Board of Education Meeting 2/18/25

001I'd like to call the February 18th, 2025 board of education budget regular meeting to order. If we could have a moment of silence, flag salute, flag is behind. I aliance 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. In accordance with the provisions of the open public meetings act, a public notice of the meeting has been sent to board members, all district schools, the Herald news, the suburban trends, the record, the messenger, West Milford town hall, the county superintendent's office, the board attorney, cable vision of Warwick and West Milford TV77, and posted in the administrative building. Copies of the board meeting calendar resolution were provided to all local media, town hall, township library, and all district

002schools. Roll call, please. Mr. Schultz. >> Uh, Mr. Satovich. >> Mrs. Dwire, >> here. >> Mrs. Jurgensson. >> Mr. Lippy, >> here. >> Mrs. Lockwood, >> here. >> Mrs. Markwart, >> here. >> Mrs. Rakano >> here. >> Mrs. Van Djk >> here. >> Mr. Garino. >> Superintendent report. Dr. Kitchen. >> Yes. Uh so let me start with our required reporting out on our uh HIV for the uh first period of the year. So that goes um July through January. Um so I need to give you some of this information. Um just so you're aware, we are in full compliance with all of the required programs and trainings that we are that we need to do as a district. Um and to go through some of our totals. So during this period, we have had um

003eight HIV investigations initiated. All eight were in compliance with the 10-day period. Um that's across all schools. Um we had four of those eight uh were affirmed at the board of ed level. We've had nine total uh trainings, school level trainings. We've had 36 total school programs related to this at Cricut across all schools. uh two district-wide trainings and um one total district program for HIVs during that period of time. So uh that includes different things like our GCN training uh different things that are embedded in the PD offerings that uh that Dan provides. Um and then again the the HIVs giving you the total for the district collectively. Um I I prefer to do it that way mostly just because I don't want to try pitting schools against each other who's got more. But

004this is everything we've done has been appropriately in compliance um as it as it should be. So any questions on any of that? All right. Um and up next, I did want to touch briefly on the uh virtual job fairs. So, I know I've spoken at the committee level um about this and we talked a little bit about the fact that because we're we are struggling to fill some of our positions, we have the goal of trying to find creative ways to recruit um new teachers to our district when those positions become available. And one of the things that we talked about was the creation of a virtual job fair with the intent being not to only interview like a traditional job fair where you're interviewing for openings you have but rather to interview for

005any opening or any position that someone may be credentialed for um with the intent of us gathering resumes from people that we uh would be interested in employing. So, um, just an update on that. Everything has been organized and is ready to be shared out. The next step on that is hopefully before the week is over, that information will be sent to all local, um, colleges. So, uh, the goal is to try to recruit new and prospective teachers and, um, the form that has been created for that allows them to tell us what certifications they have and what positions they would like to interview for. Now the benefit to the individuals that are applying to those positions uh beyond the prospect of a a job possibility if there is an opening is also that we

006are then offering to um provide feedback to those individuals um on their resume and feedback to them on their interview. So, uh, from the perspective of a college that is trying to encourage their, um, their soon-to-be teachers to get out there and interview and find jobs, uh, for them to have a real interview with with real actionable feedback, um, and probably more direct feedback than you'd receive in a normal interview because, um, you know, we're not necessarily going into a lot of detail about why someone didn't get a job. But in this case, the jobs are theoretical. We're just giving you the interview. So, the feedback we're providing you is just to help support these individuals in their quest to be employed. And hopefully, again, we start to collect some positive resumes. As we've discussed

007the personnel committee on more than one occasion, um we we are not against cold calling people that we know are credentialed for the positions we're looking to hire for when we're having trouble filling the applicant pool. In this case, again, we just are hoping to end up with a stack of resumeumés that we can go reaching out to people when a job becomes available to say, "Hey, I don't know what your situation is, but um you know, did you find a job?" Or even if you did, you know, are are you at all interested in in flying over to West Milford? So, um again, it's been organized, flyers been created, and the next step is um is for us to share that out with individuals. We are also we're not doing it at a set

008time. It's going to be flexible scheduling based on the reply. So, uh we have an admin council meeting on I believe Thursday this week, right? >> So, we're going to talk that's on my agenda to discuss with our admin team. Couple of them are here tonight. So, you guys get to hear it firsthand. But the idea would be that we would um as we collect those resumes, we would, you know, at the convenience of the applicant, we would try to set up some of these interviews and we would try to divide and conquer that a little bit. My anticipation is that as much as we're able to probably going to be a lot of that supported by um by Dan and I. Um but I'm sure that our admin team is going to have some

009people who may have some direct interest based on the roles. So, we're going to try to lean on on some of our other administrators to help support some of those interviews and provide some of that feedback. So, really excited for it. It's something a little bit different, a little bit unique, um that hopefully helps us to find not only find good candidates, but also from a budgetary perspective. This is definitely right up uh Mr. Schulz's alley, but uh hopefully we can find people also lower on the guy because we're trying to we're trying to recruit people that we think are going to be strong right out of school where they'd be coming in at step one rather than someone who's been bouncing around for the past 10 or 15 years um and are coming in

010at a higher step. So that's where we're at with that. Um and then last but not least, I'm going to turn it over to Megan for our student report. >> Good evening. Here is a debrief on all things West Milford from February. Starting off with a message for the seniors on February 10th. Midyear GPA and final ranks have been updated on Naviance. Congratulations on your standings and keep up the good work. Also, be sure to check with your desired higher institutions to see if your updated information is required. If so, please contact your guidance counselor to learn how to proceed. West Milford High School celebrated the season of love with our recent spirit week. From February 10th to February 14th, we showed great school spirit and interpersonal appreciation. On Monday, we were tasked with writing

011love notes and hanging them up to create a heart wall. On Tuesday, we entered a fun scavenger hunt, seeking out various depictions of hearts. On Wednesday, we wore pink to support the theat's department's upcoming production of Mean Girls and because pink is very fetch. On Thursday, we took pictures in front of the heart wall that we created with the hashtag weheart wmhs. And on Friday, we wore as many heart themed items as possible. On February 13th, West Milford High School hosted College Panel Night, an event designed to provide our students and families with valuable insight into the college admissions process. We welcomed a panel of eight college admissions professionals, some of whom are directors or deans of admission who share their experiences and expertise. While they represented their current institutions, many have worked at multiple

012colleges and provided well-rounded advice to guide students in their college planning journey. The panel featured representatives from both New Jersey and out of state schools, covering all three NCAA divisions, ensuring that students received a broad perspective on academics, admissions, and athletics. Students and parents were encouraged to ask questions, making the event interactive and informative. This event was an excellent opportunity for our community and we are grateful to the admissions professionals who generously gave their time to support our students. We hope everyone had kept an ear out on Valentine's Day. On February 14th, the WMHs chorus went from class to class fulfilling their great amount of purchases as singing telegrams. Lovely music floated across the school all day and all students could understand how much of a powerhouse our music program truly is. After listening to

013fantastic singing, West Milford High School was able to enjoy a variety of sweet treats as the GSA club held a bake a bake sale after school in Miss Signarelli's room. This was a perfect high note to end Valentine's Day and our week of love on. Even more so, as all proceeds went to the Trevor Project, which is a great fundraiser. Now, on to some sports news. Boys basketball. West Milford High School fifth seated wins in 5545 victory against 13th seated College Archive Patterson in first round of the Payic County tournament at home on February 8th. Senior guard Cole Stillman paves the way with career-high 28 points. The boys have record of 117th. Girls basketball. West Milford High School second seated wins in 4027 victory against Pamis. Senior Laurel Space crushes the competition with 19 points,

014seven rebounds, four assists, and three steals. The girls now have a record of 133. Ice hockey. West Milford High School third seated edged out sixth seated Pramis 65 in overtime in the first round of the Big North silver cup on February 7th at the ice vault in Wayne. Kyle Gregory led the team with 21 goals and 28 assists. The boys record is 8121. Girls wrestling. The jamboree competition was hosted at West Milford High School. Girls wrestling began interest and signups starting last year and now held a tournament to show interest, break into the circuit, and give more experience to the West Milford team. 150 girls from across New Jersey wrestling was were in attendance. West Milford High School girls did very well with Jackie Sloan with the best record of 155. indoor track. Sierra Clinton

015was third in the 1,600 meter run with a time of and fifth in the 3,200 meter run with a time of 121035. Mossmo Ballastriia was third on pvault with effort of 106 and Tyler Meyer was fourth in high jump with a leap of 510. Lastly, here is a look into the future. February 21st, club photos and senior superlative picture day has been rescheduled from February 12th to this Friday, the 21st. Students, please make sure that you have properly signed up for clubs using our school registration to be allowed in the photos. Once you have done that, consult the updated schedule, dawn your proper club attire, and say cheese. Prepare your capes and notebooks. The Heroes and Cool Kids program with the great assistance of the trusted sidekicks will fly to the elementary schools for their

016second visit on building character. On the 24th, the Interact Club Cinderella Project is going to be on March 1st. Please consider helping our princesses attend the ball. On March 1st, from 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m., the Interact Club will be holding our annual Cinderella project in the lower media center of West Milford High School. We are collecting and selling gently used semiformal and formal dresses as well as donated jew jewelry, handbags, and shoes. We sell these items for the greatly discounted prices of $5 to $20 and all proceeds go to purchasing lowincome students prom bids. If you have any items that you would like to donate, we have boxes set up at the rec center, the library, West Milford High School guidance, and the Holy Faith Lutheran Church. Please consider eating at the Wendy's off

017Route 23 North in Butler from 5:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. on Tuesday, March 4th. The West Milford class of 2025, which is the senior class, is partnered with Wendy's for a dime to donate, meeting whenever someone eats from the selected restaurant in the given time period. 15% of profits go directly to the partnered club. This will assist the senior class in funding their prom. So, please do consider dining. Lastly, calling all fun lovers. The Harlem Wizards are coming to town on Saturday, March 8th, starting at 6:30 p.m. The Harlem Wizards will face off against the Highlanders starting at 6:30. It is sure to be a night full of laughs, awesome tricks. So, please grab your tickets today at https/harlemwizards.com/scheduled [Music] tickets. Thank you for your time. I look forward to updating you next month. Please

018enjoy the rest of your evening. Great. >> Wonderful as always. Thank you. I appreciate it. >> Megan, that was excellent. Uh that concludes my report. Uh I do think we are going to jump real quick to our president's report. Uh just because there's some relevant topics. >> It's about you, Megan. >> Oh. So, just in case you were going to leave before um our super assistant superintendent finished, we would just like to acknowledge and congratulate our own student representative, Megan Sniper, who recently represented West Milford High School. And I knew you probably weren't going to say this on your report um on February 7th at the regional competition for the poetry out loud where students must memorize and recite three poems. There were 17 schools represented which included public charter andmies. Megan moved on to

019become one of the finalists and we cannot be more proud of you. >> Well done Megan. [Applause] >> And that concludes my president's report. Uh assistant superintendent Mr. Novak. >> All right. We're going to have a presentation. I don't know if the um people sitting in this row want to adjust drops the >> screen. [Music] And that's probably the best idea you've had. >> I did my therapist wants to know about my relationship to work by Tiana Clark. I did standing in by Kimberly Blazer and then I did this one by Lamb. Come sit by. >> No, I want >> if that's okay. I'm everyone's [Music] All right, we're all set, I think. Um, all right. So, tonight we are um presenting something that I've been um talking about in a very, I guess, excited

020way for for quite some time. And tonight is the uh part of the big reveal for what something that we are calling um Highlander Pathways. So, I'm going to go through a series of slides, talk about what exactly Highlander Pathways are. Uh when I met with staff and um Mrs. Johnson from the guidance department when we first launched this idea with them, we used the you know I heard people earlier talking about the USA Canada hockey game. So the quote I used with the staff was great moments are born from from great opportunity. So uh that was a quote I used with the staff. It's a quote I like to um carry through our discussion for pathways because it was um you know the opportunity that we had came from um something relatively unrelated to

021pathways but it put us into the discussion of of looking at how do we organize our coursework and move towards something called the pathway. Uh that that um two things happened. one, our computer science uh teachers at the high school won the award two years ago for um having more uh female students have opportunities for taking advanced computer science courses than uh a large percentage of schools in the country. So we are very proud of that. Along with that process, we um utilized some of that credential that that we earned and we applied for a computer science grant that was offered by um New Jersey Department of Education. Uh we won that grant. In that process of of um you know organizing the grant and the types of programs that we had to do with

022that we were able to add some um add some more courses add some more opportunities for students into our existing computer science program. So at the high school we added uh cyber security that was a complement to our already um our already robust offering of computer science courses that also had AP courses as well as um computer science one and some and some programming. It also gave us the opportunity to offer computer science clubs at the uh at the middle school level. So, you know, with that uh with that grant opportunity, it gave us this ability to to look at um we now have this um singular program that complete that that offers an opportunity for a student to enter our high school, have a series of computer science courses throughout their experience at the

023high school. Um often we we talk about um sometimes we we have our um West Milford students who attend the Mackaban School and then they end up applying to or or being accepted to um high schools other than West Milford. Uh often in that discussion we um I'll use the word wine um because that's what I've done and said, "Well, we have all the same things here." Well, we do. We have so many of the same opportunities here. we just don't have them organized in a way that some of these other facilities and um and high schools high schools do. So that's the great moment that I'm talking about from that from that great opportunity is now we've put that work in. We learned the background we learned the knowhow to organize something into what

024we call Highlander pathways. College or career I'm going to read at you a little bit. a college or career pathway, a structured sequence of high school courses and experiences that prepare students for post-secary education, workforce training or specific career field. Uh so that's the step that we've taken with with the courses that we have. We've organized them in a way that provides students with a specific path, a specific um career or college pathway that can either lead them to uh success in a particular workforce or have a very competitive application for uh for a um college application and and have them stand out among their peers who are who are not going through those uh through those course those pathways. Uh so a few bullet points for what uh what makes a pathway. Uh and

025later on so I'm going to say you know the guided course selection uh when when Mrs. Johnson takes the microphone she's going to highlight the uh four pathways that we've identified for next school year and she's going to show you exactly what those um those guided course selections are and what the offerings will be for each student in every year of their high school experience at West Milford. Uh, a college and career pathway also offers dual enrollment or AP courses. Uh, if you're unfamiliar with the term, dual enrollment means that while a student takes a course here at our high school, they're also earning credits for a uh for a college uh level course. So, a student could take our um AP applied computer science here in West Milford and then also earn three college

026credits that they can apply to a um to a post-secary um opportunity, you know, when they when they earn those credits. Uh the other uh other opportunity you get from a college or career pathway is something called a uh CTE opportunity. that is uh how the state phrases the career and technical education programs that has a very very specific definition that I'll talk about a little bit later on. Uh another part of a pathway gives students opportunities to uh work with people in the field. So whether it's an internship, whether it's job shadowing, whether it is having a uh mentor from a specific field or a specific um a specific profession to come in and and be part of that coursework or that pathway, those are the opportunities that we have to provide. And then

027last but not least, uh industry uh certification. So in and for the state of New Jersey when we're talking about uh CTE college and technical education recognition the term that I'll be you'll be hearing me talk about a lot in the future is industry recognized credential. So that is what industry certification is. For example uh in our and as Mrs. Johnson's going to show you later when we highlight our computer science pathway, you will see that our students have the opportunity to earn industry recognized credentials through um through Amazon, through Microsoft, through a couple of other uh through a couple other well-known uh well-known companies in the field that a student can earn that certification through completion of our our program here uh here in West Milford. Uh just a few a few slides about

028how this how this helps our student uh student current uh current student body. Highliner pathways and CTE programs provide students industry recognized credentials, hands-on experience and uh readiness for higher education in the workforce. Uh something that is very important to us is the elevation of expectations for student rigor. Uh, one of the things that all schools have been battling since the pandemic is um widespread apathy um chronic absenteeism. You know, the the um the habit of being home and that trans transferring into students being hesitant to come to school, being hesitant to participate in extracurriculars and that sort of thing. So, uh, a lot of the research behind pathways, behind, uh, behind a, um, a CTE program or having a, a specified coursework is that it, um, encourages that, uh, desire to belong. So, on

029the on the last bullet point there, I I like the I call the C3C's uh, encourages the capable, connected, and contributing student. Um, and it and it, you know, has that same, I guess, feeling of being part of a team or a club. So, if you're accepted or part of one of our pathways, that has a very uh a very strong feeling of of club or or a teamwork type of process. Uh provides intrinsic motivation for regular and frequent attendance. All things that we're battling just like all schools in New Jersey and beyond. Um and we feel that our pathways program is going to help encourage that. Uh through our pathways, there's also a and as Mrs. Johnson's going to mention later, there's a application process that comes with it. So students have to meet

030a certain set of criteria to be accepted into these pathways and that's going to have um you know there's there's going to be value for your attendance, there's going to be value for your work habits, there's going to be value for your behavior, there's going to be value for your GPA. So those those types of things. So it uh elevates the expectation of student rigor beyond the you know regular you know what a student brings to it you know coming from coming from home uh expanding opportunities and being a you know providing competitive alternatives specialized tech schools. So earlier I mentioned that when we do uh lose a student from West Milford to a school that offers these types of programs, we now have a competitive uh we have a competitive offering. Uh that process

031we believe is going to launch this week or next week when we have our um eighth grade parent night. We are going to be presenting our pathways to eighth grade parents for acceptance into these programs for next year. And we anticipate uh before I guess probably the um November uh Thanksgiving time period next year where students would be seeking these types of opportunities where they're looking for pathways or they're looking for CT offerings. We're going to have not only the four programs that we're offering for next year, but the um an increasing uh opportunity for for more pathways in our high school and be able to present that to parents as a choice. You know, if you are looking for a culinary arts pathway, if you're looking for a computer science pathway that gives students

032a industry recognized credential that gives them opportunity to people in the field, that gives uh students dual enrollment, access to those uh access to those college credits, we're going to be able to offer that here in West Milford. So, that I believe gives us a a better competitive edge than we've had before. And this is a slide for um you know I'm going to call it a song for another time. I'm not going to get too involved in this. However, when we um take the steps for being uh identified as a school with a with an official rank for college and technical education programs. If we get certified by the state to be a CTE district, that allows me to to um fill out the application for the Perkins grant. Perkins grant is something that

033I'll talk about a lot. I could spend a whole night talking about Perkins and the opportunities that brings, but it gives us another um another avenue for bringing in more funds to the district for our programs that are not from local taxes. And uh from this point I'm gonna turn it over to Mr. Johnson. Before I turn over Mr. Sorry, before I turn Mr. Johnson, I just want to say that this has been a um a tremendous uh experience of of teamwork. The people behind this, you know, myself, Mrs. Johnson, our uh supervisors at the high school, the staff members who uh who teach these courses coming together and just really talking through all of the things that we offer um was a uh was a really, you know, I guess a really exciting experience

034to see everybody working together in that regard. Okay, so I'm going to head back to the why here because when we look at all those larger ideas, a lot of the things that you saw on the slides in general about programs, there were so many things that were possible, but we still had to come back to why are we going to do this for our students? What's the benefit to our Highlander high schoolers? So, we we talked about the fact that we want to help the highly motivated students be able to focus in on their specific areas of interest. We wanted to challenge them. We wanted them to challenge their styles. Um, we also wanted to be able to give them connected specialized courses that provided realworld hands-on experiences that would support them when they

035go on to those next steps after high school. Um, additionally, we want to make sure that we infuse 21st century skills and competencies and at the same time that we address students aptitudes andor college and career readiness goals by helping them to get through the courses in an appropriate manner. Um, additionally, and this is a big one, we wanted to give students access to the courses that they need. Sometimes some of these courses are competitive to get into, but if we want it to be part of our program, part of our pathway, then we need to ensure that the students who are on the pathway have access. Additionally, we wanted to make sure that students get that connection between scheduling their courses and picking courses and how it will support them in a specific study.

036So, it's a good practice for them to get that as they move on to the next stages. And finally, there were the credentials that we spoke about before and the certifications as well as the dual enrollment and AP opportunities for our students. So once we identified the why, then we had to um figure out how we were going to go about this. So Mr. Novak brought the concept to the content area supervisors and we talked about all the things that we just showed you and we started thinking what's the possibility and we had a rough idea of what we wanted to do. At that point I sat down with my school counselors who were really well-versed in getting the students ready for this next step the college and career counseling as well as working with

037them on scheduling from year to year. um they were able to point out some things that might be roadblocks or um give us advice for which programs would be most beneficial. They helped us with the structures. They even vetted the application. So their their input was really valuable to us making sure that this was a firm foundation. At the same time, content area supervisors spoke with the teachers who would be involved in this and ask them to dream, you know, what can we do for our students? How do we set them up for success and the next steps? And then finally, we took all of the groups, content areas, supervisors, school counselors, teachers, and we came together to develop this collaboratively. Um we had the four different pathways and in every pathway there was a

038representative from all these different groups to ensure that a we stayed on track but b we we had a goal we had a we had a focus that we wanted to accomplish within the pathway and we had a format for getting it done. So this is what became then our highlander pathways. So the what these are the pathways the first pathway is our computer science pathway that Mr. Nova already mentioned and this is what it'll look like next year for our freshman students coming in. In their freshman year, they will take computer science one and cyber security or they can take AP computer science principles within the schedule that we currently have. All right, that would total eight periods with a lunch. in their 10th grade year, they could either continue with computer science and

039take the Java course or they could take AP computer science principles if they hadn't already or the computer programming and cyber security. So, they'll have options in the order in which they'd like to take them. In their junior year, they can build upon what they've taken or add something that they hadn't taken. For example, they could um go on to Python or they could go to AP computer science ed in their senior year is where they start having room in their senior year. Technically, the only things they should need would be English PE and then we would always recommend that they continue with the math. Some students would want the science and or world language or they'll continue with the electives and the variety of electives would be anything they had not yet taken. Additionally,

040they they could consider taking CAD, animation, and video game design, or enter into the robotics program, taking robotics one and two. If they'd already taken some robotics, then they would add level three. Students could also choose to do the senior initiative. And the senior initiative is something that Mr. Novak mentioned earlier. Students would come in for a partial day. It would be four or five periods for a day. and the remainder of the day they could participate in an internship, they could do um college courses or they could do an apprenticeship. So they could do any of those things but it would be an organized planned out we have a whole application for the senior initiative process and it and it would be something that would build upon everything that they had done in the

041first three years. All right. So through this pathway the certifications are Amazon web design computer TIAS a Python certification and Google data analytics certification. Um right now for this pathway we do not have an official um dual enrollment course but we are working on that because one of our teachers has a masters and we'd be able to get her to um pull pull together that program. But we do have one of the discussions for this pathway uh through our mathematics, you know, often um higher levels of computer science work hand in hand with higher levels of mathematics. We do have a dual enrollment calculus course that could fit into this pathway. We just at this time didn't identify it as the dual enrollment for this because we're working on having a more specific I guess

042targeted for a computer science course rather than it being the the um the uh AP calculus. [Music] >> Okay. The next um pathway is the journalism and broadcasting pathway and students coming in in their freshman year would take either TV communication arts one or journalism and modern media one and then in their sophomore year they could continue with the course that they took in their freshman year moving on to the level two or they could take the opposite course that they took TV commis and modern media in their second here and those two courses really play hand in hand together. It will likely be recommended to all students that they take at least one in the other area. If they really wanted to do journalism, they would be advised to take at least one course

043in TV comm or the reverse. If they take TV comm or four years, they'd be advised to take one journalism course. In their junior year, they can expand further. they can continue in level three at the first courses or they could take art one, graphic arts one, um or or anything within the arts like you will see where the world language is. Sometimes juniors will drop the world language if they're not going to the most competitive schools. I hate that he's saying that as a world language supervisor. However, that is a possibility and then they could pick up another art elective in that manner in their senior year. again continue with journalism and TV comm. We would also recommend that they pick up marketing because that's an important skill for students in those fields to

044have and again the senior initiative is an option. The certifications would be Adobe Premiere, Adobe system certification and also inesign which is another Adobe course. And the dual enrollment options, journalism three and four are already dual enrollment courses. And broadcast news is something that we were going to be um applying for dual enrollment for as well. So by the time the students get to that point, that will be a dual enrollment course. And the last pathway is visual and graphic arts. And for the visual and graphic arts pathway, the students would start with graphic arts one or studio art. in their sophomore year. They would go to graphic arts 2 or they would begin digital art. In their junior year, graphic arts three or digital art 2. And again, with the world language, they could

045pick up one of those artisas and take two in their junior year. And in their senior year, they can branch out into the areas of interest that meet their goals. Video game design or animation, marketing, photo one and photo two, and any of the courses. not previously taken. So the certifications are Adobe Illustrator, Adobe Photoshop and Adobe Inesign. And the dual enrollment course at this point in time is digital art 2. And the final pathway is our educator preparation pathway. Students in grade nine will take philosophy and literature for their English class. Um, however, if they are in the honors program, they would can take the honors nine English class. And they will also take an art course, either studio one or basic art world crafts with an eye on the things that teachers often

046have to do within their classroom, whether it's creating bulletin boards or anything like that. It's always a good thing for a teacher to have. Grade 10, it would be an intro to behavioral science and or foundations of education. Um, that course will be in development next year. grade 11, we would suggest that students take lunch and piano. That is um a half lunch half piano course. Um we would also require them to take child development because child development is the gateway if students do well and and there's an interview process and everything else for the senior program which is tomorrow's teachers. All right. So tomorrow's teachers in the senior year is a two period course. We'd also have the students taking AP psychology. Um, we'd suggest the guitar lunch and we would also have them

047take statistics for data collection, things like that that teachers are often asked to do. The certifications would be CPR and first aid and there would also be an early childhood care certification. And the dual enrollment is tomorrow's teachers. I jump in quickly before we go to the the final slide. So although uh through the program we've identified one or two courses for dual enrollment in each pathway, those are pathway specific courses, that does not mean a student could um graduate with far beyond the amount of credits that are offered in just a pathway course. So those those are the processes that um that are going to play out with our counselors as we talk to the eighth grade parent group. If you're a student who wants to be part of a pathway and also wants

048to be, you know, on that competitive college track, you're going to be looking for uh AP opportunities in other courses. So we have we have uh 25 approved AP courses in our uh in our high school curriculum. uh we have, you know, in um you know, in all subject areas, we have the opportunity to collect. So, a student could potentially graduate West Milford High School with, you know, 25 30 college credits if they are that on that ambitious path if they're in a path pathway where they're also taking the AP bio, the you know, AP statistics and English and and those types of things. So um this is just the beginning of this discussion and it's um going to evolve over time as we as we enter kids into these pathways. >> Okay. So our

049next step um the first thing is going to be a data collection from you science. U science was a program that was brought into the middle school this year. Um it is aptitude and interest testing or I shouldn't say testing. It's modules that the students complete and via the responses on the modules it indicates the aptitudes or skills that a child possesses as well as the interests that they have expressed and it connects them to career pathways. So the school counselors at Makabanet are gathering that data and that data will be used to um encourage students who are showing an aptitude or an interest in any of the four pathways that we have developed thus far. Um the grade 8 parent scheduling presentation that Mr. Novak mentioned earlier is where we're going to unroll this

050um roll this out. Um the folders that I gave you are the types of folders that we're going to hand out that night so that every parent who attends will have all the information that they need. The brochures are individual for each pathway. There's a cover sheet or a general information sheet if they just want the the quick information. And there's also the application inside that folder. So the students and the parents can see you know what are the structures what are our expectations for students now as well as what are what are the structures as they continue within the program. Um part of that application as Mr. Novak mentioned is that we we want to see consistent academic work in Makathin. We also need to see consistent attendance because if we truly want a

051child engaged in the pathway from beginning to end, we need them focused on being in school and and doing as best they can. Um so that's part of the application. There's an essay that's part of the application. There's a teacher recommendation part of the application as well as a review of records that would be completed by the MPIN school counselor. So when a student decides to apply, those applications will be due around the beginning of April. April 4th is on the application and then those materials will come to a selection committee. There'll be a different selection committee for each of the pathways because the supervisor and the teachers who are heading up the pathway should be the people who are reviewing the materials for the applications. Um then the students who will become our first

052cohort will be notified that they've been accepted into the pathway. All right. So, as Mr. Novak said, this is a great opportunity for our students and it's something that we're hoping that like this is our beginning and we'll continue to grow it so that our kids can stay here and and gain the exposure that they need and want. Um, there is one thing I'm going to add to this that I neglected to put in there and you would see it on the application sheet. There is a requirement that students stay in the pathway for two years because we want them to have some exposure. We want them to take a couple of courses and make um an educated decision about it. If they choose to remove themselves from the pathway, the courses in the first

053and second year will often meet um a practical art and or a visual art. At the very least, they'll still be the open-ended credit that a child would need for graduation. So, there's no harm in no foul if they enter a pathway and then change their mind. All right? So that we would ask two-year commitment so that they have exposure to at least two if not three courses. All right. >> I'll let you start the question. >> I think this is fantastic and thank you so much. My only question that I have is how we're going to make sure that our special needs population um is able to um apply for the and and be accepted. I I understand the the standards and what we're looking to do. I just want to make sure that

054we're providing opportunities for all of our students. >> So, I don't I don't think our um our application process distinguishes between um gened or or special education. I think when our students meet with their um you know meet with their counselor have opportunity to you know talk to their parents that everyone can apply for the program and I think the discussion you know would would I you know when it comes to special education would go through their case manager and determine if it meets their needs. Uh what we currently have in district I think the only pathways we do currently have are for special education students. I know we we we talk an awful lot about some of our out of district placements um you know for specific career pathways. So I think we already

055do a great job with with how we are servicing our um our special education population and I don't see the pathways um diminishing that in any way. I think it only enhancing it and probably offering us more opportunity to try and keep some of that here in West Milford. So, so that's great question and you know that those are discussions that we've had Dr. Resa and I have been you know having those conversations along the way and and uh and specifically for some of those programs where you know where we see that we are sending students out of district you know how do we as we build out this program how do we um offer more opportunities for students who are you know in some of those very specialized settings to to do that here

056in here in West Mford. >> Thank you. Um I know we in the past we've talked about block schedule and I notice in the format that you've presented there are eight period days. How are you going to adjust this program to a a block schedule if that happens? So if you look on the chart, there's an open line on the bottom of almost every chart and we've over like we have several courses listed that not all students will be able to take every course as it's mapped out realistically and maintain say a world language for four years for a competitive school or things like that. If we get the opportunity to have eight academic classes in a day, we will be able to fill that easily enough. We we probably can get a little bit

057more creative with our electives. But supposing we're not going to have an 8 period day. Supposing it's going to be like an AB or BB schedule. How does this program fit into that kind of scheduling? [Music] >> So I've asked, you know, you just tell them what I've asked you to do multiple times. So, I've as I've been asking Karen to create fictitious schedules, wasting all of her time for um many months, right? And I apologize for this. Um but great question because now it's valid. Um so, she spent a lot of time like proposing what if >> what if you know what if we had a block schedule? What if we had a nine period day? How do these things look? Um, and we believe that we can do this no matter what schedule

058we put in front of our staff. This works regardless of the schedule that we have. It works better in some ways for other with other things. Um, and that's again that's a discussion for another time, but we know right now that the current 8 period day that this will work. We know that it will work in a nine period day and we know that it will work in >> the traditional block schedules that that some of our you know when our um high school committees were were looking at it and that was discussions you know that was a >> uh when I first when we first had the meeting with staff when I you know great moments are born from great opportunity everyone in in that room was like well what does this mean you

059what kind of schedule you forcing on us here and it was not really that's not what this was about this was about the pathway discussion and then how do we allow this to move forward regardless of all these other balls we have up in the air that that may or may not be undecided for next year or the year beyond. So to you know long story short is we can do this with any schedule that we uh any schedule that we offer. I put question um PCTI util utilizes people who are not certified teachers but they're experts in their fields. Will we be doing the same thing here? >> Uh so I guess it depends on what your question is asking. Are we are we asking for um people who are uncertified to teach the

060courses? No, we have to um we have to provide certified staff members to teach these courses. However, and part of that um see how far back I can click. Um part of the part of the career and technical education um um opportunity that I that I said I would describe at a later date would let me see how far I can click. Here we go. Um, hands-on experiences and internships, enhanced college applications and resumes, um, industry recognized credentials. Hold on, let me go there. Uh, work-based opportunities for internships, apprenticeships or job shadowing. So, that is where this process leads to our our students having access to people who are professionals in the field, experts in the field. So we have like I know we have um you know I've spoken personally with uh a community

061member who is dying to work with us for computer science because you know it's uh someone who had students who went through these schools. It's somebody who volunteered their time during the pandemic to do a um network engineering um you know Zoom when when our kids were home and and the schools are closed. like we have people in our community that are dying to come in and and support and to this point we haven't had an opportunity really to capitalize on it because it's more of a in you know in the current structure it's more of a like guest speaker who comes to the room which is great but in this process it creates a a structured process where they are you know scheduled with a specific task in mind for why are they meeting

062with this professional and what type of internship or apprenticeship are they are they accomplishing And that's something that I have to ensure when I apply through the state to make this a bonafide um CTE program is that we have to really, you know, identify who those people are and and what specifically are they going to be doing with our with our students. >> Thank you. >> Um this is tremendous and I'm so excited for the students in West Milford to have this opportunity. Um how many students are you anticipating in each pathway? So I don't know if you want to answer that. It's going to be um >> program specific. So it's uh so we don't we don't really anticipate um capping the certain blanket number for each each pathway. It's going to come down

063to one it's going to come down to how many applications we get for a particular pathway. You know one path could be significantly more popular than others. We really don't know until we put this out to the community. Um, but we do know, we're very cognizant of um, making sure that students who aren't part of the pathways have opportunity to take all of these electives, you know, without being part of it. So, that was going to be my followup question. >> Yeah. So, so like let's say uh, like I know seniors get priority. if they wanted to take computer science one they could but the kids in the pathway would have priority is that >> so the pathway student will have priority to these pathway courses however um that was something that was very important

064uh in our discussion you know with all of us administrators staff members everyone in the discussion because that's what makes I think what's makes West Milford who we are is that we have all of these unique opportunities comprehensive high school so when we eventually identify auto up as one of our paths, which we are going to do. Um, we still want to make sure that every kid who wants to take um auto has that opportunity without having it to without having it to be your pathway and have to take it every single year. So, we we are going to be very careful with the numbers and making sure that we don't um you know flood a particular pathway so that our students who want to have all those different opportunities can still have them. So,

065um, like I said, that's going to be one of those, you know, there, you know, got it, you can keep, you know, sorry. >> Yeah, I'll give you an example of it be because it was something we already spoke about. Um, when it comes to the tomorrow's teachers pathway, we looked at the fact that well, the educator preparation pathway, right? They go to tomorrow's teachers. That's a very small cohort of students. It has to do because they they need to match up one-on-one with the kids. And so our number is generally around 14 max 15 for that program. We can't take 15 kids into the cohort and then say if you're not in the pathway you can't participate. So that's a program that we're going to have to be careful about limiting our numbers within

066there. And that discussion comes from the applications and and from what the teacher feels um is important to her class at that point in time. Once we see how it goes, we can adjust that number. Right? in the other pathways. It it's it's not quite as limiting at this point in time, but again, it's something that we need to look at from the garden's perspective in terms of scheduling so that we don't keep anyone else out of a course that they really want to get in. >> I'm sorry. Um I may have missed something. Are you planning on instituting this pathway in September? >> Yes. >> Is it part of our budget? Yeah. >> What's that about money? >> So, you'll love this. This doesn't cost us any more money. >> We have it all.

067>> We run. Okay. >> We have it all. And um >> kind of lying a little bit. >> So, so I've been able to leverage the when I left begin with, you know, great moments, great opportunity. The computer science grant allowed us to build out the computer science part of this because there's a lot of programmable devices that are expensive that we didn't have here in district that we are now going to be able to purchase through the grant. So the grant was money that we won was 2 bill was $26,000 we >> 22 I believe. >> Okay. 20 22,000 $22,000 that we >> have to reapply for that grant every >> That was only a onetime thing. So that but we are using it for onetime expenses. So programmable devices are things that are

068going to be here and be part of our programs. It didn't cost us any money to create the uh cyber security course. We you know other than curriculum development and you know curriculum writing which was also included in the grant. Uh we just applied we submitted the application last week for the uh state's esports grant. Um and that's a conversation we'll have at another time. But a number of these pathways uh especially computer science and broadcasting broadcasting and journalism directly relate to this topic called esports and all of the different um all the different things that come from it. So we submitted a grant for the state for $50,000. So if we win it, great. If we don't win it, we'll we'll find a way. So currently in this structure, this is not going to

069cost us. We're not recommending adding staff for this. We're not recommending um anything other than um support and smiles. >> Very good. Thank you. >> Any questions? Well, Terry read my mind, but I I guess how are we how how are you going forward now? Because this is for September. How are we planning ahead with this students at McAnin? Yeah, there there's going to be some information. There's going to be an information night and >> yes, the the last slide talked a little bit about some of our next steps. So, um is it Monday night? What's the date on Monday? >> Monday the 24th. Monday the 24th, uh we are going to have our eighth grade parent night. That is going to be our opportunity to reveal this to the eighth grade parents and share

070this uh share this with everybody who's looking to schedule for next year. Every parent is going to get a folder like you're holding. Uh we see this as also being part of the new when we transition to the new website that we are going to have a very um um very vivid and centralized view for what these what these programs are. We're going to have a pathways link on our homepage so that you can scroll down and click click pathways and then see all these things that we have be able to see. I go back to what we just showed. You'll be able to see on one page on the website this. So, if I'm if I'm a um if I'm a parent and student who's interested in teaching as a profession, well, I get

071to look at this as an eighth grade parent and see, well, okay, if I want to if I want to pursue teaching at in a college uh college um program, then this is going to help prepare me to be a very um a very viable candidate at for that uh for that next level. We're going to um provide certifications, CPR, first aid, the early childhood care certification. One thing I didn't mention, and I don't think they want me to mention it, but I'm going to do it anyway. Um if you are a student who turns 18 in your senior year and and you've been one of those students who are on course for um you know that that high academic process and you earn a certain amount of credit, dual enrollment credits as a high

072school student, you can get your substitute certificate at the end of this program. if you are if you're 18 and you've completed a certain amount of credits and you know the state keeps changing that right now it's 30 um and we're going to have those opportunities for people to earn those credits. So how cool is that that we can have our seniors >> to go on and do that. It's probably you know it sounds great. It's probably very small percentage of kids who will be able to earn that many credits at this point in time in our in our current structure but that would be a that would be a great thing. But yes, so going back to your question, every eighth grade parent is going to have this view of what these pathways mean,

073what our students are going to predict their classes will be, what certificates we expect them to come out of high school with, what college credits they'll come out with. So, it's a um I think it's very different than what we've been able to do in the past. We've always talked about our dual enrollments. We've always talked about our our AP classes, our honors opportunities, but this is to be able to to show a, you know, to give that four-year view down the road. You know, what will it look like if you graduate from the West Milford High School having been part of one of these pathways or or um you know, CTE programs. Uh and that pro that discussion is only going to it's only going to grow. So this year we're we're going to

074we'll be presenting it to you know eighth grade parents and beyond. Um we had a great discussion today during our PD day with um you know all the people involved in esports production um um broadcasting, computer science, robotics, etc. about what we're doing this year for digital citizenship night and how we're going to invite a much larger audience and we're going to show you know a number of our pathways in that type of event. So the more we the more we bring this discussion down to our fifth, sixth, and seventh grade parents when they get to eighth grade, this isn't a surprise. You know, this year it's a surprise. We've never done it before. Um we anticipate that not this coming September, but we think it'll be successful this coming September. We believe that in

075the following year that we'll be able to come here and say that we've been able to keep more we've been able to keep more West Milford students here because of these programs than we have in the past. because now here's an offering that we can align it side by side with what other places offer and here's this here's the industry recognized credential here's the dual enrollments here's the um apprenticeship with a professional that you can expect here here in West Milford so um the advertising is going to just be you know onslaught website school messenger parent events uh community engagement events that were funded by um grants not local. So, >> so you'll be able to give us not publicly maybe, but some kind of feedback after Monday night what how it was received to

076the parents because that would probably help us a lot to know >> like the interest and how how it's I I'm very excited about it. I think this is a great program that looking at it that I see what this is a very limited number of students that we're talking about. So my just concern is when I look and see no elective for for you know like that like no band you know what I'm trying and again this is a very focused group of students that are are are looking for something else and I get it. So that that that's my only concern. As of as of now you have these these three pathways >> four sorry four pathways and you are looking forward to additional you mentioned auto auto shop and things like that

077more traditional are they going to roll out this first year as well are they going to be down >> so for September it's just going to be these four um you know we wanted to start in a I guess in a tangible way with you know the programs that we identified as having most of the components in place that we need because I'm also, you know, I'm also interested in in being able to apply for that um that Perkins grant opportunity. So, these programs are the ones we identified as being able to meet the criteria for a official CTE program this year with the process that we're following with the coursework that we have. Um and then going forward we'll you know we learn from that process and then we and then we build out

078like we all know that autoshop and our uh you know we call them our technology education courses they used to be called our industrial our industrial arts courses that's a huge opportunity for us to provide you know those you know CTE offerings and coming back to Mrs. Mark's question about, you know, making sure that our our special education population is is taken care of in that as well. Like that's traditionally some of the types of programs where we're sending students out of district for. So, the sooner that we can turn our um technology ed courses into a CTE pathway, the better it is for for all of our students, not just this student who might be looking for the advanced computer science um avenue. So, with that being said, when when we have students who

079are going to other high schools, um are the programs that they're going to other high schools for um driving the pathways that we're doing? So, in other words, when we have x amount of kids who are going to PCTI, are are we looking at what programs they're they're being accepted into? what they're what programs they're applying to at PCTI and letting that drive our pathways to keep them in district. I I just I'm trying to figure out how >> it's a great it's a great question. I believe Sorry if you want to jump in. I'll just try and answer it and then you you go ahead. I'm hopping. So, um that is one thing that over the past couple of years I've been looking at um because we we do keep a list of students

080who decide to go and it's an odd thing. Every year it tends to change, right? Some years it is really the high academic programs and other years it's more technical in nature. Students going for the auto shop or the wood shop or the you know the the welding things like that. So it it kind of does this and changes, you know, like you can't predict that it's always one type of program. It changes year to year, >> but you're looking at the averages, right? Because just just for an example, if we have a ton of kids um applying to the construction technology program at PCTI, for example, which tends to be a very popular program of kids from our district going there. um are are we looking at I realize that it changes from year

081to year but how are we tracking it and looking at averages to make sure that we're we're creating these pathways to keep them in district. So you can answer that part in a minute. But the first first part of your question was what how did we select? So very very simply we selected these programs based on the certificates of the people that we have in place and the offerings that we have that are we believe to be the most complete. So, we have work to do in other pathways to be able to get there and to be able to challenge some of those higher, you know, some of those more popular um more more popular programs in in other places. We started with where our um in-house capacity and our in-house expertise is and and

082that's where we where we started. Uh and I think, you know, in in this um past couple years, we've talked about you know, docu Dr. Kiss's done a lot of work with trying to fill difficult to fill positions. We've had some issues with some of our building trades types courses and and the staff members that we've been trying to get. So, we have we have the pieces in place now. It's just a matter of um being able to capitalize on on those going forward. So, very simply, we started with what we had and we look to build on that going out. And that's where that's where the data that um Karen Johnson and team will, you know, where where that will play in Yeah, and I would add simply too that we did also look

083at a lot of other districts and their programs and what did they offer and what was included in those programs so that we could make sure that we were competitive if not a little bit ahead of the game on that and and the AP not the AP the dual enrollment was an important piece um but most schools want the teacher to have a master's so that's where it becomes tricky and auto for example um When Colleen Weiss, not just a year, she had an agreement with the State County Community College for Otto, but then when we we didn't get the paperwork, we went back. So many people have changed there that no one was willing to say, well, yeah, we can see an email where you had the agreement, but now you still don't have

084it. So, we need to get that back up and running, but we we knew that there were certain ones we could get in place right now. [Music] All right. Uh, we'll be filling you in as we go. A lot more to hear about this and then we'll report out on how um how the eighth grade parent par night went forward. >> Thank you. Great. >> Thank you, Mr. Johnson. >> Thank you. [Applause] Sorry. >> Just got to make sure that you go first. Next time, last year I was like 9:30. >> Next year, Bill I'll earark it. Please put me first. >> No. Absolutely not. You're going to sit here and you're gonna enjoy it. >> If I could just speak real quick, I I want to again thank Dan for all the effort that

085he put into this. I mean, this was something that really this conversation just started a couple months ago and Dan put a lot of effort into um you know moving in this direction in a very short period of time. And then um I don't know where she left the room already, but but Karen Johnson, she is such a workhorse with these things. cuz I don't get many opportunities to uh to really praise her. We get plenty of opportunities to talk about how great uh Dan is and all the efforts that he puts in. But I think that that uh you know Karen was was not the trigger for this, right? Dan brings this forward and says this is something we want to do. And you can see the amount of time that she's put into

086just jumping right on that and and it just speaks to what a team player she is and all the effort that she um that she puts in. So, um, really really a lot has gone into this and and it's it's really something that's very exciting. >> Take enough of your time. Thank you. >> Thank you. >> Should say thank everyone else though too. >> Thank you, Mr. Novak. >> Thanks, John. >> I mean, this the supervisors and the staff and and >> um you know, the admin team at the high school that that that meeting we had was uh and I forget who was in the office. Like I came back like, "Wow, that's I may have talked to you. I may have said to, you know, wow, that was one of the best meetings

087I've ever had, you know, in my time here. And it was just everybody was all in on on this discussion, asking great questions, and, you know, and looking to really move everything forward. So, it was one of those real real fun, exciting moments. Sorry. >> Oh, great presentation. Thank you. >> Very good. Very nice. >> And special reports and correspondence, Mr. Schultz. Uh we have uh Matt Wilcox from Wilcox & Company who's now an expert on the CTE program. He's here. He's here to present us on our audit that just completed for a year that is 6:30. >> Mine's only 43 minutes, not 45 minutes. >> You like the microphone? >> I will say that uh Can you hear me? high school has changed a lot in the last 20 years. It seems like a

088really cool uh cool program. And and something I just wanted to to go on with that is is the more you have programs like this, the more attractive of a grantee you become. And you'd be surprised how many grants are out there that you don't know about. And if you get creative, these programs can actually have you bring in more money rather than going against the budget and cost you money. So, >> good job. >> Yeah. Very, very cool. So, my name is Matt Wilcott. I am the board auditor. Um just wanted to say thank you for the opportunity. Thank you to the superintendent uh Mr. Schultz, the entire administrative staff. Um if I could turn your attention uh to the last page in the small book, that will be the finding and recommendations and

089you will see there are none. So that pretty much sums that one up. Um, yeah, but in reality, uh, my firm does a very, very, very detailed audit. I have been to about 12 of these so far this year. I think you're the second district that hasn't had any comments. And, uh, that's really not the norm. Uh, so I think we, uh, you know, be very happy that Mr. Schultz and his team, you guys are in good hands. Um, so other than that, from a compliance standpoint, >> I know one of the board members likes to ask some questions about excess holes. >> So, so listen, you know, there's a schedule in the audit called the C1. Uh, it basically is a budget to actual. The district did have a good year. We did uh

090fund balance did go down. Our reserves did go down and our excess surplus went down. But that is what those things are there for, right? We transferred a lot of money. uh we did spend some money in in capital reserve. We spent some money in uh required maintenance and I'm assuming that we are going to replenish those uh throughout the year and towards year end. But the reality of those balances are they're there to be used, right? We reserve money in case something comes up and I'm sure something did come up which is why we spent $856,000 this year and 150 out of out of here. And and really that's what those reserves are for. But I will say in in relation to your fund balance, your reserves are still very healthy, which is great.

091Um, as far as the excess surplus, it did go down from last year, but in a perfect world, right, we wouldn't have any excess surplus. Our budgets, revenues would equal our expenditures and and there wouldn't be any need for excess surplus. So what excess surplus is is there's a calculation based on a state law that says we're not supposed to have more than 2% of surplus because then in theory we are taking too much money to run our operations. Um I believe the excess surplus this year was 3.1 million uh that we use in the following year as budgeted revenue when last year it was 3.4. Um so still you know we're generating a lot of surplus a good amount. We have a healthy fund balance, which is really what's most important. And we have

092monies on hand just in case something happens, right? We have the ability to fix something if we have to, you know, fix an Hback or, you know, fix a roof panel or do something like that. Uh so, so I think you're in good hands. It seems that we had a good operating year and um yeah, the results were strong. So that's really all I have for my presentation. Uh no comments, strong financial position. Um, that's that's really the point I wanted to get across. Are there any questions? [Music] >> Thank you. And sorry we didn't have you go first. >> Surprise. >> All right. Nice. >> You made earn your money. >> Yeah. Yeah. >> Thank you. >> I'm not charging hourly for >> All right. Well, see you next year. >> Thank you very

093much. Thank you. Have a great day. Clear. I I just want to comment on and say congratulations to Billy and his team. Having no comments is amazing. Through the years there has always been one or two maybe three. To have two you to to have no comments again is just great and I think you kudos to you and also to the team in the in the board office. I want to say thank you. I know that the auditors are with us and I'm sure they left today and they'll be back in five weeks. They'll be back before we know it. >> So, you know, I I but you need to let you need to let everyone in the board office know that we are very thankful for what they do. >> Yeah. And I look

094>> hard work because it is hard work. >> I like to thank everyone in the board office, everyone even in schools to student activities, uh Derek's department, they look at IEPS, transportation, pretty much every department is in that audit. It's really comprehensive. So whole district's involved and everyone really worked hard on it. So I was really happy to find out we had no comments. >> Mr. Schultz's background as an auditor is really invaluable in a situation like this because he knows exactly what it is we're supposed to be doing and exactly what questions they're going to have cuz he lived this on the other side. So I know he talked about it at committee, but I I just want to echo it really is a a very big deal. District this size always has some

095sort of finding even if it's something very relatively minor. So to have nothing, it just shows um he's doing everything in his power to make sure we are fully above board. We are in compliance. So it it excellent job. >> Yes. >> Thank you. >> Oh, I saved it for you guys. you waited for. >> So, realistically, uh, when I was first on the board, you get this book and you're like, "What the heck do I really do with it?" Um, and there are several pages that I like to draw everybody's attention to in case you're not staying up late looking at this thing. Um, pages two through the beginning of four up to point number four, internal uh, accounting controls. Aside from point number four, which is just, you know, anformational section that's just

096generalized, one, two, and three really give a nice outlook on uh key points for our district such as our enrollment. The economic condition gives you a nice outlook of what the town is and uh where it's going basically the census data and what track we're headed in. and then the major initiatives of the district which I'm sure Mr. Schultz and his team had to put together for this. Uh it really gives a nice outlook as to what our major goals are. Uh if we turn to page 100, we have the roof bond. That way you're familiar with right exactly what we did that. So when we look at that, we can see that we have debt that's retiring in 2029 for this. And at the time, we got a great rate of 2%. So kudos

097to Miss Francisco at the time for arranging that and moving forward with the board team that really was encouraging of taking that route and saving the district money in return by getting funding back from the state in order to support that. And that's important to look at because in the future when that debt expires, there are other things that we're going to engage in as a board and we have to consider that down the line. Uh 101 is a similar page with leases that we have and we can see that some of our leases, especially for buses that we're acquiring nowadays, have a 7% and up uh interest rate. And that is definitely something that we need to take notice of if we continue down the lease purchase route. Uh 111 is the corporate sponsors

098page, we'll call it, of the highest taxpayers in uh the township. And it's something that I think is important to just kind of recognize that these principal taxpayers are the biggest reason. Of course, our general tax base is a huge part of it, but these larger business type of uh taxpayers and ratables are significant to what support the district. So, when we do raise the tax levy for the general residential tax base, those commercial tax bases are getting hit at an even larger rate. So, it's always something to be cognizant of. >> And that was it. for my little spiel for this year till next year. Right. >> Thank you, Mrs. Mr. Schultz. Y continuing. Right. >> I also have the uh the minutes for the January 21st, 2025 workshop, ethics special action meeting and

099the January 28th uh budget regular meeting and the January 28th executive session minutes. I move to approve the January 21st workshop and ethics special action meeting, January 28th budget regular meeting, and January 28th executive session meeting minutes. >> Any discussion? >> Uh, yes. >> Um, I have to abstain from January 21st. I was not here. >> Okay. Okay. >> We missed you. >> I know you did. I can tell. Okay. All those in favor. Any >> opposed? Vote. >> Thank you, Mr. Schultz. >> You're welcome. >> All right. I did my president's report already with uh Megan. So, public comments. Is there anyone wishing to speak? >> Move to close public comments. >> A second. >> All those in favor? >> Any opposed? Okay. >> Any changes to the agenda, Dr. Kitchen? >> Uh, so

100the agenda as it is listed in front of you should be accurate. There is something on 16 uh which was a um uh an acceptance of a um uh separation agreement. Uh that has been removed from the agenda. If it's still visible on your page, if you refresh, it won't be anymore. So, uh, that has been taken off the agenda for a vote. The reason it's been taken off is we don't have a signed agreement yet, so we can't vote on it. >> Good reason. >> Okay. Could I have a motion to adopt the agenda? >> I move to adopt the agenda. >> Second. >> All those in favor? >> I. >> Any opposed? Uh, education, Mrs. Stovich. >> I'd like to move items 12.2 to 12.6 Six under education. >> Second. >> Any discussion?

101>> I think it would be appropriate to read the music in our schools and youth art month resolutions. So for music in our schools month resolution the proclamation is whereas the study of music contributes to young people's development through heightened skills in listening reading self-expression and creativity and whereas music education in the schools includes a broad range of types of music and active musical experiences. And whereas music and the other arts significantly enhance the morale and quality of the school environment. hand. Whereas it is stated objective, it is the stated objective of the public school to prepare children for a productive role in our society. And whereas the National Association of Music Education has designated March as music in our schools month focusing on the theme unity through arts. Now therefore, be it resolved that

102the board of education of West Milford Township endorses the observance of music in our schools month as an opportunity to support the purposes and practices of music education and encourages teachers, parents, students, and all citizens to participate. The board of education of the West Milford School District for its own part rededicates itself to the maintenance of a music education program that will be relevant to the needs of the children placed in its care and will reach and positively influence each child and that this resolution be spread upon the minutes of the public meeting of the West Milford Board of Education held on February 18th, 2025. And obviously that's a huge part of what makes West Milford West Milford. So it is very encouraging that each and every year we once again recontribute ourselves to that

103purpose. And then youth art month whereas art education contributes powerful educational benefits to all elementary and secondary school students including the following. Art education develops students creative problem solving and critical thinking skills abilities. Our education teaches sensitivity to beauty, order, and other expressive qualities. Our education gives students a deeper understanding of world cultures, values, and beliefs. Our education reinforces and brings to life what students learn in other subjects. And our education integrates student learning in art production, art history, art criticism, and aesthetics, philosophy. And whereas our national leaders have acknowledged the necessity of including arts experiences in all students education. Therefore, be it resolved that support should be given to art educators as they attempt to strengthen art education in their schools and communities. Now therefore, it is proclaimed that March be observed as Youth

104Art Month, focusing on the theme unity through arts in the schools of the West Milford Township School District, and that this resolution be spread upon the minutes of the public meeting of the West Milford Board of Education held on February 18th, 2025. And those are my comments. >> Thank you, Mr. Dovich. Any discussion? Okay, seeing none. Roll call, please. Mr. Schultz. >> Mr. Stovich? >> Yes. >> Mrs. Dwire? >> Yes. >> Mr. Lippy? >> Yes. >> Mrs. Lockwood? >> Yes. >> Mrs. Markquart? >> Yes. >> Mr. Rakana? >> Yes. >> Mrs. Van Dyke? >> Yes. >> And 12.7 will be after executive session. >> Oh, we actually >> Yeah. last month. That was Yes, that's that's in there. It should be >> It's in there. >> Yeah. >> I need a motion to >> Okay.

105No further discussion in the executive session for it. >> Not for these. This is what we discussed last month. So, then we vote on it this month. >> Great. So, I move item 12.7 under education. >> So, we already um did >> you did you move it? You didn't. That's why I'm doing it. Okay. Thank you. >> Thank you for the second. >> Any discussion, which there shouldn't be any. So, roll call, please. >> Sure. >> Mr. Stovich? >> Yes. >> Mr. Dwire? >> Yes. >> Mr. Lippy? >> Yes. >> Mr. Lockwood? >> Yes. >> Mrs. Markart? >> Yes. >> Mr. Roano? >> Yes. >> Mrs. Van Dyke? >> Yes. >> Okay. There are no hand carries for education. So we can move on to personnel. This is I'd like to move items 141 through

1061426 under personnel. >> Second. >> Any discussion? Uh well I first just want to make a comment on the retirement that is on um the agenda. Um I would like to make you all aware that Mrs. Gabrielle has given 25 years of service to the West Milford School District. Congratulations on your upcoming retirement and we wish you all the best in your next chapter. >> I just have a question. >> Yes. >> Is with the agenda now there were supposed to be motions where where we're supposed to abstain and supposed to automatically be doing that. Is that happening yet or because we have to be aware >> opposite finance, right? >> Yes. So so that's an opposite finance. Um, so it's for the routine items, >> but not for the other. >> Okay. Thank you.

107>> Any other discussion? M. >> I'd just like to make a comment that looking at this agenda on this particular section that we're in. Um, math night, math night, nursing night, uh, medicine night. That's fantastic. So, I know Ben, you spearhead a lot of that. These are very popular, but >> yeah, it's cool. Sorry. Got to show you that. and mostly grant funed. >> Even better. I like that even more. Look at Terry for that one. Now, if I could do what Terry's saying to say. I got another question here real quick. Just out of curiosity, when we hire substitutes and uh substitute teacher, substitute a substitute, whatever the the process to find these, you mentioned earlier, Dan, that there's a a minimum number of credits they need in the college credits. It's like if

108I was a let's say a sophomore in high school or college and I had >> 30 credits and I was over 80. >> Yeah. >> They adjust. Now, >> are we grabbing these kids just because they're available and they're they're willing to do it or they go through obviously they go through some sort of process. >> So, so you have to become uh county subcertified. Um and then once you have that certification, you can apply to be a sub in our district. Uh they do then go through an interview with one of our administrators to determine if they're an appropriate fit for our school. Um, and if there's a need, right, if we don't have a need, theoretically, we wouldn't be bringing in more subs, although we're pretty much always looking for subs. So, we

109want to make sure that we are um, you know, bring in the right people to uh to put in front of our students. Um, so there, you know, there's a wide variety of of reasons that we might feel someone wasn't an appropriate fit, but for the most part, you know, we're going through this an interview process as we ordinarily would. Um, and because those are as needed positions, um, having more subs isn't necessarily costing more money because we're just filling the the positions that we need to, um, to go through. So, again, it used to be 60 college credits. Um, schools were having more and more trouble, especially during the pandemic, filling those roles, so it was reduced to 30. Um, so while that's not necessarily a focus of the Highlander pathway, it's an added

110bonus that that when you are a future educator for you to be able to take that step cuz often future educators are choosing to um to begin substitute teaching because it gets them some of those um some of that experience in the classroom that they'd be seeking out to build their resume. we just happen to be able to offer the opportunity to people to gain all of your prerequisite skills um to get that certification during that pathway. So, uh that's an exciting added bonus. Wasn't necessarily the focus, but it's an added bonus to that. >> Thank you. >> Any other discussion? >> Seeing none. Roll call, please. Mr. Schultz. >> Mr. Stovich. >> Yes. >> Mr. Dwire. >> Yes. Mr. Lippy, >> yes. >> Mr. Lockwood, >> yes. >> Mr. Markwart, >> I abstain from

11114.20 and yes to the rest. >> Mr. Rakana, >> yes. >> And Mr. Van Dyke, >> I abstain from 14.20 and yes to the >> Thank you. >> And we have no hand carriers for personnel. So, operations and finance, Mr. Lip. like to move for your consideration. Excuse me. Operations finance 161 through 1610. >> Second. >> Any discussion? >> Uh here you'll note for a 16.5 now for payroll the recommended extensions are Mrs. Markwart and Mrs. Van Dyke. >> If you refresh it will that was the because they removed what that was where the settlement was. So if you refresh that'll be there back up there. Bring it out. Okay, >> I help. >> Thank you, Mr. >> Just letting you all know. >> Any other discussion? >> Seeing none. Roll call, please. Mr. Schultz.

112>> I'm sorry. Who made the second on that? I'm just trying to get caught up on here. >> Well, thank you. Thank you very much. >> Thank you. All right. Mr. Stovich, >> yes. >> Mrs. Dwire, >> yes. >> Mr. Lippy, >> yes. >> Mrs. Lockwood, >> yes. >> Mr. Mark, >> so I abstain from 16.5 and yes to the rest. >> Mrs. Rico, >> yes. >> Mrs. Van Dyke. >> Okay. I abstain on 16.5 and yes to the rest. >> And and I think >> Do I not have to do that anymore? Well, I think you could just say with with recommended abstensions because the recommended abstensions are in you don't even have to specify and and to speak to that because you had the question. >> Um all of the routine abstensions will

113be in there. So you can just say yes with abstensions. Um the ones that are more specific to an individual, we don't we don't want the board office to have to go identify all those because some will get missed. So, it's the routine ones like the payroll or in the spring when it's contracts, things like that, there will be recommended abstensions. Um, and then you can just say yes with abstensions and then the recommended abstensions. >> I just want to make sure we're doing the right thing. >> Yep. Absolutely. Absolutely. >> Thank you, Dr. Kitchen. And there are no hand carries for ops and finance. So, policy, Mrs. Mark, >> I would like to make a motion to move items two and three under policy. All the numbering changed after we refreshed. There's no points

114now in >> second. >> Any discussion? >> Yes, Mrs. Tobage. >> I'd like to thank Dr. Resza for raising the uh policy 5350 to the committee's attention. Um the title being student suicide prevention. This is something that uh is obviously very serious and during the times of a youth life precious moments uh require a lot of hands-on uh work at the moment of a crisis. So uh strengthening that policy and bringing more to that regulation as well was really important. So thank you. >> Thank you Mrs. Anyone else? I just wanted to say thank you to the staff that took the time. We we participated in a number of events, professional development throughout the course of the year, did a lot of research. So, I want to recognize the staff that also contributed to the

115to the movement to to update this policy. So, thank you and thank them. >> Any other discussion? Seeing none, roll call, please. Mr. Sh. >> Mr. Stovich? >> Yes. >> Mr. Dwire? >> Yes. >> Mr. Lippy? >> Yes. >> Mrs. Lockwood? >> Yes. Mrs. Markwart, >> yes. >> Mrs. Rico, >> yes. >> Mrs. Van Dyke, >> yes. >> Okay, we have no hand carries um for policy. So, um committee reports, parks and wreck, Mrs. Dwire, and Mr. Corino. Oh, actually, you wanted to There was something else on there, right? >> Yeah. If you if we can skip ahead to old business real quick, I'll just cuz I wanted to just discuss this. So I might as well do it before we give the reports. >> Um so on old business you'll see we've just got

116the discussion of these committee liaison reports. I know we've spoken about the way we plan to do these going forward and you should have all now received a uh screencast video from me in last week's update that demonstrated for you how to go put that information in. We haven't shifted to it yet. You just have access to know what it's going to look like starting in the March meeting. we won't have to go through report by report. Um, >> so I'm just gonna stop you right there to get you because we didn't get an update last week. >> It was from it was it was the update from not not Friday, from from the week prior. >> Yeah. And it came and it came in an email to each of you. There's a video that

117you received that's a screencast video that shows you how to navigate the um it showed how to navigate the committees in board docs and it also demonstrated how to access and edit anything in the committee liaison reports. So um while we haven't shifted to that yet the um you now have the information available to you to go back and reference on how you would enter your reports. Um we didn't want to do that right out of the gate with the very first meeting after you got the info just in case people have any issues. Um but the um but again for the next meeting these committee liazison reports will go in through board docs and then we'll get attached to the agenda. Um so if anybody has any questions again view the video. If you

118have any questions after you view the video you can just reach out to me and I'll help walk you through it. I voted it to you. >> Okay. >> Thank you, Dr. Gun. >> So, back to committee reports, parks and wrecks. Mrs. Dwer and Mr. Corino, there will be a meeting Thursday night. >> Thank you, Mrs. Dwer. Safety. Mrs. Rakano. Mrs. Dw. >> Um, our next meeting is in March. >> Tara, do we have a date? >> I'll get it to you. Thank you. Superintendent round table, Mrs. Van Djk and Mrs. Rakano. >> Uh we had our meeting on 213. Um some items raised by the um group. Uh they were wondering how um feedback about shifting the elementary school conferences to January went. um survey that went to staff um was about 50/50 feedback

119on whether to keep them in January or um change them to another time. And then a survey will be going out to parents for feedback and once all of the responses are um reviewed, a decision will be made on what's um going to happen moving forward. Um the group was wondering um if there is a police presence at all schools and if not could there be. Um Dr. Kiten um informed them that we have one SRO um in district. They are stationed here um on the main campus with the high school, middle school, Highlander Academy, the board office transportation. Um however um um after we had the state police do the tour, they said we're absolutely in compliance. Um they offered some suggestions on security, but overall as a district, we are um happy with

120the procedures we have in place. Um >> and we have a strong police presence at the buildings. They spend a fair amount of time at the buildings. there just not there just isn't an SRO for each building cuz that runs through the police department. >> Um they had a question about vacant positions. Um specifically the Makipin STEM teacher and high school chemistry teacher. Um the STEM teacher is going to be filled by um someone who is already um substituting in Makipin through swing. um they're certified to teach STEM and they'll be teaching STEM um at Makipin with the guidance of Dr. Bzer um and support. Um there are interviews for the chemistry replacement occurring and hopefully we have someone consistent in the position until we find a permanent um solution. And then um lastly asked

121about the uh retirement of the high school media specialist. um interviews are ongoing um for a replacement and um the district is still trying to figure out what that position is going to be moving forward. Um we followed up about the lice policy which Dr. Kiten gave us an indepth um last month he gave us an in-depth um resolution to that where basically um we are doing what we should be doing and we can't give out any further information. Um, and that is all. >> Thank you, Mrs. Fano. Um, Pay County School Boards Association, myself and Mrs. Van Dyke, I do have I >> Well, I just want I just want to mention that the Unsung Heroes Awards are coming up on March 10th. Yep. >> And that's going to be held at Manchester Regional

122High School. I will be attending. I I I encourage others to come because it's a great night. Mrs. Lockwood and I did it last year. >> Um I think were were you there too, Dan, last year? And so was Matt from the high school and Lambert. Yeah. >> And Mrs. and Mrs. Lambert. And I do think it's a great night to be out to see, you know, these are these are a lot of students who normally don't get recognized. And I it was a it was a really it was a great night. And I think I encourage any of you I think since it is an awards thing I think we can attend >> and we have a I I got a pretty good response not just from the board but also from um individuals

123at the high school connected to them. So we we should have good representation at the event. >> Perfect. So I wanted to just mention that. >> Thank you Mrs. Vand. That's exactly what I was going to say also. So >> uh New Jersey School Boards Association Mr. Srovich myself. There's no report for that. Uh there are webinars that are on the website and ongoing and some are based on budgeting. So it's well worth watching those types of things and bleeding into legislative. There's just hopes and dreams at the moment in legisl technology oversight. Mrs. Marqu and Mr. Lip, >> nothing but love to have something. >> Yeah. >> Township board of education joint committee. Any update? Uh Mr. Schultz? >> Uh the update I have is uh Mr. Glenn and I met with Field Turf

124last week and I'm working with the township to get a D. I'll probably talk to everyone after the meeting on the committee to try to get a date that we could all get together. >> Okay, sounds good. Thank you. Um, municipal alliance, Mrs. Van Dyke, >> I was not able to attend the municipal alliance because we had changed our committee midnight uh this past week. However, I I think you all received an email from Mrs. O'Brien about um raising resilient youth in challenging times which co coincides with your suicide prevention which is a great uh great pamphlet that's going it's go it's going to happen on Wednesday February um 26th at um and there's a sign on for everybody. I would encourage if any, you know, if any of you could give it out, it

125would be great because I I do know that they I feel like they did this one other time like maybe last year and it was a very wellreceived webinar. So I encourage especially in these times. Okay. >> Thank you. Mrs. Van Dyke, Special Education Parent Advisory Committee, Mrs. Mcquad. >> So our next meeting is March 12th at 7 p.m. Uh and it will be held at Ashawa Elementary School. The tour continues. >> Yes, we are. We are touring all throughout West Milford. >> Thank you. Okay. Old business. Um I know we spoke about the committee reports that are on there. Um any other old business? >> Move to close old business. >> Second. >> All those in favor? >> Any opposed? >> New business. >> Any new business? >> Yes, Mr. Tobin. It'll be a

126quick blur, but I went on about the audit. Now to the budget books, >> there is something that I do recommend that we take into consideration and that's the memorandum by our business administrator. Um, each and every year we get a budget book that's in it by the business administrator and once you read it, read it again because it has a really great outlook and case as to how the administration is budgeting and it's very crucial for our discussions coming up. That's it. >> Thank you, Mrs. Stovich. Any other new business? Move to close new business. Second. >> All those in favor. >> Any opposed? >> Public comments. Anyone wishing to speak. >> Move to close public comment. >> Second. >> And all those in favor? >> I. >> Any opposed? >> Executive session. >>

127No action afterwards. 20 minutes. You only have petition. going to be a little >> Are we going to adjourn? >> We're going to make >> at 8:49 p.m. I move to go into executive session um for the purpose of discussing personnel appointments, resignations, current litigation matters, special education matters, negotiations, and matters of attorney client privilege. The executive session minutes will not be released until such time as the privilege or confidentiality is no longer applicable. The board will be in executive session for approximately 20 minutes. Um action will not be taken and we will adjourn from executive session. Second. >> All those in favor? >> Any opposed? Thank you. We will be adjourning from exec.