001It is very nice to see you all today here. We are at the Garfield High School Choir. My name is Halina Bahan. I'm the president. And we will be singing for you tonight. And our first song is actually Ukrainian, which I am. And many of you know it, but probably didn't know that it was Ukrainian. So I'm going to sing the first verse in Ukrainian, and then we're going to continue in English. The candles glowing in the... I listen for... As I fall asleep to lullabies, the morning's coming soon. The only gift I'll ever need is the joy of family. Oh, why? Because that's Christmas to me. This is going to be our last piece. We are going to do Jingle Bells, and then we'll be done. Just one more, is that okay? So sorry.
002Okay, sorry. Also, our concert is this Wednesday night at 7 o'clock at the Garfield High School Roger Heddle Memorial Theater. Hope to see you there. One horse, one horse, one horse open sleigh. Jingle bells, jingle bells, jingle all the way. Oh, what fun it is to ride in one of the fields we go. Jingle bells, jingle bells, jingle all the way. Oh, what fun it is to ride in one of the fields we go. I don't have to go to Carnegie Hall anymore. I think it came over here for us. Garfield High School Select Chorus. Thank you very much. You certainly sang in the holiday spirit to Garfield. This exemplifies the Garfield talent, the commitment, and the importance of the arts in our curriculum. So thank you so very much. And please remember to visit
003the Garfield High School Auditorium on Wednesday to see them perform. In accordance with the Open Public Meetings Act of New Jersey, adequate notification of this meeting has been provided by advertising in the record. I'm going to ask everybody to rise for the flag salute and a moment of silence thereafter to recognize the Bondi Beach atrocity in Australia, Brown University, mass shooting, the passing of our beloved crossing guard, and reflection during this holiday season. Thank you. Mr. LeBue, roll call, please. Mr. Diaz. Here. Mr. Taylor. Mr. Roto. Here. Mrs. Hassan. Here. Mr. Ramos is out. Mr. Quiles. Mr. Gaba. Present. Mrs. Petiri. Present. Mr. Fulcorino. Present. Student Board Representatives, Ms. Sarah Bolanos, Ms. Martinez-Cherry. Present. I'm going to call for a motion to approve the minutes of the last meeting. I'll make a motion. Mr. Gaba.
004Mr. Otto. All in favor? Aye. Any opposed or abstentions? So moved. Dr. Tomko? Mr. President, thank you so much. Good evening, everyone. We have some incredible things to present at the start of this meeting. I thank all of you for coming tonight. I wish all of you a happy holiday season. First, let's start off with our students of the month, which we have a tie this month. So I think Mr. Stappenbeck is going to do both of them for us tonight. How are you, sir? Good evening everyone. So as Dr. Tomko mentioned, we had an exceptional slate of candidates this month and we decided to honor two students of the month. I'm honored to present this first on behalf of Ms. Washnick who had nominated her but couldn't be with us this evening. The students
005are incredibly well-rounded across academics, extracurricular activities, and varsity athletics. In the classroom, She's consistently taken the most challenging courses that Garfield offers including multiple AP classes and earned top grades. She's been on the superintendent's list for three years all her time in high school. She's taken multiple AP classes including AP calculus right now where she's a leader in that course. And she's a member of our early college program. Incredibly impressive for a high school student to at the same time they're pursuing their high school diploma. to be able to earn their bat their associate's degree this which she'll do this spring for all of her academic efforts she's been recognized as a member of the hispanic honor society the math honor society and the national honor society this student contributes to garfield varsity athletics across
006all three seasons she manages the girls volleyball team she swims for us in the winter and she runs for us in the spring She's very active in extracurricular activities, a member of the Interact Club and the Trend Club. She also serves as a senior rep in student government, also finds time to volunteer for the Boys and Girls Club, and on top of that works 15 hours a week. Her plan next year is to attend Ramapo where she wants to study biology and pursue medical school. Please join me in congratulating our December Student of the Month, Isabella Soriano-Pineda. Good evening Mr. Tomko, Ms. Yamiko, members of the board, parents, students, and members of the community. I would like to first thank Ms. Waschnick, even though she couldn't join us tonight, for nominating me for Student of
007the Month. Going from being a new student in her room my freshman year to now my senior year and her believing I am honorable enough to receive this recognition feels surreal. So thank you. I also thank everyone who supports me. My parents who are always by my side when I need them. My brother who is my go-to person. My teachers for always believing in me and giving me the opportunity to learn and grow. And my friends who are always there whenever I need a laugh. Without these people in my life, I wouldn't be here today, and for that, I am eternally grateful. I could not ask for a better group of people to have in my corner. This recognition means a lot as it reflects the importance of hard work, responsibility, and perseverance. I am
008proud to be recognized for these values and will continue to demonstrate them. Receiving this award only further motivates me to continue the hard work and perseverance I already demonstrate. Thank you again. I am honored to be December Student of the Month. I had the privilege of teaching this student during her junior year in AP Calculus and throughout our time in class together she demonstrated dedication, drive, intellectual courage and curiosity and a real commitment to excellence. From the first day in class she distinguished herself via her diligence and thoroughness. She did not miss a single point on any homework assignment throughout the year. Each assignment was completed with care and precision. Her final grade in AP Calc rounded up to 100, and she earned a 5 on the AP Calc AB exam. That's the best grade
009you can earn, and it's done so by only about 20% of the hundreds of thousands of students who take that exam each year. Her notes in that class, I have to mention her notes, exceptional, like a work of art, thoroughly annotated and illustrated, reflecting both her organization skills and her desire to really master complex mathematical concepts. Just as impressive to me was that she was always willing to ask and respond to challenging questions, even when she wasn't familiar or comfortable with where the discussion was going. Her focus, her intensity, her eagerness to share were really great gifts to all of her classmates. She's also a member of the Early College Program and will earn her Associate's Degree this spring as she graduates high school. Other academic honors include membership in the Italian Honor Society and
010the National Honor Society, and she also received the Cochia Foundation Italian Studies Award. as well as being a member of the superintendent's role for all three years of her high school career to date. Her accomplishments extend beyond the classroom. She's also been a dedicated three-sport athlete, competing in cross-country, swimming, and track and field. This past year, she was recognized as the most improved athlete on the track and field team. Her leadership is also evident in extracurricular activities. She served on the yearbook committee, the interact and trend clubs, and as a TI peer leader. In her role as co-president of the Polish Club, she volunteered in support of the Pulaski Parade in New York City, and she's donated some 90 hours of time working at a food pantry, contributing to the Garfield Carnival and Breakfast with
011Santa, and tutoring peers through the Math Honor Society at the high school. She plans to continue her education at a four-year college next year, where she'd like to study either biochemistry or biomedical engineering. and also intends to become a physician. I'm honored to have taught this student. Her dedication, her drive, and her work ethic are really a credit to her, her family, and our school community, and will serve her well in college and beyond. So please join me in congratulating our other Garfield High School Student of the Month, Julia Jaskot. Again, Dr. Tomko and all the members of the board, good evening. I first want to thank Mr. Stappenbach for nominating me for Student of the Month. I think last year in AP Calc, I always knew I loved math, but AP Calc has been
012my favorite math so far. I love solving derivatives and integrals. It's just another puzzle that I wanted to solve. I want to thank also my parents for always supporting me and my high school career. I want to thank my friends for always being there for me when I needed. just want to thank again mr. Steppenbach for nominating me because he truly I found my love for math in his class members of the board thank you I am I am honored to be nominated December student month yes thank you congratulations again every month just incredible things from our students teachers staff members excellent job administrators incredible things going on in the city let's turn it over to student government reps Thank you, Dr. Tomko. The student government does not have a formal presentation for today. However,
013we have not been sitting still. We actually just finished a very productive meeting with our GHS administration last week. We were discussing basically what we're going to do all year round. Next week, we are having our... pep rally and this week we're having our spirit week we are also sending out emails for our career night which we bring in alumni like a garfield high school alumni to um who have gone into the medical field law other all these professions and they come in and they give insight to garfield high school students who are interested in this these careers so that is all thank you excellent thank you keep up the great work a lot of stuff going on here so i look forward to working with you guys Okay. We now have a few accommodations
014the board would like to present. So I have the honor of doing that this evening. So if I could have Mr. Fulcarino and Ms. Patera, if you want to come up and assist me. It's much better this way. Thank you. So our first recognition tonight is for some of our staff members for heroic deeds that occurred at School 6 this past month, a few weeks ago. So I had to call those members up here first to stand by us before I read the resolution and talk about some other things. So Katarina Bonanno, Andrew Chitrak, Lauren Falk, Paul Aguera, Dr. Mendez, William Palestis, Mike Prado, Michelle Samanchik, Laura Smith, and Miss Natalie D'Souza. That's right, you're wearing a giant shirt. It's okay. Sorry, I won't hold it again. Okay, that's fine. So there are a lot
015of incredible things that happen in this district on a daily basis. And sometimes, unfortunately, we only talk about some of the negative things or we see those on Facebook or whatnot. With this board and myself, what we try to do is spotlight and honor those incredible individuals who do great things for everyone here. So tonight we're doing that for a few individuals. And unfortunately we can't get to everyone because we know that just being in the classrooms with these students or out on the fields or anywhere on the stage or in band rooms, there are incredible things happening here. But this group here came to the aid of someone in need. before school even started, or right when school started, I think, before the bell happened, all the parents and kids around, just an incredible
016morning that could have gone very badly if these individuals didn't come to work prepared. And they all played a different role, and we're not really going to get into those roles for different reasons, HIPAA and whatnot, but they know what they did, I think all of us know what they did, but collectively this group saved a life. And I was able to honor someone last year who did the same thing for one of our students. And unfortunately in my career, I've honored many individuals who did do these life-saving things, maybe fortunately for those people. But I think it's very easy to miss all of the moving parts that occur in a district on a daily basis. I think we always talk about arithmetic and English and test scores and all those things, but... you know
017even students eating in a cafeteria or people walking into a classroom things like that there are constant constant things that are happening and this is to signify something that these individuals did that's an incredible thing to pay it forward in such a way so we have something called the code blue team in district every every district in the state should have one they're supposed to but of course we're in compliance here in Garfield in the city of champions and each again each member has a a different um different you know job or a different uh portal piece that they have to work on and we also have a a parent here as well who jumped in so uh just great stuff happening so i'd love to uh i'm honored to read this resolution from the
018board tonight on the board's behalf and it's also it'll be for the record now for eternity These individuals in front of me. Whereas a member of the Garfield Public School staff recently experienced a sudden and life-threatening medical emergency on school grounds. And whereas several staff members and a parent responded immediately, decisively, and with exemplary composure, administering life-saving measures that were instrumental. preserving the life of our colleague and whereas during this moment of crisis these individuals demonstrated exceptional teamwork courage and an unwavering commitment to the safety and well-being of others and whereas their actions reflect not only advanced readiness and professionalism but also the deep compassion and humanity that define the Garfield school community and whereas the Garfield Board of Education and Central Office Administration recognize that such heroic conduct sets the highest standard for all
019staff and serves as a model of service, empathy, and dedication. Now, therefore it be resolved that the Garfield Board of Education hereby extends its deepest gratitude, admiration, and formal commendation to these individuals whose swift and selfless actions saved a life and be it further resolved that this resolution be entered into the official record of the Board of Education as a lasting expression of appreciation for extraordinary service presented on this the 15th day of December 2025 congratulations thank you so much Hi, everyone. If you don't know me, my name is Erin Griffin. I am the daughter of Christine Griffin. And I wanted to stand before you all and thank you, each and every one of you, for the heroic acts that you all immediately jumped in that particular day. Christmas could have been a lot different
020this year for my family, and that is not lost on us. The last two weeks were life-changing, and I really couldn't imagine my life without my mother. So I literally am internally indebted to you guys, and after this, please find me. I want to hug each and every one of you, and thank you personally. I also wanted to say a couple words specifically about someone who's standing up here, about Michelle. who is the person who performed the primary CPR that saved my mom's life. Our family has always had a long, intertwined relationship with the Alfonsos and the Samancheks. If you didn't already know this, Michelle and Steve are my parents' direct next-door neighbors. Most, if not all, of my memories with Michelle revolve around when I decided to be a lifeguard in high school. As
021you know, being part of a lifeguard squad is becoming CPR certified. It's something that 16-year-old me took entirely too lightly thinking back. I remember how serious Michelle and Mike took their CPR classes, and honestly, it shouldn't be done any other way, even though Mike scared me. What doesn't sink in for most people, like me, 20 years ago, is the immense responsibility that comes with the skill and with the decision to jump in when someone is in need. It takes a really strong person to do CPR in the face of someone else's mortality, especially someone you know. Our family was consistently told from the initial ER triage, which was very, very dramatic and serious, all throughout the ICU period that Michelle performing CPR was the sole factor that allowed my mother to live. In the face
022of a very serious and traumatizing situation, Michelle didn't panic. She acted. Actually, I'm sure you all panicked, but you all acted. Everyone's efforts were successful and my family and I continue to do life as we know it with our mom and with my dad's wife. My dad's here too. Michelle has inspired our immediate family to go get CPR certified and I urge the room as a whole to try to do so as well. Not enough of us know this life-saving critical skill. My mom is home now, and she's healing exceptionally well, considering the level of trauma she went through. She is thinking of and asking about all of you, especially the kids in her class. That's been made possible because of all of you. Thank you so much for saving my mom's life. Thank you
023again. Great job. Thank you. Do you want to come back? It's not a good idea. Do you want to call your family? I need this. Come on. It's okay. Wherever you want. Can we also have anyone from School 4 that would like to join us up here this evening as we honor just an incredible person. I didn't get to tell you my story about your mom, so I waited. Anyone, anyone from School 4? Come on up, Coach. Yeah, everybody. Anybody who wants to come up and join us here. Ms. Rico is just an incredible person. It's okay. I'm also honored to speak tonight about just an incredible person in this community, but I don't... I don't think I deserve to. I really don't. I think there's probably so many other people in this community that
024could say so much more. So I'm just appreciative of giving me a few minutes here to read this, and I'll tell you my story. But the things that I've heard about this individual over the past few weeks from board members, parents, kids, just reading some of the cards and seeing the pictures and just how she's touched so many lives. just tells me again why we're all in this, right? I mean, it's not cliche. It's not about the kids, but she was somebody who was definitely in it for the kids, not just crossing them. We know she did that. We know how tough she was on the corner at their Market Street, right? I don't know if she was there her whole career, but that's how I know her. So that was her corner, right? And
025we're, oh, yeah, right. But that was definitely her corner, and we're going to make sure that everybody remembers her on that corner. But again, I think it wasn't just about her crossing students, right, or talking to families. It was about a connection. It was about her knowing everybody and generations and generations of students. And then when those students became parents, right, and their kids, it's just an incredible thing. So we mourn her loss. The community lost just an incredible person. So when we spoke on the phone, Ms. Zonday and myself spoke on the phone about this evening, you said to me, oh, my mom knew me or something like that. So, you know, she mentioned me. So, obviously, in the past year or so, not so many people probably mentioned great things about me. However,
026I was trying to think of, well, thank you, that's good. She did say it was nice. That's excellent. But I want to tell you how I know her. So, one of my secret places to go a few times a week is the Chinese restaurant right on the block there on Jewel Street. It's my little go-to for some steamed vegetables and rice and stuff. And I know you can't tell by looking at me. But as I'm driving down Jewel Street and I'm going there every three times a week, there she was. And a little wave and I put my window down. How's it going? Thumbs up or, you know. So she has really an incredible smile to see. No matter how bad it was raining or cold or warm, whatever. And she definitely was, as I
027first got here and was making my rounds. after the summer, she was the first guard that I met. I try to see as many people as I can. But just, again, just an incredible person. So we're honored to honor her tonight. So we have a resolution here as well. Honoring the memory of beloved crossing guard Jean Rico. Rico, thank you. People are telling me different, so I want to make sure we got it right. Rico. That's right. I'm going to say it right for her tonight. No, I'm going to make sure I say it right. Jean Rico. Whereas the Garfield Public Schools community mourns the passing of Jean Ricco, Miss Jeannie, a cherished and dedicated crossing guard who faithfully served the children and families of the city of Garfield for many years. And whereas she
028stood as a constant source of safety, comfort, and reassurance for countless students, ensuring that generations of children crossed the street securely on their way to and from school. And whereas her commitment to the welfare of our students extended far beyond her required duties as she greeted each child with kindness, encouragement, and genuine care, becoming a beloved figure within the school district and the broader Garfield community. And whereas her legacy of service reflects the highest ideals of public duty, compassion, and community spirit, and her presence will forever remain a treasured part of the Garfield Public Schools history. Now, therefore, be it resolved that the Garfield Board of Education honors her memory with deep appreciation for her many years of unwavering service and extends its heartfelt condolences to her family, friends, colleagues, and all who were touched
029by her remarkable dedication, presented on this the 15th day of December, 2025. Thank you, Ms. Rico. Thank you for everybody for honoring my mother. I know she loved each and every one of her children that she's crossed for the past 40 plus years. She adored her job, loved all the kids in Garfield, and has watched them grow, especially the one on my right. And I just want to say thank you to everybody for doing what you've done in honor of my mother. She's up there smiling, and I know she is. Thank you again. I'm not going to say anymore because I'm going to cry. Thank you again. All right, I'm going to give my program update before we do the ACFA report because... I think it's important while people are still... Not that Mr. Parenti
030is going to clear the room out, but I want to make sure every year is free. So again, incredible things happening in the district. And there are some issues, too, that we all are aware of, so I want to discuss some of those things. But first, we end the... Not the fiscal year, obviously. The fiscal year ends June 30th, but we end the regular year in awe. I'm in awe of the things that these students and our teachers do every day. Resiliency at its best, being resilient over hurdles that happen not just in district and everyday lives, but things that are happening on global scale as well. I don't know, the only term I could use, and it's not an industry term, but bobbing and weaving all the time, right? Whenever there's an issue, you
031talk to a student here with an issue and they tackle it and they find a solution. It really is pretty incredible. And I'm telling you, that's not happening everywhere. So just great stuff happening. This evening started with our proof again that we are committed to the arts. When I first came here last year, this board made it very clear that we needed to expand our arts programs, and we've been doing that with budgeting issues, adding programs. We're doing a lot with music upcoming for the budget cycle, so stay tuned. But again, just even seeing the middle school concert the other day and what we heard tonight in anticipation of the next few days, just... just great things happening here along with all of our other extracurricular programs. So we closed the full year out as
032a success story, but knowing that we could always enhance it so it's better for our kids and our families. I don't want to, well, let me just bring up something else. The Thanksgiving event that I talk about all the time, I think I talk about it almost... I don't know. Anywhere I am with anyone that's in the field or even outside the field, with this school community and Maceo's, Frank Maceo and Kevin and all the workers and the Rotary Club, if I missed anyone, I apologize, interact, anyone who's there. What we do on Thanksgiving for the families of this community is, I'm speechless, and that's very hard for me. It really is an incredible thing. to see students stand in line, packing food, transporting food to those, I don't know, parents or community members that
033are invalid or just down on their luck. It really is an incredible feeling. It really humbles you. And to see our kids, I don't know, not even bat an eye about the time they spend here is really an incredible thing. And it just shows you again what's happening in this city. So I appreciate all of you and I appreciate being invited again to that. Just with that is enough to talk about how great it is to be in the city. So it means a lot to me. I don't want to steal Mr. Gaba's thunder for his report later on, but I'm going to do it, sir. So we're going to talk about the heat real quick while I'm here. So we are doing everything. I think Mr. LeBleu and I talk every five minutes about
034heat, even on the weekend texting each other. We are doing everything we can to keep systems working. We're actively replacing several boilers. Today at school four, the school four teachers and community did an incredible job evacuating our buildings due to a smoke-related event that happened from a motor burning out. Unfortunately, I don't really know what else to say except I'm just going to say it like anyone could understand it. When you have a light fixture in your house that has a few bulbs in it. And you put all three bulbs in at the same time, guess what? All three bulbs go out at the same time, right? So some of these units, we fixed a unit in school eight the other day. I was there while the gentlemen from the company were fixing the unit.
035And the one guy yelled out the date of the unit to me, and it was 1976. So again, the parts and whatnot, they're just not the same. Some of the panels are computerized and are not talking to the 1976 panels, right? So there's a bunch of stuff happening. It's no fault of anyone here. It's time over time. It's a city that has a large, large amount of areas that it just needs to maintain and replace. Today, at the School 4 event, the actual filter that started smoking a little bit was completely clean. So I know the filters are being changed by our custodial maintenance staff. So again, these are just, you know, things that happen. So now we're constantly in motion. So I know many of you are contacting me. People are asking for updates.
036Parents, please, any day you need an update. It may not be exactly what you want to hear, but I am telling you, the heat is working. Some rooms are just not optimal. if we do have a room that is not optimal or not working as it's getting colder or it's it's a lot colder than it was last year too but as it's getting colder uh we're moving some of those rooms on a temporary basis again these are not things i won't want to say to you it's definitely not what the board wants to hear as we update them every single day on this but it is the reality it is the reality um you'll see again there's there's open purchase orders we have our company our vendor who uh who fixes this we have individuals
037on call every day in the buildings waiting you know just to kind of repair stuff we are actually uh waiting for a few parts as i was in one room being fixed as they fixed that one room a teacher from the next room came in and said i think my heat just shut off as i was there true story so So again, we know that moving forward now we have a plan that we're going to put in place, but that kind of segues me into this last thing that I've been saying every year for the past 26 years I've been doing this, but January for a chief school administrator and a business administrator is a very difficult month in large districts like Garfield because that's when we prepare a budget. Okay? And we all know
038just how we feel at home now, right? My energy costs have gone up, right? I'm sure yours have. Water bill, everything, propane or gas, all those things. We're feeling the same thing here, all right? But at the same time, as we maintain and fix these systems, we have to start looking at a little... what we call a little more strategy in the budgeting process. So we're going to be working very hard with this board and this finance committee on things that we need for facilities. You'll hear tonight a few things with the ACFER if you stay with regard to this board's commitment, this board's commitment to putting money into capital reserve to make sure that all those things that everyone is talking about on Facebook and in the back rooms and whatnot are being taken
039care of. and that's a new change here in the district. So I just wanted to say that again as parents keep knocking on my door, keep emailing me, keep texting me, you all have my cell phone number, keep telling us what's wrong, what's going on and we're gonna fix it. No one is sitting back doing nothing including all these board members that are in committees working hours upon hours texting me all hours of the night asking me questions. Again, it's as important to us as it is to you. But again, as a parent of four myself, I know exactly where you're coming from and I wouldn't want my child to sit in some of these areas and that's why we're fixing them as quickly as possible. But I think it's important to stress that no
040one is sitting around saying, I don't want to leave it there. Unfortunately, again, some of these systems are older. Some of them can be fixed right away. Some of them need parts that are... somewhere like in a like you know not in a junkyard but so you've had an old car and you need it apart right uh that's where we're at so again we have a plan moving forward um to to maybe stop some of this for the years to come um but right now we are really in triage we're kind of holding on and you know we're doing the best we can so i wanted to make sure you put that out there um You know, I think it's important that you know that. And lastly, we did have two events that did cause
041us to evacuate buildings this year, sorry, this last month at two separate schools. I also want to assure the parents that we are absolutely following the procedures that need to be followed in order to evacuate a building. Okay? You also have to take into consideration that, you know, when you have incident command or there are individuals on staff who are considered incident command, some decisions can be taken a little differently than maybe what you think you are aware of when it comes to an emergency situation. So for example, when it's 15 or 20 degrees outside and you need to evacuate a building, there can be leeway or time when you call someone on the phone as an incident commander or chief or whatever it is and you say, hey, can we get our coats on
042first? Because we know we're going to be outside for a little while. So those things do occur. There are board policies that talk about evacuating buildings. So again, If you have any questions on that, please call me and let me know. Everything here is done. Our administration is fantastic. Our teachers are spot on with everything they do. I'm very proud to stand here among all of them to tell you that that has happened in the apparent way that it should. So again, thank you. I'm excited to be here. I just also wanted to mention one more thing before I pass it on. Well, two more things. Mr. Ramos could not make it tonight. He's helping assist a program that he has with some families that are in need. So he sends his regards and his
043well wishes for the holiday season. And this financial report that you're going to hear in a few minutes is there are some areas that we will be working on with the board. with regard to some of the things that occurred financially. But when we had a projection done, which was most important to me, we are in good shape. So we're very excited about that, and I hope Mr. Parenti gets to tell us all that. So I will say progress, and happy holidays. Mr. Parenti from Lurch, Vinci, and Bliss auditors to make his presentation. Good evening everybody. Again, my name is Andrew Parenti. I'm with Lurch Vinci and Bliss and we have completed the annual audit for the year ending June 30th, 2025. We're going to issue two reports. The large report is the annual comprehensive
044financial report and then the smaller report would be the auditor's management report. As far as the annual comprehensive financial report is concerned, it's primarily made up of four sections. The first section would be the introductory section, which is a brief description of the school district prepared by management. The second section would be the management discussion and analysis, which is your financial statements in a narrative form. The third section would be your financial section, which include financial statements, an auditor's opinion, and footnotes to the financial statements. And then the last section of the annual comprehensive financial report would be a statistical section with miscellaneous statistics of both the school district and the city. As I indicated, there is an auditor's opinion attached to your financial statements. That opinion is an unmodified opinion. What that means is
045that your financial statements are fairly stated and free of material misstatement. That's a clean opinion. That's the opinion you want to obtain on an annual basis. What I would like to briefly do is discuss the district's fund balance at June 30th, 2025. The district ended the year with approximately $9.3 million in fund balance. That fund balance is reserved or restricted for different purposes, and I'll go through them at this point. The first designation would be excess surplus in the amount of $705,000. That's going to be the minimum amount of this fund balance that you have to utilize when you prepare the 26-27 budget. The next classification would be excess surplus designated for subsequent years expenditures in the amount of $2.1 million. That is fund balance that was utilized as a revenue source in the 25-26
046budget. That's the budget we're currently in. The next piece is reserved for capital reserve in the amount of $750,000. The district also established a maintenance reserve in the amount of 350,000. The capital can go towards capital type projects and the maintenance any type of repair. The district has set aside 632,000 for unemployment compensation benefits. There are 206,000 in encumbrances. Those are basically orders that were entered into prior to June 30th, but they weren't paid yet. The district also utilized another $1.1 million in the 25-26 budget to balance the budget. And then the last piece of your fund balance would be your unassigned fund balance in the amount of $3.4 million. So when I started this, I said your fund balance was approximately $9.3 million. Of that $9.3 million, $3.3 million was utilized. to fund and
047balance the 25-26 budget. So as we stand here now, there's approximately $6 million at the board's discretion going forward. What I would like to briefly do now is go through the recommendations. We had nine recommendations. The first one was that the bi-monthly payrolls were not certified by the superintendent of schools. What the state requires is that each payroll is certified by the business administrator, the board president, and the superintendent. The next finding was that the bi-monthly state aid revenue payments were deposited in the payroll agency bank account rather than a general fund operating bank account. In addition, transfers to the net payroll and payroll agency bank accounts were not completed for the bimonthly payrolls. The next finding was that the resolution to transfer June 30th undesignated general fund balance to restricted fund balances, which would
048be your capital reserve and your maintenance reserve, was not approved between June 1st and June 30th. We have to do a resolution in order to transfer into those funds in June. The next finding is that the monthly board secretary and treasury reports were not completed and submitted to the board on a timely basis. In addition, the capital lease bank account with Flagstar was not included in the respective reports. The next finding is in the area of purchasing. We had instances where noted where contract awards were made under cooperative purchase program agreements where the supporting cooperative contract award documentation was not obtained and verified to the vendor invoices. Anytime you award a contract to a state contract or a co-op, that supporting documentation should be attached and verified to the vendor invoices. The next finding was
049that sales reported per the food service management company operating statement were not in agreement with the district sales records. What we just recommended to the district is that on a monthly basis, we compare the food service company's operating statement to our sales. We do that on a monthly basis. The next finding is that the application for free and reduced price meals noted 10 students incorrectly reported as resident low income. The student should have been reported as paid. the next recommendation was in the area of resident transported students and we just recommended that greater care be exercised in the determination of transported special education and non-public students and then the last recommendation was that the capital assets inventory report did not include numerous additions of equipment and facility improvements if there are any questions I'd be
050glad to address those hearing none mr. parenti thank you very much for your Great. Thank you. And again, just to make a comment, the report is based on last year's budget, and I'm made aware that Mr. LeBou has brought in corrective actions to address the recommendations of the auditor. Mr. LeBou, your report, please. Thank you, Mr. Fulcorino. So I'd first like to begin our first snowfall of this school year, obviously accompanied by cold weather, cold temperatures, and ice. I want to thank our maintenance crew, our custodian, our director, Mrs. Randazzo, our bus drivers for the work that they put in on coming in on a Sunday, and also being here first thing in the morning to make sure that we can get into school safely, get here on time, and make sure we can continue
051with the educational process. as always we're reviewing all things that we do from an operations standpoint evaluating how we coordinate with our with our neighbors both our local neighbors um on the streets that that we were paving and the sidewalks that we're cleaning our our driveways and and of course our parking lots uh also working with with city officials to make sure that we're on the same page of how we take care of our city hall parking lot that's shared of course with the high school so that continues to be a priority that would make sure that that all stakeholders are involved and we're coordinating and working in the most efficient way possible I also wanted to update a little bit on what's happening at school number five the SDA continues to stay on track
052with what needs to be done foundation walls have been ongoing waterproofing underground plumbing drainage those things are all in place at this time So the work that's being done there continues to stay on track. Over the last couple of weeks, the field lights on the outside where baseball and softball will be played, that process has been going smoothly to make sure that those are installed. No issues with neighbors or traffic to this point, so we're working there diligently to make sure that that process doesn't interrupt the day-to-day operations of our city. Our ECLC, Dr. Tomko touched on it a little bit. We've updated boilers there. We've installed one. We'll have the second one installed at the end of the week. We're going to continue to work on the electrical panels to make sure that that's
053all communicating in a state-of-the-art way, the way that it should be, so that we're aware of what temperatures are. So little by little, we're handling these situations. We wish we could do it all at once. But we'll balance the needs and wants as they come. But we know that these are things that need to be addressed. So we're working with the SDA, with monies that were awarded to us through grants to make sure that those things happen so that our students and our faculty and our community is confident that when they come into school, they'll be in an appropriate environment. Thank you, Mr. President. Thank you. Board committee reports? No reports at this time. I'm going to open up the public comment section for agenda items only, please. Anybody want to make any comments regarding
054the agenda? Seeing none, I'm going to ask for a motion for resolutions 8.1 through 8.4 and 8.5 number 2 through 8.15. I'll make a motion. Mr. Garba? Ms. Eason? Roll call. Mr. Diaz? Aye. Mr. Taylor? Mr. Roto? Aye. Mrs. Hassan? Aye. Mr. Quiles? Aye. Mr. Gaba? Aye. Mrs. Pateri? Aye. Mr. Fulcorino? Aye. For finance, a motion for resolutions 10.1 through 10.11. I'll make a motion. Mr. Gaba? Aye. Ms. Ihsan? Discussion? Roll call. Mr. Diaz? Aye. Mr. Roto? Aye. Excuse me, Mr. Taylor. Aye. Mrs. Hassan. Aye. Mr. Quiles. Aye. Mr. Gaba. Aye. Mrs. Petteri. Aye. Mr. Focorino. Aye. A motion for education, resolutions 12.1 through 12.18. I'll make the motion. Mr. Petteri. Second. I'm sorry, I've got no... Mr. Diaz. Discussion? Roll call. This is the one, we talked about the one addition to the professional
055base. Just as amended. As amended. I'm sorry, I'll get it again. We made amendments in the work session, so I'm going to ask for a motion again for resolutions 12.1 through 12.18 as amended. I'll make a motion as amended with the date change. I'll second that. Thank you very much. Discussion? Roll call. Mr. Diaz? Aye. Mr. Taylor? Aye. Mr. Roto? Aye. Mrs. Hassan? Aye. Mr. Quiles? Mr. Gabber? Aye. Mrs. Petteri? Aye. Mr. Fulcorino? Aye. Facilities, resolutions 14.1 through 14.2. Motion, please. I'll make a motion. Mr. Gabber? Second. Mr. Otto? Discussion? Roll call, please. Mr. Diaz? Aye. Mr. Taylor? Aye. Mr. Roto? Aye. Mrs. Hassan? Aye. Mr. Quiles? Aye. Mr. Gabbin? Aye. Mrs. Petteri? Aye. Mr. Fulcorino? Aye. Asking for a motion on policy 17.1 through 17.2. Mr. Taylor? Second. Ms. Ihsan? Discussion? Roll call, please.
056Mr. Diaz? Aye. Mr. Taylor? Aye. Mr. Roto? Aye. Mrs. Ihsan? Aye. Mr. Quiles? Aye. Mr. Gabbin? Aye. Mrs. Pateri. Aye. Mr. Fulcarino. Aye. With that, I'm going to open up the floor to public comments. Are there any public comments at this time? Seeing none, I will open up the comments to the board. Are there any comments? Mrs. Pateri. Yes, I'd like to make a couple of comments. I'd like to congratulate all the students of the month, the two students of the month. They're not here. The staff and the parents. from number six school that was a real biggie i want to thank the choir uh had a great busy month bfw uh mr quillis that was wonderful wrapping gifts that was my first year helping you out thank you and i wasn't able to make
057it on sunday but i heard it was a great success uh vfw raised Got a lot of gifts. They did a lot of good. It was a very busy time. Also at the VFW, I actually forgot what night it was. We fed over 450 people. Again, thank you, Mr. Quillis, for opening up the VFW to us, to the Riccio family. I'm so sorry. You have my deepest condolences. And to the janitors. And to Ms. Randazzo, a great job on my way to church yesterday. I've seen the janitors out there, and I said, oh, my God, I've seen Steph driving around. So, again, thank you. You did a great job. Keep up the good work. Ms. Aquilas. I would like to take this moment to again thank the Garfield High School for chorus. They did an
058amazing job. It's great to see them. Also, go out to the community. They did the library. They did an awesome job. So hopefully we can continue to hit the arts a lot stronger than what we have done in the past. To the student of the month, Isabella and Julia, what you guys are accomplishing is amazing. And it just makes us proud that we know in that. Your dedication to enhancing your education and your motivation to get to where you are, it's all because of you and the people that support you and the people that you love. So continue that motivation so you can accomplish heading to college, becoming a doctor or a biologist. Honoring, I really want to thank those... teachers and the citizens that helped that teacher that had the incident. It's great that,
059and it's super important that we all get educated on CPR. We do that at the VFW, and all businesses should be doing that. And, you know, the school system, I'm sure, is implemented. The more, the better. Saving a life is very important. It can be traumatic, but it's very gratifying when you know you can jump in and help someone. That is, I want to thank them personally. I know they left, but one day they'll see the video. They know that. This board is immensely grateful for the job and for their dedication in helping a co-worker. To the crossing guard Jean, I know her for many, many, many, many years. She served this community in many different ways. She always volunteered. She was helping the VFW. She helped with the dogs, with the animals. She was
060always willing to give a hand. And that's what Garfield is all about, how we can continue to unite and make this community better. So may she rest in peace. You will be missed, but you will not be forgotten. I want to take this moment to also thank the board administration, the high school, school number four, Mr. Barco, and the rest of the crew. teachers that got involved in donating toys to the Garfield VFW toy drive. It was a huge success. We were able to give out about 39 to 42 bikes, electric cars. We gave out over 550 toys, I believe. We do have some over, and we're going to share it with some of the schools in the community as they need it. But it's great, again, when a community gets together. When we see
061everyone participating, it makes it just a lot easier because we don't know what everyone's going through, but it's great to be able to provide a smile to a child in your community. So I want to thank the community for coming out, Spend Some Savings, MASHEOs, and anyone that donated to the VFW. I am a member there, but I'll speak to you as a member. We are greatly appreciated for the toys that were given. for the bikes that were given, and it makes a difference in a child's life. So you guys made it all happen. I was just a facilitator that helped bring this together. I want to thank you guys, and you have all a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year and Happy Holidays. Thank you, Ms. Quillis. I also, sorry, while I do
062want to congratulate the student of the month and the chorus and all the students who were recognized today, I want to add, I want to extend my condolences to the family of the crossing guard and I just want to add my personal experience as a student. Like growing up in Garfield, I've been here since kindergarten. I would be having a bad day and the crossing guard is the person who would make my day. I've always held them very close to my heart. Whether the weather was bad, if it was freezing, there was a blizzard, they were always there. And I feel like I'm saying we as a collectively, I feel like we overlook these people a lot. think our teachers constantly, we appreciate them. And while they should be appreciated, our security guards and our
063crossing guards are truly like the heart of the community. And I just want to extend my condolences because they've really affected my life in a positive way. Thank you. With that, I'm going to add my comments. I want to thank the members who have retired and resigned for their services to the district. The commendations for the life-saving actions, and I'm going to mention their names again, Ms. Bonanno, Mr. Trichek, Ms. Falk, Ms. Guerra, Dr. Mendez, Mr. Palentis, Mr. Prado, Ms. Zemancik, Ms. Smith, and Ms. Soares-Dazosa. Thank you very much. To the Rico family, thank you. Our heartfelt condolences go to you. Ms. Rico has created lifelong memories to the community and to this board. Congratulations to the Garfield High School students of the month. And again, that's students of the month. Congratulations to their family.
064We appreciate all that they have helped their students along and the teachers as well. Thank you to our chorus. They did a fantastic job. With that, I'm going to ask everybody to send out prayers to the victims and families of our world tragedies. congratulate everybody on the first day of Hanukkah today wishing everyone a Merry Christmas happy holidays and a safe healthy and happy new year with that I'm going to call for an adjournment Mr. President can I interrupt real quick? You may Mr. Diaz Sorry about that guys I want to give you guys my deepest condolences to the Rico family She touched all of our hearts in many different ways. She came to events when I was just campaigning and no one knew me from a hole in the wall. So I just want
065to give you guys my deepest condolences there. Ms. Eson and I, about a month ago, we went over to School 9 and we wanted to make some sort of special needs committee. There's a resolution in this agenda for advocacy group. It's a parental advocacy group, guys. So we're going to be looking for parental volunteers so we can get that started right away. I want to wish you guys happy holidays, and thank you guys for coming. Mr. Taylor? designer five champions to silver medals in the Bronx so that along with the arts Thank you, Mr. Taylor. Any other last... Ms. Eason? I just wanted to say I think we have a lot of great things going on in our high school. My older daughter was in chorus and the chorus here has been really great for
066years. It's good to see that this program continues and that they just, it's a very excellent performance. I saw them here tonight but also at the library. It's just really nice. I want to congratulate the students of the month. The student government, you guys are always busy. You're always here telling us everything that you're doing, not just what you did in this month, but you're very proactive in planning ahead for what you can do with the other students for the year. Good luck on career night. It's another thing my daughter usually goes to, so it's a lot of fun, and the students enjoy it. I want to thank everybody that helped with the school six emergency. As a nurse, I can't stress enough how important it is for people to take a first aid class,
067take a CPR class, especially CPR. And so you have to do it. It's very exhaustive. You need really all the help you can get. And those people need all the help that you can give them. Ms. Jeannie. Miss Jeannie was not just our crossing guard. She is also a friend of mine. My kids adore her. I can't say a lot. I'll start crying about her, but my deepest condolences. I miss her. My kids miss her. And she is just very important to us. The emergency we had at school for today, I want to, everyone else I think is gone, but Mr. Paciri is still here. I just applaud the way that everybody handled it, cleared the building. It's very cold outside. You guys wrapped it up as quick as you can to keep the students
068safe. I was there to pick up my kids, and I'm just very appreciative of everything that you do for them every day. I want to tell the board I appreciate your support on this CPAC group for our special needs students. Me and Adrian both have special needs students in the district. So we're pretty excited to get that program started. And also the support on having a helmet rule for the kids that are on the bikes and scooters. Like I said, as a nurse, I see a lot of accidents that happen when kids are not protected. So we want to do the most we can to keep our students safe at school. I want to wish everyone a happy holidays and thank everybody that came out tonight. I want to try going last again. One last
069thing. I just want to thank the administration, and that includes Dr. Tomko, Mr. LeBou, and Ms. Randazzo, for them addressing our heating issues. Every building has heat except for some isolated incidences, and some movements had to be made, corrections are being made or have been made, and they're in need. Those things are very important and I just want to extend my appreciation. Mr. Otto and Ms. Ison, discussion? All in favor? Aye. Opposed? Abstain? Happy holidays, everybody.