e e e e e e e so moved second second Mrs Capo I have a motion to approve the minutes uh motion by Miss Nancy Maly and seconded by Miss Kimberly Hayden roll call please miss caranel here Mr Cohan yes Mrs k macki Mrs Mack yes Mr McDowell yes Mrs Mani yes Mr nasta yes Mrs Scott heeden yes Mrs Williams yes Miss Santana yes thank you so much Mrs capiola next we have our Communications that are reflected on our P Personnel agenda Miss Macky would you make a motion please Madam president motion thank you motion to adjust the agenda um order of the agenda to open discussion from the superintendent report may I have a second please second Mrs capill I have a motion on the floor that was moved by Miss Elsie KY Mack and seconded by Miss cimberly Scott Hayden roll call please please M carbonel yes Mr Cohan yes Mrs K Macky yes Mr McDowell yes Mrs Medi yes Mr nasta yes Mrs Scott Hayden yes Mrs Williams yes Miss Santana yes thank you so much and we will move on to the superintendent's report uh miss miss this is not time for public comment the board the the board just miss it's h it's h comments for from the public is section H it's right below the communications before the superintendent's report and a motion was just made to move the the superintendent's report up thank you Jerry thank you madam thank you madam president welcome everyone um tonight within the superintendent report um we're gonna uh discuss the impact employee recognitions a small glimpse we'll go through our hibs the uh self assessment we're going to hold off till next month and then our student liaison um if they're here will join us at the end uh first up um I would like to invite Miss bosard up actually I'm Sorry Miss boster I'm um your second so I apologize um last month we were able to recognize our teachers of the year uh many times um you know we have a lot of employees throughout our district that are here for the success of our our children um without everyone working together and doing their part their role um our district wouldn't be what it is what what it is our schools in this country would not be what they are so there's important uh employees throughout school systems uh that unfortunately we don't get to recognize enough some of the things you might not even know go on and they're keeping uh you know a child uh to do well in school might not be um you know the teacher every time there support staff that uh helps as well and like I said I had the privilege of introducing our teachers last year I mean last month but this month uh we're going to recognize our 23 24 education support professionals the esps so I would like to call up um our support professionals come on up and we'll get end up getting a picture at the end uh Miss Watson's going to help me we have a little appreciation token Miss carbonel and while before we do that uh I wanted to ask Miss Kimberly Scott Hayden to just say a couple words because those that don't know and correct me if I'm wrong state of New Jersey National ESP uh do you want to share when 2020 2020 to 2021 we're very lucky to have one of our board members that came from that role that was successful was nationally recognized so miss Scott Hayden if you wouldn't mind Sharon a couple words um so yes I would like to congratulate all of the esps that are being recognized tonight I know we often say you guys are education support professionals but I like to say that you are in Central School professionals uh what you do every day on behalf of students that's [Applause] right what you do every day on behalf of students definitely makes an impact on our educational Community our students are thriving and they are successful because you walk into the doors of our school buildings every day being the best versions of yourselves and I cannot say thank you enough I cannot say um how much we appreciate you for what you do every day um our jobs your careers I'm going to say careers cuz I don't call them jobs you don't stay in something un for a long period of time unless it's career so your career um here in Union is uh valuable to us it's valuable to the students that you serve and I wish you well in all your endeavors but I want to most importantly say that we see you we recognize you we appreciate you keep doing what you're doing and I look forward to seeing you all guys you guys back here in 20 25 for another successful school year thank you again and Miss Scott Hayden can you join us over here for when we call them up and pictures as well so first I would like to um not sure if Mr clar's here but uh the gangji come on up all right Kira Baskerville Dr Baskerville are you here come on up and then principles please come up with your staff member I would like to invite up harrie Graham Terry grah Terry and stay up here you guys could stay together we'll get a big picture with everyone conratulations Miss Stayton are you here come on up M Stayton the ESP at Battle Hill is Joan leento Joan Joanne [Applause] leento sure Bernett uh Miss Calderon please come on up and the ESP at Bernett is Kira Mertens come on up Kira [Applause] miss Warren can you come up Connecticut Farms is next Gina jackalone [Applause] uh Miss KY or any in the special ed department so we recognize someone from our Hamilton School uh Palma janon [Applause] Pama Hannah Caldwell is um miss mlan here Mr Shaw no okay art show tonight I would like to uh recognize sopia Travaris from henna [Applause] Caldwell is Miss deato Miss rof here show lot going on um I would like to uh invite up qu Perry K Perry come on [Applause] up Kiana per congratulations and Miss bosard can you join us you get to stay up next too and I would like to uh recognize Lisa Perez from the high school as the ESP uh from the high [Applause] school is there is that everyone Yep they're not here so uh again congratulations thank you for all your hard work and everything you do uh like uh Miss Scott Hayden said sometimes you know things might go un unrecognized but without uh everyone uh helping our children we wouldn't be as successful as we are so I thank you if everyone could squeeze in for a picture coming to Rose and let the national ESP get next to them thank you very much stay thank you so uh Miss bosard if you want to stay up here with me because the next two are we're highlighting are uh from Union High School so I'd like you to join me is uh Patricia Bridges Pat Bridges here um do you want to tell the the uh public about what Miss Bridges I know you were supportive of the efforts of what she did I'm not going to read everything but talk about our our bus tours to HBCU um I'm not sure if you're all aware Miss Bridges is one of our school counselors um she started off in Union as a fourth grade teacher at Franklin Elementary School way back when um and then uh transferred over to the high school to be a counselor she has started uh the peer ambassador program which has over a 100 students sophomores through seniors they participate in a lot of activities they help out a lot throughout the school especially with freshman orientation um she has also taken the kids on HBCU bus trips she went to Lincoln this year I think you sponsored that yeah I'm not sure the other one and she's also taken the students to um HBCU College fairs where they Delaware state where they are able to get scholarships and grants before they even start going to college so she is an integral part of our counseling team as well as all of the other counselors they all do exceptionally great things um but miss Bridges has also uh impacted the school community in a great way so we're thankful for her and and it's this isn't a couple hour trip during the school day they're getting they're leaving early getting back late so it just shows a lot of the times during the year our Educators our faculty they go above and beyond for things like this for our children um and and I'm very excited because you know talking to the students some of our students don't even they visit local they don't go and and visit a um a a college a university to then see what it's like and on top of opportunities some of them do uh acceptance immediate acceptance so they have interviews and and if they are offered they could get an offer right there leave with that we did go locally to cane this year as well uh was there any other ones that we went to so we're trying to uh not just have the local stuff where our kids could attend but bring them and we're going to continue that because I think it's important for them to see the other colleges and universities and Miss Bridges is more than welcome and I I I thank her for that the next person I would like to call up um is um Laz everyone calls her Laz [Applause] Rivera the reason uh I wanted to highlight uh La uh tonight and I'll let Miss boser uh speak a little bit as well is um I want to say I got to know LZ when she was our liaison but seeing that history of Laz and again hopefully you might want to still in some way work with us but uh gave so many of our years um helping our children and you could see uh all the things on that uh 12 years with the PTA seven years as the president and correct any of those are wrong were there other schools too no that's Connecticut kwami Jefferson all right so seven years as PTA president two years as vice president one year as a secretary five years as Li liaison did things with the Tricky Tray helped the Boy Scouts along the way Cub Scouts um you have one son you would think with all those years you have multiple but it even shows a lot he's graduating yes so that's what I say you hopefully you'll still help us out uh you're also balancing as a project manager for chub um you're a cancer survivor uh congratulations 20 years and and that really hit home with me because uh my mom's about 10 years in remission so anyone that has people that are um survivors it it it means a lot um you know and I'm thankful uh volunteers at uh the Janet fund um and is that they provide aeds and cprs for schools aeds for schools that have extracurricular activities so God forbid anything happens out on the field they covered okay and then um I didn't know this either you you make the best chocolate covered pretzels and cake pop for families and friends did you ever did you ever experienced that Miss B all right it's coming it's coming um and you love to dance and love Zuma Z Zumba is that right yeah you would agree so I I just wanted Miss boset to say a couple words she has the pleasure of LA's um so I got to meet Laz uh last year when I came back to the high school as the interm principal and um LZ is no joke that's all I'm going to tell you she will keep you on your toes and but she cares deeply deeply deeply about all the students not just her son um her son is exceptional she raised a really really great young man he really is an exceptional young man Laz is extremely detailed she's organized she puts in a thousand gazillion sent into everything that she does and she will make sure you do what you are supposed to do she keeps everybody in check um keeps everybody in line and anything that you need done she would get it done for you anything that our kids needed she did it anything our kids wanted she made sure they she made it happen for them um our kids wanted a senior trip they made it happen for them and they did but I said no not this year so but she's we are extremely uh grateful and thankful to you uh not many parents spend this much time in the PTA most people will say oh my kids's done I need a break but she has uh pushed through all these years and just continue to make an exceptional impact and want to say thank you thank you and before we take a picture I just I don't have my glasses on I got to read I I put a little something because of the lifetime really of what you've done for us and how much time you spent with us uh the truly the township of Union Public Schools is truly grateful for your exceptional dedication and tireless efforts in supporting our school Community your willingness to go above and beyond has significantly impacted the educational experience for so many students your commitment and generosity are deeply appreciated and we are fortunate to have you as part of our school family thank you for everything you've [Applause] done so I'm taking this mic and I might and I would like to say that my PTA started I think last was a little bit ahead of me because her son is is a year older right and I would be um remiss to say that I don't think we always saw eye to eye but I will say that every time I saw Lads in a room there was nothing but respect and admiration on both sides I knew that the Tricky Tray was going to get done I knew that the work was going to get done and overall I knew that the children would be serviced and it is L deeply my honor to be standing here [Applause] come back please I don't care what they say come back trying to catch my breath I'm sorry um first thank you thank you thank you second I've said it 10,000 times and I'll keep saying it over and over again and my friends that are in the back there uh Kath McGee I love you but you know I'm going to say you are my principal and you will always be my principal I appreciate you immensely because I was able to do a lot of the stuff that I did this year because I knew that I can count on you and you knew that I was never going to let you down so thank you um it has been since my son was in PR he's 18 years old right now um he's graduating I'm graduating um my friends are trying to tell the teachers to keep him back so I can stay a little bit longer um people that have more than one child I don't know how you do it um all I could say is thank you because there's nothing more that I enjoy than seeing a smile on a child's face and knowing that I was able to make a difference in their life I said it last night at the awards you know our Juni I didn't grow up in Union I came to Union for my son to go to school I grew up in nework um there are great kids in this school and I love the fact that you guys are here today because it's a Board of Education meeting but it kills me that there's so many kids in this school and this place should be packed at the seams so there is few of us that always want to make sure that everybody else I'm not knocking parents down I'm not please don't look at it that way but I just want I wish if everybody took a little bit of extra time these kids would have everything that they deserve and then some so thank you for letting me do everything I've done the past 12 years um I'm very humbled uh I'm not one even though I'm usually UPF front but I don't like being upfront I'm not a person for attention so it is a little extreme for me right now but thank you thank you thank you thank you again congratulations [Applause] yeah what we're going to do is have your I do I don't have like the internet thing so plug it in so then I'll be able I'm gonna have Carlos do the sport that's fine because I don't I don't have thank you [Applause] again no at the end so again I I want to um thank the community for coming out obviously uh we heard and listened to a lot of community members last time I just want to um go into just some things um that uh so all the public knows um there nothing that was discussed regarding uh the possibility of an Elementary schedule changing was budgetary cuz that was put out there that we were cutting the budget and that's why we were doing it I want to be clear we we uh sent in a a budget to the county uh that was approved right Miss  um it did not have these this scheduling um change in it it's nothing part of the budget so I want everyone to know that we're not terminating 15 employees because that again was out there we're not I did non-renew a couple employees uh as districts do yearly for reasons um that I can't speak about because they're Personnel matters but I want to be clear it's not 15 employees being terminated um I want to be clear that this is as a superintendent having to make decisions for our students and what I feel uh can can that that they may need or that where I feel we need to improve uh some things are need to be board approved officially on the board agenda this does not have to be board approved because a lot of people in the public think thought or were making comments that the board don't approve it and I just want to be careful that people understand that it it is not the board members um that are approving it not approving it um you know I'm collaborating uh with many stakeholders um thank you and Margaret for meeting with me uh uh the last two days but um I'll continue to meet with UTA leadership staff and parents and why I say that is I set up a lot of parent um meetings are ready I am emailing eventually everyone that emails me will get an email response inviting them to a meeting and I will if it takes me three weeks four weeks I will sit and listen to your concerns I with that I'm also uh meeting with different stakeholders of the the the education side our staff um I will meet with the specials I'll meet with um I have a a teacher group that I meet with monthly I I I already started the conversation there I'm going to meet with all different again staff members to hear um you know their input their thoughts and every time I listen to someone you know a something new Pops in my head so it it is worth it uh to sit um 50% I agree is not acceptable and that's across the board what would who who would ever say I want to be 50% what are you always taught when you're younger go for 100 110% and that's what we should be doing with everything everything we can't accept 50% for our children absolutely so what are the next steps um again I I put out a to anyone that I had their contact information from last time um I started emailing them um it's going to take time because again I'm trying to plug in meetings um I'm waiting for certain people to confirm and then I'm going on and and plugging in more um but again anyone that wants to meet with me and and talk to me I I will uh schedule a meeting uh so I'm going to take additional time to collaborate with stakeholders before making a final decision during the early summer break I will provide an update on this matter as well as a more comprehensive academic vision for our school system which again I want to again everyone to understand which I'll get into a little bit briefly of where our students are at I'm not going to be in this position and accept our kids failing I'm not I'm gonna have to make some tough decisions but people already opened my eyes to possibly be able to come up with other the scheduling might not look the same but now listening to other people being able to incorporate different things and figuring it out maybe we could bet both and and speaking to the UTA leadership today we already got steps closer so I want everyone to know that's why I want to set up meetings for those that want me to hear them I I feel like talking a little deeper on the emails I've received is healthy and it might again allow me to bring something back to the team to the UTA leadership to other stakeholders and say what do you think about this because I do think there's going to be a way that we could impact both get back our time that people I heard want in the specials in the enrichment but also be able to also positively impact where our students are at today first and foremost and I'll go into it if we look at and what has me concerned is a lot of District took a a lot of districts took a big dip right after covid we slid from after Co to the next year which has me concerned I cannot allow our students to keep sliding I I wouldn't be doing my job if I just sat back the easiest thing is sit back and just let things keep going the way they are I can't then do that I won't be able to be who I am so with that you could see where are we're students not proficient 36% in 22 23 and 46 2223 on the math side one was the comprehension the next year first grade 2223 went from 41 to 48 in math 55 to 53 in grade two 21 to 22 was 45 22 to 23 52 and 2122 60 to 65 this will be uploaded Miss Capell puts it on our website anyone that wants to download it it'll be up probably tomorrow um and then in third grade 59 to 64 in the ELA 52 to 64 in the math in grade four 62 to 52 and 74 to 64 even though we didn't slide that's still not an acceptable proficient I I can't I like I said I can't allow even 50% of our kids to not be proficient in grades five 62 to 54 79 to 78 on the m side not proficient so with that I'm gonna keep trying to impact our academics positively allow students to not fall behind in with reading literacy we're doing a lot of good things it's going to take time and and it's going to take us working together to come up with a system that's that really meets our kids needs what I promise is that I'm going to listen I'm going to go back I'm going to take time I'm going to work with leadership I'm going to listen to parents Community families um our teachers and I'm gonna figure out what's best working and hearing everything and and I'll come back to this uh July and and and again I'm going to have to make a decision on what our schedule looks like next year and it's hard for me to leave it exactly the same when I see those numbers and I don't believe just bringing in a new Ela program it's going to impact our kids to some degree but our teachers are the ones that are utilizing that platform that program to make the difference I can't just say here's a program I expect their scores to go up that's not fair it's the teacher teachers that are working with the students and our staff that are working with the students every day that's what's going to make the difference so hopefully I did send out a letter I put some copies back there and I just want to highlight one part of the letter again anyone that e emails me I will make sure they get a copy of this too and I want to highlight in there that I will take additional time to collaborate with stakeholders before making a final decision moving on Miss bosard again um being in charge of the high school we're recognizing we got to start recognizing our the high school students and we recognized a lot tonight about the high school so thank you but um last night was amazing um not many districts still do this today but I keep saying it I've been in this District almost 25 years the community our students are amazing why this happens is because our community and our students are amazing we had 172 awards given 86 people received the awards just maybe didn't here I don't hear 85,000 some of them and Miss BOS said at least two were our former students coming back one came from Maryland to give an award because it meant so much to her and she's going back to Maryland because she's in grad school there now she's starting grad school and it's one of our young young lady that's young did not have to drive up from Maryland most people probably their are so busy she wanted to make a point to deliver this scholarship uh especially because she dealt with so much going to college and then we had another student that um I think graduated a little bit earlier is very successful as a realtor in our district and realizes how much the community benefits him and how you know they they they they he mentioned last night how thankful he is for the support of his community that he grew up in he gave miss bosard it was 9,000 9,600 a $9,600 scholarship to one of our students the UTA 8,000 total from our UTA so a lot of times you see a lot of fundraising going on a lot of it is for the scholarships we give because people want to be able to give back we have many other organizations ations that year after year some have been with us I know all the time I've been in the district I've seen the same award given a lot of it unfortunately is in memory of tragic events but we got to remember that that people still want to come because Union meant so much to them so uh Miss boster thank you again and we hope it it we keep that going um as I have to report tonight on uh Hib from April 28 to May 14th we affirmed 10 CA 10 founded cases zero unfounded three inconclusive um there's that's where the cases were and now we'll be reporting uh from May 15 to the 21st we had zero it was a good reporting period we had one inconclusive and that's where Washington school where where the one was inconclusive and I say this because at this time of the year you know as you're approaching June it gets challenging in schools I think everyone's kind of hitting a wall it's getting hot now um where um you know maybe our our um frustration level is a little higher the students are are ready for summer um and why I say that that is because sometimes I think we as a district next year opening up school want to make sure we're we're letting Community know what's the difference between Hib and just a conflict because I met with a lot of parents this year and they're like well we're friends but our kids you know now there's an investigation between their their children and and and the parents see it different so working together we could again make sure everyone understands the difference between conflict because at certain times the district has to investigate um so you know we'll we'll keep uh improving on making sure everyone's aware of uh you know the difference between that so next I would like to Nissa are you all set so niss is one of our uh student liaison I would like to invite her to share her presentation for this month and I'll hand over the mic do you to unplug plug you could close mine Carlos if you need to the other thing while n is getting set up that I wanted to highlight is I've talked to a lot of parents that they ended up unfortunately leaving Union because they felt it the schools were not at the level they wanted you know this is another thing where we want to move forward and I I believe I've started my my year off in front of everyone our kids could do it look at where they're at without really having a research-based uh Ela program or giving enough of the stuff in the right way or providing a better opportunity in in intervention for the students and not letting them keep fall be falling behind we have a lot of look this is a very very attractive Community there's the these rentals that are going in all over the place they're not you can't find vacancies this is a great Community we have to work together on making sure our unfortunately a lot is on the scores but that doesn't mean the that the child can't learn or isn't learning it's it's just that's also something we're measured on and looked at on so we can't ignore it and we got to make sure the students are ready to take those assessments and we've been talking even about teaching the kids maybe also how to take the assessments but we have a lot of great things going on in our district we're going to keep stri striving uh to make sure we we keep impacting the kids positively in many different ways and while I still have time I have to say Dr basille is with us tonight and a lot of the things we want to try to do throughout our district Dr basille is already implementing and what are you seeing Dr basille success so again I say this a lot it it it our kids with the right everything being put together to puzzle together right we will you're going to start seeing different scores right there and you're gonna have kids not grade levels behind on reading and be feeling better we have to always believe in the children and that they can learn all right and keep building the relationships those research shows the relationships with the students between the Educators and the students that makes a huge difference as well as the child believing they could learn so at that point Nia one of our um seniors excellent student going to West Point I would like you to uh share your um so good evening everyone my name is Nissa again and this is the March report from the Union High School one Wednesday the Union High School softball team will play Scotch Plains Fenwood in the njsiaa state tournament and on Thursday the Union High School baseball team will play the top seed Bridgewater in the NJ Sia state tournament good luck to both teams in the Union County relay Championship the Union High School girls shop put team won the Union County championships the team consist of Christine Pierre Lewis Esther amadi and Victoria Adia J A kamaro won the Union County champion ship in the girls high jump the boys volleyball team finished the season with nine wins and 14 losses the first ever Union High School girls flag football team finished season with three wins two losses and two ties they defeated Scotch Plains in their final game of the season 35 to zero and lastly Kaa coam was awarded the njs I AA scholarship athlete award K is a senior athlete that played tennis and softball at Union High School K has a 4.5 GPA and ranked 32 in her class she ALS she is also the president of the Union High School student council and on that note I would like to say happy Memorial Day Weekend from us to you guys have a great and and and Nia Nisa and Gia are our student aison um I have to say Nisa has done a wonderful job uh Gia as well all year um and it's going to be uh you know when when Nissa leaves us next week she she's been here I think almost every meeting if not all of them to share uh the great things going on uh you know they're both going to be going to be uh missed uh but anybody out there we're going to be putting out uh junior seniors to now accept new liaison for next year but um for the start of this uh I'm very thankful and you did did a wonderful job and we got one more to go um so Madame President that does conclude my uh superintendent report thank you thank you Dr benaquista so now I will hand it over to Mr buggy for comments from the public on resolutions and all other matters thank you madam president uh just a reminder we we had a little reminder last week uh public comment uh public comments are to be addressed to the presiding officer the presiding officer is Madame President CH s Anna and to the extent that your comments or questions relate to Personnel matters the board will not be responding to those comments so uh just uh for your information please keep your comments to three minutes just because it seems like we have a lot of people here and just give everybody a chance to speak so uh Madam presid thank you so much and I will reiterate it once again all comments are made to me uh the board president not my board members and no staff uh cannot mention staff within your statements and you have three minutes I will oh and I so if you do if I do not have your name or or in my hand um please make it over to the side there's uh cards we and then we will call you one by one all the time in the world I am in no rush so we we will begin with and I'm so sorry if I do not pronounce the name correctly but I will try Salam isal no no no oh no they can't you could give it to them and they'll pass it out to us at the end well I'm I'm the director of the national united youth Council Incorporated and I'm here and we're based in Elizabeth New Jersey but I'm here on behalf of one of my representative who who who is a mother who have a child in the system and when I read about this in the U one of your local newspaper at the beest of one of my representative uh Danielle P pikney I was very concerned um when I hear that some of the most vital things I've been in counsil for 40 years some of the roughest and toughest kids in Union County you've been our system I work for many years and I know we use certain instrument to motivate kids music is one of them Arts you know certain language Elizabeth we have 63% Latino community so Spanish is important and of course Library we use the library many times for whatever then I'm hearing these these Cuts rather than Staffing or or funding or what have you and I said you know I seen some of the things some of the report that the superintendent that some of the deficiencies and what have you but I I can tell you this much one some of the most motivating things in learning is with arts and with music and these are things in in computer of course in the 21st century these are things that very very important so I would advise superintendent to really rethink that and certainly my representative will be willing to meet with you all and offer some our ideas that hopefully can be a benefit to to the district and I'm just hoping that we keep our kids first that's important it's a message I give to people around the state when I'm talking to board board organizations and and let that not be one of the customers and and Liz lizza what's her name was lizza obviously she she oh laaa like that because those are kind of people who we need in our district across this country that volunteer their time and their effort to motivate our children but we also have to give them the instrument and those things that I just named are are just some of the things that I'm hope that you keep at a full at the full capacity thank you very much for your time thank you we appreciate your comment thank you next we have Danielle pikney please good evening so I prepared like a long but I'm going just keep it short thank you you have the whole three minutes okay so cutting instructional time for elementary students by 50% will have several negative consequences it will signif significantly diminish opportunities for students to develop crucial skills in subjects like art music computers library and Spanish these subjects contribute to cognitive emotional and Social Development fostering creativity critical thinking cultural awareness in technological literacy additionally reducing instruction time could widen educational inequities I'm sorry as subjects from less as students from less privileged PR privileged I'm sorry backgrounds may have fewer opportunities to access enrichment activities outside of school overall maintaining adequate instructional time is essential for providing a comprehensive education and ensuring that all students have the opportunity to reach their full potential thank you so much next we have Melissa [Applause] anovich I'm the librarian at Battle Hill uh as a school librarian I have several questions about how a semester schedule would be managed for school librarians and special Area Teachers I look forward to having these questions answered and I'm interested in discussing the role of the school librar and further historically library has not been a prep period for teachers this ensures flexibility in the schedule Librarians can change the schedule to best meet the needs of the school Community during testing schedules can be flipped to ensure all students have access to the librarian and Book Exchange schedules can be adapted to support classroom projects Librarians and teachers can collaborate to ensure lessons support classroom work is the intention to for force a fixed schedule on all elementary libraries this goes directly against best practices for school library management making a librarian a prep teacher only honors one of the five roles a school librarian is trained to serve school librarians are teachers and instructional Partners teachers and information Specialists who are research experts teachers and leaders teachers and program administrators managing thousands of resources daily additionally will students be able to check out books during the semester they do not have Library lessons if so who would manage This Book Exchange how will libraries be managed when they are unstaffed by certified library media Specialists there are tasks that cannot be completed by a clerk or anyone else without the skills learned in the library media specialist certification process who will catalog orders at the beginning of the year and throughout the year if the librarian is not scheduled in the building when we receive donations these also have to be vetted researched written up in an extensive report for board approval and cataloged who will complete this process during the semester the school librarian is not in the building school librarians monitor circulation statistics throughout the school year and adjust collections based on those statistics who will monitor these statistics absent the school librarian who will place orders at the end of the year if the library is not staffed by a librarian that semester additionally how will administrative tasks be scheduled if the librarian is not making their own schedule at the elementary level Librarians serve as tier three support for Chromebooks who will handle the distribution and collection of daily loaners who will assess Chromebook issues and enter service tickets will there be additional tech support staff added to fulfill this role if additional after school enrichment is offered how will the district support the participation of students who are busted 34% of Battle Hill receive special education services many of these students are busted so does that mean special education students who are busted would not have the same access to enrichment education as students who are not busted these are my five main questions will Elementary libraries be forced into a fixed schedule where they become prep teachers will students still have access to Book Exchange during the semester they do not have lessons how will libraries be managed without a school librarian who will handle daily Chromebook support and how will we ensure equal access to after school enrichment thank you thank you so much keep in order thank you next we have Ana har what's the the last name I said wrong H it's okay my first name is it got wet so I didn't see the cues Ana Haw thank you um good evening I am a longtime resident of the township of Union and an alumna of our Public Schools my children actually now attend the same elementary school that I did when I moved here in the third grade I'm here as a concerned resident a parent and an educator at Franklin Elementary School I think it's important for us to not speak from emotion which is hard for me but to look at recent data and relevant up-to-date research when we make decisions impacting our students and their education to that point I'd like to pick up where Melissa left off to continue with just a few more questions we have regarding the proposal for special area classes and teachers we ask that these questions be considered when making your final decisions over the summer when can Li Ians and special Area Teachers expect to know how many and which buildings we are to be serving next school year what happens when someone with the stien position who is also a librarian or a special area teacher how would that individual be able to serve the school building in which they hold a stien position during the semester that they are scheduled in a different school what will happen to clubs fundraising activities and special events that take place during the day examples include but are not limited to book clubs art clubs Battle of the books program read across America celebrations readathons and Book Fairs these are organized and run by your Librarians and special Area Teachers what will happen to gift and in talented classes which are currently taught by computer teachers I'd like to close by just calling attention to the fact that research shows a library curriculum that is integrated within Ela classes extends classroom learning to incorporate research skills and independent thinking while providing students with the best opportunity for growth and success thank you thank you so much for your comment Miss Sharon drton good evening I want to uh applaud our Librarians for bringing um notice to exactly the specifics and details of how the school runs there's so many details and that have to be considered and I applaud you for uh stepping back and saying let's look at this again and I thank you for hearing the community I pray the community continues to speak and I want to Al offer the administrators to be able to enter the conversation as well being an ex uh art teacher I it's my heart and there are ways for us to integrate these uh the main subjects in our elective classes as well my um initial concern is on September 30th it was a date that Miss bosard and I waited to become permanent principles the jobs were posted and hiring began the school year um but stopped short of leaving two principles in the interim status for over for two years now other administrators have been hired without without our jobs being resolved despite speaking with our Union to resolve this we were told this would be added at the next meeting which is this meeting but was not meanwhile other agenda items are added to the board agenda the day before or the day of the Board of Ed meeting in addition uh we don't have correct uh direct conversations that occur um sometimes before a summer call to the superintendent's office or we are not the first people that are spoken to I found out about the elective situation on Facebook I had no idea um and if I hadn't been posting a picture of a student for principal's day day with a principal I wouldn't have found out until Monday morning which is dangerous I can't support teachers that I don't know or going through something with um our staff um and Outsiders of the administrators uh particularly principles have been approaching us about us leaving the school um although we did receive letters that we'd be spoken about we don't know what that is but they've been approaching us going oh I heard you going here I hold you going there and we can't we can't speak to that um well we can't speak to it because we don't know so I feel like so many other people know more of Our Fate than we do and um with the rest of this year um we want to make sure we're ending it strong we want to make sure that there's consist consistency and communication from central office that helps us finish this year um and support each other so that we can do this successfully I want to thank you again uh for listening to the community it's so important and again offer my services as well to you to uh help make this decision go well for our staff our students and our community thank you thank you so much m ston next next we have Gina Calderone [Applause] McDow good evening my name is Gina Calderone McDow I'm currently one of the interim principles at Bernette along with sea pno um for those that are not aware I am a product of Union Schools as many of us are here tonight I attended Washington Elementary kwami and UHS four years later I came back as a science teacher at the high school I became a VP at the high school 10 years ago today I was on my Facebook on this day um I was moved to Jefferson in 2016 Mr Shaw called me at the end of the school year in 2019 and said that he was going to be the principal at Bernette and he wanted Mr Paterno and I to accompany him so we could join Miss Dron who was the VP there essentially alone our intentions were to move Bernette from that school to the school in the five years we've been there we've successfully stabilized brunette by reducing discipline increasing Ela and math scores implementing plc's RTI and Ela coach all showing an immediate impact even our new extracurricular activities like our Esports our drone Club our speech and debate are all award-winning we built a family during our tenure there sorry I'm very emotional I'm not sure if all of you that are here or watching are aware that Mr Shaw has not been in our building since March 15th he's the one person that let us to do all of those positive things for the building myself and the other BPS were left with no direction information answers Mrs calone we can't we can't speak about um I'm not I'm not giving any information I'm speaking about let me say the risk is on her if she names anybody and says anything or inappropriate we're not going to respond the board's not going to respond but but you you can if you're going to be respectful you I'm absolutely respectful Mrs Calderone I would strongly caution and urge you not to speak directly about any Personnel at this moment respectfully I'm speaking about myself and my experience I've I've given you words of caution Madame president's giving you words of caution I would I would suggest heeding those words okay I'll skip to the end I wanted to speak at last month's board meeting I didn't want to overshadow our teachers of the year um a majority of our admin team were there we were in support of our teachers and our colleagues why was at the worst session last week reason supporting our colleague and our teachers for different reasons our ESP of the Year this evening um Mr pno and I are upset that we had to find out the way that we did um that our principle was being moved it's why I'm here um we didn't know that letter was going out I want that known that we were unaware that we found out that way um we did not get a phone call we didn't got a meeting asked for a meeting with the superintendent we ended up with a meeting with the HR Director um we would have liked to been prepared for those questions and phone calls that were directed to us in that letter um there's not a lot of support and communication I'm just echoing what Miss Drayton said as well but despite all the challenges we've been dealing with I want you to know that we will continue to move Bernette from that school to the school and we will do it every child every day whatever it takes thank you so much Mrs [Applause] Calderone Miss Maranatha Yia was I close how are you um hello my name is Mara goia I am I'm in the fourth grade from Battle Hill and I would like to talk about the schedule change so I believe that it's important for Specialists to remain the length of time that they are because specials are passion specials are things that we believe in and with passion it's the thing that makes you want to do the subject in the first place it's the thing that motivates you it's the thing that makes you want to go and achieve your dream whether it's becoming a doctor or a lawyer an artist specials are something that helps you move along specials are something that helps you get more confidence in yourself and I believe that subjects are also equally important and that students D grades are very important and that we should find some sort of compromise somewhere and I believe that we are getting close to that and I believe that if we work a little bit harder if we study more find more facts that we'll find somewhere a open window that will make it much easier for students grave to improve because after all that's why we're all here we're all here to help each other [Applause] and I believe that if we all find an open space Something That We're passionate about we're going to succeed in one way or another thank [Applause] you you inspire me to could be met better young lady oh gosh okay so next masama Smith Thomas hello everyone hello my name is H Smith Thomas I am from the national united youth Council in out of Elizabeth New Jersey and Salam ish is our director so of course I'm here on the behalf of the eliminating special programs I was reading um a letter that was dated for May 20th and one of the um sentences in the letter was saying was speaking about the feedback how it has been invaluable and how you want to assure that you have listened and you heard all the comments from the parents and students and staff which is great for me but we need a little bit more action the ages of k34 is critical this is the time when they're learning they're learning their craft they having fun with their craft and this starts them with their Journey on life I have a niece and nephew that grew up in a public school system to whether there was a parent their parent had six children the parent did not have no type of Arts in her background but that child right now was 24 and this came back from Italy on the full Scottish ship and opened up her own art gallery so eliminating these programs it does not allow the children to participate in critical thinking activities and it doesn't enchant it en chances their adaptability with exploring new subjects it decreases children's chances to become culturally engaged in the arts and history younger children expressed their self through their art some of us as we was growing up we didn't have the option of expressing ourself it was told what stayed in our house what happens in our house stays inside the household through ART they can Express their s through ART they can grow and help other children as well we have to keep these services in for our children and as you said earlier 50% is not enough we need a 100% 50% we can't afford to lose not one child not one child so please thank you for listening to us but we need a little bit more action and we need to make sure that our children is safe and our children get everything they deserve 120% thank you thank you so much next we have Laura K coo K thank [Applause] you thank you so much Miss jayton that's okay I blame my husband for giving me that I'm sorry um I'm a teacher at Bernette Middle School I am a proud graduate of Bernette Middle School um I was the first graduating class of Bernette Middle School when we switched from a junior high school to a middle school um I've been teaching at it for 19 years and in the past five I have to say that Bernette Middle School it just keeps getting better and I know that we I'm not mentioning names and I'm not talking about anybody or any but I will say this there have been changes recently they are not the best changes but the faculty and the administration that is still at Bernette Middle School is committed to the children that we see every day and we will continue continue to be committed to those children until the last day of school this year and going into the future thank you thank you so much I have Mr Jean Paul Adams thank you Madame President members of the board hello again um I'm here to ask for Action rather than words right so we did have a conversation last week that we would sit there and think about the resolutions that we are going over but also about transparency and making that the information that is provided is done so in a timely manner where it's not sort of thrust on people but instead where we sit there and get to look at some of the information um part of this is a request to get that Council of parents teachers administrators board members where we sit there and talk through things instead of just having them be uh shown to us right the other piece is for for the recognition and while I understand the movement for the uh teachers and the movement for 50% is not a budgetary thing we did get an additional 11 million right from the state of New Jersey that we could utilize to provide support to teachers to drive up these scores instead right if the goal is to ensure that we are driving up scores for all students the best way to do that is to provide teachers with the support that they need so that they are not as burnt out as they are right now the secondary piece of this is trying to figure out where else we can find the time right for not only our students but for the people that teach them right so if we're sitting there and we are looking at those things and we are making sure that we have the funds necessary and we it does look like we do right and we have the time necessary which it doesn't look like we do because there are teachers all over the district and all over the state that are short-handed right we don't have enough power professionals we don't have enough teachers to fill those positions so let's figure out ways to make that happen because cutting Arts cutting music which gives kids the ability to sit there and have math within music right Arts gives you the shapes and Designs trigonometry algebra all of the different pieces that all of those enrichment courses which are not enrichment courses right they are part of what make us better as people right when we sit there and we look at those things there has to be a better way than pulling those things away for 10 minutes a day for math right there are students that no matter how much we give to them in that particular area are not going to be able to figure that out right Einstein was notoriously bad at uh regular mathematics but he proved to be one of the most intelligent people in the 20th century so the ask here is to be more transparent the ask here is to work with the community work with the people that we have right that being the board parents teachers UTA all of us to make sure that these decisions are not made in darkness but instead with the ability for everybody to see okay thank you for your time thank you so much for your comment I have Carol Le blond good evening um my name is Carol Le blonde I'm a h special a teacher currently at Battle Hill Elementary School and I would like to say thank you to Dr benaquista for going back and taking the time to look at some of the uh changes that they are thinking for next year's scheduling change however ever I have some things that you might not have considered um reducing specials for all elementary schools has a different effect on each School Battle Hill has a population that is around 35% special education these kids thrive in music and art class it would be a complete disservice to take these classes away from them also if we reduce the special area subjects it will surely lead to these classrooms being used for other purposes which may lead to the students being in the classroom for most of the day except for lunch and gym which may lead to more behavior issues in the classroom and on the playground also when looking at the supposed changes our co- teing Pairs and our resource room teacher are are just meaning the time needed as stated in their children's IEP if extra time is added by taking away specials you will either have to change the IEPs to meet the times which there is not enough in the day or you will have General Ed teachers teaching Special Ed Ed special education kids reading and math without a specialed teacher in the classroom lastly I know that we are trying to increase learning in the classroom to make sure our students are successful however I feel that while the administration the teachers and the staff play a part you are missing a key piece and that is the parents we have been implementing some new math and language arts programs in the last couple of years I think it would be most beneficial to let our parents in on our curriculum that we teach teach and show them how they can support their children's learning at home we saw that over covid the parents said they didn't understand what their child was learning imagine how impactful it would be if there was a collaboration between the teachers the parents and the students thank you thank you so much Miss Michelle Osborne Warren good evening Madame President Board of Education it has been my privilege and honor to serve the township of Union School District for the past 20 years it's been rewarding to be part of the growth and students and to know that I was part of their foundational way years however before I leave for my retirement I would like to speak to you about a few areas that have been of great concern to me lately my first concern centers on the stability and longevity of black and brown administrators in the district the longevity of black and brown administrators are extremely low if you look at the data it would reveal that we have lost more black and brown administrators than any other group in fact over the last eight years we've lost our first Hispanic assistant superintendent three black male administrators one black female administrator and a black female supervisor their moves had more to do with underlining conflict feeling unsupported and feeling their Administration was being scrutinized far more than their colleagues my second concern is regarding the current state of affairs regarding positions placed in our district currently two principles in the district have had longlasting positions both starting as teachers who have invested their entire professional career in this district and are still functioning as interim principles I bring this to your attention because other administrators are coming on board and new positions are being created yet our staff our administrators are still waiting two years in now it has not been a surprise that I am aiming I am aiming to retire at the end of this school year I shared my decision with my staff in October given the timeline it would have been highly effective for the district to begin to nurturing culture the next candidate for Connecticut Farms school this would have been a great opportunity to off their my position to one of the qualified assistant principles Vice principles of Supervisors but instead the district felt it was appropriate to offer the role to an out candidate who had left the district my last portion of my discussion is personal as I would like to share an experience I had that played a major role in my choices to retire during the 202 20222 23 school year I maintained the same expectations for the previous school year which are that that my staff read educational books collected and analyzed data had staff participate in plc's and did tremendous walkthroughs throughout my building it was then brought to my attention by the central office that my staff stated that these expectations were too high I later learned that I was also being called a bully because of my standards when I heard this information I was hurt and taken back instead of being supported by the district and having this issue investigated I was asked to try and develop better relationships when I pushed to have examples shared with me as to when I was a bully and provided the the the resources to confirm this these false accusations impacted my character and my evaluation score as an administrator and the whole time I've been an administrator in this District I've never received this a score such as the one I received when I spoke to Administration about this score it was sure that it was because of the statements that was made about me to con to conclude my statement tonight I asked that the Board of Education take the time in these matters and consider why are black and brown administrator leaving at an alarming higher rate compared to our colleagues why haven't two qualified and dedicated administrators been given permanent positions at the schools and why are they waiting over two years to be considered why is that the standards I have set and maintained during my tenure at Connecticut Farm school being questioned and when they and when they were established years before how is it appropriate that statements such as being a bully are Loosely used and being acknowledged and not investigated I ask that you take the time to ponder on these questions share and provide that the correct answers or Solutions are created so that no one else in this district has to go through any of this again thank you for the considerations thank you so much next we have yarro Wilman Cole good evening um Madame President Santana my name is yarl Wiman Co I have two children that um are still little at Livingston Elementary and I'm really here um to just share with you the efforts of parents trying to come together to express how they feel about the way in which the decision was recently shared and fundamentally how we disagree with this concept that was presented at the last week meeting that time is the best thing that we can do in in terms of trying to address um our academic achievement and that is by cutting enrichment this seems to be a faulty premise and we compiled a bunch of research we spent a lot of time looking at what is out there in terms of recent research and how really a lot of evidence counters the idea that enrichment actually takes away from infe act um improving uh academic assessment and achievement um so we um have a sign on letter that in 24 hours we were able to um communicate with a group of parents that signed on nearly 300 of them um and I think you know one thing that you know we we understand today after receiving the letter from the superintendent thank you um for listening to concerns uh for expressing your interest in wanting to collaborate with stakeholders and offering from what I understand um individual meetings I think what I'm concerned about and many of the folks that signed this letter is this idea that that is essentially collaboration and that's how we're going to actually take the time to understand what is happening because it's not really clear if it's a decision or a proposal and when the decision becomes when the proposal becomes a final decision decision you've sort of indicated I think that you're still um contemplating whether or not it's going to be fully executed um what's the timeline there's not a lot of transparency and information and to really be truly collaborative uh we we would like to see a plan that is more open to how you're going to be truly uh inclusive and um seek uh input from stakeholders and especially of course for our purposes parents and parents that have busy schedules many of whom are you know at Town talent shows right now or getting their kids fed and to bed and so we're really trying to find a solution and would' like to discuss ways in which you know we could actually have some of the folks that are signed onto this letter be involved in those discussions and I think uh offering individual meetings um to discuss uh Solutions is not really ideal um because we really are deeply troubled by the decision and um the fact that it was communicated with members of the public um in such a way that denies us really input and feedback um as we are going to be impacted directly by to this decision um and I I think um the biggest concern that we have is that uh what is the path forward and understanding and how we can have um more of a collaborative way of being heard understanding proposals and really providing in input and solutions um that are informed by what the research says Excuse Me Your Time Has It expired okay thank so I'm going to leave the letter I um I've already emailed it to you please take the letter with you if you've already emailed it to the superintendent so you don't want copies I thought you took cop thank you so much for your comment oh I'm sorry oh gosh I'm sorry I couldn't I so the the first name is Melle Zara Zara the last name is it Zara thank you hi there um hello my name is Michelle Zada this is actually my third Board of Ed meeting I'm uh new parent kind of in the district uh as I mentioned before that my daughter uh was in the first 3K no excuse me 3K program at Union with the pilot program so so again thank you for that and the popularity is going to expand it and also affect my son um I actually came uh in September uh to talk about after care uh that wasn't offered in half day and that I didn't get to thank you guys on because you guys extended the half days to after care but in that presentation that I had seen in September is uh Dr penz is um report of how the elementary schools were doing and the rest of the the uh school district and as in that report it had shown that um that the elementary schools out of all the uh schools were impacted the most with Co um I also went to last week's uh meeting too where it wasn't really transparent of how these decisions were made so and I also got that email from benaquista uh saying that you know want to meet uh to me I don't know if anything's changed like I don't know that teachers that have faculty members that have lost their jobs are going to get them back because that was reasons for Force reduction um are we like when are we making this decision like how are we going to Talk Amongst the are you are we all kind this is like the end of the year so when are we going to be setting up meetings again I don't want really IND individual meetings I think collaboratively with parents coming together and also I really would like the teachers input too there was things that when I went to that meeting last week that I didn't really know that was going on in the school district until I actually heard uh teachers speak and about the input of how the extra uh activities would get cut so having uh teachers within those uh schools to do on that program um I think cutting those extra activities uh would really hinder the students and it has shown studies that you support those that it actually increases the test scores um to as a parent I would actually like to look you know I'd actually like to hear um at the school district level that instead of going to a board of ed meeting and spending three hours that these test is being talked among like principes and teachers in that regard so the parents actually have an understanding where we are uh with our students um instead of individually um uh I think also too is that you know there would be transparency of how our budget is being spent so um you know if that uh the presentation was dealing with uh because we have a budget Crunch and we got 11 million in fundings excuse me your time has expired okay thank you thank you thank you so much for your comment next is Susan lipstein a lot of people have already said what I was going to say but the first thing I'm going to do is ask a question and I'd like you to wait my three minutes are up for response why are we eliminating District policy 5755 equity and educational programs and services there's nothing in this policy that that um I think we should be following it I don't think we should eliminate it and I'd like to get an answer as to why it was chosen to be eliminated but after my three minutes I sent an email to all of the board members and to Dr benaquista I spent a lot of time on this email I'm going to ask that it be put into correspondence so it be put in the backup um uh the next uh when the minutes come out because it's really important um yes TR there was no transparency in this kind of curriculum change I think by now you figured out that's not a good thing to do I don't want to Bel labor the point everybody makes some decisions that that need to be changed makes mistakes we all do but to have this kind of a curriculum change presented at a work session was an unfortunate choice of how to do it and I can't say that it's all on uh Dr benaquist because it was released and discussed by uh the Board of Education president and I believe before something like that is released to the public everybody needs well the team including all the supervisors administrators need to look over such a plan I did my research and there is no no real research that shows that there is a real direct posage of link to any increase in instructional time and there is absolutely no study no research study that shows that there are any educational benefits to cutting enrichment programs none zero so we want to base our decisions on sound um research and policy and of course the World Language how can we possibly expect to teach 18 weeks of World Language and then not pick it up till seven or eight months later the state itself says where language is supposed to be taught in sequential learning I can't see how 18 weeks on and seven months off is sequential and there is a policy about development of curriculum which this is that's policy 2210 and it's saying what the superintendent is saying now but it would be have been better if this had been looked at prior to last week these are the policies these procedures for cling development ensure effective participation of teaching staff students as appropriate for their age and grade parents the community members of the board and the use of all available resources superintendent shall report to the board the objectives evaluative criteria and the cost of each foros program before seeking board adoption I did not see this done you need to go back and look at your policies and follow them I'm not happy having to come up to to talk about these things things um just make your decis based on sound educational research and practice facts State and board policies need to be followed thank you is there an answer about the um the policy why we're why we are my answer will be thank you for your comment next we have Andrew uh pic Patrick okay I don't want to resp to anything the kids are going don't they did you hear what I said did you you don't want [Applause] oranges okay so my name is Nissa this is Andrew this is Ryan and this is Leo and we are high school students in un high school and these are our I these are how we think the special impacts will impact students within our school district good evening members of the Board of Education thank you for giving me the chance to speak tonight um I here on behalf of my fellow students to talk about how important our music libraries computers and Spanish classes are to us instead of just listening to all the benefit of these program I want you to hear directly from the students these programs bring so much joy and inspiration into our lives and help us grow in ways that go beyond just academics cutting these programs would take away the things that make school exciting and meaningful for many of us so please listen to the stories of my peers and understand what these Cuts really mean for us hello my name is Ryan Pierce um and I had prepared a speech hello my name is Ryan Pierce as an 11th grade high schooler in the performing arts program also known as the UHS Pac in Union High School it was very important to me as a young individual to learn about the Arts in different musical instruments that drove my interest and passion for the Arts as a whole I remember as a little boy start that started to play the violin and practicing every day in Orchestra class and trying to learn how to better my skills as I went about my Elementary school years I grad I gradually started to become more um interested in singing in music um in middle school I did choir and enjoyed it so much I think the reason that I enjoyed it so much was because of my passion for the Arts but also because I had time to take in what I was learning and to really enjoy my time in the choir slor room Orchestra room I feel that if you take away that Joy of being able to enjoy a full year of playing a musical instrument and singing in a class classroom with others that enjoy the same environment it won't be as enjoyable anymore I think that this generation of kids should be more fully should be more able to fully focus on being able to pursue their dreams and passion for a full year at school instead of locking their doors of curiosity and putting them on a time limit as a former student in high school I hope that the board members can make a the right decision for this next generation of kids that want to EXP explore the Curiosity of the Arts as my fellow UHS pack member and my friend Olivia montz De yoka said the Arts and learning the world languages Fosters creativity which is based for all subjects from scientists to profound authors every idea stem from a place of creativity and brilliance by limiting the student involvement within the Arts language arts and language you are placing educational limits limitations on our future as Educators it is your job to estab um establish a foundation to our future generation a generation meant to be better and expand on our current Society it is wrong to limit the range of education for perspective students by limiting the Arts and World languages that you are limiting the minds of the Youth of America I highly recommend you reconsider your position especially from a standpoint of an education system founded on the of a supportive a supportive learning environment where every student is challenged inspired empowered and respected as diverse Learners as you stated in your mission statement thank you um so on each slide we have quotes from students that say how these activities have impacted them and how it has helped them so for computers it says this class has been one of the most interesting and fun classes I've taken we've also learned a lot about literature design and user testing learning how to use computers will be beneficial in my future so the students also looked at not just how it was beneficial but how it also impacted them in their school and daily lives so it says learning to code can be used in projects work with teachers and peers to solve any issues that might face while coding build physical models as part of design process and participate in non-technological activities to introduce students to basics of Cs for music music is relating I get to learn the violin I love to sing I can sing at my school concerts so in music they said they saw creativity better SAT scores music can be relaxing kids can learn teamwork emotional development increase coordination confidence memory and stress relief um for Spanish uh some of the quotes we have are it's amazing to learn a new language you can add it to your college resume a lot of jobs require to be bilingual and there are many countries that you can visit if you speak the language I would also like to point out that I am wearing a Spanish Onish Society shirt so check us out um fluent speakers benefit from improved problem solving memory and critical thinking boosting academic success and job prospects early fluency opens Global opportunities fostering an appreciation for diverse cultures um so for the library um library media is one of my favorite classes um I have learned many things in mac and Via and I love reading the non-fiction books and history uh I learned how to code using the Bots and how to get information from books easier I did not like when Library lessons were cancelled uh this cut is not only affecting the elementary students but also the high school students miss m made me feel valued loved and gave me a safe space she is like a mom to many to so many of us and we don't want to be without her the library is my safe space um so this is from a battle school elementary school student and that is right side is from a first grader and I guess these are their drawings so in conclusion so the students voice matter this programs are at risk are vital to our education and personal growth preserve the joy of learning art music libraries computers in Spanish classes Inspire and motivate us our request please consider the impact on students and keep this programs in our schools thank you thank you so much for that presentation next we will have an Margaret Channon please good evening and Margaret Shannon Spruce Street Union and UTA president first I think La left but uh I personally and the UTA as a whole uh really thank her for all that she's done and she has done some pretty personal things for some of our members so I wanted to make sure that we gave her a shout out second I wanted to acknowledge all the ESP of the year I think it's important to recognize I don't think people realize that Union County does do an official Teacher of the Year Awards but they do not do an ESP of the year and so the UTA did Institute that in this district and we do really appreciate that Dr benaquista and uh president Santana and the entire board do support us and that we work together to do those ESP of the Year Awards because like I said Union County does not do them so congratulations to all those winners and third I thank the board of education for listening to us uh especially the UTA concerns last week I am happy to report that since last week Dr Vista has met with UTA leadership twice we've had successful conversations that have led to progress being made I am very hopeful that we'll be able to work out more details in the future one significant change has already been confirmed and I know Dr bisto will continue to meet with UTA leadership uh our special Area Teachers and other groups in the community to discuss these issues I also want to acknowledge as was mentioned earlier as witnessed by the presentation last week um that these potential changes we know were from Central Administration and not the board of education but we did want to share our concerns with you so that you could hopefully help us uh having said that I am confident that all parties the Board of Education the Union Township Education Association Central Administration the community the ptas and any partent groups uh will work together to come to an agreement regarding any changes moving forward in the next school year again I thank Dr vanista and president satana for hearing all of our concerns as all with the Board of Ed members have and I hope that we work together and I I do believe we'll come up with an acceptable resolution for all those involved so thank [Applause] you it was our absolute pleasure to hear all those comments and these current comments thank you so much and Margaret Channon next we have jasta Bren Watson good evening jasta brince Watson 113 Independence Court former board member thank you for having me here today before I actually go into my remarks because I do not want to run out of time I just want to thank the Educators in this district for their hard work the teachers in the classrooms for all that they do for our students um on an everyday basis for guiding them to be successful as the parent of a Union Township graduate watching my son flourish Beyond this District it is something that I am forever grateful the other thing that I want to say is um if we really want to show our appreciation for our administrators and our interim principles um the best way to do this is by actually making them permanent principles stop dragging them around you know they're working very hard so let's do the right thing for them I am here today to express my disappointment in the board of education's recent decision to eliminate the position for the assistant superintendent for curriculum this move not only jeopardizes the quality of Education in our district but also raises serious ethical and moral concerns about the actions and intentions of this board first and foremost the board's decision demonstrates a blatant disregard for ethical Behavior the assistant superintendent SP curriculum is an accomplished educator who has been instrumental in advancing our educational standing and ensuring that our students receive the best possible education your decision to end her contract is clearly motivated by the fact that she challenged several of you and your disregard for the well-being of our students she challenged you and your superintendent and your ego could not take it terminating such a dedicated and effective leader without justifiable reasons is a great disservice to our students Educators and the entire Community it is becoming obvious that certain members of this board are using their positions for personal financial gain such behavior is not only unethical but also deeply damaging to the trust and integrity that should underpin our educational system yes I'm speaking specifically about the contracts carefully crafted to give somebody a $200 contract which explain why some people change their position on their superintendence meanwhile you slash our instructional budget and deprive our students of a well-rounded curriculum our community deserves leaders who prioritize the welfare of our students over their own Financial interests furthermore I must address the board's decision to appoint the current superintendent to the Helm of our district this individual is known for his blatant chronis and lack of understanding of the inner workings of a school district I know and you know I'm sorry we are not you are directing all your com the comments to me we're not talking about our superintendent I am speaking to you you are not MCE I would I would ask you to stop uh demeaning and being disrespectful to the superintendent your M Watson please I'm listening I I would ask you to refrain from doing that yes thank you Mr buggy yes M yes I will be um I know where my legal rights are Mr buggy the actions of this board are not just a disappointment they're betrayal of the trust placed in You by this community it is imperative that those in positions of power act with Integrity transparency and genuine commitment to the educational mission of our district personal agendas and unethical Behavior have no place in governance of our schools I strongly urge this board to reconsider its decision and to act in a manner that truly reflects the values and priorities of our community our students Educators and families deserve better you know at the end of my remarks I was going to say that it's time for this board to demonstrate accountability in ethical leadership here's the thing I respected you Miss Prince Watson your time up thank you for your comment next we have Miss Kayla [Applause] khed Kayla galled 332 Martin wrote Higher Achievement is a large undertaking a large task that often comes with a robust of offerings and a village the right direction is through relationships and it's more than with just students it's community and transparency if you don't label the cause of the problem you can't find the solution so my question is or my thoughts have you begun data collection from our students and our staff that look at why the numbers are the way they are not just um program but looking at and asking the professionals that are with our kids every day what they see and asking our kids what they need what about think tanks um or is it only those that contacted the superintendent directly that have an opportunity to partake are we partner partnering with Kane University and their powerful research abilities are we learning from districts that are neighboring that are um achieving more than we are within a similar demographics are we coming together are we building because how do we ask our kids to do extra push for more be resilient and Inspire them when we are offering less than that and when we're doing less than that when our excitement extinguishes the soul when we take away the real benefits of music and art and the interest of the fastest growing field or the magic of a book maybe they're not interested in Reading because we're telling them what to read instead of them being inspired or chatting in a library about did you see this I picked this up last those are the things that will create great readers or the ability to build empathy and resiliency of learning another language so we have so many amazing people in this District that can contribute and for those people to not have an opportunity to come together and build as our community is supposed to um is leaving something at the table something we shouldn't thank you thank you so much for your comment next we have maida chinosi good evening my name is Mida chinosi I am a un resident I am a uh concerned parent of a second grader at Washington Elementary Elementary School and incoming kindergarten and I'm here today also as a taxpayer the superintendent and board's proposal to cut critical funding for the district's music art and language programs is an affront to our children and our whole Community these subjects are Not Mere specials they are vital to providing our children with a comprehensive education that not only develops but nurtures a well-rounded student contrary to Dr Jeffrey Cohen's presentation last week to the board there is scientific and empirical data that supports preserving art music and language programs for the well-being and development of our children rather than cutting or limiting our children's access to them moreover these funding Cuts disproportionately impact our children of color and our special needs children who are the ones who benefit most from these programs numerous studies demonstrate that participation in arts and language learning enhances itical thinking problem solving and cognitive abilities these skills are not only essential for acade academic success over all subjects but actually necessary for success in life a 2007 research project found that performing and visual arts challenge students to use reasoning skills both concrete and Abstract to draw conclusions and formulate ideas research studies also show that students attending schools with a consistent again consistent and integrated arts curriculum have overall higher academic and social achievements than students who attend schools that provide them with low or inconsistent exposure to the Arts an integrated and continuous again integrated and continuous art education curriculum not only improves students academic achievement as manifested on standardized tests but also allows these children to outperform their peers a study from 200 20 21 by Save the Music Foundation that conducted a five-year program in the city of norc which has similar demographics to Union as an example of the impact that music education has on the students in the city of norc 68% of teachers reported improved student academic performance 19 out of 28 teachers reported seeing Improvement in at least 50% of their students academic performance two to fiveo increase Improvement in ela scores language and arts education exposes students to diverse cultures fostering empathy understanding and global citizenship in our increasing interconnected World these qualities are invaluable to our children equity and access cutting funding to Arts music and language programs in this District disproportionately impact student of color immigrant students lowincome communities and special needs students this should be a top priority for this District which is predom domly made up of students of color Arts music and language programs are critical to miss chinosi you're T is some thank you so much for your comment next we have Susie Mena thank you good evening everyone are Susie Mena I appreciate the opportunity to speak to you again this week I was here last week sharing some of the experiences of my three children that attend Washington Elementary School and how invaluable the Arts curriculum has been to their academic development I'm just here to Echo a lot of what was shared by our many of our parents and community members here today um I appreciate the email that was sent earlier today and the opportunity to meet um oneon-one with Dr benaquista but I do want to again stress the importance of enrichment program I know this um tonight the topic began just sharing about the academics that are happening here I just want to restate for emphasis I know everyone has said it but um enrichment programming including the Arts language education technology integration and Library access it's fundamental to our children's development and should not be treated as an optional addition to to their education um as many of the parents have shared and with the letter that the parents have written and garnered hundreds of signature that showing studies consistently show numerous benefits of exposure to these programs um including improved cognitive abilities as well as academic performance in addition to just enhancement and social and emotional skills I want to reiterate that and while I appreciate the the opp opportunity to meet oneon-one I do want to propose potentially maybe a work group that will be inclusive of the administration the staff the Educators as well as the parents and the community I know time is of the essence our school year is going to approach quite quickly and if it's a more efficient use of time instead of the one-on-one meetings I would gladly give up my time to um so that um the superintendent will have the time time to maybe work more so in work group and get feedback from all stakeholders more collaboratively and transparently um so that we can all I mean we all want great academic achievement for all our kids but we don't want it at the expense of our Arts programs thank you thank you so much for your comment next we have Miss Monique Cooper hello my name is Monique Cooper I'm here on um just to share a bit of my disappointment for a Bernette Middle School I have um three children in this school district um I have been with the PTA for I'm not gonna say how many years um I'm right now the PT president PTA president at Bernett um I have a student who has graduated Bernette I have another um another a child who is about to graduate and I have now a sixth grader there I've been on the PTA board for the past four years the executive board and the school has been thriving because of principal Shaw yes I said his name and I will say it again because of principal Shaw that school is doing wonderful my children are doing wonderful because of principal Shaw and his staff and the te teachers I am when you are on a PTA and most of you noce you probably have been there you are in that school a lot unannounced you see a lot you hear a lot good and bad they don't always see you coming and I'm telling you that school is doing what it's doing because of him now I don't know how decisions are made for the principles and vice principles of these schools but I do understand that it's coming from the district office now listening to what's happening around here it seems like we want our students to do very well we want our students to get these excellent test scores well that's probably going to happen if the district takes a look at their principles and their Vice principles and shows them a little appreciation and figures out why there is a merrygoround of principles going here there and there and here if a principal is at a school and the school is doing well why are we moving him you know why we're moving them because this adult are worse than the kids with the crap that goes on in the school and who's saying what who sees this and who's seeing that one and who's seeing that one so that's who people there because that person has the right ear or is with the right person doing the right thing as a parent it's disgusting disgusting so now let's see what's going to happen in the next couple of years Mr Shaw is not principal that needs to be in an elementary school elementary school children at that age level are going through a lot and you have to have a certain talent to deal with that age group Mr Shaw principal Shaw has that you want to put somebody in Hanah Cobo put someone in it who's ready to retire not principal Shaw he's not the guy okay and I don't know again how this all worked out how you guys are making these decisions but if you want to see these students test scores go up you start with them you start with your principles you start with your vice principal you start with your teachers once they feel appreciated and they feel respected they go into that school with that same energy that energy that gets trickled on to the students that's what you're going to see success thank you so much for your comment my index cards are done but if anybody still wants to make a comment I'm in this for the Long Haul I will wait please let me know if any comment wants to be made because I am here to listen no matter who you are going going gone so thank you so much that ends our public comment next we will have the education student discipline committee chair Mr Cohan to present the resolutions to be voted on tonight thank you madam president I'd like to uh acknowledge that on the printed agenda agenda items E1 e1a and e13 were acted upon at our work session last week uh so there'll be no vote required and resolution it's not working okay sorry how far back do I need to go just start just go from where you were sorry didn't notice the flashing light um like to acknowledge that resolution E1 and e1a uh along with resolution e13 were adopted at our work session last week so they will not be acted upon tonight resolution E11 is the report of the super superintendent I we're losing it again there we go let's try this one third times a charm resolution e13 was also acted upon at our meeting last week E11 is the superintendent report of hi no vote is required it's for reporting purposes only I'd also like to point out that resolution e14 is newly added was not discussed last week that is to accept the union Education Foundation grants that were uh noted in the correspondence so as a result on behalf of the committee and upon the recommendation of the superintendent of schools I'd like to move resolutions e1a through e14 ons is there a second any discussion this Mo motion has been properly moved by Mr Cohan and seconded by Miss Marilyn Williams may I have a roll call please Mrs ciolo Miss caranel yes Mr Cohan yes Mrs K macki yes Mr McDowell yes Mrs Mani yes Mr nasta yes Mrs Scott heeden yes Mrs Williams yes Miss Santana yes thank you so much Mrs capiola next we will have the fiscal and planning committee chair uh Madame vice president caranel to present the resolutions to be voted on tonight Madame President before I begin I just want to thank again all the Harris and congratulate them um for their contribution to our school district I I would also be remiss if I didn't acknowledge the teachers um I believe the first week in May we celebrated Teacher Appreciation Week um so thank you all for everything that you do and um our student board member thank you for um wishing everybody a happy Memorial Day week again and thank you to the F Fallen Soldiers the vets and the active servicemen for their selfless and courageous um protection of us okay so thank you um before we begin I just want to say F7 F f9a I apologize I got to go through the and F35 were approved at the work session last week and F34 is for informational purposes only um with the exception of that upon the recommendation of the superintendent of schools the fiscal and planning committee presents the following resolutions for the board's consideration F1 through F35 second is there any discussion this motion has been properly moved by Miss carbonel and seconded by Miss uh Nancy Min can I have a roll call please Mrs Capo Miss carbonel yes Mr Cohan yes Mrs K macki yes Mr McDow yes Mrs Mani yes Mr nasta yes Mrs Scott haen yes Mrs Williams yes M Santana yes thank you so much Mrs capula we currently have nothing on the agenda for grievance negotiations and settlements so I will move on next to operations Miss Scott ha Miss Kimble Scott Hayden to present the resolutions to be voted on tonight good evening upon the recommendation of the superintendent of schools the operation committee presents the following resolution for the board's consideration if without objection I would like to move in Block Madam president please so we have 01 through 05 thank you so much is there a second second any discussion this motion has been properly moved by Kimberly Scott Hayden and Miss Kimberly Scott Hayden and seconded by Miss Nancy mini can I have a roll call please Mrs capol Miss caranel yes Mr Cohan yes Mrs K macki yes Mr McDowell yes Mrs Mani yes Mr nasta yes Mrs Scott haeden yes Mrs Williams yes Miss Santana yes thank you so much M Capo next we will have the Personnel committee chair Miss Nancy Mani to present the following resolutions thank you madam president thank you we have an addition walk on um p14 so I'd like to read that and then go for the others p14 is to approve attendance at the CMI summer Institute for Vincent ratino and gavon Lorenzo to attend uh Building Bridges fostering authentic Partnerships in San Diego San Diego California June 23rd to 27th at no cost at the um cost not to exceed $10,500 include uh Mr oh I'm sorry Mr Cohan as well who all three three um so with that upon recommendation of the superintendent of schools the Personnel committee presents the following resolutions for the board's consideration um p1a through p14 is there um second just I just wanted to say p 11 12 were um approved at uh 14th May 14th meeting thank you so much is there a second second thank you so much so any discussion this motion has been properly moved by Miss Nancy mani and seconded by Miss uh Dixie carbonel can I have a roll call please miss Capello yes Miss caranel yes Mr Cohan yes on all resolutions except p14 on which I abstain Mrs Cony Macky Mr McDowell yes Mrs Mani yes Mr nasta yes Mrs Scott haeden yes Mrs Williams yes Miss Santana yes next we will have the policy committee chair Miss Williams upon recommendation of the superintendent of schools a policy committee presents the following policies for the board's consideration these are final reading adoption P1 is abolished policy 5755 equity and education programs and services and policy two approve policy 0164 conduct of a board meeting second any discussion these motions have been properly moved by Miss maryn Williams and seconded by Miss Kimberly Scott can I have a roll call please miss question for through you to the chair of the committee u m Williams isn't it true that the uh policy the abolishment of policy 5755 is because the language in that policy is being replaced by another policy yeah and we um are having a policy meeting one day Wednesday Wednesday um there are a lot of policies that we're going to be reviewing and that one is going to be one of them thank you thank you so okay thank you so this motion has been properly moved by Miss Marilyn Williams and seconded by was it Miss Kimberly Scott Hayden yes thank you um can I have a roll call please miss Capo Miss caranel yes Mr Cohan yes Mrs K Macky yes Mr McDow yes Mrs Beni yes Mr AA yes Mrs Scott heeden Mrs Williams yes Miss Santana yes thank you so much moving along Miss Mani we have the following residency resolutions okay so um these are reports of students voluntarily transferred um to at a district because of uh their residency um we all of these are for informational purposes okay so I just like to um U reiterate that we had uh 12 students removed um uh and uh 12 uh 29 students excuse me 29 students uh voluntarily transferred when we found that they were non-residence and that's for the year thank you so much Miss Mani so for the technology committee um this month there are no technology resolutions to present uh commissioner comment or were we good with moving along uh we we're good with moving along good thank you so much I appreciate that so now we'll have the approv of the bills may I have a motion to approve the bills list sub mov second thank you is there any discussion thank you so much this motion has been probably moved by Mr Michael Cohan and seconded by Miss Marilyn Williams can I have a roll call please Mrs Capo Miss kbel yes Mr Cohan yes Mrs k macki Mr McDowell yes Mrs Mani yes Mr nasta yes Mrs Scott heeden yes Mrs Williams yes Miss Santana yes I will move along to any unfinished business yes Miss Marilyn Williams um last meeting last week I brought up that may is mental health awareness month um we had buttons we had bracelets and in between that time I actually read a um article uh actually a video opinion and one of the the woman's opinion was that high functioning anxiety is not a medical diagnosis it's a hashtag um and the point that she was making was not to Discount anyone's um concerns or anxieties or any of that but with us talking about um mental health awareness we also have to be cognizant of putting that in information out there and children self diagnosing themselves that they don't have with illnesses that they don't have um so when we're having those difficult conversations we need to also have those conversations so that the children that have been suffering preco understand that we're there we're listening um one of the things that annoys me more than anything is the saying it's okay to not be okay it annoys me it annoys me because if you're someone suffering from depression it absolutely is not okay okay to not be okay it's not if you're suffering from schizophrenia if you're suffering from bipolar disorder it's not okay to not be okay and we need to be um very aware when we had that conversation because it's almost condescending to anyone that's dealing with something like that so um in closing I guess it is mental health awareness month um and I just hope that everyone does their research because my saying is no science no Stigma so I think that we need to keep that in mind rather than it's okay to not be okay because it's not okay to not be okay thank you so much Miss maryn Williams any other unfinished business moving along to new business mad president yes okay i' just like to um talk about a couple things EV that I went through last week um um I went to the CPAC meeting um you were there as well um held in um cafeteria and it's also virtual um and it was a meeting held it was on May 15th and it gave information on transition planning for students for um special needs students we had three presenters uh Sarah mccullock she's Union High School uh or the Union School social worker coordinator uh Marie Durant Turner she's a transition to adult life and Employment Specialist from the Department of Human Services and we had Jan Carla car who is our New Jersey youth Ambassador for the center of Youth voice choice and he's a student at Union High School was very informative so anyone that's listening um that needs any information I'm sure it's on the cpeg um page on our website um was very informative there we had quite a few parents there and students um it was they're doing a nice job with bringing information out to um um our families and then on Friday I went to the play unified which was held at the high school football field that was on Friday May 17th and it was so um heartwarming to see um our students uh in the unified group working with our um special needs they had it was like an Olympics they had lunch they had Awards it was very very nice it was a beautiful day um Ju Just to See the interaction was um was priceless and then I just wanted to also um mention the awards assembly last night that Dr benaquista talked about it was an amazing uh turnout our students are amazing the the um awards that were given the scholarships and there was one presenter I don't remember his name but he was amazed um I'm sure Dr benisty remember when everybody else that was there there was quite a few of us there um at the amount of support from our community over all these years he said it's amazing that they people come back year after year to contribute and to honor our students and it was it was nice to hear someone who's not from this community to recognize what we do so thank you thank you so much any other new business yes Mr Kohan yes thank you madam president uh I'd like to add my voice to uh talk about last night's Awards assembly I want to thank Dr bista for quantifying things for us because as I sat there last night I was trying to figure out exactly how many Wards there were and how much uh money was actually distributed to all of our students uh helps a lot thank you and I I just want to say that the I found myself smiling throughout the program but I'm sure that my smile was exceeded by far by all the students and and their parents I have one suggestion for the future Awards assemblies there are as you mentioned there are several awards that are being given as a legacy to and in memorium to those uh to people who are no longer part of our community uh but and some of them have made significant contributions to the district some decades ago and I think it would be helpful to both the students and the community to in some way be able to uh publish exactly what is behind those towards who those people were to our community so that there can be a greater appreciation for that generosity um and and finally I'd like to take a little point of personal privileg and and make a comment about the public comments that we've heard over last week and this week I believe and I I believe it's been said it was said by Dr benaquista but I also believe that we are better as a as a community and as a school district when we have many voices involved and I think that the constraints that we have to operate under under law and regulation sometimes are a hindrance to being able to gain those diverse voices I heard you say Madam president after the young lady the student from Battle Hill spoke you it makes me want to be better and I think that despite the constraints of legality we can do better and we need to think creatively about how we can involve those voices I ran for this board because of my lifelong commitment to education and N nothing that I've experienced in these first five months and especially in the last two weeks have dissuaded me from that commitment but one of the things that I think is really important and I know my colleagues have heard me speak about this Dr benaquista has heard me speak about this the thing that's going to help us most to transform the outcomes of uh and improved student learning is to make certain that we change the culture in the district and support our Professionals in ways that make sure that they understand that their voices are heard that their expertise is valued and that we all do better thank you thank you so much Mr Kohan Madam president yes I'm sorry business am I busy no I'm sorry a little got a meeting to run no I'm sorry uh one item I'd like to mention and in new business is uh the formation of our uh District realignment committee and this is a committee that's looking to Simply uh assess how we are configured now and also uh is should there be any uh changes in uh our alignment uh this committee was formed I guess uh probably about a month or so ago uh with the uh blessings of our uh superintendent um and I would just like to read uh the vision statement for the uh realignment committee our Township of Union Public Schools realignment vision is to create a dynamic and Equitable educational landscape this realignment would not only ensure that every student has access to high quality quality learning opportunities but also cultivate inclusive communities that Empower students Foster in Innovation and Inspire lifelong learning by optimizing resources and embracing diversity we envision a future where each student each School within our district thrives as a center of excellence preparing students to succeed in a rapidly evolving world uh this committee will be uh will actually have seven subcommittees and we want all stakeholders to take part and that includes uh uh uh the board administrators teachers parents and we would probably have to get some students involved also but some of the subcommittees are uh the Democrat I'm sorry the demographic analysis committee the boundary drawing committee and that's boundary lines for uh uh all all of our schools uh a committee that's involved in community engagement another committee that will look at the fiscal aspect of this also the legal aspect and we're looking at uh a committee for uh physical plant benefits and and limitations because some of our buildings are are may not be uh uh suitable for uh any kind of realignment but we're looking into that and also there will be a committee that will be uh uh ched with with a responsibility of implementing any changes that we uh uh come across that that we um look to make and again this is simply a assessment we're looking at our configuration we're looking at our alignment uh I am a a a uh co-chair of this committee along with uh uh Mrs k macki um uh and I expect that tomorrow you'll be able to look on our web page to find this commit uh this committee the subcommittees and also sign up for some of these subcommittees because we want as many stakeholders involved as possible I see Mrs Hall uh uh I think Mrs Watson is going to put that on the web page on on the the Town Township web page tomorrow so uh you'll have an opportunity to sign up and please spread the word because uh we don't want to do do this in a vacuum we want as many people involved as possible because we want to make sure we do this right if we do it at all but we do want to look at it to see if if there are things and configurations that we can do better in our district because now we have um uh six elementary schools one Central 5 two two middle schools and one high school and do we have those configured the best way maybe not Jefferson uh Jefferson thank you not Central five you said Central five I know it's thank you so me Jefferson School grade uh uh kindergarten to sixth grade that's when I went there uh but yeah and as I said M Kaki she is is the chairperson of this committee and we do want as many people involved this possible um so uh look to sign up spread the word uh and we want to keep this ball rolling thank you yes thank you so much any other new business yes yes and it will be sent out to the entire Community this is something that we absolutely need everybody's collaboration on um if there's a specific uh committee that you're interested in you have your heart said on it um please just reach out uh the narrative that we are collaborative is not a just a narrative it is we are collaborative is there any other I do thank you oh I'm sorry uh Madam vice president thank you um I would be remiss if I didn't thank everyone that has shown up here last week and this week so passion to talk about their investment in the educational program of the district um I know that that can be somewhat uncomfortable for some people but um we it got the message across and um I hope that moving forward we proceed with an open mind and Open Hearts and that we work together to find some resolution to this that everyone can live with one of of the things that really struck me and and I cannot say who said it but it was children having fun while learning their craft and one of the saddest things that I see as part of this discussion is that we have compartmentalized the specials from the core subjects that is the biggest detriment to education when we teach in isolation students learn in isolation so it is not about taking 10 minutes from 45 minutes of a special because if we are really all Educators they will learn the Arts in mathematics they will learn media literacy in Visual Arts in ela you see we are all educator and Educators whether with a degree or certification or not our job is just to teach and help students connect the dots and the biggest diservice we can do for our students is not teach them how to apply the mathematics and transfer it to a beautiful work of art not teach them how to use those Ela skills and have them determine what is fictional and what isn't information and not having them understand the physical science is just basic mathematics we are charged here all of us with not empowering ourselves but really improving the lives of every child here in Union and we cannot do that if we do not listen to try to understand so I hope that moving forward these discussions continue so that we can bring the clarification and collaboration necessary so that every single one of our students benefit not just some thank you well said M vice president I don't even know how to come after that I know but Madame V just spot on um and to add to Madam VP and to um commissioner Cohan one of the things being now a board member versus being the parent on the other side is communication and understanding of the process and tonight and last week so much I literally have 50 pages of notes from all of the comments because I am vested in everything that was said and we live and we learn are we always going to get it right no but so much came out of it and open a discussion in terms of going to board meetings for 10 plus years in this district one of the things that I've always said that has always been a concern to me is the level of anxiety that we communicate into the public there is not a clear understanding of the roles per se and so we work up our community which is not a bad thing cuz I was that parent and to all those you know it is what it is um but I didn't know so I would be stressed I would be worked up misinformation would be given to me as a parent my emotions would be played on especially for my case in the roles of special education and Etc and it has been a rough week to actually hear people tell me that I don't care about the special head community when I live it and when there's a testament and my track work at in this District shows that I am all about special education but it goes back to the point of educating our community Madame President and we need to do better in terms of really letting the community work know where the board stands and what decisions can or can't be made or what is our actual role and a lot of parents like myself we're stressed we're stressed out we're coming into a community and the hardest part of all of this was we're all supposed to be collaborative partners and stakeholders and communication goes a long way but if we're misgiving information and we as a community in general don't understand the role of the Boe then what we encountered will continue to encounter so Madame President and to Dr benest and to my fellow board members we do I agree need to do better um and we need to learn from the past but we really need to start to really educate the community because a long time ago I put the question out there on my Facebook page do you know what your bard of edge is responsible for and no one could answer we need to really do better with that um and so and I think that we all here collectively will set the presidents to move forward so that's all I really wanted to say thank you so much Miss Mackie any other new business on the table that is wonderful I do want to say so as you guys know it personal um so my baby's on the baseball team he's on the varsity team Union has been Underdog and fighting and fighting through and through and we Face Bridgewater which is a beast pretty soon so if we can go out and support please do my baby usually sits even though he's very talented but please go out there and our varsity boys would love your support and if we have no other new business I would like to move to adjournment Madam President we changed the policy uh we owe I thought we now allow it it didn't pass it didn't it didn't it the next one got it the next thank you I just want make sure just a question just pretend that I'm the president yeah hi yes Mr mran to the superintendent do we have any pending Personnel matters that we didn't resolve an executive session we're good yes yes yes pretend I'm the president yes thank you so much thank you so move so we have a motion properly moved by Mr Michael Cohan and seconded by Miss Marilyn Williams Mrs Capo roll call please Miss carbano yes Mr Cohan yes Mrs con Macky Mr McDow yes Mrs man yes Mr nasta yes Mrs Scott heeden Mrs Williams yes yes Miss Santana yes thank you all