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Kinnelon Borough School District board meeting, Sep 22, 2026

1 h 27 min

Budget cuts and layoffs ▶ 8:51Reading and test scores ▶ 41:50

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 1 h 27 min.

  1. Who spoke · first speaks at
What happened

What happened at this meeting

Kinnelon school board fills vacant seat through December 31st, 2026 2:14

  • Jean Donaldson announced that the board approved the appointment of Matthew DiBrino to the vacant board position through December 31st, 2026, and Matthew DiBrino then took the oath of office. 2:14
  • In the superintendent's update, the speaker described a boiler project under a PSE&G program with a total cost of $2.8 million and said PSE&G would cover 48%. 8:45
  • A district staff member presented spring 2026 state graduation assessment results showing a 94.4% proficiency rate in ELA and 86.5% in math. 41:50
  • The board held a roll call on a block vote for agenda items A, B, C and D. 1:18:47
Item by item (11)
  1. Board vacancy appointment and oath 1:26
    • Jean Donaldson asked for a motion to vote on the board vacancy appointment, and the board was polled. 1:26
    • The board held a roll call on adding the item to the agenda. 2:23
    • Matthew DiBrino took the oath of office as a member of the Board of Education. 3:06
    • Jean Donaldson announced that the board approved the appointment of Matthew DiBrino to the vacant position through December 31st, 2026. 2:14
  2. Approval of amended minutes 3:48
    • Jean Donaldson asked for a motion to approve the amended minutes of the August 18th, 2026 regular meeting, and the board was polled. 4:12
  3. Student representative appointment and report 4:35
    • Jean Donaldson read a resolution approving the appointment of a student representative to the board for this school year. 4:52
    • The student representative reported on school events, including Dot Day on September 15th, back-to-school nights and an evening college fair on October 8th. 5:06
  4. Superintendent's update 8:45
    • The superintendent said a search to fill a departing administrator's position drew 66 applicants, with 14 first-round interviews and a hoped-for start date of January 1st. 8:51
    • The superintendent said the PSE&G program would save taxpayers $1.352 million on the boiler project and that the tax levy would be at 4.98% using banked cap. 22:34
    • The superintendent said the district had 77 transportation requests and accommodated 62, and said bus aides would cost $349,000 and would not be recommended. 22:34
  5. State assessment results presentations 41:50
    • A district staff member reported a 94.4% proficiency rate in ELA and 86.5% in math on the state graduation assessment, with a graduation-ready cut score of 450. 41:50
    • Jon Eisenmenger asked whether the longitudinal proficiency rates were measured against grade-level standards, and the staff member said they were for English. 49:35
    • The staff member said ACCESS scores for multilingual learners could not be publicly reported because fewer than 10 students took the test. 51:50
  6. Committee and delegate reports 54:19
    • The finance, facilities and security report covered boiler repairs, mold remediation, change orders and approval of the demographic study. 54:32
    • Jon Eisenmenger said the personnel committee discussed calendars and lead teachers and began reviewing job descriptions. 56:07
    • Jon Eisenmenger said a legislative committee secured a bill sponsor for S4117, which deals with evaluating the HIB framework. 1:01:40
  7. Public comment on agenda items 1:02:46
    • A speaker at public comment said they did not like starting the school year in August. 1:03:42
    • A speaker at public comment asked how a possible send-receive arrangement would factor into the demographic study. 1:04:47
    • Speakers at public comment raised bus safety concerns, asked about bus aides and said parent access to bus GPS tracking apps would be a good idea. 1:10:24
  8. Block vote on agenda items 1:18:25
    • A motion was made for a roll call block vote on agenda items A, B, C and D. 1:18:45
    • Jon Eisenmenger thanked staff for addressing the mold as it happened and for getting different quotes. 1:19:08
  9. Meeting schedule and correspondence 1:21:26
    • Upcoming dates included a public meeting on the 27th. 1:21:33
    • Correspondence read to the board included a request for a bus aide and a tracking app, and letters opposing an August start date. 1:21:57
  10. General public comment 1:23:30
    • A speaker at public comment asked the board to help move forward the installation of a handicap accessible swing for which donations were collected in 2023. 1:23:41
  11. Board member comments 1:25:28
    • Kelly Parrella offered welcomes and thanked a person for work done in the district. 1:25:44
    • Matthew DiBrino said there was a hope to learn the board's processes in the next few months. 1:25:58
    • Jon Eisenmenger asked how the price of diesel has been affecting the budget. 1:26:06

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

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Video: posted by the district as “September 22, 2026 Board of Education Meeting”