It's mad, right? >> Welcome to this public meeting of the Princeton Board of Education. The board is an elected, unpaid group of 10 citizens who set policy and make decisions on educational, financial, and personnel matters for the Princeton public schools on behalf of all residents. We are always pleased when
members of the community attend our meetings. The board and the school district operated under applicable New Jersey laws and under regulations of the New Jersey State Board of Education. Each meeting includes an opportunity for those attending to comment on items on the public agenda or other matters of
interest to them. The board reserves a right to limit the time allotted to public participation. Law limits discussion of individual personnel and confidential matters. We hope our meetings provide useful opportunities for communication between the board and the community. Thank you for attending. >> Notice of open public meeting as
required under the open public meetings act NJSA 104-6. Adequate notice was given for calling this meeting. It was authorized by the board of education and forward it to the municipal clerk, Princeton packet and the times on January 9th, 2025 and distributed to the schools and others on
the standard distribution list. The board reserves the right to enter into executive session during all meetings of the board of education. Board policy 0168 recording devices requires that we inform those attending this in-person meeting that the proceedings are being recorded. This meeting is being livereamed.
The representative of the sending district is authorized to vote on such matters that affect sending district students or affect the governance of the Princeton public schools as more specifically designated in NJSA18A 38-8.1. Sending district votes pertaining to personnel actions refer to high school
central administrative and districtwide staff only. Votes otherwise are considered abstensions. In the event that NJSA18A 388 38-8.1 is amended, the law shall take precedence over this bylaw. Thank you, Mr. Harris.
>> All right. Next up is >> Would you like to call the role? >> Roll call. >> Yes. Thank you. >> Beth Bon >> here. >> Adam Beerman >> here. >> Mara Franceski >> here. >> Hubard >> here. >> Catherine Lar >> here. >> Ariel >> here.
>> Christopher Centarpio >> here. >> Erica Snider >> here. >> Susan Caner >> here. >> Daffany Kendra >> here. >> We have quum. >> Thank you Mr. Harsh. Can I get a motion for the adoption of the minutes for February 24th, 2026?
Chris already second. >> Beth Bon. >> Adam Beerman. >> Yes. >> I have Beth Epstein. I have Adam Beerman. Yes. Okay. >> Mar Franchesky. >> Yes. >> Elanar Hubard. >> Yes. Katherine Larret,
>> yes. >> Ariel, >> yes. >> Christopher Centarpio, >> yes. >> Erica Snder, >> yes. >> Susan Caner, >> yes. >> Dan Kendall, >> yes. >> Motion carries. >> Thank you, Mr. Harris. Um, so moving on. Um, the board presence report. Happy St.
Patrick's Day, everybody. It looks like all but two people, three people in our community are out having fun. So, for some, this is fun. Uh, thank you for joining us tonight. Um, so I'm gonna turn it over to uh Dr.
Lassusa who has a very meaty report tonight. >> Oh, thank you, Miss Kendall. Before I get to my media report, um, just we have the official update of our calendars uh, for this agenda. Uh, turning the Friday before Memorial Day weekend into a an
early dismissal day of school for students and then, uh, a regular day of school on the Tuesday, the 26th. And then uh tonight is the night we have to approve our preliminary budget uh just for the benefit of our robust audience.
Uh the governor postponed her uh budget address by two weeks because it's her first one. Uh this hasn't happened I don't think since the middle of the pandemic. Um and as a result of that we received our state aid figures just on Thursday in the middle of the day. So,
we've been scampering around um trying to just finalize uh the preliminary budget which we must adopt at this meeting and submit to the county and then have the county review it for final uh approval by the board in April. So, I will give an overview of the preliminary
budget and take any questions and we'll go from there. >> Um can I just say that so you've had five days to put this together. So, before you even begin um thank you um Mr. Harris, Miss Dior, and Dr. Lassusa for all your work on this.
>> Thank you and the rest of the board for all of your work because you all made yourselves available yesterday in two different committee meetings to make sure that we were moving in the right direction. >> But I'm thinking you worked over the weekend. So, you know, for anyone who thinks teaching is a nineto-five job, that's I want them to know that's not the case.
>> Thank you. >> Yeah. All right. >> All right. and happy St. Patrick's Day as well to everyone. Um, so, uh, as I just said, we've been working on this, uh, before Thursday, uh, but we've tried to tighten it up and, um, because it's been on a a short
notice, if we need to tighten anything up further or clarify anything, we can of course do that, uh, at the next meeting. Uh so just quick overview uh a little bit of context to start then uh a look at where we are with our current budget the key components of the budget
that we are proposing for adoption tonight and then uh we'll end with just some next steps. Uh and in composing the budget, the board and the administration uh have tried to ensure uh that we are not
altering or dismantling or reducing any of the current programs that our students enjoy. Uh we're trying to make improvements wherever we can and of course we're trying to find ways to be more efficient moving forward uh from a financial standpoint. And if any one
here uh reads NJ.com or New Jersey Spotlight News, you know that there are districts all over the state right now that are experiencing um financial difficulties. Uh some of them are very well publicized and there may be a host of issues at hand, but many many many
others throughout the state uh are running into problems this year in particular. Uh so I'm going to start by kind of talking a little bit about why that is uh from my point of view. Uh so the first thing that we all have to understand is many districts like ours a
suburban district uh rely heavily on the local tax levy. In fact 80 plus percent of our budget is made up from the local tax levy. And we can't talk about the local tax levy without talking about the tax levy cap. And for the past 15 years
or so, uh we operate within a very very tight 2% levy cap. Uh when this cap went into effect, it took the place of something called uh S701, which was a soft cap. And that last
bullet refers to this. So back in the day pre financial crisis pregovernor Christie school districts were able to apply for about a dozen different waiverss to the 4% cap and it was on the the onus was on the school district to apply and make the case to the county
that they could exceed the 4% uh because of a whole host of reasons. And in 2011, uh, when this took effect, the current law took effect, that ended. And school districts no longer have the bear the responsibility of trying to exceed the
cap. The Department of Education tells us if we can exceed the cap of 2% and by how much. And there's no negotiation over that. There's no um pleading with the state. It's a hard cap. And so if
you think about uh the period beginning with the implementation of this law which was in 2011 uh this is just the CPI uh based on the Bureau of Labor Statistics for the first 10 years roughly uh the
CPI the rate of inflation was about or below 2%. So the law worked because most of our expenses as school districts were not rising that much more than 2%. The exceptions of course would be salaries
and collective bargaining agreements and most districts really brought down settlements. So I'm old enough to remember settlements of 4 a.5% uh back when inflation was much higher in the early 2000s. But during this period of time 2010 to 2020 roughly settlements
came down and if uh and as I'll speak to in a second uh other than salaries the other big driver of many budgets is health benefits health benefits was one of the carveouts uh to the cap. So if districts had trouble staying at the 2%
mark, they were told by the DOE that they could exceed the cap by a certain amount usually in most years uh with respect to their health insurance increases. As we all know, uh 2010 to 2020 was a fine run for this law, but then we ran
into the pandemic. And from my perspective, there are uh three reasons why districts are now hitting a a a brick wall. And that brick wall was postponed a bit through the pandemic through the last five years. So the
first reason on the right hand corner there is that we all got a lot of federal funding during the pandemic. And the federal funding helped paper over some of the uh shortcomings we were all experiencing as a result of inflation going through the roof. Excuse me. The
second reason is that in 2021 um excuse me, Governor Murphy and the legislature enacted a change to how school districts um are permitted to build their budgets. And uh at the current time and prior to 2021, school
districts essentially must carry a 2% um emergency account balance, if you will. Think of it as like cash on hand. 2% of the operating budget is in an emergency reserve. Uh and that's the old, you
know, rainy day fund. If the roof blows off, if there's a tornado that hits, districts have to be able to uh turn somewhere for some special funding that they might not otherwise have access to. Uh and districts can't even tap into
that 2% without getting county approval. for the two years in the pandemic uh under S2691 districts were permitted to double that emergency reserve account from 2% to 4%. And then when the law expired the
difference between 4% and 2% was returned to fund balance. So it enabled districts to build a bigger cushion double the cushion if you will than they were accustomed to building. And that delta ended up then sticking around, if
you will, beyond 2022 to help districts if they ran into financial difficulties. And then the final number there I'm going to speak to in a few slides, but that's S2. S2 is the law that Governor Murphy signed uh into effect that forced
the state required the DOE to run the formula and to return funding based on CFRA, which is the current school funding formula. If you remember, if you were around when Governor Christie was was in office, Governor Christie abandoned CFRA because of the financial
crisis. And what happened was there was no funding tied to any formula that was constitutionally approved until S2 was uh signed back into law. Most districts in the state, roughly twothirds, ended up gaining uh state aid as a result of
S2. So this is just Princeton public schools over the course of S2. Um you can see that we were only receiving about two a little over $2 million in direct state aid. This is categorical aid and I'll explain what that is in a little bit. Uh but from 2018 right up
until two years ago, right up until last year, um we kept on getting boosts in state aid. So our state aid went up almost 170%. That helped deal with that inflation
spike because the state was stepping in to help make up the difference. Maybe not all the difference, but some of the difference between what the tax levy could generate on a 2% basis, uh, and what the expenses were. So, we had a
really nice climb. Last year, we lost 3% of our state aid, direct state aid. I'll explain why that is. And then this year, we've gained about three and a half%. So, over a two-year period, if you think about it, um, and we'll get to this, our state aid is only up half a percent.
And of course, with our tax levy being locked in at 2%, if expenses are going up more than that, we're in trouble. So, if you take a look at our current budget, uh this is the whole kitten kaboodleoodle of the current budget.
Includes the state aid, it includes um federal funding that we get, includes preschool expansion. Back in 2017, 18, 15, whatever, we didn't have preschool uh available to all students. we've ramped that up and the folks who did that deserve a lot of credit. Uh so just
looking at our revenues, what constitutes our operating budget. Um those are the big uh five or so um main uh funding sources for us. And then of course in terms of the expenses, that budget supports everything that you know
and are familiar with in the district. So, every curricular program, every athletic team, every special education program, every bus route, every instructional assistant, all of it uh comes from uh that amount up there on the top. So, I just want to break down kind of
those sources um a little bit so that we can um walk through them and and understand, you know, where we're strained. So, the the largest source of our budget is the current tax levy. we get to increase it by 2% as I just said and then there are four adjustments that
the DOE tells us whether or not we get to take advantage of or or whether we can um exercise in the course of any given year. So the first uh waiver, if you will, the first mechanism to exceed the cap is called banked cap. And all
that means is that if the district didn't go up to its maximum taxing ability in any of the three prior years, whatever the amount is that it left on the table, it can then exercise in the current year. So currently right now um
sadly for us we only have about we have $13,600 uh sitting on the table that we can fold into the current uh tax levy to exceed the 2% cap. The other three items are enrollment growth and again that's determined by the DOE based on our
upload of uh student um enrollment in October. State driven pension liabilities. So, if the state determines we have to um contribute more to employee pensions, we get to roll that off into the uh tax levy. And then the bottom one, which is by far the most
common, it's the one that is getting the most attention right now in the state in every single school district, is health insurance benefit premium increases. Uh we are permitted to roll however much our increase is into the tax levy up to
a maximum of the amount that the state planned. Uh the state uh run plan is going up this year. The state plan, I'll get to this in a second, is going up 31%. Our plans are going up about half that. So we are entitled, if the board wants
to wants to, we are entitled to move that into the tax levy. So looking at health insurance, um the one that is state-run that about something like onethird of New Jersey school districts are part of is called the New Jersey School Employee Health
Benefits Program. Uh the total increase was just shy of 32%. This just happened on January 1st. Uh the benefit the uh prescription increase alone was almost 59% as you can see. Uh we have a we are privately insured. We've had a a better
experience rating than the New Jersey school employee health benefits program. So our premium increase is forecast at 15%. And just to give you numbers uh there at the bottom, the NJHP refers to a plan that was designed through
legislation called chapter 44. Every school district in New Jersey is required to offer the NJHP. It's a standard plan. So the state health uh benefits program offers that plan. Every district offers that plan. You can see the difference right now between the
state health benefits plan version of NJHP and the Princeton version. We're about $6,000 below uh the state health plan. That includes our 15% uh increase right there um in blue. And the richest plan in the school employee health benefits program is right there. That
bullet at the bottom called Direct 10 used to be very common in most districts. Currently, right now, a family plan, those are all family plan premiums, by the way. Family plan Direct 10 is $74,600. So, school districts that are in the the state plan, when they hire someone and
they offer them family uh health insurance, family plan for health insurance, it's costing $75,000 and employees pay a portion of that. Uh but obviously, school districts are on the hook for the majority of it. Uh our
health insurance budgeted amount for this current year, you can see up there, is $15.5 million and um we're forecasting it to be uh just shy of $18 million for next year. So if we roll the health benefits increase on a dollar basis into the tax levy with the banked
cap, then we get to a maximum tax levy of $94,444,999. So that is the maximum amount our tax levy could go up if the board were to authorize it. It represents about a 4.33% increase in the tax levy.
Our next source of funding, largest source of funding is state aid. So I I want to take a few minutes. Bear with me. This is going to be the the boring tedious part of the board meeting. Um but is what the is is what the current funding formula is called. That stands
for school funding reform act. It was established under John Cororsine. It passed constitutional muster. Everyone complains about uh modernizing the formula. Nobody has been able to accomplish it because it's a very high bar to pass to get to constitutional um
legitimacy. So, every governor is talking about and and uh I was watching the news last night. Everyone talks about modernizing the formula. It still has not been done. So, we're still running essentially on CIFRA. And I w the most important thing that I
could sort of underscore is that second bullet that CIFFRA was built before the 2% levy cap and it never contemplated the 2% levy cap. It's not meant to work with a tax levy cap. So we're living in two worlds right now that are
contradictory. There's CIFRA that is intended to let school districts uh fund as much of their school budgets as they want and then there's a 2% levy cap that has the exact opposite effect. So if we go into CIFRA there are three parts main parts to CIFRA. First is adequacy,
second is local fair share and the third is equalization. So adequacy is what the state tells us we need to spend to adequately meet the minimum requirements and standards that we have to deliver to our students. It's what the state tells
us is an adequate education. And adequacy is determined if we go down sort of to the bottom half of the screen there by several um metrics. The first is total uh student enrollment. So, a district with 25,000 students is going
to probably have a higher a large, you know, a bigger adequacy budget than a district with 2,000 students. Grade level composition. And these are weights. So, an elementary student um is weighted as 1.0, a middle school student a little bit more, and a high school student a little bit more. Meaning, the
state is telling us it costs more to educate a high school student than it does a middle school student or an elementary student. And then the state applies weights to the types of students. And the first one is students who receive either free or reduced
lunch. And that 047 or 0.57 is based on the level of concentration of poverty in a district. So the more the greater the concentration of poverty, the more likely you have a 0.57 weight for every student. Meaning that 0.57 is added on
top of the 1.0, 1.04, 1.15. I don't want to jump in, but and you might get to this and you can tell me to wait, but are we a 47 or 0.57? >> We are 047, I believe. >> Okay. And our our concentration is about 15%. >> Yes, about 16%. That's coming up
actually. >> I'm so sorry. >> Yeah, that's okay. It's all good. >> I'll stop. >> All good. Um then the DOE also, the formula also says it costs more to educate a student whose um English is not their first language. And of course it costs more to educate a special
education student, but that's a different uh that's not really a weight. That's a calculation outside of the waiting of adequacy. So if you look at our demographics, here's your answer there, Daphna. Um over the past 20 years, this is based on
the enrollment reports that are available on the Department of Education's website. um you can see what's happened and of the two weights there in the sorry in the pri prior slide economically disadvantaged and English language learners those are the
two with the data labels so that orang-ish one is the um low-income students free or reduced lunch and the teal color is the um students who have speak English as a second language yep
Yes, >> they changed the they changed the qualifying thresholds uh last year or the before. I forget what they are now. Um, so there's been a slight change in the past year or two. Uh, but that was to enable more students to qualify given the high cost of living in New Jersey.
And I forget the income thresholds right now. Um, but we were already prior to that change, the trend line was fully in effect. Our low-income population has doubled within the district on a percentage basis and our
LEP population, you can see, has gone up about 50% or so. limited English proficient. Those are the terms the state uses right there. Um, if we tease it out by school, you can see that all of our schools have had
an increase in uh percentage of low-income students since 2005 except CP. Um, and all of our schools have had a significant or an increase overall since 2005 in MLL enrollment except CP.
I don't know how the fed that comes from the federal government. I'm pretty sure the business office might know better than I do, but I don't know. So, families have to complete forms if they um and they have to show what their income is on a week. I think it's weekly. I don't think it's a monthly basis. I'm pretty sure it's weekly, but
I don't I can we can try to dig up those details. So, if you if you put all that in the sausage grinder or whatever you call it, um the Department of Education tells us or told us last week on Thursday, our adequacy
budget is $77 million. That is the state's definition of what we should be spending in Princeton to meet the minimum requirements of the Department of Education. Okay, so that's step one. Step one is the state just told us it costs 77
million to get to the minimum requirements and of course we're not satisfied with the minimum requirements. Uh the next step is that the state tells us how much we can afford. So they tell us how much we can afford by something called local fair share. And there are two parts to local fair
share. Property value and income. So property value is based on the equalized valuation tables that the state puts out uh every year and that's designed to ensure that d that municipalities that don't perform um
assessments or reassessments and you know a house worth 1.2 million is really on the tax bill it says it's only worth $240,000. They equalize everything. They have a a formula and a method so that it's apples to apples across communities. So they determine the amount of value of
property in every community. You can see Princeton is sitting there at 11.5 billion dollar of property value. And then they look at income tax returns. Those are state income tax returns. The most recent year available that was used this year in our school aid was 2023.
And it was interesting to me that there's been a dip of income overall. Um a slight dip from 22 to 23. Uh but you can see that the state determines that there were as approximately three and a half half billion dollars of income earned by Princeton residents um in
2023. So they take that and they tell us how much could Princeton really afford to pay. So Princeton can afford a budget of $176 million. So then the last step is equalization.
And equalization is supposed to cover the gap if there is a gap between adequacy and local fair share. So in about half the districts in New Jersey um depending on the year about half the districts need equalization funding
equalization aid to get to the point of adequacy meaning their local fair share is below adequacy. And the state prioritizes their funding or is supposed to so that they can get up to the minimum standards needed to meet the
educational needs of their students. Princeton does not qualify, never has qualified for uh equalization aid uh because Princeton's local fair share is so much higher than its adequacy calculation. So we get zero equalization aid along
with the the other half of the districts in in New Jersey that don't get it. But beyond equalization aid, there's something called categorical aid. And categorical aid is something that flows to all districts because the state has determined and CIFRA has recognized that the state has some obligation to provide
some level of funding to all districts. And there are three main categories for categorical aid. Uh sometimes those categories can change like during park they had a special category of $40 per kid if I remember right for park implementation. But the main categories
are security, transportation, and special ed. And what's interesting, if you remember, um, last year our overall state aid went down 3%. The reason it went down was because of special education. And CIFFRA,
the way it calculates, and this is in law, codified in law, the way it calculates special education is that it applies um it an assumption that for every single school district has the same rate or same percentage of students
who receive special education services. And that percentage is 15.9%. That's when when we were looking at the uh the the funding over time. All of those fat years for us were based on a 15.9%
classification rate for special education. Last year, the governor and the administration made a unilateral decision, and this was based on pressure from a lot of school districts, to not use 15.9%, but to base the funding on
the actual percentage of students getting special services in each school district. Princeton lost almost 10% or so of its special education funding because Princeton has a a lower special education classification rate than the
state average. So, it hurt us to have fewer students classified receiving special education services. If you look at, you know, across the board in special education, you can see even this year, we're still down almost $300,000
from what we were receiving in special education categorical aid in 2425. And if you look at rates of inflation, and I use CPI again from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, but the DOE also publishes an inflation rate, and they
use that to tell us um how much our in transportation contractors can increase their contracts and not have and and for us not to have to go out to bid. Last year it was 3.57%. This year it's 3.58. So the DOE is literally telling districts if you
contract out transportation and we contract out probably about half of ours the that contractor can go up to 3.58% and you don't need to go out to bid. So if you look at just the last two years with our state aid because it's
been published in the last three days that uh Princeton is getting a nice bump in state aid which is true half true. If you look over the last two years, our total aid amount has increased by about a half a percent while the rate of inflation is up 5% and the rate of the
DOE's inflation for transportation is up 7%. So we're not exactly swimming in it. Other so that so that covers state aid. So we've got most of our funding, right? Tax levy, state aid, then we've got some
other revenue um primarily cranberry tuition. Uh then we have contributions mainly from the university. We have a $300,000 uh new pilot agreement from the uh generosity and the and the good partnership with our municipality. Um
and that was formally negotiated at the end of last school year, but um the payments, you know, kick in now for this. This will be the first full budget where we receive those payments. We also have fund balance and this came up uh a couple of months ago during our
audit report. So aside from that 2% emergency fund, forget that because we can only access that with county approval and so forth. Beyond that, whatever we uh don't expend over the course of a of a budget year uh
falls into fund balance if we don't put it in capital reser reserve or any other uh reserve account. Uh, and please Andrew, jump in whenever I'm messing up here. But, uh, at the close of 2024, June of 2024, our fund balance stood at about 3.9 million. We saw in the audit
from two months ago at the close of 2025 as a result of spending last school year, uh, that fund balance had dropped to 2.7 million. So, we have less fund balance that we are able to move forward into the 26 27 uh, budget. We're hoping
to build that number back up by being uh judicious with our expenses this year. And we don't want to continue to deplete fund balance uh until we get to zero because that could be very bad for us. So we want to actually increase fund
balance, be able to put money into capital reserve or other reserve accounts and ensure that we have a little bit of a cushion every year um that we put together a budget. So that's a concern and it's one of the revenue points in the total overall $111 million
dollar budget that I showed in the beginning. Uh so back to the uh you know the expense side of things um our expenses as of right now as we're talking and we've already made some reductions here or there where we think
we could without um harming anyone. Our expenses are at about 116 million. Um, this is just a broad overview. Most of our expenses, if you go in order, salary, then benefits, payments to charter schools after that, and then
there's a host of other spending categories that our business office um tracks and uh drivers beyond the 3%, right? We've got salaries. Most of our collective bargaining agreements are at about 3%. Our out of district tuitions
in this current budget are up about 5%. Uh, and that was true last year. Part of the reason why the fund balance, excuse me, part of the reason why the fund balance went from 3.9 to 2.7 is that we had some unanticipated expenses in out
of district tuitions. So, we're trying to keep pace with that um maintenance. And then, uh, again, transportation is going up. We don't have an exact amount yet on transportation contracts, but that's just I'm putting there as a placeholder since that's what the state
gave us as the inflation rate. Yep. >> No, they can go up 10%. They can back charge us. They don't have to follow any rules. >> Charter is not capped at 2%, I don't believe. This is the first district I'm working in with a charter component, so I'm not an expert in charter yet. I may
have to ask Andrew on that one. So charter is 90% of whatever our um cost per student is. So if our cost per student goes up by more than 2% then 90% of that would be choice. So some recent developments um this is
these are some of the increases just in you know that have come into come into to our attention in the past few weeks. Um the municipality discovered that it has not been charging the school district for um water management and it
needs to. So they've let us know. They've been terrific about being proactive and communicative with us and has spoken and met with Andrew and me. Um but that will be about $100,000 increase uh for next year. the charter school increase, the Princeton charter school increase, and again, the state
determines this along with our school aid notifications, went up 320, $321,000, a little bit more than we were anticipating. We had other charter school increases that we're trying to understand because um they were about
$51,000 per student for two students that we were not anticipating. So, the total increase in just recent um expenses or expenditures is about $525,000. And going back to the pilot agreement, since this will be the first budget year
where we have a full um window into pilot revenue, that's about $300,000 in new revenue. And then we had the increase in state aid at just over 200. So, if you just compare the some of the new revenue against some of the new costs, we pretty much are flat. Um so
any any kind of present from the department of education um is not going to go as far as we might like. Uh a little hard to read this slide but of course this will all be available on our website. Um really the important part is at the
bottom right. Uh our revenues are in the middle there. Our revenues uh can max out at least responsibly we think at $115 million and change. Our expenditures are at $116 million and change. And again, that reflects
everything that we're currently doing now in the district without disturbing anything or reducing any program. Uh so we're short right now as we speak about $743,000. Correct. And that, as Mike showed before, that comes to about 4.9 million.
And then the add additional money you'll see because the what's in the budget is about 5.1 5.15 is made up from charging staff. >> Correct. >> That was all. So I broke it out a little bit differently in this budget than in previous budgets. In previous budgets,
that was all included miscellaneous revenue. Now I'm breaking it out to show that it to me it should be classified since it's tuition. It should be charged to tuition. Um again, same thing with rent. That was captured as miscellaneous revenue in the past. There is a a
financial line in the fis in our accounting software for things like rent. So I'm just breaking it out more to provide more detail. Uh no, we are actually looking at small decrease. Everything in the the 4.9 number is is taken into account and there is I I do
have a specific spreadsheet that if you're curious I can we can discuss in operations. >> That's correct. >> That is correct. >> Right. And they pay their transportation and special ed costs. same.
Um, yeah. So, I I just I there are two boxes here. The the bottom one is just what I mentioned before about fund balance that we need to keep an eye on this and and be sure that we're trying to not continuing to continue to deplete fund balance. The top box is what Andrew
just was talking about. He's tried to break out miscellaneous revenue so it's not just one big pot of money. And the reason I have this highlighted um is that the a chunk of both of those columns has to do with interest that's
being earned in the bank uh as a result of uh referendum project funding that's been deposited in the bank. And we are limited in how much uh interest we can recognize, but we are including $900,000
in um interest in that $1.5 million. And the reason I just want to be super clear about this is that difference there in the bottom right hand corner would be 1.6 million if not for recognizing the interest and the interest is not going
to be here very long. So it's important that we have open discussions about the fact that the gap is going to get bigger uh as we deplete the amount of money that's sitting in in cash right now used
to pay off and we're paying architects and we're getting contractors appointed. Um so gradually over the next three years that money is not going to be something that we can rely on. So we are we have to adopt a a balanced budget tonight. We
have to adopt a budget in line with the revenues and then over the course of the next month, six weeks until April 28th when we adopt our final budget, we need to finalize the $743,000 in either reduction or new revenue that
we need to um formalize so that we can move forward in a responsible fashion. So, with the uh with the re that revenue line, that amount um the tax levy per $100,000 of assessed value, and again, this was something Andrew was
trying to get his arms around today. So, if we have to tighten it up, we will. Um but you can see the increase of about $60 roughly year-over-year per $100,000 of assessment. and the, you know, the the change in 2425 to 2526 is almost
$300 or more than $300, but that's because it included the hit from all of the referendum um projects and some of that would be temporary and paid off after the term of the bond. Um so the next steps for us are we must adopt the
preliminary budget this evening. We must submit it to the county. The county has to review it. Sometimes they might have questions or they might kick something back or ask for clarification. Other times they take a couple of weeks or a few weeks and in early April, mid April, we'll um get the indication that it's
ready, it's it's approved and that we just need to notify them when we uh approve the final budget on April 28th. Um so of course the conversations have already begun with the operations committee of the board and other committees of the board. Um, but we need
to finalize and confirm whatever we are going to do to make up the $743,000 difference. So, the first thing of course that we're looking to and that we're we're figuring out right now are reductions that we can realize that do not impact programming to students. Uh,
at least to the greatest degree that we can avoid impacts the students, we're going to try to avoid them. So, some of that could have to do with attrition or reorganization or transfer of staff to different positions. um if we have vacant positions or positions that we think we can operate more efficiently.
Some of them might have to do with memberships or subscriptions or technology services that we think we could do without because we have other um means to accomplish the work that we do. Uh and then of course uh on the other side if it's not all about
reductions it would need to be about identifying new sources of revenue. And one thing that we have discussed a little bit are activity and use fees. Um so I think the board will continue to have those discussions. Uh but other districts of course have diff different
districts have different um methods of trying to generate revenue either through facilities use fees and examining whether they've increased in recent years um activity fees for students involved in extracurricular uh types of activities uh and so on and so
forth. So we'll be working on that over the next number of weeks. uh we'll be talking with staff who could be impacted by some of the reductions and then on 428 we will have a final um budget that will have to be adopted. Uh looking
beyond April 28th though um assuming that there's no change in school funding or the changes don't benefit us just like the unilateral change about special education. assuming that there's still a 2% tax levy cap and
there have been some um you know some draft legislation that re relaxes the cap a little bit especially if you're under local fair share which we are by hund00 million um assuming that none of there are no huge changes um our
expenses are are going to continue to be greater than our the revenue we can raise uh and so then the question is really going to become for the board and the community at charge. Um, do we reduce the programming to get in line with the revenue we have or do we
increase the revenue to try to match the programming that people are accustomed to? And that is a longer, you know, a much more involved conversation. It will take time. Um, right now we'll be I think I can say we'll be at a position
where we can accomplish a budget in April 28th that does not have significant cuts to students. Um, but it's likely that next year or the year after that will not be the case. And I'm I would predict that over the next two weeks, because all districts must adopt
their preliminary budgets by next Thursday, um we're going to hear about many many many more districts that are um already in the category of having to make some pretty significant reductions. I talked to one superintendent this morning with a 6 and a half% tax levy
increase. Um, many districts are in the high single digits for tax levy increase simply because of the health benefits going up uh 25 or 30%. So that's a longer conversation. That's it for now. I'll uh shut up and go back to my chair and we're happy to try to answer any
questions that you have. >> What chapter in the weeds? Chapter >> Chapter 44 sunsets in um 2027. board to traverse. >> Yeah. >> Oh, yeah. I forgot. Yeah, that thank
that was just like Chadam. Very clear, very accessible. Thank you. Yeah, I did. I I just wanted to clarify. I believe and we're going all the way to back to the start with the waiverss. Um I believe that um I just correct me if
I'm wrong. The aroma waiver is backward looking in an average of like five years. So it's not immediate like as growth comes it get it's kind of uh we don't get the full benefit of that growth until much late until at least I guess five years in. Is that correct?
>> I don't know the look back on the enrollment to be honest with you. >> Yeah. >> Okay. It's all right. I Yeah. Okay. >> Any other questions? >> Um with all the building we have I know
they don't come online but I don't know the number of classrooms right off the top of my head. Um, but that's a that's part of the conversation about how we go about um when the students come, right? The construction should be completed in
roughly three years uh or so. and when the students arrive, how we are able to figure out how to staff the classrooms that we need for those students. That's a one of those bigger conversations, I think. microphone.
>> Get the hold. >> I just was asking about the prek program because it's kind of a difference if you look at our budget five years ago and and what we have now and we used to be around 100 million and now we're up to 120 130 the numbers significantly different but there's a big piece of
that that's the prek that's coming straight from the state flowing through. Right. >> Andrew, do you have the numbers on the prek? Uh this year prek went up to three pre preschool um aid went up to 3.4 million from 3.2.
>> So 3.4 million of the total budget relates to the >> but that must be spent that there's that can only be spent on prek. >> Right. So that's a pretty big number there. Thank you. Thank you. And and also when you mentioned the special education and that we somehow maybe have less lower numbers than the state
average which was a kind of a surprise I think to some of us. We It doesn't include 504 plans, does it? >> Does not include 504 plans. >> So that really means special education means students with IEPs. >> Yes. Or speech. That number didn't include speech either. >> Oh, it doesn't include speech.
>> The 15.9 did not. The speech was an additional 1.62, I think. And we were higher in speech. We're probably higher in 504 plans, though. The state doesn't have that data any place. Um we're at just under 8% of total student body and
11% at the high school I believe have 504 plans. Um but we are below with IEP not related to speech >> formal IEP classification. Thank you. >> Oh I'm sorry. Um I just wanted to follow up on that. Why are we why do you think
we're low on IEPs? >> Margarita based on some review. Can you hear me? Oh, sorry. Based on some review, um, >> so can you hear me now? So based on um reviewing some of the programs that our
students have been receiving, I would say the low numbers on the IEPs depend on how students are being evaluated and how they're assessed. Um services that are offered that may be declined by
parents. Um preferred 504 over IEPs due to uh labeling and what that may bring. Um, and also the use of 504s, I would say, um, also needs to be reviewed
because some of those services should be offered under an IEP versus a 504. Um, >> can I ask a question? So, labeling, I'm confused. So, I think some parents um are a little resistant to having their
student classified um and having a a special education uh label on their student. So, preferring a 504 to not enter into into that >> into the special education
>> into the special education realm. And so are you saying that because of that stigma we're re receiving less state aid theoretically? >> I'm saying we're receiving less state
aid because our special education rate falls below the state average. >> And stigma I guess is part of that reason. So, I'm just saying we need we need to do a better job educating parents, >> not just because of the financial
implications. >> Yes. No, I agree with that. >> Okay. >> Oh, microphone. >> We have new microphones tonight. >> Thank you. But um do you see this as a multi-year structural like game it to the next two three years? Do you think
we're going to be because a lot of this stuff we can't control right now especially with the state and we don't know but legislation takes time. You see it one year three years I mean I I know you don't have to be definitive but >> well I like I said at the end
>> of the presentation I think this is a multi-year we have to come up with a multi-year plan. >> Thank you. Now, now it's dead and already um we need to come up with a multi-year plan because the if the tax levy is capped at
2%, it's not possible to keep up with the expenses that we have that are far beyond 2%. This >> is great. >> This is good. Yeah, I'm LeBron James. >> Maybe put me mics on the docket for next year, too.
Okay. Um, any any other questions? If my light is blinking orange and green. >> Yeah, that's what mine was doing. >> Is that bad? >> Okay. Well, I'll just talk louder. >> I just I just want to thank again Dr. Luza because um the story of the budget
is not just about Princeton. It's a larger question and we are con we have constraints that are from the state level and I think it's helpful to have the wider view and so we have the context and I know it's very dry and very kind of difficult to for all of us to always think about but I'm glad I
appreciate you're laying it out very clearly and um all the work that you're doing. So thank you. >> I actually didn't think it was as boring as it was going to be and I appreciate >> how Yeah, I think Kim agrees and uh I appreciate how you laid it out. Did
anyone have any other questions? Anyone? No. No. No more questions. Okay. Uh I think now, hold on. I think we're going to go to the public. Let's go to the public and see. Sorry. I was going to go to the public first to see if they had any comments on the
budget. Then I was going to come back. Is there anyone from the public that would like to comment? Come on up. Just just come on up. Yeah, you have to go to the microphone. Just state your name and the street you live on, not the number. All right.
Um Nicole Pzled Hancock Jefferson Road. Um you mentioned Dr. Luza that you were going to post your presentation online. I just want to say it it was an excellent presentation and I know far more about the budget now and budget
making than I ever did before, but um it would be great for other people in the district to be able to see it um even if they can't watch the video tonight from tonight. >> Okay, we'll do. >> Thank you, Nicole. Just the presentation. >> Thank you. Anyone? Okay. Um
I just want to say I don't like these wireless headphone whatever this is. And if we could go back to the wired because it's blinking there's anyway I'm just commenting. Moving on now to the to the student board members report and we have
Annie here. Annie does Ash have spring fever? She didn't can join us tonight. >> Yeah, she's not feeling well today. >> Oh, okay. Literally, she has spring fever. Yeah, I think >> Okay, can we have a vote on who wants to keep these microphones?
>> We can go back to the old ones. >> Okay. >> Okay. Okay. Okay. Just to start with the AI usage kind of idea that we've been going off of. We've been finishing up the form that we are um going to send out to the
teachers. Um that just a couple questions that we have included in the form um include the subject department and grade levels that they teach. Um what use what do they use AI for? And um what is their specific policy for their
students? Obvious um each class and subject matter. Um, what do your students use AI for? What steps do you take to make sure the AI policy is clear in the classroom for the student to understand? Um, and what resources or support would help you
better manage student AI um, usage in your classroom. Um, yeah. So, we've just kind of been finishing that up. And then an arts and culture update. This past weekend, Legally Blonde, the musical was performed and it was a a great hit. Um,
I personally enjoyed it very much. Um, I even got my mom who does not like musicals to enjoy it. So, no, but you're saying you enjoyed it. Um, then spring sports started last Monday, so that's kind of kicking off
and winter sports are ending. I know winter track goes a little over the spring uh into spring sports, but um and then in their preliminary competition, Studio Band got second place in their in division two. They received the best rhythm section award and they had three
soloist awards, one outstanding soloist and two honorable mentions. And they also won the best site reading award within the competition and then also across the whole state. Um, and then today we just started the NJGPA testing as well.
>> No, I have two classes today and then two classes tomorrow and four on Thursday. 12:30. >> Um, we have a student council meeting tomorrow. So, we should probably we're going to probably talk to them about that and then should go out as soon as
possible. next meeting most likely. Yes. >> AI is changing so rapidly >> to find out really what's going on, what's available, what they're using to try to stay on top of things. >> Yes. Yeah. I think that's a good method to just kind of make sure everyone's on
the same page on AI usage, especially since it's changing so much, and just get a better understanding in the school environment. >> These are very confusing because it was orange. I thought orange meant on. No, green means on. and orange and green
means no good. >> And it's St. Patrick's Day, but I want to assure everyone that we did not drink before the meeting. It's just seems like we have been. Um, so moving on now uh to item seven, harassment, intimidation, and bullying. Um, and then
we're going on to the board. That was eight. Board reports. Mr. Harris is doing Roman numerals. I like it. keep keeping keeping keeping us sharp. So, the first one is long-term planning and from the shuffling. I'm guessing Susan Oh, Beth Beth Beth has it. Go
ahead, Beth. >> Okay. We met on March 10th. We discussed the progress on the bidding for the referendum projects and solar installation that we will be talking about tonight. Um, we are working with Jenny Ledmer of Sustainable Princeton to develop a fiveyear s Well, we are not. I think the administration is working with
her to develop a fiveyear sustainability plan now that our initial one is pretty much complete with the solar pulling out to bid on solar projects we've thought about for the last five years. So, we're pleased that we've gotten through those and we would like to think about what's next. Prioritizing projects that can help reduce energy needs or save money,
for example, LED lighting. um and the importance of keeping sustainability and energy efficiency goals in mind as we undertake the renovation and new construction. Um we spoke about the post-budget work that will be done gathering enrollment data on new developments on the new developments in
town and monitoring growth. Uh and our next meeting is April 21st at 1 p.m. >> Thank you, Beth. Um moving on to operations with Susan Caner. >> DNA will be very happy. This will be the shortest operations report ever. Um, so
we met both on March 12th and March 16th. Uh, much of our meeting was discussing the budget and you guys heard a lot of what we had been discussing. Um, just I wanted to highlight that there's three grants we're accepting today. Uh, one another additional grant
from the Riverside PTO who's uh um adding $6,100 to grants they've already given us for the internal courtyard and two grants for PHS football. Um, as long as I have the microphone, I would like to ask if we can remove from the consent
agenda item 10E2, which is the awarding of the middle school um referendum contract as there has been a bid protest and um we can discuss it at future times. For today, I'd like to ask that it be removed.
>> So bid protest, what does that mean? That means the second lowest bidder filed with the courts a motion to have the lowest bidder thrown out. Um so the judge has issued a stay preventing us from accepting any awards until that gets decided and the court date is April 6th.
>> Okay, great. So we're not allowed to take action. >> Correct. >> Okay. So yes, we'll make that change. >> Thank you. >> Is that it? >> Uh yes, that is it. >> Yes. I think we had a long >> Mr. McDonald. I just want to show you how it can be done. Yeah, I I deferred my I I gave my time
to to Dr. Lassusa. >> All right, moving on now to personnel. I'm guessing Mara. Yes. Um sorry overarching goal is always maintain. So each year are held throughout the year. This is
the third year and final personnel evaluations are made in preparation for the May 14 discussions on maximizing and Always ensure that our district >> 28.
Oh, the board meeting is 28. >> I'm so confused. Anyway, I apologize. Uh, next up is policy with Bet. >> Um, we met, policy met on uh March 3rd and March 13th. who were busy this month. Um we had a robust discussion on
screen time, device usage and access to external sites, content monitoring options and the bell-to bell phone ban. Um we kind of talked about the idea that the cell phone legislation that's come down from the state is an opportunity for us to reset in policy and practice
and update uh the community education about better supporting student learning and mental health and thinking about the interface with technology. Um and we uh would like to be implementing a comprehensive approach. So we're going to be doing a lot of talking about that
in the months ahead. Um the March 13th meeting we met with the foreign language and fine arts supervisors to and the PHS principal to gain a better understanding of um the current uh international trip practices as we look to update our field trip policies and procedures as a
follow-on from the recent audit uh findings. Our next meeting is May 5th unless we have we decide we need to have a meeting in April. >> Thank you. Um last but not least, Alanor with student achievement. >> Uh student achievement met yesterday um
at 1:00 to discuss the budget and also a field trip that is on the agenda um for tonight. U but our main meeting of this month uh will take place after this meeting on March 26 at 1:00 on Zoom. All right. Thank you, Eleanor. Um, and
equity did not meet. No. Do we know when the next meeting is? Did not set that. Okay. Um, moving on to the action items, but I think they're not action items. They're just items, right?
Yeah. Yeah. Got it. Yep. So, we have policies for first and second reading. Um, and then we have personnel. Um, number one is retirements. We have quite a few teachers uh retiring. I know Mara has something that she would like to say. >> Um yes,
very um those three teachers combined years of wisdom and they've made an indelible difference in the lives of their students, families and colleagues. And being able to teach a small job, it requires a lot of interest, and energy.
And you three have all been the best of the best, handling everything you much more with great. You've not only been a teacher, you've been a mentor, cheerleader, storyteller, sometimes even glass back to make noises. But most
importantly, you've been someone who believed that every single student belonged in the classroom. Along with teaching, activating the writing, talk to confident, curious, and kind of created classrooms where kids felt safe to ask questions, make space, and try again. Your kids will never forget how
you make them feel encouraged, supported, and capable of doing great things. And now after years of early mornings, busy school days, and countless young touch, it's finally time for welld. Thank you for your 39 years, your master enthusiasm and your fun points
competition which life meant. Um, you were a phenomenal teacher for Bella and many others and you will be missed. Jerry, thank you for your 28th years. You were always upbeat and always looked out for the child. You connected so well with each and every child in your class. But I was especially
appreciative that you were a total boy mom who understood that sometimes you just needed to open the door and let them run. Thank you for shephering all three of my kids. Sorry through that incredibly transformative year that second grade is. And Melanie, thank you for your 26 years. Your background and
home shine through in the classroom making it feel like a home away from home special. We hope this next chapter is filled with relaxation, laughter, and adventures. Thank you for your patience, passion, and lasting impact you made on the school community
and your impossible on every student. Congratulations. >> Thank you. Anyone else? All right, we're moving on now to um resignations. Uh three appointments for transfer reassignment, five um personnel items.
Um let me see here. We have a salary adjustments, b um vacation buyback, c tuition reimbursement, d retirement payout, and lots of in the weeds data that's up on
the screen behind me. Um where am I right now? Oh, then we have nine uh which is uh student services uh 10 athletics 11 six per purity compensation 12 grievance resolution
uh then we would go to curriculum and instruction um one is student uh day field trips um two is student overnight trips then we're going to uh student services um contract approval
um Contract approval, special education agreement, special education agreement, and moving on now to E1, adoption of the tenative budget. Yep. Okay. Did we do we have to vote on the budget separately or no? Oh, got it.
Okay. Yeah, I I know you know, but I just wanted to clarify that um E3 award of Hold on a second. I'm going to do at the end. Okay. Award of contract.
E4, construction payment. Um, E5 is an action item. Can I get a motion? Ari second, Beth. >> Adam Beerman. >> Yes. >> Franchesci. >> Yes. >> Ellen Hubard.
Ariel, >> yes. >> Christopher Santarpio, >> yes. >> Erica Snder, >> yes. >> Susan Caner, >> yes. >> D McKendle, >> abstain. >> Motion carries. >> Thank you, Mr. Harris. >> Okay, moving on. We have um
we have seven. Six. Six. Thank you. Six fire and evacuation drills. Seven is funds transfer. Number eight is joint transportation agreement. Nine is joint transportation agreement. 10 is registration travel agenda.
11 is the district calendar that Dr. Lusa mentioned. >> Are we good? >> Yeah. >> Do we need to make any changes? No. Okay. >> Yeah, let's make a change. Um just following up on my section of the agenda
>> which is um the final bullet show >> uh sorry second to last bullet 2627 calendar modification >> yes >> didn't make it into the >> E under business we should just note that 2627 the staff will start one day earlier than it is listed.
>> So you're saying you under 11 25 26 >> there should be another bullet for 2627. Okay. >> And it doesn't affect any students. It's just that the staff only days will be moved up one day. >> So, can you can you just So, what day is staff going to start? >> Instead of going Wednesday through
Friday before students start, they're going to go Tuesday through Thursday. >> Okay. T surveyed their staff and they preferred that. >> That's great. I appreciate that. Thank you. So, um, that's just a housekeeping and it does not affect students or families, but the staff is starting on August 25th,
>> which is something. All right. Well, thank you. Thank you, P, too. Do we need a motion? >> Um, it's Do we need to reapprove next year's calendar? >> Yes, probably do it next meeting then. So, we have the calendar on the agenda.
>> Okay. >> Okay, we'll do that. But just so everyone knows, teachers have to report August 25th. All right, if this gets approved and then we have 12, which is grant donation um the board uh accepts a grants and donations.
Uh Riverside PTO for Courtyard Project in the amount of 6100. Um Chris Slay Slagger um for PHS football in the amount of 3,000. Nick Dorenzo um for PHS football in the amount of 2,000. Um we're very very grateful um
for the generosity of all three donors. Moving on now to our second public comment. Go ahead. >> Come on up, Nicole. >> I was going to save this for a different night, but since it was on the agenda,
um, I'll say it now. Um, do I have to say my name and stuff again? Um Nicole Pezled and you live what street? >> Jefferson Jefferson Road. Yes. Uh thanks. Um I'd like to recognize Senora Sheila Aguilar for her immense
contributions to Community Park School over the past 27 years. Senora Aguilar grew up in the Witherspoon Jackson neighborhood and gave back to our community for decades as a kindergarten teacher there. Um she taught both of my children and was a bright part of their
day, always warm, kind, welcoming. her classroom was a happy place that you wanted to go to even if you didn't speak the language which was Spanish for my kids um because Senora Agular was also a pioneer teacher within the DLI program as one of the first to take on that
challenge of being a Spanish partner teacher um and she did it wonderfully uh I still remember the songs and tostadas from my daughter's kindergarten celebration um anyway each cohort was different um some more challenging than others uh
regardless of the class size, but she always handled it with grace and um she's a wonderful artist. Her storybook mural in the kindergarten wing will live on for future CP students. And so it's with deep gratitude that I wish Senora
Aguilar farewell and best of luck in her retirement. Thanks. >> Thank you. Anyone else? All right. Um, moving on now to the consent vote. Can I get a motion for the consent vote?
Chris second. Ari, I know. I thought I was going to do that and then I was going to remove it. I have my phone literally. Thank you. Does anyone have anything to say? >> No.
Yes, you do. No, you do. Someone has something to say. Can I please remember >> after the consent vote? >> No. Now before the consent agenda vote. >> Um a motion to remove 10 E2 from the consent from the consent agenda. I would
like to make a motion to do that and to have a vote on it at the next available uh meeting that we have >> due to the bid protest. >> Due to the bid protest. >> And you second it. And do we need a vote or no? >> We can vote on it. Yeah. All right. Um, all in favor of removing item 10, action
item 10E2 from the consent agenda due to a bid protest. Any anyone not in favor? Action item 10E2 is now removed from the consent agenda. >> All right. Now,
I'm just following the directions. Consent vote occurs. >> Correct. Yes. Yes. >> No, I made a motion. I started so I introduced the consent agenda then we removed something and now we're going to vote. Was that not correct?
>> We we did. >> You know there are >> Beth Baron. >> Yes. >> Adam Beerman. >> Mara Francheski. >> Yes. >> Elanor Hubard. >> Yes. >> Katherine Lara.
>> Yes. Ariel, >> yes. >> Christopher Sanarpio, >> yes. >> Erica Snder, >> yes. >> Susan Caner, >> yes. >> Daviken, >> yes. >> Motion carries, >> yes. Thank you. Um, so our next meeting is April 28th. Um, we want to wish
everyone um a happy and restful spring break and another twist for the board tonight. Can I get a motion to go into close session? Mara, second, Susan. All in favor? Anyone opposed? Too bad. All right. Um
and now Oh, we're going to adjourn from close session. So, we're all set. >> Um are we taking any action at the end of post? >> It's just a discussion. >> Okay. We don't know. But >> if we take action, we'll let you know. We don't anticipate any action. >> Thank you.
>> All right. So, we're good. >> All right. Good night, everyone. Thank you.