001[music] >> Woo. >> [music] [music] >> Mhm. >> [music] [music] >> I'd like to call the meeting to order. Please stand and salute the flag. I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America. Can I go ahead and certify the meeting? We're We're Okay. This meeting is in compliance with the open public meeting law and has been duly advertised in the newspaper as an official meeting. Roll call. Mrs. Barocas? Here. Mrs. Cass? Present. Dr. Osmond? Present. Mr. Walsh? Yes. Mrs. Rivera? Present. Mr. McCarron? Present. Mrs. Gardella? Present. At this time, I would like to turn the meeting over to our board attorney to add five student resolution five resolutions under students items 8, 9, 10, 11, and 12. Exactly. Okay. So, these students were discussed in closed session. They will be referred
002to as students A through E. Students A and E, the resolution I'm sorry, A and B, the resolutions will be the same. So, this is the resolutions for students A and B. Resolved that the Board of Education hereby terminates the long-term suspension of pupil A. It will also be the same for B. Effective April 30th, 2026 and authorizes the student to resume in-person instruction in Jackson High School. Be it further resolved that the student shall be placed on conduct probation for the remainder of the 25-26 school year. And as a condition thereof, shall not be permitted to participate or I'm sorry, not be permitted to practice or participate in interscholastic or intramural sports, attend school sponsored events, participate in any clubs, organizations, or other extracurricular activities in any capacity. This restriction encompasses, without limit limitation,
003any prom or formal events, driving privileges on school grounds, and participation in graduation ceremonies. Be it further resolved that as a further condition of conduct probation, the student shall be required to meet regularly with her assigned school counsel at interview intervals to be determined by the building administration. Be it further resolved that in the event that the student violates any provision of the student code of conduct or any term and condition of this conduct probation, the Board reserves the right to convene an expulsion hearing for the purpose of discontinuing the provision of educational services to the students in accordance with applicable law. And be it finally resolved that the student's family shall be provided with a copy of this resolution together with written notice of the right of appeal to the Commissioner of Education pursuant
004to NJSA 18A:6-9. That'll be resolution 8 and resolution 9. I'm now up to resolution 10 for student C. Resolved that the board hereby terminates the long-term suspension of pupil C effective April 30th, 2026 and authorizes the student to resume in-person instruction at Jackson High School. Be it further resolved that the student shall be placed on conduct probation with a behavioral contract for the remainder of the 25-26 school year and as a condition thereof shall not be permitted to practice or participate in any interscholastic or intramural sports, attend school-sponsored social events, participate in any club, organization, or other extracurricular activity in any capacity. This restriction encompasses, without limitation, attendance at prom, formal events, driving privileges on school grounds, and participation in graduation ceremonies. And be it further resolved that as a further condition of conduct probation,
005the student shall be required to meet regularly with their assigned counselor at intervals to be determined by the building administration. And be it further resolved that in the event that the student violates any provision of the code of conduct or any term or condition of this conduct probation, the board reserves the right to convene an expulsion hearing for the purpose of discontinuing the provision of educational services to the students student in accordance with applicable law. And be it finally resolved that the students' family shall be provided with a copy of this resolution together with written notice of their right to appeal to the Commissioner of Education pursuant to NJSA 18A:6-9. This is for student letter We're up to D. Okay. Um and this one's on my computer. Okay. Um resolved that the Board of Education
006having afforded pupil D all procedural process protections required under New Jersey law and code and having further determined that the student is a general education student not classified as a student with a disability under NJAC 6A:14 or the IDEA, hereby determines that the continued presence of the student in the district schools is harmful to the welfare of other students and staff and the student's conduct and academic record do not support the continuation of educational services. And be it further resolved that in support of this determination, the board finds and concludes as follows: A, the student has accumulated to accumulated an extensive disciplinary record over the course of his enrollment in the district, including multiple prior suspensions and repeated violations of the student code of conduct demonstrating a persistent pattern of conduct that has been disruptive
007to the educational environment and harmful to the school community. B, the student has exhibited chronic and severe pattern of absenteeism with an excessive number of unexcused absences throughout the school year rising to the level that has effectively precluded meaningful participation in the educational program. C, the student has accumulated an excessive number of tardies further evidencing a persistent failure to comply with the basic school expectations and obligations. D, the student has failed to meet academic obligations and has not completed the required coursework and assignments and has fallen significantly behind grade level and course credit expectations notwithstanding the reasonable opportunities and supports offered by the district. And E, the student has been and continues to be a disruptive force in the school environment adversely affecting the ability of other students to learn and the ability of the
008staff to maintain an orderly and safe educational setting. Be it further resolved that based on the foregoing pursuant to NJAC 6A:16-7.4 and NJSA 18A:37-2, the Board of Education hereby expels pupil D and discontinues the provision of all educational services to the student effective immediately upon the adoption of this resolution. And be it further resolved that the board I'm sorry, that the student shall be provided information about enrollment in a GED program. And be it finally resolved that the student's family shall be provided with a copy of this resolution, written notice of their right to appeal to the Commissioner of Education. And then the last resolution. All right, this is the last one. Yeah, this for student E. Uh Yep, okay. Resolved that the Board of Education hereby authorizes the termination of the long-term suspension of
009pupil E and the student's return to in-person instruction at Jackson High School contingent upon written clearance by a psychiatrist designated by the Board of Education confirming that the student is fit to return to the school environment. And be it further resolved that the family shall arrange for the student to be evaluated by a psychiatrist designated by the Board of Education and the student's return to school shall not be permitted until such written clearance has been received by the building principal. The cost of said evaluation borne by the Board of Education. Be it further resolved that upon clearance and return to school, the student shall be placed on conduct probation with a behavioral contract for the remainder of the 25-26 school year and as a condition thereof shall not be permitted permitted to practice or participate
010in any interscholastic or intramural sport, attend any school-sponsored social event, or participate in any club, organization, or other extracurricular curricular activity in any capacity. This restriction encompasses, without limitation, attendance at prom or formal events, driving privileges on school grounds, and participation in graduation ceremonies. And be it further resolved that a further as a further condition of conduct probation, the student shall be required to meet regularly with their assigned school counselor at intervals to be determined by the building administration. Be it further resolved that in the event that the student violates any provision of the student code of conduct or any term and condition of this conduct probation, the board reserves the right to convene an expulsion hearing for the purpose of discontinuing provision of educational services to the students in accordance with applicable law. And
011be it finally resolved that the students' family shall be provided with a copy of this resolution together with written notice of the right to appeal to the Commissioner of Education pursuant to NJSA 18A:6-9. Thank you. I need a motion for approval of the agenda. When that motion happens We actually need a motion to add that to the agenda first. Yeah. >> Motion to add resolution students 8 through 12 to the agenda. Motion. Second. Discussion? All in favor? I. I. I need a motion for approval of the agenda. Motion. As amended? Second. Discussion? Yes, I'm going to have a comment. So, I would like to direct everybody's attention to tonight's agenda. You will see that we are going to be voting to hire our new superintendent of schools tonight to succeed Mrs. Permelli who will be
012leaving us soon. So, I just wanted to put out a reminder for the public and for the for the board, Mr. McCarren and I previously presented the findings of our community-wide survey. The feedback from all of our stakeholders was a vital in defining what we wanted in our next superintendent. You told us that you wanted someone who puts students' well-being first, possesses strong financial skills, and is an expert in curriculum and instruction. Our community also sought a leader who understands the unique nature of our district, our shifting demographics, and the complexities of the operations and transportation challenges that we see in this district. This thorough and transparent process guided every step of our search from the candidates that we brought in to interview to the specific questions that we asked during these interviews. With that
013said, we felt unanimously that Mr. Biginsky was by far the strongest and most well-rounded candidate to lead our district. We are a complex and unique community and Mr. [snorts] Biginsky's experience at every single level of education provides him with a deep understanding of our specific needs. He brings a rare combination of academic leadership and fiscal expertise paired with a forward-thinking vision. A significant benefit to voting yes for Mr. Biginsky tonight is that there is no learning curve, that he has a true pulse on our students and our staffs our staff and our needs, and he's ready to run on day one. So, um congratulations. >> [laughter] [applause] >> So, I wanted to just take an opportunity to thank the board for their trust and give me this opportunity to lead the Jackson Township School District.
014It is really a tremendous honor. I've been with the school district for 24 years. Um I also want to thank personally thank Mrs. Permelli for her leadership through very challenging times and her mentorship. Sitting beside her, not just tonight, but you know, through the last 11 years really, has been an and also been a great honor and I want to thank you for that. I know our community's been through quite a bit, but today marks I think a commitment to stability and I hope to ensure that stability for this school district. There's not going to be any quick fixes. I do hope that we can build a new foundation together and that we can begin to identify some of the strengths in Jackson and build on those strengths. Resilience is something is a word that
015pops up quite often lately when it comes to our school district. I hope to embody that and bring forth a new era of growth for our school district. And and most importantly, as Dr. Osmond had said, I want to know that every single person in this school district is putting students first. And in fact, everything that we do should start with how it impacts students. And I look forward to getting to work with everyone in the school district, uh both teachers at all levels, administrators, our Board of Ed, and uh I look forward to working together to to get started. So, thank you. >> [applause] >> Roll call. Mrs. Barocas. Yes. Mrs. Cass. Present. Dr. Osmond. Here. Mr. Walsh. Yes. Mrs. Rivera. Yes. Mr. McCarron. Yes. Mrs. Gardella. Yes. I'd like to turn the meeting
016over to Ms. Permilli for her Superintendent's Report. Thank you very much. Um Before we move forward with some wonderful high school things happening, I too want to take a few minutes to acknowledge the appointment of Mr. Beginsky as the next Jackson Township School District Superintendent. I have been fortunate enough to work alongside Mr. Beginsky, as he mentioned, also for the past 11 years. First as fellow assistant superintendents and more recently in our respective role roles as business administrator and superintendent and superintendent. Together, alongside Mr. Rotante and Dr. Godleski, we have faced unprecedented challenges in this district and I'm deeply proud of how we navigated those moments as a unified team, always guided by a shared commitment to the success and well-being of our students and staff. Mr. Beginsky is deeply experienced in all aspects of
017leading a school district and he has demonstrated a long-standing commitment to education and a strong dedication to serving the best interest of students, especially here in Jackson. He has been at the forefront of advocating for Jackson schools throughout the S2 state aid cuts. He's smart, innovative, and has the pulse of this district. It is incredibly difficult to step away from an educational career and a school community that I care so deeply about, but knowing that this district is in such capable hands with Mr. Beginsky gives me a deep sense of comfort and confidence in what lies ahead. He is most definitely the right person to take the helm and guide this district forward into its next chapter. I am so excited to see and hear about the wonderful things ahead for Jackson schools under Mr.
018Beginsky's leadership. So, congratulations again. >> [applause] >> So, we are going to begin this evening, uh the Superintendent's remarks as we always do. We have our two high school board reps here who are going to tell us about all the high school happenings and then we have an exciting high school recognition as well. So, Peyton and Colin, please come up to the podium. Good evening, Superintendent Permilli, members of the Board of Education, and honored guests. Thank you for allowing us to speak on behalf of Jackson Township High School. As we continue through the spring season, our students remain enthusiastic and actively engaged in athletics, academics, and the arts. We are excited to share some recent highlights from our school community. In athletics, our spring teams are off to a strong start. Both our boys and
019girls track teams have been performing well and recently competed at the prestigious Penn Relays, representing Jackson Township High School at an elite level. Golf has been competitive with highlight performances by Ryan Monday and Addison Solias, both of whom placed in the top four at the Ocean County Tournament. The softball team is doing well and will compete in the semifinals of their Ocean County Tournament tomorrow night. The boys volleyball team remains undefeated, sitting with an impressive record of 11 and 0. It is amazing to see all of the success our teams are having, but there are a few individuals who are standing out as well. We would like to recognize our athletes of the month, Skylar Carpenter and Michael Fogarty, for their incredible performances and commitment to their teams. Additionally, we are proud of all of
020our student athletes who have committed to continuing their athletic careers at the collegiate level. In academics, we are proud to recognize our Seniors of the Month, Ava Inchousti and Maya Minti, for their leadership, commitment, and academic excellence. We also recently held our joint honor society induction ceremony, where 185 students were inducted into combined 10 honor societies, highlighting the strong academic achievement and dedication to service within our student body. Students at JTHS are thriving and we are especially excited to celebrate all of our seniors who will be making their decisions this Friday on National Decision Day. Our clubs and activities continue to thrive this spring. DECA recently had seven members travel to Atlanta to compete at the International Career Development Conference, an incredible accomplishment that reflects their hard work and business expertise. Three students, Caitlyn Garrigiola,
021Emily Hirsch, and Sadie Hirsch, became international finalists, which means they are top 20 in the world. Our Air Force Junior ROTC program competed in a physical fitness competition called the Raiders competition. Our cadet placed in every event and came in first place overall. We also held a prom pop-up store where students could come to our IMC and pick out a prom dress, tuxedo, or suit along with shoes and other accessories. There were over 200 dresses and 50 suits for students to choose from. Finally, our Jaguar band held another successful and enjoyable spring concert this past Thursday. I hope everyone had a chance to attend Museum Night, which was held today in our main hallway. We truly have very talented artists in all of our district schools. Student wellness remains a priority at JTHS, as evident
022by our recent wellness fair, which promoted healthy habits and provided valuable resources. Our community has also stayed connected through events like Bring Your Child to Work Day, giving students meaningful, real-world experiences. Looking ahead, JTV's 19th annual Ferrone's is just around the corner. Ferrone's Last Ride will showcase a wide range of student productions, performances, and creative work. The show will take place on Thursday, May 14th at 6:30 p.m. You can reserve tickets at ferrones.com now. Thank you for your continued support of the students and staff at Jackson Township High School. We look forward to sharing even more accomplishments in the months ahead. Have a wonderful evening and as always, go Jags. >> [applause] >> Well, thank you both, Peyton and Colin, again for a wonderful, um comprehensive report and just all of the amazing opportunities that
023are available at our high school. Congratulations to our students who take advantage of them and thank you to our staff who help to facilitate them. Um you know, I've I've said this before and we've worked so hard to keep these opportunities for our students. Um and I'm just really proud that we were able to keep them for our students. It's just you go to other districts, many of the high school students don't have all of these opportunities, so I'm really grateful for that. And I'm I'm happy to hear students taking advantage of them and the success that they're having in them. Bless you. So, moving forward, we have an exciting recognition, another opportunity that was provided to our students who took advantage of it. Um I'm going to start with a few words about our
024Jackson Township High School Girls Wrestling State Champions. >> [applause] >> So exciting. Uh and then I'm going to turn it over to Mrs. Gardella who's going to do some more words and some acknowledgement for our athletes. So, as I said, we have here tonight the state champions, Jackson Township High School Girls Wrestling Team, and the New Jersey Girls Wrestling Coach of the Year, Coach Lemke. >> [applause] [applause] >> Mrs. Gardella is going to speak a little bit more in a few moments, but I wanted to make an important point, um which is that championships like this don't happen overnight. Uh this moment represents years of growth in our district, years of commitment to building opportunities for girls in wrestling, years of coaching, mentoring, and believing in what this program could become. It reflects the grit,
025the discipline, and the heart of these student athletes and coaches, as well as the dedication of their leadership, the coaches, and the families that support them. Thank you for representing our district, our schools, and our community with such excellence. You have made us incredibly proud and your achievement will inspire future generations for years to come. I now turn the recognition over to Mrs. Gardella. Yep. Good evening, everybody. Tonight, it is our honor to recognize a team that has not only achieved excellence, but has made history. This year, the Jackson Jaguars Girls Wrestling Team captured the New Jersey Group 4 State Team Championship, which is the highest level of team competition in our state. What makes this moment even more extraordinary is that this is the first year in New Jersey history that a girls wrestling
026team meets state championship has officially been recognized. That means this team, who is with us tonight, is the first ever to earn this title. That is not just a win. That is a legacy. On the screen behind me, you can see some of the highlights of their season. These student athletes didn't just rise to the occasion, they dominated it. They completed the season undefeated, a remarkable accomplishment that speaks to their consistency, preparation, and determination. Week after week, they proved themselves to be one of the premier programs in the state, building momentum that carried them all the way through an elite level post season and into an impressive championship victory. And tonight we recognize that this team has done more than win a title. They have set a standard. They have shown what is possible. Students
027and coaches, you have etched your names into the history of New Jersey athletics and into the proud tradition of us being one Jackson. On behalf of the Board of Education, it is my pleasure to recognize these state champions and their incredible coaches for a job well done. I'd like to start by calling up our student athletes and their coaches and ask them to stay up front so we can get a group photo. Miss Irwin, do you want them like here on the stairs? Okay. All right, so I'm going to start with the student athletes. And you guys are in ABC order. Help me. Perfect. You guys ready? Amy Alvarado. >> [applause] >> Guadalupe Alonzo Lopez. >> [applause] >> Ava Bello. >> [applause] >> Come on up. >> [laughter] >> We're going to give you a
028certificate and then you're going to stand over here. We're going to get a a team photo. Aniyah Berringer. >> [applause] >> Olivia Benia. >> [applause] >> Ava Bonilla. >> [applause] >> Ella Boyoca. Boyco, I'm sorry. >> [applause] >> Nicole Cerilla. >> [applause] >> Lilly Klaus. >> [applause] >> Grace Cruz. Taylor Curatola. >> [applause] >> Grace Dott. Marlow Donato. >> [applause] >> Ariana Dugo. Briana Dugo. >> [applause] >> Kaylee Ferreira. >> [applause] >> Jada Figueroa. >> [applause] >> Victoria Ford. Capri Gibson. >> [applause] >> Mariah Gonzalez. Aubrey Harvey. >> [applause] >> Paige Little. >> [applause] >> Jada Maximiliano. >> [applause] >> Elsie McGinley. Melissa Montefil Salazar. >> [applause] >> Lona Mora. Denise Munoz. >> [applause] >> Salen Yunez Pedia. Giana Pomara. >> [applause] >> Anna Rucci. >> [applause] >> Madison Rucci. Victoria Tendare. >> [applause] >>
029Riley Thorn. And last but not least, Leslie Valdez Robles. >> [applause] >> Congratulations. It is also my pleasure to recognize the leadership that helped these student athletes achieve this level of accident excellence. Assistant coach Taisha Ramirez. She's [applause] not here? And Diana Shrisky. And last but not least, congratulations to our New New Jersey girls wrestling coach of the year, Joseph Lemkey. >> [applause] >> Additionally, I would like to um call up JTHS principal Mr. Brignola and our athletic director Mr. McLean um for our group photo if you don't mind. >> [applause] >> Um I don't know. Okay, thank you. Congratulations. Yeah, that's what I'll do. So, um >> [music] >> if you it's okay, Miss Carroll, I'm just going to continue. Okay. All right, good. So, uh we are going to continue on with the
030board meeting. Um I also Everybody's invited to stay, but I also know our students sometimes have some work to get done and things to accomplish. So, if you would like to leave, we can take a a few minute break and you can exit out the door doors and then we'll continue. Um but again, you are welcome to stay. Very tempting. Bye. >> [applause] >> evening. Um before we turn it over to Mr. Beginsky for the budget. So, uh last week Switlik uh staff and students hosted a multicultural night uh and it was extremely well attended. I was able to walk the halls and see some of the incredible work of the students and staff in preparing for the evening. Each hallway was assigned a continent and then classes chose a country to research and represent.
031Displays were put up all over the hallways outside of classrooms demonstrating their learning and many had interactive learning opportunities for those exploring our country. All students were escorted by their teachers around the world learning all about different countries and their cultures. And they each had passports, so when they would learn something new, they would get their passport stamped. It was um a very engaging opportunity for students to learn, get them involved in research, and parents attended in the evening. In fact, one of the hallways was the rainforest and they really got into decorating it and the sounds and everything. So, it was an excellent educational project and interactive learning experience for students and parents got to partake in that as well. In fact, last night we also had an experience at the high school. It
032was a annual art show, the museum night, where the high school hosts that, but it demonstrates all of the art across the district. Every year I'm just blown away at the art and what our teachers are able to assist our students to produce. I know I wasn't producing artwork like that in school. There were drawings that I thought were actual photographs. From a distance I thought it was a photograph, but it was students drawing, just amazing. And I'm sure we will get some of those pictures and those drawings and those artworks up on our Facebook page soon. Thank you to our staff for their incredible ability and knowledge to teach art to our students and thank you to the students for allowing us to display your beautiful work. As mentioned by our high school reps,
033we did recognize this year the district participated in permitting staff to bring their children to work for take your child to work day. In past years we have not participated. It was very well received. Individual schools also had some special activities lined up for the day for classes and teachers and their children. The feedback was super positive. Staff really sharing with me that it was a special day for everyone and that their students enjoyed meeting their children and it further strengthened the relationship with their class and the staff was really happy that the children, their children got to learn about careers of education and what they do on a daily basis. So it was well received and in a wonderful day. I also was able to attend joint the joint induction ceremony for the high
034school honor societies. The ceremonies were so lovely and memorable for the students and families. It was a wonderful to see the auditorium filled at the high school with students and families recognizing the accomplishments of so many honor society students ranging from the arts. We have honor societies ranging from the arts to the academics. And there were 186 students who were inducted into all different honor societies. It was a lovely evening. Really, really heartwarming, too. And last but not least, we are gearing up. Two months of school left, it's hard to believe. We're gearing up. It's a busy time in the school year. We're in the middle of state testing. We are gearing up for end of year events. The big push for academics to make sure that students are getting everything they need. And we're
035preparing for promotion and graduation ceremonies, believe it or not. It will be a strong finish focused on obviously our academics and and celebration in the closing of the year. So those are just a few highlights from the last few weeks in the district. We are now going to turn our attention to the budget. It is April. The final budget is due. Mr. Beginsky presented at last month's board meeting the tentative budget. As you will shortly hear from him, there is no change to that. He will present the budget that we are submitting and then we will move on to a public hearing on the budget. So Mr. Beginsky. Sure. And board members, there are slides behind you. So this is this is an abridged version of the tentative budget presentation from the last board meeting
036that we had because nothing has remained nothing has changed since that time. I did want to take an opportunity to talk just broadly about where the news has taken all the school districts in New Jersey, really. And because you hear the struggles not just in Jackson, they're not just in a few school districts. The struggle is pervasive across the state. And you know, when you hear about some of the reasons why school districts are struggling, you know, you they're very common to the people here in Jackson. It's continued reduction of state aid for a number of school districts. It's also the rapidly rising cost of health benefits, which has hit just about every single school district this year in the state of New Jersey. And then for local school districts like specifically Jackson, Lakewood and
037Toms River, it's the continuous growth of of non-public transportation costs. And so when you hear some of the stories from other school districts, many of them have just one of those factors that is really crushing their budget. And for Jackson, I could tell you we have to deal with all three of these. And these are not new things for us. And so we're dealing with all three factors as we try to come to a balanced budget, which is obviously a huge challenge. As we talked about last time, enrollment is one of the biggest drivers of our budget in a number of areas. We are projecting a budget an enrollment reduction for next year of about 2.5%, which is kind of on par with how our enrollment has been going over the last 10 years. And
038on the slide you see that enrollment of the public school students slowly decreasing over the course of 10 years was 22.5%, but on the other column you see the rapidly growing non-public student population. And so that non-public student population is projected to be at 8,534 for next year. And you can see that we the non-public students in Jackson eclipsed the public school students in in Jackson this year. And that rapid growth of the non-public student population is unique to Jackson. With the exception of Lakewood, you don't have other school districts in New Jersey that have those numbers in terms of non-public students. You throw that in on top of the fact that 48% of our students are now economically disadvantaged. A changing demographic. These are things that from a budgetary perspective are our challenges. As
039a as a school district in New Jersey, we are put up against other school districts in terms of our spending every year in what's called the New Jersey Taxpayers' Guide to Education Spending. It's a document. It's an analysis that the state puts forth that compares all school districts in New Jersey against each other in an apples-to-apples comparison. When we get compared, we get compared to other other school districts in New Jersey that are considered large school districts with more than 3,500 students that serve a K-12 population. When you look at our spending in relation to those other school districts, we are among the lowest spenders in the state of New Jersey. In fact, fourth lowest when it comes to budgetary cost per pupil. In in Jackson in 2024-2025, our budgetary cost per pupil was $17,219.
040The state average that year was $19,221. So from a spending perspective, by the state's own metrics, we are a low spending school district. And some of those other comparisons there in those other categories like total administration, administration salaries and benefits also puts us on the lower the lower 20th percentile and below from other comparable districts in the state. So when when we talk about spending in Jackson, we're talking about being frugal and continuing to be frugal. One of the other numbers that we share when we talk about spending is what's called the adequacy budget. The state puts forth what they believe to be what Jackson Township and every state and every school district in the state should be spending to provide a thorough and efficient education for their students. This So this calculation comes to
041us in our state aid numbers when we get them in late February. And this year we are projected to again be far below what the state is saying we should be adequately we should be adequately spending to provide a thorough and efficient education for our students. In fact, this year for 2026-2027, we will be spending 29.6 million dollars below adequacy. And you can see where we've been for the last couple of years. So these are these this is the state's own metrics. And so when you think about our struggles here in Jackson, um it's very difficult to continue to put forth budgets that can satisfy all of the needs and still do great things like our girls wrestling program and still have to be funded at a level that that is $29 million below what
042we should be spending. Very challenging. So as far as the actual spending plan for us this year, these are all the categories where our spending comes from. The most largest categories of spending are salaries and health benefits. The salaries line item that you see there is less than what we were spending in salaries 10 years ago. Think about that. 10 years of inflation and we're spending less on salaries now than we were 10 years ago. And that is because we've had to make the difficult decisions and the difficult cuts along the way with over 376 positions being cut during those 10 years. And so we continue to be frugal. Other spending areas are increasing. Some of them not so much in our control. Health benefits is going up considerably. 23.5% for next year. We are
043increasing the school budgets for next year. They've been held frozen or reduced drastically over the last couple of years. Those are dollars that go right back to students. Also, we are putting a little bit more more money into facility and capital improvements next year. We have they have also been the victim of the state aid cuts and by kicking the can down the the road with not doing things that we need to do from a facilities perspective. And then out of district tuition, another area where we have to service the needs of our special education students and we don't have a lot of control over those out of district tuitions that we are required to to [clears throat] send our students to. So and on top of that, you also look at aid in lieu
044the aid in lieu numbers and you saw the nonpublic enrollment numbers as they go up the aid in lieu cost go up as well. And so all told our spending next year is going up 2.22%. So I mentioned before about health benefits. So this is just a quick snapshot of our health benefits and what they've been the last couple years. We've been able to try to keep the lid on this through staffing eliminations, but just like every other school district in the state, we're dealing with the cost of high prescription drugs like the GLP-1 meds that have grown exorbitantly. Also, we're dealing with a little bit of a post-pandemic care rebound where where in the pandemic people didn't really go to the doctors as much because they weren't seeing doctors and they weren't utilizing their
045health benefits and that has come roaring back. And when you look at where we're going in terms of health benefits for next year, you know, we are self-insured, but when you think about the state plan, the state plan actually increased on January 1st of last year 31.9%. So many school districts got hit with that increase in the middle of the school year. And so you know, when you talk about health benefits, obviously we do everything we can, but it is somewhat out of our control. When you look at the spending as a percentage of the budget, as I mentioned before salary and health benefits make up the lion's share of the of and of the of the budget and that makes sense cuz we're people business. I mean this is about kids and teachers and
046that is the greatest indicator of of of a successful school district and that's where our money goes by and large. In terms of revenue, our revenue is comes from several sources, local, state and then the federal government. And when you take a look at our local tax levy, 68% of our local tax levy 68% comes from our local tax levy. 10 years ago, that was just over 50%. So the Jackson taxpayers are funding a larger portion and they've been funding a larger portion. And why are they funding a larger portion? Because that state aid portion that you see there at 16% well, 10 years ago that was closer to 40%. So as that has shrunk, the Jackson taxpayers have had to fill fill the gap. And so when you talk about revenue, we're talking about
047those sources of of where it comes from. Specifically with categorical state aid, this comes from the state. This is what is quantified as the state aid that people talk about what we that we get. Our state aid this year is going to be going down by $680,000. That is the maximum cut that we could have received from the state of New Jersey. The state of New Jersey said we're putting up guardrails, nobody's going to be cut more than 3% and we were cut 3%. So we got the maximum cut that the state could get. That dollar amount represents the 22nd largest dollar amount cut in state aid in the state of New Jersey. This is after we have been in the top 10 for years after years in the in the dollar amount cut. So
048this wasn't this was obviously not as bad as the past years, but I will tell you that it's still a cut and it's still significant and it's the largest one in Ocean County. When you take a look at our our state aid over the last 10 years in comparison to enrollment, you look at those years in the middle 2020 through 2025, with those cuts that happened -9.85% -11.88%. The state put up guardrails at their own admission last year and said no school district should get cut more than 3%. Where were those those guardrails during those years? And when you think about it, those cuts are so so large that it's almost it's almost impossible to come back from that. It's like having your income cut in your household and then [clears throat] it just never
049it just keeps going down, but the expenses just keep going up. And when you compare that to enrollment, over the last 10 years our state aid has been cut 55.6%. Our enrollment has gone down 22.5%. So you can't say this is because of dropping enrollment. far exceeds that. And again, we're not alone. There's other people shouting from the mountaintops. We are we are not maybe being as vocal about it as this year, but it does not mean it's not still a problem. It is not something that that doesn't that doesn't need to be solved. Other state aid, we also receive state aid from terms of extraordinary special education aid. It comes in in the summer. That is a pot of money that the state puts aside and it depends on how much is available from
050the state. We've budgeted that to be flat. It could be less, it could be a little more, but we budgeted for it to be flat. Nonpublic transportation aid comes back to the school district also in the summer. We're projecting that to be larger obviously with our nonpublic student population growing, we expect that nonpublic transportation aid to come up. But that nonpublic transportation aid does not fund the whole cost. It funds about 30 to 40% of the cost. So we've had some people who have said, "Oh, well, you're funded with nonpublic transportation aid. That's what funds that." It funds about 30 to 40%. We're picking up the rest of it. And that is something that is unique to Jackson. It's unique to school districts like Lakewood and then Toms River and and now Howell and and
051and Brick. And so these are other state aids that come in and it's based on on on the numbers. Local revenue, um the largest number here is the local tax levy. It is going up $9.4 million. It it is going up 2% with the tax levy plus what we are eligible for the health benefit cap waiver this year. Because of the health benefits going up so much, the state has an adjustment for your health benefits. We are not alone in taking that. In fact, every school district in the Ocean County is taking the health benefit cap waiver this year. You hear some very large numbers, but that is what is pushing our budget beyond the 2% this year. Other things in the local revenue, we're do we anticipate doing some maintenance and capital reserve withdrawals.
052Some of those resolutions are actually on the agenda tonight and utilizing some of that money to do some of the projects and facility needs that we need to do for the school district. So that is going to help. And then $10 million in free balance is what we this is some money that we're putting towards next year's budget that we anticipate getting from the sale of the McAuliffe school. So I know people have said, "Well, you know, you you're going to sell McAuliffe. Everything's going to be fine." When you have an an injection of revenue in one in one fell swoop like that, it's not it's like it's like getting a a handout instead of a job. It helps the budget, but it helps it temporarily. And so so you see that reflected there in
053the free balance. As far as the overall tax impact, the general fund tax levy combined with the debt service tax levy makes for a total tax levy of $124,348,607. That's an increase of 9.2 million on the average assessed property in Jackson, which is $654,839. That is going to be a $305 per year increase or just over a $25 per month increase for the local taxpayer. And we do not one second diminish the impact that is on any tax increases on a taxpayer, but I hope that the public can understand that we are in a place where um we are still trying to dig out and recover from what was a catastrophic state aid situation for far too long. There are some real positives in this budget and I feel like, you know, this school district
054needs to move forward and some of these things will will help the school district move forward. I mentioned before the increase to the schools supply budgets. We are also going to be purchasing new teaching resources for an enhanced social studies curriculum in grades 7 to 12. We have allocations to plan and implement a flexible learning academy at the high school. We're also going to be replacing all of the high school Mac labs for all instructional classrooms and also all student Chromebook devices this year. We're also going to be allocating the funds to launch an interscholastic middle school volleyball team for both boys and girls this year, which is exciting opportunities for our middle schoolers. And I mentioned before we're going to be doing some of those very sorely needed HVAC replacements throughout the district as
055part of our capital maintenance reserves. And so there's some real positives in this budget. I I I I think I'm I the school district has an opportunity to really kind of take back some of the things that we've that we've put on the burner in the past and move some things forward and I think it's going to be an exciting year for that and we will continue to fight with regard to state aid and what's fair for Jackson. The overall budget this year is essentially a flat budget when you look at it is 0.07% increase. It is a balanced budget which is required by by state law and it does satisfy the basic needs of what we want for our students this year. Thank you Mr. Thank you Mr. Beginsky. As always wonderful report last
056month and this month as well in explaining our budget and the submission to the state of our our budget if approved tonight. So I'm going to conclude my superintendent's report there and turn it back over to Mrs. Gardella who will open the public forum and public hearing on the budget. I need a motion to open the public forum for our public hearing on the 2026-2027 budget only. We will hold another public forum during this meeting for other questions and comments. This public forum will be the public hearing for questions on the 2026-2027 budget only. Motion. Second. Please sign in and state your name and whether or not you are a Jackson resident. Each person is allowed a maximum of 3 minutes to speak. No person may speak more than once on the topic until all
057others have been heard. Oh my goodness. I'm very sorry. On the motion all in favor? I. Any opposed? Now please come come up. Hi. I just have one question. Can someone explain to me what the flexible learning academy is? That was up in the budget. Thanks. I'm actually going to turn it over to Dr. Godleski who will be able to explain the flexible learning academy. Okay. I know you're at a lot of board meetings Miss McGinley so it's something that I presented um I forget when earlier this year maybe October of this year but the flexible learning academy provides an opportunity or separate pathway for students who are are not meeting success within the regular continuous school day. So our goal is to operate this on off hours potentially from 2:00 to 6:00 in the
058afternoon to provide instructions for students who may have gotten in trouble in school, maybe are having some addiction issues, need extra support, perhaps credit recovery. We plan to support it with counselors, substance abuse counselors as well as guidance counselors, have a coordinator, security and of course teachers. That would be in house, yes. No problem. Thank you Dr. Dr. Godleski. Are there any additional budget only questions? Seeing seeing no one come forward I need a motion to close public forum. Motion. All in favor? I. I would like to turn the meeting over to Miss Blood for her state monitor's report. Thank you Madam President. Particularly given the financial struggles the district continues to face I applaud the administration and board for putting forward a balanced budget that in fact does put students first and I know
059how hard you work to do that and I appreciate the work that you have done despite all of your financial struggles and you certainly have faced many particularly in cuts in state aid. And I will continue to advocate on your behalf. I also want to take the opportunity to congratulate Mr. Beginsky on his anticipated approval tonight as the district's next chief school administrator. The committee certainly did a wonderful job in meeting the criteria that their surveys had brought forth and I wish you the best of luck because you certainly have the background and the criteria to do an excellent job and I am sure you will. I have seen how hard you and Miss Parmely have worked together so I know moving forward Jackson School District will be in very good hands. And that's all.
060Thank you. Thank Thank you. We'll do standing committee reports starting with buildings and grounds. Some capital improvement projects district wide buildings and grounds maintenance update administrative building installed new capacitor bearings and shaft on heating unit transportation offices removed and replace LED lighting in upstairs offices. Transportation trailer bathrooms repaired and installed new flooring due to damage. JTMS Clayton gym wing replaced all ceiling tiles in the Clayton gym hallway. Jackson Township High School installed new AC compressors in the auditorium painted athletic dugouts repaired outdoor field scoreboards repaired concrete pad near the entrance to the football stadium. Switlik Elementary installed new sewer lift station control panel and float system. Jackson Township 5-6 school removed and replace underground sewer pipe outside the 500 wing painted hallways and columns in the 200 wing. And Johnson Elementary paved and striped parent
061drop-off area. Thank you. Next committee is budget and finance and we met on April 22nd myself, Miss Cass, Mr. McCarran, Miss Parmely, Dr. Godleski, Mr. Beginsky and Miss Patterson. We reviewed the district's financial budget for the 2026-2027 school year and there were no changes. Our budget is balanced even with another 3% state aid decrease and an increase in state mandated expenses. We reviewed the district's current cash flow to the end of the school year which is showing on target and show showing on target. We reviewed anticipated June resolutions for capital and maintenance reserve amounts. The McCollum sale is progressing and the committee discussed options for the use of funds. The committee also received competitive bids for the school photographer and lease copier companies which is on the agenda tonight and we also reviewed a draft
062of the district's substitute rates for the 2026-2027 meeting school year. Next business will continue to discuss district cash flow, use of McCollum sale money, solidify capital and maintenance reserve resolutions along with the substitute rates and continue to discuss ways in which we can become financially stable without state intervention. Okay. I've been informed that there are no other standing committee reports if I'm inaccurate if someone wants to speak up. Oh. Scholarship so far we're at that phase of the year when all the scholarship scholars have been selected. Okay. In the next week or so they should get an invitation to the scholarship night which will be June 3rd. Okay. Over at the high school. Thank you Mr. Walsh. For the approval of the minutes. Motion. Second. Discussion. Roll call. Mrs. Brokus. Yes. Mrs. Cass. Yes. Dr.
063Osmond. >> Yes. Mr. Walsh. Yes. Mrs. Rivera. Yes. Mr. McCarran. Yes. Mrs. Gardella. Yes. I need a motion for the approval of the bill list. Motion. Second. Discussion. Roll call. Mrs. Brokus. >> Yes. Mrs. Cass. >> Yes. Dr. Osmond. >> Yes. Mr. Walsh. Yes. Mrs. Rivera. Yes. Mr. McCarran. Yes. Mrs. Gardella. Yes. I need a motion for the approval of the treasurer's and board secretary's reports. Motion. Second. Discussion. Roll call. Mrs. Brokus. >> Yes. Mrs. Cass. >> Yes. Dr. Osmond. >> Yes. Mr. Walsh. Yes. Mrs. Rivera. Yes. Mr. McCarran. Yes. Mrs. Gardella. Yes. I need a motion to open the public forum on agenda items only. We will hold another public forum during this meeting for other questions. This public forum will be for questions related to the agenda only. Motion. Second. Please sign in.
064All in favor? I. Please sign in and state your name and whether or not you are a Jackson resident. Each person is allowed a maximum of 3 minutes to speak. No person may speak more than once on the topic until all others have been heard. Are there any additional agenda only questions? Seeing no one come forward, I need a motion to close public forum. Motion. All in favor? I. I need a motion to move finance. Motion. Second. Discussion? I wanted to just bring to everybody's attention um finance number 10. There's a resolution tonight for um bill A4860 Fairness for School Districts in Development Restricted Areas Act. It's a bipartisan legislation introduced um to give additional state aid to some districts that have pinelands or highlands, which Jackson does fall into and this is put forward
065forward by Assemblyman Zwicker. We appreciate it as it would be a benefit to our town. Roll call. Mrs. Brookes. Yes. Mrs. Cass. Yes. Dr. Osmond. Yes. Mr. Walsh. Yes. Mrs. Rivera. Yes. Mr. McCarron. Yes. Mrs. Gardella. Abstain to finance 18 and 20 and yes everything else. I think I have to. Res- um I need a motion to move facilities. Motion. Second. Discussion? Roll call. Mrs. Brookes. Yes. Mrs. Cass. Yes. Dr. Osmond. Yes. Mr. Walsh. Yes. Mrs. Rivera. Yes. Mr. McCarron. Yes. Mrs. Gardella. Yes. I need a motion to move programs. Motion. Second. Discussion? Whereas I'm saying yes. When am I at roll call? Roll call. Mrs. Brookes. Yes. Mrs. Cass. Yes. Dr. Osmond. Yes. Mr. Walsh. Yes. Mrs. Rivera. Yes. Mr. McCarron. Yes. Mrs. Gardella. Yes. I need a motion to move students. Motion. Second.
066Discussion? Roll call. Mrs. Brookes. Yes. Mrs. Cass. Yes. Dr. Osmond. Yes. Mr. Walsh. Yes. Mrs. Rivera. Yes. Mr. McCarron. Yes. Mrs. Gardella. Yes. I need a motion to move personnel. Motion. Second. Discussion? Number 16. What are what is meant by seasonal workers? So we hire college students who are 18-year-old plus students to work and help with our The painters, they're painting the walls. [laughter] >> power washing was the big is the big ticket item. Yeah, but yeah. Okay. All right. Um I just wanted to also say as most of you who might have paid attention through this process, I was um going to be abstaining from um some of the personnel items today for superintendent. Although I believe that the board did a their due diligence and picked someone who is able to represent our
067district on unable to vote due to having a conflict um of a family member in district and just so anybody wondered why I would be abstaining at that time. >> [snorts] >> I have another question and at number 11 that position there okay uh director supervisors that's a certified position, right? And the coordinator is that a certified position? They're both non-certified supervisors. They're both non-certified, but they have to have the paperwork, right? The business administrator paperwork. No. No, they don't. >> No. Okay. All right. Roll call. Mrs. Brookes. Yes. Mrs. Cass. Yes. Dr. Osmond. Yes. Mr. Walsh. Yes. Mrs. Rivera. Yes. Mr. McCarron. Yes. Mrs. Gardella. Abstain from N2. Yes everything else. At this time I need a motion to open the public forum on any topic pertaining to the Board of Education. Motion. Second.
068All in favor? I. Please sign in and state your name and whether or not you are a Jackson resident. Each person is allowed a maximum of 3 minutes to speak. No person may speak more than once on this on the topic until others all others have been heard. Are there any additional questions? Seeing no one come forward, I need a motion to close public forum. Motion. Second. All in favor? I. At this time I'd like to open the meeting to board comments. With Mrs. Brookes. >> [laughter] >> It's great. Uh-huh. Hi everyone. Um First of all I wanted to congratulate once again our girls uh wrestling teams as becoming state champions. I'm just so so proud of them and um real fan of them. So congratulations to them again. Um I also wanted to congratulate
069um uh Sadie Hirsch, Emily Hirsch, and Caitlin Gargiulo on becoming our finalists at the International DECA conference in Atlanta. One out of 20 teams in the world. I'm very impressed and uh I think it's a great for our representing our schools and representing um New Jersey. So great job, girls. Um and I also want to congratulate Mr. Beginsky. I am really excited to work with you next year and I couldn't be happier. So congratulations. Have a good night, everyone. Pretty much ditto to everything you Is this on? Uh it's not. Oh, there it is. Okay. I um I just want to um echo pretty much everything that Mrs. Brookes said. Um I want to congratulate the girls again. I'm very happy that they were here. It's always exciting to have them like in the building
070and um you know, just get that energy. Um I too want to congratulate DECA, always near and dear to my heart. Mrs. Ficacci, she's great. She does a great job with them, that team always. And of course I want to congratulate Mr. Beginsky as well. Uh we're looking forward to next year as well. You do have some tough shoes to fill though, which you know and you have stated. So um and just everyone else, thanks for coming and have a good evening. And it's waiting to go down. >> [laughter] >> Uh thank you all for coming tonight. Again, congratulations to all of our girls wrestling team and to all of our seniors. Enjoy your last couple of months. You're getting into all the fun stuff now. And uh Mr. Beginsky, congratulations officially now and uh
071I I think you're going to do a very good job with this and you are definitely the right person for this time. Mr. Beginsky, uh roll it over. Good job. Okay, you're ready for it. If you're not ready now, you'll never be ready. >> [laughter] >> Going through the program, I I really love to see the ROTCs going down to Washington. Okay, that's going to be a great trip. I I like to see that we're still doing that. We have uh our classes going in New York to the art museum up there. We got the music, the chorus going and doing a little performing over at I think it's Hershey Park, but okay. Uh that's that's what school's about. Those are the memories that really kids hang on to for the rest of their life.
072And of course the wrestling, they did a great job. But all our sports do a good job. Have a good night. Bye. I want to thank everyone for joining us this evening in person and live stream. Congratulations, Mr. Beginsky on your on your your new appointment as our new superintendent. Congratulations to the Jackson Township High School girls wrestling team recognition title and everyone have a wonderful and safe night. Mr. Beginsky has already demonstrated his commitment to our district during some of the most challenging periods of our history. We're confident in your leadership both fiscally and academically and we're eager to work with you to advance this district in academics and and opportunities for students. You're firmly rooted in the Jackson community and you've built very strong relationships at state, county, and district levels. Your comprehensive
073knowledge of our district has ensured us that has ensured us that you can make an impact from day one. The board has developed a strong working relationship with you and we understand and you understand our commitment to preserving programs and strengthening student achievement. We look forward to the creativity, vision, and leadership that you will bring and help move Jackson School District into the future. We're excited about the path forward with you. Congratulations. I echo everybody up here and I just wanted to on another note say that I looked at all the field trips and our students are really going to a lot of great places come spring and at the end of the school year thanks to whether it's fundraising or the PTN um I have to say I noticed that Switlik was sending I
074think it was the third graders to Island Beach State Park and I'm like really excited about that and I I would like to hear how that is. And I wanted to just comment on how great our staff is. I know we got a lot of positive feedback on bring your student to work day and you know the staff member who um directed the Jackson 5-6 band you know she was very pregnant and she did a wonderful job with almost 200 students in the fifth grade and then again in the sixth grade and I just want to say it's really remarkable to see how well those kids did up on stage and um it was impressive and I could see how music is just going to continue to shape the students of Jackson in the years
075to come. Everybody have a great night and we will see you in a month. Uh Have a motion to adjourn? Motion. I. Second. All in favor? I. Okay, thanks. Man, when the screen goes blank it's It goes quickly. >> It's like uh The teacher was so pregnant. >> [laughter] >> I mean like I think that was a pregnancy.