good evening Thank you all for coming Pursuant to the New Jersey Open Public Meetings Act NJSA 104 through10 adequate notice of this meeting has been provided by advertising such notice in the Home News Tribune the Asbury Park Press the
board office the schools on cable vision channel 118 and on Verizon Fios channel 24 and by filing such notice with the township clerk This meeting was scheduled for Thursday April 24th 2025 The board will take formal action of
payment of bills and other agenda items Mr Widell the Old Bridge Township Board of Education acknowledges that the law of this state establishes that members of the public including members of the board have the right to record public board meetings using audio or video recording devices provided the active
recording does not interfere with the business of this public board meeting Therefore the board makes it known that any such recording is to be considered the private recording of the individual and in no manner represents the official record of this board The board therefore takes no responsibility for such private recording and completely disavows any
future use Roll call please Done He said he wasn't going to make it tonight Okay Absent Francisco here Girardano here Jri here Mazone here Slade here Solicowski here
Venitas here Dan Tuno here We have a quorum Can we all stand for the pledge and uh remain standing please remain standing The board of education acknowledges the death of Sabrina
Anderson assistant to the business administrator data management specialist and express its deepest sympathy to her family and friends Can we just stand a moment thank you Please be seated Christina can you do the code of ethics
please sure The board member will carry recognize that authority rests with the board of education and make no personal promises nor take any private action that may compromise the board Thank you You want to do the correction for You
can announce Okay So there's been an administrative just Yeah you can just announce approval of minutes and Okay Sorry Can I have a motion for the approval of minutes motion We're gonna wait Now you're confusing everybody All right First and second All right So I
need a second J second Thank you We're going to administratively remove March 18th regular meeting minutes as well as the close session Um for anyone that does read my minutes my they're a little more in-depth and detailed Um that four
hour or so meeting I just didn't have a chance to to finish those with some of the budget work we've been doing So we are administratively removing just the March 18th regular session minutes They will be completed Um the March 11th uh were done for this meeting for approval
So we had a motion by Mazone and a second by Gardenna Giardo Thank you Roll call please Well any discussion on the 11th minutes okay Roll call please Done his absence We'll go to Francisco Yes Jared Dano yes Jori yes Mazzone yes
Slade yes Solicowski yes Fenitason yes Dan Tuno yes Resolution one for approval of minutes passes for just the March 11th minutes Okay The student rep um had a lot of fun hanging with the little
kids at school today but he's now on the lacrosse field so we do not have a student rep report Recognition Can I have a motion to open it miss a motion Francisco we'll second Okay Uh Matt would you like to do the
retirement okay Yes We have seven retirements this this month I move the board approve the retirement of the following staff members with deep appreciation for the years of dedicated service to the district Kevin Canton 37 years Pauline uh George's uh technology
19 years Joanne uh Safero transportation 13 years Carol Fiori Grimom she's here in fact uh 25 years Glory Sensen 22 years Uh Michelle Donnelly Carl Samberg
special ed 33 years and Joel Goodman I worked with him 44 years physics teacher He's going to be very difficult to replace Thank you very much for your service On behalf of the board Carol if you're here does that mean you don't want us to approve the
retirement you want to stay longer Thank you all the the retirees for your dedication Mr Sedina is going to go to the mic Kachi can you please hear me so I was given the um the great honor of getting the abbreviated name uh the
nickname that he goes by So move the board to recognize Kachi Akapollo the seventh grade student from Carl Sanberg Middle School as a state finalist in the Elks Americanism essay contest His winning essay is in response to a prompt what does patriotism mean to me so the
board and the whole community of Oldbridgeidge are very proud of you for what you've done in this essay Is there anything you seem kind of like a reserved kind of guy but is anything you want to say about your essay anything you want to tell us about the meaning behind it for you i will just say that having read your
essay you did a great job It really speaks to what it means to be an American and the values of our country So thank you so much for that We present you with this and I think we're gonna stand over here for a nice picture [Applause] Any discussion on our retirees or essay
yes I have a discussion Uh so I also knew uh Mr Goodman He taught AP physics and he helped a lot of students get the AP credits for that It's one of the toughest courses in the high school and as Mr Sowsky said he'll be very difficult to replace and replicate what he's done for the juniors and seniors
who took his course So I'd like to congratulate him especially Thank you Um I would like to say something Um I want to congratulate all of the retirees on their retirements and thank you for all of your years of service and dedication to our students Um one in
particular I actually had the honor of my daughter having as a third grade teacher And I will admit at first I was a little nervous Um but the way that she transformed Bella this year is just it's
old school teaching She really just she doesn't take anything from the kids and really teaches and really dedicates herself to what she's teaching the kids So Mrs Fiori thank you And again congratulations and best of luck to everybody
Anyone else and I echo that also because she had my grandson many years ago Fantastic teacher Thank you I mean if you want to stay one more year for Emma it's fine Roll call please Okay Francisco yes Gerardano yes Jodri
yes Mone yes Slade yes Solicowski yes Thank yes And Dan Tuno yes Resolution one and two for recognition passes Congratulations to all Superintendent report Just a few items on the superintendent
report tonight In the past few days we've recognized um many great heroes within our our school community Uh we started the week recognizing our school bus drivers our whole transportation department what they do every day to ensure that our students uh ar ar ar ar ar ar ar ar ar ar ar ar ar ar ar ar ar ar ar ar ar ar ar ar ar ar ar ar ar ar ar ar ar ar ar ar ar ar ar ar arrive safely Um this following the next day we
we recognized our uh administrative professionals administrative assistant professionals that work in our offices every day They're behind the scenes making sure that our our schools operate and have everything they need So I want to thank them And today was bring your child to work day And I don't think any school district does it better than
we've done it here We've made it since our administration came in we've made it um truly um something to look forward to and a celebratory practice that if we re recognize that the future of educators has to be seen by today's young people so they want to emulate what great
educators look like We have to have them come in the classrooms visit what their parents are doing see what they're doing and be proud of that And so when they think about what kind of career they want in the future uh hopefully they want to come back and uh serve the students um themselves and be be the educators for the future So I want to
thank all of our schools for taking part of that and really making it a celebration across uh the school community Well thank you I just want to thank um everybody from Oldbridge Uh I I don't know if you heard that I I am going to uh have my resignation on here
tonight and um I want to thank the Old Bridge community for always supporting myself my family uh letting me have a great opportunity to have a profession I'm very proud of and uh the staff here has been second to none It's like a family to me and I really appreciate
everyone No matter what crazy zany thing I wanted them to do they stepped up and did it always in the name of what's best for our kids And that's the way we operate Um the families entrusted me with their children That's the greatest compliment you can ever receive is to entrust someone with your children So I
want to thank the families and the students That's what I'm here for So thank you so much for all the students who've made lasting memories on me And um you know I think you know on Daisy as well She's always remembered every one of you And um you know when she sees you she's like they smell like what they had
for breakfast So she's always very excited to walk into classrooms and and see the kids So um yeah I just you know there's something people say well why why now why then um we had the meeting and again I have no hard feelings I think it's a it's a great thing Time comes for everything and sometimes you have to go down different paths always
to have a bright future for everybody And I think has a bright future and I'm going to have a bright future in Wayne We're just going to be on different paths Um but when we had our meeting and you know it was a vote to you know extend me a year but that was kind of
like the option of not having me three I did some thinking and I was reflecting and it was just kind of like all right so it's better to do because I think uh Mr Yano said "Let's start superintendent search right away." And Jen at a subsequent meeting said "Yes." I reached
out to the NJ um school boards school boards association and they can start in September And then I realized you know what's going to happen in September they're probably going to have to have that vote again because you're not going to have people coming in to replace the superintendent without having the superintendent know he's not going to be back in the spring um at the end of that
year But I'll have superintendents that I know reaching out to me and saying "Hey Dave they posted for your app session Are you leaving?" I said I don't know So I said you know what the only way it really works out best for Old Bridge and that's what it really is about is if I go on my own terms And um I think it's a great time I think it's
going to be a great opportunity for myself It's going to be a great opportunity for Old Bridge I know I live in a better place with lots of promising leaders for the future And that's what I'm proud of So I wish Oldbridge the best And thank you for everything you've got everyone's done for me Thank you
Thank you I also want to add that it's volunteer appreciation week So thank you to all of the volunteers that make our schools work the the PTAs the class parents the you know parents that help with the different clubs and coaching teams like that So I'm going to add that
to your superintendent report Sorry Um I I Go ahead I really I really didn't have a lot because I think like the bulk of what you guys have to talk about really belongs in there because it's the heart of the meeting and really what want people want to know about is you know your budget presentation So I I don't
know if you want to do it there or do it somewhere in committee reports but this is kind of like it's a good opportunity because then people have a chance to speak about it after during the first open public Yep We're going to do it during committee reports Okay Very good So um progress towards goals We did have
a committee of the whole meeting yesterday to work on the finances because I know that is um a district goal of the financial resilience So um the meetings towards the goals are working are happening Um any correspondence
i do not have correspondence but I just have a note a quick announcement There there have been some emails that we have been getting um from the community to the whole board um CCD on them which is great I I just I didn't bring any correspondence because on those emails to the board there was no specific
requests um to be read aloud today They were just tend to be messages to the board I did see some come in but again it could have just been a message to the board and not me and just me CCed on it So just just a note to the public um for that any correspondence being sent to
the board of education unless there is express written request for me to share at a public board meeting I will take it as just an email to the board and just letting me know that you're doing so Again if you do want something read at correspondence during the course of a
meeting please do expressly request that Um so it I'm not reading any tonight because there were some emails that came through to the board but it doesn't look like anyone wanted to request it be read tonight So if that if you feel otherwise please resend and I will read it at next
meeting aloud or you have the opportunity to come to next meeting and speak to that All right Thank you All right So we're going to go into the special committee reports We're going to do our regular committees first and then we'll go into the budget which I assume
a lot of you are tuned in or here for So committee reports I can start Go ahead Okay So I have a couple Um on April 1st we had a special services committee meeting Uh we talked
about AAC evaluations Um the Obridge AAC evaluation team which is Jennifer Gonzalez Morgan Sherillo and Nichollet Contella talked about the fact that um presently evaluations are currently being um completed by outside privately
contracted companies but um they formed a committee and they would like to they made a proposal to um do the evaluations inhouse which will allow them to be more individualized they'll have more times with more time with the students They'll
be able to um choose um devices that are more more individualized again for students They've been seeing that the outside evaluations have kind of come back all um uh suggesting the same supports and recommendations and they're
very limited So they think that um if they do this that they'll be able to you know because they know the students better they'll be able to provide varied and individual individualized recommendations They'll be able to do more comprehensive assessments And another problem with the outside evaluations is that they've been coming
back not in a timely fashion which means that the devices don't get into the hands of students in a timely fashion either So they think that by them doing it in-house they're not only it's going it's not only going to be more costefficient but they're going to be able to um uh have a better turnaround
and get the um the devices into the hands of the students that need them Um let's see Miss Anelfie talked about inclusive schools week That was last December Um the theme was every voice matters and that reflects a core belief that every individual brings a a
unique perspective enriching the fabric of our school community She talked about um she gave us examples um and a PowerPoint and if anybody wants to see this we have it we can provide it Um if you're not on Facebook you can always email one of us or you can email Miss S Alfie Shira school the speech therapists
highlighted different communication methods Um in art the students listened to uh my voice as a trumpet and completed a mural They had guest readers from the community and they concluded the week with a unity walk in Vorhees school students sang we are all we are
all in this together each morning and they watched a read aloud um entitled just ask be different be brave be you by US Supreme Court Justice uh Sonia Sotomayor um and guest speakers also discuss discussed inclusivity and um
personal experiences memorial school they created inclusion pledges and talked about um they had discussions about inclusivity in their home rooms They celebrated uh diversity by making um friendship flowers and they shared
what they learned on these friendship flowers Uh and they did an uh an empathy activity called in their shoes in carpenter school They learned about inclusion created and signed a petition and created a chain of ways to include others Then we discussed um a pilot
program called my reading my math academy It's at the preschool level inte and it's integrated uh programs at Glenn and Southwood It's a researchbased digital program designed to accelerate student achievement It's developed by Age of Learning and it supports personalized and adaptive learning
experiences The program began in December when all staff received professional development and um during the presentation Miss Adelfi discussed the key features of each program Then we went on to the multi-entury reading update
um a committee was established general education teachers special education teachers intervention interventionists reading specialists and coaches Um and this um this this um this committee uh
rolled it out from December to January They investigated tools to narrow the focus Now this is just in committee at this point In February they contacted companies for different trials and demos March and between March and May they triled different items Between May and
June they personalized plans based on based on recommendations Um they set criteria for investigation And the multi-entury reading programs that they're exploring are Wilson reading system Wilson Foundation Spire and Brainspring Phonics First but the next
steps will be determined by the outcome of the budget So that was everything for April 1st Um and then on April 17th we had part two of our SEPTA
meeting that first occurred on uh March 20th but April 17th was the second part It was planning for transition accessing services and natural supports And yes your child can work There was there's so many resources for this You can contact SEPTA if you want them You can you can
email me um you know you can get them on the Facebook pages but I just wanted to quickly go through them The first uh discussion was access accessing services and natural supports and um they talked about adult service delivery changes Um
all individuals must be functionally eligible for DDD services and must have Medicaid Um they talked about the the plan was the example of services was respit and summer camp but the person who was giving the um presentation Jeresa Miko she said um she talked about
the things families wonder about and how to get started and her suggestions were get a team and there's she has tons of information and examples about this get information get a plan get going and get feedback Um then the second part of her presentation was uh talking
about asking the question is your child in special special education and planning for adult life Um talked about helping families Planning for adult life is the group that she's in Talked about helping families uh planning for transition from school to adult life by connecting them to information and resources And again there's so many
resources They're really great resources And I can just run down the names of the um the handouts and the worksheets that she provided 150 things you can do to build social capital a list of supportive websites a timeline for students exiting school and turning 21
40 developmental assets who will help me using my natural supports worksheet resource list for parents of children with autism and these are things that help parents um learn how to build their own team Um helpful books for adults and children pre-employment transition
services student referral form from the New New Jersey Department of Labor transition goals and activities for inclusive post-secary programs and yes your child can work Part one before graduation part two after graduation and beyond The next SEPTA meeting will be
Tuesday May 13th at 6:30 at Glen School and they're giving a presentation on guardianship and trusts Let me see if there's anything else I think there uh so that was 41 Um and
that was Septent Special Services Okay that's it Policy Yes I uh on April 1 we had a policy and curriculum meeting Um I thought it was an April Fool's joke so I wasn't there I had a previous engagement but I had my
favorite stenographer Marjorie uh take notes Uh so take a sip and okay you can update there's one one last report Um so on April 1st it was the curriculum committee meeting It was a full house for the curriculum
committee meeting and you can bet that Dr Tui was allin with a lot of great information and his presentation was a focus on the positives Am I getting this right Dr Tui okay uh he reviewed previous curriculum meeting topics and then he talked about the New Jersey high
impact tutoring program It's a grant-f funed program awarded based on the high ratings from grant reviewers at the state level to Oldbridge District of Old Bridge It was um almost $500,000 dollars It was a New Jersey DOE competitive
grant for years 23 and 24 and 24 and 25 and it was it applied to supplement the district budget Dr Colandria was the program administrator and provided oversight of the grant funding This was um all all elementary schools benefited
from this and it the grant levels were from two to five and that was uh dictated by the grant requirements The target populations were students with RTI tier 2 andor tier three IEPs ESL services 504 plans and a set criteria based on
various assessment cut scores and teacher recommendation Um the total enrollment was 143 students The average academic gains in ELAXL was plus 70 In mathl was plus 80 The parents
were surveyed and they were very pleased with the academic progress and student experience The average rating was 4.88 out of five Uh what else i couldn't have said it any better I didn't finish
Okay You want to hear the rest of what you would have said okay The curriculum policy meeting agenda Additional topics were the NJSLA test preparation summary That was a handout that we received Vetting outside educational resources A brief overview
was given by Miss Rachel O'Neal Uh we talked about middle school summer school recovery program attendance and grades Elementary departmentalization for grades four and five And we're going to have a follow-up in May and scheduling future curriculum meetings with topics
and times And now I'm done Well you really He challenged you on that and then he doubled down to make sure you were going to if he's going to let me do it I'm It was a full house the meeting though right it was a full house Yeah Okay If if I can add a couple of comments
Yeah So in the same curriculum meeting I was challenging Dr Tui and others about uh hey do we have appropriate software installed on the kids laptops right So we had this conversation and appreciate Dr Tweet returning back to me the following day and looping in uh Mr James
Yanuzulli I'm sorry if I have mispronounced the name Um so he he sent me a list of software that's typically installed you know at all grade levels So I did take a deep look at it and uh they are making sense because as my kids are in the system I also want to be aware of what's going on because I do
see a lot of you know widgets or apps you know in the clever and in all of this stuff So thanks to Mr Yanuzali to send me the list I did take a deep review at each one of them Uh but what I was more uh becoming aware is there are certain things you know accessible just over the internet right there are gimmit
and you know other you know educational stuff but also playful stuff So that's where we have to strike a balance but otherwise uh thanks Dr Tui and Mr Yanuzuli for helping me understand you know what's installed Thank you So on April 10th uh we invited the town
council president and their BA to meet with myself Mr Citadino and Mr Widell Um I thought it was a very productive positive meeting Uh basically we represent the same community coming together Um you know a few years ago we had done something like World Fest and
you know inviting each other to each other's events um you know the board going to town events like the tree lighting and and the board coming the town council coming to our events Um so we're going to work more collaborative collaboratively on things like that and try to come together as a community
because we do serve the same people So um that was a very nice meeting And now the reason most of you are here um the board had a very nice conversation from it was like all day It was like 10 to 4 or 10 to 3:30 Um but a
big part of the conversation is we wanted to have it kind of again in public for you guys to see what are we looking at You know it's not just you know spreadsheets and numbers and you know throwing darts at like okay this is what's going to go and this is what's going to stay Like we really had a
thorough conversation So we kind of want to reshare some of that information with you guys Um and then during the hearing of the residents on the agenda items it's going to include this budget time So after you hear what we have to say and the mic is open we invite you to
share your feedback Um so go ahead Matt Okay Uh as you know next month is uh budget time We're going to be voting on it Uh we're going to cast nine votes and we'll see what happens Um if the budget
does not pass I believe years ago we used to go and sit down with the town council and try to work things out That doesn't happen anymore I believe now uh if it if it's a no vote on it it's going to go to the state And I believe Mr Pardon can you uh help me with this one
what happens if the state does pick it up then no vote Yeah you're right that it no longer goes to the township council the November move from 2012 uh is now a direct appeal to the state or it's not a really an appeal it's a
review by the state Uh in normal times remember those um we had the state would review and see if you should get more money Their answer to that is now clear Uh but what the state has done in the
last couple of years is offered what they have considered incentive programs Last year was the 9.9 This year is the tax levby incentive aid And last year in both Tom's River and Jackson the board did what you're proposing or what you're asking about And they voted down the
budget The state reviewed their budgets and uh it took until early July but the state did a or the commissioner did a press release and imposed on both places the uh budget as proposed which went to
the full 9.9 authority We don't know what will happen this year This year is somewhat different The tax levy incentive aid program is different than last year's stabilized school budget education aid program We just make up big names now And uh it's a lot
higher stakes this year because the state if they do what they did last year in Jackson and Tom's River then a defeated budget would mean that the state might take you to maximum authorization which is 30.4 in Oldbridge We don't know No one's gotten
to that point yet but yes it is a state review and the state would then have the authority without any further vote or any further action by the board to impose a budget on you Thank you Mr Party Do they tell us what we have to spend the money on do we know no they they would not do
line items necessarily They would do allocations including allocations from your own taxpayers which is which may seem backwards and it probably is Wouldn't they look at uh what's mandated by the state what courses are whatever is mandated by the state and look at all
the others and possibly remove them i don't know Last year I think the answer to that was more likely yes because last year we were talking about a state partially funded program and the the discretion for the board This year they're talking about a
shifting of the burden from the state to the local taxpayer So it is not clear that they would reduce Yes their first look would be to see if you're meeting your thorough and efficient free public education standards but they could go beyond that and say "You have the right to take this money so take it." Uh and
that would be the final word There would not be there's no real structure for an appeal from there and it's out of our hands totally It would not be subject to board review at that point right okay Thank you Mr Bardon Okay I've asked the administration to kind of go over the cuts that have been made in the past
since this whole financial crisis has started You're messing up the script now Jay can you I'll do my I'll do my hand Yeah Um but first I know Jen brushed over the fact that we were out at a a committee meeting yesterday for 5 hours
from 10:00 a.m to 4 4 p.m So just to give you that's the middle of a workday So this just give you an idea of our commitment to this We're not just brushing this over I mean they're giving us you know spreadsheets I mean look at the size of this sheet I got to read I couldn't even read it Small print and
you know things like So we need a magnifying glass Yeah the same Um and the sad part is that our students are caught in the crossfire of this You know our staff is caught in the crossfire Um so we got we have big decisions So administration was there the board was
there We were committed for five hours Um but I was asked just briefly to say that it's not just an old bridge thing This is not happening here It's hot news It's across the state of New Jersey Um I happen to Google a few districts Uh
Middletown Tom's River Jackson Lacy East Orange Um this is all Google stuff but I just took some numbers so at least you know I mean I say like Misery loves company This is not the company you want to be in but we're all being affected by
it Uh Keyport are being asked to raise their school taxes by 12 and a half% or else they're going to sell schools and cut programs Um 19 districts in Mammoth County 18 districts in Ocean County Uh
Middletown is going to be asked to raise their taxes by 10% Uh they're 10 million in the hole Uh of $197 million budget which is similar to us Um Lacy Township which is down in
Ocean their township is asking well Trenton is asking Lacy to shoulder 17.5 million of their 80 million $87 million budget So when Mr Parton talks about this $30 million um we're in that ballpark You know I'm not going to steal
other people's thunder but um I might be a cockeyed optimist but I like having control I mean the state's been delivering helping us deliver an education on a silver platter Now they're asking us to do it on paper plates So if they're shifting the weight
in our direction I know it's expensive I'm a taxpayer I own a home in Old Bridge Um I'm willing to make an investment into my students future my kids um the value of my home So there's a lot writing on these decisions today
So um we have a lot to discuss uh lot to share uh and we obviously need your feedback Um so strength is in numbers So thank you Thank you Thank you for that allowing me that delay there too Mr Slave Um so a
lot of times when we've gone to the re reaching these deficit issues and state funding issues the first question that we get well you know trim some of the fat you know get rid of the extra stuff you know be more efficient um be more
frugal So and if you're just new to the district or you know a lot of times in education we have short memories about what has been done what what are the hardships we saw in in prior years And so what the board has asked me to do is just kind of show you what these cuts we've made over the course of the years
And these these are these cuts are compounded because every time we eliminate a position every time we eliminate a service that we get we provide to our children we get closer to not being able to provide that thorough and efficient education that we're guided by the constitution of the state
of New Jersey to provide And for me as a superintendent that's where I'm at this year That's why I have a hard time with the state putting the emphas putting all the weight on the local um board of education taxpayers And I say every I've been saying for the past two years it's very difficult to be a board of
education member because people will remember the decision you have made but not the choices you had and some of these choices that they have as board members will impact your home values will impact you know where your children rank when they go to look for
universities What will their employment levels be what will your what will you be able to afford for child care when you have shorter day school days and your children don't have extracurricular activities after school where will they be what impact will it have on the police department when students don't have extracurricular activities and
they're out at 12:30 in the afternoon you know what will that what will that cost be to a community what will that cost be to the home value um so that's that third efficient what it means to me everything We don't just it's not the efficient isn't just the academics Third efficient is what we provide our
students to make them well-rounded to be self-reliant employable citizens when they leave here So they're not a part of society in which the society has to support them that they can support themselves And that means a lot of different things for a lot of different people That's why my emphasis has always been not on the co just on the
collegebound but the those who are going into the workplace those going into the careers going into the military th whatever you needed to do to make sure that you were self-reliant Um so these are the things these cuts we've made that got us close to where I think we're at a dangerous place So anything below
this is teetering on not having that third efficient possibility for our students 2017 18 uh we covered most of that those cuts by reserves For those of you who don't recall July you know you'll see in May we're going to adopt a budget When we
adopt a budget in May the state approves it in in June That all happened in 2017 18 And then in July once we started spending that money on July 1st the state said "Wait a minute We don't want you to have as much state aid We know
you started spending it We want $69,000 back." So we had to find money to offset those bills we already started committing ourselves to And so we used our reserves to cover that cost So reserves that we could use for future years that 609,000 and change was
already gone because we had to use it to uh put put a cover the hole that the state took away from us We had a glimpse of what it would look like in the following year 2018-19 and that's when a very difficult decision was made We knew we were going to lose $1.9 million close to $2 million
the following year We had to act and we had to act fast This board looked at many options Again like I said you'll always remember the the decisions the board made but not only the the choices they had And that was the year in which Cheesequake School was closed We closed
a school We reduced 85 positions We cut two central administration positions at uh at central admin one building level administrator 27 noon hour supervisors 10 secretaries 10 par professionals assistant coaching positions across the
district um more certified in the and certified staff Um at the high school we lost staff uh 1 million $180,000 worth of staff at the high school All district librarians planetarium we closed one planetarium Uh
we closed 10 elementary sections three elementary related arts and eliminated elementary guidance counselor At the same time the supervisors moved from 12 months to 10 months There's a cut of late runs of transportation at
the high school and middle school We eliminated Spanish from grades six and seven at the middle schools We removed family consumer science from middle school elective offerings and reduced instructional supplies In 2019 2020 we had the COVID years and the
federal government provided us with a lot of funds extra funds to offset money We were still losing state aid but as we were losing state aid we weren't spending as much We weren't spending much on as much on transportation even though the state of New Jersey still made us pay our contracted bus drivers Not our bus drivers They're the best We
want to keep on paying them But the bus drivers from the other companies that weren't picking up our children and weren't doing our routes we still had to pay them Um we had to but we still had some savings and we used that estro funds to cover the
losses that year 202021 we used the ESR funds uh and COVID money for that year as well In 202122 now we're losing we don't have those eserro funds as much anymore We had to eliminate the supervisor of guidance in 2022
23 Again we're hard hit by cuts Again this is another $2 million in cuts Uh eliminate two middle school science and seal staff positions Eliminate two middle school social studies positions Eliminate one planetarium position Uh a
media specialist Um those funds were shifted to ESSER Eliminate two ELA staff members at the high school Eliminate two high school science teachers Eliminate one art teacher at the high school High school interventionist Uh that salary went to ESSER Eliminate one elementary
music position Uh the Kelly service all of our substitutes We put that in ESSER funds because we had money there we could use We didn't have in the local funds Eliminated one preschool teacher Eliminate two preschool power professionals Uh eliminate uh bathroom support professionals of Warhees
Eliminate ESS Um ESS is a uh support system we have for our our students with mental health in the middle schools We had to eliminate that and we uh put the salaries of the BCBA behaviorist to Esther that year as well for a total of
2.5 2.528 million In 2023 24 we had these cuts additional cuts to employee benefits and maintenance and transportations to reduce two
instructional coaches Reduced one district nurse position reduced one elementary school interventionist position Reduced three middle school teams at Sulk and Sandberg One special education teacher and 11 total staff Reduce textbook line items something
that our board members have been working with us hard on We're trying to get science textbooks science curriculum but every year when we put it on the agenda to adopt it it winds up getting cut because there's no funds for it Um eliminate after school transportation
We reduced one Oldbridge's guidance secretary reduce transportation secretary reduce central sec central administration secretary reduce a technician eliminate the copy specialist uh reduce substitute costs reduce instructional supplies eliminate middle
school uh sector area coordinators math social studies ELA related arts world languages science PE and special education and eliminate the technology building support personnel So as you keep on doing these eliminations for
people that provide valuable services to our students you're getting closer to that place Well how do we continue to provide that thorough efficient education so every student gets the supports that they need they need not just the um the AP students not just the special needs students not just the
athletes everyone to because everyone has a need and everyone's gifted in some way And when you're not providing them that the server service they need to address and meet their goals um you're not there and efficient anymore So that's why these are very difficult decisions before our board today Thank you Okay The other question that kind of
touches on this before we move on that we get asked is well where did the money go we we sold the Nike base and we've explained in the past I'm going to explain to anyone who's new We have two accounts two checking accounts let's say a capital account and a general
fund Because the Nike base was property it's considered capital That money can only go in the capital account The capital money is really meant to upkeep our buildings and our our properties and things like that Our general fund is the income Now the
income that we do get you know Cheesequake we closed Cheesequake We didn't sell it We're renting it Yes Do we get a good chunk of money to that we do but that has gone to keeping us afloat and not having us to do more cuts So those are the two big incomes that have been discussed Just just to add to
that point so as you go through these cuts and and when the Nike base was sold you know that money went into that reserve where that continues to add interest and it brings a little bit of income to us But had it gone to our general budget and facing potential cuts you know in prior years and say you were
in a $10 million hole Well you have $10 million right away and you clear it up and then it's gone forever Whereas now that money does sit in there and we're talking about you know upgrading the playgrounds and doing some asphalt paving but you know god forbid uh a bridge is out or something a hole in the
roof happens you know now we we do have the reserves for um you know those major major expenses but our buildings are older They they are older you know so it is something that we're we're holding on to dearly In a in a district that's got
a nice bit of uh you know they're continuing to build those reserves We're keeping them stagnant There was a couple last year I think just before I came here there was a rod grant where the state introduced that for the first time in a few years and essentially they would pay 40% of any upgrades that you
would make but you had to front the cash out front So we put in for applications for uh Rod Grant for H rooftop units at at multiple schools And when we got those proposals back you know they were first of all to have $10 million Only one school would really be chosen
because they were $7 million and and you know 40% of 7 million you could do it but to really have at least one project and keep some balance you know you now you're you're kind of decreasing that and only one school got done So we're trying to use that money sparingly and
smartly touch as many schools as possible with needs that are are really needed and um you know it does just hold in and bring some interest in every year but otherwise if you spent it a few years ago it we'd be even a bigger mess to be honest Because when something like the gas leak happened at Samberg if we
didn't have that that reserve and stuff like that the reserves at the time right s So going forward with the $18 million budget cut deficit from our budget that we have These are the following things that would happen We would have to
transition to a sixth period high school which would basically means a half day high school So half of the courses at the high school level would have to be eliminated and those positions that go along with it we would have to close two elementary schools and out of the elementary schools that do remain uh it
would just eliminate related arts and the only class that we have to teach is gym So that would be the only thing mandated because that's what the state mandates There would be no middle school sports and at the high school level it would only be varsity level sports There
would be no ROC There would be no school security for all the schools So that would include the police officers and the seos etc And there would be no kindergarten at all And I think the board would agree and the public would agree that this is a unacceptable way to
run the district and it's very disastrous that we are put in this position due to the S2 cuts that have affected us in basically the last decade almost So thank you So those are all difficult things that Mr Gian just went over and I want no one to think that
anybody on this board is like "Yeah let's do that That's a good idea Mr Citadino would never say "Let's not have security." You know where I stand on that So these are things that we have to look at when we're looking at a $18 million deficit and being
underfunded locally by $30 million Like how what can you what can you eliminate believe it or not state of New Jersey does not mandate kindergarten Believe that or not the state of New Jersey does not mandate that school districts have kindergarten So would we want to eliminate
kindergarten no But is it something we could eliminate to the state yes Because they haven't mandated that we have it Um so I don't think any of the board members up here want to say like these are great ideas But these are things that if we don't do something drastic to address this deficit that these are the
things that would have to be eliminated um because it's where we don't have a choice in it because everything else would be mandated So again this is us kind of reliving our conversation with you So we all had the same reaction like I saw head shaking
you Are you serious yeah we all had the same reaction because that that is not So to continue Elena so um I would like to start by saying that the board and I think you can see that tonight has really been working
very diligently diving into this budget Um we have asked endless questions U Mr Widell has answered an administration endless questions Um I don't think they could have anticipated the amount of questions that that we have come up with Um and they've answered them graciously
and they've answered them in depth So um as board members I know I can speak for all of us in saying that we're grateful for all of this information And as Jay was saying like I mean I have packets upon packets of information um because we had so many
questions So that being said we're not each other's enemies in this And you're not each other's enemies in this Um there's only one enemy here And I know that's probably a really strong word but and that's the state The state is the one that has put us in this predicament to make um these really hard decisions
because none of us want any of these things to happen None of us want our taxes to go up either I'm also a taxpayer here and I would love for that not to happen Um and I would love for that not to happen especially for the people who who can't afford a tax increase
Um so let's come together in that because this is an opportunity for all of us to work together So my job for this this portion is to kind of provide a little information on um that $18 million hole that everybody keeps hearing that we're in Um and I think all of us our first reaction when you hear
that is you know that kind of puppy head tilt like huh what 18 how do you how why do you find yourself in an $18 million hole so I'm gonna go through just a few things and I know I'm kind of stealing Mr Widell's thunder for our public hearing where he's going to really in
depth go through everything but I'm just going to kind of throw a few things out there Um so I'm going to touch on benefits for a second So in our benefits category right we've got medical up 18% Prescription up 20% dental 8%
pension payments up 2% workers comp up three uh 30% um social security contributions and there's a lot of other things in that category too that are up When you add all of those numbers together you come up with 5.2
million 5.2 million on top of what we're currently running our budget this year that we have to come up with that all of that was out of our control None of us decided that So already we're talking about $5 million in the hole Um if you go back to last year and watch the
meetings and look at all the paperwork we had $4 million in reserves in our um maintenance reserve if I'm correct we don't have that Um we had $5 million in our unassigned reserves We used it We don't have that So if you start taking all these numbers and you add them
together and and again he's going to present all of that a lot better than I am You get to your $18 million We have a $168 million budget currently right now And in order to provide our students with we what we are currently providing them with we need $18 million more to do
it Um which is mind-blowing but it's where we're at Um so my question then came and I said to myself and I said to everybody all right we've got $168 million budget We have to cut $18 million And going back to what S spoke
about I'm like hold on Is that the are these the only cuts we can make like are there other places we can make cuts i'm a visual learner Um and I know you all can't really see this Um but this is a pie chart of our expenditures And that
blue one that's at 49% that's our program cost So everything that we spend to teach our students all of teacher salaries all of the textbooks and materials for a classroom 50% of our budget The red is benefits And all those percentages that I just told you are
going up That's the red If you put those two things together you're at $118 million So my question was well what about all the other slivers of the pie you know can can we touch anything there but when you really dive deep and we had these conversations yesterday because I'm like all right well the green
maintenance and operations Okay what do we cut from there i don't know maybe we stop cutting the grass I don't know Maybe we only turn the lights on for half the day I I don't know Like these are the crazy things that that are coming out of our conversations Transportation 9.25% of our budget I don't know who doesn't get to school you
know like who does do we we right and we we did we we cut transportation I mean after school but but we did So do we do we not get our kids to school do we uh I don't know like are there some mechanics and supervisors I don't know that we don't need it's and even if we did it's
not the dent that we need to see We're not getting there Um and then there's you know other little slivers of the pie that that don't even amount to $18 million So I I just wanted to kind of I I need I needed to see this
visual So the last thing I want to touch on is the state aid right because we keep bringing it back to the state So I had made this chart um I think it was last year on the state aid numbers dating back to 2000 So in the 2000201
school year we received $33 million from the state and these are rough numbers This year we got $23 million from the state If you think about what it costs to educate a child back in 2001 versus 2025 we have grown in so many areas We
provide so many more services um activities programs for our kids So to think that we can operate on $10 million less in state aid It's just it's unimaginable Um so I mean I'll stop there because I I
can just keep going The the point is this is hard This isn't easy for any of us but what I will say is you have nine board members up here While we might not all agree we work hard and we are in all of this together and we've been working really really well together So I just
wanted to um end with that Thank you You guys have been working well together It's nice to see Um I will say this like you bring up a great point like 2001 I worked in Elizabeth I didn't have an armed officer in my school in Elizabeth It's a different time You can't imagine
a school now without having an armed officer in it just the way the the world has played out And we none none of us would ever think that that would be a world we want to see in the future We have to protect our children that and our staff Those are you know those are non-negotiables
Marjorie David did you want to go ahead can I add so I I'll really hold a good portion of it till till next month But I I will say so if you think about $18 million of a deficit that's a structural deficit that is about if you're in $180 million budget it's about 10% Right so
when we say the program costs again are all that includes salaries it includes uh outside services we bring in It includes supplies that we bring in So that's one portion But on the opposite end of a spectrum you often will hear that salaries and benefits so not
including kind of the instructional supplies or the evaluation you know the outside evaluators that we bring or any of the outside companies we use If you just talk salaries and benefits alone that's usually about 75% of the district So it's a little different comparison but again the numbers are there Either
program costs with benefits or salaries and benefits across the board it's about 75% So when you're talking about 18 million at 10% what do you cut i know there's some teachers in here I know there how many teachers buy their own supplies because we can't you know how
Thank you I I can barely can I cut any more paper from the schools that they you know I I got people dying for paper I got principles saying I don't have enough debt You know they're calling other schools to say hey do you have chairs do you have desks you our teachers are staff are admin They're all
resourceful here It's amazing to see I'm the guy that's got to say no and that and I in my prior positions I never was that guy but here the decisions we have to make have to be smart you have to think forward so it is you know to to
Elena's point and and you know they've asked about all kinds of stuff there's a certain amount you when you talk about throwing it efficient as Dave spoke to it includes keeping you know the roof above people's head and it has to be a safe building it has to be a secure building We can't have leaks going on
And so all those add to throw in efficient There's a specific at least a minimum every year that we have to budget for required maintenance to each location When you start having a leak after leak if I do that minimum you'll blow it out of the water come like November for some schools unfortunately
because what happens if you have a mold issue over the summer you know it all happens if you have a bad snowstorm Now I'm going to be pulling from elsewhere in the in the budget to pay for those that salting truck and that um you know plowing truck While we do it in-house too we can't do it all And you know we
have to get our our garbage picked up We have to pay for that You know there's so many expenditures the little things where you know like I said when you cut I can cut every instructional supply across the board from every school together it's like 700,000 you got a lot
of millions left to to continue and that would mean you guys get not even a pen you know that that's you're buying your own pen So when you when you have to make 18 million cuts you have to do big egregious things unfortunately And again I don't think anyone's supports that I
would never support it but again it's the only way to hit these big numbers And it's it's scary It really is So David don't worry We'll give you gray hair by the time the budget's done um transportation and energy How much did those costs go up to just real quick So let me speak Yeah I can I can add to
that a little bit So has everyone heard in the news whether it's on social media everyone's energy both residential is going to be increasing You know they're talking about 20% increases depending on on providers Well when we g were given
initial estimates we were told 20 to 30% Right so I budget conservatively and I said 30% Here's our situation when the final numbers started coming out and it was like 20 The problem is because
issues have been prior as well Right now the way we budget in 2425 and my assistant business administrator was in the room She's filming back there She can she can speak to it We are underfunded right now in our electricity
and our energy costs So right from like now until the end of the year we're pulling and plucking transferring from different areas where we think we have some little buffer to pay for those electricity costs So the reason I go to
30% is because in 2526 I have to rightsize our cost meaning I have to get to the amount that we're actually spending this year and then account for that 20% increase So that's why it's a 30% increase because we're behind right now If I budgeted the same thing I
budgeted last year you know we'd be you know in December we'd probably be having to transfer out So there are things it's called right sizing your budget to see where current expenditures are this year and then projecting out for next year based on you know amounts that we get
from our professionals and our our consultants So that was energy What was the other one transportation So every we have transportation routes I wish we had a fleet of you know that we can handle everyone It's not it's impossible You see if you ever see the high school at
at dismissal how many buses are there i was stuck at the dismissal today after my kid was here I I was trying to count all the buses with them I couldn't I lost track So the way it is for outside transportation there is a CPI each year
that they have to renew So it's a little different to purchasing with transportation If you have a good relationship with a vendor you know you have the opportunity every year to say "Are you willing to renew your price we like working with you You're doing a
great service for us We don't have the buses We don't have the staff We're willing to renew." The state provides a CPI each year to say "This is your renewal costs." You need water Good Okay Good This is the
percentage you have this year So this year for 2526 it's 3.57% The past 2 years it was in the fives So it's it's good that it's gone down but is still high That accounts for inflation it accounts for uh gas going up You know everything is going up We
know that So you take all your contracted services routes the amounts that we pay for a year and you basically increase them by 3.57% There's a caveat If for instance you want to maybe say ah it's too much or we don't really we're not having a
good relationship with you right now or we think you're falling on your service you have the opportunity to go out to bid However when you go out to bid it's lowest responsible and responsive bidder So what you projected say if it was a $1 million route in this year and it went
up by 3.57 I'm not going to do that math in my head even though I should know it When you go out to bid that would have been your amount if you renewed Say one vendor bids and they really want the business but they can do it for 1.6 and
they were the only one Now you're stuck and you just cost yourself 300,000 more So Debbie and her team are incredible at transportation Like I said last year we had a great year where um there were three routes that were up for renewal She said "Don't worry about going out to
bid I got them." And she did it in house But the more you do that the more we stretch ourselves thin And you know we can't take full routes with full buses on So the in the increase there for transportation is literally just our
contracted routes outside with vendors multiplied by that 3.5% increase and and we go from there So those are again this is my every day It's from the people in the audience It's not their every day There's so many caveats It's like learning a new language There are
so many things that go into it I have late nights long nights in my own home at at least downstairs in the basement and I'm like bleeding because I'm looking at spreadsheets all day That is the nature of the numbers unfortunately And when you have a 2% levy and your
expenditures are increasing by 18% 20% double digits it just the math does not add up And we I know Dave has spoke to that in the past That's the reality of of what the fight is So okay Marjorie Okay just to kind of expand on what
Elena was saying and talk about um the budget and the fact that we've used up all our capital reserves over the years And this is why because over the past years the state of New Jersey has steadily reduced state aid to Oldbridge Township and other districts But um so
for example I was looking at the 2011 2012 school year and then looking through this year the the state aid has gone down steadily and it's been a reduction of over 50% So that's a lot of money gone Um we've been able to
mitigate a lot of the losses because of the capital reserves but we don't have capital reserves anymore um Superintendent Citadino members of the administration the BOE we we went to Trenton um and joined other representatives from other
school districts who are facing the same problems or in the same position and we went numerous times to ask for clarity on the state's funding formula like like how do you you know how do you decide that you're going to cut this money from us and unfortunately none of us have had
any reasonable response and all of our efforts have changed nothing because they continue to uh decrease our school funding year after year The state currently considers Township to be under adequacy by $30.4 million You've heard
um Superintendent Citadino mention that And in simple terms that means that the state believes that we as residents are not contributing what the state considers our fair share in local taxes As long as the state continues to view Obridge in this way they're going to
continue reducing the aid to make up for what it sees as a local funding shortfall But again when pressed to explain the formula they use to make the determination they've simply called the formula proprietary This is a major contributing factor for
why state aid continues to be reduced year after year And without adequate state funding we're forced to make decisions that will impact programs staffing services and local taxes And those are decisions that none of us want to make That's why we're struggling with
this But we do want to assure you that um we remain committed to doing the best that we can with the problems that we're facing for the students and staff and community And that's us the taxpayers And we're going to continue pressing the
state And we may come to you and ask you to help us as well to ask them to please you know reveal their funding formula so we can understand how we keep getting here But um we really need a more transparent funding process Can I add to that sure There were three real changes
that came as a result of some of those meetings to the state aid formula this year Number one we asked for more transparency on how to prepare for cuts I believe we were sitting up in this stage when Dave said "Hey you got to broadcast Uh there was going to be if you were going to be cut it was going to
be no more than 3%." So that came right before a couple days probably right before So that is something we asked for They gave it to us You know there was no if you were getting state aid it was no more than 6% If you were losing state aid it was no more than 3% It was a quick fix Obviously we need to write get
the numbers right moving forward But that was the first thing that they did The second thing that they did um which does have an impact but it's a a really technical thing part of the funding formula with there's multiple components within the funding formula One is called
uh equalization aid The way equalization aid is produced on the funding formula it takes in account district income meaning the income as a collective tax base and property values So when those were predominantly given and generated
each year after year they would give me the year that it was taken from because it's all public Obviously your taxes have to get filed so they can put all pull that information and you all are supposed to file income taxes for your income you know So they take all those information that they typically use a
couple years behind but it would be one year for one year What they did this year which did have an impact and it was going to be a shock to the system So they understood that but they they wanted to try to fix it moving forward They did a three-year rolling average So
this they took three years of district income and three years of assessed valuation of the properties and put an average together So it was a mechanism that they're trying to help fix going forward but it shocked the system a little bit this year Um it also hurts
when you're coming off of S2 because during S2 if I showed anyone our state aid formulas it the numbers and you could see through in user friendly budgets it was just frozen Every year was frozen and and the only thing was that was reduced was their um
equalization aid Now we're at a S2 on paper All our numbers were generated based on our actual enrollments and what their actual costs were So everything kind of changed and it shocked our system more when you're in S2 district and and everything was constant for
seven years So that were the two major changes It was the notice the transparency it was the three-year rolling average Um the other thing was people did ask there's again Tom's River if you seen the news Tom's River is a
hund a different situation but a hundred million dollars over under adequacy rather so could you imagine we're 30 could you imagine telling your taxpayers we're going to go up a hundred million obviously it would never fly um but that is some districts are so far under
adequacy that there's no way to really catch up so people ask give us a mechanism to at least go to our adequacy levels Well this is what the state did They didn't think it was going to be on the taxpayers and just the top max from the state would be $1 million and you
know the rest is on you guys But again that was something asked and they delivered The real problem is the funding formula needs to change and we're coming up to an election year and the elephant in the room is no one wants to touch it right now until new
administration is in place And that's the reality of it unfortunately So the state now we asked for loans Many districts asked for loans They said no here is a mechanism to do what you need to do And I think that was just the way
to kind of curtail for this year until potentially a new administration comes in and more changes can be made But that's not a guarantee either It's a big process It's a bit under undertaking that you know has to be done in Trenton and with the buyin of all our
professional organizations and from you know boards of ed and and so forth So that was the the take from some of those meetings and really how the state changed the the formula and and talking to that I just want to touch on one thing I'll be fast The ridiculousness of
what everything you just said about how schools districts are receive our revenue So we talked about there's a 2% cap We can only go to this taxpayer for 2% But some of the formula they base it upon is the re is the income of the
residents So you guys fill out your your tax return like I said and it's based upon adequacy is based upon what you put as your income Now everybody in this room could win the megaillions and everyone in the room wins $198 million Congratulations to
everyone I can only go up 2% It doesn't matter if everybody in the room is a brand new millionaire The district can only go 2% But they're saying we're under adequacy because your people your residents are making more money but it doesn't matter about how much money the residents make
We're still only able to go up 2% So that's the ridiculousness of the formula It's based upon your your income but we're still capped at 2% I can't because you all win the mega million go up Oh they all won the mega million We're going up to 25% on them Just 2%
I promise we're getting there Um Christina is going to share what a thorough and efficient education tool bridge means Okay What is a true thorough and efficient education a thorough and efficient ed education provides all students with access to a strong and competitive academic program
that prepares them for college careers and life It emphasizes academic rigor while also offering diverse opportunities for growth through career and technical education fine arts music athletics and leadership programs such as Play Unified ROC and the many trade
programs we offer This inclusive approach values creativity critical thinking and practical skills ensuring students can explore their interests and talents Equally important is the focus on students overall well-being with support for mental emotional and
physical health creating a balanced and supportive environment where every student can thrive When I was growing up and I'm sure many of you we went to school to learn and went home These days for many of our students and families it's so much more than that And for us as board members and parents it's essential and of the utmost importance
for us to make sure we can maintain as much as we can for all the students It's no secret that at times us as a board disagree on many things but the one thing that we have in common no matter what side you're on no matter what some Facebook page or post says no matter what anyone thinks they know the one
thing up here that we all have in common is the welfare of all students in to the best that we can I mean you know it's getting bad when Jay and Elena are actually getting along And I have to say yesterday they uh there was many topics that they actually agreed on and you know that that's that's a big step
forward for us So I mean I I think all of us up here are really putting in the work and making sure that you know we're we're really you know crossing our tees dotting our eyes to make sure that every student is being you know taken care of and every every program every
opportunity that we offer is being maintained throughout the district Okay So that was the the ugly part of what we've been learning So we wanted to share all that with you So S's going to give three examples of what like tax
options and things like that and what that looks like So again they're just examples Yeah I'm going to start with the most unlikely first Even if we just increase taxes by 10 million and make 8 millions in cuts that would include closing three elementary schools going to the sixth
period high school as we mentioned earlier half day high school no kindergarten and no middle school sports Now I I have here a letter of more information about the tax levy incentive aid and it stipulates that it will equal
the lesser of a million or 5% of the additional general fund tax levy raised above the district's taxing authority So the second option we discussed was increasing taxes by 20 million which would give us the lesser 1 million which is 5% of 20 million This would allow us
to maintain all of our current programs give us the million dollars from the state from this levy incentive We'd be able to build back reserves As mentioned we had a gas leak at the middle school So in the case of that we do have reserves ready for that situation And we
would be able to plan for the long range plan of the future with growth in the town And the other option would be increasing taxes by 30.4 4 million which would be the amount that would bring us to adequacy that the state defines that we have to be at And for that option
once again we would get a million dollars from the state from the tax levy incentive We had board consensus that we would be able to refresh the technology for students and the classrooms Uh build a level field which is an all-inclusive sports field for all
abilities We'd be able to update the science curriculum update both planetariums allow for some security enhancements due to the changing times and all the crazy people around We could build back reserves once again going back to the gas leak and we'd be able to
plan for the future in the district We're having a long range planning and strategic meeting uh pretty soon So we're able to discuss uh the plans we have going forward when it comes to redistricting and where we want to bring our districts So increasing taxes by this amount would allow us to plan for
such events Okay And I'm going to go over what the tax increase would look second So Jay can you show the really tiny fine print so we weren't going to share this with you because it made our eyes spin Um so we decided to share and
this is what Sal's going to go over is the average tax assess Yeah we couldn't even read that Um but this gave a breakdown that I'll explain what I did real quick I'll try to do it quick What I did the eligibility was to go up
$30,444,449 What I did to start was I broke down every million dollars what the impact would be what your collective increase would be So I went from 1 million all the way down So that's why there's 30 or or one lines I think on on the page what the average impact is what
a million going up essentially costs depending on different price points of where your your assessment would be So it was that really is a chart of 1 million all the way to the end uh based on a million-doll increments and different price points of where your
house and it was by like $100,000 assessments So we weren't going to give you all those numbers So we decided as a board to give you the average tax assessed uh value and three different possible tax increase amounts and what that would mean for the year and for the
month And then we also went up to 500 So go ahead Yes So the average assessed value of a home in Obridgeidge is $157,000 For a $20 million increase that would translate to $417 a year or $57 a
month Increasing taxes by 25 million would bring the average assessed house an increase of $53 per year or $64 per month At the maximum allowed $30.4 million that would translate to $617 a year or $74 a month For those evaluated
at 500,000 the 20 million increase would translate to $1,332 a year or $181 a month The $25 million increase would include a $1,599 increase over the year or $24 a
month And the maximum 30.4 4 million increase would cause an increase of the tax levy for those at $1,962 a year or $234 a month Okay So we know those are a lot of things to think
and Kieran I apologize I skipped over the part that you wanted to No that's okay Um I just want to share that it's been like four months uh the board of education right i've been asking very tough questions right uh all the way to Mr
Sino or Kathy Dr Twi and all of us because I have certain principle in my mind This is a business It's education business and I I come from a big corporate background and technology and everything as probably some of you know So I look at this as how do we run this
business efficiently sustainably importantly right and I've been asking so many challenging questions starting from hey why don't we start from the foundations what is the core basics that we need right we have been having you know lot of conversations across the board members with administration what
does a core mean and what I learned part of the process is the core means you can run your classes for four four hours per day right and the core means you don't have to have so many sports activities The core means you don't have to have so many arts and musics and bands and all
of this Then the question raises is that what you're you want for your kids and other kids in the town right and then we have had tough conversations right even up until like a week back or a couple weeks back but end of the day you know what it comes back to is the problem is
not know right here The problem is because of the state and the process that which you know we are all being put through right but yes is there a fix for this can we do this better absolutely yes Right We can always do things better and I think that's the and we are in the
right time I think historically however you know there were several board members whatsoever However we have been driven by the state I think here is a time that we need to all collectively work together to move on from this year but start looking at the next five years
plan You know like some of us told here we do not know what's going to happen next year even if the government changes or the same government whatsoever we do not know it's unpredictable so I think we have to look at a or rather you know revisit our strategic planning and that's where I think uh we are going to have a strategic planning meeting May
8th hopefully and uh that's where we have to start really looking at how do we manage this business more efficiently optimized but not compromising on quality education quality cannot be compromised period right so I have some notes here pretty much you know what I have is kind of bringing all of this or
summarizing all of this we are not alone in this flight sorry we are not alone alone in this fight we have borden town again I have some data just like Jay probably using generative AI and Google and all of this my data is not my data it's a public data so Bentown is
planning to cut 50 teachers and counselors to close a $8 million gap lacy township may lose sports and busing due to a $6.5 million deficit with a $22 million shortfall is considering closing schools our $18 million deficit will put our
teachers programs like special education arts uh risk of you know reducing the class sizes and the hovers etc So we're all caught in the same storm of rising cost and shrinking state just like how Elina went through you know all the rising costs never know last year that this year you know our cost will go up
by 5 million for example on some of those benefits and you know medical prescriptions and whatn not and why is this happening the root cause is all again the S2 problem right the state says you know a walbridge you're very wealthy you can pay more taxes but that's not the way you know you can go
and assess us how each of us know you know what we how wealthy we are you know we have our own bills to pay and you know our incomes and expenses we know better state just goes by a common ratio across the town that's probably not the right way to do and like Mr the city and I said there's always a cap you cannot
go beyond the 2% cap then how do you manage so it's a it's a kind of a local issue again if you look at the aspects of when did we do the last reassessment when did we do the last re-evaluation of our properties so I did talk to some
people in the county as well as I'm talking to you know the folks in the township as well in the township as well so if you look at it the last time when we did uh property evaluation right is about in
1990s and then probably in 2000s a reassessment it it's too old you know we have not done anything in the last recent past and look at the inflation the rising cost of everything and whatsoever happening in the world you know with tariffs and everything I don't know how we are going to manage all of
this with you know a 30-year-old assessment done so in nutshell you know where I'm going is we are really prepared for the future Right and the really preparing the future is to look at you know all these aspects that are causing us this trouble Right yes we are we can bring in efficiencies but we can bring in
efficiencies as much as you know we can uh make our inflow more better Right now our inflow are capped Right so the reason every year we have to increase these taxes is only because of you know there is no proper process set in place no proper inflow set in place Yes maybe
the state is right probably you know there is a lot of income happening in old bridge but who who is going governing that there's nobody though nobody taking ownership of it right to govern that and put a process in place so these are the various reasons that you know we are stuck in the middle and our students are impacted more than
anything and of course the taxpayers are getting impacted year on year so so to protect our schools right the great teachers we have the sports and the arts and the various programs and curricula we have including special educ ation with the 2% raise it's going to be
tough and I have the same questions when I looked at is it $18 million how do we you know um bridge this gap but this is more of a foundational problem it is not a problem just arising year over year and I think collectively as a community
including the residents and the board and the township we all need to collectively work together to work with our uh you know senators or the and keep pushing them to for getting a permanent resolution on this So yes we
need to you know definitely fight for a fairer state funding formula and uh prepare for the 25 2025 tax update to fix you know our tax system find ways to you know save money but at the same time you know like we looked at all the cuts there is only some gain we will get you
you cannot get 18 million just of you know anything even you close all these schools as you looked at it what what kind of impact is it's a big impact right cutting down you know 6 hours uh uh six periods like half a day school What will the kids do for the remaining of of the day we parents you know all
work you know to raise our families where where could the kids kids be if they're on the road then you know the police is going to incur you know more trouble and whatever So I just want to summarize that we have all done our due diligence This is not like u you know one person's problem It's a common
problem It's a community problem that we all need to come together and u I'm really glad that you know we are all on the same page you know at the end of it Yes we had tough conversations Mr Cideno or uh Mr Vital uh but you know the end of it you know the end result is you know that we're all together in this and
there is no other opportunities right now in plate and we do not want to get our uh children impacted end of the day Thank you Okay So go ahead Can I just say one thing i just wanted to kind of tie in what S was talking about with the
um what does the tax increases look like and also what Kieran just mentioned So um when S was talking about the average assessed house in Oldbridge being $157,000 that's the assessment from when
Kieran was talking about from the 1990s or whatever So on those postcards that you get for your taxes it tells you what your assessment value is right so like my h I live in Swood South My house I'm one of those average value The postcard
that I get says my house is values at $160,200 And I mean I know it's sold somebody across the street bought it for close to seven So like that when he's talking about that he's talking about what your current assessment of your
house is according to the state So that's what's on that little card It's not what you think your house sells for what it's worth or anything like that That's what it's based on Yeah So and that's all public information So if you don't know where you put your postcard you can go online So we know that was a lot of information
to process Um the board emails are out there So now our job over the next few weeks is to figure out what number are we comfortable with Are we comfortable with any of it no we're not comfortable with any of it We don't want to raise 20
million We don't want to cut$ 18 million you know but it's not our money It's your money So flood our email boxes let us know what you're comfortable with because that's the hard decision that we have coming up So I want to give kudos to the board for coming together
yesterday It was a great day Um you know and and I think we shared a lot with the public So I appreciate that Anything else on committee reports before I open the mic to the residents all right we all spoke enough
It's now uh I'm five minute five minute all right five minute bathroom break and then we will open the resident the mic do we need a uh a motion motion for a beef uh okay okay we're we're doing a five minute All right we'll take a quick fivem minute
recess stretch So at this point I'd like to open up the mic for the hearing of the residents on any agenda item and the massive information dump that we just gave you There is a notebook so sign in Um we ask for time because we we just had a long
section If you're going to speak come line up now Let's not like wait to you know get get up when the next person speaks So the mic is now open Also just so you know we're going to give a quiz at the end of this meeting And I hope you all get a good grade on things we
said Anyone speaking andrew Lewis Obea Uh before I read what I uh have here I want to take a moment and thank Mr Citadino uh for your service to the district for all the years I want to echo Mrs Mone and I also asked Mrs Fiori to stay another year She
also told me no Uh I want to also thank you all for acknowledging uh that educators buy their own supplies when we don't have enough paper Hopefully that changes Uh and I edited what I wrote here quickly because I thank you all for getting along Uh so I want to address
the district's ongoing financial crisis Since the last meeting I've been asked "What happened what's the plan there's confusion and there's concern." I tried to come up with an analogy for your vote last meeting on the potential tax levy increase and decided to compare it to applying for a mortgage and buying a
house At the last meeting you essentially applied for a $30 million mortgage It was a bold and necessary step It showed vision and responsibility But now comes the real decision What kind of home are we going to buy for the future of Oldbridge Schools you have a few options You can play it safe and buy
a home for under $18 million but just like a small house with a growing family you'll quickly run out of space You'll end up needing to buy a shed to store the essentials Meaning you'll be scrambling for temporary fixes and short-term solutions that don't really meet the needs of the district You could
choose the $18 million home a bit bigger but still tight It might work for now but you'll likely outgrow it within a year And by that time the financial window that you have now may be closed You might not get approved for another 30 million especially with changing economic conditions and political
shifts Or you can go higher than 18 somewhere between 20 and 30 You can take full advantage of the mortgage and invest in a home that actually fits one that meets the needs of our students our staff and our community not just for this year but for many years to come This is more than just a budget It's a
blueprint for what kind of district we want to have Do we want to keep patching holes or do we want to build something strong lasting and future ready there's hope that this board will rise to the moment and do what's right for Old Bridge This evening I'm going to share with each of you some postcards written by my members as well as members of our
community encouraging you to invest in success Here's a glimpse of what some of them say Raising taxes isn't easy but neither is explaining why we let our schools crumble when we had a lifeline Be the board that chose to build not break More cuts only hurt staff who live
and work in Old Bridge We take pride in our schools and we care about your children Help us Don't fight us We're here because we care My daughter helped organize these today's Take Your Child to Work Day So members of the board let me ask you to invest in success Invest
in our schools invest in our staff and invest in our students Invest in the success of the Old Bridge Township Public Schools Thank you Anyone else on any agenda item or the budget that we just spoke of all
right mic is closed We're going to move on There is nothing in policy uh curriculum items one through four Can I have a motion please ganiano motion Francisco will second
Jody you won't second I'm sorry I just missed that I'm sorry We were distracted by cards That was correct Motion was by Gerardano and second by Oh Francisco Okay Okay Okay I'll give it
to Elena All right Any discussions on items one through four there we go All right Roll call please Gerardano yes Jri yes Mazone yes Slade
yes Solicowski yes Benitas yes Done is absent Francisco yes Dan Tuno yes Resolution 1 through four for curriculum professional development passes Okay Finance item 1 through 14 Can I have a motion
please sl second Any discussion going to administratively remove um item number two We had a discussion with the township Um we are going to just fix one item on there So there's going to be a
couple shared service agreements is uh for approval next month but we're just going to make one change in this shared service agreement So we're going to administratively remove number two Any other discussion on finance roll call please
Jori yes Mazone yes Slade yes Solowski yes Venitation yes Done is absent Francisco yes Gerardano yes And Dantino yes Resolution passed for finance resolution number one and then three
through 14 Okay There was nothing on athletics uh non-certificated personnel office item one Can I have a motion please francisco motion Giorgio will second Roll Any discussion
roll call please Slade yes Solici yes Venitas yes Done is absent Francisco yes Gerardano yes Jodri yes Mone yes Dan Tuno yes Resolution one for
non-certificated personnel office passes Okay Non-certificated personnel operational items 1 through 4 Can I have a motion please j second Any discussion
roll call please Solowski Yes Thank yes Done is absent Francisco yes Giodano yes Jodri yes Mone yes Slade yes Dantino yes Resolution one through four for non-certificate personnel operational
passes Okay Non-certificated personnel other items one through five Can I have a motion please francisco will move and a second Ken will second Thank you Discussion
Are the blank spaces in number four to still to be filled yes we're currently hoping to do that However um if those are not filled we'll fill them with Kelly subs Okay And what's the cost difference with in-house
versus Kelly sub for that position i'd have to give you that information I'm not sure off the top of my head Thanks Sorry I should ask you beforehand Any other discussions on items one through five right Roll call please
Venetason yes Dun is absent Francisco yes Gerardano yes Jori yes Mazzone yes Slate yes Solici yes Dan Tuno yes Resolution 1 through five for non-certificated personnel Other passes
Certifi Certificated personnel items one through 14 Can I have a motion miss motion down a second We just need we need to administratively remove number five Okay And I'd like to separate one for
discussion Um number one Yes Okay Separated one for discussion So any discussion on everything except number one do we do now just discuss okay So now um
just for clarification number five will be put back on in May because I'm sure there's people that are out there looking and wondering why we're removing it There's just other motions that need to be put on with this Okay Um so I want them all to go on at the same time collectively Okay Yes Thank you
All right So discussion on number one Uh yes I'd like to thank Mr Sadino for his years of service to the Oldbridge district and I wish him the best in Wayne So thank you very much I'd like to thank Dave as well The only
thing I knew about Dave for the first eight years was his voice on the phone When we had days off I didn't know who he was but it was a pleasure working with you Dave for the last four years I've learned a lot and I wish you well on your next journey I'm also going to
echo he stuck with us for a little longer Um and we'll appreciate every one of them One Daisy might have to come and make an appearance and we'll thank Daisy for her service because as much as they the kids like hearing your voice telling them that there's no school you know they definitely love Daisy So we thank
both of you for your service and dedication Um and wish we could keep you longer but know you'll always be in touch So any more discussion on these or anything yeah I just want to echo the same Mr S you know thank you very much
for all you have done to the district I think it's a long path that you have carried forward in the district probably like 13 years uh or more right so it's a long pathway uh really appreciate you know where I mean it's for no reason you know we are here because of you know
your leadership all along the days and I'm sure you know there will be a lot of people you know missing you uh but you know we have to always look forward and like you rightly mentioned you know you need to look out for yourself as well and for the growth of uh you know others as well Thank you
Any other Jay i will say I I can't let this go by If you remember before you really knew me and brothers of Voice we had a phone call Yeah During COVID and you weren't very nice to me and you could you share a little bit
of that yeah and he I said um you know listen I don't want to be the guy that you know that you you know that you know you know I just want to be the guy running the schools and making everybody happy but apparently unfortunately during co it was difficult to do and um
I think you called me a schmuck at one point but that was you know that was probably what I could share with the kids watching here so no but I do remember you did say you said you don't want to be a front and center name nobody knew who you But we quickly knew your name under the
bad But that was then this is now And uh it was a good transition Thank you Any other discussion roll call please Okay So this is one through four
administrator move five and six through 14 Done is absent So we'll go to Francisco Yes Gerardano yes Jori yes Mone yes Slade yes Solowski yes Benitason yes And
Dantino yes Resolutions 1 through 4 and 6 through 14 for certificate personnel passes Trans non-certificated personnel transportations items one through three Can I have a motion please jano a motion
Francisco second Any discussion okay Roll call please Donna is absent Francisco yes Giardo yes Jri yes Mone yes Slade yes Solici yes Benitason yes Dan Tuno
yes Resolutions one two and three for non-certificate personnel transportation passes Okay Speaking of transportation we'll move on to transportations items one through four Can I have a motion please miss a motion Jod'll second
Any discussion uh roll call please Francisco yes Gerardano yes Jori yes Mone yes Slade yes Solicowski yes Bank
of Tason yes Dun is absent Dantino yes Resolution one through four for transportation passes Okay Supplies equipment and services We have items one through 17 Can I have a motion please is all a
motion Second Can I have a second please i have a second Thank you Any discussion roll call please Gerardano yes Jori yes
Mazzone yes Slade yes Solici yes Venitas yes Dunn is absent Francisco yes Dan Tuno yes Resolution 1 through 17 for supplies equipment and services passes Miscellaneous items 1 through
six Miss motion Second please I have a second Kieran thank you Discussions Roll call please Jodri yes Mone yes Slade yes Solici yes Thank
Dun's absent Francisco yes Gerardano yes Dantino yes Resolutions one through six for miscellaneous passes Okay So board secretary and board business we're removing the calendars one two and three Correct Okay Because
that got pushed to next month So items number four through 16 Can I have a motion miss motion Francisco Will second Any discussion roll call please
All right So this is from 4 to 16 Mazone yes Slade yes Solowski yes Benitason yes Done is absent Francisco yes Jerano no for 12 Yes For the rest no for
12 Jori yes Dan Tuno yes Sorry Resolutions 4 through 16 for board secretary board business passes Okay So hearing of the residents on any
school district item Again if you're going to speak everyone line up now Um sign the book Uh I was trying to digest a lot of what we heard tonight So um didn't want to just jump up here during the first opening but um can you just state your
name please i'm sorry It's Ron Varial parent um and resident of Oldbridge for god it's scary to say but going on closer to 50 than 40 years at this point So um I I've been sitting in these meetings
for months and almost years now hearing about the 2% cap hearing about how our hands are tied uh hearing about how we're at the mercy of the state of you know the these archaic rules these these
confusing um funding formulas And tonight it's like and even at the last meeting it's like the skies have opened and suddenly you as a board have an opportunity to seize control of
what you want old bridge schools to look like to feel like to operate like me sitting out in the office in the audience all I keep thinking is I really hope this is a debate about whether
we're going to the max if We're going just shy of the max because my understanding is this could be a oneshot deal This could be a oneshot deal to get us to where you're back in control You've had
control rested away from you for years now And that's all we've heard And I've heard people come up here and blame the state and blame this and blame that But the control is in your hands right now We as Oldbridge as
residents we could see in social media we could see in the the the comments people want great schools It's not free You can't just say "I want great schools but I don't want to spend 50 bucks a month extra." You can't say "I want my
property values to go up and be maintained and then cut your late buses and get rid of your athletics." And Mr Venetas and I loved how you spoke spoke so passionately about the the musical that you saw and I know that's something
close to my family's heart I know athletics is something the things that our kids learn at these extracurricular activities How to be a leader how to socialize how to take construction
constructive criticism how to lose how to pick yourself up dust yourself off and get back out there when things don't go your way You have the opportunity to not only keep this ship afloat I hope that's not even a question
But you have the chance to say rally the town This is a point of pride for us We love our schools We think our schools could be better Let's just not survive Let's not just do the bare minimum so that you know we don't put our necks on
the line and at the next election you know or the next three elections you're the one that raised our taxes Guess what it's not about raising our taxes It's about s it's about building our schools investing in our schools for the next however long it might be And maybe you
could clarify a little bit on you know I know last year it was a 9.9 and people said this is the one time and I'm seeing in towns all over the place it's the same thing Catastrophic you know we're closing schools it's going to be a disaster but we have a we have a
lifeline But but that can't be year in and year out So if this is your chance to to make a statement and say we don't we want local control right how much of our politics locally nationally is about local control local decision-making you
have that You have the control in your hands So I just urge you uh to to take this time and take this chance to to do don't just limp through be bold be aggressive set the tone for the next
superintendent that's coming in You don't think that's going to make this a much more attractive uh opportunity when you go out there and you've got a couple dozen candidates and you want the best You're not going to get the best because you already lost the best But if you want the second
best this is your chance to do it Be up there Say we've got we're financially in a good spot You're not coming in to p you know still pinch every penny because it's still important but this is your time to do it So that that's my two cents Thank you
Let's see Good evening everyone Gene Denario former board of ed president I was in your shoes with budgets and stuff like that What made me not run for reelection i hired Dave Cadino Hooker Dr
Hookah Chris Pon and we promoted Vinnie South with the high school I felt the district was in great shape for the next 10 to 15 years Dave thank you for making me look correct Appreciate all your help everything you've done for a district as a superintendent as a human being And
one thing I asked this board to do there's no right or wrong answer I've been there I've been I've been sitting with you I built Lombardi Field I took more ridicule We did the baseball field and it turned out to be the best thing for Old Bridge Yes Is my house worth 7800,000 100% it
is I don't want the school district to go down the tubes I want my house to be worth 800,000 Okay if our school system goes down the tubes so is the value of our homes People are going to leave Obridge like you cannot imagine Give the teachers what they need to teach give
this district a superintendent a leader who can take us to the next 10 years like we provided you as a former board member Thank you all And again every hour here you spent is an hour away from your family and I appreciate that because I've been there Dave once again thank you so much Dr Hulker Chris again
you're still the best lawyer I've ever seen and I'm glad we hired you All of your rest God bless and God bless America Anyone else go ahead Sign in after if that's
okay Um my name is Brooke Richards Patterson I don't even know where to begin and I only I know I have a limited time amount of time So um there's just a lot to unpack a lot to take in too many things all changing all at once Um just
a couple of things was I know uh Kieran had mentioned um you know about the reassessment I just happened to attend the um town council meeting on Tuesday night this week and that topic came up um and the mayor was very explicit that
basically they are working on the reassessment um and that's something that goes for the county not the township and that none of that is going to help us in this specific predicament unfortunately So I would encourage anybody to tune in you
know on YouTube to educate yourselves a little bit about that part So that's like one less thing Um I was trying to take notes as Mr Widell was talking and then it was everybody Um and when we talk about transparency as far as a
state you know I really just wanted to ask if of the same with the with the schools uh because I'm going to have to watch this meeting a hundred times on YouTube to really catch up and absorb every you know single thing and it would
be amazing to just you know be a part of the four finance meetings that happened behind closed doors that excluded the public Granted I get it you know it is a lot but you know but just practice what you preach and be more forthcoming I
also wanted to know if it was possible like I know you guys have to announce these meetings in a certain way Is it possible to maybe change the way you know different avenues maybe the bridge maybe the patch things more modern um
and our emails like parent emails saying "Hey this is the agenda These are important topics We had a big controversial health thing and our board of ed you know was telling us that we have a big controversial topic coming up You know I I think if people really saw
this like the rest of us saw it they'd want to be here you know and and just like the rest of us were running around with sports and extracurriculars with our kids working you know trying to juggle everything And so um you know I think it's important to get all the
stakeholders and also consider people um that are seniors that live here and not just our education I mean we moved here for the education so don't get me wrong I don't want to unpack anything that you guys are talking about and I don't envy what you guys have to go through And I am thrilled that you're all getting that
everybody's on board and trying to team up here but it is a lot And so those were just a couple of things that I just wanted to touch on I don't want to go too far because it there's just so much Um and I just want to say for the record Mr Cadino I've known you as long as I've lived here you know we've buted heads at
times but you've also helped me a lot at times and I really truly wish you well Um and all the best I'm happy that you have a you know a four-year contract and I see that you're they're paying you well And um you know I do wish you the best I know the first time I ever spoke
to you cuz I was definitely more helicopter with the older one She was my first Um the first time I met you you said you know oh I'll never forget it you know uh Miss Patterson uh my wife always said "When it comes to your kids never settle." And that always
stuck for me And that's probably why I've been the biggest pain in the neck to you all these years So um I do wish you well Okay that's it Anyone else okay we're we're going to close the
public portion Um I just wanted to touch on one thing before we go into old and new business Uh we knew this was a lot of information to unpack That's why we did want to give the transparency and have the yes you know the it was a you know four or five
hour meeting behind closed doors but we we brought it out to you for that transparency and we're did it now because there is time for you guys to email us watch the the presentation four five six 20 times because it is a lot to
unpack So um that was the board's you know project when we started this topic is to bring it forward So that's why it's now and not at the budget presentation next month Um any old business yes Go ahead Um I didn't mention I
forgot to mention this at the presentation during the committee reports but I know a bunch of seniors they have rebates and other programs such as Ankor So I it doesn't help but I know these systems are in place for seniors and some of them have some cost
of living adjustments when they come back So that's going to be a big thing for me when I make my vote you know cuz you either have the parents with students which they directly benefit from the education and the school system and then you have those older without
children who as was mentioned from u Mrs Denafhrio that they benefit from their home values being maintained but they also are on fixed incomes and can't necessarily afford big jumps depending on the position they're in So once again
there are ways for seniors to assist with their property tax payments And I'll I'll have more specific information about that at the budget meeting but I just wanted to bring that up and that's going to affect the way I vote and possibly how others vote Thank you
I just have a comment Um I just want to echo your words I said it earlier I think we're in the best seat in the house to be able to gain control of the destiny of the of the district Um I hate to use this cliche but like it's like when a guy takes someone out
to a woman out to dinner he pays the bill You know there's always that obligation You know you're going to pay money for something So you got to pay for things So a woman could be bought No not boy I'm saying or even a woman buys dinner for a man But my point is my
point is it's a nice opportunity to have control of your destiny So why wake up on January 1st and wonder what the state is going to do um I echo those words I think we we have the opportunity to take advantage of it Um think of the
alternatives You want to send your kid to private school if you don't like what the public school system is doing It's got to be triple than what we're going to pay in taxes um there's not going to be any more sports You have to pay for wreck sports So there's a price to pay when you want to go independent Um to me
it's an investment into our children's education the staff home values Um so I'm all in favor of of supporting and spending my money as well as your money Thank you
um to to answer the question we don't know about next year You know last when we finished S2 we we thought that was a new baseline for cuts and we weren't going to lose anymore like and then we lost and we thought the 9.9 was going to fix you know and that's part of the hard
part for the board up here is you know we said we'd go to the max last year and that's going to be it And now here we're be being hit again But this is the new baseline So whether we do 20 million to get the one million We do 25 million We do
30.4 That five or 10 million increments That's compounded So it's not just you know a $10 million difference this year It's a $10 million difference of income coming to the district to to the schools next year So that's part of the whole
thing So any more old business i just want to new business Uh go ahead Yeah So on April 8th we had a multicultural event in Madison Park I just want to uh thank uh you know the
PTA team there um the president Nancy Mento Nancy Nageria Jessica Katy Laura they were very amazing um uh I couldn't be part of the full session but at least you know the theme of bringing multiple
c multiple cultures uh into a you know session where the whole evening you know the kids try to understand about each and every culture and a variety of food you know food platter from the parents you know and it was a very good event and we also have got an opportunity to bring in some external uh volunteers to
perform you know some dance and music so that was a very amazing event and again I want to thank the medicine park PTA A and um yeah go ahead I have two things Um the first thing that I have is um I would like I spoke
to Jen about this before the meeting Um I would like to recognize maybe next meeting um Miss Kenny out over at Gryom She her and my daughter and not just because it's my daughter but she put together this foundation to save the sea
turtles and they literally they spent months and months putting this this f this you know this thing together and they spent countless hours they went out they raised over $1,000 to donate to the sea turtle recovery over in Turtleback
Zoo Um and again that just that that goes back to show you just how much effort and how much time that these teachers spend with the students and care for the students So if it is possible I would like to recognize uh Miss Kenny next month Um because like I
said she she deserves to be recognized for for her efforts in that Um the second thing I have to say is I understand that you know everyone uses Facebook as a platform Um and listen you're free to say whatever you want but I I I think that people need to be
mindful of what is being said on Facebook Um you know we have high school students on Facebook we have middle school kids on Facebook and the things that are said on Facebook are just mean and nasty And we are a district that we are supposed to be working together especially in a time like this And you
know we have our differences and that's fine But for grown adults to be talking that the the way they do it's not set an example for any one of our students or our children And it's it's actually quite disgusting
Um so you know we want our children to be respectful We want our children to learn from us by doing that That's not really setting an example at home So if we could just be mindful of what is being said on Facebook it that would really set an example for future generations So thanks
Uh I just um missed to acknowledge Mr Daly as well the principal of Madison Park Thanks for him to help support the PTA as well as you know bringing this kind of events to the school Thank you Yep Um yesterday I went to the fifth
grade volleyball tournament at the high school um which was pretty awesome So I just wanted to thank all of the uh gym teachers and any other staff members that were involved in putting that together It was uh kind of a beautiful example of the most organized chaos you could have in a gym Um it was also 4,000
degrees in there But those kids had so much fun Uh you know my daughter got to play and um I would love to know out of that how many of those kids actually try out for the volleyball team because I really think it kind of opened up a whole another world for a lot of the kids So it was fun So I just wanted to say thank you to all those who are
involved Yes I have something else So not only the budget um we appreciate that but we also want some information on if anyone has any redistricting ideas what they want what they don't want because that's going to be affected by the ultimate budget decision as this board makes So
just give us that more information and should we go all the way with the budget or you know cut some stuff out and that's it But we appreciate all your emails positive and negative we love the feedback Thank you Okay Um to piggyback off of what S was
saying uh May 8th we were able to secure the date for the long-term strategic planning meeting Um we're hoping to have those meetings more often It hasn't really happened the past two years Um we're hoping maybe every other month Like we can't wait till budget time to be having these conversations Um and
whether we we talk about redistricting we talk about you know where the funding's coming from Um the board kind of said this year that we want to have those more often So May 8th the public's invited kids are invited Like this is your school What do you want to see you know in the next two years in the next
five years in the next 10 years that's the meeting to come to Um I want to thank Sean McCoy for handling a a fishing email that went to the board and the administration during spring break I try really hard to respect people's personal times off Um the administration
knows that the poor guy was getting you know hit with emails over spring break because a fake email from me that wasn't from me asking for everyone's cell phone number and everyone's text me like "Don't you have my number?" So totally new So thank you Sean for working on that
Um the spring sports teams are are in the middle of things Great job Keep going Uh Play Unified had a great season and finished off high So great job to them Um and then I was also going to mention the fifth grade volleyball So thank you to all those that made that
happen Anyone else for Oh wait Last thing Um yes I want to congratulate Play Unified for finishing up their season Um also I want to thank Dr Payton over at Memorial for inviting us to their wax museum I mean those kids man they did
such an amazing job at this wax museum I wasn't able to attend last year I went this year and I was blown away at the costumes and the the information and just how they're able to memorize their whole speech because I can't remember anything Obviously I write my speeches down as everyone knows but I mean they
they really really did an amazing job So you know thank you to Dr Payton and the staff at Memorial for inviting us and just giving us this wealth of knowledge that they did that day Thank you I don't think Play Unifi's over I believe that there's spring no track I thought there
was some Basketball's over Okay But anyway I think there's Am I right there's track So um come out support our kids that are uh participating in these awesome programs I wanted to mention one thing about the calendars We took them off the agenda
tonight but um not a lot of people have weighed in about just a handful about the different calendars So maybe take another look at them because we're going to revisit that and um and just tell us which calendar you prefer I think part of that is we kicked it
back to the committee to see if there was any other tweaking So it wasn't that we were waiting for response Well we were we didn't really like any of the choices and wanted another one We didn't really get many responses No at all So
I I just want to also I forgot to thank you the PTA president's council Um last night I wasn't aware that they were doing this for me Obviously they had a meeting last night and I had a conflict and I did not attend but they had a cake for me and a gift and I wasn't there and
I feel terrible because they they got me a canoli cake which is my favorite kind of cake I don't even like cake but if I'm going to have a cake it's going to be ice cream or canoli Um you're welcome Gino And that was very nice of them I I felt so terrible when I found out about that and I wasn't there So the the cake
is in my office They nice gift and I was going to go It's their last meeting so I I can't even bring them a cake to their next meeting but uh I thank them The the parents the PTAs have always given me great support so I appreciate that Thank you Sal Marjorie and I enjoyed your cake
so it was very good Yeah we had the part with your name on it All right Anyone else uh I believe the NJSLA state tests are going to happen in the month of May I think beginning next week or so So I want to wish uh good luck and best wishes for all the
students and also the staff that that are supporting through this process Thank you All right Are we doing new business we did that Go ahead Do your new business I got something Yeah I'll keep it professional Were you not paying attention no I'm not going to Where's
your poker hand um just a reminder the Old Bridge Education Foundation the grant applications are open I believe a memo went out to all the staff Last year we gave out $10,000 in grant money So get your applications in We'll review them Um and I think we're going to have
a presentation on May 20th when we do the teacher of the year which we did that last year So look out for the grant application And also we're having a flea market at the grade nine center on May 17th from 9 to 3 It's again another reason to support uh the foundation
Thank you Okay So next month we have three meetings Uh the budget presentation should be May 6th Uh May 13th will be our agenda meeting Um and then the teacher of the year celebration will be May 20th The
first week of May is staff appreciation Well we call it staff but it's it's teacher appreciation but we kind of you know we appreciate the thank you the whole staff It's been a long night Um you know so thank you to all The public hearing is May 6th but the adoption of
the budget would be at the agenda session So yes So the presentation of the budget is May 6th but no voting will be happening that way So motion to go into executive session unless there's anything else Jer motion
Miss second Yes Thank you everyone Uh enjoy the nice weather and uh have a safe drive home I Yeah we're not coming back out We're going to the admin building for executive session