[Music] good how are you see e e e e e e e e all right good evening and welcome to tonight's Board of Education meeting please stand for the Pledge of Allegiance and remain standing for a moment of silence pleaseed pledge alance to the flag of the United States of America and to the Republic for which it stands one nation under God indivisible with liberty and justice for all you may be seated as we start our meeting this evening let's pause to acknowledge that the hackensac school district occupies the unseated ancestral lands of the Ramapo Lenape people we are grateful to be able to learn work and gather today and we continue our committed our commitment to support all underserved and undervalued members of our school community in accordance with the open public meetings act adequate notice of this meeting was advertised in the record pasted at not pasted but posted at the board office and filed with the city clerk I hereby call to order the regular public meeting on May 1st 2024 in the hackin saac media center at 6:20 6:20 p.m Miss sing will you please do a roll call yes uh Mr Carol is he online present present thank you Miss Harris present Mr Martin Mr Powell is not here is yet okay okay all right yeah okay Miss springle presid Miss Somerville pres Mr Stein Pres Miss Ciro Alton present Mr James vicory present we have a quorum all right so we will start tonight with our presentations which um is our public hearing of um our 2024 2025 budget and that will be led by our administrative team good evening my name is Lydia sing I am the business administrator for hackin sack School District tonight I'm presenting to you our District's budget for the 2024 2025 school year each year I begin by reminding us all of our mission statement our core values and our belief system we believe our students will be effective communicators quality producers self-directed lifelong Learners Community contributors collaborative workers and complex thinkers we believe all students are entitled to opportunities to m maximize their talents and abilities we believe in setting high expectations for students teachers and administrators to ensure that our students successfully meet and exceed the New Jersey student learning standards we believe that understanding implementing and responding to current trends in digital learning is intrinsic to success in a global 21st century we believe in maintaining a safe and secure learning environment the underlying values and principles that drive our mission and our vision our personal responsibility a strong work ethic collaboration respect for others honesty integrity and a firm belief that every child can learn the 2024 2025 budget is the vehicle that will take us closer to our stated objectives let us look at revenues our total operating revenues has decreased by 4% from 153 million to 147 million the reason for this decrease is primarily as follows in 2023 2024 school year the state of New Jersey Department of Education allowed the school districts to have a surplus of only 2% compared to 4% which was allowed during the covid years for the year 2023 2024 the extra Surplus increased our Revenue numbers in addition special revenues decreased by 61% this is due to covid related grants which are no longer in effect the total revenues decreased by 11% from 174 million in 2023 2024 to 155 million in 2024 2025 here is a visual depiction of our total revenues the sum of which is 155 milon 36,9 187 this takes us to the appropriation side of the equation the major component being instructional related costs which saw a slight increase while administrative costs are reduced the areas that needed funding such as Improvement of instruction and Technology were increased to further illustrate this point please note that more money has been allocated for bilingual and special education needs the cost of salaries and benefits to the district is 95,4 10,598 this ties back to our core values of insuring our students will receive an education by well trained highly qualified and a competent staff for facilities and Main maintenance and upkeep there are some projects planned for 2024 25 school year for Parker High School Middle School and hillers as you can see from this slide for Capital Improvements we are seeking to purchase or lease needed additional instructional and administrative space when it comes to Safety and Security We are continuing to upgrade all the locks districtwide in the 2023 24 school year we have completed Jackson Avenue and Hiller's school Nelly K Parker is scheduled for next year we also plan to upgrade portable walkie-talkies and repeaters districtwide this slide shows us the total allowable revenues that our district could have obtained in taxes for the 2024 2025 school year this calculation shows that our total available tax levy Authority is 95 m471 600 91 the approved tax levy for 2024 2025 school year is 93 mil 389,000 this leaves a balance of $2 million which can be used as needed in the future years here we we are showing a comparison of the tax levy from 2019 to 2025 as can be seen the taxes have only been increased when necessary even though we were allowed the 2% increase here we can see the impact of school tax levy the impact on an average household hold is $194 14 here you can see the school tax rate per $100 of assessed valuation over the past six years good evening my name is Andrea Oaks Parchman assistant superintendent hackensac Public Schools Embraces professional development and lifelong learning as a way to enhance the services we provide to our students each year for the upcoming school year we will invest in professional learning that focuses on data analysis and response standards based instruction that support supports and empowers all of our Scholars and the continuation of our commitment to equity and ensuring that we move along the Continuum to be a culturally proficient District curriculum is the Cornerstone of why we are here it is the content of what teachers teach what students study and the instructional plan plan for how and when the content is taught for the 2024 2025 school year we will invest in an Ela research based curriculum for grades kindergarten through grade 8 we will also continue our math curriculum revealed for our elementary students an illustrative math will continue for our middle school students and Algebra 1 students finally the district will invest in a universal screening assessment to monitor student progress and provide the targeted instruction to help all Learners meet the grade level expectations hi my name is Lauren kasmar and I am the director of curriculum I also work closely with the district's preschool program this year the district will offer 149 spots for four-year-olds and 75 spots for three-year-olds we will enhance the use of iPads in the classrooms to support curriculum and language development additionally we will partner with Apple education to provide professional development for teachers good evening I am Darius pton senior the director of special services I wanted to take a moment to express my gratitude for your collaboration and dedication to our students as we continue to strive for excellence and special education I believe it is crucial to highlight the importance of having a complete child study team in every building having a comprehensive support system in place not only benefits our students but also enhances the overall learning environment with additional par professional support we can provide additional attention to students who require extra assistance utilizing augmentative devices for students with diverse needs can significantly improve their learning experience and help them reach their full potential moreover integrating Elementary supplemental curriculum support ensures that all students have access to a well-rounded education that meets their individual needs by working together and leveraging these resources effectively we can create a more inclusive and supportive environment for our students to thrive thank you once again for your unwavering commitment to our Student Success I look forward to our continued collaboration and providing the best possible education for all thank you good evening this is Rosemary marks assistant superintendent of schools I am blessed to work with a dedicated team to support social emotional learning and mental health Wellness across the district for the upcoming school year we will be adding one additional social worker at the elementary level through shared funding from the school-based mental health services R the addition of this social worker will support continued implementation of of the nurtured heart approach and activities including classroom lessons CarePlus services will also continue at hackin saac middle school and hackin saac high school with dedicated therapists available for individual student counseling sessions and parent Outreach as well as parent Workshops the district will also Implement mental health screening for students in grades 7 through 12 during the 2425 school year theal team will engage in professional development activities to create an action plan using data analysis to support data informed decisionmaking and help us continue to grow our Mental Health Services and social emotional Outreach across the district hello my name is Adrien saaro and I'm the district technology coordinator as we look forward to the 2425 school year our department is dedicated to Three core Focus areas that underpin our mission to drive educational excellence and Innovation these areas are instructional strategies support data driven and informed decision-making and infrastructure each initiative Within These Focus areas is carefully designed to align with our mission ensuring that we not only meet the current needs of our students and staff but also anticipate future challenges and opportunities now let's take a quick look at some of our projects and how they not only support our daily operational needs but strategically aligned with our long-term goals starting with our instructional tools the AI literacy and classroom tools initiative and the kindergarten iPad 1 to1 pilot program along with our grade 9 through 12 Chromebook refresh are designed to directly enhance our educational offerings supporting varied learning styles and preparing students for a digital future for staff we will be offering professional development on the use of technology in the classroom and for instructional planning with a focus on AI and we'll be implementing a comprehensive data platform to streamline data collection and Analysis for our families we are expanding our parent Square platform and launching parent technology workshops these initiatives will help bridge the gap between home and school our website redesign is aimed at improving user experience and accessibility ensuring that all stakeholders can obtain information easily to support our infrastructure we are undertaking a full Network refresh and bandwidth upgrade leveraging 80% e rate funding to optimize connectivity without straining our budget increased cybercity measures and server infrastructure enhancements are planned and critical as they underly every aspect of our Tech operations ensuring that our environment is not only robust but also secure against emerging threats each of these initiatives is a building block towards a technologically empowered District that is secure efficient and inclusive I appreciate your support as we strive to make our technology a beacon of innov these are the highlights of the 2024 2025 budget for the hackin sack School District this plan of action seeks to provide over students with a thorough and efficient education for if we do not believe in our kids and provide the support needed to our kids then it is so much more difficult for them to believe that they can become their best selves thank you for your time all right thank you all uh to the entire administrative team who put that together it makes it a lot more palatable um when it's in that format um because when listening to a string of numbers it can be um a lot less exciting and um more confusing so we appreciate that a lot so now it's time for public comments uh the board not only welcomes your comments but wants to hear them all participants uh please sign in when it is your turn please State the following your name municipality any group affiliation that you might um be a part of if you list more than one please clarify from which you speaking each person has a limit of three minutes please adhere to that and um please direct all comments to me as the presiding officer and any response that is appropriate to be responded to will be held until the end of the public comment portion we're ready good evening good evening I stand here today as an employee of the hackas school district Donna M West and as a taxpayer I promise this time I will be a little a lot less cryptic so as not to annoy truste Cordo and Alton and make her espe extremely extremely angry as a taxpayer we are talking about yet another new reading program another basil program for what I understand for K to2 in the last five years we've thrown away an entire basil program been given Rita's workshop with Barb and then other Consultants from Gra Goldberg which tend to be very subjective in its implementation we want test scores to increase we want kids to learn how to love reading without yet again figuring out how students best learn how to read from prek to second grade this is all foundational how about finding what what is developmentally appropriate for children that age so that more students enter third grade reading we keep throwing everything out how about we take a look at the resources we already have and see what we can purchase to support what we have lots and lots of books and resources in our classrooms that are now being replaced with more books and resources why and where do we house all of it no one listens to us yet you want to criticize and even blame us when test results are not to your liking how about you visit some of our classrooms and see what's working ask the teachers who consistently research how to be effective teachers and who research how children learn best are the publishing companies now dictating what we do why do we roll every why another thing why do we roll everything out to every grade at the same time how about introducing new programs one to two grades at a time and is it true that hackensac preschoolers are going to be going to school in New Milford why is that all right is there anybody online all right Mr Jackson go ahead thank you very much uh good evening everybody Tony Jackson um hackin sack resident teacher and uh parent of a fair amount student um I wanted to address something that I hear pretty often in the meetings and that is the phrase clear as kind um and I think it is it's very well- intended and in some instances it may be true but I think there is so much that is unclear and lacking in transparency that it's hard for me to see things as clear or kind um as a parent um I wonder why so many teachers at Fairmount um veteran teachers who have been or are being moved um at least to either in the middle of the year or now near the end of the year um they're disrupting that is disrupting the flow of learning for the students uh it disrupts the sense of safety for them it changes the culture and community and if there is a reason for that uh I would love for that to be cleared up for the community um as a teacher I feel that it's unclear why my colleagues are being bounced around often with no rationale aside from um a response something to the effect of the district will decide where to place you as you are a district employee and we're talking about people who have built relationships not only with students and families but with each other um and all of this if we are operating under clear as kind then I think we deserve that transparency I think that consideration is kind I think that Justice and fairness are kind and I think if those things are absent in these decisions then that is not kindness I think we as a staff we as a community we deserve those um and I think they need to be addressed I think often times when we are making these comments they are they might fall on you uh as a board but I don't I don't know what happens with the conversations after that because there is very little response and it becomes unclear whether or not we are being heard so please understand what I am saying right now I'm trying to be as clear as possible so that I can be kind in my comments to you but also very clear and transparent in what I am looking for and what I'm looking for an end to um and that is a lack of transparency and a lack of disrespect um I feel like we need to have respect for our teachers we need to have trust in our teachers and if we do then I don't think we will see all of the movements that are happening um especially ones that are not that are are not happening and being talked about in public and then you know they get discussed when you all go uh you know and have your conversation separately um and then we are just made to abide by them so if clear is kind please be clear anyone else online okay say that one more time all right M Carol hi uh my name is Rosemary Carol and I am a hack and attack resident parents and parent in town um I'd like to understand what the maximum capacity is at the hackin saac middle school I feel that it is overc capacity and that um since there's been such an influx in town with the number of uh apartment buildings that have come up the families that now we have in town and the number of students that we have um going to to our schools um I'd like to know if you are going to be Leasing space not just for your Administration but also for our students so that they can be more comfortable in the hallways so that their classrooms are not over overly um you know overc capacitated in in that uh space I just like to know if you're going to be leasing some space because I did hear someone say that they were going to be leasing space for administration I believe um I could be mistaken but are you going to be leasing space for our our students as well all right so that brings us to anybody else Chris so that brings us to the end of our public comments portion thank you for your participation be it resolved that the hackensac Board of Education determines it necessary to meet an executive session on Wednesday May 1st 20124 to discuss Personnel matters is [Music] that we're missing a page but um be it further resolved that these matters will be made public when there is no longer a need for um confidentiality we will move into executive session it is can I have a motion to move into executive session thank you Mr Powell a second from trusty Somerville all those in favor say I I any opposed and there are none um it is 6:47 we hope to be back in an hour e e e is the me S there tell ready to vote all right welcome back so we will start with our Personnel P yes that's you all right hello and good evening everyone be it resolved that the hackin saac Board of Education upon the recommendation of the superintendent approves the following Personnel actions A1 a through y uh very quickly motion to take action on Personnel matters as listed and appoint to appoint and submit to the executive County Superintendent applications for emergent hiring and the applicant's estation that he and or she not have been convicted of any disqualifying crime pursuant to the provisions um shown there all appointments are contingent upon receipt of proper teaching certification and all salary placements are pending receipt of college transcripts verifying degree status and letter stating years of service in other districts all right so we have a motion can I have a second thank you uh Miss Somerville um roll call roll call please Mr Carol he there I'm here um Carol yeah can you hear me yes Miss Harris can you hear me can you hear me yes we can yes yes okay um I don't think he knows what he's okay so we need you to vote on the Personnel agenda and I know that you have some recusals it so if you will say those please um I recuse everything except for um the the give me a second the the grant manager and the confidential secretary the rest I just um and anything I recuse myself from anything that has to do with uh Paris and the rest I would have to say no because I wasn't um I didn't have a chance to look through all the Personnel due to just getting it at 4 or5 pm this evening all right thank you so you're voting no on personal all except for the grant manager and the confidential secretary and the pirat and the poers so you're recusing poers you're yes for confidential arrest yes for Grant and no for the rest correct that's correct thank you Mr Carol okay Miss Harris yes Mr Martin yes Mr Paul yes Miss Pringle yes Miss Somerville yes Mr Stein yes Miss cardo Alton yes Mr James vicory uh yes I need to recuse myself from number 276 recuse number 276 motion passes all right thanks we have uh no policy no curriculum we'll move on to finance why don't I handle that one tonight yeah um so this is our resolution to approve and adopt our 2024 2025 school year budget we have all seen that in multiple forms now so we will um there's no need to read the entire budget we have seen that in multiple ways thank you for your hard work um so can I have someone make a motion though since I'm the one leading the meeting thank you Mr Powell Mr Somerville thank you for that second um trusty Stan you have oh thank you uh trusty St um is there any discussion all right so we'll do a roll call Mr Carol yes Miss Harris yes Mr Martin yes Mr power I don't have a deep voice like that LD yes yes I start over Miss Harris Mr Martin is yes Mr Powell yes Miss springle yes Miss Somerville yes Mr Stein yes Miss Ciro Alton yes Mr James vicory yes motion passes awesome all right that's um we will move on to board comments and we we will move through those um relatively quickly if we can so we can get um someone to their class so uh Mr Stein we'll start with you sir uh just everybody thank you for being here have a safe trip thank you sir uh Mr Martin thank you Miss Harris I just wanted to thank the administrative team for the detailed budget it was a great presentation uh thank you Miss sing I wrote everyone's name who spoke because it was very detailed um Miss sing Miss Parchman Dr kasmar Mr pton Miss Marx and Mr seero and everyone else who put the whole thing together because I'm sure there was not just you guys but a whole team of people thank you so much um I also just wanted to just make aware that um Dr McBride had put out the presentation for the the middle school I thought it was a great presentation um unfortunately there was a few of us who did want a couple of questions answered we requested for a meeting unfortunately that didn't go through but I just want to let you know just publicly that I do have questions unfortunately I don't have them on me but I will definitely um contact you so that we can have that conversation I appreciate it thank you perect and that's it thank you uh Miss Pringle um everything that Jen said um and I want to um also special thanks to Doc MCB for um your patience answering the questions that um I had Monday and today um there's still some of us that have questions um as a team I'm you know still going to support but I respect you know everyone's opinions and uh being vocal on on the board being you know have their questions and concerns and stuff like that as well as my own um so yeah thank you um everyone for their participation finding in being here and everything else all right um Mr Somerville hi so good evening everyone um I second what Jen said Thank you to everybody that put together the budget awesome presentation lyia you know I'm always asking you about whether or not we have prepaid and reclass and whether or not we recruit but I'm going to save you from that question this year because you outlined all of that stuff when you did the budget this year so no need for me to go in there and Dr McBride um I know it's it's challenging some days right but has nothing to do with loving the job it is challenging some days and I know sometimes it seems you know overwhelming and if at any point in time you know my questions or concerns or anything you know contributes to that please feel free to push back and say Hey you know maybe too much maybe not enough because you know I I'm hoping that for the rest of the time that I'm on here before my term ends it you know communication is the key to be able to move stuff back and forth to get stuff you know done on behalf of the district and especially on behalf of our kids because those scores are dismal they are disappointing they're horrific and if my kid was included in that pool of being you know 100% of them being below the state average oh there'd be a whole other different conversation that was happening between me you and the school district it's not acceptable so anything that you can do to move that forward to make that change and to make our kids proud you know to be at hackin saac and make us a blue ribbon school is welcome so there shouldn't be any argument any push back any challenges from anybody because you're doing it on behalf of the kids and not on behalf of you know the Bo or us sitting here on behalf of the children because they deserve better than what you presented to us that is unacceptable on any level so anything you need from us anything you need from me if I can provide it I'm here for it because we need to do better you know we need to do better for them so thank you for everything and you know good luck thank you Mr power J thank you you everything so I won't repeat what you said Thank you and uh I just want to say uh your presentation I did a call in that there was not person U it was phenomenal yes thank you and uh Enlightenment same time and uh it's just thank you for what you do and and your team not just so you're your team and I trust you and your team uh it's trust is very important we have to trust you and your team that you would do the right thing for our kids and I'm confident and I have faith that what you guys are do and fully on board with it and if I do have questions along the way I will ask and you have an open door policy where we can always reach out to you and I welcome that and you know I said to other board members if if we do have questions we should ask and if you do have concerns you should ask that's why we're here you know but let's just seek the different avenues that you can to get the answers from Dr M Brion steam so we can move the district forward and make it a you know a blue ribbon school a school of excellence that's what hacking Community deserve that's what our kids deserve and we're here representing hacking saxs community and the kids this want us all to remember and we're not perfect no one is but let's refocus on kids the kids and our teachers our Administration let's just support them and and pray for them too so as they go to you know you know they can uh Contin to a wonderful job for us and I'm sure they will and that's all I wanted to say and to all the board members uh thank you all for being a part of the board which is what I always say thank you for serving and just remember why we're here and be okay thank uh our it our custodians just everyone in this nurses it it takes a village to raise a child yes I and it's all of us together have to work together in order for this uh District to be successful and I'm sure were we will but just remember we always all not going to agree all the time and any board where you agree all the time is a dysfunctional board it's written in black and white go read it you're not going to always agree but we can agree to disagree and as long as we respect each other when we disagree then we are moving forward so just remember that the days will agree the days will disagree because we have our own way of what we think it should be but guess what we're not the experts so we have to trust the process and Trust the experts and they home safe and I just want to say let continue to work together for better thank you uh good evening thank you Lydia um Miss parchment uh wonderful presentation anyone and everyone who assisted and putting that together uh greatly appreciated um to uh the human resources at hackin saac um I know it's been a very challenging few weeks uh to the superintendent to all of that staff uh thank you for getting it all together um 25th hour who cares we got it and uh we're doing what we need to do to move the district forward so I know it was a no small feat and I appreciate you hope everybody gets home safely and uh we'll be back here in less than two three weeks for the next board meeting thank you Mr Carol I've been reminded that you're online sorry hi yeah um uh thank you guys for that presentation and um just want to say have a good night thank you good night all right thank you and I'll quickly just say thank you to um Miss Singh and her staff who work tirelessly this is probably one of their hardest times of year to put together um uh and meet lots of deadlines that um we have to meet for the budget um it's very complex and complicated and it takes a lot of people working on it and very smart people to make it happen and we're thankful for your hard work and um take a couple days off I don't have any to say that I have no power to say that um um and then miss Howell thank you uh and your team for the 41 pages of personnel um it is it is very complicated oh it end up being 48 but it's it's a lot there's a lot of moving pieces and parts and I know that it's um a lot to deal with so thank you for your hard work we it's much appreciated um I want to go back to and address the um really the only thing that I that I feel like I can address in the public comments portion um and and and I want to be very careful and I kind of have to dance around it um the comments around clear as kind I I want to say that I appreciate that and I think that I can see a very Valiant effort to make things clear in this District when things have been very unclear um many times um when it comes to the board and what we can say and what we cannot say many times um people say things from their perspective and they talk about lot of things that are happening in the district and we have to sit and grin and bear it because we are not allowed to speak back on a topic and many times the members of the board have the full picture of what is actually going on on different Personnel matters and we just sit and listen as we want to because that's what we're here to do but we cannot speak back and um because that is our professional obligation is to listen and not to speak back when not appropriate so know that we hear you but know that we can't speak back it's not that we don't want to um sometimes we want to speak back good or bad but we can't because it's not the right thing to do um and I want to say that it is uh today is the start of Mental Health Awareness Month um we had today a wonderful luncheon for the interns that have been interning in our district and we honored four of them and their supervisors who have done a lot of great work we um will be doing different activities throughout the month of May and uh the hashtag that we will be using is be seen in green um so throughout the month uh if you wear so do your best to wear green as you can um maybe next month at the board meeting do your best to wear green um in honor of mental health awareness month which we do work very hard to make that um an equal component in our district of the other things that we do because it is so important um Scott in closing just just one quick question for you and Dr mcbrien may be legal right that you brought it up so what is the chain of command for personnel when they come to the board and discuss Personnel matters because we can't it's the third rail for a board right we cannot touch Personnel matters so can staff come and talk about their own Personnel matters or other Personnel is that appropriate or is it not because I'm it's I'm a little confused they have their right to exercise their First Amendment right but we won't be able to respond on it comment on it agree with it disagree with it or make any sort of statement because we're Bound by obligation under the law so the staff has the right to make their comments if they're looking for a response they will or should not I recommend that the board does not give them one because it would be violation of our obligations under the code well and and I would like to just offer this since we're talking um before I do that let me jump to miss marks I would also like to thank Miss Marx in all of the the work um with ourl work that she does she is a tremendous leader in that work um from the grant um that she has worked so hard on and just her overall leadership in that area so thank you um I don't know if she's here but thank you um to her in her leadership for that in part of what you're speaking to not only can we not speak on it in this forum and in this format they can come and speak and in Mass but we can't even do anything about it because it is a Personnel issue now here is this the format that we can do something if there is an issue that any staff member in our district has the proper channels are to go to their supervisor and if they cannot come upon an agreement and settle whatever is going on then they can file a grievance that grievance has a pathway and there at level three is when it comes to us and that's the only place that we can impact what is going on in a Personnel issue it has to go through the school level which is level one well all of this runs through H to file agreements that goes through HR but first the first level is the school building the school-based they try to resolve it there if it's I mean obviously we have other places but is the school level if it is not resolved there they can escalate that to a level two which would be to Dr McBride if it is not resolved there it gets escalated to the board then they have a hearing at the board level and that is the only time the only way that we have any say so people can come and say anything that they want to and if it hasn't gone through that process if it has not gone through the process there is not one thing that we can do we can be sad we can be happy we can feel sorry we can whatever but but we can't create change or impact until it works through the process I have a question too than to piggy back off of that isn't there also a process since they are within a union in which they have an opportunity to go through the union that's all through the union that is all through the union so the grievance process that's all through the Union Yes the grievance process is through the union and all employees obviously have their rights under federal legal a federal and state obligations board policy we can direct you there speaking at a board meeting will get you heard but it's not unlikely to produce action but it will get you heard you have a right to be heard all right yes ma'am little as what action take when the comments you know come to right all right so thank you for a good night this just confirmed I'm sorry I'm sorry is our next meeting the 15th or the 22nd 22nd 22nd okay thank you um can I have a we got a adjourn uh may I have a motion to adjourn Mr Stein uh a second all those in favor say I I any opposed we don't