e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e to the New Jersey open public meetings acts njsa 10 4-10 adequate notice of this meeting has been provided by advertising such notice into the home News Tribune the Asbury Park Press the board office the schools and on cable vision channel 118 and Verizon files 24 and by filing such notice with the Township Clerk this meeting is scheduled for Tuesday May 24 2024 the board will take formal action on payment of bills and other agenda items thank you the Oldbridge Township Board of Education acknowledges that the law of this state establishes that members of the public including members of the board have the right to record public board meetings using audio or video recording devices provided that the act of recording does not interfere with the business of this public board meeting therefore the board makes it known that any such recording is to be considered the private recording of the individual and in no manner represents the official record of this board the board therefore takes no responsibility for such private recording and completely disavows any future use thank you Mr W roll call please Dan tuno present jodano here Jodi here Francisco here lent Marquetta here mazone here Slade here solowski here we have a quorum can everybody please rise for the pledge allegiance that way right after that way oh I pledge allegiance 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 everybody please remain standing please move the Board of Education acknowledge the death of Thomas to retired maintenance worker and anarie lockart retired no hour supervisor and expressed its deepest sympathy to their families and friends thank you cter ethics this is too loud yes the board member will hold confidential all matters pertaining to the schools which if disclosed would necess would necessarily needlessly Ure individuals or the schools in all the matters he she will provide accurate information and in concert with fellow board members interpret to the staff the aspirations of the community for its school thank you Mrs Slade District goals okay uh board goals approval of minutes D move can I get a second misson will second roll call please Dan tuno yes jarano yes JRE yes Francisco yes Lent Marquetta yes mazone yes Slade yes solowski yes resolution for approval M passes thank you report of the student representative to the board hello hi everyone yes I hope you all are having a great week last Friday was prom everyone showed up a beautiful attire and we had a lot of fun dancing and eating food and then just yesterday with scholarship night over 200 students were awarded scholarships which is the highest amount noage history this morning we had our award C ceremony where we recognized the top 15% of students as well as gave out some Club scholarships and then these past two weeks have been AP exam testings uh students have been working really hard and studying all year long for the exams and they really rocked it unfortunately this is my last meeting I'm really sad to go but I enjoy my time with you all even though it did get a little heated at times um the board has been so great to me and I was exatic to see you all at like different school events thank you for everything and I wish you all luck in your future inors thank you I don't know how we're going to replace you it's going be very difficult thank you for everything you did this year thank you okay now we're coming to the recognition for the retirees yes Nessie are you staying like am I go are you staying for the meeting oh yeah okay then I'll thank you at the end oh okay um we want to thank Steven chuster Annette anoli Tracy reerz Barbara Burke Josephine Christinia Laura pereria Barbara Mitchell and Karen lions for their dedication and hard work with Oldbridge a total of 107 Years thank you for your time thank you okay now we're coming to uh why we're here this evening one of the reasons this is teacher recognition our teacher of the year award I was nominated once but I never got it and I wish all of you a lot of luck okay so let's start this Mr sadena would you please uh go down below how do you want to start this at this point I will invite the co-chairs of the instructional Council to walk us through the process and I think they'll just kind of read something give a script and tell the board what to do yes we will thank you Mr citadino thank you board good evening everyone thank you for attending the O Township Public Schools teacher and Educational Service professional recognition program I'm anahita Keeler director of arts and culture this is Stacy sweter secondary mathematics coach we are the current co-chairs of the orridge instructional Council the instructional Council it is an advisory committee comprised of teachers one power professional administrators Ace and Central Administration members our purpose is to collaboratively review and address instructional processes procedures and District policies and make recommendations for improvements the instructional Council manages the teacher and ESP recognition program and on behalf of the entire instructional Council congratulations to everyone being recognized tonight we will meet Educators who lead with kindness and compassion in a world that sometimes emphasizes achievement over empathy these teachers stand as beacons of light guiding nurturing and inspiring the Next Generation when we think back to teachers who made a lasting impression in our own lives we know it wasn't just their Mastery of the subject matter it was their genuine care their willingness to listen their ability to tell a joke when we needed a laugh and their way to see potential even when we may not have seen it in ourselves the program tonight celebrates these Heroes the real MVPs of education and we are forever grateful for your kindness your care and inspiration this program would not be what it is today without the generous contributions from several acronyms Oba obaa obsa obdo SEPTA and PTA president's Council thank you all for contributing three years ago the instructional council with the support of the Oba and Central Administration opened up the teacher and educational support professional of the Year nomination process from faculty and staff to include parents Guardians and students this year we're really proud we received a total of 387 nominations from across the district highlighting and recognizing the dedication of Oldbridge teachers and staff the common view of a teacher is a person whose occupation is to deliver instruction in a school having read through the nominations I'd like to offer a more inclusive definition as the true picture of a teacher is so much more teachers are Perpetual experimenters content creators graphic designers event planners entertainers time optimizers enthusiasm spreaders specific feedback givers High expectation holders social and emotional barometers cheerleaders record Keepers psychologists innovators and ultimately Wizards magicians and superheroes they surmount the seemingly insurmountable by always finding ways to adapt and evolve with the rapidly changing landscape of our world to support the comprehensive definition please listen to a sampling of some statements from parents who submitted nominations my child is excited to go to school every day I am so beyond grateful for the difference this teacher has made made in my child's life the students become her family she is an absolute dream to have as a teacher my daughter has made great strides in her independence and confidence because of her teacher my son has flourished because of this teacher my daughter loves math because of her the teacher has been an inspiration to my son to read and be interested in reading the teacher gave them a great love for reading but truly built their confidence and gave them each a voice you can absolutely tell it's not just a job to her my son loves writing and has become a great writer he went from disliking writing to wanting to be a sports writer when he gets older I can't express how much she impacted Our Lives she has an unspeakable compassion for our children and her job the growth in my son's emotional social and academic learning in increased drastically throughout the year the teacher has gone over and Beyond his duties as a teacher and Coach I will forever be grateful that my son is taught by him seeing the Joy on my son's face when he talks about his day in her class is so heartwarming she makes the students feel so proud of themselves she has left a lasting impact on my son and planted a seed to help him continue to find ways to enjoy learning she is the reason they are great essay writers the improvements that our kindergarten daughter has made thus far are truly incredible my son tells me all the time how proud he is of himself because of all the things he is learning my daughter's my daughter's confidence skyrocketed thanks to the kind words her teacher is always speaking to her my son is the happiest he has ever been and now some statements from students who submitted nominations my teacher has captivated my interest for history and inspired me to want to pursue teaching history as my profession coach has been the most loving almost big sister that plenty of others and I have ever had my te my teacher always helps me believe in myself I look up to her as not only a teacher but a person and hope to be half of who she is when I grow up every single conversation I've had with my teacher has made me feel so much better about anything going on in my life coach has helped me with many difficulties and has really just been so helpful to me the teacher's patience creativity and attitude rubs off on me and I now know exactly who I want to be when I grow up anytime I'm having a bad day my teacher notices and makes sure to ask if everything is okay my teacher can make anyone's day better after just one conversation this teacher truly is amazing at her job not only as a teacher but as someone to rely on and finally my teacher sees me for who I truly am and never judges and one more I wonder if she ever sleeps these outcomes happen when Educators like our Oldbridge staff have hearts so big that they soar Beyond learning standards beyond the class time and Beyond the traditional definition of a teacher to have a profound and immeasurable impact on the lives of children we are in the business of enhancing The Human Experience and our sector has no quota no C ing many after and before school hours are spent doing the Myriad of other jobs that result in the best possible experience for students when they are in the classroom the 20 individuals we celebrate this year embody the boundless dedication to the orridge Ohana that lifts their students colleagues and the orridge community they have provided an educational experience that motivates encourages and bolsters maximum student achievement we would like to thank the Educators we honor here tonight for inspiring the children of Oldbridge and for your incessant dedication to your students and the Oldbridge Community tonight's recognition will include a PowerPoint spotlighting the the 2024 teachers of the year and the four educational support professional recipients while we Stacy and I share some highlights about each recipient we ask that all honores please make your way to the center when we call your name to be C ated will our Administration and Board of Education members on stage please join us in the audience thank you thank you ladies very well put e e and now to our recipients from M Scott Carpenter Elementary School Miss Christy Richardson Miss Richardson creates a third grade class that feels more like a family where positivity and connection are emphasized not only does she take the time to play fun and engaging lessons like glow day bubble day and bat day she's always willing to lend a hand to colleagues from Leroy Gordon Cooper Elementary School Patricia Conley Miss Conley's Miss Conley's passion for education is evident through her tireless efforts to create a positive and inclusive learning environment she has an Innovative approach to teaching as she is always on the lookout for new strategies she ensures that her stru instructional methods are not only effective but also tailored to meet the unique needs of each student should I just John Glenn preschool Lori [Music] Franklin Miss Franklin is a tremendous asset to the preschool her love and dedication to the students has created a safe and fun learning environment which has resulted in preschool students who are excited to learn and who love coming to school [Applause] from Virgil I Grom Elementary School Christine Doyle Miss Doyle always goes the extra mile to help her students her patience kind heart and compassion transform her class into a nurturing envir environment her teaching style keeps students interested in learning from Madison Park Elementary School Don Larson Miss Larsson helps her students reach more success understand themselves better and make well-thought decisions leading to better choices to propel them to Greater Heights in life she cultivates self-esteem self-confidence and self-worth in her [Applause] students from James a MCD divid Elementary School Veronica O'Brien Miss O'Brien pays attention to small details about students lives and genuinely cares for them she shares her smile and appreciative Outlook with her students daily and keeps open and honest communication with families from Memorial Elementary School Karen diamond Miss Diamond is a remark remarkable individual who maintains great relationships with students colleagues administrators parents and the community she has an exceptional work ethic is deeply compassionate and caring and has a calming presence that helps alleviate the students fears and anxieties [Applause] from William a Miller Elementary School Kelsey dunigan Miss dunigan seems to effortlessly individualize each student's experience while ALS teaching in a group setting it is clear that she loves what she does it can be seen in her positive demeanor caring nature and the attention she shows each student in their education and personal life from Walter M sharat Elementary School Natalie Getta [Applause] Miss galletta truly cares for her students and instills a love of learning in all she spends a lot of time inside and outside of the classroom planning so that each student has an individualized plan to help them [Applause] succeed from Alan B Shepard Elementary School Stephanie [Applause] [Laughter] [Applause] M Amo treats her students with kindness respect and empathy she makes her students feel comfortable and safe she is treasured by colleagues and parents alike as someone who happily shares knowledge ideas and insight [Applause] from Vorhees Elementary School Kristen Striker what about Alysa I'm sorry my apologies sorry I wanted to make sure you were paying attention good job well done see that's why we need teachers in the room from Southwood Elementary School Alyssa altimore Miss altimore ability to differentiate assignments and challenge students at their appropriate level is truly commendable she continuously finds ways to engage and motivate them to reach their full potential her creativity and enthusiasm shine through in her lessons making learning a joy [Applause] experience from Vorhees Elementary School Kristen Striker Miss Striker is overflowing with love patience and a tireless work ethic advocating for her students success she communicates with parents in a way that makes you feel like you are family her classroom is inviting clean neat and sensory friendly sorry from Jonas Suk Middle School Robert benetti Mr benetti organizes schoolwide events that contribute to the culture and climate of our school the whole student body has better relationships with each other as well as their teachers as a result of Mr benetti's creativity and [Applause] inspiration from Carl Samberg Middle School Jenna diorio Miss Miss diorio is a natural teacher highly educated in her craft she is flexible caring compassionate and has shown her Dynamic aame this school year her exceptional way of interacting with students with patience and encouragement helps them grow to become more are independent and confident congratulations from the Ellen mcdermit grade n Center F BR Schmitz Miss schmidtz not only organizes and implements the EXP expansive German exchange program each year she has a classroom that is a breath of fresh air she keeps a close eye on how all students are feeling and her classroom is somewhere that students can feel safe understood and appreciation appreciated all while understanding the [Applause] material from Oldbridge High School Andrew borello a Mr borello has elevated the Oldbridge High School woodworking program to get Beyond The Birdhouse and make the program relevant in today's job markets he created a wood four course for seniors which is student a student-based Enterprise where students design create and sell items directly to the community all of the money that is raised by the students goes directly to senior scholarships congratulations one of the two Elementary education Services professional jacn Divens Miss stens understands and meets students needs daily she has established relationships with all of the students and they never hesitate to turn to her for support she embodies the traits of respect caring and professionalism and exceeds the expectations of her role congratulations congratulations and our next Elementary Educational Services professional Chen Reyes M Reyes is an extremely helpful and positive person who is always willing to lend a hand she knows the true meaning behind being a team player she has contributed in a variety of different settings and to say she goes above and beyond is an understatement congratulations [Applause] our secondary Educational Services professional Karen [Applause] Brown thank you Miss Brown has helped students make tremendous strides in both academic and social situations she has a huge heart a willingness to identify and accommodate individual differences in student and she values their willingness to learn [Applause] congratulations and our district Educational Services profession Prof Glenn craft Mr craft is an exceptional Craftsman he enhances situations for faculty students Administration and custodial staff he is kind friendly and always has a smile to share while making everyone's lives easier [Applause] congratulations we would like to thank Steve gusi Susan Walsh and the students in the TV production program for facilitating this presentation thank you thank you to Adrien Klein and the photography students we thank you as well and we also want to thank each of the building administrators for their support throughout the teacher of the year process at this time we would like to take one last opportunity to recognize the Oldbridge Township Public School teachers and educational support Professionals of the year I don't think I need to say that why don't you just just say as Sylvie goam once said no one person can change the world but one and one and one add up thank you all for making our world better recipients you may now join your families in celebrating thank you for okay would any board members like to say anything to the teachers that were nominated teacher of the year and they did win their big prize people minut I mean they're leaving already okay Miss Mazon would like to say something please can we have your attention please go [Applause] [Applause] ahead can I please have your attention can you quiet down Christina go ahead the influence of teachers extends beyond the classroom well into the future it is they who shape and enrich the minds of the young who touch their hearts and soul it is they who shape a Na's future f SEL Jose first and foremost I would like to congratulate each and every one of these teachers for receiving this honor they say a good teacher can Inspire hope ignite imagination and instill the love of learning for many of our students here in the district across the country and even around the world teachers are a comfort when things are hectic especially in the world we're living in today to many teachers are not only teachers but second parents friends and an ear to listen so from the bottom of my heart thank you all for helping to shape the future as a parent with young children in the district I am grateful to be able to experience some of old Bridge's best including one of gom's own Mrs Christine Doyle Mrs Doyle is receiving this award uh for the F third time throughout her 27 years working for the Oldbridge School District she won in 2002 to 2003 2012 to 2013 and this current year both of my girls had the honor of having Mrs Doyle and I can only hope that my third will as well she has not only taught our children but has mentored them and drove them way past any expectations set for first graders she is a member of the scip which is the school Improvement panel which plays a crucial role in teacher mentoring and professional development within our schools she's a dedicated PTA member and event attendee and a cooperating teacher for the student teachers she has mentored long-term substitutes and newly hired teachers helped organize schoolwide kindness week activities for students and staff attended summer Institute and delivers Thanksgiving baskets to school Community I cannot emphasize enough how amazing of a teacher and human being this lady is she caters to each student needs individually and goes out of her way both in school and after to make sure each kid's needs needs are always met she is a crucial part part of the Grom family she has stepped up to the plate when needed most and even when it's not needed she's always there to lend a a hand it is with great honor and privilege to be able to stand up here tonight while you receive this award congratulations Mrs Doyle you deserve it thank you very well put again anybody else would like to say anything go ahead I just want to congratulate um all of the winners but also all of the nominees uh we have a great district and what makes our district great is our staff so thank you and congratulations to all I would also like to congratulate all the teachers that received the award keep it up do the same thing next year I'd like to congratulate all the teachers and esps esps who received the award you put the proud and Oldbridge proud thank you yes I'd like to Echo the words I'd like congratulate all the teachers that were nominated and selected you guys do a great job you motivate my daughters to come to school kind of every day or every other day thanks again and me yep I also like to congratulate all the teachers that won teacher of the year and especially to Mr borello who was uh the lacrosse coach while I was in high school so a special congratulations to him thank [Applause] you I would like to also congratulate all of the teachers of the year and the education support Professionals of the Year all of those who were nominated and having have been a teacher and been in your shoes I truly truly get the passion the work that goes into what you do every day and we are so appreciative and congratulations [Applause] okay thank you wall uh roll call please miss a motion oh can I get a motion to move uh recognition missa motion second Francisco will second roll call please just prior to roll call I just want to make for the note uh administrative correction to add Karen Lion on in the minutes as Jen um Miss duno had included in recognition so we're going to add Karen L as line H and revise Barbara Mitchell's tenure to from 9 years to 10 congratulations to all thank you Mr wiell roll call please slay yes Dan tuno yes jir Dano yes JRE absolutely and proudly yes Francisco yes lent Marquetta yes maone yes solowski yes resolutions one through three for recognition passes [Applause] congratulations okay do we have a superintendent's report thank you Mr President yes well first I I do want to congratulate all our recipients remember the first time I stepped into this Auditorium many years ago for this event and I've always said this is like our Oscars um we get to recognize as a community the best that we have and our two Champions within the community that don't get get recognized enough and since that time and I really want to give a a real amount of credit to the instructional Council we have continued to reinvent it and shape this event into something truly special uh at first it was just uh it was kind of like organized by the state and you had to follow the state guidelines and they didn't allow you to recognize the um support professionals that we we were able to tonight they didn't allow you to recognize someone like Mr craft who um works out in the district doing a lot of the construction work and carpentry work that make our schools operate they didn't allow you to congratulate and support our power professionals who are there in the classrooms every day with us so it has really evolved to truly and I always say this is like a only and Oldbridge type of thing and this is a great only and Oldbridge type of thing and it's truly supported by our community and tonight I think this the best one I've ever seen since we've been doing this uh it was seamless it was well organized um there were no technical errors with it which we've had in the past it was really a great job and everyone from the instructional Council um who was responsible for this great job press toward goals any well I wasn't finished with my first part yet oh you didn't finish go no I just took a pause I took a pause um I want to congratulate last night we had 204 seniors from Oldbridge High School received nearly $200,000 worth of scholarships um from in and out of the community from our wonderful ptas from businesses and it was a really TR truly special night we also had a student named Danny Kim accept his appointment to the West Point Academy here on stage last night and that is something truly special if any of you know give the amount of not only academic support academic growth you have to show to be accepted into the any of the militarys is tremendous but then you have to really exemplify true citizenship and get the support of a senator um to sign off on that so it really is a tremendous and we've we've had probably five in the past four years so it really speaks to how as a district as a community we're supporting our our students and then having them serve our nation um in the highest form you could so congratulations to Danny Kim and I also want to recognize um a student who we I've been recognizer her since she was in the fifth grade at Memorial School uh cavia vka venka joh I and she's an amazing student um she received the ray Croc youth Achievement Award in name of Ray Croc the founder of McDonald's and exemplifies her leadership and future uh as a leader um and I I know she's going to do great things and she continues to great things to bring attention to our our school district and um the the the amazing students that we put out and who go on and become great members of her Society um last night we also inducted two members uh from our past students our alumni into the wall of fame a great job by the wall of fame committee and selecting Air Force Major General Anthony giant Tempo [Applause] and NASA engineer Christina Gonzalez and again Christina is as far as I know is the second active rocket scientist at Nasa that has come through our doors here at Oldbridge high school and come up through our schools so for those who criticize the students that we put out there I think those are some great examples of you know the the students that we have and I know um cave is going to upen and we have some tremendous students who are really being leaders um out out there whether at NASA or in the military so great job by all of them now Mr President um I'd like to call attention to our um our next need and you know we we talked in the past about having different ways of getting Revenue as we know this is our seventh year as an S2 district and one of the goals goal was always to um find ways to bring Revenue so our our students our teachers didn't always have to rely upon the board for every of their their dreams to fulfill in the in the classroom so after a prolonged Hiatus we were able to bring back the orridge Education Foundation and from my understanding tonight they'll be giving out nearly um I want to say I don't want to n almost $9,000 $10,000 worth of Grants to our teachers here tonight and we're doing this here tonight because many of our staff is here already um so I'm going to turn this over to the Ed foundation and they're going to while the teachers many of them here tonight provide them with their um their Grant and then I'll end on the when they're finished I'll have one more note under progress towards goals thank you Mr Cino thank you Mr cadino these are the names uh just I'm glad to add to the fun to giving away and adding to the excitement and the celebration of the evening um before I give we start giving away some cash I just want to talk about the orridge Education Foundation as Mr C mentioned this has been around since the '90s and it kind of went in Hiatus and last year we brought it back um it was pretty exciting it was pretty much spearheaded by Kim Kim pretty much we have about 15 volunteers on the Ed on the foundation but I think Kim wears about 16 of the 15 hats so she does a great job with that um so congrat J our job basically is to raise funds to give back to the teachers because obviously as Mrs C said it's a hot spot you know the allowances that you got guys have the budgets that you have it could barely get you through a week work of work work worth of work um so we come up with functions the 15 volunteers the volunteers on the foundation we come up with different ideas we had two successful Casino nights we had a successful flea market last year uh and we have another plug this June 15th we have another Flea Market at the grade n Center so if you guys who want to empty out your garages and bring give a rabbit table and one man's junk is another man's treasure um June 15th so we raised big money last year we gave out $5,000 in grant money this year we almost doubled it we're giving out $10,000 grant money um we had 24 applications because the teachers have to apply for these grants we review it and decide who gets it uh we're giving out 11 grants today three of the requests are being covered by the administration as well so the combination of the two we're giving back to the teachers I want to thank the administration for covering that as well am I missing anything no start giving okay okay so let's start giving out some cash okay the first grant goes out to Mike Kinsey from the Oldbridge high school and they had they had to announce their projects his project is milligram balances we're giving out $876,000 so Mr Kinsey is not here okay the second Grant is going out to Tim O'Neal from the oage high school his project was a camera a camera lens for $789 195 Tim O'Neal the camera we got him last year and we gave him a camera last year thanks Tim thank you buddy thank you Tim Tim take a picture the next Grant is going to Karen Langan of jonasa Middle School her project was food items for experiments we're giving her $400 Karen is here yes there's a lot of Karen come I'm not I I don't mean that okay yes yes you're all taking it one you get $10 each wow thank Karen get in get in G to get it in thank you thank you thank you thank you the next Grant goes to Colleen Kenny and Adrian Fernandez from Grom School their project is calming kits we're we're giving them $700 thank you so congrat thank you no thank you that was great thank you you're welcome the next Grant is going to Amanda Godfrey from orridge high school and her project was GE geometry kits [Applause] $953 I think it's her second Grant right no first the second okay go you're welcome thank you oh okay take a take a picture picture picturei what Puchi okay the next Grant goes to Ann Puchi from Southwood prek her project was sensory equipment [Applause] $920 congratulations you're welcome the next Grand goes to Kristen sentano from the Oldbridge high school and her project was palms dance team for the dance team and she's getting $980 hey you're very [Music] welcome the next Grant goes to Danielle Toth from Oldbridge high school and the grade n Center her project was games and she's getting $500 yes great guys use it well you oh this a biggie the next gr goes to Justine Heria Elementary art her project was adoptive art supplies and flexible seating [Applause] $1,000 you're very welcome yes the next Grant goes to harprit moli from the Oldbridge High School the French her project was puppet stations for [Music] $500 this is one of yes yes we like this one the most yes yes they're all good yes good luck you're welcome you're welcome yeah and the last grand goes to Janice ly Elementary music her project was new ukuleles $999 [Applause] you're very welcome very good thank you all right guys thank you thank you very much congratulations and remember the more you give us the more we can give back to the teachers so thank you very much thank you very well done okay Mr sardino prog ress toward goals so in just in continuation of progress towards goals um if we read the whole child goal continue initiatives to address the student physical social emotional and mental health needs and instill practices that ER eradicate bias and discrimination from a learning community I just want to you know remind the community of that remind the board of that um that is a goal that is set by the board not by the administration um and we do our best to to meet those needs I want to say that in the past few weeks I was at the Carl Samberg mental health fair and the one today at the high school the goal of these fairs is not to push Mental Health on anyone um but it's really to you know kind of like the elm bom family has have been asking us to do as a community since the loss of their son was to eradicate the the stigma against mental health that exists so that anyone who feels they need the support for it can reach out and get it um and one of our goals as as a district based upon this is you know and we've said it before I'll say it again is to bring the needs for mental health to our students and their families so one it saves them money they don't have to go outside of the school to get it it allows for um us to meet the students where they are meet their needs where they are um so that just like anything else if student needs occupational therapy or physical physical therapy as part of their um disability we provide that here in the district uh if a child needs speech we provide that here in the district even though they might be able the student might be able to have the ability to function highly as a student without speech but to make the child whole to which is really our goal we provide those supports here mental health shouldn't be seen as something outside of that you know I always say the mind the brain is the most important organ in the body and not every student needs mental health supports but for the ones that do and for our staff members that do it's important that as a community we support that um we break down those walls those barriers the stigmas against mental health and we provide the supports for those who need it again it's not an indoctrination it's not forcing an any1 it's providing us a support mechanism a safety so that we don't suffer any tragedies in the future when we can prevent them thank [Applause] you thank you Mr sardino correspondence any correspondence Mr wedell no correspondence to note thank you any spe special committee reports yes oh okay okay on April 30th we held a special service Services committee meeting and viewed presentations by Miss Adin Ali Miss Dy and Dr Tui and they presented on several topics the first topic was transition planning and special education and secondary goals and they they talked about why why it's important for our students who are graduating high school transition planning activities were discussed and included career awareness and exploration and preparation and training they discussed the different tracks for transition and planning in grades 9 to 12 orridge High School partners with loc with several local businesses to provide our students with structured learning opportunities through job coaching transition planning helps our students to gain necessary skills for Life employment and continuous learning these presentations covered necessary school-based skills such as basic living skills School skills and Vocational skills we also discuss Middle School goal setting including monthly goal setting meetings at which goals are set for 6 to 8 we periods and are based on Baseline data collected from school district to assessments and other classroom based measurements the second presentation was introducing the topic of vertical articulation from prek to 8th grade vertical articulation between grade levels ensures that students receive consistent and seamless Support Services as they progress through their educational journey and promotes collaboration continuity and effective communication between Ed Educators which ultimately enhances students educational experiences and outcomes for students with diverse learning needs special education teachers will have inservice professional development on June 4th to discuss IEPs and behavioral supports and classroom management as well as student centered instruction and a review of department policies and procedure procedures the third presentation was an elementary update on the Second Step social skills program and the expansion of the program to include social skills groups facilitated by social workers and guidance counselors plans for the 2425 school year were presented and last but not least Dr Tui spoke of results from the meeting with the steering committee and the proposed policy changes to policies 5561 and 5612 he reviewed steps for informing parents and staff regarding significant student behaviors and also staff materials and forms and I'm sure you think I'm done but I'm not so on May 16th the special education PTA SEPTA meeting held uh held a meeting um mark and it marked the culmination of a school year filled with achievements during the meeting SEPTA presented an inspiring year inter review video showcasing the highlights of their numerous contributions throughout the school year notable accomplishments included partnering with staples and the Oba to supply teachers with essential classroom materials hosting the Fall Festival creating the SEPTA Hub a value a valuable information portal additionally SEPTA completed the Boy Scout communication board initiative in local parks organized informational Cent sessions on transition planning sponsored the obf casino night and hosted a teacher appreciation lunch at Glenn School among many other projects aimed at benefiting the schools and the broader Community the final meeting of the school year was both was both celebratory and poignant as it marked the end of Diane Michaels tenure as SEPTA president every initiative and event that I listed above was a accomplished under Miss Michael's dedicated leadership her tireless efforts and unwavering commitment have left a lasting impact and she will be deeply missed as the board Lea on to SEPTA the board extends our heartfelt thanks to Miss Michael for her incredible contributions over the past five years congratulations to Kim ventola the new president of SEPTA as an as an exceptional vice president Kim has already shown her dedication and capability and we look forward to her continued leadership in the words emblazoned on the t-shirts from seeta's recent fund rating fundraising event I am a Difference Maker that perfectly encapsulates Miss Michael's influence and legac and Legacy so thank you Miss Michael the next meeting will be in August um before the new school year and the date will be announced and now I'm done thank you m dby anyone else yes um the curriculum committee met on May 8th and we had a presentation by our instructional coaches in the district they shared how they help support new teachers and even teachers who have been in the classroom for quite a few few years uh it is evident that they have a strong connection with our staff and that our staff greatly appreciates their Innovations and their creativity um they help them breathe life into their lessons in the classroom just kind of give them that little Edge and um it was great to learn about especially as a new board member and for everybody else who attended the meeting so thank you to the instructional coaches for that presentation and for um Dr Tui for putting that together for us thank you Miss franccesco anyone else yes um I keep moving this table jeez sorry um with less than 20 days left of school many of the Committees are canceling their May and June meeting dates due to the busy District calendar and respecting The public's time with their families to celebrate the student accomplishments such as the Food Service the curriculum and the car and Di in lie of upcoming dates I'm giving uh the accomplishment of what's what's been accomplished in each Committee in the 23 24 school year for the care committee we took direction from the public at the strategic planning meeting and discussed some aspects of the district we website and worked with Administration to bring some frequently looked at items to the main page next we looked on multiple calendars of the district which led to review of the website providing company we maintained our current vendor to achieve a much-desired multi-level school calendar which is coming in July our next goal was to try and sit at the table with some Town Council Members to try and work together for our next project it was decided that this was better done by more than just the committee and our ba issued an invitation to the town table to the town ba and Council who want to know what the agenda is we didn't have an agenda of conversation other than Oldbridge and how we can come together once the state aid numbers came out we mentioned coming together to Advocate to try for a change in Formula we have not received a response from the Town Council in September and October we will pick a new focus and work from there the Dei committee we started the year discussing the school being an inclusive environment for our students and families this resulted in a committee approved climate survey for students Guardians and staff a follow-up survey will go out in the August September with the parent portal access well next we discuss rais concerns in the school and HIV numbers including the demographics of both victims and offenders this led to presentations of the district's response for the Hib offenders in September and October we'll go over the results of the climate survey in food service we brought to the surface the sideline talks and concerns of the community of of food quality sorry concerns of the community of the community of food quality we sat at the table with our vendor arar to share concerns including a food quality survey to the community aark brought to the table the district coordinator and we continue to have conversations where aark has made adjustments to staff staff members training and meetings resulting in improved Food Service experience for our students in the fall we'll get a status update on how the food service is in curriculum this year we went back to basics with curriculum 101 and learned the all the different programs that Oldbridge has to offer the different academic path that our students can take when we wanted to learn more about the different music opportunities the students have available we explored the music schedule in the middle school with Administration in the fall we'll get an update on the curriculum work that was done over the summer for the technology Committee in our inaugural meeting was a presentation of where the district is with technology Hardware our student that our students have access to the software you we use and the Privacy protection that the district uses we postpone further discuss discussion until after the school budget is decided thank you m Deano anyone else something um as a reminder we are having our finance committee tomorrow to discuss the budget as Miss antono mentioned um last meeting I mentioned a bill I brought up the correct number is 5279 there's a copy and a QR code over there for anyone that wants it on their phone and um a bunch of Staff of the legislators responded when I asked them about it so it's a good sign but they got to get moving so keep your emails coming about any questions information suggestions it'll be appreciated thank you thank you Mr judan anyone else just for clarification the committee the whole meeting tomorrow will be executive session we'll be discussing the budget but it was duly advertised but again will not will be closed to the public yes thank you thank you hearing of residents hold on yeah okay I have a couple of board member comments first before we start the hearing of residents okay first um as members of the Board of Education we are elected by the residents of Oldbridge the tax players and the parents of children who attend our schools as a result of the most recent budget crisis and considering we have a meeting on this tomorrow I do not feel comfortable voting on anything that has to do with the budget tonight I cannot sit here and approve or disapprove anything I do not know what I am exactly working with at the end of the day we owe it to the public to be as transparent as possible when it comes to spending their money and what is it's being spent on so with that I will be abstaining on voting from all Aline items that involve the budget tonight thank you anyone else yes I would like to say something as well um I think that a lot of you who listen to the meeting last week and have really been paying attention know that um we've been asking a lot of questions I I I'm going to speak for myself only um as I've been going through the agenda at least for the meeting last week and this week um I reached out to several members of our admin team to ask questions to gain clarification I sat down with Dr hoker with Mr widell with Dr kandria um and several other members of our administrative team and I want for everybody to know that we are working hard to truly be um the best board members we can be and in making sure we gain as much understanding before we make any decisions for this District um and being a board member being a parent being a taxpayer being a previous educator um I'm fully aware of what goes into the day-to-day and operations of school and I believe that each of our staff members plays a vital role in our school school Community I don't feel that any one job is more important than another um I'll always go back to the reason though why we exist and that's to educate our children so I just want everyone to know that in our discussions whatever comes up um that I'm not diminishing any particular position or saying that we don't need it to run efficiently simply saying that until we go through it all which will continue tomorrow night um like Mr White said in closed session I to am just really uneasy about approving anything that has a financial attachment to it tonight so I just think it's counterproductive if you hear me abstaining please don't mistake that for a lack of support or believing that we need something just that I want to take a step back and make sure we have all of our facts so I just wanted you to know that before you hear me abstain to certain items on the agenda thank you thank you Miss Francisco I have a question are we voting on the budget tonight no no that's what I'm confused I'm not referring to the actual budget there are line items that we have to approve of stiens and and stuff like that and that considering the budget crisis I don't feel comfortable with approving okay I just think we were voting so um but I'd like to jump in as well since we're making comments um we've been getting a lot of emails and concerns um mostly of a support of the programs in the school system I know maybe I'm not supposed to let the cat out of the bed but I will support whatever it takes to keep the the school district functional unfortunately we get confused about taxes and money and support and and we point fingers we try to find the cause in my opinion we're dealt a hand that we have to play um it's unfortunate we are the victims of the formula from from the state and I know some people even mock the fact that it's $25 a month or $30 a month or Chipotle or Duncan whatever it might be but I couldn't in my right mind especially when I got two kids in the system who are looking forward to what they've heard about I'll be damned if I'm going to stop why I live in Oldbridge and why I have my kids going Oldbridge so one more thing and again I might be naive to think that it's a no-brainer but I would think it's a no-brainer for board members who either have children in the school had children go through the school we walk around and high- five each other about the low taxes that we paid I'm living out here 20 years and when my friends in marro and cnck and Howell and they tell me what they're paying I kind of have to like hide how much I pay in Oldbridge it's it's so the fact that I could divvy up my share and contribute to the district that I brag about I got on the board and I even learned how much better the district was 100% I will support paying whatever it takes to keep this uh District robust thank you thank you anyone else Marge go ahead I agree with Mr slayt I just want to say there's no better investment for my money than in the students of Oldbridge okay anyone else okay I see no hand hearing of residents on agenda items only got oh good evening um I'm not I'm Kelly Alis Foster I'm a resident of Oldbridge um I'm here tonight to speak on items 9 and 10 under finance and actually to address some comments that were were made at last week's meeting that I found personally very concerning um this is in reference to two grants um that would bring crucial mental health support to some of our most vulnerable students with the consent of parents and Guardians and these grants uh start the lowest starts at a range of 400,000 uh and up to 3 million which is at a time when the district needs to find alternate fundings um as much as possible as a board in a district it is your responsibility to address any student issue that hinders their ability to fully participate in academic life it's imperative recognize that students Thrive academically they must have be in an appropriate mental state uh I pulled I I was away uh for business and I had the meeting on in the background so when I came home I pulled the transcript and listened to make sure I didn't misquote anybody but uh at last week's meeting M madzone stated my only issue with this and again I'm a huge supporter of mental health especially in kids I just don't see where the line is drawn and Mrs Francesco stated I'm just also worried about the very fine line I feel like we're walking that right now there's no random line when it comes to supporting the mental well-being of students I only have five minutes uh mental health issues like depression and anxiety affect the student's capacity to learn overlooking these issues or restricting support is contrary to the very core mission of educating students you cannot claim to strongly support mental health then Place arbitrary limits on what is considered an appropriate level of mental health support mental health disease does not work on a sliding scale of appropriateness it requires comprehensive support uh I was going to bring up the whole child but I'm going to say it again just because it's so critical and that this board agreed upon the initiative aims to address the physical social emotional and mental health needs of students while instilling practices that eradicate bias and discrimination from our Learning Community a a child experience a mental health crisis should not have to navigate The Gauntlet of personal opinions before they get the care they need depression and anxiety do not discriminate these are vicious diseases that attack our children and it doesn't matter how supportive or loving their parents are it doesn't matter their income level it does not care care about the sexual identity or orientation of the child their skin color religious beliefs or age it stifles our children 's ability to live and learn to their fullest potential students today do not live in the same Society or face the same challenges as 50 years ago or even 5 years ago you cannot provide services based on an Ideal Society you want to live in but the reality of the world today your responsibility is to meet the current needs of our students so I would like to maybe understand more of what your definition of this fine line is is a child riddled with anxiety so severe they can't make it to School something you deem appropriate is a child who is so depressed they turn to addiction or self harm deserving of support does it matter the root cause of their depression do you want a diagnosis before you deem it appropriate to help them I need to understand or would like to understand what is this fine line so I urge the board to support all children who need melter health services without hesitation or reservation a child suffering from a mental health issue is a child's suffering full will stop there's no room for debate or discrimination in this matter so I urge you all to support it thank [Applause] you anyone else okay no one okay any board members like to make any comments do you want me to go yes okay um so yes I would like to um to reply to that so as I had said just before um I actually had the opportunity to sit down with Dr hooker and with Dr kandria Who went through and answered and I'm sorry and it was also Mr Dolan had um sat in our in our meeting as well and miss maone and what we were doing is something that I would have imagined the majority of the community and and maybe some do would appreciate that we are genuinely combing through agendas item by item and truly trying to understand what we have in front of us when we get an agenda it's what you see as well we don't get um any extra explanations on on what's here so for me to sit here and say yes or no to anything I want to make sure it's the best decision so I would hope that the community would appreciate that we're asking these questions and I always said that I ran on transparency so I'm doing it in public I could behind closed doors ask these questions and get my answers and no one knows I'm asking them and no one knows what the answers are and I'm genuine in that so I'm asking them here so that you can all know and understand I sat down with them and while I said yes I am a firm supporter of mental health in our schools I wanted to make sure I understood what those grants covered what what are they bringing into the district how long are they bringing those either positions people or materials into the district for will they be pulled out from under us in a year and we're in a budget crisis and then all of a sudden we're scrambling trying to put them back in place and Dr kandria was kind enough to go through some anecdotal records on what exactly is taking place in our schools right and sometimes we all need to hear it even though it's really hard to hear and I was appreciative of that and I feel like I'm glad that I can speak freely and that Miss Alice Foster can get up and speak freely too but if you would have just given us for tonight to understand that that's something that I am I'm agreeing with and voting for so I just want everyone to know that I'm I'm asking the questions and I hope that you can applaud that just the same thank you okay anyone else yes I do go ahead um like Elena said uh we we were able to sit down with Dr candria and Dr hker and they presented us with a whole presentation on the mental health of the children in our school um my question last week regarding the grants was merily just to be transparent with the public um as I stated in a previous meeting I'm a 10-year recovering addict so trust me when I say I know what mental health is and I know how important it is to people to children to everybody I do not exclude anyone from mental health I understand that there's different types of mental health in all age groups um especially after coming out of a pandemic so when I asked the question last week what this entails I wanted to know just we're applying for these grants and yes it's a lot of money but understand that when we apply for these grants that that money cannot just be used for just anything that we like it has to be used for for specific things so if you're talking about being able to bring doctors into the school to treat kids for for certain things without a parents consent I'm sorry no I don't agree with that I am my parents I am my child's parent and I should be able to know what going on with my children and my child's life um but if you're going to sit here and you're going to tell me that my child has anxiety walking into the school yes maybe my child does need to see somebody maybe maybe these Services would be great so again my question merily last week was this to be transparent with everyone so everyone understood what these grants that we are applying for apply to in the schools of our kids thank you thank you Mr President I just want to clarify too my earlier comments about mental health had and any resistance to it had nothing to do with our two board members um I actually applaud that when you ask a question and my team can provide an answer and get educated that's wonderful it really had to do with another elected body in the district who said we're indoctrinating students by giving them mental health supports in school and made the ridiculous comment that our students are most of our students in the high school are leaving on uh Beyond below grade level and it's just you know it does no good no service to this community to belittle our students to put them down to go for the lwh hanging fruit of attacking children and our graduates here and I think anybody who's been on this day tonight and seen our students last night and the achievements they've had you know could really see that that's not an accurate statement so please don't think that my comments had anything to do with you know the mental health supports that we're providing our here and I like that our board members are asking questions and you know getting informed um but I have no tolerance for people who don't ask good questions don't ask for data don't ask for support and make comments to bring our school down when all I'm asking for in this community is just people to work together and stop working in resistance with the school [Applause] district okay I thank everyone for their comments uh policy we don't have a motion to move it so curriculum professional development one through 1 through 12 can I get a motion to move curricul Dan will move can I get a second can I get a second please J Danel second any discussion Ro call please maretta yes maone um yes to 134 and I will be abstaining from 252 and then 5 through 12 yes for 134 abstain from two and 5 through 12 yes Slade yes Dan tuno yes jir Dano no for five through nine yes for the rest JRE yes Francisco yes for 134 abstain for two 5 through 12 lent solowski yes also abstaining from this uh two five right through 12 okay next one through got got got ma yes I do resolution one passes resolution one hold on resolution two does not pass resolution see can I resolution three does not pass or no resolution three does pass hold on one second Chris well he's doing the math I believe number two passes as well Mr W yeah two was two wasain okay yeah two was abstained by three individuals and voted yes by three okay so two does pass three does pass four does pass 5 through n you have one yes two yes three yes abstain and one no five does pass 6 seven8 does no the vote on number five is 44 there is four yes one no three abstaining so five does not pass Five does not pass that means that 6 7 8 and N do not pass and 10 111 12 too 101 12 do pass yes so to clarify one 3 or 1 2 3 4 5 to 9 do not 10 11 12 do can I just so an abstain counts as just clarification on the counting you need a majority of the members present and voting and abstaining counil is voting to pass so you need five yeses because you have four uh you have eight people here okay thank you I have a question so being that some of this curriculum was not passed which to me I thought it was a non-negotiable that someone has to write curriculum what does that do does that now gets postponed cuz it look it looks like we we we approved some curriculum writing and we didn't approve we're picking and choosing what curriculum is getting written so for the no for the non-approved D curriculum writing right what it gets postponed is that at this point you don't have authority to move forward with the writing it could be acted upon at a later date after there's a budget in place or you could stick with your existing curriculum that happened on one curriculum uh last year CU didn't M Mr two you said we have a deadline correct by the state but yes we have to implement it by September of 24 so we're just not having a curriculum for English and math as of this point we have a curriculum in place this is just updating it and all we're trying to do is just hold it off until after we know the budget you're talking about $66,000 worth of curriculum writing that we would just want to see if that's in the budget because I mean that's that's a teacher salary so that's just but and I understand respect we trying to get a cheaper price is that no we're not trying to get a cheaper price but if you look through it if you actually read the the there's actually a lot on here that could be held off until our June 3rd meeting when we know the budget but there was no motion to postpone you know it's not a motion to postpone because it's abstained you can bring it back up right but at the same point to approve and again I'm not picking on one curriculum over another but we approve special services but not English and math right did I count that correctly yeah yes so I'm I mean at least going to speak for myself I I abstained from all curriculum writing I didn't pick and choose any one particular one and I all I guys I mean we can make jokes and we can laugh and we can really try to put people down for for having a different opinion and that's fine I can take it it's not a big deal but I'm I'm just asking for to wait to the discussion that we have tomorrow night two weeks I don't think it's going to to make a huge difference in two weeks and I really think it you know supporting one another here and there isn't a terrible thing either it's not okay moving on okay Finance Finance one through 15 can I get a motion C can I go back to to the other question because and I guess it should have been more in discussion because if it's whether we have we cut programs or not let's say worst case scenario we're going to half day High School and all the the Doomsday things we still have to have curriculum in place state approved by a a and I'm not trying to disrespect your o option to vote no or abstain but at the same point we we're making the job harder for our staff so if it is because we discussed last time it's not voting in two weeks our next meeting is June 18th for the agenda session June 25th Jun meeting is the budget hearing vote that was said last week no it wasn't advertised yet and that was if it if we did have the June 3rd that was for the budget it wasn't right an action hearing right but we're not voting on curriculum on we're not voting on curriculum so curriculum is part of the budget you need the budget to pay for the teachers to make the curriculum that we already have in place it's not like you're going to school in September with no curriculum then you'd have to make motion to postpone it to a budget hearing you don't so we're make you can just make aead right now there's there was no motion to table it to a certain date the actions simply failed can be brought up again uh at this point after the if the June 3rd meeting goes forward the budget goes forward we'll see what that looks like and then there may be a lot of this on your June 18th agenda so June next opportunity so you're constricting the time frame like Mr C said last week okay but do you have several motions that just didn't pass right so the curriculum can't be voted on June 3D is that correct no June 3r would potentially be a date we were looking at for our budget hearing right we're still waiting on guidance from the state it's still a developing situation we're waiting on potential advertisement requirements and such it was just a date on the calendar we had tentatively to to mark but that's dat is still not established still not set in stone um again tomorrow will where we go after tomorrow will help kind of guide the next steps but it is still a developing situation we're still waiting on additional guidances from Tran as well so Mr the answer to Mr slay's question is maybe because if depending on what the budget is going to look like that's being voted on June 3D depending on what the state guidance is you could have additional action on that agenda but we do not know that yet okay moving on finance 1 through 15 can I get a motion to move Finance 1 through 15 J will move can I get a second please second any discussion roll call please lent is absent Marquetta yes mazone yes s yes Dan tuno yes yes gordano yes jri yes Francisco yes solowski yes resolutions 1 through 15 for finance pass Athletics number one can I get a motion to move Athletics number one danuna will move any discussion a second M second second now any discussion roll call please Francisco obain lent is absent Marquetta yes maone obain Jay slay yes Dan tuno yes Jano no jri yes solowski no four votes yes two votes no to abstains resolution passes no that's not excuse me excuse me not that is a Personnel item resolution needs five and fails does not pass sorry noncertified person go ahead and this is more for clarification Christina I it's not to pick on you are you allowed to Second a motion and yes okay just clarification Yeah by by moving or seconding a motion you're just putting it on the table you can vote any way you want at that point uh non-certified personnel office one and two can I get a motion to move non-certified Personnel Jo move can I get a second please Dan tun second roll call please any discussion prior any discussion on one or two okay jri yes Francisco yes Marquetta yes maone yes Slade yes danant tuno yes gardano yes solowski yes resolutions one through two for nont certificated personnel office passes thank you Mr wedell non-certified Personnel operational one through four miss a motion there there is an administrative correction on item number two uh Robert Moran should be administratively changed to William Moran okay maone had the motion I have that okay can I get a second Francisco will second any discussion roll call please Jano no for one yes for the rest JRE yes Francisco yes lent maretta yes maone yes sled yes Dan tuno yes solowski yes resolutions 1 through four for non-certificated personnel operational passes non-certified Personnel other one through nine can I get a motion to move non-certified Personnel other Jud motion jri second any discussion R call please Dan tuno yes jirano yes JRE yes Francisco yes lent maretta yes mazone yes SL yes solowski yes resolutions 1 through n for non-certificated personnel other passes thank you certified Personnel 1 through 25 we do have an administrative correction here on item number five Item B for Christina bloomstein right there is a uh additional speech stien to the degrees and step that carries an additional $2,144 one additional correction on number 10 letter B It should read jsms as the school and separating number 11 for voting purposes I have a question real quick on number 24 can someone just explain what easy CBM is for incoming kindergarten just yeah yeah yeah yeah so in the summer um Miss Gordon tests incoming kindergarten students If the parents have requested that if they have taken a full year of kindergarten in another state because of the cut off uh she tests the students on the end of kindergarten skills to ensure that they are up to par to jump to first grade thank you it's only if a parent requests or every kindergartener gets tested because I don't remember that it's just parent request because of the cut off is October 1st in New York I think the cut off is December or January so typically if you come from New York it's a different story anyone else on discussion okay so we're voting on 1 through 25 separating number 11 for voting purposes 1 through 26 separating 11 one one through 26 yeah I believe so do we have a motion to move it Dan will move can I get a second jri second R please SL yes Dan tuno yes jir Dano no for 16 yes for the others JY yes Francisco yes for 1 2 3 4 six 7 n 1 2 3 4 six seven nine 18 19 18 19 and 20 um 26 and 26 obain for the rest lent Mara yes Mone yes to one two3 3 4 5 6 7 abstaining 8 yes to 9 yes to 10 okay we're going to have to do that again I'm sorry okay same ones right no not the same nope okay yes to one I am my own person thank you uh yes to 1 2 3 4 five 6 7 abstaining to 8 yes to 9 yes to 10 we're separating 11 do I have to vote on that or are we no okay yes to 12 yes to 13 yes to 14 yes to 15 abstaining 16117 yes to 18 192 abstaining 21 22 23 and 25 and yes to 24 oh 26 yes Mr paron I hope you got that for me got it and solowski yes I believe that means all motions pass all motions pass aside from separation of 11 right now right Mr solowski no Mr solowski you have two new hires that are present pardon you have two new hires that are present I just wanted to but I just voted yes okay we have some new hes that take number 11 okay number 11 I'm I'm voting no on number 11 let's dooll okay roll call please okay roll call for 11 Slade yes danant tuno yes J no ji yes Francisco yes lent maretta yes maone yes zakowski no resolution number 11 for personnel passes okay now let's get to our certified Personnel uh the new hes would they please stand uh Miss uh M Francisco you have the list I believe are are they here are new hes here we have I I hope I pronounce all these correctly Justine nagowski Christina blumstein and Karissa zll we would like to clap for you we would like to welcome you to Oldbridge and we have great faith that you will bring your expertise and your passion to the classroom and into our school community and we look forward to working with all of you it's really bright and it's hard to see so welcome to Oldbridge congratulations yes non-certified personel motion pardon me nice I'll make the motion for that I'll make the motion for that okay can I get a second please miss Will second that's one through seven okay any discussion Roco please Mone yes SL yes Dan tuno yes Jano yes JRE yes Francisco yes lent maretta yes solowski yes resolutions 1 through 7 for non-certificated personnel Transportation passes thank you Mr White transportation number one can I get a motion to move Transportation please danuna will move can I get a second Francisco will second any discussion I have a question on number 10 okay no no we're doing oh yes I'm sorry wrong one go ahead roll call please maretta yes maone yes Slade yes Dan tuno yes Jano yes JRE yes Francisco yes lent and solowski yes resolution one for transportation passes supplies equipment and services one through 1 through 11 can I get a motion to move supplies equipment and services Francisco will move can I get a second M second any discussion uh yes uh number 10 uh e rate Consulting agreement and Consulting Inc what uh what does this what like what do they do and how come the rate like is it something that we is a necessity that we need and is it normal that the rates haven't changed considering the yes so eate Consulting is a consulting firm through NJ sba's Co-op and what eate essentially is is it's utilities provided by un uh usack uh United States uh or Universal service Administration I for my apologize I forgot to see but essentially they give us Federal monies um each uh each cycle it's a 5year cycle to procure upgrades for internet or um Network infrastructure so these are Consultants that help there's a totally different procurement process it's through Federal procurement so our Consultants are provide us through that that procurement process and help um make sure we we have a successful project thank you I have a quick question on number nine is that our website the first um in the list the I don't even know how to say that AP AP you'll notice it's a tremendous discount yes doctor hooker's negotiations negotiations congratulations awesome so not only going to improve our parental access to dates and calendars and um our app but they're going to drop the price by $10,000 so great job Dr H thank you Dr [Applause] hoker she's available for car shopping too a roll call please lent Marquetta yeah yes mazone yes Slade yes danant tuno yes Jano abstaining on five yes for the rest jri yes Francisco yes solowski abstain on five also and yes for the rest resolutions one through 11 for supplies equipment and services passes okay miscellaneous one two three and four oh one through nine I believe yes one through 10 can I get a motion to move M motion miscellaneous 1 through 10 m motion okay Miss Mone can I get a second Jo real second any discussion please roll call please Francisco yes lent maretta yes mazone yes Slade yes Dan tuno yes Jano yes JRE yes solowski resolutions 1 through 10 for miscellaneous passes Dell uh board secretary and board business number one can I get a motion to move board secretary and board business Francisco will move can I get a second second any discussion wel call please ji yes Francisco yes lent maretta yes mazone yes sled yes Dan tuno yes J Dano yes solowski yes resolution one for board secretary and board business passes thank you Mr White Del hearing of residents on any school district issues anything tell them to form a line okay we have to form a line [Applause] Andrew Lewis OA tonight I'm speaking for the students and staff whose Futures hang in your balance tomorrow when you meet an executive session to discuss next school Year's budget you have difficult decisions to make there's no doubt about it but those decisions shouldn't come at the expense of our students and staff while it may seem like numbers on a spreadsheet let me assure you it's not this budget represents opportunities for our children and any cuts are cuts to their Futures cuts that hurt let's not mince words as all of our buttons say cuts hurt kids they hurt the eager student who dreams of becoming a scientist but finds their AP classes are slashed they hurt the student who struggles in academic courses but excels in the industrial Arts they hurt the fourth grader who have to acclimate to a new school for just one year they heard the kindergarten student who needs a full day's education to prepare them for their academic career and they hurt the young athlete who dreams of scholarships and the future but sees their sports teams disbanded the decisions that you make over the next few weeks have the ability to negatively impact all students in this district one way or another if we lose some of the programs that are on the line students in those programs could leave the district and the money will follow them behind all of these numbers are the faces of children who rely on the programs and services that we provide it's not just the students who suffer it's our entire Community when we cut programs we're depriving Children of the resources they need to succeed and we're robbing our community of its most valuable asset its Future Leaders innovators Tradesmen citizens when you slash items from a budget you aren just trimming fat you're depriving students of essential resources and Limitless opportunities perhaps even more critically we're robbing them of the dedicated Educators and staff who are the backbone of this District every job is not just a paycheck it's a ripple effect that affects every aspect of a child's educational Journey are you the Board of Education willing to send a message to our students telling them that they are not worth the investment is that the message that you're willing to send our budget has been an issue for the last seven years our students and staff have given up enough over the years it's time to stop looking back and to look [Applause] forward there is a solution within our grasp it's not easy it may not be popular but it is necessary the truth is investing in education isn't just the right thing to do it's the smart thing to do I understand the weight of this decision I also know the cost of inaction is far greater than the cost of the investment we cannot afford to balance your budget on the backs of our children we look to you as the Board of Education to look forward and fix our funding issues you have the power to change this trajectory you have the power to invest in our children in their education and in their future do you want to destroy this District or preserve it so I ask you members of the Board of Education to stand up stand up for children stand up for our Educators stand up for our community and stand up for what makes it great make the courageous Choice do not let us remember you as the board who failed to invest in our future let us remember you as the ones who had the courage to do what was right the children of Oldbridge are counting on you and we cannot afford to let them down it's a big microphone fall from you you know all right good evening my name is Jim Phillips I am an alumni of orbridge I'm a 14-year employee of orridge high school as a special education teacher I'm a three sport coach I'm a resident and in September I'm going to be a parent of a kindergartener uh and I believe this puts me in you position to check all the boxes uh it's important to recognize that no decision has been made and no one on this board has indicated that they're in favor of cuts but we're concerned about the unknown the state has granted you the ability to make a choice a choice that is obviously difficult as a resident and an employee I have a decent understanding of the consequences of a 2% increase and I understand or have a decent understanding of the full of what a full 9.9 increase is going to look like however it's the decision in between that leads to the uncertainty because any decision in between leads to Cuts who are those cuts going to affect and where are they going to come from many of you on this board have young children or a passion for specific programs and I'm confident that the 2% minimum is not on the table I here to advocate for taking the maximum you you have a difficult Choice ahead you can choose to get our funding back on track and set this District up for the next decade or you can choose to keep us on what seems like an endless cycle of May budget cuts well no one wants to have their taxes increased I wonder if not taking this one-time opportunity is going to set up uh not taking this onetime opportunity to go above 2% uh are we going to be in the same position next year are we going to end up cutting costs uh for more money in the long run what happens as a parent I made the decision to buy back into this town because our school district is comprehensive and it offers a wide variety of programs that will benefit my children my family is relying on these programs half day kindergarten being on the table is not an option for me I would assume that it's not an option for the roughly 550 parents that are expecting to roll their children into kindergarten my wife and I work full-time jobs and I don't suspect I'm going to be allowed to bring my daughter into the classroom each day after I pick her up from half half day more importantly I can't risk having my daughter fall behind on her very first year of formal education meaning private school is a full a private school for a full day experience is the only real option I have and unfortunately it's late in May and many of these programs have reached their maximum enrollment leaving me with no other choice and the parents and kindergarten parents no other choice so when given that choice between a 500 $100 tax increase or a $1,200 monthly School tuition you can see why probably hundreds of families in the district are going to be in favor of these increases onto the High School athletics vocational programs elective programs and more of what our school is truly special and it makes us a truly comprehensive School cuts to any one of these programs will limit the options of our students and their opportunities any educator will tell you that it takes just one sport one club one teacher one class to ignite a student's passion and give them the motivation to succeed take that spark away and the consequences could be dire any amount of research will tell you that the societal changes have created challenges for a high school students but that same research is going to tell you that these programs are the best way to positively impact our students and keep them engaged and motivated when students are disengaged it's going to lead to increase in bad decision making in a time when electives and Vocational studies are rapidly expanding Nationwide cutting these programs now seems like a catastrophic mistake to Oldbridge and our families when making decisions I always try to see the Ripples and the impact that decision is going to make if your child is a high achieving AP student a removal of even some of those courses from the curriculum is going to put that student behind and they are competing with the uh with the nation's best students to get into the best colleges in the country will those uh will those families choose to go to private school and pay that tuition if you remove vocational programs will those families choose private school in order to ensure their child is prepared upon graduation Athletics if we want to limit the number of players on a team we limit the opportunities to be involved and learn the valuable lessons that come from being part of a team and this is my last part it goes without saying that potential cuts cost jobs but the jobs that are on on the line are some of the best people and they are the best people in the business that are going to be Irreplaceable it should be noted that we have take we while we have talked about um seven years of cuts in Oldbridge our district includ continues to improve in the state rankings every single year year-over-year and our Sports continue to have success year overy year our teachers and coaches are on the front lines and they have done more with less because of how good they are at what they do if you remove these programs now you might be able to bring them back you might be able to bring them back one day but it's the teacher that makes the difference not the classroom thank you I think he kept it low enough okay I have it written down so I state your name please oh Kimberly moscarella okay my apologies so I'm Kimberly moscarello longtime resident of Oldbridge taxpayer of product of our Public School System I've been teaching in town for over 25 years I have two children in our Oldbridge Public Schools one at sulk and one here in the High School uh first I'm going to go off task even though I'm not supposed to um I would like to congratulate all of my fellow colleagues and our honores this evening uh for their recipients and their teacher of the year and recognize them as all the grant recipients as well well it's really what we should be here for tonight and at this may meeting every single year and it seems like year after year for some reason we're here on some other Hot Topic and it's starting to get a little draining but here we are again so I'm here to speak on a few points regarding the District budget first I'll speak as a taxpayer and a teacher in the town if we go to the 9.9 we are looking at a possible 300 increase on average every year when I look at that tax sucessor card I seem to notice my taxes go up regardless so I would rather know at least why my taxes are going up this time as a teacher I'm sure others could agree I know my husband definitely can vouch for me 300 a year is nothing compared to what a teacher spends on the classroom for her or their students and other [Applause] necessities my next point for years we have been trying to expand our performing arts program and the fact that these might be consideration for cuts frankly sickens me I speak not only as a performer a music teacher but someone who also has children and knows children that love to perform and what Performing Arts can do for the children I cannot tell you the amount of times I have heard from parents teachers guidance counselors It's amazing how Johnny's attendance improves and grades improve during musical season or choir as a parent I want to mention the importance of our guidance counselors and the Mental Health Grants and programs in our [Applause] schools as parents we all want to be the ones that our children's come to and Trust we want to be the ones that get them the help that they need out outside of school hours if they need it but if there is one person a guidance counselor a mental health care counselor anyone in our schools that they feel comfortable going to we should have that hopefully it's not a dire situation and they go back to class and you are called and can address it further at home but what if it is more serious wouldn't you want them to catch it wouldn't you want them to help your baby I know you would feel helpless and frustrated that you personally couldn't be that one and couldn't be there someone there but that someone is there to help you and your child get the help you need that could truly save their lives maybe this won't happen for you and I hope that it never does but at least it's someone that's there and in place and I see it every day and I've experienced it firsthand and I'm truly grateful that we have them so in closing I know you all have a difficult job and difficult decisions ahead but these programs and these teachers are important for all of these these children cutting them would hurt kids what we have built in Oldbridge is amazing and we need to move forward and not backward thank you good evening board members my name is Ryan soin proud Oba ABA Oba member I think there's a couple of us here tonight um tonight I want to take a moment to recognize a group of Educators who often fly under the radar but whose contributions are invaluable to our school district our non- tenure teachers who would be greatly affected if you choose to make the cuts that are on the docket tenure is a crucial aspect of protecting experienced Educators but it shouldn't overshadow the dedication and talent of those still on the path non tenure teachers bring a unique blend of fresh perspectives innovative ideas and Boundless Energy to our classrooms they're often at the Forefront of new initiatives they embrace the latest teaching methods technological advancements and curriculum changes readily adapting the classrooms to best serve our students their enthusiasm is contagious inspiring both students and tenured colleagues to explore new new avenues of learning they're often willing to take on extra challenges whether it's leading extracurricular activities coaching sports teams or mentoring struggling students non- tenure teachers go above and beyond their job descriptions their commitment extends far beyond the classroom walls enriching the overall student experience while the path to tenure can be rigorous the contributions of non- tenure teachers are undeniable they are the backbone of our ever evolving educational system keeping it fresh Dynamic and responsive to the changing needs of our students to our non 10e te teachers a heartfelt thank you this time is more than a stepping stone for you you are vital architects in building a strong foundation for future generations and a final thought uh board members I was a board member myself for about 10 years in the district that I live in and I can tell you from experience not one person came to me a year after saving them some money and said thank you for that $100 you saved me last year it really helped but as you can see month after month at our board meetings there's constant recognition of students and staff that remind us where your tax dollars are going um while I was on the board I don't want to cry I'm going to try not to but uh we put together a comprehensive preschool for ages three and up and my son at 2 years old was diagnosed with a communication impairment and had a speech IEP and I was scared to death um as a special education teacher I knew it might be a long journey and putting put together that preschool program he benefited benefited from it about 5 years after we put into place and I was off the board but it paid back and droves and last month we had an IP meeting and he no longer has a communication impairment um so I urge you to carefully consider your options and make a choice that benefits Oldbridge for the long term instead of the shortsightedness that we are used to thank you good evening my name is Chris lgo I've been a teacher at Sandberg for 26 years uh Board of Ed members have a fiduciary duty to the people of Oldbridge to ensure that their taxpayers get the best product for their tax dollars the value of a home in a Township is largely determined by the quality of the schools there's a direct correlation between the marketability of a home and services that a district provide such as full day kindergarten class size honors and AP classes Sports arts and transportation there is a difference between price and cost the price that taxpayers in alridge would incur to ensure that their schools remain amongst the best in the state will range from $1 to $300 as we're hearing depending on the value of your home the cost of not paying that price is far greater if the V I'm sorry if the board votes against the full Levy of 9.9 9% our district will not be saving money it will be costing us all more both the school district and the individual taxpayers of the Town how much do it cost to send a child to a private full day kindergarten half day daycare private school how will students be transported Uber parents not being able to work and having to stay home what about sports Performing Arts extra academic assistance can anyone honestly say that any of these Services currently provided by the overd schools could possibly be obtained for the price that this one-time tax increase would be able to secure of course not what would happen to the values of the homes if these services are lost as societal changes take changes take place and schools take on more roles whether we agree with them or not they're reality that school districts must address and failing to pay the price now will cost more later furthermore as Mr citadino has explained very clearly in Prior meetings trying to save money by cutting staff programs and services will actually cost us even more money the state funding formula while still a bit of a mystery in many ways is very clear in some the state whose money we desperately need right now has determined that a district whose student population home values and per capita income or that of Oldbridge is responsible to pay x amount of dollars for their fair and efficient education of its students and when that District raises x amount of dollars the state will then pay y doll to complete the formula to provide that level of Education if we try to cut our staff raise student teacher ratio class sizes eliminate programs and services or close schools we violate that equation and the state will then reduce our Aid further if we do the right thing absorb the necessary increase we need to pay the state will refund a large portion of the funds we are withholding they are withholding it would be fiscally irresponsible and would violate the fiduciary duty Board of Ed members have to the people who elected them to lose money for the district but we are in a very unfortunate situation we're not damned if we do we are surely damned if we do not if we do not accept this 17 to $30 month onetime increase for the price of maintaining the great education that Oldbridge is currently providing every single taxpayer in this town as well as the children of our district will permanently be paying the profound and damaging cost for not doing the right thing I know some of you are Educators yourselves some of you have children or grandchild in our district don't you want the best education for them don't you think every parent wants that too don't you feel obligated to ensure that they do have that chance Last Night In This Very Room we saw the end result of students earning a great education in Oldbridge students were rewarded over $200,000 in scholarships and awards one was accepted to West Point and two others were honored for their amazing lifelong contributions to both the Air Force and NASA would these all be possible if we impose the Draconian carts cuts that failing to pass this Levy will cause there's only one honest answer to that I'm asking that each Board of Ed member think about that the price of an increase versus the cost of not approving it and I plead with you to make the right decision fully funding orridge schools is the only financially responsible and practical decision to make thank you very [Applause] much good evening board president board members am I own and uh senior Administration my name is Margie quizenberry I am a first year teacher in Oldbridge but as you can probably tell not a first year teacher overall um I spent 17 years working in rawe public schools and I made the decision this year to move to Oldbridge because of its RTI program in 2018 I received my certification for Orton Gillingham so I can teach students with dyslexia and other reading disorders I began tutoring privately and looked for an opportunity to be able to use that skill and experience to help students learn to read we all know the statistics about students who don't know how to read by third grade they are let me just refer to my notes Here uh they are uh it's very predictive that if they can read in third grade whether or not they can read in eth grade and vice versa if they can't read by third grade they're four times more likely to drop out before they graduate high school and they are 20 times more likely to become incarcerated as an adult RTI not only prevents this but it also reduces our Reliance on special education we can avoid classifying students and the enormous costs that come with that by intervening early and effectively and that's why I came here I know that how expensive education is I don't live in Oldbridge but I do live in a town that taxes me more than I would like but as an educator and as a parent I recognize the importance of that we know what's gone on in education I think back to the Dark Ages when I graduated from high school in 1980 to when my son entered kindergarten in 2000 when I became a teacher in 2006 as a second career and where we are today in 2004 there have been so many significant changes to education that have largely been positive for instance Ida in 1975 before this was enacted one in five special education students or students with disabilities were educated in public schools today four out of five are not only in public schools but they are in general education classrooms 80% or greater of the day we also have a a fiduciary responsibility to educate students with disabilities from ages three to 21 those are costs that have been either underfunded or not funded as mandates from the state and the nation still continue to be on our plates other things like the anti-bullying bullying Bill of Rights which is critical also comes as either unfunded or underfunded so the onus is on us as taxpayers to make up the difference think about security as scary and sad as it is after Coline Sandy Hook yaldi I can't tell you the sense of security I had coming to Oldbridge and seeing a uniformed police officer in front of every single building I can only imagine what that cost but the peace of mind it gives the staff and the students is immeasurable also our students have changed New Jersey is one of the most diverse states in the nation I think it ranks number seven one out of five families speak a different language other than English at home that brings a tremendous amount of cultural differences that we as Educators need to be able to address manage and embrace we know there's a decrease in stay-at-home parents a decrease in two parent households an increase in chronic absenteeism that has skyrocketed since covid mental health issues for children are on the rise due to social media and due to covid since covid the mental health issues in Young have gone from 5% to 16% exacerbating that is the dramatic shortage of mental health professionals who treat Pediatrics when I talk to my student teachers I often give the analogy of a coffee cup I say when a student comes into us it's like having a cup empty cup with a lid and you're pouring coffee and a little bit it's going to get through that little tiny hole that you sip out of but not too much most of it's going to Spill and when our students come into US hungry scared uh tired worried they have that lid on we need to remove that lid through our social emotional learning programs and our counseling to allow the Educators to truly reach these children and yes that does cost money I do want to say that I am so proud to have been at Oldbridge this year Oldbridge respects and invests in Educators it implements programs with Fidelity and accountability and it puts students at the center of all its decisions so while middle sex County's ratio of assessment to home values is at 49% oldridge is at 35% I think we have an obligation to our students to at least come up close to that and lastly I just want to say well I hope I can return in September if I don't I will remain remain forever grateful to Kathy grada Dr candria Dr hoker for bringing me on this experience has been incredible and I'll leave a better educator thank you Jessica hammed vice president of the Oba for the past three years the Oba has sent a survey to all candidates running for the Board of Education most of the members sitting on the board have completed that survey in those responses you shared your thoughts on the budget I want to take this opportunity to just reshare those responses um Mrs dantono you said as someone who works in a trade profession I work about losing vocational classes not every profession is a college path by being one of the districts that has a diverse amount of vocational classes in our schools we keep a section of our population who would like Elsewhere for their education by giving our students those learning opportunities at the middle and high school levels launches our students off to make a great future for themselves Mrs Francisco said finances are always an area of concern for many districts and are is not exempt from this hardship our district has lost millions of dollars from the state over the last few years if elected I hope to pay very close attention to where money is being spent and hopefully come up with creative ways to make what we have what to to make what we do have go a long way Mr Giordano said we have to focus on real educational expenses instead of capital projects that have the ability to be postponed or rejected outright and and high school students need to be more prepared for the workforce Andor College Mrs jery said school funding is a critical issue facing obtps over the past few years our schools have lost millions of dollars in state funding and are still faced with the challenges of providing educational Excellence for our students this requires strategic planning and incorporating ideas from all stakeholders including Educators families the Board of Education and the community in order to maintain the highquality education that Oldbridge high schools have always provided Mr maretta said I am not looking to reinvent the wheel but rather give a voice to the people who pay for the school and the teachers who are inside the building Mrs mazone said I am seeing politics starting to affect our system I've been seeing more decisions being made that do not put the best interest of our children first we need need to focus on the budget to ensure all schools are receiving the amount needed to grow efficiently and effectively and added I'm not afraid to make decisions that I feel are best as a mom my child come my children come first and as a board member who will be inheriting 8,000 plus children that will not change the quality of Education we provide will always come first in my decision- making I am not afraid to stand up for what is Right finally Mr Slade said his commitment as a Boe member is working efficiently with our board with our budget without cutting student programs while maintaining full transparency seven of you have shared similar sentiments putting our students first and ensuring the financial stability of our schools so now we call on you to do that put children first put our district in a better financial situation for next year and years Beyond [Applause] hi hi Michelle George um sorry I have to take these off I am a proud o graduate class of 91 um and I've been teaching here in Oldbridge for 23 years 21 of those years I taught at mcdot school teaching um Elementary education grades 1 through 4 and for the last two I've been teaching colonary art here at the high school um back when I was in high school we had a wonderful CTE program in which I took three years of culinary which was my favorite class our programs were strong in both Madison Central and cedaridge and Mr sulowski I believe you taught Automotive at cedaridge correct yes yep okay so the programs have been around for quite a long time not no offense or anything um I'm just um RCT programs provide students with the opportunity to explore different career paths while still in high school classes like architectural design Creative Design Automotive culinary arts woodworking Etc there's a there's a ton of classes cultivate a Hands-On environment where students can take the skills they learn and apply them to Future careers remember not all students are College Bound I mean I hear all the time I I I love seeing these kids going to all these amazing colleges but the students I teach a lot of them are not College Bound they are going into the workforce or Trea schools so like I said some will go to trade schools some will enlist in the military some will enter the workforce our job as Educators is to make sure our students are career and college ready before they graduate these programs that we have here meet our New Jersey standards for career Readiness life literacies and key skills and those are on the New Jersey Department Education website teamwork problem skills math and science skills fine motor development and following directions are only a few of the skills students will learn and refine as they take our classes so skills such as time management communication and organization are skills they will gain as well okay so the technical stuff is out of the way um I've been here in the high school for about two years and absolutely love our CTE programs um especially the class I'm teaching culinary arts I know some people might say well the kids can learn cooking at home and I can tell you A lot of them do not they have very busy schedules parents have busy schedules um many of my students have never set foot in a kitchen except to eat or cooked at all um some didn't even know they had a boil water first when they were making pasta um and I I feel like the last few years I've taught my students life skills they will have for a lifetime um I get teams messages from my students all the time even on the weekends with pictures of things they made at home from class new things they cooked asking for recipes that they didn't bring home I've had so many students tell me that they can be themselves in my classroom we worry about our students mental health so much yet the classes that give them the most enjoyment and success while providing life skills are being discussed for elimination I can't speak for everyone in my department although I'm sure they would share the same sentiment but our students love these classes and are proud of their achievements one of my students comes to me after his woodworking class and shows me the projects that he made another has shown me advertising logos she's designed in Creative Design one of my culinary 2 students is taking automotive and she came in all excited and full of oil um because she learned to change oil and told me she wants to be an automotive tech when she graduates my culinary students are so proud of the food they make they share it with friends other teachers and our administrators we've had so many students attend culinary schools such as Johnson and Wales some go into food food science with the knowledge they have learned in our classes these are the classes which Foster creativity and teamwork our CTE classes prepare students for the future we provide 21st century skills which have lasting value beyond the classroom I know some members of the board have children and our school system and I know some of them are they're still in elementary or going into I know that you would not want your children to miss out on these amazing opportunities our classes have to offer when they attend our high school thank [Applause] you good evening my name is Helen Thompson uh I'm an Aberdine resident and teacher at csms since 2007 I'm here to speak about the remarkable and voluntary Feats done by the csms teachers in danger of losing their jobs with the current budget cuts these contributions contributed to sandberg's status as a national school of character in 2021 and continued to be used for the yearly application and retention of that status this list I'm about to read is a a long brag list um and it it's a a list done in addition to their regular jobs and deserves recognition among these teachers at csms and staff members at risk of losing their job you will find one who runs the Chinese Culture Club one who is the cognitive behavioral therapist and dialectical behavioral therapy member and school avoidance Committee Member she just weeks ago coordinated and co-led samberg's first mental health and wellness fair for all the students you will find a teacher who by day teaches one of the two autistic populations and has served as a co-advisor of play unified after school School you will find a teacher who spearheaded a school goal called cougars conquer hunger and hosted many fundraising events last year that culminated in a rise against hunger event where students packaged over 20,000 meals for a needy population in South America you will find a teacher who is the other co-advisor of play unified and who just stood up here as samberg's teacher of the year for her work with the special education population you will find a teacher who has co- coached the newly created Esports team to the playoffs in both winter and spring and a teacher who wrote from scratch and piloted the newly created social emotional learning program where work is done with the most atrisk students you will find a teacher who stepped into pretty big shoes of another and took over the Beloved diversity club and another who led the girls soccer team to an undefeated season while raising money for the National Breast Cancer Foundation you will find a teacher who stays after school for Esser tutoring but also co-advised the National Junior Honor Society another who coaches three different sports but still finds time to come back to the high school and volunteer as senior class Battle of the class advisor you will find a teacher who has literally created a cafe for her ABA students which is the other classroom made of children with autism as a way for her students to become a larger part of the school and give meaning to the Daily skills taught in her class you will find a teacher who is in uh her first year here but started a stem Club and another teacher who started a dance club while serving as the peer adviser you will find a teacher who is working toward tenure for the second time in this District having left to start a family and take care of her cognitively challenged child she is back serving the special needs population and even credited with helping a school phobic child return to class they may be new in their careers in Oldbridge and unfortunately untenured but are clearly dedicated to and the lifeblood of our school community and most of the work that I mentioned is done voluntarily I would like to remind you of that all of these contributions which is the shortest list I could make although it probably didn't seem that for this five minute speech represent 15 colleagues uh representing the 27 in total at our school who are behind the success that makes our school a national school of character but yet below the possible cut line that the potential budget implies it is contradictory for our district to promote attend and congratulate the efforts of these teachers programs which make this town look desirable and then cut the teachers how will we be able to say that we still have the same character will we be able to apply for the national school of character status next year on what Merit who is going to fill all of these volunteer character building roles and how will the absence of these great programs affect School morale and atmosphere what will be the effects how will it extend to the value of what what it means to be an Oldbridge resident and our homes I am sure prospective new residents find a town with three elementary schools and one Middle School that have that status currently very attractive to live in in closing I want to remind you that besides the teachers getting cut so are the special needs programs the relationship building clubs the character committees and activities that they run I urge you to exhaust every Avenue available to retain these invaluable members of our district I urge you to Leverage the provisions of the new bill to the fullest extent seeking this one-time maximum Levy that would have the ability to preserve as much as of the character that we can by safeguarding those who embody it wholeheartedly thank [Applause] you hello um my name is Robin golen besy they called me Miss G I also am a product of cedaridge high school here I have been a cosmetology Ed educator in Oldbridge high school for almost 24 years I graduated from this program in 1979 with a state license and my career took off our program has continue to grow going from levels from three levels to four levels in the last two years as a direct result of this program students graduate with a state license and a career fully prepared to enter the workforce it would be an incredible disadvantage to our students both those who are interested in the program and their future and moreover students who have already obtained State hours and who if the program is terminated will not be able to continue their journey through Oldbridge High School I am asking the board today to prioritize The Vocational and elective programs which is my department in the best interest of our children thank you hi my name is Alicia risby I'm a proud Ela teacher at Shas since 2012 and both my husband and I attended Oldbridge schools from kindergarten until we graduated high school we have two children and we have an incredible nephew at John Glenn preschool first and foremost I absolutely love this community growing up since returning as a teacher I'm so proud to see our Educators continue to do even better and even more as the needs of our students and families continue to change as the district considers our budget I beg you not to cut any of the teachers that are here with us today especially the non- 10year staff beginning with my third grade colleague Alison sankovski she's the definition of a driven hardworking passionate and creative educator who makes room in her heart for every student not only she set high expectations for herself and for her students but she helps them see the Magic in learning and growing very much like the great mom as she is she holds every student's hand and lovingly guides them step by step to meet their goals she builds such strong relationships with her students that every day her former ancorage students run up to her wanting to check in with her they adore her we are Yin and Yang and together we make our students thrive in third grade year after year she's just one example of the many of how the amount of money this spends on programs and such Doesn't Matter unless you have the right people in the class executing and personalizing the plans for every family the same can be set for Ava teachers Natalie Getta molan pagari Jamie anaso our spee teacher Morgan sko our instrumental music teacher Kyle jackier and our case manager Lauren Magnus is easy to see the love hard work and patience they have when they're with our students and how they beautifully collaborate with staff not only do these staff members make sure our students learn the curriculum help our students become critical analytical and creative thinkers teach them responsibility kindness respect and teamwork to help them grow from their mistakes but these are the faces that the students will remember being with them every day these are the people that make the most direct impact on these kids these are the people who Shine the Light and lead the way for the kids who help them problem solve after a fight at recess who help them deal with feelings of anxiety that they have from something that happened prior to coming to school and it's these people who are their greatest Che leaders even when they doubt themselves at a time a teacher turnover rate is an all-time high less people are applying for teaching jobs thanks to ugly politics and less and less college students are enrolling in teaching programs I cannot stress to you enough the importance of retaining these staff members both our tenure and non- tenure staff have the heart and soul of a teacher you either have it in you or you don't it cannot be taught it cannot be forced and it cannot be bought I wouldn't be here today unless I truly saw that each of them so many parts of Education have been stressful due to irresponsible and untruthful politicians who have no plans to stopping their unwarranted attacks on public schools for the sake of their own careers we need not just grade teachers but we need a staff who's willing to weather the many storms ahead of us I have a daughter and a son and I would happily trust his teacher with them in a heartbeat I'm telling you these teachers they are diamonds we need to keep them some of you ran a campaign the promise to put the kids first and I agree with you this is your time invest in your staff first and foremost and that's how you'll see the best results for our students families and Community thank you good evening my name is Robin Wolf and I have been teaching in Oldbridge for the last 19 years in addition to being an educator I also am a volunteer on the obf and was so happy to see the grants that were given out this evening in addition I have I served on a board of education in a neighboring town for seven years and know that difficult decisions have to be made I served on my board to assure that the students received the best educational experiences possible as well as making decisions that are the best for the community as a whole while maintaining property values was was a very important part to many of our decisions I grew up in Oldbridge I'm a product of Shara sulk and Madison Central and I had a family who was very involved in this town for many years in fact my father served on the board of education in in Oldbridge and he was President for many years and they always had difficult decisions to made be made but the students always came first Oldbridge means a lot to me it saddens me to see what is happening in this District the thought of losing programs Sports and so many amazing Educators is awful I currently teach at Samberg and the amazing things that many of the teachers that Helen Thompson just mentioned have received that have received Rift letters doe is mindboggling one of the teachers that received this letter was honored tonight as samberg's teacher of the year for the 23 24 school year can't imagine her not being there next year our teachers go above and beyond for the Samberg Community it would be such a tragedy to lose so many incredible Educators I wanted to speak tonight to implore you to do the right thing for the orridge community you have an opportunity to keep this District whole you have a unique option to go above the 2% tax levy cap if you make the difficult decision to raise taxes to the maximum amount of 99.9% programs Staffing and so much more will be saved the decision now L lands in your hands and I beg of you to do the right thing thank [Applause] you good evening my name is Carolyn Henderson and I'm a fifth grade teacher at Memorial I've been at Memorial for 22 years I'm here today to speak on behalf of the nine non-tenure teachers in t Paris at Memorial who have been told that their employment for the coming school year is uncertain they are not just Educators but also mentors who shape their young minds teachers in this stage lay the foundation for lifelong learning and critical thinking skills I want to focus on the incredible contributions these teachers have on our students schools and community in the classroom they put the academic social and emotional well-being of their students first they have developed fun and engaging activities activities lessons and strategies to promote learning in a safe and comfortable environment outside the classroom their impact is felt across the entire School community in volunteering their time they have chaired co-chaired and participated in many of the schoolwide Committees such as character education inclusive school week read Across America Autism Awareness Earth Day and promising practice are just a few of the schoolwide programs that these teachers have planned promoted and helped implement the K kids play unify and inals clubs have all been a success at Memorial because of these nine teachers again volunteering their time to ensure the students have a well-rounded School experience additionally to these volunteered positions they have worked for the district by providing support in other areas rewriting curriculum tutoring students in the high impact tutoring program teaching in the title one before school and summer programs are just a few of the additional District positions held by these nine teachers at Memorial we have prided ourselves by creating a cohesive staff who collaborate to promote the best educational experience for our students in doing so we have created a school community that functions like a family these nine teachers and two Paras represent 23% of the teaching staff of our family 23% I could not imagine Memorial without them thank [Applause] you good evening everyone my my name is Megan Valena and I'm a rising senior of the class of 2025 at Oldbridge high school as the thank you as the end of the year approaches I'm surely looking forward to my senior year I'm a freshly accepted peer leader in multiple AP classes extracurriculars honor societies and other organizations and I'm proud to say that my public school experience thus far has been extremely fulfilling because of all the programs that Al BRD has offered over the last 12 years however these opportunities do not happen if schools do not have proper funding which includes the tax cut the budget cuts for kids like myself loss of opportunities would be heartbreaking I might never get to perform at my senior musical have my senior night or participate in the peer program that I've looked forward to since I was in Carpenter and sock technically I only need two classes to graduate and all of my other Co course Lo that I scheduled for is on the choing Block because on paper they are not required along with many students I use electives as Outlets to escape from the stress of academics so those gone will change the environment on campus completely as you hear all this remember that I am one case I am only one student that will 100% be affected by these budget cuts this does not account for the thousands of students between elementary middle and high school that will be affected as well we all lost opportunities due to covid and that we might lose even more because of the lack of budget this also does not account for the hundreds of Staff members teachers like the exceptional ones we saw tonight and two that I've had plus nurses and support staff I will do anything to assist students if the budget is not fixed accordingly all of their jobs are in limbo especially when teacher contracts are being negotiated this year this is the same song that has been played for the last couple of weeks every point that I've made has been discussed before a multitude of times however it is imperative that these points continue to be made this will be my last year coming up but I do not want a kindergartener starting their experience at Oldbridge to have less opportunity than I did in this District I was able to spread my winks and flourish and every kid no matter if their situation not only needs but deserves to have the tools necessary for them to SW as well my mother always tells me that if I don't like something to speak up and make a change well although I understand that my voice is small um with the strong support that this tax increase has I hope that my perspective can make a difference as I approach my final year at Oldbridge and hope to have a job like Mr Parton has out oh boy I can only hope that the board could see that although annoying on paper that the maximum tax increase must be passed for the betterment of all who live and will live in Oldbridge and go through their school system thank you so much have a great night thank you Mr Parton I'll just add that if I remember correctly Megan did a summer internship uh on the west coast out by Berkeley for law last summer so you may want to get her resume ready and she's going to Washington DC this summer for another conference EXC so my name is Kristen Valena I'm a lifelong resident a product of the o school system and and the proud parent of the woman who spoke before me she has a rising senior who will be graduating next year with the class of 2025 I'm not a teacher I'm not an Oba member I'm just a taxpayer who's disappointed that the Educational Funding formula is skewed against our town and as a taxpayer I'm not happy that we have to take the tax increase route however the state has left us with no other choice then to raise our taxes we cannot allow our seniors who are trying to build their reses and get into schools of their choices lose programs I would hate to see kids who are taking vocational classes miss out on opportunities to continue learning in their specialized fields we cannot take a step back and return to half day kindergarten for many years younger families refrain from moving to our town because we didn't have a full day kindergarten program and our tax and they thought our taxes were high for a town that didn't offer it our property values have risen for many reasons but full day kindergart was definitely a contributing factor a popular alternative that you hear to avoid tax increases it's a cut programs like the Arts that don't have a high rate of participation or as many scholarship opportunities as maybe a sports program has we need to keep the programs for all of our children whether it be grammar middle school high school special needs High achiever Sports Arts vocational every child in their education is important we need to keep the programs for our children another alternative to raising taxes that you hear about often is to remove non-tenure teacher support staff nurses admin I'm not in favor of cutting teachers nurses or supports staff either kids cannot be forced at the high school level or any level for that matter to only take the classes that are mandatory to graduate some of these kids get through the academic because of the extracurricular activities it gives them an incentive to do well in their classes since they need to keep their grades up to participate additionally it creates an essential balance between academics and interest helping create a well-rounded individual who works hard in all areas of life next year will be my child's last year one and done I'm fortunate I am very fortunate and I feel like I'm one of the lucky ones whose child has flourished in the overd school system I would hate to see her miss out on opportunities her senior year and I would hate that for any graduating class or any child for that matter I know every child has not necessarily had the same experience as my daughter the experience is what you make of it and as I've always said to her if you're not happy with something do something about it whether it be changing attitude taking a leadership role it's now my turn to practice what I preach if I if keeping the district out of financial ruin and losing all the wonderful programs that we have built over the years I'll take the tax increase I may have to cut some extras out of my budget but that's okay I feel the tax increase you know I will feel that tax increase for years to come even after my child leaves the district but you see this is not just about my child it's about every child for years to come I want to see the school district Thrive and keep improving I am Oldbridge [Applause] proud good evening my name is Janice ly I have taught in Oldbridge for the last 14 years and 18 years total as a music educator I currently teach at both Grom and Vorhees elementary schools and was a proud recipient of one of the Oldbridge found Education Foundation grants that was awarded tonight as a traveling teacher I have the privilege of being part of two School communities but I have also felt the incredible sting at the beginning of these S2 cuts when my home school of nine years was closed to the students and staff of Oldbridge I here this evening to speak about a few topics but first as a representative of the non-tenured faculty of Vorhees who are waiting in limbo to see if they have a job come September we currently have nine non-tenured faculty members which is very substantial out of those we have four general education teachers one reled related arts teacher who travels between buildings and four teachers who fall under the special education umbrella in various positions all of whom volunteer their time in various ways for our school Community from going to PTA sponsored activities to joining the new and novice teacher training and collaboration meetings that our principal started doing this year to support the large number of non-tenured Staff in our building even though several of them are veteran teachers but are new to this District while there is not enough time to speak about each one of them individually here are some of the attributes that they have added to our faculty we have teachers who have joined our code purple and green teams who help students in heightened situations be de-escalated safely we have several Oldbridge graduates who return to Oldbridge to teach after teaching in other districts for many years with nine and 10 years of teaching experience we have some who are Oldbridge residents who have children in the school systems currently and some who just moved their new young families back to Oldbridge knowing the strength of the school system these potential Cuts will weaken the strength of our school district and hurt our students all of our non-tenured staff have helped to support the growth and learning of their students and our school Community as a whole and the loss of them would be felt greatly secondly I would like to speak to you as a related arts teacher I could stand here and list stats on how music improves test scores Etc but instead I will share my own story and the profound impact that music has had in my life music departments are their own special communities I was a child who loved to sing for as long as I remember I was lucky enough to grow up in a family that fostered that love as a child of an engineer who played guitar and sang in church choirs in fact just this past weekend I sang with my father and sister in a Community Chorus we are all a part of that just celebrated its 75th Anniversary we are part part of the whole of over 100 voices some may work in music but most do not for example I was surrounded by an engineer on one side someone in banking on the other and a nurse behind me all have music in their lives as a love and form of expression that was sparked somewhere in their school age years in elementary school I had my general music classes and was able to begin band in fourth grade where I picked to play clarinet I got to Middle School where band and chorus were classes in mwan I am sure I was supposed to only be able to do band or chorus but somehow my middle school directors worked it out so I could be in both classes and not have to pick one of my passions as high school approach I learned that my family would be moving to Virginia of course I was nervous as it meant entering a brand new high school where I knew not a single soul but I had to move earlier than anticipated to attend the last two weeks of marching vand Camp those first two weeks before school began is where I made the first of my lifelong long friends many of whom I'm still in regular contact with even though we live states away as a kid who had just moved states away it was a relief to walk into an unfamiliar building but yet see familiar faces from freshmen to Upper classmen that first day of classes the music wing of my high school became my second home and I know it is here I get to teach over 600 students a week many of whom I still attend concerts for in middle school and high school nesty was one of my students at Cheesequake and I was so thrilled to walk in that first day and see her music gives people a home it is a trusted place one of my administrators frequently mentions that how difficult it can be for students to have a place where they feel vulnerable but I make my classroom comfortable and so many of our music teachers do as well the Arts are a place where many students can Thrive regardless of talent they learn that through hard work practice and dedication goals can be achieved and that by working together in an ensemble that each part is just as important as another and it comes together only when everyone works together while you can put a price on learning a musical instrument you cannot put a price on the lifelong benefits and joy that it brings music education isn't an expense it is an investment please think of the impact on any Cuts our program will have on the children of Oldbridge good evening my name is Peter hunt I'm a Oldbridge resident for over 50 years and a real estate professional in the area and as somebody that communicates with young families typically that are planning their next chapter in life the question I get over and over and over again is how are the schools I get it all the time and I've only raised my kids in Oldbridge so I can only give an honest assessment of my experience with my five kids that went through the Oldbridge schools if somebody asked me about East Brunswick I will send them to a website so they could do their own due diligence I can't give them any guidance on that but I proudly give great um kudos to the individual experiences that all of my kids had uh going through the oldridge schools and I also am a product of the oldridge school system Madison Central 1982 thank you uh so we're at a Crossroads in Oldbridge um many of our neighboring towns are feeling the same effects that we are and our former mayor current state senator Owen Henry calls a broken funding formula and it's so I'm grateful that so many people in the community here that feel the same way that we have that going on and we we would like to have additional relief from Trenton um but sadly it's not likely to be enough um the numbers I'm going to share now uh I kind of thought about this there are often clusters of towns that when I'm working with Buyers they're interested in certain towns I'm marbor man alipin I'm old bridge East Brunswick Woodbridge um whatever um so I picked Oldbridge East Brunswick and Woodbridge to take a look at so I'm just going to give you a little overview of what happened in 2023 in Oldbridge Township the median selling price on a single family home in Oldbridge last year was $551,000 pre pandemic it was 330 okay go back to February 2020 that was our uh median selling price in Oldbridge so last year in Oldbridge there were 450 homes sold um 250 above 250 below that 551 and today I did take a look back at the last 6 months at homes between 540 and 560 because that puts us in that median range to kind of see what's going on in the Oldbridge cluster of towns of East Brunswick and and and wood bridge and this is what I found um this all came out of Central Jersey MLS and I didn't cherry pick this is every home sold in these towns um the average selling price on the homes in Oldbridge for the last 6 months was within 540 and 560 was 550,000 East Brunswick was 55333 3 and Woodbridge Township was 5481 100 that's within 1% of each other so right in that in that package that's where we were the assessment value in Oldbridge Township was 145,000 the assessed value in East Brunswick was 78,000 and in Woodbridge was 82,000 this is where it gets interesting the average property taxes on those homes in Oldbridge that was sold was $ 75852 East Brunswick was 9118 30 3 and Woodbridge Township was 9300 93974 East Brunswick pays for homes of the same market value 20.2% in real estate taxes than Oldbridge does and Woodbridge pays 23.9% more in taxes homes of the same value and yet our homes are recessed higher I so to me it seems like we don't know we don't just have a funding problem in Trenton um maybe maybe just maybe we have a tax formula issue in Oldbridge that needs to be addressed and I've had five kids go through the school system my youngest has one year left for the future of the young families Oldbridge Township my man over there right we did a transaction this is about those families uh and and our amazing staff and it's time to stop kicking the can down the road look in the mirror and look for additional funds from Trenton as well thank [Applause] you Andrew Bello 29 misso Drive Oldbridge and the 2324 Oldbridge High School teacher of the year I am a taxpaying member of this community my son goes to mcdot he plays football for the rebels he wrestles for the old bridge mat rats he plays lacrosse for Old Bridge Youth Lacrosse and he's a member of Cub Scout Troop 129 and I am worried about what the school district will look like if action is not taken to preserve what makes this District great as a member of the community and a teacher who lives here in town I am 100% dedicated to all of the children of Oldbridge I care about these kids and what their future will look like and as the high school wood shop teacher I'm here to advocate for every kid who wants to grow up to be a blue be in the blue collar trades part of what makes Oldbridge high school so special besides that it's filled with awesome students staff and administrators are the programs it has these Career and Technical education programs give students students a taste of different postsecondary career options it gives them the opportunity to learn different skills and see if they may want to pursue a career in that field for the past three decades this country has created a system where going to a four-year College was the only option and the trades were treated like some type of consolation prize students were told to go to college you'll get a good job and that that system worked in the 80s and the 90s and they started to shut down the trades they started to shut down the shop classes But as time went on they realized this was a huge mistake look at today's job market unemployment among college graduates is at an all-time high and the graduates with jobs are not working in their field of study all the while skilled trades go unfilled I feel like it's my role and the role of the entire industrial arts department from middle school to high school to tell them about other career opport unities I want them to know that a blue collar skilled trades job can be something to make a late a great living doing and should be proud of not everyone is going to grow up to be a doctor or a lawyer the world needs Carpenters electricians plumbers cosmetologists auto mechanics our contribution to the Oldbridge Community is telling that story and developing that passion from middle school through the high school and Beyond we talk about how what we're doing is related to the trades almost every day the same way you measure and cut wood is the same way you measure and cut pipe wire everything the same table saw you use in the in our shop is the same table saw they will use on the job site and that's the same for all of our programs the same tools and terminology we use our industry standard I take my students to the carpenters training fac facility in Edison where they learn about the different Pathways and their apprenticeship program we have an articulation agreement with Pennsylvania Technical College of which is an affiliate of Penn State students can take wood wood three here and receive college credit at pent Tech much like the AP students earn credit towards their future degrees I also have trade schools come and talk about their programs that they have available our level four class serves as a sense of Pride not only to the students but the entire Community the class is a student-based Enterprise where students learn entrepreneurship by designing creating and selling items directly to the community all of that money raised by the students goes directly to senior scholarships this year alone we handed out 25 scholarships many of those students entering the trades but not only do these students do this they they also work on larger projects for the community we've built six communication boards for the special education parent Teachers Association which are displayed all over town they created a large format frame for the mammoth County Emergency Response Team which commemorates their effort and sacrifices at Ground Zero following the attacks on 911 we also created a memorial bench which is which is displayed on campus for students who for a student who passed away in a tragic car accident wood for serves the entire community of Oldbridge the community is proud of the program but even more importantly the students are proud to be a part of that program and that's what education is all about empowering students by providing the knowledge to do great things thank you and if I if I may goad thank you and this is just the Woodshop program the same thing is is happening all over the industrial arts and career and te technical education classes we open doors for students to see that there are other good options besides traditional four-year colleges and we work hard every day to help them establish these connections and feel a sense of pride in the trade skills cutting these industrial Arts programs would be a detriment to our students and our community as a taxpayer teacher coach and graduate of alridge high school system I'm asking the board to carefully consider what we have to lose if you don't do the right [Applause] thing good evening my name is Gerard Ambrosio I am a resident of Oldbridge Township I am a father of two students who went through the Oldbridge school system I am also a retired Automotive instructor and Career and Technical education coordinator with the New York City Department of Education and I'm here to talk a little bit about Career and Technical education ladies and gentlemen of the board I understand you have a terrible responsibility to adjust the budget I wouldn't in any way know how to figure out how to do that but what I want to talk about tonight is the importance of Career and Technical education ladies and gentlemen on the board ladies and gentlemen in the room how many of you ever took a class and stood there and said when am I ever going to use this when what am I going to do with this CTE provides that academic application I know in Mr pasa's class he teaches physics students don't realize they're learning physics um Miss G Miss poan they're teaching chemistry students don't even realize it okay tonight you've heard a lot of stories you heard Mr borello you heard Miss G you heard Miss George talk about the advantages of CTE they are real tonight ladies and gentlemen you talked about curriculum and I understand how important curriculum is just realize that Miss G all all the CTE teachers here Mr Pasqua I am a member of Mr pasa's advisory committee we meet annually to talk about the curriculums we meet with industry professionals to make sure that our curriculums are up to date any student in a career in technical education program has to work harder than a student who doesn't they're not only they're not exempt from any requirement for graduation they have to meet every requirement for graduation plus they have to meet the requirement for their industry certification I know you know in in cosmetology those students have to put in a certain number of hours so they can take their state boards they come out a licensed cosmetologist I know tomorrow Mr Pasa is giving his students the automotive service Excellence exam which is an industry certification for automotive technicians to have now looking at it from an employer's point of view when you go in for a job they don't really care if you took an AP class they want to know what certifications you have they want to know what skills you have I I know Miss G talked about soft skills and this and that I know Mr Borel you guys congratulated him tonight again congratulations you honored him he created a program where his students create items and sell them that's real world they're learning entrepreneurial skills they are learning time management dealing with you know they're doing accounting figuring out what the cost of the project cost what they need to sell it for that's that's real world and and that's why CTE is so important Mr Bell brought up the fact of not every kid goes to college I I don't like the fact when people turn around and say oh you know that's that Johnny's not that smart but he's good with his hands has anybody opened a hood on a car lately okay I want you to know just to give you an idea cars today have 141 computers tied together and put out more information than you do at your home so you you need to have a skill okay right now we all talked about Mr Borel talked about people not going to college we all know right now in the United States there is a $1.7 trillion student loan debt we have students that are graduating going into Industries and getting paid with no debt so please consider keeping the programs okay they're they they do serve a purpose beyond what people think ladies and gentlemen thank you very much I'm lower this can you hear me hi everyone my name is mar Wix I'm a resident of Oldbridge for 45 years I am a full product of the oldd school system including to note I went to Miller School closed it down right away went to Glenn school close it down right away keep that in mind when you're voting on the budget because they will do that when you start doing that stuff it goes from one kid to another to finally we settled to carpenter school everything after that was good so I am a mother of three I have one child who graduated obhs a few years ago another one that graduates this year and another one in a few years I'm here to be the voice of orridge school system from past present to the future we are currently in a situation that we all know is IND dire straights to save our school budget due to state budget cuts in the past I'll bring it back to the '90s we had two high schools Madison Central and we had Cedar Ridge due to certain classes you would have to go to the other high school which wasn't your home base so you spent half the day going back and forth between Advanced honors classes cosmetology Etc the same came to sports and band practice so you spent half your day traveling we also didn't have a full range of special services offered during that time so a lot of the kids who had special services were going to shirra even though that wasn't your home base either so we had part-time kindergarten and I don't you remember PK program whatsoever fast forward to the early 2000s we now have a combined High School which now offers The Best of Both Worlds academically Sports Music Arts trades special services teachers Etc but yet still part-time kindergarten and special services where they actually had floating teachers for special services including parids where if your child needed a daily service no you had a teacher that you had to wait till they got to your school during that week so your kids did get a little bit behind from there now fast forward to around 2014 we finally get a full-time kindergarten Oldbridge I end up missing this out on that opportunity with my two older kids cuz they implemented after my kids went to first grade I actually had to put them in private school and I'm not sure if a lot of people aware in private schools they do not offer support services so when my oldest started first grade at carpenter school which I had a feeling he had ADHD he also had a stutter carpenter school between the teachers the pars Behavior speech pathologist knocked out his stutter in six months he is 23 now not a single trace of a stutter happened hold on sorry however we are now on to the present where we have special services at every school no floating teachers we got full-time kindergarten a full range of curriculum that matches each and every child even a transitioning program a full range of sports different levels of academics and even trade skills in a prek program from what I understand we have come so far we don't need to go backwards believe me I've been through it I hear and see often on social media or I just hear playing conversation of other adults who complain that kids need to learn trades independent skills banking taxes account all this other stuff and I get confused because we have that in Oldbridge so unlike other towns around us they don't offer those options so we have the wood shop the cosmetology the auto classes Advanced auts College Prep RTI special services even English as a second language was back when my kids were young they would go to carpent school for English as a second language even though they didn't live gritted in that area so you had to travel you didn't get to know your kids in your neighborhood cuz you were at a different school we also have the music the Arts we got sewing which is AKA Clothing Design I want to say a special retirement blessing to miss blol who actually she taught my senior how to sew from scratch including she made a gown and it was held up in the library on a display case I now have a $500 sewing machine at home thank you you all right we also have finance and consumer classes which a lot of parents aren't aware when they complain about kids not knowing about accounting and taxing it actually teaches kids how to do checking and savings account budgeting Etc we don't want to lose these options with these teachers yes many are upset about hearing about the raising of the taxes it's a one-time tax levy which of course as everybody says come up to 9.9% and average two cups of coffee a month an avid coffee drinker drinks coffee every day so out of 30 coffees you miss two of them so as mentioned I want you guys to keep this in mind when you start looking at the tax increase and that parents along myself many many others have no issue with going to the 99.9% because at the end of the day it's not that you remember that you didn't raise the taxes is that you remember that you didn't save our schools so when you went out for your election it was to keep our schools intact not tear it apart thank you you might remember me I'm Scott maella um sock teacher and public relations coordinator before I start I thank you uh yesterday I left the senior Awards and I'm driving along and got the music playing and and I'm at a light and guy's yelling at me Oldbridge Oldbridge I look over it's a red Subaru it's Joe Mara [Laughter] I'm like Hey Joe we miss you he's like I miss you guys and he want me to tell you that and I assured him you're doing an amazing job so you're in good hands thank you Bor for saving the bridge I was a little worried there for a second I know it seems like I'm just a picture guy but you know I'm also the Storyteller for the district uh you know I'm a fighter for the kids um you know someone's got to tell the good news and you guys make it easy because there's so much good news to tell I want to keep that going so switching to a more serious note uh we stand before you at a Crossroads you the board have a decision to make that is by no means an easy one through no no Faults of your own you've been put into the UN unviable position of having to choose between the needs of the children of Oldbridge and the needs of the taxpaying public I'm speaking you today to urge you the board to do everything within your power and the power given to you legislatively to save our school district the phrase many hands make light work continually pops into my mind when I think about the problem our district faces on the one hand you have the general public that does not want to see any increase in taxes on the other you have a school district backed into a corner having to let go of many teachers Personnel sports activities trades programs and other things that have made that have helped our schools climb out of the depths of the pandemic and back to the fully functional High achieving District we have been very proud of the state has given given our budget crisis a desperately needed solution it has given you the board the opportunity to save the school district but with the strong caveat that it will come at the cost of raising the tax levy the decision you make seems impossible but to me it's quite clear the more hands that do the lifting the easier saving the district will be to raise the tax levy spreads the cost of the investment in our students across the entire Oldbridge Community it will mean some stretching of the wallet but it is an investment well spent our children's future our community's future and spread across a community the cost will be minimal to the average household I'm not saying it won't be felt but it'll be more of a pat than a sting on the other hand if the Board of Education decides to not take full advantage of this opportunity the financial cost will fall amongst a much smaller group of IND individuals and that burden on them will be far far greater teachers will lose jobs teachers will again and I say again because we've been down this road a few times since I've been in this district teachers will again have to subsidize the mistakes of Trenton and our local municipality as they are asked to sacrifice their pay for the sake of the budget again we've been down this road before and asking the employees of the district to shoulder this burden once again is asking too much especially for those who might lose their job several years into the journey to 10 year for some losing their job even after 10 year for others the financial cost to them will not be a couple of pizzas a month it won't be $100 a year it will be it won't be $1,000 but it'll be tens of thousands of dollars that they no longer will have to feed their own children pay their car payment pay their rent pay their mortgage for the town that ask that kind of sacrifice when there's a much better solution on hand right now is unconscionable and again I say many hands make light work there's no need for so many good people good teachers to lose their jobs there is not need for our students to sacrifice Sports and programs they love our courses that help them to achieve we want them to have the same opportunities High achieving alumni like major general Jenna Tempo or NASA engineer Christina Gonzalez head our our students deserve I swear to God it's the podium I'm telling you I'm allergic to the podium our students deserve a path that allows them to grow and Achieve and fulfill their potential and I heard the the buzzer so I will say look how many people came here to fight for this budget I don't see anyone coming here like it's worth their time to save $300 no one so thank you we need a new Podium all right good evening everyone my name is pedal Robertson I'm the secretary treasurer of the New Jersey Education Association and I come to you today also as a 20 plus year ve veteran resident of Oldbridge Township um and I'm speaking to you first as a taxpayer and someone that will absolutely be affected by a tax increase and I understand that no one likes to hear the word tax increase but I think we have to be farsighted here when I think about just what I pay Wawa in gas if you tell me that will keep Educators in the classroom keep class sizes small and make sure that we're churning out informed responsible well-rounded students I would pay that times two and I say that if when we think about the cost savings when we think about the lack of cost savings and the long-term effects what we're essentially telling people is we could either raise your property taxes right now so that you have viable School District that people want to move into or you can watch the value of your home plummet as people decide Oldbridge is no longer a place they want to live and listen I have to be honest and tell you I say all of this to you without ever having raised a child to go through this system but understanding the value of every single child that goes through this system and what I am is an aunt to a wonderful 5-year-old that believes that he is going to be an amazing dancer and he called me one day on FaceTime and he said oh Auntie pedal I want you to watch me dance and I'm holding the phone like this and he proceeds to put his phone down like this and I'm just looking at the ceiling for 26 minutes I held that phone while he danced his heart out and I see nothing but ceiling and I keep saying go go go go and when he comes back on he says was that good I said 'y you were great and he said well now you have to buy me dancing shoes and I have to tell you I bought him those dancing shoes and I say that to you all now because it's about recognizing the greatness in spaces that you may never enter But trusting the people who have the heart and the passion to tell you what it [Music] needs so when these educ come to us and they tell us I need these dancing shoes so I'm not sitting here teaching larger classes in which I can no longer access the students that need me there with them when they tell you I need these dancing shoes because we have to continue to offer not just our AP courses our art courses but our technical courses because that's what made Oldbridge Stand Out Above the Rest when they tell you that I need my dancing shoes so I can maintain my athletic programs and every single art program because that's what made made Oldbridge special that's what made people choose Oldbridge over anywhere else because we were the district that was recognized around the state we're the district that's constantly in the nja review We Are The District that lets me brag about where I live everywhere I go we are the people who know what those dancing shoes look like and you are the wonderful people that have the opportunity to be on FaceTime and say go go go because I believe in your passion I believe in your heart and I will purchase those dancing shoes for you because I know of the potential of every single educator in this space I know how you have touched the lives of every student that has come through here and I can recognize that without ever having to step foot in your classroom and when the government has given us a solution when they have said to us this is the funding we will provide and you simply have to charge $25 a month to be able to continue in your greatness I promise you I would buy those dancing shoes every single year and that's what we ask of you today I know trust me I do a budget for an entire State I know your task is not easy but I also know that a budget is a the best way for people to understand just what it is we value and I also know from traveling around the state that when we take these things away we never come back the same so I promise you without your dancing shoes these cuts hurt kids buttons will be bigger next year when we talk about how cuts hurt morale cuts hurt Community cuts hurt our superintendent as he tries to schedule Cuts H hurt our entire Oldbridge Township and soon The Talk of the Town won't be the new shop right in Target it will be the terribly underfunded schools that do not have enough teachers in every classroom and that's not what I want for this town in which I have paid taxes for over two decades and I'm certain that's not how all the Applause took two seconds of my time I'll just say real quickly I am absolutely certain that that is not how any single one of you want to be remembered so I urge you today and going forward to purchase the dancing shoes for your Educators thank you very very well spoken my name is Damen chavalo I am a junior here at Oldbridge high school and I stand Here both terrified and speechless literally I don't have a speech and in fact I'm winging it but think of it like that I I wing it every day in the programs I take I don't know what I'm doing and I started not knowing what I was doing either but I'm learning every day coming through finding different problems that I wouldn't even known from the start I mean honest to God I probably still couldn't tell the difference between a nut and a bolt if it had enough rust on it but seeing myself thinking that I'm not prepared and no one to speak for others I think I know who I am to speak for others I mean I'm a son and nephew to four alumni who passed through the school system all taking the same machine shop program that I did I'm a brother to my sister who is a freshman in the excuse me in the GNC who's taking both the journalism she's doing I believe it's photography I don't remember at this point it's been so far in the year and I just take her to school straight in the mornings but I'm a friend to some of the people in this room who also take this program with me and I here to stand for them who play their Sports work on their cars with us together it it all works out and I'm a classmate to many of the students who were sitting here and left who all probably probably not probably most likely would work just to pay that extra 30 for themselves just so we can get into these programs and work for ourselves I'm a student of the teachers one sitting right over there Mr Pasa who will not come here to speak for himself because he has students who will come and speak for him him he has students who will come stand for what he wants because he deserves it cuz he is not only an automotive teacher he sits there every day and he teaches us about different things I mean he has bees at home that he tells us about every day he's taught us about mortgages different car payments what you because it's auto shop is not all about the parts it's about life because your car is your life you drive every day it takes you from point A to point B but what is point A to point B when you can't get there you need your life working in and I stand here not only to speak for them but to speak for you up there because if these programs disappear and we can't take these auto shop programs or The Woodworking cosmetology any of such your hairdressers your house builders your car mechanics you're going to lose them those prices are going to go up and slowly over the years you're going to beay more and more so these need to stay constant if we don't have these you don't have a future for us we the students desire our own future because here I am to speak if not on all behalfs on my own behalf I intend to make a future for myself starting here from obhs I stand as a student who knew nothing about Automotive who didn't even like cars at the start but taking it sophomore years started to realize that maybe I do have a purpose at this school and now I intend to go to the UNOH College in Ohio with my friend and I intend to graduate there make a life for myself and have a wonderful family because it's great to have goals in life but if we can't progress past what we don't have we won't have goals at all because our only goals will be to get back what we can have what we did have so here as a district of character you can't spell character without care and I stand here to care for my fellow students my teachers who bring their cars into this auto shop every day and have to pay less than what they would at normal auto shops they can come in here and bring their cars in Pay Way less than half the price and not even have to leave their job so they can sit here and provide for the future generations of America possibly the world because they deserve it they need it and if not just for Mr P I speak for the rest of the elective teachers if not just for myself I speak for the rest of the students here at Oldbridge we make our start at life and I've made mine so I hope that you put the care in character and care for the rest of us care for the students who do intend to make their start in life here and go forward those who want to forge their own history with their own hands thank you I'd give him another five minutes I could listen to him all day long um hi I'm Madison Benner I'm a resident and Senior at orridge high school um I would love to put a perspective out there that I feel like most people don't always see or hear um I haven't always lived in Oldbridge I came from Union County actually and to see the difference coming into this school every day and just the elementary school system that was over there the the lack of Education that I got there like here like shot me up to where I needed to be um there's no Community like Oldbridge really like the support you get here is unlike anywhere else there are countless fames that I've recommended this school too because of all of the programs we have um the opportunities that this would take away from children like me who got a chance moving to somewhere like here it's it's not going to go well I think this subject is important I think it's changing so many people's lives and what they can look like in the future personally I'm in child development I'm in year three I bought my college credits I'm going to Kane University in the fall thank you uh my passion is to become a teacher when I look at these people that is exactly what I want I'm a I'm an intern for Mr cnor in his class I love it there's nothing that I love more than grading a test from my kids or helping them as weird as it sounds I go to I go to my job I actually I'm in my work attire right now I work with little ones and seeing like that they can grow up to come to a school system like this with the opportunities that they have like I couldn't be happier um I want pursue my career in any way and I would hate to see any of the Juniors one of them being my little brother who is a junior currently about to go into his senior year I would hate to see him not have the opportunities that I had even though I'm a year ahead he is such a bright Soul he wants to go he wants to travel he has all these opportunities right in front of him and one of those is going into his senior year and being able to take culinary I saw his culinary teacher talking up here he doesn't stop talking about her at home but like to see that these programs have helped him in such a way where he has an outlet where he's able to do things where I'm able to do things and we're able to see that future like grow bigger I couldn't ask for more from this school program I see so many teachers out here today from Suk or from here who have helped guide me to be the person that I want to be and I think we're forgetting that it isn't just about the education system it's also about the connection that you get with a teacher on a day-to-day basis when I see my kids they run up to me they're not looking for me to teach them their ABCs or anything like that they come up to me because they want my affection they want my attention and when they're having like a bad day they cry but they come to me and as much as maybe I'm not a baby I I go to my teachers for guidance they're more than Educators they're mentors they're my Advocates they're the people who strive you to be the best person that you can be every day you walk in here whether they're having a bad day they're here for you and right now I'm just trying to be there for them thank you good evening my name is Danielle Green I stand here tonight as a taxpayer veteran teacher and Union vice president in another district and last but not least a mother sorry eagerly anticipating her first daughter's entry into kindergarten slowly on a downward spiral first and foremost I want to commend your dedication to serving our community and ensuring the best possible education for our children however I implore you to consider the long-term implications of any proposed program Cuts especially in light of their potential impact on the students academic social emotional and per overall personal growth at a as a veteran teacher for 17 years in a High performing District I've witnessed firsthand the power of a well-rounded educational program these programs not only provide students with essential academic skills but also also Foster creativity critical thinking and social emotional development cutting such programs would undoubtedly deprive our children of valuable opportunities to thrive and succeed in school and beyond their school AED years moreover as a taxpayer I understand the need for the fiscal responsibility however firmly believe that investing in education is an investment in our community's future by maintaining robust educational programs we not only support our students academic achievement but also contribute to the overall prosperity and well-being of our overd community lastly as a mother I am deeply invested in ensuring that my child and all incoming kindergarteners have access to the highest quality education possible I want to see our district continue to provide a nurturing and enriching learning environment where every child has the opportunity to reach their f full potential in conclusion I urge you to explore alternative Solutions and prioritize the preservation of our educa educational programs our child's Futures depend on it and as stakeholders in this community we have a collective responsibility to ensure they receive the education they deserve also I'm sorry one more thing as I said as a veteran teacher in another District it was so nice seeing all the teachers here and the support and congrats to all those who were um received honors tonight thank you hello Alison tuckman I'm a teacher here in Oldbridge for 18 years and I serve as one of the two co- internal coordinators for orridge high school's middle States accreditation um we were visited in March by a team of four volunteer Educators who came and spent four full complete days and nights with us um evaluating everything in our programs from top to bottom and I know several of you met with them when they were here um several of the people here met with them when they were here on the last day that they were here they serve um an all report to our faculty and to uh members of our district who came to hear it um I'm happy to say we were recommended for full re accreditation from middle States organization um I wanted to share some of the remarks that were given by Mr Sam bman who was the team chair on the last day that they were here he said we asked your community Di identify what they see as your school's primary strengths the responses can be summarized by your mission statement which speaks of safety nurturing and a place where all students can achieve the success necessary to become respectful members of a global Society we are impressed by the uniformity with which your students parents teachers and staff speak about this school your students repeatedly told us that their teachers are the best they share that you are willing to meet with them and offer onetoone support and sound gu guidance when needed before during and after school they said your classes are engaging that you are fair that you care and that you inspire them they appreciate the clubs you advise the extra efforts you provide students to excel beyond the classroom and the support you provide on Game Nights theater and musical performances and all their hallway Creations we spoke with teachers and staff who told us they feel valued and are provided what is necessary to provide present excellent l to offer an array of elective activities and the trust to do their jobs with the support of administration sorry the long he was very long-winded I'm trying not to be your building is immaculate a tribute to the custodial staff's efforts your classrooms are Dynamic a tribute to teachers caring about their subjects and students your building is filled with morning greetings lunches around every corner and a compassionate staff who under understand when students are 10c late 10 seconds late for their classes because of a backpack disaster or a girlfriend who had to share something important your school store mirrors a professional Market with students learning the ins and outs of that will lead them to productive careers and satisfying lives the last piece I would like to read the expressive arts program showcases some of the most talented students in the school with classes and experiences that offer these creative Innovative and inventive students to display their talents with cameras computers Adobe software unique musical performances paint and canvases that make us stop and take a closer look and woodcrafts that start with pieces of wood yet end up objects that are products of talent patience and precision our teachers here I am I taught New York City for a few years before I came to oldridge high school and there has not been a day in the 18 years 19 years that I am here that I don't love coming to work with the people I work with in this building our programs here are the heart of alridge high school they are the heart of what makes this place Special by the end of the four days with these visiting team members two of whom came from Philadelphia one of them was uprooting her entire family and moving to Oldbridge by the time she was done I don't think she was kidding actually um they were Beyond Blown Away by everything thing we do here and that's a tribute to a lot of the people who are in this room so please consider that when making your decisions tomorrow thank [Applause] you how's everybody doing my name is Anthony Pino uh I am a junior here at orridge high school a fellow resident just like I'm sure everyone else here um and and I'm also a Young Apprentice at Precision Hair Studio on Route [Applause] 9 I'm here to talk about cutting these programs um can cause for myself and everyone else involved in this school um I am the only boy in the cosmetology program um and I'm one of many who have played or still do play many school sports by cutting these classes and programs you are affecting our students who aren't going to college and are taking these programs to gain their license so they can gain careers uh in this world I speak for myself and I'm sure lots of uh lots of people here when I say not every kid is college material some kids struggle in Math Science History every regular class nobody's perfect in anything let's be for real um but these programs are giving kids like myself a chance to express themselves in their passions of being an electrician a barber construction worker mechanic Etc another thing my generation gets talked about for having lack of common sense but um La common sense because nobody wants to put in the effort no kid wants to go to school he's exhausting I wake up 5:00 in the morning I'm like why am I doing this but by getting rid of kindergarten you're actually helping the fact of my generation becoming lazy and having that lack of Common Sense kindergarten is the time where we learn basic math how to talk correctly in English I definitely do have faith that you will keep these programs in our school for years to come go nights that was like five people behind us good evening Amanda jenss Justine Heredia we're both Elementary Arts teachers taxpayers employees obh graduates and parents of past and future students um we have two points to leave you here with tonight related arts is where inclusion flourishes and no one here tonight at the podium was against the tax hike have a great night oh sorry Hi Justine Heria so I grew up in Oldbridge I still currently live in Oldbridge I went through through Oldbridge High School Oldbridge Public Schools I have two children who will be going through Oldbridge Public Schools uh my husband is a police officer in town I have deep roots in this town Oldbridge high school was where I found my purpose in life and my passion I was in culinary arts I was in um portfolio art and that experience has made me who I am today I am a Avid foodie I am an art teacher and I like to build things with my hands I hope to one day even you know own my own maybe upcycled furniture company but like this this town has given me my purpose and when I tell my students when I teach them they always say Mrs you know you're such a great art teacher you're such a great artist how did you learn how to do this and I say you know what it's it's not about being a good artist it's not about how well you can draw it's not about how talented you are it's about your passion and it's about building self-confidence and just knowing who you are as a person and the Arts is a place where children have that outlet in order to find their purpose or their their passion in life and if we get rid of that what are we supporting we're we're not fully supporting them as human beings for my two sons I want them to have the same opportunities that I had growing up I want them to be able to express themselves I want them to be excited to go to school and I want them to fulfill their dreams and if we cut these programs who's to say that my my son Sean doesn't want to be an actor one day or my son Adam doesn't want to be a mechanic you know these are this is these are the programs that they're going to learn these trades and if we get rid of them we're not supporting them and I would hate hate for my you know for my son to not have the opportunities that I had and I like I said I live in town I'm a taxpayer and I will do anything for my kids I don't care how much it costs I will do anything for them thank you can I just Mr far can I just interrupt just I want to PL request um if there's anyone else that is going to speak tonight please just come and wait in the line please PL I ask that um as we get closer to the 11:00 hour we just want to know how many left to Earth to speak thank you hi I'm Lily dantona I'm a freshman here at this High School school and I have a very long ways to go I'm very well educated on what the cuts could be thanks to my mom hi and when I go and relay the information that I've learned from her to my peers and that all their programs could be cancelled they say that can happen and they can't do that and it's unfortunate for me to have to say to them but they can every single person I talk to teachers students same grade or above all believe that this can't be happening because all their programs are so great and so precious and it elevates their education I am currently set up to graduate high school with an associates degree I am in two AP classes I play two sports I am in Orchestra and I have done the Arts High program I have well rounded but it's unfortunate for me to have to say everything that I've built up to add to my resume could all be wiped out in one year I don't want to have to say that or have any of my classmates and peers have this great resume of Roc orchestra band Sports all the trade classes this great resic to be wiped under their feet in one year so many of friend so many of my friends have one year left in school and everything they've built could be gone in one second thank you [Applause] hi I'm Bridget lava um I am a mostly lifelong resident of Oldbridge I've spent 35 of my 50 years here um I am a proud alumni of the school system mcdot Samberg cedaridge High School um very no no a lot about what you do up there my mother spent many years on the board of EDS so um again I just want to reiterate what so many people have said you know I I do have a little bit of a perspective into what you know the choices that that you have to face and I do respect the choices of the members of the board who said I'm going to abstain tonight until we know what the budget looks like um unless you know what you're dealing with you really can't say let's do this or let's let's do that all that being said and I don't know if I'm speaking more to you or to the residents that are concerned with um the tax increase um again I've lived most of my life in Oldbridge um I did move away in my 20s to be closer to work like so many do um but um to sort of paraphrase and maybe bastardize the immortal words of Kevin Smith do not underestimate the drawing power of Oldbridge Township or the Garden State for that matter um so I'm back uh I was gone for I guess about 15 years um and at when we came back we were or before we came back we were living in Essex County this is where the perspective comes in our house in Essex County was 700 Square ft smaller than my house here my property was literally half of my property here when I moved back my mortgage payment went down a lot of it had to do with the fact that our taxes here believe it or not are very reasonable now I understand that there have been especially people who have been here forever maybe you're getting closer to retirement that budget is a little tighter I get it no one wants to spend extra money but if you are in that stage of your life would you rather spend an extra and in my case it's probably going to be around $60 a month based on my where my taxes are would you rather spend that extra $60 a month and invest in the to and the future of Oldbridge or would you like to see maybe 50 or $100,000 knocked off the property of your house where if you are close to retirement and you're relying on that on the equity in your house to maybe carry you through or maybe help you retire early it's just something to consider um one of the things I found shocking when I did live in Essex County was you know it was a great school system and it was it was smaller there were two elementary schools one Middle School one high school you know a lot of the kids walked to school it was one of the things we kind of loved about it but they didn't have a marching band you had a they had a state championship football team with no marching band and all I could think to myself was not everyone's meant to be a football player not every kid is going to play a sport the the Arts those programs they it's it's and it's not just Arts music it's Oldbridge offers something for everyone literally offer something for everyone and it would be a sin to lose that okay I didn't have anything prepared so that's all I got thank you all very much hi I apologize I do not have anything written down or written this is my daughter asked me to be here tonight because this directly affects her she is in a cosmetology program her teacher is sitting right there I know that in my household my daughter I'm sorry my name Joanna Burnside I know in my household my daughter would be devastated about what is going on tonight and I recently moved to Oldbridge so I am new here my I have two kids one's in uh San not Sandberg sock and one is in the Oldbridge high school so what affects my daughter that is in the high school is going to affect my other daughter as well I would not have moved to this town if it wasn't for the school system I moved from munion County as well like that other girl that spoke the school system was and I moved here for a better opportunity for my children okay and if this school was not good I would not have moved here you taking away these programs away from these children are taking away opportunities for these children how dare you do that to them and especially after they've been in these programs you're not even giving them the opportunity to finish the program you're just cutting them dry like that that's disgraceful it's disgraceful my daughter has been in this program for two years already two years so what she just did these past two years is worth nothing how do you tell that to her I don't even know what else to say but I had the urge to come up here because my daughter is going to be affected by this good evening everybody my name is Jennifer Roman my son Logan Roman is a senior in high school I know a lot of these teachers sitting out here in the audience um a lot of you have helped him along the way he has a learning disability he's not well now he's outgoing thanks to a few teachers um but I I'm sitting here and I'm listening to everybody talking it's the same thing over and over again we need to do what's best for the kids the money will find it we have to balance the budget we have to give these kids every opportunity to succeed I look at him I look at some of the boys that walk out of this this room I've known them since they were little kids they were in trouble every single day the only thing that kept them out of trouble was the automotive program Mr borell I mean it was a joke in my house the only thing we talk about is wrestling and the borell you know Mr citadino you know how I am with my son I'm all over him and I wouldn't have to be all over him if we lived in a perfect world but the problem is right now is that we're cutting the programs that are helping kids like Logan to become the best that they can be so we need to stop take a deep breath and realize okay I'm not going to dunking every day huh I'll find a way to get my coffee raise my taxes if you have to keep the programs thank you okay folks thanks for all your comments uh we'll do uh what's best for the community and the children tomorrow okay do we have an executive session no that tomorrow okay any old business yes I have a few things go ahead okay um so school is for Learning and obtaining certificates and college credits um a lot of people that spoke uh talked about many of the CTE programs that we currently have and as someone who went to college and most people that do go to college are idiots you know especially if they don't follow my strategy and doing all that thank you for that uh student that's going to Kane thank you very much for that and um I agree trades are very useful and um I wasn't in in of getting rid of any of those especially because the credits that they provide and the experience they provide is very important however um ever since I was a board member we've added new things every year uh some of them have come from Grants which many people have said is free money and I warned that if we add new things the there won't be a will to get rid of them but that's the situation we're in and uh based on the appearance of people talking um it's kind of affecting my decision on the budget so good job on that um but we have to focus on what we need and what we want I don't agree with the rhetoric that if we B make any small cuts that your house value is going to go down um the biggest reason your house has gone gone up in value over the last few years is because of the increasing money supply especially in the past 5 years which inflates real estate prices so that's the reason your houses have gone up in value mostly um okay wait sorry I I have a lot of notes run down I also don't agree that if kids don't have a specific program they're going to turn into criminals and not be good people and currently the the federal funds rate is five and a half you know we don't have we're not going to go to two and I don't think we should basically have a blank check good thing they didn't give us a blank check but you know 9.9 is a lot but like I said the turnout in support of this budget was very high and that's going to play a role in my decision and um this is off the cuff taking notes of what everyone's saying if anyone has any specific questions they should email me I think only two people emailed me in like the past week concerning the budget so email me about anything and I'll give you my opinion and possibly some knowledge we'll see thank you thank you anyone else um I just want to Mr gano can you just give them your email just so they have it yeah yes for some reason if you go on the website it doesn't go onc correctly it's SG i o r d nps.org I just want to um respectfully respond to what you just said um to those of us who have children in the system and who've gone through the system and to those of us who own homes I want to respectfully disagree with you that it is the it is the value of the school district that the Ed that everything is based on so I get that that's your opinion but I can tell you as a person who's a homeowner and apparent that that's it's not true I said it's the biggest indicator not the only indicator I said it's one of the indic it's the largest indicator of why house values have gone up is because of inflation of course there's other parts of it but that's the major reason I'm not talking about why they go up I'm talking about why a district is desirable and that's the main reason yeah but you reference home values I'm just saying home values are affected by inflation mostly continue School District okay next anyone else no no no no no it's still Mr oh I'm not goingon to no good oh me okay um so before the award ceremony last night Alena and I was sitting in the reception room we were speaking to some of the other donors and everything that you know everything that kept coming up was about how you know great of a town this is and how the schools and the staffs and how everyone's amazing and it shows in the what we called Oldbridge lifers you know people who you know are born here raised here and and it really is a true Testament to what this town is when I decided to move from Staten Island here one of my main things was the Oldbridge school systems and I have to say I I don't ever regret that move um as young as my kids are I'm I'm beyond grateful for the staff of in their schools helping them just adjust to a new school and just a new life basically you you know they they're young so that that's that was the first time ever in school um I don't disagree with with anyone when they say about the raising of the taxes I do agree with with a lot of what all of you said you know the the money it raises our you know our houses it it raises our it provides the programs that our kids need the I am I I I love that we offer these vacational these um the trade programs and the Arts and and the athletic program that we have because I speak to some people in other districts and they don't have as good as we have so I I I don't want anyone to think that I'm against raising of the taxes so when I ask my questions it's really just to get a full understanding of what I'm voting on a and what I'm voting for it's not to disagree with people I I just like to know what I'm putting our tax money into um you know both of my kids are products of the eso program the RTI program no one wants to see that go you see on during football season how H how hyped up the football games are that's the school that I went to that's how it was for us and I love it you know it's it's amazing to see the community come together when it comes to the these kind of programs for the kids and I would never want to see that go I um all I'm asking is just to be able to let us sit down and go over the budget because if there is money bleeding out somewhere unnecessarily let's let's close that cuz that's more money that we could put back into the schools back into the teachers back into these programs I I'm not I'm not questioning things to say no I'm questioning things just to get a full understanding from my own knowledge thank you Miss Geor please continue I know you weren't finished and we kind of oh I was finished I just wanted to bring out that point to you okay thank you anyone else I have something I want oh no go go go you had your hand up first go go okay all right so um I tried to kind of take some notes as everybody went through their comments so just bear with me as I follow try to follow my own notes um so first I want to thank every single person who got up here to speak because number one it is not easy getting up there to speak I especially want to say uh what a great job to students who get up and speak because again not easy um whether we agree on disagree on things um getting up to to speak for what you believe in is so important um I love that our staff here come out in the way that they do they come out here they support one another they're cheering and I think that's shows the pride that they take in this community and I don't know any District that wouldn't want their their staff to be that supportive of one another um so I just wanted to say thank you for everyone's heartfelt words um a couple of things that just kind of stood out to me I just wanted to um thank Mr Mella for a second um for saying that this was kind of through no fault of our own I mean I'm just trying to learn as much as I can I've been up here for six months and you know are faced with these really difficult decisions so I I am doing the best that I can and asking the questions that I think need to be asked um and also I wanted to thank Miss lava for acknowledging that we are just you know kind of trying to learn and just wanting some more time it's kind of exactly what Christina said um I I feel the same way I agree with with everybody that's come up here um what makes this District so great is all of the programs and all the opportunities that we afford our children I don't disagree with any of it and I I never said that I did um so I just want everybody to know that um okay I also would like to just kind of try to sandwich this night with a little positivity we started off super positive we had to talk about the budget and now I just kind of want to um say some positive things so in the last five days here um in in District I've had the opportunity to go to um the Suk War language Junior uh Honor Society induction I think I said that exactly right um Civil War day at Samberg senior Awards night last night and our celebration for our teachers of the year and education support professionals and I was joking with Christina that after all this and if you throw in dance recital this weekend for my girls I have clapped so much and it feels so good because it really does you smile you clap and um it helps with that whole Pride that our community is feeling right now um I did want to say good luck to nesty I know she's not here anymore but maybe she'll listen or maybe someone will tell her um her job isn't easy too to sit up here especially when you know things between the adults obviously are difficult discussions so I just wanted to wish her the very best of luck and I did want to comment um I'm an oldridge lifer I mean I've been here since I'm eight so maybe not my whole life and I'm I'm living in the the house the childhood home that I grew up in and I'm raising my girls in that home where my brother and I grew up and I'm also a proud product of Oldbridge schools and I have pride in that and take pride in that so um please remember that that you know you know I'm I'm just asking questions because I want to learn genuinely um okay I think I'm done so thank you for listening Elena I just wanted to tell you that nesty will be back for the agenda meeting because I asked her if she could come back so we can we can say goodbye to her we're going to give her an award right yes okay I also want to build on something that um that Elena just said so as a bcba I take data every day on everything you can even ask my husband um and so 33 people came up to the um Podium today to speak and out of the 33 people 26 people expressly called for a tax increase and zero people said that they did not want a tax increase and zero people asked us to cut programs my hand can confirm the 33 uh I just want to add a few things I want to thank everybody who came out to express their concerns and their opinions it's again mentioned bravery to get to the podium but looking at it from the outside if I'm watching a bunch of Educators and residents and students come in to preach what we're supposed to already know there's got to be a lack of confidence and Trust in the board as a whole and I'm I'm speaking for myself as how I perceive it they're actually selling themselves as to why we should continue what we know is good in the district so there's got to be a sense out there that there might be some push back um in reference to home values and and owning a home I moved to Oldbridge because of the school district I wasn't even married at the time but I knew one day I'd want that picket fence but we've heard this cliche all the time nobody moves to Oldbridge for the shop right in the targets they come for the school districts that's and I think Peter hunt might have mentioned that's what they ask you how good are the schools so I think you guys know where I stand I support everything that's been going on I wanted to continue but there's a reason why 25 people lined up to try to reassure US 33 33 people lined up to try to reassure us what I thought that we already knew and I'm not doubting people who question you should question you don't want a yes man or yes woman up here um but but we manage a $160 million budget and when I see assistant coaches not getting approved and little nickel and daming Petty things that's not going to do anything you know saving I don't even add up what the coach is going to cost but that's irrelevant so I can see why they're concerned CU we are nickel and diming little things that we need two years ago we needed coaches we needed guys and coaches to be in the bathroom and and be in 10 different places now we don't need them so so um I think it's important that the staff even though we work for I know that that or chart was a brainstorm that we work for the citizens but we also support the people that are in this room and that's why we're up here so I hopefully as a team we make the right decision tomorrow I'm sure the entire board will do what's best for the students okay yes you can speak all right so I apologize in advance got notes and arrows and everything everywhere um I tried asking IE if she was going to stay but with the hour I totally understand but I did want to acknowledge and thank nesty for her hard work congrats to the teachers of the year and the uh support staff and the recipients congrats to the seniors on their Scholarships in community service academics Sports And Trades um achievements thank you to for all the invites for the end of the year for the end of the year invites and I will try to make as many of events as my schedule allows congrats to the students for finishing up your AP testing and the state testing and hope everyone can enjoy the activities uh for the end of the year stealing info from Dr Sasso in the high school PTSA report when Midstates came and talked to the students they asked if there was a trusted adult in the school that they felt self safe talking to student after student didn't just name one staff member they named multiple this speaks to the volumes of our staff members and the safe our students feel when they need to discuss the stresses and the issues of their lives one thing many can agree upon is that politics doesn't belong in our schools that we should be here for the students doing the right thing for them to be able to grow into great contributing young adults I found it concerning after watching the town council meeting last week which was the same night as our agenda meeting that similar concerns were almost identical wording was brought up in regarding our students and the school's ability to provide support beyond the academics while the school environment for most is p in educational experience we have a community of students that need us to do more because they don't have that support at home either due to parents inability lack of a figure I don't know what I meant by that when I wrote it at two in the morning sorry um oh lack of a parent figure that's what it meant lack of a home or any number of reasons this is not just an Oldbridge service this is an educational service that is equal in need as breakfast offered in school the glass slipper project for prom dress is the diversity of clubs to uh for students to connect with likeminded peers or even an attendance monitor to check why a student might not be in school that day just as Generations now are more comfortable talking emotions than previous generations ever was the school needs to adapt needs to adapt to handle the everchanging needs of students just as we have adopted to those of different oh the phone moved there we go um have a adapted to those with different educational requirements providing Mental Health Services by a certified professional is equate to Bringing to Bringing to Adaptive teachers for adaptive Learners it is acknowledging that not every student grows and succeeds the same way I'm I myself am a working professional in the trades profession of Cosmetology which we do geometry and chemistry not just chemistry when I said when I said your kid my kid and all kids I have a kid that's in sports in AP classes in the Arts and Music and both of my kids love Oldbridge I continuously interact with students of all abilities at all the schools with all the activities that we invited to and as much as my schedule allow both my husband and myself are products of the Oldbridge school district and my oldest who is now a freshman was the first year of full day kindergarten 10 years ago supporting an increase of the taxes taking advantage of the max utmost allowed our kids are worth it and in the end the increase is cheaper than the decrease in the home value we've been building early college and dual enrollment programs it's a disservice to our trades and to our AP classes to cut these programs thank you okay now that we covered old business I would like to cover new business and our new business we have the organization chart which was under old business last meeting and I believe there's one correction that we're going to make and the correction is uh the board secretary also answers to the Board of Education not only to the superintendent do I have any objections to that go ahead no um isn't that against our governance 101 no not not in his capacity as board secretary as as as ba he reports to the superintend but in his capacity as board secretary there is a direct line between Mr wiell and the board okay so what are we hoping to accomplish with this new line the new line is that all you people have a right to call up the business the board secretary if you have any questions so not having the line means we didn't have that right before no we did we had one maybe 15 years ago but it was taken away okay so are we asking him to separate his role as a business administrator and no no no no no no he's still a business administrator and secretary right but as a business administrator shouldn't he report to the administration he does he does so you're asking him to report to us directly as a board secretary yes just on that title alone just just on that kind of issue if you have any issues or something to talk about as would and pertaining to the board you can call them up directly okay okay I do I do that already so oh you do that already that's why I'm lost I'm like okay okay well now now's in writing and it took five minutes to explain fun but now we're just going to put it in revise this okay I just want to clarify for Mr Mr President I just want to clarify for the public because it sounds like I I sto you guys from talking to him that does matter is there any time in the over the course of your leadership that I've stopped you from talking to David or or or um Joe Joe you forgot his name already forgot him I was envious of him driving in a Subaru late at night with M he wasn't here but we'll revise this okay thank you and we're not going to go into executive session tonight we doing it tomorrow wait we will be in tomorrow yes we'll wait a couple hours for that yes okay uh I need a motion to rej will motion I need a second second everybody will motion roll call everyone all in favor yes good night folks everything will work out thank you