001They can do that when you come. >> Yeah. When we come back >> because well, you never know if anybody's going to be the second side either. So, I don't know. >> I meant to call you today, Dr. Fisher, but >> I had another procedure on my leg this morning. >> How you doing? >> So, all right, let's go. Good. Let's Let's go, ladies. Miss Woody, you guys ready? Who's who's who's making the video? Who's doing the video? >> Armandi or who's doing the video? >> Hey, Mario. We're ready. >> Okay. Good evening everyone. It is 6:01 p.m. And I'm calling this meeting to order. In accordance with the provisions of the New Jersey Public Meetings, Open Public Meetings Act, chapter 231, laws of 1975. Adequate notice of this meeting was originally provided through the
002annual public notice on January 6, 2026 by emailing to newspapers designated by the board the local source and the star ledger by posting on the district website, the main bulletin board in the administration office and in each Rosel Burough school and by emailing to the clerk of the Rosel Burrow and posted on the Burrow of Rosel website. Please rise with me to say the pledge of 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 and justice for all. Thank you. You're not supposed to move when the pledge of allegiance is being. Um, Miss Simmons, please take a roll call. >> Thank you, Madam President. Dr. Atkins, Miss Bond, >> Mrs. Chavez, >> Mrs. Cortez, >> Miss Santos,
003>> Miss Tonnage, Dr. Washington, >> present. >> Mrs. Washington, >> present. Miss Woody, >> Mr. Efrey >> and Mr. Emmy. >> They'll probably come after executive. We have a quorum. >> Thank you. Now, may I have a motion to enter into executive session to discuss issues that warrant confidentiality as consistent with NJSA 104-12 for matters of attorney client privilege, contracts, legal, litigation, negotiations, personnel, and student matters. The minutes will be made available to the public upon request when the confidentiality of the subject is no longer warranted. May I have a motion and a second, please? >> Second. All in favor? I. We will begin the regular portion of this meeting at 700 p.m. If we go past 7 p.m. with our executive session discussion, the board secretary will come out and advise the public. Thank
004you. I'd like to entertain a motion to return from executive session. >> Second. >> All in favor? I. Thank you everyone for your patience. Um, sometimes these discussions really drag on. Um, moving forward, do we have the ROC here? Okay. So, can you please rise with me for the pres presentation of colors? Thank you to our ROC. We're going to continue with the agenda for the the evening. I just have a few uh quick comments because we do have a budget hearing tonight for the annual school budget. But I want to one welcome everybody to our April meeting. Thank you for your attendance here tonight and and again for your patience. Uh a cue a few quick things that I want to say. Congratulations to the KSA. We have a blue ribbon school of character
005in our district and that should be applauded. Thank you. That team worked really hard to get that designation and it's no small feat. So we thank you. I think we still have middle states accreditation happening for the high school. So, we're really moving things forward here. Um, we are 10 eight weeks away now to the end of the school year. So, I know that our teachers are counting down. I'm counting down with you. Uh, 10 more Sunday. Eight more Sundays, everybody. Eight more Sundays. Um, if you watch my social media, you'll see my eight more Sundays. But I thank you all again for your dedication to our students. I know testing is this week, so we're all wishing everyone a successful testing. Less stress. Do your best. All let your hair down. You've done your
006part. Let the students let them go. Um, and I think our athletic teams are doing really well. I always see the news, so I want to, you know, congratulate our athletic teams. But I actually left my report at my house. So I will end this right here off the top of my head. These are the things I wanted to discuss. And that's it. Thus ends my report. We are going to move forward with our committee updates. And we'll start with our curriculum committee with Miss Santos. Okay. Good evening everyone. So here's a quick um summary of what was discussed at the last uh curriculum meeting and professional uh development. Uh we discussed uh literacy literacy training uh coach um schedule for intensive Orton uh gulligan training for one week in August. Um administrative conference uh
007Dr. Fishial Fischer will be attending the NJSA SAA um spring conference in Atlantic City. Um we also discussed uh that the board question uh travel request for a new purchasing um assistant requesting a detailed itinerary to justifies the expense during a period of cuts in curriculum and academic performance. Um instructional um we discuss instructional tool audits. Uh the board identified a significant gap in EXL math usage. Usage data will be received um next meeting to evaluate uh the return in investment. Uh we also discussed uh the program cycle uh evaluation for a replacement of benchmark benchmark advanced reading program are beginning as its fiveyear cycle concludes. In student programs and initiatives um summer programs approval was granted for the title 3 ESL program K through 12 and the teen guide zone transition program. We also
008discussed uh the steam uh mobile uh the unit is currently in a three to four weeks uh rotation. Uh in operation and security uh New Jersey Transit will conduct a safety presentation and in community outreach uh the district is seeking new ways to promote uh preschool programs to families to uh not currently in their database. And that concludes my summary of the curriculum um meeting. Thank you. Thank you, Miss Santos. The next committee will be the finance committee. >> Thank you, Madame President. Good evening, everyone. The finance committee met on April 13th at 700 p.m. via Zoom. In attendance, we have Dr. Fischer, Dr. Simmons, myself as the chair, Courtney Washington, Dr. Courtourtney Washington, Aisha Turnage, um, and our assistant BA, um, Mr. TBout. The highlights of the meetings was the fiscal year 2025 and
00926 budget approved with um county support following jurisdiction um justification fund balance usage. Budget reduced by 1.2 million through vacancy eliminations while maintaining a zero tax levy increase. district absorbing significant cost pressures including the 20% increase in health benefits and the 3.9 salary increases projected 6 million surplus by June 30th of 2026 due to spending controls and strategic vacancies. We had an IRS penalty from 2017 from a 1098 reduced from 800,000 to under 200,000 after successful rebuttal. New payroll and reconciliation controls implemented to prevent future compliance issues. An additional 720 $712,000 withdrawals from fund balance approved for balance to balance the budget. Capital project fund fund 13 currently negative requires resolution. Federal funding challenges include expiration of ESR funds and projected 25% reduction in federal aid. Long-term controls include stricter purchasing processes, contract reviews, overtime
010audits, and hiring freeze with board approval. Collective bargaining outlook indicates a current 3.9 increasy may be unsustainable for future cycles. Training and compliance strengthened through NJ Aspo and NJ SBA in purchasing education requirements and actions items include scholarship policy review fund 30 resolution ASPO attendance confirmation and legal audit consultation on IRS payment processes. And of course tonight we'll hear from Dr. Sysman's regarding the budget. And that concludes my report. Thank you, Madam President. >> Thank you, Miss Cortez. The next committee >> personnel. >> Good evening everyone. >> Good evening. >> Um the personnel committee met on April 14th um via Zoom. In attendance was myself, Miss Cortez, Dr. Washington, Dr. Atkins, um Dr. Fischer, and Miss Marshall Simmons. And we discussed the personnel portion of the agenda. It was a robust and in-depth conversation, but
011one uh key takeaway, we did have a lengthy discussion about the Kim Marshall model and the system that it's used for. And we did have um feedback about uh the assistant superintendent and the uh superintendent's uh opinions of the model and the usage of it. And um and thus concludes the sharable portion of the personnel committee meeting notes. Thank you. Thank you, Miss Turnage. The next committee is the facilities committee, Miss Woody. Uh facilities met on Tuesday, April 14th via Zoom. Um safety and security uh was addressed by U. Mr. Jamar Worlds. Uh two security officers have been hired and there is an opening for one more. Um the officers that have been hired are going to be cross-trained for all campuses. Um an advanced weapons detection system is being purchased. Uh bags will be
012scanned. Unfortunately, vapes cannot be detected with any system at this point. Uh Mr. World is putting together radiation safety program which is required by the NJP. Uh and that was it for safety and security. Uh Dr. Melissa Simmons presented a facility presentation on how to move forward. Uh just highlights things that were discussed. Um SDA grants that are being reviewed. Um the ones that are being uh given priority are the ones that impact health and safety issues. HTM will present the recommendations to the board uh by the end of April or beginning of May. uh roofing, flooring and tile work are some of the projects being reviewed. Uh the cleanliness of campuses continues to be a concern. Uh we have uh we have a company that will review the Pritchard contract and report on the
013cleanliness of campuses and we'll determine at that point uh what we should do going forward. Uh indoor air quality and on campuses is being assessed. Uh there's a need for replacement of trailers. Um the electrical infrastructure must be updated. Uh ESIP grants are possible to implement LED lighting conversion in order to save money on utilities and we can obtain as much as $2 million that would not need to be repaid. Uh boiler replacement is also needed. Um, we're looking at SDA grants for that. And there was discussion about uh Abbott District 100% F funding. Um, although the district declined to be named as an Abbott district, the district has the same qualities as such. Um, it's still possible to apply for full funding for the new school as well as other projects as we may
014be eligible. Um, health and safety related issues are typically funded more easily. The new school referendum is in the amount of 105 million. The referendum must fail twice before we can apply for full SDA funding for the building of the school. Uh the legacy SDA grants need to be shared with the board so that commissioners can be made can make an educated determination about going forward and Mr. TBA will provide a list of open grants. And that concludes my report. Thank you, Miss Wood. Now, we'll have policies and procedures with Miss Chavez. >> Thank you, Madame President. Good evening, everyone. Uh the policy committee met on April 16 at uh 6 p.m. through Zoom. In attendance was Dr. Fiser, Dr. Washington, Dr. Gonzalez Perez, Miss Woody, Miss Washington, and myself. The following items were discussed
015for second reading policies. Policy uh 1220 superintendent employment and policy 2530 resource materials. The committee review both policies for second reading. Um under there there was no questions or further discussion from the committee regarding these items. for first reading policies policy 9130 public complaints. The committee review policy to and continued to express concerns and questions regarding the policy language and implementation. The committee has agreed that a comparation with policies from other districts is needed and additional guidance from board counsel is also necessary. The committee will be reaching out to legal counsel for better understandment understanding and rationale behind the uh recent changes to the policy and receive guidance on appropriate implementation and wording. The policy will remain under review pending further discussion and recommendations. New business items on the that were discussed the discussion and
016policy implementation. We also review current policies with a focus on consistency and implementation across schools. Two of the main items that are of concern are the uniform policy and the cell phone policy. Underneath the uniform policy, um a discussion was held regarding the enforcement of the district's uniform policy, particularly at the junior high school level. Concerns were raised about inconsistencies in implementation and the need for clear expectations and consistency enforcement was emphasized for the cell phone policy. The committee discussed the district's cell phone policy and the anticipated impact of the governor's proposed b-tobell cell phone ban in schools. The committee requested additional information on how the district plans to move forward with this mandate. This matter is currently under review by the superintendent and administration and the committee will await further the guidance. This concludes
017my report, Madame President. Thank you. Moving forward, we'll have the the student reps are not here. Um, we'll have the superintendent district updates. >> Good evening everyone. >> Good evening. >> Uh, before I give my report, I do want to let the uh board commissioners know I provided a visual uh handout which I actually passed out which uh is summarized in regards to what I'll be sharing this evening. uh one of my executive assistants reminded me to uh maintain my professional posture. So, next month I'll be going to the uh podium as well as using the screen because they realize that I'm not articulating all the great things that are happening in the district. So, I'm going to take that recommendation uh moving forward. Uh with that being said, as we continue to move forward
018with the uh one Rosel uh one RPS initiatives, um I just want to let you know this 2526 school year, we're we have actually hit the 138th day of this 180day school year. Uh tonight's uh update really for me captures the energy, the excellence, and the purpose that we've defined for the Roosevelt public schools. Uh again, we're having some great athletic performances to nationally rec recognized schools of character. From innovative classrooms across the district, we are strengthening our community partnerships. And April has been a powerful month as we continue to serve our 3,100 plus scholars. The highlights from tonight uh reflect the district that is on the move. We're moving forward with clarity, commitment, and community. And I believe that the team continues to allow us to continue to shift and transcend our work. But
019before I get into all those highlights, I do want to take a moment uh of of silence to kind of recognize uh a number of of fallen uh comrades in this work here in the Roosevelt Public School District. So, I'd like to take this moment to extend my sympathy and condolences to the families of a few of our RPS retirees from our former business administrator, Mr. John D'Angelo, ACS print shop teacher teacher James Horvath and a Washington teacher Sandy Feldman. So if we just take a moment of silence and remembrance those individuals thank you. So, I'm very excited that the Roosevelt public school district, we officially unveiled the portrait of a graduate uh on April 22nd. We officially introduced this uh forwardinking framework aligned with our district's vision 2027 strategic plan. Uh for those who
020are not familiar, this plan is designed to ensure that all students graduate equipped with skills, knowledge, and depositions uh needed to thrive in an ever sochanging world. Uh grounded in the district's guiding principle, first in light and first in education, the portrait of graduate establishes a shared vision for student success by identifying six core competencies. Adaptability, collaboration, communication, critical thinking, financial literacy, and problem solving. So in the weeks to come, certainly you'll be begin to see the portrait of graduate uh shared across many platforms. In regards to our community uh communication and our transparency, uh I kind of uh labeled tonight's report momentum, character, and community for the sake of sharing our message tonight. We continue to celebrate the the great happenings across the district during our weekly publication of the Rambling On newsletter. We've
021been pushing that piece of uh information out highlighting the updates of school events, academic milestones, athletic achievements, and community opportunities, keeping our families informed, engaged, and connected as we stay aligned with vision 2027. Beginning of the week of the 13th, we began have uh immediately following the spring recess, we had open house across all the schools in the district and the feedback we received, we had great parental turnout for those sessions. So again, we want to thank our families for partnering with us in education. The 2627 school year registration process is live. Uh it opened officially on April 1st. Pre prek registration ages three to four um must be by October 1st and our KSA students enrolled age five by October 1st. Uh the prek as a another reminder the lottery deadline to be to
022have your name submitted in the lottery is May 1st 4 pm. Again that's May 1st 4pm. Families are encouraged to visit the rosellpubschools.org or for full registr registration details on the school climate safety and student conduct side. Continuing with the vision 2027 KSA, congratulations again to the team at the KSA for earning the prestigious uh distinction of a state and national school of character. Um again, Miss Gonzalez and her team, I want to congratulate congratulate those individuals who did did a phenomenal job. want to continue to have them push forward. Lots of community partnerships happening out there. KSA was fortunate to have uh Judge Carl Marshall come out and visit the Little Scholars and and have them do the integrity uh pledge. Students got a kick out of that. I thought that was a a
023cute opportunity to understand the legal system. Washington Elementary School had the pleasure of having our police chief uh uh Chief Freya who had an opportunity to work with our students uh student councils at that school to discuss community and connected leadership skills. ACS showed partnership with our local uh community officer, Officer Eduardo, who attended the driver's education class and coordinated this with the um the counseling department on real world perspectives on safe and responsible driving. Very excited that uh last Saturday we had an opportunity to uh celebrate here in the community with the autism acceptance walk. Uh the community walk showed full force during that event at Armenial Field. We had lots of walkers, volunteers, and donors demonstrating the unwavering commitment to inclusion and belonging. In the month of April, I'm very excited on our
024instructional focus. We were able to conduct the inaugural AI student showcase presented by the department of instructional technology and CTE where our scholars from across the district showcase uh innovative projects exploring how artificial intelligence can solve real world problems and enhance learning. excited to know that our academic programs are continuing to foster. Our students of LV Moore had an opportunity to engage in a high-tech learning experience at Monontlair State University's Day of Computing where they collaborated with peers from across the state of New Jersey to master 3D printing, 3D pin design, and Piper kit programming. Great opportunity for our scholars. excited for our students at Grace Wday who who also traveled to uh Monontlair State University to participate in the spring model Gary convention and this was a an experience that students had an opportunity
025to share their communication problem solving and research skills while they were tackling real issues impacting their community. First Light Academy are very uh pleased to know they celebrated the week of a child of of the young child full of meaningful activities where the students dressed up as future careers and showcased their creative side in artistry. Uh it was very interesting because many of the students wore tie-dye looks and they celebrated healthy eating by wearing colors wearing the colors of their favorite fruits and vegetables. So that was very interesting. We are very excited to know that we have our students uh in just about every grade across the district uh engaging in the NJSLA uh assessment. Uh students are geared up and again we had our 11th graders who were part of that initial uh adaptive
026experience. Uh but now we are testing across grades 3 to eight and the high school opens up this month as well. So again, we're in that testing season. We want to ensure that parents do their part, ensuring that every scholar gets the rest they need before they take the test. Our special services department held a week-long parent lunch and learn series uh which was a 20 to 30 minute virtual session. Uh the topics range from childhood routines to coping with anxiety, transitioning to high school, and connecting families with community resources. Our Title One and Title Three programs also held a parent workshop entitled Read, Learn, Succeed, Helping Your Child at Home, which was held here at ACS. And we received about over 100 attendees who attended that event. You know, on the athletic side, as
027we continue to support our community engagement and partnerships, the uh high school athletic program continues to soar in the track and fields uh area. many of those students having an opportunity to participate in the Union County relays as well as the pen relays. And we also have a student here at the high school who was acknowledged as a a golden glove champion uh boxer here in the 154 pound open division. So, it's a great opportunity for our students who not only stand out in one sport in the district, but also extended themselves in other athletic events. And again, our lady sophomore, our Rams are doing a phenomenal job. They're they're doing what they do and certainly have very athletic uh abilities. So, we're excited for our Lady Rams as well as our JV and our
028varsity volleyball teams. And because I have so much great information to share, I'm hoping that as I push this report out, I can let you know that we are continuing to focus on our 2627 uh school budget, which will have uh Dr. Simmons present momentarily, but I would like to just give an update on our facility update our new school initiative. We're still waiting finding uh final funding approval confirmation from the NJ DOE, but just this just last week, I was I received an email from the DOE that said we will be notified this week. So, I'm keeping my fingers crossed that the funding will be provided so that we can get the muchneeded new school here in the district uh and continue to move that project forward. So, I'm excited about that. And just
029for the record, uh that new school that we're we're planning for and that new bond referendum, uh we have a lot of work we've been doing with our PR team, but we are very excited to know that this new facility will become a prek to two facility. We're looking to establish maker space, innovative learning spaces in every elementary school, enhancing safety vestable installations across the district, theatic junior high re uh designations, uh auditorium renovation, and the innovative 710 transition center. So, a very bold uh opportunity to shift and transcend in the future. And finally, as I give my uh closing uh remarks, um as we can see that our kindergarteners are proudly signing integrity pledges, it's visible that our high school students are uh doing exceptional work on a athletic field. Uh it's visible that
030our families are showing up to our weekn night events that we're having to support literacy at home. It's visible that every teacher who finds a new way to make uh learning stick uh is happening in just about every class across the district and every counselor just appears to to help students reimagine what their futures are. So when when I say this uh vision 2027 is not aspirational, it's operational and and the Rosell Public School District uh we're not just ready uh to do this work, we are invested in this work. So, Madame President, uh, this concludes the superintendent report for the month of April 2026. >> Thank you, Dr. Fischer. Now, can you please take us through the harassment, intimidation, and bullying reporting for April? >> Sure. The harassment, intimidation, and bully report for the
031month of April 2026. reporting uh window number two. Uh the kindergarten success academy had zero incidents that were reported or investigated for the month. Harrison Elementary School had zero incidents that were reported or investigated for the month. Dr. Charles C. Poke School had one incident that was reported. That one incident was confirmed as being a HI. Washington Elementary had zero incidents that were reported or investigated. LV Moore had seven incidents that were reported and investigated. Three were confirmed a HIB. Four were considered not to be a HIB. Grace Wday Junior High School had four incidents that were reported and investigated. Two incidents were confirmed as being HIS and two were con confirmed as not being HIS. Abraham Clark had one incident that was reported and investigated and one incident that was confirmed as being a
032HIV. For the month of April 2026, we had a total of 13 incidents that were reported and investigated. A total of seven that were confirmed as being a HI. Six incidents were that were confirmed as not being a HI. This concludes the harassment, intimidation, and bullying report for the reporting window number two, April 20, 206. >> Thank you, Dr. Fischer. Uh, board members, can you please join me down at the podium so that we can so that we can go through the budget hearing? Thank you. >> So, it's not a formal Unless a parent asked for the head cuz Washington should have had a head. >> I'm more concerned than when I see people. >> I'm just telling you because there was one that a fourth grader was bullying. So I'm wondering why that wasn't
033reported. You see what I'm saying? and I report it to you purposely. Okay. Shoot. Okay, I'm going to start. Um, just a little correction. It's 2026, 2027, just to let you know. Um but tonight is the official public hearing for the 2026 um school budget for the Rosco public schools. I want to thank the board members um the superintendent and the executive team for all participating in this endeavor to balance a budget in these tough and um difficult economic times. As you see throughout the state of New Jersey, many districts are struggling to balance their budget. Many districts unfortunately had to lay off a number of staff. And I want to again applaud this board and the executive team for taking the time to really dive into all of the costs and prepare a budget
034that is still reflective of a strong um educational system and process and and also being considerate on the community. And you'll see um as we move on what I'm I'm talking about and being able to have this presentation tonight. So, thank you. The 20 the 2026 27 budget is a deliberate strategic blueprint for execution. It is a performancedriven investment in student achievement, talent, sustainability and mo and moderni modernized learning environments. That's a quote from our superintendent Dr. Fischer. And one of the things I always tell people that the budget is about a vision and goals that we need to establish. One of the things that we we we focused on was the vision for next year. What we're going to do, Dr. Fischer just mentioned the portrait of a graduate. A term that many districts
035don't have that has been really put to the forefront here in Rosal. Equipping students to have durable skills, critical thinking, think thinking, adaptability, collaboration, and innovation. Really focusing the monies that we do get on these things. And then the ultimate matrix, every student every day, no except no exceptions. So with all of this in mind, our budget is education and student centered. It's built on student achievement and the different targets. When we talk about targeted math and literacy, progress monitoring, deploying all the different systems that we purchase in order to make sure that each student has their own individual plan in terms of success. the inquirybased science. Again, another system to help make sure that every student receives what they need in the area of science. And then steam and scaling and deploying as you
036all know and see the different the seam machine and making sure that each school, each student receives what they need to in regards to the information that we have for them and then utilizing these um innovations, human capital. What's so critical is to make sure that our teachers always have what they need in terms of the skills, the new skills, the um um reviewing old skills in terms of their ability to really give and per and and perform in that way. So we have a money set aside for staff development and career growth. We don't limit our uh staff when it comes to that. And thank you board for allowing us to do so many things when it comes to professional development. Next area is modernized learning environments. You know, it's one thing to sit
037in the classroom, but one of the things we don't want to see is the classroom from the 1950s, so to speak. We're looking for transformation. We're looking for new ways to the classroom to be set. It's sometimes it's furniture, sometimes it's a new building, but either way, we're looking to really re um renovate and bring our all of our classrooms, all of our buildings to the 21st century. As I just mentioned, every student, every day, no exceptions. So, every time we think about things, we need to see, you know, I always talk about who who are we serving? And we could have a lot of names to that, but at the end of the day, we're serving students. So, we need to make sure that everything we do goes towards serving the students. So as
038we have our conversations, as we have our meetings, are we talking about the students or we talk about our own personal needs or we talk about our own um political agendas? No. We should always be talking about how does this make our students better. So and and I'm not going to take Dr. um Fischer's thunder, but he just told you about the portrait of a graduate. innovative um making sure that each graduate regardless of where and what area they want to now um um create for their own personal career. We're going to make sure that if it's in the area of science or math or or career readiness when it comes to our trades and our crafts, if it comes to innovation and technology, that our graduate is going to be ready to do exactly
039what they want to do when they leave Roselle Public Schools. how we're going to continue to do this. One of the things in the budget that um definitely helped, you know, our budget is mainly 98% of our budget comes from the the combination of state aid and tax levy. When it came to the state aid, we was fortunate to receive our 6% increase for our state aid. that $3 million sort um um um significantly helped when it came to um balancing our budget because we also had to consider what the community was also going through and as you know the tax um the tax assessment did go up but we for the district did not increase the tax levy for the school portion of the budget. So between the increase in um state aid and
040utilizing that, we were able to continue to support our instructional um instructional programs. Um expand in some areas. Believe it or not, we can still maintain all of our staff. We do not have a reduction in staff this year. And we're looking to also next year modernize our facilities. We're looking to leverage everything that we have and have a real return on our investment going into next year without a strong burden. And one of the things that we're going to be working on is not just a one-year plan, but a fewear plan. When I say a few year, three, four, making sure that we see what's coming. One of the things that I talk about often is how can we look at our enrollment and then look at the staffing and maintain that from year
041to year. When you talk about just being able to increase taxes by 2%. However, you're you normally don't get that same increase with state aid, it becomes a struggle, especially since state aid is the larger majority of the revenue we do collect. So being strategic in seeing those small increases in comparison some of the larger ones going to take all of us to think about how do we re-imagine education. So one of the things that we are proud about here is that we do have our early childhood um um foundation. Early childhood continues to be a foundation. Dr. Fisher and I had a great conversation today about our preschool program and how we're going to continue to move on that from there and and from there we're going to go into our K8 foundations and
042then from there high school and beyond where our portrait of a graduate really does um um take place. We are looking to expand. We are in the right now we're currently in the second year of the preschool program expansion grant and next year we're looking to fully fund it and fully implement it when we're going to have a 32 model a 123 model in the preschool classes. We're going to expand amount the amount of students that participate in our lottery this year. So, we're looking to really move forward in the preschool area looking at I always tell um everybody when you do a budget, it has to be based on goals because things change. Money doesn't come all the time and some of the and increases and decreases we have to deal with. We have
043to still figure out how we're going to maintain all of the um different things when it comes to what we do. So, we look at how do we retain um how do we retain our staff? One of the things we're looking at is retainage of the staff, how do we recruit better staff? One of the things that we're all learning is that sometimes we have to make phone calls to see if we can find the different staff that we have and we continue to do that. And then how do we grow in our leadership and in our training? Again having a clear understanding what's going forward in all of these areas so that we maintain our staff that we have. Pillar number two the ecosystem of accelerated achievement how do we and how do we
044invest in now the educational process. So we have the tools we talk about I excel I ready um progress monitoring I mentioned every student will have their own plan. So when we monitor stu we moni we have all these um tools to help us monitor that providing real data when it comes to ELA and math and learning how to exactly target those programs to the needs of each individual student. And then lastly, the other tools for the next um our nextgen inquiry. When we talk about open science, advancing the inquiry of science instruction fully aligned with the future ready competencies, making sure that we have that distin lab, the steam bus that goes around, making sure our students are introduced and those that are truly interested even going further in the area of science and
045technology. Pillar number three, engineering future readiness. Um we talked about again once again the steam and the te and tech integration traveling that machine not just sitting in front of a school but traveling to different schools with different programs. Um looking at the clubs to foster more um more more um children more women in the sciences. Making sure that anybody who's interested can participate and find their niche in even these areas. and then having our digital in infrastructure investing in all the platforms um making sure that what we need is being done you know one of the meetings that we had with um Dr. Dixon and him going through the different programs we need um just told us how we go forth and it's not just a one-year plan. He has a three to fouryear
046plan and everything we do and we looked at all of it to see what we can continue to sustain and the plan that we have going forward is solid. So we know that we can maintain these programs and move forward in the next few years when it comes to technology. And pillar number four, the shift and transend of our facility spectrum. One of the things that we talked um endlessly about is how do we get to improve our facilities? Um where does the money come from? It takes millions of dollars. Dr. Fischer's talking about the referendum. It's millions of dollars and that's why we're going to go with the referendum, but how do we make this all happen? How do we improve um auditoriums across the district? How do we bring in um updated facilities
047and that and we talked about all of that. How do we improve the boiler system, the atria system, the um the grounds, you know, um black talk, all of those kind of things matter. And we then we have maintenance, just keeping up with the with the buildings and the facilities. So, we talked about how we're going to go about doing all of that this year and not just this year, but into the next few years. So looking at all of our traditional spaces, how do we then shift those spaces into other uses, update those? You know, like I said, what we did 20 years ago, we're not doing today. So, how do we revamp and reimagine these spaces? And then how do we um retrofit our current classrooms to meet all of these needs? And
048then at the and then even with all of that, we want to have a very holistic approach in what we do with our students. So culture and climate, we are we just had a robust um conversation about culture and climate. always being ready to address the culture, the climate of our buildings, of our schools, of our what our children are struggling with, reading um and going through social media and see what some of the concerns are. But always coming back to see how do we address that and how do we create a balanced student, not just educationally, but on in their mind and making sure that holistically all of our children graduate and graduate well. So now is to put all these things in action. So we're investing our budget our budget is investing in
049these all of these different things what I just mentioned the um the retrofitting of classrooms which sometimes is just new furniture. Um how do we do that for every school? Do we do it in one year or do we have a five-year plan for replacing of furniture? All of those things matter and that's how you know they people ask that question how do you eat an elephant? You eat it one piece at a time. And one of the things that we're going to do is address all these things with systematic PR plans and programs over the next three to four years. Um, after we do all of this, the outcomes, the critical thinking that we give our students, the adaptability, the collaboration together, and the innovation brings all of the money together to make sure
050that we properly use the money that you entrust to us, excellence as a standard. One of the few things that we're we're proud proud and Dr. Fischer mentioned the multiple things that we have to show off our district and the be and the great things that our students and staff are doing um in the budget. One some of the things that we are proud about is that we do have a 0% tax increase. We have maximized all the state aid that has been coming to us through regular state aid and the preschool program. and then not compromising in what we do with that money, making sure it goes back to the students to improve and continue to advance them when it comes to our curriculum and when it comes to their learning process. And it's
051not easy because these are some of the challenges we were and currently are faced with and will continue to be faced with fixed cost that fixed costs that we cannot control. Health benefits have gone up by 21% and that's actually the low end of the increase. We have some districts that are facing 35% increases in state health benefits. Our special ed program has also increased by 15%. Um, we continue to do to I we had a very good discussion last week with our special ed team in terms of how some of the things they're going to look at differently going into next year, maybe some new training that may happen with the staff, but we're looking to see how we can better control some of these costs. And then we did have a um 7%
052increase in our charter schools. Um, and at the same time that we had these increases, we had significant decreases. Once again, we were all told that all federal programs will be reduced by 25%. And even though we did receive a 6% state aid increase, that $3 million still does not attack all of the increases that we had in the budget. So, we had to look for changes and cuts in our budget in order to balance. Okay. And one of the things that continues to be a challenge for us, but we have started to address it is the aging facilities. Your last new school was created in 1959 if I'm not mistaken, and that was the last time we had a new building in Roselle. Many districts all over the state has had a lot of
053new buildings, a lot of different a lot of um improvements and new facilities built, and we haven't had that. Well, no more. We're moving forward with a building plan that will address not just new buildings but new facilities and new structures. Stabilizing enrollment. One of the key things that um we really have focused on this year was enrollment. Enrollment is the foundation. It's the students and we have to make sure every student is counted. We cannot afford to not have every student counted and everything that student needs part of the count. For example, if a student is limited English proficient, we have to make sure that they are counted as such so that that money is now attributed to that student. So, working on enrollment is important. I'm glad to say we don't have a
054large decrease. Some districts are facing large enrollment decreases and we're not. We had a slight decrease but as you can see we had a huge increase when it came to our um lowinccome count um by 37% and then we see the increase in our residential prek enrollment by 61% and that number of 70 um 76 students is going to be up by um a few our number is going to be 120. So we are looking to continue to increase in for preschool. Our universe is 400 and we have every intention to hit that 400 sooner than later. This is just a spreadsheet showing the different numbers. Um, again, we looked at this to and and and um purposely worked with um our data team to make sure every student was counted and that we had
055every student allotted for. Um, I've mentioned this before, but that increase for low income is significant when it comes to state aid and federal aid. So the fact that we have those increases is a direct result is the result of that is that 6% increase you saw in the state aid because state aid is weighted and as your um um lowinccome numbers go up you get more state aid. So that work that was done and I applaud the team Mr. te and the principles for putting out the word to get more applications in get them filled out so that that number went up so that our state aid would go up. Okay, these are all critical components of how you ensure the revenue that you deserve as a community comes into your district. As we
056look at the revenue, you see most of these numbers have not increased by I think the biggest one 26 million. We did not increase this and we still balanced the budget. You do see some increases there. We did recognize the $3 million that increased in state aid, but you see there's other decreases throughout the budget. Um we looked at every line. We worked with everybody. We required everybody to submit what we call um um a detailed budget. They just couldn't give us just, you know, give me $10,000 for supplies. They had to tell us what supplies to buy so that we can make this 83 million work and still implement all the programs, the facility improvements that we need for our district. Appropriations. This is the breakdown of what where our money goes. As you
057can see, and will continue to be one of our largest areas is regular instruction. Most of our money goes towards instruction. Then you see the special education numbers and most of that 21 million and 4 million is our teachers. Um mostly is almost all of our teachers uh and staff and our aids that support those um classrooms. So the 25 million to 26 million you see in those first two lines that's direct classroom monies. That money is in the classroom. Then you see other instruction that's bilingual instruction and the different other um instructional programs we have to tuition mostly most of that 6.4 million is out of district placement and most of that placement is with our special our most neediest special education students. The support service is a cadre of attendance related services and
058and some of our instructional supports and improvements. Administration and that's the central office, our principles and our vice principles and assistants in that area. Operations is our custodian, our security and our maintenance staff. trans um um benefits as I mentioned that large increase um from 15 million to 16 million is the benefits that we give all of our full-time staff. Transportation is the students is all students in Roselle that we transport. It's not limited to just the students that go to Roselle schools. It's all the students in Roselle and based on that whoever qualifies for transportation that that's what that number represents. The reduction in that number is working with our um partner at Union County um at Union County Educational Services. we put in place uh um a system this year to manage costs
059a lot better and to first have um staff come to us to make sure we always have the money for the transportation that we need. So though that slight decrease is just improvement in internal controls. You see the increase in charter school and capital outlay in preschool. The capital outlay is is numbers that we put in for program um for equipment. We didn't really have anything in fund 12 this year. So that's why you see that number so low. That 40 431,000 at this point is a precursor to our contribution to our preschool program. That most likely will change, but right now it's about 431,000 that we will um contribute to the preschool program. This is just another another um depiction of the um appropriations. As you see, regular instruction is at the top. um
060once again trying to balance um the monies that we actually don't have a lot of control over. So we know we getting this money. So always having a plan of how to implement this from year to year is going to continue to be important. we started having those conversations and I mentioned one of the things that the way you don't have to do a big riff at any school year is for us to really look at enrollment look at the increases that we know we're going to get regardless of what we do or don't do and see what we have to do. We started talking about um retired pos, you know, positions from retirements, positions from non-renewals. Are we going to fill them all? And we're going to have to have a critical discussion to
061say no. We talked about we went from a number of vacancies down to a smaller amount and one of the things that we already said is that we're going to focus on the most needed positions and we're going to attribute those positions that way. Okay. So that's so that's some of the makeup of what we've been doing. So when you look at these salaries which is $38 million this is not this does not at this point include benefits. So the $38 million is our base salary. How do we continue to manage that? How do we continue to to utilize all the different areas? So, we have to look at that. One of the things in terms of right sizing that you need to do is look at class sizes. Look at um when you offer
062the different sections. What is the minimum to open up a section? How much is expected to um um how many students are expected to be in a prek classroom, a kindergarten classroom, or maybe a fifth grade classroom? Believe it or not, all three of those numbers should be different. And we have to acknowledge that and see what and see how based on those numbers and classroom sizes, how we continue to maximize good education in our classrooms. Again, you see that instruction, which is all the red stuff, is most of the money, meaning we're in the classroom. the supports they not you know the different supports if it's attendance or if it's um related services those are services that we bring into the classroom for the students but mostly that whole red section is all of
063our teachers and staff that are in the classroom with our students overall we continue and we will continue to face these increases of benefits one of the things that the broker told us is one of the big things is prescription drugs that continue to increase. That increase was actually higher than the health benefit cost and I think combined it became 18%. But the increase in prescription drug drugs was way over 20%. So looking at that, how do what do we do moving forward? Um how do we manage this this big ticket number that can pull people out of classrooms? How do we manage that so that doesn't happen in the district? So that's why we have to look at class size. We have to look at all these different things moving forward and have a
064real plan so that we executed so that we're not in that position that we see others in at this time. Okay. Overall, once again, um the 26 million is is our tax levy. It was the tax levy that we're currently under and it's going to be the tax levy for next year. Um unfortunately when you look at the numbers the valuation for Roselle if you look at the 2526 number it was 2 billion 592,460,752 that number increased by that by 240 million to the new number of 2.8 billion. So that's where the ch the transition comes from in terms of the tax increase. So although we did not increase the tax levy, there's probably going to be a still a increase based on a new valuations. Okay. Overall, we continue to be sensitive to that
065because we know the the needs of this community. So we worked hard to do that zero. Can we expect to have a zero year after year? I would say not. This is loss revenue that we take a hit for. And that 2% does not come, you know, we could go back and get it, but after a couple years, you can't. So, you do take a hit. There's a cost for the 2%. So, even though we don't have a 2% increase this year, we may have one next year or the year after that, but that's what we all have to look together and see. How do we still continue to make this happen? But I think in this one year because we did get that significant state aid increase, we made the decision to tighten the
066belts, cut some of this um the vacancies out in order to make this happen for the community. So together today, what we presented was just the balance budget that we are presenting to you as a board and as a community. I am more than open right now to take any questions you have on the budget in any of the areas you saw. Feel free to to come up or raise your hand. I could probably hear everybody if you raise your hand and just ask me a question. Okay, I don't see no questions. Oh. That's a great >> That's such a good We was We We've been having this discussion on spacing um for a few months now. Um the expansion, most of it has come from the new lease that we um are going to
067utilize. We're open up two more classrooms in the new building that we leased. So, we're going to be able to put two new classrooms there. However, we do have a need to have some more prek um disabled classes. So, we're looking at um cuz the prek grant, the good thing about it is that you can collaborate um with private providers. Um one of the things that um we brought to the attention of the team is that we don't have to the private providers do not have to all work or have a business in Roselle. So we could look at surrounding communities like Lynon, Elizabeth, and I just talked to Miss Coleman and she's going to start looking to see if there's any other providers that we can take on. We're looking to take on at
068least two new classrooms from a private provider so that we can make this happen. We're also going to do building um audits, meaning we're going to go through every building to see what spaces may still be available for us to do this transition. So between special needs classroom. Each school should have a special needs class. >> So that's the kind that's exactly what we're going to look to when we do our building audit is what buildings because we want our prek disabled classrooms to be in the elementary environment so they could be around their um co their their friends. So that that that's the purpose of having that inclusion model and concept that even though these children are in um self-contained classrooms, we still allow them to participate in gym and other areas with their
069with their friends and and their partners. So that's why we have to look at some of the elementary schools to see what can accommodate that. And then the private provider will also give us that same kind of an atmosphere where we would have a gen ed class there that could open up some of the um pre-k disabled classrooms here in district. >> Transportation. >> If we do send a child out, we can charge the transportation through the preschool grant to get them there. So that will be part of the pro that will be part of the package we offer if we collaborate with a private provider. >> Question. Not only for special >> in talking to Mr. um Miss Coleman. That's always something we're looking at. Again, spacing has been limited. So, the expansion of
070our different spaces has become critical. So, we we can't sit and not figure out how we're going to do this. That's why you're seeing the new modules come in that's on the agenda tonight. Um we're like I said, we're look we're going to do building audits to see what we could expand and again really just create be um creative in our thinking. We got a couple of conversations with there may be some additional space in Roselle that we could lease again. So, we're going to look at that. So, we're looking at all different options to open up spacing because we know that's our biggest problem is not having enough space. Once we generate the new spaces, we can definitely make those considerations in terms of creating more in district specialed programs. >> You mentioned money
071for professional development. >> We used to have staff here. >> Yeah. >> How are we approaching that? I mean that could be a question from the administration or you guys have my mind that's professional development. >> Where are those students that needed those services and how to get >> I'll pose that to the I could say some stuff about it but I'm not an educator. So, I I'll pose that to them. But I know that is part of some of the training that I've seen happen through the um preschool grant. So, that money can be allocated in the preschool grant in order for um some of the staff members to get that training and that certification. >> Yes. Any other questions? >> So, the Jewish population are extending their I don't you talked about the
072transportation that may be associated with that. Well, we don't have c we don't we don't have um what we call um um um we're not a busing district. Um courtesy that's it. We're not a we don't do courtesy busing. So we so we don't have to offer courtesy busing to n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n non-publiclix, which is a which is a big piece of what I think you're referring to. Right now if um we have a student that's going to a charter school or to um a special ed school and for whatever reason we could do and and we can't get a bus route for them, we do give um that student that that family aid in L. But because
073we don't have courtesy busing, we don't have to provide routes to most of our non-public population. Well, you continue. I mean, culture and climate are many of the programs that Dr. Fischer already just talked about tonight. The parent forums and the different things that we pull together that is all of that goes towards culture and climate. Culture and climate goes to sometimes some of the things that the principal wants to hang up in the cl in in the building. It could be posters. Culture and climate is when they bring in different speakers that speak about different things, you know, for um for the assemblies for the students. So, culture and climate is is is not just limited to, you know, one area. It's throughout the district. It's throughout the budget. Culture and climate could be
074some of we may do a change to a classroom and put some new furniture that's going to change the climate of that classroom. You get what I'm saying? So, culture and climate is a different a lot of different facets. So, the key here is to make sure we use utilized that money. Again, as everybody submitted their budget, they gave us the plans for their district, for their um um school, what why they wanted the money, what they wanted to do with the money, and a lot of them had great ideas. Um and it wasn't just limited to the principles um I'm athletic director. Everybody had different ways to improve the programs. So when I say culture and climate, it's is is how we look at everything in the district, how it all comes together for
075that cohesive flow of what we see the money being used for. >> We'll take that into consideration. Thank you, Miss Pont. Any other questions? Thank you so much for tonight and giving me your attention for this budget. Thank you, Dr. Simmons, for the uh presentation for our final 2026 2027 budget. Uh, now I'm going to ask for a motion and a second to accept and approve governance items and presentations as presented. >> I so move. >> Second. Is there any discussion on any of the presentation items or anything that was presented? >> Seeing there's this no discussion, may I have a roll call, please? Miss Woody. >> Yes. >> Miss Chavez. >> Yes. >> Dr. Atkins. >> Miss Bond. >> Yes. >> Mrs. Cortez. >> Yes. Miss Santos, >> yes. >> Miss Turnage, >> yes.
076>> Miss Washington, >> yes, >> Dr. Washington. >> Yes. >> Motion passes. >> Thank you. >> Oh, >> sorry. I >> Yeah, >> he said >> uh just a general reminder before we move on. The next workshop meeting for the board of ed is Thursday, May 14th, and the next regular monthly board of education meeting will be held on Monday, May 18th. Uh although we both we convene at 6 p.m., the meetings will start at 700 p.m. The public portion. Now comes the Now comes the section of the meeting for public comment as mandated by this board's policies. Members of the public who wish to address the board during the public comment portion of this meeting may do so for four minutes. Please come to the microphone. Provide your name and address for the record.
077When speaking, please address all comments to the board president. Public comment is not intended to be a question and answer period. It is the time of the meeting during which the public may speak on any topic associated with the business of this board of education. All public comments must conform to basic standards of civility. disruptive, threatening, defamatory, and/or profane comments as well as political commentary will not be allowed. If spoken during the meeting, the commenter will be stopped and may be removed for from the meeting. Also, if you have any comments, questions, or objections about the public about the budget, the public comment portion is your time to be heard on the budget. Is there anyone wishing to come to the microphone for public comment? Please do so. Seeing there, seeing as there isn't anyone,
078I'm going to close public comment at 8:51 p.m. Now, moving on to the voting for the rest of the agenda. May I have a motion and a second to accept and approve public comments. Superintendent resolutions 1.1 through 1.5. May I have a roll call, please? >> I'm sorry. Is there any discussion? I'm sorry. Is there discussion? Seeing as there's no discussion, may I have a roll call, please? >> Mrs. Chavez, >> yes. >> Mrs. Cortez, >> Miss Bon, >> yes. >> Miss Santos, >> yes. >> Miss Turnage, >> yes. >> Mrs. Washington, >> yes. >> Miss Woody, >> yes. >> Dr. Washington, >> yes. >> Motion carries. >> Thank you. Um before we move on to the personnel section, there is one item we have to address. We are tableabling item 2.42 so that the
079appropriate corrections can be made 2.42. Is it was there anything else? I don't >> go ahead. What was >> we are Okay. Now, um, we are tableabling item 2.4 from this agenda. Now, >> 2.42. My apologies. May I have a motion and a second to accept and approve personnel items 2.1 through 2.70, tableabling item 2.42. Motion and a second, please. >> Second, Woody. Is there any discussion? Seeing that there's no discussion, may I have a roll call, please? >> Mrs. Washington, >> yes. >> Miss Woody, >> yes. >> Miss Bond, >> Mrs. Chavez, >> yes. >> Mrs. Cortez, >> yes. >> Miss Santos, >> yes, >> Miss Turnich. >> Um, abstaining from 2.6. Yes. >> Any other? >> No. Okay, >> Dr. Washington. >> Uh, abstaining from items 2.5. Yes to all. Abstaining from 2.5
080and 2.23. >> Motion carries. >> Thank you. >> And just to note that some board members have standing abstensions. >> Thank you. >> To to items. So, we'll we'll note that in the minutes. >> Thank you. >> Can I ask a question? >> We where we did this discussion. >> That was during discussion. Thank you. No. Moving forward to the business section. May I have a motion and a second to accept and approve business items 3.1 through 3.17. >> Motion in a second. >> Second. May I have a Is there any other discussion on these business items? >> Seeing as there's no discussion, may I have a roll call? >> Miss Woody, >> yes. >> Mrs. Cortez, >> Miss Bond, >> yes. >> Mrs. Chavez, >> yes. Miss Santos. >> Yes, but abstaining from 3.3
081and 3.4, >> Miss Turnage. >> Yes, >> Mrs. Washington. >> Yes, >> Dr. Washington. >> Yes. >> Motion carries. >> And same um comment. There are standing abstensions in some of these items that would be noted on the board uh minutes. >> Thank you. Moving on to policies, regulations, and bylaws. May I have a motion and a second to accept and approve policies, regulation, and by bylaws items 4.1 through 4.2. Second. >> Is there any discussion? >> Yes. >> Thank you, Madam President. Yes. Um for first reading of policy and regulation 9130 under public complaints. um if we could have more clarification from council in regards to this policy and mention like I mentioned in the notes um compared to other districts and also I know we were uh reach out to Strame so that
082they can help us as well >> or at least the wording on it. >> So is the regul are you asking to table this item? >> No, it's on first reading. We need to review the uh the wording still, >> but we need clarification. >> We should ask in committee. >> Okay. Thank you, Miss Shav. >> Thank you. >> Any other questions? Any other discussion from any other board? Seeing as there's no more discussion, may I have a roll call, please? Mrs. Chavez, >> Mrs. Cortez, >> yes. >> Miss Bond, >> Mrs. Santos, >> yes. >> Miss Turnage, >> yes. >> Mrs. Washington, >> yes, >> Miss Woody. >> Yes, >> Dr. Washington. >> Yes. >> Motion passes. >> Thank you. Uh filed section is our curriculum and instruction. May I have a motion and
083a second to accept and approve curriculum and instruction items 5.1 through 5.37. >> So move Washington. >> Second. >> Is there any discussion on any curriculum items? Yes, there is. I will be conducting a yoga class at that health and wellness night. Um, I am a volunteer. Please come out and join us on that health and wellness night and engage in uh wellness with us. Thank you. That was on my uh full president report that I left home. Yeah, that was actually on my board president report that I left phone. Is there any other discussion? Seeing that there's no further discussion, um may I have a roll call, please? >> Mrs. Washington, >> yes. >> Mrs. Chavez, >> yes. >> Miss Bond, >> Mrs. Cortez. >> Yes. >> Miss Santos. >> Yes. >> Miss Turnage.
084>> Yes. >> Miss Woody. >> Yes. >> Dr. Washington. >> Yes. >> Motion passes. >> Thank you. Um, we are going back into another executive session. So, I'm going to reread our executive session. So, now may I have a motion and exec to enter into executive session to discuss issues that warrant confidentiality as consistent with NJSA 104-12 for matters of attorney client privilege, contracts, legal litigation, negotiations, personnel, and student matters. The minutes will be made available to the public upon request when the confidentiality of the subject is no longer warranted. May I have a motion and a second? >> Second. >> All in favor? I >> I >> we will come back out and once we come back out we are ready to adjourn. Thank you. Brian, you're going to have to take the vote
085at to end the second executive session. >> Um, I'll take a motion to return from executive session. >> I'd like to make the motion to return. >> Second. >> All in favor? I. Now I'd like a motion to adjurnn. >> I'd like to make a motion to adjurnn. >> Second. >> All in favor? I. Good night everyone and thank you for your patience. Have a good evening. Enjoy the rest of your week.