Dear SBS Community,

We have discussed the challenges involved in balancing the budget at board meetings over the past several months.

The state funding formula for school districts results in budget shortfalls that have a compounding effect each year. Rising costs also create pressure: The cost of gas is up around 17 percent, while electricity has spiked more than 20 percent from last year.

In these unpredictable times, we also must prepare for the possibility that the NJ Department of Education’s 2025-26 budget allocation for our district will be reduced before the state adopts its budget in July.

We are not alone: You’ve likely heard about districts in our area and across the state struggling to plan for next year’s budget.

Some have even raised taxes above the 2% levy cap through a short-term state program known as the Tax Incentive Levy. Shrewsbury does not meet the financial eligibility requirements for this program.

Preserving our priorities

We will continue seeking funding opportunities beyond the local tax base, such as grants for educational programs or energy-efficient building upgrades. The district is receiving $4.7 million in state aid for the building addition and other referendum improvements; this aid only comes with voter-approved, bond-funded projects.

The day-to-day costs that make up the annual budget are a separate funding responsibility. Serving students’ needs in the classroom are, and always will be, the foundation and focus of our annual budget.

We encourage you to learn more through our budget presentation and user-friendly budget report at sbs.k12.nj.us/board-of-education/budget

Best,

Brent A. MacConnell

Superintendent

Construction Update

Crews are completing projects inside and outside the building addition.

Bathroom tile was completed, and work is underway on the ceiling grid and light fixtures.
Drywall installation and spackling is taking place in other areas of the building.
The security vestibule also was constructed, and the public-address system was put in place.
And entrance steps signal it will soon be time for students to walk into new classrooms!

Our Tigers learned about many ways to protect the planet during Earth Day celebrations as they heard from guest speakers, created beautiful art and participated in hands-on projects.

What did students do?

Met Rocky the robot, the Monmouth County Recycling mascot (and his friend, District Recycling Coordinator Samuel Guidetti)

Created art out of recycled bottles to discover how long it takes for plastic bottles to decompose

Built mini turbines to learn about wind energy

Grew their own salad

Fifth graders worked on the Tower Garden — an innovative growing system that beautifully aligns with the values of Earth Day. This soil-free, vertical garden suspends plant roots in air while recycling water and nutrients, making it a powerful example of sustainable agriculture, resource conservation, and healthy living.

Classes successfully grew a variety of greens, including Bibb lettuce, romaine, kale, basil, watercress, arugula, Swiss chard, and spinach. After several weeks of caring for and monitoring the garden, students celebrated with a salad party, where they eagerly tasted the fruits (or rather, leaves!) of their labor!

Sixth graders participated in an upcycle project that combined creativity with environmental awareness. Each student selected used or discarded items, such as old T-shirts, plastic bottles and cardboard, and transformed them into something new and useful. Projects included turning a T-shirt into a tote bag, crafting planters from tissue boxes, using corks to make a trivet, and making decorative art pieces from scrap materials.

The project not only benefited the environment but also allowed students to express their creativity in meaningful and impactful ways.

Learning about wind energy was a breeze for fourth graders, thanks to some ingenuity and a grant from Kid Wind! The students learned about wind energy and created their own wind turbines. We connected LED lights to generators and when we tested them with wind energy, our generators turned on the lights, showing the usefulness of renewable energy.

SBS students will continue the earth-friendly projects in May with park cleanups throughout the month!

A group of SBS seventh graders earned a top 10 selection in a mock trial competition sponsored by the New Jersey State Bar Foundation. The students’ case ranked among nearly 90 statewide submissions to the Law Adventure program in the grade 7/8 group.

Students Elizabeth Allora, Estela Catarino, Fiona Christy, Felicity Hall, Wren Hegner, Evelyn Michel, Emerson Pagano and Evelyn Scutellaro presented a case focused on the Fourth Amendment’s protection against improper search and seizure.

During a scripted courtroom scene before a real judge, the students gave opening and closing arguments and carried out direct and cross examinations of witnesses, all while adhering to proper courtroom procedures.

The authenticity of the proceedings made it a special experience for Elizabeth Allora.

“My favorite part was getting to go into the real courtroom and experience what it was like to be a lawyer,” she said.

Library Media Specialist Mr. Clark offered his guidance throughout the weeks of preparation, even bringing in Lisa Gochman, a retired attorney with the state prosecutor’s office, to advise the students.

“When the girls came up with their idea, I knew it had the potential to win,” he explained. “I was there to help but the concept was completely their own.”

Each student received a certificate for their participation and SBS was awarded a plaque.

“I’m so proud of the kids,” Mr. Clark said. “It was a great experience. The dedication they put in was impressive while using their problem-solving skills, creativity, and analysis. Each time they met, they learned something new about the law and what it takes to craft an effective argument.”

Ruth Millman, a child survivor of the Holocaust and Shrewsbury resident, recently visited SBS to speak to seventh and eighth graders.

Millman told the story of how she and her mother were separated from her father and sister for survival, and the terrifying years they spent trying to stay alive.

Millman and her mother reunited with her father and sister after the war, eventually arriving as refugees to the United States from a displaced persons camp in West Germany.

The family settled in New York and Millman married and raised her own children in New Jersey. Millman summed up her story with a message of victory over Hitler and the Nazis.

“He did not win,” she said. “I won.”

“We were blessed to have her visit our school and speak to our students,” said Cheryl Salway, assistant principal and supervisor of curriculum and instruction at Shrewsbury Borough School. “It was an eye-opening event for all of us to learn about Mrs. Millman’s life experience and its place in history.”

Millman is the founder of the Women’s Division of the Jewish Federation for the Greater Red Bank area and was appointed to the board of Family and Children’s Services of Monmouth County.

She is also a member of the Speaker’s Bureau for Holocaust Education at Brookdale Community College.

First graders were famous for a day as they played the parts of legendary Americans such as Abraham Lincoln, Amelia Earhart and George Washington.

Each student was assigned to learn about a famous American and spent time researching the person and determining important facts from books and articles to write a report.

Dressed as famous Americans, the students presented facts to their classmates – accompanied by a “bottle buddy” that was made as a model of their assigned person.

The assignment met NJ Student Learning Standards, including:

Reading, Listening and Speaking Domains

Social Studies U.S. History: America in the World

We often think of DNA investigations as the domain of seasoned scientists – or the plot of a TV crime show.

But SBS students in sixth, seventh and eighth grades became “DNA detectives” when they hopped on the Rutgers Science Explorer bus to take part in an interactive exhibit and hands-on laboratory activities.

Rutgers University brings the bus to offer middle school students a chance to participate in real-world research as they explore STEM concepts and careers.

For the SBS exercise, students went on a virtual journey through the Amazon River Basin, where they encountered an unfamiliar plant species. Traditional identification methods proved ineffective, so students turned to DNA analysis to solve the mystery.

Using their understanding of DNA structure, they performed an ethanol extraction to help determine the plant’s identity. Thanks to science teachers Mrs. Tardiff, Mrs. Wiesel and Mrs. Ehlers for helping to bring this opportunity to SBS!

A new program invites students in grades six through eight to nominate their peers for modeling good character.

Mrs. Scully and Mrs. Jungfer launched the Tiger of the Month award to reward student behavior that aligns with Positive Behavior Support in Schools standards. The initiative creates an opportunity for middle school students to lead by example.

The students in each grade nominate one of their peers and vote anonymously, but the reasons behind the selections are framed for all to see. Here’s a sampling of what students had to say about April’s Tigers of the Month:

Jack Takacs, sixth grade: “Jack works hard and he goes out of his way to be a good student.”

James Marzullo, seventh grade: “He is a great friend and is always nice to others.”

Maddie Doody, eighth grade: “I vote Maddie Doody because she is always kind, and helps others when they need it.”

Jack's award

James' award

Maddie's award

Our next spotlight continues with Ms. Kelly Schlosser!

What is your title?

Multisensory Reading Interventionist.

Can you describe your job?

As a Reading Intervention teacher, I support students who struggle with reading by providing targeted, specialized instruction, designed to improve their reading and spelling skills. We work on skills such as phonemic awareness, word recognition, fluency, encoding, decoding, and comprehension.

What is your favorite part about your job?

My favorite part about my job is watching students’ confidence grow as their reading skills improve ... watching their excitement when they can finally spell or read words they couldn't before. It is an amazing feeling seeing a student go from struggling and frustrated to feeling confident and ready to accept new challenges.

How long have you worked at SBS?

I have worked at SBS for 10 years.

Why do you like working at SBS?

I love working at SBS because of the wonderful community and staff. I am incredibly lucky to have made so many great friends here. My students are the heart of why I love SBS so much. They make me laugh, keep me on my toes, and remind me every day how much I love my job.

Can you share a few fun facts about yourself?

I absolutely love animals but most of my attention goes to my dog, Macy. Anytime we have beautiful weather, I enjoy being outdoors and hiking with my family. I am also excited to start my garden this year and try to grow a bunch of new vegetables.

Your voice matters! Attending board meetings can be a crucial component toward the foundational growth of a community's future. The responsibility of the SBS board relies on feedback to continue representing the concerns of our community, keeping a check on the educational needs of our students, and creating policies to ensure SBS runs smoothly.

Every board meeting allows time for public comment and participation, and we encourage you make to your voice heard at any upcoming meeting to learn and be an active member of the Shrewsbury community.

Join us during this month's meeting: Wednesday, May 21 at 7 p.m.