Troy Hills Board of Education to order on May 6, 2025. In compliance with chapter 231, Public Law 1975, entitled Oak Public Meetings Act, adequate notice of this meeting has been provided as specified in the act in the following manner. A meeting notice was published in the newspaper and on the district
website on January 8th, 2025. In addition, the notice of the meeting was posted at the municipal building in the schools in a copy of the notice file of the township clerk and transmitted to other newspapers on April 29th, 2025. These include the daily record, star ledger, parcipany focus, tap into parcipany, parcipany patch, and of
course the district website. This regular public meeting uh is being video recorded as per 0168. The recording 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. May we have
the roll call, please? Rob. Mrs. Abraham here. Mr. Berios here. Mr. Mr. Devito here. Mrs. Mayor here. Mr. Rya here. Mrs. Chappelle here. Dr. Wright here.
Mr. Chapo here. Mrs. Kogan. Just have to take a pause. You'll have Alison, I can hear you. Okay, we're taking roll call. I was just gonna
say that. Allison Kogan, uh, please stand for the pledge of allegiance. I aliance 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. So no student no they must be busy busy with other things. Okay. So we co- student committee reports um at this point. Is there any correspondence coming for the board? No,
there's not. Thank you. Is there any unfinished business? Okay, seeing none, uh up to committee reports. Um teaching and learning, Mrs. Mayor. Okay, teaching and learning met on the 28th of April. Present were myself. um
Mrs. Abraham, Mrs. Kogan, Dr. Molar Rooney. Um Dr. Wright was unable to attend. Um a list of the books that were reviewed and discussed. There was like a little summary of each book when we
received it. You could click on it and you know get more information about the books. Uh Dr. Molrin reviewed the summer assignments. Um they will be sent to all grade students and families in preparation for this summer and in addition they'll be sharing the book
list with the public library. Uh Dr. Mal Rooney discussed the CUAC follow-up curriculum that had to be tweaked or divided and as a result of QAC and those are the these updated curricula will be posted to the district website. Um you can always click on any
of these if you really want to know more. Um, we briefly discussed AI and how it will affect teachers and their workload. The committee continues to meet and make plans for the future. We'll be using school AI for teacher purposes and are
planning to work with teachers on integrating it into their instruction with students. Um, the final professional day will be June 10th and in addition to the keynote speaker, the MIDI grants will be presented that day. Usually they're done here separately,
but they're going to be part of that. And they're always incredible. If you have not seen those mini grant presentations, they're what our teachers have done with the money that they get is phenomenal. And that's the report.
Thank you. Any questions for Mrs. Mayor? Mr. Devito. Thank you for that report, Mrs. Mayor. Um, I wanted to thank Mrs. Abraham for attending in mystead. I could not attend the uh TLC meeting myself. I did have one question about the uh about the AI.
Obviously, we know you know if you recall we already adopted a policy 2365 for uh to you know adopt use of AI. Are we in turn I don't want to say obligated but would do you also generally when we adopt a policy there's
usually a regulation that goes with it that has the the district to be able to to have a guidelines to follow would we in turn then also develop a regulation to go with this policy that now that we've adopted it just a general question I don't that's for you Dr. stutter or
not. I'm It was just a kind of came to my head there. Sorry. Yeah, I think we can discuss that at policy. We can Thank you. Absolutely. Thanks, Matt. Any other committee leazison reports? No saying. Okay. Uh the ad hoc committee uh did
meet on April 28th, 2025. Uh president were myself uh Judy Mayor, Jack Great, Jack Rya, Allison Kogan, Jonie Benos, and Robin Tedesco. Um the committee did review and discuss a memorandum of understanding that was presented to the
board of education uh by the mayor. Um theou is a non-binding agreement. Uh it has a lengthy preamble and sets forth some financial terms that the township
is considering providing to the board um to help fund students who are coming from residential pilot uh programs. Theou was sent to our board attorney as well as attorney Robert Simon for review and input. Uh theou is also distributed
to all board members for their questions to be sent to Mrs. Benos and the committee will meet again next week uh review the answers from the attorneys and questions from the board in hopes to provide feedback to the mayor and the
township. Any questions on the Yeah, Mr. As relates to theou I want to make sure that it's clear that the it's probably mistitled because it's not a it's not anou because there's no understanding. It's a set
of um set of requirements or what the township would like to uh see on their side and that we need as a board to review it. We need attorney review. We need to hear from the administration not
only also our own uh comments. So, um I would really be careful on the wholeou because that could be understood as that that is an agreement because we we do not have any type of agreement at this point in time. No, and I I appreciate
that and I think those points are fair. And just as a point of clarification, anou uh is defined as a non-binding agreement. That's the nature of anou. is designed to outline the terms and conditions of a potential agreement so that both sides have a document to work on so that they're speaking about the
things that are important to them. Once the terms are agreed upon in theou then a binding memorandum of agreement will be signed by both sides that should then lead to a resolution by the board of education and and an ordinance by the township. So if the process plays out uh
as it should, that'll be the steps that are taken. Just Mr. Reya, just a better term for it I think would be a proposal of a term sheet because it's just something that they've submitted to us with terms there and just I think the word agreement just
implies something that isn't and that isn't the case. Just a term sheet. It's a it's a document that they provided to us for our review and consideration and to provide fe feedback to them. Um you can call it whatever you'd like. Uh if you want to call it a
proposal then you're free to do that. Uh the township provided it to us. It's their document. They provided it to us with that title. Anybody else? Okay. Thank you. All righty. So, we need um approval of the
minutes. So, I need a motion to approve the regular and executive uh minutes of April 24th, 2025. Mr. Devito, Miss Mel, roll, please. Mrs. Abraham, yes.
Mr. Barios, yes. Mr. Dvito, yes. Mrs. Mayor, yes. Mr. Mr. Reya, yes. Mrs. Chappelle, yes. Dr. Wright, yes. Mr. Chap. Uh, yes. Mrs. Kogan, did we lose her? We lost her again.
You don't have to call her back. Okay. Superintendent's bulletin number 18. Uh Dr. Sutter. Thank you, Mr. Chafo. Good evening, everyone. Uh May is Asian-American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month. This year's theme of a
legacy of leadership and resilience honors the contributions and service of AAPI leaders who have paved the way for future generations by affecting positive change in their communities in the world. As such, the district has planned lessons, activities, and has provided our teachers with many resources that
acknowledge and celebrate AAPI leaders. I am so proud to announce that Annie Johnson from Brooklyn Middle School was a finalist in the Association for Middle Level Education essay poem contest. The writing prompt essay asked students to respond to the
question, "What is really life like being a middle schooler in 2025?" Students from around the world shared their thoughts on this question held to mark March as middle level education month. This is quite an accomplishment as again there were contestants from around the world.
Congratulations to Annie. Way to go and thank you for the positive press you brought to Brooklaw Middle School. I would like to thank Parcipany's own Fairing Pharmaceutical for awarding and donating $2,500 for the district's STEM Pathways summer kickoff program. I would
like to thank Rachel Villanova and Brian McCor for their constant effort in recruiting local businesses for the STEM Pathways program. Tonight for your approval, we have superintendent bulletin items 1 through 86 with addendum and read in items 87 through
102. Thank you. Uh Judy, are we going to get to see what she wrote? Are they going to send us? Oh, okay. Okay. I think we sent you the link, too, so you can see her face on the on the website. Thank you. Any other
questions for Dr. Sutter? Okay, Robin, secretary's report, please. Hi, everyone. On tonight's secretar's report, we have a regular business motions, and I wanted to inform the board that um the bond refunding, opening, bid opening happened on April
30th. Um it was approved by the board uh last month, I believe, and the savings um over the life of the bonds is more than $700,000. Excellent. So, that is a savings to the taxpayers here in Precipany.
Is that due to favorable interest rates since we last spoke or um they predicted that it was going to be 700,000 and all their predictions came true. So what it didn't go up or down? It pretty much came in like they predicted, but we got a lot of bids which they were really surprised about. We had like 10 bids and
usually only get like half of that. So it was good. Any questions on the secretary's report? No. Seeing none. Uh is there any new business to come before the board? I don't have new business. I guess it's just other business. Okay. Um, so Mrs.
Mayor and I got to attend the National Honor Society uh for languages induction the other night and I would just was so wonderful to see all the students get recognized especially the very large volume of students getting their first year uh their first year awards. Um this
is a time of year where there's lots of different events going on in our schools. So, um, concerts, looking forward to concerts and different award shows. Um, so, uh, hopefully all of us will get to attend some of them. Yes, Judah. Uh last night I uh attended
virtually the New uh New Jersey school board leaders uh meeting and it was just past presidents of New Jersey school boards gave like I think there were five of them talked about their experiences, what were their challenges during their
two years and what were their good things that happened and it was it was pretty interesting. Uh Saturday I will be going to the delegate assembly. I did not get the paperwork, so I don't know what we're going to be voting on. If I
get it before Saturday, I'll try to get um Mrs. Benos to get it to all of you because usually you get it beforehand and we talk about it and then we decide if we want to vote for it or or not. So hopefully I'll get something before
then. Thank you, Wendy. Yeah, I wasn't sure whether this is the right time. Um I uh attended an NJSBA training on integrating professional learning and coaching uh proven strategies to elevate instructional practice and student achievement confirmation. Um and it was
really informative webinar uh and it uh was a little bit of an ad. I think there was a consulting agency that was um kind of leading the consulting the coaching element. Uh but despite that, it was uh actually uh really valuable
particularly in thinking about how to um bring young teachers into becoming master teachers and using coaching and modeling for um uh as as ways to make professional development stick almost. You know, they talk
about nationally many teachers feel professional development is sometimes a little unidirectional. I don't think that's the experience of our teachers. What I've heard is that our teachers really enjoy the professional development um that our district is offering, but this was national trends.
Um uh but this emphasized kind of both a a hands-on and uh an emphasis on what actually teachers need to do to create create high impact practice uh and then how to make that sustainable over time. I just thought it was really useful.
Thank you for that. Judy, was there a mention of mentoring also or that was uh it the it was not mentioned in the terms of mentoring but what they did talk about was having a continuous coaching relationship. Um, so in practice mentoring. Yes. Thank you. Thank you,
Mr. Devita. Yeah, just Wendy made it. And so to Judy about NGSBA, there's a, if you recall, there's the conference on May 30th. It's a virtual conference. There a lot of good um, webinars like that or you know, uh, online ones. So, I
believe Miss Benos already signed me up for it, but it's a good one if you can't if you're someone who can't really get her out to something like, you know, the the fall uh workshop. It's something you can still get a lot of credits for if you're trying to get certification. So, just want to remember that's on May 30th. Thank you, Matt. And either Judy
or Sheto, would you maybe just mention the Morris County School Board Association uh meeting tomorrow? I believe one of our students is receiving um an award and I think uh Dr. right I think is receiving new board members new board member and Mrs. Mayor for 10 years
really 11 really 11 and let's not forget one year when I was appointed yeah Mr. Chafo is also up for 15 years and Mr. burios as well for 10 years. Yep. So, congratulations to all. So, we will be going to the spring um Morris County
spring celebrations meeting and I'm trying to find the name of our distinguished student. Yeah, one of our students is getting money. You know, they go through all of the all of the stuff from all of the people that were there and one student get do they know
that they received the award? They they do, right? They must because but they're invited to it. They're invited and we're sitting wrote as a Yeah. Well, I I may or may not mention it, but um I could mention it at the next meeting. So that
but the um we are we have assigned seating. So we'll be sitting with the sponsor of the monetary award as well. Yeah. What they do is they put the sponsor with the student so that they get to know them, you know, because other than that, they just read what was said, but now they get to really sit
with them and their families and kind of get some idea about what they're like. So, it should be it's really a nice evening. It is. Well, say a prayer for us because we have to drive out to Flanders and hopefully that we'll get there with the traffic. Leave early and the rain, but we're looking forward to
it very much. Thank you. Okay. Thank you. At this time, we're at the hearing of the public. If there's anyone who would like to address the board, please come up, sign your name and address in the book at the lect turn and state your name for the record and please address the chair. Each person will have three minutes to speak to the board. It will be helpful if you would like to address
the board to please come up now and sign in so that you're ready when the first speaker is finished. As a reminder, we are video recording the meeting. If you are a student who wishes to speak, we ask you not provide your home address, but rather give only the name of the municipality 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 refer to bylaw 0168 for further information regarding the
videotaping of our meetings. Hello uh members of the board, Vice President Chapo. My name is Darlene Taylor. I'm a lifelong resident of Paripony, a proud uh product of our school system and I currently serve as
the PTA president at Rockway Meadow School. So, I just wanted to use my time to thank Dr. Sutter for his service to our community. He has been a breath of fresh air and has had a positive lasting impact on our schools. I have had the opportunity to speak with Dr. Sutter and
work with him on behalf of the RMS PTA and he was eager to listen and act in the best interest of our students. His willingness to compromise and support the PTAs in our district has made the past two years an enjoyable experience for parents and students alike. We will
truly miss him in the future and wish him the best in his retirement. Thank you. Thank you very much. Hi, my name is Lacy Ambriyo. Um, I have two children that currently attend Littleton School in the first grade. And I actually emailed many of you this
morning um, regarding a concern I have about class sizes at Littleton, particularly the first grade class. I'll kind of summarize it a little bit for those who maybe didn't get a chance to read my email or those watching from home, but at present there are currently three first grade classes with anywhere
from 25 to 27 students in each. This week alone, three more students were added to the grade level. With the continued residential development in Paranany, this issue is becoming increasingly urgent. In fact, according to table 20 of the district's own demographic study, the projected
enrollment for this cohort of students for next school year is approximately 88 students. Without the addition of a four section, that's putting these classes at 29 and 30 students per class. It is an unsustainable number for young learners.
As an educator myself with over 20 years of experience, I have seen firsthand the significant impact that class size has on a child's education. particularly in these formative years when children are building the foundational skills in reading, writing, and math that will shape all their
future academic successes. While my children have been fortunate to have great teachers, we must acknowledge that we are not setting them up for sustainable success. The demands of managing large classes with diverse needs are compromising the
quality of instruction and support that can be delivered. I do appreciate Dr. Sutter's um response to my email, but I'm still left with some unanswered questions. One point I brought up was that there are currently four fifth grade classes at Littleton, and these students will
obviously move on to Brooklon next year. To my understanding, that would open up both a classroom and a teacher for next year. This makes the addition of a new second grade section not only necessary, but also logistically feasible.
Um, I know you said in your email that financial constraints would prevent the be, you know, being able to create a new section, but that proposed solution would come at no extra cost for the district. Now, if that's not possible, is there a plan that's already in place
for this teacher for next year? Because I've looked through the minutes and I have not seen an internal transfer. So, I'm just wondering, is that a possibility? because there's an open teacher and classroom and Littleton's first grade class is the next largest after that fifth grade class is
leaving. I know um there was a waiver to the policy for class caps being at 25 for last year. I'd like to know is that you know what the status of that is for next year. Um you know because I feel like if these classes are going to be starting the year at 26 27 what it
what's going to happen as the year goes on? Is there a certain point that we feel like is too big? Is it 30, 40, 50? Like what is that that maximum that's too big that would, you know, necessitate the creation of another section? You know, are we going to proactively address this and address it
now or are we going to wait and the classes hit 30 35 during the year and then we address it? Um, you know, I would like to ask that this the district proactively address this concern by creating an additional section for next year. Doing so would make a meaningful
difference in the educational experience of both students and teachers and would reflect a commitment to maintaining the high standards that we expect from the parcipany school system. Thank you. Thank you. Okay. Anyone else from the public like to speak this evening? Seeing no one, we
will close the um the public session. Dr. Setter, any comments? Yeah, I mean I just want to thank you, Mr. Taylor. It was very nice of you to come and I really appreciate that Mr. Spraco um at this particular time we can I cannot talk about person
obviously I have not rights to anyone so I can't give you that answer uh with regards to waving the class size policy uh nothing will change for me from my end because I simply have to educate every student in the district and I have to ensure that everybody does get educated um we will discuss with the
administration some of your information that you brought to us tonight but I can't give you any answers on those at this point. Thank you. Thanks, Dr. Sutter. All right, we are uh at the roll call vote for Superintendent Bulletin 18, items 1 through 86 with
addendum items 87 uh through 102 uh and readins. May I have a motion? Judy, second, please. Michelle, uh roll call.
Mrs. Abraham, yes. Mr. Barios, I need to recuse uh number nine and number 67. Yes to everything else. Mr. Devito, recused on 101 and 102. Yes
to everything else. Mrs. Mayor abstain on 57. Yes to everything else. Mr. Ryer, yes. Mrs. Chappelle, yes. Dr. Right. No on 102. Yes to everything else.
Mr. Chaffa, after he cues on bill list PO, got your pen. Uh 25-05682. Yes. To everything else. I'm sorry. Did you say recuse or abstain? Uh recuse. Yeah. Sorry. Did you
get the the number? Yep. Okay. Yep. pass. Okay, all motions pass. That's great. Any other business coming before the board? Seeing none, motion to adjurnn. Second, Judy. All in favor? I