Good evening and welcome to the West Orange Board of Education public board meeting on Monday, November 10th, 2025. Would like to thank all of you here in person and those watching from home for joining us tonight. I'd like to welcome my fellow board members as well as Mr. Moore, Miss Flowers and our student liaison. Uh, Miss Flowers, would you
please take the roll call? >> Good evening. Roll call, please. Dr. Bryant, >> here. >> Mr. Stevenson, >> here. >> Miss Vera, >> here. >> Mr. Ifer, >> here. >> Mr. Rock, >> here.
>> Thank you. Notice of meeting. 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 the provisions of the act. A written notice was sent to the office of the secretary of the board on January 7th, 2025. That set notice was sent by regular mail to the West Orange Township Clerk and the editors of the
West Orange Chronicle and by email to the Star Ledger. That set notice was posted in the lobby of the administration building of the board of education and posted on the district website. Please be advised that this meeting is being recorded and may be broadcasted on local TV and the
district's website at a future date. Please stand for the pledge of allegiance. To the flag of the United States of America to the stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and
justice for all. >> Thank you, Miss Flowers. In consideration of the closed and public meeting of October 27th, 2025, do I have a motion to accept the minutes? >> So moved. >> Thank you, Mr. Stevenson. Is there a second? Thank you, Mr. Ifer. Any comments? Hearing none. Miss Flowers, please take
the role. >> Dr. Bryant, >> yes. >> Mr. Stevenson, >> yes. >> Miss Vera, >> yes. >> Vice President, >> yes. >> President Rock, >> yes. >> Thank you. >> Uh, next, good evening to our student
liaison. Uh, Adam Bareric and Terry James, would you two please share your student liaison report with us? >> Good evening, board. Uh this week the West Orange football uh team returns to NJSIA North one group 5 sectional final after a big win over Livingston. The
score was 21-0. They'll face PCTI in the championship game on Friday, November 14th. The boys soccer team will compete against Monontlair High School in the NJSIAA North Jersey Section 1 Group 4 state finals. Our PE teachers
Our PE teachers, Miss Gracioza and Miss Fleck, continue to inspire students by running marathons around the world together, running in the NYC marathon and Berlin Marathon. Um, some beautiful moments to take note of is when the Edison Middle School did
an environmental cleanup showing their love and care for the environment. Um, there was a Broadway night recently held and they fundraised money for Broadway Care which was very emotional and inspirational. And don't miss the Anarchists by Max
Fish on November 14th and 15th at 17 p.m. Tickets will be $15 at the door or online. >> Thank you. >> Thank you very much. All right, Mr. Moore, it is now time for your report. would you please share your
superintendent's report with us? >> Yes. Good evening everyone and thank you President Rock. Um like to take a minute to talk about uh the election the election day. Following the events that took place in our
district and at other polling locations across New Jersey on election day, November 4th, it has become apparent that the administration must revisit how polling in our schools affect our school schedule.
This is not a new discussion as we tried to not have polling in our schools, but obviously we couldn't do so and we had to have it. But last week's events have
underscored the importance of taking a closer look at how our schools district can meet the 180day requirement for our students so they can receive instruction while now closing for all elections.
Historically, the school district closed for high turnout presidential elections, but remained open for other low turnout election days. When open, we have always implemented safety measures to allow
this to occur. However, considerations now is being are being made to close on all days when elections take place in our schools. But please keep in mind that every closure requires a makeup
day, necessitating careful calendar planning while also prioritizing students instructional time. I take this moment though to thank our board of ed members, our teachers, our students and parents
for their continued partnership and support as we work together with our West Orange PD who I'd like to thank keeping our school safe for all occupants including students, staff, faculty, and visitors alike. It was not
easy but the cl the political climate in which we are approaching and which we face today seem to be very un appear to be very unsafe and we will not put our students and teachers in harm's way. Um I would like to also remind the
public this is moving on to a new topic. Forgive me but that was tough that election day but I'd like to um uh move on to strategic planning. I'd like everyone that this week on Thursday the 13th, our community um can provide their
input for our district's 5-year strategic plan. The forum will take place at West Orange High School and we hope that you can attend in person and it will be it will it will be from 6:00 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. For anyone
who cannot attend in person sessions on the 13th, we do have an online survey open now and will remain open after the 13th and will be available uh for people to contribute their thoughts and s
thoughts and suggestions. Okay, moving on. We now move on to the highlight of the evening and that's our assessment presentation and I would now like to turn the floor over to the director of assessment
accountability and intervention, Miss Michelle Martino, who is here to present our annual assessment for the district. Pour it over here. Okay. Good evening. My name is Michelle
Martino. This is loud for me. I don't usually use a mic. I am the director of assessment, accountability, and intervention for the district. And tonight we are going to go through the data from our
spring 2025 assessments. I'd like to thank you all for coming specifically our board members Mr. Rock, Dr. Dr. Bryant, Mr. Stevenson, and Miss Vera. I appreciate all the support um
the guidance and the trust that you have put in me in this role. I also would like to recognize our central office staff, of course, Mr. Moore, Miss Flowers, Miss Connie Salamino, and our supervisors who worked tirelessly with
me on this presentation, gave extreme attention to the data. they um collaborated with me, worked through it, and um I think it really speaks to the commitment that our administrators have to our staff, our community, and of
course our students using the data specifically for um our direction for our department work for this year. Under the consistent and stable guidance from Mr. Moore, I think we are moving in the right direction.
And as we move through the data, I um hope you will see that as well. So specifically this evening, we're going to look at the data from the NJSLA as well as the dynamic learning map. The NJSLA is given in ELA for grades 3
through nine and it is given in math 3 through 8 and then also algebra 1, algebra 2 and geometry. Our NJSLA in science is specifically given in grades 5, 8, and 11. And the DLM is similar only that it does not test ninth
graders, but again um ELA and math and science in those specific grades. When we're speaking about NJSLA in particular, ELA and math only, there are five levels of performance that the
students are evaluated on. And specifically level four and level five are where we see proficiency. Just making note that 750 as a raw score is proficient and
above. What varies is between levels four and five. uh depending on the grade level, depending on the test, what is considered a level four and what is considered a level five varies, but 750 and above is considered proficient in
all of the NJSLA tests in ELA and math. Okay, we are going to begin with math specifically math 3, four and five. As I move through the presentation, I am going to
structure it in that I will review the data first, discuss our grade level growth, look at cohort growth when that is relevant and then I will go through what the current work is for each department and grade level. That is how
I will structure the uh math and ELA and science. Okay. So looking at our math three, four and five, consistently we are performing above state proficiency levels. Again you can see what is
represented with met and exceeded are our level four and level five scores together. If you take a look at the data over the past three years for math three, four, and five, in 2003, we implemented the
data to drive instruction using I Ready and specifically my path for that individualized learning. So you can see 2023 through 2025 we are showing um consistent performance largely in math 3 and four and you see modest gains in
math 5 as well. The next slide is um specifically the state requires that we also report out on proficiency performance by ethnicity and race for each test. So you can see that proficiency data here.
Similarly, we report out on specific subgroups of students with disabilities, economically disadvantaged as well as multilingual learners, and their proficiency performance is represented here for math 3, math 4, and math 5. As
I move through the presentation, you may notice sometimes that there will be a color block not represented. That is largely because um if there are fewer than 10 students represented in that category, we do not report to prot to
protect the identity of our students. Okay. For math 6, 7, and 8, you'll see here as well, we are above state proficiency percentages in math 6.
And if you look at math 7 and math 8, we are largely about equal with the state plus or minus a percentage point. Also of note, math 7 and math 8 do not represent the entire grade level. It is there where we see the split out in um
subject matter which I will go into in depth as we move through the presentation. But this is the first time that students do not take the exact same test. We see that in in West Orange in in seventh grade. Looking at our three-year comparison for
math six, seven, and 8, we are showing significant growth in in all three areas. It does speak to the adjustments that we've made in our professional development. It speaks to our focus in in our middle schools. I
will without hesitation say that we certainly have work to do. We are aware of that work. We are we are collaborating um specifically with our our content area supervisors, Miss Berg and Mr. Abu Hawkme to make sure that we are addressing the individual needs of
our students. But over the past three years, we have seen significant gains in math 6, math 7, and math 8 as it um applies to proficiency. Here is our ethnicity and race data for
math 6, seven, and 8. And our subgroup data as well. Again, making note that there are fewer than 10 in some categories. Moving on to algebra 1, 2, and geometry. understanding that algebra 1 represents
students anywhere between grade seven and even potentially into grade 10. Algebra 2, grades 8 through what could also be grade 11 if a student is taking an a high school test for the first time in New Jersey. And geometry is largely
grades nine through what could be all the way up to grade 12. again in in certain circumstances noting that algebra 1 and geometry are above state proficiency percentages. Algebra 2 while a strong performance is slightly below as well. It is a target
area for West Orange, it is um we we noticed as we were going through the data slight um trends in algebra 2. So it is definitely something we are looking at which I will again go through again looking at our three-year
growth specifically in the subject areas. We are showing very strong growth in all three areas. a snapshot comparison here um speaking to strong effective teaching um improvements in teaching, consistency
in teaching, very focused PD and positive adjustments to our curriculum. We are continuing this focus in math in our district with increased time in the middle school which I will speak to in our department work. Um it is our second
year with a very heavy focus on our um intent with math instruction and and I do think um the use of I Ready and the individualized learning, our ability to receive feedback in real time and and adjust what we're
working with with our students is is reflected here in this in this data. Still have work to do. We always do. We're certainly not going to become um complacent by any means, but I think we're moving in the right direction. Again, we have our um ethnicity and race
proficiency data as well as our subgroup data. Understanding that the um amount of students taking algebra 2 and geometry is smaller and thus, you know, some some of the data cannot be reported. Okay,
I'm going to shift gears to to our cohort data. uh it's it's a little bit different than just specifically looking at the subject area data. We are looking more in um longitudinal growth over three years answering questions how are our students progressing as learners
specifically in math instruction. Um, so when I say current sixth grade students, which is what is represented here, these are this year 2526 are sixth grade students. To date, they have taken math
3, math 4, and math 5. These are our West Orange students. This does not include students who have chosen to go to a private school. This does not include students that have moved away. Similarly, our current seventh grade students all have taken the exact same
three math assessments. Um, math four, math 5, math six. If you remember, um, we split out in seventh grade. So, when we look at our eighth grade data here, we have some students who took math 3,
I'm sorry, math 5, math 6, math 7. But we also have some of our current eighth grade students that took math five in fifth grade, took math six in sixth grade, even if they were in pre-alggebra, and then they took algebra
1 in their seventh grade year. Just just understanding how the math data splits out. And sometimes if you look only at the subject area data, you may get a different idea of the proficiency of the grade level as a whole, which is where
I'm going to move. When we look specifically at those 71 students that took algebra 1 in 2025, we can see they were they were consistent across 98.6% proficient across in math 5, in
math 6, and also in algebra 1. That was a long explanation. I'm going to move a little faster for the next one, but I just wanted um there to be understanding here. So when we look at the proficiency rate of the class as a
whole, we are about 50%, 48.7%, for our current eighth grade class. As a seventh grade cohort, about 50%. We split further when we look at our current ninth and our current tth grade students. They had um three potential
paths that they could have taken. 678, 67 algebra 1, six, algebra 1, algebra 2. And similarly, if you move through it with our current 10th grade students, some of them had the potential to take geometry. Again,
the pure cohort data is a little different than when you look at the entire um group of students taking those specific tests. And sometimes growth can look different when you're not looking specifically at those students. And again, these are students that still
remain in West Orange in the 2526 school year. As a class, our 9th grade cohort as eighth grade students were proficient in their math class combined 36.5%.
When we look at our current 10th grade students as ninth grade students as a class they are proficient at about 35%. I think our focus um on algebra 1 which has been a focus for the past I would
say three years and making sure that we are consistent in our instruction and utilizing the resources that we have working with our teachers um with the I Ready program. it it has it has proven um to be beneficial for our students which of course is always our goal and
when we look at our graduation readiness this is how our state assesses our students are they ready to graduate with the NJ GPA in math our current 10 12th grade students who are graduating in June class of 26 we're showing
approximately 57% graduation ready in math we do expect that percentage to go up in about three weeks I'm going to get the data from the fall NJGPA. For some of our current 12th grade students, they either um were absent last year or there's a myriad of reasons why they
wouldn't have taken the test in the spring, they took it in the fall. And so when that data comes in, this this uh percentage should adjust. But in looking at the data, what we what we noticed um as a team was that from 23
to 24 to 25, if if we look specifically at the the proficiency in math of our 9th grade students, we're growing and and that's what we're we're looking for. Again, we still have work to do. This is not to suggest that we are going to sit idally by. We recognize that without
question. But when we look, we are looking at our percentages going from 23.7% proficient in math as a class to about 35% proficient in math as a class. And
then of course if you if the trend continues then the um graduation ready percentage should increase as well. And so so our goal is to make sure that our West Orange students are always on the upward trend. And um so far I think
we're we're in the right space. I also think um with our strategic plan, with the consistent vision of our superintendent, our the consistency in our board, congratulations. Um I I do think these are things that benefit our
students and in turn our community because with that shared vision I think we can we can move as a team which is largely I know what um we want to do for all of our students. So
this is the data and now I would like to discuss what we're doing as a response to the data. So when we look at our areas of strength and focus and I am not going to read every single one to you understanding this will be posted on our website at
sometime tomorrow so you can go through it point by point by point but understand that um Darlene Berg went through this data all of our evidence statements point by point every single grade every single school looked at what
she saw in terms of trends recognized that our teachers are our our strongest resource and then really design the department work around that. So, um again, there's areas of strength, there's areas of focus in each of our
grades that are always of importance. Um but specifically, I say, you know, so what what are we going to do, right? And so, when we look at math 3 through five, our department work specifically for this year, it's rich and busy. uh which
is which is also something that I think should be noted. But um just some points to note, we are continuing to work with our with our math coach in the district coaching cycles for our new teachers and for other teachers that may just need a little bit of guidance. Specifically
using actionable feedback for our teachers so that they can implement the um strategies that the coach can share with them. We have noticed that there is a need to strengthen our first and second grade foundational skills so that they
translate um into a stronger foundation coming into those tested grades which is also important. co-eing and and and working together, collaborating on strategies that are best practice in our classroom, working crosscurricular, not only with science and social studies,
but also with um Felix Plata, our world language and ESL supervisor, providing sheltered English instruction for our teachers. He provides refreshers each year. I think we just finished up the 3-day um sheltered English instruction strategies that I know Darlene is very
involved with um in order to help her teachers utilize those strategies in math. Also, our our multi-tered systems of support, always a focus and have been for the past four years, specifically looking at our title one schools and
offering extended intervention in math with our do the math program. I know that um that is that is a focus this year as well. But one of the things that is a little different this year that I think is is going to be incredibly fruitful is that
Darlene is working with our consultants from curriculum associates and specifically with our building principles to design professional development for the buildings based specifically on building need. So consistency across our schools is always
going to be a focus, but understanding what each building needs at a specific time, I think, can really help us identify where the gaps exist for our students and and work through those gaps together with carefully targeted design
professional development for our teachers. Um really looking at the data to say specifically, this is what we need and this is how we're going to address it. Similarly, um in math 6 through 8, uh middle school is a focus for us. There's
been a lot of change in our middle school this year. Um and again, there are specific strengths and weaknesses that we see. We were sitting in a meeting, Darlene, Immad and I, and we were noticing that division in fifth grade is a is a little bit of a focus, but it's also a focus in sixth grade. So
how can we work together to kind of bridge the gap and and get that vertical articulation in line? And so I know our team is focusing on things like that is as well building those skills and identifying the gaps at at all levels.
We again have a large change in our middle school this year which has proven to be quite positive um from the feedback that we've received so far. We are taking time to go through those changes. we are eliminating one of those transitions
where we often see a dip in proficiency in our students. So I think that that is always also going to help us with the consistency that we will see in our buildings with our students who are in one space for a longer period of time. The investment in the middle school
model um has also led to an increase in instructional time in math which we noted in our workshop or lab at the middle school level where we focus
specifically on the prerequisite skills necessary for students to achieve at grade level and this extra time in math is is specific for students and what they need in small groupoup instruction several times a week. So, I do think
that investment in in our middle school math program um and that focus on building a strong foundation, which is also what we talked about in our younger grades, is is something that you're going to see particularly if you have middle school age students. We are strengthening the instructional
consistency for our students um using our I Ready Diagnostic to instruction. I do always um thank our board for the support with our academic support team being fully staffed at the middle school which was
is a recent add-on and it is helping with our tier 2 and tier three supports at the middle school that up until about two years ago we did not have. So we're starting to see the results of that um support as well and I'm grateful to that um working directly with them
frequently. In addition, the small groupoup instruction, hands-on activities, um, to strengthen the the problem solving and understanding that in our in our math program, we're utilizing a lot of literacy skills as well. So, so there's that that focus.
Algebra 1, again, there's several um areas of strength and and some areas of focus as well that we're working through with our teachers. I'm not going to go through every single bullet, but I do think that it is of note that the department work
is um focused on pacing to make sure students are getting exposure to what they're going to see on the test in the spring. Strengthening the retention that comes along with that. Um providing regular opportunities for students to be exposed to questions that they may see on the test, not just NJSLA, but NJGPA
as well. And we're utilizing I Ready specifically in our algebra 1 classes to identify those gaps and implementing a workshop model as well at the high school level for some of our algebra one students that fit into that criteria to give them that boost and the extra time
in math um to address the prerequisite skills that are necessary um targeted interventions that they may possibly need and and not have specifically in their schedule the way that they did at the high school. When we looked at algebra 2, I noted there were specific
drops in algebra 2. And so that has become an area of focus for us as well. We want to look at our curriculum. Where are our students falling short? And again, while they're achieving at a high level in algebra 2, how can how can we make it how can we make it higher and stronger um for all of our students?
I'm going to take a breath. We're going to move to English language arts, which is a little bit more linear than math. So ELA I'm going to look at um at the elementary level three four and five. English is different in that every
student takes the exact same test based on the grade level in which they are in. So unlike math there is no split. We see our proficiency levels um again in those who met and exceeded and in grades three, four and five.
We see um consistent performance above state proficiency percentages. We are growing or staying consistent over the past three years. That's uh negligible, not even a percentage in our
ELA 5. We have a very teacher focused approach in our um ELA classes. We are in the second year of implementation of a new program in the elementary school and we are doing really well. Our our teachers are not losing stride at all. I
will speak specifically on how we're how we're working through that as when we talk about our department work, but we are able to address the needs of our students um with a rich curriculum and a and a program to support that as well.
Looking at 6 through nine, again, we are above state proficiency percentages across the board in grades six through nine in ELA. And we are either growing significantly, which you see in sixth and seventh grade, or consistently
in eighth and ninth. This is our data based on ethnicity and race in terms of proficiency performance percentages and our subgroup data students with disabilities economically disadvantaged and our multilingual learners.
When we talk about cohort data, it's a little different in ELA because again, it's much more linear. I forgive me for my light colors. I I fell into a pastel space and our our older projector sometimes loses that. But if you follow along with me here and you look at our
um the way this chart reads, you see how the students performed in third grade, how they performed in fourth grade, how they performed in fifth grade. They are our current sixth grade students. And you'll see growth in that that cohort of students at the tune of about 34%.
Similarly, when we see fourth through sixth grade, we're growing modestly one transition there from fifth to sixth grade. When we look at fifth to 7th, this is where we see our largest dip.
This is where we would have recognized two transitions. um that will be different now based on our new middle school model. I think that's important to note that over the years we have always seen a dip during transitions. Um and one way we can combat that is by keeping our students
um stable in one school for three years. Again, when we see sixth to 8th, we're seeing large growth. 7th to 9th, a slight dip. One transition there. But when we look at our data for
graduation readiness at 84% again that does not include the students who took the NJGPA in the fall. So we do expect that that 84% of our current class of 2026 will increase. Um
there was extreme growth from 9th to 11th grade and and we are proud of that and hope to continue as our 9th grade scores like we discussed continue to increase that if that trend continues then our our graduation readiness will also continue to increase.
I'm going to look at this a little differently. I have areas of strength and focus for three through nine here which again I will not go through every single one but I will discuss one thing that we we did see throughout all of our grade levels um in ELA is the need to
focus on analysis the depth of analysis and um the increase in in in understanding and comprehension specifically in our writing. So, so that trend um really was
a thread throughout grades 3 through nine and did dictate where where we're going with our work. Okay. So, if we look at grades three through nine, our department work is
largely focused on a a new model this this year. Um, again speaking to the investments that we've made in in changing the way we structure our reading specialists and coaches, um, we are able
in our second year of implementation of a new literacy program and in the midst of a fiscal crisis, we are still able to provide guidance and support to our teachers who are still learning a new program through the model
of having dedicated instructional coaches. is or our grade spans across seven schools. It also speaks to the consistency that we like to see across all seven schools when we have a singular focus
under the direction of Beatrice Henry. Um I think we are able to hone in on where the where the consistency may not exist and utilize our instructional coaches to help with that. In addition, we have four dedicated reading specialists who are
able to provide tier three support to students who may need extra support in addition to our academic support staff who are able to service all seven buildings as well. So that model has allowed us to continue with very strong
valuable PD. Specifically, we received feedback after the October 13th district PE Dday and it was overwhelmingly positive. Um, teachers spoke about how valuable they found it to receive the professional development from their colleagues who understand not just what
the program offers, but what the program offers and what we need in West Orange um in in our grade span. So, I did think that that was incredibly positive and it was a shift that I think took a little getting used to, but I I do think we're we're running and it has proved to be
very positive based on the feedback that we received from October 13th. When we look at our um middle school, again, I know that Dr. Al Synindor is very focused on our
writing skills, specifically looking at our non-fiction writing. He has reached into our new Zella subscription and our teachers are now receiving a monthly
curated list of non-fiction pieces with specific interest for our students that allows them to focus on their own interests, pick um specific items to read and then write about again with the focus on writing in depth and analyzing
um further using particular vocabulary and language across um all three grade levels at the high school. Again, writing is a focus. Highinterest non-fiction is a focus, allowing our students exposure to test questions that
they will see on our new NJSLA, which is coming in the spring, as well as the NJGPA. Crosscurricular focus as well is something that we're we're working through. I'll speak a little bit about that when we talk about science. But we want to be able to use the resources
that we have in district to provide um resources for our students without having to constantly seek outside. And so that is something that is a focus for us as a district and not not just as a department.
We're getting there. Science grades 5, eight, and 11. Different rating scale. There's only four levels. There are not five levels like in ELA and math. Understanding that students that fall in proficient and advanced proficient make up what we would consider our
proficiency percentage. We have um we're above state. We're above state in all three grade levels. Um noting we we still have work to do. Looking at our growth over the past three years, we're showing significant growth in grades
five and 11. and um consistency in grade 8. But again, we are focusing our our energy on our science instruction to make sure that our students are um prepared for this assessment. When we look here, we have our ethnicity and
race data for science 5, 8, and 11, as well as our proficiency data for our subgroups in 5, 8, and 11. areas of strength and focus in in grade five. Um there are certain domains where
we we did very very well and and domains where we needed work. But what we are looking at is the implementation of the pair assessment which um provides a pre and post diagnostic in grades four and five so that teachers can similar to I ready identify our strengths, identify
our gaps and and work through um providing what students need with that actionable data. In addition, we are looking at the science curriculum at the elementary level and um making sure that whatever we bring in because the the
current curriculum is to be discontinued is in alignment with our state standards. But again, also utilizes resources that we have in the district. um so that we can address what what we
need in science um without necessarily having to seek out a brand new program on which we would be training our teachers. So we're we're in the work of looking through our um curriculum that way uh crosscurricular. Similar with uh
grade 8, what we noticed was that we need a lot of support in our seventh grade science because much of the areas that showed area of focus in eighth grade are topics that exist in seventh grade. So we are strengthening that working with our teachers there and specifically looking at the claim
evidence reasoning across all grade levels. Again, it speaks to the writing and the depth of writing, the comprehension and the analysis in writing. Um, which does link to our our ELA focus as well. In 11th grade, similar looking at grades
9 through 11 in order to review the courses and access the data. Pair assessment is also being used there to help us guide instruction. in the newly written curriculum which was approved in 2425 for science they are already addressing the claim addressing the
claim evidence reasoning focus um and inserting common assessments at the end of every single unit so those assessments I think are going to be a focus to make sure they are really directly addressing all of the gaps that we're finding based on the pair assessment um we're going to use all of
that together similar to how we do the performance-based assessments um those common assessments ments at the end of each unit across our grade levels as well. Okay. Our dynamic learning maps are given um to our students that present with the most significant co cognitive
disabilities. The DM does provide them the opportunity to demonstrate their abilities in ELA, math, and science. Um about 1% of the students in West Orange total population take the DM, not tested population, our total population, about
1%. Um, and this is only the second year that we've actually been asked to report out on this data, and I'm incredibly proud of it, and I hope you are, too. And I I really feel like I'm saving the best for last here. So, this is our data for our math, understanding that I combined our grade span so that I could
actually report the data to you, otherwise we would have had fewer than 10. So, you'll see it represented in grades three through five as well as grades 6 through 8 and 11. Um, again, four four levels. emerging, approaching, at target and advanced.
This is this is our math data. This is our data for ELA again through the grade span. Um, but this is this is of note and I am very very proud of it. I want to just draw attention to our math scores for our DM students and the unbelievable
growth that we were able to show in one year. I do think that it speaks a lot to our educators. It speaks to our special education department under the direction of Connie Salamino and Don Rabiro and Kristen Goerty Fitzgerald. Their
commitment to our students to all of our students um regardless of how they learn and it it seeks to encourage their strengths and work through their strengths and help them achieve based on their strengths. And so I do think that this um speaks to that work and the
collaboration that we do with all of our supervisors. I know that our supervisors that are here this evening have made a very focused point on working in handinhand with our our special education supervisors to make sure that we're representing all of our students
in our curricular writing as well as our professional development for our teachers. We we do always include our special education staff and seek to understand what they need as it may be different um from from what our uh general education teachers need. Also in science
again reporting all the grades together 5, eight and 11 and showing significant um growth here as well in in just one year and and the importance of of diverse learning here in West Orange that goes beyond anything that really I think um a test can show. But I do think
that this is data on which we should be proud, for which we should be proud and recognize that we do go to great lengths to make sure all of our students are achieving at at a level um that we are proud of here in West Orange. So when we look at what the continued work is here
in West Orange, um multimmodal instruction of course using a variety of strategies of course, but I also would like to um draw attention to the last bullet on this slide because I do think it speaks to our board's commitment and to our superintendent's commitment in
making sure that we are still developing rich curriculum for all of our students. specifically, we are writing this year a district autism curriculum for our kindergarten through fifth grade students. Even in the face of a fiscal crisis, we still have a responsibility to all of our students here in West
Orange. And I think that the focus there and the commitment to our students um speaks to our leadership. It speaks to the vision that we we have in West Orange. And it's certainly something that I'm proud to be part of and I I would hope that everybody in the community is as well. Um I know that's
it was long. I appreciate your um engagement with me. If there are questions, I think we're going to set up a little differently for those questions. Um but I would like to thank you again. Am I on? >> Okay. >> Okay.
>> Thank you very much for that, Miss Martino. Can open up to questions from the board. Um start at the end with Dr. Bryant if you have any. >> Uh yes, sure. Um thank you, Miss Martino, for such a thorough and specific uh presentation. those are my
love languages. So I appreciate that. Um I also appreciate that you have named clearly the opportunities for um transferable skills particularly when it comes to informational texts in our English social studies sort of our
content heavy classes versus our math classes and thinking about how we get kids walking um writing and thinking across the curriculum in those ways. So, I look forward to seeing what that is. Um, I do have a question and you may not have an answer now and I'm happy to
engage later. >> Uh, what are you doing to ensure that the content being taught and assessed is happening in the sequence that the board approved curriculum sort of
prescribe. Would love to learn more about that. how you know it's happening sort of how you guys are doing that. >> There's a number of ways um that I can speak to a little bit but I I'm going to defer to my supervisors who I'm meeting with this week and I will specifically
ask them and get back to you. But on a surface level I think um we are observ >> how about now I we are observing them in our classrooms. We are working through our coaches I think that are in our
classrooms a lot more certainly are building leadership our principles and um getting feedback from them what they see in the classroom on the surface level there in terms of making sure we are in lock step with our sequence in our curriculum that I will speak to um
on Wednesday when I have my meeting with with all my supervisors so I can give you a very direct answer on how they're doing it. >> Thank you. I'd appreciate that. Mr. Stevenson. >> Thank you, President Rock. Miss Martino, thank you for the presentation. Thank you for uh your work on behalf of the
district. Uh thank you for your transparency in indicating that there is much work to do. I think that is true even in uh what is some growth among our data. uh to
follow up in terms of what Dr. Brian alluded to in terms of this kind of crosscurricular I won't call it mapping but kind of this crosscurricular integration there seems to be uh interspersed throughout this
ELA challenge and I call it an ELA challenge not to say that there haven't been gains in ELA but to say that challenges that our students are having are reflective of ELA challenges when we look at I Ready, which is a very
uhformational text math curriculum and students being able to to interpret questions, multi-stage questions that are being asked of them. We see it reflected in our science um again being able to go through the
requirements of science to be able to write and analyze texts, specificallyformational texts, specifically non-fiction texts. uh speaks directly to what may be some uh challenges early on within the
district. I'm just getting >> No problem. In K through five, where obviously, you know, the district and this board made a concerted effort to change ELA curriculum. And while the
public may not understand the difference between what we say is balanced literacy versus structured literacy and may not know all of the the particulars. You know, one of my concerns as this board has discussed fidelity of implementation
of curriculum is uh in the work that you outlined as department work and your reference to budgetary crisis that is likely inevitable. How do you feel as a district we have
the capacity to do the department work, do it effectively, do it efficiently so that we're able to make sure the gains are one sustainable and that we begin to approach
proficiency not in the context of surpassing state proficiency but creating a a community articulated proficiency that we believe
reflect the capacity of our students in West Orange. >> A West Orange bar, shall we say, right? We'll look at look at what we're doing in West Orange. So, a couple things. First, I think our focus on writing across the district is very important. I think specifically at the higher levels
where we are getting into that non-fiction text and reaching our students through areas of interest to them. Right? Non-fiction text is tough sometimes to get through specifically for um younger adults. So I do think that focus is going to help us. I also
think at the elementary level with the implementation second year of a new program, I think our coaching model is uh brilliant. I mean to not be dramatic um but I do think it is speaking to consistency. I think it is speaking to
the vision. I think it is speaking to the depth that we need to see in our students that it goes beyond it. And when we have um specific individuals working across all of the schools who are heavily ingrained not only in having written the curriculum but now in also
teaching our educators the richness of the curriculum. I do think that that's going to benefit us. Um, and I'm excited to kind of see where that takes us because in in two and a half short months so far, our feedback has been positive there and people are reaching
out to our coaches um consistently for that guidance. And so that speaks to me as somebody more on the outside as we're making the right decisions here because our our teachers who we value and we want to support every step of the way. um new program, old program, either way,
we want to make sure our our teachers feel confident in the classroom. When our teachers are reaching out, that that tells me we're doing the right thing. Um so, I do think the coaching model is going to help us as well because I agree with you. Um state proficiency maybe is not only what we should be striving for
because we've done that already. We we need to go beyond that and and it'll speak to what our community values and I certainly think it speaks to what we value as a team. um you know specifically ingrained in the education. >> And lastly, this is a this is a comment,
not a question. Um, as I look at the slide uh and the the demographic data, it still remains concerning now five years on the board uh the great variance in the performance of subgroups, particularly our African-American
students and Hispanic students given uh that they are the largest percentages of our students and there's a great variance between their rates of proficiency compared to other subgroups. Um, and so it makes me think about how
as a district, how as a board, uh, we can be more engaging of the community from an advocacy standpoint to try to ensure that parents have uh, base information about uh, curriculum and
instruction and what kids should be learning and and that our schools are engaging parents so that parents are um, aware I wouldn't even say engaged, but simply aware of what their children are learning, when they're learning it, and
how they can best support. Um, because those numbers, some of those numbers, uh, to be quite frank, are stark. And we should be focusing on how we began to uh, to really look at that from an equity standpoint as a district given
that those numbers are likely to continue to emerge demographically. and we should be uh responding to the particular needs of our students, particular needs of communities so that we have an education system that serves them.
So, thank you. >> Just uh two requests. First of all, that was a very thorough presentation. There were two things that jumped out. You said that the Graduation students in 12th grade 56% graduation
rate our graduation rate is >> I don't understand >> there's uh three pathways in which students can graduate the first is the NJ GPA that speaks to their graduation readiness based on a test so that's that
percentage that I spoke about there's also second pathways which are a variety of different tests SAT, ACT, um the PSAT, if they score um above a certain threshold there, they're considered graduation ready via the second pathway.
And then some of our students who learn in non-traditional ways have the opportunity to provide a portfolio assessment for their graduation readiness and that would be considered the third pathway. So when we look at all of that together, that's how we get
to the 90% graduation. Sure that makes me feel better. >> 56 is still pretty low, right? >> Not really comparing apples to apples. 56% of the 12th graders graduation
>> based on a singular test. Yes. >> St. A standardsbased assessment. Yes. >> The second thing I wanted to ask you was something that jumped out is that the proficiency rate in geometry is like %
why that is. >> So that's a very small cohort of students who take the geometry test and it's only that one path that you'll see um in that data. The students who took algebra 2 in 8th grade and algebra 1 in
seventh grade our strongest math students in the district. And the number of students who take the geometry is far less than the number of students who take the algebra one. Good evening everyone. Miss Martino, congratulation.
Your um presentation was very um I will say with very transparent and uh thank you Mr. Stevenson, Dr. Brian for the you know for the questions and uh the clarification you have with uh Dr.
Ricker and the only thing I have to say is congratulations. Congratulation to all the teachers, the supervisors and the students for the achievement. I could see from last year the IRA that it was implemented in 2023. We can see the
results now and uh I understand you know all the work that the teachers complete last school year with the you know with the extra time you know during the I will call um you know the tutoring
during the break >> it was you know we can see the results now uh we really need to work a little bit more with the ELA as you say but you know we always have a students students, the students with the disabilities that they have to be, you
know, focusing to the how they are going to implement the new uh techniques or the new curriculum or the one that is already used in place. Um, you know, I really like the coaching and the PD with the teacher to teachers, but it's
excellent. We save a little bit of money on that and at the same time you know this is what we really need to know what the students need focusing to the gap and the students needs according to the you know the level and according to the
school that they attend. Once again thank you for the information. It was wonderful and you know I really was very pleased with that information. see they you know that we are right there growing >> moving in the right direction. >> Yes.
>> Thank you. >> I appreciate it. >> Yes. >> Um I just wanted to give a shout out to Hayden because last year he was like just trust me. I have a vision and I gave him a little side eye. Um and here
we are. And so I'm I'm very happy to see the specificity, the clarity, the transparency, and to see the first steps in the vision that you have. So, thank you. >> Thank you. >> Thank you, Miss Martino. Um, my colleagues have said a lot, so I'll just
say that I agree that it looks like we're going in the right direction. We still have some work to do. I would also say that we made some significant changes last year that as we continue to to push forward with those, we'll hopefully reap more dividends the next few years. So, keep focused on that and and thank you again for this
presentation. And again, as Dr. Brian said, thank you Hayden for your work because it's a reflection of of your leadership here. >> Thank you very much. I appreciate all the support very much. Thank you. Thank you, Michelle. I appreciate your um all your hard work and uh thank you
to the supervisors and again once again thank you to the teachers. Um I know for just to speak a little bit about our supervisor, our administrators and our teachers. It is tough to transition to do new things. people walking into classrooms giving directions, coaching,
and advising. It isn't easy, but I want our teachers and our administrators to make sure they mutually uh work together to come up with the answer um to this board. The answers within our district, we have the best people. The our
teachers are strong, our supervisors are strong. It's all about our collaboration and uh remembering that we're West Orange together. Um, and that's the focus of our work um, together is where we're going to have the answers and we're going to be able to strive. I know
a lot of people like outside consultants and people coming in, but if you've been here as long as I have, you would understand that the quality that we actually have in our buildings and our administration have some answers. these the people I work with are they
research, they read, they care, but there's nothing like the compassion and the um obligation that the administrators and the teachers feel for our students along with myself. We're one big team and it's great to see that and that's really no big vision and no
special. It's just believing in it and we're going to strive and do better as we go on. I have all the confidence in us. So, I appreciate that. So, thank you all. Um, at this time I would like to present the harassment, intimidation, and bully
report. Throughout the district, we had four incidents of an investigations of HIV and two have been founded. And President Rock, thank you. Um, that concludes my report. >> Right. Thank you, Mr. Moore. Um,
and I do want to you started your report there with talking about election day. It seems like a long time ago, but I do want to commend you and our local law enforcement for how swiftly you were able to verify the safety of our buildings to reopen the polling places and to prepare for the school day before um students arrive. So, good job on that. I know it was a stressful day, but
you handled it well. Um we'll move on to committee reports and comments from the board. Anything from Dr. Bryant? >> No, >> Mr. Stevenson. >> Thank you, President Rock. Just want to suffix what you said with respect to Mr. Mo's leadership on election day. Uh his
effectiveness and efficiency with respect to how u a situation that no one would expect he was able to respond to in a way that I think really demonstrates his leadership and his commitment to West Orange. Also want to
commend Mr. more on uh his strategic vision for the for the district as he uh and his team meets this week with the community about the district's strategic plan. Uh again, just uh unprecedented in how he has engaged the community. I
think uh really is just indicative of who he is as a as a person and more importantly who he is as a leader for our community. Um and lastly with respect to the student achievement data, you know, we're we're in what is an
inevitable issue with with state funding, but the reality is is that this is the work, we we work to educate children. And so uh while several things are under consideration have been under consideration given we've had this constraint of state budget for the last
three years with respect to implementation of a new science curriculum which was uh held off last year and is under consideration moving forward. The board has voted to implement ELA curriculums at the
elementary school level and at the and then a math curriculum at the elementary school level and has sunk additional resources into our middle schools. Uh there are a lot of resources being put into academic uh performance and proficiency. And I would just say we
have to continue to make those investments and ensure that the investments that have been made are seen to fruition into a place uh where it bears fruit for our students and our community. And so I would just um say to our board colleagues and to you, Mr.
more that it's important as we move forward into budget season in the in the next few months that we're cognizant of that we're aware of that that we do not foresaw and shift away from those investments because the community has entrusted us to do so and that those
resources are continued to to be put there to ensure that uh we do not in any way deviate from those investments because they're critical to ensure that our number one cont our constituency meaning students get what they need.
They get what they need in the classroom with with good materials and that their teachers are armed with the professional development uh that they need to ensure that students are are given those requisite skill sets uh to be proficient not just not for an annual state
assessment but be proficient as they progress through life on and through our system and then whatever their post-secary experience is. So, uh, as we move into some difficult days with the budget, I just want to be mindful and, uh, share with my board colleagues that
we're all mindful of the investments that need to continue to be made to ensure that our primary responsibility to educate students continues in full and in earnest. Thank you, president. Thank you, Mr. Stevenson. Anything from Miss Ver?
>> Okay, Mr. >> Okay. Uh very briefly just to say that um it's always been our commitment, the five of us that whenever someone sends us an email or stops us on the street or whatever and they say,
"Hey, what about this? You have to look at that." We always take it seriously. And the commitment and the promise is that we always bring it up in our closed session in front of the five of us plus uh um Miss Flowers and of course our superintendent, Mr. Moore. So, just to
uh run through a few things that were brought up, brought to my attention over the past month or two. There were issues about uh physical uh plants at various schools and parking and and steps and this and that and uh stipens and
training for teachers with respect to racism, anti-semitism. So, all of those things that were given to me, I've now presented them to the board and I can assure you that um um Mr. Moore takes them very seriously and everything
I can't promise everything's going to be done today or it's going to be addressed as you would like, but it's been given a full hearing and I expect whatever needs to be uh improved upon we'll will we'll do so. So, keep the comments and the
emails coming. We we take that very seriously. Thank you. >> Thank you, Mr. Iker. Um want to start my board president's report by first congratulating Dr. Bryant and Mr. Ipker for their election victories last week. Um right this board has constituted has
worked together for about the last 18 months. Since then, four of us has stood for reelection and and been returned to the board to continue to serve. Uh so I think it's a sign that the community has put their trust in not only Mr. Stevenson and I last year but you two this year. uh and that there is some faith in what we are doing along with
Mr. Moore here. Uh so we look forward to another productive year next year. Uh and as I've said before, many productive years for Mr. Moore, who will never be allowed to retire. Uh next, I would like to share a little bit about uh Edison Middle School. Edison Middle School continues to
successfully enjoy transitioning to our new configuration of the six, seven, and eight middle school model. Housing grades six, seven, and eight has allowed our teachers to engage in conversations steeped in vertical articulation, which positively impacts instruction and learning for our students. In addition, the eighth grade students have been
exemplary role models for our students in grade six, grade 7. We have seen school pride rise in large part due to the sports program. Students who are enrolled in accelerated courses are flourishing along with the rest of our Edison scholars. Time for fun has been made with Edison's walk-athon and harvest days in addition to conducting
student council elections. Edison has embarked on a great 2025 2026 school year. All right. And lastly, I do want to speak a little bit about um state funding. Uh got some notes on my phone here, which I usually don't have out during board meetings, but that's why I have it here because I typed up a few
things. Um the the district shared about a week ago, and you may have heard from other sources as well, that the New Jersey Department of Education is currently conducting a survey and collecting feedback about the school funding formula. In this past budget year, the governor made some unilateral changes to that formula, some of which
were good for us, and I'll talk about those in a minute. Uh, but they were one-time changes implemented by the governor. They were not set in statute. And currently, the DOE is collecting feedback to decide should this be done again, and possibly should these things be written into statute moving forward.
Um, so it is important that we all speak up and share our feedback with the state. Um, I wanted to take a minute to share the specific topics though. So if you're not familiar with them, explain what the topic is, give you a little bit of context so you know how you should answer that and again how this has helped us here in West Orange and why
some of these changes are important moving forward. Uh so there are six issues in the um kind of general topics included in the survey. Uh the first topic is called local resource measures and essentially it's the way that the state measures our wealth. There's two factors in that. Our equalized
valuation, how much the homes in town are worth, and two, the the gross income of everyone that lives in town, how much money we make, which then translates into income taxes collected by the state. The first question they asked about those was, should this value be averaged over time? Previously, they
looked at one specific year uh and said, "This is what your valuation and income is in this year." And that's how they calculated our local fair share, which in a normal year isn't a big deal. But in some years, so not this past year, but the year before is a good example of that. If one year changes drastically
from year to year, our income that year happened to go up by a very significant amount, that drove up our fair share, which in turn drove down our eight. So by taking these values and averaging them this year they averaged them over three years potentially they could average it over a longer period of time
that smooths out those changes so that if it goes up over the course of 10 years it'll just go up a little bit each year rather than jumping drastically from year to year. So it is important that those values be averaged and they don't just look one year to the other because then there can be significant
changes in our state aid from one year to the next. But the other two parts of this question that I think are important are one, gross income should not be part of this measure. So the main source of revenue for school boards is local property taxes. So our revenue
essentially comes from among other small sources the the property tax that we levy on homeowners in West Orange. So there is a connection there between the home value and how much we can levy in taxes. But when someone in West Orange makes more money, there's no way for us to come and collect any of that. we
cannot levy a tax on your income. To me, the the ironic part of this is that when you make more money, you pay more income tax. That goes to the state. But then if our income goes up, that can make our local fair share go up and make our aid go down. So, we're essentially being
punished for the success of our residents who end up making more money in some years, whereas that income tax is collected by the state specifically for the purpose of offsetting property taxes. And so it it it to me is a fundamental disconnect between the purpose of the income tax and the way
this works and that so so income should not be part of that equation at all. And in the comments I would encourage you to say that we they shouldn't use that at all. Um then the last part related to uh local resource measures is that averaging is good because it eliminates outliers but if valuations go up
repeatedly by excessive amounts that doesn't help. So the last two years the valuations in town have gone up year-over-year about 10%. That means that on paper, everybody that lives in West Orange is very rich. Uh, but I'll tell you myself that I I don't get to spend that paper. You know, since I
bought my house, the value has gone through the roof. But if I sell it, I got to go buy another house that also costs an exorbitant amount of money. Uh, so just because the value went up 10%, we can't collect 10% more property taxes. We're still stuck with a 2% cap.
And so at the end of the day, if if we have a cap on how much we can raise the tax levy, the amount that our fair share also increases should also be capped. So that's an important way about how this should be calculated that right, if you're going to cap one thing, you got to cap both things. Um the second topic
on this survey has to do with limits to annual changes. Uh so previously there was no limit to the change in state aid. It could go up and down by any significant amount depending on how it was calculated. This year they put a 3% floor on the maximum reduction. Um, in our case that helped us quite a bit
because of the way they changed some of the numbers. We ended up gaining a lot of money in one area, losing a lot of money in another area. But if they just straight ran the formula, we would have lost significantly more than the million dollars that we did lose. So aid went down 3% which was the maximum. Uh, so
for us and for any district that that potentially is going to lose money, I think it's important that that um is maintained. But a a piece that's important there is the way they calculate that floor. So they calculated it based on the percentage of aid that
we received last year. The problem with that is that different districts rely for different amounts on state aid to fund their budget. So our we're not the most heavily reliant of all districts in New Jersey, but we have a significant amount of our uh budget operating budget
that comes from state aid. So that 3% reduction uh converted to about a half a percent of our operating budget. Now if you look elsewhere in Essex County, so a good example is Essex Fells, they get a very small amount of state aid, but they also lost 3% of their state aid. That
correlated to 0.1% of their operating budget. So if you calculate it based on the percent of aid, we both lost the same amount, 3%. But when you look at the percent of the budget, we lost five times as much as them. So that the the
way that floor is calculated should be based on what that number represents as a portion of the budget. that not only did proportionally we we lost the same thing, but year-over-year our structural deficit is exponentially
greater than in comparison to Essex Fells and maybe other similarly situated districts. And so the impact to us was significantly greater than it would have been to some of those other communities because even before we get our state aid
numbers, we start each budget year with a structural deficit that can range anywhere from uh 8 to$10 million. And so for for for members of the community that that may not understand that is that before we figure out what it's going to be what we're going to spend
money on uh we're $10 million in the hole even before we begin before Miss Flowers begins her work with the superintendent to figure out uh where the allocations of dollars will go. And so that is something that uh some of the communities who may be similarly
situated to at Essex Fels is significantly different than what we see in West Orange. >> Thank you, Mr. Stevens, for giving me a break to drink some water there. Uh the rest of this is a little bit shorter. That first section is the the most complex. It takes a little talking
through. Uh topic number three is tax levy flexibility. And this is we have a 2% tax cap in law. There are currently very limited times when you can go above that 2%. Um, one of the things people said during the last budget process was, "Why don't you just raise more money?" And some districts were able to because
they were raising below their local fair share. They were spending below adequacy. So, those are the things that allowed them to have what's called tax levy flexibility and go above the 2%. We didn't meet those criteria. Um, now I would rather we don't ever have to go above 2% and I think the state should fully fund everything so that we don't
have to. But in the event that there is some kind of either an aid reduction where we can point to this is why we need more money or a specific cost driver that goes up an exorbitant amount uh we have to have tools in the toolbox to make the decisions that you know we can cut something we can raise money or
we can rely on state aid and if if we don't have that flexibility of potentially increasing the tax levy the only thing left is cutting. Um, so I think it is important that there is some element of tax levy flexibility as long as it's tied to a specific, right, the state took this money, so now you can
potentially look at raising extra taxes to offset that. The fourth area has to do with transportation. Um, there's a special categorical aid within the aid formula for transportation. Um, and in theory, this is supposed to provide support for the the students that we
have to bus both within our district, people that live more than two miles from their school and students that we have to bus to private placements that are out of school place out of district placements for special education purposes. Um, but in this current year, we received about $4 million in
transportation aid. Our total cost for transportation, again, including that added district placement as well as in district busing, is about $17 million. So the state is not providing anywhere near what we need to provide transportation and that's one of the big cost drivers. Every time we present the
budget we talk about transportation a is expensive and then b continues to go up rapidly. Um so obviously that the way that they're calculating transportation is not sufficient. Part of that is right we have what we what they call courtesy busing uh which you know is something
that we need in West Orange. we have hazardous routes that you can't walk up uh Pleasant Valley Way and some of those roads and so the state doesn't necessarily calculate that as something they need to fund. Uh but we just we can't afford to not provide the busing. So we're left with the bill. Um so somehow they need to to reook at how
they calculate that transportation aid. um and they should be fully funding any reasonable transportation that we have to provide as a district >> in in a community that geographically is larger than most other suburban
communities in Essex County. So, we have a a fair number of students who do live more than two miles away from their school and the state does not take into account some of the geographic challenges that a community such as ours has. And so I think it to your point,
President Rock, it's important for community members to voice that concern and maybe the calculus changes in terms of how transportation allocations are based on geographic impediments uh and the percentage of students who live greater than two miles away from their
schools. Thank you. Um the fifth topic is special education aid. Previously, they used what is called censusbased um aid, which means that you would think that special ed aid meant you have this many students and it cost this much to educate them, so you get this much
money. But instead, they said, "Let's look across the entire state and this percentage of students are special ed, so we're going to apply this percentage to your population and give you money based on that." Now, if you're a district that has very few special ed students, that's a great thing. Uh we have a great special ed program, so we
attract a lot of people that want great services. We also do a good job of identifying them. But that then means that essentially we were punished by that census based uh funding method because our actual population was up here. The statewide average was down here and we were funding all these
students who needed additional services. Last year they switched to funding special ed based on the actual enrollment. As a result, our special ed aid increased from 6 million to 11 million. So if if it wasn't for that, our equalization aid had gone down significantly. We would have lost a lot
more money. this is part of what offset that. Um but but I think that goes to show that we were being underfunded in special ed incredibly almost 50% of what we should have gotten based on the the number of students that are here. Um so I think of all the things that they changed that's one of the most important
ones that right if we're going to identify and educate and support our kids here the the state should recognize that and they should fund those programs so we can continue to uh provide those services. Um the last thing which also relates to special ed is what's called extraordinary aid. The state has a
special line item for extraordinary cases of special education. Sometimes this is uh kids who are sent out of district and cost a lot of money. Sometime they're like our autism program that Miss Martino was talking about that requires a lot of staffing and extra costs. And so there's a certain amount of money put aside for that from the
state that does not fully fund again what essentially we're putting out for these. And so they should be increasing that pot of money and more equally funding those um needs to the district. So that is a kind of an overview of the six different topics. Um this is on
YouTube for posterity's sake uh as you fill this out, but I will uh reduce this to writing so that Mr. Moore can share it either on the website or wherever he feels appropriate. Um the Department of Ed also is accepting written comments. I plan to write a formal letter. I'll share with the board before I submit
that. Um but I'll get that to you guys probably on Wednesday. If you have any feedback, I'll amend that and we'll also share that with the public and share that with the department of ed. >> Um the >> gonna say that the deadline deadlines are very important. Uh you can find the link to this on our Facebook page and
I'm sure we'll uh share it out again or make sure it's on the website somewhere visible for people um this week. But the deadline to complete this is Friday. So it's good that we have this meeting today. Wanted to provide you all with a little bit of context so you understand what you're writing about and what you're doing. All right. You can just
click a few things which makes it very simple. You can add more context if you want. There's always a open box to to write some some additional language. Um but I would ask you all please you know a lot of people have said how can we help? I think right now this is the the best way that we can all help is to voice our concerns about state funding.
This is going to impact what our budget looks like in February when we find out how much money we receive. So we need to take this opportunity to speak up and hopefully we'll have a more fair funding formula next year. Thanks, Brian. Can I just add a little promo? So, in addition, there have been
budget workshops. Thanks to those of you who have attended them. I got to attend one. It's great. Learned a lot. Really awesome for folks to come out. There are more coming up November 19th, January 14th, and March 11th. They all
take place at the Border Bed building on the second floor. And Miss Flowers, what time are they? 6:30. >> Thank you. Any other comments or questions from the board? >> Yeah. >> Uh I I just wanted to say uh two things. First of all, uh I'm a bit of a uh
C-SPAN nerd, so I've seen I'm going to watch there's a video either tomorrow or Wednesday in my office, but I a lot of uh board of education meetings and other meetings do not go into this specificity. So, we appre I appreciate that very much because then I'm going to
take a few notes and then I'll look smart and I'll seem like I know what I'm talking about. But the other thing is that I I don't remember but I don't think we were at this level of engagement uh last November. Were we? I
don't think so. So, that's a direct uh response to people saying what can we do to help or how can we make this better? So, one of the things the two things that we talked about which are most important are starting earlier and be more transparent. So, I think we're doing both of them. Uh, it doesn't mean
it's not going to be rough once we hear in February what the governor is giving us, but we're in a better place now, I think, than we were last year. So, I appreciate that. >> Thank you. Um, so there's no other questions from the board. That'll end my president's report. Um, if you do have
questions about what I said, I'm not going to take individual questions, but we do have public comment coming up in a moment. So, if you would like to say something or ask something there at the end, I'll clarify anything I said about spending that wasn't wasn't clear. So, that brings me to questions from the public on agenda items only. 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, then begin your comments. Uh, please limit your comments to three minutes. Do we have any members of the public here in the audience tonight who wish to make public comments?
>> My name is Larry Winrob, 76 Cooane Terrace. Um I've uh I'm here uh as part of the West Orange parents uh for education. We um I I was really thankful to hear your detailed discussion of the
uh NJ DOE survey. Um we have been promoting that uh to uh through social media um as well and we did write up a written guide um which largely aligns with uh what you just mentioned um it's
parents.orgtrenton org/trrenton. Um, so if if uh folks don't want to wait for uh the written guide, we we do have one um uh from a group of us that that went through and uh tried to do as best
for West Orange as we can. Um I also I wanted to emphasize the the point that you made about uh uh town income as a part of the local fair share. Uh I've done some calculations of my own
and it's it's it's more than $10 million that that West Orange is losing as a result of that uh approach to calculating the local fair share with no way for the education of our students to access that money at all. Uh and so uh
for those who are making uh are filling out those surveys and sending emails to the DOE, it it it would be a huge boon uh to West Orange and to other similar districts, although I do not believe any district is penalized quite as much as
West Orange uh by this in the entire state. Um, so you know, this is this is really important and I'm really glad to hear uh the board um share that information with the public and so kudos
uh to all of you uh for doing so. Thank you. >> Right. Seeing no one else for public comment on the agenda, we will move on to our resolutions. May I have a motion to approve personnel items A1 through A5? >> So moved.
>> Thank you, Mr. Stevenson. Is there a second? Second. Thank you, Mr. Der. Uh, any discussion? All right. Hearing none, Miss Flowers, would you please take the roll call? >> Dr. Bryant, >> yes. >> Mr. Stevenson, >> yes.
>> Miss Ver, >> yes. Vice President Ifer. >> Yes. >> President Rock. >> Yes. >> Thank you. >> All right. Next. May 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, Miss Vera. Any discussion? He none. Miss Flowers, please take the role. >> Dr. Bryant, >> yes. >> Mr. Stevenson, >> yes. >> Miss Vera, >> yes. >> Vice President, >> yes. >> President Rock, >> yes. Thank you.
>> Next, may I have a motion to approve the finance items C, special services items A1 and B and business office items B1 through six. So moved. Thank you, Mr. Stevenson. Is there a second? >> Second. >> Thank you, Miss Vera. Any discussion?
I I just want to note given Mr. Ifer's uh statement about inquiries from community members, I want to note in section five of C finance that uh the business administrator board secretary is to submit a comprehensive maintenance
plan, an M1 form for the West Orange public school district in compliance with the department of education requirements. Uh just as a note that uh the analysis of physical plant needs is ongoing and that the district is aware
of it. But uh you know to to to quote the you know public transit if you see something say something because Miss Flowers the district board members uh school building leaders need to know if there is something that presents itself
in a way that needs to be of note with respect to our buildings. So thank you Mr. for for raising that and just wanted to point out to the community that that maintenance plan is in our agenda tonight and submitted by uh Miss Flowers
as her role as business administrator and board secretary. Thank you, Mr. Stevenson. Any other discussion? Hearing none, Miss Flowers, please take the role. >> Dr. Bryant, >> yes. >> Mr. Stevenson, >> yes. >> Miss Vera,
>> yes. Vice President Ifer. >> Yes. >> President Rock. >> Yes. >> Thank you. >> And finally, may I have a motion to approve reports items D1 through two? >> Motion. >> Thank you, Dr. Bryant. Is there a second? >> Second. Thank you, Mr. Any discussion.
Hearing none, Miss Flowers, please take the role. >> Dr. Bryant, >> yes. >> Mr. Stevenson, >> yes. >> Miss Vera, >> yes. >> Vice President, >> yes. >> President Rock, >> yes. >> Thank you. All right. Thank you very much to all of my board colleagues for that. Next up, we will have petitions
and hearings of citizens for any agenda or non-aggenda item that you wish to discuss. You will have three minutes to speak. Please approach the podium at this time and state your name and address for the record. Seeing none, we will wish you all a good night. Thank you very much. Our next board meeting
will be held at 6:30 p.m. on December 15th, 2025. This meeting will be held in the West Orange High School Library Media Center. We will not be going into executive session after the close of this meeting. There will be no further business discussed and no additional action will be taken. May I have a motion to adjurnn? So move. >> Thank you, Mr. Stevenson. Is there a
second? >> Second. >> Thank you, Miss Vera. All in favor? >> I. >> Thank you for joining us tonight. Our meeting is now adjourned. We wish you a good night.