pleas Ali to the flag of the United States of America and to the Republic for which it stands one nation under God indivisible liberty and justice for all I'd ask that everybody please remain standing for a moment of silence in memory of our student Martin perz thank you okay good evening and welcome to the South River Board of Education regular meeting of Thursday May 23rd 2024 in compliance with the open public meeting act chapter 231 laws of 1975 of the state of New Jersey adequate notice of the meeting of the South River Board of Education was provided in the following manner on January 17th 2024 the notice was delivered to the office of the South River burough Clark and posted at the Board of Education administration building on January 17th 2024 the notice was faxed mailed to the following newspapers home News Tribune The Star Ledger on January 17th the a notice was posted at the South River burough clerk's office Mr Rosen would you please call the role yes Mr basa here Mr butson here Mrs Bush Mrs Bush has been excused Mrs burn Mrs burn has been excused Mrs La here Mr neelson here Mrs Sadowski here Mrs Young Yao here Mrs Banning here Emanuel bizer she will not be attending she is excused you have a call thank you uh going through our agenda the first item on our agenda are the minutes from our meetings Mr Rosa so there have been no additions from our pre meeting thank you board members what is your pleasure on the minutes move the reading of the minutes we have a motion by vice president neelson is there a second second second by m l seeing no questions or additions all in favor I thank you our use of facilities Mr Rosa all right so we have four new additions uh number 1582 South River cultural art and Heritage commission number 1583 South River ESL department number 1584 South River ESL department number 1585 High School boys varsity basketball thank you board members any questions on the additions to the agenda for use of facilities seeing none do we have a motion for this move the use of facilities accordance to board policies we have a motion by vice president neelson do we have a second second second by m Yael I'll all in favor I thank you at this time we're going to go to our financial report Miss L thank you be it resolved that the Board of Education hereby certifies that it is in receipt of the financial report which is indicates that no major account has been overexpanded and that sufficient funds are available to meet the district's Financial Obligations for the remainder of the fiscal year the finance committee recommends that the reports of the board secretary and The Treasure of school monies for March 20124 be approved and ISO move we have a motion by mwell second second by vice president neelson all in favor I thank you motion passes as well do you have anything else under Financial reports not at this time okay thank you at this time we're going to turn the meeting over to our superintendent of schools Dr zercher thank you Mrs Urban and before I begin my report today um we have a special recognition and I would like to um inform the public that our board president Senor banic was recognized on May 1st for her 30 years of service to a board of education and uh there was a lovely ceremony that was hosted by the New Jersey school boards Association and um I'd like to read some of the remarks that were made um at that at that recognition ceremony and also present you oh I love the ribon thank you thank you very much please so this is what we shared with the public at Mrs orbanic exemplifies the quintessential dedicated board member her commitment to the well-being and education of our children is unwavering and she's equally devoted to the overall success and Welfare of our community Cindy skillfully balances her professional personal and board responsibilities demonstrating exceptional or organizational abilities Beyond her board duties she enriches her Church community with her beautiful singing voice and compassionate Spirit as a superintendent I could not ask for a more exemplary partner her expertise guidance and constructive feedback Have Been instrumental in our Collective achievements as a female leader and professional Cindy is a true inspiration it is with great admiration and gratitude that we congratulate her on 30 years of service and acknowledge the profound impact she has made on countless lives congratulations congratulations congratulations thank you every one of you uh this is truly a surprise he kind of got that out one by me I really do appreciate being up here on the board uh the only way that it does work is that this board works so well together I I couldn't be happier with all the members through all the years and what we've accomplished um when we when I began on the board the schools were in not the best of shape and not the best uh public opinion since that time we now have people looking to send their children to South River Public Schools um is made for a better Community uh just to be a small small part of that is is just truly rewarding uh these flowers are beautiful too thank you and it just humbles me to be just a little tiny part of touching all the lives here as I'm sure it does all of you each and every day that somebody goes to school here somebody graduates from here or that you see somebody go on to higher education so again thank you very much I I just don't know what else to say and wow 30 years I I'm a little uh overwhelmed so uh thank you thank you very much okay so uh we'll continue now with the superintendent report please all right so I do want to remind our public we have um our day of service our annual of service it is scheduled for June 3rd this is a day that we dedicate for all of our students every single student in South River will be performing a service activity um and we look forward to reporting that and all of the wonderful ways that our children um contributed to our community and and Beyond um I want to remind parents that our spring standardized assessments will be completed by the end of this month uh we will receive uh results for those later on um in the summer or early fall and just a reminder of parents to consider these assessments as only one measure of our students uh performance and success but we also of course know that our teachers feedback overall performances in class and so on um are a big part of that picture as well I want to remind the public that our budget is posted on our district website it will also be presented at our curriculum fair tomorrow and speaking of our curriculum fair is tomorrow it is tomorrow here at the high school where you will have the opportunity to see tons of student work displays demonstrations meet with community members uh we also have our district art show at the middle school cafeteria we have performances happening here in this Auditorium throughout the evening we have our Star Lab uh planetarium that will be taking place at the middle school gymn ium funfill day our food service company will be around providing some samples so uh we encourage everyone to please attend our curriculum fair tomorrow and the last thing I have on my report today is um just an opportunity uh during this recorded meeting to provide an update and some clarification on our Lear Early Learning sector and I think the best way I've received a lot of questions there are several inceptions about the Early Learning Center its funding I think the best way to help people understand what took place during and after the referendum is to really liken our situation with the Early Learning Center to one that is familiar in many households and so for example let's take um a young couple who is preparing to buy a home they find the perfect house that will fit all of their needs um for now but also for the future but this house is beyond what they can afford with their existing income and budget so they approach the boss um they ask for a raise they're trying to raise their their income um but their boss advises them that they cannot meet this request so much like that scenario the school district needed space and classrooms for our preschool program and this presentation is not a debate about whether we should have a prepay um that was determined by our educators much like they determine where when we need a an additional AP class or specialized reading program and so on so the district needed a building for prek um which they could not afford this optimal building um that was planned within the existing budget and therefore we went to the public for a referendum to ask voters for additional funding through local taxes and just like that couple situation the voters said no we're not in a position to V this so if we think back to our couple even though they weren't getting those extra funds they still needed a house and so they made some adjustments to their wish list they look to buy a cheaper house that still meets all of their needs and they take out a mortgage to pay for this house over time in the same way the district still needs a building for the prek and so therefore it revised its plans to build a more affordable version of a school that will still meet all of our needs we will pay for this project over time within our budget and without any bonds or additional funding from taxpayers and through a loan that's called a lease purchase I'm going to now turn it over to Mr Rosa our business administrator and he will provide in more detail how a lease purchase works thank you Dr Dr Zer so the use of lease purchase financing is defined and governed under the New Jersey admin Administrative Code 6A a school district May finance a facility construction project through the use of a lease purchase agreement of 5 years or less to fund in Pro a project in full think of it like a 5-year mortgage uh which you pay over time until you own the property in full a facility lease purchase financing option provides a way for local New Jersey school districts to acquire needed construction projects without the immediate financial burden of a large payment all at once instead said payments are scheduled over time over 5 years or less as per the lease agreement terms in other words a lease purchase agreement is simply a funding mechanism we're able to take on this lease purchase agreement due to our financial stability one of the reason is that the district will be paying off the two remaining Debt Service bonds within the next three years this the bond series 2015 will be paid off in 2025 and the B bond series 2020 2020 will be paid off in 2027 the best advantage of a lease purchase is that the taxpayer will not see an increase in their property tax bill and I will repeat that again um the best advantage of a lease purchase is that the taxpayer will not see an increase in their property tax bill we will pay this project through our regular operating budget in the next 5 years let me remind everyone that the 2% tax levy cap is a New Jersey state mandate many of you have probably seen in the news a new law that was recently signed by the governor of New Jersey which would allow some districts to go over the 2% tax levy without voter approval just so we're clear the South River Public Schools is not one of the districts that are allowed to go over the state mandate mandated tax uh Levy cap of 2% as we have not lost state aid funding the 2% increase again is not funding The Early Learning Center uh construction costs but rather help support increases in our operating costs such as Personnel salaries health benefits inflation transportation and all other operating cost Necessities that increase year toe the district has undertaken various Pro projects over the next few years that will be funded through our capital and maintenance reserves these are funds that the district has reserved for uh particular uh projects to get done in conjunction with our long range facility plan as well as contingency funds for emergency circumstances These funds are already Acquired and funds are allocated to various projects as needed we will have a chart detailing our projects and funding sources posted on our website and we will also have as Dr zercher mentioned before our 20242 budget presentation displayed at the curriculum fair tomorrow evening where we hope to see you all there thank you so concludes my report thank you thank you Dr and um once again just thank you for this now that I've uh kind of realized what happened here um I'd just like to thank everybody in South River for uh bringing me back to the board where I really love to be for the past 30 years and also special thanks to uh the guy in the audience there my husband Gan orbanic for uh being there for 30 years while I've been on the board thank you okay so we have the superintendent report do any board members have any questions or comments on the superintendent report I think um I want to thank to do and Johnny for that information out there to the public hopefully they'll uh listen to it hopefully they'll listen to it um and understand what's going on and dispel all those rumors and and misinformation that's out out there by people who have never attended a meeting and asked a question in regards to the Early Learning Center thank you for that information and let's hope it doesn't fall on DEA ears to say president urbanic may I add a comment in terms of the finance committee uh we appreciate the detail uh that Mr Rosa and Dr zercher went to explaining it because with the curriculum Fair coming and the budget presentation being available it just opens up uh more transparency as to like what actually is happening and how the funding is happening even before tomorrow night even though like they might not see this presentation till after tomorrow night it's a precursor so we're anticipating questions and they're moving forward with like the presentation to explain it so that we have an informed community and that's a really important part of this process is having an informed community so I just want to reiterate from the finance committee that we appreciate it so thank you very much any other board members so what is your pleasure on the superintendent report move the superintendent report is read motion by vice president neelson second second by Mr basac all in favor I I motion passes thank you at this time the board is going to open up its meeting for the reception of visitors this is so that the public May address agenda items only there will be a public portion later on this evening for any matters that are of relevance to the Board of Education if you do come to the microphone please state your name and address and please keep your comments to a 10-minute time limit so call for the public on the first call second call third call this public portion is closed on at this time under President of the board we have the consent resolution Mr Rosa what items are under there please so South River Board of Education by means of a consent resolution adopt various resolutions of a routine and non-controversial nature at one time whereas the bill below listed uh resolutions are hereby adopted by the said Board of Education in whole as if the same were individually acted upon and these are Under superintendent of schools 3.2 and the president of the board 5.2 through 5.3 under Finance 8.1 through 8.51 under instruction 9.1 through 9.10 under policy and legislation 11.1 through 11.4 under Human Resources 12.1 through 12.28 and under safety and risk management 13.1 through 13.10 thank you board members what is your pleasure on the consent resolution move to consent resolution we have a motion by vice president neelon second second by Miss Sadowski are there any questions any items that any board member would like to be read separate or any exstension I have a question yes sir 8.1 I see the Auditors here is he going to give a report on the audit yes under Finance one time yeah yes good question we do that early get out of here I think he likes being here this is one of his favorite it'll be coming up soon but that that's very appreciative Mr budson to get him out of here we will okay so we have a motion we have a second would you please call the role yes Mr basa yes Mr budson yes Mrs La yes Mr neelson yes Mrs Sadowski yes Mrs y Yao yes Mrs orbanic yes motion pass thank you our committee reports Mr buds to you for athletics and extracurricular there's nothing on the agenda but I would like to congratulate Mr leapor on his 300th Victory and I I wish them to get 400 that's all I have thank you uh buildings and grounds vice president neelson nothing new but as you can see uh more modular have been placed have been put in place on our Early Learning Center we're moving ahead if we can keep the rain down we should be go for the summer am I correct Camila M getting there that's all I have for tonight Madam president thank you uh our finance chair m l so I'd like to um have Mr stankowitz please um come up and uh Mr stus is our auditor for the district he's been uh working with us for many years and he will provide a summary uh last pre- meeting we talked about 8.1 which is accept the 2223 comprehensive accounting report report an audit statement that is what is uh relative the paperwork uh was shared with us in terms of documents and Jerry is here to provide us a summary thank you thank you members of the board superintendent Mr Rosa da and Mr Parton um I'm here with good news tonight everything is tonight here very positive um we issued the audit I'm thinking two months ago and I for scheduling reasons we were able to get here tonight uh basically U same as prior years I think this was an overlap year with with Kenny and then Johnny and transition years are very difficult for everybody for the board for this the new ba and for us it's just a familiarity thing and and and we he survived and we survived okay there really was no problems there's always some little transitional things getting to know each other and expectations and all that stuff but bottom line is we have a uh what's called an unmodified opinion meaning the financial statements that were presented to us um presented fairly the financial condition of the district uh for the year into June 30th of 23 um how did we get there I'll be really quick number one all expenditures were properly documented they were charged to a correct budget code corre charged to a correct fiscal year and we're in compliance with the public school contracts law okay most importantly more important than that is we have a highly qualified Treasurer School monies the cash ties to the penny on a monthly basis and Johnny will attest to that meaning the bank reconciliation is tied to the general ledgers it's technical but as board members you you you just need to know okay u a little bit about the business side of it as well so the other thing is we do work in payroll and uh what we do there is make sure everyone again we do samples it's not everybody but we we prepare sample everyone that we sampled was properly paid in accordance with either the union contracts or board authorization or management contracts so payroll taxes were paid timely which is important um I don't know that we've ever had I know I've had school districts where they get fined someone forgot to hit send on the due date of and they got and the fines are big okay they're not 50 bucks um so that was all done properly our our headcount the Assa enrollment account worked out very nicely um Student Activity funds are properly administered but they have to actually be monitored before it gets to our level okay um it's too small of an amount for us to get too deeply involved in um also our food service fund Department of Agriculture uh requires us not to have too much money and we do and I actually John and I were talking in the hallway before has nothing to do with the district it actually has to do with the Department of Agriculture has a rule about not exceeding 30% okay of your expenditures with your assets okay and really the problem was caused by the Department of Treasury who was the one that gave us the money so um we we will eventually or have gotten an ny gram from someone at Department of Agriculture that we have to take some action usually what we do in every district is well we're spending we're investing you know yeah so we're doing okay so then our other the other thing I just want to point out quickly is um there's various components of the fund balance okay most of which are spoken for at this by this point in time these these numbers were measured as of June 30th of 20 three and actually when you open the door on July 1st of 23 most of them are gone they're legally appropriated okay there is some money that as a result of our AUD think gets carried into the 2425 school year that's by Statute okay and then um and I'm going to guess you use some of your Capital Money in this in this uh fund balance to uh Finance what you're go what's going on outside here so you know to some people it may be a lot of money but most of it's spoken for and at this point 9 11 months into school year it's gone okay so and that also was a result of just you know every District that I do is sitting fat with money but I'm thinking by the end of this year it'll all be gone as well as the food service so in the end we have an unmodified opinion there's no audit recommend there's no comments that require an audit recommendation that would require an action plan by the board okay um we haven't had any problems with that the transition went very well uh everybody in the office across the street was very Cooperative um they always are I mean whatever we ask for they get there's never a problem and uh that's important as well and they should be thanked and acknowledged for for doing a good job as well so in the end we have no recommendations and we have uh an unmodified opinion on the financial statements and just when it says uh the U statements present fairly example would be if let's say let's say for this year right now the ba is telling you look we're going to have 5 million in Surplus okay you know N9 months later after we go through the whole process it's still 5 million okay if that's the case then then you can rely on the data that your business office is giving you other places can't do it that way they they have a number they rely on the number and when the audit comes out it's a whole different number and then you get a very very annoyed superintendent of schools but we don't have that problem here for the record so um we're very happy uh that we're to be here and we're happy that we have been able able to express an unmodified opinion oh thank you so much Jerry does anybody have any questions from Jerry no no no I don't are we good all good all good so the only you have to do is I don't know if you've accepted the audit or not yeah okay y have a nice holiday all right thank you thank you so much may I continue now with the additions right thank you so much so 8.42 addition approv submit except the 21st century Community Learning Centers Grant Amendment 8.43 addition approved first renewal RFP 23-4 for the 2425 Food Service program with maso's Food Services 8.44 addition approved contract Keystone purchasing Network Cooperative purchasing provider for the 23 24 and the 2425 school years 8.45 addition approved field Turf USA Inc via contract kpn 202 41-1 High School baseball multi-purpose field 8.46 addition approved Contract solent Health LLC registered Behavior technician services for the 2324 school year 8.47 addition approved contract statue city cruises field trip services provider for the 2425 school year 8.48 addition approved the gpie group via the New Jersey state Coop contract number 65 MC ccps dasc NJ bid number 23- 24-14 flooring services for the Middle School 8.49 addition approved contract School specialty via hunon County Educational Services Commission contract Middle School Furniture 8.50 addition approved contract School specialty via hun Educational Services Commission for Middle School School furniture and 8.25 addition approved contract cw- D technology equipment for the 2324 school year and those were all the additions since the pre-meeting and I am done all thank you Miss well I think that's the most we've ever had in my recollection unless one was a lot yeah L it is thank you would you please uh now continue with the instruction okay with instruction from the pre meeting um we had done through 9.9 I'd just like to add in 9.10 which in addition approved field trips uh and it's for the high school ESL and World languages department and for the class of 2025 that were submitted um and that is all I have for this evening thank you Miss L uh the next item on the agenda is our negotiations committee report the negotiations committee has met with the South River administrators ass Association and we believe we have um come to terms of agreement is there anything else that you could offer on that Mr Parton or Dr Zer we are in yes we are in agreement we have a memorandum of agreement uh which is awaiting salary guides we have generated salary guides I'll be sharing them tomorrow morning with uh Mr Rosa and Dr Zurcher for verification and hopefully we will have that on your agenda in June for finalization and then distribute the contract and be okay Mr Rosa anything to add no thank you good yeah okay thank you uh policy and legislation Mr busen there's no additions per funding that's all I have thank you Mr basac would you give us the human resources report I have six additions item 12.23 addition approved resignation Bella zerova high school art teacher 2023 2024 school year item 12.24 addition approve appoint Jamie Canard High School principal 2024 2025 school year item 12.25 addition approved new job description number d-2 DF secretary to the assistant business administrator item 12.26 addition approved unpaid leave of absence Nicole Klein elementary school speech language specialist 2024 2025 school year item 12.27 addition approved revise Family Leave Brandon Russo 2023 2024 school year and item 12.28 addition approve evaluation superintendent of schools 2023 2024 school year thank you Mr basac Safety and risk management Mrs Miss Sadowski thank you Mr orbanic there is one addition from Monday night's pre meeting um item 1310 addition approved parent Transportation contract for the 2425 school year thank you thank you our school Community Relations Committee m y ya there are no items on the agenda for this evening okay thank you item 15 is our Schoolboard burough Council Lea is on committee vice president neelson thank you madam president Mr Ji is in the audience tonight how you doing Hank very well congratulations Cindy on your 30 Years thank you councilman um I would like to thank the um South Board of Health they have given our extended school year program okay hang on a minute my glasses are slipping uh I'll just read this on behalf of the team of the South School District I want to extend our our heartfelt gratitude for the South lier Board of Health's generous donation of supplies for our 20123 2024 extended school year program with your support we can provide students with tools and res resources they need to thrive academically and creatively from books to art supplies your donation ensures that each student has access to the materials necessary for their educational Journey thank you for your commitment to education and for making positive impact on the lives of our students that is with warm regards from the south of school district extended school year program if you can pass that on Mr dimian at your meeting to uh the Board of Health and everybody thank them for that it's great when organizations in town uh come back and you know give to our students we greatly appreciate it thank you that's all I have for tonight Madam president thank you Mrs Miss Sadowski our PTA Lea is H thank you um primary school they are selling tie dye t-shirts um they also sponsored a family stem night on Friday May 3rd and I heard that it was very successful very yes it was very well attended um fun day is next Friday May 31st um the PTA would like to thank South Police Department South Fire Department uh High School ambassadors program for their help on running activity stations um Elementary School is they are planning for Funday which will be held on Friday June 7th they also plan in their fifth grade fund night which will take place on June 14th and the fifth grade is actually having a fundraiser to help I us pay for fifth grade fund night uh they are selling fifth grade t-shirts and lawn signs for moving up to the middle school and I believe that's all I have thank you thank you that's a lot South River Public Library Lea is on Mr busen last Tuesday they had an adult pie dye for adults every Thursday at 9:00 at Daily's Pond they have walking club that walk around the pond in the fields Friday is a Little Learners Story Time Monday is yoga for adults January June 18th is adult craft grown planners uh June 26 uh we'll start the summer reading program and later on in the month hit the website for the summer programs that's all I have thank you our student board representative could not join us tonight miss bizer uh is there any old or new business to come before the board at this time Madam president I'd like to just um please something to say a lot of people probably aren't aware that on May 17th 1954 the US Supreme Court uh came down with the decision of Brown versus the Board of Education for the separate but equal school districts um they overturned that and integrated our school systems and I think if you walk our hallways and see our student body we are extremely diverse we have multiple languages multiple religions multiple everything within this district and they do get along and we do provide a quality education for all of our students don't matter what language you speak what race you are part of and I think we should all be proud of our school district and what our teachers and our staff do to our the Youth of our country and I will please reiterate how much we thank them for all they do that's all I have to say thank you thank you Mr Parton do you have a report for us uh no nothing additional to report thank you Miss L payment of the bills the finance committee recommends that all bills presenting presented having been certified by the school business administrator board secretary be paid as listed and I so move we have a motion by m l second second by vice president neelon any questions on the bills all in favor I I okay we pay the bills for another month there we could uh at this time the board of education is going to open up the meeting for the reception of visitors this will be for any concern or comment that the public has for the board if you come to the microphone please state your name and address and please keep your comments to a 10-minute time limit on first call good evening everyone uh first and foremost congratulations on your years of service that's wonderful and it's great to see such a commitment my name is Jamie Canard and I thank you so much for this opportunity to join the South River committee I'm very excited to work in South River and I understand the gravity and importance of this position as I've been in education for the last 13 years and I believe that I'm as much of a fit for South River as it is for me I am honored to join your community and I'm so excited to be here I'm looking forward to working with the staff the students and the community of South River with the goal of supporting students in achieving their Highest Potential and like I said I am so honored to be here and I look forward to achieving together thank you thank you so much welcome aboard thank you welcome thank you welcome to The District Welcome to the schools I think you'll find a lovely home here I'm very excited to be here thank you okay any other member of the public wanting to speak on first call second call third call we'll move the uh we will close this public portion and we have no executive session tonight so we will will now need a motion for adjournment neelson by vice president neelson second second second by Mrs Sadowski all in favor I thank you this meeting is adjourned