BoE General Meeting 3/25

001We really got >> We are tight. Yeah. [laughter] >> We're very close group. >> Sure are. >> It's a community. >> Yeah. >> No, I know. Yeah. No, this is state >> and then ready. >> Yes. >> Was that the big thumbs up thing there? >> Good evening. Welcome to the Scotch Plains Family Board of Education meeting. >> Today is March 25th. Mr. Jones, please call the order. Miss Barbie, Mr. Benedict >> here, >> Mrs. Borov >> here, >> Miss Brody >> here, >> Mr. Greenblat >> here, >> Dr. Kowski >> here. >> Mr. Yiani >> here. >> Miss Williams >> present. >> Please stand if you're able to for the pledge of allegiance. >> Ready, begin. >> I aliance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which

002it stands. One nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. >> In exec, we went over personnel, legal, and hip. Going to read the board president's announcement. The New Jersey open public meeting law was enacted to ensure the right of the public to have advanced notice of to attend the meetings of public bodies at which any business affecting their interest is discussed or acted upon. In accordance with the provisions of this act, the Scotch Plains Family Board of Education has caused notice of this meeting to be published by having the date, time, and place thereof posted at the board of education offices located at 313 South Avenue in Fanwood, New Jersey. Such notices was also provided in written notice forwarded to the leader formerly Union County Hawk, the Star Ledger, the township clerk

003of Scotch Plains, and the Burough Clerk of Fanwood in the annual notice of regularly scheduled meetings as adopted April 24th, 2025. There were six additions Mr. Jones will address >> when I get to get to my section. >> Okay. Thank you. And Dr. Mass, superintendent report. Thank you. >> You're welcome. >> So, the big agenda item tonight is is the presentation of the budget and we we will be doing that um later in the agenda, but also in the section of letters to the board. Um we did receive a number of letters regarding the change in the school calendar and I would just like to make a statement about that. I'd like to take a moment to speak directly to our Muslim students and their families about the recent decision to designate March 20th Eid

004as a school makeup day. I hear your disappointment and I understand how this decision impacted you, especially at a time when global events are creating more challenges for the Muslim community. When I stepped into the role of superintendent in 2019, my priority was to ensure every member of our school community felt seen and valued. One of my first actions was to form a wellness and equity committee which helped guide important calendar changes such as recognizing Eid, Diwali, Lunar New Year, Passover, and Junth as a day off. This was a proud and meaningful moment for our district. This year, however, an unusual combination of snow days, construction schedules, and state requirements forced us to deviate from the commitment for that. And I'm truly sorry. We are taking proactive steps to ensure this does not happen again,

005even even if we face unforeseen circumstances as we did this year. Moving forward, we will build three emergency closing days into each year's calendar. Two, use spring break as a contingency if additional days are needed while also being careful to limit instruction during that time to preserve flexibility. And three, advocate at the state level for the ability to use virtual learning days during emergency closures. Currently, state regulations restrict our ability to use remote instruction. Organizations like the New Jersey Association of School Administrators are actively advocating for this flexibility. I encourage you to join in this advocacy with myself and the board by calling your state representatives. Send a letter and your voices can help bring about this important change. In Scotch Plains Family Schools, we have made a clear commitment to inclusion and belonging. I

006assure you that this commitment goes far beyond observing dates that reflect our community's diversity. This year presented a challenge, but it does not change who we are and what we value. We remain committed to learning from this experience and to ensuring our school calendar reflects our values of inclusivity and belonging for all the members of our community. Thank you. >> Thank you, Dr. Mask. Business administrators report, Mr. Jones. >> Thanks. I'll defer my time to the budget presentation. >> Thank you. Moving right along to our student representative report. >> Hi, I'm Grace McDougall. I'm the senior uh student representative and here are our updates for this month. So, we have a few sports updates. Boy swimming had an amazing season where for the first time in 14 years, the boys varsity swim team beat Westfield's

007varsity swim team at Westfield's home pool in the final event. Congrats to Harrison McClure for Union County Swimmer of the Year as well. The varsity ice hockey team had a remarkable season. They won their second Kelly Division Cup, having overall great success on the ice this season. Spring sports are also starting up, so stay tuned for that. Um, today as well, we had the Spanish exchange students um where they made their leave back to Spain, and they had an eventful welcome breakfast, tours, and upcoming um and just enjoying overall their experience here. We also had the Italian and French exchange program which just passed and students got to experience a variety of cultures on their unique abroad experience. Um we also had a fight forward assembly here at the high school. Our speaker Chu had

008a lasting impact on fellow students who instead of fighting back learned to fight forward and focus on perseverance. We also had senior citizens day at the high school which also was a great success where seniors were delighted to participate and won many prizes in bingo, named that tune with the moblowers and watched a guys and dolls performance. We also had seniors submitting their senior project proposals and are getting ready for the next steps. Hi, I'm Leah. I'm the junior student representative. Um, last week juniors had NJ GPA testing with the new adaptive test. And after incredibly long hours of testing, the juniors are officially one step closer to graduating. There was even more testing with the sophomores who took their very first PSAT. And the juniors just got CPR certified in their health class and

009are now starting teen mental health first aid training to learn how to help deal with and help others with certain mental health challenges. And this Friday, some of the juniors are representing SFHS at the 18th annual Human Rights Conference, Sustainability and Action, at Kane University for their global perspectives class. And one of the speakers is the first female president of Ireland, which is really cool, and I'm very excited. Um, it is also think purple week, which promotes awareness of substance abuse to students, and we also get these like cute purple pencils, which is always fun. Um, and of course we only have two more days until spring break. So, everyone's wrapping up all their last test and getting ready to enjoy this much neededed break. Thank you. And we have special guests this evening welcoming

010the hockey and the swimming team. You guys can come to the front. [laughter] [applause] >> We'll do hockey first. >> So, good evening everyone. Uh it's really exciting to be back at a board of education meeting and really exciting to honor the two programs that are here this evening. our hockey program. Uh, Coach Gunther, Coach Quackenbush, Coach Ernel, and Coach Tani is not here. Uh, thank you so much for all of your hard work and dedication. [snorts] To the ice hockey board, uh, Colleen Gianella, Vincent Coochie, wonderful job this year. And and to the ice hockey parents, you're probably our last group of parents that are still consistently traveling your kids to practice, picking your kids up. Usually, you get to high school, and at least I got to high school. I took a big

011deep breath. My son's on a bus now. I don't have to worry about driving to and from practice and I get excited and then I meet ice hockey parents and that that madness has never ended. I do think that a lot of our success this year came because we really focused in this program on the core values of our school. And when we think about respect and commitment, accountability and unity, this program demonstrated that beyond measure. Ice hockey is unique in another way because their club season doesn't stop. So most club seasons take a break. The high school gets a chance to be a priority and then they keep going. And actually both of these programs swimming too because why nationals I think coach Olnick told me are Saturday. So these kids are still swimming.

012But in ice hockey for a lot of years we had athletes that were tweening between leaving our practice to run to their club practice or running out early. And this group specifically committed to staying to every minute of every practice and being fully invested in every game. They smiled more than I've ever seen them smile before. And not just because of a 13-0 streak to open the year and not just because of all their success, but this team genuinely cares and loves each other. And it was the best thing to watch because even whether they won or lost, their smiles dominated the day. So, congratulations to ice hockey. And it's my honor to introduce head coach Matt Gunther. [applause] Thank you. And uh it's truly an honor to be here tonight and being recognized for

013our accomplishments. And I want to thank our board of member board of education members led by President Evan Murray and vice president Tanya Williams. Um and even a special thanks to uh a previous board member Nancy Bower as she was one of the founding members even with our ice hockey program in 2005. Uh our administrators Dr. Miller, Dr. Hines, Dr. McGary, and Dr. mass for all of your support and our assistant coaches Brian Ernel and Adra Quackenbush on the right. Um and even our volunteer coach who has put in a tremendous amount of time uh Ken Tangi. Our athletic trainers Tyler Horsch and Laurel Freriedman did a tremendous job in ensuring our safety and our health throughout the season. Um and our Scotch Plains Fanwood ice hockey association led by President Vincent Coochie and Vice

014President Colleen Gianella. uh their tremendous support has led to a memorable senior night hockey fights cancer uh game, community skates, our end of season banquet and along many other events and opportunities and their contributions to our feeder program uh starting in the elementary grades. And I al also want to take a moment to recognize and honor Brian Walling, a member of the Scotch Plains fan at Irish Hockey Association who recently passed in November. He has made an incredible impact on the hockey program for our community as well as helping kids learn to play hockey and continue um at a or starting at a young age and helping to strength our program. Um and as our program continues to grow, his legacy in this community will also continue to grow. Uh our team philosophy this year

015was to focus on three components. Competitiveness, development, and fun. And this team had an exceptional team buyin that really helped make that happen. Uh they were highly coachable group. They were committed to improving on a daily basis and they played as one team which led to this year our 21st season being the most successful season ever with a 23 a 21 three and one record. Our first 20 plus win season. Uh we did back-to-back Kelly Cup championships. Uh we advanced to the second round of the state playoffs for the first time as a program and many more team accomplishments as well as individual achievements such as our most valuable player Lorenzo Titenegro breaking the school record with 1,646 saves. Nick Moses and a senior breaking the 100 points barrier in his three years at ScotchBains

016Family High School. Our most improved players, Santino Barcelona and Lucas Cachaturi, our Glad Award recipient named after Adam Glad who graduated in 2018. Um players, you did a tremendous amount of effort this season. Uh and you showed an incredible amount of character and sportsmanship, always leading with greater pride. And these student athletes truly represented our school and community in the right way. And I'm proud of the dignity, integrity, and class that each and every student athlete showed, especially through adversity. This season was an example for what the standard of our program should be, and it will be set as a lasting impression for future generations to aspire to. And in closen, thank you again for this opportunity for recognition, being recognized by the mayor and council, being recognized by board of education, even having our

017articles in the tap into it really shows that you know Scotch Plains and Fanwood is a tremendous community and very proud to be a part of this. Thank you. [applause] I also want to take this opportunity. Our Scotch Plains Fanwood ice hockey association has um made winning Kellyup t-shirts and we want to give this one to Dr. Mast as well. Thank you so much. [applause] >> Um, wow. Congratulations. Um, I am on my tippy toes, so sorry. And, uh, I do have to acknowledge Nancy Bower because, um, she so such a huge supporter of ice hockey and, um, I know she'd be very proud right now. >> Sorry. Okay. Whereas the 2025-26 varsity ice hockey team had a remarkable 213 in1 season and advanced to the second round of the NJSIAA tournament for the first

018time in program history. And whereas the team won the Kelly Division and for the second year in a row won the North Jersey Interscolastic Ice Hockey League Kelly Cup championship. And whereas at one point the team was 13-0 with wins against strong programs and the wins are something to be proud of. This team's chemistry and positive mindset were the single most remarkable part of the season. And whereas this team represents the core values of Scotch Plains Fanwood High School athletics. Accountability, commitment, respect, and unity as well as the value of educationbased athletics. Now therefore, be it resolved that the Scotch Plains Fanwood Board of Education recognizes and congratulates the 2025 2026 varsity ice hockey team, their head coach Matt Gunther, and assistant coaches Brian Brian Ernell and Artic Quackenbush for their outstanding achievements and wishes

019them continued success in all of their endeavors. [applause] >> [applause] >> Are you going to go down? So, one more picture looking at Robin there in the middle. >> Thank you. Congratulations. [applause] >> They've been waiting so patiently and they wanted to come up first. But boys swim, come on up. So, for the boys swim team, I'm going to do a little bit more talking just because coach Holnik uh is is struggling. Uh she's uh her voice has gone away and uh and it's a little bit difficult for her to talk. She will talk a little bit, but uh when the season started, I I always ask Coach Holik, "How are we going to be?" And coach Holnik always has kind of a similar answer of, "Well, I hope I think maybe if we swim

020fast enough, we'll see how the kids go." Uh, and then we had this dramatic, unbelievable win over Westfield. And I said, "Coach, how'd that happen?" She said, "We just swam fast. I I don't I don't know if we can get faster." And then all these young men did was get faster and better every day. And what I enjoyed about watching this team grow and build was is they just kind of came in, did their job. Uh, no one had a big ego about it. They just all contributed and worked. And for those of you the the parents may know this because you might know a little more from your students, but coach Holik is a constant revisionist in the lineup. Uh, there's a lineup that gets made probably two or three days before the meet.

021Then she meets with the student and then she talks to kids, talks to the students and says, "What do you think?" And then there's another revision. And then there's another thought process because coach Holmic goes on nj.com and sees a score, reads something, makes another change. Then we get to the meet and then we're in the middle of the meet and something happened and then there's another change. And it looks like uh the mad scientist is doing this lineup. But all of it is for two things. One is to get the best swimmers in the best position to do well. And the second is to ensure that all of our swimmers get in the pool. And that's one of the most remarkable parts of our program is no matter how many swimmers we have, Coach

022Hornick and Coach Colony work to ensure that everybody gets an opportunity to be in that pool and be a part of our wins and be a part of our success. And that's what's so truly remarkable about the work coach Holik and Coach Colony do is the care and focus is on our student athletes first and the wind second. And that's what makes us proud as when we watch this program. Now, when you get a chance to beat Westfield and win the watch on division, uh that just makes it even better. Um we had another wonderful opportunity this year. We had this weird snow stuff that came and wouldn't ever go away. Uh so we had to move our county meet and our county meet came up on a Friday and uh Harrison and and uh

023and Aaron came up to me and they wanted to have a lunch beforehand and they said, "What do you think?" And and they were kind of dancing around and I said, 'What do you guys need? Like I'm thinking in my head, I got 800 things to do. Why are you dancing around this? just tell me what you want. And they said, "We want to have lunch." I said, "Sure, great. Let's have lunch. I'll get your room." And uh and I think I kind of took the wind out of Aaron Sales a little bit because I think he had a whole presentation for me. And my immediate yes kind of knocked him down really quick. But uh when student athletes want to come to to administration with a great idea like that, the best thing we

024can do is support it without question. And that's what we did. And it was great to watch. You all didn't eat enough because the amount of leftover food, moms and dads, was scandalous. But the custodians love the swim team. And [laughter] uh uh and then when we got to Ridge, uh you know, we were the number two seed. We didn't think that we were going to do all that well. Like we didn't think looking at it, two seed, they're the one seed, they've got this kid, they've got that kid. And then we just kept swimming and we had this weird disqualification in the beginning uh because an official got on the microphone and and uh even though they didn't hear our argument, they didn't care. They they disqualified the one swimmer. And then at the

025end, uh, somebody, uh, splashed a little too much, uh, and they took another disqualification. So, not only did we upset the number two seed, we overcame two of the oddest, weirdest disqualifications I've seen in 20ome years of watching swimming. And we just kept overcoming. I'm so proud of of you, of all of you standing here because you just kept showing up and saying, "I'm going to beat yesterday's score. I'm going to be better than I was yesterday. And coach, where do you need me? Because I'm going to step up and I'm going to be better than I was yesterday." So, congratulations to the boys swim team. Uh, you won the watch division. You won the North Two Group E Championship and things are only going to get better for you. Jess, do you want to

026add anything or >> uh just would like to thank the board of education for honoring our swimmers. We had our banquet last night and uh these guys are a bunch of characters sometime and I jokingly said I have the best job in the world because it's free entertainment but I have the best job in the world because I feel like I have some of the best kids in the world. They come every day. They work really hard. They pull for each other. They're extremely resilient and I'm just so proud of them and everything they do. Thank you guys. [applause] >> [applause] >> Okay, I have two resolutions to read. Okay. Whereas the 202526 boys varsity swim team had a remarkable season and whereas the team was the WAN division champions with an 8 and0 record

027and finished the season with a record of 10 and two. And whereas the boys varsity swim team finished the season as the 14th ranked team in New Jersey and were the north two group B state sectional champions. And whereas as the second seated team in the sectional tournament, the boys varsity swim team defeated the top-seated Ridge by a dramatic score of 8684, overcoming two unusual disqualifications and maintaining outstanding sportsmanship and rapport. And whereas for the first time in 14 years, the boys varsity swim team defeated Westfield's boys varsity swim team at Westfield's home pool in the final event. Now therefore, be it resolved that the Scotch Plains Fanwood Board of Education recognizes and congratulates the 2526 boys varsity swim team and their head coach Jessica Holnik and assistant coach Maline Coladney for their outstanding achievements

028and wishes them continued success in all future endeavors. I have one more. [applause] I have one more. One more. Whereas the 202526 boys varsity swim team had a remarkable season and whereas the team h was the WAN division champions with an 8-0 record and finished the season with a record of 10 and two. And whereas the following athlete distinguished himself with the following achievements. Harrison Mccclure, Union County Champion 200 Freestyle, Union County Champion, 100 backstroke, meet of champions, individual gold medalist, 500 freestyle, first team all state. Whereas Harrison finished 16-0 in dual meets across six individual events, and whereas Harrison Mccclure is the Union County Swimmer of the year. Now therefore, be it resolved that the Scotch Plains Fanwood Board of Ed recognizes and congratulates Harrison Mccclure and his head coach Jessica Holnik and assistant

029coach Maline Coladney for their outstanding achievements and wishes them continued success in all future endeavors. Congratulations. [applause] Okay, I think Robin's gonna get a picture. Thank you. >> Congratulations to the hockey team and the swim team. >> I don't know. Every time I hear beat Westfield, I [music] get very excited about that. Thank you. Congratulations again. >> Anyone have anything else to add? Good. >> Okay, seeing none. Oh, did you? >> Did you? >> What' you do? >> I played ice. >> Looks about right. Now we're going on to our next instructional update, the 2026 2027 school budget and we'll zip >> Mr. Jones. >> Okay. Sorry. >> Good exercise. Watch. very Good. Good evening everyone. Thank you for being here for the budget presentation. Of course, the district mission is at the forefront of

030everything that we do. The mission of the Scotch Plains Fanwood Public Schools is to educate every student to become confident and caring lifelong learners who can communicate and contribute positively to the rapidly changing world. The district in cooperation with the community will provide an academic environment which values excellence, initiative, and diversity. As we look ahead to the 2627 school year, we've established clear goals to guide our budget planning process. We're committed to using all funding efficiently to maximize our community's investment in education. Every dollar must deliver value for our students. This is a difficult budget season. We are facing similar challenges as neighboring districts due to the spiraling health care costs and other areas of inflation. We've made strategic adjustments in staffing while preserving what matters most to student achievement. Mr. Jones will guide us

031through more specific areas of the budget and Dr. McGary will discuss areas in curriculum and instruction. You can see our district's historical enrollment trends. Over the past several years, we've have we have experienced a steady increase in our student population, reaching 5,718 students in 2025. Looking ahead, our latest demographers report indicates this trend will continue, projecting an additional 200 students joining our district over the next two to three years. This sustained growth is a testament to the desiraability of our community and the quality of our schools, but it also directly drives our instructional facility and budgetary needs, Dr. McGary. So, what does our budget mean for curriculum and instruction? As Mr. Jones will discuss when we look at the financial breakdown. Current economic conditions mean we are presenting what is essentially a no frills budget

032this year. However, we want to be absolutely clear. No frills does not mean that we are compromising our core educational offerings. We are fully maintaining our essential programs and initiatives. This budget continues to support our ongoing curriculum development work, the purchase of necessary textbooks and learning resources, vital professional development for our staff, and the continuation of our one-toone iPad program. At the same time, we are excited to show that we are still finding ways to innovate and expand student opportunities in highly cost-effective ways. As you can see on this slide, we are officially launching the Raider Business Academy, which will feature AP business with personal finance as well as dual enrollment options. Additionally, we are significantly expanding our overall dual enrollment opportunities. We've established partnerships with fantastic institutions including Fairley Dickinson University, the University of

033Delaware, uh, Union College, Kain University, and TCJ, allowing our students to earn valuable college credits right here at the high school. A cost savings to them in the future. We are proud to be able to add these rigorous academic offerings at very little cost to the district. Okay, so moving into the budget details. Um, this highlights the key operational costs for our district for the next year. I think one thing you'll see is our health insurance continues to be a major challenge and a significant factor in a budget planning. Regarding transportation, we were under budget in 2526, but we do anticipate that we have to add a new route now for in 2627 to meet student enrollment needs. We also expect utility expenses to increase and um and they are they're really unpredictable at this

034point. Uh positive note, our our pension costs currently projected to be under budget. Okay, so this has a lot on here, but I think it outlines some of the major uh budget budget risks and structural challenges we are facing. We're seeing significant financial pressures from external factors. First off, our our state aid did increase this year um but it was capped at 6%. And it was capped last year as well. If it wasn't capped, we would have received an additional 618,000 in state aid if it was not capp. In addition, the state does not fully fund our extra extraordinary aid. It is funded at 50%. If it was fully funded, we would get an additional $2 million towards our bud budget. In addition, we're also confronting cuts to federal funding, specifically IDEIDA helps us. It's

035a cut of 96,000 and our ESA cut of 68,000. Additionally, there's a new sick law put in place that adds in an estimated 120,000 to our operating costs related to uh coverage for employees taking off. Uh we must also acknowledge unknown impacts of two recent laws. First one is special ed law effective July 1st 2026 and a new construction law becomes effective this week. The new special education law isn't just a suggestion. It's it's a mandate that increases our compliance workload. While we value the services, state does not currently provide full funding to cover the resulting administrative costs. is anticipated that construction law will make it more difficult to hire contractors. To manage these costs, we've implemented over $1 million in reductions over the past 24 months. Additionally, over the past four years, we have

036successfully managed a 6% increase in student enrollment with a less than 1% growth in staff, demonstrating our efficiency. However, even with a flat headcount, our medical enrollment has grown by 8% as more employees have opted in district coverage. This trend coupled with our employer contribution share rising from 85 to 88% has has shifted a heavier financial burden onto the district. The result is a 44% increase in the average net cost of medical care per employee. It's a mandated expense that exceeds our two 2% cap. So just a little bit more on our healthcare. Um so again this slide specifically details a major challenge we felt face with health insurance costs. While we saw a major uptick in the 2526 budget following a 5-year period of stable cost increases the outlook for 2627 represents significant increase

037with additional risk expected in 2728. In 2526, we switched our medical insurance provider to Sigma, which helped lower our costs and we also negotiated a 2627 price increase cap at 15% for this year. While this cap helps us in 2627, we do have significant risk in 2728. Uh we do have a higher percentage of employees rolled in our plans and due to the chapter 44 regulation that was passed uh 20 fiscal year 22. Our employer contributions have continued to increase shifting greater portion of the cost burden onto the district's budget. To practically manage these costs, we've tried to join health insurance exchange to pull of our costs. We then combined and uncombbined our medical and dental plans. And of course, every year we go out uh we go out to bid for health insurance to

038ensure we have the best possible rates. So we use this slide every year just to show that the vast majority of our expenses are related to uh salary benefits just to give you a visual. So they're all of our other expenses. So the other expenses are a budget here. But while this category represents 18% of our total expenses, the overall increase for these costs is projected to be just a little over 1%. Property insurance has always put out the bid to make sure we get the best available rates. We are at we anticipate slight increases in legal costs and we've also had additional audit costs due to state statemandated requirements. So talk about the tax increase. Um, so we're asking for a tax increase 6.1%. Our district may increase the tax levy beyond 2%. Through

039an enrollment adjustment, which provides essential funding when our student population grows faster than the state prescribed threshold. Additionally, we can apply a health benefits adjustment to cover the rising cost of employee insurance premiums that exceed the 2% limit. Ensure that the laws in place to ensure these mandated expenses do not divert funds to the classroom. And finally, district can utilize bank cap. And bank cap allows us to assess unused taxing authority from any of the previous three budget years that we chose not to exercise at that time. So, while we did receive a 6% increase in state aid, based on trends, we we do expect a lower amount of extraordinary aid, which is for our special education students to offset that. I think in many New Jersey towns, the state pays for half the school

040budget, but here in Scotch Plains, the state only covers 10%. Placing the tax burden uh locally. While the board of education sets a single total tax levy for the entire district, New Jersey law requires that this amount be shared between the two towns based on their state certified equalized property values. Because the market value of properties in one town may have grown a different rate than the other, the state adjusts the percentage of the total tax burden each community must carry. As a result, even with the uniform district budget, the individual tax impact varies for each town based on these mand mandatory shifts and how the total tax levy is appropriated. Um, I think one thing to note is the uh tax increase we'd have is similar to uh the surrounding towns. I know it's

041a lot in the news. A lot of towns are having similar similar increases, but I think the one thing that's unique to us is we're doing the similar increase, but we have the rising enrollment. So, we're managing our costs as effective as we can, keeping our tax increase in line with neighboring districts with with additional uh pressures uh on our staff. Um so now, uh the next step for us is to submit the budget to the county and it will be formally approved at the uh April board meeting. So, [clears throat] in in talking to um both municipalities, I just want to say that both municipalities and the school district recognize these costs are significant and that we're committed to working more closely together to opp to identify opportunities to share resources where practical. Um,

042we we certainly recognize that this this budget has been put together thoughtfully. Um, but the results still create a a difficult burden for for all of our community members. So, at this point, we could go back to the stage and the board can ask questions regarding the budget. It's still coming. Anyone have any questions? >> I have a comment and question. >> Mr. Serani. >> Yeah. Okay. Uh, thank you for the presentation, Christopher. Um, I know that over the last few weeks we all the board members had an opportunity to meet either in committee or with you to review the budget, ask questions, discuss the budget. Um, so I just wanted everyone to be aware of that. And um I just want to thank you for not just now in in more challenging times, but

043you know, since you've been with our district, just your your thoughtful and um fiscally responsible um you know, way that you you manage the district funds. But my my question, I know that we we have talked um about ways that the district, you know, is um being mindful of of the current challenges. And just wanting you to maybe talk just a little bit about ways that you know we are um looking to cut what we can um while maintaining you know our programming and curriculum. >> Yeah. Thanks. So I just wanted to highlight the what was on the on the slide deck slide seven. We did just want to mention some of the positions we did cut. Um IT administration, we had an a human resources restructuring. Uh a social studies supervisor K through 12,

044math supervisor K through 12 or 6 through 12. We had our in integration specialist that covered K through 12, a director of operations, and an elementary Spanish teacher. In addition, the way we sort of operate is um every day we're looking at this. So just for example in our when we are looking at our enrollment numbers um we spend with the principal a significant amount of time going over every single position every single space in every single school mapping out class sizes across schools up and down the line talking about like different makeups within those schools and how scheduling goes. And when we talked about the FTEs remaining flat, we've had this enrollment increase. Um, and we've really only hired, not really, we've only hired one kindergarten teacher over that time period. Um, so it's

045taken a significant amount of work and effort um not just from the admin team here, but from our our principles, our supervisors um and the teachers working with them um in order to figure out how we can move around. And teachers have to be they're they're work with us to be flexible. you know, it's really hard uh to get comfortable in your schools and in your your surroundings and um they often will uh volunteer for for changes that are made. So, uh it's uh been difficult to do that, but I think uh everybody here at the at the district has really bought in um to what we're trying to do to make sure the impact is not on the community. >> Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Jones. >> Anyone else? I'd like to move that

046the board of education approves the following tentative budget for fiscal year 2026 2027. Mr. Jones, please call the role. >> Mr. Benedict, >> yes. >> Mrs. Boroff, >> yes. >> Miss Brody, >> yes. >> Mr. Greenblat, >> yes. >> Dr. Kolkowski, >> yes. >> Miss Serriani, >> yes. >> Miss Williams, >> yes. Motion passes. >> We are now going into our first public comment. In accordance with Scotch Plains Family Public Schools bylaws 0164 and 0165, the meeting will be open for 15 minutes for public comments. Maximum three minutes per speaker. Speakers addressing superintendent items, business functions, and other board business will be heard first. If time remains, speakers may address other matters. Speakers, please state your full name and the town in which you reside. Please note, boards use the public comment period as an

047opportunity to listen to citizen concerns, but not to debate issues or enter into a question and answer session or cross-examination between the public and the individual members. Be aware that not all issues brought before a board meeting will be resolved that evening. Boards may respond to public comment by seeking additional information or by delegating the authority to investigate the issue to be super to the superintendent or his or her designate. Thank you. Please come to the mic and state your name and town in which you reside. Um, my name is Nora Dornney. I live in Scotch Plains. I [snorts] am a ninth grade student at the high school and I'm here to ask for your consideration to budget a girls golf team in this upcoming year. Right now, we only have a boys varsity team.

048And while a girl can be on the team, I think there would be a lot more interest with the girls division. Golf is a unique lifelong sport that builds patience, discipline, and strength. I know many girls who would be interested in playing on a girls team, and there were some girls this year who were going to try out, but hesitated due to the competition. A girl competing in a boys's division is amazing. However, it can be difficult to earn a spot on the team for any girl. As a result, many female students are discouraged from pursuing golf. Establishing a girls team would open so many opportunities that a boy's team just can't. Girls should get to play matches with fair competition and equal opportunity. Girls want to play, but anyone would be intimidated to play

049on a boys team. Girls need their own team, and a school district that believes in girls should invest in a girls golf team and make girls golf a priority in the school budget. Golf is a skill that can take many girls amazing places and inspire others. Additionally, many surrounding towns already offer girls golf teams such as Westfield and Cranford. A girls golf team in Scotch Plains would allow our school to have more competition and representation with neighboring programs. I know budgeting is a concern with this, but Shady Rust Golf Course already offers free golf for anyone on the Raider golf team. Also, many girls have access to equipment. Overall, budgeting a girls golf team would provide a supportive environment where female students can develop their skills and compete with fair competition while representing our school

050and who we are. There's definitely a growing interest and I would be happy to gather participants and do anything I can do to develop this team. Thank you for your time and consideration. I hope you will strongly consider budgeting for a girls golf team. >> Thank you for your comment. Thank you. Gary Morris, Fanwood. That's a tough commute. Um, I was at a Cranford meeting. I like going to other town meetings and seeing what's happening. I went to a Cranford meeting yesterday and uh besides the crazy antics that goes on at these meetings, um they had an they they had a several teachers there including um the teacher union leader uh advocating for an ordinance that they have there. Uh I'll read it to you. an ordinance allocating a portion of the annual service charge

051received from Birwood Developers Urban Renewal Associates to the Cranford Public School District. So, this is a this is a town that's managing to get some money, not all the money, but some money um from the uh from a developer. Um they're sharing the pilot fund basically. So, it can be done. we have to ask. Okay. Um I have been analyzing, overanalyzing. I'm a math guy going through the numbers and everything. And right now there's four pilots in Fanwood. Um the improvements, which is the stuff that doesn't get taxed, it's $21 million of property that's getting giving zero dollars to our school district. Nothing. Um again, we need we need to take an active role in that. I am more than happy to be a liaison if none of you can go to the meetings, talk

052to me. One of the things that's key about this is when there's developments, you guys are on copy. So, Mr. Jones, if you get a copy of something, feel free to send it to me. Hey, looks like they're doing another big development here. Maybe we should start talking to them about sharing the funds. It's something we have to seriously do. Um and and again to give you an example, um I I did the math. Uh the tax from these pilots on the land, which you do get some of the money on, you're getting a total of $42,000 on the land. Okay? you should be getting another $272,000 a year on the improvements they did on that property on those properties. Okay, so just to put that in perspective, if these are 115 apartment units, let's

053say there's conservatively only 30 students there, that comes out to $660,000. 30 times roughly, I don't know, $22,000 a kid. I something like that. So again, we're we're constantly losing money um with these apartment complexes. And again, I I think a lot of people think it's a ton of money. Anything at this point is somebody's job. So please, if you get something, I am more than happy to go to the meetings. I'm there anyway. I can represent the district in a way that maybe you guys don't want to do or don't have the time. Quite frankly, you're probably really busy. I'd be happy to do it. So, use me in that capacity. I'd be happy to do it. >> Thank you, Mr. Norris. >> There will be another opportunity for another public comment later on.

054Thank you. We received 65 emails um from the public and were sent to the appropriate administrator. Are there any committee reports? I know I saw a few. I have two. I know Stephanie has one. Hey, Mrs. Brody, do you want me to go first? >> Yes. [clears throat] >> Um I'm a finance committee report. It's it's really there's really nothing to say since uh Mr. Jones went over the the um budget and he went over all these details of the budget with us at our meeting. Um, and I think he had mentioned this as well that due to the financial situation around the state, we're already looking at the 2728 budget to try to head off any financial issues before then. So that's finance. Thank you. Um, community [clears throat] relations. Um, we discussed the

055unfortunate change of the emergency makeup days communication. We had Jessica Ray uh did some research on communication apps and new websites. She reviewed three separate apps and discussed the two best with us. Apogee is a branded app with website and there also is parent square. These apps give the ability for targeted communication based on user requests. This will help with communicating effectively not only with the school community but also with the general community. [snorts] More research is being done such as the cost effectiveness and reviews and more info has been provided and will be discussed at our next meeting. We were also provided the schedule for senior citizen day which um is always a great big hit and that the the students and the the community love that. Um [clears throat] we also had good

056news. So just a highlight from each of the schools. Um Brunner had two amazing assemblies. They were rescheduled because of the snow snow days. A man for for Black History Month came in to teach the kids about black cowboys that helped our nation and dancers for Lunar New Year to teach the dragon dance as well as other dances. At Kohl's, the PTA sponsored bedtime story hour during ReadAcross America week where teachers read to groups of students in their pajamas and [clears throat] parents were in their pajamas as well. Excuse me. um at Evergreen Cubs have heart initiative. This month they're focusing on acceptance purpose on acceptance and the purpose is teaches children to value diversity and differences in people with the impact of promoting inclusion reduces prejudice and helps kids build positive open-minded relationships. At

057McGin, teachers and students are participating in March Book Madness and teachers record record reading aloud and the students get to vote to choose a favorite book. Um, school one great read across America celebration and they had their first ever build a cardinal night. Nuttingham Middle School, Mr. Ma Mike, one of the custodians, wrote a book called Alley, the basketball dream. Terrell Middle School, Holocaust survivor and and hidden child Maud Dam visited and spoke with the TMS six and sixth graders on March 4th at the high school. Deca competed at the New Jersey State Career Development Conference. With athletics, um Delaney Farley broke the school record in the 55 meter dash at the Eastern States Indoor Track and Field Competition. She won the race as well. The JV boys basketball team repeated as Union County tournament

058champions. And the girls wrestling wrestling made history yet as the first team in our region to qualify five wrestlers for the states. And they also won their first regional championship. And that's just one thing from each school. And that's my report. >> Thank you. Thank you. >> Mrs. Serani, can I just say something about the community relations report or are we doing it? Um I just uh thank you Deb for reading that report and I'm on the community relations committee and I just wanted to make a comment just because um I've been on the board a number of years and we consistently have gotten feedback from the community just about the way that we communicate with them that it comes from from you know different forms of communication. um and um also just needing to

059increase our communication with um members of our community who might not have um children in our district right now. So um I'm really excited that we're looking into some of these apps and some different ways that will create spaces to communicate with um all of those different groups in the community. So I know you said there's more to come. We're gonna make some decisions moving forward, but um I'm I'm really excited about that and that's a way that we really heard what some people were saying about uh the way that we communicate. >> Yeah, it's a great first step. >> I'm excited about that. Okay. And um so I'll move on to the curriculum committee report. The curriculum committee met on March 10th. U we discussed um first a number of different STEM related agenda

060items. First being um the STEM expo which happened uh March 18th. So, we were talking about it. It was about to happen, but it did happen last week. And that was where 40 to 50 students gathered at Nettingham um to exhibit on their investigations and problem designs. Uh there were volunteer students and teachers uh walking around evaluating, interviewing the students. Um and awards were presented based on different categories. Um and I think the robotics team was also present at that just to um showcase their talents. Um, another STEM event was the science olympiad which um actually that's later this week uh tomorrow um for grades five and six um that will be held at the high school uh and involved 35 uh middle school students participating in hands-on engineering challenges. And some examples of the

061projects were balloon powered vehicles and egg toss um and creating building and playing an instrument that they built. Um, okay. Moving on to Raider Robotics. Um, just a little update that Raider Robotics participated in league competition and will compete in state competition or I guess that I think that happened already again because we met two weeks ago. Um, and that a total of eight teams will move on to the world competition. Um and at the league competition um the SPF Raider Robotics won first place as well as captain and first inspire award. So congratulations to them. And the last STEM related item is um a grant application, the New Jersey STEM Strategic Advisory Board Innovation Fund. Um SPF applied for a $20,000 grant that is designed to increase robotics involvement for girls specifically in grades

062six to nine um and would support a summer robotics camp. And we will find out in April if we were awarded any funds uh toward that toward that effort. The next agenda item was um um English language arts. Supervisor Kelly Dunston discussed with the committee universal literary lit literacy screening um and talked about the state created criteria for assessment of dyslexia um dyslexia um screening students K through three twice a year which is a mandate and then providing support to students um around that notifying families of the screening. So these these are mandates that we have to follow and then sharing the data with the state. Um SPF was able to select its own assessment tool to screen students for dyslexia and um Miss Dunston discussed um the the tool that Scotch Plains is using

063and also discussed future plans such as professional development to support the capacity and sustainability around um this mandate. Okay. Uh the third agenda item was high school course selection. Um Dr. Hines uh high school principal came to talk to the group about that the course selection process is underway. It happens at every level even for eighth graders who are moving into the high school. um and let us know that by the end of April the supervisors then look at what courses the students have requested start looking also at capacity and then like schedules are built from there and uh Dr. Hines also updated the committee on senior project. I did talk about the senior project I think a couple months ago as part of of um this report but he provided an update that the

064initial applications from interested students were accepted and students have to show that um they are going to be mentored for their senior project and then they present research and a formal presentation for their proposed project. Um then they go on to do um four weeks of of their project which is I believe um May to June and then they submit a final presentation and there's a gallery walk. Um and currently at the time that we met two weeks ago 90 students which I believe is about 25% of the senior class were set to participate in the senior project. And that's an alternative to continuing um their coursework for the rest of the the school year from May to June. And our next meeting is April 21st. >> Thank you. Any questions? >> I have um

065>> Okay. >> I have a wellness and equity. >> Um and Steph, I think I did. Did Did you just say that the robotics was going to a world competition? >> No, not our team that eight teams will be going to worlds based on the state. >> Okay. Competition. >> It's like mind blown a little bit. Okay, >> we'll see. Um the wellness and equity um committee met on March 5th. Um a lot of this uh has been reported out um mainly through our uh student representatives, but um maybe a little bit more detailed some of it. Um as mentioned um all of the 11th grade students are being trained in mental health. Um Miss Iusi provided us with an update on that. Um, students are learning to recognize warning signs and having to navigate

066learning to navigate through be through being a good peer um and to notice signs when a friend is struggling. Um, as part of the process um for the training, Christine met with all or Miss Irusi met with all the 11th grade instructors. All the manuals and materials were ready to go. Um, there based on feedback that that Miss Rusi had gotten. Um the instructors recommend that the additional person that was in the room with them that their role was clarified um so that they could be more supportive. Um 400 students are being trained um and includes pre and post meetings and six sessions and this is a an initiative that is being supported through a grant. Um another amazing amazing program um through a local partner through Imagine um five peer mentors went to Imagine

067for training on grief which is provided for 9th graders. Um keeping in mind that we we were provided um with some insight as to the definition of grief. Um and that it is also inclusive of just going beyond losing a physical person um but including disabilities, LGBTQ, it could be simple something simple as moving. Um so counselors and child development team received the training um where they got a good intersectional sectional lens of grief and through different representations of our students um as also mentioned by our student um representatives um Dr. Hines shared with us um some feedback on a presentation that was um schoolwide by um an assembly that was presented by Carlos Ajito Jr. um Cool Speaks for Youth Engagement. And what was really cool about this, and I'm not sure you guys

068knew this, is that um this specific speaker was vetted by the students um who then approached um Rick Dory to see if they could bring Carlos to the schools. So some some of the students in our district actually had um come across this speaker and he's he speaks about his own experiences, you know, basically overcoming challenges. Um but he was vetted by our students. So that was kind of cool. Um, another really insightful program that I was so excited to hear about, um, as a result, as a direct result of a fight that took place during morning basketball, um, there's a new initiative that takes place now, um, with our school resource officers. And basically, if you would like to play basketball during free time, you must join a 7:30 a.m. restorative circle talk about

069leadership. anyone can talk at any time and then you get to play basketball for 20 minutes and Dr. Hines has told us it has been a complete success. So that's really really exciting. I know Stephanie probably loves that. Um the Black Student Union gave us some really great updates on um the price of silence that was presented at Terrell and one of the presenters is actually a muralist and he has been asked to um engage with some of the school and students on creating a mural together which is also very exciting. And then um something that I I believe we're going to be voting on tonight is one of the upcoming Black Student Union um field trips was to do a Harlem civil rights walking tour that 22 students are currently interested in. And then

070one of my favorite topics and I'm I'm done after this is peer tutoring. Um so overall peer tutoring and mentorship have um just continued to grow in the district and um our peer tutoring radar peer tutoring program currently takes place Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. But in additional to to in addition to that, I wanted to point out and this is in no way just these three examples because there are so many amazing examples of mentorship opportunities between studentto student, peer-to-peer. Um but of note, our robotics team just won a statewide award for their giving back to the community. Um and that is just so amazing. Um, the student council in eighth grade are teaching fifth graders how to be mentors and way and teaching them how to speak up for themselves and to see something

071and to say something. But they're that that's that pure pure mentorship. Eighth grades teaching fifth graders how to be mentors. I think that's beautiful. And finally, um, we had once again our high school heroes students went to McGin to do some pure leadership and financial literacy. That's a wrap. >> Thank you. >> I have notes from facilities meeting. We didn't have a uh an agenda because we had a special guest speaker. We had Adam Strugg. He came in to discuss the overview of the tech department and the takeaway message is that we have 7,000 users in the district but only four members that maintain all of these computers and laptops etc. So the team standardizes, automates and then watches over the life cycle of all the instruments used in our district. And it's amazing that

072only four people handle all of this. um he was just great talking about all what they do for our district and keep us so that we can communicate with one another and the students have their um their laptops or their uh iPads for the four years and then they they move on and get into a new life cycle. So thank you. Thank you. Was nice and thorough. Moving right along. Okay, Mr. Jones. He sent out the enrollment report earlier. Um, and up next, Dr. Mass with the superintendent curriculum report. Okay, for the superintendent report, first is out of district placements. Two are the HIPS from February 19th. Three is field trip requests. Four is the memorandum of agreement with Kain University on global education and citizenship and Scotchbinds family public schools and five is the

073personnel report that we discussed in exec. >> Thank you. Uh, Mr. Benedict, >> yes. >> Mrs. Boroff, >> yes. >> Miss Brody, >> yes. >> Mr. Greenblat, >> yes. >> Dr. Kolkowski, >> yes. >> Miss Serriani, >> yes. >> Miss Williams, >> yes. >> Motion passes. >> Okay. A lot of stuff here. All right. So, number one, staff training. Two, related services. Three, effective. So, effective school solutions by signing up early, they give us a discount. Um, That's why we're not doing it in a typical school opening uh meeting which is either May or June June. Um four and five is our um educational services commission's agreements and we use those for transportation. I want to note here though that um they're a great resource for us. They help us keep our cost down for

074our busing especially um out of district students. Every single bus for out of district students goes out to bid every single year. So it helps keeps cost down. Um but like any uh organization they have cost increases as well. They've uh increased their rate this year uh that they charge us for overhead from four to 5%. Um and you know, our health insurance is is high 15% up. Theirs is even higher. Theirs is up around 27% year-over-year in health insurance. So, um just costs all around um are affecting our budget. Six is change orders for the grand. Still everything's within budget. Um seven more the grand purchases for equipment over at Lrand. Eight is the Brunner uh elementary f furniture that we need to host the fifth grade. Six uh rep theater 10 private donation.

07511 is a grant acceptance. Uh 12 library book disposal and 13 drill reports. 14 is our standard financial reports. 15 is our dispersements. 16 are payment of bills. 17 uh and these were the ones that were added 17 to 23 um lrand uh generator submission DOE. So we did approve the proposal and now we approving the submission to DOE here. I do want to say something about this number 18 team ratification. So teamers represents our custodians, our uh ground staff and our maintenance staff um as well as our hall monitors. And you know while no negotiation is easy I think they worked with us to come up with a fair agreement and I just want to you know say during this uh winter it was extremely difficult and all of them really stepped up to

076get the schools ready uh for opening. We had a significant amount of members who stayed here for 24 hours straight um working as the snow was coming down the plow and they uh did the very best and I want to say publicly I appreciate them and all the hard work that they they did through the winter time. was very difficult uh for them to do. Uh 1920 21 are items we uh discussed in exact session. 22 is just doing uh getting the plans ready. Package two uh we're getting ready. Package two is the larger uh electrical upgrades at the uh middle schools and high school Kohl's. It's getting ready to that this gets ready for those put those plans together. and 23 is K kitchen renovation planning um for this year and [snorts] for next

077year >> for the grand. >> Thank you Mr. Jones. Um can I get a first? So move >> second. >> Any discussion? Any opposed? >> All in favor? I >> I but I need to pull out number 20. I want to vote no on number 20. >> Motion passes. >> Um I'm doing this one. So board policies. Um so the this is the second read for the the first B the first group here. So we did approve those and discuss those at the last meeting. Uh the second one is mine. So the the first read of second is a bylaw. It just updates um uh the official name of the school district aligned with statute and also puts it makes it very clear about our the addresses of the board office and our mailing address.

078That's first read for this meeting. >> Can I get a sec? First >> first. >> Oh. I didn't hear you. >> Sorry to hear. Sorry. >> I'll use the microphone. Second. Any second? >> Second. >> All in favor? >> I. >> Any discussion? Motion passes. Can I get approval of the minutes from uh February 19th, 2026? >> So moved. >> Second. >> All in favor? >> I >> Any opposed? >> Motion passes. Any new board business? >> Other board business. Any leazison reports? >> Um well, sorry. Yes. Uh I don't actually have a CPA leazison report because um they haven't met again since the last meeting. But um for those interested, the special education parent advisory group will be having their parent caregiver meeting tomorrow evening. This is an opportunity to speak without the administration

079present um and also uh lens conversation for issues and concerns to be forth brought to the admin. Um, but that's tomorrow at the SPF library um from 7 to 8:00 PM. Um, and I know that uh we talked about some of the things um in the the good of order this month, but I wanted to just point out um CPAC as well that um in the past few weeks and then in the upcoming month we've had neurodeiversity week um purple week and then coming up is autism awareness month in April. And that's it. >> Autism Acceptance Month. My apologies. >> Thank you, Amy. any workshops, anyone any requested to Oh, okay. Sorry. >> Um, Garden State Coalition. Um, so I'm going to do this on behalf of Sali. Um, Sali uh myself and Dr. Mast

080attended an Inerson meeting at >> uh Ryder University this uh this past uh Wednesday or the Wednesday before and I can tell you um the mood was very somber. Um there were representatives from many districts uh superintendents, board members and the discussion was centered around the budget and the legislature. Um, so I mean we talked about many examples that are going on and if you're reading the news about other districts like Montlair and Robbinsville where they're cutting services, closing schools, um, we're not I I think it's time that we have to sound the alarm bell as well because if the state keeps going at this rate, we can do our best to manage our budgets and cut costs, but we may follow this path in a couple of years. So I think we we need

081to be cognizant of that. Um there's and you know I want to share the same anger and frustration that our community shares with tax increases. Um you know it's something that is being passed on to us um from the state and and we're trying to manage it the best we can. But at some point I think it's time to take action and and address our state legislators and our local um representatives regarding an untenable situation. Um so we talked about this stuff at the in the meeting as well. Um, and I just want to say that, you know, the the others discussions that we had were the increasing health care costs, um, the idea that the funding formula is not working and it's it's broken and it's frankly, in my opinion, lazy um, on the

082state's part. um and we need to um lobby them to fix this process because it's it's a blanket process that's not taking into account the individual needs of of our district and other districts around us. So, um that was a lot of the discussion and a lot of the the speaker there talked about how you know we need to come together all the districts that are feeling this the weight of this and need to start really being active at the legislative level. So um that's my uh leazison report from the garden state coalition. >> Thank you Mr. Green. Just to follow up on Mr. Greenblad, just an example, it was headlines that we got state aid and the state aid was 5 and >> 542. However, our healthc care increase, which is one of the

083fundamental problems that Mr. Green is is referencing, is 3.8 8 million. So, it it really um I'm glad and grateful that we got that because we needed it. It was helpful, but it's really a drop in the bucket with the the [snorts] extensive um inflation and cost rising, especially around healthcare. So, that's part of what needs to be addressed and fixed and we we need the state's help to do to do that. >> Dr. Mast, if I may, just one point for the public as well. When we talk about the health care costs, it's important to remember that the specific health care that we provide to our staff is required by state law. So, it's not as though, you know, the district has chosen the most expensive plan and offered that as a benefit. State

084law actually mandates the plans that we are in that are costing us this money. >> Any more comments? >> Thank you. Um, any request to attend workshops or any workshop reports? >> May I get a motion for the autism acceptance month? >> So move. >> Second. All in favor? >> Any discussion? >> Motion passes. Thank you. Moving on to our next and final comment from the public. In accordance with Scotch Plains Family Public Schools bylaw 0164 and 0165, this meeting will be open for 15 minutes for public comments. Maximum three minutes per speaker. Speakers addressing superintendent items, business functions, and other board visits will be heard first. If time remains, speakers may address other matters. Speakers, please come to the front. State your full name and the town in which you reside. Please note boards

085use the public comment period as an opportunity to discuss to listen to citizen concerns but not to debate issues or enter into a question and answer session or cross-examination between the public and the individual members. Be aware that not all issues brought before a board meeting will be resolved that evening. Boards may respond to public comment by seeking additional information or by delegating the authority to investigate the issue to the superintendent or his or her designate. Please come to the front. Thank you. State your name and the town in which you reside. >> Brad Herman, Scotch Plains. So, uh, you know, lot to digest on the budget. Uh, great presentation. I mean, you just laid it all out, put the numbers in front of us. Um, they are incredibly concerning. So, you know, I totally

086agree with Mr. Greenblat. Uh we really need to be diligent and um we need to really be concerned about what the next couple of years are going to bring for this district. We really just need to ring the alarm bells. So couldn't agree more about that. I'm just curious what's actually driving the increase in the health insurance enrollment. Is it the lower premiums due to chapter 44 regulation or lower premiums contributed by the teachers and staff or is it something else more fundamental that's driving the increase um enrollment? So that's one question I posed to you. Um couple of other things. I wasn't at the last board meeting but uh you know Evergreen had a uh celebrity uh guest at the drop off line. Thank you Dr. Mass for helping us out after that uh

087horrible January snowstorm. We had uh a very rough winter. And uh on that note, I mean, I've uh expressed my concerns about some of the logistics around the you know, the snowfall. I think our grounds crew did an excellent job. More concerned about the town. Um, I think around the schools, our town could have done a lot better job of fully removing snow. Uh, we had these giant snow banks. It narrowed the streets. Traffic was just an utter mess on on Evergreen Avenue around Evergreen. I'm sure it was an utter mess around other schools. Um, I think I think there just needs to be better coordination, maybe reduce the number of cars. So, I don't know how much flexibility the district has, but instead of even thinking of delayed openings, maybe even staggered openings, have

088a couple of grades in at a time, then, you know, half hour later, another couple of grades. But I think we have to start if we're going to have rough winters like this in the future. I don't know how you know obviously we can't really predict that but um I think think we need to think a little bit out of the box uh and also coordinate more with the uh with the local municipality in terms of removing uh the snow. So uh that's uh about it. Thank you. >> Thank you Mr. Herman. >> Um the question of the increased enrollment and health um we contemplate that as well. Well, I think it's um tough to really understand. If I I could speculate, you know, speculation to me would be that health plans are going up

089for everybody. Um, you know, and ours are mandated as uh Doug mentioned. And so I would think maybe people like ours better, you know, compared to the spouses. So that's the only thing I can really come up with um that our plan is is better and more affordable. Yeah. And so previously um under well the previous there was older reg leg legislation uh called chapter 78 and that legislation um employees paid um a percentage of the plan. The chapter 44 regulation changed it to where uh employees would pay a percentage of their salary. Um, with that came a plan that was uh not as strong as the previous plan. And so the thought is that that the cost difference would be would make up for it. Um, I think uh centrally in Trenton, they're sort

090of realizing that hasn't really happened. The new plan they offered that was supposed to be the a lesser plan hasn't kept pace with the increase in cost for the district. So, um that's the the contribution piece that's affecting us well. But I just overall I think um health plans are expensive for everybody. Um and we have a in schools the the health the health insurance is is good and you pay a percentage of your salary salary and you know I think that's pretty much it. I I think but I'm speculating of course. >> Hi Gary Morris Vanwood again. Um, not sure if you saw this, but uh, niche.com came out with uh, the rankings of various towns in uh, New Jersey and Fanwood was number one in Union County. Um, but the really good news

091is Westfield was number four. So, uh, anytime you beat Westfield, as you guys said, uh, you just got to flex on them just a little bit. So, I hope somebody from Westfield is watching this. Um, so, uh, but do not move here from Westfield. Please, for the love of God. Um, I I'm convinced that the reason Fanwood is number one is because of my, uh, charismatic personality. People want to be closer and live closer to me. And our town is doing the best they can to accommodate that by putting up apartment buildings closer and closer. Maybe it's Amy because Amy doesn't live far from me. Maybe they're going to see Amy and Jason's not too far either. >> Everybody's close to everybody else. >> It's pretty close. It's 1.3 square miles. It's like, what is

092this? The funniest thing about this survey was um we got a B+ for night life. Our night life, our nightife in our town is quick check. I don't know if they have like a karaoke night that's going on that I don't know about. Jason, maybe you know you're you're closer to that quick check, but something's going on there that got us a B+ for nightife in Fanwood, New Jersey. That that is spectacular. Um, >> it could be our board meetings. >> What's that? >> It could be our board meetings. >> Yeah, it could be. [laughter] It could be. But they're not in Fanwood, though. So, here's the thing. Uh, I I've hammering on this. I found out that another apartment complex has applied for what's called a five-year tax abatement/exemption. So, that's now two in

093Fanwood. We were told that these would not be pilots. Technically, that is a pilot. It's a five-year pilot. And I'm telling you right now, I have found huge issues with the paperwork. I'd be happy to share it with you guys if you wanted to even get a lawyer involved that these are not uh properly done. Okay. To give you an idea of the impact of these two particular properties, um one apartment complex is 28 units, the other is 58 units. Uh, one of them is going to be $828,000 uh, dollars worth of taxes lost over the next five years. That's not just for uh, you know, the school. That's overall. The other one is $1.5 million in taxes lost. I estimate figuring it out with the school formula approximately, it works out to about $1.4

0944 million over those five years for the schools that is lost. And these were properties that we're basically told, oh, these are not going to be pilots. This is what our town leaders told us. They're not telling the truth. They're able to apply for these after the building is built. And one of them actually the rule says, Yeah, I know. 30 30 days after the building is built, this one apartment complex applied 53 days late and they gave it to them. That's got to stop. They're not hitting deadlines. I It's a school lesson. If you don't hand it in in time, you don't get credit. >> Thank you for your comment, Mr. Morris. Good evening. My name is Dan Valentine. I live in Branchburg, but I'm the vice president of the Scotch Plains Family Education

095Association. Healthcare is uh a massive issue and I I want to uh say on behalf of the association that we're excited to work with you going forward. Um, one of the things that may have actually resulted in in an increase in the number of uh, members that are taking healthcare is when chapter 78 was introduced, there was this impression that the fact that there would be greater cost sharing. Before chapter 78 went in, uh, most uh, workers in the school district got their health insurance for free. So we removed uh a waiver where people who were not getting uh a health insurance new hires uh wouldn't qualify for a waiver going forward in the future. It is an area that the board could look at uh to perhaps uh investigate whether uh offering the waiver

096going forward in the future would get some members to switch to their spouse's healthcare plans. >> Thank you. Thank you. >> Thank you for your comment, Mr. Valentine. >> [clears throat] >> Hi. Um, Sandra W, uh, Scotch Plains. I'm here with Jessica Minis Fanwood. Um, we wrote this email to you together and I just wanted to, um, read it here. Uh, we hope you're well. We are writing to respectfully ask um what steps can be taken to revisit or improve the process for developing our school calendar. Uh many families, including ours, have grown concerned that each year more and more days off seem to get added to the calendar. These changes create challenges for planning child care, work schedules, disrupting student learning, and dealing with um heat closures at the end of the school year.

097We would appreciate understanding how the calendar is currently determined and whether there may be opportunities for greater parent involvement in the future. Um we would like to explore possible solutions such as um one forming some sort of committee either from each school or some other way to better gauge what's most important to each school community. um possibly two presenting um potential calendar options and having us vote on them or three conducting like a townwide survey to identify which dates observances or things are most important to families such as starting before Labor Day, after Labor Day, the fall break, spring break timing, um all those things. We are very much open to doing the work and being actively involved to help make the calendar more representative of the majority of residents in our town. We don't

098particularly think the currently approved um 2026 2027 calendar is a good representation of what works for our families, but we believe that collaboration between um the families in the board of ed could lead to a more transparent and inclusive process. Thank you for your time and consideration. We look forward to hearing your thoughts and what we can do to help. Um, and we just want to say we really appreciate all the time you guys take and we know your volunteers and um, we listen to parents complain all the time, but they never want to do anything about it and it like frustrates us. So, um, we decided to actually just come and start the process. We were very oblivious to how everything works or if we can even do anything at all. Um, but we're

099here and looking forward to our future with you. Thank you. >> Thank you so much for your comment. Thank you. Yes. Um just want to address the waiver comment. Um we have spent a good amount of time um doing analysis on the waivers. Um and the the thing with the waivers is you if you start looking at waivers for employees, you have to you have to pay to every employee who's currently not on our insurance. You have to start there as a base and pay them money for the waiver. So, you start at a very high level of of expense that would then have to be covered by the amount of people who would then take a waiver and uh you could end up in a situation where your costs are higher um especially in

100the first year or so. Um so but I think it is something that we're going to do additional deep dive into for sure um over the next six months. So for sure >> yeah and of course you guys always work with us. I mean we appreciate everything of course. Um >> yeah so you know that for sure. >> Thank you. Seeing no one else I'm going to close our final um public comment. And we do have our upcoming meeting on April 30th. See you all then. Anything for the good of the order? I have um I have something. So um I wanted to further emphasize how amazing senior citizens senior citizen day was. Um, and I'm embarrassed to admit it is the first one I actually um made it to, but I was just blown

101away by the number of seniors that were in attendance. The number of students that were just personality out there hanging out involving themselves. It was just beautiful to see. So, um, that seemed to be a huge success. Um, John, I also participated today in the legislative update for the New Jersey school boards. Um, they have several on various occasions and it's always interesting to see what um, legislative issues there are that certainly are it's it's very interesting now as we share a lot of common um, issues and concerns with other areas and districts. And then finally, um, last week some of us were able to attend Unsung Heroes. Um, and his last name is slipping my memory right now, but Zho, um, was the what was it? >> Jen, is that how you pronounce it?

102>> Chen. >> My apologies. Chen. Um, was was Scott Plain Fanwood's unsung hero and it was wonderful to see. >> Thank you. Dr. >> Thank you. Um, we're very busy this time of year because we have such talented students in the district. I was fortunate enough to attend the Nettingham Bye-Bye Birdie performance at the at the middle school. The students were just excellent. They performed so well. You would have thought they were high school students, but then again, I saw Guys and Dolls at the high school and they were phenomenal. You thought you saw a Broadway show. Uh we are just so lucky to have such talented students and such wonderful directors and costume makers and everything was just wonderful. Uh, I also attended with Amy the unsung heroes at Raway High School and it

103is just a monumentous experience to hear how all of these teens with all of the troubles and the way they live and they still go to school and they still are successful in their studies and they're going to finish high school and be very very good going on to college etc. And then lastly, I did read at Kohl's for the Read Across America. I was lucky enough to attend two second grade classes and had a good time reading with the students there. So, I look forward to more events that are coming up in the rest of the semester. Thank you. I also enjoyed read across America in my classroom at school one. It's bittersweet because my children went there, so I always cry when I get there. They're like, "What are you crying about?" But

104um also I wanted to congratulate um our own board members. Salutarian Sal solitatoran is that it Stephanie Serriani her daughter Gabby. >> Thank you. >> Congratulations. And of course a validictorian but congratulations. >> Thank you. >> I'll fill in for Sali and tell you it's crazy a drop off so be careful out there. Okay, wonderful. Can we get a motion to adjurnn? [laughter] >> Second. >> any opposed? Okay. Thank you. [laughter]