Board members at a New Milford Public School District retreat reviewed and discussed draft goals for 2025–26, focusing on continuing board professional development, improving committee communications, promoting student and community engagement, and pursuing facility upgrades.

The conversation opened with a review of last year’s goals and a general sense among members that several objectives “haven’t really met those goals yet,” according to Board member (Speaker 1). That member said the board should consider keeping or elaborating on existing goals so they are achievable in the coming year.

The board discussed one goal to “engage in consistent annual professional development activities on an individual or collective basis to earn New Jersey School Board Master Award Certification,” with Speaker 1 saying stronger participation would demonstrate that board members have been trained properly. Speaker 2 noted it is possible the board already has the required credits and suggested confirming that before removing the goal.

Members also weighed a goal to “enable more effective governance by enhancing consistent ongoing communication from committees to the board as a whole.” Speaker 1 and others described a drop in committee-to-board communication after recent personnel changes and said the board should press for clearer, routine updates. Speaker 1 said she would seek answers and follow up on who is serving as the school boards’ representative, noting she had not received formal notification when a prior representative left.

Another recurring suggestion was to regularize presentations showcasing student achievement, staff work and district initiatives. Speaker 2 proposed a consistent monthly schedule for students and staff to present to the board so the community can see “what we’re spending our money on and how it’s affecting our kids and the staff,” a point echoed by Speaker 1.

On facilities, members discussed keeping goal language broad—such as “facility upgrades” or “ongoing facilities improvements”—rather than spelling out whether work would be done via referendum. Speaker 1 described past approaches where smaller projects were completed without a referendum and urged achievable, flexible wording for facility-related goals.

No formal motions altering policy or adopting new goals were recorded in the discussion transcript; the only formal action noted in the meeting record provided was approval of the minutes from the June 18 meeting, with members voting “Aye.” The retreat discussion focused on drafting and refining goals rather than adopting binding decisions.

Board members asked that the action-plan template be incorporated into the goals so progress can be tracked throughout the year instead of waiting until the next retreat. Speaker 1 said she would circulate or request the template so the board could monitor meeting-to-meeting progress.

The retreat included several references to the need for clearer communication both between committees and the full board and between the district and community; members said regular presentations and stronger committee reporting could improve transparency and public understanding.

Looking ahead, members agreed to revisit and refine the draft goals, confirming training credit totals before deciding whether to keep the Master Award objective and drafting more specific, achievable language for facilities and community-engagement goals.