WTPS Board of Education Meeting: March 19, 2026

001Good evening everyone. I apologize for being late. We had a legal issue that we had to deal with um prior to coming tonight. Uh the executive session in the Wayne Board of Education regular meeting of March 19th was convened in the conference room of the Wayne Board of Education 15 Ellis Driveway, New Jersey. Statement of compliance setting forth date, time, and location was read in the requirements of the open public meetings act. Roll call was taken. The meeting was recessed now being reconvene. Please stand for the flag salute followed by a moment of silence. >> I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. Thank you everyone. Please be seated. >> Mr. Sedanino.

002>> Thank you, Mr. President. I welcome everyone to our March 19th board of education meeting. Uh it is nice to uh see this spring some of the things I'm learning about still in this community um are some of the events that take place in the district that probably you know I don't know have happened many other places but I did have the opportunity to attend the Wayne Hills SDA event. Um really remarkable so much preparation. I'm hearing that the preparation starts in the summer before and you could really tell about that and how you're selected whether you're on the white team or the maroon team and really quite a remarkable event. Um I'm so proud to be there. I'm sure I I'm looking just as forward to being at the Valley event. Um I think

003there's in April. Uh I've been attending a lot of the uh spring sports um practices. It's just good to get outside. we've had so much cold weather that it's nice to be out there enjoying the lacrosse practice the other day taking a trip across the field. Um and that was always nice. Another great thing about the spring is getting our state aid numbers. Um this year is a little later um than end of February, but we did get our state a figures um and Wayne did, you know, better than we had anticipated with 6% increase, which is an increase of 783,936 above um previous state aid totaling um just over over $13 million um in in total state aid. And I want the public to know how state a is derived. First of all, I

004don't really like the word state aid. Um, aid sounds like you're getting a gift. Um, but state the state revenue back to you is what you pay as a taxpayer. Um, your state income tax and so forth. Um, coming back to you as a resident here in your community. And then state a is derived from a they won't they won't release the how the formula is derived but there they say there's three major components of what drives state aid figures for our community. One is enrollment and enrollment here in Wayne we've been relatively flat. Uh we anticipate that we'll see some growth over that in the coming years. Um next is community wealth. It's based upon your how much income you bring in as a household um in Wayne as uh as you pay put

005your tax uh report returns in and it takes that information and the other one it looks at the home values not assessed home value but true home values when we see home values being properties being sold um in Wayne and other communities they look at that and they say well this is how much you should be paying locally for your fair share that's a number that state likes to throw around fair share. That's what you should be paying towards taxes and anything above and beyond that the state looks to looks to give aid. So with all that, what's interesting about it, I think it's a the flaw in the formula is this that it really doesn't matter that what the community wealth is or the home values as they they may have go up. And

006I always like to give the Jeff Bezos example. If Jeff Bezos moved to Wayne, the community value would really the community um wealth would really skyrocket and they'd say that you as taxpayers should be able to pay more. But as a source of revenue, we only as a as a board of education only can go out to you for 2% otherwise these other a lotments. One of the things I found from being an S2 district for many years prior to coming here and S2 district is a legislative district that lost state aid is that the state tends to be I don't want to you punish but punitive towards districts that don't go for the full 2%. They say you can go for 2% and they also give these a lotments to go above the 2%

007such things for enrollment increases. If you take on another school district is another aotment and you have significant healthcare increases. They say those are way they those are methods in which you go above the 2%. But districts that don't go above the 2% or take those aotments in future years, what we've witnessed, especially being an S2 district, is the state is punitive and takes back state aid because saying you didn't get your fair share from the local taxpayers when you had the opportunity and the responsibility to do so as a board of education. So, those are all things you have to know about how the state operates and how states fund schools. It's something that I've keenly become an expert on, not because I wanted to be. Um, so tonight to follow up with that,

008we are going to have our 2627 school year budget report. I will say I'm not going to give it all away, but we're in a better place than we school district was in previous years. Um, just in the issue of transparency, I know our board president has championed the uh citizens budgetary advisory committee. We met on March March 11th. It was nice to have uh such a diverse committee there and I know he'll speak more about um future future events and committees. One other thing on the agenda tonight and um we've had the opportunity to work with and meet today's uh we have a new facilities director who joining us uh Matt Giri. He's on the agenda. He's coming from the Randolph School District. We look for his expertise in facility operations. um he'll be

009joining us May 5th and um really a lot of his his work as a tradesman was in the area of as electrician. So he brings those skills with him, skills that we can definitely use as we look to drive uh more technology initiatives into our district. Uh I believe at this point that concludes my administrative report. >> Thank you. Our student reps Caitlyn Okay, March has been an active and exciting month for Wayne Valley. Our school community has supported several service initiatives, including a blood drive on March 12th where strong student participation took place. There was lots of students and it almost got to a point where they had to keep kids away because of how many volunteers they were getting. KeyCLC Club also organized a book drive for Book Smiles, an organization made for

010collecting new and gently used books to support access to reading and lower income communities. In academics and student achievement, senior Skylar Arena was selected as a big future ambassador through the college board. In this role, Skyler will help students explore careers, research colleges, and access financial aid resources. Wayne Valley would also like to recognize Diana Stansen as our February athlete of the month. She delivered a strong performance at the group three state championship and is now ranked among one of the top female shopput athletes in the entire state. We valley students have also been performing well in their extracurricular competitions. At the DECA state leadership conference in Atlantic City about two weeks ago, Von Parmar and Gavin Magno, both juniors, placed sixth in the state in the event of entrepreneurship startup business plan for their

011simulated landscaping company that would be all year round. They are really excited and we may see them at Atlantic City later in the year at nationals. Our culinary team made up of Casper Kagara, Kenny Wilson Chavez, William Copenol, Cory McDougall, and Sharon Rudolph competed at the New Jersey State Prostar Invitational against nine other teams where they got to show their culinary arts and their love for the for making food. Winter athletics concluded with state level competition. Senior Dominic Lai competed at 114 pounds in wrestling, earning a win in the consol consolidation bracket. Junior Alex Coldfield competed at 106 pounds in his first state appearance. Spring sports have also now begun and we can't wait to see how our athletes do in the coming months. Also, in recent news, the senior fashion show took place on

012March 18th where tricky trays and food for all participating senior families were shown. It was a beautiful event and there was lots of money raised for the project class of 2026's project graduation. DECA is also organizing a donation drive for children's specialized hospital locations in Mountainside, Tom's River, and New Brunswick. Students are asked to donate new items such as toys, games, and art supplies with a minimum $20 purchase required. Donations are due by the end of the month, and we are looking forward to donating a lot for the people in need. Looking ahead, the Model Nation Model United Nations Conference will also be held on March 24th, where we will go against hills in a head-to-head competition at Wayne Valley's media center. Planning is also underway for our spring spirit week and the school rally.

013On top of this, the junior formal will also take place on March 26th. Overall, March has been a very productive month across academics, athletics, and student activities. So, for our good news from Wayne Hills, we'd like to congratulate Santiago Gonzalez for his outstanding achievements at FBA State Conference in Atlantic City, which was held from March 9th to March 11th. As the sole FBA representative from Wayne Hills, Santiago distinguished himself with an exceptional performance that has qualified him for FBA national conference in San Antonio this June. Santiago earned multiple honors at states including the top FBA recognition of first place in the Who's Who in FBA award, sixth place in the scholarship event, and top 10 in the career portfolio event. We are incred incredibly proud of his hard work, leadership, and dedication, and we look

014forward to cheering him on at nationals. The Wayne Hills 2025 2026 yearbook has been selected for inclusion in varsity yearbooks national portfolio publication, which recognizes the top 10% of yearbooks they produce across the United States and Canada. Our yearbook was specifically highlighted for its creative cover design, which draws inspiration from a vintage postcard to complement the po the book's scrapbook theme. Congratulations to our talented student yearbook staff for this outstanding outstanding recognition and for producing a publication that so thoughtfully captures the spirit of the Wayne Hills community. On Friday, March 13th, Wayne Hills College marketing 2 students presented marketing campaigns to Andrea Lacante Magno, the director of color marketing and development at Benjamin Moore LLC. There were a total of 14 presentations showcasing different ideas that would address various corporate goals. Mrs. Garhee and Mrs.

015Pyro worked with student student teams to mentor them on their business content and professional presentation skills. All of the student teams did a great job and Mrs. Mag Magno was impressed with their professional knowledge and creativity. Congratulations to our 200 SDA participants. They've been practicing since December and the show did not disappoint. The theme was SDA lights up Las Vegas. Thursday night highlighted our star students and Friday night highlighted our staff. Senior awards went to Samantha Baitman for the white team and Dalia Oman for the maroon team. All three nights were sold out and White was the overall winner. Again, congrats for all your hard work. That's all the good news from Wayne Hills. And now we have some information about donations. So, we just have one donation. Um, it is from the Wayne Special

016Parents Association. It's a donation from proceeds of Turkey Trot to Unified Sports and it's a total of over $22,000. Well, for our board and our community members that are present, uh we have a a presentation that is put together to kind of give you a slight overview as to uh the budget and what how it stands for the preparation of the 2627 school year. Our focus in the budget is always first and foremost of our students and how we meet their needs through academics. We're very proud that this budget assists us in driving our students uh to continue to be an A-rating A-rating uh school district in preparation of our students, our teachers, and our college our students for college preparation. Uh that's according to niche.com. One of the things I just want to go

017off script for is talk about I I've been doing a lot of observations this cycle going into the classroom seeing a lot of teachers who are approaching their tenure year and I had a great experience at Wayne Hills recently where I was you know just trying to still acclimate myself to uh these these new schools and you know high schools can be intimid intimidating uh for a high school student they can be intimidating for someone in their 50s who hasn't you know been there as a student a long time and they're they're big and they're massive. And I was walking through Wayne Hills trying to find the class I was trying to get to. I was probably a little late and as I'm approaching a young man walks up to me and he says, "You

018looking for Spanish class?" I said, "Yes, I am looking for Spanish class." He goes, "I'm in that same class. I'll walk you there." And he just started talking about, you know, uh the weather outside and I was excited about uh as a student and being on a lacrosse team. His name's Michael. Give him a little shout out. And I was really taken aback about just we we talk about young people and how they can communicate and how sometimes through social media and phones that they've lost the ability to communicate well. Well, that wasn't the case with this young man. He, you know, looked me right in the eye, firm handshake, you know, was very very confident in his delivery and how he wanted to communicate himself and um be proud of the school that he

019that he attends. So, I I thought I wanted to share that and this community is doing a great job with its students. Um, we are ranked among the top school districts in New Jersey uh for academic performance. Our graduation rate is at or above 96% which is top tier in New Jersey. And our expansive special needs programs are designed to educate our students in the least restrictive environment. One of the things that is no doubt um is our athletics program um and our budget also supports that as well and continuing to be a number one ranked school district for athletes in the in the state of New Jersey and number top 15 um nationally. We offer a large number of intercolastic teams historically including 70 plus boys and 70 plus girls teams with high levels

020of student participation and hundreds of student athletes in each high school. Our athletics are offered across all seasons, fall, winter, spring um seasons at multiple levels for varsity, JV, and freshman. and we've had multiple, you know, it's not always about winning, but we do have very uh a really nice amount of championships just this school year alone. Um, so that's a lot to be proud of. And also to have our students be well-rounded. We want them to have experiences in the arts and uh art arts education programs that emphasize creativity, collaboration, and self-exression across multiple disciplines. Uh, we have students that are, and I know we're highlighting them next month, uh, students that are consistently earned regional and national awards, including Scholastic Art and writing awards as gold keys, silver keys, and honorable mentions. And

021like I said, um, we'll be highlighting some of those music awards at the April meeting. Um, but this budget supports that as well. Inclusive in this budget are some new curriculum initiatives. Um we are continuing with the K to8 science um new instructional resource is $240,000 which includes updates and expansions of resources for our students and teachers. Uh I Ready is something we we were just recently talking about is a KA assessment tool for all students $182,000 which includes expansion of an assessment tool in math and language arts for students grades K to 8. includes expansions of learning path resource for math in grades K through five and a K to2 math completion of the series uh it's a textbook and resources for $290,000. It's our second payment for this new math resource implemented in

022this past year. Additionally, we have AP Statistics textbook renewal uh for Wayne Valley and Wayne Hills for $30,000. Now, staffing. Staffing is something we're excited about because through this budget uh we we do not have to have layoffs. Anyone who is here as an employee who is not being non-renewed for performance purposes will have a position in the future year. Um again this is something we're happy about and excited about because it's a different message than we were able to send out last year. Um our primary goal is maintaining current staffing levels. We do have some reductions across administrative uh capacities. We we did not re we're not renewing two director positions, one assistant director position and one director of facilities positions. But one thing we will be doing and we continue to do and

023helped us shape this budget is we don't just replace positions where positions always been. And something that this community and staff has to get used to is we teach where our students are at. Um, and while what we're going to see in future years, uh, is a swell of enrollments in the elementary level and a slight dip in the secondary level. So that may mean that while we're looking to employ all of our staff, we may need additional resources and to support our um, elementary classrooms. So we have to be creative. We have to look at who has who has certifications that go on beyond the high school who might be working in the high school. maybe their their certification we can use in the middle school and someone from the middle school to the

024elementary school and that's something that all um successful organizations do. Successful organizations don't just keep renewing or replace keeping the same staff if the staff is not needed as the world evolves around them. As our community evolves around us and our students evolve, we have to put the best resources to where the students are at and where we need need to support them. And that's something we'll continue to do and that's something we've done um to drive this budget and to make sure that we have staff members for every student in need in the 2026 2027 budget. Um additionally we're looking at technology and transportation initiatives. We're very proud to you know as we just uh was going through this week of the sled testing we know that uh Chromebooks are essential to that. We're

025working to com to refresh our onetoone Chromebooks. Uh investing $660,000 in that. And staff l staff laptop replacements. Uh $460,000 to make sure that our students are arriving to school safely. We have to refresh our fleet as well. new school buses, uh, $600,000 in that investment for two new, uh, 24 passenger wheelchair vans and two new 24 passenger vans. >> I will now turn this report over to our business administrator. >> Thank you, >> DeMarco. >> Next, I'd like to review our planned capital projects. Oop, we're still in transportation. For the upcoming school year, we we will be withdrawing $1.3 million from capital reserve. First, we are allocating $660,000 towards Wi-Fi upgrades at both high schools and seven elementary schools. This will ensure reliable connectivity to support our one-to-one devices, digital resources, and online assessments.

026A $700,000 investment has been allocated for HVAC replacement work at Randall Carter. The existing temporary heating system in the gym will be replaced by new rooftop units, ensuring improved air quality and climate control. Finally, $150,000 is budgeted to replace paging systems at Wayne Hills and Lafayette Elementary School. This is an important safety and ensure upgrade and ensures clear and reliable communication throughout each building. Factors impacting our revenues. This slide highlights primary factors impacting revenues for the upcoming budget. Our tax levy cap increase is about approximately $3.5 million which represents the maximum allowable increase under state guidelines. We're pleased to share as Mr. Citad Citadino Citadino uh told us in his report we have an increase of 783,936 uh 6% increase in our state aid. This reflects the maximum a state aid increase for a district

027in New Jersey. Conversely, if state if a district received um decreases that was also seeing an increase in semi-reimbursement and extraordinary aid totaling approximately $350,000. In addition, there is a significant increase in the hair health care adjustment of $10.5 million. This adjustment allows us to exceed the tax levy cap to help offset rising employee health benefit costs. For the 2627 budget, total health health care costs are projected to increase by well over $13 million. However, the adjustment does not fully cover the increase and our operating budget must still absorb $3.2 million of that increase. To better understand how the revenue is structured, the next slide provides a full breakdown of our funding source. Funding sources for our district include local property taxes of 90 that makes up the 90% of our funding source. State and

028federal aid which in uh is increased by $783,000 936. It also includes in that piece of pie the extraordinary aid and Medicaid reimbursement that I previously mentioned. As is typical in New Jerseyy's school district, the majority of our funding continues to come from local property taxes with state aid providing additional support. Beyond our general fund, we continue to manage various grant-based resources. These include local grants, which are contributions from education foundations, PTOs, and corporate part partners. non-public grants, funding allocated for private schools within our geographic area, and federal enti entitlement grants such as ESEA, title grants, and idea grants. This combination of funding sources allow us to maintain our programs and services. Now that we've reviewed revenues, the next slide focuses on the major factors that are driving our expenditures. The most significant increase is

029in health benefits, which are projected to rise over $13.7 million for the next school year. Curriculum and instruction uh remains our top priority with a total budget of approximately $742,000 in new initiatives. Out of district co tuition costs are projected to increase approximately 2.3 million. This figure accounts for PCTI tuitions and includes contingencies for anticipated placement. This growth is driven by a rising number of students moving into Wayne with existing out of district placements. We are also seeing a $2 million increase in cost for specialized support services. This is a direct result of students with increasing medical and complex disabilities and our current reliance reliance on outside providers to staff our preschool programs. These services are essential to maintaining the high standard of care our students require. Utility costs are also projected to increase by

030over $400,000. Additionally, lease purchase payments are increasing by approximately 598,000 while our annual lease typically increase by $180,000 for our onetoone Chromebooks, staff laptops, and transportation needs. Um, this high figure reflects the firstonly payment for the district share of the preschool expansion program. This project is supported by $5 million state grant and seven million board share which was financed through 20-year bond issued by the Pay County Improvement Authority. These rising costs represent the primary financial pressures within the budget. With those cost drivers in mind, the next slide will show how funds are actually allocated across the district. The largest portion of the budget is dedicated to instruction and student support services reflecting our core mission of educating students. Additional funds are allocated to operations, transportation, administration, and facility maintenance. This breakdown demonstrate our continued commitment

031to prioritize classroom instruction and student needs. So, how does this affect your property taxes? The average assessed value of a residential property in our district is $231,655. Based on this figure, the estimated tax impact would result in an annual increase of $296. This breaks down to approximately $2467 per month or just 81 per day. You can refer to the pro provided chart to determine the specific impact based on the individual property assessments of your home. Finally, the next slide provides an overview of the timeline of the budget process. Our budget development pro process began last November. Throughout December, we communicated our budget plan and updated updates while establishing our core development priorities. During January and February, all stakeholders prepared their respective budgets, which were then reviewed by myself, the assistant superintendent, and the superintendent. Today

032is March 19th. We are asking the board to approve the tenative budget presented this evening. Following your approval, the budget will be submitted to the county office by March 27th. Our final public hearing is scheduled for May 7th. If approved at that time, the budget will be formally adopted for the 26 27 school year. This concludes our budget presentation. >> Thank you. Any questions from the board? Mr. Zakus. >> Yeah. No, no question. I just wanted to thank you for jumping right in and uh getting this budget um this tentative budget on time so we can uh have it all ready and and in time. So, thank you >> Jenny. I too want to thank you and the fact that we have no uh faculty cuts this year is wonderful news. >> Anyone else? I

033too want to thank the administration for putting the budget together and Mrs. DeMarco who walked in the door and got it put in her lap pretty much. Um, budget's an ongoing process. It never ends. Um, once you finish, you work on this one, it's time to get rolling on the next one. Um, the reality of it, we're in a much better financial position than we were a year ago. But this is not just a Wayne thing. This is a statewide thing. Look at Monontlair last night. They're they're getting rid of in middle school. They're not the only ones. There's other towns down in South Jersey in central Jersey that are getting they're selling off schools because they need the revenue for it. You know, us alone, we're dealing with a 28% increase in health insurance.

034That's $10 million hit. Um and the obligations keep avoided. We keep going further and further, but we still strive in this one thing this budget does. It strives to keep the staff. It strives to keep small class sizes. Um there's no staff reductions as the superintendent said, no teachers layoffs, no program cuts. Everything is status quo for next year. But it's still a difficult process because this week we're informed by the town for our school security they're raising uh the budget by 26%. Over last year. So that that was another hit that we took that we didn't expect that we found out about on Monday. Um but school security it's not optional. It's essential. We're not going to compromise on that no matter what we do. But the last minute increase creates a s a

035hole in our budget that we now have to make up. You know, sometimes we face the reality that our aging buildings are still getting older. We have buildings that are 50 plus years old. There was a report out a week or two ago. The average elementary school in New Jersey is 78 years old. Right? And with a 2% budget cap, you can't do much. Just the health care alone, the 2% doesn't do anything to that. And while the state gives you a little relief with a waiver for health insurance, you're still not coming close to where you need to be. And this is a big issue. Nearly every available piece of land in in Wayne's being sold. There's buildings going up all over the place. The town's entering into pilot programs, which means that if

036they build 400 units, none of the taxes from those units go to the school district. So, you can get an influx of a hundred students from one of these new developments. We do not get a dollar for it. It's all going to come onto your back. Um, so these are things that we're facing down the road. we're facing down the road and next month our um demographic report will become public. Uh we had to make some changes into it because the William Patterson building on Valley Road was being sold to Toll Brothers. So our demographer had to go back and rework the numbers looking at that. Uh so that's going to be coming out shortly um in April. Uh and we're also going to be at the next meeting we will uh be putting together

037a citizens advisory committee on facilities and um and looking at the district as a whole and coming up with a with ideas and that it's a think tank. We had our first budget meet uh citizen committee meeting as superintendent. It was great to hear people's opinions and get and hear what they're thinking and they we presented what we were thinking to the what how a budget is made. People were amazed at some of the things that they heard that they never realized. But today we're in a good spot and we're we're positioning the district to be in a good spot uh for next year and we can go a year at a time. We're trying to create a long range plan, but it's becoming more and more difficult as we move along. So, with that,

038uh, Mrs. DeMarco, any revisions to the agenda? >> Thank you. This portion of the meeting will open. Oh, I have one more thing. I'm sorry. I apologize. I'm being long-winded tonight. I know there are a number you of people here because of an issue with special education. Um, there's a lot of misinformation that's floating there. Some of it's correct, some of it's not. Uh what we're going to do is we're going to have a roundt committee me a roundt meeting for anybody. Uh we'll do it in April, probably midappril that you can come in. We'll have the superintendent there, assistant superintendent, director, special ed. We'll have everybody there. You can ask any questions you want. All right. Um the board has requested additional information regarding the overall plan uh the benefits and additional explanation of

039the plan's roll out. Parents are the last ones should not find out about it last minute or when you walk into an IEP meeting. Wholeheartedly agree with you on that one. All right. Um my concern I have concerns about it and right now I can tell you I'm not on board with it. Um my concerns not only are educa the educational impact but having students who are delicate. We need to look at it. We need to synthesize the information that we're going to get from it. Um but again a parent should never be blindsided with something like this. And I wholeheartedly agree with you. And those of you who complained about it and those of you who've spoken to me, you know how I feel about it. And I promise you, uh, we're taking a

040really deep dive into this right now. Um, we gave the administration a bunch of questions tonight and they will be coming back with answers to us and then we will be having that roundt meeting for you for you to come and ask the questions face to face. We'll be members of the board will be there, the administration will be there, and whatever you want to know, we're going to tell you, right? No more no secrets. And I apologize to each and every one of you who've been impacted by this the way you found out about it. With that being said, I move to open to the public for agenda items only. This portion of the meeting is for comments uh on agenda items only. Residents are asked to state their names, addresses, and subject matter.

041Comments may be limited to three minutes per person. Members of the public are discouraged speaking negatively about an employer student. The board bears no responsibility for comments made by the public. Comments regarding employees or students cannot be legally responded to tonight by the board. Other comments may be responded to tonight or at a subsequent meeting under all business. Do I have a move for Mr. Pacos? Mrs. Trigaloso. Anyone from the public wishing to speak on an agenda item? >> Seeing no one move to close. >> Mr. Hammond. >> Mr. Agnes. Do we have committees that met tonight? Mr. Pacos. >> Yes. Tonight the facilities and transportation committee met at 5:00 pm. Uh board members Mr. Pavlac, Mr. Agnes, administrators Mrs. DeMarco, Mrs. Tibbitz, and Mr. Skitzky were in attendance as was our new facilities director,

042Mr. Matt Giri. Um, we went through uh we we had no agenda items tonight. Um, no potential agenda items at this at the moment. Um, went through the meeting minutes for February 19th. Uh, we discussed the PNIS interior alterations and the elevator lobby edition. Uh, PSEG is still waiting for a permit from P County to start digging. um the um the shaft uh to be built for the elevator um should be you know end of May or June. Uh Wayne Hills High School, we are in the initial stages of the domestic hot water replacement. Uh we got other project updates such as the Randall Carter steam line that was cracked. Uh we're going to uh be replacing, as was mentioned in the budget, with a a rooftop unit. So, um that's exciting. Uh we are

043tackling lots of roof leaks and lots of paving concerns due to the rough winter that we've had. Um, and we had some uh other department operation updates and um uh other topics such as um we're getting a quote for the gravel at uh George Washington Middle School for the side parking and uh then we also discussed um uh transportation issues. There's been vandalism at the North Cove where we park our buses. um found, you know, box of um paraphernalia there. Um every day they find beer bottles and other stuff there. It's it's pretty bad. Uh so we keep calling Wayne Police Department there. Uh we discussed uh that there's going to be a second round of bus evacuations that are going to be scheduled. Uh state inspections are coming up. Um, our director, Mr. Scabitzky,

044is expecting it to be more difficult due to the age of our fleet and, uh, there's going to be emissions test. Um, you know, and as I mentioned before, the hard winter, we had three small buses that we had to sideline this year. Uh, well, over the last couple weeks, actually, uh, they're going to be permanently sidelined because they were perforated on and rotting from the inside. So, those are out of service. We um also, which was a little weird, had a four transmission failures in the last two weeks, which is more than usual. Um, and they were the 2014 2015 model that we had. So, we need to send those out for service. And, uh, the GU garage freight elevator is down and is not working. Um we uh Mr. Skitzky also attended the

045NAP meeting in Albany. Uh NAP stands for the National Association for Pupil Transportation. And we had a successful um hosting of uh uh many drivers here for the STS meeting. And uh that's the report. >> Mr. Cool. >> Policy committee met this evening at 5:00 in attendance for myself, Mr. Alquin, Mr. Faber, Mr. Citadino, and board council, Mr. Kaggno. We reviewed uh several new policies, some statemandated policies, new sexual harassment policy, abolishment of the prior sexual harassment policy, uh as well as a new uh library materials policy, uh which puts in place a um process for vest people with vested interests to challenge potential um books in libraries, uh which has then removed library materials from the public complaints policy. So, thank you. Any other committees I missed? All right. At this time, I'll take

046a mover for the agenda. Mrs. Leandry, Mr. Agnes. Any discussion on the agenda? Seeing none, roll call. >> Mr. Agnes? >> Yes. >> Mr. Eloquin? >> Yes. >> Mr. Faber? >> Yes. >> Mr. Haymon? >> Yes. >> Mrs. Leandry? >> Yes. Mr. Paul, >> yes. >> Mr. Pacos, >> yes. >> Mrs. Riggaloso, >> yes. >> And Mr. Pavlac, >> yes. >> Motion pass. >> We have a number of retirements tonight. I will start to my right. >> Tonight, we celebrate the remarkable career of Karen McGee, a dedicated educator who has spent over two decades transforming the lives of students in the Wayne School District. Karen's journey in Wayne actually began right here in 2003 when she completed her student teaching at Turhune Elementary. Her path to the classroom was a testament to her perseverance while

047working full-time in corporate world and raising her family. Karen spent 14 years pursuing her degree. In 2004, she graduated from William Patterson University as a teacher of the handicapped, a milestone that only strengthened her lifelong commitment to special education. After a brief start in Pmpton Lakes, Karen found her home at Tunis Elementary later that same year. For the past 22 years, she has been the a cornerstone of the special education team, supporting students from kindergarten through fifth grade. Karen is known for being a champion for struggling readers. She went above and beyond to become a certified dyslexia practitioner, mastering the Wilson, PAF, and Orton Gillingham programs. Her excellence did not go unnoticed, earning her a nomination for the New Jersey Governor's Teacher of the Year Award. Beyond the classroom, Karen's heart for the school community

048was always on display. Whether she was serving on the Sunshine Committee, running after school clubs, or mentoring the next generation, next generation of educators, Karen led with kindness. In a beautiful full circle moment, she even had the joy of wel welcoming a former student back into her classroom as a student teacher. Karen's philosophy is simple yet profound. If a child can't learn the way we teach, then we should teach the way they learn. She lived by this quote every day, approaching every child with patience, empathy, and the firm belief that every student can succeed when learning is is made engaging and fun. As Karen prepares for the next chapter, she does she does so with the same pride she feels for her own family, having raised two amazing children of her own while dedicating herself

049to the children of Wayne. Karen, thank you for your decades of service, your expertise in literacy, and the kindness you have woven into the fabric of Tunis. We wish you a long, happy, and well-deserved retirement. We would like to congratulate Jackie Potosnack on her retirement from the Wayne school system. 27 of Jackie's over 30 years in education have been in Pacnack Elementary. Having taught 26 years in grade three, she has truly been the cornerstone of third grade instruction in Pacnack. Jackie has been a dedicated and positive staff member who advocated for her students endlessly. For 26 years, Jackie has brought unwavering kindness, patience, and dedication to the same grade level, shaping and learning journey of countless students. Her classroom has always been a place where children feel welcomed, supported, and inspired to do their very

050best. Through her warmth, encouragement, and deep commitment to her students, she has helped generations of learners build confidence, curiosity, and a love of learning. Her consistency, compassion, and passion for teaching have made a lasting impact on both her students and the entire school community, and a legacy will be felt for many years to come. We wish Jackie the very best as she embarks on her well- earned retirement and this new chapter of her life. Relish this time to make new memories with your family. You will forever be in the hearts of your Pack Neck family. Take a break from technology and Google and congratulations on your retirement. James Percarpio. Mr. Percarpio began teaching at Wayne Hills in 2004, which was his first teaching position after having served our country in the U in the uh

051the Air Force from 1987 to 1991. Mr. Percarpio was an aircraft maintenance specialist for the F-15 Eagle fighter jet serving during Operation Desert Storm and Desert Shield. Thank you for your service. During his tenure at Wayne Hills, Mr. Percarpio taught chemistry but did teach physics as well for several years. In addition to supporting his students in science, he often looked he often took interest in their extracurricular activities such as attending various sports events as well as the annual SDA event. He was also very supportive of students who asked for college recommendations. After retiring from teaching, he is looking forward to joining a startup mining company involving precious metals. Enjoy your retirement. >> I have two retirements. Kimberly Glennon. Having grown up in Wayne, Kimberly Glennon has dedicated her entire career to serving the students of

052her hometown community. She began teaching in September 1994 at Randall Carter School where she spent 20 years teaching first through third grade and making a lasting impact on countless young learners. For the past 12 years, she has continued that legacy at Albert P. Turon Elementary School, where she has inspired students through her teaching of science and ELA and even led the school science fair for two years. Beyond the classroom, Kimberly enjoys spending time with her husband, Chris, and their children, Matthew and Hayden, along with their two great Danes, Scooby and Loki. Whether she's cheering on the New York Rangers, attending ComicCon, sipping her favorite quick check coffee, or relaxing in the outdoor oasis she and her family enjoy together, Kimberly brings the same warmth and enthusiasm to life that she has shared with generations of

053students. After more than three decades in education, we are incredibly incredibly grateful for the dedication, passion, and care she has given to our school community. Michelle Hoover. We would like to congratulate Michelle Hoover on her upcoming retirement from a wonderful career in the Wayne school system. She has been a loyal and dedicated member of Wayne schools for over 30 years. Michelle's career began in private schools where she taught grades four and five. For the last 32 years, she has taught grades one, two, and three at Packenac Elementary. Michelle's classroom was a place where everyone wanted to be. Throughout her career, she created an environment where every child felt welcomed, valued, and encouraged to grow. Her patience, warmth, and commitment to helping each student succeed made a lasting impact on generations of learners and their families.

054She naturally was able to create and maintain a positive environment for learning and growing. Even beyond this, Michelle's impact and contributions exceeded the classroom. She served her colleagues as a building representative for the WEA where she offered support and kindness to all she worked with. We wish Michelle the very best as she embarks on her well-earned retirement and this exciting new chapter of her life. May this time bring plenty of opportunities to relax, create lasting memories, and enjoy meaningful moments with your family. You will always hold a special place in the hearts of your Packenac family. Enjoy the endless weekends, and congratulations on a wonderful career and your well-deserved retirement. >> I have two >> this evening. The first one is Linda Bleman. Miss Bleman has enjoyed working with the Wayne Hills administrators, faculty, and

055community for the past 23 years. Previously, she taught at West Milford for three years. She has been fortunate to meet many amazing students and to have been part of their educational journey. During her time at Hills, she modified and developed the curriculum for AP physics classes and AP physics C facilitate facilitator. Her physics C teaching resulted in students consistently landing in top tier scores in the state. She helped countless students find successful careers in sciences. She serves as the coordinator of the New Jersey Science League competitions for all of 23 years. While she looks forward to her next stage of life, she will miss being an academic setting and interacting with the Wayne Hills community and we will miss her as well. The next one is Zufur Dawoodi. After more than 25 years of dedicated

056service with the Wayne Township Public Schools, we congratulate Zufur Dawoodi on his well-earned retirement. Zufur began his career as a day custodian at Wayne Hills High School and later served the entire district as a maintenance worker and painter. Throughout the years, he became known for his strong work ethic, attention to detail, and prided on the quality of his work. His contributions help maintain and improve our schools for students, staff, and the community. We thank you, Zufur, for your many years of commitment and wish you all the best in a happy and well-deserved retirement. They say that in technology, the only constant is change, but for the past 27 years as the district's systems information engineer, one constant, one true anchor in the Wayne School District has been Nick Police. Today, we aren't just celebrating a

057retirement. We are honoring the man who personally built the digital foundation that has connected every student and staff member we serve. Think back to 1999 when Nick started. High-tech classrooms were centered around bulky beige desktops of the iMac G3 era. State-of-the-art learning meant wheeling in a heavy TV VCR cart and being connected involved exploring the worldwide web via the screeching sounds of dialup internet. Nick took this early simple environment and began the tireless work of constructing a reliable, robust, fiberconnected network that delivers instruction to thousands of our students each day. Nick's tenure is defined by absolute dedication. He understood that our mission never sleeps. There were those 5 a.m. emergency patches and the midnight server migrations. It wasn't just his job. It was his personal commitment to ensuring our schools opened on time every time.

058He was the steady hand, the first call, and the problem solver who always had a solution. The standard of dedication is a permanent part of this district's legacy. As he now logs off for the final time, we know that your excellence is permanent. We thank you for 27 incredible years of personal service to this community. As you trade the data center for the golf course and gym, we wish you a retirement that is just as rewarding as your career. We hope you, Chris, and Devon enjoy every moment, maybe even in that long anticipated setting of coastal sunshine. May your workouts be strong, your putts accurate, and your skies forever clear. Liz Spenberg is retiring after 27 years in public education in New Jersey, including the past 19 years working for Wayne Township Public Schools. Having

059earned earned her bachelor's of arts degree in psychology and communication from Muenberg College, a master's in curriculum and instruction from Kane University and a second masters in education leadership from Ruckers University. Mrs. Spenberg brought a unique multifaceted lens that allowed her to see the potential in every student and staff member. Throughout her career, she has been dedicated to helping students become confident readers while supporting teachers and strengthening literacy instruction across the district. Liz served as a Wilson credential trainer and foundations facilitator, guiding the implementation of research-based reading programs in Wayne's elementary schools and providing professional development to educators locally and nationally. In recognition of her outstanding contributions, she was honored as the governor's educational support specialist of the year in 2015, 2020, and 2025. Those who worked with Liz know her great her greatest joy

060came from watching struggling readers discover that they could read and seeing the pride and confidence that followed. In retirement, Liz looks forward to traveling with her husband, volunteering for causes dear to her heart, and enjoying hobbies such as hiking, reading, yoga, and pelaton classes. Wayne Public Schools thanks Liz for her years of dedication and wishes her a happy and fulfilling retirement. >> Our final one of the night is Fran Benmitz. Uh Fran has been a valued member of the Sky Coffax Middle School community for more than two decades, leaving a lasting impact on students, colleagues, and families alike. Fran has dedicated 23 years to Skyler Kfax Middle School after a long and varied career that included time at Grover Cleveland Middle School in West Milford and over a decade on Wall Street. With 25 years

061in education, Fran has worn many hats from compensation specialist to HIS specialist, but found her true passion in the classroom. She began her teaching career in 2002 and joined Skyler in 2004 as an ELA teacher. Over the years, Fran continued to grow in a role providing thoughtful and patient support to students who need it the most. Fran has always been deeply committed to helping students appreciate literature and understanding the conventions of the English language. Her classroom has been a place where stories come to life, where writing is encouraged, and where students feel supported as they develop confidence in their reading and communication skills. Just as important as her dedication to academics has been her genuine care for the well-being of every student who walks through her door. Colleagues know Fran as someone who brings warmth,

062dedication, and quiet persistence to her work each day. She has always put students first, working tirelessly to help them succeed, not only academically, but as individuals. Her compassion, patience, and commitment to helping children grow have made a meaningful difference in the lives of countless students. Outside of school, she enjoys gardening, helping the elderly, church work, and wrangling chickens. She will miss the camaraderie of her colleagues, the excitement of a new school year, and the joy of seeing students grasps new concepts. One of her favorite memories was the daily lunch gatherings with teachers and staff, where conversations range from school matters to family life. As she heads into retirement, she looks forward to spending more time with the family, staying active, and enjoying her time with animals. Uh though the early mornings won't be missed, she

063will cherish the memories and friendships she's made at Skylar Koffax. As Fran begins this well-deserved retirement, we celebrate her years of service, her passion for teaching, and the many lives she has touched along the way. The Skylar community is grateful for her contributions and wishes her many years of happiness, relaxation, and new adventures ahead. Enjoy this new chapter. >> Thank you. Excuse me. Finally, Erin Austerly. After a truly remarkable career dedicated to all of her students, we bid a heartfelt farewell to Mrs. Ern Austerly as she enters retirement. Mrs. Austerly has had a long career in education that started with various different experiences. She began her journey in education teaching first grade in a private school for two years that followed by seven years of service as a kindergarten teacher in Hudson County. Once she

064exited that position, she began her journey in the Wayne Township public schools that has spanned over 26 years. Early on, she spent a half half a year teaching special education at Pines Lake in Lafayette Elementary School in both ICR and OCR classroom settings. Her path then led her to Wayne Hills High School where she dedicated six years of special education in both ICR and OCR environments. For the final 20 years of her career, Erin has been a cornerstone of the special ed department at Anthony Wayne Middle School, continuing her impactful work in ICR and OCR classrooms. Throughout her many years of service, Mrs. Auststerly has been a wonderful teacher, leaving an indelible mark on the lives of countless students and colleagues. We wish her much happiness as she starts her next chapter of her life,

065spending time with her family and friends. We know she will be busy volunteering her time and practicing yoga. Ern will be dearly missed by the entire Anthony Wayne community and we wish her all the best in her new her well-deserved retirement. Thank you to all our retirees for your dedicated service to the district. This time I'll take a motion to open to the public. This portion of the meeting is open to citizens for comment on any topic. Residents are asked to state their name, address, and subject matter. Comments may be limited to five minutes per person. Members of the public are discouraged from speaking negatively about an employee or 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

066comments may be responded to tonight or at a subsequent meeting under all business. Do I have a mover? Mr. Agnes, Mr. Pacos, anyone from the public wishing to speak on anything? Come on. Hello. >> Hang on. >> I don't know if I need it. Okay. Um Rachel hat 24. Um what else do you need to see? I'm sorry. >> You're good. >> Okay. Perfect. Good evening. My name is Rachel H and my daughters attend Pines Elementary School in fourth and second grade. I was notified of the proposed initiative to move to an ICR model during my daughter's IEP meeting on March 10th. We were completely blindsided and left with no answers. Even our case managers and teachers were just learning about this change themselves. And I want to praise them because they are wonderful in

067our district. I stand before you today as a mother with genuine concerns, but also as a lifelong Wayne resident who has been proud of this town and the education and resources it has always provided. This is why this is so difficult because this proposal does not just reflect the level of support and thoughtfulness our district has always been going for. I have serious concerns about how the proposed ICR model >> Mrs. Heck, could you just hang on a sec? Scott, can you microphone's not on? >> That's why we have an IT guy. >> Good. Perfect. I have serious concerns about how the proposed ICR model will meet the needs of students who currently rely on resource support. An IEP is meant to be individualized, and this proposal feels like a one-sizefits-all that does not align

068with my daughter's specific learning needs. As a student with dyslexia, my daughter is thriving in her current resource setting. She has gained confidence. She is making meaningful progress and she feels safe in her learning environment, something that cannot be taken for granted for. resource programs exist to slow the pace and provide individualized instruction. How will that be effectively replicated in a co-eing classroom with students that are falling behind and losing confidence? I am also concerned about the impact on student self-esteem. Many of these children are not comfortable participating in large group settings. My daughter specifically, how will this model ensure that they are supported, engaged, and not overlooked? What specific training will these teachers receive in co-eing and how will you ensure it is implemented with fidelity with already large classroom sizes? How will teachers

069effectively meet a wide range of needs especially in content driven like science and social studies. This feels like a decision that is being made by a systemwide convenience and it's not based on what is educationally appropriate for a child. The children is who it impacts. And why is this being introduced at fourth and fifth grade where academic and social pressures are already so high instead of being piloted in earlier grades? And what has changed since a similar model was introduced 15 years ago and it was not successful, it failed. My daughter's going into fifth grade next year. and to be told that my options are ICR and move her to another school across town with what was already an extremely challenging year socially, academically. It was incredibly disappointing. She has been with the same group

070of peers since first grade and that consistency has been critical to her growth. At this age, mental health and confidence are everything. Adding this level of pressure while these students are already struggling socially in a general education setting for subjects like science and social studies is unacceptable. Why not pilot a program like this for kindergarten or first grade when students are just learning the building and routines and relationships? This is not just a program change. This is a decision that will directly impact children who are already working twice as hard to succeed. They deserve support that meets them where they are, not a model that asks them to simply keep up. Thank you. >> Thank you. >> Oh, hi. Good evening. My name is John Enzani. Um, I'm not here to speak tonight. Uh, my

071son, who is a student who will be affected by this, um, is here to speak. I wanted to put a name in a face to somebody who this decision will impact. Go ahead, bud. All you buddy. >> Hi, my name You can take the mic out. >> Yeah, pull the mic out. >> Yeah. Have him have him stand. Let him stand. >> You can move in the front. Go ahead. There you go, big guy. Go ahead. >> All right. Hi, my name is John and Zani. My teacher is Miss Harris. Miss Harris teach me math and reading. Miss Harris is the best. I am the mayor of James Fen. I never want to leave James Fallon. I love you, Miss Harris. >> Thank you. >> Good job. >> Good evening. I'm Melinda Enzani. That's my

072son. I ask each of you just for a moment to think of a to think back to a place where you felt known, where you belonged, where people truly saw you and helped you grow into what you are today. For my son, this is his school. I come before you tonight as both a parent and an advocate for my son and for every child whose success depends on stability, connection, and being truly known. I ask you to reflect on a simple question. When a child is thriving academically, socially, emotionally, what is our responsibility? It is to protect that success. or is it to disrupt it? My son has an IEP. He receives resource room support. Since kindergarten, he has taken root in his school community. He is known by his teachers, the nurse, the staff,

073and the principal. He is lovingly referred to as the mayor, a child who connects, who belongs, who contributes. That sense of belonging is not extra. It is essential for students with disabilities. Stability is not just helpful. It's critical. Sudden nonvoluntary transitions can lead to regression. Emotional distress, especially for children who rely on predictability and trusted relationships to for safe learning. that the progress my son has made has come from years of consistency, trust and a team that understands him. To move him now while he is succeeding, rising would risk undoing his progress. Under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, placement decisions must be based on an on individual needs of the child, not as part of a broad programmatic shift. And here in New Jersey, students must be educated in the least restrictive environment with

074careful consideration of whether a change in placement would negatively impact progress. Without individualized review, this raises concerns because what is appropriate for one child may not be appropriate for another. I know every decision you make is with the intention of serving our students. I say that again. I know every decision you make is with the intention of serving our students. And I ask you to see this one through the lived experience of the children it will impact. So I ask you, what problem are we solving by moving children who are already thriving? This is not just about logistics. This is about protecting children from unnecessary disruption. This is about recognizing that relationships are part of the intervention, are part of what makes the success possible. When a child has found a place where they are

075safe, confident, capable, we should not uproot them. We should protect that environment. Please consider this. Honor each child as an individual and allow students who are thriving to remain where they are known, supported, and successful. Because once you disrupt a child's sense of safety and belonging, the cost is real. And it's carried by the children. And I just wanted you to know who it's going to be impacting. Thank you for your time and hearing me. >> Thank you. Uh good evening members of the board. My name is Michael Meech 129 uh Claremont Terrace. I'd just like to say I really like the beginning of this meeting where you said there were some clarity and misinformation times like these you know uh clarification is huge. Uh clarity of information is huge. Um, so I did prepare

076something but obviously with that looking for more information. Uh, my name is Michael Meish. I live at 129 Claremont Terrace. I'm a parent of students who have either graduated from or currently enrolled in the Wayne School District. Uh, besides just being a father, I'm also currently serving active duty in the United States military, which is something I'm very proud of, but also brings unique challenges to my family, especially for my daughter who has an IEP due to araxia. I want to start by saying I respect the goal of inclusion. I understand the importance of giving students opportunities to learn alongside their peers and feel part of the classroom community. That matters to me as a parent. But inclusion only works when it truly meets the needs of the child. Right now, my daughter is struggling

077in reading and math. Two foundational skills that will shape her entire academic future because of her aria. She already faces significant challenges with communications communication processing and expressing what she knows. She doesn't just need exposure to the general education setting. She needs structured, specialized instruction and consistent support to make real progress. There's another layer of this that I must ask you to consider. As a military parent, I have periods where I'm deployed and I'm not home. That kind of separation is difficult for any child. But for a child who already struggles with communication and learning, it can be even more disruptive. During those times, stability, routine, and the right educational environment become even more critical. If she's placed in a setting that cannot fully support her needs, especially during a deployment, there's a real risk

078that she falls further behind. A fast-paced general education classroom without sufficient specialized support may leave her overwhelmed, frustrated, and able to keep up in reading and math. Under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, every child is entitled to a free public education in the least restrictive way environment. But least restrictive does not mean the same for every child. It means the environment where that child can actually succeed. For my daughterful, for my daughter, meaningful progress means targeted instruction, smaller or specialized settings when necessary, and the ability to build her skills in reading, math, and communication in a way that works for her. I'm asking the board to ensure this decision in Wayne remains truly individualized. Please don't apply a one-sizefits-all inclusion model if that does not meet the needs of students like my daughter. I'm

079not going to pretend like I'm the perfect parent because I'm not. I wish I could say this was not my first time here, but it is. Unfortunately, my career path has forced me to miss huge chunks of my children's lives. So, I have to take every opportunity as a father to ensure they have the best lives possible while I am here. I can say as someone who has sacrificed for my family, this community, and this country that this is not in the best interest of my daughter and I will not stand for it. I don't want her to just be present in a classroom. Sorry. I don't want her to just be present in a classroom classroom. I want her to learn, to grow, and to succeed. Thank you for your time, your service, and

080your consideration. >> Mr. Meech, thank you. Thank you for your service. Anyone else from the public wishing to speak? >> Seeing no one, move to close. >> Mr. Faber, Mr. Paul, any old business. Oh, administration, would you like to respond to anyone at this time? >> No. Um, Mr. Mr. President, I think uh you hit the nail on the head. We're going to have a a round table. the information go out to the public. Um, if there's any um opportunities where it was not uh conveyed properly to the to the parents and so forth, as a superintendent, I take full responsibility for that and I'll make sure that at the round table you have information that you need and this community needs and the board needs to make uh the decisions going forward. >> Thank

081you. Any old business? >> New business. >> The mayor said thank you. Uh, you're welcome. >> Thank you, sir. >> Any old business? New business. Board member comments. Put your hands up. We'll start down at the right. >> I'm going to shift gears from the the topic we were just speaking about. I just wanted to commend the uh citizen budget advisory committee for showing up. Um, it's not easy and it's a it's a strong show of community commitment to step in and give ideas whether it be conventional or unconventional to contribute to the school to contribute to the school system. Even the members that don't have uh kids in the school district anymore just showing up it's it's a it's a big to-do. It's a it's a big win for everybody when everyone's involved. And

082also I I commend our BA and our administrators for putting the budget together in such a timely fashion with news of not reducing staff at this time. So I just wanted to say thank you and uh my compliments to you and the people that aren't here that showed up at the meeting. My compliments them as well. >> Mr. Al. >> All right. Um the board president spoke earlier about the uh discussions we had so I'm not going to talk too much on it but I will just reiterate that we did talk at length about it earlier today. Um, we all asked many questions and we're going to ask many more and I hope you all everyone here and everyone watching continues to ask those questions and um, I just don't want to give out any

083misinformation. So, I don't want to talk about everything yet, but continue to uh, ask the question you have to ask and it's good seeing everyone here showing your support. >> Yeah, I'm >> Yeah, thank you. Um, well, I'm going to kind of go along the same route. Um, so your board, this is your board, and we care so greatly for all of the children in our district, and our goal is to take a look at this whole thing. Um, the administration is eager to work with the board. the board will work with the administration and our goal is to make sure that every single one of your kids get exactly what they need here in this district and that is our goal and that's what we're going to work towards. We are um going to

084collaborate and come up with some something that works really really great. Um the other thing I wanted to say, Mr. Mayor, are you there? Thank you so much. You're perfect. Wonderful. Thank you so much. And um Mr. Meech, thank you so much for your service. It's greatly appreciated. Thank you so much. Um and Mrs. Heck, thank you for coming up and speaking as well. We care about you guys and everybody from the community needs to keep talking about these things. You need to keep showing up and, you know, and and you know, working together with us. Okay. Thank you so much, >> Mr. Pacus. >> Yeah, I wanted to thank everyone that came out tonight. Um, we do acknowledge that there was a breakdown in communication um with the the situation that everyone was was

085discussing tonight. Um, I can I can tell you we and the administration and the staff want every child to thrive >> and Facebook is not going to resolve anything. So, I'm happy you guys attended tonight. Um, our superintendent told us he received zero phone calls and zero emails on this topic. So, I mean, that's that's a surprise. That's a a problem. Um, thank you to um the Wayne Special Parents Association for the donation from the Turkey Trot. I was uh proud to attend this past November. So, um I hope to see it grow bigger and bigger every year as it has been growing bigger and bigger every year. We we appreciate donations uh in cash and and in kind. So um thank you very much everyone. I was happy to attend the Wayne Hills SDA

086last Friday. Um white and maroon was really good. Uh so um you know it was a soldout show for three nights. So if you couldn't see it, it's still available on YouTube. So I guess you could see uh but I guess the cat's out of the bag that white one. But you'll see it was really good. Uh there's also a cameo by our student rep, Zack Kabsik. He's in there, so you'll see him there. Um uh I want to give the mic to our our other student rep, Caitlyn Khan. Um Relay for Life is May 2nd, right? How do we how do we sign up for that? >> Okay. Hi, for everyone. If anyone doesn't know Relay for Life, it's associated with the National Cancer Society and it's just a large event where we raise

087money for the National Cancer Society for patient support and cancer research and all good stuff like that. You can find a lot of things. We have an Instagram for Relay for Life of Wayne. You can also find anything on Facebook. If you Google Relay for Life of Wayne, you could find anything. If anyone any questions, I can answer them. But yeah, the event will be May 2nd and it is all day at Wayne Valley High School on the field. Hopefully it doesn't rain, then we have to be inside. But it's a big day with games and food trucks and all kind of fun things, but all the money goes to a really good cause. So, please show up. >> And I just wanted to go back to the uh the tentative district budget presentation. So,

088we did see that we have a A rating here in Wayne for academics, but what we didn't show, and it's very unfortunate that I have to state this, we have a C rating in facilities. So, I'm the chair of uh facilities uh this year, the facilities committee, and it's a real shame when we see these emergency items come up and it's like, oh, that was in the referendum. So, we don't have any money there and we got to pull out money and uh and pay for all these temporary patch job emergency services. Um so, it's it's a it's a real shame seeing that. So hopefully uh um in 2027 is the earliest we'll be able to go back and do a referendum unfortunately. So um you know we have a delay. We're paying full price

089for any emergency services and items now to fix up our facilities. So um you know this is what the voters wanted and hopefully they uh you know get smarter and uh you know realize uh you know it's important in 2027. Mr. David, >> uh like the superintendent said before, I wanted to and Harry, I want to thank uh our Wayne Hills um SDA for inviting us to the show. I was there on Thursday night and uh myself and the super sat next to each other and we spoke at length about how good the show was and I hope there were some scouts from Radio City there. So, we have some Rockets maybe in the in the future like we have some NFL players out of this district. So, I also want to take time to

090thank all the community members who came to the meetings. Uh, I know it gets a little long sometimes, but I do appreciate when people show up and voice your concerns to us cuz that's how we know what's going on. And I know you made the comment about Facebook. I don't like reading about stuff on there either. I like to hear uh from people. That way, we can take action on it. And uh from what I've seen so far, uh the administration is great and they listen to the concerns and they really address everything and uh they bring a a great deal of knowledge and experience. So, uh, I'm quite certain that this is going to be worked out and it's going to be favorable to everyone. So, thank you, >> Mrs. Mr. Faber. >> So,

091I do just want to say I really appreciated the comment that you had made about, you know, knowing that everything that everyone is trying to do is always, you know, trying to take the best interest of the students at heart. And you know after hearing this you know during the meeting the explanations and the rationale behind it I definitely believe that that is truly the intention as we often know things in on paper don't always work out to be the same way on pra in practice. So, you know, we asked a ton of questions. We had a great conversation, but the goal was really and the whole discussion was about how does this impact the children, >> you know, and there's some thought behind, you know, the potential that there's a big shift when you

092go from fifth grade to sixth grade. So, there might be some benefit to, you know, putting something in place to help ease that transition from fifth to sixth so that they don't get a shock, but having a shock from fourth to fifth isn't necessarily going to be the best thing. So, you know, there's a lot of information that we requested, but the objective is, you know, and the goal behind it was honorable, but we had a lot of questions and, you know, we are here to, you know, kind of see this doesn't look right or, you know, can you explain this because everybody has a lot of questions. So, that's when we're going to do the presentation. We're going to put some more information out there and you'll get a better understanding of, you know,

093does this impact everybody? Is this going to be for everybody? Because from what I understand, it's not for everyone. it. The anticipation is not to do it for everyone. It's for specific people that will benefit. So, you know, there's a lot of I think and I've I've been seeing a lot of the stuff that's on Facebook and a lot of it isn't true and it's been that way now for years because it seems like, you know, sometimes people get people put things out there with the purpose of inflaming other people so that you'll come and you'll raise your voices and, you know, push back, but our objective is not to screw the town, screw the kids. It's always to do what's right. So, you know, we appreciate you guys coming in here because it'll give

094us the opportunity to address issues and come out with the best solution. That's always the objective. And, you know, we're not a board that fights. We're always trying to do the right thing here. So, you know, we appreciate you guys coming out and telling us. And, you know, pick up the phone and call Dave. That's what he's here for. He loves to talk to people. He really does. Like, you know, he's very, you know, very approachable and he loves to hear from people on the phone. So, call him. I'm telling you, if you have a question, you hear something on Facebook, call him. let him know, you know, he he doesn't take it personal. You know, you can even, you know, put Daisy on the phone or put her on a video video call, you

095know, whatever it takes. But, you know, thank you very much for coming and, you know, like I said, you'll get more information about this in the coming weeks and, you know, we really appreciate it. Thank you, >> Mrs. Regalo. >> Okay, just a couple quick things. Thank you moms for coming out and your children are the most important things to all of us here. So, I just want to let you know that I'm sorry there was a lapse of communication. I feel horrible about it. I'm learning the process. They're learning the process. But please come to the meeting when we ask you to come and voice your opinion. Come make it a night. Bring your friends. Go for coffee afterwards or what have you because we learn through you. So you have to come and

096explain your concerns to us. Um, real quick, Johnny, you have my vote when you run for mayor. You remember that because you are just amazing. just amazing. Thank you so much for coming out. I really, really, really enjoyed your little speech. Um, Mrs. Heck, we hear you. And, uh, to the uh, Mr. Niche, you're a great parent. I just want to tell you that and thank you for your service. Okay, real quick. SDA. As a mom of a blue Wayne Valley SDA captain, I just want to say you guys did an amazing job. The costumes, your enthusiasm. Zachary, you definitely have a future in in entertainment. I saw you. I saw you. Um, but what really I took home that night was the faculty. The faculty dressed up in t-shirts and performed a dance and

097it was just such a great example to the community, to the kids. They were cheering their teachers on. I loved it. So, I loved I loved loved loved your SDA. Um, congratulations to the CPAC community. $22,000. That is amazing for your turkey trot. I was there. I loved it. I maybe didn't walk as fast and as quickly as some of the other moms, but guess what? I tried. Um, Winnie, Mary, Wilson, you guys are amazing. Thank you to all people who donated the turkey trot. Mr. Kaggno, thank you. Um, come out next year and support everyone. Um, and that's pretty much it. You know, we hear you. That's all I want to say. Thank you. Um I I'll finish up tonight and um just a few things. Uh you saw the budget presentation tonight. You

098saw the expenses we're facing. Um and it just shows the job that this administration has done. There was another slide in there that I'm sure most people kind of just glanced over the number of administrators that we cut last year. And when you cut positions like assistant direct uh director of elementary ed, director of secondary ed, somebody has to do those jobs. The lady sitting over there is doing her job plus those jobs on top of it. So there's times I even call her and she doesn't get back to me right away because she's off point putting out some fire someplace. Cadino besides doing observations in schools of staff, he's also our HR director. On top of it, they're juggling so many balls. And it really upsets me when I read people saying, "Oh, you

099got to cut administration." When I first came on this board a few years ago, we had four assistant superintendent plus four directors. So when I hear at budget time, oh, cut administrators, there's not many left to cut. there's none left to cut because we still have to run and manage a district and provide outstanding education to students. So, I just want to give them kudos for what they did, what they do each and every day. Then the the budget committee, I was so impressed with the committee in our first meeting and the brainstorming that went on and the ideas that came out of it. I know there were some naysayers who said, "Oh, they can't do anything. The budget all is what it is." Yeah, 98% of it is what it is. It is. But

100the 2% that it isn't that isn't what it is. They gave a lot of ideas. They gave a lot of ideas on insurance, healthcare insurance, how they're doing it in the business world, how they're doing in other educational uh districts. It was great. Um, as Mr. Faber said, if you have a question, email us. You email me, I will answer you. I promise. It may may not not be in the minute, but within 20 I try within 24 hours to answer my emails. I promise you that. Um, and we do appreciate you coming out tonight and taking the time. We all live busy lives. We all have a lot of things going on and I really appreciate your time. Uh, the CPAC donation of $22,000. Incredible. We really appreciate everybody who donates to our district.

101So, with that, I will take a motion to adjourn. >> Mr. Faber, Mr. Paul. Thank you everyone.