Keith can we check that that's good we were checking the volume we couldn't hear go ahead Mr burn we're good okay thank you all right it's January 4th 2024 I'd like to call this meeting into order um I'm going to start with roll call Board member Elizabeth Callahan here board member Nubia Deval Wilson here board member Regina eert here board member bill gford I I know I saw him okay board member will Meyer here board member Shaina sacket Gable here thank you board member cowi telesford here board member Arun VOD lamman here board member Caitlyn Whit letter thank you NE we please stand for the pledge good evening at 6:30 1 pm. on Thursday January 4th 2024 please note that this meeting is being live streamed as well as recorded for storage and viewing on the district website the public can participate during the hearing of individuals and delegates by signing the signup sheet at the entrance or signing up for audio public speechs speaks through a form available on the district website please take notice that adquate notice of this meeting has been provided in the following manner that written notice was sent from the office of the secretary of the board at 2:30 p.m on January 6 2023 that said notice was sent via email to Maplewood and South Orange Township clerks and the editors of the news record Star Ledger tap inoma and the Village Green next up the swearing in of the new board members we'll start with Miss Elizabeth Callahan I state your name hi Elizabeth Callahan 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 of the state of New Jersey and that I will bear true faith and that I will bear true faith and Allegiance and allegiance to the same to the same and to the governments and to the governments established in the United States established in the United States and this state and this state under the authority of the people under the authority of the people so help me God so help me God I state your name I Elizabeth Callahan do solemnly swear do solemnly swear that I possess the qualifications that I possess the qualifications prescribed by law prescribed by law for the office of member of a board of education for the office of Bo of member of a board of education I am not disqualified I am not disqualified as a voter as a voter pursuant pursuant to RS RS 19 colon 4-1 19 col 4-1 and that I'm not disqualified and that I am not disqualified from membership from membership on the board on the board due to conviction of a crime due to a conviction of a crime or offense or offense listed listed in njs 18a 12-1 in njs 18 A- 12. one and that I will faithfully and that I will faithfully impartially impartially and justly and justly perform all duties of that office perform all duties of that office according to the best of my ability according to the best of my ability so help me God so help me God [Applause] congratulations Mr will Meyer I'm have to look up this time thanks I state your name I William Milton Meyer IV do solemnly swear do solemnly swear that I will support that I will support the Constitution of the United States 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 that I will bear true faith and Allegiance and allegiance to the same to the same and to the governments and to the governments established in the United United States established in the United States and this state and this state under the authority of the people under the authority of the people so help me God so help me God I state your name I William Milton Meyer IV do solemnly swear do solemnly swear that I possess the qualifications that I possess the qualifications prescribed by law prescribed by law for the office of a member of a board of education for the office of member of a board of education am not disqualified am not disqualified as a voter as a voter pursuant to rs19 4-1 pursuant to rs19 4-1 I'm not disqualified for membership and that I am not disqualified from membership on the board on the board due to conviction of a crime due to conviction of a crime or offense or offense listed in njs 18a 12-1 listed in njs 18a 12-1 and that I will faithfully and that I will faithfully impartially impartially and justly and justly perform all duties of that office perform all duties of that office according to the best of my ability according to the best of my ability so help me God so help me God congratulations thank you very much Miss Shaina sacket Gable you can just he his Wells I state your name I Shaina sacket Gable do solemly swear do solemnly swear that I will support the Constitution that I will support the Constitution of the United States of the United States and the constitution of the state of New Jersey and the constitution of the state of New Jersey and that I'll bear true faith and that I'll bear true faith and Allegiance and allegiance to the same to the same and to the governments established in the United States and to to the governments established in the United States and the state and the state under the authority of the people under the authority of the people so help me God so help me God I state your name I Shaina sacket Gable do solemnly swear do solemnly swear that I possess the qualifications that I possess the qualifications prescribed by law prescribed by law for the office of member of a board of education for the office of member of a board of education am not disqualified am not disqualified as a voter as a voter pursuant to rs19 4-1 pursuant to rs19 colon 4-1 and that I'm not disqualified and that I'm not disqualified from membership on the board from membership on the board due to conviction of a crime due to conviction of a crime or offense or offense listed in njs 18a col 12-1 listed in njs 18a Colon 12 -1 and that I will faithfully and that I will faithfully and partially and partially and justly and justly perform all duties of that office perform all duties of that office according to the best of my ability according to the best of my ability so help me God so help me God congratulations thank [Applause] you next up we have the election of the officers now we are at the organization portion of the meeting and this is where we elect our officers the procedure and rules for the election of the board president are as follows the first I I will ask for nominations nominations do not require seconds nominations are not debatable I will ask again for further nominations after hearing none I will declare the nomination process closed I will call the role and record the votes in the order they are received the election does not require a majority I'm sorry the election does require a majority of the members present if a majority is not obtained by any of the nominees a second election shall be conducted between the two candidates receiving the highest number of votes can I please have the nominations I run I'd like to nominate uh board member Dr qua TWP of the position of uh the president of the Board of Education thank you are there any other nominations not seeing any the nominations are not closed I will I'll start the roll call I'm sorry oh I'm sorry go ahead it's not debatable yeah okay I'm now start the roll call for board member Coe tford who is nominated by board member Arun VOD lamani for president board member Callan can they comment just it's just a vote yes thank you board member dval Wilson yes board member eer sorry I just I just want to confirm so you can't even just make a comment there's it's not it's not a debate just just a comment just a yes or no vote at this point because there's only one person on the bout yes board member gford no board member Meyer yes board member sacket Gable yes board member telesford yes board member V lamani yes board member Whit letter no the motion passes Dr telesford you're now president the new board president is Dr Coe telesford congratulations and at this time it'll turn the meeting over to you thank you I guess I'll just have a few words um good evening everyone uh first I'd like to Express gratitude to my colleagues for trusting me to serve as your board president I'm committed to serving all our students families and staff with dedication and integrity my journey with the sport began in 2022 inspired by two defining moments that I would call my best and worst experience as a student in this very School District in my more negative experience I worked on a group project and received a full letter grade lower than my peers despite having done all the work and pleading my case the teacher would the teacher told me I didn't do the assignment and accused me of copying someone else's work feeling unheard I did what any kid would do I shut down completely and disengaged from the class entirely this is a fate I would never wish upon any student in our school district it is my utmost goal to ensure that every student is provided with the tools and support they need to succeed but it's not all doom and gloom I had another teacher that inspired me with a simple challenge it was a friendly wager I would try to get 100 on a test while he would find a way to take points off as you can imagine I worked really hard 94 98 95 always close but never quite there until one day I was sure I succeeded and when the test came back he pointed out you reduced this fraction and provided the decimal equivalent but you could have reduced the fraction more half a point off in my academic career I had a lot of Highs but that was probably one of my best experiences it wasn't about the grade but the challenge and inspiration that fueled my growth this is the feeling I want every student to have an environment where challenges ignite potential support nurtures confidence and students feel empowered to believe in themselves so where does that leave us as a board recent years have brought challenges with some suggesting that internal divisions and dysfunction hinder our ability to serve our children having spoken to each board member I can confidently say that this perception is inaccurate I see a board eager to collaborate find common ground and work together for the benefit of our students as your president I will actively cultivate this Spirit of cooperation while we won't always agree I pledge to dedicate myself to working together fostering a one team one goal mentality the New Year brought me a powerful lesson treat your family your team as one unit when you're down they're down when you're up they're up this philosophy resonates deeply with me and I believe it should guide our board too we are many voices and those voices enrich our discussions but remember we are one board one body United We Stand firmly behind Dr Gilbert our Acting Superintendent as he leads this District he is our partner in this process and shares with us one single goal providing the best possible tools to improve outcomes for all our students than thank [Applause] you at this time we can take nominations for first vice president Dr tell us I'd like to nominate board member Arun vman for the position of first vice president are there any other nominations not seeing any nominations are now closed roll call for VP number one nominated by board president tford for board member Ren vmani board member will letter no board member vman yes board president telesford yes board member sacka Gable yes board member Meyer yes board member gford no board member [Music] eert yes yet you have my expectations for board leadership as we discussed board member dval Wilson yes board member Callahan yes motion passes thank you for vice president number two can I please have nominations Shana I'd like to nominate board member Duval Wilson are there any other nominations not seeing any nominations are now closed roll call for board member nuie Deval Wilson nominated by shanaki Gable board member Callan yes board member Deval Wilson yes board member aert yes board member gford yes board member Meyer yes board member saaka Gable yes board president telesford yes board member vman yes board member Whit letter yes motion passes thank [Applause] you next up I'm going to read the board president's statement for public comment if that's okay okay the school board meeting is a business meeting in a public and in public and not a meeting with the public oftentimes it may appear to members of our audience that the Board of Education takes action with very little comment and in many cases a unanimous vote before a matter is placed on the agenda at a public meeting the Administration has thoroughly review the matter with the superintendent of schools Chief School administrator if the superintendent of schools or the chief School administrator is satisfied that the matter is ready to be presented to the Board of Education it is then referred to the appropriate board committee the members of the board committee work with the administration and the superintendent to ensure that the members fully understand the matter after the committee discusses the matter is then shared with the other board members for consideration only then is it placed on the agenda for board discussion and action at a public meeting thank you for coming in person and dialing in by phone this evening the South Orange Maplewood board of education education certainly respects that you've taken the time out of your busy day to address the board at tonight's meeting we value all public involvement in our school district and we are eager to hear what you have to say the board does have time limits by policy and it will be forcing those to enable as many people to speak as possible this evening time limit 3 minutes please do your best to stay within the time afforded to you the first public comment period is usually limited to 1 hour and the second public comment period may be limited to 30 minutes all input shared with the board of education is taken very seriously and will will inform future deliberations and work by the Board of Education and its committees I'm going to go get the public Dr telesford with your permission I would like to do a statement before we begin public comment sure that's fine all right thank you good evening uh members of the board good evening to all of our uh constituents and our families and those who are watching first uh congratulations Dr telesford on your election to being our board president and to our outgoing president miss Caitlyn Whit letter I would just like to say thank you for the support that you have shown me in these few months as the president and as acting superintendant and I really appreciate the partnership that we were able to build and Dr telesford I look forward to keeping that partnership going and moving with you and all the members of the board as we continue I would also like to take this moment to talk to the community about uh the events that have transpired since we have returned to school I do realize that for the new year uh it was a surprise and a shock for the announcement that I had to make to this students the staff and the families in reference to the high school principal when I returned what I asked for the community the families the students to do is to please give us patience as we work through the proc process of the leave that I had to announce I do realize there have been rumors and inuendos about what's going on I just want to just remind folks that those have nothing to do with the process and the process must go on so that we can make sure that whatever decisions happen following that process that will be done in the best interest of the students the families and the staff here in the South orang Maplewood school district and I just wanted to take the time to express that I understand understand I know the support and the love that you had for the high school principal but I just ask for your patience as we work through this process and finally as a reminder I will not be offering comments after public uh speaks but we do have a form in the back that if you would like for me to answer questions or things that you have if you put your name and your email on that sheet I will be happy to get back with you and with that uh Mr President those are my comments thank you we'll do uh inperson public speaks first um first up is Elizabeth Baker [Music] good evening Elizabeth Baker Maplewood uh former member of the Board of Education and former board president for three years um I wish to uh uh everyone a new year a happy New Year I'd like to congratulate the incoming board members and the officers who have just assumed their new roles and I appreciate the the very difficult circumstances that Dr Gilbert uh has agreed to serve under as well as uh all of you have taken on this year in your roles as you embark on this new year on behalf of our community on behalf of former board members who have sought to to prevent crisis to stabilize our district to create a foundation of collaboration maturity Goodwill and ethical conduct for the benefit of our students these are the essential foundations to restore the core educational program and to address the long-standing issues of equity and integration that we have never adequately tackled or faced for decades I urge you as you adopt the code of ethics tonight to actually read it to take it seriously to follow the law and to unite around a platform of competence that is a big 10 issue and to be willing to work together in a real way to be deliberate to get advice to not engage in tactics in the media to not put our students or staff In Harm's Way our students going into covid had a lot that they needed they needed an investment in our schools they needed you know a reinvestment in our curriculum and instruction they needed a commitment to equity and inclusion during covid our children suffered more than just about any other students in the state of of New Jersey because the adults in our district could not work constructively together to reopen our school successfully and meet the needs of our students this past year has been destabilizing and I have hoped and many in our community have hoped that you will rise to the occasion we expect that of you you've been elected to do that and we need you to do that our children need you to do that I'm here I never expected to be here again in in this room let alone at a public speaks because the events of the last 10 days have shaken my optimism so I ask you tonight to actually do what you say you're going to do to stop the tactics including the tactics that we just saw here in the reorganization meeting to actually listen to the professionals to work together and to be responsible to our community and to our children so that they can go to school and feel proud of their school and their school community and trust that the adults that they look up to to actually have their interest at heart thank you next is Maxwell kravit hello I'm Max Kravitz a lifelong Maplewood resident freshman at Middle Tennessee State University and a CHS graduate class of 23 I'm here today to share some anecdotes of my experiences in the South Orange Maplewood School District to shed some light some more light on how this recent announcement regarding principal of Frank Sanchez has been perceived by many uh residents in South Orange Maplewood growing up in the district with a few family members attending Columbia throughout the years I was unfortunately always overhearing the adults share stories of neglect and mismanagement at CHS and the board of education at Maplewood Middle School my family and I had awful experience with with Administration further cementing that idea from not uh providing requested accommodations for my ADHD which resulted in me severely underperforming in my classes to not addressing incidents of anti-semetic R rck and violence I do not have a good sign to say the least and my family decided to move me out of the district for my freshman sophomore year uh I'd like to add that the Maplewood that Maplewood Middle School also had additional administrative turbulence at this time if I recall correctly in a three-year time span there were two or three principles and about four Vice principles that came and left returning to the district however my experience was different Administration was helpful issues between students were resolved swiftly quickly and effectively just this last year I had an incident where my wallet was stolen I reached out over email to Mr Sanchez and in contrast to my experiences in Middle School action was taken quickly and within a week there was a thief identified an action was taken I for one can say principal Frank Sanchez had a positive impact on my experience at Columbia High scho School in addition to him faculties such as Adrien Williams Greg Tuttle Joshua Joshua Enard and J Joseph Lombardo all contributed positively to my social my school career and my personal identity all these teachers and faculty I just mentioned are no longer in this District they left our superintendent is no longer in the district For Better or Worse people are frustrated as a young adult and now as of this year a taxpayer I understand now the concerns expressed by so many residents in South Orange Maplewood where are our tax dollars going why aren't we working hard to invest in our teachers and doing the best we can do to discourage them from leaving the district with all this being said I'm very confident in our elected officials and look forward to seeing the direction our three new board members move the district I want to acknowledge the fact again that this is a uh Personnel matter we the public do not know the reason for the action taken as of now the board of education is greatly limited to the extent of which you can publicly comment on the situ situation and I trust that there is a good reason that action was taken and I sincerely trust that the right decision will be made thank [Applause] you next is Rosio Lopez uh hello Rosio Lopez SOA president uh AB Spanish teacher and a mhood resident uh the first thing I would like to say to everyone is a happy New Year um obviously so I wanted to congratulate the three new board members um welcome to the family I mean sha you were there already right um so Lee welcome uh hopefully you know I heard you in your speeches you were a lot about the staff and making the right decisions so we we love that because we know when the staff is Happy the kids are learning and that's important uh will you have a lot of experience in a special ed and we do need that experience I think in the board so hopefully you will have some solutions into the issues that we have been having for many years so welcome and sha you are a Soma person I mean you were part of us and you are part of the community and you have been always been around PTA so welcome as well I know you're going to bring something new to the table because you were teaching in the buildings so all of you congratulations and welcome to the board um for the rest of you you know we're here again and we will be here it's a new year so I got to think about this a new year is New Opportunities and if we look if anybody likes to look around and look at astrology and things like that I'm going to tell you that supposedly the planets are all in our favor so it might be funny for a lot of you but I have been even that now I look uh I have been looking around and supposedly the planets are aligning in a way that is going to be better for everyone so I hope that you board will to work together so it actually happens for all of us as well because qua you were talking about unity and family right and I know the board is going to be your new family but we're also going to be your new family we're the staff here at South AR CH school district and we're the ones taking care of the kids so congratulations on your position as President congratulations AR own as first vice president and of course no congratulations as the second vice president um the last time I forgot to say something and is kayin thank you for your year as president Nobody Knows the pressure of a president until you sit in that seat um everything that's that happens you cannot speak about a lot of things and you have to take all the comments all the nastiness and you have to defend things even sometimes when you don't agree with what you're are defending but you have to do it for the team so thank you again again I wish you all the best because if you do well and you succeed we all succeed so thank you and congratulations again thank [Applause] you next is Ray Beck I wanted as a point of extreme privilege to say congratulations to you quawi on your election to board president of the South Orange Maplewood School District Board of Education this is such an incredible full circle moment for you and for the community I suspect that you are the very first person and certainly the youngest in our district storied history to start as a student and reach the Apex of our District's governance that you are a black man who as a black student in this District had to overcome real institutional challenges to make a way for yourself as a scientist a community volunteer and a new dad only adds to the Deep significance of this moment as your triny sister I could not be prouder I hope you and your executive team lead with the courage of your convictions with integrity and with a renewed sense of optimism for our district we need you all more now than ever thank you for your willingness to serve and I look forward to a return to productivity stability and a principled agenda in service of our students and our community thank [Applause] you we will now turn to the online public speaks first is David Lewin can you hear me yes thank you thank you my name is David Lewin and I've been a resident of South Orange since 2017 and I'm here tonight to share my emphatic support for the Columbia High School student walk out planned for next Friday look at any social justice struggles in this country's history from the Civil Rights and Vietnam War protests of the 1960s to the boycott divestment and sanctions campaign against apartheid South Africa in the 1980s to today's black lives matter me to and lgbtq movement and you will find young people at the Forefront and so it is with Palestine solidarity I'm so proud of these students taking the stand for justice despite their fears for their Safety and Security in the face of a vicious campaign by local Zionist adults to smear opposition to 75 plus years of systemic Israeli racism ethnic cleansing dehumanization and genocide as anti-semitic as a Jew who had family murdered in the Nazi Holocaust and in zaris prgrams before that I am disgusted to see false accusations of anti-jewish racism being weaponized to muzzle support for Palestinians these students are doing exactly what we all should be doing in this moment as Israel with us support is committing genocide before the world's eyes they are letting the world know they will not be silent and they will not be silenced they are educating themselves and educating our community about what it means to think critically to speak truth to power and above all to empathize and show solidarity with the oppressed thank you in advance Columbia High School students for your courage and for leading by example thank you next is Karen Roos that Community member is not online next is Jen Sturm hi my name is Jen sterm I am also here to speak uh in support of the Columbia High School students who are planning a walk out next Friday um our students are learning firsthand experiential learning what it is like to deal with extremists and Zeals PE and zealots people who stand for genocide unexamined and will harass and threaten and Bully and dox these students with zero repercussions and with the implicit support of our school district who has spoken out not one bit about this save for educators willing to risk their safety to take a stand my own child a Jewish Columbia High School student knows that some of the people on this call and in our community have threatened and harassed me and not a single Zionist has said stop for taking action in support of Palestine and against the murders happening in in Gaza these are not our Jewish values because their extremism is like a drug they behave like addicts addicted to the power of 30,000 people killed that that confers to them we must condemn this and we must rise above it we must support our students we must show up let our students take a stand we must support Free Speech we must support protest who are we if not people who Embrace students taking a moral stand next we have seil Abul hello do you hear me yes we can hear you okay hi my name is seil abud I'm Bo resident I'm also speaking on behalf of the students uh at the high school who are planning their walk out and I am just generally supporting their activism at the high school um you know I've read a lot of comments online and a lot of statement that students are making up ideas um students are not making up ideas about Israel committing gen and eth cleansing these are facts that Israeli officials at the highest levels including the Prime Minister are proudly announcing and every human rights organization including the United Nations recognized that as a fact just this week South Africa a nation who recently overcame AP part and thus has Authority on the issue has filed a suit for Israel's genocide with the icj these are not ideas or rumors that students are spreading these are students who are educated and informed talking about current events we should be supporting that what is happening to Palestinians in Gaza right now are facts they're indisputable documented facts what has happened to Palestinians since 1948 are also facts they're indisputable documented facts it might be hard or uncomfortable for some people to have to face those facts I understand that but because those people live in alternate universe in a bubble of denial it doesn't mean we all go live there too Palestinians are confirming their history and having a voice in this narrative for the first time you're not used to hearing the uncensored version of this story but is the school district looking to comply with censorship and falsifying facts and history in its education do you realize in this diverse Community here in Som many of us are from countries directly affected by these events we come from countries like Palestine Egypt Lebanon Syria all of of whom have been and are currently being bombed by Israel right now you can't have diversity and then also deny that it exists are we also going to deny that slavery existed because it makes some white people uncomfortable should we call up Florida and find out what pages we should tear out of our textbooks maybe we should deny the Holocaust happen because it might make some of our German residents feel uncomfortable here this is a Witch Hunt students and adults who are speaking up for Palestine have been exposed to ongoing harassment doxing and violent threats and every day now we just had an Imam shot and killed in our community yesterday are you not seeing that failure to educate our nation about the Arab and Muslim world is why the United States is the only nation in the world standing alone in support of genocide thank you next is Joseph Gabriel hi can you hear me yes thank you excellent thank you um hi I'm Joseph Gabriel South orang uh parent with two children in the district um first I wanted to congratulate all the new board members um as well as the returning ones um your job is not easy I recognize um you hear a lot of conflicting voices that you have to reconcile somehow um and so I'm speaking toight to to you tonight in that vein um to urge you to please allow the walk out for Palestine event that's planned for Columbia High School next week um listening to some of the rhetoric that's circulating around s in our community um prompts me to urge you to please not be dissuaded by unfounded claims that this walk out would just by its very nature be anti-semitic or hateful or representative of of a violent speech these mischaracterizations are disingenuous and only work to further divide our community and silence families like mine that are already feeling unseen isolated and Prejudiced against similar efforts were stifled in West Orange at both their high school and town hall and the rhetoric that canceled those events is now focused on Soma hoping for the same result shutting down any position other than unquestioned support for the indiscriminate killing of people in Gaza preventing the walk out by setting safety concerns as was done in South Orange or sorry in West Orange would send the message that support for palestin people and peace can be thwarted by mere insinuation that obvious the obvious truth is that threats on this event and misguided characterizations about its meaning only come from those that oppose its message of peace and the district should not give in to such cynical divisive tactics the students organizing the walkout should be applauded for standing up for Humanity not silence because of who they're standing up for this event would not be a threat to be mitigated but rather a step toward discussion a recognition of different viewpoints and sadly a needed reminder that Arab lives matter you acted immediately and unequivocally when anti-semitic graffiti sought to perpetuate fear amongst our Jewish neighbors and I applied you for that I now ask you to act with equal conviction to empower our children not the people who who seek to silence their voices and perpetuate fear in our Arab community in the letter in response to that graffiti Dr Gilbert and Miss Whit leader rejected any action that incites violence threatens safety harasses intimidates or bullies anyone end quote efforts to stop this walk out are an example of such actions Dr Gilbert and Miss Whit leader further stated that we are a district that celebrates diversity let us appreciate one another and work to understand each other's feelings and perspectives a walk out would affirm these beliefs and this diversity and indeed it would make room for the hard work that this community needs to do thank you next is Brett Robertson hello can you hear me yes thank you thank you uh good evening everyone uh my name is Brett Robertson um I'm a resident of South Orange and a parent of three students in the district um like others this evening um I do want to welcome our new board members to the district and I want to urge our new and returning board members as well as staff at at the uh District to um continue to commit to be supportive of students in the district particularly students who are raising concerns about both what is happening uh to uh gazin and other Palestinians um because of the genocide that's ongoing on behalf of Israel um as well as for the concerns of students in our district who are being harassed and doxed and mistreated um I think it's incredibly important that we continue to recommit as a district to teaching the truth about what's going on in Gaza in the West Bank um I think it's important that we continue to support our students who want to speak out for the truth of what's Happening and want to stand up for what is right and are not treated as um somehow committing hate speech or doing something that is beyond the pale when they're calling for peace they're calling for an into violence they're calling for what I think we would all want for our children if we were living uh in a place that was under constant bombardment and and and threats to ours and our children and our fam's lives um so I just encourage uh everyone to please continue to support our students as they call for peace please continue to back our students who are harassed and doxed uh for whatever reason um and uh commit as a district to what we say we stand for teaching the truth and acknowledging the reality of what's going on in the Middle East and um I trust that we we all can do that thank you very much next is Faria chugal um can you hear me yes we can hear we can hear you okay great um good evening everybody my name is Fara chle I'm um from Maplewood and I have a kid in the school district and hopefully we'll have another one soon uh I want to begin by congratulating uh Mr Ki telis for your appointment as a new board president president your story is truly inspiring um and I hope that you will fulfill the promise that you have made today to our students and to the parents and to everybody uh I also want to thank all the other board members for your commitment to the students of our community uh when I stand against the atrocities of Russia I'm not called anti-russian when I stand against the atrocities of China I'm not called anti-chinese when I speak against white supremacy I'm not called anti-white but when I dare whisper against the barbaric actions of Israel it's interesting that we are immediately labeled as anti-semite self-hating Jew or Holocaust deniers by these running out of excuses anti-human zionists I will pause for a few seconds for you guys to reflect on this narrative and propaganda of words that they unleash the kids are the future of a community and this country uh we are witnessing acts of terrorism and genocide by the zionists they have been witnessing the lack of spine and hypocrisy from the people in leadership positions who are just watching and supporting the Zionist agenda so I ask you today how is walking out to support the innocent kids heads and limbs found underneath the rubble a sign of hate how is walking out to protest against open calls of wiping out Gaza and forcing them to flee their Homeland by racist Zionist ministers sign of hate how is walking out to end the blockade of food water medicines to starving Palestinians sign of hate I ask you today how is walking out of um that bombing of refugee camps hospitals uh the sign of hate as it is suggested by the parents on parents group online I can go on and on humble request please do not take the right of freedom to speech away from these kids you guys are teachers and guidance to our young kids it's high time to exercise what we've been teaching our kids to always speak the truth and the oppressed and stand against hatred and have courage to speak don't let bullies win it's time to kick them because they always play victim Palestine let our kids walk out thank you next is Michelle bakier good evening everyone uh my name is Michelle bashier I'm a resident of South Orange I moved here in 2021 a parent of two kids uh in the district as well um thank you all for the meeting tonight and congratulations for the new board members and the board appointments um I'm also here to speak in support of students who are planning a walk out for Palestine at Colombia high school and I urge this board to support them and not stand against our students in the face of the ongoing doxing and the threats that are being made against them um as a board and as a lot of us have mentioned already you will be faced with claims that this to walk out will be anti-semitic hateful or representative of violent speech these claims are unfounded and they work to further divide our community and silence families and our students that are already feeling unseen isolated and prej Prejudiced against all of this is in in the effort of shutting down facts and shutting down speech that supports Palestinian rights to exist in dignity and freedom but also any speech that speaks against the state of Israel and its ethnic cleansing of Palestinians we need you as a board to act in support of our Palestinian students and Arab community and all our students who are standing against hate um and really to support them and not to silence them and not to silence their right to speak I also urge you not to conflct these efforts is anti-Semitic anti-Semitism in the US is real and dangerous but there are current tax tactics to weaponize our calls for Palestinian rights and Justice and conflating them as anti-semitic those are dangerous claims and they're dangerous for our safety and the safety of our students and our children but also the safety of people of Palestinian Arab and also Jewish backgrounds being critical of the state of Israel is not anti-semitic our children must be allowed to speak for Humanity we must be allowed to speak safely without risking lives and without risking their freedom of speech we expect the Board of Education to protect our children and to Pro to protect their freedom of speech and to empower students speaking for Humanity and against the genocide happening in Gaza we urge you not to empower people who seek to silence the voices and perpetuate fear in our community thank you again next we have Mindy Greenspan that Community member is not online Karen Sanderson hello can you hear me yes thank you hi um I am uh I've been living in uh mwood and South Orange for about 30 years both of my kids have gone through the school system and um one of the reasons we moved here was because it seemed like an open and welcoming Community for people of all kinds and races and classes uh my you know we talk about um wanting an educ for our children and our kids learned about the Holocaust they learned about uh Native American Massacre they've learned about and marched for on ML Martin Luther King Jr day so we provided them a very um forward-thinking curriculum and education what is really upsetting is this whole um push back on people who are in favor of supporting Palestine at a time when there's ethnic cleansing and sheare murder and as been said before this is like the first time the America is the only country supporting this um and this is it's an embarrassment for all of us it's worse than that it's our crime it's our it's our Holocaust that we will be when when the war crimes finally come out our our country is going to be up there as sharing in the war crimes of Israel and what I want to say is that to be able to stand up and speak for Palestine here it's in this so-called stigma-free Community is is incredibly difficult here in a place where nobody wanted Trump because he was a racist or whatever I'm telling you the trumpsters that I've met have not been as nasty or as cruel as the Zionist when we go out and and try to have a vigil for children that have been slain I've been spat on I've been called the seaword I've been had pictures taken of me and told I'm going to lose my job come Monday um the threats and the hatred I I just I've never seen this in this community by anyone except for the zionists and and if our community doesn't support our students ability to speak freely to stand up for what they've been taught are are important historical lessons then shame on you shame on all of us that we're supporting a genocide and end of partti we have one more inperson public speaks there a late edition Scarlet strogov strogov um a current student at Columbia High many of the students at Colombia high are unaware of how fortunate we are to attend a school that truly reflects Variety in opinion race ethnicity religion gender and sexuality I think often as to how fortunate we are to be a part of a group of young people who genuinely care about right and wrong I've met kids who even call out our own parents when they become locked in habits of thinking that either ignore or perpetuate oppression inequity or even subtle biases and misinformation Mr Sanchez has played a vital role in giving us students opportunities to speak up and um up about our own experiences and unique perspectives and experiences I have overheard on multiple occasions students communicating their needs to Mr Sanchez and seeing them being put in action almost immediately so please be considerate and sensitive to the students interests when making your decision thank [Applause] you that concludes this evening's public speaks for the first part of the meeting now we're in the action portion of the meeting um board members this evening I have resolution 4560 for your consideration are there any requests to sever I know I'm kidding point do we have I was just kidding there's nothing to sever um we're in discussion you told me to spice it up I didn't I did are we getting a copy of that I it's a resolution it's annual appointments Let's Take Five I'm going to get these things copied real quick and then we we'll get on it right now just give me a few minutes play the Jeopardy theme song or something up every in a [Music] while e e Bo has been [Music] how gav yes thank you we're we're ready we're okay okay what's that [Music] okay so I think they a motion should be made I was just getting ready to do that okay can we can we just call the meeting to order apologize I know everyone's excited but can we call the meeting room to order yes okay can I uh can I please get a a motion to move 4560 a second I mean second thank you we're now in discussion I'll just say that I'm happy that um tap into Soma is included on here I know it's something that we had discussed before and they're such an important um local news Outlet so um and thank you Fred for all that you do for um for us when it comes to Media news so yeah just wanted to say that thank you um just so that everyone here knows what's happening I mean this is a pretty standard resolution that we adopt every year and this is appoints various appointees in the school district to do their jobs so there are about 12 line items in here which start from something as trivial as you know appoint the following depositories for school monies Bank of America Chase Manhattan you know appoint Mr Burnside as a board secretary appoint you know all of these things so this is pretty standard nothing think extraordinary here it's pretty you know it's safe to vote Yes if there are no other uh comments I'll go ahead and take roll call discussion is closed board member Whit letter yes board member vman yes board member telesford yes board member sacka Gable yes board member Meyer yes board member gford yes board member Kurt yes board member Deval Wilson yes board member Callan yes motion passes okay also for your consideration I have two hand carries 4561 4562 and I will pass those around now thank e board members for your consideration resolution 4561 can I get a second second thank you we're now in discussion so I one of the things I'm going to try doing and hopefully it's not too boring is explain what the resolution is so that people understand what is happening in here because we use cryptic words and we use very lot of jargon in here so in this hand carry resolution what we're doing is resending the award of the superintendent search fir from njsba and awarding it to hya and I for once support the selection of hya as our search firm I'm sure they look exhaustively for candidates nationally and if needed and they they can also look at currently succeeding superintendents in other districts that's one of the reasons why I support hya over njsba and I look forward to working with them put I just wanted to ask Patrick what the the sorry I'm sorry um I just wanted to ask Patrick what the the legal and financial implications are for terminating the contract I understand that we have three applications already received in another in process right so that question would be an attorney client question that's appropriate for executive session okay board member Deval Wilson yeah um you know I I see this in many different sides because one I um am a hired consultant and if I had been hired and had a contract and then started the work and started getting results and then 3 weeks later was fired uh that would be a big issue from a professional standpoint um it doesn't make us look good if this Han Cary said to add on hya I think that would be a different story and a more professional manner of handling this situation um I understand the desire to want to be able to poach um my suggestion before was see how this goes with njsba and I I'm happy the fact that we're already getting applicants I think that's great um it's a good sign but my my my perspective was see how this goes and if it's not going in the direction we want then there's a reason to fire or reh and or add on an additional uh uh consultant but I'm worried about Burning Bridges with um a state Ally njsba is is one of our it's it's one of the strongest allies we have to support the work that we do um so I think we need to think about that as well um we talked about having a 5-year strategic plan which we added on to this contract and that is a huge Boon for us because it costs tens of thousands of dollars to do that with an outside consulting firm and this is their bread and butter and they do it for other districts so I thought that was a we had discussed that being a really great added value for the community so if we're just swapping I see hya is getting as spending more but getting less long term and creating a little bit of chaos and confusion behind the scenes what happens to those applicants that are already applying through njsba what if one of those applicants is someone that actually could be the perfect person for for this job and now they have a bad taste in their mouth because it seems like we don't follow through with our own contracts um we're going to be delayed on things now if we make this switch we were already talking about timelines of next steps I know we want to do community listening um sessions and so uh I just feel like changing changing gears like this is unprofessional and it makes us look um like we don't honor the agreements that we've made versus adding something on if you choose to do that versus taking something away that we already agreed on legally thank you Dr T can we I guess discuss anything about the process and what is the actual process for I guess awarding the contracts um is that something that we can share here is that something that's client privilege okay just I'm trying to decipher your question in terms of in terms of process for awarding a contract you guys do this every month at your board meetings you vote to award contracts whether it's to u a construction vendor or this vendor um the action you have pending right now is to resend that contract award and to award it to somebody else so so I'm not sure if there's uh I guess can can we I guess talk about whether or not this is uh done in this done in the same exact way as we done previous contracts um is there anything different about how this contract was awarded um um Can business administrator provid us any information on that um so we awarded we had appointed New Jersey school boards the Thursday right before the break um we came back from the break I've not signed the contract we don't have a contract with them when I the day I got act I reached out to New Jersey school boards I said hey can you make the contract with our name on it with our County it was insufficient at the time I've yet to hear back from them so just to clarify sorry so we do not have a contract with NG gsba we're not going to be breaking it at all we just correct okay thank you yes board member with li thank you um njsba is a state recogn a state recognized and has a region Network in New Jersey that Rivals any Consulting organization out there they touch every single School District in in New Jersey at least every week and they send out the superintendent job postings weekly as well if you go on their website now some of the top school districts in New Jersey are working with them for a superintendent search njsba said to all of us that they're receiving roughly 45 to 55 candidates for their superintendent positions and I would expect that we would have that same outcome our lawyer when we met uh back having the board retreat had told us that the districts that they're currently working with and they work with many have recently chosen njsba over private Consultants um which you know to us was very affirming njsba has also has National reach and they can advertise in Publications like Ed week one aspect that I think is significantly overlooked is that nsba know knows the needs of our district and our board very well Charlene Peterson um our field rep for SD has been here working with us for the last decade and I think that that is a huge benefit to us because she's been through many boards many district leaders and she has a pulse of what the needs of our particular District are and I think she would do a really good job of putting together those input sessions to get stakeholder support knowing our district inside and out our district has used private consultants for the past two superintendent searches and I don't think or I don't believe personally that it has yielded the best results not to say that it couldn't be different um and I do recognize that the concerns here are that we do have a lot of headwinds but I personally don't believe that being able to poach would quell those headwinds substantially or make the district any more attractive than posting on njs vaa and by comparison over this holiday break um two school districts one of which is also quite popular we got two applicants and they got three so um and now we have three applicants and one actually has already been started so potentially four I just find this decision right now to be extremely disruptive um and it's unfortunate that this decision is being made even as we sit here now we have some outstanding questions that are attorney client privilege and we wouldn't be able to get answers to until we go to close session so to vote on something like this right now with many of us having questions um you know I don't think all of us can make an informed decision to change from njsba to hya um and one thing actually that Nubia you and I were talking earlier today I think it's important to note is that if you go to the hya website they actually promote all of the njsba job listings on the hya website so folks who are looking potentially to work with hiya can go on and and and every listing is there so I do think that um as I said before the reach of njsba is quite quite large and I just wanted to say that I firmly stand beside the decision to move forward with njsba and I also think from a cost perspective I believe the proposal for hya is over $28,000 with njsba it's 15,000 but that $115,000 also includes a strategic plan and one of the things that we have talked about for years and I know you and I have talked about it AR for the last two years is how important having a 5-year strategic plan is for this district and njsba basically said you know you commit to that additional um $2,500 for the Strategic plan and it can be used at any point in time we're leaving excess money on the table when you go and out to a a regular consultant to conduct a strategic uh a strategic plan it's anywhere from 15 to $25,000 so um you know there's a reason why the New Jersey School Board Association exists they have incredible knowledge and um incredible reach incredible Prestige and I think it's silly for us to discount or discredit the the work output and their ability to find someone who meets the needs of this District because they know them very well board member Meer thank you um so you know I'm coming into this uh a little hamstrung here given that uh having been just sworn in we haven't seen any of the uh the confidential information or been part of most board discussions on this I will say to uh former board president Whit Letter's credit uh I I'm very thankful that we were part of the last board retreat we were talking about the plan of which search firm to go with um the reason that we're in this situation of course is that at the last meeting you know barely uh two weeks ago the decision was made right before the end of the year to to award this contract to njsba um and that record the discussion there in speaks for itself but uh it does sound like there has not been substantial work that's taken place uh and I can't imagine that the three applicants we have are going to somehow get disappear or be taken away from us uh I think you know look I've gone back and looked at uh the minutes uh and and what happened uh in looking for Dr Taylor right and uh in that search process they were months into it at this point uh we are uh in a really really tight timeline uh for trying to get this process done uh and I think we uh have to move forward as quickly as possible with the best plan we have um you know the big uh the two major uh differences from between njsba and hya that I I see from the public information is number one that njsba because of their relationship with all of the New Jersey school districts uh they can't approach existing superintendents and ask them to consider uh applying quote unquote poaching uh and I think uh we don't have the time to waste to see what we get and then decide to bring in someone else who has the ability to directly approach uh as hya does uh also to the degree that the right candidate for us is not in the state of New Jersey but somewhere else I I think it's valuable to have a firm that has uh a lot more ties in active recruiting and knowledge of districts outside the state not simply being able to advertise in in edweek for example I think for those two reasons it makes a lot of sense for a fairly minimal additional cost to go with hya and while it is really unfortunate that we are having to wind this back publicly I do think that it is in our District's best interest to have our best opportunity to find the right superintendent which we really need to do um quickly board member eert thank you um I just want to Echo nubias and Caitlyn's sentiments um quite frankly I pretty much agree with all their points so I'm not going to go through and repeat them all um I I just am extremely disappointed that this was one of the first actions taken by this new board um while I understand technically there's not a contract um you know as somebody who has a business background like technicalities um is not the way that I do business um the one thing I do want to really stress is you know we all talk about not just this past year not just the past three years but going back years prior how unique our district is right and it's something that we all really pride ourselves on the fact that NJ njsba actually knows the unique needs of our district through knowledge gained through years of experience working with our district you know somebody who has spent a few years in HR I built out recruiting processes to me this holds really tremendous value that I believe we are overlooking um you know I think Caitlyn mentioned Charlene has been our field rep for the past 10 years and I know that any search firm that we engage with is going to take the time to understand our needs but by working with njsba with somebody who has actually literally been in the weeds with us for over a a decade or so I think that could help to eliminate um you know give us some time back in a sense um and you know I guess secondly I just this is just not the way I believe that we should treat our partnership with njsba so to the current board I'm sorry previous board members um I don't know how many of you actually utilized njsba or Charlene as a resource but speaking from personal experience she has been absolutely tremendous like I can't even tell you how many times I've called her I don't know at what time of day they are she's always returning my call always returning my email she's really helped me navigate so regardless of what I I I'm sure this outcome will be I highly encourage especially the new board members to actually utilize Charlene and njsba as a resource and um unfortunately it may be too late to actually recognize what they can actually do for us as an ally um but that's the one thing I'm going to I'm going to leave you with I'm not going to only two times right can only talk two times on one topic so I just wanted to quickly add that um hya is based in Illinois shamber Illinois never been there before I'm sure it's a lovely place but I do think that it's of added value to to have a a consulting or search firm that is based here um Charlene I she's at every Essex County meeting whenever I go to any of those virtual but whenever I go to the the Essex County meetings for the for the Board of Ed she's there she's she was at the event that bill and Regina and I went to in December of last year when it was for new board members coming on um for the county so she she just she's physically in our area she's physically in the state she knows everything good bad the great the ugly about us and whereas maybe hya can say that they are very aware of our community they're not based here and I think that makes a really huge difference so just something to also think about when we vote on this thank you board member Callan thank you um so I just want to say briefly too I think to Will's point we only have right what's been made available public in terms of coming to the table tonight to be able to make a decision um in rewatching the previous board meeting where this decision was made um I do think being present altogether now as a board it does still feel regrettable that we made that decision before kind of coming together as a new board to to make this decision and now having to weigh the options without with having had limited information arriving here today to do um and so while we can't go back in time and and fix that I do think it's worthy of considering um because we will be the folks who are engaged in this process together for the next couple of months um and I'm just not convinced that making the decision then when now we only have three candidates really saved us a whole lot of time in what was already a tight timeline um that perhaps we could have used more productively to really consider the offers that were on the table together as this new body um form tonight um with that said I also think um I really really appreciate the Deep experience of the team that we currently have with New Jersey SBA and I do think there is a value add to folks who understand our district who we have working relationships with who've served us well um I will say similarly as someone who does Consulting work for a variety of districts sometimes there is something nice about having someone objective who isn't intimately aware of all of the ins and outs who can provide perhaps a more objective view sees things perhaps in a different way that we hadn't consider because we are in the thick of it because this is our lived experience because we are kind of in the weed so to speak and so from that perspective I think both that objectivity can be helpful in searches in kind of unearthing areas that maybe are blind spots for us um and really kind of more deeply considering areas that perhaps like I said we just aren't aren't as attuned to because our focus is is somewhere else um so I do think there is a benefit perhaps in in having that differing perspective as well um so that's just something I wanted to kind of surface for consideration to what we're kind of thinking this through thank you president hord just wanted to say um hya is uh responsible for us having having Dr Gilbert and also the security lead Mr vales and I want to point out something about the security lead that was a one of those positions that was open and we had a listing for it and it was not being filled and there was a strong push to change the listing because we were called that we were looking for unicorn someone that couldn't take into account um students emotional leads as well as security needs of the school and so we went with hya saying can you find this person for us and we were able to find Mr valz and then lo and behold here's this unicorn that can provide us with uh I guess uh who is also an alumni of our of our own very School District that provides the things that we were looking for so I have great confidence in hya and I will also say njsba is a great resource and I think we will continue to have our relationship with them to provide us with training um so I don't think that them not doing our superintendent search hurts our relationship with them because they are a wonderful resource and I also encourage all new board members to reach out to Charlene because she's a great resource and just a few points that at least in my view have to be said I mean when we hire two superintendents in the last whatever six years and we fire them both the search firm is not the problem the superintendent is not a problem the candidates are not a problem the board is a problem okay that's number one so let's not point out and say that this particular private firms will not get a good candidate number one number two hya is is a for-profit organization and that's all they do that's their job so in my opinion hiring someone who will work where the paycheck comes from is always better than a nonprofit where they have ambiguous responsibilities where they are also doing consulting they're also doing consulting I mean whatever the they telling you how to work and so on so that's a very clear divide as far as I'm concerned and the second thing is for a job that's going to pay about $250,000 it's just un it sounds unlikely that somebody would just just charge 5% or 4% what njsba does you know because I I we do a lot of hiring I mean around the world I mean I'm sure everyone does and it's unlikely anyone charges L than 20% or 10% I mean I even 10% is like unheard of so like it's just like this right if you have a million dollar house it's unlikely that you will sell the house through a broker for less than $60,000 that's 6% it's unlikely if somebody's offering you to do it for a, $10,000 you know it's a bad deal you don't want to take the deal it's just simple as that so in my opinion going with somebody who is a professional and this is all they do for a living is probably what I want to do and one last thing I want to point out you know on everyone's I mean everyone magically expects the board to become you know collaborative Kumbaya come up to the decision that's I it's okay to have differences that's not the problem here I mean this is exactly what we suggested at last board meeting the last board meeting where we picked njsba that pick both and let the new board decide and for whatever reason at that point the board decided we go to nsba so now obviously complaining that it's we're starting with a resending and adding a new vote that's nothing wrong with that this was to be expected any other discussion seeing none I'll do roll board member calan correct yes board member dval Wilson no board member eert no board member giord no board member Meyer yes board member sacket Gable yes yes board member telesford yes board member VOD lamani yes board member Whit letter no motion passes next is resolution 4562 and this is going to be for the committee liaison thank you after they vote approve board members for your uh consideration resolution 4562 do I have a second second thank you we are now in discussion board member vman so so unlike the previous resolution I mean this one we've gone out of the way to make sure that we collaborate and talk to people I mean this proposal was you know normally board committee chair appointments and committee appointments is a prerogative of the president the president can pick any member to be on any board I mean of course they can refuse but this one we over the last few days we've talked to everybody on the board and sure maybe not everyone got the best uh thing that they wanted but most people have gotten actually I would say all have gotten their number one choice and the other thing that I also want to point out is that we want to work very closely with everyone on the board I mean there are some people who have already have existing expertise uh for example I'll point out to uh board member eard I mean she's she's done a fantastic job last year working on the uh Personnel committee and she has a very good relationship with the HR department and it's foolish to throw that away so when people look at this new committee assignment I want them to see that we've spent time and effort in ensuring that everyone is in the right place and um you know and and thought has gone into it so so yeah I appreciate um the conversations that we had and um uh my my only comment is for us to really talk to each other about like for example um if we're not on committees that we were on last year we can provide feedback and advice to those new members right and um we all will have different things that we were passionate about or different facts that we remember like from an fft perspective things that I might think of to share with the new fft committee might be different than what a room would be sharing um from a context a historical background and I think that was one of the things that was Miss last year was there wasn't enough people being like hey you know what you're on Personnel now and I was on it last year let me tell you a little bit we need we need to have as many conversations as possible across all the Committees when it comes to like what I call startup mode you know when you're like starting a new project or new Venture and so um so open invitation you know for me to all of you um and the same for like I have I wasn't on Personnel before I'm excited to be on a committee with Regina because we were on cni together um last year and this year she won't be on cni I'm excited for um board member sack Gable to be the chair of cni um and so like I'd love for us to just have a chat at some point to talk to get you up to speed on a couple of things so that um you're like ready to go uh especially when it comes to agenda setting because you know many people might not realize it's the chairs that work together to make the agendas with their point people at in the uh staff and now I'm just rambling anyway my point is I know facilitate you know making sure that we all the new members feel comfortable reaching out to all other board members to get up to speed thanks board member Callahan thank you yeah I think I just want to coign what Nubia um and uh board member dval Wilson and board member b l Mania um had said to I think um kind of preceding this there was a lot of conversation around kind of who is best fit for what um again not everyone you know you get what you get and you don't get upset right but there was really intentional thought I think and planning into thinking about how to leverage the strengths and areas of expertise that we all have on the different committees both just membership wise and in terms of um being chairs of different committees um and then I know I know all the existing board members we've all had different conversations um and I'm really excited at the idea of partnering and kind of like mentorship um to make sure that we can provide some consistency from what was happening last year into this year um and so I just want to say from a collaborative standpoint it's felt um like we're all kind of on the same page in terms of making sure that there is um consistency collaboration um and that we're able to kind of like move the needle in a consistent way um as things change up a little bit so I'm excited about it any other discussion seeing none I'll move to roll call resolution 4562 board member Whit letter yes board member V Lani yes board president tford yes board member sacket Gable yes board member Meyer yes board member gford yes board member eert yes board member dval Wilson yes board member Callan yes motion passes thank you next up we have our second public speaks I apologize I didn't realize um all of the sign up sheets had been given to me so I did put them back there with a pen if anybody else wants to make a second public comment um we do have three more um online and I'll do them first and I'll give the opportunity to the uh public to sign up if you wish first up is Karen Sanderson hello Karen Sanderson we cannot hear you oh hello hello hello um I already spoke um can I have time later I'm not really prepared right this minute this this is the second public speaks can I come back and like uh can you call me last president tford is that okay sure okay it's three people so it'll be in five minutes I guess ah Michael lexler that Community member is not online Adam Shapiro that Kum member is not online I'll check this sign she okay there are no more in public speaks so we're back to Karen Sanderson okay I'm back um I'm just gonna um repeat what I said before which is that I really hope that the board and the schools uh stand on the right side of history and support our students ability to have freedom of speech to stand up for what they want and believe in and what they've been taught are important moral issues of our times and for the world and that um supporting Palestine at this time it seems to me the most dire thing that all of us can be involved in to not support the genocide that's taking place and it's like asking what would you be doing if even in South Africa the people there have said the aparte in in Palestine is worse than it was in uh South Africa so I just really um hope that all of us will take you know our responsibility as parents and uh adults and support our students in their ability to fight for a better world and not be intimidated by political you know ambition or um just fear of retaliation by the really hateful zionists who are in our community and who do not stand for all our Jewish friends that are actually on the side of Peace in this uh in this war and that's it hey Keith is Adam there thank you apologies for uh getting cut off the WebEx before thank you for coming back to me can you hear me yes thank you I appreciate having the opportunity to speak and I I I'll keep this brief I know there are a number issues uh that are that are at top of mind for so many in our district right now um and first and foremost and I think that what what I'd like to just talk about is is all related first and foremost uh I I would very much appreciate as I know others would as well to understand more about the circumstances that led up to the email we received earlier this week regarding principal Sanchez and I asked that question because he is someone who has been a tremendous Ally and and someone who has uh shown care and dedication to both parents and students uh who have expressed concern regarding some of the uh language and actions uh that have been present in our school bo uh building and District over these last number of weeks um you know we we are a district that that talks a lot about uh hate has no place here in our in our district and yet so much of what is being said has undertones and some in some cases overtones uh of hate that really can't be permitted when it comes to things like this upcoming rally and protest and walk out uh I for one am someone who who very much supports uh uh freedom of speech and freedom of uh of protest but it has to be done in such a way that education is at the center because that is the role of this institution is to be an educational instit institution that supports the needs of our students and our teachers and and and takes advantage of these opportunities to teach and not to spew and not to and not to take sides however when the conversation and when the and when the when the content uh becomes vitriolic um no one no one benefits and unfortunately what that H what happens at that point is that students are made to feel unsafe and in this case what has been prevalent over these last number of weeks is there have been many opportunities for Jewish students in our school district to feel unsafe and persecuted uh and that's not something that this board can and should stand for and so uh uh when I think about the the issues of this moment of the day right now uh I'm deeply concerned I'm concerned that these things are have gone unchecked I'm concerned that the educators are not educating properly and that this mob mentality in some cases is taking over and so I would implore this board and the leadership and the district to take the time to both address these issues clearly the way uh I speak about these issues clearly just the way that principal Sanchez and others have been uh and to continue that dialogue and to ensure most importantly that our students are safe inside and outside of these school buildings thank you that concludes our second public speaks at this time I'd like to make a motion to go into executive session to discuss attorney client privilege and Personnel I think anybody oh I'm sorry will we have new business before or after the exact session I do not have new business on the agenda well then maybe it's now be time okay yeah excellent sir I'd like to make a motion I move to request the board president to create a new committee to handle the superintendent search I have a second for that second so now we're in discussion I'm since I'm proposing I get to speak first so let me take a stab at it so what I'm proposing is to have a new committee that will handle the superintendent search ideally I'd like to see about three board members in the committee drawn from all the three classes that are on the board today the class of 2022 23 and 24 and the committee's term will end when the superintendent is hired so this will streamline the process and make it more efficient than a committee as a whole because currently the search committee's committee as a whole where all nine of us will be meeting and coordinating and scheduling and interviewing and all of that stuff so I think having a committee that by three is efficient and but obviously it needs to have people that everyone trusts and they should be ensuring that the information flows free so I I seek feedback from other board members and request the president to form such a committee open for discussion thank you board member with letter um thank you for the suggestion um I feel very strongly that you know this is going to be the most it is it's the most important job that any of us have we were elected to do this I think siphoning off a small group of people to vet superintendent candidates um is not a good idea just similarly when we were talking about the Fergus implementation committee we all felt very strongly and I think actually was your idea um that it should be a committee of the whole because because every board member should be involved making sure that we are hitting timelines and um doing that work this to me is something that I think every single board member should be participatory in from start to finish um and it's not about a matter of trust over you know whoever would be selected but this is our job this is what we were elected to do and I for one you know would like that responsibility um to be one of the nine voices in this um initial vetting process and you know by a show of hands like who would want to be involved like who wants to be involved in this from start to finish on the board no that's was time so so so hang on so let me clarify I I didn't get to finish you're absolutely can um so I think it's something that we all want to be part of and we just heard from Liz talking about how important it was that they were part of the decision for um the superintendent search firm I mean now we have to actually do the work we have to read through the job descriptions we have to take the pool of candidates that we get and and narrow it down and move forward and I think every single one of us brings a unique perspective um ideas Notions about what we think the needs of the district are and I want all of our voices part of this decision and that's just my personal belief but it sounds like that's the sentiment of the majority of us uh board member Meer then board member Bard there were several before me I don't want to cut here that's what I saw fine I will thank you um I uh I think I appreciate some of the concept of the search committee and we do want to make this an efficient process for the sake of just the time that we have uh I know that I I believe for our last search for Dr Taylor uh there was not a specific search committee I believe it was a committee of the whole for that uh and in the uh the board retreat where we were speaking with uh Miss Peterson from njsba she had indicated that would be sort of unusual in her experience to have a search committee that being said um you know I'm I'm just a I'm just a towns person here I um I want to hear from the professionals so I'd like to hear from hya uh as far as how they conduct their search processes and what they've seen as a best practice and be guided by that certainly let's not make more work for ourselves if there's 50 applicants but only 20 of them meet our criteria we should find an easy way of of dispatching with that uh but let's also make sure that all of us do have um the the sufficient you know uh access to uh the candidates to be doing our job here board member record and then uh board member sck Gable then kalahan and then wison all around um yeah I I appreciate the the sentiment of efficiency for anybody that was on Personnel this year as I was chair um you know I love to run efficient meetings um but that said given the importance of this search this process this decision um I personally think that every single board member should be involved um you know I know when we were talking about F Fergus implementation committee um you know the the kind of the concerns about how do you get nine people schedules on board I mean at the end of the day just like pretty much any board meeting any committee meeting U more so board meeting um as long as we have you know five members we can still run it um because at the end of the day um you know we do have lives out of this as much as we dedicate to this um things come up and so uh again I appreciate the sentiment I don't believe it's a waste of time at all I actually think this is going to be one of the most important things that we dedicate our time to so I would like I personally would myself would like to be involved and I actually would like all the board members to be involved from start to finish yes I um just wanted to Echo something that stood out with what board member Whit lter said about us all having our unique perspectives to bring to the table so while I do appreciate the um intent of finding an efficient way to make this happen perhaps there are other places in our board work where we can um be a little bit more efficient in our work but I do think that this is one where I mean this is going to be our sole um employee so I do think it's important to have all of all of us there at the table to vet and go through the process yeah I just want to share um one you know the when we were all were elected and especially the latest Camp you know the people's mentality was you're going to be part of governing and overseeing our one employee and so obviously when you were elected didn't was going to have a couple weeks later but the point is that the community is expecting all three of you to be involved um throughout this whole process I I think that they would be nervous to to to know that you weren't able to have access to everything from the beginning um I was just looking at the hya proposal again because I I know that one of the reasons why we have the Consultants whatever they whoever they are is because they help us bit in the beginning they work with us to say okay we've got 100 we Whittle these down because 20 of them sucked right and and now you have this many and I remember ngba was even saying that they do that as well but the point is like that's why we hired Consultants to help us streamline that process to help and in addition to that um quawi I really liked what you said in your speech about one team um you said it multiple times and I think um in this instance you know we have a lot of committees right and even our um Hib appeals we we try to streamline that and we don't do it in exec anymore we only have three members and let me tell you like we rotate those three members all the time because it's always during the day and we're all really busy so I'd be nervous to only have three members involved in one phase because to Regina's point we're busy but all that to say you said one team and I agree with you and um one thing that Charlene said was this process brings you together in ways that other other board work wouldn't and um so we need to do it together the whole process yeah I would I think I would just add right I think um I the spirit like other folks have shared I think resonates with me because I know when you have a like having been on hiring teams and you have a large pool of applicants getting scheduling together being able to engage in that process can feel cumbersome but I think this is arguably the most important thing that we will do is hire the next superintendent of our district um to Shepherd us forward into what is hopefully um more success and more growth for our students for our district and I think that um as a community we were all elected right and I think that we all have differing valuable perspectives and so while I think that um we've already demonstrated a willingness to um share information to be collegial and and kind of work together which is really really encouraging up front um sometimes things get lost in translation right and so I worry about the almost like uh the transfer of information and not quite getting the access that you need um and having been on hiring teams I know too I'm often sometimes surprised um by questions that my other colleagues might ask a candidate that I just didn't think of or didn't um wouldn't have expected that really lead us to make a decision about a candidate one way or the other and so I do think this is one instance where and I'm definitely uh someone who like Trends towards efficiency in terms of decision making um but I do think that it would be beneficial to have us all nine of us at the table making the considerations from start to finish on this particular one but I'm always open to how we make um almost anything else feel a little more concise a little more efficient in the future so the spirit of the resolution is something I I fully agree with I just don't know that this is perhaps the right application of it from my perspective thank you yeah and just to Echo what uh Caitlyn said before I I remember when we were going to make the black parents Workshop committee um you know a three- member Committee in AO did say that this is you know important enough that everybody should be on it and there was this concern that well it's going to be Messier having all nine board members but I do think you know and I mean Caitlyn agreed she said aun's right it needs to be a committee of the whole so I I agree that I think efficiency I mean you know it we definitely want to be efficient but I do believe it's so important that we all need to be involved and and I do think two committees um do limit the the flow of knowledge I mean it's going to be great to hear a chair say that they're committed to it but at the end of the day if the chair wants to withhold information they can do that so I think it would just be good to keep it as a committee of the whole I guess I'll all your sentiment um when I was speaking with previous board presidents they emphasized the fact that you will have an agenda that you want to do all these things this year when you have a superintendent search is probably going to be taking up most of your time and so I actually like the idea that we all are part of that process um I appreciate the idea of streamlining processes but because I know I'm an engineer I want to make everything more efficient but I think for something that as that is this big something that is this important for our school district I think that every single School Board member should be part of that process and so I actually do support a committee of the whole so I'll I'll end the whole thing I maybe I'm asking for a search superintendent search committee not a superintendent hiring committee there's a difference so like typically this is what happens in you know when you have you have pool of 100 people the Consultants will Bittle it down to 80 they're not going to look down and bring it down so the the job of this committee would be to bring it from 80 to maybe 20 and then everyone interviews I'm not saying suggesting that we don't hire as a whole 100% of board me board members should be involved in interviewing but anyway clearly I'm the minority that's okay that's fine but so I will I will push hard but uh maybe it won't go very far thanks so anyway so now that we we're done with discussion I'd like to table the motion so that we leave the decision to the president can I get a second please second all in favor tabling the motion yes it basically means we put it away to sleep and don't talk about it again already correct so um you can withdraw a motion with unanimous consent so that would probably have been the better way to approach it generally speaking the person makes a motion under Robert's Rules cannot go against their own motion and so a person that makes a motion then to table that motion probably is going against their own motion um I understand the intent of everything that happened here so what I would suggest is that the minutes memorialize an application to withdraw the motion and that it was approved by unanimous conset unless you want to force a vote on the motion okay um I would like to withdraw board member of adani's it's he he withdraws it Hew that's what I thought well I don't know yes so I'd like to withdraw my motion for the superintendent search committee okay no no you don't need that any cons any objection to the motion seeing none unanimous consent for withdrawal of the motion is there any other new business seeing none I'd like to make a motion to go into executive session to discuss attorney client privilege and Personnel can I get a second second the board hereby declares that its discussion of the aformentioned subjects will be made public at a time when the Public's interest is in disclosure is greater than any privacy or governmental Interest being protected from disclosure we 8:30 executive session thank you we we will return no action will be taken s sorry board members we need you to return real quick we need y'all to return real quick hold on hold on sorry yeah I need y'all to come I I apologize board members if you can return back we we got to got we have to rewind we have to rewind sorry sorry about that okay so just I'll explain what's we aren't coming back so we have to kind of redo what we just did at the end so we're not coming back so the public knows that we won't be coming back so Patrick right the video feed will end administration's leaving we'll move to adjourn but that's all that they'll be done at the end of this meeting okay for