Okay, everyone ready? Good evening and welcome to the Pasc Valley Regional High School District Board of Education meeting this April 28th, 2025. Roll call, please. Mr. Yamami. Mrs. Vargis. here.
Miss Calderon here. Miss Guzman here. Mrs. Swang here. Miss Keller here. Mrs. Martin here. Mr. Stankis present. Miss Stephins present. Mr. Weaver here.
Please join me in the pledge of allegiance. I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands. One nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and
justice for all. Adequate notice of this meeting has been provided by mailing copies of said notice to the record, filing copies of said notice with the municipal clerks of Hillsdale, Montville, Riverville, and Woodcliffe Lake, and publishing said
notice in the record on August 26, 2024. I I would like to make a motion to enter into executive session to discuss personnel matters related to the superintendent. So moved. Second.
Sorry. We will be back in a few minutes. Yes, but I am going to read the resolution first. Thank you for waiting for us. I have two resolutions to read from the executive
session resolution. Whereas Dr. Sarah Botti, who is employed as a superintendent of schools for the Pasak Valley Regional High School District, has resigned from her position effective June 30th, 2025. Whereas Botti will use her
contractually allotted days for the period beginning April 28th, 2025. Whereas the board desires to resolve all issues between the parties. Be it resolved that Botti
shall be granted a leave of absence using her contractually allotted days from April 28, 2025 through June 30th, 2025. Be it further resolved that the board
approves the release between the board and Botti. Can I get a motion, please? So move. Second. Any discussion? Roll call, please. Mr. Yummy.
Miss Calderon, yes. Miss Guzman, yes. Mrs. Swang? Yes. Miss Keller? Yes. Mrs. Martin? Yes. Mr. Stankis? Yes. Miss Stephins? Yes. Mr. Weaver abstain. Mrs. Varis.
Yes. Second resolution. Whereas Dr. Sarah Botti, who is employed as a superintendent of schools for the Pasak Valley Regional High School District, has resigned from her position effective June 30th, 2025. Whereas Bilotti will use her
contractually allotted days for the period beginning April 28th, 2025. Whereas a Pasak Valley Regional High School Board of Education is desirous of employing an interim superintendent of schools for the period
beginning May 1st, 2025 and ending no later than June 30th, 2026. Whereas Dirk Phillips is desirous of acce accepting employment as interim superintendent of schools. And whereas
the employment agreement between the board and Phillips for the position of interim superintendent of schools for the district was submitted to and approved by the executive county superintendent according to the standards adopted by the commissioner of
education pursuant to NJSA 18A7-8 which are set forth in NJAC 6A 9-12. Be it resolved that the board hereby appoints Phillips as the interim
superintendent of schools for the district for the period beginning May 1st, 2025 until no later than June 30th, 2026. I see at the pdium rate of
$825 for each day that he is employed. Be it further resolved that the board approves the employment agreement with Phillips for the position of interim superintendent of schools for the foregoing period of appointment which employment agreement is attached to this
resolution and made a part thereof. Be it further resolved that the board hereby authorizes the board president and the board secretary business administrator to ex execute the employment agreement on
behalf of the board. Can I get a motion please? So move. Second. Any discussion? Roll call, please. Mr. Yami. Miss Calderon. Yes. Miss Guzman. Yes.
Mrs. Hang. Yes, Miss Keller. Yes, Mrs. Martin. Yes, Mr. Stankis. Yes, Miss Stephins. Yes, Mr. Weaver. Yes, Mrs. Varis. Yes. Ladies and gentlemen, I would like to introduce our upcoming
interim s superintendent, Mr. Dirk Phillips. [Applause] Next we go on to routine matters monthly reports. We have the postsecary education committee report by Elizabeth Caldero. So I'll be quick because I know
we have a lot to cover. Um so we had a really great first postsecary education committee uh meeting on April 9th. Uh we discussed a couple of topics. Um there were six of them. Um I'll just go through them really quickly. Expansion of the internship programs and
partnerships with local businesses. Leveraging alumni networks for mentorship and shadowing opportunities. Mentor recruitment initiatives and community engagement. Career guidance beyond college including trade and vocational pathways. Student success stories and program impact. Marketing
strategies for the internship program. We talked about the internship program. Uh we'll continue expanding connections with local businesses, hospitals, nonprofits, law firms, and governmental entities. Uh there's definitely a need to develop stronger relationships with
trade unions and vocational training centers. Alumni network should be better leveraged for placement and shadowing opportunities. The guidance department we talked about, you know, should shift focus from college counseling to career counseling. Um early exposure to various
career options should be provided to students including vocational training and apprenticeships. Success stories highlight um highlighting students who found their career paths through internships including those in trades and medical fields. Um, we did have some action items to move forward on, and
that was to explore the cost of implementing a web-based platform for tracking student outcomes and mentor ratings, organize a communitywide um, mentor recruitment initiative, potentially through an event similar to the back to school night for former
mentors. Incorporate more career guidance and counseling, not just college counseling, to help students explore all all post-secary options. um and to reach out to the alumni network to identify professionals for placement and shadowing opportunities. And our
next meeting is May 26. Thank you, Miss Calderon. Next, we have the student reports. We have Andrew Varian first from Pasc Hills High School. Good evening, everyone. Uh first, I would like to begin my report with co-curricular items. So, first on
the week of April 7th, Pascal Hills hosted its final spirit week and pep rally of the school year uh leading up to spring break. So, the themes for the spirit week were Monday was pajama day, Tuesday concert t-shirt day, Wednesday USA day, Thursday jersey versus jersey
shore day, and Friday color war. Each grade competed against each other in spirit themes uh with the seniors winning each day. So, that was nice to see. And then the week ended with a pep rally with each sport being honored as well as games of musical chairs, uh a game of speedball, and a part two to the
traditional Hills Twinkie eating contest. Overall, the pep rally was full of energy from students across all grades, uh leaving a positive uh start to student spring break. Uh second, on Wednesday, April 9th, Pascal Hills hosted its annual talent night where
students and teachers showcased their musical abilities and performed for all the parents, teachers, and students to watch. Uh performances consisted of jazz band, surprised teacher duet between Mr. Killian and Mr. Schwarzman, and a combined choir performance. Great job to
everyone who participated. Uh next, on April 24th, the annual Pascal Kills Senior Fashion Show took place at the Pearl River Hilton where the entire night was focused on the senior class. During the show, students got to dress up in correlation to themes of formal,
night out, country, or casual. And throughout the night, groups of students walked down the runway with their friends having fun while teachers Mr. Sant and Mr. Gans told the audience uh about each senior and their future plans. Uh the night concluded with a senior walk out one last time to the
song All My Love by Noah Khan with a blue bandana in remembrance of our classmate Brooke Dryman who passed away in September of last year. Uh lastly, special thanks to the PFA for organizing this event. And then lastly, this past weekend, the Pascal Hills Concert Band and Chamber
Choir traveled to Boston to participate in the World Strides Performing Arts Festival. Uh both ensembles represented the school with great pride and delivered outstanding performances overall. The chamber uh the chamber choir placed uh first uh earning the
gold award while the concert band uh put on a strong performance and placed bronze or third place overall. And a special congratulations to Elijah Chen who received the prestigious Maestro Award uh for his incredible solo performance. In addition to awards,
Pasca Hills was also honor honored the spirit award which is recognized to schools who displayed uh positivity, kindness, and respect towards fellow participants uh throughout the weekend. Uh moving on to athletic items. First, congratulations to the boys 4x100
relay team which qualified to run in the prestigious Penn relays on April 23rd. At the meet, the boys ran a very competitive time of 43.76 seconds, beating out some of the top schools in the country. So, good job, boys. Secondly, congratulations to senior Taylor Pollock on reaching an
incredible milestone, recording her 100th strikeout uh for Pascill softball team. Taylor's achievement has been recognized by officials in North Jersey and she's currently being nominated for North Jersey Player of the Week and this season alone she already tallied 50
strikeouts recording 20 of her last strikeouts over the last two games. Uh she is playing a crucial role in helping the Broncos secure a four-ame winning streak overall. And offensively, the girls have been making significant strides at the plate with Amelia Alvarez
uh who is leading the team uh in hitting percentage of a three point uh or of a 359 batting average. Her ability uh on the plate shows a true mentorship even for a sophomore uh which is very
impressive. And then after facing some challenges throughout the season, Pasc Hills softball has shown resilience and determination uh while improving each game and are currently on a four-game win streak. So good job overall and congrats to Taylor. Uh lastly, the
Pascal Kills boys lacrosse team has kicked off their season with an impressive start of a 6 and4 overall record. And even more notably, the team remains undefeated in the Colin division, putting them at first place and the number one contender for their league title this season. Uh leading the
team is senior attack CJ Driver, who has uh impressive 29 goals and 20 assists on the season so far. Uh with junior standout Logan Nassau, who has 20 goals and 11 assists this season. Uh, this dynamic du d d d d d d d d d d d d d d d d d d d d duo has has the team growing
confidence and leading the Broncos to overall success. Uh, next for academic awards, congratulations to Zoe Green, Alexa Ornstein, Robin Song, Maddie Espinosa, Nina Indugula, Stephanie Yang, and Agria
Verma who were recently selected to attend and participate in the prestigious exhibition phase uh is EF Terra North Jersey Regional Science Fair, which is a highly uh competitive science fair program. Uh congratulations
to Agria and Alexa who placed third in their competitive category for bio uh for medics and computational biology where their projects demonstrated exceptional understanding in their field. Additionally, congratulations to Zoe Green who achieved the second place
overall in her category of animal sciences. And further congratulations to Agria Verma who also earned first place in the category of human genetics and received a $200 reward for her uh place. Once again, congratulations to everyone who
participated. Uh lastly, for my fun fact, Miss Horn and Mr. Cherichello recently had the honor of attend of attending a prestigious heroes democracy gala in New York City which is a celebration of individuals and organizations committed to defending and
advocating for democratic values uh in our society. They were invited by special guest Uriel uh Epstein who is a proud Pasc graduate of 2010 who currently serves as the CEO of the Renew Democracy Initiative. And the new
democracy initiative is a nonprofit organization that envi envisions a world where forces of freedom are united under the author authoritarianism is a retreat to working tirelessly to promote democratic principles both at home and abroad.
uh currently uh no not currently sorry uh Uriel uh was an active member on the debate team with Miss Horn and um showed some exceptional skills at the gala where he um honored a lot of guests and
attendees and played a crucial role in helping the United States um play as a beacon of freedom and democracy across the globe as well. His words captured uh many people throughout the evening highlight and highlighted many uh the power of free society to inspire change
of resistant oppression. Miss Horn had the privilege of being Uriel's AP US history teacher and debate coach while Mr. Turello served as his high school guidance counselor during his time at Hills. Uh and lastly for my joke of the day in honor of it being so warm and
nice outside. What did the ocean say to the beach? Nothing. It just waved. Thank you. And that concludes my board report for April 2025. Thank you, Andrew. Next, we have Maline Woo, who's sitting in for Ella Oakley from Pasak
Valley High School. Um, this is my April report for Valley. For classroom it starting with classroom items, the PP Jazz Band performed the at the Jazz at Lincoln Center, essentially Ellington Festival at Newark Academy on April 12th. They heard bands from New Jersey, New York,
and Georgia and worked with world-class instructors. This was great preparation for their upcoming performance at the NJ State Jazz finals um on May 3rd at Matuchen High School. In addition, the PV Symphonic Band hosted Georgia Middle School and Holden Middle School as well as Dr. Thomas McCauley for an interd
district band on April 8th. All three bands performed individually and had the opportunity to work with Dr. Macaulay who presented excellent insight um into band performance. The three bands combined for a performance that featured over a 100 musicians on stage. Lastly, the PB spring band concert is Thursday, May 8th. Uh, the concert will feature
the PV Symphonic Band, the PB Jazz Band, and the Chamber Jazz Ensemble. So, make sure to catch that. Um, moving on to co-curricular items. So, first, the PB theater is proud to announce that they have received 15 nominations in the Monontlair State University's Foxy Awards, honoring high school plays and
musicals. Included among the nominations are um outstanding production of a DVI a devised play, the risktaking in direction awards for directors Tom and Mariel Leer and student student nominations for AJ Junis by Ava, Sophie Lambrinos, Michael Dugan, Riley
Alexander, my Taguani, Eddie Edgars, and the ensemble of when this is over in high school musical and the stage group Cinderella. Congratulations to all who are nominated. Um next, the PVB club and Mrs. Lindström hosted a honey tasting class for bringing your child to workday. Children learned all about how um nectar is harvested and how honey is
made and stored in the hive and extracted. They tasted over 200 different New Jersey honey samples and gained a broad perspective on how honey buried from region of forage. Um in addition, the environmental club and habitat for humanity club did a sapient to garden cleanup together today,
Monday, April 28th. Um it was to promote the removal of litter on our school grounds, especially as it's close to Earth Day. Um and thank you to all who helped with this cleanup. Um, finally, the PV Interact Club partnered with the Lasagna Love organization to prepare a wholesome meal for a local family in
need. Additionally, they will be helping with a preparation planting an upkeep of the courtyard garden at Valley throughout the remainder of the school year. Moving on to athletic items, um, the Nay the the Naymith Basketball Hall of Fame announced the recipients of the 2025 Morgan Wooden Award for lifetime
achievement in coaching high school basketball. Coach Jeff Jasper is one of this year's recipients of this prestigious award. The Elks Hoop Shop presents the award named after Morgan Wooden who dedicated 46 years uh to leading Damatha Catholic High School in Hyetszville, Maryland. Wooden is one of only five high school coaches enshrined
in the Nay Smith Basketball Hall of Fame. The annual award recognizes two outstanding high school basketball coaches, one for girls basketball, one for boys basketball. John Elva, president and CEO of the Basketball Hall of Fame, stated start quote, "Congratulations to Jeff Jasper, the 2025 recipient of the Morgan Wooden
Award for lifetime achievement in coaching high school basketball. Coach Jasper's dedication and excellence in coaching exemplify Morgan Wooden's enduring legacy in the sport. Beyond Coach Jasper's remarkable success on the court, his unwavering commitment and profound has profoundly shaped the lives of his student athletes. His influence
extends far beyond basketball, inspiring future generations, leaving a lasting impact on his team and community. Jasper has been a trailblazer New Jersey high school basketball since 1971, leading Pasc Valley High School girls basketball program to historic success. With over 1100 career wins, he
holds the title of winning girls basketball coach in New Jersey history. Jasper has led Pacific Valley to six New Jersey state titles, 14 state sectional titles, and 34 league championships. In 2024, Jasper's honor with the inaugural lifetime achievement award for the New Jersey Basketball Coaches Association,
further cementing his legacy as one of the most accomplished and respected coaches in sports history." End quote. The Morgan Wooden Award recipients are selected among a national committee of Hall of Famers, national high school media members, tournament directors, and others who have made substantial contributions to the game. Coach Jasper
received the 2025 Morgan Wooden Award for lifetime achievement in coaching high school basketball on April 1st at the Barlay Center in Brooklyn as part of the pregame festivities for the 2025 McDonald's All-American team. Congratulations to Coach Jasper on this remarkable achievement. Uh, moving on to
the second one. PE's spring athletic teams are having remarkable seasons with several of our teams being ranked at the top 10 for all of North Jersey. Good luck to all the teams as they get ready for upcoming county and state tournaments. And be sure to head out to support our spring teams. Um, and moving on to fun fact, my fun fact, um, Pasco
Valley Class Council hosted its annual class cause week. The cause week was a tremendous success beginning with a PSA video highlighting the format of each council's cause. Um, the week f focused on each council raising awareness and funds for their causes as well as participating in a schoolwide cornhole
tournament hosted by the exec council um with all the proceeds going to each of the causes grades. Thank you to the PP community for the continued support for um the class council cause week. Um unfortunately I don't have a joke but this concludes my report to the board of thank you
maline. Next, we have the minutes from the March 20 20th 25 regional retreat, April 7th, 2025 regular meeting, executive meeting session, and uh uh two executive sessions actually. Uh can I
get a motion, please? So moved. Second. Second. Discussion. Roll call, please. Mr. Yami, Miss Calderon, yes. Miss Guzman, yes. Mrs. Swang, yes. Miss Keller, yes. Mrs.
Martin, yes. Mr. Sankis, yes. Miss Stephins, yes. Mr. Weaver, abstain March 20, yes to April 7th. Mrs. Varis, yes. Next, we have National Teacher Appreciation Week. Whereas the week of
May 4th, 2025 has been designated as National Teacher Appreciation Week. And now therefore be it resolved that the Pasc Valley Regional High School District Board of Education recognizes all faculty members from Pasak Hills
High School, Pascak Valley High School, the Park Academy program, and the Milestone program for their outstanding efforts and for their dedication to the students of our district. We appreciate you. So apparently we have to do a vote on
this. You could do a voice vote. We could do a V voice vote. So all in favor all in favor say I. I. All not in favor say opposed. Opposed.
No one. Okay. Motion passed. Uh can she? Yes. I just personally want to thank all of the staff members, teachers, custodians, administrators, counselors,
um for all you do for our children, our community. Um they would be lost without you and they have no idea how lucky they are to have you. So, thank you. Next, we have the 2025 2026 budget hearing presented by Cynthia Kirk.
You did good. Hello everyone. Thank you. Um, so tonight I'll be presenting on the proposed 2025 2026 budget. I just want to let everyone know that this is a more streamlined version of the original
presentation from March 17th where we went into further detail on current year highlights as well as enhancements in curriculum in more detail. If anyone would like to see any more of that presentation, you can always refer back to our minutes or the YouTube video. So
tonight, focus on the financial aspects of the proposed budget. First, our budget process. So, in August and September, the board superintendent and school business administrator began dialogue on
the budget. Budget managers submitted their budget requests by November 27th to the school business administrator and superintendent. The superintendent and school business administrator reviewed the budget
requests and created the tentative budget back in December. The finance committee and board are kept a breast of significant increases in health insurance, salary, benefits, and anything that will challenge the budget that occurs between January and
March. The board approved the tentative budget again on March 17th. The school business administrator, Mr. submitted that budget to the county office on March 18th. The county office approved the
tentative budget on April 10th. And tonight, April 28th, the board sets the final budget for board of education vote. our budget priorities. First to to support the district vision to create a culture of innovation, inquiry, and
individuality that promotes achievement and choice by cultivating the skills needed to compete and collaborate as ethical and responsible global citizens. Second is to support the district mission. The mission of the Pasc Valley Regional High School
District is to prepare our students for successful college and/or career experiences with the needed mindset, skills, structure, and knowledge to accomplish that goal. Curricular proposals for the upcoming budget year, a new pilot course
in music, honors, band, and choir. implementation of new required state curriculum standards, supplemental programs for ELELLL learners, professional development for AP and other programs, and expanded use of AI
training and usage. Other proposals included in our budget are expanding the use of J Gemini AI in the classroom, partnering with Insight Health to provide specialized mental health services and foster a safe and
supportive learning environment, and also the addition of 17 new clubs between both schools. 2025 2026 staffing. There are no staffing additions budgeted for the upcoming
year. Two positions will not be replaced. One is a social studies teacher due to retirement effective July 1 of 25. And the other is a support staff media assistant due to retirement effective November 1st of
2025. So this year we have budgeted one major capital project. It is the replacement of the media center rooftop unit at Pascat Valley High School. Um the cost is again $1.6 million and we are funding that through a withdrawal
from our capital reserve. This slide shows our total sources of revenue for the upcoming budget year. You'll see that 85% of our revenue is generated by the local tax levy, including debt service at $59.6 6
million. 3% of our budget is allocated from capital maintenance and emergency reserve withdrawals. This year we're using 2.6 approximately amount of fund balance which is equal to 4% of our budget. Um
that's surplus from prior year that is used to support the upcoming budget. Our tuition revenue is anticipated to increase. We're buding increase this year totaling $767,000 of tuition revenue which
accounts for 1% of our budget. Miscellaneous revenue again at 1% of our budget approximately $843,000. Miscellaneous revenue includes interest earned on our bank accounts. also smaller items such as um fees from
the internship program um facilities usage and other items and also our regional curriculum office. Federal and state aid account for 6% of our budget this year at almost $4 million. Thank you,
Yas. Um we did receive a state aid increase of 6% this year. This gives us a total revenue budget of $69.9 million. This slide shows our expenditures for the upcoming budget
year. You'll see that $19.5 million are budgeted to instruction for regular programs. Employee benefits make up $10.3 million of our budget. Our support services, which include guidance,
CST, nursing, and other items in are um approximately $8 million. Operations and maintenance account for $6.7 million of our budget. That has to do with our buildings and the maintenance and upkeep for those
facilities. Tuition expenditures. This is funds that we use to send some of our students to programs outside of the district. That would be for special education programs as well as Bergenmies and Bergen Technical
Schools. Administrative support is $3.9 million. That includes costs from the superintendent's office, the business office, technology, and also the principal's offices. Transportation is budgeted at $3.7
million. Athletics at just over two million. co-curricular activities are just under $675,000. Capital outlay, as previously discussed, 1.6 million of that is the um project at the for the PV rooftop unit.
And we also budget interest deposits into our maintenance, emergency, and capital reserve accounts of $7,000. Total expenditures 60 million 67,33,132. This slide shows those
expenditures in a pie chart format. You'll see that 29.1% of our costs are allocated to regular instruction. Employee benefits account for 15 and a half% of our budget. Support services at 12%.
operations and maintenance at 10.1%. Tuition is 8.4% of our expenditures and the percentages go down by category from there. On this slide, we wanted to take those same expenditures and regroup them
um to show a couple of different highlighted items. The first one is salaries. You'll see that salaries for the district are approximately $36.3 million and employee benefits related to
those salaries and employees are $10.3 million. Services which include some special education services, audit and legal would be at $5.8 million. Again, tuition approximately $5.6 million. Transportation remains at
$3.6 million. The costs of supplies and textbooks are $1.5 million and utilities are budgeted at $1.1 million. And just a note that we are expecting a utilities increase of
17% for this upcoming year and capital outlay is already discussed at $1.7 million. This pie chart shows the regrouped expenditures and their percentages. So you can see that salaries make up 54% of our budget and
employee benefits at 15 and a half percent. So just under 70% of our budget goes to salary and benefits. Services account for 8.8% and tuition is 8.4% and the percentages go down from
there. So our 2526 budget is 57,582,399. This is a 3.42% increase over last year. Uh this percentage includes the use of the healthc care adjustment which is allowed
by law to offset costs for the increase in health care expenses. that amount again 792,397 included in our budget. Other contributing factors to the increases in costs over the 2425
budget include um increased costs for special ed programs and services, operation and maintenance increases as well as increases in athletics and co-curricular expenditures. So this question comes up a lot so we
always like to address it each during each budget presentation. Why is there a difference among the sending districts in the amount of taxes needed to support the regional budget? The formula for tax sharing among the sending districts is strictly governed by New Jersey
education law. The board of education has no taxing authority. The tax formula is based on taxable property, wealth, and student enrollment. A calculation is performed each year by the state to arrive at the
municipality's tax levy. This is called percent share. So this slide shows our tax levy, the 59,659,299 and the percent share for each municipality and the allocated dollar amount to that percent share. You'll see that the percentages do vary
and Hillsdale this year has the lowest percent share at 22.745% and Montail is the highest at 26.683%. And we did want to note that the total uh tax levy including the debt service is actually
3.3%. So when you add the debt service and account for that it actually makes the percentage appear slightly lower because the debt service increase does not increase as much as other expenditures in the future year. So it brings that percentage
down. This this slide shows the tax impact on each of the municipalities based on the average assessed home. So in Hillsdale, the average assessed home is
476,683. The 2025 tax would be 3,774 for an annual increase of $12121 or $1010 per month. In Montville, the average assessed home is
$549,603. The 2025 tax, $3,770 for an estimated annual increase of 38 cents or 3 cents per month. In Rivervale, the average assessed home is
$592,000. The 2025 tax $3,949. Estimated annual increase 54.95 or 458 per month. And finally, Woodcliffe Lake with an average assessed home of 944,047, 2025 tax of
5,852. The estimated annual increase $5959 or a per month of $4.97. So on this slide, we always like to include a tax impact history. This gives a snapshot of the fluctuations between
the increases and decreases by municipality each year. We we find this helpful to provide so we can show that these percentages and dollar figures do tend to change and increase or decrease on a year-over-year basis. Does the board have any
questions? Cindy, can can we get a copy of the presentation? Of course. Thank you. Thank you, Miss Kirk. You're welcome. Next, we have comments from the public. Citizens are invited to make comments
regarding agenda items and are limited to three minutes according to the Pasak Valley Regional High School District Board of Education policy number 0167. Persons wishing to speak must upon being recognized rise, sign in, and
state their name, town of residence, and which agenda item they are referencing. Anyone have comments on the an agenda item? No. Okay. Uh, next we have two consent agenda items for policy. Can I get a
motion, please? So moved. Second. Any discussion? Roll call, please. Mr. Yamami. Ms. Calderon. Yes. Miss Guzman.
Yes. Mrs. Hang. Yes. Ms. Keller. Yes. Mrs. Martin. Yes. Mr. Mr. Stenis, yes. Miss Stephins, yes. Mr. Weaver, yes. Mrs. Varis, yes. Next, we have human
resources for which we have 20. Say it again. But that's 910. Uh 20 consent agenda items. Yeah. No, it just replaced it. Replaced it. Okay. So, there is a supplemental um to
that replaces numbers 9 through 12. Can I get a motion, please? So, move. Second. Any discussion? Uh, one item buried in here. um that I think deserves a special mention is that
we are appointing a new business administrator this evening. Right. So, congratulations to Cynthia on your anticipated appointment. I don't know. Yas, how big are your shoes? Oh, no. I have small feet. You have
small feet. All right. You're gonna do great then. All right. Um, roll call, please. Mr. Usami. Miss Calderon. Yes. Miss Guzman. Yes.
Mrs. Swang? Yes. Miss Keller. A reluctant but very happy. Yes. Mrs. Martin. Yes. Mr. Stankis? Yes. Miss Stephins? Yes.
Mr. Weaver? Yes. Mrs. Varis? Yes. Next we have finance for which we have 29 consent agenda items. Can I get a motion please? So moved. Second.
Any discussion? Roll call, please. Mr. Yamami. Miss Calderon. Yes. Miss Guzman. Yes. Mrs. Hang. Yes. Miss Keller. Yes. Mrs. Martin. Yes. Mr. Stenis, I'm not at that
page yet. Okay. Yes. Miss Stephins. Yes. Mr. Weaver. Yes. Mrs. Vargis. Yes. Next, we have old business. Any old business to discuss?
just want to thank thank you to um the establishment of the class of 1974 alumni scholarship and as well as all the the number of donations that were um given to us. That's
it. New business. Next we have comments from the public. Citizens are invited to make comments and are limited to three minutes according to the Pasc Valley Regional High School District Board of Education policy number 0167. Persons wishing to speak must upon
being recognized rise, sign in, state their name, and town of residence. Go ahead. Hello, my name is Etiars. I'm from Montail. I am also a theater kid
here for the moment at um Hills. and me and a couple other people are here today to kind of make our claim as to why we think that the program should be reeparated for the coming school year instead of staying together for the two
years as planned. Um I'm going to start with some numbers because that's what I did. Um with a combined program, the number of physical roles were limited. So on the hillside for
Cinderella, according to Concord theatricals, which is the licensing company, there are nine roles in the show Rogers and Hammerstein Cinderella, which I know I saw some of you at. Um, and we had a total cast of 21. This
meant that 42.9% of the cast had a highlighted or featured role or a role at all. though for the combined program for the spring musical Legally Blonde. According to MTI, which is the licensing company for Legally
Blonde, that show only has seven roles, but with the amazing turnout we had for a cast, we had 44 students. That left 15% of the cast with a role, which is a huge difference from the almost 45%
that Cinderella was. On the crew side of things, we had a what is it? 85.7% decrease in Hills participation in
crew. We went from 36 students to five from Cinderella to Legally Blonde, which is a lot, especially for one relatively small program. Um, I also want to talk about I
know I'm moving pretty fast, but I also want to talk about leadership with the Pascal Hills players. The way that our program was set up allowed many students to be able to hold leadership positions and make the program their own, which
was amazing for so many of us. I myself was the student assistant director to our old director Allison. But overall in the past five or so years, the Pascal Kills players offered 34 different leadership positions ranging from stage
managers, assistant stage managers, lighting, scenic, dance captains, house managers. It can keep going, but um there's a lot. compared to the past five years of PV theater, they had 18 leadership
positions, which is it's a different program. Things are run differently, and I entirely understand. My main concern is that with the new Pasc Theater, there was not any increase in leadership
opportunities for the merger. So there were still 18 of exactly the same leadership positions. So that led to a 47% decrease in student leadership despite a larger company which personally impacted me and many
others as the role that I had didn't move over which I know it might like not all directors like working with a student as an assistant director and I understand that but very little was done to work with me to figure out somewhere
where I would be really happy. Instead, I was pushed into this role that there were aspects that I loved, but there was a lot to be said, a lot to be left wanted. Um, the
one more number of bit that I have is the average weekly rehearsal hours. So, for Cinderella, the total show rehearsed for about 176 hours, which let which is a lot, but it was broken up to about 14.6 hours a week. We had four days a
week of three-hour rehearsals. Legally Blonde, on the other hand, rehearsed for 280 hours total with 23.3 hours per week as the average, which coming from a Hills student is it was a hu it was too much
for a lot of us. and to move past the numbers as my time is coming to a close. Um, as a concerned student, I'm scared for the future of this program because after two years, it might not be too
much for many of you sitting at this table, but for us, it's half of high school. I'm scared that I'm saying if the programs ever get separated again, that hill's culture will have been lost. And it was something that I that made me
found my made me find my place in high school. And I would be so upset if other kids never got that chance because the program is either no longer or
unrecognizable. I have if you guys have any questions about numbers, I can answer them or I can turn my time to someone else. It's not typical, but when one of our students comes. Absolutely. So, first,
congratulations on your honor society appointment. Thank you. You're welcome. Um, just maybe maybe not for dialogue back and forth, but I would be interested to learn more about how the program runs when they're independent.
Um, and then how they ran when they were combined like historical Pasc Hills and historical Pasc Valley like is there always just one show per year and this year there were two shows just I'm looking for that history just to learn
more. Absolutely. So we have a digital proposal for the re-eparation which is what I was looking at. Um, we do have a digital one available to you guys which has um student and alumni letters in it
as well as that sort of thing of like it has all of the hills history. It has the main differences and you'll see in a lot of the letters the differences in culture and in do you want to walk them around? um the differences in culture
and all those sort of differences between the hills program and the combined program. Excellent. So that is available on there. Thank you very much. Beefy almost 70 pages. It's Miss Edgars, right? Miss Edgars. Edgars. Yes. Very well spoken. Thank you. I appreciate the
initiative that you just took and all this research. I am very impressed. I would love if you would please email that to the board because then we can all take a look at it. But very impressive. Absolutely. Thank you so
much. You're welcome. This is This is it. I'm sorry. I'm aging myself. I did not realize there was a QR code right in front of me. Thank you. Hello, I'm Riley Alexander. I'm a current senior at Pascal Hills High
School and I'm also the head director for the Fieldstone Middle School spring musical. Um, it's a very unique program that Hills or Hills offers to work with the local middle school just up the road to produce their spring musical. Um,
we're going into our eighth year. I believe we're presenting Frozen Jr. this year. Um, this has been in the works since 2018 when the high schoolers came to the board of ed and asked if they would be able to run the program after
the past director had stepped down. Um, it's a very unique situation that we have and a very rewarding program and with the continued combination of Pasc Hills theater and Pasc Valley Theater, it's not likely that it would be able to
continue which is something that is very upsetting to me as it hits very close to home. I joined the program in my fifth grade of fifth grade year of middle school and now I'm the head director. So, I've been with it for a very long time. time. I've seen it grow and change and it's just amazing to see all the
kids blossom through it. Um, a quote from a current seventh grader at Fieldstone is, "Drama at FMS is one of the things that I look forward to every week. The people there are so kind and supportive and without them I don't think I would do this club. I don't want I can't wait to be a senior and come
back to coach myself." So clearly, I mean, sitting as a fifth grader, I remember thinking how excited I was to come back and coach with them as well. And my sophomore year when I was approached asking if I would like to help out, it was an immediate yes. But unfortunately, as Etsy brought up with
the numbers of rehearsals, it was not possible for us to hold rehearsals that was needed to produce the show. In the past, Pasc Hills has rehearsed from 6:00 to 9 weekly for the musical and fall play hours. With Pasc Theater, it was always after school, typically 3:00 to
5:00, sometimes later with Saturday rehearsals. With that being said, it was unlikely to h hold middle school rehearsals from 3:00 to 5:00 as it always was. And it's not ideal for middle school parents to hear that they want their kids being held at the school from 6:00 to 9:00. So, it was not ideal
to switch the hours. Um, all of March for Legally Blonde was considered a no conflict month. So, no conflicts were allowed at all and you had to be at all rehearsals. That was a non-negotiable. So, it was set that there was no
rehearsal date allowed for the Fieldstone show. So, that's an entire month left. And currently, our show this year is going to be on May 1st through the 3rd. Um, so that's was a very scary thing to hear as a director. And since
all of the students who run the program are through theater, they're also involved in Legally Blonde. So, there was no one really to watch over the kids. And so it was very scary to hear. Um it's a very special program and a lot of the kids are nervous. The middle
schoolers are nervous going into high school because from their point of view they already have to merge with another school from Wolf Lake. And I remember knowing feeling how scary that was that there's going to be a whole another school of new kids and coming into theater thinking there's going to be three other schools that you don't know
anyone. It's very intimidating and it's put some of them off the idea of growing into theater which is something you don't want to hear at all after. It's something that has meant so much to me as it's helped me meet the most incredible people in the world and find this passion that I love. So, it's a
very special program and knowing that it might not be able to run in a couple years is something that I don't want to hear. So, um I know you said it's unlikely that you do usually a dialogue back and forth, but I could entertain any questions if anyone has. You again are a student, so we will make an
exception. Does anyone have questions for Miss Alexander? I just have a comment. So impressive. Thank you for all you do for the community and the fact that you're able to keep it together. I'm very proud of you. Thank you. I appreciate your personal emotion and I
would I just love when students come to talk to us and we can hear how much certain things mean to them. So I I appreciate you coming to do that. I think uh hopefully you all have been to uh administration as well within the
schools. Yes. Um and I'm sure they will help uh guide the decision- making process. Right. But I remember back when the Solomon's son came to speak to the board about just the condition of the auditorium, right? And I think when the students came, it really had an impact
on the board and really drove that decision making towards, you know, what we needed to do to make funds available to provide a state-of-the-art facility. Um, Hills Auditorium looks great. I know the work at Valley is is going to be starting soon. Um, but the fact that you
all came out tonight to to share your thoughts and opinions and proposals, which I think is most important, is appreciated. And hopefully we can do what we need to do to um make sure everybody's happy. Right. All right. Thank you.
Thank you so much. Thank you. Hello. Um, my name is Jupiter Tam. I'm from Montville and I will also be talking about um why I think that we should separate the programs. Uh the separation of the theater programs means so much to me because um
we were promised a fair combining of the two schools and it was more so joining valley and our culture from Hills was being erased which I think is a really sad thing to have seen and been through.
Um we were given or sorry um at Hills we were given so many learning opportunities um to be a leader and the cast and students were able to get bigger roles because it was a smaller cast and because the hours that we had were so
flexible for everyone from like varsity sports to robotics were able to come and participate. Um, the hours of Legally Blonde were so much that a lot of kids were sadly forced to choose between their varsity
sport and theater, which they care so much about, but unfortunately they had to choose. And it was really disappointing to see all of those kids. I mean, as Eti said, the um percentage of the crew kids that left
was devastating. Um, I'm currently the stage manager and assistant crew chief. And it was so sad to see all of my like Hills friends and people that I've made along the years uh leave because of how horri how bad the schedules were to work
around their other lives. Um, and just to like reiterate how some of the hours were, I was um here at Pasc Valley from 3:00 p.m. after school to 11:00 p.m. um working and sometimes I
would only get a 15-minute break. Although I love theater very much, the um program at Hills was so much different and it allowed so many opportunities for all of us to learn and grow. Um, I am also open to any
questions if you all have any. Did you not you specifically, but did did students voice their opinion on the hardship of the t of how much time was involved? Um, I believe they did in the letters. I
know I wrote a letter um and spoke more about that. Okay. Any questions? Thank you so much. I appreciate your perspective. Hello, my name is Eevee Edgars and
although I'm sure we are all board of education by now, I wanted to add to the discussion about the Pasc Theater program. I am a freshman at Pasak Hills and a member of the Pasak theater program. Prior to
that, however, I was in the Fieldstone Middle School theater program for three years. That program had been run by a group of Hill students, including Riley Alexander, since 2018, and has always been an amazing experience for the kids
in that school, including me. When I first started theater, I had no idea what I was doing. It was my first audition, my first rehearsals, my first tech week, my first show. The Hill students, knowing this and knowing how horrifying it can be to go on stage for
the first time, were able to walk me through the entire process. This support and community helped me fall in love with acting and made me want to pursue theater outside of school and maybe even professionally in the future. I feel like without the Hill students running
the program that I would not love acting as much as I do now. The community that they created also helped me in other points of my life. Whenever I was feeling down or just had a really bad day at school, I was always able to walk into the cafeterium of my middle school after school and hang out with my
friends doing something I truly enjoyed and looking forward to the day where I would be able to provide the same support, community, and experience that I was able to receive with the Hill students. This year, the theater programs merged. As you all know by now,
this made it virtually impossible for the Hill students to run the program and the way that Pas with the way the Pasc Theater is run. If Pasak Theater continues to exist, then the Hill students will likely be unable to run the program at Fieldstone Middle School next year, resulting in a loss of
community, not only at Pasc Hills, but at Fieldstone Middle School as well. I urge you to reconsider the combined theater program. These communities cannot be lost. Thank you. I'm also open to any questions. I just
remembered that. Does anyone have any questions? Thank you so much. Thank you so much. Anyone else with comment? Hi there. My name is Carrie Solomon. I'm from Mont Bale and I am the parent of
two 20 2022 Hills alumni and um they are not able to be here right now because they are doing their study abroad semester and uh but I would like to kind of give you a glimpse of kind of some of
the futures and of some of the folks that are here and and kind of what the the culture and leadership opportunities that were so beautifully spoken about by
Eti and Jupiter and Evie and Riley. And I just want to kind of give you a glimpse of to kind of what that does and uh you know a few years down the road for these folks. Um, I want to speak specifically about my son Aaron who did
have um he was able to kind of seize the opportunities that were in the theater program and carved out um a role for himself in the produ production side of theater. And shortly after graduating
high school, he then moved into positions with uh the Rockland Boulders doing uh ticket ticket management and box office management and now is working
with his university's event services program. and his university is flying him to school in a couple of weeks so that he can stage manage the the commencement ceremonies. So, and and
then he's also looking forward to a summer internship um at UBS Arena on Long Island. So, so these are experiences that would not be possible without the experience he had
at Hills doing production and kind of filling the holes that that were left that in maybe some other schools programs are either done by professionals or or done by the the
directors. So, I just kind of wanted to give you that little glimpse of kind of what is possible and and that's just the experience that I got to witness through through my son. Um, and wanted to share that with you. So, thank you. Thank you.
Good evening. I'm Devon Alexander. I'm from Montville and I'm Riley's mom. So, I stand here as a very proud mom to ask to please bring back the Pascal Hills theater program the way that we've had it in the past. I'm a mom of three. My
oldest is Kyler. He graduated in 2023 and in high school he played football, he wrestled and he was in band. So he was a very busy young man. The fact that the program allowed for these opportunities to still take place
after school and then be a part of theater was crucial to my son's overall development in that he found his true passion in life. He is now a sophomore at Monontlair State University and he is majoring in DTM which is design technical management. He's found his
true passion in life. Um and it was only because how the program was set up at Hills that he was really able to explore that. Um I have two daughters, Riley and my younger one, Kelsey. They both do theater as well. And believe it or not,
once upon a time Riley was a very shy child. And to think that she would stand up here and speak before all of you, I could not imagine. But theater has absolutely given her her wings and she has found so many things in life. She
runs cross country. She is part of the yearbook and the newspaper. Um, she actually is also a peer leader and she ran the Martin Luther King community service day where she ran a group of adults performing and and taking place
in building connections to the community. So, the fact that she can do all of this, I have to attribute it back to theater and the fact that she can also participate in all of these things is because of how the program ran. We started off with Pasc Hills and Pasc
Valley student adviserss sharing with us all these amazing accolades that these kids are doing and we of course want to see that so that when they become juniors and seniors and they're putting forth together their college applications and they're going to then put themselves out there as a possible
candidate for colleges and universities. We want them to have that ability to showcase their many many talents and of course just to be a high school kid and experience all these wonderful things and discover who they are inside. So I am concerned with the current state of
the merged programs that it's losing that. Um I know just speaking into the crew side of things having that small intimate setting is crucial. Um just this year she numbers which is wonderful. We have two thriving programs, one at Hills, one at Valley.
We've got the numbers. We've got these kids that want to participate. And I would really hate to see that we're losing kids. An 87% deduction in participation is is very upsetting as a parent. Um, and I'm hoping that we can
bring back the Pasc Hills theater program so that both Valley and Hill students can thrive and really have that small, intimate, small group experience that will hopefully teach them who they are so they can learn and go forward with their own wings. Thank you for your
attention and for listening. Thank you. Hi everybody. Thank you so much and welcome to our new interim in superintendent. You're getting a crash course on the theater program here. So, welcome to the theater program. Um, my name is Elizabeth Gluggler. I'm from
Monfale and I am the proud parent of uh two theater kids. Uh, our Eddie is in the 11th grade and loves to shine behind the scenes. And, uh, well, you saw Eevee, she likes to shine on the stage. Um, first I want to talk to you tonight
about the history of the Pasak Hills Players. It's not a new just got here program. This program has been building and growing for decades, building traditions, building community, brick by
brick, player by player. Did you know that Pasak Hills first show was a combined production of Oklahoma back in 1965, the year Pasak Hills opened.
But one year later, Pascak Hills performed Bye-Bye Birdie on their own. And there has been a musical every single solitary year since then, even during COVID when a whole group of kids performed Sister Act under the stars in
the Hills Amphitheater. We cannot get rid of the Pasc Hills players because it took 59 years to build it, everyone. 59 years. Second, I want to talk to you for a minute about the legacy of this program.
I was the lucky person who got to talk to so many of the alums that you'll see their letters in the proposal. And um I know there's a lot of letters. I urge you to read them. Um there's a ton of them. Some of them are are very long. You'll feel the passion. So I promise
that it'll be worth it to read the letters. You'll hear from a little girl whose teacher couldn't believe that this shy kid in her class was up there singing and dancing up on the stage or a football kid who found a place to
express himself in a whole different way and found a whole new piece of himself. I kept hearing the same things over and over and over. This program let me be me. This program is where I met my people. I have used those skills I learned in
theater every day and in every job I've ever had. The truth is that our kids deserve to have a theater program of their own in their own school. The Hills kids and the Valley kids, not just one program
for our district. Please do not take the theater program away from our kids. Lastly, we were told that one of the biggest reasons that for combining these programs was the loss of our beloved
director. And um so we went out and found some candidates. You'll see in the proposal, we found some potential candidates who were qualified and excited and they would love to be our next theater team. Please see the link to their prof their professional and
their um theater resumeumés inside of the proposal. If these aren't the right candidates, we will find the administration more. If they want 10, we'll find them 10 to interview. If they want 20, we'll find them 20 to interview. There are people out there
who will run our program. There are amazing, amazing candidates. We have outlined in our proposals ways to share the theater next year. Valley was so gracious to bring us in this year when our theater was being renovated. We want to share our theater with them next
year and we are happy to do that and work that out together. It is time to give the Hills kids their program back. If we don't separate these programs now, we are making the decision to have one program
for this district. With the changed name, the changing of the website, the purchasing of merchandise, this seems like far more than a temporarily than temporarily
combined program, but instead a permanent combination Pasc. That is the decision that is in your hands and in our administrator's hands. If this decision is for each school to have their own theater
program, then it needs to be now. The administration and the kids need to interview and hire their new directors, start to bond and work together in the fall so that they're ready for the spring musical. They need to start the hard work of building their program back
up because you've heard the statistics, building the cast back up and the decimated crew. The decision is now. Now is the time to make the decision. So on April 2nd, a whole group of kids and parents
sat down with all our administrators, with Dr. Botti with um principal wheel with principal poutio and brought this beautiful proposal and all of these statements to the ground. But we're running out of time. We are at the end
of April and if we don't take the next steps now, it's going to be the fall and so the time to bring Hill's program. The time is now. I am also going to I also have a a physical copy of the proposal.
I'm bringing it right to you. It's and but pass around Anyone else? Okay, we do not have to enter into executive session because we don't need
one. So, can I get a motion to adjourn? Second. Thank you. Any objections? No, I'm just kidding. Uh, we are adjourned.