evening and welcome to the Board of Education meeting on February 27th 2024 um I'm call the meeting the order in compliance with the open public meetings law of New Jersey notice of this February 27th meeting 2024 of the bridge rton Regional Board of Education was posted electronically on the district website provided on January 3rd and provided on January 3rd 2024 by signing the the annual written notice to The Courier News Star Ledger Bridgewater toown clerk Ron bur Clerk and by posting on the Bolton board in the harman v Wade Administration Building you don't mind would you please stand or join me in the Pledge of Allegiance I pledge of Al to the flag of the United States of America and to the Republic for which it stands one nation under God indivisible with liy and justice for all thank you Mr Stars can you call the role Please Mr here Mr Mr Pepe here miss Freelander here Miss Lee Mr Joi here miss kri here Mr singer here M lran here Mr Walker present thank you um and we have we have a quorum so we can continue um first up on the agenda is the student representes report Iris good evening everyone I'm supposed to be joined by CA today uh but I think she may be running a little late so I can get started without her with that yeah so we are going to start by honoring a few high school students as you know the academic League team is already here but moving on we also have three art students Jennifer Sophia and Amelia who will have their Works displayed at The Morris Museum besides that two wrestlers diardo and hanasco qualified for the state wrestling tournament so we wish both of them good luck in Atlantic City besides that we have some exciting news about the arts program firstly Broadway night is happening tomorrow so that's something great to attend if you're interested in the theater program and the Central Jersey music educators Association Orchestra Festival is tonight along with that the Festival of the Arts for chorus and the orchestra will be happening in mid-march besides that we have a few cultural updates to share we have China night happening this Friday organized by the Chinese National Honor Society which is a great way to get out and experience Chinese culture and Cuisine besides that salsa night hosted by the Spanish National Honor Society will be happening on March 15th the student verse teacher volleyball game was a great success on February 23rd and I'd like to report that the students won even though it was a very close game also last month a junior by the name vzi vula published a book on Amazon about human immigration Injustice he interviewed four immigrant families and you can purchase his book on Amazon which is an incredible accomplishment by one of our high school students this week we have the week of inclusion so students and teachers can dress up during the school day with different themes in order to promote inclusivity as well we have the districtwide wellness week coming up later this March so teachers will play different videos for their students really promoting health and wellness amongst the student body across all the schools in Bridgewater bariton course scheduling has just occurred for the underclassman there have been a few changes to the program of studies we've recently introduced concentrations which is a great way for students interested in certain career paths like business and computer science to see what courses are available for them lastly it is easier to sign up for AP classes now because we've introduced something called AP potential this was exactly why all of the high school Stu underclassmen took the PSAT so for students who do not meet the prerequisite grade for an AP class those students can still sign up for the AP classes that they are interested in if they score well enough on the PSAT and if this indicates their AP potential this is a great way for students who may not have self-confidence in these AP classes to get exposure to college level education and that'll be it for the student report I did have a question can you give the title of that book again um I believe it's human immigration Injustice and then there's a subtitle but I can check it out on Amazon okay and the prowler is online correct right so you have it there's a digital version of that also so do you want to add anything there's anything she forgot you can come back and come back later but thank you we had we start to appreciate you guys coming I just have a quick question you you were talking about the um China night and the salsa night is that like for families or is it for students you know um I think it's um available for everyone so anyone can can come in if they right yeah so everyone can come in and it's after school but they're on two separate days so the CH China night is um organized by the Chinese National Honor Society and then Sal nighted by the Spanish National Honor Society and uh what you mentioned the the Broadway night that's tomorrow and that is that the theater department or well what is Broadway night it sounds like fun acquire thank you thank you yes I think that answers the question it's the choir Department like showcasing got their Department thanks dodgeball yeah there's a dodgeball tournament coming up um this one is just like a bunch of students signed up for and they're going to be playing against each other we attempted to compete last year but I think we we didn't make it for fulltime even so we we tried next up with the superintendent report Dr fonder Mr Mr beerus has is not able to come Mr Dr fonder is filling in at the moment for this evening and Mrs and and Mrs Jones yeah so uh we the superintendent report is only uh one item and it's the recognition um Mr Walker did you want to read the proclamation and then we'll present the student certificates sounds good I have a proclamation to read Bridgewood raron School District Board of educ ation Proclamation whereas the hard work dedication sportsmanship talent and exceptional team chemistry of the 2023 2024 Bridgewater Ron High School School academic League team has enabled these students to earn a county championship title whereas winning the 2024 somerson County academic league tournament brought onon to Bridgewood Ron High School on the on the local County and county level whereas the adviser alen araki and the entire team members parents faculty and student body the Bridgewater RIT and high school were integral in guiding the team to Victory through their unwavering sport now therefore be it resol be it hereby resolved on behalf of the board of educa Bridgewater raron Regional School District Board of Education administr and administrative staff I Barry Walker board president do hereby recognize and conr congratulate the members of the 2023 2024 B BRS academic team for their achievement as Somerset County Champions resolve this day this 27th day of February 2024 the board officially recognizes the accomplishments of this educ of this educator and team of students and calls upon the school committee to join us in the celebration do I have a motion motion second there second all those in favor I I motion passes thank you very much congratulations and now um Mr rocker you could join me up here we have some certificates uh in addition to I believe now all the students are here is that right oh great wonderful uh we also have the team advisor so Dr araki would you be able to join us as well to congratulate the [Applause] students Mr Walker is gonna get the resolution to give that to you and then he's going to uh hand the certificates out this is the official copy the one that's read by Mr Walker this is the I have a copy of it here but this this is the real the real stuff thank you so much all right you should be in the order that I'm going to read out the name so it should should work out well uh congratulations to all the students I'm presenting on behalf of Mr beers the superintendent unfortunately he couldn't be here tonight but uh he sends his regards and we're all very proud of you uh so I'm going to uh start off by saying after you get your certificate you can sit back down but not for long because then we're going to do a group picture afterwards and so we're going to quickly do that and I know some of you have places that you have to be right away after that so we promise it'll be very quick uh First Timothy [Applause] Gaffney congratulations Rea Gandhi congratul Jonathan [Applause] jentis congratulations good University right TIffany [Applause] Lee congratulations Thomas Pinson congratulations Levi poliakov congratulations Marcus beerelli congratulations thank and Ryan [Applause] Wen congratulations conrat congratulations again to all the students and to the adviser thank you and uh what we're going to do next is uh all the students the adviser and the Board of Education members are going to go take a quick picture and then the students you can head out from there especially if you're in a rush because I know some of you are heading right back to the high school so congratulations again for still I have a quick presence report um we have strategic planning on Thursday at 7 o'clock to middle school again invitations went out to everyone who attended previously and the others um for those I know some of us had the opportunity to read at Crim today they're still looking for people so if you still spots in the schedule please fill them in I had the experience to be actually an evacuation drill while I was there so the drill went on today so it was kind of fun yeah I was like I was leaving so I got to like kind of go right out when that happened so we had an evacuation drill on that so other than that that's all I have to see vice president's report Chen um so upcoming for March on the board planning calendar uh submit tentative budget by March 20th plan academic calendar for second F uh for second following year and strategic planning meeting and that's it there's two things I noted are come in March I'll give you a heads up on we'll have our ethics training and Hib training I think it'll be the last meeting in March so just two all of things for the calendar there next up uh Community reports Mr Joshy academic meeting the uh committee met on February 22nd at 5:30 in attendance were myself Mrs kist Mr Pepe Mr Walker Mrs Jones and Mr beers uh first item on the agenda was to set our committee goal and our um revised committee goal um now reads to assist the full board in better understanding The District's academic plans and curriculum initiatives and to continually address areas for growth while capitalizing on the strengths of all Learners across the district um so that's the new committee goal item two on the agenda was uh preliminary curriculum budget uh Miss Jones reviewed um how the curriculum um permanent allocation is planned aligned to District goals and then distributed the permanent allocation includes materials and resources textbook adoptions summer curriculum writing and projects and professional development uh funds support all content areas and grade levels any questions on that third item on the agenda was the uh update uh option two Miss Jones reviewed option two status and purpose Miss Jones clarified the purpose of uh option two for PE which is to replace PE with a steady hall for eligible students who apply and are participating in a sport it is not to provide um an online PE option going forward forward students will also need to take a district exam after completing an option two course on site to ensure student Readiness and uh success in subsequent coursework so that's the update AJ I have a question on that yeah um are those two separate statements regarding the the district exam is that District exam for PE or is that District exam for courses that you take outside of District the district exam could be for any course that you take outside of the districts um so specifically right now so this is already in the policy by the way the one that we hope to abolish which I'll address in a minute um but right now captured in that policy is the idea that if you're taking a course outside of the district we could still have you take our own assessment just to ensure that you're prepared to take the subsequent course so a good example for this would be like you know geometry if you take geometry we may need to see that you have the skills that are necessary to go on to take whatever course that is that follows up whether it's Algebra 2 or a subsequent course that draws on the standards of algebra and geometry which is actually the graduation requirement so it could it could be for anything um it's in the policy right now usually the way that it's done is if you're taking like an online course for example we have students come in and take that online course in our district just to ensure that they themselves you know are completing the material and are successful with it so yeah I just did another understand if it was a continuation of the prior sentence yeah and then just to clarify AJ if you don't mind me saying this um the the policy has nothing to do with this so I know that there has been some confusion because some people have reached out regarding it and the suggestion to abolish the policy is simply because it's redundant I think the only thing that the policy has in this that's not already included in our policy on graduation requirement is the fact that I as the assistant superintendent will sign off on every request and it's not how it's done it's signed off on a committee at the high school and then if there were an appeal it would be appealed up to me and then beyond me to Mr beers but other than that there's nothing in that policy that you know we we need to be have stated twice it doesn't take anything away from anyone by removing it with the exception of me and signing things and it's not a Strauss policy that's no it's not and so stress Esme doesn't have a policy for option two they include option two which is you know we're legally required to do that it's it's law so that's actually included in our graduation requirement where they talk about that there's alternate Pathways and they Define what those are and it's just other ways to meet the 120 credits that are required for graduation at some point in the history of our district someone created an additional policy my thought is that that would be confusing to the public for it to be represented in two places also if Strauss testme does create a policy Andor revises anything or Law changes then we would have to you know go back and revise two things and the district executional policy we call it it's actually in independent study by the I think the standard option two is what we call it correct no option two is what it's called and option two can be defined in multiple ways it could be independent study it could be an online course it could be um a a work study program it could be going to a college and taking an accredited course at a college level there's multiple ways that that can be achieved thank you I'm sorry I have two more questions um one for whatever reason there's an m on this policy making it mandatory which may me think that it was a stress as many mandatory policy so I don't know how that M got on there in the first place I don't either but I the only thing that might be is that you know it might be that option two we are required to have as a district all districts are required to have option two how you implement option two can be different from District District to District that policy is not mandated graduation is and then you were saying that it's duplicative of of some other policy yeah the graduation required policy in terms of the uh the allowance of independent study right because there's no reference actual option two in there which is yeah they right they call it I'd have to let me look at it it's high school graduation it's 5460 it's 5460 yeah and if you let me look here yeah it's called independent study I think section D oh wait I'm sorry I'm looking at the wrong one I've only looked at this so many times well and I didn't know if it was the the L that says that the district shall approve that's what it is it's it's it's B it say says 120 credit requirements set set forth right can be completed through independent study online learning study abroad program student exchange programs structured learning experiences including but not limited to work-based pro programs internships apprenticeships and Service Learning experiences so those are all the things that are covered in option two and wasn't it bought up that the language that's currently in the policy is something that might go or already is in the program of studies it is and so the language what what may not have happened right now is I did not actually allow them to completely revise the program of study to include this conversation until after we met tonight because it was important to me that this was clearly commun to every communicated to everyone here that we understand what the change is because there was some confusion about us abolishing option two which we are not doing and then we will put very clear language in the program of studies so people understand um the procedures and requirements expectations yes two questions um with the extra test the end of the program test that you're talking about if they do the educere final in person in school is there going to be another test on top of that right there would be and so I mean it could depend on what the course is and so you find that in some courses it's more important than in others that we're providing our own assessment so math is a good example because it's very skills-based and it's important that students have the skills and strategy IES that they need through you know so that they can be successful in our coursework so I can't you know ensure that what's provided by edes or as an option too you know would meet those requirements Our Hope of course would be that if a student is you know taking that course that they will be successful on the assessment so so but what we're offering or what we're allowing through edges here matches what they need to do it would just be to take that class and then yes yes it would be and I I will say this there were recommendations from the high school that they thought math related that you know there were better programs recer prep John Hopkins and they thought you know to have an in-person instruction students were more likely to have the skills they needed and be successful but we did not perp we purposely did not um eliminate the edes or option because it's it's more affordable and it seemed unfair to only provide options that were more expensive so yes we would hope they would be successful but we can't guarantee it and our job is to make sure we're not putting a student in a situation where they're unlikely to be successful yeah and the other question is can you just clarify because I would not was not following fully if they're doing option two for fette the only reason for doing option two for fette is if they're participating in a sport or some kind of outside activity that's providing physical yes and so right so it would exactly so they couldn't skip it all together to take another class just for a study hall right that's correct that's all correct they still do in person with their cohort or they do that that that is still correct but I'm doing some double checking on health and what is provided through edes here because the problem with health and PE is in addition to us you know in order for any of this to count towards graduation requirements it has to meet or exceed standards so it has to we have to ensure that you know these programs have New Jersey standards that they have our man Ates that they have our statutes and physical education health and physical education is probably the only policy that we have that's very the only content specific policy and I believe the reason why is because there's over there's 23 in counting statutes that are aligned to it that we have to ensure are being taught to meet the threshold so so double checking that but yes right now Health has to be offered in our in our school any other questions great so I'm going to continue and Go to the aforementioned abolishment of policy 5462 option two so policy 5462 is redundant and serves no purpose um and I think Miss Jones has explained U everything very nicely the committee supported the um recommendation uh option two is clearly addressed in New Jersey administra code under graduation requirements and if anyone wants to read if you can sleep at night it's njac 6A col 8- 5.1 um the graduation requirements uh students are able to meet the 120 graduation uh requirement credits through individualized student learning opportunities that meet or exceed the njsls students currently apply for option two for both credit recovery and acceleration which must be approved um this will continue so nothing's changing on that uh option two is already specifically addressed in policy 5460 which is the high school graduation um policy 546 uh2 therefore is redundant and serves no purpose and that is the reason any questions I think Karen explained it nicely um the next item uh on the agenda was uh we were asked to review uh policy um 5514 uh student use of vehicles on school grounds uh this policy was added to the agenda uh at the request of a board member uh the committee discussed the most recent change that allows students to use skateboards Etc to travel to and from school but not while on campus any questions on that um I have a comment so I just wanted to clarify uh why this board member had requested um that this policy be reviewed there were two events uh one was at Van Holton and one was at Crim at Van Holton they had a BMX event which is bicycles by the way that use ramps and do tricks um and at Crim to my delight which I did not know about in advance they had a skateboarding event that was just hugely successful it promoted helmet safety uh physical activity Community um they talked about the history of skateboarding uh they talked about you know respecting laws um and safe and traffic safety um and overall it was just awesome so um when you look at the policy it says that it's prohibited unschool property um I don't think that it has to be that way um so I'd hoped that uh that the um the committee would would see it my way and and come up with better wording um it may not have like worked out that way uh but I I would like to um at least have a discussion about it um and and maybe cons reconsider changing the language in the policy um as far as that policy goes I'm not sure or um if it was I'm pulling that up right now um if it's prohibited yeah I won't read the whole part um it refers to bicycles um and then under B after bicycles it says non-motorized and motorized skateboards scooters roller skates Etc students are not permitted to use non-motorized skateboards scooters roller skates or any other non-motorized mode of transportation on school grounds that's it um a and I'd also like to add that it doesn't reflect at least a hundred other activities that you can do that have wheels that are modes of transportation and it also doesn't um reflect kids with disabilities that use motorized vehicles to get to school and I happen to know a couple um in uh ritton and Bradley Gardens that do that so that's why I wanted to address this when was that um language does it have the date on the last time that was up updated we updated I'm sorry to talk uh for you but do you know um so it came up for review last year and that's when the language was removed um I was on academic at the time um the language saying that kids couldn't bring the items to school was removed uh prior to that I think it was like 2016 and and I also want to add that there are other school districts that do not have restrictions on skateboarding in their policy and I only happened to know that Manville does wasn't because I was invited to do an event with Manville Recreation at the high school Somerville I'm not really sure about their policy but again I was invited to do an event there with the police department and they were both really great community events that I don't think should be restricted um and and I do have wording that I would like to recommend you consider um I don't know if you want me to read it or if you just want me to send it for the committee to review no and you you sent it so you know at this time I mean if you like we can relook at this at the next meeting with your um suggestion and recommendation and then um bring it back again are is the warning if I could ask for like the the cliff notes on it are you looking to make sure that it's clear that community events like the ones you've run before and assemblies and the like are allowed without technically violating the rule are you looking for some sixth graders could skateboard on some railings and just kind of around parking lots and things like that I'm not sure what I'm just curious what your love to answer that question your goal is um so first um there's no law or policy that is going to keep a kid who is going to skateboard on a rail or stairs away from doing it that's that's the nature of what's called core skateboarding So Pro you know they're going to do it whether it's policy or law um my purpose for bringing it up is because 10 years from now when none of us are here maybe um I don't want another PTO or program to look at our policy and say we can't bring the kind of events that were had our elementary schools to our elementary schools I also if there's a talent show and a kid wants to show off their talent I don't see why the principal can't give them permission um with a policy that's less restrictive um so my goal not my goal but I guess my my recommendation would be actually to combine skateboard scooters and roller skates with bicycles because in the policy um in the original policy it gives the principle the opportunity to give permission on how these kinds of activities would take place on their schools the kids getting to school in the morning or just so they can have events I'm talking about not having such prohibitive policy around specific recreational activities which they only list three um that restrict it so like it it's restricted it literally says it can't be done meanwhile there's really viable events and and and educational opportunities for kids um that you know may not have the opportunity to participate because the principal may say hey it's against policy they may not know that they that this has been done before so I mean I have the language I I'm happy to read it I think it it's pretty clear what mine what I wrote um but again if you want to discuss it in committee first I think that's just fine yeah no let's let's do that because I have it so you send it all right okay the uh next item we discussed was policy 5512 harassment intimidation and bullying uh this policy was added to the agenda at the request of a board member Mr beers and Miss Jones reviewed um law and the requirement of Hib including the definition of that Hib must be reasonably perceived as motivated by a perceived characteristics such as race religion gender Etc other disciplinary interactions uh are addressed through code of conduct Mr Beer suggested additional uh legal training for the Board of Ed and Mr Walker mentioned that we're going to have that next month right any questions okay um the next item on the agenda was the inter Scholastic uh athletic schedule for the spring and it was reviewed by the committee um then on the agenda was 2025 2026 school calendar um we reviewed and discussed U the said calendar the recommended calendar will be um back for the recommended to the uh full board in March discussions centered around holidays and vacation days start and end of school year and how to distribute professional days throughout the school year within that calendar uh just to add that 25 26 Calendar um poses a problem because not a problem but uh some complications because all the holidays fall on a weekday and I think the um the winter break Christmas falls on a Thursday smack middle of the week so it causes a little bit constraint for the calendar so we'll discuss it and we'll be back um in March for the full board a board of uh Ed member suggested a name change to the AI program as AI is often discussed to mean artificial intell Ence additionally AI as academically independent also does not truly represent the current acceleration program any questions on that so what's the committee recation um it's being discussed so we will be back yeah we were we were actually holding off on any name changes because I mean obviously like similar to the option two discussion we don't want people to misinterpret like you know the f as soon as we say oh we're Chang changing the name of AI we're going to have parents who think that we're just removing AI or the program is gone and so I don't want that to be misinterpreted so we are keeping the name AI for now despite the fact that it is confusing with artificial intelligence and the idea of being independent when you're in second grade but we will resume these conversations in a very public way so it's not to confuse anyone I would like a new name and the program will not change that's the key no change to the program just the name uh and we adjourned at 7:30 our next meeting is uh on March 21st at 5:30 thank you AJ um Miss kri community relations um our next meeting is March 5th at I think 5:30 virtually thank you um Mr singer facilities fft our next meeting is March 4th at 5:30 thank you Personnel committee Miss Mrs free Miss Freelander we met on February 20 20th at 500m virtually in attendance was myself miss lockran Mr Pepe Mr Walker and Mr fonder uh first item was the draft of the personal Personnel addendum for this evening we looked at the addendum items re recommendation was to support the um action item uh next up was policy 069.0 which is board member use of social networks the committee discussed the policy with revised language Dr fonder provided additional information gathered since the last meeting recommend the recommendation was that the committee supported the changes in the action item um number three was the comprehensive Equity Plan update Dr fonder shared information about the comprehensive Equity plan process and a recent training he attended more information about that process and the plans will be be discussed at a future meeting no action was taken uh Board of Education policy review I'm sorry can I have a question regarding item two uh there's a mention of uh Dr founder provided additional information gathered since last meeting can you share those information because in the minutes it's not obvious um are are we allowed to discuss that uh yeah I can give an overview um at the uh first meeting in January which you were there so you about that um we had talked about a couple of questions um one of the questions is this policy that suggested by Strauss Esme do other districts have it in place and so uh Strauss Esme doesn't track which districts adopt or not they don't have any mechanism for that but uh Mr Walker does so he he was able to uh to identify that there are uh districts who have it in place so so we we knew that um I also spoke uh two times with one of the lead people at ssme the first time to talk about the policy and to ask if there were any issues with the implementation of this policy and he said no he knows that some number of districts have it in place and that there aren't any um issues with it I explained that we were looking at changing language for one of the items and so he invited me to send to him what our proposed language would be and he said he would I uh identify if it was the policy was still as effective as intended with that so he liked our change he thought that the policy was fine with that change to the the one item and um so so that was reviewed and then I also talked to uh Doug sylvestro the Board of Education attorney and was asking uh his opinion on it and um in short not to get into kind of too much legal guidance that the attorney would give to the Board of Education um he was saying that this policy there's nothing in the language that he in any way disagrees with or is problematic for for the the school district the only thing that he noted was that the requirement that the Board of Education members abide by all of the uh ethics um decisions is true whether you have this policy or not um that the the policy doesn't introduce any new requirements and similarly it doesn't um introduce any new um remedies if a board of education member isn't following an Ethics you could still file an Ethics complaint either way so he was saying that he um in short didn't have a strong opinion because the the policy isn't problematic but it also is not something that is necessary um so it's really uh one where it's at the prerogative of the board which makes sense why St SMA labeled this one as suggested and not mandated or recommended yeah that was um a bulk of our conversation on that item was the fact that um you are covered under ethics and this is just an additional item um we also discussed uh looking at the policy review of the 000000 series 1300 4,000 series um we're going to be putting some policies from each series into our meetings every month to look at and review people will get them ahead of time come to the meeting if changes need to be made we will be discussing them then uh we also discussed Boe training with njsba um more information will be coming on that no action was taken and lastly we set up our future meeting dates all will be uh 5:00 pm virtually on Tuesdays with the dates noted in the minutes we adjourned at 5:45 p.m. and the next meeting is March 19th any other questions see none um any liaison or delate reports I'll update for bridgew um there was a u board U council meeting about two weeks ago 10 days ago and uh they conducted to usual business uh there's one thing I would like to recognize that there is uh a uh Proclamation for L New Year and and our our student from the school district had a a a opportunity to make a presentation there um other than that usual business thank you I'll just note that we have a suer county school board's meeting on March 3rd I believe no that can't be right because that's a Sunday so I don't I don't know but uh that's the 18th is the meeting okay and and at that meeting on the 18th they're going to honor the uh unsung her Heroes uh which is a lovely event that Mr Walker and I attended last year uh this year it's at the votek right yep okay um so it should be easy for everyone to get to and it's a really nice program um you get to hear Amazing Stories from all the different districts within our County and um get to see the good work that our guidance counselors are doing and recognizing these kids as well um so I suggest I recommend it to everyone if if you're available to go March 18th uh at the votch uh I don't have the time but I'll get it to you if you are interested I think it's 6 PM probably and you should have got an email to sign up and I know our student has been selected so interest any other Lea on Del reports one thing I'll bring up is I went through our minutes and many and committee meetings this week I I had the opportunity when a policy is mentioned you know it's a good time we have our board goal is to viiew a policy to go through it I actually read the graduation policy and was interesting as I went through I I found something that was like interesting and gave Mrs Jones to to look at and I she actually said I was right I think which just my you know I want to mark that down and date time I'm gonna frame the email but yeah it it's fun when you you know you learn a lot as you go through policy you don't realize what's in there sometimes in the graduation requirements and areas and the um and also looking at the health physical education policy it is 20 different areas and it covers bullying and um harassment and other areas that you don't realize is hand is under is under the health physical education curriculum so it's educational too any others thank um this is our first open public comment individuals or groups are invited to present their concerns comments and requests regarding the following action names to the board of education at this time in accordance with our board policy members of the public are allotted one opportunity to address the board for a maximum of five minutes during this period of the meeting please be advised that a video recording of this meeting will be posted on our district website seeing none um item 11 approval of minutes do I have a motion so move second discussion seeing um Mr Stars can you call the world please miss Asuna yes Mr Pepe yes Miss Freelander yes Miss Lee yes Mr josi yes Miss kri I Mr singer yes M lockran yes Mr Walker yes motion carries approval of action items personnel 24-23 second discussion seeing none Mr Stars can you call the RO please miss tuna yes Mr Pepe yes Miss Freelander yes Miss Lee yes Mr josi yes Miss kri yes Mr singer yes M lockran yes Mr Walker yes motion passes curriculum 24- 46 through 24-50 so moved second discussion Mr Stars can you cwl the O Please Mr sunna yes Mr Pepe yes M Freelander yes M Lee yes Mr josi yes Miss kri yes Mr singer yes M lockran yes Mr Walker yes business 24- 94 through business 24- 97 is there a motion so moved second second is there a discussion uh some of the bids for the uh HVAC and the boiler upgrades were rejected are are we putting those back out to bid are those being amended Mr SS can yes okay those project is still going for we're going to be talking about it on uh Monday but yes we are planning to go out to B with a little change of Scopes thanks I think they're doing their due diligence to make sure everything works aoly within the budget allowed so yeah Mr stars is very Thrifty for our district fund I'm always impressed with that Karen could probably know it's his first answering request for money no all right uh can I have a question yes go ahead all right so um I see that we're making good use of that maintenance Reserve account um the funding where it goes is necessary I would like to know what's like the a overview of the status with that maintenance Reserve account how are we doing over there how much is remaining in it there's about two and a half million uh what is like our average over the years uh well we started a year basically at three and a half million so and we started two years two years ago with zero it's a fairly new Reserve uhhuh okay so we're overall sounds like we're doing well in there thank you any more discussion Mr St can call the role Please Mr soon yes Mr pepy yes Miss Freelander yes Miss Lee yes Mr Joi yes Miss K stre yes Mr singer yes Mr Lan yes Mr Walker yes motion carries there is no student services this evening moving on to other other 24-28 through 24-29 is there a motion motion second any discussion it would have to be done in close session if it's about one of the items in those resolutions seeing Mr sters can you call the role Please Mr Sun AG n yes Mr py yes Miss Freelander yes Miss Lee yes Mr Ji yes Miss kri yes Mr singer uh no on Hib 28508 under other 2429 yes on everything else M lock abstain on 2429 and yes to 2428 Mr Walker yes motion carries policy 24-14 through 24-15 do I have a motion any discussion yes Miss Lee all right um I think we heard about uh the the attorneys um our board attorney's opinion about policy 2415 um that that it is uh unnecessary uh I think uh I have a few concern about this policy um building on top of it being unnecessary uh and redundant uh it basically well makes me think uh what would this policy do if it doesn't really uh serve a purpose Beyond what's already in law um so I have question and reservation regarding its necessity and U um would like to hear what our board thinks about this policy uh I have a question when this when that there's tears from stra asme correct where does this fall the St estimate labels policies as mandated if there's some sort of a law or a directive that you have to have a policy on this and recom that's that's the the highest level of you should definitely have it me you have to have it right um recommended uh means that it's recommended in some way sometimes there's a court decision or some other related rule that would make it much better to have it than not and then the lowest level would be suggested which means that they thought enough that they took the time to write it and they said that this is something that's a suggested part of the Strauss model policy manual but there isn't any reason that you have to have it and so that's the category of this one this is suggested yes okay um to be clear um in our discussion in committee we did you know reinforce and was reinforced To Us by the board attorney similarly that you are held to a high standard in regards to ethics that this is a suggested policy which means it's just another bumper to um kind of take care of the same sort of concerns so you can vote accordingly um I don't know we already had a full discussion in committee but um that's what we discussed and that is the information I don't know where else to go with it other than that is a suggested policy all right thank you um gu a chime in I I think it's someone who's on social media but not very good at it um and also it's it's tough to know as a board member what to say and what not to spay especially when you're a new board member like a lot of us kind kind kind of are I would say that my first thought was that something like this would be could be helpful in certain instances to guiding board members um I mean a lot of it applies to social media but it's just kind of good advice for for just just any conversation or any discussion of school business or or board business um really everything other than six I'd be completely fine with uh I definitely appreciate I don't know who drafted the revision if that was the committee before I was on it or that was Dr fonder or who came it was everybody it it was everybody it was like the it was like the Declaration of Independence we all had a hand in it I I definitely prefer the new language to the language that was there and that's because the original language said not which is not on the table tonight which is not to respond to any postings regarding if Board of Education or School District business and I I I think it really again kind like Jeff says me it kind of depends on levels right like there's some conversations you could have where you're chiming in with useful information that can in inform the public or just give them some clarity if there's a conversation somewhere that's going off the rails and a little bit of insight now that you're speaking for the board or for the district but just chiming in might help uh we kind of saw this during the referendum when we all were armed with pamplets and going to PTA meetings and talking with people and answering basic questions I think there's a lot of not a lot of stuff that comes on so social media but sometimes there is stuff that pops up that you know that kind of basic stuff that you might find in an FAQ or was stated at a board meeting and repeating that could be useful and the new language gives a little bit more wiggle room there which I like um I guess in the future that could be used as a like you posted something about the schools or something about being on the board could that be used I don't think that would happen with this board but you someone said 10 years down the line could that be used as a gotcha but who knows what social media even is then we might just all be living in the uh I don't know yes thank you so that's just kind of my thoughts on it now this is a first reading just just to be clear Barry or Peter we could still this could still be amended at second reading thanks can it be a something I was going to bring up later but that I picked up this weekend was just about being able to post on social media with a chain of command so that when everybody is complaining about whatever they're talking about when the the conversations be heated we can say this is where you go here's the link and here is the of if you have an issue with this this is your chain of command if you have an issue with this this is your chain of command so that there's a standard that everybody here post when these conversations go off the rails and here you go like a little more Direction This is the poli's a little B and maybe that specific like here's what you can say or what you should say in those cases um so I don't see why this kind of information should be policy rather than in a new board member guide book training manual or something along those lines um I'm usually pretty hesitant when uh policy dictates how we're allowed to socialize whether it's on social media or whether it's via text message and and and that's the thing there's so many other communication Tools in which we could do the same exact things that we do on social media and and then add to that that um it's not really a required by law policy and and it's we're um committ committed what's the word we're committed to ethics or you know we're legally required to to adhere to ethical standards which you know basically trumps that policy anyway so that's so we have already a an email and internet usage policy which is is also not required so you know in terms of redundancy I don't think we can say it too much um I think that we are seeing use of social media inappropriate in all over the place in boards throughout the state and the country um Mike you had mentioned you know that when you post something you you know you're you're not speaking for the board or the district but it's not clear it's never clear because you're never not a board member not when you go to any function not when you talk to any staff member not when you're online um you can put any disclaimer that you want on there you're never not a board member um so I personally don't do social so as bad as you think you're doing it I'm doing it much worse no you're doing it right I think well and and you know particularly since I became on the board became a board member um it was a a choice not to do anything in terms of social media um I don't tweet I don't snap I don't certainly don't Tik Tok um and I don't really go on Facebook anymore I go now for information but I'm certainly not involved in any conversations um and in terms of like I I I feel like so the social media is undermining for the district and for information um you know people go to social media to get information and I get that but it's not the source to go to so like if you want to know what's going on in a school you should talk to the teacher and the principal you know the chain of command as Rebecca was saying um but we substitute that chain of command now for what people seem to think they know on social media um and then that creates fervor and that creates problems and getting involved in it in any way for me is always a problem um I understand the desire to help people and to guide them in the right direction but the the answer is always the chain of command um as far as I'm concerned and the answer is always I'm a board member and anything I say online can and will be used against us um so that's what I think about that and in terms of why it should be in policy versus uh why it needs to be in policy one instead of just in the board manual again we have we have ethical laws that we have to follow but we put those in policy as well and we have how to use the you know you where you can use email on internet but we have that in policy as well same thing with your board authority it's all in policy none of it is mandatory it's all suggested or you know recommended it's not none of the none of the bylaws are well some of them I'm sure are but a lot of them are not necessarily mandatory so they might be duplicative of what we already have in ethical uh conduct but it's always good to remember these things and so I think that you know there are things that I would certainly take out of this policy like I would take out email and text because I don't think that those are social medias necessarily and we use those um and it's we already have a policy on that but I would add in you know that the issue of commenting you know po post it's not just posting and reposting it's it's commenting on things getting involved in conversations if you wouldn't get involved in the conversation if you were in the room with these people with someone you shouldn't really get involved in that conversation otherwise other than to say maybe as Rebecca says this is the chain of command please use it that's where I am and and also number one that says not post anything that would violate any of the district's policies for board members now how many policies are there and are we all experts on all of these policies so if you're posting something and it may be a violation of any of these policies you're in trouble and there's so many policies so just refrain I guess you know a little tid when you look at policy it's always fun to read we have two policies um if you want to go to them if you want to put them up 3282 and 4282 which are for St certified and support staff and it's the use of social network sites so we put this onus on our staff but not on ourselves so sometimes it's it's different it's actually more stringent so I just want to say that so we we expected of our of the people who are employed by the district so something you expect yourself and also when you always remember that only the superintendent speaks for the district and the board of President speaks for the board of education so sometimes that goes on there have been as I discussed this with Mr fonder there have been several ethics areas that have been brought up and in those two major ethics I talked about it's the although you are have the ability ility to have your voice you sometimes not the voice is not always interpreted that you're not speaking as a board member even with the statement or not so sometimes you should be careful with that and it's the perception so that's what the legal cases have said and I can forward them to you and there are more coming out I think you probably saw a few of them more this this weekend I'm not sure which who I didn't wasn't during that session which attorney presented it so it's been a rise and and that's why it's been addressing it so I wonder if I can speak again uh at this point I feel like I heard a lot on my follow board members um opinion and and how it is important that we know the code of ethics and know how to follow it I think this past weekend there was a uh njsba training uh I know in that training there is already the code of ethics mentioned many times and including the um social network use guideline I think a training for this is absolutely appropriate and uh when becomes a policy there's part of that that involves enforceability uh I I want to I want us to think about how this policy can be enforced currently um I think the our our school board has our own roles and responsibilities as you know we're all trained to know uh it those roles and responsibilities does not include watching out for for the board members speech I mean us to other board members the school ethics code is enforced by a specific entity that is school ethics commission sec I need to interrupt you there point of order why because the the ethics commission enforces when they're brought to them why is this a point of order I'm talking about a action atem that we're going to take please let me finish my speak please thank you um the well sorry I have to start over my sentence the school ethics code is enforced by the school ethics commission AKA SEC with the necessary due process and the personal infrastructure and Carries Authority that's cified from the school ethics act that's in gsaa 188 that's where this code ethics we're talking about the authoritive enforcing the code of ethics does not rest in the board it rests in that specific entity and uh um or this this enforcement doesn't rely on each individual board members opinion or perception of other board members social network discourse and this brings up another um area that this perception is a subjective matter we when we form policies we should have objective policies rather than things that's interpreted sub proly and without dual process any answer discussion Mr St you call the RO please yes what exactly are we voting on to first then if we were going to amend it would it happen after it can happen to committee or can happen now so if we vote Yes for this then it goes to committee to we read one more time and it'll come back for a second reading yes it doesn't need to go to committee again though right is there a committee meeting between now and the next board meeting no so I'm just wondering if there's an opportunity for change when would that change happen now or or at second reading or it's second reading you do it second reading too yes if if I may you know bring in something else up so I think this policy brings up a liability for you know enforceability because um I don't know if um our board attorney was aware or if Strauss is May is aware that there is actually a Supreme Court case with stock number 23A 243 that is current the last update of that was September of 2023 and is actually talking about this particular issue of uh um board member using of social media so it's there's actually a active litigation going on that's related to this policy there are active thank you very much there's active litigation going on a lot and the Supreme Court Cas is hearing it if they are decide to hear it or not I don't know and we can find out some more on that but um when it comes to ethics VI ethics has anyone been through an Ethics violation or ever seen one filed do you understand how that works I think that there is a process that is spelled out that's in the law and this policy with its its rules it's already in the ethics it's in the training this policy will be redundant and the part where you call to enforce it it's unenforceable we our board doesn't have that Authority or that responsibility not in our roles and this policy as a result is endent unnecessary and unenforceable okay so we have policy 0146 regarding board member Authority and it talks about public expressions and it talks about how you should not speak for the board what happens if you do where's the enforcement there we have policy 0196 that talks about board member use of email and and the internet and in that policy it says that if a board member fails to comply the matter shall be referred to the board president who will meet with the person and discuss it with them it would be the same structure here which is what it talks about here so in terms of enforceability you're correct the board has no ability to censure another board member but the board president can talk to board members about their activities the board can discuss those activities and the board can decide whether or not it's something that we want to engage in and you know hopefully it doesn't get to the point of going going before the school Ethics Committee but as you see we there's every month there's something about board members doing something inappropriate on social media and the school Ethics Committee is going through it every month to figure out the parameters of that um in terms of a Supreme Court ruling there hasn't been one yet and when there is Strat May has a lot of attorneys who will then put out an update to this suggested policy um just because it's suggested doesn't mean that they ignore it so that's all any more discussion I do I think the fact that you mentioned that the school ethics commission is actually working now that means that this matter is properly taken care of by the proper Channel and it looks like our board since it doesn't really add any value to have this discussion then they they suggested remediation about board talking to the the member who perceived to have violated or uh the superintendent talking to the board member who have perceived to have violated the policies carry no more weight so as a result it's unnecessary and unproductive and uh it's um carries no more weight than a conversation that's already able to happen without this policy okay I'm going to call the question there's a motion to call the question is there a second second all those in favor I all those in favor please say I I I I all those against motion passes Mr Stars can you call the rooll Please Mr sunna yes Mr pepy yes M Freelander abstain Miss Lee no Mr Joi yes Miss kri we're voting on both now correct polic yes okay so um yes to 2414 and no to 245 Mr singer yes Miss lockran yes to 14 no to 15 Mr Walker yes motion passes we're up to the second open public comment individ idual or groups are invited to present their concerns comments and requests to the Board of Education this time for any matters in accordance with the board policy members of the public are allotted one opportunity to address the board for a maximum of five minutes during this period of the meeting ple be please be advised that a video recording of this meeting will be posted on District website I close with in public comment seeing none and is there any old business I went to a training this weekend which I brought up during new business last mon um just a few things that I took from it it was wonderful I said my biggest takeaway was that we are in an amazing school district and we have an amazing Board of Education hands down because the discussions were in from from schools with 600 kids like insan um but a few things that I took that might be interesting here um and they the njsba recommends it but a statement because I feel like we vote on a lot of things that this was the most conversation that we've had before a vote that I've seen and a lot of times we just vote even though we've had conversations in committee and we've had you know discussions and q&as back and forth so they actually put on their agenda uh that a statement advising that we've had discussions before the meeting and that this is just a vote so that the public doesn't feel like we're just voting to sit here that we've actually put in the work so they have a statement that's read before the voting begins M I have it do you want me to read what it says sure so it says oftentimes it may appear to members of the audience in the public that the Board of Education takes action with very little comment in many cases the unanimous vote before a matter is placed on the agenda the Administration has thoroughly reviewed this the matter with the superintendent of schools if the superintendent of the schools is satisfied that the matter is ready to be presented to the board of education is then referred to the appropriate board committee the members of the board of board committee work with the administration and superintendent to ass sure that the members fully understand the matter when the committee is satisfied with the matter it is presented to the board of education for discussion before final action is taken only then is it placed on the agenda for Action at a public meeting so I've known about this and I have it written I haven't requested to be put on yet so it's been in the in the in the works by the way so I have it in my area so I don't know if it's something you would like to be added to the agenda I mean thoughts there I mean so you would read this before it would be put on the agenda be put on the agenda as a written item on the agenda so that anyone read the agenda understands that this is the normal operating procedures of how we operate well it would be for information it would not be read right so under the roll call and the port so somewhere at the top we will put it you know as an addendum in there for your information you know a little background put something like that up but I would not read at every meeting I would sest I would suggest if you're going forward with it you'd put it under approval of action item just a little yeah so we just next that's why we got the professionals here yeah we talked about that last year too and I actually thought it was a really good idea I agree so moving forward could we do that like does that is there some sort of formal thing we have to do to say let's put that on there I'll send the language to to Bob and to Peter and see if they feel like if they want to add or change it you guys can also copy you on it also so if you have anything to say with it how did you feel about that was did it adequately cover the actions yeah I it's fine I just Fine's not good enough did [Laughter] you all right so that thank you for bringing that up yeah I I had that and it was in my you know I have a list of things I talk about you know um some other things I mentioned about the chain of command um they were really hyping up the State Board convention in Workshop fall Workshop in the fall in atlan City at Lan City and they said said that the programming is excellent and we need invite Mr stars to come along with us and Mrs Jones and Mr I know that but I'm just in you know time is twindly Mr Stars it's because you're a celebrity there because everybody I tell that I'm from Bridgewater Ritt and talks about you every time you wouldn't be able to move around wait now that they announced the dates did is it is other stuff put out yet like to start booking and stuff so so guys I don't want to stay there again I'll find out I don't know yet they usually don't have that set up but I think you know Mr start I mean we I'm not saying that it's normally in June or or May or June and we'll I'll survey the board to see what they want to stay and then um you're going to stay as a group but there's cost Associated on certain places so long as everybody's willing for that that's there's a there's a p which were permitted and sometimes the hotels got out of that pum Okay so so there' be additional costs that we would have to be comp we'd have to cover ourselves um some last two things uh they were talking about with Hib there's a school safety team that discusses everything and they specifically mentioned that there's a parent on each committee and that's just something I had never heard of and I was wondering if we have parents on committees and how that parent is selected yes uh so the schools have school safety teams and there are parents usually there' probably be two parents on most of the school's teams um how the parents are selected it's an invitation from somebody from the school usually it would be either the principal or the anti-bulling specialist um a lot of times it could be somebody who's involved in leading an organization like a PTO or PTO Executive Board member the interesting thing about it and uh the board of course reviews confidential information the parents on the team do not uh review confidential information so their role is to talk about like some aggregate information and uh more so the proactive positive planning that the school does and their anti-bullying efforts in building School climate but not reviewing specific cases um even with you know not even redacted cases with the students names removed because there would still be identifying information or you would just know something about somebody or uh so the parent role is is very different than a board members role with with harassment intimidation and bullying but yes that is the case and um we usually I think in the summer um approve the list of all of the the teams the different school teams that are required by law so I think that'll be coming up so you'll see it there and finally one of the speakers that we have um is with the New Jersey school board U Vincent Delia he was a mayor he was he was like everything um but he was very inspirational um two things that he touched on first was talking about Pathways um for kids who are not going to college and how important it is and that they leave High School being able to get more than a $15 an hour job um and he had a lot of thoughts and a lot of ideas and a lot of great sides so something to talk about and then also he just in general talked about kindness and I know you know with the program that we were talking about at the middle school and exactly what you're just talking about with the ways forward in programs I think he would be a tremendous person to bring in to talk to us um and be available you know for everyone to hear um because he was a really just great down toe speaker I can second that he spoke at last year when I was there and I agree with everything there he was he was tremendous I sat with him at lunch and he he was just great he's been here for something for the board yeah he did the presentation on equity for us he's the he's the educated in residents um he's very good um he's not short over he overruns his time every time at the trainings the last two times so I can tell you that but he's very knowledgeable and there's many you know many others you had we had the ba and residents speaking for you you had multiple attorneys in training you had the structure it was a pretty thorough weekend that's all they're about 89 80 80 board members total I think yeah you don't get unless you go in person in person is the best part so any other discussion on their old business that was actually new business technically well I brought it up last time so okay well okay you're good all right well good good good any more old business can I talk about this first reading of the policy that we just talked about as the older business can we do it at the next reading sure cool okay but hold on what I'm still not clear what you asking do you want to I want to make a suggestion for modifying it okay because I how you wanted to get rid of it uh that was then you said so that's that was what I was trying to achieve um during our discussion of it we're going to we're g to do it we'll do it in committee Mone we will definitely be doing it in committee yes that's a great suggestion I think we should table it so that it can go to our personel committee I could suggest then not become of the next agenda does need to be tabled I can put it towards wherever it goes that that's an agenda item so it's up to the superintend okay we can discuss that and and if I can make a suggestion if you have some recommendations yeah send them like bullet points like you know what um agend did earlier with the policy and then they can take it up at the next meeting and then we'll discuss it at second reading I just want to make sure that we have a mechanism to address the deficiency in this uh before we put it into a a policy if we table it it sounds like if we table it then they'll go to committee and then it'll be put back on I can delay the I me the agenda for another meeting delay second reading that's what I'm saying that's what I would do and we wouldn't need to go back to First reading if there were a change or modification we would have start correct yes so what's the course of action now it's up to me I will delay it so it doesn't come with the next next board meeting but the one after maybe the one after that will be the ethics and the Hib training too kind of good conversation there so I can it'll come up in the next month next me but the one or therea but in terms of in terms of the course of action for for people that want to revise it the course of actions to send an email to it was with you which commit academic so to send it to Mrs personel right personel well then what oh Personnel sorry yeah so send the recommendations suggestions to Stacy and then copy Dan and myself super intendent so we'll not vote on the second reading until it passes through our committee again basically correct okay any other new business any other old business a read Across America weeks hope everyone's reading some good books uh I know Crim is having some readers and there we've gotten some emails about some assemblies it's a big week especially across elementary schools a lot of spirit days a lot of fun stuff surrounding that so uh very one who's hopefully reading this week enjoy your book is it is it booked already for Crim no they still they've got some openings in the last next three days so look on the the email that was sent to you yeah and feel free to sign up um I did have a shout out I wanted to give to um the boys soccer coach at the high school one of his former players who graduated in 200 in 22 I am going to butcher the last name and I tried saying it multiple times but vano is his first name he graduated in 2022 he has now been drafted he used to play for steel United New Jersey as well as the uh brid raran High School soccer team has been signed by the Georgian first Division and current uh champions for FC I think it's Damo B Bimi um Georgia the country not the state um so really cool that we have a former uh soccer player and graduate who will be playing in the Champions League also one of the Women's National Team too Mike stole my thunder a little bit um I wanted to uh acknowledge and recognize the pto's administration and staff for their efforts getting students excited about reading but I also wanted to share a story and it's a little bit braggy so I'm sorry I'm going to apologize for it but uh I had the greatest time it was the most delightful experience and it's the second year in a row that I read a book called CEO that that has um diverse characters which is one of the reasons why I like it but I I'm sure you can all imagine what what my characters love to do um but the best part about it was that last year I had donated I don't know maybe six like Spanish versions of the books and I read the book to the class and the teacher raised his hand and and told me that one of the students um had the Spanish version of that book and it was his favorite book and it was probably one of my most exciting moments of the so I just wanted to share that are we on new business we're in some kind of bus some kind of business right now any more old business is an email going out to everyone who was invited back for the SP or the SSP on Thursday it went out went out an email okay it went out I thought it was just a community email but okay I got one oh I didn't get yeah I'm not sure we can but I think they went out and everyone is still invited please sign up this Vis planning and went well the last time we had quite good areas now we'll be going towards the mission and vision statements so be coming more together as group and then one more meeting after that on March I forget the exact day so please join us March 6 is it strategic strategic plan March March you're good thank you 7 o'clock the middle school right 7 o'clock the Middle School all right we're into new business I'm G any more old business let's go to new business Steve do you have a new business uh yeah I mean I just wanted to um you we we we got a lovely letter today from uh Mr McCarthy uh about the festiv all the Arts and I just want to make sure that everyone is aware of the dates uh March 13th for the chorus March 20th for our Orchestra March 21st for the band and April 17th for our visual arts program and uh go to any and all of them and you'll be be uh amazed and dumbfounded and uh we have amazing kids who do just amazing things and uh at all levels uh in addition uh I have to give a plug to the uh the home show that the Winter Guard is having on March 9th uh there are about 30 plus winter guards signed up uh it'll be from 1:30 until 8 something uh and our home BR Color Guard will be going on uh later in the evening uh so if you uh enjoy any kind of uh arts and movement program uh I suggest you come and see what a Col of art show is that's at the high school in case you're curious and board members are invited free of it's a very busy time this time of year a lot of events ending the two wrestlers going to Atlantic City many other the uni I know a lot of you were at the UniFi basketball game I couldn't go and attend it but that was great to see them playing and there they'll be coming to board meeting soon also so please stay engaged we thank all the students for what they do because that's the best thing about our district any other new business I chain a motion second all those in favor I have a nice evening