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Township of Union board sets deadlines for new strategic plan, flags outdated facilities plan
Summary
At a Dec. 17 special meeting, the Township of Union Board of Education set timelines for updated district goals and a strategic plan, assigned committee leads and called out the Long‑Range Facilities Plan as out of date; the board moved into executive session on attorney–client matters and later adjourned.
The Township of Union Board of Education on Dec. 17 laid out a schedule to update district goals and produce a new strategic plan while identifying the district’s Long‑Range Facilities Plan as out of date.
Board President Chastity Santana called the special meeting to order at 6 p.m. Administrators present included Dr. Gerald Benaquista and Board Secretary Yolanda Koon; board counsel Christopher Buggy, Esq. also attended.
Dr. Gerald Benaquista told the Board he plans in January to update his district goals and to create a new strategic plan to guide the district’s work. "We need a strategic plan that drives the Board goals," he said, and noted some goals should begin July 1 and could span multiple years.
Why it matters: Board members framed the exercise as a chance to align fiscal, instructional and facilities priorities. Board member Dicxiana Carbonell said student performance must be the driving force and raised concerns that state student performance is low and that Hannah Caldwell school facilities are dated and underfunded. "Everything is related to the students," Carbonell said.
The Board assigned committee leads and deadlines for drafting and consolidating goals. Guida Faria will consolidate committee submissions into a draft; Faria asked committee chairs to send goals for personnel/residency (Nancy Minneci), IT (Ronnie McDowell) and policy (Guida Faria). The Board set a goal‑finalization deadline of Dec. 31 and discussed a Board retreat on Jan. 11 to work on goals covering the July onward cycle. Michael Cohan urged S.M.A.R.T. milestones, proposing a superintendent presentation by April 15, 2025 and an implementation target of May 31, 2025 for the realignment work he described.
Administrators and members emphasized special education placement and student achievement measures as priorities. Dr. Benaquista noted challenges measuring some grade bands (he said 5th grade data are limited because of a single‑school configuration) and suggested the LRFP should be updated and incorporated into planning.
During public comment, Virginia Jeffries raised concerns about compliance with the Open Public Meetings Act and asked when the LRFP was last updated, urging that the Board retreat be open to the public and that meeting changes be adequately advertised. "The retreat needs to be open to the public," Jeffries said. Board counsel Christopher Buggy, Esq. responded that required notices had been published.
Procedural actions: The Board voted unanimously at 7:14 p.m. to enter executive session to discuss attorney–client privileged matters under N.J.S.A. 10:4‑12b; the Board returned to public session at 8:17 p.m. The meeting was adjourned at 8:20 p.m. following a unanimous motion.
The minutes were signed and submitted by Board Secretary Yolanda Koon.
