Menu

Denville Township School District board meeting, date not confirmed yet

40 min

Click any moment below to jump the video to that second. Video length 40 min.

This board doesn’t post agenda times.

What happened

What happened at this meeting

Denville parent questions shift from textbooks as staff says no curriculum is fully digital 3:54

  • A speaker at public comment raised concerns about screen-based learning and asked how a decision to move away from textbooks was made. 4:17
  • District staff members said most of the curriculum is not textbook reliant, that publishers now sell softbound consumable books, and that no district curriculum is 100% digital content. 6:35
  • Dino Cappello moved personnel items 1 through 8 as a block, Michael Andersen moved two finance items, and Dr. Clifford Moore outlined the action plan for the board goals, which Dr. Clifford Moore said did not need a vote. 17:28

Until Nov 4, lines where a board member takes a side don't name the member. Why →

Item by item (11)
  1. Opening and administrator reports 0:00
    • Dr. Clifford Moore said a 2025⁠-⁠2026 school audit presentation is set for October 12th. 0:28
    • The assistant superintendent said kindergarten enrollment held steady at 105 students at Lakeview and 97 at Riverview, for a total of 202 students. 1:36
    • The business administrator said the district is undergoing 2 federal audits, including one of the National School Lunch Program for '25-'26. 2:00
  2. Public comment on textbooks and screens 3:03
    • A speaker at public comment cited research on screen time risks and asked how the decision to abandon textbooks was made. 3:54
    • A district staff member said the literacy program uses real books such as decodable books, novels and chapter books, and social studies and science use softbound student notebooks. 6:35
    • A district staff member said companies no longer make hardbound elementary textbooks, that cursive is back this year and that the district has a resource for every subject area. 9:22
  3. Financial reports and minutes 16:39
    • Dr. Clifford Moore moved to approve the Treasurer of School Monies report, the Board Secretary report for August 2024 and the minutes for August 17th, 2026. 16:39
    • One board member voted yes except for abstaining from the minutes of the 17th. 17:08
  4. Personnel resolutions 17:21
    • Dino Cappello moved personnel items 1 through 8 as a block, including the master staff list for the '26-'27 school year and a staff flu vaccination clinic on October 8th. 17:28
    • Dr. Clifford Moore noted the effective retirement date in item 1I should be 7/1/27, not 6/30/27. 18:53
  5. Instruction and program resolutions 19:28
    • Christina Astorino moved to approve workshops and expenses, a list of field trips, the district mentoring plan and the district professional development plan. 19:37
    • Dr. Clifford Moore asked whether the district would move away from direct classroom observation. 20:23
    • A district staff member described an alternative assessment called Reflective Practice Protocol for tenured, highly effective staff, said about 35 staff members participate and said most staff still get the regular observation. 20:49
  6. Finance resolutions 24:45
    • Michael Andersen moved to approve the checklist and an agreement with St. Clair's Health/St. Clair's Children's Hospital for evaluations at $650 per evaluation as needed for the 26⁠-⁠27 school year. 25:10
  7. Operations resolution 25:38
    • Andrea Zeydelis moved to approve a quote from the Delore Service Co., Inc. for 2 motor blowers in the amount of $6,516, funded with maintenance reserve. 25:46
  8. Board goals action plan 26:27
    • Dr. Clifford Moore said the board goals action plan does not need a vote and listed a workshop on October 26th on data-driven decision-making and planned discussions on a possible Valley View expansion. 26:27
    • A district staff member said some enrollment numbers would be ready for review next week. 28:42
    • Dr. Clifford Moore said governance goals also include reviewing and formalizing AI policies and addressing district health insurance concerns. 29:44
  9. County school boards association update 30:31
    • James Kim said public forums on state school funding are scheduled, including Newark on October 27th and Edison on September 30th. 30:45
    • James Kim said the state Divisions of Pensions and Benefits is notifying districts of possible implications for the health insurance program if premium rates are not approved. 31:27
  10. Board comments and website update 34:15
    • Dino Cappello said the new district website should be available for review in October, with a projected launch in January. 37:00
    • Christina Astorino invited people to a fun run at Riverview this Friday. 38:45
  11. Second public comment and adjournment 38:57
    • Dr. Clifford Moore opened the second public comment period at 8:13 and closed it at 8:14 with no speakers, said no executive session was needed and moved to adjourn. 38:57

Written by software from the meeting's transcript and checked sentence by sentence against it.

Who spoke

Who spoke

We can’t yet tell who is speaking at this board’s meetings.

Video: posted by the district as “9-28-26 Denville NJ BOE Board Meeting”