e e e e good evening everybody roll call shorter good evening everybody roll call Mrs bomo Mrs Gandhi Mr hayatt here Mr Lansky here Mrs McCormack here Dr MTZ Mr petruno Mrs seart here and Mrs Mendes here I want to draw your attention to Sunshine Law statement of videotaping of public portion of Board of Education meetings public comments statement and no smoking or vaping on school grounds just one thing when it comes to public comments and I'll I'll say it just a couple of times tonight before public comments are open is that I just want to remind everybody that when you um identify or or say someone's name and and have other information that follows you just want to be mindful that um there are at times repercussions to that and so we just want to be careful when when saying a name in public that's all cuz it's broadcast live and we just want to make sure you know that otherwise I mean people can say they're free to say whatever they'd like in public comments for the most part but I just want to make sure that we make you aware of that and then you proceed as you feel you need to um with that I please stand for the Pledge of Allegiance okay student impact [Music] [Music] [Music] hey [Music] [Music] [Applause] so what you just saw was a video uh about our uh this year's Walk For Change uh which is uh an activity um across our schools that advances a mindset around disabilities and Embraces differences and unique abilities leading up to that event students use chalk on the sidewalks and Bricks of their schools with messages of kindness and inclusion the event was sponsored by scope benefiting students and special education programs students brought in change to drop into buckets around the walk for change route and there were various stations for the students to participate in the winning grade level in each building will receive a treat courtesy of Chartwells thank you thank you artwork on display artwork on display uh it's mixed media nature prints Stephanie zi's 7eventh grade class students began by creating a series of oil pastel pattern papers working with warm or cool color schemes they then tore each paper in half and glued it onto a solid piece of colored paper creating a total of eight collage papers next students created nature inspired printing plates from styrofoam which they rolled with various colors of ink and printed on the collage papers after printing students selected three favorite prints and embellished them with paint pens students mounted their prints focusing on balance and Unity thank you um we're going to change the agenda round just a little bit so we have a nice siiz audience here and we want to make sure that people can speak before we go in executive and respect your time we'll have we can have public comments again which we will so don't worry if you're not here right now and you come later we will have another round of public comments but before we do that I'll turn over to you Mr balone for announcements sure I do have an announcement I just want to update the community uh our school community on some of the events that have recently taken place with respect to uh anti-semitic remarks um and actions uh by our students um I sent out two Communications to the community the first one uh was notifying the community of these events and then the second one unfortunately we had a a few other instances of those events um so I'll just read uh some of just a read a summary of from my letter um with some of the actionable steps that we are taking as a school district uh in adherence of our zero tolerance for anything any acts of anti-Semitism or hate of any kind uh whether it be spoken written actions um any any thing of that nature uh again Zero Tolerance it's in our our district policy and um we'll be working diligently I know we're we're coming up to the end of school so um hopefully our students will have a chance to reset um but we're going to be working hard over the summer on bolstering our our program so number one we're going to uh we have already reestablished expectations with our students uh both middle schools we focused on the middle schools primarily this year because that's where those instances were taking place um from the majority of the of the in incidents um so all both middle schools had assemblies by School administration and um they focused on this issue regarding any form of hate and that it is uh that we have a zero tolerance policy so that took place already um in terms of education and awareness um I want to wholeheartedly thank um all of our local community religious and ethnic leaders um I reached out to many of them one of whom is sitting in our audience uh Rabbi Pont thank you for for joining us uh we had a very productive meeting I know you met with me and you also met with some members of the Board of Education in a separate meeting so we do thank you for your time and your efforts and um I'm just happy to know that we are on the same page and we will work together with our school community including our families to make sure we eradicate hate of all kinds in our schools so thank you for that um reporting mechanisms we have pretty robust reporting mechanisms within our school already however we do realize that sometimes students don't feel comfortable reporting to school administration and that becomes a problem right because um any actions that happen in our schools we need to know about it but what we don't know we can't fix so part of that goal in in terms of establishing connections with our local leaders like Rabbi Pont and the other leaders I met with um over the last two weeks we have asked each and every one of them to if they if if a report comes to them because a lot of times they do right and and Rabbi Pont confirmed that in his meetings and so did the other leaders um that we now have this this open line of communication so even if it's um anonymous he will report the the incident that takes place and we will address it immediately so um that's how we're going to bolster our reporting mechanisms our support systems we remain committed to providing support to anyone affected by hate speech or discrimination we have counselors we have school psychologists so um and now with our our newly established again connections with our local leaders they're another support group maybe even on the weekends or in the evenings when our students go to those places of worship or or community centers um they they can feel supported in that sense as well and finally um I know this board is is committed to constantly reviewing policy so anywhere we can find Space to include um additional measures within our policies we're we're constantly reviewing our our district policy um so we can adhere to them now we would love a perfect in a perfect world we would have zero incidents right and and we hope that happens but we also know how to face reality right we talked about that at at graduation today the reality is we are educating children and our job is to redirect and support them when they make mistakes so we expect them to make mistakes we uh we will redirect them and make sure that we're supporting them while also adhering to our district policy policy uh or policies and sometimes consequences are are pretty difficult um but in in in this area in this subject matter um we will we will utilize our policies to the fullest extent because this is such a serious issue and our students need to know better and learn better so here to support them um just wanted to report out on that thank you thank you Mr balone um to that effect I just wanted to say also thank you Rabbi Pont we met with um Mrs Winston Dr CC Gallen a variety of people were there some board members that um could attend during the day we went as well and we went together um and I just at least to me I think we said it was a really informative uh beneficial meeting we actually shared some documentation amongst each other so I sent some policies that I thought would be helpful um since they said families come to them to let them know where they can find them uh we talked about the code of conduct policy we talked about um harassment intimidation or bullying and a variety of other things um they've even offered I they they held some training sessions and so I did ask for myself personally right if you could you know train me and and let me look at another through another lens right so maybe when I'm looking at policies at least I feel like I I know more than I knew yesterday and I know some board members um express interest in doing that too so I thank you for offering that as well um Rabbi Pont and just thank you to everybody who met with us so far the work isn't done to Mr balon's point we did recently look at some of our policies regarding student behavior um HIV but we did say the policy committee would look at it again over the summer and preparation for school opening and just to make sure that we have everything in line and then how we will communicate it out again to make sure that people are aware of you know repercussions if there is some behavior that doesn't fall in line with our policy so I just wanted to again thank than you so much for us working together um I know you're going to speak too but I just want to make sure that you knew that we were grateful for the time so thank you um okay so Mr caravell the school bus driver and building maintenance yes all abstracts run and all have Privileges and good standing thank you okay so we're going to move to public comments and then we'll move to Executive so is there anybody on the list sure first is uh Rabbi Michael Pont thank you I watched the video of Avery Eisenberg who spoke courageously at the the previous meeting and what happened to her sadly is not an isolated incident as the rabbi of the Marboro Jewish Center I've spoken to a number of students at Marboro Middle School who tell me about anti-semitic comments and acts that occur at MMS nor is this unique to our community according to the Anti-Defamation League incidents at K through 12 schools in the United States in increased by 135% that's 1,162 incidents in 2023 alone at my synagogue we recently started a center to combat anti-Semitism the CCA provides both support to those in Monmouth and middle sex counties who are experiencing anti-Semitism as well as resources to train and to educate the public public as Mr balone mentioned as Miss Mendes mentioned in the past couple of weeks my partners and I contacted you and other local leaders to offer our help and I want to thank you Miss Mendes and those of you who met with us on the school board and I also want to want to thank superintendent balone and P principal Neil Wy for also meeting with us all of you made clear as you did just now in your comments that you understand that this is a problem and I am grateful that you are committed to addressing it so at my synagogue and with the CCA we ask that you enforce your policies that emphasize zero tolerance for hate and that these policies must include anti-Semitism along with a definition of what constitutes anti-Semitism which we discussed in our meetings I urge the Marlboro Board of Education and representatives from local schools to take advantage of what the CCA offers along with Mr balone and Miss Neil wuke you expressed a desire to work collaboratively with us to implement policies and procedures to address the troubling rise of anti-Semitism in our community so we look forward to working with you and to ensure sure that we follow through on these discussions so that we can all work together to create a safe and inclusive environment for all students and staff again I thank you all very much for your time and your attention to this serious issue thank you thank you Rabbi Pont again thank you for the partnership and we're looking forward to working with you your next Rema sherog okay um that is it on the list does anybody else like to speak okay please just come up and state your name and your address and any affiliation you have thank you my name is Solomon hully I live uh in Hal New Jersey uh zero tolerance means a lot of different things for instance Columbia University uh me and my sisters are H are children of Holocaust Survivors so we know what this could lead to and I thank you all for being here and like I said Zero Tolerance could mean a lot of different things and hopefully you guys know what can happen uh Scholars have always argued that can the Holocaust happened again can it happen in the United States it seems like yes it can happen again and yes it could happen in the United States if we don't stop it stop it cold and over the last couple of days I'm so disappointed that more people outside the Jewish religion haven't spoken up and as far as the religious leaders the Catholic church and other religious organizations I'm so disappointed that they haven't spoken up and once again yes the Holocaust can happen again thank you thank you would anybody else like to speak okay um motion to close public comments all in favor second any opposed discussion okay okay um executive session resolution be it resolved in accordance with the provisions of the open public meetings act the Marboro Township Board of Education shall conduct a closed executive session pursuant to the exceptions prescribed by njsa 10412 for the purpose of discussing matters of attorney client privilege meet and greet candidate for position of principal at Robertsville Elementary School and selection of board attorneys it is anticipated that the length of time of this executive session will be approximately 90 minutes and that 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 10412 no longer applies all in favor any opposed discussion okay I just want to let you know if you are new to the meeting about executive session so we will leave the room we'll go back and behind closed doors have a have a couple of discussions based on what I discussed and then we'll come back out in about 90 minutes this one's a little bit longer because there's a lot to cover there will be another round of public comments so if somebody didn't arrive or they want to come later they can and they will have the opportunity to speak you can you can wait or not wait I just wanted to let you know how it works in case you're new to the beating structure thank you e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e roll call I'm calling the meeting to order roll call please this is Balo Mrs Gandhi here Mr hayatt here Mr lonsky here Mrs McCormack here Mrs seart here and Mrs Mendes here we had started the meeting meeting sorry we had started the meeting at 7:00 before we did have a variety of um we had student impact couple of presentations and then we moved to public comments prior to that I did state that we would open public comments again when we came back from executive in case people want to talk earlier on in the meeting and then um obviously we'll have another round of public comments open after so I just want to open public comments now for anybody who wanted to speak at this point before the meeting began so is there anybody on the list I do not have a list in front of me so right now I do not have anybody but would anybody like to speak does anybody want to speak now M Miss chto correct yes yes hi hello how are you how are you today I'm good how are you good thank you okay um good evening everyone I'm here to express my deep concern and disappointment regarding administration's inadequate response to recent incidents of anti-Semitism Within in the marbor school district these incidents are alarming and unacceptable creating a hostile environment for Jewish students and stuff specifically I refer to the following disturbing occurrences reference references to Nazi ideology on Hitler swasa symbols in a yearbook H Hitler signs on a school bus which are intimidating and traumatizing the use of phases like gas the juice inciting violence and hatred students making H Hitler gestures in the classroom not filing hip reports as someone who grew up in Soviet Union and whose parents came to this country as refugees to flee anti-Semitism I find it particularly distressing to have to speak these words in a place where we sought Refuge personally I have never had to speak these words out loud and I've never experienced them myself anti-Semitism has no place in our educational institutions not addressing these issues is a failure of school's primary responsibility to provide a safe learning environment so this is the action plan that we propose public acknowledgement and condemnation the administration must public acknowledge the incidents and unequivocally condemn such Behavior comprehensive investigation conduct a thorough investigation into all reported incidents ensuring accountability and appropriate disciplinary actions Education and Training Implement mandatory educational programs on anti-Semitism and broader issues of discrimination for all students faculty and staff support systems establish support systems for for victims including counseling services and a clear reporting mechanism policy review and implementation review and revise existing policies to strengthen the stance against anti-Semitism and ensure rigorous enforcement accountability ensure responsible parties are accountable for not filing Hep report and maintaining a safe environment you can put cameras in a classroom just want to mention that it's very um it's important that any punitive measures should come from the school itself as relying solely on police involvement is not the substitute for the administration's responsibility to enforce school rules and maintain and safe environment and we look forward to your prompt response and effective action thank you for your attention [Applause] Miss chtog thank you for speaking um I was writing quickly some of the things that you had mentioned and I appreciate that uh some things from a board perspective that we're working through um we I had mentioned we did meet with maror Jewish Center I wanted to make sure that that that in case you didn't hear that part so uh some of the board members and myself have met with Rabbi Pont and and some of the marbor Jewish Center um folks and we had a really really nice meeting so I did ask for at least from our perspective or at least for me some training just so I could be more comfortable with um proper definitions as we're looking at policies the the meaning behind certain things that might be helpful to us as a board as we're implementing and writing policy and updating them so that part we did also meet as a policy committee and and made it just our goal over the summer to again review we did recently look at code of conduct and HIV and a variety of other student behavior um policies but we also made it our goal over the summer to review them again and to make sure that it gets out in front of the schools um before the school year begins so we did take that on as a board as well the other thing that I did do was sent over to marro Jewish Center they have a tendency they said they meet with families which is great and families come to them to talk and so we kind of shared where our policies live because they were asking questions about code of conduct and how do you know if it's harassment or bullying and so I shared with them our website I shared some of our policies so that we can work together in Partnership and they could help educate families to as to who to contact right when to go to the principal or Administration and when to involve the board and so I did ask that um for for us to continue to evolve that relationship over the summer and we they shared documents with us um talking about support systems and Reporting mechanisms so I know that's in place in the school but they also shared their reporting mechanisms with us right they had a hotline that we all learned about and different things that we found to be super um informative that they would email me electronic version so we are working through as a board these pieces and so I appreciate you bringing them up and I'll be happy to update the community along the the way as we're doing that to share what the board has been doing to take this piece on so I thank you for coming out and speaking and you know you can always email us with concerns I know we've had exchange some emails and I appreciate you coming out tonight so thank you thank you anybody else want to speak Mr Grant um good evening members of the board Mr bone thank you for everything you just said much appreciate looks like a beautiful step in the right direction always good to have proper education and make sure that we don't end up in bad situations but I'm going to keep coming over here and keep repeating an email that I sent to Mr balone that I never really got a good response for no matter how much we educate mistakes will happen and the question is what's going to happen when it mistakes do happen and how do you deter young children from doing what they're not supposed to do well they know that they're not supposed to do it if you're going to treat them as if it's not a big deal they're going to keep doing it over and over and over and over again just as simple as that it's human nature it's who we are as children we used to be children we used to be the same way you tell child not to do something they're going to try to do it anyhow they're going to push the envelope they're going to see what happens how far you can take it where is the point where I cross the line only when they know that they cross the line they face consequences they're not going to do it again so we had a situation where a young lady came over here and noted that she was treated and her friends were also treating in ways of hater towards Jews schools statement such as how great of a man Hitler was H Hitler we love Hitler doing her class speech about anti-Semitism this young lady was laughed at and made fun of while student CHS Nazi salutes where were the teachers did anyone speak to the teacher why did the teacher allow for that to happen why wasn't it stopped students called to gas the Jews and go back to gas Chambers also called her a dirty Muppet Jew that particular student was considered for a conflict manager award Mr balone I'm going to ask again is he the type of students that Al Township Public School produces under your R under your leadership Miss nilak is not here I would ask her the same question is this the type of student body that she's producing is this the future that we're building over here in the United States now my children a lot of you know me some of you more than some know me personally my children will not be going to Mal school and treated in any way that was listed over here and if it does happen I will do it for the rest of the community and I will Flex the low in every possible way and challenge it to find find a way to hold people accountable cuz it's not enough to learn and educate there also has to be consequences when something happens and when there is no consequences we have a Mr Balon that looks great in a suit but doesn't get things [Applause] done thank you Mr Grant does anybody else want to speak can you come to the mic and just state your name please yes uh Vladimir cherto um I'm just wondering is there a record that you keep of all the incidents that were just mentioned throughout the year over the years Mr bone I don't know the answer to that one yes we keep records um in accordance with our our uh student code of conduct policy and we also keep HIV reports would you be be able to answer how many of those incidents occurred this year I don't have that in front of me but uh assuming you keep records that that record exists so would be nice to know if you see any Trend if you see increase in this in those incidents over the years and we're talking about if you keep it this year hopefully you kept it last year and year before and not only anti-Semitism I'm sure you need to keep records for any type of discrimination um so I'm pretty sure the records will show huge increase in those occurrences the reason you keep records is to be able to gauge and act upon them there is no action so what's the point of keeping record just for formality and this is exactly what Moshe was talking about we just doing formal things we don't really mean to do anything for real and that's what I think we should really change thank you yeah yes please I'm going to keep it simple just state your name please sir my name is Steve Stander thank you I'm going to keep it very very simple in society we have a check and balance deterrent is is what prevents Society from losing their get out of control in our country right now is out of control somebody asked me recently what's going on in our universities I said New York City they said well what could we do to stop it I said arrest one of those protesters that crosses the line and don't just give him a parking ticket and release him 30 seconds later let him spend the day at Riker's Island see if he'd like to go back and spend another day at Riker's Island what I'm saying is we have no will we have no deterence we let people we let kids we let everybody go unchecked and that's a huge problem and it has to somebody's got to stand up somebody's got to start right now otherwise we're going to lose everything thank [Applause] you again I just want to say thank you for coming out and speaking um I always want to draw people's attention to some of the policies that are out there that we're going to look at again just to make sure that you all know cuz there are some of you mentioned repercussions the piece that the board has um in place is the policies have grids you'll see in their harassment intimidation or bullying and code of conduct you'll see that there's some some pieces in case people were wondering what happens if and I know that there's some things that you're all asking I just want to make sure that everybody knew but we'll keep updating the community like I said before I could speak to the board piece of of our progress and the things we've done along the way just to make sure that you all know and and we're always open to hearing feedback so I appreciate you all coming out and sharing and and you know kind of speaking your your your piece so thank you does anybody else want to come out and speak okay there'll be another round of public comments if you'd like to um and so with that I'm going to motion to close public comments I have a second Ashley all in favor any opposed discussion okay thank thank [Music] you okay uh first one is meeting dates so the upcoming meeting is July 16th and Tuesday August 20th they're both regular meetings um okay approval of minutes resolution adidi approval of minutes resolution um Secretary of Business administrator's report board secretary's monthly certification payroll certification no Mrs scy were just approving the um number one approval of minutes for May March 5th sorry that's okay page four page four that's where I'm on okay so just approval of minutes resolutions so I move have a second Ashley any discussion [Music] okay Mrs seart [Music] yes Mrs bomo yes Mr hayatt yes Mr lonsky yes Mrs McCormack yes Mrs Gandhi yes and Mrs Mendes yes okay we're now going to go to the presentation on the 2024 2025 school year breakfast program okay [Music] all right good even good evening everybody can everybody hear me okay I have a very monotone voice I'll try to speak louder sorry um so I just wanted to give the board and the community an update we received corresponden from the Department of Agriculture um regarding a program that we need to install for the 2425 school year so I'm just going to read a little portion of the letter before we get into just a small presentation just to give you an overview of what what the next steps are are um so we received this letter in the fall and it was per New Jersey law that public elementary schools in which 10% or more of the enrolled students are federally eligible for free and reduce price Meals by October 1st of each school year shall establish a school breakfast program for the following school year uh they received data from us that showed that one of our schools has a 10% or more student eligible for free and reduced price meals uh category so we actually have to offer the the breakfast program for defo elementary school starting in September of 2024 so we just wanted to prepare something for the board just to give you basically an overview of how that's going to work and what our basically our plan is going forward for the maror school district so when we submitted our plan uh we worked with Vinnie palomero we are going to offer a program that's basically called before the bell and it's basically going to be a point of sale so it's going to happen before the actual school day so as you know we're part of the school lunch program so similar to the school breakfast program in order to be part of that program you have to offer certain um types of food ones that include more whole grains has to be more fat-free and and and lowfat dairy more fruits and vegetables you usually have to pick at least three to make that a whole meal fewer refined grains of course fewer desserts and snacks and then also the beverag deser are usually milk or 100% juice so again Chartwells helped put us put this together and eventually we would like to put this out to the whole school district but we feel that it's smart enough to just pilot in one school that is required right now just to make sure that the process that we put forward is the most seamless transition to offering such a program some of the things the breakfast program does is it does improve academic performance Studies have shown when students do eat breakfast that are that maybe do not have access to it it shows that they've actually had improved academics throughout the school day the health and the nutrition associated with the breakfast and also there has been studies shown to to have the behavioral and emotional well-being improve of a student who may come to school with a breakfast rather than not have a breakfast now this is this is New Territory for for Maro School District but it is something that is required so um just bear with me so the next slide is just going to show you basically just a a sample menu for a hot breakfast menu as you can see there's going to be things that are offered such as you probably can't see but I'll just read it so waffles apple juice yogurt on other days it'll be egg and cheese sandwiches or apple slices uh turkey sausage egg and cheese and there also are going to be options for vegetarian um kosher any religious accommodations need to be made we do that very well here with uh the lunch program again this is just U that was the cold breakfast menu and that's really because basically you're just going to have cold options such as Bagels rolls um muffins it'll have Cheerios uh any types of cereal that you may um look for and then here are the logistics so basically we're looking at Frank defino's breakfast beginning at 7:50 a.m. making it about 30 minutes long breakfast will be consumed and served in the school cafeteria so one of the options we looked at was to have it in the classroom and that is something we wanted to stay away from we'd rather have it you know open up early before the school day starts anybody that wants to come and have breakfast in that program they would just have to be dropped off so there'll be an over transportation and it's not required to provide either for for students that want to have breakfast so they would be required to be dropped off at the main entrance and will'll be escorted to the cafeteria um students who proceed to the cafeteria whether you're free and reduced lunch avable you'll get your breakfast or if you'd like to come and just pay for breakfast maybe be dropped off early you are allowed to be part of that as well um and then after breakfast is over the students would be escorted to the first part of their day so their classroom so this is actually of no cost to us it's going to be zero zero dollar labor because we're going to utilize Chartwells and the staff they already have built in because their staff that are there early on already we did look at maybe possibly offering the form of a stien of somebody or or maybe a Chartwells employee that wanted to come in and just to monitor the students while they are eating their breakfast and then get them to their classroom again this is just some of the the things that Chartwells does well uh these are some of the things that they offer so they do scratch and badge C cooking um they use certain ingredients from certain sources you'll see that on the next slide um seasonal menus they're constantly changing we constantly look at data to to derive the best menu possible so every month is's a different menu excuse me and those are some of the other things that they par participate as well different culinary experiences for the students so you can see those are just some of the brands that they they utilize in the cafeteria okay so just basically an overview I know this is fun stuff so keep keep with me um just number one breakfast starts at Frank to know possibly around 94 I think it might be 93 so the first day of school would run through the whole school year number two we're going to offer the cold breakfast option first to see how that that that fares because we want to see if there's going to be any enrollment or even any participation in the program to begin with and then we'll offer a hot breakfast if there actually is a large participation and that leads to the next one if there is successful participation our plan is to let's talk about it um our our plan is to offer it to all schools uh to make it Equitable across the board whether it's required or Not by the Department of Agriculture so everybody has an option for breakfast around the district but for right now we feel like 2425 let's just do the school that's required and then after that if it is a success and it is a seamless transition we can go to every school so let's talk about it that actually made me hungry sorry can I hop in can I ask a hypothetical just because I'm I'm thinking about the children that would be eligible not having a ride to school and having to rely on busing I know this is the pilot program and there's going to be trial and error but have you considered like a grab and go option for the classroom maybe something that's not as messy or not as complicated just a few pieces of fruit or maybe you know a muffin something that they could get when they get off the bus before they head to the classroom just so that they can benefit from the lunch the breakfast program but not missing out if they can't get dropped off I'm just thinking about like the working parents parents that rely on busing things like that so that's something that we did discuss and one of the options I think we chose to go this route right now is because there's a couple things one really just trying to preserve not really um impacting instruction time so when children are eating in the classroom and the teachers may be trying to teach that may cause for you know a little disruption when it comes to maybe focusing on what they're trying to to learn or what assignment they're doing the other one was the mess I know um unfortunately you know that's their work environment we don't really want to you know now put food in there and then there could be messes or things that need to be cleaned up during the actual school day that may impact their work environment and the learning environment of the kids so if it does pan out to be that much more of a seamless transition that way that would be a larger discussion we would have with the principles and of course just you know get the lay land in the feel of what it would look like in the classroom but for right now we were just want to try to stay away from that method B have a question um who's opening the doors for the students in the morning like who's so there is going to be someone there that is assigned for breakfast Duty whether it's be a stien that's posted internally or it's going to be through Chartwells so that's something that we're working on but that's how that's going to work I going I was going to ask the same question but that should be security officer those are our kids coming into our building before school starts it's out there are kids coming to our school why would we not have one of our security people there CU we want to make sure that they're certified to be with with children one of about security people at the door like we would have during the normal school day when the buses come we have a security person well security is required per their contract to be there anyway I believe 15 minutes or 30 minutes prior to the start of school so they will be there during the breakfast program it'll overlap long as I that a whole time I said said 30 minutes before we can we can get them there the extra 1550 minutes is that's not an issue but then that again is associated with a cost but they're there 15 minutes prior to the start of the school day it's required for each one of their buildings I'm just saying if our kids are coming into the building for us 30 minutes before the school day shouldn't be if can maybe should be we just need to do that that's my right so you said you're going to look at the timing right you said they'll overlap so you're going to just make sure that I guess you you're saying you're going to follow up to make sure that they're there the whole time correct yeah that's not an issue if we require them to be there 30 minutes then they're there for 30 minutes it's what we have to do but this that's what you're looking for unfortunately this program is required by law so we're going to have to do it but we can accommodate it however we want the program to look um but they are there for 15 minutes already we would just have to pay for the extra 15 minutes for them to be there yeah good point Michael any other thoughts questions okay your mic D so if we don't have enough enrollment do we still by law have to do it we will until they they would tell us otherwise yeah okay okay and then for the other schools I know it's not required right now but if we're going to roll it out um so it would be 25 26 that we would look to do other schools and the reason we want to be proactive is because we've already gotten wind that by 2526 I know the state is trying to make it almost universally free and reduced where you'd have to offer both programs anyway so we were just trying to be proactive and also be Equitable to everybody because we don't know everybody's situation and just because it's 10% in one school does it mean there's other students that yeah is this would this be interfering with the the why before care and how are they going to keep that separate so anybody who participates in the why we've already discussed with them they would just bring them actually to the the cafeteria to get something and then they would go back under their care or they can eat there and then go back under their care anybody else thank you you're welcome it was interesting by the way you said it wouldn't it was um okay uh Mr balone Communications I have none um in Hib this is the Hib report from the period May 24 2024 through June 13 2024 three incidents reported thank you and the secretary business administrator's report yep these are the reports for uh the ending month of May 2024 thank you moving on to committee reports Mr alansky Safety and Security no we had a conflict we're not able to meet so we're going to come up with a DAT before the next meeting we're going to meet thank you for the policy committee we uh met we discussed the two there's a couple of policies that are up we had some deep discussion though on other policies um that we're going to look at over the summer as I mentioned before but up tonight are 0133 and 0174 which is legal services uh next policy committee meeting is June 20th uh we did have now an update for organization matters and so we uh we were talking about a motion so I would just like to motion for number one which is the board attorney to put the law firm of Kenny gross kovak and Parton um in as the marbor Township Board of Education attorney and can I and then for number two the board of educa the board attorney for special education matters that would be the law firm of Machado Law Group um Kenny gross kovat and Parton would be at 155 per hour and the Machado Law Group for special education matters would be 175 per hour do I have a second Ashley any discussion okay Ral Mrs bomo yes Mrs Gandhi yes Mr hayatt yes Mr lonsky I have to abstain from one and two due to conflict thank you Mrs seart yes Mrs McCormack yes and Mrs Mendes yes okay so now we're on to page six financial and business operation matters Chad uh the superintendent of school submits the following resolutions for approval one transfers two list of bills three secretary monthly reconciliation reports four travel five harassment intimidation bullying Hib report six approval of MTS safe return plan seven security drills eight aware of bid Chromebooks nine award of sorry Award of bid Chromebooks nine award of bid Chromebook cases 10 policy of public law 2015 chapter 47 11 end ofe transfers 12 American Red Cross 13 uh lead testing statements of assurance 14 Somerset County cooperative purchase colon custom bandag Incorporated for tires and tire related services for the the 2024 2025 school year 15 ESC andj contract purchase Allegiance trucks DBA midatlantic Truck Center for repair parts for buses and vans for the 2024 2025 school year 16 sorwell sourcewell contract purchase Simplex grenell Johnson's Controls Incorporated for fire alarm repairs Burger alarm repairs and related services for the 2024 2025 school year 17 es uh cnj and D data contract purchase Allied fire and Safety Equipment Company Incorporated for fire sprinkler repairs and related services for the 2024 2025 school year escj contract purchase number 18 escj contract purchase Spruce Industries for custodial supplies and related services for the 2024 2025 school year 19 escj contract purchase am Incorporated build building maintenance systems for maintenance and related services for the 2024 2025 school year I apologize there's a lot here um 20 esj contract purchase inline air conditioner and h factor repairs for lat services for the 2024 2025 school year 21 sourcewell contract purchase flooring concepts of New Jersey LLC for the patch craft Shaw Carpet flooring covering and related services for the 2025 2024 2024 2025 school year Omnia Partners Home Depot Pro for maintenance supplies and related services for the 2024 2025 school year 23 Award of bid 2024 Paving improvements at various locations 24 24 transfer of current year supplies and maintenance reserve and capital reserve accounts 25 approval of 202 24 2025 school year breakfast and lunch prices 26 approval of agreement with the township of maror for the turf battle ball field at marbor Middle School 27 awarded proposal special education related Educational Services 28 approval of agreement Oxford Consulting Services Incorporated esy approval of agreement Oxford Consulting Services Incorporated esy 30 approval of agreement mjw Physical Therapy LLC esy 31 approval of agreement esy summer speech therapy services 32 approval of agreement esy summer Physical Therapy Services MJ W Physical Therapy LLC approval of agreement summer Physical Therapy evaluations mjw Physical Therapy LLC 34 approval of agreement with biata home healthcare Incorporated for the provision of nursing services for case number 936 for the 2024 2025 school year 35 approval of agreement with Bata Home Health Services Incorporated for provisioning of nursing service for case 9 72 for 2024 2025 school year 36 approval of agreement with biata home healthc care for the provision of substitute nursing services for the 2025 20 2024 2025 school year approval of agreement esy summer Occupational Therapy Services All Care Therapy Services break 36 out of District plat for the 2024 2025 school year 39 approval of contract with marbor Township for police officers for the 2024 2025 school year 40 approval of agreement with maror Township for school resource officer for 2024 2025 school year 41 renewal of District insurance policies for the 2425 school year 42 approval facilities use fee schedule 43 extension of contract comprehensive joint custodial Services 44 recognition of Educational Foundation 45 recognition of parent organizations 46 memor memorandum of agreement marbor Township head C St odans 47 approval of agreement with jmi Enterprises LLC for the 2425 school year 48 New Jersey contract purchase winner for Goan winner Ford for purchase of a Ford truck for the 2024 2025 school year approval of agreements Summit speech School 50 home instruction 51 out of District placements for the 2023 2024 school year 52 I am not almost there 52 two escnj contract purses wolfington body company for the pair of parts and buses and vans for the 2425 school year 53 amended resolution ESC NJ and pppm contract purchase TurnKey Technologies TurnKey security supplies and services for the 2 24 23 24 school year uh 54 EC NJ P PPM and NJ contract purchase TurnKey Technologies for technology and security supplies and services for the4 25 school year approval of agreement All Care Therapy Services 56 New Jersey state Contracting that's the last one [Applause] purchases that was great you just have to say I so move I hear my move I so move that was a lot and that was awesome thank you Chad um do I have a second DD any discussion so number 30 is just going there's going to be a a slight correction so approval of agreement for mjw Physical Therapy LLC esy the the hour the hour rate of 110 should be changed to 150 and so the the total amount not to exceed should be changed from 1980 to $2,700 thank you I have a question to discussion 26 does Township um they offer the turfield to us or do we ask Township For assistance with that uh number 26 I'm sorry it's the $1.5 million turfield was your question sorry did Township offer that to us or did we ask Township for that they offered that to us through the uh Grant initiative they've been approved for awesome and then is there any upkeep or special upkeep or additional funds it just want to make sure we're good so after they complete the upgrade of the the the field in the back of the middle school they will actually relinquish control to us so we'll be able to rent it out or have a part of our facility but then the upkeep and the maintenance is on us it would be our field okay thank you you're welcome any other discussion okay we call Mrs bomo yes to all abstain from four Miss Gandhi yes I think I think you're on on are you on for number four for travel so for school boards if anybody is on number four just abstain to your name only yeah that so for me only so number yes to all but number four um because I'm traveling so abstain from just for myself only oh and number five I abstained number five 45 sorry 45 45 right so Danielle V so we we're going to restart roll call real quick please yeah yeah good idea so if you're traveling for school boards in October and you're on number four for travel just abstain from that vote because it if it applies to you if you're on there okay and then if you're wait okay and if you're on a PTO or PTA and you're up here you have to abstain from the recognition 45 it is 45 okay just putting that out there okay so we'll we'll start over roll call vote Mrs yes to all abstain from four for myself and 45 okay thank you Mrs Gandhi yes to all abstain from four for myself thank you Mr alansky yes Mrs seart yes to all abstain from from number four for myself thank you Mrs McCormack yes to all abstein from number four for myself and abstein from number 45 okay Mr hayatt yes to I'll abstain number four for myself thank you and Mrs Mendes yes to all abstaining from number four for myself and number 45 for myself with the PTA okay thank you um okay Personnel matters oh sorry I'm on the wrong page curriculum matters Ashley the superintendent of school submits the following resolution for approval one inter Scholastic athletic competitions fall Sports 2425 school year ISO move I have a second did any discussion okay roll call Mr hayatt yes Mr alansky yes Mrs seart yes Mrs Palomo yes Mrs Gandhi yes Mrs McCormack yes and Mrs Mendes yes okay with Personnel matters just before we get to it there's an addendum that you would have received I think it was in the front um it's regarding it's actually number 52 it's a resignation that we just received an official written resignation this morning and so that's why you'll have that addendum there for you now so I just wanted to remind the board members that number 52 is there now too so that's what you're also voting on okay so with that Personnel matters Michael Personnel matters superintendent of school submiss the following resolutions for approval one retirements two resignations three employment principle four employment certif certificated staff five employment instructional assistants six head custodians and night custodial Services 2425 school year seven reassignment certificated staff eight transfer non-certificated staff nine transfer reassignment amended salary non-certificated staff 10 amended extracurricular activities advisors 11 curriculum writing Ela revised curriculum guides K through five 12 curriculum writing Ela Revis honors 6-8 13 stien additional duties confidential administrative assistant 14 nurse substitute caller stien 15 lead counsel stien 16 lead nurse stien 17 lead mental health stien 18 extracurricular activities advisors 19 teacher Saturday school discipline program 20 assistant Saturday school discipline program 21 substitute assistant Saturday school discipline 22 after school detention 23 substitute after school detention 24 summon nurse work sports physicals documentation and protocols 25 sumon nurse work review of allergy and medication documentation 26 child study team evaluations and meetings 27 teacher summer IEP meetings 28 2024 2024 extended school year program certificated to staff 29 2024 extended school year program for students with special needs Wilson reading teacher 30 2024 extended school year program for students with special needs Wilson reading teacher 31 2024 extended school year program inst structural assistance 31 32 2024 extended school year special education program substitute certificated staff 33 2024 extended school year uh special education program substitute instructural assistance 34 it yeah 334 2024 extended school year program School monitor 35 2024 extended school year special education program substitute School monitors 36 2024 summer work bus drivers 37 summer work 2024 summer work bus assistant 38 2024 summer work substitute bus driver 39 2024 summer work substitute bus assistance 40 2024 summer work substitute couriers 41 summer substitute secretaries 42 transportation department 43 substitute teachers 44 substitute nurse 45 substitute instructural assistants 46 substitute School monitors 47 substitute bus drivers 48 substitute bus ATT attendance 49 paid medical disability leave 50 unpaid leave of absence 51 amended resolution leave dates and uh number 52 resignation ISO move thank you Michael have a second I have uh any discussion okay roll call so just a um a readin so number 38 2024 summer work substitute bus drivers so we're just going to add a name the name is going to be Michael Goldberg and it's going to be at the same rate listed so the $27 per hour and this is what was the title of that the number 38 2024 summer workor substitute bus drivers okay thank you okay roll call Mr hayatt yes Mrs McCormack yes Mrs seart yes Mrs bomo yes Mrs Gandhi yes Mr elansky yes and Mrs Mendes yes do you have retirement comments I believe I do I have two retirement comments the first one is for Marie galtier Maria galtier began her career in Marboro Township Public Schools in 20 2007 and will end her career here with over 17 years of service she was hired by Dr John shutman and has served under three separate principles and numerous Vice principles in her role as the main office Secretary of marbor elementary school she has taken on numerous other responsibilities Beyond her job description including being the first face you see when coming into our school being the first voice you hear when calling our school assisting our students as as they arrive and they have had a rough morning assisting our students heading home early when they aren't feeling well she's at the heart of the building and always has had her finger on the pulse of the school Community she is a resource to students parents and staff Mrs galtieri has left her mark on our school through the day-to-day operations and interactions with thousands of faces over the course of her career her care for our students and I for detail has not gone on notice and is a part of what makes our school community so special when asked about her favorite part of the job her mind always goes to the people and how they've shared their lives together throughout the years in her retirement she plans to spend time with her grandchildren and would love to make it to Italy at some point we thank her for her service and wish her well and the final retirement comment for the evening is for Nancy lenal Nancy Luen began her career in marbor Township Public Schools in January of 2002 and will be retiring with almost 23 years of service to the district and 27 in the field of Education she was hired by Linda atanasio and Dr Sandy Morris serving under numerous administrators in the following schools Dugan defino marar Early Learning Center and finally marel throughout these years she has taught students with special needs in our district as a teacher of special education in particular Nancy started in the pop program and since has spent a significant amount of time teaching resource room classes in the primary grades where she has tirelessly guided our younger students to become readers and Learners as they gain increased Independence a particular point of Pride that she noted was having spoken at several national conferences for special education over the course of her career most recently Nancy took on a leadership role as the chairperson of the school culture and climate Committee in this role she led students and colleagues to collaborate on numerous projects throughout the school year with a focus on the betterment of the school Community her favorite part of teaching is when former students reach out to her to let her know how successful they have become later in life and how her role in their life has made a direct impact she has mentored several teachers and instructional assistants throughout her career and Views this as paying it forward to the profession Mrs lenal notes that looking back at her career she cannot recall having one bad day in her retirement she plans to travel to spend time with her children who do not live close to home we are hopeful that she remains eager to come back in her spare time to be with us as a sub substitute teacher because she has so much still left to give to the kids thank you Nancy one one other thing I'd like to mention um she was here but she's not here U Mrs Luen tall she uh came and personally met me over at the board office and had such nice things to say about our school district and was so grateful to work here so Nancy I'm sure you'll see this at some point um on the recording um I I appreciate that conversation um thank you for your kind words and again best wishes in your retirement thank you God I was just gonna say one just you want to say go I don't know what you were gonna say I was just going to welcome that's I I was just going to welcome and congratulate Anthony Jano the new principal of Robertsville Elementary it was nice meeting you earlier um and we look forward to to the work that you're going to do in Robertsville so thank you thank you for being here were you going to say something else Michael dto we were going to say the same thing awesome okay um okay uh Danielle policy development and community relations the superintendent of school submits the following resolutions for approval one second reading to First reading ISO move or second any discussion okay roll call Mr Hyatt yes Mr olansky yes Mrs McCormack yes Mrs sewart yes Mrs Gandhi yes Mrs Palomo yes and Mrs Mendes yes okay moving on to the leison reports for Hill Regional Chad uh I don't have an extensive I do have actually one quick update I think I said during last meeting that they were going to vote whether or not to take the uh tax levy cap increase um but I believe they are still waiting on guidance from the New Jersey Department of Education on how to proceed that so I said last meeting they were going to have a vote um last month on that uh it's my understanding they haven't had that vote yet because they're waiting on that guidance so it's still up in the air in terms of that but otherwise no update great thank you MEF andette nothing to report Michael moral Township National Night Out Maro police will again hold the annual National Night Out on August 6th and looking forward for business businesses to participate it's a great opportunity to showcase your business giveaways crafts games samples Flyers are all welcome note no items for sale are permitted and there is no fee to participate for more uh info please email National nightout marbor pd.org Marboro day our 40th annual Maro day will be held on September 8th and sponsor and vendor opportunities are available now don't wait as this event fills quickly Maro day welcomes thousands of visitors and is a great opportunity to proe to promote your business Farmers Market open Our Father's Day from 9:00 to 1 come by and get all your barbecue needs pass but they're open now for the summer summer concerts and fireworks save the date Sunday July 7th at the recreation Amphitheater will be the fireworks Maro High School graduation maror seniors and their families will be celebrating their Milestone along with freeho Regional High School students on Thursday June 20th please avoid the area from 3:00 p.m. to 7 p.m. to allow graduates and their families access juneth federal Offices post offices and Mammoth County offices will be closed on June 19th the state will the Vehicle Commission courts offices and offices will be closed on Friday June 21st in in observance Maro Township will observe regular operating hours jcpnl helicopter patrol beginning approximately June 12th chesap Peak Bay helicopters begin performing routine patrols on all jcpnl transmission lines details and flyers and these other events are sent via email and are those are registered on the website as well thank you um Mammoth County School boards is um Aldo's not here so um njsba Danielle nothing to report okay moving on to the PTA PTO liaison um Aldo's not here for Asher so we'll move to Abbot for Chad yeah I'll give um Mr perno's update which includes some PTO activities uh so throughout the month they were pretty busy they had concerts art shows picnics I think it's all in the spirit to celebrate uh the year coming to a close uh field day was May 30th they had perfect weather so that was good they and I think everyone knows what field day is but the students got to do a variety of games and activities and things like that outside uh K kindergarten students went to Robertsville and Asher on June 3D uh they came back confident that they're ready for the first grade so that's good uh Walk For Change was June 10th I think you guys all saw that at the beginning of the meeting um they raised money for scope U sorry yes raise money for scope uh and then they had a magic show which was sponsored by the PTO on on June 12th uh and I hear the students absolutely love the performance um and they are getting ready for uh summer so I won't have an update probably until they're back from school that's what I got wonderful thank you um defino ADI defino just hit their um field day yesterday and it was a huge success as it is every year um June 19th which is tomorrow they're doing their ice cream social for All defo Families from 1:30 to 300 p.m. um siblings and parents are welcome June 20th is the fifth grade year book signing party um and that's it thank you Duan Danielle um the students and their families enjoyed the science fair that was held on May 30th Jason Lindsay AK Mr science put on a fantastic assembly both during the school day and before the start of the science fair that everyone enjoyed it was an enjoyable evening of doing experiments and seeing some projects done by the Dugan students the evening ended with Mr cybert blasting off a rocket on the black top which everyone loved seeing field day was yesterday and it was such a fun time for all the students they got to enjoy many different activities including races games and Inflatables thank you so much to all the volunteers who helped make the day such a great success we definitely have a friend in you school toolkits will be available for purchase for the upcoming school year emails will be sent with information so please continue to check your email throughout the summer for purchasing information our fifth graders had a wonderful time enjoying their last month at Dugan with many activities they had their fifth grade dance and the black bear picnic on May 29th was a huge success and all the kids had a wonderful time thank you to all of our parent volunteers who helped at the picnic the fifth graders also got to enjoy the Kona Ice treat this morning all the kids enjoyed the treat on this hot day class parties will be tomorrow June 19th for all grades class parents can see the E sent on Sunday for the party time for each grade um we wish everyone a wonderful and safe summer and congratulations to the fifth graders and goodlook in Middle School the PTO is looking forward to an exciting school year next year and look out for our playground play dates over this summer and thank you to Robin who always prepares these beautiful liaison reports thank you um Dr MTZ is not here from Marl so Michael will move to Maro Middle School I'm sorry let me back okay Robertsville Ashley and then we'll come to the middle schools hello summer robertville PTO is closing out our 23 24 year strong we successfully brought back our parents Night Out event formerly Leno on May 29th held at the Grand marquet with over 150 baskets to raffle off a 50/50 a mock blackjack table and a one and wonderful support from our local businesses who generously donated our prizes a special thank you to all all the staff the teachers and the community members who attended F A was one of our favorite Z's of the year and it was a hit held on June 7th the kids bounced in a massive American Ninja Warrior Bounce House danced the morning away with our host DJ miles played tug of- war and cooled off at our water station this day this year was a little different though at Robertsville instead of us instead of wearing blue vers gold t-shirts we all wore blue as one the design of this year's Field Day t-shirt was extra special it was on in honor of Kylie Joel Williams the T-shirt had a small heart with the letter k in it the gesture served as a reminder of our Collective support and serves as a symbol that we are all thinking of the Williams family and their loss Roberts Le Robertsville is truly fortunate to have a teacher as dedicated and as caring as Mr Williams his commitment to our students is evident and we are grateful for the positive impact he's had on their lives today we are proud to announce that we sold over 350 t-shirts and raised $1,675 that will be donated to Mad Mothers Against Drunk drivers in Kylie Joe's memory sorry it was it was incredible and it was incredible to see all of the kids together and all the staff we continue to celebrate um the smiles throughout the building with our final pretzel sale our fifth graders held their moving up ceremony and end of the day with a yearbook signing in the afternoon filled with their friends and their fifth grade support staff how could we not not mention also the visit from Goldie's Ice Cream chalk to sweeten their die just when you think we couldn't celebrate more at Robertsville we always do we squeezed in our last school store and pretzel sale last week finishing up this week with uh finishing up I'm sorry finishing up last week the last week of school with our year end class parties thank you so much to all the class parents for making this week a memorable way to start summer our last and final stock the fridge was changed to a catered lunch by Mr subs for all the staff and teachers on Monday June 17th please join us tomorrow from 5:00 to 7:00 at Rita's Ice in man alapin for our surprise celebrity scooops you never know who may be serving you um this will serve as our June dout open board positions we post this posted this week be on the lookout if you're interested in being a volunteer in any capacity please contact Jaclyn masello directly at Maser JP gmail.com a very special save the date July 9th will be hosting our July dout at Jersey freeze in honor of our beloved Mrs Sturges please spread the word and join us as we celebrate the happy memories at her favorite summer dessert spot everyone have a wonderful summer um love always the Roberts will P sorry awesome it's nice to hear about the shirt sale I think that was very meaningful um thank you Michael MMS Ms sportsmanship academic and Community Service Awards ceremonies were held in June special thank you to the PTO and parents who have supported the school year ending with ice cream treats for everyone the eighth grade dance was a huge success the students had a great time shout out to the chaperon and PTO who planned an amazing event congratulations to the eighth grade class on a wonderful graduation ceremony today it was really great both ceremonies were great today the eighth grade dance took place last week at the Grand Marquee we had 300 students attend and the kids had a blast they danced the night away and had so much fun with the DJ's activities and photo booths there were tons of giveaways prizes and favors the kids wrapped up the night with an ice cream sunday bar and cotton candy special thanks to eighth grade committee members who worked hard over the last six months to plan and ensure these kids made memories to last a lifetime on Wednesday June 12th all eighth graders received the Keepsake blanket the blanket features a logo that captures each student's first name congratulations and best of luck to our graduates PTL will be providing ice cream treats for all students tomorrow the teachers will take students outside for yearbook signings whether they permitting and let them pick a sweet treat many thanks for MMS families for the fundraising efforts throughout the year your support allows us to get back to our kids staff and school and we are so grateful to the community looking forward to another great school year in September awesome thank you um Mar Memorial the conflict managers travel to defino Roberts Phil and Asher to give transition lessons to the incoming fifth grade students the second annual Memorial Marketplace was a huge success thank you to Mrs Miss Dado and Mr bchi for all of their hard work selling it up setting it up mmms would also like to congratulate all of the graduates and wish them the best of luck eighth graders had their picnic at the school so it just changed from the The Swim Club to the school and they had some Inflatables and all that fun stuff the PTA provided the photo booth for students to take pictures the eighth grade dance at the Grand Marquee was a success the students seem to have a great time um they just put up the last of the birthday gram so sales will start again in the new school year also finalizing the gym mats for the wall of the gym just waiting on the proof uh the PTA has also purchased items for a Zen room for student services and a laminator as well they're also working on the purchase of two lunch tables the PTA had their new elections for the new board um because three of the previous board members have retired from from the board after being on there for 3 to 4 years they wish the new board all the best in the new school year and the new board is looking forward to a great 2024 2025 school year I do just want to say that we did get to attend the graduations today both of Marboro middle school and Marboro Memorial at Brookdale it was beautiful um congratulations to the eighth grade students and families um and their friends it was it they were just beautiful events so thank you for having us uh board members there too it was really nice to be there and and so I just thank you all for whoever could attend so we just want to congratulate the graduates you all did great I know I know it's it's not easy Middle School's you know sometimes rough so it's nice to get through that um okay so thank you for that moving back we have scope is adidi a heartfelt thank you to everyone involved in this year's event promoting disability awareness and acceptance especially the 2024 walk for change the marbor school district came together and raised over 7,000 through scope t-shirt sales districtwide Walk For Change events Robert Robertsville um be kind decorating fundraiser and marro Elementary's brick fundraiser your generosity will significantly support opportunities for our students in special education and inclusion initiatives throughout the district the winning grades at each School schools are Asher holes fifth grade da LC kindergarten defino second grade Dugan fourth grade maror elementary third grade maror middle school activities held no fund ra funds raised marbor Memorial Middle School sixth grade Robert sixth grade Robertsville second grade these winning grades will receive a special treat courtesy of Chartwells thank you once again for your support and participation that's great great thank you and cpeg you have that up I have cpeg um cpeg it's Jo sweet their last meeting is tomorrow at 7:00 p.m. thank you and thanks for the updates great year with the leis on so I thank you so much for reaching out and working together in partnership with the schools and the different organizations um so thank you old business yeah have something yeah so uh Mr patuna reached out to me and well as to Mr B as well about uh the recent resolution passed at New Jersey school boards regarding elections in the school buildings right all right for the safety I want to bring it back to the board I agree with Mr patruno myself and I want he would like to bring it back to the board and I would like to bring back to the board discussion of getting the getting the elections out of our buildings to get our school day back and for safety as well I know Mr balone has an update as well to to add to this and then I'll I'll continue I think it's important yeah can we just I'm with you right and I know we discussed that before I just want to Circle back to remind people of what it was so I believe that I I remember right Danielle you had attended the NJ school boards and Mr patruno was there as well where they discussed the voting and the resolution at njsba and it did pass at the njsba meeting regarding moving the voting locations out of the schools I just wanted to remind everybody of that last conversation and then Mr patruno had resurfaced it to Michael as part of the Safety Committee and then now we have the update correct or at least something am I right we do so um the I I was instructed or or suggested to contact director Arnone's office um initially uh to start that discussion um just a little background we tried twice with the board of elections in the past to move uh School move elections out of our schools unsuccessfully um we actually had a uh Community member who stepped forward said she would assist so I've been working with her as well um I did uh contact director Arnone's office and um he just recently reported back that um mayor Hornick would have to request this through the superintendent of Elections office so I do have a call into him I know between Mr Lansky and myself we're going to connect with mayor Hornick and uh follow the instructions of director Arnone's office and hopefully we can get this done I know timing is is really difficult um so will this happen for November I I can't say um until we hear from them but I agree we we shouldn't have um strangers in our schools when we have students here so and that's why we have to close schools at this point but if we can get those two days back onto our calendar um we will do everything in our power to do that thank you thank you Michael did you have a question inette no I just was like reasonably it's probably not going to happen for November but I would really like to get June primary elections like really knock it out for next year we have a year to get it done but uh that's what we would just picker out over here thank you I have another old business um I think it's old business it was brought up in a public comment last meeting and then there was also an email from a Community member um it was regarding the cell phone usage and like the pledge um I was wondering if we could discuss this in executive more or if anybody would like to discuss this in executive more um I could just I I don't mind discussing it here honestly because I I um can you just remind me you're talking about self usage of children in the schools from Mr pledge from Mr Po okay sorry just cuz sometimes I want to refresh where we are so you're talking about his his note to his comment gotcha yeah so I agree wholeheartedly honestly with the motion I um I just feel like we might be a little too far gone I've seen some social media activity of parents not being happy that their kids can't have phones so I think that there's like that uphill battle as well but I don't I'm I'm totally on board with some type of movement towards you know at the very least cell phone free learning my daughter goes to private high school and if first offense they get caught with their phones in school they get it taken away for 24 hours so they go home without about it they don't have it for 24 hours second offense is a monetary fine they have to pay $25 third offense is $25 increment so 5075 and $100 offenses every time you get quot with your phone in school so you're definitely on to something I appreciate the support in the literature that you brought us there's also just that flip side of society that feels their children are safer with phones so bring on the flip phones I and I just want to clarify you're talking about a different school that your daughter goes to not a mro school no priv not a we do have policy that says they cannot take their phon out during the day in school we have I'm just I think that there was just a little hiccup for clash trips kids were wearing SmartWatches in Le of their phones so they could be tracked and communicate with their parents while on the class trip so it's definitely something to be discussed but I I think you're right it's a huge undertaking because of the comfort that parents feel giving their kids phones so to double edge sword for sure yeah and I have children that are that are older and so I'm with you right I mean cell phones and social media is I I think the ruination of of of their mental health and I'm with you on that one uh probably our own too right um all joking aside um but I want to say as a parent of older children for me I need them to have for me to be able to contact them um they shouldn't be using it in school little different in high school right than the middle schools but um so I'm on the fence but I I hear you that there is a policy to Mr lony's point that they shouldn't be using the phone in school so um but you brought a lot of good information to the table but Ashley you oh go ahead Michael that's just like we added The Vaping to the nonsmoking policy we can add watches use to the non to the phone that's great yeah we recently updated um one of the code of conduct policies or one of the student conduct policies that indicated we added social media posts or social Med the use of social media um to it so we could absolutely look at all electronic devices to your point we just recently added vaping sadly it's it's a trend in society and so we could definitely look at the Smartwatch piece at least to that as well right um but did you want to add something else to that I I guess I I have both older and younger and I kind of liked where he was going where where this literature was going where the information was going and I thought maybe Communications could maybe put something out there and if parents feel like they want to sign a pledge they can go for it and see if it snowballs into something good I don't know I think that it is the demise of our younger students everything it's it's all age appropriate so I get when my older it's a slippery slope it's a parent choice I agree I agree um but I also liked what I read so and the gist of it so I don't know it was just I don't even have a house phone anymore so I I know neither do I I know I get it we're all riant on it but the kids for sure it's like a it's a toxic environment especially amongst young ladies I know so Ashley what just to be clear then you wanted to bring up a conversation regarding a parent taking a pledge For What could if you can remind people what you're asking for um a pledge that they wouldn't send their child to school with a cell phone and um maybe we can collaborate a little bit more with Mr Po's idea um and see what else he thinks would be I just there's just an idea I thought maybe Communications could lead it because you could use it on our Facebook page post the uh the pledge there maybe put it on our website Mr Bon I don't I don't know yeah I think we should talk through that what that would look like I think I think if you're asking me if I'm if which way I'm leaning again children our our children are different age ranges so for mine you know the older range I would say no because I need I need they're out after school and I need them to have access to their phone yeah they can walk right out of that building right so I just so for me I'm I'm not with it also I think that to an that's point I think it is a parents choice but I think educating parents I think Mr poock gave some good information and the impact I think having resources available to parents is something I could stand behind so that they can understand the impact these things have I'm there on that piece I don't know about the pledge so much okay but I'm on the piece of educating the community and figure something out yeah this is just my own personal opinion yeah it's my own opinion too right it's just I actually think that um let me phrase this the right way before like lady whist down gets me but I think that um social media is giving the kids the courage to say whatever they want to someone's face without any repercussions so maybe that's the Mustard Seed so to speak of what's going on at the middle school age because everyone's so brave online as we all maybe have you know seen the I don't know effects of but um yeah definitely on board with some type of you know come together movement okay that's all thank you thank you anything else on Old business any new business okay moving to public comments has anybody signed up no does anybody want to speak Mr Pollock oh just be as your mic is starting to work I'm sorry I just wanted to say one thing I said in the last public comments and I just want to say in this one cuz I I didn't want to forget that and thank you for reminding me that I said it before that's what you're referring to correct no maybe not okay um I just want to say that with public comments I said this and I'm going to continue is that me oh no it's you okay I'm going to continue to say this piece each time with public comments under this public comments resolution you any Community member has the right and freedom of speech to speak their mind and say what they would like to say I just want to point out and I will continue to do so when you name individuals whether it's a student or staff or Community member just know that there may be le legal repercussions based on what you've said it's just a statement I'm making just to let people know you are welcome to say your peace I just want to make sure that people understand there could be some ramification that come from your statement that's all other than that that's all I want to say continue thank you uh Adam Pollock 52 St Lawrence way Marboro um thank you Ashley for saying what you said there's a lot of things that you guys were talking about that need to be like unpacked on that topic around social media and I appreciate Mr balone uh also reaching out and and talking uh through some of the things with me and and come and talk and continuing the conversation from the last board meeting um there's never been uh any group of parents before 2010 that ever thought that they had the right to unequivocally have access to their child all day for any reason ever before 2010 it never happened right maybe through flip phones when we were a little bit younger but still is a little bit different that that is a new right that we all think that we have as being part parents and I'm just saying it's it's seems like a relatively new thing um and everybody has the right to make that decision for the for themselves about what they're comfortable with and for extracurricular activities and things like that but when in school that none of us ever had that that their parent could just reach out to them at at all times if there was an emergency and um the emergency thing and the access and the um availability is a is a common thing that people respond back when talking about this and um that's why when I spoke last month I said there can be um better ways to communicate with parents in case of emergency or something like that and in reality we would much rather have children looking at authority figures and taking direction from authority figures during an emergency than trying to communicate with their parents on their cell phones so I'll just uh say that um I also think that the pledge is an interesting idea as um I think that's going to get a lot of push back uh so I'm I'm not sure if I'm super supportive of that I do think that if we as a community came out and said what we as a board and as uh the you know the superintendent and the administration what we think is the right thing to do that that would have um an important uh be an important first step to say like we identify this as a problem and we want to do something about it and there's some news that just came out today about Los Angeles County coming out and saying that they're banning smartphones across their entire uh school system so I just think it's one of these things that you know there's one thing about social media there's another thing about phones there's obviously this other thing about K through 8 where you know obviously it's different than high school and and and different things there um so I appreciate this looking forward to further conversations about this topic that's not what I was coming up to say though um what I wanted just to say was that my daughters in school this year they had a great year I was so appreciative of everybody who was part of their education just I wanted to make that comment for you know Mr peger at Dugan we've been a uh Champions family for the last three years and Miss naen Miss Dawn Miss Veronica these people are like involved in my family's life and I know that I I really hope that they continue in um the YMCA aftercare that's and I know that they're like in discussions about that so I hope that those people continue and I just want to say that they've had a major impact on my daughter's lives and um and just all the people that we interact with uh in the in the school system I just really am appreciative of everybody I never came to board meetings until can we give him another three minutes um sorry um I never came to board meetings before this year and just to see the amount of work that you all put in and the profession ISM that you guys put in and the amount of time commitment this all is I was completely unaware of any of that and um it's also interesting that What's Happening Here is much different than what is being perceived on social media and how it is being discussed and the provocators and the instigators and the catastrophizers that are in this town that are not here seeing the work that is being done for the town uh on behalf of the students it's very um it was just very eye opening to me and I do and I just wanted to thank you all and for everybody else who's here uh that's part of the administration I just I'm I'm really impressed with everybody I'm glad I live in Marboro and I think we had a great school year so I appreciate all you thank you very much thank you thank you Mr PA appreciate that I'm glad your your children had a good year anybody else Mrs Bono good late evening Miss Mendes Mr balone members of the board my fellow community members and my colleagues it's so great to be here with you this evening as I will not be seeing you for the next couple of board meetings because I will be leaving to attend residential overnight Sleepaway Camp where I am spending my 31st summer having said that in light of the cell phone discussion and policy most of our residential overnight camps where many of our students attend for 4 weeks 7 weeks whether it you know they're in Pennsylvania New York most of them are Wi-Fi free device free Sleepaway camps not only do the children not have access to their phones during the day they don't have access to them for the seven weeks they're there in addition to that they don't have access to tablets video players the whole in cuz they are there to play outside to engage engage to learn how to live as a community to communicate with each other to have physical face-to-face conversations with conflict managers res conflict resolution students in school are there to learn they're not there to be communicating on social media with family members during the day I understand the need for security I understand it's a different Robertsville than when I was a student but I just want to put that out there children are resilient and our schools are meant to educate our children and on that note I want to thank you for everything you do to put forth policy to help ensure that our children receive the highest education that Malo can offer and have a wonderful summer thank you Mrs Bono and thank you for all you doing and have a wonderful summer as well and thanks for always coming out I missed the go to cap but I guess that will come next year I know next year next year it'll come out thank you though um anybody else want to speak okay motion to close public comments have have a second Ashley all in favor any opposed any discussion okay public comments are closed I did just want to note because we had the policy um update before I did just want to go back thank you for the reminder cuz that felt like a lifetime ago though it was like a week and a half ago um Danielle Mr balone uh and Mr petruno and I we attended the Strauss smme um law conference that was a couple weeks ago in um Brookdale um and they had some really great information we were table we were able to attend some Roundtable sessions uh we learned a lot about your freedom of speech we learned about open public meetings act a variety of really really cool topics that will help us to uh be an even better policy committee than we were before so we learned some good stuff so thank you did you want to say anything on it no okay go ahead please um I had one question just a followup on the YMCA questions that I had sent your way I'm not sure if there was a followup to those yes I know Mr caravell is still compiling that information yeah I was out yesterday and then today I was at graduation and now here so I will get back to you with the answer and the full board will get the information sounds good thank you I have a question yeah the the sh Esme thing um it's great that some of you got to go is that only meant for the policy committee or can other board members be so I I had forwarded the email I I think all board members received the email I had forwarded it yeah it's okay anybody could attend so any of those conferences that any of you see coming out from njsba or Strauss Esme or wherever I forwarded it to all of you some of you did say you were working some of you couldn't attend and some of you registered and that's okay if you missed it but it was sent out to everybody you could attend any of them that you'd like sure yeah it's okay you're still new so don't worry about it anybody else okay um with that we are executive session resolution be it resolved in accordance with the provisions of the open public meetings act the Maro Township Board of Education shall conduct a closed executive session pursuant to the exception prescribed by njsa 10 4-12 for the purpose of discussing matters of attorney client privilege and Personnel matters it is anticipated that the length of time of this executive session will be 60 minutes and that action will not 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 10412 no longer applies you have a second Michael uh all in favor any opposed discussion okay thank you have a good night everybody thank you