um tonight is the reorganization meeting for the River Edge Public Schools it's January 4th and we're call the meeting to order at 7:32 p.m. please all rise for the flag salute 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 Mr Langley would you like to read the mission statement sure the rivered school district is a partnership of students parents staff and community members we are dedicated to providing a supportive environment in which all students can reach the maximum academic potential while developing as responsible citizens who respect individuality our goals will be achieved because curriculum and instruction are aligned with the New Jersey student learning standards decisions reflect the academic social emotional and physical needs of prek to sixth grade students cooperation and ongoing communication exists between the school district and the community and school administrators and the Board of Education work together to assess and adjust procedures in response to new mandates and the changing needs of the community thank you um pursuant to the open public meetings act notice of this meeting its date time and place have been delivered to the post office the municipal building the town news the record and post posted on the district website at least 48 hours prior to the time of this meeting information items the certified election results for November 7th 2023 there are two three-year terms uh Elizabeth Brown received 1,229 votes Joshua Cohen 1,82 votes Miguel Frias 998 votes Tammy Lenahan 736 votes and Bobby C goes 524 votes the certified election results for November 7th 2023 for the one one-year term were Lauren de Lisandro for 1,813 votes and Alene Solomon 838 votes I'll now be administrating administering the oath of office to our newly elected trustees uh the first one would have been Elizabeth brown but she is unfortunately not able to come this evening and she will be morning in tomorrow in my office or soon thereafter um so the first person I'd like to swear in is Mr Cohen click that on in your pocket if you want because we're on camera he wanted we should stand back here sure okay thank you I Joshua Cohen I Joshua Cohen do solemnly swear do solemnly swear that I will support the Constitution of the United States that I will support the Constitution of the United States and the constitution of the state of New Jersey and the Constitution tion of the state of New Jersey and that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same and I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same and to the governments established in the United States and this state and to the governments established in the United States and this state under the authority of the people so help me God under the authority of the people so help me God I Joshua Cohen do solemnly swear I Joshua Cohen do solemnly swear that I possess the qualifications prescribed by law that I possess the qualifications prescribed by law for the office of member of a board of education for the office of member of a board of education and that I will faithfully impartially and justly perform and that I will faithfully impartially and justly perform all the duties of that office all the duties of that office according to the best of my abilities so help me God according to the best of my abilities so help me God thank you thank [Applause] you I sign here yeah and okay do I have to send multiple copies or just one just one okay thanks so much thank you thanks so much thankk thank you sure I Lauren de alesandro do solemnly swear I Lauren de alesandro do solemnly swear that I will will support the Constitution of the United States that I will support the Constitution of the United States and the constitution of the state of New Jersey and the constitution of the state of New Jersey and that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same and that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same and to the governments established in the United States and this state and to the governments established in the United States and this state unto the authority of the people so help me God under the authority of the people so help me God I Lauren de allisandro do solemnly swear I Lauren de Andro do solemnly swear that I possess the qualifications prescribed by law that I possess the qualifications prescribed by law for the office of a member of a board of education for the office of member of a board of education and that I will faithfully impartially and justly perform and that I will faithfully impartially and justly perform all the duties of that office all the duties of that office according to the best of my ability so help me God according to the best of my ability so help me God sign something the um expiration of the terms is for Elizabeth Brown 2026 althia Crespo 2025 Lauren de and Ro 2024 un Kang 2024 and Joshua Cohen 2026 Eric Langley 2025 and Mr Sim 2024 we'll now do a roll call Miss Brown is absent Miss Crespo here Mrs Miss dandro here miss Kang here Mr Cohen here is there also a moment that I could uh say a few words um I think during public comments okay that' be okay okay and Mr Langley here um now I'll take nominations for election of the board president I have go ahead I would like to nominate Miss King for president second I don't need a second second thank you have it nom is there any other nominations I nominee Mr Po no there's no seconds necessary thank you all right first um is Miss Kang this is the vote for Miss Kang if Miss Kang is um we'll we'll do her vote first Miss Crespo yes you're voting M elisandro um Miss Kang yeah Mr Cohen uh Cohen yes vote Yes or No for Miss Kang no Mr Langley yes okay we have a majority vote for Miss Kang so she will be um the president we don't do a second vote okay um now nomination for vice president um I would like to nominate Mr Langley for Vice President are there any other nominations for vice president there being none will vote on for Mr Langley as vice president miss miss Crespo yes Miss delandra yeah Miss Kang yes Mr Cohen yes and Mr Langley yes so the president miss Kang will now assume the chair and take take over the meeting thank you Miss Nano uh we will start with the reorganization items um since there are about I think exactly 19 items um and I don't want to hold up too long of our meeting there are certain sections I would like to combine but if there's anything you would like me to pull out separately please do let me know we can do that um so we'll start with uh Motion One approval of notice of meetings and we'll start with Mr Langley and then um these do need seconded wait correct I'm sorry do these need to be seconded yes and then we'll do roll call for each item uh motion to approve item one as stated second call please miss Crespo yes M dandro yes Mr Cohen yes Mr Langley yes and Miss Kang yes um for item two the approval of school code of ethics um in front of you you will have um the code of ethics for school board members um at every reorganization meeting we like to read it out loud uh for us to remember what our code ofth ethics is so we'll start uh if miss creso you can um um actually we'll start with Mr Langley to read the code of ethics and then after when we finish Miss creso if you would like to make the motion to move that a school board member shall abide by the following code of ethics for school board members item a I will uphold and enforce all laws rules and regulations of the State Board of Education and court orders pertaining to schools desired changes shall be brought about only through legal and ethical procedures taking your turns yeah so miss Crow you can read me I will make decisions in terms of the educational welfare of children and will seek to develop and maintain public schools that meet the individual needs of all children regardless of their ability race Creed sex or social standing C I will confine my board action to policymaking planning and appraisal and I will help to frame policies and plans only after the board has consulted those who will be affected by them D I will carry out my responsibility not to administer the schools but together with my fellow board members to see that they are well-run I will recognize that Authority rests with the Board of Education and will make no personal promises nor take any private action that may compromise the board I will refuse to surrender my independent judgment to special interest or parties and political groups or to use the schools for personal game or for the game of friends I will hold confidential all matters pertaining to the school schools which if disclosed would needlessly injure individuals or the schools in all other matters I will provide accurate information and in concert with my fellow board members interpret to the staff the aspirations of the community for its school I will vote to appoint the best qualified Personnel available after consideration of the recommendation of the chief administrative officer I will support and protect School Personnel in proper performance of their duties I will refer all complaints to the chief administrator officer and will act on the complaints at public meetings only after failure of an administrative solution to approve uh section two approval of school ethics uh school's code of ethics second call please miss Crespo yes Miss Deandra yes Miss Kang yes I'm gonna call you last I'm sorry okay I'll call you again Mr Cohen yes Mr Langley yes and Miss Ken yes uh Mr alandre you can move item 3 through 7 move to approve items 3 through [Music] 7 as stated oh as stated uh I I'd actually like us to vote on these individually okay sure then if um Miss delandro if you want to read three approval of Parliament procedure be resolve that the River Edge Board of Education establishes that meetings be governed by parliamentary procedure of Robert schol of order second call please miss Crespo yes Miss Alexandra yes Mr Cohen yes Mr Langley yes and miss K yes Mr Number Four number four approval of naming official newspapers be it resolved that the River Edge Board of Education designates the Suburban Town news and the record as the official newspapers for the insuring year the insuring year roll call please miss Crespo yes Miss dandro yes Mr Cohen yes Mr Langley yes and Miss Kang yes uh motion to approve item five as stated roll call please miss Crespo yes Miss dandro yes Mr Cohen yes Mr Langley yes and Miss Kang yes um item six approve item six as stated Dand second second second call please miss crbo yes Mr dandro yes Mr Cohen abstain Mr Langley yes and Miss Kang yes uh motion for item seven I believe it's SE move to approve as stated that's fine I'm GNA abstain from this one do I still second it then you still second it please all right second thank you Miss Crespo yes Mr Sandro yes Mr Cohen abstain Mr Langley yes and Miss K yes um can I get motion for item eight that would be me uh Mo move to approve uh item eight as stated approval of depositories and signature authorization uh second call please miss Crespo yes Mr delandro yes Mr Cohen yes Mr Langley and Miss Kang yes a motion for item nine motion to approve item nine Stoll call please miss creso yes Miss dandro yes Mr Mr Cohen yes Mr Langley yes and Miss Kang yes motion for item 10 approval of account signatures move to approve 10 approval account signatures second second second Miss Crespo yes M dandro yes Mr Cohen yes Mr Langley yes and Miss Kang yes uh motion for item 11 approval of board secretary and custodian of public records second M move to approve item 11 approval of board secretary and C of public records ass stated second Miss Crespo yes Mr Mr dandro yes Mr Cohen yes Mr Langley yes and Miss Kang yes uh motion for item 12 do we want to do the rest of them together I don't I don't have any concerns with the rest of them though are there any concerns to combine together um sure motion to can I get a motion to um approve item 12 through 19 second you have to the I'll move I'll move to approve item 12 through 19 as stated Mr second Miss Crespo yes Miss dandro yes Mr Cohen yes Mr Langley yes and Miss Kang yes um so at this time we will open it up to uh public comments on agenda items only so at this time if any member of the public wishes to speak um regarding any item on the Motions before we vote on them um please remember that we aim to maintain the level of decorum in our board meetings and we expect everyone to be kind and model the type of behavior that we are teaching our students each speaker should be courteous and direct comments to the board president and not individual board members and as per policy 11:20 a participant must be recognized by the presiding officer and must preface comments by an announcement of his or her name residence and group affiliation if appable and to maintain fairness each speaker will have three minutes to speak public comment is a for the board to listen to the commune and not to debate issues or enter question and answer session so at this time I open it up for public comments and agenda items only seeing that there are none we will move on to the reports for tonight starting with uh Miss Bernardo our Acting Superintendent good evening can you all hear me I just okay I'm delighted to be here this evening for the River Edge Board of Education annual organization meeting this evening Joshua Cohen and Lauren dandro were sworn in as new members of the River Edge Board of Education Liz Brown will be sworn in as a returning board member at a later date I want to take a moment to thank the outgoing current and newly elected board board members for their service to our school Community since May of 2021 I have worked for the board in the position of the director of the Region 5 Council for special education I have been privileged to work closely with the board during all of my interactions the board's guiding principle has always been what is in the best interest of students I look forward to working working closely with this board to support the students staff families and the Riveredge Community I would now like to provide an update in regards to reconfiguration presently there remain unanswered questions regarding the reconfiguration as the Acting Superintendent of Schools I am Rec recommending that the board reconsider moving forward with the plans for reconfiguration in September September of 2024 and pause the proposed reconfiguration I want more time to become F fully informed about this community including our students staff and families and then either I or whomever is appointed as the new superintendent can examine the best way to move the Riveredge Public School District forward my recommendation would be that the new superintendent engage the school community in the strategic planning process this process would allow District staff families and community members to come together to identify goals for the district and plans for achieving those goals during the three weeks I have spent in the position of the Acting Superintendent of the Riveredge Public School District I have reviewed every data point available to inform my recommendation to the Board of Education regarding whether or not it is in the best interest of the students of the River Edge Public School District to move forward with reconfiguration in September 2024 not all stakeholders will agree with the decisions I make but what I have learned from my 26 years as an educator is that although people may not be pleased with some of the decisions you make the Rapport built with staff families and Community go a long way in building essential Bridges when people may not be in agreement families and staff have communicated with me in person by phone and emails to express their opinions for and against the reconfiguration everyone is entitled to their opinion on this matter I respect Divergent points of view and I ask you also to respect each other's opinions even if you disagree in doing so we affirm that the Riveredge public Public School Community is a special place where individuals can disagree on an issue but come together in unanimity to achieve the best educational opportunities for our students at the Forefront of all decisions that I make will be how the decisions will impact the students academically physically and socially and emotionally in addition to the students I must also consider the impact the decision will have on the staff and the community since covid we have witnessed a teacher shortage and as the leader of this District I must do all that I can to maintain the exceptional staff that we have here in Riveredge as an educational leader it is also my responsibility when I feel change is necessary to share comprehensive plans with staff families and the community at large with data to support the need for those changes through my data review and conversations I have learned that there are more details to be worked out and questions to be answered in order for a successful reconfiguration to move forward reconfiguration has resurfaced as a solution to several systemic concerns that challenge the River Edge Public School District and other smalltown school districts across the county the state and the nation older school buildings were not built with the needs of today's students in mind so space becomes an issue and smaller districts struggle to meet the needs of general education and special education students the district must consider the least restrictive environment for each student whether their individualized education plans when their individualized education plans are developed these are some issues that reconfiguration may resolve but we we must also consider whether our actions will be sustainable over time and whether the proposed reconfiguration is the best solution for resolving these issues I ask tonight that you give me the time I need to fulfill my role as the Acting Superintendent I intend to prioritize the needs of the district by focusing on the day-to-day operations of the district and building Community relationships a resolution will be placed on the January 17th 201 24 board agenda in this resolution it will be my recommendation that the Board of Education resin the recommendation to move forward with reconfiguration for September of 2024 I am confident that if the reconfiguration is paused it will allow the new superintendent to move forward with the strategic planning process in order to prioritize the needs of the school Community thank you [Applause] are there any questions or comments from board members yeah regarding the report I just wanted to thank Miss bernado for her time that she's been it's been I'm sure a running start and you've been incredibly welcoming to me in the short time and also for uh uh the due diligence that you conducted regarding the proposed reconfiguration and for your recommendation so just really want to thank you share that I really appreciate it thank you any other questions or comments from board members thank you Miss Bernardo thank you next is uh Mr Hensel is here to do the principal report thank you for coming tonight hear me good all right good evening um happy New Year everybody uh welcome go ahead have to wear it after all how's that better okay um happy New Year again to everybody uh welcome Mr alesandro and Mr Cohen as new board members I would also like to thank our outgoing board members Mr kakos and Mr Solomon for their service to the district um like to take a moment to congratulate our Cherry Hill and Roosevelt students who won their respective fourth and fifth grade classroom spelling bees and now we'll move on to compete at the junior Women's Club triy Community spelling be on Sunday January 14th we wish them luck um for buer Hill and Roosevelt participant while we are not quite at the mathematical midpoint of the school year the December break certainly seems like it as a shift from last year and based on the recommendations of the district data team teachers completed their midyear assessments such as linkit um writing task Dibbles um the last week of December 2023 that'll allow us to begin our next cycle of win much earlier than we did last year and that will begin on Monday January 8th with pushing with um and when pull out for intervention will begin on Thursday January 11th our enrichment and reignite which is our gifted and talented program will continue to run for the full year um and finally our dance and theater sessions have been going well and we look forward to the performances on January 31 for dance and February 15 for theater thank you Mr enel any questions or comments from board members just a question so I think you said January 8th is the new wind cycle will parents be notified through Genesis or they've already been notified so the deadline for the recommendations and finalizations for rosters will be tomorrow at noon okay and then letters will go into the inboxes on Genesis for those students who will receive pull out win intervention okay okay enrichment um and reignite are years so there's no that's just going to re up okay so they look for those letters um early next week thank you got it just uh thank you for your hard work and thank you for the warm welcome thank you uh moving on to the board secretary report Miss npal Tano thank you um there's just two items that I would like well first welcome to Mr Cohen and Miss dandro also so um two just two items on the agenda that I would like to go over one is the approval of the Dual room use we have no dual rooms this year that we approved for this year we have a special need um to approve it late so it's going to go after your approval to the county office and then they would have to come and inspect and agree for us to use that room that way um it's an existing room that has is been divided but there's plenty of space for the you they're going to use it for and the students um the other thing is the approval of a donation of $100 in memory of Erica steinbauer who uh was a former superintendent here that has passed away um I believe that's all um questions for Miss npal Tano thank you um the president's report is blank I just want to say thank you to my board members and I look forward to working with all of you this year um I know we have our board retreat coming up and it'll be a time for us to really kind of get to know one another do some team building get some training but also really set goals for ourselves as board as a as a complete board uh on what we hope to accomplish this year in 2024 so um there are no committees to report on so we'll move on to motions to be acted upon um starting with with item A1 uh Mr Langley if you could move that uh move to approve item A1 as stated any questions or discussion Miss crosbow yes Miss dandro obain Mr Cohen obstain Mr Langley yes and Miss Kang yes can I get a motion for B1 move to approve B1 stated second any questions or discussion uh roll call please miss Crespo yes Mr Leandro yes Mr Cohen yes Mr Langley yes and Miss Kang yes can I get a motion for C1 move to approve C1 as stated second any questions or discussion call please miss crbo yes yes Mr Leandro yes Mr Cohen yes Mr Langley yes and Miss Ken yes can I get a motion for D1 approve I think I believe it's I think I went for the last you the last one right you did the last approval move to approve uh D1 as stated second any questions or um I just wanted to read the note that comes with this um donation it's been SE for as long as I've been on the board an annual thing and so um it says Dear River Board of Education this donation is made in loving memory of Erica Stein bow on the occasion of her brother Ron's birthday please use it to purchase books for the book car at the building bridges program at New Bridge Center thank you Joy and Jan hos so um I just want to say thank you for their generosity every year um to donate to this bookard call please miss crosbow yes Mr Leandro yes Mr Cohen yes Mr Langley yes and Miss Kang yes can I get a motion for d2 move to approve it D2 second any questions or discussion call please miss Crespo yes Mr alandro obain Mr Cohen stain Mr Langley yes and Miss Kang yes can I get a motion for E1 move to approve E1 uh approval of resignation as stated second any questions comments discussion roll call please miss crosbow yes Mr Leandro yes Mr Cohen yes Mr Langley yes Miss Kang yes can I get a motion for E2 move to approve E2 as stated second any questions or comments roll call please M Crespo yes Mr alandro obain Mr Cohen obstain Mr Langley yes Miss Kang yes can I get a motion for F1 move to approve uh item F1 as stated any questions or comments call please miss creso yes Mr alandro yes Mr Cohen yes Mr Langley yes and Miss K yes can I get a motion for F2 move to approve item F2 St second any questions or comments roll call please miss Crespo yes Mr Leandro yes Mr Cohen yes Mr Langley yes and Miss Ken yes uh is there any old or new business that the board wishes to bring up I'd like to take a moment to uh address the public and some folks that are here uh that's okay y great so uh first uh I just wanted to share a couple things of how appreciative I am how the community's come together uh to really support me and Lauren throughout this process uh uh the board the district as well and so I just wanted to just recognize a few folks uh so first I just wanted to thank uh Kate Davies and Beth Gautier who were my unofficial campaign managers during this whole process and so the support was very much appreciated um I don't think Miguel Fus is here but uh he ran with Lauren and I and he was a colleague and a friend and it was a a real uh uh force of force of Nature and it was just really great to get to know him I just wanted to publicly share that I was honored uh uh uh to work with him throughout this process um so a number of friends uh that are here also new friends that I've met recently that have just been incredibly supportive of this process and again very very much appreciative of that um uh my wife Lisa who supported me uh and who's recommended that I pursue a position with the board of education for quite some time so I'm glad I listen to her uh uh albeit a little little late um my son who's always been very supportive of me most of the time and uh and my parents who drove out today uh who I wouldn't be here without them Sheila and Peter uh and of course uh uh I would be uh negligent to to thank all the uh River Edge residents uh who supported and came out and uh overwhelmingly voted for Lauren and I uh throughout this process it's the first time I ever ran for an elected position I think it was uh your time your first time too and so I would be naive to say or it didn't it wasn't a little unnerving at times uh but uh uh I look forward I look forward to it uh and also really thanks to the district Personnel Acting Superintendent berardo uh Luan uh uh uh all the board members sitting with me who met with me ALS so really appreciate that uh um and uh the district Personnel uh for the very warm welcome and so I look forward to uh uh uh to helping grow our district and uh continue to uh Excel uh and uh and and at the same time I I also recognize that there are some real challenges uh and I look forward to working together uh to try to find solutions for those challenges uh in a way that that meets uh all of our students needs thank you thank you is there any other older new business that the board wishes to bring up uh so at this time we'll move into our second public comment time and again first and foremost we remember we please remember that we aim to maintain a level of decorum in our board meetings and we expect everyone to be kind and model the type of behavior that we are teaching our students um each speaker should be courteous and direct comments to the board president and not individual board members and as per policy 11:20 a participant must be recognized by the presiding officer and must preface comments by an announcement of his or her name residence and group affiliation if appliable and to maintain fairness each speaker will have three minutes to speak and we also request that comments related to individual student matters be directed to the child's teacher principal or superintendent as not all issues especially ones involving children can be addressed publicly in board meetings and public comment is a time for the board to listen to the community and not to debate issues or enter a question and answer session so at this time I open it up to the public uh seeing that there are no no one for public comments can I get a motion to adjourn this meeting second all right roll call please prbo yes M dandro yes Mr Cohen yes Mr Langley yes and Miss K yes thank you everyone for coming out tonight our next meeting is on the 18th 17th at 7:30 here have a good night