##VIDEO ID:XHopGqPlMMQ## e e e e e e e e e welcome everyone to our Board of Education meeting of the Elizabeth Board of Education ladies and gentlemen this is a combined regular agenda and business meeting of the Board of Education pursuant to New Jersey statutes and the rules adopted by the Board of Education notice of this meeting was sent to the Star Ledger and cable vision of Elizabeth on August 15 2024 in addition this not was posted on the bulletin board in the lobby of 500 North Broad Street and then pursuant to this act a copy has been filed with the city clerk of Elizabeth we want to welcome everyone present here today at school 51 and our television viewers to this August 22nd 2024 meeting of the Board of Education we are here to govern to provide management oversight and to make policy for the district the superintendent manages the district this is a meeting of the board in public not a meeting of the public this meeting is being recorded and will become part of the Elizabeth Board of education permanent records we ask that you silence the sound of the electronic devices since it is legally mandated that these proceedings be accurately recorded there will be a public portion for citizens to address the board participants for the public portion must sign personally prior to the start of the meeting so that they may have the opportunity to speak the sign and sheet will state the name the address telephone number and reason for that person who wants to comment there will also be a public hearing during the meeting as as well we're pleased that you have taken this opportunity to join us this evening for our Elizabeth Board of Education meeting thank you for our interest in Elizabeth public schools Mr Kennedy roll call please Barbosa present carvalo here Cheves here Jacobs pres Marina Ortega naron here and Calis pastana here Rivera here bathless here thank you at this time if we can just take a uh we can all just please stand and I'm going to ask if we can have a moment of silence for Mary B Haynes a retired secretary from the superintendent's office Mitchell building and Sally Smith a former L assistant at school number 23 and mother and grandmother to Donald El Stewart and mother-in-law of of Alina Stewart principal of school number 13 thank you at this time I'm going to ask board member Maria cavalo to lead us in the Pledge of Allegiance Al to the flag of the United States of America to the Republic for which it stands one nation under God indivisible Li and justice for all thank you if we can all remain standing as we play the star spangle Banner [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] roare [Music] theb Pro our flag still [Music] and the home [Music] the thank you at this time we could continue remaining stand as we have uh vice president Stan neon lead us in the pledge of Ethics as a member of the Elizabeth public schools professional Learning Community I would treat people as I wish to be treated to do that I pledge to understand that the school Community is a special place listen respectfully when someone else is speaking by paying close attention and not interrupting speak in a calm voice and use proper language dress appropriately for teaching and learning Inspire the best in myself and others by celebrating successes and learning from mistakes care about others by demonstrating acts of kindness be a lifelong learner by taking every opportunity to learn from others thank you you all may be seated okay the first item on the agenda is a proposed amendment of the superintendent of school's contract for the period of July 1 2021 1 to June 30 2026 in accordance with his requirement of njsa 18a colon 11 Dash excuse me I apologize njsa 10-4 oh excuse me colon 4-12 B of the open public meetings act and section five of the acted amended njsa 18a colon 11-11 and was advertised as required by law on July 19th and August 6 2024 and was posted on the district's website the purpose of this public hearing is to obtain citizens input on the proposed amendment to the superintendent of school's employment agreement and salary increase the amendment contained the resolution will increase the superintendent salary from its current level of $210,000 per year to $2 43,47 per year or part therefore from the remainder of the superintendent's contract which expires on June 30th 2026 at this time the microphones are open for the public hearing comments on the proposed amendments only I ask that you only speak on the proposed amendments of the superintendent's contract if you speak on something else I will ask you to kindly go back to speaking regarding to only the superintendent's amendment that we're talking about right now so I'll shall recognize the individuals to come on the microphone as you come up I ask that you say your name for the record and your address um so that we can have it on record each statement made by the participant shall be limited to 3 minutes in duration and the normal protocols governing public comments and board policy 9322 shall be followed and enforced in all respects at this time I open the public hearing and you may whoever would like to speak I ask that you walk to the microphone and begin um speaking and um for the people who are doing the count down please allow them to say their name and their address and then start the 3 minutes please thank you good evening my name is Maria Loren at 103 Murray Street I want to speak about the superintendent's goals tonight and what the state has reported goal of demonstrated Improvement in njsla was 5% uh according to the performance reports from the state for the last year we have 26 schools from K through 8 18 out of those 26 did not meet a state Target for English that's 69% of schools that failed to meet State Standards 25 out of the 26 did not meet the math State Target that's 96% of schools failed to meet standards the goal related to The Chronic absenteeism which was marked at 5% of the 26k through 8 schools 15 had not met a state Target to reduce absenteeism and at the high school level five out of the eight didn't even meet this target this is a districtwide failure of 58% the goal of retention of nth graders which was marked at 10% uh on the graduation rates are disastrous you have a 133% dropout rate at Hy a 10% dropout rate at dwire and close to 7% at the bit Academy you haven't even been able to meet a state Target at five out of the seven schools that is a failure rate of 71% is this what your version of Excellence looks like how can you sit here with a straight face and tell the public the superintendent deserves a fair raise this is not Excellence this is mediocrity with a capital m and a capital f and it's not for fantastic it's for failure teachers get less of a percentage in race and the superintendent does the backbone of this district and the reason why the superintendent administrators and even board members have a job or role to play here is built off the back of the teach teachers and the students that choose to enroll in this District I also want to point out on the Essa accountability status School number 28 was slated for additional targeted support and Improvement and the category was low performing student group and the year of Eligibility of exit was 27 with low performing student group at Hosley we have consistently underperforming student groups and consistently under uh targeted support and Improvement I can't imagine how you can sit here and tell me that the superintendent deserves a rate and moreover these board members who set these goals along with the superintendent should be absolutely ashamed of yourself setting the bar so low and the expectations so low that only 5% is like telling a kid well you only have to read and spell kit and if you spell kite next meor then that's that's a success what is wrong with this board if we strive for excellence that means that you also challenge your staff and your students to do more and be excellent this is not Excellence this is failure at its very best I am horribly disappointed and I oppose this race thank you m m Loren anyone else would like to provide comments Junior moriset 128 West Jersey Street Apartment E7 Elizabeth New Jersey first and foremost thank you ladies and gentlemen for giving me the opportunity to speak to you today I stand before you to to address this C crucial issue to propose on the salary increase of our superintendent while yes our superintendent is doing the best job it's it's it's essential to consider that this should be a Performance Based aspect to her position as we know Elizabeth is one of the largest districts in the state holding 37 schools and serving 28,000 plus students with this size of diversity yet yes challenges come and go but there there needs to be tangible Feats for results and achievement currently you try to propose a $33,000 increase while I think her her salary is awfully fair if comparing to other superintendents in the state compared to James Santana who's currently paid 246 and kept 24 246 plus and even if you go down just to Union County the highest paid is 256 and the lowest paid is 164 and she's right there in the middle and I think that's that's fair enough for her based on the results of Elizabeth not being proficient in reading and in math and students can't comprehend yes students do have yes Elizabeth do have a 79% graduation rig but what's what's the point of that they can't comprehend or apply what they learned after they graduate um that $30,000 could go to a lot of different things things like learning resources technology um facility Improvement extracurricular activities professional development uh student well-being Comm Community engagement um in conclusion I really I really think that $30,000 could go somewhere else to to the kids in in the community because um we need we need it the kids need it thank you thank you Mr Marson anyone else would like to address the board during this time would anyone else like to address the board at this time seeing none at this time I'm going to open the comments for any board members would any board members like to say anything okay and right now uh we have a resolution to amend the superintendent of school contract as follows whereas on and about may9 2021 the Elizabeth Board of Education entered into an employment contract with superintendent of schools Dr Huger for a 5-year term commencing July 1 2021 and ending July 30 2026 and where as set employment contract provided for a salary of $210,000 for each of the five years of the contract term as set for in excuse me as set forth in paragraph 4 thereof and whereas pursuant to njac 6A col 23 A- 3.1 the board has determined as a superintendent has agreed to a salary increase from $210,000 to $243,400 Jersey Department of Education to amend the superintendent Employment contract between the Elizabeth Board of Education and Dr ogga Huger now therefore it be resolved that the superintendent's employment contract shall be amended to reflect the as said salary increase and subject to the remaining terms and conditions of the superintendent Employment contract including Merit increase as provided by code be further resolved that the board president and board secretary are authorized and directed to execute a contract of employment with Dr hug Meer on behalf of the Board of Education may I have a motion in a second please make a motion I second the motion it's been moved in to approve the amended superintendent of school's contract no comments Mr Kennedy roll call please Barbosa yes Mrs Barbosa yes carvalo abstain Cheves Jacobs yes Nan Iain kavas pastana yes Rivera yes baas yes yes thank you uh Madame President I'm Rose I'm B member Moreno here we'll ask Dr H merer you like to say anything I would just like to take this moment to thank our board of education for uh for your support um grateful and certainly looking forward to another wonderful school year thank you at this time oh well this ends the excuse me Madame President do you hear me this is Bor member on the agenda is a public participation at this time the microphones are open again for public comments for those who have signed in prior to the session I shall call the individuals to the microphone based on the order of the signing sheet each statement made par participant shall be limited to 3 minutes in duration the total time of public comment shall be limited to 60 Minutes no individual is able to yield their time to another individual all statements shall be directed to the presiding officer offic no participant May address a question of board members individually each speaker shall comply with all respects to board policy 9322 the following rules shall apply thank you the time limits will strictly be enforced no personal attacks or on individuals or naming of individuals no vulgar and decent language a person may address a board no more than once during a single meeting comments will not be debated any person violation will be warned again this is a meeting in the public not a meaning of the public at this time I call Miss Christina morera good evening everyone for the past nine years I have stood before you addressing issues that impact our community and our children but today I speak to you on a matter that strikes at the very heart of my life my own child from the moment my son finished first grade I noticed signs that he needed extra support his teachers noticed too that that was the beginning of a very long journey one that I embarked on with the Hope and Faith in this school district I saw evaluations gathered information and took every step to ensure that he would get the support he needed like any parent I believe that the district would act in his best interest who would want to see a child struggle unnecessarily yet I was wrong let me be clear though I do not blame his teachers nor the staff members at his school they did their best with their hands tied sometimes some even facing reprimand for doing what was right but the system the very system designed to protect our children failed him it failed us I was advised early on to get a lawyer friends and Educators alike people who knew the system urged me to take legal action but I resisted I wanted to collaborate I wanted to be amicable I still believe that people would do the right thing my greatest regret is that I did not hire a lawyer sooner I didn't realize what a fight I was in for that the district would rather squander hundreds of thousands of dollars taxpayer dollars to fight against my child then use those funds to provide the services he so desperately needed it angers me to think that while my son struggled academically while his emotional well-being was at risk those who were supposed to help him turned a blind eye but that chapter has not now closed and I am not here today to dwell upon the past but to share what I have learned and to stand as a voice for all the parents and children in this District who continue to fall through the cracks while I may have signed a non-disclosure agreement let me assure you that I have not that I will not be silent in fact I am more determined than ever to fight for the students of this District I will not stop advocating for the parents who are struggling for the children who need our support and for the families who do not have the means to fight as I did I am blessed beyond words to be able to hire a lawyer to pay for evaluations and tutoring and the services that my son needs I have pulled him out of this district and into a school where he will finally receive the support he so desperately needs but I know that many in our community do not have that luxury and this my friends is what this board and this superintendent are counting on they are counting on your lack of resources on your exhaustion and on your willingness to give up they count that you will not be able to fight back but I am here to tell you that you will and you should not give up this fight is not just for my child but it is for the children in this District it is for every family who feel unheard unsupported deated Miss morera I'm sorry I'm so sorry [Applause] thank you Miss Mara um at this time I call M or Miss excuse me Fanny aravo I apologize do you need a translator okay give me a second I got to come back to you who's I'm not talking to the audience I'm talking to myself up here so hold on I'm going to ask Mr I don't know Jon EPS Mr EPS Mrs Mr EPS thank you he been outside he's good evening everyone good evening I'm here to this afternoon this is the second or third time I've been here I am a Elizabeth par professional with the um ESS I've been one for approximately 10 years my my situation is we have not received a raise in 13 years with this District 13 years we were outsourced because of the Affordable Care Act of 2014 and as a result we don't have a union to collectively bargain our pay scale as a result every year we are not giving a dime it's to the point now where we're living below poverty line wages we get paid $222 3 an hour for the last 13 years at least as inflation has risen during this time the value of that 22.23 is actually $17 an hour $17 an hour we've also received a 20% pay cut because the school periods are now eight periods instead of 10 periods there are people that's been in the district just like me but they're fearful to come to this meeting and speak because there are certain individuals that would rather instead of being good for the students what's good for the students will have some type of Retribution as regards to speaking in public against the um of the pay raise like I said we've we've been going through this over 10 years I can assume every last one of you on this board meeting I mean that the board has gotten a raise in the past 12 years and reading that the superintendent is getting a $3,000 plus dollar raise while the people who work with these students who are in the trenches exactly who are special needs and then we have people who are board members who make $20,000 more than us a year to do the same job in the same classroom I don't understand why this is possible how is this possible how is it even right for us to be in a situation like this so what I'm asking for is the meeting with one of the board members so we can discuss in detail what we can do for our employees at es thank you thank you I'm going to ask the audience to stop screaming back at us please I'm asking for you guys to just keep your comments to yourself thank you but thank you Mr EPS um someone will reach out to you at this time I'm going to ask Miss Maria Loren to come to the mic please at this time I'm going to ask Miss Mr Junior marent marent to come up please thank you actually it's not disrespectful and what I'm doing is I'm doing something that I would like to do and as the president as the presiding officer I can do what I want to do okay no problem thank you so since you don't want to speak we're going to move on junior thank you good evening um as a student who graduated and as a resident of Elizabeth graduating from Elizabeth and as a motivational speaker who wants to bring change to his a community to make a change I just feel like um our black students is just struggling to be proficient in every category and I don't think it's enough we um the board is doing enough to to to to to bridge the gap from student to teacher and for the past for the past year I've been I've been I've been trying to talk to everybody just so I could be in the field to be in the trenches like you said a couple M moments ago just just because it starts it starts with school and a lot of kids right now especially with with technology advancing everything is in the pal of their hands if a teacher can't can't connect with with students they're not going to learn like in jz's mind they think like what's the point of school if if I could go chat GPT and I could learn everything and off a YouTube video but they're not understanding the impact you guys have and the teachers have if the connection's not there so I I'm saying it need it needs to be a change because If the parents if the parents can't help and the school can't help we just we just going to fill the penitentiaries and who who wins who wins when black kids and everybody else is just going to Penitentiary I'm trying to bring a change because half my life I've been losing to losing friends to the system losing friends that dropped out of school and it's not easy and if there's a way we could bring a change we could work together and and changes to school one to Hy School 5 that needs it seriously um just give me a call let's figure something out thank you thank you at this time I'm calling Michelle Santos good evening can you hear me yes I'm going to read you a letter that I sent to Mr qua Mr OA and Mr Malik um dear Elizabeth Board of Education I'm writing this letter to inform you of my exceptional experience with one of your team members Miss aalia Loa Miss Loza has been my daughter's personal aid for the last five years I would like to extend my utmost gratitude to her for an amazing job my daughter absolutely adores her she has been so attentive with her from the beginning as my child can be a runner she always knew when she was getting overwhelmed about to have a meltdown or was in sensory overload and and we remove her and take walks so that she may take time to calm down and readjust always very attentive as well as the various health issues that my child has Miss A treated my child like a person as if she was an extension of her own family for that I will forever be indebted to her knowing that she will she was with my child EAS my mind because I always knew that she was in great hands and she would always look out for her miss a is a kind nurturing and amazing individual and she's an asset to Elizabeth public schools Any teacher or child would benefit from having miss a we will miss miss a as dearly as clear my child will not longer be in Elizabeth public schools but their relationship and but her absence and from my daughter's life will always be missed my daughter loves Miss A and has made such an impact on her they have such a beautiful relationship and as i s sit here writing this letter with tears falling with a happy heart I know that she will always remember her no matter how much time will pass I cannot thank her enough for all she has done I will forever be grateful for the kindness that she has shown my daughter and that could never be repaid if there's an award for ever an award for best personal aid I would recommend her um I cannot thank her enough for all that she has done I will forever be grateful um I would also like that this letter that I sent to Mr quester and missa be put in Miss loa's um file and I will also like to mentioned that I was here last month and I did not appreciate having to I left work early to come here to speak and you guys didn't start the meeting till way after an hour and I unfort I my time is precious just like everybody El's time is here so I would appreciate next time no let people know in advance I wouldn't have left ber early to come here um also I would like to know what kind of um programs you'll be holding for special needs um kids for the new school year um again I'm I heard that special need swim will continue thank you Mr Kendall you know um but I also like to see other programs as special needs swim shouldn't be the only thing that's available thank you thank you Miss Santos did you get a response in an email okay thank you and uh if you Lo if you saw last month's board meeting when I started the meeting I apologized for starting the meeting late and I also had a sign up saying that we were going to start the meeting shortly because I knew that we couldn't start on time at that moment so I was trying to be ahead of it by putting the sign on the computer computer as well as apologizing to everyone before I started the meeting but thank you for your comments at this time I'm going to have Miss fanny aravo come up and if we can do six minutes for her and I'm going to ask Mr qua if you can translate for her please thank you and if you could bring her microphone down oh I know down I can't correct yeah thank you he needs a microphone too can we give him the mic yeah that's fine okay thank you the reason I'm here talk to you tonight I have two two um students with two children with autism [Music] so one of the uh children that studies at school 29 they took away the IP even though this the child had been diagnosed in November they um asked me to come to a meeting that they always hold to um regarding the IP and as you can see I do not speak English they always um give me someone to translate and the person who was translating did not tell me that they were removing the IP and replacing it with a F4 plan my son was bully at school 27 and it came a moment when uh he um U thought about suicide and he was hospitalized at TR hospital and I don't want now because I'm going to take the help away that the IP provides high school high school my son is now going to attend the high school level Frank Jarel school that school is very demanding and therefore he's going to need help and the I I'm asking she says that obviously she did sign because in every meeting she's asked to sign U for the child to get [Music] help because of the meeting they have signed here signed there but it was never explained to her that they were doing away with the IP yesterday I went to special services three or four times she had a question about Transportation they told her to go to Transportation she went to transportation and she was told that because there's no longer an IP the child is not qualified for transportation I came back to spal services yeah and they sent her from one place to another she um they sent her to see Mr Malik today she received a phone call but she does not speak English so they found someone to translate but the person didn't help the person got upset I requested a meeting [Music] for Wednesday uh she was told that she had to call herself the person was uh apparently on the line and listening and she was giving no Solutions and she wants the back I think they're violating the rights of a child with autism by removing the IP without an evaluation not only that and now the other child was at school 12 he does speak he um runs away from the school uh four times he has done that last time time was in March of this year and at the meeting uh the IP meeting with him she had the option to remove the child from the district she she signed all required paperwork but today she she received the letter indicating that her son goes to school 21 what's going on with the school so one child the IP is removed and the other one is returned to the district I never created any problems but I want my children to be respected the the uh youngest one is not advancing at all thank you she needs a solution she's a what oh yes please Dr sedo can you please meet with Mrs aralo thank you you can miss aloa you can go to U lend um I don't I can't speak okay thank you thank you thank you at this time I'm going to allow M Maria Len to come to the microphone and speak Christina and I have known each other for quite some time so I'm going to finish her speech because it's very similar to mine the fight is not just for our children it is for every child in this District it is for every family who feels unheard sorry I'm sorry these are my words too no yes they are they're my words too because these are my friends I'm not going to go back and forth with you and I am going to ask that if you are yielding her time I'm not yielding her time she spoke is it the same is it the same I didn't ask anyone else in the audience is this the same speech from her that you are continuing no I am not okay I apologize if you can start her time again I apologize so I fought for my child and I've helped others in this District fight for their child and every child in this district and it is for every family that has felt unheard unsupported and defeated in their fight for special services here and together together myself and I'm sure many other parents demand that we do better that means pushing for change that means ensuring that no other child in this District struggles the way that they do I too decided school choice and to pull my child out it's been a long fight but guess what I'm not going anywhere just like Christina I'm not going anywhere I am going going to stay here and I'm going to continue to support every parent that needs that help I have now filed three state complaints two of them have resulted in a corrective action plan Madam superintendent I'm waiting for the third I'm waiting for the other two to drop that will say that this District needs another corrective action plan for failure to hold IEP meetings on time it is appalling how you can get a raise with all of the bad things that are happening in El and I just want to name some of those few stats the highest number of students is DWI Hy and then sarel the highest number of special education students placed at these schools are Edison BWI and Hosley which happens to be one of those failing schools I talked about earlier during your contract the highest dropout rate is Hy DWI and buwi the highest number of violence and bullying is at DWI Edison and Jefferson the highest number of police called to the school district is a tie between DWI and Jefferson Edison stem and bwitch Academy also tied together and the highest number of suspensions in this district is dwier Hy Edison the lowest graduation rates both on a state and a federal level continue to be Hy Jefferson Edison and DWI targets are not met and you continue to be cited but you sit here with a happy face we have power professionals such as the gentleman that spoke earlier not getting a raise what are we doing doing what are you doing this board and this superintendent should be ashamed of themselves to set goals at 5% because that is the minimum you might as well say 1% I'mma call you the 5centers going on this is horrible how dare you chronic absenteeism you only care 10% of the time whether students come to school or not and about the school uniforms I'm sorry but there's somebody in your offices that's telling people they need to be homeless to get a uniform remember and I will remind you you serve an underserved community of lowincome of black and brown students pay attention this is an improving education thank you at this time the public comment portion of the meeting is over thank you everyone for your comments for the public hearing and our public comments at this time our superintendent of schools will present the community updates Dr H so good evening to everyone we'd like to uh present our community updates for this month uh next slide please thank you so as a uh with regard to free and reduced meal notice our breakfast and lunch programs which of course provide nutritionally balanced meals to thousands of students we're serving close to 29,000 students at this present time I would like to be able to announce that the public schools will once again offer its program uh school lunch can be purchased daily or it can be set up you can set up an account or pay an advance the full price for a lunch meal is $3 for our students that are in prek through e8th grade and $3 60 for our students that are in high school breakfast is free to all of our students I would like to note to our community that these are the same prices as last year there has not been an increase in the prices and we have our board to thank uh for that decision the Elizabeth public schools offers free and reduced price lunges for our families with limited resources and we're encouraging our families to please apply for the free or reduced price meals online we're going to have this as a hyperlink available on our website as well as letters that have already been sent out to all of our families in the district the process is very simple and you're able to access the application at any time uh we ask that you visit our food and nutrition website where we will continue to provide updates next I would like to be able to share that our welcome black letters went out uh this earlier this week to all of our families we also invite our parents to access our district web page and be able to access the link on the back to school parent resources we also will be offering a uh tutorial video in order to share with our parents all of the resources that are available that have been updated for the 2425 school year and this tutorial will be available uh next week to all of our families in the multiple languages next slide please ah power school so our power school student schedule uh for the for the upcoming school year opened um this past Monday in fact August 19th so our families are able to access their child's uh schedules and also their teachers next slide please and once again as we have been sharing with our families we ask that uh if you do not have an account uh Power School account uh follow these three simple steps in order to set that up I want to thank all of our principles um and all of our schools because they have been striving for 100% of our families to have a power school account so now we're working on our families of our pre our incoming preschoolers our three-year-olds that'll be joining us for the first time in the 2425 school year uh so we're going to be including this in the tutorial video and helping our parents to be able to set up an account so that they can uh track their child's progress and also stay in close communication with their teachers next slide please and this is the second final two steps of how to contact teachers via power school once again we're going to make this available to all of our families in the multiple languages um as a tutorial video next slide please and again um reminder for our families the Tdap and manaa vaccines that are required for our sixth grade students so uh a requirement of the New Jersey Department of Health uh children that are born before or after January 1st 1997 and enrolled in sixth grade are required to receive a booster dose of the tanist uh deia tesus vaccine as well as one dose of the menactra vaccine in order to attend school uh you have the option of our going to your private doctor or to a clinic where immunizations are given free of charge I would like to share that um we've had majority of our families uh sign up last month through the city of Elizabeth's Health Department uh was very successful we're going to going to continue to send updates to our families with regard to availability for the vaccine and this completes our community um announcements for the month of August so please be on the lookout we're going to be sharing the tutorial video in order to reach all of our families in the various languages with important information as we return to the new school year thank you that was quick thank you my apologies my apologies us it's longer I know all right um at this time we're going to review the agenda so we're going to go through the [Music] gender so um for tab 1A the official and private minutes for July 18 2024 are there any questions or comments seeing none Mr Kennedy can you please add that to the agenda for tab 1B treasurers and secretary report for June 30 2024 are there any questions or comments seeing none Mr Kennedy please added to the agenda the Personnel report for tab 2A are there any questions for tab 2A Madame President yes oh miss Barbosa yes it's it's Barbosa uh just if um Mr qua could just um go over how many uh new Personnel because I I noticed that we have a couple of new uh position Personnel coming in if you could just go over the quantity if he has that on hand now yes of new Personnel thank you thank you so uh before the board tonight for your consideration we have the following items we have 11 retirements and i' like to congratulate those individuals whose retirement uh is approved tonight and wish them uh the very best uh we have five uh resignations we have five reappointments and I want to take advantage of the opportunity to indicate that all the individuals that received a notice uh not renewal a few months ago du certification each and every one of them has been reappointed uh we have 69 appointments including 39 certified staff we have 24 changes of salary and if you recall the changes of salaries are due to individuals obtaining either a master's degree or the six year level and we have seven promotions uh including a teacher to guidance counselor and an assistant to social worker thank you thank you Mr quer are there any questions or comments regarding tab 2A Personnel report seeing none and hearing none Mr Quest Mr Kennedy please add that to the agenda uh tab three tuition's report any questions or comments for the tuitions report seeing and hearing none Mr Kennedy please add that to the agenda Tab 4 a considerations for the superintendent's report any comments or questions seeing and hearing n Mr Kennedy please add that to the agenda tab 4B use of facilities any comments or questions seeing and hearing none Mr Kenedy please add that to the agenda tab 4bb use of facilities and considerations any questions or comments to this seeing none Mr Kenedy please add that to the agenda Tab 4 C field trip considerations any comments or questions seeing and hearing now Mr Kenedy please add that to the agenda at this time I'm going to have our superintendent do the uh harassment intimidation and bullying investigation report for Tab 4 d thank you madam president pursuant to board policy 51 31.1 harassment intimidation and bullying and the New Jersey statute 188 col 37 the results of each investigation shall be reported to the Board of Education no later than the date of the next board meeting following completion of the investigation and include any services provided training established discipline imposed or other action taken or recommended since our last Board of Education meeting on July 18th and through the summer school and our uh school-based social workers completed one HIV investigation for this investigation there was one female alleged victim who was a regular education student there was one male alleged offender who was a regular education student this case was unfounded for Hib of the services provided and actions taken for this investigation there was one counseling session and one parent conference that were conducted the Hib statute further requires that at the next regularly scheduled meeting after board members received the initial report of Hib investigations that the board issue a decision in writing to affirm reject or modify the superintendent's decision pertaining to the 15 cases that were reported to you at the last board meeting on July 18th in order for you to do so the investigation summaries from those investigations which were reported at the last board meeting have been provided for your review prior to voting and this completes the Hib report court for the month of August thank you thank you any questions thank you at this time tab five authorizations report any questions or comments for tab five any questions or comments to our uh three directors for tab five yes see n Mr candidate if you can add that to the agenda at this time tab six Finance and Accounting report any questions or comments for our Finance and Accounting report Madam president I have a question for Mr Kennedy um number for the payment of the tuitions for 12 and 13 is that end of the year no those are the tuitions for the start of the year for the start of the 2025 yes thank you Mr Kenedy is there a way we can just um you can put a title on top of each column like what the title is on top of that sure we can do that please thank you any other questions for tab six for the Finance and Accounting report seeing and hearing none Mr Kennedy please add that to the agenda at this time um tab 6A supplemental Finance report any questions for tab 6 a seeing and hearing n Mr Kennedy please add that to the agenda at this time I'm looking at tab seven Awards of contract report any questions or comments for Award of contract reports or any questions for our um directors any questions or comments for our directors or questions or comments regarding the awards of contract report Madam president yes um my question is for um director director balis just confirmation that the contracts on page seven page page um number seven page one of that is just for that school the contract with JTC Consulting yes it's for that's just for the Jewish Education yes it's for their multiple schools but it's for they have two different campuses for both campuses M and this is what we pay on average I didn't see this last year at this time yes it depends on when they pull it in in the school year or if they give it to us in different sections but yes okay so it may be broken down okay thank you you're welcome any additional questions or comments for tab seven any questions or comments for tab seven Awards a contract report seeing and hearing now Mr cedy Please add that to the agenda at this time are there any questions for tab nine the claims list any questions or comments for tab nine claims list seeing none Mr Kennedy we can please add that to the agenda at this time for tab 10A I would like to acknowledge National Hispanic Heritage Month that will be beginning September or that be uh will be beginning September 15th until October 15 2024 are there any questions or comments for any of any of the resolutions from Tab 10 resolution 10 to resolution 100 Madame President yes I have a can I have an explanation for Tab 10 appointment of special councel I just said yes thank you the same thing I have a question for thank you um due to some conflict with our existing attorneys we had to go out and get to provide defensive coverage we had to go out and hire these firms that um didn't respond to our original RFP they were our attorneys last year so we went back out for RFP or this was part of the list and they hadn't been picked part of the list um so that we could provide the coverage we needed that couldn't be provided by our general Council so they were already approved sorry Mar they weren't approved in January they weren't approved in January okay and we're just putting them now as the special counsel thank you Mr Kennedy thank you madam president thank you any further questions for Tab 10 to Tab 10 any further questions for Tab 10 to Tab 10 seeing none of Mr Kennedy if you can add them all to the agenda if I can have a motion to approve the agenda in its entirety president I make a motion to approve the agenda in its entirety I second that motion thank you the move and papy second to approve the agenda an entirety Mr Kennedy roll call please Barbosa yes carvalo abstain resolution 10e Tab 4 B items 2 3 4 and five and tab five page 8 um groundwork Elizabeth hydroponic for the garden uh yes to everything else Cheves she's not there Jacobs yes naron uh yes with exception to resolution 10e um tab 2A page 60 um tab 4B items 2 three 4 and five uh and I believe that's it that's it okay thank you hello Mr Kennedy who's that oh Chev yes yes with the necessary extension thank you thank you for joining um kavis pastana yes with an extension on Tab five page s and tab five page eight thank you Rivera yes and B yes um and I would like to abstain from tab five page seven and P tab five page eight thank you thank you so that attire agenda has passed thank you uh Mr Kennedy I'm here Morin Orga did you hear me I didn't miss Marina Ortega certainly um your vote on the entire agenda yes thank you record should reflect that was in attendance thank you at this time I want to take a moment to just thank everyone from the community who came out to tonight's meeting to um attend our public hearing as well as our public comments I also want to thank all of our staff from our district who is here I want to thank our directors um Dr Kathy falis uh Dr dapne marchetti and um Michael Rio for being here I know it's summer you guys could have been anywhere else but I thank you for being here and spending the time with us I also want to thank the cabinet all of the it um members our police officers as security guards um for being here and my fellow uh board members as well uh thank you um nothing that you guys do attending whatever you do I may not say thank you all the time but I do appreciate all that you do um to move our our meetings forward and to move our you know District forward so I just wanted to say thank you and I think the next time we will see everyone is one school is in session so I'm hoping that um everyone has a great School start a start to the school year and I'm wishing everyone a successful school year at this time the president request a motion to go into private session to consider matters exempt under the open public meetings act specifically for discussion of personnel matters specifically interview supplemental personal report return to work SLB legal matters settlement TG OBO mm workers compensation settlement mm s n MC litigation and attorney client privilege bus drivers contract matters use of facilities the board will reconvene in public and may take formal action may I have a motion in a second to go into private please I make a motion to go into private session I second that motion it's been moved in probably second to go into private session a roll call please Barbosa yes carvalo yes Cheves yes Jacobs yes Marina Ortega no yes thank you naron yes andalas pastana yes Rivera yes Bas yes thank you we are now in private session e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e everyone at this time I would like to add the following to the agenda supplemental uh Personnel report uh tab two 2B uh return to work for SLB settlement for uh mmtg workers compensation settlement for Ms n a n MC approved pend y'all I could hear everything down here m MC approv pending verification of doctor's note uh and in addition to that um I would like to also add the appointment of acting supervisor of special services say say names that to say Nam for the record or just say yeah yeah oh okay yeah you should say her name oh Miranda cono sorry um appointment of acting vice principal for uh Jefferson Arts Academy Gabrielle Richa uh appointment of acting supervisor of English language arts grades 9- 12 Marissa an Lopez appointment of acting vice principal Fay V best for school number 23 and um Mr Kennedy is going to read the first readings for our uh policies we also needed to add the use of facility pleas um sarel by the department of recreation and the United Way thank you so much and at this time Mr Ked you can read the policies please this is the first reading of the following policies three policy 357 1.4 audit policy 514 1.8 sports related concussion and head injury policy 6114 emergencies and disasters preparedness policy 6140 curriculum adoption and policy 6146 graduation requirements all these policies are available for review in the office of the school business administrator thank you Mr Kennedy and before they go into the second reading I would like um the all of these policies to go to the policy committee to be reviewed um I know there was some policies that were submitted last month to be reviewed as well and I'm asking that they get done before the next board meeting please pleas thank you yes at this time I have a motion in a second to approve the added items to the agenda as stated Madame President I make a motion to add all of the items to the agenda second that motion thank you as been moved in probably second to add the additional items to the agenda as stated uh roll call please carvalo yes congratulations Jacobs yes congratulations naron yes congratulations everyone except for the facilities usage Mrs carvalo and you need to abstain in those abstain okay abstaining to um facility usage I abstain to the facility uses thank you um gavas pastana yes congratulations and and Bas yes thank you and congratulations [Applause] awesome at this time are there any board members who like to say anything before we conclude our meeting seeing none Mr Kennedy sorry may I have a uh first and a second to adjourn please or motion to adjourn make make a motion to adjourn tonight's meeting I need a second please second it's been moved in probably second to adjourn tonight's meeting at uh 9:39 p.m. roll call Mr Kennedy carvalo yes good night Jacobs yes good night naron yes good night kavas bana yes good night Bas yes thank you you and have a great night everyone and God bless thank you