New Providence BOE Agenda Includes $6.9M Bill List, Lunch Prices, Special Education Placements, Software Renewals and Policy Updates
The New Providence Board of Education’s June 25, 2026 agenda includes a large year-end finance package, education approvals, personnel actions, policy revisions and several exhibits tied to lunch pricing, software renewals, special education services, out-of-district placements and summer curriculum work however one item of note that does not have back up is a Memorandum of Understanding with the New Providence police department.
This should be an item of concern as it can have potential civil liberty implications for students. When can police access the live stream, under what conditions, who acts as the gatekeeper for this access? As we’ve documented time and time again, the overwhelming evidence supports that the more involved police become in schools, the outcomes on academic achievement decline and the risk of students becoming involved with the legal systems for issues typically handled by the school increases. It is shocking that this important document is referenced but not included in the agenda packet provided.
If the MOU is approved NJ21st will submit an OPRA request.
The Superintendent’s report includes enrollment, HVAC, Class of 2026 post-secondary statistics and general information. The agenda also lists a presentation on the Rubric to Guide Effective Teaching, including teachers, school counselors and school nurses.
The finance section includes approval of the May 2026 Board Secretary and Treasurer reports, along with payment of June bills totaling ~$7M along with an agenda item that includes a 05/2026 transfer of ~$27K from grades 6-8 salaries for professional services.
One resolution continues the district’s withdrawal from the National School Lunch Program for the 2026-2027 school year, which, according to the resolution, started during the 2014-2015 school year.
The Pomptonian price lists (Exhibit A) have elementary lunch at $4.10 and high school/middle school lunch at $4.50. Reduced-price lunch is at $0.50. At the high school/middle school level, breakfast is listed at $3.55.
Under Finance, Exhibit B includes Strauss Esmay policy software, SafeSchools training, NJSchoolJobs.com, Frontline systems, PageFreezer social media public records compliance, LinkIT, Finalsite, Acquia, PowerSchool and School Messenger. One detail worth noting is that Exhibit B lists a “Board Approval Date” of May 28th, even though the June 25 agenda also lists Exhibit B for approval.
Exhibit C includes annual software support and maintenance renewals-Gaggle for accounts connected to grades 3-12 at $9,625, PowerSchool at $46,953.90, Microsoft licensing at $34,500, Securly Filter for iPads at $11,980.32, JAMF management at $27,815.50, Cybereason managed endpoint detection and response at $22,600, Palo Alto Networks firewalls/content filter/threat prevention at $21,097 along with a slew of other tech related items. A quick add comes to over $350K for the whole thing.
We’ve written extensively on our Concerns about Gaggle and if you’re interested, you can check the hub out here.
The Board is also being asked to move $60,000 from prior-year refunds into the capital reserve account to help fund replacement of the turf at Lieder Field when necessary.
Other items under finance include approval of a School Tuition Rate Schedule Agreement with the Union County Vo-Tech, use of an Educational Services Commission of New Jersey athletic equipment reconditioning and repair co-op awarded to Stadium System’s and a year-end authorization allowing the Business Administrator/Board Secretary, with approval of the Superintendent and Finance, Facilities and Security Committee Chairperson, to execute account transfers needed to close the fiscal year, subject to Board confirmation at the next regular meeting.
The agenda also includes approving bus companies for athletics, extracurricular and field-trip transportation if the Morris-Union Jointure Commission can’t provide transportation, approving a vehicle and bus fleet maintenance agreement with the Morris-Union Jointure Commission and accepting an AWR PTA donation of $82,699 for the purchase and installation of playground equipment for the North Court Playground.
The Board is also being asked to approve the sale of 256 Apple iPads to Total Technology, Inc. for $19,103. The iPads include Gen 7, Gen 8 and Gen 9 models.
Another finance item would dissolve the Class of 1962 Louis DiParisi, Jr. Memorial Scholarship and transfer remaining funds to the Ed Lieder Scholarship.
The education section includes approval of the Superintendent’s recommendations regarding 2025-2026 HIB investigations for Allen W. Roberts, listed as incident report numbers 9, 10, 11 and 12.
Several education items involve special education services and placements. Exhibit D lists related services for fiscal year 2026-2027, including speech and language services, physical therapy, occupational therapy, psychiatric evaluations, AAC evaluations, neuropsychological and neurological evaluations, nursing services, home instruction, bedside instruction and interpretation services.
Exhibit E lists 25 extended school year out-of-district placements for summer 2026 totaling over $380K.
Exhibit F lists 28 regular school year out-of-district placements for 2026-2027 totaling a little over $2.7M.
The agenda includes staff evaluation instruments for the 2026-2027 school year. The teacher evaluation instrument and school counselor evaluation instrument are listed as revised, while the school nurse evaluation instrument is listed as new. The agenda says copies are available in the Board of Education offices. Again, these are items that should be included in the agenda packet for public review prior to the meeting given their significance.
Under staffing, new or renewed appointments include trainers for new teacher professional development and technology training, a long-term substitute teacher, a school social worker, STEM club advisors, coaches, a secretary, teachers, an athletic trainer and summer academy staff.
The agenda also includes the resignation of several employees, including an athletic trainer, teachers, a teacher aide and a playground/lunch assistant. One resignation is listed as due to retirement.
The Board is being asked to approve contract agreements for James Testa as School Business Administrator/Board Secretary and Joseph G. Uglialoro as Assistant Superintendent of Educational Services for the 2026-2027 school year. The agenda says copies are available in the Board of Education offices – we’ll say it again – these are big positions with significant responsibilities the public should be able to view these documents in order to provide informed feedback.
The personnel section also includes the appointment of Frances Spann as the district’s Division of Child Protection and Permanency liaison for the 2026-2027 school year.
The personnel section also includes approval of summer 2026 curriculum writing appointments at $57.09 per hour. Exhibit H lists 405 total requested hours across art, health and physical education, language arts, mathematics, music, science, social studies, STEM and world language. At the listed hourly rate, my calculation from the exhibit totals approximately $23,121.45.
The policy section includes first-reading approval of several policies and regulations, including legal notices, family leave, curriculum, equity in school and classroom practices and substitute compensation. It also includes second-reading approval of policies and regulations covering nepotism, legal services, professional services, employment of the chief school administrator, administrative employment contracts and cooperation with law enforcement agencies.
The full policy and regulation texts are not included in the agenda packet either.
|
