognized for the Cesus County Association for counselors for caring award. Um and I think my favorite award for the entire year is only seniors and
then they do an eighth grade uh ceremony as well this week and that's only one student from each high school is chosen. Um and it represents everything that you want represented by your student body, right? Caring, compassion, kind, um and just being that person, that genuine person. Sarah also um will be our first
that we have memory of and knowledge of our first student to graduate high school and get her associate degree graduation in the same year. So she'll be graduating from SEC with associate degree, full associate degree and also from high school. that many students graduate with a lot of concurrent enrollment, a lot of um AP credits, but
the first official um she's pretty quiet about it, but we like to to shout that out whenever we can. Um also, our music program continuous Grace Makavoy um just recently got accepted to all state trouble course, a very elite course, and they'll performing next February um in Atlantic
City and also NJ pack um as well. Last but not least, Dr. said bus appreciation, driver appreciation day today. Very happy for them every day. Next week is teacher appreciation week. Hint hint. Um we're appreciative of them all the time. But we want to make sure we do a special shout out. So next week we'll do some fun activities. Student
council and administration. We make sure we shout them out. As well as in the middle of that is our school nurse appreciation week and we're very thankful and blessed by Miss every day. Shifting gears to athletics. That's what done. Um from Mr. Dexter's office, we
had Jiren March, one of our outstanding um student athletes. Um he's a fantastic athlete, one of the best that we've ever had walking the hallways, but he's a student and a leader first. He was honored um at the Park Avenue Club as a National Football Foundation scholar athlete and that was a great thing to to
have him be recognized and represent High Point. We also have coming up uh High Point host the following charity events. We have the Doc Harris Classic that's sponsored by the baseball and softball teams on May 18th. Get a chance to play and that's some fun. But again remembering one of the best in my opinion don't want to get too many
allergies but Doc was my original coach um as a freshman when I was here um a little bit a while ago um a few years ago and he was in my opinion um the best coach in any sport um little league right up to college I've ever had in my entire life um he was a center
professional baseball player and this the baseball and softball team honor him um and doing this classic every year just a really great again community event a lot lot of fun we also honor Grace Myers one of our senior softball players. I see her picture looking in the back behind you. Um she was our NJSIA scholar athlete. Um she's going to
be honored at the um Pines Manor down in uh Bank of May 17th. And again, it's a female student athlete. And Grace, if you don't know, Grace, she just recorded her 500 strikeout. Um I think she's already almost at 600 now. And um again, the student that you want to be in your
building every single day. She's just a fantastic person overall. And the the first spring athletes of the week as we are rock with Jayen stood for lacrosse, Gabby Vega for track and AJ Hamilton. We still have both of them for for track. Again, great representatives of our
school district every single day. >> Thank you questions. >> Mr. Tal, I know you mentioned about the every 15 minutes program. Do you have any idea how long we've been conducting that? >> How long we conducting it? This I think it would be our third. So we try we do it every two years because we rotate
institutes. This is our third um thinking my memory bank could be our fourth cycle of every 15 minutes. The mock accident we've been doing for >> oh right right >> decades um but the mock accident then enveloped into this larger program. So the mock accident we've been doing since
I was here and that was a few years ago. Um and then then in the last probably 10 year window or so is when every 15 minutes program kind of grew out of that. I I just want to mention I've seen and I've had people approach me about as as parents the experience that they
go through um and whether it was parents of students this year or parents remembering when their students went through it in previous cycles how moving it is and how I guess effective
>> and that's what what we hope for right is that it makes a difference um to anybody and everybody that's involved in that that what a what an awesome thing and we should be very proud of that. >> Yeah, impact just one is what you're hoping for, right? And if you if you do that impact just one, you hope that's much more than that. Um but again,
seeing the students knew the script, they knew what was happening and what was going to be part of it when they're going through it. But then when they were in the classroom, we talked about this actually to student group today. within the classrooms they wrote their obituaries which could be a creative writing assignment writing like is is sometimes hard but then you're hearing
your obituary read um in the classroom in front of your peers and all of a sudden all kinds of emotions are going through your head so there's definitely a piece that raises that bar up um with those pieces and and then the parent piece as you said that's a we have many many parents in tears um as we were just
in the media center last week writing those letters um to each other and again that that impact and I've had parents come back to me too like we said many years later and say, you know, they still remember that that day. Never want Never want to have it happen, but they remember that day. >> And it is on
>> Yes, it is on YouTube. Yep. Uh we just did some final edits on that. So, it's on our YouTube channel. It's about, you know, the overall overall thing. You don't see the assembly part because that's not video that's not recorded, but everything else leading into that is. >> Thank you. >> Thank you everybody.
>> Thank you. Um if anyone has the opportunity to go to the uh scholarship dinner, it really is uh a demonstration of excellence. Uh I the manner in which it's run by Mr. Talamay and our staff is done everything is done
with excellence. Um it is just a professional professionally well-run experience. Something that brings the community together. It's not just a high point. It's a High Point community where former students, where people from the community come together and it really is
a positive pro highpoint uh family community feel that really is an exceptional evening. So, thank you for the manner in which that's run. >> If in the future we're able to spread those dates to the sending districts
because there are I'm not able to go because there's a conflict. So, it maybe we could work a little bit closer to try to let them know. So they might be able to schedule around that. >> Yes ma'am. We uh No, I understand. I appreciate that. We are actually quite
fidious in trying to make sure that any event that we have. As a matter of fact, we just moved what event did we >> seniors? >> We moved our senior awards to accommodate and and we know that we have four community four districts that we want to ensure that we have lock tight
coordination with. There are moments when that is an impossibility, but I assure you that uh Mr. Calame and our staff work diligently to ensure that things are but we certainly keep that in mind. So, thank you, >> Mr. Sheamus Campbell. Good evening.
>> Curriculum instruction. >> What a school. I mean, the last 10 minutes hearing from George and Liz and Mr. Talame. Um, amazing stuff going on and every day this time of year is so busy. It's jam-packed. There's so much stuff. None of it, however, can happen
um if we aren't safe. And we live in a scary, dangerous time. And um there are a handful of things um I believe Dr. spoke about the legacy of our facility. And I believe the legacy of our safety and security is elite and arguably the
best in the state of New Jersey. Um on April 16th, um my colleague, Mr. James Rice who's here. Where' he go? Wait a minute. >> He's doing security. >> This is his big moment. Um I can't
believe Mr. Rice um goes to bed every night thinking about the safety and wellness of our students and he wakes up every morning with that on his mind. Um he is meticulous. And on April 16th, after months of planning, he executed an
incredibly challenging and important safety and security drill for our entire school community. When Mr. Talaman, Mr. Rice have our security drills, they bring in state police, they bring in detectives, they bring in the sheriff's officers, and every single one of them
to a man and to a woman say there is no school that does this. It's unsolicited. It is um uh consistent. It's a word exceptional. No, it's really hard to prepare for the unexpected. We've all prepared in security drills where the
bell goes off in the middle of class. We evacuate for fire. We know that it's down. It's ro. We don't know necessarily how to respond to a crisis um before school, after school, etc. And so that drill took a tremendous amount of time and we're very thankful for him and all
he does for the school. Um, since we're going around the room, I wanted to uh congratulate uh my friend and colleague, Miss Kathy Colbush, for helping Dr. Ripley on uh carrying out our first or her first budget that she played a key
role in. Uh but also the office that she works with um I think she would not be the first business administrator to say that they're spectacular. So, it was a great place to work. Um, and the team atmosphere in that office is very, very supportive. It was a lot of work, so I
know that um, she'll get some some rest and some good sleep. So, thank you to that entire team. Um, Mr. Tal and I actually danced and sang together, but I won't get too far into that. We were in observing a lesson together in our choir room and had an amazing experience with
our our staff and students. Um, I just want to talk about one thing in particular tonight and that is the the field trips that we provide for our students here at High Point. Mr. Tom, I mentioned that last week we inducted more than 100 students, 100 of our best
and brightest into honor societies. And those that got inducted into the National Honor Society had a little more attention paid to them. And what was shared with the community was two things. um who is the educator that impacted you the most and what is your
most memorable favorite high school experience? Um and so for my 25 colleagues who were invited and got to sit in the audience and be recognized as the person who was chosen as that educator that really shaped them, that was a moving experience. But then to
hear each and everyone talk about what do these exceedingly experienced and successful students remember? Perhaps more than half of them said field trips and probably 40% of them said the whale watching trip. Um that's why I was joking. I was going around the the room.
Um it was striking. So I want to thank Miss Liz Sunda, the science department and all the work they put into that. These experiences are the ones that they remember 40 years from now. And we have another field trip on the agenda tonight to go to New York City. And that is a
trip that Mr. Kappler is organizing to take students up onto an observation platform of a structure known as the torch. It's going to be one of the most recognizable and tallest structures in the New York City skyline and our students will be at the very top of it.
I mentioned those two trips for the following reason. Um the National Honor Society students have had a lot of experiences and they're going to go to the moon and back. But we are a um an all-purpose high school that serves the entire community. And there are children
that come to us who have never been to New York City and they have never seen the ocean. And we need we we do keep that in mind when we plan and fund these trips that it is to enrich and it is also to provide experiences that would otherwise not be possible for um many of
our students. Tonight is budget night. I also want to point out that uh perhaps 50% approximately of the funds that we allocate towards these trips do come from grants. Um and so we're very creative with the enrichment money we get from all of our grants to make them
um available without um further burden to the taxpayer. And one last thing uh this afternoon Dr. Ripley, Mr. Tal and I were on um a vendor call with a company called Groovy Education that um is
exceptional in training faculty uh groups in on the whole on AI. It's a district goal this year. We took some really positive steps in discussing and building um an internal conversation about AI and turnkey some best
practices. We want to be even better next year. And our hope is that we can come out of the gate in September with a schoolwide, staffwide comprehensive training that will be a springboard. That common experience and those common resources will build collaboration that
will make next year one where um we advance our goal. Our first goal is staff competence and comfort and expertise. Our ultimate goal of course is student expertise. So we're excited to be moving along with PD in the area of uh AI. So
thanks. >> Okay. Uh there's one note under other business and this is for everyone in the public especially those anonymous posters to Facebook asking when the graduation date for the class of 2026
is. It is officially confirmed for Friday, June 19th, 2026, beginning at 6 pm. Uh, with that, we move on to action items, curriculum, instruction, and technology.
Stand. Yes. Okay. I'll be uh moving 10 items. Uh, first uh first four is just uhformational. Faculty attendance rate for March is 94.4. Student attendance for March is 93.1.
The suspension for uh report is attached as is we have um that we have to approve the IP harassment supervisation and bing reports for March 25th to 28th. Uh item five is uh approving listed
field trips. Uh number six is um approving professional development activities. Uh, number seven is um a revised calendar. We'll see again. So, I think uh I've had a revised calendar every time I've had to present so far, but I think maybe next month I will. This
one's just about um the uh exam schedule. Uh number eight is um voter registration law annual statement of assurance. We have to approve that. Number nine is approving the the current enrollment memorandum uh for the College of New Jersey. And
number 10 is um the updated local education agency guidance for virtual or remote instruction plans which is attached. So um I am moving those and I have a second. >> Second.
>> Does anybody have any questions or comments on any of those issues? >> I guess we can have a roll call, please. Mr. >> Vance. >> Yes. Miss Wise, >> yes.
>> Miss, yes. Makis, >> yes. >> M Diaz, >> yes. >> Mr. Anderson, >> yes. >> Mr. Longberg, >> yes. >> Mr. Dunn, >> yes. >> Uh, that was curriculum instruction. Uh, personnel, Mrs. Long.
>> Um, I'd like to move items one through five together. Um item one is a recommendation uh by the superintendent to approve um Miss Chu uh as a Spanish teacher um as a BA step 11 on the 2627
salary guide pending the required paperwork. Um number two recommended uh the list as attached of the sixth period assignments at a perm rate of 69.990 effective April
13th to honor about May 13th um or when a permanent teacher is released back to work by a doctor. Uh number three, the recommendation uh to approve Miss Kush as the business administrator and board secretary for the 2627 school year
salary of 135. Um number four, recommended by superintendent um to approve the 2627 staffing and salaries for certified and noncertificated staff members as listed in the attachment. And number five, recommended by the
superintendent um that the board accepts with regret the retirement notification of Arthur Nina, science teacher effective July 1st. >> Discussion. >> Second. Make a motion. Second.
>> Any questions or discussion? >> Good luck to Mr. Minina and his family in the future. >> Miss Longberg. >> Yes. Mr. Van Stone, >> yes. >> Miss Sackett, >> yes. >> Miss Diaz, >> yes. >> Mr. Anderson, >> yes.
>> Miss Wise, >> yes. >> Miss Gaul, >> yes. Mr. Dunn, >> yes. >> Passes. >> Uh, I will move items one through four under extracurricular. One is a recommendation to accept a resignation notification from William Nahan as the
assistant basketball coach. Be back immediately. Item two is a recommendation to approve Mike D'Vor and Alex Hyleman as volunteer football coaches for the remainder of the current school year. Item three is a recommendation to accept a resignation
of from Will Smith, William Smith as assistant football coach effective June 30th, 2026. And item four is a recommendation to approve the dates listed below for physicals to be formed by the school doctor for the upcoming
school year. >> I will make that motion. May I have a second? >> Second. >> Any comments on any of those items. >> Miss Diaz? >> Yes. >> Miss Bakus? >> Yes. >> Miss G? >> Yes. >> Mr. Ben Stone?
>> Yes. >> Mr. Anderson? >> Yes. Miss Longberg, >> yes. >> Miss Wise, >> yes. >> Mr. Bell, >> yes. >> Passes. >> We have no policy negotiations for buildings and grounds action items. So, by may I'll move on to the finance and
move first items one through five together. One is a recommendation to accept the report of the board secretary, business administrator for March 2026. Item two is a recommendation to accept the report of the treasurer for the same month. Item three is a recommendation to approve the report of
transfers and minimum expense transfer report for the same month. Item four is a recommendation to approve for payment the attached schedule of audited bills dated April 28th, 2026. And item five is a recommendation to accept the adult education agency
account, athletic account, cafeteria account, construction account, principles pay cash account, scholarship account, school store, and student activities reconciliations for March 2026. I make that motion. May I have a second? >> Second.
>> Any comments, discussion? >> Miss Longberg? >> Yes. >> Mr. Anderson? >> Yes. >> Miss Diaz? >> Yes. >> Miss? Yes, >> Miss G. >> Yes, >> Mr. Van Stone. >> Yes, >> Miss Wise. >> Yes, >> Mr. D. >> Yes. >> Yes.
>> Okay, that brings us to item six, which spans about three pages of our agenda. I'm going to uh try to uh shorten this. Uh be it resolved that the board approves the adoption of the proposed school budget for the 2026 2020 school
year as follows. Uh first item is uh here is the use of a healthcare adjustment. Uh noting that uh the software the budget software that NJSA
subsection allows us to uh use an amount of $350,130 for health care costs. Uh travel and related expense reimbursement is the next section. basically
uh allows a maximum of $75,000 maximum travel expense for the current school year of which 4,482 has been expended to date. Uh and then the larger more important section, the adoption of the
proposed budget. Um following on page 12, the table lists all the important numbers. Be it resolved that the High Point Regional High School Board of Education approves the levy of general fund taxes for the
proposed 2026 2027 school budget to be 19,146,552. This budget addresses health and safety issues related to facility capital spending, student centered items, and program integrity. Uh be it further resolved that the
included in the general fund appropriations is $31,000 90 $98. Uh the for deposit into the board of education's approved capital reserve account for future funding of capital projects and represents expenditures for construction elements or projects that
are in addition to the facilities efficient standards uh necessary to achieve New Jersey student learning standards and to advertise set proposed budget in New Jersey Herald in accordance with the form suggested by the state department of education according to the law and postposed
budget on our website. So, uh, I will make that motion. May I have a second? >> Second. >> And and ask if there is any discussion or comments would like to be made about the budget.
I will make a couple brief ones. uh not so much for the rest of my board which I sometimes lecture when it comes to the budget but for the public please realize our budget includes no
debt service. Um we have we are not in this budget nor have we in at least a decade used public funds to pay interest on money that we have borrowed. Uh so that is important. We try to maintain
that and hopefully we can moving forward. Um, we as board members are sensitive to the burden that is felt by our taxpaying community
and we understand that when it comes time to the budget, there's often a lot of anger that is directed towards school districts, particularly those in the rural areas of the state where where we've been on the consistent
losing end of the state aid formula. Um, and I would just suggest that that anger is sometimes misplaced because we have pinched every penny that we can uh and really
don't have anywhere else to go. Um, the amount of state aid, as Dr. Ripley presented earlier, that High Point has lost in the last decade plus is over $3 million. The only other place we can go for that
money is to our taxpayers. If the public would like to do something about that, I'd suggest that they approach those that represent us at the state level or
or with their vote perhaps. Um, we can't do much more here. we have to maintain what we're doing with the school. Um, I'm very appreciative that we have now
local representatives in Trenton that have taken up the issue and appear to be trying to make some changes for High Point. That's about a decade too late. Um, perhaps it will have some f come
bring some to fruition. We all want the state aid formula changed and most of us in the rural areas of the state know how painful it's been. Um so
that's my soap box. Um with that if there are no other comments we can go to vote. >> Mr. Ben Stone. >> Yes. >> Miss Wise. >> Yes. >> Miss Gall. >> Yes.
Miss Diaz, >> yes. >> Miss Sakis, >> yes. >> Mr. Anderson, >> yes. >> Miss Longberg, >> yes. Mr. Dun, >> yes. >> Passes. >> Okay, we do have a few other items under finance to continue with. Um, some of
these I'm going to move uh separately. Item seven, uh, whereas High Point Regional High School did meet or exceed the fiscal year 2025 special education Medicaid initiative, otherwise
known as SEMI parental consent participation requirements of 90% as reported in our fiscal year 2025 uh, performance recap. And whereas the High Point Regional High School did not meet or exceed the fiscal year 2025 special
education Medicaid initiative budgeted reimbursement revenue requirement achieving less than 100% of the projected reimbursement. Uh now therefore be it resolved that the High Point Regional High School Board of Education in the County of Sussex State of New Jersey hereby approves the fiscal
year 27 semicorrective action plan for submission as part of our fiscal year 2027 budget. Uh I'll make that motion. I have a second. Sorry. Any questions?
I believe that was a required uh notice. Okay. Roll call, please. >> Mr. Van Stone, >> yes. >> Miss Weise? >> Yes. >> Miss Skull? >> Yes. >> Mr. Anderson? >> Yes. >> Yes.
>> Miss Longberg? >> Yes. >> Miss Diaz? >> Yes. >> Miss Sack? >> Yes. >> Mr. Dunn? >> Yes. >> Passes. >> Okay. Um, the reason I like to move some of these separately is particularly like number eight is a recommendation that
the board of education acknowledges and greatly accepts a donation from Thor Labs. Uh, Alex Cable listed as uh the principal over there in the amount of uh $2500 to support the recent hosting of
the Highpoint Walkill Valley STEM League event for students in our collective ascending districts. So, I'd like to make that motion. Have a second. >> Second. >> Any discussion? >> Thank you. >> That's why I'd like to move it separately so that we can thank those
that uh graciously donate um to our board of education and the events that we sponsor. Roll call, please. >> Okay. Miss Wise, >> yes. >> Mr. Van Stone, >> yes. >> Miss Longberg,
>> yes. >> Mr. Anderson, >> yes. Miss Diaz, >> yes. >> Miss Beckus, >> yes. >> Miss G, >> yes. >> Mr. D, >> yes. >> I'll move nine and 10 together. Nine is a recommendation to accept uh to approve the application and
eventually accept grant funding prepared and submitted by Kathy Kobush from George L. Hol Jr. Trust. The application is seeking up to 25 $20,000 to modernize our humanities, world language, and arts programs for students.
And item 10 is a recommendation uh that board um upon recommendation of superintendent in consultation with the school business administrator approves the FSMC renewal year 2 with Mashio Food Service Management Company for the 2026
2027 school year as listed. I will make that motion. May I have a second? >> Second. >> Comments, discussion? Okay. I'm sorry. You need a second. >> I did. >> Miss Diaz, >> yes.
>> Miss Longberg, >> yes. >> Mr. Anderson, >> yes. >> Miss Stackis, >> yes. >> Miss Gaul, >> yes. >> Mr. Van Stone, >> yes. >> Miss Wise, >> yes. >> Mr. Dun, >> yes. >> Pass. Item 11, I will move separately, is a recommendation that the board of
education approves acceptance of a grant award in the amount of 68,700 from the New Jersey Department of Community Affairs. Mr. Chris De Chris Dexter secured this funding which will support projects to improve the infrastructure and technology components
such as fencing, field improvements, and power upgrades to the press box and scoreboard. Um, I will make that motion. Do I have a second? Yes. Any discussion? >> That's a big one. Thank you, Mr. Dexter.
>> Thank you, Mr. Dexter. >> That will that would be well it's well needed, too. >> The listed projects may not be all inclusive of how we might expend that money. >> Thanks, >> Miss Stackis.
>> Yes, >> Miss Weise. >> Yes. >> Mr. Venstone, >> yes. >> Miss G. >> Yes. >> Miss Diaz, >> yes. Mr. Longberg, yes. Mr. Anderson, >> yes. >> Mr. Dun, >> yes. >> Um, I think I can move 12, 13, and 14
together. 12 is a recommendation to grant permission to the High Point Resident Camp to host the non-affiliated CO camps K through 8, which will run June 22nd through June 26th as listed. Item 13 is a recommendation to approve
uh a resolution. Um basically uh formally uh affirms and accepts $1,188.78 cents grants grant award from the school lead filters program
uh for acquisition installation of filtered bottle filling stations and filtered faucets. And item 14 is a recommendation to uh approve and authorize the execution of
the following tuition contracts between High Point Regional Receiving and the following districts uh as uh receive the sending districts as listed. I'll make that motion. >> Second.
>> Any comments? >> Miss Longberg? >> Yes. >> Mr. Vanstone? >> Yes. >> Miss Wise? Yes, >> Miss G. >> Yes, >> Mr. Anderson. >> Yes, >> Miss Stackus. >> Yes, >> Miss Diaz. >> Yes, >> Mr. Dunn.
>> Yes. >> Um, anybody want to present transportation? >> I can do that. >> Okay, thanks. >> Um, >> Mr. >> I'm going to group one through six together.
So transportation is recommended that the board approves the and authorizes the execution of the following joint contribution agreement for the 2526 school year. Uh first one is High Point with Walkell Valley.
Uh number two is with Mont Keller State University. Number three, Coach America is with various locations and near West Valk, Massachusetts.
Number four, uh, is for Liberty Landing Marina. Number five is for Shepard Preparatory School. Number six, >> five.
>> Totally five. Okay. >> Thank you. >> Uh and then I will make a motion and I need a second. >> Second. >> Any discussion? >> Roll call.
>> Miss Wise. >> Yes. >> Mr. Van Stone. >> Yes. >> Miss G. >> Yes. >> Miss Diaz. >> Yes. >> Miss. >> Yes. >> Mr. Anderson. >> Yes. >> Miss Wberg. >> Yes. >> Mr. Dun. >> Yes. passes. >> Okay.
>> Thank you for the allocation regarding number uh number four. It's very much appreciated. It does enhance the student experience considerably and it's very much appreciated. Thank you. >> Uh that concludes our action items. We
have no correspondence that I'm aware of. Uh miscellaneous uh somebody already mentioned the scholarship awards dinner a couple times. Um there is a S County School Board's uh meeting next Thursday where the teacher
of the year is recognized and there's some other recognitions and awards. >> Mr. Dunn will be uh recognized prominently for his years of service and just so everyone's aware. So I didn't know that I wasn't going to say anything. >> Is that the one you're being for the
training? >> What it said in the Yeah, I think so. for about being a a >> certified board leader. >> Yes. >> Yes. >> You know, often times there's very little recognition or appreciation for
the public servant who does so uh without uh recompense. The fact that you all come here and spend the time and commitment to be a part of this is laudable and an incredible civic duty. Uh and what Mr. done has demonstrated
over the length of time that he has is something about which our community should be incredibly appreciative and proud. So, thank you, sir. Thank you. >> Thank you all. Hey, wasn't looking for that. Uh with that, I'll open our public comments. Uh the
second section of the evening, same rules apply. Please state your name and address. Uh any virtual comments come in during the course of the meeting? No. Any comments in the room? Uh may I have a motion to close public comments? So move and a second.
>> Second. >> All in favor? >> Any opposed? Okay. Um any uh non-committee board member reports or comments otherwise? >> I would say following Mr. Campbell's
comments regarding security. He's here. >> Thank you very much. >> Sorry, I stepped out of to a problem. So, I apologize. >> Uh in your absence, we were just saying that on April 16th, we had one of the most impactful and meaningful drills. It
took uh weeks and weeks to plan and that the sheriff and the state police and local law enforcement laed us every single time uh sincerely and unsolicited for being um second to none in the safety that we provide. So, thank you. >> Thank you.
>> Thank you. >> Thank you, Mr. Anderson, for reminding us. Uh if there are no other uh >> I'd like to make a comment. Um, as I now approach um, six years of my oldest out of high school and three of my youngest out of high school, um, I'm very proud
to sit on this board because I see how my children were prepared for the adventure of college and how they have succeeded through the adventure of college. And that truly could not have happened without the fantastic educators
that we have in this um high school in the ascending districts um because I am amazed at what they are achieving. I'm going to cry and that was because you were part of my village. So I thank you.
>> Thank you. With that, may I have a motion to adjourn? So moved. >> Second. >> All in favor? >> Any opposed?