Good evening. Good evening everyone. Good evening and welcome to the West Orange Board of Education public board meeting on Monday, April 20th, 2026. I would like to thank all of you here in person and those watching from home uh
for joining us tonight. I would like to welcome my fellow board members as well as Mr. Moore, Miss Flowers, and our board attorney, Mr. Gio. Miss Flowers, would you please take the roll call? >> Good evening. Roll call. Dr. Bryant,
>> here. >> Mr. If >> here. >> Mr. Stevenson, >> here. >> Miss Vera, >> here. >> Mr. Rock, >> here. >> Please stand for the pledge of allegiance. I pledge algiance 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. The New Jersey open public meetings law was enacted to ensure the right of the
public to have advanced notice and to attend the meetings of public bodies at which any business affecting their interests are discussed or acted upon. In accordance with new legislation designed to modernize public communication, notice is hereby given
that the complete text of each legal notice issued on behalf of the West Orange Board of Education may be obtained or viewed on the district website. Visitors can also visit the New Jersey Secretary of State's legal notices website. Once the required
display period expires, notices will be transferred to the legal notices archive. Archive notices will be available for a period of one year. Please be advised this meeting is being recorded and may be broadcasted on local TV and the district's website at a
future date. >> Thank you, Miss Flowers. In consideration of the closed and public meetings of March 26, 2026, do I have a motion to accept the minutes? So moved. >> Thank you, Mr. Stevenson. Is there a second? Second. >> Thank you, Mr. Iker. Any comments? Hearing none. Miss Flowers, please take
the role. Dr. Bryant, >> yes. >> Mr. Ifer, >> yes. >> Mr. Stevenson, >> yes. >> Vice President Vera, >> yes. >> President Rock, >> yes. >> Thank you. >> All right. Next, good evening to our
student liaison, Adam Bearcat. Uh, would you please share your report with us at this time? >> Good evening, everyone. Starting with athletic and student achievement, the West Orange football mountaineers competed at the 35th annual Chuck Mound football challenge at the Marauder Dome, earning the team
challenge title. Top performers included Sydney Padilla, Daniel Lewis, Dante Palmer, Samuel Fur, Dylan Adams, and Aiden Watt. The West Orange High School chess team placed 25th nationally at the K12 Scholastic Chess Championships in Chicago, a historic finish in their
first national appearance following their state championship win. Student musicians earned top honors at the North Jersey Region One Concert Band Festival. Some of the best soloists include Lon Laflur, Tim Co, and Michael Battle. And
the ensemble ensemble results included the wind ensemble winning gold, the symphonic winds winning silver, and the concert band winning bronze. Moving on to student experiences and travel. During spring break, students traveled to the de Dominican Republic for a
service trip that was 6 days long where students participated in service work with te and te. Moving on, students also traveled to Italy for a cultural immersion that lasted 10 days where visits included the Coliseum in Pompei with hands-on
experiences including cooking, artisan learning, and cultural exploration. Moving on to arts, cultural, and student life, the Roosevelt Middle School Drama Club attended a Broadway performance of Death Becomes Her, building inspiration for their own production. There's an upcoming show, Moana Jr.,
um during April 23rd, 24th, and 25th, and tickets can be found on rms.booktick.com. Moving on to community and family engagement, family math night hosted at elementary schools was hosted by NJA's FAST program and West Orange Education Association. This focused on hands-on
learning and family collaboration. Moving on to health and wellness, Washington Elementary School hosted the pediatric mobile health clinic at RWJ Barnabis Health and Essex County in initiative, which provided free physical exams, vision screenings, and hearing
tests. Moving on, important dates and announcements. The class of 2026 graduation ceremony will be hosted at the Richard J. Cody Arena on Thursday, June 18, 2026. >> Thank you very much, Adam.
Uh next up, Mr. Moore, it is time for your report. Would you please share your superintendent's report with us? >> Yes. Good evening, everyone. We have three uh events on on my report tonight. First, I would like to call on our
supervisor of world language and ESL, Mr. Felix Blata where we will recognize our national multilingual um during national multilingual appreciation some of our world language students. Mr. Plata
>> I would just like to ask the board if they would like to take a seat in the front row so that we can have the uh students come up front. Hello. Hello. Good evening. Good evening. Thank you. Thank you, Superintendent Moore, President Rock, to the rest of the board, uh to our
community at large. Um tonight, uh as was mentioned, uh we are we are recognizing outstanding students, um and the educators that work with them every day, um and in the afternoons and and sometimes early evenings. Uh we are
recognizing in the spirit of the United States Department of Defense Multilingual Advocacy Month. We celebrate not just academic achievement but also a profound commitment to global citizenship
by our district and wonderful students. Specifically tonight, we are recognizing the accomplishments of two groups of high school students who embody the values of our district and our language programs, which are to develop multilingual, globally competent, and
culturally responsive citizens. Now for our first group of honores. These members of the West Orange High School teen chapter TEM powered by the students of our Spanish 4 program
FDU dual enrollment course prove that advanced language study is an ultimate catalyst for global impact. This year the class transformed their coursework into real world success. Among many accomplishments,
they've they won a top funded team title at the team Shark T competition for the West Orange High School's World Cup tournament, which will be held here at the high school on Friday, May 29th. This initiative was led by Roan Meta and
Joshua Montigu and Elon Salama. In addition, individual excellence is also on display as student Aishwaria Jacob earned a $7,000 scholarship to Lehigh University's global entrepreneurship intensive program for
this coming summer. The program's reach is further amplified by team global ambassadors AO AO Osayande and Mia Sea who collaborate across districts to expand
team's mission lead new initiatives and provide vital strategic feedback to teams global staff. This program's impact, as was mentioned earlier, culminated during spring break 2026 when 10 students traveled to Sto. Domingo,
Dominican Republic. And in just three days, these amazing students applied their bilingual skills learned in their classrooms, their labor, and their heart to build a home for a local family. then spending the
remainder of their trip fully immersed in the history and vibrant culture of the Dominican Republic. Tonight, we celebrate these students as they successfully complete the Spanish level 4 curriculum, developing crucial entrepreneurial skills, raising
awareness of global issues, developing a second language, and having the opportunity to ear to earn up to six college credits. So, tonight we applaud these following students. As I call your name, students, please come up.
Alexandra Morales and then you can you can stand that way. Joshua Montigue, Justin Wangshank, Rohan Meta, Aishwaria Jacob,
Logan Zambbrana, Mia Senna, who's also a team ambassador and will be representing West Orange in at the UN. A Ava de Barros, Gabriel Bach,
Elan Salama, AO Oande, another team ambassador representing at the United Nations. Liam Dodson, Mary Dada, Shayla Ruiz, and George McCranes.
Now, you all received individual applause. You're receiving certificates for your outstanding accomplishments, your dedication, your understanding, um, and your internalization of our mission in West Orange is to become globally
competent, culturally responsive, and multilingual students. The multilingualism is what provides the the door for those other two valuable skills which every year we could see in our world the need a greater and greater
need for those those those skills. So thank you and one more applause for this group of students. All right. All right. That's okay. All right. Now, this next group of honores.
Every year, the New Jersey Department of Education, who recognizes the value of developing and recognizing multilingual proficiency, offers districts the opportunity to recognize graduating senior seniors with the seal of biiteracy.
In order to earn this distinction, graduating seniors must demonstrate proficiency in listening, speaking, reading, and writing through a department and NJOE approved standardized assessment. This assessment
is three hours long. I'm proud to report that this year the graduating class of 2026 will have 86 students who have earned this distinction. Applause for all of them.
Aside from the cultural and societal importance of this accomplishment, students who earn this recognition can also earn up to three college credits at the uni at the university they choose to attend. Tonight we celebrate 10 of those seniors
who have earned the New Jersey Department of Education seal of biiteracy in three languages. These students have demonstrated exceptional proficiency in listening, speaking, reading, and writing in English and two other languages.
The languages that these students represent include English, French, Spanish, Italian, Haitian Creole, Dutch, and Arabic. This accomplishment represents countless
hours of dedication, a deep respect for linguistic diversity, and a commitment to academic excellence. These students not only are not only proficient in multiple languages, they are also better equipped to navigate our
complex world, connect with diverse communities, and contribute to a more inclusive society. They understand that the true significance of multilingualism is to gain insight, empathy, and understanding
of multiple perspectives in order to more efficiently navigate our complex world. So to these students, as we call up your names, we applaud you. Eves be for French and Haitian Creole.
Casey Fernandez Barios for Spanish and Italian. Elias Hassi for French and Arabic. Emil Nang for French and Dutch.
Sandra Lemus for Spanish and French. Sena Methylus French and Haitian Creole. Suri Perez Reovan for Spanish and Italian Rosario Tava for Spanish and Italian.
Shaina St. Ser French and Haitian Creole and Isla Woodard French and Italian. to these students. Once again, thank you for not only what you've done so far, but what I'm sure and everyone in this
room is sure you will be contributing to our society in the future. So, thank you. >> Yeah. Thank you to the board again for all that you do to support our students and our programs and to of course our teachers who uh without them they would
not be where where they are. So thank you. At this time, there'll be a brief presentation this evening concerning health benefits from our brokers, Brown and Brown. I'd like to call them to the podium.
Just going to give it a minute for this to load up. She walked away. woman. She walk with me. Good. >> Good evening everybody. My name is Mike Morrow. I'm a vice
president with Brown and Brown. Joining me tonight are Jim Finn, senior vice president, and Mary Muscerella, vice president at Brown and Brown as well. We are part of the account team that represents the district's health benefits. We thought it was important to come out tonight and give some information and insight as to what's
happening from a healthc care perspective, not just at West Orange, but statewide in New Jersey for school districts. To start, I want to give a brief summation about what we're looking at as far as health care costs, trends, and exposure to the school district. The
first point, I can't stress this enough. The upcoming fiscal year, July 26 through June of 27, is the most challenging health insurance year we've had in New Jersey for school districts and basically every other sector of
coverage in over 25 years. A lot of things are driving these costs, but from a health care perspective, we're seeing a couple of underlying themes. Now, my firm represents over 300 school districts in New Jersey. That's more than half of the market. We're seeing this north to south in New
Jersey. From a medical perspective, it's a lot to do with inflation catching up with healthcare trends on reimbursements to providers and physician groups. We're seeing that number somewhere around 12%. To put in perspective what that means, the cost of health care, aside from your
sorry, aside from your claims experience goes up 12% yearoveryear right now. That's the highest it's been in my 20 years in healthcare. prescription is even more drastic. The cost on the prescription health side driven by specialty medications and
recently developed GLP-1 medications for weight loss is over 20%. What that means is year-over-year, you're seeing a 12% increase in your medical claims before your experience kicks in and 20% on the prescription drugs. And that's the state of health care in New Jersey, the second
highest cost of healthcare in the country. The third thing I want to point out is something that's unique to school districts in this state. In June of 2020, there was a state law passed called chapter 44. This mandated that every public school district in New
Jersey offer something called through chapter 44 the educators and garden state health plan. What's unique about these benefits is every district has to offer these two plan designs with mandated benefits and a mandated contribution schedule. Most important,
that cannot be bargained, meaning those benefits are in place for seven years. That plan does not become negotiable until one of 28. In district today, we see 66% of staff in one of those two plans. So 2/3 of the
enrollment in district is in an educator's plan with a garden state plan. The next slide is what we call our pie chart. This is a graph that shows the location of health insurance for all 583
school districts in New Jersey. We like to break this out so you can see from a visual perspective where people are procuring their health insurance in New Jersey. Now, this chart is reflective of July 1st of 2025. We typically update this every fiscal year for July 1st
because that's when we see the largest amount of transitions for school districts for health benefits. As of last July, we take a look at the largest piece of the pie. It's the SEBP or the school employees health benefits program that had roughly 199 or 34%
of school districts participating. Now, some of you have seen the headlines what's going on in New Jersey, but this plan received an increase of 34% to their healthcare costs, one of 26. So a significant increase that 199 that was in there last July, so nine months
ago, is now less than 170. We expect that number to be less than 150 participating employers by this coming July. Second biggest piece of this puzzle is the purple piece. This is called the school's health insurance fund. This is where West Orange has their coverage
today. The district entered into this arrangement July 1st of 2024 and there's about 122 school districts participating today. about 21% of the market. The next largest is the blue slice, which stands for Horizon Blue Cross.
That's where the district had their health benefits up until July of 2018. For many years, even back in my Blue Cross days, uh West Orange was always with Blue Cross, but from a cost perspective, they had to make a change in July of 2018. Now, that slice is
about 120 school districts. Again, about 21%, but it's the third overall largest slice of coverage. Next up, we see a drop off to the red slice. That is a proprietary brown and brown product with the meah health called the public employer trust. There's 53 school districts, a little less than 10% of the
population. Typically, this is a a fully insured vehicle. It does not really work for districts of your size. It's for smaller school districts. Next up is the black slice. We have about 32 school districts that are self-funded. What this means is they go
out on their own and procure insurance and associate the risk. Now, you have the best of both worlds in district today because your purple slice that you're in, the school's health insurance fund is self-insured, but you're pulled without risk. I'm not going to steal Jim's thunder on that one.
The last three slices, the yellow slice is Etna. The district had your insurance directly through Etna from 2018 through 2024 before moving into the school's health insurance fund. And then the last three is another health insurance fund and the new fund, New Jersey Solutions Joint
Health Insurance Fund. That said, I'm going to turn it over to Jim to jump into some more details about costs. Thank you, Mike. And I do want to thank Miss Flowers, Mr. Moore, and Mr. Rock for inviting us in here this evening. Good evening. So, next slide, please.
So, keeping with that same color scheme, what are some of the details behind what's going on with cost? Because as Mike's slide indicated, there's plenty of competition for school district health insurance, but given the richness of the population or the richness of the
benefits, the sophistication of the population relative to accessing health care, competition alone isn't going to do anything about the runaway cost of healthare. So we divide into headwinds and chaos things that have been going on
for a while under headwinds and recent things that have created a more chaotic market environment. These headwinds include things like hospital reimbursement demands. Hospitals learned a long time ago that the larger they are, the more they can dictate pricing
terms to the companies that actually pay for the cost of health care, whether it be Etna, Horizon, America Health, etc. GLP1 utilization is through the roof. 66% of the people in the country are eligible for these drugs based on FDA
guidelines. They're expensive and they're very impactful. So, they've been very successful uh in terms of helping people with obesity and related disease states, but at a significant cost. Poor population health. I think we all
developed collective amnesia about this thing called the COVID pandemic. Yet what clinicians tell us is we're still seeing cancers caught at later stages than would otherwise be the case had CO not interrupted our healthcare. There's still higher instances of accessing
services for mental health care and also things like GI illnesses and muscularkeeletal diseases which the clinicians trace as well to lifestyle changes as a result of the pandemic. Chapter 44, Mike referenced earlier,
even though the plan visited significant payroll deduction relief for educators and others in the field, the net cost to most school districts actually went up because while the premium cost of the mandated plans was less than the typical
school district plan, the employee contribution was even less than that. And at the bottom you see things like the end of enhanced affordable care act subsidies has led to more uninsured people in 2026. Those folks still access health care but they access it at the
emergency room and the cost of that care is shifted to what hospitals charge folks that have insurance. On the other side of the graphic the sudden rush of chaos. So, in May of 2025, the state treasurer issued what we called the
death spiral report, stating that the state health benefits plan, or as it's known for schools, the school employee health plan, was unstable, unsustainable, and on the municipal side, she went as far as to say it should be wound down in an orderly
fashion. And if that was not enough of a breakup note, come 1126, the school silo experienced a 31% rate increase. That was that gray slice in the pie chart that Mike illustrated. And on the municipal side, it was 37%. So the average was 34%.
Other things that came along include Horizon being required to settle with the state of New Jersey for $und00 million of overpayments in administering the state plan. And then we had a new risk bearer enter the market. Mike referred to it earlier. It's the Green Slice, the New Jersey Solutions Joint
Health Insurance Fund. So at the bottom here you see how the impact of all of these headwinds and all of this chaos have been realized with the different risk bearers. State health benefits plan average increase of 31% on medical we're projecting for 1127
another 29% and the consultant to the state health plan said as much in a recent midyear report. school's health insurance fund. While they've been operating in a slight structural deficit, they're still well capitalized. As of the date of this slide, they had
$141 million in cash. We were projecting a rate increase overall for the fund of about 18% on medical, 25% on drug. Horizon, their rate increases are all over the place. Districts with fewer than 150 employees, the actual final
rate increase for those districts was 23 and a.5%. We had been projecting closer to 21%. Larger what we call experience rated districts that are insured on their own, we're seeing rate increases of 35 37 39% all driven by the
underlying cost of health care and population health and similar impacts on the rest of the market and the rest of the risk bearers. Next slide, please. So this is not just a New Jersey problem. It's not just a board of ed
problem. There are school districts in Pennsylvania, the eastern part of Pennsylvania, that are in programs similar to yours. They call them consortiums instead of health insurance funds. They're looking at rate increases July anywhere from 18 to 20%.
In the private sector, private sector employers typically offset rate increases with large increases in deductibles, but there's only so large a deductible can do before or can be before you can no longer recruit and retain employees.
Will the state or federal government do something about all of this? Well, that depends on what you mean by do something. Is the federal government or the state government going to tell us to access less care? Are they going to tell hospitals and doctors to charge less?
Are they going to tell insurance companies and pharmaceutical companies to make less profit? Yes. I didn't say should they. I said will they? Probably not in the very near future. So, as Mike indicated, chapter
44 expires December 31st of 2027, at which point local control through the collective bargaining process will be reasserted relative to plan design and premium contributions. So, with that, that concludes our presentation and thank you for your
time. Have a good evening. All right. >> Thank you, Jim and Brown and Brown. Yes. Um, just quickly going to open it up to the board if they have any brief questions for Brown and Brown. >> Oh, >> yeah. Yeah.
>> Robert Maria, do you have a question? >> Don't have anybody have any questions for Brown and Brown. >> Mr. Stevenson, do you have a question? >> Sure. Don't don't have any questions. Uh just a couple of comments. Thank you for the presentation uh and the injection of the dose of reality to the current
situation with respect to to healthcare. Uh I just want to add and say that you know we saw the writing on the wall with respect to cost and made the switch for 2024.
uh unfortunately are not seeing some of the increases that other districts may be seeing and we hope that it holds for for our district. Although we're projected to increase around 18%
this year. And so there has to be some way um in terms of what will occur with the expiration of the of of chapter 44 at
the end of next year. Uh, but I think it's it's just really important for the community and for the public to be aware to the to your point about spiraling and out of control costs with respect to healthcare, just not in West Orange, but
around the state and I do say around the the country as well. So, thank you for the presentation. >> You're welcome. >> Quick questions, Jim. Um, one you referenced we moved into the shift a couple years ago. At that point, we were with Etna. We were facing a big projected increase that year and we had
a choice between going with Horizon directly and going with the shift. We chose the shift. Would it be accurate to say that if we had chosen Horizon, we'd probably be in a worse situation now with rate increases? >> Absolutely. The way the school's health insurance fund works is the actuaries
for the program develop the overall increase in the fund needed to keep it sustained. And then amongst the groups in the fund, there's a collar and a cuff adjustment based on that school district's claims experience, but it's a narrow range. And
what I mean is, let's say the whole fund needs a 15% increase. Groups that have higher claims than average could see a 17 12%. That's the range 2 and a half points up and below as well for groups with good claims. If we were experience
rated, meaning on our own in our own plan and our population health was poor and your population health is not great right now, we could be seeing a Flemington Raritin style increase of 35% from Etna or this is public. What's your
largest school district rate increase right now with Horizon Ocean County Vocational? 42% 500 employees or thereabouts. So, we pulled when it was time to pull and we got in the right pool because it has the virtue
of being self-insured in the sense that there's no carrier profit requirement and certain mandates the program's exempt from. But by the same token, you're pooling risk in a fund that is almost about a billion dollars now and West Orange is about 30 million of that.
Right. So, hopefully that answered your question. >> Yep. And one other um could you just speak a little bit to the role of rebates with prescription drugs and how the shift operates versus a a private plan or a self-insured plan? >> Sure. So pharmaceutical companies pay
rebates to what are called pharmacy benefit managers which are the in between firms in between the pharmaceutical world and the insurance world. And those rebates have climbed to the point where for every dollar in prescription utilization in a plan, 25
cents of that is rebate activity. If you were in a fully insured plan like you were with Etna from 18 to 24 and like you were with Horizon prior to that, all of that money goes to the carrier because they are the plan sponsor. In shift as a self-insured entity, those
rebates are the property of the fund and they go towards subsidizing the rates for all member groups including West Orange. If we were self-insured on our own, which you've never been as far as I know, you would be the plan sponsor, you would keep the rebates and do with them
what you will, but you'd also be subject to potential budget increases if your claims go bad of 30 to 40%. I'm hearing you're right, being in this shift allows us to realize some of the benefits of those rebates without the risk of being self-insured. Yes. Okay.
Thank you, Jim. >> Yeah, Mr. Stevenson. >> And if I can just add to that, Mr. truck. So in 2024 when we were insured with Etna, if I recall, we were facing almost a 5 to7
million increase and we stayed with Etna. And then if you take that compounded with their now 35% increase this year notwithstanding whatever the increase would have been in the previous
two years uh it almost seems like an untenable situation with Edna. So again the shift to the to the shift was was a good shift. Well, our look back analysis says that
had we not made the move we made, we would have paid the last going on three years $40 million more than if we had stayed fully insured, stayed with that no or jumped to a different fully insured carrier. It was
definitely the right move. And I would hope most folks here would agree that the level of coverage was maintained as equal to or better then. And that makes sense because the plan design that most folks are in is the mandated educator health plan design anyway. So it was it
was a big deal. And and last question for me um the slide showed that the shift had about $144 million in cash. One, what's the sufficiency of that cash with respect to sustainability with
health insurance costs moving forward? Okay, so at a top line of about 900 million, we're confident that with a cash position of over 100 million, some of which is surplus above required reserves, that shift is not just adequately capitalized, it's well
capitalized. They were in my opinion five years ago before you joined over capitalized but as even they have struggled for rates to keep up with costs. their cash position has come down somewhat, but proportionate to the topline overall budget for the fund. Not
only do we deem it to be sufficient, but since the fund is regulated by the New Jersey Department of Banking and Insurance or Dolby, Doby deems it sufficient. They audit the fund every year and certify whether it's properly reserved or not. And lastly, what is the
impact of the expiration of chapter 44 as it pertains to uh the benefits for school districts moving forward at the expiration of that legislation? >> What were the benefits and then what happens at expiration? >> Yes. >> So if you define the school district as
the entirety of the community, the board, the taxpayers, the employees, etc. A significant reduction in what people pay towards the cost of healthcare. That was the intent of the law. It was passed with uh bipartisan
support and signed by Governor Murphy. If you look at the net cost of insurance, not quite so good for the taxpayer because while the premium rates for the mandated plans were lower than the typical Cadillac school district health plan, the reduction in the
premiums were more than offset negatively by the reduction in payroll deduction. And that's how the democratic process works. It's the law. >> Thank you, sir. I appreciate it. >> Anything else? >> Right. Thank you, dear.
>> Thank you, ladies and gentlemen. Have a good night. >> Okay. Am I on? Good. Okay. This evening, uh, I'd like to address, uh, our budget situation and some of the, uh,
as of my letter stated, some of the, uh, areas in which we're looking to balance the budget and how we can close this $14 million gap. Let me I wrote it out. Good evening, members of the board of
education, educators, parents, and the West Orange community as a whole. Tonight, I want to begin with something simple, something true, and something we all share. We care deeply about this district, all
of us. every educator in our public schools in and outside of this room. Whether you've been here three years or 30, we acknowledge and respect the time, energy, and love you have poured into
our students here at West Orange. Please know that matters. It matters deeply. Tonight, we'll hear from educators who've been employed here in our district for decades.
And that is commitment. And let me be clear, they represent years of not only commitment, but dedication, stability, and care for our children. But we also have to be honest with ourselves and
honest with each other. Those years tell two stories. Yes, they represent the years you have served, but they also represent the years this West Orange community, our taxpayers, our families, and our board of ed have made good on
their financial promise to you. Year after year, they funded salaries. You and me, by the way, not just you. Me, too. Year after year, they funded salaries with annual raises, health
benefits, and for many of us, increasing annual longevity bonus payments. The contract has sustained in good faith for over 30 years. But over the last 30 years, I'll answer
that, things have changed. The cost of operating a school district has increased immensely. That's a fact. In the areas of building maintenance, gas, electric, technology, healthc care
benefits, which you just heard, and of course salaries, just to name a few. As a result, costs have gone up. And leadership requires that requires that we respond to the present reality we
face. I'm telling you this from bottom of my heart. We absolutely wish we did not have to make any of these changes. But here's the hard truth and it is the truth. Our fiscal reality
has changed. We are not dealing with a hypothetical fiscal challenge. We're not We are facing a real and immediate budget shortfall. One that if ignored becomes a crisis that threatens the very stability of
this district. Now, I want to be clear about something. This isn't about diminishing anyone's service. We know that you've done great work. This is not about disrespect. This is about math,
dollars, and cents. This this is about being responsible to this community to make sure we can maintain a meaningful and quality educational experience for our students while at the same time being fiscally
responsible. We cannot continue to operate a system we simply can't afford. Not because we don't value our staff, but because we cannot fund it. And at
the same time, we recognize the reality we're facing in our West Orange community. Let me explain. Families in West Orange are already carrying a heavy tax burden. As of recently announced by
our township, there's a very real chance that our property taxes will increase. approximately 7%. With this school budget, we are already asking to burden the taxpayer and an an
additional 2.5%. But to go beyond that is to ask more from families who are already stretched, who would not, it would not be good leadership. That would just be irresponsible.
We cannot solve this fiscal challenge by asking our community to carry more than they can bear. So we are left with difficult but nec but necessary path. We are left with a difficult but necessary path. We must
rightsize our budget to ensure long-term stability. If we fail to act now, we compound the issue and risk losing far more later. Before I address the plans we were
exploring for our par professionals, I feel it's only right that I first pay respect to the approximately 75 full fulltime and part-time employees who will definitely be losing their job due
to budget cuts. This causes me sleepless nights knowing that they will be struggling and stressed as they are left with no income and no plan to assist them due to this budgetary constraint.
With regards to our par profofessionals, our fiscal restructuring plan that we were exploring address addresses the budgetary deficit and offers a fair balance to help the district close the
$14 million shortfall while offering you a chance to continue your jobs in our schools with immediate income, immediate health benefits. an immediate retirement plan in place. I offer you
this perspective. this perspective to you. Even if you are uncertain and and again we're exploring, but even if you're uncertain, by comparison to our 75 colleagues who will be without health benefits or income, you will have
an opportunity to continue working in the same job position in which you will be afforded time to assess. if we go through with it and we have this in place in u this new
restructuring and seeing if it benefits you or your family. Let me reiterate this decision is not to slight a slight against special ed community paris parents or students.
The special education department in this community is wi in which I started my career. So, it has a special place in my heart. Instead, it is a necessary budgetary decision to help close the $14 million deficit this year
to avoid future compounding fiscal crisis. We understand the emotional side to this to this but there is a practical side that has
to be addressed as well and the solution is a partnership. Parents are being asked to pay more in taxes. Students are going to lose vital co-curricular activities such as athletics, music,
fine arts. administrators. We have we have uh not replaced at least six administrators and they have all picked up. That's not a lie. What are you talking about? The two years I've been here.
What's that? No. Well, first first just before listen I understand but that's just a statement but before that there are rules and laws and obs observations and different
things so we do need administrators they're not without hold on >> if the audience would please let me quiet we'll have public comment in a few moments but this is Mr. Moore's turn to speak. This is not a back and forth. Thank you.
>> It's okay. But again, administrators, there's no they're they're as important as our teachers. We do need them. They do have a role in our education in our in our organization. As I understand that you all will come
to the podium with concerns and express your dedication for years of experience, I also implore you to express what sacrifices or solutions you feel you can help close help us close the $14 million
gap in order for us to remain fiscally solvent. Again, if the audience could please remain quiet, you'll have an opportunity to come to the microphone in a few minutes and share your thoughts during public comment. No, that's okay.
Yeah. Okay. So, as I was saying, this is a partnership. It's not trying to tear one group against the other. This is a $14 million budget deficit that we face. Of course,
in a crowd, we can yell, "Let's let's cut administrators. Let's do this. Let's do that." That's not reality. It's a school system. It functions with all the roles in which every school system functions
with. No one's. But again, we're exploring a pathway in order to keep our Paris rather than cutting people. Hang on. Hang on a second. Yeah. All right. All right.
>> No. I explained here, as you heard, I explained that we that we're exploring a pathway for our Paris to stay with us in which we can afford When we talk about pay cuts and pay freezes, as we saw in the flyer that was
handed out, no one wants to do that. And I understand why it is. It has been it's incredibly expensive right now. We understand that you need to sustain your income for your families. All of that is understood, but we are facing
operational costs and that is as real as the as you can get. This is not something we've been saying it for the whole the whole year. You saw the preliminary presentation. Everything that we're saying to you is
true. We have to close a $14 million shortfall. And that cannot happen with okay but that cannot happen with you know one or two like let's get rid of
administrators let's get rid that's not how it works. We need to try to maintain and sustain an a district that can work together and how we can do it. No, no, it's okay. It's okay. That's all right. I don't it's okay. You can make
comments, but I'm just It's better. I didn't want to do that. But when I told tell you that saying the truth, whether in front of a crowd is not an easy Hang on a second. Can you give me a time? Give me a second. Speaking the truth,
listen, blurting things out, random comments might get applause, but at the end of the day, I have to tell you the truth. whether it's feels good or it doesn't feel good. This is
not I'm not going to come in front of you, be in the newspaper, be on TV and tell you that somehow magically this is this isn't true. We're not facing this and and we're making it up. None of that's happening.
I'm giving it to you exactly how it is on the books. And to be honest, no one's working for free. No one's working for free. As much as we love each other and we love the students, it's predicated on income
and it comes down to dollars and cents. Whether you agree with me today because we feel emotional about a about maybe having to do something different, I want you to understand and if you are honest with yourself, you are working
for an income. And if we default on that, you will find ways to receive that or leave. And we understand that. So, it's best that we're honest with you
and we tell you that we are facing real financial challenges and we have to come up with ways in order to close that gap not just for next year but beyond that or we will always be going back and
forth with these huge cuts. There are 75 people, teachers that will not be with us next year. We can and listen and administrators, but teachers that will not be with us
next year. And to me, I understand that we may not like exploring other ideas. Again, we're just exploring. But I understand we don't want to explore certain ideas. But to be honest, it's best that we talk about it rather than
walk away, hide, or pretend this isn't happening. This is happening. We It's as real as Monontlair's. It's as real as Hackin Sacks. It's as real as Cherry Hills. It's real.
We don't have the dollars to pay. We won't keep you because you would have to do what's best for your families. So, we're trying to do use the stop gap now and rectify it now so that we can
continue all that is at least those of us that are lucky enough to have these jobs still can continue to work together. That's as honest as you can be with a crowd. Whether you want to hear it, you don't like it, you disagree with
it, it's the truth and something has to happen. You cannot have no actions to a $14 million shortfall. So, I just think I just appreciate you talking to me. I'm sorry if it's
emotional, but I don't have an easy time telling you this. But I have to tell it to you because we have to face it as a community. I I know that many of you
feel there's got to be another way. There's got to be another way. Believe me, we took in the surveys. We turned things over. We've been looking. But it does come down to salaries and benefits.
That's 80% of our budget. Just off of logic, there's no way that you cannot you can talk about reducing a budget or closing a budget if you're not talking about what affects 80% of it. There is no way.
So, please understand this isn't to be disrespectful and I understand the emotions and the yelling and and things like that, but this isn't a slight on you. I don't want to be the one to tell you this. We've and if you really are honest,
we've kind of heard it because superintendent in the past and I remember a video in the last budget meeting that showed a superintendent saying, "Whoa, looks like the bottom's going to fall out of West Orange." Of course, they took off and they didn't
address it. But I care about you and care about this district enough to address it. Even if you're mad at me today, I'll address it. I won't just let it lie and I won't just let it compound because then we won't
have a district. We have to address this. Matt, >> good e good evening everyone. Um just want to let the public understand something on
tonight's agenda. I saw there was a flyer that went out and said that they were going to be outsourcing tonight. go through the whole agenda. It's not in there. And let me tell you why it's not in there. In New Jersey, public entities such as
as the West Orange Board of Education and the West Orange Education Association, all public contracts are overseen by the Public Employment Relation Commission, PERK. And there's a law at PERK. And I'll I'll I'll I'm going to tell you what the law is. The
law is NJSA 3413A-46 employer entering into subcontracting agreement. And what it says is you cannot public employer if they're in a contract a collective negotiations
agreement can't enter into a into a outsourcing arrangement. It's illegal. is a matter of law. Can't do it. Your contract expired June 30th, 2025. We gave a final offer to the WOA
on Excuse me. Excuse me. Excuse me. November 25th, 2025. We gave an offer November 25th, 2025.
You can ask your leadership. It's in writing. The most important thing that this law says though is before you enter into a subcontracting agreement, what do you have to do? You have to give the union written
notice. And you heard Mr. Moore, Superintendent Moore state that this isn't just a board problem. It's a collective problem. And the law says that you give written notice to the majority representative
and they have 90 days to engage in what's known as impact bargaining. Well, what is impact bargaining? It's the union's ability to come forward to the board and say, "We have an idea of how to save money to help you offset this
$14 million deficit." A letter went to your leader. March 17, 2026, over a month ago. We met with the state mediator
over your contract on March 30th. This letter was out there. We haven't heard anything. And so your leadership knows of this for over a month and has the ability to come
forward and to engage in impact bargaining. And the reason the law is set up this way is that the law, the legislature, the governor, when they pass this, they realize that it's got to be addressed by both the union and the
board. It gives the union the opportunity to come forward. And so this board is open ears. If the union has an idea, excuse me, I didn't interrupt you. When you please interrupt me.
Point of order. I want to be recognized for a point of order. So hold on, >> Mr. Ripk. Yes. >> Yeah. Point of order, Mr. Roth. What's your plan to uh run the meeting so that we can talk without being interrupted? So that people who want to listen can
hear from our attorney who knows more than all of us combined. I want to hear what he has to say. If you if you're if people are not interested, it's your responsibility to uh maintain order. Please. >> Thank you, Mr. Ripker. And again, I will
remind the audience that this is not a back and forth, right? I I would expect you to to give us the respect to be able to conduct this meeting and speak to you. We're trying to give you information. Mr. Jacobe is here to give you that information. You'll have your opportunity to speak in a moment, but we do have security in the back. I don't
want to resort to having to escort people out. Nice people. The point is the choice is up to you. We're going to conduct our meeting again in a few minutes. We'll be done with this and then you will have an
opportunity to speak. But just like when all of you stand in front of your classroom because I was a teacher like every one of you, you expect your students to sit there and listen when you are instructing. you expect your students to follow the rules
of the classroom. So, you can laugh all you want, but again, now that you've gotten that out, I would ask one final time to please respect the board, respect the
process, allow us to finish this piece, and then we will listen to you when it's your turn to speak at public comment. Thank you. So, as I was saying, the law, excuse guys,
the law in New Jersey mandates that the board give your lead lead your leadership, the WA leadership notice. That happened November I mean March
17th. the union, your leadership has the law under the law has the right to engage in impact bargaining to come up with other ways of saving money. And so
the union is free to do this. There's nothing on the agenda tonight. As I said, we met with the union with the state mediator on March 30th. It wasn't brought up at that meeting. We brought it up with the mediator, but we
didn't hear any solution from the WOA. So, we would ask that your leadership contact us if they have ideas. As as Superintendent Moore said, these are not easy decisions when you have a
$14 million budget gap. But at the end of the day, you're all part of West Orange. You're all part of the school district. And the law realizes that more minds looking at a problem
often come up with other solutions. And so we're calling on your leadership to assist us in coming up with a solution. As I said on tonight's agenda, there was a flyer that went out that said you're being outsourced tonight. That that flyer was false. Look at the
agenda. It's not on here. So again, reach out to your union leadership and encourage them to engage in the impact bargaining that the law mandates that they do. We're ready, willing, and able to listen
to their ideas on how to close this gap. Thank you. Okay. Final of my report. At this time, I present the HIV report. There have been three incidents investigated.
Uh none are founded. Thank you. And that concludes my report. >> Thank you, Mr. Moore. Uh do we have any committee reports from the board? No. All right. Thank you. Uh I will then share a brief president's report. Um one
that uh Adam had gone through some of our student achievements. I don't think he mentioned Cinderella uh which was here. Did you mention that? >> Okay. Yes. Uh this past Thursday, uh the Lions Club had a spaghetti dinner up at the turnoff
cafeteria. Afterwards, the seniors and some of us that attended that dinner were able to come for a preview of the Cinderella performance. Uh it was an amazing performance. went on all weekend. Hope many of you got to see it, but kudos to the students and staff who were involved in that. Um, last Wednesday, there were a group of parents
from Hazel that organized a walking audit with Easy Ride. It's a nonprofit that the West Orange Pedestrian Safety Advisory Board works with. And part of that the purpose of that walking audit was to walk around the neighborhoods that our students walk to school in uh walk a school through to
get to Hazel Elementary School uh to note different deficiencies that might exist with the sidewalks or those routes to school uh with an effort to improve those. One of the specific intersections we looked at was the intersection of Mitchell and Gregory. This has been a uh intersection that people have complained
about for years. Um, a group of parents from the the Gregory section has also submitted to us as the board a resolution that would ask the county to investigate and look into that intersection and look into putting in a stoplight or some other appropriate measure to make it more safe. Um, so
you'll see that that is on our agenda tonight for uh consideration. And I'll just point out that while we were doing that walking audit, there was a group of us stopped at that intersection and an accident almost happened. Literally as we were standing there, a woman was trying to pull out of Mitchell onto Gregory and she inched out because she
couldn't see around the corner and she had to stop short and the car coming down. Gregory had to stop short because it's it's just tough to see around that corner and that's as an adult driving a car. So if you're a child trying to cross the street, it's even worse. Uh so this we recognize this is an issue that's of serious concern to the parents
and and for our students. Uh so we will get to that later in the agenda, but I just want to mention that. Um and that will conclude my board president's report. Uh next up on the agenda, we have first reading of uh some revised and new mandated policies. That is P6112
reimbursement of federal and other grant expenditures. P6311 contracts for goods or services funded by federal grants. P6440 cooperative purchasing. P6115.04 federal funds duplication of benefits. P6620 petty cash. Uh this is part of our
ongoing process to review uh mandated uh policies um from Strauss Esme. These policies are reviewed by administration for feedback and for input uh and they'll appear for second reading on the next agenda. Uh with that next we will have questions from the public on agenda
items only. Uh any community member who would like to make comments or ask questions, please come to the podium at this time. Please state your name and home address for the record and then begin your comments. One sec. Sorry. >> Uh
>> the applause started before I could finish the instructions there. I would like to again say if you are coming to speak at public comment uh please make sure that you identify yourself your name and your address and please limit your comments to 3 minutes as we will have to to stop anyone that goes over
that. Thank you Mr. Goldfarb. >> Uh Miss Miss Flowers before you begin I do want to point out that according to policy 0167 I need to give my municipality but not my address. Just a municipality not my address. So I will not be doing that and nobody else has to either unless you can correct that. The
uh our board policy requires an a street. It doesn't have to be the house number, but >> No, no, I I have it. It It says municipality. It does not say address. >> Thank you. Okay. Uh my name is Josh Goldbar. I'm a West Orange resident. I'm also president of the W
>> for Mr. Gobi. We'll stipulate that. That's okay. Thank you. Please. >> Thank you. Appreciate that. My name is Josh Goldbarb. I'm a West Orange resident. I'm president of the WOEA and I'm a teacher working for 294 days without a contract. And we are here once again looking at catastrophic cuts of
staffing due to a budget shortfall. In March, we were told that we would be losing 70 full-time employees next year. But that was not totally accurate, was it? That number did not include the power professionals. I guess they didn't count into that calculus. They will no longer be employed by West Orange. So the real number is roughly 300
employees, not 70. The balloons that you saw in the lobby, deflated as they may have been, represents one of those 300 employees, co-workers, and friends. Some in the community have suggested that the teachers perhaps can take a
salary freeze to save jobs. And I understand that feeling. But here's the problem with that idea. According to New Jersey law, staffing is 100% under the purview of the district and cannot be negotiated with the union. That is not my feeling. That's the law. And the
board knows this, or at least they should. What that means is that even if we agreed to a salary freeze, they could turn around and lay off employees anyway and there would be nothing that could be done to stop that. This exact scenario has played out in other districts and we will not be taken advantage of in the
same way. We have repeatedly been told that we can no longer kick the can down the road. But who kicked the can? The BA has been here since 2021 and three of the members of the board have been on their position since at least tw uh since at least 2022. If you're looking to find the people responsible, here
they are. So now we are letting go. I'm sorry, not letting go. Outsourcing apparently our paras. The goal may be to find a company that will offer them a job, but they will have to apply for a job they already have and may not even get hired.
And those that do will now be hourly employees. We have been told that the goal is for them to get comparable health insurance and pay. And that's great. But how can that save money? something doesn't add up. Not to mention that they will lose their job security and any sick leave that they have accured. I really hope that they don't
get any serious illness. God forbid they get cancer. At the end of the day, the idea that we will still have all of the same powers in September that we know and love and trust and rely on today is a fantasy. This happened in Clifton when they privatized. Many of their paras
left because it just wasn't good to be an outsourced parah. And guess where many of them went? They went to West Orange and are we to expect us somehow things are going to be different here. There's always a degree of turnover from year to year, but this is different. Many paras who have been here for years
or even decades and who otherwise would return next year have already said they will not stay and will go to a new district. The honest truth is that many paras will not be here next year and believing otherwise is farcical. The students our pars work with some for many years may end up with someone
they've never met. Someone they don't know. That's a stranger. A stranger who does not know them helping them organize. Trying to help them cope. Trying to help them calm down and focus. Trying to help them know what's going on when they physically cannot ask for help themselves. And in some cases helping
them use the restroom. >> Thank you, Mr. Goldfarb. Your time is expired. I got one. >> It's okay. We'll come back. Hey, >> Molly Eisen, West Orange resident and taxpayer, parent of a future West Orange
school student, special education teacher of 10 years at Edison and WOEA vice president. We've heard the phrase, let's be clear, a lot in the past week. We've also heard what matters most is supporting our students and the people who rely on them every day. Let's be
clear, your intent proves otherwise. Mr. Moore wrote, "This is about more than a budget. It's about people. It's about our students. It's about the f future of West Orange Public Schools." Let's be clear, privatizing the Paris hurts our most vulnerable students. Paris work
incredibly hard to build relationships with their students. Our students rely on them for emotional regulation, academic support as role models and trusted adults. Our teachers rely on them for assistance with instruction, helping our classrooms run, and most importantly, being a crucial part of
enabling our students to show up as their best selves in and outside of the classroom. They do much more than simply assisting students during class. Let's be clear, privatizing the Paris will hurt our students. You can't guarantee
the same people will be in the schools every day, no matter how much you say you want that to happen. It makes it likely that our most vulnerable students will not be receiving the care they deserve from the people who go above and beyond. Consistency and support is needed from the professionals we already
have, not strangers. Let's be clear. Privatizing our Paris puts numbers ahead of students. You say you're listening and open to hearing feedback from the community, but your actions say otherwise. Parents have asked for in-person sessions to discuss
the budget challenges not related to the workshops in the fall. They were told, "Nope, not interested. Fill out the survey." We have watched board members text on their phones during meetings, which is happening right now, and be incredibly disrespectful and
condescending. And he keeps going to the public and educators alike. In fact, 20% of the educators of the WOEA live in town, which includes 35% of the paraprofessionals. We're your constituents, too. I say all
this not just as a teacher and union vice president, but as a resident, a taxpayer, and parent of a daughter who will be going to kindergarten in 2030. My taxes went up. Let's be clear, that money is well spent if it creates a consistent, safe, fantastic school
district. Let's be clear, privatizing the Paris do not achieve that goal. Privatizing our Paris is about the future. A future that hurts our students and staff. A future that does not live up to the promise of our school system. Let's be clear, this is a
future none of us want. Good evening. My name is Stacy Forte, 19 Mountain Drive, West Orange, New Jersey. I had the great privilege to teach special education in West Orange for 25 years. I was considered a master
teacher. However, I could never have done my job well without the consistently devoted paraprofessionals by my side. PAR professionals are the backbone of a successfully run special education classroom. These men and women are there in the classroom every day to
guide our most vulnerable children to reinforce all lessons by following the teachers lesson plans which include differentiation as the utmost priority. The bonds built by our par profofessionals cannot be bought. No price tag can be put on the relationship between the paris and their students and
the classroom teachers. The par professionals I had the honor to work with throughout my career were my right hand. The safety of our students in and out of our classroom cannot be stressed enough. Many of our students are non-verbal and have behavioral differences. The Paris make it their priority to advocate for those children
in and out of the classroom. Having this in place gives those children the safety they need to enjoy recess, lunch, PE, art, music, and field trips. PAR professionals are not another body in the room. They are team teaching as well. Lessons must be differentiated for
our kids. The teacher will instruct the parah as to what the particular group needs and the students in order to obtain academic success always with positive reinforcement and rewards set up by the teacher and carried out by the parah. I am honored to stand here tonight and speak up for all of the
professional paraprofessionals in our district. Some of the hardest working people I know. This is like a slap in the face to many who have worked 20 plus years in our district. It feels like the BOE thinks this devoted employees can be
outsourced by a private company. This will be harmful to our students with special needs as the connection and the consistency of their powers will be lost. Please consider another solution to our money concerns. The Paris and West Orange are in an integral part of the outstanding special education
program we have here. Thank you. Hello, my name is Jackie Hendy Beverly Road. Uh before I begin my pre prepared speech, I just want to say something. A lot of this is based on my personal experience in this district and there was a time when I myself was looking
across the street from looking across the table from the uh child study team asking them do you have the resources to properly educate my child and if you don't I'm going to sue you and get my child out of this district. And
thankfully they were able to provide my child with the services that they needed and my child is now in the top 5% of his class. So para profofessionals change trajectories. They sit with our
children, encourage them, and make them feel worth the effort even when their behavior makes that hard. Those relationships aren't built in a week. They aren't built in a month. They are built through consistency, through showing up every single day, through
knowing them and seeing them. Even though other people point to them and say they're naughty and they're bad, they see their value and they make them feel their value. My child once sat on the on the the fence at Gregory and wondered whether or not it would make be
better for him to blow up into a million pieces where nobody would ever find him. And thankfully the the educators, his paraprofessionals did find him and did help him. So these are not support staff. These are the reasons some of our
most vulnerable children can be in school at all. Before this vote, this board uses votes to outsource them. I'm asking you to please make sure you've exhausted every
other option. And even when I was sitting in my seat just now, I just thought of an option. What if we sell the BOE building, build some affordable housing? Two birds, one stone. Let's get creative here before we start looking at cutting the very individuals that shape the future for our children.
So I have three questions for you regarding the cuts. What is the projected effect of peril professionals outsourcing on out of district placement referrals and associated costs over the next 24 months? What is the full five-year cost
model for outsourcing this outsourcing proposal including agency markups, turnover costs, compliance risk, and upstream effects of outofd district placement? And which of the poss current pros reductions were funded in whole or
in part by COVID funds? And why did you not have a transition plan in place before those funds expired? Thank you. William Dano Cooain Terrace Good evening. I'm a parent of two children in first and third grade and
I'm here on behalf of West Orange Parents for Education. Join us world parents.org. Um I see the work this board has done and I can only imagine what it's cost all of you emotionally. The math is brutal. The choices are impossibly hard and I do thank you for your efforts. However, we are in a
structural deficit which is a polite way of saying we're in a financial death spiral. Instead of saving dozens of teachers while we fight for real reform in Trenton, we are leaving millions of dollars on the table. We are at the red line. If we don't use every available
resource and raise taxes now, then when? Why are we protecting taxpayers before our classrooms? If we are not asking taxpayers to pay more for education, it means we have to be okay with letting our children and their classrooms absorb the difference. So, let's talk about
what raising taxes actually means here. The board capped a levy at 2 and a half% this year, about 25 per month for the average homeowner. On average, districts in New Jersey raised their levies at 6% last year. So why are we capping ourselves at 2 and a.5%. The law allows
us to go past it when certain costs skyrocket. As we saw today, our health insurance costs went up nearly 18%. A 6% levy would cost the average West Orange homeowner roughly $59 a month. less than that for an average renter and it wouldn't impact the senior citizens who
qualify for tax assistance. I'll settle for $40 a month to stop the bleeding just a little. I understand the impulse to avoid asking the town for more. I do. But I want to ask everyone a question. Who do we owe
first? As a society, we owe the most to the people who do the least for themselves, our children. And yet somehow we keep asking them to sacrifice first before ourselves. The teachers in this room already know about a lot about sacrifice. My mother was one. I'm here
to start to ask the rest of us. This morning I asked my own kids about the money problem their schools were having. They told me their solution was to fund raise for their schools. They wouldn't want their home room teacher to be laid off. My daughter wanted to keep her art
teacher who's here right now. my son to keep PE. That crushed me. So, here is what I'm actually asking tonight. Board member Stevenson said it plainly at the last BOE meeting. Next year will look like this year. This is not going away.
So, let's stop pretending it will. West Orange needs a plan. A communitybuilt plan that says we're willing to invest what we've agreed to a cut and why. There is no one coming to save us. Not Trenton, not Washington, not a magical audit, not a town scandal that will
reveal millions of dollars in missing funds that will fix this budget. That means it falls to us, all of us, and it begins with our BOE starting that process. That is the only way through. Our kids deserve a plan. Uh
I just want to I won't wait. I'll address that. Uh Justin Goldzman, Moran Road, proud Redwood School alum. Um let me start with saying I don't envy the position any of you are in. I've worked for one of New Jerseys largest public sector
unions. I know negotiations and budgets can be brutal. I hope my comments tonight are viewed as productive and constructive as requested to help us find savings in the $14 million deficit. My master's degree is in higher education, administration, and student personnel. I know about large class sizes because I've taught a college
class of 139 young, incredible women. I've helped students run organizations. I'm proud of the students that I've had, and I know all of our teachers and educators are proud and hopeful for the futures of their students. I've spent the last several days reading all my old textbooks, calling board of ed members across the state and local and statewide
labor leaders because I want to find solutions. I want to be able to help. And the first question everyone asked me was, "How is it $14 million?" We talk a lot about educational foundations. Shawn Maguire created lists of tenants for universal instructional design. Two of
those tenants are flexibility and use and perceptible information. Those will be greatly set back with this. Baxter Molda talked about familiarity between educators and the learner and the environment for self-offership. But the ESSER funds and other federal COVID monies were not meant to create
permanent new line budget items. They were meant to address temporary COVID deficits. Several years ago, I came here with a list of dozens of proposals worth of $30 million in federal grants. I don't know if any of those were applied for or received, but things we need
energy audits, preventative maintenance instead of large-scale capital projects, new revenue streams, that means sponsorships of fields and other highlighting things. Newark Academy just announced this week that they're going to be saving 32% on their electric costs every single year because they invested in solar. The board, in my opinion,
should go back to meeting twice per month so we can address a lot of these things. The elected officials all over town should be meeting more regularly. But several months ago, there was a letter that went out. It was a very valiant and it was accurate about the school funding formula being defunct. It
is true. But we cannot continue to blame problems on a school funding formula that is instable. Every year we know it will not be a stable funding formula. So we need to base our budgets around a skeletal structure that we know and then inject those revenues into the
appropriate veins when they come due. Livingston is a comparable school district to us in terms of student size and classroom size with about 600 students as a difference. Yet we have four extra schools 13 to9 and we are experiencing a $14 million deficit
compared to their five. And yet we pay higher property taxes than Livingston. I will end with just this. the teachers, the paras, every educator and staff. They don't just teach pros or formulas or mathematic equations. They teach us
how to love learning. They teach us social infrastructure and the tools to fix our real infrastructure. We all need our valuable educators. We all need to support them. But hurting the backs of residents who've been here for so long is not the way to do it.
My name is Emily P's 8 Harvard terrace. I'm here on behalf of West Orange Parents for Education, also known as But more importantly, I'm here as a parent of a first and third grader who will spend many years in this district. They are depending on the decisions made in this room. Over the past year,
has worked to bring clarity and momentum to the very real structural deficit we face. We've pushed for greater transparency. We've attended every budget workshop held by the district. We've studied the complexities of the state funding formula and advocated at the state level. And we worked to
translate what we've learned into clear, accessible information to the broader community. And that effort has made a difference. Many of the people here tonight have taken the time to understand the issues. They are or will be speaking from an informed place, not
just from frustration, but from facts. And we are proud to have gathered over 680 petition signatures in support of the change at the state level. And we believe there's real progress underway, but meaningful legislative change will take time, likely years, before it materially improves the situation in
West Orange. That reality makes the decisions in front of you even more important. I urge you to reconsider the decision to limit the tax levy increase to 2 and a.5%. As has been noted, rising healthcare costs provide flexibility for it to go higher, closer to 6%. This is
not a hard cap, it's a choice. To be clear, I understand that cuts are necessary. The budget must be right-sized, but if a modest additional increase can slow the pace of the cuts, even temporarily, it could help preserve the critical teaching staff and programs while we continue to push for the longer
term solutions at the state level. That bridge matters. I also want to address communication. WO has consistently asked for clearer, more proactive engagement with the community about the trade-offs being considered. Instead, families were given a general survey with an open-ended response field. That's not
enough to guide meaningful input. In response, WO created our own survey to help parents understand the real choices and trade-offs. And the response was overwhelming with hundreds of responses. Families want to engage. We want to be informed and we want to contribute constructively to this process. You can
see it in the energy in this room. I urge you to harness that energy, not sideline it. Imagine if the district had presented proposed cuts along with a clear multi-year plan, aligned with stakeholders, one that showed how those decisions align with a long-term
financial sustainable plan while still advancing the strategic priorities you presented in March. I believe the conversation tonight in this room would feel a lot different if it had gone that way. Our children deserve more than the series of reactive cuts. They deserve a thoughtful, transparent plan for the
future. Our kids deserve a plan. Thank you. >> Jeff Harris, Nardmore Road. Longtime listener, first- time caller. I am also here with West Orange Parents for Education, and I'm here to say something that I never thought I'd say
to anyone. Please raise my taxes. Why? Because our kids deserve better. Superintendent Moore, you're right. This is a math problem. Costs are higher than revenue by $14 million so we can lower costs or increase revenue. Why are we
not considering increasing revenue? New Jersey state law, you know, you know the math. raising the levy to increase uh raising the levy increase to 6% would cover most of the 18% in healthcare increase costs and that would help save
some of the 75 or now I'm understanding is 300 teaching and staff positions currently on the chopping block. That would cost the average West Orange taxpayer less than $2 a day. $2 a day. I think our kids are worth that.
The structural deficit Okay, the structural deficit is not going away anytime soon. So, we should expect more cuts next year and the year after and so on. How is this sustainable? How will we pay for anything in the five-year
strategic plan presented in March? Our kids deserve a strategic plan. They also deserve a realistic financial plan. West Orange's parents for education is working at the state level to make the school funding formula more fair. We're optimistic, but it will take years to
clear the legislative process and become law. Our kids deserve a plan that isn't contingent on the possibility of future state funding. A possibility is not a plan. Our kids deserve a plan. In other districts across the state, everything
is on the table. Start and end times of school days, reductions of non-salary line items, including expensive transportation costs, considering fees for sports and clubs. Other districts are holding communitywide town halls. It's all hands- on deck to solve a problem of this magnitude, but not in
West Orange. The only options on the table are cuts to staff and programs, which ultimately hurt students the most. Our kids deserve a better plan. At the last meeting, multiple board members said they refused to raise taxes above 2.5%.
Or consider changes to busing or small fees for sports and clubs. I know what I'm proposing is not popular with the board, but you said you want to see long-term solutions, not a one-year fix. I agree, and so do the 600 plus parents and caregivers behind West Orange
Parents for Education. There are other options. This is a board of education, not a board of taxpayer interests. $2 a day. Right. Thank you. Your time is expired. Thank you very much.
>> Please make our children your priority. Thank you. >> Hello members of the board. Um my name is Nina Simmons. I live on Forest Hill Road and thank you for this opportunity to speak with you today. So I've lived in this uh West Orange for 22 years. I
love West Orange. When people ask me why, what makes West Orange stands out? It's the people, right? It is also the schools. And what about the schools? The Superior Special Needs Program and the Superior Performing Arts Program. I'm here as representative of the West
Orange High School Drama Boosters Club. And I'd just like to speak up a little bit about performing arts because West Orange is known, it's award-winning for its performing arts. And to see that cut in any any huge way would be heartbreaking. So, um, with that, um,
when you eliminate the arts program, you don't just remove a class from a schedule. You remove the reason some students show up. You remove the one teacher who finally reached a kid that nobody else could. You remove the ensemble, the cast, the crew, the community that made a struggling student
feel like they had a place, a family. What we gain performing arts builds confidence, creates students with high levels of empathy, discipline and resilience. These are life skills, not just performing arts skills. With skills learned, theater kids go on to become leaders across every industry. They become teachers, lawyers, par para
profofessionals, scientists, and yes, dancers, singers, actors, and Broadway stars. They go on go on to make West Orange proud. So my ask for you is is is please fund this fund these programs, protect these teachers, protect these kids, keep the
stages lit, let the shows go on. Thank you. Stuart Knackbar, Morris Road, West Orange, New Jersey. President Rock Council Principal Moore and the rest of the board of ed.
I am a direct recipient of the love and caring that the paras bring daily. My son William is one in his first year
not being in the West Orange School District. For the last seven years, eight years prior to that, Freddy, and Freddy, if you're here, I'm speaking to you.
He was the one that met the school bus every day. Rain, sle, snow. He was the one that would walk the halls with William. He was the one that was
able to look at William and know that a meltdown was coming and take the steps to prevent it. We had something that you can't measure.
We had trust. My son, who does not speak much, will to this day when we see Freddy out and about, walk
right over, handshake and a hug. My son had great teachers. Joe Pastigleon, Dominica Obando Alisi, Joe Spina,
but the paras are the ones that you will connect the children with and I also am a special needs advocate and counsel. I put to you.
What is this going to do for the onetoone and two onone IEPs when we have Oops, we forgot to come today. and we outsource it. The trust, the
individualism, the knowledge, the consistency is what these people bring to the table. IEPs,
their contracts, and I know my time is up, but I want you to understand, sir, your time is expired. We thank you from a parent that You Watch. I can't watch.
I can't watch. Stop. Stop. Stop. I can't. I can't. Members of the board, my name is Becky Faggeras. I'm a teacher at K Kelly Elementary School. I stand before you tonight representing several of the West Orange
self-contained autism teachers. Your your decision does not just affect a line in the budget. It directly impacts our students, our power professionals, and every teacher responsible for these classrooms. We understand the financial pressures, but assuming our powers will switch employers without a clear
understanding of that organization and its expectations without the protections of the union and government guarantee is not transparency. It is naive. When we speak directly with them, our dedicated powers are concerned about their pensions, the sick days they will lose,
and the benefits that support their families, their long-term stability. They've worked tirelessly serving the most vulnerable, challenging students in the district. Despite this loyalty, many have expressed that they would not on board with another company. Let's be
honest, though, about the main goal, cost reduction and keeping students in district. Your plan risks achieving the opposite. When inexperienced, untrained staff cannot support our students complex needs and they won't. Those students will be pushed into expensive
out of districts placements. So what is being saved? Our powers are not expendable. They are educators. They deliver instruction, collect essential data, and are critical to the success of our classroom. They are not replaceable. They are
foundational. As self-contained teachers, we already carry an immense workload. We create individualized programs, manage behavior plans, track IEP goals, and maintain communications with families. We cannot absorb the additional burden of stabilizing a
revolving door of unvetted staff. But above all, it is not safe. In my classroom alone, three power professionals bring over 40 years of combined experience. We have worked together for six years. Six years
of consistency, trust, and measurable student growth. Many of our students would have been sent out of district if it wasn't for our dedication to consistency and collaborating as a team. These students were retained in Western schools. That stability has already saved this district hundreds of
thousands of dollars every school year. What you are proposing to remove is not just staff. It is a system that works. Mr. Rock, Miss Vera, Dr. Bryant, Mr. Stevenson, and Mr. Ifer. Our classroom doors are open. I personally invite each
of you to visit my classroom at Kelly Elementary School. Come see our students, understand their needs, witness the level of care, structure, and expertise required every single day. Then ask
yourselves if this decision truly serves our students. Because at the end of the day, it is not about money. It is about children who cannot advocate for themselves. It is about families who trust us to protect their children's dignity and uphold their legal right to a free and appropriate education. Do not
make a decision that harms those you are entrusted to protect. >> Thank you, ma'am. Your time is expired. >> They and their families are depending on you to get it right. We have to say our names. >> Liz Rubin, Betty Metalina Early Learning Center, preschool teacher. >> Lauren Porter, Betty Metalina, Early
Learning Center. We're doing this together. >> We stand before you today to share the imperative need for our highly qualified pair of professionals in their classrooms. First, let us introduce ourselves. We are Liz and Lauren, two of the preschool ABA teachers. We have been teaching for 21 and 18 years and both
are bird certified behavior analysts. We are veteran teachers and have dedicated our lives to the students of West Orange. We are experts in our field and have the highest standard for instruction and care of our students receive every day just like we know all of our colleagues in the autistic support classrooms do.
>> The majority of our teams have worked together for over five years. This may not seem like something that is important, but let us explain why it is. As a teacher in a classroom of at least eight students, we rely heavily on the expertise of our pair of professionals. It takes months or even years to fully
train somebody in the complex science of applied behavior analysis. >> We fear the new we fear the new reality. By switching to an agency, we will lose many of our dedicated staff to districts who offer sick days, health benefits, and pension contributions. Our
classrooms will no longer be places people plan to retire in, but rather a quick stepping stone to something better. This will lead to student regression as we need to have students build relationships with new staff and take time away from students because we have to train all of the new staff. Many
of our autistic support teachers have been named teacher of the year. But their success doesn't happen alone. Behind every great teacher are the PAR professionals who work with our students every day. The Paris don't just follow instructions. They bring experience, insight, and understanding that help every student learn and feel supported.
That kind of knowledge and student connection isn't something you can replace overnight. Our power professionals are the ones who spend day after day with some of the most vulnerable and youngest students in the district. They are the ones celebrating every small moment and they are the ones
comforting these students after crisis. It's not the administrators or the board of ed members who hold these students and calm them after the chairs are thrown, the bites, the hits, the nerve. Just towards this view, >> outsourcing power professionals isn't a
change in staffing. It's a change in support, care, and expertise that our students depend on every day. Losing them would be losing part of what makes learning possible for our learners. Our learners needs continue to increase and support is already decreasing. Outsourcing our par professionals would
be not could be detrimental to learning and safety of our learners. While it's stated that the board is looking for an agency that will onboard career pair professionals, many of our parents cannot afford to stay and lose everything they've worked so hard for. West Orange pair professionals are the most underappreciated group of
professionals who have the most daily interactions with students. Yet, these interactions that have the ability to create meaningful change for our students. Members of the board, we ask you, should we rely up to an agency to decide who the professional is that is going to celebrate the wins or work
through the crisis with your child? Do we trust an agency to provide staff to meet the complex needs of our learners? The reality is most of these students will be placed out of district and that was is going to cost us even more money. Let us not forget how our pair go. >> Ladies, your time is expired.
>> We should get a round of applause. Oh, >> sorry. Maybe next time. Thanks. >> Patricia Rudy, special education teacher at Kelly West Orange. Born and raised, graduated West Orange High School. I have been a special education teacher in
West Orange for 24 years. The parent professionals we have in our district are people who show up every day, dedicated to the students and teachers they support. They are a crucial part of the consistency and dedication needed by our special needs students. You say they
will be transferred to an agency. Well, some, and from what I now understand, most are doubtful if they should even return. Some have worked day in and day out, 5 years, 10 years, almost 25 years. And you want to take everything away that they worked for.
Going with an agency would mean pension years are frozen and benefits are gone. Why should they be loyal to you when you're not going to be loyal to them? Transferring them to an agency is not a favor. It's demoralizing and rude. You
say the change, this change is going to make the future better. Well, let's think about the future. When we lose our dedicated powers, we will be left with whatever the agency has that day. Let's just say five powers in every school don't return. Probably more like 10 to
15. That means five strangers or more entering every building every day, including the preschool and those working with non-verbal students. Where is the safety, security, and student confidentiality?
Student confidentiality. Let's think about par professionals. They need to read student IEPs so they know what the student needs and to understand the student background. Well, when you hire an agency, how many people are going to be reading those IEPs? Random agency Paris may decide the job
isn't for them and not show up the next week or the next day. Then another power reads the IEP. How many people are going to read this legal document by the time the school year ends? Will these people be vetted? Do you know who's going to enter our building or do you have no
idea and it's up to the agency? Can they be trusted to not share this private information that's written in the IEP to others outside of the school? What about paras who have to record data? How is that data going to carry over if you have a new par every day?
Walk into a special education tomorrow and see what a parro does. They're not a name on a paper or a number on the payroll. They aren't even paid enough as it is. You ask for an answer. One possibility, try looking at busing. Yes, it's a small
tiny part, but it's something. If you live within the radius, you have to pay for busing. I do it for my own children because I need it. A school community is a family. When you start destroying that, then you will ruin the district. West Orange Board of Education, your
choice chance is now. We are here. The Paris are here. Tell them they matter and keep their contracted positions. Keep them a part of the West Orange community. >> We are all West Orange. >> Thank you, ma'am. Your time has expired.
>> The choice is yours. Is that okay to speak? >> Good evening, members of the board. Superintendent Mor. Uh, this is a first for me. >> I'd like to take a minute to >> state your name, please, and where you're from. >> Phil Stigle own Pleasant School. >> Thank you. What town do you live in? >> West Orange. I live in West East Hover.
Grew up in West Orange. Went to school through West Orange. Work in West Orange. I'd like to take a moment to just speak about my background, how I ended up here, and then the majority of the people behind me I'd like to tell you a little bit more about. I started out of the business world, came in as a parah,
worked in a non-verbal autism room. Fell in love with my students, loved working with them, loved the people I worked with, was shown things and trained by people that have been here, that stay here, that have their passion and love embedded into this system.
I stayed on as a parah. I student taught several degrees in student loan later. Here I am. I've been here 23 and a half years. There's no other job that I would be doing. But I have to mention the large majority
of the people behind me that I've had the pleasure with seeing come to work and work with the normal school year and ESY are essential to what makes this program good. Not just good but excellent. People come here for this program. These people are a part of that
program. It's not so much about the comparison. I can now tell you about not just the power of professionals I work with, but they're my team. They co-e with me. I can't do my job to the best of my ability without them.
Everybody in here loves their kids. They come to work for their kids. They live for their kids. some of their kids go through this system. I understand the budgetary concerns being mentioned, but I implore you to think about the effect that this could possibly have on what makes this town
great with this program is our power professionals, the people that work with us, our hands, our feet that go above and beyond. Not just that though, I ask you guys to look at it through a different lens. Are we not here to celebrate our students
successes? everything that they do, their educational journey through school. These students do things a different way. They take different paths, but we're all part of the community and we're all doing this together. These
individuals are a part of that. They're a part of what makes this system great. They're a part of what makes West Orange program great. So, I implore you again, take a look at everything you possibly can, but also take a look at all these people that are
here and what they bring to the job every day. The passion they bring. Everybody's talking about trust. I hear it a lot. I trust my team. I trust them with our kids. If I'm out, they keep the ship afloat. if I need to go somewhere
and do something else, I trust them with my students, with the kids of this town in this program. So, I implore you to think again about every great person sitting behind me that has given their life to this job. Thank you.
>> Hi, good evening. My name is Elwin Eversley and I forgive me my allergies. My name is Elwin Eversley and I reside in Gilbert Place. So I start off with the proposition that all the board members and the community have the best interest of the students at heart and the people who work the dedicated
members who work in the community. I would recommend that the board in the future start looking at outside agencies to bring in someone to do a financial a forensic audit instead of just going line by line. in instead of going line by line and
just making cuts, bring in somebody who will actually look at the budget, work with you, and look for structural improvements that will yield long-term results and and result in less of these cuts being made every year. Also, you have the option for busing, for example.
Perhaps you can work with perhaps South Orange, Maplewood or the Livingington School District and do collective bargaining with the transportation companies to see how you can reduce the cost by the power of having more school district negotiate. So, that's one option. The other thing also is the
constant cuts on the teaching side is disproportionate to the cuts made in the administrative sum. disproportionate. It's disproportionate. I know somebody said, well, it's not us or them. This is not this not this is not about putting
the administration against the teachers. This is about fairness. You can find cuts also in the administration just like you find cuts to make at the teaching level also. But I would really recommend that you do have an outside auditor come in, look at the books, look
at the books to make constructive cuts and realign your budget where every year you're not in this predicament going forward in the future. Thank you very much. Have a good evening. >> Good evening members of West Orange Board of Education. My name is Melanie
R. Zaniga and I live at 40 Virginia Avenue, West Orange, New Jersey. I am a mother of three children here at the West Orange Public Schools and I serve as the secretary of Mount Pleasant Elementary School. I graduated from all schools in West Orange Public Schools
and completed high school in 2009. I stand here before you tonight to address a critical concern, the proposed budget reductions and the impact on our on our par professionals. These individuals are vital to the success of our students. As
a parent and as a school representative, I see every day how these how these support empower my children especially my son who thanks to paraprofessionals made the high honor role in sixth grade. Furthermore, I am currently a
paraprofessional in another district and I work one-on-one with a student. This gives me a deep personal understanding of how critical these roles are. I see the daily impact pair professionals have providing tailored support that that
make all the difference for a child's success. When I told my children today that class sizes will increase and that electives will be reduced, they had very sad reactions. They are deeply worried
about how they will manage in a classroom over 25 students. Furthermore, cutting these supports and electives will deprive our crucial opportunities. I urge you once again to reconsider these cuts and protect the vital role of
par profofessionals and electives. Thank you. >> Joe Anderson, West Orange, my whole life. To the board, I ask you this. Where does the accountability lie on your part? When we are hired, we are held to a
certain standard. We get reviewed every year, not three to five. Some of us aren't brought back because of yearly reviews. Our job is to teach, guide, and protect these children from anyone that should stand to deter their futures. I understand that healthcare jump is is one thing, but your job is to manage funds. And it seems because you're
struggling to do so, we now stand to lose our jobs. And this isn't just a a one-year thing. You pre treat you preach transparency. But if that were the case, we wouldn't be in this situation year after year after countless questions, comments, concerns, and rumors that have to continue to go unanswered, ignored,
and swept under the rug, i.e. refusing to release itemized budgets. See, at the end of this meeting, you all get in your cars and you'll go home, probably already thought about a plan you have, while putting out emails saying, "We're sorry it's come to this." Meanwhile, everyone here will go home and continue to have sleepless nights and ponder
their futures with the district and in life in general. Your emails to Paris regarding the situation come across as disingenuous. Ask the parents to think the same for potentially taking a deal from a private company. Were they offer it? Were they to offer it? Because while we would love to continue to serve this
district, you are asking us to do so while taking multiple cuts and sacrifices. And if you can't, then the fault lies with the Paris. Meanwhile, you failed to mention to parents that powers will lose sick days pensions will be frozen and these private companies that come and may offer some of us jobs,
none of which are guaranteed. Is that transparency or is that punishment for dedication? If this is the case, and this is a cost-saving move, why not move admin, central office, superintendent, and everybody else over to private company? Because after all, we're students first, right? That's what you
say in your messaging. So to save as much as possible, shouldn't we prioritize them as best as possible? You tell us we're leaders to these children. So you turn to higher-ups to step up and lead the district by example. Be accountable and show everyone here you love them and stand with them as one as you've said in multiple emails. Stand on
your words. Other ideas? Lend fields to organizations for money. How about the bubble? The bubble was supposed to be a temporary thing in 2003. That's 23 years ago. The upkeep, maintenance, heating, cooling, and keeping it all up to date cost upwards of millions of dollars
every single year. One building 23 years ago could have saved how much money by now. How about not having assistance to assistants leading in the central office? You can look all that up, too. You say your students first, but your plan is going to have the direct opposite effect. Putting students in
classrooms with random staff, cutting staff and programs while increasing class sizes. How does that equal a better environment for our students? Meanwhile, these same parents that have built religions with both students, staff will be replaced. They'll be torn from the places they love and have dedicated countless blood, sweat, and tears to. And if you saw some of the sub
that entered through the schools, you probably haven't, aka private company. You probably see what's coming. And it's not good. And I'm going to pass it off cuz my time's up. Hello, my name is Samantha Palmer. I live at 66B uh Lind Drive, Verona. I have been in Par for 5 years and I've
loved every single minute of it. Think about this for a second. What parro would want to work for no pension, no benefits, no health insurance, and no protection when they've put years into a pension in a union and have affordable healthcare insurance? So, while you've made this an option for future employment that could offer us health insurance, Wait, am I reading the right
spot? >> Yep. Okay, you know f you know full well that most no parah would take that job leading to a brand new paris in a district working with teachers and staff that will survive the other 70 plus cuts you're planning. Perhaps some of you on the board may have children at have come
through the school system and greatly benefit from having a parent in the classroom and yet you put your trust in a private company that may or may not assign a random person with no training to a child on the verge of an academic breakthrough. Then when kids aren't progressing what will you do? Hold the teachers accountable. I'm sure. See, we
love the teachers. They are amazing. We don't do all that they do, but understand what who takes the children to lunch? The Paris. Who takes the children to gym? Music, health, and other special services. Paris. See, Paris are with their class every minute of every day, 5 days a week, except for the 45minute lunch period, which if you
are CPI certified, if there is a call, you are held accountable for not showing up. I have I have had lunch breaks cut short to respond to calls that have lasted hours. I personally have been sent to the hospital and returned to work the next day.
Some of us have worked in K to2 self self-contained classrooms for seven years, five on my part, wiping kids, potty training them, feeding them, cleaning them, being kicked and scratched and clawed every bit elsewhere. I actually went to my wedding with a bite mark on my face. Funnily enough, when this was brought up
at a previous board meeting, some of the board meers were shocked to hear what was going on in said classrooms. You don't know because you don't live it. you aren't there yet. You claim you believe you know what is happening and what is best for the students. I'm sure everyone would invite you all to spend a week in our shoes or on our salary to
see what it's like making such a rash decision. And some of you expect these parents to trust you, not only your decision-making, but also with random untrained staff members. Think of telling an ABA self-contained teacher that they have to potentially train three to four new hires one to two
days before the school year starts and they have to do the work with six or seven children with behaviors. Does having potentially untrained adults that don't know how to deescalate a child sound like a sound plan to you? What if the untrained staff doesn't know what the to do if a child elopes? Now imagine
that every time a class that what times every classroom we have a district with children with behaviors and because of your ch your excuse me and because of your direction and cost cutting moves these same untrained staff members may have to work with these two children at once is that putting the students first
what happens if there's an incident what happens if a par is under a private company and is accused of something by a child I speak as a wrongly accused victim of this with no union a par would be by themselves and if the parents of the child would to go after that employee, the private company might just fire the parrot and they will be on
their own once again to seek legal counsel. What parrot could sign up for that? If that situation were to arise, would you hold the said teacher and the school accountable? >> Thank you. >> Hi, my name is Kelly Dalonia. I am a West Orange resident and a m mother of
two children that attend West Orange High School. My son is 21 years old and has been in your special education program since he was five years old. He came to visit when he was four um for his preschool. Apara took my son under
his under her wing during his visit and he she never once let let him go after that. I never worried about the safety or the support he was giving being given. He's now 21 and in June he will be graduating from the 18 to 21 program.
I still hear I still hear every day not only about teachers but his power professionals who work with him. I know what they talk about. I know when they are absent. I know when they are coming back because he misses them and his day is just not the same when they're not there. Um Miss
Angela, Miss Fogerty, Mr. Dit, Mr. Gitman, Mr. Mike, all of them are just have been wonderful to him and so many more. The plan to outsource these professionals, I really don't understand it. I think you are opening up a can of worms that is not going to save you any
money. When our West Star staff goes to these um agencies, there's no guarantee that they will be returning here. And who are you get you're going to get? You're not going to get qualified individuals. And this is not going to save you money because agency rates are much more than if you hired them
yourselves. And how are these people going to support our children with no training? Whether they're going to be doing toileting, taking data, running behavior plans, supporting classroom teachers in completing work, maintaining attention, keeping them on task, feeding
them, taking them to job sites, and supporting them in specials and therapy. This is it's not going to be appropriate support. And this leads to minimal um progress regression of skills with an increase in services needed and then the potential risk risk for having them go
to outofd district placements and out of district placement for one student is over $100,000. So you're not saving money and you're putting our most vulnerable population at risk. For the parents I re my my recommendations
are remember you are a part of the IEP team. Use that IEP. That is a legal document. Be specific in what your child needs. If it's a onetoone, be specific. They have autism. I want an RBT trained uh onetoone. Use the supports for school
personnel so that you know exactly what accommodations need to be made and what education they need. Do not look at this as IDA, but as civil rights. Thank you. Good evening. Kelly Gambbouti, Concord Street in Clifton. I have been a special
education teacher in West Orange now for 23 years. However, tonight is not about me. Tonight is about our most vulnerable population and the professionals that service them in the classroom. Our power professionals. Our power professionals are dedicated,
caring, hard-working and critical members of the special education department. Actually, they are the backbone of the department. Without our power professionals, the work that I and every other special education teacher do could not be done. They aid our students
in daily routines, focusing, toileting, behavior plans, working in small groups, structure, and so much more. They become trusted members of our classrooms to both the teacher and students as well as to the students families. Currently,
they are not being treated as the crucial and vital personnel that they are. They are being treated as a line item on a budget. A line item on a budget that is trying to be balanced by taking away vital supports from our most vulnerable population. This is wrong and
inhumane. It shows that our power professionals don't always feel valued, which is the exact opposite of what we should be saying. I would invite any of you to walk into a classroom with a PAR professional and tell me that an agency could replace them, you'd be quite
mistaken. It is because of our power professionals that our classrooms run as smoothly as they do and that our students feel supported and can grow and learn. We cannot balance a budget by harming our
most vulnerable population by taking away their trusted support staff. Again, it is cruel and simply just wrong. Education is not supposed to be a business. Our business is supposed to be educating. And we cannot do that without
our par profofessional staff. They are not a line item on a budget. They are not replaceable by an agency. They are critical. They are valued and they are the backbone support for our students learning. Thank you.
Deb Cohen, 26-year teacher in the district. I live in Madison. 26 years ago, I stepped foot into Roosevelt Middle School. This is not the district that I stepped foot into 26 years ago. I'm disappointed. I'm frustrated. I'm angry. We are no longer part of the team. the teachers, the paras, the
administrative assistants, our technology, our security. All of us have been left out of these discussions. It's not who we used to be. It's not who we have been up until co and now things have changed. If you want ideas,
sometimes talking to us helps. And not just us, the community. Having an idea of where the actual cuts are before May 4th when you approve the final budget and it's too late would be helpful. As somebody said, town halls, whatever it might be. Surveys are not the answer. I
want to second the person who said something about a forensic audit. I went through the audit. I was a board of ed member. In the 2025 audit, there were two things that stood out. Number one, we paid a $78,000 fine because our payroll taxes were late to the federal
government. Number two, our monthly bud our monthly reconciling doesn't match up. Why isn't it being rectified each month? Now, on to the more important. Leadership must be honest. Students first, safety is our priority. Appeared on official district
social channels this weekend. Those statements should be true. However, our central administration and the board of education are not demonstrating any of that. The messaging reads as we hope we're searching for rather than clear commitments because none can be made. Parr professionals are essential to the success of our special education
program. Even if an outside vendor hires our parents, those staff would no longer be West Orange employees and would lose district pension benefits and job security, undermining the stability for our most vulnerable students and showing our pair of professionals they are dispensable, which is far from the truth. Rather than describe their individual impact, I want to emphasize
what having their caring, knowledgeable, and consistency with the student allows. Our self-contained students and students with onetoone or oneto pairs routinely participate in wood shop, autoshop, photography, art, engineering, electronics, graphics, architecture, hands-on electives, extracurricular
activities, even sports. That continuity means they can predict the unpredictable, manage student safety, and respond effectively to unexpected situations in rooms with dangers not in all classrooms. Without it, student staff safely safety is at a greater risk, and students may lose access to the least restrictive environment
required by law. Constantly training new paras on equipment, procedures, and safety is unrealistic and near impossible to achieve. Therefore, these students, many of whom thrive in our classes, may lose those opportunities. In addition to all the stories you are hearing tonight, our pairs are colleagues and friends, people who go
above and beyond what is expected. Their connections and relationships with the students are vital to our special education student success. They must continue to be employed by our district. We must go back to being the team that we used to be and no longer are. >> Yes. Tissa Singleton, Orange Education
Association, East Orange, proud power professional and parent of two amazing children with different abilities, one who's in this room with his former wonderful power professional. When you choose to fire 230 power
professionals, you didn't just make a budget decision. You made a moral one. You chose to remove the very people who stand in the gap for our most vulnerable students. The ones who don't get headlines, don't get paid enough, but show up to work every single day to make sure no child is left behind. And now
you've made that gap wider. Let's be honest about what this means. Classrooms become more strained. Teachers will be pushed beyond capacity. And the students who already need the most support, the ones who rely on consistency, patience,
and onetoone care, will be the ones who pay the highest price. Not you, not this board, the children. We love to say every child matters, but decisions like these expose the truth. Every child matters until it costs something. You
cannot speak about equity while actively dismantling the support systems that make equity possible. You cannot claim inclusion while removing the very people who ensure students with different needs are actually included. And let's talk about the impact because impact is what
remains long after intention is forgotten. The impact of this decision will show up in falling confidence and behavioral struggles and students slipping through the cracks that just got a whole lot wider. So I ask you, who did this decision truly serve? Because
it wasn't the students who needed extra help reading. It wasn't the child who needs someone to sit beside them just to get through the day. It wasn't the overwhelmed teacher trying to hold everything together. This wasn't an investment in education. It was a withdrawal from it. And history will
remember decisions like this, not for the money it saved, but for the children who were failed in the process. You still have a chance to correct this. To choose people over numbers, to choose impact over convenience, to choose to stand on the values you so often speak
about. Because right now, those values are not being reflected. They're being removed. So when the silence settles after this vote and the classrooms feel the absence you created, I hope you remember this. You didn't just remove positions. You removed possibility. And
our children will be the ones forced to live without that choice. Good evening. My name is Ala Fela and while I'm not a West Orange resident, I live in Raway. I have been a special education teacher at Edison Middle School since 2019 2020, which in case you forgot ended up being a tenuous year
to say the least. Every year since that year that changed the world, I have worked with numerous paraprofessionals, two of whom are sitting right over here. And they are wonderful people. Two of whom have both during the school years themselves and during extended school year where our students with specialized
needs continue their academic journey through the summers. I would not be the teacher that I am today without them. Consistent and regular pair of professionals are essential to the success of our most vulnerable students. Key words are consistent and regular. From day one, they build a rapport with
all of the students, not just the ones to whom they're assigned. By looking into companies who might be willing and or are able to onboard our pair professionals is a slap in their faces and ours and to our children's. Continuing down this road will hinder student progress. It is an unfair
consideration, especially to the population in our district who need them the most. Many in the community continue to bring up alternatives to cut costs. For example, the 1:1 Chromebook model at the secondary levels should be seriously reconsidered. Providing every student in grades 6 through 12 with a personal
device that is is not the most cost-effective approach, especially in our current financial situation. Considering the short lifespan of Chromebooks as they are currently manufactured, the majority of these devices will not even last their entire secondary schooling career. It doesn't help that the Chromebooks that the
students take home are not being taken care of properly. Students are constantly misusing them, hitting them, dropping them, and taking the wrong kind of advantage of their constant access to the internet. Transitioning back to classroom sets could significantly reduce the costs related to purchasing,
repairs, replacements, and software management. Speaking of software, the district should also very, very closely audit all programs as mentioned by the gentleman before, subscriptions, pro programs, and digital tools. Over time, districts end up collecting a wide range
of software, licenses, online platforms, and other supplemental programs, many of which become underused or redundant, and eventually ignored while we're still paying for those subscriptions. A thorough review of these tools should highlight which ones are rarely used, have an overlap, or no longer align with
current curriculum goals. Small reductions across multiple subscriptions can add up to significant savings districtwide. Additionally, renegotiating those contracts or shifting to multi-year agreements with these vendors can can lead to savings. Involving teachers and staff in this
auditing process can help ensure that essential tools are kept, while those that are less critical are phased out as needed. The choices made when looking at the district budget reflect our values, publicizing what matters to us and to our students, what we are willing to spend on, and what we are willing to let
go of. If we truly value student support, inclusion, and stability, the same values that you mentioned tonight, Mr. Moore, then we must protect the roles and the people who fill those roles that directly lead to those outcomes. Putting our pair of professionals through a company that may or may not recognize those same values
while uprooting the careers they put their hearts and souls into sends the wrong message and risks the very students who need their support the most. Good evening. My name is John Helier. I live in Pmpton Plains, New Jersey, and I've been teaching music in the West Orange School District for 19 years. I'm
a lifer. One of the classes I teach is general music class for our self-contained special education students. Teaching this class has given me an insight into the incredible work and selflessness of our power professionals that contributes to the success of these students. When
we discuss outsourcing these vital roles to a private for-profit company, we must be absolutely clear about what we are doing. We are not just shifting numbers on a budget spreadsheet. We are severing the lifelines of our most vulnerable students. As a teacher who runs events and
afterchool programs, I have also come to depend on our power professionals who accompany their students to rehearsals, concerts, and events. We have students in band, choir, step teams, and other activities who require a parro to function in these groups. Will these students be able to participate in these activities that bring them joy, build
their self-esteem, and contribute to their scholastic success if we eliminate the jobs of those who dedicate their time to them? Our award-winning step teams, which have brought much pride and much needed excellent PR to our school district, are coached by PAR professionals who work in this high
school. How will these incredibly popular and vital groups continue to exist if you eliminate the job that supports that power professionals? Our district's power professionals are not interchangeable cogs. They are steady, familiar faces that greet our students every single morning. They are the
professionals who know exactly how to deescalate a meltdown before it even starts. They know which students need a quiet walk down the hallway. Which student learns best with visual cues? and which student simply needs someone to look them in the eye and say, "I believe in you." That kind of intuition,
that deep empathetic bond, it cannot be contracted out to the lowest bidder. If we outsource to a private company, what are we really buying into? We are buying into a business model built on corporate profit margins, not student success. We are buying a revolving door of transient
staff. When a child who requires specialized support walks into their classroom, they need consistency. They need trust. They do not need a stranger who was assigned to our district yesterday and might be reassigned to another district tomorrow. Furthermore, our power professionals are
a glue we need when we threaten their livelihoods by handing their jobs to an outside corporation, one that will undoubtedly swatch slash wages and strip away benefits to protect its bottom line. We disrespect the very people who hold our schools together. We send a devastating message to our staff. Your
dedication is disposable. It is not disposable. It is invaluable. Our school district is ultimately measured by two things. How it treats its most vulnerable students and how it treats its most dedicated staff. Outsorting our outsourcing our power professionals is a dangerous gamble with our students
emotional and academic futures. And it is a gamble we simply cannot afford to take. Let us choose our community over corporations. Let us choose consistency over chaos. I urge you to reject this proposal. keep our prof professionals where they belong in our building employed by our district with wages and
benefits they deserve fighting for our kids. Thank you. >> Hi, my name is Anton Carrera and I live in Montlair and I'm the middle school erra teacher at Edison Middle School. I've been in the district as a teacher
for 16 years and I had and I also served in 0809 school year as an instructional assistant in Miss Buckley's high school class. I do not agree with the private privatization of the instructional assistants. Throughout my years in the district, I have met many hard-working
instructional assistants and realized that their role in the academics and shaping the minds of students on a daily basis is vital to the classroom setting. We have instructional support staff members that put in the dedication to make sure that the students are
successful in academics and socially. I recently transitioned to a new role in my building. I can't thank my instructional assistants enough, Eric, No, and John. Their understanding of the program, how to work with the students in the
program, and meeting the needs of the students helped me transition very well to the role, and they are vital to the kids and to the program every single day. I do not know where I would be without
the help of not only them but the aids that I've had encountered throughout my 16 years teaching. The decision to privatize will certainly cause a great deal of disruption to the emotional and behavioral functioning in the classroom. In addition, the support
staff in my class have specific certification in the area of crisis prevention. How will this be delivered with rotating substitutes through an agency? I am asking the board to reconsider this decision. Do we know how successful or
unsuccessful privatization has been in other districts that have adopted it? How can we expect workers from a private company to build a rapport with students when there certainly exists the possibility that they may not be in the same classroom on a daily basis? How are
we okay with total strangers coming in to work with the student population? How are we okay with staff members from a private company coming in not knowing anything about the student that they are working with? Our instructional assistants do a phenomenal job. Losing
them equals losing that continuity that the students need with regards to academics and making connections. Thank you for your time. Hi, my name is Amaly Sees. I live on Eagle Rock Avenue. I've been a resident of West Orange most of my life. I've
gone to school at Redwood, Edison, Liberty, and the high school. Just closing our 2026 spring musical last night. When I heard that the performing arts may be cut, especially theater, I knew that I could not sit by and watch one of the most positive
programs at the high school be lost. I have compiled my own thoughts with those of other students to fully reflect why this program is so important. One student said, "The West Orange High School theater program has given me a group of people to talk to and be accepted by, which isn't present in most other aspects of my life. The theater
program is a home to me. Theater has taught me real life skills, how to open up to others, helping me become the person I am today." Another student said, "Theater brings the community of both the town and high school happiness, entertainment, and understanding in a time when all of us desperately need it.
High school is an impossibly hard time for many students. And without theater, so many kids would find themselves lost and struggling even more. For many students at West Orange High School, this theater department has become a safe space for them to feel loved, accepted, and free of judgment from
others. Theater acts as an escape to another world where we can forget about our struggles, come together as an ensemble and creates something that has a lasting impact on others. Theater also acts as a comment on society, forcing us to look at the world around us with new perspectives and challenge the way we
think about things. Now, on a personal level, this program has meant more to me than anything in my life. I have met some of my best friends here. I have grown as a person and I have grown as a performer. Without this program, I may have never known that this was something I wanted to do as a career. Obviously,
this program has had a large impact on people who are a part of it. But what about those who experience it as an audience? When I looked into the audience last night as the cast of Cinderella took our final bow, I couldn't even count how many little girls and boys were looking up at us with stars shining in their eyes. I knew
that we gave them something so incredibly special. When I came down to briefly meet these children, I was flooded with love and admiration from all of them. This is what theater is. To those administrators and board members who went to see the show, I thank you. For those who didn't,
this is what you're missing. Now, I could go on and on about this program and how much it has affected all of my castmates and the audience, but this program could never be what it is today with the outstanding faculty that put so much of themselves into it. I would especially like to highlight Wendy Mapes, or as I know her, Miss Mapes in
particular. If you do not know Miss Mates, I am incredibly sorry for you. She is extremely driven and hardworking, pushing every one of her students to be better, while also managing to be the most kind, generous, and supportive human being I have ever had the pleasure of knowing. She has always been there
for me and any other student who has needed her. She goes out of her way to help others and is constantly a figure of joy and warmth in the high school community. Why do we constantly see alumni come back again and again to see shows and support the program? Because of her. She is a key reason why this program feels like family. Without her, West Orange would lose the heart,
safety, and acceptance she inspires in everything she touches. Thank you. >> Excellent statement. Excellent. >> All right, here we go. My name is Paul Denna. I live at uh I live on Mitchell Street. Uh parts of this statement were
written by me, parts of it by my wife Emily. Um today I am demanding equity, not just equality from our board of education and superintendent. You shared a po popular and powerful image in a slide at one of your meetings last year. It showed different people
standing at different heights behind a fence, visualizing for us the importance of equity. Disabled students are some of the most vulnerable to district-wide budget cuts as the removal of resources have an inequitable and disproportionate
effect on them. Special ed is a large line item. The structural deficit means all areas of our school district will feel it financially. However, a cut in our transportation budget and a cut in our special ed may may be in equal amounts, but in terms of equity, they
are vastly disproportionate. The increased studenttoteer ratio may be equal at Gregory and Washington elementary schools, but the classroom size will be drastically and disproportionately inequitable to the students at Washington, one of our title one schools.
Outsourcing our pair of professionals, the glue holding the pages of our children's IEPs together to a managing agency is unacceptable. Our payers will see up to a 4,000 decrease in annual pay, which is nearly $100 a week. A 15%
annual reduction in pay is an impossible and unprincipled ask of our dedicated paraprofessional staff. Our New Jersey school districts of Soma, Clifton, and Cape May have made headline news recently highlighting the dangers of delicating our hiring practice to a
managed service. For example, an a agency parah was arrested on school grounds for having elicit drugs in their possession. A disabled preschooler was roughly shaken in the classroom and another agency parah was arrested for sexual assault while working in another another disabled preschool classroom.
I've reached out to other special needs parents in New Jersey about their experience with schools using managed agencies for their pair of professionals. This lazair survey showed how lack of training, multiple no-shows, high turnover, and disengaged staff affected their child's regulation in the
classroom. A disregulated child cannot learn. A disregulated child will not meet their IEP goals and progress to be the best they can be and the fiscal repercussions are that the school district can get sued via due process complaint obviously for not providing a
free and appropriate public education to each student. A student's worth is not defined by their intellectual ability or what they can produce. Bottom line, outsourcing the pairs is a really, really bad idea. It de deprivives our most vulnerable and many
times nonverbal of a trusted and experienced professional in the classroom and ignores multiple second and third order costs which it appears to me that the board has not fully considered. You can't throw infinity bodies at the problem and expect that
the problem is going to go away. I would urge the board to rethink their course of action. Thank you Isa Fernandez with Avenue. I'm here as for two things. The first thing I am the West CPAC chair. Um, and I'm very
grateful for Mr. Moore, Mr. Moore, and all his support for kids with special needs through all these years. But more importantly, I wanted to speak about my son. Um, he's a seventh grader Roseville Middle School self-contained classroom. This past school year has been a
struggle for him. He loves his routine and not willing to accept changes willingly, but is all part of his diagnosis. This year, Rosville Middle School has now sixth, seventh, and eighth grade. There has been an increase in students which has made an increase in routine changes for him. Class
announcements, crowded hallways. It has affected my son who was used to being in Mount Pleasant Elementary School with Mr. Posigleion. Uh six kids in a minimally sensory um environment. Starting in December 17, he had enough.
And he said, "Zack doesn't want to go to school anymore. I don't like this school." And he refused to go back to school. He refused to get on that bus. Fast forward two months later, I was able to get him back in the building for five minutes. With the help of the staff
in the building, increasing time, um, he started feeling less anxious to return. But all the plan would not have come to fruition without his one-on-one, Mr. Derek. He welcomes Sack every morning and makes him feel safe to return to school.
He's currently now going to school about two hours every day in the morning and completing his schoolwork. He recently told me, "Mr. Derek is my friend." For our kids, the parents, the teachers, the support staff are their friends. For
my son, he has no friends, but the support from the school, and I highly appreciate them. The par professionals do more than expected for our kids, especially those on the self-contained classrooms. Next year, Roseville Middle School, all the autism classroom will be moving to
Liberty Middle School. Although the idea sound great for kids like my son with sensory challenges, the thought of transitioning without his number one support, his para and friend, Mr. Derek, has me very concerned. Another year of struggles for my boy and
he's on the route to be in an out of district placement. We are highly against that by the way and believe staying in district with his friends he has known since kindergarten is his best option. My only hope for the future is that my son incredible team of support from Miss Melinda's Leandowski class
will remain in place so that the kids can transition successfully to their new school next year. Thank you for listening. Good evening. My name is David Burstein. I live in Hoover Avenue in West Orange and I run a project called Price
Reflect. We analyze publicly available board authorized service rates across New Jersey school districts. Our data set currently includes more than 50,000 rates from 119 school districts, including West Orange.
Two findings stand out. First, rates from similar service providers can vary dramatically across neighboring districts. Speech therapy rates in Essex County, for example, range from $65 per hour to $186 per hour.
Second, the same provider sometimes charges different rates in different district contracts, something that only becomes visible when you look across districts. We've published these findings at price.com.
Thank you. Hello, I stand My name is Gina Rivas Velasquez and I live on Corwell Circle. I have to say I'm standing here with four alumni from the special education department,
Nick Velasquez, Marcus Fonville, Aenna, and Jeff. And we're standing here. Wait, let me say what I have to say, and they may have something as well. So, I'm the mom of two graduates from
the West Orange High School District with pride. I am here today speaking on behalf of the special ed students. The most vulnerable cannot wait, I messed up. I'm sorry by Okay, first I want you know what? I'm
going to go off script. I want to ask a question because I agree with everybody who went before me and I want to make this quick. By outsourcing, is that going to be the same type of situation that the transportation
program or the transportation department has where when we have a problem, we call you guys and you guys say, "Oh, call transportation." And then we call transportation and there's no answer or they give us
the runaround or whatever they say the problem is not rectified is are we going to have the same situation. I'm just asking because the transportation we know
is messed up it was when when my sons were here. So, I imagine that it's going to be the same situation where who's going to be accountable? We call the school or not we cuz I'm not here anymore. My son is not here anymore. But
I feel for the students and the parents. They're going to call the school with a problem or concern about a parah or whatever and you guys are going to tell them, "Oh, they're call the whoever
and we're going to have the same problems that we have with transportation. That's not good at all. Okay, I'm going to stop, but I think Marcus wants to say something. Good evening, ladies and gentlemen. My name
is Marcus Fonville. I live on Devon Drive here in West Lawrence, New Jersey. I I think the paraprofessional teachers are were doing a fantastic job when I went to their schools such as St. Cloud
Roosevelt at West High School. They taught us the important things just as lending money. Lending money is not a good idea. Let you we have to tell we have we
always have to tell the the students not not to lend money to one another. It's true. It's true. It's very very important that we have to tell the students they have
to bring their own money for lunch on the next day. Number two, the the par profofessionals when I used to have them a long time ago, they did a great job asking us to take
attendance to see who's here or who's not here. Yeah. Well, everybody's here. And then and then all the way to the 18 to 21 program.
The my old my old crew at the 18 to21 program taught us a lot of things. Number one job training and number two build our confidence. Three,
talk talking about living on living on your own and then and make and make sure we always have to use manners while you going to the job interviews
before before you get hired. My former teacher, Mr. Anthony Percanti taught us the taught us the basic skills on on how to get a job and
okay so m Mr. Burkanti he more than me as a as a student Mr. P taugh t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t taught me a lot of things such as career awareness and career exploration.
Mr. Mr. P Mr. Panti, he he he he's a amazing man. He I know him very well. He he told me he told him him and his wife are be they were communicated with my former
teachers my my former confirmation teacher for many years. So may God bless our West Orange prayer professionals teachers. Thank you. All right. Um, what do I say about this?
Uh, >> introduce yourself first, please. >> My name is NTL Studios. people go people. Okay. Uh, so I've been I've been going here for a while. It's been a while actually,
but I had a lot of great teachers. Like what Marcus said, I had a lot of great teachers teach me and teaching me. And throughout my years, I've been working at Machio's food service with my
old friends. But but but am I good? Okay. With a lot of support throughout throughout the years of this school, this school actually, I had a lot of support with these
wonderful teachers and paraphernalia. what she said. So, thank you. Thank you to West Orange High School for coming with these journey and allowing me to involve and
improve and everything. So, thank you guys. >> Thank you. Uh, hello. My name's Akenna, but you can call me Rex if that's okay with you.
So, uh, you're going to replace all the teachers? I don't think so. I have a lot of friends here. They were teachers.
Met a guy. His name was David Dickman. He was a great man, a best friend. If you think you got to replace him, you got to replace all of them. Everyone
in this crowd. Who knows? You're gonna replace some AI or predatory people that uh the students won't know who they are.
What I'm trying to say is uh These kids need a future. These kids need friends. These kids will be doomed to failure. If you think this is a good idea, you got to give us death.
I say let their wings fly. Um uh hello. Um, my name is Jeffrey Johnson and as you all know I am autistic and um, and I really heard that my buddy
Marcus Fonville was saying that it's been so long since we've seen all the teachers in West Orange High School and it was really cool and um, I remember the time I enjoyed
back in the uh 18 to 21 program. I remember being in doing the uh the breakfast cafe or the breakfast club delivering breakfast stuff like bagels and muffins and coffee
and hot chocolate and stuff and I was and I did pretty good delivering stuff to all the teachers and they really liked it very well. But now, um, since I already graduated
from 18 to 21 program, West Orange High, I now moved to I now have a job at Kings that I used to, >> you see, my first job at Kings that I
used to work is in Chadam, but Now I got transferred to a new Kings in Floren Park and and also I worked on I worked at Kings five days
on Mondays, uh, Wednesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays. And my hours are 10:30 a.m. and 300 pm. And and and I go to uh JCC, which stands for Jewish
Community Center, on Tuesdays and Fridays. And uh we learned uh things about what's going on like who have disabilities and have autisms like we know how to
communicate and respect with each other like we how to use our good words meaning be mindful and clever and uh and we all know that it's very important
to use are good words and never and never to use bad words like cursing or mouthing people and stuff like that. But we know right things that are truly
appropriate and and we are good at it as well. So, thank you all and have a good night. bye, Mr. Moore. All right. Okay. My name is Haven Burton. I'm at 24
Birchwood Avenue. Um, I just wanted to say good evening. Um, I am a West Orange parent of three students in three different schools. You heard me right. I have an eighth grader at Liberty Middle School and two younger children in elementary school, one at our zone school in St. Cloud and my daughter Nova
Redwood Elementary. Two of my three, that's right, two of my three have IEPs and I am well acquainted with our special education programming and paraprofessionals. Um, I want to be clear that I am speaking tonight as a parent and not as a representative of those communities. I also have the
pleasure of serving as a president of the PTA at Redwood Elementary. I want to say thank you. I want to say that I'm not here as an adversary, but as a partner and an advocate for our district. My intention tonight is to share my perspective with the hope that it is received with an open mind and an
open heart. Tonight, I want to talk about my youngest, my supernova. I'm proud to share that NOVA is the first student with Down syndrome in our district to be fully included in general education in the elementary level with supports Thank you. And that is not because she
was deemed ready by the district, but because we challenged the district's placement practices for students with her learning profile. And because of her team, because of her paraprofessional, Miss Lily, she is thriving academically, socially, and emotionally. And I just want to say
that her classroom is extraordinary. The care, the collaboration, the belief in her is something that we feel every single day. Her IEP meetings feel like celebrations. And this is not just working. This is transforming how her team, her peers, and the Redwood community understand what inclusive education can be. It is a working model
and an example of what's possible. And I want to share a quick contrast. Last year during the extended school year where everything is new, the class teacher and parah within a week I received an email that Nova had eloped from the building and was headed towards the bus loop before she was stopped where the cars and buses are during
dismissal, which as you know is extremely dangerous. My immediate question was, how does a child with a one-on-one aid get that far? And the answer was clear. She didn't have someone who knew her. And that contrast between a consistent trusted support system and a rotating unfamiliar one is
exactly why these proposed cuts are so deeply concerning. These are not interchangeable roles. These are relationships. Trained professionals who ensure safety, access, and continuity for our most vulnerable and marginalized students. Removing them doesn't change a line item. It changes outcomes. And in
some cases, it puts children at risk. Now, I understand that you're facing incredibly difficult decisions, and I do not take that lightly. On a very personal level, I have been hoping and praying for each and every one of you for wisdom and discernment. But as families, we are not standing still. We're organizing, we're advocating, and we're pushing at the state level for
structural change. But those changes take time. We faced a huge deficit last year, and meeting this year's deficit is not going to solve the problem or make us immune from from facing the same crisis next year. At some point, we are no longer making adjustments. We are dismantling the system. So my ask is
this. Please, please do not move forward with eliminating and outsourcing our paras and aids. This model has been tried in other districts and it leads to instability and weaker support >> for students. All right. Thanks.
>> I'm so nervous. Katie Degraph Nestro Road. Um, I have been the on the board of the PTA at Redwood for five years now and I'm just I uh I only mentioned that to give context to how well I know Redwood. Uh, Redwood is a family and our power
professionals are its beating heart. Several of whom have been in the school district for 10, 15, 20 years. They have the absolute hardest jobs, yet they are paid the least. They do this work because it is a calling. I understand that the district is hoping to work with
an outside agency that will hire as many of our current par professionals and aids as possible, but there is no guarantee of that. You have no ability to guarantee that they stay in their current roles with their current students. Even if most staff are rehired
through the agency, once they are no longer district employees, their pay, benefits, and job security will be at the mercy of the agency with the free will to change assignments, reduce hours, and alter their employment conditions far more easily. Even if the day-to-day placement looks the same at
first, long-term stability stability will be significantly weakened. you would be in putting them in a situation where they will be forced to accept less pay and benefits when they are already gravely underpaid. It is common for students being served by paras to thrive
with consistent runs routines and predictability. Often paras stay with the same students for years. When you destabilize that, and I know that is not your intention, but that is a possible outcome, you get dysregulation and you get escalation. When that happens, that
doesn't just affect an individual classroom, but the entire school if additional staff are needed to be pulled in to respond. Our paras and aids know their kids. They know triggers, patterns, what works and what doesn't, and what can prevent an escalation
before it happens. That knowledge isn't doesn't exist in a file. It is built through years of daily experience. West Orange requires PAR to have at least 60 college credits or passing the PAR pro exam plus district training and onboarding. Agencies like EDU staff
typically only require a high school diploma or GED. Speaking from my friends in other towns who use outsourced power professionals, the staff is typically extremely inexperienced. We have in fact already seen how this this how this has
played out right here in West Orange when BCBA services were outsourced at Liberty after Mrs. Leates resigned. The contracted staff were inexperienced and key systems such as the ERRI program structure and point system were not
consistently maintained. Communication broke down and data tracking deteriorated. Paris and AIDS are also part of our general education classroom through inclusion classrooms. Research shows that when students with different needs learn together, build friendships, and access the same
curriculum, the experience shapes how they see the world and how they treat other people, that kind of learning environment depends on having enough skilled and knowledgeable adults in the room to support the needs of all of the students. Financially, this is a gamble.
Timeless. >> Okay. Um, thank you. >> Put our most vulnerable community on the chopping block. My name is Christine Sergeant. I live on Samuel Street in West Orange. I'm a parent of three children, two of whom attend Kelly, and I missed bedtime
tonight in order to be here. Um, I'm a special educator in a neighboring district. And in my district, they also made the disastrous decision to outsource paras. So this has not only harmed the par profofessionals by cutting hours, changing their benefits
and lowering their salaries, but more importantly, this cut has hurt our students. Our paras are no longer entitled to the quality training that our district once provided and their hours are so slim that we as teachers have no planning time with them to go
over expectations or to update them on critical pieces of students plans. One of my classroom paras was injured on the job and she was told by her supervisors that she had to use her PTO instead of having her sick day covered for a follow-up doctor visit. We've lost so
many experienced paraprofessionals with the switch to ESS that there are constantly varied several vacancies in our building. So this means that our students with the most significant needs are facing a rotating door of adults who are barely qualified to work with them.
And even worse, it means that accidents happen. Our students have been hurt by people who do not know how to safely work with them. And non-verbal students who require adult support to safely navigate the building have been left alone only to be discovered by other adults. And the only recourse that our
building administrators have is to call ESS and say, "Please don't send that person again." That doesn't mean that that person is going to be fired. That means they're going to be sent to West Orange tomorrow and work with your students. And as I'm sure you might imagine, the
cost of our legal fees now makes up a significant line item in our special services budget. And yes, this results in the district paying settlements and costs related to outofd district placements. I'm a proud member of our teachers union and the back of our shirt say respect.
I implore you to respect the West Orange teachers, support staff, and paraprofessionals. They deserve your respect with a fair contract for all of their members. And I implore you to reconsider this cut and move to ESS that will just hurt our students, the very people that you have been charged to
serve. Thank you. >> Good evening. My name is Spiro Manzis. I'm from Marstown, New Jersey, and a special education teacher at Edison Middle School. Over my eight years in the district as a special education teacher, I've had the privilege of working alongside dozens of wonderful par profofessionals at Edison and the
extend schoolyear program. Upon hearing the news that the board is seeking to utilize thirdparty agencies to fill these vital roles, my heart sank. Special education classrooms simply cannot function without the love, care, and expertise our pairs provide to our most vulnerable students. While has been
suggested that district is seeking to onboard as many current pairs as possible, we know intent and execution don't always align. Hiring from outside for-profit companies who prioritize earnings over the well-being and education of our students is a mistake. They have no ties to our schools and
community. Nor do they have working relationships with teachers that fosters collaboration for seamless and effective instruction. Compare that to the current model. Most parents have worked in our schools for years and have a stake in the education of our children. They take pride in being Redwood Rockets, Liberty
Lions, or Mountaineers at the high school. Many parents have gone through our schools as students and choose to serve the community in classrooms, athletics, and club adviserss. I can appreciate the current financial challenge our district faces. It must also be acknowledged the taxpayers of West Orange already pay a substantial
amount which fund our excellent schools. While these realities exist and difficult decisions must be made, the proposed change in the staffing of Paris will have negative consequences to the teachers and students who rely on their skills, knowledge, and familiarity. Now, I could go on and like list all the concerns that have already been raised,
so I'm not going to do that. So, I'm going to switch it up and conclude with a brief anecdote. This past summer, I worked with uh I worked the extended school year program at LA Kelly Elementary with a group I had no prior experience with. On day one, before the students were unload from the buses, I
shared my first day anxieties with one of the parents who was assigned to my classroom. Luckily, he was familiar with the students as he worked with them during the school year at Redwood. He quickly demonstrated warmth, compassion, and knowledge of each student, which put my mind at ease. One by one, as the students ran off their respective buses,
they greeted Mr. Andy with wide smiles, high fives, and hugs. At that moment, I knew he would be an indispensal member of our summer classroom, as all the pairs in our district are indispensal members of our classrooms. This is just one example of hundreds of similar stories teachers,
administrators, students, and athletes can share about the paras we lean so heavily upon. I implore the board to look elsewhere to cut spending. Not only would this perspective decision cause pain and suffering to our friends and colleagues, some of whom are West Orange residents, but to our most atrisisk students who rely on them to make
social, emotional, and academic progress. I thank you for granting me time to speak on this matter. Um, hi guys. My name is Isaiah uh Library. I live on um Park Terrace. My daughter, um, sorry, she's Elena and
she's five. Uh, she goes to the school across the street. She's in Miss Becky's class. Um, sorry. Uh, I'm standing there crying because I'm a special education teacher in Pamis and I work at a private school
and this is where the the students go when uh districts can't handle them and they can't teach them the right way. So, they come to my school. Uh, and I know what it's like to have out outsourcing uh Paris uh at the school and it's not good. uh you spend not weeks, not days,
not months, you spend years trying to find decent people who have the care for your children, who have the responsibility and understand the responsibility that they have to teach your kids. Uh it's, you know, I had to wait 5 years for my daughter to tell me,
"I love you, daddy." And that's because of Miss Lauren right there and Miss Becky and her Paris and their Paris. Uh, I couldn't take my daughter to the movies. And I'm a teacher and I don't want to be a teacher when I'm home. I
want to be a dad. And you don't. And as you guys, if you have kids, you understand what it's like to to feel comfort knowing that your child smiles when they go to school. If my child didn't smile when they didn't go to school, then they wouldn't be at the school across the street. Uh, I don't
have anything written down cuz I I work 19 hours a day. I work two jobs cuz my wife we can't pay for daycare. So to have the confidence in the school across the street for my daughter Elena and to know that she's getting a good education helps me to work 19 hours. I see my kids
for an hour a day in the morning to do their hair to make them breakfast to tell them daddy loves you and I spend 20 minutes on the phone while I'm at Applebee's bartending just to make enough money for my kids. And it's not good to feel like now I can't even feel confident about the next year of my
daughter and where she's going to go. I know what it's like for parents to I do intake. So I know what it's like when parents come and they say that the school didn't take care of my kid. They used to but now they can't. Oh, they lied to me. They told me they were going to give them this and they were going to give them that. I know what that's like. And now I don't want to feel like that.
You guys have the responsibility. You said that it's hard for you to sleep at night. It's hard for me to sleep every day at night, working 19 hours, seeing my kid for 1 hour a day, and then if she wakes up at 3:00 in the morning, she can't even tell me what's wrong. And I'm trying to do what I do during the day on
her iPad, and we're trying to figure out what's wrong. We're trying to work on site words and trying to teach her to go to the bathroom. And sorry, I'm very passionate about my students and I understand you guys are working hard and I understand that you guys
aren't checked out. Oh, I I hope you guys aren't because I don't get to check out as a parent for a child with autism. I don't get to check out. Please do not check out on my kids. Please do not check out on my daughter. I have a picture of her on her first day going to school smiling and I don't want to miss
that ever in my life. Please take care of my daughter. Thank you. Good evening. Uh Max Gman, Allen Street, West Orange. I obviously stand with the Paris, but I'll be representing the technology and engineering department tonight. I'm a proud lifelong resident
of West Orange. I graduated from Gregory Roosevelt and West Orange High School. I've taught here for 11 years, primarily in wood shop. I, just like you sitting up there, have dedicated my life to serving this community and want to make sure that we are making well thoughtout and informed decisions. This year, with the guidance of my current supervisor,
Ryan Dougio, and coordinator Cindy Cy, I brought in a $25,000 grant for the home maintenance program, which was also created under their guidance. In fact, in fact, our department has brought in over $100,000 in grants during my tenure
here under the current supervisory structure. Before we dismantle what's working, I'd ask the board to consider why it's working. Each teacher in our department is an expert in their field. Unlike many other departments, we manage budgets, design our own curriculums, maintain our own equipment, and have
strict safety considerations to cons contend with. The changes proposed tonight will undermine our autonomy and decrease morale if we're forgotten about in the fizzed department. Putting teched under fizzed doesn't make academic sense. It's like asking a
soccer coach to suddenly run the golf team. Totally different skill sets and knowledge bases. Our content is based in design, fabrication, engineering, and digital tools. STEM is always talked about as the future of education and a real STEM department with teched placed
under the science department is a more obvious move if a move needs to be made. At the same time, family and consumer science, which includes early childhood, nutrition, and cooking, might fit better with health and PE. This swap cost the district absolutely nothing and is
simply the right call academically. I understand we're facing a $14 million shortfall, but a budget crisis reveals what we value. And these decisions need to be make sense academically and not just on a spreadsheet. Consider the contrast. The
superintendent announced that we're eliminating two administrative positions, but both of those positions, the people retired. Their responsibilities are being redistributed to other supervisors with what appears to be
little planning. No administrator has been rifted and no administrator has been terminated. In fact, on the agenda tonight is a new supervisory position, supervisor of schoolwide advancement and intervention. At the same moment, we're discussing the
elimination of 75 teaching positions and 233 power professionals. That is not a shared sacrifice from everyone. My one ask, no matter where we end up, please keep our existing coordinator in place. That position costs $5,000,
easily made up with the grants. Without our it, our department gets lost in the much larger sea of science or fizzed. For $5,000, you preserve the structure that has brought in over $100,000 of grants, won multiple state and national awards, and has built a reputation as
the place where you're find their future careers. >> Thank you. Good evening, everyone. My name is Wendy Mes and I'm the I'm the theater teacher here at the high school. Thank you all for listening to
us. Um, I'm really grateful for the outpour of love. >> Buddy, which town you live in? >> I'm I'm in West Orange. I live in West Orange and I teach in West Orange High School. I've been here for 11 years and I've been in this um New Jersey system for 15 years. Um, very touched by the
outpouring of love from various members of our community and for you continuing to listen. I know it's challenging and it's a lot. Um, but I'm really feeling how much we all care. I've been crying. I've been laughing um all sorts of things because of the outpouring and the
care of this community. Um I'm going to speak on two things. At a time when artificial intelligence and social media and smartphones are radically altering the way we think and navigate the world, the performing arts, specifically theater and dance and music, are more
important than ever. Not only do theater, dance, and music explore and celebrate the human condition, but they foster authentic communication, a skill our young people and our society is struggling with. The performing arts force students to put down their phones
and actually talk to each other and work things out. Having in-house one-on-one paraprofessional support in my 11 years here at the high school in the theater room has enabled students who are blind, on the spectrum, and living with
cerebral pausy to take theater, act on stage, be featured in monologue showcases, play leads in the 10-day film challenge, and perform in coffee house talent shows and musicals. All of this was only possible because of our amazing in-house staff of committed
paraprofessionals who are a family, not a business. And I know that because I'm married to one. I'm now going to read a statement written by a dear colleague who cannot be here tonight. So I'm going to play her role. I started acting for the West Orange School District with the
intention of staying for one year. That was almost two decades ago. I am a paraprofessional and I used to say I'm just a paraprofessional but that made it seem like I wasn't good enough. I am a paraprofessional in West Orange and I'm proud of it. I have been here as long as
I have because I fell in love with the schools, the community and my job. I have made connections with students, co-workers, and the community that are priceless. I am completely understanding of the budget deficit the board and town are now facing. However, outsourcing the support of our most vulnerable students
is not the answer. My position exists because the students I work with every day need me. What do I say to the students I work with who smile and say, "I can't wait to see what happens next year." What do I say to the student who says, "Wow, I can't believe I did it. I
couldn't have done it without you." And lastly, what do I say to the student who looks in my eyes and says, "You're the reason I'm passing all my classes classes." Thank you very much. Uh, good evening. My name is Danielle Carr. I reside at 27 Silver Spring Road.
I'm a proud parent of two kids in the school district and two different schools. I'm also a PTA board member at Gregory Elementary, a member of and a proud voter. While I am very frustrated and I don't understand how
we're being asked to accept major decisions without a clear plan in front of us. I am speaking from a position of support to what is possible in West Orange that we can hopefully do together. So where is the plan that
speaks specifically to the loss of paraprofessionals and 75 teachers and the gutting of programs? We had health care brokers earlier here tonight that had a pres presentation for this community to understand the differences
in the health care system where all you needed was a slide. We are talking about people's livelihoods. We are talking about our children's futures and not even a slide for us to talk through. It's pretty disrespectful to be honest. We moved a meeting to an auditorium
because we knew this many people were going to show up with frustration but also hope for actual change in this district. But alas, we are not seeing anything. I reviewed the presentation back from the March meeting and the timeline clearly shows the district is
still developing the actual plan through June and possibly a five-year plan um that should be expected in August. So why are we making decisions that are fundamentally changing this district without a plan? The current strategic plan still posted on the district is
from 2021 to 2022. And only a small portion of that plan has actually come to fruition. Many of the areas that are in that plan are the gray spaces that we all have, which is why we're so frustrated and all of us are getting upset tonight. Without groups like
pushing for budget meetings, funding conversations, and improved communication, many of these discussions would not be hearing be heard at all. I know I'm running out of time, so I'm going to go past the proposed cuts directly also contradict the goals both in the 2021 plan as well as what was
presented at March 5th. Your plan talks about strengthening student support, improving academic outcomes, and reducing screen reliance. But we're talking now about larger class sizes, fewer supports for our most in need populations, which people have spoke more eloquently about tonight. And we're
also now seeing that specials are going to be reduced to a mere 30 minutes. These are not a specials are not extras. They are essential. They're the only consistent screen-free part of the day where creativity, confidence, and collaboration are built and where many
students feel finally successful and engaged. And at a time when we are already seeing the negative effects of increased screen time and massive dips in youth mental health, you cannot say we want to reduce digital dependence and then cut the very programs that actually give kids a break from screens.
Gregory's Miss Tracy is up next and she is a superhero in our house and the community. >> Ma'am, your time. >> She's crucial in this district as all these teachers are. >> Good evening. My name is Sarah Tracy. I reside at 268 Gregory Avenue. I've been
a West Orange resident for 10 years. I have two children, a fourth grader at Gregory and a sixth grader at Roosevelt. I also have the privilege of being the art teacher at Gregory for the last 10 years. Sometimes people ask me what it's like to teach art to young children, and I often liken it to throwing a dinner
party six times a day. When you throw a dinner party, you plan. You learn about your guests and their preferences and their dietary restrictions. You make seating arrangements. You gather ingredients. You set the table and curate the space. You greet your guests. You invite them in, engage in conversation. They share experiences.
They tell stories. They laugh. Occasionally, they argue. And then there's the meal. Serving exposure to new flavors, textures, cultures. There's joy. There's connection and engagement. And then they leave you with all the dishes. And then five minutes later, you do it all again. The board proposes that
next year elementary specials should be reduced from 45 to 30 minutes per week in conjunction with combining class sections. This would force arts education teachers to be shared between two buildings, thus clearing the way to cut our staff.
Time and space are critical for arts education, specifically at the elementary level. Our program has value. It serves more than just a contractual prep time for classroom teachers, which by the way is also not enough time. Children need time for inquiry based
discussion, materials exploration, child-led discovery. In our classroom, students are building fine motor, social, and critical thinking skills. They're learning how to self-regulate, make mistakes, solve problems, and reflect. And they also need time to wash their hands.
30 hands, 60 hands. This change would gut our curriculum. We would go from a multi-course dinner to a dinner party to fast food. Things like ceramics, printmaking, and painting would no longer be on the menu with those time constraints. This cut would
directly affect your child's day-to-day experience at school. We love your kids, and we believe in what we do. We strive to create screen-free, sensory rich spaces dedicated to squishing, singing, mixing, chopping, collaborating, joy, and connection. But 30 minutes is not
enough. We understand that you need to make your numbers work. No one understands this more than a bunch of our teachers who run a year-long program on just shy of $3 per child. But we get creative and you can too. And as a taxpayer, I support raising the tax cap while you
figure it out. I am so thankful for our West Orange parents for education who are making strides at the state level to implement change. To the board of education, I urge you to reconsider your decision to divest in the arts as well as your special education programs. Your children are watching and they're
listening to what you deem as valuable. This is not a question of numbers. It is a question of what we hold sacred as a community. Our kids deserve better. My name is Mera Franowitz. I live at 28 Ridge View Avenue. I'm a 12th year employee here in West Orange as well as
a resident and a parent of a Gregory student. I wanted to speak on behalf of both Specials and PAR professionals tonight. Growing up at school, I felt invisible. I didn't make waves. I was shy, as hard as it is to believe. I did
my work. I kept my head down and that was that. I had some absolutely wonderful classroom teachers who I remember to this day. But for the most part, I was in the background except with my specials. I had the same specialist teachers for all six years of my elementary career and they knew me.
My PE teacher, Miss Malarkey, knew that I was a gymnast and I got to make demonstrations during our gymnastics unit. My music teach and band teacher, Mr. Scratch knew me and when I wanted to go ahead in my clarinet studies, he would let me do 10 pages instead of just
two. My German teacher, Frakung, quickly understood that my knowledge of Yiddish translated to the German language and allowed me to excel. All of these teachers were important, but I think maybe one of my favorite specialist memories was in library,
which is funny because I didn't grow up thinking I would be a library media specialist, and here I am. I remember distinctly finding refuge in the school library. I'd go when I finished my classwork early and devour book after book. I'd finger through the cards of the card catalog to see what was there
and whatever my interest was of that day. And my favorite memory, in fact, is after our story in class. I'd jump from my seat, go to the bottom shelf of the third stack on the right hand side, and I would grab the random house book of humor. I'd sit down right in front of
the window and scare myself silly with the excerpt of Rald Dolls. the witches every single week. I think I remember my specials so specifically because those teachers knew me. I had a relationship with them that I couldn't build elsewhere. I had them for six years. I saw them day in and day out. I look at
those connections and then I think about how our students are going to miss what we aren't when we aren't dedicated to our buildings. When rooms are closed because teachers are traveling or they're not doing morning duty and smiling and waving at the children as they come in. I think about how enriching our specials are in our
students lives and how these special areas of education impact them and how much they'll miss because they're just isn't enough time. I then think about our specialized populations and it's really concerning. I absolutely believe that this board is going to do its best
to make sure that they fulfill their promise of trying to connect our pair of professionals with a vendor that will allow them to continue working in this district. However, I worry that they will not find an idyllic place where our paras will get fair wages, get full-time
contracts, full benefits, and money going towards their pensions. And if my fear is what does come true, I'm worried about the para turnover that we're going to see. Our specialized communities need consistency and trust in order to fulfill their needs and goals. They need people who understand their nonverbal
communication, their ticks, and what makes them go. When these when our reaction fails, there is our launch expired again for our students. >> Cara Perelli, 16 West over Terrace. I'm here as a parent, an educator, and a member of Over the past several
years, our district has had a growing structural deficit. Um, we don't need to get into that, but the gaps that were managed with one-time fixes are now exhausted. And while many of these the causes like rising health care costs, transportation, changes in state funding, these are outside of the
district control. We understand that the lack of a long-term plan is not. We can expect to see another deficit next year and the year after that. So what is the plan? Are you going to continue to cut staff and programs year after year?
Every year we will continue to lose teachers. We will lose programs, increase class sizes. Continuing to make cuts is not going to make our district better. Students will suffer. Teachers will be overwhelmed and they will leave for other districts. Opportunities for
students will continue to diminish. And the accomplishments that you take time to highlight at the beginning of every board meeting will be few and far between. You are being reactive to the problem, not proactive. What happens next year? What is the multi-year plan? What steps have been taken to secure
additional funding? Are you consistently pursuing grants? Are you actively advocating at the state level for fair funding? These efforts should not fall solely on parents. Just as importantly, where is the transparency? The budget process should include the community from the beginning, not just at board
meetings. We need dedicated, accessible forums where decisions are explained clearly and community voices are heard in real time. If programs are being cut, the public should know exactly how much each cut saves. Because ultimately, this is about more than a budget. Our kids
deserve a district that is thinking ahead, not one that is reacting year after year to a growing problem. As has been said, a budget is a statement of values. Right now, this budget says we value survival over growth. Our kids deserve a district that
is thinking ahead, not one that is constantly surprised by its own recurring math. Our kids deserve a plan. Hello. Uh my name is John Kelly. I'm at for Gilbert Place. Come by anytime. Uh, just want to say that it was just around this time last year when I was informed
that after two and a half years of service in the social studies department here at West Orange High School that my contract would not be renewed for the upcoming year. Despite strong evaluations, excellent relationships with staff and students, I was told that there's simply nothing that could be done. The district was just in bad
shape. In the time since the board eliminated my position, I found Oh, look at that. Perfect. Thank you. Um, much more comfortable. Uh, I have found employment in a neighboring district. Yet, my home district, the district where I contribute some of the highest property taxes in the country, continues
to hemorrhage. A victim of both legislative short-sightedness and obvious bureaucratic mismanagement. You'll forgive me for speaking about myself at a time when the lives of so many others will be irreparably damaged by the actions of this board, but I mentioned my story to show this board an example of a real life that has been
thrown into chaos by decisions you made. I have a mortgage. I have a daughter. I have plans to grow my family. All of those plans are, you know, put on pause when your contract is not renewed. The lack of humility, empathy, and basic
leadership shown by this board is genuinely staggering. Each board member from president on down seem hellbent not to acknowledge the glaring truth that everyone in this audience understands. You are severing the social contract. Our taxes will
continue to go up while you dilute the quality of the education we all pay for and sap the civic goodwill that West Orange is known for. Go out into the community and talk to the families you represent. They feel like they've been had. I will remind this board that the
same Democratic forces that put you into office are the same Democratic forces that can vote you out of office. And if this board continues to wield the budgetary scalpel with slippery hands and buttery fingers, I'll do everything in my power to make sure they do just
that. Thank you. >> Hi. Hello. My name is Hela. I'm a West Orange resident for 35 years. I've worked in West Orange School District for 24 years. I'm also the parent of two children who went through this school system. One of my children went through
West Orange's special education program from from prek all the way through 18 to 21. We made the decision to stay in West Orange specifically because of the strength of that program. My daughter
had many challenges. She had significant sensory needs and she could become aggressive. There were times she would try to run what many of you know as elopment. These were not small challenges. They required constant
awareness, experience, and trust. And that's where our pair of professionals come in. The pair of professionals who worked with my daughter were not interchangeable staff. They were consistent, trained, and deeply attuned
to her. They knew her triggers. They could see a meltdown coming before it happened. They knew how to deescalate situations safely. They knew how to protect her and others while preserving her dignity.
And just as importantly, she knew them. For many special needs students, consistency is what creates a sense of safety. Without it, everything becomes harder. You cannot replace that kind of relationship with a stranger. You cannot
expect a rotating or outside person to walk in and immediately understand a child with complex needs. It's not realistic. And more importantly, it's not safe for families like mine. PAR professionals are not an extra. They're
not a line item. They are essential. They are what make inclusion and meaningful education possible. Reducing or removing them isn't just a staffing decision. It directly impacts the safety, stability, and success of
the students who rely on them the most. I am asking you to fully consider what is at stake here. Not just in terms of policy or budget, but in terms of real children, real families, and real outcomes. The paraprofessionals who supported my
daughter at times felt like angels. Their patience knew no bounds and their strength and positivity knew no end. They made it possible for her to learn, to be safe, and to be part of a school community. Don't take that away from the
next child who needs it as much as mine did. Thank you. I don't wait this long to get into a Giants game. So, it's been took me a while to get up here. All right. Kenneth Gibbons, seven rigs place, West Orange in the valley. Okay. Um I'm a lifelong
West Orange resident. I'm a CPA with decades of experience analyzing budgets, bus drivers, and operational efficiency. I'm also the parent of a child who is fourth generation West Orange resident
and she is on the autism spectrum with sensory challenges. So that's why I'm here. First, I want to address the proposal of layoffs or outsourcing of the power professionals from both a professional
and a practical standpoint. This raises serious concerns and I currently have a client who developed software to help doctors better understand and treat children with autism, ADHD and other behavioral conditions. As part of my
work, I was engaged to analyze the demand and trends. That data was clear demand is increasing, not decreasing. In New Jersey, we found that data that need is even more pronounced. We are seeing
more children with autism, ADHD, anxiety, and behavioral challenges. That means the need for classroom support is going up, not down. Second, paraprofessionals play a crucial role. I know this firsthand. My wife's sister
and my cousin's wife are special education teachers, and I consistently hear from them that power professionals provide one-on-one support, help manage behavioral situations in real time, and allow teachers to effectively teach the
entire classroom. When that support is reduced or destabilized, the pressure doesn't disappear. It shifts to the teachers, to the families, and most importantly to the students who rely on
the consistency every single day. As the therapists from New Jersey Perform Care that have provided services to my daughter have told me, consistency matters especially for children with special needs. Third, regarding
outsourcing, and I know this because so many of my clients have tried to do it. While it may appear cost effective on the surface, outsourcing staffing models often lead to higher turnover, less continuity, and weaker accountability
because the employees that are being that are from the outsourcing agencies are paid much less. So, as old saying goes, you get what you pay for. For children with special needs, the inconsistency comes in real cost. We
cannot be pennywise and pound foolish when it comes to our most vulnerable students. From a financial perspective, I would strongly caution against any decisions based on solely on short-term cost assumptions if powerful
professionals are being laid off or the district is moving. >> Thank you, sir. Your time is expired. >> I think we need the data. I emailed you already. Bye. Hi. Um, thank you for listening to us. Uh, my name is Nicole Dallay. I'm a school psychologist, case manager at
Kelly Elementary School. Um, and I'm a Morristown resident. Um, I just want to say I do love West Orange. Um, I love the staff, the people I work with. Eight years ago, um we saw a need for a crisis prevention and intervention training. For those of you
who don't know, that's called CPI. Um I went to the director and at the time we had the funds and we saved a lot of money by having an in-house trainer which happened to be me eight years ago. Um I have trained over 400 probably of
the power professionals and teachers within this room and my job is very intricate in working with all of them. However, I do know there's a lot to consider. So I'm just asking you to consider the following and I'm hoping my phone didn't die in
the process. Consistent training of all staff in CPI training is essential for maintaining a safe, supportive environment for both students and staff. When staff are trained consistently, they develop a shared understanding of how to recognize
early warning signs of escalation, use deescalation strategies effectively, and intervene safely only when absolutely necessary. Without consistent training, responses can vary from person to person, which increases the risk of
injury, trauma, and legal liability. Regular training ensures that staff use the least restrictive interventions protection students protect students dignity and follow best practices aligned with safety and compliance standards. I would like to continue to
feel confident when I have to make those hard phone calls to parents as a trainer that that we have done everything possible. I ask that you take into consideration just like you did for me eight years ago to come up with a plan when making the hard decisions that I
know ultimately you have to make. Please take into consideration the training the new staff will need when walking through our classroom doors. Thank you. Julie Bookbinder, Colour Circle, West Orange, a member of West Orange, Parents
for Education. And I have some remarks from one of the leaders of WO, Larry Winer. I'm going to just start with a couple thoughts of my own, which is there have been a few references tonight as everyone here is in the audience. Most of us are your constituents and
we're also the first and best advocates for our children and the students of this district and I appreciate you staying up and staying with all of us and I hope that you are taking it all in. The budget has been referred to as a
crisis that suggests a surprise or a sudden escalation, but it's not. The proposed budget for our schools is a tragedy. Last year, 57 staff positions were eliminated to close a $9 million
gap. Everyone has known since at least September that the cost of the current operations of our district would be at least $10 million more than can be raised without doing something different. But we have done, you have
done, we've all done the exact same thing as last year. Raise taxes by a tiny bit above 2%. Hope for more state aid. And when it doesn't come, cut positions to make up the gap. This time,
more than 70 jobs, 75 full-time teachers, over 200 power professionals, as we've heard. Next year, it sounds like things will be the same. At that point, we will have cut about 200
full-time staff in three years, nearly 25% of the staff of the entire district. We cannot continue walking straight into that wall. You've heard from others tonight. Our kids deserve a plan. In other districts
across the state, they are using their full statutory authority to fund the gap so they do not have to decimate the staff of the whole district. We are not doing that. Say it with me. Our kids
deserve a plan. In other districts across the street, they are making big changes to improve efficiency, altering the start and end times of schools for different ages, finding and sharing detailed reductions in a dozen or more non salary line items. We are not. Our
kids deserve a plan. The community needs a detailed plan on how we will make it through this year, next year, and thereafter without compromising the quality of instruction. Our budget continues to spend above the state defined cost of a thorough and efficient education. We should not have to
maximize class sizes and threaten the quality of instruction. I will also add we cannot expect to maintain the award-winning music and fine arts and performing arts programs of this high school if we cut the elementary foundation.
Good evening. Katherine Gardner, Nolwood Drive, New Providence, West Orange High School teacher. I'm a technology and engineering teacher at West Orange High School for the past 10 years. Before joining this district,
I spent 15 years in industry in geotechnical engineering and in informal education at Liberty Science Center. I hold certifications in both technology and science. When I decided to enter a formal education classroom, I chose West
Orange deliberately for its specialized course offerings, its dedicated instructors, and for a community whose diversity reminded me of the high school I attended in Florida. I came here because I saw a place where students could genuinely grow into STEM careers,
science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. And I have watched that happen. What I do in my classroom is specialized work. My students apply science concepts to engineering models. They work with forces, structural stability, and
scientific laws such as Pascals, ohms or Newtons. They have to understand the underlying science to optimize their designs. I run lab environments. I manage tools and materials across multiple classes. I am directly responsible for the physical safety of
my students every single day, enforcing procedures that protect them and their classmates. This is not just general instruction. It requires content specific oversight from someone who understands both the technical demands and the safety standards of an
engineering and electronics environment. I understand that current financial crisis requires restructuring of supervisory assignments. However, the proposed change placing our department under the supervision of physical education concerns me and not for
personal reasons. It simply does not reflect how this work is structured. My lesson plans regularly reference science standards, including engineering design. The instructional alignment, the the lab safety culture, the hands-on technical
content, none of that overlaps meaningfully with physical education. West Orange has always supported this department with leadership that understood its unique challenges. That supervision has allowed us to stay current, stay safe, and stay relevant to
our students. Losing that content specific guidance would be a real step backward for our teachers and more importantly for our students. I am asking the board to reconsider where our department is placed administratively and to ensure that the oversight we
receive reflects the actual nature of the work we do. Thank you for your time. Thank you. 14 million. Where is that? Maybe it's on my pocket. I wish I had that in my pocket. In our
pocket, too. Sorry, Mick, could you introduce yourself? I didn't know your name and >> Yes, sir. Hold on. Uh, I'm Mini Fuentes from Kelly Elementary under ABA program. >> I'm here. >> Mammon, what what town do you live in?
>> What What town do you live in? >> Uh, I'm Clifton, sir. So, after this, I will go straight. >> Thank you. >> I'm here to speak in support of my co-par professionals. We are the people who work side by side with our teachers every single day supporting students who
need extra help academically, emotionally and socially. Not only socially also we are the punching bags because I am the ABA. We are often the first to step during in a crisis. the ones who build trust with students who
struggle the most and the steady presence that helps classrooms function smoothly. Power professionals are not extra staff. We are essential like the words because we keep on repeating the words and then
maybe it hears that all the words that you hear today are keep on repeating and repeating and repeating. So it's the same essential. So without this many without us many students especially those with special needs would not receive the level of
support required for them to succeed. When par professionals are reduced or let go the impact is immediate. I know we are replaceable but teachers are stretched thinner students lost critical
support and the overall learning environment suffers. We also have to acknowledge the reality that many par profofessionals are underpaid in the work that we do. Despite the
demands of their role, they often earn wages that make it difficult to stay in the profession. This leads to turnover, instability and ultimately hurts our
students. Sir madame please recognize the values of par profofessionals. We are here to help people. We are here to help students not only for ourselves.
Maybe one day you can go out in your chair and see go in the our rooms and see how we do how we work with the students how we make our teachers help them. It's not only like that we have
people that is in our hearts. Maybe tonight we can go home because I cannot sleep because some of my colleagues are keep on thinking about this kind of problems. So maybe tonight
my co-par professional all the staffs here in West Orange we go home see for another day tomorrow and then sleep and let them decide. May the God bless us and God bless you too board of
members. Thank you. Joan Die Simone, Edwood Avenue North. 18 years ago, I moved to West Orange after my autistic son's teacher told me that Sebastian belonged in a class where they played Cinderella music all day. I was looking for a community that valued
children with disabilities, and West Orange was known for its exceptional staff and programs. As a special educator, I could see West Orange understood that creating equal access depends on more than appropriate IEPs or meeting the state code. It relies on
fostering a culture that fully embraces the desire to write the written and unwritten inequities that led to IDA in the first place. Sebastian is a product of the quality support he received in and out of the classroom. His road to varsity at this high school began with
an aid running with him at the middle school cross country meets. West Orange taught him that he was destined for more than living in a world of make believe. Today he's a fourthyear athlete at Gwyn and Mercy University and he was instrumental
in an NCAA legislative change allowing students with intellectual disabilities to compete in D3 programs without a waiver. The West Orange schools are a tremendous part of Sebastian's success and his dream of being a par profofessional. He wants students to
feel the support that he received. He had paras who were fed by the community our district created and they in turn invested in our children. I worry that the savings you seek by outsourcing paras will leave our children and teachers without appropriate support and
will negatively affect student outcomes. These are risks that require researched answers. Will there be a revolving door of unfamiliar Paris? Will instructional time be lost because teachers have to focus on guiding untrained staff? Do the managed service agencies have the same
employment requirements as our district? What data about efficacy and safety can you share to reassure families and justify such a radical change in service supports? Can you prevent a scenario where a teacher is out and non-verbal students are left with all outsourced
staff who don't know them? The teachers and students need and deserve consistency in their educational environments and paraprofessionals vetted directly by you. I'm concerned by news reports that detail agency paras arrested on drug charges and sexual
assault. I'm afraid the solution will jeopardize the culture we're known for, will risk the safety of students, will lead parents to scrutinize your ability to provide faith, will set teachers up to fail, and will encourage the idea that our children's vital support system
are the lowhanging fruit that's worth discarding. As a parent and a taxpayer, I do hope you will find another way. Thank you. Uh, Andrew Lambertson, 15 Florence Place. This is my third year teaching
special education social studies at Western Orange High School. And every year that I've been here, the budget problems have gotten worse. I'm worried about the paras in my language learning disability classes who are being replaced by a temp agency. I
am unable to have the classroom management that I have without their help. Having constant familiar paraprofessionals for our most vulnerable students makes them thrive. If we get rid of them for a rotating
stock of strangers, then who will work for the inclusion of our students with disabilities? Best Buddies, adaptive color guard, play United Flag Football. These activities are run by our paras and they bridge our students of all abilities together. I
worry about what to tell my kindergartenner when she asked why her music and art teachers don't work at Gregory School anymore due to these specials cuts. Mostly I worry about if I or my untenured co-workers will have jobs on Friday. Some of us will be told
for the second year in a row that there is no place for us here. 20% of all West Orange Educational Association members live here in town. I am unnerved by the taxes that I pay, but if it means that we have to keep our
best teachers in Paris, it's an option that needs a second look. Mr. Stevenson and Mr. Ifker both made it known in their statements from March 26 that they are unwilling to raise the tax levy to combat the deficit. Mr. Ker said he wasn't going to run again for school
board. And then he did and he says he wants to stay and fix these problems. But on March 26th he said and I quote, "I would not vote for more taxes." But he doesn't give any options after that. saying the word transparency is being
overused and I think you're going to find a lot of resistance to taxes. From who, Mr. Ivkar? People who complain to you on Facebook, parents who send their kids to private school. The people who are asking you to fund our schools are
in this room right now. You might think that the word transparency is overused, but our students deserve a plan. Reconsider the tax levy. Solidarity foreverbody. Hi. Here we are.
waited a long time and I think somebody already read my speech, but I'm going to read it again because I really, really think that you're all focused now. What do you want me to do? Come closer. Hi, I'm Jackie. I am a first grade special education teacher at Kelly across the street in the language and learning
disability program. I live in Montlair. Oh, sorry. I live in Montlair and we still have paraprofessionals there. Kelly is home to 12 language and learning disability classrooms serving students from across the entire district. It's one of West
Orange's model programs where specialized support helps hundreds of students thrive and their families. I love my job. I'm proud of the work to work with some of the most curious, caring, and vulnerable first graders in the district. I also want you to come
see what we do this year. I have a maximum class size of 15. That's double what I had last year. So, if you're looking at who's solving this problem, it's right here. My pair of professionals make that possible. Together, we deliver rigorous
academic instruction. We implement IEPs and we support emotional and behavioral needs. Mr. Moore recently said, "Our paraprofessionals provide crucial classroom support and uplift our school community." I couldn't agree more. One of my paraprofessionals has dedicated
his work, his life to this work. He's our classroom's hype man. He's the one that walks in every morning and sets the whole tone. He knows what I'm going to do before I do it. He reads every learner and meets them exactly where they are in their academics, in their
emotions, soothing the anxious ones, building up the ones that think they cannot. He builds me up, too. That's not a job description. That's a calling. And it's why administration consistently
places the hardest students with him because they trust what he's built and so do I. And he teaches our most valuable learners, vulnerable learners and valuable that they belong here. I don't want to lose that and neither
should you. So when I learned that we already are in this process, I have to speak up anyway. This decision deserves scrutiny even now. Our paraprofessionals are not just employees. They're invested members of this community. They've
earned benefits, built careers, and committed to our students long term. An agency model ask them to do this work with none of the security. And when people don't feel valued, they leave. That turnover doesn't show up in this contract bid, but our students, my
students, are going to feel it. And when students lose consistency, some may not succeed in this least restrictive environment, requiring far more pl far far more costly outside placements and litigation. Those costs do show up in
your budget. These relationships are not interchangeable. And in my classroom, we hold high expectation, but at the end of the day, the most important thing I teach is how to be a good person, to treat people with respect, and to do the right thing.
If I haven't said enough here, all of these people have you need to do the right thing here. >> Good evening. My name is Erin Asenza and I live at 28 Oxford Terrace and I'm here with the West Orange parents for education. Um, and I really appreciate
your time to hear everybody today. I'm the parent of a first grader at Gregory and a three-year-old who's very excited to follow in his older brother's footsteps in a few years, but I'm worried what will be left when he gets there. I want to be very clear. What's being presented right now is not a
detailed long-term budget plan. It's a pattern. I want to share our introductory experience to the West Orange district from just last year. When my child entered kindergarten, he had three different teachers over the course of this critical year of learning. His first teacher was
relocated to a different classroom. His second teacher was a temporary sub for four months, and his third was ultimately laid off due to budget cuts. By the end of the year, he was behind of what was expected him of him at his age, and we had to hire a tutor just to catch him up because of an entire year of
learning loss. This is a real impact of not having a long-term plan. The past few years I've been a parent in the district, we faced large deficits and the response has been the same. Cut teachers, increase class sizes, reduce programs. That's not strategy, that's
reaction. So tonight, I'm asking for ve for three very specific things. First, a long-term budget plan. one that clearly lays out priorities, trade-offs, a strategy to shift the deficit to a surplus, and what this district will look like over the next several years.
Not just a list of cuts, but a real strategy. Second, give the community the option to vote on a temporary school tax increase. As you've already heard, many of us are willing to invest more to stabilize this district. This wasn't this was presented at the last board meeting, but was dismissed. We're not asking for a blank
check, just a bridge. But our citizens have the right to decide if a $60 a month increase is worth the trade-off for them. It is absolutely worth it to me and we should have that right. The same way Montlair voted on their tax increase to address their budget issues. And third, we need to seriously
reconsider cuts to elementary specials like art, music, and PE. These are not extras. They're essential to well to a well-rounded education, especially for younger students. Cutting them at the elementary level has real developmental consequences and diminishes that overall school experience for our kids. A
widening budget deficit and no long-term plan to address it also has a real financial consequences for this community. As you know, school quality directly impacts property values. If our schools continue to decline, home values will follow and that will affect every single homeowner in West Orange, kids or
no kids. Because if we continue down this road, by the time my children reach reach middle and high school, there will be le very little left in terms of programs, support, or opportunity. Our kids don't just need cuts. They need leadership, transparency, and a long-term detailed plan for the future.
Thank you. >> Good evening, uh, board members and superintendent more. For those of you who don't know me, my name is Kim Robinson. I'm a I'm proud to be a special education and English teacher who has served the West Orange community for nearly 10 years. I'm here tonight to address the BO
>> Did you say where you'd live? >> Monlair. >> Thank you. >> I'm here tonight to address the BOE's current decision to privatize the work of our district's pair of professionals. You've heard from the community tonight about the impact these educators have on our classroom. Pair of professionals
provide this individualized support to students in a consistent, caring and professional manner that results in academic, social and emotional gains. Pair of professionals are not easily replaceable. They are educators trained to support the complex and widely
varying needs of students. They must build trust with students they serve and learn to anticipate the needs of students across a range of activities that students may find stressful and respond to unexpectedly. Saying that her pair professionals can
simply apply to be hired by whatever private company the district awards this contract to is an attempt to minimize the value of this critical educational role. Believing that pair of professionals are interchangeable is a dangerous fiction. Relationship building
is an important requirement of this position and student success will be negatively impacted without the consistent professional care that district employed pair professionals provide our community. Pair professionals deserve to be contractually compensated for their experience and dedication to our
district and their students. Privatizing this important educational role will result in West Orange losing talented professionals. No one on staff should be discarded and then asked to work for a private company that won't provide them appropriate compensation, benefits, and
security for the important work they do. By disbanding our district's unionized pair professionals, this district is prioritizing short-term financial benefits on the backs of student success. In this cultural moment when those
across our country in positions of power are actively working to undermine our public education system, it is shameful to support any effort that further weakens the strength and robustness of our students education and weakens our
beloved West Orange School District. I am urging the board and administration to re-evaluate your decision to privatize this critical role. Thank you. Tracy McCall Cedar Grove, special education teacher at Kelly Elementary. I'm asking you to reconsider the
decision to replace district power professionals with an outside agency. This issue is not just about staffing. Is it about whether we can consistently implement legally required IEP services and maintain appropriate educational outcomes?
Many of our students IEPs include the need for a consistent and predictable learning environment. This is not subjective language. It is tied to well doumented research showing that students with disabilities protect particularly those with autism, emotional
disabilities and executive functioning challenges demonstrate increased engagement, reduced behavioral incidents and improved academic progress when routines and personnel remain stable. PAR professionals play a critical role in maintaining that stability. They are
trained in district procedures, familiar with individual behavior plans, and able to implement supports with fidelity. That level of familiarity directly impacts measurable outcomes such as time on task, frequency of behavioral interventions, and access to
instruction. I want to briefly connect that research to what I see in my classroom. When my regular power professionals are present, students transition more smoothly, require fewer behavioral interventions, and are able to stay engaged in instruction. There is
a clear measurable difference in how much learning time we are able to preserve. When a substitute or unfamiliar adult is present, even for a single day, I see increased deregula dysregulation, more frequent interruptions, and a noticeable loss of
instructional time. Students who typically function successfully within routines may struggle simply because the adult support is unfamiliar. If outside agency staff are rotated, reassigned, or unfamiliar with students, we risk
introducing variabilities that directly contradict IEP requirements. That creates potential compliance concerns, including failure to provide a free, appropriate public education. This decision should be evaluated through that lens. Will this model allow us to
implement IEPs with consistency and fidelity? Will it improve or diminish student outcomes? I urge the board to review data on staff consistency and staff performance and consult with the educators responsible for delivering these services daily. Our responsibility
is not only operational efficiency, it is measurable student progress and legal compliance. Thank you for your time. Hello, Daniel Sakola, uh, ERI teacher at Redwood School, do New Jersey. Um, I'm just here to speak on behalf of
the Paris as everybody else. I want to first thank West Orange for giving us the special education program we have. I'm 23 years in district. My first year was a PAR professional followed by GenEd and the last four years I've spent in the second third grade ERRI program. to
which I have had multiple paris come in and not everyone is trained enough to work with our population. For those of you who don't know, erri is emotional regulation impairment. So our students, some of them have the highest IQs in the
building but can't regulate. Our paras get up every day, read their emotions, read their faces, and can see exactly what they need. when you bring somebody else in, a substitute.
We had um contracted BCBAs. I had a deescalation that our contracted BCBA had no skill set to help with. We had to call over to Kelly to get one of our district BCBAs to help. So, while I appreciate and I became a special
education teacher while in the West Orange school system as an educator, I need to know for my students. I get up every day. My paras get up every day. And while I thank you for giving us a wonderful special education program, if
it is not broken, you do not need to fix it. And our paras come in every day with the same love and drive that our students have, the same love and drive that us as teachers have. As the curriculum gets more rigorous, as the time with students become, it increases
because we're losing special area time. Our paras get up every day. They go to every special. They deescalate verbally. We have had minimal restraints in the ERI program I can speak to from second to fifth grade. And I can tell you that
firsthand because of our paras. They come in every day. And again, this is not an attack on the board. This is not to say that I don't think that you guys are not doing everything you can, but we collectively have to do better. Our
paras aren't just paras. their therapists, their parents. They're a safe place for our students who don't have that regulation tool to go to. I watched a student throw a whole lunch at one of our parents and then run to her
for that consolation to know it's okay. You're going to be okay. It's about the recovery. So, please, if anything comes of tonight, take into accountability that if that was your child that needed somebody there, you wouldn't want a stranger that they're unfamiliar with.
Thank you very much. >> My name is Marshall. My husband and I moved to years ago before we had our daughter. We heard good things about West Orange School District when we were so excited when our daughter started kindergarten in West Orange, but knew that she would need additional support to be
successful. The special ed department helped us to realize that she would benefit most in a smaller classroom setting with a power professional. Fortunately, she's been placed in classrooms where there was a power professional. special ed department helped us to realize that she
>> every day as much as their classroom teachers have. This is only because and only possible when consistency, clear expectations, procedures, and investment are in place. These individuals are part of our village and it takes a village to
raise a child and replacing them with an unknown will not do. We have par professionals who've worked with staff members year after year and have established professional partnerships and collaborations that greatly benefit the children. So please take this into
consideration and keep our power professionals. Thank you. There we go. All right. My name is Rasmos. I'm on Mount Pleasant Avenue and uh I'm the guy from last year who joked about wanting to start a volunteer parent leaf lowerower brigade. I don't
know if any of you remember. I wasn't kidding. Half joking. But the idea was that's the kind of out of the box thinking that I think we need to get out of this. I understand the numbers are what they are
but we need to do more. And there were suggestions at that meeting. I I brought them others brought them. I talked to the board after the meeting and somebody said they'd be in touch with me and nothing. No email, no phone, no
anything. We got this feedback form and I have no idea if that went anywhere. I mean, I I I assume it did and I don't doubt for for a second then the people sitting here care about our kids and educators. Just something seems to happen when you sit behind that table
that that blocks the creativity. It's probably the weight of the numbers, the bureaucracy. You have so many constraints that we don't >> and no unlike last time or like last time I feel caught between sides. I'm here as an individual parent. I'm not
here as part of a group. I'm on a PTA. I'm a volunteer coach. All those kinds of things >> when I'm here just as a nerd with ideas. >> I only went black for a second. >> I'm not trying to start an argument. I'm trying to make the arguments better.
I I I'm here I have a a paras story but we've heard so many of them already and they're all worth celebrating. It's amazing that we have these accomp accomplishments from our special ed students. I would love to hear more of that but in this meeting it feels like
there's a point of diminishing returns to hear the same things. That's not to be insensitive but the process nerd in me is thinking this is a really expensive meeting. Could some of this have been an email? Or could it have been an actual
dedicated system to helping sort out here are arguments in favor, here are arguments against, here's a visualization of the budget, here are ways to kind of like track down spots like, wait a minute, I know a thing over
here. I can help. And last time I tried to help, I'm here. I am again. This time I brought printouts. We'll get to that. So, yeah, there's never enough time, is there? I'm not here to rant about what
you're doing wrong. I'm I'm here to suggest a thing that I think of as an exoskeleton for the community where we as volunteers, all of us, there's so much talent in this room. We can do more, but we need to be let in. There needs to be a process to collaborate.
So, I just really hope we can do more to make things visible and there are so many ideas in here. I'm sure some of them are false starts. I I put this together in a few days because of modern tooling and process. So, I would like to bring this up if I may. If you give it
to Miss Flowers, our business administrator, she'll distribute them to the board later. Thank you. >> Um, good afternoon. or evening. Um, Adam Kramer, West Orange resident who's lived here long enough to pay 92 quarterly tax
bills on time. Um, I would like to first address the board with my solution on how to get out of this mess. The first thing I think you should do is, and I'm usually against tax raises
because they have a pernicious effect on the community, but I think going instead of 2.5 to 3.5 would be part of a solution to get us out of this box this year. the also I think we have to really
really look hard at transportation and do some unpleasant things with transportation and you know Mr. Rock, Mr. Moore, rest of the board, if parents yell at you and say I lost my bus, send them to me, have them yell at me. I'm the face of the
Essex County Republican Club. People yell at me all the time. I'm immune to it. So just do that. So that's your part. Now, folks in the red shirt, >> sir,
>> folks in the red shirt, >> if you don't know me, >> Mr. Kramer, if you'd like to address us, you can, but you can't play to the crowd. Thank you. >> The red the folks in the red shirts. I'm the guy who your union has told over a
dozen times not to vote for you for me. and over a dozen times your dues have been used to go to my opponents and I realize we're in a mess.
But unlike the politicians of the past who told you you could have raises and great healthcare and great pensions and it's all economically going to work out. It's not. And I'm going to be
empathetic in avoiding lying to you. I'm going to say the numbers aren't going to work out. And unfortunately, that means what you're used to is going to change in a negative way.
And it's sad and it stinks. But I think the best way to get out of this box is to get a little help from you guys who are well compensated relative to other districts in the state and county.
Give a little in paying for health care, postpone a few raises so that we can come to zero layoffs. So I think if the board does its part, you guys sacrifice a little, no one has
to get laid off. So that's my suggestion. I hope it is something that's practical and can work. And I thank you. Hi. Um, Moren Donahghue. I live in New
Providence. I've been a teacher in West Orange for 24 years. Um, my colleagues have done an amazing job highlighting how vital the power professionals are. I echo what everyone has said about them, but in the interest of time, I'll jump down to my second point. Um, I want to
speak to the importance of the arts in elementary school. Uh for many students, these classes are not just for enrichment. They are where they feel most confident and engaged. Reductions in this instructional time, particularly in art, will limit opportunities for
students to fully explore and develop skills in a meaningful way. By the time you take the clay out, it's time to clean it up. Additionally, related arts time provides elementary classroom teachers with desperately needed planning time. These educators manage
incredibly demanding schedules and already have the least amount of time to prepare. Reducing the related arts instructional time exacerbates this already untenable situation. Classroom teachers have already been told to expect larger classes and now will have
even less time to plan for them. I've often heard versions of this quote, "The entire education system is built on the unpaid labor of the teachers." I don't think anyone deciding to go into this teaching field was naive enough to think we weren't going to have to work
hours beyond our contract. I think many of us were surprised at just how many hours that would be. But please don't take our dedication for granted by making an already impossible task even more difficult. Lastly, around February March of each
year, the board typically recognizes the recipients of the Governor's Education Educator of the Year Award and the Educational Services Professional Award. As of tonight, there has been no such recognition or scheduled date to do so. So on behalf of the WOEA, please join me
in congratulating this year's winners. Trisha Burke, Angela Tortunis, Julia Coast, Nicole Mcardle, Ralph Dearius, Kim Greenwald, Lzette Villa Lobos, Carmen Gordio, Jill Loren, Charlene
Davis Williams, Mary Kho, Janet Spain, Gabrielle Werner, Isabelle Guerrera, Jen Marino, Carol Festigi, and Don Brennan. We are proud to work alongside all of you. Thank you. >> Um, good evening. We will put on my
phone. I'm Margarita Sansoto, a West Orange resident and Redwood School parent and taxpayer. My family and I moved here in 2021 uh specifically for the strength of the schools, the diversity of the t the town offers and to give our daughter the best
educational opportunities we can provide. For us, that's priceless. I'm here tonight because I strongly oppose cutting staff in our schools. When we talk about balancing a budget, the very last place we should look at is in the
classroom. Teachers, aids, counselors, par profofessionals, and support staff are the people who make learning possible. When we cut them, we cut directly into the quality of education our children receive. Before we even
consider touching instructional staff, we should be looking at every expense outside the classroom. That includes transportations, for example. If we need to make sacrifices, can those sacrifices be for things that are outside of the classroom?
We should also be willing to have, as many people have said before, an honest conversation about revenue. Why are we not granted the possibility of a tax increase before we talk about cutting the people who teach and support our kids? And more importantly, why is the
community not being consulted about what level of taxes we are willing to pay? These decisions affect every family and yet we, the West Orange community, are not asked directly what tradeoffs we prefer. When we talk about taxes as a
burden, we frame the entire conversation in the wrong way. In my opinion, funding our schools is not a burden. It's a responsibility we share as a community. These are our children, our neighbors kids, our future workforce. investing in
their education is not something to apologize for. It is something we take pride in. And when we're looking for solutions, we should also be examining administrative costs. We should examine how much is being spent on salaries at the top and whether those costs are
aligned with our priorities. If we are asking teachers and private professionals to do more with less, then we should be equally willing to scrutinize spending at every level of the system. Cutting staff harms students. It weakens programs. It undermines the mission of public
education. We owe it to our children to explore every alternative. Transportation changes, administrative adjustments, and yes, tax discussions before we take away the people who make our schools a safe and special learning space. Our kids deserve a plan. Thank
you so much. >> Good evening. My name is Debbianne Anderson. I am I live at 8 Corwell Circle, West Orange resident. Um, I'm here tonight. I'm a proud parent of autistic daughter, Juliana. Many of you
know her. I am also a proud taxpayer, although my taxes have increased this year as well, but I would for her education, I would take the hit. My family chose to come into this community because a strong education of special education program, a decision that
shapes my daughter's future. And this is not just about my child. New Jersey has one of the highest autism rates in the country. One in 29 children. That means the needs for stronger consistent support for special education students with IEP is significant and growing.
my profession. I'm also the director of human services for Union County, New Jersey, one of the largest, handling at least um more than half of the budget right now that represents um West Orange. So, I manage a budget of over 100 million. So, I understand the fiscal
challenges and the need to make difficult decisions. I also recognize the district is facing 14 to 15 million shortfall. That is real. But the goal cannot be just to reduce cost. It must be protect outcomes while managing cost.
My professional experience, effective systems do not just cut cost, protect what is working. When a system produced results, the focus should be strengthening it, not replacing it with uncertainty. My daughter Juliana has a par has had a paraprofessional from
kindergarten through her senior year, Kelly Elementary, Edison, Roosevelt, and now West Orange High School. That consistency matters. PAR professionals are essential to how special education students with IEPs succeed. They provide stability,
support, and real time ensure students can fully participate in classroom. Because of that, my daughter did not just succeed academically. She made friends. She gained confidence, became a part of her school community. adaptive color guard cheers for inclusive flag
football being a part of bus buddies and nominated champion of the year. She's now a 4.0 GPA, a member of the National Honor Society. That success is not accidental. It is result of consistency,
skilled par professionals working alongside her teachers every single day. As I'm looking at my time, I'm going to cut down. But privatization is not the answer. Being transparent, having the different skill sets coming into the
table is filled with a lot of talent and the parents that choose to send their kids to public school is willing to sit at the table and help come up with solutions. Power professionals help make my daughter's success possible. The question is tonight whether the same
support will still be there for the next child. Thank you. Hello, good evening. My name is Rosio Gonzalez. I live in 108 High Street in West Orange. I am a parent of three children in Kelly Elementary School and
two are in special education and I am the biggest advocate, but along my side have stood the amazing teachers, power professionals, and staff of Kelly. I have been a class parent for almost four years. I have seen firsthand the difference support staff make in our
classrooms. I have watched how I how a trained professional power professional can help a child stay focused, feel supported and succeed. That kind of support helps the entire classroom. But I have also seen what happens when that
support is not there. My friend recently went through a situation where an untrained substitute that came from these agencies was put in the classroom without the proper training and have mishandled a child with ADHD and even belittled
him in front of the classroom. The sad part is we don't know if this was mal intent or just lack of training and this is a problem. But on the other hand, I have also witnessed the tight bonds of my daughter's best friend with their power professional. How year after
year, his success has reflected in having a great class with a power professional by his side, giving him understanding, care, love, and support every single day. These children, our children, my children deserve a plan. A plan that
assures trained, consistent support for students who need it. A plan that values and prepares par professionals so every child is treated with understanding and respect. We need answers not just for today, but for the future. What will our children's education look like moving
forward? And how are you making sure they are going to be supported by trained staff every day? Please, let's find a solution and protect years of education, experience, and trust we have built throughout the years here in West Orange. Thank you.
>> Hi, my name is Gina Fondetto. I'm from Haggar Court, West Orange, New Jersey. I have two students in the high school. one that went through the whole special needs program and the other one that takes advantage of the arts um theater
and plans on uh doing a BFA. My son, I'm here for the Paris. My son was diagnosed with autism at the age of two and a half and after a year of early intervention, I was told to stay in West
Orange because the program is excellent. I've been credited to be this great mom and everything else. But I could tell you right now, the reason he is as successful as he is is because of the
paras because of the special education teachers. Because the paras are the ones that taught him how to potty potty trained him. The paras are the ones that taught him how to brush his teeth. the
paras taught him everything that I was supposed to teach him, but I didn't know how. So now he's graduating. He's got over a 4.0 average. He is going to a four-year college. He has choices.
He has teachers that encouraged him. And he had Paris. The Paris and case workers were consistent. I made sure of that. He had consistent case workers who worked with the paras. Now, here's my question.
The only great thing that I did was asked for the parah to be at my IEP meetings every year. And why is that? Because they are the only ones that knew him. They are the only ones that knew
how he was outside of the classroom, inside the classroom. We get told, parents get told all the time, "You know him best." Yes, we know them. But the teachers, the paras, they're the ones that know them best in this situation.
From Kelly to he he's been here since he was three. So, I cannot credit myself. I have to credit those paras that taught him everything. taught him how to go and ask for help. Taught him how to go and
and go and communicate and do what he needed to do to advocate for himself. I don't have to worry about him when he goes to college. I know that he's going to be great because everyone has taught him how to be. And those paras are the
ones that have done it. He's had them for all the way up to three months ago. So I I beg you when they have the um the meetings with these people from outsource
what how are the teacher how are the parents going to find out about them? Thank you. >> Um um good evening gentlemen and ladies. Uh, my name is Carlos Boss. I live right across the street on Pleasant Valley Way. Lived in West Orange for over 20
years. I coached youth football here. Uh, coached at the high school for a couple of years. Coaches prep. I've been in West Orange for a while. Um, my five brothers and sisters graduated from here. My, uh, younger daughter's going to graduate from here next year. Um, but I'm here for my 5-year-old who's
currently in kindergarten across the street of Kelly. Um, and I want to give you like a real case study from um, the beginning of this year to now. Um, just back up a little bit. She started uh, prek last year um, in the lottery system
that we had. Didn't have a great experience there. We get calls every day, hey, come pick her up. Come pick her up. She's not complying. She's doing this, that, and the third. All along I knew she needed apparel, but you had to go through the proper channels in order to even have that happen. Um, short story, long story short, I wind up
taking her out of the program there because it would just we we couldn't get a para and it was just really um hard on me and my wife come back this year. Um, we started it. Kelly, I knew she would have a little bit of a struggle. So, the year started um and Kelly's been
phenomenal. Dr. Marian over there and Nicole who was here earlier, they've been phenomenal. She started the year off in a general ed classroom and she was kind of having the same problems here and there. So, um, they brought temporary Paris in. Um, so my daughter
kind of does what she wants when she wants to. She wants her to be her own drum. She needs someone there to really hone her in. Um, so the point there is that they had temporary paris like a week here, week here, week here, and it was the same result. My daughter's doing
what she wants to do. She's really not listening. She's not really able to get the curriculum going. um couldn't get a writing sample from her, couldn't get a reading sample from her. Really couldn't know what she could do. Um met with the child study team at Kelly. We wound up
moving her to our current classroom with Miss uh C um where they have uh steady powers there. And when I tell you the difference between night and day between my daughter is um is literally night and
day. Um I feel like she's seen and and and that's the vital important thing. She can write, she's bright, she can read, she can do all everything. And until then, she was just thought to be a behavioral problem,
but she is bright as as can be. And she's really seen. And that is and I credit that to the class she's in that has constant paris in there every single day with them. Um even in the morning when we drop her off is hey how you
doing? It's hugs and kisses and everything. Um so I'm I'm here for the Paris. Consistency has been the word that I've heard a lot this evening and and I'm a sports guy and and when your favorite team isn't doing well, a lot of
that has to do with consistency. Um, so please take that into account. I I mean the short story is find another way if you can, please. I understand. Let's see if we can find another way, please. Thank you. >> I'm a little taller than everybody else.
>> Oh, thanks. Sorry. My bad. We don't have this fancy stuff where I'm from. Um, hi, I'm Hillilary Turbull. I'm St. Cloud Elementary School and I'm from Springfield, New Jersey. Obviously, New Jersey, whatever. Anyway, um I bring a unique perspective to the situation
having experienced a similar similar scenario while employed with union schools about eight years ago. They attempted to replace the power professionals with agency staff and it ultimately failed. The district was forced to rehire staff. problem was that
when they finally went back to contact original staff members, most had moved on and Union lost a significant number of qualified people who cared deeply for the students. Also, as a 10year as a tenure member of the board of
education in my town, I would have rejected this solution outright if it were ever presented to me by the business administrator and superintendent. While it's easy to believe that rising transportation, health care, and outof district placements um are beyond your control,
the responsibility to make sure the BA and superintendent are actively making changes to find savings without compromising students education lies with you. By failing to hold your BIN superintendent accountable for their
budget management, you are complicit in the situation. For years, you've gone over the 2% cap tax levy. This has been an ongoing issue that has gone unmanaged. One of the primary roles of a board me education members is to ensure fiscally
responsible spending. This decision is neither fiscally nor ethically responsible. It sends a clear message to those who of us who earn the least in this district that high earners have made mistakes and we are the ones who suffer the consequences. This in essence
of trickle down economics show throws those us at the bottom get squeezed out. Speaking from my position by hiring an agencyapp appointed person you signal to the students and staff and parents that we are unimportant and we as people are expendable. That's not the case. I
invite each of you to spend a day in my shoes doing the work I do. Sometimes I face physical confrontations, getting kicked, hit, spit on, scratched, all in the name of helping children have this positive educational experience. I help them regulate when they are in distress
and maintain their stability when they're calm. When they have a happy, productive day, it matters not to just their families, but to me as well. I take immense pride in the job that I do, as should everyone here. The alternative pairs are being offered will not be equal to what we are currently have and
the students will not get comparable aids. This school year alone, I purchased additional toys, resources for the classroom I work in because the district is unable to provide essential items. Not because someone's making me, but because I know that these items will enhance our students experience, make it
the day fun, and I want them to enjoy learning and looking forward to coming to school. Now, if we sorry now, if we are the, as the superintendent put it, fortunate enough to keep our jobs, you're asking us to possibly accept a 45% pay cut, lose paid time off, face
reduced hours, and contend with increased health benefits. I ask you, how am I supposed to manage that shortfall in my personal finances? >> Thank you, ma'am. >> With an altered with altered revenue and rising oper Hello, I am Katherine Sha. I am a homeowner and taxpayer here in West
Orange since 2020. I am also a graduate of West Orange High School 2010. Um, and Superintendent Moore, you may recognize me because you're the reason I graduated despite lots and lots of absences. Um,
so lots of disappointment felt here today. Um, I'm also the proud recipient of special support services at both Gregory Elementary and Roosevelt Middle School for my dyslexia. I am the wife of a Mars County public
school teacher who previously served as an executive board member for his union and has participated in contract negotiations. I have watched as steps have been put added to the guide that have made it harder and harder for
teachers to reach the top. I have watched as our monthly health care care costs have gone from negligible to almost $5,000 a year out of pocket. Uh I have watched as mandatory meetings have
been added to their contract, additional hours, additional uh outside afternoon evening responsibilities and pay has not kept up it with inflation. uh they continuously have to pay more
for their benefits while getting less and are continuously I'd say disrespected in contract negotiations. I have seen the long nights that these negotiators these teachers on the union put in to get the best deal possible for
the teachers while also closing those negotiations as quickly as possible. Um, so to suggest that the you the union board members are doing anything else is ridiculous. Um, and I am also the parent
of a three-year-old who is currently being assessed for ADHD and autism. I am a 34 year old woman who was not diagnosed with ADHD until about three years ago. And many of the issues I
faced in high school were a result of that undiagnosed ADHD. I chose West Orange to purchase in because I knew my future child would likely need the same special services I received.
And I am so disappointed and betrayed to see this board make these decisions for the taxpayers who have chosen this district for this reason. Um, and I'm really
upset that you're trusting these brokers who in my husband's district misrepresented the numbers. Um, I take umbrage with suggesting the attorney knows more singularly than the collective knowledge of your students,
parents, educators, taxpayers e um, and I need you to reconsider this decision. >> Thank you. >> Good evening. Uh, my name is Anna Samanamu. I reside at Cherry Street. My resume is over here. And I am a
bilingual paraprofessional here at the high school. I'm standing here tonight not just as an employee, but as someone whose life was changed by this work and by this community. I became a par professional at a time when I didn't know how my life
would move forward after losing my only sibling. I was grieving. I felt lost. and I didn't know what my future would look like. But one teacher, Mallerie DeMarco, had faith in me. And the paraprofessionals I worked with took me
under their wing. They showed me what it truly means to support others, to be patient, to show up every single day, and to believe in people even when they don't believe in themselves. The mantra I learned here is simple. We
are all in this together. For seven years, I've carried that with me. And even now, as I'm grieving the loss of two more loved ones, people who gave their all two children, I continue to show up because that's what this work
teaches you. Since then, I'm grateful to collaborate with Best Buddies with Move the Spectrum events and bring people that have become friends to hang out with our students. So, a quick shout out to Doc Gooden, Steven Baker, Larry Barra, Shane Spencer, and Nick Wernern
for always helping out our students. And only one out of all the board members attends our events. That's the type of showing up that matters. And that's exactly what our students need. There are students who walk into school every day overwhelmed, anxious, and unsure if
they can make it through the day, especially when English isn't their first language. But over time with consistency and trust they begin to feel safe. They start to try. They start to believe in themselves. And sometimes all it takes is just one familiar face. One
person who understands them to make that happen. That is exactly what power professionals do. We notice the small changes. We step in before things escalate. And more than anything, we are the people our students trust. So, of
course, when I hear this news about replacing paraprofessionals with outsourced staff, I'm not thinking about the positions. I'm thinking about what's being taken away. I think about the student who walks into a classroom looking for the person who makes them feel safe and what happens when that
person is gone. Because this is this isn't just a staffing change. It's a loss of stability, loss of trust, and you cannot replace relationships with the revolving door of strangers. You cannot expect vulnerable children to thrive in constant change and you
certainly cannot put a price on the impact of people who are deeply committed to these students and this communities. For seven years I have loved this job. So I'm asking you please don't take that away from the students because for some of our students we are
the reasons they feel safe to stay. Thank you. Hi, my name is Vikas Ma. I'm a resident of West Orange for the last six years. And I was the one who was suggesting in regard to when it comes to why not cut the directors, right? All of you sitting
over there, you're ready to cut these people out. But none of you said, "Hey, I will take the 30% cut on my benefits. I will take a 20% cut on my salary." You guys will still sit over here while they will be gone. Guess what? They are the
pillars. They are the one who on a daily basis see these kids, work with them and do all the job while you guys over there make decision. Not a decision, a poor decision. At the end of the day, I have worked for a lot of companies. I never
seen where a budget keep increasing. And guess what? Every year we saying, "Oh, the tax will go up. The tax will go up." Yes, it goes up. But this is not the solution. The solution should be we should take a look into the budget. Why this thing is keep going higher up. We
don't know how to negotiate. You guys talk about the health care. I work in a healthcare for the 10 years. When it comes to negotiate, you should know what is the PO, what is the HMO. All these can be negotiated and bring those plan
to down lower cost. But at the end of the day, you think these people don't deserve the healthcare. Come on. They get bitten. They get cuts. They get all these issues on a daily basis. But guess what? They don't think next day that
they have to come over there, get injured. They come over there because they are passionate about it. They love their job. That's why they are sitting over here for three hours trying to discuss how this thing can be better, how we can fix it. But none of us over
here listening to them. All of you I have seen either one on a phone someone is chewing a gum. Your posture shows what exactly are you listening or you just looking at the end of the day. Listen these people represent you. I'm
not going to look at you because you're not the one. You are one who decided who's going to sit over here. >> If you would like to address us, you can. Sir, I cannot address you because at the end of the day, for the last couple years, you guys didn't listen. So, what make a difference while sitting
over here bash out on you. It will make no sense. All I want to say to you guys, elections are coming. >> Make sure whoever you choose as a mayor should be right cuz our mayor is not here. How many of us are getting impacted?
>> Thank you. Sorry, turn it back. >> It's just a 30 seconds. Thank you. At the end of the day, I just want to say please consider if it raise the tax 2.5%, 3%, we are willing to take that
hit. Personally, I'm willing to take it, but at the end of the day, you should take the hit as well as a representative sitting over there. That's all I want. Thank you. Good evening, Michaela Bennett, Old Indian Road.
Um, as a forever fan of the West Orange schools, our teachers, and the staff, I felt compelled to be here tonight. I'm the proud parent of a recent graduate of this very school. That student, I will remind you, was originally denied honors
curriculum, but through parent advocacy and a board of education willing to give him a shot, got straight A's in all honors and AP classes from Edison until being accepted at the number one
engineering Ivy, Cornell University, where he currently teaches students in South Central Los Angeles, and was admitted as one of 53 3 in the freshman class as a Rawlings Presidential Research Scholar. He currently
represents all of us exceptionally well. This is West Orange education magic. It is also evidence that when challenged to do so, this body can do the right thing. Many years ago, I stood before
this body in this very room speaking about hypocrisy. And as the daughter of a history teacher, I know full well history has a way of repeating itself if we fail to learn our lessons. The one person who was there then and is still
sitting up there now is Mr. Jacobe. Here's a cost-saving idea. Put the district's legal contract out to bid. Hire a firm that does the right thing, not what antagonizes a teacher's union
and prolongs and promotes litigation that only benefits his firm and costs the taxpayers more. Leadership is about creative problem solving and stewardship. There's nothing creative about outsourcing. Our power
professionals actually live in our community, often coach in our schools, and literally keep our most vulnerable safe, secure, and on task. Before looking at a plan to outsource paraprofessional roles, have you taken a long hard look at the compensation of
your highest paid? Additionally, there's nothing responsible about rolling the dice on a snow removal contract. In fact, it's only an irresponsible and glorious display of lack of leadership. It doesn't matter that the township
bailed you out. What matters is that you thought your overworked and underst staffed buildings and ground staff could or would do the work historically done by vendors so you could cost save. That is terribly disrespectful and
irresponsible and lack and lacking of leadership. How much more did that failure to plan cost this district? I told you earlier our son is at Cornell. That education is costly. Our taxes just went up 12,000 annually.
Despite all of that, I'm willing to pay more if it means that we as a community can ensure our students education. Thank you. Good evening members of the board of education and superintendent Moore. My name is Sharon Ortiz and I am a proud
resident of L Avenue. I stand before you not as a community member but as a 20-year educator in the West Orange School District and as a parent of two graduates of this very school system. I've dedicated my career to this district. I've raised my children here.
I believe deeply in what we stand for and that's exactly why I'm here tonight. I am asking you clearly and urgently do not privatize our para profofessionals. PAR professionals are not just support staff. They are the backbone of our
classrooms. They work side by side with teachers every single day supporting our most vulnerable students. Students with special needs. students who require consistency, patience, and trust. You cannot outsource relationships. You
cannot contract consistency and you cannot replace the deep understanding that comes from being part of a school community. When paraprofessionals are district employees, they are invested. They know our students, our families, our curriculum, and our expectations.
They collaborate with teachers, communicate with families, and contribute to a stable learning environment. Privatization disrupts that. It introduces turnover. It lowers morale. It creates a revolving door of unfamiliar faces for students who often
depend on routine and connection just to feel safe enough to learn. And let's be honest, this decision is often framed as financial, but at what cost? the cost of instability for our students, the cost of diminished support in our classrooms,
the cost of losing dedicated professionals who have committed themselves to this district. As both an educator and a parent, I can tell you a student success does not come from cutting corners. It comes from investing in people. Our par professionals are part of that investment. They deserve
fair wages, benefits, and respect. But more importantly, our students deserve the continuity and care that only a committed district employed par profofessional can provide. West Orange has always prided itself on being a community that values education,
relationships, and people. Tonight, you have a choice to uphold that standard. I urge you, stand with our students, stand with our educators, stand with our par professionals, keep them as district
employees. Thank you. >> Good evening. My name is Julie Brady, a resident of Bloomfield. I've been a social studies teacher here at West Orange High School for the last 22 years. I'm also a union representative for my building and chair of the WOEA negotiations team. So, one of the people
that Mr. Jacobe was referring to, the union leadership, that's me. I along with the team represent the nearly 1,000 members of the WOE, who by the way have not seen an increase in their paychecks since July of 2000 2024, even as we all
feel the burden of inflation and the rising cost of living. So I am here to address comments made by Mr. Jacobe at the very beginning of this meeting so many hours ago. Mr. Jacobe knows what I also know which is there are many topics
that cannot be negotiated between the district and the union. These topics fall under managerial prerogative and so he knows that the union cannot negotiate for staff members. We cannot negotiate to keep courses or electives. We cannot
negotiate observation models or professional development courses or building assignments or the school calendar. But I'll say again, the association by law cannot negotiate for staff positions. So I have to wonder, what was Mr. Jacobe
trying to imply when he pointed the finger and said that the WOA did not try to negotiate to save our staff at our March 30th mediation meeting when he knows full well that we cannot and we certainly cannot negotiate for compensation for Parz once they are no
longer district employees. I work with teenagers and so I know when someone is trying to deflect responsibility. I can only surmise that this was an attempt at preemptive deflection and a poor and truthless one at that. These
job losses are the decisions, albeit tough ones, of the board and the central administration. And I will tell you what I tell my students. Accept responsibility and own your decisions. We have all the emails and meeting notes, too.
I encourage you to look at the lobby as you walk out tonight. Those 300 balloons serve as a visual representation of the 300 people who will not be district employees next year. They are people who will lose their jobs, people who may struggle to pay their bills or pay for
medical care, people who may not be there for their students next year. And for those of us who work here in the district, we are losing people who we call colleagues, supporters, and friends. And for our students, they may be losing someone they call teacher,
mentor, guide, advocate, and caregiver. The balloons in the lobby may be small, but the loss to our classrooms, our students, and our hearts will immeasurably be large. And you may try and deflect, but these big decisions,
these job losses fall at your feet. Thank you. Good evening. Becky Ludwitz, 24 Lauraai Road, West Orange resident. I'm closing this out because I came from teaching a night course myself. So, I'm also a teacher that can't succeed without the
clear direction of IEPs. I have two kids, a first grader named Asher and a three-year-old who will be in West Orange UPK in September. If you know one thing about my first grader, Asher, you know he's fast. He's level one autistic and has a
particularly spicy brand of ADHD. And while I'm on the subject, I want to share that astronaut Scott Kelly, a product of West Orange Public Schools, also grew up with ADHD. My son, like a Kelly, is extremely
smart. I know because we had him privately evaluated at age four. He's separate. He's repeatedly been referred to by his teachers as one of the smartest kids they know. He reads two grade levels above, but he can't sit still long enough to get his work done.
As parents, we did everything right in getting him evaluated early and thoroughly. Every education and medical professional tells us so. It still took us two years of advocacy to get his IEP. All his teachers agreed, but we still needed to go through the wait and see
periods. There was no question he needed close attention and sensory breaks. Instruction time was lost because because of his eloping. Delaying an IEP was not fair to Asher. It was not fair to his fellow classmates and it's not fair to his teachers. This year, Asher
finally got what he needed. I cried tears of joy. And the most important element of his IEP is his parah. With the direct help and sensory breaks his parah provides, he has improved in his executive function and has gone from
improving to exceeding across most classroom skills. Having a consistent parah matters. Asher would simply run away from a rotating stranger. I promise you he wouldn't stand for it. He stands for almost
nothing. When we went on spring break, just to illustrate this, my son wanted to buy a souvenir for his parah and no one else. Currently, that angel of a parah manages five students in Asher's class. What's more, five more of Asher's classmates
have been evaluated this year for learning and behavioral differences. We have been told that there is no maximum number of students that a parent can share. I don't know if that's true. Asher deserves consistency. His classmates deserve consistency. His
teachers deserve consistency. And Asher deserves to fulfill his dream of becoming an astronaut just like a Kelly. My name is Jason Davidson. Uh I live in West Orange. I have two children that have been through the West Orange School
District. One of them from the 18 to 21 program just graduated. He started in the preschool. The other one's about to graduate. Both with honors. My youngest son is about to be in the honors program at Monontlair State. They're an example, one example of the
success of what we have here in West Orange. And um I right now I work as a par professional at Kelly. I'm in a self-contained AVA classroom. Um, bringing things around at the beginning,
Mr. Moore said that there's a crisis ahead of us and we need to find a way to avert it. And I absolutely understand looking into every possible solution. And I I spent the weekend once I found out this was going on looking into this.
And I'm pretty convinced this isn't the solution. even it it will save money as a line item on the budget but cost the district money quicker than you think when you look at all the hidden costs and all the hidden costs come with a hidden price but it's not really hidden
the price is going to be every one of them is going to be an instance where we failed a student and a family um and if we're going to bring things around again tonight let's bring it down to the the times I think when everyone came together because fingerpointing doesn't do any good if you're asking for help there's people
who want to help and Mr. Mr. Moore was willing to break um whatever the protocol is to have open dialogue and and uh I think that says something. We heard from a par profofessional who
has a child in the district who works 19 hours. Yes, we get a paycheck. We don't do this for the money. every one of us, if you have a child, you you you give your whole life is for your child, but you're talking about people who their whole
life is for other people's children, and Mr. Moore is one of those people. Um, it won't work and it won't save us money. And even if we go with the most conservative model where it's a hybrid model and we keep everybody who's in district here and bring other people in, the risk
isn't worth it. We're taking what we've invested in our students and our school and we are risking it with a middleman. And all the models show that either year three or four it doesn't pay out. But if you look at the expanded
risk to the district because of our program, you're talking six months to a year. besides coming together when when he spoke, Gina brought some former students here and I think everybody was on board
with how that brought us together as why we do this and why we've invested everything we have into the district. And uh you can't ignore that. And I don't know if you noticed, but everybody here stood up. And that's what everybody who came here did today. And and we need
you guys to stand up, too. I know it's a point of uh order that maybe that you sit and listen and aren't standing, but now that everybody's done talking, that's when we have to stand up. We have to figure it out together. >> Thank you, sir. Your your time has expired. >> Yeah. >> Thank you.
>> Good evening. My name is Christine Clemens. Uh I'm a resident at 258 Gregory in West Orange. Um, some of you might remember me as the parent whose three-year-old child was lost on a contractor bus on his first
day of preschool last year. So, something that I want to bring up is that this district does not have a good history, as far as I'm concerned, with contracting services out to vendors. The other thing is you might be looking at a short-term solution in terms of cost
savings for the next year, the next couple of years, but longer term private companies are going to raise their prices and you're not going to have the ability to renegotiate in the same way that you do now. So that's something that I think needs to be looked at. And the reason I bring up the safety issues
that came up last year with my child, by the way, I have three children in the district. My oldest is at Roosevelt. I have a child at Gregory and my youngest is part of the preschool program. We've been thrilled with the education that my kids have had. Their teachers have been phenomenal. The specials teachers have
changed their lives in every single possible way. So, I really want to emphasize that and I understand that this is a difficult issue, but when we're thinking about money and cost savings, I think you need to really think longer term, not just what we're
looking at line item by line item, but bigger term, how much is this going to cost the district. As somebody who's been a disability rights attorney for the last 18 years, I think you're going to need to look at the compliance issues in other districts that have risen when
paraprofessionals were when that was contracted out. And I think that's going to be a much bigger cost to this district longer term. That on top of the poor education
outcomes that we will see. Thank you. Tony Edelstein, 50 Davy Drive, 19-year teacher at the high school. I didn't have on my bingo card tonight that Adam Kramer would be advocating tax increases. Um, it's like during the Vietnam War when
they said Lyndon Johnson lost Kronite. You know, when you've lost Adam Kramer on holding the line on taxes, you're on the wrong side of the issue. Um, hours ago, Mr. Jacobe mentioned, well, first of all, I was a lawyer for 18 years before becoming a teacher, so I
know how lawyers parse language, how lawyers create an alternate reality. Mr. Jacobe said that outsourcing was not on the agenda tonight. Technically, that's true, but it's disingenuous. Mr. Moore has acknowledged that outsourcing is being actively considered. Mr. Jacobe
said our union was notified that this plan was being considered. So, it's not on the agenda, but it's obviously out there being considered on the table. Moreover, Mr. Jacobe said that our union has done nothing to uh advance plans for
how to save money. Uh my understanding is that the mediator that he spoke about talked to the union on March 30th, then went to talk to the board negotiators and came back upstairs and said, "Wow, this doesn't often
happen. I'm having a short day. I'm going home. There's no movement here. There's nothing that can be done." Because the board negotiators have said they will not budge unless the union agrees to tier their membership. What that means is that existing employees
will get the benefit of the benefits we have now. New employees will get much reduced benefits. That's tearing the union. That's weakening the union. That's the intent. And the understanding is my understanding is is that the board negotiators have said they will not
discuss anything about finances with the union until the union agrees to that plan. And the union has offered cost savings. They've offered to freeze longevity increases for the staff for the 5-year length of the contract.
They've offered to freeze stipend increases for at least two years. So, the union has been willing to negotiate. It's the board negotiators that are holding the line and are looking to break or weaken the union. Thank you.
All right. Thank you all for your comments. Uh, Mr. Moore, do you want to say something? >> Well, I'll just take time to tell you that I don't disagree at all. That's
there was no disagreement to start this conversation. I've been here 30 years. I understand the V uh how vital everyone is to our district. I do want to tell you that
when you're talking about $14 million shortfall, um things have to change. Something has to happen. Now, when we're listening to people, and I know that a lot of emotion, and yes, I
agree that you know, you don't want to lose the quality. you want to keep. I'm all for it. Now, there are other things that were brought up. I'm not disputing that things couldn't help like a tax increase or whatever may be the case. I
get that. However, when sitting in the seat and you have certain things you're working on with certain numbers you're working with and you're trying to work within that, you are challenged to find that. But there is no way
looking at our looking at our budget and what I can see that what will happen is unless we do something re like you said raise tax do something more more um if we had to work within the tax rates that
we've already levied that that can't be without some disruption to the staff and I'm not sure how high you can take things without disrupting the staff. I think that's a conversation the board has to go back and really contemplate
because uh as much as I can um empathize and also agree with uh everything that was said um the fact remains and I wish I wasn't I wish I didn't take the job that fast this time. Everyone was asking
me to take this but but but now that I'm here, one of the tough parts of this job is to make a real decision that is going to be long lasting and that will be able to balance the budget because what will
happen is we won't be able to afford what we have and that's what we're trying to avoid running into. Look, there are things that we have on the survey. There are things we heard today and one of the reasons I like the survey to tell you the truth is this is great
and you can hear people and people clap and but honestly when it comes down to brass real um strategic numbers things like that that takes like written paper takes time you have to look at it. So really don't
dismiss that. That really is important because when it's written, that's when a team can sit and look at it and talk about it. So that shouldn't be de diminished. I understand the town halls or the talking out here and just getting
the emotion behind everyone that lives here and how important it is to them, but I never thought it wasn't. I never thought it wasn't. I know it's important. It's important to me. I don't want to be the face of it and I don't want to be the guy that has to do it.
That's just honest. But something has to be done. We can, you know, we'll with the board I'm sure is going to go back now and I'm sure they're going to discuss it. Probably not tonight because it's a little late and I really don't want to
end up doing that, but there'll be discussion. But I think when we're talking other than just, you know, the emotional side and how much we know that a lot has been put in, we have to talk about real hard numbers, what that looks like,
decisions, and how we're going to make these fiscal decisions so that we can sustain ourselves. I know there's a lot of back and forth about negotiations and what we could have done, what the what the board could have done, what the union could have done. All that is fine,
but I have to deal with what I have and not what can happen or what hasn't happened. I have to come up with something in a short span of time. It's not a long span of time.
And so I don't want you to think at all that I don't feel your passion for what you're talking about. I do. I just don't want you to think that everything can't again we don't have it on ironclad. We
put it out as an update because we wanted to hear from you. So it's not a done deal. But what would I be like as a leader if I don't tell you that it's considered? I think that's wrong.
It's more it's important that I tell you it's considered. Listen to what you say, your feedback on it. I get that. But there is discussion that the board would have to have amongst themselves as the governing body.
I will be happy to weigh in on that. But I don't I want to walk away here not making promises but telling you I heard you. I sat through it. I listened. We'll have discussions and I will discuss it with the board and
we'll see where we can go. But the truth is at by the time we leave here tonight, we still have to deal with $14 million. $14 million and still have a functioning school district so that we don't lose
our quality and our drop off. As a parent who has kids in the district as well, I don't want the I don't want to lose either. And when we talk about raising taxes, that'll come on me too. I'll be a part
of it with you. And m whether I agree or not, I am not the and I've said it before. I won't express that because I'm not just the superintendent of those of us that are in favor of raising taxes. I'm also the superintendent of those of us that are
struggling that may hit my office up and say, "Hey, what are you doing? I can't take another tax hike." I I represent them, too. So, understand that this is not an easy task and we'll try to be as fair as
possible, but telling you the truth is what I'm going to do. Telling you what's considered, even if it isn't make me the most popular guy in the room, I've got to tell you.
Doesn't mean I'm not going to listen. Of course, I'm going to listen. If I can get my way out of telling you anything and getting away, of course I would take that option. But I don't think that option's coming my way. I really don't.
I'm going to have to tackle this. So I I am standing before you telling you, look, my heart's with you. I'm not trying to do it. Don't want to do it. Definitely didn't choose for the first three. This is my third year. You would think I'm here 10 years, but this is only my third year. So, I inherited a
lot of things. But when are we gonna deal with it is the question. This is going to take a lot more than just this conversation. It's going to take looking back all of these conversations with board members and,
you know, the behind the scenes battling and so forth. But we heard you. I heard you. I I'm tired. Dealing with this from the beginning has been very difficult.
But I will give it my level best. I may not please everyone in the process, but I will give it my level best. And hopefully I will be able to please some people in the process, but I will give it my level best. That's the only promise I can make as of now. But
thank you for expressing yourself and I hope you at least understand my intent is not to just diminish us, diminish our staff and just cut for the sake of a line item.
>> I'm sorry. Does anyone else want to talk? >> The the hour is late, so I'll be brief and just say that I trust Mr. Moore's judgment and what Mr. more suggests is is what I would support. Right? When he comes to us and says that we have to cut 14 to$15 million and we run down what
he's cut already and we say is there anywhere else to cut and he says he's looked everywhere and that's it. I tend to trust that when he says he's talked to some vendors and he and Dr. Russa have a way to make this work in such a way that people can be employed and students can be served and it'll all
work well. I I tend to trust that. And if Mr. Moore were to go back to the table and say the finances have changed somehow and we're going to try something else. I would trust that. But at the end of the day, we we put our trust in Mr. Moore and
>> No, no, seriously. I I've said this many a time and the the best decision >> whatever I want. You can do whatever I want. >> I didn't say that. >> But I have said many a time that the the best decision this board has made was selecting you as a superintendent. someone who knows this district, who's
from this district, and who is committed to this district, and I don't believe you would do something that was detrimental to this district. So, when you come to us with a recommendation, and we've discussed the pros and cons of it, and you you've made your case, I tend to believe that and I tend to support that. And that's that's where
I'll leave it tonight. >> I won't be doing that alone. Those are too big of decisions to make wheelchair that >> it's midnight. I have two children that have to go to school in the morning as well. Um so I'll be brief. I have lots
of thoughts. Most of them are here though and I think you summed it up very well. Um Mr. Moore um taxpayer parent all of the the stories that you share as
an educator feel incredibly close to home as well. Um, and being behind this table means that we represent the folks who are in favor of a tax hike. And the man who shared
that he works 19 hours a day. And that is the diversity of West Orange that I love. But it is also what makes this work so hard. Right. It it makes Mr. Moore say, "I don't want to make the decisions." And you should know that
there is no one on this day who gives Mr. Moore a harder time than me. Um, I shred him behind the scenes. I have lots of questions. I want all the verification. Send me the data. Send me the list. I'm giving you nothing unless
you give me something. and um all that you've asked, all that you've said, um we are raising and we are considering and we are thinking through and um we are holding one another accountable. Um and as a taxpayer myself with a child
in high school and a child in elementary school, um nothing that was shared tonight has fallen on death ears. Um, and we we have some collective work to do. That was said over and over and over, and it is
one of the truest things that was said tonight. >> Thank you, President Ruck. Uh, Superintendent Moore, for those comments. Uh, I'll attempt to be brief as well given the late hour. Um maybe the diminishing return is that due to the late hour you don't get to hear the
full response of what we would have likely have said. Uh so I'll try to quickly go through the list. I may ask for the three minutes to be put on so that uh I can go through pretty quickly. >> Put it on please. >> Um look this is this is uh this is
extremely unfortunate and and that's the reality. Uh I don't think outsourcing pairs is ideal. um in a ideal situation uh it's unnecessary. It sucks for those who are in the
positions. Uh but the reality is and I'm going to say something on the back of something Mr. Moore said, the outsourcing of Paris is really uh a consequence of a perpetually broken system. And I think the saddest reality
of tonight is that we will encounter like other school districts throughout the state, the reality of those realities that we are at a point uh that is no longer sustainable as currently
constructed. So there's a lot of talk about state funding reform and lobbying Trenton. Uh, I can tell you the Wool parents have done a lot of work on it. Um, it's my second term on the
board. Done a lot of work on it, looking at it before I was elected. And I can and I don't like saying this publicly, so I'm going to I'm going to deviate from what I normally do.
Out of all the analysis, I do not see a recalculation of the school funding reform formula that puts West Orange in a better position than we're currently in right now. That's the reality.
Um, however you however you however you cut it, uh, I don't think that we come out better in a different formula. It's likely a worse situation for us. Uh, for
which I won't go into. Okay. Uh, but to that point, there's been a lot of things about let's tax tax tax. Uh, using the healthcare waiver to do so. And there was a C I I misspoke at the last meeting where I said based on one
of the speakers calculation in order to close the budget gap we'd be somewhere around 6 and 12%. It's about 9.75 after recalculation. The challenge with the that the tax issue is that you
cannot tax your way out of a situation where there's a structural deficit. you would be perpetually taxing the citizens of our community at that 9.7 rate or Mr. Wantrob's
calculation at 6.75 into perpetuity. It's it's not uh sustainable, not feasible, and likely would not be accepted by the citizens of West Orange. Uh even if it were accepted in the short
term, not in some long term. People talk about going to referendum. I don't have any confidence as I talk to people in the community that a referendum to um fill a budget gap would likely pass.
I think people would be in support of a passing a referendum if it meant we were building a new Washington elementary school. We were building a new high school, something that was contributing to the infrastructure of the district. But I do not believe a referendum would
pass. Um, I've got a lot of notes here, but the theme of the night, my kids who go to these schools, they love their teachers. We see everyone that works at the schools
and these are difficult situ these are difficult decisions and anyone who who came to the mic and believed that and I speak for myself and I if that anybody sitting up here
takes this lightly that this is some game that a decision such as this has to be made is crazy. It's crazy. This is this is this this this is real. This isn't some game.
And if you just look at the basic numbers, there's a bridge that's not going anywhere. what we get in terms of the money from the town, the four-long conclusion that we will tax at the cap.
We got $36 million in state aid this year, which is the highest amount of state aid, even in a retrenchment of state aid in the last five years. And even with the most money we've
received in the last five years, guess what? It's not enough. With receiving $36 million, the deficit was still $14 million.
That is a that is a big bridge to close. That's the reality. We've come to the mic and the difficult part is and I and I don't have the quote here. I don't want to go there in terms of quoting the
sincerity of what former board president Ken Alper said about boards boards are impanled. Um hard decisions you know you got to cut and then you know like the pot of money falls out of the air from the state and
we fill the budget gap for that year. we forget about it and then we come back the next year in the same position. For those speakers who came to the mic and said that we've not done anything about it and you we had a big crowd tonight. I encourage you to go back and look at the YouTube clips. I have been speaking
about this ever since I was elected. The insustainability of where we stand right now. But there is a challenge here to talk about all of those big tickets. You've heard me say as much respect and regard for
the teachers we have in the room, one of my son's teachers is in the room right now. The the reality is you cannot talk about a productive strategy of balancing a budget without looking at
the two major line items on the budget that account for 70% of the budget. Two years ago, this board acted, as you knew tonight, to do healthc care differently than we were doing it because we saw
what was coming. The contracts uh the previous contracts that predate this board for which we have no control of other than to adhere to the four corners of those documents and deal with those uh what what we
would call somewhat constraints. I don't think uh others would couch them as that, but they are constraints because there's nothing we can do about them. Mr. Moore has inherited this this challenge. I respect the fact that he deals with it head on. He said he wasn't
going to, you know, it it's not a good position to be in. And I'll tell you, I I respect the fact that he is dealing with it head on because others before him have not. So I would ask the community to give the
board the opportunity to reflect and look at again although it's been looked at you know so many times where other things can be done. Don't think that this decision came about and somebody just looked past it.
There were there was real thought, real consideration, and real gut-wrenching uh angst about a decision like this. So, I I'll hold my comments.
We have another meeting in a couple of weeks. I think there'll be additional comments, but this was not easy. And I'll just say again, uh this is not a is not ideal. And it really is a result of trying to
fix a system that is broken and there are great limitations by which it can be fixed. Thank you. >> Thank you from Miss Verific. You want to go first? >> Ladies first. >> Miss Ver, go ahead. >> Good evening
everybody. Thank you for coming out. It was it was really sad to hear from each one of the people who were here supporting our students
but our professionals and teachers with all the respect to to Mr. more our superintendent of the Great West Orange
School, Miss Flowers and the dear board members and the representative to I would like to express how I feel about this situation.
Basically, I disagree with the proposal to hire an outside provider to work with our PR professionals. Our students must always remain remain
our first priority. Our special education students deserve to be supported with compassion, care and respect, ensuring consistency and stability in
the service they receive. I heard so many stories parents coming today to support the staff. Additionally, our profess par profofessionals are among the lowest the
lowest paid professionals in our district. They play an invaluable role in the daily lives of our students. They have built trusting relationships
and our students rely on them because they feel respected, supported and included. Preserving this relationship is essential to maintain a positive and effective learning environment.
When I was elected on November 2023, my slogan was children's first. That's why I'm not advocating and hope we I know the money and thank you Mr. Stevenson for the information we provide
to all of us, but we I'm still thinking about our children are the first. I am a former Spanish teacher. I'm a school counselor,
grandmother of three kids who are attending West Orange uh school system and I was 38 years or 39 years living in West Orange. I always talk about West
Orange was one of the best school district. That's why I remain living here. even though you know taxes and rent are very expensive. Thank you to all all of you for being
here today and at the same time you know maybe I don't want to take much time because this is late. I had the pleasure to participate in the best body celebration at Wisconsin High
School. It took place on March 21st. It was a wonderful and meaningful meaningful event that highlight inclusion and community. A special thanks to Miss Maria Navaret for hosting such a su successful
celebration and congratulations to an outstanding event. I'm not talking about only best body. I'm talking about all these students especially need the students and regular students that paraprofessionals work with them.
This is daily life and I it's 25 years working as uh in the school system. So I know what you were talking about. So hopefully we can get we can do something in order to solve this situation that we
are passing. Thank you for being here today and I'm here for the for our children of West. Thank you. So, uh I'll save like Mr. Stevens said, I'll save some of my comments for the next meeting. Uh
basically, where to begin? I So many comments were made. I'd like to respond to some of them, but not all. I like the fact when somebody said that they wanted to be our partners and not our adversaries. I like that very much. Um I I was, you know, I had to laugh when the
gentleman was talking about the bubble and we're paying for the bubble that was built in uh 2003. That is a great analogy to what's going on here now. we are stuck with expenses, promises, and commitments that were made long before I even moved to town and
we're doing the best we can. Um, I always appreciate parents who show up. Um, I don't agree with everyone obviously and in fact a lot of the people that don't show up are the people that elected me. And so what do I mean
by that? I ran the first time because we were so appreciative to the schools for the way they took care of my son and I thought it was a way of giving back. And then I thought that would be it. And then likeund
150 pe public school parents asked me and I still have some of the emails in in English in Spanish in Creole which I don't speak um to to please run again. So I did. Um, and that's uh that's why I'm here. And
it's frustrating because I remember the first time we were here, first one of the first meetings I you couldn't stop people from saying, "We want Mr. Moore. We want you have to put Mr. Moore in as uh superintendent and we put the poor guy in." And uh there he is. He's
dealing with all this, but he deserves a little credit. Um he shifted our health care plan to a self-insured entity which saved us millions. He changed the sixth grade situation which seems to be working out. So when he says we have to
do something I listen um this when I had first heard about the uh the paras and this plan I didn't know what they were talking about to be honest with I was shocked. I didn't know you could even do that and I didn't want to do I I've you know pe people get up
and they say come to our school come see what I've been to every school that was a promise I made I've been to every school I've spoken to every principal I've been in classrooms teachers paris school nurses everything I don't need I
know the value of paris I can assure you that and I couldn't believe what I was hearing that this is on the table and then I say Well, what else? What are we doing here? This $14 million is like this big number in the sky. What are we
doing? So, that that was one disappointment. The second disappointment was when I made the mistake of saying, "Hey, could I be on the negotiating committee with Mr. Stevenson?" Yeah, that was disappointing as well because I really I really assumed that
we would get further faster. I knew that the administrators had a contract. I thought maybe that that would be the uh the prototype for where we were going and it hasn't worked out. Um so that that's all very frustrating to me. I had
never heard of longevity payments. I've been working since I was 15 years old. You know, I see the value in them, but I've never No one's ever paid me because I I was there for 10 years or 15 years. and I'm happy to keep it going, but you
know, every district is making adjustments to the times we're living in. Um, and this is certainly I've been in unions. My uncle started the Philadelphia Teachers Union. I I'm a union guy. I would say I'm supportive of
unions. I've worked I worked with 1199 at Newark Path Israel for a dozen years. I think I was in the union when I worked in Atlantic City um as a kid. So, this is not about that. There's just something here that we cannot connect
on. The teachers who, you know, I have a special relationship with uh many of whom I consider personal friends in this town and others. They have a union. God bless them.
strong union, wellunded, a lot of friends in Trenton, and I I believe that's important. We have parents who I also have a lot of respect for who tell us that we need to raise taxes.
Okay, they're they're well organizing me. I can't afford this anymore. I encourage everyone in this room to run for something. Run for anything. It was the greatest education I could have. Every day I went out to meet strangers and every day at least one of them told
me they're moving out of town or they're moving out of Essex County because they can't afford it anymore, especially the old people. And I'm sorry, I just I have to draw a line on that. We just can't keep raising our taxes and hoping that things are going
to work out. So, um, that's where that's where I am. If there something comes up and there's another way to do it, I I I hate this whole thing. It's ugly. Everybody who spoke, I
was nodding my head. I'm clapping my hands and I'm up here. But at the end of the day, we have a responsibility to everybody. If someone can come up and aside from telling us how rotten we are, tell us where we can find $14 million, we'll do it. I'll vote for that.
And by the way, um, just to save some of the emails, if we took a 100% salary cut, we'd still be at zero, right? We don't make any money for this, Joy. All right. Thank you. >> Just for the record, I make twice as much as the rest of them.
>> Right. And if you're not a math teacher, two times 0 is also zero. Thank you all for those comments. Uh we will move on to our resolutions. Uh may I have a motion to approve the personnel items A1 through A6? >> Motion.
>> Thank you, Dr. Brian. Is there a second? >> Second. >> Thank you, Vice President Vera. I want to congratulate the following retirees. Michelle D Mateo, a computer app STEM technician at Liberty Middle School for her 10 years of service and Susan Vaughn, an administrative assistant at central office for her 18 years of
service. Uh, thank you all for your service to students in West Orange and welcome to the club where every day is Saturday. Is there any other discussion on personnel? >> No. >> No. >> Hearing none, Miss Flowers, please take the role. >> Dr. Bryant, >> yes.
>> Mr. Ker, >> yes. >> Mr. Stevenson. >> He's asleep. >> He's asleep. >> We'll skip him. >> Vice President Vera. >> Yes. >> President Rock.
>> Yes. Next, I have a motion to approve the curriculum and instruction items B1 through B5. >> Motion. >> Thank you, Dr. Bryant. Is there a second? >> Second. >> Thank you, Mr. Ifer. Any discussion? >> Seeing none, Miss Flowers, please take the role. >> Dr. Bryant.
>> Yes. >> Mr. Ifer. >> Yes. >> Mr. Stevenson. >> Vice President Vera. >> Yes. >> President Rock. >> Yes. All right. May I have a motion to approve the finance item C, special
services items A1 and business office items B1 through 11. >> Motion. >> Thank you, Dr. Brian. Is there a second? Second. Thank you, Mr. Ifer. Um just want to call out this is the uh set of resolutions that includes the resolution
about the intersection down at Mitchell and Gregory which I spoke about earlier. Uh so on behalf of the parents that submitted that I would ask my colleagues to support that. Um again it is a dangerous intersection that people have been complaining about for some time and if we can do our part to to get the county to address it I I would be happy
to do that. Uh any other discussion? Flowers please take the role. >> Dr. Bryant. Yes. Mr. Ifer, >> yes. >> Mr. Stevenson, >> Vice President Farah, >> yes. >> President Rock,
>> yes. >> Right. Finally, may I have a motion to approve reports item D1 through two? >> Motion. >> Thank you, Dr. Bryant. Is there a second? >> Second. >> Thank you, Mr. Ifer. Any discussion? Hearing none. Miss Flowers, please take the role. >> Dr. Bryant. >> Yes.
>> Mr. >> Yes. >> Mr. Stevenson. Vice President Vera, >> yes. >> President Rob, >> yes. >> Thank you. >> All right. Thank you very much to my board colleagues for that. Next up, we will have petitions and hearings of citizens for any agenda or non-aggenda
items that you wish to discuss. While you have three minutes, I would ask that you use about three seconds. Go ahead, Miss Cohen. >> Deb Cohen, 26 years. I live in Madison. Um, I just need to address because my prepared document got thrown out at the beginning. The tech and engineering
being part of the fizzed department needs to be looked at. Supervisors, we can report to anybody. That's not actually the issue. The issue is we need to keep our coordinator. We have specialized things that we need to have that for. So all we're asking and I'm going to email you what my comments were
that are a little more in-depth is that needs to be looked at. If we need to stay with social with PE, fine. It doesn't it should be science, but whatever. We can go to wherever, but we need our coordinator. Seeing none, uh, thank you very much. Our next board meeting will be held at 5:30.
Is this supposed to be 5:30, Miss Flowers, or 6:30? >> Yes. We'll meet at executive session at 5:30. The public meeting will be at 6:30. Correct. Monday, May 4th, >> um, at the West High School Library Media Center. We will not be going into executive session after the close of this meeting today. There will be no
further business discussed. No additional action will be taken. May I have a motion to adjurnn? >> Motion. >> Thank you, everyone. All in favor? Hi, >> thank you for joining us tonight. Our meeting is now adjourned. We wish you a good night.