Menu

East Brunswick Township School District board meeting, Sep 24, 2026

2 h 57 min · 6 public speakers

This board doesn’t post agenda times. Click a board member to jump to where they first speak; we list only members whose voice our check named. Video length 2 h 57 min.

  1. Who spoke · first speaks at
What happened

What happened at this meeting

East Brunswick board answers questions on pilot funds, redistricting and high school 12:03

  • The board tabled staff development item 3 and later approved items in several agenda sections by roll call and voice votes. 11:17
  • The board added a standing agenda item at the start of meetings to answer questions received from the community, beginning with questions on pilot funds and redistricting. 11:26
  • A district staff member said a redistricting presentation would come in November and that nothing was finalized. 35:58

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

Item by item (15)
  1. Opening and closed session 0:13
    • The secretary called the roll and the board recited the Pledge of Allegiance. 0:13
    • A resolution was read to recess into closed session for an estimated 90 minutes. 2:04
    • The motion to go into closed session carried. 2:51
  2. Girl Scout troop project presentation 2:51
    • A Girl Scout troop presented its Bronze Award project, called the Idea Box. 3:25
    • The troop said the box includes Mad Libs, fidgets, paper, colored pencils and origami so students who cannot take part in some school activities do not feel left out. 5:48
    • A presenter said the troop had donated one box to Frost and wanted to donate another to Hammershield. 6:42
  3. Motion to table staff development item 11:00
    • Wilbur Pan made a motion to table staff development item number 3. 11:06
    • The motion carried and staff development item 3 was tabled. 11:17
  4. Community questions on pilot funds 11:26
    • A presenter said pilot stands for payment in lieu of taxes, that 95% of the money goes to the municipality and 5% to the county, and that nothing in the pilot law says the schools get anything. 12:17
    • Antoinette Evola asked whether pilot money could be applied in a budget crisis to offset tax increases, and a staff member said it could but that a steady stream of money each year was preferable. 20:59
    • A staff member said Kensington had 75 students and Legacy 116, and a staff member said the average cost per student was about $19,000. 29:01
  5. Community questions on redistricting 34:34
    • A staff member said the November presentation would not be a final product and that nothing was finalized. 34:58
    • A staff member said a community ad hoc committee would include at a minimum one parent from each elementary school. 36:49
    • Timothy Cummings asked what percentage of the student body is transported by bus daily, and a staff member said it is more like 4,500 or 4,600 of about 8,000 students. 47:40
  6. High school renovation and capacity 48:37
    • A staff member said the long-range facility plan lists $295 million in non-athletic needs at the high school, which is only about 60% air conditioned. 49:13
    • A staff member said an architect projected a renovation would take 8 years, and one board member said possible exposure to asbestos and likely lead paint over 8 to 10 years would have to be kept in mind. 54:06
    • A staff member said renovation alone would not allow ninth graders into the high school, which is over capacity by 463 students. 55:32
  7. Fifth grade placement and recess 1:06:02
    • A staff member said basketball hoops were installed at Hammershield and Gaga pits were scheduled to be installed in the first couple weeks of October. 1:06:38
    • A staff member said the district is looking at returning 5th grade to elementary schools but could not categorically say it would happen, and that Frost cannot take its 5th grade back. 1:06:56
  8. Blue Ribbon status 1:09:35
    • A staff member said the national Blue Ribbon program stopped in 2025 and that the district would not qualify under the new criteria. 1:09:44
    • Timothy Cummings asked about other accreditation opportunities, and a staff member said such opportunities exist but were not a current focus. 1:12:29
  9. Student representative report 1:14:26
    • The student report listed upcoming school events and said a block-by-default policy in the new Aristotle technology program had blocked some club and research websites. 1:14:55
    • A staff member said the filtering protects student data and that advisors and teachers have override capacity for needed sites. 1:19:26
  10. Superintendent report on district goals 1:24:02
    • In the superintendent's report, a staff member described five district goals, including that by June 2027 each school will have a structured way to make sure every student is seen, known and supported. 1:24:03
    • The staff member showed a public dashboard listing enrollment at 8,179 and economically disadvantaged students at 25.1%. 1:37:12
    • Timothy Cummings asked when the community could expect the 25⁠-⁠26 data, and a staff member said the report card would not come out until the spring. 1:41:36
  11. Graduation data 1:43:48
    • A staff member said the district had 744 graduates last June, that all students graduated and that no one was denied graduation based on the assessments. 1:44:13
  12. High school standing topic 1:45:34
    • A staff member said the board met in closed session with bond counsel for legal advice on potential high school projects. 1:46:01
    • The presiding speaker said an ad hoc high school committee would be formed and that no decisions had been made. 1:46:20
  13. Public comment 1:47:03
    • Several speakers at public comment raised pilot revenue and how the township could share money with the school district. 1:47:59
    • A speaker at public comment asked the district to review the criteria for placing students in honors classes. 1:57:00
    • Other speakers raised the redistricting maps and grandfathering, and the decision to eliminate traditional midterm and final exams. 1:59:51
  14. Agenda item discussion and votes 2:06:11
    • Laurie Herrick asked why an agreement reduced minimum instructional time from 35 minutes to 30 minutes, and a staff member said the changes were mandated by the state. 2:08:48
    • A staff member said the advertising item approves going out for requests for proposals and that the board would have the final say on advertising content. 2:10:14
    • Wilbur Pan said the phrase no cost to the district appeared 4 times in the items. 2:19:50
    • Motions carried on business and support operations items 1 through 12, the curriculum and instruction item and the human resources item. 2:07:31
  15. Board member reports 2:26:23
    • Anna Braun announced a lecture on the Declaration of Independence on Sunday, September 27th, at 2 PM and a symphony program on October 18th at 3 PM. 2:26:40
    • Wilbur Pan said state data showed pilot programs generate about 36% of the revenue property taxes otherwise would in East Brunswick and about 40.5% across Middlesex County. 2:32:30
    • The board's legislative liaison described bill S.4438, which would create a statewide school employers health benefits trust that districts with private insurance would have to join. 2:37:55

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

Other meetings

Other meetings of this board

Video: posted by the district as “East Brunswick Board of Education Meeting - September 24, 2026”