Go. >> May I call the meeting of the Paripony Troy Hills Board of Education to order on January 22nd, 2025 in compliance with chapter 231 public law 1975 entitled Open Public Meetings
Act. Adequate notice of this meeting has been provided as specified in the act in in the following manner. A meeting notice was published in the newspaper and on the district website on January 7th, 2026. In addition, the notice of
the meeting was posted at the municipal building in the schools and a copy of the notice filed with the township clerk and transmitted to other newspapers on January 7th, 2026. The daily record, the star ledger, Percipany focus, tap into
PCI patch, and the district website. This regular public board meeting is being video recorded as per bylaw 168. The recordings of these meetings will be available on our district website and our video on the go YouTube channel. We ask that you please refrain from using
student or staff names in your statement. Professionalism is expected at all times. Please stand for the pledge to the flag. I pledge algiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands. One nation
under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. >> Okay. May we have the attendance roll call, please? >> Yes. Mrs. Abraham, >> here. >> Mr. Barios, >> here. >> Mrs. Delave, >> here. >> Mr. Mr. Devito >> here.
>> Mrs. Mayor >> here. >> Mr. Shaw >> here. >> Dr. Wright >> here. >> Mrs. Chappelle >> here. >> Mrs. Kogan >> here. >> Student committee reports. I think you're on your own tonight. Go ahead. >> Hello. Here are the latest happenings at
PHS. Our student council is hosting the glamies tomorrow after school at 7 p.m. We held rehearsals today with all the uh speakers. Um the boys varsity ice hockey team is having game against the Catholic high
school and the girls uh varsity wrestling team is having a game against Hillsboro High School and our school ACT deck competition is on the 31st of Jan. >> Thank you. Are there any questions for
our student? Thank you very much. We are up to presentations. We have Mr. John Fina of PKF O Connor Davies who will present the annual comprehensive financial report for the
year ending June 30th, 2025. >> Good evening everyone. Thank you for having me. Uh again, my name is John Fina. I'm with PKFO Conor Davies and we recently completed the audit of the Paripony Troy Hill School District for the year ended June 30th, 2025.
Okay. So, the audit reports are issued uh they were dated uh December 19th prior to the state extended deadline of January 15th, 2026. Uh before this meeting, I met with finance the finance committee uh to go into detail uh with
the audit and answer any questions there. So, we're kind of just going to run through a brief summary uh at this meeting. Uh before I get started and get into the audit, I always like to uh acknowledge and thank the district staff for their
assistance um during the audit. It really is a big undertaking uh for us and for the district. Uh we spend hundreds of hours as a firm on this on this engagement and uh we request I
think uh we we use a secure file sharing portal and I checked uh earlier and we received 700 documents that we had to review as part of this audit and that's just on that portal and Colleen and Steve will tell you we were here many
days and we got a lot of other documents in person here too. So, it's a heavy lift for them over and above their normal daily work. Um, so the help we get is really appreciated to help it moves uh move along smoothly. Um,
on that note, the district did receive the International Association of School Business Officials certifi certificate of excellence in financial reporting for the eighth consecutive year. Uh the district is one of about 35 in the state
that received it for the uh June 30th 24 audit and there are 600 districts in the state. So 35 out of 600 and the parcipony is one of them. So great job on that. So a lot of people think audit we just
look at numbers. We just come in and crunch numbers and we're done. really is a a district-wide endeavor. Um, we get special services involved, transportation, food services, administration. So, it really is a
district-wide effort um to to get this done. The objectives of our audit engagement is to express an opinion on the financial statements. Um the uh the report requires us to issue
an opinion the the whether or not the district's statements are fairly presented in all material respects in conformity with US generally accepted accounting principles. We also have to uh report on the internal controls related to financial statements and
compliance with laws, regulations and the provisions of contracts and grant agreements non-compliance with which could have a material effect on the financial statements in accordance with government auditing standards. So we have separate standards that we have to follow because this is a government
auditing engagement. We also have to report on the internal controls related to major state, federal and state programs and issue an opinion on compliance with these laws. So what that is is a single audit we call it based which is we have to look at
specific state and federal grants due to the level of spending um that the district has in those areas. So you received the ACTUER. Uh the ACTER is the 150 page or so report that we
got. It's uh divided into four sections. The first section would be the introductory section which has a transmitt letter which is uh prepared by the superintendent and the business administrator. and it kind of just gives a brief overview of the of the year um
and and some information on the district. Then the next section would be the financial section. This has the independent auditor's report in it as well as all the financial statements and the notes to the financial statements. Following that is the statistical
section which is provides uh general information on the district, financial trends, demographic information, operational information and uh information on the debt. And then the fourth section is the single audit section which as we said before is uh
related to spending on federal and state grants. As far as the results of the audit go, the most important part of the audit is the independent auditor's report and our opinion. And the district once again
earned an unmodified opinion, which is the highest level of opinion that we can get on the financial statements, which represents a clean honor for the district. Just some uh quick financial statement highlights on the uh fund balance and the reserves.
You generated fund balance in excess of the 2% allowance of $5.3 million in the current year. Last year that was about 6.6 million. Uh you maintain strong capital reserve again this year. We're actually able to
increase that reserve by a million up to $9,33,58. And you have undesated fund balance at the maximum that you're allowed to have by statute of $4.1 million. The uh
in the single audit section we have to issue a report on internal controls over financial reporting and on compliance and other matters based on an audit of financial statements performed in accordance with those government auditing standards. This is where we would uh talk about any material
weaknesses or significant deficiencies which would be pretty serious findings. We have none of those uh in this report. And then there's also a report on compliance for each major federal and state program and the report under on
internal control over compliance. Uh this is related to the specific grants that we tested as major programs this year and the on the federal side we tested the IDEA grant and on the state side we tested extraordinary aid and
transportation aid and there were no no major findings with either of those any of those grants that we tested. You also received uh a skinnier report, the auditor's management report uh which provides a summary of what we did and um
that would list all of the findings and recommendations that we have. We did have one minor finding this year uh related to the extraordinary aid grant where uh some of the support that we were provided with did not match the final application.
um not big dollar amounts at all, but uh we thought we would put it in there just uh for something to improve on for next year or for this year. And um that's all that ended up in there. So overall, very clean audit and uh good job by
everybody. So I'll open it up to any questions. >> Are there any questions by the board? >> I did want to thank you for coming in ahead of time and talking to the finance committee. We definitely had questions in the finance committee. Um so thank
you very much for coming in and um answering those. And I did have one question but you answered it during the um presentation. So thank you. Did nobody else had a question. All right. And I also Mr. Berios >> just quick question.
>> Yes. >> On the auditor's management report with that the where where is that again? >> That's this one. That's the one you got. >> Oh, this one here. Yep. >> So, in a thumbnail, can you just tell me
what it is I'm looking for here? >> It's page four of that report. >> Page four. Close. >> Yes. from the bottom. >> Okay, I see it. Thank you. >> Okay, that's it.
>> Thank you. I was just going to thank you know the district staff too because as someone who has been on the auditing side of things I know it is a tremendous amount that is asked of the district staff to put everything together and to get it done
before the deadline um is absolutely commendable. So I wanted to just thank the staff. >> Thank you very much. >> All right. Thank you everybody. We have another presentation. Dr. Chase will present the 2526 district
goals derived from the strategic plan and they include newly established goals to address current and future district priorities. All right. Good evening. As Miss Kogan said, tonight I'm presenting the district goals for the 2526 school year.
Typically, these goals are discussed at the beginning of the school year. However, uh since I didn't arrive until October, uh we're going to do it now because I had the opportunity to really understand some of the work that's been happening in the district over the past several months.
As Miss Kogan said, these are grounded in the 2227 strategic plan that the district has had and intended to really clarify some of the priorities and guide the decision-m that we are going to be doing this year. But before we get into
the goals themselves, I want to explain how they were formed. Um, so, uh, these goals are already building on some of the work that's already underway in the district. They bring greater focus and coherence to the areas of instruction,
student well-being, financial uh, matters, and also our facilities. They're informed by some of the pressures that we're facing, as I've mentioned at previous board meetings, specifically tied to fiscal pressures, and they're designed to guide our planning, budgeting, and our resource um
allocation moving forward. But before turning to the goals themselves, it's important to acknowledge some of the progress that has brought us here to this point, specifically with uh Dr. Molr, Dr. Jaganti, the administrative team and and the teachers themselves who
work in the district every day with our students. So, I want to point out some notable achievements in teaching and learning. Um, we've expanded our student pathways to better align with student interests and post-secondary readiness.
Applied learning has grown through dual enrollment, internships, and career connected experiences. Instructional decisions are increasingly informed by classroom evidence and formative data. Win periods and wind stands for what I need uh are embedded
to support targeted instruction enrichment and also student well-being. And across classrooms, we continue to see deeper thinking in real world applications taking hold. Uh integral to this work is to really support the staff who is working with
the students. So we have a lot of professional development that has been intentionally focused on instructional practices. We've taken responsible steps to explore AI uh because that is upon us at this point in our lives. Um not just from an ethical standpoint but also as a
tool for accessibility and meeting the diverse needs of learners. We've also strengthened our inclusive practices um to support the students in both general ed and special education settings and in district programs and services have just overall expanded to better meet the
needs of our students. And again um tying back to the importance of professional development, we've continued to provide professional development on as far as differentiating, accommodating, and modifying curriculum for our diverse learners. So with that foundation, we'll
move into goal one. So goal one focuses on clarifying what deeper learning looks like across the district. We have 14 schools here and we want to definitely have as much consistency as equity as possible in in the schools that mirror the same grade
bands and is also going up the grade levels because the students will carry those skills forward with them. We will use patterns from classroom practice and student work to guide our shared expectations. We will continue expanding authentic real world learning experiences and we will continue to
provide professional development and collaboration to support the work that we're doing. Uh I need to just pivot a little bit and just talk about strong instruction because in order to talk about good effective instruction we have to talk about the conditions in that
affect learning from our students. So one of the things that I want to point out right now are some of the key conditions that affect learning. So learning just does not happen isolated from our student experiences. Emotional safety, a student's sense of
belonging is foundational to the engagement and learning that they will experience in school. And also we know that when students or adults as us ourselves when we experience stress um it's difficult to uh pay attention and it also affects our cognitive capacity
and our ready our availability to learn. We also know and you might have seen some schools high schools have actually changed the start times to have school start later because of the importance of sleep because sleep plays an important role in readiness in memory and also
learning retention. So these are the conditions that directly influence what students are able to do academically. So with that knowledge, it's now we're going to turn to goal number two which really focuses on student safety, wellness, and belonging. So this year in
this goal, the focus is on assessing how student support practices operate across our schools, strengthening our practices in our frameworks, and specifically providing our students with explicit instruction in non-cognitive skills.
Those are things like grit, perseverance, problem solving, um emotional regulation, etc. Uh when we do that, we're going to be looking at a lot of data across the district to identify patterns earlier so we can not only be in the reactive mode, but also be in the
proactive mode to look at what behaviors our students are manifesting and how we could put in some strategies to help mitigate that. Um based on what we're seeing, uh we also look we're also looking at conducting an inclusive review um that a while ago the district
had a committee that was exploring materials and and practices to make sure that all of our students feel included and we're going to relaunch that group and continue that work moving forward. So these are the two goals uh building on the two goals that the district had
historically had. Um but to sustain this work around student learning and around student well-being, we really have to add two new goals in light of the conditions we are operating in and address some of the systems and the conditions that affect this meaningful
work. So with that, we take a look at the key conditions that sustain learning and um the systems behind it. So we know uh from I've been up here probably ever since I arrived in the district talking about the financial aspects and challenges districts are facing. So we
are going to be um really targeting that area as well. Uh in for in keeping expenses down and ensuring that the optimal the environment is optimal for students. We really want to look at efficiencies. Um, we in education are notorious for adding to teachers plates
and we often don't just stop and take a look at the efficiencies and that's power and freeing up some space for our staff and also the way the district operates. So, we'll be looking at our operational systems and um it's very important also to take a really good look at our facilities. Those are the
places in which our students learn. Not just because um you know we have to keep up with maintenance but also because we have to start looking at these classrooms and the learning environments that our students are engaging in. We know that many classrooms are starting to look different. There's more flexible
furniture that's taking shape. Um there's a lot more movement and integration of our students in classrooms. So we really want to put facilities on the map as well. Um and also with that work really target our safety and security practices because
unfortunately this is an area that school districts have to also be very cognizant of in our work. So um that leads us to goal number three which speaks to fiscal stewardship and operational sustainability.
uh this this goal speaks specifically to understanding the cost drivers and the financial constraints and that really targets some of the work that I've been doing with regard to communicating about the budget some of the presentations that we've already had and then some of the upcoming ones exa I mentioned before
we'll look at our systems for efficiencies we also um have a budget where we bring in some revenue we're going to take a look to see if there's any ways in which we could increase revenue as part of this work uh and And integral to this work primarily is
really helping the community and everybody in the learning community understand and have a shared understanding of the language and the pressures that we're facing. So really making a concerted effort to build that shared understanding and then also to inform the decision- making that we have
upon us in budget season and just for the remainder of the year. So um alongside this financial stability we as I mentioned we must plan for our physical spaces and that brings us to goal four which is some long range
facilities planning. You may have recalled that you know we had two events this year where we lost power in the school. None neither of those situations were a result of any of ours but it just goes to show you how the environment really affects the operations of the
school. Um, so goal four focuses really looking at long-term facilities planning and addressing facility conditions and safety needs as I mentioned. Um, organizing the enrollment information that comes into the district from the demographer report and then what we're
seeing in real time and the financial information and then preparing the board and the community for the important dialogue that we need to have around this goal and around the fiscal matters. So again, we're going from two goals to four goals, but that's as a result of
what's happening in the climate right now. We really need to put the finances and the facilities up there with the teaching and learning and the student well-being. Very important to do at this time. So all of this work that we're doing is supported by a clear implementation framework. So this slide
speaks to just one of the objectives in uh goal one and um each goal has uh an objective strategies activities the role who of the person who is responsible in overseeing achievement towards this and also timelines. This framework also
helps monitor progress. It keeps us aligned. Remember we have a lot of administrators 14 schools. So having all one document outlining all this keeps everybody in the same forward motion. And the goal is always to support transparency. Nothing that we're doing in the district is secret right now. So
lying laying out the goals um in this manner is going to be very important so everyone knows the pl the direction in which we're heading and also um as I keep mentioning we have some decision- making to to do this year specifically around budget. So these goals are going
to play an integral work in that as well. So taken together, all of these goals are going to chart the course for us for the remainder of the school year. But in summary, I let's just make this a little simple. Uh our focus going forward,
strong teaching and learning, student safety, well-being, and belonging, fiscal stewardship, and op and district operations, and facilities and long range planning. Those are the four target areas that we're really going to be working for. I will be
coming back um to the board uh continuing to speak about the purpose and then also share some updates and some of the progress that we're being ma making um as the work develops. So with that being said um those are the goals and I'm happy to answer any questions
that the board may have. >> Okay. >> Really there's no questions. >> Yes. I want to say well thank you for um I think specifically going back to goal number two and then mirroring with number three which is the um the
facilities planning along with the student like feeling of belonging um I think they feel pride in their buildings and where they are and that will go a very long way um and with an educational background I know students will thrive better if they feel comfortable. What does it look like though? I'm looking at
goal number two. Um, you said you wanted to take things off of teachers plates, I think, right? Looking at what what do you see that might like what are the concerns that you have and why would you put that in there? Am I saying that? >> Well, just you know, I've spent many years in
>> I and I appreciate the thought. I just want to see what you're >> Yeah. So, um, one of the things I could tell you that I've targeted and is an area that Dr. M Rooney is already looking at too is the teacher evaluation practice is a very cumbersome process. I know Paripony has done a really good job at bringing in the requirements per the
state and operationalizing it. But um there are a lot of forms, there are a lot of paperwork that teachers have to do uh to prove uh their performance so that they could acquire the required score for the DOE to deem them as one of the four categories. So earlier this year, Dr. Well, actually it wasn't
earlier because I started in October, but a few months ago, Dr. Mal Rooney met with a group of teachers to explore some of the options that may be available in the effort to not make the evaluation process more work for them, but have it greater aligned to the work that they're
doing. So right there and and having worked with teachers on the evaluation process for many many years, the more aligned it is and the more integrated it seems into what they're doing, the less it feels like a chore or a task. So those are the kinds of things. That's just one example. um anytime we could
cut out a form for just a form because it was recordkeeping or no no longer needed you know we are um sometimes we are just always moving forward that we don't step backwards and take a look at what we're currently doing and saying do we need to do this
anymore so I think those are other situations um but I could tell you there's not a lot of that in paripony but there's always room for error and my perspective is um in order for innovation to happen teachers need space and air. They need the room in which to do that innovation. And that's where
education needs to go. Not to just keeping stable with what we have, but really helping our teachers to continue to innovate and be uh creative and meeting the very diverse needs of our students. >> Questions? >> Well, thank you very much. >> Thank you.
>> These will be posted on the district website. All right. Is there any correspondence to come before the board? >> We do have one piece of correspondence. We have a legal notice from the board of adjustment about a construction project on block 268, lot one that we do not
feel will interfere with any of our buildings. >> Okay. Is there any unfinished business? All right. Moving along. Committee reports. Mr. Devito, do you want to give a finance? Yeah, I was going to if it's okay. So,
>> um, so finance met this evening in attendance room myself, Mr. Mr. Shaw, Mr. Chabelle, President Kogan, Dr. McHugh, Dr. Chase, Miss Benos, and Colleen Briggs. We uh touched on a lot of items here. You have the I think you
have the minutes in front of you. I'm not going to go into every detail here, but just want to highlight, you know, obviously we went over the audit report, Mr. Mr. Karina earlier this evening and we had a lot of good questions that were answered and were answered. Um we also went over the uh current budget and what
what you know what is what our challenges are there and some of the some of the big challenges we're going to have for next year's budget. Um we Dr. Chase touched on the district's goals that she just presented. And there was a uh there's a uh solar panel removal that's um uh that we're worth
looking at to do and the there's an uh there was an insurance claim for uh Parill's transformer that when that when the power went out. Um one item want to touch on in the detail if it's okay is um for transportation contract for for
2627. Um the it's the SDA contract. Um our uh director uh was told us that she was able to get uh this is Tiffany Pisa. She was able to get a uh a renewal of the contract with a 0% increase. I think that's going to help us in the long run. Incidentally, I see a lot of nodding
heads there. So I want to lay highlight on that for sure. And then we also talked about a um a position for the security officer at PHS. So the notes are there with you with you. If you have any other questions, happy to answer them. >> Any questions from Mr. Devito?
All right. Do did we have any liaison reports? >> So, um on Wednesday of this week, I attended the Educational Services Commission of Mars County. Uh again, just for those of you who are not familiar, really probably the newer
members, um this organization is is focused on providing um in a co-op atmosphere the special education, data processing, purchasing, transportation, and other services to districts around Morris County. Uh at this meeting, we spent a lot of time talking about the
transportation contracts. Um as Mr. Devito just mentioned um uh it's been very difficult as things have changed uh dramatically in the transportation field uh to be able to provide what's necessary. So they are finding themselves adjusting to support that. Um
and then also uh just general emergency agreements um in situations where they might be uh called upon to provide services to different districts. Uh second aspect we talked about was the school again I think I've mentioned this is winding down. Um, so they are working on finding new service providers for all
of the students. That's all I had for ESC. Any questions on that? Okay, I do have one more thing to talk about. Okay, so um this week um Oh, first uh the New Jersey Schools Boards
Association on their website has got a list and calendar of the courses and meetings and things that are um available for us to all participate in. Many of us are already aware of that. I'm just mentioning that to make sure that uh all of us are and and looking at
that to identify what is relevant to us that we can attend and come back and share with this group. Uh with that in mind um I as I think you all approved in the last meeting was um my attending of the New Jersey school boards association lead masterclass series which consists
of three sessions. It's focused on topical issues and concerns of boards and districts. The format is interactive video conference with uh different presenters uh breakout room discussions uh debrief discussions as we come back together and then surveys to make sure
we're paying attention and participating. So um it was actually a very in it was a very lively discussion. I really enjoyed it a lot. There's three courses to this. First um again uh on the 21st uh the course was called leading through the fog clarity through
turbulent times. It was focused on how uncertainty can negatively impact students, teachers, administration, boards, districts really overall. Um it talked about how the wait and see um is not always possible. So we need to be
able to be agile um lead with confidence uh communicate with clarity and maintain momentum on different topics that are important to us that might be um a little bit foggy at the time. Um it was very comforting um and a little
disturbing uh to know that so many districts are experiencing the same problems. Um I will say I was very happy to you know to internalize the fact that we have actually taken some really positive steps in the spaces um whereas other districts are still struggling but it was a great opportunity for the
districts to share what they're facing what they're trying so that um we can all learn from each other. Uh so that was a great session. The next two sessions, uh, February 2nd is called Bridging the Gap, Leading Across Generations. Um, the third one is
February 19th, Northstar Leadership, Leading with Purpose and Intention. And just as I reported out in the first session, I will report back to all of you on the second and third sessions as they occur. >> Thank you. Thank you. Um, I did attend a school board's webinar this week that
was on there was a review of the last minute legislation and everything that came through in the lame duck session. Um, I believe Mr. Devito is going to speak about one of them in the new business. They did mention the pilot um
legislation that would force townships to share with school boards and that is still on the table. Nobody thinks that's going to disappear, but it obviously went nowhere last year. Um, and then since we did just form the committees,
um, they are on, you know, everybody got them this week, they are on. I just wanted to clarify a few points because we did get some feedback, um, that I, you know, appreciated. So, I want to clarify that Mrs. Chappelle and I
created the committees based on people's preferences. Everybody, you know, put down what they, you know, wanted to work on. We also included, you know, everybody's strengths and histories and continuity of the committees. Um, and
also obviously the needs of the district. There were several committees that had more requests that could be fulfilled because obviously we have a cap on how many people can be on each committees. And there were also the other direction there were also some committees that nobody requested and
obviously we still have to fill. So um there were um that meant that not all board members could get all the things that they requested but everybody did get at least two of the their preferences and we do have one ad hoc
committee that has been a carryover which isn't very typical to have ad hoc committee that carries over. So, I just wanted to clarify that last year the ad hoc committee valiantly tried to work with the township administration on the pilots
was obviously not as successful as we would have wanted. Um, but that work does not will hopefully continue with the new administration and obviously we're being hopeful um you know that we can move that along but the ad hoc
committee will also be charged with kind of coordinating. There are more things that are going to happen now that the residential developments have been approved and the students are going to come and obviously we've been talking about the fi financial situations but there's many other aspects that have to
be addressed when new students come in and a lot of those will be discussed in in committees but I think the the thought process was the ad hoc committee would kind of coordinate and make sure that everything is working together
um and you you know, nothing is siloed or fall through falls through the cracks, you know, and everything keeps moving along. Um, and because there were people that asked for committees that they didn't get, I will make sure to let the chair people of those committees
know who wanted time on their committees. Um, as in the past, the the chair of the committee is responsible for um filling a spot if somebody knows they won't be there. So I will make sure that all the chairs know that and
there are also a lot of not a lot but there are things that carried over from last session. So I will make sure the chairs are aware of that. We did create the due diligence document last year. So I want to make sure that all the committees at least start with that document you know at their first meeting
to make sure they know the questions that we were thinking about. Um and as Mr. Mr. Dvito pointed out last time there are still several um board goals that have not been accomplished and so we want to make sure that the committees all are taking those seriously. Um and
as I mentioned there were several committees that did not have people request them. So later in the year when we're doing our own board goals we just might want to take that in consideration and we may want to think about what would work best for our board going
forward. um in the committee structure just to something to keep everybody in mind. Um and now that they're set, I'm pretty sure Mrs. Benos will be reaching out to all the committee chairs to set up, you know, all the meeting dates. We
try to get them for the whole year. So there will be a lot going on very quickly. Speaking on that vein, Paul from New Jersey school boards is mapping out something for us for our goals for one of the goals. >> Okay.
>> And for several meetings. >> So, we will be seeing probably a lot of the New Jersey school boards rep in order to get all of our classes in to align with one of the goals that we set for ourselves. So,
are there any questions on getting really a head start on everything? >> Is is the ad hoc committee an actual will that be continuing just not this year but going forward? >> It depends on it's okay. >> Yes.
>> I have one thing about the adhes. >> Okay. >> And we got Right. >> Here we go. >> Exactly. >> It was one It was one on our original list
>> and it just still off my list. >> Okay. We are up to approval of the regular and executive minutes of January 6, 2026. May I have a motion, please? Mrs. Mayor, and a second. Mr. Devito,
roll call. >> Mrs. Abraham, >> yes. >> Mr. Barios, >> yes. >> Mrs. Delave, >> yes. >> Mr. Dvito, >> yes. >> Mrs. Mayor, >> yes. >> Mr. Shaw, >> yes. >> Dr. Ray. >> Yes. >> Mrs. Chappelle. >> Yes.
>> And Mrs. Kogan. >> Yes. >> Superintendent Bulletin number 10. Dr. Chase. >> Sorry, my computer just tired me out. I took too long. >> Oh, no. It's okay. Um, so, uh, last last
board meeting I mentioned changing adjusting the calendar because we had the situation at both, um, Brooklyn, Brooklyn and the hills. I'm sorry, it feels like forever ago. Um, where we had to close school because of power. Again, not our not our fault. Um
so we will be adjusting the calendar so that the June 2nd professional development day that we had earmarked becomes a single session day for students of those two schools and then once school once students leave um then our staff could transition to the PD that we have planned for the remainder
of the day. Uh, I'm sure you have all been aware that we have a potential for a great large amount of snowfall coming at us um potentially Sunday into Monday. There's some debate on whether or not it's Saturday night into Sunday, but
nonetheless, um, I just want to let everybody know if we need we have two inclement weather days built into the calendar to account for that. Uh but in the event that we need additional days beyond those two, we will have to, as the calendar states, pull from the days at spring break.
Uh as uh I talked a lot about fiscal matters today, but I wanted to state that uh Dr. McHugh and his team have worked diligently to provide us with a preliminary school budget, but it remains just that. It's a preliminary budget. We're waiting on some additional
information specifically the state aid figures which come out I believe in in mid to late February. Yes. Okay. Um and also to see what our healthcare adjustment can be. So at this point we the team and I are reviewing
expenses to ensure that we can balance this budget and no decisions have been finalized at this time as we'll be working with the finance committee on this task. Uh but as I mentioned with the district goals presentation, they are going to really be uh instrumental
in making some of the decisions around this difficult budget as we move forward. And then tonight for your approval, we have superintendent bullet items numbers 1 through 34, addendum items 35 through 51, and readins. Thank
you. >> Are there any questions for Dr. Chase? All right. Then secretar's report. >> Okay. So, we have the November 2025 secretary report for your review as well as nine other motions including the
acceptance of our audit and our 0% transportation contract. >> Any questions for Dr. McHugh? >> All right. New business. Mr. Devito. >> Thank you, Mrs. Kogan. So, I just wanted
to uh point out something from from this last legislative session. Um, so uh bill uh 1783 was signed by the uh Governor Murphy before he left office. Um it it uh requires instruction on cursive handwriting in public school curriculum
age curriculum for grades 3 through 5. All I really want to point out on it is the fact that it was a very bipartisan bill. Um I think the the vote was practically unanimous for for this bill and and its passage. So I just wanted to
you know acknowled >> last February. Yes. >> Yes. >> Thank you. >> That's all. Thank you. >> All right. At this time if there is anyone who would like to address the board please come up sign your name and address in the book at the lect turn.
State your name for the record and please address the chair. Each person will have three minutes to speak to the board. It would be helpful if you would like to address the board to please come up now and sign in so that you are ready when the first speaker is finished. As a reminder, we are video recording this
meeting. If you're a student who wishes to speak, we ask that you not provide your home address, but rather give only the name of the town in which you live. If you are a parent wishing to discuss a specific matter pertaining to your child during this portion of the meeting, you may request that the board temporarily
suspend the video recording. Alternatively, please consider speaking privately about the matter to the superintendent after the meeting. Speakers should refrain from using specific student or staff names in their comments and are referred to bylaw 168 for further information regarding the
videotaping of our meetings. Happy new year everybody. >> Happy new year. >> I'm a familiar face now. Um I apologize that I'm late. Um so I missed the most important discussion. Um so hopefully we will be able to when
will that be posted so we can review and see what actually >> Oh, I apologize. I'm sorry. See you. I'm still a rookie at this. I'm Chris uh Paripony 20 Woodhaven Road.
You want my last name too? Bis. >> So uh yes. Can it when would we be able to review this budget or >> tomorrow? >> Tomorrow. Tomorrow night. >> And you were you were the uh the presenter.
>> Okay. Okay. >> No, >> I just recorded >> Dr. Chase. >> Just to clarify, there were two presentations tonight. There was an audit. Uh the auditor came here to share the findings of the district audit >> in the effort of full transparency and then I presented the district goals. >> Okay. And are we going to see this audit
for full transparency? >> I believe the audit is posted on the website as well in the business section. >> It's posted. Do we post it locally? I know it posts on the state website with in the repository. So >> the link to the state website with >> Okay. So that link where would we find
it? on our website on your board of ed website and that'll take us to this >> the state >> to the state website >> when the state post it >> when the state posts it but and if you want to give me your email address I'd be happy to send you the link >> okay perfect all right thank you so much the other thing I wanted to mention when I was up here before obviously we had
conversations in regards to communication with Allison and the um council board and uh information that you guys were mentioning to the council um I was al I was taking a look here you I sent some information, a written
proposal in May of 2025, late in spring of 2025. He also drafted an ordinance that was sent to the township attorney in July of 2025. Um, the board of ed had no official response was received until November when the mayor requested a
meeting. Um, you also guys indicated that the district uh per pupil cost range approximately from 17,000 to 43,000. That's a pretty big gap. Um, I would like to I asked to see if I can get some information from you guys that
was in writing this communication so that I can really understand who's actually at the end of the day someone's lying, right? All I want to know is full transparency then so that now we can have a conversation with the council because now there's a new administration, new mayor and and really try to figure this thing out because
obviously it's we have a budget uh deficit that we're facing. But I would like to get an understanding of what's happening and um so that we can kind of support uh you guys and your efforts because at the end of the day I'm here uh for my kids and everybody else here.
Um I also actually I'm building an addition and I'm living actually in Avalon and that's one of the pilots that uh was received um tax abatements and I do see the school bus that comes in there and it's mentioned in this article. I know how many students are coming in here. That's why I mentioned
you guys said 17,000 to 43,000. That's a pretty big time up. >> Oh, sorry. >> All right. Well, anyway, thank you guys for your time. I appreciate it. >> All right. Hello everyone. Andre Rristitch, 25 Lord Sterling Drive. Um,
in respect to time, I'll just get right to it. Uh, the other day I emailed Miss Chappelle and Miss Kogan. Thank you so much for actioning and sharing my email with the board. It was a series of specific questions. Um, and I did not yet get answers in my email. Uh, I'd like to know, well, I'll check the
presentation, but the questions I have, I do not have answers yet. How does our budget expenses ratios compare to other districts? 80% is going towards salaries and benefits. Are other districts spending that much money? Are we communicating with other districts to
see how they're negotiating with their employees, their administrators, bus drivers, janitors, teachers? Um, how much money are we chasing from the town for the pilot programs? Will it cover the deficit we have? If we do cover the deficit, do we have a plan in place to
avoid a repeat of where we are today? I want I would like to know an answer to that. And yes, kind of like the topic we're all talking about, communication with the town, new mayor, new power dynamics within the town council, what's being done. We'd like to see things in
writing. Please push it out to the public. It's uh I know there's only a few of us here today, but there's a lot of interested people. It's difficult to find time to come to these meetings, especially when we have young kids at home. Thank you. >> My name is Jack Rya. Um just a couple
congratulations on the results of the audit. All the everything was, you know, in tip-top shape as usual. Just one comment. Uh the auditor mentioned that Paripony was one of 35 towns in in the
state that fit that got the certificate of excellence which puts us I believe in the top 6% if there's 600 districts statewide. So, out of that 35 that got the certificate of excellence, I'd be curious if we have any data on which is
the largest district, how large a district and uh the number of students and or or budget size and are we the largest? I have a feeling out of that 35, I would imagine there's a lot of little one room schoolh houses in the
state that don't have 7,000 kids. They have maybe a thousand. So I'd like to know if paripidity out of the 35 that did get the certificate of excellence is paripidity the largest. I would imagine be in the top three or four but that's
it. Thank you. >> All right. Um did you want to come back up? You can have another minute if you did not get your full >> Yeah, I appreciate that. Yeah. So, I mean, uh, let's see if I have
Yeah. So, I just want I just want to be, you know, I want everybody to be fully transparent with this because obviously at the end of the day, there's a big um deficit and um I'm here to support my my community, my residents. Uh,
there's a new administration. If we have the facts, then we can actually back the board of ed and have, you know, good great conversations to really make a difference here in this community because, you know, um I really truly believe the teacher ratio is going to be
1 in 30 students in the next two years. I know I think you you mentioned three to five years. I really think it's going to be in the next two years, especially now that I'm living in these apartments and I'm seeing how many students are coming to Paripany. It's pretty alarming. So, um I just would like to
have just to be fully transparent so we can really, you know, make a difference. It's also I'm going to put on record. It's pretty sad that there's only three residents here to support you guys. And you know, it's it's a largest city in Morris County and you have three
residents that are concerned about this is is is alarming to me. You know, people complain a lot in social media, but they don't do anything about it. So, you know, it's sad that if you really truly care about Parcipony and you want to make Parcipony a great town, come out
and speak. We all need support. So, hopefully people can hear. I don't know if people watch this on YouTube, but seriously, stop talking at the football games and the wrestling matches and stuff like that. Get out here, speak, and let's get some support, and we can maybe truly make a difference. Thank you so much for your time.
>> Thank you. >> All right, so I will close the hearing of the public. Um, Dr. Chase, did you want to make any comments? >> Um, just some of the information you asked for. I'm not sure if you're aware, but on our website, we have our userfriendly
budget. um that you could go into and you could look at information like that. The state department of education also posts all school district buzz budgets if you wanted to do any comparison information. But um if Dr. McHugh gets back to you via email, if you give them your email, we could point you to some of that information because I know
sometimes it's difficult to find. Uh I know there were some questions in an email, I guess, that were sent to Miss Kogan and Miss Chappelle. Um I don't have those questions, but I'm sure we'll be getting back >> Yeah. to uh I'm sure some of those took some time are still being researched
with some of those because they were very specific in nature and then um Mr. Rehea, we will ask the auditor if we could get that information about those 35. That's an interesting point. That would be worthwhile to look at.
That's I think I got them. >> Yeah, there was a request for the communications between the council and the town. And obviously the communications we put out are the ones in writing. We anything we got we got nothing back
in writing from the town. So there would be nothing to present. Any of the potential um ordinances that we did create are still part of the hopeful negotiations that we're having. So I they are you know part of the
negotiations that you know we don't want to ruin anything if we actually get to talk to the town again. We'd like to use them still going forward. Um I know the town shared a few things out in public. Um, so I just wanted to cover
that, but right now there is still no agreement for any money. Um, which was one of the questions, you know, how much money is coming from the pilots to cover this current budget and that would be zero at this point. So I can answer that one. Okay,
>> go ahead, Mr. Williams. >> Uh, and I haven't looked. So, is the updated FAQ area of the website done? So, some of that information might be already up there. I don't think the ordinance was, but some of it might be
there. >> There is there are several questions um that we actually didn't get any questions from the community. So, uh we generated some commonly asked questions and posted them up there. But some of the information that you just required, we can add to that and build
our own questions too. >> Mr. Shaw, >> um to add to your point or question about communication between uh uh the board and the mayor, there is an ad hoc committee that's presented. Uh they did
roll it over. Um I think uh Joy will work on the schedule. So we're hoping with the new administration, we'll continuously contact have contact with each other and some res written resolution hopefully but uh there is a committee that rolled over and we're
going to work on it. Okay. >> All right. So we are up to our roll call vote for superintendent bulletin number 10 items number 1 through 34 with addendum items 35 to 51 and readins. Can
I have a motion, please? Mrs. Abraham and a second. >> Fade. Oh, it's been late. Sorry. >> Uh, roll call, please. >> Mrs. Abraham. >> Uh, no. On appendix A. Yes. To everything else. >> Mr. Barios. >> Yes.
>> Mrs. Delave. >> Yes. >> Mr. Dvito? >> Yes. >> Mrs. Mayor? >> Yes. >> Mr. Shaw? >> Yes. >> Dr. Wright? >> Yes. >> Mrs. Chappelle. >> Yes. >> And Mrs. Kogan. >> Yes. All right. There being no further business, I need to a motion to adjourn
the meeting. Mr. Deto. >> All in favor? >> I. >> The meeting's over. >> Second. >> Wendy. Second it. All I can think is