HVRSD Board of Education General Meeting January 12th, 2026

001Welcome everyone. I'm calling the meeting to order. We have a roll call. >> Miss Carter >> here. Let's see. Mr. Kapadia. here. >> Dr. Lillon >> here. >> Mr. Peters >> present. >> Dr. Resnik >> here. >> Mr. Slottman >> here. >> Dr. Stilliano >> here. >> Miss Williams Galliano >> here. >> We have a quorum. >> Wonderful. Thank you. The New Jersey Open Public Meetings Law was enacted to ensure the right of the public to have advanced notice of and to attend the meetings of public bodies at which any business affecting their interest is discussed or acted upon. In accordance with the provisions of the act, the Hopewell Valley Regional Board of Education has caused notice of this meeting to be published by having the date, time, and place thereof communicated to the Hopewell

002Valley News and the Times on January 6, 2026. This meeting notice was also sent to Comcast Cable and Verizon Bios. The board reserves the right to enter into executive session during all meetings of the board of education. The meeting is being recorded for the purpose of board review, future reference, preparation of the minutes, and viewing on YouTube bulldog TV and the school district website www.hvrsd.org. Members of the public who intend to participate in public comment, we invite you to sign in prior to speaking. This will assist us with our recordeping. With that, please join me in the flag salute of the United States of America and to the stands. One nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. >> Um, I would request a first and second to approve the minutes of December

00315th, 2025 regular meeting. >> Second. >> All in favor? I >> any opposed or abstaining? Seeing none, the minutes are passed. Uh we are not um we do not have our student rep this evening. We had her at the last meeting. So, we'll move right into recognition. So, I would like to invite Principal Riley up. Um, I don't know if you all are aware, but January is board member recognition month and we can go on to New Jersey school boards and I can download something that's been preprinted and the governor signed and everybody just prints it and gives it to you and read it and bore everyone to tears or I can give you a proper thank you from our students. So, Principal Riley, I'm going to pass it to you. Thank you so much

004for having me this evening. And on behalf of the HVAS, I'd like to thank each and every one of you for everything that you do to support us as administrators every day. We really do sincerely appreciate it. Um, however, thanks from us, as Dr. Trice said, isn't really as significant as thanks from the people that you do the most for. And so, we wanted to take a moment and have some of our students speak to you and and thank you for everything that you do. Good evening, Dr. Teresa, members of the HVRs Board of Education. My name is Sammy Rice and I'm the freshman class president. My name is Spar Shroy and I'm the sophomore class president. >> My name is Will Carter and I'm the senior class president. >> My name is Edgar Faro

005and I'm the president of the student council of HBCHS. As a part of all the students from the Hopo Valley Regional School District, we'd like to thank you for your service as board of education members. This month marks the 24th annual school board schoolboard appreciation month and we truly do appreciate everything that you do for this district. Governor Murphy recently shared that the 2026 theme in New Jersey for this year's celebration is our future in public. We wanted to celebrate you in a way that reflects the opportunities that are provided in the public schools at in Hopewell Valley, especially in a comprehensive high school such as HBCHs. With that in mind, some HVCHS students created personalized items for you in our maker space. Thank you again for everything that you do. Thank you so much.

006Thank you all so much. Um we were just commenting up here, you know, all the little um individual gifts that the students have gifted us over the years are proudly displayed in all of our homes. I have I was just watering my plant, my fern from last year from Bear Tavern. So >> mine is dead. Don't give me plants. Don't give me plants. >> I I tried to take care of it for her. But truly truly uh we treasure all of these items and we thank you so much for um the opportunity to just enjoy with you the gift of education in Hope Valley. With that our next >> Can I say something? >> Absolutely. Uh so in the spirit of all this, I I I'd like to thank my fellow board members uh and

007the administration, especially those of you who sit here with us every time. We don't always agree, but in my three plus years, there's two things that we have don't think ever openly discussed, but we've always tacidly agreed on. One is um really keeping the best interests of the kids in mind and two uh sticking to and modeling appropriate civic discourse. uh when we have those disagreements uh and we have not had any fist fights things thrown um in the three plus years and um as and that should be normal but as I read about some of the stuff that's going on in some of the other school boards even in New Jersey I I I I come to appreciate that apparently it's not normal. So, I wanted to thank all of you for making the

008abnormal normal our standard. >> Thank you, Alex. Anyone else? >> I did want to add um I also wanted to to thank you all. Hopewell has historically had uh you know, since I've been here and I've been here um over 10 years now, I know that there has been in the past dysfunction, not since I've been here. You've been fortunate enough to have very well functioning school boards. They don't rubber stamp things for this district. They challenge. They question. They ask they ask us to really dig deep to make sure that we're giving I got the bad one. Doing the best for your your children. Um and uh yeah, that's just um and they also um volunteer a lot of their time. This is a this this is the most rigorous volunteer job I've ever

009seen in my life. They have multiple committee meetings. Most of them sit on multiple committees as well as being liaison in your schools. Um they have to do a lot of reading and studying to make sure they understand what's going on in the school district. Um so you all are a very committed bunch and knowledgeable. So I'm very happy to have you all here. Um and that you really do give us good feedback that we can use as we make decisions for the district on on behalf of your children. So, thank you for for that. >> Thank you. Okay. Um, moving on to an employee recognition. >> Okay. So, there is a resolution. Um, so I need a first and second to approve the ref the uh resolution. >> First a second. >> All in

010favor? >> Any opposed or abstaining? Seeing none, we appreciate the resolution and it is passed. Now I will pass the baton. So we're very fortunate to have a lot of celebrations. You notice all the folks in the room are not here for our budget discussion, I'm sure. and it's that's going to be very short tonight. Um, but we're recognizing uh a number of our our our colleagues, our faculty who go above and beyond uh the call of duty here to make sure that we're providing the best possible services for our families. The first person I'd like to bring back up is is Principal Riley to embarrass her again. Um, but again, I did want to just read a short announcement about her being recognized as the New Jersey um visionary principal of the year. she's

011receiving that award. So, she is a she is the best principal in New Jersey. We'll see if she gets the national award. I think she'll get it, but you know, I don't have any say in that. Um, but I'd like to invite up two members of our team that would like to uh say a few more words. All right, you stole a little bit of my thunder, so I'm gonna I'll I'll adjust though. But good evening, Dr. Trice, uh, esteemed members of the board of education and valued members of the Hopewell Valley community. My name is Anson Smith and I am one of the proud vice principles at Hopewell Valley Central High School. I am here tonight to share with you the amazing news that out of out of a competitive pool of leaders from

012across the state, Hope Valley Central High School principal, Mist. Trish Riley has been named the 2026 New Jersey Visionary Principal of the Year. This prestigious statewide award recognizes outstanding principles who demonstrate exceptional leadership, innovation in education, and a deep commitment to their students and staff. This is a recognition of Miss Riley's visionary leadership in transforming our high school into the high achieving, inclusive, and collaborative school it is today. Since becoming principal in 2020 at the height of the CO 19 pandemic, Miss Riley has built a tight-knit community where every student and staff member feels valued and supported. from walking the hallways and greeting student after student by name, meeting during Friday recitations throughout the year with every single student to celebrate their birthday, even those halfsummer birthdays, pesky halfsummer birthdays. uh collaborating with staff and

013parents, walking the sidelines of numerous sports events, sometimes cheering louder than the fans, uh and running the tapestry of annual performances are just some of the ways in which Miss Riley makes every student and teacher feel important and seen. Miss Riley is also a visionary instructional leader, building effective programs, fostering academic excellence, and preparing every student for the path ahead. Her work with the unified program and development of the service learning pathway are just a few examples of her dedication to ensuring that every student achieves excellence. Her work was recognized nationally when Valley Central High School was named a national unified champion school in 2024. This prestigious award is given to schools that have met 10 national standards for creating a deeply inclusive environment, integrating students with and without intellectual disabilities through sports, youth leadership,

014and whole school engagement to foster acceptance, respect, and belonging. It is a shining example of her tireless pursuit of reaching each and every student who graces the halls of HBCHs. As a visionary leader, Miss Riley doesn't just manage a building. She cultivates the students and staff inside it. As a champion for the whole child, she has transformed our building into a community where every student can find meaning and purpose. Miss Riley is being recognized for this award because she makes everyone here want to be a better version of themselves. We are so fortunate to have Miss Riley as our principal at HVCHS and are so proud that she has been named the 2026 New Jersey Visionary Principal of the Year. Thank you and congratulations, Miss Riley. Thank you all very much. The next recognition is

015I'd like to invite up uh Miss Tia Owens uh who is uh the transportation se uh director of transportation. She's going to say a few words about her folks. I don't know if you all are aware, but pretty recently. How long has it been now? U Mr. Palita, >> about a month, six weeks, um I went out to grab a sandwich and I got a text on my phone. 911 was called in transportation and I thought maybe somebody was having a health problem. You know, I need to hurry back. I hurry back and there's a whole bus on fire in our bus lot and it's lined up against our bus fleet along the back fence. And because of the quick action of some of our transportation people, it stayed being just one bus that we

016lost. Um, and we still don't know what it was. It was just a fluke. The bus was only three years old. It had all the proper maintenance and it was probably some electrical fire that happens from time to time. Um, but if it wasn't for the quick reaction of our transportation folks, um, we might have lost more than just that one bus. So, if you want to share any more about that, Miss Owens. Well, Miss Diana Kaine, who was the initial person that received the phone call, she jumped right into action out of the door, you know, letting everybody know that was around. If you can move a bus, move a bus. Let's clear this area out. Um, she's here tonight with us. Um, we have Miss Florence Hinder who just started with Hopewell and

017she asked no questions either and she got those buses away. Um the initial call came from Miss Jakira Morris to Miss Diana and Kayla Timmons. She then called the police and Mr. Gonzalo. He was another one that helped moved buses. And they're doing all this while I'm in DRTS meeting, state meeting. And I'm like, "Oh, I got to go and I got to get out there." But I was so proud of the action that Miss Diana took on my behalf. So we have a great transportation team. Yeah. So we do have cert we have for each of your staff a certificate of heroism. This certificate is proudly presented to each of them in recognition of your collaborative effort, bravery, and swift action in an emergency situation. Your teamwork and response made all the difference, and

018we appreciate your service. >> So, thank you all um profoundly. I know that you all act in a in such a way every day that we are proud of. But there are moments like this that we get to see the type of quality folks we have taking care of our buses, driving our kids, scheduling, and and so we couldn't be more proud. So we will definitely make sure you each get your certificates. Um but thank you from the board. Um, profound thanks. Anyone else from the board want to speak? >> Our finance committee chair, our finance committee chair appreciates deeply the moving of all the buses. folks that are here. So the next thing on the agenda will be our reports, the president's report and the superintendent's report. But we want to keep the celebration

019rolling. So, we are going to recognize the recipients of the governor's teacher educational service professional recognition award and the support staff professionals of the year. Good evening, Dr. Trice, President Williams Galliano, members of the board, and distinguished colleagues. Tonight is one of the most meaningful celebrations of the year for our district and for the board of education. Through the governor's educator of the year program, the state recognizes exceptional teachers and educational service professionals who make a profound difference in the lives of our students. This year's nominees were submitted by colleagues, parents, and students who witness firsthand the impact of their work. At each of our six schools, a selection committee made up of an administrator, staff members, and a parent representative carefully reviewed nominations using the following criteria. demonstration of exceptional instructional practices, an outstanding

020ability to inspire students of all backgrounds and abilities, earned respect and admiration from students, parents, and colleagues, and a proven commitment to fostering excellence in education through ongoing contributions to student achievement and a positive learning environment. So, at this time, I'm going to invite up each of our building principles to introduce their school's honore. We're going to begin with Bear Tavern, Mr. J. Billy. >> Thank you. And thank you board. Um on this board of education month celebrating um today we're here. I have a short one and a long one. I'm going to go with the short one. Um today, uh Bear Tavern wants to celebrate uh Miss Shannon Murphy. Come on up. Shannon embodies everything that a governor's educator of the year should be. Uh as a special education teacher, she brings deep expertise

021in how children learn paired with extraordinary patience, empathy, and calm even in the most challenging moments. Her students know they are loved, supported, and believed in. Shannon intuitively balances when to guide, when to push, and when to step back so our students can discover their strengths. She teaches children to understand their individual needs and empowers them with tools, strategies, and confidence to persevere. Shannon's care extends far beyond her classroom as she supports schoolwide events and activities such as INRS character strong tier 2 team and collaborates with teachers to implement intervention plans. She serves as a trusted resource and mentor and problem solver for her colleagues. Her commitment to professional growth is exceptional as she access actively pursu pursues training, higher education opportunities and specialized literacy work. All of which strengthens strengthens both our school practice

022and our school community. In addition to her demanding teaching role, Shannon gives generously of her time through numerous committees, student government, mentoring, even organizing our booknook. Um, colleagues describe her as the person they go to for guidance, encouragement, and expertise. Someone who elevates everyone around her. Shannon's dedication, warmth, professionalism, and unwavering commitment to students make her an essential member of Bear Tavern and deserving of the educator of the year award. Thank you, Shannon. Next up, Dr. Bertell from Hopewell Elementary. Good evening, members of the board of education. Dr. Trice and certainly congratulations to all the other recipients of the educator and support professionals of the year. I want to definitely give a quick shout out uh to Principal Riley. Uh I had the the pleasure um certainly of working with Miss Riley since I think

023we both kind of started back in 1516. Um and I got to not only basically make a great friend but also kind of see how how much uh Miss Riley has has grown. She's an excellent painter by the way if anybody ever asks. She's an excellent painter. All right? So, don't let her fool you. All right. So, this evening, we're here not to speak about uh all those, but certainly I'm going to here call up our uh Hope Elementary School's educator of the year, Miss Dana Pontani. Come on up, Dana. Hope school is proud to recognize second grade teacher Dana Pontani as our educator of the year. a title that perfectly reflects the extraordinary impact she has not only on her students, colleagues, but but the greater community. Dana embodies everything that an exceptional leader

024should. Warmth, compassion, creativity, and an unwavering commitment to helping every child succeed. With a remarkable ability to meet the needs of all learners, she thoughtfully differentiates instruction so that every student feels supported, capable, and valued. Her unique integration of music into daily lessons transforms learning into an engaging and joyful experience, which is why her colleagues have challenged me moving forward in this recognition that I will do it in song. Here I go. Beyond No, I'm kidding. I wouldn't do that to you. All right. But beyond the classroom, Dana certainly's dedication shines through her deep involvement in the community. Whether performing at local events with her band Castle Lane, attending her student soccer games, welcoming families to her home for seasonal traditions, or participating in district celebrations like the HVA retirement lunchon or the Memorial Day

025parade in Burrow Hall. She continually strengthens the connection between home and school. Her presence outside the classroom sends a powerful message to students that she cares about them as individuals, creating lasting relationships that extend far beyond the school day. And as a colleague, Dana is a collaborative, reflective, and inspiring, the teammate everyone hopes to work alongside of. She serves as a leader within the school through committee work, mentorships of student teachers, enthusiastic contributions to school culture and traditions like hosting our staff party three days before Christmas. Thank you, Rob, by the way, for letting that happen. Uh her um gathering our staff to to to perform at our faculty musical, what was called a kazoo. Is that what we used? A kazoo. All right. Um but again, her creativity, optimism, and willingness to share ideas

026uplift those around her, while her unwavering belief in every child's potential ensures that her classroom is a place of belonging, confidence, and growth. We are so proud of Dana Pontani, and she is truly deserving of the honor of educator of the year at HS. Thank you. Next up from Stonybrook, Miss Nicole Jane Freddy. >> Good evening, Dr. Miss Galliano Williams, members of the board community, and a big congratulations to all of our recipients. Mrs. Nut, come on up here. She's our recipient for Stony Brook. It is my privilege to celebrate Mrs. Debbie Nut. She has built an extraordinary career as an educated educator distinguished by her dedication, versatility, and unwavering commitment to our students. Over the years, she has served as a kindergarten teacher, gifted and talented teacher, fifth grade teacher, and now an instructional

027support teacher. Uh, since joining Hope Valley in 2002, when Stony Brook first opened its doors, she has been a steady inspirational presence and a true pillar of our school community. Debbie is the embodiment of exceptional teaching and leadership. Her ability to connect with students, families, and colleagues is unmatched. Through genuine respect, kindness, and open communication, she creates relationships that uplift and empower. She takes the time to understand every child's strengths, interests, and needs, cultivating a classroom where students feel confident, valued, and aspired to learn. As one nomination beautifully captured her impact, Mrs. Nut demonstrates an unwavering dedication to the teaching profession through her commitment and passion with a particular enthusiasm for mathematics instruction. Approaching each day with energy and a genuine desire to make a lasting difference, she strives to help her students discover logic

028and realworld relevance of math. As a dependable team player, Debbie consistently goes above and beyond to ensure the success of all, embodying a spirit of collaboration and shared responsibility. She upholds the higher standard of professionalism collegiality, serving as a model of integrity and dedication within our school. And this is completely true. Whether she is working with some of our brightest students, our struggling students, she is there for every single one of them. Mrs. Nut is not only an outstanding educator, but she is the cornerstone of Stony Brook. Her influences reach beyond the classroom, strengthening our culture, supporting our staff, and enriching the lives of so many students. And we are fortunate to have her part of our family. Congratulations, Debbie. and from Tolgate Grammar School, Melissa Lori. Shorter than Miss J and Freddy. Good evening

029members of the board. Dr. Trice Tolgate is in the house. Miss Lee, come on down. I am so proud to honor Miss Lee on behalf of Tolgate as the educator of the year. Hopewell has been fortunate to benefit from Miss Kim Lee's talents ever since she began serving as a substitute in the district. After stepping away from education to raise her children in 2021, she officially joined the Tollgate family. And from that moment forward, her influence has been felt in every corner of our community. In the classroom, Miss Lee shines with a rare talent. She treats every child as a true individual, recognizing and nurturing their unique strengths. She strikes a beautiful balance between high academic expectations, joyful learning, maintaining a space where students feel safe, supported, and deeply engaged. With clear boundaries, purposeful routines,

030and her signature warmth, she creates a classroom community where children thrive both academically and socially. She thoughtfully builds in opportunities for students to practice social interaction, a reflection of her training and degree in counseling, which uses daily with students, parents, and colleagues alike. Miss Lee serves on the science leadership team and the curriculum council, bringing forwardthinking ideas and a steady commitment to excellence. At Tolgate, she extends her leadership even further, contributing her energy and expertise to the spirit committee, faculty council, and committee. Her colleagues describe her as the dedicated team player who freely shares those ideas, resources, and encouragement. Her positivity is contagious. Her professionalism is matched only by her creativity and her heart. One of the parents shared, "Outside of the classroom, Miss Lee is everywhere. She's a constant positive pres presence in the

031Pennington community. You'll find her at the Tollgate Picnic chatting with parents reconnecting with former students, at the HVCT performances with flowers for children making their acting debut. And at STEM night, enthusiastically running tables for the PTO. I've even heard in the summer you can find her on the high dive only once a year. Only once a year. Her dedication extends to her fellow educators as well. She fosters community and camaraderie by hosting planning sessions and social gatherings in her home, rallying groups of teachers to attend the PTO spring social. Miss Lee embodies what it means to be an exceptional educator. Committed, innovated, innovative, compassionate, and wholeheartedly invested in her students. Her impact is felt not just in her classroom, but throughout throughout Tolgate and beyond. Congratulations, Miss Kim Lee. We are so proud. from Timberlane

032Middle School. We welcome up Mr. Chris Turbull. Good evening, members of the board, Dr. Trice, members of the central office, and of course, members of the Hopewell Valley community. I'd like to start by congratulating all of our honories tonight. Your contributions help make Hopewell Valley a special school district and an amazing place to work. We celebrate your accomplishments tonight, but we also recognize your work and impact for years that have led to this important recognition. Thank you for making a difference. But it's my great honor tonight to talk about one specific teacher, Timberlane Middle School's Governor's Educator of the Year, Mr. William Russell. Come on up, Bill. Now, Bill's been a dedicated educator at TMS for more than 20 years, and he's won the respect of his colleagues, his families, and of course, his students.

033He gives everything that he has each day, teaching with energy, humor, and excitement. He shows steadfast commitment to excellence in his preparation and his willingness to evolve and adjust. Bill's has embraced the tenants of the thinking classroom in his math class, which means that every single day students are collaborating with classmates, wrestling with real world applications, and of course, mathematical concepts, but they're encouraged to take risks, to share their ideas, and to support each other. In his classroom, you hear students talking and see children smiling every single day while learning high level math and thinking skills. He connects students and he impacts those around him. He in his influences goes well beyond the walls of Timberlane. We regularly welcome educators from neighboring districts to see what Bill has created and how he teaches math. Mr.

034Russell makes a huge difference during the school day and even after school where here at HVCHS he coaches golf and at Timberlane coaches basketball and consistently finds ways to encourage, motivate, and support his students. He's actively involved in activities throughout the school and can be counted on to volunteer regardless of the spirit day or special event as well as being the mastermind behind the famous TMS lip dub tradition. He's calm in the face of adversity and has the rare ability to bring a calm measured approach with optimism and positivity. But don't take my word for it. I asked some of the students why Mr. Russell was special. Some gave detailed and retrospective replies stating that Mr. Russell made a huge impact on my learning. I remember walking into this class in sixth grade unsure and

035nervous. But as soon as we started, he made the room into a safe space where I was able to share ideas and learn from others. I really enjoyed how we used the boards around the room which made it a lot easier to learn instead of just sitting in a chair and listening the whole time. It gave me a chance to move around. Another thing I really enjoyed about his way of teaching is that every day we walked in, we pulled a popsicle stick out of a cup which determined where we sat. This helped me connect and work with others that I may not know as well. Therefore, I would say Mr. Russell has been one of the best math teachers throughout my years of education. Other students though were more direct and to the point.

036One stating he's funny and drinks a lot of Pepsi and is smart. another simply pointing out that his bald head is the best. But one thing is clear though, Mr. Russell goes the extra mile to make learning unforgettable and make students feel like they matter. Mr. Russell truly made sixth grade an amazing experience with his laughter and cheer that brought to every class every day made it easy to connect and talk to him. When I was going to sixth grade, math was by far my worst subject and I never knew what I was doing. Mr. Russell though made it fun and active and helped my confidence in math. Ever since sixth grade, my math math is now by far my best subject. Even being in eighth grade now, Mr. Russell still brings a smile to

037my face every day. The laughter we share in the hallway is truly amazing. The relationship that Mr. Russell and I have is unforgettable. He is well deserving of this award. So, it's clear Mr. Russell is a one-of-a-kind teacher who brings flexibility, consistency, and infusion of energy and positivity every day. We're grateful for his contributions and proud to celebrate him as the governor's educator of the year. Well, and since she hasn't been up here enough tonight, we're going to invite Miss Riley to come back up to speak about our high school winner. >> Good evening and thank you for having me again. I think this may be it for tonight. Um, I would like to introduce to you Mr. Paul Takis. Mr. Takis, come on up here. I'm going to need you to come all the

038way up here so you can be on camera so they can see you as we're talking about you. >> All right. Mr. Paulacis is a talented history teacher who has been a member of the HBCHs faculty since 2006. Over the past 20 years, he has taught a range of courses from world history to US history to advanced placement US government and politics. Mr. Takis' students describe his teaching style as engaging and supportive, noting that his calm demeanor and positive attitude create a welcoming and encouraging classroom environment. Mr. Takis' instructional impact is also significant. As one student stated, "His classes taught me how to think critically, write persuasively, and engage thoughtfully with complex issues. More importantly, he showed me what it means to approach learning and life with curiosity, integrity, and empathy. Beyond the classroom, Mr.

039Takis has had a broad impact on education in general. All of our teachers impact their students. Mr. Takis impacts every single one of his colleagues. During his time as the HVEA president, he dedicated years of service working with every single staff member in this district. Then, in case that wasn't enough, Mr. Takis chose to provide service in the same way you all have in his home district serving as a board of education member and eventually a board of education president. So his impact on education extends far beyond the classroom to his colleagues and to his local community. This guy, he truly does it all. Mr. Takis truly emulates what it means to be an exceptional educator. As one of his colleagues shared, Paul represents the best of what it means to be a teacher. His

040influence extends far beyond his own classroom, and his positive impact on students and the school community is immeasurable. HBCHs is honored to select Mr. Paul Takis as the 2526 Governor's Educator of the Year. So in addition this evening we are also proud to honor three exceptional support staff professionals from Hopewell Valley whose dedication and commitment make a meaningful impact across our district. Eligible nominees represented a wide range of roles including power professionals, secretaries, custodians, maintenance staff, bus drivers, van attendants, campus safety officers, and members of our technology department. A selection committee consisting of myself, Plet Dinardo, our director of pupil services, toa Owens, director of transportation, and fellow support professionals carefully reviewed all nominations. The recipients that were selected were based on the following criteria. Demonstrated dedication to their work, the ability to inspire others,

041and a clear and positive impact on the lives of the students, staff, and parents with which they work. I know she was very excited to come up the first time. So, let's bring back Miss Gian Freddy to recognize her honore. Good evening again. I am so honored to be celebrating Mr. S. Mr. S. Come on up here. >> Mr. Mike Sar joined Stonybrook in 2007 and has been an essential part of our school community ever since. Over the years, he has worked in a variety of special education classrooms, building strong connections with students, family, and staff. Lovingly known as Mr. S., he is the guy everyone calls in a crisis. But he's also the guy who's skipping down the hallway singing a song to help a student regulate. He's also the guy that will cook

042for the entire staff. He's also the guy that makes silly voices and songs just to make a a child smile. He's also the guy that knows a student's favorite cereal to make sure that they're taken care of and ready for the day. But Mr. S's impact extends beyond the classroom. As you can see by his shirt, he supports many Stony Brook students through the YMCA's morning and afterare programs. And for many students, he is a very meaningful part of how their school day begins, bringing a calm, caring smile to every interaction. As one staff member stated, Mike is kind, supportive, and an overall wonderful person. He works with our neediest students and helps them find successes big and small every day. I have worked with Mike many times over the years, and he is truly

043one of the best. We are so fortunate to have you at Stonybrook, and I am so excited to celebrate the extraordinary care, dedication, and heart you bring to our school every day. Congratulations, Mike. And to conclude our program, we're going to welcome back Ms. Melissa Lori from Tolgate Grammar School. Good evening again to back in the house. Um I have the pleasure of announcing two support professionals of the year. The first um support professional of the year I would like to announce is Mr. Colorio. Mr. C. Come on down Mr. C. This is an official call of one to 20. I am proud to recognize campus safety officer Mr. Joseph Colorio as the 2025 support professional of the year. Mr. Colorio join joined the Tollgate family in 2023, bringing a wealth of experience to his

044role, drawing on his service as a retired lieutenant from the Lawrence Police Department. His expertise, calm demeanor, and proactive approach to safety has transformed the way our school feels and functions each and every day. As one teacher perfectly captured, Mr. C maintains a visible and reassuring presence throughout the day, greeting our students by name, monitoring our school and grounds with care and fostering trusting relationships that make everyone feel secure. His influence is undeniable. In a recent staff survey, 99% of our staff reported feeling safe at school, which is a remarkable statistic, speaking volumes about the culture of security and trust that Mr. C has built. Mr. C, as the students call him, is not only vigilant, but he's extremely proactive. He walks the perimeter daily, collaborating closely with the police department and ensuring that our

045entire staff is trained and confident in Alice protocols. Beyond his professional expertise, Mr. C brings a wealth sorry brings a warmth and approachability that makes him integral part of our student experience. He can be spotted giving fist bumps in the morning chatting with students as they enter and exit the building and makes making personal connections with every child ensuring that they feel seen. Mr. C will go to any length to keep our students and staff safe. And he does so with humility, kindness, and a genuine commitment to our community's well-being. Congratulations, Mr. to see. >> Last, but certainly not least, I would like to call up Miss Bernardet Ferlong. It's my honor to recognize someone whose dedication, enthusiasm, and heart have shaped the Hop Valley community for more than two decades. Miss Furlong joined Hopo

046Valley in 2001. And from the very beginning, she brought with her an extraordinary blend of kindness, creativity, and passion. Throughout those years, she has been a guiding hand for our kindergarten students, helping our youngest learners take their very steps, first steps into school with both confidence and joy. More recently, she's enriched the lives of our ERC students with the same steady support and boundless compassion. A colleague captured her spirit perfectly when they shared, "Miss Furlong possesses a remarkable ability to connect with children through her love of music and performance. Her warm, upbeat personality helps foster a welcoming classroom environment that embraces both students and families. And that gift for connection extends beyond the school day. Miss Ferlong serves with dedication as the vice president of the HVPSA and as the building representative for Tollgate. She's

047an active member of our spirit committee, faculty council, and is always working to uplift the staff morale. Miss Ferlong is also a pillar in the Hope Valley community. She's a co-founder and the musical director of the Hope Valley Community Theater Children's Theater, an endeavor that has inspired performers, young and old, while cultivating a deep love of the arts throughout our community. Through music, performance, and mentorship, she reminds us all of the power that creativity has to bring people together. It's hard to imagine our district without her energy, leadership, and unwavering commitment to students and staff. She makes every space she enters more joyful and more welcoming. Bernardet, we thank you for more than 20 years of service. We are so proud that you are our professional support person of the year. Congratulations to all of

048our honores this evening. Thank you for being here and supporting them. Um, and we would like to get a picture of all of our winners. If we could out in the hallway really quickly, that would be great. So, thank you all so much. You guys are talking. Because he sits back, >> right? Oh, shoot. You know what? I didn't December last year >> Mark was the I think Mark was the last right Mark >> training >> it it literally can take 20 minutes >> well yeah >> if you read it >> if you want to click through yes >> I mean If you really want to get something out of it, you should go Yeah. Okay, everyone back in there. So, we're going to continue the agenda with the favorite part of the evening. Just

049joking. The budget overview. >> Oh. >> So, tonight's conversation about the budget is going to be a preliminary discussion. We don't have any numbers yet. The board still has to do a lot of work in committees um to discuss um what they would like to see from from us. our administrative team as we really grapple with making sure that we maintain this mission statement. Uh we saw some of our students today presenting. We know the wonderful work that we offer the wonderful programs we offer our students as a result of being a comprehensive high school. We have lost some of the programs that we've had in the past due to our attrition. But we we jealously guard the the amazing work that we do so that we truly prepare students for the world. This mission

050statement was created by this community. this is what you said that you wanted us to do for your for our our students and to send them out and to prepare them to be global citizens. Um so that's what drives our decisions as we're deciding uh how to make budget every year. We've already started our budget talks in that we've had the bigger uh departments where we spend money curriculum and instruction uh special education a general discussion about budget um finance and facility we constantly discuss and we discussed rigorously during our campaign for our referendum but we've been working on this since September. Now we are getting to the months where we're digging into the work of deciding how to strike our strike our budget with some of the challenges that we face in the future.

051We won't know what our state is until you know the end of February if we're lucky. Um and then we can truly make decisions. So right now we're just looking at our our general operating costs. Uh what we expect in terms of increases in some of the areas where we uh where the district has some of our major spending. um and then deciding what we're going to do to make sure that we send a responsible and balanced budget to you here by by the end of um April. These are the priorities that we look at every year. Um we are looking at we already talked about our mission statement. Me trying to maintain with my team as much as possible the existing programs and services that we have knowing that we always can't keep everything

052because of of the rising cost. But we want to make sure that we maintain the integrity of the experiences that students have had here over the years and what makes Hopewell the place that it is. We continue to review our curriculum and make sure we're in alignment with state requirements. Unfortunately, they don't always give us the time we would like to revise curriculum and often mandates that are passed and bills that are passed um require us to make those changes quickly in the upcoming um school year. So, we try to balance that as much as possible and hopefully we're able to hold on to the pieces of our curriculum that align with those new um expectations by the state. Um, as well as making sure that we're up to date with aligning with the NJSLA,

053the New Jersey learning standards. We also have to meet the contractual and benefit obligations of the faculty uh and the staff that we employ. We evaluate our programs to decide where we need to um change budget as a result of um or new enrollment, the students that are coming in and what their needs are and the new housings as as a result that we see coming to the community. And then finally, we prepare and develop a a budget accordingly. Um, knowing that the future is kind of uncertain and trying to be as transparent as possible with the community so that you know the discussions that we're having even if there are some of those discussions we're having in committees. So these are our enrollment numbers. Now we are seeing ourselves on an increase over the

054years. Um we you could see now that that we have been at times we've had more students enrolled in the district than we've had now. Unfortunately um not unfortunately fortunately we do things differently than we maybe did in 2010. We are following best practices. We know that students need to be educated in a way that's different from the way that they may have been uh educated when we were kids when some of our older students graduated. We now bring some we have brought some of our students back that have special needs that we used to send out of district because that we know that the least restricted environment is in your own neighborhood in your own neighborhood schools as much as possible. Um and we know that some students need out of district placements because

055of their particular needs. So though we may have less students than we had in 2010, the way we use our building and the way we provide instruction has has evolved over the years. We continue to look at our growth. We do expect more students to be coming as as we continue to fill the houses in the new developments over in the township and as the burrows Hopewell Burough and Pennington Burough look at expanding their housing available housing in their areas as well. Things that we consider is um the revenue streams that that we have available to us. Um I'm going to have you tag team with me a little bit on this Bob. Um but also go over 2%. Uh unless we need to have uh enrollment waiverss because of our growth is happening law

056at a quicker rate than is to be expected. We have gotten some benefits from enrollment waiverss. Although our growth has not been significant enough for that money to be substantial. Health benefit waiverss are available to school school districts to use with the rising cost of health care when that becomes um becomes untenable and we've availed ourselves of those in the past because of the skyrocketing health uh costs that we've have which Bob will share. We have the state aid that we get from the state and other local generated revenues like tuition. We don't tuition a lot of students in but we do for special education. some programs we offer that other districts don't and they ask to to a tuition a student into our programs as well as our choice program for performing arts here

057at the high school. We have facilities rentals which are modest but they do provide some revenue. We do have now our co our athletic and co- uh curricular fees uh for enrichments for our students that parents help to to support. And we have transportation fees for those parents that have courtesy busing, those parents that don't that that aren't um that don't have access to busing otherwise um but they would like to have their students ride the bus. So they pay a fee for that. And then we use our surplus. That's what that is is when Mr. Calvita at the end of every uh you know usually the winter early spring looks at our budget very closely and those monies that monies that have not been spent he claws them back like those supplies and things

058like that because he's like if you haven't spent it yet you must not need it and then he rolls that back into the surplus so that we have money for next year. We don't like to budget using that money because you don't know if you're going to have extra money or not. Is there anything that I left off that you'd like to touch upon, Mr. Collita? No, I think you I got the bad one too tonight. Um I think you hit you hit a lot of the uh the high points. Um the the big uh question I was talking earlier with >> I didn't touch it. >> Yeah, these are new >> Jeff. >> I don't think it's mine. Um we do get approximately $7 million in state aid each year. Um and with a

059new governor uh coming on board, typically the state aid uh announcement is delayed. Usually it's the last week in February. Um when there's a new governor in tow, uh it's usually delayed until at least the first week in March, which really compresses the situation from the calendar. We only have till uh March 16th to strike a budget. So you're, you know, somewhere in the area of two weeks to 10 days to make a decision based upon um what state aid you get. Now, state aid is not a huge part of our budget, but it is a good portion. $7 million is is is nothing to sneeze at. So um we will have to make final decisions after we get those state aid numbers. So, I'm going to let you take this next slide as well,

060talking about some of the expenditures and some of the the um expected um areas of inflation that we're going to see in all these areas. >> Sure. Um so, we still are seeing um quite a bit of inflation um in our expenditures. Uh energy is one that we have um seen some relief in, believe it or not. Uh, as you all have seen, the fuel costs um that you're paying at the pump right now have dropped to somewhere in the area, depending on where you're going, in the 250 to 265 range in New Jersey anyway. And we actually do better than that, believe it or not, because we're with the township and they bid out uh gasoline on a on a bulk basis. So, we actually do better than what you're seeing at the pumps

061now. Um, so we're seeing some relief there. We just um re-uped our bid for natural gas uh and electricity through the Ed Services Commission of New Jersey bid. Um so we're pretty stable with that. We're not um seeing great uh fluctuations because we've locked in um a a good price with that. Um again, a big driver to our budget. Health benefits, on the other hand, um while we're still running significantly better than the state health benefits plan, um health benefit costs nationwide are are spiraling out of control. Um if you've seen any of the reports coming out of Trenton, um the state health benefit program is increasing at a rate of 30% for medical benefits and 54% for prescription. Okay. Um, and I was mentioned at a previous board meeting, we really can't do anything

062about that right now. There's nothing we can negotiate. Um, the state has imposed what's called chapter 44, which mandates a minimum coverage that you must offer all employees. The issue is the minimum minimum coverage that they're being offered is Cadillac coverage. So, that's kind of locked in. We're looking somewhere in the area of 20% on medical and 30 plus% on prescription. Right now, the benefit for us is that we don't pay premiums. We only pay the claims. So, if we start to see better claims coming in from our folks, we could be in a better position going forward. So, it's not a good situation, but it's a better situation than we would be if we were a full premium district. I have a question, Bob. Um, so as we're moving into this being the first

063year that we have government and community relations, something that we've talked a lot about is being more proactive in advocating in Trenton for specific legislation. Do you know of any bills that are moving through the state capital right now that would address something in in this regard and make things a little bit better? And if there isn't, are there any actions or or ideas that we can start to discuss with some of our legislators that could address this? because I mean it's been I've been on the board for this is my third year and I feel like every time we do a budget discussion it's the same conversation and the price just keeps going up. >> Yeah. I mean there this this uh particular legislation sunsets in 2027. Um I haven't heard anything um as

064far as real legislation that's going to help alleviate it. I know that there's been talk at the state uh and I think some state workers agreed to a shift uh a reduction of their benefit levels. We haven't seen that's with the state portion of it. The local government and educator portion of it has not been they've haven't brought anything up with that. Um the only thing that could help us is if they modify the the plan design. Um there's been talk that they were doing that, but I haven't heard anything substantial about a formal or a an aggressive effort to change plan design. That would help. Um formularies is another thing with prescription. Are they going to take There's some highric drugs out there. I mean, you see them on TV um that are covered

065and in a lot of um private plans they're not, but in the state plan they are. There's been talk about trying to uh do something regarding lowering the cost of those drugs. So that's what we're hearing, but nothing substantial from from any legislators. Um, as you know, Dr. Tree said before, as one of our goals, we're we're here to educate students, right? So our curriculum instruction budget um is very important. Um, it's, you know, Vicki has has helped us maintain this year. We've kind of reduced the amount of uh curriculum writing we we've done. we've done it in different ways to cover those state changes that we need to do and to and to continue to monitor um what we're what we're instructing uh the students. So again, a big part of our budget, but

066we're we're trying to scale back a little bit in how we do it and change how we do things. Transportation, um the allowable increase this year to our contracted routes, not internal, but our contracted routes is anticipated at 3.6%. We have gotten good news um from our main supplier, Rick Bus, who's agreed to forego an increase this year, which is great. However, um Dr. Trice and I are meeting with uh our demographers to talk a little bit about the restructuring of protect uh sending districts to see where we may achieve some savings to move some kids from here to there and vice versa. If we do that, unfortunately, we have to rebid those routes. So, you wouldn't be locked in at that. We would hope that they would try to meet the same price. Um,

067but if we do decide to move some routes, those routes would have to be rebid by state law. You can't just move around um a route from place to place without changing the the terms of the contract. So, I'm hoping that the majority of our routes will main remain unchanged and we could uh we can um take some of that savings. Property and casualty insurance. Um we I am waiting for our first pass on that. Um last year we did very well with our increase, but we finding out that we're being lumped into the same um categories as the large the states. You know, the California fires um are anticipated and I believe they happened last year at this time, I believe last year at this time, are going to affect rates this year because

068of all the damage that was done last year and how they pass on the costs uh of insurance to the rest of us. So, I'm hopeful with that because it's a it's basically a general liability pool of insurance and insurance companies all over were hit very hard uh by those fires and other natural disasters that are going on and they pass on the costs globally. I mean we we have our own we have our just like it's just like medical insurance coverage you know that the cost of delivering medical services has gone up >> overall right so I mean while we're >> no no no No, no, no, no, no. >> So, um, again, facility and maintenance costs. I'm hoping that due to the referendum passing that the the, uh, general repairs that we've had

069to do over the last several years, uh, a lot of that will go away with newer equipment. Um, but we do still have some um things that didn't quite make it on the referendum that may need attention, but I'm hoping that that part of the budget will be able to be held in check uh for a while. Special education is again a big driver in our budget. Um, Pette has done a great job in keeping uh students in house when she can and we've actually last year, what do we have 51 placements and we're down to down to 49. So, we're starting to try to trend in the right direction um without a district placements and and maintaining better programs for less cost inhouse, but it's a wild card. Um Paul, I could get six

070more people coming in in the next two weeks that we just don't have a way of knowing at this point. Uh again, but something to keep a track of. Staffing. um as we continue to see growth of students, we've done, I think, a great job in in minimizing um increasing staff at this point. Um we've tried to manage with what we have, much to the consternation of some of our principles who who would like some additional staff, but we're trying to make do right now uh until we can see some relief and maybe we will see some relief this year. But staffing is always again a question especially with with uh specialized programs where you may need additional par profofessionals um and you know even additional um extension type teachers not regular classroom but where

071teachers need to fill in other places. Technology um as we've talked about before it's in everything we do now. It's in fire alarms. It's in computers. And you know, basically everything we do has some kind of uh wireless function to it that we need to connect into our network. And our our infrastructure is getting old. Um we're looking at need getting to the next round of Chromebook replacements and teacher laptop replacements. Um we'll be doing a fairly large lease purchase. Um we have a lease purchase rolling off our budget and we're going to probably replace it with a new lease purchase to cover um a technology refresh. But just so you know, there's a severe shortage of memory in the industry. The earlier and that's al that's driving the costs of all computing equipment up

072memory has gone up but 55% in the last three months. >> Uh B it's getting the lead times are going to be significant. So, yep. >> If you are going to do a refresh, right, the sooner you can get the those orders in, the better off. >> It's actually in process right now. our tech director of technology. spoke to him last week and he's he's already looking to see what the budget will hold for >> and and ex well I think for things like laptop oops you're probably going to be okay if you're buying any data center stuff um including just cloud services right even if you're buying it from AWS expect a sticker shock >> sorry and the last lastly it's it's the anticipated growth in the valley Um, you know, while it hasn't

073impacted us uh catastrophically at this point, we have probably added seven bus routes since the middle of last year, this time this time last year to now probably seven bus routes. Um, par professionals probably more than than teaching staff members, but we have added back a few teaching staff members. Um, but the the rest of that growth is coming and it's coming uh very quickly. Okay, then we're on to our next steps. >> So, next steps. Again, this was just a preliminary overview of what you can expect over the next months. Um the board uh needs to find time to have a retreat to really dig into to um what we value, what we need to hold on to, where we are just rolling over our budget from last year and and where the shortfall

074will be because because there will be a shortfall and deciding what we need to do to address that in a way that honors um what this district has done for so many years. Um the I'll be talking after that retreat um and I'm I've already started the conversations with my budget managers. Those are my principles, my supervisors, the folks that are in this room sitting at the table with me on the on prioritizing what things we need to hold on to and what things we're going to have to quite frankly let go of. Um, we'll finalize our protected expenditures based on that community that the referendum is just one mechanism that school districts are availing themselves of to balance their budgets. We all are struggling with this and I do not want Hopewell to look

075like some of our sister districts and brother districts around us like for example Robinsville who is cutting they're are cutting all sports and extracurricular activities. I'm going to repeat that. All of it. They're cutting it. All sports and extracurricular activities are on a referendum right now because they he can't see how he's going to maintain those over the next two years. And that's in a referendum. they already are paying to play as it was we I don't like that term but they're already paying activity fees and it's to the point where they can't raise it anymore and they they're trying to strike they've already had a reduction in in force which she has to look at again they're facing some very very difficult times we saw another district brick that basically you know because they

076couldn't come to a budget just almost threatened to file bankruptcy so that's not who I want us to be we've held things together but we are going to have to let some things go. >> District was growing and we were considered underfunded. Those district were were considered overfunded um and and not growing. So they lost, we gained. Districts like Robinsville fell into a different realm. Their population changed significantly. The wealth in the community grew and the funding formula is based on several things, but wealth is a big port part of it. So the wealth of their district expected a bit greater contribution from the community that Robinsville had not given before. So they were expected to give more from local and they got less state aid. And I say less, they were held flat, but

077flat state aid in that environment is a cut. um to continue to get I need to to finalize a few other expenditures and we're working closely with Tana's office um to make sure that we have everybody um who we have on staff right now the the the actual people that are going to be filling those positions at the end of the year and how we're going to roll it forward. We don't want to miss anybody. We don't want to come up short because you miss a few people it could be devastating. So that's going to be finalized. our health benefit number, um our insurance numbers, and we can begin to talk about here's where we stand all in. Then let's start with we talked about scenarios what it would be if we didn't increase the

078budget at all, we went to cap or we tried to keep whole and then >> right when we know that >> um yes, waivers come from the um the the mechanics in the budget software. I can calculate my waiverss now except for enrollment because I'm not sure I don't have the final numbers from ASA yet. The it's a report where they take a count on October 15th and the enrollment number goes from October 15th to October from October 15th last year to October 15th this year and they calculate an increase. Now we went up our our October 15th count last year was 3,400 students. That's resident students and this year it's 3505. So it's 5 students, which should yield an enrollment adjustment, uh, additional time to eval evaluate and look at the budget document because

079it's, you know, they're just starting and now they they've got to be brought up to speed. So, um, the latest we've ever gotten it was like the 8th or 9th of March. Typically, it should come that week after, maybe a week, seven days after um, working days anyway after that. So, we're looking at at the beginning of March and then again, it's a quick turnaround. So, you know, what we'll probably have happen is depending on where we are in February, um we might have another retreat scheduled right after that that um that state aid number comes out. If it's bad, if it's status quo and we've we've come to a good place, >> do both for that. >> Um moving on, any old business items? Okay, seeing none, we're going to move into our first

080public comment section. Members of the public are invited to address the board on any matter for a maximum of three minutes during this portion of the meeting. You're asked to state your name, address, and municipality. In response to your comments, the board of ed may respond or direct the superintendent to do so. The board may also opt to take the matter up at a future meeting so that the matter is researched by the district administration. Timekeeper. So, I'm the official timekeeper. You have three minutes. At 2 minutes and 30 seconds, I'll hold up a yellow sign. At 3 minutes, I'll hold up a red sign. >> Thank you. Public comment is now open. I believe through committee since many of you all have not met. So I'll just read them out and you can let

081me know if you're passing um just in case there's something I'm missing. So first finance >> I think we just have two actions we have to take. Bob, is that accurate? >> We just move them both and we'll talk. Yeah, let's just Yeah, let's just move them both through and get I need a first and a second to do that >> motion. >> No, we're going to talk about it. >> Um, you could talk about the donation. >> Very much appreciate the vote on it. Okay. And the second item um was a point of information that the finance committee raised when looking at the agenda. There is a professional services contract uh up for approval. This is the uh architect fees uh for the entirety of the referendum. Um it is a sizable number 4.7

082million uh which represents essentially 6.9 6.93 uh% of the total construction cost. There's also a $25,000 credit back for the work that they did pre-referendum to prepare that goes against um the base. But this is essentially to do all the architecture and engineering related to all the projects in the referendum. Um it is not an annual contract. It is for the term of the referendum. Um and as Pam had asked me afterwards, is that the final number? It pick up additional costs towards um additional construction manager fees which we will try to offset and we're not there yet, but you we simply try to offset that by back charging the contractor for delays, things like that. So hopefully this is going to be it, but there's there's a potential down the road that there could

083be additional fees if things change. >> And Bob, can I just add something? You may have said this, but just so it's clear for folks, these costs, these dollars were included in the referendum package >> and supporting us through to referendum, but that's a large number. Um, and I'm kind of looking for information how they arrived at it and and and or some kind of a baseline reference comparison with >> I mean compare >> what the typical right I I don't know what the typical numbers are but it it It's a substantial number. >> It's comparable to compared to other um compared to other of my colleagues who are going through referenda. Um it's in the general area of the ballpark. It's um projects range from and it's not all the same percentage. Some projects

084are at 6 and a half%, some are 6.25. Um the more complex the project, the the higher the cost. I think the highest number on here is 7 and a half%. uh of the total amount of the total construction cost of that. >> So it seems like we're closer to the higher end. Why are we >> Well, they rate they they they vary. So you've got it depends on the type of projects you have. Rehabilitation projects are typically more expensive um than new construction when you have to dig into walls and dig. >> We have a lot of new construction. >> No, new construction is cheaper, >> right? what we have. I mean, we're building two new additions, >> right? But the majority of the referendum is rehabilitation. >> Oh, okay. >> And mechanical, you

085know, the the um mechanical and uh HBAC type projects are among the more expensive just because of the work that has to be done to to back fit into, you know, existing systems. >> And I imagine material costs right now are running really high. I mean, the nation has four million homes that's in shortage. So, I'm actually kind of pleased at the development that's happening um in Hopewell to support home ownership. But in regards to what you're talking about, how many bids were put forth for the November? >> This is just the architect. >> No, that's what I'm saying. Like, was it bid out? >> This an they're an architective record. So, we kept them on >> uh we we chose them when we started to go out a few years back. >> Oh. Oh,

086okay. So, a few years back. >> So, when the designing, we didn't we didn't do a formal bid for this particular job. They're they were on >> they were on already. >> They were on. >> So, they know our buildings. >> They know our buildings. >> Okay. >> That's great. Also, are there just not that many people to bid out this project? That also happens. >> Again, you're you're you're working with a an architect who knows the aging of the buildings. um your your architects are considered as professional service. So you're working with an architect that you professional services are one of those things that don't need to be bid. They need to be um you're you use a a a deliberative process when you go through it. So we talk amongst the BAS. What

087did you get for this? Who did you get for that? What do you think of them? You know, are they worth talking to? um they all fall in the same general the general pattern of of cost. >> So to switch and bringing up a company that you may not have worked with before or doesn't know your buildings may not give you the same, you know, level of expertise on what you're doing, >> right? >> Absolutely. I was just curious about the process having done a number of building projects myself. So, I just wanted to know if there were like sometimes there aren't actually more than one or two people to consider, but it's extremely valuable if they know our HBAC. >> The other reason why we we like to use um this particular company too

088well is that they're local. Um a lot of times, uh if you have an architect that's out of area, there's a charge for them to come visit. There's a charge for them to be on site. Um but we have been fortunate that these guys are right right on Reed Road. So, They've been very u supportive of us. Um, another reason why we use them is because when they do come out, they don't there's not a charge for every hourly service that they do. When we come out and you know the finance committee knows when when George or one of their guys comes out for a finance committee meeting, there's not a charge for that. What would be the implication if we delayed the approval by one meeting cycle so that we could have them come

089to the committee and kind of give us a bit more of a breakdown on what the costs are. I'm not suggesting that we go out to bit because I do agree that this is a firm that knows the referendum well, but I'd like to understand what these costs are. I'd like to understand if >> I don't know if there's a >> an ability for the district to negotiate the course because again I'm I I I have a bit of a sticker shock. >> We can have them come to committee and talk to you and you can work through that with them. But we've signed a contract with these uh this firm and they're moving forward with the contract for the build. So um are you asking like to not So, if we delay the approval

090to the February meeting, is that going to delay other things for us? >> Well, they've started to work. >> Yeah. >> But you are, >> right? That's all you're doing is delaying their payment. So, um, but you know, I get it. You're you're having a there's I don't know. There's no reason why at our next meeting we're getting ready to set those dates. You have them come and talk through that with them. >> Well, if we approve it today, right, it's approved. So, at that point, I'm I'm I'm I'm interested in a bit more than just a conversation explanation. I'm wondering if there's any room to kind of negotiate this down a bit. I I I mean, I guess anything's possible. Um I mean, it's a lot of work. That's why it's I mean it's

091you're talking $84 million in in contracts that they're going to be doing designs for. So >> it's a lot of work, but it's also a lot of money. >> Yeah. >> I also just want to reference on their website there's a lot of information about their other projects. So I mean I just was not aware of of this company. So I think that if just a little >> Do they have information on what they're charging? >> What they're charging? Uh >> probably >> I haven't dug. It's only been a very short amount of time. >> Probably not. >> Yeah. Can I s >> Is this thing on? Yes. I I just echoing Alex. I if there's it'd be I know I'm not on the committee. I appreciate that. but certainly, you know, share the same

092concerns and that if there's just a, you know, a way to get a sort of better accounting of everything and just understand where they're coming from and then also what the sort of standard is, I guess, you know, because there's been a lot of large referendum around here. So, I'd be curious >> adjusting that we go out and get someone else. I I you know, that's a this was like in a one to$2 million range, I'd be like, okay, this makes sense. But but we're pushing 5 million here. >> Just just the information that's available on the website. Um there's about 15 bids and they range from 17 million at Princeton public um HVAC systems, the community park, um there's Pit School, there's about five schools listed with bids and how much and what the

093work is. So I think if we just do some website research, it's it's within range. Is the is the do you want to avoid passing this because you want to have the meeting first like just >> Yes. >> Okay. >> Yes. So my proposal would be to table this for one meeting cycle. But yeah, >> it's your it's your meeting. If you want to pass it, they can table it. I mean, it's we're we're just going to delay them getting started. That's all. But >> um so we since we moved them both at the same time um >> we could do a motion to sever the two. >> There's a motion to sever somewhere in Robert's >> rules. We're just going to pass the one. We'll figure it out later. We'll pass the one and

094table the other. What's that? >> I got to look. >> All right. So, we need a motion to resend the previous motion. Motion. >> Second. >> All in favor? >> I. >> Any opposed or abstaining? Any so we have I was three abstain two and everybody three >> a no. Okay. >> So, >> no to severing. This is to >> Okay. So, we have >> we have three nos to resent or three nos >> three >> eyes to go ahead and resend. Three >> three. >> I don't know what the what the vote count is for it. We haven't done a rescending ever. >> Well, we have to have a majority. >> You need a majority. >> So, we don't have >> We don't have a majority of stings to count. >> Okay. >> So,

095we're going to vote. We're not We're not severing it, but we're voting to pass. >> Right. to vote on the whole thing. Yeah. >> Okay. So now we've we did not pass rescending. So we are now voting for both two of the items to pass. All in favor of both passing. >> You need a roll call. >> A roll call. >> Can I just ask a quick question with the gentleman who has put forth this donation? We would just put it on the next board agenda. Is that how we would address it? Because I don't want to say like it's like no, we're not accepting the Does everybody that voted on >> Does everybody that voted on the previous vote understand what they voted for the resention? >> Okay. cancel. >> Correct. >> But you

096needed a majority vote for it to pass. >> Correct. Correct. I'm just confirming that everybody is clear about what they voted on. So, at this point, we're going to do a roll call vote just because I need to figure out if we have a majority to pass both items. One thing I want >> understand. >> Can I just make a make a comment? If >> I'm just thinking about governance right now. If we're going to pull this back because people have an interest in pulling it back for both, can I maybe implore the rest of the board to just pull it back so we can do a vote on each versus not abstaining >> or anything to that effect, >> right? But we need the majority for that to happen. meaning me included who abstained,

097we're going to have to go and revote again for that to happen. Two people need to switch their votes. Okay? If we don't do that, >> he's a majority. potentially put it back on old business. You already He can he tried to tried to resend the motion didn't try to lay it on the table. Now it Both motions are now they're still linked. >> You can only table the motion as it was passed. We didn't know this was coming but we kept both motions separate. >> So you can table it but you're tableing the whole thing. >> Right. Okay. So, we have a first to table both items. Is there a second? >> Okay. So, roll call vote on both items. Second, >> Mr. >> Yes. Dr. >> Yes. But can I explain for a

098second? I am voting yes because I think the district has done their homework here and I trust the process that happened by which we selected and agreed to this cost. That said, I think from a matter of process when we have a number this large in our consent agenda or just in the agenda in general, we ought to discuss it in the finance committee first so that everyone's comfortable with it. But yes, >> Mr. Peters, >> abstain, >> Dr. >> abstain with my apologies to uh the family that's making a very generous donation. >> Mr. Abstain abstain. >> Dr. Stilliano. >> Uh I'm going to say pass. And I'm going to echo uh Dr. Lilliston. I think um in addition, I think when we have a number this large, being able to be transparent with

099the community about the process that has happened behind the scenes is important. Um and so I look forward to doing that as we kind of continue through these projects. Miss Con. >> Pass. Yes. >> Miss Williams Galliano. >> Yes. >> Majority vote. >> I have four. >> Oh, I thought you passed. You vote yes. >> All right, the motion passes. >> We need to circle back, get the explanation for everyone, and make sure we report back to the rest of the community. >> And moving forward, we will pull those things and make them separate. >> Everybody, Robert's rules ready? >> Yeah, I'm going to echo Pam. If you >> if you're going to be asking for a lot of money, I get very anal. You can ask my family, my kids specifically. >> And my

100apologies. I thought we had discussed this way back when we talked about the cost of when we first started sharing the cost. All those soft costs were built in to all the documents that we've seen. >> They they were. So >> I think this was spread out between the costs of the various projects. It was never called out as a separate line item. At least not that I've seen. I I may have missed it in which case I apologize. But >> I what I saw is the various project costs and we've spent a lot of time on those. But I didn't see a cost of you know $4.7 million for architects. services >> and and moving forward if as we're going over the agenda if Pam and I see something we we can check in

101as well. So I think understood feedback's understood. Okay. So I'm moving on um we're going to move to personnel. All right. Thank you. Mine should be quite quick now. Um, first I just want to acknowledge and thank Mark for his two years of service uh leading the committee. So, thank you very much and I'm glad you're going to you stay on it and share your expertise. Um, we we have two uh retirements that we wanted to share and acknowledge. The first and and I apologize if I pronounce names wrong here. First is Sharon uh Tisker um who has served here as a TMS secretary for 31 years in our district which is a huge achievement and so want to acknowledge her. Our second retirement is Tara Kissling who is in our business office as a

102secretary um who has been with the district for 12 years. So thank you to Tara for her service. Um, we have an exciting new hire to announce. Um, Thaddius Zmechi. And I was going to say, I'm not actually sure if we have Thaddius here this evening. Is he? There we go. Hiding over there. Wonderful. Thaddius is our new facilities director and we are thrilled that you are here. So, welcome to the community. >> Assistant, assistant. >> I apologize. Assistant. Thank you. So, welcome and and thank you for being here with us this evening. Um, otherwise you'll see we have some uh appointments and some pdeium rates in here. So, just to highlight, I'm not going to go through all of them because they're in the agenda. Um, but we have our spring extracurricular appointments. Uh,

103we have new substitutes that have been hired that will be starting. Um, and also some updates in the pdium rates. Um, and Bob, I'm going to look to you in terms of whether we need a vote. >> We definitely need a vote. We need a motion in a second as well. motion. >> Second. >> Okay. >> Uh, Dr. Lilliston. >> Yes. >> Mr. Peters. >> Yes. >> Dr. Resnik. >> Yes. >> Mr. Slottman. >> Hi. >> Dr. Stellaniano. >> Yes. >> Miss Carter. >> Yes. >> Dr. Jenn. Uh, Mr. Kapadia. >> Yes. Miss Williams Galliano. >> Yes. >> Motion carries. >> Marvelous. Thank you. Um, moving on to education seal. I um we didn't have a meeting, but I did note that there is a professional service item that was not um was not on

104the consent agenda item. So, we may need to vote separately on that. I'm sorry. >> Vicki, do you want to cover the or plet? >> Yeah. >> Home instruction. Home instruction. >> The home instruction behavioral health. >> Yeah, that's um that's that's basically um hospitalization. and our student is hospitalized and it's a new um the family placed them in that and it's the educational component of that that we get built so we need to have them board approved. >> Understood. Okay. Um can I get a first and second to approve? >> Motion. >> Second. >> Roll call vote. >> No. >> Oh. All in favor. >> Any abstaining or um nays? All right, that passes. Moving on. Drew, government relations and community relations. >> Um, we we did not meet. Um, but I do just

105want to take the time to just quickly provide some updates and then also check in um with Dr. Trice regarding some of the the movement we've had with um the the joint cultural performance. Um, so just as an update and um, also to um, Miss Carter, our our new board member, um, I just want to give you as well a warm welcome to uh, the board. Um, and I also want to welcome both um, Mr. Slottman and Miss Dilliano to to Dr. Silaniano for joining the government and community relations committee. And Mr. Slapman, I'm looking forward to working with you again to to help with transparency and communicating with with the broader Hopewell community. Um the government relations committee for the last year has been working on three separate initiatives. One at the state level,

106one at the county level, uh and one at the municipal. Um for the state, we are working to submit our second uh FY27 state budget request. This year we're going to be focusing on mental health resources and securing some additional funding um for our middle and high school students uh with an identified nonprofit partner. Um Dr. just whenever you get the chance, we would love to get some of those uh quotes and information so that we can start to craft the the request to our legislators. Um last year we reached out to the LD15 delegation in April and we were a little bit late. Um the goal would be to reach out uh in March and to ideally this year have a meeting with them to actually be able to chat with them about what

107we would be using the dollars for, potentially have them come to our school and see some of the work that that we would be able to accomplish with the the state dollars. um for county level outreach uh and our county level initiative. We've been working on a joint cultural uh performance with a Mercer County based nonprofit called Young Audiences. Um we are currently scheduled to have that event in the first week of June uh in partnership with Lawrence, Robbinsville, and Euing Public Schools. This would be the first uh event of its kind with the goal of breaking down barriers between our community. Uh, and as we've talked about before, Mercer County is one of the most segregated counties in the state and on the east coast. So, it's really important that we have students, especially

108when they're in elementary school, talking to students from different backgrounds and different communities right right here in Mercer County. >> So, quick update on the the um assembly. We have run into a snag with the date that we want to use and finding an indoor location that can accommodate 1,200 people. So, um that we have access to in Mercer County. So, that we're working on. Uh actually um Miss Russo from Young Audience is is put me in touch with um the Marter who is willing to do this with us and partner with us but the the space that they want to give us is not available because they're ripping all the seats out right when we want to do this in June. So now we have to revisit dates and all of that. So that's

109still in the works and um I will have uh bids and all that ready for you for our next meeting which we'll set tonight for the other project that we're working on for mental health. >> Thank you. Um and lastly for our municipal initiative, um we've talked about this in several meetings. Uh this idea of lowering the voting age for schoolboard elections to 16 here in Hope Valley. Um we are currently in the process of drafting a survey uh that we would give to our Central High School students to measure student engagement, civic interest, and civic preparedness uh to be able to to be a state leader on this front. Um, so I've been in the process of drafting the survey and ideally we could um get some data before the next uh monthly board

110meeting in February. Um, so those are my updates. If you have any questions, feel free to ask and um, if you have any ideas or commentary on the specific initiatives, I welcome any feedback. >> I just want to mention the War Memorial in Trenton is a really lovely space with exceptional parking. >> That that was our first priority >> and it's not available. It's not available. We wanted it and it's not available on the dates. We need it. We have a um group that's been selected called Ball in the House from for the older folks that watch Brady Bunch when they told the kids not to play Ball in the House and they end up breaking something very expensive. That's where the name comes from. It's a capello group. They're not available to the days

111that the war memorial is available. So, it's been a lot. It's been a lot of back and forth. Yes, >> that's what I have my say. >> Um >> I have a comment on the survey. Um, I feel like asking high school students this question is like asking small kids if they want to have extra candy. U, you're going to get a rather one-sided response on that one. Um, I feel like that's a question that with you you probably want to extend that survey to a larger community, especially if you're going to use the results of the survey to them kind of um as as one of the data points for a recommendation. Uh, I don't know if I necessarily see the similarity between the appeal of candy to a small child and the ability

112to vote in a schoolboard election to a high schooler. This the same, but I I I would say um this data is more so to understand if our students are interested in this uh opportunity. Um, as we saw in Newark, the voter engagement in the first election when 16 and 17 year olds had the right to vote, the uh engagement was not to the level that they had anticipated. So, it's important before we're pushing the initiative to to see if there is actual interest. Um, and we want to make sure that the data we're using is substantive data from the affected population rather than um something that, you know, we're just pushing unilaterally. Um, and you know, I I just, you know, something we haven't explicitly talked about is is a real driver behind this.

113You know, our 16 and 17 year olds in the high school, they pay taxes if they're working. They're allowed to drive on Route 1 at 80 miles hour. They're allowed a host of responsibilities, but they can't have a say in the policym that affects them in their day-to-day life in school. So, I think it's important that when we're talking about this, it's also important that we're not infantilizing our students and saying that they're going to make a decision based on, you know, some flashy headline that they would have the chance to vote in a schoolboard election, which I'm not sure if that's that flashy to begin with. Um, so I just think that's important when we're talking about the initiative. And we're not even pushing anything yet. This is still just the data collection process.

114Uh so I agree with the need to understand the potential engagement uh but I also would say that you also need to understand the potential readiness the understanding of how governance works. Um, you know, as far as a they're not really allowed to drive 80 miles an hour down Route One. Um, but they're also not allowed to drink until the age of 21. So, um, I think that shortcuts both ways. um knowing the district I suspect that there's interest and engagement but that doesn't mean that there's u the level of preparedness that needs to be there in terms of being educated about you know what the the role of the board of education uh the role of local government uh the both the abilities and the limitations and that's my concern. >> I appreciate the

115the comment and again there are the the steps that we talked about in committee um which is to gain the understanding and there will be an education process but this is way before all of that. So, you know, the first again stepping over the opportunity because we don't think they're prepared, I think is shortsighted, but the opportunity is to explore it by having data first and then then what's needed to execute on that is a whole different conversation. So, we're we're at the very beginning phases. I also want to be clear, the survey would not just be asking students whether they would be supportive of the initiative. It would ask questions about their civic preparedness. Um, have they, like one of the questions that I've drafted is, have they attended a schoolboard meeting in the

116last month? Have they spoken to a legislator? Have they reached out for a policy issue to a school administrator? There's a host of ways to be civically engaged. And I I'd also ultimately, you know, my belief for our students uh having been a student in this district and really our staff and faculty is that we deliver quite a robust civic uh education in our school. And I I do trust that our 16 and 17 year olds are ready to vote um in a schoolboard election. But again, that's my opinion and my opinion is not informed by data yet because we haven't begun the surveying process and that would be what this goal is. >> I'm I'm going to pay you a compliment that you're not going to like. I have a suspicion that you're thinking

117of yourself back when you were 17 and I'm going to venture to say that you're not a represent you're not a a representative of the median on the civic engagement. I have no doubt that you were more than prepared to make those decisions. >> So Dr. Resnick, I'm going to disagree. as a former vice principal, principal, and a longtime administrator in this district. Your students have argued and and lobbyed and and been in Washington DC lobbying for legislation. You have kids producing content around political movements. You have kids generating and and making whole movements to get things passed when they don't like policy happening in this school. The kids know more than you think they do. I think you're underestimating them. And if they're not interested, we don't want to waste our time running around

118trying to get them involved in something that they don't want to be involved in. But you have elementary school students that have made change. Your kids are capable of this. It's just if they want want it or not. And we need to if we decide to go down this road, we need to educate our students. We need to make the the people who are running for the school board available to students to hear their speeches. the teachers are willing to put in the work with the students as well, but it needs to be, you know, it it needs to be something that they want. Otherwise, why do it? If they say we're not interested in that, then it needs to stop there. >> Anything else, Dr. I almost made you Dr. Kapati. >> I'll just

119say um Mr. Kavat, I want to thank you for moving this initiative forward. I think if we say as a board that we care about civic engagement, we should put our money where our mouth is. And I think we can think about this, Dr. Resnik, as an on-ramp to to good civic engagement and and really using it as an opportunity for folks to learn more about the process. I mean, at the end of the day, like we're here to serve the kids and the kids ought to have a say in who's serving them. So, >> well, well said. >> Thank you. >> All right. Um I they're um moving on to climate action. I know that they were just getting ready to meet. I'm not sure if they've officially met um in the larger group.

120So um we'll go past that. Um okay. Okay. Um, seeing no other committee reports, we're going to I'm going to need a first and second to uh approve the January February calendars. >> Motion second. >> All in favor? Oh, sorry. personel set 9th 6 o'lock. >> Um, does finance have any time? Mark, you're away next week, right? >> Next week >> of this week. I texted him. I haven't heard back yet. >> Um, are you around Monday with the holiday? >> Do you want to mean do you want to try Friday morning? This Friday morning >> finance finance the night. >> No good. Can we do a little bit earlier than nine? >> No, he can't. He can't do the ninth. It's the ninth. Um, I'm trying to think of >> I'm I'm going to

121be on an airplane on the 20th in the morning. I can do 21st in the morning from the hotel room. >> 20 21st we could do it at 8 o'clock. It's just we have a we have a 9:00 meeting with the with the uh county. All of us do. >> Yeah. Yeah. >> Yeah. We just have to have a hard stop at 55. >> Okay. Okay. The 21st 25. >> Yeah. Okay. Duven Duven and John co-chairs >> policy is already set for the Friday at 8 a.m. Right. >> Okay. Um >> for uh government community relations, how does any time on Wednesday the 21st uh in the morning like 9:00 a.m.? >> I'm traveling that day. >> John, you said you're traveling, so you're you're out of commission that day. Okay. Yeah, that week is

122not good for me, but the next week is better. >> I could do um the next week on like 8 a.m. on most uh weekdays. There's a specific day that works best. >> The 26th >> maybe on the >> Yeah. I could do anything other than >> actually I can't do the 27th or 28th. Sorry. >> What about the 26th? >> I could do the 26. Yeah. >> 8. Yeah, that work. Cool. 26th. Okay. Okay. All in favor? >> Any oppose or abstaining? >> Okay. Calendars are passed. Any new business? >> Seeing none, we're going >> Hold on. It's not new business, but Amanda, did you want me to go back to those things on the No. Okay. and I don't have any. >> Okay. Um we are >> Okay. Public comment. Second public comment.

123Me me me me me me me me me me me me me me me me me me me me me me me me me me me members of the public are invited to address the board on any matter for a maximum of three minutes during this portion of the meeting. You're asked to state your name, address, and municipality. In response to your comments, the board of ed may respond or direct the superintendent to do so. The board may also opt to take the matter up at a future meeting so that the matter is researched by the district administration. You understand the timekeeping rules and public comment is now open. It's now closed. Um I need a first and second to move us into executive session. >> Motion >> second. >> There no action will be

124taken but we will be discussing HIP and student matters. All in favor? >> Any opposed or abstaining? >> Seeing none we are now in executive session. Thank you all for hanging with us. Thank you, Seth.