School District of the Chathams Packet Summary — 2026-06-15
Board Meeting — Regular Business Meeting
The School District of the Chathams Board of Education is scheduled for a 7:30 PM regular business meeting at the Chatham High School Auditorium. The agenda includes administrative reports, public commentary, personnel and financial actions, transportation contracts, curriculum items, and preparations for the 2026–2027 school year.
Key Items on the Agenda
Staffing for 2026–2027
The board is scheduled to consider a large personnel agenda covering retirements, resignations, new contracts, transfers, stipends, summer assignments, coaching positions, leaves and other staffing actions.
Notable recommendations include:
- Appointing Alyssa Nugent as Supervisor of Student Support Services, K–12, effective August 17, 2026. The proposed annual salary is $130,683, prorated to $114,347.63 for a term of 10 months and 15 days.
- Transferring Catherine Steege to Supervisor of Student Health & Well-Being at an annual salary of $130,683, effective July 1, 2026. The item would supersede the May 11 action to reflect the position change.
- Approving several new teachers and student-support staff for the 2026–2027 school year, with listed annual salaries ranging from $65,645 to $72,760 among the new certificated hires identified in the agenda.
- Approving a $55,000 contract for a Chatham High School Media Center Coordinator and a leave-replacement special education teacher at $65,645.
- Considering a contract rescission for a school nurse position for the 2026–2027 school year.
The agenda also proposes numerous extra-duty assignments. Several certificated employees would receive $15,000 for an extra class, additional evaluations or a senior internship project, while certain high-school physical education staff would receive $2,000 alternate-activity assignments.
Summer Staffing and Curriculum Work
The board is scheduled to consider a range of Summer 2026 assignments, including counseling and secretarial hours, custodial and maintenance support, Extended School Year services, and curriculum development.
- Summer curriculum writing is generally proposed at $75 per hour, with maximum hours varying by assignment.
- Summer custodial support is proposed at $18 per hour, while summer maintenance support would be $19 per hour.
- Extended School Year recommendations include a speech pathologist at $80 per hour for 20 days and a teacher at $52 per hour for 21 days.
- A proposed District Videographer appointment carries an annual stipend of $10,000 for 2026–2027.
- Interactive display installations performed outside regular contractual hours would be compensated at $450 per installation, with television installations at $225 each, subject to pre-approval.
- Miscellaneous audio/visual production work would be authorized at $50 per hour, not to exceed $4,000 for the school year. Student camera operators for board meetings would receive $20 per hour, with a maximum of $2,500 per operator.
The personnel agenda also includes extensive 2026–2027 extra-duty stipends for clubs, arts programs, academic activities, student organizations and leadership assignments across district schools.
Major Financial Items
Up to $5 Million Transfer to Capital Reserve
The board is scheduled to consider authorizing the School Business Administrator to transfer available year-end General Fund surplus into the district's Capital Reserve Account.
The resolution establishes a maximum transfer of $5,000,000 from unanticipated current-year revenue and/or unexpended appropriations. The final transfer would depend on funds available at year end and applicable state requirements.
$8.48 Million in Bills and Payroll
The payment resolution before the board totals $8,477,088.57, consisting of:
- Bills list dated May 14, 2026: $613,523.56
- Bills list dated June 15, 2026: $3,084,032.23
- May 15 payroll: $2,388,267.55
- May 30 payroll: $2,391,265.23
The finance agenda also includes the April 2026 county-transfer report, Board Secretary report, Board Treasurer report and required financial certification.
Transportation Contracts for 2026–2027
The board is scheduled to consider renewing multiple First Student transportation contracts with a state-mandated 3.58% CPI increase.
The listed regular-route contracts carry a combined per-diem cost of $8,164.06 and an annual amount of $1,469,530.80 based on 180 school days. An additional M-12 route is listed at $83,899.80 annually, although the packet states that changing student demographics may mean the route is not needed during 2026–2027.
The board will also consider transportation pricing for athletics and other school-related activities:
- Trips between 8:45 AM and 2:30 PM: $300.25 per bus, plus $87.63 for each additional hour.
- Trips after 4:00 PM: $544.22 per bus with a four-hour minimum, plus $115.10 for each additional hour.
- Cancellation within 90 minutes of pickup: $125 per bus.
An agenda item also addresses updated district transportation routes and stops.
Grants, Consulting and Student Services
Additional finance recommendations include:
- Amended acceptance of up to $7,840 through the 2026–2027 FOCUS Continuation Grant, covering June 1, 2026 through May 31, 2027.
- Keystone Consulting NJ educational services at $65 or $95 per hour, for no more than 50 hours during 2026–2027.
- Brett DiNovi & Associates for BCBA leave-replacement services.
- A Bayada Home Health Care contract to provide student nursing services as required from July 1, 2026 through June 30, 2027.
Donations and Community Support
The board is scheduled to consider accepting several donations designated for student programs, facilities and activities:
- $30,000 from the Chatham High School PTO toward a sunshade and other purchases identified in the packet, including an art-display magnet board, television monitors, outdoor tables and library seating.
- $2,049 from CHS Football Team Parents for a Mobility Chute.
- $384.99 from CHS Football Team Parents for Group Spot.
- $1,000 from the American Red Cross for the American Red Cross Scholarship Fund at Chatham High School.
- $445 from Field Hockey Parents to help offset the Max Field Hockey High School Invitational fee.
- $100 from Fidelity Charitable, recommended by the Routh Family Charitable Fund, for the performing arts program.
Curriculum and Student Services
K–3 Spanish Curriculum
The board is scheduled to consider the district's working K–3 Spanish Curriculum for the 2026–2027 school year. The agenda states that the curriculum document is maintained in the Assistant Superintendent's Office.
Nursing Services and Field Trips
The curriculum agenda also includes proposed approval of:
- The district's 2026–2027 Nursing Services Plan.
- Field trips for the 2026–2027 school year, subject to approval by school principals or their designees.
The agenda additionally includes review of a suspension report, consideration of Harassment, Intimidation and Bullying investigative findings, and affirmation of determinations from HIB investigations previously reported to the board at its May 11 meeting.
Administrative Reports and Upcoming Business
The Superintendent's scheduled report includes:
- Graduation on Tuesday, June 16, 2026.
- The district's Annual Discipline Report.
- Recognition of Teacher of the Year recipients.
The Business Administrator's report is expected to cover construction and nominating petitions for the November 2026 Board of Education election.
The agenda also identifies a Board of Education Retreat on June 22, 2026.
Public Participation
The agenda provides two public-commentary opportunities. Members of the public may address issues that are either on or off the scheduled agenda, subject to the board's reasonable time limits for speakers.
The packet also provides for a possible executive session for matters permitted to be discussed confidentially under New Jersey's Open Public Meetings Act. The listed categories include personnel, collective bargaining, litigation or contract negotiations, real estate, privacy and other legally confidential matters; listing those categories does not establish which, if any, will actually be discussed in closed session.
What to Watch at the Meeting
- Capital planning: The proposed authorization to move as much as $5 million into capital reserve could affect resources available for future facilities and capital projects.
- Transportation costs: The board is being asked to renew regular-route transportation contracts totaling about $1.47 million annually, with a possible additional route worth approximately $83,900.
- 2026–2027 staffing: A substantial portion of the agenda concerns appointments, transfers, stipends and other personnel preparations for the coming school year.
- K–3 Spanish: The proposed working curriculum would establish the district's K–3 Spanish curriculum document for 2026–2027.
- Summer operations: Numerous recommendations cover curriculum development, Extended School Year programming, facilities support and other work occurring between school years.
The official public-body source for this packet is the School District of the Chathams.
Civic Translator summarized publicly available meeting materials provided by the School District of the Chathams.
