A central focus of the meeting was the unveiling of the district’s strategic plan, a blueprint for the 2023-2028 period, which aims to enhance the student learning experience and foster community engagement, among other goals. Superintendent Anthony Suozzo outlined the plan’s development process, which involved three planning sessions that concentrated on evaluating the district’s strengths, challenges, and opportunities. The plan was crafted with significant input from parents, teachers, and community members. The strategic plan consists of five principal objectives, with a detailed action plan specifying activities, responsible parties, timelines, resources required, and evaluation metrics for each goal.

The presentation of the strategic plan was met with acclaim from the board, with President Jim Gallagher praising its forward-looking approach. The plan was highlighted as a living document designed to steer the board’s decisions and the administrative team’s initiatives over the next five years. The board expressed its gratitude for the community’s contributions to the plan, emphasizing the importance of ongoing public input.

Another prominent topic was the school construction update, which brought positive news regarding the progress of the 58 building and the pre4 building. The Superintendent detailed the completion schedule and current work, offering assurances about the infrastructure developments within the district. Moreover, the Superintendent introduced the reconfiguration plan for the 2024-2025 school year, which delineated the schools each grade level would attend, as well as the start and end times for the school day. The reconfiguration plan also included transition activities to ease students into the new system, such as combined school trips, ice cream socials, and a Spring Carnival.

The establishment of a district PTO to support transition activities was another topic of discussion, with the Superintendent urging community involvement in this initiative. However, he noted a low response rate to a survey on forming the district PTO and reiterated the need for feedback and participation.

During the public comment period, a parent from the Lambertville City area expressed concerns about the reconfiguration, particularly the decision to move fifth and sixth graders to the West Amwell school. The parent questioned the necessity and timing of the move, as well as the logistics of transporting students. Superintendent Suozzo responded by emphasizing the educational benefits of having all teachers for a grade level together and assured that transportation and aftercare programs would be provided.

The board also attended to the Buildings, Grounds, Transportation, Finance, and Safety Committee’s report, which covered various operational topics, including grant writing assistance for playground equipment and the approval of field trips. The Technology Committee discussed improvements at the South Regional Elementary School, including evaluations of Wi-Fi and firewall system vendors, and the implementation of a high-impact tutoring program.

In policy matters, the board approved the first reading of policy 8500, addressing the free and reduced lunch and breakfast program, as well as the meal charge program. Revisions to the current year’s calendar were also approved to compensate for the loss of two snow days, and updates to the harassment intimidation policy were sanctioned. The Policy Committee highlighted the necessity to amend policies in response to new state statutes, with specific attention to the school nutrition program and meal charges.