CorpusRecord 59086

LHTSD Board of Education Meeting, 03/16/2026

A searchable transcript preserved as part of the Discourse Corpus. Passage numbers provide stable references within this record; verify quotations against the original recording when available.

Source
YouTube / LHTSD Official
Date
2026-03-17
Location
Morris County, NJ
Material
Transcript
Extent
9,346 words · about 52 min
Collected
2026-06-10

Transcript

Verbatim source text

001out to to everybody. Yeah, we reach out to all folks that are coming out to see us these days. >> And what are your thoughts on the future of wine making in New Jersey? >> Okay. Uh is this like a miniseries or can we go on for days and days? Uh I I am optimistic that the New Jersey wine industry will um will will get its the recognition that it deserves. We're making very good wines in New Jersey, to older sellers and other other places. Uh we need to organize ourselves a little bit better and get the word out to folks, you know, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania area. And you know, let's uh we can grow we can grow the business out instead of, you know, trying to you know, we don't want to

002like try to out Napa Napo or or say, you know, or you or or try to say we're better than France. Let's just get the folks to know there's good wines within a short drive of your cell. So, David, I want to thank you for coming out here to East Brunswick and sharing your knowledge with us about Old York sellers. It's been very interesting. Thank you. Thank you very much for having me. Great to be here. >> No way. No way. >> No way. My kid would never vape. >> Get your head out of the cloud. Today, nearly 8,000 kids will start vaping. Maybe even yours. Learn about the dangers at talkaboutving.org. There are 16 million children struggling with hunger in America. That's one in five daughters, sons, neighbors, and classmates who don't know where

003their next meal is coming from. Yet, billions of pounds of good food go to waste every year. It's time we do something about it. Feeding America is a nationwide network of food banks that helps provide meals to millions of kids and families in need. Visit feedingamea.org to help them feed even more. Together, we can solve hunger. Together, we're feeding America. Heat. Heat. N. Good evening everyone. I'd like to call the March 16th, 2026 Long Hill Township Board of Education meeting to order. Please rise for the pledge of >> allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands. One nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. >> I'm sorry. >> Meeting notice. Adequate notice of this meeting of the Longill Township Board of Education

004was given as required by the Open Public's meeting act as follows. Notice was provided by posting on the district's official website on the district's current legal notices web pages web page rather. Notices were posted to the bulletin board in the first floor entrance hall of the school district administration building, Gillette, New Jersey. Notices were filed with the township clerk and notices were mailed to all persons who have requested individual notice pursuant to the open public meetings act. Roll call, please. >> Mrs. Butler, >> here. Mrs. Dailyaly, >> here. >> Mr. Dejamos, >> here. >> Mr. Foster, >> here. >> Mr. Groskov, >> here. >> Dr. Moore, >> here. Mrs. McClennon, Miss Nyquist >> here. >> Mrs. Casease >> here. Thank you. We're gonna start with our presentation. >> Terrific. Thank you, Mrs. Casease. We have

005a proud principal Vitarelloo here this evening to help us celebrate our NJSBA unsung hero, Waqin Squisiado. Principal Vitarelloo and I were honored to join Waqen and his family at the NJSBA unsung heroes ceremony on March 5th and we're very pleased to have him and his family with us this evening. Mr. V, you take it from here. Good evening everyone. We were thrilled uh to have him selected. Just to share a little bit of insight too, our staff, I ask our staff to nominate um an eighth grader. Um so they nominated a few a they nominate a few eighth graders and then our entire staff vote um on who would represent Central Middle School at this award ceremony for Morris County and Wim was selected. So we were we were thrilled. All the nominees were were

006excellent nominees. So it was a hard choice, but we were thrilled to nominate and uh to nominate him and honor him at that evening. So, I'm just going to take a minute and share. I'd like to read what I uh presented uh that night for him. Um Wimiado is a student whose character is defined by his quiet confidence and purposeful action. He consistently demonstrates a strong sense of responsibility, balancing his education with a deep commitment to his community. Since kindergarten, Wim has been an active member of the Boy Scouts and is currently working towards his prestigious rank of Eagle Scout. His compassion is most evident in his 8-year commitment to the with grace initiative where he advocates for and raises awareness for pediatric cancer. We also excels in the Fioserve Future Techies program exploring the

007world of technology alongside engineering professionals. Whether he is mass mastering a new technical skill or demonstrating teamwork on the soccer field, Wim leads with humility and positive spirit, Central Middle School is enriched by his presence and his everyday actions. And we are proud to honor Wimiato as our 2026 unsung hero. And you would like me to read the board. So the board prepared a resolution. They asked me to read it, so I'm going to read it. Okay. So whereas Morris County School Boards Association in collaboration with the New Jersey School Boards Association recognizes unsung heroes from each high school and school district in Morris County to celebrate those whose character and impact define the heart of our schools. And whereas the Unsung Hero Award honors students who make outstanding contributions to their schools and communities,

008but are often overlooked by traditional recognition programs. Students who have modeled good citizenship, a spirit of quiet strength, and the heart of a hero that inspires others. And whereas these unsung heroes may have organized community programs, selflessly supported their peers, or achieved significant academic success while overcoming difficult personal challenges, disabilities, or language barriers. And whereas Wimiato has demonstrated empathy, integrity, and leadership that will have a legacy of kindness, respect, and service in our schools and the larger Longill community. And whereas on Thursday, March 5th, 2026, Wimisato was formally recognized for these achievements at the 2026 Morris County Unsung Hero Award ceremony held at Hanover Park High School. Now, therefore, be it resolved that Long Hill Township Board of Education officially recognizes Wimiato as an unsung hero of Morris County and Longhill Township School District. And

009be it further resolved that this resolution is presented to Waqe Squisiato as a sincere token of Long Hill Township Board of Education's congratulations and best wishes continued success as he continues to lead by example. We just wanted you here tonight to show our appreciation of your hard work and dedication and what you're doing, what you've done in Long Hill the whole time you've been here. Um, we're very proud of you and we hope to see all the great things that you're going to continue to do. >> Thank you so much. >> Thank you. that handshake. That was a good one. >> And if I could just add, um, we've never received so many likes and positive comments on a district Instagram post before. You set a record. So apparently the larger community agrees with the

010the faculty's choice. >> Nice. Wonderful. >> Great. >> Okay. So next we have um communications. >> Okay. Um, we were recently notified by the New Jersey Department of Education, uh, that they've updated its their CUSAC formula for measuring progress under instruction and program and they've retroactively applied it to our cohort, which as you recall underwent the CUSAC review last year. So, our revised score is now 84.4, four, which is five points over uh what we uh scored at last year, which was a 79.1 under the old formula. What this all means is that the previously required district improvement plan, which the board approved in November and was approved by the NJDOE in February, is no longer necessary. And to give more context to this because I know this sounds perhaps a little confusing to our

011public but our goal last year during the CUSAC process was to earn scores above 80% in all five domains which is required to earn a designation of high a high performing district. We scored 100% in governance, 100% in operations, 100% in personnel and 98% in financial management. But the 79.1 in instruction and program which was largely based on a formula used against the NJSLA scores prevented us at least temporarily from reaching our goal. But I want to emphasize that with this change in formula and the retroactive application, we have fulfilled all the requirements to earn the designation of a high performing district. And that's good news. >> Yeah. Any questions? Okay. Um, board committee and leaison reports. We're going to go to Karen, please. >> Okay. Um, Ed services commission, it was a meeting on

012all their meetings are virtual. It was a meeting on March 11th. Prior to that, um, we actually approved the budget and unlike us, they do not get state aid or any, you know, any money from a town, a district or a township. So, they could have their budget prepared all early and done and submitted. So, that was taken care of. And any new rates of service have already been provided to the districts. Um, I mentioned that the school is closing. uh they have actually all but four students have been placed either in another outofd district placement or in some cases back in their home district. Of the four that remain, three actually graduate this year and the fourth is in the process of being placed in an out of district placement. And this was kind

013of the goal. They didn't want to leave it till the end. maybe provides the the students better transition uh going in in the school year so they can get accustomed versus starting a new school year in a new environment. So that worked out really well. Um this principal of the school uh who has had 30 years service with ESC uh retires effective April 1st. So, uh, there was an a previous EM ESC administrators coming in to just handle the last few months of, uh, transition and, um, okay, that Oh, yes. And we had our school ethics disclosure forms, too. Okay. Um, let's see. Let's do governance first. Uh, we had set a meeting schedule on the sec as the second Wednesday of the month at 7 p.m. and meetings will be virtual. Uh the only

014one that changed was the meeting that we just that we will be having this Wednesday and that's because of uh some commitments in scheduling. Um we changed previously our first goal review was usually in was set in November. We tried it last year. What we did was we move it to December so that the committees have a little more time to work on their new goals. And uh right around the corner we have what is coming up as our uh evaluation scheme. So in the minutes I think I put out to you guys you have the schedule CSA evaluation will be May 16th to the 22nd. Then we're going to have a meeting with uh an executive session that will review the summary and then a special meeting to review it with George on June

01515th. self-evaluation will be May 5th, May 25th to the 5th, June 5th. A regular meeting uh with the retreat uh for that to review the self-evaluation on July 6th and goal setting on August 3rd. Our new rep will be joining us on July 6th and August 3rd. Um, one of the things we talked about is uh how the governance committee could support the committees better and we had a an idea or two about, you know, a check-in by members of the committee as well as some sort of survey. Um, and another thing that came up is, and I hopefully everybody got it if I mailed it out correctly, you have information about, you know, qualifications to become a master or certified board member. And I will continue periodically to, you know, as as things come

016up. Um, I'm sure you all get privy to it, but I will, you know, make sure it flows about, you know, to you about any other training or opportunities that you have for training because I think with some of the training that you may have had from workshops that you attended, I encourage you to just check your own account on NJSBNC, you might have already achieved some of the requirements. Okay, the juicy one is the finance. Um, okay. Uh first about associated with shared services uh there was was there a meeting you know March 6 associated with uh the field maintenance. I guess that'll be covered by buildings and rounds. A big thing is that um looking for shared services in transportation. Um it's Robin says that both Brookley Heights and Menum are very open

017to exploring those possibilities. I'll leave anything associated with negotiations to personnel. Previously you mentioned we're having our insurance policy reviewed, you know, for the property and cash property. And what happened is ultimately we get between a 30 to $40,000 CR uh what do we call it? A >> dividend. >> A dividend. Thank you. And based on that and a review of other rates, they said we're not going to do any better than what we already have. So we're staying with that. Now, in order to complete the long range facility plan, we need an architect to help complete it. Now, Peret Samjan submitted a bid of $8,800, but through some investigating, Robin uncovered an architect that will do it for 2500. Someone that comes and very high recommendations and even Mark Christina backed that up. So,

018we'll be proceeding using him. Uh also there's was a change in um reimbursement for services that uh previously there was an aotment of of monies let's say for 192 193 services and we knew what that amount was and we had it and we worked our thing and maybe once in a while we had to go and access and ask for some more and we would get it. Now we're not being given any pool of money. We have to go through the process whereby we actually submit for reimbursement which can and they haven't really figured out I think all of the steps involved because it could hold up payment. I was I was talking to Roman before the meeting. It's like are you going to have to lay out you can't lay out money before you

019get reimbursed before we get the money back. So there's a lot of things that have to be worked, but it could be a little difficulty there. Uh there was a pipe that burst in Gillette. Unfortunately, it was not covered by our insurance as it was waterline. They're going to look into waterline insurance. We got fully reimbursed for the central flood including our deductible because the uh whole total loss exceeded the deductible by five times. Um, sometimes we have on the agenda approval for vendor payments over the $53,000 limit. We do not have that this time, but might one might be coming shortly because uh Dr. Jones had requested some materials associated with I Ready to be put into next year's budget. Fortunately though, Robin was able to move that to this year. So that helps

020next year's budget as well as provides those materials to the teachers early and especially in the spring. So it'll benefit the teachers, it'll benefit the students. It so it really works out well. Um revised budget calendar. Anything really associated with budget I'm going to leave to Robin to do during her presentation. And um well I just told you about the revised u goal setting meeting. Um I would appreciate you could do about the excuse me the rod grants have been submitted for reimbursement but I guess building grounds would deal with that. The resolution we do have is to put parrot parrot somej as a architect of record. Not that we're using him right now for anything, but that makes it avail he'll that architecture firm available to us once we approve it. And that's that.

021>> Any questions for Karen? >> No. Uh Danielle. >> Okay. So on February 26th, it was myself, uh Mr. Alexis, Kim, Tom, Ann, and we were all there for the community relations committee. Um, first on the agenda was talking about the the Sterling Street Fair. It's taking place on April 26th, um, between 10:00 and 4:00 and it's going to be like usual, rain or shine. Um, we are there are some things to follow up with. Um, I know I'm still going to be reaching out to do the application, making sure that we have our number and our location for our tent. Um then I know that we still have to send out a um a question or we have to create a questionnaire like a fun questionnaire that we do every year for the kids

022or the the the bypassers to like fill out and and hopefully come up with um some type of reward or fun or fun thing to to get um at the end. Um, we also have uh to we do we are going to stress that we're going to send out the Google signup sheet for board of ed members to sign up two at a time. Typically twohour shifts um would be would be best, but anything that you guys can do would be great. Um that should be pushed out soon. Um and then oh and then we're going to look into the ensuring shuring up the mascot. Um so last year that was a a big hit. Um we also talked about uh utilizing the central learning commons um for a little bit more opportunities and we'll

023continue to do so any way we possibly can. Um we also have oh we talked about the end of year acknowledgement for the fifth graders moving up to middle school and what that might look like. Um looking like it might be a clap in or clap out in the school community. So it um like for staff and students um we also spoke about uh I Ready feedback. It looks like there was really only two complaints I guess throughout the whole district about um you know the whole roll out and what's going on with I Ready Math. Um and then we went ahead and scheduled our meetings to be um I believe was the fourth fourth Wednesday of every month, but this coming The next one's going to be a little it's going to be off

024if I remember. So, it's going to be for um it's going to be sorry guys, March 31st is the next community relations committee meeting. Um and then we also for the good of the order, we did talk about how we were going to be uh requesting the analytics behind report cards and the weekly email blast that we get with the newsletter to just be able to monitor that on a monthly on a monthly just to see is it working? How much are we reaching out to the community? Is it it how many people are opening it? Um and things like that. So that's about it. >> Okay. Any questions for Danielle? >> Crystal. >> The policy committee met um on Friday, March 13th at 3:00. Um it was myself, Karen Nyquist, Katie McClennon, and Mr.

025Alexis, and we reviewed um several policies. Um we tabled the policies our suicide prevention and intervention um as well the as the regulation and then we discussed recruitment and selection and hiring that had an additional uh responsibility of us on um how we post positions. 6160 instructional services and resources there were no changes. 613.1 media center library there were no changes. 5127 commitment activities. There were minor language changes but nothing substantial. 5145.7 gender identity and expression no changes. 5131 conduct and discipline. Uh there were changes in organ organizational structure only. 3542.1 wellness and nutrition. We there was a removal of one sentence uh that was referenced the intent of the policy that was redundant and clarified um later in the policy. And um and I must say the way that and you know kudos to

026Melissa still living on in her spreadsheet the way that we do policies. We are very up to date. Um thus many no changes. We also discussed our goals um and talked about our next committee date and we will meet again on Friday, April 24th at 300 p.m. Okay. Any questions for Crystal? No. Okay. again. Um, student achievement met on February 25th. Um, we had a fairly detailed update on professional development ongoing within the district. Um, which focuses on um, several topics but including the multi-tered systems of supports uh, and how that's been uh, rolling out within the schools. Um, we also, uh, if you had not gotten an opportunity to check, there's a link in the minutes to the, uh, second diagnostic data presentation that Dr. Jones shared with the committee. Um, you know, in

027brief, it's like when we have our student achievement scores with the NGLSA and Dr. Jones puts up all the um, just the numbers and we can look at where students are and we've got some, you know, who are maybe in a category of red, some some in yellow, some some more in green. So you can see where the students were at the beginning of this year and then now where they were in the most recent benchmark testing. I think that's really good information so that when we come to the later presentation in the year you've been able to see the data as it goes along. Um, one thing we're going to try to look into, but it's not an exact science is how does our own internal benchmark testing then turn out to, you know,

028speak to the state test and, you know, we can get a general idea how last year's testing spoke to the test and if that's an indicator for us, but we are seeing some very nice progress uh throughout the grade levels um in ELA and in math uh in you know, the areas of focus. And I think if you look at that chart, it's it's several pages actually uh per grade, you'll just be able to to get a nice uh you know idea of where uh the students are at with those uh measurements. Um our next meeting I think we need to schedule. So we will send that out in an update uh when we have that on the calendar. And um that's really all. >> Any questions for an okay Tom? >> Nothing at this

029time. Okay, Justin. >> Uh, technology committee is scheduled for Thursday, March 19th at noon. >> Alex, >> yes. Um, the buildings and grounds committee had its first, uh, meeting of the year, I believe, in February 25th, 2026. Attending were Mr. Alexis, Miss Bulmer, uh, Charles Frank, uh, Katie McClennon, Tom Groskoff, and myself. Um, we briefly went over some of the committee goals, but we'll revisit that at the next meeting. Um, as uh I think maybe Robin might mention, there was an application made for a New Jersey Department of Community Affairs grant for the Gillette playground. I think we're still awaiting information on that. There was mentioned by um Miss N uh Nyquist related to a um shared services meeting to discuss whether or not central athletic fields could be included in that. Um we're maybe

030you're going to hear more about that later. Um we also discussed some of the anticipated work um for renovating instructional spaces during the summer. Uh there are some tenative plans for uh all three schools including uh working on closet casements in s syn sink upgrades um repainting certain areas of each of the school buildings. Um, we also discussed the water uh pipe break that happened at Chillette School on January 26, 2026, uh, which was not covered by insurance. Um, we anticipate tree removal work to be done after the snow melts. So, uh, hopefully we'll get an update at our next meeting related to when that was done or will be done. Um, there's additional security cameras being installed at Gillette School. At Millington, there was some painting done during the December break and uh a

031new carpet that was inlaid near the gym entrance. At Central Middle School, um there was a boiler issue that we consulted with PSENG about. Um there was installation of a lock for light switches in the hallway. Um there's desks and chairs and shelving that were ordered for the learning commons area. Um and the October flood items have fully been uh ordered. Um and that insurance claim has been closed. Um some work was done to the HVAC upgrade um for the board offices and districtwide we discussed snow storm updates because it was a very intense winter. Um there was some repairs that were needed for the salt truck. Um and we uh discussed the potential for purchasing a dump truck for the school to use um you know for all maintenance needs. Our next meeting is

032on March 25th and there was a very exciting student proposal that was present brought to my attention that hopefully we'll have more uh uh more information about after our next meeting. >> Okay. Any questions for >> Can can I just ask have you said it like is it uh you in like I mean the third Tuesday or the third Wednesday or fourth >> I'm sorry. >> Do you have a regular schedule? >> I believe we discussed it would be at like 3 or 3:30 on Wednesdays and it's usually near the third or last week of the month. I I have to look at the calendar. >> Okay. Just >> but our um if I'm looking at it now, it's usually a Wednesday at 3:15 at the end of the month. Okay. The last So it

033would be the last Wednesday, Amy. >> I think so, but I'd have to really double check that with the calendar for So, for example, like in June, it's June 17th. In May, it's May 20th. April's April 22nd. So, it's >> Yeah. We're going to avoid a conflict with the finance committee. >> Yeah. >> Okay. So, that that was it was I think planned the week before the the finance. Okay. >> Okay. And I just want to ask Justin, are you going to have quarterly meetings for the tech? >> Yes. >> Yeah. I'll quarterly. Okay. Okay, any other questions? Okay, Katie. >> Um, the Long Hill Ed Foundation is pl to announce that we'll have our color run on on May 1st at Millington. It's a Friday. Um, so look out for more information. It is

034one of our best fundraisers and also just a really fun night. Um, it usually starts 6 PM and it's for all ages, for the kids to run, um, get messy and it's a lot of fun. It's even more fun to volunteer at because you get to get kids messy. It's one of my favorite days of the year. Um we also have a dine to donate at Pliables in Warren. Um 10% of sales um will be going towards uh a donation to the Ed Foundation. It's for the entire week. So it started on the 15th and it runs through the 22nd. So you need to show a flyer or a photo of the flyer. I know there's some flyers going around, but also um if you go to the uh social media, any of our our

035social media sites, there is um definitely a post where you can take a screenshot and show it. And if not, just reach out to the edation, which is lhed foundation longill.org. Um and they'd be happy to send that information to you. Um we have a resolution tonight, um 21. It's for a grant um for the uh Newark field trip. It's our annual donation. So, um that would be we kindly ask that you approve. Um it's for the fifth graders to go to the Newark Museum. And then, uh finally, uh we have a we had a very good weekend at um the uh state uh robotics competition. We're really proud of both our middle school and elementary teams. So, that is >> Okay, great. Any questions for Katie? Okay. Um I'm just going to mention for

036um uh negotiations. So we've had um two rounds of negotiations meeting on um February 10th and also March 11th. Um our next um negotiation session will be March 31st. And we have also a session scheduled for April 15th. Uh myself, Alex, Justin, and Crystal are participating in those. >> Okay, any questions? Okay, we're going to move to superintendent report. >> Okay, thank you. Uh we had a great two weeks of reading Olympics at Gillette and Millington to celebrate ReadAcross America week. Our teachers brought literacy to life in the context of bobsled races, snowball tosses, and curling. A huge thank you to Mrs. Manurva for being the catalyst behind this exciting approach to enhancing student reading and language skills. Uh, and I want to recognize Mrs. Franklin who's here this evening because she took a real

037leadership role at Gillette in making this all happen. And the kids uh gave positive feedback all around. And I I witnessed some of this at Millington and the kids were really excited to be part of it. On a less exciting note, uh we were in the unfortunate situation of having to call a delayed opening last week. Um I apologize to the families and um it was just an unavoidable circumstance, but we do plan to work with the high school and the regional sending districts towards some type of solution that would allow us to have a regular opening when the high school is on a delay. We're hopeful that we can get that that done for next year. Our student attendance in February was 94.62% 62% which is lower than January's rate of 95.7. We continue

038to monitor this data and emphasize for families the importance of regular sustained attendance in school each day. I'd like to remind everyone that recordings of the parent information webinars remain available on our YouTube channel which you can access on our district website in the top lefthand corner. Keep an eye out for a message from Dr. Jones about the next session. I want to thank the PTO for sponsoring the circus yoga program at Gillette again this year. It was so wellreceived. Now we turn our attention to the world dance residency. And thank you to the LHF for sponsoring the annual museum art trip for the fifth graders again this year. Uh the Fiser Future Techies program concludes this week with student presentations on their collaborative projects. It's been a great experience for 13 of our students

039who took advantage of this opportunity this year, and we look forward to future uh programs next year. Spring sports are on the horizon, but more immediately, we look forward to the central play on Friday evening at 7 and Saturday afternoon at 3:00. And for the tenative budget, I I just I'm going to turn this over to Robin in a second, but I'd like to point out that the proposed budget is aligned with our strategic plan and our district and board goals. It's a learning centered budget. We continue to invest in instructional resources designed to inspire inquiry, creativity, and collaborative problem solving, and in professional development to support our dedicated faculty and staff. We remain focused on high academic expectations, datainformed instruction, and increasing attention to our students individual needs. And despite a 23 and a

040half% increase in health insurance costs, we've found ways to maintain our programs and staffing. We also found a way to continue the summer institute in a modified form. So, I want to thank Mrs. Bulmer and the business office staff, our administrative leadership team, the finance committee, and the entire board for creating a budget that is student centered, strategically aligned, and fiscally responsible. And they did so, all of this, under very challenging economic conditions. And with that, I'd like to turn it over to Mrs. Bulmer to review the highlights in more detail. Okay. Good evening. Tonight, I'm going to be presenting the school budget for the Long Hill School District. This budget is designed to maintain our academic standards while navigating the current fiscal environment. I'd like to begin by recognizing our board of education led

041by President Kim Casease and Vice President Anne Butler. I also want to acknowledge Superintendent Mr. George Alexis, our finance committee, and our administrative team. This budget is the result of their leadership and a commitment to the district's fiscal health and educational services. It's important to note that what we are discussing tonight is a preliminary budget for review. As you can see from our timeline, we are currently in the tenative phase. Once adopted, this budget then will need to be submitted to the county superintendent by March 27th. Our approach is to treat a budget as a living document. We focus on conservative revenue estimation and sustainable expenditure planning to support the district's long-term financial st uh stability. Enrollment remains a primary driver of our planning. We are seeing stability against all grade levels at Gillette, Millington,

042and Central Middle School. This consistency allows us to maintain efficient class sizes and steady staffing levels. The tenative budget includes a $47,318 increase in state aid as per the governor's budget address that was just done on March 10th. Looking at our total revenue picture for 2627, we are anticipating a total of 24,000 I'm sorry, 24,25,423. This figure represents our entire financial landscape. It includes our general operating budget, special revenues from state and federal grants, and our debt service fund. By looking at this total, we provide a view of every revenue stream, local, state, and federal, that supports our district's operations and long-term obligations. To understand the composition of our funding, we show the expected revenue distribution on this slide. As you can see, 88.2% of our budget uh is from the local tax levy. To

043support the levy, we utilize other areas including tuition from our integrated preschool, interest on investments, revenue from subscription busing, and withdrawal from our restricted reserves. This approach ensures we are utilizing all available fiscal levers while remaining mindful of the local tax impact. We are facing extreme price pressures. While the tax levy is generally capped at 2%, our mandatory costs are not. Health care is projected to increase 23.5% next year. Other fixed costs are also rising. These are the primary drivers that require us to find efficiencies elsewhere in the budget. To take a closer look at health care, this chart demonstrates the gap between district costs and employee contributions. I actually think it's one of the most important slides in the presentation. Over the last 5 years, health insurance premiums have increased. Because employee contributions are

044tied to a percentage of salary rather than a percentage of the premium, the district is required to absorb the weight of the annual increases. If you see the big blue one is our health premiums. The yellow has remained almost stable for every year. The financial impact of chapter 44 is is what ties employee contributions to a percentage of salary. Since its imple implementation, the statutory structure has shifted more of the premium burden onto the district's operating budget and as a result, premiums continue to rise. The net cost to the district increases, which affects our ability to fund other instructional areas. Our total general fund operating budget for the upcoming year is approximately $22.9 million. The majority of our costs such as salaries, specialized student placements, and transportation are fixed. These are the baseline requirements for

045running the school district. While the majority of our budget is committed to personnel and mandator mandated services, the discretionary portion is dedicated to the resources used in our buildings every day. We manage these lines with oversight to ensure our schools are well equipped while keeping our overall discretionary spending efficient. In addition to our general operating budget, we manage federal grant funding. We've allocated $188,000 in idea funds to support our special education programs. We also utilize roughly $40,000 in ESA funds which are distributed across titles one through four. These grants are used for supplemental academic instruction, staff professional development, and student support services. They are also used to directly support our STEAM activities, providing our students with hands-on learning opportunities in science, technology, engineering, arts, and math. Our 2627 budget includes several enhancements to support our

046students and staff. We are expanding our in district specialized programs by adding a new learning language disabled section at Millington and increasing our BCA BCBA services to four days a week to provide more consistent support. We continue to prioritize investment in technology infrastructure and are completing our one-to-one computer initiative to ensure students have the tools they need to succeed. Finally, we're currently working on a plan to optimize our summer institute. It is a work in progress, but we're hopeful that by transition transitioning to a tuition-based model, we can create a sustainable revenue stream to help offset district operational costs while continuing to provide an innovated and innovative and supportive summer program for our students and community. So, why are maintaining district reserves so important? Well, each year the district hopes to generate a year-end surplus

047that helps replenish district reserves. These reserves fund facility improvements, maintenance projects, equipment purchases, and security upgrades. Reserves provide a financial safety net for unexpected capital expenditures. and generating a year-end surplus helps protect the safety, security, and functionality of our district's buildings and grounds. Responsible reserve planning allows the district to maintain safe, well equipped learning environments for our students and staff while protecting the community's investments in our schools. And the most important part is that strate strategic utilization of reserves allows for the essential district improvements with a zero impact on the tax levy. Regarding facilities, we are utilizing the capital reserve for critical infrastructure improvements. This year's focus includes an HVAC project at Central Middle School, while at Gillette School, we are increasing the playground equipment and updating the athletic back stop. These improvements are essential

048for safety as a response to the volume of traffic at Gillette, where more than 125 students and community members utilize our playgrounds daily. We will also be replacing interior doors at Gillette and Millington. Because safety and security are a cornerstone of our fiscal planning. By using these restrictive funds, we are completing these projects with a zero impact on the tax levy. This next slide provides a look at our capital reserve. Our long-term goal is to continue replenishing these reserves through year-end surplus. This cycle of consistently spending and saving ensures that our buildings remain safe and functional without causing spikes in the annual operating budget. We are also drawing $354,000 from the maintenance reserve. These funds are specifically earmarked for building preservation and high priority repairs that fall outside of daily maintenance or custodial work. A

049focus of our maintenance spending is the replacement of aging classroom caves work at Millington and Gillette. Much of the existing cabinetry is decades old. By replacing these units, we improve the student storage and classroom functionality while also impacting student safety by removing fix old fixtures. The this ensures our learning environments remain modern and secure. I don't know if you can see on these the doors are peeling. Teachers are afraid to shut some of the doors because they catch kids fingers. Um, some of the baseboards are missing up on the ceiling. Some of the ceilings are missing. They're just in bad shape. and the and the storage areas, the shelves that they have going across can't go the whole way across because when they do, the doors can't open and close. We work closely with our

050facilities director and principles to identify and address the atrisisk areas of our buildings. This proactive approach allows us to maintain the integrity of our physical assets and our school environments for our students and staff throughout the year. To summarize, these maintenance withdrawals allow us to uphold our commitment to safe and functional learning spaces. By utilizing these restricted funds, we are protecting the community's investment in our school buildings. These improvements again are going to be completed with a zero impact on the tax levy. Safety remains a priority. We are utilizing the emergency reserve for targeted security upgrades, including the installation of new cameras at all three schools to eliminate blind spots and improve our monitoring capabilities. In addition to camera upgrades, we are allocating a portion of these funds to enhance our overall emergency preparedness. This

051includes providing specialized lighting and other critical equipment for our staff to use during an emergency or power outage. By funding these needs through our existing reserves, we ensure our team is equipped for any situation without waiting for future budget cycles. Now, the tax levy is composed of two parts. The general fund tax levy and the debt service levy. For the 2627 year, the general fund tax levy increase is approximately $1.1 million. This is comprised of the 2% increase, a small enrollment adjustment, and 661,000 healthcare cost adjustment that is allowed by the state. This adjustment is specifically provided to help districts manage the sust substantial and unavoidable increases in health insurance premiums that have been seen. In addition to the current year's tax levy, the district has bankked cap available from previous years where we did

052not tax to the full limit. This bank cap authority allows the district to exceed 2% cap in the future if necessary. For the 2627 budget year, we are not utilizing any of our band cap. Instead, we are relying on the enrollment and healthcare adjustment provided by the state to meet our obligations. This allows us to keep the remaining band cap for any unexpected fiscal shifts in future years. To understand how this translates to indivi the individual tax bill, we must look at the total assessed value of all property in the long hill that is given to us by the township administrator. The school tax rate is determined by dividing the total tax levy, both the operating and the debt portion, by the township's total assessment. As property values across the community evolve, this calculation ensures

053that responsibility for funding of our schools is distributed across the entire tax base. For the average Longill homeowner with a home assessed at approximately 61 $681,000. The impact of this budget is an increase of about $360 per year. This breaks down to about $30 per month. This calculation includes the total impact of both the operating budget and the debt service. We recognize the significance of tax dollars and remain committed to balancing our educational needs with the financial impact on our residents. This slide shows the year-over-year comparison of the total tax levy. By looking at both the operating tax and the debt service tax together, we provide a complete picture of the local tax support required. While the percentage increase is higher than in previous years, it is a reflection of these rising healthcare obligations and

054the limited flexibility provided in the state funding formula. We continually look for additional revenue streams and expenditure efficiencies to offset these external cost drivers. Finally, it's important to note that Longill continues to operate efficiently. Our per pupil expenditures remain lower than many of our neighbors in Morris County and our fellow watching hills sending districts. We continually deliver a highquality education while maintaining an efficient cost structure within the region. Our goal is to remain transparent throughout this budget process. Thank you for your time. And if you have any questions, I'd be happy to answer them. >> Okay, great. Thank you so much, Robin. >> Okay. >> Any questions? >> No, I don't have a question. They just we we really showed that when we got the t the 47,000 extra 47,000 we immediately put it >>

055for the tax levy >> we you know so it reduced it from 5.94 I believe to 5.76. >> Mhm. >> And if you remember the first finance >> 5.69 actually >> 5.69. Yeah. >> I apologize. Okay. >> Yeah. And if you remember the first finance meeting I think we were projecting 6.4. Yes. So, we cut a lot of things to get down to 5.9 and then the tax levy came in and that brought us down to 5.7. >> That was great. Yeah. Okay. >> Okay. Danielle, did you have >> Yeah, I had I had three questions if that's okay. I think you'll be answered quickly. Um, when you had said the athletic back stop at Gillette, what is that? >> Um, you know where home plate is? >> Yes. >> Okay. You know the the

056wires that go over it, right? The Right. that all that that we're going to take that down because that's all bent and curved and not nearly as high as it should be. And we're hoping to redo that and make that go over so it's safer so that the balls don't go over over the um into the the back. >> Okay. >> We also applied for for the playground. We have the money coming out of the budget right now. We did apply for a grant for both things and we should find out about that in April or May if that comes through. >> Okay, cool. That'd be nice. >> Yeah. Um the other thing you uh moving towards a feebased summer program. Does that include busing? >> Um we're talking about summer institute. >> That's what

057I'm talking about too. >> Yes. It does not include busing for summer institute. No. >> So what does that mean? So like the the parents would be paying. I don't believe we ever bust for summer institute. >> Okay. I just want to make sure that that was okay. And then finally when you said BCBAS, would you be adding like bodies more BCBAS for? Right now we we um use um the uncommon thread right >> and they're three days a week. We are going to go up to four days a week with the same person to provide consistency >> because the demand is there for million. Yes. >> Okay. Thank you. >> Anyone else? >> Anybody else? >> Okay. >> I'm good. I'm good. >> I have a few if you don't mind. >> Okay. >>

058The bank cap. >> Yeah. Isn't the purpose of the bank cap to use that in years where you have excessive increases like nearly 6%. >> Uh your band cap is the last thing you can use though. You have to use your enrollment adjustment first, your tax levy, uh healthcare adjustment. Once you use all those, you can use band cap. So we could have used our band cap this year, but your tax rate would have gone up to 9%. >> That and we can roll it over. We don't need to use it this year. >> You use your reserves, they charge you the >> not res not reserves. No >> bank account. It's it's >> no no bank cap isn't >> that was that was just bank just held off right >> bank cap doesn't have

059to do with reserves so we have we have additional bank cap because our healthcare adjustment is more than the 688,000 it was 700 and something that we're only using 688,000 of it so the 188 gets rolled over for future years for future use we had the um 300 left over from two years ago that has to be used in three years so next year will be the last year to use that 300 and it will go way that we'll we'll see where we are with healthcare adjustment, enrollment adjustment. We may not have to use it. Um but that will then just drop off the the ledger and the 188 will go forward plus anything that we generate next year that is not used. >> Okay? But it's all towards your towards your tax levy. It

060is not has nothing at all to do with reserves. >> Okay? >> Every year we see a draw down of reserves >> and a month or two later that draw down gets replenished. Mhm. >> Why is there a 6% tax when in a month or two from now all those draw downs are going to be replenished anyway? >> Because the tax doesn't have anything to do with your reserves. We want to keep our we keep trying to keep our reserves at a very consistent level, right? So that we always have money so that should the roof go or should the chiller go, we have money to do these big things, right? Um and it's not your tax levy. You want money left over. this year we have a little bit more and it and it

061just happens to be that circums people left and we had some health care and some you know things add up that so and and we did some really good deals um so we have extra money um but you want to put that back into reserves because we want to do you know a lot of projects and the projects that we're doing in the summer this year are kind of they're not up to a million but we do have other projects in line during the year that we can use our reserves for. That goes right to my uh next point is that all of these additional projects like in buildings and grounds we spoke about putting in new playground equipment. >> Why are we taking on additional expenditures costs that could be forstalled for one year?

062Because we're not replacing bad playground furniture. In fact, we just put some in two years ago. I think it was maybe three right back here. Gillette >> two years ago. >> Okay. Yeah. Anyway, uh why are we adding to playground equipment when this is a definitely a tight budget here? It's twice as much. >> Because the playground equipment is costing us nothing. It's coming out of cap reserves. It is fixed to the ground. Um and therefore we can take it out of cap reserve. It's not affecting the tax levy at all. >> Okay. But then you're going to use tax money to replenish that reserve. Are you not? >> Uh if there's leftover at the end of the year. I I am suspecting because this is >> there will be left over. >> This is

063a Right. But this is going to be a tighter year. I don't expect 26 27 to have the same amount left over. >> Okay, that's interesting. A few more if you don't mind. Uh the you you talked about the healthcare >> and how premiums stay level while costs went up. Obviously, we see that the the Wait, I'm sorry. That's going to be a contract issue. >> No, no, no, no, no. It's the opposite, though. >> Premiums have gone up. >> No, I I meant contribution. The cost went up. the contributions made. >> Yeah. >> Uh do we is that being negotiated now? >> Is that something you can't discuss at this point? >> I'm I'm not going to discuss that. No, >> fair enough. >> But every but but to put it this way, everything

064that's in the contract is is what is under review. >> Okay. >> But isn't chapter 44 >> is that from a contract or is that from a law? >> Chapter 44 is a law. The contract also has a a provision in it. >> So that the fact that those those costs were stagnant has more to do with the law than it has to do with anything else. >> We can't Yeah. >> We can't break the law to to save money. >> Right. So that's that's a moot point. >> The way chapter 44 is written is that any new employee in the district um and anybody who goes into it, the the the cost of the the um program is just a little bit less than um the other plan. But you have to go into

065it. And once you go into it, because you're a new employee, you are then tied to a percent of salary where the old way used to be a percent of premium. >> Um, at last meeting I asked you if you were going to have options for us and I understand from our discussion before there are no options on this budget. It's it's voted up or down. Correct. >> Yes. I think but the finance committee has been working on this for months now and has discussed as Robin said >> people are going to tell please don't interrupt me >> I was talking please don't interrupt me I'm talking >> the the finance committee has has spoken about this for months now Karen's been reporting about us and the work that's been done at finance and so

066>> that's been the culmination of many many discussions Robin started out. Karen brought up what percentage we started at discussing. So that was an option. >> Okay, so there's one option. Then we discussed a couple of other expenditures and looked at revenue and then we came up with a second option. Then the state number came in and now here's a third option and this is by far right when we came along the spectrum the best option. So I just want to put it there have been options along the way. Thank you for your impression that it's the best option, but it's not the only option. There are things like forest stalling additional equipment. Uh I'm not advocating this. Cutting heads is an option. Maybe we vote that down, but nine people need to discuss it,

067not three or four. And then it's it's it's voice to define you. Here it is. >> Tell us all along what's going on, but we don't get to vote in your meeting. >> You areowed the only thing discuss. Wait, Karen, you're allowed to provide comment and you're allowed to send an email to the committee about your concerns and this has been happening all along the way. >> We we heard them. >> I just got to say this by having a board of a committee or of committees. What you're doing is you're entrusting the individuals in that committee to work responsibly and completely and intelligently associate with the goals of the not only the committee but the goals of the board and the goals of the district. So what you're saying is >> com you know

068is opposite to that. >> No one of the one of the one of the uh goals of this committee is to be uh financially fiscally responsible. That's right. Exactly. Is it physically responsible to spend money you don't need to spend in a year when you have too much debt coming up? >> I don't know. I I don't know if Wait, I don't know if you can comment on that because uh how should I say this? For instance, I don't think there's one thing associated with uh something that came out even about the closets or whatever because we even question that. >> Those are safety issues. There's a lot of it that's associated with safety. I mean there are certain priorities you have to put. >> The other thing is um things that we take uh

069how should I say this? You invest now and you do it now so that in a year from now you're not having to pay 150% more because it's gotten more aggravated and things are more expensive. This is timely and it fits in with what is going on in the schools and in the district. >> You're not asking for a 6% increase. Maybe that makes sense. But to ask for extra things that you don't need, the nice to have like extra playground equipment is not necessary in this budget. >> All right, I'm going to make one. Alex is going to go. >> Well, I had certain clarifying questions that came up from some of the comments. Um, just for clarity, >> uh, Miss Bulmer, >> the cap reserve that we were talking about, that is our

070ability to increase our um, our tax levy, if I'm getting the the bank cap, not >> bank cap. That's what I meant. Yes. >> Our bank cap. What we're not utilizing, >> we're not utilizing >> is our ability to increase the tax levy, which we're not doing. >> Correct. I just want to make sure the people in the public understand higher. >> We could have gone up higher. We're choosing not to. And that's based on our um 2% cap and what we're we're foregoing from doing. So, it could have theoretically gone up another 3%, but we're electing not to by trying to be fiscally conservative. Correct. >> Yes. >> Okay. Wait, you're not you're not done. Well, I'm not done either. >> Not you're not. >> I wasn't done. I have my notes. I would

071like to ask the question. >> If you not next, Katie, >> I'm not done, but that's fine. >> I can be after Katie. >> I have more questions. I'm sorry, >> Alex. If you take a look at the screen, see the number on the bottom, we could have gone up $466,000 more. >> Back up to the other reserves that you're going to be adding. >> Tom, it is I I thought I was given the opportunity answering questions. You have to let everybody go. There has to be an order. And you did. We went right down, got to me, and then I got halfway through and you skipped over me. >> I did not skip over you. >> Well, how are we past me if I'm not done? >> So, you did skip over me. I

072>> I didn't skip over you. >> What did you do? Please explain. >> It's not You don't have the floor right now. >> You gave me the floor. You asked me if I had questions. I have questions. >> You don't have the floor right now. Alex does. We will come back to you after Katie. >> That's fine. Go ahead, Alex. >> Thank you all. Um the there there seems to be some questions about investing this year in additional playground equipment at Gillette. Please clarify, >> Tom. >> Go ahead. >> We will enforce parliamentary procedure if you're not going to be respectful to your colleagues. >> Robert's rules. I have them here. >> Um the Gillette playground and backs stop. We have reported at this meeting that this is in these are expenses that we've sought

073grants for. Is that correct? >> Yes. >> Okay. Can you clarify that we're not trying to replace newly installed playground equipment? >> We're not replacing any playground equipment right now. What we're hearing from the principal and the aids is that there are so many children out there that they have to set timers on a lot of the equipment because the kids don't h can't get their time on it. So, we want to put a couple new pieces out there um to for the children that and the pieces are not coming out. If we if we take the playground equipment out of the budget, >> your tax levy still stays at 5.7%. It's a capital reserve expense. >> Understood. and the capital reserve that we maintain which having chaired the buildings and grounds committee for a

074few years I fully understand the importance of maintaining a capital reserve but we also generate interest income from that as well correct and that goes into our our revenues >> it does go into the revenues it goes into the capital reserve revenues though >> okay and the alternative to maintaining a capital reserve would be to borrow money at the prevailing interest rates if we needed emergency funds for capital improvement or repair of a significant expense. Correct. >> Yeah. The alternative is scary, right? If you let your capital reserve go down and your and you get a roof problem, right, or the chiller breaks >> that you don't have the money to to do it. You end up going out for financing and and putting something onto your your operating budget that is going to increase

075your tax rate. And we've been audited before and there are accountants who and auditors who recommend a certain value that you're supposed to maintain for capital reserves depending on the nature of your institution and the assets >> and we are right within budget on our auditor thinks that we are doing fabulously. We are exactly where we should be. Um some when you look at some other school districts they have no capital reserve. The we had somebody um maintenance reserve is also very important right because it's for maintenance. Um, we had one district at our county meeting, mid-year budget review, and the woman stood up and she said, "I am in such desperate straits. I have no maintenance reserve. If anything breaks, I cannot fix it." >> Thank you. >> Okay. We don't want to be

076in that that situation. >> Thank you. >> I will I will allow I will defer to top and I'll if I have a comment later, I'll come back. So, Tom, the floor is yours. >> Time under parliamentary procedure. Um, I've done a little skull duggery and found this nice report from Dr. Rain Rovar from November 2010. If anybody wants to share it about facility utilization, I'll be sharing it with you, Dr. George. Uh, it said that we had room for,300 students in this district. We're now down to 752. In that time, our expenses have gone up by oh, let me see if I can be in my own writing. Uh our enrollment's down 20%. We have gone up compounded expenses have gone up 61% in that same time. >> Seems a little leery. >> What

077year is that from? >> That was from 20 uh the that report started in 2010. >> I'd like to know what the laws have changed for certain things in including special education because a big portion of things has to do with the role rules about this. >> That's all well and good. That's what we have an attorney for. >> It's also what we have a superintendent and a business administrator that advise us on what we do for a budget >> and someone who >> Did you read this report? >> Comment comment. >> I wasn't on the board then. I wasn't on the board. >> I was I was on the board then. >> Okay. >> And I will tell you the situation associated with 1300 students is a lot different than the situation we have

078educationally. >> And how should I say it? uh when I say education I mean the requirements of you and as as well as the distribution of those students >> because if you look at the graph the change in enrollment you'll see there was a dramatic change in enrollment the demographic so what's there for a short period of time doesn't stay there very long >> my my point being not that we can house as many students anymore but enrollment's gone downs have gone way But as a matter of fact, the last point I'll make >> excellent >> because I know you're all going to vote yes anyway is well you say this is an increase of $31 a month which is probably somebody's streaming expense for one account. It's really $6,200 a year just on this

079budget compared and not even part of the high school budget, the municipal budget, the county budget. It's $6,200 a year on this average homeowner. And if you have if your house is more than that, then you're paying >> 626,200. >> But >> I don't I could could explain that. I don't understand the 6200. >> Yeah. Here, I can show you. >> If you see in um the 2526 proposed, I'm sorry. And that's that's wrong. That's 2627 proposed column, the middle column. See on the very bottom where it says total. So the average homeowner is going to get a $6,400 tax increase. Is he on the bottom? Right. Per year. >> So that's the >> that's going to and not tax increase. T that's going to be your taxes. It's an increase of $359. >> Okay.

080So it's a $400 increase and it's $6,400 a year, >> right? That's going to be your tax bill. >> Oh, tax bill. >> Your tax bill. >> No, that's the tax bill. Not a tax increase. >> The tax increase the average tax bill. >> Tax bill. The increase is $360. >> 42% percentage or maybe more now of of the entire package, but it's it's still not a significant number. >> It's not. But Tom, you realized it's it really is driven by the health care. If the health care hadn't gone up 23.5%. Right. Then our our tax increase would have been minimal. >> That we have cut everything that that we are so lean right now that that there's nothing there's nothing in there. When you look at it, there's nothing left to cut. Nothing's discretionary,

081right? Everything are things we have, we have to pay for busing. We have to pay for our out of district placements. We have to pay for benefits, health care, right? Salaries, debt service. And Tom, we're not we're not alone. I mean, this is happening happening across the state. It's happening in our immediate vicinity. Everyone is somewhere in that five to six, in some cases, eight or 9% range. Um so it's it's just an unfortunate set of economic conditions right now. >> Yeah. The only I I would just like to say as chair of the finance committee I know that Robin had put up a preliminary review for the board members to see uh the that's going to go on now the website for well of our comm community >> and she had requested from board

082members any questions or concerns you know to give it to her. Uh I was available the committee is available for questions or concerns. So, I guess I just want to leave it out there that um a lot of your confusion and misunderstanding could have been taken care of prior to the meeting >> and it could have Karen, but what you don't know is when we got the video and I watched it and I wrote to the district office and said I would like to talk about this and the option and any options that are available which were said we would have options. We tried to set up a meeting but unfortunately our schedules clashed and I did I was interested And I I'm not trying to make this uneducated. >> Okay. >> And I was

083just going to jump in as well because the finance committee has been talking particularly about this increase in the health insurance. I I mean several reports now and just remind everyone we're we're committee I mean a board of committees but the committees speak to everyone. Every member of this board has an opportunity to read the minutes and the agendas. the agendas come out prior to the meetings particularly so that board members who aren't on the committee can reach out to committee members and make sure that their voice is heard and it makes our committee meetings more robust I think and and you know it just brings those opinions for us to discuss and then to bring back to the board member um so that it's not just in these final meetings where we're talking about

084things let's use the committee structure as well and that communication to make sure that everybody on the board feels they have a voice in every committee Kim, just one. >> Yes. >> Just as a as a father of three, as a member of the finance committee, I appreciate that the the diligence that the administration put into to this. We we had conversations for months um about what made the most sense. And there is a cost of doing nothing, which could be the cost of voting no. Um I'm comfortable as a father and as a member of the finance committee. I also appreciate the teachers that make dollars go the extra mile. So, I just wanted to acknowledge that there was a lot of work. There was a lot of thought put into this and I

085just wanted to recognize that as we move to to to move on. >> Thank you very much. I appreciate that. >> Okay. Anybody else? >> Okay. Thank you, Robin. >> Thank you. >> Do we have any comments from the public on agenda items? Lauren Franklin, I just was commenting on number 31, the summer institute and the paying for it. I know one board member had a question. I think it's interesting that we are paying for it. Uh asking parent going to ask parents to pay for that. Um it's a student program. I think we as Mr. Graphos saying um you know we did just redo a library for an exorbitant amount of money um and we're going to charge for program. I think that's a little disappointing. >> Okay, we're going to move to resolutions.

086Well, let me start with um Karen. Will you move in uh the motion to accept Mr. Squisiato's unsung care award recognition? I so move so strongly for that. >> Second we >> absolutely >> roll call please. >> Mrs. Butler? >> Yes. >> Mrs. Daly? >> Yes. >> Mr. Jamos? >> Yes. >> Mr. Foster? >> Yes. >> Mr. Groskoff? >> Yes. >> Dr. Moore? >> Yes. >> Mrs. McClennon? >> Yes. >> Miss Nyquis? >> Yes. >> Mrs. Casease? >> Yes. >> Okay. Um Danielle, will you move in uh minutes number two? >> So moved. >> Second. Any questions? Roll call, please. >> Mrs. Butler, yes. >> Mrs. Dailyaly, yes. >> Mr. Dejamos, yes. >> Mr. Foster, >> yes. >> Mr. Groskov, >> yes. >> Dr. Maher, >> yes. >> Mrs. McClennon, >> yes. >> Mrs. Nyquis,

087>> yes. >> Mrs. Casease, >> yes. >> Uh, Crystal, will you move in financials number 3 through 31? >> So moved. >> Second. >> Any questions? >> Uh, not a question. I just want to make a comment. the the rationale behind at least provi providing a summer institute program is if we didn't charge tuition we couldn't have the program I mean the budget would not allowed us to have the program at all so he wanted to offer the community an opportunity um and based upon a business plan that Robin had put together which was shared with the board um we tried to keep it you know within a very very reasonable uh dollar amount. Like I said, this is the only way we thought we could provide something that might be beneficial to the community.

088Hopefully, if they want it, they can accept it. But otherwise, we couldn't have had it at all. I mean, we could not have a put it in. That's it. It had to be paid or it was not there. That's it. >> Okay. Daniel, >> can I have a question on that? So, >> is there like a bare minimum amount of students that have to apply? Yes, they'll partake in this. >> 40. Okay. >> And then if not 40, >> then they don't have it yet. >> Then we don't have it. >> And 10 per 10 per class to open a new class. >> 10 per class. >> How many do we normally have? Do we know? >> Sorry. >> Last year there was about 115 children registered. So, as long as we can get 40

089that we we should be able to run it that we're going to try and first first step is to see how many teachers are interested in participating to make sure that we have teachers who want to do this, >> right? Okay. >> Thank you. >> Sorry. >> Okay. Any other questions? >> Okay. Roll call, please. >> Mrs. Butler? >> Yes. >> Mrs. Dailyaly? Yes. >> Mr. Dejamos? Yes. >> Mr. Foster? Yes. >> Mr. Groskov? Yes. >> Dr. Maher? >> Yes. >> Mr. McClennon? >> Uh, yes. but recused from 21. >> Mrs. Nyquist, >> yes. >> Mrs. Casease, >> yes. >> Um, Ann, will you move in special services numbers 32? >> So moved. >> Second. >> Okay. Any questions? >> Roll call. >> Mrs. Butler? >> Yes. >> Mrs. Dailyaly? >> Yes. >> Mr. Jamos?

090Yes. >> Mr. Foster? Yes. >> Mr. Groskoff? Yes. >> Dr. Maher? >> Yes. >> Mrs. McClennon? >> Yes. >> Miss Nyquist? >> Yes. >> Mrs. Casease? >> Yes. Thank you. Tom, will you move in personnel numbers 33 to 38? >> So move. >> Second. >> Any questions? >> Roll call. >> I'm just excited that we we have a new music teacher. That's my kids are my kids will be very excited to meet her. >> Mrs. Butler? >> Yes. >> Mrs. Dailyaly? >> Yes. >> Mr. Dejamos? >> Yes. >> Mr. Foster? >> Yes. >> Mr. Groskoff? >> Yes. >> Dr. Mah? >> Yes. >> Mrs. McClennon? >> Yes. >> Miss Nyquist? >> Yes. >> Mrs. Casease? >> Yes. Um Justin, we move in curriculum number 39. >> So moved. >> Second. >> Any questions? >> Roll

091call, please. >> Mrs. Butler, >> yes. >> Mrs. Daly, >> yes. >> Mr. Dejamos, >> yes. >> Mr. Foster, >> yes. >> Mr. Groskoff, >> yes. >> Dr. Maher, >> yes. >> Mrs. McClennon, >> yes. >> Miss Nyquis, >> yes. >> Mrs. Casease, >> yes. >> Alex, may we move in policy number 40 and 41? >> So moved. >> Second. >> Any questions? Roll call, please. >> Mrs. Butler? Yes. >> Mrs. Dailyaly? Yes. >> Mr. Dejamos? >> Yes. >> Mr. Foster? >> Yes. >> Mr. Groskoff? >> No. 140? Yes. On 41. >> Mr. uh Dr. Maher? >> Yes. >> Mrs. McClennon? >> Uh, yes. Mrs. Nyquist. >> Yes. >> Mrs. Casease. >> Yes. >> Katie, we move in other number 42 and 43. >> So moved. >> Second. >> Okay. >> Any questions? Oh, please.

092>> Mrs. Butler, >> yes. >> Mr. Mrs. Dailyaly, >> yes. >> Mr. Dejamos, yes. >> Mr. Foster, >> yes. >> Mr. Groskoff, >> yes. >> Dr. Maher, >> yes. >> Mrs. McClennon, >> yes. >> Mquis, >> yes. >> Mrs. Casease, >> yes. >> Okay. Uh, any other items for discussion? Unfinished business. No. >> Any new business? Any comments from the public? Okay. Okay. Can I have a motion to adjurnn? >> So moved. >> Second. >> All in favor? >> I. >> Any opposed? >> Thank you. Heat. Heat.

This transcript may contain errors introduced by automated or source-provided captioning. Bracketed descriptions such as [Music] are retained from the source. Passage divisions are editorial aids and do not alter the wording.