Okay, welcome 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 provided in the notice of January 6th,
2026. Said notice was posted at the entrance of the board of education offices, sent to the Nutley Township clerk, sent to tap into Nutley, sent to the district newspapers on January 15, 2026, and posted on the district website. Would everybody please stand for the flag salute?
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. >> Roll call. >> Mr. Bamo >> here. >> Mrs. Danek Martin
>> here. >> Dr. Dia >> here. Mr. Delpiano >> here. >> Mr. Fragginel >> here. >> Mr. Gilbert >> here. >> Mrs. Cirk >> here. >> Mr. Scotty >> here. >> Mr. Ferraro
>> here. >> I get a motion for approval of the minutes. >> Make a motion. >> All in favor? >> I. Anyone opposed? >> Okay. We're going to move on to our 2026 2027 public budget hearing. Mr. Bea, Mr.
Dvita, >> I'm Takes a while to bring this thing down. introduce you to >> if you just want to do that and just say >> yeah
the rest. Yeah, I love we figured you give we give a long suspense to this year's budget. So, um but Mike asked if I could just open and introduce himself and you know the budget process. I do want to take this
this opportunity just to thank uh everyone in the district uh from the board the central office to especially the business office I know Mr. Dvita Makus Ian vmeister uh all played a critical role um this is a difficult budget season um across New Jersey um
even in Nutley but we managed to move through um uh in in a pretty pretty good way. Um I do want to um introduce Mr. Devita and uh he's going to walk you through the financial plan that supports our district's goals. Uh this budget
reflects a careful balance between fiscal responsibility and our shared commitment to providing a highquality education for all students. Throughout this process, we have worked closely with the entire district, the district leadership to ensure that our resources are aligned with the instructional
priorities, student needs and operational requirements. Uh this budget is much more than numbers. it represents our values as a community and our uh investment in our future. Um so I want to introduce Mr. Devid and thank him for his work on this.
>> Thank you. I'd like to talk about some of our uh budget goals. Um, this budget was developed with a clear focus on long-term sustainability. Um, ensuring that our district remains financially stable, not just for the coming year, but into the future, while still meeting
the immediate needs of our students and staff. Uh, we we also want to maintain the critical programs that support student success, particularly those aligned with state graduation requirements. While every program in our district has value, we were deliberate in protecting those
that are essential to ensuring our students meet key academic benchmarks. We also understand the importance of our staff to the success of our schools. A couple years ago, the district faced difficult reductions in force. This proposed budget reflects a more positive
approach. Through attrition and careful planning, we were able to reduce positions without any loss of employment. Uh we cannot overlook the condition of our facilities. Uh many of our buildings are aging and require ongoing maintenance and improvement. We look to
maintain safe, functional and supportive learning environments for all students and staff. We have worked uh also to ensure the efficient use of exist existing resources. Every dollar matters and we have taken steps to maximize the value of our investments by optimizing
staffing, leveraging technology and carefully managing expenditures. Um now I'd just like to give a a timeline of how the whole budget um process uh started and ended. Um the whole process is a team effort. Um it started in December uh with the
administration preparing and submitting their budgets um to uh the the central office. This information was gathered. We held prioritization meetings uh with all the administrators. Uh we had a couple work sessions on February 2nd, March 16th. Um in between
those, the estate aid figures were released by uh the state and uh we did receive a 3% increase over our current year which mounted to $726,000800 726,83. Um the board approved our tenative
budget on March 23rd. It was then submitted to the county office for their approval which we did receive on April 14th. Uh we then advertised the budget on our website and it was sent to um tap into um also and that leads us to
tonight uh for our public hearing where the board will be approving the final tax levy numbers for next school year. Uh this does not mean that the funds that are in the presented accounts will remain in the same accounts by the end of the school year. The budget is a fluid process and amounts and accounts
will change each month. Uh the most important part of the budget is the revenues. Um I'll go into a little bit more detail for the operating fund in um the upcoming slides. Uh but the special revenue fund uh this includes all federal and state grants that we um are expected to receive
including all of our preschool funding and also our our ESEA IDA and non-public grants. Uh the debt service fund this includes all the principal and interest expenses for the bonds that we have issued by the district. We are currently paying off two bonds. Uh, one of the
bonds was refunded in September of 2025 for a savings of $97,000 uh, which is reflected in this uh, proposed budget. So, the total annual budget um, comes to a little over $101 million. I just like to go into a little bit more
detail about the operating revenues. Um, our local tax levy. Um, this is the amount of funds that will be coming from the taxpayers. Um included in this amount is the healthcare waiver that the district qualified for. This is a set percentage amount from the state that districts are eligible to take depending
on their healthcare increases. Uh the stated amount um this is um as I said um earlier we did receive an increase over our current year. Uh our extraordinary aid funds um these are the funds that we receive uh from the state for special education for both students
in and out of district. our miscellaneous revenue. Um, this is our interest from our banks. Um, our athletic participation fees. Um, any unanticipated revenues goes in here. Our facility rental. Uh, this includes a fee
that we charge through the extended day program for using our facilities and also the uh rent in our old board office space. Uh, we also have budget fund balance. Um, this is surplus that is carried over as per our audit. Uh since we are repaying the state for the advanced state aid loan, we're only
allowed to have a surplus of one and a half percent. Uh we do have maintenance reserve withdrawal in again uh this is a withdrawal of our funds for our maintenance reserve account um that is will be used on maintenance expenses in all of our schools. A semi is some
federal funds that we receive uh for special education students through the Medicaid program. And we do receive some tuition uh from some staff members that we have that have their students attending the Nutley schools. Uh so that gives brings us to our total operating
revenue of um just under $90 million. Uh this next is just a uh pie chart that just shows obviously the majority comes from our local tax levy. Um just under 82% um of our revenues, operating revenue. State aid is a little over 14%.
Extraordinary aid is uh just under two and a half% and all the other um smaller pieces amount to about one and a half% of our operating revenue. Um next come our expenditures. Um I'll I'll go into a little bit more
detail on the operating um uh part uh fund. But uh our total is just under $90 million. Our special revenue um as I mentioned includes all of the grants and our debt service is all of the paying off the interest and um principal payments. Um so the number does match
our uh revenues that we have. Uh, now to go into a little bit more detail, um, our instructional expenses, um, our instructional programs, excuse me, our regular programs, um, this includes, um, all the salaries, um, of
all of our, um, regular ed staff, um, including substitute pay, stipens, um, teachers, subs, leave replacements, um, and also software services and supplies are included in in here for each grade level. our our special ed programs. Um this is the instructional
uh piece of um that um includes all salaries for all of our special ed programs. There's our LLD program, our emotional regulation impairment program, our resource room program, autism program, and our preschool disabilities program. Uh basic skills is all salaries
and ACL salaries and supplies in both areas. Our media services all salaries of our media specialists and communication services in all libraries and instructional staff training is all the curriculum writing and professional development uh such as workshops and conferences.
Uh so that gives us our total of a little over $30.5 million. Uh special ed is the next um area here. um out of district tuition. Uh this is the outside placement of um 63 special education students to private disabled
schools and uh related and extraordinary services. Um these are all of our in-house services that we offer. Um speech um occupational therapists, physical therapists, um par profofessionals and MBA services. and the child study team. Um these are all
the salaries of that team which includes psychologists, social workers, LDTC's and behavior specialists. Uh next we have our employee benefits. Um our social security payments. Um this is all of the payments that go to the
federal government uh for all of our non certified employees uh such as secretaries, custodians, and par professionals. Retirement contributions. This is the um payment to the state um for all of our non-certified employees again that go
into the PERS program and our DCRP. Workers comp is the premium for all of our insurance coverage for all of our um employees. Um other contractual obligations. Um this is as per contract. Um tuition reimbursement uh for classes taken, some
sick day payouts when people retire, opt out, uh payments for health benefits, and uniform payments. And um the largest number here is our health benefits. This is all of our estimated medical, prescription, and dental coverage uh for the year. Uh we are uh self-insured.
Um so the amount includes all all of our estimated net claims, plan administration costs, stop-loss premiums, and a search charge from the state. Uh next we have our student support services. Um our health services all of our nurses
and supplies in in for all the schools also our school physician. Uh guidance is all of our counselors and all the schools. Um and also some software for students. Our general administration is all the salaries of uh central office staff. Also attorney fees and audit fees
and some other professional services um that we do. Um um New Jersey school board dues are in here. Um and also um we are in our second year of repaying the um million-doll loan back to the state that we received. Um so that's in that number. Uh school
administration is all of our building level administrators, principles, vice principles, uh directors, coordinators, secretaries. Um central services is everybody in the business office and um and also a technology department. Uh transportation, this is the salaries of
all of our bus drivers. And we also have some uh routes that we uh outsource um that's included in here. And we currently have 24 buses in our fleet. Um athletics and co-curricular. These are all the coaches, advisors, um um our
music program, uh the trainer, game help, um and also supplies for all the um athletic uh charter school payment. This is the payment. Um we have um um Meltly residents that attend charter schools. Currently for next year, we're estimated to have two. and our food
service supervision. This is the funds um that we pay to the food service program for our lunch supervision in each school or each elementary school and middle school. Uh next we have our operations and maintenance. Um this is all um maintenance custodial
and grounds is all of the salaries and supplies and services that are needed to maintain uh the building uh each school building. Um also included is the gas and electric charges for each building and also liability insurance for each building. Security is amount um that includes the armed security guards and
all the building and we also have some software and supplies and capital outlay is a debt service assessment that we have from the state every year. Uh this next slide just shows a uh it's a a cost analysis of our operating
budget. Um I sort of break out into um fixed costs and discretionary costs. Um part of the fixed cost is all of our um um personnel. Um pretty much all the costs that you know you're going to have year-toear um salaries, benefits um and
all that is in there. Um our specialized programs um these include um uh any out of district tuition for uh special education, transportation, uh some evaluations included in there. Then the other category um includes all the other expenses that we know we're
going to have. Um energy, software, um communication fees, legal, our auditor, um that's all in here. So you add all those numbers up, it comes to um just under $87 million. Uh so that basically means we have just under $3 million in our discretionary funds. Uh which is all
of the the the um the stuff that um isn't uh expected every year. So supplies, software, professional development, facility repairs. Um it's all items that we know we're going to have but we don't have an exact cost for. Um so that slide just shows that.
Uh the next slide uh shows a pie chart. Um obviously our our personnel is the majority of what's in our operating budget. Um just under 82%. Our specialized programs are a little over 10%. The other category is um a little
over 4% and the discretionary funds are 3.25%. Uh so we do have a balanced budget. Um to balance the budget, appropriations were reduced uh throughout the entire budget. Uh the administration had to distinguish uh wants from needs. And this is a list
of some of the areas that were reviewed and then reduced. Uh with moving the sixth grade students to the John H. Booker Middle School, it is more efficient to teach the students in one building as opposed to doing it in five. This led to an ability to not fill some positions that were opened by
retirements and resignations. Our educational services have been reallocated to some state and federal grants. So that helped. Uh we reviewed efficiencies in trans transportation routes where possible and also principles have worked to create efficient cafeteria and playground
coverage schedules. Our athletic and extracurricular programs were reviewed um and no programs are being eliminated next school year. Uh we did look at educational supplies um in all categories. They were reduced where applicable. Our maintenance and
custodial supplies and services were also reduced. Uh summer hours will only be assigned when absolutely necessary. And uh we did look at some leases such as coffee machines uh that have been and will continue to be uh reviewed um throughout the school year to ensure
that we receiving the lowest cost. Uh I just want to talk about um adequacy budget local fair share. Um you hear this a lot um you know and and a lot of it's it's hard to explain um so I tried to do it as uh explain here as best as I
could. Uh, New Jersey funds public schools using a formula designed to make sure every district has enough resources to provide a thorough and efficient education as required by the state constitution. The adequacy budget represents what the state calculates it should reasonably cost to educate our
students for one school year is not sp a spending mandate but rather a benchmark created by the state using uh such factors as student enrollment your grade levels and the number of students with additional needs such as special education uh and bilingual and at risk
students. Uh so in short the adequacy budget answers the question what should it cost to educate our students if all required programs and supports are in place. Uh the local fair share is the portion of the the adequacy budget that the state expects the community to fund
through local property taxes. It is based on the district's ability to pay which considers the property values and also the residents income levels. The state assumes that communities with greater wealth can contribute more locally while communities with less
wealth will receive more state aid. Uh the next slide um just talks about um some districts are over adequacy, some districts are below adequacy. Um this just shows uh the last four years. Um but what does it mean when this happens
when a district is either above or below? Uh if you are above adequacy, this means that total funding exceeds the state calculated adequacy budget. This often occurs when the community chooses to support schools above the state minimum uh or local revenue
exceeds the state's assumed local fair share. This does not mean that the district is overspending or inefficient. If you are below adequacy, this means that the total funding is less than the state calculated adequacy budget. This typically means that the district is not fully funded under the state formula or
cannot raise its full local share without significant tax impact. This does not mean that the district is failing to educate its students. So as you can see the past four years we have been under adequacy uh each year and our adequacy budget for the 2627 school year
next year um according to the state is $88,743,000. Uh so as you can see we are $9.6 $6 million below that number. Uh, next slide uh shows the estimated uh school tax impact. Um, the 2026 average
assessed house in Nutley is $494,000 $786, which is an increase of $1,424 from 2025. And the 2026 tradable amount with the township is4 bill978,000
which is an increase of 4.2 million from 2025. Um so the average um increase um for the average home is $392 and the school tax rate will be 1.462% uh which is an increase of 079
uh from 2025. Uh this last slide um the advertised budget is posted to our website. Um and after tonight um if the board approves it tomorrow the userfriendly budget will be posted and also this presentation will also be posted. That's the uh the
link um up there for anybody that's um interested in it. Watch anybody. >> Anybody have anybody have any questions? >> Open up to the floor for questions. Thank you.
>> All right. Thank you uh for listening to uh presentation. >> Thank you. We can go back up on the stage. >> I'm going to thank you in my speech. Good.
All right. Okay. Thank you, Mr. B. Mr. Dvita, does any board members have any questions with regard to the uh budget? Okay. Um I just want to point out one thing obviously that uh wasn't on the slides but was discussed at prior
meetings is that we are as a board of education not alone um facing challenges. Uh as you could read almost every day now there's another district that is forced to make some type of a cut or some type of adjustment with their budget.
This year um we we as as all board of educations are kept uh with a 2% increase. Uh but this year we have the ability because of the increase in insurance um the the premiums that um are and costs that we were able to use
in uh the insurance waiver which I I'd asked Mr. DVITA just to explain that because that's an an important issue that uh is not available every single year but this year was available and this board opted to utilize that so
that we would be responsible and not have to make unnecessary cuts that would impact our staff and our students and the programs that we offer. So if Mr. Dvita can just explain how that uh insurance waiver works. >> Sure. Yeah. the uh state has a set uh
number um that they base off of the increase for the state health benefit plan um and this year was um uh the state had a rather large um increase. So, the number um for that was was a a large number. And if districts um are
spending above that number, uh they're allowed to do a a waiver um that allows you to um increase your your budget past it to 2% uh as long as you're um eligible for the waiver, which we did qualify for.
Mrs. Bakus, do you want to is there anything you want to add to this? Uh yes, I just want to uh reaffirm uh Mr. Ferrer's remarks. Um
old habits die hard and so as budgets are published in the newspaper, I tend to review them. Um, I probably looked at 80 to 85% of the budgets that
were uh were published in the Bergen record. I do not go beyond the Bergen record. Um, and what I saw were things that I have not seen
previously except in rare cases. Um, when I look at it, I look at the increase in taxes, increase decrease in state aid, so I can get annoyed. The use of surplus and reserves, the use this
year of emergency reserve, the increase in insurance costs because that's what's driving the budget and the estimated surplus at the end of the year. And for the first time I would say to you that the majority of budgets uh exceeded 2%.
That is not the norm. In some cases um like nutly 5 6 7 8% one or two even higher than that. The other thing I saw I looked at with
the insurance was that the average insurance for the districts in every case was 18 to 30%. So we are not alone in that regard. um districts are using
more surplus than I have seen in the past and that is something I would not recommend to any district because it's not sustainable because you eventually budget to have a
surplus so you can include it in your budget. Um but that was readily apparent. uh the surplus levels that I saw were lower than I have seen in a long time which
indicates that districts are in fact using surplus not sustainable using reserves not sustainable and for the first time I have seen districts uh withdrawing
money from emergency reserve which tended to be a reserve that really wasn't touched. Um, even with these measures, uh, I read every article about any school district that is having problems. Districts are
having to cut 30, 40, 70%. Ridgewood is eliminating courtesy busing. I'm sure they have a large crowd at their budget hearing. Um, and they are making the kinds of cuts that Nutley had to make two years ago.
Nutley was actually two years ahead of where other districts are now. The fact that those cuts were made then, although a a lot of cuts were made this year, but not in staffing. Um,
it's a tough year. It's a tough year for Nutley and it's an even more so. I as I saw it the majority of districts in the state are in the same same situation. Um and
the areas uh involved are areas that we have absolutely no control over. I mean we haven't mentioned gas and electric which
also uh increased uh and is continuing to increase. Um, so I say to you that uh the work that was done to bring in a balanced budget uh had a lot of thought and time and
stress put into it by all of the members of the board and the administration and the staff. >> Thank you, Miss Mus. Mr. Bea, our superintendent report. Uh, thank you, Mr. President. Before I begin, I failed to recognize Karen Greco
in the budget preparation. She helped us with all our staffing. Thank you, Karen. I'm sorry I missed you before. Uh, good evening, members of the board of education and district community. As we move through the spring and prepare for the clo the close of the school year, I would like to take a moment to recognize
the continued efforts of our staff and the many positive developments across the district. First, I want to extend my appreciation to our business office and central office team for their extensive work in developing the 2627 budget. This process requires thoughtful planning,
collaboration, and a deep commitment to balancing fiscal responsibility with the needs of our students and staff. Their diligence has ensured a budget that supports our goals while maintaining stability for the community. This evening's agenda also reflects continued progress in our facilities
work. I would like to highlight the resolution supporting needed repairs to the oval seating area as well as the purchase of additional lockers for John H. Walker Middle School. With the media center now complete and work underway in the lower level classrooms, these lockers represent one of the final
pieces necessary to fully support the transition of our sixth grade students into the middle school. This has been a significant multi-phase effort and we are nearing completion thanks to the collective work of many. Curriculum development remains ongoing and there is
a great deal of excitement building as we look towards September. Our teams continue to refine and strengthen instructional practices to ensure a strong start to next school year. Over the past month, we had an opportunity to welcome families into our schools for
both the rising seventh grade and rising six sixth grade parent nights at John H. Walker Middle School. Both events were extremely well attended and thoughtfully organized. I would like to thank Joe Mataria, Jenna Rabino, Janine Loan Solo, and our district supervisors along with
their teams for creating such informative and positive experiences for our families. We also hosted student government day, providing students with a valuable opportunity to engage with local leaders and gain insight into the workings of our community. Thank you to Mr. Williams
and Mr. Riley for organizing this experience and to our board of commissioners for their partnership, continued support in making the day meaningful for and authentic for our students. As part of my ongoing responsibilities, I have been completing formal observations across the district. And I
would like to specifically recognize Miss Mora Burns for her outstanding work with our Rise program. I had the opportunity to observe her supporting students during the work-based learning experience at the Nutley Family Service Food Bank. This partnership provides our students with authentic, meaningful
experiences that both build skills and confidence. It is a truly exemplary program and we are grateful for m for both Mrs. Burns leadership and our collaboration with Nelly family services. Last week the district also participated
in take your child to work day. It was a wonderful way to see so many members of our staff sharing their work with their children and giving them a firsthand look at the field of education. The level of participation and enthusiasm made this day very memorable. Uh this
week, John H. Walker Middle School presents their production of Finding Nemo on Thursday and Friday at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are available online and at the door. As we look ahead the coming weeks, we bring many of the traditions that make this time of year so special. We
will soon celebrate National Teacher Day on Tuesday, May 5th, recognizing the dedication and impact of our educators. Additionally, our senior class is beginning their final stretch, making an important milestone in their educational journey. At the same time, we continue
to plan for the future. I have asked several administrators to begin gathering input and information from staff regarding educational technology. With increasing attention on topics such as screen time, student data privacy, and the balance between digital and
traditional instructional methods, it is important that we engage in thoughtful, informed discussion. As we collect feedback and examine current research, we will work work towards a clear intentional approach to how we best support teaching and learning in Nutley.
Uh, thank you, Mr. President. >> Uh, Mr. Dvita, a business administrator report. >> Uh thank you. On for approval at tonight's meeting is the final budget for the 2627 school year. Uh the next steps involved with the budget after uh tonight is um that the um results are
certified of the public hearing to the county office and then the user-friendly budget will be posted to the district website. Um after that, the tax levy certification form must be certified by the board secretary and also the uh town clerk. Um, then it's submitted to all of
the required offices such as the county board of taxation, the local assessor, uh, the New Jersey Division of Local Government Services, uh, the municipal clerk, and the executive county superintendent. Thank you. >> Thank you. We're going to move on to our
committee reports. Miss Danch Martin, academic. >> Thank you, Mr. President. The academic committee met on April 20th. In attendance were myself, Miss Quirk, Mr. Banya, Miss Loans Solo, Mr. Dwer, Mr.
Vicarella, Mr. Bemeister, and the forensic auditors. Forensic auditors from the firm of PKF Okconor Davies met with the members of the academic committee. Miss Lokan Solo, Mr. Dwire, Mr. Vicarella presented the committee with an overview of the social studies
and fine and performing arts program review. The committee discussed matters related to students. We discussed technology usage in the district. We reviewed items related to facilities, program, parent outreach, um, regarding
the sixth grade transition to middle school. We also reviewed upcoming professional development and field trips. We also reviewed the highlights from the finance and administrative meeting agendas as well as other items pertaining to the public board meetings.
Our next meeting is schedules for May 12th. Thank you. >> Thank you, Miss Dborn. Mr. Basano, administration. >> Thank you, Mr. President. Uh, the administration committee met on April 21st at 4 uh:30 in the board conference
room. In attendance were myself, Mr. Scotty, Mr. Bay, Mr. Pyro, Mr. Vmeister, and the forensic auditors. The forensic auditors were there from PK uh F. Okconor Davies uh and they met with uh uh the members of the uh administrative
committee in attendance. Mr. Pyro discussed fundraising opportunities within the athletic department. Uh the committee discussed matters related to students. We also reviewed highlights from the finance and academic meeting agendas as well as other items pertaining to future board meeting uh public board meetings. The next meeting
of the administration committee is uh May 12th. >> Thank you, Mr. Bosam. Mr. Fagginel's finance. >> Thank you, Mr. President. The finance committee met on April 22nd. In attendance was myself, President Ferraro, Janette Makus, Superintendent
Campa, Michael Dvidita, Michael Pariji, and Theresa Li. We received a monthly update of our health benefit insurance and insurance claims. We received updates on facilities projects including the middle school media center working on a puncturist, the middle school
classroom conversion. We started demolition for the IT chiller. We're waiting on for engineers to review. In regards to the Washington and Lincoln school HVAC, our engineers have reviewed and we're awaiting for their final report and findings and recommendations.
For the oval bleachers, we received quotes for their repair. And for the lockers at the middle school, we received quotes for new lockers for the sixth graders. We discussed payment application five for the middle school media center project. We discussed payments of settlement agreements. We discussed approval for the 202627
budget from the county office. and we discussed resolutions for the 2026-27 budget and transportation contracts. The next meeting date has not yet been scheduled. Thank you, Mr. President. >> Thank you, Mr. Fragginals. Uh 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 01 167 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 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? Okay, seeing none, could I get a motion to close the public comment portion? >> Motion. >> All in favor?
>> Anyone opposed? >> Okay, we're going to move on to our resolutions. Academic Miss Danch Martin. >> Yes, Mr. President. I'd like to move academic resolutions one through three as written. >> Second. >> Any discussion?
>> Roll call. Mr. Balsamo. >> Yes. >> Mrs. Mrs. Dan Martin, >> yes. >> Dr. Dia, >> yes. >> Mr. Delpiano, >> yes. >> Mr. Fragginal, >> yes. >> Mr. Gilbert, >> yes. >> Mrs. Quirk, >> yes. >> Mr. Scotty, >> yes. >> Mr. Ferraro, >> yes.
>> Mr. Basama, resol administration resolutions. >> Yes, Mr. President. I'd like to move administration resolutions one through four is written. >> Any discussion? Roll call. >> Mr. Balsamo. >> Yes. >> Mrs. Danek Martin. >> Yes. >> Dr. Dia. >> Yes.
>> Mr. Delpano. Yes, >> Mr. Fragginels. >> Yes, >> Mr. Gilberty. >> Yes, >> Mrs. Quirk. >> Yes, >> Mr. Scotty. >> Yes, >> Mr. Ferraro. >> Yes, >> Mr. Fragginals. Finance resolutions. >> Thank you, Mr. President. I'd like to move finance resolutions 1 through 24 as
written. >> Second. >> Any discussion? >> Roll call. >> Mr. Balsamo, >> yes. >> Mrs. Danek Martin, >> yes. >> Dr. Dia, >> yes. >> Mr. Delpano, >> yes. >> Mr. Fragel, >> yes. >> Mr. Gilbert Birdie. >> Yes. >> Mrs. Quirk.
>> Yes. >> Mr. Scotty. >> Yes. >> Mr. Fero. >> Yes. >> Miss Quirk, will you do personnel? >> Uh, yes. Mr. President, let's do resolution one as written. Second. >> Discussion.
Roll call. >> Mr. Basamo. >> Yes. >> Mr. Danek Martin. >> Yes. >> Dr. Dia. >> Yes. >> Mr. Delpano. >> Yes. >> Mr. Fnell. >> Yes. Mr. Gilbert, >> yes. >> Mr. Squir,
>> yes. >> Mr. Scotty, >> yes. >> Mr. Ferraro, >> yes. >> Any old business to come before the board? >> Yes, Mr. President. >> I just have a short statement to make. Okay.
>> I I I was a bit upset at our last meeting, so I wanted to just clarify as to why. Um I I was a teacher for a long time and uh unfortunately during the time that I was I lost a few students and you never
really recover from that. So, um I just wanted to, you know, I I kind of got my thoughts together and I wanted to tell um everyone pretty much of of a um organization that's very very important. Um and it's an organization called the
Trevor Project. And this organization supports transgender and non-binary youth in this country. In the last several years, at least 19 states have passed anti-transgender laws aimed at young people. The Trevor Project documented how these laws negatively
impacted the transgender youth in those states from the timeline of 2018 to 2022. They took a sample of 60,000 young people across those 19 states and looked at their past year suicide attempts in each state before the laws were passed
and after they were passed. They found that the state's anti-transgender laws caused a 72% increase in the past year's suicide attempts amongst transgenders and non-binary youth. They found that there was a slight increase after the
laws were passed, but the biggest spikes of attempts happened two to three years after the laws were in place, especially for those who were 17 and younger. So these laws to protect these students are not just here to help them not be
discriminated against. They are also here to help these young people to understand that they are valuable members of our community and we support them wholeheartedly. Thank you, Mr. President. >> Any other old business to come before
the board? any new business to come before the board? >> Um, yes, Mr. President. I just wanted to make the board aware I attended um a session for high school students for uh Mr. uh Retto and also Mr. Williams held
um a session for parents that might be interested um in their students obtaining associates degrees at Bergen Community College. We had about 30 parents that were in attendance and it was very um interesting to see you know
the questions that they had and also the timeline. So I'm very excited that this might be offered to our students to be able to obtain associates degree even you know while they're also graduating high school. >> Okay. Any other new business?
>> Mr. Dia. >> Mr. President, I just want to um say that u Mr. Dvita and the administration, I think they're um they're being u modest in the amount of time that it took to put this um budget together this year to preserve as much as possible. Um
this uh as much we like to say as in in the presentation it showed or demonstrated that this began in December. The reality is it begins tomorrow. Uh the day after you vote for one budget, there's no rest for the weary. You are immediately moving on.
This was a very very very very tight budget and even though there's an increase in the uh the local contributions we are up against um what seemed to be insurmountable odds with what the state the funding formulas this
uh moving target in the middle of a dark room with adequacy. I I just have to stop and applaud the efforts of uh this the business office, the administration coming together, our teachers, our faculty, our staff, everybody. This is I
keep saying that these are this is what brings out the best of people. I know people are getting tired of hearing that and it and it is it's tiresome to have to say it year after year after year. Uh we have to uh remember who we are. We
are nutly and we don't turn on each other on these hard times. Turn to Trenton. Write to your legislators. Tell them enough is enough. Fix the funding formula. Stop picking on the communities
on a local level with unfunded mandates. rolling out more legislative garbage that falls in our laps that we nutley has to pay for. On top of worrying about our children and our community and
getting the best for our children and our students, the state rolls out ridiculous laws, ridiculous unfunded mandates or underfunded mandates as we like to say.
So when these times get harder and they will remember who can really fix this and it's down in Trenton. This administration did a wonderful job and will start in finance committee
literally our next meeting next for next year's budget. So, it's just something that has been on my mind and on my heart and I keep seeing the almost almost like a play at hand here. Fight each other, not the right people.
This is when we have to come together the most and the commissioners have helped us along move. This district has actually moved forward in the middle of crisis. It's commendable. It's something that others envy. They may not always
say it, but I know Miss Mus has said it. You don't see communities like this take action when we are consistently kicked down to the ground. We keep extending hands to pick each
other up and it really is the foundation of this community. So, as times get tougher, we need to get stronger and we need to come together and focus our attentions on the right advocacy.
Right to Trenton, right to the governor, right to your local representatives and tell them enough. Stop messing with our community. Stop messing with our children. Stop messing with our budgets. Control the spending. cap
these insurance costs that are absolutely devastating communities. Thank you. Thank you. Um any other new business?
Okay. Um, I want to add to that as well because, you know, this is something we've talked about now going on for a few months is that the costs that we're seeing with insurance, uh, special education, transportation,
um, utilities are costs that are beyond our control. Um, we're seeing 18% this year was an 18, Miss Makers, Mr. Dvita, right? 18% increase in health insurance. Uh last year we had a similar increase.
That's not sustainable. That is not something that this district is going to be able to overcome year after year. So as Mr. Dia said, we really need to reach out to our legislators. Uh the the system is broke. This the tren needs to get involved. This is not something that
the districts can fix locally. When when your health insurance goes up by $3.2 $2 million. I I really don't know where that money comes from that that you're able to adjust in your budget. You you have so much money you can bring in on the revenue side and your expenses
if they're increasing by that that amount, it's going to be more difficult every single year. So that is something that everyone needs to get a hold of their legislators. As Mr. Dia said it it's very important because we are going to be faced with the similar challenges
next year. Okay. Whereas the board of education will be discussing matters exempt from public discussion pursuant to NJSA 104-12. 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 a subsequent meeting of the board of education or when the reasons for discussing such matters in close session no longer exist. I get a motion to
adjourn into executive session. Okay. Thank you everyone. Have a good evening.