001Mhm. >> Mhm. >> It calls me to order. Adequate notice of this meeting was provided by sending such notice to the Asbury Park Press, the Middletown Patch, and the Middletown Township Public School District website, and posting of such notice at the OST administrative offices, and each elementary, middle, and secondary school in the district. Roll call please, Mr. Secretary. Mrs. Benyola. Here. Mrs. Galaski. Here. Mr. Sakalaski. Here. Mrs. Tobacco. Here. Mrs. Torres. Here. Mrs. Weinstein. Here. Mrs. Wright. Here. Mr. Capone. Here. Mr. Ravita. Here. Now we need a motion to go into executive session. So moved. Second. I. Discussion. All in favor? I. Do we have a motion to now therefore be dissolved in the town council board of education that the board enters into executive session discuss the following items. Litigation matters statute or court
002order. Collective bargaining matters, personnel matters. Do you further resolve items discussed in executive session may result in board action when or you can be >> Mhm. >> I would call this order call meeting back to order. Everybody please rise to the pledge. pledge allegiance I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America, and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. >> Under New Jersey law and administrative code, Board of Education are required to annually prepare, adopt, and submit a school budget to the County Superintendent and New Jersey Department of Education. While the Superintendent and administration handle the technical preparation of the budget document, the budget ultimately reflects the Board's priorities and decisions. For the administration to prepare a meaningful and accurate
003budget in accordance with the Board's intent, it needs clear direction from the Board. Without that guidance, the administration cannot fulfill its role to prepare a tentative budget in support of the Board's legal obligation to adopt a budget that truly reflects the Board's intent. In that regard, further discussion with and consensus of the Board of Education in executive session, I'm asking for a motion to amend the agenda to include resolution 9C. Resolution 9C will provide clear direction to the administration regarding preparation of the budget. The Board must make this decision so that the administration can proceed accordingly in meeting its budget preparation obligations. Can I have a motion? So moved. Second. All right, so there was a a motion was made and seconded, and just to be clear, the motion was resolution authorizing closing of Leonardo
004Elementary School and Navesink Elementary School and directing the submission of required assurances and approvals to the New Jersey Division of Administration and Finance and the Executive County Superintendent of Monmouth County. Now to be clear, this is only a motion to amend the agenda to include this resolution as item 9C. Discussion. Yeah, I'd like to speak. I'll start it out. What concerns me most about this proposal itself is not just the proposal, but how we got here. We're discussing closing schools because of years of financial mismanagement and a failure to engage in long-term planning. Enrollment trends were known, structural deficits were projectable, yet no comprehensive strategy was developed until we're facing a crisis. And this is not a comprehensive strategy. Let's be clear with that. Now we're being asked to make >> [applause] >> Now we're
005being asked to make permanent structural changes under pressure. This is not strategic leadership. This is reactive >> [applause] >> Something I want to be clear about because I pushed this with paper. There are no clearly defined academic benchmarks tied to this proposal. That is our job as a board of education to hold the administration accountable to that. There's no multi-year financial modeling that accounts for infrastructure, future enrollment shifts, or sustained improvement in student performance. When I asked directly how does this improve student outcomes, there was no measurable answer. Closing schools is not an academic plan. It's a consequence of poor planning. I believe in accountability and I believe in transparency, and I believe major restructuring requires stable leadership, which we're not going to have. >> [screaming] [cheering] >> Not not happening with full board collaboration
006and a long-term roadmap that extends beyond plugging a short-term fix. Our kids are My kids are going to be in the district for the next 15 years. Why am I worried about next year? I'm worried about the next 15 years, 20 years. >> [applause] >> Our responsibility is to fix this mismanagement without compounding it. And until there's a comprehensive plan that's data-driven and a plan that clearly improves student achievement, which this does not have anything at all in there discussing that. At all. And to protect our tax payers, I will not support sweeping structural changes that impact not just one school, two schools, it's three schools, but it's not just that. It's Thompson Middle School, it's Storm Middle School that are now in the happens This is the new This is the Garelli's is meeting.
007>> [applause] >> Thank you, Sandra Raskin. Anybody else? Sure. Please go, Shelly, for the audience. There'll be time for public comment. Um I am going to ask the public, if you would please let me speak. And I'm hoping that there are some people up here that have some past experience that can answer some of my questions. Because they have not been answered. They haven't been answered by to the public for a past year. They haven't been answered to us here. And enough is enough. >> [applause] >> And I have to respond because we deserve responses. We've been waiting for a year. And we paid for it. Where's phase two? So, been on the board for a month and a half now, and let me tell you what I've learned. Our facilities people, our maintenance people,
008they're very creative. They're problem solvers. They have been keeping this district running as everybody around them has not allowed them to. Our teachers, our parents, they're creative. They make sure that our children are sheltered from this nonsense. >> [applause] >> Our nurses are creative, even when people are falling off monkey bars. Where is the creativity in finding ways to save money for this district? We talk about big items. We talk about closing buildings that we can't sell or get any more revenue for. But what about >> [applause] >> everything else? I have been told, "Come with ideas." So I did. Every single idea that I came with about aftercare, about preschool, about the little things that we can do as a district to get revenue because that is very limited in a school district, even
009though the town has their own preschool and can run that revenue, even though they use our facilities and we don't get any money for the use of our facilities that we are paying for out of our portion of the budget so that they can run those. But I haven't had a shared services meeting, so I'll get back to you when I find out what they say ABOUT THAT. >> [applause] >> TODAY ALONE, I FOUND OUT ABOUT aftercare and I found out in a district that is similar to ours that they have camps, they have infant and toddler rooms in their preschool, they have after school enrichment, they have Saturday enrichment, they have summer camp, they have before and aftercare, they have jump ahead. They are in the black and have at least six figures of
010income that they are in the black running these programs. Would you like to know what they're doing with that program right now? They are buying a playground for their elementary school that houses aftercare. With that aftercare money, and that aftercare money, because it is in a building that houses aftercare, they are paying with it so those children have playgrounds. What a concept. But I was told that no, we can't do that. Champions brings in money, the YMCA brought in money. I let's see how much that works in a few years when they up their prices because, you know, inflation. So, we'll see about that. Some other ideas for revenue. Sorry, very cute. It's been a long night already. We talk about the budget. We talk about health insurance. We all know that the health insurance
011is going up. We also know that we did not fund the health insurance the way that we were supposed to. Amy, might you be able to explain that again so that we can talk about what you said in the financial meeting with the what we have to pay for to go backfill the insurance. What I I was referring to was having reserve on hand for allowing the district to even append it back to fully insure that we need to or to take care of years where claims may be in excess of what we had in the budget and and not and we didn't get stock loss back for. We do have some we had a we did fund the reserve when we set up the self-insured program. Correct. We utilized some of it. We do
012still have some left. But what I had mentioned to the finance committee was that then it would be prudent and recommended to replenish that up to a higher level so that we would have that. And why wasn't it replenished that way in the past? We haven't had the funds to do it. Okay. Because from what I recall in the meeting, you said you weren't allowed to put it in the budget. No, I We haven't had funds to replenish the reserve. I said I I think what you're referring to is last year we were under We were under budgeted on health insurance, and that's why we dipped into the reserve. Right. And when we asked why, you said you weren't It was told to be taken out of budget. The budget was set at an amount
013that was less than what we what we end So, why was that chosen as what was cut? I'm I'm just, you know, the budget was presented with the percentage in increase in health insurance that, you know, the board the voted on the budget. I'm not I'm not really sure what you're trying to get at. I'm trying to get at the fact that we have been underfunding this, and that this is not new. I said >> And last year we were under budgeted on our health insurance, yes. Right. And we we used >> We utilized part of our reserves to fund the claims last year. Right. And but that we were supposed to have more in there to fund the growth of claims. Our broker had recommended a higher increase than we budgeted. Yes. So, the
014broker had recommended the higher increase, and why wasn't it put in there with what the broker recommended? When we were balancing the budget, that was an area that was brought down to to help the budget. Who made that choice? I mean, the budget's The budget's recommended, and the board votes on it. Right, but that specific one I I I wouldn't have come up with this on my own, so I'm asking, who said cut it, and don't put that in there? Well, as an administrative team, our direction was to By who? I I I'm not sure. I you know, I don't know what you're trying to >> [applause] >> So, as you can see, and I'm this is not directed at Ms. Dardy, there are it's been very difficult to get some answers, as it has
015been for everyone else for the past year. So, last year, we said that this was a or Mr. Capone said it was a band-aid, Dr. Alfonsi is a bridge. When you have a bridge, you are building something and you are looking to build it in a way to get people on board so that you can move forward. In all of our conversations, I am fairly certain that nobody here has any clue any misconception that things don't need to change. We know that they need to change. We have been asking for it to be part of the public conversation so that people can have a buy-in and their communities and their children can be in a safe environment to learn. >> [applause] >> The optics of all of this, and Mr. Capone, this is what you
016and I talked about on the phone last whatever time this week. I'm sorry, I've had pneumonia this week, so days are running into each other. We have a meeting in October, I'm sorry, March, April, May. We passed the budget. We're going to have the strategic planning. We're doing all of this, and everything came to a screeching halt because we were waiting for the Hager report. When we get this Hager report, which is 6 months late, we then see the least disruptive outcome, which only affects schools that somehow weren't affected by the school closing. Why is it that if Navesink has space, are you not looking to move children into that high-performing school to balance out the classrooms? >> [applause] >> is that you are there to divide this town for whatever >> [applause] >> It
017was done. It divided the town. It divided this board, and it divided everything that makes this town great. >> [applause and cheering] >> We look at the report by Haber, and for some reason, Navesink and Leonardo are not touched at all, which only adds to the optics that this was done on purpose. >> [applause] >> And when we have no information, what else are we supposed to believe? What else are we supposed to believe? Because guess what? We showed up here, and now there's a resolution that you pulled out in the middle of executive session because we have a straw poll that says some people are interested in this. So, this is not isolated. There is absolutely no way that these two, three schools can close, and that it is not going to have a
018domino effect. I don't care if you take out the 228 plan out of writing when you are doing this because now Bay Shore Elementary is not going to be full, and they're going to look to reduce that footprint and make that school full. So, there is no way that this means you're only closing those three schools. And don't tell me that the middle school kids are going to be fine because we have >> [cheering] [screaming] [applause] [cheering] >> Last time that there was actual strategic planning done in 2009, the capacity for Bayshore Middle School is 746. Thompson Middle School, 805. Thorn Middle School, 805. Education hasn't changed, the footprint hasn't changed, nothing has changed except that now you're saying you can fit 1,050 students in Thorn Middle School in the next 3 years. So, don't
019tell me that these kids are going to be fine because it is not acceptable and there is no plan to show me that that's how it's GOING TO BE. >> [applause] >> ON JANUARY 6TH AT OUR FIRST MEETING, I came in hopeful. I was assured that there was no backdoor conversation when I paused everything and asked the question of why half of the table knew what was going on, had all these things in place, and were ready to set these motions. And I said, "I really hope that you are being honest with me." Mr. Ravida, you have been honest in that we have had committees, we have been part of the conversation, but at the last committee meeting I was in on Tuesday night when we were at the facilities meeting and I sat there
020and said, "What am I missing? Why are people's heads down? What is it that we're not talking about?" And I was told, "Nothing." This doesn't SEEM LIKE NOTHING. >> [cheering] >> WHAT IS THE PLAN? PLEASE. And what I did was I explained to you what was just reported by Mr. Edi, the business administrator. Okay? And And that basically said if we remain if we maintain the status quo, only anticipate tax levy increases of 2% each year, and receive minimal if any increases in state aid, we'll still face budget deficits of 6.6 million in '27-'28, 10.2 million in '28-'29, and 13.9 million in '29-'30. And that's on top of the 6 million we're facing right now. We are tentatively I apologize. Please let me finish. Everybody What? So, that was That was why I I said
021to you, that's what you missed in the finance committee meeting. But there's a lot more than just a finance committee that was missed. So, I was also promised that I would have the opportunity to ask the questions here that I had about this plan. I sent 21 of them on Sunday night. And I did get some answers, but I do have some follow-ups. I asked what the anticipated plans for expansion at the elementary middle schools in the proposal are for the '26-'27 school year, and it said that they are um going to be decided by the BOE, but they are recommending more classroom space in the middle school and large spaces like cafeterias and APRs at the elementary schools. WITH WHAT MONEY? >> [cheering] >> AND DR. THOMPSON, AND I UNDERSTAND THAT YOU are not
022here for this part, so you don't have to answer. This is really for the board because this is what we need to consider before we decide what we are doing for this next motion. Um When looking at cost savings, how are the extra nurses, administration, and facilities added from the Lincroft Annex? And it was told that they are only adding the cost of a nurse and it's through the special education budget that the current special ed administrator is going to be the main admin for the Annex, which does lead me to the one thing I do want to clear up for the public. I did have a conversation with one other board member who is trying to clarify some things for me. And I asked the question of in the interest of facts, when we're
023talking about Q-SAC and that we are talking about we are losing money because we cannot get enough money from the state because our footprint is too big. If we are expanding our footprint with the Lincroft Annex, why is it we are voting to do that if you are then looking to reduce the footprint of the district? I am a special education teacher. To then have people come and say that I am pushing to close the Lincroft Annex and close down that special education program is the most infuriating and insulting thing. There is nothing about what I said that should allow you to attack my CHARACTER THAT WAY. >> [applause] >> WHAT I'M SAYING IS CONFIRMING why we need to meet as a board, not as a small group of people just to not make war.
024>> I asked for what was budgeted to pay for the adjustments to make Bay Shore and elementary school housing kindergarten. There is none. As the mother of someone going into kindergarten, not okay. I asked for what the plans are for the LLD and autistic programs in the middle schools and where they will they go. I would like to clarify what I meant by that because I spoke with Ms. Solaski and she said, "What do you mean?" And I said, "I have been in a school where the autistic classrooms were placed in a loud hallway. It is disruptive when it is class uh changing time. It is disruptive when they need to go to the bathroom and there isn't one that is right there by them. With a thousand kids in the school and carts going
025around because classrooms are now mobile, where are these children going to be housed? And what specific things are in place to make sure that they can continue to have a successful program that has been built throughout this district. That is a question I would like answered now. How How is it that we can then say "We're saving money." When we don't have this information to even know if THERE'S GOING TO >> [applause] [cheering] >> OKAY. SO, I GUESS WE'LL KEEP GOING. I ASKED FOR WHAT IS TIMELINE and cost for teachers and staff have time to pack their entire schools? What is the timeline and cost for facilities to make these moves? What is the timeline and cost for setting up the new schools for the new school year? Um, I did not get the answer
026immediately, but what I was then told is that um it'll happen after school's out. I moved my middle school classroom and it took me 4 days and I don't have an ounce of the materials and things that an elementary school classroom, never mind school, has. I don't know how this is going to be done by September and have not been assured otherwise because while we have our excellent maintenance and facilities crew, they also have 10 other buildings that they need to prepare for the September school year. It doesn't make sense. Uh, enrollment. What are the contingency plans if closing schools does not have the cost savings? We cut back in other areas was the full answer. These are basic questions. If you were having a plan you have a plan. The reason we don't have
027a full plan is because we can't put out the full plan because then it's going to show all the other buildings that are going to close along the way >> [applause] [cheering] [screaming] [applause] >> All right, number three top. What I have to say isn't as strong and powerful as you, but what I have to say is coming from my heart and it's the truth about what's been going on for this past year. Chris, you and I were on this board together before. You know what a budget process looks like. Back in your day, you were told by some of the same people today that are saying close schools and complaining about the tax hikes not to take our budget to 2%. Look what happened to us. And we >> [applause] >> did in fact
028give direction to the superintendent to make cuts and we were a part of that discussion and decision. We cut at least $3 million or more every year of those um budgets that we put together because many many in our community were hurting. And we didn't want to hurt the families and take away from their kids. But back then, we always put the kids first. >> [applause] >> Now they say it's not our place to get involved in the cuts and see administrations. Last year, some of us sat in small groups with Dr. Alfone to go over and make recommendations on cuts instead of meeting as a board. We were told that our leadership did not choose to attend those meetings. In fact, we had radio silence right up until the final budget vote with no
029involvement from leadership. And I don't mean to point fingers, but these are actual facts. And some of us did take part in making $6 million in cuts last year, which it seems to me that a lot of people were surprised about those cuts, but they did happen. And we worked hard with the superintendent to make those cuts happen besides the tax increase. So, all those past budgets that we did and I was a part of it, I am not taking myself out. Over the years where we didn't go to 2%, we actually hurt ourselves. >> [cheering] [applause] >> I'm sorry that I wasn't more knowledgeable about that. But, moving on, um we should be making every possible cut that does not affect classroom before we close our schools. >> [applause] >> I don't understand what
030the big thing about selling the land is. Because here's my here's my suggestion. Selling the land should be done only when we have a well-thought-out plan that addresses our entire plan to renovate the building with a total cost of what we will need to go out for a referendum. Then, sell the land to offset some of that cost. I think the only thing this board has agreed on is that the Earth Harbor presentation was ridiculous. The Harbor report has done nothing but pit school against school and split this community, which is supposed to be one [clears throat] Middletown school >> [applause] >> I feel strongly this was part of the plan all along. The fact that we would not allow board members or the public to ask questions at the first Harbor presentation and the
031second one, only board members, on top of trying to do it in closed session, and he was not prepared to do a public session any setting. After the first presentation, the public was left in fear only to speculate what was next. Again, was this part of a plan? If it was, putting the community apart, you achieved it. >> [applause] >> Middle school, in my opinion, is a huge problem. I'm I'm just going to finish because it matters to me. Middle school, in my opinion, is a huge problem. I've worked in one of our middle schools when it was almost a thousand kids. I was a power for 17 years. It's not a good situation. I learned from this experience that opportunities are lost in many areas for our kids. In today's world, kids need to
032be more than ever be involved and included. Our elementary schools with large class sizes will be moving up to even larger class sizes in the middle school. What opportunities are we giving them? Just because we think we can crowd them, doesn't mean we should. >> [applause] >> Are the numbers you're giving us for capacity for the middle schools, does that include the staff? Or are we looking to change the capacity numbers? Last week in committee, Chris, I told you the overcrowding in middle school is going to cause behavior issues. You told me that we are not responsible for bad behavior. >> [cheering] >> And I get the soda. >> [cheering] >> If that's the case, then we're not responsible for bad behavior. We have plenty of cuts from this budget that we can make because
033where they if you really believe this because I don't. We have had to hire many positions since COVID to address mental health, which includes behavioral problems. Limiting your opportunities is not going to help. >> [applause and cheering] >> We have special education classes and I think Erin hit on that pretty good. The district has been working hard not to keep moving the classes around. Some of the programs we use in the middle school need more than one classroom for that program to be successful. What is the plan to support these programs? Are there extra classrooms besides the ones that you're telling us that we have plenty of room for? We should be looking to cut the budget this year in order to put a real plan in place. There is no plan in place. As
034I see it now, we're going to ask for a referendum to add on and fix the buildings. That's what we put out the plan that we discussed last week. My question is, is it true that the county has been spoken to so that we can get money from the Monmouth County improvements without a voter approval? I haven't spoke to anybody. Has anyone on this board talked to the county about getting an approval without voter approval, getting money and bonds without a uh approval from the public? No, never. I'm not leaving. Okay, just asking. That was my question. If so, Is everyone going to answer that question? Did everyone not speak to that? Yes, you No. When it comes time for public comment, you can ask the question. Decision Decision Decision time for public comment. Let
035the board finish. And if that is so, that's not transparency. And Dr. Alfano, I'm really sorry that I'm going this route, but we've had many conversations, and I just can't let this go any further. Dr. Alfano, after the past year, you stated in "We're in a better place knowing we still need to do something about the future of our schools, and we are well aware of that." Strategic planning started. We were supposed to start building a plan by getting ideas and suggestions. In August, we stopped waiting for waiver. In the meantime, no plan discussion took place. We left strategic planning with the next steps. And as they were sent to the public, the next step in the process is to develop the development of action plans. The superintendent and the administrative team will develop the
036action plan for the strategic plan. The timelines will be developed for a 3-to-5-year plan. That's what the public IS LOOKING FOR. >> [applause] >> OVER THE LAST FEW MONTHS, YOU HAVE LED SOME OF us to believe that you're not driving the bus anymore. And no, no, really, seriously, just let it go. Now would be a great time to let the public know who's driving the bus, because this is a very serious decision. I don't know what the name is. You have led You have led people to believe that it would be a plan that would play out over a few years to make sure it was a successful plan for our students. At your superintendent's council meeting, you talked much differently and gave many suggestions that are not even being talked about now. And a
037member of the public got up at the last meeting and said that, "What are we doing? This isn't what was told at the superintendent's council." And I have to agree with him. It appears to be Hayden who was directed and given a given plan A and told to make it work. How many times [applause] was he redirected? How much input did you give him? With what was discussed with leadership after the first presentation? Because we we did get an email saying that this is what's going to happen next. Why is the full board not included in that leadership meeting, Chris? Because leadership can speak for the board after they have spoken to the board. For us, we need to know what you're you're talking about when you're speaking on our behalf. And we were not
038part of that plan. Um please fill us in on the conversation. You told me a few weeks ago not to lose trust in you. Well, you also told me 2 days before Haber's first report after we got to see the December 5th report report that obviously this year we were not going to be closing elementary schools. You did tell me that. I wouldn't lie about it. That's why I'm calling you out because this is eating away at me. That we have plenty You said THAT WE HAVE AMPLE TIME TO COME UP WITH A PLAN. Conversation at your your super council meeting pretty much backed that up. If that was not your intention, you have grossly misled many in the public. I hope that we come up Oh, I'll get to that on the next page,
039sorry. I'm a proud member of our community. I think our town does a great job. But I also feel our schools are a big part of why people move here also. >> [applause] >> Yes, would they like modern schools? Who would not? But the feeling I get is that they all, and I mean every school in this district, not just two, they all love their community schools more. >> [cheering and applause] >> Along with all of our staff, our custodians, our parents, anybody that works for us, they do a great job. And I also think that our town does the same. There's so many opportunities given for our children around around town with parks and fields, things that we can't afford to do. I'm really proud to be a part of Middletown. So, let's do
040what's right, make a plan that will be successful and our kids for our kids and our taxpayers. Doing the plan with band-aids, like we're doing it now, it's only going to cost us more money. Because we're saying we're going to sell land and we're going to do this improvement, we're going to close the school and we're going to do this improvement, but without having a whole picture of everything that needs to be done and the total cost and buy it from our community, by the time we get more money to do the other projects we need, these projects that you're going to do one by one are going to be obsolete. So, we really need to THINK ABOUT THIS WE CAN'T GET BUYING FROM THE public unless we include them. And I know Chris, you
041say the public doesn't make this decision, we do, and you're right, but we need buying because all of this stuff we're talking about is going to cost you money. And they're not going to give it to us. And what I hear in the rumor mill that's going around is that we're going to go to the county and get money without voter input, and that's going to make it even worse. And anybody who thinks that closing these schools is not going to stop their taxes from going up, wait till you SEE THE REFERENDUM. >> [applause and cheering] [cheering] [applause] >> ANY OTHER COMMENTS? YEAH. SO, I had a very long prepared speech that I was going to read, and now I'm not going to because my colleagues, Ms. Torres and Ms. Newlands, well, they spoke a
042little bit, and Ms. Daskalakis spoke a little bit, and really covered a lot of of the things actually that I was going to say. But I'm going to keep ringing this bell, which I'm sure is going to actually cause some eye rolling on the other side of the table. Well, it's really sad that we find ourselves in this position again for two reasons. Number one, I would have hoped that after the way this was handled last year, we would have learned some lessons. Apparently, I have not. But moreover, I'm going to keep ringing this bell. It's really sad that even though the makeup of this board changes or could potentially change every single year, if had nine board members that always put the best interest of kids first and dedicated themselves to fix a long-standing
043problem in Middletown. Five years ago, we would have come out with a plan that not only potentially solved the financial issues of this district, but made it stronger for the future. We were in the middle of a process with Milone & MacBroom. It was a consensus-building process. And at the time, the superintendent was Dr. George when it first started. I don't think I'm speaking out of turn when I say that he only wanted to do it quickly in just one or two meetings. I pushed and pushed to make sure that there were more and that it was spread around the town. Consensus-building is messy. Consensus-building is loud. Consensus-building is not perfect. But when it's done right, with the actual correct leadership on both sides, everybody comes out of the process with a little bit of
044something, not everything, but more importantly, everybody knows everything at the end. We have real financial issues, which we still do. They're extremely serious. I've never said any different. The difference is if you tell people the truth, you actually be the real definition of the word transparent. And together you come up with a plan. We would have had 5 years. Maybe I don't know even more, maybe a little bit less as an on-ramp to get everybody ready to what the new Middletown would look like. We would have had time to address the outstanding issues that have not really been answered in a way that I can say I'm not speaking for anybody else up here. But that I can say have affirmatively been answered for me to be able to make a vote of yes. Because
045again, even though we all owe a fiduciary duty to the taxpayers of this town, of which I am one. The first question we should always be asking ourselves with every decision we make is the effect that this will have on the students of our district. >> [applause] >> I have >> [cheering] >> been here now for 7 years. You have heard me many times, if you have been paying attention, say, "Wouldn't it be nice if we could actually focus on the real issues of this district instead of tilting at windmills and trying to fight every ideological fight that we can think of so we can get ourselves IN THE >> [applause] >> THERE ARE MANY OUTSTANDING ISSUES HERE AND I, IN THE 7 years, haven't been through a budget process like this where again, I
046said it last meeting, I'm going to continue to say it now. It's like we're being held hostage before we actually get real data, comprehensive data to make informed decisions. This has never happened before until now, which also makes me believe it's because it failed last year. Perhaps I'm wrong. But when you have processes like this, those are the assumptions that are made. And it's terrible to be in that position. Again, if we could all focus on what is truly important, I think we would have had answers to a lot of these questions before. And I will end with this. On Thursday, we were given one plan, as Mrs. Minueza addressed. On Saturday, a different plan, somewhat, went out to the public. That's a problem, because now I'm not even sure at the end which one
047we're talking about half the time. My other problem is that, regardless of whatever decision carries tonight, this isn't over. No one leaves with any assurance that we're done. No one leaves with any actual concrete ideas of where we may be moving to. That's a problem. And it's something that we should all be putting in the extra time and work to figure it out before you make a move, before you make a vote that you can't walk back. >> [applause] >> Any further discussion? Seeing none, roll call, please. Is there any Is there anybody else that can give us a little bit of insight as to why this is a great idea? About why it may be why you vote is going to be yes. What is it that is making this the way that you're
048going to go yes? It's a roll call. All right. Can I Can I Can I add something? I have a question. Call. Point of information. Excuse me. Point of information. Mr. Velez, you suggested to send you plans. And I sent you several different plans and ideas and I asked for cost analysis and you said the administration is copied on this email. How come none of this was presented? We have no transportation costs for any of this. Mark, you you you [clears throat] you sent a plan. I just said ideas, Chris. I sent ideas. Ideas that we could workshop as a board. You asked for ideas. I sent you ideas and I asked You said, "Well, what's the transportation cost?" and I said, "I don't know that. Can you ask the administration?" What was the plan
049that you proposed? Well, I planned Number one, redistricting. Redistricting so no buildings closed. Number two, pie in the sky idea, but again, no buildings closed, one high school. I'll say it. I'll say it out loud. I've had a lot of emails from people on that. You'd be surprised. One high school? One high school, yes. They've done it in a lot of other towns. Suggestion again, my suggestion. But these are ideas. If you took ideas from board members and you workshopped it as a board, maybe you could come up with a plan that everybody was HAPPY WITH. YES. >> [cheering] [applause] >> ROLL CALL, PLEASE. POINT OF INFORMATION, I'M SORRY. I and I may be out of order and at this point, whatever. Were these plans discussed as a group of five that are voting block,
050yes, outside the board so that you knew what you were doing before COMING IN HERE? >> [cheering and applause] >> AT THE JANUARY 6TH MEETING WHEN I WAS told this isn't happening, here we are and it's happening. This was discussed in executive session. The options were discussed with the board. The consensus of the board, the majority of the board was to move forward with the motion that's currently on the floor. Roll call, Mr. Torres. >> have the safety concern with these children being moved into this building, we don't have any safety plans. >> Mr. Mr. Torres, with all due respect, it's a board decision. It is a board decision. We're not We're not voting. This is just to put the resolution on the agenda and then it will be public comment. >> No plans Mr.
051Torres. No. Yes. This is right? No. Mr. Capone? Yes. Mr. Lee? Yes. Motion passes. Agenda is amended. Student speakers, High School North, Jason Woods. Oh, okay. All right, at this time I'd like to open up the mic to public comment on the agenda. Item following Please remember 3 minutes which will be the time here. And next 3 minutes. And please note as a reminder to remain and keep the quorum and no shouting from the audience. I'd like to make a motion to extend public comment until everyone >> [cheering] >> We have a motion on the floor to extend public comment and a second from Ms. Minutillo. Discussion? Ms. Minutillo. I'm sorry, it's very difficult to hear. Yes, please don't shout from the audience. If we have to keep warning people we're going to have to
052ask you to leave because this is we can't we can't keep the quorum. Test 1 2. Wait, can we can we No, hold on one second please. There's a motion and a second on the floor to extend the public comment. Ms. Minutillo. Yes. Ms. Bilaski. >> Yes. Ms. Subrack. >> Yes. Yes. Yes. >> MS. TOBACCO. NO. YES. MS. WEINSTEIN. MS. WRIGHT. MR. CAPONE. NO. Back up. >> Motion passes. Okay. Okay, good evening. My name is Benjamin Peck. I'm a sixth grader at Bay Trail Middle School. I'm here tonight because my >> Hold on one second. Excuse me. Excuse me, young man. I still she said the vote was to extend public comment until everyone has spoken. Okay, how long are we extending the public comment? Enough. I The motion The motion I made Excuse me,
053which which Just please one second. Guys, we need to get through comments. We need to know what people have to say. The motion I made was to extend public comment until they all everyone had a chance to speak that wanted to. I make a motion to extend public comment for 1 HOUR MAX. MAKE A VOTE ON IT. I THINK THIS IS Torres would have to accept that as a friendly amendment or not. Vote on it. All right, if voting can start now, then we can get through more people. We have a new motion on the floor to extend it for 1 hour. Can I get a second? Vote on it. Will you stop shouting so we can we can move on? What happened to the motion we just voted on? The motion passed. Now there's
054a second motion on the floor to extend 1 hour by Please speak on the subject of the motion. Roll call on that motion. Mrs. Miniwitz. Yeah. Mrs. Pelaski. No. >> [applause] >> Mrs. Tobacco. No. Mrs. Porras. No. Mrs. Weinstein. No. Mrs. Wright. No. Mr. Capone. No. No. Okay. Public comment, please. Please I'm asking just no shouting from the audience. We'll move on to public comment. Please state your name for the record. Guys, we want to hear what everybody has to say, but it's hard with that noise filtering over, so Thank you. >> have students up here, please? Good evening. My name is Benjamin Haggerty and I'm a sixth grader at Bay Shore Middle School. I'm here tonight because my school, my community, is on the chopping block. I'm autistic. For me, school has never been
055easy. For years, it's felt like no one has wanted me. The Milltown school district has sent me to Lincroft, Ocean Ave, to Bayview because it felt like no one knew what to do with me. I was shoveled around shoveled around like a problem to be solved, not a child to be taught. It was lonely at his heart. But then this year I came to Bayshore and for the first time in my entire life, I finally felt accepted. I finally felt supported and I finally felt LIKE I BELONGED. >> [applause] >> YOU SEE, BAYSHORE WASN'T BUILT WITH bricks and mortar, it was built for my brain. The school was designed exactly to designed to have three grades, which means it's calm, not chaotic. Everything is color coded, so I know where exactly where to go. My
056sixth grade classrooms are yellow, my locker is yellow, and if I ever feel lost or overwhelmed, I can just follow the yellow blocks on the floor and they lead me right back to safe safely to to my classrooms or wherever I need to go. It gives me independence, gives me peace of mind in a world where that can feel very loud and confusing. You're proposing to send send us to Thompson Middle School, Thorn Thorn. My sister went to Thompson. She told me there's there's nowhere to sit in the cafeteria. She had 30 kids in every single class. She said that hallways are so crowded that you can barely move. So I So I have to ask you, why do you think moving more kids into an already overcrowded school is good for our education? How
057does that help help any student, let alone one like me who needs room to breathe. I feel like you're the only I feel like you're only thinking about dollars, looking at a budget on a spreadsheet. But I'm thinking about my life. I'm thinking about the first place that ever felt like home. In your documents, you talk about cost, but I have searched and I cannot find where it says how long this is, how this will affect our education. Where is the study that shows bigger schools mean better learning? Where is the plan for students like me who thrive in a smaller talk or an environment? Where is the consideration for our mental health, safety, and ability to learn? This is the Board of Education. Your job is to focus on education. Please, I'm begging you
058to look past the dollars and see the students lives, whose lives you are changing. >> [cheering] [applause] >> Hello, my name is Lenny D'Alessandro. I'm in the Bay Shore Middle School. And I'm in sixth grade and I live in the Bellport area. And I attended Bay View Elementary School for elementary school. Where my brother is currently sec- in second grade. Last year when I was in fifth grade, I was excited to go to Bay Shore for three year- three years. I got to see the Bay Shore band perform while being encouraged to join as I did when I entered in September. Middle school is the only three years I don't want to switch schools in middle. I have friends and family that have attended attended Thompson North and they complain how it's crowded. There's crowded
059and there's nowhere to fit, so I don't know what we would do if we put more kids in. And being allowed to ride my bike to school is great. The other two middle schools are far and have to cross major highways to attend. Prevent That would prevent me from riding my bike with my friends. So, I wouldn't be able to ride my bike to school and I'm worried to leave all the teach- all the wonderful teachers at Bayshore and our wonderful vice principal and principal, Mr. Curtis and Mr. Cannon. They've been very helpful throughout the school [applause] year. Um I don't want to attend another school and think about having to make new friends and I have to learn new classrooms and deal with the crowdedness of the school. >> [applause] >> Thank you. Are
060there any students that want to speak? Can we have them come to the front to speak first, please? Thank you. Hi, my name is Charlie Zerba. I'm a sixth grader at Bayshore Middle School. When I first walked into Bayshore as a sixth grader, I felt nervous, but excited. Middle school seemed too huge compared to elementary school. I didn't know where my locker room was. I wasn't sure how to switch classes and I was worried about making new friends. But after just a few weeks, Bayshore didn't feel so scary anymore. It felt like home. That's why hearing that the school might close is so upsetting to me and so many others. As a sixth grader, this is my first year at Bayshore. I just started getting used to everything, my teachers, my schedule, and even the
061way the hallways sound between classes. My teachers know my name. They know when I'm confused and when I'm having a good day. If the school closes, I won't just be changing buildings. I'll be leaving behind people who have helped me grow and feel confident. Bayshore isn't just a school where we take tests and do homework. It's where I met new friends and joined activities. It's where I learned how to be more responsible, like remembering to bring the right book to class and to and managing different subjects. For For many of us, middle school is already a big change. Closing the school would mean changing everything again, and that feels overwhelming. As a sixth grader, I know it's a lot to think about budgets and what's and important decisions, but I hope they also think how
062this will affect students like me. We're the ones who have to leave these classrooms every day. We're the ones who finally started to feel comfortable in middle school. Change might make sense on paper, but it feels very different when you're the kid who has to pack up. >> [applause] >> Good evening, everyone. My name is Kaylee Zady, and I'm a sixth grader at Bayshore. I'm here not just to tell you why Bayshore shouldn't get shut down, but to really convey not only my feelings, but many of my classmates' feelings. Bayshore isn't just an ordinary school. When I was in fifth grade, my teachers and guidance counselors told us middle school may be an adjustment, and that we may and we'll probably get to meet new friends. At Bayshore, the teachers were not just prepared to
063teach us, they welcomed us. I now have some new friends along with the elementary school friends I've been with for the past six years. I was excited to be with my new friends, but now I'm just learning that I won't to be with my friends. That sure That I've heard many people say this change will be fine for our Thompson and Thorne students, but is it? No other kids will be affected as much as Bay Shore. Also, Thompson is already crowded enough. So then all of the other elementary schools will go to Thompson will just be worse. And if you put three elementary schools into Thorne, Thorne will be will also be overcrowded. Now both elementary both middle schools will be crowded. This year I felt a special bond with my teachers. When I'm in
064class and I see all the kids walk by and they have to hide all of their teachers, I think I think to myself, I want that to be me next year. In particular, Miss Doherty, Miss Steinberg, and Miss Snow. Not only could I talk to them, but they listened to me and understood me. Also, having a new guidance counselor will not just affect me, but the other kids in the grade who speak to the their guidance counselor. It is not easy to establish a bond and build a a safe and comfortable relationship with the counselor. Miss Molina is very supportive of me. For her to just be in a different school and not with her students will be hard for everyone. If Bay Shore closes, we won't just be changing schools, but changing communities that
065we've started to build. Some of us at Bay Shore are shy. It took a lot of courage to talk to new people. Now that we finally feel comfortable, we might have to start all over again somewhere else. That's very overwhelming for kids our age. With the new changes, the sports and clubs will be very overcrowded. This leads to many kids not making sports teams or clubs. Thank you for listening and please consider an alternate plan. >> [applause] >> Good evening. My name is Ella Hilton. I'm an eighth grader at Bay Shore Middle School. I'm here to talk about my school once again. On March 18th, 2025, the Middletown Township Board of Education presented the proposal 2025-2026 budget, which included closing Bay Shore Middle School, Lincroft Elementary School, and Navesink Elementary School to address a multi-million
066dollar budget This proposal caused strong opinions from parents and community members who are concerned about overcrowding, transportation issues, and impact on student learning. You hired a company to study the schools and determine what would work best for students. However, I do not recall seeing anyone come into our classrooms or our school to observe and gather information. If a real study was conducted, >> [applause] >> where did the data and evidence come from? How were the enrollment numbers, the zoning decisions, and project projections determined? I personally have an IEP and I already struggle with distractions in the classroom as it is now. The teachers and staff at Bay Shore understand my needs and might help to to help me to succeed. In a larger, more crowded classroom, in a bigger-sized classroom, and more noise, it will
067be even harder for students like me to focus and learn. Students that have IEPs or 504s rely on structure, supportive environments. Overcrowded classrooms make the support impossible to provide. These are facts. Facts matter. Middle schools are designed for students our age who are learning independence, responsibilities, and life skills that life skills that prepare us for high school and beyond. Elementary schools are built for younger children who are just beginning to adjust to structure and independence. Restructuring schools without careful planning affects both age age groups in different ways. Thorne and Thompson Middle Schools are already more than halfway to max capacity. Adding another significant amount of more students will create overcrowded classrooms, increase stress on teachers, and lead to a less safe and a less effective learning environment for everyone. When classrooms are packed, cannot give
068students individual attention that they need. This impacts grade, confidence, and mental health. When schools are closed, teachers lose their jobs. Families lose stability. Our district risks losing some of the best educators that affect us more than you realize. >> [applause] >> Additionally, Middle Town continues to keep to keep building townhomes and housing developments. As our town grows, more families and students will move into our district. Closing schools now could create an could create an even greater overcrowding problem in the near future. You say students first. You ran your campaign on that phrase and that promise. But, closing schools, overcrowding classrooms, and disrupting learning environments does not put students first. >> [applause] >> We are the communities. Family votes for you to be out there and represent us to make decisions that best interest the students,
069not you guys. We ask you that you truly listen to the students, the parents, the teachers that will be directly affected by this decision. Thank you FOR YOUR TIME. >> [applause] >> HI. I'M ROWAN YOUNG. I'M currently at Bay Shore and I moved here from New York. When I was little, I was under-educated by my schools in New York. During COVID, me and my family moved here. Now, I have to explain why I'm here. I have noticed that some of these things you guys have been doing recently have been interesting, to say the least. Yeah. For example, you would spend $900,000 >> [snorts] >> on a billboard, and now you're saying that we don't have money. I wonder why. I know this is a like a short script, but I want you guys to be
070like more transparent. YEAH. >> [applause] >> YEAH. ANY OTHER STUDENTS? GOOD EVENING, GUYS. MY NAME IS RYAN YOOR. I'm a River Plaza resident. I ACTUALLY >> [cheering and applause] >> I GRADUATED FROM MIDDLETOWN SOUTH WITH MY beautiful wife over there in 2010. I went through the River Plaza system, the Thompson system, the Middletown system. I'm here to talk about closing schools and student achievement. I actually sent a presentation to you guys via email, and I appreciate those that got back to me on that. Before I get started on that, I first want to say, although from River Plaza, I'm here to talk about closing schools, which clearly is up for your vote, is impacting the North side. I don't care. I'm from Middletown. Like, I don't want ANY SCHOOLS CLOSED. >> [applause] >> THE OTHER
071PIECE I WANT TO TALK ABOUT is the impact on New Monmouth Elementary School, and I want to make this abundantly clear, as you guys said before, this is not an indictment on the teachers, or the staff, or the administration in that building. I'm here to talk about negative performance trends, and I think it has to do with poor planning. Um So, in the presentation I sent you, we're talking about closing schools. You could obviously read scholarly articles on the negative impact on students for closing a school, and I can sit up here and give you a literature review, but what would be the purpose of that? You have precedent in this district when you closed Port Monmouth, right? So, I think it's worthwhile to take a look at what happened with the student outcomes in
072New Monmouth Elementary School. Um you can create a baseline in 2018-19 by following cohorts of students that have existed post-COVID um being in third grade, fourth grade, and fifth grade have testing data. Um and if you read my report, um it talked about how there is a major negative trend with data. Uh Dr. Alfano, I really appreciate your email back to me. It means a lot. You're absolutely right. This was descriptive data. It's one-dimensional, but I think it is correlation and descriptor that we need to look to, coupled with those scholarly articles. I I think it's easy to say there will be a negative impact, right? And I think >> [applause] >> before you vote on this, you need to know what that impact would be. Look at New Monmouth Elementary School. Run a multilinear
073correlation. Pay attention to what significance putting those two schools did, right? There's not just an academic feature, right? When you pull those schools together, you need to provide academic interventions. You also have to keep take in mind there's cultural norms, right? There's a climate of school. These Port Monmouth kids had to go to a completely different school, and those are operational interventions you have to put in. So, first thing I have to say is what academic or operational interventions were in. If you did put them in, they're not successful. The data shows that there's major negative trends with New Monmouth Elementary School. Um looking at the 2018-19 baseline, New Monmouth sat somewhere in the sixth or seventh elementary school. It's currently trending to the 10th. This was a very well-performing elementary school that has now
074been gutted since you've you've put the two schools together. And again, I want to say this as clear as possible. This is not on the teachers and staff in there. It's about the poor planning. All I really All I really ask right now is before you vote on this to look at the student outcomes. These students did a wonderful job talking. I mean, you can look at them, and a lot of them talked about their journeys, right? This will have a major impact on them. Um and at the end of the day, I'm concerned that this could be a death sentence for what is going to be a high-achieving what is a high-achieving district, and it scares the living hell out of >> [applause] >> Oh, I apologize. Thank you so much, guys. Can you
075guys call me anytime? You have my email. I'll meet you over coffee. Thank you. Have a good night. >> [applause] [cheering] >> Good evening. I'm Cynthia Stisi, a Monmouth resident. My daughter is a Bayview student. She's a fifth grader. >> [sighs] >> So, when she entered Bayview, she was only in kindergarten. She was actually a Harmony student at one point, until COVID hit. Scared her moving to another school. Now, here's the thing. She's slated to go to Thorne in the fall. The same school you guys plan to overcrowd, nonetheless. Hey, believe me, I I know a lot, and I'm a little fired up. And my heart's racing at probably about 200 a minute. But, she's overcome in middle of at Bayview. It's a small school. The smaller community schools seem to always do the best
076thing. They really do. Now, I moved back down here with my husband when she was first born, like about a month after, nonetheless. And my husband said, "Middletown is a great district. She'll have the greatest time. She'll make friends. She'll get the proper education." Okay. All right, here we go. Now, this is where I'm going to get real loud. Out of fairness, I kept my mouth shut until now. You closed Port Monmouth School back in 2020 and sold it for $2.5 MILLION. WHERE'S THAT MONEY? WHERE IS IT? OH, WAIT. IT'S IT'S THE $900,000 scoreboards that they got. Oh, that's right. That's right. Last year, you tried closing Leonardo and Navesink and now this also gets me fired up. My nephew is a student at Leonardo who is slated to go to Bayshore. Why mess up
077these kids' lives? Seriously. Plan to overcrowd these schools. Tell you this, trailers aren't going to be the option because it's only a temporary. What's going to happen this wintertime when it's cold? Those trailers are not heated properly. Same thing in middle school. Can't do the trailers. Those slated to go to Bayshore will now have to be bused all the way across town, depending on where you are, to an overcrowded school and be scared. Because they won't really know a lot of people. They won't have the same opportunities that, you know, for the little ones. I have a 13-month-old son who's supposed to be going to Middletown when he turns five. Now, I'm not sure. I think private school is going to be the best thing. Now, my daughter has an IEP and mental health issues.
078Overcrowding a school is going to cause everything that I worked for to get her better to go downhill. Do you guys plan on paying that that bill to her therapist, her psychiatrist, nurse practitioner, to the psychiatric facilities that she would have to go to because she will have a breakdown? I will say that flat out. Keep the schools opened. Mental health is nothing to fool with. Can you give me one more? Just one. Just this last one. >> Yes, please, ma'am. Anxiety, stress, and burnout on all students and faculty will happen. And you will have absences. So, we're taking a knee and fight for our kids. Thank you. Thank you. >> [applause] >> Good evening. My name is Kristen Bernie. I'm a River Plaza parent. >> [cheering] [applause] >> I'm here tonight as one voice
079in a joint speech. Not just one voice though, a unified voice for an entire district. We are not just fighting for one school. We are here for all the schools. Look around this room. Really look. We are your neighbors, your taxpayers. We are the parents who chose this district because we did have a choice. And because we believed. We believed in the promise of the schools. And tonight we stand here before you unified, not in opposition, but in advocacy for transparency, safety, and responsible planning. This is not a River Plaza one school issue. This is a Mill Town issue. Whatever decision you make here tonight will ripple across every school in this district. We will not fall for the north versus south, my school versus their school nonsense that constantly permeates through these conversations. That
080hostility just distracts from the real problem, which is poor decision-making right in front of us. Our first message is really simple. We will not accept a vote without a real plan. River Plaza may be small, but we really mean it tonight. In 2020, River Plaza was named as a potential school closure. In April 2025, River Plaza was publicly named as the third school slated for closure. In February of 2026, Ross Weaver emphasized that while Riverbank Oh, I MEAN RIVER PLAZA WOULD BE A lucrative option, its impact across the district would be detrimental to the education of our students, which I took the time to share my thoughts and feelings about that with all of you. In that time, we've made it our mission as a River Plaza community to make sure we could do whatever
081it takes to deliver the best education to our kids in the best environment possible. From running a functional library, building a playground, painting the walls of the school, our teachers, our parents, and every staff member who walks through the door puts kids first. All we're asking is for you to do the same thing. Your proposal failed to name all the schools planned to be closed. Your website still says you're proposing eight an eight-school model. We know Bashear is too big to only have Leonardo and half of the kids in it. So, which school are you planning to fill that hole with? Even tonight, you're holding up three fingers, not two. The keyword, planning. Is there any plans? It doesn't sound like it. Can you simply answer any of the planning questions? Families will not accept
082permanent closures without naming the schools that survive and where our children will receive the education that they legally have a right to receive, and we need to see the impact on our student outcomes before we make long-lasting decisions. The rumors are causing stress across the entire district. We deserve answers, not someday, now. If you can't give That's 3 minutes. >> Thank you. On behalf of the River Plaza, no more secrets, no placeholders, no votes without transparent plans. >> [cheering and applause] >> HI, MY NAME IS MAGGIE WEIKEL. I'm also a parent of three young elementary kids. Um, thank you so much for those of you that responded to my email this week. Um, I am standing here tonight as a part of River Plaza's United Voice because when it comes to our children's safety, there
083is no room for compromise. Our second message is this, safety comes first. Overcrowding is unsafe. It's unlawful. It results in worsened education outcomes and frankly, it's unnecessary. New Jersey law requires that the district demonstrate reasonable capacity in remaining schools before approving closures, but your own data shows that buildings are already exceeding functional capacity. The widely recognized safe operational range is 80 to 85%. The proposal pushes many schools well beyond that capacity and would force Thorn and Thompson middle schools up to 120% of what the nation recommends. That percentage is based directly off of your last two capacity assessments. That's not a projection that we will accept. That is dangerous. Let's talk about why and what this what this really means for our kids. Construction timelines typically take a minimum of 3 years. That means an
084entire generation of students, our current third to seventh graders, will spend some or all of their middle school years in trailers, modular classrooms as they've been named. Does your health and safety committee plan to maintain the proper protocols for these classrooms? Do we have the money and the custodial staff to maintain the temporary footprint? Also, imagine the last 8 weeks of below freezing temperatures and blizzards and how you felt. Now, picture kids, our kids, in trailers all over the same last 8 weeks in those temperatures. Do you want to volunteer our kids for that experience? We're talking about class sizes exceeding 27 students. A larger student to teacher ratio impacts the instruction that can be delivered within our schools. You as a district are required to follow multi-tiered system of support. Crowding our classrooms risks
085delivering the support, which in turn could lead to additional costs at the expense of our failing students. Reduced supervision, strained mental health, and let's not forget the district has already seen and sued or has seen and been sued over a tragedy resulting from bullying. Reducing staff while increasing student student density is a recipe for more heartbreak in our class. And what about our most vulnerable learners? Students with disabilities are legally entitled to be educated alongside their same age peers. >> minutes, ma'am. Thank you. On behalf of every family in River Plaza and in Middletown, we thank you for YOUR TIME. >> [applause] >> GOOD EVENING. MY NAME IS KIM DONOVAN and I live in River Plaza. I have a River Plaza third grader and a Thompson Middle School sixth grader. Like those have who have
086spoken before me, I am here as part of a unified River Plaza community who are are demanding answers. Our third and final message, the math is not adding up. There's currently no comprehensive financial plan to stabilize the budget, rebuild reserves, or fund the building additions required to fix the overcrowding this proposal creates. Before restructuring a single school, the board should have in place a definitive funding strategy, a realistic construction timeline, identified revenue sources, as secured voter or state support. None of that exists today. So, we ask you, how long will Middletown's children be placed in trailers while the district hopes for a referendum or state money? What happens if voters reject a tax increase? What happens if the state doesn't approve or doesn't approve? The projected savings from this plan, more than 90% of which
087comes from the cuts to our amazing teachers and principals, will will be quickly consumed by construction costs, increased transportation expenses, and temporary facilities. That puts us right back into a deficit cycle, but this time with overcrowded schools and fewer resources. We've also seen troubling signs of a lack of financial acumen. When comparing our schools' line items to neighboring districts of similar sizing, we are extremely inefficient. Someone that knows how a school system works and understands numbers should be going through every line item with a fine-tooth comb and removing any redundancies. We don't care how small. We've also called other districts who have implemented revenue-generating alternatives. Some ideas for Middletown that continue to be dismissed are expanded pre-K, in-house before and after care, the selling of BOE-owned properties, shared services with the township, which this board
088hasn't shown any initiative on in months, reduction in administration, duplication of line items, and more. If you don't have any ideas, we do. This is a public school we're talking about. Every single dollar counts, and our kids are worth more than whatever this half-baked plan suggests is possible. If closures truly solve the problem, you wouldn't have to hide anything from us because the data would convince us on its own, but your math is not adding up. On behalf of River Plaza, we are not asking, we are demanding no voting on closures, a multi-year financial recovery plan, aggressive pursuit of federal and state grants, careful cost controls, a new superintendent on board that is fully versed in every available funding stream, and a comprehensive list of revenue-generating alternatives. We are River Plaza, and we are unified
089with every school and parents across all of Middletown. Fighting for what's right. We want answers now. Thank you. >> [cheering] >> Good evening. Um my name is Penny Rochelle. Um my son attends the same grade as Asia. I went to Middletown South, and Asia went to Middletown High School. My grandparents went to Middletown High School. Thorn was named after my great-uncle Buddy. Um I'm on the Congressional Medal of Honor Committee for 2022. Um my grandmother was very involved with Middletown. Mayor Perry actually spoke at her celebration of life recently. Um I own a veterinary practice, and it's right around the corner in Middletown. Suffice it to say, I'm invested in Middletown. Um as a mother, I'm emotional about the school closures. As a business owner, I understand that feelings don't overrule finances. Um I've had
090about one snow day to research this, so bear that in mind. Um in my opinion, this is where the deeper investigation is a potential solution to both the budget issue as well as the decline in education that has been worsening since at least the mid-2000s in this country. The budget and quality of education um triangulate in on technology in education, the one-to-one computer plan. The United States has spent over $30 billion putting a computer in front of every student. From my limited research, it looks like Middletown spends about $1,600 per student per year to have Chromebooks and some of the associated costs. Purchasing, maintenance, repairs, subscription service, platform, security updating. It looks like we have at least DreamBox, I-Ready, Get Epic, Kahoot, Seesaw, Pear Deck, LinkedIn, Flipgrid, Custodia, PowerSchool, Learning A-Z, Imagine It, and you
091get the idea. With the AI revolution, this uh the associated tech costs are expected to skyrocket. So, we need all the tech, right? Cuz that's how you help kids learn, right? Here's the most current data on that. Most of the following is from Dr. Jared Cooney Horvath, an educator and neuroscientist who recently presented to the US Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation. I printed a few copies of the testimony, or you can scan the QR code for all the resources in the back. I'll leave that there if you guys if any of you guys want it. Here's the data. PISA, the Programme for International Student Assessment. This study collected data from millions of 15-year-olds around the world. More time on computers in the classroom, not social media, not iPhones, but computers in the classroom
092is directly correlated to worse test scores. More screen time, worse test scores. TIMSS, Trends in Mathematics and Science Study. Same pattern across high- and middle-income countries. PIRLS, Progress in International Reading and Literacy Study. Same thing. Even modest computer use in the classroom lowers the reading comprehension. What about all the studies you hear that say it helps? Turns out most of them compare tech learning to a zero learning baseline. Hence, they look like they're positively correlated with learning. What they need to be compared to is the baseline of good old-fashioned school. Teacher, textbook, classroom classroom, or analog learning has a positive correlation of about 0.42. When you compare tech learning to that baseline, the studies suddenly show negative correlation with learning. If tech can't do better than good old-fashioned school, why are we investing millions in
093it? UNESCO, in their report recent report, they urged more caution and for schools to only use evidence-based tech. When compared to analog learning, the only positive studies for tech in education are related to two very narrow areas of education pertaining to targeted remediation and adaptive drills for foundational skills. I don't even know what that means, but that's two really tiny areas. Collectively, these assessments and studies involved of students over decades of time. They all Forgive me, can I just finish? They all point to the same thing. Computers in the classroom are not working. As a result, Gen Z is the first generation to score lower on standardized tests than the generation before, and Gen Alpha, even worse than Gen Z. Computers promote task switching and attention >> and the formation of weaker memories. They don't
094just promote the proper brain circuits to allow for proper learning. Not because of bad programs, but because the inherent difference between how computers work versus the human brain. Thank you. You have 3 minutes. Do we have evidence that reducing tech can help schools? Yes. Denver, Colorado went from over 1,000 tech programs to about 300 saving a million a year. Carteret, New Jersey, completely eliminated iPads for K through 8. >> Norway, Sweden, and Finland are only fast I also sent the same report to Mr. Collins this week. Thank you so much. Thank you. YOU HAVE 3 MINUTES. I JUST WANT TO POINT OUT THAT $1,600 a student times 6,000 students would BE $10 MILLION. >> [cheering] [applause] [cheering] >> HI EVERYONE, I'M DIANA CARRERAS, and I have children in the district, but I want to come
095out this tonight as taxpayer because right now we're playing around with most people's two biggest assets, their children and their house and the value of that house. I'm here tonight to speak about transparency, governance, and public trust. In 2015, this district had more than $2 million just in capital reserves. By 2020, we had no reported debt. By 2021, we had $4 million in the bank. Let's say it again. When Jacqueline Tobacco and Frank Pomponio came on this board, we had $4 million in the bank, and that's not even enough to make her look up from HER DESK. YEAH. BE CAREFUL OF THE FINE, THOUGH. BY 2023 to 2024, the projected deficit rose to $7.6 million. Legal fees increased 40% year over year, and those reserves were gone. That financial trajectory demands explanation. Last year, when
096I asked you where you spent our money, we've never gotten an explanation for that. But, finances are only part of the story. Public filings with the New Jersey Election Law Enforcement Commission show repeated payments by the Monmouth County Republican Committee and local campaigns to Archangel Strategy Group LLC in 2023 and 2025. Between the same period, Central Jersey News Wire, publicly associated through business records with the same consulting firm, published numerous articles supporting some candidates and criticizing other candidates. I wonder how. Separately, additional ELEC filings reported by local media show several companies doing business with the district have been giving donations to people in the district. CLB Partners, a lobbying firm hired by both district and the township, gave $1,000 to some candidates. Rio Benefits, who we used and paid $180,000 to last year, they donated
097$1,000 to some candidates. Alliance Health donated $10,000, which just popped up. Uh They're still going to how much they're going to pay for these billboards on these fancy new scoreboards? They donated I have to give you an aside. I was a fundraiser for nonprofits for 20 years. I was able to endow A DOG WATER FOUNTAIN for a 60 grand 20 years ago. You guys only got 10? That's sad. Again, a dog water fountain for 60 grand. It's not that I'm a great fundraiser. To be clear, businesses are permitted to donate to campaigns. Candidates can get contributions, but when vendors and contractors and lobbying firms that do business with a public school district financially support candidates seeking to oversee that same district, the public is entitled to ask questions about process, disclosure, and safeguards. And we
098need an independent forensic audit of this district. And so, where has the [cheering] money gone? We are taxpayers. People are our biggest asset, and you don't care. This is entirely from my pocket. Okay, 3 minutes. No. The more they step down, the more they get on cable news and promote their own political careers stepping on the necks of our kids. When will it end? It's 3 minutes. Thank you. I'm sure you'd like me to stop. >> [cheering] >> Hi, Heather Kobern Middletown. So, before you voted, I just wanted to bring some information to you. I wanted to give a voice to the children, specifically the middle schoolers. So many of them got up and spoke, and they did great. And that first kid was wrecking me. So, excuse me. But So, before you vote on
099such a monumental decision that we cannot come back from, I felt it important to hear directly from those affected, the children of the of Middletown, specifically the middle schoolers. The children being affected should have a voice. They deserve to be heard by you before you make this decision. I created a survey over the weekend, sent it out. I was lucky enough that 200 families took time to give me their children's answers. Okay? Several times in prior meetings, the middle schoolers have been ignored, referred to as just numbers to educate. Heber didn't even refer to them. He said only two schools would be affected and this is the path of least resistance. A middle school is getting closed. There are hundreds of other kids being affected. Okay, so let's be clear. These middle schoolers are being
100affected, all of them. And this plan could conceivably affect a whole generation of Middletown children. Children who haven't even entered into our school system yet. Phase one shuts down elementary schools and pushes hundreds of kids into already overcrowded schools. The classrooms cannot accommodate this many extra children. This is proven. Everybody's going to give you the facts. I'm just going to give you the children's emotions to this. Phase two talks about additions to accommodate these children. Okay? Because we know that it's going to be overcrowded. So, you can't say to me in one breath, "Oh, no, it can accommodate these children." And then say, "Oh, but in phase two, we have to build a school bigger to accommodate them." Doesn't work like that. Okay? So, where is the money going to come from? That's the next
101thing. You can't vote on a plan that isn't a plan. Okay? Maybe a referendum? But, what if that doesn't pass? Then, how are we going to afford that? How long are our children going to suffer in trailers, in overcrowded situations before this construction is approved and completed? Members of the board, please just think about this. Think about all the ramifications of this decision. And listen to these children. Listen to their names and think about their thoughts when you make your vote. The survey was a very simple nine questions. What's your age, your name, your school currently attending, and a few questions about how they felt currently in their schools, and how they felt they would feel after the merger. It asked children a simple question, if they felt safe in their schools. Overall, they did.
102And I think that's great. It was about 70% of them said, "Yes." And And you look at the answers of just the Baishar students alone, that number went up to 83.6%. When you looked at Thorne and Thompson, the numbers dropped down to 53 and 62 Kelsey currently. Okay, this is not okay. How is this going to be after we add the extra children to the schools? The survey then went on to ask if children felt their class sizes too large. From Thorne, responses 40% said no, 20% yes. >> minutes. I have so much more. Can we just Just another minute for these children's voices. This is a name. This is the children. It's not my plea. >> You you can share with us. You can send it to us. They don't honestly care. THE BOARD
103IS NOT HERE. YOU'RE TALKING TO THE STUDENTS. I will get back in line. Wait, where do I start? Okay. Here it is. Okay. So, I'm Shelly Armstrong. All right, I'm Shelly Armstrong. I have three kids in Middletown. Two are in the district. Two will be. Um So, the survey also asked if students felt that their class size was too large. From Thorne, responses 40% said no and 28% said yes. When asked if adding extra kids into the school would make it feel too crowded, not that just the classrooms, but shared spaces like hallways, gyms, and cafeteria, 78% said yes. That would be way too crowded, while only 6% said it would be fine. Results were similar at Thompson. 43% no said no, currently their classrooms are not too large currently, but 31% said yes, they
104are. They're already too large. Baishar answered 58% no, classroom size currently was not too large, 18% saying yes. And 73% said yes, combining schools would be too crowded, 8% saying it would be no problem. A parent from Thorn shared our shared, "Our son told us Thorn is crowded and hard to concentrate. That he felt his grades could have been better, but with all the noise in the classrooms, he couldn't concentrate and do well." Then when asked if students felt if adding the extra students would compromise their safety, 59% said yes. This is not okay. Our students are scared. We cannot do this to them. From Vivian, a sixth grader at Thorn, "Changing classes is crowded. It's chaotic and very crazy. Adding more kids would make it much more stressful and feel less safe. I would
105worry about being pushed. Our classrooms are already full with no extra seats." From a parent, "There are enough fights as it is. We don't need more." From an eighth grader at Basehor, "I feel safe here. I don't think I could handle any more kids in my class because we already have a lot." From sixth grade boy at Thompson, "The halls are so crowded. We aren't allowed to use backpacks and they stagger some classes switching since everyone in the halls is super crowded." He also states yes, he's often unable to find a seat at lunch and has to leave the cafeteria to sit down. Numerous children who went to Fairview answered citing they would only be they would be the only children moved to South and they would lose all the friends that they already made
106in middle school. One anonymous response stated, "I've been sobbing since I found out this might happen again. Most of my friends are new friends from different schools and I won't be with any of them because Fairview is the only one going to Thompson." From a parent of a child at Thompson, "My child has to run to the cafeteria to be able to get a seat. There are many large classrooms, crowded hallways. Adding more kids will only add stress to the add to the stress and potential potentially more bullying. >> Thank you. Okay, from a seventh grader at Thompson, hallways are too crowded to walk in. Walk in. From a sixth grader >> Please state your name. I ALREADY DID ON THE FIRST ONE. I SAID IT ON THE FIRST ONE. Were you even paying any
107attention? You weren't even paying any attention. NONE OF YOU GUYS ARE. I EXPECT YOU TO PAY ATTENTION. YOU WANT TO PAY ATTENTION WHEN SOMETHING directly affects you. From a sixth grader at Binford, I made a lot of friends and I don't want to lose them. I feel stressed just thinking about overcrowded classrooms. I don't want my grades to suffer. I I also want to worry about my teachers because teaching a larger class would be worrying for them. Dylan from from a sixth grader Dylan at Thompson, I already have I already have 27 students in my social studies and 26 in my language arts. Lord Our superintendent has resigned. She's not interested in seeing this project out. Please please wait until we have all the information. Have a clear plan. Have a truly sustainable plan. Please
108do not a hot just a hot jobs, poorly planned demolition of all our school system. Consolidation may be our future, but the future of our kids of the kids is your responsibility. These decisions need to be done in the right way for for right responsibility. These decisions need to be done for the right way for the right reasons. These kids need to put first first and we need an actual plan that can be seen for cation. I can't read that word. I can't permission. Okay. Thank you. Thank you so much. Not just Google Slides with incorrect facts on them. Our children deserve better. Remember, these kids voices are when you're are voting. Julia from Bayshore stated yes, adding extra kids into the middle school would affect her negatively. I love my school and I would
109not want to have have to switch to another school that is already overcrowded. A current eighth grader from Thompson answered no, they do not feel safe in their school. Middle school is hard enough with the mean kids. Don't make it worse by adding more classes with kids. Well, Isabella, a sixth grader from Bayshore says yes, she does feel safe at her school and it's insanely safe and a fun school with my favorite teachers I've ever had. I can't imagine losing some my friends if it closes. A former middle school student commented that he he had to eat lunch every day in the media center because he couldn't find a seat in the cafeteria. And the eighth grader from Thorn commented that he has to leave the cafeteria to find a seat and said, "I think
110from I think middle school is already overcrowded. If more kids were added added That's 3 minutes. added, it would not be a safe environment at all. >> a lot of people And and will be very over crowded. So board, please remember these children's names. You forgot mine though. >> [cheering] [cheering and applause] >> Good evening. My name is Kristen Matalliano. I have two children, one at Thompson and one at River Plaza. I would like to begin. This is my first time speaking at a board meeting and I'd like to begin by suggesting something to the board to consider. A more efficient and modern approach to public comment. Allowing community members to sign up online would create a clearer more organized process. You all could receive the list ahead of time ensuring names are accurate for
111the record and helping the meeting run more smoothly. It would also give you a clear understanding of how many speakers there will be so you can prepare for that. This approach would be more transparent, organized and respect everyone's time. Speaking of transparency, I'm here to really address the concerns about communication and the pace of the proposed school closures. I understand that sometimes just difficult decisions must be made and I recognize that there are financial realities. However, parents and community members feel that this process is moving quickly just as it did last year without a full picture being presented and that the information is not being shared in a consistent and timely manner. Right now families are piecing things together through social media, text messages and informal conversations rather than receiving a clear, comprehensive communication directly
112from the district. When decisions of this magnitude are being considered, parents should not have to rely on second-hand updates to understand what's happening. Clear and proactive communication builds trust. Uncertainty and piecemeal information dismantles that trust. There has not been yet a comprehensive presentation outlining the full financial picture, projected proceedings, long-term impacts, and what the district will look like in 5 years. Last year's plan was more of a general outline. The Ross Haber and Associates January report focused more on redistricting, and this report lacked important details such as student outcomes and long-term finances. Without that information, it's impossible for the board to make fully informed decisions, and it's as equally difficult for parents to make informed decisions about their children's educational futures. Timely communication means providing the full scope of relevant information before the final decisions
113are made, not after. Additionally, the district is entering into a leadership transition with the superintendent not returning next year. That reality makes it even more important to ensure that major long-term decisions are thoughtful, transparent, and not rushed. The choices being made now will shape Middletown for decades. Once schools are closed, those parts of our community cannot simply be restored. I respectfully ask that before any final decisions are made, the district provide a clear long-term plan, transparent financial information, the audit, great idea, and meaningful opportunities for community input. Families deserve to move forward with clarity, stability, and confidence in this process. Thank you for your time. >> [applause and cheering] >> Kristen Coombs, Middletown. Uh before I begin, I want to mention the whole bell uh letter that was released showing cooperation between the township and
114the schools. It was pretty impressive. Maybe you guys could take some notes. Um I also want to talk about um how several member members of this board got elected and who paid for it. A typical board of ed campaign costs under a thousand dollars. But members of this board pushing school closures, using flawed and constantly changing data, ran campaigns costing tens of thousands of dollars. That kind of money doesn't come from residents and bake sales. It comes from people expecting something in return. >> [applause and cheering] >> Campaign records show donations from engineering firms, construction and remediation companies, auditors, technology vendors, consultants, developers, unions, and political insiders. The exact groups that stand to profit from school closures. Because school closures don't just close buildings. They create construction projects, engineering studies, oh, financing packaging, consulting contracts,
115technology upgrades, and demolition or redevelopment. Remember that Steiner Academy? Chris Abbita and Vera Wiens Weinstein, and Cody, who's not here, received ten thousand dollars from Alliance Health. Immediately after being awarded the scoreboard contract. Ten thousand dollars from Brio Benefits, the district's own health provider, benefits broker, sorry. Remember that fund that we were talking about that got depleted? Ten one thousand dollars from Mayor Tony Perry, which raises serious concerns about independence on shared services. One thousand dollars from Andrew Melnick, who's tied to public debt financing. He can approve debts without public approval. And he's a Monmouth County Improvement Authority official. Their campaign was also supported by Proven Leadership PAC. They produced these flyers, which was funded by board of bond attorneys, engineering firms, infrastructure consultants, the district's own auditor, technology contracts, union PAC money, redevelopment redevelopment
116interests, and that demolition and remediation company. The list goes on and on. There's more. I don't want I don't have time to get into all of them. And these are not grassroots donations. These are industry investments. And now the same board members backed by those investments are pushing decisions that could generate millions of dollars in contracts. The public is being asked to believe that this is not a coincidence. It isn't. When the companies that fund your campaign are the same companies that stand to benefit from school closures, people have a right to question your motives. This community deserves the board that answers to parents and taxpayers, not donors and PACs. There is a term for this. It's called pay to play. And our schools and our children should not be a part of it. Not
117on the backs of our kids. Find another thing, government, like garbage that'll no one will care about. >> [cheering] [applause] >> Hi. My name is Karen Noble. I'm from Middletown. And my son goes to Thorne. Dr. Alfone, Mr. Pollan, and many board members know my son, JR Novak. He is autistic and he has ADHD. His time in Middletown school system has not been the best experience. As a mom, I have spent countless sleepless nights fighting and advocating for him. And this continues tonight. JR started with a 504 in kindergarten and then an IEP in first grade. >> [snorts] >> He's in inclusion, but the social, emotional, and behavioral roller coaster has been non-stop. Every year, I put hard work into researching what is best for my child and to come to with the IEP meeting
118prepared. Finally, this year, JR is beginning to find his place in the school environment. And now, another major change is eminent. Every year, he has had another struggle from IEPs not being followed to harassment from staff to cuts to programs. Now, combining schools. Last week, Cable's report didn't even show how middle schools will be affected. Let me inform you of how it will. Not just for my child, but for every child at Thorne and all the middle schools. With or without IEP, Thorne will be over capacity starting the 2026-2027 school year and it goes up every year after that. The population increase will cause a larger class sizes. This will make it harder to create an environment of respect and rapport between teachers and students. Crowded hallways are going to cause extreme loud volume and
119also in areas such as the gym and cafeteria. This will create overstimulation for students and cause increased behavior incidents. Slower times for evacuation, God forbid, an emergency happens. All of these issues I have pointed out directly affect my son. However, how many students at the middle school level are just like my son? If it affects one, it affects all. >> [applause] >> Middletown parents, I'm not new to this. Um I've been doing this for a very long time now, for many years speaking. And tonight I'm here as the Thorne PTA president, a Thorne and Middletown North parent, and an educator. And I, like many of you tonight, have questions, lots of questions. And I respectfully urge you, if you do not know the answers to these questions, to vote no until a comprehensive transition plan
120is developed and publicly shared. We are past transparency. There is none of it. We're in the same place we were last year. We know that this is going to happen at some point. We need a transition plan. I respectfully ask for clarification on the following. Were building principals and assistant principals consulted prior to the release of this proposal. Do they know what is happening in their schools? More important than the parents, do our administrators know what's happening? Did you speak to them? Did you get their inputs? Were staff members in the directly affected buildings engaged for input? Did you get their input? Did you find out what their thoughts are on increased kids in the middle school? Why were there no community forums held with families in the impacted schools prior to advancing these votes?
121I was not at one. I would be directly affected by this. There was no forum. Given this proposal was introduced nearly a year ago, what planning occurred during this time? We were told that this year would be the year to come up with a plan. There is no plan. We are back where we started a year ago. The presentation that we received on Saturday morning indicates a split of Bayside Middle School students between Thorn and Thompson. However, enrollment does not reflect a 50/50 split. It also is misrepresented. It appears on the on the on the presentation that Bayview currently goes to Thorn. They do not. The district needs to provide a corrected, transparent feeder maps. Bayview, New Manet, Harmony, P.S. are multiple disability and autistic programs. Thorn currently houses MD, BD, and multiple LLD programs.
122Is it accurate that all middle school pop education programs be centralized to Thorn. Cuz according to the maps, that is what will happen. Thorn will get all special education classrooms. Thank you. You have 3 minutes. If so, what is the rationale for concentrating these programs? I understand that it's 3 minutes. I have like 35 seconds left. If so, what is the rationale for concentrating these programs into one building? How are we going to accommodate? How will Thorn accommodate the smaller required class sizes that will be absorbing while absorbing a significantly larger general population? This is not equitable. This is not good for our special education services, and it's not good for either middle school. A transition of this magnitude needs to be shared. The transition needs to share. Our students deserve stability. Our educators deserve
123preparation time. Our families deserve transparency. And for these reasons, I urge the board board to delay this vote until a clear, publicly vetted transition plan is developed and shared. >> [applause] >> Uh good evening. My name is Nitra Bosler. I'm a resident, taxpayer, parent of a Bayshore student, former high school teacher. I'm going to start uh by saying what I think that most of us by now already know, and my apologies for being redundant. I did not realize this was going to be on the agenda tonight, but uh the report from Ross Haber was phoned in. It was half-assed. It was ridiculously late. It was a steaming pile of crap. And and I say this not just as a parent and as a taxpayer, but as a former consultant. I I worked for IBM for
124years, one of the largest companies in the world. As a consultant, that was garbage. It was embarrassing. It was unprofessional. It was just a disgrace. So, um frankly, if the town hasn't considered suing Mr. Avery and company for this contract, I think it should. Get on that. Because surely we paid a few tens of thousands of dollars for that. But, uh you know, with those nickels and dimes we keep hearing about. But, hey, I mean it counts. And the inexplicable delay of what was it, 6 months, is already proving to have had a major negative impact on our ability to properly plan, which vastly overshadows any kind of uh cost to us. So, uh first deliverable was so bad it was rejected out of hand by basically everybody. So, what did the administration do? Did
125they hire somebody better? Did they roll up their sleeves and investigate any of the numerous cost-saving ideas that the community proposed a year ago? No. They they went and tasked the same hapless crew with giving a hasty rubber stamp to last year's colossal failure, aka plan A. And they didn't even instruct them to do an empirical reality check on on what is perhaps the plan's most highly flawed assumption we've all been pointing out, and screaming about, that dumping an entire middle school students into the other two middle schools, already crowded middle schools, will work just fine for kids. This is not just incompetent, it's insulting. And to me, it's highly suspicious. It It's my belief, as others have more or less said, that four members of this board are in the tank for the township
126machine and its close friends and developers, the construction companies, the other contractors that would be involved in any construction. [applause] >> [cheering] >> This would be, in a word, corruption. Honestly, >> [applause] >> I think that if we were running a surplus, they'd be busy looking for ways to squander it just so they could get back to their secret school closing agenda. You You know, like not keeping the budget up with inflation for a decade or something like that. So, to you four, I say you should be ashamed of yourselves. yourselves. I speak now to the board members that are serving in good faith and you are doing a good >> is up. Thank you. I don't care. Your 3 minutes is up, please. Don't let these people steamroll this failed scheme of our schools,
127our children, and our communities. There are real solutions to keep our schools open and our classrooms manageable. For starters, publicly press the mayor and the township committee to do what they should have been doing all along, which is to pay for the police that are stationed at our schools. >> As others have noted, this township already puts less of its overall budget toward education than more and more of our peers in this uh county. One way to address this 20 seconds. To address this would be to have the municipal budget come closing as they are supposed to do. The mayor would make good on this claim but the last three officers would be paid out of the municipal budget from the get-go. We would be well in the black and on a sustainable path forward.
128>> So, my last point is I say You have less than 3 minutes left. I'm going to address the one person whose vote appears to not be decided, I certainly hope. Your 3 minutes is up. Please do not let Please do not betray our children, our town, or our schools. >> [applause] [applause] >> Test 1 2. Melissa Randall Alford, last April Dr. Alford assured this community that the 10% tax increase would be would not be a band-aid but a bridge. A bridge to give the district time to gather data, build a long-term plan, and avoid a rushed reactionary decision. Yet, here we are less than a year later, still in crisis mode, still without a transparent plan for our schools, our families, or our staff. Some families believe this conversation doesn't affect them, but once
129Bayshore closes, our middle schools will be over capacity by more than 100 students. Thompson is already crowded. Next year, it will be worse. Overcrowding in buildings affects every building, and closing four elementary schools and a middle school in a district that has no capacity to close schools will overcrowd everyone. This is every school's problem, every family's problem. We were told last year that the plan was to reduce our district to eight elementary schools. We know Navesink and Leonardo were on that list, but what about the other two? Why haven't they been clearly identified? Slides and side conversations mention River Plaza and Fair Haven, but many parents at those schools are adamant that their schools are not part of the plan. Why is part of the plan still a secret? How can a proposal even be
130presented if half of its impact remains hidden? That is not transparency. That is blindsiding the community and it is exactly why public trust has eroded in this town. The district hired Ross Haber to restore that trust, to give us an independent factual analysis of our capacity. In January, Mr. Haber said there was no space to close a school. After he was re-engaged, class capacities, special ed and pre-K programs were moved to an undisclosed location, old, inaccurate, untrusted data was reintroduced and all of A SUDDEN, 14 CLASSROOMS APPEARED IN THE district and the recommendation changed. All of this is fact spoken out of Haber's mouth. And that shift between overcapacity to closing three schools, it mattered because when independent analysis becomes altered analysis, the facts are no longer facts. They're manipulated outcomes. I'm going to run
131out of time. I have to talk. Paying paying for independent verification means allowing independence to stand untouched. MRS. TABACCO, YOU OFTEN REMIND THIS community that facts matter and you're right, they do. That's exactly why the public deserves to see that. Real numbers, full reports, complete plan. This community is fully capable of engaging with facts when they are presented with honesty. Finally, I want to address the issue of optics. Many board members also serve on township committees, support one another's campaigns, receive contributions from individuals like the mayor, even the district auditor. None of this automatically means wrongdoing, but it absolutely creates appearance of a From the outside it looks like decisions are being made in the best interest of the township, and that's why I respectfully and sternly ask that any board member who has accepted
132gambling contributions from town contractors, vendors, or those with financial ties to the township recuse themselves. NEW JERSEY SCHOOL ETHICS ACT 18A:12-24 IS CLEAR. OFFICIALS MUST AVOID NOT ONLY ACTUAL CONFLICTS, BUT ANY ACTION THAT MIGHT LEAD TO A CONFLICT THAT IS EXPECTED TO IMPAIR THE OBJECTIVITY OR INDEPENDENCE OF JUSTICE. YOU GUYS, this case ISN'T ABOUT YOU. IT'S ABOUT ERODING PUBLIC CONFIDENCE. >> [cheering] >> UH MY NAME is Jill Inglin. I'm a Middletown resident. I'm a special education teacher at Bayshore Middle School. My primary concern with the two middle school model is IEP compliance and service delivery. Maximum caps in classes must be considered. Max is 10 classified students in inclusion and 12 in pullout. With multiple special class sections running, how will the district maintain compliance and instructional effectiveness? And what precautions will prevent overcrowding in
133resource and inclusion classrooms? Thorne and Bayshore currently have all the special class middle school programs, including MD, BD, LLD, autism, and heal out. Where will these programs be located under the proposed plan? These programs require adequate space to operate effectively while respecting class size caps and specialized instructional needs. Currently, Thompson has 129 classified students, Bayshore has 130, and Thorne 141. With with consolidation, projections seem to rise to 150 classified at Thompson, and 250 to 275 classified at Thorne. There does not appear to be enough space to safely and effectively provide these students with the education they need. Many IEPs require pull-out, small group testing, read-aloud supports, preferential seating, refocusing, and small group instruction. How will these accommodations be delivered in larger, crowded classrooms? Where will alternative testing locations be? This impacts multiple sections, all grades,
134and every core subject, making careful planning essential. Where will services such as speech, OT, PT take place? How will the district ensure all IEP mandated services minutes are delivered, especially with the increased enrollment and complex scheduling? Increased enrollment will drive more referrals, evaluations, and annual reviews. Without proportional increases in special ed teachers, paras, CST members, and related service providers, caseloads may become unsustainable. Will caseload caps be established to protect service quality and compliance? It is concerning that these critical factors have not been addressed. Any consolidation plan should be developed through a special education lens, and not just a budgetary one, to ensure program integrity and mandated supports remain intact. Decisions of this magnitude need to prioritize students' learning and legal compliance, rather than relying on a plan that feels only partially explained. So, please, come
135visit our schools. Come walk through Bee Shore and Thorne. See how these specialized programs operate and how much space they truly require. Speak with teachers, principals, CST members, counselors, paras, or BETs, OT, speech, PT providers, interventionists, custodians, cafeteria staff, secretaries, nurses, security guards. Cuz if you took the time to see and hear from the people who make these programs run every single day, I believe this would not be a proposal you would feel comfortable voting yes on. THANK YOU. >> [cheering and applause] >> GOOD EVENING TO THE STAFF OF MIDDLETOWN HIGH. >> [applause] >> ALL RIGHT. GOOD EVENING. MY NAME IS ASHLEY STEAD. Uh much of what I'm about to say will sound familiar because many of these recommendations were presented last year and were not meaningfully addressed. Unfortunately, as was the case then, we
136still have not been provided with a more detailed line-by-line view of projected spending despite repeated requests. As a result, we are again relying on historical data to identify areas where costs can be reduced responsibly and strategically. Based on that analysis, I would like to outline three concrete initiatives. One, reduce overhead district office. The what This one is a complete reuse from last year because no reductions were made whatsoever to central. It's extremely alarming that you go straight to closing schools before reducing costs at the top. If the CEO of a publicly traded company, the board would most likely remove the CEO for not reducing vertically. Combined salary of staff in the district office is over $7 million. I propose at least a reduction of $1 million there. This would be a recurring cost savings. This
137year, you have the added benefit of state changes to observation requirements. So, the eight curriculum supervisors could drastically go down because any highly effective tenure teacher now only needs one observation. So, the excuse that we needed all of these central admin to do observations no longer holds true. We have three assistant superintendents. You can also consider consolidating of that school. Um request for Middletown to cover the class three officer expense. Another repeat of what I said last year. Uh this summer I actually went to a town council meeting and asked Tony Perry why he wasn't funding the officers and he said, "I'm still waiting for this school to call me." Because there hasn't been a shared services meeting in over a year. The one that was so proudly touted for today didn't happen, right? Yeah.
138Cool. How long have How many times How many meetings have I been to where I asked, "Why are we having shared services meetings?" Yeah. The last one. In 2024-2025 school year, the athletics account spent $54,000. So far this school year, you've spent more than double that, and we're only halfway through this school year at $110,000. This isn't coaching staff. This isn't the $900,000 scoreboards, which are another account. This is just one athletics account that has more than doubled by January. What are we doing? This does not look like cost savings. That's insane. If the same level of urgency applied to closing schools was instead focused on reducing administrative overhead and scrutinizing discretionary consistently, we would be in a far stronger financial position. When taxpayers absorbed a 10.1% we were told it would stabilize the district
139for years. We were told that school CLOSURES WERE OFF THE TABLE. Those assurances were repeated consistently for months. Now we are told that a $3 million gap cannot be closed without revisiting that option. That reversible understandably raised serious concerns about planning, transparency, and consistency. A vote yes to close schools is a vote yes for corruption. >> [applause] [applause] >> Good evening. My name is Jennifer Greeley. I'm a Middletown I am also honored to be a member of the Bay Shore PTO board. Um three of us today are representing the Bay Shore community, our amazing teachers, our staff, and our students. However, all the questions that we have today impact all of our Middletown middle school students. Based on the latest reported New Jersey Department of Education data from the 2023-2024 school year, Bay Shore had
1408% of their students with disciplinary action, Theron had 7% of their students with disciplinary action, and Thompson had 5%. What new measures are being put in place to properly manage a doubling of disciplinary behavior? What county and state experts were consulted from a disciplinary perspective to weigh in on the impact in combining schools with a higher rate of this action, especially during these critical middle school years? What additional administrative support services and overall staffing will be provided to reinforce the management and resolution of these interactions? What new student flow pathways and overall supervision will be added to monitor the increased volume in the hallways? What data management tool will you be using to monitor the increase or decrease in these incidents? Is it going to be reviewed weekly, monthly, or quarterly? If this data demonstrates
141an increase, what immediate action will take place? How is our student supervision and climate to be projected projected at higher enrollment levels? What is the rollback or mitigation plan if outcomes worsen? >> [clears throat] >> Is it in the best interest of our students and our staff to knowingly increase the amount of students with a higher risk of disciplinary behavior, putting them all into one building that will be over capacity with a proposed plan to decrease staff in a school that currently does not know how to accommodate that volume today? Moving on to extracurriculars, which are extremely important to all of our students, what plans are in place to ensure all students have access to all the different extracurriculars our schools offer? Last year it was noted Middletown would allow sixth graders to play on
142their own grade level teams to ensure greater capacity. This doesn't solve for the problem on our sub-23 teams today. Often, we all know there's no sixth grade teams across the region, so they'd have no one to be playing. What honors classes What students still have the access to honors classes? Many of our students are honors students. Will there be enough classrooms and teachers to support all of the honors students in this new setting? Is it in the best interest of our students to immediately reduce their access and ability to participate in all their school activities, to reduce their school pride and morale, to reduce their access to peers with shared interest, and overall to reduce their ability to successfully transition into their middle school community for the second time? Good evening. My name is Lauren
143Wheeler. I'm a Dana Street mom, and I first want to acknowledge I've never spoken at any one of these. I want to acknowledge the awesome group of women in the back of the room, THE DANA STREET STAFF. >> [applause] >> SO, I'M HERE TO SPEAK TO UH SCHOOL COURSES, SPACE, and equipment. All middle school students recently made their course selections for the 2026-2027 school year. Will their selections be honored? What is the plan to ensure each classroom is appropriately set up with supplies and resources to provide the highest level of instruction? For example, science classrooms require specific tables, sinks, and safety equipment. Are there enough physical classrooms that meet this requirement? How will program breadth and class sizes be protected after this consolidation? >> [clears throat] >> What arrangements have been planned for to ensure
144there is not a significant shift in current lunch times? Does the cafeteria have enough capacity to double the amount of students during each of the three lunch blocks? What additional staffing and construction updates have been accounted for to ensure the lunch flow is not delayed? Students who order lunch have enough time to eat. There is not a decrease in food production and quality due to doubling the amount of food that needs to be prepared. Are there enough gym spaces currently to accommodate new students? What improvements, modifications, and overall construction need to incur in July and August to to ensure each space is ready to be utilized for its new purpose, has the appropriate supplies and meets all safety requirements? Is it in the best interest of students during this transition to potentially reduce the ability
145to be in classes they selected? Is it in the best interest of students and our teachers to limit their exposure and learning experience by not having sufficient equipment in classrooms? Is it in the best interest of our students to have insufficient classroom spaces? What is the projected class size for each class? How many classroom teachers and support staff will be in each classroom? THANK YOU. >> [applause] >> JENNIFER BENTLEY, BAYSHORE PTO president and proud member of the Leonardo community as well. And when the other schools stood up here today and said they stand with us, we appreciate them. And I also want to give special recognition to all the children who had the courage to come up here and express how much this has impacted their lives. So, thank you. >> [applause] >> I also
146want to recognize the board members who had the courage to speak their minds today as hard as that might have been. And we do actually appreciate that. There is one community that I want to talk about today, and that is our teachers and our staff and our principals. Have we given them any emotional support while they're doing damage control and taking care of our children in their emotional situation they're in. Have we taken a moment to prep them to let them know this is coming out on Saturday? Cuz I'm pretty sure we didn't. And I have to ask, this feels like a corporate restructuring right now with our children and our teachers who have to put themselves out there every single day, throwing their hearts on the floor to make sure those kids are okay
147and that they get what they need every single day and putting their own families and their own emotions in the back. We need to stand up not just for our students, but our staff, our teachers, our principals. THEY HAVE LIFE. >> [applause] >> DEVON RAFFERTY DEVON [clears throat] RAFFERTY, LEONARDO. SO, >> [applause] >> UH let's start uh I guess from the beginning. There seems to be this pervasive mindset within the board that goes something like this. Well, the mayor has decided how much money he needs and the county has decided how much they need and since that's independent and separate from board matters and since taxpayers can't shoulder anything, then golly oh gosh, gee whiz, I guess there's financial difficulties with the school, which are code. I guess the only option is to just close
148them. But, as you're going to see, this thinking is backwards. It's time for you to GROW A SPINE. >> [screaming] >> IN SPITE AND STUDY AFTER study in New Jersey outside of the distance to New York City or Philadelphia, by far the biggest factor that contributes to high property values is the quality of the town's public education system. In turn, the two biggest factors that determine the quality of a school system is each school's overall aggregate size and that school's proximity to its students' homes. Incidentally, nowhere to be found in these property value studies is the rate of growth and the expansion of special assignment police force or whether open space taxpayer funds type funds have purchased public use running tracks. So, you can pretty much pretty much say that tax and spend Tony Perry's
149milestone achievements have had no financial impact on our population's biggest financial concerns. Now, since the health of the public school system drives the health and wealth of the town, the public school system budget is the one that overwhelmingly matters. And therefore, it's that what must generate adequate financial resources to cover the costs for operating a high-quality school district. This is all fairly intuitive and obvious. By the way, that's why a healthy public school budget is called an adequate budget, and it's the most important mechanism for ensuring that people who live in Milltown, even if you don't have kids in the school system, also get to benefit from relatively high property values. In fact, it's then and only then that the suburban township mayor would be able to acquire the funds that they could use for
150their pet projects. So, let's put this into context. The increase last year wasn't anywhere near close enough with what's required for an adequate budget. In fact, in my understanding, last year the Board of Ed needed that 10.1 increase simply to cover their immediate cash commitments. Basically, they were weeks away from being forced to declare default. So again, that 10.1 was necessary just to keep the doors open and get a minimal inflation-adjusted level of funding. But it was by no means adequate, since it's pretty easy to see that over the prior years, we have been actively defunding our public school systems while passively funding tax and spend Tony Perry's agenda under the former leadership of former president Capone and VP TO THAT. THIS IS THE PROBLEM THAT OUR TOWNSHIP taxpayers [applause] are now saddled with. So,
151it makes it pretty clear that if you want high property values, even if you have no kids, no kids in the school system, or if you want to support the township's fairly financially pointless initiatives, the best thing you can do is be on board with ensuring that the Milltown public school system has an adequate budget both short and long term, cuz that drives up our property values, which then creates the wealth that the township takes a cut of. We need No, it isn't. Now it is. We need to have well-funded community based schools or else you end up with a ghost town deteriorating apathetic impersonal townships. Listen, I was just in Hunter Mountain. The one thing you can count on is Dr. Elfont closing schools. Thank you. I met you people there from Hoboken. Do
152you know what they said? One's a doctor, one's an architect. They were moving here but after last year and then they looked further into our politics, you know what they're doing? It's off the grid, off the map. >> [applause] [applause] >> Good evening. My name is Thea Malloy and my child attends River Plaza Elementary School. As Mr. Tobacco just posted on Facebook a few hours ago, we are apparently the desperate people here spreading desperate rumors around River Plaza. Even though I'd say we are desperately asking for clarity. I am the first of seven parents who will read from this joint statement tonight that we prepared together representing a united front from across this township. You will hear from River Plaza, Navesink, Lincroft, Leonardo, Bayshore, Thompson and Harmony. My portion of the speech will be focused
153on transparency. I do not have the proper words to fully express the deep disappointment I have in this board's continued lack of transparency. Further proven by the secrecy at last Thursday's meeting followed by an incomplete PowerPoint sent to us with no warning and no context. It is very clear to our school that you are hiding which schools are part of the further consolidation listed in your timeline slide. River Plaza is no stranger to threats of closer closure. We've been getting it since 2020 and River Plaza parents listen when our school name was put on the record last year as a school to be cut in the two high school two middle school eight elementary school phase plan. Whether or not that has changed or is being hidden from us, please know that we are keenly
154aware of what could happen to our schools in this proposal. I am sadly left to assume you are hoping to keep us in the dark so that we don't get organized like other parents have. That did not work. Every parent here [cheering] >> [applause] >> deserves to see a five-year strategic plan with all of the details showing us that it is a solid plan that is best for our kids. You also mentioned in this proposal, that I prefer to call an agenda cuz it's definitely not a plan, that any new construction or additions to handle the overcrowding you are deliberately creating are dependent upon referendum bonding status. Those are your quotes. And one of the ways to get a referendum to build onto schools, you have to prove the overcrowding is so bad that you
155need to build. This means you would be purposefully overcrowding our schools, particularly Thompson and Thorn, as and using our children as pawns to attempt to get funding. This is not a guarantee. You are risking our kids' education and safety to find out. We are here tonight to say once again, we do not accept this plan. We do not accept the closure of any of our district schools in this way. And we demand a direct answer before we leave this room tonight. Which elementary schools are the final eight you plan to keep? When is the real plan being presented to the community with clear data? And what are the alternatives you are presenting to the parents instead? WE DESERVE TO KNOW. GOOD EVENING. MY NAME IS ALICE Rosansky and I am a proud Gabe Sank Elementary
156parent. I will focus on the foundation of this entire proposal, the data. To begin, your own demographic consultant, Ross Haber, whom the district paid $24,000 to study only elementary school capacity and enrollment, stated in his report that elementary school enrollment indicates stability across the district as a whole. Apart from two schools that are showing slightly under or over enrollment. Overall, our elementary schools, specifically kindergartens, are maintaining ideal class sizes of around 22 children per class. It is very strange that the report and proposal both focus on elementary schools, and yet the proposal doesn't include any projections on elementary school enrollment over the years. How is it possible that the current average class size with all schools open is the same as with the closing of schools? Furthermore, Ross Haber commented in his memo that a
157disadvantage of closing two schools would mean increasing the maximum class size to 27 students. I hate to restate the obvious, but the math is simply not adding up. Dr. Alfone, you said it yourself last week, you do not want to have 27 children per class. The proposal goes to questionable lengths to justify the inevitable increase in overcrowding in our middle schools. You present historical enrollment data for Thompson Middle School that highlights 2017 peak student enrollment at 1,062 students. What you failed to acknowledge is that while this enrollment occurred, it put the school well over its capacity limit. By the district's own numbers, which Aaron Torres also referenced, the capacity at Thompson and Thorn was 805 students. That number somehow magically increased recently to 930. Conveniently, Ross Haber did not study the current middle school capacity
158enrollment data. But even so, at the 930 capacity you are currently using, the enrollment projections from 2026 to 2031 put both Thorn and Thompson well over 100% enrollment. I took a moment to look up the ratio of optimal enrollment to capacity, and not surprisingly, nearly all results indicate optimal school enrollment to be around 85%. Nowhere did I find anything in excess of 100% enrollment as an acceptable standard. By your own projections, our middle schools will steadily increase from 100% to nearly 108% of recommended enrollment in the immediate future. That number balloons to 120% enrollment if we are looking at the 805 student account capacity numbers. This underscores the importance of having real data to work with. In either case, it is simply too high and it is not safe. Thank you. The central problem with
159this proposal, apart from the fact that it has never been transparent and is using reframed or incorrect data, is the absolute gaslighting of the residents of Middletown have been subjected to over the last year. We can clearly see the data is being altered. We are being manipulated and we are not accepting it any longer. Thank you. Please, somebody, make a motion to dismiss closing our schools from this agenda tonight. Good evening. My name is Katie Young and my children attend Snow Hill Elementary, which I think is the school will of you think um, is not paying attention to this issue and where you're spreading rumors that we're not falling for them. I'm here to talk about the money because the financial case for the restructuring proposal is just as misleading as the enrollment data. The
160administration claims the plan will save 3.5 million per year. We've yet to see how that's true. The money will be eaten up by bussing and construction on day one. Conservatively, at least 300 additional kids who were once walkers would need bussing. That is roughly seven school buses at the going rate of 400 to 600 per bus per day would be up to $760,000 per year. And that doesn't take into account the increased bussing costs of those who are already getting bus to Bay Shore or being bus further distance and the millions of dollars it will cost to retrofit Bay Shore to be legally ready for the elementary school children, redoing bathrooms, updating doors and more. Your own facilities assessment estimates $2.5 million for the bathrooms alone. Then what? We find ourselves in a bigger deficit.
161At that point, do we close more schools? Your proposal to close schools and overcrowd what's left hinges on receiving a future referendum or state funding, which is not guaranteed. You are asking us to send our children into overflowing middle schools with the hope that funding materializes or that taxpayers approve it for you. To me, that is the definition of kicking the can down the road. I remember their friends spreading rumors. The proposal is a house of cards set up to fall down onto our children. There are real alternatives that have not been seriously pursued. They They have been stated, but we have to hit you guys over the head with them. Pre-K grants, in-house aftercare programs, selling surplus district-owned property, shared services with the township that are still not being considered. Other grants we're probably
162not aware of and further administrative reductions. Closing schools is the most destructive path for our children. >> [applause] >> In November [cheering] In November our community will vote for candidates who are qualified to manage multi-million dollar budgets and leadership that is willing to do the hard work of genuine long-term FINANCIAL PLANNING. >> [applause] >> UH MY NAME IS VALERIE JENNER AND I'M A proud parent of a wonderful student at Misha Middle School and I am a resident of Millburn. So, I want to take a moment to address leadership or rather the lack thereof that has brought us to this crisis. The architect of this destructive plan is the superintendent. She has resigned and is leaving Middletown to pursue a career pivot. A superintendent who has been looking for a new job instead of pouring through
163our finances with a fine-tooth comb, who is no longer committed to the future of our district is making an irreversible decision that will harm our children for decades to come. She will not be here to face the consequences of overcrowding, the teacher layoff, the community devastation that she is proposing. She won't be here for it. She is a board member as she is as board member Minni so accurately put, "ramming down a recycled plan before she walks out the door." This is an astonishing failure of governance. The board has had a responsibility to provide stability and long-term vision. Instead, you're pushing a rush job of an agenda that serves no one's long-term interest. You are allowing her to recycle last year's fair failed proposal and to use consultants whose stated goal, in his own words,
164was to find a way to close schools, not to determine whether or not it was actually necessary. We need a leader who is who will build a thoughtful, multi-year plan for a sustainable future. And we desperately need a board that will actually demand one. By entertaining this proposal, you are failing on both accounts. We demand that you elect a representative of this community to take control of this process. Stop the chaos. Vote no and let us begin to search for true leadership will work with this community, not against it. Hi, my name is Amy D'Orsogna. I have two in River Plaza, one in Thompson, one in South, and one slated to go to River Plaza. That being said, north, south, east, west, upside down, WE'RE ALL MIDDLETOWN. BUT I'M SPEAKING TO YOU AS A parent
165from Thompson Middle School. You have heard about the flawed data and the questionable finances. >> [clears throat] >> I want to talk about the real cost of this plan, the human cost paid by our children. Closing a neighborhood school is not a line item on a budget. It is a traumatic event in the life of a child. It rips them away from their friends, their trusted teachers, and the only school community they have ever known. It creates anxiety, instability, and lasting emotional harm. Your proposal treats this as an acceptable side effect. This plan will force hundreds of middle schoolers into already crowded buildings. Thompson and Woodrow Wilson Middle School is projected to house over 1,000 students under the same scheme under the scheme. That is not just a number. It means larger class sizes, hallways
166too packed to navigate, and an increased risk of safety incidents. It means our children become anonymous faces in an overcrowded building with less individual attention and fewer resources. And we must be candid about the impact of our most valued most vulnerable students. Middletown has an important value and special education population. These children depend on routine, stability, and familiar support systems. Your plan forces them to be uprooted and rerouted across town, disrupting the very structures that allow them to thrive. This is not just an inconvenience, it's cruel. And it is a violation of the district's fundamental obligation to every child in its care. North The school's proposal is split apart. Trolley Tonight you have heard from multiple school representatives. You have heard that this proposal is built on insufficient data. You have heard that it represents
167a financial loss dressed up as a solution. You have heard concerns about potential conflicts of interest influencing this plan. You have heard from school communities who are being kept in the dark about the future of their buildings. And you have heard the same thing from every parent that has stood at this microphone, that this proposal will harm the future of our children, every single one of them. Tonight you are looking at what Middletown United truly means. So now you will hear our request clearly and without mincing words. We ask you that you vote no on the closing of schools and restructuring proposal. No modifications, no amendments, vote it down entirely and unequivocally. And then the real work must begin. We ask that you commit to a transparent, community-driven process to create a true 5-year strategic
168plan. One that explores every alternative to school closures, one grounded in honest and verifiable data, real financial stability, and one that places the educational and emotional well-being of our students above all else. Every parent here supports public education. We believe our school board members should be our strongest advocates, fighting for every grant, every shared service, and every school every available resource every single year in pursuit of continued excellence for our public schools. And we commit to doing our part as well. We are not going away. We will attend every meeting. We will review every line of the budget. We will take note of every vote taken and every vote not taken. Be the board members that listen to its community. Be the board that shows a better path. Be the board that plans strategically with
169real numbers and real goals for the future of this town. We are watching. Our children are watching. Vote no. Give us a better plan, a real strategic plan for them, for the future they deserve. Thank you. >> [applause] >> Jeff Mack, Littleton resident. Um I want to first thank you guys for actually being up there and choosing to serve our community. It's nights like this that I think a lot of us envy. Um you know, that being said though, I'm a realist and uh I understand that there's probably nothing that any of us can say that will sway the votes of those up there who believe that this plan is a good one. Keeping it real. And I'm not going to use my time here to say anything that you haven't heard. But as a
170board whose job it is to represent us, I believe it's also your job to be transparent in justifying your vote. I think it's okay to have an opinion that runs counter to mine and to a lot of these people here, but I don't think it's okay to sit silent without letting us know why >> [applause] >> why you believe your opinion is the right one. So, I want to say that I appreciate Ms. Minue, Ms. Seporowski, Ms. Torres, and Ms. Wright for speaking and providing insight into why they feel this plan is a bad idea. But, I I'd love to hear from Ms. Galaski, Mr. Aveta, Mr. Capone, and Ms. Tobacco as to why they feel it's a good one. So, before you place your vote, and again, I'm sure you don't care what any
171of us said. You're going to make up You have your mind made up, but before you place your vote, all I ask is that for those who have not spoke, just tell us why you think it's a good plan. THANK YOU. >> [applause] >> SO, I'M BILL DOWD. I LIVE IN LEONARDO, and I have a first grader at Leonardo, and I have an incoming kindergartner, and I also have a 2-year-old. Um so, I'm also a middle school teacher, and so I can provide multiple perspectives regarding the board's proposal. Closing three middle schools, two out of three schools, excuse me, two elementary and one middle school will lead to severe overcrowding in the middle schools, which impacts student safety, which I feel I haven't heard enough about tonight. Academic performance and social and emotional development for
172students at a critical age. The school I work in is similar in square footage to Thompson and Thorne, and our enrollment at 6th, 7th, and 8th grade is 550, and that feels crowded. This proposal calls for almost double that in those two schools. Directing hallway traffic, preventing bullying, and ensuring the safety of all is a challenge every day, and will become more difficult if this proposal is passed through. As a result of these closures, class rosters will also expand to a point where individualized instructions individualized instruction is nearly impossible. High student to teacher ratios make it difficult to provide feedback and personal personalized learning that middle schoolers require to for schools to meet their specific learning needs. The other group I want to shine a light on is the educators and how teacher burnout is
173a growing nationwide problem and this proposal also places an undue burden on them. So, I ask that we support our beloved teachers not having suffered from burnout with packed classrooms, navigating difficult hallways, and looking out for the safety and the well-being of all our children. To me, the metaphor I use for this proposal is it's a restaurant that is saying, "We're going to get rid of a few tables and cut waitstaff, yet we're going to be able to accommodate more customers." How is that possible? That's because it isn't. This proposal places an unfair burden on our educators, negatively impacts our kids' development, and compromises student and staff safety. Therefore, I ask the board to support our teachers, our community, and most importantly our students and not go through with the closing of THESE THREE SCHOOLS.
174>> [applause] >> SO, I APOLOGIZE if I'm a little over the place. Didn't think it was going to go this long. And I apologize, I'm a true millennial. Should have wrote it down like But, I do have one question. I was Samantha Delezio from Belford. I have children that go to Bayview um as well as Bayside. And I also have family members across multiple schools in elementary, junior, and high school. The overcrowding is across the entire town. This is not an unknown thing. Now, I do have some questions earlier Aaron Brookes had asked if members of this board had met in private to agree on this plan for closure separately from the rest of the board. I believe one of you had addressed that and then it was kind of put on hold. Is that
175something you're willing to address now? No. Okay. I think we want to understand I have not met individually or privately. I appreciate that. >> [applause] >> Would anyone else like to go on the record to clarify if they have or have not? So, there's two sides to the table. Is the other side going to give an opinion one way or the other or are we going to move on? Okay, great. That's fantastic. Listen, I don't envy any of you. The circumstances you're in are hard, but you volunteered to be in these positions, so you're responsible to show up and put the work in and actually put together a plan that everyone can review. It's my understanding at least one of you have a background in construction. So, you have the understanding how big of an
176uphill it will be to retrofit Bay Shore for elementary school kids. I believe most of you, if not all, are also parents and can I just say in the differences for a kindergartner versus an eighth grader and the facilities that they need. We deserve to see a plan. No one thinks that we can't change any Well, some people in this town may not want to change anything, but I'm from New York. I don't There's no realty to specific schools. If you have a better plan for better educations, better facilities and better learning, let's do it. But, a plan is a plan and you can reference a plan and there's spreadsheets. A child asked earlier if you're looking at just spreadsheets and dollars, but I'm questioning do you even have a single spreadsheet? Is there anything
177that you're actually LOOKING AT? >> [applause] >> OR NOT? For years, I didn't get the north or south thing in this town. I'm from Brooklyn. You're lucky to go to a safe school with a good education. But, you guys have done something no one has done for years. You united the entire town on both north and south. Because we don't understand why we're rushing this. We were here a year ago. It's like Groundhog Day. You may need to merge schools. You may need to close schools. But, students, teachers, and staff members took hours of their time last year giving suggestions operationally, financially, emotionally, structurally on how to approach this so that there's the least disturbance amongst the children's well-being, which is what you were voted for. So, unless you guys understand the impact to these
178[applause] students, I ask you vote no and come back with a better plan. Or have the courage to explain why you think it's a great idea. Have a great >> [cheering] >> Um all right, my name's John Converse. I just have a quick question, actually. Uh when did each board member get access to the full detailed budget proposal for next year? I don't know what they're voting What are we voting on right now? I don't think What's on? Hello? Does anyone have it? Are you talking about the resolution that they just introduced? Yeah. Haven't seen it. They gave it in exact session and I left. Okay. So, no no one exactly knows what they're voting Most of you guys are all teachers. No, I just have Yeah, is there a budget available? >> [applause] >>
179What's the plan? Yeah. No, no, no. Is there a detailed budget associated with this plan? Budget? No. Okay. So, maybe I'm unclear about this, but I think that within 48 hours of this meeting, we have to have a budget posted. Is that going to be done? From what I was told, they are not doing anything with a budget until we tell them if we are going to support schools closing. I don't understand how I can vote on something without any details. Correct. No doubt it. Mr. Vader, am I wrong or is that what it was? Your question should be yes. So, what was the question? >> [cheering] [screaming] >> I'm trying to figure out the level of detail that we have available right now in order to vote on this proposal. Wow. >> Is there
180anything beyond what was said in the proposal? I saw like a PowerPoint. Okay, the budget the budget will be prepared based on whether or not this this proposal goes through. >> [cheering] >> Do we have any from the audience? So, the only information available is what's been put out publicly so far, correct? And the Haber report, which is not an independent report. Haber is not an independent consultant. He writes whatever whoever pays him tells him to write. >> [applause] >> Okay, I'm all set. Thank you. >> [applause] >> Hi, Kristen Rooney, Middletown. Um I had something prepared, but um I would be remiss if I didn't address something that just happened here. You had an armed police officer approach parents standing at this podium in front of their children for going over their time for
18130 seconds. An armed officer. That is shameful. My children are watching them. >> [applause] >> I encourage my children to speak out for what they believe in and that's why I'm here. So, showing them that a police officer can approach their parents, who by the way, their kids are in the room. That's a disgrace. You shouldn't even be around children if you think that's okay. I kind of also wanted to just use Dr. Alfons' words to kind of, you know, see why we all feel very strange about being here again. At the April 30th meeting last year, which is why we approved the final budget, Dr. Alfons said, "I'm hoping that everybody sticks around." That didn't age well. Um because this is where it's going to get harder in the sense of work, but it's
182also going to my in my opinion get exciting. Are you excited? Because all of you sitting here tonight obviously have a vested interest in some way, shape, or form and care about this district a great deal. And so do I. I'm sorry, I don't believe you. And the board members, they supposedly do care this much, too, and I do believe some of you do. So, Dr. Alfons goes on to say, "So, we need to be strategic. Ross Haber will do a facilities and boundary analysis, and that'll be a small part of the strategic plan. The report, though, is going to be a big driver of the piece that's financial and facilities and programming, which by the way, Ross Haber didn't do any of that, so I don't know. And um another quote that struck me,
183and made me feel good. Honestly, that last one made me feel good, and a lot of that is still true. We all do care. Some of you obviously don't, and some of you are on your way out the door. So, you should not be making decisions for our children. DR. ALFONS SAID AND THIS MADE ME FEEL GOOD, AND ALSO SHE QUOTED me in that meeting as saying silver linings. Where is it now? I'm a public educator. My heart lies with students, and not touching the student experience is a negative way in a negative way is really, really important to me, as I know it is to all of you. And I want to believe that because I really I really do, deep down. What I want to remind everybody though is what how what's changed
184this last year? Since April 30th last year, our budget deficit now is $3.2 million, which is about 1 and 1/2% of the budget. It's they've had this happen almost every other year before last year. We now also have a superintendent that has one foot out the door, who found a new job, decided to pull a dusty plan out of her moving box, and presented it again, exactly as it was last year, ill-conceived, reckless, and careless. >> Your time is 3 minutes. Okay. Also, I just wanted to say that somebody on the board earlier said that this is not the end, and I also want to say, "Yeah, I think I agree." Because litigation takes a very LONG TIME. SCOTT GERSON, MIDDLETOWN RESIDENT. I'M IN A SOMEWHAT unique position to agree with what Mrs. Rooney just
185said as A TRIAL ATTORNEY. >> [cheering] [applause] >> I'D LIKE TO POLITELY DISAGREE WITH AN EARLIER SPEAKER. I don't believe all of you have made up your minds yet. I believe that some of you will consider every comment that was made by the public tonight. Do us that courtesy at the very least. Put our kids first. Do what is best for our children. You know in your heart that closing Leonardo, Navesink, and Bay Shore is not what's best for our children. Data, facts, evidence severely lacking. What is the plan going to cost? Transportation, construction. You want to talk about the alleged savings, but not about the cost. It makes no sense to move forward WITH THIS. IT'S CLEAR YOU DIDN'T TALK TO YOUR OWN EMPLOYEES, your principals, your special special education teachers. Instead, apparently no
186one. How do you do that? The first speaker brought up the yellow brick road. I suggest you follow the yellow brick road and come up with an actual plan. A plan based on facts, a plan based on data, a plan based on evidence. A plan that puts our children first. I implore you, please do what's best for our children. Take a pause. Take a breath. Figure it out. Be better. DO BETTER. >> [applause and cheering] >> GOOD EVENING. BERNIE DAWES, MIDDLETOWN RESIDENT. Got a son in elementary, middle, and high school. Uh somebody asked me today, uh what's it going to cost to convert uh Bay Shore to an elementary school? It's something that the board hasn't addressed yet. It's a major component of whatever plan this is. Well, I uh spent the afternoon working on
187it, consulting a few um school construction um estimators. And it's going to cost 6 to 7 million dollars just to make it appropriate for an elementary school. And I'm not talking about mechanical, electrical, plumbing upgrades, or or in the infrastructure, the parking lots or any of that. So, um let me help you back into that number. So, if Ms. Dowdy and Ms. Alfone, do do you believe in that Spiezle report? There's $2.6 million on bathroom conversions in that. You defended that report. Um so, you know, all the parents are saying, "Aren't the bathrooms appropriate for littles?" And you all we can upgrade them. Okay, well, how much is that going to cost? Do you have a report that you commissioned that says Bayshore's bathrooms are going to cost $2.6 million to fix up. Now, in
188the construction estimating world, you have MEP, you have site. I just want to talk about FFE, which is fixtures, furniture, and equipment, right? The placeholder on most school budgets for that is $100 per square foot. You're going to have to upgrade about half of Bayshore converting it over to an elementary school. You don't have to do the gym, you don't have to do the cafeteria per se, you don't have to do the hallways, you do the administration offices. But, Leonardo is about 30,000, 35,000 square feet. Leonardo is about 20. Half of Bayshore is about 70,000 square feet. 70,000 square feet times about $100 for FFE is $7 million. All right? Now, let's just say you just move the desks over from Leonardo and Leonardo and you do it on the cheap, you still have to
189build cubbies, some of those damn things with the hooks in the back. Those things are not going to get ripped out of the buildings and replaced. You're going to have to buy them, all right? $50 a square foot, you're around $5 or $6 million before you upgrade the building. That's just for conversion. So, I'll submit that as your draft budget and let you come back to me and tell me WHERE I'M WRONG. >> [cheering] [applause] >> YOUR PLACEHOLDER BUDGET FOR CONVERSION [applause] FFE estimate is about $6 million, which wipes out your first 2 years of savings. THANK YOU. >> [cheering and applause] >> YOU KNOW, IT'S LATE. GOOD EVENING, ROSHAN SHAH, Little uh Little Rock. Let me start by stating the obvious, which is the reason we're having this vote today is because somewhere along
190the way between last week and this week, somebody took a straw poll and you realized you have the votes. Uh and I think that is a political question, right? Or the politician's question. Do I have the votes? Uh there's nothing wrong with that question. That's part of the process. But let me offer you some questions from a voter's perspective and a litigator's perspective. That's some questions that I think are also salient. When you're sued over this decision you're about to make, what are your emails going to show? What are your text messages going to show? What are the documents and the memos between Middletown Township Board of Education and Mr. Haber's office going to show? How was Dr. Alfone going to do on the stand? How was Ross Haber going to perform on the stand?
191I think all of these are salient questions that I'm sure your board attorney will tell you, "Yeah, that's going to be important based on what happens in the litigation with the outcome of the litigation is." And I don't know the answer to those questions. Well, I think I know about Mr. Haber. I don't know the answer to those questions. I don't know what's in your emails, your text messages, or your private communications. But you do. And if those things come out, and they will, right? Yes. When those things come out, are they going to paint this decision in a corrupt light? If they are, then what I would ask you to do is go back to executive session, talk about it for 15 minutes, come back, and vote no ON THIS RESOLUTION. >> [applause and
192cheering] [applause] >> HI, MY NAME IS JEFF LETTER, I'm a Middletown resident. Um, I want to reinforce some of the things that we said. For those of you who think this is a good plan, if we want to eliminate corruption from the options, the only thing is that you think that this is fiscally responsible. And I don't understand how you come to that conclusion if you haven't done a full budgetary analysis that includes all the costs that will be incurred that counteract the annualized cost savings. Annualized cost savings are a good idea. There've been a lot of them sourced from the community. You have no idea if you're actually going to have $3.5 million annualized savings. You might incur an additional $1 million in annualized cost because of this plan, but you don't know because
193you haven't run the numbers. I don't know if any of you have ever worked in a corporation before, but you don't create you don't decide on something with no recourse to change it in the future without having all the information. Some of you are supposed to be businessmen. I would hate to work for a company that you ran. Woo! For those of you who are on the board who are maybe undecided, who maybe have not heard uh or have been listening to the community and what we want, specifically Miss uh I'm sorry, what's your name again? Miss Galasky and Miss Weinstein, if you really haven't been in private meetings about this, I ask you to use your heart for the students, for everyone who came out and spoke to you about how horrible it's going
194to be for them, but I also ask you to use your head because this plan does not make sense on paper. It's going to cost us more money. The million dollars in bussing, all of the extra things we're going to need to deal with all the students, all the things to upgrade the schools. This will be more expensive, flat out. And I could tell you how much if you published a budget. That's all, but again, we're looking to you, too. Please, please do something sensible and please do something that your community will be proud of. >> [applause] >> Proclamation, uh, Read Across America Day. Whereas, Read Across America is a national celebration of reading sponsored by the National Education Association that promotes reading in adult involvement in the education of our community students. Now, therefore,
195be it resolved that the Middletown Township Board of Education does hereby recognize March 2nd, 2026 as Read Across America Day, and be it further resolved that the Middletown Township Board of Education calls on citizens of Middletown to celebrate reading by engaging in programs and activities that allow the children of Middletown to be the strongest readers they can be. I'll just do I'll just do the calendar adjustments. Um, just the calendar adjustment. So, we have had, obviously, several weather events that have caused us to close school. So, we will now be in session on Monday, April 6th, and Friday, May 22nd, which is an early dismissal day. Um, we had two snow days built in or weather-related days built in. Um, we used three. So, our last day for staff and students, as of now, will
196be June 22nd, barring any additional closures. We're going to wait out the month and put it on next month's agenda just in case we get some more weather next week. Um, but you know, that's where it stands right now. Unfortunately, we cannot have um students in on June 19th because we must observe the Juneteenth celebration day. So, that bumps us to Monday, June 22nd as of now. I need a motion to approve the minutes, items 8A through D. So moved. Second. Discussion? All in favor? Aye. Aye. Opposed? Abstentions? Okay, I need a motion to approve 9A, policy second reading adoption. So moved. Second. Discussion? All in favor? Aye. Opposed? Abstentions? Need a motion to approve item 9B, acceptance of a donation. So moved. Second. Discussion? All in favor? Aye. Need a motion to approve 9C,
197which is a resolution authorizing the closing of Leonardo Elementary School, and Madison Elementary [clears throat] School, and the direct submission of required assurances and approvals to the New Jersey Division of Administration and Finance and the Executive County Superintendent of Monmouth County. Is there a motion? I would like to make a motion to to take it off the table. >> [applause and cheering] [applause] >> You have a motion to table. Second. Can we amend the motion to come up with a plan? Well, if we table it, that's what you would have to do. You have to come up with a plan. So, table it is the way to go. And how soon can we get a new date for this? Well, as we talked about in the uh I I before the board really needs to
198give direction to the administration to have prepared the tenant budget, whether to include closed schools or not. But, the tenant budget needs to be prepared. There's a motion to table right now that's been seconded. So, the motion on the floor is Ms. Minnucci's motion. Are we able to have discussion? Yeah. Yeah. We have a motion and a second on the table. There's now a discussion. Correct. So, what is the plan that you're looking for? Ms. Levy, what do you want? I would like a detailed plan on not a detailed plan, but at least a Please, I I I respected everyone tonight. I really genuinely >> [applause] >> Um a detailed plan on an expected amount of an expected date of when the transition is going to start. Um when teachers could start moving out of
199classroom. Um What about finances? What about mental health? Cuz right now we don't have a financial uh plan on it. And I'd also like to add in something with security. Um something that the kids brought up that I didn't think of with trailers just like we brought in school going in trailers. No, I'm saying that if there are trailers or there are other things that are going to help accommodate 1,000 students being inside these buildings and then we are going to have to build onto them. There is a chance there may be trailers. What I wanted to bring that in was has anyone here been in an actual active shooter situation? Please listen to her. >> I have. And it was this year with my students. And we were outside and we are not guaranteeing
200that these children may or may not be outside. And until we have that clear plan, we cannot have a secure knowledge of what we're planning [applause] on doing. >> [applause] >> I really need to take this into consideration. Is there any valid uh evidence to the fact of trailers? We've had kids in Thompson with 1,100 kids and there were no trailers. We don't have Is there anything Is there anything that was said by our superintendent or our B A as to putting trailers on the schools? >> When I asked for specific classroom for our superintendent She's speaking to the Please let that let them have the conversation, please. She's speaking to someone else. What I was going to say was, when I asked for a specific plan for where these classrooms are I'm asking if
201the superintendent has ever said that we are building trailers on middle schools. Sure. And then Stop! And then I'll continue my thought. I can't get an answer. I'm waiting. You can get your question answered and then I'll answer mine. I'll ask mine. Guys, we really need to have a conversation up here, so All right. So, where we are right now Mr. Chair Wait. There's a motion [clears throat] on the floor to table. That was seconded. There's discussion on that motion. Okay. And then Ms. Tabacco asked a question to Dr. Alfano. And then I'm sorry. I was No, Ms. Tabacco. Uh I'm sorry, Jess. Uh Ms. Torres said that there's trailers being put in Thompson and there were a thousand middle school and I asked if there were any plans because I know that my kids
202were in Thompson and there was 1,100 kids and there were no trailers. So, I've gotten calls and I've seen Facebook posts about this trailers and active shooter and kids crying and it is there's no basis of fact for that. No, what I So, my question was and my specific question was, do we have a classroom layout of where these classrooms are going to go, especially considering the special ed classrooms, that there are going to be necessary There's more necessary space when you are putting these programs into those buildings, right? So, my question is, do we have that information and if that is if we are going to be having these specific programs in there, you're going to need more space. So, I'm asking if that is the case, and we don't have that information. I
203was bringing up a point of order saying that we don't have enough information, and I was also bringing the fact of what reality is going to school now. Thank you. >> [applause] >> So, so right now Put it to motion. She made a motion. There is a motion to table that has been discussed. So, there might be a motion, a separate motion, if Ms. Minueza is willing to withdraw her motion to table. What would be the separate motion? Well, I would actually move what we discussed before is the alternate resolution, which I move now Wait, [clears throat] wait, wait, wait. I need to withdraw. So, Ms. Minueza's motion to table is currently pending. If she agrees to voluntarily withdraw that motion, then you can make your motion. Can I hear her motion first? No. All
204right, I'll withdraw. Okay, I'll withdraw. Mr. Suber, I'm asking you to second that motion. Are you okay with >> the withdrawal. Now, Ms. Wright. Yes, so I would make a motion now that we reject the proposed closing of Leonardo Elementary School and Nita Sent Elementary School and direct the administration to prepare the 2026-2027 school year budget WITHOUT SCHOOL CLOSING. >> [cheering] >> I'M SORRY, MR. SUBER. SECOND. SECOND. SO, there is a Excuse me. We've got a motion No. No, I'm just saying So, motion and a second on the floor. Now, discussion on the mo- the motion to not close Leonardo and Navesink and prepare the budget based on that for the 2026-2027 school year. That's the motion on the floor. So, this will still be on the table, correct? No. No. Not if this is
205voted on and approved. This is then the direction that the administration will take as it was laid out in the executive session. >> [clears throat] >> Please. Please. Let Let No, you can't. Don't push Please stop. Do not push me up against the wall. Please stop. Please. So, we have a motion and a second on Mrs. Wright's motion. So, it's discussion. Does anybody have any questions on Mrs. Wright's motion? Okay. Roll call. Mr. Mrs. Manley. Yes. Mrs. Skolaski. No. Mr. Saporaski. >> Yes. Mrs. Tabacco. No. Mrs. Torres. Yes. Mrs. Weinstein. No. Mrs. Wright. Yes. Mr. Capone. No. Mr. Arfmann. No. Okay. Now, do we have any other motions? I'd like to make a motion to TABLE IT. EXACTLY. MAY I THERE'S NO THERE'S NO MOTION, HONEY, to do a motion to table right now. Why?
206Does the resolution Because nobody's made a motion. The last motion just failed. The last Which one? I just made a motion to table it. Yeah, but what What are we tabling? There's no motion on the floor right now. No, I see. Table 9C. No. 9C doesn't have anything to There was a really consideration on 9C to not close schools. Right. That failed. That failed. I motion to vote on 9C. I made a motion to table 9C. Okay. And I seconded it before that. All right. So, now we have a motion for 9C to approve the closure of Navesink School. >> [cheering] >> Mr. Mack, who just made the motion? My motion was first. for that What are you One second. Hold on a second. What is she making a motion to table? That's what I'm
207saying. There was no motion to Yes, she did. No, the board voted on Ms. Wright's motion. That failed. Right. And then I made the motion to table it again. There's nothing to table. It failed. >> So, I made the motion. The motion failed. So, And there's a new motion by There's a new motion now by Mr. Babco, seconded up by Mr. Capuano to close. Hang on. Hang on. If you want to have a subsidiary motion to table that, you can do that. >> No, but you're missing the point. I made the I made the motion first again after that one failed to table it. There's nothing to table because that motion failed. To table 9C? That was 9C. Oh my god. I I made a motion after it failed to table it. Mr. Babco If
208there is no 9C, then why are we voting? And this is a There's a There's a motion to put it back on by Mr. Babco. >> There is nothing to table at this point. Somebody can make a motion now. There is nothing right now on the floor pending to table. Do another motion? >> Yeah. I I make another motion to vote on 9C. 9C. Is there a second? Please. Let Let us Your motion is a resolution authorizing the closing of Leonardo and Davidson. Okay. Is there a second Is there a second on it? Second. So, the motion is second. Now. You want to make a motion to table that motion again? >> [applause] >> Okay. There's a motion to table Ms. Tobacco's motion to close Davidson and Leonardo. Is there a second on Ms. Minue's
209motion to table? Second. Second by Ms. Sobraski. Discussion? Roll call, Ms. Doughty, on the motion to table Ms. Tobacco's motion. Ms. Minue. Yes. Ms. Galaski. No. Ms. Sobraski. Yes. Ms. Tobacco. No. Ms. Torres. Ms. Torres. Yes. Ms. Weinstein. No. Ms. Wright. Yes. Mr. Capano. No. Mr. Abita. No. Why? You're failing our kids. The motion to table fails. Now, there is a motion to close Navy Sink and Leonardo that's currently on the floor. May I have a statement? >> We have a discussion. Last discussion. I urge the people that were hearing the comments and the concerns of this community for the first time, we these are the exact same concerns that were there last year that are still not addressed. And I heard what that gentleman said at the end about litigation. And we need to
210understand that if we go through with this you are wasting taxpayer dollars because we are going to spend a whole lot more than 3.7 or 5 or whatever the number is today million dollars in closing these schools. I appreciate those of you that are still listening. What? Mrs. Torres, if we are sued, do you have insurance? Jackie, this isn't a piggy bank. Not your piggy bank. Our children are not your piggy bank. For all those lawsuits. All right, we have a motion and discussion. Please don't interrupt. Please don't Can you please have a moment of Please. Please stop. Stop it. Kick us all out. Let's go. This is unbelievable. >> [cheering] >> Really? >> We need to have decorum. Mrs. Menuez This This dereliction of of your duty. >> [cheering] [cheering] >> Before I vote,
211I just want to make a comment that it is irresponsible at best to be putting any sort of plan in this in place when we have a superintendent that's leaving and we have nobody driving the ship. So, anybody voting yes for this obviously didn't hold up to their oath. No. >> [cheering] >> Yes. Yes. I need a motion to approve items A through G on the business So moved. You're a disgrace. Is there a motion on the second? We have a motion second. Discussions? What are we voting on? 10? What are we voting? A through G. No. G. On the business office consent agenda. I'm voting no on all the bill list. We should be freezing spending and employees. >> No. >> Mrs. Minoudis I thank you for staying. We're doing a I was asked
212to do a roll call on items A through G. This is obviously a different And that's the bill list, right? Well, the bill list is >> I'm voting no on all the bills. So, you're yes, but on everything but no on D. No on D. Okay. And is that it? Are there any other no? No, that's it. Oh, and I'm also voting no on Mr. Padula's bills. Well, that's on the bill list. So, you're only no on that and that's it. Okay. Um Mrs. Golembeski I'm a no on the bills. And yes on everything else? Yes. Okay. Mr. Sabrowski No. On everything? On everything. Okay. Mrs. Tabaka Yes. Mrs. Torres No on the bills. All right. Mrs. Weinstein Yes. Mrs. Wright I'm a yes except to the bills pertaining to Mr. Padula. I'm sorry, the
213bills pertaining to Mr. Padula. Mr. Capone Yes. Mr. Abita Yes. Need a motion to approve item items 11 A through K and L 1 through 28. So, move under personnel. Second. Can I have a discussion on one item, please? Yes. Um as for next year's school calendar, I'm and again trying to have uh a winter like this, probably the percentage of that happening next year is low, but I'm just curious as to why there was only one snow day built into the calendar instead of two like we had this year. That was the decision of the committee. Um the majority of the committee felt that there was only there only should be one weather day built in. All right. Well, I mean I actually think that it worked well this year um and unfortunately with
214an additional storm now we have to go through the weekend and our last day is now Monday the 22nd of June. I actually think it would be better for us to actually build in two more snow days in next year's calendar. It's just my opinion. I agree. What were their reasoning for only putting one? The committee the majority of the committee wanted that weather This is done by a committee. >> Did they Did they say why? Just they wanted They just wanted to have more days tied to school. They didn't want to have kind of lingering things. Um even though, you know, because the trend isn't for us to have a snowy winter. Um so but I do agree we are rolling the dice because you know, we put this We built in the weather
215days last year and it seemed to work out well for us. Um you know, we could always This calendar, even if we approve it tonight, we could always amend it. We amend our calendar all the time, so we could have further discussion if we wanted to add additional snow days. But I think at least so the public knows um when the school holidays are. I think it's important that we probably at least approve this iteration and then if we want to add any days that we can. That sounds like a deliberate decision. contemplate and discuss Yeah. Please don't shout from I said I I was in that meeting. I think there were a lot of working parents in there and they didn't want a lot of extra holidays in the calendar and they would rather
216But if But if we do have snow days, you're going to defer it anyway. >> Well, they would have to add it to the end of the year, but I think it was a lot of inconvenience to have random days that weren't actual holidays in the business schedule. Not as inconvenient Wait. Interesting. How is it interesting? We were waiting for a vote. Um where are we on Item 11 A through K and personal items. 1 through 20 and through 28. Any other discussion? Roll call. Mrs. Manley. I am voting on 11 A. No on the yeses and yes on no. No on the yeses. That's only on 11 A. I'll vote for that. Okay. Yes on everything else? Yes. Mrs. Galaski. Yes. Mr. Sawicki. >> No. Mrs. Tabacco. Yes. >> [snorts] >> Mrs. Torres. Yes.
217Mrs. Weinstein. Yes. Mrs. Wright. Yes. Mr. Capone. Yes. Mr. Almeida. Yes. Old business. Any old business? New business? Yeah, I got some new business. I think this board should call on the town to share some of the pilot money that they've received throughout the years that they're not contributing to the school district. There's been several developments that have been erected around town. We're not getting the money from it. The township is, but yet we're providing bussing and seats in the classroom for these kids. And I'm calling on the board president and the board vice president to go to the township and ask them to share the pilot money with us similar to neighboring towns that they have done. I think and as I suggested in executive session, that should be step one before closing schools.
218Don't be scared to go talk to the town. They helped you guys get elected. Go talk to them and say, "Why don't you help us out?" The shared services meeting scheduled for next week. >> Okay, so in shared services, talk to them about sharing the pilot money and also paying for our classroom officers, which part of the original deal is they were going to pay for it and they've since gone back on it. So, why don't you hold them to it? If you were the one that was supposed I I would like to speak to them about shared services. I am going to be out of town because I do have a family event next Thursday, so I would like to recommend that either Mrs. Wright or Mr. Sabrawski take my place on shared services
219because we really weren't consulted that this was the date and I said even in facilities and finance, I wasn't available that day. So, I can't change my plans and I won't for my family. I don't do that. >> You know what I'm asking you to do. So, I would like to have Mrs. Wright or Mr. Sabrawski take my place. I'd be happy to. Cuz I don't want to hold the meeting up. But I think Mr. Sabrawski should. I think that's a great idea. I second that motion. I second. No, it's not a motion. Yeah, but no If I miss this meeting, then you can go. Who's going to attend in your place? Mr. Sabrawski or is it No, Mrs. Wright first, right? You said yes. Yeah, I'm happy to go. All right, so it's Wright,
220it's Ms. Torres, myself, and Mr. Capano. Thank you because I can't change my plans. Is Is March 5th good for you? That's fine. That's fine. Same here. Do you have something to say? It's March 5th. Next Thursday. Actually, maybe better if you Mark it on your calendar. Okay, so we missed this opportunity. Any other new business? Uh if I have something to say as a parent, do I say it as a board member up here or do I have to do it after public comment? It's new board business. So I'm asking if I have something to say about what was just passed, do I say it in new business as a board member here or do I have to walk down and do it for public comment? New business is to introduce [clears throat] >>
221Mr. Burns, Mr. Bagwell. If it's as a parent, not as a board member, I would suggest stepping up to the mic during public comment. You got it. So do you have to wait till public comment or can you speak? Yes. Sorry, this is new business or old? Um yeah, I I'm I'm going to reiterate some old business because I didn't have um Thompson's information. While we still have a crowd here, we have some plays coming up this month in March. Thompson is The Little Mermaid. It's on March 11th at 3:00 p.m. and the 12th and the 13th at 7:00 p.m. Thorn is Descendants, March 14th at 4:00 p.m., the 16th, 17th, and 18th at 7:00 p.m. Bayshore is Grease Junior, April 30th and May 1st at 7:00 p.m. North is Once Upon a Mattress, March
22213th and 14th, and on the 14th they're having a 1:00 p.m. and a 7:00 p.m. South is doing Guys and Dolls, March 12th, 13th, and 14th at 7:00 p.m. And for board members, we did get an email today with that invitation. So I hope everybody goes out and supports our schools. That's all I have. Okay, anything else on old business or new business? Okay. I'd now like to open up to public comment, 3 minutes. 3 minutes. Time limit. Please state your name >> [clears throat] >> for the record. Devon Rafferty, Leonardo. Well, boy, you guys have a lot of work to do. You are now in the middle of a major redistricting and trying to get a referendum passed all while searching for a superintendent. Who's leading that process? Answer. Crickets. That's what I thought.
223No leadership. The only thing you guys are missing are big red noses. Order, order. Let's maintain order. Okay. So, that answered my first question. Thank you. Second, um Dr. Alfano, what is the district use for benchmarking student growth success? Uh we have a digital platform that has a benchmarking assessment. At the elementary, what do you use? Same thing. What's the name of it? I-Ready. I-Ready. Right. And is there a secondary benchmarking tool? In the middle school, yes. Okay. At the elementary, is there? What? Is there at the elementary? Yeah. Okay. It's I-Ready, right? Okay. So, if we were to make a motion that would get rid of I-Ready, would we then be able to benchmark student growth success? We do have other mechanisms that we use. >> Other mechanisms kind of what? Okay. For example,
224for exit elementary, DIBELS assessment. Right. And the one that you report to the state is? The state? Which one do you report for Well, for your own report? standardized state assessment, NJSLA and NJGPA. Okay. So, if you were to get rid of I-Ready, you would be basically getting rid of the premier benchmarking student assessment metric that you use. Correct? One of them, yes. Yeah, okay. Reason why I ask is I remember at the initial Haywood report, somebody who's new to the board made a motion to get rid of the primary district's student growth benchmarking tool and then didn't realize there wasn't really a backup plan. Welcome to the big leagues. My third question is Mr. Abetta, Yes. do you have any qualifications in finance whatsoever? In what? Finance. You're the president of the finance committee
225on this board, correct? Why am I qualified? What are your qualifications to be looking at finance? None. Okay. Thank you. I'm going to be seeing you very very frequently and I hope you enjoy the many many years of bench work ahead and the pat on the head. Thank you. Aaron Torres, Middletown. I kind of like this because what I've been asking for is to be able to see the faces of the people that I'm having the conversation with. Now it's personal. I have a 5-year-old entering kindergarten who may or may not be able to start in the school with her sister in September in a place where she may not reach the toilet if there are toilets, if it's done in time, because we still don't have a plan. I am disgusted. I cannot stand
226the fact that we sat here, we had all of these different things that we've been talking about, and there are five people up here that had no Good word, cuz it was much better than the one I had at this time. To even speak except to make little comments here and there asking about a I don't know limit. Asking about if it's even real that there's trailers, asking about if it if it's real that we're out here talking about it. You don't know what it's like to live day-to-day in a school. All you care about are the people that donated to your campaign that are in your ear telling you that your taxpayers should deserve this. And that is not our role as board members. We are liaisons between the district and the community and
227the community and the district back to the taxpayers of the town. That is why we have a separate school board from the town council. That is why we control this budget and that is a dereliction of your duty if you are working with other people to make it your way. >> [applause] >> Jeff Middleton Town resident. I'm going to ask the same question that I asked before, which was again, thank you for telling us why that was a terrible plan. I agree with with a lot of what you said, but for those of you who voted that this was a great plan, I still have not heard from one of you as to why the plan is a good plan. Ms. Kolaski, I know it's a really difficult decision. I don't envy that you have
228to make it, but could you do us the [clears throat] courtesy of telling us why you think this is a good plan? Thank you. I would ask I would ask everyone else to to answer as well, but I don't think that I'll get an answer. I was actually going to read something prior to my vote. I don't know if anyone cares at this point to listen to it. >> No. Yeah, we're still here. We need you against the wall, remember? No. I'm just going to make believe I never announced my vote, but um before I announce my vote, I wanted to take this opportunity by expressing my sincere appreciation for the time, effort, and heart that so many members of our community have poured into advocating for their school. The outpouring of love and support
229from families, staff, and residents have been powerful and reinforces why this is such a special town. What I have seen throughout this process is not just passion for individual schools, but deep love for our children and our sense of community. That commitment has truly been incredible to witness. I also want to say this clearly, especially for the people who continue to frame this as a north versus south side. We are one community. [snorts] Please. I respected you. Please. But I respected you when you spoke. Please let us speak. Families across this town are fighting for what they believe in, and I truly believe that that that comes from a place of love, concern, and commitment. Even when we disagree, we all share the care for our children, schools, and community, which should matter more than
230division. Let me be very clear. I have no personal agenda. Have not been persuaded by either side of this. I have heard everyone, and have not met individually or have had private group meetings. I have said this many times before. I vote individually, whether or not some of you believe this. This has been very difficult as someone who is involved, and a strained with decision for me. And a decision that I have not taken lightly. My family, my personal family, my children have been neglected. I understand and respect how deeply everyone feel, and I have worked hard to listen, reflect, and respond to the email. But I also believe that something needs to be done. In making this decision, I have taken into careful consideration how school closures I don't know. Sorry, I was I'm
231sorry, I was In making this decision, I have taken into careful consideration how school closures would affect our children, their stability, their routine, their communities, and their overall overall well-being. I have also taken into consideration how raising taxes again would affect the broader community, including families, seniors, and residents who are feeling the financial strain. Because last year, I voted no to close schools. This decision has weighed heavily on me, and I know the outcome will be difficult for many. I have always come from a good place and will continue to do so. I know it's not easy I know it's easier said than done, but my hope is that regardless of where we stand, we move forward as one community with respect for one another and a shared commitment to do what's best for our
232children. Continuing to delay difficult decisions only increases uncertainty and can create even greater challenges for our students, family, and community in the long run. After taking this all to account and with full understanding of the weight of my decision, I voted yes. And I'm sorry. Well, Mr. Grandel if you were sorry, you wouldn't have wrote that before you listened to all the parents speak. Given >> [applause] >> Given you had it written out before the meeting started. I don't want to cut into my time, please. Given the serious concerns surrounding this vote, the troubling optics, the rushed timeline, the lack of clear data, and the continued refusal to fully answer questions, I believe the public deserves better. Transparency and accountability are not optional. When decisions of this magnitude are made without clear facts and open
233dialogue, it erodes trust. The New Jersey School Ethics Act is very clear. Board members must not only act Board members must not avoid not only actual conflicts, but reasonably expected to impair I'm sorry. I'm like so shaking right now. The New Jersey Ethics Act is very clear. Board members must not avoid not only actual conflicts of interest, but also any actions that might reasonably be expected to impair their judgment, objectivity, independence, or judgment. I know I said this before, but now I'm asking members of the community, if you believe that this standard is not being met, then we have a right to file an ethics complaint. The process takes time, but ethics matter, public trust matters, accountability matters. Those people on that side, they care a lot about politics. They spend a lot of time
234on Fox News. They spend a lot of time. If they have a lot of ethics complaints, none of their cronies are going to want to do business with them. I also want to say that even though a vote was made, members of the public absolutely have the right to write to the county superintendent and express opposition to a school closure in New Jersey. I urge everybody to write to them. They review the district's submission, they make a recommendation to the NJDOE, and they evaluate enrollment capacity, physical input, and equity concerns. I think that this plan not only doesn't take into consideration any of these things, IT ACTUALLY HIGHLIGHTS ALL THE PROBLEMS with these three things. So, if everybody can take a minute and please file an ethics complaint, and also write to the county superintendent.
235Thank you. >> [applause] >> Scott McPherson, Middletown resident. How do I explain this vote that happened tonight to my fourth grader and seventh grader? I understand that it's my job as a parent to do that, but how am I going to put this into words to explain it to them? This fight, and thank you all for staying, this fight's not over. That litigation that was mentioned, oh, it's coming. And that individual who spoke, he talked about emails, he talked about text messages. He said to have a real thought about it. And someone who's dealt with electronic evidence before, metadata, it's a real thing. I didn't think I'd be at a loss for words up here, but I kind of am. There's a certain board member or board members who have said, "Well, it's just two
236tiny little schools. It's just the parents of two tiny little schools." It was clear tonight that it wasn't just the parents of two tiny schools. There was a lot of schools that were represented here tonight. >> This fight's not over. First, everyone everyone in this room, everyone watching at home, email the county superintendent. Send them letters. Reach out to the county superintendent. He's the one that needs to approve this. You need to tell them that this was not done based on facts, on data, on evidence. You didn't even look into how much it's going to cost for the extra busing, for the construction, how long it's going to take. And what are you going to do if litigation's filed, and then you're stuck and you start moving things, and a judge will somewhere along the
237line, 1 year or 2 years from now, says, "Well, you shouldn't have done that. You couldn't have done that." How do you want to explain that? How much does that cost? Be better, do better. Eric Dowal, Middletown resident, and at this point I think I'm talking to an audience that is not up on that stage, but I encourage everybody to listen. People in the community can feel it. I think at least some of you can, too. This is a Pandora's Box that you do not want to open. It still can be fixed. That lid can still be put on. If this goes through, Middletown will never be the same. We've noticed all the schools are on the north side, including the ones you're going to close 1 year later. And this is what town elders
238have been trying to avoid for generations. And if anyone is being told that schools will close, and that the affected citizens will go home and eventually forgive and forget, that reflects ignorance of human nature and ignorance of human history. Human nature, if an army tries to save something, they fight the good fight, and that that thing is not saved, they do go home, and they grab their torches and their pitchforks. Does anybody want this? Human history, if a community pays all lot in taxes, more and more and more, and gets nothing tangible in return, what does history tell us? Do we really want this? We don't. Let me give you an example of a conversation that will happen very soon. Parents from Navesink will be sitting next to parents from Lincroft at a travel baseball
239game. And they'll ask a fair question. Hey, we heard you guys sent an email to a certain board member based on a text message that was flying around Lincroft based on lies to scare up fearmongering and encouraging that board member to close, quote, those two little schools up north. Did you guys send that text message? Did you guys send that email? How do you think that conversation's going to go? And how do you think versions of that conversation are going to go for the next decade? Anybody who thinks they can wake up tomorrow and preach, "Okay, we're one Middletown." Good luck stitching that back together if this is not fixed very quickly. We are about to descend into a very scary place that this town has been trying to avoid for as long as anybody
240can remember. I know there are people out there that care deeply about Middletown and could do something about it. So, we hope we get a very different piece of news next week. Thank you. >> [applause] >> I'm Rob Torres. My wife's uh on the board here. Uh from Lincroft. Um I I know that any of you quite understand or have been through. I don't know your life stories. I don't know where you've been, what your past was, where you were growing up. I don't know that any of you have actually gone through the experience of what you're doing right now. I have. I moved around quite a bit. My dad was in the army, and for many reasons we moved around, my family moved around. It had a profound impact on me. Profound, all right?
241And I felt lost. I was a different person until I found a school that made me feel like home. And >> [clears throat] >> when I bought my house, where we're we're living now, >> [snorts] >> I did it because I wanted to make sure that my kids had a stable school system, that they never have to experience what I went through. And I am so frustrated and disappointed that I have to go home to my daughters who loves her school so much. She loves Neighbors School. You robbed her of that. You robbed her of that. She loves her teachers. She's so kind and smart and talented. And while my wife and I have a lot to do with that, those teachers That administration Please make eye contact. This is what we do. That administration
242They have helped my child feel safe and happy. A home, and you're taking that from her. And you're taking the experience for her to go to school with her sisters and her siblings. And you're putting her into an uncertainty because you guys DON'T HAVE A PLAN. YOU DON'T KNOW WHAT YOU'RE DOING. ANYBODY who's anybody who's doing this for the right reasons would see that this is wrong. It is wrong. You're making these decisions for the wrong reasons. You do not make a decision like this with so many unanswered questions from the public that you know yourself that there are no answers to. And whether it's through incompetence or through corruption or both, that is the only explanation for this decision. There is no logical reason that this decision would have been made with the facts
243presented and the lack of facts that were identified. And the fact that we are in this position and I now have to go home to my kids and explain that to them crushes me. So, to all of you who make light of this and make smart comments and think this is a game, shame on you. >> [applause] >> Williamstown uh There were a lot of questions asked tonight and I actually I had planned to ask the same questions, but because it was so obvious to so many people the unanswered questions, I didn't have to. There were questions around how do we measure academic success of closing these schools? Why do we think this will drive academic success? How do we understand if this will actually save us any money or if we're creating more costs
244that are even higher than the cost savings? There was Why do we think it's okay to put 120% capacity in the middle schools? Why do we think that they will get a good education? Why do we think that they will be safe? And the answer repeatedly was, "I don't know." But what I heard was, "I don't care." Because you still voted for it without having any of the answers. If you cared if the schools would be overpopulated and the kids would be safe, you would have tabled it or you would have voted no. You would have said, "Work on the budget. Come on, do the numbers. Get it Get dirty. Get Figure out. Take some of these suggestions. Take a minute." But instead you said, "I don't care that we don't know the academic impact,
245the safety impact, the financial impact of these decisions. Let's just do it anyway." That was the decision that was made tonight, and it is very important that everyone understands that we didn't say, "I don't know." We said, "I don't care." >> [applause] >> Hi. I'm Katie Leonardo. Um okay. So just so I understand what happens next or maybe the rest of us. So now you actually put together a budget. This was the idea of we can't put a budget together because we don't know if we're closing schools. So when will this actual new budget be presented? You have until March 27th. Okay. So you have until March 27th. And when this projected uh and when the projected construction costs, new bussing, costs of moving, summer overtime for teachers who have to pack their classrooms and
246move show to be more than the 3 million deficit, will there be another option to reverse and come up with a real plan that works? No. No. Okay. And since this was also based on projections of next year at $6 million overage and the next year it's $10 million overage. Will this next budget address how those millions will not come up for discussion in the following years? It will have to come up for discussion in the following years. No, you you sold this that we were $3 million over and that it would be $6 million next year and $10 million $10 million the following if we don't do something. Right. And that something will So now we're doing something. So if it doesn't do that Why? One singular thing. It has to continue to do
247All I'm saying is that we as the parents got to be the town's punching bag for raising taxes last year to save schools. I can't imagine the pain you will feel for failing us and costing taxpayers more for closing them and not CLOSING THIS BUDGET. >> [applause] >> DO YOU REALIZE HOW SILLY YOU LOOK, RIGHT? Kristen Wolfram Middletown resident. I wasn't going to speak tonight because I really thought that this was going to go differently. Let me be very clear. We are not one Middletown. Last year, I met with Dr. Alfano, Amy. We gave you real data with closing the schools. You just made Middletown South area richer and Middletown North poorer socially disadvantaged. We gave you those numbers. You didn't listen. You just brought this on yourself. We are not one Middletown. You broke
248it. You all broke it. You did not come together. If we were one Middletown, our board would be one Middletown and we're not. >> [applause] >> Hey Gosha, uh Middletown. I wasn't planning on speaking either, but it's a sad day unfortunately for all of us. It's a sad day for kids and I think I need to remind you why we are here. We are here to invest in our kids. Our kids are our future. It doesn't matter what you do here or there. The kids We here for kids. And if you are there on the board as a volunteers, agree? Nobody forced you to be there. You made your conscious decision to step in and serve our kids. I don't see how you serving our kids. Again, we have a new We need the leadership.
249In this position, if you decided to step in, you need to be a leader. We are now a laughing stock of New Jersey, of Monmouth County, of I don't know. The whole county. Look across the board. A town next to us. We don't need to look far away. I'm from Poland originally. We don't need to look to Poland. We can look to Holmdel. Look what Holmdel has done. They put their kids first. How? They work with the township. I don't need a mayor to go and cut the ribbon to open a building. I need a mayor to step in and work with our board. Where is the mayor now? We closing schools. He's nowhere to be seen. Shouldn't be he involved involved in that decision-making? Is he putting why we have no cooperation? Why? Why
250are we so quiet? We making decisions without consideration of the under underlying problems. First of all, closing schools is not a solution. Our problem is actually overspending. >> [applause] >> If we don't actually cut our waste and spend less, we we can close all the schools and we still going to be over budget. With the way we managing the money, there is mismanagement. There is no You should be providing a budget A and budget B. There is no budget whatsoever. We have to rein in our spending. Okay, a few years ago, and correct me if I'm wrong, that's the question for administration. We switched our health insurance. Is that correct? To self-insured district. Yes? Okay. So, um I believe this were good intentions. I don't believe anyone had bad intentions to do it. Did it
251promise to save us money? Did it happen over the last few years? Did we save money on that switch? Every year we save money? Oh, I'm I'm I'm asking questions. Did we If your budget was 30 million, did we stay within that budget? Or did Are we now 10% over the budget with the health costs? That's my question. Are we over the budget or not? Yes. I'm hearing we are. So, we're not controlling our spending. Until you can take a control of our spendings and re-evaluate your decisions, we're never going to dig our ourselves out of the hole, financial hole. You can close all the schools and we're going to be back here again every single year. Control your spending. Closing schools is not the solution. Hi, Michelle Zorianci. My two kids are in La
252Canada. I actually have a question mainly directed at Amy. Instead of just doing one budget, like in most normal corporations, can you do multiple budgets and then provide them to the board to actually vote on and maybe take things from each budget to piece it actually together how any other corporation would work. I mean, that's what I do almost every day in my day job and I work a lot of hours to get it done. Can we do that? And then Chris, I really would love for you to explain what your finance credentials are. I'm very confused. He was elected. I know, but he's president of the finance. Maybe just go through everyone's. Credentials. I love that idea. But can you maybe can you explain to them what independence means? Maybe you need to give
253them a lesson. But it's not just an appearance, right? Or on paper. It's how people view you. You guys really need to do better here, honestly. [snorts] And as someone who I don't have the time to pour into Middletown public schools and I wish I did because my kids are here and they're what matters. I'm very upset to see that this is how this is run. And looking in at the finance department, I think there's a lot better out there. Emily Donahue, Middletown resident. Um definitely wasn't going to speak tonight, but um you asked us to trust you. You said the kids come first. You said this is a new beginning. I'm just going to wait till I have attention. You have broken your oath. You have broken law, rules, process. You chose this. If
254meetings weren't had, options weren't on the table, how did you vote? Seriously, how did you vote? You asked us to trust us to trust you. You took an oath. But obviously speaking to you guys doesn't matter. This has been the plan all along. You hired Haber to support your planning. I saw your redacted words that you didn't do the right way. You literally said you hired them to support your planning. Here we are, a year later. How devastating is that? But I'm done talking to the board because you do not listen. We cannot trust you. You are not honest. We have told you this is not over. And it's not. So I'm going to ask you guys don't go home and tell your kids that the schools are closing cuz they're not. You can't break
255the rules and get away with it. You didn't follow process. Do you know your own school closure policy? Did you do the things? You didn't. So don't go home and tell your kids that their schools are closing. Tell them that people that have the wrong intentions voted to close their schools. And that people that are not afraid to do the right thing will save them. Because litigation is here [applause] and you can thank yourself for getting into it. Prayers can't help THAT ONE GO. UM I'M MAGGIE WYCKOFF. UM I GOT interrupted before and actually thought I was pretty respectful when you asked me to stop speaking. Um at my 3 minutes, I stopped Uh and then kicked myself for it for a little while. But I am curious considering what do you have any finance
256background to head the finance committee? I'm asking a direct question. Okay. Do you would would you be open to financial guidance? Not for me. Not not for me. Okay. So so with with that in mind, you've you've voted to close two schools with more I'm sure to to follow. Yeah. Three. Sorry, yes. Sorry. I I'm baffled. Um Is is there is there a way now that this has been voted on with with the group up here? Is there a way for you to redact that? Is there a way to come back from this? If you put a financial plan together? Was that my 3 minutes? That's up to the No. That's up to the That's up to the board. You're the board. I am not. I'm one of nine. But but I'm looking at all
257of you. There was a discussion regarding this issue in executive session. The consensus of the majority of the the board was the action that was taken tonight. It wasn't made by one person. It was made by a majority of the board. Right. Which was The administration needed direction. And there wasn't an alternate plan. Was to table it. Wasn't that your thought? Was to table the conversation to put a better plan in place? And that motion Yeah. I guess that's probably my 3 minutes. Maybe they should have explained the alternative plan. Maybe. Maybe maybe if everyone had all the information this this wouldn't look this way. It's really it's really shameful. Mark Saperstein would like to get up here and talk briefly with Powell. I'm going to get up there and talk as a taxpayer. In
258my business, when an employee gives their 2 weeks notice, I shake their hand and I thank them for their service and let them go. So as a taxpayer, I think anybody that's leading this district should be somebody that's going to be here committed for the future and a plan of this magnitude requires that. >> [applause] >> You already spoke. >> Thank you, I can speak again. Um Emily Donohue, Middletown resident. Mr. Burns, this question is for you. You guys just admitted that you had a conversation in executive session about school closures. Is that correct? Yes. Yes. No, we had a discussion about option two proposals and the two options. That included personnel matters as well as the potential disposition of real property, which are accepted exceptions to the open public meetings act. Okay, so are
259school closures subject to that? What? Are school closures subject to executive session? If they contain personnel >> No, I'm sorry Mr. Burns, they don't. Personnel, yes. You break for executive session to talk about personnel. You don't have conversations about school closures in private. Is that correct? No. So you're going on the record, Mr. Burns, that school closures are not required to be spoken about in public. No, but I'm going on the Can you use your mic so that The conversation in executive session centered around the two proposals, which included personnel matters and the potential disposition of real property. That is the answer. So, how did you come up with school closure of of specific schools? Because that's not subject to be excluded from a public session. And you know it. You you know it. And
260school closures must be they must be had in public. You all know this. And they were discussed in public tonight. My evidence of the fact that it's 12:30 in the morning and there was 2 and 1/2 hours of public comment regarding potential board action before the motion was made. >> Did you have conversation in private? About personnel matters. >> No, I'm asking a very specific because you're all going to have to go on oath for this. Did you Did you have conversations about this in private session? Mr. Abita, I'll ask you. Do you have any advice to me because I can I can do a follow-up email. Do you speak to the mic? I'm asking a question. I actually am supposed to direct my questions to you. So, Mr. Abita, did you have conversations in
261public in private session, executive session, about school closures? It's a simple question. Yes or no. What is the Can you speak into the microphone? I can't I can't truly I can't hear you. No. That's a lie. We did. We sure did. I know that I know this isn't fun. This is probably why you have it in private session. This is your responsibility. If you're going to do school school closures, you have it in open session. You do not get to hide behind the doors, get somebody to get on your side, and then close the schools. You broke your own policy. You broke your own law, and now this is where we're going to have to move forward, Robert. So, thank you all for speaking tonight about the conversations you had in private that should have
262been done in public. >> [applause] >> Anybody else for public comment? Welcome to the board. We have a motion to adjourn the meeting. Please second the motion. Second.