the New Jersey public meetings law was enacted to ensure the right of the public to have advanced notice of and to attend the meetings of public bodies at which any business affecting their interest is discussed or acted upon in accordance with the provisions of this act the beler board of education has caused notice of this meeting to be published by date by having the date time and place thereof posted With The Star Ledger and The Express Times and submitted to the town clerk the town of beler on January 19th 2024 the meeting will be live streamed at www.bad .org we do the flag salute I pledge allegiance 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 all the mission statement of the Bader school district is to celebrate our past and Empower our future while focusing on the four corner stones of our district tradition Excellence academics and Community we strive to build confidence and promote collaboration we encourage it equal partnership with our students and staff as well as its community members we Empower everyone to develop the best version of themselves the beler school district is committed to shaping students into Global Citizens who take Initiative for their success and contribute to the continued Excellence of the district our students are leaders in the decision-making process of their education and will be prepared to excel in the 21st century Society roll call Shell Mr Akerman here Mr Blum here Dr zith here Mrs Duckworth here Mr Scott here Mrs stefen here Mr wenner Mrs wenner here Mr chiarelli here Mrs Gardella here Mrs ratham here we are going to without further Ado let Miss Kat introduce the Bel beler elementary school performance of Cinderella and and our kids I think have a wonderful performance all ready to go so miss [Applause] kpat thank you Board of Education members and Mr kruba for having us here tonight to perform the cast of Cinderella youth Edition is excited to show you a little preview of our hard work this year the musical was open to 3rd through 8ighth grade there's we have been working hard in rehearsal for the last several weeks if you would like to see the rest of our performance make sure to come out April 12th at 7:00 p.m. and April 13th at 1:00 p.m. tickets can be purchased at the door the day of the performances thank you again for supporting the Arts in our [Music] district the prince is giving a ball the prince is giving a ball the prince is giving a ball [Music] [Music] the prin [Music] is is giving a ball they say he wants to find a bride May the ball if only propos to me Prince is [Music] a [Music] and I wish I were a younger girl I wish I were an older girl the prince is giving a b the prince is giving a [Music] roal prince prince is ging a the prince is giving [Applause] [Music] a Cella come Cinderella on my chair what about my chair Cinderella Cinderella iron my dress I need it Cinderella lay on my new go for this evening Cinderella wash my gloves for tomorrow Cinderella it's freezing poke the fire Cinderella really Cinderella Cinderella really now my daughters I want to talk to you well not you I want to talk to my own daughters that girl always wants to sit down no wonder she never gets anything done as you all know the wall that the prince is giving is for one purpose only to choose a bride exactly and every girl in the Kingdom wants to marry the prince including you pora uh-huh and you Joy uhhuh on our sh talking to her today I have the most beautiful clthes with all the fills and F Fu my P could afford so whether or not you marry a prince you both must marry somebody this year yes yes ma'am now there's one thing you must remember when you want to marry a man you can't rely on your beauty alone our family has always been noted for its beautiful woman so now let's go get up be Sly I'm exhausted for all that shopping I'm all tired after going to store the store the way we did you're tired yes I'm tired and I suppose you think you're the only one to TI well who bought the most that has nothing to do with it it has everything to do with it go to bed both of you yes ma'am now you don't sit their deeping at me make yourself useful yes how can they so tired looking at all those beautiful things and buying so many of them I was too excited to be tired oh I love the when they've all gone out and there's no one else here but [Music] me [Applause] when I hear a command I obey but I know of a spot in my house where no one can stand in my way in my own little corner In My Own little chair I can be whatever I want to be on the wing of my fancy I can fly anywhere and the world will open its arms to me I'm a young noran princess or a milk I'm the greatest cread in Milan I'm an AR who has always had her made by her own block of silk worms in Japan I'm a girl and no man who loves a game I can play with a cool and confident kind of just a as I stay in my own little cor all alone in my [Music] chair I can be whatever I want to be I'm a slave in cata I'm a queen in Peru I'm a mermaid dancing upon the sea I'm a Huntress on an African Safar it's a dangerous kind of sport and yet it's fun in the night I tally for to see my glory and I find I forgot to bring my I am lost in the jungle allone and unarmed when I meet a lion is in her then I'm glad to be in myone in my own little [Applause] [Music] Jesus [Applause] thank you all very much thank [Applause] you great job guys before you leave thank you very much for sharing that with us tonight yes let people go CH I like it we had softball practice Mr Bartel Mr BTO I'm calling you from the front why don't we do all the presentations now too why don't you honor the wrestlers and the bowlers too and then we'll finish up with uh John and the National Honor Society it's clear house man all right wrestlers we're going to start with you I hope you guys are ready for your performance next you know I'm just kidding so uh I just want to brag about some high Achievers in our winter sports um again I we talked about it last board meeting but on June 5th at 6 o'clock we'll do our all sports award ceremony that's where we kind of focus on All Conference players uh you know 15th in the state all that kind of different stuff but um so to start out our wrestling team we had three individuals who placed in the top three at the district 11 wrestling tournament individually Pedro dos Santos got third at 175 so ped will Thomas took second at 2115 and Kyle Blue took first at districts at 190 that meant that they all made regionals um Kyle placed at regionals top four so well done which also in turn means that he made top 32 in the state of New Jersey went down to Atlantic City so Kyle has another chance to do it again next year as a senior next year so wrestling team awesome job coaches awesome job all right now uh talk about the bowling team in our inaugural season um you guys want to make your way up front wherever they are actually you guys can stay back there you guys want to stand up wave to the crowd you know so don't quote me on this but in the my tenure here as athletic director I believe this is the first team that made it to the sectional finals where they lost to North Arlington although it was a battle by only 150 total pins um most of the athletes on the team or we didn't have any seniors on the team so we expect to do some serious damage again next year so excellent job team sectional finals is is pretty impressive so one more round of applause for the team and then from an individual standpoint Mr Landon Stout had a pretty uh long list of accolades this year from an njsia bowling standpoint he had a perfect 300 game in game two at the sectional finals which is pretty impressive um he was first team all group one schools in New Jersey I believe there was five of them for group one so all group one first team and then third Team all state so he also made the individual tournament kind of like Kyle did in Atlantic City missed it bu a couple of pins but I expect him to win it next year so excellent job guys I'm done bragging thank you just want to want to say a couple things first of all um start with the wrestlers coach McIntyre and his staff have just consistently since I've been here but one of our strongest programs um and you can see again we're starting to come back up and I know coach uh puts in just a tremendous amount of time and effort and um I'm just so excited to see that we had somebody to go back to lanc city for the first time so congratulations the bowling team I think what Mr Barto failed to mention is two things number one is you guys this is my opinion have the coolest shirts that are out there right now uh and number two Mr BTO didn't tell you that you inspired him to brush off and get a new bowling ball so he's going to join a league to it's how much he of an inspiration you guys were to him but uh it's just great to see you know I think back to when Landon came to the board meeting earlier in the year to talk about bringing the program to to beler and what it became so congratulations to you guys for all that you did it's great work it's great to see what you were able to put together in a short time you get a lot to be proud of in a great future ahead so thanks for being here and and keep up the great work BTO coming back I know I shout out the wrestling coaches but I believe coach Tac is back here um I just he stepped up in a big way um um we are very fortunate to have um coaches like Dan and Greg in our program so again without them these kids wouldn't be where they are today so thank [Applause] you do I have to turn it on I can coach bowling but simple skills like turning on microphones not my forte uh without the support of everybody at the school uh from the athletic office to all the parents to the bowlers it would not have been possible to come together this year this was one of the uh this was one of the most amazing experiences I've been a part of and I can't wait to run it back next year thanks so much everyone okay while we're on the rooll of uh great things our students are doing I know we have a couple of students Mr Hoy here we going to talk about what's going on with the Leo club and National Honor Society service project so I think everything is set up for you guys all right oh there we go all right good morning everyone uh good oh my gosh I'm just as bad as play in my classroom good evening everyone so used to going through the morning routine uh my name is Matt Hoy I'm a social studies teacher here at beler high school I have the honor and PR privilege of being the National Honor Society adviser I took over for Pam Ginger who I'd like to give a shout out who gave over 20 years of service not just to our students in the science department but as NHS advisor um so tonight we wanted to take a moment to show you all the great work that our students have been involved with we have Gian who is our president of the National Honor Society and we're also going to hire highlight uh the achievements and everything that the Leo Club has done we have Alex here representing them they are represented and advised by my wonderful colleague Mrs Laura lney uh who is unable to be here tonight but I just want to give her a shout out and I'm gonna pass it off to Gian hi I'm GI Franciso for who's anyone who doesn't know um I'm this year's NHS president um so this presentation basically is just going through the activities that we've done um throughout this past year um just kind of highlighting the amazing service opportunities and um things like that all right so our first um event this year was during homecoming week um it took place on October 10th we raised over um $800 for families affected by the summer floods this year we did a stall day so basically kids just brought in any loose change that they could stalled their teachers at the beginning of each class period and we raised raised a good chunk of money for that um so our Chelsea visits are always ones that we um hold every year multiple times a year so our first one was on October 31st and then we went back again December 4th and then again on February 16th and we also have one planned for may also um so we do activities such as arts and crafts we paint their nails uh we do board games with the residents and we even just like sit and talk um it's really nice the residents are always very thankful a lot of them don't have visitors all the time so it's nice to see some nice faces um just interacting with them and we're also there in collaboration with the Leo Club here are some pictures from our events uh what was what we did this year um for in December we made Christmas cookies with them the residents enjoyed eating the cookies more than making the cookies but they enjoyed watching us make the cookies so it's always a rewarding trip and then on November 1st we held our induction ceremony where we inducted 23 new members um so very proud of that we have a lot of kids involved and then we held our blood drive on November 14th we partnered with Miller Keystone for that um we were able to collect 20 units of blood um with those who donated and that saved 54 lives which is a pretty cool thing and then also with the Leo club we hold Leaf raking every year the half day before Thanksgiving um we rake over 10 yards around beler um the Lions Club gives us a list and we basically go out we rake leaves for the day and it's just nice to clean up the community and make sure everybody's yards are taken care of and then in December around the holidays we collected uh wrapping paper for our local families in need um in collaboration with the Goodwill Fire Department's Toy Drive um we were able to get a good chunk of wrapping paper donated to help them wrap the gifts um for those families and then just uh last Friday was our model un trip um it's with the honors freshman and the P sophomores and some Juniors and seniors who would like to go so out of the um National Honor Society we have seven members that went uh myself included we were able we three members presented um and all three of those resolutions that were presented passed so that's pretty cool and then we're still holding tutoring um as we do every year um we have we have 10 members who are tutors this year for the middle school students and they're in subjects like uh English Math and Science and then our upcoming events uh we are hosting our women's leadership Round Table Friday at lunch um we have uh our very own Dr McKinny will be um on that panel and also uh mayor Myers is also joining us along with a few other women from the community and then our trivia night is also Friday night at 6:30 um it's going to be a fun night with a bunch of just random trivia um about some beler trivia just pop culture things like that so we're looking forward to a good night and yeah it should be fun so thank you guys for listening um and that's just all we've done this year so thank [Applause] you e I guess they uh of course I come up right when they finish up I just want to uh add on to all the amazing things that Jan was talking about we have another blood drive coming up on May 1st that is in-house so it's students and staff as well but if the board members would like to donate we can send you that information there as well um so we can add to that list of lives we're saving around our community so Eric's bringing this up and this is Alex and she's going to be talking about the Leo Club thank you Mr Ho um just briefly like Mr hoit said I am Alexander nicolopoulos I am our Leo club's president and I'm just going to be going over a bunch of the events that we do okay so starting with our Leo Club induction we are one of the biggest clubs in the school alongside FFA we have had many members join over the years I always have plenty of enthusiastic freshman was which is incredible and amazing and that's what really fuels the club and keeps it going and Lasting all these years so starting with our um badier Lions Club tree lighting beler always does a tree lighting around Christmas time and they ask us to come out with uh help out with their booths this year we have helped out face painting other years we have helped uh hand out hot chocolate and cookies these are some of the beautiful artwork that our Leos have done our Harmony Lions Club Christmas party this is a yearly thing that we do they always ask us to come help out we usually do crafts with the kids making ornaments simple things that they can give to their parents put on their trees something that can last forever a memory with them uh and just trying to get the kids involved make sure they have a good time our Leos always love it we love hanging out with Santa Claus it's amazing our Lions Club Easter egg hunt um okay uh every year we have one of our one of our Leos dress up as the Easter Bunny to come hang out with their children hand them candy give them high fives hugs um this is actually my brother he loves doing it he gets really into it makes sure the kids always have a smile on their face they get a picture if they want um just to really make that Easter time magical and that magic of the Easter bunny stay alive for them okay our alliance Club Leaf raking this we partner with NHS for we always have a big turnout uh all of our members are always very happy and excited to go out into the community and break The Lawns for some of our uh residents of beler that really aren't able to leave uh rake the leaves themselves so we come out and we help them as much as we can any Leos that have always like finished their houses early we always make sure that we go check in on everybody else and help out wherever we can before we're all done and then we get together and we have lunch our Halloween parade this is always a great time I know I have always had fun doing it what our Leos do is we usually either help direct the parade or we're keeping the kids in line trying to help things move along smoothly help out with the contest or hand out handing out hot dogs and like root beer at the end of the parade uh we kind of help keep the kids excited I know all of our Leos get really into it some of them dress up as well and some of our Leos even help out on the floats okay our trips to the Chelsea which again we do partner with NHS for we've had uh We've made a point to go once every marking period so so far we have done three once for uh October going around Halloween once for December kind of trying for that Christmas theme and then mon in February for Valentine's the residents absolutely love when we show up and our uh Leos and our NHS members get really into it and they enjoy the exper experience and they make sure that every resident has a great time a lot of our Leos even if the resident doesn't want to do a craft they sit there and they will talk to them the entire time learn about the resident's life uh all their past experiences gain knowledge from them it's a really great connection and a lot of them have formed bonds with some of the residents there and I know the residents absolutely love when we come cuz it it's a great thing for them to kind of break up all that regular boring kind of day it gives them something new and exciting okay our Lions Club chicken dinner this is hosted every winter we have uh lions come or Leos come out normally we're helping to uh pass out dinners help in the kitchen do the takeout orders trying to pretty much help out wherever we can help out the Lions trying to make sure it runs smoothly we also have our liance club diabetes walk we had a really great turnout for that we do our week of respect um and our teacher appreciation weeks as well so week of respect we normally give out some like kind of candy with a little note on it saying something positive uh for uh Teacher Appreciation Week we've given out candy before trying to give like teachers positive letters let them know that we appreciate them for all of what they do do other things we do is the golf toober Fest most Leos they will help out uh at the holes or they will help handing out like refreshments and stuff to all the players another big event that we have is the Special Olympics um we have a lot of Leos that go out they always have a great time uh I try to get some of the track athletes out there too to get that kind of experience they're there to really uh help the athletes walk them out time events help things run a little smoothly hand out snacks it is always a great time for them and we always help out with the white Township trun or treat as well um upcoming events we have our women's History Month what our Leos have done is taking it upon themselves to write a personalized letter to all of the female staff within the school whether that be people on the board of education administrators or just their teachers what we really wanted to do in instead of just saying something simple like you do a good job as a teacher I love what you do it was to be more personalized kind of make our teachers and uh administrators tear up a little with that really Personal Touch and we've gotten many emails back from uh these ladies saying how much they loved and appreciated it and how they actually felt that appreciation coming from our students which was really amazing and that's exactly the kind of effect we want to go for in Leo club we want to make a difference we want to help out the community and do a good good job while also getting that great experience for ourselves is it so thank [Applause] you thanks Alex and Jana for speaking Mr Hoy for bringing them to you know to the meeting tonight um I can tell you although not a female staff member I know most of the female staff members that I know that got that personal letter it really was touching um I think most of them did absolutely shed a tear and I think you know when we do this what we do at for our careers whether it's the teachers the administrators we don't often get letters like that so when you do it really means a lot I I had said to someone I got a little handwritten note from a from a father in uh in 2000 I still carry because it just usually means that much so thank you for doing that I know they really really appreciate it and thank you for do in the community I think that's a great presentation and again just between what we saw between the three different presentations of who we are as County seeders and I think it's just a great representation of our students so thank you all for coming out yeah thanks again all right back to our meeting so we're going to do committee reports uh instructional counsel you have anything on that one trying to think it's was a couple weeks ago it was um I know we talked about um talked about discipline in the high school was one of the topics we talked about and just some some fresh ideas there we also discussed um the MD life skills program um I can tell you that I did start working on that um Grant this week um it's pretty detailed but I think we'll have it Miss Mel and I are actually going to sit down tomorrow for at length to try to fill in a lot of the questions so I think those are the two major topics am I missing anything from instructional Council I did get an email from Judy she's gone out and uh she's checking out the colleges that have that life skills program so we can model ours to fit the kids into what they want you give us more data on the high school discipline can I plead the fifth um I think we just had an overall General conversation I can't it was a couple weeks ago let me check the notes Mr Blum I'll send them back out and and do that to I don't think we had necessarily anything specific but just more of a general conversation most about yeah tardies and lates and and and those are the two big topics to talk a little bit about vaping in the bathroom and some ideas that we have to combat that but I'll send those notes back out right sh you want to talk about Finance we had a finance committee meeting just before this board meeting um yeah we just met and we reviewed the the final draft of the preliminary budget um we did receive almost $200,000 as a state aid increase um which was unexpected but very welcome um and we also received about $60,000 to our preschool budget so with that additional funds um as well as a change in our medical um estimated increase for 2425 as well as some other little tweaks we were able to add back any potential cuts that we had previously had in our first draft um and we were going to not rehire a couple positions because of attrition and retirement but we were able to put um a new hire back in even um am I missing any of the main points main point is run a good position it's good news yeah it was good news yes yeah all right so personel we're going to do that in exact right okay so uh I need a motion a second just real I'll talk about policy because we don't formally meet we just send the policies out um so we you know quarterly we'll get a update from St estimate which we got uh back in February so the board the board policy committee got the first chance to look at those we do first reading tonight and then if there's any questions specific to policies please forward them to me or one of the policy members on the committee and we can have it answered before it goes into second reading or full adoption at the next meeting so there was there was a few of them that were out there for first reading so we'll make sure everybody has those copies but I think they're in this packet yeah they are okay so I need a motion is second to go into executive session for personnel Hib and AG grievance any discussion held by the board which need not remain confidential will be made public as soon as practicable minutes of the executive session will not be disclosed until the need for confidentiality no longer exists the board will reconvene in reconvene in public session at the conclusion of the closed session in approximately 20 minutes or so I can I get a motion in a second motion all uh in favor I opposed extensions all right we'll go back down to the other room ready John anybody for public participation no going once going twice sold correspondent sh she's more fun than I am I have a letter here um please accept this letter as my formal request to retire from the Bor School District effect of July 1 2024 this request is subject to the approval from the state of New Jersey Division of pension and benefits and that I am eligible and approve for a full service retirement I would like to thank you for everything over the years especially for allowing me to transfer to the elementary school in 2016 that change was a major positive for me and I will always be grateful for it additionally I would like to thank my supervisor Mr Christopher carabinas bees principal for being an amazing boss cooworker and friend I would also like to say thank you to our board of education for this career opportunity moving forward I wish everyone at the Bel School District the very best sincerely Helen Godless okay that's it superintendent report all right I shut off for a second there I just wanted to mention a few more things um obviously we had some great presentations tonight and a great way of celebrating our students um I did want to mention I sent this out in the weekly update last week but I do want to say it publicly uh last week uh we had the opportunity to see Mrs Smith's third grade class do their wax museum um presentation um it was I can't put into words how awesome it was um to see all of her kids that had taken time to research a person from history or even even um a modern person dress up like that person and the idea was at the Wax Museum that they wouldn't talk to you unless you hit their press here button um and there were just some some great presentations my two personal favorites um not to offend anybody whose son might have been in the class but uh there was one there was one who did Commander Shackleton who was the first person to well not the first person but explored Antarctica at length um which was great to see and then second was um I got into an argument with one student who was dressed up as Tom Brady who said he was the greatest quarterback of all time um him and I didn't really see eye to eye on that but but it was it was a great it was a great uh presentation the kids were so excited um I think it's one of the the most well- attended parent opportunities I've seen since since I've been superintended it was just it was just an excellent um hour in the in the media center so thanks to Mrs Smith and her class they just did a great job I stopped in um the day after um to to congratulate that I'm a job well done and to argue with Tom Brady so um it was really great and then there's just some other things that go around Mrs Mrs ehos and her um MD class uh they do periodically was called Joe on the go where they bring coffee around to the teachers and the staff they did that last Friday uh right before St Patrick's Day students were dressed up with their um leprechaun gear on and just made some some excellent coffee and it's just great to see the interaction with them and again there's just there's just moments when and even tonight when you're we remember why we do what we do um and why we're all sitting around this table why our teachers are here and you know why the administrators do what they do and it's just great stuff um and then that afternoon Dr mckenny and I with Mr carabinas his help we had a professional uh development Workshop where Dr mckenny and I did some TED Talks so if you're familiar with the Ted Talk Ted Talk format um we we jumped in on it um we were going to actually see whose was better mine um but we had a great time with the staff it was really really well done really well received and I think the staff enjoyed it just something different a little more light-hearted rather rather than some of the heavier PD that we do um I'm going to jinx it but I'm going to mention the weather we've had a pretty good run since uh early February we have one more snow day to use if we don't use it we will be off the Tuesday after Memorial Day just so everybody knows that that's specific um I feel like if we get through the next week we'll be in we'll be in business spring break starts uh next Thursday's a half a day early dismissal and then we're off uh from Friday through the follow rest of the following week and lastly and unfortunately she's not here tonight our student repres representative Michaela barrier she was chosen uh to represent beler last week at the first annual Warren County School boards Association unsung heroes presentation um it was a great great presentation the uh all the schools in the county for the most part representative depending on what your highest grade in the district was so for us obviously 12th grades our highest Harmony had an eighth grader um hope had a sixth grader there even though you guys go to eighth grade White Township had an eighth grader so it was really a great presentation um back mckenny was able to go up and speak about Michaela um and you know for those that know Michaela she doesn't she does a ton of great work around here it's just great to be have her recognized at the county level so uh it was really a great evening great presentation and hopefully they continue to do that and that's my report just FYI I talked to a couple teachers who thought those TED Talks were phenomenal best PD ever in the district is what I heard so good job and I think just won that's that's what I heard all right Tom Brady Tom Brady no no no no no Tom Brady I'm not a Tom Brady fan either all right back to the agenda policy can I get a motion in a second for policy items one through 16 motion second questions for Chris on any of this no no discussion all right all in favor I opposed extensions all right Personnel can I get a motion and a second for agenda items 17 through 21c you have an add you have a couple of add-ons to this one motion that second somebody second questions I do have a question on 21A yes coverage we are L working on that um Dr mckenny was at a workshop yesterday and Monday and she just came back to find out that news this morning so we are working on that we'll have a plan in place shortly if I could just mention too real quick um the retirement of Helen godleski um Helen is Helen Helen and I started working together day one when I became High School principal um I can probably go on for an hour about Helen and what she's meant to the district to myself as an administrator um I would challenge somebody to find a harder working person in this District than Helen um she has given her all to beler for her 20 plus years that she's been here she's filled almost every position that we've had admin Administrative Assistant wise um she's been a great match with Mr carabinas uh in the well belador Elementary office um I think the world of Helen uh when I saw her last week we were talking about it you know her she' said to me she which I didn't remember 12 ago she said she hoped I was still here with the day she retired so it looks like I'm going to make that Helen but um Helen is Helen is just one of a kind and she will be greatly missed and I think Mr M carabinas would agree with that um so I just want to thank Helen publicly for everything she has done I know she still has a couple of months to go but um Helen has done great work for the for the community of Bel so she'll be greatly missed any other questions or discussion on items 17 through 21c roll call Shell Mr Akerman yes Mr Blum yes Dr zeith yes Mrs Duckworth yes Mr Scott yes Mr Stefan yes Mrs wenner yes Mr chiarelli yes Mrs Cardella yes and Mrs ratham all right motion a second for uh education items 22 and 23 motion second how many questions or discussion on those no okay all in favor I opposed extensions all right business items we have items 24 through 26 you have add-ons for this one 20 27 no sorry 20 why did you put those in the middle sh 25 and you're up to 29 and you have 25 and 2 six are on the well it's just some updates some changes in red are the changes yes all right let's try this again Motion in a second for agenda items 24 through 29 with changes to 25 and 26 motion second questions discussion no all right all in favor I I I those abstentions all right continuing business since Mrs Duckworth can't really speak tonight I'll ask her a question for her um Third Street update my question well she's sort of taking it over um been back and forth with the uh appraiser that did our work for us um I talked to him on the phone probably two weeks ago try to get get an update he actually on the phone said it was good news that they rezoned it and he was going to send me an updated appraisal which he had not done so I reached out to him today and he's expecting to be paid to update his appraisal so we were discussing it in finance as to whether or not we wanted to continue or look for a new appraiser um probably be S more simple just to work with him um so we're hoping by the next meeting we'll have what the updated appraisal is of Third Street any updates on regionalization yes um we have been in contact with the Consulting Group um Dr Green has sent out a few emails in fact I got one just before the meeting and they're in in the process of getting Gathering all the data from the districts right now um in fact the one today came up with student demographics uh you know for the last I think they're looking at it from 2016 forward as far as uh students in each building so um they are well on their way uh we expect another update from them sometime in the middle of April and they're actually at the point where they could submit for their first round of payment if they so desire okay any other continuing business we're still looking at August possibly they're very much on target for August I have the acknowledgement a receipt for the code of ethics presentation that Mr crout did for us two meetings ago yes so I'm going to pass those around so each of you could sign that um youed in the code of ethics presentation that would be great sorry all right new business Biz um I just want to just see if how people feel about tightening up cell phone use in schools uh there's so much that happens in districts and I think a lot of students have their phones out in the hallways have their phones out in C classrooms cafeterias I mean we've seen a lot of issues with it that have come up um there's many districts where students have to keep those cell phones in their lockers um I know our district is very strict about it and I understand that as a parent and I have students in the district that yes I would want them to have something to contact me if there's an emergency but they have their teachers uh we have the all call system I'll beler emails me every day no uh it I know that that that and I trust the district that if there's something happening I'm going to know about it and there's going to be other avenues than students having their phones on them it leads to a lot of issues and I just want people to think about it and think and and I I talked to someone today and and they said we don't need to wait till a new school year something bad can happen with cell phones now a pictures can get sent around that and I don't know it's just it's a scary place and I do think it does need to get tightened up and some new things put uh into place that's all I want to say about that I will agree with that I hope we tighten it up what do we do with cell phones now is it just kids have them all the time it's different by building um I don't know that we're prepared I don't want to call on the administrators without you know really talking about it but for the most part in the elementary school they're put away um they have like a basket they all put it in or something uh the calculator pouch thing high school it's going to vary a little bit too by by classroom but we can we can talk about it we'll bring it up in curriculum we have a curriculum meeting scheduled the next two weeks we'll bring it up gonna talk about that to go along with that sorry about my voice everybody um I was kind of wondering if I know at the beginning of the school year they go over all the discipline rules but here we are in March how much of that has been remembered like when we come back from like some of the breaks like even maybe Christmas break or something do we need to do a reminder to some of these kids to go over the rules again because it seems like the further and longer we get in the the year number one they're not enforced as much in some areas and number two they're just don't think about them like bring back some of that reinforcement from what we did in September if something like that would be helpful moving forward for the the second half of the school year even maybe even after break is coming up spring break everybody's crazy coming back from spring break could we do something like that maybe sort of my thoughts I'm getting at least one head nod head from the back of the room somewhat too there you go all right I have one thing for uh new business I want to read questions have been raised regarding a notice of intent to subcontract that was recently sent by the district to the Bea and filed with the public Employment relance Commission no final decision has been made to subcontract any position at this point as part of the budget process and due to the difficulty in filling certain positions the board May cons may want to consider the option of subcontracting by law before the board can could take action to subcontract it is required to give the association 90 days notice so that it has the opportunity to meet with the board and discuss the decisions to subcontract and to engage in negotiations over the impacts that it might have again no final decision to contract has been made and the board looks forward to discussing the issue with the association can I comment on that sure and again uh I say this knowing that it's an idea of Outsourcing the AIDS and custodians it's just an idea that's that's all it is right now but um I have personal experience and i' I've seen the attempt to Outsource a CST team and substitutes and firsthand how it negatively impacted um our special education community and and the students and the teachers and the administration the stress that it put on everyone um also there's no guarantee that that aids are going to sign up to to work for a place that's Outsourcing to our district they give their heart and soul here and uh for not a lot and I just think that we need to really think about it um the exper I've seen just show that you don't get the quality that that you need especially in our district with what we want it to be you're not going to be able to Outsource that from a company uh you you've got to find that in your area we've got to go out and look for it um I don't want to see what happens in other schools Happ us and that's it okay all right we're at the point one more one more thing I have on the something too May 7th of 2024 is the public hearing for the 2025 school year budget right originally it was scheduled for May 8th but we had to change the meeting to May 7th due to the election calendar for when we have to hold our public hearing by so please notate that's going to be Tuesday May 7th I have one more thing for new business if anybody got to see the musical by the high school last week it was fabulous the putham County Spelling be our students were awesome the directors were awesome everybody came together to put on a great show and if you missed it I'm sorry you missed it because it was wonderful and we even had a bunch of alumni comeback to support their fellow actors and students that ended up on stage as volunteers and it was great it was really really good I just real fast I just wanted to on back up a little bit with the discipline and um talk a little bit we discussed it earlier with some concerns with vaping and the schools and things of that nature um and how we're going to address it so I know we talked a little bit about putting putting in some um new new plans in place on how to address that so I just you know wanted to bring that up because I was going to bring it up in um new business so I just wanted to approach that but we are looking into that and some new tools to really get a handle on The Vaping problem in the school good anybody else got anything all right so we've reached the point in our meeting for public participation is anybody have anything Joe go ahead hang on Joe get the microphone we can hear you but the people at home cannot I know uh just uh one question with your preliminary budget do you have any idea at this point what the impact might be on the resident tax structure I haven't received the updated ratables yet for Bader but I'll have that information for the public hearing thank you very much oh one more comment if I may uh just to follow up on what this gentleman said about Outsourcing I tend to agree Outsourcing is not definitionally good um you put yourself at the at the mercy of the profit motive of some other foreign company and it just really uh breaks tie between your own personnel and what you're trying to accomplish so I think I agree with that thank you anybody else Eric you want to just start passing it over there bring them up can you tell us who you are of course my name is Meredith Perkins my son is um in the elementary school I'm also the president of the badier elementary PTO and my associate officers over here and I um thank you by the way for giving us this brief moment to speak we um like to plan fundraisers at the elementary level um apparel sales and at our most recent discussion about an apparel sale we were wondering hey does the elementary school have a mascot um we reached out to Mr carabinas and discovered well yes we do it is a cougar so now you're all well informed um that it is a cougar um we are just coming here to ask if there can be some like uniformity with a mascot between the elementary side and the high school side um to kind of bring us together as more of a you you know harmonious Community um mascot speaking um I know the the cedar nation is big in the high school um I believe their mascot is raccoon yes okay Bandit Bandit Bandit Bandit okay wasn't sure um and I didn't know if maybe we can have um the elementary side aligned with the high school side um so we're just bringing this to the board just some food for thought um so that you know during our we can represent a mascot and have some sort of identity over at the over at the elementary level um and to to display a mascot around the building um so that's just what we're coming here with tonight and hopefully we can maybe move forward with getting some sort of mascot um eliminating the cougar and getting something that can bring us together um as a school Community thank you excellent idea thank you you'll take care of that I think it was interesting before Mr bone speaks that just here on the panel nobody really knew about the cougar Mr aan thought that Bandit was a badger so you can can tell that we probably do need some uniformity I think your point is well taken Mrs Perkins no Bandit is a raccoon bad drawing of of a badger they thought it was a raccoon like when it was first would make sense I think Bandit need a baby brother that's what I think there you go goad mrone yeah give Bandit a baby brother awesome you have a lot yeah but the elementary school kids can't be the baby Bandits sister maybe a baby sister yeah yeah so I'm going to wear two hats so My First Hat Carolyn S my name is Carolyn cbone my son is in the elementary school U my first comment is as the treasurer of the beler Education Foundation I didn't notice it in your board report but I just wanted to make note that um the beler Education Foundation presented their Grant and Grant applications to the administration I believe last week I know Mr carabinas did um send it out and I believe uh miss m needed as well to the staff so um all of those applications have been I believe sent out to the teachers and we're hoping to have some applications in by the end of June so that we can submit and offer some grants to the beler staff for the beginning of the school year for 2024 okay my mom hat I just want to say that I also agree with Mr acrian on the cell phones my son has a cellone phone I can tell you he is texting me during school hours so I know that they're not away and to um Melissa I know your name I'm sorry your official name Mrs Duckworth point I think last year in the beginning of the year was really strict and laid out that we had to sign forms and I do kind of feel that that fell to the Wayside this year and I've noticed a difference in the disciplinary from last year to this year so um I do kind of support bringing that back back in so hello um my name is Amanda gransky this is my husband Stephen um we uh just wanted to come and introduce ourselves and we understand that a plan has been brought to you all and we wanted to explain a little bit about where it came from um our daughter is Madison she is in her second year here uh of prek and some of you may know her or have seen her she has cerebral paly but she is only um affected by muscular lace so she uses Mobility AIDS like a walker or crutches to get around otherwise she is in the regular Ed classroom at all times and thus she likes to try to keep up with her peers and do everything that they do now when we came to our first IEP meeting back in 2022 before several months before she started one of the things that we had asked about was the possibility of making the playground a little bit more accessible and inclusive for her um now one of the things about cerebral paly is that people with cerebral paly expend twice if not more energy than the rest of us and pulling her walker through the mulch out there is one of the things that will really you know tire her out real quickly um and replacing that with I believe you have a plan uh for port in place pavement um May I brought a couple pictures um these are pictures of sorry if you want to take one and pass it these are just pictures of some inclusive um playgrounds around the state mostly and we and I mainly was putting on there the differences between the mulch and the poured in place uh Rubber and while there are inclusive playgrounds like these popping up all around New Jersey and worldwide that's kind of a big overhaul we're not really asking for that right now but I just wanted to share you know some of the pros of having that kind of um that kind of flooring uh not just for Maddie but for everybody you know the reduction in the maintenance needed for the upkeep of the um of the mulch thank you um I brought talking notes because I'm not a good talker but um you know it can have the mold and mildew from excessive water it can be washed away it just needs to be maintained all the time you know trip hazards from the pits and and Hills that are made I know a lots of parents would probably appreciate the children not throwing it at each other when they play you know all those lovely things um and we understand that there has been a plan presented to you guys so we were just wanted to come explain about you know where that came from and and who we are and why that would mean a lot to us and our daughter as she's nearing the end of her second here here to kind of be able to play with her friends a little bit more easily so thank you for your time and for listening thank you address that yeah I can address that uh first of all you did a great job speaking you said you're not a good speaker you did a really good job um yeah we it's actually interesting because I know we we had talked about that Mr carabinas had brought it up a couple of times um I was in a meeting with teachers um probably about three weeks ago Mrs chrisop fo is one of the teachers and she brought it she she brought it back up and I talked to Mr Kennedy about it our our our head of Maintenance and it's it's it's in our plan um I'm probably assuming later in the spring it'll it'll start to get worked on and then by the time we get back in the fall it should be all set so and in fact we're talking this morning one of our budget meetings about money put aside for that so we do we we first of all appreciate your patience um I know you said you finish her second year and by the time we come back next year it'll be ready to go so um but thanks for bringing it to the attention um I think it's one of those that we were talking about a lot in the fall and then winter came and sort of went this way and now it's back on the plate but um we appreciate you coming out and saying that we we'll make sure that happens thanks anybody else have any public participation thank you good evening Chris M coil Association president just like to take a moment to again readdress the issue of subcontracting hear you Chris I don't know if you're not speaking into the microphone or it's not on I we have this electric panel behind us okay I can definitely be louder good evening Chris M coil Association president I just like to take a moment to talk about the subcontracting that came up recently it was put before us uh through the uh public employees Relations Committee recently um that has obviously caused a lot of concern amongst my members of our association in the waning months of the school year here and what impact that might have on their jobs I would like to just remind everyone we do have those positions filled they're filled with members of our community your community they're helping the youngest members of our community I think just as we've already heard from several other people in this room tonight it would do best to remember what we do have work with what we have rather than thinking that something can be better than what the people that we already know we look forward as an association to working through this situation with you in the coming weeks as we continue to negotiate thank you very much thank CHR thank you anybody else all right that is it can I get a motion and a second to adjourn motion second meeting adjourned all in favor hi opposed extensions go home