001Executive session meeting of June 11th was convened in the conference room of the administrative offices of the board of education 159 way New Jersey. Statement of compliance setting for date time and location was read in accordance with the requirements of the open public meetings act. The roll call was taken. The meeting was recessed and is now being reconvened. We stand for the flag followed by a moment of silence. >> I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for it stands one nation under God indivisible with liberty and justice for all. >> Thank you everyone. Please be seated. Please. Yes, I guess it is. >> Uh, thank you much, Mr. President. Just a brief administrative uh summary as educators. This is um the one of the most exciting
002times of the year. The culmination of all of our work uh when we meet our students at prek and then they were with us for 13 years and they head towards graduation is coming true. Uh I had a great opportunity to attend this uh the community scholarship uh program at Wayne Hills this week and then followed up the next morning by the Wayne Hills 4.0 breakfast. Um it's amazing job that first of all Machos put that breakfast together with the administration and to hear the schools that our our students are going to prestigious universities um and wife had a 4.0 as part of their uh senior year is truly amazing. Uh I'll be doing the same with um Valley uh this week. And then as we prepare for our 2026 27 school year, we have
003a lot of transition going on in our schools and our um positions looking for new new staff to join us as staff have retired. Um I probably been on the at least 12 to 17 interviews this week uh looking for new staff. Uh and some of them are administrative positions. We've had interviews uh for uh in in HR for assistant superintendent um principles for uh Skylar Kfax Middle School, Packinac uh elementary school. So all good times and we had some great candidates uh joining us. So we we will sorry we will continue with this interview process and bring only the best to Wayne Township Public Schools. >> Thank you. >> Uh revisions to the agenda. There's several. One is um under eent school resources finance remove item number five approval of vended meals. Under X
004emergent school resource legal. We're going to add item number one approval of settlement agreement and general release. Resolve that the board of education upon the recommendation of superintendent hereby approve the settlement agreement and release in the matter of student ID 8595837657 office administrative law docket number EDS 21871-2025 N agency reference number 2026-4193 as attached by reference and further authorized the board president and the secretary to execute ute the same on behalf of the board. The business administrator and superintendent are authorized to take all further steps required by the term at the settlement to further implement the same. We're going to also add number two, approval of settlement agreement and general release dissolved that the board of education upon the recommendation of superintendent hereby approves the settlement agreement and release in the matter of student ID
00526200011442 agency reference number 2026-4810 as attached by reference and further authorized the board president and secretary to execute same on behalf of the board the business administrator and the superintendent are authorized to take all further steps required by the terms of the settlement to further implement safe. At number three, approval of HIPP determination resolve that the board affirm the superintendent decision on HIP case number 58/2025-2026 following an appeal as required by NJSA 18A 37-15B6. That's it. Thank you. This time we'll open the meeting to the public on agenda items only. 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 be limited to three minutes per person. Members of the public are discouraged from speaking negatively about
006an employee or student. The 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 at a subsequent meeting under old business. Do I have a mover? >> Mr. Kakos, Mrs. Anyone from the public wishing to speak on an agenda item? >> See no one moves close. Second favor. >> Wait, some committee set tonight. >> Hello. The education committee of the Wayne Township Board of Education started at approximately 5:30 p.m. in attendance were Dr. Lauren Casmar, um Mark Faber, Harry Pacos, and myself. We reviewed the summer reading and math work for elementary, middle, and high school along with updated science curriculum for the middle school. The committee discussed the I Ready adoption and reviewed updated information.
007The committee discussed the discrepancy between the current stress SBA cell phone policy and the new law discussing possible options for high school in a bell to bell schedule. The committee concluded by reviewing updated elementary enrollment numbers. We also have some exciting things coming to the district. There's a new course. It's called elective sports medicine. It deals with strength and conditioning and relationships between nutrition, cardio, vascular. Um it also talks about um fitness assessments, strength, endurance, and flexibility. Emphasis placed on safe practices, injury prevention, and understanding personal fitness levels as a starting point for growth throughout the uh throughout the course. Another new club for Fallon, fostering independence. This one deals with um the purpose of this club is to develop independence in our youngsters. uh in our young learners to prepare them for everyday life
008inside and outside of school. We would focus on shoe tying, different types of closures, buckles, snaps, zippers, opening snacks and water bottles independently and problem solving with real life problems. We would also practice skills like ordering from a menu and asking for help. The club will be for kindergarten and first graders. First grade will meet from September, January, and kindergarten will meet from February and June. We also have our uh amazing trip to Italy uh for Wayne Valley. Um we talked about that and all the success we've had with that trip and um perhaps some new trips in the future. Uh we talked about uh technology curriculum cyber security grant we have a course that associated with um the uh with the iig lead the way and uh we also have one more camp coming
009it's called the cyber patriot camp incoming eighth and ninth graders um it's the opportunity to explore cyber security and that's what we talked about thank you >> Mr. Mr. >> Um the finance uh committee met this evening. Present were uh Joe Agnes, Mr. Pavlac, Jamie DeMarco, and Lauren Tippets. We talked about um our schedule of taxes and uh the tax shelter annuity companies and um the 403b. We um talked about the 2025 2026 transportation agreement and we approved um student uh accident insurance renewal. Um disposing of obsolete surplus equipment including textbooks and some technology items. the acceptance of our donations um and our the approval of district insurance coverage and um the approval of PCIA lease for 2026 2027 school year and briefly discuss the vended meal agreements and the SRO SLEO agreement. Um there
010potential um also additional appropriation of surplus and PCIA debt financing through the improvement authority. >> That's about it. >> Any other this time I'll take a mover for the agenda. >> Mr. Agnes, this is the man. Um just I'm going to do this now. Uh was an idea that somebody brought up and I thought it was a really good idea. Um, what we just voted on is to move the whole agenda as one item instead of voting separately on each individual item. So, just to give you an idea of what's on the agenda tonight, you have the summer reading list is on there. Uh you have personnel items including staff leaves, transfers, staff and appointments, additional compensation, mentors, coaches, advisors, extended school year staff and volunteers. Finance and operations items include taxes, transfers, insurance, as
011Mrs. Landry said, and getting rid of some obsolete equipment. Uh you have the approval of the shared service agreement with the town uh for the school resource officers and the class 3 special officers for 2627. uh student related services uh including nursing services, added district placements, um related services, home or hospital instructions and student um approvals. We have education items including professional travel, professional development, field trips uh and the required discipline report along with the HIP report. >> Any comments on the agenda? Seeing none, roll call. >> Mrs. Mr. Leander, >> yes. >> Mr. Paul, >> yes. >> Mr. Proacos, >> yes. >> Mr. Agnes, >> yes. >> Mr. Alquin, >> yes. >> Mr. Faber, >> yes. >> Mr. Hayman, >> yes. >> Mrs. Regalos, >> yes. >> And Mr. Pap, >> yes. >> Motion
012carries. >> Right. This portion of the meeting will be open to citizens for comments on any topic. Residents are asked to state their name, address, and subject matter. Comment comments may be limited to five minutes per person. Members of the public are discouraged from speaking negatively about an employee or 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 respond to you tonight at a subsequent meeting on your own business. Do I have a Mr. Hammond Mr. >> Anyone from the club? >> Before we do that, can I congratulate someone here? >> Can I do it first? >> Yeah. You go. >> Um, Mrs. Weinstein, come up. You >> She's next. Uh, I want to thank you
013personally for your time and everything you put in to the M school district. I've actually watched you come through the ranks in my time on the board and no matter where you are, it was outstanding what you've done and you are definitely an asset to the M school district. You are always welcome back here. >> No, that was more >> I would like uh Miss M. Rodriguez to come up to the podium. Through a very extensive process of interviewing candidates, we found the best candidate was right at home at Scofax Middle School. And we are proud to congratulate our the newest principal at Skeleax. Nicole, any words of wisdom? >> I'm just happy to be here. I love I love my school and I appreciate the opportunity. >> Thank you. >> Anyone from the public
014wishing to speak? >> Good evening members of the board of education. My name is Liz Fonberg. I'm a resident of Wayne. I live at 22 Simmons Place in Pack. I'm also a reading specialist at Tunisi School and I'm retiring at the end of this school year. I understand that budget decisions are difficult and that districts are faced with challenging financial realities. However, I am concerned about the reduction of reading specialist positions and the impact that these changes may have on our students, our teachers, and our families. Throughout my career, I have learned that early identification and remediation of reading difficulties prevents future academic failure. The students who make the greatest gains are those who receive intensive targeted intervention addressed to their specific needs. Leading specialists do so much more than just provide extra academic support.
015We assess students using multiple measures. We monitor progress. We collaborate with classroom teachers, partner with families, and develop individualized plans to help struggling readers succeed. We build relationships that allow us to understand not only how a child is performing, but how that child learns. In a small group setting, students often reveal strengths that are not visible in a larger class. I have seen hesitant students become active participants and children who struggle with attention issues thrive when provided with intensive support in a smaller learning setting. Given the opportunity to experience success, these students gain confidence and begin to see themselves as capable learners. Another aspect of this work is often overlooked is the relationship between reading specialists and families. Over the years, I have sat with countless parents who were deeply worried about their child's future.
016Many have shared their fears through tears, wondering if their child would struggle constantly academically or wondering if their child would ever become a confident reader. Part of my role has been to support, encourage, educate, and partner with those families. Together, we celebrate growth. We navigate the challenges. And when I help parents and so do all the reading specialists understand that reading difficulties do not define their child's potential. Reading specialists also play an important role beyond the students we serve directly. For more than two decades, reading specialists across our district have served as literacy leaders within our schools. We have provided professional development for classroom teachers in a variety of topics in a way that no consultant could ever match. We collaborate with colleagues. We share best practices. We help ensure that effective researchbased reading instruction
017reaches students throughout the building. A reading specialist is not simply a service that a school provides. A reading specialist is a resource that becomes woven into the fabric of a school community. Supporting students, partnering with families, collaborating with teachers, and helping ensure that struggling readers do not become struggling adults. While services can be shared, relationships can't. The daily presence of a building-based reading specialist creates opportunities for collaboration, early intervention, and family support that are difficult to achieve when one specialist is divided among multiple schools. Over the years, I've witnessed remarkable growth when students receive the intervention they need. I watch first graders come to me who can't identify letters. They leave me reading decodable books. I watched second graders who can't read a longer word leave me reading word longer words because they can identify
018the base words and suffixes. I have watched third graders who froze when confronted with multi-elabic words in the fall and by this time of the year they confidently tackle those words syllable by syllable. Some of the students I remember most are those with significant phological weaknesses. For some, intervention was not measured in months, but in years. I had the privilege of working with these students across multiple grades, watching them build the foundational skills they needed to become successful readers. By the time they graduated elementary school, they possessed the reading skills necessary to access grade level curriculum in the middle school. These successes don't happen by accident. They were the result of early identification, specialized instruction, strong partnerships with families, collaboration with classroom teachers, and the dedication of trained educators. As someone who is retiring, I
019have no personal stake in staffing decisions. My concern is for the students and families who will need these services in the years ahead. I also speak as a resident of the community. My two kids, K to 12, went through the Wayne schools, college graduates. They got a great education and that's what I want for all the students and we um I just want to see that highquality literacy instruction that our children deserve. I hope the board will carefully consider the long-term impact of reducing specialized reading services and continue to prioritize early intervention, literacy leadership, and direct support for our most vulnerable learners. Thank you for your time and support and everything WE DO. I'M gonna follow Liz. She's a hard act to follow. She's retiring. But um thank you for your time and your energy
020to support our schools. My name is Rosemary Depalma. I'm a parent to three children in the district and I've been an elementary teacher and Wayne since 2005. I'm going to try my best to keep my voice calm. I'm currently an AP reading specialist. I'm not sure if standing here will do anything but I feel that if I don't speak now there'll be a ripple effect in the future. So recently my colleagues and I were informed that Wayne the Wayne team of reading specialists one per building will no longer be the case for next year. Two schools have lost their standing reading specialists Pacnack and two. We were told that our schedules will be created based on the needs of each building and a travel schedule will be made from there. The information was shared in
021a very respectful manner and was explained in detail. We all listened. We all understood the reasons. No one has been fired. We are employed and for that we're grateful. However, it was stated that, you know, budgets cuts are being made. There's an increase in special education and they needed to find where they can make adjustments for money. I'm concerned that we are operating in a very reactive manner instead of a proactive manner. One of the most, it's Liz said it better, but one of the most effective ways to reduce the numbers of students requiring special ed is to provide quality strong one tier one instruction and timely tier 2 intervention as soon as possible. If we are committed to implementing a true MTSS framework in Wayne, it is difficult to understand why your most qualified
022tier 2 reading support is now being cut. Research consistently demonstrates that early intervention is critical in preventing significant learning gaps and improving long-term student outcomes. Reading specialists have never been given the opportunity or not never but have not been given the opportunity to provide targeted instruction in kindergarten and now we're being told that our time with K1 and two will decrease. It is in these early years that this intervention can have the greatest impact on helping our students develop the necessary skills for future success. I think the role of reading specialists deserves a closer look and consideration, requiring us to travel to buildings will inevitably reduce our opportunities to collaborate with classroom teachers, build meaningful relationships within the school with our students and families, and maintain a consistent presence with the school community supporting literacy.
023I know that I work very closely with my Maggie. She's our reading specialist and we do a lot that's not on any agenda or schedule. These relationships are essential components of a successful elementary learning environment. Even though their values may not be reflected in a data report, a spreadsheet or a schedule. By reducing our presence in each building, more pressure will fall onto the classroom teacher with more demands to meet very specific individual needs and less support available to them. I fear that two positions lost this year will snowball into a greater loss in the future. I feel we need to keep our focus on our kids. Let's get our systems of support in place. My 20 years working in Wayne, there is always been a solid reading specialist in every building. And I think
024it's disheartening to see the role is now getting reduced. I strongly urge you to reconsider that reduction and keep a reading specialist in every building. Thank you for your attention. ANYONE else from the publications? >> Wow, this is a lot easier in front of first graders. Um, good evening Wayne board of education members, administrators, parents, teachers, and members of the Wayne community. My name is Maryanne Carol, and I've had the privilege of teaching at Pines Lake School for the past 26 years. Thank you for the opportunity to speak tonight about an issue that directly impacts the academic success, confidence, and future opportunities of Wayne's students. The need for a full-time reading specialist in every elementary school. Throughout my career, I have seen firsthand the difference early literacy intervention can make. I have watched first grade
025students enter school unable to recognize letters or decode syphors and with the right support leave reading books independently and proudly. There is nothing quite like seeing a child realize often for the first time I could do this. That moment can change the trajectory of a child's educational journey. That is why having a full-time reading specialist is not a luxury. It is a necessity. Research consistently shows that early literacy intervention is one of the most effective investments a school district can make. When students receive timely support, they are more likely to become successful readers, confident learners, and engaged members of a classroom community. Potentially having a reading specialist two to three days a week is not optimum to close gaps, especially with the struggles and challenges our students are facing. Wayne's Wayne's reading specialists provide targeted
026evidence-based instruction to students who need additional support. They are trained to identify reading difficulties early, develop individualized interventions, monitor student progress, and collaborate closely with classroom teachers to ensure that instruction meets each child's needs. They also provide professional development, support implementation of programs such as foundations, analyze student data, share effective instructional practices, and serve as VA valuable members of the INRS team. A full-time reading specialist is especially important for students who may not qualify for special education services, but still need intervention. These students often require focused instruction in phmic awareness, decoding, fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension. When those challenges are addressed early, students have a much greater chance of becoming confident, independent readers. Reducing full-time reading specialists sends the wrong message about your priorities. If you truly believe that every child deserves the best education possible,
027then you must provide the resources that help all students succeed. Literacy is not an extra service. It is a fundamental necessity. I respectfully urge you, the board and administration, to continue investing in our students by maintaining a full-time reading specialist in every building. Wayne children deserve the best support we can provide and their future success depends on the decisions you make today. I respectfully ask that you demonstrate your commitment to educational excellence by ensuring that every student has access to a specialized reading instruction that they need and deserve. We carry the slogan way better in Wayne. Please continue to follow that philosophy with action by doing what is way better for weighing students and that is keeping full-time reading specialists. Thank you for your time, your service to the community and for your consideration of
028this very important request. >> Anyone else from the public wish? >> Good evening. My name is Elizabeth Bulma. I am a parent of two childrens at Pines Lake Elementary School. Both of my children receive early reading intervention services when they were younger. I am here tonight because I have seen firsthand the difference those services can make. My kids got home and they said, "Mom, I can do it. I did it. Mom, I know I understand it." Now, early target intervention grades kindergarten through 2 grade are critical. Those early years are when fundamental reading and math skills are developed. When students struggle, timely and consistent support can prevent small gaps from becoming much larger later on. I truly believe that the elementary years are the most important years in a child educational journey. The support students
029receive during those years can shape their confident academic success and future opportunities. I am concerned about reducing reading intervention services for many students. Less frequent support is simply not enough to close those learning gaps. Process come from repetitions, practice, consistency and ongoing reinforcement. When services are reduced, it takes longer for students to make gains and can make it harder for them to catch up with their peers. I am also concerned about placing more responsibility on the classroom teachers to provide intervention support while the class sizes are growing up incred um or teachers are working incredible hard but they cannot do everything alone. They are not magicians. When my children first started at Pine at Pines Lake, classes size were often 15, 20 kids per teacher. Today, classes are 25, 28. And how Wayne is growing,
030it's just going to get larger. Um, and the larger are just becoming norms. This additional uh students make a significant difference. As Wayne continues to grow, so do the demand placed on the teachers and support staff. Our childrens are the ones suffering. Small groups instructions are pulled out intervention programs provide students with focus and individualized support that is difficult to replicate in a larger classroom settings. These environments reduce distraction, allow student to concentrate on a specific skill and give them the opportunity to practice in a way that builds both confident and competence. I am also concerned about losing a full-time media specialist in our school. A media specialist does so much more than check out books. They help foster a love of reading. Both of my kids do not like reading. no matter how much
031I have tried to read with them since they were in my belly. Um, and now my son is reading chapter books. He's actually he went from being in in Ryerson as a step up program with lots of um support to now he is in the gifted program at Pines Lake Elementary and just won a third place in the nation in one of the um in one of um the Gates programs that they do. third in the nation thanks to the early support and all the jobs and all the support that he received since he was in priestess um when he was receiving early intervention programs such as one book one school read across America and weekly library be visits help childrens develop lifelong reading habits as a parent I watch my children come home excited
032about books they discover in the library. In a world where children spend more times on screen or media specialist help reading make excitement make it fun or media especially also teaches technology classes, STEM classes, computer skills and digital digital citizenship. She organizes programs as uh baskets of books for kindergarten students, orchard visits, jackals games, read across America. Um these programs enriches our children education and create experience says that they remember their lifetime. My question is this. If we remove traveling, if we move to traveling media specialists, will they realistically have the time to provide all these services and program while also supporting multiple schools? >> Ma'am, I'm going to have to ask you to wrap up your five minutes. >> All right. As a parent, I know how much these services matter to my own
033children. They help them develop their skills. Um, and I hope the board will continue to prioritize early reading interventions, literacy programs, and resources that help our students thrive. Thank you so much for your time, your service to the district, and your consideration. Good evening. My name is Kier Scatter. I'm a resident in Wayne. My both of my daughters went through AP as well as Skyler Kax. Um, one of them was accepted to the STEM Academy and stays there now from biomed in no small part to the academic support she got from the Wayne teachers. Um, I actually had a bunch to say about the importance of library media specialists. I understand you can't say librarians anymore. Um, but there are certainly many women here and you're right. Right. Women here who are going to probably
034make that more eloquent than I. Um, but what I would say is this. I think all of you are in a position if you had stood outside while you were in executive session and listened to them talk about how they were going to make things work despite the fact that the odds are stacked against them. And this is not just in Wayne. This is education in the United States unfortunately, right? But they're going to make it work. You guys will have to vote on these curriculum changes or these design changes, whatever you'd like to call them. And at the end of the day, that makes you their indirect boss. If you're not directly there, how many of you have actually gone and spoken to these people, ask them about their job. Ask them what they
035do on a daily basis, right? You are in charge of the changes that will affect their No one in here is worried about losing their job. I mean, that might be next year or the year after, but at the end of the day, when I read in the paper that we got threequarters of a million dollar more, I also know $200,000, let's say four teachers, I don't know what they make, represents one half of one half of 1%, right? $200,000, right, in our in our budget. I just don't see how hard changes have to be have to be hard choices have to be made. I understand that. I am not standing here trying to tell you you should get rid of the third football coach. But what I am here to tell you is please
036listen to them. I have been to enough board meetings in this district and others where you listen politely and that's awesome. But no change is affected because one or two administrators who maybe have been 20 years from the classroom are telling you what's best for the school because they're looking at a spreadsheet. They know. Listen to them. How many of you have had a job where someone above you makes a change and you know if they understood what it really meant, they might not do it. Right? That's almost all of us unfortunately, right? You are in a position to be that person who listens and doesn't make that change and understands that, oh, I got it. This is what I wanted to do because I really thought it was a good idea and it turns
037out it's not right. I cannot tell the future. All I know is on back to school night, where do they send every parent when there's downtime? Just like they clean up college on like right on parents night. I mean, geez, they were like cleaning all the marble in my whole campus right that day and it was parents weekend, right? Um you send them to the library. That room is beautiful and it's maintained by these people and there's reading specialists here as well. So I don't know who does what job but that's what like this is where you guys actually separate yourselves. This is how Wayne separates themselves. We have one of the best public libraries I would say the best public library in the county right at the end of the day it starts also
038in there. I should add two one other thing. My 16-year-old daughter asked me to drive her to the library two days ago. I dropped everything I was doing. I was tired like you guys. I had worked a full day. She is popular. She has the water bottle you think she has. She wears the sweaters you think she has. She has a lot of friends. We get her away from the darn phone in books. You guys are looking for ways to get screens out of their hands. Keep the libraries and the the people who run them intact. I ask you to listen. Don't make a decision unless you actually gone there and found out what's going on. Take some time in the next two weeks and go one. I apologize. I know I'm coming up on
039time, but I do want to just make one comment. We walked in and we heard the opening statement of it's a great time of the year because we get to celebrate all of the students achievements and teachers as well. I I do believe you guys said that which is awesome, right? Um Miss Weinstein was celebrating. I don't know if she's still here. Um, and what are these women doing tonight? They're worrying about what their job is. Not worrying about losing their job. They're worrying about the people they serve, not the parents, not you, the students. That's who they care about. Listen to them if that's who you care about. Again, your house at our 64 boundary drive. Barbecue's open ON THE WEEKENDS. HI THERE. Good evening and thank you for being here and listening to
040all the wonderful things everyone's sharing tonight. Everyone has brought so much to the table that's so prevalent. My name is Wendy Waldrin and I've been a teacher of 29 years teaching at Pines Lake School. It's like a home to me. I'm here to advocate for the role that's critical to the the success of our school, Pinesike School, the full-time media specialist. A media center is no longer just for books. It's our school's instructional engine. First, navigating infinite information, find trustworthy resources, practicing responsible digital censorship citizenship. They foster a love for reading that is tailored in every child's unique interest. They solve problems. They extend learning through the hands and the hands-on lens lessons. They go beyond literacy. They incorporate STEM and technology into the lessons. I'm a science teacher in my in my building and
041I work very closely with the media center and she's constantly coming to me asking for ideas. How can I extend what you're doing in your classroom and and bring it and bring it home for them, make it real, and we work together and she's a valuable member of our team. They help us design abstract concepts that are tangible. Finally, we must face the operational reality. Our specialist is a logistical cornerstone, managing standardized testing, fixing Chromebooks, supporting complex teacher projects. Without this full-time position, this technical burden falls back onto the classroom teachers, stealing time from direct instruction that's critical to their students. Investing in a full-time media specialist is an investment in our students future. To ensure their success at their success and our school's efficiency, we must keep this full-time position. It has been so
042powerful to watch over these 29 years my media center grow and change and develop with the times. You go in there, it's the warmest, fuzziest place in our school. the kids go there that they feel like they can come and read and learn and extend their learning with STEM activities and and things like that. They help us so much with testing and how to help us make sure the standardized testing is successful and it's very nerve-wracking because we're given a list of several things to do and it changes every year and that media specialist is so on it to make sure that all the teachers are successful. However, I'm not done here because we also need a full-time reading specialist as well. This is critical to our schools. Friends and colleagues know that knowledge is
043power, that the power begins with the ability to read. I see it in our everyday hallways. Students with incredible potential who are simply waiting for the right tools to unlock their potential. These students don't just need help. They need the dedicated full-time expertise of a reading specialist. When we cut services for our K through2 learners, we are we aren't just trimming the budget. On the budget, we're stunting the growth of our children. Early intervention is not a luxury. It is the foundation upon which a future academic success is built. Through constant practice, repetition, and ongoing reinforcement, these specialists help our youngest readers make vital gains that simply cannot achieve. They cannot achieve alone. Without this support, the burden falls solely on a classroom teacher. I'm a classroom teacher who year after year after year I
044have classrooms with students that are very challenged in reading and I work closely with the reading specialist, the basic skills teacher to to to get strategies to build their knowledge. And without them, without us teaming up, it's it's a lot to reach these children. Some of these children come to fourth grade at a first grade reading level. These reading specials help us to give us strategies to make our classrooms differentiated and learner friendly to all these children. Without the support, uh the ones who won't advocate for themselves get lost in a shuffle. They deserve the chance to catch up and a chance for a successful future. Let's give our students the tools they need for a success for years to come. Let's commit to a comprehensive reading program and keep our specialists full times because
045when we invest in literacy today, we empower the leaders of tomorrow. Thank you so much for your time. I'm changing the subject. Um, hi, my name is Kathy Gillow. I have been a member of the Ryerson School staff uh for the last close to 30 years. When I first arrived at Ryerson, I must tell you I was utterly impressed with the Wayne um learning center program. Ryerson housed about five to seven classrooms of multi-handicapped students with diverse needs. The learning center had a separate nurse, a separate secretary, and the wing of the building ran on a separate schedule. But what impressed me the most back then and even today is the way our Ryerson general education students embrace all these other fellow students in the building. Often they're agreeing to be lunch and recess buddies,
046helping out in their classrooms, and always looking out for the most fragile population. Our students were and have continued to be kind and accepting beings. Our parents, our families, as well as our entire staff have always been accepting, kind, and patient. We have just completed a very challenging year where whereby our MD classes were overcrowded and very challenging. Daily issues arose that required immediate attention. Our principal, our nurse, our child, our entire child study team, and many members of our staff all become impacted. Our specialists must alter lesson plans continually. Field days, field trips, day-to-day happenings are continually revamped to be inclusive and safe. I do not tell you any of this as a complaint. Our MD population is a source of pride for Ryerson, and I think many of our children benefit from their
047unique experiences. However, with that being said, the general ed students also need a voice. We are now slated to house two additional MD classrooms at our school in the fall. Two additional classes with no physical classrooms available. Although our Ryerson family has always been warm and welcoming, at a certain time we have to think of our entire school community. We are a school with diverse needs. We have a very large resource room population. We have a very large ELLL population. We have many speech students as well as many BISUP and reading students. Adding two classes with no physical classrooms available means all the other services have to be impacted. We already have teachers doubling up in classrooms to deliver services. We already have teachers with desks in corners of classrooms just so they have a
048space. We can only imagine that space being even further divided. I'm sure we would all agree that students sitting on a bean bag chair because there's not enough room around the kidneyshaped table or two or three ESL or intervention classes going on at the same time is not ideal for our struggling students. All of the Wayne students deserve to have a place to learn and grow in the community. Although we all realize space is a commodity in the district. Adding two additional challenging situations to a school already dealing with so much does not seem equitable. Across the state of New Jersey, students needs have been changed. None of us are blind to the fact that we as educators are faced with future challenges. Everyone in every school should be aware of the true challenges in
049the district. The district should not be sacrificing one school to be a designated MD satellite unless we are seeking to segregate one population, which I am sure is not the case. We no longer have the additional learning center nurse. We no longer have the additional learning center secretary. The MD classes are larger and the behaviors are far more challenging. They what what I remember they were in the past. I ask each of you to think about the impact this decision will have on our staff, all of our small groups, and all the needed populations in our school, as well as what it says about the district as a whole. Thank you for your time. >> Thank you. >> Anyone else from the public wishing to speak? See no one close any uh any old business
050new business board member comments Mr. P. So, I've heard every word that all of you have said, and it's it's really tough to sit up here and hear all of these things that we have to choose. Um, I've been on the board now, this is my third year. And the progression of the issues that I've seen and lived through in three years have been insane. I mean, we've had to cut jobs. We've had to try to come up with solutions for classrooms. Um, we sit here for hours on end trying to come up with ways that we're going to save budget for next year because we're in this situation where we just got hit for $13 million just for benefits. We're also negotiating contracts with principles and um the um custodial staff, the bus drivers.
051We just negotiated with the teachers last year. And nobody's willing to say, "Okay, we're not going to get a race. will forego that to help the district meet their budget. The state isn't saying we're going to, you know, cut your cost that you have to give in to the medical benefits to help save your your your district. We still are stuck with our 2%. And teachers are getting, you know, bigger raises than that. Their benefits are going up even more than their raises. And we're looking at this system that has been in Wayne for, you know, probably half a decade or longer. and we're seeing that it just isn't sustainable. And that's the real problem that we're trying to look through is what we know something has to change. Now, is it going to be
052big changes where we have to lay off, you know, tons of teachers? Can we afford that? >> We really can't because we don't our classrooms can't get any bigger. So, we're we're sitting here. We're juggling all these things. We've tried, you know, a referendum which failed. We've tried to negotiate with different vendors to try to, you know, get our costs down. Nobody's willing to budge. We've tried to negotiate a little harder on contracts. That doesn't work. So, you know, if this was the state of New Jersey, we would just not care. We'd raise everybody's taxes as high as we could and we'd all be paying $50,000 a year in property taxes to cover the budget. That's not feasible. That's not going to, you know, then who's going to be able to afford to live here?
053So, that's not an option for us. Then you know if we were a corporation we would start hiring you firing and laying off the the most expensive people that we had but we can't do that either because you know there's tenure laws and we have all these other restrictions. So the the amount of options that we have that we can work within to try to achieve this place where we can hopefully sustain what we have for another decade maybe. But within that decade, there's going to have to be some major changes to the way that this works because it's not going to sustain longer than that. There is no way to keep all of this because if you've listened, every time there's a change or every time we have to make some type of alteration,
054there's a group of people that always come and tell us why we can't make these changes. And believe me, if it was up to me, we would have the best schools. I'm paying teachers a million dollars a year. And you know, if we had a limited budget, I would be great to do that because I have kids in the school district. I know what all of you do for my kids. And I couldn't be more thankful. And I I mean, it's just it's unbelievable. And that's why I moved here. So, it's not that we sit here, we we take any of these decisions lightly because, you know, this is this keeps me up more at night than my regular job does because there's no easy solutions here because the we're so limited in the choices
055that we have. But we know that this the world is changing. The the schools have changed. I mean the number of people that live in Wayne. I mean since I've gotten here I moved here in 2010. So 16 years ago. I mean it's completely different. I mean we've probably doubled the population in that period and we know what's coming in the next 5 years with all the new buildings and we can't stop that. So, it's just, you know, I hear what everybody's saying and, you know, I know what we're losing and I know what we're we're we're sacrificing, but we're trying to do the, you know, things that give the least impact because it could be a lot worse that we have to make some bigger changes and bigger choices. And, you know, some of
056this is because boards in the past didn't want to make decisions and they didn't want to make changes that, you know, would upset people. Had they made these changes, you know, five, 10 years ago, things probably would have progressed a little bit more gradually. But right now, for some reason, there's a a kind of a, you know, merge of all these perfect storms that are hitting us all at once. And it should, it's very difficult. So, believe me, we hear you and, you know, well, discuss what can be, you know, looked at and what potentially could be changed because that's what we will always do. But none of this is easy and it it really does take a toll when you have to make these hard choices. It's no different than when you're trying to
057make a decision on what bills you got to pay in your house and, you know, do I worry about the electric bill or do I feed my kids? You know, I mean, everybody's gone through times like that. And, you know, that's kind of what this is. It's just just know that there's no real change coming that's going to give us all the money we need to do it anytime soon. So, please just be patient with us, but we are really trying to come up with the best solutions that will impact the least, but we have to change something somewhere. But thank you for everything you do. We really appreciate it. We really, really do. >> Um, I just would like to say that every single person who spoke at the podium spoke from your hearts.
058You we could hear the passion and um someday the kids are going to look back and and maybe remember or recall the instruction that they got from you and the commitment to their well-being and their educational excellence. and academic success. Um Mark is so right. There's like we don't have to tell you right you know the things that we deal with here. We sit here and we do ponder these things, you know, for hours on Thursdays, you know, and try to come up with the most reasonable, the most painless, you know, whatever it is, whatever it may be, decisions that we make. And we collaborate carefully with the administration here. And um so just just know I hear you, we hear you, and we thank you for everything you do. It doesn't go unnoticed. And
059parents tell us all the time, we hear from parents all the time, you know, echoing the same sentiments that you guys do do an amazing job. So, keep up the good work. Don't be discouraged. The picture is way, way bigger than what we see right now, and we're just going to go with the what we have. We're going to work with what we have. And things are going to get a little bit heavier, right? We know that there's many more kids coming into the district. we're just going to have to keep our our uh our noses to the grind and do the best we can. So, thank you. Thank you for your understanding. >> And just to uh Mrs. Leandria and Mr. Fabers's point, just to echo first, we thank you for everything you do.
060I also have uh two daughters in the school system who struggle with reading and and other and other things. And and thank you to all the teachers. Thank you for showing up, showing support. But I will say, you know, we can stand up here and say how difficult it is, and it is, but we all wanted it because we we care to serve you guys as well as the students and and everybody in this community. But we hear you. But what I will say is if we were to go out, you know, for a referendum or go out to the community, think of this moment. Think of this moment right now before you go into a voting booth. Think about the people you're putting in office that put these legislative pressures on the school district,
061not just in Wayne, but in the whole state. So, you know, if we were to go out and look for a referendum, right, and you might hear negativity and taxes and all that, but think of this right now. Can you put a price on everything you said tonight? Because I cannot. And we want to support you just as much as we need your support for us. That's that's all I have to say. >> Thank you. >> Um, so I went to one of the schools that is gonna lose a media specialist and uh you know I remember my media specialist from back there. She probably wasn't as nice as some of the people that we heard speak tonight. But uh and and my son goes to that school that is going to lose the media
062specialist. So it's personal to me as well. Um I was thinking of like what picture could I paint of what's going on right now? And I I thought of it. It's we're on a ship and the ship is sinking and all these pressures from the outside from the legislation and the caps and all that is tossing water into the ship and I see Dave and Jenny and all the other staff with buckets trying to you know dump it out and you know now we got teachers that are media specialists that are moving around and they're they're moving away from this water that's coming in the ship. Um so you know at what point can we sustain it? I don't know. Um, and no one at this table wants to see any positions cut. Obviously, the
063administration has done a great job. We haven't lost any jobs this year. And, uh, no doubt that this is going to cause more work on the staff in the schools for sure, just like the administration has absorbed more staff and, uh, it's not an optimal position. Uh but what I will say is you know we have the additional budget committee um uh citizen advisory committee and uh if there's more ideas that you have please come share them there come see more in depth what's going on and hear a little bit more and maybe you know give us some ideas um to the point of speaking to the teachers I know for a fact the superintendent goes around and speaks to people us as board members we're not allowed to again because of the rules there's
064a lot of rules in the board of ed don't apply to other elected positions. Um, but everyone should be assured that everyone sitting at this table and the administration has the best interests of the kids in mind, the teachers in mind, all the staff. They really do. And uh I can say that I've only been sitting here for 6 months and maybe I thought a little bit differently when I was sitting over there, but I can uh attest to that right now. So um I want to thank everyone here uh well everyone on this side for the work you've put in to, you know, make things work for this year. here. I want to thank everyone over here as I always do for coming out voicing your concerns and um you know come to the
065other meetings. If you have something some idea that might make it easier, please share it with us. Thank you. >> Um thank you all for coming. I really appreciate it. I really appreciate what you've had to say. uh you know the struggles because I see it in the high school classroom and it's too late by the time I get it unfortunately. >> Um we're in a we're in a really tough situation. Um one directive board did give to the administration this year that no cuts. There's no teacher cuts. Nobody's getting laid off. And they came through and they did it. Uh, I'm not totally sold on this. Um, I still have some questions that I'm going to read back to the administration after tonight and hearing what you've had to set about it. I make
066no promises to anybody, but we are in tough times and next year's budget doesn't look much better because again, we have state aid numbers. We don't know. We have increasing costs. We have a middle school that's almost doubling in population next year. And that's not even due to any of the building. That's just people moving into town. So, we're balancing 100 balls here. We put together a citizens budget committee. We've got really good input from the people on that committee. We have parents, we have teachers uh from other districts. We have administrators from other districts. I have the superintendent from another district on there and we come up with some great um brainstorming to you know look at things in in a little different way. Um it's it's it's just tough tough time and you
067know next Monday night our demographic study is going to come out. I've seen the uh preview of it and I will give you a little preview. It doesn't look good for the number of people we're going to have moving into this district and the number of students you're going to get. It's not good. Um again, I will have my conversations with the administration. I make no promises. I can't do that. But I will um give them some ideas and we'll see what we can do. But you have been heard. Believe me, everybody at this table has heard you. I thank you for coming. I thank you for your professionalism as I would expect. Nothing less. And thank you for a really great school year. I know there's only eight days left, but who's counting? Thank
068you. Uh motion to adjourn. This is Thank you everyone.