To the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for it stands nation under God indivisible with liberty and justice for all. I'll talk. >> Okay. Um, we're going to start out with
a presentation from the New Jersey School Board Association. They're going to go over the ethics for schools so that we all and the public and board members hear the same information at the same time. And we have um Dr. Tim Than here who's going to do that for us.
Thank you, Mr. T. Dr. T, [applause] >> I definitely never get a clap. So most of the time people leave the room. So, you know, this is good. It's already off to a good start. So, this is ethics and um each year we we revise it and that's
why you see 2026. All the cases that'll be in here are actually from 2025 because we're in 2026. So, I'll talk about that, but this is created by the field service reps, which are what I the position I'm in, and the New Jersey
school board's attorneys. And so, we actually look at the requirements of ethics as well as all the newest cases. And a lot of board members will look at the case and say, "Yeah, that doesn't apply to us. That doesn't apply to us." And that's true. A lot of them probably do not apply to you. However, you never
know when something's going to pop up. And so it's a nice handy tool that you can reference at any point. The PDF that I believe either was sent out or will be sent out to you actually is hyperl. So all the cases that are in this, you can click on it and you can get a lot of
information about the cases. Um, one of the things is I'm a little nerdy. I actually like all these legal cases. Um, but you'll only see a little blurb of it and um, if you want to know more about the case, you just simply click on it and read it. Most of the cases are
anywhere from three to say 25 pages long. So we're obviously not going over all the cases tonight, but they are there for your reference. So the school ethics act is actually by the school ethics commission. It's not by New Jersey school boards. So I do not
have uh a badge on me. I am not the ethics police. No one at New Jersey school boards are the ethics police. But um the reason why the the ethics act was put into place was so that your community would have faith that all of you that are serving in this highly paid
position are actually uh doing all the right things. And all the right things means you're doing things in the best interest of your students. So who enforces the act? Once again, not New Jersey school boards. It's a school ethics commission. And because in education with acronyms, we're not
really creative. It is called the SEC and it has nothing to do with Securities and Exchange Commission. It's a different group. Um this is supposed to be made up of nine individuals that are broken up in this way. Um we have not had all nine seats filled for several years now. We've been running at six
seats and that's important to know. But just this past year, I think in January or February, they actually filled one of the seats. So now we're up to a total of seven. And like I said, that's going to be very important to know. Um, when you look at what's in this act or what you
as board members are required to do, if you look at this as board members, you're so special, you get all four of these areas. Your school administration, they actually have the two to the right, the disclosure statements and the prohibited acts. Um, the two on the left are mandatory training and code of
ethics, which all of you are required to do along with the disclosure statements and the prohibited acts. So the part of the mandatory training is that every board member has to each year basically go through mandatory training. It's a way to keep you a breast of all
the newest information that will help you be the best board member that you can be. If you're a brand new board member in your first 90 days of being sworn in as a board member, you have to take governance one. And that basically gives you the foundational knowledge that you're going to need in order to be
up and running. During your second year, anytime during your second year of your first term, you have to take governance, too. That focus is a little bit different. That's going to be on finance and student achievement. And then in your third year, anytime during your
third year of your first term, you're going to take governance three, and that's focused on policy and labor relations. every time you're reelected during that year that you're reelected, you have to take governance for, which is legal updates. Um, a lot of board members do like to take governance for
annually just to get the latest and greatest uh legal cases. You're welcome to do that, but when you are reelected, you still have to take governance for. Um, same thing, some board members will say, I'm a brand new board member. I'm going to take governance 1, 2, 3, and four all in my first year. And that's wonderful, and you're able to do that.
However, you still have to take governance 2 in your second year, governance 3 in your third, and governance 4 every time you're reelected. And if you have questions, just scream out. Um the so the financial and personal relative disclosure statements are a requirement. It's actually part of
QAC as well, but uh when you're a brand new board member, you have 30 days from the time that you're sworn in to fill out this financial disclosure statement. And if you're somebody that's been on the board or you're a school official, you actually have until April 30th of each year. Um, years ago, it used to be
paper and pen. Now it's electronic in most districts. Um, where you receive an email and just so you know, if you mess it up, it actually goes to your business administrator first who then kicks it back to you and says you messed up. I had been a superintendent and I had messed it up several times. Uh best cue
on that is basically to copy everything you had the year before, save it, and then the next year change whatever has to be changed and then reinput it. Um but that is not going to ask you how much money you make. It's just simply asking you where are your sources of income.
So there are uh cases where um individuals have not either completed it or not completed it honestly meaning they left things out and it may be an int may have been intentional or may have been unintentional but the result was that we actually have cases on this
as well where when somebody didn't fill it out correctly and something happened and it ended up when they looked at their financial disclosure statement it wasn't uh revealed in that. So that's where the issue became. So once again, you can click on any one of these cases.
They're all hyperl. So when you see C8524, when you see the letter C, that means it's ethics complaint. When you see the letter A, that means it's an advisory opinion. Um, so this is an ethics complaint. You also will see recommended, reprimand, or just
reprimand or when one of the other penalties. When you see the word recommend it first, that means it's gone through the first level of review, which is the school ethics commission. When you don't see the word recom recommend it and you just see the penalty, that means it's gone through that first level and it's gone through the commissioner
of education. So, it's actually gone through both levels. That's a final decision. The recommended can be changed. Um, and sometimes they are changed when you review the cases. So, now we're going to go through the the tenants and there's 10 of them that you're required to follow.
The first one is you have to uphold all the laws, rules, and regulations. You may not like them. You may not agree with them, but you're still required to follow them. And um so if if you don't like a law, rule, or regulation, there's other pathways that you can follow to change that. But you have to follow
what's in place. You have to make the decisions in the best interest of all your students. Not just the ones you like, not just the ones you dislike. You have to do it for all of your students. That's why you're here on the board. You're here to advocate on behalf of all the students
in your district. There you go. Um your job is really to stay focused on policym, planning, and appraisal. Policymaking, believe it or not, although it may be boring in a way, uh, because it's just information or
words that are on a page, policy is probably one of the most important things because when something happens in your district, the first place your superintendent's going to go to is the policy. the same thing as any other administrator, teacher, a parent can go there, a student can go there because
that gives the direction on what what you're supposed to do or how you what you're supposed to do when you're presented with a certain situation. Um, planning is in many different forms in in education. If you think about what what all the different things that you do right now, let's talk about budget
season. You've been doing financial planning for months. That's part of planning. If you have a strategic plan, that's part of planning. If you have district goals, that's part of planning. You have board goals, that's part of planning. Your teachers are m are having planning going on, lesson planning. That's even has the word in it. Um, but
there's planning everywhere. All that is part of what you do too as a board. And then appraisal. There's only one person that you evaluate as a board, and that's your superintendent. It's your superintendent's job to evaluate everybody else in the district. Uh, the next tenant is that you're going
to not administer the schools. you're even though you're at the top of the chain, you do not run the schools. That's the job of the superintendent. That's why you've hired the superintendent. Um your job and the best way of thinking about this is a board is the what the superintendent is the how.
So if you start to do something and you're saying this is how it should be done, you've just overstepped and you're actually administering the schools. So always stay with what which is more of a bigger picture. um it's saying this is what we would like to accomplish and then the superintendent has to figure out how to do that.
You do not make any personal promises nor take any private action. You as a board member are a member of a team. You can only take action when you have an agenda item before you at a legally publicized board meeting and you have a quorum of the board. That's when you can
take action. You cannot take action out on the football field or the soccer field or in the shop right or the waw wa and say somebody comes up to you and they will come up to you. They will know your schedule better than you do. They will track you down and they will ask you to do something. And what you don't
want to do is say oh yeah I'll take care of that because that's a personal promise. Your job at that point is to say I hear you. You need to go to whoever it is on the lowest level of the chain of command. Nine times out of 10 that's the classroom teacher. It may be the
administrator in a building, but that's where you redirect them. And then you go back to the superintendent and you say, "Hey, just to let you know, Mr. or Mrs., whatever came up to me, this is what their concern was." I redirected them back onto the chain of command. And now I'm telling you, I'm looping you in. And
then your job as a board member is done. Let the superintendent handle it from there. Your job is also not to give into the special interest groups and the political groups. Um, unfortunately, politics and special interests have made their way into our public schools where
they should not be. And the reason why they should not be is because their focus is different than what our focus is. Our focus is on the students. Their focus may be sort of on the students, but really they have other things that they're interested in. And there's not that there's a purpose for them. There
is a purpose for them, just not here. So, keep all the politics and the special interest out of the district. Um this to me is probably the most important tenant and that's confidentiality. As a board member, you are privy to so much information. Um in
order to make those uh planning and those decisions that you have to make, you are privy to certain information. Before we all came in before you were in executive session, everything that you discuss in executive session is confidential information. Um, so the
reason why you need to keep that confidential because if you violate that, that can not only violate the code of ethics, but you can actually open up your district up to a lawsuit. So, you want to be really careful about that. Um, and then also, if you're not confidential, you actually break down
the trust between the superintendent and the board members or between one board member and another board member. So, think of what you do as Vegas. Whatever happens in Vegas stays in Vegas. Well, whatever happens with the board and whatever is discussed between the board stays between the board. It doesn't go
public. Um, your job is to appoint the best qualified personnel. Your superintendent will make recommendations to you. Your job is not to say, "Okay, um, who else applied? What were, you know, what what what can you tell me about each one of them?" You only go with the person that he's recommended.
Do they meet the requirements of whatever that position is? Um, sometimes you will have um a candidate that meets the requirements. It may not be the best candidate in the world, but there are some positions that are extremely difficult to fill. I had a
building principal come into me one day and she said, and she normally doesn't do this, when she finishes interviewing, she says, "I'm sending you a candidate." I said, "Okay, what's special about that?" And she goes, "She has a pulse." And I said, "Huh?" And she goes, "It's the only one
we've had apply and we put the job out three times and she has a pulse. It was extremely difficult." So, we did hire and she did have a pulse. That's all I'll say on that. Um, so your job is also to support and protect school personnel. And um, so when you think about what your role is, is not to talk
badly or even nicely necessarily about people because that means somebody could could look at that and say you're evaluating those individuals. So simply just protect your school personnel. There are times when school personnel make mistakes. You don't go out into
public and start bashing them because if you do, you've now once again violated the code of ethics, but you've also possibly opened yourself up as a board and a district to another lawsuit. Um, you have to refer all uh complaints to chief administrator administrative officer, which is your superintendent,
also known as a CSA. They go by many different titles. Um, I already said what that is. That's a chain of command. So, an ethics complaint, and this is an important one to know, is that anyone can file an ethics complaint. Superintendent can file it against a board member. Board member can file
against another board member. Anyone from your community sitting here can file it against you. Anyone from outside of your community that's watching your videos or hears you or sees you in public can file an ethics complaint against you. However, it's not as simple as just saying, "I think you did something wrong. I'm going to file it."
They actually have to file it. And in each one of those tenants, if you look at the top part of the tenant, the code that you're supposed to be following, that actually comes from statute 18A. The bottom part, the factual evidence, that actually comes from code, which is
6A. And so if somebody makes a claim that you violated one or more of those tenants, they al also have to put in the actual factual evidence that supports that claim. And what will happen is when you file if you or somebody else files a
code of ethics complaint, the uh school ethics commission will look at the information that's provided and then they will reach out to the person that it was filed against and they will give them an opportunity usually 30 days or more to respond. So in other words, the
SEC is getting both sides of the story. So when they do that, that's when they make their determination about whether there was a violation or not. You also only have a 180day window in order to file something from the time that the alleged uh incident occurred. If
somebody waits 181 days, the SEC will kick it back and say, "Sorry, you missed the time period." So, what happens if you somebody does do something wrong? What are the penalties? There's four of them. The first one is reprimand. Think of that as a slap on the wrist. Basically, we all do make
mistakes and so sometimes you will be told, "You did something wrong. Do not do it again." and it's to you. So the SEC will send a letter to you and tell you that you did something wrong. The next level is a censure. That's much more public. If that happens, you as a
board actually have to adopt publicly in on a resolution. You have to name the person that had the violation and what tenants they violated. And so it's a very public um resolution. The third one is a suspension. So the SEC can say you're off the board for a certain
amount of time. could be 30 days, 60 days, 90 days, whatever it might be. And then the last one is a removal where they say you can no longer be a board member. So it will be one of those four if they find a penalty. If they do not find that there's anything that was done wrong, they will simply say it's
unfounded. So this is a device of council defense which sometimes when when um a board member or a school official is um ethics complaint is filed against them, they'll say, "No, I didn't do anything wrong. and I followed my my counselor's advice
and so it's not my fault, it's his fault. Well, it has to go through this four-prong test. And the first one is that the approved advice approved advice must have been received prior to the action. In other words, you can't do something wrong and then turn to your
board attorney and say, "Hey, if I do this and it's is that wrong?" And if he says yes or no, okay, you can't do that afterwards. You have to do it beforehand. You have to be proactive. The next one is the individual that offered the advice actually has to be the person that is allowed to offer you the advice. You cannot go to an attorney
of your that's your friend or a family member or even another educational law attorney in another district or another area. It's your board attorney that you have to go to. That's the only person that can give you legal advice. What I'm giving today is not legal advice. What I'm giving you today is legal
information, not legal advice. You only take that from your board attorney because if he gives you the wrong advice, guess what? he's the one that has to defend you. [clears throat] And then the third tier of that is that uh the prong of that is that all the facts were provided. So in other words, if you do not give the full story, your board
attorney is only going to be able to give you legal advice based upon the information that you provide. So if you don't provide the full story, his advice may be very accurate and on on point with what you told him. If it comes to light that you miss something, then that
advice could have changed. So you have you can't use that defense if you did not give all the information. And then the last one is that you actually have to follow the advice. So in other words, you can't be told don't do that and then you do it anyway. That that wouldn't you couldn't use this as a defense then.
So we have a list of cases and as I said, I'm not going to go into all the cases, but each one of these has a different amount of uh description to it. And so your job really is to review these at your leisure. Like I said, click on them, find more information about them. There's once again, there's
a lot of stuff in here that you may be dealing with, but there may be a lot of stuff in here that you're not right now, but you may in the future. And so, it's a good reference point for it. So, these are code of ethics cases. And then you get to recusal and abstension.
And recusal, most of the time in board meetings, you hear I abstain, I abstain, I abstain. An abstension means that you do not have enough information in order to make an educated uh vote when on what on whatever the agenda item is. A recusal is different. A recusal means
even if I wanted to vote, even if I had all the information, legally I'm not allowed to because I'm conflicted in some way. Perfect example for that, and I'll use this, is that your uh minutes, you're approving the minutes for this board meeting. You were not at the last board meeting what the minutes are for.
So you might recuse yourself because Oh no, I'm sorry. That's that's a good one for abstain abstaining. A recusal might be if let's say you have a relative that works in the district and you're approving something that would benefit them, then you would recuse yourself
because that's a conflict. So if you're not sure what you should do, seek out your board attorney, find out, say, "Hey, I'm presented with this situation. I know we're looking at this agenda item. Should this be your recusal or can I vote on it?" And then they'll be able to guide you that way. um relationships. And the thing I'm
going to hand out to you tonight will actually have all the relationships in it. And it's a it came from an advisory opinion, which is a handy little uh reference sheet for if you have a relative that is any one of these situations. They may or may not cause a conflict for you. And if they do, then
once again, you're going to want to seek out the advice from your attorney to give you that that specific guidance. Um and as I always say, we love our relatives, but they're also the ones that do create all the conflicts for us. uh advisory opinion. And this is the part that I was talking about before.
When somebody files for an advisory opinion, they're seeking advice from the SEC about whether they can or can't do something prior to them doing it. So if you think of an ethics complaint, that's reactive and an advisory opinion is
proactive. So for the advisory opinion, the SEC will give you a determination on it regardless when you submit it. They will give you a determination on that advisory opinion that you submit. However, they if they feel it has a far-reaching impact, they will actually
make it public because it's something that they feel more people in the state it might impact. So, they're going to make it public. The SEC cannot make it public if they do not have six votes to say that it's public.
If they only have six board members and one doesn't show, that means even if they think something should be public, they cannot make it public. And that's why this past year in 2025, we did not have one single advisory opinion published all year long until I think it
was December 14th. I think that was the first time they must have had six people on their board sitting there that finally could vote. And that's why we had I think 22 different advisory opinions published on that day. We had finished this presentation in the beginning of December. So, we had to go
back and relook at all those cases and then add them into this. Uh, one of the advisory opinions that was passed um actually was rescended and we had to pull it from the presentation. I don't know why the SEC rescended it, but they did rescend it. >> Tim,
>> you can go on the end the website. >> Okay. And look it up like if you >> Yeah. So, if you look and that'll be at the very end, um there's hyperlinks to the school ethics commission, to the advisory opinions, there's also to the ethics cases. You can click on those and go back not just for this current year
and the newest ones, but you can go back for years past. And it that's important because um if you're especially if you're seeking out an advisory opinion, you should go back and look to see if there's another advisory opinion already out there. So, you don't even have to seek it out because it might already be
there. So, and if you're not sure where to go, your board attorney can give you some guidance on that. Um, as we say, advisory opinions, and that's why we have a police officer there, is that we had um a brand new board member that said, well, you know, it's called an advisory opinion, right?
Yes, that's what it's called. She go, so if it's an advisory opinion, I don't really need to listen to it, right? Because it's only somebody's opinion. Well, the reality is it's kind of like a police officer. If a police officer pulls you over because you've been speeding and they say, "I'm going to let you go with a warning." That's his
opinion, right? If they pull you over again, what do you think they're going to do? They're going to give you a ticket. So, an advisory opinion is just like that where the SEC says, "Here's the advisory opinion. You're actually expected to follow it." And so, if
there's an advisory opinion or ethics case out there, you should be aware of it and then you should use that as your guidance. So these are the advisory opinions and one of the things we did this year a little bit differently was we gave you just a one sentence for each description
because there's one once again there's so many of them but I think it really helps you as a board member to really look through these and say oh so we have an issue where you know can a board member hire a district teacher to tutor their child where all of a sudden we're
presented with that let me check out that case. So it was an easier way for you guys to reference it and to be able to click on it and find the additional information. So there's two pages of this and when you see these these are in numerical order. So if you go to this
list it starts at 01 02 04 so on and so forth. Um so it gives you an idea these were the 22 cases that came up. Um so benefit is another area that as a board member you have to be careful about is that if you are going to benefit from something then you have to recuse
yourself from it and sometimes it's not about whether you believe that you're going to benefit it could be that if their perception is that you're going to benefit from it. I'll give you an example from a board member that I talk to each year when I do the ethics training with him. He asked the same question every year and this year I I
preempt it and I said, "And guess what? You can't do the paving of the parking lot. He owns a paving company and every year he wants to pave the parking lot for the school and do it for free." He can't. And he says, "But it's not a benefit. I'm donating it." But it's a
donation for his company by his company, which means it's kind of like free advertising. He's already sought an advisory opinion on it. He's already told no, but he asks every year. So, it's not about whether he believes it's a benefit. It's about whether the perception could be that he's benefiting from it. >> We'll take them.
>> You'll take them. Yes. He has not volunteered to uh pave anywhere else. [laughter] And as we all know, he's like, I could be saving the district tons of money. And that's absolutely true. Um so these are list of prohibited acts. So if you find yourself in any one of these, these would be a case where
you might recuse yourself then. And these are now prohibited acts cases. So there's a lot of cases with this as well. These are all the cases from 2025 and these are conflict benefit cases. Like I said, I'm not going to go into all of them. I can if you want, but I'm
sure you don't want me to. So, you can kind of see there's a lot of conflict and benefit cases, which gives you an idea that that seems to be an area where some board members are actually missteping at times. So that may be an area that if you have something presented, if it's a conflict
or a benefit case, you might want to give it a second thought before you take action because that is an area that people are misststepping. And then hiring personnel. Um, as a board member, if you have relatives that are working in the district, that is totally fine.
However, once you get on the board, you cannot hire any of your relatives. Same thing with the superintendent. He can't hire any of his relatives. It will potentially create a conflict for you if you have a relative working in the district though. And so once again, you'll seek out the advice of your attorney. That may um stop you from
being able to participate in the superintendent evaluation. It may stop you from being able to participate in the um the contract negotiations if you're and that's an easy way to get out of doing contract negotiations if you have a relative in the district. Um I do
have a district where there out of a nine member board seven of them are conflicted because they have relatives working in the district. So only two people of the nine can do the evaluation of the board of the superintendent. I have another district that out of a nine member board five of them are conflicted
only four of them can participate in negotiations and last year they were all brand new board members. So you don't want to necessarily be in that position but you could be in that position if it happens. So these are the things that can happen. There is a limited exception that if you have a hearttofill position
and the only person that applied for the position happens to be one of your relatives. That's when your superintendent can reach out to the executive county superintendent and request a one-time waiver. And it would be a one-time waiver. They'll give him guidance on how he might say he or she might say, you know, um advertise the
position again. You know, they'll give the guidance for that. Um these are impact on committee assignments. Um if you are the board president or vice pre board president is where this case comes in. Um you could actually it can impact more than just
you what you can be involved in. You can actually not be involved in um some of the committees. But more importantly if you're the board president if you think about it what is the one job of the board president? It's to assign everyone to their committee assignments. If you
have a conflict you cannot do that. and that was one of the cases in that district that has seven of the nine board members that are conflicted. This was their case. Um, so realize it can have a far-reaching impact. And if you look at that one, the board president in that case was not allowed to be involved
in personnel committee negotiations, instructional, which is curriculum instruction, or finance committees, and wasn't able to appoint anyone to the committees. So, you can kind of see how how having relatives in the district can severely impact what you can do as a board member. So, if you do, just seek
out your board attorney's advice on what to do in those cases. This is a nice handy chart that you can reference. And this is um tells you whether you can be part of the negotiations or not. So, it is kind of like your get out of jail free card so to speak. If you are in the top column where you have an immediate
family member or relative working in the district, you cannot participate in negotiations most likely and you won't be able to v vote to ratify the contract. And people say, why is that? Well, the reason is is because, and it's rightfully so, anytime there's
negotiations, they look for settlement agreements in other districts. So, if even though your relative may not benefit here, some your relative in another district could, which is a second column there. If your relative works in another district, so that's why
it could impact here, but it can also impact if you have a relative in another district. That's when what's going to cause you to be conflicted. whether they work here, whether they work somewhere else, you won't be able to, if they work somewhere else, you won't be able to um participate in negotiations here, but when all the terms and conditions are
worked out, then you may be able to vote to ratify the contract because you had no say in what those terms and conditions were. And then the last one is you don't have a relative working here or anywhere else. You're on negotiations. Welcome to the club. Uh this is just a slide on uh campaigns
and collective bargaining. If you uh are a board member and you've received um an endorsement from say a a local union, does that mean that you are going to be considered conflicted? No. It does not mean years ago it did. Um they the original ruling was that it did and so
what you were having was unions say, "Oh, we're endorsing so and so because they were anti- whatever their group was and so therefore they were excluded from negotiations." So this came out and it actually said, "No, no, no. Just being endorsed doesn't do it. But if you're endorsed and you receive a financial
contribution from the endorsement, then that will create a conflict for you. And then volunteering in school as a board member, absolutely you can continue to volunteer in school. It's greatly appreciated. That's one of the reasons why you probably got on the board to begin with, but you have to
watch how involved you are and what whether you have authority in those volunteer positions. And as we always say, don't handle the money either because somebody can claim that you stole the $1 from the hot dog at the football game. You don't have to handle the money, okay? But don't be when your
involvement, if you're there multiple days in a week, that can give the impression to your community that you're running the school or running whatever it is. The authority is if you're in a volunteer position, don't be directing staff members to do things in that volunteer position. Um, let somebody
else do that in in whatever capacity. And these are just suggestions. These are not requirements. Um we say as a board member, it's a good practice that if you're going to a school to inform the superintendent that you're going there and why you're going, even
if you're going there for a parent teacher conference, because believe it or not, everyone in the building knows when you walk through that door and it's, "Oh no, so and so is in in the building. Why are they here?" So, it's just a good practice and it's also a way for then the superintendent to give a heads up to whoever is in charge in the
building that you're coming in the reason why you're coming. When you come, stay focused on the purpose of why you're there. So, in other words, if you're there for a parent teacher conference, don't walk through here and say, "Oh, I see three lights out. I'm going to go and tell, you know, the head custodian these are out." Stay focused
on the purpose why you're there. Um, social media, the best advice I can give you on social media is don't use it. Okay? If it's has to do with board business and anything to do with what you do as a board member, simply don't post it. If you want to talk about
anything else, by all means, post away. Um, we're seeing and I think we're going to see a lot more cases with social media because people are becoming a little more brazen with it. But the SEC will look at the content of what you're posting and they will look at the substance of it and whether they believe
it is connected to your job as a board member and the board the business of the board. Um the SEC came up with a disclaimer that you can use and just because you use the disclaimer though it is not a get out of jail free. It doesn't mean you can say whatever you want. They will still go back to the
content of what you posted. So good idea. use the disclaimer. It basically says you're not speaking on as being a board member. You're speaking as being an individual. But then keep your comments in just being an individual. And like I said, these are some of the social media cases. So if you're active
on social media, you're going to want to look up these cases. And then these are just some other important ones to keep in mind. Um you guys do have a benefit because you're actually blocked here. So no one can see what you're doing behind the wall there. But in a lot of districts, the the boards they can the
public can see what they're doing. And so you don't really want to be texting from the deis because if you're texting and then somebody else is texting down there, community members have been known to say, "Oh, I think they're texting each other having a conversation that's should be public that's private." And so
they've been opra requesting the cell phone messages and they've been successful at getting them. So you want to be careful about doing that. the same thing. Uh, a lot of districts are using their agendas on their laptops. You can have that out. That's totally fine. But don't be sitting there tapping away
because once again, people are making the claim that you might be emailing each other and having a private discussion. So, just be aware of the things that you're doing because people could perceive it. Even if it's not what you're doing, they could perceive it that that's what you're doing.
And then, as we said before, these are links to some of the resources. Um this is the relative chart which I have the paper copy of it for you but that's the digital copy. Um you also have the school ethics act you can go right there. The school ethics commission decisions are there. There's a FAQ for
rec recently uh requested advisory opinions and then the school ethics commission itself. You can click there to get all the cases and you can go back year after year after year. So you could spend months just reading all the cases. Any questions? Not too painful, right?
And what you don't hear enough as a board member is thank you because what people think is that you get paid a lot of money and you get paid zero. Okay. But it is a rewarding position that you're in because you really are working on behalf of the students. >> Thank you Dr. T.
>> Thank you. I'll just hand you these down real quick. >> Thank you for the handout. So, >> thank you. >> Thank you. >> Thanks very much. Did a great job. >> Thank you. Thank you. >> Thank you so much. Okay. Discussion
items. I know Dr. Hibbs has something. Does anyone else have a discussion item? >> Go ahead, Dr. Hibs. >> Thank you, President Bloom. So, we uh we worked with the high school and Mr. Anderson to finalize uh part of the
year. So, graduation and we're going to put that outly tomorrow. Graduation will occur on Thursday the 25th and that will be the night where our awesome seniors get to go to Dave and Busters. And then that Friday is going to have to be a
half day for the high school because the we had snow days uh built in. We used four, but unfortunately the high school was without power and they have to make up that day to get to the number. So that will be it's an unusual ending to the year, but we're going to we're going
to make it work. We can't do uh you know the Fridays for David Busters is just out of reach monetarily. So this will go wide to the community tomorrow. >> Okay. Thank you, Dr. Hibs. Of course. >> Anybody else have anything for discussion? >> No.
>> Okay, let's move on. Um, school community relations. Could we hear from Gianna first, please? >> Thank you. Um, Washington Township High School Student Council will be presenting Mr. Washington Township on Thursday, April 23rd, 2026 at 700 p.m.
in the Republic Bank Performing Arts Center. The theme is Super Mario Brothers and tickets can be purchased now through the day of the show. The tickets are $10 each and each of the candidates have t-shirts available through March 31st and a portion of the t-shirt sales will go to each of the
candidates charities. Autism Acceptance Week is running this week, March 30th to April 2nd. Students at the high school are participating in an autism acceptance spirit week with days such as Magnificent Mind Monday, Neurodiversity Tuesday, Sensory Wear Wednesday, and
Autism Acceptance Thursday. The Washington Township High School Dance Concert Around the World will be held on Thursday, April 2nd, 2026, starting at 700 p.m. The dancers have practiced and perfected their routines to showcase all of their talents during
their concert. Be sure to come out and enjoy this amazing performance. Tickets can be purchased online and can be purchased at the door as well. The freshman sophomore class council had their annual March Madness basketball game on March 20th. Students and staff
had the opportunity to participate in a basketball game and the cheerleaders performed a halftime routine. Some sports news. Um Simone McGllinchi was named swimmer of the meet at the Glouester County Championship meet for finishing first in the 100 freestyle and
breaking the county meet record. She broke our high school record which was previously set by Gail Hegel over 48 years ago in 1978. Mark Deo placed first in the Tri County Conference Showcase and Gloucester
County Championship meets. He established a new diving score record for both the six dive and 11 dive meets. Mark finished third at the New Jersey State Championship dive meet. The 2026 senior trip began on Tuesday, March
17th, and students returned on Saturday, March 21st. It was a week full of Disney magic, and the students on the trip made lots of memories. As their time at Washington Township High School comes to a close, the Coalition for a Safe Community in partnership with the New Jersey Department of Education
Gloucester County Office hosted the second annual teen summit at RCSJ this past Friday. Students and staff from high schools in Gloucester County came together to develop leadership skills as they brainstormed to address issues that teens face every day. Senior Grace
Consolo, juniors Austin Brennan and Sophia Laferty along with sophomore Shiraz Meta worked on the countywide planning team with both Mr. Anderson and Mr. Dilio to plan this event since April of 2025. Students attended breakout sessions in
the areas of self-image, motivational balance, fear, perspective, and leadership development. Mr. Perry Mace, the president of the coalition for a safe community, was very impressed by our students and their insights this past Friday. In addition to the students
I mentioned, 10 others were recommended by staff as leaders or future leaders and attended the summit last Friday. Washington Township High School will continue to serve on the planning committee for next year's event. 10 Washington Township High School students that had expressed an interest in the
STEM fields attended the STEM Discovery Day at Rowan College of South Jersey on Friday, March 27th. The students took part in three workshops hosted by the RCSJ faculty and industry partners to explore various topics including marine biology,
veterinary sciences, and environmental science. Thank you. >> Thank you. >> Thank you. >> Thank you. >> Okay, now we're going to hear from Mr. Dilio on school and community relations. >> Thank you, Miss Blom. Um, couple things
I want to highlight. There's a title one parents as partners night from grades 6 through 12 supporting students in state and college board testing. Come learn with your child or children about the assessments taken during the school year and how these tests connect to academic
progress and future opportunities. We will review both the state assessments which are the NJSLA for adaptive and college board assessments, the PSATs and SATs so you feel more informed and confident in supporting your child's success. The session information is
Wednesday, April 15th, 2026 from 6 to 8 at Washington Township High School. Presentation of assess of assessments will be done through breakout rooms by grade level. If you plan to attend this will this was in parent square. So, make sure you fill out the Google form or
scan the QR code. Um, it was posted on Parent Square um this past weekend as well. Cupcake Wars. On March 6th, over 40 students and adults came together to participate in the annual cupcake wars, making it fun and meaningful event for
the entire community. This year, the Bell's PTO selected all the school pantries as the beneficiary thanks to everyone's generosity and therefore they raised nearly $2,000 to support this important cause. This event was chaired by Miss Fino from the PTO whose
leadership helped make the day a success and Belle's PTO would like to extend a heartfelt thank you to all the judges, talented bakers, and participant who helped make the event such a success and congratulations to our student and adult winners. the Heagen Library. Join the
Heagen Library for a very special presentation on raptors and reptiles and a visit from the Woodford Cedar Run on Sunday, April 19th at 2 p.m. Learn about why raptors and reptiles are so well suited for their habitats and which characteristics help them play an
important role in our environment. Animals will actually be part of the presentation and you should go to heaggen library.com to register. Um, I believe space is limited. You do not need a library card to attend. Uh the program is in partnership with Washington Township Environmental
Commission. We are Township Leadership Podcast. Last week during uh season 2, episode 8, we highlighted Miss Petroski. Miss Petroski is over there. She's the principal of Chestnut Ridge and with two of her students, Liam Tuadell and Afron Islam. Um, to see, please tune in to
WTTV under videos to see the eight episodes this season and the 15 episodes last season. Um, we're also on Spotify and Instagram as well. Um, we're proud of our staff and the leadership and the budding leaders that our students are. U, Mr. Lindstead and I today actually
interviewed three um, did three interview sessions with Miss Daell, um, Mr. Holmes, and Mr. Anderson and we spoke to the teen summit students that Giana talked about. So, um, by the end of this year, we would have interviewed
90 student leaders and 45 adult leaders. So, that's a I appreciate Mr. Lindstead's help with that. Uh, 2026 meetings for CPAG. There's going to be a general meeting on April 15th um at 6:30 from 6:30 to 8 at um right here in this
room. And then parent only uh coffee chat May 18th, 2026 at Bell's Elementary allpurpose room from 6:30 to 8. More information is in the backpack if you're interested. And today um for the next hour and a half um the Township Band is
sponsoring a Cold Stone uh crearyy um dine and donate. So the weather is nice. So if you'd like to go out and support them, you just have to mention Township Band. And then um on the 1st um which is tomorrow um Chestnut Ridge is having a
dine and donate at Dolce Vita um from 1 to 9. So it's an all day affair. Please mention CRMS. Um there's also tomorrow um sorry Thursday after the uh dance concert. Most of the kids do this anyway in the visual performing arts where they
go to Applebee's to kind of celebrate their um their performances. So, um, Applebee's is having a dine and donate for, um, the township dance department and the concert. Some more things, there's an hunt on April 4th from 11:00
to 3 sponsored by the softball team and the baseball team. And then, um, on 18th, um, Mr. Scardino is having his last performance where, uh, he's retiring this year and he's invited, um, alumni
to come back. You just have to fill out the QR code and um or email the school if you're interested. And in our Sunday funday, uh it's a lot to read, but I just want to remind you that we have Township Night at the Phillies coming up
um in April as well, the 28th to be exact to playing the Giants. Um it's a um buy one get one um commonly known as Dollar Dog Night. So um make sure you attend. It's going to be a great event and we're celebrating, you know, our
band, our singers and our teacher leaders as well. That's my requirements for them. Thank you. >> Thank you, Mr. Dillio. Under old business, I was going to talk about the cupcake wars when we talked about what we had participated in at the last meeting. I apologize, Dr. Gverson and
the Bell's PTO. I forgot, but I got to be a judge in that and that was a really interesting thing. I have never seen so many cupcakes. It was in a few rooms in in the high school. There were so many cupcakes. I was thinking, how are we going to judge all them? But they did a
really good way of breaking it up into groups. So, I think my group, we had four or five cupcakes and they had a lot of judges and it was really nice to see that they gave the money to our food bank in the district. So, that was a wonderful activity.
I may have a motion to approve E1 letters of discipline. There are no correspondences at this time. >> So moved. >> Second. >> All in favor? >> I. >> Okay.
I have a motion to approve the minutes for the month of February 2026. Motion. >> Some move. >> All in favor? >> Right. That motion carry. Under all business. Does anyone on the board have
old business that they would like to talk about? >> Yes. >> I have something. >> Sure. >> I think this is old business. We received a letter uh several weeks ago from the NJA representative about the monies that we supposedly have. Um and
then of course we met with the business administrator and all and um she had some good answers of refuting that. Is there any way we can get the two of them together? Bring the NJA in to >> I guess that would have to be a motion
from the board. >> I'll make a motion then. >> Is that how it would work? >> That should be a conversation. >> Conversation >> first. >> Okay. >> What do you mean be a conver there's >> Can we have a conversation here? >> Well,
sir. Well, I don't I I don't know that it would necessarily require a motion of the board for the administration to have conversations with the >> You said this letter came from the union. >> Yeah.
>> They had a series of concerns about money that we supposedly have. Um, I'm not going to give I I don't want to get too deep into the woods on the actual letter, not having, you know, seen it and been able to analyze it, but
there's often ongoing conversations between the union and the administration when it comes to terms and conditions of employment for the union represent, you know, the union membership. So, >> well, it it could have effect on u uh on
the budget and uh maybe some save some jobs if we could So, how do we how do we go about discussing that? >> How would you save jobs for that conversation? >> Well, it would save jobs that if if they have the money that they say we have.
They if they tell us how we have the money. >> So, you have a CPA as a business administrator who you have multiple years of audits. Uh if you have specific questions, you can absolutely raise them. None none were raised. Uh there is
no extra money, there is no hidden money, there is no anything. There is simply a structural deficit. That's what we have. >> Well, why not bring them out and show them why we why it is a we don't have any money
>> in front of the full board. >> Um so what I would say is that the um letter has a lot of figures that have already been talked about in committee. Um, some of the figures have been updated and I would be happy to in each
of the committees in April go through every single number that is addressed. >> Many of it already has and we have audit statements and pages from our adopted. So, I'm happy to go through it again.
>> Ralph, if there's a specific question, can we bring the auditor into to refute that? I mean, uh, quite frankly, I don't remember having a full board, uh, exit audit with the with the, uh, [clears throat] with the auditor. And I think that's common >> that it's common in the business
committee. So, that was done in the business. I don't think the full board in the past, we've had it in front of the full board. >> No, we haven't. >> I think we have >> and and the Well, how about this? Is there a specific concern you have from
that information that we could address right now? Yeah, there's a specific concern because they say that we have money that you're saying we don't have. >> No, I mean a specific concern. >> That's my specific concern. >> Our specific our specific answer is that's that's not accurate. >> Okay. Well, why not address that?
>> I did just now. >> So, when they get up here, I don't see any representatives here, but when they get up and say we have this, this, this, and this, we're going to say no, we don't, and that's it. Well, we'll be happy to address things as we can, but if your concern is is that, you know,
and I again, I'm still not hearing a specific concern that you're raising other than a general concern. So, if you have a specific concern that was put forth, we're happy to address it now. We would have also been happy to address it over the the you know, the weeks leading up to the budgets. We know that you
everyone received this information uh some time ago. Thank you to those who put forth it to us so we could have it. We appreciate that. But if you have a specific question, we're happy to answer it. Do you have one, Mr. Ross? >> Yeah, I have one. >> What is it? >> I want to know whether what they're
saying, whether it's true or not, and I want them to point out everything that they're that they're saying. We have, >> but it's it's not accurate. >> Yeah, >> we're saying it's not accurate. They saying it is accurate. >> Yeah, your your your business administrator is absolutely and your superintendent are telling you that's not accurate, but if you have a specific
question, we're happy to. So, your answer is you don't want to address it in public. >> I'm happy to address questions. You don't seem to have any. >> And and I think, like I said, we have all the um concerns in writing and we've talked about many of them before, but
I'm happy to address every single point again with with the board. >> Well, I don't have the letter here with me now, but I would I would be remiss if I didn't bring it or at least go over everything that they've said on there.
Maybe it would be good if the attorney has a copy of that letter. You said you don't have you did not see that letter. >> You have that. Correct. >> Well, how about the auditor? >> Does the auditor have a copy? >> The auditor does the if the auditor had concerns, they would have been listed in the audit.
>> Well, I don't you didn't have a you didn't have an exit conference. We absolutely did in public. Um >> Well, I mean, maybe members of the business committee could talk about that. So I mean yeah as chair of business I mean this year that [clears throat] was one of the specific questions I asked the auditor in the
exit conference but is there any hidden money? The obvious answer was no. Um how did they feel about our our cap reserve our excess? Um which they were saying was getting low. We needed to make sure we could replenish that that it could start to affect our S&P rating which it
has. So I mean the auditors kind of confirmed everything that the administration was saying. The other thing I'll offer Ralph and you know this could be helpful um we have we have access to Gemini right through our board computers and if you take some
of the things that are being said like if you don't understand what is being said with some of them you feed it to Gemini and you feed the actual financial state to it to to it'll do the compare and say well that number is accurate but it's low for a school district of your size or that's normal for a school district your size. So, Scott, you
didn't have any concerns with the letter? >> I went through it point by point and no, I mean, it's I've seen those letters before um in previous years. You know, some of the numbers are correct, but the interpretation of those numbers, I disagree with how they're being
interpreted. Um, and I think, you know, we've had accusations like this before and they tend not to be true, right? I mean, you there's no hidden money that we keep finding year over year. And some of the surplus they talk about, if we didn't have that surplus, we'd be decimated, right? You need that to be
able to price reserves. You legally have a certain amount of excess that you have to keep. You know, we could go point by point through it, Ralph, in business or any of the committees. Happy to help with that. >> Yeah, we're happy. We're happy to address it. But to be to be fair, we've
addressed a lot of these already and we're happy to do it again. Um happy to do it again. You know, I wanna I want to say that Janine is a absolute incredible educator and accountant and a CPA. She does a great job. She works tirelessly. And you know, for accusations to say
that we are not doing what we need to do in the financial manner, that's just they're inaccurate. And you know, ironically, we just had an ethics presentation about supporting and protecting a school personnel. >> Well, that don't mean we don't make uh if we have some concerns, we don't bring it up.
>> 100%. You can always bring them up for sure. >> Well, that's what I just did. >> Yep. And we're happy to address specific concerns. >> I think two years ago, was it two years ago, we actually had the auditor review it and give us their opinion on the matter. And I think >> without a doubt, I actually met with the
auditor at his house. I think over spring break to go line by line over this. There were absolutely no concerns that the auditor found in any way, shape, or form. Isn't it customary to have a an exit conference with the whole board? >> I I think Mrs. Mctor already addressed
that. If the board as a whole would like to do it differently next year, we will we will acquies to the will of the board, but I think what she's told you already is that that's how we've done it. Janine, is that correct? >> Yep. So,
I I know you might not like that answer, but that's the answer. >> No, I really don't. But >> that's okay. >> Move on. Anybody else want any old business? Yes, go ahead. Yes, I have a couple budget questions as well. Um, when we saw the bud budget presentation
at the uh Sunday meeting under the revenue section was the fund balance of 7.4 million. So the just walk me through this. Okay. So where if I'm thinking correctly, all right, that was listed in
the revenue which means that that 7.4 has been appropriated. Correct. >> Okay, >> that's correct. >> Okay. Now, also I understand um that boards of education
can carry 2% of the operating cost. >> Correct. >> So that would be embedded in that 7.4 4 that's been appropriated. >> That's [clears throat] separate. >> It's separate, but it's correct. >> It's over and above. >> Correct. So above. >> So the the 2% that you're talking about,
that's reserved. Anything over and above that, which is the 7.4 million, has to be budgeted in the next budget. >> Okay. So then the 74 7.4 million has been appropriated and then we have a surplus, a 2%.
>> I'm sorry. >> Yes. >> Okay. Um, I had this question. I wasn't at the last board meeting last week. So, it it goes back to February's board secretary report. Okay.
>> Um, when I look at that report, we had about 18 plus million dollars that has not been uh assigned anything. Okay. My question is what is your projection
of what will be left on June 30th? Because we know that budgets are projections. >> Yeah. Yes. And so what I'll say is this time of the year that's very difficult to project. What I can tell you as I've been looking at like you said in
February we had 18 million still left. at this point in the year compared to last year we are lower by a couple million dollars. Um I will also tell you that the second half of the year um we
have things like additional time where employees tend to to put in vouchers at the end of the year and we have a lot that's encumbered at the end of the year. I can also tell you that right now we are in the process of calculating retrop pay. So none of that has been
encumbered. We've encumbered um increase in salaries so far. So if you're looking at um past February's report, you'll see that encumbered, but retropay hasn't been encumbered yet. >> Okay.
Last year we raised taxes. Correct. I noticed that in the in the budget report on June 24th, 25, we moved a million dollars that was
surplus into capital reserve. So, what we do in at the end of each year, we do a resolution to move up to a maximum amount into capital reserve. Um, and then what we do is when we're closing out, we make sure that we have that
money to put in. So the the the resolution was up to a million. So then when we're closing out, we want to make sure we have the 2% reserved. We also had excess this year, which I mentioned at the meeting was primarily due due to a spending freeze
halfway through the year. not not a real good way to build up surplus, but we did were able to budget it and we added a million dollars to the capital reserve, which brings us um it's over 2 million now, but nowhere near what a district our size should have.
So typ typically then and I I don't think that's the first time other times around that time in June when we have surplus money that's the time that the board has a makes a resolution
>> to put it into different accounts. >> Yes. So it's up to up to an amount [clears throat] because again we make the final decision as we're closing out. Um, one of the things that I've mentioned before with schools, some things like extraordinary aid, we don't
actually know the revenue until the following year. So that's why we do a resolution up to a certain amount and then we decide as we're closing out. Would it be would it be safe to say that at least in your tenure here
when June rolls around, we generally have some type of excess that we roll into a capital reserve account. >> Mhm. >> This is the lowest it's been, but yes. Okay. >> Um >> but we haven't had many infusions lately.
>> It they've been much lower. >> Yes. >> Yeah. Um, is it true that a a business administrator can project what might be saved by June 30th in this budget? Is it >> I am not doing that right now. We're
calculating retro. That's going to be huge. >> So, I I would not but when >> Hold on one sec. Yeah. It's it's kind of an unfair question. So, if if you really if you really wanted to give Janine the opportunity to do that, that could have been one of the many questions that you submitted that we attempted to answer.
So, to put her on on the spot right now and say, "How much money are you going to have left over at the end?" is is kind of it's kind of unfair. So, if you'd like her to try to project out what that could be as a projection, and that would be a row in the ballpark, not a seat, we're happy to do that. But,
that's not something you should turn to her now and be like, "How much money are we going to have at the end?" is a she might be wrong and you know we want to be right. So we want to give everybody the opportunity to have a thoughtful responsive answer. >> Right. And and just one other point that I want to make and this was a slide that
was in the presentation is that while we had um you know we we put a million dollars into capital reserve. We had our 2% which we definitely need to have and we had our 7.5 million excess that was budgeted. Overall, if you compare our
surplus from one year to the next, it's still down almost $3 million. Our credit got downgraded to a um a negative um outlook and if we don't start building it over the next couple years, it's
going to be downgraded again. So I think that with um you know projecting for 2526 keep in mind that in order to not not create another hole for next year we
have to have our 2% which is between like 3 and a half and 4 million. It's 2% of your operating budget. So we have to have that plus the seven and a half million plus hopefully money for capital. Otherwise, we're in a hole for the next
year. So, I did talk about that being a concern that while it's good that we had excess, and it def definitely helped out this budget, if we don't replenish all of it, it leaves a hole for the following year. So, so those are all the
things that we have to consider um at budget time and when we're projecting what we have what we're going to have at the end. >> So, we'll be able to see that June 30th for sure. No, not necessarily because on June 30th, we still have um as I
mentioned, like we still have uh pay vouchers coming in and things that we have to um go back and encumber and pay out in July, but it's usually in the July or August area. >> So that that's why the wording was up to up to.
>> Yes. Correct. Correct. That's why we do it that way. >> All right. Thank you. Thank you for your answers. Sure. I do have some other things to talk about, some other items. Um, last year as well as this year,
it seems to be coming up like a bad penny over at the high school where our student representatives have and staff have talked about the fact that things are going on in the bathrooms
over there where kids are reluctant to go. um vaping, smoking. I know our student representative brought this up last year and um I know I talked about it.
There are just like a smoke detector you can have in the bathrooms that would would I would would be able to pick up if a kid is vaping in there. Um I don't know. We were supposed to look into it. I don't know what's happened with that.
Uh, are we are we still still looking into it and possibly thinking about it? >> Um, definitely have information, but don't think we should discuss it in public. Uh, I think it should run through committees and I'm happy to to do so to to let everybody know.
>> Okay. >> Okay. My I have two more things. >> Okay. >> Two more things. >> Okay. Um, I guess since about
the mid to late 80s, our district had a principal's list breakfast and we've had that for last 40 years. There have been some community people, students that I've heard that have
talked about the fact that we're doing away with the principal's list breakfast at the middle schools. Somebody said to me, "Oh my goodness, there is this costing money, a lot of money that now now we don't have the principal's list breakfast." And I know the money issue,
but it's really not a lot. It's uh you know bagels and fruit and coffee, some donuts, maybe about six seven00 maybe an event. Then I then I was looking at at at at
the report of and I and it this happened to be Chestnut Ridge. Okay. I was looking at the Chestnut Ridge report on the uh principles list. Now, Chestnut Ridge has 590 students.
Between sixth, seventh, and eighth grade, there were 219 students that made the principal's list. That was roughly 37% of the school is on the principal's list. So, then I got to
thinking, I don't know if it's a money problem. Maybe it's a problem that we couldn't fit all those people in the cafeteria. 219 students and two parents and the other people that are in there.
So I guess my question is what's the rationale behind the fact that we're doing away with the tradition that has been
geez some of the kids their parents were at the principal's list breakfast and now and their brothers and sisters what what happened this year was it the money was it the fact they can't fit into the cafeteria.
37% is a pretty high number. >> Okay. Um, thank you for bringing that to me as a CSA. I'll be happy to look into it and I'll inform the whole board as to what happened. >> Thank you. >> Of course. >> Anything else? >> Yep. Okay. Is this new business or old
business? It's all old business. Um, last time I was here I mentioned the fact that um there was an ethic interesting we had the ethics the ethics presentation tonight an ethics charge
against me by two board members Linda Hartung and Carol Chilla and the report came back that it absolutely had no basis. I had every right as a board member during budget time myself and another board member to have a conversation with the interim
superintendent or through committees. So I was completely exonerated by that. But one thing that I I didn't have at the time when I brought this up was I asked what was the cost? The cost for my attorney
was she build $9,000. So, I'm just saying that all these kinds of things that don't go anywhere, they add up in money. You know, our kids didn't don't have middle school sports this year. They're there.
It's it's it might seem like a small amount, but when you add them up, it's a lot of money that's going in to our resources unnecessarily. Um, the last the last thing that I wanted to talk about and we've had we've
had teachers come up and speak to us about the importance of having educators work with our youngsters that need interventions, BSI help. and we we eliminated a lot of
people last year and we moved in to more of a of a pro a program seems to me like a program that's helping the kids. So I wanted to bring I wanted to bring this up and just it's a it's a plug why
I think we need an educator working with students. We have we have what we call I Ready. Maybe some of you remember the STAR testing. We don't have that now. Correct me if I'm wrong. My understand is we
have I Ready. That's a program that is really sounds pretty good. It addresses a youngster's weaknesses. Okay. I take a test, identifies where I'm weak, and then it it runs programs to help me
build on things that I'm lacking. I'm not going to mention what it is because I don't want to give people ideas. One of the things that we try to do at least at the middle level is that kids work on these
programs for at least 40 minutes and sometimes they're given in school, sometimes it's um at home for homework. And they're they're they were very clever clever. They were able to figure
out a way that the computer would think they're on the computer because the teachers get a print out not of what they're doing but what what time they're spending on it. And that concerns me, okay, that that that
there were youngsters that could really profit from this, but they kind of they kind of beating the system, so to speak. And that's one of the reasons why I believe educators working with kids face to face is more
important than a computer. Take the I Ready test that they take the first time. You know, I'm not going to say what it is, but they are able to figure out how they can make things a lot easier for
themselves during the year. So, I'm just want to put a plug in that I'm a I'm a board member that really supports the basic skills with with a teacher and not a computer program. [applause] Okay. Thank you.
Okay. Um I'm going to go on. May I have a motion to open the meeting to the public? >> So move. >> Second. >> Second. >> All in favor? >> I. >> Okay. I do not see a card. If you have a
card, wonderful. Bring it up. You all tricked me. I didn't see any cards. Okay. Mrs. Chiller. >> Good to see you, Mrs. Chiller. >> Good to see you. Good to see you. So, good evening. Uh, for the past two
years, my family and I have lived under the weight of repeated accusations. Accusations that were not only untrue, but unsupported by any evidence. During that time, I've had to defend myself over and over again, responding to
claims that should have never have progressed as far as they did. What has made this especially painful is that these allegations did not just involve me, they involved my child. As a parent, there is nothing more important than protecting your child. To see their
name, their experience, and their well-being pulled into a situation like this has been deeply distressing. No family should have to endure that, especially within a school system that is meant to be a place of trust, safety,
and support. Throughout this process, I've cooperated fully. I've shown up. I've responded. I've remained patient and professional. Even when it felt like the process itself had lost sight of fairness, and all along, there has been one consistent truth. There is no
evidence of wrongdoing. There's none, because there was nothing done wrong. That raises an important question. Why did this continue for so long? Connie, you just alluded to it. While time, energy, and financial resources were being spent pursuing baseless claims,
those same resources were not being directed where they belong, towards students, towards classrooms, towards teachers who need support and development, towards programs that could have made a meaningful difference in a child's education. We are now in budget season, a time when
every dollar is examined, when difficult decisions are made, and when priorities are supposed to be clear. I ask you to consider what could have been done differently over the past two years. The funds used in this process could have helped train a new teacher, supported a
struggling student, or expanded opportunities for learning and for growth. Instead, those resources were spent on something that ultimately produced nothing. No findings, no accountability, and no benefit to the students this district is meant to
serve. This is not just about my experience. It's about accountability. It is about ensuring that systems are fair, efficient, and focused on their true purpose. And it is about making sure that no other family has to go through what mine has endured. Moving
forward, I urge the board to reflect on how situations like this are handled. There must be a commitment to evidence-based decisionmaking, to timely resolution, and to keeping students at the center of every action taken. Our schools should be places
where resources are used to uplift, educate, and support, not to pursue unfounded claims at great cost. I stand here today not just to close this chapter but to ask for better for my child, for your students, and for this community. Thank you.
Thank you, Mrs. Chiller. Miss Sakulus, I had to pull up before my time started. Good evening. Um members of the board of education, thank you for the opportunity to speak tonight. My name is uh Patti Sucallis. I am the um vice president of
WTA for the high school and I'm also a high school math teacher. This is my 26th year in the district. I've um here tonight because I'm deeply concerned about the direction of the proposed budget that I saw online last week. Specifically, the mention um of further cuts to support staff secretaries and
the teaching staff at both the elementary and secondary levels. I urge you to take a closer, more critical look before moving forward. Right now, we are operating with reduced staff. This is not a hypothetical a hypothetical concern. It's our daily reality. Core content classes are running with 28 to
32 students. That's not just a number. That's 30 individual learners with different needs, abilities, and challenges, all competing for limited attention and support in a single classroom. Our students are already feeling the impact. Last year, we saw cuts to the BSI and intervention
supports, programs that are essential for these students. These students need additional help to succeed. Those supports are not extras. They're lifelines. Without them, students fall behind. They become disengaged, and in many cases lose confidence in their ability to learn at all. Now, we're discussing cutting even more. Support
staff and secretaries are often the backbone of our schools. They keep the buildings running smoothly, support communication with families, and allow teachers and administrations to f focus on instruction and student needs. When these positions are reduced, the burden doesn't disappear. It shifts and ultimately lands on the already
stretched st excuse me, staff and more importantly on the students. Teachers too cannot continue to absorb these losses indefinitely. Larger class sizes, fewer supports, and increasing demands create an environment where it becomes harder and harder to meet the needs of every child. And when we can't meet those needs, the students are the ones
that suffer. We will all we all share the same goal to provide the best possible education for our students. Cuts at this level do not move us towards that goal. They move us further and further away from it. I understand that budgeting requires difficult decisions. But I ask you to consider the long-term cost of these choices. The
impact on student learning, on teacher effectiveness, and on the overall health of our school community is a is significant and lasting. Please take a closer look at this budget. re-evaluate the proposed cuts. Prioritize a resources that directly support students and the people who serve them every day.
Our students deserve better than the continued reductions. They deserve investment, support, and the opportunity to succeed. Thank you for your time and for your consideration. >> Thank you, Mr. Sakulis. We really do like to hear what you think about the budget. I know that the month coming up
is the biggest month of the year where we talk about the money and how we're spending it. So, I do encourage everyone in the next month, starting tonight, to come up and let us hear what you think. It does matter to us what the public thinks and what our staff and students
think. So, thank you. Um, Miss Wells, good evening. Thank you, board um to the board members. Um, I'm here to address a concern that I have on something that was discussed last week.
Um, specifically the contract offered to Hey Tutor. Um, when I saw the details of the contract first, as a an educator in this district, I um, you know, I have
advanced degrees. I tutor students for the district at a reduced rate whenever I tutor for the district of $44. We are not we have never we we have not I shouldn't say never we have we have not been successful in um promoting the
fact that that was not sufficient for tutoring individual t tutoring of students but I still do it occasionally. Um, hey tutor. I I was curious, so I went to their website. I looked at their job posting, a job posting that has been
on Zip Recruiter for 17 days, which seems a little earlier than what it was brought to the board last week. Um, they are paying these tutors. They're offering 21 to $26 an hour.
The job is advertised as good for college students. You need 60 credits to qualify for the job that you are contracting out away from your qualified certified staff.
Right? The company is charging $65 an hour, right? But they're only paying the tutor for a $73,400 per year contract, $26,520
or about 44% of the cost they're collecting. The rest of that money is going to a company in California. It is not going to our community. It is not going to our staff who could use that
money as well. The reason that you don't get a lot of volunteers, why I'm one of the few teachers who volunteers to tutor at the district rate, is because it is well below what we are worth. And if we were offered the same $65,
you would get a lot more teachers who would volunteer and the money would stay in your community. And that is what I want you to really consider when you think about something like this. Um, additionally, that college student with
60 credits, I'm sure, has never even looked at an NJSLA standard, let alone know how to remediate it or instruct it. Thank you.
Thank you, Miss Wills. Okay, Mrs. Lenudi. I actually just have a question about bus drivers. Um are from my understanding our substitute bus drivers are hired by the district, not an outsourced service. So they are
directly hired here. Um and if I'm not if correct me if I'm wrong, but I think their hourly rate is $21 an hour. with the new contracted rate, our contracted bus drivers are at 29.90. I I think um we are very down bus drivers. Um and
there's no positions being available offered to transportation to hire more bus drivers. So, we're hiring a lot of subs. Um, with the contracted rate being raised now that we're in budget discussion, are
there any discussions about raising the sub rate? Um, again, from my understanding, it hasn't been raised in over seven years, and it's the lowest in the county average. Uh, the county average bus sub rate is between 26 and
$28 an hour. Um, and we are losing a lot of subs to other districts and because no positions are becoming available, we now have no contracted positions and no subs. Um, and my concern is if it doesn't go up to be fair rate, what are
we going to be hiring as subs at $21 an hour? And again, coming from a special education mom, um I have had some concern over some of the subs we've had recently, um
pretty significant concerns. So, now that we're again talking about budget and I found out all about this sub rate, um I think after seven years and being the lowest county, I think it might be time to look at that to to retain some of our really good subs if no full-time
positions are going to become available. So, thank All right. Thank you, Mrs. Lenudi. Do you have something to add, Dr. H? Scott, >> you can throw that on to we can throw into business. Yep. Perfect. And we'll pull pull together some data. >> Okay. And lastly, Mrs. Watson
about inequality in education. Yes. So I'm going to only give you jokes and from there the jokes that I make it is you and how you really feel about yourself. The first joke is if you put me in a
room for all of the white men in the world technically 90% they will give me African descended looking children. That would be e either a truth or a lie. The argument here is and everything I'mma
say even though I'm saying it's a joke is an argument. Is that a truth or is it a lie? All of you have PH degrees. You understand melanin. So when you treat someone that is of a different color, race, creed, or kind,
your love is either with God or with something else. And so when you all here have Ph degrees, you understand melanin. So when you hate me because of that joke and saying that I'm racist, is God racist? Because God is the one that made
the melanin that make my skin a little bit darker because there could be an African man. He said, "Oh, she barely have any melon. She's white." So do we judge people by their color and then we utilize that to then create a racism and
then the bias of the racism. So if you don't like what I say, do you attack my children because of what I say? Right? And that's a true joke because it always end with melanin. But how you think
about yourself, do you say you're better than someone else or you're all children of God? Right? When you treat somebody inappropriately, you don't allow them to be well
educated. You're being in a bias group because you're treating someone in such a fashion that doesn't allow them to grow. And all of us as human beings, we need to grow. Now, that's just my first joke. I have many.
My Italian joke. No real Italian will say anything because my Italian joke is really fascist and non-fascist joke of Italians that I learned from all Italians back in the day. And their joke is a very very prominent joke that I use
when also I call it dating the white boy. Jokes you tell to see what kind of man he really is. Is he racist? Is he biased? Does he think himself better than someone else? Or is he a man who fears God? Not the wrath, but his
disappointment on how he treats other people. That's very important. Being Hispanic, being African human beings, the love of God is to love yourself. The core standard of what you truly are and to
love them. Okay, Mrs. Watson, thank you for sharing your perspective on how we should treat each other. Thank you very much. I've listened to you over the years. >> You're still, even with PH degrees, you're still not coming up with the
understanding of treatment of each other no matter what. Some kids are treated far differently than other kids. And to try to blame someone said they were blaming their kids, they blaming this. But you have to look at yourself. >> Yes.
>> Thank you. Thank you. >> Okay. Um I see that that's all the cards we have at this point. >> Motion second. >> All in favor? >> All right. All right. So,
that was a All right. We're going to have a motion and a second to approve the report of the superintendent items one through four. >> Second. Roll call or discussion.
Any discussion? Okay. >> Okay. Roll call. >> Mrs. Shear. >> Yes. >> Mrs. Baker. >> Yes. >> Mrs. Clancy. >> Yes. >> Mrs. Hartong.
>> Yes. >> She said yes. >> Yes. Forgot about you, Mrs. Carton. >> Miss Kazmple, >> yes. >> Mr. Liberty, >> yes. >> Mr. Ross, >> yes. >> Mrs. Bloom, >> yes.
>> The motion carried. >> Okay, we're going to instructional affairs. Motion and second to approve the instructional affairs items one and two. >> Second >> discussion.
No discussion. Okay, roll call. >> Mrs. Baker, >> yes. >> Mrs. Clancy, >> yes. >> Mrs. Hartong, >> yes. >> Miss Kazmpo, >> yes.
>> Mr. Li Liberty, >> yes. >> Mr. Ross, >> yes. >> Mrs. Shar, >> yes. >> Mrs. Bloom, >> yes. Motion carries. Under policy, we do not have any items tonight. Under
student activities, we have a we need a motion and a second to approve student activities communications items one and two. >> Second >> discussion. Okay, seeing no discussion, may we have
the roll call. Mrs. Clancy, >> yes. >> Mrs. Hartung, >> yes. Miss Kazmple, >> yes. >> Mr. Li Liberty, >> yes. >> Mr. Ross, >> yes. >> Mrs. Shear,
>> yes. >> Mrs. Baker, >> yes. >> Mrs. Bloom, >> yes. >> Okay, we're moving on to human resources. Oh, the motion carried. >> Um, human resources. Motion in a second to approve human resources items 1
through 31. >> Motion. >> Second. All in favor? I It carries. Okay. Any any discussion? >> I thought you were saying it was over. >> Any discussion? >> All right. I have a little bit of a
discussion. I wasn't here on March. I think it was 2. Um and during that human resources vote, it got very emotional on the part of um people in the community, on the part of um our administration, on
the part of board members. And I just want you to know that I think everybody cares about the kids. We have to keep that in mind. When we vote, we vote for what we think is right for the district. And one specific situation, we've gotten
a lot of guidance from our attorney. So this time when we vote on this specific situation, we're following a a very good and solid legal way to either vote yes or no on that specific item number.
That's all I have to say for that. >> Yes. >> Are you going to go into the the uh the two pathways? >> Um Mr. Visci, >> there's there's there's one recommendation that's being presented in
connection with the uh items that are placed on the agenda. So the vote should be with respect to that particular pathway that's listed. But but I understand that. I'm not saying that it has to be said, but there at least the
public would know depending on your vote that there's two pathways. But that's not but this is the one that's being recommended. >> That's correct. Um any of my discussions were certainly reserved for executive session. Uh as we're in discussion now,
the board members can have any discussion they feel is appropriate. Uh are when you say what Conniey's referring to is there was two options for this agenda item. One
would be to create a position temporarily. Uh the the goal was to not to have two people in this position. I can't go into the personnel reasons why because it wouldn't be appropriate. Um and then that would creating a position and then putting a person in that
position uh as a as a permanent person versus doing uh an acting which would be a temporary uh as a superintendent. My job is to make all personnel recommendations. My recommendation was to create the position uh and then put
forth uh Mrs. Trisha Holmes as the candidate which you can see on the agenda. The board always reserves every right to abolish positions as necessary and we work through Nick through this and try to do it as openly as possible. >> Yes, >> we just need the support.
>> Yes. Any other discussion of any items on human resources? >> I just like to um state um retirement from Mrs. Miro, school counselor at Bunker Hill Middle School for 24 years. Um Kristen Bentley, special ed
supervisor for eight years. Renee, I'm going to mispronounce your last name. Strain, the art teacher at Herurville for 15 years, and Robert James, custodian at Bunker Hill Middle School. Um, congratulations on your retirement.
I hope you en enjoy the time that you have. >> Did Did you miss Beverly Sambore? >> I missed that one. >> Okay. Beverly Sambore, too. Okay. >> Yes. Give me. >> Yes. [applause] I worked with Mrs. Draalini for many
years, so I especially wish you a a good retirement. Thank you. Okay. Any other discussions? >> Okay. Roll call. Mrs. Hartung. >> Yes.
>> Miss Kazmpo. >> Yes. Mr. Li Liberty. >> Yes. >> Mr. Ross, >> no to 24. Yes to the rest. >> Mrs. Shakar. >> Yes. >> Mrs. Baker.
>> Uh, on item number 24, uh, I'm going to vote no, but it's it's based on the pathway that we're using that's being recommended. has nothing to do with the person or anything like that. It's the path that we're choosing um or being recommended.
So, not 24. Yes to the rest. >> Mrs. Clancy, >> yes. >> Mrs. Bloom, >> yes. >> Trisha is at her play. Can we give her a hand, please? [applause]
>> Thank you, everybody. the motions. All the motions passed. >> Okay, we're going to go on to finance and facilities. Motion and second to approve the finance facilities items 1 through 27. >> So moved.
>> Second, >> discussion. >> All right. So 27 is the tenative budget. Um, this one I I pondered over and uh it it bothers me.
I'm not a huge fan of this tenative budget for a number of reasons, but you know, this is the tenative budget. So, in order to keep the process moving because we'll have opportunity to continue to revise this, work on it, I'm going to support it. But, um, if it
stays in its current state as final, I'm not going to support it. And some of the things that I have concern about um [clears throat] one is the excuse me the percentage of tax increase uh over a 6% increase to our taxes coming on the
heels of a 7% last year and I get it. The uh health benefits had a huge increase and you know that's got to be dealt with. Um I think the amount that we're putting into capital is low. you know, 500,000
is low. Uh 2 million I think is a better number there. And that's not just to to deal with all the 13 14 buildings that we need to maintain, but also it's going to create a hole for next year, right? we don't put a lot of money sufficient amount of
money into capital for this year by putting a decent amount of capital this year it creates a whole notole creates a placeholder for next year to help defay us having the situation again next year right and if you just look at numbers
and math we're going to be in this situation again next year so we have to start planning and I feel like a broken record because I've probably been saying this for two years now and one of the differences with some of my forecasts is they have come true and tend to be right. So, I hope in committees and
everything else we can start working on that because if we don't address this, we're going to have same problem again next year. As well as I think we're putting the district at risk with such a low cap number when we have an issue. >> Thank you, Mr. Liberty. Anybody else?
Yeah, I have a question. Um [clears throat] the the million dollars that went into the capital reserve in June of 25 is that in the budget or did we spend it? Did we spend it? >> We did not spend it. It so it stays
reserved. So if the board wants to spend it, what we would do and we've done this in the past is you have to pass a resolution to withdraw the money and then appropriate it for specific projects. So what we've done in the past is got through recommendations from our
engineer, you know, we need a partial roof replacement, we need this done, we would identify specific projects within our long range facility plan that needs to be done, you know, speak to the board about it. Um, and then again make the
recommendation to withdraw just the spec specific amount needed for the projects and then the projects would be bid and then later approved. So in other words, that 500,000 that we have in the budget, >> this is different. >> This is above, it's different. This is this is above.
>> So So the 500,000 that's in the budget would be to do capital projects in the 2627 budget year, which we've also done that in the past, but over the years have reduced that to zero and only have
done uh projects out of our capital reserve. And there was earlier years where we had both. >> So So we do have money in the capital reserve from last year that we can draw on if we need it. >> Yes. Okay. We do. >> Anyone else?
>> Uh I would just like to say I'm voting yes on the tenative budget, but for different reasons. I feel like we have to vote on this to move forward in the next month because I'm concerned about some of the cuts to the staff and I'm concerned for some safety reasons and
I'm hoping that within the next month we can relook at all of that. But we can't do that until we pass a tenative budget and maybe look at ways that maybe we can reduce some of the cuts that will be coming about. Thank you. >> That's it.
Um I have in the past said the same thing. You know it's tenative. We still have a month to work on it. Um but recently Steve who's not here told me that after um last year when we didn't approve our tenative budget by the deadline he he someone told him from the
county officer it came up in some way that if your budget is never approved like let's say nobody ever approves it because of staff cuts or something that they'll just default to the tenative budget. Is that true? I don't know whether they would default to the kind of the budget, but they
would certainly get involved. J, if you want to speak to that. >> Yeah. Yeah. I think um it it's not 100% clear. It does kind of um we would work with the county office through the budget process. So again, just to kind of like reiterate what
everybody's saying, this is the submission of the tenative budget. It still has to go through a county review process. So, you know, last year when this happened, we were told by the county office that it's the board's responsibility to um approve and submit
a balanced budget. That's what we're trying to do. It's tenative. The next step is that I submit what we have and then the county office, the DOE get the chance to review it. they can give us feedback and ask questions and then we
have to advertise it to the public, have our public hearing, but any changes that we're make, we can still make changes. They all they're all presented at the public hearing. Um, you know, the county office usually knows about them ahead of time, so it wouldn't be anything that
they wouldn't approve. So, this would really just kind of keep us on line with the um >> Okay. Because I guess based on what Scott was saying, you know, if this comes back, if if it comes back again to vote again and there are cuts there of
staff that, you know, are significant and everyone votes no because of that, it'll this is kind of the one that we're left with, right? >> I don't know if that's the answer. I I I know that there will be state intervention at that point if you don't
pass a final budget. I'm unaware of the tenative budget just I mean that that could become a baseline of what the state is looking at if they get involved if there is intervention. >> Okay. Thanks. >> I'm unaware of anything that automatically reverts to the plan.
>> I've never Thank you. And hopefully during committees we'll be talking about the budget again. Hoping that if things come out that I'm not saying we need another budget retreat, but we may need to because our spring break starts in a few days and that's a
whole week with nothing. I assume we meet the following week for our committees. Do you know >> the dates? Okay. So that will give us a little bit of time and the final budget I think is voted on the last meeting of the month. Correct. Yes.
>> Okay. All right. Anybody else have anything to add? >> Okay. Motion to approve the finance facilities items 1 through 27. >> Okay, we have it. Oh, we have to roll that. Okay. Roll call.
>> Miss Kazmple. >> No. >> Oh, sorry. No to 27. Yes to the rest. Sorry about that. Mr. Li Liberty. >> Yes. >> Mr. Ross.
>> No to 27. Yes. To the rest. >> Mrs. Shear. >> Yes. >> Mrs. Baker. >> Not to 27. Yes. To the rest. >> Mrs. Clancy. Yes, >> Mrs. Hartong.
>> Mrs. Hartong. >> Yes, >> Mrs. Bloom. Yes. >> The motion carries with five yeses. Special education motion. Motion and second to approve special education items 1 through six.
>> So moved. >> Second. >> Discussion. Okay. No discussion. Could we have the roll call, please? Mr. Li Liberty. >> Yes. >> Mr. Ross, >> yes. >> Mrs. Shear,
>> yes. >> Mrs. Baker, >> yes. >> Mrs. Clancy, >> yes. >> Mrs. Hartong, >> yes. >> Miss Kazmple, >> yes. >> Mrs. Bloom.
>> Yes. Motion carries. Negotiations. We have nothing at this time. Under new business. Is there any new business from the board? >> Should we think about another
budget retreat meeting? It's going to come quick. And I think we're pretty far off. I think the reasons people are disagreeing are different. It's not like we got a group that are disagreeing for the same reason. So, we're pretty far off. >> I think here's the problem with the budget retreat. It was basically like the the public budget presentation, but
as you requested in budget committee and we all agreed to, we were supposed to get tiered cuts. This is how much it'll cost and this is what did you ever receive that >> you went through some of the cuts. >> I can I can answer that though. Yeah. >> So, you know, when we that that concept
absolutely was brought up, but when you look at the magnitude of what we had to cut this year, they all ended up in top tier things that that mean something. We, as a as a district, we have traveled from having a lot of excess surplus to
having vacant positions that had money attached to them. All that is gone. We've used it all up. And it's it's a proven fact. you can go back and look at all the excess surplus that's been taken. There are no, you know, there are no more vacant positions attached to
money and and then we started to cut things and then eventually you need to have things. So then unfortunately the only thing that's left is is is is staffing. That's the only place left to go. So, you know, I would have loved to
have had a whole lot of options to present and and rank ordered them. Everything on that list, you know, was was was a horrible cut and we're going to have years more of it. As Mr. Liberty
said, we are not on a proper trajectory. um we're just not and there's going to be at least roughly, you know, millions of dollars every year you're starting out in the red. And just as a if you use
a $100,000 as as a call it like a a 1.0 or a full-time equivalent, if you have a million dollar hole, you're talking 10 people. $2 million hole, you have 20. >> Um will we be talking will the community ever hear what the cuts are? And as far
as our unions, I know in in previous years you've met with the the members of the union to just go over the positions, not the people, but the positions before we have a final budget. >> Yes. >> Okay. >> Yes. But both of which would occur.
>> Okay. Scott, I >> I'm just I'm just saying to Scott's point about a retreat, I'm not in favor of another four hours on the weekend unless we're getting those scenarios, which you rightly requested, you know, in the committee. So, I kind of left that meeting feeling good about the
public presentation, but having no clue what was, you know, what was really going to be cut and that's all I care about. I think I sent an email after that like how much do you want to increase taxes and what are you cutting? And so, since we don't know, I don't see the point of meeting on a weekend. >> Yeah, I have to I have to agree with
you. I mean, I don't know what what the cuts are, >> but I would hope that if we have a retreat that's not a fair that's not a fair representation, though. Yeah, I have >> we got a whole slide on that. So, do you know specifically the the depth of the certificated staff? No, but you you
absolutely know the number. So, please I I just appreciate if we could represent things that are accurate. I did not see a slide, but I know I wrote down everything that you told me, but to me, they would be the things that we would discuss at a retreat, not to have a
4hour retreat, but we never did really rank other than one item what we value, what we don't value. So, I that would be the reason I would see tenatively booking something. Maybe after committees, we're not going to
need that. That might be enough >> maybe. But I think we we got to get the questions out, right? I think it's or start getting, you know, I think I stated to administration where I stand, right? Like these are the things that I would
want to see and I think they don't necessarily align with everybody else. I think cap needs to go up, but I know >> we took money out of CAP for another purpose and we knew what the amount of that cut was, right? We said majority of the board said we're not comfortable with that cut. Take it from cap reserve.
And I think we have to have or not cap reserve but capital projects. I think we have to have more of those types of discussions. If you're not comfortable with the number of certificated staff and I don't think anybody's comfortable with the number of certificated staff it sucks. I mean the position we are in there's no other way to say it
absolutely stinks and nobody likes it. It's just where are we going to have the least amount of damage done at this point and that's the type of discussions we have to have. I think we talked about paytoplay was one of them as well and it's like well is the juice worth the squeeze on that? How much are we going to get? We talked about some dollar
figures, but those are the ones I think we have to to get through because at the end of the day, we have a responsibility to try to put forth a budget, right? We just shouldn't just throw our hands up and like, oh, we all don't disagree, so let's just >> No, I get it. I I mean, I'm actually hopeful because the fact that we're not
getting those numbers is kind of like good in my mind because if you think you're going to have this many cuts and you're waiting to see what your breakage is and your retirement, like this could end up being go from one big number to a small number. So, I'm I'm hoping that that like I'm not worried. I know that
that's going to happen. Um, my comment was just related to a retreat. That's all. >> I guess a budget retreat could be optional. Doesn't mean everybody has to go, but at least it would give people who want that opportunity. I I I agree.
I think we should book it. Even if we end up canceling it, I think it would be That's my opinion. At least we have a date held that works for people and then if we don't need it, we don't need it. >> So I guess my my question is recognizing there's a lot of work that still has to
happen now that the tenative budget's been approved when you what I guess my question for you Julie is right when we say we don't know what like the rank order is my my understanding of what's been presented and what we've gone over in committee at the tree is that there really aren't
options, right? Like unless we have an opportunity to raise taxes more, right? Like there what's in there's in there. There's not a lot of other levers or opportunities or anything else on the list to change. Unless I'm misunderstanding.
>> Well, if you look so you have your your plan, right? They're going to be conservative with their planning about how many people are going to positions are going to get cut, but we just voted on one, two, three, four, five, six retirements. >> You know, there could be there's six right there. six positions. There could
be another 15. We have a lot of staff. So things can change in that way. And there's it's also, you know, it's it's up to them. You know, they decide who what's going to be cut. But I just don't have a sense of what that is. And I don't want to get to the point where
we're getting ready to vote on the final one and then it's like, oh, you know, those class sizes are going past 32 or whatever. I don't think that's going to happen, but I'm just saying. Yeah. I think like approving >> some of the information that was requested we did talk about in committee
just adding that >> right. I think I get I would just wanted to say one thing real fast. So um as you guys know any adjustments that we make at the public hearing there are some times where you know we get we have an estimate and you know a final number
comes in and we can tweak here and there. We'll always let you know. So, if some kind of an adjustment is able to be made to save something on the list, we would let you know. Um, I would also say that if if everybody wants to because we
did I felt like the budget memo that we did was helpful because it captured everyone's questions through all the committees. I know one of the concerns with meeting in the committees is sometimes they don't all hear the same thing. But if you're sending me the
things, if you haven't seen a calculation or have a question, um, if we have that ahead of time when we return from the break and we have our our committees, we can make sure every committee has the same information and then, you know, if we have a retreat or
if we have we would have time for more committee meetings as well. I I think um the way I'm thinking of it is that now that we have the tenative budget passed, there may be opportunities for staff that weren't available until we passed
the tenative budget that may help with some of the staff things or there may be some of us feel that there may be safety concerns about some of the cuts that we may be able to revisit. Nothing's written in stone until we actually get
to that final budget. And in my three years, the tenative budget and the final budget have had things that were not the same. I >> I'm not opposed to participating in a retreat. I think for from my
perspective, we've had a lot of opportunities through committees to discuss them. And if the if Janine's saying we'll have the information by the time for the for the regular budget for committees, do we want to just hold a
date after that in case it's needed? >> Yes. Even that yes, because it's the board as a whole can talk about things what I think is important. You may not think it was important. Scott, you have your own things. But if we got a
consensus of a group, that at least is something to bring to administration to take another look at. That's where I'm coming from. >> I think you just said something really important there. Consensus, right? Like in committee, you can't get to consensus. And that's
>> at the end of the day, >> just about nobody should get what they want, right? It's what can you live with or what what do we think collectively is the best thing for this district? You know, I have certain things that I feel strongly about, but if it's for the best of the district, I could waver on those
if needed because it's for the good of the everybody. But we can't have that if we're not collectively having a discussion. >> Correct. >> So, I I think Pat, you brought up a good point earlier that we're on spring break. The work session is scheduled for
the 21st. So, I think it would have to be um after committees would be Saturday the 18th or Sunday the 19th. Is that if you've looked it up, that's good information to have. Yes. But I I think we have to
realize there's a chance that we won't get everybody there. There's a chance that not everybody wants to participate. So, I think it's going to have to be a majority thing as far as timing. Are we going to pick a date today? >> Are we going to do it right now or is
Lori going to poll? I don't care. I just think it'd be good to have a tenative date. >> Yes. >> So after >> callach out. >> Does everybody know right now or not? I guess
>> we can't speak for for Steve, but everybody else. >> I can do the 18th or the 19th. >> I can do the 19th, not the 18th. >> I I could do the 19th. >> Okay. I can do anytime. >> Sounds like the 19 so far. Sounds like
the 19. I mean, and if it's a basketball tournament, do you do the evening? >> Then better. >> Is the morning better then? >> Oh, after. Okay. >> I mean, it it could even be I would think in the evening if people have activities during the day.
>> Yeah. What if we It sounds like the 19th one today. >> Okay. Okay. >> 19th. >> Yes. >> 19th time. Are we still in new business? >> We are. Yeah, I had something on new
business. Okay, go ahead. Um I I was just wondering um with transfers um I guess going back I being retired you got a lot of time in your hands. So
going back to some board agendas, the board used to receive um an exhibit that when there was a a transfer being done, it would have a rationale why we we don't get that. Is
there any chance that we can get something like that or maybe the board can weigh in on that? In other words, when there's a transfer, why are we transferring it >> there? So, in the report, there should be a description and if you ever need more information, you can ask us. But
the report that was it's always generated from the financial software and that's just to make sure it captures all the transfers within one month because we have to have them approved every month. >> So, it gives the rationale in there. >> Yeah, you usually it's just a a
description of it. Um, >> can you give me an example? Can you give me an example? >> I'm looking at the one that's on here for Yeah, we can do that. Follow that. >> I'll embed it in the uh in the confidential. >> Okay. Okay. Anybody else for new business?
Okay. Seeing no one, um, may I have a motion to open? >> Second. >> It just It's okay. Um, may I have a motion to open the meeting to the public? >> Okay. All in favor? I.
>> All right. Motion carried. And we have a few cards. If you still need a card, now's the time to get it in. Mr. lost. Good evening. So, um I was just looking from the last um meeting when you did like the budgets and the cuts and stuff.
So just by looking at it um from the screenshot that I have taken it says here that the reduction certified staff positions is about 29 across the district and then reduce of support staff's about 23 positions. So about 52 as a whole on that and then that
includes um still having the current um building schedule for high school and the class sizes and schedule wise are considered. However, my concern is is if this does happen or this hypothetical happens in any way throughout the district, my concern is is that like I understand like classroom sizes are
going to be considered, but it's also the size of the classroom, things like that, how we're going to fit them all third like between 35 to 40 students. If that's the case, if the number is that, how are we going to fit them? It's the design of the classroom. Is it accessible enough? And everything else is it ADA uh provided and things like
that too. Is it fits enough people in there? Is it going to have enough staff and everything else and not have any problems or disruptions and things like that? There's been problems not just like as me subbing and just seeing it every day, but it's genuinely concerning like sometimes as they deal with like a
certain amount of students and it's overwhelming and some teachers like I see it from the last couple years I've been subbing. It's they've been feeling overwhelmed with some of the stuff that's been happening within their classrooms and things like that and the amount of students they get and it's just like sometimes it's hard to manage but they try their best of what they can
do. So, it's like trying to consider the reduction of the classroom size of not having all those students in there. It's a lot and it's it weighs a lot on the teachers and it stresses them and I see it in them every single day as I work in these buildings as a sub and I'm very
concerned for our staff and our support staff that do Tyler's effort for our special ed students and much more. So hopefully there is some consideration and taking a deep look into this because I'm very worried for some of our staff
with these issues that I'm seeing. >> Thank you, Mr. Watts. It's always good to hear from somebody that goes into the building, but I think we did have some numbers, Dr. Hibbs, as far as class size. It wasn't that high, was it?
>> Okay. So I think that we believe that there will be room in the classroom for students. Okay. Um and lastly, Mrs. Kosar. Good evening everyone. and Chrissy Kosar, Washington Township
support staff, president. Um, okay. And I have a list of things. Um, we've hired tonight six uh support staff. So, are we unhiring them if we're losing 56 positions
at the end of the year? Um, we're hiring people, but we're going to let, you know, quite a few go. Uh, we're losing positions. Uh, 29 certified, the 23 support staff at this moment in time.
Um, we congratulations to Trisha Holmes on her retirement. Congratulations to her replacement. Uh, and then we're going to need a replacement for the replacement. So, we've got five months of paying. you know, Trisha doesn't uh finish till August. Um the lady that's
replacing Trisha, and I do apologize for not knowing your name. I'm obviously sorry. Um we'll be paying that money up until August, and then we have to bring in um a principal for the for the school that she's leaving. So, we're paying
three people to do one person's job for five months. So, that's expensive. Not saying it's not necessary, but it's expensive. Um, how do we pick our support staff? How are we going to be compliant in our classrooms?
You can increase class size, but we're still going to need support staff for in in-class support. Um, are we out of compliance already in classrooms? You know, we have a lot of ESS people in the district. And you
know, I keep being told that, you know, positions are being advertised, but nobody is is uh coming in and and wanting the positions. Can't imagine why. This is the second year in a row that we've had the same news. Um it's completely devastating. We have staff
that can't sleep. We have staff that are stressed out. We have staff that just don't know what to do. They're waiting for the hammer to fall on their position or their benefits or their pension or their hours or everything. Um, a superintendent has has a a legal
obligation to run a school district. He has to run a school district. That's his charge. Okay? If it doesn't matter if support staff have a 5-year contract because that clause in there that says we cannot be outsourced for those five
years does not work if we do not have enough staff to run the school. Right? If we get rid of enough support staff positions that a district hires, if we get enough rid of enough teachers who do not work for the district, but they're
for an outsourced company, then that's how we that's how we hit the privatization road. That's how we get our schools with no food service, with no bus services, and with no teachers and no support staff. That superintendent, regardless of who it is, has to run this district. And if we run
down our own staff and we can't hire our own staff, he is within his rights and the law to fill it with private company staff to make sure it runs. >> And that's where we're headed. >> Thank you. >> And it needs Thank you.
>> May I have a motion to close to >> Okay. >> I just I just want to address that. Um I I certainly have no plan to outsource any folks here. You have a 5-year contract. Absolutely. For sure. uh we post all positions. We want to hire. We want people taking these jobs. We want
people coming in that are are here all the time. That's what we want. So, you know, there is no there is no plan for teachers or for support staff, you know, to to privatize them or to force them out. I just want to publicly state that and that has not been discussed among
anybody on this day in any way, shape or form. >> Okay. May I have a motion to close the meeting to the public? >> Motion carried. >> May I have a motion? All in favor?
>> Motion carried. All right. I have a motion and a second to adjourn the meeting. So moved. >> Second. >> All in favor? Motion carried. Thank you.