excuse me everyone we're going to get the meeting started everybody please take a seat in compliance with chapter 231 Public Law 1975 entitled open public meetings act adequate notice of this meeting has been provided as specified in the ACT proper notice of this open public meeting was provided in a notice of January 4th 2024 said notice was posted at the entrance of the Board of Education offices mailed to Nutley Township Clerk sent to tap into Nutley sent to the nut son on January 4th 2024 and posted on the district website can everyone please stand for the flag salute Alle flag States roll call Mr balamo Mr baglia Mrs danek Martin Dr Jia Mr fraginals Mr kazinski Mrs Quirk here Mr Scotty here and Mr Ferraro here I get a motion for approval of the minutes second all in favor opposed any correspondence none okay Mr B the superintendent report please the presentations first oh yes you want to do that yeah we we have so many people here maybe presentations we're going to do the presentations now um would like to thank everybody for coming tonight we have a lot of students here a lot of faculty and staff here as well um students see a lot of high school students here as well as a lot of elementary students we have a bunch of awards to give out which we haven't done for a while and uh we need to catch up with that because our students do great things I'd like to bring up Mr Mike guerreri Mr J Janine loo to talk about the spelling be and announce the winners please [Laughter] good evening everybody um this winter our fourth through sixth grade students were invited to participate in the scripts National Spelling be as part as of our Upper Elementary word study program by inspiring the exploration of words the scripts National Spelling be illuminates Pathways to lifelong curiosity celebrates academic achievement and enriches communities we had here in Nutley over 90 students across uh our five elementary buildings participate in school level bees um those bees took place in mid-February um with the help of our gifted and talented teacher Miss Margo reeland the winner and runner up from each building were then invited to participate in the Essex County Regional spelling be in Newark on March 30th where I was honored to watch them compete against over 70 fellow School Champions across the county I feel very fortunate to officially honor our 10 nutly School Champions tonight you've made us very proud uh when I call you up please get your certificate and when you come up here please stand up here for a little bit until all the winners been called up for for a photograph from Lincoln School Jake priolo [Applause] from Lincoln School Colin or from Radcliff school oh come on up Colin col come right here buddy [Applause] from Radcliff School Luca alv from Radcliffe School although her mom emailed me I don't think she's here tonight Addison man from Spring Garden Blake [Applause] Timmons also from Spring Garden School Julian Maldonado [Applause] from Washington School akshar coutur from Washington School arav Patel [Music] from yanakos school Ayan [Applause] zagi and from yanar school Shivan hakani all right let's give one big round of applause to all of our Nutley school spelling be champions [Applause] another award we'd like to give out tonight is our seal of B literacy uh each year we honor students uh who show proficiency and fluency in multiple languages I'd like to bring up Janine loans solo to distribute those Awards thank you I'm pleased to be here tonight to recognize high school students whove achieved the distinct honor of meeting the qualifications for the Sealab by literacy this year the Sealab by literacy identifies 11th and 12th grade high school students who are able to demonstrate Proficiency in English in addition to one or more other world languages by achieving the Sealab by literacy students have demonstrated that they're able to speak read listen and write in two or more languages at a high level of proficiency specifically to meet the criteria for Sealab by literacy students must attain a score of at least intermediate which is a mid five or higher in both writing speaking and reading and listening on the stamp fors language proficiency assessment recipients of this distinction receive a seal of by literacy that will be affixed to their transcript and become part of their permanent record we're pleased to recognize students achieving this honor here tonight students when I call your name please come to the podium to be recognized and to re receive your certificate I'll start with 12th grade students Pablo [Applause] arlano Stephen atuar anana [Applause] Natalie Cava [Applause] Ganer Haley [Applause] Cho Elizabeth DeSantis Christian Estrella amahara Flores Valdez soam gas Swami Alex elaia Juliana Kitz Juliana was one of several students who actually achieved the honor in two languages both Spanish and Ukrainian [Applause] David Martinez Florence Audrey ravalo Diana Selenas [Applause] Riley [Applause] Sebastiano Natasha stremel Natasha also earns the honor in both Spanish and Portuguese Keenan [Applause] tat Maria [Applause] valkanova Natalie yanis okay next up I'll do 11th grade recipients Lizette abrio Andrea akam Kevin agilar Emily aronda [Applause] Kiera [Applause] Kenova Josiah [Applause] depaz Isabella damasi [Applause] Audrey danani Alexis [Applause] fontanilla Elizabeth Franco [Applause] Sophia Friska es haak Lena fuka Shri [Music] Cindy Gan bachari Katie guerro Katie also is being recognized for two languages Spanish and Italian Camila [Applause] Lova Isabella mataz [Applause] Sophia [Applause] Mesa Melanie ponton Jaylen Romero [Music] bana Romero Eileen sandana Melanie [Applause] Slattery and Melody is being recognized for achieving the honor in both Spanish and Italian Yen [Applause] Soo Gabriel Zuni y probably the largest group of students we have here uh comes from winners of the History Fair each year uh Nutley uh alternates between the science fair in the History Fair as sponsored by our academic booster club I'd like to bring up uh Trisha McKenna to speak to the winners of the History Fair thank you for coming tonight hi I'm going to move this over here we've got a lot of winners uh history fair winners in the front here if any of you have come late and you're in the back you can come you can make your way forward we're going to start with kindergarten we had a five-way tie for third place in Kinder Garten so I if if you were in kindergarten and you won a trophy come on and stand up and start making your way to the front and I'm going to announce your names one by one we have udanta kabi who did a project about Christopher Columbus we have pra panati who did a project on the American flag Myra poaba who did a project on Mahatma Gandhi sha who did a project on Dr Seuss and prab Singh who did a project on something I'm G to try to pronounce the parasaur parasaur alfus which I looked up it's a duck build dinosaur okay those are our third place winners if you guys could stay right here trusty Lisa danek Martin's one of our U uh main volunteers she uh wrangled all the judging for the his fair and uh thank you she's handing out the trophies I should have said that before uh Second Place could not be here his name is an sha he did a project on the history of Lego we will give him his trophy later and first place went to Maya Canen for her project on Martin Luther King Jr here's Maya does everybody have their trophy who we missing Pisha Kaba prab are you prab okay can we just take a quick picture of the kindergarteners and then first grade get ready you're up next first grade if you want a prize come on down and Maya has to get to another class so we got to move this right Maya you have another class yeah she's busy thank you guys so much first grade here we go first grade in third place another project about Martin Luther King Jr and that one was by ree burnt second place we had a team of siblings mert yal and mise yal and their project was about Al Bert Einstein and in first place in first grade went to Aiden Patron who did a project about the [Applause] Muppets you can do history of anything it's they all did such amazing work second grade get ready are we good oh we're getting another picture you ready second [Music] grade all right good job first grade second grade here we go in third place for second grade Rada Kon with a pro a project called telescopes second place went to Zoe Brown who did a project on the Titanic and first place went to Arya Jan who did a project about the Taj Mahal all right second grade good job third grade you know the drill you're Pros by now third grade third place Rhea Jane did a project about kalpana Chala who was an astronaut second place to went to Jenna McCary who did a thing about cereal the history of cereal and first place is a team of Juliana Marino and Audrey null who did a project that's a total Vibe 65 years of Barbie [Applause] good job third grade all right thank you third graders you're the best fourth grade you know the drill in third place in fourth grade we had NY Patel who did a project about the California Gold Rush did I say fourth grade or third grade this is fourth grade right uh second okay so the second place we actually had a tie in second place so we had a team one of the tying uh projects was a team of jacqulyn Byer and Olivia Carlson who did the Underground Railroad and I don't know if Alex is here but the other second grade second place went to Alex dud who did the history of roller coasters Alex is here Alex is here and first place in fourth grade went to nunzio provenzano who did a project about Bonito musolini all right there's our fourth graders fifth grades next then sixth and then we'll be done okay fifth grade you're up third place went to Kon Soho who did a project called one-of aind Sports second place went to Ria vishnoi for a project called McDonald's a story of success and first place went to Shivan hakani uh who did a project called the Great Depression I think Shivan also got a spelling be right yeah one more grade one more grade fifth grade excellent job thank you so much all right I don't know if they're all here I know that our third place winning team is here and they are wearing um themed outfits tonight it's a team of Alex Cruz and Rodrigo Montoya who did a project called chess second place went to chish parasher who did history of AI chrish you made it excellent that's also a Vibe of the moment and last but not least our first uh first place in sixth grade went to a team of three people I'm not sure if they're here Isabella fraginals Analisa melson and Emma melson and their project was oh here they are their project was called Elizabeth Blackwell the first female doctor so we've got everything here from telescopes to chess to sports to The Muppets amazing projects that everyone did sixth grade you're the best congratulations thanks to everyone uh who supported this this endeavor uh superintendent B the high uh principal Williams of the high school all the members of the Board of Ed many of whom were judges Lisa who is a huge part of this and uh that's and all the parents who participated and uh all the community members who support us thank you so much [Applause] congratulations to all the students we're going to uh just transition back up to the board meeting if anyone wants to go any students um welcome to do so [Music] [Music] just e [Music] okay thank you everyone we're going to move on to our superintendent report good evening members of the board faculty staff parents and community members thank you all for being here tonight I want to begin by acknowledging the concerns that are brought many to of you to this meeting the topic of non-renewal due to economic reasons and the associated loss of staff is deeply significant and understandably distressing for our entire School Community this reduction in force is part of a broader strategy to stabilize our our financial situation and position our district for long-term success we will continue to seek additional funding sources and Implement cost-saving measures to avoid future reductions I have been in this district for 25 years most of that time as a teacher and Department coordinator during that time I have worked next to learned from and with amazing Educators as well as made many connections with the students that make me remember why I entered this field as an educator the emotions surrounding our current situation are overwhelming and I understand the anger and betrayal that many of you are feeling it pains me to see the district that I have spent an entire career in take a step back and that my recommendation affects the very people and positions that Propel this District forward the unfortunate reduction and reorganization is necessary to balance our budget and these difficult decisions that I need to make will keep a fair majority of our programs and services intact for our students when we began the budget creation and then the adoption of the preliminary budget we had to consider both combining positions and reducing positions while always having the goal of minimizing student impact and meeting the district's budget needs it is not ideal nor in the best interest of the schools but it is necessary the criteria for selecting positions for reductions was based on program necessity we were thoughtful in these challenging decisions and worked tirelessly to ensure that no tenur staff member lost a job over the past several weeks School administrators and Human Resources collaborated by analyzing compliance with policies and statutes while assessing the impact on our educational programs there were reductions in shifting roles from the central office through the district we understand that by reducing some of our non-tenured staff members we are removing some of our new and promising staff members I am the superintendent as superintendent is my job with feedback from the administrative team and the educational Community to make Staffing decisions it is my job to recommend the appointment assignment transfer and dismissal of all Personnel to the Board of Education based on the resources that are available to us I want to express my heartfelt empathy for everyone affected by these changes our teachers support staff and administrators are the backbone of our educational system and any reduction in force is a loss that is felt profoundly throughout our schools we're not just losing employees we're saying goodbye to Value colleagues mentors and friends please know that as the district moves forward and when the sustainable opportunity exists to bring these reduced positions and the staff affected back I will recommend to do so I recognize that the impact of these reductions extends beyond the individuals they directly affect class size may increase the overall School environment will inevitably change while much has been done and will continue to be done so that our students and staff do not feel the effects there will no doubt be some degree of change throughout the schools and the district these decisions are made with a heavy heart understanding the profound impact on our valued staff members and their families our commitment remains to our students our staff and the community thank you this is L [Music] skolo just have a few District Updates this week njsla testing is winding down here in District students have been hard at work and we're very proud of their efforts that they've shown as the weather turns warmer our spring events are in full sued throughout the district this morning high school students participated in the annual Wellness day and I want to thank miss girkin our director of School counseling for coordinating this event again this year later this week on Wednesday elementary students will compete in the annual Junior Olympics afterwards those students who generously volunteered their time as safety patrol members will stay for a picnic on the oval we're also wrapping up this year's partnership with the Nutley Police Department and celebrating completing this year's lead program the annual lead picnic will be June 3rd for our sixth grade students looking towards Summer programming invitations for summer strategies and tutoring will be sent out later this week to parents of students who meet specific academic criteria we encourage parents to consider taking advantage of this opportunity for students who are selected to participate additionally again this year the academic booster club will be running let's learn and I am hearing that registration is filling up quickly so if you're interested please do that as soon as possible thank you thank you we now come to that portion of our meeting where we allow members of the public to address the board in this section we allow comments on reports resolutions and all School related matters our board regulations number 0167 all lot 20 minutes for these communications each person shall be limited to three minutes and we ask that you try to stay within this requirement speakers May speak more than once only after all others wishing to speak on a topic have been heard all statements will be directed to me as a chairperson and no one may address board members individually please be reminded that if your statement is too lengthy abusive obscene irrelevant or redundant your participation may be terminated comments concerning District employees and or students will not be responded to please remember to state your name and address each and every time you address the board for questions where the board may not have immediate answers the board will take information and respond to at an appropriate time does anyone have any comments and tonight we will be adhering to the three minute uh per person rule uh as well as the 20 minutes for the public comment portion Riley Sebastiano 443 Prospect Street when Mr B presented the preliminary Budget on May 7th he said the following all resources necessary for security and preschool remain unchanged we will maintain our security footprint throughout the entire District having the same amount of Personnel in each building as we've seen this year that will remain unchanged they bring a necessary peace to our educational community at the May 16th meeting Mr B confirmed the security plan changed with the security Personnel being reduced by one because this impacted a person the community found out about the change so now I wanted to check if a couple other things have changed as well during the May 7th preliminary budget presentation Mr B said we will maintain all of our Sports programs and levels reducing coaches where the number doesn't add up to the amount of coaches is this still true based on the budget submitted to the state and specifically have freshman girls volleyball freshman boys basketball and freshman baseball been funded for the 2024 2025 school year yes this is still true okay thank you for confirming and and during the May 7th preliminary budget presentation Mr B said all 22 AP classes and all 32 dual program classes with Ruckers calwell University and seaten Hall University we will continue these programs are all of these classes still funded and are they in the curriculum for the 2024 2025 school year and if not which classes specifically have been dropped yes this is still true okay thank you for confirming [Applause] hello I am sah deao a junior in nelli high school I come here today to exercise my right to voice my opinion about the issues going on in the town I call home it has been brought to the town's attention that our education system has uncovered a staggering deficit of $7 million this financial shortfall has led to decisions we cannot ignore electives which are essential for a well-rounded education and for discovering our passions and strengths are being cut these courses offer us more than just academic content they provide a creative Outlet and a chance to explore new interests in addition some of our most inspiring teachers and effective teachers who have dedicated their lives not only teaching us the curriculum but also coaching us or being let go as well these coaches are not only teachers at our schools but are natives of our town and graduates of Nutley high school They too had a dream of working for this town and making our school environment a better place the loss of these educator is Educators is a blow to our Learning Community diminishing the support and guidance that is crucial to Our Success nonetheless we are already have a teacher shortage the CL the increas in class size is another major concern larger classes mean less individual attention less interaction and a decline in quality of teaching we receive every student deserves a chance to be heard and understood in the classroom and this move makes it significantly harder for that to happen furthermore our Ed our extracurricular activities are suffering as well for example essential equipment for the track and field team cannot be purchased due to lack of funds these activities are not just Hobbies they are vital parts of our high school experience teaching us teamwork discipline and Leadership it is also disheartening to see that despite the these CS our community continues to Bear one of the highest tax burdens in the state as our families contributing to these taxes feel that our investment should be reflected in our education services and Facilities which clearly it does not apart from the auditorium which was only redone because the ceiling caved in the high school looks the same from the time my mother attended in the 1980s my parents collectively pay over $50,000 in taxes for a system that disregards the community so much so that a certain member of District administration was hired with a history of quote unquote misplacing money and resigning when caught not once but twice twice for many years for many years we've been asking the question where does our money go and still none of you can answer that question accurately which is the main reason why we are here [Applause] today the District of administration of Nutley has failed its students as you put your head on your pillow to go to sleep tonight I urge you to think about the long-term effects of your decisions we are not just protecting budgets we are shaping the future for every student here we ask for transparency and Creative Solutions to ensure that despite Financial constraints the quality of education and student life are protected you all sat here at previous previous board met meetings and told the community there would be no cuts to educational programs staff or extracurricular activities your words would that were there that there would be minimal impact on students you lied we expect not to be misled when we are informed that this won't impact the students because it as instead of punishing those who are responsible we are punishing those who are innocent along with facil faculty and children to all the board members sitting in front of me today in good conscience do you feel you deserve your job do you feel your I'm sorry and if you are not paid for this position what keeps you from stepping down instead of taking from the system the voters of nutly elected the members of Board of Education to ensure that our students and dollars would be protected what's going on here is the exact opposite of that the circumstances leading to this budget shortfall are Beyond reprehensible you should all be held accountable our mental on mental health awareness day I found out the counselor who guided me through the toughest challenges of my sophomore year is being let go it is one thing to overlook the budget and make ends meet it's another disregard mental health in students that is truly disgusting and you should all be [Applause] ashamed we the students of nle high school ask you to reconsider the decisions you've made and allow us the same outstanding educational opportunities that n has offered in the past we are young adults we know what's going on and we will never be silenced thank you okay our superintendent our superintendent is going to respond to some of your uh thank you so much for your comments it's an emotional and I understand um I I do I did write some things down I just want to comment on some of the things um you mention the electives right now all the electives are running uh as they would except for the typical ones that don't run during low run year to year we're still on the rotating drop schedule for next year we're not losing those things you mentioned class average our class average uh outside of fette is is at 25 in all the Departments uh so I do think it's going to go up a little bit but it's well within um what we can handle as a school district extracurriculars have not been cut you'll see all the clubs and we we talked about the sports teams I think the previous person um uh I'm sorry you did mention uh the track I think track and field uh that's in the budget for next year so that that'll be that'll be replaced um and you mentioned the mental health mental health is not being um that position is still in District we didn't lose that position we're still using Ruckers University uh mental health that's in the budget to bring it I have never once uh experienced the Rucker mental health people coming in that's for crisis things only sack so you're telling me that only when I have a crisis I can get help not when I just need regular help I'm telling you that sack is in the budget for all all this well you're cutting her position so how is that in the budget I'm not cutting her position so someone's ref replacing her yes okay thank you thank you [Applause] hello my name is Anna green and I'm a senior at Nelly High School in the previous meeting held on Thursday May 16th we were told there is no evidence proving the money was stolen that being said where did the money go do and do have an explanation as to why a very large amount of money that you were responsible for is missing if multiple members were involved with the finance committee and were responsible for this money how did no one realize that this much money was missing until this point this was a mistake that was made by you as the Board of Education and members of central office who have been elected by the nut residents the people who not only represent the town as a whole but also should be advocating for the students since the board members who are supposed to be representing us are more concerned about the easiest way to deal with the budget is the budget issues we're here and we're advocating for ourselves the mistakes you made and the actions that were not taken as carefully as they should have been have led to the direct impact especially on students teachers security and others who have not been renewed for the upcoming year something as significant as this issue should have allowed for The public's opinion especially for the students going through the nly educ educational system as they have lost teachers they thought they could count on one specifically being a teacher who was not actually my teacher throughout my four years attending nle high school but has always been a teacher that I could trust and count on to get me through my years in nle I'm lucky to have I'm lucky enough to have been able to say he was my coach for flag football my sophomore year and has ever since been one of the few teachers I look forward to seeing during my time at school without teachers such as him I would not be where I am today and I would not be the person I am today pursuing education has always been a passion of mine and I will be attending college with this career path hoping to build relationships with my future students that my teachers from kindergarten to now have built with me what kind of message is this sending to me a future educator someone who wants to dedicate their life to kids my teachers have inspired me to want to become like them whereas many people have been opposed to my career pep Choice situations such as these are disheartening and such a let down should I be second guessing what I would like to do for the rest of my life if this is the treatment I could get in my future where my future could be so unpredictable where my whole career and passion could be taken away so quick because of someone's mistake someone who is trusted and elected to play such a big role in the educational system the teachers being laid off due to the mistakes of Nutley board Ed of Education are unfair and it's embarrassing to watch happen as said on the nutly public school website they are volunteers who dedicate their free time to the students of the nutly public schools by serving on the board how can you the board say you dedicate your time to us without giving us the students of voice and an opportunity to advocate for education our future and our mental health I spoke at the meeting on Thursday May 16th again I understand that cuts had to be made due to the money that wasn't stolen but is somehow missing but how can you justify cutting the teachers that are necessary to the students mental health and education the students that are able to make the difference for the better in our lives when the board members not only have caused these problems but I'm sure have faced no repercussions thank sorry about that thank you so much um again thank you for your time no I I'd like to answer because you deserve an answer um and I'll speak for the board I the money um that were that is missing was due to years of Revenue and expenditure budgeting errors well before I got into this seat it it's been happening it appears there there's no indication right now that money was stolen um I do want to say um that all the teachers um that are being downsized I it's not something we want to do it's not something I want to do I'm sorry about the like to cut you off but how was not how was the money not being closely monitored right like how did it allow for it to get to this point yeah no um I I've seen um certain uh errors in process procedures certain controls uh certain things that nature that were in the process of fixing right now and it's my understanding that there was not only one person on this committee there was multiple right right so how did no one catch this you guys you want to speak so there is there is no money missing there's no money there's no um if there's no money missing then why are we laying off teachers why are taxes being raised so the money the money has been the there's been there's been budgeting errors so we know where all the money is okay correct there is basically there's a lot more expenses than where we're budgeted okay so we we know where all the money is yes we know where it went it's going to the program it's going to the salaries it's going to all of the things that are occurring this this this year but how did we allow to overspend because this not only impacts the town as a whole but this impacts the students especially at the high school because this is where we're starting our futures and we can't start our futures if we don't have the resources necessary to so I will tell you a lot of thank you a lot of thought and consideration has been put in to making sure that the class is still run the sports the clubs the mental health is still there um that you have the resources um and with some change because things are going to change slightly um class size you will have the same experience at high school moving forward I will tell you that uh we do have to downsize some teachers and that is not a choice that I want to make that's a choice I have to make to balance the budget at this point I understand thank you for your time we'll make it quick uh Ed trigs trigs family 142 Ruckers uh three kids another one on the way we love this town we brought our kids here today for two reasons one because you have to stand up for what you believe in and two to teach them that actions have consequences so two questions for everybody up here first question is 5.6% tax rate when you guys do the budget next year what does that look like is that going to go down we're going to get that a little bit lower so each year when the budget is created there is a a man a 2% cap uh in certain years you are permitted to go above the cap for different waivers uh this was a budget that was repaired this year in consultation with the county business administrator and the county superintendent and there were waivers above the 2% that were recommended that we uh apply into this year's budget right so so not only are we affecting the schools AR you children but now we're also affecting our wallets correct second question is this here you go babe um I think it's incredible for all the high school students who have came out to speak last week and tonight and they deserve answers to all of their questions but my husband and I feel that our role here is to speak up for all the parents of young kids in this town who are absolutely terrified about what the next 5 10 15 years of education is going to look like for their family you are not just mess Ming around with money you are messing around with the innocence of our children's [Applause] future so what I would like to ask you to do as a taxpaying citizen in this town and you as grown adults to look my children in the eyes and tell them how you're going to protect them and their future if we decide to stay in this town [Applause] [Music] so we we have a responsibility to our children and to our community and we take that responsibility seriously and you have two beautiful children so I have to say that um and so but what but what you're doing is taking everything away from them that's what you're doing but so next year's next year's next year's budget is going to keep intact and and I'll let the superintendent talk about but it's it's keeping intact a lot of the same programs that are in effect today so there's no programs that are going to be taking away from our children well you're going to force a lot of people good people out of this town who can't afford to live here because we're paying for your mistake thank you for your time thank you uh Joe Crona 550 Center Street um so good evening my name is Joe Crona I teach friends ex science and special ed at nley high school and co-advised National Honor Society in the class of 2026 um I'm here to discuss the recent reductions made to our science department specifically regarding our invaluable coordinator Mrs Jenna Rino whose unique skills and qualifications have contributed significantly to our Student Success um the coordinators received Rift notices for those unaware but we're notified that they would return to their positions over the summer unfortunately Miss Rabino was informed that she would not return to her administrative role but instead return to the classroom along with the significant salary reduction uh the science department will now be combined with the technology department and the current technology coordinator with no science experience will be responsible for supervising the science faculty and learning each of the 21 High School science course curricula and the Middle School integrated curricula Mr B as you're aware the job of the science coordinator takes a lot of work uh the person responsible deals with everything from all K12 science programming and faculty at OSHA maintaining lab equipment chemical management gas line management qac who visited today the AP science program and the sought-after Ruckers Allied Health program the Ruckers program notably requires so much additional administrative and logistical support that without an administrator to coordinate grades with the university collect checks register students for exams it will have collateral damage on the careers of many of our students who want to go into medical or Allied health careers um I'd also like to point out that many of this year graduating class are pursuing stem and Allied career uh Allied health careers including our valedictorian who um I had the honor and and privilege of nominating for a stem Camp back in seventh grade and who has taken full advantage of the Ruckers um and rigorous science uh curriculum in our district um I know I'm watching the time but um I just want to say because of Miss Rino's continued support and supervision we have provided our students with quality science instruction reflected in state assessment data specifically for grade 11 we saw a 10% improvement from 25% to 35% proficiency from Spring 2022 to Spring 23 and for grade 8 we saw a 2% Improvement rate in proficiency from 21 to 23% we continue across grade levels and that's all due to the tiess efforts of our coordinator who has worked hard to implement programs like Mystery Science and grades K to6 ISL quizzes and gizmos among others uh most recently the science department received a $30,000 Federal grant that will expose students to interdisplinary climate change standards through a unit plan and Hands-On communitybased project addressing townwide climate change concerns uh Miss Rino was notified on Thursday May 16th that the grant was approved just two days after her birthday which is when she received her riff notice due to budget cuts even more settling is the letter specified that our department would be entitled to more grant money um how are we supposed to effectively Implement such State funding without I'll get there I over budget in my time it seems to be theme [Applause] um Miss Rino and I first taught together at John H Walker Middle School and I've always considered her a dear friend colleague and Mentor many must understand that coordinators and supervisors are not just evaluators of lessons and sgos they are confidants therapists and Advocates raising class sizes and eliminating a coordinator means that more teachers like myself will feel even more overwhelmed than we already think along with continuing to feel disposable in what were once our Dream [Applause] careers while I'm sure that you've all made up your mind about things and this most likely will not do anything I ask that you consider this listen to the stories that came before you tonight and to those that came before you on Thursday many of these are some of my current or former students and those that I've had the pleasure of working with um we must remember that all these changes directly impact their education all of us adults in the room and all of you sitting on the board have received your high school diploma these kids have not yet they are brave enough to come to the podium tonight and advocate for themselves their classmates and their teachers their bravery directly reflects the excellent quality of education and guidance they have received from the faculty and staff in the Nutley Public School District many of whom are silently fighting for their jobs at as we speak thank you Mr gber can I can I respond first Joe you can stay there that's fine Joe you don't have to come back Joe I just want to thank you I many your your points I couldn't agree more I I think uh not to talk uh Personnel because I can't but no no you're fine um this one especially for me um I I value this position I value the Ruckers health program because I help bring it here with Miss pal um it's a very challenging uh decision for me to make understanding that um our coordinators our supervisors are the driving force of this District in many ways um that impact so many programs so many teachers um and tough decisions had to be made uh in order to cut $6.5 million do and not affect programs this was one one of the toughest ones um I want to say um and I know that uh in my role in central office which we reduced we we did things as well we're going to be picking on a lot picking up a lot and uh some of that will be supporting the people in these roles and uh strategizing different ways to move the budget so these valued positions can come back to nutly Public Schools thank you is um I'm sorry Mr Wy but some of the um students here that were up at the did did you need did you guys want to come up and speak okay appreciate you Steve gberie 65 map have um I do have a couple of questions so I received communication today from your attorney stating that you can't find any rfps pertaining to the Health Care contract and basically through like legal wording I guess because rfps and bids are different there's no obligation to have to except the lowest bid right but um do the board members uh ever recall um maybe presentations that were given to them from numerous healthc care providers in the past Mr Gober I I can speak about the insurance but I want to make sure you get your questions out first um so let me just answer shortly yes we receive present okay so does um could you uh Mr Ferrero could you ask uh Mr B if he has notes in the Ed repository showing the board's inquiry from September 23rd October 23rd and November 23rd staul did I ask Mr B if he had notes I did not can you ask him if he has notes I can ask him he's right there in truthfulness I I I don't know um if I don't know what's in Ed I don't have notes on a Str Poll for healthcare okay um do you do you actually recall at any time um if there was a proposal in front of this board that would have saved a considerable amount of money for the township so M Mr G I I want to respond to your questions so in September 2020 3 the board was alerted by the business office for two consecutive months we're self-insured so we've been self-insured for about four years um our current provider is Acure iMac formerly uh and we were notified that we received two of our highest single claims months extraordinary claim bills in consecutive months to start this fiscal year it was recommended by the board uh by the business office that the Board of Trustees meet with other insurance providers which we did uh for Purp purposes of determining if there were gaps in our service offering uh from our current adviser and at the end of this process we determined that the health care was not the root of our budgetary process uh the proposals that were or recommendations that we received from three consecutive insurance providers all from a cost perspective and what they would charge us were the same these are advisors we are currently under contract as of July 1st through June 30th with Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield that contract canot be broken was there an issue with Blue Cross Blue Shield in regards to reimbursements uh Blue Cross Blue Shield has agreed to reimburse us for a period of our expenses it was one of the improvements we got from our plan so how long did we go without those reimbursements before we question we were the first group in the state to get reimbursement I I know what you're asking about I also know because there was like a there was like a flow coming in of reimbursements and they stopped for like a gap right like a several year Gap they not stop we we are receiving per a new negotiation through our advisor reimbursements for prescriptions which is going directly to our to lower our cost for healthcare okay so um just one more thing I know legally um you're not obligated to take a lower RFP um but maybe morally and ethically slightly obligated to do what's best for us there was no lower RFP there was no lower bid no lower bid no okay there was so so if we were able to bring a bid or if I if if anybody was to come forward with a bid uh that was lower or like a lower RFP for the town or a lower option and cost for the town it was a considerable difference is that something that was he actionable by Miss mackus or would she look into that miss mackus is uh obviously here and she is going to uh make all decisions as as with regard to finance so my last question actually involves Miss Mack I just want to answer one question here sure so our healthc care Brokers our Healthcare broker okay their function is to go out and shop the health care the prescription the dental plans all of the different plans that is their function and do you know if they personally iMac receive a reimbursement from choosing Blue Cross Blue Shield excuse me do does iMac get a reimbursement from Blue Cross for selecting them I I would not know that I have no no no information with regard to that okay that's thank you Mr gber your time is your time is just one thing for miss mackus right because I do feel like it's few people ran over I'm asking for I'm asking you for 30 seconds here Mr Ferraro 30 seconds I know but we have million don't get me 30 seconds yeah well you right so we we just have a question for Miss for you for Miss mackus I mean Miss mackus um while you were the interm ba for Bergen County School District was Joe Zara the interm superintendent for Bergen County School District is this interm superint uh superintendent the boss of the interm business administrator and according to Bergen County's Municipal directory for 2018 2019 you shared an office with Mr Zar is that correct the interim executive County Superintendent I was the executive County Business official appointed by the state okay if you're asking me my understanding is there's a lot of rumors out there I'm just asking if there's any conflict that there is no it seems like everybody kind of knows each other why why would Mr I have no clue well Mr Zar is a former bo uh superintendent here right you sp you seem to have you seem to have spent time with them it's just it's just I I I have I have no relationship with Mr Zara except that I worked in the office next to him I did not know he was a superintendent in Nutley and I so is that a conflict of interest Mr thank you no your time is up thank you and I have not spoken to Mr Zara in probably 15 to 20 years okay thank you thank you Emma aosta 21 race stre I'm a sophomore at n Le High School I play soccer and I'm also a wrestling manager unfortunately my soccer season was cut short this past fall due to a severe injury I broke my tab and my fibula and required surgery that required me to get a metal rod in through screws this injury kept me out of school for nearly a month and has been a significant challenge in my life during my recovery I had to relearn many daily activities which is both physically and mentally draining for me this year has undoubtedly been one of the most difficult times for me thankfully I found my support through the school's mental health counselor one of the wrestling coaches who's also history teacher at o High School their guidance support were crucial to helping me navigate through the tough times I for faced given this I'm confused how how you cannot have a mental health counselor position at our school this this professional has a degree in Psychology and has been a big part in supporting students mental health well-being including my own mental health is a crucial aspect in a student life especially during challenging periods such as injury and recovery and personal hardships additionally I want to highlight the incredible dedication of our history teacher who also coaches football wrestling and FL football I have spent countless hours with him and I've seen firsthand his positive impact on students he's an exemplary figure who consistently goes above and beyond to support us both academically and athletically removing the mental health counselor contradicts the claim that all actions are in the best interest of students mental health support is an essential for our success and well-being I Ur you to reconsider this position because it's an Irreplaceable role for mental health thank you so much for for coming and sharing that um yeah um so the the mental health reference the position is not cut at our High School uh we will be filling that position so we'll be someone just like just like the person that we have today a professional to to help our students absolutely um the um the second part was due to uh your you're mentioning your history teacher um we had to make tough decisions and we had to reduce um staff in order to make a balanced budget it was very challenging and something that um I know I didn't want to do over the years several years we've been adding staff uh strategically around District um and we can't support that at this point so we have to strategically take staff back um and we're doing so in a way we're thinking about your programs keep keep electives going keeping the rotating drop going it's going to impact class size um but as mentioned the average class size outside of fette will be 25 so we're working through this it's not ideal if there's an opportunity to bring back the staff members that were place things happen all the time shifts happen in the budget shifts happen in Personnel we will do that as as we can I understand that but if us all students are saying that we enjoy these teachers and they actually like help us and want to come to school why are they getting caught yeah so so we have to work within our operating budget and and if you're asking why these teachers why certain teachers not others uh we used a process where we looked at um you know our policies and statutes as well as the collective bargaining agreement of the association uh we look through uh meetings for weeks analyzing class size with with the counseling the guidance department at the high school as well as working with each department and their team and human resource to identify where we can reduce what people teach what certificates people have and this is where we are in these decisions um I I know um it's very challenging I know you you connect to your teachers I understand that I was a biology teacher for 10 years in ell High School um I still have things on my wall my office that I I think are the most important things I possess from my students I understand that and I'm sorry but if given the opportunity we will we will move back okay thank you um Mr Man before some before the next student comes up obviously tonight we have a lot of students in the audience um and and we don't we're not going to have time for everybody to come up but I'd like to um make a suggestion that maybe we we uh put forward some type of a an assembly where we can have the the students that are here we did this a few few years ago uh when we had uh some other issues that that we were dealing with so maybe maybe we could have an assembly where where the Board of Education can somehow be present to answer questions um that the students may have some of the concerns they may have and we can do it uh you know in this setting here but we can do it where the students are here uh as the Board of Education here in in whichever form we're allowed to be sometimes we may not be able to be here as a nine-member board but we might be able to be here you know three or four members and we could address some of the questions and some of the concerns that our students may have that we're not going to be able to get to tonight I'd be more than happy to set that up maybe during the block lunch or something at the high school for students hi my name is Brianna Martins and I'm a senior here at Nutley high school during my time here I found my source of pure happiness through different sports programs here I played soccer my entire life and began playing flag football my sophomore year when it first became a club here during my time on both of these teams we became a family that continued to grow as the years went on I had the pleasure of having an amazing coaching staff for both Sports I participated in considering flag football is not yet sport here at Nutley High School our coaches were volunteering their time to coach us to the best players on the field as well as amazing people off the field one of my coaches in specific is also history teacher here at nly high school that is being let go next year due to the current events in our district this man is not only an amazing teacher that I unfortunately did not have the chance of having but he's an amazing coach as well as a great person I have confided in my coach a numerous of times because he truly cares about his students and athletes which seems to be a lot more than I can say for you all after many injuries through my flag football career he has wipes my tears and helped me to push through it all he has been able to understand me as an athlete and has been able to keep my head on straight when he see when he sees how frustrated I get he has made us as a team laugh in numerous of times when needed most He Has Lifted us up time and time again before after a tough game he has even went as far as having a different handshake with nearly every athlete he has coached so let go of someone who has made such a great impact on majority of the students currently in this high school would be a shame it truly breaks mine as well as many others Hearts this hearing this awful news of him being Leo because he definitely does not deserve this the impact he as a person coach and teacher has made on all of us should never go unnoticed if the Board of Education follows through with letting him go you should all know the huge mistake you are making letting go of such a great person who currently coaches three Sports one of which he's not being paid for as well as being the great teacher everyone Raves as well as being the great teacher everyone Raves about yet you're letting go of someone who is currently coaching others this is more than just letting go of a history teacher but letting go of a football coach wrestling coach and a blackag football coach who has stood by his stud students and to the of his ability what happens here next year will have no direct impact on me because I am a senior but I do have many friends and family that will be here next year and the years to continue and I believe that my hello I'm Russell vanderver a sophomore at Nutley high school so I kind of wanted to touch on what you guys were saying and what the two girls were saying before about that same uh coach and history teacher you said that no extracurriculars and no sort of changes main changes were going to be made to the school but I really beg to differ in the one day that I had from on Friday from Thursday after I attended this meeting I thought it would only be right to talk to my fellow students and see what they thought about this matter in that time I was able to amass a total of 316 signatures from my [Applause] I believe that each and every single one of these signatures is a person who has been emotionally touched by Mr Capo who is the coach and the history teacher that you are letting go of that I believe is unjust unjustified he is really really important I feel to the school and by letting him go you're doing a diservice to all the students and to the rest of the teachers who love to have him he's a teacher who truly relishes what he does and I just don't really think that it's right how this is playing out the teachers like Mr Capa are being punished for something that really isn't his mistake I don't really have a need for this so I'm gonna hand this uh you could hand that over to Mrs GRE [Music] exactly can I comment of course now just for the last two um spoke very well and thank you I I um I was a coach too I I get it coaches have the opportunity to be uh very significant one-on-one talk to talk to people I understand this is again not something um I would choose to do I mean I did choose but it's a necessity in this budget to reduce um across the board in our district and I thank you for speaking uh very well and uh we are listening to your comments thank you thank you [Applause] hi my name is praa I'm Ina School of fourth grader I've heard that our gifted and talented teacher Mrs reand has been laid off or fired can you please confirm if it's true or not yeah one of the one of the decisions we had to make in looking at our gifted and talented program the ability of one teacher to manage the entire district is not really uh servicing the entire distri District right now in the time where we have um the financial situ I'm sorry you're doing a great job thank you for coming up to the microphone and speaking uh we we have decided to use a different approach for gifted and talented while we reboot the the program and rethink about better ways to deliver the program um I know Mrs vand um is a very good gifted and talented teacher had a conversation with her and she knows that once we figure out how to uh go about uh putting this program out much better um she would have an opportunity there so basically the gift and talent you're looking for a replacement are you finding a way no we're looking for a different way to do it for next year just for next year okay um so uh the GT program it made me feel challenged it was fun and it was good so I hope you find another way to do the gifted and talented teacher and um and also I just wanted to say for all the teachers who are being laid off or fired um the the lack of money shouldn't affect the students education so thank you great job thank you thank you so much thank you [Applause] hello my name is Jacob testino and I'm a freshman at nley high school and I'm aware that this question was asked at the last Board of Ed meeting but you guys are not particularly give a straight answer so I think it needs to be clarified again either yes or no that's it I am well aware that lots of you are volunteers on this Board of Ed but I am aware that some of you get a significant salary so I would like to ask right here and now would all the people here on the board of ed who get the salary would all of you be willing to say yes to a pay cut right here and now CU I think when you lose $7 million I think you guys need to give up something too as a student I feel we all deserve that so thank you um just just so you're clear the Board of Education members do not get a salary okay I do um there are there are ad you know our administrative team here that that do get a salary and and that is contractual as well so it's not it's not uh that simple to just say you know uh agree for a pay cut so those are legal questions that have to be addressed with the attorney um that you know we can't answer at this point it's not really that hard sir uh like you said yeah I would say that as a leader of this District I recognize the importance of demonstrating solidarity and shared sacrifice during these times uh while details about my compensation typically handled with the board as mentioned uh I want to assure you that exploring options reduced costs will be will be taken excuse me though last time I checked you're the superintendent so and it's not really that hard for you to take a simple pay cut you could say yes right here and now and I believe you know that sir right thank thank you for your your feedback yeah thank you I would like to say thank you but overall I can see that this was useless so no thank you for your time thank you have a great night well I'm filling out Mark jacobson5 Margaret Avenue so first of all I want to just say I'm a proud notle High School graduated at class of 2000 I'm very proud of all these young people who stood up here tonight I would like to just give and a proud parent of hopefully three future graduates of Mell high school as well but my kids are a little bit younger and they do not have a voice to stand up here tonight so I will be their voice so um two my two of my daughters go to Lincoln School and we were recently informed that our library media specialist received a reduction in force notification last week um this dis individual teacher is a very gifted educator she's a member of Lincoln School family a member of Lincoln School family who is very well respected by her parents students and staff she's was instrumental in creating the new redesign of Lincoln School library when transforming into a modern space a district can be proud of and then I know many of you guys from central office were there when we get went ahead and opened that spot she's also also a member of this community like like many of our other Educators here are members of this community her family is very involved in Youth Sports I'm always amazed that whenever my children run into her at a sporting sporting event they immedately say hi to her and she goes ahead and says hi mix the time for them outside the classroom and that does does not go go on notice as a father my both my children both my girls my older children are very gifted readers and it's due to also the effects of her classroom by their classroom teachers as well as the gifted library media specialist that they have such a love for reading and their gifted readers so it is a shame that she is being let go um I would like to also just say a question followup for that is at the last meeting Mr bana mentioned that there would be no change to library media at the elementary school level so just a simple math problem there's elementary schools you're getting rid of a library media specialist how is that going to work and how is there going to be no change for my [Applause] daughters uh thank you so much I would agree with you on your comments on the staff um that was the uh had to do with uh seniority in this case and I would say that um by splitting schools is the direct answer to you we've done that in the past we've used um Librarians to cover two of our smaller buildings and we'll have to reallocate resources to do that at this time so my girls so my daughter who's in first grade has it twice a week once for once for computers once for there will be no change in your daughter's schedule so they will have they will have the same library media yes that schedule during the week yes and I just want to follow up on the very wonderful fourth grade student who who spoke before me which it's a hard uh hard stage to follow um but um she said she was touched by the gifted talented program my daughter who who is entering fourth grade is going to be now eligible for the gifted talented program and so as one of your insurance and it said it sounds like there is that the gifted and talented program is going to go ahead and continue next year but just in way yeah we're gonna have to do the gift and talent different way the gift and talented program needs an assessment and um it's it's not to the fault of our wonderful staff member but it's one person servicing five schools and every grade level uh we really need to put some strategy into uh using resources better to support that program and that teacher when it when when we do rethink this uh so we're gonna have to review that program and we are going to have to address it a different way for next year and then build back a better gift and talented program for our district well I certainly hope it is a better better program and I know my time is up so I'm going to be respectful of that I had a lot more questions but there's future board meetings and there's a lot more kids who want to speak tonight so I want to go ahead and hear from the students in town that I'm very proud of thank you we're gonna take we're gonna take a few more we're gonna take a few more questions and then we're gonna end the the the comment period uh we've already gone over the time allotted for it so we're going to take a few more questions and then we're going to end this comment period uh Tyler Von Roth 32 Colonial Terrace I'm a Junior nle High School uh first of all I think you know as was said at the last meeting uh on Thursday everyone came out here because they had things to say you guys are here to to respond to it so I really do think that you know these special circumstances circum should allow for even more extension than we've had I think everyone should be heard and and and that's it thank you but we we've had we've had many many meetings and we are going to plan a meeting where we're actually going to come to the high school and we're gonna actually meet with the students and and we'll we'll we'll answer questions we'll discuss concerns when would that be uh as soon as Mr B can make that happen do you have a window yeah I'd like to do this week uh possible this idea just came out now and I'll work tomorrow morning to set something up what what day this week I I off top of my head I don't know but I I'll assure you the first thing I'll do tomorrow is set this up we and then look we could make it it doesn't have to be one meeting we could make it several meetings over the course of of of a week or two so we we are committed to doing that uh to my uh actual comments as you know many people have expressed many students mostly uh is that you know the termination of teachers is is having a major blow on both uh how we you know how the the culture of Nutley High School in the future as well as uh you know for the rest of our years um and Mr B has very strongly agreed that this is not what he or the board wants to do uh firing teachers which is why I think as was stated on Thursday by many people I think that more Creative Solutions are are there or or that we should I feel like the board is taking the easy way out and raising taxes and firing teachers it's the simplest way to go uh which is [Applause] why I uh I wanted to inquire into the uh possibility of of utilizing the uh you know the empty lot that was chicolini um the lot next to the middle school that was meant to act as an extension if the referendum had passed which after two votes if I'm correct it didn't um as well as uh what is now or what was Pags which is now I don't know who owns that but which is now also empty uh the viability of advertising that and or selling it off to uh commercial investors for you know businesses to enter into the town so so and and just so be clear the board of education does not own the chicolini lot who does uh that's owned by the township of Nutley and the Board of Education represents Nutley Public School District so yes it's a Nutley Public School District not the nutly Board of Commissioners so then I think because we live in one town and and again many nutly residents know we're a very tight Community I think that there should be a little bit of cohesion between our Board of Commissioners and our Board of Education I understand and just just so you're also aware uh Pags is not is not as as far as my knowledge owned by the township of Nutley or the town or the board of education then then in this case uh how might the town utilize chinis uh and the lot next to the Middle School to you know alleviate the the effects of the deficit those will be discussions we can have with the Board of Commissioners when would those discussions be had because I feel like they should have been had already thank you thank you for your comments you didn't answer my question I I did answer your question when no when would these discussions be had ju if I could just answer your question directly so the the property uh associated with chicolini is actually been in discussions to be bought by a developer that property along with several other properties on Franklin Avenue will be red veloped in low likelihood and they will bring considerable more tax revenue to the town than currently that property does so it's actually slated to do what you what you're asking it to be done it's G be done with by under the guidance of the Commissioners and that's where in my opinion a lot of you know obviously it's a you know there's a lot of facilities in nutly that need to be funded but I think that to for short-term uh alleviation of the damage of the deficit that a good portion of that that money should be put towards our schools and towards closing that deficit as opposed to raising taxes and firing teachers which does nothing but harm the individuals in this town which could be to oh thank you for those comments thank you thank for your time thank you hi Jennifer vonroth 32 Colonial terrorist I'm sorry there was there was a gentleman there was that were you no okay he was sitting there I wanted to make sure cuz he was sitting there okay I know so have you made an appeal to the town yet to help the situation have you gone to them yet it's gone is well I mean we've already gone to the state for assistance that's that's no I'm talking about reallocating of the revenue that comes into this town I understand that each percentage of taxes go to all the different departments but clearly one department is significant significantly deficient in that area so have you gone to we're not we're not a department of the township of Board of Commissioners it's not a department of that okay so a portion of our taxes go towards the education tax correct a portion of the tax levy yes yes okay so because that's deficient have you gone to the town to appeal for Aid and assistance to help rectify the situation that we're currently facing we've had discussions with the town there is no funds that are available to help us with this deficit okay but you just said that you've spoken to the town about these potential properties are you following up on that are you coming up with any ideas as Tyler said outside of firing teachers and raising the the levy what when did when did we say that we're following up with the town on the properties we said that the properties are not our properties they're not those properties are not Township Board of Education properties who owns the to who owns those properties those properties the chicolini property is owned by the township of Nutley Board of Commissioners okay and have you gone to the Board of Commissioners with an appeal to help with the current situation if they could reallocate some of the revenue that the town is taking in to help it get you guys and the rest of us out of the situation that we're in I can't speak for their finances but their finances the re I'm asking if you have gone to those strengths and to go to the town to seek additional assistance from them it's the same ta it's the same tax uh you know uh Levy it's the same tax lby but you're not answering my question have you gone to the town to ask them for their help we've gone to the town and we've discussed the fact that we're in a deficit there there there is there as far as my understanding there is no additional funds that would be able to come our way with regard to the township of Nutley to the Board of Education you asked that have you asked it yes and what was their answer no we can't help you have you asked them anything beyond the tax levy or is that the only thing you went to them for there is no additional funds that would be able to assist us which is why we went to the we had no choice but to go to the Department of Education I'm pretty sure there's other choices thank you okay okay that's it that was the last question I'm sorry um can I get a motion to adjourn the public comment portion you guys should all retire thank you can I get a motion please that's [Music] real we we've already allocated more time than the 20 minutes that we're allocated okay so if there's a motion to close the public comment portion we have a motion anyone second is there a second please a second okay Mr bamo I'm taking roll to close the public comment to to close the public comment this to close the public comment Mr balamo Mr Baga Mrs Dan Martin Dr Julia no Mr fragels Mr kazinski Mrs quirk Mr Scotty no Mr Ferraro what's the um what's the RO what's the roll call Mr balamo yes Mr baglia no Mrs danek Martin yes Dr deia No Mr fraginals no Mr kazinski yes Mrs Quirk yes Mr Scotty no how many NOS are there there are four oh it's four or four of course um okay so we will extend it an additional 101 15 minutes but but we have okay I just I want to make this clear we're going to extend it an additional 15 minutes we do have an executive session where we have a lot of important things to go over um so this will be just an additional 15minute extension in your agenda today I noticed there's three rental properties for a dollar what is that um we've already answered this before but I'll answer it again I'm going to answer it again I'm just wanted to point out that we've answered this before uh these are irregular shaped lots that are adjacent to properties that uh have no purpose as far as um so like the ones by the water lines and all that it's it's actually the ones there's there's one that's in the in in the rear of spring Gard there's some that are at the bottom of deuro Hill when it goes down by Rano Street there's a it's a steep grade it's a wooded area so those are just area those are just um so who pays the taxes H well it's how the tax it's a board of education property so there are no taxes that are PID taxes on to uh your office $177,000 a month really 6,000 square F feet how many people are in there yeah we're currently uh looking for some to sublet that so we can get out of that lease oh yeah who paid for all the renovations because there was a lot of work going on in there yeah um I believe that that was part of the the lease agreement when it was made but who did it cost the the Valley National or the board I believe that was the freay to the board when and all the furniture much of the furniture we had in our office that's 200 and 210,000 a year almost that's two maybe three salaries for these teachers but you're in an office you own the municipal building does the board have anything to do with the municipal building no no so and and as Mr B answered that space we are currently looking at that space to see how we can uh get out of that lease you know a good idea if you take 177,000 of it buy a trailer work out of there like you teach our kids out of [Applause] there how about that and that may be that may be an option you know it's not going to be an option no that is that is something that may be an option yes we weren't born last night thank you oh I have one more question with all the overages on these projects the million over the other million over who is the engineer on record for the projects that signs the change orders the engineer we have an architect there's supposed to be there's an architect I do construction for years there's an architect that an engine always has to sign off most of it on change orders those who approved them so those projects were overseen by our architect Solutions architecture okay and there was a question asked about those two projects and we will be getting out information on those two projects was there a town engineer in charge of them no they were not in town projects they were so who was overseeing them our architect School architect an architect oversees a construction project yes that's something new to me that's typic 30 years in construction that's typically what happens is the architect does oversee the projects and and the architect can sign off on change orders with the board's money the architect would make vote on it the architect would make recommendations of change orders to the board okay so how does a million dollars in change orders so and that's what I wanted to that's what I'm trying to answer is that that that is not correct we will have that information we're we're getting that information out we will it's not a million dollars in change order well I heard one was 300,000 went over a million and then there was another one that there's a lot of there's a lot of rumors that are out there and we will be providing the accurate accounting of that those two projects that was requested at uh one of the meetings prior how long is it going to take before you rethink the lease at is building that questions for you because you're in charge of it no we're already rethinking it as soon as we find a how you going to get out of a lease clean we're looking for someone to subl it from us so you what you're saying is you'll lose money because nobody in their right mind will pay 177,000 a month for that yes good thank you Cheryl gasso Evergreen Avenue I just want to uh touch back on what I had brought up last time I went through the bills and I just pulled out a couple and I just was wondering when these bills are submitted and they're on the board minutes does anybody look at them like do you before you approve them as a board do you go over them look at the expenses like I I'll I'm I just marked off a few I have mcquery equipment capital in the fiscal year July 22 to uh June 23 we paid them a total of $228,200 22 20 the LA last school year off top of my head no but I will tell you that uh we took your feedback about an annotated bills list and and that makes sense to many of us and that may be something we're able to produce I will tell you that currently uh our state monitor looks at the Bill's list and nothing gets fiscally approved or on an agenda without her looking at it and I frequently in the past have gotten questions from board members on uh certain Bills or the ba has I should say um and um I do know that you know the bills list is on the agenda and a lump sum is provided um to the board as well as our business office and our state monitor at this point and uh the idea to have an annotated version of that makes sense to many of us up here okay because well I I have a couple there's a depository Trust Company does anybody know what that is I'm sorry can you give me it's depository Trust Company $2,831 th000 $831,000 268 does any can anybody tell me what that is payroll yeah is that our payroll what's that debt that's our debt service yeah that's our debt service Debt Service okay uh CDW government in Inc 28734 yeah that's a technology purchase [Applause] I have I'm I have a whole list but I'm not going to go I'm just picking out some of the bigger ones a I could also help you off offline if you want to understand it's a public document the bill list no I understand but I'm I'm just saying yeah not to I'm the and some of those I may not know but the business office should know and our definitely our state mon some should know but I I just do want to mention there's a for transparency there are a lot of there's staff members there's n just names and I'm going to give you three Dave depa over that year was paid $1 15,964 on that on the bills Julie Glazer got a check for $115,000 somebody named Ronald bolandi $110,000 we're the taxpayers we should know where who what this money is for especially the [Applause] superintendent thank you thank you hello my name is Alejandro barcelos I'm a junior at nle high school and I'm a wrestler at nle high school I'm here like many other students on behalf of the teachers being let go because of these budget cuts one specific teacher I want to talk about today is Sabino Capa Mr Capa is not only a very well-liked teacher in our high school but he is also a coach for many of the sports that our school has to offer one sport in particular he has made a great impact on is our wrestling team Capa made a difference on the team just as much as any of the other coaches when other coaches were busy helping the varsity team he was there helping the JV and newcomers become better and grow that so they too can become Varsity athletes for their school for him to be penalized and terminated because of your sloppiness as a board is an absolute outrage and even though he knows about his termination and removal he comes in every day with a smile and teaches us and coaches us even though he at this moment is being robbed of his future as an educator and a coach not only is he being robbed but you're also robbing the education and future athletes of students and it's just I mean how how can you do this to someone who you just not too long ago awarded teacher of the month for him to be for him to be robbed of this and for you to Rob students of this it's it's an absolute outrage and I can't I anyway I'm here like many one of you um I believe in the last meeting said that you were also a wrestling coach am I correct you sir so you understand the incredible pressure that any wrestler has when they're about to wrestle their first match you understand that correct well I would like to share a story about my own personal anecdote about sa Capa and how much of a great coach that he is my first match ever that same fear and pressure was coursing through me and I didn't want to talk to anyone I was pacing I was fearful and then he pulled me aside and asked me what was wrong and I say in quotes told me forget all those things right now how you feel before your match is going to show when you wrestle so right now be confident get all those bad thoughts out out of your head and focus on winning so that night I won my match 22 and 11 because of the confidence that he gave me Soo Capa has made a great [Applause] impact Sao Capa has made a great impact on this school district and he has made a great impact on students for all of us students and parents that come out here today to speak to you about this one teacher shows who we are as citizens of nutly I hope to God I pray to God that tonight we have showed you how much he means to our school and with that being said let Justice be done for these teachers and let Justice be done upon the school board thank you for your time thank you good evening Maria Hamlin Ro avle New Jersey I'm going to pass on the comments of Miss Maus as Mr gilbery has already addressed that I will move on to the issue of school security I am deeply troubled by the suggestion to reduce the number of security officers in our schools with the unfortunate rise in school violence Across the Nation it is imperative that we do everything in our power to protect our students and our staff one security officer alone is simply not sufficient to cover the almost 1,300 students and vast grounds of the Nutley high school we cannot we cannot afford to compromise the safety of our children and each and every one of us must uphold our responsibility in ensuring a secure learning environment it is not our children nor our teachers fault that people fail to do their job they should not have to bear the burden and none of them should ever feel unsafe we need you to revisit the downsizing you have done and place all security officers back in the schools please also do not remove one of the best security officers we have had which is in Spring Garden school can I comment and for the record Eric Anderson ranks right up where would one of the best love you additionally when you let fine upstanding individuals Faithfully serve the community and the Board of Education as an employee for over 35 years to be let go and say that it was performance-based we do not believe you he does not believe you nor does anyone who knows him believe you when you remove the director of the after CARE program or crucial person in directing facilitating the care of our young ones it's absolutely unacceptable someone who has Faithfully served this district for over 24 years it is difficult enough as a parent a working parent to leave a child we need to know that those in charge and those involved in the care of our children are competent and [Applause] trustworthy when a teacher who was named teacher of the month was just two months ago after that honor we're telling him he's going to be let go what message are we sending to our children work hard guys be the best that you can be but if someone else screws up you're going to have to bear the [Applause] burden these are just a few examples of the unfortunate cuts that are being made in our district additionally we have board members that have served for over 35 years who were arguably voted in because they ran on their experience where is that experience when all this is happening how can you continue to sit on the board rolling your eyes and acting UNF as if this will go away voting yes to end public comments because you don't want us to have a voice voice is unacceptable this situation unfortunately will not go away nor will we we will continue to fight for our children in their [Applause] future many many lives have been turned upside down some people have even expressed that they have to sell their home some have new babies at home I question how some of you could sleep at night knowing how many lives you have affected I'm almost done our students teachers and parents have already felt the impact we have lost many great Educators many who most likely will not return lives have been changed forever our teachers are not disposable our children are our future and we need to protect and continue to advocate for them to the Board of Education members and the board of commissioner members that have been quiet stand up for what is right this is no time to be silent thank you thank you okay this is going to be the last question comment we I'm sorry but we have three people I think that okay is you could or four people you do all three and then we've already extended an additional 15 I'm going to have to change up my script that I wrote a little bit just because of the new information that has come out I am one am a part of the music Community the wrestling community and a part of the allied brers Allied Healthcare Community being able to Lose the person who has helped bring together that program is absolutely absurd she has been able to stick through each and one of the students and help them through many different things when it comes to this program continuing we have a lot of students that are talking about one individual teacher which I think should say something and what the students want alog together because student teachers like him are not only influential but also inspirational towards the students and are being ripped away from our school and our community you guys stated that you won't be taking away funding from specifically the music and athletic department however taking away the teachers that inspir that inspirational IE our students could be debatably worse than underfunding these different departments as money cannot purchase the inspiration that many of these students receive and the hard work and dedication that these teachers put in one thing that I was told as a freshman coming into nley high school is that to make sure that we represent the town as all of our actions lead to what people look at as a town of nutly however we aren't the only ones ourselves who represent this town as a board of education is a crucial aspect to what the people people perceive nutly to be and losing a lot of money isn't something that we would like to be known for especially as a student because I get told that many times when going to other towns these rumors show how the town is seen and show how the students are seen even though we are more than that which is seen from the students coming Friday I spoke with a teacher who is being fired she came to the school transferring and she mentioned how much she was excited to come to Nutley because this was her town that she grew up in and her family has grown up in however now not only does she have to deal with the high taxes but she was also being laid off now she will have to be considering moving and it will be hard for her to take care of her family as not only someone who has to find a new job but someone who might have to find a new house and a new home that she interest trusted nle to be and just in general it's really hard for many students to come up here which probably you guys haven't seen for a very long time as previously stated some of you guys have been up here for a while and lots of these students have come up here because they love our teachers and the only thing that we're asking for is for at least one of those teachers to be reinstated into their job thank you thank [Applause] Youk hi Sarah nugal 12 Evelyn place I graduated Nutley high school last year I have a younger sister who received special education services through Nutley and a younger brother who is a junior right now going into senior year um whose band teacher recently got laid off due to these changes let me make one thing clear I am very relieved as an older sister that you haven't touched a special education departments and that is the option that I prefer but I'm very disappointed that I had to choose between my two siblings at all now some of you might remember I don't know I sat at that stage just last year giving Student Life updates I talked about how great 2023 was on behalf of the student council for marching band athletic departments Etc and I was under the impression that those updates made you all happy so I'm wondering why it is the faculty who gave those things to us suffering for your mistakes right now I'm studying political science in University so thank you right now studying Political Science University and I understand from your POS there's several spreadsheets graphs numbers Etc and that this is a very trying time I'm sure there's AEM to it all and I'm sure that you're all doing your best but I'd like to remind you that every pen stroke you make is a future belonging to someone in this room or to someone who couldn't make it today there are many of us here who are being affected by what you're doing even though I was far away at college and I don't attend nutly high school anymore I still watched you hold my little sister's future in your hands with special education discussions and debate it as if it was another number in your system our families are not just numbers in your system I'm here to remind you just check the button maybe you punch maybe you hit the button by mistake you just can't push it down got it thank you that was my mistake sorry and while we're on the topic of student life updates I noticed that you don't currently have a student sitting at that table at my old spot I'm wondering how many students you've spoken to while making these decisions can any of you give me a number or an estimate I visit the schools I I speak to students regarding these decisions we have to follow statute policies we have to talk to Human Resources our administrative team we're looking for programmatic needs I understand how important the teacher is to many people here who've come to speak about uh mostly one one teacher who's also a coach um I understand the connections that you've made with that teacher uh unfortunately based on our programs um that decision was made with the help of our administrative team who have you spoken to from the school I I don't have student names for you I I'm sorry I don't have a list of students yeah I I up until most recently I visited the schools on a daily basis I try to get I try to get that there before noon uh different buildings each day I talk to students I go in classrooms uh un unfortunately yeah this have the students understood the impact of what's Happening you spoke to them but I will tell you that um with the board um if if you'd like to speak more about this we are more than welcome to come and speak to you during lunch and start talking through this we're going to be coming to the schools we don't forget whose mistake got us here Board of Education thank you thank [Applause] [Music] you uh Angela k 706 Bloomfield Avenue um I'm going to keep it very short because these outstanding students behind me have said most of what I was going to say anyway I'm very disappointed to see that really not one board member has really engaged with them you guys just kind of sit there with blank stairs we have the district lawyer and the superintendent answering everything which is a disgrace as far as I'm [Applause] concerned I also want to say that you should know that there are my daughter's in fourth grade her and her classmates are writing petitions they're now watching these meetings on YouTube they come home crying because my daughter's already lost a music teacher a gym teacher three kindergarten teachers a counselor and two security guards by the way Mr B stated in May 6 meeting at 8 minutes and 18 seconds in next year's budget will not decrease our footprint on security why are we getting rid of security then every time you guys say something it ends up not being true all you're doing is lying over and over and over again and we are really sick of it this was on your watch you allowed this to happen you're the ones approving everything and on top of that not one of you has owned anything apologize to anybody and I'm not sure why you have not resigned yet we all want you out we are going to forget come November that what is going so put your egos aside and do the right thing you have the power to do the right thing so why don't you do it thank [Applause] you Julie Mitchel 19 ever green have um in reviewing tonight's agenda to say that I was heartbroken to see the abolishment of I am devastated by the changes that I am noticing on this agenda my questions are pertaining to the abolishment of some positions and the approval of several job descriptions my first question pertains to the oversight of k6 I noticed that some of the coordinator positions have been abolished from and are going from K12 positions to now 712 and I also noticed that they are strategically um merged together can you specify how uh what oversight who will have oversight of the k6 curriculum which is vast um science social studies World Language ESL so many uh different curricula in order to collapse some of our first of all I would agree with you I think you and I were both coordinators in the district at some point I agree it's it's a really important job uh it's devastating to me as well um I would say um we we had to make structural changes in order to build efficiency I'm talking like an administrator we had to change things in order to move workloads so we didn't have to take all the the cuts off at the teacher level or other level so in order to do that we had to restruct central office and central office will be taking much of the case six uh we have loon solo who especially as Elementary Edge she'll be repurposed in District to oversee many of the Elementary programs uh we decide to keep math and Ela K12 as far as the combining um there was a lot um of thought put in with regards to uh the coordinators and the statute Provisions tenure Provisions that we must go through in order to eliminate some of those positions I'm just curious because in looking at the combinations of some of them I don't notice ESL anywhere there and my concerns are I don't want to see patterns repeated right I don't want to continue to see mismanagement of funds and as you know um title 3 and title 3 immigrant funds are very very meticulously overseen by the state and federal government so I just want to make sure who will be overseeing that because as an ESL Community I feel that many um fragile populations have been spoken on behalf of and I I feel the need that our multilingual population needs to be spoken for as I I can agree with you more it's growing it's important our teachers uh do amazing things um as one of the biggest things we thought about um but to put that into a coordinator role uh did not seem to make sense we're putting it in central office with student supports and and we're adding that to our student supports and our Grant Management to manage exactly what you're talking about the title uh three and title three immigrant grants uh the funding um hopefully we get a little more funding there um as well as integrate that into to our student support package we're rolling out throughout the district as many of us have stated throughout all of these meetings I I really don't want to see anything fall through the craps through the cracks with a population that is so um highly fragile Julie I know you're a consultant in this area and I'd be more than happy to talk through with you um how we can do that given the resources we have it is a very challenging time to make sure nothing falls through the cracks and I would welcome conversation with you to do that I would be happy to do so um my last question is how will candidates be selected for these positions that are being approved um will there be a process in place that will be followed to ensure that patterns that we saw unfold with our finances will not unfold and filling these positions so will Rift admins be given Equitable opportunity to apply for these jobs absolutely as per um our board attorney PSA and different uh agencies that govern this for following the statute as to how we have to proceed when something like this happens again this is not an ideal situation I think our team of coordinators support our teachers and therefore our students with resources instruction um they're amazing uh but in order to uh go from the top down uh we're looking at central office restructuring uh which you'll see we're looking at our supervisors you some of the best teachers in District not that our other teachers aren't the best but some of our coordinators have come up through the ranks and are very good in the classroom uh right now we need them to return to the classroom and we need them to um take their focus and and we're hoping to restructure central office to pick up the rest and I I I do hope that you've said it several times tonight that in hopes that this will eventually be filled again um with my experience now having left my former position and being a consultant in various different districts across the state I I do notice a huge difference in districts that have subject specific uh supervisors who are able to support not only teachers but also students coordinators have a direct impact on student learning and student support so I do hope as a community member and as a a mother of two children going through the school district that those supports continue to be in place intact thank you I thank you thank you I just have a couple of questions okay this is the last question this is the last question and then we're going to end the com the public comment portion of the meeting thank you CLA Morgan 22 deos please last week I spoke and I asked whether or not the district attorney was involved yet and the lawyer you claimed that there was no reason to involve the district attorney at this time you also said that you didn't have an outside company take a look at your books and records and I wanted to confirm if that was true no first of all it would be the County prosecutor's office if anything were uh to come up but uh no we have outside well the district attorney is to represent civil matters and criminal matters so I do believe that the district attorney would have a part in this that' be federal court but anyway well I mean we're dealing with the Department of Education right and we also have independent Auditors a third party that that's looking into so did you have the books forensically looked at that's what they're doing right now they're doing that that's what they're doing right now because last week you said that wasn't being done yet well then I misspoke because no that's not true you said no one was hired yet to do that just just just a correction I just want to clarify I'm going to I'm going to clarify for the record okay okay so there's going to be a forensic water conducted in conjunction with the Department of Education okay in conjunction with the Department of Education right now we need to work through the Department of Education so we are waiting the Department of Education is hiring an outside that's what we're that's what we're that's what we're going to find out who's going to be doing the hiring if it's the Department of Education or it's going to be the school district those are the discussions we're having we're going to have with the Department of Education so you don't know who's going to hire the Outside Agency to do the audit is that what you're saying you're not sure if it's you or the district is that correct when you say well us here in the district are one and the same okay so then why are you separating the two I'm not it's the Department of Education the State Department of Education not the Nutley board of education we are we are working with our monitor through the the the New Jersey State Department of Education okay so it's the state so it's the state so that's who we're working with so the state is going to have someone come in to do the audit and you guys just don't know who's going to pay for it yet that's what we need to find out exactly what those details are we but it's the state but it's going to be that's requesting it's going to be it's it's our understanding is that anytime there's any type of funding through the state that that occurs with the state and that's what we're trying to work out with them as to those details we haven't gotten to that part yet okay so outside of what you're doing currently that hasn't been done yet right it hasn't been done yet I I just a clear answer a forensic ordit has not been done yet that's what we are going to be working with the state on the details of that it's going to happen okay we just don't have those details right now okay so then what I'm unclear of is how anyone could make an assumption at this point that there hasn't been any kind of criminal activity when you have not even had the books and records forensically looked at that's my my just I'm I'm trying to understand and and even give this board a benefit of the doubt and inkling something the other main question that I have is for the state monitor who is on salary that apparently we need to pay for at some point as well as your lawyer because we don't have one so my question is what is it exactly that the state monitor needs to refer back to the Department of Education as far as her homework and her points are there specific reports like what does that look [Music] like yes I can speak to it um do you want to speak to it Janette I've been here two weeks so uh I don't have the answers to a lot of questions I I just wanted because I not enough time so I wanted to know know what's going on and and I understand that I know how long you've been here may I speak but I just want to know what you need to report back like what are the fundamental things that you need to give back to who you report to and is that directly the Department of Education or is that the state the Department of Education is the state they are the state right butuc or we could speak to the Department of Education Department everyone has different offices and we as a people just need to know who to call outside of speaking to you guys every week and not even having an opportunity to speak I know I could put in a request for an Opa I'll do that no problem but I'm fresh on this too I work I'm a single mom I have all this stuff going on and I'm trying to match up just like you and I just want to know the fundamentals what is it my contract I can speak to you directly no someone will give you my contract my contract your contract my contract specifies my responsibilities okay well that's good enough that's a start thank you I appreciate that who can give me that to me I I just would have appreciated the opportunity for your questioning to have had an opportunity to speak understand that I I understand that but you're telling me you don't know and I already know that I know you don't know yet but she was attempting to answer your questions she was attempting to answer your questions so you know you you you interrupted her while she was trying to to answer those questions we just need the answers cuz we're all running out of time and she was trying to give you answers she's telling me she doesn't know and making an excuse and we don't need excuses okay thank you thank you okay I'm going to take a motion now to close the public comment portion okay okay second anyone okay roll call Mr BOS Mr baglia yes wait a minute wait a minute okay Mr bagu said yes Mr basam said yes Mrs Dan Martin Dr Jalia Mr fragels Mr kazinski Mrs Quirk Mr Scotty and Mr Ferrara yes okay Miss an Martin can you take res uh academic resolutions please yes Mr President I'd like to move academic resolutions one and two as written second discussion roll call Mr balamo yes Mr baglia yes Mrs danek Martin yes Dr deia Mr fragels Mr kazinski M Mrs Quirk yes Mr Scotty yes and Mr Ferraro yes Mr kazinski Administration please second discussion roll call Mr balamo Mr baglia Mrs danek Martin yes Dr deia yes Mr fragels yes Mr kazinski yes Mrs Quirk yes Mr Scotty yes and Mr Ferraro yes Mr bagle Finance resolutions uh Mr President i' like to move Finance resolutions 1 through 18 is written discussion roll call Mr balamo Mr Baga yes Mrs danek Martin yes Dr deia yes Mr fragels yes Mr kazinski yes Mrs Quirk yes Mr Scotty yes and Mr feraro yes any old business to come before the board personel oh I'm sorry Mr Delia would you take Personnel Please Mr President I'd like to move personnel as written resolutions one two three second uh discussion [Music] yes roll call Mr balamo yes Mr bagia Mrs danek Martin yes Dr deia yes Mr fragels yes Mr kazinski yes Mrs quk yes Mr Scotty yes Mr Faro yes any old business to come before the board any new business whereas the Board of Education will be discussing matters exempt from the public discussion pursuant to njsa 10 colum 4-12 now therefore be a resolve that the Board of Education recess the closed executive session at this time to discuss Personnel anticipated litigation and service contract be a further resolved that the results of the discussions will be made public by inclusion of the agenda on a subsequent meeting of the Board of Education or when the reasons for discussing such matters in closed session no longer exist can I get a motion to rejoin the meeting all in favor okay no action will be taken