001Everyone serious. remember. Come here. Come sit [Music] here. Still [Music] there. Hallelujah. Good evening everyone. Good evening. The executive session of the Wayne Board of Education public works session meeting of May 1st, 2025 was convened in the conference room of the administrative offices of the board of education 50 drive, Wayne, New Jersey. statement of compliance setting forth date, time, and location was read in accordance with the Open Public Meetings Act. A roll call was taken and the meeting was recessed is now being reconvened. I'd ask everyone to please stand for a moment of silence followed by a flag salute. 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
002seated. Um, I just want to address one topic and this evening and I'm sure there's most uh many a good number of people here for that. Um, there's been a lot going around about pay for play, right? Pay to be in clubs, pay to be in athletics. That is off the table. It will not It's off the Here's the caveat. It's off the table for this year. What next year brings, we're looking at different options right now of maybe a different way we can do it to make it more affordable for everyone. So, just so you know, that will will not be um part of the budget this year. All right. I need a um I need a motion to uh make Dan Gallagher acting board secretary for this evening. I move make a motion.
003Dano Mr. Patter. Comments. Roll call, please. Mr. Pavlac, yes. Mr. Paco, yes. Mrs. Wrigleyso, yes. Mr. Jordano, yes. Mr. Battershield? Yes. Mr. Farber? Yes. Miss Lambia? Yes, Mr. Paul. Yes. And Mr. Eloquin. Yes. All right, Dr. Tobeck, it's all yours. [Music] So, I hate when the board is. Sorry, pardon my back. Okay. Um, so my name is Dr. Mark Tobec. I'm the superintendent of schools and, um, in many ways, um, I know you're you're here for some explanations about some of the things that you've heard that are going on the district this week. So, um, I was originally going to give my administrative report and we have some slides and things like that, but I think probably what makes the most sense under these circumstances is to try to answer your questions and just have
004a discussion about what's happening in the district. Um, so Mr. Pavlac just announced a little bit more about the payto-play program, right? And the idea that, um, we're going to table that for the time being. But I think there's um there's a need basically for us to have a communitywide discussion about the future of the school district and how it's funded. Okay. So, I know that I did an earlier presentation that caught the attention of the community and I talked a lot about the future of the school system and the fact that the math that is in play that's causing some of what you're you're experiencing right now is the same math that will affect the budget next year and the following year and the following year. So, there is a law in New Jersey
005that requires school districts to submit budgets with a 2% tax levy cap. Wayne is a community that is heavily reliant on tax levy, right? So some of the urban districts, not so much, but here we're very reliant. And so you're seeing this happen, what what's happening here is happening across the state, particularly in districts that rely on tax levies. So what I wanted to do is give you some basic graphics and talk about some of the things that I know I noticed online today, either by emails or people posting on social media. One of the questions is, well, wait a second. I thought the district was healthy financially. How do we get here? So, I want to talk about that. Okay. And so, that is the sheet that I gave out looks like this. And
006so, what I did was I basically used an everyday example of so 2011 this 2% cap came into play, right? So, it is now since that time it is now 14 years later. So, it's even longer than this, but this is a simple example. if your increases can go up by 2%. So in other words, this is kind of something what people are experiencing. Say your your pay your salary is going up by 2% but all your expenses are going up by 4% or more every year. Well, in the end there's a pretty big gap that forms, right? And so that's exactly what is happening here. You also have the reality that like for example this year we can raise the tax levy by the maximum of about $3.4 $4 million, but our increases were
007$11 million. So that's the kind of increases. So you see that's a huge gap and that's what we had to address this year. Like I said, that's not going away. That'll be here the following year because it is a permanent part of the law, the 2% tax levy cap. So what can you do about that? You can contact your legislators. You can look for change. I understand also if you're a taxpayer, certainly that 2% cap keeps things reasonable, but it also affects what happens in school systems. And now there's a point where you hit a wall, right? And that's what we're that's what's happening here um in Wayne. So um so that's how we got here. The other thing that I know a lot of people are here to talk about is afterare, right? Before
008care and afterare. And certainly we understand why there would be some sticker shock because for a number of years the board ultimately kept the price of afterare at $190 or even less, right? And that went on for a number of years even though honestly the administration we requested that the board increase the rates. Okay? And so but on on the other hand the board's right too, right? They did everything they could to maintain the costs for the users of our program. The program has over a thousand students in it. So it's a big operation and like I said the board did everything they could to keep cost low. So but now you have this gap that keeps forming. Okay. So you can see the current situation. If you look at this right, this little table,
009you can see that in many cases, right, our current rate is not competitive. It's $190 for afterare only for only for afterare. Okay. And so if you go down here, this is just for afterare. you could see what the rates are in these different communities to 6 pm. So in other words, an apples for apples comparison. And so we just picked out some different communities like a lot of pl like we compare a lot with Rididgewood, Prammise, um North Brunswick, Livingston, those are all communities that ultimately have good quality afterare programs. Now for for this district right a number of years have gone by and now we're in a situation we faced as a district we faced some legal challenges we faced some other type of challenges that ultimately force us to increase our staffing.
010So for us to move ahead and to properly staff the program, we're in a situation where even if right at school had never been discussed, even if we were even if we never looked for an outofd district um program, right, an outsourced program, we would be at $361 this year. That would be the rate that we would have to charge for afterare regardless. So it is actually a better deal for the users of our afterare program when we use right at school because it's quite a bit less than what we would have to charge based on all the different staffing needs that have accumulated over the years. So um so that's that's an important thing to know that the $298 is definitely something that is a better thing a better opportunity than what we would
011be able to offer on our own at $361. Miss Kazmark, if you could talk a little bit about the program itself, I think that would be great. Good evening everybody. I just want to give an overview of what has happened with right at school and then what will be happening. So first to build on what Dr. Tobec said about the pricing, all the numbers I'm going to give you now are based on 5 days a week of afterare. It doesn't include before care and it doesn't include the day-by-day pricing. So the district's current price for 5 day a week afterare till 6 pm is $190 a month. If we were our proposed increase prior to right at school when we were looking back in the fall we're looking at what it was going to cost
012to fully staff the program based on the number of students we had some increased staffing needs would have brought our cost to $266 per month. that does not include the subsidizing that the district has been doing for years to in to continue the program. So there's a portion of the afterare program that's funded through the district funds based on our budget issues. We can no longer continue to subsidize the program. It would mean more staffing cuts. We're already facing a large number of staffing cuts and more cuts to programs which we don't want to do. The district goes out for an RFP and solicits proposals from multiple companies. is there's requirements they have to fill and right at school was awarded the was awarded that contract. Their price would be $298 per month for the
0135day a week rate. So it would be a little bit more about $30 more than what we were proposing with staffing cuts. And what Dr. Tobec was saying is that when we go to match our funds so that we're no longer using district funds to subsidize the program, it brings our rate to $361. So right at school is in over a thousand different schools and they're able to provide enhanced programming to what we currently have. One of our main requirements for our for whatever vendor we were going to choose is that we could continue to employ our caregivers. We know how much everybody trusts them. We understand how important they are to the community. So right at school will is planning to hire any of our caregivers that want to continue to work for them.
014We had a meeting on Monday where we started that introduction with them prepared to support people as they apply to that to that program. So hopefully our intention is that the staffing would remain the same for them. Right at school is going to hold a parent zoom on May 19th at 6 PM. There was a flyer out in the hallway and we'll put more information out which where they will detail their hiring practices, how they vet everybody, what kinds of programs they offer, how that will enhance what they what enhance what we currently have and what they would what they're how they'll be able to continue some of the things that are already happening in our in our program. There's a question section later. Okay, good. So, now we're going to get on to um
015a discussion about staffing. Okay, so some of the questions that have been kicked around on social media is well what did happen with staffing? How many people were actually let go? And the answer is 108. Okay, so that's a significant reduction. And again, you have to keep in mind a few things. Okay, about 60 of those staff members are are cafeterium playground aids. Okay, under these circumstances, we want to rebuild for efficiency and so that will take place over the summer and so many of those employees will come back. The other thing to keep in mind is that between now and September, a lot of things happen in every school district. So there will be resignations. There'll be people additional people who retire. There will be other things that happen that allow us to bring
016back staff members that we maybe we we had to leave go. None of the staff members that were let go were tenure teachers. And the other thing to understand about what did happen is um when you have a large reduction in staffing in a lot of ways it's like there's a domino effect. Once you topple one domino lots of other dominoes fall. People have rights. People have seniority. There are a lot of things that have to be considered when you do a large scale reduction in force. So what I wanted to basically emphasize is that this reduction in force that we did ultimately protects our core operation which is teaching learning right that is the thing that we always want to protect. So less than 2% of the staff members there's only 14 that were
017teachers or counselors that were let go. The rest are in support positions. With regard to the administration, 22% of our administrative team was let go as a result of these reductions. Um we have in addition to that a handful of um secretaries. We have people from a community program. We have four custodians. So only 4% of that staff was let go. And like I said, we talked about the cafeteria and playground aid. So that's that's basically the numbers behind these reductions. It's a significant reduction in force and we know that that has created what has been a very very difficult week in this school system and we know that um you know a lot of people's lives have been upended and we know that um in addition to our staff members, our students, the board
018members, the administration um we've all had a really hard time with that. But this is this is the world we live in. Now let's talk a little bit more about the future district and the funding. Okay. When we look at our budget, which we're going to get to in a few minutes, we're going to do we're going to do a presentation about the rest of the budget so you understand the whole story, right? Um when you look at the rest of the budget, you're going to see reductions in lots of different areas. Again, we had to there's $4.5 million in staffing reductions. There's millions of additional reductions in software, in other types of things that we would normally purchase. We're we're also going to have to talk about you're going to see an interesting point
019when it comes to the athletic program. Athletics I know is very important in Wayne. We have a very highly ranked program, the best in New Jersey, number 13 in the country. But that comes at a cost. And so the point is that right now our athletic program is costing a little bit less than all the instructional supplies we provide for our students in the entire district. So that is the kind of expense when you compare our athletic program to the rest of the state in New Jersey in schools similar to Wayne, right? School districts similar to Wayne, we spend more than anyone. There are many districts in our area that spend about half as much when it comes to athletics and extracurriculars. Not that that's criticism of the program, but when you're in a difficult
020budget situation and you're in in a in a scenario where you have to determine do do we need teachers or do we need athletic programs, these are the kinds of things that have to be considered when you have a scenario like this where okay, if you have a choice between cutting off a hand or a foot, you're going to miss either one and there's no good choice, right? And that's what we're faced with in this situation. So, we've had a really rough stretch of trying to determine what the best thing is. So, there there is a need to have a discussion about athletics. There is a need to have a discussion about lots of different areas of operation because like I said, this is all coming back again next year, the whole thing, if not
021if not worse. I'm not trying to scare you, but I just wanted to make sure everyone realizes, like I said, this this mask stays in place. Um, I guess the other thing just to quickly talk about is there's an update from the board about the police contract. Did you want to do that now? So, I'm just going to give you all an update on the security contract. The past few months have been very difficult on the administration, the staff, and the board of education. This is not easy. Uh we need the mayor to help us with this security contract. We will submit an offer tomorrow. We will um we have gone over the numbers and we've cut as much as we can. Um so we're going to submit what we could afford. So we're asking
022Mayor Vergano to please help us arrive at a solution for the children and for our community. That's the update. Okay. Okay. Mr. Gallagher, are you ready for your presentation? All right. I'll come back once Mr. Gallagher is done with his presentation. Yep. Hello everyone. I am a business consultant for the district. Um obviously you know that your business administrator has retired and it's it's being recorded so sorry. Um, I'm here just to kind of get you through the next few months and try to explain as best I can your current budget situation and your future budget situation. So, quick overview and again this is, you know, nothing new. This has been the same slides pretty much. I've made some changes um that you've seen over the last um few months. So, we're going to go
023over overview um influencing factors, initiatives, reserve accounts, microlevel information. and I'm going to get a little bit more detailed on that. Um, estimated tax impact, budget summary, and trends and needs. So, basically, the overview of your financial condition is not great. I I have to be honest with you. Um, your your unassigned fund balance is pretty much where you can max out. So, that that's a good thing. Um, however, when you get to your capital reserve, right now in capital reserve, you have 1.5 million, right? So with your long range facility plan tells you how much you can actually save in your capital reserves. So for a district of this size, you can go up to $190 million in your capital reserve. I wouldn't tell you to do that, but that's how far you can
024go, right? A district of this size should really have probably close to $10 million in capital reserves because god forbid something happens. You have money to fix your buildings. God forbid something happens. Right now at 1.5 million, if something happens to a roof or a building, you don't have enough money to fix it. Plain and simple, right? So, your maintenance reserve, you have uh $3.4 million and you've been pulling from your maintenance reserve over the last few years. Basically, what you've been doing is you've been taking from Peter to pay Paul throughout your budgets for the last few years because your um surplus at the end of the year of your budget has been reduced from about $5 million from about five years ago to about $200,000 to this current budget. That that's how tight
025your budget is. Your budget, you have no flexibility whatsoever in your budget. Matter of fact, last year at the end of the year, you had to borrow a half a million dollars just to make your payroll because you didn't have enough funds available to make payroll. That that's the kind of position you're in. So, when you get to your maintenance reserve, right now you have 3.5 million, but you can go up to 7.4 million. So, you can see again, you're not even you're you're about half of what you should have in maintenance reserve, and you can go a little bit higher in your maintenance reserve. You you don't have an emergency reserve. Um, most districts have a little bit of an emergency reserve. You guys don't even have an emergency reserve. So, overall, you have
026about $9.4 million um in all your reserve accounts. And in reality, you could go up to $22 million. Um, again, I wouldn't recommend that, but you should have roughly $20 million in your reserve accounts, which you do not have. These are the important dates that that this budget development process has gone through. Obviously, we're at the bottom. This is the public hearing and the adoption and approval of the budget. The needs obviously again and this is what Dr. Tobach was kind of talking about. So salary increases right now we're projecting 3%. The reality is it probably will not be 3%, it will be higher. So at 3% you're at $3.7 million in salary increases. And as Dr. Tobach said a little while ago, the most you can raise in your tax levy is 3.4. So
027you're negative $300,000 right out of the gate. Okay. So then when you go into your employee benefits, that's going to go up 15%. And the total is $5 million. That's probably close to another million. So now you're at $13 million that you don't have. And then again, you know, your major needs and things like that. So, as you continue to go through, you find out very quickly once you get to gas, utilities, so on and so forth, as those those prices go up, that's how you end up with an $1 million increase in your budget. And that's all that's all costs out of your control. Well, I shouldn't say out of your control, but they're fixed costs. You have contracts that are fixed costs. You you settle on an agreement, you're stuck with those costs.
028Utilities, you're stuck with the utilities. Whatever they give you, that's what you're going to pay. Just like when you know for you guys when you go to the gas gas gas station you pay whatever the the the pump says right so kind of stuck in that that avenue PCTI tuition adjustment um that that is about 656,000 utilities like I said 15% certified tuition adjustment was another 150 um property insurance is 10% lease per purchase payments and curriculum instruction those are all increases so then your tax levy like before as we said is 3.4 4 million. Your increase in aid was $739,000. Increase in health health benefits, like I said, was almost a million since 928. And then you lost um SEMI, which is a medical um so everybody understands what SEMI is. You get reimbursed
029from Medicaid for some of your um high uh and specialized kids who need medical attention and things like that. So you're losing $237,000 for those kids from Medicaid. So, these are some of the the initiatives that that they tried to include in the budget. Some of these made it, some of these didn't. Um, the 1:1 computer program at 600,000, and you can see what grades they were going to, staffing computers, uh, facility cabling, um, three new 54 passenger buses, 22 24 passenger buses, facility vehicles and equipment, another 100,000. um capital capital reserve projects were um TD at $200,000, Anthony Wayne at $70,000. That that's what came out of your maintenance reserve. Um and again, some of the other maintenance projects that you got, you got some ROD grants for um TD. Um Albert Patterson um
030elementary school was another million-dollar rod grant. Ryerson was a $600,000 rod grant. and the chimney. Uh you were able to get a rod grant for 150,000 for Wayne Hills. This is kind of the breakdown of your overall budget, your revenue sources. As you see, the big part in blue is obviously what the taxpayers here pay for Wayne. Here's what your expenditures go through. I have a different slide here just to kind of break it down, make it a little bit easier. So, out of $197 million budget, right out of the gate, $152 million goes to salary and benefits. That's three quarters of your overall budget goes to salary and benefits. Your professional fees, that's your lawyers, architects, um, audit, things like that. That's 1.3 million. Maintenance, overtime costs is roughly 3.5 million. Custodian overtime, uh,
031custodial supplies and utilities, that's 8.2 million. Transportation, special ed, transportation, contracts, gas, etc., that's another 9.8 million. Um, your regular uh, and in district special education programming, curriculum cost is 4.6 6 million. Your athletic and your co-curricular, you spend $4 million on athletics and co-curricular. Your special education out of district tuition costs is 9.6 million on your technology infrastructure. Your costs are about a half a million dollars. And then your PCIe lease agreements, that's for buses that you that you've leased um did like lease purchases for some of your projects that you did lease purchases for and um computers and things like that. You're total in your budget right now for that is about 3.4 million. And that brings you to your total of 197 million. So again, there's not a whole lot of room
032in this budget um when it comes to flexibility. And that's why, you know, I think it's critical for everybody to try and understand when when you say you're hoping for $200,000 in excess surplus at the end of a budget on a $200 million budget, you're extremely tight. Um again, um that's kind of where you're at. So, assessed value. Um, I'm going to assume the the median assessed value in town is about 231,000. So, the annual increase is going to be $283 a year, $23 a month, or 78 cents daily. Um, and as as you could see, it it does fluctuate depending on the value of your home. Um, again, your tax levy increase is going from 171 million to 176 million. Your state aid went up about 6%. Estimated uh federal semi- aid, again there's
033a reduction there. We were only anticipating about 18,000. Operating total budget is 194 million. Then you have your non-publiclix, your federal aid, IDEID, title grants, charter school, debt service. Um, and your total total budget's 197 budgeting trends. So again, your your funds available at the end of the year is going to be about 200,000 down from about 5.6 million in 2223. Again, this is all part of that funding formula that the state redid. So I worked in a different district. I worked in a very low-income district prior to retirement. And I can tell you that we were the most underfunded district in the state, New Jersey. And I can tell you the power of parents. Parents went absolutely after legislators. And they were part of the reason some of those those things changed. And again,
034they're in a different situation than than you guys right now. They got more state aid. They got a lot more state aid over the last few years while you guys are getting, you know, very little state aid increases. So when Dr. Tobac says talk to your legislators, don't underestimate the power of talking to your legislators, please talk to your legislators because the funding formula has to be fair. It has to be adequ uh uh equal to everybody. So please talk to your legislators about that. Um again um struggling increase obviously is salary and benefits. Like I said if threearters of your budget is salary and benefits if they continue to go up at 3% or more plus your your health care costs are going up 15% a year and utilities are going up 15% of
035the year. You know you only can raise 2% of your overall budget. That's why you're always going to be in a negative position when it comes to budgeting and you're going to have to learn to cut. It's it's unfortunate unless something changes. Something has to change if th if this is to stop here and wait. Right. So again going through next generation uh standards you have your rod grants and you know Philly's facility department budget um has been cut numerous times over the last few years and it was cut again this year. Obviously, PNIS um the board at the last board meeting uh agreed to do another PCIA lease for PNAS school. You have $5 million that's coming from the state, which you don't want to give up. Like when the state wants to give
036you money, you try not to give that back, right? Because they're only going to spend it somewhere else. You might as well take your money back. Um so, you have a $7.5 million uh 20-year lease with PCIA. Um, so you can do 12 and a half million dollars work at PNIS to get PNIS all the way up to speed uh hopefully by uh September of 2026. Um, after that, you know, it it's it's really um everything that that needs to be done. A pness has been the focus for the district right now because you can't do anything else. You don't have the money to do anything else. You do need RS. I can tell you you need Ruse at a couple schools. You just financially can't do it right now. So you you're going to
037have to to cross your fingers and hope that nothing happens with your RS. Um, you have some some your solar panel agreements coming to an end a year from now. So, that's going to have to be renegotiated. Hopefully, we can add more solar panels, re uh upgrade some of the solar panels that we currently have and reduce our electrical costs to help us with our budget. Um, that's pretty much everything I have there and that's pretty much the state of your your budget here in Wayne. So, I'll turn it back to Dr. Tobac. Uh, Mr. Gallagher. Yes, sir. Thank Mr. Makis. Yeah, Mr. Gallagher, thank you so much for your work on this budget. Um, I know it was a hard job. And when you say no flexibility in the numbers, in the reserves that
038we have, can you tell the public, you know, true or false, would a referendum create breathing room and some flexibility in the in the reserves? I I can honestly tell you a referendum is definitely going to help you from your facility standpoint as well as maybe overall in your budget. Uh because right now you're you're you have a lot of money in your budget. Like when you look at your maintenance that that's to do bandaids constantly. That that's literally just so everybody understands this because I think if you own a home you you when I say this you're going to cringe. If you if your roof was leaking, would you go to Home Depot and get a bottle of Flex Seal and put it on your roof so you could stop your leaking? Because that's
039what we're doing right now here in Wayne. They literally go to Home Depot, buy Flex Seal, and put it on the roof to stop a leak. That's insane. Okay. There's other things that that that you know they're putting band-aids on constantly because you really need a capital project and you don't have I from what I understand and I don't know again I just got here you know 65 days ago or so um that they did try to do pass a referendum it failed but um you know you you do have some some facility issues that really do need to be addressed um I know you have I know Dr. Tobac is is retiring shortly and you're getting a new superintendent, but some somebody is going to have to come up with uh you know uh
040with with the board and come up with a good plan on how to move forward. Um because your facilities do need some work. Any other questions from the board? Thank you, Mard. All right. I really appreciate the respect. I know that um you know many people have things they want to say but I do have a few more things I have to cover and I might as well just piggyback on a little bit about what Mr. Gallagher said related to the referendum. Okay. So the referendum that we had that was voted down right was ultimately our best effort to proactively address many of the issues that you're hearing about now. So what does this mean for the future of the district? And this is what's important to think about and this is what's important to
041talk about in the rest of the community. Um, you have a situation now based on what you just saw about our capital reserve, our maintenance reserve, any other reserves. We have any number of furnaces that could go in which case we would barely or would not have the money to cover those repairs. We have any number of roof problems across the district. Has the district been doing roof work for years? Yes. within the constraints that we have. We have absolutely been doing roof projects across the district, but we have acres and acres of roof. Is there are there doors and windows that are long since shot? Yes, there's facility issues everywhere. And the goal of the referendum was to ultimately address those issues and to address those issues with 40% of it paid for by
042the state of New Jersey. Okay, so that's a significant thing to remember. The other thing that's important to remember is what is happening on the Valley Road extension. Right in the end, the referendum included a very large addition to the PNA school. So that would have been a new elementary school for us. And because it's in the same neighborhood of that construction, you would have ultimately had a place for those students to go to school and take the heat off of our other schools because we have many of our other country schools that are overflowing with students. Okay. So, the referendum failed, but you don't have that facility, but you have these buildings that are still being built. So, you have a real problem as a community in terms of what's next, in terms of
043class sizes, in terms of where these students are going to be going. You have some things that, like I said, the community really needs to take stock and think about, well, what is it that is next for us? Because none of these things are free. The shame of the referendum is that was the best deal that the administration could come up with because along with the architects, we had almost we had about $45 million worth of state aid. The state aid that you would have received as a community would have paid for this additional school. It was lost. And so, you know, whether there's a referendum again, whether there's not, I have no idea. But I do think it's really important for the community to understand the amount of state aid that was lost with
044that. Um likewise, you have security needs. Not all of our buildings have the same security systems in place. In other words, because of what we've had to do over the years with just trying there was a referendum before that many years ago, a safety and security referendum that was also voted down, which is fine. We did the best we can, but not all of our schools have a uniform system of security. And that's because of funding, right? Funding that we don't have from that. All right. So, um I know that's not a a great picture to paint, but it is important for the community to know. The other thing I wanted to talk about is one of the issues that was basically uh kicked around on social media was why are all these staff members
045that have been um let go why are they primarily high school teachers actually they're all high school staff members okay well I'm I'm talking about reduction in force okay that's a different story the reduction in force the staff members not for performance 's reason for reduction in force was a high school staff members and the reason why that occurred the reason why that occurred is the result of a situation that is a little unusual in Wayne. So most of the time in an elementary school class sizes of 16 17 18 students that's kind of the ideal that's what you want to see in an elementary school and we have the opposite. We have 24, 25, 26, 27, 29, 28. Okay. So, I understand what you're talking about and I understand why that affects what goes
046on in our elementary schools. Folks, we're not going to have a discussion back and forth. Okay. So, I ask you, you'll have your your chance to talk. All right. So, please respect the person talking. So, then just I I'll wrap this up. So, we have the opposite. We have a situation where our high school classes are actually the size of what our elementary classrooms should be. Okay? So our high school classes have 15, 16, 17 students. So with the reduction in force of staff members at the high school, my main point is the class sizes are still very reasonable. The class sizes are still in the high teens and low 20s, which is an ideal size or better than ideal size for a high school classroom. And so I know that people were concerned about
047that. I just want to address it. And I suppose at this point that's um that's it. Okay. Thank you, Mr. Gallagher. Revisions to the agenda. Yes. There there are several. um under human resources M Hannah Balseri uh resignation is going to be uh added and you're going to remove Samantha Lorstrada um from appointment to uh the district staff under T e human resources um approved to reappoint personnel uh we're going to remove u professional staff uh Roger Kolazar uh teacher um we're going We're going to revise part-time custod custodial hourly rate from $15.13 to $15.95. We're going to revise the LPN Paris on the attachment Katarina Sanin Clark hourly rate from 3228 to $36 per hour. We're also on uh attachment S U. Uh Robert Dval changed in license certification statement from $840 to $900.
048Uh Andrew Roco changed license uh stipen from $1,440 to $1,800. Uh Elizabeth uh Statudo salary from $78,525 to 82 uh,273. Emanuel uh Ver Oso change in license um stipen from $3,340 to $3,400 an office personnel attachment Barbara Daster um we're going to add stipens um her stipen will be $1,842 Rose Dewarte is $1,824 Marilyn Petraone $1,824 and Stacy Smith is $1,824. Um, approved transfers on the attachment. Um, revising Christy Bruce position as ELA teacher to ELA special education teacher. Under V, emergent school resource finance. We're going to add in this resolution resolved that the board of education upon the recommendation of the superintendent approves New Jersey Orthopedic Group as the school physicians for the 2526 school year effective July 1, 2025 and authorizes the board secretary and board president to execute the contract on behalf
049of the board and to take all necessary actions to the same effect. And that's all the additions. Thank you. At this time, I'll open the meeting to the public on agenda items only. This portion of the meeting is open to citizens for comment on the 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 a student. Board bears no responsibility for comments made by the public. Comments regarding employees or students cannot be legally responded to by the board. Other comments may be respond to tonight or at a subsequent meeting under old business. Do I have a mover? Move. Mr. Gardeno, Mrs. Rigos. [Music] Come on. Hello. Good evening. Um,
050my name is Heather Pototts. I am the first vice president of the Wayne Education Association, but I am here to read a speech on behalf of Mr. Robert Sardy, who is the president of the Wayne Education Association. Good evening, members of the board. My name is Rob Sardi, president of the WA. This past week has been one of the most difficult many of us can remember. As staff, we are still processing the reality of these budget cuts, questioning how we got here, and what it means for our students, our schools, and each other. Emotions are high, and understandably so. These are not just numbers on a spreadsheet. These are people, programs, and relationships. We understand that hard decisions must be made. We know these cuts are not easy, and we also know that they are
051not over. But as we try to move forward, many of us are left with the same question. How did we end up in an $8 million deficit in just one year? People across the district have noticed the nearly complete turnover of central office leadership in the same time frame. In addition, several building administrators have resigned and many teaching staff members have sought professional stability and support in other districts. While we don't want to speculate, we must be honest. It doesn't look good. It's not just concerning, it's unsettling and disturbing. I personally feel that those who bear responsibility for this mismanagement are no longer here despite offering them a collective $80,000 in raises. They lacked the foresight needed to fiscally lead this district responsibly and plan for a better scenario for when the referendum would not
052pass. But now those of us who remain, teachers, staff, administrators, and you are the ones left to pick up the pieces. We are the ones trying to rebuild trust and stability in the wake of short-sightedness. We can only do with that transparency. Uh we can only do that with transparency, communication, and a clear plan forward. We have a lot of work to do to rebuild our reputation. When speaking to educators from other districts, the general sentiment is to not apply to Wayne. That should never be us. Tonight, members of the staff and community have and will share their concerns and question the choices that were made, some budgetary, others not. We recognize that some of these are not necessarily the choices you wanted to make. But the impacted members of the staff and community deserve
053the right to be heard and seen. So tonight, I ask for a commitment, a collective commitment to doing better, to learning from this, and to keeping the students at the heart of every decision that we make. Thank you. Thank you. [Applause] My name is Alexa Manuista. I'm currently a senior at Wayne Valley and I live at 30 Hillrest Drive, Wayne, New Jersey. First of all, we would like to thank you all for allowing us to speak tonight on behalf of our guidance counselor, coach, mentor, and role model, Mr. Andrew Imperator. I've had the privilege of being a player and student of Mr. Imperator for the past four years. From the minute I walked into Wayne Valley as a terrified young freshman, Mr. Imperator was always there to help take away the everyday stress and anxiety
054that today's high school experience can cause a student. Whether he was attending a school athletic event or volunteering time to help the administration, Mr. Imperator always does one thing with always does things with one goal in mind, helping Wayne Valley and the students he's proven to take care for immensely. Mr. Imperator is a true optimist whose infectious energy ultimately brings a positive light to almost any situation. He is a source of comfort to almost anyone who needs it and fulfills the role of any great guidance counselor just by being himself. As a multisport athlete, I was always one to try to draw a crowd for a big game. And he was just always there to support us and always I could always count on him to be in the stands along with his two children
055who would always be the loudest, most supportive in the whole cheering section. He always knows how to put a smile on our faces. Every student, whether assigned to Mr. Imperator or not, feels comfortable walking into his office and seeking advice. He is a constant source of comfort for so many Valley kids, and coupled with his role as an amazing husband and father, only enhances the fact that he is truly someone for us to look up to. I've confided in Mr. Imperator countless times over the years. Whether it was a triv trivial concern or something as big as applying to colleges, I can confidently say that every student deserves a mentor as kind, compassionate, and caring as Mr. Imperator, who will pri prioritize our needs and do everything in his power to make your high school
056experience enjoyable and stressfree. Thanks to him, I am not only leaving Wayne Valley with proper credentials and educational experience for college, but I have became a better human being, learning from his morals and true compassion for others. Navigating four years of high school is difficult for anyone and I sincere sincerely hope that many more Young Valley students will receive the unconditional support I was lucky to possess. Making high school making my high school experience the absolute best it can be. Thank you. Thank you. [Applause] Good evening. My name is Anna Copaleia and I'm a junior at Wayne Valley. I live at 104 Chestnut Drive, Wayne, New Jersey. I'm here today because I want to speak about someone who has had made a real impact on my life and the lives of so many others around
057the Wayne Valley community. Mr. Imperator has been my flag football coach for three years now. During this time, he has not only taught us how to run plays or win games, but encouraged us to be disciplined, respectful, and confident. He pushes us when we need it, supports us when we're down, and celebrates our growth no matter how small. One time coach Imperator impacted my life in a positive way was when I was feeling down at practice. I made a comment about a skill I was struggling with on the field and how it upset me. The next day, I got a call down to his office. He asked me how I was feeling, not just about the play, but about myself. He had the heart to notice something was wrong and took the time to talk
058with me and break it down step by step. That moment meant a lot to me, not only as an athlete, but as a member of Wayne Valley. It showed me that he cares for his players beyond the field and that we are so much more than just an athlete to him. That's the kind of coach Mr. Imperator is. He builds us up not just to be better athletes, but better people. He is an integral part of Wayne Valley as a whole. And as a student athlete who has had the pleasure of having him a part of my life, I feel sorry for the future students of Wayne Valley who won't get to experience the kind of support we have if he does not come back. Thank you. Hi everyone, my name is Delila Morelli. I'm
059also a senior at Wayne Valley and I live at 27 Darlington Drive. and I'm here to today to talk about someone who's made a big big impact on my life and the lives of so many others at Wayne Valley, Mr. Imperator. Hearing the news feels like we're losing the heart of our school. Mr. Imperator isn't just a guidance counselor. He's a coach, a mentor, and most of all, a friend. Though he's not my assigned guidance counselor, he is the one person in school who I know I can go to about my issues or when I'm feeling sad. Earlier this year, I went through something very, very traumatic that made everything a chore. Rumors were spiraling. I get questions at parties. I was betrayed by people I thought were my friends. And when I went to
060the police, something I thought would make it better only made things worse. I couldn't get up out of bed without struggling. I couldn't go a day without crying. And most of all, I felt like I couldn't talk to anyone. Having to come to school every day and face the hurt that nearly ruined my life, was mentally draining, and I felt like I had no options. One day, it hit me especially hard, and I went down to the guidance office. I wasn't comfortable speaking to my own guidance counselor, but I knew I could always talk to Mr. Imperator. I broke down crying in his office, and within 10 minutes, I was out of there laughing. He has truly changed my whole perspective on life and made me happy to come to school. I'm in a much
061better place now and I owe that all to Mr. Imperator. I'm so thankful I get to see him in school and at practice because he makes everywhere such a welcoming and fun environment. He's the one person who makes sure everyone feels seen, heard, and cared for. He always goes out of his way to accommodate everyone. Whether it's juggling practice schedules, meetings, or one-on-one check-ins, he takes everyone's life and schedule into account with so much care and consideration. It's rare. It's special. And it's exactly the kind of person a school should fight to keep. Thank [Applause] you. Hi, my name is Angelina Green. I'm a senior at Wayne Valley and I live at Three Savani Court. And I'm here on behalf of my sister Gianie Green. Today I wanted to share just not the profound impact
062Mr. imperator has had on my athletic and academic career, but also the incredible influence he has had on my entire Wayne Valley experience. I'm currently a freshman at Monontlair State University, but I met Mr. Imperator my sophomore year of high school when I tried out for the girls flag football program. His infectuous energy and unwavering positivity not only made me feel welcomed, but inspired me to thrive to be the best athlete and person I could be. He encouraged those who have never had played football before to step out of their comfort zone and join the team, creating inclusive environment where everyone felt valued. During my three years as his athlete, we've made remarkable success and made history, which can all be led back to him, the head coach. I became the first girl in Wayne
063history to be offered scholarships to play flag football in college, which is all thanks to Mr. Imperator, as it is him who pushed me, coached me, guided me, and put my name out to all those coaches throughout my high school career. Here I also coached along Mr. Imperator in the middle school's girl flag football under Armour league. Here I witnessed his ability to not just uplift Wayne Valley athletes but also uplift future Wayne Valley athletes. Moreover, Mr. Imperator's role as a guidance counselor is what I find to be most impactful. During my four years as Wayne Valley, I not only had to battle through the co lifestyle, but also a change in guidance to counselors. As I've had two different counselors in the span of four years, while my sister, who was also a Wayne
064Valley student, has had three different counselors in the span of four years. This constant switch in a guidance counselor causes a sense of uncertainty as a person who is supposed to confine in the most is constantly leaving. How can you create a connection, a sense of comfort, and a safe environment with someone that is always changing? This is when I realized the impact Mr. imperators had on the guidance department. His door is always open, not just for the students he was given alphabetically, but everyone. His workload may have been students with a certain last name, but realistically, every student knows Mr. Imperator and knows they're welcome to his office. He's constantly walking around building a connection with both staff and students, which creates an environment where one feels safe, included, and welcomed. During my senior
065year, I along with many of my classmates found that Mr. Mr. Imperator was the only counselor constantly available during a time where we needed it most. College applications and deadlines. I often say that if it wasn't for Mr. Imperator, I wouldn't be in college as I would have no one on my back making sure I was getting applications in before deadlines. This again emphasizes his commitment to Wayne Valley and most importantly students as a whole considering I was not one of his students. During my four years of high school, I was never not welcomed in his office. His impact on me does not stop at high school or graduation as I have followed him back to the flag field where I volunteer my time to coach alongside him and get to continue to watch him
066shape the impact Wayne Valley students. I do not think it is fair that the current Wayne Valley students would not have to would have to go through another guidance counselor change. Nor do I think it's fair that future Wayne Valley students will miss the opportunity to be impacted by Mr. Imperator who has been one of the most impactful people in my life. I believe that if someone went and sat in the guidance office for just two hours, not the entire school day, they would be able to witness the major impact Mr. Imperator has on all students at Wayne Valley. Wish for this decision to be reconsidered for the sake of current and future Wayne Valley students in the Wayne community. Thank you. [Applause] Hi, good evening. I'm Delini Myers, a junior at Wayne Valley High
067School residing at 181 Lake Drive West. The recent decision to dismiss some of our most adored teachers have left us deeply saddened. As high school students, we have formed strong bonds with these educators who have become more than just teachers. There are mentors, guides, and most importantly, inspirations. These teachers have constantly gone above and beyond their duties, creating an environment where learning is both meaningful and enjoyable. They've listened to our concerns and supported us every step of the way. They've helped us pave our path to our future. Whether it be simple life advice, helping with college applications or a recommendation letter. We are incredibly grateful for these exceptional educators who have profoundly impacted our lives, even if some of them we've only known for a few years. Personally, I've known Mr. David Hampton since my
068eighth grade year at George Washington Middle School. He took over one of my classes and constantly engaged in discussions about life, offering guidance and helping with every decision. He made class enjoyable while also providing an educational environment. When Mr. Hampton transitioned to teaching physical education at Wayne Valley during my sophomore year. I was ecstatic to see him. Even if I wasn't in his class, I would make time in my day to either see him in the hallway, give him a high five, wave, or sometimes even have a short conversation. When I was in his class, every student admired him. He constantly motivated students to excel in their PE class. Mr. Hampton's effort as a mentor makes him an invaluable asset to Wayne Valley High School. I'm not only saddened by his departure, but wish that
069one of the most esteemed mentors and beloved educators at Wayne Valley would not have to leave at all. I'd like to thank Mr. Hampton for being a constant part of my daily schedule, and I can't believe I won't be able to spend my senior year at Wayne Valley with him there. Thank you. Thank you. Good evening, members of the board. My name is Barbara Marisitz 44 Fieldstone Place Wayne and I'm here tonight as a concerned band parent and as a member of a community that deeply values music education. Both of my children have graduated from Wayne Hills High School having gone through um the music program at Skyler and Wayne Hills. I'm speaking behalf on behalf of many families who are deeply concerned about the proposed budget cuts, particularly the elimination of music teaching positions
070as we feel they will have serious lasting consequences for our students, our schools, and the band program that so many of us have worked to support for years. The band programs in Wayne have long been a source of pride. They have brought students together, built confidence, fostered lifelong friendships, and created memories that extend far beyond high school. But they cannot function, let alone thrive without the resources and staff they need. These programs are large. They are complex. They require full-time dedicated educators to help instruct, manage, and coordinate the many parts, the many moving parts of the band program. We're talking about marching band performances, logistics, mentorship, competitions, responsibilities that extend far beyond the classroom and well outside the school day. Simply put, you cannot make cuts and expect the same results. Please reconsider these cuts.
071Protect the staffing and structure that has made Wayne's ban program successful. Thank you. Thank you. [Applause] Not yet. Anyone else from the public wishing to speak on an agenda item only? Hello everyone. This is my first time here. Quite a welcome. interesting experience. My name is Natalyia Milikitch. I live at 28 Berry Drive. I have two children at James Fallon Elementary which attend the beforeare program. As I'm a working mom, my husband works as well as I'm sure many parents here are. And uh I did write an email to the board as well. I was a little bit taken aback with the changes and especially especially the price increases for the before and after care program. And then I looked into the company a little bit and um you know there was I don't know
072if you guys answer questions or if it's then just a public form where we just speak up but um some alarming things I found were that uh there was an article and this was for schools in New Jersey. As I understand this company also services other schools throughout different states. Um one member was arrested for inappropriate contact with a student. Um, in another town there was um sort of an a townwide outrage where the parents wrote letters to the board, to the teachers, to the schools um stating their dissatisfaction with the company overall with not having enough um attendance there, not having people at all there sometimes when they're dropped their kids off. And so, as we all know, I mean, our kids are most precious assets. And um you know I've never read anything
073about the current people we have here and our lovely before and afterare program that know our children know them by name know their activities know their friends are absolutely lovely people. Um I've never read any such reports of have them having you know any issues with the law any of them trying to be booted out by any of our parents here. So that was kind of my main concern. And I understand you know this has been a very awakening meeting here seeing how the board is in a very difficult position giving the financial situation but um yes I just wanted to voice my concern with this because at the end you know I think I'm going to have to just end up relying on my dad more and just pay him. Um and just one
074final point I want to make is um you know none of these increases I'm sure or none of the none of the uh the gap didn't just occur overnight right like I'm I'm sure that this was bubbling since when I don't know when you said that the 2% cap uh came into effect in 2011. So um I also don't think it's a good decision to then all of a sudden come up with you know such a ballooning ballooning figure and um you know I would have been happy to pay gradual increases over the years kept the same people um so I just find it a very unfortunate situation and yes that was just what I wanted to say. Thank you. [Applause] Good evening everyone. My name my name is Aaron Han. I'm from Wayne Hills
075High School. I'm a senior and I live at 19 Daer Court. Hi, my name is Liam Sheffield. I'm also a senior at Wayne High School and my residence is at 15 Trail. We're just here to support our band program because um of how much it means to us as students. Um neither of us are going into music next year. Um, I'm going to the American University in Washington DC. Um, I will also not be studying music, but I'm going to, um, the University at Albany. And we just want to say how much the band program has affected our lives in high school. Um, the band program has given us endless opportunities as students to be involved in extracurricular activities leading us up to be leaders in our communities, not just at school. It has helped
076multiple people in the Baron program succeed over the years. Um, it has helped multiple kids even go to leadership schools such as West Point Naval Academy. I recently just got a nomination for that. So the so the band program at Wayne Hills High School is not just for band. It's not just for music. It's not just for fun concerts that we put on for the community. Of course, that's a very important part, but it's also about building character in our community. It's about building leadership. It's about building people who will advocate and speak up for things that they think that are good. And that's why we have so many people here today advocating for the band program. Not long ago, we had students getting recognized for their many achievements in this room. Not long ago,
077just a few days ago. Um many of those things happened because of our program that we have in place at Wayne Hills. And with the um the future like we don't know what's to come and all these things that all these students are active in that it's outside of our band program is only possible because of the staffing and the other um coaching that we get from our administ our teachers who help us to develop these skills and without them there's really not many ways that we would have been able to achieve these things. It is very imperative in both of our opinions and many opinions of kids at Wayne Hills High School that we keep the music program and everything that it provides. This is because that it helps in our education as well.
078It also helps as I said in a lot of personal aspects as students and as leaders in our communities. Thank you guys so much. Thank you. Thank you. [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] How's it going? My name is Evan Moroni. I have a daughter in the before and afterare at Fallon Elementary. Um, with the what the lady earlier was saying about this comp company that's coming in right at school. I did some research myself. My daughter was diagnosed with a mild form of autism when she was four. We sought out Wayne because of the care that was given to children with special needs. And as she had said, I don't know if you all are aware of this, but the company has currently been alleged of locking a 10-year-old special needs boy in a closet in
079Palo Alto, California. So rather than fixing a door window, like that would be something that would create a lot more disturbance from parents, I'm sure if I got a phone call that my daughter got locked in a closet, you got a lot more to fix than a girl. The other thing about that, and I like I really like her idea of the progressive increase in cost. That's something that I believe everyone would be on board with, but also I think that there's a way that you can ingratiate the community and the people who run these programs, like the people that are staffed there by providing them some type of tax incentive rather than paying them more money or pulling money out of a budget or something. Give them some incentive to stay in that community.
080provide the services to those kids so that they can live in those communities and actually care for the next generation. And last thing I'll let there were a couple young ladies that I think really want to uh come up and talk and I got to I'm going to give a a round of applause to the young ladies who are coming out talking to their teach about their teachers. More young ladies need to do that for the teachers that impact their life. Address your comments up here. All right. I apologize. The last thing I'll say though, there was a number up there for three 54 passenger buses for half a million dollars. In about 45 seconds on Google, I found a 51 passenger bus for 70 grand. So, I don't know where those contract negotiations are
081coming in, but half a million dollars on three buses just seems a little bit outrageous to me. So, [Applause] [Music] right. Hi, my name is Leo Mazi. I'm speaking on behalf of Mr. Imperator. I'm a senior at Wayne Valley and I live on 40 and overdrive. Mr. Imperator has been my guidance counselor for all four years at Wayne Valley, but he's been much more than that. He's been a coach, a mentor, a friend, and someone I'll always look up to. He didn't just help me get through high school. He helped shape who I am and where I'm going. I know there are many other students who have received the same guidance I have. His students, colleagues, and beyond. He's impacted them through his leadership, positive energy, and the way he makes you feel comfortable being
082yourself. His office has always been a safe space, somewhere I could go when I was overwhelmed or unsure about my future. There were times when I sat in his office completely lost about my future. I would break down and he never rushed me or brushed it off. He let me share everything I was feeling. He calmed me down, made me laugh, and helped me find a way forward. He didn't let me stay stuck. He talked me through it, gave me a plan, and helped me believe I could pull it off. In just one week, with his support, I researched schools, applied, and built a portfolio, which led to my college acceptance. He allowed me to work out of his office the whole time just so I could have the focus and support I needed. It
083breaks my heart knowing the incoming students like my younger brother won't get to experience the guidance and support I've had. Mr. Imperator shows up for his students every single day. Whether he's offering advice, solving problems, or just being there to listen, he goes above and beyond. The way he cares for every student at Wayne Valley has made a lasting impact on so many of us. He's the kind of person that this school truly needs. I hope you'll recognize how much he means to this community and allow him to continue changing lives [Applause] here. Good evening. My name is Stefan Smeilanovich. I'm a senior at Wayne Valley High School and I live at 38 Prospect Road. Originally, I wasn't going to come to speak tonight, but after hearing everybody else, I have decided to. It is
084very hard to hear that many of our teachers like Mr. Imperator are being cut because of budget cuts and knowing that everyone has loved him and he is here to help all of us. It is very sad to know that you are saying that the class load to elementary schools has become very large knowing that my coach as an elementary school teacher has also been informed that she is losing her job. Before we even know before we even knew she was informed and yet every single day she showed up to our practices and our games ready to coach us like nothing has ever happened. We c we can't sit here as a community and say we are ready to uplift the younger students and shape them to be our next generation knowing that they will
085not get the support and be and be able to be seen by every single teacher when the load is going to be on more teachers and they will be seen less. Thank you. [Applause] Thank you. Thank you. You're hired. No one come. Anyone else from the public wishing to speak? Everybody's short. Good evening. My name is Jill Gavvarez, 23 Lancaster Court. I too am here to speak to the value and importance of maintaining the integrity of the music program throughout the Wayne School District. My daughter has never sat in a music class. You're probably wondering, why do I care? She has been a part of the Wayne Hills marching band for three years, serving as lieutenant and now captain. In that time, she has developed more as a person than she would have in any
086classroom. She's learned the value of keeping time management, of advocating for herself, of being a leader, of what it means to be a part of a team and a family. Things weren't easy for her starting high school. She had a lot to figure out, and through the marching band, she found her way. I am incredibly grateful to Mr. Paterno and Miss Pascal for everything that they've taught her. This program means so much to so many people here. Hundreds of children have passed through the marching band under Mr. Paterno. To see the program that he has spent 35 years to build be broken down is heartbreaking. I can't imagine what life for my daughter would have been like if the marching band wasn't a part of her life. I was set to move. All I wanted
087to do was go home again. And she said, "I can't. I need to stay here. This is this is home for me. The marching band means more to me than I think anybody really could truly understand. So in keeping the integrity of the music program, you're also keeping the integrity of the marching band and color guard and winter guard. So please before you make any decisions, think about what happens beyond the classroom and in our extracurriculars as well. Thank you. [Applause] [Music] Hello. Good evening. Um, my name is Jennifer Beasley. I live at 580 Black Oakidge Road. Uh, my daughter is a first grader at Tunis, and I see some of our our lovely afterare and beforeare workers. Um, I am a nervous public speaker, so I apologize, but I was um encouraged by our
088lovely students here. Um, I'm also a fellow educator. Um, so I am very familiar with difficult budgets. Um, you know, I I understand the difficult decisions that you have to make. I think what bothers me the most is when I look up this company, I don't see just one example in Cedar Grove of misconduct. I don't just see an example in Princeton. I see it nationally. I see it everywhere. I understand that they are making a promise to talk about background checks. A sales pitch is one thing. Their track record is different. As an educator, I have been continually asked to give more, do more with less. I don't think our district should have to ask our teachers to do more and give less. If you are not willing to do the same, I feel
089like this cut hurts our children. It hurts our district. It hurts our schools. And if you can't do more with less, then please, please don't do worse. Anyone else from the public wishing to speak? Good evening. First, I would just like to say thank you. I understand that you all sit here with a difficult position and difficult decisions to make. My name is Melinda Enzani. I live at 76 Cass Place. Two of my children go to Fallon. First and foremost, the employees that have been in the afterare are beyond amazing. My son has celiacs disease and can get severely sick and the staff there has gone beyond above and beyond for them. So, I want to just commend the hiring process of them and all of the hard work that they do because each and
090every one of them deserves to be honored. Secondly, I second everything that people have said about this agency. I understand that they're in contract and I understand that we're going to move forward, but I just hope that every thing that people have said has not gone on deaf ears. Strategically, I would also hope that a district-wide email moving forward could be sent as things progress and as we can fill a room now. Many people feel that a district-wide email would have been helpful. I know some of the staff were just overwhelmed with the timeline as were some of the parents as I walk out of afterare saying it's the first time that they are aware because they have four children, two jobs and I understand that making these meetings or even watching them is difficult.
091Times are tough for everyone financially, emotionally, physically. But I just hope that you hear what everyone is saying, take it to heart, and children are first because at the end of the day, if you take our children away or you hurt them or something happens to them, our entire lives disintegrate. And that's just the honest to God truth. [Applause] As a child that has special needs as well, this is very concerning to me. But in addition, I know that you're all put in a difficult position, but I just hope that you can really hear what everyone is saying and move forward triumphantly. Um I I my wife spoke very well. I don't have too much to add, but um all I have is a question. If you turn back the clock about 10 years ago
092when they fired all the subs in the district and they went to an outsourced agency, how well did that work? Read the read the patch articles. Read the patch articles. Thank you. Thank you. Anyone else from the pub? Hello, my name is Diego Cruz. I'm a senior at Wayne Valley. I live on 18 Jacobus Avenue. Um, this past week has been really confusing for me considering all the budget cuts to teachers that really affected me in many ways. And I just have one question. Considering that we've known about these budget problems since 2011, as you said, I'm just wondering what was the uh thinking behind the decision to switch to Canvas, which is a paid platform over Google Classroom and also obviously the training that involved using that platform over the summer for the teachers
093to um properly handle it. That's all I have to ask. Thank you. [Applause] [Music] Anyone else from the public wishing to speak? Go ahead. Seeing no one move to close. Mr. F. Second. Mr. Jano. We have any committee reports. Mr. Spakis. Tonight, tonight the education committee uh met with myself, Mr. Badshell, Mrs. Leandry, and Dr. Kasmar. We reviewed the April 3rd, 2025 education committee minutes. We discussed the summer math for the middle school. There's not much change for summer math. We looked at the summer reading for the elementary summer reading. Um the ch children could choose um um uh whatever they want and there's some some suggestions for books that they they would like to read. Uh for middle school summer reading um they can read and view uh within the Chromebook uh some suggested
094uh reading for high school. The two different high schools have uh specific books that they'll have to read depending on the class that they're taking. We also um reviewed two brand new uh Wayne Valley High School volunteer clubs. Uh the investment club and the tabletop games club. The investment club would be participating in the Warden Global High School Investment Competition that you get $100,000 uh in imaginary dollars and you can invest. So that's a a pretty neat uh idea. Uh we looked at the uh ELA titles for the middle school. Uh we also uh applied um to the for the dreams grant for the second year. So we applied and we're receiving this grant to uh train teachers and we also looked at the request for an addition to the school calendar which was for
095Dvali and um that was it. Thank you. Thank you. Any other committees? Seeing none at this time I'll ask for a mover for the agenda. Mrs. Landry second. Mr. Patterson, any comments? Yeah. Can we discuss um the band situation? I mean, I think there's some um I think we need some clarity on the ban. I mean, the band is not going anywhere. The band program is not going anywhere. We just have maybe one reduction in staff uh from the hillside. That's correct. Uh, excuse me. There there's no interest in diminishing the band um eliminating the band of either of the high schools. I I also want to acknowledge um our administrators uh they had a really difficult task this year. always this year around this time is when they have the non-renewals and and the
096riffs going on, but this is a substantial amount as you could see and we're losing a lots of excellent staff for non-renewal and for riffs. So, just wanted to to acknowledge that. Anyone else? Mr. Dana, first I want to uh thank everybody for coming tonight. Um, it's ironic because most budget meetings there's literally nobody in here for the last 5 years that I've been on here doing this. I'm glad to see that people are taking stock in what's going on and they show that they really care. This is agonizing and that's the best word I can describe this. People come see me, they see my face, they see the way I do things. This is not a happy guy here. Not even close. And nobody here is happy about any of this that's been going
097on. Somebody asked about where this all came from. It came in little tiny cuts and it came in little tiny drips and little tiny drabs and we had CO money and we spent that correctly and now that's gone and because of that these things have been laid bare in front of us. We've come to the community since 2011. They asked what have we been doing? We have asked for a referendum three times and three times the town said no. Okay. So, we're doing it the best way we possibly can. I've heard people attack the business administrator and the assistant business administrator, which by the way, there were they were awardwinning business administrators, outside firms came every year and said, "You're doing an incredible job here." So if you think we're having a problem here, could
098you imagine what's going on in other places? I watch administrators crying at the board office, not just for the person in the cubicle next to them that's going home and not coming back, but for people who are not coming back for reduction in force. I've heard about and many of you heard about these horror stories about the afterare program. Well, one of the things that we talked about is, hey, could you hire the people we have here? would be a great idea. I mean, you have a great bond with them. You know what their answer was? Yes. So, there's a real good chance if we bring these people in, they're gonna see the same people here. But one of the problems we have here, and it's a fundamental one, and I'm happy to say right
099now because I've said it a thousand times, I'm not coming back, is we have, and here's the ma here's your magic SAT word of the day. We have subsidized a lot of stuff in this district that we had no obligation to subsidize. When we use the fields, we subsidize a cost with our maintenance staff that goes overtime and pays electricity and cleans the fields. We have the number one budget for athletics and activities in the state of New Jersey. It's great. I've come up here and you've seen the articles I quoted that this is an obscenely good district. You bet it's an obscenely good district. And one of the reasons why is we have subsidized a lot of what's going on and now we just don't have the money to subsidize any longer. We're very
100fortunate that we're only going to lose 14 teachers that I'm going to go home after this. I'm going to throw up because I'm so aggravated about this. And I'm going to pray that we can find money that over the summertime when other things happen, resignations happen or retirements happen or somebody is the move or there's, you know, I'm going to go live with my grandkids or whatever happens to me. That happens all the time. Happens every year. I've seen it for the last 32 years. I'm hoping to bring some of those people back. I'd like to bring every single one of them back. They're all great people. I see a sea of green out here. Thank you for coming, Lafayette. I appreciate it. You show You show that you care. And as upset as you
101are right now, believe me, I'm just as upset, if not more upset. I've been in that seat. I've been the union person like Rob over there who's had to sit with a person say I'm sorry you're not coming back and they go why and why and why. It's unfortunately a fact of the way education goes. We have a standard in Wayne that we want to keep to. You love a lot of these people and some of them it's not fair. You bet your butt it's not fair. But unfortunately and to put it in a way and it may make you angry and it may tick you off and you may want to go on Facebook and curse my name. By the way, it's G I O R D A N O. It's Jordano, not Gordano.
102For all the for all the people that used to help you out that one, I'm going to tell you right now, you've asked for $100 worth of work and paid us $10 for it. Cuz every time you come to you and said, "Please, could you help us out?" You said no. 5,000 of you said no. And what's worse is how many you didn't vote. To the 2,000 people who did vote, thank you. And I bet you a bunch of you are in that room. But right now, this is where the rubber meets the road. No matter what we try and what we do, we've talked about different contracts we're trying to make right now. And you know the answer basically, stick it in your ear. We're going to do what we want to on a
103lot of places. I'm not going to lay it on one or two groups. We've got four or five issues we're trying to figure out and we're trying to get to thread that needle and every last one of them wants us to subsidize them one way or another and we'd be happy to. We just don't have it. Somebody wants to Somebody wants to go grab one of those billionaires and write us a $9 million check. I'll bring every one of those people back in. I'll start the program. We'll roll it back like it was last year and then we'll figure out by next year cuz this isn't going away. You're going to have to go down to Trenton and say, "Hey guys, 2%. Okay, it's a 2% raise on a 5% or 4% cost of living
104increase. You know, and I know that it doesn't work. We've been trying and tap dancing and working really hard to try to make it work for this incredibly fantastic district with incredibly fantastic teachers, administrators, parents, and most importantly, those incredible students. That's why I'm sitting here. None of us gets paid for this. And I've gone through a lot of aggravating meetings and people yelling and screaming and calling me all kinds of names. I voted for that and I'll take it on. It's not a problem. But we're not getting the backing you need. So when I walk out of here next year and they put somebody else in this chair and they ask you, could you please help us out here? Look at this meeting right now and look at the effect it's had this right
105now. We're not here to play games. We're a notfor-profit organization. Any money we ask for is just to maintain what we have so we don't have to sit here and do this. I'm sorry this has happened the way it is. I feel horrible it's happening the way it is. I feel so bad that I'm not running again cuz that's how maybe somebody else can come here and smarter than me or tougher than me or has got a better idea than I do because I've done my best and apparently it's not going to be enough. So, it's time for me to hang it up in December. So, that's my comments. Thank you for your time. Thank you, Mr. Favor. So, what I know it's on the agenda. So, I completely agree with everything that Matt had
106said. This is not fun. Like we've said a million times, we have students that are in the district that are dealing with all of the things that we're having to do up here. They have to see us vote for these things and, you know, have to make cuts that we saw coming. We warned, if you go back and watch the meetings from last year and, you know, all these talks that we had, we said these things were going to happen. We didn't try to scare people or make people, you know, think that we would, you know, we told you we were running out of money and we had to do certain things. We wanted to keep the kids safe. So, we put we took money from the funds and we started putting in additional um
107security barriers so that the kids would be safe. We spent money on doing the maintenance projects that had to be done. That's why our reserves are down to the level that they're at because we had to take money from those reserves to do the projects that needed to be done. But we are where we are. And one thing that I'll say is I'm so glad that people are up here speaking on behalf of the teachers because when you have a district like this, there are no good options of teachers to lay off. You're not going to have people that you say, "Yeah, you know what? these are the people that we should get rid of because we have great teachers. So there's no good choices. There's no teachers that you just, you know, nobody's going
108to care about or counselors or coaches because this is such a great district. But if you look and you listen to what everybody has said, nobody, you know, people didn't want to take the the hit on the afterare. Well, so okay, so we pull that back. Now that means we got to find that money someplace else. So how many more teachers would we have to cut? So we have to have the conversations what other people would come up and say, "Oh my god, how could you cut these teachers?" You know, this is a balanced approach to trying to solve a problem that like he everyone has said is not going away. But this is a really terrible outcome. But like I've and I've said this before, you know, at meetings before it was mentioned tonight,
109please write to the state legislators. Explain to them how the funding formula is not fair. We are not getting the amount like there are districts that 99% of their budget comes from state funding. We're getting 8%. I mean, how is that to use a determin how is that equitable when we're spending 52% of our tax dollars are coming to the school district and other districts are spending 10% of their tax dollars? So, please write the letters, make the phone calls, try to get them to address this because this is really not fair to our kids because the amount of money that you're funding into the budget for these schools, you deserve to have fully funded programs. you shouldn't have to worry that this problem is going to snowball and you know become exponentially worse 3
110four years from now. So if you know I understand that everybody likes Facebook, they like to post on Facebook and complain on Facebook. That is not going to get you guys resolutions. It's not going to help fix the problems and all it does is spread things that aren't true or get everybody else worked up. Do something that is good. Put something on Facebook and tell people write to the legislators. If somebody could put all the the emails and phone numbers on there for us, that would be really helpful. That would be a great post, that might help get get some resolution for us. But we're not trying to hurt the district. We've gone through the budgets. If you look at those numbers, where would the mismanagement be? 75% of our budget comes from the staff
111salaries. 90% of the increase is coming from the raises and the tax and the benefit increases. That's where the shortfall is. So, how are we mismanaging when this is the situation that we live with? There is not much room anywhere else for the money to be taken or hidden. It's very transparent. The full budget is actually on the website. If anybody wants to comb through it and come up with suggestions, we'd love to hear it. But to ins like for people to insinuate that there's something nefarious or you know that the administration is doing something neglectful. These guys spend more time trying to put this stuff together than you guys can imagine. And the way that they feel about it and the expressions and conversations we've had about how terrible everybody feels about this. You
112guys have no idea what it's like to have to vote for something that you really hate to have to do. But all I ask for is just help us do things that'll help us get more money. And if you have any good suggestions that we could do, that's great. But remember, we're held within a lot of rules that you guys don't understand. And I didn't understand until I came here. So, you know, if you have questions about those rules, I'm sure somebody would be able to help you out with that. But I appreciate everybody coming and actually all the students that came to talk. I just wish that we could do something better for you guys. Thank you. Anyone else? I'd like to talk. Um I too uh would like to resonate some of the
113details that you heard tonight here um from my fellow board members. It's been a very difficult situation and um every time we meet and we hear the details and you know know that somebody's going to lose their job, somebody's going to get hurt, some it's going to have a ripple effect within the school community, within our district who it's going to affect. Parents who adore the the teachers and the the aids and all of that. It's been really really hard. And I think if anybody doesn't think we're sincere sitting here, I don't know. I'll eat my hat because there's nothing other than genuine real difficult heartfelt decisions that we make. And um I also would like to say that with regards to Mr. Imperator and with regards to Mr. Pno, it's pretty amazing. I think
114anybody who sits here has that one person that you remember in your life whether it was when you were a little kid or you know a little bit older that one person who really molded or changed or had a huge impact on your life. I think it's amazing that in Wayne that many young people would come up to the podium to speak publicly about two individuals who have changed their lives and um so I think well done to them to Mr. Perator and Mr. Pno and to the rest of the educators. Um I always say to uh teachers, they're the backbone of this community of of the school district. That's just unbelievable. Um so we're grateful for every single teacher and um and thank you for your support. We appreciate it. Thank you. [Applause] just
115this is probably one of the most difficult budgets I have ever dealt with by being on the board. I've spent the last three and a half, four months meeting with the administration tirelessly, taking days off from work to come in and sit down with them. My first question always was, if we have to cut them, can we find them another job? Is somebody retiring? What can we do? We got to look for options. Can we offer them another position? What's their certification? Can we put them in a different certification? It was gut-wrenching. It's so difficult when you have to cut a position because it's not a position you're cutting. It's a person, a family that you're cutting. And that sits in my gut. And I think about that. I think about how this week the
116principles had to sit down with some staff members, say, "I'm sorry, we can't offer you another contract." Believe me, I know what it's like to sit there. I hear about the budget and people say, "Oh, you know, it's mismanagement. It's this and that." I asked the person who said that. I said, "Well, where's the mismanagement?" Well, it's just mismanagement. Okay, tell me where. Tell me what I can fix. I'm always willing to listen. They can't tell me anything. This problem has been coming for a long time. But the fact that we had surplus in the 23 4 million range, we were able to take from that in order to save jobs. It's always been that. How many jobs can we save? This, I think, is the most um riffs I have ever seen here. And
117it's unfortunate, but you hear the numbers. The numbers don't lie. You have health insurance going up 15%. I can only raise the budget 2%. I'm 13% in the hole before I even get out the door for next year. Look at the electric. We're all going to face it real soon. Anywhere from 18 to 20% increase. We can't raise our budget 8 20% to make up for the increase. Can't do it. We don't have a lot of options. We have to pay for stuff out of our budget like you do. The municipality, which is under a different form of government, they can go out and b if the roof, you know, leaks here, they can go out next Wednesday night, bond $2 million and pay for the roof. I can't do that. If I want to
118get the $2 million to fix the roof, I either have to come out come out of my budget or I have to go out for a second question or referendum asking the public if I can spend $2 million to fix the roof. It's tough when you have to make this all up out of your budget and you're stuck with a 2% cap. Co just changed the world the way we the way we operated. We got an infusion of money that just kept pushing this off down the road. Mr. Mafet, who retired, he was saying that for years goes, "Listen, we're getting to a place where you're going to have to start cutting back." We did. We started making little cuts here and there to cut back. Unfortunately, now when all that CO money went away,
119the curtains opened up a and that's it. We are where we are. We're going to begin the process next month with the new super with in bring the new superintendent in. We're going to start talking about next year's budget. We're going to put look where we can put our what position we can put oursel in this year coming school year to save the following school year and our teachers. We have great teachers here. It's hard to let anybody go. But unfortunately the state between contracts and the law unfortunately last in is first out. And it's not always a good a good way to go, but unfortunately that's what we have to follow. I know Mrs. Clark, Dr. Tobach, Dr. Casmar, they've been working endlessly to try to find a way to make this all not
120happen. But unfortunately, the reality is what it is right now. state of New Jersey, we're underfunded, but they keep adding more mandates and every teacher in here knows it. Every day there's something new we have to teach. You know, oh, we got to teach this now. Oh, we got to teach that now. The money never follows it. What it is, keep doing, keep doing, keep doing speechless. I wish I had the answers, but unfortunately I don't. And I hope that next year we're not sitting here facing the same obstacles we are this year. Mr. President, yes. May I end this uh discussion on a positive note? Yes, sir. I'm glad that we don't have to pay for Canvas in next year's budget on behalf of the students, including my children and the teachers and the
121teachers. I know uh we tried Canvas out because a lot of the universities and colleges are using Canvas, but I know it was a very difficult transition. It was not a great product or user-friendly product. So, I think a lot of people are happy we'll be going back to Google Classroom. No, I use Google Classroom. I refuse to use Canvas, but that's me in another school district. Mr. Gallagher, Mr. Pavle, roll call, please. Yes, Mr. Pavle. Yes, Mr. Paco. Yes, Mr. Wrigleyso. Yes, Mr. Gorderano. Regrettably, yes, Mr. Batterell. Yes, Mr. Farber. Yes. Was that a yes, Miss Leandria? Yes, Mr. Paul. Yes. Mr. Elquin. Yes. Motion carries. Thank you. Can open the meeting to the public. This portion of the meeting is open to citizens for comment on any topic. Residents are asked to state
122their 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. Uh [Music] folks, five minutes, please. The board bears no responsibility for comments made by the public. Comments regarding employees or students cannot be legally responded to by the board. Other comments may be responded to the board tonight or at a subsequent meeting under old business. Do I have a mover? Move. Mrs. Judon, second, Mr. Bader. Okay. Good evening. My name is Don De Pasqual and I'm a teacher at Lafayette Elementary School. However, I'm standing here today not just as a teacher, but as a colleague, a witness, and an advocate. I'm here to challenge a decision, one I believe is deeply flawed and damaging to our
123Lafayette community. The non-renewal of Rachel Hopau's contract. I do want to clarify that this is not the result of a reduction in force. I first had the privilege of working with Rachel during the 2021 2022 school year. In fact, I was on the committee that hired her. From the minute she walked into the interview, it was obvious her enthusiasm, her presence, and most importantly, her love of teaching radiated from her. There was no need to look any further. The job was hers. That first year, she exceeded every expectation I had, bringing a genuine passion for education that you can't teach and a commitment to the students that you can't fake. She was creative, dependable, and always brought new ideas to the table. The thing that stood out to me most was the high quality work
124that her students produced and how well they tested on the district and state assessments. It was extremely impressive to see a teacher with so few years of experience achieve such strong outcomes. She earned everyone's respect with her professionalism, dedication, and results. She also earned a tenure track position at Lafayette from our former principal, Matthew Kylie. I mean, what kind of principal would not want a teacher of this caliber working in their [Applause] building? Actually, three other elementary school principles did want Miss Hoffower working in their building as well. Colleen Myers was the first to hire Rachel for two long-term replacements at JFK. Although there was no position available there at the end, Rachel quickly found another placement. As we all know, it is common practice for principles to recommend great candidates to other principles in
125the district and try to hire within. She was placed at AP for another long-term replacement under Suadamo. That was followed by yet another long-term replacement at Randall Carter under Jeff Wick. Rachel earned effective summitive scores from all three principles. This brings us back to Rachel's four years at Lafayette. During this time, Rachel has taught multiple grades. She has spent countless unpaid hours and money of her own to set up three different classrooms. Although Rachel could have easily found a job with more stability in another district, that was not an option for her. Rachel, like myself and so many other teachers in this district, is a Wayne graduate. To be able to spend your career in the same place that shaped you as a student is truly something special. something that up until now I believe
126that the Wayne board of education took pride in. This now brings me to the reason I'm standing before you tonight. After hard years of hard work, dedication, and effective summitive scores from tenure Wayne principles, how is it possible that Rachel Hoffower, now on her seventh year of teaching and one year away from being tenured, could receive a summitive score to warrant a non-renewal? What changed? And is this board and administration prepared to terminate the employment of such a dedicated and outstanding teacher based on one, I repeat, one observation? Do you trust that more than the outpouring of support of our Wayne community standing behind me here [Applause] tonight? I [Music] I call on you, our I call on our administration and you, our board, to look closely at this decision, to ask the hard questions,
127to demand transparency, and most of all, to make it right. Because if we allow this kind of decision to stand, we're sending a message to every dedicated educator in Wayne that loyalty, experience, and impact do not matter. But they do matter, and we need to start demanding that our administration start acting like it. Thank you. Thank you. [Applause] [Music] [Applause] Hi, my name is Jen Holstead. I live at 30 Lake Drive East in Wayne and I am a first grade teacher at Lafayette Elementary. I'm writing to express my deep concern and disappointment regarding the decision not to renew the contract of Rachel Hoffbower who has been a valued educator at Wayne Public Schools for seven years. What sets Miss Huffbthower apart is her ability to connect with her students on a personal level and create
128an inclusive learning environment. The positive impact she has had and made in the lives of her students is significant and lasting. In a time when quality educators are more essential than ever, losing a teacher of her caliber is a step in the wrong direction. In the past few days, our staff has found itself in a state of complete shock, disbelief, and quite frankly, confusion. This non-renewal of contract has had a tremendous impact on the climate and morale of our building, a place that we have loved and formed lasting relationships, whether it's with staff, students, or parents. We are known as the Lafayette Country Club. Sadly, we are spending our days as educators wondering what our future will hold. I urge you to reconsider this decision and recognize the value Rachel brings to Lafayette. It's rare
129to find educators who not only meet the demands of their role, but inspire, uplift, and lead with integrity. I sincerely hope you will give thoughtful consideration to the voices that support this exceptional teacher. Thank you. [Applause] [Music] [Applause] Good evening. My name is Ivon Ursila. I live at 15 Green Rail Avenue and I am the proud parent of a student currently in Miss Rachel Hoffbower's fifth grade science class at Lafayette Elementary. I also had the privilege of having Miss Hoffower as my daughter's teacher back in third grade, too. So, I speak not only as a concerned parent, but as someone who's witnessed firsthand the impact of Miss Hoffbower's dedication, passion, and skill over multiple years. Miss Hoffbower is not just a teacher. She is a pillar of the Lafayette school community. With seven years of
130service in the Wayne district, she's built an impeccable reputation. She is that teacher whose door is always open. The one whose students are excited to come to class. The one whose names bring us brings a smile to kids and a deep sense of trust to parents. So you can imagine how deeply shocking and disheartening it was to learn that Miss Hoffbower is not returning next school year. If there were ever a teacher who exemplifies commitment to her students, it's her. She routinely offers extra help before school, after school, even during her lunch break. She doesn't just teach, she connects. She plays chess with kids who are curious to learn. She runs a morning kickball cup cub club that fills up instantly simply because she is leading it. She builds relationships that matter. She communicates. My
131husband and I have received thoughtful, regular updates on our daughter's academic progress through emails, text messages, and even handwritten notes. We're never in the dark about our daughter's growth, challenges, or successes. We feel supported as parents, and we know our daughter's in good hands. In third grade, our daughter's reading level soared. That same year, she gained confidence in math, particularly multiplication. Thanks to Miss Hoffower's creative methods and personalized growth tracking, those skills have stuck with her through fourth and now fifth grade. Now in science class, our 10-year-old has developed a true love for learning. She comes home excited about labs, STEM projects, and lessons she can wait. She can't wait to tell us about that spark, that joy of learning is what every parent dreams of for their child. Miss Hoffbower made it possible. Our
132schools need more teachers like her, not fewer. At a time when education is being reduced to data points, test scores, and rigid benchmarks, we must remember that our children are more than just numbers. They are thinkers, creators, and individuals with unique needs. And we need educators who see them that way. educators like Miss Hoffower. So I ask you, how can we justify the loss of a teacher who inspires, connects, and delivers results? How can we remove someone who motivates our children to show up to school not because they have to, but because they want to? Our students deserve more. Miss Hoffbower deserves more. Let us do the right thing and make sure that excellent, passionate educators like her remain in our schools where they belong. Thank you. [Applause] [Music] [Applause] Hi, my name is Elizabeth
133Tangall and I've been the nurse at Lafayette for 16 years. I've had I've chosen to speak tonight to tell you my extensive positive work and experience with Rachel Hoffbower. I've collaborate collaborated closely with Rachel in the her four years at Lafayette. During this time, Rachel has taught students with fragile medical needs. She communicates with me on a daily basis to facilitate their safety and care. Rachel has extensive experience teaching children with increased emotional needs. Also, Rachel has dedicated extra time to support these students. She has a remarkable ability to connect with and invest in her current and former students. Rachel has a natural talent to deescalate children who are upset. Her previous students consistently speak positively of Rachel and her experience of being in her classroom. Miss Hoffower has demonstrated this ability to engage and
134connect with children of all ages. I observed Miss Hoffower challenge her students to grow and learn. She has a keen understanding of taking these additional needs into account while also challenging them academically. Miss Hoffbower is always accommodating and flexible. She has many leadership equality leadership qualities and is consistently described as a team player by her staff. Lafayette school has experienced fluctuating enrollment in the last four years. This has resulted in her and other teachers having to switch grade levels year after year to accommodate the class sizes. Despite this immense challenge, she has risen to this occasion each time. I've observed her working diligently on new curriculum. This has required her to work beyond her contracted school hours to develop this curriculum and lesson plans for this new new age group. Rachel is a positive role
135model for our Lafayette students and the greater Wayne School District. She demonstrates dedication, reliability, and professionalism. I trust our students to be in her care. I believe she's an asset to our Wayne school district and the greater community. Thank you. [Applause] Hi, good evening. My name is Gina Rosa and I teach resource at Lafayette School and I've been teaching in Wayne since 2008. I'm here tonight to speak on behalf of Miss Rachel Hoffower. I have had the experience of working as an in-class support teacher this year from September to January during language arts instruction. Miss Hoffower was always prepared, maintained instructional control, and had excellent repertoire with her students. and her students were always engaged and on task. From the standpoint of an experienced special education teacher, Miss Hoffower knew how to adjust and modify
136her instruction to meet the needs of all her students. As many of you know, teaching has become very data driven, especially at the elementary level. So, let's talk data. Miss Hopower has solid data to back her teaching. Currently 83 83% of her class is reading on grade level and those that are not have demonstrated marked improvement since September. Overall, Miss Hoffower students have progressed an average of 1 to four reading levels since September. Miss Hoffower also has solid IR data. It should be noted that Miss Hoffower utilizes this data to plan small group instruction. In addition, while Miss Hoffower taught third grade during the 20 2021, 2022, and 2022, 2023 school year, while at Lafayette, her students took the NJSLA, and her students were proficient where they met to exceeded um state standards. I would
137be remiss if I had failed to mention her amazing lacrosse record of 7 to1 and the fact that Miss Hoffower is the only coach to bring back the county championship. The last time this was done was 10 years ago when Miss Hoffower was a junior at Wayne Valley. I respectfully asked the board to reconsider Miss Hoffower's dismissal based on the data and the facts that are available for any of you to review just as I have. Thank you for your time and consideration. [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] Good evening. Good evening, board members. My name is Nicolleta Gra and I'm a fourth grade teacher at Lafayette. I'm speaking tonight to voice concerns over a decision made to not rehire fellow Wayne employee Rachel Hoffbower. To be clear, this was not a reduction in force due
138to budgetary constraints, but a deliberate choice to not rehire Miss Hoffbower. She has worked in our district for the past seven years and has worked across many grade levels and schools. Lafayette's enrollment is constantly changing and sections of classes move often. In the past four years here at Lafayette, Miss Hoffbower has been assigned to three different grade levels. Despite the constant changes and not being afforded the ability to remain consistent in a grade level, Miss Hoffbower adapts and perseveres. Currently, she is right next door to me at Lafayette teaching fifth grade science. This is a grade and subject she has not taught before, but she took the challenge headon. She has spent countless hours of her own time reviewing the curriculum and finding engaging and hands-on experiments to supplement the provided resources and keep students
139engaged. I would like to read the following excerpt from our Wayne Township Public Schools mission statement. We are committed to delivering a culturally responsive, critically engaging curriculum for students of all backgrounds. As I walk past her classroom daily, I often see students who are engaged and excited to be in school and believe that Miss Hoffbower goes above and beyond to deliver engaging curriculum for her students. It is also clear to see that she is caring and warm to her students and is able to forge strong relationships and connections to help create a community of learners who feel safe and happy to come to school. Prior to coming to fifth grade, Miss Hoffbower taught third grade. This means that I would get her students the year after having her as I teach fourth grade. Students loved
140being in her class and spoke very highly of her. They were excited to see her in the hallway and always looking for opportunities to visit. I would like to read another excerpt from the Wayne's mission statement. We are dedicated to a constant evaluation of our current systems and policies and enact necessary changes to ensure equity and opportunity for all. As I read that statement, I wondered, does this apply only to our students or does it extend to the staff as well? Miss Hoffbower has been a Wii employee for the past seven years. If there is a problem with her job performance, was that articulated clearly? Were learning opportunities provided for Miss Hoffbower to improve on her craft and skill? Was Miss Hoffbower placed on a corrective action plan to monitor any concerns? The answer to
141all of those questions is no. It is discouraging to see that an employee who has invested seven years in our district, learning multiple curriculums for different grade levels, and cultivating relationships with families, students, and colleagues will not be rehired without being provided ample opportunities for improvement. This seems to go This seems to go against Wayne's own mission statement of necessitating change to ensure equity and opportunities for all. At a time where we face a teacher shortage and teachers are accumulating an overwhelming and seemingly impossible workload, finding dedicated teachers who are still passionate about their craft isn't easy. Choosing not to rehire Miss Hoffbower is doing a disservice to the students in the Lafayette community who would benefit from working with her in the future. Thank you. [Applause] Good evening board members. My name is Jamie
142Lilis, 70 Brandy Wine Road, and I'm here tonight not as a just a parent, but as a proud member of the Wayne School community who is deeply concerned by the decision to let go one of our most dedicated and impactful educators, Mrs. Hoffbower. Mrs. Hoffbower is far more than a teacher. She is a cornerstone of connection, trust, and growth for our children. She doesn't just teach, she reaches. She builds lasting relationships with her students, understands their needs, and makes them feel seen and valued. Her classroom is a place where learning is alive because the relationships are real. Her influence doesn't stop at the classroom door. Miss Hoffbower is a vibrant part of this community. She participates, she listens, and she leads with compassion and integrity. Parents trust her, students love her, and colleagues respect her.
143This kind of teacher is rare and frankly irreplaceable. My son was lucky to have her as a long-term sub during CO. She connected with all of her students through that computer. During the virtual learning, she had the students write a book. Once the books were p printed and published, she came to each student's house with a mask on. She sat in a lawn chair outside with our kids and read them together. This shows how much love she has for her role as a teacher. The climate at Lafayette was always a magical place. I am unsure what has led to so many changes in the building, but it's truly disheartening. We need educators who do more than collect and observe data. We need teachers who connect, who engage, and who inspire. Mrs. Hoffbower is that teacher.
144Letting her go is not just a personnel change. It is a loss for our children, our parents, and our community. Please reconsider this decisions. Our schools need more Miss Powers, not fewer. [Applause] Good evening. My name is Lisa Gunnels. I live at 11 Madison Street. I'm here tonight on behalf of Miss on behalf of Miss Hoffbower and the wrongful doing of her not being having her uh her contract renewed. Miss Hoffbower has been an outstanding educator and role model in our school community for many years. Her dedication to her students both in and out of the classroom has le left a lasting impact on countless families. My own son has grown tremendously under her guidance both academically and personally while having her as his third grade teacher and again as his fifth grade science teacher.
145Academically she is known for challenging her students to think critically and creativ creativly fostering a learning environment that is both rigorous and deeply supportive. She has consistently gone above and beyond. Whether it's through her leadership as I'm sorry, above and beyond. Whether it's through her leadership as a high school varsity lacrosse coach, guiding the team to a championship win two years ago or simply showing up to support students like my son at extracurricular events, even when they take place out of town and after school hours. The recent decision to terminate Miss Hoffower's employment is deeply concerning. not only because it came without clear and substantial reasoning, but also because she was never made aware of any performance issues prior to this week. If there had truly been concerns about her performance, professional protocol would dictate
146that she be given specific feedback and an opportunity to improve, such as a performance improvement plan. None of that has happened. Given the circumstances, it is imperative that these actions of those in leadership involved in this decision be reviewed to ensure that proper procedures to review that proper procedures and fair judgment are followed. Accountability at all levels is essential to ensure that decisions are made fairly, ethically, and in the best interest of our school community. It is clear that those of us who know Miss Hoffbower that her termination was not due to performance, but rather due to personal opinions held by higherups who simply did not like her. [Applause] This is unacceptable and unjust reason to dismiss a hard-working, wellrespected teacher, especially at a time when passionate, committed educators are more needed than ever. Miss
147Hoffbower is beloved by her students and their families. She has been a pillar of support, leadership, excellence within our school. Firing a teacher of her caliber sends a damage damaging message to both staff and families. We must stand up for our educators who make a real difference in our ch child ch children's lives and Miss Hoffower is undoubtedly one of those. Thank you. Thank [Applause] you. My name is Roger Gunnels. That was my fantastic wife. By the way, um before getting started, I want to cite uh versus Madison case law just to make sure that everyone doesn't uh try to impose on my first amendment right now. With that being said, the decision has been made by the Wayne school administration to not renew the contract from Mrs. Rachel Hoffbower. I want to remind this
148board and this the board and the administration over here that in the past you have have a track record of making very poor decisions point blank period in a discussion we know that not that doesn't include all of you only some of you for the administration for no good reason to torturously interfere with Mrs. Hoffbower's employment is another example of poor decision-making. With Wayne seeing a substantial increase in population, how does it make sense to refuse employment to one of Wayne's finest and one of Wayne's own? It should be the first order of business to put the children put the students first. Not person, not personal animus and not political game. I've heard so many about people on this board trying to use politics to to springboard to the next position. That's a no-go. Period.
149We don't do that. We don't do it to our people. Many, many children look up and enjoy time spent with Mrs. Hoffbower. I know my son did, especially when when Mrs. Hoffbower came to his baseball game. Mrs. Hoffbower supports her children in and out of the classroom in not renewing Mrs. Hoffbower's contract will be doing a children of Lafayette a disservice and and that will be remembered by the students and parents of this community. So when you do try to go to some other political position, we're going to remember what you did. And that's that. To address Mr. Pavle, I want to address your your question. You said that no one could give you a good reason on your budget. We probably shouldn't have spent upwards of nearly a million dollars for air conditioning in
150the administrative building last year. When I sat right here in this office and looked at that screen and it said, "We're spending $800 something,000 on air conditioning." I bet you'd like to have that money back now, wouldn't you? The kid The kids don't even have air condition, but the administrators have air conditioning. No [Applause] go. I'm Justin Janice. I live on 11 Carroll Place in Wayne. Um, my family's very shocked and disheartened to hear that Miss Hoffower's contract wasn't being renewed. Miss Hoff is more than the teacher. She's a coach, a role model, a friend, and she's a little bit famous, in case you didn't know. I don't know if any of you knew this, but she starred as Justin Bieber in a schoolwide talent show and did fantastic. Miss Hoffower dedicates countless hours outside
151of teaching in the classroom to the children of Wayne Township. Before school, she teaches the cup clubs for students to learn and enjoy kickball. At lunch, she volunteers her time to learn and play chess with my son, Owen, who's in the room. He loves Miss Hoff. All right. Yeah. Okay. After school, she coaches my oldest daughter with the varsity lacrosse team. Hoff definitely takes time to travel to other towns to watch her other students playing other sports, which I think is awesome. Uh it takes a special kind of teacher and person to dedicate so much of her unpaid time to support the students that she obviously loves so much. She obviously cares about the overall being of her students, our children. Um there is no one else like Miss Hoffower. Sorry, Miss D. She makes
152learning fun and her students and families obviously love her. She is always there for everyone and puts everyone else first. Um, I think we could all agree that teaching the whole child is one of the most important parts of being an educator and Miss Hoff certainly does that day after day in and out of the classroom. Uh, on weekends we see Miss Hoffower and she's always extremely nice. We know that she's hardworking and does what it takes to get things done. Um, it is our hope that everyone would reconsider Miss Hoffower's employment in the Wayne school system. I see. I didn't want to be in the back of the line because I knew all my thunder be gone. All the facts. This is ridiculous. Uh she's been teacher for seven years as you've heard multiple
153times. Uh shame on Wayne for giving up on a teacher has dedicated so much time to the district. I hope that we can do the right thing, the rightful right thing for the children. They deserve better. Um I am happy I came to this meeting because this was a good reason to get me here. I'm a little worried about, you know, all the situation in our town obviously that I heard tonight. I was very unaware and I guess I'd need to be more in the loop. But I would also think as someone maybe whoever's making the decision to get rid of her should be looked into, right? Maybe they're not good at their job and maybe someone should [Applause] think. Thank [Applause] you. Tori Espazito, 47 Woodlot Road. I live in the Lafayette district. My
154kids have graduated from Lafayette. I was told to wear green, but then I realized I root for teams that break my heart. So, I own nothing green. So, we're all good. I'm here tonight on behalf of Miss Halfpower and the entire Lafayette community because it's a not only a loss for her, but everybody every other teacher. I have a nephew starting kindergarten next year, and we all rave that. You want you want any teacher that you're going to get is going to be amazing. So, it's just it's it's it's a just a terrible decision based on one assessment. So I'd ask what how her how were her other previous year-end reviews and and what did they look like right based and then Mr. Gunnels talked about decision-making skills. Having an aftercare program that's in the
155national news for abuse and other violations makes me extremely worried that if there's an issue with my nephew next year, it will be a very big problem. And we and I think you guys had have had enough lawsuits this year that I don't think you want another one. Um, as far as uh the referendum, can we stop talking about because we didn't pass the referendum? There was never a line item saying a million dollars to keep all our teachers. People would have voted for that. Okay? If just tell me if a roof collapsed in one of the schools today, you guys would find money to fix it. Okay? So, there are ways to figure it out. And talk about decision-m you hire a new superintendent whose whose current district did not want to rehire him.
156What kind of decision-m is that? How can we trust anything based on that? That's all I have to say. Thank you. [Music] [Applause] Hi, my name is Britney Farrell. I live at 23 Woodlot Road. I'm a parent of three boys of Lafayette and one in Anthony Wayne. To say that I am disappointed in the school district right now would be an understatement. Rach Rachel Hoffower is one of the best teachers in this district. This is my son Dean's second time having her. He had her for third grade and again this year for fifth grade. This current fifth grade class was in kindergarten when we shut down for CO. They struggled and still do in certain aspects. Miss Offower broke Declan out of his shell. She not only supports him academically, but also in every other
157thing that he does. She comes to support him at baseball games and always remembers to ask him at school how baseball's going. She knows what's important to these kids and makes the effort to support them in any way she can. Younger siblings who haven't had her yet all have a relationship with her as well because she puts in that effort. Both of my younger sons talk about looking f how they look forward to when they can have Miss Hoffower. To lose Rachel Hoffower would be one of the biggest mistakes a sport of ed can make. These kids are happy with her. They feel safe. Obviously being a teacher is is about academics too. Declan struggled with reading going into third grade and she made him love it. Fourth grade he had a different teacher that
158is no longer with us at Lafayette and he once again struggled in reading and writing getting C's, D's, and Fs. Jump to this year in his soft bar's class. He's enjoying reading and writing once again, and it shows on his report cards. You're potentially losing a remarkable teacher and a supporter in anything these children choose to do. Thank you. [Applause] Good evening everyone. My name is Liliana Manosa and I'm a LA I'm a fifth grade Lafayette student. Good evening. My name is Simbaki and I'm a fifth grader at Lafayette Elementary School. Today I have the honor to speak about someone who means so much so much to all of us. Miss Hoffower. Miss Hoffbower is more than a teacher and my tutor. She is the she is the heart of our classroom and the light
159of our in our school. Her kindness, professionalism, and dedication to every single student truly set apart. She always goes she always goes to the extra mile to make sure we feel comfortable, supported, and understood, especially when things get tough. I can't I can't count the number of times she patiently helped us through confusion, never giving up until we got it. The that kind of care sticks with you. It inspires you. You can feel the love here tonight in this room. Past students, current students, we all feel the same way. We're here tonight because we believe in her. Because we've experienced firsthand what it means to be taught by someone who truly cares. Thank you, Miss Hoffower, for being the teacher we needed and the one we'll never forget. We love you, Miss [Applause] [Music] [Applause]
160Hoffower. Uh, my name is Angley Phillips and I reside at 19 Sloping Hill Terrace. I am a four-year varsity starter and two-year captain under Miss Rachel Hoffower. And it is under these circumstances I deem it valuable to speak upon Miss Hoffower's character as any student or parent of hers would do so. Throughout my participation in Wayne Valley Girls Lacrosse, I have been on four entirely different performing teams. One that has won a county championship and one that has gone two and 15. Through the wins and the losses, Miss Hoffower's passion and belief in every single one of her players has never wavered. She instills in us players that it is not ever about the score, but rather it is about the work we put into the game, the teamwork, and the commitment to trying our
161absolute best. One of the things Miss Hoffowers constantly says to us players is allin. And I can attest that she is all into the program. Miss Hoffbower's passion and dedication and long practices and difficult and contentious games after long days in the classroom with her students never waver. She comes each day with an aura of positivity around her, ready to teach the sport she loves. She truly demonstrates daily to us players what it means to be allin. I personally have never had a coach care so deeply about my well-being. Miss Hoffbower sees me and my teammates for more than our talent on the field. She sees us as young adults trying to navigate the path of life. Miss Hoffbower has instilled confidence within me, not only on the field, but in my academic work and
162extracurriculars as well. She has taught me that discipline can be kind and that hard work truly does pay off and is incredibly valuable in all aspects of life. I can assume based on what she demonstrates to me as a player that she is just as committed to her students at Lafayette Elementary School. And every person who has the opportunity to be taught, coached, or work alongside Miss Hoffar is nothing short of blessed to be impacted by someone who is so committed to what she does. I can proudly state that Miss Hoffar has taught me to be a better person. She has prepared me for my future by giving me confidence to work hard and be a leader to those around me. I will carry the lessons that Miss Hoffar has taught me into my college
163career and beyond. And I ask that you give that you allow her the opportunity to continue changing the lives of elementary students. Thank [Applause] you. Thanks. Hello, my name is Soul Wolfford. I'm resided at 44 Powder Horn Drive. Um, tonight I'm speaking for Jess Lee, who couldn't be here due to her finals at James Madison University. Dear esteemed members of the board, my name is Jessica Lee and I have written today to speak on behalf of Miss Rachel Hoffbower. I had the privilege of playing under Miss Hoffbower for four years and I formed an incredibly close bond with her while captaining the Wayne Valley lacrosse team. Due to this fact, I feel just as qualified to speak on Miss Hoffbower's character as any student or parent. The Miss Hoffower I know is an excellent leader
164and motivator of the young people. The confidence she instilled in me at a young age is something that I and many other young women who have gone through her program have taken into post-graduation life. Even when our lacrosse schedule had us traveling across the state and had Miss Hoffbower working extensively after her school day, she would always say to me, "Of both teaching and coaching, I would not do it if I did not love it. Coaching girls high school sports is no easy feat. sorry, especially after spending a full day with small children. But I have always deeply admired Miss Hoffbower for the way she has handled both her professions with grace, determination, and a steady guiding hand. Through wins and losses, I have never felt Miss Hoffower's faith in her players waver. And it
165is this faith that has made us all the difference in our growth, not just as athletes and students, but as individuals as well. I could never fit in one letter all the things that Rachel Hoffbower has done for me in almost eight years that I have known her, but I can attempt to summarize. From the very beginning of our relationship, she has instilled in me a hard work ethic and sense of self-worth that I have not that I would not have without her influence. She has been my role model, biggest supporter, and a dear friend. Most players and students rarely have the chance to create this type of bond with a teacher or coach. And the children of Lafayette deserve the opportunity to create the same bond with her as I have been able to.
166Rachel Hoffower is everything I want as a teacher. She is kind and passionate. She is strong and patient and she leads with heart and integrity in everything she does. I think a person and teacher of her caliber is rare and that Wayne public schools would be incredibly fortunate to have Miss Hoffbower continue guiding and inspiring in next generations of students. Thank you. [Applause] Hi, I'm Alexandra Tubman. I'm a mother of two girls at Lafayette High uh elementary school. I live at 58 Wman's Boulevard. I am here to respectfully ask the board to reconsider the decision to not renew Miss Hoffbower's contract. I believe there is something truly special about Mrs. Hoffbower. She brings to our students, to our school culture, and to this community cannot be easily measured by test scores or checkboxes. She is
167the kind of teacher who shows up just not in the classroom, but in her students lives. She attends her students games or concerts or performances not because she has to, but because she tr genuinely cares. She makes kids feel seen, supported, and valued. That kind of emotional connection with students is rare and incredibly powerful. It fosters confidence, motivation, and belonging, especially in the younger grades where relationships with teachers set the tone for a child's academic journey. She also invests in the school community. She's one of the first to volunteer for optional events like our PTO fundraisers or cheering her students on from the sidelines. She doesn't just clock in and out. She's present. She's involved and she gives her time generously. In addition to her work with elementary students, she is also deeply connected at
168the high school level as the lacrosse coach. That means she's influencing and mentoring students across a wide age range, building relationships that last far beyond one school year. She is dedicated and she has the foundation that we want in our educators. someone who genuinely loves students, is committed to this school, and builds strong, trusting relationships. That is not something you can train or teach. It's who she is. Please consider giving Mrs. Hoffbower the chance to continue being the great teacher she is well on her way to becoming. Her students believe in her. Many parents and colleagues do, too. Let's not lose someone who has clearly shown her heart is with our kids. [Music] [Applause] Megan D. Joseph, 36 Rucker Court. Good evening. I am here to read a letter on behalf of my daughter, Victoria,
169who is a fifth grade teacher at Lafayette Elementary School. This year, I have had I have Miss Hoffower, and it has been one of the best years of my life in school. She cares about each and every one of her students. I remember during her first year of teaching at Lafayette school, my sister told me that she would come out for recess and play with the kids. My sister never had her, but she always said that when Miss Hoffower would play kickball with them, it would make her day. So, when I heard she was going to be a fifth grade teacher, I got excited. This year has been so fun with her as my science teacher. One of the things that I love about her class is that we do many different types of science
170experiments. She helps us with general questions even though they might not relate to the topic we are learning about. This shows that she is always willing to help. I don't want her to leave Lafayette because I want the incoming students to experience how great of a teacher she is. Thank you. [Applause] Hi guys, good evening. My name is Nillaa. I live at 20 Louisa Accord and I'm here to speak in behalf of Miss Huff Bower. I first I want to thank you all for sitting here and listening to all of us. Really, thank you. Um so I just wanted to um start by saying also thank you to Miss Huffer for being great to our kids. Um when we talk about great teachers, we often talk about more than just lesson plans or test scores.
171We talk about people who see our children when they feel invisible. The ones who push them to be better when they are ready to give up. The ones who create a classroom that feels like a safe place in a chaotic world. That's who Miss Hoffower is. She isn't just a teacher. She's a mentor, a guide, and a source of a a steady encouragement. Whether it's staying after school to help someone understanding a difficult subject, checking in with students going through tough times, or inspiring them to believe in themselves, she constantly goes above and beyond of what's required. Letting go of someone like her, someone who has become the heart of the school uh for so many would be more than just a staffing decision. It would be a loss of a role model, a support
172system, and a light of uh for students who really need her. I urge you to look beyond the numbers or policies and please see the human impact that she has made for all of us [Applause] [Music] here. Please, please see the students who she has helped graduate. See the confidence she has built in them and see the futures that she's shaping. We cannot we cannot afford to lose educators like Miss Hoffbower. Not now. Not ever. I also have two questions or maybe um uh see if you guys um for the future can do something to keep our teachers. Can they reduce administrative positions in case I mean instead of um teachers? That's one of my questions. One admin position would cover at least two teacher salaries. Right. The other question is uh why can we
173hire internal trade men for example an electrician would be a lot cheaper than hiring an an actual company or a plumber instead of hiring an actual company. That's all. Thank you. Thank you. Hello, Victor Alfury, Nine Woodlot Road. Um, I'm here for support of Miss Hoffbower. And uh to say again over and over what a great teacher she is would be uh overkill, but just by the support here, you know, what do you know what you're going to get? Why why you going to go out and you have a proven track record? She's everybody. Look at the support she has here. And you're going to get someone a new. What do you know? You don't know what you're going to get. You don't know what this next teacher will be. You know what you have
174with Miss Miss Hot. You know, okay. Um and you know, I I you sit I sit and uh you complain about the referendums. Three, right? Didn't pass. You're you're getting sent a message. I don't think you're getting it. Okay. You're making bad decisions and this is just another one. Another bad decision. Um, and you know, and here's the thing, too. It's like, Mr. Pav, you you know, you're very rude to everyone here. People, people, you got a room full of people. Someone says something and you snap at them and you're rude. And I look over and I'm watching Mr. Tobach text while everyone's talking here, showing no respect to anybody. Why aren't you addressing that? Okay. Well, he shouldn't be texting. He should be focused on what people are saying. So, you know, again, a
175referendum is not being you're not passing it because you're getting a message and the message is you're making bad decisions. Getting rid of Miss Hoff Bower is just another bad decision. And going back to what my neighbor uh Mr. uh Joe uh Tori said was uh put a referendum in to pay for teachers. Try it. Okay, you can't. Well, why not? Okay, Mark. Um, I think that's a great idea because I I think that would pass uh pretty pretty pretty quickly. Um, also, you know, what is this I you know, what is this about? Is is this about Miss Overback wanting to hire another one of her friends? Is that what this is about? That's what this is about. Overback is the one who needs to go. Okay. [Applause] Arab. Arab brings in her friends
176and she wants to hire another one of her friends. So, she's going to get rid of a great teacher. The one who has to go is Arab. That's the one who needs to go. [Applause] Hello, my name is Zoe Briner. I live at 99 Beach Terrace and I am a part of the Wayne Hills band community. Also, shout out to Miss Hoffower. I've heard so many amazing things about her here tonight while I've been standing in this line. She sounds very much like a teacher that I know, Mr. Pno. And I know it's sad to see him leave because he's retiring, but it also reminds me of Miss Pascal. And she has done such an amazing job with the bank program these past three years. She has taught me how to play the flute. And
177I started freshman year, had no idea what I was doing. Um, this band program changes so many of our lives in like Hills and um, it's really sad to see only one teacher going to be running the entire program. We need more teachers to run such an extensive program. Um, I want all of the students to have the same opportunities that Miss Pascal did when she was a student. That is all. Thank you so much. [Applause] Good evening. My name is Marcus Cavanis. I'm gonna make this short and simple. Miss Hoffower is my current teacher. Not only does she make it fun, but I always look forward to going to class. Let's not forget she's an awesome awesome kickball leader. If you get rid of her, younger kids than myself will never get the chance
178to know what an amazing, funny, and kind person she is to her students. Thank you for listening and have a good rest of the day. [Applause] [Music] Good morning. My name is Malachi Lib. Hello, my name my name is Malachi Leazir and I'm currently in fifth grade. Miss And I'm I'm a fellow student of Miss Hoffbower. Miss Hoffower has always been nice, fi, kind, and funny. I remember one time I was trying I remember one time I was having a bad day and Miss Hoffower just helped and helped and helped me have just such a good day. She always kept a smile on her face and always helped me. And she always took time out of her day just to help me realize what more I can do. Miss Hoffower has helped me so much
179and she has been so kind and so funny to so much other students and it breaks my heart that younger students than me cannot realize how funny and kind Miss Hoffower really is. Miss Hoffower has always been there for me and she has always had a smile on her face. I have never seen I've never seen anybody really dislike Miss Hoffower. We all love her as students, te students, teachers, and even other people love Miss Hoffower just because of her kind and inspiring and inspiring ways. Miss Hoffbower has always, always, always been there for me and I've just been so happy that I can open up and talk to so much more people just cuz of Miss Hoffower. She has boosted my confidence and helped me in so much more. I used to not want
180to go to school because I disliked it. But Miss Hawfire just showed me how beautiful and nice it really is. I didn't really like any subjects, but I really like I really liked and learned a lot about more science just because of Miss Hoffower. I listened in more and started to actually started to actually like school more just because of Miss Hoffower. She has been an amazing teacher for so many and me. I'm so proud that I can just I'm so proud that I can grow up saying Miss Hoffbower was my teacher. Thank you. [Applause] [Music] Good evening. My name is Ra Shab and I'm a 10-year-old student at Lafayette. Good evening. My name is Lou Flores. I live on 12 Burnside Place. I have firsthand experience with me and my classmates with our amazing
181teacher that we call Miss Hoffar. She has been teaching me for only a year, but I've seen drastic improvement in my reading, writing, and science. She's always also smiling and having an open heart towards every students, teachers, and parents. So, I hope you consider bringing back my amazing teacher, Miss Hopper. Have a nice rest of your day. Thank you. [Applause] Um, good evening. And I I really want to thank you guys for listening to us and I know it's late and I hope you're listening though because we are there's a lot of passion in this room. Um my name is Adam Stefen. Um I live at 11 Louisa Court with my wife Brenda and our three kids. Um all of whom are current Lafayette students. Um they're sitting here tonight in the front row uh
182because of how much Miss Hoffbower means to them. Uh, we moved to Wayne 11 years ago, shortly after our twins, Edward and Samia, were born. They're now fifth graders. We also have a first grader named Ila. Uh, in fact, we moved again a year and a half ago, two blocks away, because we wanted to stay at Lafayette because of how much we love it and how much the teachers mean to us. Before we came here tonight, um we told our kids what we were doing and why. We told them that when you believe in something, you stand up for it and you fight for it. And that's what we're doing here tonight because we believe in Miss Hoffower. And we couldn't disagree more with what's happening to her. Miss Hoffower was Edward and Samia's third
183grade teacher. In fact, we thought they were going to have her again in fourth grade, and they were so excited until she was moved at the last minute to another grade. That kind of flexibility says a lot about her as an educator. She stepped into a new grade, a new grade level, and continued to thrive. She now teaches Edward and Sammy again in fifth grade in science. We were all hoping Ila would one day have the opportunity to also be in Miss Hoffower's class because great teachers are hard to come by and Miss Hoffbower is a great teacher. Her classroom was always structured and warm. Our kids came home excited about what they were learning. And that kind of enthusiasm doesn't just happen. It comes from a teacher who connects, who inspires, and who truly
184loves what she does. She also genuinely click car cares. Um we ran into Miss Hoffbower at a restaurant in Wayne um a few weeks ago and no joke our kids saw them. Our kids saw her and lit up instantly. Smiles from ear to ear. They gave each other big hugs. I'm not even sure I've gotten that kind of reception from my kids coming home from work. That's, you know, for another time. But clearly though, we're not alone. Everybody who's spoken here tonight feels the same way. Miss Hoffower is loved, respected, and trusted in this community. She ex is exactly the kind of teacher we should be keeping, not questioning. Letting her go now sends the wrong message to teachers, to parents, and most of all to the kids who look up to her. If this
185district wants to be known for valuing great teaching, for building community, and for investing in the educators who make a difference, then this is one of those moments that speaks volumes. Miss Hoffbower deserves to stay at Lafayette. She deserves the chance to keep shaping students like mine, hopefully as Leila's teacher one day. And if not, I hope someone is prepared to look my kids in the eye and explain why one of their favorite teachers isn't coming back because I certainly don't have the answers. Thank you. Thank you. [Music] [Applause] Hello, my name is Sophia Fesi and I live on 1624 Ratzer Road. I'm here because I'm sticking up for the best teacher. Not only is she special, but she has an ability to make everyone smile, even when you are feeling down. Another thing I'm
186here for is because she treats me like her own and all of my friends in the previous years loved her. I got Lion of the Month because of her because of her and that's special because of her teaching skills and abilities. She's the only one who can make someone smile on a bad day. Thank you for listening. Please rethink your decision. Thank you. Good job. [Music] [Applause] All right, Dad. You got to top that. Well, I I was trying to go first before and I got yelled at, so now I'm almost last, but here we go. All right, we're almost there, guys. Um, good evening. Thank you for your time. I'm Nick Faresi. I live on Ratzer Road with my daughter over here. Uh, my parents moved to Wayne exactly 30 years ago when I
187was in the seventh grade. I never left. I created a family here. I currently have a daughter that's a senior at Valley and I have another daughter who's in third grade at Lafayette. In that time, I've also built the landscaping company named FLS and this is my 19th year in business here in Wayne. The reason for the brief autobiography is to prove the following points. I know this town. I know the school system. I know the people. But in particular, I just know people. all kinds of people, the good, the bad, the ugly, and everything in between. Every once in a while, you come across a good person andor a good worker. In this case, what you have here is an amazing person and a great worker named Rachel Hoffower. Trust me, I know these
188kinds of special people can be very hard to find. My youngest daughter had Mrs. Hoffower last year in second grade, and my daughter grew leaps and bounds academically during that year thanks to her. In fact, she's here today to show the support, as you just heard. H when she heard what was going on, she was in tears. She found out what's happened to her and said, "I'm coming with you and mommy because I love Miss Hoffbower." And what's not to love? She's been in our school system for many years, as you've all heard. She lives in town. She volunteers her time in the morning for extra activities like kickball and she coaches at lacrosse at Wayne Valley. She's homegrown. Just look at all the people gathered today dressed in green to support her. That should
189be all the proof you need. Is this how we reward hard work and dedication in our town nowadays? By telling them thanks but no thanks. Have a nice life. This is egregiously wrong and you guys should be ashamed. However, it doesn't have to be the end. Do the right thing. Everyone in life makes mistakes. You guys have an opportunity to mend this mistake. Let her get her let her continue to work so she can gain her tenure. Future students in Wayne who get to have her as a teacher will be better off in life because you guys kept a wonderful teacher in our classroom. [Applause] Good evening. I'm Lisa Okconor for Tammy Terrace. Uh I am a mother of three children at Lafayette and I'm also the PTO president. Um, I wasn't going to say
190anything because I figured everybody else is going to say what I say, but then I hear everybody and I'm like, "All right, I have to." Um, as a parent, two of my children have either had or have Miss Hoffower. Um, all three of them absolutely adore her. Uh, my oldest is in fifth grade. She is what we call a tomboy. Um, she's an introvert though. She, you know, is a little, uh, shy. hard to get her out of her shell. Whether Miss Hoffower knows this or not, my daughter absolutely admires and looks up to her as a mentor. Um, my daughter started playing lacrosse because of Miss Hoffower. Um, I don't even know if she speaks to her because like I said, she's a little shy, but like she's her role model. Uh, my younger
191daughter had her absolutely loves her. My kids thrived in her class. As you heard from everyone by now, you know, we need to reconsider her contract. As a PTO president, I have a little story to tell. So, I was recently working on the fifth grade yearbook. And one of the questions we ask all the kids is, "What is your favorite Lafayette memory?" Almost all of them picked one of the field trips. Some of them picked the field day where they won or there was a tie or something crazy. And then all of a sudden, as I'm typing them up, I was like, "Oh, couple kids, more kids." There's a whole bunch of kids that put as their favorite after six years in Lafayette, their favorite memory was having Miss Hoffower as their teacher. Sorry, guys.
192No other teacher was [Applause] mentioned. So, if that doesn't say something, I I don't know what else does. Thank you. Thank you. Hello, I am Owen Janicei um a fellow member of Miss Hotour and I want to say that she is an amazing teacher. She has helped me so much. She's actually one of sorry to every teacher that I've ever had. But she is one of but she is one of the reasons that I'm standing here today. She helped me believe that I could stand here. And if you're willing to Who stood up on the podium? Raise of hands if you're willing. Yeah. Yeah. Everybody that stood here stood here on this podium because they believe that they could get H missower to stay in Lafayette for at least a couple more years. And yeah,
193I love that everybody was encouraged to come up to this stand. So, I want you to think about everybody that's come up here and why they've been here. Thank you for everything. And I hope you consider Thank you. [Music] Anyone else from the public wishing to speak? Hi, Jesse Joseph, 36 Records Court. A little taller, I guess. Yeah, Jesse Joseph, 36 Records Court. Um, I think you heard a lot of people here tonight. I think you're making a wrong decision. You really need to rethink this. I think whatever your criteria is that you're using to evaluate teachers in this case, it's wrong. This is a great teacher that you guys are going to let walk away. This is not the right decision. Thank you. [Music] Anyone else from the public wishing to speak? Your name,
194please. Rob Zardy. uh president of the Wayne Education Association. Um this was a rough night and I have to say this was probably the roughest week of my life. Um not life, you know. Um this was of this year. This was really tough. Um I know it was tough for all of you. I understand that. And there's a lot of emotions that are going on right now. And I just appreciate the fact that you guys give everyone here a forum to speak um and to to vent because I've been getting a lot of venting um this week as you guys can imagine. I've dedicated over 27 years of my life to Wayne. It is my home and I only want the best for it. And I know that we all everyone in this room wants
195the best for it. I'm not sure where we go from here. This deficit, everything that's here, but I do know that it has to be together and we can come here and we can, you know, point blame. We are where we are right now and we just have to collect ourselves as the community that we are and have always been because I don't want to be that laughing stock. I was just at a screening for LD40 or actually LD35 and when I said I was from Wayne like you know like it was just that like I I can't believe you're there. That should never be for this town. This town is where I have always been and I always want to be. So, I am ready to get in there as a community and just
196figure a way out of this. It's going to be tough. I know. And I know all these cuts were hard. Um, all of the riffs were hard. Um, the nonrenewals. Yeah, we need to look we definitely need to look back at at least one of them. I feel right. I'm I'm going to say there's one I'm going to say there's one that you're going to consider. Um, thank you very much. [Applause] Okay. Anyone anyone else from the public wishing to speak? Seeing no one move to close. Mr. Faber. Second. Mr. Ber, any old business? Dr. Tobeck, any comments? I'm sorry. Okay. Thank you. Any new business? Board comments. Mr. Alum, start down to the right. Um, first I just wanted to thank all the students who came out. That was uh nice to see. and
197uh put yourselves out there. Especially um she left, but uh Mr. Laya, she was came up here and was vulnerable with her, you know, discussion. Um regarding the budget, all I can say is I'm sorry. And we nobody up here was happy about anything that we had to do or the district had to do. Um we wish we just wish we didn't have to do it. Um, and when it comes to Lafayette showing up, this was great to see the uh, Lafayette community come out and uh, show their support. And I heard a few people make some insinuations on the reason. So, if there is another reason besides performance, just email the superintendent and let those reasons be known. That's it. Okay. Um, so first of all, that was some great eloquent speaking, especially from
198the younger students uh that came up. You did a fantastic job. Um, emotions when you come up to here are a really great way to be able to convey the issues that you are feeling. It's our job to make sure that the decisions that the administration is making are the correct jobs. When you come up with emotions, when you come up with the things that you come to, that's our job to be able to go back and say we need to make sure that that data is right. We need to be able to make sure that that's the right thing. That's our job to oversee the administration and to look at those things. So, I will be reaching out to Dr. Tobec um uh afterwards to ensure that we are making the right decision to
199ensure that that is the right decision to look at the performance the the issues that we have around there and also to make sure that that is the right place in the cuts because if it isn't Miss Hoffman it's going to be somebody else who may get the same amount of things and so I want to make sure that decision is right for where things are and who we are choosing. Um the other thing that I want to draw attention to because there's another big educational thing within the policy within the agendas that that nobody's spoken about uh at all. So I want to bring some attention to that as well which is the uh policy that we're putting on 2365 which is the use of AI within the educational systems. Um, I'd recommend going
200back and reading that because that actually will enable uh the use of AI based on the teachers, the curriculum all the way throughout the school system to be able to help and aid people to uh further the um uh implementation of those things which is going to be a big issue for all of the graduates that are coming out in the following years. I worked for about two years building up the data center to be able to support this and also being able to get a policy and the district goals in place to be able to push on this. Um it will enable for example um the tiering support for being able to put curriculums in place for people who are going better or going worse within the class and help organize uh education for
201those individuals and tailor support systems for them. I would recommend going back and looking over that. It's also going to actually help us apply for more grants to be able to push forward with the AI systems as well without impacting our budget, which will be great. So, I recommend going back and read that. It's on for a first reading this uh this um this time and a second reading next time. Thank you very much. Thank you, Mr. So, today was a really, really tough day. It's probably my worst day of being a board member. Um, so I didn't want to talk cuz I know I was going to cry. So the children are just so beautiful. You guys are such rock stars and I'm so happy that you came up to the podium and you
202talked about your teacher and and your kickball and your chest cuz I feel like I have to go to Lafayette school tomorrow and go to her class and meet her. I don't know her, but I would really like to meet her. [Applause] So there's not a meeting that we don't go to that we don't think about these guys. It's very difficult especially now. However, coming to the board meetings helps us understand what you're feeling. You know, there's so many keyboard warriors out there and I get emails every day. You know, um I got one today that really upset me. Um, I can't believe you raised the daycare, the afterare prices. I'm going to have to get my mother out of out of the nursing home to uh take care of my kids. So, I sat
203with that all day. I felt so horrible. I couldn't even eat lunch. I was like this at my desk. I felt terrible. But, please come to the meetings together. We can find a solution. I know today's been a bummer of a day. There's cuts. There's sadness. But there's hope. We're hopeful. We're Wayne. We're a big district. Our kids are amazing. They go to amazing schools. We have amazing teachers. Our administration is topnotch. And I know sometimes people, you know, there they read what they want to hear because they're jealous. Don't hate us cuz you ain't us. We're Wayne. We're going to get through this. I promise. We hear you. Please email us your suggestions and come to the board meeting so we get to understand how you're feeling. Thank you. I wanted to uh thank
204uh Mr. Sardy, Miss Pototts, and Mrs. Palm Mary. Uh thank you for your partnership. I know it's been uh very difficult. Uh I also want to thank the crowd here, the students, the families, uh the teachers, the staff that that came out um to support uh Mr. Imperator and Mrs. Hoffbower. I know uh we even have some uh Wayne Valley girls lacrosse uh came from their senior night and I came over uh to show some support. Um we need solutions. So if you have solutions, we're here. Reach out, you know, let us know. Thank you for for coming tonight. We don't want to hear complaints. We want to hear solutions. So if you have solutions and a lot of solutions, there's applications for Mr. Gardano's spot. Uh the applications are due July 28th at 400
205p.m. in uh Patterson at the P County election. So yeah, driving there. It'll be going against Barbara, though. So uh sorry about that, Barbara. Uh hopefully we get to see like 30 people on the ballot. But anyway, um the paytoplay, I mean there was going to be a lot of collateral damage with that. I mean, we would be losing students to PCTI, losing students to the Catholic high schools, um, you know, because of this these athletics. And, uh, you know, it it would be a shame. Uh, but, you know, come next year, it might be a reality. I mean, you know, we had a couple people come out here and and, you know, say we weren't listening about the referendum. I mean, it was going to provide breathing room. It's as simple as that. And
206it would have cost much less uh than we would have been paying for for pay to play, trust me. And um uh that's the reality. We need breathing room. We need new facilities. We need good facilities. We need bleachers, you know, for our athletes, our scholar athletes to be paying the the pay to play. And we need uh you know, if if the heat goes out, you guys are going to be complaining over here. I mean, I have four children here. I'm going to be complaining myself because we don't have money to to, you know, fix the heat or, you know, fix the roof. So, um I mean, Mr. Espazito came here, he dropped the bomb and then he left. Otherwise, I would have addressed uh what he said about our new superintendent. Um which,
207you know, he was at his other district for over a decade. So, I don't know what the heck he's talking about. Um um yeah, so you know, unfortunately, we can't talk about personnel. um here. So, uh we're not going to uh go into any of those. Um let's see. Um I was really impressed by by the students, you know, Malachi, Owen, and Sophia. I think you were going to make a lot of people cry here. So, uh and a few others. So, um, uh, you know, unfortunately, you know, New Jersey's got, you know, the the tenure rules, the non-tenure, you know, they're they're very vulnerable. Um, and, you know, and New Jersey's got that 2% cap. So, again, you know, reach out to the legislators down in Trenton. You know, we need some money and
208the referendum would have given us about 40%, right? So, um would have would have given us a lot of breathing room, but um uh I think that's that's enough for tonight. So, so I I like the suggestion, I'm not sure which gentleman said it, but about uh creating a referendum for the teachers because I asked that question when I first came on the board. Why can't we just put out a referendum and ask for money instead of having to allocate it? But I found out quickly the rules are if you're going to do a referendum, every single dollar, every single project has to be allocated and they actually check to ensure that you spent the money on the project that they approved. So we're trying I I mean coming on, you know, I was very
209uh ambitious and thought there were going to be so many things that we could do and ideas we could be creative. The rules that the state puts in place of what we're allowed to do and how we have to do it and the way that we have to operate are so counterintuitive and they actually are in complete contradiction to what you would think would make sense. And the more time that I spend here, the more frustrated that I get by it because it just the logic behind it makes absolutely no sense because but I guess part of it is they're trying to, you know, because I will say this based on everything I've seen, you have a very scrupulous board of on the administration here. they do everything right, but I'm sure that if you
210looked around, there are districts that if they were just given unallocated money, that would end up in somebody's pocket somewhere. So, I'm guessing that that I'm I'm trying to give the state the benefit of the doubt that that's the reason why the rules are the way they are. But, they've also created the situation that we're in by putting the other rules in place where, you know, you're going to have shortfalls. that if you you know I've been looking around and this number of districts that are in our situation grows every single week. You can read another story about another district that's being taken over by the state or that needs to borrow money. And luckily for us, we don't have any debt, but it doesn't help us in the situation that we're in. So, believe
211me, we've tried to throw out ideas to be creative on what we can do to try to fix the situation, but there aren't a lot of things you can do. That's why I said run for the board so you can come here and see some of the things that we learn. I mean, we go through a lot of training and then we have the lawyer that tells us, but we throw ideas out all the time. I mean, and just they're like, "No, you can't do that. You can't do that." And kind of sometimes I feel stupid because, you know, I think these things make great sense. And I'm like taking a shower and I'm like, "Wait a minute. We could do this." And then I come in, they're like, "No, you can't do that." So,
212it it's a little disheartening when you try to be creative and come up with things that'll be good for the the district and then you find out that the state won't let you do it for really what's no good reason. Um, one thing I also want to say about um the afterare company. So, it's a place I think miss uh Dr. Kazmar you said it was they're in a thousand schools. Okay. So, they're in a thousand schools across the country. If you look around at the number of teachers that you hear in all different school districts all over the country and even all over New Jersey that are making the news for inappropriate behavior, I mean, if they're in a thousand schools, they probably have what, I mean, tens of thousands of employees. So, the
213actions of those employees are not representative of the company itself. So you have situations in districts all over the place and in any business or anything where employees don't always act appropriately. It's going to happen. It's not ideal, but you have trained professional teachers that are doing inappropriate stuff. So try to be open-minded and not just judge this company based on the actions of a few employees. Considering the size, there's going to be bad news. I mean, if you look, we've been in the news quite a bit the last couple of years over stupid things that have happened in Wayne. So, you know, just be patient, but if you hear something that didn't work or you see something that you don't like, let us know, forward it to the administration. And believe me, they're not
214going to stand for anything that puts a kid in danger, any inappropriate behavior. It would never fly. So, you see something like that, make sure that we know and it'll get dealt with. Um, the kids, unbelievable. At your age, I never would have had the nerve to stand up and talk in front of I mean, at your age, I didn't even know what the board of education was, but I never would have had the nerve to stand up here and talk. So, our teachers are obviously doing something right. The parents are doing something right that you see something that you stand for and you're willing to get up and speak on it. Really proud of you guys. Great job. Thank [Music] you. Yeah. Uh, so I just want to reiterate on the budget. The budget
215shortfall is by no means mismanagement from our business office. Um, the business office office that we've had has done an excellent job with next to nothing over the last few years. Um, you know, state policy has put us where we're at and they're doing the best that they can. Um, you know, aside from that, it was nice to see everybody come out tonight um in support of of, you know, the couple of people that they came out from for. Um, you know, I'm proud to be from Wayne to see something like that. So, thank you all. Um, I appreciate it. It's been a long night. Let's Gee, thanks. Appreciate it. All right. I still see a sea of green here. This is great. 10:39. I know the kids are like, "Yeah, I get the stamp
216plate." That's great. You mom and dad, you know, you got snowed on this one. Just letting you know that one. Here's a dad himself. I've been a teacher for 32 years. I retired last year. I was a board local president for five of those years. The end of April and the beginning of May is the hardest time of the year. I've sat in many meetings and said, "Why? What's going on, and why?" What I'm seeing here today is just an example of what I think is great about Wayne. This is a family right here. This is the Lafayette family. The Lafayette family feels one of theirs is threatened. The whole Lafayette family stayed till 10:35 in the evening to make sure that their voices were heard. So for you as a former educator and a
217former union guy, I salute you all. Thank you for coming and thank you for voicing it. I'm also going to be the kind of person I'm going to turn it over to Mr. Battershill. Um it's always better to have one person focus on this stuff and and lead the charge here. Me going behind going, "Yeah, yeah, it doesn't help out in this case here, but I appreciate the time and the effort." I see a strong sub community inside of Wayne. And this is one of the reasons why I wanted to sit in this chair for so long because I wanted to help these subcommittees sort of these subfamilies. So, thank you very much for coming out. I salute you all and we'll get to the bottom of this. Thank you. [Music] I just want to
218thank you all for coming tonight. I thank you for your passion. I thank you for what you do every day, but especially coming out supporting one of your own. Um, we've heard your message and we've listened to each and every one of you and I promise we will listen to what you all have to say. Um, enough has been said about the budget and everything else, but I think Mr. Sardy, you said it well tonight. We got to stop pointing the fingers. We got to stop with the accusations, which Wayne is great for, and we got to come together and all figure it out because it's going to take all of us to figure this out. And we're going to do that real soon. To everyone again, to the kids. Awesome. God, I could have
219never got up there and done that. It's hard for me to get up here and do this sometimes. But thank you all and I thank you all for coming tonight. Take a motion to adjourn. Move this. Thank you everyone.