which one's the one we're looking at she not she's not even here no wow yep okay good evening everyone the executive session of the Wayne Board of Education regular meeting of May 2nd 2024 was convened in the conference room of the Wayne Board of Education 50 NIS Drive Wayne New Jersey statement of compliance setting forth daytime and location was read in the requirements of the open public meetings Act call was taken the meeting was recessed is now being reconvened ask everyone to stand for a moment of silence followed by the flag salute I pledge aliance to the clag of the United States of America and to the Republic for which it stands one nation under God indivisible with liberty and justice thank you everyone please be seated Dr Toc okay so I'm going to combine my report go for it to include the recognition part as well okay I know that um this meeting is one of the most important board meetings of the year with both the final adoption of the 2425 Budget on the agenda as well as the district Staffing plan for the upcoming year so um just a few comments a few things to report first of all this week I was very happy to be able to attend the all Wayne jazz festival at Wayne Hills High School was a wonderful experience and a great representation of the Excellence of our music programs one highlight at the end of the concert was the alumni and faculty performance where many of our teachers former students and one of our principles performed two improvisational Jazz pieces so congratulations to all of our Jazz musicians and their teachers for an amazing performance also I was fortunate to be able to to watch the opening night SDA performance at Wayne Valley congratulations to both teams for their memorable performances um there's so many other reports that I could share but our student delegates will be sharing that our next meeting did want to mention to the board that we are working on one of our favorite publications of the year um this is a community favorite as well our end of year newsletter includes lots of news from around the district but the main purpose is to highlight the class of 2024 um so as far as recognition goes so may is a special time of the school calendar and and that we take times to recognize a number of School Employees based on national celebrations this started on May 1st which is natural National principles Appreciation Day May 5th is the start of Nurse Appreciation week and also teacher appreciation week which begins on May 6 big thank you to all of our employees for their dedication and commitment School principal day is celebrated on May 1st every year it's a perfect time for all members of the community to thank our educational leaders who work tirelessly to make sure that our school run smoothly for students and staff we're fortunate to have principles that work so hard to create an academic atmosphere that allows students to succeed our principles also support and guide teachers to be the very best they can be using their leadership skills by providing resources that the teachers need Decades of educational research points to the importance of the role of School principles in schools that achieve great outcomes for their students and we're fortunate to have a team of experienced and capable principles working in the Wayne Township Public Schools also for National Nurses Week the Wayne Township Public Schools recognizes the dedication and contributions of all of our School nurses National Nurses Week is scheduled annually for May 6 to May 12th concluding on the birthday of Florence Nightingale considered to be the founder of modern nursing each um School celebrates nurses weeks uh I'm sorry Nurses Week in different ways also teacher appreciation week so next week is national teacher appreciation week and across the district each school has a variety of events and activities planed to recognize the excellent work of our teachers and partnersh ship with our parents for Hib I'm reporting the following data related to harassment intimidation and bullying incidents in the Wayne Township Public Schools there were six incidents of HIV that were investigated since my last report and only two of those cases were deemed to be actual cases of HIV that concludes my report and now on to Mr Moffett for the budget presentation evening everybody so for the board members you have a packet of the Q&A which is exactly the same as the tentative as well as a copy of tonight's president presentation which like I said uh we've kind of added a few slides just to elaborate what we submitted um so we'll go through the presentation quickly if possible um and then be available for questions so we'll again it's an overview we'll talk about some important dates influencing factors macr level information as well as Trends and some budget uh summaries so our overview again we're in a good financial position as we reported out uh last time we met on the budget which was the last public meeting we have a healthy unassigned general fund balance of $3.4 million um Capital reserves um about $6.4 million and a maintenance Reserve about three 2.3 million and trends that I'll get into a little bit uh that have a negative impact on this year's budget which is two 2023 and 2024 and into next year which is 2024 2025 uh and all uh estimated Surplus and Reserve position position is about $8.2 million again that's that's a healthy position and as we talked about boards worked hard to maintain these reserves because they do help in uh in the event we have unbudgeted items that are revealed during the year which uh it's obviously been very helpful for that this year uh as well as fund the reserves are funding Rod grants so uh we are putting the funds to work uh as we reserve them important dates November December is when the uh ation budgets specifically the Departments and the schools do their budget uh crafting submit it to our office in January February we review them we sit uh with our department heads and any other individual within District that uh would like to sit down and go over it we make ourselves available March 7 uh we have uh started discussing it at the board level openly and in general public and in the finance committee uh we've done that through the year uh March 21st is when we submit it to the the uh um the public for feedback March 22nd we submitted it to the board as a tenative budget uh basically what you approved and uh again that that was always available for review uh and any changes that you and I had uh either as a result of a review at the county level uh or any feedback from the the the board um April goes to the county uh office State of New Jersey they review it both fiscally uh and programmatically once they approve it we're allowed to officially um advertise the advertisement went into the newspaper and we post it on our website and tonight is May 2nd and that's our public hearing which is required by regulation this is a general overview of the budget general fund uh budget in total is $189 million which is a total decrease of about 3.4 which represents a decrease of 1.78 uh School tax levy which is uh property taxes that funds the overall budget uh is 171 million dollar which it represents about a 4.1 increase from year to year uh which is 2.48 and as we'll see later there's a a gr uh gradation of different house values later on on a slide we have and that is going to average out the average assessed value of 100 $230,000 is roughly $24 a year some influencing factors this year as I stated uh we've had some uh troubling Trends that's developed uh what I think as a result of uh a lot of uh latent issues that have been U kind of rolled into um the general public and our student population as a result of the pandemic um so we're we're struggling to address every every student and staff needs in regard to student Support Services uh which also brings into any out of District placements Transportation so there's a push with Transportation employee benefits have incre increased again this year and we project it into the future that represents about 400,000 uh we have an increased need for facility technology as it relates to a lot of the new um method methodologies to reach our students um and we have various salary related lines that are are result of various coverage um and uh other um needs that we have for salary uh Services influencing factors again continued student Support Services continued Transportation needs and expanded special education programs the increase in salaries is about 4 point 5.7 is 3% increase average increase employee benefits roughly 15 we anticipate which is 3.6 which totals 9.4 total cap adjustment with adjustment so you have a total cap 2% um plus adjustments for health care costs and enrollment increases so that's 3.3 we had an increase in state aid which was 1.8 uh the adjustment for health benefit you see is 615,000 roughly and then the enrollment adjustment is 189 these are all various initiatives included so these are uh I ready which is U multi-tiered System of support which is K8 multi-tiered rather mtss 75,000 I is 105 you have decodable readers Italian textbooks which is a next series that we'll be uh replacing uh which includes a software component like I said earlier uh we've seen textbooks slowly um phased out with a lot of the software now it's online and we have to buy licenses so we transition to that uh which includes some additional uh Algebra 1 textbooks which is digital resource at the high school um and then we have a couple new areas that we're we're anticipating some expansion a continued expansion which our elementary school teachers so they two there and there are two at the preschool level and we continue to expand the preschool so these are non- salar so this will cover expansiones of classrooms as we continue to build out pness which represents about 21,000 other initiatives more globally um this is lease purchase application it's similar to a like a five-year lease to own uh we're going to continue with a one1 computer program at about $750,000 that's the estimated grade level costs we have staff computer program at 300,000 we have three new uh 54 passenger buses one specialized 22 passenger with a lift and then two uh Vans at 24 passengers again significant money uh we continue to expand this to cover our needs uh for equipment uh not only for transportation obviously for computers and then in our U facility area we also have a need for uh replacement of vehicles and Equipment part of our overall budget which is outside of our operating day-to-day budget which is federal funds we have uh what they call Essa which is every student succeeds act so that that's roughly 339,000 576 we have idea which is also a federal program specifically targeting uh special needs students which uh represents about 598 th000 our total revenue as you can see the majority of it comes from tax levy it's close to 91% of our overall needs are uh addressed by the property tax we do have some small car vs which the biggest one is uh state aid and a smaller amount on the top uh which would be Medicaid and um miscellaneous which is T tuition you know any type of Revenue we receive for students which small population right now we continue to look at expanding that uh we do receive revenue from rents uh from our facility and then we have some miscellaneous revenue on the appropriation side largest portions have have to do with uh employee benefits and uh academic programs so those are salary related items um and then we have student support which includes salary uh which is a large section about 11% so um as you can see um you student transportation is in green and facilities are smaller slices on the left and the Student Activities are is right on the side there and that reddish at about 2.34% and you can barely see Capital outlay uh because we don't we do most of our equipment financing as I said earlier part of lease purchase application and we find other ways to um address through grants some of our facility needs Reserve count activities capital reserve uh we were able to use that uh over time and we continue to work on this uh currently a lot of conversations had to do with the planning for pness has the first bullet there about 4.3 which was a withdrawal uh which is a rod Grant we we were eligible for a garage Grant so that that is moving forward um and we have one submitted uh right now has not been approved it's the elevator and Ada upgrades 1.5 it has not been funded uh by any type of withdrawal um but it is something that has been submitted there is a chance because we received notification that they look like they will be doing a preschool funding program I received that I think a day or two ago so we look to resubmit it if uh it's totally um doesn't get addressed by the rod Grant so we're going to consider that uh in the next couple days maintenance Reserve withdraws uh funded the Fallon facade project uh Tunis day uh AP partial roof um and Ryerson and we also have funding set aside for um Wayne Hills chimney flu and Kyler Skyler kofax communication upgrade um that service uh one of the things that we talked about last time this is the fall off for the Wayne the Anthony Wayne midd school debt that fell off so this budget meaning 2425 does not have a fiscal uh obligation in regard to Debt Service as it relates to that referendum pass in the past uh last year just so you know we we had about $2.6 million that fell off so that was the last payment we made which is principal and interest so there'll be when you look at the uh our uh userfriendly budget that does not have a section it's above and beyond our tax levy component so you have the general fund offset by the general fund tax levy and then you have the The Debt Service Levy we get separate which is no longer there so just it'll be the second component of our our overall budget this is the uh what I alluded to if you have a different assessed value we'd like to get a closer um impact on what uh the assessed values is the I should say assessed values are uh the um current assessed average home is 20 23,43 and you can see there uh in the middle is the average is 204 annually $174 monthly and daily roughly 56 cents a day just a summary of the overall budget tax levy again increased from 167 last year to 171 which it represents about 2.48 state aid increased uh to 1.8 which is 17% increase uh federal aid semi which is a small dollar amount increased 22% again these are projected Revenue numbers that we submitted and then were uh approved that makes the overall operating budget 189 again non-public programs which just flow through dollars to parochial schools and private schools in town uh represents about 232 that's textbook nursing Aid those type of things um the federal aid as we we spoke about earlier together is $949,000 and then we do have a charter student that we have to required to budget for that and submit that there's the zero for The Debt Service tax levy and our $190 million total budget which represents a decrease of about 3.25% overall some budget Trends U we've been speaking about um we have sign significant unanticipated costs as it relates to the 2324 school year that um have revealed the district uh to the district to take steps to control the funding for student uh Support Services right so these are things that we've noticed through the year uh that projections uh were um this year we're in a process of make making sure we have enough funds available for current programs and that influences next year's budget because if the trends continue uh that is a what I call a budget Buster where you're unanticipated and then I had to make adjustments to the budget on the Fly within the school year of 2024 202 five so we've taken steps currently um which is uh we appropriated extraordinary Aid uh we did that last couple meetings ago and then we also appropriated unbudgeted fund balance to assist us to identify the areas um well that that have been identified I should say and then uh move and transfer funds to cover as we continue to monitor this year's Financial activity so what we're doing is we're looking at available uh funds on various different lines and potentially covering the the short line so we look at the overs to cover the shorts um so part of that that was to help us this year 232 22 23 um the Next Generation science lab program we put that on hold for the moment so we want to make sure we we maintain um our Reserve position in case the programs that we are currently uh conducting um need resources and we have some reserves there uh we're also making sure we cover um the programs uh I should say the facility projects that we have underway the rod grants make sure if they have any needs that we have some resources to continue to make sure we can build out as planned um we did reduce the facility budget um this year and are just focusing on health and safety concerns and also internally Administration has developed a plan to further address and control costs uh specifically the cost drivers that we identified in the student sport area um and we're projecting Contin increase into next year and and it is something that we're keeping an eye on and we're actively working on it next steps um this it's it's approved tonight um it's then submitted and finalized with Department of Education there's a form we we submit um online and then there's an a4f which is a tax uh type request from the town and it goes to the county as well um so those documents are finalized um and then if adopted it's then going to be open for you use uh we hope sometime in early June if not a little earlier um and when um we're done with that uh they just want to the last thing after it's open because that's what happens at the school level as uh they finish their year they are looking to make purchases in structural material for September so they'll be working as the budget is open to make those uh purchases um online through a Cooperative system that we have um and just a final note is that if there are changes uh which we're anticipating modifications when we open to already address uh some of these uh trends that I spoke about next year we've uh and the plan that we've developed um we uh May really modify that on the fly as I say so that is something that is available again that's always approved by the board any type of uh major transfers go on the board agenda for approval so that is something that would be part of the next steps know that was quick and I know it was like a review of information that has already been shared um I'm available for any any questions and any general public comments I think we're going to be opening up any questions from the board on the budget Mr B so I just want to make it clear right we we have got about 17 million for facilities that is budgeted over this year and that is just to get through the health and safety the bare minimum things that we need to with the facilities over the year ahead to manage and maintain the school system we're stopping the Next Generation Labs we're not doing anything above and beyond that we could have been able to go through and that is still an impact of $24 a year to the taxpayer that we can't phase in over a number of years because we have to start GA gathering that information that money straight away through the tax levy right whereas through the referendum we would have been able to get a lot of things done we would have been able to move move faster at that period of time and we would have been able to phase in that change to the taxpayer over a number of years yes they've been instructed to focus on health and safety issues we funded our current salary side which is all of our maintenance and custodial support So in that regard we'll be dealing with health and safety issues as they resolve any type of breakdowns and we'll have people available to do that we'll be doing that all in house but any type of project beyond that just repair anything major yes you are correct they've been put on a hold internally and just focused on health and safety issues and we're going to continue to track down as many grants and as much State funding as we can to use against that to try and get the best of our money correct if it means re uh resubmitting the rod Grant applications that have been approved that will be that it'll also be the new uh preschool funding that became available recently we'll be doing that and looking around for anything else that we can find yes to move forward with projects there are projects currently underway as I pointed out but yes thank you any other questions thank you Mr mofet revisions to the agenda I can was there any questions from the general public that like to entertain as part we're going to open up next so addition to tonight and changes to the agenda number T emergent human resources number three approval of revised items we're going to add number nine uh Suzanne fante a revise end date of interim director of Technology stien from April 30 20124 to May 31 2024 we're adding number 10 Eric Lindor uh Revis the date of interim systems network administrate stien from April 30 2024 to May 31st 2024 and we'll be adding number 11 Scott stiletto a revised end date of interim systems network administrator stien from April 30 2024 to May 31st 2024 moving on to item number 10 approval of administrative leave we're going to add number three and revise date to read April 26 2024 through May 3rd 2024 moving on to X emergent school resource legal we'll be adding X1 which is approval of settlement agreement and general release that action reads as follows resolve that the Board of Education upon the recommendation of the superintendent hereby approves the settlement agreement and release in the matter of student ID number 29192 4979 dated April 16 2024 as attached by reference and further authorizes the board president and secretary to execute same on behalf of the board the business administrator and superintendent are authorized to take all further steps required by the terms of the settlement to further Implement same number two we'll be adding X2 is approval of termination for good cause recommended recommended action reads as follows resolved that the Board of Education upon the recommendation of superintendent approves the following termination for good cause staff ID number 8788 uh adding number X3 approval of termination for good cause that action reads as follows uh resolve at the Board of Education upon the the recommendation of the superintendent approves the following termination for good cause uh staff ID number 9159 moving on we'll be adding X4 which is approval of employment separation agreement and release that reads as follows resolve that the Board of Education upon the recommendation of the superintendent hereby approves the employment separation agreement and release and irrevocable letter of resignation in the matter of employee ID number 0375 dated May 1 2024 as attached by reference and further authorizes the board president and secretary to execute same on behalf of the board the business administrator and superintendent are authorized to take all further steps required by the terms of the settlement to further Implement saying and lastly we'll be adding X5 approval of Hib determination that action reads as follows resolve that the board affirm the superintendent's decision on Hib case number 98 -223 sl202 24 following appeal as required by njsa 18a 37-15 parentheses B parentheses 6 and parentheses e that concludes the changes to tonight's agenda thank you this portion of the meeting is open to Citizens for comment on agenda items only residents are asked to State their name address and subject matter comments may may be limited to 3 minutes per person members of the public are discouraged from speaking negatively about an employee or a student the board Bears no responsibilities for comments made by the public comments regarding employees or students cannot be legally responded to by the board other comments may be responded to tonight or at a subsequent meeting under all business do I have a mover move Mr Judo Mr batter anyone from the public wishing to speak on an agenda item good evening uh for those of you who don't know me my name is Matt kryy and I currently serve as the president of the Wayne Township administrators Association I'm here tonight to support the superintendent's recommendation of granting tenure to our me Members each May is the time when recommendations are made to renew contracts and Grant tenure to administrators within our association the WTA collectively is strong and skilled we along with our teachers and staff are the backbone of this community we are tasked with the education and most importantly the safety of hundreds of students each day having worked as a building principal at Lafayette Elementary School since 2014 I have watched new employees from out of the district and Wayne teachers transition to principal or assistant principal roles within the district and Thrive because of the support of the colleagues around them and the team that they have built As We Gather here I am reminded of the profound impact that dedicated leadership can have on our school communities all of our members all of our members demonstrate a deep commitment to fostering an environment that values academic Excellence personal growth and inclusivity their tireless efforts Have Been instrumental in shaping the positive climate and cultures that exist in each of our school buildings and consistent building leadership is a key ingredient to the climates that we are so proud of our district leadership has selected School leaders that through a rigorous process and make informed decisions not supporting their recommendations creates an environment of uncertainty that can potentially cause great administrators to search for other opportunities elsewhere therefore it is my purpose to stand before you to support the tenure of our outstanding administrators and advocate for a unified climate and culture throughout this District thank you thank you anyone else from the public wishing to speak on agenda items or budget see no one B this is regoso this time we're going to uh we are not going to um move the agenda at this point we have to go back into executive session we have person a Personnel matter and a legal matter we will most likely be in executive session at least 45 minutes if not a little longer um so we're going to open to the public for the second portion of our open public uh comment on any items this portion of the meeting is open to Citizens for comments on any topic residents or has to state their name address and subject matter comments may be limited to five minutes per person members of the public are discouraged from speaking negatively about an employee or a student board Bears no responsibility for comments made by the public comments regarding employees or students cannot be legally responded to by the board other comments may be responded to tonight or at a subsequent meeting under old business do I have a mover move Mr Judo Mrs um gandre I was good I had Mrs down this then anyone from the public wishing to speak on anything apprach Mr favor Mr bersell at this time we're going to move into executive session um again as I said it's going to be at least 45 minutes and we will be coming out no at the end no we have to do it at the end um for a Personnel matter uh Personnel matters as well as legal issue all right thank you motion motion second J paper principal the mayor mayor's office okay e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e must home take right I'm trying am had interest all right I take a motion to reconvene motion Mr Jano Mr B I take a motion to move the agenda I I'd like the motion to move the agenda but I would also like to make a motion to move the uh policy discussions that are on the agenda back to committee I second both motions there second any qu move the policies back to committee it's all part of the motion any discussion roll call we're voting on the motion the the motion is to move the agenda and to move the policies that are on the agenda back to committee we can do it all as one oh yeah we do have to move them okay so Mr G Mr Gard can we put them on into one motion I I would do it in two separate steps there so Motion One motion one is to move the policies back into committee yes all right so Mr Faber Mr Paul Personnel committee or policy polic policy committee everything to policy committee all right that's Motion One any discussion on motion Paul Mr Paul was the second okay motion roll call Mr gardano yes Mrs lry yes Mr Paul yes Mrs regoso yes Mrs wik yes Mr Bill yes they're all first readings anyway so I think it's early enough in the process Mr Faber yes and Mr pavlac yes motion carries okay motion to move the agenda motion second second Mr Paul any discussion on the agenda roll call Mrs leandry yes Mr Paul yes Mrs regalo yes Mrs WK a yes on everything except no on t uh T5 number three Mr Bill yes Mr Faber uh yes but I recuse on X5 Mr gardano yes and Mr pavlac yes motion carries so any old business new business board member and comments B so I'd just like to say uh a big thank you for Teachers Appreciation Week to all of the teachers and obviously to all of our principles um I think you all do a fantastic job but I also want to put into there the one that we never spend enough time thanking which is the nurses of week as well uh I've got to say my kids especially all the way through Elementary spend a lot of their time with a nurse um I had more phone calls with the nurse than any of the teachers or the principal I suspect over that period of time and my wife had many rushes back to the school to pick them up from there at many times so I really appreciate the effort that they put into making the school system amazing place as well anyone else Su m i too would like to thank um the principls the teachers and the nurses um the job you do is incredible and um the parents and the students are a testament to how great things are going here in Wayne so I'm very thankful for all of you and for all of your effort thank you anyone else I i' like to thank all of you for everything you do every day I know what happens I'm in a school I'm in a high school I see it I see what the principles the assistant principles what they deal with day in and day out I don't know how you do it it's like people used to say to me don't you want to be chief of police like your father hell no not at all but thank you and thank every each and every one of you for what you do every day for everybody including us Mr kley we wish you well as you move on I can't believe you're here 10 years already oh my gosh it's crazy goes quick but we wish you all well in your new job and we know you will be a shining star as we move forward Dr Tobak do you have anything to say I'm sorry I skipped over you it's [Laughter] late motion to adjourn motion second Mr B good night everybody