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Nutley Town School District board meeting, Jul 27, 2026

1 h 02 min

Chronic absenteeism ▶ 29:06Phones in school ▶ 2:50Reading and test scores ▶ 29:06

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What happened

What happened at this meeting

Nutley school board hears plan to carry out statewide ban on student internet devices 4:02

  • A district staff member presented an update on the district's technology plan, including a state law that bans student use of internet-connected devices starting in the '26-'27 school year and the results of a community survey. 2:50
  • One board member asked the district to set goals rather than a list of actions, and the staff member said draft goals had been prepared for the board retreat. 18:50
  • The board also heard presentations on the 24⁠-⁠25 school performance reports and the Anti-Bullying Bill of Rights self-assessment grades, and Salvatore Balsamo read a resolution to recess to closed executive session to discuss personnel contracts and legal issues. 29:05

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Item by item (12)
  1. Opening and minutes 0:00
    • Salvatore Balsamo read the notice of the meeting under the Open Public Meetings Act. 0:00
    • A staff member called the roll and reported no correspondence. 0:32
    • Salvatore Balsamo called for a motion to approve the minutes. 1:14
  2. Technology plan and device ban 1:24
    • The staff member said the district will block social media on district student devices, limit diagnostic testing to 3 times a year and move the 1-to-1 take-home device program to 6th grade instead of 5th grade. 2:50
    • A district staff member said a law from January 8th, 2026, mandates a statewide ban on student use of any device that connects to the internet, and that the district received 632 responses to its technology survey. 3:55
    • One board member asked to see district goals for technology, and another board member said the spirit of the law is not to stop technology but the distractions from personal devices. 20:07
  3. School performance reports 29:05
    • A presenter said chronic absenteeism fell from 25.1% in '21-'22 to 12.9% in '24-'25. 29:05
    • The presenter said 62.9% of Nutley 11th and 12th graders take dual enrollment courses, compared with a state average of 30%. 38:12
    • A staff member said the district had set goals to reduce chronic absenteeism and increase dual enrollment. 41:19
  4. Anti-bullying self-assessment grades 42:00
    • A staff member said schools assess themselves on 8 core indicators under the Anti-Bullying Bill of Rights for July '24 to June 30th, 2025. 43:22
    • The staff member said the maximum score is 78 and listed school scores from 63 to 76. 45:31
  5. Superintendent report 47:33
    • The superintendent said the new middle school library and renovated classrooms have been completed and furnished as the district prepares for a 6⁠-⁠8 middle school. 48:01
    • The superintendent said the board retreat is Monday, August 17th, and that the district will implement a bell-to-bell and off-and-away expectation for personal internet-enabled devices. 49:04
  6. Business administrator report 51:20
    • The business administrator said lunch prices for the 26⁠-⁠27 school year, contracts for non-public schools in Nutley and grant funds were on for approval. 51:28
  7. Committee reports 52:07
    • Lisa Danchak-Martin said the Academic Committee met July 13th and reviewed an updated policy on internet-enabled devices and a journeyman pathway for an electrical license. 52:17
    • Stephen Gilberti said the Administration Committee reviewed a donation from Spring Garden School PTO. 54:12
    • Daniel Fraginals said the Finance Committee received updates on facilities projects, including an AC unit expected by mid-August for the middle school classroom conversion. 54:43
  8. Public comment 56:21
    • Salvatore Balsamo opened the floor for public comment, with each person limited to 3 minutes. 56:21
  9. Academic and administration resolutions 57:34
    • Lisa Danchak-Martin moved academic resolutions 1 and 2 as written, and a roll call followed. 57:34
    • Stephen Gilberti moved administration resolutions 1 through 4 as written, and a roll call followed. 58:11
  10. Finance resolutions 58:36
    • Dr. Thomas D'Elia thanked the Spring Garden PTO for the donation listed as item number 6. 58:58
  11. Policy and personnel resolutions 59:42
    • Stephen Gilberti moved policy resolution 1 as written, and a roll call followed. 59:47
    • Teri Quirk moved Personnel Resolution 1 as written, and a roll call followed. 1:00:15
  12. Closed executive session 1:00:39
    • Salvatore Balsamo read a resolution for the board to recess to closed executive session to discuss personnel, contracts and legal issues. 1:00:39

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

Who spoke

Who spoke

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Video: posted by the district as “Nutley Board of Education Meeting 2026-07-27”