good evening I would like to call the meeting to order in accordance with the provisions of the New Jersey open public meeting Act of 1975 the oton Board of Education transmitted notice of this meeting scheduled at 6:30 p.m. in the oton Junior Senior High School library media center to the retrospect newspaper and the buau of Clerk and by postings on the udon Public School District website and at the Maine and the Pine Street entrance of the Junior Senior High School roll call please Mrs Ronis James glenstein absent Allison Cox absent Andrea Robinson here Amy Davis here stepen Wilson here tar petria absent Alison lipsky absent Mark Addie Bill Wilson Jonathan Maxon here Monica caller here I apologize oh you're not here yet okay Coler thank you Monica ker all right whereas while the senator Byron and be open public meetings act requires all meetings of the udon Board of Education to be held in public njsa 10 4-12 B sets forth 9 types of matters that may lawfully be discussed in executive session I.E without the public being permitted to attend and whereas the Autobon board of education has deemed it necessary to go into Clos session to discuss certain matters which are Exempted from the public and as are indicated on this agenda may I have a motion to go into executive motion second all in favor I any opposed all right we will be approximately 30 minutes all in favor any oppos all right i' like to call the meeting to order again and ask everyone to please stand for the flag salute United States indivisible andice all right I'm gonna turn the meeting over to Dr Davis I know if you look at your agenda it says that Miss Coler is going to speak but I want to introduce her first so the audon board has had a student rep before my time we've always had student representatives to the board because they know the voice of the students really matters right what happens in the classrooms what happens throughout the school and and and the Barrow they understand what's happening and for us to have an idea from their perspective is really important um this this the state made some changes to the the policy and the regulation mandating boards to have student reps we um took it a little bit one step further we really wanted to have an apprentice to that representative so it was late in the process so we just held the election we had four students that wanted to be Representatives uh on the the on the board they're not a voting member of the board but they give us insight and and input um we had Mary McGuire Leo Davis Trent Bal and Jane Pon it was not an easy process the board also wanted to be sure that we we kind of had the same experience that they did they had a right a letter of interest and a a letter of intent they had to get a at least one recommendation letter they had to get a nominating petition just like a board member would and then they also had to sign an O we held the election um well we tried to I I attempted to hold the election yesterday but unfortunately uh when the Google form was sent they were a the students were able to vote more than once and then I figured out oops and then this morning we got another one but when I made the new form uh I didn't open open up voting so we didn't vote first period we ended up voting second period um out of that vote we we have the student that the students have selected to represent them and to give information to the board another piece which was really nice is we used rank Choice voting if you don't know what rank Choice voting is I would recommend that you you look Google it and find out a little bit more about it what happens is when you have the vote if one per you don't get the final candidate until you have a majority vote so we had four students we did the first run um two of the students were very close the other two were close but no one had a majority so the the student with the least amount of votes was removed then their votes their second place votes become first place votes forever that other person was third place becomes second place fourth place goes third then it became really close but the numbers started to switch a little bit which is interesting because you get to pick and every student when they voted got to select their first second third and fourth candidate in the end I'm not going to say I'll let our student representative introduce our elected official and she's also going to have oath sign in so Monica Monica oh we can get you know what let's go up there so we can get you on the camera yep you go with her yes hi I'm Monica ker I'm the senior representative to the Board of Education uh this is J Pon she was elected as the junior representative which is also going to be The Apprentice for when I graduate I st your name I do affirm that I will support the Constitution of the United States and the constitution of the state of New Jersey do affirm that I will support the Constitution of the United States and the constitution of the state of New Jersey and that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same and to the government established in the United States and this state and that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same and to the governments established in the United States and the state under the authority of the people under the authority of I state your name I do affirm that I am a student of the otan Junior Senior High School I doir student of J school and I will Faithfully impartially andly perform duties of the student representative of the Board of Education and I will faithfully and partially andly perform the duties of the student represent to the of [Applause] education so a hearty congratulations to Jane we uh forward to you joining us and sharing your insights and your student voice and your opinions um please ask questions um Monica can certainly help you out but any one of the board members is also here to answer any questions you might have welcome all right we're going to move on to another highlight of our meeting which is welcoming uh the students of the month and their families for the month of January I'll walk and talk you haven't been here before we're going to do students of the students of the month uh what we're going to do is a board member is going to announce we get little certificate and handed to them camera is there so if you're a camera you like it students you want to look that way but you also want to look here parents you are able to get up if you want to get up here and get a shot just like I had to get a shot of this all right guys there's also pictures on the back if you want to get a shot of that too that's fine parents get them all good good good all right okay so our first student of the month is our pre kindergarten student eie [Applause] Newell we got [Applause] go I'm right with you right with you and I'm gonna say some really great things about you eie all right E's teacher says Evee is one of a kind yes I'm talking about you she is filled with so much love and fun Eve is the most helpful child in class she is willing to help anyone and everyone at any given moment Evee is very compassionate and looks out for her friends she brings happiness to everyone who crosses her path we are so proud of you Evee obviously and are excited to watch you continue to Blossom way to go [Music] [Applause] Eevee wow we need cheering sections here every month this is great has to stay for the group sh at the end yes yes hang on hang on okay our kindergarten student of the month is Noah Williams come on up [Applause] Noah somebody can come with Noah if he doesn't want to come up or if he just wants to stay there he can and I will read wonderful things about you too Noah okay all right here we go Noah's teacher says Noah comes into school each day with a smile and it's all always ready to learn he is consistently respectful to both his peers and teachers Noah works extremely hard to be a model student for his classmates he has come very far and constantly impresses us with the amount of growth he has shown already this year Noah excels at showing safe respectful and responsible behavior while at school congratulations Noah here you go sir you're welcome Lyla Prima is nominated as the first grade student of the [Applause] month her teacher says I have nominated Lyla for many reasons I am so proud of the effort that Lyla puts into her work each and every day she is always responsible by being prepared to work hard and participating in all class discussions Lyla is respectful in all of her interactions with her peers and teachers she is such a kind friend who loves to help out others makes comments that make others feel good and is always looking to make others laugh it brings such joy to see her warm smile each and every day I have been so honored to teach lla this year I am so excited about all of the progress that she has made keep up the great work Lyla [Applause] congratulations ver Cannon is nominated as the second grade student of the month ver demonstrates being safe responsible and respectful in all that she does throughout the day she works hard and is an excellent role model for her peers Vera makes good choices and is respectful to all she is willing to help others whenever and wherever she can and always finds the positive in any situation ver is going to be very successful congratulations [Applause] ver good evening John Jack gy is nominated as third grade student of the [Applause] month Jack Audi is nominated as the third grade student of the month Jack always shows respect to his teachers and classmates by consistently following classroom expectations he is helpful to all his teachers and is a great role model for his peers he takes ownership for his learning by being prepared for class and completing classwork and homework assignments on time Jack shows achievement by participating in class discussions staying on task and always putting forth his best effort he shows responsibility by completing his part during group work and by staying organized while transitioning through all subject areas his teacher is proud to nominate him as the third grade student of the month keep up the great work [Applause] Jack Dante Mustachio is nominated as the fourth grade student of the mon Dante Mustachio is nominated as the fourth grade student of the month his teacher says with the second half of the school year Rolling Along Dante has shown great understanding of mansion Avenue's Roar behaviors stepping up with his responsibilities to help create a great classroom culture Dante is never shy in owning his learning by reaching out to a teacher if he has a question as well as organizing study groups to prepare for assessments he is caring towards his friends and respectful respectful of his classmates Dante is always participating in classroom discussions providing great insight and sharing wonderful opinions he has been wonderful during the beginning of the school year both and both myself miss jenkinson and miss Emon are excited to see Dante's progress as he begins to transition into the upper elementary student role and Achieve his absolute best in class congratulations Dante Anna colen sorry I'm much shorter than Stephen Anna Cen is nominated as the fifth grade student of the [Applause] month Anna demonstrates the roar expectations every day she is a role model for her peers and you can always find her working diligently in the classroom Anna is highly motivated and engaged during lessons and always strives to do her best when working independently when she works with her classmates she leads and focuses her group making sure everyone is heard and participates Anna is seen making good decisions no matter where she is in the building she is mindful of others and truly understands what it means to be a mountain lion congratulations on earning student of the month [Applause] Anna Maya McCrae I hope I pronounced that [Applause] correctly your name awesome proud show your certificate okay Maya is nominated as sixth grade student of the month her teacher says since the start of the year she has displayed Mansion Avenue Role Model Behavior and continues to do so Maya shows respect to her teachers and classmates by always raising her hand waiting for others to finish speaking before taking her turn you're much better at that than I am Maya and making positive comments to others during group lessons Maya celebrates the accomplishments of other and is truly happy when one of her classmates experiences success she takes ownership for her work by turning in assignments on time and actively reviewing and checking in about her work Maya demonstrates achievement by thoughtfully participating in all group discussions asking insightful questions and going above and beyond especially with her writing assignments Maya's classmates look forward to when she shares her creative and well-written stories with the group finally Maya is responsible for her academic materials and preparing for class by being ready to learn Maya your thirst for knowledge and class spirit is admirable congratulations [Applause] maam good evening everybody Hugh Gallagher is nominated as the seventh grade student of the [Applause] mom from the very beginning of the school year Hugh has consistently exhibited exceptional qualities his unwavering preparedness attentiveness and success in daily tasks have made a significant impact on the learning environment Hugh consistently demonstrates exceptional qualities that embody the spirit of our school Community from his positive attitude to his commitment to academic Excellence Hugh is a role model for peers and an asset to our learning environment Hugh's dedication is particularly EV in during his band sessions where he stands out as a remarkable individual there are moments when he takes on the challenge of being the sole performer for specific part on his instrument approaching it with confidence and ease his musical prow and commitment to Excellence are truly commendable his teacher is not only grateful to have H in their class every day but is also excited to witness his continued progress throughout the remainder of the school year in addition to his outstanding achievements in class and band Hugh boasts an impressive GPA showcasing his academic Excellence congrats you on being a standout student and well-deserving recipient of the student of the month Accolade good job Henry stonky is nominated as the eighth grade student of the [Applause] mom it brings this teacher immense joy to shine a spotlight on Henry a remarkable eighth grade student of the month Henry is not just an outstanding student he is a fantastic young man who adds a special touch to our class his active participation and thoughtful contributions make his classroom a vibrant space for learning what truly sets Henry apart is his unwavering commitment to going above and beyond whether it's putting in extra effort on assignments or supporting his peers Henry exemplifies dedication and kindness his hard work for the greats he earns is a testament to his diligence and passion for learning Henry's positive presence is a true blessing making him an indispensable asset to the class Dynamics congrats Henry on this well-deserved recognition as student of the month Your Personal Touch enhances your learning community in the best way [Applause] possible James Moran is nominated as the ninth grade student of the [Applause] month James's teacher is thrilled to honor him as our student of the month celebrating not only his outstanding academic achievements but also his exceptional contributions as a three- sport student athlete James is remarkable remarkably high GPA is a testament to his dedication and explan mind you're better your GPA is much higher than mine exp work ethic in the classro Beyond academics he stands out as a true team player participating actively in various Sports showcasing his passion for athletes and committing his boy showcasing his pass passion for athletics and commitment to a well-rounded education what truly distinguishes James in is his innate willingness to help others whether it's on the field or in the classroom he extends a helping hand to teammates and peers alike fostering a sense of camaraderie these teachers are using way too big for his involvement in both school and community activities exemplifies his dedication to making a positive impact James Moran is a great all around young man embodying the qualities of leadership sportsmanship and Community Spirit making him a valuable addition to our school and Community congratulations James on this well-deserved recognition as our student of the month Paul Davis is nominated as the 10th grade student of the month Paul's teacher says that he has truly earned the recognition this recognition with his remarkable achievements and positive contributions to our school Community Paul exemplifies academic excellence and a Relentless commitment to his studies with a remarkably high GPA not only does Paul excel in the classroom but he also demonstrates exceptional dedication on the track as a winter and spring track a athlete his proudness and balancing academic rigor with extracurricular achievements is truly commendable Paul consistently pushes himself by enrolling in challenging courses showcasing his th thirst for knowledge and his intellectual growth Paul's well-roundedness both as a scholar and an athlete sets him apart as a role model for his peers his positive attitude strong work ethic and collaborative Spirit contribute to a vibrant and supportive learning environment his explor oh my word his great qualities make him a deserving recipient of the student of the month Accolade thank [Applause] you George ores is nominated as the 11th grade student of the [Applause] month his teacher said say George's positive attitude is contagious as he consistently brightens our classrooms with a warm smile and enthusiasm for learning George's exemplary behavior extends beyond the academic realm he is a thoughtful and considerate student who goes above and beyond to create a welcoming environment for everyone his commitment to detail with the little things such as ensuring chairs are neatly pushed in and cleaning up after class reflects his character when no one is looking moreover George's willingness to stay late and assist with cleaning especially in the the art room exemplifies his selflessness and team spirit George ores truly embodies the qualities of a well-rounded and community-minded student here at Aon we're proud to have him as part of our academic family and extend our heartfelt congratulations on being named student of the [Applause] month Jada Pinder is nominated as the 12th grade student of the month her teacher says Jada is not just a great student but an incredible young woman who brings an undeniable positive energy to our classroom her compassionate and thoughtful nature is truly a gift creating a supportive and inclusive atmosphere for everyone around her in addition to her admirable character Jada has proven to be a hardworking student from the beginning of the school year she has set an impressive example for her peers Jada's commitment to her education is evident through her diligent work on all examples and end notes she goes above and beyond by actively participating in class discussions often volunteering answers and at times being the sole contributor this level of Engagement is reflected in her impressive GPA for this margin period and numerous nominations this month for student of the month J is not afraid to seek assistance when needed demonstrating both humility and a genuine desire for understanding her presence in class is invaluable and we are truly grateful to have her as a student Jada Pinder possesses all the quality necessary for Success both within the classroom and Beyond congratulations Jay on being named student of the month all right if I could have all the students of the month you doing you know me right [Music] by that was [Applause] amazing you ready to go all right well this is wonderful there's still people here this is exciting all right uh we're going to move on with our district report all right I'm I'm known for introducing and then giving too much information so rather than sh pull from them except for I'm a little jealous because I didn't know and I need to go out and get one I need a yellow sweater apparently I didn't know and I don't know if the whole yellow sweater gang is going to come up or not but this award is because they are a big group of professionals that work together to do the best for not only the students and themselves but the community as a whole so I'm just going to ask Miss Meltzer to come up and she's going to tell us a little bit about a little award that they just earned come on down actually I'm not going to tell you much of anything because the team is going to tell you about this award that we've won so team come on up we have eight uh eight staff members who are in the PBIS team who kind of are leading the charge have been leading the charge in the um application for school character you you can see lots of other Mansion team members this is really an initiative that was from the ground up it's been a while in the making and we couldn't be more thrilled about not so much the recognition although recognition is kind of cool um really the process that we went through in refining the program that we've had in place and making sure that we're really doing the absolute best we can for kids so you can see our banners just came in we're so excited they're going to go on the um fences around Mansion Avenue School and we have just a little bit of information for all of you just talking about where we started and how we got to this point so I'm going to introduce karanovic who's going to get us started we just point at you when it's time there's also a remote up there too I'm not go with remot um hi I'm karovic I'm one the school counselor over at Mansion Avenue School I would also like it if the whole rest of the committee is also inter so you know who everybody is so we we could just go around jacow Shannon so this is our PBIS committee but as we will give you more information what this journey was was a lot more than just PBIS um so back in 2016 we were noticing through our RTI program that there was a high correlation between students that were struggling academically as well as having negative behaviors and we started to really think about what was going on at the school what did we need to do it affected our school climate greatly um and so we knew we needed to do more so a group of Staff members that were led by Bonnie Smeltzer got together and started thinking about what could we do to try to help with this issue and PBIS came along um and helped us really flip our message from a focus on a more positive um expectations in the building so PBIS this is just a little bit of information and you'll see some different pictures as we go through because every year we have a different theme at Mansion Avenue School um and we'll address some of them as we go here it's a framework um and it provides a broad range of strategies for achieving the academic and behavior Al outcomes and preventing some of those negative behaviors that we were concerned about and it helps us to teach those positive behaviors to a student so their uniform across the whole school if you walk into Mansion Avenue School every single kid can tell you we roar and they will tell you that is respect ownership achievement and responsibility every student knows that throughout the whole building so we have a Common Language and PB really helped us to achieve that and create a very positive environment than you know kind of changing the culture of our School anyone all right so jilan MK who is up here at the high school she really helped us with this she put us in with an outside consultant we spent a summer building this from the ground up it was not like we started from nothing what is PBIS they explained it to us and we had to come up with what would fit our school specifically so we came up with Roar respect ownership achievement and responsibility and then we defined what that looks like throughout the entire building throughout the entire day how do you work what does that look like the first two years of the program we volunteered we did this we were paid in the summertime but we volunteered all of our time it is a year-long event and we get paid in the summertime to each year look at it but it is something we do almost every day really because it is such a huge part of our school this is the Matrix that we built from scratch for our Ro expectations it talks about how we were in all settings of our school in the classroom in the bathroom in the hallways outside at recess during Co we had how do you roar virtually we had to adapt it because that's what we were doing at that time I'm it over to so so part of our um program is our yearly themes when we meet in the summer we come up with a theme for every school year just to keep things um fun and exciting we started with did we start no we didn't start with wi of us we did we we did start with wizard of O Wizard of Oz Toy Story Star Wars superheroes and this year is inside out which goes along with our social emotional um learning um our war rallies we have War rallies once a month where we um um we were recognized for by character.org as a promising practice for our war rallies so our war rallies are where we have skits every month we have staff members who put on a skit um with the characters from our theme we have a wor store where students can earn um prizes tangible and non-tangible they can do um Rewards or earn um you know lunch with a teacher well lunch with a teacher um to announce morning announcements um read to a class that's a really popular one um and then we have our schoolwide events we have our pancake breakfast our monster mash um we have pop-up snack stands we have um crafts and cookies so we try to get creative and have our um monthly or monthly schoolwide rewards as well three years so you've got a friend of mansion was our was our um theme during Co um so we kept that going during Co which was you know virtually there's a picture of our um virtual Roar rallies that we um that we recorded and then played for the students so some of our events the Super Bowl with Joe Flo came in as our surprise guest for our Super Bowl um schoolwide reward our payt breakfast and a scene from our war rally the theme is don't make eye contact so how do we keep Bing because this isn't something that just happens and then it's stagnant it's constantly going one of the biggest things is our Swiss data so we collect data on our discipline referrals and each month when we meet uh as a committee we analyze that data where are we seeing issues what locations what time what day of the week what grade level so we can analyze it in lots of different ways and brainstorm some things that we can do about it um we do have that summer committee that Cara always already told you about that meets in the summer to plan the next year's theme the activities that we're going to do and revise like what worked this past year what didn't we survey our staff we ask our staff to give us feedback and they always do um we've collaborated we've met with havin Avenue and shared some of our practices to get them started on theirs and that's been really awesome um we do fundraisers uh we come up with all kinds of things we've got headbands we've got flags um we do pretzel sales we just had 370 heart shaped soft pretzels the other day so we do lots and lots of things like that um can't stress enough that when Co hit we were panicked you know we had started this and we were number one concerned about our students and how do we keep them connected to us and to school and how do we keep this initiative rolling so we just brainstormed all different ways um you can see that virtual Ro Roar rally which was amazing we gave virtual Paws um we delivered we had um people on staff who you know kids would buy something at the roar store and they would pack it up in a bag for them so they could come and pick it up so we we are really really proud of how all the staff came together to really keep that rolling during a time when we all needed something positive um and we've hosted other districts to come in and listen um and learn from our practices we just talked about the Swiss data this is a picture of what one of the reports would be so you can see there's lots of information on there and it's really been very helpful for us to see you know we we know from the very beginning of this that it wasn't going to be perfect we were not going to reach 100% we were going to try to get as close to that as we could but it's really important for us to to be able to zero in and Target like where exactly what are the grade levels or what are the times of day or what are the what are the locations when we saw we had an issue at lunch in the playground you know our principal reacted to that information and she was able to put more staff there and that has completely flipped that narrative to change our culture there the zones of Regulation is something that we've incorp at it into our program as well where not only teaching positive behavior but teaching kids to regulate their behavior teaching kids to be able to say how they're feeling what they're feeling and we've moved into now what we can do about it our school counselors have been amazing at keeping that program rolling with our kids we've incorporated into now like our daily kids do a daily check-in they'll tell you what color they are they'll tell you you know if if you want to dig a Little Deeper or why and then more importantly what can you do so we're teaching not only behaviors and academic behaviors but we're also teaching social and emotional behaviors okay so as you can see here we we also facilitate along with our great um faculty over here clubs and activities and fundraisers um just a couple listed here Spirit committee helping pause I mean there's posters all around the school for different collections we're doing for different foundations that you can see um and we're continuing to build that so building Community has been very important um and we're open to suggestions from staff all the time as far as you know different ways we can help the community and be a part of the community and speaking of community um so Community circles began last year in January um it was actually a sixth grade initiative uh we were seeing you know just kind of relationship peer relationships ways to navigate and we were able to um along with a counselor in every classroom we were able to facilitate what we call Community circles so students contemplate questions and then we're able to help them navigate through their emotions and you know through different reactions and really it's a way that they can learn about each other learn acceptance um you know we just actually had one today in my classroom that went well and our goal is we're actually starting with some third grade classes to Pilot that as well so working together learning about each other um and then we also have um words have weight assembly we worked with the high school last year as well so that's another way to connect throughout the district so all all of those things contributed to us applying to be a school of character when we first um looked at the character.org program they have 11 principles that you have to measure your school by and it was eye opening because this really was a three-year process us getting here because we had to look at what their principles were see how we measured up and then you know see what kinds of programs either we were lacking in what kinds of survey information we need what kinds of other data points we might need to gather um the first year we applied for it we um got a honorable mention um we were very close to getting it in terms of their numbers you could score they have 11 principles and within the principles there are four different items that they measure you against and you can get a score from 1 to four um you had to have I think at least a 31 3.2 can't quite remember we were just shy of that last year so we really took the information that they gave us and said okay where could we improve so some of our clubs and activities came out of that some of the survey data we collected from students came out of that um and then we applied again and with a a great outcome we were awarded the school character which was very exciting um and the it was a very long it was a 30-page application we had to have um we surveyed parents we survey students we had to have quotes from people we had to have recommendations there were pictures that need to be included in evidence for every principal so it was a very very long process and a a very lengthy application but you know with a great with a great outcome and I think it also helped us to see where we could grow even more so even though we've been awarded this we are still applying for a promising practice again this year we're still looking at how we can continue to build our school and keep going forward so again we got the promising practice for the roar rally that was our first one when we first found out about character.org they recognized us for that we applied last year and then we were awarded it this year so to keep things going we um have a school climate committee now we are looking to increase our numbers on our committee so we could have even more staff involved in these programs um more Community involvement we want to try to reach out to more Community even with PBIS we're always trying to see how we can bring the Greater Community into the school and have them also recognizing the students um districtwide we' love that we have the community circles up here with the high school we would love to see this expand districtwide and coordinate with the other schools and we're going to keep um as we do things and we think that we always think they great we're going to keep trying to get some of that recognition so and this is our theme for this year inside mansion Avenue School you'll never feel left out and you know I truly feel like students and Staff feel that way because we really are a community we're a family and um I think we're all really proud of this this was a student idea yes this was a students idea for our theme a sixth grader came up this when they were leaving last year we just thank you all for your time um for allowing us to share our journey we've just enjoyed it so much and enjoyed the process and we're not finished we have lots of work still to do but um just being able to share with you how thrilled we are the recognition we just appreciate the time thank you so much if we could just also be grateful to the rest of our staff so we're the committee but our staff yes our students parents and our staff that is all in with us because that really makes all the [Applause] difference you're hiding I hear you if your face if you can't see see the camera I can't see your face so don't hide big smiles big roar roar you all right I'm try Miss go away I don't see your [Laughter] face okay I'm trying to get all the okay we're going to just do our best sorry my mother thank you um just just before everyone goes um thank you um Mrs Smeltzer thank you for your leadership and your initiative and how you empowered your staff and just ran with this amazing idea so many of us so many of our children have benefited from from this positive culture that you've created at Mansion everyone feels it when they come into your building and I I know that's just a tiny glimpse of all of the hard work and effort and hours and dedication that you poured into this program um we are so thankful that you have this in our district and we can't wait to see what's next thank you so so [Applause] much yes don't feel bad about leaving we know I see everybody like oh can we yes thank you everyone so as far as District reports go we going to go out and order a little bit um before I talk about trees sometimes we use trees to create books so I'm going to let Mr Burke say some things about some books not trees I think is very very brief hello everyone everybody um so as you know the past couple of years or a few years now um we've had an equity initiative and um in working with that and it is a long long process so we're in year three this year one of the things I really wanted to bring to your attention is you just need to look around like physically in this world um some other things that that you're going to notice well you can't see it right so great right now the screen um there's all Black History Month books there they weren't here before we reopened the library that stuff wasn't there so when we talk about training the staff so that they can actually do something with it we also have to give them the resources you'll also notice behind you that's just for February right you're going to see all kinds of books that speak to uh diversity and equity and inclusion so I want to make sure that you aware that you know we're in the process now of making sure that the teachers actually have these resources another area where you're not going to be able to see I thought it was important to bring this to your attention today because you're actually sitting here and you're immersed in it um but also um you know not too long ago I was doing uh well it was in December uh I was doing an observation in a kindergarten classroom and the teacher gives this whole lesson on Quanza right and good lesson you know so then the conversation turned to afterward like hey have you ever thought about maybe following up with a read aloud read alouds are really important at that age level and what she revealed was I don't have any books to do to read them so again there we turned around and they actually just arrived today so I'm really excited to go through them um we got a whole bunch of books dealing with Quanza Hanukkah Chinese New Year like basically set around like holidays right so that kids can actually see a reflection of themselves in the things that they're reading in the classroom and also um kids that don't look like them too that's an important things too so anyway uh we we're in kindergarten now working on that now we're moving into first grade and then second grade and we'll continue to move through for classroom line vers as well but before you leave today I highly recommend take a look at all the books on the shelves because those are the ones that are displayed they're they're going to be here for kids to use that part will change depending on their or whatever but but ultimately I want you all to be aware that um we're giving people the physical resources you know if they don't have the resources they can't they can't teach the stuff right so that's one of the things that we're doing right now so anyway take a luck all right thanks everyone to stick with the district reports and superintendence Report um I shared with the board uh slides presentation in regards to uh trees and uh we're going to pop them up there and talk a little bit about it I want to thank Justin and uh his team from colier engineering who were really instrumental in helping us write the grant so and then also the the help from uh some of the folks here in oton from the suain sustainable group and also mayor Jacob as we had some conversations regards to trees and uh making our environment nice and green so so we were awarded $106,000 Grant uh for the New Jersey schools uh for trees Grant and uh the process we were we knew we were awarded but then you have to resubmit and then resubmit until you finally know that you have them um we were awarded and our plan was approved the other piece that I'm happy about because if you know anything about trees you really shouldn't plant them in the spring you can plant them the spring but that's probably the second best time and you definitely want don't want to plant them in the summer the way the grant was written they said we would have to plant them in this spring we were able to get approval to plant them in the fall which is actually the best time to plant trees so if you could we'll show you a couple pictures here so if you know havin on if you're looking at the building the right side of the building as you build to the back we're going end up cleaning up all the trees along that side and the the some of the Shrubbery and it will be re replaced some of it will still remain but we're cleaning up that whole side and then I know uh nurse Austin and the their Green Tree group there have planners so some of the plan that you'll see in a minute will change a little bit because we have our students working on their Gardens there too um but that area is going to be updated and then the back along the side it will be cleaned up we're only pruning the two large trees and then there'll be two trees in the back but you'll see a better picture in a second so if you can see along the side of mansion which is the top of the screen that you're looking at there and then along the side some of the trees in the middle will be a little bit differently oriented because we want to make sure as the students are growing their Gardens that there's some sunlight back there too so it's a nice little p piece and then back at the playground where you get to the the street side on Logan will be some trees too Mansion Avenue this is one I'm really excited about if you look along Oak Street where we have a lot of cement um we're actually removing some of the cement we had to write the grant a specific way to include that work um and then we'll have trees of them there so if you could so you'll notice that there's some trees on the front side of mansion as well as on the the back side where there's some openings and then that whole part that looks somewhat institutional will be green and then there'll also be some Greenery along the way so it's that's a nice I think it's going to be really pretty like it's it's going to be welcoming a nice place for the kids to be and to be playing so if you know anything about baseball in aabon somewhat synonymous the varsity baseball field where the batting cages are we're lining them with ar riy so the neighbors have some protection um both with sound and then also sight and then also loose balls those will grow up to 12 to 16 feet tall so it's going to be a nice little hedg line for them there are some trees that are align um where they they do some pitching a little bit uh towards the back um to add a little a little bit of shade and then where the spectators see uh sit there's trees that would be added along there and if you've ever been to a game you can get a little hot so we're adding some trees there there was conversation about the Outfield but you can't because of where the the soccer field and practice field is and then also where the fence line is and then there were some concerns in regards to where the track is um but we put them pretty much everywhere we where we think we could all right and then also the the softball field um actually met with the little league president yesterday with Mr Carbone to have some conversations about some things that we're doing along uh keeping the the grounds green but we're adding uh some trees along the Outfield of the majors and we the minors along the street line and then there's a couple areas that on the first Bas line where there's trees where there aren't trees those are really good to have because anybody who's been to any of the softball games into oror little league know sometimes those foul balls go and either hit a car or hit a house so we're adding some of the trees that'll match all of these trees are slated for the locations where they are there's always questions in regards to what you're going to put them along the sidewalk and then they're going to tear up the sidewalk and grow too big um all all these trees were you know selected by an arborist they wouldn't have gotten approval from New Jersey trees and then also the sustainable group here took a look at them too so that's really important was conversation that I had with the young at heart with mayor jacobowski on Tuesday as I think about it they had questions because you know the barel is trying to put in some additional trees as well and the the young at heart were concerned about well if you put a tree and it's going to mess up my sidewalk and all of the trees that are part of our grant um are specific to the location that they'll be in so I'm I'm happy and really looking forward to see what it looks like in a couple years as they grow and theour any questions all right we go to presentations I'm slated first to go over ssds that we do twice a year Mr inverso is here our auditor this is his third board meeting so I'm going to let Rob come up now so maybe he can get home if the board's not thank you hopefully everybody has in front of you your financial summary okay which I'd like to go over if I can director attention the left- hand column under June 30th 2023 under revenues we took in this year tax levy 13 milon 03449 tuition Revenue 2, 04139 miscellaneous Revenue 9789 federal aid 5978 state aid 9,972 419 totaling 20 2,174 678 we expended the same period 25,27 626 resulting in a gain of 47042 we had a transfer to special revenue for the preschool program in fund 20 163 176 our net gain actually our net loss for the year was 11614 We started the year with a fund balance of 3,998 8835 and we're ending with a fund balance of 3,871 911 that numberers further defined right below what makes it up capital reserve 994401 maintenance Reserve 78132 emergency Reserve 250,000 excess Surplus 150,000 that's the amount that must be put in 2425 budget unemployment compensation 32851 reserve for incumbrances 6,240 designated for next year's expenditures that's the amount that's appropriated in the 2324 budget 675,000 and finally the unassigned fund balance 686 737 totaling 3,871 911 fund balances in school districts are very complicated as say lot the calculation of the unassigned Surplus is down below it's the expenditures 25 mil 29802 * 2% is the 505 816 plus the supplemental stabilization Aid and extraordinary Aid totaling 687 737 that's the maximum you're allowed to have for on ass sign and that's what we do have um as far as comparison of budget to actual our appropriation were 25 mil 79230 and we spent in the same period 25 29742 about 98% of the budget the budget's getting pretty tight the way we return surpluses by watching what we spend local tax levy and state aid would return anything on the revenue side the way school districts return money is by watching what they spend any questions on the financial uh as far as the board office the records were in very good condition there's no comments or recommendations the board reports on a monthly basis were very well done I do a lot of school districts and this is one of the best thank you Mr thank thank you to Mrs Ron and to our business office well done as usual thank you very much thank you I really want to pay kudos to my business office they uh they do a nice job and uh keep it straight there wonderful to get that kind of report thank you so twice a year we have to do report the uh ssds data um similar report that you've seen this is the first half of the year so it goes from um really July to December and then you'll we'll do another one which goes from January to June so this is report 102 try I'll let you do it go ahead better when you turn it on so the overview just most of the board members have SE and they have seen this at least once Jane this might be the first time that you're seeing it but welcome uh so we're required to report uh it goes from each building they've Consolidated the report over time and also aligned the the language that's part of the report it used to be the evrs electronic bance and V and Reporting System it's been changed now for probably almost 78 years it also replaces used to report out harassment intimidation and bullying separate um and it does not replace anti-bullying it's you know it's part of the requirement so it's just Consolidated it and also uh refine the language so although it Consolidated report it it encompasses a lot of different infractions or things that choices that students may have made um I won't read the list where you talk about R inol computer trespass false public alarm um robbery extortion threat a theft over $10 so there's there's a wide array of incidents that go and there's also other incidents and other incidents get defined at the school level um pretty comprehensive and I do thank the building principles for maintaining this data and also making sure it's reported accurately so there's a lot of things that keep our students safe we have board policies and regulations that's few very specific things that we need to do to make sure our kids are safe um we have a school safety plan and school procedures we continue to update them and refine them our school safety specialist went to a National Conference recently and was also uh talking with local officials in regards to different trainings and things that can happen one of those presenters uh presented some information specific to special educ special education and also the child study team and that that student population and we're looking to get some training and supports there so the more trainings and the more information that we can have have and bring back is is always great and it really speaks to that cooperation and collaboration I was talking to the chief of police yesterday lots of conversations that occur um and it not bad just a conversation you know and and and things that we could potentially do uh it's nice to have that really strong relationship um there's professional learning that has to happen yearly um it's not just that it has to happen it's really important to make sure those policies and procedures are updated our clocks and bells know like reach out for the referendum um really weren't slated to turn on here uh really throughout the district until September um the the clocks were accurate as of 2:00 this afternoon and the the Bell portion and the speaker portion I think it's it's almost working which will be nice too because you won't hear the that D that's coming from the old speakers we need to make sure that new systems updated and ready to go before we can disconnect the old um lots of things that happen in regards to that the security um actually has lights and Banners that go on in regards to safety I don't want to go into too much detail for the you know it's just it's really important to know that we continue to refine those practices um Positive Behavior Support kudos to mansion in their award group um I was able to be in there when I first first got the job six years ago and I I could see the wonderful things that were happening and I had to keep nudging Mrs smelzer a little bit to think about character.org and to go on that path and and to take that Journey um and we see where it went and you can hear it from the group all those things that that went through so we continue to do that the acronyms are there but it's not acronyms and you can see them for the the preschool and havin and mansion and the high school we know there's work to be done and we continue to do that and those types of things making sure kids have clear expectations and understanding in all the different areas whether it be in the hallway on a field trip during athletic events in the classroom really important we continue to look at the guidance curriculum and the lessons that are being taught making sure that we're covering things and we not covering but teaching things that are important but thinking also what things need to addressed but then also reinforcing where our strengths are so we continue to do that um we still have the Dare program the food and clothing pantries and then there's an obligation in regards to the state in regards to the October safety piece as far as July 1 through December 31 2023 which really good we have um one Hib of ledge at mansion no confirms you can see the restraint seclusion that occurred Junior Senior High hip alleged one hip confirmed same one um trainings I think that tells an interesting story too when you look at trainings at the preschool where there were six and havin there were eight Mansion there were five Junior Senior High there were five the preschool with six programs havin with 12 programs and then mansion with 17 you said well Mansion only had five trainings but they have 17 programs they've brought in that Roar and that PBF PB and then also some of the things that they do with guidance and also what they do with kids that have made potentially poor choices to support them after school all those things go into really more of a program and it's not just a onetime training and then the Junior Senior High the breakdown in regards to violence vandalism substances weapons and other incidents um the preschool with none havin with none mansion with one incident of violence the Junior Senior High with two one incident of vandalism three substance and then 63 which is other incidents which could really be there there's a whole Litany of things uh maybe using your cell phone in an area a time that you're not supposed to maybe you cut class uh maybe you were late uh maybe you were disrespectful to a peer or a faculty or staff member um we have all that information you know broken down so we can look at what the incidents are so they can be addressed and sometimes it's really just about making sure expectations um I was ribbing one of the students of the month a little bit because he had his lanyard in his ID which is required in the Junior Senior High but he's still brought it night because I know he always makes sure he has it because he knows what the expectation is so it's really about that for our kids to make sure that they know what it is to be successful so they can be successful then behold the you know we host the the emergency drills that we have to do fire drills um so there's one fire drill per month but then there are security drills that that are there too whether it be an active shooter or lock down um bomb threats and things that that we have to practice those that have the notices go out of parents which came at the pl two or three years ago where get a notice that they we had one of our drills and then we also do the bus evacuation I say it every year because if someone's watching it didn't hear before but you don't realize what we're walking District why would you need bus evacuations always at some point in time someone's either going to be on a field trip or they're going to be in an extracurricular or athletic event where they're going to be riding a bus and not like the fun that we had earlier it's always fun to go over for bus evacuation drill with the uh the preschool Andor havlin the preschool is the best because many of them have never been on a bus you know they just think it's the greatest even though the bus doesn't really move anywhere but just to be honest very exciting we talked about bus evacuation and then um there's pieces that you know commitment to School Safety and Security um we have addition of closed circuit TV cameras right so it's not TVs it's really cameras um you'll notice that across the district um they are coming align and and uh all um really all four schools and we have over 220 cameras now on site um there's a couple locations that we're going to be adding um but that's just amazing right that we we have that ability and part of the MLA with the agreement with law enforcement they have access if needed and that's the only time that they can view but that's also part of and earlier in the year we talked about the mapping program and how we were part of that and we're moving moving forward with that where they have us in the National Archive in regard to the schools so that they know every location and then the cameras are linked too so if there's ever a threat um there's law enforcement can can really know where we are and uh where they are in the building and where they need to do support um we do CPR training every year um talked about the district safety specialist going to that National Conference um staff training for noax on the phone upgrade you know our phone system uh was Antiquated at best uh to be able to to go through and to call between uh schools easily to be able to do a public announcement from any location to be able to get your like I can get my phone calls from my office on my work cell phone uh we didn't have any of that silver IP it's just it's just great upgrade for the district um the Raptor being used across the district we're actually looking to potentially use a different um platform for anyone who comes in and get scanned their ID becomes up red and alert that they can't come in the building administrators there to either talk to them and support them out but quick check um walkie-talkies uh we have uh not only walkie-talkie upgrades districtwide like heavy duty we added another uh router on top of the building or Tower um so that we can talk easier there was some blockage that was happening too so we use our school safety money as well um and we're looking at different locations I was actually talking with one of the custodians earlier because they were cleaning the windows and exterior windows have a 3M film on them it definitely had all floor levels but over time they they you know they need to be replaced so um it's harder to clean because one side has the 3in film and the other doesn't so we have you know those pieces that are coming part of it as well and then just general references in regards to where all this information comes some of it comes from the state some comes from the work that happens in here our school safety specialist our school safety teams um there you go questions comments thoughts thank you thec as all right great thank you very much before we go on to the approval of board minutes I need to backrack um I did not give Monica uh an opportunity to to speak no we were so anxious to get James worn in that we kind of foret about Skip sorry skipped right over yeah so uh Monica do you have anything that you want to share with us um not really much to report on the school has been pretty pretty steady recently there's not really a lot going on um we're in the second semester so senioritis is kicking in for everyone um besides that there's not really much going on right now um like Dr David said we just launched the uh do clocks which everyone's really excited about because it said it was January 5th for like two weeks straight um yeah I think everyone's really just steady right now yeah all right um moving forward then with uh approval of the board minutes may I have a motion to approve the following minutes as listed on the agenda motion second roll call please pleas Mark Gaddy yes Alison lipsky yes Jonathan Maxon yes Andrea Robinson yes Bill Wilson yes Steven Wilson yes Jim bloomenstein yes Amy Davis yes motion's passed thank you all right our first public part ipation session the Board of Education recognizes the value of public comment on educational issues and the importance of allowing members of the public to express themselves on school matters of community interest in order to permit the fair and orderly expression of such comment the board has set aside two portions of this board meeting for public comment on any school or School District issue that a member of the public Fields may be of interest to the residents of the school district for the first portion this portion public comments are invited on matters pertaining only to the agenda for tonight's meeting for the second portion at the end public comments are invited on all matters pertaining to the school district participants should announce their name address and any group they may represent if applicable the board reserves the right to limit public discussion and public discussion of a topic will be limited to 15 minutes and individual speakers will be limited to 3 minutes no participant may speak more than once on the same topic until all others who wish to speak on that topic have been heard please reference bylaw number 0167 of the oton Public Schools Board of Education manual the board uses the public comment period as an opportunity to listen to Citizens not all issues brought to a board meeting will be resolved at that particular meeting complaints stated or actions requested by the public may be taken under advisement by the board for investigation discussion action or disposition at a later dat date and time the public comment sessions are an opportunity for citizens to share their opinions and remarks with the board it is not a question and answer session the board may or may not respond to public comments at the time they are made and is under no obligation to do so the board does not endorse public comments nor will the board be held liable for comments made by members of the public any individuals who may be the subject of public comments including District employees shall retain All rights against def and slander according to the laws of New Jersey having said that is there anyone here that wishes to make a public comment on agenda items only all right seeing none we will move on to governance and I would like to recognize Miss lipsky um so we looked we reviewed at our our last meeting um our February meeting governance meeting uh several policies um in regards to policy 0155 board committees I would uh make a motion to table this at this time uh the basis for that is because we as a committee this policy actually has a lot of components to it uh where it's dealing with literally every committee and their goals and we saw some duplicative goals we saw goals that were in governance that were actually president's roles and so we needed to to just take some more time to um talk to the various committees and also talk to the president and past presidents to see are we changing this are we changing the policy so that it actually our practice meets our policy or are we going to change the policy and formally make it a president's role and things like that so that's why at this time I'm asking I'm moving to table uh policy 0155 um if if you're doing a formal motion to table yes you would need a second however I'm going to recommend instead of um doing the formal table process to just skip that item on the agenda so that when you vote um you will be announcing be motioning that you are voting on all the policies listed except for board committees okay so we can do it that way yeah excellent thank easier way to do it thank you Amy okay um in regards to regulation 2270 religion and schools essentially it's just um a formalization of the Constitutional protect protections afforded to every individual that you have the right to pray in school as long as it's not interfering with um um instruction but you have the ability to do that and that's just there are no real changes it's just consistent with your constitutional protections so we agreed to that and it's also NE it's a regulation that's necessary for federal funding um in regards to Examination for cause of teaching staffs uh that is there were no substantive changes essentially the changes were just cosmetic for ease of use and um as to the right of privacy for teaching staff um and support staff those two essentially um added there was optional additional language that was for there to be no recordings of student and staff without permission we're not talking of you know there's a game that's basically being recorded this is something where if someone is at a public event and or you know happens to say something in school you can't record them without their permission um and we agreed to the policy into the addition of that optional language saying that you couldn't record someone be IT staff or students without their permission um that seemed a pretty basic rate of privacy in regarding um the education of homeless children and youth there were no substantive changes um the revisions were basically very minor and as I said no substantive changes um in regards to the Food Service program we approved that it just dealt with how the food is who gets sit and how it's done and things like that um as to the school threat assessment at the time that we had our meeting uh Mr Miller was actually actually at the national training at that moment and he reviewed our stat and we are in compliance or exceeding um what is mandated so we're doing very well there and we're going to have that um the where you see to abolish the policies I don't want anyone to think that we're not giving children some benefit uh the reason it's being abolished is because it's boot uh the last elig eligible class for the bridge year pilot program graduated in 2022 and we are well beyond that so since we are now in the future uh that is abolished because it literally just is mov and I think that covers everything I just want to comment on the the table the table policy 0155 one of the things that the Comm really talked about is to make sure that each of the subcommittees really looks at that policy in depth one of the things that came up at HR on Tuesday was I had brought up qack really kind of speaks to some of those pieces so in the next Friday's notes I'll make sure that the the qac chart is there so you have an idea of all the things that we end up getting measured by um because as you're looking at that comprehensive language it might be something that the subes W look at um and consider as well and I will comment in regards to right of privacy on 3324 and then 4324 the US um approving that was already in policy our car policy states that you can't record um there is some other language and there seems to be in this round they just kind of move things around a little bit and and or some of the policies just change the language so they R further so I just want to make sure everybody know we already had that that ticked off as uh you know something that the board supported um but there is other some minor language changes in that in those two policies any questions comments discussion on non-agenda items under [Music] governance um I just wanted to thank Miss lipsky in her um role as chairperson of governance she organized a meeting for all of the committee chair persons to get together um have some discussion especially take a look at that policy 0155 so um I just I really appreciated that initiative I appreciated the conversation and um and yes there is some work and some revision to do with that policy but um it's important that we tackle it make sure that our practices meet our policy that a nice round for the first time exactly yes well done all right then may I have a motion for items one and two under governance with the exclusion of policy 0155 all right any questions or comments or discussion on items number one and two excluding 0155 all right roll call please Alison limsky yes Jonathan Maxon yes Andrea Robinson yes Bill Wilson yes Steven Wilson yes Jim Lin yes Mark Gaddy yes Emy Davis yes motion pass thank you all right um in Mrs Cox's absence this evening uh we're going to take a look at operations Dr Davis is pulling up the agenda um make sure that we highlight what we need to under operations obviously you can see the uh normal board secretaries reports any cash reconciliations and transfers as well as the bill lists um there is also a motion to accept our Auditor's report [Music] and um forgive me this is usually not what I have to report on um you can save money to the withdrawal of for the maintenance Reserve do you have it okay I was just pulling up the agenda you know I have the P privilege as superintendent sitting in all the subcommittee meetings um so I was pulling up the agenda just so I had an idea of what we talked about last time um because they kind of blend together so HR is talking about governance and anyway with no further Ado um the first identifi one of the things we talked about was the referendum update in regards to where we were with the budget um we know that we wanted to be sure that majority or all the projects were completed and that we did not expend more monies than that we had allocated um so we reviewed that um there are some consideration we have on the the agenda or the last agenda in regards to going out for a playground Grant to do some of the work and we're trying to offset some of the cost of U some of the referendum projects because we know the the referendum was slated pre pandemic so the cost of things pre pandemic and post pandemic are obviously different for everyone so um we've been very creative the tree Grant actually offset some of the work that was going to be done at havin because we had trees that were part of that playground project that will now be lifted off that cost um we did go over the auditor report in regards to um our expenditures um Mr inverso just discussed um we know when you spend 98% of the budget that's you know you're getting pretty tight um so we know as we move forward and we do planning for the 24 25 school year operations will be meeting monthly and actually probably have you know we might meet a little bit more than monthly as we move forward with some of those some of those topics um try to see what else we have talked about the tree Grant um talked about the local Recreation Improvement grant that we're going out for for $100,000 um some additional conversations on um just budget items in general so the when you look at the agenda there's some typical approvals that are on there um and then the resolutions for moving monies from the audit report comment no I just um I noted that we have number 19 here on the agenda which would be and then I have that in red oh it's not red anymore not not red anymore okay all right then we're good I printed my copy too soon all right any questions comments or discussion on non-agenda items in [Music] operations all right then may I have a motion for items 1 to 19 under operations motion second any questions comments or discussion on items 1 to 19 okay roll call please Jonathan Maxon yes Andrea Robinson yes Bill Wilson yes Steven Wilson yes Jim bloomstein yes Mark Gaddy yes Alison lipsky yes Amy Davis yes motion has passed thank you I'd like to recognize Miss Robinson for Education thank you um the last meeting of the education committee was on February 7th and I wanted to bring your attention to these items in red are they three number okay so number three um the Philadelphia art museum has a revised date of March 25th and number five the annual NJ pyramid model State leadership team conference is on March 1st um and then on the agenda tonight is the approval of the January hi report a lot of field trips including an inter School field trip between the preschool and the high school with the interact Club two field trips to the Philadelphia Art Museum and various other field trips uh facilities usage the workshop and Conference attendance um and school placement approvals the committee when we met also suggested a list of topics we're looking forward to hearing updates and information on um and those topics included PBIS at all of the schools the seventh grade win period Dei initiatives in the curriculum summer work uh summer work for students um new curriculum updates grading policies gifted and talented among other things um and then finally there was an article in the retrospect this week about Haden Heights and some of the initiatives that they are taking to move the needle on student achieve ment as well as um well with a Dei mindset so I made copies and I'm just going to pass down to him and then if everyone just wants to take a copy you can just pass those around um and I think that is it thank you very much all right any questions or comments or discussion on non-agenda items under education all right then may I have a motion please on number one do we need to do one a and one B okay all right well let's do Mo let's do a motion for item number one then on the agenda motion roll call please Andrea Robinson yes Bill Wilson Steven Wilson yes Jim bloomenstein yes Mark Gaddy yes Alison lipsky yes Jonathan Maxon yes Amy Davis yes motion passed thank you all right motion on items two through 14 any questions comments or discussion on items 2 through 14 um yes I was going to ask that we table number eight the public school calendar and so we can have some further discussion about some of the changes that made to it all right I'll second that you can do all okay all in favor I any opposed okay so then I need a motion on items we yeah we didn't we did it differently this time because the motion was made and this was included okay that's why we did a motion to table so we're good so I don't have to say anything else nope great I have a comment on one item yes comment I have a comment on four four kind of operations but I want to thank Dr Davis I see that um for usage on the fields we have a lot more work patients you know instead of just blank it you know one sport approval uh this is much more detail shows the communication has improved uh you know in light of some of the conversations that we had so I want to thank you for that that shows that we're moving in the right direction and uh you know keep that going all right any other comments okay roll call please Bill Wilson yes Steven Wilson yes Jim bloomenstein yes Mark Gaddy yes Alison lipsky yes Jonathan Maxon yes Andrea Robinson yes Amy Davis yes motions pass thank you all right moving on to Human Resources couple of items in Red so let's start on page 16 number six the dates should be January 22nd 2024 and January 24th 2024 through March 11th 2024 the next is on page 18 number 18 so number 18 should read with intent to retire as of July 1 sub teacher okay and number 22 we're adding another substitute teacher the name is Colin C o l i n Murphy M Ur phy that was this one okay great number 22 then we have addendums number [Music] 22 they're just additional they're just additional substitution right should put Murphy there sorry that's okay so number 22 there's an additional substitute teacher Caroline Flack and Gary Bradley as a substitute custodian Gary is g a r r y Bradley is v r a d l e and then we also have a number 30 so so 30 and 31 we just changed the language everyone was confused in regards to the yoga club and it it's not an aid for the there's a special education Aid that's supporting a student in the yoga Club so we used another U motion that was similar to that so you could see the exact step pay that they were getting made so the addendum 3031 just replaces what was what sent to the public on 30 and 31 so I'm sorry just foration so 30 so 30 and 31 on the agenda are being reped stricken and replaced with 30 and 31 on the agenda corre thank you okay so when you make the so when when you make Mrs Davis a motion I would just clarify that okay and then number 39 is a new um new on the agendum a motion to accept the letter of resignation as of February 22nd 2024 from Ariel Watkins part-time custodian at hav Avenue you want to that 38 3 on the agenda oh let's re so we're ruming 39 38 22 is so 22 is a supplement 30 is a replacement 30 is a replacement 31 as a replacement all right think that's all my yellow Postage and attendance okay Human Resources met last evening um everyone was able to attend uh topics for discussion included we reviewed any open positions that we have in the district we reviewed items on this evening's agenda we reviewed staff directories and rosters for each of the buildings in our district including the child study team so if you haven't had a chance to check out the HR agenda you can click on those links and you will be able to see a roster of each one of the buildings showing uh who's teaching in which grade levels which is um extremely helpful to see exactly who is in each position in the district um we are going to be adding to the Junior Senior High School we'll be adding grade level Andor content area to um to that list just to make it a little bit um more clear we also had a discussion of the aea counter proposal in preparation for our second negotiations meeting which is tomorrow evening on the agenda there uh is a motion to approve resignations uh we wish Miss batra Miss ran and Mrs Dan foston the best and we certainly thank them for their years of service to our district there's a motion to revise starting dates for a few employees motion to approve part-time special education AIDS and long-term Subs there's motion to approve FMLA requests and an unpaid medical leave motion to approve a part-time school counselor at Mansion motion to approve salary adjustment for an employee there's a motion to approve um various substitutes motion to approve alternate senior trip chaperon there's a motion to approve a pilot for an art club and a board game club at Mansion motion for paid and volunteer set designers for the musical motion to approve the D and D advisor Dungeons and Dragons motion to approve new teacher support and mentors motion to approve um the special education aids for the yoga Club motion to approve staff for graduation portfolio assessment motion to approve paid and unpaid spring coaching positions motion to approve a middle school track coach and motion to approve the substitute rates as indicated do you have anything it was very thorough that as you said the Middle School track coach will make sure so the understands the the numbers that everything that's in the in the table is part of the negotiated contract that position we've been paying out athletic funds or the board's been paying to support that that's not part of the um the current aring contract just as an aside everything else appreciate your flexibility and making sure the Motions are accurate and correct Human Resources ever since ever since the pandemic has been a moving tget all the time unfortunate though there's lots of people in work here T to get staff all right any questions um for non-agenda items under Human Resources all right and can I have a motion for items 1 to 38 replacing number 30 and 31 uh with the agenda motions as opposed to what's listed on the agenda and SL lining item number 22 did I get that all right motion like the motion I know right any questions on those motions which I'm not going to try to repeat I have a comment on 34 so the M Middle School track we call it Middle School Co track we don't really have a middle school we have a junior high seven and eight but the middle school since we're calling it that are we allowing fifth and sixth graders to join that team like what's the not at this time I I couldn't find out exactly who's in but I do not believe the sixth grade joins in okay so um you know just speaking from experience I know that other schools I believe other schools in the colonial conference you know go dip into maybe sixth grade even fifth grade with their track programs cross country programs and some other sports so just something to put on our radar um it's great that we're opening the seventh and eth but if other schools are inviting kids from lower grades maybe it's something that we could have we could looked there was some conversation uh last year in regards to that sixth grade group potential um the group itself has grown pretty large and there's a running club over which is very different different but it's a nice way to get kid like you know we've talked about transitions from sixth to seventh grade I think having sports that are um available to seventh and eighth graders in this space and allowing sixth graders that come and participate can help facilitate that that you know switch so thank you Mr Carbone great everybody not everybody Don but strong big suppor of track and field and think is wonderful because everybody can find something that they like to do in running is one of those things that if you focus on yourself you can always to do a little bit better each time I would just second what Mr blumenstein said and I do think that we have been doing surveys of the community and Administration staff for various other things and I think having the sixth grade be a part of that would help to foster a greater feeling of community amongst the school buildings in school district want to make sure we move forward with that too right sixth gr students at any other questions all right roll call please stepen Wilson yes Jim bloomenstein yes to everything no to 33 Mark Gaddy yes Alison lipsky yes Jonathan Maxon yes Andrea Robinson yes Bill Wilson yes Amy Davis yes motions passed thank you all right we have our HIV district report as noted on the agenda and um I will move on then to our special program representative Mr Steven Wilson anything for ed services yes we had a meeting this month it was my first meeting I was sworn in uh because we with aabon I was the first one to speak and apparently was very loud and kind of hurt everybody's ears um I'm still kind of wrapping my brain around what the ccec does um it com is comprised of 35 districts in camman county and provide shared services for districts that can't or are unable to provide services in transportation education mental health preschool or general Services um the business was to approve the budget for the 24 25 school year which we did and um I'm looking forward to learning more about what the programs um are in more detail and how ottomon can represent our district at the CCC great thank you thank you very much uh ca County School boards Mr Maxon good evening everybody um unfortunately I was attend the meeting because of uh an unexpected Conflict at work but I did Circle back to um a contact to i0 who also serves uh on a school board who was able to attend the meeting for their County and they said that uh the general outline of the meeting was a Firearms report it's study that the New Jersey school boards Association has been conducting over the past year or so and they're sharing different strategies different facets of school what they're doing when it comes to Firearms when it comes to school safety uh Specialists and protocol yeah um I know Mr Gaddy I saw you uh it was a virtual meeting I saw you uh were in attendance and I was actually able to to make that one as well so yes it was a it was a very uh good presentation by vinca um some of the other things that they um they mentioned was they were encouraging members to um attend different County uh school board meetings so that you not only find out what's going on in your area but you can um hear and see what's going on in other counties uh throughout the state and just taking a quick look here um they highlighted also that there's a leadership conference that's coming up um it's free it's going to be a three-part series the first uh week and the first one is next weekend March 2nd in Mercer County College and then um March 14th which is going to be Cen County College the Cherry Hill Campus and then April 12th I don't that's going to be up north they haven't listed where that's going to be but they're going to focus on um different aspects of leadership and you know the one that's coming up on the second is focusing on Personnel matters and Personnel um trying to think what else they also talked about how the graduating classes um are now going to be required to complete the fapa um as a graduation requirement so there was there was a little bit of discussion on that that while while they're required to complete it there are a couple of of of ways out of it if a family doesn't want to or isn't able to a parent can just opt out of doing it um and then also school counselors are right is that am I remembering that right school counselors can actually opt a student student out of it so it doesn't look like it's it would actually harm anybody from graduating if it if it wasn't if it wasn't completed because that was a a concern of the members that were that were hearing the news is there anything else you can think of Mr [Music] Gaddy yeah it was a very good um the next um meeting is going to be well there's actually two the eighth grade dialogue is going to be March 14th do we have our student we do have our student okay yes it oh is oh great so Jane sister flow is going to be the representative that's great you um I was going to reach out to the committee chairs to see if any of you would like to attend so if any board member would like to attend it is nice to go and hear the students um thoughts on different things education wise so um if you're interested just email me sooner than later actually it's the 29th I have next week to going to say we can register ourselves did you know we have to register them all yeah that's what the business okay because that's not what that's not what NJ sba's website said there was two places to click and you could click to register yourself because it's unlimited remember how they used to limit how many people could go cuz they were feeding you there's no food this time no don't feed all right well I did register to go so were you able to do it I was able to do it on their website okay you maybe maybe uh I do have to register the administration and the you have to register the student Administration and then if parents are going yeah they will put in the number of seats so there six family members that can go which is nice and then they've also opened up the administration what we have to do so still let me know if you're going so I can let the the administration know who's who's attending but if you're able to click inself yeah it definitely be right now all right um and then the next Camden County School Board the eighth grade dialogue is March 14th I think it's a Thursday evening and it's at the Gibbsboro Elementary School yes um the next Camden County School boards meeting is a hybrid meeting on May 9th and that will be held at Adelphia if you choose to go for the dinner I think registration is at like 6:45 all right anything else Mr Gaddy it was a pretty busy meeting all right uh Education Foundation Mr bloomenstein so they met in recently we had a meeting that night um so I wasn't able to attend but uh they discussed uh um there hav been any Grant proposals there's some discussion about how to increase those um theyed a number of um thank you cards from the students at havland from the Garden Club who got a grant that Dr Davis talked about earlier and um that's it they're just still still thinking of ways I think to raise their profile a little bit which is one of the reasons I'd like to get more involved with them and um you know I think the people that I've been doing it I've been doing it for a long time and they're looking for other people to step in and you know um help out it looks like another member joined and that's good so um yeah there was some discussion about we to increase their profile in the school as well and uh get teachers to apply for Grants and looks like they have some good ideas so I'm looking forward to help them bridge that out I'll add um I met with py slack who's one of the leaders of the group and has been for quite some time um we me to talk about about some of the things about making that public presence so we're working on updating their the website and also including some pictures and paragraphs in regards to you know um overviews of of what the awards were and then um invited her in in the team in to meet with the individual faculties so I set them up with the principles so that they can go to faculty meetings just to talk a little bit about what they do to also encourage just involvement they've done a lot um and they continue do a lot to support our schools and programs so um so we we we had a nice conversation in regards to where where we can go with that chime in here as a a parent um my daughter my wife and I attended the family writing night at Mansion have and they mentioned this year that they got a grant for the first time from the AA how appreciative they were and I apologize for not knowing their teachers names but um they were very excited about it and they were able to Jazz up that program a little bit so I'll send our thanks to them yeah okay uh community outreach Miss Robinson so there's so much stuff coming up um and I have just created a Google doc that I'm going to share with everyone it's got a spot for you to put your name in if you want to attend any of these events but I'll just hit some of them uh tomorrow night is aabon night at the Sixers the Mansion PTA um and then on Friday night there are two events sixth grade fun tacular in the interact Club volleyball tournament which I thought that the fun tacular took place in the gym and the tournament took place in the gym so I don't know maybe um then there's like you know the PTA meeting uh on March 5th there's the Spectrum Sports inclusive activity night at mansion on on the 7th of March uh the 8ighth grade Dialogue on the 14th of March then on the 15th of March there's the Mansion visiting author event um so those are all things that are available in March um but then at the next board meeting we were hoping to support the rock your socks for Down syndrome where we could all wear crazy socks in interesting socks and then take a picture and post it on social media can we all agree to that I'll send a reminder and they're brand new because it's just it's a thing so I have plenty of crazy STS for anyone on the board that might need that why does that not and then the other I'll take a pair I'll bring you a I don't wear a sock so I'll forget I I'm writing a note right now um aabon day the signups for vendors just went out today so April 27th is aabon day and we should probably decide if we want to host a table at oton day um and then there's just the other stuff but you know Fourth of July Etc but th those are the things that are coming up hopefully we'll get to March it is it's time it's been a dry few months Monica yes yeah I'll share it with both of you also abely right now okay okay great thank you any questions or comments about any of the subcommittees so far should paused for that okay Mr Gaddy anything for I I we have not met yet no we've been a little busy but I have to get together with Jonathan here it's been a busy month yeah okay um and miss for Board of member oration no I actually uh re have spoken to uh both of our board member mentors okay uh Mr bloomenstein and Miss Patria and what and I just want a clarification I believe we we have in our policies that a quorum is six a quorum is 51% of the full Board of the seated board so that would be six yeah okay I just I just don't want it it's not a fixed it should your policy shouldn't be a fixed number the number six it should be a a majority plus one okay yeah because if you look at the things we find you can add a board member you can not have a board member in theory if you have empty seats it it would be the number would change yes this was more because um I am planning to reach out to Mr Gaddy and Mr Bill Wilson who are the board mentees for our Mentor program and we're we're I'm hoping that we can have um a couple meetings with the mentors mentees and myself um to kind of just discuss various different things over a cup of coffee at like the brown dog or some place like that so I just wanted clarification so that we're absolutely sure that if I was there I'm not tipping them over you know anything like that that's five people right that's five you yep you're good excellent so that email will be coming out shortly with some proposed uh dates and times but that's coming up we well I apparently am getting a Miss Robinson's uh button maker so yes there will be uh can I change my mind no it's all good best button for you liy do you think it would be wise to incorporate the new um student reps as well somehow not maybe with the full well they're not part of the Quorum so it is something that we could possibly do just so that they can any questions about the Committees and things like that I what I I love that suggestion Mr Wilson so what I think would likely happen is we'll do the primary members and then you can do primary Members Plus the student members just so this and future representatives are on boarding properly know what they're doing yes I think that's do you excellent thank you right um that's it for special programs any board member comments comments quickly I wanted to welcome Miss Pon to the board we're excited to have you U I was lucky enough to participate in interviews with all the candidates all the candidates were excellent and very strong and we were excited for all of them uh but we're welcoming you in particular to the board so welcome um I dropped my daughter's lunch off recently at Mansion I saw all those bicycles outside hoping you could take a minute to kind of talk about what happened because that was that's new and I don't remember us um did you did I miss that I was it was so just so nice to see like dozens and dozens of bicycles more bicycles than there space on the rack yeah we're we have two more racks on order I think they're coming next week we need more racks yeah I had a comment too are you finished your comments I'm done it I also wanted to thank Dr Davis for that um I got a lot of positive comments from people who have been have been waiting years really for that to happen and I think there's still a lot of work to do um you know I'm I'm trying to get a safe Roots safe Roots team up and running and it's it's taking some time there's a process and um we have to get the get the things moving in the school but we are and they've been in the schools my kids have come home with some of the materials that they've gotten but um yeah the bike the bikes you know they put them there and they filled up and then there's bikes lined up and they're going to need more and I saw kids riding their bikes in school and they were they were being safe and they were proud about it and I thought you know that was that was really good and I think uh ultimately the goal is hopefully you know um the policy doesn't allow students to ride their bikes to have one but nothing can stop parents from riding their bikes they still need bike racks to you know Mom was what yeah they but they have to be with an adult we'll see yeah that's what I mean but hopefully we'll see more bikes there as families ride their bikes together and leave the bikes there at school one mom was putting the bike on her shoulder riding it home you know so hopefully we'll see that culture change there too and I just wanted to thank Dr Davis for creating that space and Miss smelzer for um you know creating that space as well because that's a big change for her and um and and the norm of you know the kids walk into school so um only brief I got that I received was from some of the 7 through 12 saying why couldn't we ride bikes when I was there yeah yeah I also want to thank Andrew for this article I'll just go one step further and say earlier than this the carrier posts an article that in Cherry Hill it is a requirement uh a graduation requirement so um you know I'm not saying we necessarily need to go that far but I think you know uh we we are always looking for ways to improve our programming and and the content and the course offerings and I think that this is a a great step in that direction for something to consider so thanks for bringing that to our attention um while they were here it was a bit of a whirlwind but um when Miss muzer uh had received that award and for manav and everything she had sent out uh an invitation to show up and I understand that a lot of you guys don't have the uh luxury of working from home and living a block away from Mansion but um it was that war rally that they were talking about and um you know don't want to throw words like life affirming around or anything it was fantastic to see it I was welcomed by the teachers um it it's it the teachers have completely put themselves into this program they love it um you know the the inside out thing they did skits about with uh a surprisingly little amount of self you know Consciousness you know what I mean they really put themselves out there the kids um you know they come in high-fiving each other um the students of the month I guess were the classrooms are presented by other students not by the teachers uh it's just it's loud it's fantastic and it really it's something that you don't get to see very often we read a a lot of stuff that's very dry and it was very good to see that um and hopefully we can attend more things like that it was really great to see so thanks to her and thanks for letting us know about that they do it every month I'm just getting my hearing back now and so everybody knows and I know the board knows that the notification was kind of short in regards to that but we they had received the the award and they knew that they were getting the recognition and the RO rally was the next day so B Mrs smelter and I spoke and she I was like I don't see why not and then and then she was so excited she really wanted to at least give you the opportunity to go it was nice to see that you went and she'll invite you to any of the RO rallies it is something to go see and to realize and character.org also was shocked because when they did the roar rallies they thought they did it annually and didn't realize they were basically doing it every month they were really Flor and we are supposed to be they're supposed to be um highlighted on their main page with the rally there's still some conversation about how that's going to play out but it's really amazing the work that they're doing and if you want to talk about you know being too old to take advantage of riding bikes and stuff we never had confetti C that was fantastic all right any other board member com oh yes okay do we W to do you want to discuss the calendar oh this around a little bit does it need to be approved tonight no it doesn't have to be approved but um I mean it's a conversation there specific typically have um well I think that there was a concern about the early dismissal on October 3rd for Russ Shana last year I believe that that was a day off I don't remember if was it in service so a for students or out for everyone um I recall that helps actually uh this past year Rashana the way it worked was Friday night Saturday and Sunday so because we're Sunset to Sunset and Russia Shana is two two days and two nights but it starts at Sunset and goes to sunsets down and so that was on the weekend so yum kapor which is our is our holiest of holy days but all three are our high holidays these are our holiest days in the Jewish faith um so we got off for yapur and that was not an inservice so the Jewish teachers too had that time off I know that I had several come up to me and they were very grateful and happy that the school has finally recognized the Jewish High holidays um and I've also had uh other people in the community that were came up to me and were very grateful and thankful for that um I this seems like a huge step back um one a half day does nothing for the Jewish children or Jewish staff because this is not something where we just kind of you know can hang out and then we have a meal we're actually in SHO all day and we're there both days uh and you're actually even there the night before so um Yung kapore happens to actually be on the weekend this year um what I am suggesting because I don't believe that it is appropriate that we then are just taking it back you know we recognize it one year and then we're not recognizing another year really there should be two days for the Jewish High holidays um because pretty much what always happens is you're either going to have yum kapor is on a school day and rashash Shana is on a school day and I understand having one day for rashash Shana and then one day for Yung kapor but in situations where both days of Russia Shana are on during school days and yon Kapur is not we should get both days of Russia Shana off um it's we do have the staff we do have students here we have recognized the need to recognize the Jewish High holidays um there was great positive feedback about that one of the things because I do know that there's only so many days that we can have off and and things like that I would say that right off the bat if you changed when spring break occurs um so Passover actually is I think Saturday or Sunday um the 12th or 13th of April is when it starts it goes that entire week to the 20th um if you were to give off the week of the 14th through the 18th for spring break you would cover the Jewish poay of Passover you would get Good Friday you'd get Easter Sunday so they'd have a week off of school every major holiday is represented and given um the time off and we also would be able on since the 18th is that good Friday that would get off anyway but since it's one week that 8 18 that you have because you have the 18th off for Good Friday then the whole following week if we changed it to what I'm staying where we now recognize all major holidays during that period of time um you actually only need the 5 days thus at least one of the high holidays for the Jewish New Year would be covered you you do only have off the Third I'm October you like the third and fourth at third and fourth I would like that to be standing that there's always two days for the Jewish High holidays understanding that if it's y if there's two days of rashash during the school week plus yum kapor during the school week it would be yum kapor and one of rashash Shana but if like this year Yom kapor is on the weekend and both days of Russia Shana are during the week school week then those two days go to Russia Shana um that means there's one extra day but if we change spring break which would then day we' pick up a day and I also believe it would show greater Equity to all religions and it would no longer be Easter break it would be spring break I think that the concern when we discussed this before was that a lot of teachers would then not have the same break as their children children and so that was one argument for keeping it the week of the 18th really the week of the 21st just to be mindful of the the teachers on there and I I understand that cden County but in Camden County and from when I have done my own research it's it goes all over um Cherry Hill generally does it so that it's both so it would be the week of the 14th um I believe Collingswood does that too um Haden Township did it the week after but then had in Heights had it the week so it's it's there's no consistency every district is kind of a little different so understanding what with the teachers and with their own children um I think it it changes all the time and if their children they live in Cherry Hill or they live in Collingswood then their children are off when they're not off and they're off when their children aren't off and I'll share and just to remind the board that I had shared in Friday notes that I had done a poll of the Kim County schools and 21 have responded in regards to the time off in the dates that you're you're you're speaking about specifically October 3rd and 4th um on the thir 80% of the group so 16 out of the and not question only 20 answered but 16 out of the 20 that answered were open and then on Friday 19 out of the 21 that responded were open just make a comment and then for the April uh spring recess there's two pieces one um when when you look at the week of the uh 14 um only sure I say only one of the the the 21 that responded we're closing the week of the 14th and then which means 20 out of the 21 were closed the 18th through end 21st 22nd 23rd 24th and 25th and part of the reason you know we asked to do the poll is to find out what you know what does it look like in can the county and some of our teachers live and work obviously they work here they work here um and and there times off I'm just giving you that for U board edification the second part to that is um our softball team and um varsity baseball team is um moving forward with the um the Spring South Carolina North Carolina Carolina game during the 21st that's just another piece there's ways to work around that um in regards to you know kids sometimes have other activities events so I'm just let I'm just letting you know numbers because I thought it was important to have numbers but also we have to speak to our population and also be mindful of what the board wishes are there's obviously some W overment regards to where we are so I'm I'm I mean listening everyone in regards to that if it is just one school district is the four 14th for that I don't want teachers to have that dichotomy but then what I would say is make the 18th and early dismissal day and that's your early dismissal and the day off is the third and then I would also ask that we have the fourth off you could also just take it from uh what is traditionally called Columbus Day the 14th of October just not have that off and the third and fourth off instead well they have it off they have the 14th off as just teacher and service it's just students there's some other flexibility here so if the board was in support of Good Friday being an early dismissal day that would give us one so the third could become red the other movement and I wanted to make sure everybody understands at the end of the year the 19th is juneth we didn't want to hold graduation on the 19th it pushes a day because there are other folks that will need to be you know have their recognition and celebrations on the 19th but you could make the 20th and celebrate juneth on June on the 19th and then make the 20th the last day of school which would also be graduation and it be graduation on Friday so as the calendar year goes out that week they be the students would be off on the 19th and then come back on the 20th for graduation are you contractually obligated to start the school year after Labor Day well I we it it reads that way I mean our contract it doesn't say specifically but typically we're sept you know September one through the 30th as we speak of September and June the Union did um let us start before you know we were going let us we had an agreement that we were going to start before because of where we fell could that could that be an option could be an option I just know that some school districts and I think associat teachers associations are more recently more open to the idea of starting before Labor Day at least there's two in service days so three and four we're talking about students days here if the teachers came in for two in service days the week prior uh which is again not not uncommon anymore in because of juneth I mean that it it stinks to to have that week then you're off then you come in for one day it's kind of awkward so if you can if you can if the if the ass you just have a conversation if the association was willing in light of that to come in for two in service days prior to Labor Day Wednesday Thursday get a 4- day weekend and then the kids come in Tuesday Wednesday you get two student days there and you get you know you get some wiggle room that would have to be a conversation with them but I think it's one worth having and if they were opposed to it I would understand why but I think it's something that at least could be some options you can I can I maybe ask a because the only reason why I would I feel like there would be concerned as understand the 19th in June is the the holidays marked on here as being on the 20th you can celebrate before or recogniz it before and or after but typically it's the 19th okay so I know the date is the 19th but it's fed is it it's it's observed on the the Friday yeah so federally they they get there wiggle room in regards to where where it can fall and when you think about when you're going to have off is it better to have a three-day weekend where the break is but yes do you have the ability to flex the night I'm going to be open to the idea or I might suggest um offering the associate teachers um maybe instead of pushing into a maybe day after that last scho on Service as an option um you come INE the end or come yeah well they're related it's a conversation nonetheless I could bring this conversation but the administra team the conversation with regards to some of the programs that are that are out in regards to where where the in service stays and early dismissals or late arrivals are you pray for conversation more more than happy I was under the impression we were going to have a conversation didn't necessarily get the calendar and I think it's important for it to be in public and for us to have a chat in regards to where we think State Should Fall and what should we consider um I think this speaks to the diversification of oton right if we're going to have good Friday and other Christian holidays we need to be respectful of the citizens of Bon not just Bas the C calendars and which days are off run those holidays sure and well I think to have that conversation with the AA is just part of the reality of otan becoming a more diverse town we can all agree on a schedule that works for everybody I um I I know I personally am amenable to either the inservice days being at the end of August or being at the very end of the school calendar um I also like Dr Davis's suggestion because I also think if we actually celebrate juneth on juneth I think a lot of parents might actually and students like to have a graduation on a Friday I think it makes it easier you know you don't have to take as many days off you they just I think it just makes things easier for everyone ibody all so it wouldn't really whether it on Wednesday oray I person think I enjoy and also you know we have to realize to pre 12 District so when we're talking graduation we're not only talking last day for our seniors it's last day for PR first second third you know all the way through and we think about the here looks like there's a lot of activities and there's still learning and growing going on you go home come back but I will bring this back to Administration to have this conversation and also have it with the AA in regards to a potential start prior to September and I think it's it's always good to have these conversations to know and you are you know you're elected members from the from the community speak for theity to hear the board's voice well and also this is great for our Dei I mean to to be able to talk to all the prek through and you could even you know on the 18th talk about what juneth means and juneth celebration and you know you could really make it meaningful and I think you know it's it's a huge deal um to to that point I think that we need to ask uh people who celebrate juneth I but you know somebody who juneth might have even greater meaning for what the best practices around the celebrations are I know a lot there's a lot of County celebrations and are those happening on the 19th or are they happening on the 20th because those are things that people might want to attend like if we're going to have the day off we should do it for a reason and not you know so maybe we should check in with some of those people too and say I think it also brought for the question in regards to um March 31st the responses from1 said that were off that of potentially should be recogniz absolutely yeah so I think this conversation total well so then the other calendar issue are we was the half days for the preschool or or late late arrival for the preschool no I had I had a question yeah about the January 21st date and the March 14th date which would be late student arrival I that's something that we haven't done here before um I I just I don't know that's a real shift I worry about that being complicating for parents that have to get to work in the morning I know it's not the same as a a late opening because that happens without any warning so that's even more complicated but that I know how difficult it can be when we have to do a delate opening for snow or weather um I I I would you know I don't know be interested in a survey for that one to see if if that's easier on families than an early dismissal day I I don't know that just that looks to me like it could be really difficult fores to manage some of the administrative team that had um experience with uh in services in the morning prior to school and commented good experiences with thatter still or yeah but we're High School only so I think it's a little it's different yeah speaking as a teacher it's uh it's great you start off the day you know in service and you're not tired at the end of the day doing one but our kids walk to school or get themselves to school so it's that's we well and then the other the other example was a clear view which is also I mean maybe that's something that it I don't know how you do it with the teachers if it's something that that could just be a late arrival for the Junior Senior High School um and those teachers there you get the service be District wide right and it would we also have that so that if the older the older students were coming in leate because they have the ability to and the little ones were coming to school then at the end of the day the little ones come TOS that help either it's important for us right we got to think about all our all our students and families and then also um you know we are a choice District and uh you know 105 students like to come from other communities to attend our schools which is wonderful and I always bring that up when we talk about even the um early dismissals because we need a place that sometimes the transportation becomes an issue it's nice that we have this beautiful space now and as part of it the library um but it does impct is good so I also wanted it seems like this would be an appropriate time to bring up um offering keys for the preschool before and after care because the intent of the preschool is to level the playing field um but it isn't really accessible for working parents there's there's no I mean I guess some working parents but um for full-time working parents there's not a way to utilize the preschool um and so it liting to those who can access that we've have conversation about that in regards to keys in the primary really really the preschool um the program in know itself is it's a it's preschool for three and four year olds um there is some you know concerns in regards to the day and how long that would be for our little ones um being away from the parents and guardians but I will bring that back to the administ conversation about but it's been a topic um I noticed that the day count on here is off and that if the tallies for each month are correct there's only 179 student days and 185 teach days so t bottle is notate number and that makes sense because there's only five teacher in service days so can't be 18 186 something that's you don't see um which is hard to see is December 12th okay so December 12th is an inservice day for the high school but it's a conference day where the primary schools what's March for each month 18 22 17 14 21 for the students that adds up to 179 count Che it count a million times we had to come in on a Saturday once CU Miss today yeah don't want to do that on the 20th we'll count it again that would be the minimum threshold and normally on this calendar we put the six the little six day count on here and I knew there' be conversation going to take the time to put the 1 2 3 4 5 6 1 2 3 4 5 six knowing that poent there could be movement here so I think this was a um fruitful conversation you think it would be an opportunity to present a proposed calendar to the education commit before comes to the whole board so we can expedite this process a little bit more or is this kind of conversation good for the next time as well I think maybe we should plan to just discuss as right important yeah so there is yeah yeah so maybe we just plan that at the February meeting this next year this just goes on as a topic of discussion for theard yeah and itially look at in January okay anything else um do we just want consensus as because you had just said it the board was if the board is okay with um Good Friday the 18th being a half day okay I think we well you can yeah there's going to be multiple ways to flex the schedule yeah after but but but is the full board I if you're do like if you're a family that's that that observes Good Friday um you would be in at a service probably around 11 or 12 in the afternoon on Good Friday so so that it's know so it's always like a 12 to3 kind of thing so you could run with the half day dis so you could run into one thing I'm hopefully everybody knows I'm a good listener so I'm trying to take everything that we just discussed get into an a count school count represents everybody's needs very very right and there you look at all the moving parts that's why we're here all right any other comments okay I'm gonna open up the um public participation session this is an open discussion everything that I said uh previously still stands is there anyone that would like to make a comment on non-agenda items I just can't what you say said I can't sit any more I understand all right see done I will close the second public participation session um the board does need to go into a second executive session no action will be taken may I have a motion to move into second executive uh all all in favor any opposed um at at least an hour an hour at least an hour