Board moves to end shared child-study team with Munaki; residents warn of special-education staffing gaps

The Wood-Ridge Board of Education discussed a superintendent recommendation to terminate the district's shared child-study team agreement with the Munaki district and to bring more child-study staff in‑district for the 2024–25 school year.

The superintendent reviewed the partnership's history and current caseload breakdown, saying Munaki’s reported caseload has risen to 51 students while Wood-Ridge’s is 231, representing roughly 82% of combined cases. He said the district expects to move from five shared employees in the prior arrangement (estimated cost about $637,000 under that sharing model) to five in‑district employees next year at an estimated salary-and-benefits cost of $604,224 — a narrow personnel cost difference the superintendent described as a modest savings while providing more on-site availability.

The superintendent argued that having staff consistently in‑district would improve responsiveness, scheduling and supervision: "Having everybody in district, I believe, is an advantage for us," he said, noting that shared staff currently spend days in both districts and that in‑district supervision would centralize oversight.

But residents raised concerns. Bonnie Taylor (64 Woodridge Street) said the cuts eliminate specialist positions and stressed testing and behavioral supports: "231 for 1 psychologist is way too high," she said, arguing that outsourcing behavioral services could be more costly and that the district should consider part-time hires to avoid overburdening psychologists.

Officials responded that Munaki has discussed the change and is hiring a supervisor and staff; the superintendent said outgoing staff will 'articulate' current cases to Munaki before leaving and that any contracting for behavioral services or evaluators would be brought to a future board meeting for discussion and approval.

Board action and next steps: the termination of the shared services agreement was listed on the board operations consent items and was included in the set of agenda approvals the trustees supported later in the meeting. The superintendent said specific contractor arrangements and staffing adjustments will be monitored over the summer and presented back to the board if additional hires or outsourcing are necessary.