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[Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] e [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] m [Music] [Music] oh [Music] [Music] [Music] oh [Applause] [Music] oh [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Music] n nah [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] oh [Music] he [Music] [Music] and yeah [Music] [Applause] [Music] a [Music] he [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] a [Music] [Music] [Music] he [Music] [Music] [Music] n [Music] la wowow [Music] [Applause] [Music] bab bab bab B bab baby [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] no [Music] oh [Music] [Music] all [Music] sh [Music] sh [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] hey heyyy hey hey hey hey hey hey hey hey hey hey hey [Music] hey hey hey hey hey hey hey hey hey hey hey hey hey hey hey [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] sh [Music] [Music] amilies and Community the district provides a strong Educational Foundation that will Empower our students to achieve their unique potential Embrace self-directed lifelong learning develop the skills necessary for appropriate risk-taking and responsible decision- making respect themselves and others problem solve individually and collaboratively and become contributing members of a diverse Global Society thank you Miss Lee we'll now move to our public hearing on the 2425 budget I'll hand the floor over to Dr Smith for all right thank you Mr case so welcome everybody we are back to our budget conversation tonight is the final budget presentation uh about almost two two months ago we had our tenative budget that was on March 19th and um so the tonight's presentation I'm not going to go back over every single slide in as much detail as we did the first one uh because it is a repeat mainly we're going to focus on changes updates since our last budget presentation the mission statement which we read at the start tonight that drives everything with our budget um even through state aid reductions always keeping the mission in mind as much as possible that leads to some very difficult choices choices that we no District wants to make but which districts are forced to make from the last presentation I will direct our attention to the St a chart which shows that kind of a portrait in numbers of the Dire Straits that our district is in budgetarily how unfavorably we compare in terms of per pupil spending with the other 71 K8 districts across the state that are in the largest student population bracket which is 751 students or more we are the largest K8 in the county so we're definitely in that bracket um the main number here on on this chart which is budgetary cost per pupil um and you can see where you know from 2018 to 2019 to 2022 to 2023 which is this is the most recent extent data that the uh doe has our spending per pupil went up just over $300 whereas the average District spending per pupil went up over $2,000 per student so we're trying to keep doing what we've always been doing with only $300 more per student to spend other districts have $2,300 per student to spend what that means translated into to um aggregate terms is over a12 million deficit compared to where we should be if we had an average budget with average spending per pupil at $80,000 per teaching position that over $12 million missing from our budget represents over 150 teaching positions so if we had 150 teaching positions how tonight would be different talking about all the amazing things we would do lower class sizes more reading more support Mass support counselors replacing everything that this District this uh budget and past budgets have been cutting it would be incredible it would be fair we would be average then in terms of a budget but we're not so we have to talk about some really difficult choices tonight I'm going to pass it over to our business administrator Mr Yates for some further information good evening everybody thank you Dr Smith All right so if you were here in our March meeting you're going to hear me repeat some of the same stuff that we had talked about then School budgeting 101 uh in New Jersey we must produce the Balan budget so what that means for us is that our expenditures and revenues must balance or must equal for me as a business administrator that begins with estimating our expenditures so we take it from a high level we're going to take those liberally we want to kind of overestimate what our expenditures going to be and then we're going to project our revenues at a conservative level from there when our expenditures are greater than our revenues we're looking at a budgetary deficit this is the exact position that Eve sham was in this year and has been since the start of S2 or the school fund Reform Act and for many years before that our budget timeline is 12 months we're going to jump into the next slide and talk about timeline a little bit more but as we um constantly or as we move through the school year we are constantly evaluating our budget so we are never not taking a look at our costs and looking for efficiencies or comparing it to what we budgeted for in March and what we're actual spending on uh in the current year um preparing the new budget begins in the fall we look at that timeline and then it concludes tonight at the public Hearing in April so budget timeline again it's a 12-month budget we're constantly analyzing our budget budgets are approved preliminarily so the tentative budget is submitted to the county doe in March they'll review it they'll send back some inquiries to me as the business administrator um we have somewhat of a back and forth and then the budget from them gets approved and then we're here at the public hearing tonight at the public hearing the budget will be finalized so after tonight when it's adopted by the board there will be no further changes to the budget and this budget that we're approving tonight is for our school year July 1 to June 30th school districts or school years in New Jersey run July 1 to June 30th of every year we build the budget in the fall we work through it and narrow it down until we can finalize it in March or until we can balance it in March we finalize it in April and then we Implement for July 1 looking at our timeline you can see on the board there we begin building the next or the subsequent Year's budget in the fall in October and November that's when we release the worksheets or the budget books to our departments and our school buildings they'll develop their budget books and they'll turn them in for review at the business office in December preliminary estimates are developed so we're looking high level at our revenues and our expenditures and we're forecasting those coming back out of the break from January is really when we kind of get down the business business we're at that point projecting our salaries for next year and we're forecasting our health benefits our two largest costs so that happens in January we're also Consulting our vendors now it's important to note not every vendor that we work with can provide us an accurate quote for the following year so what vendors can provide us that quote we're going to seek those quotes and get those actual numbers from them most of our budget is forecasted though February is when major budget Works completed so that's when we're kind of making those final tweaks and then the state funding is released the governor gives his budget address every year usually the last week in February and then within 48 Hours State funding notices are released to schools in New Jersey that's when we'll know for for certain what our state funding is going to be prior to the governor's budget address we do not have any clue what our state funding is going to be from them we have a good estimate but we don't know our final numbers and then in March was when we uh balanced the budget so revenues and expenditures going to be finalized and then we present that board or that budget here at our March meeting which some of you were here for the board um approves the tentative budget we submit it to the county for review and then here we are tonight in April for the um final or the the budget hearing so let's take a look at our expenditures for next year this number in the top right corner is the general fund number so our general expense for next year is 87,3 $ 32,45 this does not include any federal grants state grants or local grants this is just what we're going to spend from our general fund you'll notice that salaries are 60% of our total budget that includes all of our staff so any other number that you see up there special education Transportation operations curriculum technology those are not salary costs all of our salaries including support staff our teachers our assistants our our custodial staff our operations staff all of our bus drivers and all of our administrators and anybody else who works for this district is included in that 60% there we are contractually obligated to provide a benefit package to our employees that includes health benefits dental insurance prescription Vision that's in our benefits number of 16% we also have to protect our district from risk and loss so we have liability insurances and then we'll move on to special education costs it is a pretty substantial number again that is not the cost of our special education teachers that's included in our salaries this is just the cost of educating students who are classified as special education most of that cost is to send our students out of District so that scenario would be we have a student who has special needs we do not have an appropriate placement for them or a program in District then we would be legally obligated to find a placement for them in an out of District placement that would be a like a a special services School District like Burlington County Special Services or it could be an approved private school for the disabled like Yale School would be one of those as an example when we do send a kid out of District Along Comes Transportation costs we are then legally obligated to transport that student to and from that placement and we are also legally obligated to provide transportation for our own resident students to and from their home schools or whatever school they attend in District our transportation costs are pretty sign ific that's for a couple reasons there's a nationwide driver shortage so we've had to find ways to attract new drivers and retain new drivers we also have had to Outsource many of our routes to third-party transportation services like Hilman transportation service I will also say this even if we were able to transport or we were able to run every single bus we have we would still rely on thirdparty Transportation Services to assist us and all the other miscellaneous routes that we have like our out of District placements our after school clubs and activities our late runs and our Sports runs so we would still use a third party in some capacity um operations that number is for us to maintain our school buildings and then curriculum and Technology of course we need to purchase curriculum and Technology all other costs that you see there is kind of a catchall for us that's how I've labeled it that is really a the the cost of doing business as a school district that is for all of our uh legal fees that would be for any registrations any of our association fees for our administrators or our teachers or our principles um that's also going to include our Pur obligation an annual Pur obligation for any of our employees who are in the public employees retirement system that's a couple million dollar number and it also includes another significant portion would be our waiver payments so any of our staff members who choose to opt out of health benefits receive a waiver payment from the district and that that's a substantial cost as well and those would all fall under all other costs this would also include uh our building so our school building costs and our our district Supply costs that wouldn't fall under one of those other categories revenues just going back in the top right you see 87 milon 132 458 same thing on the expenditure screen they match because again we must produce a balanced budget so when you look at our revenues 80% of our revenues come from local taxes so that means the residents of eam that's our tax levy again we don't tax our residents we don't submit a bill to our residents directly we uh come up with our total tax levy dollars and then we submit that to the municipality who then uh submits those bills to our our residents um we've got some re Reserve withdrawals up there we'll talk about that in a minute State funding comprises about 88.7% of our budget so that's our state aid our um extraordinary AR Aid and our semi Medicaid Aid and we'll we'll take a deep dive into State funding uh in a couple slides and then other sources is going to be all other revenues of this District the largest portion of the all other sources will be miscellaneous revenues for us so miscellaneous revenues is roughly uh $2.3 million and the the most significant portion of our miscellaneous revenues is going to be the lease or the rent that we receive from yel school and lenp Regional uh at at I just want to back up a minute to our total expenditures I always like to highlight if you take a look at our salaries and benefits we talked about it's 60% and 15.9% so 76% of our budget dollars go just to pay for our contractual obligations for our staff so before we've even begun talking about educating students in the classroom 76 of 76 cents of every dollar we spend goes towards the salaries and benefits of our staff what's left is what we use as our discretionary spend all right so taking a look at state aid for next year if you go to the bottom fiscal year 25 our state aid notice that was released after the governor's budget address told us we are to receive 6,754 617 in state aid the state is saying that's an $118,500 reduction from the prior year you can see it's crossed out there too it is an $188,500 or $1,513 reduction from the prior year however it's not accounting for us receiving one-time stabilization Aid that we received last year so last year we were slotted to receive 6.7 million also crossed out and we applied for one-time stabilization Aid we received $486,000 from the state so our total loss last year instead of being 738,000 came out to 251,000 so this year when you account for us not receiving that stabilization what we're actually feeling in our budget our actual loss is $5,300 or 7% of our budget now just to take you on a little trip uh uh in memory lane back in March of 2018 again so around this time in 2018 Eve sham Township was balancing their budget and they got their state aid notice from the governor's office and it said you were going to get 13, 93,6 197 Eve sham balanced their budget with that those revenues from the state of New Jersey they implemented their budget in July in July that same year so now they've already closed the prior budget year they opened up the next budget they were already cutting purchase orders and spending dollars the state notified them and said I know we told you we're going to get 13.9 million you're actually only going to get 13.1 million we need that $800,000 back so this is what the school funding re form acted to eam and many other districts who are considered S2 losers and they said oh by the way not only do you need to give us that $800,000 back but you need to hold an emergency meeting in July and you need to tell us what you're cutting and where you're taking it from and we're not just going to take it in fiscal year 19 but we're going to take it in each of the next seven fiscal Years and we're now in year seven of S2 these are our total Cuts you can see Eve Shams total reduction is 7,141 180 or 68% of our original number in March of 2019 March 2018 excuse me all right so what does this mean for us it means that the state is Shifting the burden the burden is Shifting to the taxpaying residents of eam you can see the blue bars represent our total tax levy from 2017 18 and the red line represents state aid as a percentage of that Levy you can see that the Gap is getting wider there under ideal conditions the Red Bar would follow the same trajectory or the red line would follow the same trajectory as the blue bars it doesn't under normal conditions prs2 that red line would have remained just neutral or static or constant right now it's widening state aid for or state aid used to represent roughly 24% of our tax levy in fiscal year 25 it represents about 10% or a little less than 10% of our total tax levy the bir burden is shifting from the state to the taxpaying residents of eam Let's Take a Look further on what that actually means for us I told you in 201819 fiscal year 19 the state said we need our $815,000 back from you in year two of S2 so the 1920 school year they took an additional $925,000 from us but they didn't provide us back the $815,000 so every year the state does doesn't provide us back that $815,000 and every year they don't provide us back the subsequent Year's Cuts we continue to absorb those losses for the taxpaying residents of eam and for this District those losses total over $31 million as of next F next fiscal year and every year that the state does not give us back our or restore us to the original allotment we will continue to absorb $7.6 million so what does the tax levy for next year look like for the residents of eam in the uh top right corner there where it says 2425 school year our total tax levy next year is 69 m960 $963,000 on the bar the scale on the left there where the yellow bar is the average assessed home in Eve sham is valued at 27256 $63 and that tax levy represents an increase of $928 on the average assessed home you might say my home is not valued at $272,000 so if you look at the top there on the sliding scale for every $100,000 of assessed value your increase will be $345 all of this information was pulled from the uh Burlington County Abstract of ratables from 2022 and 2023 obviously 24 is not available yet and the New Jersey Division attack ation 2023 average residential assessment report and that's it for me I'll turn it back over to Dr Smith thank you Mr Yates this slide um just shows you know back to that um data point earlier of our district being over $12 million less than the average budget for a district our size Mr just explained where over $7 million of that difference came from right so we've lost over 7 million in the state aid uh we also lost 3 million in expired tax levy cap with another million in compounded interest on top of that so that's another four plus the seven um plus that he was talking about which gets Us close to that 12 million um less than average that our district is suffering from on Staffing savings um no changes here from the prior uh tentative budget two walking routes more next year 60,000 plus activity fee increase 10,000 uh the two walking routes Marlon Middle this is one that we wanted to start at the beginning of the year we were waiting for the crosswalk to get finished um that was finished in March we implemented this um in April and but it was not um part of this year's budget in the end because it took so long so it's going to be part of next year's budget Marton Elementary School also part of next year's budget that's another $30,000 every every walking route that we create that saves a bus route saves about $30,000 which is back to the 60 here uh this is this is a main slide that shows the budgetary uh positional shifts and reductions uh what this the maroon on this and the strikethroughs indicate the changes from the tenative budget so um at the top that G7 G8 six class instead of Team time that's back in the budget so that's eight positions saved we're very glad about that and I'll explain more about that um as we move along um some of these reductions are still there of course in order to balance the budget um Family consumers science one music position two Elementary classroom positions one Elementary Spanish position uh using the nine model which I'll explain a little bit later which doesn't save a position or cut a position just maintains what we have since we are using the nine model in one grade this year uh Elementary related arts positions three we added um another grade for using the non model which is to ma grade 7 that's another position and uh two uh middle school special education positions which I'll explain later as well which gets us to a total of just over a million um which is different from less than what it was in tenative budget the difference where where we're able to make up that difference is through uh two different one-time fund sources that have been identified since the tenative budget so the first is $220,000 which was originally in general funds and we are shifting that um to the capital reserve withdrawal that Oak Avenue remediation that is um the property that is um across from the administration building on oav is the former Transportation yard you could call it it's not a large piece of property but it um is an environmental remediation site in ongoing way over many many years and um we um have to take steps to bring that remediation to a successful conclusion per the D and um so we need to uh that we need that money in order to make that plan happen um the 180,000 from the school's Health Insurance Fund dividend um that is a total dividend of 381,000 two in onetime money we're going to use um 220 of it next year 180 to save help save the uh the G7 G8 team time and another 40,000 to save the tier three position which um will be uh explained in a later slide and another 40,000 of that will be used in the 25 26 Year again to preserve that tier three position meaning the total spent from that onetime amount after 2 years will'll be 260,000 leaving 121,000 roughly um which is needed um for uh as a kind of a cushion for many different types of unexpected expenses that can come up I'm going to let uh Mr Yates explain a little bit more about both of those shifts uh so school districts of New Jersey are required to uh provide health insurance for their staff members we seek that insurance uh through a few channels one of which would be to go through the state of New Jersey and just take the state's health plan or the SBP school districts also have the option to um seek private insurance the shift is one of those private insurers um you could also go direct through some of the the major carriers like horizon or Etna or mer Health shiff stands for school health insurance fund and it's where a group of districts have pulled their resources together to self-insure themselves and one of the benefits of going self-insured is that you can you're typically going to be a district that has an experience rating that is less than one so what that means for insurance purposes is for every dollar we put into the insurance plan if we're pulling out only 80 cents we're considered a favor able District if every dollar we put in we're pulling out a120 from the plan then we're an unfavorable District unfavorable districts or districts that have a higher than one experience rating have little option other than the state plan the state has to take everybody the shift can be selective we were previously in the shift because we had a good experience rating and when we were in the shift because it's it's pulled together with a group of districts that all typically run less than one any surplus that's there can be redistributed as a dividend to the member districts Eve sham accumulated a $381,000 dividend while in the shift and that is what uh is up here on the slide thank you Mr Yates just uh also want to give a shout out to Eta and njaa for helping identify that shift dividend since our tentative budget um which has helped us and in other words preserve the the team time for next year so uh this has been explained in a couple different ways but trying to bring it into one slide you know we're losing only only 55,000 in state aid so why cutting so much more in Staffing and we've exhausted the non- Staffing reductions through the prior six years of S2 um which leaves mainly just Staffing at this point um a District's operational cost just continuing to operate is going to cost more than this local tax levy increase per year of 2% so there's an Ever widening Gap each year moving forward for every school district in the state between the cost to operate and what districts can bring in with that 2% cap thus you know for looking down the road for 25 26 if state aid remains flat which we don't know what's going to happen with state aid in 25 26 so you know we we've been living um according to the seven-year script of S2 we don't know what the next script is going to be what the next Story the state's going to write with state aid um but just hypothetically if it were to stay flat we would still be making cuts for 25 26 because the cost to operate is going to create Gap and now our 2526 budget will include an additional deficit which you which we should be aware of because we're using using one-time funds the uh that shift from General funds to capital reserve withdraw for the OAB remediation and the uh the shift dividend in order to balance this 2425 budget a couple slides from about grade progression that were in there last time just explaining what's distinctive about our district the only District in the St in the uh County with two identical middle schools only District where kids are not all together in the same grade in the same school until High School difference here what's current will stay current next year only District in the county with students in smaller ponds before before the lake of high school class size comparison this stays true right so we will have class sizes in elementary that are higher than class sizes in middle in certain circumstances and that's because because we can only achieve class size efficiencies in Middle School more or less by modifying the Halls these slides removed because the team time's B but I wanted to leave them in to sort of underline the change okay this slide so uh last tentative presentation it said next year MMS grade six this year says this this presentation the final budget presentation says MMS grade 6 DMS grade 7 if we recall this year grade six Dei piloted the nine model um which basically involves capitalizing on Dual certifications among our teaching staff using nine sections instead of 10 um and there's some numbers up there to kind of illustrate what that'll look like at grade six mle next year class size average of 25 4 instead of what would have been 22.9 DMS grade 7 this also works with because we we know it works because we're doing it right now in grade six so it will age up with those kids into grade seven next year just a little some numbers to give background on where it works and where it doesn't work to try this non model we can't replicate this recipe uh on a whole scale model for the entire Middle School population because it truly is enrollment dependent the highlighted numbers there show where it works the high you know so you see uh for example tocy this year grade six highlighted 223 kids that's where we did it next year MMS 229 kids that's where um we're going to do it as well and then those grade six kids the 223 and Dei they're aging up into grade seven that's why we're going to be able to do the nine model there again next year special education so last year we're basically using the same recipe we did last year to achieve a savings we found efficiencies last year within uh inclass support within Middle School we did that in one grade at each middle school last year we're going to have that age up with the kids this year so it was grade six this year it's going to age up with them into grade seven it basically involves having four classes within CL instead of having four classes Within class support in each grade it's having three the way the numbers work if you have 24 students total in that grade let's say that needing class support instead of having four classes with six each it's going to be three with eight and that saves two positions and that all stays within the state mandated class size Max of 10 for an in Middle School in class support class continuing With The Changes uh nothing changing here family consumer science uh eliminated middle school music a decrease of one music position that'll be discussed further within the music and curriculum Department uh and a a you know just again a possible scenario but certainly nothing um that couldn't be improved on or looked into further from within that music department and curriculum department is um looking at a reduction of small group music lessons in grade seven and eight that's just a possible scenario tier three so the tier three position as I alluded to earlier is saved for next year and the year after and the main reason there um in the the blue font is and this is unprecedent I I can't think if someone knows an example please let me know 600 school districts in the state I cannot think of a single example of an Education Foundation or any Community organization donating money to preserve an existing staff position and if I mean of all the possible data points to illustrate where we are the Dess of our situation the fact that um you know a community a longstanding amazing community group is donating money so substantially that it's actually helping us preserve a position is amazing and like I said I think unprecedented I I don't know of another example if anyone let does if you can let me know um but but they're donating $40,000 next year and another $40,000 in 2526 to preserve this position our district is matching that amount with $40,000 next year and $40,000 in 25 26 from that uh shift dividend we're very excited about that changes continuing uh class size increase and that's all enrollment dependent so it's it's depends on how many kids are in each grade right we can say we're going to do that but again if the numbers um shake out in such a way that you know if you have 100 kids in in a Grade it's going to be four sections of 25 no matter what you call the class size um Elementary Spanish go going from four to three also a reduction of one position also like music to be discussed further within the span Department curriculum Department also like music I'm listing a possible scenario not necessarily what will end up happening but um it may look like uh the same number of Spanish minutes for the kids but splitting those minutes between uh new material taught from the certificated Spanish teachers and enrichment reinforcement from the classroom teachers again possible to be talk talked out within the department Elementary related arts that's a three position reduction um we would love to keep that going um but unfortunately um it doesn't mean that we can everyone's still going to get the same related arts instruction it's just going to be through uh traveling teachers uh more than having uh dedicated teacher at each school um three positions worth there and um we're continuing to look at what the most uh effective ways to do that would be in the most Equitable ways for our smaller schools brings us to this slide um one change since last time is a uh support position added secretarial position um $60,000 that's needed in order to again make up that difference from preserving the uh grade 78 team time um it does not result in the loss of a of someone losing a position because we have a retirement and vacancy in that area so um it's only the reduction of a position um totaling 180,000 here seven positions other steps being taken uh just moving through this and I'm I'm not going to go back over at all as much detail as I went through in the tenative budget but um there's you know departmental spending grants shared services agreement with our Township we're very glad for that it goes through next year year um improving the transportation department you'll see a few new drivers uh up for approval tonight we're very excited about that um so love to see that continue to that momentum continue to build within Transportation every uh dollar saved from Transportation at this point is another dollar we can put back into Staffing since the cuts at this point are are pretty much only coming out of Staffing um advocacy with State officials School Bus advertising facility use fee increases other ships being explored property sale we are getting updated appraisals on our properties we look every year at solar panels um health benefits reimbursement we look at that subscription busing um might revisit in a future year but um other things busing we do we do the busing but we do it uh incrementally and carefully late buses it would cost our district more if we cut those actually because we'd lose drivers because they lose benefits benefits are a big it's a big uh reason why people join our district to drive for us moving through these school lunches um again looking at uh the properties getting updated appraisals on those and then we'll we'll again um seek to find a um a positive outcome for those properties in such a way that um can help our district find financially I did highlight this sentence here since the last uh presentation just we are looking it takes it takes work this takes time it's because it's intricate and we don't want to inadvertently um you know hurt clubs that take can take a long time to build but we are looking at ways to possibly reduce the gap between what it cost to run our extracurricular programs and what we bring in in activityfree Revenue you know and um when we came out of Co there was a great appetite among kids and families for extracurriculars right it's it's part of how we kind of like came back out of hibernation and um so it's a beautiful thing we want to be uh thoughtful on how we do this and uh but we are looking at that administrator salaries I'll just go back uh to the beginning for just one little data point here when you go back to this um at the beginning with this here we go so the only number ones on these charts are actually I mean we're we rank super high in many areas when it comes to being efficient in our spending per pupil the one area where we were actually literally number one and H we were in 20189 we still are in 22 23 and Beyond even becoming even more efficient is in um administrative costs so and just this one I have up there you know in 20189 we averaged 23 214 kids per administrator the average K8 136 big gap right and then but then after four years um we averaged even more 135 students per administrator and uh those other districts on average dropped they averag 132 so actually we average more than 100 Kids additional per administrator than the average District um and then back to these um again other ideas we looked at follow up from the last board meeting here we are again this some districts districts are only required to do one budget Pres presentation so this this would be that presentation and thank goodness we don't do that because it is so complex is um you know we're able to take further looks at things and solicit and and get feedback and add that into the considerations that make up the budget that process of ideas and feedback and perspectives is ongoing it started it's always existed it certainly started in Earnest in Fall of 20120 we were talking about the very very difficult step of ending benefits for our longest serving pair of professionals so um you know we will need ideas um we will look for ideas moving forward because as we know every school district in the state faces an ever widening gap between that 2% tax levy and the cost of operating a district so every district is in that seemingly impossible situation of having to find new ways to save every year to continue to meet that Gap and the the ways used in the prior year are no longer available lastly just um one make a mention of this bill it's been in my updates it's been on our website um it may not may not become a law right so it's it's up for a vote on May 9th by the state senate they would need to pass that it would still need to get signed by the governor um so you know don't want to talk about it too much because it's hypothetical at the same time um it would be wonderful If This Were to pass it would create opportunities for the 140 districts in the state that have lost state aid over the last seven years we are one of them um and in in a nutshell what it does is it lets those districts go above the 2% tax levy one time shout out at that uh up to potentially 99.9% to raise additional Revenue to preserve programs and positions so for our district this would let us maximally meaning if we went to the full 9.9% go to a tax levy increase of 5.5 4 million instead of where we currently are which is 1.7 million in change we are currently discussing this bill as a board again it is very much pending may not happen one condition of the bill is that districts who seek that additional Revenue would first have to restore the positions in programs cut in the 2425 budget so we're a district to go for that that's where the um the additional Revenue would have to go to First and the again all subject to the final version of the signed bill because as we know a bill can change right up until its um final form the um the tax levy increase so right now with the 2% local tax levy that that's in this budget looking at as Mr explained an average increase for the average assess ter of $92 81 sense if it if we we in our situation were to go for the full amount able through this bill it would constitute an additional $188.7 tax increase for the average assess home and uh any questions from the board is no y I have a question on the one slide where you talked about the family and consumer science and how the adjustment would be you pointed out that one right there yeah um can you explain what that means example this year at Marlton middle yeah Library so they're going to library and it would be similar yeah so we'd have to we'd have to get kind of redefined right with each year variables change and so on but this year at MMS we had um an unsought opportunity to kind of pilot that and um so the school came up with alternate electives for the students in place of the family consumer science electives which um at MMS we've been unable to to run this year okay thank you yeah and also I just wanted to you know you talked about the suggestion box and the lid was thrown out I was here for that is there any way that the suggestion box could be reinstated so that staff no matter who they are could put ideas forth because we are going to be in this situation again so I don't know if literally that lid was tossed aside yeah that's I'm sorry if that's confusing I'm glad you asked about that that's former English teacher metaphor probably confusing but it kind of just my way of saying basically like instead of having to like kind of slide it through a a slit in the top we just took the top off and basically like just dump your suggestions in like it may trying to widen the basket so it's easier to to just toss it in if that makes sense I just want to make just way of saying like like you know we we uh I thought the whole box was tossed aside no no no it's a metaphoric box it's just uh the our inbox you know what probably is an email inbox is probably the closest equivalent in literal equivalent to a suggestion box but um anyway you know snail mail email email phone call passenger pigeon I understand but the what I've learned is some staff are are nervous to speak up without being anonymous do we have anything that staff can submit ideas suggestions on an anonymous basis yeah absolutely so what I mean just just thinking uh a little one we have a in office mail right so someone could send something in in office mail just um address it to the superintendent on the inter office mail envelope um okay it could be uh typed with no no name you know and and uh that's Anonymous okay you know so fair enough yeah thank you yeah Dr Smith can I ask a question yes sure um what was piloted at MMS in terms of the library and other General music electives I know the music is is a big thing in a sort of influx depending on the curriculum but what were the additional music electives what type of things are going to be offered that they is that one of the things that is still in flux or what was yeah so so this year so MMS was able again through looking at existing schedules within the school uh they identified ways to continue to offer elective options for the kids since we didn't have family consumer science so for grade six it was library and for grade seven and eight it was music electives so looking at next year and there are you know many teachers here in the school so it may not be what what next year looks like it may still be library for grade six it may not be music electives for grade seven and eight it may be other types of electives and the school have to look at that at their own staff capacities yeah thanks no other questions or comments from the board all right seeing none uh we have three uh public comments today the first one is going to be just for the budget hearing um so this meeting will now be open to the public referencing any items pertaining to the current budget presentation however if your questions or comments pertaining to litigation student or Personnel items or negotiations we a ask that you see the superintendent after the meeting since we do not discuss these matters in public please let me your comments at 3 minutes per person um we did receive some feedback about the timing of public comments um so we have a timer up that Miss Gord is going to be running today we'll pilot that out and see if the timer helps um okay guys so what's going to happen is um it's basically like the same as what I see on my phone but this is on an iPad so it'll be up there count uh timer counting down from 3 minutes and then it'll go off when when it's done so everyone knows where they're at and I will start it after you introduce yourself okay my name is Laura nardy I live at 41 nightswood Drive Marlton New Jersey and I'm here um on behalf of the ETA we'd like to thank you for using some of the 381 862 that we found to save staff members we urge the Board of Ed to consider utilizing all recently discovered funds to save crucial programs and more staff positions we understand that budgetary decisions require careful consideration and balancing various priorities however having the opportunity to invest in our students and Educators is the most prudent and responsible use of these funds and also uh we wanted to thank you for meeting with us after the last meeting thank you good evening members of the board and to Dr Smith my name is Jacob pman I'm a sixth grader at Dei I wanted to start off by saying thank you to Dr Smith and all of the teachers for working to find the money to save the Middle School model at the very same time I'm reminded that these changes very well may still be upon middle school students in the 2025 through 2026 school year which is why I'd like to share some data with the board and the rest of the etsd community over the past month I surveyed the students asking them for their opinions about these potential changes I surveyed six red and six green students and over 200 of them responded when I asked how they would feel if there were no Halls 75% of students had strong anger or dislike for this idea while 15% remained unsure one student said I do not like the idea of it I believe that the schools in Eve sham Township should stay the same I do understand why our middle school should be the same as the other middle schools we also just came from elementary school not many people are ready for junior high what about the communities built on these Halls one student says I would feel weird because the Halls have their community and groups and if you combine them you would get rid of the community that has been built upon these Halls some students even said they would want to leave the school district and go to another school if the hall system disappeared students also were asked how they would feel having the same teacher for more than one class 52% of the respondents didn't want to have the same teacher twice even some of them who already had this model disliked it I quote one student saying teachers specialize in one class so having multiple teachers makes learning easier when students were asked how they used independent study 75% said they've used it to make up work from when they were absent 66% said they've used this time for group projects which most of them can't do outside of school and 70.5% said they have used this time to make up tests I believe if sixth graders were surveyed next year the responses would be the same and I hope you can them mind for future years during budget planning I would now like to mention the instrumental program lessons are an educational time for young growing musicians this time allows them to this time allows them to learn valuable skills from their teacher helping them correct and teaching new playing techniques I had my band lesson today we learned several new scales and then practice music from an upcoming concert if seventh and eighth grade lessons are cut the program will crumble and students will not be able to get the specific instruction they need to grow as musicians the Cherokee instrumental program will shrink and tonight maybe even disappear to summarize I and many of my fellow students feel that eam is a great place to go to school our Middle School model and instrumental program are two of many reasons why this is a great District thank you again for all you were trying to preserve even during tight budget times I encourage the members of the board to do what you can and listen to the people who elected you to keep the programs that are valued a survey respondent said it best I would feel sad if there were changes because eam wouldn't feel like the special district it is so please Dr Smith and members of the board let's ensure the Ean School District stays the outstanding special place that it is today thank you [Applause] he's a heart act to follow uh I'm my name's Kevin pman I'm a parent of two children in the district um I wanted to thank uh Dr Smith and the board and the uh the teachers union for working together to find the funds to to save the middle school program um I also wanted to touch on the instrumental music piece uh I like many parents am deeply passionate about the music program within our schools I believe it to be vitally important for children to have the opportunity to learn experience and engage with music it will help them in so many aspects of their lives long past the time that they leave these halls I implore you to maintain the music program and opportunities that are currently available within the district if any Cuts must be made I ask that it be made the highest priority to restore those positions and those opportunities as soon as possible before any new programs are hired or positions are created or filled the goal should be to restore the programs that were lost that's all thank you hi Rosemary bardi 10 Halifax Court East I kind of want to Echo um Jacob's statements about preserving the middle school program or the Middle School um music program I think it's so uh critical and um thank you the board for saving the middle school program um that was great and thank you to the board for meeting to for with the parent group the ETA um the two parent groups the Isam United and isim fiscal allies on a Saturday morning um however I'm a little dismayed that there weren't additional uh we made a lot of suggestions but I didn't see that reflected in the presentation that perhaps could have saved uh the music program for this particular for the night tonight um so I was a little disheartened to see that the question I have is regarding the reserve funding um Mr Yates um it would have been nice to see the actual details I'm not a numbers person so I had to do my little calculation for the reserve funding you uh said it was 2.7% um that you guys are taken out of Reserve funding so I estimate that to be 2.3 million um so it would been nice to see what all is coming out and reserves because I saw the uh resolution and it referred to bathrooms for preschool which you guys haven't talked about yet but yet you're budgeting for so I have a question about that uh so the other thing I wanted to talk about is uh the Education Foundation um thanks to the ETA and njaa for finding that money um and thanks to the board for willing to work with the EF however I just want you guys to be aware that is a huge huge fundraising effort for the EF and there's a lot of parents in this room from the tier three parents it's a huge ask it's um three initiatives it's direct donations it's running a raffle and it's also going after sponsorship and membership so it's a huge under taking from the community that has to be done in order to meet that goal so I just want to really bring that to your attention and also to regarding the legislation I hope this isn't the final conversation the bill will be uh voted on on Thursday hopefully for a full vote on Monday so that you know you guys have the opport opportunity to get additional Aid or either raise a tax levy so I hope this conversation yes the budget development is always a process what happens in January is so different than you know April time frame so I hope that you guys will continue conversation and you know add in either the the suggestions that the parent groups have made and the ETA and or look to additional tax levy to um preserve the programs thank you good evening everyone my name is Pamela turowski I live in Mount Ephraim but I'm here today because I'm a proud yet concerned alumni of vanzan Elementary School Marlton middle school and Dey middle uh I been a band kid since the fourth grade from my experiences here in eam I I was inspired to become a music teacher and I went on to maintain to obtain a bachelor's degree master's degree and doctorate degree in music education I currently teach music in the South Jersey area and a child development class at Rowan University teaching our future uh future Educators about the importance of Music it how important it is to Child Development next year I'll be celebrating the start of my 20th year as a music educator and I can tell you from research and my own personal expertise that eliminating band and orchestra lessons will have a detrimental effect for for the students and the larger Community cutting band and orchestra lessons for seventh and eighth graders may not seem like a big cut they will still have a band and Orchestra rehearsal after school right so what's the big deal well group rehearsals are the time for all of the instruments to come together and play their parts but the lessons are the time when students get help with their particular instruments and work on the music that the band and orchestrators are playing there's not enough time in rehearsal once a week to teach students how to play their instruments and especially when Orchestra includes at least four different instruments and band includes at least eight different instruments and that doesn't even count percussion without lessons for seventh and eighth graders the quality of the band and Orchestra will go down at no fault of the teachers or their students there just won't be enough time to learn the same level of music that they do now and as the quality declines some of the students will become frustrated and quit thus affecting the overall number of students involved and again the overall quality of the program and the music um played the music at the high school um will also suffer uh playing an instrument helps students achieve higher levels of executive functioning and result in better memory and focus better decision- making and planning greater attention to detail the ability to multitask and have greater self-control all of these skills are also important for succeeding in school which is why students who participate in music programs tend to do better academically than their peers who do not playing an instrument in band and Orchestra help our students learn to be dedicated to persevere and to work together making our school Community better adolescence is a tough time for many students who feel that they don't belong students in Bandon Orchestra feel a sense of community and belonging when they are making music together with their peers taking away seventh and eighth grade instrumental lessons will decrease involvement in band and Orchestra I recently heard both the midle Marlon Middle and uh Dey middle jazz band play at a Cherokee alumni event and I was thrilled when I heard the middle schools perform and I was uh so glad to know that the great tradition of musical Excellence was continuing in eam but I shudder to think of what will happen if students do not have the support they need in Bandon Orchestra I hope you consider this when you make your decisions thank you for listening to my [Applause] concerns my name is Pat Leia I'm a 41-year resident of Marlton uh my husband and I met in our high school band we got married and moved to morlon in 1981 we raised three children here where they attended vanzan school and deacy middle Pam my oldest daughter is now music teacher in Burlington County and has her PhD in music education my son Tommy is a professional musician he's performed in more countries than most people can name my daughter Chrissy is an attorney for the State of Texas all three of my children started in the music program in Eve sham Township if you ask them who were their most influential teachers they would all name their music teachers including Hank Mamay Cindy wck Betty Rymer Mary Sams and among others I believe that these teachers have retired but they helped set my kids right in the right direction my husband and I still currently perform and teach music we spent over 10 years as band parents so we know the commitment that it takes to raise kids who want to pursue music it also takes a commitment from the school programs the key to keeping students in a music program at a most vulnerable age is to have them work together and grow together through music particularly through groups lessons playing in the band once per week is not enough to motivate a student to continue with the study of their instrument private lessons are all great as well but if you don't have the time or resources to take them or afford private lessons the group lesson will still give the students enough knowledge to participate in band activities group music lessons of offer a well-rounded approach to musical development fostering not just technical skill but also social connection and a deeper appreciation for music in a collaborative environment students learn from each other gain motiv ation from peers and develop essential listening and coordination skills through Ensemble playing group lessons also expose students to a wider range of M musical styles and instruments broadening their musical Horizons and nurturing a long Lifelong Love for music music classes give students a belonging and a common interest with others who they may not have been friends with or known in a regular classroom setting Middle School is a time when students are looking to find out who they are B gives them a healthy dose of self-esteem and helps them make Positive Choices they're less likely to succumb to destructive Behavior when they have uh self self-respect so advantages of group music lessons are more instruction time increased emphasis on song learning improved motivation to practice boosted teamwork increased socialization and sense of community reduce risk of stage Freight and public performance I hope the board will reconsider um finding the money for seventh and eighth grade music lessons one of the most important things that people enjoy in their lives at any age is music thank [Music] you thank you okay hi I'm Jennifer peelman I leave it I live at 33 snuffbox Lane in Marlton it's easy to remember I don't have anything prepared I wanted to see how it went tonight I wanted to stand here and thank Dr Smith David Bach um Jamie Lee um Mr Yates and Danny molik did I forget anybody that was there on April 13th um gave us the opportunity to talk and kind of come to the table um etsd parents United is a group of people that are very passionate and we continue to work together there's many of us that meet weekly on Zoom calls we have been meeting in the community with providing an inperson opportunity for parents to come together and these things aren't going away there's over 880 there's over 860 people on the Facebook page and there is a continued interest to continue to meet in person online whatever is possible and in a regular basis I would ask that the board and Dr smth consider a pack which is a parent advisory committee there are other school districts all over the country that do this kind of thing where there are regular meetings whether it's quarterly or whatever that there's a table discussion it's very difficult to just talk at all of you we understand all of us the Robert's Rules of Order and like that's what this is tonight but it was very great that day to be able to discuss some things and get some things answered and questions we thought we brought a lot of great ideas that we hope as Rosemary said like from her group are brought up in other future years because there's some things that weren't mentioned there um and hopefully we can continue to discuss it but thank you so much for hearing us we don't plan on going away anywhere there's very commitment and drive and people that have children coming up through the ranks but I tell my children all three of them all the time this has nothing to do with them and they love hearing that it's about all the kids in marleton I'm a marleton kid my husband's a Marlton kid and we just want to provide an opportunity for the parents to come together if teachers are available whatever but continue the discussion for collaboration it's a little difficult to see the things up there about transparency and things we appreciate the budget presentations and all that but there is still a feeling of trust that isn't totally there I can say that there's many of us in this room and online tonight that are worried if the band stuff gets taken away for example that it will never come back and I literally try to just know that like your kids took instrumental lessons Dr Smith and I know that mattered to you and your family and that was important you've shared that publicly and I don't want to have to rely on personal things so I hope the Pack is considered so we can keep the discussion going and thank you for the time on April 13th thank you [Applause] hi I'm Diane Snider 179 Preamble Drive I've been a a resident for 28 years and an employee for 15 I personally want to thank you Dr Smith Mr Yates Danny mulik rich danten and Jen Bland for all the work that you do for the children and you're trying your best for the staff to keep things going I want to thank the board as well it's a tough decision I've been here for the Evans and other big items that have gone through through the years here but I just hope that everyone around realizes that it is not an easy decision for anyone to have to make but I think you're all doing the best you can and I want to thank you Dr Smith for being transparent because I felt you've always have been and you've been a very good leader for us it has not been easy coming in as a superintendent during and I think you've done a great job overall and you're you're learning along the way and we all are so thank you to all of you it's not an easy thing to do but I do appreciate everyone for the work that you do especially as being elected officials would anyone else like to speak about the uh budget presentation seeing none we'll close that out now we're going to talk about agenda items this meeting will now be open to the public referencing agenda items only however if your questions or comments pertain to litigation student or Personnel items or negotiations we would ask that you see the superintendent after the meeting since we do not discuss these matters in public please let me your comments at three minutes per person is there anyone who would like to make a public comment about the agenda today seeing none we'll close that out um just want to reiterate as usual whenever you're making public comments we know 3 minutes is a short amount of time we know everyone speaks one after another if you do have prepared pres uh comments please do email us afterwards so we can uh reference them back again uh we will now move to item six annual appointments and approvals we need a motion to approve items 6.1 through 6.13 do we have a motion motion by Miss Fox seconded by Mr ficaro any questions or comments on annual appointments and approvals seeing none Mr Yates roll call please on the approval of minutes Mr Bach yes Mr Brown yes Mr Demari yes Miss Fox yes Mrs N yes Miss Lee yes Mr [Music] pisaro you said approval of uh appointments I I thought you just said minutes I did say minutes I'm sorry I approve appointments thank you uh yes to items to all items on six 1 through 13 and Mr conon yes the motion carries thank you Mr Yates moving to item seven approval of the minutes we need a motion to approve item 7.1 through 7.3 do we have a motion motion by Mr dearcy seconded by Mrs null any questions or comments on the approval of the minutes seeing n Mr Gates roll call please on minutes Mr Bach yes Mr Brown abstain your abstention is noted Mr demarcy yes Miss Fox yes Mrs N yes Miss Lee yes Mr fisicaro yes Mr conton yes the motion carries thank you moving to item eight superintendent report we need a motion to approve items 8.1 through 8.7 do we have a motion motion by Mr fisicaro seconded by Mr Brown any questions or comments from the board seeing none I'll hand the floor over to Dr Smith thank you Mr canthon given this evening's presentation I'm going to try to keep my superintendent comments shorter tonight but I do want to mention a couple amazing things that one that just happened and some other things coming up uh as the last months of the year replete with wonderful school events and celebrations huge kudos to Dei and the Dei Multicultural night uh the committee and everyone who worked on it for their tremendously successful Multicultural night last Wednesday um every year gets bigger this is year five I think um bigger and better every year we had over 60 families participating through performances and displays it was amazing to see such sharing and collaborative celebration of the diversity of our community it truly enriches every one of us and um just since there's already conversation starting about next year and it's just just a wonderful if anybody didn't get out there this year please um try to make the time for that next year it's it's one of a kind um looking ahead our etsd annual art show another amazing event of its own right is opening on May 20th through June 3rd at the Township Municipal Building thank you Township for letting us use that space as an amazing art gallery uh and the kickoff Gala event is on May 20th like to thank all our staff for their continuing effort each and every day to support every student this is kind of a semi long stretch now as you work through May testing season all kinds of pressures to get things wrapped up um that truly is appreciated would also like to recognize that this month is asian-pacific American Heritage Month here in eem Township School District we recognize and value and lift up all students all persons with respect and appreciation of different cultures our differences and commonalities and take actions directed against any person including on the basis of race or ethnicity very seriously I'd like to highlight as well that our board president Anish Canon is our first asan American board member in our District's history and perhaps first Asian-American elected official in our Town's history he was recognized last year by the New Jersey state legislature for his service on our Board and Care for education and absolutely deserving um this year too if they just gave it to you two years in a row but um and that ends my comments thank you Mr K thanks Dr Smith again any questions or comments from the board seeing none Mr roll call please on administrative items Mr Bach yes Mr Brown yes Mr demarcy yes Miss Fox yes Mrs null yes Miss Lee yes Mr fisicaro yes Mr conon yes that motion carries thank you Mr Yates moving to item nine curriculum and instruction we need a motion to approve items 9.1 through 9.4 do we have a motion motion by Mr dearcy seconded by Mrs n any questions or comments as it pertains to curriculum and instruction seeing none Mr Yates roll call please on curriculum and instruction Mr Bach yes Mr Brown yes Mr Demari yes Miss Fox yes Mrs null yes Miss Lee yes Mr fisicaro yes Mr Conan yes the motion carries thank you moving to item 10 finance and operations we need a motion to approve items 10.1 through 10 Point 34 motion by Miss Lee seconded by Mr ficara any questions or comments from the board yeah uh two things uh real quick I didn't really ask any uh questions in this budget cycle I'll just have two comments uh to go on first off um I am encouraged by our our plan in terms of hiring bus drivers um this is something I've told talked about for a long time that it was important for us to uh get a little more homegrown there so to speak uh and to to pull away from any type of of rented service um like like Hilman or or for student whoever uh so the fact that we went out there and we raised we raised those rates we did what we could and we already brought in three and with hopefully more on the way I think that is an excellent start for us I applaud that effort I'm very happy about that uh secondly um I wanted to talk uh quickly about um about the budget I know this was incredibly hard work and not just by the nine board members here in the administration but everybody in this room and Beyond um takes a village to raise a child I think is the most appropriate way to say it and I think a village was truly needed in this effort and everybody here was incredibly responsible for it I'm a music guy I mean that's obvious I you know hearing some of these stories about um you know about B and you know some of the people that came up and spoke I I went to school with you know or I went to school with their kids um I understand the cuts that we're making um but I I always something that's always been kind of important to me and we talked about this briefly in conversations um I I think in general as we go through with this um I've always found in particular Beyond we're always focused on budget we're always always focused on that but I think Beyond budgetary I've always felt like uh and I've used this phrase in in private um that sometimes and it's not just eam other districts are like this it comes to music we're like an hourglass sometimes it we have a a large population down in the lower levels it begins to thin out in the middle and then it starts to broaden back up and as we as we embark on on this new year with this new budget um I I think it will behoove us even though with all the efforts that are happening here um that we constantly keep that in the back of our heads on how to how to work on that even you know just even understanding why kids go into third fourth and fifth in in band pick up an instrument why the sudden drops it doesn't always relate to this it's not always about about this you know it relates to other elements as well I see it in the theater World myself sometimes there's just kids who they find a different avenue a different path and then they go there but I would like to see us just engage in that idea a little bit more to understand how to broaden out and make that less of an hourglass so to speak and that's something that's really important to me um I I I haven't spoken up about it much at these meetings in the in the last two months because we've just have had so many issues coming up and so many things that were happening uh that it felt like our attention was constantly diverted all the time um but I felt like now since we're here at this moment uh it is really important to work within the means that we have to try to broaden that hourglass and if if you don't understand uh you what I mean by that I mean always feel free to come and talk to me but that's really important um I I I've seen it firsthand work here I I I've seen it work here in terms of what we do with musical theater I I've seen us grow uh I've seen what for example Dei does dec's theater program is tremendous now it's it's unbelievable what they do the amount of kids that come into into my into my program up in the high school level uh from where it was just six seven years ago to where it is today it's it's otherworldly uh when I walk in into and meet with with potential ninth graders that are coming coming in from uh from from the Macy I'm treated to 30 or 40 kids interested in coming into that program and I I think that that can I think that that can also happen I think there is still a chance for that to happen and I really want to see it and if I can be a part of that conversation help in any way I will do so uh but even though we're having this vote tonight on this budget I still think we have the means and ways to try to growth in that area and to still make music a priority and stronger and if that is the board's Direction I will be fully supportive of that and I will always cheerlead that along the way even when I'm not here so thank you for listening to my I want to say it's a ranch not but I just wanted to have that quick conversation so thank you again for everybody here uh for everything and all the hard work and effort all of you have done all of you so thank you thanks Mr fgar anyone else like to make any comments Miss Fox I want to kind of address that as well um my first full-time job was Tower Records my background is in the music industry my daughter is a musici going to college next year for music um she was not in band or orchestra she was self-taught but music is extremely important to me I know some of you that I've emailed with about it it that's where my daughter found her footing um it is the last thing I want to vote for to take away but unfortunately with so many Cuts something has to go um My Hope Is that the remaining music teacher and curriculum Department can come up with some way to keep whether it's electives in electronic music or or something to keep the kids that that's their interest engaged I will be with Joe at the front of the line fighting for that that um and if and when we should find extra funds I've made that known that I would like that to be the first thing that comes back um I just want to say that before we vote on this thanks M fox anyone else seeing n Mr Yates roll call please on finance and operations Mr Bach yes Mr Brown yes Mr demarcy yes Miss Fox yes yes Mrs N yes Miss Lee yes Mr ficara yes and Mr conon yes the motion carries thank you moving to item 11 personnel we need a motion to approve items 11.1 through 11.11 do we have a motion motion by Miss Fox seconded by Miss Lee any questions or comments from Personnel if I can yeah just uh I don't want to jump ahead if any when any board member com I'm saving mine for December okay I just um yes and I and there'll be more more words in December I can't let it go uh without just saying so Mr dant's retirement is on the agenda I know it's May and his retirement is January 1st but that's how long it takes to do a search process to fill shoes that can't be filled um and uh speaking of the last day it reminds me of the first day which was like just you know summer our our districts open 4 days a week Monday through Thursday and it was the Friday in July 2020 rich and I spent the entire day in communication my first day was Monday and it was that it was Friday before working with like the first covid situation the district had um and uh that began a very long uh walking together through so many different situations predictable and very unpredictable um and uh I just I don't want to say too much right now but I just I do want to say thank you Rich and this is It's A Hard uh thing to approve the only thing that makes it easier is knowing how much you deserve it so the uh the other two uh items here that I want to mention um so we have the our new beer principal Ryan mman sitting over there with his wife thank you both for being here and um that news you know I announced that earlier today via email to the Beer Community um just a fantastic process we had so many applications and of such quality it was wonderful and Ryan emerged far and away as our number one um from the beer staff our PTA president uh Jen peoples was there from our our cabinet um he brings um like deep and wide experience across all Elementary grades as a teacher and and we always you know it's always a wonderful thing to look forward with it an administrator is like how deep are their roots in the classroom you know when he has deep roots in the class classroom um Deep Roots as an administrator as a principal recently as a principal superintendent um in Laurel Springs and uh so he's just going to you know be a wonderful leader there for the school and um just want to thank again Personnel department for helping lead that search um and uh I don't know if You' even want to say a couple words Mr M but uh the bike's yours if you'd like to so thanks good evening everyone just GNA borrow the mic good evening everyone first I would just like to say say thank you and express my appreciation to Dr Smith the Board of Education the faculty and the parents that were all part of this hiring process being an active part of the eang community with three School AED children of my own at jaggard I feel extremely grateful for all the time and thought that you all put into this process as I step into the role of principal at beer I am filled with a great sense of responsibility and optimism I am eager to continue celebrating and creating an inclusive and nurturing environment where students can grow as individuals both academically and socially I look forward to meeting all the staff the parents and most importantly the students your ideas insights perspectives are all invaluable and I am committed to working to address the needs and aspirations of the berer community I'm humbled by this opportunity to lead such an extraordinary school and staff and I'm excited about the possibilities that it would wait I look forward to getting to know you all in our time ahead and thank you once again for this [Applause] opportunity one more the last uh thank you Mr mman um and the last uh word I want to mention is um we also have with us Sarah Smith who is um which also announced today via email to the mees Community is going to be the interim principal of Mees July 1 to December 31st as Miss Bulls goes out maternity leave we wish Miss Bulls super well with that and we are also very excited that um Miss Smith can be the interim principal this I I wanted to explain just a tad because uh as we've had interims in the past for principles we've been using retired administrators this is slightly um little a little more outside the box but in a really uh strategic way um and part of it is um the uh Miss Smith applied for the beer position she did really well through that process on top of all the work that she's done in and Beyond the classroom districtwide very well respected smart energetic all in with everything and we'll be all in at Mees and um that's it's going to be a way for us to also um uh kind of provide a flexible Arrangement there for for the future at Mees depending on um how long a leave lasts depending on um what happens with future needs in our district so um want to congratulate Miss Smith very much for uh that opportunity and um that ends my comments thank you Dr Smith any comments from the board I'd just like to reiterate the congratulations to Miss Smith and Mr mman and Mr dtin you'll be getting my dissertation about your absence in December all right uh Mr Yates roll call please on Personnel items Mr Bach yes Mr Brown obain Mr demarcy yes Miss Fox yes Mrs null yes Miss Lee yes Mr fisicaro yes Mr Conan yes the motion carries congratulations Mr mman and Miss [Applause] Smith moving on to item 12 under policy we need a motion to approve items 12.1 through 12.4 motion by Mrs N seconded by Mr Brown any questions or comments from the board as it pertains to policy seeing none Mr Yates roll call please on policy items Mr Bach yes Mr Brown yes Mr demarcy yes Miss Fox yes Mrs null yes Miss Lee yes Mr fisicaro yes Mr conon yes that motion carries thank you moving to item 13 committee reports are there any committee chairs who would like to share a report Mrs N I'll I'll share a committee report on the curriculum committee we met uh late April I should keep my glasses on so we discussed um items that are on that were on the agenda tonight under curriculum and instructions specifically field trips and special events very exciting things coming up for students as the school year wraps up you know our fifth graders will be going over to their middle schools to um become acclimated to their environment there great adventure trips and we also have some trips to JCC Medford for the fifth graders amongst many other special events for the end of the year for some of our students we also talked about summer programs we spent time on that and I just wanted to um reiterate what they are for the group and also mention the esm Education Foundation once again with their support they support a lot of our summer programs through their fundrais amazing so it's important that we continue to support them so we this summer as every summer we have many programs happening we have our incoming kindergarteners during the Caps program we also have continuing what I we would call the summer Learning Academy that was through Esser funding and Miss mulik had applied for a high impact tutoring grants so we're able to continue some of that as well through that money since the s money is running out um the literacy and math support for the incoming grades 1 through 4 we also have the metamorphosis program at our middle schools for incoming sixth and seventh graders and of course our tier three enrichment program over the summer we also have um our Title One ESL tutoring and also this summer again we're going to have a summer book club at different um Elementary School libraries special events happening there as well so that was basically in a nutshell we began to talk about the school performance reports that the state put out in April we discussed those briefly to begin there's a lot there but it is right now under the curriculum and instruction tab on the website if you want to start looking at that which was published by the state in [Music] April that's all thank you thanks Mrs N would any other committee chair like to share a report seeing none we'll move to Old business of which we have none new business we do have new business tonight we need a motion to uphold the finding of Hib as discussed in executive session for the case we discussed motion by Mrs nll seconded by Miss Fox uh I don't believe we're going to be entertaining questions or comments because it's confidential uh Mr Yates if we can move to a roll call please on new business upholding the hi decision Mr boach yes Mr Brown yes Mr demarcy yes Miss Fox yes Mrs null yes Miss Lee yes Mr fisicaro yes Mr conon yes the motion carries thank you moving to open public comment for any items of Interest this meeting will now be open to the public referencing any items of Interest however if your questions or comments pertain to litigation student or Personnel items or negotiations we would ask that you see their superintendent after the meeting since we do not discuss these matters in public please let me your comments at 3 minutes per person would anyone like to speak about any items of interest just wanted to talk about preschool for a moment um there's been a good deal of talk regarding the preschool expansion program stakeholders within the community have a great deal of questions regarding the plan I understand the plan was not presented tonight um so I'll refrain from the long list of questions that we have for now uh however I would like to say this please just wait we have been told that there's no chance that the funding will evaporate which should alleviate the need to rush into the program adding 8810 new students to the district is a massive change whose effects will be felt for years to come we are just coming off of seven years of reduced funding and we've been told to expect to lose at at least another $1.1 million next year please wait to apply for the program and give the district the time to regain our equilibrium let us have a year without the stress of impending uncertainty everyone supports preschool for children we are just asking for a pause so that all voices can be heard we are asking that you don't rush their presentation and vote without Community input and support a change of this magnitude should require buyin from the community please seek out that input we will be more than happy to provided thank [Applause] you any other uh public comments seeing none we'll close that out moving over to board member announcements would any board members like to make an announcement quiet today okay uh real quick um last week we had uh at Dei Middle Dei Middle School we had Multicultural night uh just want to say I had the chance privilege to go and Dr Smith you were there um it was a phenomenal night uh seeing so many different cultures uh presented there seeing the amount of people there uh which which was really really amazing to see um that kind of diversity uh displayed and also on top that the amount of people that came out to celebrate it was really wonderful um it's always it's always good it's always wonderful uh to go to an event in eam uh with where you have to wait in a line just to get a taste of of the food or to uh to see an exhibit you know something successful when you have that many people out I encourage everybody when uh when this happens again um in the next year uh go out uh major props to Dei for handling it uh I I was so highly impressed with everybody there but really truly a wonderful night um I was just glad my kids were able to experience that because when I when I was a kid here nothing like that truly ever happened just to see that kind of growth and to see my kids get to be a part of that uh really makes me feel blessed to be here thank you uh thank you um I just wanted to uh announce it out there uh the uh we we a lot about the eve sham Education Foundation has been brought up tonight um you know and supporting their initiatives uh you know and I just wanted to say on public record they're having their uh golf outing which is a great way to support uh their fundraising efforts that's on June 3D uh so information can be found out about that on their Facebook page which is simply Eve sham Education Foundation um also their raffle efforts are currently ongoing um you know and if you are interested in being involved in that then that would be great so that's all I had for tonight thank you thanks Mr physican Mr demarcy anyone else like to make any comments seeing none motion to adjourn you guys want to stay here motion by Miss Fox seconded by Mr Brown all those in favor hi thank you [Music] [Music] w [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] B [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] w [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] w all [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] sh [Music] sh [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] heyyyy hey hey hey hey hey hey hey hey hey hey hey [Music] [Music] hey hey hey hey hey hey hey hey hey hey hey hey hey hey hey he [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music]