check check check check check to order let's rise for the flex salute first algi to the flag of the United States of America and to the stands indivisible withy and justice for all roll call Mr Toad yes Mr Patel Mr be Patel Mr Romano yes Miss pen here here miss white here Mr Schneider here Mr Rivera here Mr visho Patel Miss Anja Patel I'm here Mr Lugo here you have a quorum opening statement thank you in accordance with the open public meetings ACT public law 1975 c231 Sunshine Law copies of the public meeting notice were sent to the home News Tribune and the Star Ledger on January 3rd 2024 members of the public May participate at regular meetings in accordance with the bylaws of the board and state regulations thank you um resolutions board discussion Dr Al great thank you thank you board president Patel uh good evening ladies and gentlemen um I wanted to begin by uh saying that um for those of you that are watching the board meeting and currently uh in the audience right now we are monitoring uh the uh weather as we speak right now um minute by minute and uh in the event that we do need to close we will call or have a delayed opening or an early closing um we will be uh looking to do that this evening at some point to inform parents so that they can prepare um in advance for tomorrow um you know any type of closing especially in you know the weather that we've had this week and in the absence of having snow even an inch of snow over the last 700 days um it it's it's new to everybody again so I do appreciate everybody's patience in this process as well too um and we do do our best to get that information out as quickly as possible to uh to moms and dads to ensure that uh everybody's safe and uh is fully apprised to uh the uh school day so without any further hesitation we do have the superintendent report we have our first resolution in relationship to um our law enforcement unit this is something that happens annually every single year um basically the uh unit is designated under furpa uh which is a federal law under rights and privacy um it has to do with um the uh which individuals are responsible for managing uh Student Records within each of these so as you can see it's designated amongst uh building principles and several several uh central office staff as well too uh and you know the ne the next couple resolutions are are really why we're here right student recognition Tuesday is just going to be a small sample of uh you know the the talent that our students possess uh it's going to be ranging from accolades for student achievement um self efficacy uh volunteerism competitions uh really something that I think we can all be proud of and uh reminds us of of of why we're here and what we do on a daily basis I would be remiss if I did not thank the people that are responsible for the achievements of our students teachers first and foremost our support staff uh parents our building level leadership um all members of the organization that make sure that school operates um in an effective manner H which leads me to our next recognition and our resolution which is going to be uh the recognition of uh Board of Education uh School Board member month which is January which has been acknowledged and although they have one month that's designated for that we would like to think that we honor these group of volunteers each and every day who support the initiatives that um my Administration uh uh initiates and uh it goes without saying even though the resolution that we will will be looking at on Tuesday night uh is is worded very well it it doesn't really capture the work that these people do on a daily basis so um I know I speak for every member of the organization I thank you so much for the work that you do each and every single day um and even with past Board of Education members too it's been an honor and privilege to serve the district in this capacity um and I look forward to the work ahead as it's January right now we've got a lot to do so I greatly appreciate that um the next resolution deals with curriculum and instruction it is the approval of a field trip we've got about 150 students going to a Deca competition I believe it's in Atlantic City uh you know the DECA prepares students for um entrepreneurship uh uh careers in marketing I believe Hospitality uh as well too really really great and we uh not foreshadowing anything or taking anybody's Thunder this evening so I think that there might be some conversation about that which is even better uh the uh next resolution is our professional development that is the uh report that demonstrates the uh number of staff members that are going out to uh professional development opportunities to improve their practice uh they range from a variety of areas next we move through pupil Services which is just our our out of District placements our students that are placed in um other school districts for various needs and one Public Service Announcement I know it doesn't have to do with resolutions uh as well too um we do have um I just want to give a plug we we do have a strategic plan survey uh that has been we we I think we put something out uh over the course of the last couple weeks uh we want active participation in this if you haven't filled out the survey already we would greatly appreciate that you do so um we are looking to elicit feedback from all members and all stakeholders in our organization not only from board members and teachers but we we plan on surveying um our students as well uh especially in high school we want to hear what you you believe the mission um and the opportunities for learning what we're doing really good and what we can improve upon as well as moms and dads and uh you know we look forward to your participation uh we will be sending out you know reminders over the course of the next couple weeks in relationship to the links and I believe we have an in-person session on the 29th which is going to be a um a session which I'll lead and I'll excuse myself because I really want it to be authentic so I I really encourage you to participate in this process because it will it will make sure that we uh that we are that everybody's voice has been heard and we'll drive our goals over the course of the next five to six years so without any further hesitation I will I will turn it over to my colleague to my right to talk about the finance resolutions okay item one on the finance resolutions we have our standard Financial reports followed by our contracts we have a contract with uh Mass Paving and Mason area for paving at EHS Lincoln and Washington for 253,000 we have a contract with Academy construction for the renovations of four bathrooms at Woodbrook and four B bathrooms I believe at jams is it will I'm sorry Washington and Woodbrook for a total of 552k and then some district office painting Carpeting and wall coverings for 57k uh we have a contract with the commercial Furniture interior CFI it's a contract for furniture at Thomas Jefferson and John Adam's middle school for classroom furniture for 325k you'll see multiple um line items under CFI this is for the furniture to um outfit the new spaces uh we also have a contract with Taco Industries for containment air filters at District buildings for 164k we have a contract with educu educational school solutions for student support services at 138k so that's uh things could be related to speech PT Etc uh and a con a contract with esss Northeast for substitute counseling at 75k following this we have uh the request for authorization to sell our uh older Apple MacBooks so we can try and monetize our old equipment we have a change order for addition ceiling work at the Hoover project this was an Ask by the ownership uh this ceiling work wasn't in the scope but we finished you know we figured since we're doing a variety of Renovations there we had that chance to redo um an entire ceiling grid uh to the entrance to the new uh building or the new gym so we're going to undertake that uh grants we're going to accept a grant for CTE uh for 158k so that's great news thanks everybody in the Grant Office uh we have the report of non-public contracts because we operate um we actually hold uh as custodians non-public funds uh which they have that the state gives us for the non-public schools in the area and we have to they have to go through us to for the procurements of goods and services and then transportation we have none at this time so no new changes to Roots uh or adding additional Roots at this current time and that's it for me thank you Dr elderi thank you Mr to uh one of the best things Dr Elder said is student recognition so we look forward to that on Tuesday that's one of the best events in the whole year um and obviously um I second to what Dr Aly said recusing myself for the school board member recognition all these volunteers over here get paid a lot of salar is just 0 and0 so that's some kind of recognition we all look forward to uh so thank you so much uh we will now open for board members open discussion I would like to we missed Mrs Ana pel last time so I would like to start with her good evening everyone I would like to thank you all and Waters who support me and every residence of Edison over the past few months I had opportunity to interact with many of you I will do my best to be advocate for students parents and staff and fulfill the requirement of this office eally and with the dignity I will work very hard to help and put a smile on every single students parents and staff and members I am a proud of mother of our students attending Melo Park Elementary School and I want nothing but the best for our students and I will work very hard for that thank you once again all Addison residents I love look forward to serving the districts and I'm very excited for this wonderful opportunity in the past few days I had a wonderful opportunity to choose some of a school buildings with Dr Alder Ali I was really overjoy to tour the schools and I was happy to see smile on the faces of students and see how hard our staff members work to educate our childrens I was happy to see and start knowing different competent of students schools infrastructures facilities and buildings and grounds I still have a many more school to visit and I look forward to visiting them in the coming weeks and I can't wait for that to meet with more students and our wonderful schools thank you so much everyone thank you Mrs pel uh next board members discussion yes Brian I guess this would be a question to Mr to can you can you explain the nonpublic uh title 2A professional development and the security a program and Technic technology Initiative Program right so items that come under non-public for for title to a for like PD that's for teachers so for the non-public stuff if um let's say the nonpublic in the area I'm not going to speak to a specific school but anything that's in our borders right so they get funds for from the state for PD right so the money is allocated to us to hold as custodians but it's for their use so we would send them uh you know they they come through us to follow our procurement regulations um so their teachers are going to go for PD and we issue the purchase order and use the state funds so that those uh non-public teachers can get uh professional development the same type thing uh as well with like security stuff where if they're going to purchase like access controls or things of that nature um we're the conduit of the money it's it's their money but as the state regulations go we're the custodians of it so when they want to purchase they have to come through us they have to follow our purchasing regulations in order to be able to do it so how many keep how many schools or entities are we responsible for to be their conduit so anything that's in the in the boundaries of of Edison Township I mean I couldn't give you the number off the top of my head but it's quite a few next uh Mr Lugo you want to say something well thank you president Patel um uh quite honestly everybody I wasn't really prepared to say something but off the cuff is actually my ammo and um what I would like to say uh to uh board president Patel uh Dr aldarelli and uh Mr to um thank you for the very warm greeting that we uh that you welcome me here last Friday um I'm definitely great uh greatly appreciative of it and um uh the the warm reception is uh very very well taken um I I definitely look forward to uh working more with the board and working more with with the administration that we have um you know you know with our fine public school system right here and um um I just want to say you know thank you um I appreciate it and um you know hopefully there'll be um other times to to get into some of those discussions that we're having so awesome thank Youk you uh Mrs bang no nothing thank you uh Mr Schneider thank you president Patel um just wanted to brief uh thank you to the administration obviously we're not through the winter yet we might actually um hopefully not be wearing our pajamas inside out tonight night because you might make a call prior to bedtime however um it's really hard what they do with figuring out when to close when not to close is it a delay um what I could tell you is that as a parent um sometimes I want things that maybe isn't for the best of the community for example if I have to go to work and the kids need to be picked up or dropped off or whatever I I'm confident that the administration here um uh is is taking everybody's safety into consideration and that's Paramount and it's really really great to see um you know the cohesiveness of the communication that's a huge huge thing for us as parents I think everybody appreciates getting a rooc call we get a Facebook message we get you know all kinds of different um ways with the new social media and everything that um I think uh the administration is doing a great job of of reaching us so thank you for that and I look forward to um hopefully um everybody's safety but maybe some positive announcement ments you know throughout the next couple of hours for the kids I mean we have some students here so no pressure If it makes you feel any better I'll be wearing my pajamas I was just told for too long you don't have to wear yeah exactly yeah thank you Mr Schneider um Mrs White okay all right um I ju Just a little bit different last night I came to the preschool meeting at this location and it was just so incredible you know I spoke to Dr tuy today and I you know it was you know he has done such a magnificent job you have you know you have putting all of this together uh this is not an easy task we this is all for 2025 correct and uh you know we're going to be 2024 2024 25 yes um you know and he's putting this all together along with Dawn netel and it was just so incredible you know the lottery system you know has been in place for a long time but he has expanded it improved upon it and it's just going to be a wonderful wonderful thing for the district thanks to him and his team I mean I wish you know a lot of you could have been there last night it was just a wonderful thing to see and uh I enjoyed it thank you so much for all your hard work amazing thank you that's it for me thank you Mrs White vice president Romano nothing at this time thank you uh I would like to Second uh what Dr said earlier about um strategic planning survey we will really encourage everyone to participate in this survey it will really help the district bck time to you know with our vision and Mission that's going on for next few years so really really we would ask everyone to fill out that survey and the meeting is um 29th right is it it is yes 29th January so everyone can make their attempt if if you not attended one of the sessions uh so please attend the meeting it's very important and please please please participate in the survey as much as you can and uh one announcement that I just learned today is um one of the former Edis school student has um he started the battery program and I myself made that announcement we recognize him in many PR previous board meetings so today we earned he earned Guinness Book of World Records nomination along with 90 other Addison students and parents the event was held in October in Woodbrook school and if you see on the page on the in the Guinness World Records it mentions Edison it mentions Woodbrook Elementary School it mentions the 90 students and parents of vedis Township including the student nihal tamana who was the founder of that program so it's a proud moment for Edens and I would like to really appreciate everyone who works hard and all the students and all the parents who every day work hard uh and you know make us proud for this and I would like to second with what Mr Schneider said about Communications so huge credit to U Heather over here she works very hard with all the Facebook posts that you see and it has a lot of views and likes and everything we see and we are getting a very good feedback from the community about those Facebook post and we just this is just the beginning we want to take it a level further and we have a lot of plans in place to make take it to a level further in terms of communication um we can just improve upon from here so thank you so much Heather for that um that being said anyone else has any comments covered everyone all right awesome so now the best part public comments I would like to invite the students first if you have to say something good evening everyone my name is malav sha I am a junior at John P Stevens High School and currently serving as the vice president of community service for the New Jersey family career and Community leaders of America I stand before you today with great enthusiasm and pride as a representative of New Jersey FCCLA through my state officer term I have seen New Jersey FCCLA continue to provide a platform for our members to learn grow and actively contribute to the Improvement of our community it it is my responsibility to help provide our Statewide members with service opportunities that are designed to address the needs of our local community while also fostering a sense of responsibility and empathy today I would like to share some highlights of our recent Community Service Endeavors these projects not only showcase our dedication to our students but also reflect the values that FCCLA instills in them our first service undertaking is to make an impact on the lives that are at risk the most the youth the homeless and at risk children we have taken on the challenge to raise funds for an organization that serves as a Beacon of Hope for these students this organization is called the coven house the covenant house is not just a shelter but a sanctuary that provides educational opportunities and support here futes are transformed to strive for better tomorrow with every youth that they serve we are launching a fundraising campaign to support the Covenant House in the form of monetary donations to contribute to their tireless efforts in providing shelter food education for the Youth who deserve a chance in our second initiative We are continuing our support for the Ronald McDonald House by collecting pull tabs from the top of soda cans and canned vegetables this organization works wonders as they support families in need of assistance with seriously ill children when when collected and recycled these pull tabs serve as a source of funding for this for the ronto McDonald House the funds then directly contribute to the incidental cost of each house the parents of seriously ill children often forget to eat the money collected from these pull tabs directly supply for purchases such as cereal milk and coffee and tea our third and final initiative is aimed to help alleviate the book deserts in Jersey by collecting gently used and new books for a Statewide organization called books miles books have the power to unlock a whole new world for many children however not every child has easy access to these portals of knowledge this is where book Smiles strives to bridge the literacy Gap by providing books for to children who need them the most two of our three initiatives cost nothing but a worthwhile effort whereas the smallest donation can make the biggest difference I hope to see the students of Edison Township sh engag in our initiatives with your help and advocacy I believe that we can make these service initiative successful thank you thank you Mr sha U I don't know if you were notified by our principal but next Tuesday are going to be recognized as a part of student recognition so next Tuesday 7:00 at this in high school we will recognize you you're we see your name in the list so thank you so much and the students no next for public comments Mrs convey Elizabeth Conway 20 Netherwood Circle I can't believe I get to go after FCCLA uh Carol and my children were part of FCCLA uh many years ago in fact my son was State president uh that final year and it's such a great organization and to give them a chance to talk tonight to show you you never get a chance to hear their goals at the recognition because Edison has so many students to recognize so I was glad that they were able to do that tonight and I'm proud of each and every one of you uh number two I just want to let you know South planfield School closed so it's not I'm trying to um make your life easier but it would make my life easier too because now I have two grandsons that will be with me all day tomorrow I understand I'm not trying to push anything but I figured I would tell you anyway and and number three I'm very happy to see so many in your administrative staff here because that is a really good direction to go because I always felt over the years that if there is a question that could be answered right on the spot by one of the administrators people it would be so much easier than paying the telephone tag so I applaud all of you for being here tonight and I'm sure you're hoping for tomorrow to be closed also and I thank you and have a good night get home safe thank you Miss Conway thank you next Mrs Bowski Carol B Carol bowsky 39 Jonathan Drive I too am very happy to be here speaking with Mrs Conway and with our FCCLA students and I think we'll see quite a few more Award winners and recognition receivers um from all our works and areas of school but especially from FCCLA because I just spent about a week or so ago at one of the meetings with them and I am so amazed I was amazed at what the children did when my daughter was in how much they accomplished and were able to do how they could tell you parliamentary procedure any time at the drop of a hat and lots of other things but the students we have today my daughters do not want to hear this but the students we have today are light years from where we started so these groups that we have the current students in those groups are great they're wonderful they're doing all kinds of things but they're building a foundation for the future students but the other reason I wanted to speak tonight is um I understand that January is School Board appreciation month and as much as along with Mrs Conway I appreciate the staff being here offering their expertise um the school board members are unpa paid unthanked I think for the most part um and very hardworking towards keeping the schools functioning keeping the schools ahead keeping all the great things that are happening in our schools happening and that's the mix because a community has people from all different roles and that is the mix we have we have an attorney a financial we have all the professionals to do specific jobs that you need professional training for and then we have volunteer board members who when I first came and my daughter started school here we did not even have an elected Board of Education we had an appointed Board of Education and we fought and we had got the right to do put it on the ballot and we had like 32 people running for the board of education for the same few seats and uh it leveled out and now there's a reasonable amount and Mrs Conway and I did take our turn and wow it's a hard job and my doctor had me not be do that anymore although I love the schools and I love um the students but I just wanted to say FCCLA all of you here tonight reminded me me that it's student recognition next month but ALS next week at the next meeting but also this month it's a recognition for the Board of Education members and whether you're Brandy new so you're working double time on everything or you've been around and you have a lot of years of experience through the past and you remember the past um they all have specific um advantages to put together to work as a group and I have to say a lot of times people in important jobs feel that they're underpaid and I know I'm constantly seeing on on the news that some government position has raised the salary to like wow [Music] and what's your salary for the board now what's your salary for the board now yeah so I just wanted to thank all of you for what you do as members of the Board of Education thank you so much for the kind words Mrs Bowski um next for public comments Mr damarin uh Anthony Damon 25 Wy it's been a while since I've been in this room um first off um I just want to congratulate James Monroe they did a just a terrific job uh the other day coming back to school um that is probably the hardest school to get into and navigate through um and they they just from everybody from the cross guard to uh the school resource resource officer uh principal and staff they they very smooth um I wish that you know that could be every day but um that was uh they deserve recognition for that um the the governor continues to uh to mandate um many things that's going to put pressure on school boards uh going forward prek uh uh is I believe being talked about now as well I I see that the mayor uh of Edison has talked about um reopening Stelton school for rec center I I just would like to know if the mayor has uh has had any communication with the with the board the superintendent um and to try to you know help in that matter because it's going to put a lot of pressure on this on this board going forward uh for for you know purposes of you know where you going to put all the kids um and Stelton sits there um the numbers that are being thrown around to Stelton uh seems very expensive just to get it just to get it up and running um let alone from just uh renovating it so um he uh the mayor likes to talk you know um a lot about the school board uh his influence but I'd like to know you know if if he is uh reached out in any way to to try to help it would be nice to to have his help and and the uh the administration's help over there um I think you're going to need it um let's see oh and regards to uh I know it's uh School Board appreciation month I I I say this uh it might be not a bad idea I don't know if there's a an office designated excuse me uh for um the board president and vice president I believe that you know they're extremely busy I don't know if there's you know I even believe this for the council president over at town hall should have their own office something to look into uh a room um that they could go and uh do their work so um something to uh something to look forward you know to to think about um let's see yeah I think that's it I think that's it so oh uh there was a zoom call today um Megan happened to uh send me the link um I was on for like two minutes um I really didn't what was the purpose of that like what's what is that information like just regular information that they're trying to you guys are trying to real quick I hate to be the bear of bad news but the attorney is always the bad guy I just want to remind everybody and fortunately you're the first one tonight but um this is a public comment session so um it's not a question and answer session no back and forth yeah so um you can ask questions the board can decide after the close the public comment if they want to respond or to what ones they want well if they decide to discuss this uh I I was just I I I I tuned in for a couple minutes uh it seemed pretty you know informative um but I didn't know about it uh I don't I don't know how many people how how public it was made so um we could have a discussion after after this I don't my apologies um and that's it for uh for today Dr Al will answer a question yeah yeah I'll I'll I'll I'll follow up it's probably a little bit longer than yeah thank you next yes you can hey guys uh my name is om single and I'm a junior at John P Stevens High School um I didn't have anything prepared for this but uh I whipped up like a few points just to just to discuss um so regarding the the snow tomorrow I just want to start off by saying that I appreciate every board member who is sitting here and you guys like you guys sacrifice a lot and that means a lot and you guys take care of a lot of things so I just want to say thank you for that and I appreciate appreciate you guys but uh my parents have to go to work tomorrow and uh it I don't think having a half day would uh allow them to pick me up because you know they're at work so I think having a half day shouldn't be a choice and then also it's snowing from 9: to 2: so that's 5 hours of snow snow and uh that's a lot of snow so I think it would be really hard for transportation after school for uh it's very unsafe uh for children and especially me cuz my parents won't be there to pick me up from school and I have to walk up 1.9 miles home since I don't have a bus so um and I just don't want to got I just don't want to repeat greatest public comment ever my 10 years of work I just want to know which one which one of the administrators over here put you up to this and uh I just don't want to repeat that uh that year that we that we had a few years ago it like yeah 20 2018 I think and it was like November and no one expected it and I got home at like 6 MH and it was like and I and I'm just trying to enjoy my Friday Friday night like I had a movie night plan with my parents and like I don't want to delay my sleep time cuz I have somewhere to be Saturday morning as well so and it's also a big safety concern so I I appreciate every one of you and uh I hope my comments uh uh make your make your decisions turn your decisions elsewhere thank you thank you thank you for your comment really I appreciate it thank you it seems like Mrs conve might have given you some pointers while you were sitting you didn't go right after when I invited you earlier but then you went later so you did a great job thank you great job uh next Mr Rak good evening Matt revnak ETA vice president um first of all the board members you know it's it's funny because we always say like thank you for your service to military I know my church they always do it the you know offer your prayers for EMTs and First Responders but there's a lot of other people that do volunteer work and that includes you guys so I do appreciate it again like I've been saying the last few meetings with the outgoing board members sometimes we don't always we see the eye to eye but I always do appreciate the time and efforts I know throughout my life I volunteer for a lot of things involving Sports and things like that and you know most things don't happen without volunteers um you know it's important the work you do is important and it is appreciated uh but the real reason why I really want to get up here actually two other things the strategic planning um we did sit in on one of the first session I believe it was actually and I do encourage anyone to whether it's attend a live meeting or you know sit in one of the zooms if there's any left because it is important I thought they were very good in terms of listening and taking notes and you know nice discussion on the people that were involved in the zoom call that I had in um so you know it's something I've you know brought up I won't say complained but I've brought up into to the attention of you know former superintendents and Boards about listening and getting you know the teachers the students everyone involved the stakeholders basically and I think it's a good move in the right direction hopefully they do take the data that's collected and the information I'm sure they will and you guys come up with a great plan moving forward the third thing I want to mention it goes about the snow not that I'm advoc not that I'm advocating the same way um but one of the things that I know we've discussed at at my school at JP Stevens and I'm sure Edison High and all has also with the closure of the school and we've let this if we do close this will be three days JPC is losing is there consideration about pushing the marking period back three days because in many cases you know usually the last day or two is when we do our like final assessment and I know personally with my own class if I'm losing three days I'm not going to be able to get that last assessment in which some of those kids may need for their grades so I hope that you guys consider that you know the other schools right now would be a second day JP Stevens we had that flooding situation and we you know so we're really down would be down three days now all right thank you thank you next motion close motion to close public comments motion second all in favor I I I motion you very much motion to um adj to privileg session how to read this in accordance with the open public meetings act chapter 231 PL 1975 the dent Township Board of Education will adjourn to confidential session for the purpose of discussing confidential student matters personal matters EPS CMA sidebar agreement health insurance contract dispute property purchase former staff and student litigations uh motion to adj to privilege session motion motion second second Mr Schneider roll call Mr to Mr Lugo yes Miss Patel yes Mr AA yes Mr Schneider yes Miss White yes Miss Pang yes vice president Romano yes president Patel yes motion car thank you at this time we will uh go into close session we don't expect to come back thank you everyone have a good night and stay safe and hopefully your wishes come true for the snow tomorrow --------- [Music] indivisible with Li and justice for all roll call Mr to yes Mr Patel Mr B Patel Mr Romano yes Miss pen here here miss white here Mr Schneider here Mr Rivera here Mr vichel Patel Miss Anja Patel I'm here Mr Lugo here you have a quorum opening statement thank you in accordance with the open public meetings ACT public law 1975 c231 Sunshine Law copies of the public meeting notice were sent to the home News Tribune and the Star Ledger on January 3rd 2024 members of the public May participate at regular meetings in accordance with the bylaws of the board and state regulations thank you um resolutions board discussion Dr aler great thank you thank you board president Patel uh good evening ladies and gentlemen um I wanted to begin by uh saying that um for those of you that are watching the board meeting and currently uh in the audience right now we are monitoring uh the uh weather as we speak right now um minute by minute and uh in the event that we do need to close we will call or have a delayed opening or an early closing um we will be uh looking to do that this evening at some point to inform parents so that they can prepare um in advance for tomorrow um you know any type of closing especially in you know the weather that we've had this week and in the absence of having snow even an inch of snow over the last 700 days um it it's it's new to everybody again so I do appreciate everybody's patience in this process as well too um and we do do our best to get that information out as quickly as possible to to uh to moms and dads to ensure that uh everybody's safe and uh is fully apprised to uh the uh school day so without any further hesitation we do have the superintendent report we have our first resolution in relationship to um our law enforcement unit this is something that happens annually every single year um basically the uh unit is designated under furpa uh which is a federal law under rights and privacy um it has to do with um the uh which individuals are responsible for for managing uh Student Records within each of these so as you can see it's designated amongst uh building principles and several several uh central office staff as well too uh and you know the ne the next couple resolutions are really why we're here right student recognition Tuesday is just going to be a small sample of uh you know the the talent that our students possess uh it's going to be ranging from accolades for student achievement um self efficacy uh volunteerism competitions uh really some something that I think we can all be proud of and uh reminds us of of why we're here and what we do on a daily basis I would be remiss if I did did not thank the people that are responsible for the achievements of our students teachers first and foremost our support staff uh parents our building level leadership um all members of the organization that make sure that school operates um in an effective Manner and which leads me to our next recognition and our resol ution which is going to be uh the recognition of uh Board of Education uh School Board member month which is January which has been acknowledged and although they have one month that's designated for that we would like to think that we honor these group of volunteers each and every day who support the initiatives that um my Administration uh uh initiates and uh it goes without saying even though the resolution that we will will be looking at on Tuesday night uh is is worded very well it it doesn't really capture the work that these people do on a daily basis so um I know I speak for every member of the organization I thank you so much for the work that you do each and every single day um and even with past Board of Education members too it's been an honor and privilege to serve the district in this capacity um and I look forward to the work ahead as it's January right now we've got a lot to do so I greatly appreciate that um the next resolution deals with curriculum instruction it is is the approval of a field trip we've got about 150 students going to a Deca competition I believe it's in Atlantic City uh you know the DECA prepares students for um entrepreneurship uh uh careers in marketing I believe Hospitality uh as well too really really great and we uh not foreshadowing anything or taking anybody's Thunder this evening so I think that there might be some conversation about that which is even better uh the uh next resolution is our professional development that is the uh report that demonstrates the uh number of Staff members that are going out to uh professional development opportunities to improve their practice uh they range from a variety of areas next we move through pupil Services which is just our our outof district placements our students that are placed in um other school districts for various needs and one Public Service Announcement I know it doesn't have to do with resolutions uh as well too um we do have um I just want to give a plug we we do have a strategic plan survey uh that has been we we I think we put something out uh over the course of the last couple weeks uh we want active participation in this if you haven't filled out the survey already we would greatly appreciate that you do so um we are looking to elicit feedback from all members and all stakeholders in our organization not only from board members and teachers but we we plan on surveying um our students as well uh especially in high school we want to hear what you you believe the mission um and the opportunities for learning what we're doing really good and what we can improve upon as well as moms and dads and uh you know we look forward to your participation uh we will be sending out you know reminders over the course of the next couple weeks in relationship to the links and I believe we have an in-person session on the 29th which is going to be a um a session which I'll lead and I'll excuse myself because I really want it to be authentic so I I really encourage you to participate in this process it will it will make sure that we uh that we are that everybody's voice has been heard and we'll drive our goals over the course of the next five to six years so without any further hesitation I will I will turn it over to my colleague to my right to talk about the finance resolutions okay item one on the finance resolutions we have our standard Financial reports followed by our contracts we have a contract with uh Mass Paving and masonary for paving at EHS Lincoln and Washington for 253,000 we have a contract with AC construction for the renovations of four bathrooms at Woodbrook and four bathrooms I believe at jams is it Willington I'm sorry Washington and Woodbrook uh for a total of 552k and then some district office painting Carpeting and wall coverings for 57k uh we have a contract with the commercial Furniture interior CFI it's a contract for furniture at Thomas Jefferson and John Adams Middle School for classroom furniture for 325k you'll see multiple um line items under CFI this is for the furniture to um outfit the new spaces uh we also have a contract with Taco Industries for containment air filters at District buildings for 164k we have a contract with educu educational school solutions for student support services at 138k so that's uh things could be related to speech PT Etc uh and a con a contract with ESS Northeast for substitute counseling at 75 5K following this we have uh the request for authorization to sell our older Apple MacBooks so we can try and monetize our old equipment we have a change order for addition seiling work at the Hoover project this was an Ask by the ownership uh this ceiling work wasn't in the scope but we finished you know we figured since we're doing a a variety of Renovations there we had that that chance to redo um an entire ceiling grid uh to the entrance to the new uh building or the new gym so we're going to undertake that uh grants we're going to accept a grant for CTE uh for 1508 so that's great news thanks to everybody in the Grant Office uh we have the report of non-public contracts because we operate uh we actually hold uh as custodians non-public funds uh which they have that the state gives us for the non-public schools in the area and we have to they have to go through us to for the procurements of goods and services and then transportation we have none at this time so no new changes to Roots uh or adding additional Roots at this current time and that's it for me thank you Dr Elder thank you Mr to uh one of the best things Dr elderi said is student recognition so we look forward to that on Tuesday that's one of the best events in the whole year um and obviously um I second to what Dr Al said recusing myself for the school board member recognition all these volunteers over here get paid a lot of salar is just $0 and0 so that's some kind of recognition we all look forward to uh so thank you so much uh we will now open for board members open discussion I would like to we missed Mrs anjuna pel last time so I would like to start with her good evening everyone I would like to thank you all and wats who support me and every residents of addons over the past few months I had opportunity to interact with many of you I will do my best to be advocate for students parents and staff and fulfill the requirement of this office ethically and with the dignity I will work very hard to help and put a smile on every single students parents and staff and members I am a proud of mother of a students attending mow Park Elementary School and I want nothing but the best for our students and I will work very hard for that thank you once again all Addison's residents I look forward to serving the districts and I'm very excited for this wonderful opportunity in the past few days I had a wonderful opportunity to Cho some of a school buildings with Dr aler Ali I was really overjoy to tour the schools and I was happy to see smile on the faces of students and see how hard our staff members work to educate our childrens our I was happy to see and start knowing different competent of students schools infrastructures facilities and buildings and grounds I still have a many more school to visit and I look forward to visiting them in the coming weeks and I can't wait for that to meet with more students and our wonderful schools thank you so much everyone thank you Mrs pel uh next board members discussion yes bran I guess this would be a question to Mr to can you can you explain the nonpublic uh title 2A professional development and the security aid program and Technic uh technology Initiative Program right so items that come under non-public for for title 2A for like PD that's for teachers so for the non-public stuff if um let's say the nonpublic in the area I'm not going to speak to a specific school but anything that's in our borders right so they get funds for from the state for PD right so the money is allocated to us to hold as custodians but it's for their use so we would send them uh you know they they come through us to follow our procurement regulations um so their teachers are going to go for PD and we issue the purchase order and use the state funds so that those uh non-public teachers can get uh professional development the same type thing uh as well with like security stuff or if they're going to purchase like access controls or things of that nature um we're the conduit of the money it's it's their money but as the state regulations go we're the custodians of it so when they want to purchase they have to come through us they have to follow are purchasing regulations in order to be able to do it so how many PE how many schools or entities are we responsible for to be their conduit so anything that's in the in the boundaries of of Edison Township I mean I couldn't give you the number off the top of my head but it's quite a few okay next uh Mr Lugo you want to say something well thank you president Patel um uh quite honestly everybody I wasn't really prepared to say something but but off the cuff is actually my ammo and um what I would like to say uh to uh board president Patel uh Dr Al delli and uh Mr to um thank you for the very warm greeting that we uh that you welcom me here last Friday um I'm definitely great uh greatly appreciative of it and um uh the the warm reception is uh very very well taken um I I definitely look forward to uh working more with the board and working more with with the administration that we have um you know you know with our fine Public School System right here and um um I just want to say you know thank you um I appreciate it and um you know hopefully there'll be um other times to to get into some of those discussions that we're having so so awesome thank Youk you uh Mrs bang no nothing thank you uh Mr Schneider thank you president Patel um just wanted to brief uh thank you to the administration obviously we're not through the winter yet yet we might actually um hopefully not be wearing our pajamas inside out tonight because you might make a call prior to bedtime however um it's really hard what they do with figuring out when to close when not to close is it a delay um what I could tell you is that as a parent um sometimes I want things that maybe isn't for the best of the community for example if I have to go to work and the kids need to be picked up or dropped off or whatever I I'm confident that the administration here um uh is is taking everybody's safety into consideration and that's Paramount and it's really really great to see um you know the cohesiveness of the communication that's a huge huge thing for us as parents I think everybody appreciates getting a rooc call we get a Facebook message we get you know all kinds of different um ways with the new social media and everything that um I think uh the administration is doing a great job of of reaching us so thank you for that and I look forward to um hopefully um everybody's safety but maybe some positive announcements you know throughout the next couple of hours the kids I me we have some students here so no pressure If it makes you feel any better I'll be wearing my pajamas I was just told for too long you don't have to work yeah exactly yeah thank you Mr Schneider um Mrs White okay all right um I ju Just a little bit different last night I came to the preschool meeting at this location and and it was just so incredible you know I spoke to Dr tuy today and I you know it was you know he has done such a magnificent job you have you know you have putting all of this together uh this is not an easy task we this is all for 2025 correct and uh you know we're going to be 2024 2024 25 yes um you know and he's putting this all together along with da Neto and it was just so incredible you know the lottery system you know has been in place for a long time but he has expanded it improved upon it and it's just going to be a wonderful wonderful thing for the district thanks to him and his team I mean I wish you know a lot of you could have been there last night it was just a wonderful thing to see and uh I enjoyed it thank you so much for all your hard work amazing thank you that's it thank you Mrs White vice president Romano nothing at this time thank you uh I would like to Second uh what Dr said earlier about um strategic planning survey we will really encourage everyone to participate in this survey it will really help the district big time to you know with our vision and Mission that's going on for next few years so really really we would ask everyone to fill out the survey and the meeting is U 29th right is it it is yes 29th January so everyone can make their attempt if if you're not attended one of the sessions uh so please attend the meeting it's very important and please please please participate in the survey as much as you can and uh one announcement that I just learned today is um one of the former Edis school student has um he started the battery program and I myself made that announcement we recognize him in many previous board meetings so today we earned he earned Guinness Book of World Records nomination along with 90 other Addison students and parents the event was held in October in Woodbrook school and if you see on the page on the in the Guinness World Records it mentions Edison it mentions Woodbrook Elementary School it mentions the 90 students and parents of Edison Township including the student nihal Tam who was the founder of that program so it's a proud moment for Edis and I would like to really appreciate everyone who works hard and all the students and all the parents who every day work hard uh and you know make us proud for this and I would like to second with what Mr Schneider said about Communications so huge credit to U Heather over here she works very hard with all the Facebook posts that you see and it has a lot of views and likes and everything we see and we are getting a very good feedback from the community about those Facebook posts and we just this is just the beginning we want to take it a level further and we have a lot of plans in place to make take it to a level further in terms of communication um we can just improve upon from here so thank you so much Heather for that um that being said anyone else has any comments covered everyone all right awesome so now the best part public comments I would like to invite the students first if you have to say something good evening everyone my name is malav sha I am a junior at John P Stevens High School and currently serving as the vice president of community service for the New Jersey family career and Community leaders of America I stand before you today with great enthusiasm and pride as a representative of New Jersey FCCLA through my state officer term I have seen New Jersey FCCLA continue to provide a platform for our members to learn grow and actively contribute to the Improvement of our community it it is my responsibility to help provide our Statewide members with service opportunities that are designed to address the needs of our local community while also fostering a sense of responsibility and empathy today I would like to share some highlights of our recent Community Service Endeavors these projects not only showcase our dedication to our students but also reflect the values that FCCLA instills in them our first service undertaking is to make an impact on the lives that are at risk the most the youth the homeless and at risk children we have taken on the challenge to raise funds for an organization that serves as a Beacon of Hope for these students this organization is called the Covent house the covenant house is not just a shelter but a sanctuary that provides educational opportunities and support here Futures are transformed to strive for a better tomorrow with every youth that they serve we are launching a fundraising campaign to support the Covenant House in the form of monetary donations to contribute to their tireless efforts in providing shelter food education for the Youth who deserve a chance in our second initiative We are continuing our support for the Ronald McDonald House by collecting pull tabs from the top of soda cans and canned vegetables this organiz gation works wonders as they support families in need of assistance with seriously ill children when when collected and recycle these pull tabs serve as a source of funding for this for the Ronald McDonald House the funds then directly contribute to the incidental cost of each house the parents of seriously ill children often forget to eat the money collected from these pull tabs directly supply for purchases such as cereal milk and coffee and tea our third and final initiative is aimed to help alleviate the book deserts in New Jersey by collecting gently used and new books for a Statewide organization called book Smiles books have the power to unlock a whole new world for many children however not every child has easy access to these portals of knowledge this is where book Smiles strives to bridge the literacy Gap by providing books for to children who need them the most two of our three initiatives cost nothing but a worthwhile effort whereas the smallest donation can make the biggest difference I hope to see the students of Edison Township engag in our initiatives with your help and advocacy I believe that we can make these service initiatives successful thank [Applause] you thank you Mr sha uh I don't know if you were notified by your principle but next Tuesday are going to be recognized as a part of student recognition so next Tuesday 7:00 Addison High School we will recognize you you're we see your name in the list so thank you so much any other students no next for public comments Mrs convey Elizabeth Conway 20 Netherwood Circle I can't believe I get to go after FCCLA uh Carol and my children were part of FCCLA uh many years ago ago in fact my son was State president uh that final year and it's such a great organization and to give them a chance to talk tonight to show you you never get a chance to hear their goals at the recognition because Edison has so many students to recognize so I was glad that they were able to do that tonight and I'm proud of each and every one of you uh number two I just want to let you know South Playfield school closed so it's not I'm trying to um make your life easier but it would make my life easier too because now I have two grandsons that will be with me all day tomorrow I understand I'm not trying to push anything but I figured I would tell you anyway and and number three I'm very happy to see so many in your administrative staff here because that is a really good direction to go because I always felt over the years that if there is a question that could be answered right on the spot by one of the administratives people it would be so much easier than ping the telephone tag so I applaud all of you for being here tonight and I'm sure you're hoping for tomorrow to be closed also and I thank you and have a good night get home safe thank you Miss Conway thank you next Mrs Bowski Carol bov Carol Bowski 39 Jonathan Drive I too am very happy to be here speaking with Mrs Conway and with our FCCLA students and I think we'll see quite a few more Award winners and recognition receivers um from all our works and areas of school but especially from FCCLA because I just spent about a week or so ago at one of the meetings with them and I am so amazed I was amazed at what the children did when my daughter was in how much they accomplished and were able to do how they could tell you parliamentary procedure any time with the drop of a hat and lots of other things but the students we have today my daughters do not want to hear this but the students we have today are light years from where we started so these groups that we have the current students in those groups are great they're wonderful they're doing all kinds of things but they're building a foundation for the future students but the other reason I wanted to speak tonight is um I understand that January is School Board appreciation month and as much as along with Mrs Conway I appreciate the staff being here offering their expertise um the school board members are unpaid unthanked I think for the most part um and very hardworking towards keeping the schools functioning keeping the schools ahead keeping all the great things that are happening in our schools happening and that's the mix because a community has people from all different roles and that is the mix we have we have an attorney a financial we have all the professionals to do specific jobs that you need professional training for and then we have volunteer board members who when I first came and my daughter started school here we did not even have an elected Board of Education we had an appointed Board of Education and we fought and we had got the right to do put put it on the ballot and we had like 32 people running for the board of education for the same few seats and uh it leveled out and now there's a reasonable amount and Mrs Conway and I did take our turn and wow it's a hard job and my doctor had me not be do that anymore although I love the schools and I love um the students but I just wanted to say FCCLA all of you here tonight reminded me that it's student recognition next month but also next week at the next meeting but also this month it's a recognition for the Board of Education members and whether you're Brandy new so you're working double time on everything or you've been around and you have a lot of years of experience through the past and you remember the past um they all have specific um advantages to put together to work as a group and I have to say a lot of times people in important jobs feel that they're underpaid and I know I'm constantly seeing on in the news that some POS government position has raised the salary to like wow [Music] and what's your salary for the board now what's your salary for the board now Z Zer yeah so I just wanted to thank all of you for what you do as members of the Board of Education thank you so much for the kind words Mrs Bovi um next for public comments Mr damarin uh Anthony Damon 25 Wy it's been a while since I've been in this room um first off um I just want to congratulate James Monroe they did a just a terrific job uh the other day coming back to school um that is probably the hardest school to get into and navigate through um and they they just from everybody from the crossing guard to uh the school resource resource officer uh principal and staff they they very smooth um I wish that you know that could be every day but um that was uh they deserve recognition for that um the the governor continues to uh to mandate um many things that's going to put pressure on school boards uh going forward prek uh is I believe being talked about now as well I I see that the mayor uh of Edison has talked about um reopening Stelton school for rec center I I just would like to know if the mayor has uh has had any communication with the with the board or the superintendent um and to try to you know help in that matter because it's going to put a lot of pressure on this on this board going forward uh for you know purposes of you know where you going to put all the kids um and Stelton sits there um the numbers that are being thrown around to Stelton uh seems very expensive just to get it just to get it up and running um let alone from just uh renovating it so um he uh the mayor likes to talk you know um a lot about the school board uh his influence but I'd like to know you know if if he is uh reached out in any way to to try to help it would be nice to to have his help and and the uh the administration's help over there um I think you're going to need it um let's see oh and regards to uh I know it's uh School Board appreciation month I I I say this uh it might be not a bad idea I don't know if there's a an office designated excuse me uh for um the board President and Vice President I believe that you know they're extremely busy I don't know if there's you know I even believe this for the council president over at town hall should have their own office something to look into uh a room um that they could go and uh do their work so um something to uh something to look forward you know to to think about um let's see yeah I think that's it I think that's it so oh uh there was a zoom call today um Megan happened to uh send me the link um I was on for like two minutes um I really didn't what was the purpose of that like what's what is that information like just regular information that they're trying to you guys are trying to real quick I hate to be the the bear of bad news but the attorney is always the bad guy I just want to remind everybody and of fortunately you're the first one tonight but um this is a public comment session so um it's not a question answer session go back and forth yeah so um you can ask questions the board can decide after the close the public comment if they want to respond or to what ones well if they decide to discuss this uh I I was just I I I I tuned in for a couple minutes uh it seemed pretty you know informative um but I didn't know about it uh I don't I don't know how many people how how public it was made so um we could have a discussion after after this I don't my apologies um and that's it for uh for today Dr Al will answer a question yeah yeah I'll I'll I'll I'll follow up it's probably a little bit longer than yeah thank you next yes you can hey guys uh my name is single and I'm a junior at John P Stevens High School uh I didn't have anything prepared for this but uh I whipped up like a few points just to just to discuss um so regarding the the snow tomorrow I just want to start off by saying that I appreciate every board member who is sitting here and you guys like you guys sacrifice a lot and that means a lot and you guys take care of of a lot of things so I just want to say thank you for that and I appreciate you guys but uh my parents have to go to work tomorrow and uh it I don't think having a half day would uh allow them to pick me up because you know they're at work so I think having a half day shouldn't be a choice and then also it's snowing from 99: to 2 so that's 5 hours of snow and uh that's a lot of snow so I think it would be really hard for transportation after school for uh it's very unsafe uh for children and especially me cuz my parents won't be there to pick me up from school and I have to walk up 1.9 miles home since I don't have a bus so um and I just don't want to I got I just don't want to repeat might be the greatest public comment ever my 10 years of work I just want to know which one which one of the administrators over here put you up to this and uh I just don't want to repeat that uh that year that we that we had a few years ago it like yeah 20 2018 I think and it was like November and no one expected it and I got home at like 6 MH and it was like and I and I'm just trying to enjoy my Friday Friday night like I had a movie night plan with my parents and like I don't want to delay my sleep time cuz I have somewhere to be Saturday morning as well so and it's also a big safety concern so I I appreciate every one of you and uh I hope my comments uh uh make your make your decisions turn your decisions elsewhere thank you thank you thank you for your comment really I appreciate it thank you it seems like Mrs Conway might have given you some pointers while you were sitting you didn't go right after when I invited you earlier but then you went later so you did a great job thank you great job uh next Mr revnak good evening Matt revnak ETA vice president um first of all the board members you know it's it's funny because we always say like thank you for your service to military I know in my church they always do at the offer your prayers for amts and First Responders but there's a lot of other people that do volunteer work and that includes you guys so I do appreciate it again like I've been saying in the last few meetings with the outgoing board members sometimes we don't always see the eye to eye but I always do appreciate the time and efforts I know throughout my life I volunteer for a lot of things involving Sports and things like that and you most things don't happen without volunteers um you know it's important the work you do is important and it is appreciated uh but the real reason why I really want to get up here actually two other things the strategic planning um we did sit in on one of the first session I believe it was actually and I do encourage anyone to whether it's attend a live meeting or you know sit in one of the zooms if there's any left because it is important I thought they were very good in terms of listening and taking notes and you know nice discussion on the people that were involved in the zoom call that I sat in um so you know it's something I've you know brought up I won't say complain but I've brought up into to the attention of you know former superintendents and Boards about listening and getting you know the teachers the students everyone involved the stakeholders basically and I think it's a good move in the right direction hopefully they do take the data that's collected and the information I'm sure they will and you guys come up with a great plan move moving forward the third thing I want to mention it goes about the snow not that I'm not that I'm advocating the same way um but one of the things that I know we've discussed at at my school at JP Stevens and I'm sure Edison High and all has also with the closure of the school and we've let this if we do close this will be three days JPC is losing is there consideration about pushing the marking period back three days because in many cases you know usually the last day or two is when we do our like final assessment and I know personally with my own class if I'm losing three days I'm not going to be able to get that last assessment in which some of those kids may need for their grades so I hope that you guys consider that you know the other schools right now would be a second day JP Stevens we had that flooding situation and we you know so we're really down would be down three days now all right thank you thank you next motion motion to close public comments motion second all in favor I I I motion very much motion to U adjourn to privileg session to read this in accordance with the open public meetings act chapter 231 PL 1975 the dent Township Board of Education will adjourn to confidential session for the purpose of discussing confidential student matters personal matters EPS CMA sidebar agreement health insurance contract dispute property purchase forer staff and student litigations uh motion to adj to privilege session motion motion second second Mr Schneider roll call Mr to Mr Lugo yes Mr Patel yes Mr AA yes Mr Schneider yes yes Miss White yes Miss Pang yes vice president Romano yes president Patel yes car thank you at this time we will uh go into close session we don't expect to come back thank you everyone have a good night and stay safe and hopefully your wishes come true for the snow tomorrow [Music]