Mhm. >> Mhm. >> Mhm. >> Mhm. >> Mhm. >> Mhm. >> Mhm. >> Mhm. >> Mhm. >> Time is now 7:00. I call this meeting to order. Mr. Gibbs, please read the statement of compliance. In compliance with the Open Public
Meeting Act, Public Law 1975, Chapter 231, notice that this meeting has been properly advertised in the Daily Record and Suburban Trends. Its agenda has been posted at the appropriate locations and a copy has been filed with the Manalapan Township Clerk. Thank you. Please call the roll. Mr.
Bloomberg. Yes. Mr. Sreeji. Yes. Mrs. Esposito. Yes. Mr. Gittens. Yes. Ms. Okay, was absent. Mr. McSweeney is Here. Mr. Maggotry. Mr. Mahalec. Here. Mr. Sanick. Here. And Mr. Chitty. Here. Sorry.
>> a quorum. Thank you. Everyone please stand for the flag salute. Hi, good evening everyone. Welcome to our May 11th workshop meeting. Tonight the board will honor a student, Zach Ullman, who has achieved the rank of Eagle Scout in our local Boy Scouts. Uh this is certainly a high honor, and
the board commends Zach on his years of hard work, sacrifice, and service required to reach this point. Uh additionally, the board would like to recognize Grace Dolan and Madison Solomon uh for receiving the Girl Scout Gold Award. So, those Those ladies are
both freshmen in college right now, but we received something that they were going to get that award. Um and we sent them a letter of recognition as well as a certificate of achievement because that uh achievement is equally as impressive as attaining Eagle Scout in the Boy Scouts, so we wanted to uh recognize Grace and Madison as well.
Great job, ladies. And last, the board would like to congratulate Savina Velios again for being recognized as an Unsung Hero at the Morris County SBA meeting last week. This is the second time that Savina has been received has received this award, and again, we want to say job well done.
And again, I also want to bring up that I think this is the second year in a row that our student has not only received the first round of the Unsung Hero Awards, but then went on to receive the second round of the Unsung Hero Awards, which is where they really dive a little bit deeper and really select a candidate
that is uh very very deserving. So, congratulations to Savina. That's it for me, and I'll pass the mic on to Dr. Portis. All right, thank you, Mr. Stanek. Uh before I do my superintendent report, I'm actually going to pass it over to the Ziegler twins to provide the student
representative report. Good evening, everyone. Congratulations to boys golf, boys tennis, and girls lacrosse on winning their conferences this season. Congratulations to Caitlin Ziegler who reached 200 draw controls in lacrosse last week. Spring track competed in the NJAC championships this
past week. We had several individual place winners. Claire Sitting won the 400 meter hurdles and Andrew Zaccalla won the long jump. The administration met with the senior class to review prom expectations and end-of-year events. The council has also worked with seniors on inputting in
their college acceptances into score. AP testing was this week. Students at PTHS are taking their AP tests over the past week and some this week as well. Good luck and keep keep up the great work. Teacher Appreciation Week was last week.
At PTHS, there was an ice cream truck from the administration, breakfast from Pomptonian, a panther cart of snacks from the spring sports teams, and a luncheon from the HSA to recognize teachers throughout the week. Victoria Gabba was recognized as this year's Junior Citizen of the Year by
American Legion Post 242 and 450. This is awarded to a student who shows academic scholarship, service to the community, and outstanding character. Victoria is responsible for saving a life as a member of our EMT squad. College Decision Day was on May 1st.
Students wore their college apparels for the school that they will be attending next fall. Students were able to take pictures together in the senior courtyard with their classmates. The NJSIAA Scholar Athlete Banquet is on May 17th. Congratulations to Caitlin Ziegler on
being the recipient of this award. The Morris County Scholar Athlete Banquet is coming up on May 18th. Congratulations to Emily Ziegler and Derek Cebial on being the recipients of this award as well. On May 20th, PTHS will be hosting their spring concert in the auditorium and in
the caf, they will hold their art show. The seniors are excited for prom, which will be held on May 21st at The Grove in Cedar Grove. On May 28th, the students that are a part of the STEM and Aviation Academies will present their capstone
presentations. During the first week of June, there are several events that will be happening that will that include the Valedictorian Salutatorian Dinner on June 2nd, the marching band will be performing at Yankee Stadium on June 3rd, and the Senior Awards and Scholarship Night will
be held on June 4th. Thank you for your time and have a great night. I actually didn't realize the Senior Awards was on June 4th, so thank you for that. And one thing I'm just going to comment on, too, both of you do a wonderful job of referring to yourselves in the third
person with such detachment. Like, there are journalists who work for 50 years who can't accomplish that. So, I'm not the only one who's picked up on this? Yes, very very good Ricky Henderson impression that you did. Congratulations. Yeah, that's also So, for the uninitiated with lacrosse,
which I am, what exactly does that mean, 200 draws? I know Emily did something with face-offs, which is really important. So, what what are draws? It's like the same thing with Emily with face-offs. It's just like when I'm Emily takes like the draw itself and I'm like around the
circle. So, like, if Emily doesn't get it like I'm there to pick it up. Got it. Got it. That was kind of kind of teamwork there as well. Excellent. Um and before I start my report, too, I'm just going to comment, too, that we um we did push out our our podcast um from conversation I had with
the two of you as well as Sophia, and then we're working on planning another one for the Safe Drivers Club with Olivia, who is not here, but will be eventually, um and Amelia Murphy, but I hope that was fun for you to see yourselves um I guess
say it out on the big screen necessarily, but but but as part of the podcast. Um hope it was an enjoyable experience overall, not just to do it, but also to to watch it. Cool. But excellent excellent insights, too. Um it's something I told them about uh
when last we spoke was that they gave me an idea for something I'd like to follow up on for years future is talking to students about what their vision is, what their idea is, what their conception is of of leadership. And that's something I'd like to do when we start the fall sports season is talk to
the student athletes from different groups. And it'll be very interesting to see what kind of trends we notice, whether it's by gender or if it's by by sport or whatever whatever else might be, but I'm definitely appreciate not just your time and your your input then, but I think it's it's going to be part of your
legacy that carries on. So, well done. A few quick announcements on my end. So, since our last meeting, I had ad hoc staffing meetings with the board which helped to inform the vote that's going to take place tonight. We do have several staff members who, assuming everything goes according to
plan, will be receiving tenure. Congratulations on that, but they still have to show up on September 2nd for that to take place. On April 29th, I was able to attend kind of education association friend of education awards. Though none of our staff members were
being recognized this year, it was very nice to see the organizer is our good friend Mrs. Finnan. And so I was able to catch up with her, which is really nice. We conducted our preschool lottery on April 30th. Congratulations to all who got in. We did celebrate teacher
appreciation week throughout the district during the week of May 4th. There were so many really nice things that were provided for our staff members and deservedly so. Just a special thank you from me to the PVHSA for the Jersey Jersey Mike's
food truck. And that's the one time a year when I get cheese fries and they're quite good. I also had an HSA president's meeting on May 4th, talked about some of our plans wrapping up this year as well as well as things we can look ahead to for next year, including having a calendar that we can
share not just with HSA groups, but really with groups um, throughout the district to try to make sure we're not stepping on each other's toes for fundraisers. Um, it was really nice to, uh, Mr. Shea joined us for that to talk about some of our communication tools that we're pushing out and to get their input on how they use it.
Uh, we had inclusive playground committee meeting on May 5th, that was Tuesday. Um, I'll I'll talk more about that during FFA, but it went went really well. Um, we're getting some great community support. I'm really excited for this. Also on the 5th, we had the middle school leadership dinner. Uh, one
of our students, uh, Emma Del Giudice was was recognized as a leader. She was voted upon by her peers as well as by the staff. And then the next day we had the Unsung Heroes Awards. That took place at, um, West Morris Mendham. Um, Ms. Mina Velios received a $1,500
scholarship award for, um, her outstanding efforts and just being just a a wonderful, wonderful person. Um, on Thursday, I met with the elementary school teachers and the registrar to go over kindergarten placement. Um, we're going to talk a little bit about this during policy as well because, um, the
regulation that governs the attendance plan. I'm just going to talk about how we're implementing that. Numbers are definitely higher this year than what we've seen in a number of years, which is a good thing. It also forces some decision-making on our end, but we've got it. Um, and then
on Thursday, May 7th, the um, MACSA Legislative Committee, uh, of which I am the chairperson, met and we had, um, Assemblyman Brian Bergen join us and he brought some really great energy. He had to leave pretty early on, but, uh, he wants to work with us on helping to take
our message as school superintendents and representatives of communities to Trenton to help them understand better what it is that we're managing. And, um, it was a really good conversation overall and something that I I'm very careful about is I don't ever want to
sound demeaning or judgmental, but, um, it's a it's a mark of true intellect when you're aware of how much you don't know about something. and then to approach things with that understanding. And that's how I feel about where I am with understanding how legislative action really takes place. But what was very nice, too, is hearing the
conversation that there are people in Trenton who feel the same way about their depth of understanding or knowledge regarding school budgets. So, um ever the optimist, I see this gaining some traction. I have spoken also with Assemblyman Bergen about doing a podcast with a couple of our uh
couple other superintendents from the county. So, hopefully we can really get this launched. Um as it's constant right now, school budgeting and school funding just can't continue on the path it's going. So, but this works, we'll see, but if nothing else, we're going to go down swinging.
Yep. Um and uh I'm not going to step on her toes. Um as Ms. Vance will talk about during the CIS portion, but so far I'm hearing really positive reports about NJ SLA testing and AP testing. Uh I'm hoping that having Mr. Hasler call me early in the morning while I'm down in North
Carolina and thus disrupting my vacation time to talk about AP scores can become a a mini tradition. Um but this week we continue with math testing, which I trust is going to go extremely well. Couple things just coming up uh between now and our next meeting, I'm going to be heading down to
Atlantic City on Wednesday uh for the NJASA conference, which is being held at Caesars. Um as someone who neither gambles nor smokes, I despise walking the floor there to get anywhere, but um it's it's a it's a good conference and it's an assembly of other superintendents and other school
administrators from New Jersey and I actually drew one of the worst presenting times. I'm going to be presenting on Friday morning at 10:35. I'm sure that both people still at the conference will make a point to stop by and check out what I have to say. Uh we have the PV Spring Band concert taking place on April That's April.
Whoa. Uh May 12th right here at PTHS. And then the PTHS Spring concert is going to take place on Wednesday the 20th. Uh the girls also spoke about the prom, which is taking place at the Grove on May 21st. It's a really nice venue and I highly recommend checking out the mashed potato bar. No, I'm not kidding.
It's that good. Um Mrs. Vance Colón and I started looking at the embargoed school performance reports today. Uh pretty sure we picked up a typo already, which we have until 5:00 on Friday to notify the state. I'll talk more about that. Uh but there should be a public release uh taking place on May 21st.
And then finally, just a reminder the snow day giveback days are Friday uh Friday the 22nd, which coincidentally is um the day after the prom, but that was from the staff vote. And then Tuesday, May 26th, which was from the student vote. Um Board of Education meeting will
still take place, however, on Tuesday the 26th. And that wraps up my report. Over to you, sir. Mr. Gibbs, do you have a report? Yes, uh good evening. The state approval for the purchase of
494 Newark-Pompton Turnpike for the new Board of Trustees have been received and is on tonight's board agenda for final approval. Due to the length of time it has taken to close the property, the owner has requested the board to pay $12,000 in reimbursement for their expenses. Their request was denied and there was
no further mention of it. If the board approves the purchase, the closing should uh take place within the next few weeks. The 2026-2027 final budget with supporting documentation was submitted to the county office on April 28th in accordance with state guidelines.
There will be a further discussion uh at the FF A portion of the meeting this evening for the 2026-2027 budget as well as the 2027 and 2028 budget. The 2026-2027
as Dr. Pores mentioned, was completed on Thursday, April 30th as all 28 openings have been filled and signed contracts are coming in. The RFPs for the school attorney and school architect will be going out for attorney review. The search committee has received the
questions and scoring system which is located in the board packet for the board to review. Once the RFPs have been reviewed, a copy will have go out to each search committee. Finally, I'd just like to say thank you to all those who were required to provide their personal financial statements information to the state as
it was submitted on time. Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Gibbs. That brings us to our first opportunity for public comment. Members of the public may speak once for a maximum period of 5 minutes by the clock during this portion of the meeting. And if you have a question, it can be on an agenda item only during that 5 minutes. If the public does raise
a question, please direct it to the board president. All right. We're going to move on to approval of the action items and first up is PMC. Mr. Serrecchia, would you please move the items under PMC? I would like to move PMC 184-26 through PMC
202-26. Second. Any question or discussion? Mr. Gibbs, please call the roll. Mr. Bloomer? Yes. Mr. Serrecchia? Yes. Mr. Gittens? Yes. Ms. Keough is absent. Mr. McSweeney? Yes. Mr. Mallard? Yes. Mrs.
Shenton? Yes. Mrs. Esposito? Yes. And Mr. Senatore? Yes. We have a quorum. Excuse me. Motion carries. James. But he wasn't wrong. We do have a quorum. And for all those uh who were just reappointed, congratulations. Especially
those, as I mentioned, who will earn tenure upon showing up on the first day of work in September. Congratulations everyone. Next up is CIS. Mrs. Ms. would you please move the item under CIS? Sure, I'd like to move CIS 96-26.
Second. Question and discussion? Mr. Gibbs, please call the roll. Mr. Bloomer? Yes. Mr. Cerisi? Yes. Mr. Gittens? Yes. Ms. Cairo is absent. Uh Mr. McSweeney? Yes. Mr. Mehalick?
Yes. Ms. Shannon? Yes. Ms. Esposito? Yes. And Mr. Sanacore? Yes. Motion carries. Thank you. Next up is FFA. Mr. Bloomer, would you please move the items under FFAs? I'd like to make a motion to move FFA 186-26
through FFA 190-26. Second. Question and discussion? Mr. Gibbs, please call the roll. Mr. Bloomer? Yes. Mr. Cerisi? Yes. Mr. Gittens? Yes. Ms. Cairo is absent. Mr. McSweeney? Yes. Mr. Mehalick? Yes. Ms.
Shannon? Yes. Ms. Esposito? Yes. And Mr. Sanacore? Yes. Motion carries. Before we move on, I just want to say I'm jacked up that we're going to get a new board office and we're going to get something that's a little more fitting to uh what I think Pequannock is, so
can't wait to see what it turns out like. Fact that I will have a window that I will no longer refer to as the Shawshank window itself is very exciting. All right. Uh that gets us to our workshop portion of the meeting and first up is PMC with two discussion
items, a staffing update and then communication tools for the 26-27 school year. Yep. I I can take care of these. Um for one of the first items is about staffing as we did hire um a new Spanish teacher. Um she comes to us from having
been out of state for a while, but she's making a return to Jersey. The siren song keeps cut bringing her back, but we're very excited about that. Brings some experience to our department um with somebody who's very talented. And we do have postings up for several leave replacement positions, and we're also excited to report that we have a leave
replacement which is very difficult to fill from the end of Memorial Day until June. Have that filled with somebody who has a sub cert, who's actually looking to be a student teacher in our science program next year. So that that just took place today, so we're excited about that. We also have several tenure track
postings for next year, including an elementary music teacher. We have three elementary special education positions, two of which are highly specialized. One is for the MD program in North Boulevard. Now that Ms. Massaro is coming up to the high school, as well as for the ERI
program at SJG, and that is because of program expansion. I did speak with Mr. Reiner late last week, we might actually be able to keep that at one class, but we'll we'll see how enrollment unfolds. We also have an opening for a high school English teacher. If anybody is
interested in that, it's a great way to get yourself into a really good district and maybe ascend the ladder, so to speak. But that would replace Caitlin Shrek, who's transferring to SJG to be the reading specialist there. We also have an opening for a high school French teacher, part-time French
teach French teacher at PV, and a full year leave replacement math teacher at PV. So we're we're we're hoping to see a lot of action over the over the next few weeks. This is a great time for hiring for full-time positions. Also with a lot of
districts having let go of staff, the market will be a little more flush than usual. And that's not like a grave dancer, but maybe people needed a better opportunity, and this could be just the right place for them. The leave replacements, it gets it gets tricky because sometimes you find incredibly talented people this
time of year and you hire them to begin in September, and because they're talented, they end up getting hired for full-time tenure track positions in August. So we we prepare ourselves for that. We still look for the best people possible. It's not like you look for someone like no one else going to hire this clown and
bring them in. That's not how it works. Um so, hopefully the people we find, especially by offering a full year role such as what we have at the middle school for the math role, helps bring in someone who's getting started in a career and this can be a great launching point. I like to refer
to leave replacement positions as um long-term auditions. And we've had several staff members parlay that into uh pretty nice careers in this district. Uh any questions about staffing? Excellent. And then uh just for the communication tools, just just something
I just wanted to reiterate that um we've been working a lot um as a as a team and uh Mr. Shay's really been working incredibly hard uh on building the new website. Uh it's being designed with our partners through Apptegy, so he has the template laid out. Um it should be a little more streamlined from what we
currently have. Uh we're looking for something that's more efficient for people to navigate. We are aware that um websites do not get as much traction as they once did, but one of the policies that's being um well, that's up for discussion, they'll probably be
approved in July, maybe August, has to do with the legal postings that have to be on a website. And I want to make sure that those are easy to find, efficiently done. More importantly, we're looking to have an outstanding app experience. We do have an app right now. It's not fantastic. It doesn't really get a whole lot of
a whole lot of clicks. So, what Apptegy has is the click once, post everywhere um acronym, which helps us as we as we push out something, it's going to the socials, it's going to the calendar, it's going to the app. So, um we're hoping that this helps us really manage
the message and keep a very busy and very involved community um as as well apprised of what's going on here as possible. Um we'll we'll also be pushing out our two-way communication system, which is also housed through Apptegy. Um that'll be used by coaches
and advisors. We'll provide training on that. We actually have a very uh, lengthy and detailed training program in place for over the summer to help make sure that office staff, as well as other users, um, are better are more familiar with this technology. And then for end
point users, we um, I spoke to Mr. Shay, he's going to film a couple short videos to help families get used to the Genesis system, which is going to be our new student information system replacing Real Time. Um, we've been disappointed in Real Time's performance over the past couple years,
and we feel that Genesis, which we had used several years ago, um, and is a New Jersey um, the New Jersey shop. We we feel like that they're going to give us a better product and in turn give something better for our students and our teachers, as well as families that rely
on information there. So, um, lots going on. It's going to be a pretty busy summer, but busy's good. Busy's really good. So, this is those are just a few of the tools that we have, and then I encourage people have questions about things, reach out to me, especially as board members, certainly reach out to me. And
uh, it was nice having Mr. Shay at the HSA president's meeting. He was able to answer questions, took some notes on ideas they had. And um, yeah, we want we want to make sure that we're able to improve the flow of information. So, any questions about the communication tools?
Uh, yeah, Dr. Portis, the the Apptegy app, I know that that involves the um, for teams, activities, extracurriculars, that app. Are we going to be able to get that online as well for the fall? Yeah, and I'll actually I'm saying yes as if I'm an an authority on this. We should. Uh,
I'll make sure that we do. So, I'll jot down a note and I'll reach out to Mr. Shay just to get confirmation on how how that's going to look. So, we did talk to the HSA presidents about how um, we want to be able to you can see like one calendar. We have to make sure that
we can include and we're not sure of how well the athletic calendar is going to articulate with Apptegy, but where where you can click on I just want boys JV cross country and that's the only calendar I want. We want to make sure that people still have access to
that. That might be outside of Apptegy still using the name escapes me that we use for Yeah, for athletics. Yeah, but but I'll double check about that. Okay, thanks Rick. Anybody else? All right, moving on to CIS. There is
four items for discussion, the 75th anniversary at PV, the LEGO pilot, the FBLA national competition, and then May testing. Okay, so first we just wanted to recognize Pequannock Valley this year is their 75th anniversary
and um basically the school's doing a lot over the last couple months to celebrate this. They each home room has been assigned a particular decade from the 1950s to the 2010s and the groups are
researching different things from fashion to sports, games, technology. They're also each each home room also has a theme that has to do with ceremonies, awards, sports, schedules, school events, town events, flyers, Chromebook, phone
phones. They met with the Pequannock Historical Society twice to help them with planning and all of this work is going to culminate in these trifolds and artifact displays that will happen on June 11th where they're going to invite former PV teachers and admin as well as current
Board of Ed members, town council members, and the historical society society to attend. The social studies classes will walk through the library and view all the trifolds and artifacts in the morning and then the historical society has secured a few speakers to talk about each decade. Um those are invited will come from
12:00 to 1:00 to view all of this, have a light lunch, and the day will conclude with burying a new time capsule during their panther period. Do we know any of the teachers that were old staff that has accepted to come back or not? I do not have that information yet. Okay. But I can find out.
I got confirmation of at least one former principal and I don't mean Rich Hasler. Uh Dr. Trexler has been coming back. Any questions? I don't know. You said it's 12:00 to 1:00 that's going to be when the ceremony is? 12:00 to 1:00 on June 11th. All right, thank you.
Mhm. The LEGO pilot, um so we just wanted to recognize uh some of the work that's been done with LEGO. Miss Barbosa, our new science supervisor, uh who is doing amazing things not only with science and STEM, but also with our performing arts.
>> [laughter] >> She's just full of surprises and amazing. Um she had connections with LEGO education, so she was able to um get $2,000 kits um that we could use at no cost.
So she's been piloting this uh through a couple different classrooms across the district and different grade bands. And basically through the pilot, the students take on the role of LEGO engineers and they use motors, sensors, control systems to model real-world scientific phenomena
while engaging in an engineering design process. Um basically these I watched this in first grade, it was amazing. Um the students they did a little lesson having to do with the three pigs and blowing down the houses. And then the kids with the LEGO kits actually build two
different types of structures and they had to test out if the house would stand with wind um being thrown at it. So, the kids really the first graders the teachers didn't have to guide them. They literally had the LEGO book open. They followed the instructions as a group of four. It's all color-coded. Um it was
really great. Um another example she gave us >> even I just have to interrupt you to tell you how awesome that just sounded. It's amazing. It was >> made each different structure and then blew it down with wind. >> Yes. That's unbelievable. So, they were talking about force and
and I found it interesting the kids were using the word this is first grade using the word base for the structure of the house. So, which I thought that was a good word. Um another example is where students modeled functional wave systems to examine coastal erosion. And then they
applied critical thinking and iterative design to develop and test their solutions. And even in grade two students began thinking about um professionals, materials, and money that they would need to support such a project. So, that was second grade. Um so, basically this this type of
program fosters collaboration, creativity, and resilience. Um and we are hoping to sustain this and uh possibly in the future be able to I access more kits and and have them as a part of our regular system. Um and in
the end students repeatedly called Miss Barbosa the LEGO lady and wanted to know when she's coming back. Now, will there be an adult ed program with the LEGOs as well or are we just sticking with the kids? Well, we currently have purchased uh
six to eight kits for grade six. So, we're working our way up. So. Any questions? All right. Um and last um well, not last but second or third to last um FBLA uh we have four students going to the national uh
leadership conference in Texas with uh Sarah Panakuchi or uh FBLA advisor. So we just wanted to just take a minute. I think it's an amazing thing. So basically the FBLA members began the year with regionals in December where 58
students competed in 21 objective test events in an effort to qualify for the state leadership conference. In March, 36 students attended that conference and competed in 19 events, including both objective tests and students who placed in the top four at
the state level qualify for the national leadership conference. And we have four students representing our chapter. In addition to the competition, the chapter remained highly active in community service. Their annual creating comfort project continued for its fifth
year with members creating and donating 25 no-sew blankets to cancer patients at Chilton Medical Center. Members also wrote and delivered 60 handwritten thank you notes to health care workers and donated 105 toys to toys for tots through a school-wide
collection effort. During FBLA week, the chapter raised $200 for the Alzheimer's Association through a bake sale. Looking ahead, the chapter is working to relaunch the High School Heroes program in partnership with Junior Achievement, which will allow members to teach
elementary students about business, finance, and entrepreneurship. This initiative is scheduled for early June and reflects the chapter's continued commitment to leadership, service, and community engagement. The four students who are attending include Sabrina Cristia. Sabrina is a
sophomore and a first-year FBLA member who competed in the business law objective test. The business law objective test covers topics such as legal systems, contracts, business organization, property [clears throat] law, employment law, and consumer protection. She earned first place in
the northern region qualifying for the state leadership conference. After placing at regionals, Sabrina took a second business law objective test and achieved an overall placement in the top three in the state. Sabrina continues to study business law in her free time and is preparing for
Nationals. She's excited to serve as an executive board member for FBLA next year and will take on a greater leadership role. Andrea Cristea is a junior and second-year FBLA member who's been actively involved as well. She competed in the data science and AI objective
test and participated in straight-to-state presentation event career portfolio, where she created a website showcasing community service, career goals, and school involvement. Even though she's not competing, she's going to attend alongside her sister at
the conference. Thomas Woodward's a junior and third-year FBLA member who competed in both objective test and chapter event, the local annual business report, which detailed key information about our chapter's involvement this year. This business communication objective test
covers verbal and nonverbal writing and grammar, reading and editing skills, and digital communication. Thomas became heavily involved this year as a member of the executive board serving as vice president of communications, where he placed a strong emphasis on improving communication with general members.
Thomas placed fourth overall in Regionals and went on to place fourth in the state, qualifying him for the national conference. And finally, Dominic Arnold is a first-year FBLA member who competed in both an objective test in real estate and straight-to-state presentation event
in graphic design. Dominic and his teammate Sebastian Partica presented their project in both the preliminary preliminary and final rounds, earning a top four finish in the state and qualifying for Nationals. The graphic design presentation involves
partnering with a local business to create a complete rebranding package including a redesigned visual identity, color palette, font selection, >> [gasps] >> social media post, and magazine advertisement all aligned with the company's mission and target audience.
So, Dominic will be presenting in Texas on behalf of his team at the national competition. Any questions? Very impressive. Congratulations to all those students. Really, really impressive. Pretty cool. We'll see how they do. Um and finally, very short note, we are
testing in May. Just wanted to um say everyone's doing a great job so far. We've completed NJASC testing in ELA reading and writing. Uh we're finishing up math this week. Tuesday tomorrow, uh PV will doing math testing. And Wednesday, the elementary
schools will doing be doing their math testing. And then next week, we'll finish up with uh grade nine algebra testing on Monday and science for grades five, eight, and 11 on Monday and Tuesday. AP testing has been going. That'll be
finished up this week. And uh we did the record exams for our allied health kids as well. All right. Thank you very much. All right. That brings us to FFA, where we have a laundry list of things to talk about. Uh budget for 25-26,
the 26-27, and 27-28 budgets, as well as uh health insurance for the for those budgets. The new board office, uh installation of a gate in the field behind the high school, the inclusion of uh the inclusive playground on North Boulevard, and RFPs for an architect and
an attorney. Uh yes. The uh 25-26 budget is moving forward as all non-essential purchases are still on hold until July 1st, 2026. Uh purchases for safety and health services, as well as maintenance, will be granted on a priority level.
Last Friday, I worked with the auditors on our year-end forecast, and it looks like the fund balance will be going up by close to 600,000, providing there are no large expenditures between now and the end of the school year. Any questions on that? No.
The 2026-27 budget uh at my county BA meeting last Wednesday, a presentation was given by Brown and Brown who are our health insurance agents uh that went over the following regarding major reasons for the increase in premiums. The New Jersey Educators Health Plan or
NJEHP and Garden State Health Plans GSHP are in serious deficit. Um and that's going to be carried over for the next 2 years. So, it's going to be increases for quite a while. Uh the increase in hospital reimbursements is one of the reasons also as well as the increase in the
number of participants using what's called GLP-1 drugs for weight loss. Uh it used to be used just for diabetics, but now if your BMI or body mass index is greater than 20 27 uh you will qualify for the drug. So,
more people are using this drug which is evidently very expensive. Future impact. It was announced that there may be a mid-year increase starting July 1, 2026 of 14%. Um that is not engraved in stone yet.
It's just been discussed. I know and believe me, no no BA at that meeting was happy about that. They're going to increase the rate in the middle of the year? Yeah. This July. They're talking about it. They haven't done it yet, but they're talking about it. They're just >> or January? No. July. And then and then
they're then they're going to decline 72% more claims. Probably. Um the Governor Mike Excuse me. Governor Mickey Sherrill has the authority to extend Chapter 44 um beyond January 1st,
2028 which is right now which is causing um the districts have to pay more. Um the negative impact of chapter 44 obviously may be phased out at 12:31:27. Uh if it does, chapter 78 may be implemented. And if chapter 78 is
implemented, that means that staff members will be paying more for their health insurance. Obviously, that will also help the school districts, but not the staff member. Any questions regarding those items in that budget year? No?
Okay. The 2027-2028 budget uh process uh I've started that all actually early this year. Uh per our health insurance agent, it is anticipated the school may experience a large increase of 29%
for 27-28. Any questions on that? A thousand questions on that. I know. Not that we're going to ask tonight if you have any that you can answer. Yeah. >> they actually base that on? Like what what do they Well, like I mentioned >> they have that crystal ball where they could say it's going to be 30%? They
have such a big hole in their deficit. It's massive. And they have to somehow get themselves out. And obviously, school districts are part of that solution. So, until they're out of that hole, I think you're going to see large
increases in insurance premiums. Any other questions? Quick question on that. Yeah, 14% increase you said it might be coming July 1st. That's in addition to the other 20 something We budgeted 24%. So, it would be an addition.
If it goes through, and it's been talked about. It's not not going through yet. And it has to be passed before July 1st. So, they don't have a whole lot of time if they're going to do it. But they wanted to prepare us in case it does happen. Is that passed by the legislature or is that passed >> Yes. Yeah.
Any other questions? No? Okay. Move on to the gate installation. I last month uh was some discussion regarding replacing the gate or putting in a new gate. Did we miss the board office? Or did I miss the board office? Very
small detail. Small detail. Small detail. You're not allowed to have any more negative news for the rest of your update. Just laying that out now. >> [laughter] >> Okay, well then I'm done for this evening. The board office is going to be covered
by the health care plan and um Yeah, as I mentioned in my business administrative report, the state approval for the purchase of 494 Newer Pompton Turnpike um will be closing in a couple of weeks providing it's board approved tonight. Well, it was board approved.
Um once the school district has closed on the property, I'll be working with the school's architect in completing the project. I informed the architect that the fit-up of the building has to stay within the budget. If changes to the original plan have to be made uh in order to stay within the budget that I will be discussing with
obviously Dr. Portis and the board. Any questions on that? Just as part of the um discussion of the RFP later, could we could you put together a list or if the architect put together a list of what they've generated so far for the board office
project as far as like list of permits that they've procured, things that still need to get, uh permits that still need to be obtained, designs that they've done, concepts that they've done. Um and just put that into a bullet point list so we know exactly where we are in the the stages of that design. Yeah,
they'll definitely do that. Any other questions on that? No? All right. Finally, the gate installation. I know last board meeting or last uh um you know, last board meeting we talked about uh the new gate or putting in a
new gate um in the ball field in order to have better access to the bathrooms. Uh has there been any more thought about that or do you want to go through with it? What what are your thoughts on that? Yeah, I actually uh during one of the lacrosse
games a couple weeks ago I went and I I took a look at the gates. And first there there's two different gates. There's one gate by the softball field, um which kind of gives good access to the the restrooms. Um that gate actually does have a hinge and needs to be fixed. So that
pretty easy to do I would think. That would be nice. That doesn't give spectators access. You have to be in the dugout of the away team to access that. Okay. For the players there's access. >> Players Players have access, yeah. There's no access for baseball
or any spectators in the uh Yeah, the baseball for the baseball field and the spectators that have to walk Yeah, that's where we >> to go to the scoreboard. And then and then down. Um which it's not great, but it's there's still a gate there. So I don't know I don't think we
need to put another gate in. I think for the the softball I think the the gate's right behind the bench. Yeah, the gate's right behind the bench for the softball for the spectators bench. It is. Yeah. I I I did a walk same same day. I'm I'm
aligned with Mr. McSweeney. I mean we were talking about PB 75th and I was in jest that I'm not sure I'd be spending the money and painting a hallway in PB in PB, honestly. Um and and spend it on the gate. Okay, so the consensus is that we do it?
No, we do not. Okay, great. Thank you. And the next item is uh inclusive playground, which Dr. Boris is going to talk about. Yeah, so uh thank you for that. So um the preschool playground committee met last week. Uh Uh, it was a super
productive meeting. Um I I I was really excited about it. We actually had to move out of Dr. Schleer's office cuz I we had enough people attending that we had to find additional space. Uh, but two people, um, who work in different fields of construction in town were present. Um, they're looking to make in-kind
donations to help us out with uh, the installation, well, the demolition of the existing um, equipment as well as installation of the new equipment and then installation of that rubber surface, which is actually very
expensive uh, to install. So, um, the generosity is astonishing and yet after having worked with the Veterans Wall, not surprising at all, but uh, it was it was fantastic and excuse me, we also had representatives from Burke. Uh, Burke
um, designs and produces the playground equipment. And then Ben Schaefer, who is the vendor we're working with, they had representatives there as well who have to coordinate with the team, talk about some of the logistics. So, again, you have to be careful, too, about where you situate the equipment. There has to be a certain amount of space around each type
of um, playground equipment to make sure that there are no safety hazards for the kids. Um, we also went outside. We we took a walk and and looked at the area we'll be going, uh, determined how we're going to uh, put enclosures around where there are are window units for air conditioners so that we don't have kids
getting hurt with that. Um, where we're going to position um, picnic benches as well as uh, picnic tables, sorry, as well as having at least one um, ADA inclusive uh, picnic table as well as a couple benches. Initially, I didn't want any
benches inside the um, defense dinarics. I really want kids to be able to have the opportunity to play independently. But something we realized, too, is when our kids are playing, staff members have to supervise them and also want to give them space as well, so they'll retreat to the benches, so um, I conceded that
point as it was very well very well framed. But um we're we're looking to raise probably another 70,000 to uh help us get to our goal. And we've talked about setting up a website. I know Mrs. Vance Go was working on that um to give uh a running tab about how close we're
getting to our goal. Um our friends at Shamrock are looking to do a fundraiser in the fall to help raise money for this cause. Um we had um a children's donation from a church uh come in. We had Girl Scouts who want to get involved. So, just the the groups
of people who want to get involved, individuals. Um Dwayne Anderson from our buildings and grounds who leaves our buildings grounds has been fantastic um working with committee members as well as vendors. So, um that there's there's a lot going on with this um and it's
it's only going to benefit uh kids and families. And I was going to say our kids and our families, but I I'd like for this to be something where people can come in from other towns and other communities and have a great place for the kids to play and really to create chance for parents to get to know one
another as well. And um a lot of times parenting it can be very very lonely. And so, it's good um especially to me if if you have children uh whose needs differ from from those of of others and that you can talk to parents whose children might have similar needs to yours or completely
different but still feel as as you feel. And so, we're hoping that this becomes a really great connection point for kids to make friends and families to make friends and just have just a wonderful wonderful place also during the school day where our three-to-four-year-old children can play
as well as um students from a wide variety of programs. So, um short version, we're we're really excited. We're making fantastic progress. Committee's definitely really dedicated. I'm having a hard time keeping up with them, which is which is a good thing. Um so, great great things happening
there. Okay, then the item for uh FFA discussion is the uh uh RFP for the um architect and for attorney. Um the RFPs are actually done. They're ready to go out for review.
My question to the board is, do you want to send out the architect's RFP now prior to completing the project of the board office? Because if a new architect starts, it may cost a lot more money. That's right. Um but I just want to get a consensus as to
what what does the board feel about that? I think it'd be good to get that status report of what's been generated and what hasn't been generated. Okay. Because if if if something's been created and we paid for it, we now own it. And we can now use it going forward.
Um so, I'd like to see that before that decision gets made. Okay. We'll do. I mean, anyone else can put an opinion in, obviously. Any Any other thoughts? No. Okay. Thank you. Next up is policy. Four things to discuss.
The attendance area policy. The schedule for fees uh to use our facilities. Internet enabled devices, planning for that policy, and then the update from straw assessment. Excellent. So, uh first one, no policy um revisions
recommended for regulation 5120, which is our attendance area plan. Um but I just want to point out that um we are almost certainly adding an eighth kindergarten, which coincidentally the last time we had to do that was for the current fifth grade class.
Um, it's disruptive so much to our staffing plans, but it's also very good for our district's overall long-term health to have uh, an increase in enrollment. But I But I bring this up because our area attendance plan, we try to keep our kids in the closest neighborhoods to their schools, but
they're they're not neighborhood schools, and the lines do shift year to year. Um, and I bring this up because if you live in a neighborhood that had been a so-called North Boulevard neighborhood, you might be right next door to somebody who has a kindergartner
who's got a sibling in fourth grade, and they're going to North Boulevard, and you live next door and you're going to Hillview. It's the way that the the lines move year to year based on on where our enrollment falls. Um, and we have we have a few wonky things with with attendance. Those have been
worked out where, um, when we had late changes in enrollment, I know when I was still a principal, we had one year where we had to send out to see if people wanted to come to Hillview, and since I was principal, not surprisingly, they did. But, uh, but we had people from all over the
map, literally, um, who were attending Hillview. Most of that's been worked through. But I just wanted to put put it out there publicly, so people are aware that the dividing lines um, fluctuate. It's not like you can just say, "Oh, from Sunset south, it's this from It it it it doesn't It doesn't work that
way. Um, and we do try to keep people as close to schools as possible, especially if there's a chance the kids can walk, but there there's there's no guarantees. So, um, and sometimes people make requests involving car pooling. I I can't I
generally can't honor those. If there's a request and it it works that oh, we put this person here, it actually's beneficial to balancing things, we'll do it, but we're looking out for district's long-term Um, I think that
sometimes the issue may also be with local realtors who do not understand that those things move. Um at one time my brother, myself, and my other brother and sister were going to three different schools in Pequannock.
So, things move, things move every year. Who was getting on a bus, who wasn't getting on a bus. Um I think that we have it a lot more under control now since we don't have as many kids in the in the district, but um I think part of the problem is that
um people are being told that oh yeah, this is your school and it may not necessarily be your school depending on what year it is and how many kids in that area could be going to that school. So. That That's a good point. Something that
um just before the pandemic I I'd been working on was um hosting a a kind of a bagel and coffee event for area realtors to be able to talk about um not just our schools and and our placement, but also our our academy programs, which that might be something
worth revisiting. Um the pandemic put the kibosh on it and I just haven't revisited it in the I guess 6 years since, but it really was. As I'm saying it out loud, I'm I'm I'm a touch embarrassed and you're uh your quick observation there definitely helped that embarrassment as well. So,
thank you. Thank you, my friend. Uh but but yeah, it's uh I mean the good thing is I mean the three schools are all on the same street and they're separated by a mile and a half. I mean so, it's it's not like we're sending you to the other side of the mountains. Just we realize it's try to try to be mindful of people's
interests, but we can't can't yield to that necessarily. All right. Uh second item there um is so I had a uh board member reach out so super conversationally about um our
fees for facility uses. And so, I just want to call your attention to it. Obviously, no action. It's simply a discussion item. But, in backup, you will see the regulation for 7510, which is a schedule of fees for facility use. If there are
facility fees that you you look at and say, "That's That's a little light." Um that's something that we can address. And it is a matter of policy. So, it is something that the board can can change. So, if that's something that that you're looking at saying,
"That this this needs to be updated based on what the competitive marketplace dictates." I'll do it. We'll do it. Yeah, I'm wondering when the last time we actually updated them was. I mean, I looked at them. I thought they were 2020?
I thought they were pretty low. Look at them. They're pretty And also in the policy note, it gives you the the five classes of organizations. And I think the first two, class one and class two, they don't pay anything. Mhm. But, reading it, that's probably most of the are the uses, right? It's school our school We're not charging our school
kids to use it. We're nonprofit groups in town. So, lacrosse and soccer. Um football. Um The second one, I think, pays like the fee for the people that have to be there to man it, just not the fee to use the the facility. Like for security or Yeah,
so they like basically cover the cost, but they don't pay to use the facility. But, I mean, I would say we go see what other people are charging and make it at least equal to that. Yeah. What Do we have any idea of what revenue actually do bring in from the class three, four, and five per year?
I do not. Yet. Sam, could I volunteer you to see what other districts are charging for their fields? Yeah, if I can make that phone call at 7:00 in the morning on the bus to Manhattan. You probably probably look at their policy, too. >> as I'm not sitting next to them on the
bus, you can do whatever you want. Not good by the side of it. Joe Joe's got I uh defer to Joe. Okay. But I I would say without knowing the rates of other places that we should charge more than other places cuz our field is brand new. Yeah, that's kind of what made me think
of it as well, that we just redid the field a couple years ago. And if we haven't updated it since 2020, there's been a lot of escalation since then. So. Right. And also the tennis court and some other things that are going on we need to Yeah. I also think December 2020
>> be cool. I mean, I I don't want to It's Where else are people going to go? Either they're going to pay the money or they're going to try to find someplace else. And most likely, if they've been coming here, they're going to pay the money. Yeah. Look, I feel like December 2020 was the tail end not even of COVID and
so people weren't really using stuff and so we were like, well, let's leave it and maybe we can get people in. I I remember discussing it. I don't remember us raising the prices considerably if at all. So.
Totally open for revisiting that. So So this could be something I mean, honestly, it it's it's more of an FFA thing with facilities and and a lot of this is directly connected to athletics, but it could be funneled through through policy, but I think we can I think we have enough interested engaged parties here that we can we can definitely get
some research done on this and I can even talk to um to Mr. Silipigni as well about surveying other um other area athletic directors about what their fees are. You set it up as a as a quick Google form and it populates a
spreadsheet really easily for you. So. Um we we can work on that as well. Just going to make a note so. All right. Um, next up um, is the internet enabled devices policy planning. I believe my comment when I was first addressing this
with Mr. McSweeney was to insert the sound of screeching tires cuz I feel like this came to a screeching halt not because of us, but because of um, disagreement in Trenton about um, what is the intent of the
which really is the cell phone ban. And from what we're hearing is that the the NJDOE interpreted it to be bell to bell where the legislature did not intend it as such. What the legislature apparently intended was pretty much what we have at the high school, um, which is that
students do not have access to their phones during class, but they may use them in passing time as well as um, during during the lunch block. And from what the reports come out Trenton are that that that that is what the legislative intent had been.
But I bring this up because we we recently updated one of our regulations governing this, so we have something really strong in place. The middle school, we have something in regulation that mirrors at the high school our actual practice and then it's very strong also at the elementary school with saying if kids bring devices with
their smart watch, a phone, whatever it be, goes in their backpack in their cubby and stays there for the day. Um, but Strauss Asbury has not released anything about this yet, um, which is surprising unless you know about what's going on in Trenton, which is
apparently quite a bit of confusion. So, um, my my recommendation on this is that we hold with what we're doing currently. What we're what we're doing is good, uh, but we also continue the planning process, uh, which is collaborative of getting
input from students. How do we manage the bell-to-bell if it comes to fruition with the staff members as well as with families, but of course administrators cuz we really need all four of those stakeholder groups to be on board in order for this to work. And now there's
studies starting to trickle out that the cell phone bans are having no discernible effects on on student achievement. This is based on on test scores and there was one thing that nationwide districts that pivoted to a bell-to-bell ban saw 16% increase in
suspensions for the first year and then that settled down as well. Yeah. Cuz there were more there were more infractions that had to be addressed. I mean, again, you would think that the state would look at the fact that the data proves that if these kids go to
school later, they do better, but that's either here or there. Are we um you know, one one concern I have about the cell phone ban is the kids who need it medically, right? Like the diabetics who need it or
kids who So, are we um like in 504s and IEPs that I'm doing, I'm adding a statement just thinking ahead for those students. But then there's there's kind of a fine line as to, you know, are we just going to
take doctor's notes? That's Well, and that there are a couple responses there cuz it's it's a really it's a loaded topic. It's funny like as you were talking about, I was checking my blood sugar. Doing well right now. But that's something if if a student has it in a 504, if it's in an IEP, if it's
in an individualized medical plan, if if you're a diabetic student who has a continuous glucose monitor, you will have access to a cellular device so that you can monitor your numbers. Like that's that's non-negotiable and it's not just because of my bias as an insulin-dependent
diabetic, it's just to to me it's just good sense. Like we we want the kids to be safe and and healthy. It's It's good to be able to monitor their numbers. Um but as far as um with working with doctors, I did have a conversation uh actually a couple
conversations with our district physician um and it it was it was very engaging cuz I was talking about how the NJDOE um document that they sent out about 9 months ago No, maybe not. Maybe 6 months ago. But they had something about um
other other possible conditions or exceptions. And my comment to the district physician was to the admin team. I think to you guys as well is that opens the door. Like exceptions are your enemy because um it it's like how water looks for
looks for openings. And and sometimes people look for openings much like water. That sounds like a Bruce Lee reference, but like that they're going to find they're going to find what the crack is in the foundation and exploit it. And when I was talking to the district physician about it, I I did say that um
the unfortunate cynic in me is concerned that they're going to see a spike of families coming in in August saying, "My kid needs a cell phone because of this situation or this condition." Um and it puts them in a
compromising position. So, we haven't revisited that that conversation um in in a about a month's time, but it could very well be coming because um yes, if somebody has a diagnosed medical concern, yes. But now, if a student has
anxiety and and I'm I'm not a doctor, at least not in that sense. I'm I play one on TV. But is it exacerbated by having access to the phone or is it ameliorated by having access to the phone? I I I do think it's exacerbated.
Um so, we'll So, we'll see where it goes. Um but if it gets very tricky. If somebody who has the initials MD after their name signs off on something, it carries a lot of weight. Now, I know in your field you deal with this a lot where a doctor
cannot prescribe a 504. A doctor cannot prescribe an IEP. And we do deal with that sometimes. They they can recommend it based on a diagnosed condition that we have to then determine if it's um causing an obstacle to or barrier to
students' opportunity to access learning. Um but it could get very tricky with with cell phone um exemptions or exceptions, so um yeah, we'll we'll we'll see how that one falls out. And yeah, I guess Trent's too busy trying to
Actually, if they are really busy trying to figure out how to solve the health care insurance mess, maybe they're they're not then have enough time for this, but um we'll we'll we'll see where it goes, but at least I I I feel like there's reassurance that what we have in place right now, I I I
feel it's good. Otherwise, it wouldn't be what we have in place, but we're ready we're ready for September 1st, and then if we have to do a quick pivot because of further action from Trent, we'll do so.
You're welcome. All right. And then last one I I added to backup we we just got a new policy alert late last week, and um I didn't put the whole policy packet in backup. I haven't reviewed it yet, but I
did put the the summary of the policy alert. And if anybody has been dealing with some insomnia issues, I can go over it really fully, and I'll have you have you down for the count within 12 minutes. But a couple just quick things just to just to summarize from what
we're looking at. There is a policy that's be that's up for revision that is mandated. It's about the superintendent's duties. Unfortunately, it does not dial back the superintendent's responsibilities, but it does call into um
I called the districts who have uh an individually developed job description to to look at that. Our job description was last revised in 2007. Um and I have to admit it took me a little while to find it. It's also written in Arial, which
I it feels like a personal affront, but um one thing I'll recommend for policy 1230 is take a look at the job description. Um and I'll certainly interact with you about it about about what's what's reasonable. Just giving it a quick look over, it it is reasonable. Um
And then for policy 2200, um what they're looking to do is consolidate uh the curriculum policy, um which would involve eliminating the the um regulation for 2200. And one of the things it it wants to guarantee is that districts provide
students with access to advanced coursework, which is something that we're already doing. Um you'll hear me touting AP quite a bit, which is a great example of it. Um and then the other one that's fairly significant is that curriculum pacing guides and citations for instructional materials must be
publicly available to offer greater transparency for families and communities. This does not mean you're posting your entire curriculum, but you should have your pacing guides available, which to me is almost better than seeing the full curriculum. It's a much more efficient road map, so you can see what's going on in the class. So,
make sure we comply with that. Um next up on the policy alert is uh is policy 2411, which deals with career education academic counseling. Um there is something in there about making sure that we offer um the opportunity for for high
schoolers to more actively explore career interests by participating in work-based learning experiences aligned to the NJSLA. Um they want to expand work-based learning, which is something that when we look at the high school graduation policy, which is up for revision again, we consider
what we have as the credit minimum, which could open more doors for work-based learning opportunities for for students. Um there's a lot to cover in policy 5460. Um a lot of it focuses um on opportunities for kids to pursue what are called individualized student
learning opportunities. Um that's actually covered in statutes and or in code, but a lot of that focuses on independent study, online learning, study abroad programs. One of my kids is actually studying abroad right now. Um student exchange programs and
structured learning experiences including work-based programs. So, what we're seeing in 5460 is a is real push by the state um to try to include more things in students' educational opportunities. And it's not just textbook things, it's not just bell to
bell, it's it's a Well, it is bell to bell, but not just within the school um facility. Um they're they're doubling down on the the FAFSA requirement, which interestingly a guidance counselor school counselor has the ability to sign to sign a waiver that a kid's not going
to complete the the FAFSA. Um long story to that, but that that that remains in there. Um they're removing a few items that that go back to to COVID, which as Mr. Seresci correctly noted was a long time ago. Not long enough ago, but still a long
time ago. Um and they're also trying to provide some clarification on the portfolio process, which we'll see we'll I'll believe it when I see it. Uh connected to that, there's a new policy for high school diplomas. Um and it's more it's more or less
partially changing the terminology. The GED is changing to the New Jersey High School Equivalency Assessment, NJHSEA. EIA. Um it's it's Th- Th- This one's following a lawsuit that took place in Sparta a couple years back as well as the new
the new naming for that. Um also in the program and they should really number these pages. I don't know why it's not, but Excellent. At least one of us has it. Um but now I'm getting to general policy regulations. The notice of board
meetings um I alluded to this earlier just about how it has to be posted on um district's official internet websites. I like that they cleared that up with their internet websites as well. Yes. Yes, for the worldwide web. Um but this is already our practice, but just more or less
saying that the newspapers are being phased out and the same applies to legal notices, not much to cover there. Um one that will certainly get um our friend Ms. Morjezi a lot of attention is policy 1643 family leave, which now makes it so that you don't have to have
worked as much in the district in order to get family leave through NJFLA. FMLA, which is a federal program, not being touched, but where you used to have to be in the district for 12 months, now it's three. Where you used to have to have worked 1,000 hours, now you only
have to have worked 250. Um so yeah. We're We're going to Oh, they want us to make sure that we provide um staff access to the revised policy. We could do it through a printed handout or through a link. We're going to use the link. Um and um
It'll probably be on the worldwide web. Yes. Yes, we'll we'll ensure that it's there. Um we'll play it. You can access it through Firefox. Yep. What I'm expec- I'm hoping too is now that um th- there's going to be greater access
to leave. I'm sure that this mandate will have some funding attached to it and we'll we'll see that to help us manage the financial burden that it's going to incur. Um Also up for revision is policy 2260, which is equity in school and classroom
practices. Um all what this pretty much just says is we have to include uh the entire code in there, satisfy requirements comprehensive equity plan. We That's a 3-year plan. We approve it every year, but it is a 3-year plan. Our our approval for next year, the 3-year
plan that started this school year will appear on the the action meeting for May. Um They got rid of uh compensatory special education policy or regulation, sorry, that was the COVID item. That one's gone. Um there are further updates being added
for the um 5111, which is the eligibility of resident non-resident students. Um but it also has to do with choice schools. We are actually still in the choice school program and our last student is graduating out of it. Um this is something I want to look into um
consideration whether we wanted reinvest in this. Um as it does provide a revenue stream, it helps to add to your um your enrollment as well. But this is something that requires uh closer look beyond just policy, but looking at um
how we want to get involved in in the trade further involved in the choice program. Um and what this also involves is abolishing the existing policy, which is 5111 for eligibility of resident non-resident students. Um we've personalized that quite a bit, so we'd
have to make sure that our revisions reflect what Strauss wants, but also what what helps us in our practice. Um there's something in there about vocational schools that we can ignore because we are not a vocational school. Um Policy 5561 has to do with use of
physical restraint and seclusion techniques for students with disabilities. Further reiterating if if there is a restraint, it has to be reported in the school uh safety data system, which we do. Um if there is a seclusion, has we reported as well, I don't know that this district has ever
participated in a seclusion. Now, something that the board can choose is whether to, um, not allow the use of any restraint or seclusion. I would be fine with not including any seclusion with the restraint. Um, it's it's a
it's an awful thing to have to do, but if a student is at risk of hurting him or herself and others, um, it's the last resort after you've exhausted the last resort, and it's not something we we use often, but um, it is important to have as as to me as a a safety component. So,
um, we'll talk about that more when we review the policy revisions for 5561. Um, the reimbursement of federal and other grant expenditures is painfully boring. Um, the procurement procedures school nutrition programs, we don't need
that policy because we do not participate in the federal lunch program. And then the other document, I don't think I put it in the backup, but I do have a document of my job description. Um, and all of its Arial-esque glory. Uh, any questions about that incredibly
interesting policy update? Which is available on online. >> Yes, on the website, which is housed on the world wide web of internets. Okay. Anyone any comment on any of that?
All right. That brings us to our second opportunity for public comment. Uh, a person may speak for a maximum period of 5 minutes by the clock during this portion of the meeting. Uh, public may speak on any topic during that 5 minutes, and if a member of the public raises a question, address the question to the board president, state your name,
and sign in before you begin. Okay. No one coming to the mic, I'm going to move on to unfinished business. Does any board member have any unfinished business? Does any board member have any new business? Would any uh body like to make any an Oh, would anybody like to make an
announcement? Okay, uh we do have reason to go into executive session where we will discuss uh personnel matters. No action will be taken. We will adjourn from there. Our next meeting will be May 26th here at the high school. Is there a motion to go into executive session?
Second. All in favor?