Thursday’s Board of Education meeting will be one of the more heartfelt ones of the year. It’s when the District and community formally recognize and celebrate the educators who’ve gone above and beyond—and say farewell to some of our most dedicated staff as they head into retirement. Among this year’s retirees are longtime Principal Jessica Nardi and Supervisor Laurie Scott, both of whom have left lasting marks on the district. I’ve previously written about some of the incredible teachers stepping out of the classroom for the last time. While I haven’t had the chance to meet them all, it’s clear that each one has made a difference. We’re grateful for the time, care, and commitment they gave our students and schools.

Personnel updates include the hiring of Jesse Rice, who will be teaching math at Governor Livingston. Grace Pitingolo will transition into a full-time Administrative Assistant role at GL. Laurie Scott’s retirement becomes official August 1. Also joining the district: Elisha Abdelaal as a Special Ed teacher at CMS and Jodi Englert at Hughes. Margaret Gleeson will take over as Administrative Assistant at CMS. Meanwhile, Christopher Nicholson, a para at MKM, has submitted his resignation.

On the business side, the board is set to approve a $14,534.14 transfer from the capital reserve for classroom toilet upgrades at Woodruff. While there’s been chatter about expanding the Pre-K program, there hasn’t been any formal discussion yet—despite funding now being allocated for what appear to be related improvements. The board is also scheduled to approve a $4,666.95 payment to Cleary Giacobbe for legal services provided in April. The nature of those services hasn’t been disclosed, but an OPRA request is pending and we’ll report back once we have more details.

In new business, Mr. Dillon has raised a policy discussion around how a club becomes an officially recognized sport, specifically under Policy 2430.

As for old business, Ms. Stanley will revisit several policies for second reading and adoption. One that stands out is Policy 0131, which aims to clarify and formalize how policies move from draft to final approval. The proposed revisions open the door for anyone—including the public—to suggest changes, and lay out defined steps for how those suggestions are handled.

Policy summaries from my last article that are reappearing this meeting:

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.

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