Somerville board accepts audit, hears student performances and approves consent items; Bridgestone donates $25,000

The Somerville Board of Education accepted the district’s Annual Comprehensive Financial Report for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2025, and approved the related corrective action plan following a motion by a board member and a roll‑call vote.

Superintendent and board members highlighted several student performances and programs during the meeting. Noah, director of choirs at Somerville High School, led a short chamber‑choir set and announced two upcoming caroling events, including a festival at First United Methodist Church. Parent and board member Elise Robbins praised the district’s life‑skills and peer‑inclusion work, saying, “This has been life changing for Maya,” and thanked teachers for supporting her child’s transition.

The board accepted a $25,000 donation from Bridgestone to expand adaptive sports programming and support unified teams. Board updates included robotics and athletics reports — the robotics program was noted to manage an annual budget of more than $55,000 and will begin its season on January 10 — and curriculum committee items such as the NJ Sky Climate Survey developed by Rutgers, which will be reviewed when results are available.

The board also approved multiple consent‑agenda personnel items for preschool–8 (items 1–25) and for grades 9–12 and districtwide (items 26–33 and 35–58); item 34 (Club America) was pulled for separate consideration and subsequently acknowledged in a later vote. The board praised departing members Bindu Shaw, Lucian “Luke” Sergio Jr. and Dan Carlson with proclamations and plaques.

There were no binding policy changes adopted at the meeting; the board asked committees to review procedures around club approvals and will return recommendations in future committee reports. The meeting adjourned at 7:51 p.m.