Teaneck board accepts FY2025 audit, approves corrective-action plans, food-service purchases and CAPs for chronic absenteeism

The Teaneck Board of Education accepted the district’s FY2025 external audit and approved the auditors’ corrective-action plan and the required Certificate of Implementation at its regular public meeting on Jan. 28, 2026. The audit was performed by Lerch, Vinci and Bliss LLP and was presented as part of the Superintendent’s financial report.

Why it matters: Acceptance of the audit and the board’s approval of the corrective-action plan begin the formal process for addressing the audit’s findings and documenting the district’s steps to resolve them, and they trigger the reporting and follow-up required by state law.

Board action and fiscal approvals: The board approved payments of claims for Dec. 2, 2025–Jan. 16, 2026 (total listed in the minutes as $11,935,287.64) and approved payroll for Dec. 1–31, 2025 (total $5,438,546.06). The board also accepted the Board Secretary and Treasurer reports and approved December line-item transfers and routine financial reports.

The board approved an amendment to the district’s 2025–26 IDEA application to appropriate federal carryover funds (line items and amounts listed in the packet) and accepted several donations, including winter clothing and an athletic turf donation. On motion by Board Member Jonathan Rodriguez and seconded by Dr. Gerald Kirshenbaum, the listed finance and budget items were approved by roll call as recorded in the minutes.

Food service decisions: The board approved two vendor quotes to replace the serving line at Teaneck High School and to buy new food-service equipment. The minutes record a $15,000 quote from MAP Restaurant Supplies to remove the old serving line and install new serving-line components and an additional MAP Restaurant Supplies equipment package with a total quoted cost of $201,180.48; both purchases were listed as funded from the Food Service account. The board also approved writing off prior-year negative breakfast/lunch balances totaling $116,511.28 for the 2024–25 school year; the minutes say the food-service account will cover those balances and that current-year balances remain the responsibility of families.

School-level corrective action plans for attendance: Pursuant to N.J.S.A. 18A:38-25.1 the board approved corrective action plans addressing chronic absenteeism for multiple schools (Lacey, Bryant, Hawthorne, Lowell and Whittier). The CAPs in the packet outline tiered (Tier 1–3) strategies — universal messaging and incentives, targeted family outreach and individualized action plans — and name school-level problem-solving team members and start dates (most CAPs list starts in September–November 2025). The minutes include CAP tables and interim review guidance and note required parent-survey components and the NJTSS early-warning framework.

Personnel, contracts and programs: The board approved routine personnel items — retirements, resignations, appointments, leaves, extra-pay assignments, and volunteer coaches — and multiple contracts and program approvals, including out-of-district special-education tuition contracts totaling $116,435 for the year to date. The board also approved participation in a Snack Pack program and multiple field trips and fundraising requests as listed in the attachments.

Next steps and documentation: The board moved into executive session at 8:12 p.m. and reconvened before adjourning at 9:37 p.m. The minutes and supplemental attachments (audit report, corrective-action plan, COI, CAP documents for individual schools, vendor quotes and detailed budget reports) are recorded in the public packet. The audit and CAP cite specific findings and corresponding implementation dates and responsible staff in the board materials.

Votes at a glance: - Acceptance of FY2025 Audit and approval of Corrective Action Plan and Certificate of Implementation — Motion recorded in the minutes; outcome: approved (roll-call details recorded in minutes). - Approval of payments and payroll (claims total $11,935,287.64; payroll total $5,438,546.06) — Motion by J. Rodriguez; outcome: approved. - Waiver of negative meal balances for 2024–25 ($116,511.28) — Motion recorded; outcome: approved. - Approval of MAP Restaurant Supplies quotes for serving-line removal ($15,000) and equipment purchase (total quotes listed at $201,180.48) — Motions recorded; outcome: approved; funded from Food Service account. - Approval of IDEA carryover allocations and other grant-related budget items — Outcome: approved. - Approval of school-level CAPs addressing chronic absenteeism (Lacey, Bryant, Hawthorne, Lowell, Whittier) — Outcome: approved.

What the minutes show and what they do not: The minutes attach the audit report and list the CAPs’ action items and implementation owners (e.g., principals, nurses, counselors, attendance committees) and state the statutory references (N.J.S.A. 18A:37-15(d), N.J.S.A. 18A:38-25.1, N.J.A.C. 6A:23A-13.3). The board packet includes vendor quotes and detailed budget reports. The roll-call tables mark each trustee’s vote as recorded in the minutes; numeric vote tallies are not presented as totals in plain text in the summary lines but are shown as the recorded yes/no/abstain marks in the minutes tables.

Next procedural steps noted in materials: The corrective-action items from the audit include deadlines for internal reconciliations and process changes (some listed by Feb. 28, 2026, or July 31, 2026, in the CAP attachments). The minutes indicate the district will file the CAP and COI per state requirements.