e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e okay let's start the meeting here New Jersey open public meetings as njsa 10410 adequate notice of this meeting has been provided by advertising such notice in the home News Tribune the Asbury Park Press the board office the schools and on cable vision channel 118 and Verizon files 24 and by filing notice with the Township Clerk this meeting was scheduled for Tuesday May 14th 2024 the board will take formal action on payment of bills and other agena items would everybody please stand for the pledge please Mr wiell the Oldbridge Township Board of Education acknowledges that the law of this state establishes that members of the public including members of the board have the right to record public board meetings using audio or video recording devices provid that the act of recording does not interfere with the business of this public board meeting therefore the board makes it known that any such recording is to be considered the private recording of the individual and in no manner represents the official record of this board the board there for takes no responsibility for such private recording and completely disavows any future use thank you Mr W Roo please danant tuno here Jano here ji here Francisco here lent Marquetta maone here Slade here solowski here we have a quum thank you uh next week C of etics who would like cover that one thank you approval of minuts next week student representative will be here next week okay recognition Mr Dino thank you Mr President uh we usually do not do recognition on the agenda session but something had Arisen about two weeks ago and I wanted to recognize uh these two individuals um today I didn't want to wait another week and it was the way it came up and it so more deservant than just a certificate um first of all can I have uh Trish marcc and Debbie RNE come up to me uh at the podium here so Trish is a driver in the district Trish wave to the board to the people on TV there you go Debbie come over close to Debbie is an aid in the district can you on the bus Aid wave there you go so about two weeks ago they had just completed the uh preschool run and dropping off students and they dropped off a student um three-year-old to home and safely delivered that child to uh their parents and when they were doing their Elementary run in the same neighborhood quite a distance from that child's home they again saw the child now out unsupervised and dangerously walking alone um away from their house instinctively I believe kind of like your mom and educator instincts kicked in and said that's not right that boy is in trouble they pulled over their bus and they then Co convinced the child who knew them and trusted them to get on the bus and they drove the child back to the home where they had already once delivered and children children are like the ocean you can never turn your back on them no matter how age and I'm sure the parents did everything they could to ensure the child was safe that day but sometimes children they get they get beyond your Gates and your safety measures and this child made it out when they got back to the house the house was already surrounded by police cars and detectives who were already about to begin a search for a child that was missing and every parent's worst nightmare was unfolding on that front lawn uph the L of us and the young child is able to be delivered to the parents who were so overwhelmed with happiness that these people were on not just doing their jobs but looking around being observant that's what something we always say is that you have to be observant you have to know your surroundings and they did that and everything they were practiced as from being moms or everything they practiced being some of the the best transportation department in the state our department who's here right here today all of that kicked in and they delivered that child safely home and I know those parents were very grateful as well and I think they recognized you as well back the next day I work so I was telling that same story to a friend of mine um David Burke who owns the Orchard Park and the Goat restaurant and he said that you guys have to be recognized and have to be thanked so he provided me with two certificates for you to have dinner at his restaurant and I know there's always added cost to having dinner you know maybe you need a uber maybe you need a do something else so I also am providing you with $100 gift cards each um so again I want to thank you I want to thank the transportation department for always making us look good and you know we saw in cville today tragedy and emergency can happen anywhere you just have to be well trained and follow those instincts and I also heard the same thing from OEM how transportation and Leadership of the schoool was crucial um when we had the uh explosion on West Greystone Avenue how all of the drills and Instinct took over and delivered our kids safe and so thank you everyone Transportation I also want to give a direct shout out to to Kevin M Murphy and Scott aista because Kevin and Scott have stepped up during a big transition in our [Applause] district and when they didn't have to help out they did help out because they wanted to make sure that every on their team had everything they needed so and these guys you mean you pull up to an event on a Saturday or you know sometimes I'm at a sporting event like a county away and I see the Oldbridge bus and I look inside it's always the same people so thank you very much for all you guys do and again thank you ladies for delivering that child safely [Applause] okay next week we have a lot of recognition we have a teacher of the Year Awards and quite a few other activities uh and do we have a superintendent's report next week yes we will okay well it's usually tied in with the um it's tied in with the uh teacher of the year recognition but also we're going to also discuss during superintend report um some of Outreach and working with the Ed foundation and how they can assist teachers as well thank you uh progress toward goals any correspondence Mr I do have correspondence that just came in from the governor in regards to A1 1461 um the governor did sign bill a 4161 in regards to the uh providing relief to districts experiencing state aid reductions for the 2425 school year budget um this statement will be was kind of his written statement that was provided upon signing um it is posted on the I don't have to read the whole thing it is posted on um State website if anyone wants to read it but we did have Bill a 4161 in regards to the budget that was signed today in Tren thank you uh special committee reports I guess we have quite a few next next week right hearing of residents on agenda items only yeah I would I would think that maybe before even do that um maybe Mr Parton um can provide us with um some insight there I mean I have a basic statement that can lead into what you're saying Mr Parton maybe to hopefully bring us up to date um prior to reporting here I wanted the news outlets asked me to for a statement on the passing of the legislation and this is what I provided them this is why you get the first read before in there um you know while it is somewhat relieving to see Trenton addressing the broken funding formula it is still disheartening it's disheartening that we have to continually be faced with the difficult task of considering job cuts for dedicated Ed Educators it's disheartening that for seven years we've been contemplating the dismantling of programs that have positively impacted countless children and gain National recognition it's disheartening that our school boards are faced into difficult situations torn between supporting students and taxpayers when the real issues lie within Trenton and municipalities hopefully this serves as a a wakeup call to address the flaws in the school funding formula in Oldbridge we're fortunate to have passionate individuals committed to maintaining our comprehensive and student- centered uh School District thank you Mr Parton so with that being said obviously that's completely accurate but procedurally we do have two new laws in the state of New Jersey chapters 13 and 14 of the public laws of 2024 signed about 90 minutes ago uh and now published so that it is official it is not something that's just on social media or anything like that um the first one which was A1 4161 does allow for additional state aid for districts like you it does allow for cap Levy adjustment flexibility for districts like you and its companion law which is chapter 14 formerly known as a459 also bumps back the timeline as you know tonight was or is until a couple minutes ago the deadline for passage and submission of school budgets even those that have been uh unceremoniously raid uh so you now have time and although you may have heard on the radio within the last hour that you have a five-day extension that is wholly inaccurate what you have is five days from when the state budget is finally struck so this may be as late as July 5th but that is now your timeline to submit the budget you don't have to wait that long but you don't have to do anything tonight uh there are serious decisions to be made by the board and then another public discussion to be had and then a public vote to be had so our recommendation is that you're tabling or administrativ removing this item from your agenda for tonight schedule another finance committee of the whole and then we will readdress this with a somewhat friendlier set of numbers uh and some decisions as I committed by board members in June so if there are no objections Mr W will just remove that item from the finance agenda which was on for Action tonight everyone okay with that thank you thank you hearing of residents on agenda items only no one policy one any discussion uh discussion on this um just a reminder to the policy committee um on Friday we did send the revised policies out to the committee um we just want to get make sure we have all our responses are they okay to proceed with the changes um and then share with the rest of the board so please check your email in regards to the policies that were sent out revisions please just respond and give me the okay if we can move forward with this thank you thank you Mr W curriculum professional development any discussion one through one through 12 yes please okay so I'm wondering if some of the other items on our agenda tonight can also be tabled so that we can sit down like you said as a committee of the whole for finance come up with a plan so the items such as um curriculum writing because there's an an awful lot of curriculum writing on here actually it's like $66,000 worth of curriculum writing and then also I mean I I'm jumping ahead but um we can revisit when we get there the um coaching stiens I just think maybe it would be a good idea to see what we're working with before we vote on these just throwing it out there you you can do that you can you can make motion to table obviously U some of these are not on for Action tonight anyway but assumably we won't have the discussions on the new budget the new and improved budget um done by next Tuesday either so if you choose to make that motion we could you do that tonight or we can do that next week okay I might as well just motion for it now so I make a motion to table the curriculum writing items on the agenda can I jump in here one second I'm sorry um the curcum writing as it's currently outlined again to be voted on next week um part of the reason why it's done in this way is we do have to have the new standards for English and math to be implemented for September so if it's not agreed upon for May and then agreed upon subsequently in in June then there's that much less time to complete that work with access to all the teachers and administrators in uh during the school year so just keep that in mind if you can as we move for so if we do table it well can we just uh procedurally M Francisco you have a motion to table just number seven it would actually be 5 through 12 I believe yes 5 through 12 I'll second it we have by Mone yeah okay any discussion yeah um go ah this is a step that we have to do either way via the state correct these are required curricula um we've had a similar discussion before but yes these are state required curricula so we would end up making the writer's job Harder by delaying a month because you're saying they won't be in school is that or we won't have like access again typically they're they're hired in in May so at the end of May through June they can continue to collaborate with the supervisors who are still all you know working at the end of at the end of the month um they can get their um resources in order and then they write and it's adopted in August you know to um Miss Francisco's point if it is tabled for a month and we agree to it in June they can still have it done in August it's just a truncated timeline right so the hours that they're being paid for are the hours that are over the summer right so they're not going to be getting even if we just wait till June then it's they can still have all those conversations that they would normally have while they're in session and then as long as we decide by June what we're doing and I think we're we're still okay but we're would they have those conversations like I don't want to assume people are doing anything the hours are being paid for is outside the contractual time so in some cases it's done after school hours in the months of in the month of June if they're approved and then it would also be done in the summer if necessary but again but to Mr Francisco's point would would these PE would the people that are working on the staff would they still be having the conversations even before if our vote isn't until June in theory but but if not hired they're not going to get paid for for those conversations because again it's after school hours outside the contractual day this really just uh again truncates the timeline for them to get the work done and the last board meeting in June I think is the 24th so um and the agenda items are due I want to say August 5th so it does cut a month off the timeline to you know really review and uh revise the curriculum as necessary but it is a state requirement that we do have to adopt these um again that's it I just want to get some are we tbling this because are we questioning the expense of something that's necessary I'm just a little confused what are we tabling I just thought it would be wise to wait and see what we're working with numbers wise um every single one of these Dr Tui is a state mandated revision or is some of it just that we believe that it would be best to revise is it all something we absolutely have to do English and math yes English and math okay and is this all English and math no number 12 is not number 10 number 11 um are not yeah listen if you're saying that this absolutely has to be in our budget and we we have to do this then okay need to table just I just thought it would be a wise I'm not trying to cause any any trouble over it I'm just trying to can we try to rectify like having having conversations between now and then and then if you're we're still not satisfied with where we're at at next week table at next week um again you could we can ask a lot of questions you could ask a lot of questions um like even I would want to make sure because you bring up a good point that by June 25th it's limited access they have to the supervisors for questions and guidance on the on the curriculum because supervisors are 10-month positions uh in English and math and even though there get there are some limited hours that they have over over the summer my concern would be it would expand those hours that we need them and we can pay them additional hours over the summer then we we we just have to adjust that um maybe the August minutes if we needed to go over their hours because there was a delay in that um but I think a lot of the questions we could maybe come up with and hopefully come up with answers to and satisfy you know and maybe trim down some of this that we is mandatory which is not and what's not mandatory and then address this at next week's meeting that's fine that's fair I know that remove the motion is that you would withdraw your motion to table okay I withdraw my motion to table numbers 5 through 12 just as an aside I know that U Mr Mara always um he G the first thing he did is give us his phone number and tell us to contact him 247 seven once we got the agenda if we didn't understand something so um I'm sure Mr ell will have the same policy yes and and I do we all reach out we talk all the time I ask a lot of questions but that's also what this meeting is for too and thank you we got an we got a question last night too so any other discussion see no hands okay Finance one through one through two now will be for action one and two okay CH a motion Miss a second any discussion roll call please lent Marquetta maone yes Slade yes duno yes Gano yes jri yes Francisco yes solowski yes Finance resolutions one and two pass thank you okay any discussion on four through 17 yes go ahead um question on number eight really quick that um the acceptance of the teacher climate and culture Innovation Grant where exactly like what exactly is that money used for where is it going what exactly does the grant mean hold on one second I pull up the email because this was another question from a board member hold on bear with me one second we had a um Kaitlin Dr kandria our director of Grants did give a reply this morning on it I can read it I have it uh the teacher climate and culture Grant is a brand new Grant opportunity from the state of New Jersey um I do know as a side note we were one one of 18 districts that were awarded this grant the resolution acknowledges acceptance of the funds awarded um there it is we were one of only 18 districts in the state to receive it uh we applied for this competitive Grant opportunity from the New Jersey Department of Education for the purpose of innovative ways to reduce and teacher administrative tasks associated with State mandates and increased time focused on instruction with children while our district application has been selected as only one of 18 we are currently in the first stages with State approval and their feedback may be altered overall of their overall plans the application is extensive but to summarize our original application includes implementation of policies programming guidance and equivalencies to reduce time allocated to certain tasks by streamlining lesson plans sgos programming and guidance to increase teacher prep time and Empower outstanding Educators the district will expand on our new teacher initiatives to increase and support communication um increase retention rates funding will be allocated to staff implementing new programs and using substitute teachers as needed and supplies and resources the grant is to be piloted in two of four schools through December 2024 the outcomes are to be used to model the NJ doe and other districts um so to summarize it's to help with teacher retention lower some of the workload that teachers have to do outside of the classroom so that they have a greater sense of accomplishment in feeling Within in school lowers their stress and um allows us to keep good teachers in District instead of burning them out thank you also um number 11 and 12 can you explain what these Mental Health Grants that we're applying for are it's in the same email so I'm sure Dave will pull it up um the school-based mental health services Grant will provide up to five years of funding for additional certified mental health professionals within our schools to summarize we are applying to achieve recommended ratio of students and counselors by the ASCA um Association of one to every 250 students we and continue to address the student needs with evidence-based programs the mental health services professional demonstration grant program supports Innovative Partnerships to train school-based Mental Health Service providers for employment in schools districts in New Jersey that have received this grant in the past have partnered with state universities the Grant application emphasizes the partnership uh to be utilized in schools identified as low-income we can add additional information to the agenda items are for 521 if needed but to summarize that uh the first one um allows us to increase our counseling person student ratio through Innovative programs and then the second allows us to work with universities and outsourced uh mental health professionals to retain or attract some of their professionals to come work here in Oldbridge okay so my only my only issue with this is and and again I am a huge supporter of the me of mental health especially in the kids I I just I don't see where the the line is drawn of you know counselors being you know guidance counselors being guidance counselors and then acting sorry and then acting as a as as a as like a psychiatrist or or or a psychologist and that's where my issue comes in um because I feel like as parents as in the district I feel like teachers should be setting seeing the the problem that a child has and then notifying the parents about it and then working together to to get you know help for that child I I I don't think it should be solely up to the school and I don't think that the school should act as a Mental Health institution when it when it's not it's a school so that's my only issues with these two grants and I I I definitely understand what you're saying and I think this actually addresses that because it takes that weight off the counselors to perform those roles and bringing in true mental health experts like psychologists within the schools to be a resource because when I first became a school principal that was the same philosophy that I had that we were an instructional institution and unless your mental health disability impeded your ability to perform well academically that wasn't that was resources that you got outside of school in 2024 through a myriad of Social enigmas and other things that have happened including the pandemic including social media including cyber bullying everything schools now have to become that resource in cooperation with parents and I agree with you the partnership has to be there but parents in not all instances have the time to provide get those wraparound supports beyond the course of a school day so what this looks to do is provide those wraparound support so if you can get your child out after school or don't have transportation to take your child to a independent consultant or mental health expert this allows those kind of support service to be involved in schools but again it only can happen with parental permission and parental um signups through the IEP through process and and so forth right but now what happens when that Grant's over how does the district then cover the cost of these programs well it's kind of like some of the other things we we have done um through ESS um when we first started with ESS you know we did it through a grant and looking at ways that which that we can bolster their mental health supports for our students but then we come to the realization in doing so that we're able to bring more of those mental those students back in District who were out of District or would have gone out of District so even though the cost upfront is funded by the grant allows us to do so um the cost of these students going back out of District or going out of District in the future because we don't provide those mental health supports here far exceeds the cost of the original Grant and that's what we found with the SS I can't tell you that that's going to happen here but the more supports that we provide for these students the more time they're in their seats in school the more time they're in seats in school the better chance they have to have academic um growth and become successful as independent self-reliant citizens when they graduate so I would like to time in as well um and I feel like I almost need to like put a disclaimer on this so that you know those are going to have an opinion that don't agree with mine or Christina's um can hear and they've heard me say very often that I am a firm supporter of mental health for our students for our staff um I think that our mental health is just as important as our physical health I'm just also worried about that very fine line I feel like we're walking right now and I know know Mr citadino last week you had mentioned you know that the the schools are becoming mental health facilities and I think that with education being the reason we're here we need to remember that we while we can and do a really good job of provid providing mental health support to our students um that we are an educational facility first and foremost um but then from our perspective I think and even the Public's perspective to understand where we're coming from when we get you know an agenda that has grants on it like this and I did I I asked some questions and I asked for some clarification which is wonderful and I thank Dr candria for doing that um but it's it's still not very specific it's still not like you you heard what Mr C Mr cadino read and and said so it's still not like okay exactly what are we doing what does this mean so while bringing in some other people to help our teachers yes because we know our teachers wear 500 Hats a day and they really shouldn't have to but it's the reality then those people from outside were bringing them in and then are we in reality turning our educational facilities into mental health facilities that I'm I'm supporting it I believe in it but I just I worry that we're going to take this too far that's kind of where I'm coming from and I totally understand that you know the the I guess the thing you have to do when you are a comprehensive School District that provides the needs to um all children and putting the child first is that again you have have to provide the needs for all children now the majority of the students in this district will never need these services but there's a good hand as a lot of students that will need these and you know it's find kind of like a district that I recently visited that put a physical doctor's office on their um footprint and you would say well why do we need doctors offices in a school setting and that they found that the staff not having to go outside no the staff could still go find their own doctors but if they didn't want or didn't have the time to go make their own appointments for doctors that were being used by lay people outside of Education that these doctor Services were provided for them and their families so that's one more less stress that they had to worry about and they found that their teacher absences were minimized because those Services were provided for them so my analogy is that of our students who need mental health support don't have to make an appointment outside of school to get the supports they need because they're competing with all the other kids and only and there's only so many appointments that happen between 3 o'clock and six o'clock every day that we can support those students inhouse and keep them in their seats keep them learning provide them with the greatest amount of regularity and commonality to their schedule and help them feel as mentally safe as we would want them to be and just to again in conversation just to argue the point that you're talking we asked School nurses to do scoliosis testing and eye testing and hearing testing so you know and even having nurses in general like that nurses when schools were started you know wasn't a thing right like it was just teachers one room School houses so we' brought nurses in to take care of the physical health of kids and perform these testing if we're seeing an increase in mental health needs bringing in another professional to help with that rather than further burden the staff we have so that I'm just bringing up a point to argue that point anyone else thank you okay Athletics number one any discussion um is this going to be is this part of the the tabling that we're doing it can can be for next week okay and what I'd like to do is um instead of just them an email if you're available between now and that time um have Dr clander maybe member from our mental health uh supports team just kind of go over the is with you talk about the possibilities of what can happen with these grants because a lot of it's unknown still because we're just applying for it and you know what the limitations are and what the outcomes and expectations would be I would love to okay thank you okay I'll try Athletics one more time any discussion no non-certified personnel office one through three any discussion non-certified personal operational one through four any discussion noncertified Personnel other one through 10 any discussion okay certified Personnel we have one item for Action Number One D will move can I get a second to second any discussion roll call please SL yes danant tuno yes gordano yes jod yes Francisco yes lent Marquetta mazone yes solowski yes resolution one for certific certificated Personnel passes okay any discussion on certified person no two through two through 28 any discussion I do okay on number eight um can you just explain what the employment of the the coordinator for the the month or in the summer what is what is she actually coming in like what is she actually going to be doing so we have a work study program um so as part of our work study program Miss hunt coordin that and has to U make sure that students are prepared for September when they come in so she um goes to businesses in the community uh she sets the students up with their papers working papers if they need them and she facilitates those placements for a September start got uh also number 13 can you explain what the Apex summer Credit Recovery is uh for seniors who are in Jeopardy of not passing for their senior year to get their certificate uh their diploma uh there is um a summer program uh for them they do online courses uh the the apex program is our online program um however uh it is self-directed it is only for seniors um because those are the ones in Jeopardy not getting their diploma uh and uh those two staff members open up the sections for them as they complete the sections uh and as they move through the self-guided uh program uh those two oversee that and make sure they have their grades and submit those grades to guidance so they can get their diploma got it uh number 16 uh what exactly is student accounts so at the high school they have a student account manager who oversees individual student accounts uh to ensure that they are in compliance with our budgetary process um individual student accounts include the Disney trip uh where parents are contributing money um in some cases from their freshman year on to go to Disney trip um and those are usually aligned um with and this opik overseas those type of programs as well as any collections for um the I'll just add that I think CJ give me a a round number because that's the student accounts has to be um I guess settled in the summer time they have to bring them come in and be audited and looked at and how how much money goes just to through the high school student accounts in the course of a year right so you know so the teacher can't do that during the course of her school year she's teaching so we're looking at balancing the books of millions of dollars um number 17 the tech integration specialist I'll take that um the tech integration specialist helps um manage all of the software and programs that have student accounts so transferring them over from one year to the next making sure that the teams pages are operational and running for the new school year among many other things a lot of professional development as well okay just hold on just two more um okay so number 22 and 23 um move the board to approve the employment of the following staff members for the Middle School summer program so the Middle School summer program is that something that is mandatory for students so how like how I'm thinking of it it's like a summer school so if you if you fail like the last quarter let's say you have to go to summer school is that what that is or is that is this something that's voluntarily done by the students no okay and that's for both that's the the it's a run that those students who aren't going to pass this gives them the opportunity to pass if they had to pay for it outside of school right it would be a lot more expensive it's also if students have missed too many days of school they have to make up up the course got it thank you anyone else non-certified Personnel Transportation one through went through seven any discussion transportation number one I need discussion supplies equipment and services we have three action items one two and three any discussion Miss second any discussion R please maretta mazone yes Slade yes duno yes Jano yes J yes Francisco yes and solowski yes resolutions 123 for supplies equipment and services passes any three two I'm sorry 4 through 12 I believe any discussion miscellaneous one through nine any discussion just a quick question is V something and number three is V something that's going to get filled in or it's just a blank spot should we have needed it before it's the HIV incident numbers I think it's just the the table is supposed to have even number of rows thank you board secretary and board business number one any discussion hearing of residents on any school district issue Andrew Lewis Oba like you I only had two hours notice of any changes that were being made tonight um so it's refreshing to see some board members questioning some of the budgetary items on the agenda considering that for the past seven years we've been putting Band-Aids on the district and moving on each year hoping that the following year bring some better news curriculum coaching things that were questioned tonight um there are different Avenues to explore when looking at the budget for example you just approved a custodial contract for 5 years year one costing over five million year five over six million and there's not a single question asked about that we've been dealing with this issue for seven years hopefully this is the last year um but you know we don't know what Trent holds earlier Miss Francisco you said you know we want to know what numbers we're working with quick math based on the news that we got today it could be anywhere from 1.1 million to 9 million 9 million you know gives us a lot more flexibility to do what we need to do to to keep a school district operating I believe the reason that we're in the the situation that we're in is because prior years before most of you were on the board previous boards didn't go to 2% and so now this is our chance to catch up and get us in a better financial situation moving forward you employ you know over a thousand Educators just under half of which live in town half of the people that you employ are also taxpayers in the town they would lose their jobs or pay higher taxes I can assure you that almost all of them would probably choose to pay higher taxes than to lose their jobs there are jobs on the line with the decisions that you make over the next few weeks and right now the district's in a holding pattern while we wait for decisions to be made by the board so a couple questions for you Mr slowski and and the board uh you know I know that this was all the Ed two hours ago so there hasn't been a lot of time to make decisions um but I'm curious how quickly we're going to be moving you know it said that we have until July 5th hopefully it's a decision that's made you know the end of May early June you know where that way employees aren't waiting until the end of the school year or after the school year lets out to find out if they have a job or not for next year so my first question is how quickly are we going to move to you know go through the budget process second question is last week it was stated there was a 12 million def $12 million deficit the state is is reducing Aid by about 2 and a half million so just a question that I've been asked multiple times in the past week is where does the other $9.5 million come from and the last question for each of you up there I'll leave you with this are you willing to destroy our district or to preserve it thank you anyone else I can I respond anyone else hello uh James schacker Oldbridge resident uh I just wanted to remind the board that June is pride month and uh I know that um a few months ago we were sended 5756 and to its credit the board uh assured the community at the time that it was not in any way related to discrimination against the trans Community which we appreciate uh nevertheless intention or not uh it did have a chilling effect on old bridges trans Community particularly the students in the schools so um their families and their allies as well I think it would be a wonderful gesture uh if during the June meeting during pride month this uh Board of Education uh created a resolution and resolved uh that the Oldbridge Board of Education supports and values the rights of the entire lgbtq plus community in our schools I know that it would mean a lot to them and their families and their allies uh of which I'm hoping that the Oldbridge board of education is included thank you anyone else that one Mr Francisco yes so I did want to just address um something that Mr Lewis did say um about the custodial contract so we try to ask as many questions here as possible because I'm certain that the public has a lot of the same questions that we even have as we go through all of this um so that I know that's something that's a reason that I like to do it too there are also a lot of other conversations happening and I did meet with Mr weidell and asked a lot of questions about that as as well just so you're aware that we are really paying attention to everything that comes across our desks she did he's going to be very sick of me very quickly wait I saw something Mr sardino would you please clarify why we have a gap of $12 million I believe we went over that much of that during the budget meeting but um based upon your recognition Mr widel do you want to just go through that and I can fill in any gaps sure so the the $12 million deficit is in regards to if we took all the costs that we wanted to make our district full that that is really our deficit and that includes the positions that you know we hope to have the increase to multiple other things that um we would have liked to implement such as there was an a textbook upgrade we wanted to put those new textbooks in place but it was an item that we found a digital version instead so um you know we we opted for the less expensive items so the 12 million fall is what all those expenditures sum together um what we would really want to be in our budget so I I can uh we have like I said positions obviously um that that when you talk about your deficits positions are the majority of what makes up the budget so um positions and transportation items again as Mr Ceno said it said at um our public hearing we have some Transportation costs that we're providing that service they're not mandatory but it's something we provide have always provided um that TW that's part of the $12 million shortfall is to continue providing those um so it's just those increased costs with inflation with the desire to continue some of those services that provides the the deficit to ultimately and the ending of some of the co grants right right correct so then we had our our Co our grant funding um and some of those programs we've wanted to continue and to provide so trying to bring them into our general fund budget but taking into account the increase of health benefits and the increase to Transportation costs that we're already realizing in this year um all those trying to pack those increases in a 2% uh increase of tax levy there's just not other revenues that that we're realizing to make up for that deficit so it's a mix of there's a no additional revenue for us besides the tax levy and the the cost of just everything has been increasing across the board thank you Mr M anyone else um yes uh since we just um administratively removed the budget tonight um we could probably schedule a finance meeting since I'm the head of the finance committee so probably as soon as possible would be bested you know give time to advertise and I support the rights of all people at all times that's understood thank you and then we will see where we're going after that budget meeting okay old business I would like to cover Sor one second really quick the next community of a whole meeting especially now because it's been the this bill has been signed is that going to be open to the public that one or is that one going to be a closed meeting it would be closed like the last budget meeting we had and then we would have to come back here present the new budget and then have a vote on it so it's like a three meeting process correct just like this passp correct okay yeah because I think again I think a lot of what the parents are are worried about are are again what programs are going to be getting cut what classes are going to be getting cut and I just think it would be good if they are informed on some of the decisions that and I agree with you % I think you know the difference is maybe we've gotten wiser as year seven rolls around and I see the districts around us you know not sure of the legislation of What legislation would come forward giving you options and empowering the boards locally but that they've gone to the public said they're going to eliminate this program eliminate these positions and now today is a new day is which without even the boards having to take any action they some of them got millions of dollars back and can now bring those positions back after you've just you know for two weeks destroyed people's lives and could put him in the increased way because you don't want to play games with people lives when you have a bunch of unknown cards in your hand so now we know the cards we can have those educated conversations as a committee of the whole and come out of that meeting um with consensus and come to the public and say this is where we're at with this board this is where we've come to consensus on this budget and this is where we take a stand and in this these are the positions that will or positions Andor programs that are will be at a loss because of um where we're at a consensus now obviously you know it's no secret that you know the higher that you go up on the percentages the less positions and less programs are eliminated so again that's kind of like you know where we'll have those kind of conver ations will come to consensus and we'll duly inform the people who are impacted um as humanely as possible and then we'll have that conversation with the public yeah because I think it's important for the public to also know how those decisions are made because then it ultimately falls on us and I think it's important for them to see how this like how did it trickle down to this so like here's like a you know a pyramid and this is how it trickled down to this and this was you know these different options and I just think it's important for them to you know also understand where that's where that yeah and I understand that completely because you know for me there's like always a lot of misunderstandings and especially in school Finance you know you hear it online you see it in comments that you know I work in finance I have work in a business I know how to do a budget how come this keeps happening you know I could have fixed that and it's like me saying well I work in education just because I have a a multiple degrees and certificates in education doesn't mean I could teach physics either right but it's education I just it's not my area of expert right and school Finance is a lot different than you know um Mr Slater Works in finance you know and I think he would admit that he learned a lot just getting in the room and seeing how things are operating like you know I've had I've seen comments people say well if you close two elementary schools you could have avoided all this well if you close to elementary schools and we use round numbers 1.5 million per school and we did that last year the state right now is saying we are under adequacy by $22 million that means we're spending $22 million less than the state believes we should be spending locally on our students if we spent $3 million less last year we would be under aacy by $25 million and they would have taken more state aid away from us so it's not like your house budget it's not like your business budget it's a School District budget because you're limited on how much money you can save too you don't have an ability to save forever you only can save 2% right and when you save beyond the 2% it goes back to the taxpayer and it doesn't go back to the taxpayer in the form of a check it goes back to the taxpayer in the form of we have to spend it on our students now right so you can only save so much and and I clarified this during the the budget meeting when you keep saying we're spending under adequacy you don't mean us as a school district you're meaning us as taxpayers are not paying enough in taxes to support the expenses of our town such as the school district right and it's the Board of Education doesn't make up that funding formula the township Council doesn't make up that funding formula the state makes up that funding formula right and they decide where state aid comes from and don't think that state aid is a gift a lot of people say well you shouldn't count on it's like you know it's not your money it is your money it's your income tax that's the money you're paying so you should entitle to the money that you're paying why should it go here not go here and should go to some other town where they're going to waste their money you know your kids have been suffering here for seven years you're paying income tax you deserve the money right okay thank you okay I would like to cover something the organization management chart under old business hopefully everybody has a copy of it I believe it was placed on the back of the agendas is it it should be in everyone's packet no does the public have it that's why we didn't talk about it last month it's back there yeah I think and it's and they're going to throw in the TV as well and I think they all have copies of it I see at least a few of them out there I would like to start at the bottom the Operational Support staff the public not seeing it they're saying it looks different it's on the TV chart and the people of the audience are we have it filtering to go get it right now okay the operational sports that I believe this is all janitorial these are your custodians your field maintenance your plumbers your Carpenters um if this over here is transportation these our Dr bus drivers or AIDS or Aid mechanics everyone um yes and those positions what does the dotted line mean the dotted line yeah so the dotted line means that some of them are evaluated and communicate directly through the supervisor of conr not all of them do okay the assistant B business administrator so the supervisor of custodial Services answers or goes to the business administrator if there's any problems right the supervisor of custodial Services can filter concerns through the assistant business Ador or through the business administrator or directly through the business administrator okay okay all instructional and educational support staff now this is vice principles principles no again you have a dotted line here right so this so all instructional support staff are your teachers your support staff your school nurses um Power professionals okay okay and then you they they are directly evaluated and go through um the vice principal who filters through the principal right and filters on down to the assistant superintendent right okay or up yes okay uh athletic directors all the directors all the directors they they answer to so the directors through the filtration system go if they're an academic program go through the assistant superintendent of educational programs through the assistant superintendent of schools through superintendent schools Board of Education citizens over okay now you have a solid solid line going from the grant intervention and student services uh right through assistant superintendent over it why is that because they that person is directly impacted by the um nepotism regulations in the state of New Jersey and has to therefore be evaluated by the assistant superintendent the dated line kind of what we talked about before allows her communication and and lateral conversation but not um evaluation okay okay supervisors mathematic that's all the supervisors we have how many supervisors do we have in the district that's six six okay and they basically answer to the assistant superintendent of Educational Services ND super okay okay let's move up the ladder superintendent of schools that's me I understand that okay Board of Education doesn't the attorney no the board the board attorney is a vendor nice guy but he's a vendor he does he's not an employee of the district he's not a taxpayer of the district he's not so he doesn't answer to anyone it's like saying the accountant or the auditor or the um architect answers to the Board of Education yes you do because you're paying him but he doesn't evaluate you you don't evaluate him and it's not a employee un employee a nonemployee relationship okay I got that okay now the business administrator there he is and the board secretary why isn't there relying from The Business administ board secretary to the board because by Statute the only person that you direct ly supervises me and he may communicate with you through me but he directly he directly is evaluated by me and directly falls under me because in actuality by Statute I'm the only person that you directly evaluate hire an employee okay thank you you answered the questions thank you to add on to that um if everyone checks their emails and their uh School Board Association we have um self evaluations and uh Mr I think your evaluation is also up right so that is true yes please check your emails please do your evaluations um they're in your emails thank you that was a reminder for next week so you beat me to the punch again njsba will have an email should have emailed you all individually your one of your your main Tas every year is to evaluate your superintendent um so and and yourselves as well so please check your email make sure um if not I can bring in a resource to help guide us through the process but okay we're going to be going into close I had new business I had new business um so as we've all known uh the important legislation that was relevant to us was passed so I'd like to bring up some legislation I brought back up in uh 2021 with the help of assembly men dancer it was um the ability for district in s their S2 districts that they could use capital reserve funds to spend on general education purposes as we saw in our budget uh we're spending a lot on capital projects even though we're in a a budget crisis so and the board actually approved this resolution in 2021 which I used as support to get this off the ground it didn't leave the education committee because there was no attention brought to it so I'd like to bring attention to that again so I'll bring it next week it's on the legislative website it's assembly Bill 5271 in the 2020 2021 session but I'll bring it in next week could you give us a little context about what you're talking about though what's the context what it what so I a few years ago I brought up this bill with assemblyman dancer because we were in the same situation S2 so I was trying to find a way to get more resources to the district way we could spend our funds more appropriately so it's like um I'll support um our board member here that and again this is a frustrating thing that I felt when we first you know started looking at the budget process for this year because and I know that sometimes the public say hey what happens to the Nike money well the Nike money is still there majority of in the capital reserves but you can't use that money by by regulations you can't use that in your general budget it has to be there for Capital expenses um beyond beyond the running the operating the district you know building construction type of type of operations now in a really tough budget situation if we had to use that money we had the ability to use some of it would it be helpful yes but it's only helpful for one year because it's not a source of Revenue when you look at Revenue it's repetitive each year even when the budget the board adopts a budget of let's say they go beyond the 2% that becomes part of the general operating budget for future years and it's a continuous source of Revenue even in the future years if you only do 2% that original is is original amount is still there when you take money from your Capital reserves it's it's a pocketbook that has a bottom to it once you use it and it's gone the next year um it's kind of like when the Mr Lewis brought that question up and I'm going to have um Mr wiell provide you with a uh kind of like a written summary of everything so you can pass on to those people who uh have questions um you know a lot of the ways we kept this District operating for the past four or five years without making any program Cuts was through the application of grants that we competitively uh appli to like like tonight's that we discussed um and grants that allowed us to have even substitutes in the district we put our substitutes in there because different years of S2 we couldn't afford the substitutes but it's important to have substitutes obviously to fulfill the educational um requirements of a school so we put the substitutes in there but when the Grant's gone the substitutes have to come back to General's fund now in that year we could have said you know what we're just not going to have substitutes but we had to have substitutes so we put them in a grant um these are some of the ways in which we're able to keep this District flow floting for seven years of this and not make any significant cuts to programs um now you a lot of those grants have all expired um and we're in the situation where okay we're in the last year of this and and I think that's why legislation um is the way it is and why it was passed today because you know legislators just say this nicely um they have a certain level of AV intelligence intelligence that they know they don't want to paint themselves into a corner where they are going to look terrible so they know that okay these grants are available for these districts that are suffering so they'll find a way but in year seven of the year seven districts they're in a corner there is no way anymore they've the districts have expand exhausted all they had all of their savings everything to get to this point and there's no grants available and schools would be um devast devastated by the cuts they're proposing and the impacts of seven years of um withholding or withdrawing state aid so that's why they came up with this legislation because politically it would be devastating for them across the state of New Jersey of 140 districts and those seven-year districts had to basically remove their programs this year and lay off hundreds and hundreds of and hundreds of teachers across the state so so I'll bring in my draft next week thank going to be going into uh close executive session I'll make a motion can Francisco will second Z Dan and Francisco correct yes thank you for coming folks I only have so many super