taken to align the available resources with the educational needs of our students. At the conclusion of this review, the board will consider and approve the proposed budget uh for submission to the county for approval. As we approach this discussion, it is important to acknowledge the broader context in which the budget was
developed. The recent referendum which sought to maintain programs and services over the next two years available resources expect the outcome of the vote and the voice of our community. At the conclusion of this challenge, the board will consider and approve work to balance fiscal realities with our commitment providing a high quality
educational experience for the students. Considering this, the development of this budget has required careful consideration decisions and continued focus on prioritizing the core needs of our district while minimizing the impact across it has across our students at all levels. Our goals remain to preserve the
integrity of our educational programs while operating within the financial constraints before us. We encourage members of the public to remain engaged, to review the information presented this evening, and to participate in the process. Transparency and community input are critical as we move forward. Thank you again for your attendance this
evening. Superintendent report, Dr. Pis, >> thank you. Um, first we have our Robinsville High School Executive Council. I turn over to their president and vice president. The seniors made it safely back from
Disney on Sunday, March 8th, and we could speak on behalf of the class of 2026 that it was truly one of the most memorable senior traditions and it was a great bonding experience for everyone and will be one of the most memorable moments in our high school career. >> Um, the juniors finished their NJ GPA
testing. Uh, the media center will finally reopen once makeups are done and live announcements will be back in the school as well. Students are getting ready for spring break and the upcoming spring pep rally will be next week. The executive council is starting to plan tomorrow and the pep rally will be
filled with fun games, music, and the traditional flock master passdown where the flock masters for the next upcoming year will be announced. This tradition amplifies much school spirit and support from the athletes. >> Spring sports have started and are underway. The Ravens have been doing a
great job with their performances whether it's rain or shine. The RHS drama club will be performing their show, The Adams Family, this weekend. And the students will show off their hard work during second block where students will get to come down from classes and watch a preview of the show.
>> Mr. RHS practices are being held weekly uh Wednesday and Thursday. Seniors prepare for their talents, posters, and fundraisers. During this time, the show will be in April. However, many contestant contestants are holding their fundraisers in March at the restaurant
of their choice. This is now an update from Pawnro Middle School. The New Jersey School Boards Association Steam Tank Challenge is a statewide team-based competition that engages students in identifying real world problems and developing innovative solutions through science, technology, engineering, arts,
and math. Students research an issue, design, and test a prototype to present their ideas to a panel of judges in a Sharks tank style pitch with opportunities to advance to the regional rounds to state finals. This program promotes critical thinking, collaboration, and communication skills
while connecting classroom learning to real world applications and entrepreneurship. This year they had two teams from our enrichment program participate. Hydra Breeze created by Vhan Ganesh, Jackson Ker, Madison Beaver, Kavia
Aua, Brandon Price, addressed the issue of mold growth growth in reusable water bottles by designing a system to dry bottles efficiently with built-in mold detection indicators. Their second team, the ultimate academic duo created by Raina
Kadwani, Gutham, Lanca, Bos, Suda, Palugum, Ronnie Ray, Thomas Price, and Myth Trevented a designed a custom pencil pack made from organic canvas that included a student designed 3D
printed pen and pencil duo. Overall, Steam Tank provides students with an authentic, engaging opportunity to apply their learning in meaningful and innovative ways. Good luck to their teams to make it to the final round. Um, on Monday, March 16th, they welcomed Lieutenant Scott Kvet and several
members of uh the Robinsville Police Department for for an engaging career seminar. Students gained an inside look at the day-to-day responsibilities of police officers and learned how they work together to keep the Robinsville community safe. Officers also emphasized
the importance of building positive relationships with community members and shared information about events they host throughout the year. The presentation concluded with an ex exciting K9 demonstration, giving students a firsthand look at how police dogs are trained and how they support
law enforcement in their important work. The Pondro Middle School Wellness Committee will be sponsoring a wellness week taking place April 13th through a April 17th. Miss Timonss, Miss Butler, and Miss Fabiano are leading the charge for this week. Each day will have a
different focus with the purpose of educating our students about the importance of overall wellness. These themes will include uh nutrition, mental health, and making healthy choices and having fun. The activities will occur daily during advisory periods, but also
be incorporated throughout the school days. We are looking forward to an interactive, informative, and healthy week. This is now a report from Sharon Elementary School. Their PBSIS team has been doing some outstanding work to strengthen their school community and
reinforce positive expectations. After thoughtfully gathering feedback from both students and staff, the team that you that use input to design and deliver engaging grade level assemblies to focus on school expectations. These assemblies were intentionally interactive and studentfriendly, helping to clearly
model behaviors while building a shared understanding of what it means to be safe, respectful, and responsible in our school. The positive response from students and staff have been incredibly encouraging, and we are excited to continue building on this momentum throughout the year. They'd like to thank the following staff members for
implementing these assemblies. Miss Buzzky, Miss Catz, Miss Martin, Miss Tracy, and Miss Carpena. Throughout March, Sharon School is celebrating a love of reading through Boomer's book Blast. Each Monday in March, students participate in a deer uh
stands for drop everything and read uh period during their ELA block. Last week, students participated in character day. Students and staff were encouraged to dress as their favorite book characters. Both students and staff enjoyed the day. Students will also be participating in a March Madness book
challenge. The final matchup will be held next week coming from uh Dr. for Boutier's region is is the day the crayons quit verse the legend of rock paper scissors from Mr. Pass Farah's region. The Sharon School
PTA is hosting their booker book fair. A big thank you to the Sharon PTA for creating such a wonderful experience for our students and families. >> Conferences are taking place this evening, tomorrow afternoon, and tomorrow evening. Sharon School is eager to meet with their families to celebrate
our students success and identify areas for growth. Please contact your child's teacher if you need to schedule an appointment. >> Sharon School is in partnership with Pawnro Middle School and is proud to host a night for their K6 families entitled Supporting Healthy Tech Habits
on April 22nd, 2026 at 6:30 in the RHS auditorium. The night will consist of the viewing of the movie Screen Majors and then discussed facilitated by Mr. George Scott. They kindly ask you that you RSVP to the event and this night is for adults only. Thank you.
>> Thank you. >> All right. Great job. Thank you very much. >> Next, I believe we have uh the PTA here for their presentation. >> Hi, my name is Stephanie Pew and I am the treasurer for the Sharon PTA. So,
for the Sharon PTA update, the Sharon PTA just hosted our book fair for classroom visits last week and family nights are tonight and tomorrow 2 to 7:00 p.m. We also just finished coin wars Mario themed. So, thank you to everyone that supported our PTA at our
book fair and coin wars. The spring spiritware sale is uh was going on through today. Um so, I hope everybody was able to check out some of our new designs. The fourth grade t-shirts are also on sale through March 27th. Our restaurant social this month will be at
Chick-fil-A tomorrow, Wednesday, March 25th, between 5 and 8:00 p.m. 20% of the sales will be donated back to the PTA. The next PTA meeting will be um April 16th. It's at 7:30 p.m. in the Sharon cafeteria.
For Pond, the Pond PTA has been very busy lately. On March 12th, they hosted their first annual Pond Scott Talent talent show. There were 21 acts that were performed and the event was a huge success. This week we will be selling keychains in honor of the International Day of
Happiness on March 20th. Students can purchase keychains for $1 to give to a friend to honor their friendship. The book fair will be held March 23rd through March 27th in the PRMS media center with family nights on today and tomorrow. This week will also be
restaurant week in the Foxmore Shopping Center highlighting a different restaurant each day. Today is Friendly's. Uh tomorrow will be House of Wings. Thursday is Tai Ginger and Friday is Ronnie. A flyer will be sent along in an email so that everybody is able to
support the PTA this week. For the high school PTSA, the National PTA reflections art competition. We have one RHS student Rohan Gandhi who has received an NJPTA award of excellence for photography. His piece will now move on to the national
lever level for further judging. There is also one student from Pond and one student from Sharon advancing as well. Uh they also have a Chick-fil-A restaurant fundraiser coming up at the end of the month. So please join them to support the PTSA. They are in the planning stage for their spring events
which include teacher appreciation week, prom red carpet, and the postp prom overnight. They are always looking for help with these events. So keep an eye out for donation and volunteer requests. Specifically for the red carpet, we usually have three board of ed members volunteer for announcing the prom
couples as they walk the red carpet. So, please decide amongst yourselves who would like to participate this year. The high school PTSA will be in touch. So, thank you. >> All right. Thank you very much. Okay.
I'm going to move forward to to my report. During my formative years, I woke I worked in socioeconomically challenged communities in Brooklyn. I saw what happens when families do everything they can. And it's still not enough. Parents
had no real choice. They sent their children to schools that did not meet their needs because they lacked the resources, the access, and the power to change the system. Moving wasn't an option. Private school wasn't an option.
Too often, opportunity wasn't an option. For 15 years, I fought for those students. The winds were hard and too rare. That experience stayed with me and still drives me. Then I spent 18 years on Long Island in a very different
community. Not perfect, but there we made a commitment to our to our students that we would give our students what they needed to succeed. And when te times got tough, we made another choice. We prioritized our schools because we
understood that the success of the school district is the success of our children. In 2024, Robinsville offered something else. Both a challenge and an opportunity. From more than 80 miles away, I could see the challenges clearly. But what stood out even more
was this. This community has the resources, the knowledge, and the collective power to create change. This is not something every community has. On March 10th, the vote made our path clear. The public question was not
approved. That decision has consequences. We no longer have a mechanism to avoid the reductions that we've discussed all year. By law, we cannot return to the voters for another year. So now those reduct
reductions move from possibility to reality. Some called our warnings scare tactics. They were not. They were honest. They were necessary and they were real. We have delayed some of the most significant cuts particularly to clubs
and athletics for one year. But without a change in direction, those rejuctions are coming. There is no painless option. But even now, our purpose does not change. I'm here because I believe in public education and in our responsibility to create better outcomes
for students. I am not alone. I stand here with an exceptional team of educators and leaders who are committed to your children every single day. As we move forward, we will find ways to do more with less where we can. But we'll also face moments where we are
forced to do less with less. That is the reality. What will not change is our commitment to serve children with focus, with integrity, and with everything we have. This is not the outcome many of us wanted. But this is where we are.
And the path forward is now ours to navigate together because the power to create change still exists in this community. And I remain confident that together we will continue working towards a future our students
deserve. Thank you. >> Thank you, Dr. Po, the assistant superintendent, board secretary report. >> Good evening. Uh, tonight I'll be presenting the budget. This is the tenative budget uh to go to the county after this and then we'll approve the
final budget on April 28th. Uh typically we'll give a history demographics of the town, the growth and what things are changing. Uh a lot of slides and the backgrounds. We're going to skip all of those and go straight into uh what people want to hear, what's going on with the budget and go forward. Uh some of this information is direct and to the
point uh because this slide presentation needs to stand on its own for people to read at home or later at time. So uh please bear with me. Uh I'll try to take some emotion out of this and and proceed forward. Um this is how we've created the budget and some of the topics that we've decided to go through. Um and you
can read these on your own right now as we go through this uh this presentation. So we had to cut 2.4 million out of the budget uh as we had stated before and uh before the public question uh occurred. This is 15 staff reductions and these reductions depicted here are for this
upcoming year of 202627 school year only. Okay. We will be reducing one administrator position from last year's budget. Uh five part-time IAS and nine certificated staff members. Uh we will figure out those names and positions in the next
month and a half and notify them properly. Uh in the meantime, when it goes to the county, the county may come back and say change something. So we have to adjust for those items. And then we also have to take a look at seniority uh and other ramifications of where things go and what their certifications
are. So we may have to shift people around. Um so that does take some time to go through all that analysis. Mental health a little over 400,000 cut. This is for contracted uh third party uh mental tier three supports supporting around 55 students. Every budget
department has a cut. Every department took a took a cut um based on this uh budget. uh it specifically 134,000 in technology reductions uh 100 100,000 for curriculum items that also includes AVID
the AVID program is eliminated at all schools uh buildings and grounds also took an $85,000 reduction we did have to use maintenance reserve for all the build building issues that we're having uh uh to to cover that but out of the
operating budget 85,000 has been cut interventions is limited at the middle school. Class sizes will increase across the district and electives will also be reduced. As we figure those out, we'll pass more information uh in the future. Clubs, all clubs will be cut at Sharon
Elementary School. Uh we're going to try to mitigate this by having red pick up some of that load. Now, bear in mind the red students will have priority and then it will be open up to all the other students. And this is for a paid program pond. Uh seven of the 26 clubs will be eliminated. These the names of those
clubs will be reported over time. Typically over the summer they they choose which clubs to support uh and and change over uh for that. At the high school 15 of the 64 clubs about 23% it's the same thing for them. Clubs will eb and flow and that's the time they pick
it pick those clubs as well as what positions and the people who are there to teach those and run those uh to be their adviserss. Now the high school has a plan to mitigate some of this and that is to uh reduce some of their supply items uh which means more fundraising for the students to cover those items.
So it may not be 15 clubs reduced it may be a little bit less than that. Uh we are looking at a mechanism for parents to fund uh some of these clubs and make some donations. I know people have reached out after the public question to help support uh and do this. Uh we're
also trying to find a 501c3 that can manage corporate donations as well. Uh right now we have one organization uh interested in doing it and they're looking at their bylaws that cover that. So more information to come for that. We had talked about starting our own 501c3
but it's a moot point at this present moment because it takes about a year to do that. So if we can get another organization to step up and cover for us uh that would be amazing. Impact of sports all JV sports at the middle school will be eliminated. That
is that will be left. There's one coach per sport. No sixth graders allowed. It'll be seventh and eighth graders by tryyout only. This will affect about half the athletes there. About 28 athletes will be affected. We're also cutting the contracted substitute trainer as well. Okay. At the high
school uh eliminated golf and swim programs. This is both boys and girls. There will be no title n concern since it's both boys and girls at the same time. Instead of cutting more sports, we al the decision was made to eliminate uh and reduce some of the additional
positions. So JV cheer winter coach will be reduced as well as spring track assistant coach. This will affect 115 athletes about 13% of the of the student athletes at the high school. Once again, we're also looking at the funding opportunities through a an organization
to take those donations and possibly matching funds with 501c3 to run it. courtesy busing more than half a million will be cut. Okay. Um I I went with the transportation director and we decided
that crossing route 130 would be unsafe. So if you have to cross 130 that is not on the table. Uh all else within legal parameters that's two miles for elementary and middle school within that range and two and a half for high school will not receive busing. Okay. That's
over 600 students there. I know if somebody does the math, they'll figure out uh it's a little bit less than $1,000 a student. We are uh going to mitigate this with subscription busing at 1350 a student. Why more? Because
currently the buses are filled and we may not have full buses. Number one. Number two, the routes are currently existing. Some are double tier, some are triple tiered. We have to go out and rebid. when you go to rebid the prices jump up after a year. We'll check
analysis of this and if you want to reduce the price you can and you can and reset the prices for the following year but the first year we don't really know. And so uh we're going to notify the parents uh via parent square um by the end of this week of who will be affected and then we're going to try to launch
this subscription busing in the next two three weeks uh and collect payment for that upfront. Okay. and then we'll go out to bid depending on the number of students who apply and the parents who pay. So, at this point, we're we're done with the cuts. We're going to talk about what
else is in the budget and what's going on. Um, so we have an athletic sales account. Uh, this is enterprise fund that collects money for advertising as well as ticket sales and they have some money in that account. Um, I noticed that the uh athletic director had
$31,000 in equipment to repair and I said, "Take that out of the budget. Let athletic sales pay for it. No impact to the operating budget and that helps save a position or part of a position." Um, so that's that's coming out. Maintenance reserve. In the last few
weeks, we've had a lot of maintenance concerns coming up. These buildings are starting to get old. Um, and so we're pulling 479,000 in maintenance reserve to pay for these projects over the summer. You can read through them, but it's a lot of HVAC equipment. Okay. The
estimated balance is about a million3 for followon maintenance concerns uh in the future or and if anything happens in between the years and we have to pull emergency reserve as well. capital projects uh pulling all capital reserve four million for the uh second
rod grant we have at the high school. Um this is funded uh at 40% from the state. We were approved years ago up to 7 and a half million. So if you do the math of some unassigned reserves and other reserves we're not there completely. Okay, but we have to go out to bid very
quickly and award it over the summer for construction summer of 27. Why? They're big massive uh uh rooftop units, HBAC units that take almost a year to come in. So, you have to go out to bid. Now, we are
expecting money to come back from the first ROD grant, which was Sharon Elementary School. So, that money will come back. We'll try to put it into this one, manage the money, make sure uh we have enough funds to cover it, and then get more re reimbursements. This is a ROD grant. Comes out about once every 10 years. We were very fortunate to get it.
It's 40% returns. There's no other program like that in the state. Even if you went to bond, you'd only get around 32%. This is the biggest bang for the buck that we've been planning and saving for many, many years now. The debt, we speak about the debt falling off uh over time. So, in a
couple years, there's about 4.7 million coming off. Okay, that means you can reissue more debt. We have a lot of construction to do to repair these buildings as well. Uh there's discussion in town that you can take that money and put it back into your operating that needs to be well thought out with the
bond committee how much money you're going to go out to go for. Um this is a lot of money coming off so you can borrow a great deal. Um so I believe you don't need it all but we won't know until that comes out and with the prices going up with construction you may need it, you may not need it all. The key
thing about this is the voters have to vote on this. Okay, they may say no to the bond or you can say I only need X amount for the bond and put the rest in the operating account. You have to vote on that as well. Okay, it does not
happen automatically. There's a lot of misnomers that you can take the money it has to go out for the voters to vote. So that was the key point about this. People ask what's under adequacy. We're under adequacy 6.2 million. It has grown from last year. Uh, I typed in the
numbers and it's showing 6.9 for next year, but as you can guess, the numbers are going to go up again. So, you're probably over 7 million. What does under adequacy mean? Is that this is what the state says you should be spending and believes you should be spending in your whole entire budget to serve the needs across your district. So, uh, we're
under adequacy and we have been for about a decade right there on that spreadsheet. We are also below local fair share. uh local fair share is what the state says or believes you should be spending your local taxes. You're 15 million below
spending in your taxes. Okay. The wealth of your town grew uh with COVID. Okay. Everyone's property value went up, but they also look at the income uh your income tax returns and these things are a couple years behind. Um and that
really truly went up uh postco. Okay. And that's where the equation changed in this district. Okay. state aid calculations, what was cut was about 295,000, 3% of what the state's been given to us. What they should have cut was about 4.5
million. So over the last four years, uh it's about uh $14 million that the state has given you more than they were supposed to. And the last four years of four budgets, we've been we've been very fortunate not to be
cut to what they say it's supposed to be. And they came up with this new guidance. It's not technically a rule. It's not a law. They said no more than 3%. It's the second year in a row. So, um, that was all that we were cut, 295,000.
Preschool education aid up again, massive increase again, up to $17,000 per student. Um so 258 kids are funded. 12 we have to fund because they're inclusion special ed. These students would have been here anyway. Um and from
all that all those funds that we receive uh they're hiring one replacement uh leave leave replacement teacher and we've also shifted some of the burden from the operating budget half an administrator. Um, overall it's about 800 more than $800,000
being shifted to the preschool education aid grant. Okay. If preschool did not exist, you would have to cut $800,000 more, about 10 more teachers, plus your your whole entire preschool staff. I know
there's been discussion from the public. Um, this board, I know, is fully supportive. I just want to strike that home. More than 800,000 currently in the budget. Anything left over, we will also charge appropriately with managerial accounting that the state allows us to.
Last year was a million2. A million two was last year. Okay. Revenues. Uh now we're going to show the pie charts of where your money is going. U 70% comes from the local tax levy. So 2% is over $900,000 and you're going to
see a healthcare adjustment for about 1.7 million. The healthcare adjustment is twice as much. It's almost twice as much. as the local lat levy just for operations. It's a massive increase for healthcare this year.
Expenditures we broke it down as typical twothirds of your money is going to salaries and benefits. Okay, I broke up all the other items as well as much as I could. A lot of these things, this takes time to build this this chart. A lot of things are baked in with each other. Uh
I broke out sports and clubs as well without the salaries. Now most of sports and clubs is salaries. So it's all together in a certain line. Uh miscellaneous 1.9 million. I know people ask what's miscellaneous. There grants. There's purchase services. There's
legal. A lot of it supplies. I know there's been discussion from public. Hey just cut your miscellaneous. Okay. You may not have a seat to sit in or there's no paper. There's no pens. Right. Um so those are the items that we have that in there.
Proper tax. Um the calculation uh so we're almost 5 and a half% of the local tax levy, but when you break everything out, it's about $3.8% increase in property taxes. The average assessed home of $380,800
will be $278 for the whole entire year. So average home increase is $278 for next year. Historical property tax increases. So you can see from this chart um and it's quite some some time here um for
about eight years uh you went 04% average while inflation was four and a half okay so I call that you know this is the slow and steady slide this is also the you know you exchange short-term tax relief for long-term instability because you weren't building your base over that time we've had
larger increases the last few years because we've taken all of bank and the health waiverss uh when you add all those up for the the last 13 years, it's less than 2% increase. If if you have taken every waiver, every if you went to the 2% on your local tax levy, you would
not have needed a public question in the past or nor now, and you would had millions more in your operating budget and about 30 million more in total. Um, you still would have to cut things because the revenues are not matching
expenses, but you would have been in a different position like your neighbors would be. your neighbors take take it all. Um, if you take a look at something, the three years before that, the taxes were much higher. That was pre the 2% rule from Governor Christie and
those were April elections. You may have to look at that again as a board and for a town because if you're stuck on the 2% limit, which really equates to 1.4% of your budget because only 70% comes from your you may have to go do that again.
We have talked about that publicly and so forth. So it could be a discussion. Okay. State of the budget reserves capital's depleted. Uh you're not going to reach the appropriate amounts you need. Okay. You have to do a bond in the future. In the future revenues, once again, state
aid, we're hopeful that you additionally additional cuts will be 3% for following years. Um healthcare adjustments. They're they're already talking about healthcare being as high for the following year. So expect that to continue. It's a tighter budget year after year. We're going to get tighter
and tighter. the way things are. Um, and then we've gone through the rest of it. We're still in a negotiation contract here, so we'll see how that that plays out. Um, and benefits will continue to rise. As we had said before, financial stability roadmap, you know, um, you
know, we we have to go through this. There's your items. We've talked about this enough and look out for things. We are involved with politics. We are involved with the local politicians to help out uh, with the township as well and other and others. Okay, people are many people are involved uh as well as
the community reaching out to us for donations as well. So, we're all looking at these things as we go through it. We're asked by the board um what do we do for the future? What's year two going to be like? Okay. Well, we're not going to go through that, but all I can say is like here's your buckets that you can
pick from. Um you know, how much more mental health can you cut? Um, you're going to have to probably touch special ed, class size increases, academic offerings, interventions as well, which you've cut some already, and sports and clubs. We've cut some already. Now, that mixture will depend on the future.
Administration will cut up some numbers for you. We've got some developments coming in town, so things will change and come through that, right? We we're going from best practice to state minimums, and that's where we're residing at. Um we're also getting information about students going to
other schools and so um private schools, are they going to charter schools, are they going to um vote tech schools and so forth. So as that plays out, we'll have more information and see how that affects our budget as well.
The long-term risks, we see that we talk about that um throughout this whole presentation of what what is going on and the budget timeline. So tonight for approval is a tenative budget. It'll go to the county. We'll have some discussions. You can change some things
if you have to. Typically you don't, but you can have that option. And the April 28th will be the final budget presentation approved by the full by the board. Um I'm showing this slide for people who want to see where more information is. So here's our website. At the bottom is
the hyperlink. Just go to department's business office and you'll see a slew of items over there. Um and budget documents. We have items there from 2015, 2013, audits from 2008, a grants tracker, um, and other other reports as well. All this information is stated,
especially the state aid formulas. That's actually hard to get. And we actually post all of ours. I can't even get them from other school districts myself. Okay? Some for some reason it's classified. Uh, but here we post it all for everyone to see with transparency. And you can look up all this information
of how the numbers are done. That that concludes my presentation. Uh are there any questions? >> I have two questions. Um the first question, so during our committee discussions, uh we reviewed the very
difficult decisions about making eliminations to both RHS and PRMS sports that were recommended for elimination as well as clubs. Uh could you Mr. McCree or Dr. PO just describe the process that
was utilized by the administration regarding the specific recommendations that were made and uh with those difficult decisions. >> I I'll take I can take it. So um it depends on the school. So we we can't we we thought about this back in December.
The whole administrative team got together and and we went around the room. I'll give up 100. I'll give up 200. I'll give up this this amount just to make it work to get through it. Um and we asked you know what is a capability loss and what is a capacity loss. So we went through these definitions and and and had a hard hard
discussion. None of it is easy but it was like okay if we cut too much of this it'll cost more in that. So if we cut too many sports it's going to cost us more in mental health. So what balance do you have now on deciding the sports and the clubs? Um you know the direction I've received from from the middle
school. I mean, they haven't decided the clubs yet, but at the middle school level, like we're cutting sports, so let's try not to cut certain sports minded clubs for the sixth graders. So, the principal will make some decision based on what they believe is best for
their student population. At the high school, as I said, they're going to try to preserve some of those clubs. Now granted at the high school there's clubs falling off every year but we typically fill it back fill it with clubs that have been waiting for years to become a funded club. That's not an
option for this year but they may add one depending how many they cut. Um but if you know um they cut the supply lines maybe they can save some more. Sports sports title N is a big issue uh and a big concern that we have to play around. You know what do you cut? Um, if you
notice these clubs, these sports that are going out are the travel ones. They're not on premise. So, the transportation cost is very high. So, the athletic director looked at what you would normally look at. What's the cost of that sport? How many students are on
there? What is the effect of it? Um, you know, what are the rising costs in the future going to be? And how can you maintain that? So, there was a prioritized list and that's what we decided to go through. So, um it's not easy, but it is what was presented and uh we have for you on the table uh to be
approved later on tonight. >> And my second question, we also discussed uh during committees, you know, some ways that the district would be able to continue to support students receiving both academic and mental health uh supports in spite of us having
to make some reductions in both of those areas to interventionist as well as mental health support. So if either Miss DeFazio or I know Miss Johnson is also here. If one of you can talk a little bit about what are some ways that we are going to continue to support students
both uh for mental health purposes as well as academic interventions. So the conversations are obviously ongoing um with especially using data that we collect throughout the school year for getting a better pulse on our numbers and the supports that are needed. Um we did take major hits at the
high school this past budget season last year um and as well as this year with the interventions at Pondro Middle School. Um, we are still sustaining services as is at Sharon Elementary School as we proposed the cuts that would take place for this year. However, that can potentially be impacted next
year um as we formally discussed um two-year plans um in our recent presentations. Um the things that we are still doing, we did do a major move um across uh Pondro Middle School as well as Sharon Elementary School and really honing in on small group instruction,
professional development so that way we can support students within the classroom. Our teachers have participated in significant models of what that would look like for having tier 2 supports within the classroom. Obviously, the impact on tier 3 um is extensive when it comes to academic
intervention, especially at Pond Road Middle School. Um, so we are looking for creative plans on how we can support those students moving forward. Um, I know there's been ongoing conversations about uh looking at schedules as well as staffing schedules for how that will look. Um, I do not have a proposed
answer at this time as again we gather our data and information at the end of the school year um to make more um informed decisions about that. When it does come to mental health supports, um, Mrs. Lori Ratundo has done a fantastic job of trying to partner with the state
for freed services um that are available. Um the extent of that I don't have numbers for that at this time, but again that's something that as an admin team um we'll be looking forward to uh this summer really diving into and seeing what we can do to support our students.
Um so we typically ask you know 25 to 50 questions per session because we have seen this in committee because we have met over the weekend to ask as many qu questions we could and build this into the presentation for everyone. Um I
don't have 25 questions like I normally do. Um, but I do have one very poignant question specifically because I'm looking out in the audience and I know a majority of the parents and children and I've known them their entire lives. Um,
and I'm wondering what what does a classroom for a child now look like? What does the classroom size look like? How does this impact them for next year? Like what do they see? So it definitely does vary. Um as I said, you know, this is something that we all come together as an admin team
and looking at our numbers as the grade levels transition over time. Um what I will say is moving forward as we look at the numbers and you can see them um proposed within the board agenda of what our grade level bands look like. Um and you can kind of make note of the amount
of teachers that we have in there. So that's a direct connection to what the class size will look like. Um at this time, you know, you could see numbers at Sharon Elementary School getting over that 25 students um in an elementary classroom. Um which is a reality. It's
already a reality currently at Pond Road Middle School. Um so you can imagine what that can look like in a classroom when you add in furniture, backpacks, um all the materials that are needed just to support students on a daily basis. Um, so you know, we're already at that
point of hitting over 25 students. So it varies across the board um of what that can look like. Um, as you continue to cut electives and other opportunities, those class sizes will increase too and those specialized offerings. >> Dr. Pu, I know there are a lot of good
conversations happening with both township council and the legislators. Can you actually just update on how those particular conversations are coming along? Um, yes, I could, um, you know, share that we, uh, I, I know Mayor Todd and I, we, we, we, we, we, we, we, we, we, we, we, we, we, we, we, we, we, we, we, we, we, we, we, we, we, we, we, we, we, we,
we we meet regularly. Uh, I know we've also met with, uh, with with our council president, and we're going to be doing that regularly. Uh, we we have also opened up the conversation to all of our local legislative leaders. Uh there is
uh some legislation that's already been proposed which is not something that's going to have a short-term impact that we were discussed briefly today. Uh but it is uh just would be basically another option for us long term and for other districts. It would be uh it would be
something in regards to refinancing is what the current legislation is. But we did um the mayor and I did did write a joint letter and we did have several points on there uh about different ways that we would be um be able to uh
address issues related to our structural deficit. Uh I I would like to uh thank Mayor Todd, but al also thank all of our local leaders who have um been in communication with us constantly. I think last night I had an update at 9:00
at night in regards to the legislation I'm speaking about today. So, we have an open rapport going. Um um our state state senator uh Linda uh Greenstein is um has been in communication with me, been in communication with uh her office
staff has been in communication with me. Uh I know the same is true uh with her communications with uh Mayor Todd and um so we are uh we are hopeful that this is um that that we'll get some relief
there. We will pursue every option. I will say that uh we are working um I hope this is okay. I see the mayor out there, but I I I think it's fair to say that we work as as a team. We have a great relationship and I know that we're
uh there's um some items in regards to um our crossing guards uh that that the uh the township's picking up. We're also negotiating different areas of other shared services and you know we all have our budgetary challenges but um we are one town. We are one Robinsville and so
I'm very happy with the uh collaborative relationship we have there. Um so we're we're trying to approach everywhere we can. I know it's also been mentioned about so many great members of our community looking to uh to fund the schools in different ways and I I know
that Mr. McCree has included that uh on his presentation and I want to reiterate that that's something that we've had a lot of outreach on. So um this is not something that's going to be a solution that we're going to have one answer and one answer alone. This is going to be
like I said in in my presentation, we need to come together. We need to define a plan and and we're we're going to have to pull from from every area we can to uh to get to a better place. And I believe we will. But it's we have a tough road ahead. And one last question.
I know there is a lot of things out there from a reduction perspective and I'm very sure community um would like to understand some details and I know there were some discussions around some sessions that are being planned. Can you update anything about
those sessions? Yes, I would. Yeah. When we have one one of the things that that I like to do with is is we have public outreach. Public outreach shouldn't just be when we have a public question and and
I and other board members, we've discussed about uh doing uh doing public information sessions in different formats um similar to what we did during the public question to to to make sure that we pull everybody in on the um on
the same page and work together. So, um I I know that that we uh we we kind of went anywhere that would uh let us in and and and had some great conversations. I'd love to continue that. So, we'd like to uh we'd like to get the next uh outreach on a calendar,
but uh beyond saying a formal date, um I'm willing to meet with anyone, anytime, anywhere. And that's true whether there's a public question vote, whether there's uh you know issues with the with the uh with the budget where people need to to uh to to ask questions
or really any question on what we do dayto-day. So so that avenue is all always going to be open, but we do want to have some formal points in time. Also, >> just to add on, Dr. Pizzo, you're kind of t alluding to maybe having something
for the community that can talk about what next steps in this upcoming month, correct? >> I and for for those who who've spoken to me personally and and with the outreach event, you see, there's really there's really no restrictions on what we'll we'll talk about. Uh I do think that we
need to to plan as we go forward as we have so many so many different challenges and um we're going to be working through them. I know like what was mentioned about our clubs and and how do we mitigate that that impact? What can we do in regards to uh to
people who are looking to to outreach and and help. So um pretty much um you know we need to uh I think we defined the problem u and now we need to define a solution together. Uh but like I said I don't want to ever restrict what
everyone asked for. Anyone who's spoken come into my office and and had a conversation with me could tell you that um I'm going to do the best I can to answer every question as honestly as I can and if I don't have a complete answer, you'll uh look at your email because the
next day you're going to have a very complete answer um you know with the ability to follow up and talk it through. So, um, you know, that's what we're trying to, uh, to put out to the public >> that, um, the 4 26,000
in mental health cuts, that takes all the contracted clinicians out, >> three of the four, so there'll be one remaining. Is that like um a fixed cost or or do you negotiate like their um rate?
>> They they tell us what the rate is and we decide if to take them or not. So it's it's an all year all year rate. >> Any other questions? Um, actually I know that we're not really talking about year two and what's to come because it's very up in the air,
but from where you sit today, what is what is it that you see in year two um for budgetary purposes? Well, you know, as we mentioned with this with the six buckets, that's where
the the cuts are going to come from. Uh we do have that structural deficit, so we know how daunting the challenges are. Uh we did try to do everything we could to mitigate in this year one with the hope that there would be uh some kind of
change for year two. So, I think we're we're looking to do everything we can to to mitigate the impact, but the path we're on is um the outlook isn't good. And that's what now there's when I say
the outlook isn't good, I don't I don't mean discourage people. This is the time for us to come together collectively and find solutions. Um this is um school districts go through tough times. This isn't just Robinsville. I think uh I I think
there's a huge amount of districts in New Jersey and elsewhere that that are struggling and we'll find a way to get through. Uh but I don't want to I don't to me I don't think it's it's productive to give any kind of false hope. Um the
future is um could good things happen in the future? Yes. Um could that help change our path? It definitely could. But it's only going to happen with our intervention. it's not going to be bestowed upon us. Uh you know, we need to uh we need to advocate. We need to
come together. Um we need to keep meeting with our local political leaders and and we need to decide what our what our direction is as a community. And that's part of the public outreach because talking about like what our plans are. Well, well, you know, the
public has to say, too. Well, we need to hear what the public's outlook is and um what their priorities are because, you know, we're doing a lot of prioritization here and um there's there's no pain-free options at this point. So, I keep going back to that
slide with those six six different areas. That's where it's coming from. You know, we are a uh we are as a school district, we are uh we are labor intensive. Um, that's what education is. It's putting an
outstanding teacher in front of a classroom. You don't cut this type of money out of school budgets without adversely affecting things that are studentf facing. Uh, so um, so yeah, there are challenges, but
um, we still have, um, we still have a year to, um, to work on that and do everything we can and to come together as a community. And we have some great local leaders. Uh we we have uh our political leaders, I believe, are allied
with us in regards to our cause. And we'll get to about it tomorrow. Any else? Okay. Uh board committee reports, education policy. Dr. Gold. Sure. The March 10th uh 2026 Education Policy
Committee meeting centered on policy review required QAC actions and board processes. The committee reviewed policy 1330 uh.5 trespassing on school property reaffirming the expectations that only authorized individuals are permitted on
school grounds during the school day with clear procedures for enforcement, signage and involvement of law enforcement if necessary. The policy also outlines student dismissal protocols and annual parental notification requirements. A brief
budget update was shared forformational purposes aligned with discussions from the business committee. The committee also reviewed the process for board members to propose future agenda items, reinforcing a more structured and consistent approach to committee
planning. The committee also reviewed the Sharon Elementary School attendance corrective action plan or CAP developed in response to chronic absenteeism exceeding 10% as required under QAC. The
cap will move forward with board approval on March 24th today. The next meeting is scheduled for April 21st, 2026. >> Thank you, Dr. Gold. Any discussion? >> Just for those who may not be aware,
could we define what QAC is? >> I would love to since we just went through this. >> So yes, um we just went through the QAC process. Basically um for the state of New Jersey from the NJ Department of Education um every three years districts are responsible for being reviewed under
set criteria um regarding multiple buckets of how the district functions over time. um submissions of documentation have to be reported over a three-year span. And something that they do look at that encompasses this is the chronic absenteeism rate. As of right now, the state cap is at 14%. So, we're
we're right there. We just hit over it um at Sharon Elementary School. So, we'll be moving forward with this cap to be in compliance with QAC um and getting it board approved and then pushing forward with additional plans um to support this process. Anything else?
Okay. Uh personnel, uh Miss Bandukta is unable to be here tonight, so I will read it in her place. Uh the personnel committee of the province of Board of Educ education met on uh March 17th at 5:00 pm in the CSA office with a virtual option available via Zoom. Uh the
committee was led by chair Nadia Banduta and uh it was attended by board members uh Dr. Pierro and myself. We were also in attendance. Also in attendance were the superintendent, Dr. Piso, uh Lisa Tremor, the HR manager, and our two assistant superintendents, uh, Mr. DeFazio and Mr. McCree. A budget update
was then provided by the assistant superintendent, including information previously discussed at the business committee meeting. Uh, the committee also discussed the opportunity for board members to propose agenda items for future committee meetings. The impact of proposed reductions was shared along with the input from Dr. Piso on administration's rationale for the
approach. all un all uh understanding the significant impact that these cuts uh being implemented and the uh subsided discussion was held on all impacted issues. The meeting began with a review of the March 2026 Google sheet document. This
was led by uh Miss Tremor. Miss Tremor also provided an update on the current principal vacancy. Superintendent Piso uh shared the information regarding policy 1330.5 noting it has a uh trespass related issue for the committee's awareness. Additional communication modalities were
discussed and will be shared with all standing committees. Changes are designed to provide uh redundant information pathways to enhance our exchange of information and produce greater transparency of our process to our community. The March uh personnel report was uh moved forward for action
by our full board on March 24th. No further discussion items were identified. The next personnel committee is scheduled for April 21st. Any questions or comments for personnel? Okay. Uh, business, Dr. Piro.
>> Good evening. The business uh committee met twice this month, March 12th and March 19th. Uh, on March 12th for for budget review and the 19th for uh review key facilities, finance and operational items as we move into the final stages of budget development and summer planning. We begin with a facilities
update. The LED pro lighting project at the high school is moving forward and awaiting a final walkthrough. I share in school. Replacement of a failing hot water heater has been completed at Pawn Road Middle School. We continue to address the gym floor damage caused by the HVAC issue with repairs still
pending through insurance. We also discussed several upcoming and ongoing capital needs. Track repairs at the high school are scheduled for July and will impact athletics and rentals. Additional HVAC work at Sharon remains in scheduling and further planning is underway at middle school HVAC upgrades
tied to the state matching program. We also reviewed anticipated repairs at the high school stadium, including turf and press box window replacement, as well as a replacement snowplow truck for facility operations. On our rental funded initiatives, EV charger installation remains in scheduling, and
we discuss proposed facility use pricing adjustments for the 2627 school year, including updated guidelines for nonprofit usage. Summer planning continues to move forward. The pre-K bathroom project at the middle school has been awarded to the lowest qualified bidder and will proceed this summer. In
addition, approximately 479,000 in maintenance reserve projects are submitted in the budget, including system upgrades at all three schools for such as HVAC control, fire panel replacement, and budget and building management system improvements. On the finance side, the committee reviewed the bills list and approved the tenative
2627 budget presented tonight. We also discussed the launch of subscription busing for the 2627 school year at a rate of 1350 per student. Technology updates including submission of the -ate grant with bid result resulting pen bid results pending. Next business committee
meeting will be held on April 23rd at 5:00 pm. >> Thank you Dr. Bau. Any questions on business? >> Okay. Uh community relations, Mr. Nan. >> Thank you, Mr. President. The Community Relations Committee of the Robbinsville
Board of Education met on March 19, 2026 at 6 p.m. All the committee members were in attendance. During the meeting, Dr. Pizzer shared policy 1330.5 as anformational item from the education policy committee and provided a budget overview. Relaying information from the
business committee uh plans for additional board of education input were also reviewed for prior to the board meeting March 24th, which is today. The committee also reviewed the process for board members to propose items for the future committee meetings, agendas and expedited posting of the agenda drafted by the administration. Uh we also
discussed um proposed board of education letter to local political leaders as well as the community concerns related to failed public questions were also discussed and plans to have um shared with the district. No specific action items were identified. The next meeting
is scheduled for April 23rd, 2026 at 6 p.m. Thank you. >> Thank you, Mr. Any questions, comments for community relations? Not seeing any. Any liaison reports? >> Yes. Yay. So, this past Friday there was
a women's conference. Um, this is the third annual event that NJSBA has held a women's leadership conference. Men are invited, but I would say it was 99.9% women. Um it allowed um
the women from both the school boards across New Jersey as well as administrators to get together and both network um talk about things that are happening on their schoolboard, refine soft skills and kind
of do some shop talk. It was wonderful. Um I'm glad to go and um I am glad to have this opportunity and appreciate um the chance to have have this in the future. I strongly recommend any other woman who serves on the board into the future that they continue to go to this
and we invite them in as well. >> Thank you, man. That sounds great. Any other reports? Okay. Public comment. Uh on agenda items. So, time will be allocated for public comment at this meeting. Members of the
P of the public wishing to address the board of education on agenda items must state their name, municipality, and the group, if any, they represent. A member of the public shall not be permitted to speak until he or she is recognized by the presiding officer. In accordance with district policy 0167, each comment
shall be limited to three minutes. No participant may speak more than once. No dialogue between the speaker and the board and or superintendent shall exceed the threeminut time limit provided herein. Live streaming of the meetings shall be for viewing only. The public will not have the ability to participate in public session comments unless they
are physically present at the meeting. Although the board encourages public comment, the presiding officer can interrupt, warn, and or terminate a participants statement, question or inquiry when it is too lengthy and may also interrupt and warn a participant when the statement, question or inquiry is abusive, obscene, and may be
defamatory. Moreover, the presiding officer can request any person to leave the meeting when the person does not observe reasonable decorum. In adherence to protocol established by the New Jersey School Boards Association, the board will use the public comment period as an opportunity to listen to residents
concerns, but not to debate issues or to enter into question and answer session. Issues raised by members of the public may require review and investigations and may or may not be responded to by the board of superintendent during the meeting. All comments will be considered and a response will be forthcoming if
and when appropriate. Can I have a motion to open public comment for 30 minutes? >> Second. >> All in favor? >> I. >> Any naysay or abstensions? >> Mr. Oberg, um, just because I'm seeing a lot of community members that may or may
not have had the experience of coming to a board meeting and speaking for public comment before. Can you just give a little like synopsis of how it goes? And I think there are a number of students who are going to be speaking tonight. So maybe we can have them go first and um
you can maybe share a little bit of how it goes. >> Yeah. So this the first part is for agenda items. So it's anything that's in um up for resolution this evening. That's in sections H I J uh of the agenda. So um if there's school made it
school matters that need that want to have public uh comment on that's for the second portion. So that'll be after this one. So >> So for instance, if they wanted to talk about some of the things that were discussed in the budget, that would wait until the second comment. >> That's correct. Yeah. The budget items that were discussed in the presation
would be the second comment. So things that you know that on the bills list or anything like that would be in the first portion. So uh but m I believe Mr. McCree, you're you're go ahead. >> For the record, we are the budget is for approval. Any budget item?
>> Oh, they can. Okay. >> They can. Oh, perfect. Okay. So, we can move that up to now. Okay. So, it's now open for 30 minutes. And if if it go we can always extend if as necessary. So, the floor is open.
And maybe we can have the students go first. Hi, my name is Madison Beaver. I am a lifelong resident of Robbinsville and currently a fifth grade student at Ponderron Middle School. I am a proud PBS influencer, student council, rep, and running club member. I have been
training hard and counting down the days until sixth grade so I can try out to represent our school in various sports such as cross country, basketball, and softball. Honestly, these last few weeks have been really hard. What is normally an energetic and fun atmosphere at school has turned into sadness and fear. There hasn't been a day that's gone by
since the vote that our classrooms and hallways haven't been filled with whatifs and why us. We, the students, are scared. We are scared to have overcrowded classrooms. We are scared to lose programs like ADVID, enrichment, and band. We are scared to lose clubs
and traditions like the musical. We are scared to lose the chance to represent our school in sports. But most of all, we are scared to lose even more of our amazing teachers and friends to other towns and other schools because we couldn't figure out how to save the people and programs that make up so much of who we are as a school. I know
budgets are complicated and these cuts are not cuts that the board of education wants to make. Please remember that every single one of these proposed cuts affects real people, students, teachers, and staffs in a significant way. If what we are hearing is true that there will be no longer be clubs to join
in sports to play, this will severely impact our school experience as well as our mental and physical health. I'm here tonight because I am committed to being part of the solution. We need support from our state and our community. We need to figure out how to keep our teachers, our friends, our clubs, and
our sports here in Robinsville. Please continue to involve our community, including the students, as to how we can get through this together. Thank you. Hi, my name is Ava Wickamp and I'm here today to speak on behalf of all students suffering from impending program cuts.
As an AVID student, choir participant, and podor athlete in sixth grade, I can understand the damage being done with this decision. The AVID program might be the most effective organization with the possibility of being removed. I know my life and my classmates lives have all
improved thanks to AVID. I personally have learned necessary academic skills and have gained bonds with my teachers and classmates, all of who are helping me strive for the best. And it hasn't only benefited me. Throughout the nation, AVID impacts over two million new students every year, and all come
out more confident and ready to face the world. Like me, all of those students have gained important knowledge, made lasting memories, and acquired self-esteem and confidence. Although AVID has already assisted me so much, I'm not ready to say goodbye to it, and neither are the 100 students benefiting
from it in this district. As for school sports, whether to keep them is not debatable. First off, there are some undeniable physical benefits if we keep school sports. One being that students will get regular exercise, especially if participating in health at marking
period. That improves our minds and our bodies. I know for me as a soccer player, my skills and exercise habits improve so much by just showing up to practice at school every day and kicking the ball around. But there are other benefits, too, and socially is no
exception. For one, students learn how to collaborate with children they've only ever seen at a desk or in a classroom. This instills teamwork in young athletes inside of school and out. Middle school sports also builds confidence in in students on the field
and in school. For me personally, I gained so much belief in myself and as an athlete and a student. I tried moves I never tried before. I participated more in class. I laughed with teammates that I never had the courage to talk to before. We all grew as human beings just
from the school sports experience. I hope that you can now see that when you remove all these organizations, you're also removing much more. Friendship opportunities, self-confidence, college and career readiness, and much more. The students of today and tomorrow will be
greatly impacted, which is why we should take action to find another way and give our students the opportunities reserve they deserve. I know it's complicated, but I urge you to rethink this and search for a better solution. Do we want a district with limited growth, or do we
want a place that includes and supports all students, letting them thrive? The futures of our students are in your hands. Thank you. Good evening members of the board of education. >> Our names are Ryan Wasserman >> and Avery Werman >> and we are in the sixth grade at Palmer
Middle School. We are here tonight not just for ourselves but for the entire class. Over the past few weeks, a lot of us have been talking about what might happen now that the vote to increase school funding did not pass. To be honest, we're worried. We hear your conversations about possible changes and scary not knowing what our school could
look like during the next year. >> Yes, we care about clubs and sports. Those are the places where many of us find our passions, make friends, and feel like we belong. They are also just as important to our learning because they make they
teach us how to work as a team, how to be leaders and listeners, and how to support each other. But what we are not But what we are most worried about is losing our teachers. Our teachers are the reason we enjoy coming to school. They help us when we're struggling, challenge us to do better, and make
learning something we actually look forward to do. They know us, not just as students, but as people. The idea that some of them might not be here next year is really upsetting. We understand that budgets are complicated and that tough decisions
have to be made. We want you to know that this matters to us. These decisions affect our classrooms, our learning, and our futures. >> We hope that as you move forward, you keep students like us in mind. We want to keep learning from the teachers who inspire us and continue to have the
opportunities that help us grow. >> Thank you for listening to us. Hi, my name is Harper Novik and I'm in fifth grade at PRMS and sports are one of, if not the most important part of my life. I am here today to talk about how
I feel knowing that sports and clubs have the opportunity to be cut next year. I am a proud PBS influencer, member of the student council, and a member of the maker space club. For me, without these clubs would have a huge
impact in my life. In PBSIS with Mr. Radford, we engage in so many fun activities such as making bracelets for Robinsville night out and making fun videos to educate PRMS about PBSIS activities. And best of all, I get to do it with my friend Madison
make in maker space with Miss Dow. We have fun learning how to cooperatively work together and how to persevere when challenges get tough. Alongside that, we learn important math, science, and engineering skills that while still participating in fun and creative
challenges. For me, maker space has been one of the key parts of my learning development in fifth grade. When I found out that sports got cut, I was devastated. Sports are 90% of my free time, which I don't get a lot of. I play soccer, softball, and basketball. Not every student connects to school the
same way, whether it's on a field or a court. When I play sports, I feel at home and I know that not many and I know that this will affect not just me but many students at PRMS. Athletes rely on these programs.
Athletes who rely on these programs are devastated. Knowing that I won't get a chance to play in middle school sports until seventh grade is very disappointing. When we play sports, we make friends and special bonds, learn teamwork and important life lessons.
that these past two weeks have been really upsetting knowing that one single sentence could change my whole world and that only a quarter of the people in Robinsville voted. We can do our part by standing up and getting our voice heard so that so with that said, I encourage I
encourage students of the Robinsville district to get their voice to get their voice heard and voice how they feel about this. I also know that this decision comes with hard discussions and many hard decisions along the way. But just please know that behind all these decisions are many students who deeply
care about these programs. So, thank you for letting me speak tonight. Any additional public comment? Lonnie Jacob Robbinsville. I want to begin by expressing my gratitude to all the student residents who spoke so eloquently tonight about
the funding challenges facing our school district. They expressed their concerns about how these issues will directly impact them even though they were not eligible to vote in the election. You truly represent the best of Robinsville.
I would also like to thank our superintendent, school district administration, building administrators, and board members for their dedication and hard work in sharing information about the public question over the past few months. Through public sessions,
presentations, emails, FAQs, FL flyers, and meetings, you went above and beyond to inform our community about the school budget deficit and the potential consequences if it did not pass. I am disappointed that only 28% of our
town participated in this important vote and I am heartbroken by the outcome and the reality of tonight's presentation which reveals what the cuts will look like in year one. I am also concerned
about the possible cuts in year two. Our students and our staff deserve all the love and gratitude and support right now and they deserve better from our community. I know there are still many parents, myself included, who are willing to help
in any way we can to minimize the year-over-year cuts. I am encouraged to see opportunities to donate or sponsor clubs that may be cut. I look forward to hearing more about that process soon and when we can expect more information to
be shared. I know we can do more. Parents and students have already contacted our state representatives in district 14 through advocacy letters urging support for a budget resolution for this year as
a short-term solution along with SFR reform as a long-term solution to address some of the funding formula criteria that negatively impact us and many other districts in the state. Dr. Pizzo and Mr. McCree have mentioned
that our school district has met with our state representatives as well as our mayor. And I wonder what we can still do as a community at the county and state levels to encourage both short-term and long-term solutions. If something were to be approved between
now and May, could that help mitigate this year's budget cuts? What would the deadline be should the state approve something to preserve some of these cuts? What more can our community do to help?
I still believe that opportunities just don't happen. We need to continue to create them. Thank you. Amanda Gruber, Robinsville resident. Um, I've been getting a lot of questions from people about uh the courting
courtesy busing situation. Um, I don't think many people realize they are getting courtesy busing, especially between Hond Road and um the high school. Uh, there's a lot of comments about whether or not a sidewalk is truly
necessary. Um, based off your presentation, it does not seem like it is. It seems like it's only if they're crossing 130. Um, Some clarification on that would be fantastic. Um, you mentioned electives being cut and I
also feel like it's important for residents and everyone just to know about what electives are. Are you talking about steam? Are you talking about there no longer being library in the elementary school? I know there's no library in the
high in the middle school because there it's run by volunteers. Um, is our bands safe? Are they getting cut in the elementary school level? I know that other districts do cut band first at that level. Um these are things that
unfortunately people think are safe and I know they're not always safe. Um so any clarification on that would be fantastic. I echo what Lonnie said. You all did amazing. You did you put your heart out on the field about everything.
Mr. McCree, you and I have had our differences over the years, many of them publicly. Um, but it's going to be a loss for a district to not have a administrator who is willing to fight as hard as you did this past year. And so,
thank you so much for your help this year. Um, you can write it down that I said something nice. Um, but I I I will I will say that the the transparency of this board has been
truly amazing and um it's going to be a loss um over the next few years. It's hard to hear the kids talk behind me and because we all know the truth. All the things they want us to do, it's already too late.
And I agree with Dr. Piso that we can't sugarcoat it. We can't give false hope. Um I don't want to be the negative Nelly here, but we have to be realistic. Um and this is brutal cuts for our our kids
and our families. But on the positive note again, thank you for all that you've done for as long as you guys have been here. Good evening. My name is Saha and I'm from the Robinsville Public School District. I'm here because I learned that AVID will be cut due to funding. I
understand that school budgets can be difficult, but AVID is not just another class. It is a family. for many students is a program that teaches them how to succeed in school and prepare for their future. Avid teaches real skills
students every AVID teaches real skills students use every day. For example, students learn Cornell note takingaking which help helps them study for exams. They also keep organized binders. They also keep organized binders so
assignments and notes stay in one place. Another important part of AVID is tutorials. Students bring questions from classes like math or science and write them down so they can study for any possible questions on their exams. Instead of just giving answers, they
learn how to think through problems and explain their ideas. Avid also gives student opportunities that can change how they see their future. Many programs include college visits where students get a walk around real campuses and imagine themselves there one day.
Because of this support, many students feel more confident in their career. AVID helps student realize that college and career success are possible for them. If AVID is removed, many students could lose a support system that helps them stay organized, motivated, and
confident. It's not just about improving grades. It's about helping students believe in themselves and plan for their future. Programs like AVID help students who want to work hard and succeed. I respectfully ask the district to reconsider cutting AVID and instead look
for ways to cons continue supporting it. Supporting AVID means supporting students and supporting students strengthens our entire community. Thank you for your time. Good evening everyone. Lee Riley, uh, Robbinsville resident.
Uh, been here for 30 years. I've sent four kids through the district. My youngest, uh, one is graduating eighth grade this year and the other is graduating 10th grade. Uh I was manning the phones for the uh referendum right before the high school was built. That's
how long I've been here. So it's it's been quite a while. I have endless gratitude for the teachers and all the staff members in the district uh that have worked with my kids over the years. This this truly is a special place. Um,
as an educator myself in a surrounding district, I've also had the privilege of uh working with former Robinsville teachers, two of which were teachers of the year in this district. And um sometimes we see due to these budget constraints in our district, the effect
of highly qualified staff leaving and um taking positions in in other districts. So uh I feel that deeply. Uh my first comment tonight, and I share the appreciation for the board um and and for the administration here. My first
comment tonight really is for the community. I just I truly don't know what we're doing. I truly don't. The failure of this referendum, in my opinion, was so shortsighted. The cuts to mental health services um
and and other programmings as a result um are are honestly going to be devastating. Um, as someone who's pretty fiscal conserv fiscally conservative personally, I just can't wrap my mind around um the
difference between a reduction in taxes of $500 or $1,000 a year versus a reduction in property values of maybe 50 or 100 times that much. So, for the community, I really think that we all need to do better and we need to spend the next 11 months um truly trying to
figure out who we are as a community. My second thought is, of course, a little bit more selfish uh as my son, who couldn't be here tonight because he was on the golf course with his teammates, is member of the uh Robinsville High School golf team.
when we talked about the possible cuts, uh, you know, we thought about different scenarios, but we weren't really thinking that some of the cuts would involve particular sports and kind of more of that scalpel approach. Um, so to
hear about the possible elimination of swimming and and golf at the varsity level, at the high school level, especially for some of these kids who might be playing um in college, is is really disconcerting. So after this meeting, if he's not watching us online, which he's probably not, um I'm going to
have to go home and talk with him about that proposal. Um Mr. McCree, I believe ice hockey is a traveling program as well, um in addition to those two other programs. So I would I would just hope that when you
guys are looking at some of these things over the next month um that maybe a possibility is increasing participation fees in all sports across the board. Thank you. >> Hi Robbinsville. I just want to say thank you for all you
have done. You have done fantastic. Your transparency was wonderful. Your availability was great. And Nick, I cannot believe you're leaving. We have been going up and down through a lot of stuff in this Robinsville and I have seen you work and I want to thank you. I
want to thank you from the bottom of my heart for answering all my questions, being patient and being polite to me. I appreciate you and I hope in your future you have a good life ahead of you. I really do appreciate that. And the
second thing that I wanted to ask you guys about, we talked about that only 28 24% of the people who came and voted. It's not that what they voted on, it's the question is why only 28% showed up. There is a lot of answers that it comes
to my mind and there's a lot of people that have talked to me and I know why a lot of people didn't show up. It's the question that I wanted to board and all of you have to sit down and think about it. Why didn't they show up when you make people to decide and there is a big
cut in the community and the way they are being treated. People have two way of choosing of how to how do they show how they feel. One of them is they don't show up. one of them they show up they keep their head up like I do and I don't
care who doesn't like it so this is the this is the community right now that division that division that has to be solved if we want to solve this it's not that we always have to throw money at the problem and hope that we are going to solve it I fought for a long time for
all those times that we didn't raise the taxes and we we are in this situation as we are but because we didn't raise it for 10 years 15 years or whatever years that we were we are in this situation but you cannot raise it up all the way because people don't get raised like
that people lose jobs people do not have money to pay for their own treatment for their cancer they do live among us but they are very proud and they are not going to come out and say it I have papers in here that I would really
really thought that maybe I should make an appointment and to sit with Nick and maybe Dr. PO and go over the numbers because I was going over the numbers and some of these numbers did not make any sense to me. But maybe I should ask some of the numbers in here that maybe all
the other people go start looking for them and say why we have these numbers in here and they don't make sense. I am sure they make sense to you but it doesn't make sense to me and because it doesn't make sense to me and it makes people confused, people don't want to
get involved with it. So that's where the 28% come from. So uh again I have been coming to these meetings for a long time. I had two children that went through Robinsville school and they are very successful and I do appreciate
Robinsville. The teachers know that I appreciate them. All the people who know me here, they know I appreciate them and they know that I fought for them. But at the same time, it doesn't mean that we cannot solve this together. This
division has to stop. Thank you. Good evening everyone. Mahesh Shara Robinsville resident. Um I don't have any questions or comments. I just came here to express my gratitude to uh Mr. McCree. uh it was pleasure working with
him when um I partnered with him uh to initiate the subscription busing around the town center and the neighboring areas where we are not providing the pre-wing. So it was really a pleasure and then I kept on asking so many uh n
questions and Nick was uh um he was quite generous to answer all those questions very quickly. So all the best very all the best to you Nick for your future endeavors. Thank you. Hi, good evening. Wendy Landau, Robinsville resident. I echo a lot of
what Mr. Riley has said. I've been a Robinsville resident for over 27 years. I have been very fortunate that two of my three children um have been through the system and are successful. I have one that is 14 that is going to be going to Robinsville High School next year.
And I'm concerned over class size. We moved to Robinsville 27 years ago because we wanted our children to be names and not numbers. And I'm very concerned with having larger class sizes. I'm very concerned as an educator myself of 31 years of the effect it's
going to be especially at the elementary school level for first grade teachers, kindergarten teachers, second grade teachers to have more than 25 children in a classroom without an aid, without helpers. I'm just very concerned overall. With that being said, I'd like to thank the
board for all their tireless work and efforts. You guys have done an incredible job and should all be commended for your hard work. Um, but I am After 27 years of being here, I'm I'm concerned. I don't want my daughter to be a number. I still want her to be a
name here. Thank you. >> Good evening. Uh Amanda Novc, Robbinsville resident. I first just want to take a second to thank you all for your hard work as well. um it does not go unnoticed and you all have done a tremendous job being transparent through
all the process. I would also like to echo some of the statements that our community members said behind me when speaking specifically to the community. What are we doing? I know I am not the only parent who had to come home today after a stressful day at my own job to
have a very difficult conversation with my daughter who bravely got up here and spoke um and some other children back here. They took their 10 minutes to cry and get it out and process and then they rode their bikes to each other and sat down and wrote speeches to get here
tonight. So, I just want to say how proud I am of all of you over there um seeing our kids advocate for themselves should inspire the rest of the community to do the same. And it is um extremely concerning the lack of people who did
come out to vote and whether they didn't come out because they didn't understand number. they had plenty of opportunities to speak with you all beforehand and get clarification and if they didn't come out because their feelings were hurt, um, take a look at what it's doing to the the children around you and the
future of Robinsville. Thank you. Okay, at this moment we're a little over the 30 minutes. Uh how many more people would like to come up? I just want to see because we're about to close it soon. I see gentlemen. Can we call please come up? Are there anybody else?
>> If there's anybody else we can extend the time, but just want to be under you understand if anyone else wants to come up during this session. >> All right. So I see no hands. So after you sir, we'll be closing the public comment for this session. >> I want to just My name is Amit. I'm here since 2021. Uh I have two kids going in
high school. Uh I just have like one question which is very specific the numbers I also don't understand the numbers because I've not been long enough here but looking at the debt servicing and talking about debt falling off we know the long-term rates and short-term rates are not going anywhere
how confident are we that the debt service is going to fall off and we're not going to actually new debt which is going to put the numbers back is 7.5% of the total total number which was showed on the screen that's that's one and the second part is the flat taxes Right? We
we can't change the past, but we need to make ensure that the future tax increases are in line and they are exponentially increased as the township increases in population to be able to basically reduce the deficits we have in the current spend. And let's try to save the teachers because if the school
district has to get better, it cannot happen with the with the lack of teachers and facilities. The more teachers go, the less competitive the teacher the school district becomes. And if you're talking about property t taxes and home prices, they're going to go well down if you're just going to cut
cut because there is a limit where you can't cut and going to take the whole district along with it. I want I'm just come from Lawrenville and Lawrenville is getting better while I see Robinsville in a downward trend. So I think we need to take some lessons from Lawrenville school district if we can. That's pretty
much it. Can I have a motion to close the public session on agenda items? >> Moved. >> Second. >> All in favor? These are extensions. Did you get the names? Okay.
Uh monthly resolutions. The superintendent recommends that the board of education approve the following personnel education policy and business action items. Note, uh this is where we do it. uh person uh personnel appointments pending criminal uh background ch uh
clearance uh were applicable. Any salary or stipen less than a full term will be appropriated um to the start date. Um I also have an item that I'd like to add in. Um based on evidence presented is recommended that the board find that the student of residency case uh 26-1 is not
a resident of Robbinsville Public School District not and not eligible for a free tuition. Uh discussion >> motion. >> There's no motion. There's having discussion. >> Oh, we have to do a motion for that. Oh,
can I have a motion to add that >> motion? So, Barbara and Jeff, what was it? >> Uh Jeff moved. Barbara second. Jeff Barber. >> Yep. Okay. All right. Discussion, >> I guess.
>> Can you hear me? >> Yep. >> Yes, ma'am. Um, can you please repeat the last thing that you just said? It was pretty choppy. What are you adding in to the agenda for the um vote? >> Um, it's it's based on the evidence presented in executive session. Um, uh,
it is recommended that the board find that the student of residency case 26-1 is not a resident of Robbinsville Public School District, not eligible for free tuition. Thank you, >> Miss Lea. Since you were not an exec,
you're you can abstain from that and just call it out that you know, for example, yes to all except for the resident's case where I am abstaining if you so choose to. >> Okay, I'll do that. Thank you.
>> Okay. Um discussion. I just have one thing uh under personnel uh one for the um the counselor rate. Can we walk through that real quick? >> Yes, I can talk about that. Um there has
been some sidebar about, you know, should we cap it? Should we put a limit on it? The cost is $500. Uh it is for a very seasoned uh person uh who's won awards as well for as a counselor. We're in dire need of a counselor for the remainder of the year to some personnel matters. Um the cost
may sound a lot but it's actually the cost of top of the scale for us on a little bit less than the top of the scale. Um and they will not be having benefits at all. Or if you look at it another way, if it's a BA step one with benefits, it's still less than that. So
there's where we go. You can put a cap on it if that's so so choose to or not to exceed as well. any discussion in keeping it the way it is or do you want to have limitation on that? >> Well, I think right now based on what I
saw a lot of feedback in the in the personnel files, it's it is limited to the the time frame allotted. So, it would conclude at the end of the year. >> Correct. At the end of the year. >> Thank you, Nick. Any other discussion? >> Okay. Uh
Mr. Mandukta >> absent. Sorry, Dr. Gold. >> Yes to all but personnel. H2A. >> H2A. No. >> Miss Hild D'Angelo.
Yes to all but no to uh personnel H2A. >> Mr. Howard. >> Yes, >> Miss Leman. >> Yes to all that, but I'm going toain on the residency hearing um information case 26-1.
>> Thank you, ma'am. Mr. Nand. Yes to all except for H2A. Mr. Ray, >> yes to all except for H2A. >> Dr. Pierro, >> yes. >> And Mr.
>> Yes. >> Okay. So, everything passes except personnel HTA, which has failed. Do you want to discuss that further because that's going to have an impact to our school district? I I think we should. >> So,
>> I went record, >> right? We're at this point, you know, it it failed. Uh sometimes you have to give a reason for it. Um do you want to have further discussion on it? Because I'm pushing for it. We can limit it to 40 days
at $20,000 for the remainder of the year. >> Yeah. No, I don't I don't understand the rates. think we should actually come back and understand you know what the what's the best rate given the optics and given the given the money that we are trying to find everywhere I do understand that you know what explained
was that's the rate and it is actually offsetting but it was not clear in the agenda that it was offsetting or it was actually kind of you know lesser than before we are saving something that was not clear I think if that can get made clear and we can actually just negotiate the rates or come up with a standard you
know rate thought I think that might actually, you know, make us rethink on that. >> Without getting into specifics, since it's a personnel matter, we'd have to go into executive session. >> I would recommend we go into secondary. >> Okay. We'll save it. We'll table it to
the end. >> Y, >> Mr. Board President, would you recommend tableing it to the end? >> Yeah, I'd recommend we take it to the end and go to Ze. Yep. Okay. Um, any old business? Any new business?
So, I I would like to ask just a follow-up question. Uh, Mr. McCree, on the the debt service falling off. That was a question I know you brought up in your presentation. Can you kind of describe what happens there again, please? >> Okay. So, it's a bond. Um, so it's a fixed it's a fixed amount. Okay. with
with interest rates all baked in. Um when that falls off, that's the expression they use. It's your last it's basically it's your last mortgage payment and you're done. Okay. Um but in school districts, you know, we don't have enough money. Some districts
do. It's best practice, but we don't. Um you don't have enough money in your budget to continuously maintaining your district. So you theoretically, you know, and what you must do is go out for a bond all the time, right? So as one comes off, you want to replace it at the
same exact time with another. If it is not replaced at the same exact time, it will be a tax cut. And then the next year you go to replace it, oh, it's going to be a tax increase. Okay? But it's the same amount or different, doesn't matter. It's going to look like a cut. It's going to be an
increase. So you want to time it just right. In this one, it's a very large amount, okay? The way it was structured, so you probably don't need it all. But like I said, we don't really know until we go through the whole bond committee item and what the interest rates are going to be, as the one resident was talking
about, like what are the future interest rates. When they strike a bond, they'll say, is it a 10-year, a 15-year, is it a 20-year, and they'll pick the the prices on that. Um, it does not automatically go to the operating account, right? And that's what we look at. We care about the operating account. Whatever bond
decision is struck by the public, that's the amount. Whatever it is, because they voted on it and that's the amount. And so what these bonds are 15 20 years, they're falling off as in you're making your last payment. The last payment is January of 28. So it's a 27 28 school year. So you
know, so the next school year after after that it'll be off on the equation. Okay. Typically, it takes two years to do a bond because the state needs about nine months to a year to review all the documentation and you need to have your architects and engineers come up with
the drawings and the plans to properly tell them. We're a little bit behind schedule. Okay? So, we have to get working on it quickly. Okay? You have to hire demographer, pick and choose what you want, have a bond committee which has been assigned as an ad hoc committee and growing with that. Dr. Piso has great experience in that and he'll be
helping and run that that organization and through that process. Um I'm not sure how much more to talk about the bond. That's it. >> Thank you for for the background. I appreciate it. And then as far as the ability to address the other question about
uh raising revenues and whatnot, we're we're fixed as you said to the 2% increase that is mandated until unless we go to an April. >> Correct. or you do another question and there's numerous opportunities and to do that, but we we see what the results were, right? Um, you know, there was a
talk about the town growing and the values of the town growing and that helps out with your taxes. It doesn't help us. It helps spreadloads the pie. So, if there's a huge growth in town, you just spread load that tax base um to the
point where they would your taxes would kind of theoretically go down. We're stuck on 2%. of whatever the current dollar amount is. That's it. Your town can literally grow by 10,000 people or a billionaire moves into town. It doesn't matter, right? In our budget, it's our
budget plus 2%. That's it. And it's only 2% of the 70%. Right? It's not the whole pie. It's only a portion of the pie. Um, so people, you know, you would think that's how it works, but it it doesn't. It's not 2% of the value of the town. It's whatever
your budget currently is. So over those years in the past where there's no increase increases taken for so many years, you didn't get to grow that base. Your pie didn't get bigger, right? It just still stayed that small amount. Okay. And that's where the concern came
from. I think that answers that question. Thank you. And and this will be my last one. Uh Mr. Paser, Dr. fees out, you know, as far as what residents can do or parents can do or other organizations do in town as far as, you know, helping out. What What can you
define the policy there for? What what could happen? >> Well, I I you know, we we've mentioned um about the mayor and I writing a letter and um you different groups speaking out. I I think everyone has the
right to have their voice heard and you know, our state representatives when when uh a superintendent goes to the state representatives, they kind of expect uh us to, you know, to to look for funding because we always want to do
more for kids. So, so that's it's obvious that that's what we're coming for. So, it's kind of expected. But when when towns are are unified and everyone is on the same page, I think it carries a lot more weight. You know, sometimes people will say, "Well,
it's up to the administrators, up to the board, up to the politicians, you know, they're they're moved by the the voice of voters. That's that's what they're there to do." And and we have a supportive group who represent us in the state. And
I think if they see that, you know, we're united in where we want to go and what we need to do, I think that adds a lot more value to to some of the outreach that that we're doing here from our end. It's about what we do together. There there's uh we're not going to get
where we need to go if we're divided as we've been for well longer than I've been here. Um we need to show unity. We need to show that everyone has a voice and and that we're collectively on the same page looking to do good things for
our students. And that's what'll get us to a better day. It's not going to just fall in our laps. It's going to be our actions that drives that change. >> I have a similar question for new business. Can we talk also about uh the
process for any donations or any community groups and or uh families looking to donate towards clubs, activities, things like that. >> Barb stole my question. I just want to tell you that I had that first. I was thinking it. We just had a brain.
>> Thank just showing everyone's on the same page. That's all that that is. That's another validation. Um yeah uh we're always open uh to the great support of our community. We have some very uh generous members. We're working on the mechanisms on how how to do that,
how it would be applied um in regards to some of the uh the offerings that are that we're we're looking to save. So there's some different different mechanics of this that we're working out. I know Mr. McCree uh mentioned about us working with a um with a group
that has a 501c3 which would make it um easier. So we'd have a um we'd have a third party that would be bringing that in. Um so we we don't want to discourage anyone obviously. We're we're we're very grateful for the support, but we we'll
have some more details very soon in regards to how we'll structure that. And it's it's very much welcomed by the district. Any other new business? Okay. Um, have a motion to open uh public comment on school related
schools. I can't talk tonight. School related matters for 30 minutes. >> Move. >> Second. >> Thanks, Mr. N. Thank you, Dr. Piro. Um, again, I won't read the whole discourse again. Floor is open for 30 minutes. Hi, Lonnie Jacob, a Robinsville
resident. I just wanted to come up to personally thank Mr. McCre for all of his uh wonderful years of service as our business administrator. I'm sorry I didn't do it sooner. I was afraid I was going to run out of time, but you know what? You deserve your own
dedicated comment. So, here it is. And um I just wanted to um say how much uh many of us in our community have really appreciated all the work you've done over the years. You've been with us through COVID,
through a lot of really difficult change in our town, and you've been very diligent in your responsibilities and always willing to answer emails, take phone calls, um go into a lot of details with community
members questions. And personally speaking, I'm very grateful for um all the time you spent answering my questions and explaining things over the years, and you will be greatly missed. Um I wish you all the luck in your next uh job opportunity, and thank you for
everything you've done for Robinsville. I know it's uh not right for me to say something, but at this point I'm still here for three more months, right? >> You still have me. I'm >> going to embarrass him on the last on
the last meeting. So we'll please come back. Come back. He he hates this. So we'll do it all again. But Mayor Todd, please. >> Good evening everybody. Uh Mike Toddy, Chambers Court, Robinsville. Uh I just wanted to expand uh a little bit what uh Superintendent Visa was talking about in
the letter. Um in my day job I do contingency planning constantly. Um back in January, early February, uh Dr. Bezo and I had multiple conversations and one of the things that
in my mind was the what if, right? What if we got here today? Um we wrote that letter, joint letter that he he mentioned. Um we wrote it by three weeks before the question. Didn't want to send it but we sent it.
Um but leading up to we had multiple conversations with our LD14 leaders. They've been very receptive to our ideas and to your point um it's been a unified front. Um, a lot of people thinking outside the box, administration,
township side, board of ed members, uh, members of our community, a lot of here, uh, tonight. And the way we presented ourselves in those meetings with, uh, state leaders, we had, uh, LD14 members there, um, Department of Education, the
governor's office. Um, and I think how we presented these ideas, it was not just about Robinville, but we're looking out for districts across the state. Uh we had a six-point plan of of ideas that they could turn into legislative ideas that would provide real results for
Robinville. Some short-term, some medium-term, some long-term. Um and we're still advocating for that. Um we saw the uh the bill that was dropped last night that you know we had talked about last night. Uh then there's more to come. Um and we're still advocating.
You know, Robinsville's name has been discussed in the governor's office in person with her. um she's aware of our situation and uh the the tough part it's across the whole state. So, um I think how we presented our ideas and
coordinated effort and again like I said it's not just about Robinsville. It this is affecting districts across the whole state and I think that got the wheels turning and that's why we already saw a bill drop one hopefully hopefully they can turn all five into legislative ideas that we could
capitalize on in the future. Um, you know, at this point we could hopefully triage the the budget a little bit better. Um, anything we can get uh between now and and when the budget goes into effect. So, we keep trying. This is we're not giving up at this point and
try to find ideas uh in working with our our state leaders. Um, and talk about the courtesy busing aspect. Um, we Dr. Beo and I had talked very early on when I heard that this was an opportunity to cut. Um we are the
township is picking up two additional um crossing guards on Robville Edinburgh Road to help the students in town center cross 526. Um and I just want to continue those conversations with Sharon School now being added to that list.
Thank you very much and Nick. Thank you for your service. Pleasure working. Thank you for the innovation. >> Hi Cany, I hope you're still open, right? Okay. Um I'm going to ask you the
questions that I have on the um papers that it was posted and um one of the first one that I want going want to ask you guys was about uh on the page that it says New Jersey Department of Education the office of preschool
finance on um the pages that has um 59,400 for supplies and materials uh 60,000 for purchase professional education service. The 36,000 for other object then 99,316
for other purchase services. Um 8,000 for travel and um 338,91 for cleaning, repair and maintenance services. This was on one of the places
and also on the page that it says 15,000 for other objects and 20,000 for instruction equipment and 20,000 for non-instruction equipment. I wanted to ask you um these are the numbers that are here and there maybe make a lot of
sense to a lot of people but it just I just wanted to know that these numbers are the numbers that we are saving or are the numbers that we are spending because this is a very good additional amount of numbers and also I have quite a few different pages that I was going
over like on the page that it says carry over from um 2425 that is 80,244 4. So this 80,244, is it done in 2526? Is it do we have
something more that is going for 2627 which is on the carryover page? And then I was going to ask you about the um appropriation adjustment and transfer for January 2526 that it has numbers uh that it says for
the Robinsville High School that it says 58,450 for adjustment and then another 22,250 for another adjustment for um the Robbinsville High School and then another 236,3
385 for business office supplies. I mean, these are the adjustment numbers that it just just does not make sense. And um another one is that it says 614,138 for pea um instrument supplies and then
another 228,624 for general admin miscellaneous purchase. I mean, I'm really sorry. These numbers are really hard for me to understand and where are they coming from and I'm just reading it from all the paper that was attached and um the
beginning cash balance of 15,579 and then going to ending of 12,981 with 14 million u of it being a cash distribution. So, and there is more. I have numbers that I would like to ask,
but these are the stuff that I think we need to go over with. We need to find out. Thank you. >> Yeah, I I know we discussed after the last meeting that that you were going to come by with everything going on. We haven't I know we haven't met up yet,
but uh if you could if you can come by the office, meet with Mr. McCree and I, and we'll develop each one of those into a question, provide you an answer, and then we'll post it. so the rest of the public can have it as well. Is we really it's not the right forum now, but every
one of your questions will go right through. We'll get we'll give you an answer and and like I said, we're going to turn it around and get it to everyone else also. So, I want everyone to know that that answer will be provided to everyone. So, thank you. >> Hi. Um we're all seniors um of
Robinsville High School and we just wanted to thank you guys for having all these meetings and we've been coming as a part of our AP gov class and like it's it's super interesting and we're learning a lot and we just want to appreciate all the work you've done and uh we just want to know if it wouldn't be a major issue if we can take quick
picture for proof that we were here. >> Of course. Of course. So, of course, let's >> Yeah, I had a track meet and I was a little late so I need to eat dinner, too. You want to do it now? So, uh,
Matt Grady Robbinsville Bill. Um, I I I do want to thank uh the board um and uh and Nick uh for the efforts um you know during the failed referendum. Do want to thank the people in this room. Um so
most of what I'm going to say doesn't really apply because I'm preaching to the choir. Um, but I I hear a lot about, you know, division and we were worried about the division should this fail.
Okay. And to hear these kids get up here tonight, um, they're not adults. They don't get to vote. And that's a real life impact of what we're going to go through. Um, I've been on record before.
Uh, our class sizes are already too high. They've been growing every year that we didn't take the budget to cap. Um, and I want to see the people of Robinsville empower themselves. Um, the light numbers here in the room,
disappointing. Those two empty seats, disappointing. Um, we all know the rules about board members and their attendance, three straight meetings. That's unacceptable. And that is part of what is wrong with this school district.
So, that's number one. Um, all the talk about the bond debt rolling off in 2028, look around you. These buildings are falling apart. If you were to do your capex report today,
it's it's way into the double digits of millions of dollars. Uh, I work in in municipal finance. 30-year debt. you're looking at four and a half percent interest rate if Robbinsville can keep their AAA, which I I doubt. Um, Nick
talked about the growth in the town. The other thing that no one's talking about is when assessed values drop because the value of your dollar, your your school budget's going to get smaller and then we're going to be in in another tail
spin. So, I I do want to find a way to get past this, but time is not your friend. Um, I know the environment is terrible. Nobody wants to pay more taxes. That's everywhere. Someone else mentioned 28% voter turnout. That's
about the state average. Um, it's not acceptable, but that's what we're dealing with. Um, so I I do want to know what else we're thinking about. um you know what are we what are we going to do to get back to where we need to be and
how are we going to communicate that and build confidence within the community. It's not a forensic audit. It's not regionalization. I got news for you. You'd have to have a willing dance partner. And with the sentiment out there now about the voters in
Robbinsville, even if we had a like-minded district that was in within distance, we're not going to get picked. So, I know I'm over my time. Um, the news is already out there. The for sale signs are stacking up and we either turn
this district around in short order or the whole town's going to be for sale and that's not good for any of these kids. So thank you. >> Thank you. Is there any other public comment? I have a motion to close uh public comment.
>> Second. >> Thank you, Mr. Non. Thank you, Mr. Ray. All in favor? These are extensions. I have a motion to enter second exec session to discuss the personnel item. Move >> second. >> All in favor?
Thank you. >> Yeah, we will come back out after. Yes, we probably be about I don't know hopefully 10 15 minutes and we'll come back out again. Okay. Thank you. >> You you can sit, but we're all going to be discussing that one personnel matter
and Mr. Ratundo, please. So, I'm going to bring us back. I'm going to bring us back in and then I'm going to ask for a motion to bring her back in. >> She's already in. Okay. >> Hi there. Let's bring us back in. So, can I can I have a motion to resume the public uh
public session? >> Motion. >> Second. >> All in favor? >> I. >> Okay. >> Second. >> It was uh Barbara >> Anthony >> and Anthony Ray. Time is 9:53. >> Okay. Okay. Okay, we're going to read a motion that uh from the the previous
monthly resolutions that we were going to approve, it was from the personnel section. Uh that Mr. Merries, can you read that for us? >> Yes. And then we'll give um Miss Leman a little more context. One second. Words together.
Motion to approve personnel H2A with the following caveats. >> Uh it's it's just within the time period uh that the administration has recommended. So not there's no additional pieces to it at this point. >> It's just to approve it. >> Just to approve it. >> Just to approve it.
>> Okay. So motion to approve personnel H2A. >> Yes. >> Okay. So for Miss Leman, that's that's for the rate for the um council for the counselor. >> Am I getting that right? >> Correct. It's the rate for the C. So is there a first? >> I have a motion.
>> Second. >> All in favor? >> Oh, sorry. Sorry. We have to roll call. >> Mr. Nand and Dr. Pierro. >> Yep. >> Um any discussion? Uh Miss Leman, I it's just what it was before. No changes. And
that was for this for the counselor for the temporary counselor for the end of the school year. >> Okay. So, given that I've already voted, do I not get a different vote? >> We're going to take a whole new vote. Um, you can say yes like I did before,
you can say no or you can abstain. It's up to you. Okay. >> Thank you. >> Okay. Roll call. One second. Yep. Miss Banduka is absent. Dr. Gold. >> Yes. >> Miss Hill D'Angelo. >> Yes.
>> Mr. Howard. >> Yes. >> Miss Leman. >> I'm going to given that I'm not in the discussion. Okay. >> Thank you. Mr. Nand. >> Yes. >> Mr. Ray. >> Yes. >> Dr. Pierro. >> Yes. >> And Mr. Oldberg.
>> Yes. Thank you very much. Motion passes unanimously and we have the following motion. I have a motion to adjourn the meeting. >> Some moved. >> Second. >> Second. >> All in favor? >> Thank you everybody.