So, if I'm gonna play, I've got to play on your team. Another kid. All right, we're ready. Okay. Uh, I'd like to call to order the Highland Park Board of Education hybrid special voting workshop meeting uh for
today, Thursday, July 10th, 2025. Um, the New Jersey Open Public Meetings Act was enacted to ensure the right of the public to have advanced notice of and to attend the meetings of the public bodies at which any business affecting their interest is discussed or acted
upon in compliance with the Open Public Meetings Act, the Highland Park Board of Education has caused notice of this meeting, setting forth the time, date, and location to be submitted for publication to the Home News Tribune and Courier News and posted on the board's website at least 48 hours in advance of
this meeting. Members of the public who wish to address the board will be given the opportunity to do so before the board adjourns for the evening. Um, can we do a roll call? Dr. Batty here. Miss Cassell Dunn here.
Dr. Coleman. Dr. Pixley here. Miss Puce. Dr. Schoolman here. Miss Stano here. Miss Bardman here. Miss Vorhees.
Uh Sarah just got here. Um Denise, she said here. Oh, she did. Great. Okay. I didn't hear it. Thank you. Sorry. Okay. Uh now let us stand for the pledge of allegiance. 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, liberty and justice for all. Okay. As this is a um special hybrid voting and workshop meeting, uh we only
have one agenda item uh that will be voted on today. Uh first we're going to do a board discussion um of that agenda item which is the approval of before and afterare program provider. Um and then we will do public
comment where everyone will have the opportunity to speak. Uh we'll do people who are in the room first and then people who are here online. Um and then after that is the board action items. Um, so I would just like to take a
moment to uh go over why we're having this meeting today and how we got here. Um, it came so it came to our attention in it came to the board's attention in
April of this year that our current before and afterare program was in severe financial distress. In order to deal with that, um, we went to our financial auditors
and received a recommendation from the auditors that we should outsource the program. Um, it is very important when you're dealing with these kind of financial issues for auditors. um this could impact our uh financial future
moving forward, how we're going to be able to bond or do a referendum or any of the things that we might need to be able to do in the future uh in order to support the infrastructure of our schools
in May. So, this came to our attention. We reported at it um reported it in the April meeting. In May, we voted on a uh RFP to enact an RFP. That's a request for
proposals. Um we did this, right? We voted to approve the competitive contracting model for the RFP, which allows us to award a contract based on price and other factors. Um and that's important. That's
different than the way the RFP process was done two years ago um which was a lowest bid model. This one allowed us to take into consideration of the uh programs not just financial
considerations but also programming um and staffing management management. Uh so once we voted on that we then formed a committee that involved administration, board members and uh a
parent involved in the afterchool program to review the five different proposals uh that we received for our afterchool program. Uh
the result of that committee uh was that champions uh came in first. Um and therefore through that process that means that if we are going to award a contract, we must award it to
champions. It's a legal process doing an RFP. And there's really important reasons why RFPs are done that way. Um because if you didn't have a legal process like that and because we are a public entity,
uh you could this is in order to protect against corruption so that we aren't awarding a contract to Dan's brother. um that public funds go where
to the best applicant not for any other um for any other reason. So to that end um I would like to invite the champions providers to um tell us a
bit about their program. Yep. Oh yeah. Sorry, the mic. I had it ready. All right, can you hear me? I I just put together some visuals. Um I have a team with me today. I'm Brian Greser. I am a partnership manager uh
for Champions. Our parent company is Kinderare Learning. Um and I'll go through a little bit about what this is. Uh but I'll let Storm introduce himself. Hi families. Um my name is Storm Matias, area manager. I oversee a couple of schools in New Jersey and New York and
the New York City Mets daycare. Hi everyone, my name is Lindseay Capitasso, also Champions area manager here in New Jersey and also overseeing New York programs. And I want to start off by thanking uh Highland Park, the board, uh everybody
in the community, the parents, uh everybody watching. Uh we're we're very excited to to move forward and to work with you guys. Uh and uh as a company uh we have a family of of brands. Am I goofing that up? Sorry. Um
so Kinderare, you might have heard of Kinderare or seen Kinderare centers throughout the country. Um we have uh over 200,000 children that we're serving throughout the country. Uh and then there's a Champions brand which is the school brand. This is what we uh provide
and bring to the school districts. Uh and then we also have uh what's called creme de la creme. These are uh higherend learning centers throughout the country. I know there's one in Flemington. I drive by it all the time when I'm out on the road. So um and as a company, we also have some other uh
products and things. We do before care programming. We do summer summer camps if that's something in the future uh for for the district. We also provide those. We have backup care. Um we have a a work program too. So we go out to companies like Purdue, Dell, things like that and
they work along with us and we provide care for the companies. And then we also have game day. Um I see a Mets hat here. We provide the care for the Mets uh children. So when the Mets are playing games, the children of the players uh come to us. We provide care. I think Storm is the person who runs that. Uh
and then Lindsay, I think you do the Giants and Jets. Uh so we have uh other other organizations we work with as well. So, we have in the last year we're celebrating over a thousand school districts throughout the country uh that
we're working with. Um uh we're very excited about that. I heard we're up to uh 1,200 uh in going into this year. So, I know we're we're moving uh in the right direction. Uh and then uh if you're uh haven't heard of us, we are
throughout New Jersey. We do have a lot of sites here in Jersey. And what also sticks out to me is some of these sites have been with us for 20 30 years uh throughout New Jersey. So we've uh we've been a a fixture within the communities uh that you guys live in. Uh
and we want to be champions of your school. This is a true partnership. Uh even though you'll be working with champions, it's still the program of the school district. Uh we partner uh at every aspect of it. We will work along with you. We work along with the the community. So you provide the space, we
do take the lead, we go through all the licensing, we um do the uh scheduling, we do uh basically pretty much everything. So turnkey means turnkey. We go through and uh help you along the process. Uh we also help the
community uh when it comes to tuitions and salaries. So we do provide subsidy. Uh we do um uh work with you to get parents who need some assistance um to get their care provided for. Uh and
we provide every school that's going to be working with us $26,000 worth of materials uh along uh with um uh with the program. So that comes in a cart. We bring it to you in a way glove delivery uh and we put all the material together.
It's on wheels. So, if we have to move around, uh, we do move around as a program. So, um, we're all set on that. So, as I said, this is a partnership. Even though we do have a program, we have a curriculum that's accredited, that's nationally accredited, we do work
along with you to customize the program to fit your needs because even within one district, there might be two schools that have different needs. So, we we work along with you uh throughout the process. Uh and then another thing that's important is we're going to recruit from
within the community. We're going to hire people from within this within this community. So, uh we have a whole department uh that does that. We have uh people that we're going to be looking uh for to fill some of the positions of site director and things like that. Uh
we take and develop and train those people and we want them to stay with us for a long time. We don't want a lot of turnover. So, and then I'm going to turn over to Lindsay. We talk a little bit about we're we're champions of your students and and what a day might look like for
before and after care. I'm happy to jump in and Storm, if you want to hop in at any point, you're more than welcome to. This is giving an example of what before and after care looks like. So, just to share out for the people that are in the back, um for before school, we are here um at 7:00
a.m. and we do um a scheduled activities. So, we have curriculum that is two week long themed units um that we go by. So, we do themed activities, projects, crafts relating to that. Um and then we have interest areas. So, like Brian shared about our carts, we
have all these different materials that we bring in. So there are a ton of things that your children can do and they can choose from um regarding STEM, science, math and construction, puzzles and games. Um we do homework help for our older children that do need assistance. Um and also they have option
for free play. So that is something that we know some children are not the same and right some want to do homework or those crafts or others would just like to read a book in the quiet area and they're more than welcome to do so and we'll support them in that. And then after school um at when the school bell rings um the children will be brought
down to us on site. Um and then we will mirror kind of what we did in the morning but doing a themed unit activity, a group circle time, homework help and we do clubs. So different things that the kids are interested in and we do that throughout the week. Um and it could be a singing club, a chess
club, um dance club. We had different things that the kids again vote on and our teachers will provide the materials and different um activities for them to do weekly. Um and also outdoor and gross motor. That's something that's very important to us. Making sure that we're doing that every single day, weather
permitting, of course, of being inside and figuring out we have a ton of different things that we can do. Um and again with the curriculum we also have um one of my favorite books the purple book for all the outdoor activities that you guys um our teachers can have and different themed activities whether if
it we are inside say it's something that we weren't able to get outside for the playground they give us about 500 different ideas of what we can do inside to do a gross motor activity. Um and something that I'm just really proud of is just being again a true partner within the district. So, making sure we're extending the school day. That is
something that I'm very passionate about, and I know Mr. Storm is as well. We are constantly in communication with the district, with the school teachers, and making sure we're doing everything that we can for the kids that come to our program. So, we are the start of their day and the end of their day. So, making sure that we're doing everything we can to be in partnership with not
only the families, but the school to make sure that they have the best experience. I'll hand it over to Storm. So, we talk about the champions and our families and our commitment to the parents. I will share this with you all. I love the ideology of this is a one-sizefits one approach, not a
one-sizefits-all. What I mean by that is we have kiddos that are going to come in and they really want to be that artist or that architect or they may want to get into STEM, right? And it's we we tailor it to that. Um, and then as Lindsay had shared, just helping out the parents. I'm a parent of of three. I
have two kids in college and I have a 12-year-old. They'll be 13 on Sunday. So, we we get it. We're all parents. We want the best for our kiddos. Um I've been in this journey for a long time. Families love what I do. I do what I love and we're looking for that passionate teacher. And I just want to mention we are
accredited. I proudly wear this shirt because we are an accredited program. It takes a long time to get accredited. I'll pass it over to Liz. Sure. For health and safety. So, just going into again following all protocols. We are New Jersey state licensed, so we follow every um protocol
that we should be for within a child care setting. Um, of course, making sure that we're in ratio. So, that means to have enough teachers to staff and abiding by that. Um, making sure all of our doors obviously are locked. We're IDing every single family that walks in to our buildings. Making sure we are
only releasing children to um the families that you put on your family account. So, there is just on another side for families. When you enroll, everything is done online on discoverchions.com and you will fill out who we can be releasing your child to. So, it couldn't just be anybody. We physically will only
allow the people that are on that list to be um dismissed too. So, making sure you're following that. We are first aid, CPR certified, AED certified. Um we follow all precautions regarding any allergies um or any need that we we should be aware of within our program.
That is also filled out online. Um, so we're making sure that we have that prior and we share this information with the school, with our parents, um, I'm sorry, with the staffing and making sure that we are trained for every child that walks into our program. Yep. And just to share, so everything is
done on our online portals, which is really wonderful. So that is where you can go on, you can change your schedules, and something that's really great um, that I always love to talk about is you can change your schedule weekly. So you're only build for the days that you need us. So you can go in, say you only need us for three days
throughout the whole year. You can only get charged for the three days that you need us. It is not a set fee. You can go on and schedule for the full school year or you can go on and schedule week by week. That is up to you. And we do just ask that you choose your schedule by Wednesday night so we can make sure the next week we are staffed appropriately
and have all materials that we need on site for your child. So in the RFP uh for the community and the parents um based upon one day, two days, 3 days, 4 days, 5 days, whatever uh you have your child in um that uh we would
negotiated through the the process that um went through that. So um and again this can all be done online and then um there are discounts um for district employees uh multiple families military
free and reduced lunch and then multiple programs as well. So so we're just excited to be here and excited to be talking to you guys and being a part of the community. Thank you. All right. So, at this point,
um, what we'll do is if you could just hold on to the microphone. You all can have a seat, but my recommendation just hold on to the microphone just in case somebody has a question and we need clarification, maybe we'll do it that way. So, we'll open it up to board members if you have specific questions or comments. Uh, we'll open to
discussion. Good. Um yeah, I thought also um this might be a good time for uh Nikki and Sarah who were part of the
committee um who uh chose champions to talk a little bit about that process and how they came to that decision. Sure. Nikki, would you like to go first or should I do the voice? Okay, great. Okay. So, I did have to write it down so I remember everything. Um, but I just
want to acknowledge that I was actually not initially in favor of outsourcing before and afterare. Um, generally I'm cautious about privatization, outsourcing. I'm usually 100% against it. I had a lot of reservations to start. However, over the past two years, it's become clear to me that despite our
best efforts, the in-house model has not been sustainable or effective in meeting the needs of our community. So given those circumstances um I now believe that outsourcing uh presents a practical and reli reliable solution to ensure high quality affordable care for all families. Um
that's said I always want to emphasize this is not necessarily like permanent if we if the year goes by and we find it doesn't work for us we can we can adjust accordingly. Um so because of my initial reservations that's why I chose to be on the committee so I could better understand the options and be a part of
the decision-m process. Um so I got some valuable insight. Um but there are four main concerns that I have for before and afterare programs and that's accessibility afford and affordability especially for families that are experiencing economic hardship. Uh
number two is inclusion particularly for students with special needs IEPs 405 504s sorry um etc. um even children with like who need epipens, insulin um and the staff training is another thing that is important to me to ensure quality
care and preparedness. Um so as far as the affordability and accessibility, um let's see what I have here. So, the program is just a little bit higher than what we would were charging before, but
it's structured more like an enrichment program rather than like a a daycare, babysitting type of program. Um, they offer a combined discount for families. Um, which is, I think, more fair than only discounting the second child, as some other places have done. Um, and
they also accept the state subsidies. and they even have a specialist that that actually specializes in helping families navigate the process, which is not always easy. Um, and importantly, students can start attending before the subsidy is fully processed. Um, I also like that they have the financial
assistance and scholarships for families who don't qualify for subsidies or need help covering the costs. Um, as far as inclusion and supports for special needs, um, that's another thing that I really care about. um they have experience working with children with IEPs, 504s um and they even mentioned
that they have experience with those who alope. So, we do a few of those children. Um, and it seems that they are a dedic they have a dedicated inclusion team, which is something I haven't really seen in in a lot of other programs. And for health and safety,
another thing that's top of the list. Um, another thing that I did like was that they do require everybody, all their staff to be trained in CPR, AED, first aid, but also EpiPens and insulin, which are emergency situations. And if the
children don't have access to that right away or somebody who knows how to do it, it can be a very dire situation. Um, and they had a comprehensive emergency response plan which, you know, gave me peace of mind. Um, just a few more things. So, the other thing I went over
was a staff and training and quality. Um, there's ongoing staff training and safety, education, child care, not just the one-time onboarding. Um they have a strong employee retention rate which I saw as a as you know a sign of a stable
and committed team. Um they don't rely on screens um which was a which was a big big deal. Um unless it's Chromebooks for homework. Um and they do have homework support built into the program. Um and then they also offered um early
dismissal care to help working families. They have dropins if you have an emergency situation. um they agreed to continue the middle school after after school program on site. So that was another important thing for us. Um and they seemed to be
efficient and or and organized and licensing and have a solid transition plan to be ready by September. Uh and I really appreciated their approach to communication with regular newsletters, family events, reports, updates, photos shared with families who give permission. uh and the transparency I
think helps build connection and trust and I could see that the director took her job seriously and invol deeply involved in the program and they also expressed a strong desire to become part of our school community like joining the ptl or attending board meetings and
being visible and active in our school. So those were all the I took extensive notes. So all the those all the things that stood out to me that I found to be very important. Awesome. Great. Should I Should I Is that Is now
the time for the voice from the sky? Go for it. Voice from the sky. Sarah Pixley. Um, yeah. Thanks for for giving us the opportunity to just, you know, the process I found and especially the in inclusion of a parent who would be utilizing the services. A really good
one given that we had a short amount of time. um given kind of the the urgency of this situation and just a kind of a reminder to folks when I think as a parent a couple years ago um you know not being able to certify say whether there was CPR trained person in the room and these are the kind of things we're
really looking forward to as we took it in house over the past year um and learned that you know there's a reason why of the 546 districts very very few actually do this in house u we can't carry that negative balance and um you
know so far when we think about what our what you know what our options are um really excited actually about the ones who are expert in this who are a business you know we we are not we're in a different business um not one that um you know can can carry kind of a negative balance like that so it was
really important um to to balance uh you know what our choices are versus you know the again the immediate the immediate um need to to actually find a company that we felt um could could do us and and do it with confidence with a
great programming um that that we heard about. So, just kind of an overview of of of going into the room and going through the RFPs and really thinking about the parents and what they've been telling us over the past year. Things like programming, things like affordability, things like no screens,
um safety, being able to guarantee um the certifications and training, those are all very top of mind. Similar to Nikki, I think we had the same kind of guiding principles. Um couple of things I'll just say I want to reiterate. uh that just actually make me very excited
about being able to have folks have access to this kind of service uh that just didn't exist before. So, you know, the the experienced area coordinator that's very hands-on um just the one to note in our particular region has one of
the higher highest retention rates um for the um for the staff across the country. So I think that's very notable um to tell you a little bit about about particularly our local region and what that would be like. uh the development appropriate curriculum that is
evidence-based um you know I think is is an important piece and you know I can't understate that you know the inclusion team um things like subsidy support things like offering uh assistance for those um while they're in the sub these
are all things that this is why it's really hard for us to do right we don't we don't have a whole inclusion team that could support this we don't have a licensing team that would support um getting this up and running. They've been doing this for for years, as they pointed out, some 20 to 30 years within
within the state of New Jersey. So, they they can really help us navigate this to get a program up and running um that that meets all of our standards. And and it's not just in in my in my eyes, I didn't walk away from the process saying, "Oh, this is the this is kind of I really walked away saying this is
sorry, hold on. I've got children back." Um saying, "This is the the best situation for us." You know, I'm actually again really excited. I think the other things too when you think about um what stood out was um you know when we have half day school uh you can actually have extended and and during
break periods you can get care um and the flexibility uh having 24 hours I I believe correct me if I'm wrong where um you could drop in the next day just have to give notice because they take their their ratios very seriously so they and they're able to kind of staff that given
the demand uh and being able to do it on a week-by-eek basis is is really an asset um to families and I think those who need the flexibility and need the support the communication plans I was really imp impressed by the newsletters um and you know it was kind of an
interesting when we asked the question of well what if like you know for me as as someone who thinks about like how are you sticking to the program it's like what h how do you make sure we're sticking to the program and it wasn't even a question really which is like that's just you know the expectation is there's communication with the parents
they've got the methods and the modes already in place um to make sure that that that's happening happen happening continuously which I think is really important the activities that they're doing you've got transparency into it and um you know you're getting continuous newsletters to confirm and kind of get excited and journey through
this with the kids. So, um I'm wondering if there let me see my notes if there's any other uh yeah, you know, all of those things just just make me really excited about the fact where we're landing today. Um and the ability to offer this as a service to more u more families. And I I would expect something
like this because it does offer more flexibility and uh and and tighter programming quite frankly. Um I'd imagine, you know, we we'll be able to see this expand potentially. So, it'll be something to um to watch. And also, as Nikki said, you know, we we've we can
evaluate this. They've got um polling for how how it's going that feeds back and and we'll have access to that information so we can kind of um you know, evaluate as as we go through the first year. Um the other thing, you know, I think just to note is where
where others didn't quite meet the bar, it really were the things that we heard from the parents, which is, you know, we don't want students just uh you know, sitting in front of a screen. That was that was a big no no. Um and you know really importantly we need to guarantee
um you know the safety uh of the children and just the robust training and certification. It wasn't just about making sure that you know medication could be delivered when we needed it. It was also it's a to me it represents a commitment to the staff. Uh the training
helps you not just in your current role but also helps you in your future career as well because you've got the certification that you can take with you where you go. So those are the those are the many things I think that um you know I would I would share and um you know
happy to to discuss more but um yeah that that was my that's my piece. Hopefully it's helpful. Thank you Sarah and thank you Nikki. I just want to add for uh for context. So um to explain the process so like Ann said we received five uh proposals. The
committee received those proposals um in advance of a meeting. We had two meetings but our first meeting during that meeting we review all those proposals and then we score them. Um we have conversations and there were some things that you know maybe we just
needed clarification or had questions on. So we kind of noted those things in some comment areas on the score sheet. Then what we did was we uh gave them to the business administrator and she tallied up our scores and then uh the top two proposals uh we invited them
back for a second meeting. During that second meeting we were able to ask some clarifying questions because sometimes a proposal in a paper doesn't give you everything. So, uh, we were able to ask some clarifying questions and just kind of dig a little bit deeper and really obviously to meet the people that are
going to be, you know, running our program and and and staffing our program. Um, and making sure that they're a really good fit for our community. Um, and again, like I said, the clarifying questions. So, that was two companies. And then afterward, I
think, um, as you heard from both Nikki and Sarah, we were blown away by uh, by champions after that process. Then um we uh uh shortly after we did our due diligence as well and contacted some local school districts just to get some feedback as well. Um so I contacted a
couple of superintendents and I know Denise contacted a couple business administrators and we got really glowing uh glowing raving feedback um for actually for districts like South Brunswick that was in a very similar position as ours where due to financial concerns they could not maintain their
program in house as well. um and um did the same process and Champions was successful and uh they had only glowing things to say um about everything soup to nuts. Um and they said that they uh their staff are paid very well um and
actually beyond what they could uh pay them just because uh they said access to to to more resources. In fact, one of the things that blew me out of the water was when we talked about the middle school program and potentially the numbers not being high enough to potentially make it profitable. they
didn't care about that, that if it was what the community wanted, they would do it and they would take a loss because it was something that was important to us and that's something that we can't sustain. Um, but that they could and that was something that was uh really important. So, I wanted to highlight
that as well as as part of the process. Um, oh, Ethan, uh, sure. Um, I'm sorry, were you going to say something or uh, Dr. I um uh do some remarks. So, you know,
I'm always grateful for the work that our my fellow board members put in, especially this case. You know, Nikki and Sarah and I think Allison as well were on the committee and have clearly just taken it so seriously and I'm very grateful for that. Um so, this is a really important vote. Uh so, I just
wanted to take a second and explain how I've been thinking about things. Um, you know, first I want to acknowledge there are many people in our community who feel very strongly that working with an outside organization to run after care, especially the organization we're work looking at tonight, would be a mistake.
Um, Highland Park, it's a small town. We have about 15,000 people in the whole town, but we have our own public works. We have our own fire department. We have our own police. We have our own town government. We have our own school district. And our school district has traditionally run its own afterare
program. And that's the way we like things in Highland Park. It's what we're used to. Um we like to have our hands in stuff. We like to have control over what affects our lives. It's one of the reasons why we stay here. And tonight there are many parents who are going to speak because they love the way afterare
has been run at least much of the time. And there are also many staff who have relationships with these families that run back many years. So, everyone in that position really, really wants things to stay the way they have always been. A lot of me wants that, too.
Um, but I want to say with all the sympathy I can express that as Sarah and Nikki and Dr. Susca have have meant have talked have noted, the status quo is just impossible to maintain. We are a small town. We're a small district. We just don't have the resources in funding
or staff time to continue to run our own program. If we tried, we would inevitably deepen the deficit we're already in. That would have drastic knock-on effects on other core programs and services. We cannot let that happen. We have to find a way to make our
afterare financially sustainable. So, the proposal before us tonight would do that. But one argument we're going to hear a lot of tonight I think is quite possible that the champions program which is division of a very large company Kinderare would do a bad job running afterare and might even our
exposure our children to unacceptable risks. This is a serious um concern uh but I do not believe this is the case. The board administration put this contract out for bid as Dr. Suski has mentioned we received five proposals of these five champions was the best. Uh
the written proposal which I've looked at and answers to our questions which I've seen as well describe a program that aligns beautifully with our district's priorities in social emotional learning, academic enrichment and diversity and inclusion. The committee reviewing the proposal spoke
at length with the regional area managers who will be standing up the program in Highland Park and found them, as I did just now, to be deeply impressive, confidence inspiring people. Crucially for the relationships that mean so much to Highland Park parents and staff, champions will prioritize,
and we have this in writing, hiring existing staff and will ensure that they receive up-to-date training and can perform tasks to assist students with special health needs. Champions has a long track record of serving schools in New Jersey. Uh according to the perspectus they run
programs in 77 schools in 19 districts. That is a lot and discussions with parents and staff in these districts we have heard many good things. Now no organization is perfect and Kinderare is a big one and among the over 2700 programs that Kinderare runs nationwide
there have been some distressing and in some cases disturbing incidents. There have even been some substantiated incidents of neglect and violations of procedure at kinder care programs in New Jersey. I want to be clear and I know everyone else feels this way. Shortcomings of this kind will not be
tolerated in Highland Park. I believe Champions has the potential to be an outstanding provider and the risk of serious problems is low. But implementation is everything. For this reason, I think it is critical that if Champions receives this contract, the administration should commit to having
management staff come before BOE committees and the full board regularly to report on progress and so that we can raise questions and concerns. This is how it was done when we were running it in-house. It's how it should be done now that we're outsourcing. I have conveyed
this conviction to the board chair and I have confidence that board oversight of the privatelyun AFC program will be robust. We will not be handing over the keys and wiping our hands. We will do our job and we will make absolutely sure the champions does theirs. The contract
we're voting on tonight is a one-year contract with an option for the district to renew. And when and if we renew it, it can be for any period of time between one and four years. If champions does not live up to our high expectations, we will not hesitate to look elsewhere.
I want to end by saying again that I know this is a hard issue for many people. I respect there are different points of view. People feel strongly and it's reasonable to have these different points of view. I believe that approving champions to be our provider is the best course of action and I hope the
champions will make the most of this opportunity to earn the confidence of the community in the coming years. Thank you. Should I go? Go for it. All right. Um
I um I want I want to start by thanking the committee for for doing uh an enormous amount of work in a short amount of time and thank the administrators too for for everything they've done in processing this. um
be because the financial losses were caught late. This has actually put us in a really tight timeline. Um I know there have been requests for delaying the vote. Um delaying the vote would basically mean we can't have an afterchool program ready for the fall.
So I think that's uh at least this one, right? So, if we push this off a month, they have to go through licensing, hiring people, training, all these kind of things. Um, so I think that that's important to know. Um, and we would
still be voting on whether or not we would approve champions since they won the RFP process. So, um, all that's to say is we're in a we are in a tight window. We have not for board members who are not on the committee, we've had
very little time to read this, but we've been, I think, very engaged um in reviewing this um since we did get the information. Um but that is not due to the committee uh or the RFP process. Uh
I will say I think the RFP process was much better than it was uh when we went through this uh previously. uh there was requirement around finances and how that was going to be specified. There was first right of refusal for staff. Um
those were critical things for the board. Um and and those are those are part of the proposal. Um having said that I I think um this is the program we have heard the
most complaints about on the board. uh over the last year um I mean compared to school start time everything we hear we've heard about after school program with complaints about the in districtr run program more than anything um that
sometimes about communication with parents uh that has uh there have been not necessarily complaints from parents but there has been issues clearly with finances and and how we're financing it. there have been major questions about programming
um or lack thereof and so I don't want to kind of glorify uh necessarily um uh and that's also not to say that uh we actually have some outstanding staff in the program um who I think build really
strong relationships with kids um and so but I don't want to idealize kind of what we have as we also look at another option Um, as I say that I have some major concerns. Um, one of them which Dr. Cesca just spoke
to is uh around labor issues. Uh, as someone who's a building rep in my own union, um, there have been issues of wage staff with Kinder Care, pay issues. Typically carrying industries pay very
low. Um, and when those are in more corporate environments, they tend to be lower than in public schools. Um, so I have some major concerns based on the history of Kinder Care uh around some of the labor things. I think uh
this would be a partnership with a um while we would have a more local manager, this is really a partnership with a large corporation and privatizing after school program. um there there are options for outsourcing it although the proposal we got um didn't have a
nonprofit uh option and so forth. Um so given the RFP and who applied it it was a a question of whether or not we're privatizing. Um, I will say that I've looked across all
the programs that applied and and put a proposal in and generally across them there are rated pretty low by their workers. Um, and that's a concern. Um, and there's all sorts of concerns from workers around working conditions, pay,
so forth. Um, none of them are much better or worse than each other. Um, but it's it's a it's a concern of mine uh for how the position we're putting staff in e even as staff has a first right of
refusal. Um question is what are they refusing? What level of pay are they refusing? What quality of work are they refusing if if they do or or opting into um as they make that choice? Um
yeah. Um, so I I have some major concerns and that's in addition to um some of the concerns that uh Ethan mentioned about some of the uh cases both in New Jersey and nationwide about treatment of children. Um, and so I I
will say I think this is probably the hardest vote um uh I've had on the board. Um, and I think there's a lot of different facets to weigh. Um, I don't think it's an easy decision either way. There are a lot of complaints about our
in-house um, current program. I think there are certainly some issues with, you know, whether or not we we um, go with Champions or not. I think the piece that I think if we do approve um this
proposal, I think the major issue for me is what Ethan mentioned, which is how are we going to assess and evaluate this given this is a year contract. Uh, and how do we do that in a timely timeline that allows for staff feedback, uh,
parent feedback, child feedback? Um, so that we make this decision if if we have to make this decision again, we have time where we feel like the public had time to review this, um, had time to process it. Um,
because, uh, at this point, given our current timeline, that was really a matter of days. Um, and so I think if this proposal does get approved, I think that will be a critical issue given the one-year contract and making sure that
if if this happens that parents, children, and staff um are actually um feel like it's successful, it's meeting our needs. If it's not, do we adjust? Do we look for another vendor? Um so yeah, so I think it's a really
complex issue. I know we've gotten a lot of emails and heard a lot um from the public uh because this is something that they're very concerned about uh something I'm very concerned about. Um, and I think I think it's uh there's a lot of different issues at play and I
think because the timeline that has also uh made people not have enough time to really process and and review this but also not be able to ask questions, get answers uh in um what feels like a
pretty pressurized and and short window. So I will end with that. Um I uh I have a few questions. Um so this is a question for the champions team. Um
I know that you said that you would work um you know that you have someone to work on subsidies and are working to get families enrolled in the subsidy program. Part of the problem that we encountered running our own in-house licensed
uh afterchool program was that not a huge number of our families qualified for the uh not a huge number of our free and reduced lunch families uh who qualified for a lower rate under our previous program. Uh they didn't qualify
for the subsidy and there were a lot of different reasons for that. um you know some of our families are undocumented, some of our families um don't work during the time period where afterare was open. Um do you have any
what what can you guys do in order to help families who are economically challenged but who may not um qualify for the state subsidy? Sure, I'm happy to help. Um, an answer. I also
oversee different districts um where I'm mainly subsidized. A lot of my families, I would say 80% of my families receive um some sort of assistance, whether it's free and reduced um or subsidy. So, working with those families, we do have a specialist that works directly with us
that lives here in New Jersey. So um not even just our whole billing team that we have across the country. We have a specialist here that works on just the applications in New Jersey and physically goes to all the agencies to support and we do um work very closely with them and I did share in the
proposal um we s we also supply um computers so they can come to us we can help them physically do the applications um print out whatever it may be make copies for the families of whatever they need to submit and support them. And then when it comes to if they don't qualify, that is something that we can
chat with our team about. Um whether some families I'm we're in the same boat that they don't qualify, but then they have the free and reduced whether whatever that is within the contract. It is different district by district. It could be a higher percentage of say a 40% discount or a 30% discount. So that
is something that we can work with um to make sure those numbers are correct. And again the scholarships um whatever it may be that is something that we can work directly with the family to make sure because that is a goal for us is making sure that every child has a seat at the table in champions.
Yeah. I just want to share for families out there as well. We also have a care select program that we work with hundreds of organizations. So you can maybe work at McDonald's or work at a hospital and we partner with that hospital or that location and we give
you a discount because you're in partnership with that that organization as well. Alison Oh, Alison, go ahead. Okay. Hi everyone. I'm sorry I'm not um able to turn my video on, but can you hear me? Okay. Yes.
Okay. Um I had just wanted to add on to um you know the the comments before. I share all the same concerns that Ethan and Dan shared. Um and I also share a lot of the the positive perceptions that we got from the program that sh Sarah and Nikki shared because I was able to
be on that committee. Um, I want to give some background in terms of my thinking, which was I was not on board with outsourcing in 2023. And I don't think a lot of people know that because I wasn't really um at the board meetings during that time because my father had passed
away. So I, you know, for me building a local program was really important and I was really proud that we were able to do that. Um, and so it was very hard for me to hear that we were not going to be
able to sustain this. Um, so I went into our evaluation knowing that, you know, I was disappointed with not being able to keep things as they are. Um, even though I knew there was room for improvement,
but I was so excited to find a proposal that I felt met the needs of our families. And so, you know, I'm not going to reiterate what Sarah and Nikki said. Um, but I did want to share that I was, you know, it was a a bit of a turn for me as well. Um, and I'm really
excited about the programming that they're going to be able to offer. Thank you. And then and did you have a couple other questions or uh yeah but I um so around um
around the issue of safety, you know, we we did receive some troubling concerns around kinder care and um I know that the administration when doing due diligence um you know also looks into the license of champions
And just I want to ask, did you pull DCF reports for champions license? Yeah, there's a lot on there. So, I didn't get to all of them. I will be honest. Uh, but if you go to the DCF website and look and you click through all of them. So, all of the schools, by the way, that they said they have partnerships with were all on there. Um,
but it's by school. So, each license is by school. So, you can't do it by district. That's why there's a lot of them. And apparently some of your larger schools have uh districts have multiple schools. Um, but what I found overall was that there are no DCF complaints. The very few that I found that are on there um was one that said a staff
yelled at a child um but that that was rectified and another one was that um uh I believe at the Chesterfield location to make sure that um it's multiple people were I guess something about some staff trained for first aid and CPR but then that was rectified very quickly
after and it makes a note of that. So that was really what I could find and I'm not sure if you've been to our program at all but sometimes our staff yells at our children as well. So, I took that one with a a grain of salt, but um I will say we brought that up as a concern in the committee um in the interview process and they talked a lot
about a very um responsive approach um that was um restorative in language and very um uh very nurtured heart, very um restorative in in how they approach and uh and talk to kids, how they train
their staff uh to do it. So, I can't reiterate that enough about the um rigorous training that that staff would have to go through. So, um I felt confident in looking at it that the uh very few complaints that were on there um were rectified really quickly according to the notes on there, which
was awesome. So, if there are issues, it seems like Champions is very responsive to rectify them right away. Um and that they it didn't seem um troubling like the stuff that came out of some of the research on the larger parent company of Kinderare.
Um and then I did have another question because there we are on this uh crunch timeline and this really is due to the fact that we discovered
the financial situation in April. Um and so I did want to ask um Dr. Cisco, could you reiterate what it means when the auditor gives a recommendation
and what ignoring that um recommendation could mean? Sure. So, if an auditor um so first of all, an enterprise fund um so a childare program is not a requirement by the state of New Jersey. It's an optional and by the way, an amazing uh program
that we should offer our families. Um, so it has to be fully self- sustaining. So that means it has to be a business model, meaning it cannot go in the negative. It has to be self- sustaining and profitable. Um, either one of those two things. Um, and what we found was um
the fact that it wasn't was was alarming. So we contacted the auditors right away because if it's not, we asked, well, what can we do? Um, because we weren't getting that windfall. We were honestly we were relying on the subsidy because um you know about 60
plus% of our families that u participate in our program are on qualify for us for free and reduced lunch um by by state standards. So um we were expecting a large percentage of our families to qualify for that subsidy. Um and for a myriad of reasons they weren't. So we
weren't getting that windfall that we were expecting. But we are licensed for the subsidy. So, um, they're nodding their heads that, you know, the money that you have to put out is not the money we were getting back. So, um, when we contacted the auditors to say, "What do we do?" Because we're in this pickle,
um, we're able to use any of the revenue that we had generated to offset that cost, but it wasn't enough because it was pretty dire. So, we're going to have to, uh, finagle and wiggle things around to come up with the money out of our operating budget to sustain that cost. That will come with an audit
recommendation if we don't outsource it. the um like Ann said, the audit recommendation um negatively impacts the district and then what happens is is that you have to get out of that audit recommendation. So you have to work your tail off to show them not only are you out of it, but
that you have a model that can sustain being out of it for the long haul. So it's not just I increased rates um next year and now we're out of it. it it's way more than that and leading into a potential referendum in 2030 that for
lack of a better way of explaining it other than it will negatively impact like our credit rating. So we work with Phoenix financial adviserss. They are uh essentially a company that monitors our spending habits to make sure that we are in good financial shape. That way if we
need to borrow money or we need to bond or we have an issue and we have to go to the state, it's showing we are a financially sound feasible institution and we need this money. So I'm sure that uh for everybody that's been paying attention over the the number of years,
it's also a strategic plan goal. Our facilities have been in dire need of of support. We're spending uh well over $2 million on a an unforeseen repair at Bartle because our um facilities have have been neglected over the years. So, what I don't want to do is put the district um under my leadership in a
situation where we won't be able to bond in a couple of years to fix some really dire issues that if we don't get fixed could be really problematic in the future. So, a lot of what we do in in these positions is not only think about our current needs, but I have to project
and think for our future needs. So, um I was also skeptical because I wanted to make sure that we found a program that would would fit the needs of of our district and something that I could put my name behind as as the superintendent of schools. And I'm confident uh with our process, with our decision-m,
but that we're also setting the district up for financial success. Um, with outsourcing as well, we won't get that recommendation and that can keep us in financial good standing heading into the next couple of years where we're going to be looking at uh a a bond in the
future for a referendum. Um, yeah, I think Sarah from the sky. Yeah, Sarah from the sky speaking again. I think what's also helpful to um you know I think something that that you
know Dan really spoke nicely too about you know being under the time pressure so there's a lot of things we just have to navigate and and one of the pushes to kind of delay the vote that the reality is that would mean um you know not having an after you know before and
afterare program for the start of the school year but I also at least for you know given the financial um you know issues and and the auditor suggestions and also you know back to the old model and not having the the safety and and other kind of things in
place. I mean the only way you can really sustain a program like that is not it doesn't really meet the standards and so to to be clear at least for me in the way you know I think about this is it's not an option to to not outsource it. And so, um, you know, I just I think
that's an important, um, we we just don't have that. We we are not we are not a business that operates that like that. And and and again, I think just so many other districts have done has put in the good fight and try tried to do it, but it it it's just not really sustainable when you're an education in
institution and not a business, you know, not in the business of running, you know, a daycare center, so or childare center. So I think it's really important to just highlight that that the the the choice is to at least in my eyes is is you know well I think it's beyond just my eyes right the
recommendations and what puts us in um a really strong um position to support our families at you know across the district is is is outsourcing it and it's not really it is not an option to to keep it in house. So I think it's more of a timeline where um uh if there's more
questions and and so on to delay but again it would delay the the after the actual programming and um you know and again being part of the committee and and having the questions and the reservations and and going in with full confidence it's
whether we had you know to to just being I think being part of that process um you know was really helpful as Allison kind of laid out uh you know going in with some apprehension and then feeling good about the outcome. Um, I do have a question about our contract. So, it's a one-year renewable
contract for over five years. Is that correct? It's a one-year contract, renewable for four years. One year each each year we would have to renew it up to five years. Up to five. You know, up to five years. and then the terms would renegotiate
the same like our cafeteria contract with Pmptonian. Um and so one of my concerns about I mean just in general I have some grave concerns about outsourcing in general. Um, I also have concerns about
outsourcing to a, you know, private equityowned for-profit organization. Um, and that just went public um, in the fall. And one of the things that can happen when um, corporate structure like
that changes is there can be a move to uh, cut services and raise rates. Um we've seen this in many other uh areas in nursing homes and hospitals, dentist office um AC vets offices across
the board. Um what kind of protections do we have on our I understand we would have protections on um staffing because there are legal requirements on ratios for example. Correct. um the
same ratios that we had to follow when we were running our own program. Um what sort of protections do our families have on the rates? So, um the proposal requested the rates for all five years.
Um so, Kinderare provided those rates. Um and I think they're at a $2 increment per for each year. Um if you take an average year each year, it's about 3%. Uh their proposal also indicated um that
it could be negotiable. So um they shared a $50,000 minimum guarantee with a 14% um revenue share. Correct. Um however, if the district, we only expect $50,000.
That's what we budgeted for. So if next year if we only need revenue of 50,000, they in turn will take the additional projected revenue and keep costs down. So that's something that can be talked about with them as the contract goes forward. Um it's a discussion that we
could have at our monthly meetings. Uh looking at enrollment, looking at the revenue that's coming in. That's something that occurs typically in an outsourced contract. I um and I don't know if you wanted me to speak to that. I'm sorry. I um I I got that
approved for you guys. I thought it was important because I read that. So that's not a normal practice for us. So, we did uh have lower renewal rates for you guys. Of course, we know that we're being judged on our performance. I mean, we take pride in that. We talked about
this at the uh interview. Uh we we grade ourselves through a company called Gallup. So, Gallup's going to uh send a survey to your families on how we're doing, to your administration on how we're doing. We have to fill one out about ourselves and how we're doing and
how we're getting paid and things like that. We've had the highest ratings in the last six years on that Gallup from not just us, from external people. So, we take pride in that, but we also saw that that was important to you guys. We uh we know there are some companies that come in with low rates and then they
they hit you in the following year and we didn't want to do that to you. So, and I'm sorry, when does that um when would we get the feedback from that? Gallup. Yeah. Yeah. It's you know when it goes. Yeah. So I'm thank you for that chair.
Um so I'm glad someone had mentioned that. So every year in October we'll go out to the families. Um and we will get the results within the next uh it ends in November uh right before teacher conventions. Um so it's a crunch. We we want honest feedback. I want honest feedback. We want honest feedback. And
the three levels are the admin staff, our parents, and our staff. Like we're getting feedback from all three. It is an obligation for our site directors and as area managers to meet with every single principal and say this is transparency. This is what we're doing well. We're we're human. This is what
things that we need to do better on and how do we get there? So you don't have to wait a whole year to say is champions meeting their expectations. It's November where we get our information. Yeah. And then we also incentivize with that you uh the proposal asked for
$50,000 I think dollars per year for rent. So we put that potential of 14% based upon the number of students. So we're not just saying it's on you to get more students, it's on them to also. We want to get more parents involved. So there's an incentive on both sides for
us to do better and better because if we do better, you do better. And we want that. We want you guys to do better. So thank you. If I could just explain about the $50,000 because I I don't want there to be any misconceptions because it did come up with the parent on the
committee. Um so at for our auditors um we char we have historically charged a facility's rental fee to the program to the in-house program as well. Um uh per the auditor's request I need to have backup on how much is charged to the
program. So, there's an analysis of what classrooms are being used, what spaces are being used, their square footage, um the hours of use, and it's it's a a data-driven um amount, the cost of our utilities to
run those programs, um for those hours, the cost of uh the custodial to clean up after the program. Um so, it was adjusted, it's historically been $35,000 each year. Um, but the program has expanded to the middle school. It also
has expanded the number of classrooms because we have an increase in enrollment. Um, so that's where that $50,000 in our budget of projected revenue for facilities rental came in. Um, so G, uh, Champions is guaranteeing a minimum of 50,000
to cover those costs. Um, and I'd like to reiterate a lot of what we heard here, which was that, you know, we have worked really hard on our in-house program. Um, we did a lot of
change over the last two years uh to try to make it better. Um there we spent a lot of time on it and it is one area where we continuously heard a lot of parent complaints about
the program. Um however, one of the areas that we did not hear those complaints about um was the expansion to the middle school program. Um, and so I just want to to clarify in this program,
we would continue the middle school program at the middle school. Correct. Okay. Yeah. They don't have to walk anywhere. They don't have to go anywhere. Uh because actually in some of the proposals, some either people said we can't do it because it's not profitable for us. That was uh something we heard
from another company. Um and others were that they were going to walk the kids over and and things like that. So there we had several different options. So, we were very very pleased um that uh and grateful that Champions wanted to um keep it. Uh the feedback that we got
later on on the year when we uh pulled more families at the middle school was the potential for expansion. So, I we do think that there's some um you know, some more and and based on what Champions has to offer in terms of their programming um we think that it could
actually be a really robust opportunity for our middle school families as well. one point of clarification there too which I really appreciated about that part of the dialogue was you know that was one of the core things in our RFB that was important to us and so um you
know they they were committed to that and and one one part where the conversation was you know if it ever gets down to the point where there's just a couple of students it's not so much you know let's re-evaluate you know because it's it's too hard or not profitable it was like that's not really probably a good experience for those two
students and that's going to be this birection directional communication that we're continually having. So again, this the the conversation is always, you know, I think about what's be best for the students and and in that in that response um you know, I thought that was kind of highlighted and and then it's
true, you know, we think we're going to continually be be evaluating um you know, how it's going for for for the students and what their experience is. So I I appreciate that response. Does anyone have any qu any further questions or comment?
Okay. Yep. Good. Okay. Uh well then we're going to move on to the public comment section of our evening. The Highland Park Highland Park Board of Education welcomes public participation and has reserved this time for your comments on items from this
agenda only. Board policy 0167 establishes and regulates the right of the public to participate in public meetings. Uh we're going to go for anyone here in person who would like to give public comment. Um please we'll go
first and please go to the podium. Um give your name and address. going to write it on this thing. Yes, please. Andrew Zappo, 131 Johnson Street. So I have a question with regards to
something that was stated uh again and again during the course of this comment uh question and answers is that there seems to be this um message that this was a surprise.
But if the budget is being looked at over the period of time for two years since the last vote, how could this be a surprise that you're short and the subsidy didn't come in? Was that a surprise? Or were you relying on the subsidy to sustain a program you didn't
already knew wasn't sustainable to get us to this point? Because this is what was eventually wanted for the district as a whole. That's my first question. So, uh, you don't have to answer. That's fine. Um, the second thing I wanted to
do was take a minute to read from a book that's been really near and dear to my heart recently. Be alive to the notions of emergency is one, the biggest wallet pays for the most blinding lights.
And finally, if members of the professions confuse their specific ethics with the emotions of the moment, this emergency, they can find themselves saying and doing things they might previously have thought unimaginable.
I want you to take those words, think about them, and I'm standing here mostly to make sure there's a comment on behalf of the folks who worked in this program for year after year after year, some of wh heard you guys saying, we want to take into account their voices about how
we're doing. But as contractual, if they're employed by this company, are they going to even be allowed to do that with a free speech without fear of retribution by a private industry? Because that's generally not how they work. So, I want you to keep that in mind. That's it. Thank you. Just going
to write my address before I walk away. Thank you. Uh, is there anyone else for public comment? Okay. Well, I'm pretty sure that a lot of you guys know me from here, but if you don't, um, my name is John Turner and, um, I've had a very long
relationship with the Highland Park Public School Systems. I was included as a 11-year-old in 1993 as an autistic student and and currently I don't know how I ended up there, but I've been working at the
after school program for roughly around 16 years. I could say 17, but I'm not going to count that cuz that was that was a year where we couldn't. Anyway, I'm on the side of the people who are
very very uncomfortable with this decision of outsourcing. I understand the concerns that you have laid out and I understand why you feel that this is a crucial issue, but unfortunately I have several concerns about this as well.
First of all, I I agree that the afterchool program, it's not perfect. It's not perfect. I agree there have been some moments where we haven't always been great, but I feel like that as far as progression is concerned, this last year that we've had
it from 2024 to 2025, it was probably the best that we've had it in a while. And I was overall quite pleased with it. And so that's why I was really really shocked and you know almost pretty upset by this decision to to um outsource it
because what worries me are my colleagues and my um and my um bosses Colin and Jackie. I mean I'm I'm very concerned for for both of them because they both have worked really hard to um help improve things at Bartle School. I
mean, if it wasn't for Colin, I don't think I would have improved myself as a worker. And so, I really don't know how to take any of this. To be honest, I personally I personally am not very comfortable
with this outsourcing decision. And two years ago, I argued that after school program needs to stay in house. And unfortunately, I still have to stand by that because this is almost like child care all over again where I got where we got shady answers about how to deal with
specific kids like those who have diabetes and LGBTQ kids, etc. And I'm not sure if I'm totally sold on this right here either. So ultimately I truly am very very reluctant and very
um I'm very hesitant about going through with this. Now, of course, if my words don't make any sense to you, and if and if and if your minds have already been made up, just know that I do have some concerns about this. And I do not I hope
I don't ruffle anybody's feathers around here. But I've been very proud to be part of this afterchool program for quite a long time now. And to lose it would be absolutely unimaginable, either through outsourcing or through or through not having it at all. But either way,
this is something that I really have to call into question because the parents and their staff members have relied on this program for a long time now. I've been at that program when I was in 1994 when I was a fourth grader. It's been a
good service for 35 years. I just don't understand why why we should even throw it away even if the option is unsustainable. I'm asking if there's maybe another solution that we can come up with so that we don't head into what I feel
could be a potential mistake. But I do respect everyone involved here. I'm just speaking on behalf of how I personally feel about this. And I hope
I hope you guys take my concerns into consideration cuz well I'm very worried not only for my bosses but for my colleagues and for my relationships that I've established with the families and the kids over the years. I would hate for any of that to go to waste.
So, thank you for hearing me out and uh and um I hope I hope a better decision can be reached. Thank you, John. Is there anyone else in person who would like to speak?
Uh do we have anyone online? No. How many hands raised? Three. All right. Just say their name out loud so we can call on them. D.
All right. D, you can speak. Please state your full name for the record. D. You may have to unmute yourself. So, yeah, we'll come back to D. Elizabeth. Hi. Sorry, I'm in the middle of traveling. Um, so just give me one
second. Sorry. Um, hey sweetie. just head inside. I'll be in in a second. Um, so my name is Buffy Wild Greenberg. Um, 167th Avenue, Highland Park. Um, so you know, I say this in the, you know, spirit that that John shared his
comments. Um, no, no, honey. I'm talking to the board. Um, and so, you know, I would just like to say like this is right out of the privatization handbook, right? There's a crisis. No one really takes accountability for how that crisis was
crisis was created and then we're told if you don't vote yes on this if you don't do something that you are uncomfortable with that violates your principles then we are going to lose this essential service. I know a ASP is essential. I've used it myself as a single parent and working full-time
since my son was in kindergarten and he's now going into seventh grade. The fact is is you have to question the person who's giving you that message. That is how privatization always works. And we do not make a bad decision like contracting with a company like
Kinderare because the administration mismanaged a program and it's been trying to privatize it for years. The old program was financially sustainable. The administration um upended it. Um and now we're in a situation where as you
know Andrew said um if there were financial troubles there is no reason why we should be handling them in July. They should have been realized much earlier and there that is not a justification for contracting with a group like Kinderare. Um I just want to
say on Kinderare um they I mean I don't know where to begin. I know for a fact that no one on that board sent their kids to Kinderare. I know I didn't send my kid to Kinderare because every time I Googled Kinderare, all I saw were lawsuits about um them not uh you know
them discriminating against kids with type 1 diabetes. That was my first association. When I saw that that's who we were we were going to contract with. I did a little a little research last night. I spent a few hours on the DCF website and I read every substantiated
complaint against them in New Jersey. There were so many. Most of them were about having um improper um uh teacher uh child ratios. That was the majority of them. But a significant number were
physical abuse that were substantiated against very very young children, including a child who um was young enough to have his diaper changed on a changing table. And I would just I'm asking this genuinely to the board because when people are rushed into
making a decision, it is very easy to miss things. It happens to all of us. And so I'm genuinely asking if my email this morning highlighting just the worst substantiated complaints, if that was
the first time you all had reviewed the DCF substantiated complaints against Kinderare facilities in New Jersey. The second thing I want to ask is if my email was the first time you learned about the half a million dollar fine
that they were fined by Massachusetts for serious labor violations. Because again, if you've got a gun to your head and someone is saying if you don't vote yes, we won't have a program and all of these working families are going to be screwed. It's really easy to not look
critically at things. What we're hearing from Kinderare is a sales pitch. It doesn't include the really horrifying stories of abuse. It doesn't include the fact that their own investors are investigating them for misleading them.
Um, you know, this is not a reputable company. This is a corporation. It prioritizes profits um over care. We see this in the private prison industry. We see this wherever there's privatization. So, I'm asking genuinely, and if you don't want to answer publicly, that's
fine. But I'm asking genuinely if my emails were the first time that you saw those reports, those substantiated reports of abuse at the New Jersey Kinderare facilities and if my email was the first time you were aware of the over half a million dollar fine for
Massachusetts. Um, I know other people want to talk and I'll I'll end my comments there. I guess the one last thing I'll say is that all of your talking as if you don't have a choice. you do have a choice. And I would instead of saying I don't have a choice, I'd really question the person
who's telling you that you don't have a choice because that's a problem. That's not how we want to make decisions. And if you're being told you don't have a choice, that's the problem. The problem is the crisis that was created, right? Address that that crisis. Don't make a bad decision because you know someone's
saying, "Well, if you don't do this, something worse is going to happen." That shows there is mismanagement for us to get to this point and now I'm done. Thank you, Buffy. You, Rob, go ahead. Yes. I'm Rob Scott at 25 South Second
Avenue, apartment 1. And let me just say I I'd like to amplify what my friend Buffy just said. You all do have a choice, right? And I think exercising that choice now in 2025, living in the world we're living in now, um, is more
important than ever. So to the board, you all don't need to vote the same way. You can vote your conscience. It doesn't have to be a 9 vote. And I've been in many board meetings and I've seen it happen over and over again. You all made the decision in advance or
don't feel like you can vote against your colleagues. You have to work on on the committees. But it is okay to vote your conscience and not everyone has to vote the same way. And if there's a vote that's 54, that's going to be okay for our community and it's actually healthy
and it's democratic. The program pitched by the Kinder folks with all the slick salesmanship is all the stuff we can do in district. It just takes prior proper planning. uh and the district can hire local, can
support a chess club and so on. The district can do all of that and we pay the superintendent to do that prior proper planning. And what we see is instead of getting prior proper planning, we get late notice of an
unexpected financial crisis from a superintendent who tried to outsource the program a couple years ago. That says to me the superintendent doesn't want the headache and just doesn't want the program. So what it says to me is
that maybe the response should be to look seriously at how the financial crisis suddenly appeared in April. That that's something the board should do as oversight. Uh and you can vote for that kind of oversight for a review of the
superintendent. So, here are three reasons to vote no against this proposal. First, there's ample evidence that Kinderare is unsafe. Okay. Uh my friend Buffy Wild Greenberg, who just spoke, um she's an investigative journalist and has provided the board
with ample evidence to this effect. This includes the substantiated complaints to the New Jersey um Department of Family Services, um dragging children by the foot or arm, screaming at children, Yet, Superintendent Susca wrote to me,
"I want to emphasize that the district conducted a thorough review of the organizations that submitted proposals. This included evaluated their compliance history, staff qualifications, student safety protocols, and overall performance in comparable districts. Any organization under serious or sustained
scrutiny would not be considered unless we are confident in their ability to meet our expectations for quality, equity, and care. Given the evidence that's been provided to the board, to the contrary, I fear either superintendent Susca has not been completely honest. Although she did
admit in this meeting she hasn't reviewed all the champions complaints because it's hard because you have to do it by individual school. Or this is another case like the very egregious mistake in violent incident reporting that led to our middle school being named one of the most violent middle
schools in New Jersey. Wow, was that fun on Facebook. If there is a Highland Fling reporter here, this may be another opportunity for a big scoop. The rationale here is always to save money and the scheme is privatization.
That game is getting so old. Corporations profit, quality declines, jobs become worse, and workers are exploited. Privatization is used to break unions or prevent them from starting, exploit workers, and actively create more poor people. And I give our
board credit. You all know this. I know you all know this and I think you are against it. So voting no rejects that game. And again, there is evidence that the way Kinderare profits is by exploiting their staff. Exhibit A. Kindergart is advertising positions in
New Jersey with a range of $6.15 to wait for it $6.15. Bold of them to go with that as a range. Okay. I want you all to imagine trying to make a living on $16.50
and going to work and taking care of children. Okay, that is ridiculous. Now, it's true people in the afterchool program are underpaid. Maybe that's part of the problem. Maybe part of the superintendent's job should figure out
how to uh uh pay the staff more, make the program better, do the job. A third reason is our town's values, right? And my friend Andy Rosappo, I think, spoke to that. And y'all, if if Andy's talking about something like that, please, for
the love of God, listen to him. The great thing about our town is we by and large share values where we appreciate democratic action. We appreciate the common good. We respiche everyone's rights. Um we reject the cruelty and the
ugl ugliness that is on display from our current regime as human beings are stripped of basic human rights. Friends asked me what to do about the big picture, right? And I've seen posts on Facebooks about that. What should our handbook be? Right? What do we do? And
my boomer parents who raised me, uh, they raised me on what my Gen Z kids would call a very cringe thing, but we had the bumper sticker. It was think globally, act locally. And the board, we all voted for you. We elected you. You can act locally. You can keep the ASPN
district. You can take responsibility for treating ASP staff with dignity instead of feeding them to a corporation where the CEOs earn 60,000 times a teacher salary. A no vote is a vote for our values and against the horror of Trump's murder bill. It really is right.
It is us saying yes, we're being told we have no choice just like everyone else is being told we have no choice, but by God, we're going to make a choice and we're going to stand up. If you've been waiting and you've been asking, how do we stand up? What do we do? Vote no.
Right? Vote no. and maybe you'll be in the minority, but you will have distinguished yourself as a person of principle who's willing to stand up. The board should vote no and instead should tell our super to earn our salary by figuring out how to give our lowest paid
district employees, Paris and ASP staff a raise. My mother raised three kids on a Paris salary and it wasn't easy. Wait, actually, it wasn't possible. My mother raised three kids on a PEL salary and under the table wages for babysitting
and food stamps and leap assistance and way back in the day aid for family with dependent children. And that's really what's criminal about this. We need a complete and total reset. And somebody has to vote no at some point
and say, "Hey, let's let's let's have a reset. let's go to the community uh and let's try and do this different. Superintendent says the reason is to save money and offered what I thought was some of the most absurd magical thinking announcing that champions had a
generously agreed to take a loss in the middle school program. If you believe that a forprofit is really going to do that that they're going to indefinitely take a loss right then I have that proverbial bridge to sell you. the profit will come on the backs of workers
like my mom and at the expense of our kids and it'll be really really bad and it and it and and what we may see is there may be a few wonderful years just like those early years with Netflix when it was super cheap and we gave our account out to all our friends and everybody
joined and then we will see the initification as the overlords from the hedge funds and Kindred the parent company squeeze champions or spin them off and sell it on the basis of we've got all these great contracts with New
Jersey schools which we pursu which we bullied boards into into taking because we told them they had no choice um because superintendents didn't want to take responsibility for something that was an extra job um and because we were
scared. So I encourage you all to vote no. Thank you very much. Thank you, Rob. Do we have anyone else? Go back to Dee Sam. Samantha, go ahead. Samantha Hi, I apologize. Can you hear me now?
Yes, please state your name and address for the record. Uh, my name is Samantha Rosar and I live at 229 Riden A. Um, I think in this scenario I'm a little bit of a unicorn. Uh, because I have experienced both the Highland Park afterare and Champions
afterare. Um, and I will say there are gigantic and very concerning differences in the two. Um, everyone is talking about their values and how how important their kids are and you know, all of these wonderful
things that sound great. However, I had a very different experience with the Highland Park Afterare. The very first week of school, um, the aftercare teacher almost sent the wrong child out with me because they did not verify anyone's licenses. I had to email Colin
and tell him that he needed to retrain the staff to do so. Mind you, I have a court order that says my children's father is not allowed to pick them up. So, you can understand how concerning it is that they weren't checking parents' licenses before releasing children. Second, I had a teacher in the Bartle
school tell my 10-year-old son that he had herpes. Uh, my six-year-old broke his arm and then got jumped by two kids. He had handprints around his neck, scratches all over his face, and not a single teacher in the aftercare program could tell me what happened, how it
started, what they were doing about it. Nothing. I pulled Colin aside, I pulled principles aside, I contacted everyone you could imagine and to this day has still not gotten any rectification of what is going on with those kids. they're still being allowed to hang out around my son. That no one is doing
anything. Now, when my kids were in Champions in Marorrow Township, none of this was allowed. I sent them the court order and they checked every single person's license before my kids were allowed to be released. If my kids got into an altercation with another
kid, the kid that started the altercation, even if it was my own, was not allowed to go back to afterare for the next day as a punishment to, you know, understand their actions and realize they can't hurt other children. Like, Champions was so much more on top of the issues with my children that I
actually felt that they were safe. And I don't feel that way now. I send my children to school with a cell phone so they can call me if something happens in afterare because I'm not comfortable. And I know that that's against the school policies and I've gotten nonsense emails from their teachers about it, but
what other choice do I have? The teachers aren't keeping an eye on them. They're not making sure that they're safe. When my son broke his arm, no one even called me. I didn't find out until I showed up to the school to pick my son up and rushed him to the emergency room because I could clearly tell it was broken just by looking at him. I
understand that we want to keep things local and I really hope that Champions does hire the current staff that's willing to be trained because I I don't want people to lose their jobs. That's not my ultimate goal. But at the end of the day, these are my children and my job as their mother is to make sure that
they're safe and I would hope that the school board cared enough about my kids to do the same. That's all I have to say and I thank you guys for listening. D, you're up. We just can't hear you.
Oh, okay. D, did you want to talk? No. Okay. Close publicly. Public. Yeah. So that's it. There's no one in person who would like to speak and there's no one left online who'd like to speak.
Okay. In that case, I will close public comment. Um, and then we just move to the motion. Read the mot. Yeah. Um, I move that the board of education accept the recommendation of the
superintendent to approve awarding RFPCC25-01 before and after school care program provider to KCE Champions LLC, the vendor that met the evaluation criteria in accordance with NJSA18A
col 18A-4.1 and 40A. a col1-4.5 RFPs were received on June 24th, 2025. Do I have a second? Oh, second. Second. Dr. Batty.
Um, I mentioned this was a really difficult vote for me. Um, and I really appreciate the work of of the administration and the committee. I actually feel from my vantage point that I um have to vote no.
Miss Cassald done, I want to reiterate that this is my choice. I was against outsourcing two years ago. I am really impressed with this program. I believe is the best possible program for our students at
this moment in time. I'm voting yes. Uh Dr. Coleman is absent, correct? Right. She's not online. Okay. Dr. Pixley. Uh yes. I also think it's important to reiterate that from my perspective, this wasn't a at least going through the
process. It was done because it is it is a great option from our evaluation. And um I do have experience also with the Kinderare program. And so, you know, I think it's uh, you know, I I'm proud of the process and I vote yes.
Dr. Skullman. Yes. Miss Stano. So, like I I mentioned before, I'm actually very much against privatization and outsourcing, especially for a private equity company. But um from my
vantage point and with the things that I've seen and know of um and the fact that I do have kids in the school too who also use an afterchool program, I'm going to have to vote yes. Miss Bardman. Yes.
Motion carries. Okay. In that case, uh I move to adjourn. Second. Second. Thank you everyone. Good night and congratulations.