WTPS Board of Education Meeting: June 12, 2025

001Oh, okay. Good evening everyone. I apologize for the um our delay. The executive session of the Wayne board of education regular meeting of June 12th, 2025 was convened in the conference room of the administrative offices of the board of education 50 driveway, New Jersey. Statement of compliance setting forth date, time, and location was read in requirements of the open public meetings act and a roll call was taken. The meeting was recessed and is now being reconvened. I ask everyone to please stand for the flag salute followed by a moment of silence. I pledge algiance 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. Okay, our business partners. Tonight, we're going

002to honor our business partners. These are many of the companies in the within the town that we we uh team up with for our um special needs students to begin to learn life skills. D. Thank you, Mr. Pavick. Uh whereas the Wayne board of education recognizes the overall well-being of virtually every community is defined and judged by the strength of its public schools. Whereas the Wayne board of education recognizes the most important stakeholders in every school system are students and their parents. Whereas the Wayne board of education also recognizes that local employers and other businesses also have a vested interest in the success of schools. Whereas through its policies and practices, the district has sought to create appropriate arrangements enabling employers and businesses to support learning opportunities in and out of the classroom through direct

003donations, contributions towards instructional programs and activities, volunteer projects providing mentoring opportunities, work study placements, and occupational training placements. Whereas many arrangements between schools, businesses, and employers that have grown out of this environment have brought brought about a profound change to the way schools and businesses work together as opposed to maintaining traditional philanthropic relationships. Whereas the board of education and the Wayne business community recognizes the benefits of true partnerships that support the long-term interests of students in schools while providing for sustained business involvement. Now therefore, be it resolved that the Wayne Board of Education recognizes the following businesses and employers for their efforts to enhance educational opportunities for the students of the Wayne Township Public Schools. Back to rock, Ben Samuels Children's Center, Little Falls, Bergen County Horse Ranch, MAWA, Charles Tampo Law Firm, Dairy Queen,

004Early Education Center, Elite Child Development, Firest Sticks Greek Restaurant, Haskell, Foundabilities, Going Ca, Homegoods, Jack's Superfood Town, Catalyst PT, Maggie's Town Tavern, Mindful Marketing, North Jersey Country Club, Only Kale, Outback Steakhouse, Packanak Elementary School, Pet Supplies Plus Oakland, Playa Bowls, Positano Restaurant, PTO Brows and Shop, Retro Fitness, Ryerson Elementary School, Stop and Shop, Pompton Plains, Taste of Tuscanyany, The Reality Exe, Sorry, The Realy Executives, Excuse Okay. The Rosen Theater, TJ Maxx, Trader Joe's, UC Fit, sorry, UFC Fit, Vagio, Village in Vinnie's Pizzerama, Walgreens, Wayne Community Center, the Wayne Public Library, and Wendy's. Thank you. Thank you. Next, we have a presentation from Wayne Valley High School on the Italy trip. Mr. Martinez. Good evening. I just want to make a statement of thank you to the board. Uh I'm George Martinez, assistant principal at Wayne

005Valley High School. Uh I just want to thank all of you for approving and supporting the the Italian trip this year. Our students and parents enjoyed experiencing the culture, the history, and the food of Italy. It gave our students an opportunity to learn beyond the classroom and apply their knowledge of the Italian language. Miss iona inco I apologize. Our Italian teacher was instrumental in coordinating the trip. Her vision and passion for teaching beyond the classroom made this trip possible. I'd like to have Miss Aikona come up and work with her students to make this presentation. Thank you guys. Uh thank you Mr. Martinez for your support and kind words. Uh Dr. Tobach, all school administrators, Mr. Pab, all the board members, parents, guardians, and the community at large. We sincerely thank you for welcoming us

006and giving us the opportunity to share in a new forum. We are grateful for your support in making a recent journey to Italy a reality. It was more than a trip. It brought learning to life, connecting students with culture, history, and global perspective in a truly transformative way. As students returned inspired, enriched and more confident, an experience made possible by your belief in the value of experiential learning. And I would like to introduce our students. Kellen Khan, Anaka Pleia, Justina Mango, Tyler Louu. They will be sharing their experience with you. Thank you. I'm going to break the revision. So, this first slide is about cultural enrichment um that this trip gave us. Getting to be in Italy for a week gave us and other students the privilege to be with this culture each and every

007day. Some simple things, whether ordering food, asking for directions, or just chatting with locals, allowed us to live this language out of the classroom. Being a part of this Italian culture made up appreciate their traditions. This trip highlighted the difference between American and Italian culture and they highlighted like a slower lifestyle, family, food and entertainment. Most importantly, connecting with these people made us have a deeper understanding of citizenship and cultural understanding. There was also so much historical significance like exploring ancient Rome ruins which provided us with insights into Roman culture and their daily life. We visited places like the Colosseum, the Vatican, the Piaza San Pietro, the Vatican Museum, the Haditrin Arch and the Roman Forum. There was also so much art from the Renaissance from figures such as Michelangelo, Leonardo da Vinci, and Brunelli.

008And the Duomo of Florence showed their arcultural innovation. Thank you. Hi, I'm Caitlyn Khan. I'm going to be talking a little bit more about historical significance and the art we got to see in Italy. One of the main parts of the educational aspect of our trip to Italy was getting to see UNESCO sites. UNESCO is the United Nations Organization for Education, Scient Scientific, Cultural. Oh, thank you. It's their organization. It protects Italy's landmarks and gets to teach visitors such as ourselves about their amazing past civilizations. They preserve Italy's cultural and historical past. And they connect us with ancient ruins, imperial and medieval eras, the atran and renaissance civilizations. to talk more about art. Some of the few things we got to see really opened up our eyes to beauty and the necessity of art. The

009Vatican museums were one of the best parts of our trip where we got to see Michelangelo's The Last Judgment and we also got to see the creation of man. We couldn't put any photos of the Sistine Chapel in the presentation because it's not allowed, but it's one of the most beautiful sites I've ever gotten to see. Standing in front of these paint paintings were absolutely gorgeous and they definitely gave me a greater understanding for art. In Florence, we also got to see the David where our tour guide got to teach us about the things that many people don't know about the David. Many people believe that he is a strong guy, but we understand after reading it that he was actually afraid and the David actually portrays before he gets to fight. It was a

010really beautiful thing and we got to learn a lot about the detail and the emotion that's encaptured in the sculpture. On our trip, we also got to see the St. Peter's Basilica in Rome. This was definitely my favorite part of the trip. We went shortly after our very long flight on the first day, and I'm honestly never going to forget it. The beauty of the dome, designed by Michelangelo, left us in awe of its architectural brilliance. We also got to see the coliseum in Rome on our second day. This was also amazing, and we got to learn about how the gladiators fought thousands and hundreds of years ago. On the next slideshow, I don't know if you guys can see, but I know you have papers in front of you. It features a few pictures

011from our trip. On the top left, you see the coliseum. You can see some of the ruins that are from past fires and earthquakes and years around 1349. I know a large earthquake happened there, but it was absolutely beautiful to tour. I learned so much history from it. And despite all the history classes I've taken, I definitely didn't learn as much as I did in this week in Italy. In the middle, you can see St. Peter's Basilica in Rome, which was, like I said, one of the most beautiful things we ever saw. Inside was amazing, and it was actually a Jubilee year, so once every 25 years, these large doors open, and we were amazingly allowed to go in them. On the top right and the bottom left are pictures from the Vatican museums. They

012were gorgeous and they feature some of the art on the roof. One of them features a painting and one of them features a more texture art. They were so pretty you wouldn't stop looking up. You would have bumped into someone. And then on the bottom right is the David, which like I said was one of the most gorgeous sculptures we ever saw. Although some parts of him are proport disproportionate, like his hands are very large, it was because it was made to be seen by thousands of people from very far away. It was amazing that we got to see all this art in such a short amount of time. Thank you. Hi, I'm Anna Copaleia and I'm going to be talking about some science and technology that we got to experience on the trip. So,

013Italy is the perfect place to study architecture and engineering. The ancient Romans were genius engineers and we saw a lot of that through the coliseum and other architectures that they built. The way they used arches and concrete was absolutely groundbreaking and it blew our minds how advanced they were. In Florence, Brunoleski's dome on the Florence Cathedral was designed without modern cranes or scaffolding and turned out to be a double shell dome that was both stable and lightweight, which was an incredible leap forward during that time period. And walking through these places and seeing both ancient and modern engineering up close made us realize how much Italy's art, science, and engineering has shaped the world today. And it made us appreciate it so much more. So while we didn't get to visit Milan, Milan is definitely

014the beating heart of fashion in Italy. It is home to major fashion houses such as Gucci, Prada, and Versace. And their innovative designs set trends all over the world. And we did get to see that in some of the other cities that we visited which was amazing. So automotive engineering Italy is home to some of the world's most iconic car brands such as Ferrari, Fiat, and Lamborghini. Each brand has its own distinct distinct style, but they all showcase Italy's incredible knack for combining design, engineering, and performance. One thing I definitely noticed while we were there is the Fiat was a car that we saw a lot because the streets are so much smaller in Italy because they obviously didn't have cars back then. So there were so many tiny cars just to fit everything on

015the streets, which is something I noticed a lot. And then my favorite part personally, the culinary arts. So Italy is definitely the the ultimate food destination. It is it was amazing to dive into the country's authentic regional cuisines. Each region has its own unique dishes and the flavors are absolutely out of this world. Italy's culinary arts aren't just about eating. They're about understanding food on a deeper level. From its origins to the techniques that make it so special. What makes Italian food so unique is that it's rooted in tradition. Each region has its own signature dishes based on local natural ingredients, and the focus is always on simplicity and quality. It's all about using the best and freshest ingredients and making the most out of them, which you can definitely taste in the food everywhere.

016Hi, I'm Tyler Lou and I'll be talking about some of the um careers available in Italy. In addition, Italy is a hub for global career opportunities with American and international companies. For example, in the tech industry, there is IBM which has roles in tech innovation, data analysis, consulting, and cloud computing. As for finance, there's City Bank, which is one of the largest banks in the world and manages investments. Um, Capitalia Group is an Italian-American banking company. Um, as for consumer goods, there's Proctor and Gamble, which is one of the world's largest producers of personal care, home care, and health products. Um in addition as for health and pharmaceuticals there is um Johnson Johnson Italy which has crucial roles in medical research and medical device sales. Um as for engineering and energy there is tech in

017and nel which has um engineering in infrastructure and sustainable energy and renewable energy. Jobs in other sectors include the compari group with jobs in marketing and product design. Ferrero USA with jobs in brand management and sales. And lastly, Fiat Chrysler Automobiles for jobs in automotive engineering and design. Why Americans are moving to Italy. Many Americans are drawn to Italy for its career opportunities and fields ranging from technology to international business. Italy is home to cutting edge sustainability projects and renewable energy industries, making it an ideal place for those in tech or environmental careers. Italy's businessfriendly economy offers opportunities for entrepreneurship and startups, making it a great destination for those looking to build their own companies or expand into the European market. Improved work life balance. Especially appealing to Americans, however, is the lifestyle in Italy.

018As opposed to American work culture with a harsh 9to-ive schedule with little vacation time and breaks, in Italy they have a they value a slower lifestyle where they can appreciate the little things and enjoy parts of life other than work. Many Americans have found themselves wanting departure from American work culture in Italy offers it. Thank you for Thank you so much for your support in making this trip possible. Okay. So, it may be a surprise, but I am also part of the presentation. Okay. Um, I went to Wayne Valley this morning to work with our students and to hear about their presentation in advance. And they had four questions that they wanted me to ask so that way they can maybe speak to you a little bit more from the heart about their experience and

019what they what they saw and what they learned about when they were in Italy. So, I'm not sure if one of you or all of you would like to answer the questions, but I know we have those four questions. So, um, the first question, if you want to take the mic, it's also you can come right off the stand if you'd like to just grab it. Um, if you feel like it. If not, you can leave it right there. Grab it. Okay, so the first question was, what was the most memorable experience of the trip? Okay, for mine personally, it wasn't like getting to spend time with my friends and having all the food was great, but honestly, mine was seeing the St. Peter's Basilica inside. I've never been a quite religious person, and that's

020just not me. But it was amazing. The archite I love architecture, and the architecture was genuinely the most beautiful thing I've ever seen. It was so big, and it made you feel so small. There were definitely hundreds of people inside that building, but you kind of just felt like it was only you. Like, it was the most beautiful thing I've ever seen. For me personally, I think seeing Michelangelo's David was definitely my favorite part, but the food was a close second. Um, it was very close, actually. I think you could really taste the difference between American food and Italian food, not only in like the flavors, but just in the way it makes you feel after and while eating the food. So, um I loved the food of course too was great, but um I

021think the different way of like learning the history of Italy was like really great. My favorite part of the trip was seeing a different way of life because my dad's an immigrant and obviously I grew up here. So, everywhere I travel, I like seeing the different lifestyles and how different people live their day-to-day lives. That's my favorite part. Okay. So, the next question is, how did this trip enhance what you've learned in the classroom? Um, for the past few years, I've always been an active participant in honors history. I like learning about what used to be because it helps us for the future. But I've never really gotten other than world history freshman year, I've never gotten a strong understanding about the history of other countries until I got to go to Italy. It was

022my first time going to Europe. And honestly, at first, I was a little hesitant. I've never been that far away from my family for very long, but it was just so amazing. And I honestly know so much more about Italy than I ever thought I would have. And although part of my family comes from Italy, I didn't quite know much except for the fact that I love chicken parm and pasta. So now I know a lot more. And I'm really more interested in world history now, too. I want to learn more about all European countries and honestly all the other continent like everywhere else as well as other than just America. Mhm. I think it's definitely one thing to learn about these places in the classroom and see them in the textbook and watch videos,

023but it's completely another thing to see it in person. It really makes you appreciate everything that we learn so much more. And it's just completely eye opening to see everything like right in front of you versus through a computer screen or through pages on a book. I completely agree with that. I think that like getting to see like the architecture and everything is like much more beneficial to when you're learning. I think it's easier and it's so much more eye opening. I think that being in the classroom can only do so much in terms of learning a language and being able to experience talking with native speakers and being able to get that real world practice really took it to the next level and it made it a lot more real. Okay, so we're running

024out of time. We'll do one more question. Okay, we'll do the the last one which I'm sure that's um a good answer for all of you. Um would you recommend the trip to other students and why? Okay, I'll go first. Definitely yes. It was so fun. Um, and one of the things for enriching the Italian education specifically because obviously Ziono brought us for that was although we spoke like Tyler said, learning it in the classroom, doing little assignments where we talk to each other, make projects, I learned so much more about the Italian language and how to pick it up in one week than I did in the past 3 years of taking Italian. Obviously, you get a good base understanding from the days in the classroom and the hours spent studying and learning. But

025when you actually get to talk to someone where it's their native language, you quickly pick up what you should really say and what's not so much sounding like Google Translate. I think I would definitely recommend it to other students. I think aside from learning about Italy and all that stuff, if you've never been outside of the country or just haven't traveled much, this is an amazing opportunity for you to get to travel more, but also you get to build your communication skills and you get to navigate your way through a place that you've never been before, or maybe you have been before, but you're not so familiar with. And I think that's special skills that everyone should have in life. And I think this trip is a great opportunity for you to do that through

026the school and with your friends. Um, I would totally recommend this trip to anyone. I think it really like improves your comm communication skills. Um, just like talking with locals and people at restaurants, it really helps other than just like learning words in a classroom. I would definitely recommend the trip to other students because I think being with your peers and being able to experience being in a new place is just such a special experience. It's such a special thing that I think everyone should have at some point in their life. So, I think I would definitely recommend it. Okay. Thank you very much. So, Anna, Caitlyn, Tyler, and Justine, you did a wonderful job, and we really appreciate you being here along with obviously Mr. Martinez and Mrs. Anako. The other thing I just

027wanted to mention to the board is that obviously there's um there's a lot of responsibility that goes with running a trip to another country. And so particularly for all of our chaperones that made the trip possible, right? The trip would not have happened without many people from the school who basically gave up their time to go and chaperone, although they also enjoyed a wonderful trip to Italy. And so I get that too. But anyway, um, but there are also many boards of education who are hesitant in this era to allow for international travel for students for liability reasons, for a whole host of other reasons. boards of education are hesitant but not this board right so um ultimately you hear the benefit of that decision allowing the students to go and I know Mr. Martinez

028I believe you have a few more things that you wanted to share along with Mrs. Zanco, right? You have a few more things you want to talk about. I just want to say thank you again because it was a year of planning and if it wasn't for my Italian teachers passion to doing this, she haunted me and haunted me joined us and I said, "Tess, I love the passion and I'm going to support you and advocate and I'm glad you guys came through and that's why I came here tonight. I'm supposed to be at the prom and I'll go there after this." But thank you again. I think we all learn the importance of going beyond the classroom and learning beyond the classroom. And thank you, sir. Thank you. I just I just want to

029add a few things. Um well we need to show our appreciation and I think the best way to do it is something for you to keep uh in your office to all the board members who believe in our dream and for actually your support and vision um to our Italian trip. You made a lasting impact and a real difference. So we would like to present you with this plaque and also with a collage of pictures from our trip for you to have. Thank you. We also want to say thank you from the four of us. Thank you for letting us speak at your board meeting. Thank you. Thank you. You guys should take one. [Music] Thank you so much. Thank you. You're very generous. Thank you so much. Thank you so much. And thank you

030for your passion. Dr. Tobac and Mrs. Caswell. Isn't that nice? Never mind. I always have cuz I used to What's that? Yeah. Dr. Tobe. Okay. Are you ready? We're ready. Okay. So, for the admin summary report. So, this meeting is our final meeting during the academic year. And I wanted to start our meeting by expressing my thanks and appreciation to each and every member of our school community, our exceptional educators, our experienced and caring administrators, devoted support staff, amazing students, supportive parents, and all the supporters of the school system. And last but not least, members of the board of education who work tirelessly to support our school system. And always a reminder, they are volunteers. They hold one of the most demanding volunteer jobs that you possibly can have. As we reflect on the past

031year's accomplishments, we also look forward with optimism to the opportunities ahead. So our journey will continue after this short summer break. Wanted to talk a little bit about our graduating class and so now is an opportunity time to do that. So congratulations to our valadictorians and our saludiatorans. Gargie Strivz is the valadictorian at Wayne Hills and she will be studying at Georgia Institute of Technology. She'll be studying aerospace engineering next year. Timothy Turbarov is the saludiatoran at Wayne Hills. Timothy will be studying mathematics and computer science while attending the University of Oxford in England on a full scholarship as an Ellison Scholar. Irvena is a validictorian of Wayne Valley. She will be attending Case Western Reserve University this fall. Um she will be studying neuroscience and following the premed track. And Aiden Kindler is a

032saludiatoran from Wayne Valley. Aiden will be attending MIT where he will study neuroscience or biomedical engineering and he will also be continuing his career playing football. So I enjoyed spending time yesterday with our vowans and saludiatorans as well as their families at an annual recognition event yesterday at the Brownstone. um to further celebrate our senior class, we stopped publishing our weekly newsletter and we take that time to really put together an outstanding end of the year newsletter. And so we published that. We're very excited for the community to read this year's edition which will be available next Friday, June 20th. The newsletter includes dozens of stories and articles about our graduating class members and highlights their many achievements. It also includes lots of information about where our seniors are headed after high school and include

033a new section that spotlights some of our outstanding student athletes and their accomplishments. And I'll talk about that in a few seconds at least for spring sports. Okay. So, um, college acceptances related to the senior class. Our college acceptance list for the class of 2025 is once again very impressive and our seniors have been accepted to several very competitive universities and colleges across the country including Cornell, MIT, University of Michigan and the United States Military Academy or West Point. We have several graduates who are staying local and attending New Jersey schools like Ruters, Satan Hall, William Patterson, Monontlair Stevens, NJIT while others are staying in the New York metro region attending schools like NYU, St. John's, Forom and Ithaca. Some of our students will be attending large universities in the Northeast such as the University

034of Delaware, Go Bluehens, Penn State, University of Connecticut, and the University of Maryland. Some of our graduates will be attending schools at a distance like the University of Colorado and Boulder, University of Michigan and Arbor, University of Texas in Austin. Southern schools continue to be a big attraction for our graduates and many will be attending schools like the University of Alabama, LSU, Louisiana State, the University of Tampa, University of Miami, Elon University, and the University of Mississippi. Okay, so our student representatives are not here, but they normally would deliver our athletic report. So, I just wanted to do that because we had quite the spring season. Okay, so Wayne Hills will have four students competing at the NCA Division one level next year. All of them receiving athletic scholarships. And so this is just for

035the spring sports. That's not all the sports. It's just the spring sports. So Jimmy V will be competing at Manhattan College. He'll be playing golf. Casey Barata will be competing at Manhattan College for baseball. Max Deagard will compete at FDU for baseball. and Elizabeth um Danqua will compete at the University of Rhode Island in track and field. Wayne Hills won two P County championships and a league championship for boys tennis and golf. Golf team also won the Big North Independence Championship and Elizabeth Danaqua is the North group three sectional winner for both the discus and shotut. Wayne Hills had 380 students participate in our spring athletic teams. Also, as far as Wayne Valley goes, they had quite a season. And boys lacrosse was county champions. Girls lacrosse conference champions. Boys golf conference co- champamps. Justin

036McDougall County and conference champion from track and field in the discus. Corey I'm sorry. Justin McDougall. Cory McDougall was a conference champion in the long jump. We had 16 first team all county spring athletes. Also um as related to the senior class but also the generosity of the community. I just wanted to take note that the community scholarship programs took place at Wayne Valley and Wayne Hills and it is really a wonderful reflection on our community in that at Wayne Valley the community donated $93,050 towards our senior class. That's how much was given out in scholarship money. Likewise, at Wayne Hills, the total scholarships awarded were $12,200. And so really a a very impressive year for our seniors. And the PTO this year also set a record in raising money from the scholarships. Uh they

037raised $60,000 in scholarships that they gave out. So the PTO really had quite the year for that. I have to give um the HIV report. So there were 10 incidents of HIV that were investigated since my last report. Only four of those cases were found to be actual HIV cases. That concludes my report. Thank you. Um there are some revisions to the agenda tonight. Under human resources, uh number one, approval of resignation retirement. Number 12, Alio Veroso, maintenance supervisor, central office. Um, as of 63025, resignation, $101,100. Approval of additional compensation. Number two, CST staff secondary, 3 days extra. Add number 16, Mary Beth Hulahan, child study team, 59.96 per hour, 3 days per WA contract. Admiria Lucarelli par profofessional chaperon George Washington Middle School dance 61325 per hour for 3 hours. Chris Ruska operation of

038new presentation system GW middle school chorus concert 6225 $89. Under number five approval of appointments of district staff for 2526. Number four, Albert Ruez, principal, James Fallon School. FTE102-3-42 BCR 11- triple0-240-103-04-10 81225 or as soon as possible salary be 148,78 prorated step 7 K through8 of WTAAA salary guide with benefits replacing Ethan Mayan at 181,431 One, step 13 of the guide. Number nine, approval to rescend an item add. Number three, Jarrett Nardello, principal James Bon 8125 or as soon as possible. Uh 132,697 pro-rated. Um add approval of appointment of extracurricular advisors, Grant Sipple, assistant band director, Wayne Hills High School. Step one, $3,53 effective 613 under emerging school resource legal approval of me memorandum of agreement with the school cafeteria playground aids association. Now, now therefore, it be resolved the Wayne Board of Education approves

039the ratification of the memorandum of agreement dated June 11th, 2025 and a salary schedule for an agreement between the school cafeteria playground aids association and the Wayne Township Board of Education for a period of July 1st, 2025 through June 30th, 2028 and authorizes the president of the board of education to execute the memorandum of agreement and salary schedule as discussed in executive session. That concludes our revisions to the agenda. This time we're going to open to the public for agenda items only. This portion of the meeting is open for 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 an employee or student. The board bears no responsibilities

040for comments made by the public. Comments regarding employees or students cannot be legally responded tonight by the board. Other comments may be responded to tonight or at a subsequent meeting under all business. Do I have a mover? Move. Mr. Deno, Mr. Batter. Anyone from the public wishing to speak on an agenda item? No one. Mr. Pakis, Mrs. Rigosa. Action. Did we have any committees reports, Mr. Bakus? I have two committee reports. Tonight at 5:00 p.m. the communications committee um met very briefly. It was Dr. Tobac and myself. Uh we went over the final newsletter of the year which will be going out soon. Um essentially whatever Dr. Tobec mentioned about our high school graduates, it was the high school graduation version. So it'll be over email and uh um everybody will be uh able to

041see and congratulations to the validictorians and saludiatorans and and all the graduates. Also tonight at 5:30 the education committee consisting of uh myself and uh Miss Lamandry and Dr. Kasmar um were in attendance. We reviewed the May 1st 2025 uh committee minutes. We discussed the new three-year comprehensive equity plan which is due on June 23rd. We took a peek at the elementary class size numbers uh which are very fluid as you know. Um we looked at the forensic science crime evidence curriculum. This will be a new class uh being offered at both high schools. We received an update for the fashion design 2 and fashion design 3 curriculum. And we discussed a transfer request from Anthony Wayne to Skyler Kfax and a transfer request from uh Tunis die to uh AP. And we also um

042examined the renewal for 2025 2026 season for uh dual enrollment at William Patterson University. Thank you, Mrs. Landry. Um, I was in a meeting this evening for facilities and transportation and present were Peter Roma, Richard Skavitzki, Matt Gordano, and myself. Um, we talked about a bunch of things, but primarily um getting ready for move up day and graduations at the schools and the fields. That's been a huge huge thing. There are five um people working in that maintenance department and so it's been a lot of work. They we also talked about some of the fields and some parents I suppose and some community members have stressed the fact that the fields have not been kept up to par in some locations. We know that Pines Lake is hard to keep that field because the field

043does not get a lot of sunlight. Um, but just so people know, they drag the fields once a week. Every week they drag the fields. They cut the grass two times a week. The other thing is that I think is really important to stress is that they say that when they're every single day, somebody goes to each of the schools and picks up garbage off of the property. Right? So, and a lot of it is around the fields or the playgrounds, whatever, where people bring their children to play. And I always say to myself, man, be a good example to your kids, right? And pick up after yourself. There's it's absolutely unbelievable that so much time is spent collecting garbage, coffee cups. Kids don't drink coffee, right? Bags of garbage from people's homes. It's unbelievable.

044So, I think we could do a better job as a community to really keep an eye on that and, you know, to, you know, to take a picture when you see somebody littering. I said, "We're going to put cameras up." Um, the other thing is that there were a couple of leaks that were patched on the roofs. We know that the roofs are in need of repair, but managed to get that fixed up and patched. Um, so yeah, I would ask for the public's help to keep our fields and our our school facilities a little bit cleaner than they are at this time. Um, oh, the other thing is that did you know that a school bus has a 20 year life after 20 years you have to retire the bus? So, we talked about

045ways to perhaps think about um you know, maybe looking at the bus at 10ear mark and selling it and getting a new or whatever. But we we know that there's some things going on with electric vehicles now. Something that the state is is looking into um or or checking out, I guess. So, and the other thing is that our buses, every one of our buses passed 100% pass rate on all of our buses. So, they're safe vehicles and they're doing a great job with that. And that's about it. Thank you. Any other committees that I missed? None. Okay. Move on to the agenda. Do I have a mover for the agenda? I'd like to move the agenda in total, please. Mr. Chano, second. Mr. Batter. Any comments on discussion? Seeing none. Roll call, please. [Music]

046Yes. Except for the four. Yes. Yes. Have retirements. Mr. Alun was stuck down by you. All right. Tonight I'm going to read the retirement for Kevin Boona. After more than 20 years of dedicated service to the Wayne Township Public School District, we proudly honor the retirement of Kevin Bona. Kevin has been steady and reliable presence throughout his career, working across every school level and leaving a lasting impact on each one. His commitment and strong work ethic were especially evident in his roles as head custodian where he led with pride and professionalism. Beyond his contributions to our district, Kevin is known for his love of fishing, a well- earned passion he can now en uh fully enjoy. As he cast his line into the next chapter, we extend our deepest gratitude, and warmest wishes. May retirement

047bring Kevin much happiness, relaxation, and many great catches ahead. Thank you. I'm going to read about Gail Patterson. Tonight we recognize and celebrate the work of Gail P who is retiring on June 30th, 2025 after 34 years of selfless dedication to the children and families in the Wayne of the Wayne before and afterare program. She became her tenure she began her tenure when the Chamber of Commerce was in charge of the program. Throughout her child here child career, Gail has consistently demonstrated herself to be compassionate, a leader, and a nurturing presence. Her role as sight lead caregiver went far beyond supervision. She formed meaningful relationships, fostered growth, and provided a consistent, loving environment for every child in her care. She was one of the first friendly faces the Ryerson teaching staff and principal would see

048each morning as they came through the cafeteria. She worked almost exclusively at Ryerson for over two decades along her alongside her work best friend. Gail currently works at JFK in the before and after care program and enjoys her time with all the participants and her caregiver team, creating her unique salad spinner art projects, making real flower pots for Mother's Day and ensuring the children's happiness and safety. As Gail steps into her retirement, we thank her for her immeasurable contributions and her years of faithful service. She will be deeply missed but forever remembered. I'll read about Michelle Cornell, a passionate special education English teacher. Michelle Cornell has dedicated 24 years of her teaching career to both Wayne Hills and Wayne Valley high schools. Throughout her career, she has touched countless lives with her unwavering commitment to

049her students, fostering a love for learning and creating an inclusive classroom where every student is valued. Fortunate to have worked alongside such a dedicated and kind and aspiring educators has provided meaningful conversations, fond memories, joyful moments, and a lasting reminder of why teachers do what they do every day. Her retirement will be filled within with a more significant role at found abilities and allow more time for her dedicated role as the county coordinator of Special Olympics for Payic County. Dawn Hourbach. Tonight we recognize the remarkable career of Dawn Arbach who has served the Wayne Township public schools with unwavering dedication since 2000. Dawn began her journey with us as a math teacher at Wayne Hills High School, bringing with her a sharp analytical mind and a passion for education after leaving a successful career as

050a logistics manager at American Cyanimid. From day one, she stood out not only for her deep knowledge of mathematics, but for her unwavering commitment to her students. She ensured every student received quality instruction and the additional time and support they needed to succeed. Dawn's talents soon led to her into leadership. Her expertise in math instruction and her collaborative spirit made her a natural choice for district supervisor of math and science. She continued to rise becoming an assistant principal and then the principal of Albert Pacin Tune School. For the past eight years, Dawn has served as a director of elementary education, providing guidance and support to all nine elementary schools in our district. In every role, Dawn has exemplified what it means to be a leader. She consistently went above and beyond her responsibilities to support

051her colleagues, enhance instruction, and advance the district's mission. Through her efforts, staff and students benefited from strong teaching, well-chosen resources, and professional development opportunities designed with long-term impact in mind. Dawn is deeply respected and admired for her incredible work ethic, calm demeanor, and generous heart. Whether on boarding new administrators, launching new programs, or guiding teams through complex challenges, she has always been a steady, compassionate presence. She gives freely of her time and energy. Always with the best interests of Wayne's students at heart. As Dawn retires, she looks forward to embracing a slower pace and enjoying more time with her beloved family. Her husband Mike, daughter Sarah, son Thomas, and his wife Grace, and her adorable cockapoo Chloe. Dawn, we thank you for 25 years of exceptional service. Your impact on this district is lasting, and

052your legacy will be felt for years to come. Congratulations on your well-earned retirement, Mr. Paul. Donna Fatiola. As this year draws to a close, the George Washington Middle School is wishing another one of its stars a happy and healthy retirement. While it is an honor and bittersweet to write this knowing how much she will be missed, uh we are calm knowing how blessed we are to have worked with such an amazing educator. For years, Mrs. Fatiola has enriched our school with her unwavering dedication, her passion for language arts, and most importantly, her deep and genuine care for every student who walked into her classroom. She didn't just teach sixth grade, she transformed it. Her classroom was always more than a place to learn grammar, read novels, or write essays. It was a space where students

053felt safe, welcomed, and inspired. Through enriching and meaningful lessons, Mrs. Fatiola managed to bring literature to life and make learning a deeply personal experience. Her students weren't just completing assignments, they were discovering their voices, forming connections, and growing in ways that reached far beyond the curriculum. What truly sets Mrs. Fetula apart was her ability to engage each student in a way that made them feel seen and valued. She created an environment where academic risks were not just encouraged, they were celebrated. The success of that approach was clear, not only in the impressive academic performance of her students, but in something even greater. The sense of connection and confidence they carried with them. The real measure of her impact isn't only found in highly effective test scores, but in the bonds her students formed with their

054learning, with one another, and with school community. The growth that took place in her classroom is something that will stay with those students for the rest of their lives. Mrs. Fatella, your legacy will live on in every student you've guided, every colleague you've inspired, and every life you've touched. While we will miss your presence in the halls and your wisdom in our meetings, we know your influence will continue to echo throughout this school for many years to come. On behalf of the entire school community, thank you for your incredible service, your caring, and your lasting impact. We wish you joy, adventure, and well-deserved rest in this next chapter of your life. Congratulations on your retirement, Mrs. Fetula. You will always be a part of our school family. On behalf of the entire board, I wish

055all retirees a happy, safe retirement. Um, at this point, we'll open to the public for general comments. This portion of the meeting is open for citizens to 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 a student. The board bears no responsibilities for comments made by the public. Comments regarding employees or students cannot be legally responded to by the board. Other comments may be responded to tonight at a subsequent meeting under old business. Do I have a mover? Move. Mr. Judo, Mr. Bishu. Good evening. Hi everybody. Rob Sardy, president of the Wayne Education Association. As we approach the end of the school year, usually this is time

056filled with joy, celebration, a deep sense of accomplishment. um we kind of reflect on the things that we've done this year, the good things, the bad things. Um as we head into summer, it's a time to just rest, recharge, and more importantly really reflect. When I think back of this year, I see a lot of successes, but part of me is just saying, what happened and how did we get here? Earlier this week, I said to somebody, this isn't the Wayne that I know. this isn't the Wayne that I started working in 27 years ago. And he looked at me and said, "Rob, this isn't the same way as even a year ago. We have changed so much in this past year." Um, the heaviness in the buildings, that growing sense of uncertainty, instability, it's

057really hard to ignore in the hallways, the staff rooms, the conversations that we have with each other. It's not just talk, it's our reality. It's everyone in those buildings. It's our realities right now. It's hard to kind of move on when all of central office is leaving and clearing out and everyone's wondering like why is this happening? What's going on? In our schools, we are losing incredibly talented staff members, not just teachers, uh, custodians, paras, administration is also leaving as well. people who have poured their hearts into this community and they're not just leaving because they were unnecessarily or wrongfully um non-renewed or rifted. Many are choosing to leave for more supportive environments, more stability, and they're going where they feel valued. We have to face the reality that something is wrong here. Rather than

058just pointing fingers, now's the time to sit down, have those really hard conversations, and start figuring this out. The WA has worked hard to build trust and repair relationships that somewhere along the lines became fractured. I can look up at this board and know that I've talked to each and every one of you. And though we may not have agreed on everything, I am proud of the fact that we can have those conversations and kind of walk away with a deeper understanding. Right now, not there's a lot of us that are afraid to speak up. Um, I see staff of all levels walking on eggshells in their schools. We've become a place where yelling and blame have replaced real conversations and genuine problem solving. this is not how a school system should be operating. If

059it were just a few people here or there, you can say, you know, it's that, you know, this is just not the right fit for them. Um, they'll be somewhere else that maybe they be easier to work with, but this is everywhere. Um, there's so many talented, passionate, and experienced professionals leaving work every day feeling defeated, devalued, disrespected, and just overworked. I'm not saying this be like, this is I'm saying this because we have to name it, right? You have to name that this is happening because that's the only way that we're going to sit down and really talk about it because I look at my friends on all levels and they are exhausted. So we need to fix this because we are better than this. We are Wayne. I have served in Wayne more

060than half of my life and I know that we are a town that cares deeply about education. We are a community of educators, parents, students, and leaders. And we all want the same thing, right? We want schools where the staff and students feel respected, supported, and empowered to do their best work. This summer has to be more than just rest, even more than just reflection. It has to be a time of repair. The WA is committed to being part of that healing, helping lead the conversations to bring people back together. But we need everyone at the table. We need the board at the table. We need staff. We need the PTO. We need administration. And I know central office is it's it's a sinking. It seems like a sinking ship right now, but I did

061meet the new superintendent and I I'm I'm being left with hope. I was a little worried that Dr. Tobach was leaving, the Julius Vincent was leaving, but I am very hopeful with this new superintendent. But there has to be real work. We can't just talk about it and not have something happen. We have to be in it together. So, I'm hoping that this summer that we can all get together. I'll clear my schedule for whatever you need. And we need all of us to work together. Thank you. [Applause] Everything Rob said. Um, good evening, Wayne Board of Education and administration representatives. My name is Danielle Valencia and I teach music at both Lafayette and James Fallon. I actually am looking and now I'm realizing I've taught many of your children, which is really awesome. um

062whether on stage at Anthony Wayne or throughout the years. Um I also have the privilege of being the lead building representative at Lafayette School. And tonight I'm going to speak on behalf of my Lafayette colleagues just to express express our great disappointment regarding the outcome of Miss Rachel Hoffbower's recent Donaldson hearing. And we know we don't have access to private personnel matters. and we know that we don't have a seat in the room where it happens. Yes, I'm the music teacher recording a musical. Um, but we really felt it important to come here and express that overwhelming feeling that is permeating our building. Just so you know how we are feeling. In reaction to this outcome, which has affected my staff more deeply than any district event in my 15 year tenure, we would like

063to take this moment to thank the Wayne community for their overwhelming and outpouring amount of support. Uh we especially would like to thank the parents and families who showed up and spoke out. In a time when some would advocate for staying home in fear, you all chose to make your voices heard and the entire Lafayette staff felt the support you have for us and the power of our community, a community that stands behind its educators. So, thank you. Um, and to our incredible Lafayette students who we are sure are sitting at home watching this live stream with so much focus and attention right now. Um, you learned how to take action and be part of a civic process and we are so proud of you. It took a lot of courage to put yourselves out

064there and speak about what you felt was right and that is what it takes to be a positive and effective community member. Thank you for your time. [Applause] Hi, I'm Don Pasqual and I also teach at Lafayette. Uh this has been an incredibly difficult end of school year, one that never none of us ever want to experience again. But even in the face of a heartbreaking outcome, I want to take this moment to thank the wing community for the over overwhelming outpour of support. Um Danielle thanked the parents and um the staff already, so I'm going to skip that part, but I do thank you. Um but I do want to thank the incredible students and let them know how proud I am of them. Their courage to speak out in defense of what was

065right inspired us all. Please don't let this moment discourage you and never stop using your voice to stand up for what you believe in. You can make a difference and I'm confident you will. Most importantly, I want to thank Rachel. Thank you for being an extraordinary colleague. Thank you for being a steady presence and a source of support during this time of stress. Thank you for showing me and all of us what it truly means to connect with children in a way that's meaningful and lasting and profound. Sorry. In my 18 years of teaching, I've never witnessed so many people rally in support for one individual. And that alone speaks volumes about who you are. Not just as a teacher, but as a person. Wherever your journey takes you next, know that the district will

066be lucky to have you. Their gain will forever be our loss. Thank you. Thank you. Good evening. Bob Martell 33 Jeffrey Ro should I give my rank and serial number also? No, that's okay. Okay. First, I want to say to Dr. Tobac, sincerely, I understand you're retiring soon. I wish you a healthy and long retirement. I do. I've been in this town a long time. I've seen a lot of superintendents come and go to make 10 years in this town to survive 10 years in this town. If there was a motion made tonight to give you a little extra something in your pension, I would vote for it. I want to press you with some numbers. I heard some numbers about this gentleman here, Mr. uh Paul, about Miss Dawn Arabback, 25 years. Let me

067tell you some numbers. My family, Rachel's family has lived in this town for 70 years. 70 years. During those 70 years, 63 of my family members have attended these Wayne schools, including myself. We are teachers, both current and past. We are school nurses. We are board of education employees. My 84 year old mother, her grandmother, is still healthy and happy and collecting a Wayne Board of Education pension where she worked at Wayne Valley High School, 1,000 feet from here. We have served this town combined years of service 160 years of service. 25 years you said 160 years of service. I was privy to all the information that was put before you about redoing her contract. Every bit of information I looked at, it's not there. Not renewing her contract is not there. I don't know

068what this about. I don't know who's got a vendetta against my family, but it's wrong. And that's how I'm taking it personally. A lot of the board members, I know all you people, you know, my family. You know what kind of people we are. The rest of you, I did a little research about some of you. I did. I Googled your names. I'll be honest. I'm very impressed with your backgrounds. We have business and finance people. We have obviously a retired Wayne police officer. We have an educator with many years of service. I'm very impressed. Where did you go wrong in your decision? Why was your decision made? It makes no sense whatsoever. It really doesn't. I could talk about a lot of things, but I won't right now cuz I've been here long enough

069and I'm smart enough to know that sometimes you're better off keeping quiet. I would ask the board members, the superintendent, all the administrators in this town, the next time this situation presents itself to you, please think about what you're doing. Think about the families that you're going to hurt. Young lady's career, he was just destroyed. Thank you very much. Thank you. Hi. Um, my name is Laura Gensinger, 94 Tall Oaks Drive in Wayne. I am the mother of Rachel Hoffbower. I am a proud mother of my daughter. And what blows my mind, there's 13 of you and she only got four votes to keep her job. How did that happen? Mr. Badil, when I came to the last meeting, you said you were going to personally look into this matter because you were an educator.

070Am I correct? Are you were an educator? You don't know. Okay. Whatever. No cross dialogue. It doesn't matter. I just don't understand. When my daughter went to when she went to the Donaldson hearing, how is it fair that she only gets 15 minutes to plead her case when you have had almost a whole month? How is 15 minutes? And Mr. Tobach, I see that you're very good at looking at the clock and timing my daughter. Yeah. Do you think that's professional? Do you Does anybody think that the way my daughter was treated was professional? I don't think so. She's a good teacher. She takes a lot of time and effort because she loves the kids. She loves her job. She loves to teach. She's been bounced around from schools to different classrooms. She spends almost

071a whole month setting up a classroom in the summer. How How is any of this fair? And yet you have some teachers that the parents complain about and nothing happens because they have tenure. Does that make sense? Because they're a bad teacher, but yet they have tenure. They get to keep their job. What about the good ones that come in? What about looking at what they do for their kids and how much time my daughter gives up because she enjoys to go to kids baseball games to be a part of their lives to spend time with them in the summer and you guys just decide because in one more year she's going to have tenure. Let's get rid of her now. She doesn't even know what she did wrong. How about telling her what she

072did wrong so she can understand? You don't realize the effect that you have had on my daughter, how you're ruining her career. It's not fair. There is something broken in this system. Or maybe you guys just didn't take any accountability into reading the information that supported herself to keep her job. She's fighting to keep her job. She wants her job. That's all I have to say. I I appreciate your time and I would certainly hope that you would reconsider the decision. Thank you. Thank you. Good evening. Lori Centron NJA. I'm going to commend the board for one thing right now. That every single one of you listened and watched every one of these people that came up and I commend you for that. Nobody looked down. You gave them attention. I came to you last

073month. I talked about the riffs uh that were not being uh honored to get hearings. Um New Jersey school boards has a a handout on the website talks all about how riffs can have an informal hearing. I have a partner who has a district who had four riffs. Four. And they all got hearings in another district. So what now is being forced on me and I love my job is now I have to file a petition with the commissioner which is going to bring a legal bill to you. So instead of honoring and just giving those two people 15 minutes before you and I agree with the 15minute um time limit. That was crazy. Now we have to go to the commissioner. You're trying to save money and now you're going to have legal legal

074expenses. And then to add salt into Rachel's wound on Monday morning, she receives a rice notice. Okay. Little bit of hope in her only to get another email saying it was an error. Okay. Now, I'm sorry, but all year long I have never gotten a phone call that somebody got riceed and now all of a sudden it's in error. I wanted to make sure the board knew that. I don't know if you knew about that, but I knew about that and I could not have her sit here. 30 minutes later. 30 minutes later. You have an option to go into close session. Somebody make a motion, have a conversation, and fix this because it's really not fair what's going on here. Thank you. [Applause] Justin Joseph, 36, Rucker Court, was to start off saying that

075what's happened to Miss Hoffower is a real shame. She's a great teacher. The district is making a mistake. You guys got this wrong. All right. On another topic, I sent an email to the board of ed. I want to thank a few of you that actually responded to it. I brought to the board of ed's attention that I mean we can see the chart up here that I believe the mayor probably put up looking at the 55 cents. We continue to have these conversations year after year after year of how we're in this budget fiasco. I remember full day kindergarten coming for those conversations. Mr. Tobac, you had that nice iceberg where kindergarten was at the tip of it and everything else was below it. My suggestion is these meetings do not provide good working

076sessions. This is not good dialogue. I come up here, I make statements, maybe someone responds, maybe someone doesn't respond. I sit down, I never hear about it again. So, I'm suggesting that we create a budget advisory committee from people in town, work with work with the board. We'll sit down, actually have two-way conversations, have dialogue, and work together rather than coming up here and hoping that I get a response. Thank you. Thank you. Anyone else from the public wishing to speak? Seeing no one move to close. Second. Mr. Jan. Any old business? New business. Board member comments. Mr. Bakus. Today's the last meeting for the school year. So, I know it's celebration and awards season. Um, so we're we're getting invited to all these awards. We're trying to attend as much as we can. Um,

077uh, you know, National Honor Society, 4.0 awards, and, um, you know, I was able to attend some of those. I was also able to attend the first leadership day at Ryerson. So, that was that was a great, um, great day there. Um, also, um, you know, um, Wayne Valley and Wayne Hills put together a really nice auto show at at Wayne Hills. So, that was that was great to be there. Um, want to wish everyone, uh, happy Father's Day to all the great dads out there. Um, congratulations to all the graduates and their families. We'll be going to the graduations and the, uh, moving up ceremony soon. Um I mean that Italy trip you know I was glad to see uh uh that it was an enriching uh experience for the students. I myself um

078when I was in high school I had the opportunity to go to Spain. Unfortunately I didn't go and I regret it 32 years later and seeing things like this you know um it it's a regret but you know maybe I'll get there one day and maybe I'll get to Italy one day. Um, I just want to say also, um, great job by the PTO's on their fundraisers for for our community scholarships. Uh, and thank you to the, uh, b to our business partners and the and the community for raising these scholarships for our our high school seniors. Um, the graduations will be livereamed, so the links will be in the newsletter. So, for Wayne Hills and for Wayne Valley, if you can't attend, hopefully it doesn't rain so that you know people can attend the

079stands attending the stands. So we we could have unlimited attendance there. Otherwise, if it's raining, there's going to be only four tickets available per family. Um I know Mr. Martell was here, but he left. I wanted to uh I guess addressed, you know, I'm not I'm not an educator. I I think he probably looked up that I'm not an educator. Well, I guess I am a professor. uh you but technically I'm not a a school level um educator but as a board you know as Dr. Tobach mentioned we're volunteers um and we trust the educators we trust the employees here we're just overseeing everything at a high level we have one employee Dr. Tobac and uh the superintendent, the new superintendent. Um so, you know, it's a tough decision. We we face tough decisions every

080day, every week. We get emails um such as uh Mr. Joseph's emails. Uh you know, we like hearing solutions. That's a great solution. Uh budget advisory committee sounds great. um the setup, the dialogue. I mean, you know, with there's there's certain procedures and certain rules that that we have to deal with. You know, I know the um that's that's one thing that, you know, was brought up here with with the the personnel uh situation. Uh I think uh Miss Hopar is going to have a proud future. As someone who's been laid off in my career, you think it's the worst and most devastating thing that's ever happened to you, but trust me, it actually works out. Um, it sucks, but you know, it works out in the future, you know. So, um, it's not the

081end of the world. I'm telling you, for you, it's not. It's not. I mean, so, Miss Hoffower, Mrs. Mrs. topire. Um Rachel's mom, eight years, you know, my my wife went to Wayne Valley High School. She was a teacher. She never got an interview in Wayne for Wayne schools. She ended up teaching in Bergen County. I mean, things happen, you know. So, um we have to trust the employees that that we have in this district. You know, we're, you know, we're all in uh leadership roles. We we obtain um information we have and, you know, try to do the best we can. So, um, so with that, um, if I don't see everyone, uh, have a have a great summer, Mr. Fab. So, one thing I can agree on is that this system is broken

082in so many ways. and sitting up here and seeing how everything runs in contradiction to each other. How, you know, I've talked about the budget and how you only get your percentages and, you know, the things with tenure and you can't do certain things when teachers are, you know, been here for a certain amount of time. I mean, a lot of this stuff that we are stuck with, like even just the rules that we can't have cross conversations, we're we're not allowed to do that. like there's structure in place that they've put here that says how our conversations are supposed to be managed and what we're allowed to do. I had no idea the whole process of all the different things that go on when I was sitting on that side of the of the

083floor. But I'll be honest, sitting up here, it's the most frustrating endeavor I have ever taken because you have never been in a situation where you're making you have no good decisions that you can make. It's you have to look at well, if I make this decision, this blows up over here. if I make this decision that blows up over there and you're trying to figure out how to mitigate doing the least amount of damage at this point. It's not even about like, you know, we're not even trying to get things to the best they can possibly be right now. We're trying to mitigate damage. And that's what it feels like every time I come to one of these meetings. It's like we're navigating a minefield because there's so much things that have occurred in

084Wayne and we've been handed so much things from years past that weren't done a certain way or you know we had maintenance that wasn't done. That's why we need the referendum. It's like you know this situation that we're trying to fix is not a result of what we have had happen in the last year or two. This is a culmination of years on top of years on top of years. And now it's gotten to the point where we're at a breaking point and we have to come up with a solution. But the rules don't allow us to be as creative as you could be if you were in a private company. You're stuck and you're bound to the rules of the state. And you're also bound to the you the will of the taxpayer and

085what they're willing to accept. And you know, you look at situations like where we're, you know, negotiating contracts with, you know, teachers and administrators and it's like, well, you know, if we could save a little bit on this, we might be able to save a couple of jobs, but that's not something that people are usually willing to give in on. They want their raise. They, you know, and that's the situation. So, all that money has to be spent, but we don't have enough money coming in to cover that. So, but we still have to find a way to, you know, meet the requirements of that raise that everybody wants. and we have no place to pull the money from. We can't go out and bond money. We can't go out and borrow money. So all

086we have are the levers that we have, which ultimately means that we have to find a way to cut the money because we can't increase revenue more than 2%. And I can tell you sitting up here in this role, I have never felt so helpless because I could always I've been in business for, you know, over 30 years and I could always find a solution to a problem. We had budget shortfalls. I could find the money with minimal impact. I could find ways to raise more money. I I have never felt so confined by the rules that I cannot do something or come up with a creative solution where we could fix this problem. And that's why it's, you know, you have no idea how many nights I can't get a good night's sleep because

087I'm sitting here trying to think of what I can do. And then I'm like, "Oh, can we try this?" And I asked Don and Don's like, "No, you're not allowed to do that." And I'm like, why? Well, because the state says we can't do that. So, why are all these rules in place? Like, I guess there's probably been so much corruption across school districts in the past that they've tried to put so many rules in place so that it couldn't be taken advantage of that now you're just not allowed to do anything. So, I I I I really wish that you guys would actually do some research because I can't go into all the stuff that we're not allowed to do, but I can tell you there's a very small window of things that we

088actually can do. So, look into that. And, you know, I was so ambitious and so excited to run for the board because I really thought I'd be able to help, but I really feel helpless in a lot of cases. And it's it's very disappointing. And I'm very sorry for Rachel, wherever you are, that this is what you're going through. You could have voted. Uh, excuse me. Thank you, Wendy. Matt, I guess I'll go. Folks, take a look around the room. Look to your left. Look to your right. What I see right now is the same thing I've seen for the last five years. One side of the room has got one group of people believe one way and the other side of the room has got people believe the other way. I'll run you through

089a scenario right now. We'll go in executive session. We'll bring Rachel back. No problem. I'll have a half a dozen principles resign on the spot and walk away. And some of you go, "Good, that's great." Well, now we got to go back and we got to find principles. And maybe you get a good one. Maybe you don't get a good one. We've got a lot of things we got to do over this summertime. Rob, you were asking what went wrong. Nothing went wrong. Dr. Tobach retired. A man who's been here for 10 years. We're all spoiled rotten here. We got 10 years out of this man. 10 years of stability. What you're not used to is the lack of stability. Good night everybody. Is the lack of stability and it starts a domino effect. Who

090goes on and becomes a superintendent in another district. Who goes on to a better paying place? One closer to their house. One offers a career path that they want to go on here. These things happen all the time. It just so happens to be in this situation that as Dr. Tobeback moves on. A lot of the people said, you know, it's going to be a good time for me to move on also. And it cascades upon itself. I'm the one who's the educator of 32 years. And I only say 32 years because the first two years I was in the district of Harrison. Guess what happened to me after year two in Harrison. Out the door I went. We don't want you anymore. Goodbye. The answer from them was, "Sorry, you're not Harrison material. Have

091a nice day. This is the way the system works. And if you don't believe me, ask the teachers who are in the room right now. Ask the administrators who are in the room right now. They have to give you no reason whatsoever. Just goodbye. Move on to the next one here. Then I went on to Bloomfield. I did 30 years in Bloomfield. I guess Harrison got it wrong. I was the president of the local association. I'm lucky enough to been considered for faith for sitting on this board, which is a huge honor that I sit and do. I'm not going to walk back to Harrison and go in your ear, you got it wrong here. Could be a number of reasons why. And quite frankly, none of them are my business. My business is to

092sit in a classroom, teach, and serve those students to the best of my ability. Whether it was in Bloomfield, whether it was in Harrison, whether it's me subbing at PCTI right now, I just go out and you do your job and you do the best. You pour your heart and you pour your soul into it. I salute Rachel's support crew. I've never seen in my 30 plus years a young lady who's so beloved and she seems to be a wonderful young lady. But right now, a decision was made somewhere before it came to us that she's not Wayne Material. You can disagree and I probably think you will disagree. Night material. Shut up. The principal's been in the school district. Excuse me, sir. Months. She's not a res of the town. She's not a res

093of the county. Nine months. You go to word to somebody in 9 months. 160 years. Excuse me. Disgusting. 160 years this family dedicated to this town and to this school district and allow me to finish on the other side of that. I'm almost done. Now the board is stuck with a King Solomon decision. We do one side, it's wrong, we do the other side, it's wrong. Happened a few times in the first term with things like COVID and all the other unfortunate things that happened. Nobody was happy. Well, here's the solution. We're going to follow the process, but now, as the people here will testify, we're going to relook at this process real closely because the words came up, yeah, it's broken. It was said by other board members here that it's broken. So, in

094my remaining eight months here, one of the things that I'm going to do is we're going to look real closely at the process. How was it done? what was done right, what was done wrong. We had 10 years of stability. The stability is now gone. It's now time to take a look at everything. So to the Hot family and friends, I'm sorry if things turned out this way. She still has legal ramifications, legal choices you can go through. Please pursue them if you feel strongly about that. But we have to go with the process. And now we're going to look at the process once this thing is all done and that'll be this summer. Thank you. So I I'll start with the lighter side of things and then I'll get back to responding to some

095of the comments and and so on around there. But first of all, I do want to say, you know, this is our last meeting before um all of the students graduate, right? Um and I do want to recognize the effort that they have put in the effort that the teachers have put in right the foundations that we have built and especially for those moving up between schools that big change that they are about to go through and for our seniors who are graduating I know the Wayne Valley people are over at prom right now um uh and about where that's uh going like they have put a significant amount of effort into that as has the entirety of the district and no matter what else is going on around all of here. Those students need

096to know that we care about them, that we are proud of them, and that this is a day for them and this is a time for them. All of the other things that we have going on, right? We need to just remember at the same time, we still need to take that time to really talk about what the students and the teachers have achieved over this period of time because this is their life. This is everything they have put into their life up to this point. So that's the first thing. Um the second thing is um I went to the um CPAC meeting uh the other day. They asked me just to uh run over a few points that came out of the the CPAC meeting if I would be so kind as to do

097that for them. Um they are looking at their 2526 calendar at the moment. They're going to meet on the second Wednesday of every month at the Wayne Community Center. Um so if anybody would like to go along to that, that's good. Uh their first meeting will be on October 8th. Um, and also their third turkey trot. They raised $11,000 for the last turkey trot, which was awesome, but their third turkey trot will be on Sunday, November 15th. Um, they're also looking at setting up a number of things such as a unified talent show um, for next year um, and a set of mentoring sessions uh, that are going on um, and potentially some presentations for various uh, teachers. There's also a uh a father who came by who set up a dad support group as

098well. There's a lot of stuff for the for the the students for the women. Like very often the men tend tend to take a little step back. So he wants to make sure that they understand what's happened and be able to support them through that uh as well. Um they'll also be at Wayne. Um and so that that should be a fantastic set of stuff from them as well. Um uh there was a about a two-hour meeting. There was a lot of back and forth and ideas generated from some very um passionate uh parents really trying to drive that community and the unified community around there. Um I'm not an educator just to be clear. Uh I don't think I've claimed to be an educator. Uh I can understand sitting next to Matt that his

099education experience rolls off on me. Um but I'm I'm not an educator. What I did commit to and what I did follow through on is that I would hold the administration to ensuring that we looked at all of the data. And I can assure you that we looked at all of the data that came through. We spent a long time pouring over that data before as a board we reached a very difficult decision uh on on where we ended up with. And so that was the the outcome of that. And so you know that that is unfortunately where it is. We did look very deeply at the administration data and very deeply at Miss Hoffmire's Hoffmau's uh data as well. Um and that's the commitment that I did make and I ensured that everybody took

100as much of a deep view into that data as we possibly could have. Um I don't think anybody would say that we didn't do that across the board. Um the other thing Mr. Sardi. Um towards the end of last year, I warned about this uh situation occurring uh at that time around uh the Novemberish period of time. I got called names for that at that period of time. I got called out by um other people uh at that period of time to be able to go through and say that I was wrong uh and that this wasn't happening. That was the time for us to start having those conversations. I am pleased to say that other people now may feel differently about that and maybe we can actually start resolving some of those things that

101we started bringing up back at that point. But it was clear that when there was a flood starting to occur that has ripped through central office that has ripped through um the principles that has ripped through other places and so on as well that we do need to rebuild this. the new superintendent that's coming in has a monumental job to really rebuild this district after this period of time. And so he is going to need support and he is going to need help to rebuild that and rebuild the image and the culture of Wayne across there. I can assure you Dr. Tobeck is doing everything he can. In fact, I would say that he has acted incredibly professionally and given us a an incredible runway to be able to deal with some of these things

102that are coming up. Um, and so, you know, we are doing the best that we can with that, but this is all really going to fall to the new superintendent to actually resolve these issues and we're going to have to be in a position that we can support them. Thank you, man. Well, it's been a another grueling evening, right? But earlier the Italy trip was just so refreshing and to see those four students and they went and they experienced a wonderful time is just really you know like we all said to to keep that in mind for the future um students. The other thing is that things have been very very um I want to say unpredictable here um and somewhat um not ideal obviously when you have a superintendent who's retiring um and moving

103on there they're there and a couple of other things that happen. it just cascades into a feeling of insecurity. And it's very unfortunate that in the workforce here in the school district that's carried over to some people personally um to decision making or whatever else, but people move on and people come and replace them as far as the administration goes and all of that. Um, I'm still hopeful that Wayne has enough um, I want to say endurance, district spirit, support, and community commitment to rally us all together and move on and make better decisions. We know we have to make better decisions. We have to re revamp how we do certain things and we are all aware of that, painfully aware of that up here. You know, it's been a short time that I've been

104sitting up here, but I will tell you a lot of what Mark said is is true. Um there are certain things you can do, certain things you can't do, you can't say, you can't whatever. But um we all we all uh agreed that we would come here and serve our community and do the best that we can to keep the district um on point. I do feel bad so terribly bad for Rachel and for her situation, but I also know that through the storms in life makes people stronger. It's just like a tree. The taller it grows, the deeper the root bed gets, right? So, through the storms, people get stronger. And I'm not making I'm not saying, you know, whatever. Suck it up. Get over it. Heck no. It's it's a horrible situation. But

105move on with integrity, with your pride, and with your support, and knowing that people really, really, it's unbelievable. I think we all agree. It's unbelievable the support and the love. and I could even feel it sitting up here. It's hard, you know, but um I wish her all the best, honestly. And um and I'll leave it at that. Thank you. Thank you for your time. I know sometimes I'm trying to talk and it just doesn't come out the right way. It's been a long work day and then sitting up here, but I appreciate all of my colleagues here and the administration too, Britt, you too. And I thank everyone for being here tonight. Thank you. Change isn't easy. And although Dr. Tobac did a great job with our with our Wayne community, I'm hopeful. I'm

106hopeful for the new superintendent. I'm hopeful for the new positions that we're going to fill. Um, we're interviewing. We're really looking at great candidates for Wayne. Um, and please understand that what everyone's opinion isn't my opinion. Rachel is a good teacher. I don't need data. I need you guys. And I've never seen in all my years living in Wayne as a mom a teacher so loved. So, I'm very, very sorry about the climate and the culture. We're going to try to do better. I haven't given up. I never give up. you if you know me, you know I'm a fighter. I come from a place where we fight. But however, I wish her all the best and I'm her number one fan. Dr. I just wanted to quickly echo some of the things that the

107board members said regarding the information that was presented. So without getting into any details, what I will say is that there was a tremendous amount of information that the board of education evaluated over an extended period of time, that's about all I can say. And with regard to the gentleman who um had questions about the budget, I would be happy to meet with you about the budget if you'd like to set up a meeting and we can go over um any issues or any any concerns that you'd like. I'm a former business official and so I I love to talk about the budget, not this budget, but in budgeting in general, I I'd be happy to talk about that. And um you know, ultimately the the board does host budget hearings. We do um we

108we we schedule numerous budget hearings, budget presentations, and so it's not that there's not a lack of opportunity to have answers to questions regarding the budget. There are are many public meetings again the idea that Mr. Faber mentioned there's rules for how the budget is prepared how it's advertised all those are things that the board does meets all the requirements regarding the budget development process. Thank you. Um we are in a time of transition now and transition's not easy for anyone. None of us like transition. We have a dawn of a new superintendent and new administration coming. I see some of the rants on social media. Oh, the place is falling apart. The place is falling apart. Everybody's bailing out. How about we look on the other side? Maybe this is the change we need.

109New vision, new eyes, taking a look at old problems and finding new ways to deal with issues. We have to embrace this fresh perspective to talk to constantly, you know, we're in a world today that all they want is to speak negatively about everybody and everything. Maybe it's a time for change. And this is a community change, not just a school district change. Because the school district is the community and the community is the school district. would rather put fake things out there rather than the truth just to have a story. It's not what it's about. I've heard, "Oh, well, all the administrators are leaving. Mrs. Arabach's been here forever. Mr. Magganelli's moving on to be superintendent. Our assistant director of special services is now the director of special services. I see people moving up.

110I see other people moving up. Some because of logistics of where they live, others because in other districts paying them a lot more money to go. As I said a couple meetings ago, we're doing a great job of training everybody for other school districts. So, let's stop the negativity about it. Let's look at it as a fresh new change. A superintendent in a district for 10 years is unheard of today. The average superintendent is less than two years right now. You know what that means? You have a revolving door of administration. next next superintendent comes in. I don't like what the last person did. I'm going to do it my way. That person last two years and boom, now it's another way again. We have to stop this. Let's come together and let's work on

111this. And we can. We've worked on issues. Joseph, I I committed to you about the budget committee a couple months ago. That'd be one of the things you one of my suggestions to the board and to the new superintendent. You know, we have to look at it as we're opening new doors here and a new vision and it gives us the opportunity to re-evaluate and to innovate and we need to do that. Mr. Faber, as he eloquently puts it, we're bound by so many rules. It's crazy. Somebody pointed out, why you get rid of this teacher when you have other teachers who are tenured who are doing nothing. That's the system. I didn't make it up. None of us here made it up. know where it came out of Triton and all the lawsuits and

112everything else. Donaldson hearings came out of a lawsuit. It's tough. It's tough to sit here and I said this in the beginning of this budget process. This is the most gutwrenching part of having to sit here and know how you're affecting people's lives. It's not fun. I've heard the stories. Oh, well, you know, this person, you know, they just had a a baby. This person, oh, they have two young kids. It's heartbreaking. But unfortunately, we have to work within the system whether we like it or not. It's like my 34 years on the police department. Nobody asked me if I like the law or not. They told me this is what it is and this is how you have to do it. I I wish we could be ending the year in a much better

113place than we are now. But I think it's time for everybody to sit down, reflect, and as we move on as Dr. Tobach moves into his retirement that we take the time and look and let's get the vision back. Let's stop the fighting with each other constantly. You go on social media, there was something I forget what it was. It was about one of the schools and the kids. Not one comment. Hey, that's great. Congratulations. But other stupid fake thing that gets put out there, everybody's getting beat up. Time to change, folks. And Mr. Sardy, you're you're absolutely right. And as well as my fellow board members. With that, I wish our graduates a h success in their future. As you heard tonight, many of them are going to many great places. And as I

114say every year, because that poster gets put up every year, the 55 cents, read the list when it comes out next on Friday. You'll see where you get what you're getting for your 55 cents. With that, I'll take a motion to adjurnn. Move. Second. Mrs. Amanda. Thank you, everyone.