$1.7 million contract to supply substitute teachers

What happened

On July 28, 2026 the board appointed ESS Northeast to provide substitute teachers and paraprofessionals for the 2026-2027 school year at a cost not to exceed $1,660,607, awarded as an extraordinary unspecifiable service. The same meeting appointed Jump Ahead Pediatrics to provide occupational therapy up to $53,250 and physical therapy up to $13,680, both billed at $81.50 an hour.

Why it matters to families

Using an agency rather than the district's own substitute list is how many districts now cover absent teachers, and it is a $1.7 million line in a budget the board raised local taxes to balance. For families it decides who stands in front of a class when the regular teacher is out, and the therapy contracts decide who delivers services written into children's education plans.

The evidence

The July 28, 2026 approved minutes record the resolution appointing ESS Northeast, LLC under its competitive contract response with a fee not to exceed $1,660,607 for substitute teacher and paraprofessional services as an extraordinary unspecifiable service under N.J.S.A. 18A:18A-5(2), and the resolutions appointing Jump Ahead Pediatrics for occupational therapy not to exceed $53,250 and physical therapy not to exceed $13,680 at $81.50 per hour for July 2026 through June 2027.

The source