Order. Uh, this is a regular board meeting. A regular meeting of the board of education. Adequate notice of this meeting has been provided. Schedule of regular meetings of the board of education was adopted at the reorganization meeting in January 26. Uh, schedule and notice of said meetings
has been posted. Um, and uh, all the foregoing has been done uh, within the time required by law. Thank you. Uh, in accordance with the Open Public Meetings Act. Um, and a roll call for
attendance. >> Mrs. Dum. >> Oh, >> here. >> Mr. Dy >> here. >> Mr. Demarco >> here. >> Mr. Gther >> here. >> Mrs. Love here. Mrs. Marmian here. Mr. Taby
>> here. All stand for the pledge of allegiance. I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and
justice for all. All right, no executive session tonight, so we're going to move on to item three, our presentations for the evening. And we're going to kick it off with our Hawk Heroes and Mrs. Balden. Good evening everyone. We are um here
tonight to recognize our March Hawk heroes. And our March Hawk heroes were chosen because they are our most empathetic students. We have one from each grade level here tonight that we're going to recognize. This is the official part of it. So, you'll get your official certificate tonight, but the fun part
comes later when we get our pizza party and our t-shirts. So, stay tuned. So, let's start by calling up our kindergarten Hawk hero. And first of all, let's define what empathy means at Oakland School. We forgot to do that. So at OPS we do define empathy as the
ability to understand and share the feelings of others. Empathetic students actively listen, avoid judgment, show compassion, and recognize the feelings and perspectives of others. So come on up, Josephine Force. JOEY,
come on over here. Joey, come over. I'm gonna let you hold this. Congratulations. Is that the only way we're going to line you up? >> I know. Yep. We're going to do the line. >> We're starting. >> Youngest to oldest. We'll go. Okay. So,
Joey, this is what Joey's teacher wrote about her. Joey displays a genuine care and understanding for her classmates feelings. Her actions show true empathy when she notices a friend who is struggling, upset, or may feel left out. She offers compassion, encouragement, kind words, or strategies to help them
through their difficulties. Joey's compassion shines throughout school each day. We are so fortunate to have Joey in our classroom. She truly makes it a better place. Mrs. Seed and you could stay right there. Next up, Christa Joel.
Come on up, Christa. My purple. Come on over here, Christa. Come on over. We're gonna go kindergarten all the way through fifth. Christa, this is what your teacher wrote about you. Christa is a first grader
with a heart as big as her smile. She notices when someone in our class feels sad, even if they try to hide it. On multiple occasions, Christa has quietly offered a friend help when they needed it. During recess, she makes sure no one is left out of games, invites classmates
to join, and cheers them on. Christ's empathy shows in small actions every day, making our classroom a kinder and happier place. Mrs. G, good job. And our second grader, Nadia Valinski.
Nadia is incredibly caring, kind, and empathetic. She takes the time to get to know her classmates and always shows genuine interest when her friends are talking to her or telling her a story. She always tells her classmates that they are doing a great job. If a friend is having a hard time, Nadia is always
the first person to offer a helping hand or lend a listening ear. She has worked very hard to show true empathy towards others and she sets a great example for the rest of the class. Mrs. MCMENAN. Our third grade Hawk hero, Finley
Worester. Come on up, FINN. Finley is an incredibly empathetic third grader who always thinks about how others are feeling. She notices when a classmate is having a hard day and is quick to offer a kind word, a helping hand, or an invitation to join her. Finley listens carefully, shows genuine
care, and treats everyone with kindness and respect. Her compassion for others makes our classroom a warmer and more welcoming place for everyone. Miss Margro, our fourth grade Hawk hero, Spencer Lman. Spencer cares deeply about others. She
cares about the people she meets and her friends. She often shows empathy by listening carefully and showing kindness when her friends need someone. Spencer will also share her own experiences and thoughts to help her friends feel that they are not alone and that she truly
understands and has compassion for them. Mrs. CUMINS. And last but not least, our fifth grade Hawk hero. Come on up, Carson Platski. Yep. You're at the head of the class. How about that? Only took six years.
Carson demonstrates outstanding empathy and kindness towards others. He gets along with his classmates and often steps in as a peacemaker, helping to resolve conflicts with patience and understanding. He is also the first to congratulate people when they are up and offer help when they are feeling down.
Through his positive attitude and caring actions, he serves as an excellent role model for his peers every day. Mrs. HART. OKAY, congratulations Hawk Heroes. One big round of applause for our Hawk Heroes of March, our empathetic
students. And that's a wrap. You guys did it. YOU GOT YOUR FOOD. HEAD ON out for some pictures. I'm sure your families want some. Guys, >> now we're famous. >> Wait a second, guys. Flip this way and let
>> Hold on. >> Let's see. We're going to move you guys down. >> Carson, can you slide down a tiny bit just towards Oh, >> we'll get you down a little bit. Little bit. Little bit. Come on over. We're
getting you in there. Congratulations. >> Good job. Good job everybody. >> Congratulations. Get a picture with Nadia outside you guys back up. Where does this go? That way. That way.
Hey. You are in your own >> and then we were alone. >> Yes, we are not as important as our heroes. Um, we're going to have the uh budget highlights come up next. Before we do though, I wanted to go into committee the whole so that we can have it, you know, if anybody has questions or
comments for the budget. Yeah, we can just discuss it uh freely. So, uh do we have a motion to go into committee the whole? >> Some move. >> Second. Moved and seconded. >> All in favor? >> All in favor? >> Motion passes. And we will turn it over
to Dr. McDonald. >> Move this to the side so that The camera gets a straight shot of the of the screen. Okay. So, good evening everyone. Um thank you for those that are tuning in online uh and those who will tune in um
later after the meeting uh who were unable to be here and unable to see this live. So, thank you so much. Uh 2627 uh school year uh addressing our financial challenge. And so, in our preliminary budget, what you will hear
this evening is the uh projected uh revenues, the district priorities, the projected expenses, uh and then ultimately what is contained within the budget u to be submitted to the state
for state review. uh and then ultimately timeline for uh final approval which would not happen until the end of April. And so we'll go ahead and get started. Okay. Our budget um as with each year is uh directly aligned with the uh vision
and mission of our district. We're low tech this evening. Um, it is also aligned with the core values. And so the core values in our district are guiding principles that help to prioritize our policies, our practices, and our overall culture within our
school. Uh student success um is at the forefront of everything that we do. Uh equity and inclusion, making sure that young people get what they need and that all students feel like there's a place for them and that there's a place where they belong. And then ultimately, uh we are a team, but we're also a family. Um
and these are the core uh values that drive our work. Okay, this is gonna >> our school district priorities um we believe that if we are making meaningful progress um stay the course. And so from an administrative perspective, improving
the alignment of our uh administrative team, uh actively engage our community to make sure that we're addressing our infrastructure. Continue to identify uh additional opportunities for adequate school funding. Actively pursue additional
revenue streams in order to supplement uh student learning activities. And then ultimately um and really importantly is to commit to supporting and retaining our dedicated faculty and staff in the area of curriculum and instruction um to be able to begin implementation of our
uh English language arts uh program. This past year uh we had multiple teachers pilot different types of curriculum uh and weigh in and evaluate what will meet the needs of our students here in Oakland. And our goal will be to
begin implementation of a new uh ELA uh program for the 2627 school year. Expand our usage and utilization of our universal screeners. And so these are nationally normed assessments that help us evaluate are we moving in the right
direction? Are students making appropriate growth in both English language arts and math? and where do we fall within a a national um uh performance level of are our students making uh sufficient growth. Continued focus on data-driven instruction aligned
with our school uhwide goals and then ultimately making sure that we are uh operating consistently at the grade level as well as at the student level and then continued uh uh uh access of highquality early childhood education
for the families in Oakland. In order to understand the the the fiscal environment, um it would probably take a few years. Uh we are currently operating in an extremely challenging time as it relates to public education. Um the easiest two words to describe
that is chaos and uncertainty. Persistent inflation, rising operational costs that are unsustainable. Local uh budget gaps due to the impact of rising operational costs and inflation that is causing an undue
burden on local towns um and communities. The continued mental health crisis. Students need more support than what has historically been provided and those supports are rising in costs. Unfunded state mandates. The state
continues to provide list after list of additional things that we must do with no dollars attached to it and local communities are having to absorb more and more with little relief. Uh the elimination of federal programs and services as well as other opportunities
for federal funding. And then ultimately growing teacher shortages in specialty areas. And so when we think about um those rising costs uh just so that we are painting the appropriate picture for our conversation
this evening personnel over the last 5 years has increased by 23%. And that is just to maintain what we have. That is not adding new positions. That is maintaining our current uh uh staff. Health benefits for the 2627
school year alone increased by 20%. That has doubled uh over the last five years. Tuition we are projecting it to be relatively uh flat but over the last 5 years that has also increased by 22%.
Shared services for the 2627 school year we are projecting an increase of 5.25%. which includes preschool utilities. We're expecting or anticipating uh pre uh Middle Eastern conflict uh no
increase. Um we will need to go back and reassess whether or not there will be a direct impact on us. Uh but over the last 5 years, our utility costs have increased by 58%. Keeping in mind that the current uh state law only allows for what is a
maximum of a 2% increase, not to your complete budget, but a 2% increase to your local fair share, which ultimately translates to about 0.8% of an increase despite the rising cost of inflation significantly outpacing
that number. So what has been done so far to address these financial challenges? And so we are very fortunate to have very uh active and proactive community members and board members. Uh there have been letter campaigns in our community. Um
there have been uh policy institutes that have written uh technical uh reports. Uh they have published documentation in order to bring attention to this. They have also presented these documents and these uh research studies to the state for further review, further analysis, and
further uh advocacy. Uh Oakland is part of a Camden County uh collective called the New Jersey Fair Funding Collective. It's a regional collective of multiple districts in the area that are all advocating and fighting for the necessary change for fair student
funding and tax relief on local um residents. Uh we've had board members and community members participate in state public hearings advocating for change and advocating for uh equity and fairness for their communities. And then last
year, boldly, the state allowed um Oakland to participate in a one-time tax levy incentive program where we were provided an opportunity to uh uh come closer to closing some of those gaps
based on us not being adequately funded both at the state level and at the local level. Um and we were able to do that to offset some our challenges last year. Additional cost-saving measures is we
have been actively focused on external relationship management looking for outside funds, philanthropic support, grants, institutional support from businesses and other organizations. We are uh very fortunate to partner with
multiple organizations in Oakland that help to offset some of these challenges. Um these are all local residents doing good work to support its school and we are thankful for that. Um, but we need to continue to do more by going out and finding additional partners to help
support this work. We also actively participate in insurance joint ventures. This helps us to be able to provide uh uh insurance and benefits to our employees at a significantly reduced cost. You heard uh uh uh a slide before
that um our insurance costs are increasing by over 20%. The state healthcare plan is increasing 33%. Utilities, we also participate in an energy uh consortium to make sure that we're getting the best possible price on
our energy. We're also in a cooperative purchasing group to make sure that we are not overspending on instructional supplies and classroom resources. And then we also benefit greatly from the long-standing partnership of shared services between Comicswood and Oakland
to help reduce both districts overall administrative costs and being able to put money back into our classrooms and within our schools. Uh we also benefit from partnering with our bureau through our public works for trash removal. And then ultimately we believe that by
offering robust programming and providing highquality early childhood education that will not only help to ensure that we have better prepared students but it will also increase our enrollment because it becomes a destination uh place for our families to be able to bring their children. And it
also reduces the likelihood of needing to send our students out for private placement because we are unable to meet their academic needs. So, what is the status of our current funding sources? And so, I'm going to hand that over to our chief financial
officer, Miss Bethanne Coleman. >> All right, we're going to start this off um with our projected enrollment. We are up about 16 children, but you can see on the very first line um preschool. We applied for more children than we
were given. So when we did our enrollment projections and for the preschool program, we asked for more than 72 children because we have a waiting list. I'm guessing that the need and the request for preschool and pea
like new districts to join. There wasn't enough money. Same thing happened in Collingswood. So they actually uh they reduced us um for preschool. So we were able to balance the preschool budget, but the preschool budget's a little tight. I'm not going to lie. I wasn't expecting them to. Usually if you have a
waiting list and you want to add additional children, they they give it to you. Um they did not give it to Oakland or Collings with this year. Um again, we're up about um 16 kids overall, about 15 in your elementary school, about eight in the middle school
that you send to Collingswood, and you're down about four children that you send to the high school. All right. So, this is an overview of your revenue um fund balance, which in its simplest terms is basically savings money I didn't spend last year that I am
putting into next year's budget as a revenue line item. Uh it's $412,92 or 3.73% of your total revenue. Um local tax levy. Um, and I just want to
be clear, local tax levy is what we can raise the you can raise 2% by. And that's 66% of your total budget. So 66. So 66 cents on the dollar is what you can raise 2% on. Just so we're clear,
it's not 2% on the total. It's not 2% on 11 million, it's 2% on 7.3. So 7,36134 uh maintenance reserve withdrawal. I'm withdrawing $100,750 um at the end of each year when I'm audited. If I did generate surplus, um I
sit with the auditor and I tell them how much I would like to have for the budget for revenue and then we're allowed to set aside money for things like tuition if you have a tuition send to receive. You're going to have a tuition reserve, a maintenance reserve to maintain your building, and a capital reserve. So when
I withdraw from maintenance reserve, it has to be used for items in the budget identified as maintenance. Um, state aid 2,984 and $4. State aid is 28%. 28.3%. Um, miscellaneous, that's just basically
interest income and maybe some refunds, not a lot there, less than 7,000. And then rentals of the amount of money that um, you charge at Collingswood for the fact that we have some preschool classrooms in here. That's another example of shared services where um you're generating a little money from
your partnership with colleagues would. And if you learn better by looking at pictures, I know this is my husband. Here's a the same information which is in a graph. Um there you go. What everybody wants to
know. Um expenditures instruction is 81, sorry about that. 81% of your budget or $8.9 million. Student services, uh, a little over a million, but those two together come to 91% and those are direct services to
children. So, I'm going to pause there. 91% of the Oakland budget is direct services to children. Whether it's instruction in the classroom, child study, you know, like student services are those things like child study team, um nursing services, OTP, those things
that are not specific like teacher in a classroom. Um but it's still considered a student service. That's 91% of your budget. 6% of its facilities for maintaining your building because obviously things are going to happen. $649,166. And then administrative costs, you're at
3%. Um, at $428,237. And again, a year-over-year comparison. Uh, this screen shows the tax levy over the last 3 years. So 2425, you'll see 6,238,975. Last year we did go up considerably um
because we did participate in the tax levy incentive program. So, um 6,88970 and then this year $7.3 million. Um increase of $480,164. And you're going to say, Bethanne, that's way more than 2%. Yes, it is
because of the healthcare adjustment. Um this is one. So when we're doing our budget, I just want to explain to everybody there's certain categories and it fluctuates from year to year depending on the legislature, but there's certain categories that um you can exceed the 2% by. Um one of them is
enrollment. So if you're seeing a large increase in enrollment, it allows you to go above your 2%. It's not like the state's giving you more money for the fact that you have more children. You can increase your taxes because you have more children. In addition, same thing with health benefits. Um, in the software that I I use to develop the
budget, um, the state, uh, they use the state health benefits plan as as the model. Not a good model because it's it's a failing healthcare program at 30 plus%. But, um, they allow you to go up to the percentage that the state health benefit
plan is going up by to increase your budget by. So obviously we're not that bad at 33% but 20%. So um we did generate a healthcare adjustment and that's an automatic adjustment. Um so the extra money is raised go right to
the healthcare line in your budget and that equates to $320 a year on the average home in Oakland of $180,362 and it's uh just under $27 a month. $26.69 a month.
I did it again. Do you want me to keep going? Never mind. Okay. So, how did I balance this budget? Luckily, we did get an increase in state aid. Um, not sufficient enough, unfortunately, to balance our budget as we all know with the cost that I was just identifying.
So, your budget is balanced, but in that in this budget, it is a reduction of um one teaching position or one FTE as we call it. Um, we luckily Miss Balden when she presented her budget and I tell everybody it's it's my favorite presentation because I get a plan A, a
plan B, and a plan C for what she needs in the building and then I can choose accordingly. Unfortunately, this year I did have to go to plan C, which is not the best, but it's still it's coming from the building principal. Um, I'm assuming, you know, it's not the
greatest, but it's what it's what she needs to run her building. Um, so we're we're maintaining all existing programs. Um, updates to the K to5 ELA curriculum that Dr. McDow previously spoke of. Um, updates to the K to5 math progress
monitoring tool. Um, we're still going to have assemblies. We're still going to have parent programs, student recognition like Hawk Hero. Um, summer enrichment, classroom and technology updates are still in there, just not like a massive amount, but um filling instructional aid u positions with
qualified candidates. We really haven't had too much of a swing here in in Oakland. Um, and limitations to inclusion opportunities. Let me see. Doesn't want to I'm sorry. Can I ask a question about that slide?
>> Yeah. Go ahead. >> So it says it says anticipated reductions for 2627. Does that mean all those things under discretionary spending are reductions? Uh yes. So what we did well the ELA
curriculum is in there. What we did is um included in the comprehensive budget that Mrs. Balden submitted. She has supplies and needs and identified costs in pretty much every single one of those areas. So, we trimmed down. So, when she gave me her budget for all of these things, she had A, B, and C, like I said previously. So, our things in there,
they just been greatly trimmed back to fit within what we could spend. >> So, is the summer enrichment program happening but just reduced? Miss Balden saying no. >> Yeah. So there's no summer are but there are assemblies parent programs and
student recognition >> recognition >> student recognition not >> and can anybody say more about limitations to inclusion opportunities? >> Yes. And so right now, uh, we've been
going through the developmental process, uh, with the inclusion task force talking about, um, types of models to consider. And so when there are uh anticipated reductions and we're using the term anticipated because until we
actually get approved by the state um we're putting we're actually putting in a request very similar to what schools did until we actually have gone through our budget to make sure that what we've requested is what we can actually uh move forward with. And so when we say limitations
um the prevailing model that has been uh recommended in the past shifts us to moving towards a co-eing model. Um that particular uh structure would not be feasible given this financial
environment and so we'd be looking at other opportunities for inclusion that are separate and apart from a traditional co-eing model. And so when we say limitations, it would have to be budgetneutral opportunities that move us closer towards uh inclusion. And so
that's that's what we're referring to. There's multip there's multiple opportunities around inclusion. And so co co-eing um is just one of of of multiple uh and so we just wanted to note that originally we were trying to shift into being a more inclusive model,
but there are going to be limitations in our ability to be able to move forward based on the budget. So, will the current collaborative teaching that's happening here still happen? Like I think we do have some that they're shared or no >> push in. Okay. >> So, the goal was to move more toward the
co-eing model, but we'll keep the what we had the push in support. Okay. Sorry, another question. Last year's budget, there was a lot of talk about the learning acceleration teachers. Obviously,
you know, we no one likes what we're seeing as the first item here, but and not asking specifics, but is that can you say anything about the learning acceleration teacher? Is that still going to be a program? So the details
housed within this we would go over um uh uh after we've received the approval uh and then we would come back with with the board with recommendations to be discussed and so we wouldn't be able to to to speak on that specific position at this time.
>> Um I have a few questions. Uh the first one is uh for the maintenance reserve Beth and uh what's what's the remaining balance in it? >> I can tell you I will say it's getting slim. I know
colleagues would I depleted theirs last night. >> Yeah. Hold on. It's depleting it. But so it'll be zero. But my hope is come June I'll have money to put back in it.
>> We froze spending in both districts very early so that I could develop some more savings to put back in. >> Okay. And do we expect like with the balance being zero, do we expect like over the next few years that there's going to be um some maintenance issues
that have to be addressed that have to be put on hold? Um, no. I say with a question mark. So, the way it works is um there's a minimum amount of maintenance I believe is 4% of the value of a building. I have to do
every year regardless. So, in the fall, I present to the board um your comprehensive maintenance plan and I have to show Trenton the last 10 years of expenses and that I've spent a minimum amount of maintenance on your building. I'm proud to say Oakland
spells spends well among well excuse me I say that's wrong they spend much more than the state minimum. Um but what the maintenance reserve kind of is is kind of a a internal funding source to continue to fund that. Um I will still
budget for the maintenance. The issue is more on the revenue side right is what um but again I froze spending. I'm tracking at this point um my office is tracking our surplus balances in both Oakland and Collingswood to make sure that I have enough surplus to fund the
20 6 27 but no this 27 28 budget um and have money left over to put in reserve. >> Perfect. Thank you. >> No problem. And again it was it was you had a very large reserve so we have been drawing it down. I don't like using reserves as a crutch. Um, but I also,
you know, um, when we're talking about jobs, if we have it, I use it and I cross my fingers I have money to put back into it. >> Thank you. And then, uh, two more. Uh, for the grants, have have we applied for any grants and would those grants like apply to the upcoming school year?
>> Um, we haven't applied for any discretionary grants. Um the two uh grants that are in the budget are are entitlement grants are the ESA which is the title one and then the IDA. >> Okay. And then uh the last question is could I be sent um the public uh
enrollment information from like years prior to the three that were presented? >> Thank you. >> Yeah. Um just send me an email remind me and I'll send you the assess from the last however many years. >> Thank you. >> You're welcome. Since we're asking questions, could I ask a question about
you're talking about revenue and like the rental the rent that we or that we take in rental rates? Like I was just wondering do we have we explored other options for um bringing in more rental revenue? Do we rent out the fields or is that the town?
>> It's our fields but the town pretty much uses them 24/7. >> Okay. And they don't and they don't pay for that or >> it some groups pay, some don't. >> Okay. >> It's kind of um it depends. We have different categories of people who can rent our facility, but if it's it's for the children of the town and in a school
affiliated program, then we typically don't charge. An outside group, I would charge. >> Okay. And I wasn't sure if with um Garfield closing whether there was room in this building and whether that would be an option for both keeping classroom sizes low and callings would and
potentially getting more, you know, rental space used here if we have room. Is that something we were going to explore? Um and then whether we would explore raising rates for those out of town usages of the building as a way to save some of these um especially things
like you know a steam camp or whatever. Um just just a question about that and you all are great ideas. Um Garfield is still kind of fresh. I think we're still working through that on an administrative level. Um Meredith is here so obviously we'll take it back and
we'll talk about looking for an answer tonight. Just putting if if it's a path we could explore. >> It's been a long-term partnership calling in Oakland. So, anything is on the table. I know we looked at initially we had vacant space. Um
the easiest was to rent to another school, right? Um just because we operate, we have the same bell schedule. We don't want strangers coming in and out and the whole sign in and everything. So, um I I know right now the building is pretty much used up. Um
as far as space, um with our classrooms being in here, I don't think there's a lot of spare space to be rented out. But, um we can look at our we can look at our fees though what we do charge. It's not a lot. Like that number I had up there of those like $6,900 some dollars, maybe a couple thousand of
that. It's not it's not a lot cuz most of our groups are like, you know, little league and soccer and things like that. So, I have one more question. Um, for the health care plan. >> Yes. >> Um, this is just like an idea and I'm not sure if it's reasonable or if it's
because I saw um and I understand this is different because we're a school district, but I know some municipalities who have been um experiencing rising healthcare costs. What they've been doing. I know for example like Jersey City uh the mayor there changed the health care plan and it gives the
employees of the municipality the same health care benefits but at a cheaper cost with a different provider. Um is that something like a school district like Oakland could explore like exploring other health care plans because I know we're in that fund.
>> Yes. So we're in the Brown and Brown employee trust which is like another co-op. It's kind of like the shift. Um, when I marketed I've it's a two or three-pronged answer. When I marketed Oakland originally as
such a small group, um, I couldn't get Oakland into the shift. Um, I didn't want to put Oakland in the state employee health benefits plan. Obviously, it's where Trent wants everybody to go and I'm glad I didn't do that. Um, so the Brown and Brown um, was
at the time our only alternative. Um, and knock on wood, they've been pretty good as far as prices. As far as what we offer and uh the plan offerings and the different things that might bring the cost down, all that would have to be negotiated because there is a clause and you're
nodding. Whatever we um offer our employees in the bargaining units has to be equal to or better than what they currently have. So, they would have to agree to benefit changes um and that would have to be negotiated at the table. Yes. >> So, what's included in this budget is
kind of a continuation of what we currently have because obviously we're negotiating currently. >> But >> again, I I think going in speaking to your point in the future, I know when I sit on the shift meetings, um they are talking some plan design specifically
with regards to the GLP1 drugs that are causing the rates to go so high that they're looking at some plan design changes to help kind of mitigate some of these high costs. Um, but I can imagine it's not going to go over very well with
a lot of uh bargaining units. I think um I think Morristown might be going through it or somebody's going through it right now and they're seeing how it how it fleshes out. Um, but I think once we start seeing some plan designs, you'll start seeing more districts hop on. >> Sounds good. So, but like would we be able to maybe in the future like try to
bargain with another healthcare provider than our current one? Okay. >> Yeah. like if the board if I if we felt that um cuz usually I get a report every few years to make sure that not only are we at market but we're below market. If it looks like we're trending the other way then I would put an RFP out on the
street but recent history like we've been we've been very lucky that we're actually going in the other direction. Um but yeah. >> Okay. And then last >> Yeah. No, you always have the option to to market it and kind of see what's out there. But yeah, >> and then last thing I I promise this is the last thing I don't want you to do
it. That's okay. Could we possibly try to develop a plan or strategy for the next two to three years when it comes to rising healthcare costs so we can see what it's going to look like so we don't just get hit with it and then it's like what do we do now?
>> I would love that. Um no I would love that. I would like Yeah. Um I just got an email today from Trenton that the state health benefits plan is it's not only bad. They're saying that it's probably going to be in a deficit by the end of 2026. So,
they're expecting in the next year another year of double digits and probably even higher digits than they currently are now. So, um yeah, we can totally think about it. I um No, yeah, I think it's a great idea. I just think we're all kind of struggling
how to how to combat the just astronomical rising cost of healthcare. I know Trenton is combating, you know, they when the state health benefits plan came out with um their announcement today. Um I know Trenton's going to have
some work to do on that one. >> Any other questions? >> This is going to continue though, right? This this discussion continues or >> No, I wasn't sure if this is the end of the presentation or for more for the presentation. I do have a couple other questions, but there >> I think this is the end. Let me just see
what slide is next. I think it's Oh, just my timeline. Yes. >> Um, it's got to be due by I have to submit by Friday um to the county office. So, you know, we'll approve the preliminary budget for submission tonight. I'll submit it two days ahead of schedule. Um, public hearings on
April 30th. And then usually after we have our public hearing, my budget's already built in my local budget software. I'll roll the budget and I I call what I I call it opening it up for the administrators. They can start um their summer planning. Um but that's kind of
what's going to happen over the next 6 to 8 weeks and then that's it. All right. So, I just wanted to say first of all that I think it's great that our little town is growing, that our enolments are growing, that our kids are going to the middle school and high school and are staying there. I think that's something that we can be proud of that we're staying true
to our roots here. Um, and you know, all these things that you're acknowledged, I think sitting on my own district's meetings, like nothing is untrue in terms of the state of affairs. Um, and I wasn't sure if we wanted to like revisit that letter writing. I wasn't sure when
the last time we encouraged the town to submit letters and whether we wanted to bring that out as part of our meeting when we do um our town hall, but also if we to spread it out through our next newsletter. We uh we met with our um communications liaison this morning um
and I asked for her to uh update all of that um and we we will be sending out uh we'll be asking our community to join us. Um it's going to take uh a ground swell across the state demanding change
at the state level. And so in our in our in little districts like ours, we've done everything that we can do, everything we've been asked to do, and it's still not enough. And so without there being state level advocacy and law change, um districts like ours are going
to continue to be hit. Local communities are going to continue to be burdened. And so, uh, we're updating those materials now and we're going to be sending out, uh, information either later this week or beginning of next, asking our community to join us in reaching out to our state legislators,
letter campaigns, going to, uh, public meetings in Trenton and holding our lawmakers accountable for actually addressing this and not allowing politics to continue to delay. Last year, they told us because it was an election, they were going to put a fork in it. This year they're telling us new
administration, they need more time. And so every year it's a different excuse. Our kids don't have time to wait. >> And I think it's it's such an irony that they'll say we're overfunded and yet every district scrambling to just pay for the basics for their district. Um I
know some concerns raised at the the callings um meeting and I think it's you know important to us because we send our kids there just in terms of once decisions are made for how the budget cuts are because much more significant over there are going to impact that
building is that going to is that information going to go to the Oakland families as well. Okay, great. Because I think it's it's going to be a significant impact. And then just, you know, I know there was talk of, you know, maybe looking at referendums, but which would only impact the 2728 year, which could be something that we
obviously can't I don't know if we can do that in Oakland or if it would just be something that Collingswood could do to find a way to further fund that situation. Um, or philanth more philanthropic um options as well. So, I just feel like we're going to have to, you know, this chaos and uncertainty,
desperate times call for really creative solutions and um be great if we could save some save some teachers and save some programs. Um and on that last note, um just exploring option two possibilities for our kids. um whether it's expanding our our dual credit
programs which I think we do a nice job of over in Collingswood expanding expanding opportunities for computer science or some of the other programs we're seeing cuts in exploring some of the I think there's a code high school code HS that has some uh programming like AP classes even that seem pretty
affordable so just to make sure that our students that we send to callings are still going to have the opportunity for um creative programming >> and just to follow up Um today there's a meeting there was a meeting for um fair
funding collective that I sat in on. Um there was a lot of discussion because suburban towns are now getting overt taxed. Um and we're trying to come up with talking points to bring to to the lawmakers obviously and we were as a
group even kind of circling cuz everything comes back to the easiest thing is just tax if we're allowed to but then you know you're taxing people out of their homes. Um, but it's I said this last night, we have we have an expenditure problem uh right
now in the state of New Jersey. Our costs are just astronomical and the way kind of like a snowball goes downhill. Everything rolls on top of a school district, right? Um Trenton pretty much makes us responsible for just about
everything, right? Um we can build for everything and it's always at the highest um highest mark. Uh case in point, we spoke about just the rising cost of out of district tuition and that those institutions are not they're not capped. Like we're capped, but it's the
same tax dollars, right, that pay for them. They're not capped. Like what are they doing about that? Uh transportation costs, you know, we all thought postco when they went up when everybody settled they were going to go back down and they never did. Who's holding the bus contractors accountable? Certainly not state government. I mean, I could go on,
but we have and then look at healthcare. I mean 20 30% increases and it's going to continue to increase. So the issue we're having it we're having a revenue problem but it's only compounded by the fact that our expenses are just not only outpacing our ability to generate
revenue locally but it's like by like four or five times the rate of my ability to generate revenue. Um, so the group was just kind of struggling with like talking points to bring to lawmakers that won't have them shut down, like you know what I mean? They don't, you know, the the
governor was very clear she doesn't want to raise taxes. But, um, then we need solutions. They just can't keep passing these costs on to to school districts because it's getting harder and harder. Um, and I said this last night also in Collingswood, you know, we're morally and statutoily obligated to provide the
services that come here. you know, that they'll wind up here and and um when there's costs that are not attributed to anything we've done, but they're just getting passed on to us. And um it's unfortunate, but that's kind of some of
the focus has to be at that at at the state level. Um but I just, you know, I as it came up also last night and Colleen said, you know, about, you know, you need to plan you need you need to plan longer than just one year. And I would love to I've got revenue projections I can show people, but I can
throw them away because they mean nothing, you know, cuz the instability in our spending patterns in the state of New Jersey right now makes it really hard to plan beyond one budget year. And Jen knows cuz I say it every time I I pass the budget and I pray between June and September, you know, that nothing,
you know, crazy happens that, you know, um my budget's not in jeopardy and we can provide what what we've budgeted for. Um, so that's my little soap box, but again, any idea I said I'll take any and all ideas, I bring them back to the group. Um, but just acknowledging that um, we we have an issue in New Jersey
and they have to stop passing all these costs on to school districts and at and at a markup that we can't afford >> unfunded mandates, right? I lied when I said I had that was my last thing. I do have one second last thing and that was um, just the school choice. Um, I did a little bit of research on that and I think Oakland and this, you know, this
is all new to me, but maybe we have two only two seats extra, I think, for school choice. I wasn't sure what Collingswood would had. And I know that this Collingswood school board talked about one of the things they want to start strategically planning for is like how can we recruit and retain students in that middle school to high school transition. So, I wasn't sure if that
was a thing we could, you know, it's not >> the state caps you on in school choice, too. So, um, both districts applied for school choice around the same time. Oakland's capped at eight kids. I don't know why. We've got the seats. Let's fill them. I don't know why. And Collingswood's capped at I think I want
to say 36. And Collingswood always has a waiting list and they won't let me increase it. So, we've got the willingness of other towns to send children to our two districts for the outstanding programming that's being provided and I can't accept them. >> So, maybe that's added to our letter that we're sending to the
>> Yeah, it makes no sense if I've got the seats and it why not? Um but yeah, so >> um like Stacey, I I lied. I have one more >> one more. Um so last night I was
watching and that's when I learned about um the high school's um computer science program being cut. Um going forward in the future, could this board possibly receive updates about what's going to be cut in the high school and middle school
that impacts Oakland students? cuz yeah, I learned about that last night from the public meeting. >> So, I want to I want to make sure we're providing clarity. And so, um the program wasn't cut last night. The program wasn't offered this year. And
so, the program stopped functioning last year um due to the fact that there were 12 students um actually enrolled in the program and the teacher left in the middle of the school year. Um I I think that the challenge that we continue to
have is that our high school, it's an extremely small high school. Um and historically we have overprogrammed for our high school. The budget inflation, the operational
cost just it's no longer sustainable. Um it was great when the resources were there. making sure that your kids have multiple types of choices. That's that's a district's dream. We're no longer in that same financial space. And so what
we tasked the administration at the high school to do is to analyze and assess what their students uh needed, what they wanted, what they desired. They participated in the course request process. And then based on the resources
that were available, the school had to determine what they wanted to offer and what they didn't want to offer based on those resources. Um, and computer science based on enrollment was not one of the options that they wanted uh to remain. They decided to keep other
programs that had much higher levels of enrollment because they had to do some trade-offs. And so what we shared last year, this time last year, because the same conversation came up about the business education program. And what we shared with students and with the
community was that uh students had to uh exercise their wants with their requests. And as a result, uh a 100 students signed up for the business education program. And what we see is the business education program is is continuing to be offered based on the
the number of students that have applied. And so we're not saying that computer science is going away forever. What we are saying is is that the the um programming uh we still have the curriculum uh but we didn't have the
students available to be able to actually fill that and offer everything else that we offer. And then with the funding, um, we're talking about significant reductions to staffing, um, in order to be able to maintain the integrity of the programs where students
are actually seated in. And so um, the goal will be every every year to assess and evaluate what students need, what they desire, what they want, and then try to make sure that those are the things that we're offering. But there are going to continually be some some
trade-offs. And it goes back to that cyclical conversation about the resources just aren't available given the way that the state is currently funding its schools. Um, add insult to injury locally. And so this is not uh
Oakland's problem to deal with, but I just want to make sure that we're all being clear. The local fair share in Collinswood is $4.6 6 million per year short. Which means that um with our budget deficit being 3.3 million, if we were
being fully funded locally, we would have no deficit. We would actually have surplus each and every year. There is currently no legal mechanism for us to be able to collect that gap of what the state is saying is the local fair share.
And so when we talk about the advocacy, every single district is going to need advocacy, but every single district is negatively impacted differently. And so I think that it's going to take all of us coming together and pushing for the types of change and the flexibility
needed for each school district to be able to navigate a very challenging financial environment based on their own specific needs. But in Collingswood, we have a very different problem than what we have here in Oakland. >> Uh thank you. Uh could we but could the board just like possibly um be sent like
maybe like the courses that are going to be like excluded from the middle and high school that are going to impact Oakland students or no? >> So the program of study is approved every single year. Um um it's it's live.
It's it's on the it's on the district website. Um we can send you a a copy of the of of the 2627 program of study. Um, and then we can also send you a a copy of the 2526. Thank you. >> So, we can do that. >> And then just following up on what you
were talking about, um, I thought in terms of the public comments, somebody like one of the people came up and was and said that they completely understand they went to a big school like Shaunie. They had this robust program. It's we just can't offer those kind of things. Hadenfield does not have a TV production
program. Collingswood does. um that's kind of further you know pushes our need for that larger regionalization discussion. Uh but there was also talk of there just seemed to be some discrepancy between what like I had two questions. When you say they chose to
get rid of computer science, who was the they? And could you speak to the the discrepancy between what the counselors were saying was the enrollment or the weight list in computer science and how how there seems to have been a
disconnect between how the kids were expressing desire, how they had weight lists for computer science and you know maybe it wasn't this just it wasn't enough for to to balance out some other programs. So there's a big difference between course
request and actual uh pro programming. >> And so every every year, every school is tasked with the with the same uh responsibility. Uh request what you need and we input all of that into the budget
system. It gives us a total value based on what's being requested. And then we we wait we then we wait for state and local funding to come in so that we can appropriately assess where we are. And then we go back to each individual school and ask for them to make
adjustments based on those uh uh uh numbers. And so no different than what we asked uh Miss Balden and Miss Soloway to do which is to assess their needs, identify what your needs are. Um, in Oakland, our
leaders, they take it a step further. They do a uh good, better, best because they understand because we've had numerous conversations about the fluctuations and the and the volatility of the budget. And so they give us what
is an absolute necessity to be able to move forward and meet the needs of students. They give us that next level which is with appropriate funding, this is how we would invest those dollars. And then they add that third level is that if we for some reason
get uh additional funds, um these are areas that would also be helpful in order to maximize the learning experience for our students. And so the high the middle school and the high school is no different. And so when given the opportunity of weighing all of the programs that they offer and don't
offer, um the local administration, they make decisions on which programs stay, which programs go based on data collected from the course request process. So what the counsest every single year in October and November, we go to the head of the
counseling department and get an enrollment report. And so we plan for certain things, but you know, it starts as a plan in September, but by November, late October, November, that's really where your budget starts to manifest and you really get into a swing of things by
the end of the the first marking period. And what we found was that there were discrepancies in what we thought we were going to offer and where students actually landed. And so when we start programming for the budget or start planning for the budget, we take where
students actually ended up, we go back to our our schools and say you plan for this. This is not where students are. That needs to be reflected within your budget request that they don't submit to us until December. And so based on the uh anticipated reductions last year,
there were decisions that they made about programs that they wanted to keep and programs that if they needed to be reductions, those were the ones that would be reduced because they weren't actual uh what we call rear ends and seats. Whereas there were other places that were overs subscribed. And so for
example, two years ago, we had an overabundance of students that were requesting uh art. Um, we brought in a part-time art teacher that has since been made full-time because we were overs subscribed in the areas of art. We have a robust music program. Schools of
our size do not have the types of performing arts programs that we have. They don't have television uh or production programs and film studios like we have. They don't have uh engineering programs. And so, we've got a lot of really good programs, but we're
still a teenytiny school and we can't offer everything. Would you say that that staffing a computer science program is that a position that is hard to fill? Like are there a lot of applicants for that type of job or No, >> we originally posted for the position. It was difficult to fill. Um the
individual u that replaced the exiting teacher, had a PhD in the area, uh left us to go to higher ed, wanted to teach at the college level. Um and we were unable to fill the position. It was also undersubscribed. And so that was one of
the reductions that um administration made in order to save in other areas. So >> can I go back to the advocacy stuff that we were talking about with the uh fair funding collective? I know Teresa's talked a lot about this and I know you've been going to the meetings
Bethanne and you were talking about the talking points and obviously the districts have different needs. Who's spearheading or like who's going to Trenton? You know what I mean? like I know that this organization exists and and you know you might be informing like
this is what Oakland's needs are and this is also what Collinswood's needs are but in terms of actually going and advocating and talking to legislators like what is that process looking like because it sounds like at the local level we're doing everything we possibly
can right like we're talking about right now a computer programming class right like it's like we can't get any more bare bones like we're doing the best that we can so that just leads me to think like what does that look like and what process does that look like and what part can we play to to be a part of
that? Not just the conversations but the actual like hey this is what we're facing in all these small communities. Um let's look at the 2% like what what does that process look like? >> Um could I piggy back? >> Sorry just because it'll probably affect
how you answer. I was also hoping that we could formalize how our board works in this. Like maybe we're making our committee meetings more than 30 minutes. I'm going to strongly suggest that because we're always looking at what to Aiden's point, what's right in front of
us. And I think we need to talk about formalizing. I mean, you've got somebody who works in fundraising. You've got I mean, we've never talked about grant opportunities, corporate sponsors, things like that. There's talent at this table. This is our responsibility. So, I
completely agree with you and I'd like to see a more formalized time to have these discussions. Would that be a Could we have I don't know how you would do it. Could you join like join with callingswood and have like a join or it would have to be us only to
have that discussion? >> I mean, I think if we start here and we add I don't know. I mean, I'm spitballing. So, but if we add this as a a standing agenda item for all of our committee meetings and we're saying what what's what's the latest, you know,
what's the next time the New Jersey Fair Fund funding collective is meeting? Is there something happening in Trenton? Because we're all I mean, what we we don't get paid big bucks for these jobs and we all have a million other jobs. You do, but um you know, we've got kids, responsibilities, school, you know, what
have you. Um, I just would like to see I feel like things don't get done unless we actually have them have it on an agenda and we're actually staring it in the face. And just to piggyback off Theres, if I may, I mean, just in the work that
I do in nonprofit, there's just so many foundations and we should be looking at other sources of revenue. Like when we talk about, you know, the title like the money that's coming from the feds and the loss of this wellness is that like that's an administrative budget item that they just slashed, right? So like how can we be more creative in looking
for other resources to perhaps fund curriculum or you know a piece of the budget even if it's peace meal it's better I saw an article like a California town faced like a $3 billion deficit and they did this very huge fundraising push that
was really very tangible like this much money will save a teacher this much money will fund the STEM you know the camp and they met their goal now you know Collings was demographic I feel is changing there's some people who still are going to struggle with any sort of referendum tax raise, but there are some people that might have money to donate.
So like have using your expertise, you know, and thinking about how can, you know, if the community wants certain things, how could they help fund it? Just even if it's a stop gap until we can get this state reform because ideally that's what ultimately needs to happen. But what do we do between now
and then is kind of the question. >> Sorry. And just to I'm going try to remember the question. So um we got an email I guess those who joined originally. I think we all get an email from Kelly Hankle, the board president in Hatton Township. She's the the the spearheader
of of this group. Um she has to try and she went last year. I believe she's scheduled to go this year and testify, which is I think why like we were kind of meeting and trying to come up with like things that we could bring. Um but anybody could sign up and go. I think she did send an email out with a link.
>> Did she testify this week? >> Doing the hearings today and tomorrow. I think she's going tomorrow. >> Um but um she does go regularly. But again, anybody um can sign up um and go and um whenever I do see that link from Kelly, I can send it to the board. I
think last year Trace you went, right? Who went? >> Who went? Oh, Denise went somebody from Roger from Collings. He went from >> the last time you said somebody. >> It was Denise. Denise and Jimmy went last time and um Roger Chu went from
Collingswood last time. So and Sarah Sherman. So we did have board members participate um in that. But at least right in our little group um Kelly the board president and Haden Township is like spearheading that. >> Yeah. The more voices the better. Sometimes I feel
>> on a statewide level. South Jersey gets kind of like forgotten. >> They have a delegation from the >> Okay. Because I think when you do testifying like today like we're doing it at work. So today was the assembly. I think tomorrow's the Senate. They only give you a brief amount of time. But I
don't mean just testifying because you're sitting there with 70 other people, 80 other people giving your two-minute spiel, but like how are you know, are people going to talk to legislators and saying, "Hey, this is what's going on." Not just the two-minute spiel that
I'm going to read on a Zoom as my test. Like, and that's important, too, because it's the budget, right? Like they're they're going to do what they're going to do. But I'm just is there a concerted effort in that regard that you guys are aware of? >> Yes. Um at today's meeting, Kelly was saying she's trying to get um a group
together to again we spoke with Lou Greenwald two Fridays ago. Um Rich was there. Um he wants a smaller group again because we were a large group. Um a smaller group to come to his office. So Kelly is trying to come up with a some
dates um to meet with Flu Greenbald's office. Um, and then in the meantime, um, I guess they redistrict redistricted. Is that a word? Redistricted. Who are assembly people? Are you nodding? So, we Collingswood and Oakland
used to always have Lou Greenwald. Now, Oakland has Lou Greenwald. Collingswood has Spearman and Oh, there's a third one. >> Has a lady. >> No, Lampett's not the county clerk.
>> Kain. No. >> Anyway, we have we have three different people in Collingswood. So, the >> Wilson >> Nelson. So, the chief of staff for for that group has reached out to me um and um asked if I would, you know, we'd be
willing to meet with them. So, of course, I said yes. Um they said they were going to check calendars and get back. But yeah, any opportunity I I have to get in front of somebody and and speak plainly about how their decisions are affecting us, I absolutely do it. Um but yeah, um again, we had one with Luke
Greenwald. There's at least another one being scheduled and I don't have a date for the other one, but when I do, I I'll find out how many people um they will let me bring. >> Can we have bring just bring letters for anybody? >> I mean, yeah. So,
okay. I know it's >> I know. >> I know. >> Um just a quick point. Uh as Bethanne mentioned, we were able to meet with uh Assemblyman Greenwald a couple weeks ago. Um it was a lengthy meeting, so you
know, just shy of three hours. Uh he was late for his next appointment as a result, but uh He was You're right. Yeah. Uh, you know, I just can't stress enough uh for for the community too to to be involved. Look for uh information that
Dr. McDall mentioned that'll be coming out. Um, if you go to uh NJFC.org is the website um for the New Jersey Fairfunding Collective um where all the information is regularly posted. Um despite the length of the meeting, there
were really just two main takeaways for me. um that that I gleaned from from what uh from what was shared. One one being uh you know they're really looking to put all their eggs in the consolidation
basket. Um the we we you know we've had some discussions about this as a board. The way the current process would work um there's not a whole lot for Oakland to be in gained. We talked about that uh
last month. Um that said, you know, they're they're more than willing to throw out the rule book and yeah, you know, look at consolidation through through a different lens. Um but that said, that's not a short game. That's that's the long game. So it's it'll
easily be a decade before that would even gain any traction in in my opinion. Um you know, uh so that that's kind of where they're putting their eggs. um you know you do express >> and they also need to I don't mean interact but as my father says stop
talking while I'm interrupting um the um they need to and I expressed this to uh Assemblyman Greenwald is they want to do it but they don't make it easy for us I think was my comment and it was not so much with the
consolidation but the the regionalization studies he wasn't even aware that an application had come out from the Department of Community Affairs. And I said, "Well, it came out at the end of January and it was due April 15th. Like, do you know what's going on in schools between
February 1st and April 15th? Like, we're trying to do our budgets and it's a lot of paperwork. You know, I got to get a bunch of boards together. We got to talk and we got to vote. We got to plan. We got to get a feasibility study." Like, that's not happening in 3 months. Um, so I had mentioned I commented like, you
know, you need to work with us and make it work with our timeline. Like if you want us to do something this, the application has to come out at least a year in advance because it's a lot of people and I have to advertise meetings. It's just throwing an application out on the street. It's it that doesn't really work. You have to like it has to work
within our timeline just like you know our fiscal years don't line up. I mean wouldn't it be nice if we all just operated under the same same premises? Um, so I didn't mean to interrupt, but you know, um, that seems to be a lot of the hangup is, you know, they want to do stuff, but it was almost like put your
money where your mouth is, work with us, come up with an application and a timeline that actually works for school districts, and you'll get more people to at least participate in a study. But, um, but anyway, I digress. Go ahead. I'm sorry. Uh yeah, the only other uh piece uh as I
said that regionalization is is the would be the long game I guess as far as the state's concerned. Uh and admittedly, Assemblyman Greenwald had no short-term plan. Um so I think that's why it's so important for us to be
involved. Um and and kind of keep the pressure on. Um you know, I will say that the document you put together that it was really good. It was concise, it was specific. Um, so hopefully that, you know, more more movement like that will
help to gain some traction. Um, and on that note, uh, we have our, uh, one last announcement, then we'll close out committee the hall, I guess. Uh, our community roundts are coming up. Um, March 31st will be our next one for
community relations and policy committee. So, we'd like to invite everybody out to the senior center um for a roundt. Um I'm sure this budget and funding would play into that as well in terms of community relations and how we spread the word. Um and then our
curriculum um and instruction uh round table will be May 18th. So, just a little infomercial for that. Um any other points for committee the whole? All right. Motion to close. >> So moved.
>> Seconded. >> Moved and seconded. All in favor? >> I. >> All right. >> Uh moving on to item five. We have our future dates. Coming up on April 3rd. Um we have uh
spring break or 3rd through the 10th coming up right around the corner. April 12th, uh, in honor of my birthday is the Oakland PTA Phillies game. April 14th, the PTA meeting. Uh, uh, that is the, uh, in the library. Um,
April 17th is the PTA family fund night and April 30th is our next board meeting. Uh, moving on to item six. Um, we have approval of our minutes. um from
February 19th. Do we have a motion? >> Second. >> Moved and seconded. All in favor? >> Motion passes. Uh moving on to item seven. This is our first public comment section of the evening. Um committees reminded to
please stand, state your name and address, keep comments to five minutes or less. Uh the purpose for this first uh public comment section is to discuss items listed on the agenda. Additional more general comments will be made later in the meeting. Um the public's reminded that any attempts or uh attempts to
resolve all concerns and complaints should first go through the appropriate staff or administrators. Do we have any public comment? No public comment. All right. >> Okay. Moving on to item eight, the superintendent report. Dr. McDow.
>> So, good evening again. Um, just wanted to um just congratulate again our Hawk heroes u for this month uh being celebrated for empathy. Uh we'll be sending out uh kudos to our our our
wonderful students later this week. Uh section 8.01 is the enrollment report. uh February 2025 enrollment was 270. February 2026 is 273 and that is attached. 8.02 and 8.03 is the safety
drill and suspension report also attached. Just have a few uh uh uh comments or announcements uh that we wanted to share. Um included uh tonight uh in this um
meeting will be uh discussion that you will hear um about the academic calendar. Um and so just wanted to make sure that as a reminder uh the graduation ceremony for the class of 2026 uh will remain on Thursday, June
18th with project graduation uh to follow. We wanted to limit the disruption to families who have already been very active in planning and travel. Uh even though the last day of school will be slightly modified. Uh we did not want to disrupt uh senior activities or
the graduation ceremony for families. Um we'd like to um acknowledge uh ReadAcross America week. So last week our students had a wonderful time celebrating their ReadAcross America. They enjoyed listening to a variety of
engaging stories by guest readers. We would like to extend our sincere thanks to our senior leaders uh who took the time to come and visit and read to our students. We'd also like to thank our PTA for sponsoring a readathon this month and rewards will be uh provided later this month based on the home room
classes that have read the most. And so our senior leaders, specifically our Oakland senior leaders, they had to go through a rigorous interview and application process. And so the senior leaders is a program for uh the best and brightest on campus to demonstrate
campus leadership. Um each of our senior leaders, they also participate in uh passion projects, something to be able to help either their school or their local communities. And so we're extremely proud of what our senior leaders do. It's about 25 young people um between Collegewood Oakland and
Woodland. And they're doing some really amazing things this year. And so we wanted to acknowledge and thank them for that. Uh last week uh we also celebrated uh neurodiversity. Um this is our fourth annual district-wide celebration of brain differences that provided us
opportunities to not only discuss uh uh different minds uh but also disabilities in a strength-based uh inclusive manner. And so we are proud of the continual progress of our district over the last several years that they've made in
inclusive practices. and we appreciate uh our community support as we celebrate the the the diverse minds within our community. And so ultimately the goals of neurodeiversity celebration week are to increase awareness about brain differences in schools in the community, share information about the different
neurotypes such as autism, ADHD, OCD, dyslexia, and so forth, but in an assetbased or strength-based way. learn how we can support and accommodate students with differences within our communities and then ultimately celebrate uh as being part of a world
that values um all of the different minds. And so schools were provided uh by grade level were were provided daily themes and classroom activities where they took time in order to not only learn something new but also have meaningful discussion about how we're
going to support and celebrate each other. And so we would just like to publicly thank the uh Collinswood and Oakland CPAG as well as our special services team for their continued leadership in this area. We'd be remissed in uh also not acknowledging that in Collinswood and
Oakland um and Woodland we have extremely talented uh student performers. This past weekend they uh performed Mamma Mia. It was a phenomenal display of of artistic uh uh expertise
of camaraderie and so we just would like to congratulate uh the casts of MMA Mia and thank them publicly for another outstanding season of performances. And then finally uh we just wanted to give a a continued plug to our uh
Panther Pantry. This is led by students uh and staff at our middle school campus. And so the mission of the food pantry is to provide individual students and families in Collingswood, Oakland, and Woodland with supplemental nutritional uh support supplies in a
welcoming, cheerful, confidential, and non-judgmental manner. And so we support this mission through generous donations from teachers and staff and community members. You can donate non-p perishable items or hygiene products um here in Oakland or um at the police department.
uh throughout the year um and also uh at uh Collingswood Board of Education meetings uh in the high school cafeteria. And so um uh we'll be sending out the contact information for uh Miss Nisser uh to continue providing support
and all of the proceeds go directly to families in need. And that concludes my report. Thank you. >> Thank you, Dr. McDow. Uh moving on to item uh nine, we have our business administrator board secretary report. >> Okay. Uh item 9.01 is a listing of your
February 2026 uh budget transfers. 9.02 is your board secretary treasures report. 9.03 is a listing of their purchase orders for the month of March. 9.04 um is listing of the warrants to be paid tomorrow morning pending approval
tonight. Would you like me to keep going into section 10? I know you're a chairperson. I can keep going. >> Okay. Um items 10.01 through 10.06 are those items that I just mentioned. Basically, your financial statements and
your bills. 10.07 um is the approval of the su of the um the budget submission to the Camden County Office of Education for review and approval. 10.08 08 um is approving your preschool budget submission to the
New Jersey Department of Education Office of Early Childhood for review and approval. Uh this next item is uh a resolution declaring our locations for our public notices. There's been a change in state law. Um, we now have to have uh
hyperlinks on our website to announce all of our uh resolutions and board meeting dates and anything important. Um, uh, we also have to link our hyperlink to our school district website to a state site. Um, so it's just
letting you know that this is on this is happening and we will be compliant with state law. Um, so when I go to advertise the budget, usually back in the day it used to be in the paper a little shrunk up little copy version of your budget. it'll now be on our website. Um item 10.10
is our uh reapproval or annual approval of the real time information system. Um and this is for the um the child site team for the IEPS. It's the IEP system. 10.11 is C County Tech School tuition agreement for next school year items
10.12 or 10 point 10.12 through 10. Can we count 20 are all shared service agreements most of them uh Collingswood Oakland three of them are where um Collingswood actually
pays Oakland the last three Collingswood pays Oakland and that's for the supervision and assistance with our preschool children that are in your building and then items 10.21 and 10.22 are use of facilities. So items 10.01
through 10.22 All right. Do we have a motion to approve items uh 10.01 to 10.22? >> Moved and seconded. Um any comments or questions? >> I have a comment on um the just pointing out something we talked about with the
use of facilities. We have there's a request on here that is not student focused. So something to think about because they're paying the same amount of money as a very student focused group. So >> all right call.
>> Mrs. Down. >> Yes. >> Mr. Dy. >> Yes. >> Mr. DeMarco. >> Yes. >> Mr. Gunther. >> Yes. >> Mrs. Love. >> Yes. >> Mrs. Marian. >> Yes. >> Mr. Tavy.
Yes. Uh motion passes. Uh moving on to item 11, our curriculum and personnel committee. Mr. DeMarco, good evening. Uh we are seeking to approve item 11.01, which is a student teacher observation placement. Uh 11.02
to 11.03. There um are no reports at this time. 11.04 is the approval of some field trips. 11.05 is the resi uh revised school calendar for this year. Uh 11.06 is the upcoming
school calendar approval. Um 11.07 is um approving uh instructional assistance um for a student in the district at no cost. 11.08 um is the approval of paid medical
leave. 11.09 um is family leave of absence for an employee and then we are seeking to approve items 11.01 to 11.09. >> All right. Um do we have a motion?
>> Seconded. Moved and seconded. Uh any comments or questions? All right. Hearing none on a roll call. >> Mrs. Downingham, >> yes. >> Mr. Dy, >> yes. >> Mr. DeMarco, >> yes. >> Mr. Gther, >> yes. >> Mrs. Love, >> yes. >> Mrs. Marmian,
>> yes. Mr. Tavy, >> yes. Uh, motion passes. Moving on to item 12, uh, school community relations and policy committee. Miss Marmian. >> Good evening. Item 12.01 is the report from the colleagues of Board of Education, but Mr. McMillan is not here
tonight, so we'll table that to next month. Uh item 12.02 is the PTA leism report. Mr. Daisy, >> of course, I couldn't find the paper from the uh meeting, but basically um for the PTA, they said that their enrollment is up on that. So, they got
more parents are getting involved, which is a good thing. Uh that also one of the big things we did um I mentioned to them was to push for the fair funding um to really get them involved in and getting them sick on the the state to help us
with closing those gaps and all. So they were very much happy to help with that. >> Thank you. And just to add, there was a phenomenal performance from Oakland students on March 13th at the Oakland Talent Show. So, just shout out to the PTA for supporting that event and they
did a great job. Um, item 12.03 is the OMC report. Mr. Ganther, >> um, I talked to Adam earlier today. Wanted to well wanted me to mention uh, last gym night is this Friday if uh, they can get enough chap rooms. So, if
you're available and can shop, um, they submitted a grant for next year. Um, and then they're reviewing applications uh for 2026 class uh for the OMAC scholarship. So,
>> thank you. Item 12.04 is the Oakland Education Foundation report. Mrs. Love, >> I have nothing to report at this time. >> Thank you. Um, item 12.05, the HIV reports. There are none. Um, in 12.06,
6. We have five policies up for a first reading. Um I thought we were going to table one of them. >> So should I just say that now that we're going to are we your notes Rich had said that we
were going to >> 12 20. >> Yeah. Oh because Collingswood >> we did at Collingswood last night. They voted for option one as well. Same as you. as I mentioned to them, it would be because together you should have the same one. Um, so they in their first
reading of 1220, they opted for the first option. >> Okay. Sorry for being cryptic. I'll go through this. Yeah. Yeah. I just didn't want to get into it. So um 0142.1 is a revised um policy on nepotism. 1220
is the uh policy on employment of chief school administrator. And there were a couple of options. And because it's a shared surface, we wanted to align with Collingswood. So since they have they were in agreement with the same option that we are. So what you see there is option one will be the option for the
first reading. Remember there will be a second reading next month. Um 1552 is a sexual harassment um for staff. It's a new policy. 2535 is also a new policy on library materials and 9130 is a revised
policy on public complaints. Um there is no second reading for any policies and no regulation. So um we are seeking approval for item 12.06.
>> All right. Uh do we have a motion? >> Moved and seconded on a roll call. Don't know that we have to vote on it because it's not >> it's just a first read. So, no, >> next month we'll vote. >> All right. >> No vote there. >> No, no, you're fine.
>> Moving on to item 13, miscellaneous. Um, we have 13.01, which is uh approval of our uh state memorandum of agreement between uh education and law enforcement officials, which I signed last week. A lot of
signatures on that bad boy. Yeah. Um and then uh uh 13.02 is our bus evacuation drill. Um so we're looking for approval of items 13.01 and 13 uh.02. Do we have a motion?
>> Second. >> Moved and seconded. Any comments or questions? All right. Hearing none on roll call. >> Mrs. Downing. >> Yes. >> Mr. Dy. >> Yes. >> Mr. Demarco. >> Yes. >> Mr. Mr. Gunther. >> Yes. >> Mrs. Love,
>> yes. >> Mrs. Marmian, yes. Mr. Ty, >> yes. Uh, motion passes. Uh, moving on to our second public comment section of the night. Um, this public comment section is for any items uh on the agenda or otherwise. Um,
community members are reminded to stand, state your name and address, and keep comments to 5 minutes or less. Um, and the public's reminded to resolve all concerns and complaints. uh should be uh first go through appropriate staff for administrators. You have any public comments?
>> All right, hearing none. We're moving on to item 15, adjournment. Do we have a motion? >> And a second. >> Motion and second. All in favor? >> I. >> All right. Have a great night, everyone. >> Thank you. >> Have a good night.