Colts Neck board approves slate of routine motions, awards special-education contract

The Colts Neck Township School District Board of Education voted Aug. 27, 2025, to approve a series of routine agenda items across buildings and grounds, curriculum, finance and personnel, and authorized a contract of up to $51,000 for special-education case-management services paid from extraordinary aid.

The approvals were carried by roll call votes during the board meeting in the administration building. Superintendent Dr. Garay explained the special-education contract as “part of our extraordinary aid,” describing extraordinary aid as additional state funding districts receive to support mandated services for students with disabilities. She said the contract is a one-year, up-to-amount service agreement rather than the hiring of a staff member.

Why it matters: the finance approvals include a flexible contract vehicle the district will use to meet variable case-management needs tied to individualized education programs (IEPs). Administrators said unused funds under the contract would be closed out and revert to the budget if not spent.

Details of the votes and discussion - Action items from the superintendent’s section were moved and approved by roll call. - Buildings-and-grounds items 1–3 were approved after brief remarks recognizing volunteer support for district facilities. - Curriculum items 1–4 passed after board members asked for clarification on a Title III funding arrangement; administrators explained that when a Title III award is $10,000 or less the state requires management through a consortium (eWIG), but the district retains authority over how funds are ultimately spent. - Finance items 1–19 were discussed in detail. Board members asked about a Cedar Drive pavement project that required an increase in authorization during the job; administrators said the additional amount provided a cushion for invoicing and was procured through a county shared-service process. - Personnel items 1–22 were approved by roll call. Board member Mr. Regetta recused himself from personnel items 10–16 because of an employment conflict with the New Jersey State Disability and Family Leave program; remaining members voted in favor of the personnel block.

On the special-education contract, administrators described the vendor-selection approach: the district seeks competitive quotes for service contracts under the applicable thresholds rather than issuing full formal bids for every small service. Dr. Garay said the contracted case manager has worked with the district in prior years and that the amount varies with caseload and annual needs.

What’s next: the board moved into executive session at the end of the public meeting to discuss confidential personnel and superintendent-contract negotiations; the public livestream ended and no public action was taken during that executive session.

Votes at a glance - Superintendent action items 1–2: approved (roll call) - Buildings & grounds items 1–3: approved (roll call) - Curriculum items 1–4: approved (roll call) - Finance items 1–19 (including up-to-$51,000 special-education contract): approved (roll call) - Personnel items 1–22: approved (roll call); Mr. Regetta recused from items 10–16

The board’s recorded roll calls during the meeting show affirmative votes on the listed blocks; where individual roll-call tallies were recorded in the transcript they are reflected above.