Mrs. Fano here. >> Dr. Modrech >> here. >> Mr. Palmer >> here. >> Mr. Petraino >> here. >> Mr. Rapaort. >> Mrs. Smith >> here. >> Mrs. Zuckerman >> here.
>> Mr. Dorree >> here. >> Miss Ammer. >> Mr. Blumenfall >> here. >> We could rise for the pledge of allegiance. To the flag of the United States of America
for it stands one nation indivisible with liberty and justice for all. >> Miss slant the open public meetings notice. >> The New Jersey open public meeting law was enacted to ensure the right of the public to have advanced notice of and to
attend meetings of public bodies at which any interest affecting their interests is discussed or acted upon. In accordance with the provision of the act, the Montville Township Board of Education provided a public notice of this meeting which included the time, date, and location that was posted at the Montville Township Municipal
Building, all Montville public schools, the Montville public library, the Montville Township Board of Education administrative office building, the district website, and advertised the daily record, and the Montville tap into the board's official newspapers on March 26, 2026.
>> Thank you. Uh let's hear from the uh representative of the high school. For the past from April 27th to May 1st, MTHS juniors had their senior portraits taken from 3 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. On April 29th, MTHs hosted Broadway night in the auditorium from 7:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m.
On May 2nd, MTHS hosted the SAT from 7:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. AP testing began on May 4th and will continue through May 15th from 7:00 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. On May 6th, MTHs hosted a virtual counseling event for teens and gambling from 7:00
p.m. to 8:00 p.m. Meet the match took place on May 7th. Boys golf is currently 11 and three as they face Pquanic today. Yesterday, they became group two state champions as Brody Hammer shot a 74 and birdied on his last hole to win the whole tournament versus 90 or 39 teams
across the state. Montville softball is currently 14-4 with their next game tomorrow against Morristown. Boys lacrosse is nine and five with a game against West Milford today at 4. Girls lacrosse is six and six with their next game against Ramsey tomorrow. Boys tennis is six and nine as they have a
match tomorrow. Girls golf is 6-2 with a match today against Mountain Lakes. Baseball is currently 1-7 with a mat with a game today against Randolph. Girls flag football is six and three with a game against Dover tomorrow. And recently in track and field, Anthony
Agnoli broke the school record for shot at 58 feet and nine inches and is currently ranked third in the state for both discus and shotut. For future on May 18th, MTHs will host the small ensemble spring concert. And on May 19th, they will host the spring
concert. NJSLA testing will take place on May 18th to the 20th. And on the 19th and 20th, there will be delayed openings for all grades not participating in state testing, and they will have to report to school by 10:15 a.m. Student council elections will take place on May
20th, 21st, and 22nd. Senior breakfast, student athlete recognition day for division 3 athletes, and an early dismissal will all take place on May 22nd for seniors. School will be closed on May 25th due to Memorial Day. The MBBA meetings will take place on May
26th. On May 27th, MTHs will host the pre-prom assembly and science night for science research and resol. Prom will take place on May 28th at Brook Lake Country Club. Underclassman awards will take place on May 29th. On June 2nd, Val
dinner and drama club banquet will take place. On June 3rd, students and parents will receive next year's class schedules pending staffing and building adjustments. Senior awards will also take place that evening. On June 4th, MTHs will host Chartwell's barbecue, art
show, and try and recital. And the senior sunset will take place on June 8th. Thank you, >> Dr. Gorman. >> Yeah, just with uh what fewer than 30 days left to hear all those great accomplishments. We'll be recognizing all these seniors as we wish them well
before graduation. So, all their accomplishments just incredible. another state title. We'll be recognizing the golf team as well as the uh bowling team at the next board meeting for their state championships. And we just recognized the basketball team last uh board meeting for their accomplishments
as well. So, great stuff going on around the whole district. Principal Maluchcci, we have a whole bunch of students here. You want to explain what's going on? I got was able to talk to almost all of them. They wowed me with some books that I read when I was a student. And I I
love hearing that some of these classics are still around. >> Can you hear me? >> Yep. >> All right. Thank you. Thank you, Dr. Gorman. I appreciate um the board of ed and and yourself having us tonight. And I also want to thank our awesome students in uh fourth grade at William
Mason and their wonderful parents for joining us tonight. As you can see, we uh quote unquote did something outside the box. We um we did our book reports. I shouldn't say we, our fourth grade team, our fourth grade teachers deserve all the credit along with the students for creating uh I guess a
non-traditional book report. So all of the elements of a traditional book report, right? Setting, characters, uh plot, summary, problem, solution are in the reports except they did it through the guise of a serial box. So, I know that some of you had a chance to come up
and engage some of our students and um I thought they did a fantastic job of not only their presentation skills. Some of them had to present in front of the class and several weeks ago our families joined us in the gym and um we opened it up to all fourth grade parents to check it out as well. So, we're glad you guys
had an opportunity to see it. I'm especially thankful for our fourth grade students who have very busy schedules this time of year with sports and other activities. And I appreciate you guys. Um, I appreciate you guys and your parents joining us tonight. So, thank you so much. I thought maybe we could give them a big round of applause as
well. >> Mr. Malucci, would you be uh any students want to speak about this project or what their favorite book was or you know what you got out of this whole experience? >> Just a sentence or I know he's not shy here.
>> Radioactive. I did a book report about the Battle of D-Day. Uh, and it was about a little boy named Paul and his mother and how they tried to escape D-Day and towards the end they escaped D-Day and they were free.
>> And and you told me what what kind of book was that? It was uh called >> It was a historical fiction. >> There you go. Historical fiction. Love it. Great job. Anybody else want to speak? I read a book on Dreams and the Giant Peach and it's about these uh this
little boy named James and his parents die in a houseire in the beginning and he has to leave with his two mean old ants but he meets an old man in a in their garden and he gets these crocodile tongues and makes a giant peach and then
he crushes them on his way to New York in it. >> Nice. Thank you for sharing that. I I just want I just want the record to show that not all ants are mean. But that's uh but thank you for sharing that. Going >> I read a book called Dogman Scarlet
Shedder and it is about Dogman and um Chief and this nurse lady they got married. And then when chief when the cop chief threw his hat to see who
takes charge, Lenor, who is a cop who hates Dogman, caught it. And then she didn't care about anything. And um there was some villain who took over the city using AI. And then after Dogman and his
crew um took back the city with the power of friendship or something, I don't know. >> I love it. All right. Excellent. >> My book was about Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows. It was about a boy,
Harry Potter. He had to find Horcruxes to destroy Lord Voldemort. Horcruxes are little pieces of Lord Voldemort's soul. So he uh so Voldemort doesn't die as quickly because you have to find all
of the pieces in order to destroy all them. And he finds them towards the end and destroys Voldemort. >> Excellent. Thank you so much. All right, this is uh this will be the last story, then we have to do a quick
picture. And thank you. Go ahead. >> Hi, my name is Verun, and I chose the book The One and Only Ivan. The book's about Ivan the Gorilla and all his friends in a mall at Big Top Mall.
They're in their cages with all the animals. Ivan is a gorilla and throughout the story, Stella, his other's friend who is an elephant, dies away from apho infection
and a new elephant comes to replace Stella called Ruby. Ruby is in hard training to replace Stella. In a few nights, Ivan decides he needs to move with all
his friends to a community zoo and not a mall. And while he's doing that, a janitor in the story of Big Top Mall works at night with the animals cages.
his daughter. Um, his daughter is Ivan's friend who helps Ivan create a billboard with colors and paint. And soon after, he
puts the billboard up and helps Ivan and his friends to escape from the mall and into a community zoo. And the janitor is also rehired because he got fired from the mall and he's and he got rehired at
the same community zoo that Ivan and his friends got moved to. >> Excellent. Thank you. Picture. So, we're going to ask all the students with your cereal boxes, please go in front of that uh they call a step and repeat and we're going to take a big picture and get it out to the news.
>> What's it called? Step and repeat. >> Where'd you learn that one, Tom? Step and repeat. That's what it's called. That's what the pros call it. Thank you so much. Appreciate you coming out. Thank you. >> All right. Do we have the chamber choir?
>> They Mr. Green, >> you want to just grab the mic and explain what's going on? You're no stranger to this room, >> so please tell us what's going on. >> I I've now done this two times, and both times I've forgotten to set up a piano.
>> Students, come on in. fill in this whole semicircle. >> Bring a music stand for myself. So, this thing works great. >> Ladies and gents, you're going to kind of make I would say three rows are fine. Okay.
So, same as on the risers, there you go. So, on the other side, maybe four rows. We can arc a little bit. So, this is the Lazar Chamber Choir, which is an audition group that meets after school, before school
until 7:40 at night on a Tuesday because they love singing and they can't get enough of it. Um, so these are some really amazing seventh and eighth graders that I've had the privilege of working with all year. They are super dedicated,
hardworking, and really great musicians. And we're here to share just a couple of our concert pieces with you tonight. So, we hope you enjoy. >> So, >> okay. Uh, two years ago the piano stopped working at graduation and we did it ac
capella. So, we'll do it again. >> Um, I'm gonna take this then. >> All right. Well, >> we're all about um overcoming obstacles at Lazar. Well, >> I don't know how this one's going to go
a try it anyway. Again, again, Temporal temporal I am temporal temporal temporal temporal
temple temple out temple Are you temporizing? Temple temporal temple temple temple itto.
Temple temple temple temporal temple temporal. WELL, THIS I HAVE A DRAMA IN A DREAM. >> All right. The way
>> is the way I think is an important message. personally the way the stormy night has passed. Let us read the day and cate
forever. Peace and love will coner hate and strife and we will sing together side by side. Now the night is
the sun in the sky. Now the sound of singing is heard in our land. Flowers appear and the rain is gone and
it's time to let the music lead the way. Music lead the way. The stormy night has passed. Let us
cate forever. Peace and love will sing together by single lead.
Let it be in each song and each land. Let it be till we all understand that we must walk in and let the music and cate forever.
Peace and love will coner and we will sing together side by side by side. Oh let us walk and let us sing
in ac capella. That was incredible. Way to uh face adversity and and shine. That was beautiful. So, you don't get to see all our concerts, everybody here in the audience, but this is what we get to see all the time. And so, we're just blessed seeing this. Again, thank you parents for encouraging kids to be involved in
the music program and our wonderful staff at Lazarus. Thank you so much all the students. Great job. Oh, Mr. Green. What's camera? That was awesome. >> Lazar, but heard middle school.
>> It's middle school. >> Middle school. Yeah. Well, it's easier. I should just do that. >> Amazing. As we've talked about in the past, you know, we do celebrate the academics, the arts, and the ac uh the uh academics,
the arts, the athletics, and all the different activities that we do throughout the year. and you just see these different examples and all the accomplishments of our students. So, just an incredible job and it's just great to put them on display here at at our meetings. Um, going from there to a little more somber note,
each year I have to report on the school self assessment for determining grades under the anti-bullying bill of rights act. This has already been posted on our website, but I'd just like to quickly summarize the different reporting. This is done by teachers, parents,
administrators. They all come together once a year. They look at how we did with the uh harassment, intimidation, and bullying. Can they do a better job? There's different guidelines. There's about eight different categories that they have to self assess. And they um really take this seriously. Um Cedar
Hill found the scores did not change. Hillale, they noticed that the HIV reporting they could have do a they could have done a better job. This is for 2425 the school year. The state always works a year behind. So um so they scored
themselves a minor one lower in that category. Uh the high school stayed the same. Value View stayed the same. Woodmont stayed the same. William Mason went up plus one for HIV programs and initiatives. And uh Lazar did the most. uh and that
could this could be because they had maybe different members on it or there was an influx that year but they had the most changes. So for HIV programs they gave themselves one higher plus one for the highest in that category. They um downgraded themselves by one for board
of ed policy training. They went up two category points for other staff training. They went up one for reporting procedure and down two in investigative procedures. So they do take this seriously. you do see the adjustments each year and that's my report. Again,
it's on the website for people that want to see it in more detail. Um, >> that's all I have for right now. >> Okay. You know what? SL to you. Uh, Mario, do you want to put up the uh presentation? All right. So, uh, with all those
wonderful things, uh, we have to talk about, uh, some of the other things that are going on in our district. We've, uh, started in the fall. We started a little series there of upgra talking to the public about, you know, our facilities, different things that needed to be addressed. And I think we did three, if
not four different updates uh through January, maybe into February. And then we stopped, we took a little hiatus because it was budget time and we had to talk more about the budget. And so we did that and now we're coming back to the facilities update. And Miss Slunt here, our business administrator, is going to go into a lot more detail and
explain all the different uh options that we have uh moving forward. So about a decade ago, the board of education had compiled an capital improvement plan. The idea behind this
plan was that the district's facilities were reaching 50 years old and had begun to show the wear and tear of 50 years of students going through them. And they recognized that there needed to be improvements and renovations made. and
they their interest specifically was to do renovations that would then project these buildings and the schools to go for another 50 years of service to the students of Montville. So trying technical difficulty here.
>> There we go. >> Okay. Um, what we started with was a referendum in 2017. As part of that referendum, there were repairs to bathrooms throughout the district. We did roof replacements. We implemented a
building management system that would control the heating and cooling systems more effectively. We installed air conditioners in all of the academic spaces. We updated the libraries and the gymnasiums across the district. From
that in 2018 we went into two different EIPs, one in 18 and one in 19. What an EIP is is it is an abbreviation for energy savings incentive program. It is specifically driven by the amount of
savings you can reap from making improvements to your building. So, for example, switching out the lights to LED lights because they are more efficient than air incandescent bulbs is an example of an EIP type project. A
project that will improve the energy efficiency of the building by us doing it. As part of those projects, we did roof replacements. We did interior lighting throughout all the buildings in the district and we installed solar panels.
Uh if you're looking at that picture of the high school on the roof are the actual you can actually if you're looking closely you can actually see the solar panels that are sitting on top of the high school. All the buildings except Hillale were done. And the reason we didn't do Hillddale is we couldn't
get enough savings because of the way Hillale is situated on its property. We weren't getting enough sun. We did work in terms of the high school on repairing brick facads and we
replaced the turf and the track which you can see in that lower picture. We replaced the stadium bleachers and the stairs down into the stadium. We painted lockers. We did renovations to the outside paint, replacing pieces of that
metal cladding that was around the building. We have done electrical upgrades and renovations are coming for the retunda in the high school. Okay. Uh where am I pointing? >> Mario.
>> Oh, there we go. >> Okay. All right. You try. In terms of Lazar, Lazar also experienced a lot of those same changes that we experienced with the referendum and the EIEPS, but then we also did hallway repairs and
replaced uh the front installing a security vestibule across all the buildings. You can see how much Lazar has changed from when we first started to what it looks like now. We then started working on the elementary schools.
This is Cedar Hill. The picture on the left is what it looked like when we started. And this is what it looks like now. We replaced paving and parking lots needed to be repaired at Cedar Hill. We were able to go and um make improvements
to their facade. Again, that original box that enclosed the gym was beginning to rust, similar to the rust we were seeing at the high school. And so we clatted it in a different type of cladding which improved not only on the efficiency of heating but also uh
prevented it from rusting and causing damage within the building. Hilldale we are currently underway in renovating. Unfortunately I don't have a live picture right now but that is what it will look like when um we are done.
the many of the same changes in terms of lighting and changes within the building uh in terms of bathrooms and libraries also occurred at Hilldale. Valley View had a lot of renovations to the outside as well as we installed um a
unit ventilators uh during COVID. we were able to obtain funds from the federal government that allowed us to do work that related to cleaning the air and so we took advantage of that and we almost completed all of Valley View's
unit ventilators. The last little tiny wing is being done this summer. So, at this point, by the time we get to this time next year, all of Valley View's unit ventilators will be replaced in We also have installed a new staff bathroom at Valley View, and we did
paving as well as the outside work. William Mason again, just like Cedar Hill, we have the picture of what it looked like when we first started. Again, same box was rusting away the outside, so we cladded it. This year we
added the security vestibule and did a lot of painting. We also added a pavilion area that's you can't see very clearly, but it's underneath the William Mason sign that's on the gym that is for students who are standing outside that they don't get wet while they wait for
the buses and their parents for pickup. And then finally, we have Woodmont. You have the beginning picture and then the renovations that have done here. We're doing a lot of landscaping at Woodmont as well as the railroad ties
that had been holding back the earth near the steps were beginning to rot away. And so we put in a stone wall there so that it doesn't erode the ground. Many of these projects, although we did take part in doing state and federal
fundings, um we did take part in the referendum in the ESEP, but most of these problems, half of them actually were funded through our reserves. When you take all the projects that were completed during this time frame, this is $57 million worth of capital
improvements that have been done to all the buildings, all seven buildings. And with most of those occurring out of the reserves, we have a lot of pressure coming down on the reserves. So to back up in terms of what are the reserves and general
savings, if you think of your own house and the money that you put aside, go back one. The money that you put aside, sorry for all these technical difficulties. um to go and do improvements to your house, to
replace your uh hot water heater or to replace your heating system, to repair the air conditioner when it breaks. That's the same idea that the board has in their reserves and their general savings. It represents savings that the board puts away. And in the case of the
reserves, it's money that they put away specifically for capital improvements or large maintenance repairs. And if you look over that same 10-year period that I had mentioned in the beginning of the presentation, what
you'll see is that the number the amount of money that was put into the reserves has ebbed and flowed over that time frame. The percentage number that's next to each of those balances, those balances came out of the annual audits, the comprehensive accounting financial
reports for every year. Those percentages represent how much does that particular number so in 2017 8.9 million how much does 8.9 million represent of the total amount of
expenditures that the district incurred that year and in that particular year 8.9 million represented 12.3% of the total expenditures and the reason we use that is it gives us a way of
comparing ing of how big that is money saved in comparison to how big the expenditures are of the entire district. And you will see that the numbers do go up and down. Um you'll our highest moment was in 2022
that is a product of COVID when we weren't able to go and do any projects. We weren't able to have anybody in our buildings and as a result we were able to take whatever extra funding was available to us. We were squirreling it away for a time when we'd be able to
start doing projects again. As that time ended and we started to go into 23 24 CO is now over. We began to use those funds that we had built up to then do projects and we continued to do projects all the way through. The problem is that the the
supply is not endless in terms of the reserves and the general supplies. The way that we um kind of evaluate and look at those numbers is that we re recognize that we need to have a certain amount of money for savings in case
something happens we have somewhere to go. Additionally, we know that our bond rating can be affected by the amount of savings that we have, how much we have in our reserves and our cap, our general savings. And as a result, we want to be careful about not allowing those numbers
to drop too low. What we have found is that a 10% of minimum percentage so 10 that the amount of savings we have would represent about 10% of our total annual costs that we incur in a year seems to
be a good marker for keeping our reserves as we start projecting out to 20 uh 27. What we notice is that we are going to be right at that 10% mark. And so as we look at 28 and 29, there aren't
funds really available to put towards any new projects because we want to make sure that we keep those reserves and general savings in a healthy position and we therefore we can't take any more money out if we can't replace it. Another event that's affecting all of
this is the budgets. One of the ways that we have been building and maintaining these reserves and savings is that any additional money that isn't spent automatically gets squirreled away into one of these reserves. And if the board remembers in June of every year,
there are resolutions on the agenda that in which I'm asking you to allow me as I'm closing out the year to put up to a certain amount of money into our capital and into our maintenance reserves. That's my building up and creating money
so that I can then pull it back out and do another project. And that's how we've been doing it for the past 10 years. But without that ability to put more money in, as the budgets keep getting tighter and tighter and there's less and less additional funds to spend,
I don't have any way to replenish it. And so we will hit a point in what I expect to be June of 2027 when we're going to have to just hold. I can't add any more into the reserves or into the general savings because there's nowhere
to get that money from. There is no extra and so we won't be able to do any projects as we move forward from there. The problem that that causes is that we still have projects that need to be done. When we looked at the
referendum in 2017, when we looked at the EIPS, when we looked at previous projects that we've done through capital reserve, we were working through it in sort of a hierarchy. The worst things that were needing to be repaired and fixed were done first and then we'd work our way down the list. That didn't mean
that the stuff at the bottom of the list was necessarily frivolous. It needed to be done as well. it just the machinery was working better than some other part of machinery in the building. And so that one got done first and this one done second. Up here is a listing of
facilities repairs that are still outstanding that need attention. Um the HVAC systems particularly at the elementary schools are original to the building. These are the unit ventilators that are underneath the windows
in the elementary schools and they are have never been replaced with the exception of Valley View because of of that money during COVID that we had. Um, and so those units are failing. They're failing now. We can't get parts anymore.
We are jerryrigging parts in order to keep them going. the uh duckless splits that were put in are helping, but they can heat an entire room. And when you get up into the high school, then where we find ourselves is where we're putting
in portable units to do heating and cooling in order to keep the rooms at temperature because the units have failed. Boilers need to be replaced. Windows are original to their to the building. So these windows now, particularly at the sister schools,
Cedar Hill, William Mason, and Woodmont, are 65 years old and have never been replaced. Electric switch gears. Electric switch gears are the way the power comes into the building. And again, those particular switching systems are original to the building. In
this building, we did a replacement of them uh last year into this year. This would be done at the three sister schools again that are 65 years old. generator upgrades so that we don't when we lose power we don't lose all power. Fire system upgrades, elevator
replacements, technology wiring. The wiring in the buildings is now 15 years old. The technology alone has surpassed our wiring system. When you total all of those repairs, it comes to about $24 million just in the elementaryaries. If
we then look at the high school and Lazar, that number goes to 316 for all those same types of repairs. And none of these repairs are frivolous or over the top. They're the types of things we would do in our own homes, like replace
our water heater, replace our heating systems and our cooling systems, put new windows in to be more energy efficient. If we then look beyond just facilities repairs, we have certain program enhancements that would be really great to see
happen. These relate to elements that we would improve the academic programs because they would give us more facilities to do things. things like updating the auditorium at the high school which is
used constantly by not only by us and Lazar because Lazar doesn't have an auditorium but also by the community proposing an auditorium for Lazar in order so that they would have their own auditorium and space currently the Lazar
students do PE and any outdoor activities by crossing change bridge road and going over to the wreck fields. This would provide them move the parking lot to the back where the power lines are and we can't use the land anyway and
convert the playground into grass space that the students could then play on. Not anything as big as a soccer field, but certainly we could do basketball courts and pickle ball courts and other things that would allow them to have some outdoor space.
those particular enhancements would be about 20.5 million. And then the last area is expansion. So this is I'm presenting everything to you. This is the expansion
numbers that we saw when we spoke about this a few years ago related to the increase in enrollment in the stu in the various buildings. What you will notice is when we did this last time we were only talking about the elementaryaries but now at this point those students
have begun to move into Lazar and there's not enough space in Lazar. So we are adding classroom space in this proposal to Lazar as well. As we mentioned last time we would then put cafeterias onto Hillale William Mason and Woodmont who do not have them. This
total is uh $ 58 million. When you add all of this together, all three pages, this is $110 million worth of projects. So, with that said, we come to the end
and we are seeking input as to where you want us to go next. We have been having this conversation at the finance and facility level. Um, but we're seeking advice from the full board as to where we're going to go next. I
mentioned when I finished doing the preparation for the 2627 budget that literally the next day I would start working on the 2728 budget and the restriction of the reserves and
the fund balance means that I can't move forward on any more projects. I've hit that moment and the kind of that's where I am. >> Can you comment real quick on what just for the couple members of the public what projects would get state funding or
subsidy and how much that would be? >> Yep. If we go back to one more, all of the projects at the elementary schools listed here would receive the
state aid funding. So you would receive for 38 cents on every dollar. It's not quite 40. All of Tom, if you go one more. All of the work at Lazar and the high school on this page would also
receive the 38% state funding, so 30 cents on every dollar. For the program enhancements, the auditorium renovations would receive 38 cents on every dollar. However, the
auditorium and outside renovations would receive a substantially smaller number. We're estimating about 15%. And finally, the expansion, all the expansion would be at that estimated
15%. >> Thank you. So, so if I can just clarify then, so if something costs a million dollars, if we see a million dollars up there, does that mean a million dollars out of our pocket or a million dollars total? >> Million dollars total. Then if it's one
of the ones that's the let's just say 40% coverage by the uh state, that means that on a million dollars, the state would pay for $400,000 and we would pay for 600,000. So I don't know that >> are any of these projects other than the
lighting that we've done subject to an EIP like the HVAC or windows. >> So I did have a long conversation with the architects on EIPS. When you look at EIPS what the first step that and this is true when we did
them in 18 and 19 the first step is to go and get an energy audit. And when they do the energy audit, they're looking for places where you have efficiencies built into your systems and they then project what they think the savings will be if you make a change
to that particular system. And one of the systems that not only pays for itself, it pays for a whole bunch of other stuff because you gain that much savings by doing the switch is lights. And so we've done that. The next one that has that type of
impact is solar, which we've already done. Although swapping out the 65 year old unventilators will and putting in new ones will absolutely produce savings, it will not produce enough savings to actually be able to fund the project.
Same with boilers, same with window replacements. So although we can go and do it and we will go and get an energy audit and see what it comes up with, it wouldn't have enough of an impact to be able to sway and be able to pull a number out.
>> So obviously the 40 or 38% is a better >> a better deal. Yes. >> Thank you for researching that. So on on all of these um I guess the most critical 31 million
you're looking at what about 18 million in bonding. >> Mhm. Something in that range. >> Something in that range. For the uh the next 20 million it looks about like 16 million in bonding. If you do Yeah. I know it's >> Yeah. >> Yeah. It it's about that. I
>> Yeah. I don't have that. >> I wasn't I wasn't texting. I was actually calculating it. And then for the expansions, that's going to be maybe 50 52 something like that. >> Uh 493. >> 493. Thank you. And so how does all of
that compare to the last time we thought about doing a referendum? Are we paying a lot more then? >> Oh, there's definitely been a markup. Absolutely. >> Huge markup. But we also have done like if you look at what we included in 2023, we have already completed some of those
jobs. Meaning for example, the security vestibules that was part of the 2023 referendum. When it failed, we knew we still needed to do the security vestibules. So we did them on our own. The the reserves paid for those. Um there were some other projects. For
example, you guys all collectively approved a bid that we had gone out for for the HVAC, finishing it up at Valley View, and then finishing it up at Lazar. And that was part of that 2023 referendum, all the that work that we're
doing this summer. So once the referendum failed, we then did the same thing we had done back a decade ago where we put everything in in an order of what is the most broken and we started chipping away using the reserves to go and finish up the jobs that were the most broken.
>> And you don't have any more money to continue chipping away right at all the next 31 million that needs to be repaired, >> right? Yes, that's correct. >> Okay. And we would pay 100% on the dollar if we did. >> Yeah. When I'm using the reserves,
>> if we did it ourselves, it would cost us 31 million. >> If we got bonding, it would cost substantially less. It cost 18.6 million. So, you know what I'm hearing because you're asking for uh feedback here
basically is that the chipping away is done and now is the time where we have to make these tough choices if we want to prioritize these projects happening. If we think they're important, the funding has to come from somewhere. >> Correct. And the
first place that would be logical to think about would potentially be a referendum where we could get this percentage of funding to cover that cost of it. And that is what you're kind of what I'm hearing because I'm not on the finance committee. So um is asking us to consider and think about given the
situation we're in. Am I kind of summarizing it correctly? >> That's correct. Okay. Thank you >> Katine. >> Yeah. Hi. Thank you. So I just have a question. the last referendum, what were what was the board of education asking for in total,
>> which was the last 23 or 17 >> that failed? The one that failed >> the in terms of tax impact. >> Yeah. >> Um >> the total because that's what a lot of people see is the total price, >> right? >> And then the tax >> um what we were asking for is
it was a $73 million referendum, meaning that was the total. And I'm trying to recall >> 14 was 500 something. >> No, no, no, no. It the it must have been in the high fives like like 59 something
like that was the amount that we were asking for. No, million. And then the tax impact was uh in the high threes because I remember that I couldn't say a dollar a day and I kept pushing them, come on, let me say a dollar a day and
they just couldn't get the number down to be below 365. So I know it was in the the 365 to 400 range in terms Okay. So I did go to our finance team and I asked them very quick. This is I'm not
swearing to anything because this was the down and dirty kind of calculation on the 31.6 million which is the total for all seven buildings just the repairs. the impact was about $170
annually for the average assessed house. Now, in comparison to the 2017 referendum which did pass, that was $100. Okay. So, my next question is this. When you say annual, does that mean that a
taxpayer is going to continue to pay $170 added to their tax bill for the next 30 years or just guess until the the issuance is done? But keep in mind that the current issuance, we only have one issuance outstanding. It's from the 2017
referendum and that terminates in 35. So you're talking a little less than 10 years where they both would occur simultaneously. and then that one would drop off. So the 175 for the next 30
years on this would end up being less after that 10 year mark. >> I see. So I guess I guess my question is this because I I really try to think how taxpayers would think, parents would think. I try to be a realistic about it.
Um I I'm just would be very cautious about the auditorium renovations, all of the program enhancements. Um that I think the most important the dire needs of all the schools would be the
priority. That's my opinion because it doesn't help anything if nothing gets passed. And that was I know a big concern with taxpayers and parents who have pay taxes too. um just needing the
essentials. So that's really kind of my opinion on it and >> I appreciate this really. I I mean I know there's a lot there's wish lists in here as well. >> Well, yeah, there are wish list right once you get the facilities repairs. There's nothing pretty or fancy or
sparkly about those. They're just down and dirty. Replace the systems. >> Okay. Thank you. just continuing along that line because so there's the the down and dirty um there's the program enhancements in the auditoriums but then the other question
is the classrooms which that's something that um you know what we've seen is the I think that the last time we went for referendum the enrollment projections were coming in a little bit more slowly than we thought but now we've started to
meet them and the projections have proven to be accurate. So given that like do you classify these classroom renovations as you know needed or wish because I feel like a lot of the community felt that they were wish and weren't really convinced that it was
necessary based on the projections at the time but where we are now and where we see it happening. What do you what are your thoughts about that? Uh well you know based on the reports of the students coming in you are correct they are coming in slower because the
housing developments have been slower and things uh we are seeing more crowded classrooms uh the class average class sizes have been creeping up as she mentioned earlier about Lazar we are seeing they're full they're at capacity there um so that's something we have to
decide you know what is the threshold that we want as an acceptable number of students in the classroom if the numbers keep on going the way they're projected you will see over the the policy that the board will probably be looking at this summer about waving the policy about how many kids can be in a
classroom and that's a decision that the community and the board is going to have to make. What's the right what's the right number? You know, >> can I how many classrooms are currently over policy? I don't think there are any. How many are at policy? And how many do you think are going to be over?
the the board waved I think don't quote me but I want to say about three this year maybe four um >> you're going to start off with probably those three or four and you might even double that so yeah but it's hard to tell because the kinder kindergarten numbers are still coming in the Daris town estates the students are still just
enrolling so I don't know exactly but there you you'll be higher than three or four next year >> okay so in other words you have the repairs sounds like the classrooms are more important than the auditorium and everything else and those I guess
program enhancements. Um although would we be able to make money off of a Lazar auditorium? >> Yes. >> Yeah. >> Yeah. >> Because we have to turn people away because we can't accommodate them. Somebody else is already using the
space. Whether it's us because we're preparing for a show or it's another organization. Uh the auditorium just like the gyms at in this building are used all the time, >> right? And have you seen with the demand? We offered a medlick enrichment
program over the summer with our uh theater program that worked out extremely well. And then we're offering two of those programs this summer. So that's going to continue to grow. There's constant demand of people asking to use our facilities at the high school. We turning them away. And then remember all the musicals and all the
different performances of the Lazar students have to go up to the high school and transport all their equipment and stuff. So that's that's just the way it's set up. >> I think there was a consensus amongst the finance and facilities comm uh subcommittee. Correct me if I'm wrong, but that you
know we we really need that 31 million pass. So whatever the question layout is to to get that number passed is priority. Yeah, I think you're right. I mean, obviously to you have to repair your buildings. You have to maintain your
buildings and your properties. Uh that that's clearly a high priority. I was just wondering about the other program enhancements and the classroom which would be a higher priority, you know, an auditorium or classrooms to
bring our number class sizes down. I mean I think realistically uh John is right. I think there was consensus of facilities and finance that we would tackle the uh the needed repairs um as as Kine put
it and cover that through all seven schools. Um I think listen I would love to have an auditorium at Lazar. I would love to renovate our auditorium in the high school. I've seen many many auditoriums in my role uh as an officer
of school boards and we're not there. Other school systems have much better they call them performing arts centers. Um well it means something right? Anyway um I I think we'd have to start with the needed
repairs. if we could put a, you know, a second wish, maybe put the auditorium in there, but and I wouldn't make them I wouldn't make them contingent unless we had to. >> Right. So, our our purpose tonight, as we've been doing all along, is to put
everything on the table. And this is what we wanted to encourage this discussion to try to get a feeling from the board of what what are your thinking and and if so, we're starting to hear, you know, that we're zoning in on at least the facilities repairs, but in the next meeting um and definitely by July,
we would need to firm everything up. >> All right. So, let me go and that's a segue. Um, if you rec I don't know if you recall last time we did this, you kind of work backwards. You you pick the day on which you're going to take the opportunity to have the referendum and then we work
backwards because we have to get things done by a certain point in time in order to make that date. So, Dr. Mr. Gorman and I have been very intentional in in an attempt not to be confusing to make sure that we talk
budget at one time and referendum at another because particularly if the event occurs that we need to go out for a separate question on budget. Now I'm going out for a question. The only other time I ever go out for a question is
referendum and now everybody in the public doesn't know why I'm coming out and asking them for stuff. So, we've been very, very intentional. We intentionally had conversations at finance and facilities, but we're not going to have a conversation at the public level until after the budget passed. We were past the public hearing.
We are trying to squeeze a possible referendum in before the next time we have to start having budget conversations in public. That date that would be available to us would be January 26, 2027.
So, next January, if I work backwards, that means that I have to have papers into the Department of Education submitts for all the projects, the schematics, the drawings, everything by the end of July. So, I have June's board
meeting and July's board meeting. I would recommend that if we are going to try to hit that January date that we then approve Paramjen at the next meeting, June's meeting, June 9th, um for them to then prepare the documents
for submitt July to go to the state of New Jersey for their review. In order for them to do that, we have to have some idea of scope. So, we have to have come through the process of how big this is going to be, what are we
including because they won't know what to draw unless we can tell them what we're interested in having them do. So, if this is something that we feel like we want to proceed and we have another board meeting to have this conversation again, um that's kind of
the timeline. If we were not if we were to say, "Okay, that's way too fast. I can't do this this fast. Then the next date would be in March, but now we're going to overlap. That's also budget season. The next date after that is June. It's not a very popular one in
terms of just timing because everybody's in the I'm getting out of school mode. I'm really not paying attention. So, probably we would suggest waiting till September. So, if we don't make January, probably then we're shooting for September of 27. Um so that piece of
information is out there. Another discussion that we also had in finance and facilities is that other districts who are also facing similar situations where they are trying to look at referendums, they do a survey. And the
survey is not just a survey of parents who are in the district. It's a survey of the entire town as the entire town would be taking on the the additional taxes that the referendum would include. And so that's another thought to think
about is and when when they've done these they've done them where they're very specific. Would you pass a referendum that would pay for replacing unit ventilators in all the schools because they're 65 years old? Those are the types of questions that they're
asking. They're very poignant and very specific. Um, so one of the questions that you can add on there is would you vote for the renovation of the auditorium? And if it comes back saying, yeah, we all would, then that kind of gives you direction. Or if it comes back
saying, no, we won't, then that gives you direction. So it could be a very helpful benefit as we begin to move forward trying to figure out scope logistics of the survey. Um what we
would end up doing is we'd create the survey. I was suggested to finance and facilities that I would bring that to them and I can do that for here too um for the next meeting so you could see an example of what that might look like. We would then put it up on our website. We
would ask the town to uh put up on their website so that we would be getting feedback from everybody no matter where you went that you would be hopefully you know giving us feedback whether you go through the town website or our website. We would then communicate with all the
parents in terms of sending out the blasts that we have and those would be all avenues trying to advertise that hey we're interested in your opinion whether you're a parent or not. >> How long? How long logistically how long this does
how long logistically how long does that take to do the survey >> to do the survey get the results analyze them and then how does that work into your timeline that you >> what we would end up doing is prepare a survey for the review of the board and the finance and facilities for the 9th
of June which is your next board meeting. We would open it up on the 15th of June, have it open for a month, so till July 15th, and then we would prepare that outcome for your presentation for the 21st.
And what we would do at the 21st's meeting is we'd have a a menu. You get to pick, you know, depending on what the survey says, we can put these three things together. The way we've already set it up with the architects is they're doing everything
as individual events. So like all the unit ventilators are getting replaced and that's one big thing. So if the decision is yes, we support unit ventilators but we don't support boilers, then we pull the boilers out because the boilers are a separate job. >> So I think the survey is a must. I think
you absolutely have to get the direct feedback from the entire town because I do I think there's going to be a portion of people who are going to want to see that tangible auditorium completed because you can't see the HVAC repairs.
You can't see that kind of stuff. And people will then say, "Where's my money going?" Like you can tell them until you're blue in the face, but if they can't see something, then it doesn't mean as much. So, I would be very curious to know if doing those kinds of facility upgrades would actually
encourage more people to support it. Um, I also love the idea of just being very blatant about what the projects are and what can happen because, um, I don't think people fully understood that last time that if it passed, the schools
would get X, Y, and Z, and if it didn't pass, the reserves couldn't cover it. Um, so I think I just as straightforward as it can be. One of the other things that I constantly got as feedback was by saying the price for the average house,
people who live above that price point felt like they were being scammed because they weren't being told the actual amount. So, is it possible to put out what the possible amount would be at different tiers so that people can not have to calculate it themselves? Or
another way that we can do it is on every 100,000. So this way then if your house is a million, multiply the number by 10. >> I I think that's helpful so that it looks like we're being very straightforward and honest and giving as much information as we can.
>> Yeah. >> Yeah. Just learning a lesson from the last referendum. Well, if you go back two ref referendums, everything was I think on that thing we're getting 41 cents on the dollar. And look, mathematically, who's not
going to vote for you spend $10, you get 17 back? I mean, even the Tea Party supported it that passed with flying colors. Last time we kind of did this mishmash of some of it was the 41% or whatever it was, but a lot of it was only going to be the 10 or 15% or
whatever it was and the public wasn't as eager to support that. So now we're doing saying 38% which is a little less than 41. But I guess it really means that you're getting $16 for every $10 you put in. So, I'd be inclined to say let's if we're
going to do referendum, let's try to keep it with those maximum return projects, not try to throw in like the new stuff that we're only going to get 10 or 15 cents on a dollar because I think those small return projects is
what sucked us down on the last one. >> I agree though with doing the survey. I just putting it out there where it's just kind of posted all the websites. I'd want to make sure I mean I hope it goes without saying but like integrity of the survey where people couldn't respond multiple times like we we right
um but I I'm inclined to um I I support the survey where I think it's all really laid out and I think that'll just give us a lot better picture >> and um and separating out the questions the way I think that you've started to lay it out and letting letting people
see um what's important to them, you know, because it's there's there's the down and dirty like you said, but there's also the I think the reasons people move to this town, the expectation for the school district. And I think having a certain level too many
people auditorium that could actually, you know, bring us revenue but also bring us, you know, our arts program to the level where we all expect it to be both at the middle school and high school. I mean, look what we saw today. I think I think that's part of it for a lot of people. So, I think we need to give them the chance to weigh in on it.
My understanding was the survey would be on some of the want items. Were you you kind of alluded to the fact that it might be boilers and HVAC units? >> Well, I think that if we offer all of them, I think that's where you get the
maximum transparency where we actually are asking for everything that they're going to ask for. And I understand that that does put us in the position where what if they say, well, I don't really think you should replace the 65year-old unit ventilators.
That is a possible outcome. Um, but it also would allow for their ability to comment on the entire thing and feel like they're part of the process. I mean, when again, we'll have the
opportunity. I'm going to draft up um what those would look like. so that finance and facilities and the full board would be able to see that for our next meeting. So we'll have time to go and make changes if we decide that we don't like the way that looks.
>> Thanks Katine. >> Moving on. Um committee reports finance. >> Nothing more to add than what Kine just spent her time doing. >> Thank you. Um, nothing for curriculum uh
policy. Christine, >> thanks Joe. We had a policy meeting last Tuesday. We reviewed all of the public comments and suggestions. Dr. Gorman then sent an email out to the community and uh the board decided to withdraw the policy at this time.
>> Thank you. Uh, communications Mike, >> no report. >> Safety and security, >> no report. uh school boards. >> So on May 16th is the delegate assembly. Uh in the meantime,
oh school boards, um I'll just run quickly through uh the executive director's goals for this year. Um he uh categorized his goals under three pillars, content, connection, and advocacy. under content. They want to
deliver uh a labor summit to prepare local boards of education for collective bargaining. This has this has been felt to be an area of weakness uh at school boards regarding labor uh helping schoolboard members at the negotiating
table. Uh number two is connection and NJSBA will connect members with free value added resources throughout the year including tools that incorporate emerging technologies such as AI and advocacy is the third pillar and
advocacy we have a strong advocacy department. uh but they will be designing, piloting and delivering at least one advocacy best practice program for county VPs of legislation that strengthen their effectiveness as advocates. Um
the in terms of health care costs and the school boards has been coalescing with their partners in the league group to build consensus and a united front elevating the harmful impact of rising health care costs. The Lee Group submitted a letter to Governor Cheryl
and her key staff stressing how dire the situation is and the consequences of these costs, including reductions in staff cuts to critical student services and programs. School boards has drafted a sample resolution, which is the one we saw earlier and in our board packet,
that boards of education can adopt and send to the governor, treasurer, legislative leadership, and their local representatives. It's modeled uh after the letter that was sent to the governor by the league group. There is a delegate assembly task force which I'm chairing.
This is a task force that's really looking at the delegate assembly uh from many different lenses. Um we hope to have it complete by midmon. And that's it. Um, Morris County School Boards. Mike's
not here, but I will make note that um, Maf High School will be hosting the September meeting on the 23rd here. >> Which meeting? >> The September. >> September. Oh, they have that out already. >> Caitlyn, the Alliance.
>> What? Didn't Christine were certified board member? >> Yes. Oh. at the uh at the meeting. Uh was it last week? >> It was at the last meeting. Yeah, >> it was. Yeah, >> Christine.
I thought we got something else. Anyway, if you think of it, >> jump in. >> Okay. Um, the MO Municipal Alliance has a meeting tomorrow night at 7 p.m. at the youth center and they started their lawn sign fundraisers for Lazar and the
high school graduates um, which they can order until June 8th. >> Thank you. Uh, Monful Boosters, >> no report. >> Special Education Group, >> no report. >> Uh, Cedar Hill.
>> Uh, we met on Tuesday, May 5th at 7:30. Uh, a couple of dates. June 4th, 6:30 at Rails is the volunteer dinner. May 19th is the fun fair and June 10th is Cedar Hill graduating 12th graders clap out.
So perhaps they do this at other ele elementary schools, but uh the seniors who went to Cedar Hill go back to Cedar Hill on the 10th and they do a clap out for the seniors. So, you know, not a dry eye in the house.
Um, that's it. >> Thank you, Hilldale. Uh, no report, but if I could ask for an update on the construction from the administration. >> Um, right now we're in the process of attempting to secure a resolution on, as
Mr. Edelstein has mentioned in the past he was in the process of trying to work through a solution that would hopefully terminate u and enable us to start doing the construction again before the end of school. It does appear that that is on
target. Valley View. >> Um, yes, they had a meeting. Um, it's successful boy event and steam week and traps fair and they will be welcoming back the valley view seniors who are graduating on June 5th for their clapout
and they sit with the current fifth graders to kind of give advice on how to handle middle school and beyond. >> Thank you, William Mason. William Mason's hosting a drive to
donate at the Twin Willows Golf Course. I saw Nicole Ward here earlier. She owns that u company and they're donating uh proceeds all to the William Mason HSA. I uh encourage everyone to go hit a couple golf balls and support the HSA. That's all.
>> Thank you. uh would mind >> having a meeting tomorrow night. Having another one I believe on June 4th at Tavern 73 and um this Thursday I believe is uh the
annual concert and art show and I hope to be able to attend. >> Thank you Lazar. Um they had a meeting last night uh talking about all of the wonderful year-end activities, seventh grade color war, um ice cream for the sixth grade, eighth grade activities.
They're going to spring lake day camp. They have their dance on June 11th. They have eighth grade picnic on the 12th and then their promotion on the 16th. Um also living lessons on the 14th, uh which is this Thursday. Um they talked about, you know, their fundraisers next year is going to be the big fundraiser
for Lazar. Um, and it's important. Um, you know, living lessons, the PTC actually gives $18,000 towards that. So, um, it really is something that they're able to, um, help with and, uh, the parents and the administration and the teachers, uh, and the students are all
really looking forward to that on Thursday. >> Thanks. And high school. >> Thanks, Joe. So, I was not able to attend, but Mr. Samford was kind enough to send me his principal's report, but Aiden did such a phenomenal job. I have
no report. >> Thank you. Um, this is the part where we go to public participation for any items that are on the agenda. There will be a second uh public participation for any any comments on anything. Anyone wants to come up now for anything
on the agenda only? All right. Uh, can I get a motion for consent resolutions? >> Thank you. Section I, section J. >> Yes. For J, I'll be submitting a
resolution J4 regarding a student and that's uh discussed before. >> Thank you. Section K, section L. >> Yes. Uh for L, we have a retirement, Sue
Marinella. She's been in the district as our public information officer for the past 12 years. Sue was instrumental in the branding of the district with logos, modos, mascots, and more. You saw that in the presentation earlier. Her influence can be seen on all the exteriors of the buildings and uh she's done an incredible job in each of the
schools. Sue was also dedicated to getting wonderful news out regarding our schools. She had a great relationship with the TAP and other organizations and her constant articles, social media posts, newsletters, it all kept the community informed and highlighted the students success. Sue loved everything
about the district and was a key component to her to our success and we're going to miss her greatly. >> We shall. Thank you. Section M. >> Yes. I'm sorry. with M M13,
Laura Ferman. The dates should be June uh as opposed to July. Uh section N. And uh let's vote on the consent resolutions. If we get a roll call, please.
>> Dr. Modrack. >> Yes. >> Mrs. Zuckerman. >> Yes. >> Dr. Cordelino. >> Yes. >> Mrs. Fano, >> yes. to abstain on section I minutes executive session. Mr. Palma,
>> yes. >> Mr. Petraino, >> yes. >> Mrs. Smith, >> yes. >> Mr. Dorree, >> yes. >> Uh, Mr. Sanford, do we have a guest in the audience? Do you want to introduce us to Oh, is he here? Is the future uh
high school principal here? There he is. Mr. Nadzac, please step forward. please introduce us to our new uh that was just approved our our vice principal please. Good evening everyone. Um before I introduce Mr. Cardinell, um I just want
to walk everyone through the process that we went through in order to identify the best candidate for our new um assistant principal. Uh I was fortunate enough to be called in front of the board of ed on uh April 7th uh to accept the position of uh the next high
school principal. By uh April 10th, 3 days later, we were conducting our first virtual screenings of candidates. Um over the course of the 10 or so days that the position was open and posted on uh manful.net
and and Applot. We received 150 applicants uh applications uh 150 applicants applied for this position. Um ultimately um Mrs. Heman, Dana Heightman and I uh screened approximately 35
candidates in a virtual screening process before identifying a group of finalists to bring back to uh first round inerson committee meeting uh uh interview and also a second round. Um so uh it was a lengthy process. I'm
grateful to all of the members of the uh interview committees for their input. Um, also grateful to, uh, to to Dana Heightman in particular, uh, for helping, uh, go through that process with me. Um, so, uh, ultimately, uh, we selected as a committee, uh, Mr. Joseph
Cardinell. I'd like to call him up. Uh, I'm pleased to introduce him to all of you. I think that ultimately we've identified the best candidate for for this position. Um, he's someone who comes highly recommended by a number of members of the community. uh certainly uh well certified has applicable
experience uh in many aspects of high school administrative life. Um there are several things that I do personally uh in my current role as assistant principal that he'll be assuming the um uh those responsibilities himself on July 1st and has the applicable
experience to walk right into that uh position um with uh with very little training. Um he's a gentleman of of very high character. Uh someone who's committed to ac academic excellence. Someone who's committed to uh supporting staff, supporting students, and has uh
dedicated himself to doing that and has demonstrated the ability to do that over the course of many years in in public education. Uh including in his current role as a teacher, but in his past role as assistant principal where he served as an assistant princip principal uh for
two years. Um, I'd like to welcome him to the community. Um, and we're really excited to have him aboard. So, thank you for the opportunity to uh to welcome him and thank you for the opportunity. >> Thank you for the kind words, Mr. Nadzac. Uh, I just like to take the time to thank the board, Dr. Gorman, uh, Mr.
Sanford, Mr. Nadzac, obviously for giving me this opportunity. Um, for those of you that don't know, I spent eight years here as a varsity baseball coach. So, I'm extremely familiar with the town, the program, the community. Um, it was some of the best eight years that I spent in the classroom or on a field. So, I'm really looking forward to
getting back in here and and and engulfing myself within the community, the staff, the kids, and really just kind of being here to serve and being here to do whatever I can to continue to to, you know, help Montville be successful because I I've seen it firsthand be be a great place to to
attend as a student, as an athlete, as a musician, as an artist. So, just to be a small part of that, I'm I'm really excited to get started and I appreciate the opportunity uh that you've all given me tonight. So, >> yeah, we're extremely excited to have you. We think you have a very strong uh team at the high school. Uh we're very excited to see what's going to happen in
the next couple of years and as we pass the baton over and uh I think you can contribute extremely well. Um it was a very thorough process. I was there at the end. Miss Piper was involved in both rounds with the principal as well as the vice principal. So we're extremely uh
thankful for your efforts. But um there were a lot of very talented candidates and we're very excited to have you on board. >> Thank you. Ken. Ken. Yeah. Ken, you know, because pictures for you, too. >> Yeah. Thank you. >> All right.
Um, any comments? >> Business. Old sorry, old business. >> Uh, any old business? Any of the board members want to bring up? I just had a comment I'd like to make uh during the just general board discussion today. We
received uh a letter from the counselors throughout the district. The letter expressed their serious concern about proposed policy 7523. I found the letter to be very significant and impactful and I'd like
to see it um recorded in the minutes tonight. We could do that. I'll pass them along. Yep. >> Thank you. >> Yeah. Uh just because you haven't said it, relay for life.
>> Thank you for bringing it up. >> Yes. >> Um yes, relay for life. I really haven't shared this with uh all of you, but this relay is personal for me. Um, and if you
want to uh join and donate, I know there's been some issues with the uh the website and making your donations. Um, I'll be emailing um the director. if you
guys can email her as well because I'd like to reach our goal like we have in the past four or five years now of um $1,000 and at last year we did we did exceed that um and I'm grateful for that. So thank you.
>> Of course >> question. So when we do the relay for life though to be clear we should be joining the Montville board of ed team. Correct. >> Correct. as opposed to just donate. >> Join and donate. >> Well, either Well, when you join, you
also donate or do you have to press both? >> No, you're correct. There's a drop down box and you have to pick the board of ed. There's three or four categories where you put Monville in. >> Yeah. And hopefully as many can be on the team as possible. >> Yes. Yeah. >> Any other general board comments?
Seeing none, uh this is the second public participation on any items of interest. So if you would like to come forward now, you may speak. Okay. Um good evening, President Dorree, members of the board, Superintendent Gorman, and members of the public. My
name is Richard Lorenzo, and I live at Tomlin Hill Road. I'm here this evening on behalf of Montville Rising, a coalition of Montville Township residents that organized a response to the proposed policy 7523. I'm here first to say thank you. Thank
you to this board for withdrawing the second reading of policy 7523. We recognize that decision required deliberation and we are grateful for it. A board that listens to its community and adjust its just is a board doing its job well. I've lived in Montville for 28
years and last month was the first board of ed meeting I attended. I haven't felt the need to attend because the board of ed and administrators have made the schools in this town a great place to live and to raise our kids. You have difficult jobs and I want to
acknowledge your outstanding work. My son was on the student council in 2020 through the worst of the pandemic. And despite rarely saying good things about anyone in authority, he had high praise for the administration and the difficult decisions uh that they were making.
Coming from a teenager that meant something, and it still does. I'm here to formally present the petition our community organized in the days leading up to this meeting. The petition asked the board to withdraw policy 7523
in its entirety. In just 5 days, 446 Montville Township residents added their names, each one verifying their residency and their support for the petition's demands. Um, I'll submit uh to the board secretary a formal
certification of the petition for the meeting record consistent with our promise to the signers. The underlying names and addresses are kept private and remain with the coalition. The certification uh states the count, the methodology, the willingness to make the
records available for confidential review at the board's request. I want to thank our neighbors who signed. I want to thank the residents who spoke at the April 28 meeting, the parents, the students, the new home buyers, the longtime residents, the retired
educator. Each of them made it hard to ignore what this policy would have cost. This board now knows that 446 residents in less than 5 days uh will say about a policy that does not reflect Montville. We hope that this is useful information going forward. If a similar policy is
brought back in any form, our community is prepared to engage again. We'd much rather engage before the policy reaches a vote. Our coalition will welcome the opportunity to be part of any future policy committee conversation about the district communication and we are
available to the board for that purpose. Thank you again to this board and thank you for your time this evening. Um, I'd also like to say I think the 17 uh uh vote on the referendum was probably the
only time I actually voted for the board of ed thing. And I I remember the reason why I did it is because both my kids came home and told me it was important to do. They were complaining about the bathrooms or something. So, like getting the kids out there to get the parents to
show up. It worked for me in 2017. Anyway, uh here's the petition. And I'm not sure who to give it to. Anybody else like to come up? My name is Bob Lion. I've lived in Monfell for 46 years. Um,
I've only been to a couple of board of ed meetings and this is the first one for many years. Uh, but I heard your presentation on the capital budget. I've also read some of the articles on this uh proposition concerning the the
sign. And I saw some place where in all of that where you have about 15 people in the school system who are involved with anti-bullying, which seems to me to be terribly excessive. And so when I ask you about
anti-bullying, I'm also asking about your operating budget because if I see 15 people there, what seems like a awful lot of money, I'm wondering if there isn't a lot of other money elsewhere
that needs to be found just from the operating budget. I'm sorry, this is general comments. Did was there a question there? Like do like >> Well, yeah. I mean, my question is how much have you guys done to examine the
operating budget as opposed to the capital budget and to try to prune out all the fat? Yeah. Just in general, we we look at this very strictly every single year. We talked with all the principal supervisors and uh there is no fat. I
can assure you of that. >> What about the 15 anti-bullying people? >> So this is not going to be a whole dialogue. I can have the discussion with you at another time. But HIV, anti-bullying, all that stuff is by law. And we don't have just people dedicated just to that. They do multiple different
roles in the district to help all our students succeed throughout, you know, throughout their days. So it's not just for one thing of anti-bullying. >> I'll make an appointment. >> Sure. Absolutely. >> Um, seeing nothing else, can I get a motion
to adjurnn? >> Second. >> Thank you.