welcome everybody to our reorganization meeting Mr Hastings our school business administrator will call the annual reorganization meeting of the township devotion Board of Education to order thank you madam [Music] president uh adequate notice of the meeting has to be held by the township of ocean Board of Education on Tuesday January 2nd 2024 at 7M has been provided in accordance with the requirements of chapter 231 public laws 1975 notice of the meeting was posted on the bulletin board in the lobby of the administration building 163 Mammoth Road oakers New Jersey all Ocean Township Schools and transportation offices and the school district website on January 3rd 2023 notice of the meeting was transmitted to the Asbury Park Press and the coaster newspapers on January 3rd 2023 notice of the meeting was filed with the municipal clerk Township of ocean on January 3rd 2023 we could all stand for the flag salute [Music] to the flag of the United States of America and to the Republic for which it stands one nation under God indivisible with liberty and justice for all like to move to item 2.1 on our agenda the report of the annual school election the official results of the annual school election held for the township of ocean Board of Education on November 7 2023 per certification from the mammoth County Board of Elections are as follows uh candidate Gerard Dalton 4,159 votes Ryan Schneider 4,49 votes Caitlyn Dam 3,882 votes Alexandra Alex Hayes 2872 shawanda Beal 2761 and 84 wrin votes and at this point we'd like to swear in our newly elected board members uh if I could ask our members to come forward and we'll swear them in one by one up by our uh logo Perfect all right Mr start with you you could repeat after me please a loud and clear voice so everybody home hear you I say your name I Gerard Dalton you solemnly swear you solemnly swear that I will support the Constitution that I will support the Constitution of the United States of the United States and the Constitution and the constitution of the state of New Jersey the state of New Jersey and that I will bear true faith and that I will bear true faith and Allegiance and Allegiance to the same to the same and to the governments established and to the governments established in the united states in the United States in this state in this state under the authority of the people under the authority of the people so help me God so help me God I state your name I Gerard doton you solemnly swear you solemnly swear that I possess the qualifications that I possess the qualifications prescribed by law prescribed by law for the office of member for the office of member of a board of education of the Board of Education have not disqualified as a voter I am not disqualified as a voter pursuant to pursuant to it's a good part rs19 rs19 col 4-1 colon 4-1 I am not disqualified I am not disqualified due to a conviction of a crime due to a conviction of a crime or offense or offense listed in listed in njsa njsa 18a 18a col colon 12-1 12-1 and that I will faithfully and that I will Faithfully partially and partially justly and justly perform all the duties perform all the duties of that or uh office of that office according to the best of my ability according to the best of my ability so help me God so help me God I state your name hi Gerard Dalton you Solly swear solemnly swear that I have undergone a criminal history that I have undergone a criminal history background investigation background investigation for the purpose of insuring for the purpose of insuring that I am not disqualified that I am not disqualified from membership for membership due to conviction of a crime due to conviction of a crime or offense or offense listed in listed in njsa njsa 18a 18a colon colon 12-1 12-1 and the results are still pending and the results are still pending congratulations thank you I say your name hi Kaitlin Dan you swear do Solly swear that I will support that I will support the Constitution of the United States the Constitution of the United States Constitution and the constitution of the state of New Jersey of the state of New Jersey that I will bear true faith and I will bear true faith and Allegiance and allegiance to the same to the same and to the governments and to the governments established in the United States established in the United States and this state and this state under the authority of the people under the authority of the people so help me God so help me God I say your name I Caitlyn Dam do solemnly swear do solemnly swear that I possess that I possess qualifications prescribed the qu the qualifications prescribed by law by law for the office for the office of member of member of a board of education of a board of education am not disqualified I am not disqualified as a voter of a voter pursuant to pursuant to RS RS 19 19 colon colon 4-1 4-1 I am not disqualified I am not disqualified due to a conviction due to a conviction of a crime of a crime or offense or offense listed in listed in njsa njsa 18a 18a col colon 12-1 12-1 and that I will faithfully and I will faithfully and partially and partially justly and justly perform all the duties perform all the duties of that office of that office according to the best of my abilities according to the best of my abilities so help me God so help me God I say your name I Caitlyn Dam you solemnly swear do solemnly swear that I have undergone that I have undergone criminal history a criminal history background investigation background investigation for the purpose of ensuring for the purpose of ensuring that I am not that I am not disqualified disqualified from membership from membership due to conviction due to conviction crimeal offense of a crime or offense listed in listed in njsa njsa E ETA Poland 12-1 12-1 results are still pending and the results are still pending congratulations I say your name hi Brian Schneider you solemnly swear you solemnly swear that I will support that I will support the Constitution of the United States Constitution of the United States and the constitution of the state and the constitution of the state of New Jersey of New Jersey that I will bear true faith I will bear true faith and Allegiance and allegiance to the same to the same and to the governments and to the governments established in the United States established in the United States and this state and this state under the authority of the people under the authority of the people so help me go so help me go I say your name I Brian Schneider you solemnly swear you solemnly swear that I possess the qualifications that I possess the qualifications prescribed by law prescribed by law for the office for the office of member of of member of Board of Education Board of Education am not disqualified not disqualified as a voter as a voter pursuant to pursuant to RS RS 19 19 colon 4-1 colon 4-1 I am not disqualified I am not disqualified due to conviction due to conviction of a crime of a crime or offense or offense listed in listed in njsa njsa 18a 18a fing Fen 12-1 12-1 that I will faithfully and I will faithfully impartially impartially and justly and justly perform all the duties perform all the duties of that office of that office according to the best of my ability according to the best of my ability so help me go so help me go I say your name I Brian Schneider you solemnly swear you solemnly swear that I have undergone that I have undergone criminal history Criminal history background investigation background investigation for the purpose of for the purpose of ensuring ensuring that I am not that I am not disqualified disqualified from membership from membership due to conviction of a crime due to conviction of a crime or offense or offense listed in listed in njsa njsa 18a 18a col 12-1 col 12-1 and the results are still pending and the results are still pending congratulations family feel free any family or friends want to take we can do it afterward don't be sh take your seats your seats less wires we don't want you to trip tonight congratulations congratulations congratulations congrat congratulations congatulations okay at this point we'd like to say roll call Mr Dalton present Mrs Dam present Mrs Gilman present Mr McCarthy presid Mrs McGovern here Mrs Paramus here Mr Schneider here m Rico Mr Weinstein here all right at this point uh the board is going to elect their President and Vice President according to our bylaws any board member May place a board member's name in nomination for board President and Vice President a second on the nomination is not required we will open the floor first to president and then second to Vice president once we close the first uh nomination we'll then vote on the president and then we'll do the vice president after that so this point I'd like to open the floor to nominations for president Mr mccarth i' like to nominate Denise Paramus I know we don't need a second but I'll second it anyway okay I'll second it too I'll double second um I'd like to nominate John for uh John McCarthy for vice president we're going to do president first president close president and I make a motion to close nominations for president oh I second okay seeing no other nominations this is a vote for president for Miss Paramus Mr Bon yes M Dam yes M Gilman yes M McCarthy yes M MC yes Mrs Paramus yes Mr Schneider yes M TCO Mr Weinstein yes motion carries congratulations congratulations before uh we move on to the nomination for vice president I just want to take a moment to thank you all for giving me your vote of confidence to be your uh new board president I I look forward to the challenge and I Really Work look forward to working with all of you so thank you very very much I also just want to take a moment to thank Mrs Gilman um for this past year um I know that being Schoolboard president is a lot of work and it can be very stressful at times but you handled yourself very well and I appreciate all of your efforts and I thank you very much thank you make me correct okay and with that we are going to move on to the nomination of the uh vice president um um I'd like to open up the floor for nomination I like to nominate John McCarthy I would second that okay are there I'm sorry are there any other nominations I'll make a motion to close nominations all right Mr Hast a second I'll second the motion no yeah no second needed this is for Mr mcarthy as vice president Mr Dalton yes M Dam yes Mrs Gilman yes Mr McCarthy yes Mrs McGovern yes Mrs parl yes Mr Schneider yes alarico Mr Weinstein yes motion car John conations very proud of you than you okay and with that we will go on to the public comment session regarding agenda items only the following are a series of reorganizational motions all motions have been posted on the district website and along with reference list and attachments at this point in the meeting we will now conduct the first of two public comment sessions the first session will be open for public comments on agenda items only and the second session will be at the end of the meeting and can be on any topic iic would anyone from the public like to comment on any agenda item at this time please make sure you send a chat to the meeting moderator to let them know that you wish to speak is there anyone in the room good evening I just want to wish the three new board members up here best of luck you guys are taking on a really important role I'm excited about it I've worked with this guy in Asbury Park I've worked with that guy in Asbury Park I work with his brother in Asbury Park and I've worked with that guy in Asbury Park you guys seriously you have a big role here I'm looking forward to you guys being on the board I'm looking forward to some really good success here and know that there's collaboration with us again I'm Mayor John napatan I didn't say that when I stepped up here at Old weathers Field Road I want to assure this board the superintendent and the business administrator that we're here to work with you guys and Madame President and Mr Vice President we look forward to a very good working relationship over this next year thank you thank you mayor Mrs Conway is there anyone in the you yes madame president um Allison Connelly would like to speak please go ahead can everybody hear me yep we can hear thank you Allison Connelly president Township of ocean Education Association I would actually just like to Second the comments Meed by uh mayor napatan I look forward to working with this board I congratulate the new president and vice president and I wish you all the best in this next year thank you Mrs Connelly we appreciate your comments okay um is there anyone else Mrs Conway no Madam president there are no more commenters all right then we will move on to board as a whole and I will be reading the uh following agenda items and I will do so quickly I promise um 4.1 I move to approve designating Jeffrey Hasting School will be administrator as qualified purchas purchasing agent as follows be be it resolved that the town TR ocean Board of Education pursuant to njsa 18 colon 18 a-3a designates Jeffrey Hastings School business administrator board secretary as the purchasing agent for the Board of Education and authorizes him to award contracts in full accordance with it with the law for purchases that do not exceed the in the aggregate in a contract year the total sum of $44,000 without public advertising for bids in absence or unavailability of the purchasing agent the board hereby authorizes Kelly Welden superintendent of schools to award contracts pursuant to njsa 8A colon 18 a-3a the Board of Education further resolves that all purchases made by the school district shall be done through the purchase order system pursuing to njsa 18 col a-a two a purchase order is a document issued by the purchasing agent authorizing a purchase transaction with a vendor to provide Goods or to perform Services the effective date of this resolution is from January 1st 2024 through December 31st 2024 4.2 I move to approve designating jet Jeffrey Hastings School business administrator as the public agency compliance officer as follows be it resolved that the township devotion Board of Education appoints Jeffrey Hastings School business administrator as the public agency compliance officer for the period January 1st 2024 to the next reorganization meeting 4.3 I move to approve the following resolution be it resolved that in compliance with the guidelines of the open public meetings act chapter 231 of the public laws 1 1975 the township of ocean Board of Education hereby gives annual notice than until the next reorganization meeting which will be held in the auditorium of the School District administration building and virtually at 7 pm on Tuesday January 7th 2025 or until further notice as G is given that section one the regular public monthly meetings of the board are to be held every month in the auditorium of the School District administration building and virtually at 8:00 pm as listed below the the public work meetings are to be held on The Following on following Tuesdays as listed and virtually at 7 p.m. executive close session will begin at 6:30 p.m. until approximately 7 p.m. section two the annual notice for Tan devotion education meetings will be published in the coaster and the azri Park Press and will be filed with the municipal clerk Township of ocean on the district website and the district calendar section the president of the board will announce and have placed in the minutes of each meeting a statement indicating that the notice requirement of the law has been satisfied stating the time place and manner in which the required notice was provided section four only emergency meetings as defined by law may be held without complying with the notice requirements of the law section five the tou devotion Board of Education will hold closed meetings only to discuss those matters which are specifically exempt from the law primarily th these closed portions of meetings will involve Personnel matters and material which would constitute an unwarranted invasion of an individual's privacy only the 12 types of material listed in the law will be discussed or acted upon in private section six before going into closed session the board will adopt a resolution indicating the specific nature and the subject to be discussed in the closed session the estimated duration of the session and if and when that discussion can be disclosed to the public section seven appropriate minutes will be kept of all meetings including the time and place for the meeting members present method of notice of the meeting and the subjects considered minutes will be available for public inspection except items which are specifically exempt from Disclosure by law section8 The public's participation in work and regular meetings is welcome and action may be taken and section nine this resolution shall take effect immediately the Board of Education 2024 calendar is listed below 4.4 I move to approve the following Banks be appointed as official depositories for school district funds for 2024 and that fund withdrawal authorization is to be granted by signature of those persons heret for elected appointed and or designated to the office of board president board vice president in the absence of the president School business administrator board secretary assistant school business administrator and our treasur of school monies as listed below 4.5 I move for the renewal and approval of all the official Board of Education bylaws and policies of the township of oan school district and as for the detailed policies currently found in the township of oan official policy manual which is on file and available for public review and inspection in The District administration building and on school district website www. oceanschools.org 4.6 I move that the Board of Education adopt Robert's Rules of Order as the official parliamentary procedure manual to conduct the Board of Education meetings for the 2024 year except where Modified by board bylaws and or policy and lastly 4.7 I move that the board of education does hereby designate the coaster Andor the asre Park Press as the official newspapers for Public Notices the district website which was mentioned before will also carry all Public Notices do I have a second second Mr Hastings questions comments SC items 4.1 to 4.7 Mr do yes M Dam yes Gilman yes and thank you for um adjusting the December calendar for next week yes Mr Marcy yes M McGovern yes Mr Schneider yes Alo Mr Weinstein yes M Paramus yes motions carried thank you public relations um Board of Education and administration will review and discuss the school ethics Act and the board Education Code of Ethics as annually required pursu to njsa 18a col 12-21 and um you should all have a copy of that at your seat and for those of you who are new um you must print your name on top there's a back page actually there are two so we have two copies for everybody one it's a two-sided copy the first side is the uh ethics standards uh as you can see letters a through J and the back side is for your signature so one copy is for you and one copy is to sign and return to my office thank you okay and um that was a discussion item so now we will ask the board if there is any old business Mr Weinstein um thank you Madame President um first I want to just say um uh um Irene nice job as president and I know there was a fair number of ups and downs but I think you came through it well so um so I'm I'm happy I was happy when you were my vice president and I was happy when you were the president so congratulations thank you for um I do want to congratulate our three board members for joining us uh uh obviously you know I was a big supporter of you guys and uh very happy you're here today and um I forgot how nice it was to see you until you walked into the door I Haven seen you in a couple of weeks so it was just great and I know great things are ahead for you okay and uh Denise um and John just uh great to have you guys as President and Vice President um Denise I've only been on the board for five years so I guess I have 16 more years before I can catch up to you so um but I do want to I I want to thank you for you know stepping in as president and John I really do want to thank you for being a vice president um I do want to just say just a couple of things um so you know the uh you know being being on this board there's been um these last couple of years uh have been not the it hasn't had the tone that I would have liked as being on the board okay and uh by the way I take some responsibility for that as well um so I think that the you know when I always when we think about our kids we think about our kids as having being able to read and write and all those kind of things and we also though really profess that we want to have kids being whole students and part of being a whole student is being a problem solver um knowing right from wrong knowing how to carry yourself and and how to be okay with uh winning or losing and and all those kind of things and I think that our board these last number of years was not really showing that to our kids and our teachers I think that you know I watched um I watched uh Remember the Titans the other day and uh it was a mo it was a scene where uh the two guys were talking to each other and you know the team's kind of falling apart and then one guy says you know leadership starts at the top right and that's how and that's how it goes and sometimes I can kind of forget that we're in a real leadership role here and people look to us to how to be civil how to air out grievances how to talk to each other and we really need to be that group okay um you all know that I've run a number of companies I've never had a board member ever tell me you know you guys are the best leg you you guys do litigation better than anybody right no company has ever become a great company because they're the best litigators right so you know for me I just want us to get back to a spot where we can first of all I don't majority minority is every individual vote taken right we all have we can all agree on some things and sometimes we won't agree on things and I don't want us to agree on everything I want us to have a variety of ideas and I want us to push back with each other but when I'm on the wrong end and you guys vote not for me I don't want to be a sore loser and when somebody else votes the wrong way I don't want you also to be Soul losers right I think we all learn from good conversation and good pushing back and it's important that we actually make sure that that's how we carry this board right let's be an example for the rest of the district on how to problem solve how to do it ethically how to do it wisely and how to do it with respect for each other okay that's what I'm going to ask and as Vice as vice president president I just want to make sure that you know that every time you step in to make that happen I'm right behind you okay so uh I just wanted to say it was been on my mind for for some for some time about you know I was thinking about kindness and how we act with each other and the respect you have for each other and if we don't have those kind of things at this board I don't know what we're doing here so that's my uh that's th those are kind of on my mind I just wanted to kind of share that with everybody thank you Mr Weinstein I really do appreciate I really do appreciate your comments thanks McGovern um I just want to Second some of the things uh Jeff said and thank um Madame President for stepping up I know this is a role that you cherish and love and I know um that Frank Paramus it's his favorite role that you hold here as well so I would like to thank Frank as well and your family for letting us have you in in the capacity that we do um Mr McCarthy I think that that we'll be thanking your family as well for for seeing the role that you're you just stepped into um I made some comments yesterday um in Atlantic Highlands my sister got sworn in as as mayor to say that when you run for public office and you guys learned you guys ran in a very um hard election for this town and you only step out there and put your foot out there because your heart's there and that's where you want to be and if we all lead with our hearts and we all lead with our you know our as Jeff said you don't always have to be we don't always have to agree but we always have to respect each other and and be able to feel comfortable enough to be able to make the comments that you want to make which I think has been lacking in the last couple years because we've been afraid to step up and and say some of things we wanted to stay um so please feel free to do that um I'm my phone is always available for the three of I mean for any of you sitting up here but for especially the three of you if you have a question or if you want to know something that's you know before after a meeting you just have a question on something or how do I read this or anything you can always ask me um and I know that everyone else here feels the same way but also if you feel like you can't um make a comment or you don't feel comfortable saying something you can always ask one of us to make it as well so um you know feel free to to lean on the rest of us um most of us have been here for quite a while at this point so we understand it and and we will be patient with you as you'll be patient with us and and everything will be hopefully back to the way that we've all been wanting it to get so um I look forward to a great year a great three years um or two actually only have left with you guys um but I look forward to a great time serving together um with all of you and with working with um mayor napoletani as he said I think that this town is in it is back into our big red world and back into a um stepping back into the place where we want ocean to be so thank you all thank you Mrs McGovern anyone else Mr McCarthy I just want to say a big thank you to Mrs Gilman I don't think that we would be in the position that we're in right now if it weren't for her action as a board president so I do appreciate that greatly um thank you John to our newly elected members congratulations um I am so so happy that you guys are sitting here right now uh when I was sworn in as an officer in the Marine Corps the officer swore me in uh and gave me my oath he said today is the last day that this will ever be about you again so today is the last meeting that we are here and it's about you for the rest of your time here it is about the students of this District uh I think that you all know that I think that's why you step up to the plate um but I do just want to reiterate that to the people of this town I hope that uh Dancing with the Stars and all the other awesome drama on TV is more exciting than what happens here this year I think that that is a responsibility of this board to see to it that that happens um and then I I had thought to say a lot of the things that Jeff said but the only thing I'll drive home again is that uh I believe in in 100% accountability we are responsible for all that this board does or fails to do uh so let's make sure that next year this board does everything that it can to put our students and this District first and to show everybody what it means to be a part of the big red family thank you Mr McCarthy anyone else okay and the last thing I'm gonna say in Old businesses congratulations um we are thrilled to have you here I look forward to working with each and every one of you um we will be meeting very soon to discuss many many things and I am here for you as well with whatever you need um you are all three of you are going to be a wonderful addition to this board I know it I feel it in my bones and I'm very excited about it um next week I will have an extended uh board president report where I'll go through a few things with the board but I will be reaching out to each and every one of you this week so we can set up our committees and get going and get off to a a running start so um thank you again and congratulations to the three of you thank you and with that is there any new business from the board no new business sside all right Miss Conway is there anyone in the queue that has any public comment at this time Madame President there are no commenters in the queue thank you and I forgot to ask is there anyone here that has any public comment okay being that there is none i' would like to make a motion to adjourn the meeting second meeting is adjourned see you next week thank