On Monday, April 13, the Pascack Valley Regional High School District Board of Education (BOE) held a meeting on recognizing student achievements and discussed the potential outsourcing of custodial services driven by budget constraints.
The evening opened with a series of recognitions for outstanding student achievement. The Board began the ceremony by honoring the Hills Class of 2026 Valedictorian Madison Espinosa and Co-Salutatorians Katherine Glass and Nina Indugula.
The next students to be recognized were the National Merit Scholarship Program earners, Seniors Nathan Jeong and Justin Yoo. Moreover, Senior Jupiter Tamagny received the Bergen County Unsung Heroes Award for his impactful yet quiet leadership at Hills.
Academic honors continued with the commendation of Juniors Agrima Verma and Navya Pathak for their awards in the Terra North Jersey STEM Fair. The Board also celebrated a large group of students for their acceptances into various prestigious choirs and bands, including Fiana Fitzgerald, Rebecca Kaplin, Gowri Nair, Anna Shabani, Ayan Swain, Maya Zislin, Ilyas Alizade, Joshua Lee, and Miriam Rozman.
The student recognition ceremony concluded with athletic achievements, as the Board recognized Ariana Soto for her title as the 2025-2026 Bergen County Girls’ Wrestling Champion. The entire Pascack Hills Wrestling Team was also honored for becoming the Bergen County Group E Champions.
Following the presentations, Board President Debra Stephans gave a speech addressing the potential outsourcing of the custodial department to a private company, anticipating community backlash. While noting that a final decision has not been reached, Stephans emphasized the Board’s financial obligations. “We are simply fulfilling our responsibility to explore every option to address our financial challenges,” Stephans stated.
The meeting continued with committee reports, including the Curriculum, Instruction, and Technology (CIT) report delivered by Board Member Katie Keller. Keller confirmed the purchase of VR headsets and noted ongoing discussions regarding changes to cellphone policy to satisfy state legislation. She also described an evaluation comparing the district’s current MacBooks to alternatives, such as Chromebooks, but action is yet to be taken.
Pascack Hills student representative Stephanie Yeung delivered her report of recent events at Hills. She described recent academic trips, including the French department’s trip to France and the Spanish trip to Spain, alongside athletic trips to Florida and Amelia Island for the baseball, golf, and tennis teams. Yeung also noted events hosted by the Asian Culture Club and the start of the spring sports season.
Prior to public comment, Board Member Gini Varghese provided a detailed explanation of the financial trends that led up to the search for budget cuts, with one of the leading ideas being to outsource custodians. Varghese cited rising healthcare costs as a major factor that would impact the budget through 2029, stating that outsourcing “would help lessen a similar financial impact on the 2027-2028 budget.”
The meeting concluded with a lengthy public comment session, where over 25 speakers, including students, staff, and Hills Principal Tim Wieland, spoke strongly against the proposal. Speakers emphasized the custodians’ dedication and their role in maintaining a positive school climate. “Custodians have served a reliable, non-judgmental role… they help keep the school’s environment as great as it is,” one student remarked.
Mr. Wieland closed the public portion by acknowledging the difficulty of the situation, stating, “We know that we need to make cuts… but these people deserve our respect and appreciation.”
Board Member Michael Weaver concluded the discussion by acknowledging the emotional weight of the decision, noting that while the Board values the staff, privatization remains under consideration to protect other district programs. The Board is attempting to cut out inefficiencies while prioritizing students’ experiences, and privatizing custodial services would keep the student experience the same while saving the district money.
