‘In the Hands of the Board’…Transparency Concerns in the New Providence July BOE Agenda

July’s NP BOE agenda continues the district’s practice of asking the public to evaluate items and documents that are either described only briefly or kept “in the hands of each Board member,” preventing families from reviewing the complete record prior to the BOE voting.

Finance includes July bills coming to ~4M along with ~$873K in June budget transfers.

The transfers balance at $872,636 on both sides but there’s no explanation in the agenda for why so much funding remained available in salary and benefit accounts or why an additional $334K was needed for contracted transportation services.

The Board is also being asked to approve iReady Math Classroom workbooks and supplemental resources for grades K through 12 from Curriculum Associates NTE $75,496.40. While the buy is occurring under N.J.S.A. 18A:18A-5(a)(5), there’s no proposal, pricing schedule, description of the materials by grade or explanation of how these items are going to be used.

Other finance items include:

– Morris-Union Jointure Commission trip rates for the 2026-2027 school year ranging from $96.88 per hour for a small bus used Monday through Saturday to $132.48 per hour for a 54-passenger bus used on Sundays or holidays. Weekend and holiday trips are subject to a four-hour minimum.

-Rental agreement (swimming pool) with Wood Aquatics but there’s no pricing, schedule, duration, insurance requirements or other terms present in the agenda.

-Agreement with Atlantic Health for an athletic trainer during the 2026-2027 school year at $67.50 per hour but the number of hours the District plans to use or a maximum total expenditure isn’t specified.

-General services contract with Camden County Educational Services Commission – services, rates and contract terms aren’t included.

-Resolution authorizing the Business Administrator and Board Secretary to allocate interest earned from the district’s 2022 bond proceeds to the projects approved by voters. While the approved ballot question allowed for a transfer of funds between approved projects and the use of interest earnings, capital reserves or general fund surplus – there’s no information on how much interest was earned, which projects would receive the money or whether any of the approved projects currently have a funding shortfall.

Under facilities, the Board will consider allowing the New Providence Middle School gymnasium to serve as an off-site emergency evacuation location for the Primrose School of New Providence.

No supporting agreement or description of the district’s responsibilities is included in the agenda document provided.

The most consequential education item may be a proposed amendment to the district’s elementary redistricting plan. The Superintendent’s report also separately lists a “Redistricting Plan,” suggesting the issue may be discussed prior to the vote.

The resolution says the Board reviewed two years of enrollment data, demographic trends and projected enrollment before deciding to modify the sibling exception for incoming kindergarten students living within the redistricting zone.

However, the actual language appears to contradict itself.

The first paragraph says:

“The sibling exception provision contained within the previously approved Elementary Redistricting Plan is eliminated.”

The very next paragraph says:

“Incoming kindergarten students who reside within the redistricting zone and have an older sibling attending Allen W. Roberts School shall be permitted to enroll at Allen W. Roberts School and remain there through sixth grade, subject to Board Policy 2312 – Class Size.”

The second paragraph appears to keep a sibling exception immediately after the first paragraph gets rid of it.

The agenda doesn’t explain the difference between the previous exception and the change, doesn’t include enrollment data, demographic trends, projections or updated redistricting plan the Board says it reviewed.

The Board should clarify the language before voting so families understand exactly which students are affected and whether the sibling exception is being eliminated, retained or modified.

The Board will also vote on its goals for the 2026-2027 school year, but the agenda says only that copies are “in the hands of each Board member.”

The goals are not included for the public to review.

The Superintendent’s goals for 2026-2027 are separately listed under new business, but those aren’t included in the agenda document either.

These documents establish the Board’s priorities and the standards against which district leadership may be evaluated. Residents should be able to review them before the meeting, not learn what they contain only during or after the Board’s discussion.

The BOE will also consider approving the district’s 2026-2027 School Nursing Services Plans and submitting them to the Executive County Superintendent. Again, the agenda says copies are in the hands of Board members but does not include them in the agenda document provided.

The agenda includes approval of the “NP’s Pals with Paws!” therapy dog program for the 2026-2027 school year.

A related agreement with Creature Comfort Pet Therapy would provide in-house services at Allen W. Roberts, Salt Brook and the middle school along with services at the high school on a per-visit basis. The total cost would not exceed $2,410.

The Board will also consider paying LLAMAME, LLC up to $9,000 to provide Sheltered English Instruction training.

The agenda identifies the provider and spending cap but does not include the proposed agreement, number of training sessions, anticipated participants or hourly or per-session rate.

The Board is also being asked to approve the second-year Statement of Assurance for the district’s Comprehensive Equity Plan covering 2025-2026 through 2027-2028.

Another resolution would approve the district’s annual Emergency Virtual or Remote Instruction Plan and authorize its submission to the New Jersey Department of Education.

Neither the equity documentation nor the remote instruction plan is attached to the agenda document provided.

The Board will also consider retaining Metropolitan Speech & Language Center for in-person speech and language services at $142 per hour with a 2.5-hour minimum.

Personnel appointments include teachers, summer technology and secretarial staff, a substitute athletic trainer, a playground and lunch assistant, a long-term substitute teacher, a remote color guard director and fall athletic staff.

Listed teacher salaries range from $60,154 to $81,995.

The agenda also includes the resignations of four employees, including part-time District Communications Coordinator Kathryn Mangel, effective September 30, 2026.

The BOE will vote on a revised job description for the District Communications Coordinator position. The agenda says the document is in the hands of each Board member, but the revised job description is not included in the agenda document provided.

Without the old and revised versions, residents cannot determine what duties, qualifications, authority or reporting relationships are being changed.

Communication positions are something we’ve encouraged residents to take a very hard look at as, in many districts they are essentially marketing positions responsible for disseminating positive news and images on social media. The case may be different in NP but that is why the documents matter.

The policy section includes first-reading approval of revised policies concerning high school graduation, student use of internet-enabled devices and the use of physical restraint and seclusion techniques for students with disabilities. A new policy governing high school diplomas and a revised regulation concerning student use of internet-enabled devices are also on the radar.

The policy on student devices could have significant implications for students and families, particularly if it addresses cellphone access during the school day. The restraint and seclusion policy also concerns protections for students with disabilities and should be available for public review.

But the full policies and a revision log are nowhere in the agenda document provided.

The BOE is also scheduled to give second-reading approval to policies involving legal notices, family leave, curriculum, equity in school and classroom practices and substitute compensation. A regulation governing curriculum content would be abolished.

These were listed for first reading in June, when the policy texts were also absent from the public agenda packet.

Following last month’s approval of the police live-streaming MOU, it would be reasonable to expect the district to provide more supporting documentation, not another agenda filled with items the public cannot fully review.

The July agenda document asks the Board to act on major financial transfers, redistricting changes, Board goals, Superintendent goals, policies, a revised job description, service agreements and district plans.

Yet many of the documents needed to understand those decisions are missing from the agenda document provided.

How can the public provide informed feedback when documents being approved are not available for them to read?

We’ve been documenting the lack of documentation and short time frame between agenda publication and meeting time. Last month we wrote about a police live-streaming MOU that involved remote law enforcement access to school surveillance feeds. Despite the obvious privacy and civil-liberty implications, the public couldn’t review the agreement before the BOE voted. We obtained the document through OPRA and made it available yesterday.

Our subsequent review of the MOU found broad emergency language, significant police discretion, unclear recording and retention standards, no explicit prohibition against routine monitoring and no clear public-facing logging or audit requirement.

If the Board expects informed public participation, the supporting documents need to be made available before residents are asked to comment and before the Board votes.