Good evening everyone and welcome to the Tuesday, April 29th, 2025 McGomery Township Board of Education meeting. At this time, I'll entertain a motion to resume in public. So move second. They're properly moved
and second to reconvene in public session. All those in favor say I. I. All those opposed, same right. Any extensions. Roll call, please. Mr. Chelan. Dr. Wang. Yes. Stalling. Yes. Striker Herman here.
Spiel here. Sarris here. Jurgen here. Yeah. Speed present. Present. Thank you. At this time, we'll all rise to salute the flag. I pledge alce to the flag of the United
States of America and to it stands nationy and justice for all. At this time, we'll have our MTSD student representative report. Hi. Uh, so robotics had the first robotics champion in March. Did very
well and then won the impact award. Our boys track team were champions of the stylus conference on a large school boys relay. Man of the year was hosted right in America club on April 4th which involved all girls in the high school with high attendance. UNICEF hosted the
second annual color run on April 5th. The Montgomery Fire Protection Bureau held an assembly for seniors to talk about fire safety in college dorms. The lunch and learn series of high school continued and students were able to learn from an expert in public health. The Montgomery High School choir went to
Ireland uh over spring break. Monte UNICEF won the UNICEF Cup for basketball and the Montgomery Business Festival was held after school on April 25th by the Future Business Leaders of America to allow students to talk to professionals and network. April 24th was bring your
child to work day hosted by the Future Educators of America with face painting games and ceramics. Um, prom will be hosted on May 16th and the theme is James Bond. And the Scarlet Conference Scholar Athletes Award was given to two students um for their outstanding
performance in academics. Thank you. Thank you so much. At this time, we'll turn it over to Superintendent McLaclin for a special announcement. Good evening everyone. I have a special announcement before we start the meeting. I'm going to stay from up here so everyone can hear
instead of being at the podium. So after an extensive search, I am excited to share that tonight's board of education meeting will be approving Mr. Mark Cardi as principal of the Montgomery Upper Middle School. officially began his new role on July
1st. He began his career in education as a special education teacher and holds multiple education degrees from the College of New Jersey. Throughout his time at S, Mr. Cardi has shown a deep commitment to creating a welcoming environment where every student feels valued and supported. He believes that
individuality and empathy are essential to helping students access the education they deserve. And he has worked closely with staff to ensure that every student knows that they belong at. Mr. Cardi has served as a vice principal since July of 2021. Please join me once again in
congratulating Mr. Thank you. Good evening, board members, Superintendent McLaclin, fellow administrators, staff members, and community members. I stand before you this evening filled with pride, gratitude, and care. As I am presented
as the recommended candidate for principal of Montgomery Ever Middle School, I have been a member of our MTSD community, specifically for the past 11 years. Each of those years were filled with instrumental experiences of
fantastic students, essential mentors, valuable lessons, and of course, the laughter only middle school folks will truly understand. Throughout my time here, I have served as a special education teacher across multiple settings, directed six musicals, served as eighth grade
adviser, leading many students through important traditions of S like Camp Mason and promotion. Most recently, I have had the privilege of serving the students and staff of as vice principal for the past four years. I take great
pride in the work I've done to support our incredible school, building strong relationships with our students and staff, supporting highquality instruction, expanding our Cougar Care Day program, strengthening our multi-ter systems of support, and celebrating the
honor of receiving the Blue Ribbon Award. Most importantly, I have strived to model our core values of community, acceptance, resilience, and empathy in all aspects of our vibrant middle school experience. This evening, I would like
to thank all who have helped me grow into becoming the next principal of my wife Chrissy here with me tonight and our two children who are hopefully getting ready for bed. Thank you for your constant support, your appreciation
for the special place that S is, understanding that our at at times our family does include an additional 800 middle school students and staff members. I love you and our family so much. Thank you to my parents for being my
first teachers and my go my grandfather for being the first to see me as a school leader. To Corey, thank you for seeing the excited teacher I was 11 years ago, never saying no to my ideas, teaching me how to lead with heart, and
mentoring me into my growth as the next excited principal of To my fellow administrators, thank you for your continued partnership over the years. To Mary, Kelly, and Damian, thank you for seeing my passion for the art of
middle school and trusting me to lead our building. And finally, to my s family. You have all guided me right here to this moment. Thank you for teaching me how to be a teacher. Thank you for trusting me to be your VP and
thank you for celebrating with me as I become your principal. I promise to support you as we move our great school forward for the academic, social, and emotional growth of our students. To the current future to the current and future students of S. I promise to work hard
each day to ensure is a safe and caring school and where you can all learn, build connections, and truly know and feel that you matter. I look forward to leading into its next chapter and cannot wait to see what our students and staff
will achieve. Thank you. [Applause] Congratulations. Up next, we'll have Superintendent Mlacklin and business administrator Andrew Taliano present the
hearing on 2025 2026 budget. Good evening everyone. Tonight is our annual public hearing. It's for the 2526 budget. Just a little recap. At last month's meeting, we had a presentation on the tentative budget. That budget
included going up to the allowable 2% cap. Many of you were here last month and came up and spoke in front of the board. the board decided that they would like to see other options in order to not have as many teachers reduced in
force, look at other ways to um balance the budget. So, Mr. Italiano and I met with board members, went through different options, um looked at different situations. We've been looking at all the other districts in the local area. And so we're here
tonight and we have a proposed budget that includes the 2% levy plus $2.6 million which includes our bench cap plus the healthcare rate that will broaden the base of our budget for the
future. So just simple math. If you have $100 and you can only go up 2% the next year and you could say oh we can give you $120 to go up 2% and so on and so forth. Now some questions have come about about student enrollment. Our enrollment is slightly down over the
last 3 years. However, if you recall, we had a demographic study done and the demograph uh the demographer looked at the buildings that were currently being built at the time, those that were approved to be built and those that were ready to break ground. And looking at
that, they compared our enrollment data from 2018-19 school year, which is about 300 more kids than we have right now, and guesstimated with all the new housing that by 2829, we will be just -6 of that
2829 number. So what does that mean for us? If we don't broaden the base of our budget, we will have an issue next year, the year after, the year after where the children will be coming back, the ones that we have lost.
Although not significant, it will definitely impact many of our programs. So, with that being said, um I thank the board for coming in and meeting with us and going over different options. I'll be standing here right next to Mr. Caliano as he could talk to the basics
of the budget and um I implore the board to please listen carefully and do what's best for the students of Montgomery Township. Thank you. [Applause] I think Miss McLolin's taller than me, so I'm actually going to lower the
microphone. Uh good evening everyone. Um, first I want to thank the board and our educational community for all their input the last couple of weeks. Um, we left our March meeting uh undecided. We
passed a budget that had 2%. But there was a lot of whatif questions. What if we added bank cap to the budget? What if we added the healthcare waiver? What could that do for us? What would happen if we didn't do it? So essentially tonight we're here to kind of propose those options. We were asked to provide
options and our slides. We're going to go through our slides from our original presentation in March. And then there's going to be add-on slides afterwards to basically show four different options like Mr. Mccclaw went over uh what the financial impact is to the community on
those four options. Most importantly, what the impact and what those options can do for our school depending on which funding option is selected by the board. It's a lot of information. If you watch a lot of the school budgets throughout
the state, there are not too many of them this week that are having four different options read to the board. This is the first time in my life that this is not a formality. So, I'm going to try to go slowly through it. If anybody has any questions, ask questions. But the only thing that's
going to be a little different by statute at the end of the hearing after all the questions are asked by the board and the community then I'm going to be reading the four different options allowed till one is picked and if we get down to the last option uh that's a
formality to hopefully be passed because if it's not then it would be passed by the executive county superintendent for the 2% that was approved um previously in March. So, that being said, uh we're going to go through the slides, then we're going to give the board the
opportunity to um ask any questions they may have, make any comments they may have, and then um we will set to the side and uh share the podium. We'll go back to our seats and share the podium with anybody else that like to make their comment and they will be on the
same standard 3minut timer as any public participation part in our agenda. Okay, let's get started. So essentially this is our agenda uh for this evening. Uh it's the same as the agenda was in March except the only difference I highlighted in italics on
bottom. Uh we're going to be discussing the bank cap and healthcare waiver options. So basically we're going to go through our goals uh what our budget development process our calendar is our revenue source is our expenses cuts uh that we have currently
um drivers of cost and our capital projects. So our goal number one uh the student experience, student achievement, teaching and learning uh to cultivate a learning community that's safe, comprehensive and customized to provide a balanced academic, creative and
engaging experience to prepare students to make an impact on the future. Goal number two, communication, community engagement and outreach. Increase community engagement by improving two-way communication so that all community members are well informed
and feel connected. Goal number three, climate and culture, social emotional learning, culture sensitivity, health, wellness and resilience enhance the social emotional learning environment to support the development and resiliency of all
learners. Okay. Our budget development process. I'm going to kind of go through the basic ones that we did uh a little more quickly uh because it's it's repetitive and uh these are just uh set dates. In October, we meet to begin our process. In December, uh our budget
requests are due from our budget managers. In uh January and Febru February, the administration evaluates um the requests. We reach out to the budget managers. if uh there's questions or we see different trends and things of that nature to try to help their needs but kind of fit in with the revenue that
we anticipate for the school year. And um then we work to kind of wrap everything up when our state aid numbers come out. And uh this year the state aid numbers came out on February 27th. And uh our process right here kind of just kind of walks us through from
before March to where we are tonight. Um at our finance committee on March 11th, we discussed uh what we were going to be doing for the tenative hearing in March. March 18th, we had our tenative hearing and the board uh elected to uh adopt a budget with a 2% tax levy increase. 19th
uh the budget was passed to the executive county superintendent for approval. I have on second to the bottom like a unique bullet um between March uh 19th and April 29th tonight. That's an open period where there could be discussion about the budget. So if
there's questions what if questions we had what would be the impact if the additional money was added to the budget. What would be the challenges if the extra money wasn't there was uh some healthy conversations about that. I want to thank the board members that
participated um that took the time to meet with Mr. Blockley and myself to ask questions, to learn about the process, to know all the challenges we face, the same challenges that the neighboring districts are asking for. Uh let's put
it this way, everything out there is going up over 2%. Life's very expensive for us at home. It's very expensive for us at school. So, we're happy to have the opportunity to present these different options tonight at our
hearing. Okay. might be a little small. Mr. Brooks, do you mind switching over to the state budget document just for me for a quick second? Thank you so much. So, I'm not going to go through all 123 pages of this. Now, my glasses are reading
glasses, so I can't see this from here, but if I was looking at it, I do know what the numbers are. This is the long budget. Uh, it has full detail. Uh, this is what was approved by the executive county superintendent. And the reason I'm referencing this document on the lefth hand column it's zoomed in but
there are different state line numbers for the expenses and revenues and in the budget where applicable I referenced the line number and page number where I drew the number from because I work various systems various spreadsheets accounting programs state softwares and sometimes
there's questions where does that number come from hey this number was presented to me so I tried to publicly reference as many of the items as I could. So there's understanding on where the numbers come from. Mr. Brooks, can we go back to the slides? Okay.
So we're going to give it a shot. So no, I I read this a 100 times so I know what it says. So essentially the 2425 number that was our taxes that was approved uh for the current year school budget. Below it in small print, it says
page one, line 100. That is our revenue line that was drawn from the state budget uh report that was on the previous screen. Uh a 2% increase was uh previously approved on March 18th, which makes the tax levy at the current time the
90,82293 figure. Moving forward right here, uh this shows the impact on different average home assessments in Montgomery. for the 2% increase. I'm going to go
right ahead um to the total tax levy uh block on the bottom right there. And basically, you can see the impact that is annual for an 800, 900, and a,000 $1 million assessment is between $16 and
$20.80 per the year for that 2%. For Rocky Hill, we're just going to go to the tax levy portion. Average home assessment. See, between 800,000 a million. Um, the numbers are actually in the negative, the
-4669 to the 5836. And you might ask why that is. I'll go back a slide. That's because the taxes are increasing on this slide right here, but the debt service um from our referendum is winding down.
So that actually is going down. So the net difference of them is a reduction by those amounts for the 2%. Again, this is all information that was presented in March. It's nothing new. It's just a recap. Um this here is our total budget. Uh the key figure is
the one under the 2526 column that says total recommended budget. It's 160,93624. That was what was uh presented um approved in March and approved by executive county superintendent. That includes all the taxes. Uh the debt service obligation,
state aid, and our anticipated federal grants. Major sources of revenue. Uh they're standard across the board for all schools in New Jersey. uh your local taxes, your state and federal aid. Um and then there's different revenue
sources um such as your capital reserve account, your maintenance reserve account, and your fund balance account. Um that fund balance was extra money that was from budget 2 years forward that um was over the 2% cap that rolled
into the current uh year's uh budget. And that number is from the 23 24 year that rolls into the 25 26 year. This is just a breakdown of the revenue distribution. Um and out in Montgomery
you can see that it's nearly 85% of taxes. Uh this is a JFactor district, so you're not going to get a lot of state aid. Unfortunately, we were cut 3% for state aid. So our budget is driven by the taxpayers here. There's a small
amount about 1% for the grants. Um and there is about I believe what what is my reserve number and what is my state? 6.8. Okay. Okay. So those 6.8 for the reserves those are
the monies that we withdrew for projects and the carryover money for our fund balance. And then as I mentioned before the state aid is also a very unfortunate small number for us. Okay, these are our major expenses and appropriations. Small
font next to each of the programs. It has the page number and line number from state program. Uh, and these are basically summaries for each of these key categories. There's regular instruction which is up 2.07%. Uh, there's special education
instruction which is down 8.21%. Extracurricular activities is up 2.98%. Athletics up 7.26%. Tuition. Tuition. Um, there's a lot of questions about what goes into
tuition. Next to tuition, I included all the line numbers from the state budget. Tuition is our out of district placements, but it's also our vocational uh students and any other type of tuition that is a student that we have to pay for that doesn't attend
Montgomery. So, it's not just special education students, it's for the vocationals and any tuition student that is on our roles that were legally obligated to educate. The general administration line is up 1.55%. Uh the operations in uh
maintenance and plant security is down 2.02%. Transportation is up 9.54%. Uh we have buses that only legally are allowed to stay on the road for 15 years and we have a schedule that we have to replace them and stagger. So we are
purchasing eight buses for our operation which saves us a lot of money. Our transportation department shout out to them. They do a great job. Uh it's a challenging job and uh I appreciate them and uh they saved the uh the board and the community a lot of money but the buses that is that is an expense. So
that's why that's going up about 10%. And uh overall uh the employee benefits that's not just healthcare that social security anything that's considered an employee benefit by the state budget program is up 9.8%. Major budget cuts just to give
some understanding for this slide um I don't like this slide as much as anybody else does. this slide and where these numbers were derived from. If you remember back to the budget calendar in December when the budget managers came to us and summit in early
January and they put all their requests forward to the uh Mr. Gls essentially there's only so many pieces that we could fit to our puzzle which is our budget and we want to fit the wall but not all of them can fit. So
essentially the position reductions, the facility equipment, the new staffing positions, the supplies for our students and the professional development for our staff. These were requests that were made by the budget managers that
ultimately did not existing. Right. Right. Correct. So, those are staff members on the top that are not in the budget currently. All the other ones are requests that did not fit into the
budget. Um, and as you can see, top two are two of the most important, our staff. We're in the people business and our facility. Uh, you need you need a facility that's clean, safe, and modern and 21st century to to um be productive
for learning. Unfortunately, those are the two most expensive areas. But if we go to the different options later, you can see that the focus from the administration on the additional funding, if it's supported, is to um reinstate the funding in those two key
areas. Major drivers of the budget, they're the same at any school, if you look to your left, right, up, or down. salaries and benefits. Um they're just a they're a factor of life and uh they go up more than 2%. Um our salaries here
fortunately they're fair uh they're fair salaries but they're below county average and our benefits uh they are also uh below the county average. So even though they're expensive they're fiscally responsible but as you can see they're 85% of our budget. So after you pay for some of these things, the
facility, everything else we discussed, there really isn't a lot of supplies and consumables left for the kids. So really, when people say, "Hey, where could you go to in the budget? Do you have extra this, extra that?" There's really extra nothing like cuz most of your whole budget is your salaries, your
benefits, and your facilities. And the small amount that's left over is your consumables and your supplies and expenses that everybody really has to try to figure out and make work for our 4,400 students. major projects that are in the budget for next year. Um an ADA walkway um at
the uh building, a rooftop air conditioning unit at the high school and uh two broad grants which basically we get 40 40 cents on the dollar from the state of New Jersey for which is for a roof project at a chiller replacement
at okay that was where we ended the March meeting. Now, these are going to be the new slides that we were asked to present options and after the conversations with the board, the input we had from the community and what the
administration thinks is best to have the most successful year we could have next year are going to be in the slides going forward. This is something that's probably very new for everybody. This is something that's new for myself. So, I'm going to go slowly through this. We're
going to start with option one, which is the option that was advertised on the agenda and it will be the first option when we're done with the process and all the Q&A is done from the board and the community that we will be voting on.
Okay, Bank option number one, what if we had additional funds the 2526 school year? So, option one is an ask to the board of education to go into their bank and take nearly there's
$2,65,000 to take $2,600,000 and add it on top of the 2% tax levy. The $2.6 million, $1.594 million of it would be dedicated to staff salaries and benefits.
$1,5,000 would be to the reinstate the operation and maintenance budget which you saw earlier was the second largest cut also important into the organization. So just some summary talking points on what that those monies would do. This option would add 95% of
the salaries, benefits and operation budget uh requests and the positions back into the budget. Ultimately, this would keep the staffing levels nearly the same. Um, and the funding to our operation and maintenance department
would stay whole. The net tax increase on this would be instead of 2%, it would be 4.98%. So, now let's look at the tax impacts. At the end of the day, it's about the money. So, it provided a lot of options with the average home assessments between
$500,000 and a million. The annual cost for the $2.6 million, as you can see, ranges from $323 a household on a $500,000 assessment to
$647 on a million dollar assessment. for Rocky Hill, $500,000 to a million dollars. And as you can see, the ranges annually are about $149 a year to about $300 a year
annually to provide the district an extra $2.6 million. So, a small amount could go a long way. Now, I'm sure there's a lot of other people that are like, "Wow, our taxes are really high. It's in Montgomery. It's a smart place." I knew you knew the answer
to that one, but let me do taxs are high. They're high everywhere. It's New Jersey, and they're they're never going down. So, as MLAlin uh alluded to before, we want to maintain our base. And we want to use all the options
available, if possible, to keep our school thriving and a top performer in our academic area, our arts, and our athletics. Um, and at the end of the day, if you look at Hillsboro the other night, a lot
of other schools in the area, many of them are going over the 2%. Cuz let's be honest, most people's salaries and benefits go over the 2%. As I alluded to before, those are the drivers of the budget. We'll go to the next option.
Option number two, $1.6 billion ask of the board of education. What does this do? $779,863 would go to support staff salaries and benefits. $820,37 would go to support operations
and maintenance. So in the summary, the option would add many of the positions that were cut back into the budget and it would add $820,000 back into the operation and maintenance. Uh that's uh this would be uh significant uh help to the school as
well. Um, I would of course love to see the $2.6 million option approved. Obviously, the more uh resources you have, the further it could go, but this option would help us retain many key staff that were cut and uh provide significant funding to the operation maintenance program. At the end of the
day, this would be a net 3.79% tax increase. Let's go to the impact. Um, same idea. Average home assessment $500,200 million and the annual cost uh
to the taxpayer in Montgomery of the $500,000 assessment is $23.14 down to $4628. And if you fall somewhere in the middle, uh you can see where you are and if you kind of fall above
um means you're doing pretty well. I hope you help us out tonight. So that would be what I have to say about that. We're going to go to the next slide. Same idea. $500,000 to a million. Um Rocky Hill is less than 3% of the tax base. So that's why their numbers are
much smaller. Um $80 um for the annual impact on the $500,000 assessment up to $160 on the billion dollar assessment. Go to the next option. Option three would be to ask the board to consider
$779,863 on top of the 2% back into the budget. $382,000 uh $382,131 will go to salaries and benefits. $397,732 will go to operations and maintenance. What would this do? Uh it
would add some staff and salaries back that would cut the budget. Not most of them, but some. um and it would add about $400,000 back into the operation maintenance budget. Um so this this would be helpful and it would be
appreciated and the net impact would be 2.87%. For the home assessments um for Montgomery, $104 for the $500,000 assessment up to about $210 for the milliondoll assessment. And then you can see if you fell in between what your
annual impact is. So just to think about that $200 if you have a million dollar assessment would get us about almost a million back into our budget. So a small amount goes a far away for Rocky Hill. Um $500,000 assessment would be about
$25 for the year. On a million dollar assessment, a little under $50 for the year. Option four, this is kind of where we are right now tonight. That would be the 2% tax levy increase, not using any big
cap or waiver funds. Um, essentially this would make the final budget approval tonight the same as the tenative budget approval, the tenant budget, excuse me, that was approved in March. Uh, and this option, uh, fortunately, uh, would result in multiple staff cuts in, uh, every
building. Uh, we would have a very lean facility budget for the next year. then the impact is a 2% increase. Um what this said the net effect is for the taxpayer in Montgomery. Uh same slides as in March
$500,000 assessment $10 a year million dollar assessment 20 for Rocky Hill uh because they're a smaller part of the tax base and we have the debt service falling off in the $500,000 assessment. It's a reduction annually of about $30 a year. And for the million-doll
assessment, that's a reduction of a little under $60 per year. This concludes the public hearing for 2526 school budget. At this
point in time, first we're going to open the floor to the school board for any questions or discussions they would like to have. Oh, we can. Well, we we're going to stay um here uh for the board presentation piece and then uh when we open it up to the
community, we'll go back to our seats so they can have the podium. Okay. So, I'm going to uh pass through the board right now for uh any questions or concerns. So, I have a question first question. Yes, ma'am. Two years ago, um we asked
this town and the residents to increase their tax levy by $2.7 million. And in addition, um they agreed to add additional
$669,000 for capital improvements. uh in that year we only had 26 additional students. So for additional for adding 26 students to the district
we added a burden of $2.7 million to the budget base. So I would like to understand how that additional because it was a really significant increase in the tax
levy. How that addition is not sufficient to keep our staff and to maintain our property because it was significantly more than expected. And that's above the 2%.
Correct. So that was to make our half-day kindergarten program full day. So even if we didn't get it had nothing to do with student enrollment, it had to do with taking a 2 and 1/2 hour day and making it a 6 hour and 50 minute day for our students, which is the best practice
um for our learner, youngest learners. Um so all of that was accounted for in staffing and benefits. And then the facilities was for the ECC building. We were able to obtain the building for free, but there were some major renovations that needed to be done one
time and now we have a beautiful early childhood center. Um, it used to be the kid connection that was owned by the township and that's where all of that money went. So I think one of the things that people are confusing is so that um vote was in
November because our budget year is July 1st to June 30th and the fiscal year is January 1st to December 31st. All the monies and the tax impact had to be collected from the Montgomery and the Rocky Hill residents between January 1st
and June 30th before we even hired a kindergarten teacher to start for September. So it's like taking all of that and instead of saying that's over a year, it's like that's in 6 months because the year already started for you, right? So we needed the money before our year started. So that's why
it looked like more, but it was still just whatever was presented at the time that I don't have right in front of me. So that 2.7 million, we had to double our staff in kindergarten. It had nothing to do with enrollment. We're taking part-time and making it a full-time day for the students. Correct.
But the halftime um staff and halftime enrollment was already part of the existing budget. So what we did with the referendum, we used
the money that was already in the budget and we used that money to allocate toward other uh resources and then we added the fresh increase coming from the tax levy to cover full day kindergarten.
So in a way we did not really just increase uh the tax levy to cover the additional half cost of the kindergarten right making it from full day to to I mean from half day to full
day we basically just uh added to the tax leggy full cost of the full day kindergarten. So we that's not correct. So, we had one was eight teachers that taught let's call I'm going to just make up the number. I don't remember the exact number of teachers that we had at the time, but let's call it eight
kindergarten teachers and 16 sections of kindergarten. We then kept 16 sections but now full day. So, we needed eight more full-time teachers. And then in addition, now we have to give prep. The kids have to have related arts. So, we needed additional related arts,
additional materials, everything increased. And it was all accounted for in our full day kindergarten document that we shared that couple year three years ago now. Yeah. Yeah. And exactly like when you go back to that budget presentation and there is an itemized cost of that full day kindergarten
that's why it looks like what we needed to add is 1/ half of the cost but we ask for the full day you know like for the full program. So we did bring additional funds to the base to cover all other
expenses, you know, races and things like that. You know, that money for full day kindergarten was only spent on full day kindergarten. So we had eight full-time teachers that had two sections, morning and PM, right? AM and PM sections. So I
can't be there like so even though it's a half day program, I'm a full-time teacher, right? and I have full-time benefits and my now I can only teach the AM kids because they're here all day. We just had to hire eight full-time teachers to make full day kindergarten
for the same amount of kids and every everything stayed the same. It just made it full day and we had to account with the state that every penny was spent on full day kindergarten and nothing else. I'm not saying that we did not spend any
any penny more or any penny less from the referendum on full day kindergarten. What I'm saying is that uh a year earlier we had half day kindergarten that was paid by the taxpayers and that
cost for the half day was already included in our budget and it continues to so the additional so the additional cost was
um not so like whatever we requested in the referendum was not uh caused for the half day program to supplement from half day to full day and that was discussed two years ago and that's what was
presented in the in the budget and when there was an itemization the cost of the additional resources needed for the remaining half they fully garden was not 2.7 it was significantly less so what
I'm saying is um I value the program because we definitely, you know, our community wanted it, but I'm just asking because we did bring additional funds and those additional funds are
permanently in our base. So now going and asking for additional amount that's very similar, that's an extremely high tax burden in such a short period of time. And we are not a community where
we have millionaires living. The d the demographics of this community changed. Yes, there are people who has a lot of money but but there are a lot of people who are very very middle class and the
average um average value of the home in Montgomery is not 800 900 million. It's 500 the assessed value. Yes. Yeah. So everybody here who lives in this town,
they need to understand that whatever the tax increase will be passed. That's money taken away from their paychecks. That's money taken away from a single parent who sends their kid to summer
camp because the parent needs to work. We have a lot of students that require special ed services outside the school district and then they need to pay for their mental health care, they need to pay for their medical bills and that's
really really expensive. So adding $500, $600 to their tax levy, that's really a lot. So that's why I'm asking is like are we really responsible with proposing such a
high tax levy because we do have responsibility to the taxpayers to the teachers to the administration and to the students and there has to be a middle ground and you know I think I'm just trying to understand like why we
need so much money because money needs to be wisely spent just asking money does not solve problems if money is not wisely spent. So, not taking the maximum healthc care
waiver and going up to the 2% cap over the last couple of years has diminished our base. And then with 85% of the base being salaries and benefits and benefits going up 10% or more every year, that's why we need to broaden the base to
stabilize where we we are at. Well, the base keeps growing, right? Because it's compounding at 2%, but everything's going up exponentially. Both are both are right. Can I ask a question about the bank
cap? So, um I'm just not familiar with the bank cap question. When you say we have this million dollars on the table, what do you mean? Like where is the money? Is that in a checking account somewhere? somebody already deposit in
or what implications for taxpayers because I'm not in the off committee so it's a new concept for me. No problem. It would uh essentially I try to give a simple answer for this. It's on paper. It's not actually money but it's earned
in a bank. Basically, any year that the school board doesn't raise the taxes 2%. Money goes in a bank and it sits there in a 3-year rolling average. or for other circumstances such as health
care costs that increase over 2% from the prior year and that are below what the state healthcare benefits renewal rates are, you're allowed to ask the board for healthcare adjustment. That's part of the money for next year. And
then if that money is not used this year, say that's not elected, then that gets rolled into the bank as money that would be used as bank hat money. So basically it is like credits that are earned for circumstances that are either
taxes that are taken below 2% or health care increases on our payments that are over 2%. that because the state knows that basically healthc care goes up more than 2% every year. Salaries go up more than 2%. That's why since 2010 they
extended these options. So basically they're on paper right now and we're presenting to the board if considered to take one of the options to go into the bank and then the taxpayer would be charged to go in the bank. Technically right now it's on paper. Does that make
sense? I think what the board member Wang is asking, okay, whether or not that money on the table is already, you know, deposited somewhere in the safe or is it coming from the taxpayers's funds?
No. Okay. Thank you. That's what I was trying to say. Essentially, it's you ra your taxes will get raised by whatever the amounts of the uh bank cap options are on top of the 2%. Does that help? Okay. And what's the ones you said bank of up to three years, right? And since
that means school year 2021 going to expire, what's the amount they're about to expire? So essentially for 2526 is the healthcare waiver amount. I have the state report. I know off the top of my head I don't know the hundreds of dollars. It's a
million11,000 for 2526 is the healthcare adjustment amount for the 2425 school year. For this year's credit, it's $718,000. That $718,000 was healthcare adjustment funds
last year that were eligible to be elected, but they were not chosen. So, it went into the bank. And then in the year uh before that 2 years ago, taxes were raised right around 2%. So there was a couple of pennies below 2% that
were in the bank. And then there was healthcare adjustment money as well. It made the amount in the bank from 2 years ago about $1.9 million. And the board uh approved about $1.1 million of those funds 2 years prior. And there's about
$875,000 of a credit still remaining. So if you take the 875, the 718, and the million11 and add it up, that's the $2.605 million. I have a small question. Um so
the in the uh 4.98% option one or you can take option two. When you say the taxpayers put $600 uh,000 house assessed value it
will cost us $17862. this is the exact amount or this is does not include the debt service which is going towards the debt service amount on top of that this amount. So this is not the exact amount for the taxpayer. No,
it it is I have the spreadsheet that I shared with the board um essentially over the weekend in the schoolboard.net folder. It took three calculations um and it took the tax increase, it took the debt service and it netted them out.
I included the bottom figure just for the sake of simplicity on what the bottom line tax impact is. That number includes the tax increase and the debt service. So essentially you would be raising the taxes and then essentially in the future if you had a new
referendum that would go on top of that. So that number that is on the slide right there would be your tax increase for the year on top of the 2%. 2% and then this this amount is just the tax increases for school purposes. The
township may more that is that that is our proposal and obviously the town they're making their proposal and um usually their proposal is higher than us. So this is only for schools budget but then fortunately that's all I do. Yes.
Also, so um yeah, so I was just confused about the this amount does not include the debt service what we are paying also. That's what I'm saying. It does. It has a tax increase debt service and that's the net of the tax increase,
right? The 4.98 percentage, isn't it? Yes. Not the $178. That's the one is a percentage, one is a dollar amount. I present it in two different ways. That's a dollar amount. Andrew.
Yes, sir. Um, so in options three and four, you mentioned u potential staff cuts. Do you have numbers associated with that? Okay, so let's go to the slides. That's why I stand here. I I knew I need to use this
three and four essentially tie. Correct. Yes. So if we look at this is the best way that I could do this with the information that I have available to everyone. So ultimately we'll go back to slide I think uh if we go to option one it'll kind of tell the story a little
bit better. So essentially if option one went into the uh was approved we'll just round for the sake of time. 1.6 million in salaries and benefits would uh go back into the budget. So keep that in mind, the 1.6 number. And then we'll go
back to option three, which is the first dimension. And uh just for the sake of rounding, we're going to round that 382,000 to $400,000. So essentially 1.2 million of the 1.6 million would still be cut. We'd
be very happy that 382,000 salaries would come, but basically 1.2 of the 1.6 would still be cut at this option. And for option four, the one way to look at it, option one, 1.6 million will go back in. Option four is where we were after
we left the March 18th meeting with $1.6 million worth of salaries and benefits out of the budget. Does that answer the question? Yeah. Thank you. Yes, sir. I do want to clarify that statement okay because um the numbers that are the tax
impact that's being presented and it's presented at net which means there is a layer of what it will be the permanent tax increase and then there is an amount that is related to the maturing debt.
Now, the taxpayers need to be fully aware that with the uh high school roof that needs to be replaced and all other capital improvements that will have to happen in the next year or two, we will
have a referendum that will add for a very long time additional debt that will increase tax. So looking at that reduction in debt that's about that's only one year decrease or maybe even six month decrease depending how quickly the
referendum will happen. So I think for full understanding of the tax impact we should really look at the tax increase because that stays with us forever. It's not going down. So now option two which is the 1.6
6 million. A family uh with the house assessed at 500, they would have $400 increase um in taxes with with adoption.
If we uh increase the tax additional um 779 uh the $500, you know, dollar house will have an increase of $300. So when we go to the $800 uh
dollar house, that means that $1.6 6 million means an additional 5 $500 on the tax bill and then option three would be $415 um for for that
house. That's for one year increase this year. Next year we will get additional increase with that increase already built in the in the base plus the 2% that will be compounding on that. So next year when we have a
referendum that increase will already be part of the base plus additional maybe 400 additional 500 uh on top of the 2%. So yes what referendum are you speaking to and what decision has been made on a
referendum? So the the referendum the potential referendum was discussed in off uh meeting and uh with the VA that was uh previously working here and
basically um right now we are working with the architect that is doing the assessment of our facilities and creating a plan of what facilities and what type of capital
improvements we need to uh do in the nearest future and there will be a five-year plan of what needs to happen. So once we get that information that will quantify how much we will need to
improve and how much that will cost that amount will be substantially exceeding our budget. So it will have to go on the referendum and that's a responsible way to increase tax because we do need to
maintain our facilities because otherwise it will cost us much more if we don't. So but just to be clear, no decision has been made on referendum. I just want to make that clear. the decision was made to have uh the architects uh engaged to
do the assessment and in the next month or two we're supposed to have the architect presenting the budget and the cost uh for the next uh uh long-term facility plan. And to be clear, these discussions are about enhancements to
the facility or to maintenance to the facilities capital improvement. So let's because we have maintenance built into our budget maintenance. Yes. But this will be much much more significant once we take down
the uh solar panels of the high school roof. That will give us opportunity to replace the roof. That will that will come with another cost that will probably um allow us to change the air
conditioning system. There are um capital improvements that are needed in the pool. Um there are some capital improvements that will have to happen. I believe in was I believe it was the ones that we presented earlier. Yes. Yes. So
they're already in budget. No, they're not. They will be I'm sorry. I want to then I I need to clarify that. Yes. I thought that the ADA track everything that's on that list is broad grants. Those are all around. So, I'm going to I'm going to there will be an addition
to that. So, I'm going to try to wrap bring this full circle. I agree with Orvis Pilac saying those would be potential costs. If the board does we put a survey out to and we do move forward with the referendum and the bond rates are high, it would be a big
referendum. Those would be future costs that most schools do as they continue to improve the school, which would be additional taxes. I don't disagree with what you said. if a referendum is approved in the future. Other questions from the board?
I I have a question. Um on your pie chart, uh you specified that two areas of um funds are located within the local taxes and the facilities. Um that's um an area that that we see significant
amount of money. So when I looked at your proposal on how do we address the budget and some of the budget um concerns, the question that I have on the local um taxes when we look at uh
any kind of improvements that we might want to make to the schools based on the conversation we just had. How many grants are you looking to go and search for? as I looked across other school districts, there's a significant amount of funds coming from grants that helps
with that uh number. And the second question I have on the facilities, um I know that you know uh what the school districts are doing in the area going into RFPs to improve cost. I know some school districts do that with their
current uh consulting firms going back renegotiating contracts. You know, I'm a little disappointed, I guess, not to see any other avenues that we're taking to bring cost savings into the school district. And the only option that we
have is uh tax increase. And I also would like to see the superintendent bring us some ideas on how do we maintain lower costs for the school district without focusing on the teachers first. So that's just uh two questions that I had. the local taxes
and the facilities grants and our fees. Okay. Excellent. So, we're going to answer those questions in order. All All great questions. So, as far as the grants, uh I will be happy to work with our architect and if there's any grant opportunities. I've I've done them in
the past. PSEG grants for electricity, various green grants that are out there, things of that nature. Pretzen's an excellent architect. Will Ross who's our lead is excellent. and I worked with him at extra districts. I'll be happy to ask him what opportunities are out there and
report to our off committee next meeting. So, thank you for that input. I appreciate that. I'll be happy to make that phone call and pass that information along. So, that's for that. As far as the RFPs, I don't disagree with you. Here is my position right now.
I am new here and I don't want to present to the board massive changes to vendors and different contracts that this school is used to doing if I don't know something off the top of my head
that is equal to or better than services for significant savings. I'm new here. there's certain things I'm very good at and there's certain things that I'm going to listen to the input and uh I'm going to work with Miss McLolin on whatever services she thinks that she needs her best to run the school and then if there's a better way to procure
them then I will do that. So I'm a little new here to kind of figure out who I'm going to kind of take away and who we're going to add. Um you want to talk in like our finance committee. Um I'm going to give one I'm going to give one option that I did. So, I was asked
to go out and potentially consider an RFP for our food service program. I was asked to do that because the quality of the food was we weren't happy with. Okay. To make a long story short, not go into the research and who we used before
and name vendors and why the food quality might have been better before when we weren't in the National Food Lunch Program and why we went in. I just met with the owners of the food service program and I said, "How much money are we making in profit? What could we do to not lose our subsidies that are in the
National Food Lunch Program?" Because if we change vendors or left the National Food Lunch Program, then we would have to subsidize all our students that are in free and reduced lunch, which would basically cost about a million dollars a year and lose $200,000 of profit. So, one of the solutions that I'm going to
present um in May uh at our board meeting is to have the vendor come in with an executive chef that's going to keep basically improve the food quality that's going to be within the pro parameters of the national food school
lunch program and still keep our state and federal revenue sources coming in. So, it kind of checks all the boxes of being fiscally responsible and improving the food for my our students. and I've done it in two other districts. It was highly successful. So, I don't see why it wouldn't be successful here. So, as I
mentioned to you earlier, if I know how to do something, I'm going to do it. And then that's one option I'm going to do. And as I learn who the different vendors are that are important for the district and I could work with Miss McLaclin to find the most fiscally responsible ways to entertain some, but I wanted to tread lightly because I wouldn't want to go to
her. This place is cheaper. Let's just go with them for their cheaper and then our service falls off and then you end up paying for the B. But I hear you loud and clear. But that just takes a little bit of time to do so. So I can learn who the vendors are. As far as lowering the cost for superintendent, I'm going to let Mr. Gawklin speak to that. But just
for my two cents, for the last I want to say eight weeks, very regularly, Mr. Glock and I ask where are different ways that we could save money. As I mentioned to you before, an unfortunate reality of our business. We're in the people business.
We have teachers, we have students. You need a lot of teachers. We have a lot of students. It's 85% of our budget. So really, there's only a small amount of consumables in areas where we could say, where are we not efficient? Where can we cut? And I think we went through the
1741 lines of our budget very diligently. I actually made too many cuts initially. I got a little too aggressive and um the budget managers wanted to ask where I lived. Uh so I was actually asked to reinstate some of the areas that I cut. So I am I can cut very
heavy. Um and I cut too heavy. So we really did look at the areas. Unfortunately, just like in these times that we live, just the expenses are outpacing our revenues. And I I don't want to make anybody's taxes go higher. I just want to try to strike that balance as we all alluded to before on
how do we provide for our staff, how do we provide for our students, and how do we try to be responsible in these expensive times. But it's not easy. Miss, if you have anything to add to that, you pass. I don't think there is much. Yeah, I was going to say we shave
down that 14% every single year. And there are things that we have no say over like we might need new tables because they're broken, right? The chair, student desks, we need new desks. There's we have to get the fire safety done, all the inspections, that's all
costly. And that's all out of that 14%. um a lot of the operations is in that 14%. So things we can't utility bills that go up tremendously like 30% a year things like that. So it's really hard to find savings in the 14%. But we do our
best like Mr. Italiano said we cut cut say do you need this this year? But that's the thing when you keep saying can you hold it off another year? Can you hold it off another year? When the base doesn't grow you have to actually replace it with something else. So, okay, we're not going to buy library books this year, but then what happens when we actually really need library
books? Something has to give, right? So, if you keep the uh the base healthy, then you'll have the availability to prioritize. And when I meet with the budget managers and with the principles, we look at everything as a district-wide, not just building
specific. Um, for example, we brought up full day kindergarten. That was a huge task for us. prek12 all the budget managers were involved and took steep cuts in order to make that happen at that amount. So that was with doing our
diligence and looking at areas where we could cut share staff do what we can for the kids. I have a followup with Mary actually because you're an expert in uh in special ed, right? So um I did
some research uh how much other districts uh spend on special ed, how many students are sent out of district and how the district support their
students so they get all resources and support that they need to be successful and thrive. So um Bernard's for instance is a district that we often compare ourselves to. So in Bernard's uh they
have 34 students that are sent out of district. Montgomery has 34 students that we send out of district. So um the cost actually on their side is slightly lower but we may have students
that require uh different type of support. So we absolutely need to uh support those students. However, what I noticed is how much more they claim in X8. So, for those of you who do not know
what an X8 is, it's basically a program that the state allows us to file an application and file um list all the um I guess costs that are associated with
out of placement um costs and then if the tuition for instance exceeds 55,000 then the state is basically sending us additional aid to help us pay and
support those students. So if Bernards has exactly the same number of students as us, they receive from the state $3.9 million in Xate. We
only get 1.5 million. So that's one $2.5 million that we spent out of pocket to support those students instead of claiming it back from the state. If we were more successful in claiming that
additional uh X8 aid, we would not even have to consider anyone leaving because of the budget cuts. So I'm just wondering why there is such a gap and what we can do to improve our uh
recoverability from the state because in my view that's truly money left on the table. There is ability to claim additional funds from the state. Well I can answer that. Um so there's formulas and it depends on the
individual student. So if somebody has let's say a onetoone power professional you can count the entire par professional with the benefits. If it's a shared power you cannot count it. If uh like you said if it goes over the tuition and then sometimes there's
monies that are collected through semi that you can't go after. So, I can't speak to why Bernard's got more money than we um than we did last year, but cuz every student is very individual and their IEP is very indiv indiv indiv indiv indiv indiv indiv indiv indiv indiv individual and their needs are
very individual. But I will tell you that Mr. Italiano or Miss Mr. Dreamer will work very closely together to make sure that we get the maximum amount of money for all the students that are eligible for extraordinary aid. Yeah. Because Bernardet's consistency, it wasn't just one year. That's really
their recoverability year over year. So maybe it's worthwhile to call them up and see what they do different than us because that's money that can be brought to our district and pay for all those needs that we have to maintain the
grounds to pay for all the salaries, benefits, programs. and we would not have to worry about increases in the tax levies and any cuts to the any expenses that we have. I agree with what you're saying. I can't
speak to the past application cuz I didn't do it, but your point's very valid. Here's what I can tell you. Um, I've worked in smaller districts, so I used to have to fill out the X8 application myself, so I have familiarity with the limits, what you could put on. And I can tell you our special dut special services director,
Mr. Dreamer is excellent and I work very closely with her. So, we will work on this together going forward and we won't leave a dollar on the table. As for the past, I can't speak to I can't compare, but you know what? I I go to the monthly BA roundts. I have no problem making a
note here and asking the BA Bernards, how do you get every penny on the X8? And if he does something a little better than us, I'll be happy to mirror what that person does and report to the off committee. I hope that helps. Let's learn from them because they're definitely doing something right. I'll I'll ask and I'll let you know. Thank
you. You're welcome. Board member Gwen, you had a question. So, I just have two comments and a question. Um, comment number one is I just think we need to really focus on the fact that this budget is mostly it's 85% salaries and benefits. When we start chipping away at all of these other little things, it's
not going to make the dent that I think we're talking about. I think we need to be really realistic about the 85% is on salaries and is on benefits. The second point I want to make is that I I feel like as a board we need to vote on what's in front of us. I think it's very very dangerous to vote on a a might be
in the future. Um we have no idea about a referendum in the future. We have no idea about monies in the future and we need to be really deliberate about what's in front of us right now and to vote on what's um Um a question please if you could um go back to slide two or option two. Sure.
Just a moment. I know you had this question as well. I don't want to step on your toes but um two so two questions are um is there a way that we can shift those numbers so that the staff salaries and benefits um outweigh the operations
and maintenance? And number two, can you please um be specific about when you say many key staff um that sorry this would help us retain many key staff that were cut and provide. So between one and two there's no difference in staff cuts
between two and three there's a difference in cap staff cuts. Is that correct? So essentially, yes, they're correct. And we tried to be proportionate as we work down like you see the 779, the 820, that proportion is
the same like as the 382 and the 987 as we were kind of going over everything. I want to ask I want to touch base on all your questions and if Miss Mclofflin has anything to add, I'll add it. So, I could say this before the meeting is over and anything is voted on, I could
change I could change anything because I'm reading um these resolutions into public record to be voted on. So, if this option wanted to be changed and few more dollars wanted to be added towards staff and salaries and not the
operation, I could uh quick over that with Miss Luckland. If this was going to be something I was supported, I'd be glad to quick change the resolution. I have to take my phone calculator out to do some math because there's a lot of different when you make a change to the tenative budget and go to the final
budget. The county business administrator makes you go by the state line number to demonstrate what your changes are and then there's a bank cap and a waiver resolution that you have to change. So there's probably about six to 10 lines I have to change. I'd be happy to do it. So the answer is yes to that.
Um I would hope if I do that um we're going to have support hopefully to um do that. Um what was the there's a couple parts to your question. So besides changing it which I could do what else did I not touch base option two and option three in terms of how that affects the district. Well opt option
two um the reason I use the word key staff is just for the sensitivity to our community. I didn't want to allude to the positions, the building, things of that nature because it would be very easy to figure out who some of these
folks are that I feel very bad for that I work with every day. Um, so proportionally the cut is the number to the next number. The amount that's of the funding that we're asking for that's allocated to the salaries and benefits of the operation, it's the same
proportion just based on the reduced amount of the ask. So that that's the best way I could ask that. Let me ask you a question since it's uh it's your suggestion. Uh we're we're all having a conversation here trying to uh maybe get a little more
funding. Uh what would be your proposed change to option number two? No, we're all we're all this is a friendly conversation and we're all trying to help out. So please go ahead. down here. Can we take 50% of that 820
and move Can we take 50% at least of that 820 and move it over to the 779 and keep more of our staff, please? All right. If that if that's something the board supports, uh, I spoke with Mr. Mclofflin. Uh, we've been doing this a
while. An extra $400,000 to the facility and all that extra money to the staff. 400 to the staff, 400,000. No. Well, yeah. Well, that's what I'm saying. Yeah. So, I'm saying basically to round it up of that 1.6, you're saying uh Miss Spina, what about $1.2 million, let's
call it, to the salaries and benefits and about $400,000 to the facility. That's your proposal. Yeah, I need the teachers in the buildings, teaching the kids. I know the buildings need to stay standing. I realize that, too. That's
very important. Um, but it's it's the teachers and the staff here that make the greatest impact, and that's what Honestly, I'm hoping that maybe the the Barardsville PA can help you out on how to integrate some facilities numbers.
And over time, I think we have a better shot of doing that. You know, looking over time of how we could really work on that number. If I can get that number, it only cost me a couple of lunches. I'll be glad. Like I told Miss FAC, I'd be glad to get it. So, here's what I'm going to um respond to because again, this is very unique with the options. I
think everybody's given great input. We do know that this could help these folks. We know it does hit your pocket a little bit and there's expensive future. So, what I'm going to what I'm going to say is let's go through the whole process. Let's finish with the board questions, let the teachers ask, and then I'll take a brief break. I just
kind of very quickly work with Miss McLolin. we'd be very happy to to make that change, but like I said, there's a significant amount of math that I'd have to do very quickly to do that. So, after the whole conversation's done, I would just need like a 10 15 minute recess to
recalculate the resolution based on the request if um that's what we want to do. I'd be happy to do that. Okay. Any other questions from the board? I have to add one. all the parents uh emailed uh questions about the technology in um
middle school. So I think we know that federal pandemic relief funding is ending uh which we know that was very temporary and uh Mary mentioned that's close to $2.6 6 million and uh you
mentioned that moving forward going to be part of the budget and given the latest state and national assessment results show that student scores in both reading and math are turning back to pdemic levels on average. Uh I wonder
the argument for continued spending on learning loss and the technology in middle school especially for the younger grades. uh where the benefits we bring more than the harm and uh I just see
that and uh I want to know whether that type of the funding um can we reallocate this funding to you know protect teachers and not burden the taxpayer I don't have the number right in front of me but I think that to keep our one
to one starting um in fifth fifth grade, right? Yeah. Starting in fifth grade is $130,000. Is that correct? Yeah. Correct. Yes. Okay. I remember that number. And that so those Chromebooks the students will use
all the way through 8th grade and then they get repurposed and they're used for testing throughout the district which is what we have to use for testing for NJSLA testing and then sometimes they get repurposed again. What what's the third repurpose? I don't have third
repurpose is to go down to elementary. That's right. To use as cards, right? One to one is definitely more affordable about an 8 to 10 year life cycle of Chromebooks. um to change the Chromebook use in fifth and sixth grade back to
cartbased in the classrooms. The cost would be purchasing carts in all the classrooms again and then purchasing an additional amount of Chromebooks to the one to one because when you put carts in each classroom, there are more classroom
locations than students. So you actually purchase about 33% more Chromebooks by not having a rental one. It is not the cost effective option. Thank you. Right. It's definitely the most affordable way to go.
Any other questions from the board? Thank you. Okay. So I have one question. Oh, okay. Go ahead. So as a as a school district employee, I just um wanted to find out what are the process when you're um getting the vendor list
approved. So for any professional services or anything does do you have anybody who is negotiating rates with them? I'm not talking about RFPs where you have a bid from three people. I'm just just general any service provider.
So for example any the evaluators like FBA valuation or um OTPT valuation is there anybody who kind of sits there and negotiate rates because sometimes every
penny accounts for some money for food districts. So I was just wondering is there anybody you have appointed to do that work? Well this is what I can speak to. If you look at pages 12 through most of the agenda, most of those are a lot of our
services for the next year that have contractual rates. So I do not have the time to go through the entire vendor list and negotiate them. That's why we use cooperatives and state contract to go ahead and do the negotiation collectively for the school districts to
find us discounted rates on the common services that most of the schools do. And those are a lot of the annual services that we're asking the board on this agenda, many pages of them to approve next year. So when all possible, we do go this route because we have
professionals that probably even better than me can negotiate these rates cuz that's what they're doing. So we do try to take advantage of that. And I will be honest, more often than not, the business administrator is going to go this route than like a personal negotiation like this was my own
business. So most of the time I'm not going to do a personal negotiation. I'm going to procure through a co-op, through a state contract or an RFP or a bid depending on the product, the service, and the amount. And in my short time here, I see that uh we could do a
good job with that. But like we're talking to uh I'm a very open-minded person. If there's better ways um to help get us the needs that we can and save a dollar, we're always going to do that. So, what we're going to do, Mr. Todd, at this time, because it's a little unique, uh, like with the presentation and the
adjustment I have to do, we're going to turn it over to the public comment section at 3 minutes. After the public comment session is done, I'm going to ask for a recess to redo that resolution. Then after the recess, then
we're going to be begin to vote on the option. So, I'm going to pass to the community now. Thank you to the board for your questions and [Applause] your I just before we move forward I just want to say thank you to Mr. Italiano and to Miss Mclofflin. This is
a very difficult concept and I think that they've taken an exorbitant amount of time to be able to educate all nine of us on the board. um it feels like a lose-lose and I cannot thank you enough um for your time and your effort to help us and to educate us on trying to make the best decision that we can for all of
our constituents. So, thank you. One other thing I left out. I'm sorry, Mr. So, the board of education welcomes and encourages input from the public. Members of the public are allowed at one opportunity to address the board regarding the 2025 2026 budget only for up to a
maximum of 3 minutes per speaker. All comments must be directed to the board. Before you make your comment, please state your full name and address and enter both on the Chromebook provided. Being mindful of privacy rights regarding students, board employees, and board members and to avoid any liability on the part of the speaker, the board
discourages defamatory and discourteous remarks. The public comment portions of the meeting are not structured as question and answer sessions, but rather offered as opportunities for the public to share their thoughts with the board. The board may need to refer an issue to the superintendent if the issue has not been handled through the appropriate
chain of command, usually started at the school level. Responses may be provided at the end of this session. So, if you're going to make comments, please put your name in the Chromebook and step up to the microphone. And this is comments on the budget
presentation only. Hi every is that? Oh, there we go. My god, now it's way too loud. Hi everybody. Hey, I'm Francine Feffer, five Mystic Drive, and I wasn't here last month, but I did watch the recording online, and I was really dismayed to see that the board
presented a budget without using all of the funding available to it. I don't use up my time. I hope you choose the health insurance waiver and the bank cap the full amount. I would really applaud that decision. We live in
a time of great uncertainty when it comes to federal funding of public education. For those of you who are newer to this board, I do live in this town, but I am also a lobbyist for the New Jersey Education Association, and I do a lot of work on school funding policy. And from what I know, we need to
raise as much revenue as we can. Montgomery received over a million dollars in federal funding this year with about 850,000 for special ed and about another 280,000 in titles 1 through six and other funding. The threatened cuts to states like us make
it very irresponsible to not raise as much money as we can at this time. Uh Mr. Italiano, last month you talked about reserves and how we were using them to balance the budget and that we shouldn't be using them for recurring expenses. I think I heard that correctly. Um not taking the maximum
available this year will lower our available funds in the future as the overall tax levy base will be lower. I'm not sure that everyone here truly understands the impact of not raising the levy the maximum amount possible. You can never ever walk that back. You're never getting that money. We'll
always have less funding because we aren't going to the maximum amount we could have. I could go on about this in great wonky detail and talk to you so much about school funding, but I only have a minute and a half, not three hours. Our special ed instruction from your last month's thing was budgeted to
go down approximately $800,000. What if enrollment changes or you have a lot of new students who require those expensive outofd district placements? What if the federal government cuts some of New Jerseys funding? The highest budget increase for now that I saw in this presentation would be about $40 a month
on my assessed home of $560,000, which really has a market value of a million dollar. Even the $647 a year, that's small relative to my over $18,000 property tax bill. People say they can't afford more taxes, but for the vast majority of people, that's
a values decision. They can, they just don't want to. I'm the past president of a synagogue in Montgomery, and I deal with this all the time. I can't afford this. I can't afford that. And then they show up with an $85,000 brand new car in the parking lot and a brand new Louis Vuitton bag, and they tell me how much
their suite on the on the cruise ship cost. It's a values choice. And that's a values choice. So, I want to ask this board and this community about your values choice. What do you value? Do you value our children and the education they receive? If so, you'll vote yes for
all the revenue we can get right now. Doing anything else is irresponsible and so [Applause] I have one sentence left. If we truly value our children, we will vote yes for all the money we can raise our children. This community deserves nothing less
than that. Thank you. Good evening. My name is Hope Caldwell. I live at 22 Sycamore Lane in Skilman. I have eighth grade twin boys and the main reason why we moved here to Montgomery 10 years ago was for this building that we're standing in right now and the
buildings that we've been in. Um, since I see so many people I know in this room, I have gonna give a huge shout out to all of you who have made it possible for my sons to not only get from one grade to the next, but
achieve so many small achievements throughout their life so far to be able to go to high school next year. It's a true miracle and we couldn't have done it without all of your support and I can't thank you enough. Um, so I know
firsthand what happened with the cuts last year because the occupational therapist that was uh assigned to my son, both of my sons was cut. That was not corrected until November. And so, not only did my sons
not receive those services for those two months, the district was out of compliance with their IEP, which could have led to more costs to the district to defend law a potential lawsuit. That was a bad decision and lacked the foresight to plan for how to replace
those contractually obligated services. Tonight, you must vote to support our children. the 2% 4% 6% I don't really care what the percentage is because none of them are 14% like other school districts or higher around New Jersey
that they they are facing just to maintain any kind of um semblance of normaly what Montgomery has is a lot and we are all very fortunate to be here and to have it but what is it it's the
fourth best SAT scores in the state stellar robotics programs music and orchestra programs, athletics, afterchool help from well-qualified teachers, college prep, the growing unified program that's near and dear to my heart. All of that will go away one
cut at a time, not just tonight. the damage will be done and not just to the kids that are currently enrolled like my boys, but to the district as a whole and the town as a whole when property values then go down when the school district is not able to provide everything that is
provided today. If people want lower taxes, they should go back to my where I was born and raised in Pennsylvania because there are very low taxes and not even close to the caliber schools here in Montgomery. we can afford a few extra $100 when the
median um income in the township is over $200,000. School boards must make difficult decision choices and I appreciate you being here. But as leaders, you are faced with a reasonable solution tonight that you can that
directly impacts my children and families across Montgomery. The choice is simple. Please vote to increase the tax with option one to support our children. If you don't vote to do this modest increase, then it is clear you do
not support our children. Hi, good evening. Uh, my name is Henry Goodw. I come from Hillsboro. I feel like your BA actually beetlejued me into the room by speaking of my district and I'm here in my capacity as the first vice president of the Somerset County
Education Association where I proudly represent close to 7,000 amazing educators in the schools throughout Somerset. But more importantly, I'm here because I'm the president of the Hillsboro Education Association, a role that I have proudly had for 11 years.
and I live there. I work there. My kids go to those schools. But I want to offer you a cautionary tale of what is currently before you because I've lived it for close to eight years now. This is not a one-time decision that you make in isolation. This is a decision that will
have a ripple effect through every budget and every decision you make from here forward. You heard other speakers say that you do not recover from shortch changing these districts or these schools rather, no matter how little that is. And I saw firsthand in my
district what that meant in 2018-19. That meant 56 jobs were cut. 56. That meant larger class sizes, less services, more struggle for the people in those buildings to make sure that the students had an exceptional education. And we
persevered against that. We persevered to make sure that we kept delivering to those students. But every year we lost and we lost more. And now we're talking about some classes where we had students talk yesterday in our board meeting where they mentioned 36 kids being in
some of the high school classes. Is that what you want here? I can tell you what it's like to be in a building where we're wondering whether or not we can fix the roof because we need to make sure that there's someone in the classroom. I've lived that. My children have lived that. My members have lived that. I don't want you to live that. So,
as much as I started out with a joke that I'm here because you beetlejued me into the room, really, I'm here as like the ghost of school budgets past to warn you about what's in front of you to urge you to make the right decision. And you look at that pie chart, you see 85% up there. It's because of these amazing
people and what they do for those kids. So, that's absolutely where it should be because no dollar you invest in these people goes un goes wasted. It's a dollar you're investing in these kids. It's a dollar you're investing in the future of Montgomery. It's why people
come here. I cannot urge you strongly enough to learn from what happened right up the road. Avoid that mistake. Avoid what we are building back from. Thankfully, our board made the right decision last night. They invested in our schools and I can tell you it is a heck of a lot more than what you are
considering. This is an easy decision. It's difficult in the sense when you're thinking about taxes. Nobody likes that. It's easy when you think about that. Every single one of those dollars is going back to serve the amazing students in these buildings. I cannot urge you strongly enough, make the right choice.
Support option one, please. Hello. Uh my name is Matt Heinley. I uh live at 27 Mystic Drive in Skilman. Uh I am a proud alum of the Montgomery uh school system. Uh from the
4th to 12th grade, uh I had the great privilege of being able to go to this fantastic school system. Uh I graduated 5 years ago. Uh last year I graduated from Ruckers University uh with a degree in environmental science and now I'm
working towards my PhD at Princeton University in geosciences. And I don't say that to be braggadocious at all. And you know the family that I come from is not uh far from the wealthiest family in this town.
And I must say that it is because of the quality of education that I received throughout my time as a student in this district that has enabled me to achieve all that I have today. There's no question about it.
any I would like to echo what the previous speakers has said that the moment we start cutting away from the school budget there's more down the road and there's more down the road and there's more down the road and we'll keep cutting and we'll keep cutting we'll keep cutting we have to stand strong and we have to support the school
system fully I realized when I went to college how great my education was here and how well prepared I was to enter the world and to achieve all that I am aiming to achieve today. And there are different
stories from students all up and down this school district. The my question to those who do not think that this is a worthwhile investment. Would you prefer that we cut out the students who are high achievers
or that we cut out the students who are low achievers? Because these budgets are essential to have the amazing amenities that make spectacular students in this district and also support the students
who need it the most at the same time. Any cut will cut both of our heads off at the same time. And from an economic appeal because it's obvious that our school system is great. That is why the property values in this
town are so high. And if we start cutting the school, the budget to the schools, our property values will decrease. So we'll be, sure, we'll be paying a couple hundred dollars less in taxes a year now, but we'll be paying tens of thousands or recouping tens of
thousands or hundreds of thousands of dollars less when people are trying to sell their homes in the future. we would be destroying this town by destroying the thing that makes it great and that is our school system. So I ask what are you comfortable with cutting if you
aren't comfortable with supporting the entire budget that is required for the school system 76 Fieldcrest Avenue. Good evening. I'm speaking to you tonight as both a resident and a teacher here in Montgomery. Now, in my 21st year teaching here, eight years ago, my
husband and decided my husband and I decided to move our family here because we believed in the strength of this community, specifically its schools. Today, my children are in their seventh year of attending our outstanding Montgomery schools, and I continue to be grateful for the
education and opportunities that they receive here. Our schools are truly special places where students can grow, thrive, and succeed. But without the proper funding, that growth is at risk. Failing to pass the first budget option would have a
direct and negative impact on all of our students. Class sizes will increase even more than they have already over recent years. And for teachers like me who work with work closely with marginalized students like our multilingual learners, this will greatly limit the necessary
teacher contact the students can receive. The students of Montgomery must always be our highest priority. That means the board must make decisions that fully support their learning and well-being. Passing a budget that uses all available
resources is essential to maintaining the highquality education our community values. Voting down any part of this budget would be a disservice to every student in Montgomery. Thank [Applause]
you. Hello. My name is Jim Maker. I live at 59 Ron Oak Road and I've been a resident of Montgomery for 26 years. And over those 26 years, I've seen many, many individuals that I know that have gone through the Montgomery School
District. And I will tell you from firsthand that the reason people move to Montgomery is the school district and the education that they get. And I've seen a lot of changes in 26 years. But the thing that hasn't changed in my opinion is that the students start in
the youngest grades and go right through high school. And that gentleman who was just here two two people ago, phenomenal success. And that's because of the education for all these individuals in this room. And I appreciate that. Now, I've had the good fortune of having my daughter go through the school district
and now employed as a faculty member for 14 years in the district. I also have two other family members that work in district as faculty and I support them fully. So my recommendation like a lot of others here is option one. When we
think about I again I know we're talking hundreds of dollars. I get that on a tax bill over the course of a year. If we added up how much we spent on Starbucks over the course of a year, I think $600 is not that big a deal. Again, I don't think and I'm
coming to you from the retiree community, okay? I'm retired and still live in Montgomery. Yes, taxes are high, but we don't move to Montgomery because there's low taxes. That's just not the point. We don't do that. and as well as home values in the 26 years I've been
here have skyrocketed. Good for all of us that have been here that long, honestly. Okay. So, my point is I would really like for you to vote on option one where we get the most dollars spent on the appropriate way and our children
still benefit from it. And our staff members, I don't want to see classrooms of 36 people. I know what it's like. I sit around dinner tables listening to teachers talk about classrooms. That's a fact. And we all
know teachers. We do love them to death. But classrooms of 24, 20, 25, that's wonderful. Good. I want to keep it that way. So my recommendation as a homeowner and a taxpayer, vote for option one.
Thank you. Good evening. I'm ash from here in Avenue and I'm also here to say that choose favor and cap. Okay. Teachers have done a lot and I have two kids in Montgomery system. I could I was I work remotely. I came from Pennsylvania. I
used to pay 3% property tax but I choose to be in Montgomery because the education is good. I give a very simple story. My son didn't like music during co it was remote and he went to school in his in his LMS in the first day who
returned his music instrument but it was a teacher who made influence and therefore he loves music. Teachers make a big influence. It is because the class size is optimal here. If you cut the if you cut funding the classes will get bigger. The morale of all the teachers
will go down. And how can we make this community better? I know that if you increase by 100 bucks, yes, 100 bucks is more, but the in return the education you'll get will lead to an exponential increase in the property prices and people the homeowners will actually
benefit from it. You are looking at short-term and cutting it. Please look at long-term and please choose waiver. Inflation is higher, health insurance is higher, everybody is struggling. It's the wrong time to think of cutting. So please do not come and please support
option one is what I would say. Thank you. Uh my name is David David W. I live in Montgomery. My daughter actually went to school here. They um I I same like all the parents. I certainly love our kids and love education and education
from my my background where I came from is probably number one priority in a family but I do wanted to offer a few perspectives for the board to consider. So first first thing all the previous
speakers talking about the input right by the way by treating I'm an economist always talking about the input seems like the the more money we spend the better the results will be is is that
true so um yes the input of the dollars will be an important factor to determine the outcome but is that the only factor? So that's one thing I would like
the board to uh consider whatever the final decision is. Second thing, if we look at the spending, should we know more details how those budget are are
allocated are really for the benefits of of the students and can we look around the other countries around us? Do they always increase tax and how their results are? uh even
talking to our own town when I moved to here I think Montgomery was ranked probably number one or number two and through all these years I certainly see the tax increase how about our ranking I'm not
against the appropriate way to spend to support our education I fully support that but should we also consider efficient way to increase our education outcomes and the third thing yes I'm a
taxpayer as well I wanted to talk about the all these perspect stakeholders we also heard about our kids right yes that's top priority I also heard about our teachers yes that's very important the third perspective I also want your
board to consider taxpayers yes $600 is is not that important if I have a job. But you know recently there are a lot of layoffs in surrounding
areas and if if you have one kid goes to college you have to pay for that tuition and in the meantime also increase your property tax and without a job. I'm just saying if that's a situation or you are
struggling and with all the inflation currently going on. So that's the third perspective. Yes, support students, support the teacher because another perspective is a taxpayer perspective. That's all. Thank you. Just a reminder, those of you those
of you just joined online, make sure you put your name in the Chromebook, please. Thank you. [Applause] Hello. Um sorry that I didn't prepare very well today because I just see the message from my uh social media of the
community like the Montgomery community. Uh a lot of people like the resident here they are very uh concerned about the increasing the tax. So that's why the reason I'm here um I actually my job
is a realtor. I'm selling house helping the h helping the people who relocation. So one thing I want to br up is that when I helping the people buying house a lot of people they will looking for the tax and I want to they looking for the good school district for sure we are
great Princeton area we have a lot of good school district including Princeton West princboro cranberry um Montgomery they are all good all they're all good so but compared to their tax rate we are the highest
one Even burner burner basking which is very good school. So when my car looking for into it they're looking for not just the house price not just the school also they're looking for to the tax. So for
the bunders of township the general tax rate is 1.779 Bridgewater is 1.9 Hillsboro is 2.0 0 Montgomery is 3.376 Cranberry is
1.8 Prince is 2.559 West is a 3.065 Princeton is 2.663 663 and we need to think about that because we are the family paying the tax. We are the resident here. We are
paying the tax. We are suffering. Sometimes some people they lose their job. They need to move. They call me. They say they cannot afford a tax here because it's high. When the people getting older, the first thing when the kids go to college, they call
me because they want to transport to the loader tax area. I think Montgomery is the most the people call me not just because I'm living here because the tax is high and also in this this neighborhood it's not just the people have the kids also they have some adult
there they have a adult community they have a couple of the adult community so I think when we are considering the tax we should think about that and also I want to say right now the house market is very good so the prices all go up it's not because just
the school all the good school is around this history is this area also because have a very low inventory because the interest rate many business but when the market going down when the people have the choice to choose they will choose
the lower tax area I want to say all the school here are all good but when the market go bad our house value will drop as the citizen here I don't want to like keep increasing the tax the tax here is
already very high. Um, this is all my opinion. Thank you. [Applause] Hi everyone. Uh yeah, I'm pulling into this meeting also for the same reason as
uh Shannon like uh I got to know our increase uh the tax the property tax is going to be increased and to be honest with you I'm a resident in this township for more than a decade a year and I'm a mother of three. I appreciate all the education system and all the effort the
teacher put into there and I love the education system. and allow all the program but also as a resident here I'm paying very high tax comparing to most of the township which are even comparable or even slightly better school like rankings than Montgomery so
I'm just wondering like also as a family living here we do see the surfing of all the living cost and I understand the cost of the budget increase because the spending will be increased with everything is increasing in the cost But in the family like what we do is we are
trying to cut into the budget. We are spending like we give less outside we cut off the Starbucks coffee cost. We just try to give a tight budget to the most important core value of our leadings. I'm just broadly when we consider increasing budget how we also
consider how we can manage the current budget to make it more efficient to make every penny to go to the most valuable program the most beneficial to the students to most beneficial to the teacher and all the staffs. I'm just thinking about um I didn't prepare well
but I do think about one examples like every students got their book but I know a lot of family also give computer to their students they already have it's a duplicate effort is that a necessary budget things like this we may reveal all the plans and think will we can cut
off some cost try to make it more manageable and make everybody live in the keep our school system still a good reputation as well as we put put the residential in a more manageable way to leave because we do need to manage our living cost and still paying the tax. So
that's just a sitting speed voice from a residential here and I hope you can consider the opinion. Thank you very [Applause] much. Have to raise it a little bit. I'm very tall. All right. Hello everyone. My
name is Daniel Clark. I'm a school counselor in Franklin. Um, I do not currently work in Montgomery. However, I do work with a lot of wonderful people who do. I'm a proud member of the Somerset County Education Association where I work with many Montgomery
educators. And when they told me about this board meeting, it wasn't even a second guess. I was proud to come here to support them. When I decided to go into education, I was doing it for the children. I want to shape children's
futures. And I think everyone here wearing these red shirts, that's what we're all here for. We are hoping and encouraging you all to make the best decision for our students. I was pleasantly surprised to even see um a former parent of a child I educated. She
is a current staff member in Montgomery. So, I was happy to see her here. We are all here for the same purpose. We want to make the best decision for these students. The students are our future. We've heard from many great individuals before me talking about what a wonderful
school district this is. So, I am begging the board to please make the best decision for our students and for our future. Please vote option one. Thank you. [Applause] In my case, I'm a little bit shorter, so I turn you
down. Members of the board, members of the community, my name is Mammud Duki. I am not from town, but I am from the district. I live in South Bronx. Uh we endorse a very similar situation with
funding. And there is one number that I want to say in the brain. $5,000 $400 a week. 100 $400 a month. $100 a week. That's how much we spend the average whole household in New
Jersey spends on our lunch, on our meals. And we should be quite frankly ashamed if we say we cannot put that same funding and afford it to our youth and to our children. How can we how can we say that we want what is
best for the future? How can we say we want what is best for our children? If we choose other than our children, if we choose other than our youth. If we take away from the quality of education that they have, for that
will only hurt us in the long run. for there will not be progression, for there will not be a future. So we have to put our children first and we have to think about them and we must think about this more of an
investment than it is of a burden because a burden is truly going to be a burden. When we have folks moving out of town, when we have folks moving out of district, when we have homes failing to be sold, when we have homes failing to be bought, that is a burden. That is an
economic crisis. For those that are just looking at numbers, that's numbers. For those that are looking about the future, think of our children. Think of our youth. Think of our teachers. That's all I want to say. Thank you so much and appreciate you
guys. Hi, good evening. My name is Tatiana Rees. I live in 85 Cherry Brook Drive and I do have three kids in in the school district. I do recognize many faces and um I just want to let you know
that um for me is not whether or not I support the teachers. Um I absolutely do. I appreciate everything you do and um and actually everything that the school district does for for my kids.
However, I cannot afford more tax increases. Maybe two years ago, we already have a significant tax increase and now it seems like it's happening again. Things are piling up.
We are I think we all know that we are in in having issues with our budget and and with all the inflation and all the things that are going on around. And even though I do not think that hurting your guys' salaries or benefits is the
answer, you guys deserve the best at the most. We also need to be fiscally responsible and overthink whether or not the solution is going to be important the taxpayer. This cannot be the
answer. We have to think hard about the resources that we have. We need to think hard about how we're going to manage it. The limited resources that we have. I hear you saying, Mr. in Italiano. I hear you
saying um that you're new. I hear you say that there are potential avenues for for reducing um cost um through improving the procurement or services. I hear you
saying that um there are potential grants, there are different avenues that could help us, but increasing the taxpayer burden cannot be the first and only
answer. That's what I have to say. [Applause] uh Mark 3 1378 and 206. Um so this is being framed as either
there's a raise or we don't care about our kids. That's neither the case. Nobody says that. Nobody cares about the teachers. Hell, give them a 50% raise. Why not? I'd ask for the same too. Okay. What I can say is that if increasing the budget, like some people say here, it's
like, "Oh, we spend so much money on Starbucks." When I go to Starbucks and I give them my $10, I get a cup of coffee. And if it's not right, I go back and say, "This needs to be fixed." And it gets fixed immediately. I came to this school
district because of the grades, because I was like, "Oh, wow. Look, look at this high school. This is great. Look at my kids. It's going to go here. And we come to find out that my kid is unable to read. I pay a significant amount of money in taxes and I pay to have my
child have a reading assessment every single year on my own dime. So, my son is in third grade. He has a second grade reading ability.
So, I will give you $10,000 if you can get my kid to read at grade level now. But there's a guarantee, right? There is no guarantee. So, money is all we're looking at. How has that worked out? When we given money
to government, they spent a great, right? We can all say government is fiscally responsible. So, let me give you a little statistics. a child who is 90% likely to remain a poor reader at the end of the fourth grade. If the child is a a poor reader at the end of
the first grade, so then we can pretty much predict what's going to happen to my son. Okay, so one in six children who are not reading proficiently in the third grade does not graduate from high school on time. Range is four times greater for
non-proficient readers. 65% of American fourth graders do not read at proficient levels. So this is where my son is. I have educators. I have multiple
teachers and principles in my family. I have teachers and principles that work in the Patterson School District that for years were ranked with pretty low budgets. One in specific was always in the top 10. So,
how is it that I come to a better school district, but I should be sending it to my sister in Patterson and she would have been able to teach my kid how to read? That is disheartening. That's why I moved to this town. I didn't move to
Hillsboro. I tooured I tooured all of this area and I came here specifically and this is not what I came here for. So, the option is no. [Applause] Karen Anderson, Bill. Um, a couple
things. Since you sent out your agenda, I'm sure numerous emails have come in because I sent you two today and I'm aware of others. So, I want to make sure that you have all the information, all the input from the residents. Um, a lot of brave people came up here and spoke today. A lot of
brave people. I know some of you people, this is really tough to stand in front of you. I see red shirts. I see a lot of faces I recognize. But when I drove up and saw all of you in lines outside, like it was intimidating. And is that
your role is to come here and intimidate and make it feel nervous to come up here? I'm all about Please direct your comments to the board. Thank you. That's the intention. And the reason I say that is because five people before I came said represent my comment of a no vote
for the budget because they're concerned about how much it's going to cost them. Um, three people have roles in our township and they're concerned to come up because they're afraid of what they're not supposed to come up or they don't want anything jeopardized based on
them being speaking up. So, I'm representing people because their spouses also are nervous about actually saying something. So, there's more people out there that want to speak no, want to say no, want to question, want to challenge this. I'm aware of low-income people that don't even know if they they've been impacted. their
rent has gone up as low-income people and they don't know if this goes up again if they can even maintain their low-income housing. So, we have more lowincome houses if we continue to have these kind of impacts. Low-income people here will even be able to stay. So, I I don't know how this math pans out, but
there's concern and it's it's a no. It's not because we don't love our kids. It's not because we don't appreciate our teachers. Our teachers I've been here for over 20 years. The teachers have been amazing. I've had so much support from so many teachers. My kids love their teachers. They love this school.
But this money is just it's painful. Okay? And it's not just a cup of Starbucks coffee. I honestly don't go get Starbucks coffee because it's so expensive. Okay? I am there are people that don't go to Starbucks because it's too expensive and they have other bills
to pay. Um so I'm speaking of behalf of some people anonymously. Um um we received an email today from somebody else who made a comment about the cap and
that wanted to remind you of a fundamental agreement that you have with the community when voters relinquish the right to approve school budgets. It was clear understanding that annual increases would not exceed a 2%. Violating that trust is unacceptable.
And further, there's even a state senate bill in your email that was signed January 2024. Any proposed school budget exceeding the cap of 2% in a type 2 district, which we believe we still are, must go to voters
for approval. I trust Montgomery takes this into consideration. And also I sent an email that there's two people that should abstain because this is ma highly approved budget and impact and there's two members on this committee that should not
vote. Thank you. Hello. Um I'm a Beline resident. Uh I wanted to remind board uh that you are supposed to represent taxpayers. I keep hearing from people that we are leaving money on the table. Healthc care tax
increase is not money left on the table. Nobody is entitled to grab taxpayers money without employing school programs. Parents have been coming to these meetings asking for improvements through AP advanced classes. Uh dad came here a few times beginning uh for help for his
son's uh that's struggling reading and you were sitting there just quiet. Now you are asking for more than 2%. You are saying it is just $4 a day yet the potential increase of $150 on top of 350
is accumulated. It is not just one time payment. It'll accumulate over the upcoming years just like the few dollars from two years ago. Our ratings are built on family spending additional funds on Kuman and other accelerated
programs. You are potentially taking those funds from families that build these rankings. In my opinion, this budget increase is strongly influenced and pressured by union. And two board members, Miss Harris and Franco,
received campaign funds, accepted endorsements from MTA. The same board members were instructed by school ethics commission to abstain from budget vote due to possible conflicts. I expect them to follow ethics commission's ruling and
abstain from the vote. If they vote against clear instructions from SEC, the whole vote can be deemed invalid. Thank you. [Applause] Hi, Janeer, Skilman, New Jersey.
as a 28-year resident in the community, the mother of four grown children who attended Montgomery School's K through 12, and now a teacher with 13 years of teaching experience at Montgomery High School, I feel compelled to speak on behalf of all of our students. At Montgomery Schools, my
children were offered so many enriching experiences. The opportunity to compete on sports teams. They could participate in exceptional music programs, even playing at Carnegie Hall. They got experience leading their peers as class officers. They felt the satisfaction of
volunteering at various community events. At Montgomery schools, they learned the power of forming an argument based on evidence. They learned to communicate well using both the written and the spoken word. They honed their ability to reason. They graduated from
MHS wellprepared to be successful in rigorous college majors at highly selective schools. However, their success did not come without cost. I know as well as the next resident that our local taxes are high compared to some other parts of the
country. But I have experienced firsthand the excellence of our schools. That high quality is not without cost. The programs offered by our schools that allow for our children to experience and explore new interests or choose a chase a passion are funded by our taxes.
programs like Science Olympiad, Model UN, FBLA, Interact, Robotics, multiple music ensembles, all the clubs and activities that build well-rounded individuals who learn to be engaged in their community. As a community, we
should be proud of what we have built while educating our kids. We want these opportunities to continue for future graduating classes. The reason so many teachers are here today is not due to selfish interest, but because we care deeply about our students. We want to
continue offering them these opportunities. As a science teacher, I can assure you that if my class sizes go above 24 students, I will no longer be able to conduct the labs that my children find so enriching. To close, I would like to relay a short conversation with you that I had with a couple of my students just
last week. They were asking why I became a teacher and why there aren't many people who aspire to be teachers. I said, "That's a great question that I had been asked many times." The conversation then took a turn that I did not expect from a 15-year-old chemistry student after she
asked me, "Well, why do you teach an extra class?" I replied that we had a couple of chemistry teachers retire and there are not many folks in the pipeline who have the appropriate certification and who want to teach. She seemed surprised by my answer, but it was her
response that really surprised me. She explained, "But teaching is the most important job you can do." She said, "Teachers are shaping the next generation." I was in awe of her insight, but I looked her squarely in the eyes and I
emphasized to her and I now emphasize to you and that is exactly why some people teach. Most people who choose to teach do so because they want to help students grow into responsible, caring, intelligent, thoughtful, well-engaged citizens of the community and larger world. They truly impact the future of
our country and indeed our world through the work we do with our students in and out of the classroom. It is a noble and selfless calling. And I know I have to stop, but I just want to say that if that our property values are intrinsically tied to the quality of our schools, if the quality of our schools
decline, our property values go down. Also, increased taxes are a fact of life and our necessity to maintain excellence. I'm proud to be a part of Montgomery as a parent and as a teacher. Fiscal responsibility means we look at the whole picture. There is more to education than simply numbers on a
spreadsheet. Please think about the impact passing our budget can have on our students and our community at large. It is really about doing what is right for our students and our larger community. Thank you for your support of our students, our schools, and our community. Hello, my name is Jamie
Gascowski. I live at 12 Clover in Bel. Um, I'm here to express my strong support for any necessary measures that ensure that every single student in our district is provided with the tools and support they need to learn and succeed, including, if needed, a responsible
increase in taxes. And when I say that, I don't mean just in books and technology. I mean in all the people sitting there. I purposely moved here eight years ago with my three girls because of the education that is offered
here in Montgomery. That was the strongest reason for our move here. We are a diverse community of learners encompassing students with a wide range of abilities and educational needs. Every single child deserves access to a fair and equal education
regardless of their learning style, pace or challenges. And it is a shared responsibility that we have to ensure that all students regardless of ability have the same opportunities. And if raising taxes is the only viable path to securing the
resources needed the teachers to achieve this goal, then this is the path that we should take. The cost of inaction is far greater than any short-term financial burden. Equity and education is not just an ideal, it's a moral
imperative. As I mentioned, I have three children. Two are currently in sixth grade and one who graduated from MA MHS in 2021 who will now also in the fall be moving on to an Ivy League school to pursue a master's degree. My two girls
who are here in sixth grade both deser both need special services. They would not be where they are today without the loving care and support of the teachers that we have here in this school district. I had a teacher help
find a disability with one of my children in her dyslexia. I wouldn't have been able to get to that diagnosis on my own. She has received the services necessary to succeed and grow and has now moved out of that extra programming
and feels confident in her classes. That wouldn't have happened without the support of these people. I have a child with Down syndrome who in any other school district would not have received nearly the education that she receives here. She is learning within a general
education classroom when possible. Not only is she learning, she is teaching. She is teaching all of the students and the teachers in the school what determination, hard work, and dedication mean. She didn't just learn that from
me. She learned that from every single teacher that she has encountered in this district. And she is the reason that I'm standing here now. Because without all of them, she wouldn't be who she is. And she wouldn't be going where she's going. And trust me, she's going very far.
Thank you for your time. Jessica Beline. Um, it's always hard to stand up here because I'm in a little bit of a unique situation. Um, these are my co-workers. I live here. My husband has lived here three generations. So, I am I'm pretty
invested. My kids did go here. I see a lot of these shirts um saying standing strong for excellent public schools for all. I didn't go to a great wealthy public school myself. Um I'm very grateful that life brought me here and
that I'm able to give that to my kids. However, what I'm hearing up here is uh standing strong for all public schools if you can afford it. Um not by no means. I mean, I'm not trying to make my financial business your business, but uh
I'm not in a bad situation. And I feel like you're you're pinning me against whether I care about my kids, their values, or our teachers, fellow co-workers. A lot of people that I have personal relationships with that it's very hard to stand across the way and tell them if I say no, you lose your
job. Um it's not an easy place to stand here and say that. It also doesn't feel right that I have to make myself vulnerable to come up here and say that I can't afford something when I can afford a lot of more a lot more things than other people can. Also, I I I do
understand how the budget works. I have I'm in charge of a hefty budget myself. I do ask that the board please be very diligent when you're handling this. Um, I personally manage over 100 employees and I always make sure that every
decision that I make with the money impacts my staff the the least. I feel like as a leader, an administrator, that's my job is to get the both on both sides. And sometimes that puts me in a hard situation. I'm also a little bit concerned about a comment I made that
special needs people seem like special needs children seem to be somehow getting things taken away from them. They are a protected class and I ask that we're very diligent about that and be very careful with that. That is one class that we do not want to mess with
at all. I mean, not that any of our kids are not, but they they do hold a special place for special reasons and it's important that we're very diligent with that. Um, again, I don't want to make this about me, but it feels kind of strainous and and unfair for me to have to stand up here and say that a family
that's been here for three generations is really struggling just to stay. Um, I've stood up here and everybody knows where I stand on a lot of things. I shouldn't be nervous by now, but I still feel that way. Um, I I did try to do the best by my kids and put their values
first, but unfortunately with this, it's going to put me back in the same place where I was before, having them come here and be a part of some things that I don't agree with, that I don't think we've finalized. So, it's like every time I try to to find another way out, my my, you know, I stick my hand out and
you guys just cut it off. It's kind of what it feels like at this point. Um, I'm not here to tell say yes or no for anybody else. Everybody speaks for themsel. I I just really ask that the administrators pigs try to do their best and make sure that we're being efficient
and that we're making good choices so that these sacrifices are made on behalf of our families that have been here for a very long time and also our staff because we all know that we have a very good school system. So, we want to keep it that way. Thank you.
I'm a little taller. There we go. Okay. So, uh, good evening. My name is Chris Rash. I am a biology teacher at Montgomery High School. I also have family that live in Montgomery. Both my sister and my brother went through the Montgomery School District and are doing phenomenally because of the education
they received from teachers before I even was a teacher here at the in the district. Um, and I'd like to share a brief story with you. It was the moment that sparked the idea that I wanted to become an educator. Um, back when I was
in college, I was a biology major on a very different career trajectory. And I wanted to go into the medical field, specifically pediatrics. And when I was not studying for biology, I'd rather tutor I would tutor at risk students in the area for
free, no cost. And during one of those sessions, I was working with a student that was really grappling with an algebra problem. And after much back and forth, the student face the student's face just like lit up with excitement. And she stood up and she goes, "Oh my
god, I actually got it. I understand what's going on here." And it was from that moment that I knew I wanted to be an educator. And I am fortunate to be in this district with talented and caring
staff that I'm sure share similar stories, similar moments to the ones that I have. Now, I know some in this community on social media have uh been bashing us, describing us as ineffective, especially
given the high costs of taxes in this district. If the board truly believes this, then I suspect you will not likely vote for a full budget. But if you do believe that we, the educators of Montgomery, are the
passionate, genuine, and dedicated professionals that I know us to be. Please don't cut the legs out from under us. Don't make a decision that will cut dedicated staff, increase class sizes, and shrink
programming. Because at the end of the day, as many folks have already said, we are here because we care about the students. They are the number one priority in this entire decision-making process, and we cannot forget
them. Please vote to fully fund the budget. Thank you. Good evening. I am Mike Rosolei, proud president of the Montgomery Township Education Association. I understand there's a lot of misunderstanding circulating about the impact of the budget on the residents of
this community. I get it. Hearing that your taxes are going up if the school judge does not make cuts can cause quite a panic, especially when it is done over social media and without any real data to back it up. The MTA is here tonight to set the record straight. If this
board passed a budget that uses the available bank cap and access to healthcare waiver, the impact on the average homeowner is minimal. However, if this board chooses to take additional cuts, the impact will be farreaching and cost us all more than just money that we are talking about. It will cost us the
stellar quality education reputation that we pride ourselves on. Let me remind you in 2022 the Montgomery High School ranked 25th out of 406 schools in the state according to US News and World Report. One of our schools, Montgomery Upper Middle School, received the
National Blue Ribbon. Last year, our very own Stephanie Lockinour, a teacher at received the prestigious honor of New Jersey State Teacher of the Year. Our very own Dan Kerwin, buildings and grounds member, received the distinguished honor of a Somerset County ESP of the year. The New Jersey
Department of Education, has released the latest SAT scores, and Montgomery received one of the highest average scores in Somerset County. And last year, Montgomery High School is one of 42 New Jersey schools to make US News and World Report lists of top 5% in the
country. Montgomery Township schools know that the education of our students that they receive is among the best in the state and in the nation. Why are our students so prepared for the real world to go on to make better education decisions is because the teachers and support staff working with our kids day
in and day out. We are the reason of the district's success. And yet you are mulling over whether to cut 20 positions to save a few bucks. And yes, it's a few bucks. The amount of tax that we're talking for a month is less than a single trip to Dunkin Donuts for my wife
and me. We're not talking about hundreds of dollars. We are talking about a trip for coffee in exchange for 20 P positions of professionals who work with our students every single day. I don't know about all of you, but I believe in our students education and the
consideration they deserve when making these decisions is worth it. The choice in front of the board tonight is simple. You do not have to sacrifice our students education. You can instead choose to do what's right. You can choose to bring these positions back.
vote to use the waiver in the cap. Thank you. Hi, this is B. I'm living in uh skill map. Um so I want to say here is um I'm a resident here for 10 years. Uh I don't have a student I don't have a kids
attending school district here. So, I'm just paying the tax and uh subsidize for families who has kids here. I know there's a lot of families like this, like us who has no kids in the district but still paying the tax. And uh we came
here from Maryland and I was shocked by how much more tax like we have to pay at the property with the same house value. I pay three times more tax as I pay in Maryland where in Maryland they have
equal good education system not as worse uh as as good as u New Jersey here but the tax rate here is 10 times higher than Maryland that's one thing the second is I like this the the because the job I
have to stay here I like this neighborhood and my neighborhood also have a lot a lot of emptiness right now and they are subsiding for the the families with kids to go to school here. The problem here is with increasing tax
we cannot afford anymore. We have to move out. If the taxes keep increasing, we need to move out and then with increasing tax with more family like us moving out you will lose more family to subsidize for the school district for
the families with kids. So I think in the future, yes, a good district is good to attract more residents, but you're attracting a lot more family with new kids with kids who want to attend school here. But at the same time, you want to
maintain or keep quietly like us who want to stay here but still paying tax here. So I want to have you have a balance. Think about what kind of a tax you want to um have from us, right? It's very important for you to consider.
That's that's my point. John Bner, uh 694 Milstone River Road. Um I simply ask that the board and the administrators go over their budgets, make sure that it's audited, that you're not spending money. Um as a former
employee here, I've seen a lot of wasted money. um spending money for school trips, just, you know, using contractors at $235 an hour when you could have easily used an actual employee. Um, another
question I have is you've gone without an electrician uh for almost two years now. So, how much are you spending on a contractor? Face it, a contractor is way more than what a person is. Why haven't you hired one? Um, the other thing is that I find
that's very sad. A lot of the people with these red shirts on, uh, going back a few years, the district had no problem taking the custodial staff and taking $5,000 off of their salaries or they were going to be subcontracted out. Now,
I don't wish anybody to lose any money, and I understand you have to live on something, but you're talking about people that were making 40,000, 36,000. Yeah. They're your They're not your educators, but they're the people that are cleaning your toilets, keeping this building clean, and they're just as
important. So, irregardless of how much money, if you want to go to Starbucks and you want to buy something for Starbucks, that where you spend your money is not your business, throwing money at a bad thing does not make it better. And I'm not saying that all teachers are bad, and I'm not trying to
put anybody You You all have a right to make a dollar. We all do. Um, but I'm also going to say because I work more hours than most anybody here, if what your salary is isn't enough, there's always something called overtime or a
second job. That's all I had to say. Hi, good evening. So, um, got the four of us here. Thank you for, uh, this budget presentation update from last month. It is clear that central office has put the time in the
past month to truly consider what is best financially for this district. We were so very concerned this time last month hearing board members say that they wanted additional cuts so as to not have increases to taxes. With debt service and the negative, the health
waiver and bank cap as was presented have a very low impact on taxes. Yes, it is an increase but minimal for what you are getting. financial support for staff positions, facility safety, quality PD, and student
resources. Last month, we shared that Montgomery is special because of its amazing quality. Quality with program, academics, the arts, athletics, caring staff, and support for students.
Having the correctly funded budget being option one in this presentation is what sustains this quality. Last year's budget creation without the health waiver funds led to cuts this year. Rectifying this
compounding impact is imperative right now. We cannot be one of the districts that we are hearing about in financial turmoil. The board had commentary at the last meeting that because of the increase to taxes two years ago with the
implementation of full day kindergarten, the board has to not have tax increases now. You wouldn't want to punish our students and programs now because of a public vote to implement full day kindergarten two years ago. The
community voted to have full day kindergarten along with supporting all programs and students. The vote wasn't to put in a program so that others would suffer. You interpreting that monies needed for a full day kindergarten will
come from established programs is deceptive to the community who voted in favor of full day kindergarten. They wanted the quality of what we have and then have our youngest learners to also have full day kindergarten. That is what the vote was
for. to hold that against us to recover tax money can't be a rationale to lower the 2526 budget. I'll close by repeating that we are sitting here thankful for seeing that our BA and superintendent are looking out for our students by
designing a budget that keeps quality in place for all of them in this district. I just read an article that has our high school SAT results for public schools at number four. There are over 400 public schools in New Jersey. So here we are the top
1%. And it's not just academics. We have the best arts performances, highly successful sports programs. We have students who are happy and find connections with all that is offered here. Do not fracture this. Option one
for the 2526 budget maintains these high standards. Good evening. We are all familiar with the stories of massive cuts happening across the state. As the supervisor of one of the leading arts programs in New Jersey, I am hearing horror stories from
my colleagues in other districts of the dismantling of their music and arts programs as a result of these cuts. The board of education, this board of education, has always been a staunch supporter of our arts programs and it continues to be. But if we think what is
happening in other districts cannot or will not happen here, then we are not paying attention and learning from our neighboring towns. If you make the decision to not fully fund our district tonight, I have grave concerns for the sustainability of our state, nationally,
and internationally recognized arts programs that have become such an integral part of our students lives and become a hallmark of this district. While our arts programs may be okay next year, the compounding effect of permanently lowering our district's base
budget by millions of dollars will undoubtedly be felt by the arts and all programs in our district. And sooner than later, we will find ourselves in a similar situation as so many other districts who are seeing their programs dismantled. for a child entering kindergarten next
year who will be with us for 13 years as a student. Your decision to not fully fund our budget compounds to a loss of $38 million that we will not have available to spend on their education during their time as students. If you
don't think a number that large will negatively impact our ability to to continue a premier arts program or our athletics or our clubs or any of the other amazing things that our students wake up for every day, then you are
severely underestimating the impact of your decision tonight. Your decision tonight is not about raising taxes by 20 or $25 a month. Your decision tonight is whether or not you will irreversibly alter the course of our district. placing in jeopardy the number one
reason people move to this town. Taking away $38 million over the course of a class's time with us will result in a very different school district by the time they graduate from the one we have today. My colleagues and other districts
have all shared what their challenges are as and that their challenges are a result of massive state aid cuts. We are not in that situation. Unlike those districts, this board of education has the option to add the needed funds that
would prevent the disastrous cuts that so many others are facing. The financial challenges we are discussing tonight are not from external sources, but rather from internal decisions by the board of education to not use the funds available to them through banks cap and the
healthcare waiver that every other district utilizes. Your decision tonight will either put this district on a path towards continued excellence or on a path towards dismantling what this town values most. This board, above all else,
has always put students first. And I'm asking you to continue doing that tonight. Thank you so much. I will interlate, but I didn't want to waste time. Um, I appreciate everything that's been said tonight. What I want to
say is I don't want to see our teachers have to get a second job. I would like to see that as much of the money that they're given as possible be go going to the teachers. Thank you. Heather Pino, principal, Montgomery High
School, APS Center. Later tonight, even later than now, you're going to have the opportunity to listen to a presentation that will celebrate the extraordinary academic growth and achievements of our students. Data points that shine as a testament to what is possible when we invest in our children. These outcomes
are not accidental. They're the direct result of a well-funded student- centered learning environment where every decision is made with success in mind. That is why we choose to work in Montgomery. It is why families choose to live here. As principal of Montgomery High School, I am entrusted with meeting
statemandated curricular requirements, maintaining safe and modern facilities, offering ongoing professional development for one of the most talented faculties in the nation, and most importantly, fostering a sense of belonging for every student who walks through the doors. We are
charged with offering innovative, relevant, and engaging coursework. Classes that spark curiosity, ignite passion, and shape futures. And we do all of this within a budget that reflects careful stewardship and fiscal responsibility as expected by our staff,
our superintendent, our board, and every Montgomery family. But let's also be honest about the limitations we face. There are courses our students are clamoring for. Courses like AP psychology, music theory, digital animation. These are not luxuries. They
are pathways to college, to careers, to self-discovery. We have interest, but we lack funding. But we don't get caught up in where we lack funding to grow. Montgomery High School and all of our schools run on a lean budget. We stretch every dollar. We get creative. We
collaborate. We build more with less. But repeated cuts year after year have a compounding effect. They don't just shave programs or delay projects. They erode opportunities, diminish innovation, and threaten the very trajectory of our success. We're not
talking about cutting fat. We are talking about cutting to the bone. Our students deserve better. Our staff deserves better. This month, our building turned 20 years old. A milestone that fills us with pride. Walk our halls and you'll see murals, student
work, and an energy that only comes from a school that is truly alive. But as any homeowner knows, 20 years is a turning point. Our roof needs replacing. Our front parking lot is deteriorating. Our gym floor and lighting are due for upgrades. HVAC units are failing. Seats
in our EMPAC are worn and ripped. And this is normal wear and tear. And that's just one of the buildings, one of the five schools in our district. We have been intentional and responsible in our long-term planning, gradually and sustainably budgeting for these needs.
But when we repeatedly fail to budget to cap and decline available health care waiverss, it directly impacts our ability to meet these needs, not just for our buildings, but also for our children's education. Our cost per pupil remains fiscally responsible and
comparable to those of districts of similar size and performance. For the last three years, we've remained below the averages of our comparable JS and neighbors. We're not asking for extravagance. We are asking to protect the total experience that makes
Montgomery exceptional. The cost of that experience is real and we have the ability to meet it. The reality is this. Addressing the district's financial needs is not about state aid fluctuations. We mount manage those challenges yeartoear. The barrier is a
local decision, a reluctance to utilize tools available to us that every other district considers standard practice. This is a moment of choice. Our students only get one chance at an education. Let's ensure that we provide them with
one that is not just adequate but extraordinary. Cory Delgado. My address tonight is Orchard Hill Road. And I'm looking around. I'm hoping I'm the last one to speak, not because I'm going to say anything remarkable, but because it's 9:45 and it's time to get on with this vote. So, um I'm looking at a group
of people that have a really tough job ahead of you, and I'm here um empathizing with you, right? Balancing students well-being and educational outcomes, their educational outcomes with the taxpayers concerns, that's hard.
That's not easy. So, thank you for taking on that job. Um, in my 29 years here serving this amazing school community, 17 of which as an administrator, I too have had to make a lot of tough decisions. And there are two guiding principles that have helped
me land every time. And I'm here grateful for the opportunity to share them with you. Not because I think I'm smarter than any of you or wiser than any of you, but maybe it will help in the minutes to come. And those two guiding principles are as follows. The first one is raise the po raise the voice of the people that are closest to
the issues. Tonight you heard from community members, you heard from parents, you heard from staff, you heard from administrators, including our superintendent, Mary. Good for you, who are advocating to broaden the base. That should matter. Those people's
voices should matter. Second thing that has helped me through really tough decisions. Um, it's even simpler than that. Do what's best for the kids tonight. That's vote option one. Thank you. from the public on the budget. Any more
comments from the public on the budget? Any more comments? Public portion uh for comments from budget is now closed. Mr. Taliano. Thank you, Mr. Todd. At this time, I am going to pull uh item 35 from the voting
block, which is option one for the uh $2.6 million increase additional funding. I also need to read the resolution aloud because I need to read the statutory travel guidelines. Uh so I will read through this as quickly as I can but it is a little
long. Okay. Uh item item 3.5 adoption of the 2526 proposed budget. That the board of education adopt the 2526 proposed budget as follows. Whereas the Montgomery Township Board of Education recognizes school staff and board members will incur travel expenses
related to within the scope of their current responsibilities and for travel that promotes the delivery of instruction and further furthers the efficiency uh operation of the school and district. Whereas NJAC 6A23A1.1 requires board members to
receive approval of expenses by a majority of the full voting membership of the board and staff members receive prior approval of these expenses by the superintendent schools. the majority of the full voting membership of the board and was the board of education may establish for
regular district business travel only an annual school year threshold of $3,000 for staff member where prior board approval shall not be required unless this annual threshold for staff member is exceeded in a given school year July 1 through June 30th whereas travel and
related expenses not compliance with NJAC6823A 1.1 deemed by the board of education to be necessary and unavoidable as noted by the board of education out of district travel and reimbursement forms. Therefore, be it resolved the board of education approves
all travel not in compliance with NJAC6A23A1.1 as being necessary and unavoidable as noted on the approved board of education out of district travel and reimbursement forms and further resolved that the Montgomery Township Board of Education approves travel and related expense
reimbursements in accordance with NJAC 6A23A 1.2 two to a maximum expenditure of $90,000 for all staff members. Adoption of the final budget modifications to the tenative budget approved by the interim county
superintendent. Whereas the Montgomery Township Board of Education adopted a tenant budget on March 18, 2025 submitted it to the executive county superintendent for schools for approval. Whereas the tenant budget was approved by the executive county superintendent of schools on April 11, 2025. Whereas
the tenative budget was advertised in the legal section of the Courier News on April 23rd, 2025. Whereas the final budget was presented to the public hearing held at Port Hill Elementary School cafeteria on April 29th, 2025 at
7 p.m. Here is the resolution for option one. Whereas the board of education has now determined to make modifications to the tenative budget as follows. State budget line 2100 increase $468,816 to line 2100 grade 1 through5
salaries. State budget line 2120 grades 6 through8 salaries increased by two $2 22,973. State budget line 2140. Grades 9 through 12 salaries increased by $480,250. State budget line
71180, health benefits increased by $422,64. State budget line 48520 uh operations and maintenance increased by 1,5357. That would make our final budget for school year
2526. General fund 20 93,422,993. Special revenue, million63,987. Anticipated revenue 12,781,471. Debt service 5,256,913 for a total base budget
$112,525. Uh $5,364. Two more parts. Use of bank cap. Happy to resolve that the Montgomery Township Board of Education includes in the final budget the adjustment for bank cap in accordance with NJAC6A23A-10.1B. The district has fully exhausted all eligible statutory
spending authority must increase the base budget in the amount of 1,594,643 for the purpose of staffing needs to maintain programs and classroom sizes. The district intends to complete set purposes by June 2026. Use of healthcare adjustment be resolved at the
Montgomery Township Board of Education including the final budgeting healthc care cost adjustments calculated in the budget software and pursuant to NJSA187F-38 subsection D in the amount of 1,5357 the additional funds will be used
to pay for additional increases in healthcare premiums. That is option one. I am going to uh do we have a motion uh for option recommended option at this time I'll entertain a motion for
action item 3.5 option number one is there a motion and I will say okay I'm going to take the full roller virus. Okay. Dr. Wang.
Option one. Uh, this is option one, ma'am. Yes. No, Miss Don. Yes, Miss Spina. Yes, that was not easy. Herman.
Much to my dispressure and disappointment, I regrettably abstain. No, Harris. I've always proud of our students, our staff. I have text. No, no again. No,
Mr. Todd. Yes. Fortunately, um motion does not count. So, this is withdrawn from the agenda. At this time, we're going to take recess. I'm going to take the next option, option two, and do the
recalculation that was presented to me. Uh, this will take me approximately 10 minutes. At this time, I entertain a motion for a 10-minute recess. Second properly moved in second. All those in favor say I. I. I. Oppose. Same
right. Abstensions. Stand recess for 10 minutes. All right. At this time, I entertain a motion to go back into uh open session. So moved. Second. Been properly moved and seconded to go back into uh to open
session. All those in favor say I. I. All those in favor say I. I. All those same right extensions. We are now back in full concession. Mr. Taliano. Thank you, Mr. Todd. Okay. Um we are now
on option two uh the $1.6 million resolution. Um it is going to be titled uh item 3.28 because it is going to go on the end of the uh finance section of the agenda. Fortunately, I have to read
all the travel regulations again. So go through as quickly as I can. Adoption of the 2526 proposed budget. Board of Education adopt the 2526 proposed budget as follows. Whereas the Montgomery Township Board of Education recognizes school staff and board members who will
incur travel uh expenses related to and within the scope of their current responsibilities and for travel that promotes the delivery of instruction or furthers the efficient operation school district. And whereas NJC6A
23A1.1 requires board members to receive approval of these expenses by a majority of the full voting membership of the board. Staff members to receive prior approval of these expenses by the superintendent schools and a majority of the full voting membership of the board. And whereas the board of education may
establish for regular district business travel only an annual school year threshold of $3,000 for staff member where prior board approval should not be required unless this annual threshold for staff member is exceeded in a given school year July 1st through June 30th. Whereas traveling related expenses is
not in compliance with NJAC6A23A1.1 but deemed by the board of education to be necessary unavoidable as noted on the board of education out of district travel and reimbursement forms. Now therefore be it resolved the board of education approves all travel not
compliance with J AC6A23A1.1 as being necessary and unavoidable as noted on the board of education out district travel form further resolve the Montgomery Township Board of Education approves travel related expenses expense reimbursements
excuse me in accordance with NJAC6A23A1.2 2 to match expendure of $90,000 for our staff members adopted the final budget for modification to the tenative budget approved by the interim county approved
by the interim county superintendent whereas the Montgomery Township Board of Education adopted tenative budget of March 18, 2025 and submitted to the executive county superintendent whereas the tenative budget was approved by executive county superintendent schools on April 11, 2025 whereas the tenative
budget was advertised in legal section of the courier news on April 23rd, 2025. Whereas the final budget was presented in open public hearing held at Orchard Hill Elementary School Cafeteria on April 29, 2025 at 7 p.m. Now to the resolution. Whereas the board of
education has now deemed determined, excuse me, to make modifications to the tenative budget as follows. State budget line 2100 uh increased by $347,999 grade one through five salaries. State budget line 2120 uh
description grades 6 through 8 salaries increase $167,999. Uh state budget line 2140 grades 9 through 12 salaries increase $359,999. State budget line 71180 health benefits increase by
$324,3. Uh state budget line 48520 operations and maintenance increase by 400,000 for a total of 1.6 million. Uh the final budget reads as follows. General fund to 92,422,993. Special revenue 63,987.
Anticipated revenue $12,781,471. Debt service 5,256,913 for total base budget of $111 million, $525,364. Use of bank cap being resolved at the Montgomery Township Board of Education includes in the final budget the adjustment for bank cap in
accordance with NJAC 6A colon 23A 10.1B. District has fully exhausted all eligible steps toward spending authority. must increase the base budget in the amount of1,594,643 for the purpose of staffing needs maintain program and classroom sizes the district intends to imple
implement complete set purpose by June 2026 use of healthcare adjustment be it resolved at the Montgomery Township Board of Education includes the final budget of healthcare cost adjustment is calculated in the budget software pursuance of NJSA18A 78-38 subsection D the amount of
$5,357 The additional funds will be used to pay for additional increases in healthcare premiums. That is option two, $1.6 million. Uh it's going to be resolution 3.28 for the
record. Now we need a motion. At this time, I'll entertain a motion to adopt action agenda item 3.28, option two. So moved. Second. Can we have discussion or
No, 3.5 was withdrawn because that didn't get adopted. So, I needed to read the new resolution in the agenda and I signed it a new resolution number to separate it for their lack. Yes, just clarification. The motion is for adopting uh action agenda item 3.28.
You have a discussion. Yeah, it's been properly moved and seconded. Any questions or discussion? Yes. Um Okay. Could you please repeat the amount that would come from the use of the
healthcare adjustment for 3.28 $5,357? Can you explain that? So the $1 million because it was $1,5357. So I want to make sure I understand exactly correctly and why and how these are being done. So this the 1
million that was taken off to go from 2.6 to 1.6 is coming off of the healthcare adjustment. So essentially the bank cap expires before the healthcare adjustment. So I'm using one the one I'm still using the same $1,594,643 of the bank cap and to make
it $1.6 million. We'll using 5,000 proposing using $5,357 of the healthcare adjustment to total of 1.6 $6 million and then that goes to bank and then the difference say hypothetically this year uh passes then the difference of the healthcare
adjustment goes in the bank for subsequent years for consideration. Okay, that and that brings me to the thing that I really wanted to talk about because in 2223 we had zero right as our as our and when I looked at the historical number
off the top of my head I believe that's correct right bank capped available for use in the next three years from 2223 was zero from 2324 was 87,000 um 2425 was 718,000 this uh coming year would be 1
million 11,000. Yes, it's all. And so that 1 million 11,000 then would be 1 million. So essentially we're only using proposing 5,000. So 1 million and 6,000 for rounding purposes would be
uh retained in the bank for future year consideration. It's banked cap like say next year at this point. So three for the subsequent three years should be necessary. Um, so we are exhausting first again and I I like to confirm those things. We are exhausting first
the monies that were left over from 23 24 and 2425. Yes, that's correct. Um, finally, and I know maybe I should have asked this earlier because I want to make a point. Um, we were able to take the healthcare adjustment since
2014, right? and and bank cap has pretty much been zero for the majority of those years. That line item that I gave the definition in schoolboard.net forget off the top of my head the year 2010 or 2014 2010 I thought it was 2010 in my
definition that like I suggested but like sorry that's okay ago we're talking about the same thing. Yes. Yeah. So we're talking for up through the year really 23 24
the last 10 years which yeah which which was the year that we did pass full day kindergarten week one back down that road tonight already and I don't need to go back down it again but we've basically maxed our base so that we can
continue to run our schools the way that they have been run for the majority of And this is helpful to us. Correct. That you have whatever money is left on the table in case something comes down the
pike next year and the year after and the year after. Right. That's what Miss McCloal and myself are proposing to the board. So I would say yes to that. I am greatly hopeful that we do what's right by our students.
Thank you for allowing me to comment. Any other questions or comments? I just have one question. So these bank cap and this for three years otherwise they'll expire, right? So the only amount which will be expired next year is that 2324
the 875, right? Well, for example, like if this resolution were to pass, then it would be you. If none of their options were to pass tonight, then the 875, to your point, would fall off and expire and then everything else would slide down for the following years. The 875
would expire and then the 718 would take its place. 718 and 779 would remain in the seven the number that would replace the 875 would be the 718. The number that would replace the 718 would be the
million1,000 after the budget adjustments. That was the number. And then we don't know what next year's healthcare adjustment is. Um because we don't have that either. Does that help? Any other questions? Hearing none. Roll call, please. Mr.
Challo. Yes, sir. Dr. W. Obstain. Why? you wait. I'm sorry. I'm really sorry, but this has been something that has been weighing on me because this is something that we were elected to do. We
are elected to make this hard decision. And trust me, I've gone I've read all of your email. Thank you so much for repeating some of those things tonight. Those of you that came out, community and staff, I've spoken to
my neighbors. I've spoken to other parents sitting on wreck teams and travel teams and no, we need to make a decision here. We cannot abstain. The only reason why two people are forcibly trying to having to abstain, they don't
want to. You don't get to to run for election and not make the hard decisions. While I certainly concur with your your sentiments, um the board member does
have that right to abstain. Robert's rules. You can abstain from any you can abstain for any reason. That's not right. Would you like to s any member of the board has the right to abstain if that's what they want to
do? Please continue the roll call. Okay. I'm going to continue with the vote. Dally, yes. Spina, yes. Regrettably abstaining.
Noted. Miss Felac, no. Harris. I see. Jig again. No gun. I'm going to say no, but I would like to see I would have said yes if there was any improvements in the programs
offered. I don't see any order, please. Yes. Motion does not carry. Wait, wait. We have two more. We have two more options to vote. Please wait.
I have to go teach tomorrow, too. record. Give me the record. Oh, no. There's nothing secret. I'm saying this is very complicated. I'm going to be speaking to the microphone in a second. I'm just trying to get the correct item number. That's all. If you want to know the truth, I wanted to save my breath and just find a way to save
reading the travel resolution for time. That's what I was doing. Okay. Oh, I'm sorry cuz I I was talking. So 3.29. Okay. So, this is um option number
three. 779,863,000 uh $863 of additional funding on top of the 2%. Um for the sake of time, the travel resolution that I've read the last two times, the wording is the same. So, we're going to ask for approval of the
statutory travel language. I'm going to go right to the resolution and financials. Um, they read as follows. Whereas, the board of education has now determined to make modifications to the tenative budget as follows. State budget line 2100
increased by $19,180. State budget line 2120 increased by $54,590. State budget line 2140 increased by $116,979. Those are for grades 1 through 5, 6 through 8 and 9 through 12
salaries. State budget line 71180 for healthcare um increase uh by 101,382. State budget line 448520 increased by
397,732 total $779,863 which would give a final budget for school year 2526. General fund [Music] 91,62,856 special revenue 1,62,987 anticipated revenue
12,781471 debt service 5,256,913 total base budget of $110,75,227. One last piece, use of bank cap be resolved in Montgomery Township Board of Education includes in the final budget the adjustment for bank cap in
accordance with NJAC 6A col23A-10.1B. The district is fully exhausted. All eligible statutory spending authority must increase the base budget in the amount of $779,862 for the purpose of staffing needs to maintain programs and classroom
sizes um and facility improvements. The district intends to complete said purposes by June 2026. So for this one right here, because it's only 779, we only just go this way.
So essentially I'll wait till we do a motion. At this time I'll entertain a motion to adopt action agenda item 3.29. [Music] Second. Been properly moved and second. Any questions on the motion?
Where's the funding? Sure, Miss Mina. So for this option for the $779,863 uh the proposal is to use bank cap money. So, this will go from the oldest year that is on the books, which is
2324, and it'll be used $779,863 of the $875,000 some odd dollars that What happens to the other 6,000? It times out and so it goes back to the state. It's just it's on paper. So, it's not basically it's not it's not adopted um
Yeah. So, it's not adopted to be used to uh raise the uh raise the budget. So, it's lost for lack of a better way to put it. Any other questions on the motion? Roll call, please. Mr. Tally. Dr. W. Oh, abstain.
M. Yes. Speed. Yes. I have a reason to drop. Felac, yes. Harris means like a journ. No.
Yes. Mr. Tai, yes. Motion carries. Thank you, Mr. Chaliano. Thank you. We'll now move to superintendent's report presentation to contend on the black sation. For the sake of time, we're not going to
do any further presentations tonight. Do we have any uh committee representative reports? MCA report, Mr. Brazil. Absolutely. I am blown away by the gross incompetence I've witnessed tonight. This board had the chance to
write a wrong and instead of taking measure to preserve Montgomery's educational legacy, you voted to continue to water down our students experience. Unlike other districts who have little to no choice but to make cuts, you simply didn't have
to. Please stop pretending this isn't about money. There was no need to find the money. It's right there, just waiting to be used for reason I cannot even begin to fathom. You are choosing not to use
it. The worst part is that you appear to be proud of your decision, as though you did something right. Well, let me assure you, you couldn't be more wrong. Wrong about what our students need and dead wrong on what it takes to show your staff that you truly value them. And that's why they're walking
out, not because it's late, because they feel disrespected. And the board members who think this is this is okay. This is just simply wrong for Montgomery, it's probably clear you have your own personal agendas that you are putting ahead of our students and staff, and that is downright
shameful. Look around you. Take good look at the people you are hurting. Remember this moment because we certainly certainly won't forget what what you've done. Do we have any board member delegate representative reports tonight?
Hearing none, we'll move to board committed reports, assessment, curriculum, and instruction committee. board member Dallas. Um, we met on April 4th at 9:00 a.m. both virtual and in person.
Um we had a presentation from the elementary uh math program administrators who discussed uh the math program that existed in 20 or before 2017. They looked specifically
at third and fourth grade standards um where they saw a decline in application and modeling standards. Students were being pulled out for acceleration, math, stress, and competition. Instructional materials provided teachers with supplemental resources.
Um they had extensive PDS around math workshops, core instructional resources. In 2019, they had a pilot committee review um resources for kindergarten through fourth grade. um they disproportionately uh identified by the by the state and they worked um towards
correcting it. They introduced Bridges mathematics in grades K through three with a supplemental fourth grade um program of Envisions. Moving forward, Voyagers was also instituted for grades K through 4. um Bridges and Envisions
resources were able to meet all of the students needs and provided additional enrichment and differentiated instruction and opportunities which changed the model from the the model that was showing declining results and standards. Um students now receive
differentiated instruction within the classroom. Students number sense and modeling have improved through data and standards that are being pro sorry 70% of students in grades three and four are proficient in math
measurable outcomes in the program voyagers and expeditions is not an academic advancement program but it promotes critical thinking collaboration and design thinking advanced academics are embedded within the instruction that is given in the classroom their website
or sorry Our website has all of the information that details this overview. Um, I highly recommend for anyone who has questions or comments about the math program to look through the expedition and voyagers on our website. It is highly detailed in terms of the skills
that are being developed at every grade level. Um, we also give the students Kogat, which is an assessment every year. We also give the STAR assessment again to make sure that we are on point um and that we have valid data points um
to make informed decisions uh on how we teach mathematics. The scope and sequence of each course can be assessed on the website and the assessment curriculum and instruction pages as well on the website. Uh the committee requested to see
student data from a norm referenced assessment at the May ACI meeting which will take place forthcoming. Um Mr. Papa indicated that he would meet with the M uh the high school math and science supervisors regarding AP offerings for the May ACA AC ACI meeting as
well. Mr. Delgado previewed a presentation that he will be presenting. So, he will not be presenting this evening. I apologize. That's forthcoming as well. The presentation will focus on um high school students performances on the AP, SAT, and ACT assessments. More
to follow. Thank you. Any questions or comments? Hearing none, we'll move now to operations, facilities, and finance committee. Board member Felak. Um the operations finance and facilities
committee met on April 24th. Uh the primary focus of this meeting was the proposed budget and the administrators um and the administrator's request for the additional tax increases. The business
administrator presented the two new tax increases requests that had not been presented at the March meeting. Committee members uh requested uh clarification for how these funds would be used. However, the BEA only provided
high level overview without any supporting documentation or detailed breakdown. The committee also reviewed policy 6470, which stipulates that all district bills submitted for approval must be
fully itemized and verified and supported by original records, including the purchase order, receiving report, vendor invoice, and purchase requisition. Concerns were raised about whether this
policy is being followed. When board members have requested documentation for certain expenditures, the requested materials and adequate explanation had not been often provided. Moreover, the
recent audit revealed a pattern of unauthorized payments spanning multiple years. bills presented to the board were not supported as required under policy 6470 indicating a lapse in compliance
and internal controls. The committee further requested the breakdown of the special education services budget to ensure students needs are being met and funds are being allocated appropriately.
Unfortunately, the report from the director of special services was not available at that time. Another key item discussed was the engagement of the audit firm to review the district's financial records for the
fiscal year ending June 20 25. In February, the committee expressed the need to engage a new audit firm for the following reasons. Um, best practice dictates periodic rotation of public auditors to
provide a fresh perspective and to reinforce public confidence in the financial oversight of taxpayers funds. This audit firm has been with us for over 20 years. So it would be a best
practice to engage a new audit firm. The recent audit uncovered serious issues including unauthorized payments made over several years to certain parties. These payments were not finally identified by the current auditors
raising concerns about about the adequacy of their audit procedures. Furthermore, the board has not been provided with information about who received these unauthorized payments despite repeated requests. The
superintendent has declined to disclose these details. In February, the administration agreed to initiate a request for proposal RFP for a new audit firm following the conclusion of the
budget process. However, no such action has been taken and instead the same audit firm has been placed on the agenda for the board approval tonight. Given the series findings and the importance of restoring public
trust, I strongly recommend voting no on re-engaging current audit firm and immediately begin the search for the new auditor. I'm done. So, if you have any questions, please. Um, where are the minutes? So, this meeting took place on April 24th.
24th, I think. 24th, it says, according to the agenda items, the date has changed. Okay. It was supposed to be the 22nd originally, so I'm not sure what you're looking at, but yeah, I'm looking at the the original agenda. The only thing that I couldn't find that I can actually find
on this off meeting taking place is if I go into schoolboard net, go into the off committee, go into the agenda and everything else because there's been no notes from this meeting updated. So, it's not something that we were able to review ahead of time. Um, it looks like
there were things on the agenda that I'm not I'm not sure if you just there were some additions that I was asked to make to the agenda. I don't again I don't know what you're looking at. I'll be honest with you highlights other those were the additions that I was I was requested to add for discussion and uh
believe my new mystery assistant did take the notes for the meeting for me so I could engage in the conversation. I don't know if she put the minutes in there. I thought that she did the chat. We'll make sure to get we can do that for you for sure. It's probably because the board meeting
like agenda is being put together at the same time. That would be my guess and it is very close uh timeline. Um go ahead. I'm sorry. I didn't mean to interrupt you, but I just want to say in the
future, I mean, again, as a chairperson for another committee, I read the notes and make sure that they that they represent what we talked about so that all of you can read the notes before we come to the board meeting. And I don't feel like when I hear you say your notes, I I don't I've never heard what
you're saying these words. Well, there are no notes, right? Because Well, this notes, but last month we had the same. La last month, I felt like it was the same. I mean, again, I just want to be very clear with the process. Say that again. Last month the notes were also not representing what happened. Can Can
we Can we make that happen? Because again, I can't I can't hear over this microphone. This is why we had um Andrew's administrative assistant taking notes. Okay. So, would you have process in place, but I'm not sure like why it hasn't been followed. So, I think that's
the question for Andrew. Okay. The agenda was basically by my office put together the same day as the off meeting. Okay. So, tell me about the But that's the agenda. What about the notes? Well, that's what what I'm trying to say is like the the notes that meeting takes place in the afternoon and we're
finalizing the agenda. My assistant's like brand new and she's brand new to schoolboards.net. So, she might not actually had everything written down, formulated to put into this website and based on the timing, I would say that's understandable. Absolutely. But I can
share I can share I can have her do it tomorrow. It's just honestly it's really hard. I can barely hear over the microphone and I just want to make sure we're all on the same page. I understand. That's why I had her do that cuz I actually recorded it too cuz I wanted I promised I wanted to try to make this better. the time the AI in the
future. I know like the Zoom meeting they automatically captured the transcript and then they summarized that. I actually I did record it to do a transcript to double check. So I actually did I did do that for the first time this time as well. So thank you for that. I did it. I do have a question. Um
you made a comment that the superintendent declined something. Could you elaborate on that? Yes, I sent numerous emails requesting uh details regarding the the recent audit findings and the most um recent reply that I
received from the superintendent was that she will not provide that information. I don't recall that. Was it Did I say that I would go through the board president to see if that's information that the entire board? That's not declining. that's following the rules
and regulations of the board. I still did not receive an information. So when board members request data information, it has to come through the board president because we have to make sure that's an ask of the entire board, not individual board members. That is
the process. No, I mean that's the audit finding. So any board can go and ask because that's supposed to be public information, right? All bills are public information. So when I mean I can operate those bills and that would be
you know I guess by law within 10 days I would need to be pro provided with the with the detail. I just wanted to go by the normal road and I made an request multiple times because I am concerned what type of uh payments we are remitting that were duplicates and why
we are approving uh payments that are not being remitted and that's what the auditor you know reported and you brought that up to Mr. Italiano and he made arrangements for the auditor to be at the next meeting. Correct.
Is it that the order or Yes. Yep. And I also have our audit on the state website right here. The uh the only recommendation that the business administrator received in the prior year was to improve accounting controls to better track grant expenditures which um
is absolutely being done by my office and that's being addressed and that's all I see and we're taking care of it. So that's what I can control and the auditors coming to the next finance. Any other questions? Yes. Additionally, I heard something and I want to make sure of of what because it's again very
difficult sometimes to hear over the night. Um I think you said that they didn't present the other budget options at the March meeting. I'd like to know if you know why those other
budget options were not presented at the March meeting. I have no idea. Why would those budget options or any options using the additional bank cap not be presented? Okay, from what I recall, I remember before the March board meeting
putting together a proposal that was similar to option three that we voted on tonight and uh doing a straw poll with the board to try to find out if there's interest and have a conversation. And um to be fair uh cuz this is new this is
new stuff. Everybody really wasn't there at the point in time for option three. So common sense told me if option three wasn't there I wasn't going to go for option one or two. I wanted to kind of just come to the tenative hearing to give everybody a chance to have a conversation which we did and kind I
took that conversation I believe Mr. Law did as well as the what if put some options together and then we took the last four weeks and put some options together and open our doors and phones to conversations and that's why they were presented today that's what I remember we asked for right we asked we
asked for those we asked for the options options yes at the last board meeting at the March at the March board meeting and that's why what we brought tonight I think that's as a result did was because of that. No, I don't recall that we asked for it.
That's why I'm not sure. But um I don't know. I don't look at the minutes from March. I would have sworn that we asked for them in March. I don't recall. For real. I just that was my perception. Not to interrupt you. That's what that's how I took what transpired. I just want to
say that if there are more options like I'm not on FF um so I don't you know it seems like there was some previous discussion about things that as they were coming up um I feel like these things are are important enough to to
bring forth before just the the the uh first draft. Um at least for all nine of us to start to hear and and and about in in the future. So maybe again I know that you're new in Montgomery, welcome
and hopefully we uh have you feel welcomed. But um next year could we could we start having conversation in January doing? Absolutely. Noted. Any other questions for board member Feli? So I just have a question. So, I'm
hearing that there's concern about the the current auditor, but we still have it for approval on the agenda today. Wouldn't we look for a different auditor for next year? That's not my recommendation to
Miss Mclofflin. It's not for the board to I think we but again when we get to the resolution block the board is the ultimate decider on what gets voted on or what gets pulled. Uh just as a school business administrator I recommend to my
superintendent such vendors and that that was my recommendation that she took my recommendation. So that's are we questioning the finders of the auditor? Is that what we're saying now? We questioning that um the same auditor has been uh serving our
district for over 20 years. Okay. And typically when you have a public auditor that that's basically to give you know public comfort that funds are being properly spent and internal controls are working.
um all you know firms that engage public accountants they typically rotate those public accountants every five to maybe 10 years max. This firm has been with us for over 20 years. So it's time to bring
something new with a fresh set of eyes to look at records to look what kind of maybe improvements we need to make test our internal controls just so we can avoid findings like we had this year and
because the finding that they had did not cover just this one year. So it it was not just you know a one year um mishap it was a series of payments over multiple years and I did ask how
what was the magnitude of it just to kind of gauge whether or not this is something material or not and you know the the push back that I keep getting makes me wonder because if it was not material I guess I would receive that
answer by now. So if I don't have this answer right now, I don't really know how much we talking about. Is it 10,000, 100,000, a million? I don't know. So this is why I mean I wish we had more
transparency. I wish we had more information provided to us when we ask for it because we do represent the taxpayers and we do want to make sure that they trust that we make sure that our funds are wisely spent and that the
schools are wellrun. about you know like if you have an auditor who maybe got too comfortable with auditing the same set of books over and over and they know it's like the process so naturally you not as alert
right so bringing someone with with fresh set of eyes would provide an opportunity to see it's like okay is it a good idea you know to to test internal cost controls this way versus this way and then bring the insights of their
findings to the administration so they can improve because I'm sure they want to improve. But if we have an example of someone coming to our district order and
not discovering what needs to be discovered for multiple years, I mean I would recommend to go with the other firms. There are many other firms who serve districts like ours who are well
recommended and I think he knows a lot of like firms. I can recommend some mishaps being discovered. Where where did you find these mishaps? The auditor that's Yes. But then is that not documented in
our final? So she when I reached out to the auditor to answer your question um and asked him about that uh when I invited him to a meeting he actually said to me um if you could please research that and give me the information cuz I wasn't aware of it. So this probably took place like before I
worked here. Uh I heard mention of it. So all I did is mention to my staff moving forward to have some checks and balances with me and such settlement payments. But that historical information is what we're really here for. So I can't speak to best I can tell you. Um, I will say that at the February
OFF meeting, Joanna brought it up the idea of doing RFP for an auditor and I think it's a good practice to do RFB, but because the February and then April with the budget, um, they asked for time to do it because it takes a while. So, I
still do think we it would benefit us do an RFP for the auditor, but um, that would be that for next year obviously because it's interest to what you said. That was my request for the sake of time. There's a
lot of first that I'm trying to do um short staff. So, I don't disagree. I just uh I have a time to put RFP together for auditor and put all these budget options together, too. If you initiate that, we I think you'll support it though. So it's up to you to decide
that that do we really it's really up to the board but I would recommend to move forward with them but whatever you folks decide that's uh that's what we'll do section 3.8 8C of appointment of new
auditor. That's the part that's in the agenda, right? So, if we want to RFP, we should not pursue that agenda. Well, let's go. Not for tonight. Just just keep in mind our audit's normally done. What I'm being told in
August. It's April 29th. So, you just have to faith that an RFP is going to happen. somebody's going to be interviewed, hired in place, and we're going to fit their audit schedule so our audit doesn't get thrown out of whack. So, just be mindful of that.
What he um 3.8 3.8 C. So, you know, just going back to what we just gone through, right, with the discussion about the budget, I think it's a perfect opportunity for us to say, okay, how can we do better, right? How do we find not only cost savings but you know better services for the school
district right so just right so if that is the wish wishes of any of the board members at the time that we make a motion for acceptance of the agenda items a motion amendment can be made to the motion to pull 30
uh 3.8 8 C out if board votes accordingly. Any other questions hearing? None. I question about 3.8. We're not there yet. Yeah.
Yeah, we're not yet. We're not there yet. We'll come back at We'll come back. Anything on PCC? Yes or no? I we didn't meet and there's nothing for HRC. This time I entertain a motion to
approve the minutes of March 18th, 2025 executive session and March 18, 2025 business meeting. So move second. Been properly moved and seconded. Any questions on the motion? Hearing none. All those in favor
say I. I. I. I. All those post same right. Extensions. Moving on. This time the board acknowledges the correspondence to the board. Action agenda items. Public comment. The board of education welcomes encourages input from the public.
Members of the public are allotted one opportunity to address the board regarding the action agenda items only for up to a maximum of three minutes per speaker. All comments must be directed to the board. Before you make your comment, please state your full name and enter at and address and enter both on
the Chromebook provided. Being mindful of privacy rights regarding students, board employees, and board members, and to avoid any liability on the part of the speaker, the board discourages defamatory and discourageous remarks. The public comment portions of the meeting are not structured as question and answer sessions, but rather are
offered as opportunities for the public to share their thoughts with the board. The board may need to refer an issue to the superintendent if the issue has not been handled through the appropriate chain of command, usually starting at the school level. Responses may be provided this time. Any public comments on action items? Please state the action
agenda item number one. Open action item. No, we are open for public comment on action items. Please state the action item. Just the action. This is action agenda. Yes. Okay, I'll come back for the last one then. I didn't know that. This is action agenda
item. Good evening, Diana Re. Okay. Um I think the item agenda is 3.8 DS amendment amended. I don't know if it's D or C, but the one regarding the audit the
auditor. Um I mean the regarding the hear. So as a member of the public, it's absolutely disheartening hearing
that we have an an auditor that's been a report that a board member made request about certain items that were identified in the report that it hasn't been addressed and moreover that we came
forward requesting increase in taxes without having sufficiently addressed these items before. So I highly encourage the board to I don't know present the motion and
support the the issuance of an RFQ or or RFP or whatever it is so we can have a new auditor with fresh eyes because we certainly need to carefully scrutinize how we're spending our money.
Thank you. Any other comments from the public on action agenda item? Hearing none public portion action agenda items comments closed. At this time, I'll entertain a motion
to move agenda items 1.1 to 4.4 with the exception of 3.29. Actually, it's actually 3.5 for the budget and then are we going to I guess just everybody else somebody's going to make a motion
to remove. Got it. Okay. All right. So, let me restate the motion 1 0 to 4.4 with the exception of 3.5 and 3.29. 3.29 29 was option three which we already voted second been properly moved and second to
adopt agenda items 1.40 to 4.4 with the exception of 3.5 and 3.29 so we any question any questions on the motion I have a question on the motion I'd like to make a motion to remove 3.8 C out of
the agenda which is the auditor and I have a question about 3.8D 8 which was the appointment of school physician. So we'll do one at a time. We'll do one at a time. So we'll do 3.8 first. So is there a second on removing
3.8 C? I second that. Been a proper move and second to remove 3.8C. Roll call on that please. Okay. Dr. Wang. Yeah. Sting to remove. You need to vote to remove the item from the agenda.
Yes. Okay. Yes. Herman. Yes. Felac. Yes. Harris. Yes. Jernigan. Yes. Yes. Todd. Yes. Okay. Motion carries. So my question when do we do when does
the auditors come to review the books? So I I was told that they come in August. How long does it take? What are the requirements to put up an RFP and how long does that take? It doesn't take uh it doesn't take that long. Um but
then you have to kind of give it a certain amount of statutory time to uh field uh basically solicit the proposals and then try to time the RFP that have I have time to put together, advertise it, give it the amount of time they had to
run, get the um proposals in, interview an auditor. It's not just somebody you look at a piece of paper and pick interview it and get it for a meeting. So realistically that's not going to hit till our June agenda. So then by the time we appoint an auditor or a June agenda, it will not happen for May. Um
then we have to hope that we fit into their schedule for their already booked audit season. Auditors normally book the same districts year after year on the same schedule. That's why in my opinion this wasn't the time of the year to do it. you do it after they're done with
their school ordinance, not right when they're gearing up for it. Again, just my view, but that's where we are right now because we took the item off the agenda. So, should we make the um motion to put the RFP on the agenda so you don't have
to wait for the next meeting to approve the RFP? So, then the process can start. There's nothing to There's nothing to approve. I have to I have to I have to advertise an RFP. So, so I have the ability I have the authority to do that. My only concern is to get the proposals
back and interview the auditors in time to hopefully get on for the May meeting and talk to the people as we're interviewing them to be sure we're getting our schedule. Do I think it could happen? I hope so. It's just very tight. Does that make sense? No. Okay. I know like can help and I can
help so that the two of us we can definitely help you out. Okay. I appreciate that. Okay. What did I do? You know what? To help me with finding a new Well, I'm teasing. I'm joking. I know how I
know how to I know how to do this. I would say to you that like I I would still like to do an RFP, but with the timing, can't we do it after August after the audience? Then you have September till the next year, and he's not rushing, we are not rushing, and
then we get the right month. So last year when we did the audit, the audit took one month. So even if we find someone um in June, this is someone who has been working with us for 20 years, that one for somebody else. That's okay. I mean,
it's like it's not really that huge of a someone who is experienced. I mean, there is I mean, are we going to be jeopardizing quality and our choices? Like what do we want if we're I mean, it sounds like if we're not saying to don't do it. and say you can do it but I don't think now is your
time suggests to do it um September to start finish the audit for the year. So at least it's a full school year. This auditor that we have understands the school district July through June. They
can do it. That's going to have to be discussed in a little bit. Okay. But I I And is it the same process the RFP? We go to bid. We try to we have to get three at least three ends up taking the lowest cost one lowest responsible
lowest responsible present. I just want to make sure that that's out there and understood as well. It doesn't have to be the lowest. That's the That's the idea. It doesn't have to be the lowest. No. No. That's why I'm saying lowest responsible. So if the lowest one like say go through the process and
they're not favorable, then you go to the next lowest responsible. We've done that before. It's not always over. Yeah. This is something that's professional services. So you're really just trying to get the best services at the best price. Exactly. Andrew, I think we also discussed uh in
the meeting that you would be asking them the options of how deep you want to go in the auditors, right? Like you I don't know if we're going to do that anymore. If we're going out to RFP for another purpose for the purpose that was for these folks here, I was going to bring them to the off meeting to offer a
menu of choices for us because in other districts I had auditors do a deeper dive at the request of a board, but uh I don't think they're going to be here doing that it seems. Oh, so you wanted the same auditors to go even that was what my recommendation was. But uh looks like we're going to go in a different
direction. Well, could a new auditor go into I mean you'll be requesting what your expectation is from the new course, right? So yeah, but I'm just saying like at the time that that that wasn't what was in my mind. Understood. But I think we could expect from the new auditor to get product. Okay. Well, that's in the
meantime, I think, you know, you can still finish on. Yes. Any other questions on on the motion? And sorry, just through the transition from from the past VA to to you, Mr. Italana, like did any of this ever come up in terms of a concern or something that we should be
looking at or it it just feels I I only worked with the former VA for two days. Okay. Everything I've figured out through my experience and uh my intuition and my curiosity.
Any other questions on the motion? Yes. Board member again. May I ask about the It's coming from the board. From the board. Okay. Got it. That's what I wanted to. It has not been We have a
question about the order. Well, cuz I want to be clear because you know the public needs to have confidence in our process. Correct. I think it needs to be clear that there is a process that usually has checks and balances but that there is a question from the board member. Yes, we have a question on the floor. Board member will like journey.
Thank you Mr. Todd. Um just the question on 3.8 AD um as we've been working through the budget and through some and I think you have an opinion about that too through some of the discussions with other
school district um we've had um you know appointment of the school position with us for quite some time at a very large cost to the district. Uh when you compare to some other uh districts that cost is much lower. So, in the spirit of
savings, um I would like to have a discussion of, you know, taking a look at some other possibilities, other positions that we could potentially be more fiscally responsible with. That's my suggestion.
I think um one HRC, well, it's an item on the agenda. We're just discussing items on the agenda. I know I'm saying but yeah, I'm asking a question. How does that how would that happen that we would go again? Like how do we get somebody
Well, how are we measuring that? That's a high cost. Do you do we know what other districts and you would have to really look at the contract to make sure it's apples to apples? Correct. Could I request the contract then I
could do some analytics on that? Absolutely. Sure. Any other questions on the motion? We have a motion on the floor. Wait, what's the motion for the agenda items? This is this is the block agenda with
like the changes with the quad pulling out the order for questions, right? These are questions on the agenda items. Like to change I have just one question. I have one too. 2.1 Mary. I think I just just just
uh there's 2.1 there's uh uh South Brunswick we are sending uh for an ABA program for 12,500. I was wondering what is why public school this
special services. Well, when students are in need to go to an active district placement, we have to first look at other public schools and then we look at like the private public schools and then we look at the private schools. So, no, this one
particularly says ABA program. It's like a program in their school. Is it like a Yeah, we have an ABA program also. So, this student is from Montgomery going to South Brunswick for the ABA program which we also have. Yeah.
between April 1st and June 27th. Is there is there a reason why we are unable to to serve the students needs in district was my question? I don't answer. It it could be a range of things. It could be a discipline issue or student
has to go out of district continue education. That could be a a multitude of sometimes it could be a displaced family who live there kind of situations. So and they choose to they are here but
then they choose to go there and then they have to say yes for one year or something like or something like that. Okay. I was just confused. No, no problem. I have Yes. Um, what is go sign me up? And I know
it's a much lesser amount of money than everybody else is asking. I was just curious. Go sign me up item 2.6, I believe. Um, is this like sign up?
I think it's like an app that like like sign up. So for for the PTO and for other programs, I think it will engage more. professional development. Yes. Yes.
And these are title two funds. Yeah. Title two funds. That's what I was I was very confused by those. Thank you. Appreciate it. Any other questions? I'm going to restate the motion. We are voting on action agenda items 1.0 to 4.4 4 with the exception of
3.29, 3.5, and 3.8 C. Roll call, please. Mr. Italiano. Dr. W. Yes. Stalling. Yes. Speed. Yes. Yes. Abstain 4.1 to 4.4.
Noted. Thank you, Miss Felac. Yes. Miss Harris. Yes. Abstain 4.1 to 4.4. Noted. Thank you, Mr. Jurgan. Uh, yes. Mr. Nan. Yes. Except 3.8.
Noted. Thank you, Mr. Todd. Yes. Thank you. Motions carry. All right. New business from the public. The board of education welcomes and encourages input from the public. Members of the public are allowed one opportunity to bring any new business to the board for up to a maximum of 3 minutes per speaker. All comments must be directed to the board.
Before you make your comment, please state your full name and address and enter both in the Chromebook provided. Be mindful of privacy rights regarding students, board employees, and board members. And to avoid any potential liability on the part of the speaker, the board discourages prematurity and discourages remarks. The public comment
portions of the meeting are not structured as question and answer sessions. The board may need to refer an issue to the superintendent if the issue has not been handled through the appropriate chain of command, usually started at the school level. Responses may be provided at the end of this session.
Public comments are now on. Hi. Uh I'm Balaji Meshwaran from Berkeley Avenue. Good evening member and I appreciate the opportunity to speak with you tonight. This is my third time addressing the board over the matter of the basic concern made of many families in our district. The reinstatement of double
accelerated math program especially reintroducing pre-alggebra for eligible student in fifth grade. A program that existed before COVID but has not been brought back. Despite multiple parents raising their voice both here through letters, it uh it feels as if our
concern have under deaf years. There has been little acknowledgement and certainly no action even as as we know as the program is very good and and there's increasing potential. This issue is not just about equity, consistency
and honoring students potential. Let us take a moment to compare. A third grader in our district can join a fourth grade orchestra if he is ready. Young athletes are placed based on a skill level or a grade level. We don't hold back strong swimmers or strong tennis players saying
they're too young. We celebrate them. Then why are we holding back students quality for math? Why do we why don't we encourage passion? We encourage passion in music and sports but not in academics. Your eagerness to learn, your willness
to grow is a problem, not a gift. We are not asking something new or radical. We are simply asking for the return of something that previously existed in the district, something that had worked. Pre-alggebra for qualified fifth graders was a pathway that was allowed to thrive and to be challenged and to enter middle
and high school prepared with more advanced coursework. Removing it created a gap and stifled the academic progress of some of our brighter students. Our district mission speaks on fostering love of learning and preparing kids to become lifelong learners and teachers.
But the love of learn doesn't flourish when a child is told to sit and still and wait. When they are told to hold back while the while other peers in music and sports are encouraged to go forward. I urge you don't treat mathiness as a liability. Treat it as if
it would be like any other domain. A child's strength is to be nurtured not suppressed. Let us not fall behind. Let us lead. Let's bring back a bottle accelerated program and make pre-alggebra available again to those students who are eager to learn and are ready. Thank you for your time and thank
you for continuous support. Thank you. Hello. Um not too long ago you Miss Darling stood here. um you felt bullied and um you demanded people that they come here and address the board to be polite but yet you last
two meetings attacked your fellow board member Phil please direct your comments to the board as a whole. These are not directed or any particular board member. Thank you. I am addressing Miss Darling because she public comments are not meant to be directed at singular board members. You can direct it to the board
as a whole. This is about being respectful to each other. She No. Again, you can direct your comments to the board as a whole. Thank you. When Miss Fel made her committee report
last meeting, Miss Dling now once again you can make your comments directed to the board. That's an issue you can address. I'm mentioning her name which I am allowed to mention and at the budget hearing she
again attacked Miss Filac. I appreciate Miss Spac's detailed reports and I appreciate if you are all polite to her also. Thank you. Good evening board members. Um my name
is Evelyn Lee. Um I live in 24 catching road. Um I would like to um address your attention again to the um double acceleration math program um at um that used to be um it used to exist in middle
school but no longer was moved last year. Um so I think that um the board has received um recommendations from higher education uh faculty uh last month at the last um month's um uh BOE
meeting um and um it was clear that um the recommendation is to um have the um the double acceleration program around because it um uh it's crucial for um meeting the needs of um students who um
uh so that they can move at their pace um that fits their needs and you've also heard um uh feedback from teachers and uh uh parents and students. The feedback clearly points to the need for uh
diverse learning opportunities at our school. So um you know I wonder what you know for the students who are capable of reaching higher levels what would um you know how is um holding them back with
other students benefit them? I don't think there's benefit. So, um I uh ask the board members to please um listen and respect uh voices uh from experts and um um our um uh
stakeholders. Um like the other member uh mentioned that um this program has been around for quite a while for for a number of years and was um recently uh removed from the curriculum um a year ago. Um and so I I I fear that this
change sets a slope a slippery slope to a weak curriculum the long term and that will force um parents to uh seek for stronger education in private um schools or even move out of this district.
I don't think as a community we can afford to lose our brand um in you know um excellent education um um that you know a brand that we um prided on for the past 15 years and I don't think as a
community we can afford to um hold our students back from excelling um in science also I don't think as a community we can afford to um you know
um falling short in preparing our students for higher education opportunities. So um here tonight I um you know um asked the the uh board member again to consider uh uh restoring
the acceleration double acceleration math program and avoid watering down our community. Thank you very much for your consideration. [Applause] Uh so first of all thank you for the opportunity to uh speak here. Uh my name
is Lily. I live in Scalman. Um I hope you can hear me clearly. Um so uh first of all I appreciate all the board works. It has been four or five hours for the last several months. So appreciate your hard work. I hear what's going on and I
think you guys are critical to make the decisions and what I'd like to provide today are two comments. The first comment is about communication. So I see the uh the district has made a lot of the changes the newsletters letters a lot of things
very helpful. What I see is a little bit missing is the academic content. I feel the newsletter are mostly administrative or events but I don't quite see what's the communication about the school ranking the student performance I saw
the emails about the exam but I don't see what's the outcome of the school district on those exams and relating to that I also think it may be helpful to also share some conversations happening the board meeting today or other days I
was not aware that board has been spend a lot of time to support our school district and appreciate not just a simple paragraph saying the agenda but share what has been communicated, what has discussed and what was the outcome. Maybe not just on the mountain news but
consider sharing that with the parents as well because I do use the emails and newsletter as my uh the source. My second comment is a little bit related to the math program and my concern is that I have the younger grade that was
uh may not be in the candidate of the mass acceleration pro program at the time the change was made and I was not aware of this changes the calculation of the mass program and I feel that again sometimes the curtain uh changes made in
the higher grade was not communicated to the parents with lower grade but they are still impacted That's why I'm standing here two years after I not being you aware of this decision and I would like to use the rest of the time to urge the board think
about the communication and maybe for the mass program think about if there is a need to reshare what's the rationale behind that decision and whether it makes sense to revisit the decision and conduct additional assessment uh assessments to reinstall the mass
program. I feel like that I'm a data scientist. You can not not exactly but I can be convinced by the raw data but I appreciate that the board is just sharing that data being transparent as what you have done in the past and I
hope that will be continue in the future. So that's all. Thank you all. [Applause] Mark enter um I hear a lot about accounting and this is nobody's picking up economy
down the street. You're going to be picking up an an accounting firm that I'm sure is very qualified and there's a bunch of good players and the accounting market has been very well structured. So picking somebody up and having them do it in a month I don't think with any large firm is going to be an issue
considering that every school district. Well, hey, give it to wherever they come in within the budget. Uh, that being said, uh, I wanted to address something that, uh, happened a while ago, and it was concerning criticism of the board.
Um, some of them may be right, some of them may be wrong. And I can tell you that there was a board member here that we pretty much disagree on most things, but she came over after one meeting last year and she shook my hand and we
discussed some things and we didn't really agree. But this is not personal. She doesn't hate me. I don't think she hates me. I don't hate her. And we've kind of left that. But there was some issue of criticizing people on the board. There was a past board member
here that had some serious issues and people in the community came and said, "Hey, can you please validate what actually is her position?" She had a title and nobody looked into it. Then
this person actually ran for the board again. She had already been charged. And I asked, as other people asked, why don't we do criminal background checks? Not just when you're in, say, oh, well, we'll do them
once a year. No, no, you're running for the position, you're in the position, as would happen with this person. And it came to light, oh, now she's on the board. Oh, well, we got to get this person to resign because they have been criminally
charged. The accounting thing. Listen, do I expect to find something? Yeah, that's that should be simple. I would like it. Uh somebody else looking at something that somebody else missed. That's not going to be an issue, right? It's an error. Let's move on. Let's fix
it. The past board member, people have to realize that criticism is part of the job. That's it. And I'm not going to tell you there's people who are taking it too far. Yeah, of course. And there's people on that side that say things
publicly like, "Let's move on. We have business. We'll attend everything out in the clear and open. Let the numbers fly." Mistakes were made. Hey, we screwed up. That's it. People want to hear, "Hey, I made a mistake. Let me move on." What are you going to say? Oh, you made a mistake.
You're bad. Nobody here is has not made a mistake in their life and gone on. And that's really the approach that we need to take. It's almost time to say good morning everybody. I'm Francine Feffer 5 Mystic
Drive. I just since I'm still here, I really wanted to express my disappointment in the budget mode that was taken by this board. Um it will harm the district long term. How much of our bank cap do we how much bank cap are we losing because it's expiring? So for the one year there was
$875,000 in the old this year 779,000. So 2175 $96,000. That's a lot of money that we're never going to see that's never going to go into programs for students and that will diminish what we have in the future. And many people alluded to
that and said it and I just feel a need because school funding is so important. I hope that we do not lose federal money because then we will be kind of screwed if you will have to find money elsewhere. I don't envy you your job if that should happen. And the other thing I just wanted to say was on the
district's website where the board of ed is because maybe I missed it. The email to send an email address to send an email is not on there. I had to go look through my old emails to find an email I had sent to the board of ed. Perhaps I missed it, but perhaps you can rectify
that sort of to make it maybe you don't want all those comments, but um just to make it easier for people to send emails to the board of education. Thank you. I still have some support here. That's great. Um hi Joe Medell. Aside from a
couple of roles I have and also the M I'm the math supervisor and I was going to make sure everybody could hear. Should I pause so we have all of the board members? No. Do you understand? I understand. I wanted to be able to talk to all the board members though and I see somebody
to step out. Is there a way that I could pause till I cuz it's really I really wanted to everybody to be able to hear this cuz it seems that she's passionate about the math and I wanted to go through. No, we can give her 30 seconds. Okay. Love it.
I I had a a big group here of my teachers and my supervisors, but um I got my timer started over there, right? Okay, Mr. Brooks. Mr. Okay, that's okay. No, no, no. So, um I've been hearing a lot
of commentary. Um I am in the IC the ACI meetings. Um it was clear in that ACI meeting. I know um we get the minutes reported out on, but there's definitely this one personal agenda item that's
definitely coming at us repeatedly over and over and it seems to be coming up here also with like similar commentary. So, I thought it important to come up. Um, I had supervisors who are also in the elementary and the middle school levels with me. I had teachers with me. And now I have these awesome people
behind me. But um, after these ACI meetings, what was a bit surprising cuz last meeting we had a uh, school board rep here talking about being careful about personal agenda items and kind of pushing them through
uh, using the board. And this one's just really um, starting to hurt my teachers. A a survey went out and it went to math teachers and we principles, admin, we talked with all of our math teachers and math teachers did not fill out any
survey. There was a there was a lot of conversation with math teachers and admin and they did not fill out a survey. Um I along with many of those teachers and a lot of administrators, we worked on the math sequence two years ago. Uh
it took a lot of time. We rewrote many of the curriculum documents. We had teachers spend off time analyzing data and doing scope and sequence comparisons. We mapped out so many different scenarios so that all of our students could have opportunities that were in place at that time and are still
in place right now for all of those students. Um what I'm hearing is all of that work that we did two years ago it doesn't matter that you know even though we did the work we put in place something that
supports all the students academically socially emotionally what I'm hearing is like a narrow focus on a very very small number of students to have a course title in a middle school and like nothing else is really mattering except for this course title we have uh state standards in place in a double
accelerated we have a double accelerated and we have state standards awesomely aligned and we also have the plus standards awesomely aligned. There's like an elevation that can happen to the regular standards. There's plus standards in there. So we have that for our advanced and our enriched students
in in the program. Um all of our students are being challenged and they're all growing. In fact, we had growth data all organized to bring to an ACI meeting this Friday because of that concern where our advanced students are hitting the ceiling. They are not hitting the ceiling. We have that data. We have it
prepared for Friday in the ACI. I've got Miss Borland still here. We were working on that last couple of days. Our top 10% are growing. Our top 10% are growing in all of our grade levels. Um we were excited to share that in ACI. There was
not a ceiling. And it's just tough to hear because, you know, we just we we're looking for or I could patch this on, but um we're looking for you to trust in the experts that you have here and the
teachers and the staff and all these committees and all these hours of work that we did with the data and the standards. Um you know, you're you're asking us to now maybe put something in place that we're not running. We don't have that staff. We don't have that funding. Um, we put out a ton of RIFF
notices yesterday and a ton today. Like we're not, it's not something that is going to come back and it should be data aligned. We took a look at the NJSLA results that have come in. Miss, Miss Toronto was actually here at FCR. She actually moved, but she was here. She was going to talk about how this past
year we had 100% of our seventh grade students in algebra 1, 100% need proficiency. We've never had that. So, um, we're two years into this. We see our NJSLA results going up. We have UDL in place that the board has supported which is a bell curve addressing all of
our learners at both ends. Um I our students are going to hit I know you think I hit it or I might pass it on. Did I miss anything? Oh, I love it. Who's my awesome teacher, Miss Penova?
Oh, no. Okay. Hi. Um, my name is Anna Penova and I live in Princeton and I currently teach AP C. I'm a teacher at the high school. I've been here for many years. I still taught here. I came back. This is a really great school district. I currently teach AP calculus AB. And my
students come from a variety of backgrounds. I have 10th graders, I have 11th graders, and I have 12th graders. And all my students belong in my AP calculus AB class. And they got there when they were ready for me, right? by my tenth graders. Some of them did take
pre-alggebra as fifth graders, but many of them did not. They many of them didn't. They took summer class geomet algebra 2 over the summer and they still got to AP calculus AB as 10th graders. They're successful just as successful as the students who were able to take
pre-alggebra as fifth graders. Right? So, we're not limiting anybody at all. We're just providing a really great foundation to our fifth graders to all our fifth graders. And when they're ready to decide that, you know what, I do want to take algebra, spend my summer
taking algebra, honors algebra, too, and I do want to take AP calculus CB as a 10th grader. They have that option, and they make the decision when they're ready for it, and they're mature enough for that. My son goes to Princeton charter school. They take pre-alggebra in sixth grade, all of them, and there
are it's a great school, and I think, you know, it has high reputation, and there is no free algebra in fifth grade, and they turn out just fine. But please trust that our students get to where they're supposed to be when they're ready for it. And we're not limiting anybody. There's no no opportunities
have been taken away. Thank you. Uh Heather Pino, principal of Montgomery High School. Again, um over my 15 years here, I've enjoyed a long and storied and wonderful relationship with the board of education. I know that that will not
stop tonight, but I need to point out the the obvious that's being missed right now. I had to sit across from people in the last couple of days and tell them that they are no longer going to be employed here because of the budget. Some of those are your
neighbors, just so you know. We are now talking about or it keeps coming up and it seems to be, you know, really originated from one board member. the addition of a program that's only going to serve a very small number of students who are
adequately being served at this time. I need to point out that that takes staffing, that takes funding, that takes programming. We don't have it. So, it's a little tonedeaf that we're
going to keep harping on this, especially when we have worked so hard to meet the needs of every child in this district, including the top. There is no lack of opportunity. Students are not missing
out. We have creatively explored ways to give students mathematic options and science options that do not exist in other districts. We are the best. I have a analogy that I often use and I didn't think I would ever use it
at this podium. I flew on a couple of planes this week. I went with our choir to Ireland. It was a great time. I'm still tired. I don't know what time zone I'm in. I got to see the pilot. I got to see the cockpit. I have seen movies with
planes. I have read books about planes. I have studied plane crashes happen. I'm actually a little afraid to fly. I have studied them. I have a lot of opinions about what they can do better with planes. I even think I can board them better than the flight. But I'm not going to tell the
pilot to move over the next time I get in that plane. But it seems as though some people are not hesitating to ask us to move over because you think you can do it better because you've sat in a classroom once before. You've read some articles. You've pulled some data that's
not aligned with what we do. and you've pulled old pieces of information that are no longer relevant to what we do here in this school district. That is demoralizing and disheartening. And when I think about
that, I don't know what the future is for our students. I've always been proud to be from Montgomery. I wear it like a badge of honor. The sticker on my car is Montgomery, not Robbinsville, where I send my own kids. It's shattered a little bit in this
moment. We've lost focus. I can accept the board vote that does not go in the direction I believe we can go. What I cannot accept is a continued response to the work of our teachers. Thank you. [Applause]
Good evening everyone. Um Jason Sullivan, high school science supervisor. um here to uh echo some of the comments of my colleagues. I've worked with Jen uh in our positions for over a decade. I've been doing my job as a high school
science supervisor since 2006 and have been in the district proudly since 2002. I've seen lots of things here. Uh one thing I've never seen is that we have uh gone against trying to provide opportunities for all of our students.
And I want to echo that because this will continue. We're not changing things or reworking things to not provide opportunities for our kids. Um I I need you to trust us in doing that. You you
pay us a lot of money to do these jobs. You've entrusted us with your children day after day after day. We have worked really hard at things that go well and when they don't go well we try to fix them and we rearrange them. But never do
we want to not provide opportunities for kids. And that doesn't matter if they are our AP scholars or our students who struggle more in some of the traditional settings that we put them in. I've been through this with a program that was near and dear to my
heart. Some of you know this, right? There were decisions that were made that were not the professional expert decisions and uh there were a lot of voices over many years. Um and as a professional I had lots of opinions
about this and I think that it was a poor decision. Now I also think that we're resilient folks and we we worked hard to try to do good things for our kids and provide good opportunities for them. I think we've done that.
At the end of the day, we are here to teach your students to think well. And whatever class that they're in, they are taking my general chemistry class or AP calculus class, we are trying to teach them to think well. And the better we do
at that and how we're going about that process, that's what we do every day and we try to work towards. So, as we start to entertain changes and we hear different things, please just pause and say, "Okay, we hear these things. We're going to make sure those problems, if
they are existing, get corrected, but we have professionals in place to make those decisions. Please trust us. Let us do that job. Continue to do that job, and we will do it really well, and we'll love your kids all the time doing it."
So, thank you. Can I ask a few questions? I know it's a couple of comments. Yeah, we still have public comments. So, I've been in Montgomery for 13 years and one of my favorite things is high school commencement and I think that no one does pop and circumstance like
Montgomery and there's a moment that I love. I love when they start going through the accolades of the valadictorian and the saludiatoran and I sit there in awe and I think, "Oh my goodness, what that young man or young woman or young person has accomplished."
And what we just heard from was a passionate high school teacher and a high school suit high school supervisors. And that's what we can assure you and what we've come to ask and to is for your trust that there has not been any opportunity eliminated from
where our students are going to land where they are going to go but I also want to keep a mind and a focus on when we are talking about these changes these are the types of changes that impact the eight nine and 10year-old when you are
looking to talk about when somebody is talking about pre-alggebra in fifth grade and dividing students at that level before they are developmentally ready, before they own their own identity, before they have their own self asssurance because their brains are still developing, we are creating
challenges and inappropriate experiences for our littlest learners. So although I want to be clear at the level that I am always so proud to wear Montgomery Green and be so proud of the um incredible academics that we offer for all of our
students, we also need to remember that this does come with a social emotional curve. This does come with a developmental readiness and we want to make sure that we pace alongside of that. So that is just one other piece of the puzzle. Um thank you.
Any other comments from the public? [Music] Any other comment from the public? Hearing none. Public comment for public is now closed. Any items of discussion
from the board? I would like to make a motion. I move to align on middle school mathematic curriculum with higher ed expectations and ensure academic rigor is preserved. specifically reinstating math pies pathways including
pre-alggebra in grade five, algebra 1 in grade six, geometry in grade seven, and algebra 2 in grade 8. We provide appropriate learning opportunities for students who are ready to learn. By restoring these pathways, we're not only maintaining academic rigor, but also
ensuring our students better prepared for high school, college, and career opportunities. Is there a second to the motion? Second. It's been properly moved and second and discussion on the motion. Questions on the motion? Question I have
is for uh Superintendent McGloin. Is this something that you support? No, I do not support the resolution on the floor for action because it is flawed. I have provided corrected information to the public and to the board. I believe it does not adequately address the diverse learning needs of
all students that includes the highest achieving students which is what the ocean on the floor is really about. The proposed resolution lacks sufficient depth and opportunities. It does not promote strong enough foundation of problem solving skills and critical thinking which are essential for
long-term academic success and what is what the state standards demand. I don't want to give the full history of what our staff and supervisors worked on two years ago that our ACI committee and school board supported. This work was around student academic and social emotional growth. This motion will undo
all the work that I just referenced under the premise that students need an opportunity that was in place before that now is not. This is not true. All opportunities are still in place and we have data showing that our courses are successful. We have higher proficiency on our state testing and internal
assessments demonstrate all students inclusive of our top 10% continue to grow at an above average rate. Those students do not hit a ceiling. This notion of bringing algebra 2 back into the eighth grade is nothing more than returning to the practice of early math
tracking for students beginning as early as 8 years old. Myself along with educators in this district do not will not do this to students who have been entrusted to us. Our current math opportunities are both
developmentally appropriate and proven to increase our students math proficiency. I want to reiterate that our current math opportunities in middle school do not impact students high school opportunities. The topic has been discussed in multiple ACI meetings this school year and is shown in the MHS
program of studies and in fact this false narrative that students will not be able to take AP calculus prior to their senior year has also been addressed in ACI. Any other questions on the motion? I also just want to add that the board members received an email that
uh stated that teachers were given a survey and that teachers were um that teachers were asked and then responded by saying that they were not happy with the current math program and that is also false. That has not been verified
by any math teacher kindergarten through 12th grade in our district. Any other questions? I do have a question but I don't know if it's better to ask the question to um Mrs. McCclark as there has to be a question on the motion. Is there a question on the motion? Well,
it's related to the motion. So I want to understand better what other opportunities are available to our students because the way I understand um what we had in the past, we had a path for um a group of students who
almost like skipped certain um math classes because they were ready for the next level. So then when they did get to high school because those uh math courses were already kind of like
in their um they already took those courses then in high school they were ready to take the next level which if we do not have those opportunities I'm still confused like
how those students will be able to accelerate and take uh higher level math if that time that you know before the students had will be now almost like lost. I just don't understand. I mean
like I'm just trying to to to truly understand the new process. I again I I think just to be clear and we've had so many discussions in ACI so I'll try to be as specific as possible in terms of what we've talked about. There's been a change in the terminology in terms of
what things are named and labeled in terms of classes, but opportunities and extensions to the curriculum and advancements to the curriculum are still very much in place. So students are being given opportunities when they are ready for those opportunities to to
grow. I would like for us to focus on real data. Is there anything that proves that students are not doing well academically, are not being challenged, are doing poorly on any kind of assessment that they're given during the school year? If we have that data, then I would feel more comfortable
questioning our staff and our experts in the math department saying, you know what, the grades are coming down, the kids are not, you know, um, achieving their their potential, but we have no data that supports that at this point. Does that make sense? Yeah. I don't even question, you know, like the suggestion.
What I'm trying to understand is, you know, like how I think like 3 years ago or so, we um we we implemented a new physics program, it
right. So what other districts do instead of introducing physics that has a textbook and you know already set curriculum and that physics class is offered in sophomore year or later to
allow students to build that math foundation and be able to be successful in the full physics course. What we did instead to address the lack of foundation in math, we introduced IPOS.
And IPOS is kind of like a survey course. So, it's been 3 years and I had both kids in high and I've seen it, you know, year one. I I see it how it's run year
three. And I'm trying to understand why we have that course because there is no textbook the the the curriculum seems to be almost like um not set. So in terms of like when the
students needs to study for the test, I see a difficulty in understanding what will be covered on the test, how to prepare, what's the anticipation of the future program. um there are not enough
um problems that would allow student to practice. So I sat down with my son and we had to go and Google some problems or you know find them on YouTube just to get him ready or have help him understand the concept.
So when we have a textbook with a really nice selection of problems then I I kind of feel that there is a foundation and if something is misunderstood or not fully uh grasp during the lecture then you have a textbook that you go and you
read and then that helps you to maybe fill in the blanks that you did not really get in the classroom and then you have a selection of problems that you can practice and get you know more uh stronger knowledge with hypo the way
it's structured it's not like that it's too abstract and it's a very interesting concept I just don't see feel like eyebal is not part of the motion no but what I'm saying is but we're only talking about the motion that's on the floor I understand Patrick but like
basically what what I understand that the math that's being introduced it's a very similar concept that It will be like a survey course. So seeing what was done with eyeballs. No. So that's what I'm trying to understand. Yeah. Ask that
question. That's an easy no because you need to take So there will be a textbook. There will be a selection of problems resources that are out there on on on the website. That's what I'm trying to understand. Will that like so
if it's just a different name? That's a different story. But like if it's a program that will be without a textbook, without the resources, with the proper selection of problems of diff different level of difficulty, then I just wonder
like if we will just have another survey course that will not really give the structure that math, physics, you know, like subjects like this require for success. I understand your point about IPAL's that's something you know to take
up with the individual teacher andor the the science uh department head but I think in terms of the math I just want to make sure that we're very concrete about has that been presented to you you know a difference or a shift in that direction has there been you know a conversation about there will no there
there will no there will not be any math textbooks I mean I haven't heard any of that so I just want to be really careful about assuming or thinking that something's going to change I'm asking because since you participate in those discussions that's why I want to know
whether there is already a selection of resources a set you know textbook something that is more tangible that anchors them that you know will just provide the so what's going to anchor sorry what's been questioned is the rigor right in my in my opinion would
you say tang I think that that what's being presented at ACI is the rigor of the math department right are we are we making sure that we are meeting the needs of our highest learners. That's what's coming. No. No. Okay. So, Michelle, just to your point about data,
right? As I'm thinking about it, yes. We're talking about the highest performers. So, we're not going to see failing anything, right? Because actually, this is not about the high performance. This is about we have 88% of the stu like I stated in my email, 88% of students want to go to four-year
college. 95% of chose to continue education. And we've heard more than one hired faculty talk about how we're watering down the curriculum here and why we cannot align our curriculum with their expectations if this is the aspiration of student
body and according to the NJ learning standard I attached I send you guys attachment too I had extensive conversation with my colleagues in the research area this is within the learning standards at that grade level I don't want understand why there's a
social emotional change if it's this part of the learning learning board member way I ask New Jersey learning l standards why you claim it's like out of the reach can you can you say what standard I maybe you sent I'll send it to the email please read it carefully I
can also send it to send that to me I sent it to every single four email with attachment of NJ learning rate standards grade five grade six what it means there's a paragraph indicated wherever they are. If you have disagreement, I'm
happy to pass around my colleagues information with you. But your colleagues here, your colleagues, my colleagues will ask for Let's get back to the motion, please. Let's get back to the motion. Any other questions on the motion? I have a motion. I have a question on the motion. Yes. And the
question is for our attorney, please let us know if it is a um proper um I don't know for board members to take it upon themselves to move to to
um change curriculum, change resources, change vendors and change other things. Midc contract, mid-review cycle, we do have cyclical review curriculum content review processes here. All of that is in
place. They happen every 5 years. The last math one was two years ago. There'll be another one coming up in three. Obviously, if we were failing as a district, then there would be reason for us to maybe step in as a board. But when it is not our job to run the
schools, it is our job to ensure that they are wellrun, our students are succeeding. I I don't that's my question. Is are we overstepping? What I would say is there's no legal obstacle to that. I mean, this it's
about the motion. Yeah. I mean, there's been a motion that's been made and seconded. I I can't say that it is beyond the authority of a board member to do that on a topic like this. I mean, if there was something that was more, you know, directly tied to personnel and it wasn't supported by the superintendent, that would be different.
But the board ultimately has the authority to you know approve and adopt courses of study and curriculum and things like that. So from a legal perspective I wouldn't stand in the way. Okay. So if there was a personnel factor there then that would be a different
situation. So Superintendent McGlaclin in order to reinstate a program that was changed three years ago would we be needing to add staff? Yes. The answer again was yes. Yes. We don't have the funds to do that. We just voted down a
budget that we're going to I'm not recommending and you're not recommending it and I don't have the funding to support. So that's where we're at. Any other questions on the motion? Hearing none. Roll call, please. Mr.
Taliano. Dr. Yes. Don, no. Spina, no. Dr. Herman, I abstain. Noted. Mr. Felac, yes. M Harrisan, yes. Yes.
No. Thank you. Motion doesn't count. Any other items from the floor? Hearing none, I'll entertain a motion to adjurnn. So move second, please. There's been problem second. All those in favor
say I. I. Thank you for coming out. Happy Wednesday.