back even everyone and welcome to the uh Tuesday February 13th Board of Education meeting at the Wade building i' like to call the meeting to order um in compliance with the open public meetings law of New Jersey notice of this February 13th meeting 2024 of the bridge Ro Ron Regional Board of Education was posted electronically on the district website provided on January 3rd by sending the annual written notes to The Courier News Star Ledger Bridgewater Township Clerk Ron bur clerk by posting the buing on the Harmon B Wade administration building Jo me for the allegiance flag United States of America and to the Republic for stands one nation Indy andice all Bar Peters Mr Stars can you call the role Please Mr singer here miss Asuna here Mr Pepe here miss Freelander here Miss Lee here Mr Joi here miss kri miss lockran here Mr Walker here we have a quorum um going to we have we have school was canceled today so we do not have the student rep Representatives report let me wait a moment for the Mr beerus to return to right thank you I had a little wardrobe malfunction there forgot my glasses in the other room and uh I cannot see it all without these so thank you for your patience so um good even good evening everyone and I I hope everyone uh enjoyed the snow day today we should know it's it's the third day we've utilized thus far so any additional days after today will have an impact on spring break with our calendar we allotted three this year and then we have to make adjustments if there are any moving forward so look there there are a lot of great things going on in the district and and I know several board members were in attendance but last week we hosted our initial strategic planning meeting on February 6th in the Middle School auditorium and in the cafeteria we had 73 uh community members who took part in the process and uh again it was organized and run by New Jersey school boards uh specifically Gwen Thorton and and following the group activity where groups were asked to to Really compile a list of what they felt the strengths of Bridgewater riton were and what were the challenges moving forward what New Jersey school boards did was they they took the uh the results from those 11 groups and then they really tried to look for consistent themes that they saw throughout and look some of the themes that that uh that came through in all the groups were for strengths we have a dedicated highquality staff full day kindergarten was number two we're lucky to have a diverse School population and the size another strength was our programs and and uh population parents and parent organizations we have diverse learning opportunities co-curricular programs and Communications again were all all listed as strengths of the district now the challenges that we face and and these are in no particular order and and I should have said that in the beginning the expansion of Career and Technical education mental health supports facilities needs Transportation Communications it's interesting that it was list is both a strength and a weakness depending on what groups you had teacher retention guidance services and special services were all listed as the challenges so so what we do what the next step is is that we take these lists and and now the next part LED Again by school boards is to really try to develop these into into goals for the institution U that we as a board and and as a Administration can refer to as we really develop our District Board of Education building goals Etc so the next uh the next strategic planning session is scheduled for Thursday February 29th at 7 o'clock pm. the link is is still live so if anyone's interested in in signing up and and board members if you you have any neighbors or community members who who would still like to come they they do have the opportunity to sign up and and uh we had some folks the last time around as well where we're not going to turn people away at the door if if they show up and want to participate the only requirement is that they have to be a Bridgewater or Raritan resident to uh to uh come on in and we know that that this is open to people uh who live in the town and you don't necessarily even have to have students in our buildings it's anyone who lives in our community is uh is allowed to come and participate and I really encourage enourage everyone here and uh and you know for the the large crowd and the audience and those who are watching tonight um that we can um that we can really continue I I think what was impressive besides the way different groups work together was that we did have 73 community members who showed up and took part in this and we know it's it's incredibly difficult to get folks to come to a standalone event so I I want to commend all the people who uh took part and the people here at this table and all of our community groups who really helped us get a robust uh cross-section of the community to um you know to uh to really start us on this process and I said the next meeting again is scheduled for Thursday February 29th 7 uh 7 o' p.m. so just some general announcements that we have and uh there's quite a bit going on within our schools and uh you know th this is a list and these are some of the kids that that we're most likely going to invite to upcoming board meetings as well so one is the Bridgewater Ron High School academic League team finished as the Somerset County academic League champion all right they tied for first place with Montgomery High School so that's quite an accomplishment for this group of young people the high school boy swim team is ranked number number two in the state and they're going up against number one Westfield High School um in the state in the public a State final tomorrow at the ritton Bay Area YMCA in Perth Hy for Jersey Section oh okay it's a sectional Championship I'm sorry the girl swim team is ranked seventh in the state and they they upset number six sixth ranked Westfield on Monday and now they go against Ridge High School in their section final as well and um the Bridgewater ritin unified basketball team is playing in the state tournament their next game is Saturday February 17th at Union City High School so these kids have two games Oldbridge High School in the first game and then if they win they'll play moristown High School South Jersey mortown um so if they win both they would advance to the State final but but but uh all these teams and the student athletes involved uh they've really had quite a quite a run Win Lose or Draw you know we're proud of them they're excellent representatives of our school and we just want to wish them the best of luck so with that we know that that we have a long weekend this weekend for for uh President's Day and uh there's a professional development day on Tuesday as well so so kids do get a break and um and and again this weekend we do have members of the community who are celebrating Lunar New Year and um you know so again we get through these next two days and U you know I hope everyone gets that break and can recharge and come back next week RIT Ru so that's it thank you I not how much Mr Beer most of it so I thank everyone for coming um as as in all the the call of the snow Mr beers is tasked with that and I think you know every time that happens you have a hit or miss sometimes if you the weatherman can be you knows the job is 50% right or wrong he might have gotten it right this time so he want so that way um that's it I have no more and I'm sorry I I did miss I missed probably the most important thing that we'll talk about this afternoon see this is it I get a little nervous and then I forget so I don't want to jump the gun because it was part of our community Rel ation meeting but U I also right one of the things that we're taking a look at is alternate sites for graduation we know one of the uh you know one of the challenge that challenges that we have with with the renovations that we're doing is that we're at the mercy of of contractors and we have to do certain things at certain times so one of the projects that's happening uh starting in April is the renovation of the bass Fieldhouse as well as the grandstand right and and that area is not going to be accessible for graduation because the bleachers on the home side will not be there by by that point they'll be totally ripped down and you'll probably have a a concrete pad there if anything so we we had quite a few we quite a bit of feedback from the community we took it up in committee and I really want to commend the uh the high school administration as well as uh you know our uh our graduation uh you know folks who who organize graduation for for looking at different options and one of the options that that we'll talk about later in the meeting is the potential of utilizing Jersey Mike arena for uh for high school graduation and uh Jersey Mike Arena I always know it as the rack but it's the uh the uh Ruckers Athletics Center until got the new sponsorship and and when we go there the the seating capacity is 6,000 because they move some of the bleachers in if you've ever been there the student section is it's kind of moved out because that's where you Corral the graduates so seating capacity is 6,000 it will easily fit all of our graduates plus six tickets potentially more depending on on uh how high school administration decides to uh to deal with that so it's an opportunity and we'll discuss it in Greater length uh you know when we go through committee reports and the way it's exciting poten that's good news and um I have i' finished my report uh vice president's report Chen since my only job is to talk about the calendar I get to do something a little more fun today uh the Lunar New Year is determined by the First new moon of the first month of of the lunar calendar and has been recognized and celebrated for thousands of years by asian-americans and Pacific Islanders all over the world to welcome peace prosperity Unity joy and hope for a promising future in the new year on January 10th 2024 Governor Murphy signed a joint resolution AJR 20101 sjr 1111 that passed the assembly in the Senate unanimously recognizing the Lunar New Year as an official holiday in New Jersey a month later on February 10th the bridgew common celebrated while families all over the world participated in a variety of cultural activities performances and traditional Arts recognizing each other's history and tradition promotes cultural understanding and appreciation within our diverse Community I'm proud of this long awaited achievement and wish you all a happy and prosperous New Year of the Dragon thank you have a calendar update it's actually new month okay we'll leave that alone committee reports uh academic committee Mr Ji yeah our next thank you AJ community relations Miss gri she's not here do I'm going to be reporting on all right I was just gonna ask thank you you're welcome so um for community relations we met on February 5th at 5:00 pm in attendance was Miss kalist myself Miss Huna Mr beers Mr Walker and Mr Moran um the first item agenda was we spoke briefly about Str iic planning um as you heard in the superintendent report we did have have a successful event we do know about2 community members signed up to attend so having about 7880 that was a good number more are coming um there's about 77 people who signed up for the 29th and 83 for March 6 we encourage more people to do so um Mr beers gave a fantastic presentation U Miss Thorton who is our njsba um gave a presentation divided participants into groups um and helped facilitate the discussion the New Jersey school boards will um and they have organized the results of the last session and we will continue to examine the trends we also had an website update um which is something that's really exciting the new website will be active in July um we will be introducing a new app that will link to each School uh there will be a new website tabs which will make make sure to highlight popular categories and the website and app are both very user friendly I can personally tell you I've tested it and love it um graduation you heard uh the update from Mr beers we were excited to hear that there was an alternate graduation option and we hope that Mr hamburger um will have success um making sure that this goes off without a hitch um lastly we had some Constant Contact updates um including the Boe invitations to have the swim team come visit you heard that they are headed to the states um and we're going to have them come to a board meeting as well as unified teams again going to the States on February 17th they will hopefully be here at the end of the month for that meeting and we are going to continue to plan to recognize individual students at Board of Education meetings in the future we adjourned at 5:33 pm and the next meeting will be on March 5th at 5:00 pm thank you any discussion yeah so just going back to the graduation and the venue um look I want to commend the administration for thinking outside the box and coming up with an alternate site um and I think this will work and if we do it properly correctly I think this could be a venue for future graduations because as we know June is a crazy month you can have rain thunderstorms what have you and then we're stuck at the gym so I think if this works I think we're setting uh groundwork stage for future graduations we did talk about the alleviation of stress for families um knowing that you have graduation coming up you're either getting six tickets or four tickets depending on WEA and that you know can wear on your mental health especially if this is an important event for your family so the opportunity to have that and maybe as a president doing it in the future it's there you know you got your six tickets regardless because it's indoors why not so and we we set our calendar so we know when the graduation date is going to happen in the future so I think this is fantastic and um you excellent work by the administration and thank you everyone you know I I I just want to really uh let the high school administration as well as Denise simpco Beller you know who organized graduation for us every year uh know how appreciative I am for the work the leg work they've done to really contact different locations and see what could be the op uh I'm sorry the best option for us and um you know in a lot of schools that are our size go in this direction for the reasons you had just said uh takes away the anxiety related to weather and then there's also another part where we know the kids bring grandparents Etc you may have people with with uh disabilities handicap what have you and and and it's incredibly difficult if it's a hot day to trapes up and down the bleachers at bassone field or when you go to to a climate control facility you don't have to worry about the weather but for for instance they the folks at Ruckers did describe to us how they accommodate you know elderly uh you know grandparents Etc who who may come so besides the the uh handicap seating that they have available they they block off the row above and below The Concourse so when you walk in right folks can walk in and you're only going down one step and then you're in a seat with a back and it's just a more comfortable situation so it may encourage uh students to bring their grandparents or or um you know or members of their family who uh may be disabled they'd be able to eny enjoy that ceremony as well and uh having something that's climate controlled really goes a long way u in in uh taking out the anxiety that all of us feel uh looking at the weather forecast the uh you know the week before graduation ceremony one thing I wanted to ask um will there be tickets um cost or anything have we looked at that sure wa what we had a a meeting that went for about 30 minutes last week with um uh Autumn mroco who is the director of events and planning at Ruckers University who who's in charge of this and and essentially what they do is um if we say look we need x amount of tickets they will print them out for us provide us tickets that we would distribute to kids and then you know really be the same format that we utilize now people show the ticket but but uh again Ruckers would have their own ticket takers when people walk in uh just to do that they'd have their own security parking is included they have parking attendence and the like so so when you rent the facility it's really allinclusive in a lot of ways yeah I think this is excellent thank you Hillsboro High School is doing it as well so as a former Hillsboro grad I'm I'm as a Hillsboro grat I'm glad to hear that and thank you I like to reiterate uh Mr josi's thanks to the administration and for everyone for for putting this plan together hope it works out I I just wanted to point out though I've been to exactly one Bridgewater riton uh graduation which was last year which as you may remember was moved inside because of rain and um obviously not ideal obviously unfortunate for anyone who was missing family members or friends who wanted to be there and may not have been able to but going back I just want to make sure I make the point from the administration put it together for the people in facilities and the students and the speakers that that that really was I felt the great event and I'm not a graduate so I don't have the vote that decides it so it's great that this works out I'm excited about it I think it's a great opportunity but I just want to for for anyone who's had the graduation indoors in the past I I I thought it was a tremendous event and just being able to be on on the floor I I realized I had a great seat the camaraderie and the spirit and the enthusiasm of the graduates the speakers was was topnotch so I'm sure this will be just as good if not better but I just wanted to say our board vice president gave a pretty good speech the last time around also she set a high standard so now it's tough to follow that but but you're right it it's uh you know it it was a nice ceremony and um look we we did hear from from uh our constituents you know there was some disappointment and and look there there's a point of this as well and and I know uh some people roll their eyes when I use the sports analogies but look we're Bridgewater Ron High School If This Were College athletics we're in the Big 10 right or thec right we're one of the right we're one of the Premier districts in the state of New Jersey right we've gotta kind of carry ourselves that way and say look if Hillsboro High School is having it there East Brunswick Piscataway right these are these are our peers and and maybe we just need to take a look at things um so the long story short is I think it would be an enhancement and I know I spoke to some board members about this but we have to know that once we do it everyone's going to want it there no doubt there's there's no coming back unless the facilities unavailable right right and I think that that could potentially be an issue down the road because I know the Ruckers Athletics Center or Jersey Mike as they call it now is scheduled for a large renov a in the next year or two so um but we'll we'll cross that bridge when we come to it I know this year's going to be great so thank you for making that happen and for everyone who hasn't happened yet well everyone has to that that's true sorry if I'm jumping the gun thank you for putting it in front of us all right um I did want to mention because I had another board member ask me um and I think you put it in your email Bob but we did discuss the in the meeting about um there is double handicap accessibility there but in the regards to AJ's question about charging for additional tickets just to be clear we still have children or students who are on the free and reduced lunch program and there will be um ticket availability exemptions for that as well so I don't want you know just to clarify make sure people understand that we are still going to uphold those um uphold that sure um and I also wanted to ask about parking um just for the Public's sake um there's no charge for parking and there's going to be enough parking correct great thanks yes and yes it it we should be fine with parking because a lot of times for graduation families do travel together where this facility right the seating capacity is 8,000 people for a basketball game and and uh they can accommodate that so we'll have a few thousand less than that so we'll be okay but get there early if you want the good seats it's general admission that's going to be fun um any any more well I was actually there Saturday there's a lot of parking and it's actually a lot of solar Lots so you actually you cars won't get as hot so if this is raining you have some coverage on the way yeah Stacy you said that we're charging for additional tickets or we're charging for all tickets no if we have to charge for tickets AJ had asked if we're going to have to charge for tickets if we do then we would have to to go and of course honor you know the for the students who are on a free and reduce lunch program all right I'm I'm a little concerned about charging for tickets because I don't really like how that looks but I understand the reasoning behind it and um I think their benefits outweigh the costs um I just hope that people understand that there's a charge and that uh you know we we don't end up with with a situation where people don't have tickets in hand and and come to come to graduation so you know I'm sure that the administration will figure out that they're they're excellent at doing that and I I I also want to reiterate what everyone else has said about uh how great it is that our Administration not only listened to our community but went out and s answers to it so thank you all anybody else Finance you were I was heard the click Finance facilities and transportation committee Mr singer but I think Mr Beer Mr Stars will give you report because you were absent my pleasure on February 5th at 5:30 pm Miss kist Miss Huna Mr Walker myself Mr beers and we had guests Karen Jones Jamie kotes Mr Leto and Miss Goldman our architect were all present first topic of conversation was the 2425 budget discussion uh administ s uh Miss Jones and Miss kotes discussed items that were being planned for curriculum and technology allocations in the upcoming budget Mr Stars reviewed the structural budget issues that are typical of all districts working within a 2% budget cap uh state aid is expected to be received on February 29th and the tenative budget uh to be reviewed at the March meeting next was the project referendum update um referendum project manager Bob Leto and architect Alexis Goldman review the Fieldhouse bid award recommendation which which is on tonight's agenda the committee then reviewed renderings of the Middle School aition uh exterior options any questions sorry slowing down Peter just go ahead uh the bid for the Fieldhouse is on tonight's agenda and the preference of the Middle School exterior was provided by the committee and is going to be shared with uh the Middle School uh Administration the final topic was the business agenda review the business administrator reviewed to draft business SE action items for tonight's meeting and the consensus was to approve the items the next meeting is March 4th 2024 and we adjourned at 7:03 are there any questions I just have one can you um share the the renderings with the rest of the board in the fft folder sure thanks anybody else any lays in a jily report s just one thing from the burough of ran uh received the while ago now the donation of the bronze plaque for the old Washington School it has since been uh mounted on the site of that school on like a monument along First Avenue which is actually a piece of the old school it's pretty cool looking if if you drive by and pull over to take a look at it you real how big the plaque is and how uh much work they put just into that uh back in 1935 when I think it was created so thank you to the historical committee for finding a home for that especially right there where it it belongs and for the Department of Public Works in maridan for putting it up um which I imagine is no small chore when you're putting something almost 100 years old into a 100- year old building that's itless anyone has any questions on it um I'll give a report for the um Bridgewater side uh so the council meeting happened on the uh uh the Thursday before and during that meeting uh there was updates about the the budget process being started and it's process well the budget will be adopted in May and then there's the M Proclamation for black history month and then uh other than that I think uh what's relevant is that the police chief contract was approved till 202 five and that's uh all I have uh uh for The Bu order side Township government report can I just uh comment as well and uh I want the Board of Ed to know as well that I'm G to send invitations again to some of our elected officials um because we we were a little light in that area during our strategic planning so I intend to to to uh reach out to folks individually to see if we can get representation for our second or third meeting and I would just ask if if any board members have uh have a personal relationship if they can reach out and see you know if one of the council members could come absolutely I I know in the case of ran there was a they had a council meeting on that very same night so there was a uh a conflict there but I will reiterate that um invitation to everybody and reach out absolutely he because a lot of folks think a lot of times people think that oh I missed the first meeting so I can't go to the second one so just if they can make it I I think it would go along it would really go a long way absolutely thank you well do thank you are we going to send a reminder out to people who have signed up for that how's that work absolutely so uh tomorrow Bruce and I are are working on our Communications that that's going to go out and and it it's really going to be a summary of meeting number one on what's coming up for meeting number two I'm also going to include a link to the uh presentation that I gave last week and we'll push that out to everybody you know both the whole District but then we'll have a more uh intimate email that will go to the uh to the folks who have signed up and and those who are in attendance so that so they can look through those materials as well so that's on our agenda for for the rest of the week I just wanted to mention that the summary County Office of Education um oh wait no not that one sorry I read the wrong thingy um that uh the somerset um County training had a Heroes thing and I don't have it in front of me and I'm so apologized but it's coming up um on the njsba um website look for it when I find so New Jersey school bation does What's called the unsung heroes and it's from all 14 high schools in New Jersey I know Bob has gotten the request and submit to the Administration coming on it's at March 9th at the votch I'm not sure of the time so it's the Somerset County unsung heroes March 9th at the votek know I don't know the time it's usually six o'clock or seven somewhere in there I could chime in with one more thing there are two more of our meetings before the deadline for the uh annual Del for the semiannual delegate assembly for the njba I know I've said that a couple times but if any was interested in trying to uh make some change at the state level uh they they're a good way to go about it so if anyone has any ideas let me know or let school boards know and U we have to get on a little bit for this next one but it is an option thank you thanks M anybody else going once all right it go ahead Jen okay um first first individuals are is open to the first open public comment individuals or groups are invited to present their concerns comments and requests regarding the following acual nams to the board of education at this time in accordance with board policy members of the public are alligated 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 the district's website I'm going to close that portion of the meeting seeing no one um next uh item 11 approval of the movements do I have a motion move second is there any discussion seeing none Mr Stars can you call the rooll Please Mr singer yes Miss Asuna yes Mr Pepe yes Miss Freelander yes Miss Lee yes Mr josi yes M lockran yes Mr Walker yes motion passes approval of action items Personnel 24-22 is there a motion so moved second any discussion like to thank the administration for that breakdown of the how the administrative positions will work out that was very helpful in in putting everything together so thank you for putting that together for us well I think that that that change is very effective leadership change in the district um and having the Min is here fulltime in the summer which is where they do a lot of their action time where they're not observing or doing imp planning for next year I think it's a great opportunity and I think will really impact our students and their achievement moving forward any other discussion Mr Stars can you call the RO Please Mr singer yes Mr Asuna yes Mr pepy yes M Freelander yes Miss Lee yes Mr Joshi yes Miss lockran yes Mr Walker yes motion passes curriculum 2443 through 2445 is there a motion so move second any discussion see none is there discussion that's a discussion uh Mr St can call the role Please Mr singer yes mruna yes Mr Pepe yes yes Miss Freelander yes Miss Lee yes Mr josi yes Miss lockran yes Mr Walker yes motion passes business 24-87 through 24- 93 do I have a motion so moved second is there any discussion I'd like to take the opportunity to to thank the BRS PTO for their mini grants which I I know have some quite impact effect in different classroom environments so than thank you um the Hamilton PTO for the six foot Memorial bench and a lot of places have those and I think it's nice for the kids to sit and also an opportunity when that the facility is not being used and lastly the Hamilton primary school Jamie the what Vin thank you for the microwave of for their faculty room any more discussion seeing Mr Stars can you call the RO Please Mr singer yes mruna yes Mr Pepe yes Miss Freelander yes Miss Lee yes Mr Joi yes Miss lockran yes Mr Walker yes motion passes one thing on there I don't know if you saw was we're doing as we discussed in the fft a large renovation of our the bass field entrance so there was quite a bit of Renovations there and um we're exciting to see what's going to happen this summer so Hing up for the next 12 Sports um special services 24-27 is there a motion so moved second any discussion SARS can call the RO Please Mr singer yes Miss Huna yes Mr Pepe yes Miss Freelander yes Miss Lee yes Mr Joi yes M lockran yes Mr Walker yes motion passes other 24-26 and 24-7 is there a motion so move second any discussion we'll have to be in closed session is there any discussion on this seeing none Mr Stars can you call the RO Mr singer yes Miss Huna yes Mr py abstained Miss Freelander yes Miss Lee yes Mr josi yes to 2426 abstain on 2427 Miss lockran yes to 2426 abstain on 2427 Mr Walker yes motion passes this is our second open public comment individual or groups are invited to present their concerns comments and requests to the board of education at this time for any matter in accordance with 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 the district's website seeing on I close that part I'm I close open public um item 16 old business do we have any old business to assess U Bob I just I'm sorry Mr beerus I just had a question about um the impact of the snow day uh no it's a different question uh on Spring Break um I know that there's the ability to go virtual after three days but those are the law is still three consecutive days not three snow days so if we have another snow day we can't go virtual is that that's my understanding I just want to make sure I'm correct you are correct and and that's right this winter we may finally get a determination from the NJ dooe because there are several schools that have utilized all of their days plus one so it right this is something that the the doe has been literally dancing around for I I I think it's seven or eight years now right we and we thought we'd be able to do it after covid well it makes sense you run out of snow days you just have a virtual day and and that's the way it is so that is certainly something that's going to be brought up at our Roundtable meetings because we're not the only ones with that question but but you're correct where the there's been no definitive guidance from the doe as far as how we can do that where the interpretation in the past would be um what in my second or third week here when we had the flood and and right we knew that the middle school was unusable for x amount of time and uh I think it with there it was on day two or three we could say all right now we could go virtual and the rest is virtual learning because there was a natural disaster at one of our schools but you're right the unfortunate answer is I don't know um but uh that is certainly something you know uh a few of my colleagues as well as me are are going to be asking for clarity about and I only ask because i' I've heard other districts that are testing the system let's say and so I didn't know if that was something that was universally known or not so okay correct and and um and look I I would assume with that that if we have the option to go virtual and there is another day that's what we plan on that's what we plan on doing so we don't eat into bread so my part B of that question was here we are are we're already at the February weekend which were supposed to be our days that you could have decided oh nope you got to come in so if we have another snow day and it cannot be virtual to count what days then would we have to take away from a spring break so I'm looking right now at the rules on the calendar the only reason why I ask is because you know it's that time period where people have already planned vacations and stuff and I'm sure this is a this is a question that's on a lot of people's minds as of today correct I can get that answer for the whole board because I'm looking at I'm gonna say it would most likely come off on on the 5th yeah but then if we're pass that what we do these are you were you were asking if if we had one more um so there there's a part on the calendar that's what I was uh it's on the bottom corner oh April 10th oh I see what you're saying that that were that the the Tuesday February 20th is the 2nd of the the day so after that so right so then it would have to that's I think sorry I I misunderstood that's what Mr beers saying is that it would have to be decided then from there yeah so we're not going to we're not going to lose it's a pass what's on the calendar right yeah so being that Easter is at the beginning of the break I would imagine that it would it would come off starting on the 5th on that Friday and and go backwards oh boy fun times I'll be in Miami sorry this is sort of old Slash new business it's hard to believe that we were we have not had a board meeting since then but I just wanted to commend everyone from the theater Department students and staff and and crew who put on the dining room uh which was at the end of J January it was really really good I appreciated uh that there were no songs to have stuck in my head which is always nice it's always a problem after those shows but it was great to just kind of focus on the performances uh which were which were very very good and uh very very entertaining it was a good crowd so thank you to uh thank you to all those students for for putting that on and uh while I was there I noticed that a club I believe it was the Christian Club at the high school was collecting for the Ren food pantry and I know they have a very great need there so thank you for everyone who donated and organized that and Mr Pepe it was I'm sure it was nice going to a performance and there was no popping noises coming out of the the sound system the lights were lights all worked nicely so it was a very impressive setup I I hope they leave that chandelier there as a permanent fixture where the app it looked nice oh yeah know the the auditorium looked and sounded great there's still some bugs to work out but um overall you know we're pretty impressed with how things are going with the new system a lot of it is a learning curve for everyone to really learn how to how to utilize it to the to the highest capability that that it has has but but nonetheless it it it was nice not to have the sound go out and things like that so yeah no I was going to I was going to jump on that and say like the lighting is amazing in there right now like it's it's bright when you walk in it's not treacherous and the sound I mean it was the best I've ever heard anything there so well done thanks no thank and and the designer of the auditorium right the these are things that I know absolutely nothing about but when they came in they it said we needed a another row of lights so they installed them and now once you see them up and working you know exactly what they were talking about by saying you know this is the problem here and this is how you can really make your performances popular but along those lines we we know Dr Basset even though she's in a new role right now um she would she played a large part in uh in working with the contractors over a number of years to really make sure we got what was needed in those spaces so again thank you good point I forgot to mention that yeah I I also went to the show it was it was really great and uh I'll tell you though the the really nice lighting and everything really brought out the chairs um I am looking forward to that um so I uh I have old business um the board discussed training um as a way to build a better board relationship um and I fully supported uh the recommendation of the administration at the time um I also acknowledged that the majority of the board felt differently and I support the board um but I still think that um the resource was really great and maybe it'll be reconsidered maybe not but I do think that um we should start talking again about training and I had sent out an email to everybody about the program from njsba um and I would hope that we could maybe discuss that in committee but I'm not entirely sure what committee that would turn to it's probably Personnel committee I would say no yeah I think it's board as a whole not a not a committee issue so um if we have time to at some point review materials um I'm I'm all on top of that that's fine with me I also said I want to support this initiative um I feel like um a a well collaborating working board is a very precious asset that we can have to benefit the whole school district um I wonder if we can select the training process in the committee and then the whole board will go through the training process together would that be something that that's worth considering I also um is um um I'm sorry what is our representative from njsb thank you I know I blank um is she coming in um she'll be on Mar in March for ethics training and again in April we coming in two meetings a little bit about this training there is not a selection process Lucy it's it's the board certification the link is in there um it's very specific to what's needed so it's not kind of tailored in a manner that we get to kind of pick some things it's looking for 16 credits of Group Training at least one full day Retreat or CL board workshops it's pretty well listed in there so there's not a there's not a menu here we can go through and pick and choose right but I think when they talk about the 16 hours they're talking about like Gwen coming in for an hour and giving us a training as a board at you know like 16 instances I feel like when we were at the somerson County Board Association meeting um there was a board that had gone through all that and they had their trainings within the manv was it Manville might have been um they had their trainings Did You Were You There When They did in like Clos session so okay and a lot of things on we've actually done our our our teachers contract is in we've done self assessments um everyone usually I know where the the full group are is in compliance last year and governs our training correct Peter the full was in compliance so a lot of it we we're actually doing as we go along the way so but yeah I think there's if you'd love to discuss discuss it in um one committee actually could you could technically discuss it in the Committees and bring it back too so if we get out the agenda of the Committees you can discuss and come back and have a final conversation is that all right let's do it that way so we start the conversation it's a Copic you can have all committees which committee thank you and and the one the one thing that I wanted to add um was that this is something that's accomplished over four years so you know it's not even just within a single board member's term which I think sort of that's a standard even if it doesn't actually get accomplished that just having the goal to accomplish it will go through I don't call it Generations but kind of like a generation of different board members that will be here so I really liked that about the program any other old business new business I just had something um I wanted to thank um Lucy for for reminding us about the Lunar New Year events um I had actually already planned on attending the one on February 11th at the mall I mean 10th because it's one of my favorites and I had the pleasure of going and being with Lucy um and seeing so many of our students participating in the different acts and um performances it was it was amazing I mean I I know that the mall hasn't been doing well but man was it packed they had a packed house for these performances and we had students from almost every school every age group participating in the different performances uh Congressman Kean Jr uh attended we had some council members there um and it was just a really neat way to show how awesome our community is and uh I celebrate uh the Lunar New Year every year with my neighborhood and um we all couldn't stop talking about how great it was um and there are some some other events coming up that Lucy has sent out and um I I couldn't say enough about um how great it was to see so many of our students there and we had some teachers there too it was really great thank you absolutely thank you Stacy um with that if I can follow up on that uh on that topic um as as and I want to first thank Jan for making the uh statement about L areas as well there is actually a leg change this year that uh made the designation I feel like if I can read well I was um I think I circulated resolution but I'm not going to introduce it to vote on but I would like to read the Statewide resolution that introduces designation if I can read part of that at least um so that we are aware of what this uh designation is what why that is and what it means to us uh so uh a joint resolution designating a state a certain New Moon following each Year's winter CCE as Lunar New Year in New Jersey whereas Lunar New Year marks the beginning of a new lunar calendar year which measures time based upon the cycle of the moon with festivities lasting for days or weeks or whereas Lunar New Year has been celebrated for thousands of years in many countries and whereas Lunar New Year is traditionally an important time to visit family enjoy food together and welcome good fortune in the new year and whereas the lunar calendar as used throughout history by many nations continues to be widely important to various cultures and whereas various Asian countries celebrate Lunar New Year as a national holiday and whereas Lunar New Year is celebrated in various forms including 15-day Chinese spr festival and 3-day Korean uh solo and whereas Lunar New Year is significant to confusion darst and Buddism tradition and whereas approximately 10% of the states resident are of Asian descendants I think our district we have higher percentage than that and whereas Lunar New Year remains culturally and historically significant to many asian-americans and Pacific Islanders living in New Jersey and whereas the New Jersey Department of Education Curr ly recognizes the day beginning Lunar New Year as a uh confusion DST and U Buddhist holiday on its list of religious holidays pertaining perating people absence from school and whereas New Jersey takes pride in its population's diversity culture and whereas the state celebrates the rich traditions and value its residents contribute to the development of Music art food and Enterprise in the state now therefore for be resolved by the state uh by the Senate and general assembly of state of New Jersey um one the date corresponding with the second new Mo following each Year's winter CCE or the third New Moon following winter CCE if an intercalary month intervenes is declared to be Lun new in New Jersey and two I think this is relevant to us uh the governor is um respectively requested to annually issue Proclamation um and calling upon institutions learning and culture to observe the day with appropriate activities and programs and this three this joint resolution shall take effect immediately so uh that is long but I feel like um we as a district have exceeded the expectation for our state for years we have two years ago three maybe perhaps already we pass resol solution to uh to allow student to celebrate the and Lunar New Year I think this is important in terms of allowing students to actually participate in activities like C was saying without the the ability to do that I don't think they this involvement in their Community Services can be as easily achieved so with that I want to command the school district for what we're able to achieve already and uh um I'm so crowd as this was saying with the students achievement Showcase in the cultural diversity and inclusion that we as Bridgewater R School District are very proud of U so last Saturday as T mentioned there was a a event and then if you miss that there's coming up events um if you look at the schools um Constant Contact email there's events shared in that um and thank you for STC for sharing that event as well thank you for board and the new business to uh put a bow on the uh graduation um we need to should have a resolution because the contract is so um motion to approve memorandum of agreement with Ruckers University to hold the high school graduation on June 19th 2024 at Jersey Mike's Arena uh in the amount of $30,000 is there a motion mov is there a second discussion Sor discuss Mr rers to take that any discussion no I I hope uh we can do this for future events you graduation fure and this should be I'm sorry if we might mention this this is a different date correct correct it it's going to be on the on the Wednesday the 19th it you know once everyone approves it it would be on Wednesday the 19th uh we'd rearrange the uh uh examination schedules to to make sure that right we want to make sure that seniors aren't taking an exam on the day of graduation all their grades have to be done and then you know we'll have a makeup day set up for for that uh Thursday which it typically is anyway so there will be some shuffling with uh with um the schedule but but if the board chooses to go in this direction the high school administration has already figured out what their plan would be and um and I figure even though it's a a day change in graduation it's it's still five months ahead um and it's enough time for people to to uh hopefully make any any uh modifications to their schedule they need to the issue was on on on our schedu scheduled day of graduation they have two other schools there so it might be your your Al Alma Mo there Mike who you know beat us to the punch for that Thursday is Middle School graduation that night still it it will be so this this will most like well not most likely it's going to be earlier in the day so there will be plenty of time for families to go from one to the other if that's the case um I know that because in scheduling it I said well I I've got to go from one to the other as well um so yes there will be ample time we're looking at at most likely a 1:00 p.m. start for graduation that's that's when they had the availability so you figure it's an hour and a half you know even if you had to leave you're you could be back in Bridgewater at 2 o'clock most likely and um then I drive fast go warp speed wait a second um and then Middle School graduation I believe is 5:00 or sometime around there six o'cl is it it's four is it four well but we'll figure out those times to make sure that can grow um I did have a question I just it's more of a concern I just want to make sure that um it's I just want to make sure that like everybody's going to be able to get a ticket so I'm curious like because usually usually they're distributed but now you have to buy them right so um I just wanted to raise that concern um that the communications out there that the constant followup I don't know that's that all yeah we'll make it happen there I can assure you there there will be nobody who whose parents can't come to graduation because they can you know don't have have the money or or what have you we're we're not talking like $50 for a ticket are we we're talking five bucks a couple bucks H dog yeah Will concessions be open I'm curious um it's actually in the in the contract so they've got their own concessions or what have you I'd imagine they'll have school they're early and and look there are better lunch options in the new Bron area after graduation right just there are acceptable ones in bridgew or two and others around this location too all right any more discussion Mr Stars I see no discussion can you call the rooll in that motion Please Mr singer yes Mr Asuna yes Mr pepy yes Miss Freelander yes Miss Lee yes Mr Joshi yes Miss lockran yes Mr Walker yes graduations set I thought heard it was going to be a giant Stadium though did you change that we couldn't get that uh any more new business just uh General announcement I I I sent everyone an email just a few moments ago and I'm I'm on the uh legislative committee for njasa that's the state superintendence organization and a bill dropped this this week from Senator Teresa Ruiz who who is a force in in the state senate uh she's a senate majority leader um if you've ever if you keep track of State politics she a lot of times she gets what she wants um so no and I don't want to dispar but um she's a good politician she is excellent at what she does and she just sponsored four bills right um that are worth taking a look at and it's got to do with reading intervention programs reading uh assessments um training for teachers and and specifically they use these words in them and we've kicked it around here a little bit the science of reading right and and um thankfully you know with with the people we have in this District we we've made the shift towards the science of reading over the past years even before I got here where we have explic phonics instruction for students U and that's just a component of the science of reading but that's the most obvious at a young at a young age so it's worth keeping an eye on because there's going to be a major shift in pedagogical practices for many districts we're going to make sure that we're fully on board and aligned because look it's hard to argue when someone says we need to use evidence-based practices in the classroom I don't think anyone would uh would argue that and where Senator Ruiz is coming from is hey some of our underprivileged kids if you look at reading scores let's say in the city of Newark they're they're abysmal and uh and and thankfully we're not in that position here um but but nonetheless it it's worth keeping an eye on because um I think it's going to fundamentally change the way a lot of districts do things and I'll just say I I think it's it's a good move and it's been needed because we're actually one of the last states to adopt the reading of uh science of reading standards there there are several others who have done so the district I work at just H I think like like brid R has been moving in this direction but there's been a renewed emphasis over the last just even the last few weeks absolutely to take a look at it just as a staff so this is this is a this is discussion is happening a lot of different places and I can well nothing is 100% in politics but generally speaking when Senator Ruiz drops four bills and it's on a topic like this she's going to get pretty close to what she wants on these like just if they're saying and and again I I think it's a cause for good overall in the State uh thankfully we're we're ahead of the curve on this and we'll make sure that we stay ahead of the curve but there will be a lot coming down the pike for academic committee ET as far as what this legislation is going to look like and anytime something like this drops to say once once it it once it's approved we would have to be in compliance not for next September but it's actually the September after so they they're not going to drop a bill in May and say Hey by September you've got to have all this in place there's got to be correct so there's going to be a lot of work with but I did want to say like I almost wish Karen was here tonight because we've had so many conversations in the past about um you know the in the increase in um pheic awareness training the number we have more teachers ever that are going for the Wilson certification um and that we do know and Orton Gillingham and Orton Gillingham yep and we because we do know right the science does say that by third grade if you don't get this you won't get it it's it's a fact um and as a former reading um teacher and phny MC awareness trainer um I was reading it as you sent it and I was like yes please so um but we we have increased um here already so we're in a good position we're a little bit ahead of the game I think you know um so I'm impressed with this but I'm also I also feel confident that we're in a good position to fulfill this absolutely thank you if I can have a question regarding this um do we actually need to wait for legislation to pass cuz if we uh we can probably decide to do that already if you believe that's a best practice absolutely and and uh we have been moving in this direction probably for five years um I think the the phonic program under candy Mulligan and under Karen they really rolled out that that uh explicit phonic instruction at the younger grades gosh I'm going to say it was preco that we we started to roll it out more more and and and it's made a profound difference now there there's more to the science of reading versus just phonics and funny M awareness and and these are the things that um that Karen's office has been working on so so you're right we're we're not going to wait we're right we're pretty close to where we need to be but obviously we're going to take a look at all of our practices and make sure they're they're how much percentage wise or is that the right measure even to say phonics are we using now oh for for the early grades it's 100% I I could look anyone in the eye and say our fir our kindergarteners and first graders get explicit phonics instruction we have reading coaches that come in model lessons we have teachers that that do this because it's it's it's an evidence-based practice and it's made a a profound difference in so our students I I hear some comments on Facebook saying that uh there's parents looking for phonic education and they're thinking about leaving the public school so it looks like they don't have to do that we're already doing that okay and I know they've been very they should come to our public school right they should move here move to bridgew thank you do we do um one of the bills that you mentioned is is screening students for reading deficiencies do we do that already we we do and and that's one of the ones where we have to really wait to see what they come out with I would imagine they're going to use something like the Dibbles assessment which is pretty quick easy you could you could kind of see where kids are at certain parts I mean I'm I'm dangerous enough to know a little bit about this so you know excuse me if I miss but I know with GI G with Diles one of the first things that they would give let's say kindergartner is first sound fluency just to see do you do you know this sounds that the letters make um but there's a series of tests of uh of uh assessments that teachers use with dibles and and we do utilize that because I know for instance in um now professional development day next Tuesday one of the sessions is on dibles training for our our intervention Specialists so you know the the devil's in the details with a lot of these things but I I would imagine imag it would be dibles or something like that that the state would say you know you use dibles or you use this to to see where kids are stand their standard will be written around those probably those curriculums to solve it they they technically can't say use it can they or can they do that does that work I don't know they can do anything they want I'm sure but I'm just asking so they'll they'll write a curriculum that probably is only met by a few yeah and they'll probably say look you have to have an assessment and then part of that so this will be a more Universal screening and I don't we currently do that but we do oh we do okay yeah I think this legislation Bridgewater does a good job of what we do this Administration does a great job it's I think it's a little bit more ensuring that everybody does a great job outside of Bridgewater so that sometimes we you know we we we we have been leaders in what we do and along those same lines advocacy is important so as you see these bills are in there when you have the opportunity and you are with a legislator of some type ask them how that I feel on things like the state aid formula about school funding helping slow property taxes because that's always been a conversation you know and and take that opportunity because they I'll be honest we are the School Association probably is a larger body than they are and have advocacy but they also make the rules and put it on so they need to hear also so take that opportunity you know it's one thing the new jerse school station does have advocacy programs they work with the state but please step up and do something something it's good to talk but action matters so if you see a congressman I saw Senator came when he was recognizing offred at the high school and I asked him how how can New Jersey get more state aid for schools let's get our funding up you know advocate for us where we are we need it you know we get the probably one of the lower funded states in the of the 50 and we have this either top or the second highest level education and I get constantly asked about property taxes and our taxes and sometimes the state aid f to help with this Mr beers who advocated for the S2 funding that helped increase his former district and Bridgewater those areas we can take a larg role in this so talk matters action matters reach out to them when you have the opportunity say hey Senator de Mayo come here can I have a conversation with you Senator steinhardt how are you helping brid the education systems in New Jersey are where do you want to vote on these bills take that opportunity you know what I mean that's important so step up please um I just wanted to comment and I know it's anecdotal but it's actually really it was a real emotional turnaround for our own family because we came from outside of we were outside of the school district and we came back into the school district and my kids were so far behind on this particular and I'm not criticizing we're you know private school but we were really struggling and the turnaround in just one year was so profound that I I know that it wasn't just because um they were progressing in age it was it was really the programming so I just wanted to comment that and thank the district for those efforts I have one more item in new business there were several um legislative laws affecting education that came up in January and one them I'd like the board to think about is moving the Schoolboard elections to the April election so it came up it's able to do it you don't have to vote in the budget to do it anymore it's just a Schoolboard election so something to think about look into it we cannot do it this year because you need 85 days the announcement was actually 93 days before the election date so we're only at 63 days right now so I'd like that someone to think think about it you can talk about the next board meeting if you don't mind educate yourself is this Statewide you can do you can do District by District Statewide the governor already passed board by board decision okay so I'm just curious what the turnout looks like in April for Board elections versus November so it's less but elections a right and a privilege voting and a lot of countries don't have it you know we're a democratic country and you know it happens regularly yeah in the presidential election you're going to get 78% turnout in this past election we got 33% so we can do our best to advocate for people to votee but you can't you know you know bring them out to vote unless they want to but it's also engaging the process I'm putting it forward to think about it's always good to have thought and conversation yeah that's drones now you can use drones drones to get around you know you know car magnet I recommend car magnets I have two questions um would that be discussed at the board level or in committee and the second question was how would would we pass a resolution to that it would be a resolution moving moving it um we do it before 85 days before the election I don't think it would change the fall election but it would change the next year's election so just some things to think about terms the terms have have to be changed we start in April and and the reorganization will be May the organization me so someone would either have an EXT a two and someone would have a two and a half year term then yes correct so people who are on would automatically stay through right if you were to go in that direction the folks whose terms are expiring would get a few extra months Mr Stars could you could reach out to the clerk if you could could you ask them or should some you can do ask the details of that on the cost on the cost and look it it was and I I've got to stay agnostic on this topic but one in in reading through the literature and even a discussion at my superintendent's Roundtable what happens by by moving it to April if you were to choose to your your board reorganizations and goal setting and all of that it kind of aligns with terms so you set your committees you know let's say at the end of the year going into the summer and it's good for that whole year versus Reinventing the wheel in January right I I think if we were to go back in time before legislation changed around 2010 that was probably the reason right why why School elections were in in April so it would more align with the school calendar are a lot of schools doing this recently or no well it just happened 30 days ago oh okay it literally was on January 16th was there a reason for this conversation there's I don't know actually it was you know I did not pass the Bill some of those legislators did you could ask them what the reason was people aren't thinking about it yeah it's thinking about it so it's I'm starting the conversation you socialize it just just to be clear that we had like we've always had that option I believe just now it's separated from the budget process don't have to vot easier to do a little more lucrative a little more yeah I mean it's separated from the budget process but it's still it's separated in to the extent that you still have the 2% Bank cap limit yes um so you could host a vote you could have a vote so if you needed to go beyond that Bank Camp without waivers you would still need to have that on the right on the election the other reasons was that thanks good point was the cost too right cost to have a separate election I think that was one of the reasons I one of the main reasons to do that is to consolidate everything yeah to reduce the cost it's probably around 20 to $3,000 in a district hour size to to conduct an election does that align with the fire election March have election and the fire election is this coming weekend by the way so it's always presidential weekend they always have the fire election on presidential weekend the fire election you go to the state department whatever the state they have like seven or eight different election dates of calendars we did referendum last year that was a separate date separate and Rebecca you're right because then you have primaries in June or something as well voting yeah hey get you engaged you know I do think it's an interesting concept especially like for example say you were running this year for reelection and it's a presidential election um it it does bring out a a lot of emotions in in in the community um so I think it's an interesting topic to discuss because um maybe it would remove the emotions out of our School Board elections just a thought and that wasn't the only Bill that was signed there was one about emergency a being used for funding school projects it's like in the case potentially when we had the flood those those areas you can go into so there are many educational bills that are funded it came out in an email to everyone by the Schoolboard Association so just something Bob probably gets on his you get moreis Comm too I also sent out the somerson county school boards Association uh I know PR point on it I want to have that thank you Steve any other new business I think I'm supposed to mention it but I'm going to govern one next weekend I'll talk to them and see who else does that see you there you're going the weekend bring very it gets cold and hot in the main room by the way so I can tell you that I was there I'll be I'll be there I'll be there I'll be there with you by the way so I'll see you there um seeing no more new business we're going to go into close session where is the discussion by the boarders required on matters and exceptions to the requirement of the public body hold it meeting and public session where is the topic is discussion is legal and negotiations where is expected is the details of the discussion may be made public as soon as as issues may be acted upon publicly so be it resolved that the board entered to en close session do I have a motion make a motion second any discussion nope all those in favor I all opposed we're in close session