HPPS Board Bulletin for August 28, 2026 Board Meeting
Click here to view the board meeting
Superintendent’s Report: At the meeting, the Superintendent’s Report featured two important presentations focused on student outcomes and our continued work to strengthen programming and services. Michele Rodrigues presented the Diploma Report and NJGPA-A Results, providing an update on graduation outcomes and student performance. Click here to review that presentation.
Additionally, John Comegno, Amy Coppola, and Ashley Raywood also shared the findings of the Comegno Special Education Program Evaluation, including areas of strength and opportunities to continue improving our special education programs and supports. Click here to view Ms. Coppola and Ms. Raywood’s presentation.
Curriculum and Instruction: The board approved the district’s mentoring plan and the partnership with the NJ Inclusion Project partnership that will move forward changes in services for students with special needs across the district. The committee reported on updates around precalculus for the district. The long term substitute teacher position was posted in June. We had a teacher ready to go, however that teacher was offered a tenure track job. The position was reposted and left open indefinitely but we received zero applications. This is not surprising given the national shortage of HS math and science teachers. There just are enough to cover the openings (there are currently 83 openings for HS math teachers across the state). The district explored whether or not other teachers would be willing to cover the courses for the teacher on leave. Three sections were covered but for the two precalculus sections no one was willing to take on an added prep. Recently, one teacher came forward and was willing to write lesson plans and grade the work for the precalc classes. Two teachers were willing to teach the precalc classes with the third teacher’s support and we approved a sidebar agreement with the teacher union to make this happen. We are working on onboarding those teachers to implement the lesson plans now.
The committee also reported on continuing to explore dual enrollment options for the district. This was pursued 2-3 years ago, but Middlesex CC has lofty requirements for district personnel to teach in a dual credit program. We are reaching out again to see if those requirements have eased since it is locationally and financially the best option for our students. If Middlesex hasn’t shifted, then we’ll reach out to St. Peter’s again and others to find a partner. We discussed Raritan Valley CC to see if other CCs in the area have the same requirement as Middlesex. Dr. Susca also mentioned that some districts partner with Syracuse, but that credits are extremely expensive, which is prohibitive for many families. This is an ongoing issue that we will continue to pursue.
Finance and Facilities: The board approved professional development from Inspired Instruction to support HS Math Teachers. In addition, the following professional services and related services were approved: Kayla Jenkins to provide free consulting services for the Teen Center to support Calm Collective Curriculum for the middle school, Yoga, Taichi and Zumba for PE classes this semester, CETRA translation service to provide support in languages that we cannot offer translation services, United Therapy Solutions to provide contracting services for the Educational Services department. The board also approved a resolution for ESCNJ to provide nonpublic nursing services and donations from Municipal Alliance to support the work of the Teen Center, Universal Access for a Rock the Spectrum Field Trip for Irving students, and Lara Meier for 3 rolling mirrors to the Drama Club. We thank you for your generosity!
The committee reported updates on several ongoing facilities projects. The Pre-K classroom has received its final certificate of occupancy. The cafeteria at Irving also got a few updates as a result of the Pre-K classroom project. The Bartle project has only a few punch-list items remaining. The HPEF Environmental Sustainability Project is now exploring adding water and electricity to the HS courtyard area where there is a Farm Bot. The committee also recapped the timeline of events with regard to hiring a Media Specialist for Bartle. Watch or listen to the full committee report to hear about additional project updates!
Personnel: Please join us in welcoming the following new staff:
Amanda Eng - Math Interventionist at Irving Primary School
Robert Kaiser - Special Education Teacher, High School
Samuel Guerrero - Coach for MS Wrestling
Policy and Regulations: There were no policies or regulations discussed; however, the Board Committees will be reviewing a proposed social media policy for district communications next month.
Other Business:
The next SEPAG meeting is on October 6th from 6pm-7pm in the Irving Media Center. Babysitting, refreshments, and translation in Spanish and Arabic will be provided. Here is a link to the flyer: https://www.hpschools.net/page/sepag-copy
During old business, Ms. Casal-Dunn provided another summary of the Athletics budget analysis reported last month. Dr. Susca clarified the Bartle Media Specialist position was most recently posted from September 13th through September 25th. Ms. Vardeman discussed adjusting the agenda to include time to address questions that can be quickly answered directly after public comment periods.