I call of the regular meeting of the Kingsburg Board of Education to be held in the boulder middle school media center adequate notice for this meeting has been mailed to the Asbury Park Press follow with the municipal clerk of Kingsburg posted on the district website and posted inside the office of the Kingsburg Board of Education 100 Palmer Place Kingsburg New Jersey on January 6 2024 roll call please Mrs Clayton here Mrs friselle here miss kelair Moran here Mr manowski here Mr kitchen here Mr cook here Mr cisano here Mr Hoff here miss Ferraro please stand for the Pledge of Allegiance I pledge allegiance to the flag of United States of America and to the repic for it stands one nation under God indivisible liy and Justice if you could please remain standing we're gonna have a moment of silence for Mr def Flippo who passed away thank you doing a student next up we're going to do the student committee reports we have from buer we have Emily Rivera Reyes and Katherine Lindberg current happenings at Joseph R buer Middle School February 2024 the parents conferences were heard on February 1st and 2nd the bulr Middle School wrapped up their winter sports teams our cheerleaders wrestlers and basketball players all did a great job the basketball boys made it to the playoffs last week at oill Academy but narrowly lost only by four points now we're looking ahead to buer Spring Sports on February 7th there was a blore band concert that was an outstanding performance sixth grader Javier Rodriguez Gonzalez won the spell down on January 18th there were two separate fund Raiders like last week for Valentine's Day when was a candygram attached to a decorated butterfly that the eighth grade officers and executive committee students ran and the other was a glitter Rose sale sponsored by the student council the eighth graders voted for the class of 20124 class poll the results were posted pictures taken and all will appear in the yearbook the upcoming eighth grade trips have been set and marked in the calendars for Medieval Times in oakill Lodge oakill Arrangements have been made for this year's big class of 20 2024 8th grade group picture and they will be taken on April 12th both the Spanish club and yearbook Club are holding weekly meetings where the students are involved with many interesting activities at the conclusion of the second marking period 26 B Boulder students achieved honoral and were rewarded with time in the bra break room at 300 p.m. on March 5th there will be an induction ceremony for the students in the National Junior Honor Society thank you thank you from the high school we have Jasmine munes and Gabriella Rivera it's so hard to believe that last week we celebrated the 100th day of school and the actual countdown to graduation is getting closer as a senior so many things are approaching us um so we're going talk about sports a little bit so our boys basketball just recently ended their season uh wrestling went to to districts over the weekend and came home with many wins for the Titans and girls basketball have their first playoff game this Thursday and bowling finished at the end of January um students were selected by their English teacher for a field trip to see The Scarlet Letter at Two River theater as the year moves forward the college acceptances are starting to roll in here are the totals for each student who has notified guidance William Amy with three Jeb Dale bores with one Alyssa carart with one hope Irish with nine Nicholas Johnson with nine Navea Tucker with 11 Ariana Lawrence with 11 Alexander morero with five jasm munz with six Marvin zamb brano with one Michael Michael Sullivan with one Sur Beth Cruz with nine Bianca Sanchez Ramirez with two Daniel Usman with six Andrea Flores with four albrey gleon with nine Daren D'Angelo with one Dominic Tano with three and we had Brookdale had 20 different acceptances from KHS um some fundraisers that we are having are the class of 2026 and 2027 are having a Stanley Cup raffle until March 15th the class of 2026 and 2027 are selling KT jibbit for $5 the student council and the four classes are having designer bag Bingo and a gift auction which um information have been posted on social media and websites and for any donations please contact Miss Lopez thank you thank you just want to say great job as always to our student Representatives I know it's probably the biggest crowd you have spoken in front of yet but great job as always uh next up do we have any committee reports yes Mr cook uh thank you Mr President the financial meeting was held earlier to this evening and just some discussion points was uh the annual audit which everybody seems to have the current bills list and the financial projections for and some upcoming dates there'll be some uh dates we're going to have to go over later okay great thank you thank you very much okay any others no uh before we get to the presentations we will open I'll open it up now for questions and comments related to board agenda items only seeing none we'll close that section hand it off to Mrs at this time we will be recognizing our uh school-based and District recipients of Educators and support staff members of the year we're going to start off with Miss hazeline with the kingburg Early Learning Center [Applause] good evening everybody it's so nice to see so many people here to celebrate with us um our first recipient is Miss Shakita Rush she is our preschool support professional shaita come on [Laughter] down Miss shaita Works tirelessly to ensure that our classrooms are clean and ready for learning she always has a warm smile and greeting wherever she goes our students look for her in the morning as they make their way down the hallway at arrival just to tell her about a new stuffed animal or what happened at their birthday party she always goes the extra mile to get to know all the students and um goes out of her way to make sure she sees everyone throughout the day it's for these reasons and for all the little things she does for all of us that I'm so happy to honor Miss shaita Rush as our preschool support professional of the year [Applause] next up Mrs Gina is our um Kathleen actually answer is our preschool education Services professional of the Year her passion and unwavering commitment to our children and teachers have made an immeasurable difference in our lives her work is a testament to the vital role that educational coaches play in shaping the program through her upbeat Spirit her fun Hands-On activities that she creates and shares with all of our teachers and students and her willingness to roll up her sleeves and help wherever and whenever needed thank you Mrs feny for being an exceptional teacher leader and this year is Educational Services professional of the Year wo and it is with great pride and gratitude that I present the preschool educator of the year to Mrs Lauren hurler Mrs hler has dedicated her professional career to nurturing our youngest Learners from the moment she stepped into preschool with me we literally started at the same moment that first day um 20 years she exuded a passion for early childhood education her lessons are filled with creativity imagination and Hands-On activities to make learning a joyful and meaningful experience from making real Stone Soup which by the way is delicious to building a cardboard C with her students to take a family road trip her enthusiasm is contagious on behalf of the entire k k kelc Community I extend heartfelt congratulations to Mrs hurler our prek teacher of the year next up caroso School Miss Alisa [Applause] McMahon Mr Henry too give him a give him an Applause there you go okay welcome everybody so we are going to start with Mrs Jillian corion AKA Jill Miss corion has always been that teacher that students wanted to have she radiates energy she sets a No Nonsense but but fun tone for her classroom and never ever lets a day go by without singing some kind of song or doing some kind of dance for these reasons we knew that she would be an amazing dean of climate and culture and an added support for our students and staff at Caruso and of course we chose correctly we can all agree that it was the best decision ever she stepped into this role head first she's taken that walkie and she has run with it intervening with student situations speaking with parents assisting teachers and being a force to be reckoned with she not only engages with students to help them get back on track but she's become another trusted adult to many not just those students that she had in her classroom in years past she holds people accountable and works very well with us the entire staff and each student that that she comes in contact with we are very proud of her and we love her in a new in her new position and we hope that she loves it too please help us congratulate Mrs Jillian corion Caruso's Educational Services professional of the year you could dance back to your seat chill go ahead do it you got it your daughters would love it there you go no Mr Henry is goingon to read our next one Sharon Romano has been a power professional autism program for many years she's always on her game in a very Hands-On classroom she gives 110% every day she shows up for her colleagues and students pushes them to their limits and is a supporter and an advocate for them and their families don't let her fool you though you don't want to see the Brooklyn come out in her she is passionate for what she believes in and her students are better because of her we appreciate AR romano and we are very proud to be able to recognize as Kusa support professional of the [Applause] year last but not least please come on up Miss bestl Miss Jackie bestl has spent her entire career here in the keensburg school district throughout her time here she's earned the love and respect from her students parents and colleagues she shows patience compassion and positivity even on the most challenging of days she comes in smiling every single Morning has the willingness willingness to share her expertise with all those around her and has always maintained the most inclusive and welcoming classroom setting no matter what age she is teaching she's not only a teacher but a friend and Advocate to so many she continues to try new things plans Hands-On activities and lessons and holds it all together every day without ever raising her voice I don't think I've ever heard you raise your voice the only time she does raise her voice is when she can be seen and heard cheering on her students in their sporting events after school or on the weekends she is the the epitome of a teacher leader and we're all very lucky to know and work with her it is our honor to recognize Miss Jackie bestl as Caruso School's teacher of the year uh welcome uh on behalf of Mr Lis and myself Joel the Rocka the principal at uh Boulder Middle School uh one of the biggest compliments you can receive um is from a peer uh they know the tough job you have to do every day um and they know and they'll get to see you doing it every day so I'm going to read just the nominations for each of our winners first first we have our educational support professional Miss Marg Margaret lefau I nominate Margaret lefau as the educational support professional of the Year Margaret is so on top of everything coming her way scheduling meetings but also taking a purchase uh personal interest in cares she is fantastic to work with congratulations [Applause] Margaret Marg could probably win this in every building but luckily she's here at buer I have the pleasure to announce our Educational Services professional of the Year Patrina Z all day and every day Patrina is checking in with our students tackling behaviors and addressing parent concerns she's positive and tireless we are so fortunate to have her as a counselor and our dean of climate and culture [Applause] congratulations and finally our uh teacher educator of the Year Miss Debbie peroy the reason I'm nominating Deb peroy is because she is very kind considerate and connected to her students de Deb is very upbeat funny and outgoing teacher who is very close bond with her students and makes learning wonderful and entertaining experience for all Deb has her time and energy into her teaching and I think should be the 2023 24 teacher of the year congratulations [Applause] St all right it's my pleasure to kick off the recognition of a few of our wonderful High School staff members tonight with the terrific individual Mr lanch Mells come on down Lance is a tremendous asset to the kingburg high school Community he's a utility man and is always willing to help out Beyond his regular assignment it's common place for him to stop in the office and let us know if he's available or where we might need him uh to the definition of a true te player Lance loves working with the kids in his classrooms and strives to assist any single student in need he really believes in their ability and potential of each and every one of his students he always makes sure he lets them know that as well Lance is a proact is proactive in the classroom adding tremendous input and value to his lessons his calm presence is another huge Advantage he has while working with individ with individuals and in small groups within the classroom not only all of these wonderful things just also really great great person so Lance we appreciate you and everything you do so thank you congratulations to kingburg High School's educational support staff member of the Year Mr Lance [Applause] Ms I'm delighted today to recognize a the well-deserved recipient backwards of the educational service provider of the Year this remarkable person embodies the spirit and values that make our high school Community Thrive and it is with immense gratitude that we acknowledge his outstanding contributions this exceptional individual who bleeds orange and blue is constantly present throughout High School from the athletic fields to the gyms and every hallway in between he has become an integral part of our high school and a vibrant and supportive Community leader what sets this remarkable person apart is his unwavering willingness to say yes without hesitation to any request for assistance he was even voted recently voted most likely to turn the lights off in the high school for all the time he puts in at the school what makes him truly unique is the diverse range of talents he brings to the table not only is he a skilled counselor and Mentor but he also turns out to be a musician who plays a guitar a video game of ficado and a food connoisseur his positive attitude is contagious creating an environment where students and Staff feel inspired and motivated to excel I'm lucky to work with this person every day and consider him not only a colleague but a friend with immense pride and gratitude we honor James Reid for the educational service provider of the [Applause] year today we also recognize the well-deserved recipient of the teacher of the year award at keensburg high school this individual our esteemed Spanish teacher and Coach embodies a team player consistently going above and beyond to contribute the success of our school Community a true collaborator this teacher Rises to challenges and extends support not only to students but also parents and families he consistently gives up his own time to assist and support colleagues understanding the importance of a collaborative teaching environment in addition to his role as a Spanish teacher he also serves as a three sport coach showcasing his dedication to the holistic development of our students his impact is evident in the high in his high regard students hold for him is with great pleasure that we present the teacher of the year award to an outstanding individual who has made a lasting impact on keensburg high school please join me in congratulating our friend Uriel Morphin in addition to the school based recipients we also have a committee that comes together to vote on a districtwide recipient that represents us to the county level so it is my pleasure to announce I always want to make sure I say the title correctly the educational support professional of the year for the keensburg school district Miss Margaret Anne [Applause] lefau the second category that that's recognized at the county level is all certificated staff members who have been nominated at the building level the recipient of the keensburg school district educator of the Year award for 2324 is Mr James Reed [Applause] I just want to say congratulations to all the recipients thank you for all your hard work we're going to take a 10-minute res one more one more prior to doing that we have a student recognition that we'd like to present good evening everyone my name is Amy Dolan and I'm the student mentor coordinator for Big Brothers Big Sisters here at buer middle school and uh Kingsburg high school tonight we'd like to honor Divine Hair come on up Divine so um Divine is receiving the Big Brother Big Sister uh mentor of the Year award for Mammoth and uh central New Jersey uh Divine has been a big brother yes Divine has been a big brother for two years and has been a key leader in getting the kingburg Big Brothers Big Sisters program going he's an inspiring Mentor for his little brother and is always eager to assist and challenge others tonight Divine you're being acknowledged by the king's reward of education and all of us here for all your hard work and being such an example to the high school students and the congratulations Budd sorry about that but congratulations Mr Mr hair um congratulations so like I said we're going to take a 10-minute recess we have um Refreshments in the back if those uh if the faculty could meet their administrators and take a picture over by the KT I was asked to pass that along and thank you Mr Ste you're up for the executive session okay be it resolved that in accordance with the provisions of the open public meetings act the kingburg Board of Education shall shall conduct a closed executive session pursuant to the personnel and legal exceptions prescribed by njsa 10 4-12 for the purposes of discussing legal it is anticipated that the length of time for this executive session will be 20 minutes and the action will be taken in public after the executive session be it further resolved that the minutes of the executive session will be released when the need for confidentiality in accordance with njsa 10 Co and 4-12 no longer applies do have a motion and executive Patty first second who was second sorry Ken Ken All In favor I any opposed need a motion uh for the the come out of executive Patty you have a second okay thank all in favor I any opposed I need a motion for the approval of minutes Judy thank you JY you have a second second we got second Greg roll call Mrs Clayton okay Mrs friselle Miss Kell her Moran I Mr manowski yes Mr Kitchen yes Mr cook yes Mr cisano yes Mr Hoff yes Miss Ferraro presentation we have the presentation of our audit from HFA certified public Public Accounts and advisers thank you for coming thank you very much uh Jerry conned on behalf of HFA uh thank you very much for having me here tonight um know we've gone over uh the the audit report in in detail with with management uh I I really want to just kind of Hit the highlights here um the we have an unmodified opinion on our financial statements uh this is the best opinion that we can give that says that there are no modifications necessary to bring us into compliance with generally accepted accounting principles um pages one and 19 are probably two of the more important schedules I guess I'll say if you're to look at one or two spots to get a good uh synopsis of the audit as a whole uh those schedules kind of talk about kind of where the district's been some of the major initiatives it's undertaken over the past year too uh and kind of where it's positioned financially as it moves forward um in in throughout the completion of our audit all all of our testing that was performed we also did testing uh on both our state and federal grants in addition to all of our financial state and Regulatory testing um we have three findings uh that require corrective action uh and and a corrective action plan that I know is on the agenda for tonight's meeting um so those matters I know uh Management's already working on and and addressing that um we did look at two other findings that were in last year's audit uh and notice that those items were corrected um so those uh have corrective actions been taken and uh performed on those um and before I turn it over if there's any other questions just want to give a a big thank you to to miss O'Hare and Mr seti and Miss case for for all of their help and courtesies throughout this audit um I know I say it every year but I get to see my wife is an accountant and I get to hear her gripe about the Auditors uh every year so uh I know what an inconvenience it can be to have people come in and and uh ask for documents and and everything over and above what your normal day-to-day responsibilities are so I just want to thank you guys uh publicly for that so I'm happy to answer any questions if anybody has anything thank you though for all the information you provided us with thank you very much thank you de up superintendent of schools recommends positive action on the following items under personnel number one resignation number two professional Employment Number Three assignment change professional staff under number three there is a change to the salary noted on the agenda that will be updated before published um the contract is not settled yet for next year so she remains at the current step until that contract is settled so it should read $ 74,4 number four long-term substitute teacher revision number five extra block teacher for Bulger number six leave of absence Medical number seven leave of absence medical revision number eight leave of absence expended sick leave number nine leave of absence family number 10 leave of absence maternity Child Care revision number 11 substitute teacher power professional for the district number 12 substitute secretary number 13 home instruction tutor number 14 spring and summer coaching positions Kingsburg High School Number 15 spring coaching positions Joseph R bu Middle School number 16 prek evening registration staff number 17 change in in degree status movement on the guide number 18 professional development costing $150 or above number 19 attendance at NJ sbga workshop and that's it for personnel do I have a motion for the approval of personnel motion Mr cook thank you do I have a second Judy thank you um any questions comments ments concerns from fellow board members seeing none roll call please okay Mrs Clayton Mrs friselle yes Miss kelaran yes Mr manowski yes Mr Kitchen yes Mr cook yes Mr Siciliano yes Mr Hoff yes Miss Ferraro on thank you and then I'm going to roll General and the addendum in together for one item so under General and addendum we have number 20 District HIV report and then addendum A1 professional employment A2 internship A3 senior uh senior student internship location A4 substitute teacher par professional and A5 daily substitute teacher do I have a motion to accept Patty thank you do I have a second Ken thank you um any questions comments concerns from fellow board members s none roll call please okay Mrs Clayton yes Mrs friselle yes Miss Kell Maran Mr manowski yes Mr Kitchen yes Mr cook yes Mr cisano yes Mr Hoff yes Miss Ferraro okay School business administrators board secretaries report the superintendent of schools recommends positive action on the following items the board secretary's monthly certification and payroll certifications one approval of bills list two approval of 2023 24 home instruction number three approve added District tuition 2324 number four approve mckin vento tuition 2324 uh five approve Amon analytical lab drug screen uh drug screening 2324 number six approve the 4year 24 advanced placement International b b course expansion competitive Grant submission mouthful number seven approve the acceptance of additional funding for ARP homeless 2 eight approve resolution for member participation in Cooperative pricing system number nine approve application for dual use instructional space 2324 number 10 acceptance of 232 2223 annual audit number 11 approval of 2223 corrective action plan 12 approval of colonial life voluntary benefit do I have a motion to accept thank you do I have a second I'll second any questions comments concerns from fellow board members number for the AP I do we currently have any I International back classes or is this I know we offer AP classes is this combined either this this is to work with post buett yes it's yes it's to try to get us a grant to be able to pay for that start doing classes any others he stole my question roll call please okay we got a motion uh Mrs Clayton Mrs friselle yes Miss Kell her Moran yes Mr manowski yes Mr Kitchen yes Mr cook yes Mr cisano yes Mr Hoff yes Miss Ferrara okay I have school Business ministrator board secretary report addendum bs1 reapproved the acceptance of the high impact tutoring Grant bs2 approve change to rail mounts for over curb at high school bs3 approve acceptance of for year 2324 stabilization Aid bs4 approve acceptance of 4-year 24 emergent Capital maintenance needs Grant uh bs5 approved travel for the 2024 njsa State wrestling tournament and bs6 approve the special education Medicaid initiative semi corrective action plan for 2324 do I have a motion to accept the board secretaries zook I have a second any questions comments concerns from fellow B yes Mr h that that is for the um the unit ventilators at the um I'm sorry the um rooftop units at uh the high school that uh cap and constructions doing it's the pad they go on so they need um something to quell the vibration of the units and that's a change order for that that's just for the noise inside the building I'm guess the units approves any other questions comments see a none roll call please okay Mrs Clayton yes sorry I didn't hear sorry Mrs frelle yes Miss Kell her Moran yes Mr manowski yes Mr Kitchen yes Mr K yes Mr cisiano yes Mr Hoff yes Miss Ferrara now open the meeting to the general public for questions comments concerns if you can just please State when you get up please just state your name and you just say Kingsburg or your address uh did you you just state your name you don't krina Flanigan kingburg I wrote what I wanted to say but a little shaky all right so good evening everybody um I want to start first by thanking Miss O'Hare for taking my um concerns I feel the most serious out of everybody I tried to speak to uh also Mr L and Mr Lis for listening to my concerns um I have two children in the school system one's in prek the program has been nothing but amazing the other one's in seventh and it's been a nightmare um I have had issue after issue let me take my glasses um the first issue issue that I want to discuss is the bullying that's taking place inside this building my daughter has not only been threatened physical harm but continuously name calleded body shamed and harassed by her peers I have went to Administration I've went to guidance counselors I individually went to her teachers I filled out the hip reports which in my opinion are a waste of time they're either unfounded or simply not enough information to have them taken seriously enough I don't understand how she's doing the thing she's supposed to do she's going and Reporting everything and there still no fault found in some cases so to her it's basically nobody believes her and indeed the issues continue or worsen because now she's labeled a snitch or a rat statistically speaking in New Jersey there's 15 to 25 reported incidents of suicide by bullying in children don't let kebur become part of that St statistic um why are the reported incidents re reoccurring incidents not being taken more seriously I mean we're having assemblies on vaping in the schools why can't we have assemblies on the dangers that bullying is doing to these kids my daughter is 12 years old and it's came to the point where she won't eat because she's being told that she's fat she's a fat ass sorry um all body shaming her to the point where we're having problems with her her eating I shouldn't have to check my 12-year-old's robe at night to make sure there's no string in it because the stuff that she's enduring in this building she's taking home with her um I mean I am very involved in her life and I do everything I can I don't think she is you know I don't think she would be that kid but you don't know any kids in here that could be um sorry I lost my spot um so she's you know normally happy I drop her off in the morning she comes home she's miserable um we need to change and I'm standing before all of you ask asking to please take it more seriously I know the Hib is by the state but there has to be a different way there has to be a better way that we can get through to these young kids and let them know this isn't the way you can't go around treating people the way that you are people who feel so low about themselves in a place that they should feel I went here I went through this school system it's horrible what is happening and no offense they don't respect these guys either these kids they don't resp them somebody needs to stand up and make a change um so I think that the victims need to be taken more seriously and the offenders need to have stricter consequences um I would like to make a suggestion to implement um I know it was I don't know how long ago it was cut but at one time we had a pure Med peer mediation program here let the kids learn to talk out issues before it resorts to kids feeling um you know so low let them talk about it instead of tearing down or ending in violence let them learn to talk about the problems um so we need to change for the kids that are spending close to 33 hours of their week in this building um I think that's it with that topic and my last topic is sorry I'm very nervous I'm not a public speaker it's absolutely fine take your time so as a teacher are expected to maintain a professional demeanor at all times with all students unfortunately that's not the case at all times and what happened to my daughter needs to be made aware of on January 29th my daughter a 12-year-old female seventh grade at Boulder Middle School wasn't feeling her best she asked her teacher to use the restroom and was denied she immediately asked to see the nurse again was denied my daughter may have became frustrated expressing the urgent need to use the bathroom Not only was she again denied she was mocked and she was made fun of by an adult staff member she was humiliated on top of it being just her she the teacher did it in front of a classroom of seventh graders so now now picture the humiliation of a 12-year-old girl um after continuing to express the urgency a call was placed to the nurse who said to send her down because she seen her previously in the day perhaps something was really going on when my daughter left the classroom she was continued to be talked about and mocked there was threats to the other students in the class that my daughter would be getting ISS and she would was said was heard saying to the class I will make sure she won't be back in this classroom because I'm tired of her this is someone that is supposed to be setting an example and helping kids instead mocking and making fun of them after picking my daughter up due to another phone call from the nurse she clearly was extremely upset after speaking to her I had reached out to Mr laka well first I sent a talking points to the teacher to please please call me I wanted I'm a parent I want to be concerned in my child you know involved not concerned in my child's education it's my right and I think it's a good thing to have a good relationship with your kid's teacher um so after I didn't get a response I called Mr Lorac sorry I papers all over the place um and at the time he had no knowledge of the incident while I was on the phone with him he had received an email from the teacher there was no mention of any physical threats made my child made by my child as she was accused of by this adult teacher she stated back in her response to me which was was disgustingly unprofessional not only the way she responded to a parent trying to be involved as an adult in general but also claimed that she would refuse to long to any longer help my child mind you she is an educational specialist and this occurred while my daughter was in the middle of being evaluated for an IEP the behavior displayed by this individual was the most disgusting unprofessional behavior that I have ever witnessed from any staff member in the keensburg school district that's all for me thank you I just think everybody should be aware of we want to thank you for coming and speak to us we always want to encourage people to come and speak to us you you only not only came and spoke but you had ideas to the P mediation thing I just wanted to thank you I know what the qualifications are for it but I mean so we do so I will say so we we did uh we did a stien for a u a mentorship leader that we'll be bringing so the first part that we have of it is now the big brothers and sisters that they spoke so we have group yes so we have a group of high school students that comes over here and they are mentors to buer middle school students and they are handpicked to make sure that their students who are going to put out the right message and make sure that that's all right and then also within the building they're they're working on peer to peerto peer mediation well I'm not sure what's the qualifications or anything but I mean I would pass a background check I'm a stay at home mom I have more than enough time I ever needed any extra thank you ears hands eyes whatever all right thank you thank you speak to so I just really quick to to speak to you as we spoke several times about this and I said you have very valid points and very valid concerns and I'm embarrassed that some of the things that you said happened and um inv so that is like you had mentioned too like there is certain rules for Hib that does not mean that there's not consequences given by us and a lot of times our consequences are more Str stringent than what would be tied to a Hib so just because a Hib isn't found it doesn't mean that nothing happens it means that we just do it based on Code of Conduct instead and with staff as I told you like I can't discuss exactly what happens with staff but none of those concerns go undiscussed it's frustrating it's very frustrating but thank you thank you for being involved and for coming yeah seriously thank you for coming and speak to us and being an involved parent we do appreciate that yeah is there any other members from the public i' like to speak but my children are gr thank you if you can just please state your name and town of residence when you get up please my name is Melissa Hoffman and I've been a resident onol for years my daughter's been here for two years and there was a fight that happened last Monday my daughter got suspended along with a couple of the kids her friend had a fractured nose and a concussion she had to intervene because apparently she was being jumped in the hallway when did the Kingsburg School System become part ghetto you know what I'm saying like this is a very small town how is it that these kids are being jumped in the seventh and eighth grade hallways coming back from lunch and literally an ISS teacher comes when it's practically half done I have videos and my friends um they pulled their daughter so this is the second child that something like this has happened to as well um it's pretty sad there's a lot of bullying going on which is the truth um come to find find out that most of the stuff going on in town is juvenile it ends up in Freehold um maybe you guys can figure out with the principles what's going on in the school maybe look at the videos I know there's cameras all over the school but with the fight on Monday why was it that the principles weren't there why wasn't the security guards there why was it the ISS teacher coming up the hallway you know what I mean that's that's not normal have you spoken to anybody like the administration requested to see or you know request them to review the videos or anything like that no but I am going to tell you that the parent is extremely upset do you blame him no I don't I have I have a child in seventh grade too and they've had incidents as well you know I'll tell you something my daughter she likes to defend her friends you know but like this if you're going to jump someone do it oneon-one do you know what I'm saying don't do two onone or however um go to the principles that's what they're there for go where's guidance counselors my other daughter's in Caruso and she's a quiet smart kid in gifted and talented classes and she had two popular girls bullying her last year and I had to go to their vice principal in principal in regards to that one too like when is enough enough with the bully but I do know one thing is that um family um there's a lady in the Family Division in Freehold she's working with the mammoth County prosecutor and one of the judges they're trying to revamp the whole bully law and they're trying to figure out what's going on in keensburg to where they can get some of the cases down so I don't know maybe you guys can contact them and see what's going on and try to get something we could certainly look in the reaching out for them right we have spoken to them and the whole law for for everybody is being revamped so we we did a we had a parent presentation last week and they had discussed that there that the whole law is being revamped and it will come down because everywhere it's a trend that incidents are going up not down since this bullying law has been in place so they are reviewing it to change everything and speaking to districts to say like what do we see here and what's happening so we are doing that the bully law is ridiculous it actually covers the people that are bullying the the poor kids so it's restorative so everyone's looking for more of a punitive and it's restorative so that you're supposed to and the idea is great and in theory that you're teaching kids not to bully which is what we want to do we want to be proactive instead of reactive but unfortunately we're not there yet so we can keep trying to teach kids not to bully and teach kids not to bully but we also have to react to the things that they're doing so that's where we step away from the Hib and we do our own code of conduct because it is more stringent than what the law calls for well I I just want to make sure that you know what I mean my kid my other child's going to be coming here in September and I don't want something like this to bother her she's a good kid so is my other one you know they get a little all kids should be protected like that's yeah all kids should be protected it doesn't matter whether they're labeled a good kid or a troubled kid like all kids should be protected and bullying is horrible it wasn't back it wasn't that bad back in the day you know we had it and whatever happened everybody fortif fire barking that was it you know but now everybody's coming at you with three four and five people you know I don't know but um I do know is that a lot of parents too they have to advocate for their kids and they really don't and I've noticed that a lot of the parents in town some of them are straight and other ones are you know alcoholics drug addicts broken homes or whatever and these kids have no other outlets but to just go run a muck and do what they want to do and because they feel bad and there's got to be some way to get the parents to act we're trying and that's what we say too like when when we get suggestions like we're always open to suggestions also and we have been like when um when Miss Flanigan brought up too like or I'm sorry I don't know if it was you I'm sorry that brought up like bringing it to the Kingsburg Police Department we do that we charge students with assault within a school when it gets to that level we do bring it to the prosecutor's office that also we get tied a lot with too because if we bring it to to free holds a lot of times they're like well they're juveniles and they just send it right back to us so we're trying and we're bringing it and we're always open to more suggestions but there is a lot of things that tie us but we are working on it you know what it is a lot of the kids they don't understand what the difference is between bullying and assault or defending yourself and bullying you know there's a fine line right there but again the parents if they're not teaching the kids how are they going to know anything they're un lie some of the problem you know but we do appreciate you coming and speaking to us and like I said I would always reach out to the administrators that you know speak to them speak to the teachers you know even the ones that were you know saw it broke it up you know oh they tend to be quite responsive with things like that and we appreciate you coming to speak to us as well thank you thank you thank you thank you any other members of the public hello I'm Jess manowski and I am the chair of the pride committee for the kingburg Education Association I'm here tonight to invite you to our annual read Across America event which we will be hosting at Caruso on March Thursday March 7th from 6:00 to 8 thank you so much to the board members who have already uh volunteered to be guest readers for the event as soon as I saw you walking up I'm sorry to cut you off but I I realized I forgot to RSVP but I will be there I'll send it RSVP email all right I'll take I'll take your RSVP now um in addition to having our school and Community leaders be guest readers and read their favorite children's books to our students um there will also be food activities literacy activities and of course the cat and the hat so we hope to see you all there thank you thank you very much thank you any other members of the public seeing none I'll close that portion um before we adjourn uh Mr Hoff you have anything I do thank you one of my favorite being aard member is out Awards I'll say it every year employ of AC seniors and juniors that's pretty cool there's not 122 seniors so that's pretty cool and Alles wrestl teone that'ss scholarships um the like to inv everybody anybody only people involved in sports J involv thank you Mr you have anything thank you um M Farrar you have anything I want to congratulate the recipients and to Divine Hair for the high school student that's a great great aom they have and uh I just want to say Mrs D Philip Miss D Filippo is surely going to be missed by her colleagues and students and everyone who knew her thank you thank you Mr Mr mowy just like to go the sentiments uh one congratulate the educators of the Year award Award winners excuse me uh Mr Divine Hair for his uh achievements with the big brothers and big sisters and and Miss will be very sorely missed thank you uh Mrs Clayton you have anything great Mr C Mr I just want exul TOs like to congratulate ucat profs T also District May one of bestes the area to to a lot of that this it's not easy J job Fant job we have a new to deceive me who also a former so it's nice to see ual are going out into their adult life and back EnV this is and last small little thank you to everybody with snow this L New Jersey WEA that we have scho look fantastic everything was done so thank for ours and also know than our students have a lot ofs and that's AR we do out to the commun but the community sometimes chooses to go on Facebook we have have people to just you know's thank you Mr BR Mr C you have anything thank you Mr President yeah a couple quick things um and just to piggyback off of off of what Kim said um it's it's wonderful to see like when whenever parents come and speak to us we know that it's a daunting task to get up and speak publicly and and and and that could be um that could be you know a roadblock for people to come here and speak to us but if you want to come and speak to us in a more private setting like not up in front whatever the case may be still come and speak to us on the side speak to somebody on the side we welcome anybody and everybody from the community to come in and be a part of the change that we're trying to do here um and that being said I need to talk about this lady um because there is a title that I hold here whenever I walk in this building and that's board member but the most important title that I've ever earned in this building is to be called one of Jerry's kids so um when I was here and if I cry I'm sorry I'm trying not to but nobody has had a bigger impact in me on my troubled life than Missy Filippo um and what's awesome about that lady is that I know that my experience is not unique because what she did for me she did for so many others who walked through this building who felt alone who felt that they had no place they had a place in her science lab they had a place to call home in her Art Studio she was in every single part of the student life here from the Arts to going on the band trips to um just celebrating people and being a part of so many different things uh being just a lasting part of so many different people's lives um um going on Yankee trips um causing Mayhem in this building um I got away with more stuff hiding in Miss D's room than I should probably admit sitting here um and I mean whether it was sneaking out of class to go visit her and then getting kicked out and then coming right back and hiding from security or even now like one of the first things I did when I came here for my first committee meeting uh was snuck away and went and hid in Miss D's room like it was nobody else's business um the type of person she was she would go to kids funerals of their loved ones just to lend support um there's just no amount of words somebody could say to talk about the type of person that she was and the impact that she had on the students here um so whether you're a Greg or a Sam k or a Steven rafy or Rayo Keefe all these so many others who just clung to this woman and and got so many life lessons from her um it's such a tragic tragic loss for this building she gave us so much she gave us every part of her every single day and will never be able to repay that debt thank you thank you Mr cesano I just wanted to congratulate again all the award recipients tonight it's great to hear what our staff does to go above and beyond to receive these Awards uh to Mr Divine Hair it's fantastic to hear students receiving Awards um Kingsburg has suffered a lot of losses lately my condolences to all those the family and for love friends of the loved ones lost and I'm glad to see more parents coming and speaking please always feel free to come and speak to us you know that's why we have these meetings you know there's always a public portion and that's it thank you um accept the motion to adjourn cook have a second Patty thank you all in favor I any opposed