Roselle Park board hears clean audit, approves personnel slate and affirms two residency appeals

The Roselle Park Public School District Board of Education received a presentation from its auditor that the district’s financial statement received a clean audit, approved a broad slate of personnel and education items, affirmed two student residency appeals discussed in executive session and approved findings in harassment, intimidation and bullying (HIB) cases.

The clean-audit finding was presented to the board by auditor Robert A. Holsart, who distributed the district’s year-end review packet and told the board the results would be made available on the district website. Board members asked staff to highlight the pages that best summarize the district’s current financial position so members and the public know where to look in the report.

Why it matters: the audit confirms the district’s financial reporting for the year reviewed, while the personnel and education votes set staffing and program details that affect day-to-day school operations. The residency and HIB decisions close matters the board discussed in executive session and are formal board actions that can affect individual students and district policy compliance.

Most significant board actions and votes - Personnel and staffing: The board approved a personnel section that included staff appointments; salary increases for 2024 and 2025; leave replacements and substitutes; additional middle-school classes; retirement rescind and change of assignment items; revisions to maternity leave replacements; FMLA medical leave requests; spring athletic coaches; degree changes; a job description; curriculum writing and mentoring; paraprofessional additional hours; home instruction; a Title I supplemental literacy instructor for first grade; and a Roselle Park preschool program presenter. The board approved the personnel section by roll call.

- Education items: The board approved conference attendance and reimbursement requests; education-program items including homebound instruction; a presentation (Power of Life); the New Jersey School Climate platform; the high school and middle school athletic schedules; and Roselle Park High School’s Technology Student Association nation­als attendance, among other items. One board member recorded an abstention on agenda item 28 (school calendar adoption).

- Business items: The board approved routine business items including monthly certification, approval of bills, secretary/treasurer reports, approval of minutes, use of buildings and grounds, acceptance of donations, the annual comprehensive financial report and related items. Several abstentions on specific line items were recorded during the roll call.

- Residency appeals: A hand-carried motion to affirm Residency Appeal 1 and Residency Appeal 2 as discussed in executive session passed on a roll-call vote; the board recorded all members voting in favor.

- Harassment, intimidation and bullying (HIB) incidents: The board approved the HIB incidents as discussed in executive session. The roll call showed all members voting yes except one board member who voted no; the motion passed.

Other discussion and committee reports - Facilities and long-term space planning: Board members discussed ongoing infrastructure and space needs and said multiple options remain under consideration, including additions, sale of the board office and other alternatives. One board member said the district will pursue a formal cross-stakeholder committee (working title suggested as “Project 2035”) that would include residents, board members, administrators, teachers and municipal officials; a formal announcement is expected in coming weeks.

- Technology and curriculum: The technology committee reported it is researching new Chromebooks for the high school, updating website templates, and seeking a replacement for the district’s current Blooms platform to improve parent communications. The special-education subcommittee reported extended school year (ESY) will remain in June and July because of teacher availability.

- School and community updates: Committee and liaison reports included student council parking discussions, fundraising and volunteer sign-ups at Robert Gordon and other schools, upcoming PTA events, and an invitation to a finance committee public workshop on March 11 to review the preliminary budget ahead of the board’s April adoption schedule. A CPAG meeting was scheduled for March 13 with a presentation from representatives of All In (formally referenced in the meeting as NJCIE) on inclusion work in the district.

Public comment and personnel-title clarification - In public comment, resident Katie McDermott asked which organization runs the Power of Life presentation on the agenda and urged the board to prioritize contract negotiations with staff. Frank Cagliardo asked whether the assistant superintendent of curriculum and instruction is a new position; a district staff member said it is the same position but a name change and indicated the compensation change is "less." The board did not provide further compensation details in public comment.

Next steps and meetings - The board noted the finance committee will hold an open meeting on March 11 at 6:30 p.m. to review the preliminary 2025–26 budget and the next regular board meeting was announced for Tuesday, March 18 at 6 p.m. An ethics training was scheduled for March 24 at 3:45 p.m. in the high school media center.

Sources: presentation by Robert A. Holsart (auditor); district staff reports and multiple roll-call votes recorded during the board meeting.