e e e e e e e e e here Mr blundo here miss Calderone here Mrs Wang here Mr louisi Mrs Martin here Mr Stanis here M stepin here Mr Weaver here uh where's the please stand with me for the Pledge of Allegiance it's right there I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the Republic for which it stands one nation and of God indivisible liberty and justice for all adequate notice of this meeting has been provided by mailing copies of said notice to the record filing copies of said notice with the municipal Clerks of Hillsdale Montville riverville and woodcliffe lake and Publishing said notice in the record on July 21st 2023 uh we did already have our executive session so now we will move on to routine matters and first we will have the super intendance report by Mrs bot thank you um the students are going to when they give the report next meeting or you guys give me a report this meeting next meeting are going to highlight some of the really interesting things that have been happening uh in our schools over the last two or three weeks but we've had a lot going on and it's been I think a very energetic time it really feels like spring I was talking to a couple of teachers and a couple of our administrators who said like you know that first form day really kind of just felt like there's different energy um in the building a couple of things that I did want to highlight uh to the board and the community we've re uh Revisited reopened restarted I would say some of our International Partnerships so this is something that we had focused on pre-co um it's really largely been on pause uh until this year but I wanted to just highlight a couple of things that have happened and that are happening um we had a group of students from India come and specifically they wanted to work with our robotics team um they ended up actually coming to Hills uh throughout the school day as well got to Shadow some of our students throughout the day their uh teachers and administrators got to collaborate with our teachers and administrators and while the Crux of their trip was they wanted to learn from our robotics team it ended up really being a really nice cultural exchange for for uh the hills Community and a really cool program for us to kind of think about and it was nice to see that happening again um we also have uh upcoming um in about two weeks we have a small delegation of teachers and students from Finland uh coming to visit primarily Valley but they'll also be spending some time at Hills they're going to be spending actually a week shadowing our teachers and our students and this is part of a partnership that Miss Safari started um as part of when she was a a um she was a teaching fellow and uh she started by going to Finland uh with a small group and we've been doing an exchange kind of ever since with a cuse uh for Co and we're starting that back up again this year which I'm really excited about and I think it's a really nice opportunity for our students to learn from other students and also you know for us to kind of have that exchange um we were asked to participate in an upcoming uh delegation to Finland with the league of innovative schools that we're going to be considering and we also have uh ongoing conversations about some exchanges in both Italy and France um so I just wanted to kind of point that out because I think it's something that's really unique to our school um and unique to our teachers and staff and students and something that isn't always um you know uh on the Forefront but it's something that's been really cool that's been happening um we also have a delegation of students in about three weeks uh going to Taiwan uh when they're in Taiwan they're going to actually be partnering with a uh uh Independent School um in Taiwan to work with those teachers and students um so it's just a really neat thing to see happening and from my perspective it is not to typical for high schools to engage in so much uh exchange and I think it really helps with our student learning our you know our our Global presence it's nice to see that we're a school that other schools in other countries want to visit which is really cool so I wanted to give an update on that thank you thank you for that report Miss bot uh one I would just like to add that one of the things that has been going on pasak Valley had their play this past week um and I did go this past weekend and I did go to see it and I thought it was wonderful so congratulations to everyone who did the High School Musical play and pasc Hills has their play coming up uh this coming week so whoever can get an opportunity to see that that would be great uh next we have the finance committee meeting report by Mr Yami uh good evening um in um in the absence of Mr Lisi I am giving this Finance report um the finance committee met on March 13th uh Mr Lisi Mr blundo Mrs Martin Mrs Vargis Miss batti and myself were in attendance uh we went over the 2024 2025 tenative budget um I basically mentioned that it's been a very difficult budget due to Rising costs and expenses um primarily from benefits and salaries and student transportation but also some other factors was special education programs and related service um this is also a positive for us because the fact that we have in District um special education programs so that means that we don't send our students out to other programs where we would have to pay um quite exorbitant uh tuitions for special education in addition to that there would be um a lot more Transportation cost um also instructional which is training and Improvement that had a lot to do with upgrades in software and also professional development um also in athletics and co-curricular in co-curricular we added some clubs and as far as Athletics is concerned there's a rising costs in officials uh and also in Supply costs so we talked about balancing the budget and balancing the budget like I said this has been a very difficult budget um we did get an increase in state aid of $162,800 from State a however uh we do have declining enrollment over the last several years so that plays a factor in as far as what kind of increase we got um the increase is the last year of what they call S2 the law in other words we were one of the underfunded districts according to the funding formula and it so they increased our state aid over the last seven years um and this is this will be the last year in 2425 um so with the declining enrollment uh I don't know what the future looks like as far as state aid is concerned um we also had to increase our budgeted fund balance by almost $450,000 um that is excess Surplus that we have that we put into the budget for 2425 also we increased our maintenance Reserve $100,000 we also added emergency Reserve that was helped offset the health insurance increase um we have we're going to be adding $250,000 from the eerc Reserve also we're using a healthc care adjustment also to help offset health insurance increase uh that would be in the total of 256,257,258,259,262,274,277,284,530,531,282,283,296,301,318,319,529,532,306,270,271,272,305,315,33432 um we're also not replacing uh three retiring certificated staff and that's due to enrollment so there are the ways to get around that and to be able to uh fully provide programs um as far as budget other things that um I just want to mention is that we will be continuing with the math and writing centers um that has gone over very well and we want to continue that uh we're also funding ice rental pool rental gymnastics rental which we used to fund only half but we will fully fund it um also dance team uniforms and swim team supplies um we're also doing expanded use of AI training since that is a very very hot topic now uh that concludes my report thank you Mr Yami next we have the uh minutes to resolve the minutes for from the meeting for February 26 2024 do I have a motion so moved second second any discussion roll call please Mr usami Mr blundo stain Miss Calderone yes Mrs hang yes Mrs Martin yes Mr Stanis yes Miss stepin yes Mr Weaver yes Mrs varges yes okay next we have our student recognitions and first we're going to start with the National Merit Scholarship finalist whereas the following students from pasak Hills High School are finalists in The 2024 competition for National Merit Scholarship Awards Ashley [Applause] Chun Olivia [Applause] G Adrienne height and Fred Lim a semi finalist must fulfill several additional requirements in advance to the finalist level of the competition before being considered for a national marit scholarship about 95% over 15,000 of the semi-finalists are expected to become finalists and receive a certificate of Merit attesting to their distinguished performance in the competition National Merit uh $2500 scholarship winners are the finalists in each state judged to have the strongest combination of accomplishment skills and potential for success in rigorous College studies now therefore be it resolved that the pcak Valley Regional High School District Board of Education recognize Ashley Olivia Adrien and Fred for their outstanding achievements next we have the New Jersey All State Wind Ensemble whereas Eddie gersi a junior at pasac Valley High School plays second in the state of New Jersey on tuba he has been selected to perform with the New Jersey All State Wind Ensemble now therefore be it resolved that the pasak Valley Regional High School Board of Education recognize and commend Eddie for his outstanding achievement next we have the stem school of excellence awards whereas pasak Hills High School and pasak Valley High School have been awarded the 2023 to 2024 ITA International Technology and Engineering Educators Association stem School of Excellence award this is a very prestigious award given out by the international Technology and Engineering educators Association that recognizes outstanding schools for their commitment to providing a robust integrative experience in stem this special designation was created to celebrate those schools whose teachers administrators and other stakeholders are providing a meaningful stem education experience for students and to inspire others to learn effective best practices and instructional strategies to enhance their own programs now therefore be it resolved that the pasa Valley Regional High School District Board of Education recognize our teachers administrators and all other stakeholders for their outstanding [Applause] achievement now we have the first team all Bergen County whereas the following students were selected to the first team all Bergen County Selena busanic from pasak Valley First Team all country girls basketball and she scored 1,000 career points Hayden Hopper from pasak hills First Team all count girls bowling Patrick CTS from pasak Valley First Team all count indoor track Jessica mocha from pasak Valley First Team all County swimming Benjamin mandler from pasak hills First Team all county P VA [Applause] Vault and Tyler rodstein from pasak Hills first team All County ice hockey now therefore be it resolved that the pasak Valley Regional High School District Board of Education recognize and commend these students for their outstanding [Applause] achievement before we move on for the students that were recognized and their families we understand if this is where you would like to leave you are absolutely welcome to stay for the whole meeting um but I'm giving you an out so if you'd like to take it please do so if you'd like to stay we'd love to have you also next we have our presentation for the auditorium project by gm4 Caro Architects so I'm going to uh preface them just very quickly to give the board uh or to give everyone a little bit of History because we've had a couple of updates over the last month about the auditorium project some were through our facility committee some were through full board updates but I want to just sort of give a a a quick rundown so that everybody's on the same page and knows what uh Mr and Mr John for Caro are going to be uh talking about right now so maybe five six years ago seven years ago there was a decision by the board to thank you to um uh set aside resources specifically to do renovations to both the hills and the valley auditoriums and so uh obviously then Co hits we sort of put a pause on those major not necessary Renovations for the short term we then last year um actually May of 20 sorry let me think about this for a second May of 2022 so before I came aboard we restarted this project and uh we restarted this project basically by meeting with all of the stakeholders at both schools and kind of determining you know what what do we need to do to the auditoriums and this is a little bit uh interesting because the hills Auditorium needs to be a bestus Abad um so there needs to be a renovation to the hills Auditorium regardless of of desire there's like a necessary infrastructure update that needs to happen so the thought was let's pair the necessary asbest update which we're now ready to do with this uh overall renovation project which will eventually span the scope of both buildings um FL go forward uh to uh last year when we started uh putting together proposals so we started working with John fararo uh engineers and Architects uh as as well as uh Yas and Robert over putting together some proposals we put together a proposal basically for a renovated um infrastructure so looking at renovating ceilings renovating floors renovating seats and then also renovating the lighting system so you'll see in our Auditorium right now um these are all uh uh incandescent lights we don't have LED lights in our auditoriums and we also rent uh a number of lights and sound for any Productions that we do same thing for Hills uh we do a lot of rentals for The Sound and Lighting systems when we put on Productions um and so our Focus really was on some cosmetic updates some infrastructure updates to the ceilings uh that are necessary and then some updates to our Lighting and Sound to make them safer uh to make them so that we can actually use them instructionally for our students and also uh to bring them forward uh we haven't had updates to the auditoriums in a number of years and the technology has changed substantially we actually have a number of of students who do uh participate in both our performing arts and theater programs who do go on to do this in college and Beyond so we want to make sure that we're creating a learning lab uh environment for them so that we can use this space instructionally the other ask that we had was um in both buildings so that when teachers want to use this space or administrators want to use this space that they can very easily hook into the audio visual of the space and right now that's really not the case um here uh we really need Mr Sherman's expertise in kind of setting up the audio visual it's not just plug andplay um the same at Hills is a little bit easier um but we still are looking for a little bit more usability of the space and we think that if the space was more approachable um with easier interfaces that it would be used more so that's kind of the the background of where we started we put together proposals we went out to bid uh we actually went to three failed bids which means that we had three times tried to to uh get a proposal on the project that didn't um didn't meet our budgetary expectations meaning they came in too high after that uh we went to a process and I'm not going to get into the details of this if you guys have questions Mr Yami can definitely answer them um but we went into a process called negotiations which basically means that we were able to pick the project apart into various Scopes and then uh negotiate directly with subcontractors for those various Scopes to ultimately get a lower price and we were successful in that um on let's see here so now let's fast forward to the last like couple of months so now we're in the finalization phase and on let me just check my notes really quickly here so on February 23rd so before our um February board meeting we had given an update to the full board that we were a little bit concerned that not all of our stakeholders um were uh bought into the plan and we wanted to make sure that if we're moving forward with the project that all of the stakeholders ERS who are going to use it feel comfortable with the project and that we are actually meeting the needs that we say that we're going to meet because I'm up here saying we're meeting stakeholder needs we want to make sure that that's the case and that that's true um at our facility committee meeting uh right before our board meeting last month in February uh uh Anthony and Matthew John fararo gave a presentation on the scope of the project gave a little talk about uh how we kind of got to where we were talked a little bit about how uh we could um uh move that project forward uh after that meeting we actually on the 29th of February so a couple days later we had another meeting with uh Matthew and Anthony where actually let me tell you give you guys a a better update here so we actually talked a little bit about um uh we brought in Robert Yas the principles um our Visual and Performing Arts uh directors uh Anthony and Matthew John fararo brought in our lighting engineer the lighting engineer actually brought with him a lighting engineer that works on Broadway and other high-end projects we were able to actually do a little bit of a deep dive into the project uh show some of the schematics show some of the thought process behind it and uh we're able to actually recognize that the proposal that we had was something that met everyone's needs and so at our um that Friday I think I gave a full update to the board BAS basically saying we were able to meet with this group of stakeholders and our our people the outcome of the meeting was full support from the stakeholders um and that we were going to look to move the project forward basically unchanged so we're we're going to move the project forward and that we would be able to be voting on this on our March 18th meeting uh and that we would have uh Matthew and Anthony here to talk about the project a little bit which I will turn it over to you guys in just a second um and then we uh we gave another update uh it looks like maybe last week just to affirm to the board that we're still on track uh to move forward with with the project we are super excited about the project I know that our theater department at both schools is very excited about the project I know that the principles at both schools are very excited about the project see Mr willan is uh in the audience with us today I know that he's excited about moving forward with this project at Hills um so what I'm looking at right now is to have uh Matthew and Anthony give the full board um just a very brief overview of what the project will entail we're looking really looking right now we're only focusing on Hills even though the scope of the the overall scope of the project will eventually look at both auditoriums right now we're just talking about hills we're just approving Hills um they're going to talk a little bit about what that looks like um and then if the board members have any questions for the Architects specifically um they're going to hang out for a second to answer questions if not uh they are likely going to uh depart so just think about any questions that you have or if you want them um uh to stay uh while you think about what they said just you know let us know but I just wanted to give the board of heads up that this would be a great opportunity for board members to ask questions of uh our Architects about any of the specifics because they are very well versed in this and have spent uh a lot of time going over the the the details of it to make sure that it's exactly what uh our staff and and our teams wanted so Anthony and Matthew thank you so much and I'll turn it over to you good evening uh thank you for having us um I'm Matthew gmaro I'm here with Anthony gmaro um thank you for that that very good introduction Miss balot um that was a very good summarization of you know how we got to where we are today so um I'm really just going to go over the scope of the project um as it was said uh over at Hills uh there is um aestus material in the ceiling so that is one of the reasons why we're kind of starting off at that school um that needs to be abated so uh the plan is uh for the the general contractor for the renovations to go in once school is out remove all the seats uh so that we have a clear space for the abatement the abatement contractor will then come in set up all his scaffolding Abate the ceiling uh all the house lighting uh at which point the general contractor will come back in uh we're constru conting a new Sound and Lighting Booth down at the audience level uh we are also putting epoxy underneath the seats new carpeting throughout uh the the rest of the space uh new aisle lighting uh for the ceiling we're going back with a clouded ceiling uh so it'll be um wooden Arc panels uh with new house lighting uh we are addressing some issues at the front of the stage there's some panels um that have you know have some wear and tear so we're we're fixing up the front of the stage uh putting a new hardwood floor in the backstage area uh the front stage I think was more recently done um we are putting a new hoist beam up on the Loft on I guess stage right um there's a loft area right now the students I think are kind of using a ladder to you know uh bring equipment up and down so so we're putting a um a hoist in that area so that no one has to actually carry something up and down a ladder um we are and then the other major part of the project is the uh theatrical uh Sound and Lighting so uh as Miss bot said we're going with a a whole new um really Soup To Nuts uh Lighting and Sound packages uh it's all new LED lighting um I won't go through every single item but you know we have 48 uh spotlights 18 color Source bars two movers 19 SES um we think you know we think the theater department is going to be very happy with it um it really is a worldclass package um as far as sound goes similarly um all new wireless microphones stage boxes um a new sound board um that will be in the sound booth um everything is fully expandable um we feel that it'll meet the needs as far as kind of streamlining the system as well for the um events that aren't quite as theatrical you know say like a an assembly um I think that pretty much covers it just uh new projector and screen oh as part of the audio visual we are also putting a new uh 15,000 Lumen projector and a new projector screen as well um so um you know new sound booth uh new ceiling flooring uh existing seats are going back in um and then really just the new ceiling new Sound and Lighting packages so I think that pretty much covers the scope thank you do any board members have questions about the specifics or scope of the project I have a questions m how long what's the anticipated um finish date so we're anticipating the general contractor to go in right after school gets out he'll take out the seats the aestus abatement is scheduled to start on July 15th that will be about a month um and then the G the GC will come back in uh we anticipate uh it is going to go into the school year we anticipate middle of February a completion date question uh first a comment I'd like to thank the directors performing arts department for their feedback and working with you all to make sure that we get them and the students exactly what they need and creating what you said as a as a worldclass state-of-the-art facility and something that I think our students really deserve um our last meeting uh with the facilities committee U Miss balot had said that um we're unchanged since that meeting but I did notice from the sheet that we had left that meeting with to the the finances on here there appears to be a $50,000 difference so am I correct in that there's a $50,000 difference to be honest not that it matters to me because as we said in the meeting I want to make sure everybody has exactly what they want but there does appear to be a difference it so question is there a difference and what is that difference uh the difference is we are uh requiring the so we end the the project is kind of being split into two two contractors we have the general contractor and then the electrical contractor who will be doing everything electrical house lighting theatrical Lighting and Sound uh we always in a project like this require the general contractor who typically the electrical is really typically more of a sub to the them we always uh require that they provide us with a performance bond um in the event that something happens they go under you know we can rely on the bond uh we are also um requiring the electrical contractor to provide a performance bond as well um at the recommendation of the the board attorney um so that is what that uh that $50,000 is is a bond for the the general or the electrical contract trctor gotcha you would also just made reference to the wireless microphones are we buying that are we not I know that there was some question in the last meeting there are I believe it's 10 Wireless um headset mics and two wireless handheld mics within the package all right and then the asbest is not included in this cost that's separate cost right that's a separate cost yes do we know how much that asbestos removal cost is they have to go to bid so the environmental consultant is going to go out to bid for that ballpark ballpark around 350,000 and assuming that's been budgeted because it's going on as bid right now we can't hypothesize them what so let me ask let me ask the question this way if we go out to bid and we saw what happened when we went out to bid with the auditorium we had to go back and renegotiate and to miss Stefan's question about timelines is there any way that going out to bid could hold potentially hold up the start of this project I don't believe that will happen okay let me ask a followup to that if it did happen I'm assuming the asbest removal could only happen when the students are not in the building so could that potentially push it off a whole year if it has to be done in the summertime uh I don't see an instance where we would do hold it up like that okay do you want to go into an occupi Bay anyone if uh just one thing about the asbest um my understanding is again that's being bit separately but my understanding is that it is being bid as an occupied uh removal so uh there are two ways to do a p this unoccupied and occupied uh what it entails is a little bit more monitoring when you do an occupied so uh if it should get pushed back uh it wouldn't be put pushing it back a whole year uh at one time as this process was going through and we were going through negotiation the time frame kind of kept moving you know uh as we were moving along uh we were considering an an occupied uh aestus removal so it can be done that way great so we don't see it uh being extended for any significant time now that we're um we iron this out uh again as we mentioned at the facilities meeting one thing that we're hoping is that we could you know get this contract or contract put out so that we can lock in these dates any further questions discussions I just have a question to to the administration what are we doing what are we doing with the musical for next year for Hills are we rerouting it here what what are we doing well the plan is for the construction to be finished in time for the musical so they're looking at wrapping up completely by February and the musical is typically performed in March so theoretically the the goal would be for them to perform it in the new space same thing with uh some of our spring concerts and some of the other um uh musical uh events that we have we have like a trium ceremony we our Auditorium is used by the middle school we do like a it's like a middle school band where it's middle schools and our students play together I think that's this coming week and the weekend after we're trying to actually have all those actually still happen in the spring that's that's our goal um if we have to change that we'll work with the theater Department to make an adjustment um and we that's not ideal though and there's nothing in the fall that would have to be uh re reallocated the fall play okay that's okay thank you Tim thank you anyone else have any further questions discussion okay thank you very much thank you I think you're good okay next we have comments from the public citizens are invited to make comments regarding agenda items and are limited to 3 minutes according to the pasak Valley Regional High School District Board of Education policy number 0167 persons wishing to speak must upon being recognized rise sign in and state their name town of residence and which agenda items they are referencing so please come to the podium Mr Wyland I'm Tim weand I'm the very proud principal of pasca hills and also a Rivervale parent um so a couple things first off we've been trying to figure out how we could manage losing the auditorium for what is half a school year both here and at Valley um and our music departments our theater departments have been very creative with how we might be able to work together on some things how we can run rehearsals in the cafeteria and in the choir room and things like that so behind the scenes we've tried to work that out knowing that for our seniors next year uh if the board approves this that they won't have an auditorium for their fall play at Hills but that they will be the first to have the new lights and sound for their musical in the spring um so it's kind of you have to do it at some point uh and having that balance there um even from the summer perspective our extended school year tends to use the auditorium when they're there this year they won't be able to use it for the summer but we're okay with that we we have figured out alternate plans for how we can do that I just want to give a a very quick background Miss bot mentioned that the Board of Ed first started talking about this project seven years ago this is my 12th year at pasak Hills um struggles and frustrations with our Sound and Lighting have been there since I've been there and I think since before that and nothing's worse than seeing our kids put in countless hours and then get on stage and have an issue with sound where you don't hear that Solo or that line this would take those concerns away uh our theater departments have done a phenomenal job with kind of what they have um and in supplementing that by renting things anybody that was here over the weekend and saw High School Musical if you look up there were a lot more lights up there over the weekend than there are now because they had to rent those and pull those in um and I think it'll be great for our kids and for our school not only in the theater program but for the concerts for the other things that the auditorium gets used for we use it quite a bit um and to have this this renovation would be great for the school uh for countless reasons um and as a plug if you want to come see what will hopefully be the last musical with old lighting and old sound that's coming up this weekend at Hills thank you thank you thank you Mr wand anyone else like to make a comment you can come to the [Applause] podium sign in and state your name your town of residence and which agenda item that you're referencing please hi I'm Jennifer mandler from wli Lake um my actually wanted to just build on Mr Wayan's comments from pasc hills so I'm a parent of a student in the theater program and I'm really happy to hear about all of the improvements um hopefully I mean my daughter is a going to be a senior next year so I have you know mixed feelings about um missing half a year of um theater but as as we're talking about making all these like technical technical improvements to the um physical theater I wanted to just um put in my comment that I would really like to see more Improvement of the more um academic aspect of the theater program at pasak Hills where I feel like there could be a lot more in the curriculum for theater and arts that we don't really have at this time um and I really feel like that would be a great compliment to um you know this Improvement of the actual physical theater so I'd really love to see that something be added to the curriculum and to having teachers and more like representation in the faculty for the um theater program thank you thank you anyone else okay so let's move on to the next uh item in our agenda policy and there are two consent agenda items uh do I have a motion so moved second any discussion Mr Yami roll call Mr blundo yes M Calderone yes Mrs Swang yes Mrs Martin yes Mr Stanis yes Miss stefins yes Mr Weaver abstain one abstain number two policy 2431 1.4 and regulation 24 31.4 yes to all other policies Mrs barges yes next we have education for which we have three consent agenda items can I have a motion please so moved second second any discussion roll call please Mr Yami Mr blundo yes Miss Calderon yes Mrs hang yes Mrs Martin yes Mr Stanis yes Miss stefins yes Mr Weaver yes Mrs varges yes next we have human resources and there are 18 consent agenda items uh do I have a motion so moved second second any discussion roll call please Mr Yami Mr Blondo yes Miss Calderone yes Mrs Swang yes Mrs Martin yes Mr stankis yes Miss stepin yes Mr Weaver yes Mrs vges yes next we have Finance for which there are 28 consent agenda items n eight number 25 that is on the agenda will be removed today uh I think we're still waiting for some bids waiting for some paperwork paperwork and it will be on the agenda on April 8th so excluding item number 25 do I have a motion so moved second any discussion roll call please Mr usami Mr blundo yes Miss Calderone yes Mrs Wang yes Mrs Martin yes Mr Stanis yes m M stefin yes Mr Weaver yes Mrs varis yes next we have old business uh any discussion we see the monthly suspension report okay moving on to new yep I got a few items I'd like to uh sure throw out there for the world so number one um just in speaking to different um organizations town-based organizations who are utilizing our spaces in the spring I know we had some discussion I don't know maybe it was a couple years back with regard to um both Hills and Valley and an outside organization that was utilizing the space and not pay paying fees for it due to a an agreement that we couldn't find existed um so with regard to policy for providing facility usage to organizations I'd like to be sure that our schools are making sure that we're following the policy on how facility use and field time are to be distributed I know in speaking with one organization they received um calendars from both schools one was open one was already filled up with an outside organization um so they were a bit restricted in their use um so that's the first piece of that um making sure that our town-based organizations have first crack at any time that's out there and then the second thing is just in follow up to what we had talked about years ago when we Revisited the policy I would like to see um if it exists outside organizations how much time they've used the facilities and how much they paid for that usage do you mean you'd like to see like a report yes and I can go into more detail offline with Mr usami um if it's necessary but it is in followup to a situation we had discussed a few years ago and had revised the policy on um and an organization that was on the calendar before other teams had town-based teams had had a crack at it um and again that's just been reported to me from one of our town-based organizations so that was the first piece um the second piece thrilled to hear that we're going to be investing more money um into things like swimming and ice hockey to help uh reduce the amount of out of pocket expense to families uh and picking up the full cost of rentals there there might have been one or two more on there I know going back to October 17th um when we had received an email from a parent at Valley specific to the football program and Valley concessions um you know that email had said that um you know Valley concession stand that Fosters inequality between the two schools and limits the ability to financially support the booster programs which generate tens of thousands of dollars so in followup to that email I just asked um Administration through the finance committee if we could get a better understanding of what costs are being passed off to families across the board EXT all extracurricular sports clubs activities um so I sent that on October 19th the reply back um from Miss balot was that we would get an update um with all of those items in the November meeting uh for facilities there was no followup to that um I had asked again in the February 5th uh Board of Ed meeting if we could get that information um and I had asked again in a follow-up email on February 6th um with you know the hope of understanding what costs are we passing on to our families and how can we from a budgeting standpoint try to offset some of that and also you know when we have a particular group communicating inequalities um everybody's competing for the same amount of or the same pool of money when they fundraise right so the question then becomes are certain groups doing it more successfully than others and are certain families with certain children participating in certain activities paying more maybe because their group isn't fundraising as well right so it would help to have an understanding of all of our clubs and activities what out of a pocket expenses are asked how many students participate so in total how much is being collected from those those students and families and then how much does that group fund raise right and that would kind of give us a clear picture across both schools of what inequalities do exist that we could maybe address from a finance perspective so I mean just the fact that that followup never happened is is a little bit disappointing um and so if at some point we could get that um that would would be appreciated um and then the last thing is just on the auditorium and not on the auditorium the locker rooms so my thanks to um Administration for arranging for that presentation which I think was very helpful um because it's something we've talked about for quite some time or maybe I've talked about for quite some time right um however I do think we we presented an incomplete picture to the community because I was in a meeting with a group of people from a particular Town who said you guys are going out to referendum for a girl's locker room at Hills right and that's kind of a sentiment that that Miss Martin had echoed at at the last meeting um but as Mr blundo can maybe um uh remember back to when we met on this in December of 22 um we we talked about the locker room being part of a bigger referendum to ensure that we were meeting and addressing needs at both buildings so I I think that was the first piece that I wanted to make sure that the community understands and again that piece isn't until 2028 and I think when I look back at my notes the reality is by the time that project gets completed you're probably looking at 2030 the best by the time like shovels going to the ground if and when they do um so I guess a few questions that I have for administration are in the February 9th Friday update it said we possess full plans for several options no additional planning is needed so I know we presented two options one with a renovation of the existing space and an addition above the wrestling room on the second floor that was one option and the second option was renovation of the existing space and a facility up at the field um I don't know of any options that exist beyond that so if there are and those could be shared that would be appreciated I think the the part that concerned me was no additional planning is needed like my understanding back when we talked about this in December 22 was this was just we were starting conversation um there was reference made to the fact that when construction had been done back at Hills there may have been plans um that the athletic director asked for at the time Phil Pas palis that spoke to adding locker rooms on the exterior you know at the time when we had that meeting we didn't own the property now next door um I had asked in a follow-up meeting just or at the last meeting and then in followup specific to room usage um and my concern with that request at the last meeting was I was speaking to room usage from a broader we're looking at the entire district and need rather than something specific to just the girls locker room so I think the fact that we're then taking votes on whether or not we're going to do a room usage study I mean if we're looking at a big referendum we should be looking at room usage across the entire District regardless and I think if you saw from what Dan had shared a few years back there's unused space up to 13 14 15 classrooms per period I don't want to get into the specifics of it and but you know there's room and Dan had shared with us we could probably fit over a thousand students in this building comfortably right now we're probably at about like 800 right so just the reasons why I bring those up is because I I feel like we talked about the girls locker room as these are the plans this is it but those conversations and Mr blundo correct me if I'm wrong I I interpreted them back in December 22 as this is a starting point for bigger conversation um and I'm hopeful that that's the message we're communicating to the community and that's the approach that we're taking as a board of education Mike I will absolutely agree with you that it was a starting point that we were going to start looking at a long longer term plan that it would include potentially a referendum that addressed many needs and I think we went as far as at that point I don't think we knew at our fingertips when we were eligible really to go for another Bond and um I I believe you were here already asked maybe it was your predecessor that um said that it was 20 uh 2028 uh the other point that I I want to Echo that you said um I do think we need to look at now that we do have the property to the east of pasak Hills does that provide I know you said it but I'll repeat it a third or a fourth option um to do something sooner rather than later um because it's it's where that the the gym is Right am I am I wrong it's right to the right so maybe we can do something there and I think we should at least look at that and it wouldn't be throwaway work anyway because whether we do it sooner or we wait for this potential Bond we need to know if that's an option and what it would be the last question that I'll ask and my hope is that this becomes a board goal is that if we are looking to do something um that we start planning for that and I think that work touches each committee like there's definitely a curricular aspect to this like how are we using our spaces if the reality is that we're not finishing a A or or we're not going forward with the work on a referendum until 2030 like what is the the world going to look like in 6 to 8 years and Beyond and are our current spaces currently Meeting those needs or will they meet those needs and when you look at the long-term facility plan there are things on there like media centers and other big ticket items that are we going to be able to fund that in a regular budget um it sounds like the way things are trending that may become more difficult over time um from a finance perspective obviously that needs to go to finance committee from an equity perspective are we making sure that everyone's needs are being met equally um and then from a facilities perspective you know obviously um they would would be deep in those discussions um so I think it would be helpful to understand going backwards what type of timeline would exist in order to start planning so that we're taking advantage of planning and voting and work so that we are doing it in the most efficient use of time and things aren't getting pushed off to 2029 and 2030 so a timeline would be helpful Mike if I can add you may have inferred this but I'll call it out specifically as Yas pointed out at the finance committee our enrollment is down however the signs from the sending districts are that's going to reverse so what in the next you know I don't know it might be 10 years but still to your point we need to look at what we expect our population to be and you can't drive more than two blocks in this community without seeing some Housing Development go up so uh that has to be factored into whatever we do um I'd like to comment on Mike's idea about the uh fundraising report um I don't know what what a realistic I don't know what discussion you had but I'm a realistic timeline for getting all of the clubs to come forward with the amount of fundraising they do it seems to be quite a task I don't know how many clubs activities we have and and I'm sure there's a lot between the two high schools I can tell you on my level for me to come up with with the clubs that I have how much fundraising I do it's it's based upon so many variables it's it's kind of like a a difficult number to come up with because there's stuff that you fundraise for then there's replaceables there's wear and tear at any given moment you know I may have to do a bag sale or some kind of fundraiser to uh raise money just to replace things so I don't I don't know if you're G to get really a a realistic down to the dollar number I suppose an estimate would be the best and would be very general at that I mean those monies are going into and out of Student Activities I would imagine and my thinking is more in terms of like um really how much are we asking families to pay out of pocket and then what monies are being raised to offset that out of pocket cost if any and I would think every sport or extracurricular would be able to reflect on their own practices over a given year to say this is what we ask for students to provide out of pocket and this is how much that we raise to offset cost and um really just to identify inequities because that's something that was articulated To Us by a parent as justification so um to be able to understand that as a board from Big Picture okay I'm I'm just concerned that maybe a club or an activity uh that that becomes a a standard because some of them are variable and we we have to understand that I just don't want it to become well that's it then you know that that that was my only concern on that so Mike I'll just pop in there so I know that for the soccer team right so they do fundraising but you know it all depends on the parents and how they how often they want to get involved so we have um you know a dinner at the end of the year right which most do um and we have to put in money for that it depends where you're going to host it and what you're going to serve are you just going to serve chicken fingers and french fries is pretty pretty pretty cheap um so yeah so I I don't know if you know the football team I think goes a little bit more overboard so I think it just depends on the club and the activity itself as to how much they're going to raise and what they want to use it for if they want a big dinner or not or trophies or everybody gets a everybody gets a trophy right Mike can I just bring up another kind of to piggyback what you said before I even in town you do hear talk about the inequities with the use of the fields and I do think it's important that we look to our own towns prior to letting outside groups come in and I know that the rates are different but I do think that's important so if that's something we can monitor I'm sure it is monitored to a certain extent but they should get people who live in our communities that are paying the taxes for these fields should have first access right so wlake does that so I was the park mer director for six and a half years and monitored and did the whole thing with the field so um you know baseball softball they would all get priority and if we had any slots that were vacant and somebody wanted to rent them then that's fine but the kids would always get priority maybe just seeing I mean I know that's not an answer we can get right now but seeing the time frame before it gets open to outside organizations might be helpful I'm sure that's not something anybody could answer right now yeah and again that was feedback that came to me from another organization so and then the last question I have is just we talked about hills Auditorium do we have a projected timeline on when we are going to work to address the pasak valley Auditorium what anticipated budget will that be a part of that's a discussion I have to have with Robert and the architect find out what the timeline is especially since um what's going to happen with hills and then when do we do Valley um we do have right now we have 1.3 million allocated or set aside for Valley um obviously it's going to increase we won't have the asbest abatement uh issue but we will have um obviously increase in cost with the lighting and the sound and that's already accounted for and put aside okay what what may be prudent is to actually depending on when we're going to do it if we're going to do it in 2526 right because we're going into 2425 maybe prudent just to cancel it put it in the budget for 2526 at the right amount or better estimate so that's something that maybe in play doesn't mean Project's not going to happen it just means it's going to be canceled freeze up the capital reserve and then we'll put it in the budget for 25 26 and they can get going right after basically right after school so that work then could start in July 25 theoretically yes yeah I was trying to figure out the date um but yeah that that's quite possibility so that's a discussion we have to have with the architect and Robert and most likely Mr poio and then maybe one clarifying point in the February 23rd Friday update again when we're talking about the girls locker room at Hills there was a reference made to all extra Capital um was uh allocate discretionary Capital funds with no new projects being considered so I didn't understand that um again because I thought we were looking at the girls locker room as part of a bigger referendum project in the future so if maybe we can get clarification on that February 23rd comment in the next Friday update that would be appreciated I can yeah I can speak to some of that so for the facility use and I don't have it right in front of me but we have a tiered system for facility use that does prioritize our um school-based groups first then our Township based groups then Community groups so so if there's a violation of that um those calendars are typically overseen by the athletic directors and then it goes through Robert's office and also the principles so if you know of someone who's not following that produ uh that policy um if you could just let that chain of command know or reach out to y i directly uh to let us know what that is because I'm not aware of that and no one uh had brought that to our attention but we do have that in our policy um so you know you know to all of your points that is definitely what we would want to be see happen um for the booster costs um it is it has been as Jim alluded to looking at Athletics and looking at extracurriculars are actually we're able to find two different um accuracies I would say uh we have a lot more accuracy when it comes to athletic boosters less accuracy when it comes to the extracurricular clubs and that really is due to variability even within the athletic boosters there's a number of uh variables largely dependent on how active uh you know kind of the current class is and what their goals are for fundraising so all of the fundraising needs to have a goal um but we have that and uh I think that uh we had last left it that we were going to have a presentation from the athletic directors at the uh at a finance committee meeting um throughout the budget process so that has not yet been scheduled because we're still kind of fine-tuning that data um but that is something that we do plan to report out on um and then uh the comment in the February 23rd update where we talked about the girls locker room uh at some point back [Music] in uh I'd have to look at the date but at some point the facility committee had actually moved to allocate any uh Capital funds that came into our possession so to speak uh towards that project with the hope that we could build some reserves the same way that we did with the auditor RS um if we're looking at the realistic opportunities here I think we need to be setting aside funds but at the same time looking at a building that into a larger referendum so that was a decision that had come out of the facility committee that we were going to be allocating any surplus basically uh towards this project before we considered any other new projects that is the way it seems we've done these big projects within our our normal budget in the past um the auditorium is being like a a very Salient example of that uh we built up Surplus until we had enough to move forward with both projects I'm confused by that just because it was even referenced that the reason we were presenting to the full board was because the full facilities committee wasn't at the December 2022 meeting I believe it was I think just Mr blundo and I were there and it was in the if I remember correctly from my notes it was in in the media center of the pasak of pasak Hills um so how much extra Capital has been reserved for the auditorium for the the locker room project so you what we're talking about is the funds and Mr Telly I'll definitely uh let you speak to that but what we're looking at is this idea that our Capital goes towards um necessary repairs and then also towards these renovation projects so we have not allocated funds towards any other renovation projects um since that conversation was had what that total is right now I'm not sure because I don't I'm not sure if we actually have the well I know we don't have the Surplus yet from this year um and I'm not sure what was allocated from last year total to that to yeah we'll have to get that number I mean a lot of things came up part of it was the um the purchase of properties so the purchase of the property in mail also the purchase of property um hopefully for the Milestones house so some of that would go away from the Surplus um but we're right now Cindy and I are going through calculations uh to come up with the number but I think realistically we're not looking at that project as something that will happen through the budgeting process that's correct I mean you know when you look at it realistically it it has to be part of a larger reference referendum um and that's something that it's quite evident when um Solutions made their presentation the at the other meeting and that's why Solutions also mention the fact that yeah you can't go out for a referendum just for a locker room that it you have to incorporate a lot of things uh especially something with educational value so you and Mr blundo absolutely correct um we had talked about this a while ago that if it does become a referendum it has to be part of a bigger referendum which a lot of constituents will have um so-called skin in the game um so that's why we're trying to we're starting to have these meetings and start talking and looking at the existing long range facility plan that we have that we do internally and also um my suggestion to Administration was okay think about other things that you may want to have um and not just in the next couple of years we're talking more like five to eight years down the road kind of looking at a bigger picture so I think that is very very important that we look more at a bigger picture um how it's going to serve the district and serve it very well and as you say it has to be equal it can't just be one school it has to be both schools that get this and believe me both schools could use other things so um a a referendum incorporating uh many needs is vital I want to go back to some of the field usage issues and some of the club issues in the finances of the clubs that operate several years ago and I brought this up last year we had a committee that address these type of things and it was made up of the athletic directors a VP at each school um and then board members and we had dialogue around these things what what clubs are coming into existence what's the finance you know how are we raising funds for our shortages um where do we have inequities um that went by the wayside and and I'll hold myself accountable because I was one of the people that agreed to get rid of that because we weren't getting anything substantial out of it for a couple of years but I think we should consider reinstituting that so that we have a regular dialogue board members um with the athletic directors with the vice principles about the clubs and the activities field usage would come up at those meetings as well um so that some of these questions can be addressed um on a more timely basis than have to do it in front of the full board in a full reporting just a suggestion yeah I want to second that idea I remember being on that committee when we had it it was it was valuable um and yeah it did go by the Wayside because you know I think covid and all the other committees coming on uh but uh definitely it would be worthwhile to uh look into forming that committee again I mean it could be even more expansive because now there's a a whole issue on equity and you know we want to do that um I would even say like even activities like the plays and things like that could come into that as well any kind of uh you know uh Robotics and everything else and we had regularly scheduled meetings even if there was nothing urgent because it was a dialogue between those folks and the board you know we didn't have to have an issue in front of us and a lot of things became organically generated through conversations uh at that committee so and it was also a window in to see what our students are doing outside of the classroom it was uh really uh you know very positive experience so any other old business I have just a shout out to the robotics team that that was an awesome reveal night out of Hills I think it was on February 27th it was fantastic great job to students the um teachers the staff any anyone who was involved in that it was a beautiful night great turnout yeah I'd like to agree with that I uh I thought it was the first time they were doing it in that particular way I think I remember them saying and it was really nicely done very interesting and um just really cool okay uh next let's move on to new business any new business so I have something so I have been speaking with the environmental club uh Brook wartzman uh with regards to the W Lake Reservoir cleanup um if anybody travels that way across the reservoir into Hillsdale uh they know that a lot of trash comes down from Rockland County and settles right in the corner by the train station so it's a bane of our existence especially when there's been a storm so um the town used to do cleanups and I believe they're going to start doing some um but I thought that it would be great to get the school kids involved for you know maybe some community service hours you know kids always need those so we're looking possibly to do it in April or May um with the help of violia um who is the water company um that handles the reservoir and I just wanted to say that uh they've been really helpful and they actually do tours as well of the facility so I'm going to let um Brooke know that so that maybe she could or organize something for any of the kids that wanted to go up there we just need a bus and they spent about an hour and a half up there and then they walk around the reservoir to kind of get an idea of how it how it kind of works um so that's really cool I'm really excited about that um and then the other question I had was about taxes school taxes and about how um it works with all the surrounding towns um so most recently uh wlif Lake folks um got another assessment um and it went up by quite a lot um and it had it was the same last year um so a couple of people um have asked me to ask that question I'm not sure how it works um I'm not sure you know so if maybe that's an offline discussion or not I'm not sure but if you could shed any light on that it'll be great yeah um we have nothing to do with it it's the state so you'd have to State uh I know I had a a councilman reach out to me um a couple of years ago uh and I explained to him that we don't have anything to do with it the state gives us percent allocation um among the four towns uh and that's how we divide the the taxes um I know a lot of it has to do with valuation or home sales um and then there are other factors involved uh but that is something that the state comes up with with um I don't know what sources they use um but I kind of pointed that person to a at least start here and see what you can get because we've never had any luck I'll just add that it is a state law right so it's not something that's just made up by the Department of Education the state law actually defines the funding formula and yes is correct that it is valuation relative valuation what a what a house is valued and what Cliff Lake versus the average versus Hillsdale versus Rivervale and Montville um there are other factors in there one of which is enrollment so it is factored in um some people believe that it should just be a straight per student cost divided by the number of students but that is not what the law prescribes so there's only two ways to really change it um that I know of and I am not I do have a little expertise in this but I am not an expert um is to get the first is to get the state law changed right and to work on the uh assembly and the Senate of the state to have them change the way the funding formula is current currently constructed and the second is by a vote of the four towns that each Town individually has to agree to change our local agreement if one town votes it down doesn't happen so um and that was attempted about 10 years ago um and it failed in two of the two of the four towns in Hillsdale and riverville which which killed it so yes is correct that we as a board have no Authority in it the only reason I have a little expertise is because I was on the other side for a while okay thank you you're welcome I'll I'll uh Pigg you back on both of those uh very smart comments because it it is actually difficult sometimes to get answers from the state as to the mechanics of it but I can um make the comment that our tax levy for schools is set at a 2% increase uh there's some exceptions to that 2% increase including for increased health care costs our increase for pasak Valley Regional is looking like it's going to be about 2.4% um so even if as an individual homeowner you're paying more taxes or a region is paying like one of the townships is paying more or paying less that total amount is unchanged so it's not like there's not a way for this to be a game where um reassessments happen and then the school gets more money um that's not that's not how the formula works the formula is a flat is it what is our exact uh increase 2.4 thank you 2.4 I didn't want to say publicly the wrong number so our our tax increase is a flat 2.47 how that gets distributed to individual taxpayers is the formula that's set by the state and I think sometimes when people see their taxes increased by more than 2.47% there's confusion over it that confusion likely is over either the assessed value or I shouldn't say the assessed value that's the wrong term uh what the state has said that their contribution value is or other taxes that are added in because we're a regional you're also receiving a tax levy um from the sending districts but I can say that our sending districts are in the same position um I don't believe that anybody is is uh going above the 2.47 um and it could be a little bit off by that by you know a tenth or 100th of a percentage point but generally speaking uh you're looking at an only a 2% increase that is going directly to schools anything above that is not coming to us so I think that's you know something uh to keep in mind as well I would definitely ask uh Township and state officials um I would ask the township what is the impact of a of a more aggressive assessment reassessment policy um because I'm we can't necessarily speak to that but I would think that the townships could because I believe that there are some townships in our area that have um uh less uh frequent uh reassessments and so that's something that is really set by the townships that I would certainly and I know that uh youve followed up with the townships but I think that's something that that is a question for them because I we can't uh we can't necessarily address that but I think it's it's a smart question and a good question to ask and I'm sorry that we're not we actually um Mr usami and I actually looked to see if we could get someone to speak to this and we can't so we did try um so it's you know when you deal with the the bureaucracy of um you know the state they're they're pretty they're pretty set and they're not necessarily open to having a conversation but thank you okay any other new business okay next we're going to move on to comments from the public uh this does not have to be on agenda items uh anyone here no uh and we don't need another executive session uh so just adjournment I believe right okay a second okay we're adjourned