Overview

Appointment of Assistant Superintendent Dr. Crystal Marr has been appointed Assistant Superintendent of Curriculum, Instruction, and Student Achievement, with a salary of $183,500 effective July 1, 2025. Dr. Marr hasn’t been with the District long, but like Dr. Feltre and Dr. Cordero, she’s already made an impression by showing up—at our schools, at student events, and in the community. It’s worth saying: that visibility matters. Thank you to the entire admin team for being present and engaged.

New Principal at Thomas P. Hughes School Chris Deflinger will become the new principal of TPH starting August 1, 2025, with an annual salary of $125,000. According to his LinkedIn, he’s currently Assistant Principal at Branchburg Township Middle School and has served on the Metuchen Board of Education for over six years. He began his career as an elementary school teacher and holds a master’s from Montclair State. We look forward to welcoming him to the District.

Retirements A number of longtime staff members will be retiring: Anthony Juskiewicz (Business Administrator), Lisa McAdam (Budget, Accounting & Reporting Specialist), Christine Marconi (ESL at GL/CMS), and Jeanmarie Ciarrocca (English at GL). We wish them all the best and thank them for their service to the District.

Resignations Zakaria Rochdi (Business Education at GL) will be leaving at the end of the school year. We wish him well in whatever comes next.

New Teachers Hired Two new certified staff members will be joining us next school year: Katherine Witte at Hughes and Kiersten Krog at Mountain Park. Welcome aboard!

Staff Reassignments and Transfers Several shifts are coming for 2025–26:

• Josephine Kwan will move from MKM to MP as a special education teacher
• Alissa Morris will move from a help teacher role at MKM into a kindergarten position
• Rebecca Kelly is shifting from CMS to TPH
• Leigh Gillespie is moving from MP to CMS
• Erin Devine is heading from TPH to WW
• Christine Nisch will move from WW to TPH

Additional Retirement Ernest Monaco (Industrial Arts/Tech at CMS) will also be retiring at the end of the year. We thank him for the years he gave to our students.

Additional Resignation Thomas Clayton is leaving BHPS—and while it may not be a surprise to some, it’s certainly a loss. Mr. Clayton was one of the most dynamic and engaging teachers my kids ever had. We’re sad to see him go and wish him nothing but the best.

Student Participation Fees Participation fees for the upcoming school year were set at $75/$150 for CMS and $100/$200 at GL, depending on whether a student is involved in activities only or both athletics and activities.

Gym Floor Replacement The District approved an $18,900 agreement with Solutions Architect to replace and repaint the CMS gym floors.

Board Secretary Appointment In the absence of the School Business Administrator, Lisa McAdam has been appointed to serve as Board Secretary.

Policy Discussions The Board began reviewing a number of policies and bylaws, including updates to Equal Employment Opportunity, student smoking, sportsmanship, academic integrity, student grievance procedures, equity in educational programs, and food services.

Second Reads Policies related to high school graduation, the spectator code of conduct, and the District’s Comprehensive Equity Plan were discussed again and may be adopted at an upcoming meeting.

Deeper Dive

Architect Agreement

Several provisions in the Architect of Record agreement up for approval this week raise red flags around cost, transparency, and accountability.The contract says the architect doesn’t have to help with public records requests unless the District pays extra or passes the cost to residents—effectively making it harder for the public to access information we’re all paying for.

It also allows the firm to charge for additional site visits and design revisions, which could easily inflate costs. Worse, the contract makes clear that cost estimates used to get project approvals aren’t guaranteed—meaning the District could be on the hook for big overruns with little recourse.

There’s also a clause that releases the architect from any responsibility if hazardous materials are discovered mid-project. And in the event of a dispute, the District is forced into non-binding mediation and then court in Essex County—adding time and expense just to push back.

Raptor Visitor System

The Board can take the opportunity to cut ties, or, at the very least, hold a discussion surrounding Raptor this week. Concerns that have been raised connect to cost, efficacy, and value.

Public Relations Contract

Why does a district full of educators and elected officials—who had no issue communicating during campaign season—need to spend $15,000 on PR? If there is value in this cost and position, the community would benefit from hearing the argument to why this is a needed cost for the District.

Student Smoking Policy

The District can consider adding this line: “Devices containing or suspected to contain only nicotine are not subject to law enforcement notification.”

This would reduce unnecessary referrals to law enforcement and help ensure the policy is applied consistently. State law does not require schools to report nicotine-only devices.

Sportsmanship Policy

The line banning staff from being “publicly critical” of officials or opponents may be too broad turning criticism into misconduct. The BOE can consider clarifying the policy to prohibit things like profanity or harassment while also allowing our Coaching staff the ability to hold officials accountable.

Grievance Procedures

Thirty days for a response may be too long to wait for a decision in some cases—the BOE can consider reducing it to 10 business days. They can also consider clearer, user-friendly forms and a designated ombudsman at each school to guide families through the process. 

Link to BHPSNJ Agenda

Link to BHPSNJ Attachments

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