those movements. Okay. Good evening everyone. Welcome to our meeting tonight. I am going to call it to order. This meeting is being held in compliance with the Open Public Meeting Act and is open to the media and public effective March 1st, 2026. All legal
notices and board meeting dates shall only be posted on the district website in conformity with state code. Formal action may be taken. Can we get a roll call? >> Mrs. Cassidy >> here. >> Ms. Fury >> here. >> Mr. Lopes >> here. >> Mrs. Menser >> here.
>> Mr. Pieros. Mrs. Rad >> here. >> Mrs. Ryan >> here. >> M. Vinto >> here. >> Mr. Rizen >> here. Please stand for the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands.
One nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. Uh, good evening everyone. When we spoke last at the March 10th board of education meeting, I gave an update in regard to the budget timeline for the 26
27th school year. uh due to the new administration and governor's office uh they extended the deadline for state aid numbers to be released which pushed our budget timeline back a little bit uh to today. So today this evening um Jason
and I are going to present to everyone the uh preparation of the tenative budget for the 26 27th school year. What tonight's budget presentation and agenda items allow the board to do and then Jason to subsequently do is approve a tentative budget that is submitted to
the county office for review and from there our final budget will be approved in April. Uh so tonight's budget presentation is as final as it gets until the April 28th board meeting where we'll approve a final budget. Uh so the goals that we think of uh when
we enter budget season, believe it or not, that starts in a uh October of um earlier this school year is our goal is to work with the administration and present a budget that aims for the 2%
state imposed tax levy cap, but also considers that we have some flexibility with eligible adjustments and we certainly don't want to ever negatively impact the academic experience of our students. So, we look to be reasonable and responsible in preparation of our budget. We know that that 2% number is
in the minds of the public and the board and the administration, but we also want to make sure that we're not beholden to that number, but rather we also think about the academic program for our students. For this year, we're going to prepare for uh enrollment potential enrollment
increases on the three bridges side of town with those new housing developments. We certainly want to balance class sizes with scheduling efficiencies. We want to continue to enrich students academic experiences through reasonable class sizes, opportunities for encore
classes or electives at the middle school and a complement of not only fully academic um programs, but also co-curricular opportunities. And we're in the midst of working toward a new strategic plan. We're looking toward budget goals revolving around
some of the uh strategic work that's going to come out of the strategic planning core team that will be meeting next month and all of the data we collected. Uh so let's start with some data about the district. Our enrollment forecast for 2627
uh we're looking at an anticipated total enrollment of kindergarten through grade 8 of 1,380 students. We also anticipate a total prek enrollment of 240 students with a total enrollment of 1,620
with right now nine out of district students and assuming 156 kindergarten students in district. And that's based off of the current students that we have right now in our preschool program. Um, and it's been great to forecast kindergarten enrollment based off of our current preschool program, plus all of
the students that we have registered through our pre-registration process that occurred back in February. Um, and you can see that this number is higher, yes, because of the increased enrollment from uh, preK, but the numbers for K through8 enrollment is relatively
consistent. So, we've kind of balanced out our our K through8 enrollment. Here's our enrollment projection. So, this is just a little bit of history back from 1617 all the way to 2627. It's about a 10-year look back. So, we can see that there's been a little bit of a
dip, quite a bit of a dip I should say, in enrollment for the first five years from 1617 to about 2021. And now we've leveled off and stabilized and we starting to see a little bit of an enrollment increase. Um, and I'll even remind the board that we talked in July
and then we talked again in January about enrollment um, and some of our projections uh, in terms of the fact that we've started to see a little bit of a steady enrollment line but a little bit of an increase year-over-year. Um, and these are early projections. It is only March. Students will move in
between now and September. Uh, so we'll come back to you in in August or September with where we start the school year in terms of enrollment. Uh here's our pre-K enrollment. This is fantastic news for the district. From the 22 23 school year when we had 25 students in
the district to now over 225 students in the district. So we are servicing almost every 3 and four year old in Readington Township in our prek program. Uh here's a look at our elementary class sizes. So, based off of enrollment um
and based off of rolling our classes currently forward into next year, this doesn't assume any new new moveins necessarily. We're looking at very reasonable class sizes for our K through five, anywhere from 16 18 to 20 students, uh which are are really
reasonable numbers. Our maximum um at uh K3 is 21 students per our regulation and then grades four, five is 22 students. Uh so that's where we really want to we want to target somewhere a little less than 21 or 22 students and we we've achieved that here.
Uh so a couple of highlights um the budget includes um some major categories personnel preschool curriculum and pupil services and capital projects. So Jason
and I are going to go through uh each one of these um categories or buckets of what's included in the budget. Some of which I'll remind the board we heard back in February when each department was here and presented their budgets and some budget initiatives for next year as
well. So personnel personnel is staffing. This is our staff and benefits. Uh we're looking at additional IEP based bus aid. So, these are uh adults that ride the school bus with students uh based off of needs that are
identified in a child's individualized education plan. Uh our plan is to bring back an out of district bus route or or more if we can to do that in-house rather than contracting out and hiring our own staff to be able to do that. We're looking at reconfiguring several
staff positions through attrition. Um, I'll highlight the personnel section of the agenda tonight to the board. We've received several retirements at 10 um at last count that are on the board agenda. Um, while we will miss these folks um
because they've decided to retire, what the agreement that we've created between our employees and the board has allowed us this early notification to know who's retiring. Uh the administrative team is meeting later this week to over to look at all of our staffing for next year and
we'll look at hiring for and bringing back staff based off of student need and program need and we're going to talk about that later this week. Um we're looking at adjusting some elementary teaching staff positions based off of programming. We're going to look to see where enrollment is and class size
numbers are and we're going to look to see to make sure that we maintain these class sizes. But we're going to look at some of that attrition with our elementary level to see if we need to fill all of those elementary positions. We have increased uh in our budget,
we've increased the wages for our police officers through shared services. Our police officers have is a contracted service with the local police. Um it's a great approximate 50/50 split between uh the board paying half for these four officers and the township of Reington
paying half. That's a great shared service agreement. our police officers. My best recollection is we did some salary wage increases about two years ago and we think that it's time for another one. Um continuation of salary
increases in the RTEA and RTAA contract. We uh have two contracts uh that are work that are that are continuing into next year. No negotiations are underway and we know the salary increases projected for both our teachers and our administrators as well as our
non-aligned staff in the RTEA agreement. As we're working through the five-year contract with the teachers, we're mindful and making sure that in our budget every year we reflect stipens and other obligations such as professional development, um $1,000 stipen for pair
of professionals working in high need classrooms, uh curriculum writing and before and after school activities. This is a dollar amount that's outlined in the RTA contract that gradually is increased over the lifetime of the contract. We're going to continue tuition reimbursement for professional
development for both our teachers as well as our power professionals per the RTEA contract. We're going to continue our retention and recruitment stip stipens uh for some hard to need hard to fill positions and high need positions. And we're going to sustain the employee
assistance and wellness programs for our staff. uh preschool uh we have a total of 17 classrooms we're going to operate for preschool next year. The all of the funding through preschool and you'll see the numbers later in the presentation is
completely comes to us from the state. Uh so this is not local tax levy dependent. We are going to continue our preschool program for all eligible three and four year olds residing in Readington. Uh we have not yet gone to a wait list. I think that we have a
handful of spots open for preschool for next year. So, we still we are still taking enrollment. We are adding one full-time teacher as well as one full-time parah to bring our classes up to 17. We're going to continue our supervisory position for preschool as
well as our coach and our intervention specialist with some shared responsibilities there. Um as well uh we offer no cost busing for all preschool students and we have uh preschool aids adults on every preschool route. Um and
we're looking forward to um a continued year in preschool with here we have 255 students is our maximum uh that we can enroll next year for preschool and curriculum and pupil services. Uh we're going to continue self-contained
special education programs inclusives of preschool disabilities uh in district next year. These programs include our learning and language disabilities program also known as our LLD program, our autism programs, as we mentioned, our preschool disabilities program, and
our life skills program at the middle school. We'll continue um offering our extended year school program um which is our summer school program for students who are eligible universal design for learning with a partnership
through the department of education and cast and this will be year one implementation among the leadership team um RMS as well as three bridges um ables and central reach uh is a program it's a assessment and tracking
program that tracks and language skills for students on the autism spectrum and it's a very specific program and we're going to begin new training all of our autism staff next year uh in that program. On the general ed side we're we are planning on revising curriculum as
well as purchasing textbooks for various content areas. Right now we're in the process of reviewing our curriculum, working with departments and department meetings and identifying all of the revisions that need to happen over the summer. We'll continue our mental health services, a continuation of one
behavioral health counselor for the district and then three behaviorists and our employee assistance program employees. I think we are almost done with um SEI training throughout the district uh for all of our teachers, but we're going to
look into a final cohort of teachers that may require the training. We're going to continue our breakfast and lunch program for students. Uh this is critically important for our lowincome students. uh they take advantage of both our free andor reduced um breakfast and lunch. And of course, after the
strategic plan um is developed, we will look to plan um our implementation for next year for any goals that come out of our strategic plan. And I'll turn it over to Jason to talk about capital projects. Thank you, Dr.
Um so in November the residents in town passed a referendum which lowered overall taxes. Um the residents will see that tax decrease when our debt expires at the end of next school year uh reflective in the 2728 um budget cycle.
Um so our debt is being replaced with lower debt um that will reduce overall taxes. Now what did we get for that? We the the town got 83 separate projects uh of which we're going to be completing a lot of them this summer. Uh we are going
to be installing two brand new playgrounds, one at White House School and one at three rigid school um that are also going to be um for uh students with disabilities. So that way they're easily accessible for all um community
members. Available for obviously nights and weekends as well because White House School in particular is a walking um school. We're also going to be redoing the track. Um so that was board approved several months ago here. Um that work is scheduled to begin um in June. So that
project should be done by the end of July or early August. Um and we have a lot of other projects that are going to be completed publicly. late skills rooms, uh, security upgrades, windows, doors, fire alarms, um, so on and so forth. The projects that we're not doing
this summer are being delayed mainly because one, we had to bid them out, which takes time, but two, a lot of the projects can qualify for something called direct install um, initiative through the uh, Department of um, public
utilities. um that could allow us to save an additional 40 to 80% off the cost of those projects. So you think about like boilers, HVAC, electrical upgrades, those all qualify uh through utilities to be subsidized further. So
in addition to getting 40% state funding for the vast majority of our projects, something like 90% of our projects. In addition, the district's going to be going for an additional savings through the Board of Public Utilities on select projects that will lower energy usage.
So, utility costs are skyrocketing in New Jersey. Um, everyone is feeling them. Our goal is to lower our usage by upgrading our equipment, which should help our bottom line, saving the taxpayers money long term because we using less energy, um, and therefore
being able to keep the tax levy lower. Um some other things that we've done proactively at the board level is uh we've applied for a preschool uh grant to cover 40% for bathrooms um at three bridges schools. So that will allow us to not have to do an alternative use
having um younger and at need students have to leave the classroom to go down the hallway or across the hallway to use the bathroom. It's much safer for supervision if the bathrooms are inside the classroom. So that's what this grant covers. 40% paid for by the state. Uh we
also every summer we do um air quality improvements in our classrooms. So we're going to be doing some carpet removal. Um we have hea air filter in our classrooms and other things that we do to make sure um our staff um are at their best um each and every day. Uh
we're planning for uh new classroom and sportsa spaces at Three Ridges School using this year's surplus. Um, so those actually projects came in pretty low. Um, so those should actually be done by the end of June. Uh, new dishwasher, some other backend supports. Um, Dr.
Hart talked about preschool. Our goal with preschool is to make sure that each and every room is pretty much identical no matter where your child is placed. So if they're placed at a private provider or in house, they have the same resources, the same supplies, the same
level of um certification, the same level of training. We have our training on site so that way you're getting the same consistent experience. We also deliver food to those off-site locations through our Masios provider each and every day through our um bus drivers. Uh
gratefully do that. So that way the students are even eating the same exact food and they can order online. Um and then the board recently passed a solar initiative which will give us a fixed utility rate for the next 15 years. So as the utility rate goes up u 85% or
more of our electric will be solar generated at a flat rate. Our existing solar um is going to also expire in five and a half years. Um, at that time you will be paying nothing for that solar generation other than maintenance, which
is really covered for 10 more years after that because we have a 25-y year warranty. So, what makes up the budget? Um, well, salaries. It's salaries and benefits. You know, we're a people business. Um, the teachers are the lifeblood of why
we're all here to make sure they educate the students. Um, and every year the budget gets tighter and tighter because of employee benefits. So the blue area just keeps growing and we just keep shrinking the colored areas that you see
above every single year. And um the goal is to be mindful of the taxpayers um to try to res areas particularly the red um to the max degree possible without impacting student programming. Um but a lot of these things are fixed like we can't do
anything about utilities. We really can't do anything about our night custodium refues um out of district tuition. So a lot of the other pieces besides the red are almost fixed in nature. So I is challenging budget every year and the the finance committee
really dives into the budget line by line to see what they can do to um help maintain cognizant of the taxpayers while also keeping the programming at its highest. This chart just summarizes the pressures
that we have. Um the tax levy um for over a decade has been very low. We were 0% or negative 15 plus years ago. Um and we started raising it recently because there's not a lot we can do as health
and all these other items have been uh raising dramatically. Um health is our second highest cost. Pensions is our fourth highest cost. Salaries is our highest cost. Um liability insurance is top 10. Those pressures have caused us
to have to raise the tax levy um just to keep up. And um our goal is to keep it as low as possible um to benefit the local taxpayers. So what else have we have done? We've been very proactive through the green committee with um utility costs. So this
shows our utilities before major programming started. We were over a million dollars every single year paid for electric and gas and now we are trending up because you'll see the rates are going up. So our actual usage is
flat and because of the increases at the electric um we have been going up and our goal is to either flatline that or start shrinking that again. Um there's really not too much more we can do from a control perspective, but we're hoping
through LED light upgrades, HVAC upgrades, having a fixed solar rate and the drop off from solar five and a half years that that should flatline and then start to come down. Um and that allows us to put the money directly towards the students, which is why we're all here.
So what does that mean for next year? Um this is our state aid. our state aid went up um about $180 something thousand. Um so when the finance committee met, we decided to give the vast majority of that back to
the taxpayers and tax relief. So that's we we lowered our overall tax rate because of that. And we got a a a significant sum in preschool. So preschool is the right column. Um we used to get zero dollars. That's straight from the state. um that allows uh three and four year olds to not have
to pay for daycare and that they can come now to our private providers and receive instruction directly from a certified professional with a power professional um and start their learning two years earlier than in you know they normally would have in kindergarten. So
that is fully paid for by the state and next year we're going to get 4.6 million from the state for that. Um and right now every single person in town can get into our program. We have no weight list. So what does this mean from um tax levy?
This is our debt service. So everyone knows from the referendum um that the tax levy is expiring for debt and um as you can see we're getting close to the end. This is our last debt payment and then next year we should have a large decrease because of the new debt we
issued is much lower than our existing. So taxpayers will feel another decrease next year as well. The other reds you see here is when we refinanced when interest rates go down. The board has been very proactive with refinancing our debt to lower what we're paying from
interest perspective which is directly given back to the taxpayers. Overall um we've been our best to keep taxes as low as possible this coming year. We're recommending a 3.6% overall
increase. This actually is our second largest increase in 18 plus years. Um but with all the pressures um that have been coming and exist and everyone else is feeling at a personal level um we did
our best to try to achieve a very low tax rate increase um to keep the good student programming going. Um and that's what we're reflecting tonight for your vote. What does that mean for an average assess home? uh that equates to $161
over the year. Um so if you live in a house valued assessed at $450, $161. Um what that means if you want to do the math yourself, if you know what your house is assessed at$100,000, you know, you can divide and you get
your actual increase right there. And um some tax rate information for reference. Any questions? >> I just have a comment. I just want to thank you all for all the time you put into this and the finance committee for reviewing it all and um it's fantastic
considering you read the news all these districts that are really struggling. I think it's commendable that you can balance this and you know through attrition and and whatnot and not layoffs. I think that's fantastic. So, I just want to thank you for that.
>> That was our when we talked in finance and personnel, that was always our goal to make sure that we avoided impacting our employees futures. I think we've done that successfully. Any other questions? Well, this was fun.
Uh, we've come up with a great budget. Um, if there are any other questions, uh, Jason and I are happy to answer them. The next step is for the board to vote this evening and we will submit this budget to the county office and then we'll have a final budget review April 28th and that's our last step.
Thank you all. Thank you Dr. Yep. Okay. The next item on the agenda is our first public forum session. Um it's for items on the agenda. It's items that will be action any action item agenda.
If you would like to speak on any item related to agenda, please come up. State your name, what town you're from. Um, you'll have three minutes to make your statement. >> Hi, Tom Curtis Station. So, I just had two questions. Uh, the first one is
regarding the healthc care. Do the teachers and other uh school employees have a choice with regard to health care the different plans that they can choose from which might help you know costwise.
And then secondly was um good question I'm drawing a blank on myself. Oh it was related to the uh prek program. So right now the state is paying for that. If
that aid was to stop completely and you wanted to maintain the program as is, what would the cost be to do that? So that's it. Thanks. Thank you. Anyone else?
And we if any questions that get addressed, we would answer them at the end of the public session. >> Jason Valuka Readington. Uh question I have is I was looking at the actuals for this year uh line item 45399 which is the general administrative which also
includes legal expenses and we seem to be 23 of the year 2/3 into the year and we're down to about 5.5% remaining and I'm wondering is that calculated for in you know the
future budget given that we are you know now in a situation where legal expens Thank you. >> Okay. Anyone else? >> Can I sign this? >> Yes. >> Catherine Duca Readington, District 6. Um, two quick comments. I first was
really impressed to see um the foresight and initiative in kind of curbing electrical costs. That's really great to see, especially seeing something that eventually will be paid off like is covered in our maintenance. So, I just want to congratulate anybody who is involved with that. I think that's
really nice to see. Um, the second uh question I had was related to the refuge service. Um, I'm just interested in learning more about that. if there's specific companies you're contracting with and if there's any opportunities for some of the maybe grant money that
was talked about previously or even collaboration with the town at large. Um just to see if any of those would be options. Thank you. >> Thank you. >> No. Okay. I'll close it out. Um we did have a couple questions that were very specific for this evening. I don't know
if Dr. hard. Do you want to address a couple of them? >> Yeah, that's okay. Um, you want to go back and forth because I think I'm going to need your help on some of them. Um, Mr. Curtis, for healthcare. So, since 2020, we've been operating
under chapter 44, which is state law when it comes to health care. And what it does, any new employees to the district, this is new employees only, um, have the option of choosing between um, the state health benefit plan or the Garden State Plan. Correct, Jason. So, there's
two plans that they that employees can choose from. We're in a um school health insurance fund that also allows our employees to choose between two carriers, a mera health or Etna. Um our previous employees, anybody who's
hired before 2020 are grandfathered into legacy plans, plans that are like direct 10, direct 15, PPOs, those sorts of things. So when it comes to if there is any cost control mechanism, the cost control mechanism
really is chapter 44 because the state plan and guard state plan are theoretically supposed to cost less. Um the legacy plans are um uh that employees can choose are we apply a cost
to our employees based off of a set of um salary as well or a graduated um salary percentage as well. What we what we can't necessarily do despite new employees going into chapter 44, either
the Garden State Plan or the state health benefits plan, we can't necessarily mandate employees take a high deductible plan as opposed to a PO plan or anything like that. It's really employee choice when it comes to healthcare costs. Um Jason, how did I do?
>> Fantastic. >> Okay, it's the right answer. I I know there's no not back and forth, but some of those plans do allow for a more catastrophic, maybe more contributo for someone who's
uh relatively healthy and just needs that catastrophic coverage. >> I understand what you mean. I I gotcha. Um preschool. So, as you saw from the presentation, we're getting about $4 million from the state for uh preschool
funding. Uh I I don't have a crystal ball and I can't predict the future. My hope is that preschool is funded for forever, right, for the the the future of the children in Readington, which would be great. If we were to lose that preschool funding, I think the choice that would be in front of the board and
the community is what can we absorb, you know, under a tax levy? And I think the question would be, is there another referendum that we want to put out to the community to bring $4 million worth of programming inhouse? It it could involve not only it would involve I
should say not only personnel but it would also involve some kind of physical plant change because we we don't have um 17 or 15 additional classrooms in district. So um right now we are grateful for the funding that comes from
the state. Um, should we ever be in a position where we want to fund preschool in-house, I think that that would have to be a question that goes out to the community in terms of an extra question for the budget that would come in March or April. >> Thanks. >> Um,
Mr. Duca's question about legal expenses. Uh generally in the past what we've done when it comes to calculating our legal expenses for the year we do use a baseline from the year before and we also take into consideration any potential or ongoing litigation as well
as contract negotiations. Uh if we're engaging in contract negotiations with either uh the teachers union or the administrators, we know that those those years tend to cost a little bit more. Um, but it is just baseline data and then reviewing that data and looking at any kind of potential issue that may be
on the horizon. Um, and Jason, I'll turn it over to you as far as refues and our program there. And anything else you have to add to any question? >> Um, no, I'll just say for legal, we also have insurance legal which caps are at a
deductible of $10,000. So, um, if we are in a case that's prolonged and it costs $100,000, the district taxpayers are only on um for $10,000. So, that um allows us um to protect more of the
taxpayers long term. Um for refu, we actually tried partnering with the township a few years ago before the township itself pushed uh refu to the individuals um community members in town. So you all are actually now paying for your own um
garbage collection, but we have looked in the green committee extensively at a variety of options. We're always looking at more options. Um and that bid actually comes up every um every one to three years and I believe we're up for
it next year. So the committees will actually be look the board committees will be looking at that and deciding what to do in the future. So appreciate your comment. I'll just make mention if there's something that we did not answer in terms of a question, feel free to email us or the board and certain be glad to
get back to anybody who might have a more specific question as well. >> All right. Thank you. Our next item is correspondence. Uh we received seven emails. Um they have been recorded with the board secretary on file. Now we're
going to move into our board action items. So our first one is the approval administrative reports. We have one item 101 and I have a second I mean a motion and then a second on 101. >> I'll move
second. Justina >> second. >> Okay. Any comments? Okay. >> M Cassidy. >> Yes. >> Ms. Fury. >> Yes. >> Mr. Lopes. >> Yes. >> Mentor. >> Yes. >> Mr. Pieros. >> Yes. Mrs. Rad,
>> yes. >> Mrs. Ryan, >> yes. >> Mrs. Pinto, >> yes. >> Mr. Riza, >> yes. Passes. >> Okay. Our next item is approval of minutes. We have two items, 2012. Can I get a motion in a second? >> I'll move. Alan.
>> Second. Okay. Any discussion? >> Mrs. Cassidy? >> Yes. >> Mrs. Fury? >> Yes. >> Mr. Vopes? >> Yes. >> Mrs. Mrs. Menser, >> yes. >> Mr. Pierro, >> yes. >> Mrs. Rat, >> yes. >> Mrs. Ryan, >> yes. >> Mrs. Deinto, >> yes. >> Mr. Riza, >> yes.
>> Okay. Our next item is finance and facilities. We do not have a committee report this month, but as we just went through the budget presentation. We do have quite a few items on the agenda, 18 in fact, 301 through 318.
Can I get a motion and then a second on the 18 items? >> Motion. >> A second. Second. Okay. Any discussion? Okay. >> Mrs. Cassidy. >> Yes. >> M. Fury. >> Yes. >> Mr. Lopes. >> Yes. >> Mrs. Ner. >> Yes.
>> Mr. Pro. >> Yes. >> Mrs. Rad. >> Yes. >> Mrs. Ryan. >> Yes. >> Mrs. Depinto. >> Yes. >> M. Rizzo. >> Yes. Our next item is our education technology section. Once again, we do not have a committee report at this time, but we do
have three items, 401 through 403. Can I get a motion and then a second? >> A motion. >> Second. >> Okay. Any discussion? Thank you. >> Miss Cassidy, >> yes.
>> Mrs. Fury, >> yes. >> Mr. Lopes, >> yes. >> Mrs. Menser, >> yes. >> Mr. Pierre, >> yes. >> Mrs. Rad, >> yes. >> Mrs. Ryan, >> yes. >> Mrs. Pinto, >> yes. >> Mr. Rizzo, >> yes. >> All right. Next item is personnel. We will have a committee report for
personnel. But first, we have six items to move 501 through 506. Can I get a motion and then a second? I'll move Alan >> second. Okay, just
>> the committee met on March 16th. Um the first thing we discussed was staffing updates for the 2627 school year. We then discussed enrollment for the upcoming school year. Class sizes will remain fairly consistent. We also discussed nonalign nonaligned staff. The
board meeting on April 28th will list the staff renewals for next year. We did a followup on the climate survey. Dr. Hart provided additional feedback from the climate survey. Principles also followed up within their respective buildings. The committee discussed a personnel matter. And our agenda items
are retirements, resignations, and other typical agenda items. The April 28th meeting will include all renewals for next year. And we set our next meeting for April 27th at 8:30 a.m. >> Thank you. Any discussion?
>> Just had a question. Just remind me for the retirements. It's such a big list. Um we will have the one of the board meetings, the retirement. Is that in the May meeting? Is that right? >> Yeah. We're planning um our retirement celebration for our retirees as well as our governor's educators of the year to
be our May board of education meeting. Uh similar formats we had uh last year. We'll we can start about 45 minutes early and that'll be cake and refreshments in the cafeteria. We'll open our meeting here in the boardroom and then we'll go down to the uh
cafeteria for uh presentation of awards and gifts and thank yous to all of our governor's educators in the years and our retirees. >> Any other discussion? >> Okay, this is Cassidy. Yes, >> Mrs. Fury.
>> Yes, >> Mr. Lopes. >> Yes, >> Mrs. Mener. >> Yes, >> Mr. Pieros. >> Yes, >> Mrs. Rad. >> Yes, >> Mrs. Ryan. >> Yes, >> Mrs. Pinto. >> Yes, >> Mr. Rizzo. >> Yes, passes. >> Our next agenda item is our communication policy section. We will
have a committee report on that tonight. But we have three items to move 601 through 603. Can I get a motion in a second? I'll move second. >> The committee met on March 16th. The
first item we discussed was communications we received um on behalf of the green committee regarding volunteer opportunities. Dr. Hart offered to include the green committee volunteer opportunities in his newsletter and our social media account. Um Pam had received some volunteers from
the announcement at the public meeting and she will let Dr. her heart know more are needed and details regarding the timing and Beth advised that the biodiversity audit may be conducted during classroom time or after school at Holland Brook School and will provide an update as she receives more information.
The second um item we discussed was the review of the 3000 series of our policies and regulations policy 3124 employment contract. No changes were made as non-tenured employees are in the RTEA and RTAA and have this in their contracts. The
attorney agreed that we do not need it in this policy. Policy 3125.01, employment of non-represented employees. No recommendation to adopt after research. Policy 3130, assignment and transferred. Attorney agreed. No changes
needed. Policy 3143, dismissal. Um, Dr. Hart added the following statement. However, the board reserves the right to terminate a non-tenure deployment without notice when sufficient cause warrants. The attorney agreed with this additional language. Policy 3150 discipline no changes made at 31 um as
3144 discuss tenure charges. The evaluation system also authorizes administration to determine inefficiency and incapability of performance. Policy 3151 assessment of pay. The following language was added. Regular and prompt teaching staff attendance is critical
for the academic success of students as well as teaching staff members may request or the superintendent may enforce wage deduction in cases where the teaching staff member has exhausted all compensated absences but has good reason for the absence. And also the superintendent is authorized to direct
properly caution teaching staff members who are repeatedly tardy not to report at all on those days when they cannot report on time and to suffer such wage penalties as may be appropriate. For policy 3223, evaluation of administrators excluding principles, vice principles, and assistant
principles, the missing definitions of administrators were added based on the stress estimate model policy. And for policy and regulation 3232, tutoring service, it is recommended that we adopt this policy. Some minor changes were made to the regulation. Questions were
asked regarding tutoring trends in our district and Dr. Park will follow up. Policy 2535, library materials. At the request of a committee member, this policy was added to the agenda to address recent feedback from staff and the public. In light of the formal complaint filed against the board, the committee maintained a focused
discussion on the received comments. Dr. Hart outlined the procedural framework and next steps addressing how this complaint will be handled. Um, our fourth item was policy tracking document to finish our 3000 series review. This was tabled until next meeting due to time constraints. The agenda items are
revisions to the 3000 series, 3143, 3151, 3223, and 3232. Our next meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, April 29th at 3:30 p.m. >> Okay, thank you very much, Ellen. Any comments or discussion?
>> Okay, >> Miss Cassidy, >> yes. >> Miss Fury, >> yes. >> Mr. Mr. Lopes. >> Yes. >> Mrs. Menser. >> Yes. >> Mrs. Pieros. >> Yes. Mrs. Rad. >> Yes. >> Mrs. Ryan. >> Yes. >> Mrs. Depinto. >> Yes. >> Mr. Riza. >> Yes. >> Passes.
>> Okay. Thank you. Our next item on the agenda is unfinished business. Anyone like to raise any unfinished business? Okay. Next item is new business from the board. Um, anyone want to raise any items?
Okay. All right. Now, we're going to move to our second um public session form. This could be for any items on or off the agenda. Similar to last time, you'll have three minutes to speak. If you would like to, please come up to the podium, state your name and town that
you're from, write it down on the piece of paper, and make your comments. And my name is Kathy Charak. I live in Readington for 18 years. As a reminder, I come from Holland where communists love to dumb down their citizens through cit through censorship.
So, I'm here again regarding 2535. In the last two meetings, I asked them questions and I finally found answers to do we have a censorship office here like the communist did in my country? Yes. Do we screen educator like the communist
did in my country? Yes. Here we question our librarian's credentials for a job she is clearly qualified for. Whose ideology are we embracing here? MAGA. And finally, where are we heading?
Reductions, softening of facts, spreading misinformation perhaps. Since you think you that the committee members are more qualified than their librarian to vet books, I took a look at your your credentials online and it
seems I have more education than every one of you. Perhaps I'm more qualified than you do. You are in this job and maybe I should run for one of your positions. But let's dismantle some of the misinformation that is floating around online
regarding policy 2535. All library books, number one, all library books are vetted using software tools such as Markin to ensure they are appropriate for each grade level. Number two, at the start of each school year,
families are emailed a list of language art books selected for each year's curriculum. Number three, when students take out books from uh classroom libraries, these selections are recorded in reading logs so that the parents stay
informed. Number four, in addition, librarians help guide students choices by limiting access to more advanced materials which are shared with younger students only with parent permission.
And number five, and as the book Me and Earl and the Dying Girls and seems to be a hot topic on our websites, 11 year olds are not allowed to check out this book from our library. That is fake news.
The librarian will not allow it. As for the one quote in the reference to a joke a character makes about oral sex, that hardly makes the book pornographic. That book does not have any sex scenes,
nudity per se. It does however have profanity, but that is common in young adult literature. We live in times where our kids are much more mature, evolved, and perceptive than any of us were when we were their
age. The kids already have access to the greatest library in the world, the cell phone. You are seriously underestimating your kid's abilities to process complex material. The idea that profanity, not
pornography, is going to irrefably damage your kids is something that you have made up in your heads. The age of beaver cleaver is over. And I suggest that our board members evolve with the times. Thank you.
>> Okay. Anyone else like to come on? >> Hello. Hi everybody. My name is Marena Orlando and I live at 116 Grey Hook Road. Um, I've come tonight because I'd like to read some excerpts from uh a letter that was actually delivered, I
believe, to the board from the um New Jersey Association of School Librarians. So, let me do this for you now. Uh, dear members of the Readington School Board, the New Jersey Association of School Librarians is very concerned about the
policy changes that Readington adopted in February for the policy regulation 2535. The association believes that the changes are in violation of the newly enacted Freedom to Read Act.
We ask that the Readington board resend the amendments to the policy and revert to the language recommended by Strauss Esme, a law firm that Readington engages to ensure that the district's policies
are in compliance with the state laws. The Freedom to Read Act was written to protect the intellectual freedom of students. And in addition, the law recognizes the professionalism,
honor, and work ethics of school library staff. And it also promotes library libraries as trusted sources of information. The plain language of the law makes it
makes its intent clear. We encourage everyone to read it. In contrast, Readington's adopted policy changes deliberately policy changes
deliberative deliberatively misconstr. These changes allow the board's use of preurchase review committees to identify books that may contain inappropriate material. Additionally, language such as sensitive
materials is intentionally vague, causing a chilling effect among well-meaning staff members. Based on staff comments at the March 10th board meeting, staff some staff are
afraid to recommend books in their school and classroom libraries because of the definition of the term sensitive. So in short, staff may find find it more
prudent to recommend notebooks rather than risk offending the board. Note, the existing law does not allow one parent or one group of parents to determine what all children can read.
Safeguards are already built into the policy for that. We we request that the board remove the language about sensitive materials and preurchase review committees from the
policy and regulation 2035 and revert to the recommended policy language provided by stress estate. Sincerely, Gabrielle Casieri, President New Jersey Association of School
Librarians. Thank you. THANK YOU. OKAY. ANYONE ELSE LIKE TO COME UP AND SPEAK? >> HI, my name is Amy Hos. I am a resident of Stanton and a proud graduate of Readington School as well as my child.
Um, New Jersey's Freedom to Read Act is clear and complete. There was no need for you to add elusive language to Readington Township SP policy, specifically the words sensitive materials. These wiggle words allow you
to override the professional judgment of the individuals you have hired to do their jobs here as educators. In addition, you have hired highly qualified and educated librarians who know how to make the correct decisions regarding age appropriate reading
material. When I was here at Readington, I was bullied unmercifully in sixth grade. And I can tell you that the library was my refuge and the librarian was my friend, helping me to find the way out of that morass and the courage
to stand up for myself. I would hate to think that she would be hampered by trying to figure out what sensitive materials are. Those very elusive, wiggle, weak words. I would urge you to
repeal your overreaching policy 2535. Thank you. >> Okay. Would anyone else like to make comments? >> Yeah. Tom Cruz, White House. So, uh, I guess the problem with the
policy maybe is that should have been more specific and maybe it should have said something to the effect of profane language or graphic uh, description of sex or rape. Uh, because it's my understanding
there's another book in the library which is called The Perks of Being a Wallflower. I've read both books. I've read Me and Earl and the Dying Girl and I also read The Perks of Being a Wallflower. Now, if
there's anyone who can tell me, and you should read the book and then be able to tell me that somehow that has redeeming educational value for 11, 12, 13, and possibly 14 year olds. I don't think
anyone is saying to anyone with this policy what a parent can choose their kids to read. All we're saying is that there should be some type of standard for library books that apparently if it is true that that other book is in the
library that needs to be met because the supposed professional skills of the librarian has failed us. if that book truly is in a middle school library. So again, I'm sure that many people are speaking from the heart here. But I I
just don't see the overwhelming need to have books which basically uh I don't see the value in those books. I just don't see it. And parents are certainly welcome. I mean, I read both of those books on the internet library,
fully available to any parent who wants to go on there and get it for their child. They can buy the book. They can go to the public library. Why it has to be in the middle school library? I just I don't understand that. People have said there's some agenda. Well, putting
a book like that in the middle school library to me is an agenda. So again, maybe that maybe that policy needs to be amended and be more specific in what it's trying to accomplish. And I think it's trying to accomplish some standard.
Education is all about standards. We all rave when the educational system is beating standards or meeting standards. Why wouldn't we have a standard for the material in the library? And and when you find such such an objectional book,
and I'm not even talking about me and her own and the dying girl. I mean, yes, there's some language in there, but this other book is patently offensive the material in there. And I don't see how a a you know, a middle school student
aspires to anything in in reading that material. So again, I I thank the board for their efforts, but maybe that needs to be refined. Is that how it works? >> Yes.
>> I have my phone just for a visual. >> Um, Catherine Duca Readington, District 6. Um, I wanted to come up and um, speak to regulation 2535. Again, unfortunately, um, I was thinking
and censorship is a really old issue, right? It's gone through a lot of names, whether you want to put it in the context of antivice or obscene materials or uh even I'm probably going to mispronounce this because I was a
library kid who saw words in front of me more than I heard them um period interest. Um, but one of the reasons that has always stuck with me is that throughout time these arguments have
always brought into question like what vulnerable or innocent people would think of them, right? So ostensibly it was always to protect innocence exposure to things that people shouldn't be exposed to, namely children. Um, and I
think that in that sort of framework, it's very reasonable to make the argument that you are protecting children. Um, that's the argument that has quite frequently been made. Um, but that is not what this is about. And I'm going to just pull from the Freedom to
Read Act. I don't like reading. I prefer talking. Just to define censorship in accordance to what the act says. verbatim. Censorship means to block, suppress, or remove library material based on disagreement with a viewpoint, idea, or concept, or solely because an
individual finds certain content offensive, but does not include limiting or restricting access to any library material deemed developmentally inappropriate for certain students. Now, we've already heard some examples of
things that can be found personally offensive to certain people. There's also a saying that no two people ever read the same book. It's all dependent on your experience. So, what one person might not pull anything from might be a lifeline for somebody else. and
educators, librarians have the tools and the resource mi materials to curate their collections to make sure that it is not pornography that's being directed to kids. Now, I said pornography because that word has also been floating around
a lot and it's really dismaying to hear that nobody is coming to correct this popular misconception. Nobody is pedalling pornography to children. Nobody's goal is to do that. Um, and hearing about the safeguards that are already in place, I'm wondering why
those things aren't being highlighted more because I think that there are really excellent efforts to loop parents in um to give parents the opportunity to to talk with their kids. The the district itself has policies about
pregnant students, about suicide. So those things are already happening like you know, you don't have them just for nothing. Oh, my camera was on point tonight. Um, so with that being said, um, I'm at my three minutes, but I just
wanted to speak out and explain why this is so unsettling and so disturbing to so many people. Thank you. >> Good evening. Lauren Mahoney, a teacher in Readington for over 20 years. Um
I just want to add some historical context to this discussion that is continuing. Um because there is a conflation in public discourse that the opposition or unease with the new
language for 2535 is in particular support of books that continue to be brought up as offensive by some people. And those are very distinct things. The books that keep being brought up are already in the library and the rest of
uh regulation 2535 goes through a specific policy for challenging a book. And you can look up that policy and you can look to see the exact steps that you can take to challenge one of the books that are in the library if you have a vested
interest. if you have a child in the school, if you are an educator in the school, um, and other things that are outlined in that policy. So, the new language is really redundant and unnecessary because it makes that
language vague and it seeks to come in and to head it off at the pass when our librarians already have the tools and are using the tools to find developmentally appropriate reading materials. developmentally appropriate
is decided between physicians, psychologists, child educational spec uh specialists to cover a band of ages. Not every 11-year-old is going to be ready for the same thing. 11 to 14 are in the middle school. That is a developmentally appropriate age. We go through puberty.
These things happen. These are things that you are going to experience in life. and literature in that band is going to address those things that are lived experiences for students. It's not going to be for everyone.
In the history of this policy and of the book challenge procedure, one book in the last 15 years has been formally challenged and that was Me Earl and the Dying Girl. On March 14th, 2023, a motion was made in front of the board to take that books off the shelves and it
didn't pass. No additional provisions were made to limit that book, to have signouts, or to further encumber students from taking it other than that it is a youth uh a young adult novel, which are clearly labeled
in the Readington Middle School library and are only available to 8th grade students unless parents specifically write in that their younger children should be able to have access to them with their permission. Part of the regulation language for the
book proposal is also that you may challenge the book again after a year. If you do not like this book and you have a vested interest, you may go ahead and go through that process again which includes reading the entire book. You
have to read the book and not just take uh formal passages out which have been circulating online as screenshots that are incendiary to the public who have not read the book. People do see value in it. The librarians associations have
seen value in it. The book has received awards. It has been made into movies. The movies received awards. Just because you don't see value in it does not mean there is no inherent value. it has value to the people that it's meant to reach. Other issues that have already been
addressed are that parents every year get a list of their book club books that they can opt out of. And at any point in the year, you can write in and say any book that you don't want your child to read in the school, in the classroom library, or in the library itself. That
goes into the librarian and every time your child picks out a book, it comes up as a note on the screen. parental requests for and whatever it is, those things are already in place. These are things that are happening every single day in our schools to protect our
children from things that they may not be ready for. What we can do as parents and as teachers and as a staff is communicate with each other productively. Talk to your children so they come to you with
things that they may not be comfortable with and open a dialogue. And if you need to have a formal request, there is a process in place. This is why the staff feels uneasy. All of this is already in place and is not
being highlighted. Thank you. I'm over MY ANYONE else in the audience? >> Thank you. We do have some comments online. Um, from Joyc 3430, I wanted to share some thoughts. As a parent who's
had children in our school district since 2013, I am writing to express my support for the recently implemented policy 2535 that establishes a formal process for books available in school libraries and classrooms. I want to emphasize that my perspective isn't about questioning the judgment of our
teachers or librarians. Um, if our own children were to use sexually explicit language in the school setting, whether they said it, wrote it, or looked it up online, there would be clear and immediate consequences, right? Inconsistent. Oh, so it feels a little inconsistent
when we consider similar content being readily available through school resources. Um, and then we have one from Julie Los Sarinina 6939. If the current tools allow books like me, Earl, and the dying girl to be
available in the library, then I'd say the tool is broken. I am in favor of the protection being in case for in case for our children. Um, and then she continued, we entrust the schools with our children. Making overly sexual and profane content readily available breaks
that trust. There is no educational goal that outweighs exposing them to adult content. Um, and then from a Dale Wang, Dale H. Wang 2257, books are not infectious simply by being in the same room with a
student. The controls are already there. If you have a child in the school, you can use them rather than blocking books on Vibes. I think that's all of them. Oh, nope. There's one more. Sorry. Um, and then from Christine Copeky. My name is Christine Copekki and I am a resident of
Free Bridges. I encourage the board to reconsider their language of sensitive materials in regards to policy 2535. >> Any other comments from people in the audience? >> We do have um two emails to read as well. >> Okay.
>> So, we did receive two emails that were asked to be read alive. So, >> there's two more two more. Um, from at Cole Cost again, as a former student in this district, I believe it is inappropriate for students at that
age to be exposed to this type of content within a school setting. And from again, Christine Copeky, I trust my children's teachers. Um, the first email I'll be reading is from April Ambio.
Distinguished board members, I am writing regarding Readington Board of Education policy and regulation 2535. I am deeply concerned that this policy moves our districts toward what is in effect a book ban at a time when research consistently shows that access to diverse literature, supports student
achievement, critical thinking, and social emotional development. In our township, we employ highly qualified M's level librarians who are carefully selected through interviews with the superintendent and approved by this board. These professionals are trained in collection development, age
appropriate material selection, and student guidance. National education and library organizations consistently affirm that trained school librarians play a critical role in improving literacy outcomes and helping students navigate complex material responsibly.
My own experience reflects this. My son, currently in seventh grade and reading above grade level, became interested in 1984. Although the book is available in the school library and part of the 8th grade curriculum, the librarian thoughtfully consulted with the guidance
counselor who contacted me to discuss whether it was appropriate at this time. Together, we chose Animal Farm instead. My son and I both read and discussed it guided by discussed it guided by the school's recommendation. This example illustrates a system that is already
working effectively, one that combines professional expertise with parental involvement. Research shows that individualized guidance from educators, is far more effective than broad restrictions when it comes to supporting student development. Additional layers of oversight, such as review committees,
risk undermining that expertise without clear evidence of improved outcomes. Policies that restrict access to books, also raise concerns about viewpoint discrimination. Studies in education and child development indicate that exposure to a range of perspective
to a range of perspectives helps students build empathy, critical thinking skills, and the ability to engage in respectful dialogue. Limiting that exposure may hinder students preparedness for college, careers, and civic life in a diverse and rapidly changing world. If the goal is to reduce
children's exposure to inappropriate content, available data suggests that books are not the primary source of concern. Surveys consistently show that vast majority of adolescents encounter explicit or inappropriate material online, often unintentionally through
smartphones and social media. A friend's child was recently exposed to explicit content on a bus via a smartphone. In that situation, the school responded appropriately by notifying parents, allowing families to address the issue directly. This type of response aligns with research showing that parental
involvement and open communication are the most effective ways to mitigate harm from such exposure. Rather than restricting books, evidence supports increasing guided engagement with content. One practical way families and community members can contribute is by supporting reading clubs, student
discussion groups, and school-based forums where literature can be explored in a structured and supervised environment. Research indicates that when students are given opportunities to discuss complex texts, they develop stronger comprehension skills, improved critical thinking, and greater media
literacy. These approaches address concerns about content while preserving access to information. Additionally, broader community involvement through recreation programs, extracurricular activities, and partnerships with local organizations has been shown to reduce risky behaviors and improve student
well-being. These proactive strategies are more effective than limiting access to books, which does not address the primary source of exposure to harmful material. As someone who has worked in multiple schools, some with libraries and some without, I can say firsthand that access to a a well-resourced
library and qualified staff, is strongly associated with higher student engagement and literacy development. Readington has invested in these resources and they are working. There is limited evidence to suggest that book bands or restrictive review policies improve student safety or outcomes.
However, there is substantial evidence that access to diverse reading materials combined with professional guidance and parental involvement benefit students academically and socially. I respectfully urge you to reconsider this policy and instead focus on evidence-based approaches that support
students, empower educators, and engage families. Thank you, April Ambio. um MSED uh LDT-C concerned parent and educator. We have one more email. Um this is from
AI Barrett. Dear board members, please read this statement out loud at the board meeting. I am writing to express my opposition to policy and regulation 2535 which was adopted by this board and includes language allowing the board to censor sensitive materials. By adopting this policy, the board clearly doesn't
trust school librarians to do the job they were trained to do. The best way to support parental choice is to continue the already existing optout program for reading materials. The opt- out program makes parents the final decision makers in materials their children can read, not the school board or the government.
I also strongly encourage the board to reconsider their 2535 policy and reach a consensus on a version of the policy which will satisfy all stakeholders including parents who want to decide for themselves what materials their children have access to rather than a governmental agency. Thank you for your
attention to this matter. Cornelia Barrett, Readington Township. >> Thank you. Okay. So, I'd like to thank everyone who spoke today publicly online, who sent us emails. We received other emails as well in addition to the ones that were read,
some in favor of changes we made and some that were similar to what was recently read. Um, just wanted to call out in our policy, we generally do not address public comments. So, if you hear us not addressing your comments, we've heard you. It's just through our policy, we don't do that. The exception is
similar to what happened in the first session where you ask a specific question like Mr. Curtis asked earlier where we can actually answer that. That's generally how we address public comments. So if you hear us not addressing it, it's just because the way our policy is written. So on that I am
going to make a motion to move to executive session. Um a motion to adopt the following resolution. resolved to adjourn to executive session in accordance with the sunshine law to discuss a legal matter for approximately 30 minutes at which time the board
expects to return to public section where action will not be taken. Matters discussed will be made public if and when circumstances requiring confidentiality no longer exist. However, it is not presently known when such circumstances will exist. I will
move this. Can I get a second? >> Second. Okay. Um, >> Mrs. Cassidy, >> yes. >> Mrs. Fer, >> yes. >> Mr. Lopes, >> yes. >> Mrs. Menser, >> yes. >> Mr. >> Yes. Mrs. Rad. >> Yes. >> Mrs. Ryan, >> yes. Mr. >> Pendo, >> yes. Mr.
>> Yes. Awesome. >> Thank you everyone for coming out tonight and have a good evening.