Steven Barandica

The meeting included an Executive Session to discuss confidential matters, including employee employment terms and HIB investigations involving students. Key agenda items included the presentation and approval of the Annual Comprehensive Financial Report (ACFR) for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2025, which received an unmodified clean opinion with no recommendations. Committee reports covered updates on LED Lighting upgrades, boiler installations, removal of trailers from the Middle School, review of a full-day Kindergarten proposal, bus operations, and curriculum matters such as a new Vehicular Systems and Metal Fabrication course. The Policy Committee reviewed mandated changes to sexual harassment policy due to updated federal Title VII and Title IX requirements. The Legislative Action Committee discussed state bills, including a mandatory cursive writing curriculum and a cell phone ban. The Finance Committee reviewed the annual audit. Significant personnel actions included the approval of numerous medical, maternity, and unpaid leaves of absence under both 10-member and 9-member votes, recall from administrative leave, approval of PD Trainers, Mentors, and various athletic coaches and new certificated/non-certificated staff appointments. The Board also invoked the Doctrine of Necessity to vote on matters concerning the Superintendent's employment due to conflicts of interest among a quorum of members.

The meeting began with the announcement that Mr. Payne was absent and included a roll call, followed by the reading of the executive session resolution to discuss litigation, personnel matters, and student investigations. After returning from the executive session, the board approved the minutes for the Public Board of Education meeting and the Executive Session meeting from January 21, 2026. The student board member provided detailed reports covering activities at Barkley Brook (Team USA spirit day, 100th day of school spirit week, Valentine's card drive), Brookside (spelling bee, Team USA day, spirit week, parent-teacher conferences), Mil Lake (PTO book fair, Super Bowl collection, We Love our School Spirit Week, dental visits, Kids Heart Challenge), Woodland (Title I programs, spirit days, food/coat drives, volunteering at Rise, math awards, TNT sports, unified activity with High School), Oak Tree (Hour of Code night, Falcon Fest/Kids Heart Challenge, Friday frenzy field day fundraiser), Applegarth (pep rally, Red White and Blue day, spelling bee, robotics competition), and Middle School (spelling bee results, band performance at Brookdale, grade level expectation assemblies, and robotics competition placements). Committee reports included updates on ESP projects across all schools, confirming completion of LED lighting upgrades and operational status of boilers/pumps at certain locations; discussion on revised proposals for construction additions at Oak Tree, Mil Lake, and Barkley Brook, and converting high school team rooms into general classrooms; bidding for HVAC controls at Barkley Brook; and an overview of bus operations, staffing, contractor routes, and testing of the bus application. A discussion also occurred regarding construction project timelines related to full-day kindergarten funding advocacy.

The meeting initiated discussions for the first curriculum committee meeting of 2026. Key discussions included preliminary details for a proposed 2027 high school band and choir trip to California to perform at Disneyland, scheduled for March 3rd through 7th. The plan involves extensive fundraising to ensure student accessibility, with district costs being minimal (covering only transportation to the airport, trailer expenses, and supervision stipends). Furthermore, updates were provided regarding the new curriculum for the vehicular systems and metal fabrication course. A significant portion of the meeting addressed student requests concerning summer enrichment courses, particularly financial literacy requirements. It was noted that since the state mandated financial literacy in 2009, the district has integrated six different classes to fulfill this requirement across various departments, leading to a substantial decrease in enrollment for the standalone Personal Finance and Economics course during the regular school year. The committee also discussed which elective courses, such as AP Business with Personal Finance lab or Economics and Finance, would be suitable candidates for future summer programming.

The meeting featured a presentation of the Annual Comprehensive Financial Report by the external auditor. The auditor detailed the auditing process, which included statistical sampling of financial records, verification of student attendance counts (including tying into the DRTS), review of IEP classifications for special education revenue, and detailed checks on payroll, including base pay, extra pay, withholdings, and timely payment of taxes. The expenditure audit focused on transaction testing, significant item testing, ensuring documentation was proper, invoices were accurate, and charges were posted to the correct fiscal year budget accounts. Revenue audit confirmed that tax levy and state aid reimbursements were in agreement with underlying details, and cash reconciliations matched the general ledger. The auditor confirmed an unmodified (clean) opinion on the financial records as of June 30, 2025, noting that the timely filing was challenging due to delays in receiving federal compliance documentation.

The committee meeting focused on reviewing materials from the December 2025 legislative committee session concerning New Jersey school boards. Key legislative updates discussed included changes to pension reenrollment for teachers returning from extended leave, which aims to encourage teacher return amidst shortages; a new task force concerning chronic absenteeism; and discussions surrounding school funding reform bills, which involved proposed compromises between different legislative sponsors. The committee also reviewed the status of a school consolidation bill that proposes consolidating school districts, noting significant political pushback regarding local control. Furthermore, new legislation mandates on cell phone and internet-enabled device use in schools was discussed, noting the DOE has 90 days to provide recommendations, and a proposed requirement for cursive writing curriculum for grades three to five was mentioned.