Mr. Gibbs, please read the statement. Compliance. >> In compliance with the Open Public Meeting Act, public law 1975, chapter 231, notice of this meeting has been properly advertised in the daily record in suburban trends. Its agenda has been posted at the appropriate locations. A
copy has been filed with aquatic township clerk. >> Thank you. Please call the role. >> Mr. Bloomer >> here. >> Mr. Sesi >> here. >> Mrs. Espazito >> here. >> Mr. Ken will be late. Mrs. Ao >> here. >> Mr. McMeeni will be late. Mr. Mik >> here.
>> Mr. Sic >> here. >> And >> here. >> We have a quorum. >> Thank you. Everyone please stand for the flag salute to the republic for which it stands. One nation under God, indivisible, liberty,
justice. >> All right. Good evening everyone. Welcome to our April 13th meeting. First, tonight we will honor members of our staff that are entering the quarter century club, signifying 25 years of service to our district.
On behalf of the board, I want to say thank you for the years of service. We appreciate all your hard work, your contributions, and your sacrifice. Thank you for everything. And I know that tonight there's only one person here with us that's getting this honor. Mr. Hazler. Um, you are a wonderful
principal. You're here for every event. I see you cuz I know when I'm here for not when I'm not here for things, I know you're always here for things. And when I show up for things, you're still here for things. Uh, so luckily you live in town, but all your effort and all your contributions definitely do not go
unnoticed. We appreciate it and thank you. Uh second, tonight during FFA, the board will continue our budget discussions in preparation for the public hearing on April 27th and a vote on the budget for the 2627 school year. I encourage all listening now or in the future to go
back and view the recordings from the 32 and 323 meetings for prior board discussions and briefings from Dr. Poris and Mr. Gibbs on the upcoming budget. And now I'll pass the mic to Dr. Poris. All right. Thank you, Mr. Senic. I'm not
going to acknowledge that Mr. Hazler's here, even though I guess I just did, but I will be speaking about a colleague and friend soon enough. But first, we're going to have uh our student representatives make their presentations, which will be supported by a further presentation, which is an
update from our students uh trip to Costa Rica. So, Olivia, you're going to be on the spot for that. And then, uh once they wrap up, then we'll do our quarter century club recognitions. Ladies, the floor is yours. >> Good even Good evening, everyone. So
glad to see you all again. I hope you had a great break. Congratulations to Coach O, who was named the NJACK coach of the year for girls basketball by NJ.com. Congratulations to Braden Valentin who was named the NJC independence division's boys basketball player of the year and for the boys team
being named independ independence champ division team of the year by NJ.com. And congratulations to Shane Albertson. He represented PTHs in the Pquanic football at the Greater Morris County Football Foundation Scholar Athlete Banquet. Congratulations to Emily Zgler
for breaking the school record for career career draw controls in lacrosse. The World Language Honor Society will be inducting this year's class on Wednesday night at 7:00 p.m. Congratulations to the new inductees as well as the Sila by Literacy recipients. And on the same
night, Mr. Hazler and Dr. Reporters will be making subs at the Jersey Mike in Lincoln Park from 5:00 to 6:30 p.m. Who will make the better sub? Mr. Hazer says it's him. Since our last meeting, the music department took their annual trip.
The students took part in a variety of activities that included the Philadelphia Symphony performance. The PTHs concert band performed at the Baltimore Inner Harbor Amphitheater, a visit to the National Aquarium, a theater performance of the Wizard of Oz,
and a visit to the Smithsonian Museum in Lincoln Memorial in Washington DC. PT PTHs held a spring pep rally on Thursday before break. All those spring sports seniors were honored. Students also participated in spirit games that included are you smarter than a fifth
grader and fourcourt volleyball. Congratulations to Aiden Ashanden who also won the parking spot raffle sponsored by the safe driving club. Emily PTHs will be hosting a spring musical, The Adams Family, on Thursday, April
23rd, 24th, and 25th at 700 p.m. in the auditorium. The students are hard work are hard at work getting ready and they hosted a meet and greet on April 1st that include a variety of activities ranging from scenes from the play, love
advice from Uncle Fester, board games with the members of the family and a word a a sword duel with Gomez Adams. Word has it that Gomez got the best of Mr. Hazler and earned all A's
in his courses. Grade N students will be taking the NJSLA reading and writing tests on April uh 28th and 29th. The astronomy club met on April 1st to view the pink moon. Over 20 students came out to look at the sky.
Allied health qualifiers exams will be taking place this week for students to be reconed for the Rucker exams in early May. On April 1st, PTHS was proud to host a Shakespeare live which was sponsored by the PTHs HSA. All
the ninth grade students had that had just finished McBTH got to see a live performance by professional actors who regularly perform in Madison. AP literature and English three honor students also attended. There were also a Q&A session that was held after the
play where students got to talk to the actors themselves. The senior nights for spring sports are starting up. Track is first up this Tuesday night for their senior night. Seniors are getting closer to making their final decision for college which
is coming up May 1st. And AP students are preparing for their exams that begin on May 4th. Now Liz will talk about the Costa Rica trip. >> Uh just before we are mesmerized by the slideshow which is really impressive.
Um, I don't know exactly what record you set because I don't know anything about lacrosse, but it sounded really good. >> It was for like the draw controls, which is basically, if you know what hockey is, is like the faceoff. Yeah. >> So, I got I broke the record, which was 234.
>> So, I have more than that. >> Nice. Congratulations. And about the sandwich thing, like I realize there's certain pressure being placed on you, maybe from like nine feet to your left. So, we'll let it slide. But thank you, Olivia. The floor is
yours. >> Okay. So, if you turn around, um, I made a slideshow presentation about the Costa Rica trip. So, it's just kind of what we did every day and I included like pictures. I also have videos. I couldn't put the videos on the slides. So, if you
want to see the videos, I have videos. Um, so this is the Costa Rica trip. So there are seven provinces in Costa Rica and we traveled to three of them. So we traveled to Guana Caste, Aluhella and
San Jose during our trip. So we started in Guanacaste, then we moved down and ended in San Jose. Um, so day one we had our travel day. So we were at the high school at 2:30 in the morning. Um, and then our flight
took off at 6:30 from Newark to Dallas. We somehow arrived to Dallas in time. Um, I think everyone on the flight hated us cuz we held up the whole plane. Um, so we landed at Dallas at 10:36 and the flight from Dallas to Liberia took off
at 10:36. Don't really know how we did that, but we did. Um, so we arrived at 2:45 Eastern time to Liberia. So Costa Rica is 2 hours behind like the time in New Jersey. So it was like 12 1ish when we
arrived. Um we stopped at Walmart to get snacks and water and etc. Um we the hotel we're going to be in was in like the middle of the rainforest. So we were really in the middle of nowhere. So there was like no getting off the hotel. So throughout the trip like you'll see
that we did stop at places to get food. Um then we drove two hours to get to our hotel. So we stayed at Buenav Vista Recon in Guana Caste and then we had dinner at La Montana um for the next two nights. So we were able in our hotel we
were surrounded in the mountains. So that specific um dinner was like right in the mountains. Like you walked outside there was like monkeys and like animals trying to get your food which is kind of terrifying but it happened. Um, so yeah. And then day two was basically
our hotel was huge. It like the I don't I don't even know how many years they had, but it was huge. So our first day we spent at the hotel doing all like the hotel activities. So we had breakfast at 7:00 a.m. That happened most days, which was it happened. Um, so we went
ziplining over the rainforest and boy enjoyed views of the Gulf of Papagayo and the Rakande Lcano and there was 12 platforms that were able to go on for the ziplining. So it was a lot of zip lines that we were able to go on which was really cool. Then we
took a tractor ride to the hotring facilities and we enjoyed the thermal waters and we were able to get starfruit juice. They had a lot of starfruit juice there. Um there was sour guava juice that we were able to have and there was pinina colada strawberry dairies. There
was a bunch of foods. Um then we had lunch again. Then we had a natural soap workshop and traditional cooking at like the laboratory and kitchen facilities. So we made soap like little doughnut shaped soap. They had like coffee beans in it and like oats and other stuff. And
then traditional cooking we made empanadas. And then we are able to have cheese too um that the people are able to give us. Then we took a cultural tour. So we learned about sugarcane process and pottery making since um a lot of us thought it through volcanoes erupting
but it really wasn't. Um it was just actually them burning sugarcane. So when you go to Costa Rica like you'll smell smoke a lot and you'll just see fires on the side of the road and we kind of were all panicking at first but that's just when they had to burn the ground to get the sugarcane. So that's So if you go to
Costa Rica and you smell smoke, um you're not dying cuz a lot of us thought we were going to die or something. Um then we took a sustainability tour. So it was like a farm, dairy garden, biodigestertor, and firm compost. So we learned about sustainable practices and practices that take place to care for
the environment in Costa Rica. And then we had dinner at Law Montana again. And then those are just some of the pictures. So, the ziplining, the empanadas, the filling um was cinnamon, sugar, and like cheese. Then this is
like a monkey we saw on a tractor ride. Um that's the thermal spring. So, um there was also like rivers and stuff. Let me go back. So, like over here there's like more rivers and stuff. There's also like a sauna, so you're able to like put mud on yourself and
then go in the sauna. Um, which is cool. It like I don't know. It opened up your course or something. Don't really know. I did it though. Um, then this is kind of like the mountains that we're surrounded by on like the tractor ride. So, it was beautiful. Um, so the next
day we did go to the beach which everyone was super excited about. Um, so we had breakfast at Lamontana again. We departed to Pio Panama and then arrived at the beach. We did a snorkeling tour and beach time. And then
we had lunch and shopping in Liberia and we did sightseeing in Liberia in the bus. Then we had dinner at Alago, which is like a different place and it's like on top of the mountain. So there was like crazy sunsets. Um so we took a boat like a boat to get
to the other side of the beach where we do the snorkeling. So this is where we were like on the beach like hanging out. Um, this is a turtle that we were able to see. So, we actually saw like a lot of families of turtles. There was puffer fish. Um,
no octopus. No, no octopus. Um, but there was like a bunch of there's like a bunch of animals, but we did see a lot a lot of turtles. Um, which we were excited about. Um, that's just kind of the view from the boat. Then this is like what
kind of like our hotel. So, like when you walked out of your hotel room, you were in the rainforest and there was like animals jumping out of you. So, that's kind of the view from like our hotel. Um, that's like the sunset and more sunset pictures. This was all the
girls on the trip. You notice there'll be a lot of pictures of just the girls cuz the guys were like the photographers for us. So, Remy, one of the students, he is upload, he took like a bunch of pictures. He had like a professional camera, so he's still uploading a lot of those pictures,
but they were amazing. Um, then day four, we did adventure, nature, and La Fortuna. So, we had dinner Montana again. Then we departed to the volcano for hiking. That was our last day at our first hotel. And then we had lunch at Macadmia Cafe and Bakery. Um, we
departed to La Fortuna. So, La Fortuna is like a town in Costa Rica. Um, it's in Alohella and it's like a really small town. So we were able to like go in groups like of four and just like walk around and have free time cuz it was a great place to buy souvenirs and have
like food and stuff. So then we departed to our hotel. We arrived at our hotel Elvago and we had dinner at the hotel. Um so these are videos from our hiking trip. So this was some kind of anteater.
It's in the horse family I know of. Um, but we did see that on the hiking trip. Um, this is like the waterfall because we were able to walk over waterfalls and rivers. Then these are like the mud pit. So, if you're like super quiet when you're there, you can like hear it
boiling. And um I don't really know if you could see it in the pictures, but there's like steam coming out and yeah, it was hot. Um, then this is kind of like what the hiking trip looked like. It was a lot of stairs. Um, and then this was on our drive over to the cafe
for lunch. Um, so this is like a man-made like lake, so you can't really swim in it cuz it's like a lot of artificial stuff and it's like I mean it's like a huge like I think it's like one of the big it's like the biggest artificial lake in um, Central America.
Um, but the water was really clear and it was pretty. Um then this so this is like a picture of the group at the national park. So it's like a conservation area. So they're like when you go to Costa Rica like you weren't able to take shells off the beach. You
weren't able to like really touch the animals. You're not able to feed the animals or anything like that cuz they're kind of they're very big on conserving the environment. Um so this is like a view from where we had lunch. That's like the starf fruit juice that we had a lot. Um and that's another view
from lunch. And this um this is La Fortuna. So this mountain in the back is this picture. So it's really rare that you're because it's so rainy, it's really rare that you're able to get a picture of the mountain like that um because all the like clouds go over the
mountain, but we were able to get a picture which was really cool. So that's kind of like the town. That's a little bit more of the town. And then like there's like kids playing soccer. So a lot of the kids were able to play um soccer that day. And like there's like kids in town, so we were just able to like play with them. We got souvenirs.
Like that's like one of the shops that a lot of us went to. Yeah. Okay. Day five, we had a boat tour and went to the waterfall. Um so we had breakfast at the hotel, departed from the hotel, we arrived at the boat door, had lunch, went to the La Fortuna
waterfall. We spent time at the waterfall. Like we were able to swim in it. I was able to swim in it. Some of us went in, some didn't. Um and then we spent time in La Fortuna and had dinner there. So we're basically in La Fortuna the whole day which is great. That was a lot of our favorite plates places. So
this was on the boat tour. So this was kind of like I don't know. I guess you like looked out your window this or out of the boat. That's what we saw. Um we were able to see a tuto with the baby which was super rare especially during the day because they're like nocturnal animals so they really only come out at
night. So that was super cool. Um we have a peacock. There's actually a lot of peacocks there which is kind of surprising. And then they only have crocodiles in Costa Rica, so we saw a bunch of crocodiles on the trip. Um, this is like a Jesus Christ lizard or
something. So, I don't know. I met Jesus, which is pretty cool. Um, I think it's cool. Um, then this is like a We actually saw a lot of monkeys. So, we saw spider monkeys and we saw whiteface monkeys. So, this is a spider monkey. This is a spider monkey. I have the
video of it jumping and swinging if you want to see it. Um, this is the whitefaced monkey, which is really cool. Those were kind of scarier because they were a little bit more aggressive, but yeah, it was amazing. Then this is the La Fortuna waterfall. So, it's like
that. It's known for its 500 steps down and 500 steps up. Um, it was killer. Um, cuz it's super steep and it's super rainy. Um, I did take breaks throughout. Um, and then this. So that's the front
of it. This is the front of it. This is what it looks like when you're hiking down. So it was a really pretty view. Um this is where we had lunch. And this is like another picture of La Fortuna at night. The sunsets were really pretty in Costa Rica. Um so this is like the view
when you're in the waterfall. So you you're not able to go underneath cuz it's like a really strong waterfall. And like even getting like to swim here where we were, we had to swim through this like rip current which was pretty hard. But we went through the side and then we were able to like kind of go up
on the rocks there. So yeah, it was amazing. The water is actually super nice and there was there's like fish and stuff in it, but there's no like turtles or anything. Um day six, which I think this was everyone's favorite day, was the white
water rafting and school visit. So we had breakfast at the hotel. We were able to go um to the river for the white water rafting. We had lunch at the river. Um, and then we departed for the school visit. We were able to spend like an hour at the school. And then we took, some of us took a pineapple tour. It was
like an optional tour. It was extra money. Um, I went on it. It was really nice. And then we arrived at our new hotel. We arrived at a Marriott, which I think a lot of people were excited that we had a Marriott. Um, then we had dinner at the hotel. So, these are
pictures from the Whitewater rafting. Pretty good. Um, I thought it was actually like a really calm river, so it wasn't like some like we were getting thrown off the boat or anything. We were actually able to jump off the rafts and like swim in the river at some points
throughout. Um, it was really nice water. The guys were really or like the instructors really nice. Um, so we had a lot of fun on that. Um, and we were also able to have fruit. So this is from the pineapple tour. Um, the pineapple and
like the fruit there is like super good. Um it's really sugary but not super sugary. Um the watermelons there is also super good. So we really had like pineapple and watermelon every day cuz that's like um they produce like a lot of watermelon. Like I think at this
plantation they produce like 4 million pineapples a year. And then this was a sloth we saw at like lunch cuz this is like the lunch on the river. So we're able to do that. We had nachos. And then these are pictures from our school visit. So we were able to go to a school
in Costa Rica. It was about 30 minutes from where the white water rafting was. So it's a very poor school. Um so there's only five teachers in the whole school. And then there's not a lot of kids and a lot of the kids there. Um they're only able to go to school until
they're about 12, 11, 12. So this is really like the only time they get at school. And where we went to the Pineapple Tour, that's where most of them work. that's where a lot of their families work. Um, so that was our favorite part. We were able to buy um they make ice cream there, so we were
able to buy ice cream at the school and donate money so they could paint um their ceiling cuz they don't that's what they're fundraising for. Um this dog, it's not a flea dog, it's not a stray dog. Um it's a lot of the kids bring their dogs to school and the dogs will
just like hang out in the yard. So, when we went shopping like Laortino, we were able to get them like balls and toys and stuff like that that they'll be able to have. Um, and we also, which I thought was kind of surprising, we had to talk to them in English. Um, their teacher really stressed about talking to them in
English and teaching them English since they're not going to get a lot of time in school and tourism is like um the top like money for the economy. So, it's like to show them that they have other options than just going to work at the
pineapple plantation with their family, that they do have other opportunities to work in else places. So, we really had to like translate throughout. Um, which was cool. And the kids were super nice. They were super excited. Um, we taught them Uno. They never played Uno before,
so they really liked Uno. Um, we did soccer, a lot of soccer. Um, we did like a lemon game. and we had to put a lemon on a spoon and walk with it. They're really good at it. Um yeah, it was a really nice day. I think this was everyone's favorite day um overall. So,
it was a great day. And then we did coffee plantation and a tour of San Jose. So, this was like our last last day in Costa Rica. So, we had breakfast at the hotel. We were at the coffee plantation. Took a tour of the coffee plantation. Um we had lunch at the coffee plantation. They had a butterfly
sanctuary there, so we were able to walk through that. Oh, then we departed in San Jose. We took a bus tour of San Jose and visited like the local markets where we're able to negotiate with like all the market people, which I thought was fun because I liked negotiating with them. Um, and then we departed back to
the hotel and we had dinner at the hotel. So, this is like a picture of what we did at the coffee plantation. So, we had like a tour guide. We did have a tour guide with us the whole trip, Carlos. And then we had a bus driver and we had a bus with us the whole trip. And Ronald was our bus
driver. They were amazing. Um, so these are like pictures from the butterfly sanctuary. This was another um waterfall that we saw when we drove to our next hotel. I know it means peace and harmony. That's what like a lot of
pe or a lot of the locals um think or say it means. Um this is another picture of the coffee plantation. We saw like oxes at the coffee plantation. And then these are like big buildings that are in San Jose that we were able to see. Um
then eight, day eight nine was just a travel day. So this is like a group of the students with Carlos. So that was our tour guide. He was amazing. He's from Costa Rica. So he was able to like show us like a lot of the local places in Costa Rica or if we had extra time. Um a lot of us wanted to go shopping or
like a lot of the girls want to go shopping, so he brought us local market. Um, I wanted to try like real Costa Rican food because I'm a foodie. So, he took me to like um one of the places in La Fortuna that have like really good Costa Rican food. Um, so we that day,
the first last day or Saturday, we had breakfast at the hotel. Then we went flew to San Jose to Charlotte. We had a $25 stipen from EF tours to give us for the um dinner that night. So, everyone just door dashed the most American food
they can think of. Um, and then we departed the next day to the airport. So, we flew Charlotte to Newark and then we landed Newark at 9:00. We were the crazy ones that stood up on the plane when it was still moving. So, we made it at school at 10:40. Um, there were
literal cheers. Um, we did get clapped out as we walked off the bus. Um, people arrived to Yeah. and their family. So, it was a great trip. I think everyone's favorite day I think was definitely the white water rafting and the school school. Um it was amazing trip and I think we
learned a lot and congratulations to Mr. Hazler on his 25 years in the district. >> Yeah. Thank you for all the presentations. That was great. I think it gives us a really nice segue to recognizing our two members of the quarter century club who are getting
recognized this year. Dr. Shiri, we'll have you lead off. Uh you'll be speaking about a staff member who's not here. Yeah. And then I'll follow up and I will talk about staff member who is here whose family is keeping a comfortable distance from him, which I'm not going
to judge. It's an honor to recognize Dave David Davenport for his 25 years of service to the Pquanic Township Schools. Dave is a true veteran in this district, having worked in every one of our schools and has also spent time in the maintenance department before he stepped into his current role as head custodian at North
Boulevard. While Dave has probably seen it all over the last two and a half dec decades, his current dayto-day is a bit unique. Being at North Boulevard means he isn't just handling the standard radio calls for spills in the hallway or empty towel dispensers or a toilet paper refill. With six preschool classes in
the building, many of whom are still in the middle of potty training, Dave deals with the extra requests that most people might find gross. It's not just about the work that Dave does, but also how he does it. Whether he's cleaning lunch tables, restocking the restrooms, or handling those unpredictable preschool
messes, he does it all with a good naturatured smile. If you ask him, he'll tell you his favorite part of the job is simply being around the students. Dave has spent 25 years making sure our buildings run smoothly and our students have a clean place to learn. We are lucky to have him on the team at North Boulevard. Thank you for your hard work
and your dedication to this district. what my reputation is, but I've had people tell me to be nice. I'll actually start with a story. So, back in late June of 2007, I was proctoring an exam in a sweltering classroom in Allenale. My phone kept vibrating due to calls from my wife. Her kids were really
little, so her persistence caused some panic. When I finally was able to talk to her, she let me know that Quanic wanted to interview me for an English teaching position. When I told her I was at work and kind of busy, she added, "Today." Of course, I was dressed like Jake from State Farm and smelled pretty gamy, but
I was able to make it to PTHs later that afternoon for the first and last group interview of my life. It was weird, but it went well. And I was particularly impressed with the junior member of the interview team, a very young assistant principal. After the interview, I ended
up talking at length with that early career administrator and was struck by his great energy and authenticity. He had a strong handshake, too. That always helps. When I got home and gave my wife my postgame report, I told her that the interview itself was categorically strange, but that this assistant
principal had made me feel like I'd found my new professional home. I'd been really burnt out at this point and seriously was considering a career change, but felt revitalized and truly excited. What Rich Hazler provided for me on that June afternoon was hope and the belief that I could be part of a
team that was committed to making a difference for kids. That was 19 years and several roles ago. And yet that contagious energy and authenticity has remained constant. What has evolved is my depth of appreciation for this outstanding
colleague, mentor, and friend. To anyone in this room or viewing online, Rich Hazer cares more about you than he does about himself. Beyond that, he cares even more for your kids than he does for himself. He approaches his work at the foundational level of relationship
forming and builds on that core tenant of success to form the larger scale component of culture. Critical to this attribute is that Rich invests himself deeply in knowing people and understanding them. I've experienced this as a teacher, a principal colleague, and now we're in our super
principal role. I can state without ex without exaggeration that Rich's influence has helped guide my experiences in Pquanic more than I could adequately express. And I'm certainly not alone in stating that. More importantly, he connects brilliantly with students and parents, community
members and teachers, alumni and others. And it's done with an ease that conveys friendliness and an intensity that that assures you that he's invested in you. That matters. never had a chance to see Rich as a business teacher nor as a coach, but the feedback is that that authenticity and
commitment as an administrator were certainly there in those roles as well. No surprise. It's also no surprise that we see Rich brings that same joy and commitment to his experiences as the husband of one of our math teachers and two of our high school students.
That commitment to our school district has also caused him to miss experiences with his family as Rich makes it a point to be at seemingly every event and support as many of our students as possible. I tease him that I want to have the Chucky Sullivan moment from Goodwill Hunting, but I will stop by the
high school and he actually won't be here for the day. I'm certainly not wishing Rich away, but I'd like to see him take off a few more days, maybe focus on himself, maybe once. Unfortunately, I don't see that happening as things that contribute to making him great are also the things
that prevent him from shutting it down. We all benefit from Rich's commitment as I routinely get the response, "I've already taken care of it when issues emerge." And everyone who passes through this building gets that same level of attention and care. He focuses on coaching staff members, encouraging
students, and mentoring his fellow administrators. And he does so with an elegance and determination that makes you want to do better and be better. It also seems to encourage some of his colleagues to want to tease him. He's even a really good sport about that, too. And I'm looking at you, Mr. Riner,
and Mr. Searowski primarily. 25 years is a long time, and we're really fortunate in this district that Rich has chosen to spend them working here. Indisputably, Puquanic is a better place as a consequence of Rich Hazler being here. It's in the lasting impact he's left on the culture at Pave
following his seven-year stint as principal there. It's in this building where he has enriched lives in his roles as teacher, assistant principal, and now principal for the last seven years. Personally, I've seen how he has helped save me from leaving teaching and reignited my passion for education for
which I'm incredibly grateful. And I'm sure he's ignited that passion for so many of his colleagues without really knowing it. On behalf of the Quan Township School District, I thank you for your incredible service and extend congratulations to Rich Hazler on the past 25 years. I'm excited for what the
next 25 will bring. Congrats, Rich. want the rest of my people too, And as a quick note too, no one should feel obligated to stay for my report. Seriously, I I'm used to clearing a room out and I'm kind of proud of my ability to do so. Thanks for being here tonight,
Tim. Few things to report uh from the superintendent report uh regarding events since our last meeting. Uh the day after our last meeting, I was able to take a site visit up to Ramsey to check out what the fifth graders are doing for the defensive learning. Thank you to Mrs. McGawan for helping to set
that up. Mr. Riner and I were very happy to be their guests. And then I know Dr. O'Keefe followed up uh same week. Um making a lot of progress with our preschool inclusive playground committee. We've already seen donations starting to come in. We got some positive feedback on the podcast and our
community liaison are really starting to get some traction going with donors both locally and regionally. And in really exciting news, uh, late this afternoon, I got a notification that, um, our local recreation improvement grant was approved and, uh, we will be receiving
$69,200 to put towards this project. So, I was really excited. It was great, too, is uh, our township manager, uh, Mr. Brewer, sent that to me, and he's really been instrumental in helping us get this. Been a great team effort. So, uh, very, very excited for that. Uh, few
other things. We had our um culture club meeting on March 26th. Uh we went over a few of the final details getting ready for Take Your Child to Work Day, which is going to take place on April 24th. I was able to attend the Shark Tank at Hillview um and listen to students
talking about some existing Shark Tank products and give some background based on their research about those. It's great to hear them speak. And then uh we had a DAK meeting on Tuesday the 31st that was conducted by Mrs. Vans call who realized that we probably could have had
about an eight hour meeting and we wouldn't have covered everything. But the group was uh really getting into looking at our proposed revised evaluation instrument. Anybody was able to attend the TREPS event on April 1, I'm sure was very very impressed. We
have our highest numbers ever for that event. Kids did a wonderful job. It was uh I referred to it as being like seeing Etsy but in person. It was really well done. Uh PV had their staff versus students basketball game on the Thursday
before the break was April 2nd. Um as I'm sure you've heard, the staff uh was able to emerge victorious from that game and I think that my zero points score definitely added to that effort. Then obviously last week we were off for spring break. I hope everybody had a
wonderful time for that. And then just looking ahead uh for this week I'll be having staffing meetings with each of the principles as well as Mrs. Vans. um so that we can uh be as prepared as possible for um our
first meeting in May. We also will be beginning the kindergarten placement process with an initial meeting tomorrow morning. So far, we've had 152 students whose families have begun the uh registration process. Doesn't mean that they've all finished, but we have 152
applicants thus far in various stages of completion. So, we're going to begin the process of determining what are the best placement lines. Um, as you know, our our attendance plan doesn't have finite borders. They they vary based on which school is going to be able to take in
three kindergartens as well as where the enrollment numbers fall. Uh, as was mentioned in the student report on Wednesday night of this week, uh, Mr. Mr. Hazel and I will be at the Jersey Mike's Lincoln Park location helping to make sandwiches to raise money for the
PTHS HSA. Later that night, we will be at the World Language Honor Society induction ceremony, which I've already promised will probably smell like a deli because when you work at Jersey Mike's by an hour and a half, you tend to smell well like Mike's Way or whatever they call it. It's it'll it'll be very
fragrant. Uh on Thursday of this week, um I will be chairing the Mars County um legislative committee. This is with the MCASA group. Um we're looking to have some elected officials attend our May meeting. So, we're doing some of the prep work. What we're really looking at
is trying to get legislative support um to help put in measures that can protect school districts and essentially taxpayers and communities um from escalating costs that are making it virtually impossible to adequately fund schools. Um and our groups are making some really good traction in our
process. Um, we're going to be learning more about how health care benefits are determined in terms of cost as well as other drivers that help them arrive at the prices that which they currently are situated, which to me is quite high. Uh,
but we're we're looking to be able to take that information and really collaborate with uh legislators and make a difference to support our communities as well as our schools um and our staff. And then looking farther ahead, Wednesday the 22nd is administrative assistance day. Mark your calendars for
that one, especially if you are a school administrator. Do not forget that day. And then on Thursday the 23rd of April, we will have our opening night of our musical right here at PTHS. That wraps up my report. >> Thank you, Mr. Gibbs. Do you have a report? >> Yes. Good evening. On tonight's port
agenda, there is the approval for the application for the focus grant. The focus grant is a grant in the amount of $4,592 for the implementation of the highquality literacy screening assessments aligned to the criter criteria in the New Jersey literacy
framework and related professional development for staff and student support. The 2026 2027 preliminary budget was with supporting documentation was submitted to the county office on March 26th in accordance with state
guidelines. We are currently awaiting state countystate approval. Although both although the board will not be voting on the final budget tonight, uh it will be discussed in the FFA discussion portion of the meeting. The third appraisal for the sale of the board office has been completed and will
also be discussed at the FFA, excuse me, FFA discussion portion of the agenda. Although I've not heard from the post office regarding the third appraisal and await their response, the longer the post office takes and getting this done means that we don't have to pay rent as the building is on the school district's
property and they aren't paying rent either. Regarding the purchase of the property at 494 Newark Compton Turnpike uh for the new board office, the New Jersey Department of Education is now working on the school district's application and and is awaiting a letter
from the county superintendent as to her approval of the purchase. Once approved, the school district can move forward on the purchase subject to removal of an oil tank located on the property and the plans to replace the current septic system which was anticipated.
There have been some concerns regarding the fence that is around the ball fields. This too will be discussed at the FFA discussion portion of tonight's meeting. And finally, if you have not already done so, please complete your financial disclosure statement and submit it to the state for review as the
deadline of April 30th is approaching. Thank you. Thank you. That brings us to our first opportunity for public comment. There is no public, so we're going to close that and move on to approval of our action items. And first up is PMC. Mr. Sesi, would you please move the two items
under PMC? I would like to move PMC 171-26 and PMC 172-2. >> Second. >> Any question or discussion? Mr. Gibbs, please call the RO. >> Mr. Bloomer, >> yes.
>> Mr. Sesi, >> yes. >> Mr. Giten, >> yes. >> Mr. Ao, >> yes. >> Mr. Mcweeny, >> yes. >> Mr. Mahalik, >> yes. >> Uh, Miss Chanton, >> yes. >> Mrs. Espazito, >> yes. >> And Mr. Senic, >> yes. Yes. The motion carries. >> Okay. Next up is CIS. Miss Esito, would
you please move the items under CIS? >> Sure. I'd like to move CIS 83-26 through CIS-87-26. >> Second. Any question or discussion? Mr. Gibbs, please call the RO. >> Mr. Bloomer, >> yes. >> Mr. Sesi,
>> yes. >> Mr. Gon, >> yes. >> Miss Ao, >> yes. >> Mr. Mcweeny, >> yes. >> Mr. Mahalik, >> yes. >> Mrs. Shenton, >> yes. >> Mrs. Espazito, >> yes. >> And Mr. Synic. >> Yes. >> Motion carries. >> Next up is FFA. Mr. Bloomer, would you please move the items under FFA?
>> I'd like to make a motion to move FFA 166-26 through FFA 168-26. >> Second, >> question or discussion. Mr. Gibbs, please call the RO. >> Mr. Bloomer, >> yes. >> Mr. Sesi, >> yes. >> Mr. Gon, >> yes. >> Miss Ao,
>> yes. >> Mr. Mcweeny, >> yes. >> Mr. Mahalik, >> yes. >> Mrs. Chanton, >> yes. >> Mrs. Espazito, >> yes. >> And Mr. Henic. >> Yes. >> Motion carries. >> Next up is other. Miss Shenton, would you please move the item under other? >> Sure. I'd like to move 0-06-26.
>> Second. >> Question discussion. Mr. Gibbs, please call the RO. >> Mr. Bloomer, >> yes. >> Mr. Sesi, >> yes. >> Mr. Giten, >> yes. >> Miss Ao, >> yes. >> Mr. Mcweeny, >> yes. >> Mr. Mahalik, >> yes. >> Mrs. Shenton, >> yes.
>> Mrs. Espazito, >> yes. >> And Mr. Senic, >> yes. Motion carries. >> That brings us into workshop. First item is PMC where there are two items to discuss. The revised 2526 school year with give back days and staffing update.
>> Thank you. Um I can just speak briefly actually pretty briefly about both these items. Um both more updates than they are discussions. Uh first one we um held our vote among seniors to determine what would be the best giveback day. Overwhelmingly, they voted for Tuesday,
May 26th as snow day giveback day. And then following that, staff had the opportunity to vote. We of course removed the 26th. And that one was also a landslide. And the staff chose Friday, May 22nd. So, looks like we're lined up
for a really long Memorial Day weekend, which is a great way to launch into into June. I still can't believe we had two snow days after all the snow we got. So, got lucky there. Any questions about the
calendar? All right. And then, uh, few staffing updates. So, um, we're right now in the process of trying to fill a few positions, um, based on the, um, decision made by Mars County BO Tech. Um we did lose two positions in
Allen Health Academy, but um those two positions we had staff members who actually resigned and so we it's more or less bloodless attrition. We're just not going to repost those positions as we would not have the um
student enrollment numbers to satisfy those. We do have other positions posted. Uh I know at SJ they're wrapping up the reading specialist interviews and they they will soon be beginning interviews for the MLSP which is a math and language specialist. Also at SJG we
see our ERRI program is expanding to the point that we will now need two classes. So we have a posting for a special ed teacher to teach in that program. Also in special ed we have um an opening for the North Boulevard multiple disabilities program. Uh Mrs. Mosera who
had been in that position for the past at least seven years uh has moved on to P PTHS and so um we have a vacancy at North Boulevard for that and then we've also posted at the high school for French lesson and Spanish teachers um
for this year we had to use agency teachers to cover because we did not have people who were adequately certified apply for the positions and then we also have at the middle school a leave replacement math teacher. We're hoping to be able to do it for the entire year. For anybody who is looking
to be begin a career as a math teacher, this is a great way to get started. Um, and with the lead replacement, you're you're earning the equivalent of step one, which also benefits eligible, and it's a super supportive group over there at the middle school. So, that's where we are staffing wise right now. If
anything changes, obviously, I will provide updates on that. Any questions? Right. >> Okay. Moving on to CIS. Two items to discuss. Uh the DEAC meetings and then uh students gifted and talented process
and services review. >> Hello. Um yes. So as mentioned the DIA committee um has met twice already. Um I put another meeting date on the calendar for 429. Um we have teachers, administrators, community members
invited. Um and we had some really good discussion about we reviewed all the the rubrics. We had the community the committee members um provide input through a Google form on at least three of the different components and then we
came together as a group and I was super ambitious. I thought we'd roll through all four domains and discuss these comments and move on. But no, we got through one. So which was great. I thought it was really good discussion. Um but basically we're looking uh to oop sorry to come together um to give
feedback on how do we support the teachers through the implementation process. What do we need to do um as an administrative team? What artifacts are that are we looking for? What can the um what did the teachers think is important that we see?
and um making sure that we have clear language on both sides, that we have a clear uh common understanding of what the language means on both sides. So when we're evaluating them, it's it's very clear the whole way through in the process. So um we're I think the process
has been going great so far. Um I would love to have more people on the team and um I'd love to have more teachers uh to get more even more input. Yeah. >> And and I'll just comment too. I I was at a table with uh retaching staff members and and the intensity that they
were bringing to the conversation was really impressive and you could tell that they had really dug into the language of what's in that revised version of Danielson and there were concerns because some of it is quite lofty. Um but it was I I thought it was a great conversation and that there was
a huge level of trust. I feel like how you prepared us to be able to speak openly with one another across different groups too, I thought was really helpful. So, it's going to be it's going to be a slow process because it's really good. We're not rushing anything,
>> right? Um and one thing I've been diving into the whole book on uh Danielson and the updated framework and one thing that uh really struck me which I will bring to the next DAK meeting is uh that Danielson was written under the constructivist approach of education
which really leans into students actually constructing their own knowledge which is why the language is so heavily student driven and I think that's a really important piece to help our teachers understand why um to get a three or a four on that uh rubric score
is so student centered. So um really good stuff coming out of the conversations question. Okay, next um so students with gifts and talented. So, we're trying to change the language. It's it from gifted and
talented students. The when the state actually has been doing revisions in the work um and the committee uh that I'm involved with with um NJPSA, I'm on the gifted and talented committee and we're trying to change the language to students with gifts and talents. Um it's
just the way things are rolling. So, um, just to real brief just bring up, we're looking at the processes that we're using for gifted and talented across the different grade levels from kindergarten through especially right now kindergarten through 8th grade. Um, in terms of what tests we're using and
criteria we're using for gifted students and gifted is above and beyond um, advanced. So, we have a lot of advanced students, but we have few gifted students when you're looking at uh, the language in particular. So gifted
students are those students that um are usually like two or three grade levels advanced um in in relation to their local peers. So not necessarily nationally but in relation to their peers locally. And we're looking at like I said the criteria. We're looking at the programming that we have, the grade
levels that we do particular testing. Right now we have the in view in grades two and four. Um I'd like to expand that to middle school. Um so we're looking at a whole bunch of different aspects. So, just giving you a quick heads up that this is an area that we're looking to
improve and um and do more with >> are they looking to make I'm sorry the committee are they looking to make like or to mandate a specific assessment to identify the students or screeners because um we use the Kogat which I actually really like.
>> Yeah. Um so we know there's several that we could use, right? Um I I like Ngleri as one in particular. People use Ngari and Kogad together. Obviously depending on budget um depend also kind of drives the different screeners you can have. Um
what in particular I am looking for or we are looking for in terms of like something like Niglary is that it's non-verbal and can capture multilingual learners and special education students as well as general education students. Um so we're trying to look at the inclusivity of the screeners that we're looking at. But I agree, Kogat is a
great one to have. Um, so hopefully we can have a more rounded system. >> Yeah, I I like the Kogat because you have the screener and then you go and do the postcreener to really identify who is truly in that, you know, in that small percent that is gifted. They're
all gifted and talented, but gifted and talented. >> Yeah. Thank you for the feedback. >> Anybody else? All right, moving on to FFA. There's staggering seven topics. The budgets for this year as well as next year, appraisals for the current board office,
gated ball field, repairs to the fence at the ball fields, balls for the high school, and then uh fees for activities. >> Okay. The uh 2025 2022 budget, we'll start there. The 202526 budget is moving
forward as all non-essential purchases are on hold until July 1st, 2026. Purchases for safety and health services as well as maintenance will be granted on a priority level. In September 2025, the school district will notify that starting in January 2026, there will be
an increase in health insurance of 1.2 million. That increase reduced the school district's fund balance by $417,000, which is reflected in the 2026 20227 budget. For those who may not be aware, the fund balance is the beginning basis
for a future year's budget. Right now, I'm working towards the 2027 2022 fund balance as I'm working towards a 2022 20226 year end close. So even when you're working on next year's budget, you have to keep in mind two years ahead
with respect to fund balance because that will be impact your starting basis. Is there any question about that? >> How big as far as percentage would you want to keep your fund balance in terms of the overall budget size? >> Well, you want to be at least 10%. We're
below that now. So yeah. Any other questions? Okay. The next item is the 20262027 budget. Uh in your board packet is a copy of the revenue and budget or appropriations budget sheets with
explanations. The 202627 preliminary budget is in the amount of 56,147,954. The budget reflects a 5.77% school tax increase in accordance with state guidelines. The increase in tax levy is needed in order to accommodate a
24% gross increase in health insurance, which equates to a 17.78% net increase in health insurance after employee contributions. The increase in health benefits is over $1.7 million. A 2% tax levy increase would only give
the school district $815,748, which is less than half of what is needed in order to cover the school district's mandated health benefits, as well as increases in other costs. So to break this down a little further, um the health benefits are not only
increased by the percentage or excuse me by the yeah by the percentage that uh we're given, but it's also increased by the staff members who have changed plans. Um those who have changed the state plan now have a less percentage that they are contributing. So obviously
if they're contributing less, the school district has to contribute more. So that is a huge a huge change. Um >> so Gordon if I could jump um I know what
happens at my company we have too much health insurance we have less people so what's going to happen here is my question >> with respect to stamping >> anything I mean if it just keeps if health insurance just keeps going up 20%
a year at some point I mean what do we do we just bring in parttime people for everything because that's what companies are doing right now. >> Yeah. This is part of also why I've been
working with my county group to get the message out and get it to Trenton because there are doomsday scenarios that people are are concerned about and we don't know exactly how much costs are going to continue going up if if we've
hit the apex of it or the Nadier depending on how you look at it. Um I I've been communicating with anybody who will listen whether on the national or state or local level about my concerns about what happens when when costs
continue to escalate in an untrable type of way. And yeah, when you have when you have a finite amount for revenue um and you have to make sure that both sides of the ledger balance, you have to make difficult decisions on how that how that will take
place. Thankfully, this year with some incredibly hard work, we were able to uh come up with a budget that allows us to continue to provide programs and people who make those programs work um in a way that this district and community expect. And that's what we're going to continue
to work to do. Um, we will be prepared as as Gordon already alluded to. We're already starting to look at the 2728 budget and right now it's it's a very loose planning process as we found out for this school year. Uh, we found out in September, four months after the
budget had already launched that healthc care was going to go up and we didn't get that number till November and it went into place January 1st. So, a lot of things are changing. Um, I know I've expressed my frustration with the escalation of costs and I'm not doing
that to complain. I believe complaint is in action. Um, but to say this is the reality that we're facing. We're we're working within it. We've been creative. We'll be as creative as it can be. But, um, there's no real answer to to what you're asking and it is speculative. So, I don't want to create a
>> Yeah. The the entire landscape of health insurance for public employees is sort of speculative at this point because chapter 44, which is the law that governs the plans that the board of education can offer as well as other public entities
>> and that governs the contribution structure for those public employees within those plans is set to expire on December 31st of 2027. Now, you might ask me, what does that mean as far as what an expiration does? And the answer
to that question is it makes it negotiable. However, I would be naive to suggest that we will end up in a position where there's not some sort of subsequent law that takes the place of
chapter 44 that ultimately preempts the space and makes it non-negotiable. Um, we just don't know what that legislation looks like. As of right now, it has not there's not been anything proposed. There's not been anything that I've seen talked about. But as far as the manner in which employees contribute
to health insurance and the plans that they are permitted to enroll in, that is completely governed by statute at this point. >> Um, and again, I I understand that it's not a company, and I'm not even really saying Aquanic. I'm saying the state in
a company in a in a regular company if the health care goes up 28% instead of paying 65% the company might say we're going to pay 55%. And that's an option. The other option
is at the end of the year nobody gets raises. That's not an option here. The other option is FTE obviously. I mean, I've been here a long time and everybody knows that the health insurance is the biggest problem, but is the state just
going to sit on their hands and just wait for it to be that we're we have, you know, 37 kids in a classroom because we can't afford to have the right number of teachers in in a school building. I mean, we can't raise taxes
to where nobody in town can afford to be here because then you're may be chasing people out of town too. >> My take on it is the next step will be for the state to force employ or staff members to contribute more. If they
contribute more, that will help relieve some of the pressure off school districts. That's my own personal feeling. It hasn't gone into law, but like Jackie had said, things are going to change in 2027. I I have a feeling that maybe one of the changes which would help school districts, but I don't
know. So that's that's still an open open item. >> What the honest comment? >> But then you're not going to have teachers because one of the you know teachers education is not always positively looked at, right? And
regardless of what you think, teachers don't make bonuses. They don't make >> um you know they don't they they do well. They can they but most of them have other jobs, right? um you one of the benefits of being a
teacher is your health insurance plan. So quite frankly like I don't as an educator of 25 years I don't ever tell people not to become an educator because I love it and I think it's an amazing profession. However, if they do that I'm
going to tell people not to become a teacher. Why would you do that when you're now paying when half your salary is going to your health insurance? When I started teaching, health insurance was free. I'm not saying that was right or wrong. But now I switched to the educator's plan because it's saving me a
tremendous amount of money. Like people have to teachers have to function too. Yeah. I think I think a big portion of it and this is what uh what I was informed of going down to AC and going to some of those classes was the influx of all the different drugs that people
are using now um that are the prescription drugs are driving up the healthare costs. It's it's not that um the healthcare costs are just going up for no reason. It's that everyone wants the GLP-1 drugs and some things that people are doing are trying to take them out of the prescription drug plans that
the district offers and kind of put them on the side so they go like direct and maybe just a little bit better of a deal. Um but it's it's something that I think is going through a readjustment because of this discovery of GLP-1 drugs and the the affinity that everybody has from them and and the the great benefit
that everyone gets from them. So I think that maybe once that dies down and they get a little more affordable, maybe the healthcare will be better. >> Yeah, that's only that's only pharmacy side is the medical side, which is really the crazy driving. >> Yeah, I mean I I know at my place of
employee, health insurance benefits keep going up and they don't cover anything GLP1. They haven't for years. So I think this is I know there's no one here, but I hope people watch this because this is it's like very scary to me, right? So, like I know that it's been we've been
talking health insurance has been $3 million over the last three years, right? The the increase. And then now to hear that it's going to be almost$2 million additional next year. That's craziness. And the money's got to come
from somewhere, right? Because we don't we're not like growing a money tree. So, is it like extracurriculars? Is it is it is it staff? Is it I I don't know. It's going to be I I feel very bad. I know I
said this a couple meetings ago, but I feel terrible for the people sitting here are going to have to make those really hard decisions. Um but I think that the community need to be aware that like right now we are we appear to be in decent shape and we're
going to be able to next year hopefully do most of what we're currently doing, but going forward I don't know how that's sustainable. the this number keeps rising like exponentially. >> You hear about it every day from a different district. If you turn on the
news or you read the paper, you hear about it in every district. Either schools are closing or people are cutting teachers or people are raising taxes or and it's not just here. It's it's it's everywhere >> 100%. But it's not happening here yet.
So I don't think people are alarmed. Not that we need people. I I don't want to be like an alarmist, but I feel like the community needs to be aware so that when these really hard conversations are taking place next year, no one says, "Well, we didn't know
because the writing is on the wall and it is coming and this is going to have to be cared for." >> Yeah. I mean, this year Gordon, the team, Dr. supporters. I think they've done a great job keeping the class sizes where they are and finding ways to trim
be be more efficient without really affecting the educational side of things while at the same time using the statutes that are available to us like the fact that you can go over the cap for something like healthcare costs to be able to balance it and not even going as far down the road as they could have with the tax increase but far enough
where it could be a balance between increasing the tax levy as well as making things more efficient in finding costs that we could trim. >> And I I appreciate the support with that. And when we talk about planning out um for multiple years ahead, what
we're trying to do with any types of cuts that we've had to put into place is to be aware of okay, what what's the impact of this if it's a recoccurring cost in the 2728 2829 budget? Um I I I did make a comment um at a at a county
meeting, perhaps ill advised, but talk when somebody was talking about a five-year plan. I like fiveyear plan like we're hoping we can make the June 30th. Um and it's we're we're in better shape than that, believe me. But it's just it there's um yeah, there's a lot
in the news that that's very grim. Um and it's a system that definitely needs to be restructured. Um and and I I hoping the people that we have in place are hearing this. And when I say in place, I don't mean in this room. I mean throughout the state. Um but yeah, I
mean when when you think of who it is that we serve and in this business, we serve children and that has to be our focus. And so when you were talking about keeping class sizes, that was that was a huge priority. Um and something that we were able to do this year to keep our staffing as it is because we believe that's in the best interest of
the kids we serve. Um, and we want to make sure that it stays that way. Um, but again, like we we we need help and um, we we were fortunate this year to be able to use the healthcare waiver. No, you know, telling it's going to be there for us again next year. U, but we'll
we'll work in a way that respects u our taxpayers and our community while also ensuring that we keep our commitment to our kids at at the at the forefront. Gordon, um I'm not expecting you notice off the top of your head, but what
percentage do or does the district pay for uh health insurance? >> It depends on the person's salary >> and like just an average. I mean, is there an average? Is it 50%, is it 25%. >> No, it's all over the place. It depends on your salary.
>> It depends on the salary. >> Okay. >> And and the plan you choose. >> It's a percentage of salary, right? But it's different for different Yes. >> Right. Sure. >> Okay. >> That Well, the 50 is interesting. The
15, right? >> Yeah. It's >> Yeah. Well, 50 is a little high, but yeah, 15. Yeah. >> Okay. All right. Thanks. Any other questions on that? >> Oh, I have a question, but it's not
about healthcare. So, um I was just looking at the bonds. Do you know the origin date of the bonds? I'm just thinking about if if there's like a refunding coming up. >> No, no, there's no refunding coming up, but I think the bonds end in 2029. So,
they started I think I'm going to say around between 2013 to 2015. There's more than one. So, but I can get you that exact >> 2029. Yeah. Yeah. So, we're getting closer to the end. So, this is a good thing. >> Tina, the one is for the addition of the
>> gym on SJG because I think I looked into that a couple years ago where that came from. I think that's the one that's coming up next. >> Yeah, I was just wondering about the drop off. >> That's all. >> Thank you. >> You're welcome. >> Any other questions on that? There's a couple other items I wanted to mention
regarding the budget also. Um the use of capital reserve funds will be used for renovation of the tennis courts in the amount of $398,248 and new univvents in the amount of $323,700 for some of the schools of which the SDA
the school development authority will reimburse the school district for a portion of the expenditures in the amount of $129,480. So the total capital reserve needed is uh going to be $721,948. I also want to mention the maintenance
reserve um will be used in accordance with the M1 maintenance plan that was board approved back in October and that's a total of $959,029. Now typically every year we don't use it all. So whatever is not used goes back into the maintenance plan. But for now
we're we're in good shape. Okay. Any questions on those two items? No. Okay. Um the increase in special education needs for out of district's placements is uh an increase of $267,548 of which is a 13.57%
increase. So there's another area where we really we got hit pretty hard. Unfortunately, you have to pay it. Um according to the state, federal aid is to be reduced by 25%. Normally you would decrease the federal aid from a prior
year by 20%. But at 25% this equates to a decrease in revenue of $175,000 which is another area that we got hit with. The state aid only increased by $178,000 uh from this current year. So that's not
a huge increase, but thankfully we were not cut, which is a good thing because many districts were cut. Are there any questions on on any of those items? None. Okay. Thank you. The next item is the appraisal on the
current board office. The third appraisal for 538 Newark Pumpton Turnpike came in much better than the post office's appraisal by $210,000. The school district's appraisal came in at 805,000. The post office came in at 550,000.
The third appraisal came in at $760,000 of which is only 45,000 less than the school districts. Uh once the purchase the post office agrees to the purchase price of 760,000 then the sale can be put on the board agenda for approval.
Any questions about that at all? >> Did you mail that to them? >> No, actually they hired them. They were supposed to notify me. I contacted the appraiser to find out what's going on and he deals directly with me. He doesn't like dealing with him. They don't get back so much. >> Just like they don't get back to me.
>> So we'll just wait for them. Obviously, we're living there for free, which is nice. And uh longer it takes, hopefully we'll have the new board office done by the time it all gets, you know, taken care of. Uh the next item is new gates uh for the
ball fields. It was suggested that we install a new gate by the snack stand for better access to other parts of the area. Uh we were looking to install uh the new gate at a cost of $800. Any questions on that bill? There is there is a gate there.
I was I was there the other day. Like it's right behind the bleachers on the softball field, >> but it was recommended that we put in another one in that area by the baseball, right? >> I think there's one with a baseball field, too. >> No. Okay. >> So, I'm I'm sorry. So, the gate is so
that they can access the restrooms quicker. >> Yes. Any other questions? >> And the only cost is if it's only going to cost $800 or is there a maintenance fee on top of the $800 for the gate?
>> No, it's it's just one fee of $800. Uh the other items was uh repairs to the fence of the ball fields. Now, there are a number of repairs needed uh for the ball fields fence, which includes replacing caps, corner pieces, pipes, and ties, as well as restretching parts
of the fence. Uh we're going to be doing that work ourselves uh this summer, so that'll be taken care of. >> Gordon, does that include West Parkway? >> I believe so. >> Okay. Yeah. >> One of the items that came up for question was ballards for the high
school gym. I don't know if you remember what Ballards Right. Um those are um cement and steel um poles so more to speak. Yes, exactly. That will restrict someone
from backing into the building because that's what we had this past winter. Plow truck backed into the back of the building at a cost of $44,000 to be repaired which will be repaired in the next few weeks. Um but those ballards will cost a total of $31,520.
So that's something the board needs to make a serious decision on if they're going to do it. And I see it >> getting I would say no to the Ballards because >> it cost us five grand as a deductible to get it fixed. And how many times have someone backed into the building? >> This is the first
>> the first time. So if we're going to So I don't think we need to spend >> I would say if we're going to do Bards, you should also look at the back of the 500 wing where those are classrooms and that >> could be a real problem if somebody were to drive through there. I say if we don't need it, we shouldn't spend the money.
>> Yeah, I agree. I'm saying don't spend the money on the ballards because this is the first time someone's ever hit the building and it only cost us five grand to fix it because of the deduction. >> Oh, that's what all it was. >> Okay. >> Okay. So, we will not put that on a board agenda for approval. Okay. Is that
an agreement? >> Okay. The next item is activity fees. Um, yeah, I I got a request to add that one in. And just important for the activity fees. Um, I know people usually refer to as pay to play. I don't really like that
terminology because it suggests that you can buy your way into playing time, which is certainly not the case, but this is something that we've seen from districts throughout the state. It's not something that we are considering for the 2627 budget, but it is something I think is is important um to have um in
mind for future years. You know, it could be a 2728, could be farther down the pike, but something I think it's important um for the board to to be aware of as well as the community. And also um since a board member asked me to add it to the agenda, we did. So,
>> um were you then Dr. Porter? We open for questions now on that. >> I'm just >> um I mean the first thing is that the athletes are already paying every team has a
team I I don't know what you want to call it, but every team pays between 75 and $125 just to be on a team per season. >> Okay. >> But they're still paying to do something. My my next question is before
we got to that I would like to know if if we have the numbers for the levels that were for the students that we have. We don't have freshman teams for several teams this year going back to the fall.
But we still have three coaches for three levels. We don't need three coaches if we only have one level or two levels. And you know, I'm not trying not trying to start something here, but it's just if
you're going to start making people pay, they're going to turn around and say to you, "Well, why do we have three coaches? We only have one level." Or, "Why do we have three coaches? We only have two level. There's not a freshman team. Then we probably don't need a freshman coach." And you know, I understand understand
that other districts might have a pitching coach or whatever specialty coach or whatever the case may be, but you know, this budget thing is becoming a real issue. So, I guess that would be my first
question before we instituted any kind of activity fees. And I'm not just talking sports. I'm talking everything, you know? I mean, if we have a I don't know, a whatever a soda drinking club, but there's two kids in it, maybe we don't have the soda drinking club.
>> Yeah. I guess it's just something that if if it was to come to that, you know, that would be part of the discussion. a whole view of, you know, how many coaches do we have, how many kids participate in the sport. Um, is really put on the agenda just as a discussion
to just talk about just for that reason only. No one's adding fees at this point or anything like that. It's just a discussion. >> I was going to ask, I don't know how much you've looked into it, but are would you know how much revenue roughly something like this would generate? >> Yeah. I hate to say it. It depends. It
depends on what you would determine to be a sufficient fee. We did do some research about what districts do. Some have a flat fee per sport, some cap it that a family can't spend more than x amount for all their kids or a student
athlete can't spend more than x amount. That would include activities as well. So, um I did um have something added to back up. not comprehensive, but does does present that there are there's a handful of districts in our immediate area. Um, I would expect to see that
increase as as budgets do tighten. Um, and something worth noting too, we have a we have a club that doesn't have sufficient numbers. The club no longer runs. So, um, principles have already conveyed it to the adviserss that there are reports that need to be submitted to me no later than May 1st. and anybody
who does not submit um I will operate under the assumption that they didn't have sufficient numbers and therefore the club will not run next year. So um we do we do check these things if something is again is under represented there's there's there are plenty of options we don't need to run
underperforming groups. >> Yeah. Uh Dr. Poris and thank you for that um doc and backup. I found it very interesting. Um, I know that we're not there yet with the activity fees, but I did have some ideas that could probably
be um not so taxing on our community, but more This is going to sound terrible, but um slightly more on those visiting. Um so if we get to that point, um I'm happy to
to share those. Um like maybe you do it like >> you do like a exam. So, you spend 20 bucks and you get to go and see your kid in any sporting event you want throughout the year. Whereas visitors coming in pay their $5 for games, etc. I
know that when we go to I go, you know, to other schools, I'm I'm say constantly, but 50% of the time I'm handing over some sort of money. So >> Gordon, I think across the,
>> you know, come to activity fees, you know, if we're looking at the numbers that Gordon laid out a little earlier today, a little earlier this few minutes ago. Um, you know, I think what it I think at least my opinion would be that if you
know, we either have activity fees or have to cut faculty, I think it would be activity fees um to offset any of the costs we're having for our sports. Um, so whether it's next year, two years, or out, I think it's a reality that we're
going to have to face and we're going to have to make some decisions about making our sports be break even with costs, right? not not having the sports cost not having the sports cost where we're, you know, putting money towards sports
where we're having to in teachers because we don't have enough funds for our staff. >> Gordon, have we looked at increasing the fees for outside users of the turf fields specifically? >> No, not as of yet, but that's something we can look into definitely.
>> Okay. I I think that's a good place to start. Okay. >> You know, I don't know where other other options would be for for some of these uh outside users. So, >> yeah, it's an option. We can look into
that. >> Thank you. >> Anybody else? >> Oh, one more comment. Um, is the um is the new gate for the ball field, is that on the next agenda? the new gate for the ball field. Is that on the next agenda for approval,
>> or is this just a discussion then? Okay, I think so. I want to go out and actually look at the fence to see what >> Yeah, I I would like to go out and see >> before you move ahead. >> Okay, we can hold off on that until, you know, the May agenda. We don't have to
do it this month. Yeah. >> Thank you. We can discuss it next month. Yeah. >> Anything else? All right, that's it for FFA. Next up is policy with two items, an AI plan and the Strauss SMA pass program.
I've missed like the last two AI meetings, so I'm going to need some help here. Just got to jot something down that I'll be able to speak. And again confirming I cannot multitask. So if I'm writing I can't speak. I was chewing gum further complicated. It's
actually good. Uh we do have Mr. Shay here but um the AI committee has been been working um really collaboratively on generating an AI plan that can work to meet the needs of our district. The AI plan is supposed to really work in concert with policy. fully anticipate
that the policy isn't going to be able to move and shift as quickly as um as we're going to see changes in technology. So, what I put in the backup was um a working document that's been completed. There are a couple areas you can see where it's still not um fully
the Death Star is operational but not fully complete just yet. U but it contains an executive summary, a few other things I think that are important to note. Um, something that I I will suggest is is I'd like to um tear this down a little bit more like not not bring it all the way down to the studs,
but we've got a 10-page document. I'd like to see it closer to that five or six ballpark so that's a little bit more efficient and and more direct. And this is something that I'm sure Mr. Sheay as he's listening is really excited that I'm bringing this up and part of a public comment.
Um but I think it's it's important that to note that this reflects the work of students who have been fantastic in offering their input, teachers, support staff members, administrators, Mr. Shay. So a lot of research from
other groups. So it is in that sense it's it's comprehensive reflection of where we are right now. Um I just want to make sure that what we have is is as user friendly as possible so that people can make a quick look at it. And uh
somebody was telling me might actually been you Mr. Shay that um there's something getting getting pushed out as a framework to help districts as they form these AI plans that that was Mrs. Vans and actually I think I warned you I was going to call on you during this section. So here's here it is. Um, yeah.
So, AI for education, Amanda Bakerstep, and I'm not sure, Matt, if you were on the webinar on Friday. Um, so there was I know we were off, so you didn't have to be. Um, but they created something called the C network, the C framework,
which is, um, their guide to building AI literacy. And it really does give districts some guidance on um what should K to2 students how should it look in K to2 how should it look in three to five what does it look like six to eight and then high school so it's a nice framework in ter that I think will help
us with our plan in terms of giving teachers um and students some guidance on um right now what's best practices um there's a lot of information in the 66 page document so it was Friday I haven't had a chance to really dive into all of it yet um but it's got um some really
good information about misconceptions out there about AI. Um examples of how to what uses in the classrooms look like um things that we need to teach our students like being intentional, being critical of AI. It's not a human. It's
not thinking. Um a lot of um really really good information and a lot of reflection questions that we can use as a district to think about the plan um as we're putting it forward. So, um, we have a Google Classroom set up where, um, different people in the district, um, add to it as we find resources. So,
I dropped this one into the Google classroom. I can put in backup as well for you guys if you want to see it, but I think it'll help as we look at the policy and all the different things the policy requires us to have as well as the plan. Um, it is uh, work that still needs to be done. >> That would be amazing if you could drop
a copy and backup. I'm very interested to see what that looks like. Um, question about the plan. So, as we're building this out, and I know, thank you for the context, and I know we've talked about this prior about, you know, how it should be used and and the skills at each grade level. Are we also thinking
about from a curriculum perspective, classes that we should add to really help prepare our kids? Because I know that at least corporate America as it exists today is not how it's going to exist four years from now and definitely not how it's going to exist
eight years from now. So, I I just want to make sure that we're really preparing our kids as best as possible. Um because if you're not able to write an AI agent, I'm not quite sure what you potentially might be doing in some businesses >> for the high school. Um next year,
there's an AI course already that we're putting together the curriculum for. Um but one of the things that came up in the meetings that we thought was really important is that and we started with the 9 to 12 is that um a course in like grade nine that every student has to take. there should be a component in
there about AI literacy, um being safe, ethical, all of those factors so that every student has it. So if it was like a piece of the ELA course because every student has to have that. Um so we're looking at um absolutely 100% where in the uh curriculum in which courses are
we going to have this implemented versus just an elective versus gen ed courses that everybody has to take. >> Thank you. And and it's important too that we want to make sure that um all of our students get access to that because we don't want them graduating with an
embedded equity gap because they've followed a trajectory which teachers have a greater comfort level as opposed to one in which teachers are still a little more dubious about it. Um and getting back to the to the plan and also what what you're talking about K a lot of what you're talking about too is to
me the single greatest question you can ask in any situation is what's the outcome I'm looking for? what's the end result that I'm hoping for? Um, which is great relationship advice by the way, but that's not why I'm here. But when we look at this AI plan or or anything we're doing, what's the outcome that
we're looking for? What is it that we want as a consequence of implementing this technology? And it's not to chase after the bright shiny object. It has to be something that that our kids can use, that our staff can use, that our community can use. So, um, I think with
that that end result in mind, that that mindset could definitely guide us. And Henry, if you could just if you want to send that framework to me too, I can drop it in a folder for the board so that they can have they can have access to it and then make sure that you guys get an alert that it's it's hitting your inboxes
and thank you for that. And then one other item, um, it's about as interesting probably as watching paint dry, uh, but We got information uh late last month from Strauss Esme who is our policy provider that they have a
what they call pass policy alert support system subscription service. Um this was news to us but was it was welcome news. So I I put the document in backup. Um it's a lot of what's in there focuses on things that we already receive. The
policy alerts the updates the New Jersey school digest which is very good. It's just they don't ever indent which drives me crazy. It's incredibly hard to read. But um the fourth item that they list I think is really important um to note for our purposes is that stress estimate provides unlimited policy consultation.
So if we want excuse me uh to have them review our our policy especially through the eyes of of their attorneys they will provide that service free as we are part of the past program. Couple other things I just want
to call your attention to. Item six in that list is a complimentary audit of our manuals. This is a helpful one as well because we've discovered a few times that our manuals might not list policies that were approved in 2012, but they're not listed in the manual. So,
we're not aware that we actually have the policy. It's not not common place, but we've discovered enough times to create some discomfort for me. Um and then finally something it's a little bit late in the ball game for this year but that they'll um they'll provide QAC and
comprehensive equity plan support and those align really well. We we've already gone through QAC this year. We haven't received our score yet. We won't get that probably till June. But just good that they they'll help us with providing some of the documents for that including the comprehensive equity plan
which has to be approved every year. So, um I I think what what Strauss is doing is providing an additional level of service to us and it's good for the board to know really specifically Greg as the policy chair. Um but for for you to know that these are services that we
can that we can make use of I say Greg sorry I didn't mean your G2 Greg uh Dr. support us. And right now all of the policy updates, it's it's more of a manual process for for you and your team, right? When they come in, you're
kind of going through them one by one. >> Yep. Yeah. So, so it's good if they can give us more of their global overview. I think that can that can help hopefully make us a little bit more efficient. >> Was was was the cost in that document for this?
>> It's it's rolled into what we're already paying for the policies. And I got to be honest, I don't remember the exact cost. Strauss sometimes as effective as they are with communication sometimes they're weirdly ineffective like we didn't get an invoice with this. So we got all this information and it didn't ever once
mention the price tag which kind of seems like a it's like a car salesman trick from 1974 but um but from what what we gather it's it's rolled into what we already have existing. So what we're paying for annually policy is part
of it. >> Okay then. So, we were subscribers without knowing we were subscribers. There's an apparent. Any other discussion on policy? All right. Up next is our second opportunity for public comment. There's still nobody here, so we're going to
close that. Move on to unfinished business. Anybody have any unfinished business? How about new business? Anyone like to make any announcements? >> Yes. very excited to see um bring our kids to work day. Um I probably bothered
Dr. Porters on this for at least six years. So very excited and I know the staff is as well. >> Um this month is autism awareness month. So I dropped the ball on this meeting, but
next meeting that's the 27th, please wear blue to support autism. Um, oh, you do have on. Look at you. Um, so next meeting wear blue. I will send out a reminder um or a calendar
appointment. Um, I would like to give a great big shout out to Dr. O'Keefe and um Dr. O'Keefe for picking up this the Costa Rica trip um uh for the organization. Um he really he
was so thorough and really helpful. Um, and a great big shout out to the chaperones for supervising and supporting our kids and knowing they were safe in another country. Um, I hope that they had fun. I know our kids had an amazing trip um and learned a ton.
Um, so thank you. >> Okay. Uh, we do have reason tonight to go into executive session where we will discuss personnel matters. No action will be taken. We will adjourn from there. The next meeting will be here at the 27th and that will be the public
hearing for the 2627 budget. So I encourage everybody to come out and attend. Is there a motion to go into executive session? >> Motion to go into executive session. Second. Second. All right. All in favor? Any opposed? Not everyone.