do we have mics on oh wow we're loud today okay and we all rise for the congratulations to the flag of the United States of America and to the for which it stands one nation under God indivisible with liy and justice for all me standing for a moment of reflection for all those in harm and all of our military overseas all right statement of advanced notice the notice requirements of the open public meetings Act of the state of New Jersey have been satisfied by the inclusion of the date time and place of this meeting in the notice of regular meetings adopted by this board on January 8th 2024 such scheduled and notice of meetings is posted at the municipal building the Mount Olive Library the Board of Education offices and the six schools was submitted to the Daily Record for publication on January 9th 2024 and was filed with the clerk of M mod of time trip on January 9th 2024 I direct that this announcement be entered into the minutes of this meeting this is quino here Mrs Fenton here Mrs fera here Mrs fitgerald here Mrs Melendez here Mrs O'Neal here Mr orillo here Mrs nor here and I'd like to take a motion um to move the approval of the minutes um can I have one m figer and on two 2.1 and 2.2 by motion to approve 2.1 2.2 do we have a second second and can we have a roll call Mrs fera yes Mrs Fitzgerald yes Mrs Melendez yes Mrs O'Neal yes M Dillo yes Mrs Aquino yes Mrs Fenton yes Mrs N yes and do we have any Communications or petitions um to the superintendent and the members of the board no anyone else okay I I do so on about February 21st the Board of Education received correspondence from Mr schach expressing his desire to resend his resignation as we know Mr stachi resigned from his position effective immediately at the prior board excuse me could you talk close to the sure because they uh they're not picking up yes but the okay no problem thank you Mr mandz Miss oal is it picking up on the okay thank you so I just want to advise that the goal of this board is to properly follow our policies and procedures and to seek legal advice and not has halfhazard handle the board business now that Mr has submitted his written request to W withdraw his resignation according to case law and njsba guidance they dictate that the resignation that he stated did become effective at the time he stated it which was the prior meeting so it was effective immediately there is no requirement for a board vote the Mount Olive board policy 143 does not establish a minimum time period to post the notice of vacancy of a board position the board policy states the board secretary shall promptly notify president of a vacancy to be filled by the board the president shall inform all board members the board will give public notice of the vacancy and Vite any qualified person to submit a written request for consideration of his or her candidacy for the vacancy the board may also require candidates to submit a resume with their written request also there is no minimum time in case law statute of regulations thus the board is not required a number minimum number of days to post the vacan and no minimum number of days to give the candidates to apply for the position thus there is no reason for us for the board to have a resolution on the agenda and also therefore the resignation became effective immediately and cannot be resented at this time therefore this does create a vacancy however Mr schach you are more than welcome and we do welcome you and encourage you to apply to be considered for the vacant position to be filled by the board in the future as well as anyone else in the public who wishes to do so letters of interest will be required to be submitted to our board secretary Miss Jones by March 8th at 4m. the intent is to resolve this matter as quickly swiftly in the best interest of this District as we can and with that we are going to move on to reports and discussions um can I do we have any student leaz on good evening so the high school has definitely been really busy as usual so to start off our sophomores are having a general assembly in order to um class rings which will be sent out to parents soon to order our senior class as well be having a class meeting on scholarships on March 8th as much as I feel I was just a freshman walking to the high school our seniors and their parents have been just sent out an email about ordering cap and gowns that must be ordered by March 28th and Miss fry whose email was attached to the letter sent out is our contact with any questions we may have with the end of the year um getting closer every day so is the last day to order yearbooks online the last day to order is February 28th to be guaranteed a yearbook thankfully our high school does order a few extras for those who missed the deadline um but once those are gone they're all gone um I know our yearbook is working very hard to get put these together so definitely don't want to miss out this information of course has been sent out to our parents and students the parent Club as well is holding a Marauder Nation apparel sale which of course has been sent out and will be going on until March 6th winter sports are winding down now bringing the close to a very successful season for all of our winter teams in particular our track and wrestling team saw numerous athletes qualified for the state championships for their respective Sports and some even made it to the National level especially in our track Department two of these athletes in particular Natasha Redmond and Morgan Ryerson smashed multiple meets and school records for their respective events so great job to all of our athletes on Thursday February 15th these athletes were celebrated at our winter pep rally hosted by student council this was our first winter pep rally in years so we are very excited for it and it was with without a doubt a huge hip we held a spirit week in the days leading up to it to really hype up the energy and get students involved and at the PB R itself this energy was definitely tripled the 40 minutes were packed with fun with friendly competitions between our classes and performances from our cheer teams The Freshman took the win in our Frozen t-shirt contest and the seniors clutched the victory in our Three-Point Contest however I think the true highlight of the afternoon had to be a tie between our drill team showcase that got the crowd going absolutely wild as well as the race between Mr Ben fatty and Mr oconor which they ran dressed in sumo wrestler suits in between all of this fun not only were our winter sports captains given the chance to discuss all the successes from their Seasons but we also made sure to highlight the accomplishments of all of our other school curc extracurricular activities including our music departments robotics clubs drill teams and more overall I think all of student council can agree that this PPP rally was huge success and was everything we could ask for now we all wait as our spring sports are gearing up and getting ready for Success speaking of getting ready our freshman sophomores and juniors have all had scheduling meetings for next year and if your student has not they are wrapping up in the next couple of weeks in the music world we had two students perform at the NJ music educators Association honor modern band in Atlantic City these two Juniors were Lincoln Vera and Arabella macula so great job to these two in preparation for their upcoming spring performance our drama club also hosted a workshop with Constantine Morales who was a former lead in the Broadway musical Rock of Ages as well as American Idol finalist tickets for our very own performance of this musical are on sale now and this performance is being shown on March 21st 2nd and 3rd we hope you are all able to come out and see all the great work are drum students have been putting in now with February coming to an end I couldn't think of a better way than a student for staff basketball game which will being hosted by Mount ol of diversity Equity inclusion Council tomorrow night starting at 5: in the gym then in our robotics World they were participating in the district event which they don't have to move the robot too far because we are holding it here at Mount ol High School this Friday Saturday and Sunday busy weekend for them then to kick off march on March 7th guidance is holding a mini night college fair at Mount school's comments from 6:30 to 8:30 then on March 12th our national art Society Invitational will begin at 6:30 in the pack Lobby it will be amazing time as not only will Mount Olive be showing off their art but local schools around the area thank you if you have any questions we more than happy to answer thank you any questions from the board and Dr she has a superintendence report be short and sweet um look out for an email for me tomorrow launching our strategic planning initiative our kickoff meeting will be on March 19th at the middle school so please look out for that email we are asking people to R to the meeting to that we can accommodate everyone's interests thank you anything from the Personnel committee uh no report this time anything from uh curriculum and Technology committee uh no we'll meet next week anything from finance and operations no we meet Monday and anything from policy and governance thank you do we have any subcommittees and or parent teachers Association Le aison reports that would like to come to the mic hi good evening for those of you who don't know me I am Becky Park I'm the president for Chester M Stevens uh Elementary School for RCA I've been on the board since 2019 I'm also a substitute aid for the district uh I don't usually attend a lot of the meetings this is actually my one for year that I usually attend I have two children in travel hockey so I'm all over the place when the sca comes into the building at CMS we're known as the fun Squad the kids light up because they know that means it's time for super fun events this year we have done a wathon in September that we raised around $5,000 for kindness to date the funds created and continue to support the positive incentive Behavior plan CMS caught making spectacular choices the kids receive prizes for kind acts in the building we did a trunk retreat in in the school in October and collected over 450 bags of candy donated from our families we used them during that two-hour event the community was also included to which we had a lot of teams from Turkey Brook come over after practices in November we held our fall in love with books book fair it was a regular book fair where we sold a little over $1,000 in December we did a holiday shop at the school we sold over $155,000 worth of items the kids enjoyed making uh or purchasing the secret items for them to take home to their families in February we had an assembly for the kids through zoria Samantha came out and showed the kids different animals and helped them see and learn about them such as snakes cockroaches lizards and frogs for February each child went home with a small gift from the sca for Valentine's Day it was a small eraser bookmark and pencil also in February we held our winter book fair of love each one of the kids in the school went home with a free book donated by our Scholastic dollars and Thea for $12.99 or under we actually were able to give every child in the school a free book equaling up to 750 students first year we were able to actually get all children involved at the beginning of March we're giving each child a Dr Seuss pencil for read Across America also in March is one of our big events at CMS we are hosting on March 13th our annual rock and roll Aon the kids are learning eight dances to do during their special time in the gym with a St Patrick's Day theme and all kids receiving a free necklace we are raising money for officer Bill our security guard as well as four Mount Olive police officers and tentatively the Flanders first Squad providing medical support for the ride they will be riding in the unity Tour in May down to DC we will start the tour they will start the tour in Floren park and ride bikes down to DC for a candle light Visual and dinner for those officers that have lost their lives in the line of duty the fundraiser is 100% going towards their cause we have brandes generously donating pizzas for the officers during rock and roll Aon as well as Sunday's ice cream is generously donating dessert treats to the officers as well the four officers and officer bill will be in the gym dancing all day so if any of you can make it please join us we are also looking to get the senior cheerleaders from the high school connected to CMS to Come dance with our youngest kids in the afternoon again all the proceeds are going to them and their ride uh if anyone would like to donate it's Beno CMS dsca we're accepting donations till the end of March in April we have we have our third book there which is our buy 1 get one free to build up for summer reading as well as our annual cultural night April 25th I'm going to go just a little bit further because like I said this is the only one I'm able to make it to in may we have teacher appreciation week as well as our full school dance which has now been relocated to CMS on May 17th plus the start of all our fifth grade events this year the Four elementary schools have really come together and are working great trying to make things similar for our fifth graders as well as all of our school events the other three ladies that I have been meeting with have been the best to work with and we are all working hard to get things in unison so that for all future events everyone knows that schools are not different couldn't ask for a better group of presidents to work with in June we have so many other events going on but I know that Dr Bia really wants to know our big surprise event for CMS that will be held on June 3rd I was was debating about giving the information tonight or making Dr banio wait a little bit longer but here goes this year CMS has been focusing on a circus theme for their events around the building with that being said on June 3D CMS will be holding a large Carnival in our school in our school field all kids will be attending the event and enjoying two trailers with carnival games six games total an ice cream truck four bounce houses dancing and of course we cannot forget our dunk tank the kids will get to win the kids will get to win prizes playing the carnival games and lots of other fun with the other events for the dunk tank we will be having Miss Mulo our gym teacher officer Bill and mesy our fourth grade teacher up for dunking the kids are going to have a blast and we're working hard to make sure everything is planned for the event we do have other events going on at June but we will save those for our monthly meeting let me know if you have any questions thank you for your time thank [Applause] you hello everyone huh do we need a closer the mic thank you helloo I'm Amy Marini I am um the president of cpag which stands for the special education parent advisory group we're code driven group that uh collaborates with the district on anything pertaining to systemic things that are related to our special needs population we meet on the second Tuesday of every month and we are always always always looking for more parent volunteers and more parent engagement um we have a lot of things and so we always are looking for more um friendly faces um I did speak last um last time that I was about to send out a survey um sadly I only got 11 responses but it helps us guide closerie doie a good um I did have um 11 replies to our email that I sent out um just trying to see what um our current members we're interested in with regards to our special needs population and so it's going to help um guide us for next steps with regards to like where we'll go with with that um in February we had two meetings um because of the school closure due to the snow day that fell on our meeting day so we actually wound up flipping that meeting to be a parent only meeting um which I have to speak with special services about some of the concerns that came about so you know nothing um so that was it's good to just have the parents come and speak as a group together without any like staff involved because that way we kind of you know find out where some of those systemic issues may actually um fall um on the 20th of of February we did um we were lucky enough to have our um presenter was able to flip and come on that day and so we had um Mr bch from the high school come and speak about transition um from the high school to you know after school life basically into adulthood um he did share a lot of wonderful resources and talked about the process in Mount Olive and how um he's learning along the way um with regards to how um to help guide the students and the families to learn about what resources are available out in the community to make sure that when they are 18 and 21 that they are set up to be able to receive and be supported as they need um the director actually Sharon seac also um shared with us the um lots of moving pieces um within the district that I had trouble making notes on but um one of the big things that was my big takeaway was um the choose to include week will be March 18th to 22nd and there's some really fabulous things that they have planned be between speakers for different age ranges and different supports and different like just a lot of different really amazing things and so um I'm excited because our next meeting is March 12 and I was able to secure the um Morris County special child health services to come and speak to us hopefully to provide some information for kind of all of the students not just for some of the ones that are transitioning so hopefully we'll be able to kind of really talk about the different resources that are available um and kind of keep that conversation going so thank you thank you okay am I close enough you good okay okay um my name is Nikki oison I'm uh president at tins Road PTO um I just wanted to go over a couple things that we are headed into uh what we're calling March Madness at tins Road school we have uh several events coming up in the next couple of weeks um first up is uh pretzel day on Friday so we do a monthly pretzel sale with Philly Pretzel and hacketstown and it's just a fun way to um you know to break up the months for the kids uh the students have the opportunity to purchase a pretzel we upcharge just a slight bit so each pretzel sale doesn't raise a lot of money we call this a fundraiser instead of a fundraiser because even though it's a little bit at a time it does add up so the money that we rais from pretzel sales for the course of the year will pay for like our upcoming assembly in April this past Friday we hosted our second tin gives back family volunteer opportunity uh we had 50 members of the TRS community um kids and their parents and younger siblings and we had a lot of tins Road School alumni come back to volunteer and get some volunteer hours with us so together we um we packed and decorated 112 breakfast bags that we donated to nourish New Jersey for part of their rise and shine Breakfast Bag program I actually had the pleasure of delivering them today out to moristown and they were so appreciative um the kids were very excited they I was you know we started and I was like okay you know how long is this going to take and they were so into it and by the time we finished they were like can we do 200 next year and I was like yes yes we can do 200 next year so um I've already spoken with Mrs barbin Mrs White and Mrs Miller who are spearheading our tins gives back volunteer um program and um they're on board for that as well so our final activity um of the year I'm sorry there's two more we have our pancake breakfast coming up on Saturday March 9th so if you haven't bought tickets to the pancake breakfast uh please join us it's up at Applebee's at um up at the ITC it's from 8 to 10 uh tickets are $10 and a portion of course goes to Applebee's for you know supplies and staff but we receive a portion of um the ticket price as well and that money will be rolled back into the tin give back uh program so that we can fund future efforts I already talked about that but the pancake breakfast has 26 plus staff members joining us so I can't tell you how appreciative I am of the tins Road School staff they show up up they they come out they give up time with their families on the weekends to spend time with our families and the Applebee's pancake breakfast is no exception um we sent out the email and again we have 26 plus staff members who are coming out to serve pancakes so we hope that people will join us our next PTO meeting is a virtual meeting we did have to change the date so we had to move it up to Monday March 11th it is going to be virtual so if you can please join us on the 11th on the 14th we have Pi Day um I know that Becky talked about brandas and they are so good to our community and our schools they're putting together again um make your own pizza kits for us so again this is a fundraiser we don't make a lot of money on each Pizza kit but all of these dollars add up and it allows us to provide 90% of our programs that we offer at Tin Road School are free to family so this is one of the things that we do um over the course of the year uh to raise some of those funds so parents have the opportunity families have the opportunity to purchase Pizza kits and then on Pi Day 3:14 they go home they make their Pizza kits they post pictures it's just a fun family activity but it's open to the public as well so if you're interested in purchasing Pizza kits please do um and then on the 14th as well we have our first aid uh AED and CPR certification that's being offered at tints um through the district so if anybody's interested in getting certified it's um it's open to everyone uh in the tins School Community um if they want to be certified there's a $50 fee for the certification and it's good for two years so I will be there um we're going to do an early pizza night and then and then head over to uh to be certified we also have our glow dance coming up on Friday um 3:15 where that's at the mount all of Middle School currently we have about 200 tickets for on um 200 tickets sold we have room for a couple more uh we sold out last year so this is a big event for us the Wizards game is also coming up on um Sunday 3:24 uh thank you to the middle school for hosting and organizing this year and they have generously opened it to all the elementary schools and the high school as well and a portion of each ticket sold if you do the drop- down box and you click on which home school you are uh $4 from every ticket goes to the home school so that's also helping to offset the cost and then of course we head into spring break so we have a busy couple of weeks at tints but all all fun and exciting stuff um I I'm sorry just one more thing um speaking of the staff I don't know if anybody's been on our Facebook page but but um we posted our masked readers so if you haven't had a chance uh please head over there and take a look uh as a kickoff to read Across America week last week and this current week probably about 20 staff members have masked up and read a book videotaped themselves and then they play them in home rooms for all the students and the students have an opportunity to guess which teachers it is I've heard tremendous feedback that the students are loving it and um I just can't thank all the teachers that tins enough because anytime we have an idea they're 100% on board so huge shout out and thanks to them thank you very much thank [Applause] you good evening my name is Kevin stanbury I'm the president of the Mount Olive administrators and supervisor Association so I thought I'd give you an update on some of our activities uh since the beginning of the school year but I just wanted to point out that Gabby got accepted to the United States Military Academy PR School that's amazing so uh we've been meeting with our executive committee and our membership as a whole and we just wanted to let you know about some of the uh activities that we're going to be involved in uh for the remainder of the school year we are donating $50 per Elementary School for their end of year fifth grade field day so we'll be giving those out to the uh the PTO and ptas at the district level science fair on March 16th we have I think 160 registrations for that it's going to be a huge day at the high school and we're looking forward to it the mount all administrators and supervisors Association will be giving away a $250 uh summer steam camp registration scholarship so that's going to take place on the 16th we're going to be offering that up as part of the festivities at the closing ceremonies when they announce the award winners and then of course we'll be building up for our senior scholarships at the senior Awards night in June but we just want to give you an update on uh your administrative teams support of our students in our programming within the district thank you thank you we have any other leason or subcommittee parent uh Comm reports I do oh there we go um I'm sorry with the computers down I didn't have my notes um but this was from the uh last planning board um so they reeval the master plan for the entire town um specifically the HomeGoods area I'm sure you guys are all wondering what's going on with that um so it is going to be turned into a mix of 55 and older apartments with um storefronts so um it it was important to know that just to know that there it's not going to raise our um children population um but um I think it's going to have uh definitely I think it's three stories I think three stories units um some affordable housing and like I said lots of different stores so it'll be exciting um and the reason everybody's asking why didn't the supermarket go in there and and not across the street building um the HomeGoods area is rented and the gentlemen that wanted to build a supermarket wanted to own so that is the big answer for um not turning that back into a supermarket that's all I have thank you any questions comments from the board any other subcommittee leaz on a PTI report no um we'll move on to the board president's report and at the moment I wanted to introduce um you know the elephant andry John Geer um the board's new attorney Mr John Geer from scarinci Holland act thank you thank you welcome to be here I also wanted to just you know address again the elephant in the room this board this year our goal is to follow a policy to remain transparent at times at times that also means you know there's conversations that are had there's people that have goals or intentions of their own the board goal is to do what is best in the you know eyes of the district and the the children and for the community that you know elected us so there are times that look there are people wanted to put forth a bill or they want to put forth a resolution and I remained transparent from the beginning of this year I had conversations with each and everyone except for one individual I was unable to get a hold of I disclosed to the superintendent and to the former attorney that there was an intention from some members that they wanted to replace the attorney my only ask as the board president was that they do so in the proper manner whether that be through committee whether that be through RFP whether that be through a resolution that's walked on to this AAS we've had this before it is not the first time however if they need assistance and insuring that they do that properly that is part of my role as the board president it is not the easy role it is not always taking the favorite you know Avenue or looking at what every single member of our board wishes that is not always the manner in which which this position has to act this position has to act as in liaison to ensure everyone either has the information that they require which is why each and everyone had a conversation and I disclose that with them of people's intentions you know whether it is viewed from the public in a different manner I understand it is hard we sit here there's certain conversations we can't share with the district or with the members of the public there are items that remain confidential there's you know close session conversations there's ethics that we have to follow there's confidential you confidentiality we have to follow so you know I understand sometimes the public doesn't always know the wise or the reasons or they don't know things ahead of time I understand that and I understand the perception too but I also want to say you know in the you know Act of transparency that you know it is in the business of you know our of context of being open and honest then you know so let me just say first I don't carry water for anyone never nor do I wish to ever you know there are men and women that came before us that sat in these seats you know and they blazed a path they set this District up for Success they some of them still sit side by side with us some of them did last week that I truly honor you know the role is harder than even a council member I've had some of them advise me of that the decisions we make again from these seats are in the best you know interest of our district they are not personal decisions trust me they are not they are not in the interest of a puppet master they are not in the interest of a special interest gr or political stance no not at all and that is the example we have to set for our students these decisions are made without personal opinions or aspirations they're made for the purpose of business decisions these are business decisions these are contracts that must be upheld they have Clauses in them and they are you know vendors are are terminated all the time I've been you know on the other side of that receiving end as a vendor you know unfortunately you know the goal for us as well is to ensure that we're receiving the proper you know advice and if our questions aren't being asked some people are very frustrated and how are we supposed to make the proper votes and decisions from this seat if we don't receive the re proper responses that we need to and the information then we're doing you the public no no service at all you know the issue is sometimes we're not all going to agree we're not all going to get along either you know let's not put falsehoods out there either you know let's do each of us may come from a different position each of us may represent a different sector of this town that's what makes the Democracy amazing and that's the example that the children have to see you might have a different view than I we may not agree on the same thing we can agree to disagree and emotions get the best of us completely at times which I think is what happened last week and you know deter some of our better judgment you know our emotions then take you know over what we were voted to do here and that is to represent this community we have so many Graphics it's a beautiful thing and I think this Board needs to represent that we're not all going to say yes at the same time we may say no at the same time we may have different views different yeses and news you know at the end of the day let me just close out with you know this is the end of Black History Month you know I make my poor daughter listen to you know Kobe Bryant every morning she hates it in the morning she's about sick of it she like I have to listen to him one more time with his Mamba mentality but you know each of us has to look in the mirror do we say did I do something better each day at the end of our day to improve ourselves you know it means trying to be the best version of ourselves trying to be the best version that this board can be and it means every day trying trying a little bit better and if that also means taking lessons from the public and listening too to the adversity the people that come be before the mic those who want you know a voted no confidence take the lesson and learn it that is my goal at least and I would hope each of us does that not just as board members but as community members as parents as teachers we improve each day that's the end goal Lessons Learned sometimes we rise above it sometimes we can you know look to work work forward move forward and work together that's about all I have and from that we're going to move to public comments the public May comment on action items and action items only please note you will have opportunity at the end of the meeting to speak as you know on any items but these are just about um board action items that are listed on the agenda so you may comment on any action item prior to the board discussion please state your name and address for the record all comments they must be done so in a respectful manner no abusive orene comments will be tolerated and please also when you're speaking to the mic please get close um so that the the script can pick up for you some people aren't able to fully follow that way so I open it up the mic up to anyone on action items only uh Brian Gallagher 135 crw Drive uh I'd like to ask the board ask that the board table action item 10.2 uh 10.2 due to its connection and amendment of previous action item 14.2 from the February 12th 2024 board meeting this request is being made due to the possibility that action item 14.2 passed on February 12th may have violated one or more more sections of njsa 18a 12- 24.1 with the possibility that the violation or violations were committed by one or more board members the New Jersey school ethics commission meets tomorrow February 27th however the agenda for that meeting has already been set I would ask that this board hold off on any further actions that directly relate to the February 12th action item listed as 14.2 until a minimum of March 26th which is the next school ethics commission meeting or later if needed to see if the board is notified to any school ethic act violation determinations rulings or inquiries thank you Mr bager yes can you just um give to our um board secretary just the the Clause that you were citing njs the 14 read it or show you could read it so can make a note of that we like to do our homework NJ 18a colon 12- 24.1 if you need the sections it's a c e and f thank you y we have anyone else that would like to comment on action items all right we're going to move along then we are going to move on to action items can I get a motion for the approval of the monthly expenditures from U Mrs um m i present the motion uh for the approval of the monthly expenditure and reports uh section 6.1 through 6.8 do we have any comments or questions from the board we'll take a roll call then Mrs Melendez yes Mrs O'Neal yes Mr Dilla yes Mrs Aquino yes Mrs Fenton yes Mrs fera yes Mrs Fitzgerald yes Mrs Nares yes and we're going to move on to Personnel act uh action items 17.1 through or 7.1 through 7.19 and personal actions Miss uho upon the recommendation of the superintendent I'd like to make a motion to approve uh Personnel action items 7.1 through 7.19 second any comments or questions from the board no and we have none let's take a roll call please M Jones Mrs aquo yes Mrs Fenton yes Mrs fera yes this is fitgerald yes Mrs is Melendez yes Mrs is O'Neal Iain anything that has to do with my son's last name and yes to everything Mr orello yes Mrs NES yes and uh we look forward to our new vice principal at the middle school and we'll move on to curriculum and Technology 8.1 8.2 Miss uh uh P thank you upon the recommendation of the superintendent I'd like to approve uh CNT 8.1 to 8.2 second we have any questions or comments from the board seeing none we take a roll call Mrs Fenton yes Mrs figa yes Mrs Fitzgerald yes Mrs Mendez yes Mrs O'Neal yes Mr Dillo yes Mrs Aquino yes Mrs N yes and we'll go to finance and operations action items 9.1 through 9.3 um mgal upon the recommendation of the superintendent I'd like to make a motion to approve action items 9.1 through 9.3 second do we have any uh questions or comments from the board just to be clear 9.3 for the public that that is being through Rod Grant and it's not budget tax action item 9.3 just to be clear to the public that is being funded out of the rod Grant and budget or taxpayer any other questions or comments from the board we'll take a rope I'll Gerald yes Mrs Melendez yes Mrs O'Neal M Dillo yes Mrs Aquino yes Mrs Fenton yes MRSA yes this is yeah yes and we're going to move to administrative action items 10.1 and 10.2 um can we have see um Mr going jump over to M fera would you like to make an motion to move 10.1 and 10.2 upon recommendation from the superintendent I make a motion to items 10.1 and 10.2 do we have a second second do we have questions or comments from the board on 10.1 and 10.2 yes I do I would like um and hope that Mr stachi will reapply for that position and come back to the board that's a resounding we all hope that you do that Mr stachi the second thing I would like to say is uh for 10.2 I think that um Allison has done a great job with shank price so I hope that people consider that for clarification on 10.2 it's the amending of the words um to remove the words from accept special education files those were to be uh turned over to the new firm um do we need to put clarification for anyone on on the agenda then for the resolution for anyone understand what you're asking so the 10.2 the amendment was to correct the wording from the prior resolution it says to remove the words except special education files with the intent was for the all files to be um moved over to the new law firm okay I just want to make sure that was clear do we have any other questions or comments no we'll take a roll call then Mrs yes Mrs Fitzgerald yes Mrs Melendez yes Mrs O'Neal yes Mr orillo yes Mrs Aquino yes on 10.1 no on 10.2 Mrs Fenton yes Mrs NES yes and at this time we are going open it up to public comments um we just ask that you be respectful if we have a large population tonight that wishes to speak at the mic um all students parents and employees and community members May comment on any item of Interest pertaining to the Mount Olive School District please state your name and address for the record all comments must be respectfully presented abusive and obscene comments will not be tolerated and again please just be respectful we not have a Time Li limit on speaking but we just would like you to be aware that we have a large room tonight that may wish to speak anyone is welcome and just also speak clearly into the mic so that it's p being picked up as well Tim Capone Highfield Road Landers uh I'm here not to talk about uh Mr gerer for welcome um but to speak about uh him um I sent an email to all of the board members I I have been trying to uh get answers in regards to a number of my questions uh starting with um why our hip policies aren't followed not even pretend to be followed um investigations are you know when you report something it has 24 hours that they're supposed to initiate the hip um I made a h complaint on the 14th and it was initiated on February 22nd okay and this has been an ongoing practice for more than a year uh starting last March when I went to an administrator and made a complaint that multiple staff members were harassing my child okay I made that complaint nothing was done no investigation was initiated so I went up the chain of command to summon and I reported it there who was also a mandatory reporter okay and nothing was done so my question to you is the audio recording of that where I told her it was harassment and she did nothing with it who am I supposed to be turning that over to who is doing that investigation who is going to look into the fact that there are four administrators in this District that have not followed the hit policy and I have ample documentation ample documentation from every single one that they don't follow timelines that they don't investigate okay and that I even have emails from them that says they're not going to investigate okay then they tell me they are going to investigate because of the old Council okay told them that they had to okay and the person that does the investigation is the person that already told me they weren't going to investigate the conf who's obviously conflicted if they've already predetermined that no hi has occurred so that those are my questions uh what's going to be done and who's going to be conducting this investigation uh because again I have an a audio recording I have other documentation that goes along with this okay and this is you know I came to this well not this board I came to the board last year okay and made a similar request and nothing was done nothing was done okay so again those are the answers I'm looking for you're all aware you have the documentation it's on your server all of these things can be pulled our children need to be protected and the fact that you have four administrators four that have done nothing that have covered it up from almost a year thank you thank you very much for your comments uh the board is aware that there is an active hi investigation ongoing at this time we are not permitted to comment on that and obviously we follow all of the Hib statutes regulations and policies in uh doing our investigations making our determinations and we continue to do so as far as any other uh comments that you make feel free to provide it to the board and the board will look into the matter under the board's polic polies and the applicable law and we follow through on what they need to do thank you again for your comments Karen 133 Flanders Drakes toown Road um I'm going to start off by saying I wholeheartedly hope that Mr stachi will um interview for the position um I think that that was um a very sad way to to head out but um given last meeting's ending I'm less concerned about the change in attorney representation than I am the timing and execution I'll leave my comments on execution for another day but timing is definitely a head scratcher considering the attorney contract renewal Andor RFP has happened three times in 20 months where everyone except Mr Robinson voted yes in June of 22 everyone voted yes in June of 23 and everyone voted yes in November of 23 except for an absent member I'm curious if the timing of an abrupt resolution has anything to do with the upcoming case against the Board of Ed which was supposed to be heard on February 16th but on February 1st was moved to March 28th there has been chatter on Facebook about a taxpayer funded large sum settlement in addition to hundreds of thousands of dollars of legal fees I'm confused because I've asked on multiple occasions specifically about the cost of the lawsuit from our previous administrator each time I've asked I've understood the response to be that the taxpayers have footed the bill for a $10,000 deductible and the in costs are covered by Insurance presumably we wouldn't settle before the upcoming March court date which would be a taxpayer funded settlement when the insurance company would be responsible if the case is lost am I misunderstanding the previous responses to my inquiries where are these claims of huge settlement costing taxpayer money coming from do some in the community know more than others about a settlement outside of insurance that will cost the taxpayer some unknown high amount and is the information on Facebook misrepresenting the truth or is the truth that there is a taxpayer funded settlement on the horizon I believe the taxpayers of Mount Olive deserve to know if the board is in fact pursuing a legal settlement that will be paid out of taxpayer funds I sincerely appreciate any clarification and insight on the matter thanks I know good evening everyone my name is G vogle 48 Jun grassway Panther Valley hacketstown I am proudly the certified Phil rep from oasa and was very interested in their report tonight something they totally believe in our children I would like to refer to to my statements when the new board was elected hoping for Unity so to spare you all I won't reread it but I will say please please for all that you stand for Miss Nares thank you so much for that uh inspiring comment I know you spoke for yourself and for what you wish for the board and I can only say I've been now in MO out of 5 years it's my adopted Community I'm very proud of our administrators our teachers and of course the kids so I too hope for the unity that you spoke of Mr Kino I hope we can all make it happen best wishes to you sir as the new councel thank you Martin um I said some noes some of the board members about my son brought something roppa there was some archaeological find on our grounds at school and the archaeological Society is trying to work somehow at the school to start this archaeological dig and I don't know if it's brought to the board or superintendent but my son came back in the road cap me very other day said well this is exciting that they can do archeologic somewhere on our ground something was discovered by someone what that is I don't know but my son said it was really sad if it doesn't get years that here this year would have an opportunity to partake in this Aventure and it doesn't get approved by the board to work with the archical society would not occur I don't know if any of you have been aware of this or anything else but I'd like to make it youare because roap is aware of it um and my son came home really stoked about it and it would be nice if we could find out a little bit so we can progress this so some of the seniors that are here now to take part in this my some will be sen next year so hopefully by then definitely he'll be take for a two years worth of it but I don't know if any of the administrators Dan any else have heard about this but if we can find out a little more about this and get it approve to give these kids something exciting to do and dig up legally the Arts of school grounds I think it be pretty cool um and I want to say welcome to the new Council to refresh that I don't have to ask the old Council to resign so thank you can I a comment can you girls share some information with Dr not now like just an email or something hi my name is Carrie toell cook um I was actually born and raised here so there's a lot familiar faces I have a child in elementary school a child at the middle school and a child at the high school first I want to say my kids love the teachers love the staff love Mount Olive and we've been very happy up until recently um and I do have to say this out loud because I did go down the social media Rabbit Hole recently which I'm not proud of um but I did but I have to say at the very beginning of this that this is not I'm not here to debate whether or not hiring a lawyer was good or a bad decision and a lot of grown adults in this room cannot understand that that's not what I'm doing so now with that I'm not a public speaker as you can tell so I'm going to read something my boss my little boss oh I'm shaking our community came together last year and we were blasted day after day social media post after social media post someone was at every board meeting convincing us that we needed a Changing of the Guard new Fresh Faces New Perspectives and new people on the board ofet I personally think there were some great points and ideas and I always try to see both sides of an argument before making a decision I'll admit although I don't love change I know that change can be good let remind everyone what those things were that people were fighting so very hard for and what their issues were with our old Board of death they were that the board was fragmented there were fractions working independently of the rest of the board that we needed more transparency we needed honesty and that we wanted a unified Board of B and above all we wanted a positive change so over the past year we have replaced most of our Board of Education members new members promised honesty integrity and transparency please note for the record I'm not only pointing a finger at the only at the most recently appointed Board of aded members everyone was under the impression that this would be the year the Year of changing for the better the year of honesty the year of transparency and most of all the year for unified Board of bed now two months into 20124 it seems that you have done the exact opposite of what was promised correct me if I'm wrong however I believe the process is supposed to be that if there's a topic for the board to vote on the board discusses it in a closed session and then moves to put it on the agenda for a vote I would think this would be to benefit everyone who's currently Seated on the board especially those who are less trained in education or certain areas of expertise if the board had been able to discuss the what the I am talking about the law firm thing if they were able to discuss it properly then you all could have shared details and opinions to make sure everyone was going into the vote with accurate information this could have also ensured that people weren't voting based on emotions instead of facts perhaps you could have had the chance that someone would have heard something they didn't know before and vote differently why wouldn't the select board members who were bringing this to vote follow that process that is set in place why wouldn't you want all members of the board to be in on the decision making to be in the know of the reasons why and above all else to work as a team to make the best decision for our community I thought this board wanted to make the very best and honest decisions moving forward I'm honestly very confused and I really felt so sad for the other members of the board who seem blindsided at the last meeting one more side also to be clear I don't want to hear about this how this has happened in the past and and why was it okay then when they did it behind others back if it did happen in the past it wasn't okay then and it's not okay now remember when you were like five and your parents used to say two wrongs don't make it right I mean come on guys oh God I can't so Shak it everyone claims they want the they want change and they want to be part of the change they don't want want to be the way it was in the past if that's the case then why on Earth would you do the exact thing that you wanted to stop it actually blows my mind do you not have respect for Miss Melendez Miss Fitzgerald Miss Aquino and Mr stachi are they not worthy to sit here on the board with you and be part of the decision-making process have they not earned their spots because they seem like pretty smart people and they were voted by the community just like the rest of you I want to re itate something again this has nothing to do with the decision of whether or not to fire or keep the law firm maybe it was for the better maybe it wasn't I can't com comment on that because I don't know enough and it wouldn't be honest Instead This has everything to do with the process or lack thereof from which this plan came to fruition I'm sure some of you will say that you had no idea this was being brought to the table and if that's the honest truth then as a board member with the community's best interest at hand I'd like to know why you wouldn't table last week's vote until the entire board could get together to discuss such a huge decision so I'm here now to let you know our Board of Education that members of our community are now unced about how this newly elected board will move forward especially with big decisions how are you actually going to be the change that you promised how am I or the community supposed to believe that moving forward the topics on which the board is to vote on haven't already been voted on by select faction of the board listen we all make mistakes and we learn from them I personally like to apologize when I make a mistake and I would hope that you could SE reflect on what I'm saying here tonight and perhaps see where you went wrong I would like to think this was a misunder understanding and shouldn't be a reflection on how the board will move forward remember you're here to vote on our community's best interests and as a board member you are obligated to put aside your personal feelings and vote for what's best for emo Mr stachi I really do hope you run again although I'm not sure if it's already voted on behind closed doors I hope not and I hope you have a chance um because along with new changes you can't beat experience and I think everyone has a lot to learn um so that's it Kevin stanbury president of the Mal Olive administrators and supervisors Association how far that candle throws its beam so shines good deeds in a divided world I just wanted to take this opportunity to endorse Tony stachi for the open seat um your journey is not finished yet you have so much more to accomplish in finishing out that term and who knows what happens after that but uh as a member of the association I want to definitely give my gratitude and appreciation to the support that this gentleman has given this district for 30 years years and to dismiss those contributions would be a crime thank you [Applause] Tim hbert 34 Saunders Lane and a former Board of Ed member so I have sat behind that seat so your comments were well said um I don't expect everybody to always say yes I wouldn't I was on a board we did not always agree we did always talk and so she took most of my comments but I just want them which is we had walk on resolutions as well but we had walk-on resolutions when it was a discussed at the time and they always passed N9 Z if that was the case we never passed a walk-on resolution that had it was not agreed upon so what you guys asked for the agenda to be provided last meeting you asked for the agenda to be provided to you actually earlier which is a problem in the fact that you want to have as much on the possible agenda as possible but being in your shoes I do understand there's a lot of work then on the weekends but what this means is since the agenda was published on Friday and this was a walk-on resolution on Monday that means Mr orillo decided over the weekend to write a write resolution because if he didn't back to the previous comment you aren't following policy the policy I should say policy is probably a strong word because I don't know that it's actually written down but it sure as hell is common courtesy which says you will provide this to the public to be able to see and comment on it and attend the meeting which obviously people are doing this time around so Mrs Fenton brought up has actually submitted a proceed petition that said you wanted to know when Mr zider read a resolution without having it in front of the public and yet here was a resolution that was not done in front of the public and you voted yes for it so I'm very a little confused on that why that would be so important to file it earlier but on this situation similar to what was said before several board members did run on honesty and integrity and I don't know if about anybody else because many of us are in business I've submitted rfps I requested rfps when I request an RFP the r results come back we then interview we review the results whatever there were five applications that were submitted back in October for the last RFP at that time there were people that reviewed it and voted on it since that time no one has interviewed those candidates I know this because I asked about it I checked into when was the last time the board did interviews when was the last time board members reviewed the RFB and they haven't been so three members that were not on this board at all voted yes to switch it and again it is your right to do so I agree with the comment it is not the fact that you did it it is a little because I worked with Mr zider for some of those 20 years and I've never had a problem with him but that's a different story it is technically your right however what isn't right is following the pro not following the process you have a line in your code of ethics that says confine his her board action to policymaking planning and Appraisal and help to frame policies and plans only after the board has consulted those who will be affected by them since Mr zider certainly didn't know about it I'm pretty sure he didn't do that since a number of the board members didn't seem to know about it pretty sure you didn't do that either you have a board attorney that has worked for the board for 20 years with no discussion to the attorney his firm fellow board members with three of you having no actual knowledge of the ongoing situations in front of the board other than one month of public service with purposely avoiding the possibility of having public comments with knowing you are in the middle of a significant effort with a disgruntled employee and that's all he is he's a disgruntled employee you can like him or not and again I'm not pretty to it but that's what he is I you voted on a motion that you didn't place on the agenda one has to wonder back to similar comments if there are artill motives Behind these decisions I don't know but you didn't want any of the facts and information to be out there where's that fit in the line with code of ethics that says make decisions in terms of the educational welfare of the children thank [Applause] you P two people stole my stuff Brian Gallagher 135 khaw Drive uh yeah so with so many theories and information online in person I wanted to talk about a few of the recent topics going around that greatly affect the district one recent topic receiving a lot of discussion in the public was the decision at the February 12th board meeting to vote on a resolution Pro proposed by board member Mark orillo to terminate the then existing contract with the district's law firm and too a new one one point I saw afterwards was people asking is anyone wondering why the resolu ution wasn't taed comparing it to the tabling of a separate action item that same night one which was intended to change the public commentary portion of meetings to have a 4minute speaking limit per person uh it's a great question that deals with two very important issues one the Public's right to have a saying District matters and two how the board operates under New Jersey's code of ethics for school board members so I'd like to speak about it let's consider the two actions being compared first with the action that was proposed to change the public speaking portion of board meetings to a 4-minute limit at some point prior to the February 12th meeting board members talked about changing the public comment section of its bylaws to create a limit of 4minute speaking time during public commentary it obviously gained a majority of support from the board to be then taken to the next step the next step for this possible change was to go through policy committee committees are specific members assigned from within the board to further discuss and streamline the proposal and drafting process they would then draft the necessary changes to be voted on at the next meeting in a first reading uh it is possible that se one and two can be reversed not affecting the overall process the draft was then added to the agenda which is published prior to the meeting members of the public are then able to view the agenda to understand that this is a topic that will be covered and possibly acted on seeing this specific item some people decided there was concern over it and wish to voice their opinion at the board meetings it is required as part of New Jersey open public meeting act AKA Sunshine Law that the board sets aside time for public to comment on matters that would affect them this is a protected right during public comment for Action items on February 12th myself and others got up and spoke with opposition to this proposed action before the board would have voted on it upon hearing and considering the Public's Insight the board then decided because of that input to table the action item for further discussion njsa or better known as the school ethics act contains a code of ethics for Schoolboard members now the gentleman just read the one I was going to read it states I will confine my board action policy making planning and appraisal and I will help to frame policies and plans only after the board has consulted with those who will be affected by them what we just listed was a perfect example of the process being done properly and working successfully to make sure that the rules policy matters are inclusive of all people affected following ethical guidelines the policy proposal made it through committee which means the board favored it the action item came with the recommendation of the superintendent as noted on the agenda but the final decision to table the item was decided specifically because the public was given a chance to voice opposition to it all right which the board reflected on let's now compare this process to the resolution proposed by Mr orilla Mr or zilla's resolution proposal did not start similarly with step one as a previous example did we know this because board members expressed alarming concern over having no idea why it was being proposed at the time not knowing or being given crucial information and changes being proposed for the vote not even a basic reason to why it was being proposed overall the resolution proposed by m orillo did not follow a similarly to step two of the previous EX example we know this because it would have come out of a committee properly drafted as an action item the resolution proposed by Mr orilla did not follow similarly to step three of the previous example we know this because it would have been added to the board agenda that's made available for the public de View and further form opinions of agreeing or opposing it knowing they could show up at the meeting to comment on it as we've established is their right Mr Ora's resolution stated quote the board has determined that it no longer wishes a law firm of shank price Smith and King LLC to represent it however the board is representative of the public so Mr orilla has no ground to speak on behalf of the board as a whole or majority when proving he and others did not fully discuss or allow discussion of the matter of Interest with other board members and the public the resolution proposed by Mr orilla did not follow similarly to step for the previous example this I believe is the most egregious and blatant form of circumventing the ethical process after Mr Oro read the proposed resolution that night board president Lisa Nar stated she would open the proposal for discussion to the board however while the board was discussing the matter she then noted on record into the microphone quote no public comment end quote failing to allow the public to be involved in a matter that affects every one of us as taxpayers and concerned citizens of Mount Olive the four-minute rule example which many have commented is such a non-factor or who cares because people never come to the board meetings anyway was tabled specifically because the board heard input from the public and decided it was in the best interest to further discuss but we see the opposite with Mr or zilla's resolution the fact that proposal to make a major significant change that affects the legal protections of the board and District which is currently involved in multiple lawsuits as a defended with large Financial interests at stake impact in the district's future could be snaked through with some 11th Hour Blindside to various board members the district and its employees and Community should be a concern for everyone now seeing that members seated here are willing to put aside their ethical standards and care for the public and students of this District focusing on maybe interest of others if the matter Truly Spoke for the board and everyone was informed in an agreement why not add it to the agenda and follow the simple procedures required by ethics and standards whether you agree with the resolution or not isn't the issue at hand we should be worried that this seated board is willing to use these types of circumventing measures to push through policy and changes without properly discussing with anyone and everyone affected another troubling part to this resolution proposed by Mr orillo is that it unravels a process that was carefully taken to initially solicit RPS rfps in the PA and now turns contract and now in turn contracts a different law firm with one uninformed vote at the last board meeting on October 27th 2023 the m board of education provided Advanced written notice to the Daily Record for publication of a special meeting to be held on November 2nd 2023 on October 30th 2023 Mount Olive Board of Education provided Advanced written notice of the same upcoming meeting hand delivered to the six district schools Boe offices municipal building and manov Library both written notices stated that discussion will be limited to interviews for professional service providers as per an October 10th R RFP request for proposal at the November 2nd meeting manol of Board of Education held public comment for community members to address the stated topic of the meeting as provided in his previous notices the board then adjourned a confidential session for a purpose of interviewing professional service providers after reconvening the man of Board of Education held a second public commentary for Action items Board member Miss Jennifer aino read out loud the two action items on the agenda for consideration and public comment the Board of Ed then voted after motion by Miss Aquino and second motion by Anthony diano on action item 5.1 appointment of board attorney the final resolution was motion carried by unanimous vote people asked multiple times for The District over the past year or so to go out for RFP rfps for vendors at multiple board meetings saying that's the correct process which they are correct in saying so the process is done accordingly yet here we are with the backdoor resolution voted through to undo that whole process we're all the people that were crying about process process the process needs to be done fairly now it's pretty strange that they're all silent wondering what the connection could be there maybe they weren't happy about the process results and now Revel in the unethical result one last note I want to thank all the people of the town for coming out tonight I'm glad you did because that line would have looked really embarrassing and hopefully continuing to do so it's not always about getting up here and speaking you'll find that just attending and listening can provide a lot of insight into not only how the schools operate but how you truly feel about the issues and you'll start to see how they have a major impact and if you do get up to speak it could be nerve-wracking but it's worth it if what you believe if you believe what you're saying to be honest and genuine I began speaking at these meetings only a year or so ago I was immediately met with claims that I read other people's talking points had information fed to me or didn't write my own words I still laugh knowing that that's the immediate Panic it caused some I take pride in every word that I've written or spoken here they're all mine as much as that may disappoint some I stated multiple times that I'm happy to ever apologize if I'm wrong or misspeak regardless of the tactics used to try to intimidate me soon after I began talking I was met with instances where board president Lisa ariss cold called my neighbor asking for information about me and who I was kind of a what's the deal with this guy I felt more concerned for my neighbor being caught off guard by someone he's never spoken to before rather than myself it's horrible that someone could be dragged into some unfair private investigation of sorts and it didn't stop there she also felt the need to contact another person who lives in town and works with my wife ask the same questions about myself and my wife not sure what people are looking for out there but there's nothing there it's sad that my questions and concerns for the students and members of the community are met with Panic by some maybe they have more more to hide than I do for the people at monol please don't get discouraged by the TAC is taken by this and previous board members or others in the public to quiet you from being heard if you're here tonight for the first time or for the first time in a while please don't make it the last thank [Applause] you Chris z 29 soers Lane um I come here as well to talk about the appointing of the uh lawyer I have a different stance is that three board members here filed litigation against the district where shanken price was the attorney of record you three were in an adversary position against our lawyer and should have removed yourself from the vote actually was only two um so I have uh I started on this board and when I was on this board I was lied about under verification and sworn oath I have lost family members I have lost friends all because people keep putting out falsehoods constantly badgering people on Facebook with falsehoods Mrs F you are right most litigation is handled by the um insurance company with a $10,000 deductible only lawsuits against the district were handled by shank and price and their crime was winning okay um again I walk around I don't know how people feel about me because people have lied okay I have one individual who is screaming that I caused excessive tax dollars used for lawyers and here you are appointing another lawyer that now has to get up to speed on all these different cases what cost is that what is is the billable rate more than shanken price um so this individual said that's why I'm here he had to open his mouth and say that I cause this stuff the truth of the matter is honesty and accountability is what causes most of this problem or the lack of it okay you two filed Pro seg Notions Mrs Mrs N uh SE m fent Mr F youw withdraw yours and for defamation because in your proos argument you stated that I during a closed session purposefully filed ethics charges to invoke the doctrine and the necessity no I didn't Mr Wells actually actually ethics charge has been substantiated and it's moving to the next level okay so man I'm sorry I am just sick of this I'm I'm shaking because this is the stuff the falses I know you didn't make that up because I was approached to do the exact same thing okay this board is been so corrupt and you blame us for being the corrupt people all I did in my crime was Voting exactly the same way seven other people did and then people came back and lied under sworn [Applause] oath else I can speak from public it's a little strange being on this side of Mike after 30 years but first uh I want to thank all the people who have contacted me I just cannot believe how many people have contacted me wished me well and ask me to re applaud uh I want to tell my deepest gratitude and my most humility that they have contacted me I also want to apologize to the board for my Outburst at the last meeting I feel it's sudden becoming a board member at least for me you know I've served on a board for 30 years and over the past two years it's been very very unsettling and during that time let's look at our staff our staff never wavered they kept performing their duties and kept teaching our kids at a high level we've worked very hard to make this a good school system we're rank very high in the state or very high in the na in the nation I'd hate to see it torn down what this board has to do is it has to talk to one another it has to disagree but it has to respect one another and it has to be unified if you continue with fight four votes you will be an ineffective board so what you should do is make sure you talk to one another you heard about all night long about the process uh you really have to put it together folks because if you don't you're going to regress and we certainly don't want to see that I want to just leave you with this one thought that we came out we we we coined a motto many many years ago and I leave you with this St children are our first priority thank you one more thing I do intend to [Applause] reapply we have anyone else from the public who would like to speak no okay and with that we will move on to Old business do we have any old business from the board I do thank you I hate to beat a dead horse but I want to read a little something I felt important to say that a few months ago at the end of October the prior board including three current board members myself Mrs Melendez and Mrs Fenton interviewed law firms after going out for RFP we narrowed the search down to three firms interviewed all three and unanimously chose shank price The Firm that is sitting here now had no votes no offense Mr Gart so I'm hoping someone on the board could explain to me how we didn't go back out for rfps we didn't include the full boarded any decisionmaking and how you hired a new firm without ever meeting with or interviewing this new firm thank [Applause] you from the board with old business yes thank you I just want uh I'm going to read from the njsda which is our organization who lead uh bo education ethics and [Music] conduct um that relations to other board members is important says promote the board working as a team not as individual respectful attendance and preparedness for Bo meetings and that means be informed what is going to be discussed at the meetings communication can do it communication is critical not to five to the full body of the board nine members build consensus there is no such a thing as president doesn't have to be consensus because it's there in our ethics guidance build consensus so everyone gets their say get their say not in dark opportunity to speak but may not get their way and that's okay as long as they are given the opportunity to speak and and I inform what is going to be discussed encourage open expression of opinions by extending fairness and courtesy to all sadly that was not given to us last time Focus members on issues not personalities a Model A Higher standard of ethical conduct who you do that President and Vice President and new members and we all that's all any other oh any other old business no all right we'll move on to new business any new business from the board anyone I have have three items I'd like to put before the the board we could take them away for next time um and I know we discussed this um multiple times maybe can we look into some uh Dr B I know we've we've mentioned this look into into putting a section on our website that specifically speaks to the board members website um polling information from njsda on roles ethics processes um how board is supposed to operate how the board operates how unfortunately sometimes the public doesn't always have you know knowledge of what occurs um I'd like to then also would you speak close to the mix sure thank I'd also like to put maybe it's more for policy but look to see if there is the opportunity to make a dedication for either for our pack or whether it's some other manner to honor Mr stachi and his dedication to the artarts in this community for over 30 years um I like the board to look into that and then I'd also like to look into whether we can see if we can put in writing because I know this has been just a past practice but not in writing at graduation if a member of the board or former member of the board has a senior child or student multiple graduating if they can be honored with handing out diplomas and or the option to give the board speech as an honorary you know whether they be on the board or prior and that would mean Mr Zer who might have left has two students that are graduating we don't need to discuss tonight I just like to see if we can put those before whichever committees are appropriate anyone else so we will move on to the board comments and we'll start at the end Mrs O'Neal do you have any comments um congratulations to the athletes oh I just said congratulations to the SCH chions that the girls announced sure this is the show I just want to say thank you for coming out this is the most we had to add chairs that's amazing so thank you guys for coming out uh we really appreciate you and the interest you're taking in our community that's all thank you so much to coming out this is important and we appreciate every time and everyone that speak up uh because we listen we listen and we like to see this place full every time because everyone of us has something to bring which is good for our students and for our community also no comment okay we'll go back Mr orillo down on this end any comments no comments all right Mr nothing for me all right we'll Circle back to you Miss B well I just want to say congratulations to all the uh High School sports um and everything that all these schools are doing I think it's amazing um I do want to appreciate everybody coming out and I wish we would see more people and more people because this is important and it's a shame that the only time people come out is when it's negative I would love to see this group out here when we're doing good things as well um I love people speaking I love to hear what you have to say it's important so thank you okay we'll circle out with me um I'd like to say first of all congratulations to all of our high school sports teams I was just telling someone I can't even remember how many and they all having you know state championships this this weekend from our indoor track to our swimming to our wrestling and also want to say thank you to our staff that hosted our wrestling regional tournament this weekend you don't realize how much goes into that from our janitors to our security to our ad and our you know High School staff the place was you know filled it's a lot of work but it's very much rewarding to see the students um Gabby I hate to single you out but I know congratulations that's a big and I also want to say the ROC program I've had multiple members of our public and our you know student staff come up and tell us how wonderful of our progam program it is and you were singled out as being a wonderful Mentor so thank you um you know I also want to you know say thank you for our administrative staff I know that you've hung in there you you support our students on a day-to-day basis and I know that you strive to do your very best every day as well and make a difference every single day I hope you improve just a little bit just just a little bit and you know we do take lessons away from everyone Mr Gallagher I wish you could have heard actually that I had leaned over to the attorney and asked is there a public comment and he said no public comment and I asked no public comment so I'm sorry that that piece was only picked up on the mic because that was what I actually had asked the question of again leaning on my attorney for the advice for the board of how to proceed with a meeting that is what we do thank you for those who like to challenge me it helps me grow as an individual and as a board member I don't back down the only thing I do request is that those leave comments about my children out of it this is business so when I ask about an individual as to why they're questioning or bringing up topics about my children we may have families here but when we sit here this is you know about the district not about our children as well as those who harass Us in other manners it is not called for and that is not what being a board member or an elected official is about on top of that though again I want to say thank you though for you to come out again I would like you to come out when we have negative and positive things I like hearing from all of you and I will say hi Mr gals Dr gals you always did you know teach me probably the most I see you back there thank you for attending Mr stachi I look forward to sitting next to you again hopefully and I hope that we can take away some of the um comments from the public and again always improve and I do hope that we could maybe teach everyone too about this role in the manners that we're allowed to so making a um a piece of the website available for the public to understand a little bit more what this seat you know entails thank you all right we are going to all right so be resolve the board will meet in confidential session for the purpose of discussing negotiations Personnel matters of attorney client privilege pending or anticipated litigation confidential pupil matters real estate matters and be it further resolved that the matters discussed in confidential session be disclosed to the public when the reason for confidentially out confidentiality no longer exist action may be taken right here um all right we are back in ajour um do we have we need a roll call sorry here this is Fenton here this is fera here this is fald here this is Melendez here this is here Mr orillo here Mrs nor here um we do I have a motion to close out this meeting so who anybody else second all right everybody in favor I oh let's go to let's get out