like to call those barate Board of Education meeting to order please the notice of this meeting has been forwarded to the Asbury Park Press the beacon tap and Barnet and place in the foyer of each Barnet Township school and the Barnet Township Municipal Building and has been filed with the Barnet Township municipal clerk in conjunction with the open public meeting Act njsa 10 4-10 you roll call please miss Journey here miss konanza here Mr fedori here miss jeie here Miss D Monti here miss Ley here miss tarnowski is not present miss wasborn here and Mr Sno here we have a quorum thank you please join me in the flag please Alle to the flag of the United States of America and to the Republic for which it stands one nation under God indivisible with liberty and justice for thank you all right item number five on our agenda is the approval of the agenda and auditions and I believe we have one change yep we have uh we're going to be uh pulling uh under personnel number 24 uh that'll be discussed an executive all right so that'll move personel to 26 motions 1 through 26 so just adjust for that get a motion to approve the agenda and changes so moved second roll call M Journey yes M konanza yes Mr fedori yes Miss jeie yes Mr ranti yes Miss Levy yes Miss wasburn yes and Mr Sno yes motion carried you item six on our agenda is the approval of minutes we have motion number one and two can I get a motion to approve those two please so moved second roll call Miss churny yes Miss konanza yes Mr fedori yes Miss jeie yes Mr imonti yes Miss Levy yes Miss Miss wasburn yes and Mr Sno yes motion carried you uh next item on our agenda is our student rep representative and that is Miss Jane havland and I will turn the floor over to you hello for those of you who don't know me my name is Jan havland and I am the executive president of the barnegate high school student government today is my final board meeting as the student representative this year but before I can recognize that there are a few events coming up this week is senior week and all senior events are on under way today was our senior Awards breakfast where several seniors including myself and some people in the audience today um were recognized for our like academic excellence and achievement it was a great event and very special to the honored seniors tomorrow is our senior breakfast where we will be getting our yearbooks and caps and gowns it's also our official decision day so you'll probably be seeing a lot of pictures online of us all in our after school decisions um graduation practice I Es as well as finals for underclassmen will be going on later this week Thursday is the brakman graduation ceremony at 1:15 here at BHS on the football field and the high school graduation is at 6 pm on Monday the 17th also up on the football field and I'm excited to announce that as executive president I will be speaking at graduation and addressing my class thanks to Mr McGee and Mr pulo and like I said today is my last board meeing so I would like to thank the Board of Education and Dr Brian lawis were giving me the opportunity this is the student representative on the board for 10 meetings this school year as I observed over the last few months I play close close attention to the conversations and pol policy discussions haded these meetings and there have been multiple times that I have wanted to speak up for the student body this role does not allow power to make Tang tangible changes to policy curriculum or agendas but after many months of of observation I feel that I have enough experience to have a voice and be the voice of the student body as our voice I can acknowledge that the board wants to keep in mind the best interests of the students but the reality is that the board does not reflect the student body accurately nor does this District seem to be progressing with education as rapidly as Society is there are challenges that come with this of course and I appreciate the board's awareness of trying to make positive and PR Progressive changes over the last few years but it's simply not enough it is my hope that in the future differences and change can be seen as positive things it is extremely important to stress inclusivity we're calling ourselves one barnegate and it is time that we do become one I hope that these concerns as I invoice the entire student body can be fulfilled having this opportunity to represent the student body has been a wonderful experience and I am so grateful for what I have learned and the value it has brought me I intend to use all that I've learned as student representative on the board of ed um and as executive president as I go on to be a political science major at Cornell University this fall thank you I can say just say again thank you on behalf of the Board of Education Miss avelyn for being here every month um keeping us well informed and keeping the board a breast of what is happening day by day in our school so again we thank you appreciate this is for you small appreciation and good luck and Cornell and good luck with you forgot to mention the dance team that was a big uh oh yes congratulations best a lot thank you so much okay uh next on our agenda is our barn Education Association Le Aon Miss uh morganoff I'll turn the floor over to you thank you the barnegate education ass Association would like to start off by thanking the board of education for a wonderful school year and more recently a successful start to negotiations it has been filled with many wonderful adventures and accomplishments by both students and staff we'd also like to again congratulate all the staff who were recognized last week at the barnegate inspirers award ceremony especially the Hall of Fame inductees Betty and Bley and the late debie Wess I personally had the honor of working with both lovely ladies and can't think of anyone better I'd also like to congratulate the winners of the baa philanthropic award and the Mike Bruno scholarship and thank the board of education for the fundraisers that allow us to finance both lastly I would like to congratulate our staff retirees and wish everyone a wonderful summer thank you again Miss Morgan off uh next item on our agenda is our committee committee uh discussions for each committee each committee chair will uh give a detailed account of what's happened in their committee over the last month and I will start off with our finance committee and that will be Miss konanza hi um thank you Mr Sno uh finance committee met on June 4th on tonight's agenda there is for approval of the monthly motions payroll and bills list board secretary business administration reports letter A through D including numbers 4 through S I just wanted to point out that number six there is a motion to renew the ice hockey Cooperative agreement with Lacy Township for our school district's hockey ice hockey team and the following motions 8 through 10 are our annual 2024 2025 appointments our next meeting will be held uh July 24th okay thank you thank you very much uh next committee is Athletics and chairperson is Mr fedur thank you Mr Sarno uh the athletic committee didn't meet in person this month uh but Mr Jano had reached out uh the committee did have discussions electronically uh you're going to see two motions on the agenda this evening uh the first one is to add an Elite Speed and Agility Camp at the high school that's going to be from June 24th to July 17th it came in after the meeting uh and with such a short time uh rolling into this meeting Mr Jam I want to make sure it gets up there plus the fact that it's going to begin next week uh the second one is actually just an amendment uh to a motion that was approved last month for the location of the dance team's uh summer camp uh they're going to be moving from I believe it was Pennsylvania we had listed they're going to be going to Mammoth University this year so those are the two items thank you thank you again Mr VOR um our next committee is education committee and that is chaired by Mrs churny thank you Mr President good evening everyone the education committee met on June 4th to discuss and improve uh approve key initiatives you'll see on tonight's agenda motion number one to approve the program we're not buying it 2.0 from the Ocean County department for sixth grade health classes which include six sessions focusing on media influence regarding substances with alcohol marijuana prescription and over-the-counter medications and also including cyber bullying this is at no cost to the district additionally preparations for the full career day at barnegate high school is scheduled for October 20 uh October 2024 where we discussed with a business teacher appointed to organize the event along with board members and parents other motions include admitting a J1 International exchange student for the 2024 2025 school year uh motions also updating CBI and work-based locations and approving various educational placements and workshops were discussed also so the meeting concluded at 10:27 and the next schedule meeting is for July 23rd thank you Mrs Cherney Mr S I just I just got a quick question sure you mentioned the career day for October 2024 yeah 2024 um we're we're go with that I know it's been something that we've been trying to get back here still in the process so we haven't reached out to no anybody outside the school it's just a mat just getting the people to be formed together OD thank you all right thank you on that um next up is governance and chairperson is Miss konanza thank you again Mr sorno um on tonight's agenda for approval there's Motion One um it's the motion to approve the second reading to abolish policies 2260 and 5756 after thorough analysis and extensive discussions the committee has decided that policy 20 260 excuse me and 5756 will be abolished the primary reason for this is that these policies were poorly written from the state we are not at Liberty to make changes to the verbage of the policy to fit our school district needs the only option we have is to abolish the policies the barate school district will still be following all state laws uh motion two is to approve the second reading to revise um 2200 and policy 7510 and also um the motion to approved to abolish regulation 2260 you'll also see motion three uh motion three is to approve the job description for transportation dispatcher this year the district plans on bringing back routes that have been outsourced and this position will help with that transition our next governance meeting will will be held on July 24th all right thank you very much um and lastly is Personnel committee I'm the chair Personnel um as you can see on the agenda uh we did have a uh resignations few resignations this month Mrs Johnson our district supervisor of guidance is um moving on again we can only wish her the best of luck in her future endeavors I want to thank her for everything she's done here in our district um we have just going through some new hires within Transportation within the essential office uh our school counselors par professionals and we have the uh new contract for for our business administrator Miss vassel was approved by the county super we'll be voting on that tonight um several other renewals of uh staff members as you can see armed guards private professionals and a lot of summer activities and Summer Staff help I believe that is it for personnel all right with that we will move on to the superintendent's highlights and I will turn the floor over to Dr L all right we will start with the upstanders good evening the upstander program is a wonderful opportunity to recognize and celebrate students districtwide who celebrate who demonstrate a specific Bengal Pride trait these traits continue to enhance the positive climate in our schools as well as the home school and Community Partnership that plays an essential role in our students success this month our students exemplified determination for the D and Bengal Pride we are very excited to present students with a gift card from one of our local restaurants Dolce when you hear your name please come forward and join board president Mr Sarno and superintendent Dr lwis to receive your plaque and gift certificate First We Have Allison sojac come on out Allison is our valid Victorian of the 20124 senior class she's the captain of the field hockey swimming and lacrosse teams she leads by example in the classroom and on the field her incredible work ethic has made an impact on barnegate high school and we are so proud of you congratulations Alison Allison Basque Allison is extremely dedicated to her studies and being a part of the school Community she puts forth great effort in her classes asks questions and tries her best throughout her softball sports season she continued to show her dedication to her studies and her team is truly dedicated to any goals that she wants to achieve congratulations Allison Skyler monusco Skyler is a very dedicated student at the Horbelt School she excels academically and is involved in many clubs and activities such as student council drama track and field she successfully manages her time as she participates in all of these activities and she's been been a pleasure to have at the school these past two years and we wish her well as she moves up to the Middle School congratulations Skyler Zachary kzel Zachary is a responsible dedicated student at Donahue Zachary has made great progress this year academically due to his hard work and great attitude at school he's also very organized kind and considerate we know he will continue to excel congratulations Landon Wagner Landon is a student who loves to learn he always gives 100% of himself in everything that he does he's respectful follows the rules and is super kind and supportive of all of his peers Landon was chosen to be the library clerk where he helped out a Kindergarten class to check out their books he was so kind and complimented all the students on their choices of books great job Landon Cameron Torres Cameron Cameron demonstrates dedication constantly whether it be learning to tie his shoes completing a project in the classroom or trying new activities on the playground he is always determined he sets his goals gets moving faces The Challenge and keeps trying and is never discouraged by failure he doesn't quit until the goal is accomplished way to go cam Tommy Boyd Tommy has shown his dedication to learning and growing throughout this school year he began the year as a reserved quiet kindergartener and has blossomed into a friendly curious student he approaches every learning activity with enthusiasm and excitement and is always eager to give a high five for a job well done Tommy has greatly increased his social and conversational skills developing genuine friendships along the way we are so proud of you Tommy congratulations let's give him another round of applause all right still me up here all right our therapy dog program which started at the dumpy Elementary School in 2016 with Tink and Then followed by her sister Winnie continues to make a positive impact on staff and students morale and mental well-being we are so thankful for our four therapy dogs wnny coconut kiwi and leasel along with their owners for all they do for our students and staff without further Ado I would like to recognize our dream team members and their owners first let's have Joanne fedori and Winnie come up for our Collins school next we'll have Dallas salvanto and coconut come up to thank them for their dedication to are Donahue school Aces program and horbal School Dallas is also owner to Kiwi who could not be with us tonight as she just became a mom to eight Precious Puppies kiwi provides support for our students and staff at the high school thank you Dallas and last but not least we would like to call up leisel and thank them for their dedication to brachman and our pause students and staff lies he likes this one the little one is like I don't like him that's some was one of those items on the gift cards a gift card for a shop vac thank you guys all right good evening um I'm presenting the real media awards for uh the Russell o brakman Middle School uh through a partnership between the barnegate school district and the barnegate communities at Care Coalition the real media program is being utilized as part of the health curriculum with myself um and the eighth grade students this program is evidence-based youth message development e-learning curriculum to prevent adolescent substance use among 11 to 17 year olds it encourages students to reflect and offer their thoughts via open-ended questions as well as quizzes and optional um depth sections where students can further explore their interests each level ends with an interactive challenge that allows participants to apply new skills as a culmination of lessons 1 through 4 the students are asked to develop a poster or a 30- second video that includes an anti-substance use message besides this activity being used as part of their health grade the students are entered into a contest and judged by the barnegate communities that care public relations workg group the winners posters and PSAs will be displayed in the schools and on our district website and given to all teachers to use for Red Ribbon Week next year the winners for first and second marking periods I'm sorry third and fourth marking periods are here tonight they will each receive a certificate and gift card for their efforts the gift cards are sponsored by the Community Partners and the gift card for tonight's winners were sponsored by the barnegate police department I believe we announce the winners their public service announcements will be shown on the screen in third place the winner is Kiana Bennett she will receive a $50 gift card in her poster for choosing health over High our second place winner tonight is Angelina kav and this is an amazingly produced video Angelina did this all by herself she will receive a $75 gift card she Drew this and animated it and everything [Music] our other second place winner is maab Maj Majid and her video um she's not here tonight but she will also receive a $75 gift card oh she is oh I didn't even see her and this is her video on [Music] prescriptions I'm spending my Summer Time After Time crying again had the blues over you I did it hang with my friend you f cry that's a lie tell me was it up in my head in my head [Applause] [Music] [Applause] exactly and for our first place winners uh our poster by Emma cuber don't letting attemp temporary feeling ruin your life permanently she will receive $100 gift card and the final first place winner uh kupam Patel and McKenzie cirkovic who's not here tonight this is their $50 um each they're going to receive and this video had a lot of time and effort put into it kupam and McKenzie made a stop action Lego video for you [Music] [Music] [Music] drugs aren't magical they were hit by the Hogwarts Express if you're Harry Potter fan congratulations to all the winners okay well uh Mr West brings up uh the video from Michelle cochinada we're all good to go [Music] [Laughter] [Music] [Music] [Laughter] [Music] he [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Laughter] [Music] [Music] [Laughter] [Music] so what do you say about Michelle kinata that has not already been said um well I think it's it starts with the fact that the video had to span two songs and seven minutes uh to try to cover all of the different pictures that were uh collected uh you know to to put together this tribute um her journey uh started in 1987 she was a teacher transitioned in 2000 into guidance counselor and then uh last but not least and this is kind of a funny story um Michelle had come forward and said that she really wished there was a job uh that was out there that she could would uh basically go out into the community make connections and bring things like that into the schools and um you know and basically you know help people on on that level and you know said basically you know we're not really sure if there is a job like that you know we don't really have anything you know like that Michelle uh which is you know I think a word that you could easily describe her as a go-getter uh you know went back to CTC communities that care next thing you know six months later they were proposing a grant with a job description that was exactly what she had proposed um so you know that that could have been fate could have been coincidence or it could have been Michelle doing what she does best which is you know getting things done uh to help people um you know you think about words that would describe you know Michelle you know you think Advocate you think huge heart you think ball of energy she never stops ever um you know when a lot of people are looking at their summer plans and vacations and what they're going to do Michelle's transitioning to figure out the feeding program that she runs at a neighboring town so literally never shuts it off persistent um but I think what you know one word that everybody would describe her as is friend um and she really was a friend to to everybody um she she had an impact on thousands and thousands and thousands of people um and and she's dearly missed right now in her in her retirement um but we're eagerly uh you know wishing her the best to get healthy and back on her feet that she can come back and volunteer and do all the things that uh you know she was doing uh to to help so many people that were out there um but she's truly an extraordinary person um and and we miss you Michelle uh almost forgot just going to run through some quick highlights and then we'll transition over uh obviously we have the superintendent Inspire ceremony that was held on June 6th so congratulations to all the recipients that night uh Miss sealo uh teacher at the high school is published in the njaap with an article highlighting our barnegate high school and our work-based learning program uh for students with special needs fantastic job misso is another individual that continues to impress over and over and and and help uh everybody else around her uh thank you to the United Way of Mammoth and ocean counties for providing hygiene bags for our carrying closets uh thank you to the Mirage Women's Club for Their donation of 2,100 that goes towards our caring closets so thank you to the women Club thank you to the staff of Sarah and Sam schaer Holocaust Resource Center for presenting the interactive biography of Holocaust Survivor Edward mosberg to the eighth grade students at RMS and and pausing for that for a second you talk about like technology and how far it's come and and Ai and artificial intelligence and and what you can do with that uh this was truly impressive this was a holocaust Survivor um filmed I believe something like 10,000 hours worth of content and students were able to asked questions that uh this individual was basically able to answer um by parsing out those those uh 10,000 hours of uh of of recorded video so uh truly uh pretty awesome how that captured uh you know that and was an amazing experience for our kids um and tomorrow on June 12th we will have project crash that was uh rescheduled uh due to weather last time so looking forward to doing that with that being said that's the highlights thank you Dr Lis um the dogs exit stage right um again uh under my presidence from marks few things just wanted to touch upon um with it being obviously the end of the year um again I want to extend out to all the all of our students families um it's a exciting wonderful great time of year for everybody um Everybody within your family with all of our students the excitement but again just please everybody be smart be safe um over the next few weeks enjoy the time enjoy the celebration the the parties the um everything that you deserved um uh the announcements with where you're going to schools um all that stuff I mean it's it's the most exciting time in your life so again enjoy it but be smart please be safe um that's you know uh most important above anything else uh um secondly I wanted to thank our Administration and our staff again the end of the year I know how much hard work goes into each school year um the time the dedication The Pride they put into our schools our students uh what happens here so again I want to thank them starting at the top um down to everybody I mean you can write down our bus drivers our maintenance power professionals um everyone chips in again you know it's the end of the year and and again just to recognize all of them for everything they've done to to get us to this point to get our students to this point um again can never say enough and can never thank him enough um which again leads us to the tribute we just had to miss ginada um my 20 years being involved at this District I could say that is one staff member you've never heard a bad word about um nothing but compliments she exudes born to get Pride constantly um and somebody we should all be proud of that uh we've had in this District for this amount of time we can only wish her the best uh moving forward with her uh Endeavors so again thank you again miss ginata um we appreciate everything you've done for our district and also again want to thank the board members um again our time and energy that we put in here again I I know and as well as all of you the time that we put in um you know sometimes it gets a little painful and a little uh long but I think everything we do as we look out here and next week or two weeks as we see these graduations and promotional ceremonies that's what makes it all worth it um and again appreciate all the effort and time that each and every one of you put in um during the school year um lastly I wanted to update I guess the community kind of on the behind you our beastro um we've had many meetings over the last few months with Miss an Hassel or ba and and Dr lwis um and several of our committees basically discuss where this project is at um where it's going what it's going to be what it's cost um and again if some of you have been around or kind of been here for the last year year and a half um it's been kind of contentious and um back and forth but again I I think people on the public have a a right to know where we're at with this project um the pro project was brought I guess to the table back in 2022 to um I guess as a need for the uh not a need but a a want for the district you say um to build this and I guess the initial ideas was to build something that would help reduce our absenteeism our late late uh students um and again for something for our uh special education St uh students um as it is evolved it it started out as a $700,000 project in its initial phase and by February 20 February 1st of 2023 it had been scaled down to about $340,000 again um there was a lot of concerns questions from the members of the board at that time um on the project um the public was told back in its initial phases and throughout and I I still have the newspaper article where it was quoted that no money will be used from our general fund that would normally go to our students um and and staff usage that would in any way impact property taxes which again was not accurate because uh as Miss Bassel came in and reviewed the project um and reviewed where it was and where it was going um there were some issues that we had to address so up to date up to this point $660,000 has been used from our general fund that could have went to our students they could have went to our staff they could have went to our education um so it was not completely paid for out of Our Food Services fund so it did impact taxpayers unfortunately um we were never told that until Mr vasle joined us um also it was brought to attention that it has to follow the guidelines of the cafeteria that we con we currently have um it is not a standalone beastro it is an extension now of our current cafeteria so it'll be an overflow cafeteria it'll be open a half hour before school starts again to um students can come in throughout the day um but it will be an overflow for our regular cafeteria um for those students to use I think they were using previously one of the auxiliary gems um so they now we'll be using this um just going through some of my other notes um I had asked I could say personally probably about a half dozen times to get a financial breakdown of the project up until I believe Mr uh to our former ba left I never received a breakdown financially of where it was where the project what the expenditures were to that point um what the out uh you know finished project was going to look like what the finished numbers were going to be um I had never even as many times as I asked in public and private never received anything um again until Miss vantassel came in um we sat down myself Mr Dr LS and had discussions on it and within I would say a couple weeks she had the numbers showed us where everything had been paid what it Where where it come from where the funds had been spent from um again so I got to thank her and and Dr lwis obviously both of them on that end um as we dove into it um you know we again we I think now that we look at this it's more of a a need in our district there's no way our kids should be having cafeteria time in a gym where people are exercising orning around wrestling and then later in the day you're in there eating um so again it it has turned into a a need and you know we're still I think I think we now have some pictures of what it's going to look like some ideas of what it's going to look like on the finished product and I'm hoping I think by these by September we it okay so September yeah it should be done ready for next year um for our students to enjoy and use um you know again I I think it's important as elected officials we communicate to the public what is really happening what we are finding out um and the truth behind you know the projects like this um most of you that have been here or sat online and seen this um it had been you know a fight for a good year on this um and again I I can only thank at this point to to come to a conclusion um we know where this project is going um I know several of the board members here were you know in news articles and online were bashed and um you know some harsh things said about because we believed again we wanted to know the exact number where it was going where the money was coming from and until recently we never had any of that picture we never had the data on it until within the last month month and a half um so again just wanted to report out to the public where we are in that um and with that that that ends my president remarks again everyone enjoy your summer um please be safe we'll see you at the next few ceremonies um we have one Thursday and then one next week so again everybody enjoy and thank you Mr sner may I share uh an experience I just had for the good of the order sure uh I had the privilege of attending um the RC's first military ball on Sunday night uh was hosted in a you know local venue uh down the street um very impressed uh Mr Brown is doing an excellent job of getting that program up and running uh it's important that moving forward uh the board become more involved um you know if you've never been to a military type of event the the Heritage the lineage all of those things the Customs that are involved with it uh that he's instilling on our students um it's very important um he's teaching them to be good citizens uh it was very well attended as far as the students were concerned I would have liked to have seen more staff and but I understand we're at the end of the year there's a lot of different things going on and I think they're going to be looking to move to a bigger venue um but it would be remiss if I didn't mention Anthony Costello who received I was I was fortunate enough to be able to be up at the receiving line and present him uh with a full Ro scholarship to Norwich University um which is pretty impressive I mean we've we've had we've sent some folks over to theems but uh you know Mr Brown is definitely well on his way and developing a great program and it's just important for us to to support it um just because you join ROTC if there's parents on here it doesn't mean you have to uh you're not obligated to join the military there seems to be some type of a you know miscommunication there or some scary it's uh it's it's a great organization to be involved with and like I said I was happy to be able to attend and you hopefully more of us can do it in the future very well said Mr V and and I Echo everything you said it's oh go ahead invited as a board member because I would have liked to attend that so I was not I happen to be at an offsite any so this this is my comment section here again yeah I'm not I'm not I'm not shoot I don't like I said I happen to have a conversation elsewhere outside of the school and I was asked to go that's but anyway thank you again I uh on your on your report out on that that um that program I could say I was I was here when we created it um one of the proud things that I think my view again the organization we brought here um some of the students I've seen go through that program um nothing but great things that it's doing and I think Mr Brown like you said is is really uh working hard to to push it and to expand it um again you know as well as I know the importance of what mil military structure in a sense not that you're joining the military can instill especially in young individuals in their lives and I think it's a it's a incredible program so again thank you for uh highlighting Mr for dors um okay with that we will move on to public session Barn Town barnegate Township Board of Education appreciates and welcomes public comment advice and suggestions especially when it is intended to assist the Board of Education please feel free to speak to the board during the public session comments and discussion will be limited to one 5 minute period per individual unless requested by the chairperson to continue on a point of clarification public comments at special meetings of the board shall be related to the call of the meeting in accordance with the Board of Education policy each participant must be recognized by presiding officer and must preface their comments by an announcement of their name address and group affiliation if appropriate your anticipated courtesy to the members of the public and the board is appreciated thank you you can I get a motion to open public session please so move second roll call Miss jurny yes Miss contanza yes Mr Fedor yes Miss jeie yes Mr imonti yes Miss Levy yes Miss wasburn yes and Mr Sonu yes Mo car thank you okay with that uh public session is now open um we will there's some online and obviously the public here um we will go back and forth with from each [Music] um there we go hi everybody hi I first uh I appreciate you coming up to the mic hello yes yes I appreciate you coming up to the mic and but again you have to be recognized by the residing office no absolutely hi my name is Carrie diona uh 57 Old Main Shore Road Barnette New Jersey now yes yes you may come and speak thank you thank you thank you very much to the board and welcome one Baran um I want to thank you all for coming um and before you walk out Jane congratulations and thank you for your openness to address the board openly and honestly about how they need to change I really appreciate that and I wish you congratulations on your future I believe at Cornell you mentioned if that's correct congratulations um I'm glad I caught you before you left also congratulations to all the children who may still be here or their parents who are here who just won awards I have to say it was really a special moment to witness so thank you for incorporating that into this meeting because that was really special to to be a part of um in regard to Jane and and her openness to address the board openly and honestly about how change needs to happen I'd like to discuss 1% of the population that's it 1% of the population that's all this abolishment that you created targets 1% of the people that without these resources specifically usually end up debt of suicide now I just want to ask just basically you know are you are you Christian yes or no might do anybody no one wishes to answer okay I'll ass yes I am um and do you believe we're all God's people because I most certainly do as an Episcopalian and practicing um I most certainly do my next question is you know do you believe in abortion and most of you and most of barnaget is going to tell me no um right because that's an innocent life well if this literature can save one life then isn't that life innocent enough and worth it to save that life we're talking about the same thing it's Apples to Apples it's life to life human to human God's child to God's child now I started barnegate Pride this kind of Pride the rainbow Pride two months ago um and we've had such an overwhelming response 361 members and over 35 local businesses have financially supported us solely for the asking solely for the asking okay now that says a lot about barnegate that even surprised me I'm not going to lie that over 35 businesses have supported us monetarily okay now them supporting us monetarily means everyone of the lgbtqia community they're not taking anyone out of that okay now our first meeting contained 16 members and the response was profound sincerely 16 people felt safe enough to let go be themselves cry laugh and feel a part of a community here in barnaget at our meeting and I'm proud to have created this safe environment for the lgbtqia environment um excuse me so those 16 people next meeting can turn into 32 and if you remember the next statement can turn into 64 Etc so how is this a bad thing let me ask you how is it okay I just want to end with this never never in my life and hey I know I'm only 25 years old it's all good but never in my life as a transgender individual placed harm on me okay however I can't say I can't say the same for a cisgender which means straight male they're the real predators of your children as one in every three girls and women are raped and they're not raped by transgendered and individuals so which do you think is the safer bet the transgender individual or the cisgender male who is going to rape your children now maybe you should consider a student gay straight Alliance maybe that might help get this moving forward but this curriculum was approved two years ago and I spoke to the township committee during this time and I'm just not sure why we're still fighting this so I am asking instead of abolishing we should actually have members of our population involved thank you very much for your time thank you um let's see do we have anybody online that would like order yeah Michael I guess yes good evening um I'm Michael goddman from Wayne New Jersey I'm the founder of the New Jersey public education colle take your address uh Michael please Independence Avenue Wayne New Jersey thank you um before I go to my my prepared remarks I just want to touch back on something that you Mr President said a few minutes ago you said that this is a great exciting time of year for everyone well I can assure you that a specific marginalized student po population in your district will not find this to be a great exciting time of year if you take the action of resending policy 5756 tonight but before you make a decision to do that I need to know that you're not operating using the belief in a lie that has been told to you by outside organizations do any of you believe or have you been told that policy 5750 6 Outlaws parental notification because if that's your belief you're mistaken what it does is take a child Center approach and provides the district with procedures they can follow depending upon whether the student question wants his parents or her parents to know or not and it's designed to formulate a process by which parents can actually eventually be notified so you have to ask yourself a second question why did the student choose to come to a teacher guidance counselor school psychologist or other member of your Administration rather than his her or their parents well the obvious answer is there's something going on at home that makes that student conclude that they will not be accepted and there'll be a potential negative reaction if you retain and follow the policy you and the taxpayers of your District are protected from lawsuit which would divert taxpayer money designated to teach children and diverted to paying lawyers and create a potential budget Gap that you might have to make up next year by increasing taxes further when you leave when you when so when you remove the policy you're leaving your staff with absolutely no guidance on how to avoid lawsuit they don't know how to act in these situations because they'll be looking at a blank slate and mind you you have over two dozen laws that you have to comply with in order to avoid lawsuit and you're choosing by abolishing this policy to leave your entire district with no guidance so why don't you take an alternative path you don't like the way this was written that's your reason for wanting to abolish it why not create a new one first and then consider removing this one so that at least you have something in place because it seems to me that the only person who's really gonna profit from this strategy is your board attorney who's advising you it's okay to do that because he's the one you're going to be taking money to pay when he has to defend you from lawsuits that will no doubt be filed finally think about the message you're sending to these students they're already a part of a marginalized community and the message you're sending is you don't care about them you're telling them their rights and freedoms can be totally disregarded and you're telling them you don't want them and they don't belong and by doing so you are not acting in the best interest of every child in your District which is your sworn and ethical duty to do so I plead with you leave the policy in place until you have something to replace it with thank you so much thank you again for your comments um anybody in public a gentleman right here yeah hi my name is Sean Highland I'm from the New Jersey family policy Center I'm a resident of Ocean County in in brookley Township I want to come here tonight just to thank you for State your address please oh morage Avenue in bfield I just want to thank you guys for and resending policy 5756 I work very closely with the state legislature with school boards across the state with parental rights groups as well and many many families even down here in barnegate Township and they're very pleased the families here in Barnet of you guys putting their their parental rights and their children first by resending policy 5756 just last year Mammoth university did a poll asking people in New Jersey do you think parents should be notified of their child's gender identity while at school and 76% of people in New Jersey said yes parents should be notified and when the school boards did try to write their own policy that's when the Attorney General hit them with the civil rights violation but when school boards repealed the policy completely and right now 25 school boards have repealed the policy completely no one has received any type of action by the Attorney General because the OG's office said up in Morris County Superior Court that 5756 is not a mandatory policy never was a mandatory policy it was mistakenly marked as one by shra Esme but it's the NJ uh law against discrimination which their case is resting on in other townships but nothing in no way is 5756 a mandatory policy by the Office of the Attorney General so you're at no Risk by resending it or repealing it but instead you're putting parents and families and children first because parents should be notified about their child's social and emotional mental well-being in every stage of life and you guys are doing the right thing by reing the policy and um putting parents and children first thank you guys so much you I'll jump back onto online we back out you'll be next I'm just going to go back and forth yeah um Lauren Lauren would be next good evening barning at Board of Education my name is Lauren alre I represent Garden State equality this is New Jersey's largest lgbtq rights organization State address your address please yep 296 tennis court Wall New Jersey thank you um first I'd like to state that um I don't know which families Mr Highland says he's hearing from in barnegate but Carden State equality being New Jersey's largest lgbtq rights organization has heard from many families in barnegate who do not feel safe to come and speak with you today because of the tone that has been taken by this school board so I'm not sure which many families Mr Highland is talking about but it is a well-known fact that the organization that he represents is strictly an anti-lgbtq organization that's available online to you in their mission statement um so first of all I'd like to address a few um instances of misinformation that have been passed here already um we heard earlier that it seems like you have already abolished this policy in closed session is anybody available to confirm that um no no it's has not been for the lady in the pink jacket statement um what was what it said that this was poorly written and that's why it had to be abolished it was uh when you do anything with a policy in the district there has to be two readings so we uh discussed it last month um and comments were made then on what the rationale was okay so to say this policy is poorly written is to entirely misunderstand it and potentially intentionally misunderstand it this policy was adopted by school districts voluntarily in 2019 after uh a bipartisan bill that was passed by the legislature and signed by Governor Christie because students transgender and non-binary students in our schools needed some assistance um our teachers needed assistance in how to handle the situations in which these students were coming out at school and not at home first of all let me just tell you uh if your kid is not feeling safe to tell you this themselves there is a reason there is a reason um everybody should feel free and safe to have this discussion with their parents at home but if kid is not having that with their parent there's a reason and instead of revoking this policy maybe it should be a little bit of a deep dive into why a kid might not feel safe to be out at home um Garden State equality believes that every parent should know exactly what's going on in their in their kids lives and that's why it's important for you to create a safe and affirming environment at home so your child feels comfortable coming out to you nothing in the existing policy Pro prohibits School Personnel from disclosing a student's transgender and non-binary identity from parents if the student permits it we all want parents to be involved in decisions involving their own children but unfortunately lgbtq youth face extremely high rates of family rejection and abandonment research shows that family rejection leads to higher rates of depression and anxiety and an attendant poor social and academic outcome for lgbtq youth conversely supportive family environments greatly decrease these risks the doe guidance makes it clear to schools they need to that you need to have a conversation with a young person before you do that you're leaving your teachers without a safety net you're leaving your teachers without guidelines and you're still required to follow the law against discrimination but this policy is in place to help you comply with it and I got to tell you if even one kid is outed into an unsafe family situation because of the removal of this policy that will be your fault that will be your fault and that's disgraceful that's all I have to say thank you very much for this time and also the Young your student representative you should listen to her and if she wants a job after Cornell she should contact Garden State of quality thank you thank you and uh I don't know if she's still here to to but I'm sure the word will get passed on to her um next I believe yes right here hello everybody uh my name is is Lisa MAA and my pronouns are she and they and I believe you need to know my address well right okay okay it's 1214 galle AV Mana Hawkin thank you and um I am here today because uh my family has been a member of both manah hawen and barnegate for over 50 years so I have siblings nieces nephews great nieces and nephews still in both school systems okay um I came out in the Southern Southern Regional High School school district right at that time when I came out um we didn't have uh the hate that we have today in the world let alone in Ocean County what we didn't have was support and resources because people just didn't know any better but nobody spewed hate anywhere uh the teachers were supportive in Southern Regional High School for me right um there wasn't a anything in place to prohibit them from doing that and that helped me even when I didn't feel comfortable coming out in a Roman Catholic Family but my family did support me to some degree and they do today wholeheartedly in both areas I moved way for a while I've come back and to come back to this area I found myself who's been out for many years very isolated and I said where is everybody people are afraid afraid to be themselves teenagers are afraid to be themselves the assumption that someone can come out in their home and talk to their parents and every home is is naive and to have any adult think that way it's just being complacent into society you know better not every household is supportive of their children not every child can talk to their adult in their household not every child has support within their family or their friends when someone is afraid to hang a rainbow flag outside of their home because they don't have support that's insane that's sad so that being said one of the safest places a child should have is into school I had that many years ago on Southern Regional that should be in place today in this school and I'm not saying you don't offer it but what I'm saying is if you're going to take take away any policy that's in place to give a safety net to support whether it's teachers you students to let them know I don't care if it's 10% or 1% any student to know that they can come to their teacher and have a safe place to be who they are and talk to somebody that needs to be in place I've lived in California I've lived in Florida I've lived in Boston I know what's going on around the country do not follow the path of negligence to the youth that you swore to support and care for I don't care what your politics are we're all humans these are kids they need somebody to come to and I'm not saying parents shouldn't be in to know but what I'm saying is don't fall into the Trap that every parent is going to welcome their kid in open arms and don't feel that their kids going to be be comfortable and talking to them about anything take the the the gayness aside the queerness aside the transgender aside most kids don't even feel comfortable talking to their parents about sex in any realm right so I implore you to really consider this and consider the lives of every child of every teenager that needs that safe space and they're going to look to this school to do it and if they can't find it you might as well just say it's okay to go ahead and hurt yourself and feel isolated because that would be on you so I implore you to reconsider what you're doing thank you thank you jump um next on here have uh Paul bre good evening uh my name is Paul breida I'm a I uh live at six Potter Lane in Wharton New Jersey I am a member of the New Jersey public education Coalition but I'm first and foremost affiliated with the idea that public education is not about towns and boundaries but about the examples adults set for future Generations on how people should relate to one another I wish to address those who strive to provide an amazing complete and appropriate Ed educational experience for all students and all students are different and each requires a different level of support that may sound familiar if you're a uh if you know your District mission statement there comes a time when board members have to explain to their supporters that your responsibilities are wider than just their narrow concerns policy 5756 poses that conundrum and demands that you make decisions in an unemotional business-like manner regarding your transgender student policy has anyone asked the administration how decisions will be made regarding any of the 10 conditions covered by the policy in the event there is no policy there can be only one of two possibilities either you will have as many responses to any given situation as you have administrators or your administrators will by necessity sit down behind closed doors and come up with their own plan and who can blame them as the Freehold Township superintendent said when that board considered resending this policy the absence of any policy or regulation does not remove the responsibility that we as Educators have to make decisions based upon what is in the best interest of each and every student in our care so why would the board want to walk away from its responsibility on an issue that's not only important but has the attention of the State Attorney General and civil Rights Commission is that how you really want to govern as you know because you have actually read and studied the policy parental notification is just one of many areas that IT addresses yes the policy places a high value on student privacy but it also acknowledges that quote due to specific and compelling need such as the health and safety of a student or an incident of biased related crime the school district may be obligated to disclose student status and while quote there is no affirmative Duty for any School District staff member to notify a parent a student's parent of the student's gender identity or expression that does not say that they can't notify the parent so what is the problem if you believe that it is better to abolish this policy than to modify it to reflect your community's values you are getting bad advice resending this policy is irresponsible and foolish as public servants thank [Music] you good evening to the board and everyone joining us here today uh my name is Danny Hoffman 48 starboard Avenue um I'm a junior here at BHS and I'll be taking over for Jane next year during the 2020 24 2025 school year uh so very excited about that but most of you may know me from left Tavern uh Christmas and camouflage or this exact Podium but today I'm here on behalf of barnegate Pride as their youth director for the organization before I would begin I would first like to express my utter disappointment in this body the audacity that several members of this board have to feel so inclined to discriminate against a myriad of students and the student body as a whole through personal vendettas against minority groups is deeply troubling and disturbing I feel the need to underscore the importance of where we stay and in time in the year 2024 we are finally seeing a light at the end of the tunnel for minority groups across this nation for years even predating the modern Civil Rights Movement people of color members of the lgbtq plus Community women those of ethnic diversity and foreigners facing religious persecution have looked to America to set the standard for equality as well as Equity being the land of the free we are expected to uphold the ideals and rights of life liberty and pursuit of happiness yet movements like that of this body have failed to serve Justice towards that purpose with this body moving to apolish both policies 2260 and policy 5756 it is Unthinkable the damage that this district will face in terms of astronomical Devastation from both students and staff alike with such actions it is you who creates a dangerous and egregiously toxic environment of a place where many students feel as an escape to from an already troubled home life student staff confidentiality is enshrined into every inch of Education Code and law in the state to try and untangle that and send a message with four other districts out of 600 educational bodies in the state is pure stupidity simply because you do not like one aspect of such a practice does not mean we uproot an entire system it's not the exception that writes the rule not only do you ruin the sanctity of our schools you open the district up to ethnic violations on the basis of turning your backs to the educational welfare of the children in this District you push the distance out of compliance with a myriad of State policies like title 18a section 3641 that institutes the necessity of policy that pushes for supportive and non-discriminative treatment towards students who do not identify with their birth given sex that Poli 5756 CES in and of itself the district thereafter fails falls out of compliance with New Jersey Administrative Code 6A section 7 that requires this body to comply with the institution of written educational uh Equity policies in relation to race Creed color origin ancestry age affectional or sexual orientation gender gender identity gender or gender identity or expression amongst countless others set policy 2260 sites in of itself again what this body is trying to do is a nightmare turning into a reality and its actions like the ones this board plans to take tonight is what sends us backward into history to a time where no one was seen for their whole self or their true identity I'd like to wrap up with a considerable urge towards the supporters of these abolishment miss churny miss konanza miss jeie Mr Sno and Miss wasburn I urge each of you to look out for the entirety of the student body the primary stakeholder of your constituency turning your back on us not only hurts the quality of our education but also the Integrity of your place on this board as well as the standard that this District hold itself to as determined by many who have come across this board it is not your place to write legislation or discriminate against students rather it is your primary duty to execute and oversee the production of effective and targeted policy through unbias leadership that works for the entirety of the district as opposed to a tailored agenda so please for the sake of all 376 kids that these policies protect and the thousands that are to come after us I implore you to stand with policy 2260 and policy 5756 and take a stand against government government's motions one and two today for our students our safety and our integrity thank you for your time a y back thank you Mr hofman um Jacob Jacob I believe is next online hello my name is Jacob Pender I'm from Ruckers New Brunswick and I can you hear me yeah yeah we can hear you thank you um my name is Jacob Pender I'm from Ruckers New Brunswick and I'd first like to inform the board that this meeting is being held in violation of the open public records act I'm sorry the open public meetings act under the open public meetings act if there is any rescheduling of a school board meeting or any public meeting it must be notified 48 hours in advance to the public this meeting was moved from 6: p.m. to 5:00 p.m. it was that was only reflected On The Board website this morning when I went on not yesterday not two days before not the required 48 Hours everything being conducted in this meeting is against the law against the opma AKA Sunshine Law but that's not why I'm here today um despite this all being done illegally and harder for the working class to join in on a Schoolboard meeting by making it a time where people would generally be getting out of work um even though you all have done that um we still showed up because we know that this is uh egregious and ridiculous that the school board is attempting to repeal policy 5756 as has been stated many times before policy 5756 doesn't really do anything it neither bans nor requires the forced adding of students for having name changes for being trans for doing any of these things however it is a reflection of New Jersey state law that does say um that it is up to the teacher to decide whether or not to have a conversation like this with the parent repealing this policy only takes that wording out of this actual School District it leaves the teachers with nothing with no Guidance the guidance that you were elected to um and show up every month to give and provide that guidance to your teachers and staff um you are failing on your job by repealing this and it is also a clear attack to the transgender and lgbtq plus communities especially during pride month to repeal this policy against transgender and non-binary students students with name changes this affects everyone this is harmful and we all see it that's why we all showed up today so resend the initial vote vote to keep policy 5756 and consider rescheduling this meeting because you may be required to anyway this meeting is illegal and against the law thank you thank you Jacob um right here in front evening patrial Clark brell my address is three tall hedge courp and barnegate uh almost considered not saying anything after the two last children who had plenty to say and I no doubt and certain that we are in good hands with them in the future however they're not currently on this board I am here as an ally and a staunch advocate for the lgbtq plus and bipo communities I've lived in barnegate for over 21 years and I obviously um support policy 5756 uh my past experience as the Director and drama adviser for the brakman drama club prepares me to share with you some facts your children know exactly who they are they know from a very young age by the time they hit Middle School they are living their best lives they are given the chance to participate in so many activities that they often over commit and they have to step back and find their place the place that they thrive in their tribe if you will as a result of this Awakening they are also at their most vulnerable they learn to fit in and to be accepted for who they are I cannot tell you the exact number of students who came out to me during a three years at rackman Middle School it was certainly in the dozens lesbian gay bisexual ual trans cor and questioning I was a safe adult and the theater which is truly a home for all um who and I I'm sorry was a welcome environment for these students who did not all have support at home some of them did I have always respected all students that I've interacted with and I continue to support the students who enjoy the theater and I attend most performances at brachman and the baragan high school if my schedule allows I am aware that some of the students who shared their personal information regarding their sexuality or their gender identity did not feel safe to come out to their families I respected that I am also aware of the climate here in the 609 and I recognize that this subject is a hot button topic that is a professional actor over 40 years I can tell you I have met all sorts of people and you know what people are people no matter how they identify we all eat sleep breathe require water oxygen and love having said that as a parent of three now grown children that Walk The Halls of these barnegate schools and as an educator schools must be a safe environment for all children that's all children not just the children that we understand and accept and approve of straight lesbian gay trans by queer questioning black indigenous people of color differently abled students autistic artistic athletic honor students trembled students children from all economic strata techies outspoken underserved and privileged all students all students must be protected and made to feel safe what you are doing here is hurting children you talk about barnegate one that's one community and you were specifically hurting our trans Youth and lgbtq population for what what is your endgame these policies cost no money they simply protect a group of people yes people who are 7.6 times more likely to commit suicide than their cisgender peers 7.6 times you are now deciding to no longer protect them but to open them up to ostracism and likely harm what's the matter with you didn't you all get involved in the Board of Education to help children I believe that you did I really do I believe that you did but why would you deliberately hurt part of this student body civil rights are human rights where has your Humanity gone and what cost I got it I'm wrapping it up B to get one if this policy could save one life it's worth it please please I'm imploring you to keep this policy in place I'm imploring you and lastly to the kids be who you are they will eventually get used to it thank you Russia um uh Phil I believe you're up next online okay thank you very much I appreciate the time to address the board uh first I want to thank the young people for coming forward and speaking their truth about their concerns about having this policy removed uh by way of introduction I need to acknowledge myself that I am a Public Health social worker a health education specialist at Ruckers University I've been an outg game professional for over 40 years I also was on the committee the advisory committee that drafted this poly and submitted it to the Board of Education approval to adopt the policy a lot of thought and consideration went into the forming of this policy what I'm hearing tonight in opposition to this policy is not evidence-based there is no research confirming the uh the comments that are being made that are just basically to instill fear the concern for educators should be that should you make a disclosure of a student sexual orientation gender identity or expression you are taking responsibility for whatever happens to them in their household that's why parental notification is not required because no educator no administrator no superintendent can guarantee the safety that a family will not have a negative reaction and they could and we do know children have been abused killed assaulted because of disclosing to a family in an unprotective unsafe environment their sexual orientation their gender their identity and expression I just want to add that I am very proud to be of New Jersey I'm born and raised here three generations in 1980 I met with Congressman Jim Howard and petitioned with him as part of a lobbying group to co-sponsor the National gay rights Bill Jim Howard who is a well-respected congressman in our state was the third co-sponsor of that National gay rights Bill why because he believed and I quote he believed in the Civil Rights of all the residents of New Jersey without exception therefore having this policy in place is to protect the rights and the well-being of all our students the other thing I wish to share with you very briefly and I know I'm limited with my time is I am the director of the LGBT sexual violence prevention um initiative and with funding from the Center for Disease Control we did our research in the state of New Jersey we did a public uh poll in 19 uh I'm sorry uh 2001 to 2002 with 356 individuals responding we asked a series of questions about concerns for the LGBT community ways to prevent violence what resources were available now of course I have a 20page document which I'm not going to read from but I'm going to share with you two key points which came out of our research and again this research was funded by the Center for Disease Control our ntion part of our national Healthcare delivery system of the respondents 63% believed there was little or no resources to help lgbtq youth that question was specifically asked for youth engagement we asked other questions for adult engagement and of course the numbers could be slightly different but 63% believed there were no resources that were available for LGBT youth the other side of the research also told us when it came to the safety and the well-being of LGBT youth 51% believe that they are highly vulnerable to assault the gay straight alliances that occur and occur and are are part of our soul system is one safe place yes there are others in our community but having that support in a school having a school that offers a safe affirmative and inclusive environment is key to the psychological well-being and development on Tuesday I will be speaking at the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Service Administration National offices in Bethesda Maryland and one of the highlights of my presentation will be discussing the importance of having school policies such as the one written here in New Jersey and I will be sharing that as part of a national platform to include the lgbtq behavioral health within our nation so I I I I'm just appalled I got to be honest now just appalled that people consider that this policy was not valid or not necessary to protect we know the high incidents of substance abuse we know the high incidence of suicide and we we know the high incidents of assaults and homicides that occur therefore let's keep the policy to protect lgbtq I believe my five minutes are up thank you thank you uh we have right here you you'll be the next ber Ken 28 carriageway barate New Jersey um my concerns are mainly from the parents point of you as I read this policy and Neuroscience has shown that a child's brain is not fully developed until the mid 20s and the portion that develops uh at the last you know at the end of this period is the prefinal cortex where decision making logic and such things occur so for parents to not be involved uh with children trying to make this decision uh is is a disservice to Children also parents are the first and primary educators of of their children not the school not the government and there's religious issues involved there too uh religious parents would want to know what's going on with their children and just at least from my understanding of this policy uh talked about giving transgender students the same opportunities to participate in physical education in accordance with their gender identity now it's been shown that basic biology that men are generally stronger than women and it puts the women at a disadvantage and increases risk of injury and finally the mention here of um all students are entitled to have access to restrooms uh in accordance with their gender identity parents don't want biological males in the bathroom with their daughters uh let's keep comments down everyone respected your time okay so that's that's some of the reasons I'm opposed to this policy and I don't have any further comments thank you again um I I'll jump to here again in the audience real quick hi Ron Naples Brighton Road barnegate um first of all Mr Sno I wanted to congratulate you on supporting the beastro program because I think that is going to be very very valuable in the school system and uh who cares if we use $60,000 in taxpayers money it's going to benefit the students Lord knows we've spent more to do less so that's good um it was a Funky Road but I'm glad we're here so that's good also um I know she's has left but I'd like to congratulate uh Jane havland I thought she was well spoken and really spoke truth to power and that's an indication of the education she's gotten and of course her parents because I think what she had to say I hope everyone took note of today because though I'm not into um you know dog whistles I think she gave you one tonight so I hope you listen to it um also I can't wait till Chris sits up here next year with you that should be very interesting uh I'd like to thank and Echo all the comments that were made especially our visitors coming electronically uh Lauren we love you thanks for uh being here tonight with us and um I think Chris spoke Danny I'm sorry um Danny uh I'm sorry I think Danny really stated it well from a student's perspective he's in the classroom now I'm a college professor I wish I could be a Cornell I taught there a long time ago but when Jane shows up I would love to have her in my classroom um but I'm not but I will tell you that when the students leave here and you think you know your children you don't and we have all raised adult children many of us they know who are long before we know who they are and they will come out to Safe spaces and they need their safe spaces and I really encourage you not to abolish this program because I get students at 20 years old who cannot talk to their parents and we are visiting the wellness center because they are in a social Quagmire they don't know what to do they are in college they're on their own their parents are four 5,000 or countries away and they are admitting to themselves are coming out for the first time in New York City and they need help wouldn't it be great if we sent a college student off to college knowing who they are with a strong social support system how can we deny them that I think you know we are moving backwards the country in general marginal Societies or marginal folks in our society need the help and no one told you better tonight not to abolish this program than those students who produce those posters and videos who do you think is going to drink and use drugs and commit suicide marginalized community members and you know what that's the lgbtq and transgender Society members who don't get the support they need so I hope you do not abolish this tonight thank you thank you Mr na um next we have Andrea [Music] online hello my name is Andrea LaVine and I live in Asbury Park New Jersey can you hear me okay yes can you just State your address though in Asbury Park please I I'd be happy to give um my address privately honestly the space that um the board is creating in this town um honestly doesn't make me feel very safe to to share my my address this entire topic is on thank you thank you so good evening to the board happy pride month to all who celebrate I'm actually Disturbed and sickened that we have to plead to you Bo members during pride month to recognize and protect the trans and non-binary students in your school Community I literally am praying that the lgbtq Pia 2s plus barnegate especially the students but also your staff your families and their allies who are logged in who are aware of your board policy who live in your communities who go to your schools um and all of their allies I truly pray and trust that they have other out lets in your community that are in fact safe for them seeing as how you the board are making a very clear and disturbing statement that all these groups of people that I just mentioned are not protected welcomed or valued in your school buildings I can tell you that I never saw any lgbtq visibility or representation growing up as a student in New Jersey now that I'm a teacher myself I know how important it is for me to create safe spaces in my classroom how important it is for me to be in compliance with the lgbtq curriculum mandate and to continue to do everything I can to advocate for keeping policy 5756 intact in schools across New Jersey in other words you could do nothing and just leave the policy as is we really don't even need to be here you just had to do nothing in this case why because professionals education professionals mental health care providers and parents let me repeat that again because I'm very very tired of people talking about parents rights because parents were involved along with education professionals to create this policy and a lot of us are coming into these rooms that don't have those backgrounds and anyway I'm getting off script let me go back to my script because you again you could just keep the policy who which was created by the proper people with proper education and professional experience and you just could keep it intact I will come back to my notes now so I want to pause with uh my statement and I want to share with you um the statement from a SE um from a um high schooler in Mammoth County um I'm leaving out her name and School uh for protection so this is now a quote from a trans student in Mammoth County New Jersey I'm one of those trans youth students who attends High School I was outed by my nurse and it caused a lot of emotional and physical abuse at home she did it without me knowing and then apologized to me I ended up getting sent to a homeless shelter and a hospital then I had more PR problems with my family transgender students such as myself should be able to go to the bathroom and not feel sick to our stomach every time we do I always notice myself having so much anxiety about being harassed and if this policy protects us why get rid of it I should be able to play sports with the with the gender ID I identify with without people having biased opinions this is why these policies are important for transgender youth such as myself I think my statement needs to be heard because it seems like they don't know their youth like me I couldn't um so any I will pause there that's the end of the quote from a trans student um there's so much I I I you know reiterate I piggyback after everything that has already been said um as a Trevor report statistics have have been shared one in three trans and non-binary student comes from um gender affirming homes this is why safe schools are so crucial um 5756 was designed to show districts how to comply with all the laws without violation how are you going to do that that if you abolish this guidance how are you opening your community up to being sued and lawsuits the lawsuits cost money you had a whole conversation earlier in this meeting about the money spent and you were explaining a lot about that and and I'm just not understanding like are you willing to spend additional taxpayer money for the violations that are going to come um again is that is that my time sorry I thought I heard something um I will end with this um as a teacher and I happen to also be queer I love this post that I saw a while ago so I I wanted to share this um this is a quote I'm a teacher if I had time to indoctrinate your children they'd be wearing deodorant and turning off their cell phones thank you happy Pride to those who celebrate thank you again anybody else in the audience okay I'll jump to the next Jennifer believe it is hi my name is Jennifer Ro I reside here in barate uh at three Bob stay Road I'm a parent of four two of which are currently in the school system and I work in the community as a registered nurse I'm board certified in emergency nursing as well as pediatric emergency nursing I volunteer as a court appointed special advocate here in Ocean County advocating for youth in foster care I'm a former foster parent of five years fostering over 10 kids approximately in that time period um miners in New Jersey already have uh or some miners in New Jersey already have the right to privacy in regards to certain treatments regarding their Mental Health drug drug and drug or substance abuse related treatments and as a nosy mom who wants to be involved in each of my kids' lives I also understand their desire and their need for privacy um we should trust a little that these kids know their parents better than us and I could understand maybe possibly you know trying to help or facilitate a conversation if and only when it is safe for the teen or minor and when they feel safe to do so with between that them and their parents uh because the fact is some of these parents will not be or be accepting you risk furthering harming the child mentally and physically um this is also clearly reflected in the uh lgbtq homeless percentage um uh trans you know they make up about 1% of the population but an estimated 20 to 40% of homeless youth are trans it's so they're so disproportionately represented um I I can uh confirm that this does happen here within Ocean County you know right now in Ocean County we are we have a a horrible housing and homeless crisis uh this would only you know repealing these types of things would only contribute to that and I also believe that this could potentially result in an increase in our suicide rates um and I agree I like what Goddess man said stated um you know if you do not like the way it is written uh a new policy should be composed before abolishing the old one um and that's it thank you again Jennifer next is Mrs cucha you have the floor hi everybody uh Michelle cinat 1211 West Mard Drive in manah hawen but um I have always called Barnette my home I've been there for 37 years and um I love barnegate um I think everything happens for reason so for me to be recognized at tonight's board meeting along with um what is going on with these policies um I'm just going to throw my two cents in as a an educator and school counselor and life coach for 37 years um children need to have a a safe place to figure things out to talk to people um I'm not saying that you know parents don't have a right to know um but I think that if the children can speak to someone in a safe place that person can try to help navigate how that child or how that teenager or how that college student can go about talking to their parents about things and coming out and being their true self so um that's what I have to say about that and um I just want to thank uh Brian and I want to thank the borate Township School District for allowing me to have 37 years of beautiful memories um I I thank uh George fedorek who was you know a student when I first came and I got to have his children in uh in school at the dumpy school and so many others in this district and it's just uh a wonderful place and I wish all of you the best and I will be back when my health is better and I will be volunteering hopefully with dogs um but Brian thank you for the opportunity that you gave me and thank for always always supporting me in everything that I did and Mr Sno thank you for your kind words and Board of Education thank you and that's it thank you m ginata again um do we have anybody else none online and seeing none in person can I get a motion to close public session please so move second R Miss Charney Miss konanza yes Mr fedorek yes Miss jeie yes Mr imonti yes Miss Levy yes Miss wasburn yes and Mr Sno yes closed thank you all right next items on our agenda is item 13 we have motions for finance number one through 11 I get a motion to approve those 11 please B moved second roll call M yes Miss konanza yes Mr fedori yes Miss jeie yes Mr ranti yes Miss leevy yes M wasburn yes and Mr Sno yes motion carried thank you under item 14 we have Athletics committee motions we have motions one and two get a motion to approve those two please all moved second roll call M attorney yes Miss konanza yes Mr fedorek yes Miss jeie yes Mr imonti no what number is this yeah Athletics one and two under Athletics Athletics oh Athletics I'm sorry uh yes yes okay Miss Levy yes Miss wasburn yes and Mr s yes all right motion carry thank you item 15 under education education committee motions one through eight a motion to approve those eight please so moved second W Miss jurny Miss contanza yes Mr fedori yes Miss jeie yes Mr imonti yes Miss Levy yes Miss wasburn yes and Mr s yes motion carried thank you very much item 16 on our agenda is education committee information information for the public uh nothing for the board to vote on item 17 on our agenda is governance committee motions have motions one through three I a motion to approve those three peras so moved second roll call Miss churny yes Miss konanza yes Mr fedori before I give my vote I just want to make a statement for the record um after much thought you know regarding this uh last month I had abstained uh I believe I abstained to motion number one as well as 2260 and motion number two uh I stand by my comments from last month school is supposed to be a safe space for our children it always has been a safe space for our children and not just our children all children um there wasn't a lot of discussion about this there's been a lot of argument about it a lot of argument a lot of personal comments there's stuff all over the news like you said Mr Sarno uh you know regarding you know the beasto same thing with this um I find issues with the policies the way they're written and I've said that before but it is mandated and if Strauss ese accident L put something out as a mandate then maybe we should be discussing that portion on who we're we're bringing in for our policies in the meantime we have a policy in play it is here it is here to protect the students and like I said I have some very real issues with some of the the verbiage that's in there and the way it is written but I think abolishing it puts not only us it puts our students at risk and I'm just not willing to take that liability I refuse to the way this needs to be done in my opinion is collectively as a board figure out what a policy should look like with the help of the administrators because like the gentleman that asked us because I know a lot of folks here did not ask the questions on what the faculty is going to do I have the confidence that our faculty and staff are going to do the right thing in the best interest of the child and the parents the child and the parents I do not for a second think that a single one of our faculty members is going to keep something like that to themselves unless it's absolutely necessary and the policy does not ban them from speaking to parents it just says that they don't have to and honestly that's something I've missed over the past couple months because I was definitely on the board of the and I'm all about parental rights before anything shows up in a flyer for next election because it's G to be there all right um I I am all about it fully support it but this is the wrong way for the board to do it collectively we should be coming together figuring out what that policy should look like getting other boards on board with that and challenging the state not putting the district and our students in a in a liable situation so with that I was an exstension last month um I'm a no no to number one motion number two I'm a yes rep policy 22 7510 but I am a no to 2260 I am a yes to motion number three thank you I'm sorry what were you a yes two on motion number two I gotta go back so motion number one no I'm a no on both motion number two I am a yes on policy 2200 7510 I am a no on 2260 thank you I am a yes on motion three Miss jeie yes Mr ianti before I cast my vote I want to mention that I am totally in agreement with Mr Fedor has said but I also believe that it is our duty and responsibility to protect all of our students no matter race color uh religious we should prot protect them uh and again as I said I agree with Mr fedori on the way we should approach it as a collective body um but again very important that we protect all of our students all all of the children no matter what and so for that uh for motion number one I vote no for motion number two yes for 2200 no for 2260 and yes for 7510 and yes for motion number three Miss Ley I too have a short statement I agreed with my two uh previous uh male um board members uh when I became a bnate board of education member I took an oath to perform my duties to the best of my ability I in included in my duties was that I would vote for a thorough and efficient education and work for that for every single student in barnan I would follow I I took the oath to follow all of New Jersey state laws including the law against discrimination which I believe is consistent with New Jersey Department of Education transgender student guidance School District and um New Jersey Law 18a 36-41 which includes policy 5756 with that in mind my vote for 2260 and 55756 must be a no my vote for motion two 22 is a yes 2260 is a no 7510 is a yes and motion three is a yes Miss wasburn yes and Mr sna uh yes on all three with f affirmative is all the motion carries you uh moving on to item 18 on Personnel committee motions we have motions one through 26 with the amended uh agenda I get a motion to approve 1 through 26 please so move second roll call can I can I ask one question before we get into the roll call I I meant to ask for a clarification ORS what are now 25 and 26 yeah we're okay with going forward with those that's the uh 24 is off yeah I'm calling 24 I'm sorry I'm I just re the other two were already discussed last one we were just waiting actually you have it right here on the finalized signed off on by both parties that's all so it's amended 24 24 on the agenda yeah 24 is going to Executive but we're fine with 25 26 because we did approve last time a new business um to offer I guess the settlement and now we are finalizing that's all we're doing just want to make sure wasn't we didn't need another discussion in Executive before for with it which I didn't think we did but no nope all good I apologize no no good to clarify thank you um so again back to 1 through 26 can I get a motion to approve those 26 please sure miss churny yes Miss konanza yes Mr fedorak yes Miss jeie yes Mr ranti yes Miss Levy yes Miss wasburn yes and Mr Sno yes motion carried thank you um next on our agenda is executive session you get a motion to move into executive session to discuss Hib reports and do our CSA final evaluation so moves second Lo Miss Journey yes Miss konanza yes Mr Fedor yes Miss jeie yes Mr imonti yes Miss Levy yes Miss wasburn yes and Mr Sno yes all right motion carried all right thank you we hope won't be too long order please you will be tired you're still over your Ro Miss Journey here miss konanza here Mr Fedor here miss jeie here Mr imonti here miss Levy here miss taraski oops she has him here all night Miss wasburn yes and Mr s here motion car all right thank you um under new business can I get a motion to approve the Hib incident report as presented in executive session by the superintendent so second roll call M churny yes Miss konanza yes Mr fedori yes Miss Genie yes Mr ianti yes Miss Levy yes Miss wasburn yes and Mr Sno yes motion carried thank you um under new business motion number two can you please motion to approve the employment contract for transportation supervisor employee number 6788 for the school year of 2425 as presented to the Board of Education a motion to approve that please so moved second roll call Miss Journey Miss konanza yes Mr pic yes Miss jeie yes Mr imonti yes Miss Levy yes Miss wasburn yes and Mr Sno yes motion carried and on a new business item motion number three and I get a motion motion to withhold their increment for employee 5117 for the 2425 school year motion to appr that please moved second roll call M jurny yes Mr K Miss I'm Sorry Miss Conta yeah it's a long night Mr fedori I'm a no Miss jeie yes Mr imonti yes Miss Levy yes Miss wasburn yes Mr Sno yes motion carried all right GNA get a motion to close the meeting please second R call Miss churny yes Miss konanza yes Mr fedori yes Miss jeie yes Mr ronti yes Miss Levy yes Miss wasburn yes and Mr Sno yes