e I would know other than that I was kind of surprised when I saw okay thank you you after that can you do find par thanks [Applause] [Music] Mike for [Music] [Applause] ready everyone good evening I'd like to call this meeting to order this is the North Brunswick Township Board of Education regular public meeting today's Wednesday July 31st can we please rise for the pl Pledge of Allegiance IED Al to the flag of the United States of America and to the repu for it stands one nation under God indivisible with li Justice for All Mr Ali here Mr Brockman here Mr Carter here miss James here miss Keith here M Lori here Dr Patel here miss to here and Mr W here we have AA thank you the New Jersey open public meetings law was enacted to ensure the right of the public to have advanced notice of and to attend the meetings of public bodies at which any business affecting their interest is discussed or acted upon in accordance with the open public meetings law the public notice of this meeting which included the time date and location was distributed by 3 p.m. on Monday January 29th 2024 and Tuesday March 19th 2024 in the following manner posted on the bulletin board reserved for announcements in the board office 25 lywood place North Brunswick mailed to the home News Tribune Star Ledger nj.com and the clerk of the township of North Brunswick and delivered to the nine Julia elected board members good evening everyone hope everyone is enjoying their summer um we have one presentation this evening and um I will pass it over to Mrs choka to introduce that presentation thank you uh good evening everybody it's good to see you all here we have our exciting annual violence and vandalism presentation for reporting period number two for Mrs ke so I have this all queued up for you Mrs ke and you tell me as you want me to change the page Mrs shoka as required by the State Department of Education public schools are required to present their annual data uh in two different reporting periods uh violence and vandalism which you'll see it's also on our board agenda as required reporting period two is January 1st through June 30th of every year and Reporting period one is um July 1st through December 30 first of every school year um and again as you'll see from the chart Mr you can go to the Chart um that is on the board agenda this evening as required um it actually Compares reporting periods to reporting periods it's not they don't compare the full year um this is what the state uh has us required to compare to but I you know what I like to do is um as everyone knows I like to give presentations um but to provide context with it because this is in itself to just have on a board agenda it does require some context and I will also uh provide some information to go back to reporting period one so the board has some information from the whole school year again the state doesn't require us to do that but again I feel it's important to provide that context um so looking at the two different reporting periods from this year to the prior school year um we did see yes an increase in the total number of incidence um an incidence is violence vandalism substances weapons and HIV confirmed we did see a rise in that but as you can also see in the row below other incidents leading to removal such as tardy cutting class and subordination disruptive behavior actually went down um and in total because the confirmed HIV for reporting Period 2 is embedded in that number um the total was 35 HIV confirmed for reporting Period 2 this year and it was 32 last year so again around the same you know and again you will see also on the board agenda trainings and programs and ones that I will highlight this evening as well again as we are continuing to address those concerns um in terms of the trainings and programs and I'll get to HIV alleged in one second um we it's not that we saw decrease from reporting period two we actually in total outside of like one number had exactly the same as last school year it's just this school year we decided to frontload more so we actually had more trainings and programs in reporting period one um again the thought behind that was get ahead of it this year a little bit more um so we provided those programs and trainings more in the fall during reporting period one HIV alleged this is also unconfirmed or unfounded um it looks like we dropped a lot from last year essentially also just so you know what also took place is with an updated policy and Amendment last year from the state districts now have the ability to proceed or not proceed with an HIV form um that means that on its surface the Deans doesn't mean that they don't address it but on its surface does not meet the characteristics of HIV and is dealt with as consequence es remediation things of that nature so that is what is there five actually eight here's tis SC gets a little confusing too in reporting period one it ends in December reporting period two begins in January there's winter break there depending on when a case opens or closes in December it may get reported to the board in January but yet it was reporting period one entered because it was December so there actually are eight that are tied in from reporting period one for that number which looks like five when on our board agendas when we looked in January it was eight so just so you know that so again although we're not required to the year in review total number of incidents did decrease by 13 so we're proud of that total number of HIV confirmed this year was 52 last year was 48 um other incidents leading to removal decreased by 2 17 so we're you know really happy with that number HIV alleged to increase by 30 again with the implementation of proceeding or not proceeding um that helped to decrease that as well HIV trainings and programs were essentially equal total need some water Mrs K yeah sure so again as I mentioned last school year um we up the updated policy with the state um in terms of being able to proceed or not proceed we had a total of 25 submitted HIV claims that were preliminary determined as not proceeding for this school year these claims were found to be outside the scope of HIV but disciplinary and Remediation measures were inacted I'm not going to read through all of them but you can take a look to see examples of consequences and examples of remedial measures that we do have implemented and again this goes anywhere from temporary removal uh taking away privileges different administrative consequences student Counseling in terms of remedial measures peer support groups behavioral assessments um modifications of schedules um things of that nature so these are all examples of consequences and remedial measures that not only are recommended by the state department Department event but that we've implemented as well for reporting period to with HIV trainings again just to list some we're not required to on our board agenda by the state but I do like again to provide context and as usual this presentation will be available on our website and to our board members as well following the meeting but again you can take a look at the various report uh HIV trainings that took place in reporting Period 2 a lot of them are offered um by the New Jersey Law Center that we take advantage of legal one um and a lot of those actually are self-directed so I do meet with the anti-bullying Specialists uh to review the different workshops we attend the different trainings and we have our own resource library that we used to refer to frequently although not required to list um I do list every reporting period the other trainings related to student behaviors most of these that you see here on this slide are ours these are ones that our staff our administrators uh you know put uh do um trainings after school for our own staff so those are various ones that uh we have participated here in District listed in the agenda are all the HIV programs that have taken place throughout reporting period too again according to the state they have Elementary as prek through six so so that does include lywood um the ECC and then our four elementary schools the middle school grade 78 and the high school grades 9 through 12 and again these links are available on our website um under school safety for HIV um we have our own dedicated anti-bullying info site for parents we have our own school safety and HIV site for staff um a new updated HIV FAQ for parents and staff um our board policy and other resources there any questions board for Mrs GA any comments all right this is better now I know when you get a tickle in your throat how hard it can be to present um thank you very much for this this is a lot of work and and coming out of your office um we we truly appreciate the organization the support that you provide to our um our Deans and our assistant principales who work on these these programs to make sure that we can help our children be as safe as possible thank you and I just want to comment that obviously it made really good sense for you to adjust the way that you did by frontloading the programs obviously I think that there has been a great misconception about Hib and what it means and parents misunderstanding it um but I think that frontloading it to of course reduce those incidences is great um and hopefully just more inform our public and our student body so wonderful thank you thank you Mrs ke uh at this time we will move to our regular agenda um Mr Carter can you please take item number six sure uh I'd like to make a motion to approve the following board minutes conference meeting June 5th 2024 executive minutes June 5th 2024 regular public meeting June 26 2024 and executive minutes June 26 24 second all in favor anyone opposed all the minutes are accepted thank you any Communications this evening no Madam president all right we'll move to our reports any old business new business nope just my administrative report great all right good evening to all of our families guests and viewers here tonight our summer Academy Institute and extended school year programs are underway at mbms Lin Jud school and nbte ECC these inperson programs have been running providing strong academic support for students within fun and challenging programs Summer Academy and summer Institute and tomorrow Thursday August 1st and extended school year wraps up on August 9th our deepest sympathies go out to the family of Jonathan ponds former Parson principal and North Brunswick Township resident on his recent passing on July 12th if we could take a moment of silence in remembrance of Dr Pon please thank you and please uh keep the family in your thoughts although summer is in full swing for most families our 12- month staff are busy working here in the buildings preparing for the new school year in August lockers are being painted lights in the auditorium are being replaced at the high school um different sidewalks are being redone floors are being polished we had a wonderful day where we got to watch a machine pull up the carpet in Lynnwood it would looked like a little Zamboni and it it came in and it scraped up all the carpet in about an hour was run by remote control and um then they came and scooped it all up and they put beautiful new tile in so we're doing projects throughout all of our buildings to bring them up for the get them ready for the new school year and we really appreciate the work of all of our teams we're doing that hard work this summer in preparation for the first day of school on Tuesday September 3rd our principles are working on orientation programs and student schedules orientations for students entering prek K 5th 7th and 9th um information has been sent and scheduled and flyers have been sent to families this information is also available on our website at mb2 schools.org please continue to check our website for more information as we move through August enjoy the rest of the summer that is it for my report this evening Madam president thank you uh at this time we'll move to our committee reports although we did not have our official meetings this month we have received updates throughout the month so uh Mr Lori I'll start with you for business operations thank you madam president among the items being uh worked on this summer as superintendent choka alluded to and on our agenda this evening there's a couple of amendments uh regarding technology purchase motions that actually reflect a reduction in cost to three purchases and an increase in one purchase that's on page 20 item C and D there's the disposal of the Lynwood cafeteria walk-in refrigerator and freezer which just uh is the Fallout from buying a new one that's on page 20 item e there's the approvals of various grants applications and Grant funded purchase agreements there's the approvals of various instructional and operational computer site licenses as well there's a roofing change order pertaining to lywood to repair flashing it's a net cost of $19,000 it's on page 21 item H um there's an item pertaining to the high school hvy commissioning project it's a change order actually reduces the cost of the project by $112,000 and then there's budgeted purchases on the agenda this evening Pages 21 and 22 pertaining to additional swipe ID cards Parson School playground the high school concrete repairs the district boiler service agreement um there's also information in there about an agreement uh for a vision plan for our employees on page 23 and then there's two policies which are being abolished on page 24 that are no longer applicable that would conclude business operations for the past month thank you um Mr Brockman anything for HR not at this time thank you uh Dr Patel anything for Education um yeah just briefly just wanted to say that we had um various workshop and Conference approvals um and that there was a five-year agreement for purchase of a benchmark Advance um a com a core comprehensive literacy program for Reading Writing and work studying three through four for all of the elementary schools um there's a couple of State mandate uh programs that the uh district is working on um and a couple of miscellaneous contracts or special education evaluation therapies um and that's it great thank you um at this time can I please have a motion to approve the administrative and committee reports so moved second all in favor I anyone opposed of the uh reports are accepted thank you uh at this time we we we will review our agenda um the board has received a copy of the agenda well in advance um so we will just go through this briefly Page by Page uh calling out some of the action items on the committee reports so we'll start with page um two and three four and five six and seven eight and nine 10 and 11 12 and [Music] 13 14 and 15 16 17 18 19 20 and 21 22 and 23 and completing on page 24 so at this time we can flip back to page two we will have a public session on agenda items only if you would like to come up to the podium and speak to anything specific to the agenda we ask that you please state your name sign in and you'll be given 3 minutes no problem all right uh seeing none can I please have a motion to close the public portion of the meeting so second all in favor I anyone opposed this session is closed thank you uh Miss Keith can you please take item 13 please yes Madam president I'd like to make a motion to approve the following consent agenda items Personnel 1 through two curriculum 1 and two miscellaneous Finance 1 through two policy and transportation second all right here roll call uh Mr Ali yes on all items except for curriculum 2 G and H which I abstain thank thank you Mr Brockman yes Mr Carter yes I'm not listed on that you're not listed okay thank you uh Miss James yes Miss Keith yes Mr Lori yes but I abstain on curriculum page 14 item 2 G and H as it pertains to myself thank you Dr Patel yes Miss to yes to all besides curriculum I uh number two G and H as it pertains to myself and Mr one yes to all items except for curriculum item 2 G and H which for which Iain thank you all the motions and the resolutions are approved thank you Mr Brockman sure I have two two uh motions the first one uh I make a motion to approve the resignation of employee number 68 39 effective July 31st 2024 it's going to be another roll call can I have a second first y thank you roll call Mr Ali yes Mr Brockman yes Mr Carter yes Miss James yes Miss Keith yes Mr Lori yes Dr Patel yes Miss to yes and miss and Mr W yes that motion is approved okay second motion I make a motion to approve the resignation of employee number 570 5 as a retire effective October 31st 2024 a second please second again a roll call Mr Ali yes Mr Brockman yes Mr Carter yes M James yes Miss Keef yes Mr Lori yes Dr Patel yes Miss to yes and Mr W yes that is also approved thank you at this time we will open it up to uh the public on a public session on any matter at this time if you would like to come up to the podium and speak um we just ask that you state your name sign in and you'll be given 3 minutes hello my name is is Michael keslinger I starting my 10th year at nbths tonight I speaking as a representative of the NBTA negotiations team shortly you are going to hear messages from parents staff students or other members in the community that all feel passionately about the education here in North BR they are going to stand up here plead before you that a compromise gets made and Su they will tell you what drew them to the District what keeps them here or why others should come they will say the thing that makes North brri special are the people inside the buildings making a difference here we have an opportunity here on August 13th to leave our mediation with a fair contract that is all the members of our association want that's why they're here tonight why they were here last time and why they were at the meeting before that that's why we wear red today and last Wednesday and the Wednesday before that and before that they will continue to do so as long as it takes please work with us compromise with us help us give us the peace of mind that we need so that come September we can put the students first in our mind like it should always be thank you good afternoon I'm going to translate the message of the association should be if you see green I hello pick it up yeah I am going to translate the message of the association can you just state your name please thank you that see for [Applause] good evening um my name is Corey Daniel for all of you who don't know me I know many cases on the board um today I'm here to speak not only as a nbte member but also a past parent and a past resident I moved to North Bron 20 years ago because we wanted to move into a town for our children to have a diverse and awesome Community we chose North brunwick both of my children went to Jud to Lynwood to the high school unfortunately I moved out of the Town due to some circumstances 3 years ago and unfortunately I was not able to vote because I think some of the faces would be different on the board um I talked to you not only as a staff member but I started from the bottom I was a substitute teacher um I had a separation I needed a full-time job Barbara given thank God I praised her she hired me as a building a as a building a I got started in I think this is my 15th year here in District I started at $927 poverty poverty level still poverty level I stayed with the district years go on 10 years two of my kids who went through the school who I have awesome teachers and I will never put anyone down because we have amazing staff they were both going to college at that time I needed a job to help my ex-husband at the time paid for school I left the district I had to leave the district Dr Z called me and said Cory what can we do to keep you here I said pay me more I left the district making $12.76 an hour fortunately enough I was rehired 5 months later as a secretary for the special uh services department so I would like to speak on our AIDS I was an aid I was a one-on-one Aid in J we get to live in we know they they they pumble us Sometimes some of these AIDS that are standing here I've watch them in holds for hours sweating tears but they come back every day because they love their job but we don't love the pay I was fortunate enough to come back as a secretary do I get paid enough for the all the things I do absolutely not but the AIDS and these teachers deserve so much more them overall get it I bust my neck for this town if I could live here I would still live here unfortunately I could I can't I work sporting events to supplement my salary I coached for four years to supplement my salary I'm not coaching next year I have to find a second job please do something better they deserve it all of you all of you know on this board what we all deserve thank you [Applause] if I could just well and I'm sorry to make you you actually don't have to write down your name and address and the whole thing just for I feel bad for those of you who've already spoken um I apologize usually when we have fewer people but since there's so many of you want to speak you could just keep rolling if you could just say your name and address for the record and we'll have our minutes pick up on great your participation we appreciate you thank you very much thank you hi my name is anney Morales and I've been living in North since 2010 I have two CH two children one of which will be starting third grade at Jud School in September I'm also a fourth grade teacher in Bridgewater and will be starting my 20th year as an educator there I want to start by saying that one of our core goals as Educators is to showcase the importance of being active and informed citizens to teach our youth that when they have concerns they should voice them if they disagree with actions that are occurring whether it's in their community in their state in our country in the world they have to speak up when they don't agree and it was disheartening to say the least that I did speak up and I wrote a letter to each of you and to get no response at all was very disheartening so to not even get a generic like thanks for your concern we're working together with the association to come up with an agreement something is it was just I was shocked and I got the same response from the council members I've reached out to all of them zero response so as a teacher and a parent living here to show and be a role model to our students that this is what you do to not get anything I'm upset by that in that letter I voiced my concerns with the impass and contract negotiations I chose to live in northw similar to the uh woman who spoke before me because of diversity number one and number two because of the school system my daughter attended Jud now for 4 years from prek through second grade and has absolutely loved her experience she started in the midst of Co yet her teachers were all in they engaged their students in ways that one could only have hoped for it was such a scary time as parents but knowing that my daughter was in excellent hands eased my nerves and with each passing year at Jud her experience has only gotten better and better I do not have a negative thing to say about the teachers that she has had I know that being a teacher I know the amount of work ethic determination and passion that goes into this profession especially postco our jobs have changed entirely these teachers put in so much work on their own time and it's always just expected but never rewarded it is a detriment to our district to not pay our teachers a competitive salary I went through this in my district in 2015 I actually spent the 20145 year documenting the work that I did outside of contractual hours my goal was simply to have irreputable objective numbers so that the public would know that when teachers quote unquote complain like I work so much outside my hours I work so much everybody's like oh yeah you got the Summers off though it just you know it makes up for it so I just wanted objective numbers to illustrate how much actual time teachers spend doing unpaid work so for a full year I documented my hours I showed my board ofed my 21 page document that listed all of my hours and detailed exactly what I was working on I documented 55 hours that is the equivalent of 7 72 school days you just wrap up your comments please thank you that's 72 days of unpaid work and to be clear that was my 10th year teaching so I was not an obice I have no doubt that the people behind me are putting in the same kind of work as well there's absolutely no need to be at an impass with people who are at the front lines of what makes this District amazing please um pay them well make sure that they feel value so that that in turn that energy love and respect is what will trickle down to their thank you [Applause] good evening can you hear me speak in if you might if you could pick it up yeah I will pick it up thank you just so the public can hear on YouTube uh my name is Don Bower very nervous and my heart is beating very fast going to do this anyway I just completed my 21st year teaching here in North Brunswick at Parson's Elementary School 25 years overall in the state of New Jersey hello I have taught hundreds of children in this town hundreds of them my own children know that when I say my kids I'm not always talking about them talking about my students this town has become my second family I've watched my kids grow up graduate pursue careers or college and come back as parents to my current students which is really weird but also really really awesome I've celebrated their successes and hugged them through difficult times I've been thrilled to run into them out there in the real world and hear how I make a difference to them in their lives I love my kids and I love the school district but it's not enough anymore and I didn't want to cry but here we go I can't provide for my actual family the way that I should as a professional with 25 years of teaching experience 21 of them here in this town with your kids when I started teaching here 21 years ago I did so looking ahead and at the time our salary guide was very different we had the ability to attain a fair wage commensurate with cost of living it's not possible anymore people who retired 10 years ago were earning more than we are now had I taken a position in the town where I live 12 miles away in the same county I would be earning almost $20,000 more apples to apples same amount of time with salary and Longevity pay almost $20,000 that's lifechanging money especially now in New Jersey trying to support a family it's money that I and that all of us deserve we deserve to not live paycheck to paycheck we deserve to have a little something extra in savings just in case we deserve to be able to provide for our own actual children we deserve a fair and competitive salary because each and every one of us is worth it thank you [Applause] good evening good evening my name is Janice Mahal I've have been a resident resident here in town for over 25 years and I'm also a teacher in our Middle School uh for those who are not aware there is a large number of teachers and staff who choose to live here where we work uh my own kids went through our schools from Jud to nbths they had some amazing teachers along the way some of uh some of whom are here with us tonight my son had the experience of being in the co graduating class of 2020 he was one of the students who spent nearly half of his senior year in his room on his Chromebook but his teachers we teachers uh did everything we could to bridge the gap and stay connected to our students we did all the things the district asked for even when we didn't know how to do them at first uh we posted asynchronous blessing on Google Classroom then we figured out how to set up Google meets and teach remotely from our homes to their homes then we taught with something called seats and meets where half of our students simultaneously half were in the classroom in person and the other half were on uh Google meet we did that as well um but as always we got things done as best we could except that now teachers are saying I can't anymore over the past 3 years from July 2021 to today or yesterday when I looked at the numbers to July 2024 we have said goodbye to 283 of our colleagues and co-workers and these are numbers I took from board agendas and to be fair some were retirements but even if we subtract those out we end up with over 220 teachers and staff resigning in the past three years alone these are people that our district have put training dollars into professional development hours into and you've likely even paid for a few master's degrees which have since just walked out the door um fellow staff have put in time and effort to be mentors and Buddy teachers only to see those new staff members take that knowledge and move on to use a real estate term our our district has become a starter home teachers move in for a few years then they quickly outgrow it they move on to something bigger and better with a higher salary and we can't keep losing good people um as a taxpayer I know that the board also wants to be fiscally responsible in our town and just looking across the street to the debacle that is the municipal building shows that dollars are being spent here but please do not put that Fiasco on the backs of teachers and staff um one last bit of food for thought I teach 400 students per year I get 200 in the first semester then at the end of the semester they move on and I get 200 new ones um my yearly budget is $125 and I'm not a math teacher but I've done the math that comes out to just over 31 cents per student and you can't even buy half a postage stamp for 31 cents um please work to settle our contract so that teachers and Staff feel supported get paid in line with surrounding districts and stick around for the benefit of our students thank you [Applause] Mar kusta uh for the past 20 years I called John Adams Elementary School my home away from home and even had the pleasure of teaching Haley when she was in fifth grade that was my first year at John Adams and over the years I've enjoyed learning with and from my students while working to create an amazing Coral program from 604th and fifth grade students my first year when Haley was there to over 120 volunteer third and fourth grade students in my 20th year which is almost the entire third and fourth grade class of j a as Professionals in the field of Education we want the best for our students we will go to Great Lengths to ensure their success not just within the walls of the classroom but beyond as well and over my 20-year career in North brunck I have happily gone to football basketball and lacrosse games piano recital school dances family fun nights and more outside of my own contractual hours to show support for my current and even my former students I brought in coats and school supplies for students in need I bought popcorn from the cheerleaders to support their competition dreams I've supported the North Brunswick food bank and I have bought more shirts off of the North Brunswick sideline store than any other teacher I can think of plus I am to North and despite living in another Community I'm North Brunswick Kristen Ross and I even used our own personal day to go to court in Newark to speak on behalf of a student in her family who were potential of being deported I have multiple degrees and I am currently applying to doctoral programs I also have multiple certifications and licenses and I know I'm not alone these teachers and support staff of this District give their heart and their soul and their personal time and money to the district or to the students and families of this District they have multiple degrees and certifications and credentials and it's absolutely nothing but gut-wrenching to see when given the chance to return the favor with Fair compensation our own students don't even recognize our vast contributions and sacrifices and show us the love and support and commitment that we once show to them I want to thank Jen and Beth and Tom and this entire negotiations team for fighting this battle for us because I know firsthand how hard that is and to the board I don't know specifically what this team is asking for but double it and sign off because the teachers and the support staff of this District have put in the time and their own money and the extra hours and incredible effort and most importantly they put in love and support to these students and this community far beyond what is required and it's time you return the favor because we've earned it and we deserve it [Music] hi I'm Jennifer Williams I'm the co-chair for the northr countship Education Association pride and fast events last year alone we dedicated over $61,000 for events to support our students and their families we partnered with Community organizations such as the Community Food Bank to provide food North Bruns of PBA and Catholic Charities for Holiday toy drives and Catholic Charities in middlex County get out and new campaign within the schools our staff here have gone after hours to provide countless reading math science stem ESL autism awareness and wellness events we have paired with the pto's OWN activi such as theater week Bingo and trunk Retreat we have sponsored ads for the yearbook Sports organizations and The Alchemist theater the graduation banners that you see around town are part of the pride um and fast monies we even hosted a Mee and greet for the Board of Education candidates [Applause] good evening I should be wearing a red shirt I support every one of you as a parent of North Fric so I come on a different note good evening everyone on July 9th my daughter emailed Transportation supervisor and Rosa Hawks the ba with concerns about how they changed the bus this year and put all different grade levels on the bus my daughter expressed about the safety of my granddaughter she was nervous because my granddaughter is only four and she's autistic they told her and reassured her that my granddaughter would be safe and everything would be okay well this morning as a grandmother I put my granddaughter on the bus a boy probably taller than me attacked my granddaughter I was shaking I didn't know how to react I called my daughter who was at work to meet me at the board who's pregnant high risk and I didn't want her to get upset but I came here and I asked to speak to Janet and Rosa they both came out and they told me they expressed to me how there's a chain of command well when it comes to my grandchild I don't care about a chain of command because my daughter followed the chain of command she emailed them and she told them and they promised that my granddaughter would be safe sorry I have to go into my thing so as we sat here probably the fourth row back there why they both said well we have to investigate and they kept shaking their heads at each other like two puppets and I made it known it was like two puppets and I after that she did tell me that they have to look at the Children's IEPs that's on the bus to make sure that they can ride together well shouldn't that have been done in June you put these children at risk you have an aid who is underpaid I think they make $16 which McDonald's probably makes more than that so these underpaid AIDS this poor lady did not know what to do only only thing she kept saying was I am so sorry I am so sorry I'm shaking and I had to grab my daughter granddaughter who was screaming so it wasn't like she was just tapped my granddaughter was screaming on the bus put yourself in my shoes and my thr of shoes if that was your grandchild how would you feel I leave this with I'm a taxpayer a very high high paid taxpayer in North brunsw you guys should be paid a lot more because my daughter granddaughter is blessed with the teachers that she has I praise them every day thank you have a great night so if I could just respond I'm not going to respond directly to um to the individual who just spoke because I understand that um she's informed School administration that she's hired an attorney and obviously I want to respect that and but I do want to inform the board here as we're talking and I don't think this is something we have to go to Executive for I could just talk to you that each student that comes each each issue that comes to our attention obviously we're very careful about addressing this matter just came to our attention today um obviously you heard that there's a concern member the public who also happens to be engaged in this particular matter we're going to review this consider it like we do every matter as seriously as this District including your teachers take every matter and we're going to do that um you know to the best of our ability so I just want to make sure that you're aware of that um and that's that's where we are on that issue thank you phone call to myter would have been greatly app at the end of the day next speaker please you can pick up the microphone if you want I think it's been helping the speakers to do that thank you yeah um hi my name is uh an badam uh I've been in Resident for for almost 10 years now um I love I love this town um I love the fact that you guys allow uh kids in this town to either go to Great Public Schools or at and Char schools outside the school district uh my daughter is one of those uh and uh I feel like uh that choice is now being taken away from us uh we just received notice saying that uh the busing to the Thomas in elementary charter school in uh is in Jeopardy because uh uh it mandated the maximum threshold for busing and uh we not sure whom we need to talk to regarding this uh when we speak with the transportation department we being redirected to the school and the school is then redirecting us back to North BR Township so I'd like somebody to step up and take some accountability and responsibility for this issue because I I can't State uh how disruptive this is going to be it's going to be a dead sentence there's no way I'm going to send my kid to Charter School if I have to pick and drop her every single day it's just impossible and I speak for a bunch of parents here who could not make it but I just needless to say I'm I'm sure you guys are all aware without without passing it's just impossible to send youate to school so I'd like thank you for giving me this opportunity to raise my concerns and i' hope uh you can resolve this thank you sir let me just address that for a moment sir I just want to let you know um that your um your school leader actually reached out to me today in response to our letter um and he and I are in conversations with with the attorneys about about looking at some shared service agreement right now North Brunswick pays a great deal of money and has been for several years when we didn't necessarily have to pay courtesy busing for your students so this is why we only have to pay up to the the maximum allowed amount because your child isn't in school in a Charter School in North Brunswick because they're out of District we only have to pay the eight andl amount but we are in in talks with um with your uh School leader right now so um I'm sure you'll be hearing more about that in the next few sh that thank you so much hi I'm going to take a turn here I'm not just a resident I'm not just a parent hi uh I'm the PTO president of John Adams Elementary School and I don't know how many of you I only have two minutes me can we ask if you could state your name please Isaac how um I have not my first rendevu here I advocate for everybody that needs advocation here I am again talking to you guys I am friends personally with a lot of you I don't know how many of you have Elementary children but we are in elementary school the parents of those kids that came through covid I'm a parent that went to Virtual learning first before I went to an in school setting my kindergarten ceremony was online my kids finally have normaly the PTO has worked hard to bring back MC teachers night which the teachers voluntarily come back from wherever they live leading their families to come join these events now these memorable moments are on Halt and not because of the pandemic but because we can't get a contract the teachers have said enough about how much they've done through the pandemic how much they've done through the volunteer services how much they pay for everything let last year we were given the green light to start our MC teachers night this year we can't schedule it I was told by the school that we cannot schedule because the teachers don't have a contract so Mr Bush here I am you said to in your last meeting uh that is not about it wasn't about respect it was about being fair unfortunately you're not being fair the board is not being fair and you're not being fair because I and I quote you said everybody's trying to get the word that is being used competitive Fair everybody wants to see all the members of the association paid fairly but it's a give and take time Mr Mr Bush this give and take time is dimming our children's memories school starts next month September I cannot schedule any back to school events that require my teachers to volunteer come back to cherish and make memories with the kids because they don't have contract so it goes back to dimming the light is what your give and take is we need this to move quickly and if we wait for a state mediator it just pushes the process and now we're looking at another month of no events our kids are the same kids that didn't take any school trips they didn't take school trips because of bus shorted it was these teachers that went on their own time to find a local place that fits in the schedule of buses so that these kids could go to a local Farm it wasn't you guys that sto there it was them so if anybody made normal sleep for our children during the pandemic during the bus shortages it was these teachers if anyone's cominging to our school events it's these teachers and if these teachers are asking for wages that match our neighboring towns they're not asking for much but I am asking as a PTO president as a parent to make my children children's lives memorable they've already been through so much with the pandemic the bus shortages and now to tell my 7-year-old no honey there's no MC teachers night there's no glow party there's no bingo ice cream party because we can't have a contract is too much for him to understand so I request that you negotiate quickly give and take time goes fast and let's schedule these events and get these teachers a contract they deserve thank you so I'm I'm I'm actually sir just one second I promise to give you your full three minutes and we are definitely not negotiating in public and I'll speak more specifically as to some of the other comments that were made but I do want to address Miss K who we certainly all appreciate I know that you have personal relation where where are you I want to look at okay sorry um I I want to give you your due respect I appreciate you know you quoting me from the last meeting but I want to be very clear because I'm the lawyer so it's my job to represent my client but this is not intended is a confrontational conver conversation I just want as a matter of Law and this is it's not going to be back and forth I just want to respond to what you're saying okay I'm sorry trying this microphone situation tonight is a little tough but the the the the the teachers um or the association can uh work during that period there is a contract it's just that it expired on June 30th and the way it works in school law is the contract from before the current contract rolls over and you continue to work under the prior terms it does I mean it's a matter it's as a matter of school law you continue to work on the prior terms and then when we hopefully resolve this which we hope is as quickly as possible it it does it does and what happens is in some districts so in other words if there are class trips for your child if there are other things for your child if there are you know back to school nights whatever you are concerned about the teachers can frankly and it's our position we would hope they would work those events we are just but but we also listen look we also respect we also we also respect we we there's not not for free you're all you're all working under the prior contract and as soon as a new contract is in place as soon as a new contract is in place you would get your retro amount and that's how it works I mean I'm just listen you you get your retro amount if there is a retro amount to be applied that's that's the law and that's my job to State it and if we could have the next comment I'd appreciate it you should work for fre okay you should work for free for if you could just give your name and address for the record I appreciate it Miss you could speak next if you like 25 years here and I will be speaking August 15th I apologize for taking your 3 minutes go ahead sir you could start we're gon to start your time now this wasn't a part of your three minutes it's fine thank you um my name is Cooper Ford uh here last month I know many of you uh worked with uh a lot of your kids may have been here for many years as a resident 20 years as well as a teacher in the high school um you know before I begin I want to recognize each and every one of you serving here as an elected board member we are talking about contracts and salaries yes um but you're all here giving your time and energy without being paid and I think it's important to acknowledge that and recognize that so whatever your reasons are for being here from the bottom of my heart I want to thank thank you because you are taking the time to be here and that means a lot to my family means a lot to my kids it'll means a lot to this community so even whatever disagreement there might be whatever feelings there might be I think that's important to acknowledge that so I want to start with that um I want to speak as a resident first and as a taxpayer uh like many of us many of you on the board many of us in this room um I received my Property Tax Bill earlier this month and as expected it had gone up over the past 3 years almost 7.5% significant portion yeah it did that went to our school district and as a resident we do know that taxes will go up yes and when they do we want something to show for it we want to know that our teachers and staff are taking care of the people who we've entrusted with our children and to make sure that they are taken care of something that uh you know as I talk to my neighbors you know we we all agree you know even though things might be difficult at times said you know what the people take care of our kids we want to take care of them at the last board meeting uh Mr Bush speaking on behalf of all of you expressed your support appreciation respect for the teachers and staff of North BR he spoke of how we agree on a lot and we want to get to an agreement that is fair and competitive and we want to get there we want to make it happen as a resident as a teacher our schools I welcome these words one of my mentors taught me said don't just tell them show them so with the mediation coming up in two weeks I hope you'll show your support appreciation and respect to the teachers and staff who you've entrusted with our children and I hope that respect support and appreciation is mutual from those who represent the NBTA as well um which I'm confident in both sides that it will be I hope that there will be an agreement that we can all agree is fair and competitive that we can say together yes it did take a little longer but we got there so that we can begin our school year solely focused on what we're here to do and that's to provide a lifechanging education to the children of our community thank you [Music] [Applause] hell good evening uh I'm branes again uh just like the gentleman spoke a while ago I'm a parent of going to the Thomas Edison energy SM school I totally appreciate the fact that that you're already in touch with the school and discussions uh to solve the problem with the transportation but just I wanted to highlight a few challenges that we as parents will have because of this this school is about 20 M uh to and fr from North Brun on an average so this on a normal day takes 75 minutes 60 to 75 minutes to drop the kit and then come back or uh it's even worse in the afternoon because the school ends at 2:50 p.m. which is right in in the middle of the work day it's literally impossible for the parents to spend 75 minutes on an average on a work day to go and get the kids now if you consider car pooling that's an option but I don't think that gives the safety or the comfort for the parents as compared to what a school school bus would provide we never safe and comfortable until the kid is back home uh of course we we car with people we know but it's always a not deny that now if we risk our jobs and we decide for the safety and no future of our kids we decide to go to the school and pick up and drop the kid on a daily basis now what a 75 minutes could easily become what we think 90 minutes or 2 hours because the school infrastructure or the road surrounding the community surrounding the the school we don't believe has the infrastructure to support a sudden influx and traffics of that scale there's not sufficient parking we believe in the school for all the parents to go in and get the kids what is taking 75 minutes could easily take 2 hours to 2 and a half hours now which could also affect the local community there so it's affecting everybody so just wanted to highlight this F and totally appreciate that you're already looking into it uh thank you um my name's Bob Goan I've been at the high school start my 20th year um my name is Bob Goan I'm at the high school stting my 20th year there go Raiders um one of the reason I came here is cu I watched the video from last the last meeting and I noce a lot of people were saying how the other districts are getting paying $10,000 a year more than us and I just wanted to make a correction on that as of now I only know two districts that pay 10,000 more than us one of them was our district like 14 years ago teacher who retired told me he was getting n 10,000 more than me as a 28th year teacher um the other districts are really getting around 20,000 more than us a lot of teachers are leaving we got some really good teachers and they're leaving the district now how's that hurt the town the students they're not getting into the colleges they want to get into they're not being prepared properly because there's no teachers they're leaving the classroom in the middle of the year they got a substitute for the rest of the year okay I take a lot of pride in what I do I don't want to be the second best school in the state I want want to be the best and I hope you guys feel the same way also another thing that hurts the town is I know when people move into towns they look at the school district and they're going to move to a town that has a good school district if the district's not as good your property values go down if you're a homeowner you're losing money because you don't want to pay the good teachers okay we got some really good teachers let's not mess it up okay we we work hard okay um if you value your students education and you value your property values and stuff like that but you know the money you're paying us is actually going to pay come back and pay you um you want to say it she was going to ask that's basically it we're just looking to get paid fairly we're not asking to get paid crazy money we just want to get paid the same as other teachers do the same job as of that's it [Applause] hi hi everybody uh my name is Sarah Moore um I am a seventh grade science teacher at um nbtm um this I just finished my third year teaching um okay so uh this was my first job out of college um I graduated during covid and student taught to a room full of black screens and did the whole thing um and when I was applying for jobs North brunck was my number one choice it was the one that I wanted I applied for 20 different jobs and North Brunswick was the one that I held out for um and when I was interviewing with the principal of nbtm um I said to him and have lived up to this that I wasn't just looking for a teaching job I was looking for a community that I could invest in um and invest in the children of that Community the way that my teachers invested in me when I was a child um um so I did my best to do those things I have loved being here I've loved being a teacher here um from the minute that I started I immediately got involved um by going to my student sporting events and their shows I've been to every concert every drama club performance um every art show everything that I could be at for my students I was there um at least one of every sport every season so that I could see all of my students in their element um I'm a face that parents know in the classroom and out they see me around um my students who I don't even teach anymore will still email me um when they're having a tough day or they're having a tough week they just need some encouragement they'll email me tell me stuff as hard and I'll email them back and give them the encouragement that they need um my second year as a teacher here um I co-directed the school's first fulllength musical I also co- ran um eighth grade activities which involved doing a fundraiser bronze with Boutique the eighth grade semi-formal and the eighth grade class trip and then this past year I helped with a coworker of mine um found and get running our School's first ever GSA um when I took this job I had every intention of staying for my entire career it's where I wanted to be it's where I wanted to retire from um but the pay just isn't it and most of the teachers and staff in this room have a lot more time in than I do I'm only 3 years in so if they're complaining about pay I can't speak to that but I can say that I have to leave because I found better pay at the bottom of a scale in another District that significantly beats ours um and I'm devastated by having to leave oh I was not going to cry I'm devastated by having to leave I did not want to leave um but it is a choice that I had to make in order to provide for myself and my family um so I would encourage you uh to to consider that you all are making the choice of losing dedicated involved [Music] teachers hello everyone um my name is Rona hails um I am a wife 30 something years now that's um I am a mother two beautiful daughters who went through n to school I love their teachers they always took care good care of my kids they both graduated they both went to college they both have wonderful jobs now so I'm very very thankful um I came to n and I came as a substitute teacher I've done long-term assignments and then I became a par I I love kids I really do love kids and uh py had reached out to me one time it's like oh you want to you want to interview and I didn't think I was going to really like being in a populist in but I do I really do enjoy it um I have to job I mean I job coach the kids that I that I work with to try to get them acclimated to the real world I do hygiene and some of you I'm not trying to be graphic but girls have their periods monthly a lot of these girls don't know how to take care of themselves down I have to help them that's not something that anybody really wants to do but I need to do that for them to try to teach them I don't get paid enough it's because I love these kids that I do this I advocate for these kids when we go on CV that means we go to shop right we teach them about the real world and people outside who who demean these kids because they Happ to be in the aisle I have to stand there and defend these children I don't get paid for that I do it because they don't deserves that nobody deserves that um I go to training and this the NCI CD training I'm going to go this month well this month so next month because it teaches us how to control a child when they attack us I got punched double fisted in the chest this year I had to take this boy down did I want to do that no but I do want to go home to my kids I want to be happy and safe and all that kind of stuff I don't get paid for that but you guys won't like pay us for that and I don't understand why because your salaries are nice and I I don't I don't I'm not sorry that you guys don't get good salaries but I just need you guys to think about other people not just what you get think about what we get it'll just be nice I do also do crowd control I love Crow control I love sports to help try to supplement my salary but it just would be nice if you guys would just increase what we make and think about us for a change thank you [Applause] hello so myself chin sha I'm also parent of U um like T educ like my kids are also going to Thomas Edison chter school I just don't want to uh discuss again the same thing and don't want to just whatever the my colleagues also said before I don't want to repeat everything again I just want something open and from your side because you guys we have sent multiple emails and everything I hope you guys are going through it and understand our problems too and as a not Brun resident my kids are not going here in this public school it doesn't mean because we also paying the tax right so it doesn't mean we cannot expect bus facility from you from your side so please consider that request from our like on behalf of other parents and I understand you just said before also like attorneys and everything is like talking to each other uh then I just want to know when we will get the result and uh when we can expect what what is the outcome from that matter um hopefully in the next two weeks we're working with again your school leader to look at that and and our attorneys um but I do want it to to just so you understand the state of New Jersey's law for a student who does not reside in the residence the town where the charter school is it gives very clear guidelines on what the district needs to pay for the last several years we've been paying more than that amount that's that's been courtesy busting and that amount of money comes out of our local budget which is where the difficulty becomes when we want to take that money and use it in our local budget um we need to go by what the law says and that's where we're working with your with your school leader so we will try to get a resolution for you guys as soon as possible but within the law thank you we will wait for that and definitely we will think you will you guys also will help us for that because you also you guys also know here the road even though the schools are not open Route 130 uh this Adams land Cen land everything is packed with the traffic and so many and day by day traffic is increasing it's not matter of like we just want we don't want to pay anything from our pocket whatever the aid also you guys are giving back to us keep those Aid with you guys or do something some adjustment or maybe you can ask like low kind of budget or low low kind of money from us we will think of you guys can also at least open those W from for us so we can pay at least little like very economically so everybody can uh you know uh take those burden from everyone from your budget from us and everything so we expect you guys just keep it the open end don't just don't make the dead end from your side thank you very much yeah and just just a reminder I mean obviously you know I know it's not it's not a popular opinion among the parents here who send their kids to their charter school but the the reality is exactly what Moka is saying and that is that every student not just on the transportation side but every student from the north Bruns School District who attends a charter school their tuition is paid is forced by law to be paid by this school district which again takes from our general budget so I appreciate the parents coming in here but this is a interesting discussion tonight because we've got a lot of budget uh pushes and pulls here hello my name is Susan Waldren I'm a special education par at Livingston Park as of now as you know pars can be moved from building to building classroom to classroom and we don't know our assignment till we start to start in North Brunswick you must be having 60 college credits or pass the par Pro that is the job requirement to become a par in this District we spend hundreds of thousands of dollars sending students to the Education Services Commission of New Jersey the requirement to be a par professional in that district is 18 and a high school diploma yet their starting salary is more than our top of the guide their top of the guide at the end of their current contract will be over $30,000 the top of our guide is not even when you add in your maybe stiens $220,000 that is unacceptable when we are spending hundreds of thousands of dollars in out of placement District I understand why children go out of District that's not the point the point is the requirement for them versus the requirement for us I know the training that they get I know the training that we get I know the services that we provide for our students are par none we have the best powers that we have we can control our students we can educate our students we do the job that is required for our students because that is what is expected of us we change diapers we handle menstrual cycles we get physically beaten by our students and we come in for less than what you are spending to send our students out of district there are districts that Paris are making over $440,000 a year I know this because I just spent five days at the njaa leadership conference speaking to members in other districts to find out how much people are making I don't come up here speaking lightly or uneducated because I am very educated on this matter it is time to re-evaluate what you are paying us and what you look at what other districts are expecting we deserve more we don't just make photo copies Paris are educating this school year I spent the last two and a half months along with the other par in my room as the teacher in our classroom because our teacher left in April she resigned to go make more money in another District we were the teacher because no longterm it teacher could be covered for that classroom there was no long-term sub there was no midyear replacement for her we were the teacher because that's what pars do we step up and we work we deserve a fair and livable wage I am a single woman and I do not cannot live on 20,000 a year that it okay no I I think we certainly appreciate um there's there's a couple things first of all I want to thank everybody for allowing us the three minute piece I know that's not easy you have a lot to say and I know the board wants to hear it but with so many people wanting to speak it's important that we hear as many of you as possible so we try to you know keep that um consistent and we heard how some of you were wrapping up your comments as that alarm was going off and we didn't want to cut you right off but we really appreciate that this is the first thing um the second thing is and I said this earlier I referenced this that look the the board isn't going to negotiate in public okay I think your feedback is helpful to hearing how a lot of you feel um and so we're not going to negotiate in public but um I think that you know said also say somebody mentioned at the microphone that they were disappointed that the board hadn't responded to an email um I'll just say that responding to an email and maybe your suggestion was that they should have said thank you for the email or whatever but the reality is that we're you know the board wants to make sure they comply and they don't want to be you know negotiating in public so they don't want to you know provide information that might be deemed confidential so that's that's one thing but um you know I think that it was said early on uh one of the first speakers uh who sort of summarized everything that was going to come next and I I forgot your name Michael ker is as M keslinger you said as Mr keslinger said is that you know all you want is a fair contract and I know that there's cynicism here we heard it I hear the voices um but all we want is a fair contract too and and you know I think it's important that you know that I reiterate what I said last time but not exactly the same thing that this is a process designed to get to a resolution the impass part of this is part of that design it's built into the law so that if there isn't an agreement by now there can be an agreement with a more with more force not just applied by the parties themselves who've gotten stuck that's what an impass is right not just in this negotiation and any negotiation and that somebody else come in like a me like a mediator to help resolve the differences and I we welcome that process and we're hoping believe me we don't as much as you don't like this we don't like this either having a situation where the teachers where the excuse me where the teachers of this District are upset this is a summer night I can imagine there's many places that you'd all rather be than arguing before the board of education for we totally understand that okay but we'd also like to be able to have a summer meeting which is typically shorter than the meetings for the rest of the year nobody wants to be in this position I can assure you of that from our side we don't want to be here either um there was you know a couple bits of misinformation um I I understand that emotions are high we totally get it um but it's important for us to note that no one and this is important for the parents I think the teachers do truly understand this no one's working for free yes you're working without a contract post June 30th we understand that we're trying to resolve that as quickly as we can as I reiterated but no one here is working for free it was also men about the municipal budget and what's going on across the street that has nothing to do with us I know that when you pay your property tax that some money goes to the school district some money goes to the municipality some money goes to the library some money goes to the county but the at the end of the day these are totally separate budgets and one bit of money has nothing to do with the other so I want to make sure that was really clear um and also look a lot has been thrown around about how this District compares to other districts throughout the county there's all kinds of Ang gos you know when you're a lawyer you can argue anything from any position but objectively we are in the middle of the pack for the county I think that's important to say when a contract is resolved or it has been in this district and many districts it works this way uh year after year once you have a percentage agreed upon and the number and the pot of money is decided and the ba talks about it with the leadership from the association typically speaking it's the association that puts together the salary guides so in other words we agree on a percentage and then you all help us get to the point where you figure out what everybody how many years all that stuff goes into and listen it's all of this is a negotiation but we generally trust the association to help us get to that point so I want to make sure that's clear I I assure you that we are working towards this we are hoping that there's not too many more meetings if any where we're all here and there's this pent up frustration between by the way the most valuable the most valuable people in this District I think everybody understands that other than our kids are the teachers are the staff are the power professionals are everybody in your Association so the board appreciates that you're here the board values you we you may not feel like it at times because we've been quiet and they've been asking me to speak all right as the attorney but we do hear what you're saying everyone up here hears what you're saying we understand it we know it's frustrating for you to have to be here again we didn't like this as much as you did but thank you we know we all need to hear each other thank you thank you Jonathan uh this time we'll close the public portion of the meeting can I have a motion so moved second all in favor hi I anyone opposed this session is closed and at this time I'd like to adjourn the meeting could someone adjourn so moved second all in favor I opposed we're adjourned thank you e