hey pck how you doing Helly check check one two one two check check you e happy New Year everyone happy New Year little silence there we had to break it just down of business yeah okay let's get started what do we got let's see 659 Yeah couple seconds away long okay just 30 more than that all right I got seven on this yeah okay seven o'clock let's get started hope everybody had a great vacation uh blacko orations to the flag of the United States of America and to the repu which stands one nation under God indivisible with liberty and justice for thank you let's go over the certified election result yes I have the certification Miss Virginia White 6866 Mr vial parika 6,176 Mr Anthony dimma 6,106 Mr Christopher Lugo 6537 Mr Jing way shei 6323 and M Miss Anja R Patel 6574 we will now do the administration of oath of office Miss White you are first yeah up and that's for you and you're just going to repeat after me I Virginia White I Virginia White do solemnly swear do solemnly swear that I will support the Constitution that I will support the Constitution of the United States of the United States and the constitution of the state of New Jersey and the constitution of the state of New Jersey and that I will bear true faith and Allegiance and that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same to the the same and to the governments established in the United States and to the governments established in the United States under the authority of the people under the authority of the people so help me God so help me God I Virginia White I Virginia White do solemly swear do Solly swear that I possess the qualifications that I possess the qualifications prescribed by law prescribed by law for the office for the office of a member of a member of a board of education of the Board of Education and that I am not not and that I am not disqualified disqualified as a as a voter pursuant to as a voter pursuant to RS RS 19 19 four four-h one dash one nor disqualified do nor disqualified Duke to conviction to conviction of a crime of a crime or offense or offense listed listed in njsa in njsa 1812 D1 1812 D1 and that I will and that I will Faithfully faithfully impartially impartially and justly and justly perform all the duties perform all the duties of the office of the office according to according to the best of my ability the best of my ability so help me God so help me God congratulations Mrs White thank you so much next Miss Patel that works there you go I an Patel do Sal only swear do swear that I will support that I will support the Constitution of the United States the constition of the United States and the constitution of the state of New Jersey and the constitution of New Jersey that I will bear true faith I will bear true faith and Allegiance and to the same to the same and to the governments established and government to established in the united states in the United States and this state and this under the authority of the people under authority of the people so help me God so help me God I an Ana Patel Patel you Solly swear that I possess the qualifications qualifications prescribed by law for office of the me for office of a member of for office of a member of a board of education of education and that I am not disqualified and I'm not disqualified as a voter pursuant to as a voter pursuant to RS RS 19 19 4-1 4 D1 nor disqualified nor disqualified due to a conviction due to conviction of a crime of crime or offense or offense listed listed in njsa njsa 1812 1812 - One D one and that I will Faithfully then I will faithfully and partially impartially and justly perform all duties perform all duties of the office of the office according to the best of my ability according to best of my ability so help me God [Applause] congratulations Mr lug you like yeah absolutely come on it's a big it's a big moment you could take a picture I don't know if you want me to step out of the picture the picture that's great I Christopher Lugo I Christopher Lugo do solemnly swear do solemnly swear that I will support the Constitution that I will support the Constitution of the United States of the United States and the Constitution and the constitution of the state of New Jersey of the state of New Jersey and that I will bear true faith and that I will bear true faith and Allegiance and allegiance to the same to the same and to the governments and to the governments established in the United States established in the United States and this state in this state under the authority of the people under the authority of the people so help me God so help me God I Christopher Lugo I Christopher Lugo you sol me swear solom me swear that I possess the qualifications that I possess the qualifications prescribed by law prescribed by law for the office of for the office of member of a board of education member of a board of education and that I am not disqualified and that I'm not disqualified as a voter as a voter pursuant to RS pursuant to RS 19 1944 D1 D1 nor disqualified nor disqualified due to a conviction due to a conviction of a crime or offense of a crime or of an offense listed in njsa listed in njsa 1812 1812 D1 D1 and that I will faithfully and that I will Faithfully and partially and partially and justly perform and justly perform all duties of the office all duties of the office according to the best of my ability according to the so help me God me God congratulations [Applause] sir Chris is that okay okay good okay uh before I take roll I just want to say congratulations to all our new board members um glad to have you on board and to all the existing members I look forward to working uh working with you again over the next year uh I will now call rooll Mr Lugo relax and Miss anre Patel Mr bra Patel here Mr V Patel pres Miss shann Pang here Mr R president Mr Roman here Mr Schneider here miss white here okay we have a corner I will we did the flag salute did covered that uh I'm now going to read the open uh public meeting statement in accordance with the open public meetings ACT public law 1975 c231 Sunshine Law copies of this public meeting notice were sent to the home News Tribune and the Star Ledger on January 2023 members of the public May participate at regular meetings in accordance with the bylaws of the board and applicable state regulations the next course of business we will now call for a nomination for president for President of the board do I have a nomination I have a n nomination for barl Patel for president okay Mr Mr Romano nominates Mr Patel do you need a second or you don't need a second okay I'm going to nominate uh Mr relle Patel okay pen do I have others okay I believe everyone has a ballot in front of them you can cast your your your vote and you can only vote for one of the candidates please pass them forward when you're completed thank you this way excuse me thank you thank you thank you sir got everybody I think good so okay okay the first vote we have a uh vote from Miss Andre Patel for Mr baral Patel for board president second second vote is by Miss Shannon Pang for Miss Vel for Mr Vel Patel third vote is uh for baral Patel I'm guessing this is by baral Patel uh next next up is by Mr Joe Romano for Mr baral Patel next is Mr Christoper Lugo for Mr vasal Patel next board member voting is Mr vishall Patel for Mr bashall Patel uh next vote is Mr Schneider for Mr baral Patel I'm sorry the the first one was not when I said it was baral Patel that was that was yours Jenny the one that didn't have a name because this is baral has baral Patel voting for baral Patel and the last is for baral Patel there's no there's no name on this one I'm guessing that's me hang hang on hang on that has to be Brian then because I have two with no names is anybody else not because Miss White you didn't put your name on it my name Mr good luck on it that one's yours says best of luck that's me okay so R was for Mr Patel baral Patel best of luck congratulations Mr baral Patel you're president Bo of Ed correct yes thank you everyone now I would like to call for nominations for the vice president of Board of Education any nominations I would like to nominate Joe Romano for vice president any other nominations I'll nominate Mr Vish pel okay any more nominations all right do it piece there yeah my back sir Mr to whenever you're ready okay first vote by Mr Schneider for Mr Joe Romano next vote by Miss Shannon Pang for Mr Vel Patel next vote by Miss anre Patel for Mr vichel Patel next vote by Miss Virginia White for Mr Joe Romano next vote by Mr baral Patel for Mr Joe Romano next vote by Mr Christopher Lugo for Joe Romano next vote by Mr Vel Patel for Mr Vel Patel next vote by Mr Joe Rano for Mr Joe Romano and lastly Mr baral Patel for Mr Joe Romano oh I'm sorry that's Brian handwriting handwriting handwriting buddy you guys' handwriting looks a light that's vice principal handwriting yeah either that or you were a surgeon one of the [Laughter] other [Applause] congratulations thank you Mr Toad thank you everyone who got here is quite some crowd for the reor meeting thank you to all the board members who supported me I would like to start with uh thanking my Guru Pro ruk Swami Maharaj I come from a background of community service so I strongly believe in in the joy of others lies our own so that's what we I intend to do all the time whether I was Addis some board of member and being Addis bard of a president I want to give a long speech and lay out the vision and Mission and everything because my work speaks for itself and I did not prepare this we got work to do here we got a lot of work to do for our district for our students and for our our parents and teachers and staff members only one thing I would like to say nobody needs to live in fear in the past many people have lived in fear I have lived in fear as much as up to walking into this room from this point of not a single student not a single parent not a single educator not a single staff member nobody lives in fear Edison Board of Ed education is for the people and we have a wonderful superintendent Dr alrai on whom we have a lot of faith to do wonderful things and good things will happen good things are coming on the way it's already started and we will do wonderful I would like to request all by board members to work with me and Mr Roman our vice president who is a champion of many good things over past few years already so I have a lot of faith in my vice president Mr romano and with his partners with a strong partnership with him him and all the other board members we will do Miracles and we will do wonders and I have slightest doubt about that anyone has any issues like I said again I already call him a rock star we have one of the best superintendent in the whole state of New Jersey Dr Elder Ali reach out to him and we all are here to help any way we can the good days start now that being said I'll pass it on to Mr jomano my partner and Mr Vice President thank you I'd like to thank everybody who came I'd like to thank the people who voted for me but I'd really like to thank the people who didn't vote for me because I want to win your trust see that's the thing we're here because of one thing and one thing only if you go to one of our elementary preschools and you see our children walking in hallways with their lunches and their teachers our elementary students are our future everything that we talk about everything that we did everything that we will be doing it's because of our kids so I just want to say thank you thank you for your help I'd like to thank Jerry she thanks Jerry I'd like to thank everyone shivy I think you're back there somewhere uh Miss padowski I want to thank you I I want to thank uh where is she Conway Liz where you at okay I'd like to thank Allan from the library Patty Pat Massie councilman AJ Patel councilman Joe Coyle it's we have to work together as a team that's what I am pushing for that is my goal so I thank the people who voted for me and I really want to take and work really hard to get to trust for the people who didn't vote for me we will do the right thing thank you very much have a great new year thank you vice president Romano next up we have approval of parliamentary procedures Mr to uh yes um be it resolved that the Edison Township Board of Education in the county of middle sex New Jersey to the extent consistent with state law policies and bylaws of the board will be guided by Robert's Rules of Order thank you can I have a motion to approve parliamentary procedure motion second Mr Schneider Mr Romano okay roll call Mr Lugo yes Miss anre Patel yes Mr bral Patel yes Mr vichel Patel yes Miss Pang yes Mr River yes Mr ranana yes Mr Schneider yes Miss White yes motion carries thank you next up we have uh our attorney uh Mr MCH he's going to read adoption of State State mandated code of ethics uh Mr MCH okay it's a little long but bear with me we'll get through it whereas title 18a colon 12- 24.1 code of ethics for school board members requires that a board member shall abide by the following code of ethics for school board members one I will uphold and enforce all laws rules and regulations of the State Board of Education and court orders pertaining to schools desired changes shall be brought about only through legal and ethical procedures teachers two I will make decisions in terms of the educational welfare of children and will seek to develop and maintain public schools that meet the individual needs of all children regardless of their ability race Creed sex or social standing three I will confine my board action to policymaking planning and Appraisal I will help to frame policies and plans only after the board has consulted those who will be affected by them four I will carry out my responsibility not to administer the schools but together with my fellow board members MERS to see that they are well-run five I will recognize that Authority rests with the Board of Education and will make no personal promises nor take any private action that may compromise the board six I will refuse to surrender my independent judgment to special interest or partisan political groups or to use the schools for personal gain or the gain of Friends Seven I will hold confidential all matters pertaining to the schools which if disclosed would needlessly injure individuals or the schools in all other matters I will provide accurate information and in concert with my fellow board members interpret to the staff the aspirations of the community for its School eight I will vote to appoint the best qualified Personnel available after consideration of the recommendation of the chief administrative officer nine I will support and protect School personnel and proper performance of their duties 10 I will refer all complaints to the chief administrative officer and will act on the complaints at public meetings only after failure of an administrative solution now therefore be it resolved that the school board members serving the Edison Board of Education acknowledge that they have received a copy of the code of ethics for school board members and understand the responsibilities they are undertaking as members of the Edison Board of Education and you'll need a a vote on that to accept and adopt and you all have an acknowledgement in front of you that you will need to sign that you've been read it have read it and we'll abide by it make a motion motion motion Mr Romano second whoa that was close I'm GNA go with Mr Schneider Mr Lugo yes Miss anre Patel yes Mr baral Patel yes Mr Vel pel yes Miss Pang yes Mr AA absolutely Mr Romano yes Mr Schneider yes Miss White yes everybody's in agreement about ethics motion carries thank you uh next we have resolutions uh public comments on resolutions only thank you none right uh Mr to roll call the roll call resolution oh hang on uh public comments was it opened open and cl just it opened and closed so it's a Voice vote Yes all in favor all in favor closed okay so on resolutions we calling for a motion motion motion okay I don't understand what are we voting on uh it looks like so ite dates yeah board meeting dates 10A okay I see y okay motion to accept I have a motion by Mr Romano second seconded yes Mr Lugo yes Miss anre Patel yes Mr baral Patel yes Mr Vishal Patel yes Miss pen yes Mr rera yep Mr Romano yes Mr Schneider yes Miss White yes motion carries thank you uh next is uh board members open discussion yes Brian I just want to congratulate our new board members I wish you guys the best of luck um I think you're going to enjoy it it's it's been a pleasure for myself to actually serve our community so I think you guys are going to get a lot out of this and I'm looking forward to working with both of you and also um happy New Year to everybody out there thank you anyone else Mr President Mr Schneider I just just wanted to say congratulations to uh you as our new president and obviously for Joe as our vice president I have a lot of faith in you guys and your leadership um and also welcome to to Chris anena and um welcome back Virginia this is a really exciting time I think this board is going to bring a lot of positive energy and uh I look forward to continuing all the good work from the last few years so thank you thank you if I want congratulate lugu as well and congratulate youan Joe thank you Mrs White yes I'd like to just congratulate all the you know the new people and you know we're looking so forward to working with you and I'd also like to thank everyone for the opportunity to serve the children and the District of Edison just one more time thank you so much appreciate it I'll just also say congratulations to to Chris Ana Genie you know welcome on board literally congratulations thank you anyone else Mr Lua yes uh congratulations um president buau Patel congratulations uh vice president Jo Romano um thank you for the warm welcome to the board um it's very humbling and um a very big thank you to every single vote that I got from everybody um the most humbling experience of my life thank you and look forward to continuing to um to keep that trust as as vice president joh Romano said and uh you actually did say something I was planning and say I was going to say it anyway but um for all those who didn't I didn't receive the vote for I look forward to earning your trust for my three years here and I look forward to serving the community the teachers and most importantly the students and I look forward to uh everybody on the board and have a Happy New Year everybody Mr R I think I said it all but thank you for all of your support thank you for the kids those kids need it they need guidance we're not going to give guidance but the parents give the guidance we just help it along thank you for all your support your NeverEnding support Matt thank you Jeff thank you I think I seen most oh he walked in okay there he is okay uh I just wanted to say thank you again all your time all the effort and everyone else here I I just can't name them all but you really really you make the job work thank you thank you vice president Romano so a huge welcome to Mr Lugo I have had a conversation with you for hours this week very pleasant conversation that made me very hopeful that we have a wonderful addition to Bo of fed and I'm very very optimistic so huge welcome and looking forward for great things this year um anuna Patel we had lot of experiences conversing together and working together and numerous meetings and you know what there are so many people in the town that look forward to your role as a board member so huge welcome and it would be a great addition to the board and Mrs White there is no better pleasure than having you back in the board so thank you so much and uh everyone who voted against thank you I would like to recognize councilman AJ parel and councilman Joe Coy who are here today so thank you so much for being here we would like to you know develop strong relationship with the Town Council so you know we can get everything done for our schools so thank you so much for being here that's very respectful um thank you for everyone who attended today um like I said earlier we will we want to do good things here today is U my son's 10th birthday and it's um you know he's a fourth grader at Woodbrook Elementary School and it's a no better birthday present that I can give him other than this so and u a promise I can give him is we look forward to do great things this year I look forward to do serve with lot of Integrity honesty and hard work so that's all I can say thank you so much yes sure so um I would like to ask Dr to say a few words great uh thank you board president Patel um first of all let me uh Begin by wishing everybody and hopefully had a happy and healthy uh New Year had the opportunity to spend time with family and friends um and we're uh ready now to get back in the swing of things as we uh embark on 2024 um congratulations to um Mr Lugo Miss Patel and Miss White um we are looking forward to um working with you um as we you know continue to uh uh move forward a pretty robust agenda so I thank you as always for your anticipated support and um we look forward to the work ahead uh just a quick little Public Service Announcement about um one of the things that i' I'd really like to highlight um and it's one of the first things that we kind of embarked upon especially as I began my tenure here in Edison and that's um our strategic planning process um as you may be aware uh we are embarking on a strategic planning process um it's actually one of the first things that we did here in Edison Township it's also of the board of education's goals is to create a five to a six-year plan that's going to really drive the focus of what we do here in in Edison Township uh and we could not get this done without soliciting input from our stakeholders our constituents that's going to be students parents teachers uh all members of our organization to craft goals that are reflective of this community that we can all stand behind um and develop a plan to execute those pieces so we're really looking forward to Vision uh 2030 I believe that's that's what we're we're currently calling that's going to be the branding of it hard to believe that it's going to be 2030 at that time frame but but what I wanted to make everybody aware of be on the lookout for a survey that's going to be coming out it's going to be coming out to parents teachers we also have some stakeholder meetings that are going to be coming up so you may be getting invitations into those um but one of the things I did want to highlight is we have um a couple virtual community sessions uh as well as one that's in person our first virtual community session is on the 17th it's going to be at 700 p.m. uh information will be forthcoming with links on how to get that um and then the following one's going to be the 18th at 5:00 p.m. and then there will be an in-person one um at a location to be determined on Monday the 29th uh as we kind of coordinate with uh building level schedules uh we will be able to get all that information out by the end of the week but if you can mark your calendars for the 17th 18th and 29th uh as well as active participation in this survey I I can't tell you enough your feedback is critical in order to drive the agenda here in Edison Township so I look forward to everything that all of you have to say um and looking for a large level of participation in that so um with that being said that closes my comments for tonight Mr Patel thank you so much dry so that's the reason I still a rockstar it's all good things happening and all good things are happening because of lot of work and hard work put in by previous board members we have over here our previous board president Jerry shei our former board vice president moin Patel our former board vice president shivi Prasad mukar uh Mrs Conway former board member and Mrs bodovski lot of board members all these years have put a lot of work into this and I always say we don't get paid we get paid lot of money over here that is 0 and 0 cents so all these former board members I would like to recognize them who has served for years and years and brought us to this stage so what we have to do is move the progress forward that's our goal move the progress forward so I look forward to work with all the board members to move everything forward that is um a result of all the hard work of all the previous administr ation and the board members so thank you so much for all your contributions all these years and I believe there Library director Mr Romano invited Ellen kimman so thank you so much for being here um now I would like to open up for the best part and uh you know we look forward to part being the best the whole year that is the public comments yes Mr bden good evening Jeff Bowen to Ethel Road Edison New Jersey I was not able to be here at the last meeting but I would like to just thank Jerry she for 10 years of service you know although we never really fought we didn't always agree totally on everything but you know Jerry was the type to try to move the ball down the field and no one in this room can say that he did didn't do that and uh it's up to the people now to move it further down the field but thank you Jerry at 10 years at great service and also MIM Patel three years of service I really didn't get to know mohen well until pretty much this year and I found him to be amazing once you get to know him you're really understand him and uh I know he had a lot to contribute and he certainly was vocal about what he had to prove so I thank him for his three years of service and good luck into whatever you're going to do in the future all right as far as our new board members and existing board members Jenny congratulations second term that's great miss Patel congratulations and Mr Lugo congratulations look forward to working with three of you along with the existing Board of Education I really believe that the team in place between Mr Romano Mr Patel is a great team to lead this board I think it's going to bring everybody together well and it centers around who really leads this District which is Dr aldarelli and his team and I can say you in my 40 years here it's a big number 40 years I've worked with at least nine superintendents or interims some longer than others seven of which I worked in a leadership role during the last 20 years and I can honestly say that we are positioned better than we ever have been with the current superintendent he just has it with I know a lot of the Union groups really think he's great I hear great things from parents in the community I hear great things from staff and I think he's assembling a great team and I think he's got a great board here and I think the future in Edison is very bright for the 177,000 kids and over 110,000 taxpayers and residents at the number I don't know what exactly is but it's up there and I can tell you based on the number of hirings that are occurring here we're going to take over the fifth place again thank you thank you thank [Applause] you Mr Sheik ji n in court it's very uh feel a little bit different standing over here and announce my addresses when I come over here you know and uh you know um ana Chris I cut my vacation short so I can be here watch your uh you know soring ceremony my wife is still in Colorado with my daughter I came yesterday so I can be here congratulations and I know you a little bit more than Aruna and during the the campaign I got to know you guys more you guys going to do well because you're pure and again uh congratulations to J second term and um you know Superstar superintendent right thank you Mr sh so uh wishing the uh the board uh the best and uh you know congratulations the bureau and Joe Romano for in the leadership position and I uh hope you guys can uh take us to the next step um just a quick question I can ask question the last question asking questions over here here so I look at the uh the meetings some of them has um you know caucus meetings some of them don't and in the past we just have all Co you know besides the summer we have caucus meetings so what is the rationale behind this that's it that's my question I'm con okay Dr yeah thank you Mr sh yeah we we tried to put together a meeting schedule that reflected our practice um in comparison to last year um we did cancel quite a few caucus meetings um and there are some months that warrant meetings uh more often than not so February we know is a short month November we were off um that entire week I think we're in school like a total of 11 days um the summer months I know we only have one and I believe we would probably need two in May April and March so the months that we really need to get that worked done especially during budget time we made sure that we reflected in caucus as well as January for the new board of education members but as always you know if if need meetings need to be added they can always the board can always go ahead and call those pieces but more along the lines of making sure that um we're we're putting out a schedule that reflected our practice thank you next for public comments M Mrs con you behave Elizabeth Conway 2W Circle I'd like to congratulate the board for a New Year congratulate Mr Lugo Miss Patel and Jenny do a great job and thank you for taking the position of President and Vice President and I hope and pray that you'll do a fabulous job I'd like to also thank you I didn't get to do it last month but I actually saw the minutes of the committee meetings and I didn't want to disturb what was going on so I didn't say anything so I hope you pursue that and the only question I couldn't come up here without complaining about something I actually agree with uh Mr shei you're you're standing there saying that uh you have an abundant job ahead of you but there's caucus and Action meeting on the same same night can be overwhelming so um I know you agreed on it but there will be times when you instead of cancelling meetings you may need to add meetings now I also saw in May there's two meetings and usually there's three because of the budget hearing plus the caucus and the Action meeting so you might want to um yeah think about those items and the only suggestion that I make is the number one thing for all of you is to follow the code of ethics because your number one job always is to not run the district just to make the district run well and with our Administration I have no fears that it will run well and if it doesn't guess what I'll be up here letting you know about it thank you thank you Mrs con and I absolutely agree with u Mr shei and Mrs Conway about the meeting dates so why don't Dr work on this and in the next meeting we set up a final calendar for approval sure next for public comments Mr take a deep breath first I want to thank everybody first and foremost happy New Year wish you guys a Happy New Year and congratulations to the new members of the board Ana Patel Chris Lugo and Virginia white again and congratulations to Bureau Patel for the president uh position and Joe Romano for the vice president position I see a lot of familiar faces from both parties right it's all good to have different political viewpoints my only my only wish and con just one suggestion for everybody is to keep the politics out of our education system our kids deserve us to look out for their best interest not our own political gains not anybody else's not the township or anybody else it's for the students and make sure you put the students first in every decision you guys make I want to wish you guys great success I'm sure you guys are going to do well because you're you're going to be stepping into two people's footsteps which are great amazing 10 years of service three years of service but you know these are big shoes that you guys got to fill so I hope you guys are ready for the task and you fill those shoes properly and make sure that my my size is 11 and a half by the way so so make sure you guys do the best for our students and that's it I see there's a lot of politicians here from the township too welcome stay out of our schools please all right and again Happy New Year to everybody parents students wish you a great year ahead and teachers I love my teachers too thank you thank you uh next and Superstar superintendent you are amazing and I'm sure you're going to be doing a great job with the ba in place oh my God good job than thank you [Music] I'm good evening happy New Year welcome to everybody like everybody Smiles positive direction this year sure we're going in I too agree with my previous speakers about the caucus meetings um some of them being cancelled not canceled combined with the action meetings only because as a taxpayer and Resident we're really not given time to know what actually is being discussed and I noticed this past year when it did happen a few times that it did happen um the agendas weren't put up in a timely manner it was like right before the afternoon of that meeting are there any bylaws Mr President that say that the agendas have to be posted a certain amount of time prior to the meetings that's the only question well yes because if there is can we work a little bit harder or more diligent this year I know it's a big District there's lots of things going on to the last minute but if the public could be notified of the agendas or what's going to be discussed those nights being now that there's probably going to be just one combined meeting okay thank you so Dr yeah thank you very much yes so it's it's actually part of our policy that would say um I think it's 48 hours to the to the extent possible Right the exent possible to the extent possible so there is a little bit of latitude in this and and I will say this listen I I'll take ownership on of some of the last minute pieces that are going on there um with agendas getting out a little bit late over the course of the last year I will I will fully own that but I can assure you now with you know a robust committe structure in the beginning we are switching platforms from eboards to board docs which is a little bit more user friendly we'll be able to get this information out um so that uh committee meeting minutes as well as agendas are presented in a timely fashion and if you look at some of the months there too I mean and I know we can we can definitely revisit these pieces um the months uh like October um at the end of the month we have a board of education meeting we do have school board conventions during that week so it is tough to have a Caucus meeting right there November it's difficult to have a Caucus meeting as well um with the um with the week off and things along those lines so we we we did make sure that we looked at some of those months that were um were the busiest that we definitely have two meetings within those months but the ones where we were kind of cramming information in towards the end uh we uh we look to combine those meetings at that time but oh oh as as I said we we can always revisit that as a board thank you any more public comments Mr part two councilman part two a part to went no Drive first of all congratulations jinnie white you're my favorite person great to see you back thank you we have two new members you have big shoes to fill Chris Lugo anj Patel congratulations I heard the comments very carefully but before I go there I would like to congratulate berel Patel being the president and hopefully you can bring the unity and Harmony within the different enti entities of the township along with vice president jorano you all know the politics in Edis but we are not here for the politics we cannot operate in isolation the board of Aid has to work with the township and also Library these are the three important entities of the town if we operate in our own isolation we are not doing the Justice to the taxpayers and that's what I I would say that keep the politics away we can agree to disagree on many things but we can't say that don't come to different meetings I would say that I welcome in fact I would request the board to come to the council meetings put your thoughts together ask questions to us how we can help you so it has to be coordination we need to be working together not working in isolation again and I would like to thank you Mr Ji I know uh jishi moin Patel shivi and all the board members you all have the heart and soul to serve the community and the students no doubt about it our way of working might be different but it has the same goal it has the same goal maybe again as I said like we can agree to disagree on certain things but when we walk in any room whether it is a council chamber or it's a library board or this is the board Board of Education meeting we should have good cordial relationship among us that we should be able to shake hand smile you might disagree but that should in back room not in front of the people they don't care about the politics within the different entities what they care is are they getting back the quality of life or the education or the services they deserve and with that I would say again Mr B Patel you have you have said a lot and I know that you will bring this board together you will bring the different entities together again thank you for those inspiring word we have the Fantastic superent who is always there to listen and I would also like to thank s Joe thank you you gave a good speech you know you said everything about Joe B about everyone again it's again it's very important that you you had been to the council meeting you have spoken about certain things we listen to you same thing I would I would request all of you to come together and let's start working together and as the superent and the board has the vision of the the kindergarten or any of those programs you will need the help from the Township from the county from the state that's only way is to shake the hand and not to differ and I'm big proponent of working together and making sure that you know we do the Justice to the people of Edison that the taxpayers I will not take much time again thank you wish everyone very happy healthy and safe new year thank you thank you councilman party next for public comments uh Matt Matt good evening and happy New Year everyone Matt revnak vice president of ETA I'm not going to go into individuals because I've talked at a few of the other board meetings thanking certain people but I just want to say a few things sitting here as Mr B said 40 years I'm here 36 years 36 years ago when I was asked what do I like to student teach at Ruckers the only place I want to come was Edison JP Stevens in particular and I've been there ever since 36 years and there's a reason because of the great reputation the Edison school system had I was a graduate of Perth Amway High School I was an athlete I knew and involved with a lot of things community-wise Etc I knew middle sex County I have uncles and relatives that taught in other school districts and I'm never regret that they I I chose that asent in JP Stevens in particular one of the things I do want to mention though and I really appreciate is what was mentioned before about the history and honoring some of the people in this room and the predecessors I've said that for our Organization for years my job as vice president second vice president before that and hopefully perhaps future president is that we do and what was accomplished and attained for us through our association from our past our predecessors and that we improve on it and take it to the next level you know you always want to improve on things no matter how good you are and we've done that not only in terms of our organization but in terms of what we give to the community to the children of Edison our fundraising events or or trun or treat and things like that didn't exist 30 years ago so we're always out to better the district better the children of Edison and you know obviously better our organization as well but it's really a pleasure and honor to hear that you are honoring people that came before you sometimes I hear the bickering between board members or bashing of previous boards or whatever but we got to the point we're at because of the efforts that everyone's put in one person that wasn't recognized tonight again is Mrs Pang thank you for your year of service as president as well and Doug you were the year before that um because they are I know as being a leader sometimes it's a thankless job sometimes it's a wonderful job to have when you can help people along but as I've always said just like Mr Bowen said I know I talked to Jerry last meeting sometimes we weren't always on you know the same page with things but I always honored him for the time and service and commitment you put in and that includes all the previous board members you know that are here and as far as you know again the current state we're in we're in a good place we're getting to a good place you know we had a little slide there for a little while but working with Dr Al delli for almost a year now in his capacity Mr to and the rest of the administration team is really has been great and an honor to work with you guys and we appreciate it because we feel we're you're listening to us for a while D I said I remember going to a board meeting like where's the teachers's input staff needs to be buy into it if we buy into it we have a say in it we are going to buy into it and we're going to do everything we can to make sure it works and I know that's happening what Dr alderi talked about the Strategic plan was presented to Mr B and myself right before the holidays and you know we're on board with it we think it's great we appreciate the fact we are going to be meeting not only with us as the association but also the entire staff the community you're bringing all the stakeholders together to move this District forward and I credit you know the current board now the new board the previous board on on doing those things because I personally can see it changed I was very critical of that myself why are we always left out of things we are the stakeholders we're the people in the trenches and having a former military background you know the leadership in the military depends on the people that are in those trenches that you know get the work done on a daily basis so I compliment I hope you continue on the same path I'm sure you will I do congratulate Mr Patel Mr Romano as being our President and Vice President and again welcome welcome to the new board members Mr Lugo U Miss Patell and welcome back U Miss White it's always been a pleasure all the years I've known you I wish you well please cooperate with each other for the best of this district for the best of the students of this district for the town and I'm sure you'll do a great job hopefully 2024 will be a great year for all of us thank you uh Matt Matt you know you know okay just curious I mean we need bus drivers Matt Matt bus driver said you meon okay thank you so much uh Matt uh and I agree with Matt uh because these two individuals were on this side so I forgot to recognize them earlier Mrs Pang and Mr Schneider by the way they both War me what I'm getting into so full disclosure thank you for your services uh any more public comments any false timers all right Mr she Jerry sh Finch um congrat I just want to thank uh Mrs pen for being the  president you know last year a lot of things accomplished and uh you know she put in a lot of effort with both kids you know still young so thank you for that service as well um I didn't want to come back actually but the you know since uh councilman AJ patio said collaboration I'd like to see collaborations and uh you know hope we're not just talking and we want to see actions and um you know actions say louder than words we have uh the township Theon committee has been working with the township and uh we all know that not a lot of things has been achieved and I hope this year that uh things will change um want to see actions thank you very much bye-bye next Mr Mo pel can't just call me out and not say thank you again I want to reiterate what Jerry said in regards to shenon Pang as our board president and Joe Romano for our vice president last year you guys did an amazing job as a leadership really thanking you for everything that we've done and what we've accomplished there's a lot of stuff that we accomplished in the last year that is going to be into fruition in the next few years that you're going to see uh the seeds that we planted are going to be bearing the fruit like we did in the first year of our Administration as well uh i' like to also uh thank uh the councilman for coming up here and saying Kumbaya and work together I really appreciate that but but action like Jerry said speaks louder than words our schools are overcrowded like crazy and it's thanks to you guys for putting up all these housings and actually giving out a lot of these permits if you can just work on that that will do a tremendous job for our students we won't be having to stuff our students into hallways because you are building 20 apartments or breaking down one house and building five so if you can please work on that that would be a tremendous help for us so that that's one way we could collaborate the other thing is uh in terms of shared services the library board hasn't you if you have a parking lot and you're you're plowing the roads on on the on the township streets why aren't wheat plowing the parking lots for the library too you could save the taxpayers of money but you don't want to do that because you want Triple Tax the payers so I would like for collaboration and you to think about the taxpayers and our students and stop overcard our schools that would that's the tremendous for us thank you any more uh rebuttal saying none motion to close public comments motion second all in favor I I our next meeting will be Thursday January 18 7:00 over here at that Center um right motion to adjourn motion all in favor I I I meeting it's a raer --------- [Music] one nation under God indivisible with liberty and justice for thank you let's go over the certified election result yes I have the certification Miss Virginia White 6,866 Mr Bal parika 6,176 Mr Anthony dimma 6106 Mr Christopher Lugo 6537 Mr Jing way shei 6323 and Miss Anja R Patel 6574 we will now do the administration of oath of office Miss White you are first yeah up and that's for you and you're just going to repeat after me I Virginia White I Virginia White do solemnly swear do solemnly swear that I will support the Constitution that I will support the Constitution of the United States of the United States and the constitution of the state of New Jersey and the con tion of the state of New Jersey and that I will bear true faith and Allegiance and that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same to the same and to the governments established in the United States and to the governments established in the United States under the authority of the people under the authority of the people so help me God so help me God I Virginia White I Virginia White you Solly swear do solemnly swear that I possess the qualifications that I possess the qualifications prescribed by law prescribed by law for the office for the office of a member of a member of a board of education of the Board of Education and that I am not and that I am not disqualified disqualified as a as a voter pursuant to as a voter pursuant to RS RS 19 19 four four- one-h one nor disqualified do nor disqualified due to conviction to conviction of a crime of a crime or or offense or offense listed listed in njsa in njsa 18121 1812 one and that I will and that I will Faithfully faithfully and partially and partially and justly and justly perform all the duties perform all the duties of the office of the office according to according to the best of my ability the best of my ability so help me God so help me God congratulations Mrs White thank you so much next Miss Patel that works there you go I Andre Patel I do solemnly swear do Solly swear that I will support that I will support the Constitution of the United States the con United States and the constitution of the state of New Jersey and the constitution of New Jersey that I will bear true faith I will bear true faith and allegiance andg to the same to the same and to the governments established and government to established in the united states in the United States and this state and the state under the authority of the people and authority of people so help me God so help me God I an Ana Patel Patel you Solly swear swear that I possess the qualifications I possess the qualifications prescribed by law described by law for office of the me for office of a member of for office of a member of a board of education of education and that I am not disqualified and I'm not disqualified as a voter pursuant to as a voter pursuant to RS RS 19 19 4-1 4-1 nor disqualified nor disqualified due to a conviction due to conviction of a crime of CRI or offense or offense listed listed in njsa njsa 1812 1812 D1 D1 and that I will Faithfully then I will faithfully impartially impartially and justly perform all duties perform all duties of the office of the office according to the best of my ability according to best of my ability so help me God congratulations [Applause] Mr Lugo yeah they if you all like please yeah absolutely come on it's a big it's a big moment you can take a picture I don't know if you want me to step out of the picture the picture great I Christopher Lugo I Christopher Lugo do solemnly swear do solemnly swear that I will support the Constitution that I will support the Constitution of the United States of the United States and the Constitution and the constitution of the state of New Jersey of the state of New Jersey and that I will bear true faith and that I will bear true faith and Allegiance and allegiance to the same to the same and to the governments and to the governments established in the United States established in the United States and this state in this state under the authority of the people under the authority of the people so help me God so help me God I Christopher Lugo I Christopher Lugo you sol me swear you Solly swear that I possess the qualifications that I possess the qualifications prescribed by law prescribed by law for the office of for the office of member of a board of education member of a board of education and that I am not disqualified and that I'm not disqualified as a voter as a voter pursuant to RS pursuant to RS 19 19 44-1 D1 nor disqualified nor disqualified due to a conviction due to a conviction of a crime or offense of a crime or an offense listed in njsa listed in njsa 1812 1812 -1 D1 and that I will faithfully and that I will faithfully and partially and partially and justly perform and justly perform all duties of the office all duties of the office according to the best of my ability according to the best of my ability so help me God so help me God congratulations [Applause] sir Chris okay good okay uh before I take roll I just want to say congratulations to all our new board members um glad to have you on board and to all the existing members I look forward to working uh working with you again over the next year uh I will now call rooll Mr Lugo relax Miss Patel pres Mr bra Patel here Mr V Patel president miss Shannon Pang here Mr R pres Mr Roman here Mr Schneider here miss white here okay we have a corner I will we did the flag salute did covered that uh I'm now going to read the open uh public meeting statement in accordance with the open public meetings ACT public law law 1975 c231 Sunshine Law copies of this public meeting notice were sent to the home News Tribune and the Star Ledger on January 3rd 2023 members of the public May participate at regular meetings in accordance with the bylaws of the board and applicable state regulations the next course of business we will now call for a nomination for president for President of the board do I have a nomination I have a n nomination for barl Patel for president okay Mr Mr Romano nominates Mr pel do you you know second or you don't need a second okay I'm going to nominate uh Mr relle Patel okay Miss pen do I have others okay I believe everyone has a ballot in front of them you can cast your your your vote and you can only vote for for one of the candidates please pass them forward when you're completed thank you coming this way excuse me thank you thank you thank you sir got everybody I so okay okay the first vote we have a a vote from Miss Andre Patel for Miss Mr baral Patel for board president second vote is by Miss Shannon Pang for Miss Vel for Mr vichel Patel third vote is uh for baral Patel I'm guessing this is by baral Patel uh next next up is by Mr Joe Romano for Mr baral Patel next uh is Mr Christopher Lugo for Mr Vishal Patel next board member voting is Mr vishall Patel for Mr BHA Patel uh next vote is Mr Schneider for Mr baral Patel I'm sorry the the first one was not when I said it was baral Patel that was that was yours the one that didn't have a name because this is baral has baral Patel voting for baral Patel and the last is for baral Patel there's no there's no name on this one I'm guessing that's me hang on hang on hang on yeah that has to be Brian then because I have two with no names is anybody else not cuz Miss White you didn't put your name on it my name Mr luck on it that one's yours says best of luck that's me okay so Mr River was for Mr Patel baral Patel best of luck congratulations Mr baral Patel your [Applause] presid correct yes thank you everyone now now I would like to call for nominations for the vice president of dist Board of Education any nominations I would like to nominate Joe Romano for vice president any other nominations I'll nominate Mr Vish Patel okay any more nominations all right that's it piece of paper over there yeah yeah out my back Mr Toth whenever you ready okay first vote by Mr Schneider for Mr Joe Romano next vote by Miss Shannon Pang for Mr Vel Patel next vote by Miss anre Patel for Mr vichel Patel next vote by Miss Virginia White for Mr Joe Romano next vote by Mr baral Patel for Mr Joe Romano next vote by Mr Christopher Lugo for Joe Romano next vote by Mr vop Patel for Mr vop Patel next vote by Mr Joe Romano for Mr Joe Romano and lastly Mr baral Patel for Mr Joe Romano oh I'm sorry that's Brian handwriting handwriting handwriting buddy you guys' handwriting looks Al light that's vice principal handwriting yeah either that or you a surgeon one of the [Laughter] other [Applause] congratulations thank you Mr to thank you everyone who got here is quite some crowd for the reorg meting thank you to all the board members who supported me I would like to start with uh thanking my Guru pu pramuk Swami Maharaj I come from a background of community service so I strongly believe in in the joy of others lies our own so that's what we I intend to do all the time whether I was Addis Bard oford member and being Addis board oford president I want to give a long speech and lay out the vision and Mission and everything because my work speaks for itself and I did not prepare this we got work to do here we got a lot of work to do for our district for our students and for our parents and teachers and staff members only one thing I would like to say nobody needs to live in fear in the past many people have lived in fear I have lived in fear as much as up to walking into this room from this point on not a single student not a single parent not a single educator not a single staff member nobody lives in fear Edison board ofed education is for the people and we have a wonderful superintendent Dr alari on whom we have a lot of faith to do wonderful things and good things will happen good things are coming on the way it's already started and we will do wonderful I would like to request all by board members to work with me and Mr Roman over vice president who is a champion of many good things over past few years already so I have a lot of faith in my vice president Mr romano and with his partners with a strong partnership with him and all the other board members we will do Miracles and we will do wonders and I have slightest doubt about that anyone has any issues like I said again I already call him a rock star we have one of the best superintendent in the whole state of New Jersey Dr Elder Ali reach out to him and we all are here to help any way we can the good days start now that being said I'll pass it on to Mr jomano my partner and Mr Vice President thank [Applause] you I'd like to thank everybody who came I'd like to thank the people who voted for me but I'd really like to thank the people who didn't vote for me because I want to win your trust see that's the thing we're here because of one thing and one thing only if you go to one of our elementary schools and you see our children walking in hallways with their lunches and their teachers our elementary students are our future everything that we talk about everything that we did everything that we will be doing it's because of our kids so I just want to say thank you thank you for your help I'd like to thank Jerry she thanks Jerry I'd like to thank everyone shivy I think you're back there somewhere uh Miss padowski I want to thank you I I want to thank uh where is she Conway Liz where you at okay I'd like to thank Allan from the library Patty Pat Massie councilman AJ Patel councilman Joe Cole it's we have to work together as a team that's what I am pushing for that is my goal so I thank the people who voted for me and I really want to take and work really hard to get to trust for the people who didn't vote for me we will do the right thing thank you very much have a great New Year thank you vice president Romano next up we have approval of parliamentary procedures Mr Toad uh yes um be resolved that deison Township Board of Education in the county of middle sex New Jersey to the extent consistent with state law policies and bylaws of the board will be guided by Robert's Rules of Order thank you can I have a motion to approve parliamentary procedure motion second Mr Schneider Mr Romano okay roll call Mr Lugo yes Miss anre Patel yes Mr baral Patel yes Mr vichel Patel yes Miss Pang yes Mr River yes Mr ranana yes Mr Schneider yes Miss White yes motion carries thank you next up we have uh our attorney uh Mr M he's going to read adoption of State mandated code of ethics uh Mr MCH okay it's a little long but bear with me we'll get through it whereas title 18a colon 12- 24.1 code of ethics for school board members requires that a board member shall abide by the following code of ethics for school board members one I will uphold and enforce all law laws rules and regulations of the State Board of Education and court orders pertaining to schools desired changes shall be brought about only through legal and ethical procedures two I will make decisions in terms of the educational welfare of children and will seek to develop and maintain public schools that meet the individual needs of all children regardless of their ability race Creed sex or social standing three I will confine my board action to policymaking planning and Appraisal that will help to frame policies and plans only after the board has consulted those who will be affected by them four I will carry out my responsibility not to administer the schools but together with my fellow board members to see that they are well-run five I will recognize that Authority rests with the Board of Education and will make no personal promises nor take any private action that may compromise the board six I will refuse to surrender my independent judgment to special interest or partisan political groups or to use the schools for personal gain or the gain of Friends Seven I will hold confidential all matters pertaining to the schools which if disclosed would needlessly injure individuals or the schools in all other matters I will provide accurate information and in concert with my fellow board members interpret to the staff the aspirations of the community for its School eight I will vote to appoint the best qualified Personnel available after consideration of the recommendation of the chief administrative officer nine I will support and protect School personnel and proper performance of their duties 10 I will refer all complaints to the chief administrative officer and will act on the complaints at public meetings only after failure of an administrative solution now therefore be it resolved that the school board members serving the Edison Board of Education acknowledge that they have received a copy of the code of ethics for school board members and understand the responsibilities they are undertaking as members of the Edison Board of Education and you'll need a a vote on that to accept and adopt and you all have an acknowledgement in front of you that you will need to sign that you've Ben read it have read it and we'll abide by it make a motion motion motion by Mr Romano second V that was close I'm gonna go with Mr Schneider Mr Lugo yes Miss anre Patel yes Mr baral Patel yes Mr Vel Patel yes Miss Pang yes Mr AA absolutely Mr Romano yes Mr Schneider yes Miss White yes everybody's in agreement about ethics motion carries thank you uh next we have resolutions U public comments on resolutions only thank you none right uh Mr to roll call the roll call resolution oh hang on uh public comments was it opened and cled just opened and closed so it's a Voice vote Yes all in favor all in favor closed okay so on resolutions we calling for a motion motion motion okay I don't understand what are we V uh it looks like so ites yeah board meeting dates 10A okay I see now okay motion to accept I have a motion by Mr Romano second I'll second it second Mr yes Mr Lugo yes Miss anre Patel yes Mr baral Patel yes Mr Vishal Pon yes Miss pen yes Mr R yep Mr Rano yes Mr Schneider yes Miss White yes motion carries thank you uh next is uh board members open discussion yes Brian I just want to congratulate our new board members I wish you guys the best of luck um I think you're going to enjoy it it's it's been a pleasure for myself to actually serve our community so I think you guys are going to get a lot out of this and I'm looking forward to working with both of you and also um happy New Year to everybody out there thank you anyone else Mr President Mr Sher I just wanted to say congratulations to uh you as our new president and obviously for Joe as our vice president I have a lot of faith in you guys and your leadership um and also welcome to to Chris anena and um welcome back Virginia this is a really exciting time I think this board is going to bring a lot of positive energy and uh I look forward to continuing all the good work from the last few years so thank you thank you if I want to congratulate lugu as well and congratulate you and Joe thank you thank you Mrs White I'd like to just congratulate all the you know the new people and you know we're looking so forward to working with you and I'd also like to thank everyone for the opportunity to serve the children and the District of medison just one more time thank you so much appreciate it I'll just also say congratulations to Chris Ana Genie you know welcome on board literally congratulations thank you anyone else Mr Lugo yes uh congratulations um president Bureau Patel congratulations uh Vice President Joe Romano um thank you for the warm welcome to the board um it's very humbling and uh a very big thank you to every single vote that I got from everybody um the most humbling experience in in life thank you and I look forward to continuing to um to keep that trust as as vice president Jo Romano said and uh you actually did say something I was planning and say I was going to say it anyway but um for all those who didn't I didn't receive the vote for I look forward to earning your trust for my three years here and I look forward to serving the community the teachers and most importantly the students and I look forward to to uh everybody on the board and have a Happy New Year everybody Mr Rano I think I said it all but thank you for all of your support thank you for the kids those kids need it they need guidance we're not going to give guidance but the parents give the guidance we just help it along thank you for all your support your NeverEnding support Matt thank you Jeff thank you I think I seen Mo he walked in okay there he is okay uh I just wanted to say thank you again for all your time all the effort and everyone else here I I just can't name them all but you really really you make the job work thank you thank you vice president Romano so a huge welcome to Mr Lugo I have had a conversation with you for hours this week very pleasant conversation that made me very hopeful that we have a wonderful addition to B ofed and I'm very very optimistic so huge welcome and looking forward for great things this year um anuna Patel we had lot of experiences canvasing together and working together and numerous meetings and you know what there are so many people in the town that look forward to your role as a board member so huge welcome and you will be a great addition to the board and Mrs White there is no better pleasure than having you back in the board so thank you so much and uh everyone who voted against thank you I would like to recognize councilman AJ parel and councilman Joe Coy who are here today so thank you so much for being here we would like to you know develop strong relationship with the Town Council so you know we can get everything done for our schools so thank you so much for being here that's very respectful um thank you for everyone who attended today um like I said earlier we will we want to do good things here today is uh my son's 10th birthday and it's um you know he's a fourth grader at Woodbrook Elementary School and it's a no better birthday present that I can give him other than this so and u a promise I can give him is we look forward to do great things this year I look forward to do serve with lot of Integrity honesty and hard work so that's all I can say thank you so much yeah sure so um I would like to ask Dr Al to say a few words great uh thank you board president pel um first of all let me uh Begin by wishing everybody and hopefully had a happy and healthy uh New Year had the opportunity to spend time with family and friends um and we're uh ready now to get back in the swing of things as we uh embark on 2024 um congratulations to um Mr Lugo Miss Patel and Miss White um we are looking forward to um working with you um as we you know continue to uh uh move forward a pretty robust agenda so I thank you as always for your anticipated support and um we look forward to the work ahead uh just a quick little Public Service Announcement about um one of the things that i' I'd really like to highlight um and it's one of the first things that we kind of embarked upon especially as I began my tenure here in Edison and that's um our strategic iic planning process um as you may be aware uh we are embarking on a strategic planning process um it's actually one of the first things that we did here in Edison Township it's also one of the board of education's goals is to create a five to a six-year plan that's going to really drive the focus of what we do here in in Edison Township uh and we could not get this done without soliciting input from our stakeholders our constituents that's going to be students parents teachers uh all members of our organization to craft goals that are reflective of this community that we can all stand behind um um and develop a plan to execute those pieces so we're really looking forward division uh 2030 I believe that's that's what we're we're currently calling it that's going to be the branding of it hard to believe that it's going to be 2030 at that time frame but but what I wanted to make everybody aware of be on the lookout for a survey that's going to be coming out it's going to be coming out to parents teachers we also have some stakeholder meetings that are going to be coming up so you may be getting invitations into those um but one of the things I did want to highlight is we have um a couple virtual community sessions uh as well as one that's in person our first virtual community session is on the 17th it's going to be at 7 p.m. uh information will be forthcoming with links on how to get that um and then the following one's going to be the 18th at 5:00 pm and then there will be an in-person one um at a location to be determined on Monday the 29th uh as we kind of coordinate with uh building level schedules uh we will be able to get all that information out by the end of the week but if you can mark your calendars for the 17th 18th and 29th uh as well as active participation in the survey I I can't tell you enough your feedback is critical in order to drive the agenda here in Edison Township so I look forward to everything that all of you have to say um and looking for a large level of participation in that so um with that being said that closes my comments for tonight Mr Patel thank you so much dreld early so that's the reason I tell a rockstar it's all good things happening and all good things are happening because of lot of work and hard work put in by previous board members we have over here our previous board president Jerry shei our former board vice president moin Patel our former board vice president shivi Prasad badar uh Mrs Conway former board member and Mrs bodovski lot of board members all these years have put a lot of work into this and I always say we don't get paid we get paid lot of money over here that is 0 and 0 cents so all these former board members I would like to recognize them who has served for years and years and brought us to this stage so what we have to do is move the progress forward that that's our goal move the progress forward so I look forward to work with all the board members to move everything forward that is um a result of all the hard work of all the previous administration and the board members so thank you so much for all your contributions all these years and I believe there Library director Mr Romano invited alen kimman so thank you so much for being here um now I would like to open up for the best part and uh you know we look forward to this part being the best the whole year that is the public comments uh yes Mr B good evening Jeff Bowen to Ethel Road Edison New Jersey I was not able to be here at the last meeting but I would like to just thank Jerry she for 10 years of service you know although we never really fought we didn't always agree totally on everything but you know Jerry was the type to try to move the ball down the field and no one in this room can say that he didn't do that and uh it's up to the people now to move it further down the field but thank you Jerry at 10 years of great service and also MIM Patel three years of service really didn't get to know moheen well until pretty much this year and I found him to be amazing once you get to know him you really understand him and uh I know he had a lot to contribute and he certainly was vocal about what he had to prove so I thank him for his three years of service and good luck into whatever you're going to do in the future all right as far as our new board members and existing board members Jenny congratulations second term that's great miss Patel congratulations and Mr Lugo congratulations look forward to working with the three of you along with the existing Board of Education I really believe that the team in place between Mr romano and Mr Patel is a great team to lead this board I think it's going to bring everybody together well and it centers around who really leads this District which is Dr aldarelli and his team and I can say you in my uh 40 years here and it's a big number 40 years I've worked with at least nine superintendents or interims some longer than others seven of which I worked in a leadership role during the last 20 years and I can honestly say that we are position better than we ever have been with the current superintendent he just has it with I know a lot of the Union groups really think he's great I hear great things from parents in the community I hear great things from staff and I think he's assembling a great team and I think he's got a great board here and I think the future in Edison is very bright for the set 17,000 kids and over 110,000 taxpayers and residents at the number I don't know what exactly is but it's up there and I can tell you based on the number of hirings that are occurring here we're going to take over the fifth place again thank you thank you thank [Applause] you Mr she Jeri 9 court it's very uh feel a little bit different standing over here and announce my address when I come over you know and uh you know um ana Chris I cut my vacation short so I can be here watch your uh you know soring ceremony my wife is still in Colorado with my daughter I came yesterday so I can be here congratulations and I know you a little bit more than ARA and during the campaign I got to know you guys more you guys are going to do well because you're pure and again uh congratulations to Jenny second term and um you know Superstar superintendent right thank you Mr sh so uh wishing the uh the board uh the best and uh you know congratulations to beo and Joe Romano for in the leadership position and I uh hope you guys can take us to the next step um just a quick question I can ask question the last question asking questions over here so I look at the uh the meetings some of them has um you know caucus meetings some of them don't and in the past we just have all Co you know besides the summer we have caucus meetings so what is the rationale behind this that's it that's my question I'm con okay Dr yeah thank you Mr sh yeah we we tried to put together a meeting schedule that reflected our practice um in comparison to last year um we did cancel quite a few caucus meetings um and there are some months that warrant meetings uh more often than not so February we know is a short month November we were off um that entire week I think we're in school like a total of 11 days um the summer months I know we only have one and I believe we would probably need two in May April and March so the months that we really need to get that work done especially during budget time we made sure that we reflected in caucus as well as January for the new board of education members but as always you know if if need meetings need to be added they can always the board can always go ahead and call those pieces but more along the lines of making sure that um we're we're putting out a schedule that reflected our practice thank you next for public comments M Mrs con you behave Elizabeth Conway 20 Netherwood Circle I'd like to congratulate the board for a New Year congratulate Mr Lugo Miss Patel and Jenny do a great job and thank you for taking the position position of President and Vice President and I hope and pray that you'll do a fabulous job I'd like to also thank you I didn't get to do it last month but I actually saw the minutes of the committee meetings W and I didn't want to disturb what was going on so I didn't say anything so I hope you pursue that and the only question I couldn't come up here without complaining about something I actually agree with uh Mr shei your your standing there saying that uh you have an abundant job ahead of you but there's caucus and Action meeting on the same night can be overwhelming so um I know you agreed on it but there will be times when you instead of cancelling meetings you may need to add meetings now I also saw in May there's two meetings and usually there's three because of the budget hearing plus the caucus and the Action meeting so you might want to um yeah think about those items and the only suggestion that I make is the number one thing for all of you is to follow the code of ethics because your number one job always is to not run the district just to make the district run well and with our Administration I have no fears that it will run well and if it doesn't guess what I'll be up here letting you know about it thank you thank you Mrs Conway and I absolutely agree with u Mr shei and Mrs Conway about the meeting dates so why don't Dr work on this and in the next meeting we set up a final calendar for approval sure next for public comments Mr take a deep breath first I want to thank everybody first and foremost a happy New Year wish you guys a Happy New Year and congratulations to the new members of the board Ana Patel Chris Lugo and Virginia white again and congratulations to Bureau Patel for the president uh position and Joe Romano for the vice president Deion I see a lot of familiar faces from both parties right it's all good to have different political viewpoints my only my only wish and just one suggestion for everybody is to keep the politics out of our education system our kids deserve us to look out for their best interest not our own political gains not anybody else's not the township or anybody else it's for the students and make sure you put the students first in every decision you guys make I want to wish you guys great success I'm sure you guys are going to do well because you're you're going to be stepping into two people's footsteps which are great amazing 10 years of service three years of service but you know these are big shoes that you guys got to fill so I hope you guys are ready for the task and you fill those shoes properly and make sure that my my size is 11 and a half by the way so so make sure you guys do the best for our students and that's it I see there's a lot of politicians here from the township too welcome stay out of our schools please all right and again Happy New Year to everybody parents students wish you a great year ahead and teachers I love my teachers too thank you thank you uh next and Superstar superintendent you are amazing and I'm sure you're going to be doing great job with the ba in place oh my God good job thank you thank you I'm bet [Music] good evening happy New Year welcome to everybody like everybody Smiles positive direction this year sure we're going in I too agree with my previous speakers about the caucus meetings um some of them being cancelled not canceled combined with the action meetings only because as a taxpayer and Resident we're really not given time to know what actually is being discussed and I noticed this past year when it did happen a few times that it did happen um the agendas weren't put up in a timely manner it was like right before the afternoon of that meeting are there any bylaws Mr President that say that the agendas have to be posted a certain amount of time prior to the meetings that's the only question well yes because if there is can we work a little bit harder or more diligent this year I know it's a big District there's lots of things going on to the last minute but if the public could be notified of the agendas or what's going to be discuss those nights being now that there's probably going to be just one combined meeting okay thank you so Dr yeah thank you very much yes so it's it's actually part of our policy that would say um I think it's 48 hours to the to the exent possible Right possible to the extent possible so there is a little bit of latitude in this and and I will tell you this listen I I'll take ownership on of some of the last minute pieces that are going on there um with agendas getting out a little bit late over the course of the last year I will I will fully own that but I can assure you now with you know a robust committee structure in the beginning we are switching platforms from eboards to board docs which is a little bit more user friendly we'll be able to get this information out um so that uh committee meeting minutes as well as agendas are presented in the a timely fashion and if you look at some of the months there too I mean and I know we can we can definitely revisit these pieces um the months uh like October um at the end of the month we have a board of education meeting we do have school board conventions during that week so it is tough to have a Caucus meeting right there November it's difficult to have a Caucus meeting as well um with the um with the week off and things along those lines so we we we did make sure that we looked at some of those months that were um were the busiest that we definitely have two meetings within those months but the ones where we were kind of cramming information in towards the end uh we uh we look to combine those meetings at that time but as as I said we we can always revisit that as a board thank you any more public comments Mr partu councilman partu a p 22 went no Drive first of all congratulations jinnie white you're my favorite person great to see you back thank you we have two new members you have big shoes to fill Chris Lugo anjana Patel congratulations I heard the comments very carefully but before I go there I would like to congratulate berel Patel being the president and hopefully you can bring the unity and Harmony within the different entities of the township along with vice president jorano you all know the politics in Edison but we are not here for the politics we cannot operate in isolation the Board of Ed has to work with the township and also Library these are the three important entities of the town if we operate in our own isolation we are not doing the Justice to the taxpayers and that's what I would say that keep the politics away we can agree to disagree on many things but we can't say that don't come to different meetings I would say that I welcome in fact I would request the board to come to the council meetings put your thoughts together ask questions to us how we can help you so it has to be coordination we need to be working together not working in isolation again I would like to thank you Mr jishi I know uh jishi muin Patel shivi and all the board members you all have the heart and soul to serve the community and the students no doubt about it or way of working might be different but it has the same goal it has the same goal Maybe again as I said like we can agree to disagree on certain things but when we walk in any room whether it is a council chamber or it's a library board or this is the board Board of Education meeting we should have good cordial relationship among us that we should be able to shake hand smile we might disagree but that should be in back room not in front of the people they don't care about the politics within the different entities what they care is are they getting back the quality of life or the education or the services they deserve and with that I would say again Mr B Patel you have you have said a lot and I know that you will bring this board together you will bring the different entities together again thank you for those inspiring word we have the Fantastic suent who is always there to listen and I would also like to thank s Joe thank you you gave a good speech you know you said everything about about J about everyone again it's again it's very important that you you had been to the council meeting you have spoken about certain things we listen to you same thing I would I would request all of you to come together and let's start working together and as the superent and the board has the vision of the the kindergarten or any of those programs you will need the help from the Township from the county from the state that's only way is to shake the hand and not to differ and I'm big proponent of working together and making sure that you know we do the Justice to the people of Edison that the taxpayers I will not take much time again thank you wish everyone very happy healthy and safe new year thank you thank you councilman party next for public comments uh Matt Matt good evening and happy New Year everyone Matt revnak vice president of ta I'm not going to go into individuals because I've talked at a few of the other board meetings thanking certain people but I just want to say a few things sitting here as Mr B said 40 years I'm here 36 years 36 years ago when I was asked what do I like to student teach at Ruckers the only place I want to come with Edison JP Stevens in particular and I've been there ever since 36 years and there's a reason because of the great reputation the Edison school system had I was a graduate of Perth Amway High School I was an athlete I knew and involved with a lot of things Community wise Etc I knew middle sex County I have uncles and relatives that taught in other school districts and I'm never regret the day I I chose Edison and JP Stevens in particular one of the things I do want to mention though and I really appreciate is what was mentioned before about the history and honoring some of the people in this room and the predecessors I've said that for our Organization for years my job as vice president second vice president before that and hopefully perhaps fure future president is that we do and what was accomplished and attained for us through our association from our past our predecessors and that we improve on it and take it to the next level you know you always want to improve on things no matter how good you are and we've done that not only in terms of our organization but in terms of what we give to the community to the children of Edison our fundraising events or or trunk or treat and things like that that didn't exist 30 years ago so we're always out to better the district better the children of Edison and you know obviously better our organization as well but it's really a pleasure and honor to hear that you are honoring people that came before you sometimes I hear the bickering between board members or bashing of previous boards or whatever but we got to the point we're at because of the efforts that everyone's put in one person that wasn't recognized tonight again is Mrs Pang thank you for your year of service as president as well and Doug you were the year before that um because they are I know as being a leader sometimes it's a thankless job sometimes it's a wonderful job to have when you can help people along but as I've always said just like Mr Bowen said I know I talked to Jerry last meeting sometimes we weren't always on you know the same page with things but I always honored him for the time and service and commitment you put in and that includes all the previous board members you know that are here and as far as you know again the current state we're in we're in a good place we're getting to a good place you know we had a little slide there for a little while but working with Dr Al delli for almost a year now in his capacity Mr to and the rest of the administration team is really has been great and an honor to work with you guys and we appreciate it because we feel we're you're listening to us for a while D I said I remember going to a board meeting like where's the teachers input staff needs it be bu into it if we buy into it we have a say in it we are going to buy into it and we're going to do everything we can to make sure it works and I know that's happening what Dr alderi talked about the uh strategic plan was presented to Mr B and myself right before the holidays and you know we're on board with it we think it's great we appreciate the fact we are going to be meeting not only with us as the association but also the entire staff the community you're bringing all the stakeholders together to move this District forward and I credit you know the current board now the new board the previous board on on doing those things because I personally can see a change I was very critical of that myself why are we always left out of things we are the stakeholders we're the people in the trenches and having a former military background you know the leadership in the military depends on the people that are in those trenches that you know get the work done on a daily basis so I compliment I hope you continue on the same path I'm sure you will I do congratulate Mr Patel Mr Romano as being our President and Vice President and again welcome to the new board members Mr Lugo uh Miss Patel and welcome back U Miss White it's always been a pleasure all the years I've known you I wish you well please cooperate with each other for the best of this district for the best of the students of this district for the town and I'm sure you'll do a great job hopefully 2024 will be a great year for all of us thank thank you uh Matt Matt you know you know okay just curious I mean we need bus drivers Matt Matt bus driver he said you going to me tonight okay thank you so much uh Matt uh and I agree with Matt uh because these two individuals were on this side so I forgot to recognize them earlier Mrs Pang and Mr Schneider by the way they both want me what I'm getting into so full disclosure thank you for your services uh any more public comments any false timers all right Mr she Jerry Shen I'm Finch um congrat I just want to thank uh Mrs pan for being the [ __ ] president you know last year a lot of things accomplished and uh you know she put in a lot of effort with both kids you know still young so thank you for that service as well um I didn't want to come back actually but you know since uh councilman AJ Pao said a collaboration I'd like to see collaborations and uh you know hope we're not just talking and we want to see actions and um you know says louder than words we have uh the township Leon committee has been working with the township and uh we all know that not a lot of things has been achieved and I hope this year that uh things will change um want to see actions thank you very much bye-bye next Mr Moen P can't just call me out and not say say thank you again I want to reiterate what Jerry said in regards to shenon Pang as our board president and Joe Romano for our vice president last year you guys did an amazing job as a leadership really thanking you for everything that we've done and what we've accomplished there's a lot of stuff that we accomplished in the last year that is going to be into fruition in the next few years that you're going to see uh the seeds that we planted are going to be bearing the fruit like we did in the first year of our Administration as well uh I'd like to also uh thank uh the councilman for coming up here and saying Kumbaya and work together I really appreciate that but action like Jerry said speaks louder than words our schools are overcrowded like crazy and it's thanks to you guys for putting up all these housings and actually giving out a lot of these permits if you can just work on that that will do a tremendous job for our students we won't be having to stuff our students into hallways because you are building 20 apartments or breaking down one house and building five so if you can please work on that that would be a tremendous help for us so that that's one way we could collaborate the other thing is uh in terms of shared services the library board hasn't you if you have a parking lot and you're you're plowing the roads on on the on the township streets why aren't wheat plowing the parking lots for the library too you could save the taxpayers of money but you don't want to do that cuz you want Triple Tax tax the payers so I would like for collaboration and you to think about the taxpayers and our students and stop over carding our schools that would that's the tremendous help for us thank you any more uh rebuttal saying none motion to close public comments motion second all in favor I I our next meeting will be Thursday January 18 7:00 over here at that Center um that's it right motion to adjourn motion all in favor I I I [Applause] [Music] meeting