Everyone, we're going to call the meeting to order. In compliance with chapter 231, public law 1975 entitled Open Public Meetings Act, adequate notice of this meeting has been provided as specified in the act. Proper notice of this open public meeting was posted at the entrance of the board of
education offices, provided to the Nutley Township clerk, tap into Nutley, and district newspapers on June 11th, 2025, and posted on the district website. Will everyone please stand for the flag salute? I pledge allegiance to the flag of the
United States of America and to the republic for which it stands. One nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. Thank you everyone. Roll call. Mr. Bosamo here. Mrs. Danek Martin
here. Dr. Dia here. Mr. Fragile here. Mr. Gilberty here. Mr. Kazinski here. Mrs. Quirk here. Mr. Scotty here. Mr. Ferraro here. Any correspondence?
No correspondence. I get a motion for approval of the meeting minutes. Second. Anyone opposed? In favor? Sorry, I out of order on my end. Um, all right. We're going to move on to our
presentations. uh Mr. Bña and Mrs. Lopascolo. Thank you, Mr. President. I'd like to invite the board and people on the stage to the seats uh so we can present uh the NJSLA data and the HIP reporting data.
Thank you. Uh good good evening members of the community uh board of education members um and teachers. I know some teachers in the back. Uh thank you uh for coming tonight. This is our um reporting of the 202425
uh spring cycle t testing data um that should be done each year by October 31st. It also includes on the tail end our HIV self- assessment data which should also be done in the month of October. uh we combined both presentations for the public and the
presentation will be found on our website following this meeting and any questions or concerns um you can reach out to our office so we could talk through some of the data sets. I would like to go you can move forward. Um as part of our continuous improvement cycle
um understanding our test data both lagging and leading our internal data as well as uh state performance by our students at the district level is important to identify curriculum trends scope and sequence trends uh where our students excel and where our students uh
may may need some support. Um so this is a continuous process of looking at um our assessments, reflecting on their progress, um advising our curriculum, advising our instruction, and then repeating the cycle each year.
Um before we do that, I would like to take an opportunity to talk about uh some success we've had in the district opening our new Nutly Early Childhood Center. Um, I took some pictures just this morning, um, and put them on this this slide just to share with you a
major facilities upgrade we've experienced in NLE public schools. I want to take the opportunity to thank both our board and the board of commissioners for their support in providing a very suitable learning space uh, for our youngest learners. Um, I
couldn't help when I got out of my car because we park across the street, take the picture on the left to encompass kind of the front of the building, uh, both the front entrance and the building behind it, which goes up three stories. Um, from the parking lot, you can see, uh, the fence where the playground is
behind and our three stories. The first two stories have 10 uh state-of-the-art classrooms for three and four year olds. Uh bathrooms that are available, uh therapy space, nursing space, and administrative space. The third floor, we are transitioning uh not only our
administrative offices, but our special services and business office will follow on the third floor of this building. Uh there's a small amount of parking in the front, which we block off uh when students come in and exit the building. Uh we have a very nice uh preschool play
area. Uh that's gross motor um for their time. Uh it's being used quite frequently. It's turfed. Um and then you see kind of where I stand usually the entrance between where the students park and exit and kind of where they enter the main door. Um it's a very nice
facility on the outside. And if you go to the next slide, you can see what it leads to on the inside. On the inside, we've created learning environments uh where kids are thriving. Uh we have built areas um where small group
instruction takes place, t uh structured play takes place, rest time takes place, choice time takes place, and it's pretty amazing to see in a daily basis the work our teachers, our teacher aids, our administration do with our students. Um,
and I bring this up because this is a data presentation because we start looking at data in district from this very early age. Next slide, please. Um, the state requires as part of preschool expansion for us to assess our students uh with a standard process in
both fall and spring. These are our youngest learners coming in at three years old, three and four years old. Uh we assess them in social, emotional, physical, language, cognitive, literacy, and mathematics at that age. Age appropriate, of course. Uh we're
assessing them if they're below expectations, meeting expectations, or exceeding expectations. You would expect students who haven't been in school to come in below or meeting expectations. And what we're finding is our students are coming
in um in that variety for the most part. When you move to the spring cycle data, you can move to the next slide. When we assess them in the spring, we see 30 percentage points of growth in each of the areas from below expectations to meeting or exceeding expectations.
Our students education begins in three and four years old. It's measurable. It's actionable. And we work hard to understand where our kids are. and this will improve our district K12 given enough time, given enough students in
here. So, I applaud both boards, the community for supporting the preschool initiative. Um, I think as we continue to look at data sets coming in and we continue to understand where our students are and where we move them to,
this will enhance our K2 35, our 68, and our 912 educational systems to be one K12 educational system. Thank you. Traditionally, this is not part of the data presentation. It's not mandatory. I thought it was important to share with the community the work we're
doing and how important that work is. Next slide, please. Uh I think at this time I want to turn over to Mrs. Lopen Solo who's going to walk us through uh some of the beginning u parts of the data we received from the spring cycle. [Music]
Thank you, Mr. Bea. The New Jersey Student Learning Assessment um assesses students in both ELA, math, and science in specific grade levels. Scores are reported in raw scores that are categorized into five performance levels
that you'll see up on the screen. These performance levels provide a way to easily identify where students fall in the continuing of mastering grade level content. Oh, next slide. Thank you. We're going to start with ELA data and
then math data starting at grade three. Uh just to kind of give you a overview of how these graphs are organized and I apologize that some of the text is small. Uh you'll see all the way to the left is the state data. It says NJ
underneath. Next to it is the district data. It says Nutley. And then our five elementary schools. and you'll see what we call 100% stacked columns that have the percentage of students for that year
for that grouping that scored level one, two, three, four, and five. So here you'll see the district scored above the state average for students meeting and exceeding expectations in grade three ELA.
There was an increase in students exceeding expectations, but you can see a slight dip in those meeting and exceeding combined. This is still an area of growth for us, and we'll see it again in grade three math. In grade four, you'll see the district
scored above the state average for students meeting and exceeding expectations with an increase in meeting and exceeding expectations for the year. So those purple boxes show this year's data for New Jersey and then Nutley. Um so it kind of jumps out
at you there and you can see that blue and green combined is the meeting and exceeding expectations. So you can see it increasing from before the purple box and then increasing further inside that
purple box. The other thing to note is the red on the bottom is decreasing. That's students not meeting expectations. So, as we're getting more students to meet or exceed, that percentage of not meeting is also decreasing.
Here you'll see the district scored above the state average for students meeting or exceeding expectations and a slight decrease from last year in meeting and exceeding grade level standards. here for grade five ELA. We see this as an opportunity. Grade
five is departmentalized. Um this is our third year in that and we do have professional development time scheduled with these teachers to collaborate and to look at these results in more detail. While the grade six state data was relatively consistent with the previous
year, our sixth graders here in Nutley and ELA showed an increase in students meeting and exceeding expectations. So you'll see that blue and green combined, right, continues to increase. And look at how small that red is in
that second purple box of Nutley from this past spring. I can speak to some of the secondary data sets. As you look at seventh grade ELA, um you see New Jersey on the left in the purple box and Nutley on the
right. Um over time, Nutley performed very consistent to the previous year, still above state um state averages. uh you do see a decrease in the one category the scoring the the red uh shrinking over a period. Please keep in mind when you're looking at data sets like this you're looking at different
students and a similar curriculum and program year after year. Uh so there is a variable of student groups cohorts changing over time. Next slide please. Grading eight English provides for us a similar picture if you compare New
Jersey with Nutley. Uh Nutley um is better on the average meeting and exceeding expectations green and blue um but very similar to the previous year. There is some slight growth in the both green and blue when compared to the previous year. Uh grade nine. So testing at the high
school is grade nine and grade nine ELA and grade nine math. Whether that math be algebra 1 geometry and there are no algebra 2 students there. Uh the state's transitioning to the New Jersey GPA as a graduation requirement. Um so students have one year of testing when they come
into the high school currently. Uh you'll see grade nine English retract a little bit um from the state as well as from Nutley High School. Uh you'll see our ones are much lower than the state um but consistent year-over-year.
We're going to switch gears and now move on to math. So you'll see the same performance levels at the bottom lefthand corner. And again, we're looking at the state on the left, the district, and then the five elementary schools. Here you'll see
the district scored above the state average for students meeting and exceeding expectations with a slight decrease in students meeting and exceeding expectations over the previous year. In grade four, you'll see the district scored above the state average for
students meeting and exceeding expectations. And while you'll see a relatively consistent percentage of students meeting and exceeding grade level expectations, you can see that decrease in students not meeting expectations. Again, shown in the red.
So even though if you're looking at just the blue and the green combined, we increased slightly, we did a great job of also decreasing that red, which is the students not meeting expectations. For grade five math, here you'll see the
district scored above the state average for meeting and exceeding and increased the percentage of students meeting or exceeding expectations again this year. This may be in part due to the fifth grade departmentalization now two years ago, allowing for more dedicated time
for these content areas. Again, this year we saw an increase in students meeting and exceeding grade level expectations in grade six math and we continue to be well above the state average. We also saw a significant decrease in students not meeting
expectations. So that red section is almost completely gone there. If you look at the right hand purple box of Nutellie's performance this past spring, grade seven includes um all the students except those that qualify for algebra 1
and grade seven. That's typically anywhere between 10 and 25 students on a yearly basis. Those students are taken out included in the algebra 1 data um that you'll see in a little bit. uh grade seven math uh looks to be very consistent with the state and slight regression in the meeting and exceeding
uh from year year-over-year. In grade 8 math, we have um another side of the story. You see we farwell exceed uh state averages and meaning exceeding um and you see it growing from last year. Oddsburgh one um tells you data from
different grade levels. Uh so this for Nley High School, these would be students who take Algebra 1 in ninth grade, some students take in nth grade, some students take it in 10th grade. You also have a John Walker Middle School data set. And from that data set, you have some students who take it in
seventh grade and then another 75 or so students that take in eighth grade. Um so now we're starting to assess math when they take math as math is the first area to be tracked in most school districts. Uh but you'll look at the data set and you'll see uh Nutley is a
little better than the state average and John Walker Middle School um most of the students are blue or green um and they uh meet or exceed expectations. Geometry is another one that can be assessed either in middle school um as
it's for those algebra 1 students in seventh grade move on to eighth grade and take geometry or if they qualify in algebra one and take geometry as freshman year. Uh so all the testing is done during freshman year you'll see that Nutley uh does much better in the state with geometry testing um and does
very well at John Walker Middle School. That's that group of eighth grade students, anywhere from 10 to 25 students that take that geometry test. Uh, algebra 2, we show you this because there is no data. We don't we do not
have a large population taking it during uh, nth grade. Um, so we don't have I think you need 25 students to qualify for a representative data set. We don't score that um, on an annual basis. Did you want to talk about
I I'll be more than happy to talk about science. Uh science is a four- tiered system. A one which is red, two yellow, uh green is three and four is blue. Um and you could see over time um this is in fifth grade, eighth grade, and later
in 11th grade. Uh they test for science. Uh you can see Nutley has grown in science in fifth grade from 2324 to 2425. Uh is better in average than the state. We still have a long way to go in our assessments for science. A lot of this work is aligning uh our curriculum
to the tested materials on this exam. In eighth grade science, you see very similar data sets to the previous year. Slight regression in four scores, a slight increase in three scores, uh both averaging higher than the state in this manner.
In greatest 11, um you see very similar data sets as the previous years. They look almost identical. Um 23, 24, 24, 25 as compared with the state averages for 11th grade. Um the state has moved to New Jersey uh
GPA as the graduation requirement over time. Uh you can see where the state is. Uh it either falls into two categories, meeting expectations or not meeting expectations here, uh or ready or not ready. I I believe they call it. Uh so you have blue um and and yellow. Um you
can see we fare better than the state. Um the yellow group of students will be given an opportunity in about a month to sit for this exam again. And we're expect you're expecting this data set to increase as in most districts over time. A similar pattern for ELA. Uh you see
the data set uh we we fare very well in ELA when compared to the state. Uh we did have a smaller percentage. Keep in mind each year the test cut scores change, the test evolves and it changes as it goes from field test to being implemented. Um but these students again
will have a chance to retest this fall to meet their graduation requirement. Um I did want to put although not required a slide in here on AP data. This is a celebration point for the district. As you can see from 21 to 25
in the bar graph on the left, we have consistently improved the percentage of total AP students with scores three or better over time. That's 85% on the right. And Nelly High School is experienced in Nelly public schools because this is a K12 approach. A
continued successful story. Uh although they're not itemized here, I would like to point out AP computer science which saw all students scoring a three or better on the AP exam. uh which is amazing. Uh we have had much success in the amount of students taking a class,
sitting for an exam and being uh being very three three or better being scoring well on that exam after. So this along with dual enrollment these are celebration points for the district. Another data point to share is the WEDA
access 2.0 no data access measures our English language learners ability to understand and produce English uh used within school settings. There's four sections of the test, listening, reading, speaking, and writing. And just
to note, uh the students within this group are always evolving, right? We're constantly admitting new students. Students may be disenrolled. So we also compare the number of students tested um the number of students who scored 4.5 or above and the percentage. So here you
can see in 2025 143 students were tested 25 scored 4.5 or above and that's 17.5%. We share information on these assessments with parents and the community in a variety of ways. We want
to partner in your child's learning. Um, so you should be receiving your child's score reports by October 15th. Here's an example of the front page of that score report. And then I'll go into specifics of different sections on the
next slide. So section A, B, and C basically outline the students name, the content, and test title, um, and a code if you'd like to access an online report. Sections D, E, and F show information on performance
levels. Um, it also shows the average for school, state, and district. There's also performance by reporting categories. So here, if you look in ELA, you can see specific reading and writing broken out. And then underneath it, you
can see subclaim categories like literacy, I'm sorry, literary text,formational text, vocabulary, written expression. Um, and there's a little arrow in a circle in blue next to each um, of those subcategories, giving
parents an idea of whether or not their child met, was approaching, or did not meet uh, the expectations for those specific subcategories. I'm sorry. Can you go back one? Oh, maybe go forward and then forward.
Okay. Yeah. So, these parent resources can be found on our website. I know it's a little difficult to see there, but under the district tab and then scrolling down to the office of curriculum and instruction, you can find a copy of this presentation and a parents guide to understanding the NJSLA
scores. Can you go back to that previous slide? Perfect. Thank you. We also wanted to share some information for 2526 school year. The NJSLA is now becoming an adaptive assessment, which basically means that instead of just
having a form assessment where you might be getting um similar questions in a similar order to another student, um as the student progresses, future questions are basically determined based on the responses to previous questions. This is
very similar to our I Ready diagnostic which we already use in district but the state is now transitioning to an adaptive assessment um in place of the NJSLA. Um the end I'm sorry can yeah some of
the highlights or the the positive aspects of an adaptive test are that they can help reduce text anxiety. Um, they're basically presenting students with questions that are closer to their instructional level, so they're more
likely to be able to read the question, understand the material, um, and focus on the test. It also may lead to more accurate results. It's measuring each student's performance with greater precision because as students answer a question correct or incorrect, it's
finding that sweet spot of exactly where they are and asking them questions to really drill down and be more specific about where we can support them moving forward. It's important to note that the state is requiring a fall field test for the
NJSLA adaptive version and that window is October 27th through November 14th. Um the field test results will not be sent to parents. They're used internally to help further kind of the test design and and
um give some inter related reliability um as far as how the tests are being scored. Yeah, in summary, these are our test scores from New Jersey uh spring testing cycle. Um, and in reflecting initial reflections, we share this with
administrators, with teachers. We look at uh building and district evidence statements to identify uh curriculum standards that uh we are strong in or we are weak in. Um, and we look to adapt instruction and curriculum to better that for our students. And in first glance, you would notice maybe grade
three to look at ELA, you know, what's going on there as students begin their testing cycle in grade three. And then there's many points to celebrate, including grade six, both math and ELA, our AP scores, and other data sets. Uh, we're committed to reflecting on this data and working with our teams uh to
better um the experience for our students. I would like to shift the presentation to another mandatory reporting um that we must present publicly. Go to the next slide please. Um our self- assessment data uh and grades under the anti-bullying bill of rights from July 1st to June 30th last
school year. Um you can go through this is a pretty standard um presentation. We look at uh each year each building team looks at eight core elements with indicators. They self assess and rate with a rubric. Uh and they build a
library of sample documentation backup. Uh they rate zero to three in each of the indicators and core elements. Uh and they maintain the documentation inhouse. Next slide please. Uh the uh core elements and I'll just go through them
quickly. Our HIP programs, our approaches and other initiatives. Uh do we have established implemented programs? Do we assess the programs uh fidelity? that type of thing. Core element two, uh, training on the BOE approved HIP policy and documents. This
is training done on new teacher orientation, continue training at faculty meetings. Um, do we discuss the HIP policy with not only faculty but with the students? Uh, core element three, uh, other staff instruction and training programs. Uh, do we talk about suicide prevention and other uh, HIP
prevention? Uh, do school leaders receive information on how they can support anti-bullying in the schools? Next slide, please. Core element four, do we embed it in our curriculum and instruction on HIV related matters, bullying? Um, do we have ongoing um
lessons spiraled? Uh, do we monitor the week of respect in our buildings? Uh, core element five. Um, do we appoint an anti-bullying specialist? Do we meet with that anti-bullying specialist? Does the building based anti-bullying specialist meet with our district liaison uh several times throughout the
year? Uh core element six, our schoolle HIB incident reporting procedure. Do we maintain a confidential and appropriate procedure in implementing uh HIPS? It's posted on our district website. Do we follow the reporting mechanisms as outlined in the anti-bullying bill of
rights? Uh core element seven, uh do we notify parents in a timely manner? Do we investigate them within 10 school days? Do we prepare a report in hipster? Do we send that report to the superintendent who then um forwards that to the board
of education within two school days of sending it uh to me? Um and do we um have a reporting system in place for our staff members uh to move up the chain both verbal and written um as well as for parents online to report bullying and students online to report bullying.
Core element eight. Next slide please. Um so we assess ourselves in all of those Lincoln school rackless school all of our schools. Um each core element has a maximum that they can score themselves. Um and we get a max um of 78
all the way to the right. Uh we we peak at 76. Um and our lowest scores at our high school at 63. We work with our high school team to identify the core elements uh that they feel need to be improved and we work to improve them year after year. We share this information publicly. we post this to
our district website. That would be our self assessment uh presentation uh to the community. Mr. President, would you like me to take questions here? Uh comments here? Would you like uh does anyone have any questions, comments that they'd like to share publicly?
Yes, sir. ideas. Um, yes. So, I can there's there's a multivariable system. So, the first thing I would say is we are well into departmentalizing. F first of all I want to acknowledge that every year's data is a different set of students moving through our system. Uh so this is one
way to look at another way would be tracking those students year after year in a cohort style which I think is necessary to answer your question. Um but another way I would answer that is saying we've been uh pretty set in departmentalization in sixth grade uh for I want to say four or five years
right Janine? Five years. Um I think it's a it was a great move for our district. I think teachers in that system, uh, this is coming from a secondary teacher, have multiple times to teach a lesson, multiple experiences even throughout the day. Uh, so they evolve quicker, they learn more as everyone's always learning and our
students benefit from that. In fifth grade, we're starting to see data starting to shift in this direction. Don't forget in fifth grade, departmentalization is a new routine for our students. And anytime students change routine, you see data slow to catch up. The more they get in that routine, the more they routine that the
sixth grade, the better sixth grade has in developing the routines and procedures for a departmentalized approach. There's a certain amount of independence that comes with that. There's a certain amount of student skills that come with that. So, I think our students are better equipped to handle that. Um, so I'm sorry, your
second part of your question, sir, was that I used to like Yes. I would say when you go to nth grade, you have two student transitions to seventh grade to the middle school and then to 9th grade of the high school. Every time you change and
they're very different environments, right? The the the middle school is a very structured uh contained environment while our high school is a very independent rotating drop environment. Every time students change environment, I believe that the test scores as students get used to those routines
shift. That's why I am in favor of a 68 middle school. Students are in that routine longer and I think as time goes on, we start mirroring our middle school and our high school. We have real potential to start moving those data sets. I also see you see think you have a ramping up of curriculum as you you
move from sixth grade, seventh grade, eighth grade to 9th grade. And I do think you have uh maybe some test fatigue and other things playing a part as students move up through to 9th grade. Um I think at all levels our teachers are very strong and they're very adaptive to the students needs as
they come through. Sure. We do. I we we didn't have it for this presentation but we we do in district. We do share with our administrators and teachers. Um we sometimes we have in these presentations we just haven't for this one. Sure.
Don't be sorry. Do we have numbers on whe retention. [Music] I don't have that data for you now, but I'd be interested to look at that data as well.
another very interesting D when we have data we have to disagregate it to get it the way you want to look at it and I I I would like to do that because you bring up some good points. I I I do want to give a shout out to uh both our math department who runs compsai Jen Lambert
and the teachers uh who do that. I mean, they do a wonderful job. Um, and a lot of success is the hard work that they're putting in at that level. Uh, the grants we we've received and the work they're doing. So, um, that's that's another place to celebrate in the district. I think thank you for your questions.
Okay. Anybody else have any questions? S. Yeah. I think the lessons of departmentalization has uh made a district look at, you know, would it be effective to move that down in grade levels? Would teachers support it? Would would students benefit from it? And I think that's a it's a very important
conversation for the district to have to your point. And uh the possibility of getting students in that routine earlier um would benefit the district. Thank you so much. Uh uh yes, Dan. [Music] Absolutely. So, uh we run consistent
curriculum with consistent resources, consistent PD. Uh it's all run centrally. Uh we also are using I Ready and some other diagnostic tools to test our students three times throughout the year. they're finishing and I know there's been a lot of things sent home about I Ready and and the move to this
it's an adaptive system like Janine was speaking about with the so we're preparing our students to take the test but we're also using that internally um which will help us um designate um it gives us a lot of information about where our students need help where they are and also how to shuffle our district resources um so when we look at a tiered
intervention system to support students who might be on the end you're talking about uh we can better understand where they're having trouble what our classroom teachers can do to support them um and make those changes. You know, each building may be a little different to your point, but we can also uh redeploy district resources even mid
year to support those students that need that. Thank you. Uh thank you so much for your time. Um um we can go back up to the uh stage. Thank you. Good job. Thank you.
Okay, we're going to move on to our superintendent report. Mr. Ba. Uh, thank you, Mr. President. Uh, good evening, members of the board, staff, families, and community members. The 202526 school year began with a strong, fresh start.
Our success in opening smoothly is due to the dedication, professionalism of our faculty, staff, and administrators, and also to the families of Nutley who prepared their children and supported our schools in countless ways. The combined effort of teachers welcoming
students back to the classroom, staff ensuring that operations ran seamlessly, and families partnering with us from day one has made this a positive and exciting return to school. Uh, one of the highlights of this fall, as mentioned, is the opening of the Netley
Early Childhood Center. This new state-of-the-art facility is now home to more than 100 of our youngest learners, three and fouryear-old children who are beginning their educational journeys with us. While the initial drop off started with uncertainty and tears, mostly from the parents, we quickly
transitioned to smiles, hugs, joy, discovery, and the energy of little voices. and we are thrilled to provide a nurturing and enriching environment for them. To celebrate our preschool community, we're inviting all of our early childhood students and a parent to
join us at this Friday's football game. Families will be welcomed to a 5:30 tailgate for the game. And our preschoolers will serve as honorary captains for the coin toss. We look forward to celebrating them as part of our greater Nutley family. Across the
district, our students are engaged both in and out of the classroom. Athletics are are well underway with our fall sports teams competing and showing great Raider pride. The music program is in full swing with the chamber singers performance at the 911 memorial service
and our award-winning halftime band productions. Two weeks ago, Nutley High School hosted its annual club fair on the Oval. It was a tremendous success with large numbers of students coming out to explore the many clubs and activities offered connecting with peers and discovering
ways to get involved. We have also had successful back to school nights at our elementary schools, the early childhood center in Netley High School. These evenings offered valuable opportunities for parents to meet teachers, learn more about classrooms expectations, and strengthen their partnership with our
schools. Our PTO meetings are drawing crowds like we haven't seen in some time. Tomorrow evening, we look forward to welcoming middle school families for their back to school night, which will round out a strong start to the year in terms of parent engagement. I would like to recognize the outstanding
achievements of two of our seniors, Josh Park and Arlland Sinari, who have both been named National Merit Scholars. This is an incredible academic honor and a reflection of their talent, discipline, and commitment to excellence. We are also grateful to Samantha Ryan, a Nelty
High School alumni alumni who reported to speak with our students uh who returned to speak with our students during National Suicide Prevention Month. Her willingness to share her her personal story and honor her sister's memory was moving and impactful. Her message of resilience and hope left a
strong impression on our students and staff. And we thank her for the courage and generosity in giving back to the Nutley community. This evening's board agenda includes several resolutions worth highlighting. In finance resolution six, we are accepting several generous donations. A
muchneeded stove for our fieldhouse for Mrs. Rosero, a new sign for Yanuka school from the Yanqua PTO, and funding for a wellness area donated by Samantha Ryan. These gifts reflect the commitment of individuals and groups in our community who continue to support and
strengthen our schools. In addition, the district will be entering into a shared service agreement with the Nutley Family Service Bureau, which will provide an in-house crisis counselor located at Nutley High School. This counselor will be available not only to our high school students, but as a resource to all
schools across the district, furthering our commitment to mental health and wellness. Another resolution tonight addresses the subleasase of our board office at 371 Franklin Avenue. Over the next several weeks, the district's administrative offices, including the business office
and special services, will be relocating the 777 Bloomfield A. This move will help consolidate operations into a modernized space that better meets our needs. As in the case in many school districts with older facilities, we
continue to face challenges with heating and cooling systems. While our staff has worked quickly to identify and address issues as they arise, some repairs require specialized parts and contractors. I have asked the business office to prepare a long-term plan to address outdated systems that we will
require significantly bud budgetary investment in the future. While mentioning the business office, I would also like to take a moment to recognize the hard work of our business office staff led by business administrator Michael Dvita. Their ongoing efforts have already improved
financial processes across the district and we have begun early planning for the 2627 budget. These conversations are often difficult but necessary and I am grateful for their leadership and partnership. I would also like to thank Miss Makis who is not with us tonight,
our state monitor. Her experience and oversight makes me confident that the district is moving forward in a sustainable manner. I appreciate learning from you, Janette. Looking ahead, we remain on track with preparations for the sixth grade move to John H. Walker Middle School in
September 2025, 2026. Earlier today, we held the pre-construction meeting for this, the media center renovation, which will begin next month. This project is expected to be completed by April, and we're also planning for HVAC and
classroom upgrades on the lower floor of the middle school. As these projects advance, I will continue to update the board and the community on facilities, operations, curriculum, and staffing with a more formal presentation coming over the next several months. The district is also preparing for changes
to statewide testing. The New Jersey Department of Education has signaled that beginning this year, the NJSLA will shift to an adaptive model more similar to the I Ready platform we currently use. In late October or early November, districts will be required to
administrator a field administrate a field test. While we await more details from the state, our district has already begun planning to meet state expectations and to use this experience as a learning opportunity. In partnership with the Nutley Educational Foundation, we will soon
open registration for this year's Treps program, an entrepreneurship experience for students in which they design and launch small business ideas. The program culminates in a marketplace event on November 21st where students present and sell their creations. This program is a
powerful way to teach innovation, problem solving, and financial literacy in a real world setting, and we are grateful to the foundation for supporting it. Once again, thank you, Chris Oasia. Finally, a few important reminders about
the calendar. The district will be closed this Thursday in observance of Yam Kapour, one of the most significant and solemn days on the Jewish calendar. This day of reflection and atonement is a time when many in our community come together with family and their faith traditions.
I also ask all district faculty to be aware and participate in the no homework days as outlined by the board. On October 10th, we will hold a single session day to allow time for professional development. And October 13th, the district will be closed in observance of Columbus Day. As we move
forward this fall, I am encouraged by the steady momentum in our classrooms, on our fields, and in our auditoriums all across the community. The Nutley Public Schools are continuing to take deliberate steps forward, aligning our efforts with the needs of our students and the expectations of our community.
The progress we have made provides a solid foundation and clear direction as we continue our work. Thank you, Mr. President. Thank you, Mr. Ba. Mr. Dvita, our business administrators report. Thank you. Uh back in January and
February of this calendar year, the board approved a couple of resolutions to refund outstanding bonds that were dated in April of 2015. The bonds were originally issued in 2007 at a price of $38.5 million.
At the time, estimates of savings were projected to be around $75,000 per year and $600,000 over the remaining life of the bonds. Grand. Because the refunding can only occur if we meet a minimum of 3% present value savings, we were not able to
officially refund the bonds until this month when rates for bonds improved. On September 11th, 2025, we entered the public market offering the bond refunding and we were able to produce a present value savings of 4.696%.
Uh so I'm happy to report that the average annual savings uh will now be $113,480 uh per year over the life of the remaining bonds. And that amounts to a savings of $97,840
um total over the that time frame. And this savings will go directly to the taxpayers through our debt service fund. I would like to thank our professionals for their assistance throughout this process and their hard work. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Dvita. Uh just to uh clarify a last point is that the savings is going to go directly to the taxpayers in the form of um a return on what what was the original uh investment, but this is not something that's going to be uh
into in the budget for each each year. Correct. Yes. Correct. Yeah. That means that um the 113,000 um average savings uh the debt service tax lev will be uh decreased by that amount. Thank you.
Uh with us tonight we have our student representative Matthew Lee. He's going to give us the student report. Mr. Lee, thank you. Um our school year started off strong with our first event being the same week as the first day of school. We kicked things off with our
senior sunrise for our senior class. That same that same day, we had our first football home season opener and it was a great win for us. A week later, we started with start with hello week and we had a theme for each day to make all students feel welcome and included. We
kicked things off that week with a theme of simply saying hello to someone new. And we had a schoolwide mental health assembly and a club fair later that week. We also had our back to school night and in and we're currently in the midst of our homecoming spirit week. And
for all the students listening, uh make sure to wear neon for tomorrow's theme. And looking ahead, we have um a bunch of exciting events. Our Raider Day prep pep rally is happening this Friday. Um for parents, don't forget to sign up for the
PTO. The first meeting will take place on October 15th. Uh we'll have our week of respect next week and NJGPA testing for the seniors will also take place that week. Lastly, for seniors, don't miss the college application
presentation on October 7th and remember the college admission panel on October 16th. That's all for now and we're looking forward to a great year. Thank you, Mr. Lee. you're welcome to stay with us, but if you have uh to go
home and do do work for tomorrow, you you're you can you can leave at any time you'd like. Thank you. Please come back. Okay, we're going to move on to our committee reports. Uh Miss Danch Martin, academic. Thank you, Mr. President. The academic
committee met on September 16th. In attendance were myself, Miss Quirk, Mr. Gilbert Birdie, Mr. Van, Miss Loans Solo, and Miss Koviello. Miss Koviello, the district math supervisor, joined the committee to provide a synopsis from her perspective regarding the math program
and answered questions for the committee. The committee discussed the 2024-25 endofear superintendent report, the upcoming assemblies at Nutley High School on suicide awareness and online social media dangers, the shared service
agreement with Nutle Family Service for district uh crisis counselor, lunchroom procedures across the district, curriculum that has been updated and is on this agenda for approval. We also discussed ongoing student matters,
received an update to the sixth grade transitions facility plan, reviewed field trips and professional development, and received an update on personnel and legal matters. The next meeting of the academic committee is scheduled for Tuesday, October 14th at
5:30 p.m. Thank you. Thank you, Mrs. Danek Martin. Mr. Bosaml, administration, Mr. Oh, Charlie, you have that one. You have it. We tried to get you to do it, Charlie.
Sorry, I wasn't ready for that. Um, uh, the administrative committee met September 16th in the board conference room. It was myself, uh, Mr. Kazinski, uh, Mr. Scotty, Mr. Ba, Mr. Dvita. Uh the committee discussed the 2024-25 end of end of year uh superintendent report.
The committee discussed the upcoming assemblies at Nle High School on suicide awareness and online social media dangers. The committee discussed the shared service agreement with the Nutley family services for a district crisis counselor. We also discussed the self- assessment scores for the 202425 school
year pertaining to the anti-bullying bill of rights. The committee received an update on the sixth grade transition uh facilities plan. Uh we also discussed ongoing student matters as well as an update on personnel and legal matters. The next meeting of the administrative
committee is scheduled to for Tuesday, October 14th at 4:30. Thank you, Mr. Bosamo. Mr. Fraggin's finance. Thank you, Mr. President. Uh the finance committee met on September 17th. In attendance was myself, President Ferraro, Vice President Delmalia,
Janette Makis, Superintendent Kent Bña, Michael Dvidita, Theresa Lori, and Michael Farijigi. The finance committee received a monthly insurance update from our insurance broker IMAC. We discussed the savings with the the refunding of the bonds, discussed sub lease for the board offices, discussed the audit for
the 2024 2025 year, and we reviewed a personnel update. We also received updates on facilities projects including the middle school media center, moving media center furniture, the middle school classroom conversion, digital signs at the high school and middle school, the IT chiller, the high school
media center HVAC, spring garden boiler room repair, and PSENG's incentive program. We reviewed we reviewed resolutions including the removal of vehicles, donations, Yenico sign, nursing agreement, and tuition for district employees attending schools. Thank you, Mr. President. and our next
board meeting will be scheduled for October 15th. Thank you, Mr. Fragginals. We now come to that portion of our meeting where we allow members of the public to address the board. In this section, we allow questions or comments on reports, resolutions, and all school related matters. Our board regulations
number 0167 allow 20 minutes for these communications. Each person shall be limited to three minutes, and we ask that you try to stay within this requirement. Speakers may speak more than once only after all all others wishing to speak on a topic have been heard. All statements will be directed
to me as the chairperson and no one may address board members individually. Please be reminded that if your statement is too lengthy, abusive, obscene, irrelevant or redundant, your participation may be terminated. Please remember to state your name and address each and every time you address the
board. Does anyone have any questions? [Music] I thought you had a question, Tim. You You were going up like that. All right. Does Does anyone have any questions?
Okay. See, do you have a question? You can you can get up. Good evening. Uh, my name is Dana Simons. I live at 143 Brookfield Avenue in Nutley. I'm the mother of three daughters attending school at Nutley. My
child is in fourth grade at Washington School. This is not our home school, but she was asked to attend Washington School to be part of a small group emotional regulation impairment class. This program has had its ups and downs. her first year there. The classroom teacher resigned early in the year and
the class was taught by subs and paraprofessionals. In the time since, my child has adjusted well to Washington school. She has slowly but successfully transitioned into a regular education class for everything but math. She and I are both thankful that she can
have math in the small group classroom as it affords her more flexibility and support. Her teachers and parents, both regular education and special education, have been kind, patient, and helpful. This is not a criticism of them. I'm truly appreciative of the hard work that they do and the positive energy that
they bring to the classroom. This year, this ERI class at Washington School has had a rocky start. In August, when students received their schedules, my child had a schedule that was two pages long, included multiple grade levels of every subject, and had no teacher's name. My child was confused
and disappointed. It put a damper on her back to school excitement. After reaching out to the principal, I was made aware that there was no permanent teacher for the ERI classroom yet, but that one would be starting in about two weeks. A month later, and there still is no permanent teacher. There have been two
different teachers from the district in the classroom, but the current one needs to return to her regular position soon. So, I'm anticipating a cycle of teachers subbing in this room. From what I understand, this position was posted back in May. Yet here we are a month into the school year and these students
still don't have the stability that they need. Once again, this vulnerable group has fallen through the cracks. I'm here to ask tonight, why has hiring a teacher for this classroom not been treated as a priority? And what steps will be taken to ensure these students receive the stability and support that
they deserve? Why was the teacher in that classroom last year moved to a different position and this class left without a teacher? At what point does the ERI class at Washington School cease to exist? If it doesn't have a teacher, then don't pretend that this program is a priority. Thank you,
Mr. Ba. I I'll answer your question. First of all, thank you so much. I know we spoke on the phone uh quite some time ago. Very similar conversation. Um I I'm here to tell you that this is the number one priority for me. I check in on this daily. I was at Washington School today. Um I know we have interview set up for
tomorrow. You are correct. We've had this posting open since May um with no applicants uh to interview or the ones we've interviewed were not viable through that process. We have gone to two providers to help get a teacher in this role. Uh both of both providers are struggling to find someone to provide
for us for this role. Uh we are hopeful that we will um find someone appropriate and and um deserving for this position very shortly. Um, I do want to say that I the fact that your children are transitioning into gened at Washington
School fourth grade, um, is great and I do believe that we will find someone shortly to fill this role and to make this class what you're looking for. Um, I want to apologize for the inconsistency in teacher. Um, I can't speak to the personnel matters of the other teacher, but I can let you know
that this is the district's number one prior to this and the HVAC issues we're experiencing around the district. I check in on these things daily and I will continue to do so until we have a solution in place. Thank you. Does anyone else have any questions? Okay, seeing none, can I get a motion to
uh end the public comment portion? Second. Do I have a second? Second. Okay. Miss D Martin, would you take academic resolutions? Yes, Mr. President. I'd like to move
academic resolutions 1 through five as written. Second. Any discussion? Roll call. Mr. Balsamo. Yes. Mrs. Danek Martin. Yes. Dr. Dia. Yes. Mr. Fragile. Yes.
Mr. Gilbert. Mr. Kazinski. Yeah. I'm going to vote um on one abstain on two. Yes. On three, four, and five. Mrs. Quirk, yes. Mr. Scotty,
yes to all except my name. Mr. Foh. Yes. Mr. Kazinski. Administration. Yes, sir. Mr. President, I move administration resolutions one and two. Discussion
roll call Mr. Bosamo yes Mrs. Danek Martin yes Dr. Dia yes Mr. Fragginels yes Mr. Gilbert yes Mr. Kazinski yes Mrs. Quirk yes Mr. Scotty yes Mr. Ferraro
yes Mr. Fragginals finance thank you Mr. President, I'd like to move resolutions 1 through 17 as written. I hear a second. Second. Roll call. Mr. Balsamo. Yes. Mr. Danek Martin.
Yes. Dr. Dia. Yes. Mr. Fragginel. Yes. Mr. Gilbert. Yes. Mr. Kazinski. Yes. Mrs. Quirk. Yes. Mr. Scotty. Yes. Mr. Ferraro. Yes. Mr. Scotty. Policy.
discussion. Roll call. Mr. Bamo, yes. Mrs. Danek Martin, yes. Dr. Dia, yes. Mr. Fragginals, yes. Mr. Gilbert, yes. Mr. Kazinski, yes. Mrs. Quirk, yes. Mr. Scotty, yes. Mr. Ferro, yes.
Mrs. Quirk, personnel. Yes, Mr. President. Like to move personnel resolutions as written. Discussion. Roll call. Mr. Balsamo. Yes. Mr. Danek Martin. Yes. Dr. Dia. Yes.
Mr. Fragnels? Yes. Mr. Gilbert? Yes. Mr. Kazinski? Yes. Mrs. Quirk? Yes. Mr. Scotty? Yes. Mr. Ferraro? Abstain. Is there any old business to come before the board? Is there any new business to come before
the board? Whereas the board of education will be discussing matters exempt from public discussion pursuant to NJSA 10 col 4-12. Now therefore be it resolved that the board of education recess to close executive session at this time to discuss personnel contracts and legal
issues. Be it further resolved that the results of the discussions will be made public by inclusion on the agenda of the subsequent meeting of a board of education or when the reasons for discussing such matters in close session no longer exist. Can I get a motion to adjurnn to executive?
Okay. Thank you everyone.