If I may take a brief moment, I would like to reflect before jumping into the 6-hour kick off to the 2025-26 school year BOE meeting…

All in all, the meeting ran smoothly. I witnessed an Administrative team (Feltre, Marr, and even newly appointed BA Nicholson) working as a tag-team answering questions, and truly listening to concerns. The Administrators were highly focused on student achievement and staff support. For the first time, in a long time, I finally feel like we are on track within this District. I do need to give credit where I believe it’s due and that would be towards Mr. Nixon, for setting a new course and opening doors that had previously been shut. I have an instant respect for the behavior, conversations and responses from our new Business Administrator. I am hopeful we will continue to see true collaboration and community within this District.

Open Campus was granted by Dr. Feltre to the class of 2026. Concerns addressing safety were addressed and many Board members commented that this is an important time for students to model and practice responsible behavior.

The Superintendent announced three dates for community input regarding the District’s Strategic Planning: September 24, October 28, and November 24 from 6-8:30 p.m.

All emails for the Board of Education should be directed to [email protected] to ensure all Board members receive the communication.

Dr. Feltre presented District Goals which she created in a collaborative effort with her Administrative team and staff members. While some of the goals seem difficult to measure, they are getting our District back to what matters – our kids and our teachers. We had Acting Superintendent Nixon set the path and it’s great to see Dr. Feltre and Dr. Marr kick the focus into high gear on a path we can all get on board with.

The Goals are:

1. Foster a district-wide culture of student-centered learning.

2. Build capacity for data literacy and instructional decision making.

3. Support the whole child.

NJGPA Test Results were presented by Dr. Marr and the trend for BHPS students is positive. Board members raised concerns regarding support systems for all students to ensure success is a viable and achievable option for everyone and emphasized that we truly need to ensure each student receives the support he or she needs to achieve and ultimately graduate.

The premise that all students struggle at some point was raised and Stanley followed by reminding everyone that we have many students that fall into “the middle” and that we need to proactively be finding ways to meet the needs of not just our high achievers and those requiring additional support, but all students, especially those who may not present needs like others. Dillon and Terrero echoed one another with concerns about kids who need additional support to pass the graduation requirements given the 6-week window for ESTMA.

Questions raised by Board members were comprehensive and inclusive of all students. Administration was open and welcoming of comments and questions and offered additional comparisons and information to Board members who asked. It was clear both Feltre and Marr, although newer employees, have done their homework and came prepared and open for conversation.

There was no debating, no contention – the entire Board and Administration was on the same team. This was refreshing and not the norm and I felt it meaningful to cite their joint ability to work together. But that only lasted through the presentations.

There was a brief discussion regarding Challenge Day, a program limited to 100 students during their Sophomore year at GL which costs over $6,000. Although this program is highly acclaimed, Terrero made it clear that this program should be available to each and every student who wants to participate if we are going to be a truly inclusive District. Feltre remarked that she would obtain more details from the vendor and report back to the BOE.

During the review of Curriculum Committee minutes, Joly announced that the CMS Administrative team are continuing to review scheduling and what will work best for our middle school students. This winter Kobliska along with his team will work on the creation of a new schedule, with an emphasis on more time in core academics, to be rolled out in the 2026-27 school year.

Board Discussion reverted to some unfavorable behavior from repeat offenders with the hot topics being OPRA and Legal Bills and the District using TapInto as the exclusive host for the GL Student news publication source.

In the conversation about the Board not renewing a contract for legal services for OPRA, Stanley commented the prior BA found it fiscally responsible to send all OPRAs to the cheaper counsel on retainer. Joly interjected herself stating it is not fiscally responsible to send every OPRA request, especially those requests which are OPRAs of already remitted documents from previous requests and meeting minutes, to a lawyer.

Board Members voiced questions and opposition to the District for its exclusive use of TapInto for the student journalism course. Although BHPS has been using TapInto since 2018, no one was aware of the details regarding the program and if possible journalism mentorship was incorporated on behalf of TapInto staff. Akiri raised concern with TapInto acceptance of political contributions and their featuring of paid political advertisements, especially during election season. She cautioned the District and Board, as a non-partisan entity, that steps should be taken to ensure our schools are not involved or tied to politics in any way, shape or form. Feltre agreed to look into this program and Khanna requested that going forward, any news source that features our students and is linked to our District be approved by a Board resolution and contract to clearly define the agreement of both parties.

A grant providing mental health resources, through an app, was tabled due to the lack of available information for Board Members and the greater community. The biggest problem for some was knowing who students were being connected with, speaking to and being guided from – and understanding the fine line between a mental health resource becoming a treatment and how parent knowledge, consent and oversight might create a liability for the District.

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