Robbinsville Public Schools

Retrieved from March Edition

Article Link: Building a stronger future for Robbinsville's students

Retrieved from April Edition

Article Link: Robbinsville schools face budget gap amid rising costs and state aid cuts

Retrieved from May Edition

Article Link: To reach our potential, we must fix our funding gap

Retrieved from June Edition:

Article Link: Wellness meets the workplace at Sharon Elementary School

Retrieved from July Edition

Article Link: Expanding world language learning for all students

Retrieved from August Edition

Article Link: Future Ready Starts Now

Retrieved from September Edition

Article Link: Robbinsville Schools open new year with vision

17. Vaccinations Requirements: A questions was raised about the schools requirements for vaccination of students.

1. The New Jersey school immunization rules, Immunization of Pupils in Schools (N.J.A.C. 8:57-4), require students to receive a series of immunizations prior to attendance at school. In addition, schools are required to enforce requirements, maintain records, and submit annual reports to the state and their respective local health department. The following materials provide guidance and tools for carrying out these requirements. More information can be found on the Health Services section of our website – Robbinsville Public Schools - Immunizations

17. District Physician- A questions was raised about the district physician being approved on the June agenda.

1. Here is the relevant requirement: The district board of education shall appoint a school physician pursuant to N.J.S.A. 18A:40-1.

17. Homeless Liaison- A question was raised about the appointment of a district homeless liaison and educational stability liaison and whether the district has had these roles previously.

1. We have a requirement in this area, via the McKinney-Vento law. NJDOE - Dept. of Education McKinney-Vento Education for Homeless Children. We assign an administrator from our Counseling and Student Services area every year for this function.  Here is the information for the 2024/25 school year: Robbinsville Public Schools - Homeless Families

17. Medicare funding concern- A question was raised about medicare and what the district would do if the program is federally cut.

1. Medicare does not apply to our staff. We have our own self-funded health benefits program through the Schools Health Insurance Fund.

17. Transfer of Funds – A question was raised about the approval of transfers on the agenda and where the money is coming from.

1. The board reserves the right to restrict end of year fund balance for specific projects, inclusive of maintenance and capital projects to maintain our schools.  This is a sound budgeting practice to proactively plan for anticipated needs.

17. What is the district’s plan if Federal Aid is cut/eliminated? 

1. Direct student-facing services would be impacted.  We have identified areas to be eliminated if this occurs.  Proactively we are not filling an open administrative position in anticipation of future fiscal challenges, including this issue. 

17. Is the current Superintendent aware of the previous work done on the district's strategic plan? 

1. The strategic plan was incorporated into my 100 Day Plan and various initiatives proposed during my first 6 months in this position.  The strategic plan is also incorporated into the 2025/26 Board Goals, which were presented at our meeting on July 22nd.  Some members of our community are not happy regarding the test scores of our students. What is the plan to address? We previously presented a plan to improve our already successful schools; the plan can be found here: 

          New Vision for RPS_04.10.25.pdf 

          An updated and modified version of this plan is being developed in coordination with public input received at our Board Meetings and 
          our Public Outreach Events.  We will also be presenting public surveys to gauge the priorities of our district served, in alignment with
          the elasticity of our community to support this collaborative plan fiscally.  Here is a link to my page on our district website with
          additional information: 

           Robbinsville Public Schools - Office of the Superintendent 

17. Please share information on what QSAC is and when we will learn about their findings.  A. Our QSAC audit is currently in process; here is the detailed information on the scope of the evaluation: NJ QSAC Website 

          Here is a summary from their website: 
          New Jersey Quality Single Accountability Continuum (NJQSAC) 

         The New Jersey Quality Single Accountability Continuum (NJQSAC) is the Department of Education's monitoring and district self-
         evaluation system for public school districts. The system shifts the monitoring and evaluation focus from compliance to assistance,
         capacity-building and improvement. It is a single comprehensive accountability system that consolidates and incorporates the
         monitoring requirements of applicable state laws and programs and complements federally required improvements. The system                     focuses on monitoring and evaluating school districts in five key components that, based on research, have been identified to be key               factors in effective school districts. These components are Instruction & Program, Fiscal, Governance, Operations, and Personnel. 

17. What are other school districts doing to address rising insurance costs?  Does our district compare our programs to theirs? 

1. We have a very effective and forward-thinking business department. A neighboring school district had a massive increase and switched to the Schools’ Health Insurance Fund (SHIF) which we joined four years ago.  The SHIF is a Joint Insurance Fund (JIF) with more than 120 school districts to share the insurance burden. What makes the SHIF special is their diligence in joining responsible districts into efficient collective risk groups, mitigating the number of claims and shared costs incurred.  The SHIF is an exclusive membership of healthy school districts to keep premiums low for the collective good. 

17. What are we doing to control the use of AI by our students? 

1. The first reading of our AI Board Policy and Regulations was July 22nd and the second reading is scheduled for our Board Meeting on August 26th.  Upon approval, this will be our guidance for this important area and will be publicly posted. 

17. Why is there a deficit of 200K in the student lunch program? 

1. This is a challenge most districts encounter due to the small margins and restrictive regulations in this area.  Most school lunch programs lose money, and these losses have grown over time. We were fortunate that the business office enrolled our elementary and middle school into the National School Lunch Program a few years ago, paying off the debt and creating a large reserve, while every student earned free lunch. This COVID program ended, our reserves were depleted, and we must now cover the deficit. Unfortunately, we were not allowed to raise prices on certain items due to the NJ State Mandate even though inflationary prices on all matters increased. We are hoping the state allows price increases for the 25/26 school year to help lower the deficit. 

17. The Board/Administration promised better transparency to our community. When will this goal be achieved? 

1. We have implemented or expanded several areas of public outreach since January 1, 2025 (my start date as Superintendent). 

• Monthly presentations on the great work of our students, presented by students. 
• Updates from Central Administration and various areas on plans for curriculum initiatives and the financial challenges to match appropriate revenues to expenses. 
• I have a monthly column in the Robbinsville Advance called Superintendent’s Corner.  This column covers our current work and future plans.  All future plans are linked to a projection of the resources needed to meet our goals.  Here is the most recent article: Sharon Elementary opens wellness room for teachers | Robbinsville Advance | communitynews.org 
• As Superintendent, I have been meeting with stakeholder groups, at their convenience and at the location of their choice, for question-and-answer sessions.  I held two of these meetings during the first month of the summer. 
• As Superintendent I take every call, and accommodate any meeting request, from all stakeholder groups and individual community members. 

17. What are other districts doing that we can do as well? 

1. A very selective number of school districts have created their own health centers on campus to reduce healthcare costs. Many school districts have created academies to earn millions of dollars in tuition while increasing their scores and programs. A very selective group of schools have created their own athletic facilities, earning around one million dollars per year hosting track meets and other athletic events. Some neighboring communities not only raise the maximum on their taxes for decades but also pass public questions to upgrade their facilities. 

17. A Public Question was mentioned, will there be a Public Question? 

1. The statement made was related to a Public Question for a Bond, which would occur after the current debt service ends in 2027.  This would be designed to be cost neutral, or a cost savings, as we project a lower amount to be financed moving forward.  Therefore, new costs incurred would be offset by debt service payments ending on previous financing.  This Public Question would be fully vetted by administration and offered to our taxpayers as an option for their collective consideration. 

           The is also a possibility of a Public Question to meet unfunded needs identified in the Strategic Plan.  Options for this possibility would
           be based on input from student voice and all stakeholders.  This option would only be implemented if approved by our voters.  We will
           provide options to meet the needs of our students, and our stakeholders will ultimately decide the path chosen by a public vote. 

17. Who will be surveyed to determine our path forward? 

1. The opinions and needs of all stakeholders are important, as this will be a collective effort.  We are designing 6 surveys, targeting each constituency, based off of the existing Strategic Plan, which will be updated by collecting information during our student voice initiative.  These surveys will be shared in every modality to collect as much information as possible to develop the best plan to meet our needs as a district and community.

     Q.  What are the relationship goals of school leadership? 

1. As the Superintendent I regularly engage with all district stakeholders.  I have had the great honor of meeting with hundreds of people individually over the last 9 months, and this will continue moving forward.  We also have vibrant outreach efforts via Parent Square, our website, the Superintendent’s Corner (Published in the Robbinsville Advance each month), and our just introduced monthly video to be widely distributed.  It has also been a goal to engage stakeholders where they are, including going to and speaking at public forums, joining our three PTSAs, attending Rotary Club Meetings, and attending many of our great student events. 

           Our monthly presentations at Board Meetings are designed to highlight our great students and include administrative presentations to
           exhibit how we are meeting the needs of students.  All information which supports the presentations done are housed on our website
           for full transparency.  All administrators are willing, and very happy, to engage all members of our community who would like to explore
           these issues further. 

17. Why do you only talk about topics once a month? 

1. As stated above, our Board Meetings are only one avenue to engage with our leadership.  The Board Meetings are constructed to convey information transparently and constructively, with issues identified responded to later clearly and completely after being fully researched (our entire community deserves a complete/researched answer).   

          Board Meetings are not a forum for debate, but a resource to convey information and collect community input.  All public input is fully
          answered and posted for review of all stakeholders after the meeting.  Many of the topics of concern are then incorporated into our
          public presentations completed by our administration team, i.e. A question from a previous meeting indicated a belief that we were not
          utilizing the Strategic Plan.  We presented at this last meeting a full presentation on the original plan contents, current status of       
          initiatives, and our plan development moving forward. 

17. What resources are available for issues at neighboring schools which impact on our students? 

1. Resources for issues at neighboring schools that impact our students 

           New Jersey School Districts have crisis response teams that can be initiated when incidents at one school affect another school
           district. Each school in Robbinsville School District has a crisis response team.  

           Superintendents, Directors, Principals and counselors from affected schools reach out to neighboring school districts to share
           information and seek additional resources. We have inter-school communication where we notify all student services of any local 
          concern in case a student/parent/community member reaches out for assistance/support.  

           Local mental health agencies often collaborate with schools when traumatic events affect multiple campuses. I have attached a
           community agency list of resources. 

17. What resources are available for our students under pressure/stressed? 

1. Resources for students under pressure/stressed 

• In School Support: 
  • The Robbinsville Public District’s support team: We provide safe and confidential spaces for students to share their concerns. We also offer workshops for both students and parents. Whether a student or parent reaches out, we are here to listen, provide support, and connect them with helpful resources.  
  • Sharon Elementary School: 
    • Tier 1 level of support: 3 School Counselors: Individual therapy and Classroom Lessons 
    • Tier 2 level of support: Peer Group Counseling 
    • Tier 3 level of support: Referral Effective School Solutions School Based Clinician (one) 
  • Pond Road Middle School 
    • Tier 1 level of support: 4 School Counselors: Individual therapy and Classroom Lessons 
    • Tier 2 level of support: Peer Group Counseling 
    • Tier 3 level of support: Referral Effective School Solutions School Based Clinician (one) 
  • Robbinsville High School 
    • Tier 1 level of support: 5 School Counselors: Individual therapy and Small Group Counseling 
    • Tier 2 level of support: 1 Student Assistance Counselor  
    • Tier 3 level of support: Referral Effective School Solutions School Based Clinicians (two) 

            At the district level, we have systems in place to help identify and respond to student safety concerns. Through monitoring of student
           searches and documents on school-issued Chromebooks, a program we refer to as the red flag alert notifies an administrator if
           concerning activity is detected. When this occurs, we immediately reach out to the student and notify the parents. 

           Our counselors are highly trained and certified in Youth Mental Health First Aid, and when appropriate, they administer the C-SSRS
           Suicide Screener to assess student needs. 

           We also empower students with the message to ACT if they are concerned about a friend: 

• Acknowledge that their friend may be struggling 

• Care by showing support and concern 

• Tell a trusted adult who can help 

17. Are we aware of the 15- to 19-year-old range and associated mental health concerns? 

1. Yes, this is a critical age range with unique challenges. Adolescence (15–19 years) is a critical developmental stage, marked by rapid change, identity formation, and increased exposure to stressors. 
   1. Common Concerns: Anxiety, depression, self-harm, and suicidal ideation, substance use or experimentation, social pressures (identity, peer acceptance, online/social media), academic stress and future planning 
   2. Protective Factors: Strong, supportive relationships with trusted adults (parents, guardians, teachers, coaches, mentors), involvement in extracurricular activities and positive peer groups, clear referral pathways to professional mental health support 

            Please reach out if you are concerned about your child. We are here to listen, support, and connect your family with the resources
            needed to ensure every student’s well-being.