Good evening. >> The Sparta Board of Education meeting is called to order at 5:00 p.m. Emily, can you please read us the meeting notice announcement? The New Jersey open public meetings law was enacted to ensure the right of the public to have advanced notice to and to attend meetings of
public bodies at which any business affecting their interest is discussed or acted upon. In accordance with the provisions of this act, the Sparta Board of Education has caused notice of the time and place of this meeting to be published in the New Jersey Herald, the Star Ledger, Tap into Sparta, and notice of the meeting has been posted on the
Sparta Township School District website. >> Thank you. Please join us for the pledge of stand. >> Okay. May we have a roll call, please? >> Present.
present. >> Here, >> present. >> Here, >> here. >> Present. >> Thank you. At this point, we will be convening into close session. Whereas section 8 of the open public meetings
act, chapter 231, public law 1975, provides for the exclusion of the public from a meeting in certain circumstances. And whereas the Sparta Township Board of Education is of the opinion that such circumstances exist to discuss legal matters and conduct RCSA or
superintendent evaluation which are exempt from public participation pursuant to New Jersey Public Law 1975 chapter 231 Open Public Meetings Act. Now therefore be it resolved that the Sparta Township Board of Education shall enter executive sessions bear with me.
On Wednesday, June 17th at 5:02 PM, the board will reconvene in public session at the conclusion of the executive session. We anticipate about two hours so that we can start on time for 7 o'clock, our regular meeting uh will begin. The information discussed during executive session will be disclosed to
the public as soon as it is determined by the board that the information is no longer confidential. May I have a motion to convene? >> Thank you, Emily. Second. >> Second. >> Thank you, Dominic. All in favor? >> I. Any opposed? Any abstensions, discussion? We'll see you shortly. Thank
you. Hello again. Resolve that the Sparta Board of Education closes executive session and enters back into the public portion of the meeting at 7 p.m. May we have a roll call, please? >> Dr. Hinkle, >> you want to go from here?
>> Mr. Laruba, >> present. >> Mr. Lowry, >> here. >> Dr. Martinez, >> here. Miss Null >> here, >> Miss Williams >> present, >> Mr. Wood >> here, >> Miss Saraphino >> here, >> and Miss Gagnon >> present. >> Forum confirmed. Thank you. I don't believe we have anything for district
recognition this evening, so we'll be moving straight into our presentations. We have a Milton preschool update with our superintendent, Dr. Beck. Good evening. Tonight, I am going to provide uh an update to last month's presentation. Uh
some of tonight's content will include things that the public is already aware of uh that they received in a newsletter and in a letter to the preschool parents. Um and some of the stuff will be uh brand new. So, first just to recap what direction
we are headed for 2627 school year. As far as preschool goes, um, as I stated last month, uh, that we are going to continue to partner with community providers. Those community providers are Goddard School, Oak Tree, and Little Genius Planet. Uh, we already have a
relationship with Goddard School and Little Genius Planet. We are going to expand our partnership with Goddard School by adding one additional classroom, taking us to three classrooms with with Goddard School. And we are adding a new partnership with Oak Tree Preschool and that is going to be two
classrooms. As I stated last month, uh there will be 14 classrooms that we will be using at Milton School at this time. 13 classrooms and uh one room will be used for related services such as OTP and
speech. And as I stated last month and as was stated in our updates to the community, the newsletter and the letter, all IND district all in district classrooms are be moving from Alpine Elementary and Helen Morgan School to Milton School.
So here is uh here are some more details for the Milton school plan for next school year. First, enrollment. Um, I'm happy to announce because um, we weren't sure last month when I presented how the weight list was going to clear and um,
I'm happy to announce tonight that the wait list has been cleared. All families that were previously on the wait list have been notified and invited to register for free universal preschool for the 2627 school year. As I stated before, Milton School will have 13
classrooms, 12 general education, and one self-contained for a total of 188 students. And the outside providers, six classrooms, 15 students per classroom, takes us to 90 students on the outside providers, taking us to 278 total
preschool students for next school year. Um, as I mentioned last month, the New Jersey Department of Education gives us an equation of what they call our preschool universe of what we ultimately want to hit for a number. Um, and that calculation that they give us at the
time, they took two times the uh first grade class that year. The first grade class that year was exactly 200 students. So, they took two times that to get to 400. And then you take 90% of that to get to 360 students. That is the New Jersey Department of Education's
calculation of the amount of students that we should serve ultimately as time progresses here in Sparta. Um, with all of our registrants and with our weight list cleared, we are at 278. Um, so there's not much more we can do right now to reach the preschool universe. We
have now um are serving all interested families uh for next year. funding. As I mentioned last week, this is just to reiterate that all expenses will continue to be covered by PEA funding,
which is a grant from the New New Jersey Department of Education staffing. Last month, I talked about uh what staffing we would need to fulfill the staff at Milton School. And tonight on tonight's agenda, um we are filling
those positions. So first that building as I mentioned last month needs its own building principal and uh after an application interview process we it is recommended this evening to appoint Miss Laura Casa as the Milton school principal. Classroom staff uh we are
taking all of our in district classroom staff and moving them over to Milton School. Uh that still leaves us with the need to hire additional teachers to fill all of those classrooms and those teachers are on the agenda this evening. Front office secretary, we are uh
transferring uh she has graciously agreed to transfer uh Miss Nicole Petro going from Helen Morgan School over to Milton School. Uh one of our Alpine Elementary nurses, Miss Kelly Scarupa is going to go over to Milton School. We are taking one of our current custodians
and moving him over to Milton School and he will be the head custodian uh Mr. Robert Covert and we will have to add one part-time uh custodian for the evening still. And we are uh dedicating one full security guard. We couldn't
transfer one and we needed an additional uh so uh we hired a security guard for tonight's agenda. Mr. Michael Jack will be a security guard at Milton School. So staffing um we still have to fill some aid positions but um staffing is just about complete for Milton school for
next year already. Transportation update. The busing hubs are being finalized. Um all bus routes come out to parents sometime in August in Genesis. It is our goal uh to release those busing hubs for preschool as soon
as possible. Uh so sometime in July is the goal um to release where those busing hubs are going to be located. Bus aids, as I mentioned last month, are going to be provided. This is a service that is not currently provided for our preschool students on any of our buses, but next year the preschool buses will
be dedicated to preschool only, and we will have aids on those buses. And of course, parents can uh choose to transport their own children if they desire to Milton School facilities. We have been meeting regularly with
Jefferson District staff and we have also been meeting regularly as our own internal staff. But uh the Jefferson district staff will have the building movein ready for July 1st which is right around the corner. All furniture will be moved from the current in district preschool classrooms to Milton School
and we had to order additional classroom furniture uh to make up for the additional classrooms that go above and beyond what we have currently in our district. Um there is an age appropriate playground that currently exists over on that campus and it is in good shape. I
know last month uh it was brought up that there's no playground over there. There is in fact a playground over there that is in great condition. Um it just need to we need to put down uh an additional layer of playground mulch and um just clean it up a little bit and we'll have insurance we'll have our insurance provider go over there and
certify that playground equipment as well. All classrooms will have air conditioning and we have been working on technology and communications within the facility. Um we are all of these are currently in process ordering uh phone
system, security cameras, radios and internet access. We are all they are all in the process of uh being allocated to Milton School. And just miscellaneous additional information. Um we plan of course as we do in all our schools to have an open
house. We want to do that as soon as possible and that date will be determined. We just met as a team actually yesterday in our weekly meeting and we talked about an open house and we're trying to find a balance of getting the open house for the parents and the students as soon as possible but at the same time we want the building to
be ready and presentable and the classrooms to be ready so that the parents and students can see exactly um the school that they will be going to. So we're trying to find that balance but our goal as is the goal of our families I'm sure is to have that open house as soon as possible.
Lunches we are finalizing as well. Um Miss Decker had met with Mashios this week. Students can bring their own lunch or purchase lunch provided by Mashios. Um the Mashios lunch will be provided from one of our buildings. We're thinking the high school building and it
will be uh transported over to Milton School um in heating trays and uh students can purchase Mashio's lunches as well. before care and after care. We know that that is a concern because of the hours of the school building. We
talked to our community providers and the community providers have openings. Goddard School has a lot of open seats. Uh Oak Tree, not so much. Uh Kitty Academy, who is not one of our partners as far as preschool goes, uh they also have openings for before care and after
care. And it's important to note that there will be bus stops um at all of these facilities so that parents can drop off in the morning and they the students will be picked up by our buses at those facilities and taken to Milton school and then vice versa at the end of
the day for afterare if need be. And those are the school hours. Uh we floated last month uh some proposed school hours. We are now locking into the 10:00 to 4:00. still subject to change slightly but we don't think that that's going to change very much and
those would be the school hours the next steps as I mentioned before we met yesterday as an admin team we have been meeting weekly as an admin team um from the time that we knew for sure that we were going to get into Milton school that the contract was approved here as by the board of education and then the
contract was recently approved by the Jefferson board of education executed as well we have been meeting as a team each week going over our to-do list what needs to be done. That team includes myself, um the principal, Laura Casa, has now been brought into that mix, our
business administrator, the preschool coordinator and Miss Madson, transportation, uh buildings and grounds, IT, and whoever else we need to bring in to execute all of our to-do list and all the tasks that need to be completed to um in essence open a new school building.
We are going to continue communication to preschool families as it becomes available. when we have uh updates of note, we will continue to send those updates to preschool families. We have already sent out the newsletter. We already sent out a letter to parents and uh pull parents off of the wait list as
well. U so we're going to continue to communicate with the preschool families. We're going to continue to prepare the facility. As I stated before, we're working right now on the technology aspects and uh some beautifification on the outside and um regular routine
summer maintenance as well has to be done in that building as it does in all of our buildings. We're going to finalize transportation. As I stated, we are working on an open house and uh something a little more on the fun side, we need to form a PTO for that building. So, uh, the building principal will be reaching out to the parents and, uh,
hopefully, uh, we get a PTO in that building and, uh, get some really, um, active and involved parents as well. That is all the information you have that we have. So, now you have all the information that we have. If you have specific questions that pertain to your child, um, these are the contacts to
reach out to. We have our preschool community parent involvement specialist, preschool instructional coach, uh, Kerianne Morris. Uh, Miss Cassa, um, her email address is up there and Miss Madson also her email is up there as the preschool coordinator.
>> Thank you. >> Thank you. Anyone have questions from the board? >> Okay. And I just want to note, we'll make sure that the correspondence and the updates from this evening are all reflected in the board newsletter for June. And with that, we'll move on to
our student representatives report. Welcome back, guys. Okay, so to start off this meeting, we would like to say that uh prom on May 28th was a huge success and we had a lot of positive student feedback. >> Um, in sports news, we would like to congratulate the girls lacrosse team on
winning the HWS championship and for making it to the sectional finals. Uh, additionally, we would like to congratulate the boys lacrosse team on winning the HWS championship, the sectional championship, and for winning the group 2 state championship for the first time in program history. Uh Mora
Sweeney and Eddie Brown were the HWS finals MVPs, so congratulations to them as well. We would also like to congratulate some of our senior athletes, uh starting with Lashm Little and Mora Sweeney for being named the athletes of the year. Uh additionally,
we would like to congratulate Anthony September on winning the Bill O'Reilly Award. >> Finally, on behalf of Hayden, Abby, and myself, we would like to thank all of you who sit on this board. Your relentless dedication to the Sparta school system and to this community is deeply felt and it's much appreciated
and we thank you for welcoming us student reps with open arms. >> To the members of the admin specifically Dr. Beck and Dr. Rossy, we thank you for always listening to us in our meetings and taking a genuine interest in what is happening in the school system and in our personal lives as well. Your care
for each and every student in the school system is admirable and we thank you for your dedication to the students. And that concludes this report. >> It's been a been a pleasure to have you guys on board. So, thank you so much. Um, with that, may I have a motion to
approve the minutes? >> Thank you, Emily. Second. >> Second. >> Thank you, Rebecca. All in favor? >> I. Any opposed? Any assumptions? >> Okay, moving on to our superintendence report. >> Thank you. I usually include retirements
as one of my first items, but there are no retirements on tonight's agenda. Um, I just received this news about two hours ago and wanted to share it in my last superintendent report of the school year. Stephanie Bernardo, library media specialist at Helen Morgan School, has been selected to the national elementary
advisory board for Penguin Random House Publishing Group. There are 20 teachers from around the country who meet quarterly to discuss trends, interests, problems, and solutions with reading and library collections. The PR marketing team joins the advisory board and they
work together to create future content for around the country. PR will also be sending free materials to our libraries, thereby benefiting all of our students. So, congratulating congratulations to Miss Bernardo and thank you for representing our district and for making
us proud. Administrative appointments. On this evening's agenda, you will see recommendations for multiple administrative appointments. The director appointments of Mr. Rivers, Miss Shefferman, and Dr. Wilson come as a result of administrative restructuring that was driven by budgetary needs as
well as operational optimization. The addition of the Milton School required us to appoint principal Ms. Casa to the building and the director of student support services, Mr. Layman, comes as a result of Miss Barker moving into the Sparta High School principal role. These
appointments are all components of a larger administrative structure that we are confident will be in the best interest of our students and school community. Congratulations to all of our administrative appointments on this evening's agenda. Even though I mentioned it last month as part of the resolution of appreciation
that was passed, I would once again like to acknowledge our student representatives who are serving in their last board meeting this evening. Jason Caswell, Hayden Copco, and Abigail Weiss have admirably served in this role while representing their peers. They've been a pleasure to work with throughout the
school year, and we wish them nothing but the best as they begin their next chapters at their distinguished institutions. And lastly, as we hold our middle school promotion ceremony tomorrow evening and our high school graduation Friday morning and close out yet another successful school year, I would like to
thank the board of education, administrative team, the entire Sparta school district staff, and our school community for their support throughout the school year. While this school year did not come without challenges, we remain cohesive and persevered as a
school community. I wish the entire community a very safe and happy summer and look forward to working alongside all of you in the 2627 school year and I'll turn it over to Dr. Rossi. >> Great. Um, good evening. At our most
recent board retreat, we discussed the importance and value of sharing performance data with the community on a more regular basis. We determined that twice a year we will formally present on district achievement data. once in the beginning of the school year as we have all of our endofear data collected,
analyzed, and prepared and once in the winter for a mid-year check-in. Outside of those formal presentations, we're committed to sharing additional achievement data when opportunities arise and meaningful information is available. So, tonight I would like to share some exciting news worthy of
celebration. Approximately three years ago, the board of education approved the New Jersey tiered systems of support early reading grant. This was a competitive grant that the district applied for to support foundational reading skills in grades K through three. This grant provided training,
collaboration, and support as we analyzed our district reading practices. This school year marked the final year of that collaboration between Ruckers and the state of New Jersey. Recently, we were notified that Sparta was selected out of approximately 15
districts within the cohort to receive a spotlight for measurable growth made in that time. We were highlighted for significant gains in reading accuracy, reading fluency, and overall reading performance. We were recognized for our classroom approaches and intervention
services. Miss Paresi, the K5 ELA supervisor who oversaw this intensive grant process, was asked to co-present with one of the leaders of the grant to help share our practices and experience with other districts across the state. So, what does this actually mean for us?
It means we have more students reading on grade level. It means that reluctant readers are becoming more confident. It means that spelling is improving as we see students willing to take greater risks using more complex words in their writing. It means that during parent
teacher conferences, we're able to provide more specific information on children's literacy strengths and areas of need. It means that we hear teachers saying things like, "Wow, I can't believe how well they came into the school year reading." It means that there are less referrals for special
education services. And ultimately, it means that as committed teams of professionals, we're making a difference in supporting literacy development in Sparta. So, as the year comes to an end, I want to thank all of the dedicated professionals who work tirelessly to meet the needs of students. But I want
to give special thanks to those who helped implement this massive grant and attain these incredible outcomes. So, thank you to all, but most importantly, thank you to Marie Paresi, Shannon Sullivan, Amy Dolan, Donna Collinsson, Mary Stionen, Sher Sheperman, Katie
Madson, Natalie Convy, and Pete Miller. We appreciate all of you. >> Thank you, Dr. Rossi. And with that, we'll be moving on to our president's board president's report. So, we've had a very quick turnaround since our May meeting. There's not very much to report, but a few things I would like to
highlight. After holding our last board training session on Saturday, June 6th, the Sparta Board of Education officially became NJSBA certified. I'm proud of my colleagues for committing to this achievement. I think we have a very strong foundation for our 2026 and 27
board goals, um, including our district's development of a new strategic plan. We'll have more to report out on that in the coming months, but the goal is to bolster communal engagement and input throughout the strategic planning process, which will help us set our district goals, visions,
and objectives over a fiveyear span. I also look forward to our full uh or excuse me, our fall Sussex County School Boards Association meeting where our district will be recognized for achieving board certification. So again, to my fellow board members, thank you for your commitment to that process. The
board completed our superintendent evaluation this evening during executive session. We'll have our summary report compiled and delivered this week um in advance of the deadline of July 1st. We're right on track there. And I too would like to congratulate Principal Cass and the various directors who are
being appointed pending board approval this evening. Uh each of you has proven to become a tremendous asset to our district and we have no doubt you will be affecting meaningful change in your new roles. So thank you. And with that, we will move on to the hip report. May I have a motion to
approve the hip report? >> Thank you, Rocky. Second. >> Second. >> Thank you, Dominic. All in favor? >> I. Any oppose? Any obstensions? Excellent. And communications. Emily, did you have anything for communications you'd like to report out?
>> Um, I can just say that I'm happy that everyone received the preschool newsletter. I hope we answered um a lot of the community's questions, especially a lot of those that were brought up at the last board meeting and we will continue to publish these special newsletters as more information becomes available when it comes to Milton or
anything else important in the district, but specifically a preschool newsletter like throughout the summer. >> Thank you. Anyone for delegate and liaison reports? >> Yeah, just one thing. So, um, I forgot to mention all of you, but
we've, uh, volunteered to stay on the Sussex County Ed Services Commission for another year. Um, so I'll be going there and then at some point, Dominic and I may have to switch because of personal reasons. Um, but they continue to good
work. They're still uh negotiating a the lease for the building uh which is going to actually help us because if we need overflow and services, we can use that at a much better price than some private services. And also um I will get this to
Emily. Um they were pushing a um a day for parents of special needs where they get free babysitting and they get the whole day out and they have professional staff taking care of those students. Uh, and it happens twice, one
at Christmas and one during the summer so that parents who have special needs can have a chance to actually have a day to themselves because I could imagine doing that year in year out could be hard. So, I will get that to Emily and hopefully it hasn't passed but I will get that out there.
>> Excellent. Thank you. Anyone else? >> I do. I have one um Sparta Education Foundation. Um I attended their annual um review last night where they present their annual report. Um they did have four grants that they gave to the
education uh Sparta public schools. Um so they highlighted those and their next event is coming up the tournament on August 29th. Excellent. Thank you. Anyone else? Okay, moving on to public comment number
one. Public comments are invited on matters pertaining only to action items at this time. Please state the action item number as well as your name, municipality, and group affiliation if appropriate for the record. Each participant will receive three minutes to speak. Once you have had your allotted three minutes to speak, you
will no longer be or excuse me, you will not be permitted to speak again until public comment number two. All statements should be directed to me as the presiding officer. The border administration may or may not respond to any questions or comments after the conclusion of the public participation.
>> Hi Jenny Derek tap into Sparta. Um my question is about 15.5 and maybe this is something I should talk to you about offline. The if you could clarify the director positions. I see three new director positions and what impact does that have to the supervisors? Some of them are being
moved into these roles, but others what is the impact overall to those staff members? Do they move into classrooms and so on? Thank you. >> Thank you. Anyone else for public comment?
Seeing no one, motion to close. Thank you, Rebecca. Second. Thank you, Andrew. All in favor? I. Any oppose? Any abstensions? Yeah, I can speak high level. I can't give too much information, especially for those that were negatively affected, but um the supervisor positions no
longer exist. And what we did was created these district level director positions. Again, as I said in my superintendent report, uh due to budgetary reasons, but also um operational optimization. Um so um some of the supervisors moved into director
positions. Uh, one moved into a principal position. Uh, one moved back into the classroom. That's pretty much all I can share. >> And with that, we will move on to personnel and policy. May I have a motion to move agenda items 15.1 through
15.36? >> Motion. >> Thank you, Dominic. Second. Second. Thank you, Emily. Discussion. Um, okay. So, the personnel report. I have three things I'd like to highlight on the agenda. Um I will also
like to congratulate in general we have a lot of appointments tonight. So for people that are joining our district for the next school year uh moving into another position and especially congratulations to Miss Casa becoming principal of Milton School, Mr. Layman who's the director of student support
services and Mr. Rivers, Miss Sherman and Miss Wilson who are taking on these new director roles. Congratulations. The second thing I want to bring attention to is there's a resolution tonight for to allow Dr. Beck to approve uh personnel or to hire between meetings. This is something that we just
do every year because there is so much time between board meetings. Dr. Beck needs to be able to onboard and uh properly hire people to really have a smooth start to this to the year. So that's not anything new, but I know it just looks a little different on our
agenda. And the last are the policies and regulations. There are three policies and regulations on the agenda for first reading. The first is academic integrity. Uh the changes that were were made to this policy were just to better match the template that was given to us by Strauss Esme. It just expands the
definition of of academic dishonesty and includes including using AI sharing or selling information or tests to be uh also academic dishonesty. The second is a policy about payroll deductions. We are adopting this policy. It wasn't on
our books, so we're adding it now. Doesn't change our practices at all. It's just something we are putting officially in our policy manual. And a regulation on student discipline. Again, this is just making minor changes to better match the stress template by saying that we have a chart of
discipline in our handbooks, which we do. We're just putting it in the policy that our handbooks will continue to do that. And that's all I got. >> Thank you, Emily. I just want to clarify I actually believe those are our policies and regs for second reading. Um thank you. Uh the reason why I say that
is the the primary driving force between last month and this month aside from the short turnaround we actually received an update from Strauss Esme because we neared the end of our policy audit process with Strauss. We focused on that during our last committee meeting to really review what new changes they're
advocating for. Uh we reviewed them. We're in alignment. We're in agreement. But we agreed because of the proximity of the board meetings um and also the size of the uh recommendations, we're going to be moving those next month. Uh but we'll have a more comprehensive update then. Thank you. Any additional
discussion? May we have a roll call, please? Dr. Hinkle. >> Mr. Laruba? >> Yes. >> Mr. Lowry? >> Yes. >> Dr. Martinez? >> Yes. >> Miss Null? >> Yes. >> Miss Williams? Yes, >> Mr. Wood. >> Yes, >> Miss Saraphino. >> Yes. >> And Miss Gagnum?
>> Yes. >> Motion's carry. >> Thank you. May I have a motion to move curriculum instruction and special services items 16.1- 16.6? >> Motion. >> Thank you, Dominic. Second. >> Thank you, Kim. Discussion. >> Oh, yes. Um, so Miss Rossy stole our
thunder a little bit um with her presenting of the good news, but essentially uh we were being recognized for the success in our district and I think this is really important especially through this work because it was through a grant so a lot of this work is um not costing the district anything and I think coming out of a
time where um after co our scores were looking a little dramatic I think we're at a really good point where we're leading the charge in terms of the growth back and I think it's really important work that should be shared and highlighted and I think the implications as she said earlier are really important. Um, and Mr. Ross, I was also wondering if you could contextualize the
role of the instructional coach a little bit um, for the audience because I think it is something that we're looking into with the recent restructuring of the district um, to see um, what we can do in terms of our intervention helps because we do a lot for students and I was just if you could contextualize that I think it'd be very helpful. >> Yeah, sure. So, um, we are fortunate to
have someone in the role of an instructional coach next year. um we might be able to expand on that, but um that actually was a key feature of the grant is the acknowledgement of how coaching support, just ongoing daily support in in in all kinds of classrooms, but specifically in
specifically in this case in the literacy world, having access to someone who can provide support, demonstrate lessons, um you know, gather resources and materials, um just be like a a regular support on a regular basis. um is really helpful to just implementing
daily practices. And um so we see these in districts that have experienced that level of success. And we have found that with the right people um under the right structures that it is a very successful thing. Not only from an observable standpoint, but in the past when we had
that role, it was certainly measurable and the gains were um significant. So we're excited to have that role back. Thank you. Roll call, please. >> Dr. Hinkle. >> Mr. Lacaruba? >> Yes. >> Mr. Lowry? >> Yes.
>> Dr. Martinez? >> Yes. >> Miss Null? >> Yes. >> Miss Williams? >> Yes. >> Mr. Wood? >> Yes. >> Miss Saraphino? >> Yes. >> And Miss Gagnum? >> Yes. >> Motions carry. Thank you. Moving on to finance items. We have a motion to move items 17.1 through 17.11.
>> Motion. Thank you, Kim. Second. Thank you, Andrew. Discussion. >> All right. Um, for those following at home, we uh ordered we approved money for a bus. The bus has been ordered.
It'll be delivered for the next school year. Uh, I'm doing this so that people are paid attention, that the process is working, that we appropriate money, the money is used, and it will benefit the district. Um, I'd like to uh call out
Rebecca Williams who put her hand up and said, "Hey, there's this great JCPNL grant out there." So, we're upgrading all of Helen Morgan with LED lights, which is not not only good for the district financially, it's also good for the environment and the lighting will be
better. As Dr. Beck presented, the school preparations are in full swing. Um, the other thing about the budget, our years are now roughly $41,000 as we get to the end of the school year here. Uh I
am just calling this out because uh hopefully over the next few months there will be a policy change, a temporary or a temporary pilot to um not allow students who have an overage to buy extra. Our students will always be fed
because that's an important part of teaching. But the having uh cookies and ice cream U in an overage may not happen going forward. Um and then everything else is standard. Um just want to say
that I'm glad that we got through this budget and through this school year and that looking forward to next year. >> Well said. I just want to say one thing when we say the district aars it's lunchers. I just want to be very clear to the public. I know you know that very
well. the lunchers. Um, and we will we are exploring ways to promote over the summer and into even June the newsletter opportunities for parents that might need some assistance over the summer months and some resources that are available to them. So, we'll make sure we prioritize that starting with this
upcoming newsletter. And any additional discussion? Okay, roll call, please. >> Dr. Hinkle, >> Mr. Lacarooa? >> Yes. >> Mr. Lowry? Yes, >> Dr. Martinez. >> Yes, >> Miss Null. >> Yes, >> Miss Williams. >> Yes, >> Mr. Wood. >> Yes,
>> Miss Saraphino. >> Yes, >> Miss Kagn. >> Yes. >> Motions carry. Thank you. Moving on to operations items 18.1 through 18.4. May I have a motion to move, please? >> Motion. >> Thank you, Rocky. Second. >> Thank you, Michelle. Discussion.
>> Rocky, did you cover that already in >> operational discussion? Yeah, we're not >> run. Just normal. >> Yep. Thank you. Roll call, please. >> Dr. Hankle, >> Miss Mr. Lacariva, >> yes.
>> Mr. Lowry, >> yes. >> Dr. Martinez, >> yes. >> Miss Null, >> yes. >> Miss Williams, >> yes. >> Mr. Wood, >> yes. >> Miss Saraphino, >> yes. >> And Miss Scagman, >> yes. >> Motions carry. >> Thank you. Moving on to old business. Anyone have anything for old business
they wish to discuss? new business. >> I'll just say in terms of uh Miss Bernardo getting recognized for the librarian or for the for her award or the opportunity that she has, I'll say any most Sparta grads that I talk to who are older speak very highly of Miss
Bernardo. She's somebody that a lot of students will circle back to um as somebody they remember in the district. So, I think that's really important and that our librarians really do a lot of good work and we're having feel like almost every librarian and of every school district um has gotten some sort of form of recognition um and I think it
back to like the the the Kenny award um for so I'm getting my titles are all messed up but either way we have some really really high achieving librarians in our district and I think it should not go unnoticed and that these type of things do happen a lot in Sparta which I don't think is common for a lot of districts. So I think that's really special.
>> You're spot on by the way. Kelly received the is it Dave Kenny? >> Jeff. >> Jeff. Very good. See that? I got maxed out. Um, excellent point and congratulations to hers. Right. Anyone else for new business? See, no one will move on to public
comment number two. The board uses the second public comment period to invite comments on all matters pertaining to the school district. Please state your name, municipality, and group affiliation if appropriate for the record. Each participant will receive three minutes to speak. Once you have had your allotted three minutes to speak, you will not be permitted to
speak again. All statements should be directed to to me as the presiding officer. The border administration may or may not respond to any questions or comments after the conclusion of the public participation. >> Hi again, Jenny Derek Despa. Caitlyn, I had asked you in the beginning. I think
there were four I spoke with Rocky. There were four people that attended. >> Yes. >> Scholarship. Thank you. >> I'll wait till you're done. >> Um and then uh just an update. I was wondering if we could get an update either this meeting or next about the attendance correction corrective action plan that went into effect in September.
How are we doing? The anticipation was that we would uh make significant gains this year. Um I think that's it. Thank you. >> Thank you. Anyone else for public comment? >> Good evening. My name is Andrew Bis. I'm
from Dingman Ferry, Pennsylvania, and I am the very proud president of the or vice president of the Sparta Education Association. As we close another school year, it is safe to say that this has not been a typical one. We have faced significant challenges related to budgets, healthcare costs, staffing, and
the many changes impacting public education. Yet, through it all, one thing has remained steadfast and true. the dedication, professionalism, and heart of the educators and the education support professionals of the Sparta Education Association. For many veteran educators, this year has brought back
memories of the challenges we faced during the 2010 2011 school year. Just as we weathered those storms together, the current healthcare crisis presents another opportunity for educators, administrators, and board members to work collaboratively toward meaningful solutions. We remain hopeful that this
board will support uh S4438, the public of school employees health benefits trust act, and continue exploring ways to ease financial burdens while protecting opportunities for student uh success. As we conclude the year, I would also like to recognize some very special members of our school community.
First, congratulations to Miss Susan Dick, the Sparta Education Association's 2026 2027 education support professional of the year. Sue serves as a power professional at Sparta High School, our power professional association representative, and a member of the
negotiations team. She is a trusted colleague, a dedicated advocate, and someone who consistently puts students first. This recognition is welld deserved. We also extend our heartfelt congratulations and gratitude to this year's retirees including Diane Sim,
Susan Loren, William Brennan, Carmel Spelman, Virginia, Cristiana Vessels, Donna Earl, Eric Hood, Susan Namos, and Frank Battalion. Thank you for your years of service, dedication, and commitment to the students and families of Sparta. Your impact will be felt for
years to come, and we wish you happiness and fulfillment in retirement. Finally, it is our hope that the district and the Sparta Education Association will continue to work together as partners as we negate the opportunities and challenges ahead. Together, we can ensure that Sparta remains a place where students thrive, educators are
supported, and public education continues to be a source of pride for our community. On behalf of the Sparta Education Association, I wish everyone a happy, healthy, and well-deserved summer. Thank you. Thank you. Anyone else for public
comment? >> Good evening. Sophia Stephano with Sparta Independent. I kind of have a twoparter if that's all right. Um I know we said that uh before and after care has not been determined yet. However, are we expecting some sort of definitive
answers during the bus schedules um time period or will that be closer to the start of the school year? And then second question is just out of curiosity, are we expecting to see an increase of Jefferson students start to blend in with uh the Sparta school district? I know that has been some
questions raised by local parents in the community. Thank you guys. >> Thank you. Anyone else for public comment? Going once, going twice. Okay. Motion to close.
Thank you, Emily. Second. >> Thank you, Kim. All in favor? >> I. Any oppose? Any abstensions? >> Um, our chronic absenteeism plan and and statistics. Uh, usually we do that in August. We work through it during our admin retreat which takes place in July.
So, uh, we'll have the updated statistics and the action plan that goes along with it probably in the August meeting. Um, and then before and afterare. We do have before and after care plans uh or or um relationships with the town providers in
town. Um we're looking into the feasibility of doing it at Milton School, but there's a lot of operational questions that go into that. So, I wouldn't expect that to be off the ground come September 1st. Uh but if we can make that happen with our own staff and um figure out the fees and things
like that and make sure there's interest from the community to use Milton School um as a before and afterare facility, we'll definitely look into it. But we're going to look into that feasibility. And then as far as Jefferson students, we start to see a couple of Jefferson students come in. Uh but the only way any students that don't live in Sparta
can come into our district is through tuition. So we have a couple that have already come in, not just uh preschool, um but in other grade levels. So if any parents from Jefferson or any town in the surrounding areas are interested in our preschool, they would have to come
in under uh with tuition. And Jenny Derek's your question. I have an update. There were four members at the scholarship dinner. It was one of our lighter nights of attendance, but I can confirm that Rebecca Williams, Rocky Martinez, Kim Null, and Chad Wood were
all in attendance. And you answered the question about that. And I just want to be very clear too, before and after care, we're encouraging individuals to reach out to those private providers. Yes. >> In order to inquire. >> Good point. That's actually the only way to do it is reach out directly to the
providers that the parents choose to reach out to. >> Thanks. >> And to date there are open positions. So it is being offered. It's just the feasibility of Milton specific. >> Yeah. >> Thank you. >> Yes, please. Something. Um I just want to clarify that Milton school will only
be Sparta students like there. Yeah. I feel like there was a miscommunication. >> Yes. That it's only open for Sparta students and any of our schools if students wish to come in from other towns. Uh there's a process and a tuition payment. That's >> So we're not sharing Milton School. Milton School is ours. We're leasing the
whole building. >> Thank you, Emily. >> Thank you so much because that was the other point I was going to make. It's the same protocol as it would be elsewhere. Um in terms of other buildings in our district and with that, I believe we answered all questions. Thank you, Mr. Bis. And we're
certainly open. We're due actually for an ideas committee meeting. So we would love to explore that a bit more and see how we can support. So, thank you. And with that, anyone for the good of the order? Go ahead. And >> I just wanted to say that I know that uh
although the the uh new structuring of our district admin team and the opening of the Milton School have certainly been a boon to our school system, it's also required some measured internal moves and sacrifices from our faculty and our staff. changing
roles, excuse me, changing roles, changing buildings, even changing job descriptions. So, I just wanted to say thank you for the sacrifices that people have had to make to help bring this plan to f fruition, and it's all for the benefit of our entire community. So, I just want to thank everybody for all the
sacrifices they've made. >> Well said, Andrew. >> Yeah, I just um last meeting was late and um I didn't have the energy, but I have a little bit energy tonight. I just wanted to there were over this last year um Dr.
Beck and and I've always told everybody that you disagree with disagree but when you do a good job you need to know you do a good job. So as we're closing this up I think you've done a great job this year. Um I the some of the comments over
the year about the snow days about not responding appropriately. Um I think people don't realize that Dr. Quebec has four or five buildings plus other buildings, has hundreds of employees, thousands of students, and that's all
his responsibility. And um I can tell you that he responds probably a lot faster than some other people I've seen. And I want to say thank you for that. And that um I appreciate it. And I just want to publicly say that um I think
you're doing a great job. And I want to personally say thank you for this year. Thank you, Robbie. >> On a similar note, I also would like to extend my thanks to the admin teams and the building leadership team specifically for the Milton School
developments. This was a bit of a whirlwind for all of us and I think in the end it's going to be a really tremendous beautiful thing for our district. But with anything that requires change, uh sometimes it takes time for everyone to be accepting of those changes and adjust to the new
normal. But the amount that our admin team in partnership with the board and the building level and preschool level teams have prioritized communication to the parents. You know, when we say we'd like a newsletter to go out, when there's questions that are being posed, the interest and the desire to answer
those questions well, but to do it in the most timely fashion out of respect for those parents who are navigating a challenging decision perhaps. Um, I just think it speaks volumes and I'm really proud of that and we appreciate it and any way that we can help support that, we're we're here to do that. So, thank
you for that. Um, and I'd also like to mimic what Dr. Martinez said. I think we are incredibly lucky for our admin team, uh, our superintendent, Dr. Beck, uh, for Barbara, our business administrator, for Dr. Rossy. A lot goes into running
this district. And I think that we have unique insight into just how much that entails. but to be living in the trenches of that day in day out, especially paired with public scrutiny. Um, you guys do a phenomenal job. And I also would like to go on the record to
say that we are in an incredibly lucky and privileged and blessed district to have such great leadership at the forefront. So, thank you all for >> a very challenging budget season getting us out of it successfully and another successful school year. Um, I would just like to say
congratulations to all our graduates, all our promot promotions, every student in the school just for a successful school year. Uh, you did it and thank you to our staff and admin and support staff that brought like brought so much success to our students. They couldn't
have done it without you. >> Excellent. Anyone else? Okay, with that we will not be reconvening into close session this evening and we will not be resuming open session. Therefore, may I have a motion to adjourn?
>> Thank you, Rebecca. Second. >> Second. >> Thank you, Dominic. All in favor? >> I. Any oppose? Any obstensions? >> Good night, everyone. Happy summer.