##VIDEO ID:l2Tkj_7vfDE## e e one two three e e e e e e e and on cable vision channel 118 and Verizon files 24 and by filing such notice with the township cler this meeting will schedu for Tuesday September 17 2024 the board will take formal action on payment of bills and other agenda items Mr W 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 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 wo roll call please Dan tuno here J Dano here ji here Francisco here lent present Marquetta maone here Slade here solowski here we have a quorum thank you would everybody please ADV for the pledge thank you okay we're GNA have this uh moment of silence next week uh code of ethics who would like to uh pick up the code of ethics I'll do it who I'll do it okay thank you recognition we're going to have recognition next week uh we have two retirees uh superintendent's report are we going to have a superintendent's report thank you yes we will have a superintendent report we'll have a report on um some of our school School climate and mental health initiatives and the progress that we've seen over the course of the past few years and we're also going to talk about our family Academy nights and what we have planned for the year so we can give our families enough ample time to sign up for these very valuable professional learning opportunities for families thank you toward goals any correspondence we have quite a few okay okay okay all these come emails or one came Anonymous letter uh first one here good evening I'm writing to tell to you all to encourage you to consider extending Mr Caden's contract in all my years of living in Oldbridge I don't ever remember a superintendent that was so Pro oldridge Mr sadino has always gone above his job to help out all of our students staff and residents he has shown us all what true leadership is he has always made himself available to everyone who needed help with an issue or just to lend an ear to listen so again I implore you all to reconsider and extend his contract why try to fix something that's not broke you would be doing a great disservice to our students staff and residents of Oldbridge if you don't extend Mr cino's contract sincerely Lynn orig resident and staff member of of Oldbridge next correspondence dear Oldbridge Board of Education members I would like to submit this letter in support of our superintendent and I request that it please be read into the minutes at the upcoming board meeting on September 17th 2024 I had the fortunate opportunity to work under Mr Cino at Jonas s middle school before he became superintendent under his leadership at Salk the morale sense of unity and positivity were unparalleled it was it was pable to all who entered our building having experienced that trickle down effect from Mr cino's charismatic personality it made absolute sense when he was selected to lead our entire School District excuse my name the as Maya Angelou perhaps stated people will forget what you said people will forget what you did but people will never forget how you made them feel this accurately describes Mr Seno's leadership style his humility his approachability his caring nature and his sense of humor put people at ease and make everyone feel supported students staff and families in other school districts the alerts that go out in times of inclement weather or other situations are automated messages the fact that we hear Mr cino's voice instead is a perfect example of the way that he guides with a comforting Personal Touch Mr cino's Dedication goes above and beyond what is required for instance he drove all the way to Long Beach Island to visit a retired former colleague who is receiving Hospice Services similarly his emails communicating sad news regarding a member of her community invariably convey his truly heartfelt sentiments The District employees are always grateful to receive his kind messages of gratitude at times such as teacher appreciation week or Mother's Day in addition when a student or family experiences a crisis on a weekend or during a school break Mr cadino is there to respond he even is there in the afternoon math of something as terribly trag IC as a student's death by Suicide right in the room with the grieving students and staff his presence is invaluable at both the highest and lowest points for our community after all these years despite the stress pressures and heavy weight of responsibilities that the superintendent position entails Mr cadino still leads our district with cheerfulness compassion and a faith in us all and in what we can collectively accomplish this is quite an impressive feat I do not believe that anyone could possibly do his job in the unique way that Mr Cino does we are fortunate to have him at the helm and the only logical decision is to keep him there for as long as we possibly can respectfully submitted Rose Bernstein viia can I just interrupt one second so I spoke to uh councel and as a and I don't know if you did it yet and I didn't hear it um you said there was an anonymous one by policy people have to State the name when they read them here in public and we've never had a practice where we read Anonymous letters at meetings so just skip that one whether it's good b or IND different any more correspondents yes go ahead all right next correspondents dear Oldbridge Board of Education I'm writing to you today to express my support for the renewal of David cino's contract as superintendent of Oldbridge Public Schools I have been a proud member of the Jonas sck Middle School staff for the past 18 years first as a classroom teacher and now as a school counselor I have also had the great pleasure of knowing Dave since 2004 and can honestly say he is one of the most dedicated Educators I have ever known throughout his time here in Oldbridge Dave has remained a constant source of support for the teachers and staff those of us who have had the opportunity to work with him when he was a building principal know this well he is there for us when in every way he can whether it is to help work out ways to establish new programs or teaching strategies or to assist with personal struggles we may be facing outside of school Dave is also the only superintendent I have ever heard of who knows individual students and their families by name if there is one thing that makes him stand out it is his out in his role it is this Ive I have no doubt whatsoever that Dave acts in the very best interest of each and every student in Oldbridge that is true not only because he wants the students to succeed academically but also because he truly cares about them as his own in closing Dave cadino is the common ingredient to Oldbridge Public School Success he has worked TI tirelessly to support teachers and staff and consistently put students first please consider these sentiments over the coming weeks as you discuss this matter thank you Claire jorda guance counselor Jonas St Middle School next corresponds to whom we may concern I writing to you about David C's contract renewal and I'm asking that you renew his contract I know teachers in many other districts and no District can compare to the work that Dave does for the district is teach and the students of Oldbridge he always puts his Oldbridge Family First in making any decisions for the district his inspirational messages assemblies and responses to any of our concerns make Oldbridge the district it is today he truly cares about Oldbridge and especially the education and safety of each and every one of us of the students and staff his presence at events shows how involved he is with every school he is dedicated and motivated to make Oldbridge the best it can be I truly feel that I am part of a family here in Oldbridge and my my friends who teach in our other districts do not have that feeling at all about their District he not only cares about us and helps us professionally but he will without hesitation help us with a personal matter we may which we may have which makes him a truly special person in addition to an outstanding superintendent being in the district for over 20 years I can without a doubt say David cadino is the best person to lead Oldbridge into the future his contract needs to be renewed please read this email as correspondent at the Board of Education meeting on Tuesday Miss cracky Jonas Middle School seventh grade mathematics next correspondence Board of Education members it has come to my attention that for some reason the board of education is considering not renewing Mr cino's contract I've worked in this district for 26 years and I a lifelong resident I have never seen a more engaging and present superintendent I have personally seen Mr Cino at different District events on the same day and I don't know how he does it he is everywhere it is clear that Mr cadino cares deeply about the students and staff of Oldbridge you would be doing a huge disservice to the Oldbridge Community by not renewing Mr cino's contract respectfully Kathleen Kelly JS Ms mathematics team 82 final correspondence here dear Board of Education members I writing this letter in support of Mr Cino being offered a new contract after his current contract expires as a teacher starting my 23rd year in Oldbridge I have grown to know Mr S as not only a boss but as a friend I worked under numerous superintendents in the district and none of them had gone above and beyond like Mr cadino to create a culture that promotes family and friendships he has always put the students and staff of Oldbridge first and strives to Foster an environment in which his students and Staff feel safe and accepted fostering both academic growth and personal growth if the Board of Education chooses not to renew that Mr cino's contract they will be doing a huge service to not only the orridge Township Public School District but also to the township as a whole thank you for allowing my voice to be heard Respectfully yours Michael Curtis thank you Mr Mel any special committee reports next week okay oh we do have one okay on um Tuesday the 10th the cpeg had their first meeting uh it was done via zoom and there are 41 people in attendance we started off by discussing the history of cpeg since 2016 um the presentation discussed focusing on inclusion and that there are a solution focused group and they advocate for families and children um miss babbit the president invol encouraged everyone to get involved to come to meetings to serve as parently aison and bring issues and concerns to communicate to other parents uh she also asked that I mention that they have two face P pages one is called Oldbridge special education parent advisory group and the other is Oldbridge friends of diverse Learners thank you m any others committee reports no hearing of residents on agenda items only hearing of residents on agenda items only I see no takers policy we have nothing on the policy curriculum professional development one through nine and one through 10 any discussion no discussion okay and the action items are one through three G Dan I'll make the motion I need a second Miss second I need discussion roll call please lent yes maretta is absent Mone yes Slade yes danant tuno yes Jano yes J yes Francisco yes solowski yes resolutions one through three for finance passes thank you Mr Wendell Athletics number one any discussion no okay non-certified personnel office one and two any discussion non-certified Personnel operational number one any discussion nothing non-certified Personnel other one and two Mr silus can you just lower your microphone down because if I'm having trouble hearing I'm sure the TV has trouble hearing it you when it up higher no like closer to your face oh okay okay okay non-certified Personnel other we have an action item one and two D will move I get a second jel second any discussion roll call please Dan tuneup yes Gano yes J yes Francisco yes Glen yes Marquett is absent Mone yes Slade yes solowski yes resolutions one through two for non-certificated personel other passes thank you Mr wo any discussion on 3 to 13 I see no hands okay certified Personnel we have two action items one and two can I get a Francisco will move can I get a second second any discussion um yes I would like to welcome one of our new teachers this year her name is Gina capudo I don't know if she's here this evening um if you are here you are if you want to stand up so we can all just say hello and welcome welcome to you welcome to Oldbridge and we wish you the best of luck here a picture we need a picture of her Elena go standa with her thank you and again good luck I'm sure you're going to have a very productive year with the students roll call please Slade yes Dan tuno yes Jano yes J yes Francisco yes lent yes Marquetta is abs Mone yes solowski yes resolutions 1 through two for certificated Personnel passes congratulations thank you Mr White any discussion on 3 to 3 to 22 please any discussion I see no hands okay we do have somebody non-certified Personnel transportation we have five action items six I'm sorry Dan tuna one move can I get a second jel second any discussion roll call please mazone yes Slade yes duno yes Jano yes JRE yes Francisco yes lent yes Marquetta is absent and so cust yes resolutions 1 through six for non-certificated personnel Transportation passes thank you Mr White Transportation one and two any discussion supplies equipment and services we have an action item here number one can I get a motion to move number one miss motion can I get a second please an second any discussion roll call please lent yes Mara is absent mazone yes Slade yes danant tuno yes Jano yes JRE yes Francisco yes solowski yes resolution one for supplies equipment and services passes thank you any discussion on number two okay miscellaneous one through five can I get a motion to move discuss just discussion can I any discussion on this one through five no board secretary and board business we have an action item here number one jordano second any discussion roll call please J yes Francisco yes lent yes Mara Mone yes Slade yes duno yes jirano yes solowski yes resolution one for board secretary board business passes thank you Mr weell hearing of residents on any school district issue when you come up please sign in on the book it might be easier to pass the book back to the next person so that it's and state your name please good evening I'm Daman lro a longtime resident of Oldbridge 27 years as a teacher and coach in the district prepared something over the past 27 years I've worked with several administrators and superintendents and I can honestly say that Mr citadino has been the most engaged Hands-On effective and empathetic educator I've ever worked with and for he makes sure that every educator has the tools attitude and support needed to be the best excuse me to be the best the teachers could be he encourages greatness pride and innovation in our students Mr cadino has demonstrated the ability to make one of the largest districts in the state seem like family he's everywhere every student knows him loves to see him and knows their biggest supporter most of all both students and teachers know Mr sedino cares about them last year he was a named superintendent of the year uh it's an amazing feat every day he cares about everyone uh he's involved the kids from elementary all the way up to high school see him know him and feel that he is what they're um All About You know he's making us a family it's what brings teachers together it's what brings the kids together uh he's a huge part and I really hope you guys look to uh continue and rehire him for a longer extended time thank you very much thank you anyone else Michelle George oh that's loud um I teach at ald High School I've been in the district for this is year 24 um and I'm very upset about the fact that Mr cino's contract might not be renewed so um I was dis I was disappointed to hear that some members of the Board of Education were opposed to renewing Mr cino's contract the question is why usually if a contract is not renewed it's because the district is in dire need of new leadership Mr cadino has been at the helm since 2012 if anything the district has improved greatly over the years I could speak about all the things he has done for the district and all the achievements over the years but they're well documented and we know how much he works with the district and the Oldbridge Community usually when you're an employee of a large District you're just another teacher nurse bus driver parah Etc Mr cadino tries to get to know us the one thing that stands out is that he attends every event I go to a lot of events and he's always there um he talks to the staff the students and community members he doesn't act like he's above everyone just because he is the boss in addition to running a district with 15 schools all with different needs he takes time to read to classes brings Daisy around to help ease student and staff anxiety and works to improve our district when I was growing up here in Oldbridge I don't even remember knowing who the superintendent was and I didn't even know we even had one we had we did but I didn't know who that was um my students got to know Mr citadino way back when I taught first grade as I asked him to read to our whole grade level every year the kids always love listening to him and they asked if he could read to them every week they knew him as the guy who calls for snow days they didn't know what a superintendent was until you know we explained it and they were happy the snow day guy was coming to read and I just want to let you know my first graders they after you read cat and the hat they all wanted me to get all of the Dr Seuss books for the my library over the summer I met a few teachers from other districts we talked about where we worked and they had a lot of complaints about their districts with every complaint I they had I thought wow I'm glad I don't work there and I work in Oldbridge I I this district is like reiterating what everybody says it's like family Oldbridge is a unique District due to having a superintendent who thinks outside the box to constantly make things bigger and better nothing is perfect and you are going to disagree with people on issues sometimes I always tell my students if we all agreed on everything it would be a boring world please put your personal feelings aside and look at his achievements how much the district improve and his connections with all of us thank you thank you hi good evening my name is Stacy pittz I'm a resident of Oldbridge and for full the purpose of full transparency I'm a founding member of capes and a board member of the Oldbridge Education Foundation I am not employed by the Oldbridge Township Public Schools but tonight I am speaking to you as an Oldbridge resident a voter a parent of a child with a child in our school district a PTA member and the co-coordinator of the Oldbridge PTA president Council most residents and board members are familiar with fundraisers and fun activities that the PTA provide to our students throughout the district but one of the most important functions of our ptas is to advocate for all of our students in fact New Jersey pta's mission statement which all of 15 of the 15 Oldbridge ptas are a part of is to positively impact the lives of Children and Families by improving the quality of their health welfare safety and education I stand before you tonight to question why there are members of this board of education who are not immediately renewing the contract for Mr cido the voters of Oldbridge elected all of you to be our voices many of you ran on a platform of transparency tonight we are asking for that transparency what are your concerns regarding Mr cadino why the apprehension to renew his contract why are you willing to risk the progress that a district has made under his leadership to put an unknown enti at the helm of our amazing district there are many parents and community members who are here this evening to speak on his behalf they will speak of his professional achievements as our superintendent and will'll also speak to you about their personal interactions with him one theme that I assure you that we have all heard throughout all of these interactions is that Mr Cino is a care car in and compassionate administrator his door is open to parents teachers and students he is a champion for our district and he is positive and persistent presence in all of our school buildings and at our school events any District would be blessed to have him and we do so let's keep it that way president's council is proposing that we meet with you the PE with the people who elected you if we are in risk of losing our District's leader we the people who again elected you should have the opportunity to ask why in an open Forum similar to a candidates night let's talk about the qualifications of this board of education that this board of education has that will allow them to make such a drastic decision without the input from the people that it will affect the most Mr solowski I will be emailing you to try to find a date that in time that would work best for all board members for this meeting to occur in closing we hope that the Board of Education members excuse me are able to put the welfare of our children above personal vendettas personal agendas and future political aspirations we look hearing look forward to hearing from you thank you good evening Richard Dunn I was gonna talk about some other items this evening but I felt that since in the spirit of keeping things consistent and we're here to support our wonderful uh superintendent David cadino I'm just going to speak on David deceiving and a setad of other things that may be a little divisive I can tell you unequivocally that David is a man of pure character I was on the board of education in 2012 when we hired David we felt that David was the best suited person for our district because of many great attributes and to this day I still believe he is that person that he was uh 13 years ago I think that we need to consider rehiring him and I'm going to appeal to every board member here tonight to give him a fair opportunity I understand that some of our board members currently especially our president do not want to rehire him I know that for a fact and I would be more than happy to share those facts with anyone who wants to speak to me in person because I was behind closed doors I know the reasons so let the board members who are against Mr you know speak their peace and tell you why they should clearly delineate to the public why they're against hiring this man right now as it may seem they may be four the four on the board right now are four him and four against him and there may be one person who may be conflicted so we have to ask the four and maybe tonight should be a good evening to have that conversation on why they do not want to move his contract forward I I think it's in the best interest of this town that we renew his contract I know David personally not from not only being a board member but being a parent here as well and the love in his heart is unbelievable and we have all seen it anyone who's had kids and children in this District know what's in at the man's heart he deserves a fair negotiation he fa he deserves a renewal and we the public are the ones that will be driving this car the board will make the ultimate decision but if we come out in the numbers that we know we have we can persuade the sitting board to renew Mr David sad Dino's contract I can tell you when we decided to hire him it was no better we went through probably about seven or eight different candidates we had an interim uh superintendent Mr Brennan God Rest us Soul he did pass he was a good man but we needed to change years we needed to find a man who believed in the values and the virtues that has made this District great and the accolades that we have attained under his stewardship are incredible so I'm just going to speak about David tonight I'm not going to speak about anything else but I'm going to appeal to all the board members here this evening please consider have a individual one-on-one conversation with David have an interview stand up up speak with him and see what he's all about don't listen to others listen to your heart listen to the community and make that decision that's going to be the best for these for our public school and our children so again I appeal and I hope that the board will consider it he's the best person for the job and I'm confident in the future with David stewardship thank you good evening uh my name is Dr Ken sylvestri and I'm the proud counselor of sixth grade at Carl Samberg middle school and the previous counselor from Southwood Elementary School in 2012 I left an incredibly rewarding career having spent 10 years as a hospice social worker and Cho chose to join the Oldbridge Public School Community because of all the things they did for my son it was definitely a Bittersweet decision working with individuals and children who are facing death teaches you measurable things about life I was not sure how I would adjust to working in schools and with a very different population I entered the oldt High School auditorium in September of 2012 with the anticipation of a nervous middle schooler I anxiously found my seat as I grappled with the unknown and my ambivalent emotions about my career changed the packed Auditorium was greeted by David cadino who was to address the group within days of a horrific shooting at the Oldbridge Pathmark that tra grad took the life of two Albert high school graduates the room was Heavy with sadness and shock however Mr cino's eloquent speech resonated with the attendees and continues to resonate with me until this very day he stated and I'm paraphrasing in the days following their deaths no one asked what Brian Breen or Christina Le bruto's GPA were or their SAT scores they asked what kind of people they were they asked how they were part of our community and he gave us the task that is the focus of our work with the children in the oldridge public schools and then he continued to address the somber audience instantly my ambivalence about my career was gone Mr cino's words I knew he got it like the people I work for in hospice and I knew with my whole heart that I wanted to work in the district led by such a tremendous man most of life is about showing up simply put Mr sadino has led us through tragedies and triumphs with empathy compassion and strength let him keep showing up for us all thank you very [Applause] much good evening my name is Gina Peterson sorry I just said my made in name and I have been an elementary school teacher in this district for 11 years I had the pleasure of working at chirra school and presently at Southwood Elementary School for 10 years before I came to work in Oldbridge I have known Dave um working in Elizabeth school system and then he made his way and sprinkled all his love and wonder wonderful ways about him throughout Oldbridge and many different areas and I'm thankful that I was able to find my way to an amazing District led by such an amazing person when I began working in the Oldbridge School District I felt a warm sense of school community and teamwork amongst all the staff and administration I soon realized that this energy and kindness were all the qualities coming from one man and that's Dave cadino he has always shown enthusiasm for our students and staff and I always and always does it with such a big big heart he truly loves his Oldbridge family thank you so much [Applause] hi um my name is Tara Flynn and I am an English teacher at Jonas Middle School I have known Mr citadino since 2008 but prior to that I grew up in as a resident of Oldbridge I went through the school district I went to Shepard and then Jonas Sal and then Madison Central High School after college I came back to raise my children here because it is such a wonderful District so my four children also are a product of this district and in all that time I've known many fine superintendents and I would not put any of them above Mr citadino I believe he is a strong advocate for all the students and the staff and the community of Oldbridge and I could reiterate everything everyone said about the love and the heart and the compassion and the empathy and he shows up he's there he's at every event he is a kind man but one of and we all know Dave can talk he's a great speaker he's he's funny he's eloquent he's engaging but he also is a great listener and when you speak to Dave you know you are being listened to you know he is not focused on he's got so much going on he is focused on what you have to say your needs your wants your desires your hopes and dreams for your families and this isn't just to his friends this goes across the district to all the students all the parents who have been lucky enough to be part of his the world he has created he has seen us through so many tragedies and triumphs in his tenure here and he has been at the helm in the strongest of ways he I couldn't say enough good things about him even when we come back to school each year that opening ceremony he does for the teachers last year's theme was Ohana which meant family and he wants us all to be a family a community not just the people of oldridge but the teachers and he makes teachers he inspires us to want to be part of this family this year's theme is one love and we are one community and we should share that one love regardless of our political views which are very vastly different but the goal of a district is for the betterment of the students and the staff and the community and I could not Advocate stronger for any candidate than Mr citadino who I am very fortunate to call my boss and my colleague but also my friend and I hope that his contract is renewed because he deserves it wholeheartedly thank you hi I'm Gina Simon I teach Ela at Jonas Middle School this is my 14th year in the district and everybody has known Dave for so long and they know him on a personal level and they've seen all of these amazing things that he does and the one thing that comes back to me is I don't have a real personal relationship with you Dave like I work in your District I work in your schools however I graduated during the recession the first one and no one was hiring teachers that was when everybody was getting fired and everyone was cutting teams and no one was hiring anybody and I'd come out with an English degree and a teaching degree and I was like what am I supposed to do with this I had interviewed at 22 schools it took me a year to land the interview at Jonas Middle School where Mr cadino was still the principal and he was interviewing me for a really tiny um substitute teaching long-term sub position um for a woman who's here and is one of my mentors and friends and one of the questions Mr s Mr cadino asked me was what are you reading right now and me being young and dumb I was like well Harry Potter because that's what I was reading I didn't think that this was a setup or some kind of test asked for a professional answer and I just started going off about Harry Potter and how I'd loved it ever since I was a kid and I love reading young adult books and I love reading what the kids are reading and we have this amazing conversation about books that you probably don't remember because you've had a million interviews with a million different people and I remember at that moment I realized two things one I had messed up I was like no that wasn't right um but two that he was so charming and disarming and made me feel so comfortable and welcome there that I felt it was okay that I knew that IID probably messed up the interview and I was like well I'm not going to get that one just like I hadn't gotten all of the others and when I got the call saying that I got that sub job I literally cried and he was laughing on the phone and he was so excited to offer this girl who've been trying for a year to look for a job in all of these different places and since I started at that job I had worked on and off during that beautiful transition year or years in Oldbridge 2008 2009 2010 2011 when there's different leadership and who's closing and whatever and Dave always remembered my name and he makes a point to come and greet me and there's no reason for him to know that but he does because he cares and that's something that I'm always going to remember forever and I thank you Mr cadino for that because it was such a formative moment in my career and when I got a contract in The District in 2012 it was your first year as our superintendent I was so excited because I was like oh that guy the book guy the sock guy is gonna be the boss for the whole District I was so excited and everybody I have worked with my entire career has sang your Praises you know you've left a market sock we know that everybody who is there knows who you are and loves you and when I found out that this was happening that this was even a question that he would not be renewed I mean the outpouring of love and confusion from everybody at Jonah sock was just overwhelming and I just felt I I needed to share that tiny little moment and that tiny little interview for what was probably 30 minutes in your long and beautiful career and how it changed me and how I felt it was important and I hope that as I teach and help my students and help my mentees and everybody that I can give them even such a small moment so please please please consider renewing this man's contract this is clearly what everybody wants thank you I just will interrupt and say Gina I do remember the interview and I do remember your answer I when I was in my doing interviewing for my jobs I was so nervous and I remembered that feeling that you know you're coming out of college you're so nervous uh about a college in about your first job interview that I thought it was important to disarm people and just like you know ask a question that you know everybody's coming in saying you know what can I teach well and what what am I ready to do but just ask a different question and relaxes people and and uh you could have you could have said you you you were reading cuton hat but we would have just talked about something different but I do remember you saying Harry Potter good evening Board of Education members Administration colleagues and residents my name is Donna Puli and I have been a proud resident of Oldbridge for 21 years I also have the honor of teaching in this District I have four children of my own two daughters and a son who already graduated from oldridge high school and my younger son will be graduating next June as both a parent and an educator I've witnessed firsthand the growth and positive changes in our district under the leadership of our superintendent Mr citadino my children have thrived in our Public School System each pursuing their unique passions and excelling in their own ways over the years Mr cadino has taken the time to get to know my family as he does with many students and their families he also personally acknowledged two very special moments in my teaching career when I earned tenure status Mr citadino came to my classroom to congratulate me in person he also gave me a really cool pen that was inscribed I am tenured Mr cadino also came to Shira when I was presented with a surprise award from the state his personal recognition of these special occasions made me feel truly valued and respected many years ago I contacted Mr citadino regarding a transportation issue in my neighborhood he listened to my concerns and quickly researched the information he then took action and implemented a safer bus stop for my children his prompt response was greatly appreciated by my family for the last two years I was a member of the district's instructional Council team in this role I observed Mr citadino thoughtful and inclusive leadership he carefully reviewed the impact of every decision ensuring that students staff and the community were all taken into consideration Mr cino's leadership reflects a deep understanding of what makes our district so successful Mr citadino is down to earth approachable and has a great sense of humor the light-hearted nature of our welcome back convocations creates a positive atmosphere atmosphere for the staff School visits with Daisy put a smile on the faces of children and staff Mr citadino was a familiar and reassuring presence in the community whether it's through his Infamous telephone calls during weather related events or his attendance at local Gatherings he committ committed to keeping the community informed and connected Mr cino's Dedication extends across all areas of the district providing a well-rounded educational experience for every student he encourages academic e Excellence as well as celebrating students artistic and athletic talents given the tremendous positive impact Mr citadino has had on our district I would love to see him continue as superintendent of Oldbridge Township Public Schools next year NB beond thank you all for your time this [Applause] evening uh good evening my name is Ron barel I did not plan to come up and speak tonight but I've been listening to a lot of teachers and staff and felt like as a parent of a seventh grader I could share a unique perspective um I would I don't have any notes so let's see if this makes sense but I think that this is the entirely Wrong conversation I can't believe that this is even happening we should be up here trying to convince Mr citadino why he should stay here and Lead this District when we go on job interviews we're interviewing the employer as more as much as the employer is uh interviewing us and having sat through enough of these school board meetings if I was him I would have to ask why would I want to continue to fight fight this fight and the answer I have and which I feel confident is because he cares more about the kids and the staff in this District than he does about the petty nonsense that he's had to deal with for the last several years that's been invited by members of the Board of Ed who are not doing him or the district any favors a quick personal story Mr sadino has been extremely responsive uh things have not always been sunshine and rainbows you know with every student and with us personally but he does not stop fighting to get a resolution to empower his staff and the people around him we've had a very rough year but I know for sure that he is in is invested in my son as he is every other kid that's in this building or any of the buildings and I think it's a credit to him the amount of effort and time and patience that has been shown and the care and empathy and you've heard that throughout the night you've heard one person come up here after another that says he cares about me he cares about my kids he cares about my family and he cares about all of that a lot more than I think most people could given the obstacles and obstructions that have been put in his way to make his job harder and more just Le just less easy so with that said I hope that at the end of the day you'll be willing to stay here for us and I hope that the board recognizes that this is a ridiculous conversation that we're up here arguing on his behalf as opposed to on the behalf of Oldbridge to make him to make him stay and continue to do the job that he's done because every every one of us that's been in his Circle I'm not in a circle that's the wrong way to put that but that has has entered his orbit in a in a very minuscule way or in a in a in a a more personal way has to feel that he's doing this job for the kids involved and I just ask you all take an open mind to that and that's all I have to say [Applause] hi everyone my name is mar Wix I wasn't expecting to come up here to talk about Dave but um I don't know if Dave realized you and I actually met prior to me showing up to board education and I'm going to try not to get emotional so I am a parent of orridge I've been here 45 years I'm Al alumni of orridge along with a second generation of kids also an Old Bridge granted most schools tend to look at academic kids they don't tend to look at the troubled kids Dave does I don't know if you guys remember in the past I told you the stories of the three kids that I kind of was like The Unofficial Guardian for them the first one um the child that had ADHD had a trouble home life um got suspended almost I think 13 times okay he was at the point his parents kicked him out of the house it was a messy home life you talked him into getting a GED he is currently now in New York expecting his first child and he's an auto mechanic and has his own apartment at the age of 23 budgeted doesn't ask me for nothing second child the one that lived behind 7-Eleven for 2 weeks who got kicked out of his house he also had ad ad ADHD and other issues so he had a problem with school you talked him to trade school he went to votch he's an army lifer enlisted spected his first child as well lives in Florida on the army base with his um fiance third child was the one who his parents signed him over to the state in senior year so because he got signed over to the state he had to go to group home in Elizabeth come back to over to a foster home he missed a couple months in his senior year you worked out some kind of policy you had where he was able to catch up on the work graduate and walk across the stage for graduation he is currently now in Ohio working for UPS also has his own pace place at the age of 23 and this is part of why I'm again emotional mind's my personal story with you you might not recognize me yeah I knew it was coming because I'm a mama bear I'm a mama bear over kids I don't know which is why I tend to be a foster mom a lot of times and I know a teacher in here who's had my son he's a special needs child along with other conditions during senior year especially mom three kids anybody who has special needs kids know it's difficult to get out the door on time senior year must have been 20 times he was coming in late you did contact me and told me this can't happen because he was going to get in school suspension you had me work out with my doctor a documentation of his condition that allowed him to come in 15 minutes late once everybody else was in school which maserak helped me pick out an elective so it wouldn't affect his grades after two weeks the anxiety seemed to cease he graduated senior high school and that's what the IEP and everything were at the beginning we didn't know if it was going to be accomplished so the reason why I say all this he doesn't only care about the kids that do academics the sports the musics he cares about every kid even the special needs kids the Troublesome kids that most schools would not care because why you're not getting paid for anything for them but you went out of your way and where we have a graduation rate of about almost 96 state level is 90 again single mom with three kids I got screwed on financial aid but because we went out during Co came back and you did the Esser along with Boe I'm not going to forget you guys you did the Esser program we had after school tutoring we had summer school my daughter who was RTI before covid came back grade leveled up into advanc honors got into Rowan on a partial academic scholarship so this mama only has to pay half the tuition her dorm is so beautiful they got Central a a refrigerator a microwave a Starbucks on site so I'm grateful from this mom and a resident of orbridge you did what need to be done thank [Applause] you should I write my name is there a register there's a book okay thank you if anybody else wants to go please I'm all right good evening this is Kiran vesan and Mr Cino likes to call me Mr V and so I like to call Mr S as Mr C to keep it short and sweet and I'm very humbled to hear so much appreciation and so much recognition and I wish somebody can give this to me or to any of us in our jobs right Mr C you're really really you know different and uh it's not so easy to get this kind of accolades and I'm sure you know you have done so much to the community to the schools to the children to the families and everyone for you to be recognized so much out in the public so I think we need to give a big round of applause once [Applause] more all right now I'm going to sound a little bit different as some of you would have seen me talking about the way we need to operate the way we need to execute and the way we need to measure things so I think I'm given Less Than 3 minutes so I'll try to make sure I cover this up so today I would like to discuss the critical parameters we must consider when evaluating the performance of our school superintendent this evaluation is not just a formality it is a vital process that ensures our educational leadership ship is effective accountable and aligned with our community's goals first and foremost student achievement is a primary indicator of a superintendent success we must look at improvements in standardized test scores graduation rates and College and Career Readiness these metrics provide a clear picture of how well our students are being prepared for their Futures operational efficiency is another crucial parameter effective budget management and resource allocation are essential for maintaining a high quality educational environment we need to ensure that our funds taxpayers funds are being used wisely and that our facilities technology and personal are optimized to support student learning community and stakeholder engagement is also vital a successful superent bills strong relationships with parents community members that you know we all speak about right now and local organizations positive feedback from these stakeholders and the development of meaningful Partnerships are key indicators of effective leadership staff development and retention cannot be overlooked providing ongoing professional development opportunities and maintaining High retention rates of qualified teachers and administrators are essential for sustaining a high performing School District our Educators must feel supported and valued to deliver their best work strategic planning and implementation are fundamental to long-term success we must evaluate the superintendent's ability to set and Achieve strategic goals introduce Innovative programs and adapt to changing educational standards this Forward Thinking approach ensures that our district remains competitive and Progressive School climate and culture are equally important a positive safe and inclusive environment is crucial for both students and staff surveys and assessments of school climate along with measures of Ensure along with measures to ensure safety and well-being provide valuable insights into the superintend effectiveness in this area lastly compliance and accountability or non-negotiable adherance to state and federal regulations along with trans trans arent communication with the school board and Community are essential for maintaining trust and integrity in our educational system in conclusion what I would like to say is evaluating a superintendent's performance requires a comprom comprehensive approach that considers students outcomes operational efficiency Community engagement staff development strategic planning School climate and Regulatory Compliance by focusing on these parameters we can Ensure that our superintendent is leading our district towards excellence and fostering an environment where every student can Thrive so my request here my humble request here to the board is to please consider all of this what I just mentioned and of course you know the Public's opinions but it should be more data driven and we need to have a Clear Vision where we need to go forward and whoever the super is should support that thank you [Applause] I'm Scott maella public relations coordinator and teacher at Old Bridge a whole thing written and everybody did such an amazing job I kind of left it on the table forget about it um Dave I can't it's hard to add to it but I know everything we've said Dave has done some things for me like uh that go Beyond school when I did my first book talk on Oldbridge he went it was a week night it was he probably had a million things to do he and Roco salano came to my book talk at the Oldbridge library and they put up with that whole hour presentation and uh they stayed um recently a couple years ago actually my father passed away and I was teaching class and Dave came into the class and just hugged me they didn't say anything just hugg me it meant the world I knew exactly what he was trying to do I don't know what's going on with this uh not being sure about rehiring I don't know I'm not sure what kind of qualifications you're looking for but you could see from everyone who spoke tonight that Dave isn't just Dave Dave is all of us he makes all of us better I don't know what else you could ask for in a leader than for someone that makes a teacher want to work harder or a student to want to work better or a student who's scared to be a little braver or when a crisis hits that we're all going to be able to get through it Dave does that so you're not just hiring a superintendent you're hiring a district we all do better because of Dave and I don't know if that's true of every District I don't think it is I really don't think it is so you can make whatever decision you want I don't know what qualifications you're looking for in a superintendent but if we have a superintendent that makes all of us better from parent to teacher to maintenance to Daisy you know how do we why do that and most of all he puts up with me saying things like hey Dave I have an idea and that probably scares the heck out of him so let's let's rehire Dave and move on so we can get down to bigger and better things all right thank you anyone else that's it okay we're going to close the public portion of the meeting we're going to be going into executive session old business old business old business oh I'm sorry right old business and new business any old business yes go ahead I do it's going to be hard to top that little performance from everybody so but I'll get back to Dave's contract that's part that's one of my nuggets that I wanted to cover um I had missed the last uh regular meeting in August I was away with my family on vacation I had to sneak into the bathroom to watch the meeting because my wife would have killed me but I did watch the last meeting so I there there are some questions that came up from the last meeting that that I wanted to address um the first one because I haven't heard anything since I know that our board president uh went on a nature walk by his home and uh he seemed to have discovered mold on the bridge from the grade n Center to the main campus um I haven't heard anything since I'll ask the administration if they heard anything about it um those are dangerous words to bring up I mean mold I know if I was going to buy a house and the neighbor across the street told me there was mold there I'd give it a second thought um but what concerned me more was just the methods you know instead of I mean waiting to come to a board meeting to discuss mold as opposed to picking up a phone I would think if you smelled gas it would be held differently but is there any conclusion as to what was on that bridge if the administration could talk about that until I go into my next topic it it was um lyen on on the bridge which is um just a kind of growth a mossy growth it's a it's a it's a it's a vegetation that we that um grows in areas where there's good oxygen and moisture usually on a tree or something like that using the forest um and again I apologize if it's just the timing of it we were opening School within days and I didn't want students to not be able to think they couldn't use the bridge so we use social media to get the word out a little bit so they you know parents I did have parents reach out to me is there a problem with the bridge and even some High School staff and wanted to make sure they knew that it wasn't a problem with the bridges timing you know I encourage all board members if there's something that's come up that you think is a concern a safety concern just call me it was address way to address it and this way we can address it because we want to make sure our students are safe not wait a moment longer than need necessary our planed Services team did get on it it was it was clean it's clean right now nice nice shiny new bridge okay good so I mean what I did worked what's that so what I did worked they cleaned a bridge you said it was mold but you alarm people it was something yes but mold is different than than than fungus from a tree I'm not a scientist I see something green so you should you shouldn't you should change your chemistry set I'm not here to argue with you thank you neither am I so don't bring it up I mean you brought it up and the problem was finished so my second uh observation I saw was that the curriculum was not passed um and I got some of the reasons why you know there was not enough time to to to go over it and review it it was kind of quick but I did kind of think it's tbug irony that we had board members who postponed the passing of the curriculum to get written when Dr Tui actually gave us a timeline that we needed to get it done so ironically we postponed the curriculum to get approved but that we were a little annoyed that the curriculum wasn't available in a timely fashion so I find that to be completely ironic um besides the fact that there was a state mandate I mean I've said this in the past I mean what about the trust and confidence in the teachers that write the curriculum I know I'm not trained to do it and I know they're trained and they were paid to do it and I know we delayed to approve the curriculum because a budget issues even though we did we were budgeted to pay them to write the curriculum um and I know we have an upcoming curriculum meeting which I don't I don't think we should not have it i' love to hear from the residents um but it just seems when you bunch a few letters together and you put a plus at the end of it there like an allergic reaction you know and I read the curriculum I mean unless someone can correct me um just recognition of that of those marginal groups and their contrib butions to society um it didn't seem unless I missed something um so with that and I did read the curriculum um I'd like the opportunity to bring it back to be voted on for next meeting for the regular meeting if that's possible Chris is that possible it can it can be placed on the agenda for consideration if three or more board members ask for it that doesn't guarantee an outcome okay just something when does that have to happen you can do it right now if you want okay so I would like to make a motion to bring it in for next week to be voted on I'll second I'll third okay so it'll come back next week be voted on you got that DAV and David again got it results are not guaranteed motion to bring back voting for curriculum next week three J Jen margerie so we'll be we'll be placed on the agenda next week for for voting okay and then the last thing I wanted to Circle back would be Dave's contract um I know just to piggyback off of what Lenny tried to do last week I saw and then he was just rushed it seemed like the board president rushed him rushed that conversation to not even to get engaged it sound like one person brought it up just to discuss it just to so that people can hear our views and then it was just shut down completely which that was extremely disappointing so I'm I mean I'll Echo what everybody has said I'm I had a bunch of stuff written about Dave my experiences with had been great um but I know a lot of the board members wear wear like this transparency as a a badge of honor and I heard from a few people and I got a bunch of emails they should hear our opinions on what we think about renewing the contract I know we've had some executive sessions but you know a lot of people say hey I want you to know my process to see how I voted so why can't we do it here publicly I know Stacy mentioned we could do it but why are we hiding behind our decisions so I support the contract I've had a great relationship with Dave he's done a great thing for the community so I would like to propose that we go around the horn and discuss um our intentions of Dave's Dave's contract thank you Mr slay just to just to uh clarify as with m yeah as with Mr Marquetta said uh in at the regular meeting in August a board member can't call for a straw poll and I know that's not what you're doing but as far as the discussion goes uh everyone was listing the different stakeholders in the school district that are benefited by Dave uh they have in common with Dave they're all Personnel all Personnel discussions are private so while we are on old and new business right now and all sevenish of you can speak your mind of course uh there's no requirement that anybody say anything on the issue and when we do get into it with the contract it is an executive session discussion which will of course become public at some point uh I also did speak to Mr Sakowski tonight about the timeline on this and Dave is under contract his contract right now runs from 2022 to 2025 June 30th of 2025 by Statute and by contract he has to let you know what he's doing within 180 days work no less than 180 days at the end meaning the end of December by Statute and contract the board has three months that's the terms that we negotiated so your deadline to let Dave know what is going on is March 30th 2025 that is not to say that you can't do something sooner you can that is your choice but your deadline is March 30th so Mr Sol ask ises that clarify what you wanted to clarify yes you said it very well and uh I'm not going to do anything with this contract I'm not voting on it until after the election that's con how conven it's very acceptable he has a year left on this contract this is all premature Mr dun Mr D over finished uh you might want to rephrase that I I um we didn't really have um closing comments at the transportation meeting but I was taking down some notes and um the most underrated comment about that transportation meeting was the computers and elementary schools uh for years I've been saying we need to uh even though some people think it's nickel and diing there are certain things that are not necessary and there are luxuries and if we took away those luxuries at the elementary level the middle level and the high level you would have the funding necessary to have the late buses something else I noticed when I was in school is that we had many developments going a bunch of routes we had 12 routes for the late buses we could combine those to a lower number to um have fewer staff en able to get those kids back home and in the meantime those with the money and the willingness to spend the money they should have immediate access to a late bus if they pull together for a club that meets once a week Athletics would be harder but for anything that doesn't require that much Transportation similar to a substitute teacher they should have the opportunity to say to the school we want to have this bus and at the last meeting I mentioned something about the pay pay for play and the different ways we could fund the late buses Jackson had a proposal where they charged $95 per season per high school student and $55 per season per Middle School student so Jackson was having ideas similar to mine and the other meeting uh wasn't really public it wasn't videotaped so I just wanted the public to know that and for discussions about employees that should be discussed in executive session um I'm going to leave those conversations to Executive session thank you thank you anyone else I I want to speak um first of all um S I did speak to the I spoke to Dan binsky the business administrator in Jackson and he said that they have 135 students that take late bus and that's clearly very different than our situation because their clubs they carve out a period during the day for the high schoolers to to have their Club so it's basically only the sports um and also that $95 that they pay isn't doesn't cover the whole cost the township still kicks in a good deal of money for it so it's not completely funded the other thing I wanted to say is it's election season six candidates are running most of them are here there's signs popping up all over the place you either love them or hate them and this is a reminder for board members and candidates because three of you will be up here in January and everybody should know in 2014 the New Jersey State Department of Education School ethics commission issued an advisory opinion 3614 and it was in response to somebody who inquired whether it would be a violation of the school ethics act um for board members to um endorse candidates for election to the board and if allowed would there be limitations on the use of lawn signs Publications pamphlets social media um and the need for public disclaimers in issuing endorsements uh one of the I'm not going to read the whole thing but one of the um statements in The Advisory opinion said with regard to any pamphlets or Publications you may create that includes social media po posts Publications online or paper websites Flyers brochures and signs you must include a disclaimer making it clear that your endorsement is as a private citizen and not as a member of the board or on behalf of the entire board so just a reminder that if you're a candidate and you're asking for board member indorsements um it can't be as a board member it's not good enough to just write a name on the sign um and or or not include that you're a board member you have to um specifically State and I'll read you what it says says at the end of The Advisory opinion the language must be clear visible and indicate your endorsement is as a private citizen and not as a board member um of the local Board of Education nor is the endorsement on behalf of the entire board so that has to appear on all um endorsements by board members stating that I'm confident that no one here is intentionally intentionally wants to commit any ethics violation but it's important for board members and potential board members to know thank you anyone else yes um S I apologize for the transportation I thought I gave everyone who if asked the board members if anyone wanted to say anything I didn't realize you had um as far as offering seats on buses as a public school we do have to ensure that there is a bus seat for every student so we have to be careful with that um as far as waiting for the superintendent um the few of us that attended a uh looking for superintendent search at the school board convention last year and although all the people that elected me hope we keep Dave if that is not the case then we are ready late in our timeline and we will if Dave's contract is not renewed we will most likely end up with an interm superintendent July 1st um as far as the families that have come and spoken to me since uh Mr maretta comment at the last meeting um Dave knows the kids and families um but he also digs in his own pocket we've seen it here at meetings to cover dinner when you know an essay winner is going you know out of state for um the next level of um Awards and qualifications he spends his own money on gift certificates for the staff on opening day and he chips in when there's charity collections in town so basically he's taking the money that the district pays him and he puts it back into the district and he's also added another mouth to feed in his house by bringing in Daisy for the district so uh Dave on behalf of all the people that have spoken to me and on behalf of the district thank you very much anyone else with old business new business yes I have new business go ahead okay so um back to transportation meeting a lot of the parents were concerned that you know we're not taking a Act so even though there are some hurdles and there's some bureaucratic rules that we have to deal with um as I mentioned please take this into your own hands don't wait for us or the administration to decide something if you want something to get done please uh fund raise do anything you can to do what you want to do you know even one student when she was taking notes she couldn't take any notes because there was nothing of substance that we'd be able to do so in the meantime while we do figure this out as I said and I said this last month month take it into your own hands and you have to try you know it it's a terrible thing what the state government has done with the taxes but as much as we want governments to help us with our lives we do have to take some responsibility even though we don't need to but as I said the the way the state works the way the laws works there's a lot of barriers as other board members said different costs that have to be um you know paid for but as I said if you really want something to get done if you really want to do these clubs and these Sports you have to organize car poool do whatever you can can't just rely on us thank you and please good luck thank you anyone else yes I just want to mention that um sorry SEPTA is going to have their first meeting of the year um Thursday September 19th 7M John Glenn School uh there's going to be a special services overview by Dr Tui Dr Dy and Miss edin Ali and detective denafo is going to talk about the middle sex County Special Needs registry thank you anyone else I see no hands okay we're going to be going into executive session I thank everyone for coming I thank everybody for all their input thank you very much motion to come out second J Dan second thank you good night all was it