e e e e e e e e e e e good evening everyone good evening everyone and welcome to the Tuesday March 19th business meeting of the Wall Township Public School District Board of Education please join me in Rising to salute the flag thank you at this time I'd like to ask our board secretary Mr Smite to please read the sunshine announcement and perform roll call this is the Walt Board of Education meeting for which adequate notice under the open public meeting Act was provided by notice to the co-star Asbury Park Press all Township Public Schools Township clerk's office and the board Administration office on January 4th 2024 uh I'll take a roll call Mr anesio here miss barbier here Mr buffer Miss D Giovani here Mr malof here Mr Nasser here miss shco here Mr wandra here miss Stites here at this time may I please have a motion for the board to adjourn to Executive session for the items listed on the agenda I'll make that motion Mr wandra I'll second second miss djani all in favor I I thank you the board will be adjourning to Executive session and we expect to return at 7:30 thank you e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e good evening ladies and gentlemen at this point I'd like to reconvene the business meeting of the Wall Township Public Schools Board of Education meeting for Tuesday March 19th please uh help me welcome our whs n NCC Cadets with the salute to the flag forward right wheel flag of the United States ofer stands na indivisible andice right whe Mar Color Guard order color fall out I at this time I'm going to ask our board secretary Mr Smite to perform roll call please sorry Mr anio here M barbier here Mr buffer M Giovani here Mr malof here Mr Nasser here miss shimko here Mr wandra here Mr Christopher Del here miss stes here thank you this time I'm going to turn the floor over to Dr handerhan to introduce a student showcase for us thank you very much Miss Stites at this time I would like to welcome Miss Jill Antonello principal of Old Mill school to the podium she has some uh some very special highlights to share with us that took place this month Miss Antonello thank you good evening I'm Mrs Antonello the proud principal of Old Mill school this recently we celebrated read Across America our students read um over 40,000 minutes collectively and they celebrated by ping the principal they definitely enjoyed that our amazing teachers planned many fun activities throughout the week our students really enjoyed our community hero day where we had special guest readers we had police officers Marines doctors EMTs and firefighters from our very own Community read to our students these Heroes made a lasting impression we also had the superintendent board members high school students and other District staff members come read to our students it was a very very special week at Old Mill school I hope you enjoy our video and as we tell our Bulldogs each and every day don't forget to read [Music] [Music] [Applause] [Music] w [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Music] [Applause] it thank you so much um these videos I hope are giving our stakeholders an opportunity to see what's actually happening in our classrooms I really feel like they're getting better and better um I certainly love all of our elementary schools Old Mill has a special place in my heart um because that's my neighborhood school um but it's so great to see all the principles um our principles of the you know the the middle school and high school there as as well the kids are going to ultimately see them there um Mrs Memom there for you know representing the district Dr handerhan the Board of Ed members and all of our heroes in the community um so I just hope that our stakeholders are getting a kick out of seeing this because you know obviously we can't be in the classrooms but to see this stuff happening is um it's really positive and that's what we're trying to highlight so hope everybody enjoyed it I know I did um at this time um I am going to open the floor we're going to be doing public comment um this is for all School related issues um please recognize that this is um for the ability for the stakeholders and the community members to share with us your thoughts um it is not a back and forth kind of an exchange but an opportunity um to share Thoughts with the board um so if you have anything to say you can either use the podium down front or the podium in the back good evening my name is Gail Mah and I am the proud president of the Wall Township Education Association I come before you tonight to thank the members of the Board of Education that have already and shortly will be participating in our Pitch hit for an ESP program where you get to see a glimpse of what our esps do on a daily basis our second program that we promoted this past month was was a teacher to remember essay contest where 204 essays were written by the students in the Wall Township School District they wrote them about their teachers and seven teachers will be recognized for being the teacher who was remembered fondly by their students we will see those students and teachers at the April Board of Education meeting I would also like to thank Dr handerhan for being especially prompt with her letter on Friday about releasing back the two remaining school days hopefully on March 29th and May 23rd there was dancing in the streets pertaining to the information about Good Friday no longer being a half day what I would like to end on is the subject of Summer 2024 and the loss of the W and whs summer nights and WS nights and training programs we understand that Esser funds have dwindled and we know that affects students and members of the district we understand that principles have the right to run their buildings as they see fit and if funds are needed to run a school year Focus program more than a summer program that is a decision that they must make here is what we don't understand Esser funds began on March 27th 2020 when Congress set aside approximately $ 13.2 billion allotted for the cares Act the programs being cut were part of the school operation way way way before there were essr funds nights and training a two-e program originally started as a special education program has assisted students with anxiety for about 10 years in successfully transitioning to the Intermediate School this has benefited both general education students and students with 504s and IEPs these programs have been discussed at meetings with parents throughout the school year it's hard to tell those parents that 3 months before the end of the school year that program is no longer going to exist please find funds for these programs even if the programs need to be smaller because our students need them if funds cannot be found We Believe another solution would be to offer these programs to families like the art and theater program maybe for a fee summer nights Academy was created to help students strengthen reading and math skills promote creative thinking and provide positive social opportunities although still offered in k for which we are very grateful all students should be able to be provided targeted instruction in foundational literacy skills from a reading and a math interventionist Mrs Mar time's up please possibly um use this as a way to give it to them maybe for a fee thank you thank you do we have anyone else for a public comment seeing none I'll close the floor I do want to mention you started the meeting early like 5 minutes early and you really should not do that when you say the meeting starts at 7:30 you really have to start at 7:30 and my time is not starting so please reset the time hello it says 2:41 Betsy cross I live in wall now start the clock it's 2:30 lost 30 seconds could you give us an update on the bus compound could you give us an update on the steps at Allenwood how much did it cost just for the steps in Allenwood I know we've spent uh an architect two subcontractors what is the actual cost of just the steps maybe Mr Nasser knows or Mr SMI knows um I'd appreciate that um budget information we have nothing online except we're going over what 3.15% um which should not happen um pension and benefits I see we're paying a million5 health insurance I can't even can't even figure out what's going on here for some reason Mr nazer thinks uh exhibits prepared by Brown and Brown are confidential they're really not you don't have any you don't have any personal information on them you just want to um let us know what your analysis is showing I have given everything to the controller's office Banking and insurance Banking and insurance did give it to the attorney general 250 something Pages um the GIF I see you paid them a million4 you know years ago I remember it was around a million now we're paying a million4 um yeah this is Adam nasser's notes it should be noted this information is considered proprietary and confidential we'll see if the attorney general and the controller's office agrees um you mentioned that you're increasing health benefits by $543,000 last year benefits were over 7 million I see we now have to hire chaspin learo malan and kapuza uh um for uh legal representation because Athena Cornell is doing such a terrible job I see that Jenny De Carlo settlement is on here for tonight um you have attached nothing W Municipal does attach documents I will put it in Oprah it did go again to the attorney general uh banking insurance and everybody else I see Tom Rau is retiring I see we're paying out somebody that didn't even work here a year in the business department $4,000 I mean I don't even think she worked here for a year um lots of transfers um opras um there's an email from text messages I want from Mike Shelton to Adam Nasser and a few other people I haven't gotten them back yet your time is up okay so um I I'd like those emails uh from Adam from every from Michael Shelton thank you to the people on the board through 12:31 thank you again every state agency has those two thank you Mrs cross do we have anyone else for public comment okay seeing none I'll be closing the floor for public comment at this time it gives me great pleasure to turn the floor over to Mr Christopher Daly our senior board representative student board representative it's all yours thank you um just want to start off by saying uh the Disney trip was happened since the last meeting I forget the dates already but it was a lot of fun I went on it myself uh the plane I don't know what to do with this mic the plane was good it was successful trip all around I had a lot of fun I hope everybody had a lot of fun I can't speak for everybody but I think everybody did uh this week the Juniors wrapped up their mandatory State Testing throughout the process the schedules for classes so slightly altered but uh it was a good week for them hopefully good week for me cuz I didn't get to see them um and then more recently spring Sports have just kicked off tryouts and practices lacrosse baseball Golf and track have all had good starts to the season so looking forward to see what they can do on their fields and um I'd also like to give a special shout out to the Middle School who put on a great play right here this weekend Shrek Jr my sister was in stage crew so I went went to support um I was very Bown away these kids are good actors so it was a great job and had a good time at the play so that's all it's going on right now again thank you for the time uh to let me talk about what's going on in the school for the students and I hope everybody has a good night thank you and we wish you and all your seniors who are in the process of making plans for after high school I know it gets a little bit stressful but we believe in all of you I know you're going to make great decisions and uh we're thrilled for you guys so hang in there just a couple more months all right at this time it gives me tremendous pleasure to turn the floor over to Dr handerhan for special presentations this evening okay first up is actually um we had to delay this presentation because uh we originally scheduled it back in January and we were quite literally iced out um uh due to poor weather we although we still had the board meeting it was um you know we obviously wanted uh you know we wanted to find a better night so that we make sure that we all of our honores and their families could attend so it was rescheduled for tonight and um you know I think I speak on behalf of the entire Board of Education in thanking all of our our staff is awesome and um they work so hard there is um you know I I really haven't seen anything that uh they wouldn't do for our students and at the end of the day that's why we're here and it is our pleasure to uh take a moment to um really thank them for their service and also um really recognize that um recognize the recipients of the educator of the year in the education Educational Service Professionals of the year um each year the community the community at large really has the opportunity to nominate uh nominate our teachers our counselors our uh Power professionals our Nurses Educational Services professionals the I mean there are many many many roles that um that it takes to uh run run a school for our students so we have these nominations there's big official panels that we have to I think it's nine members uh nine members that sit on the Committees and there's you know some of them it's it's a it's challenging but it's a good challenge because we have to you know we have so many of our uh staff members that are nominated and I've been in those rooms sometimes it gets a little heated because you know you know like oh I want them to win I want them to so um I digress but it is um truly an honor and I would like to um invite uh president uh Christ St SES to help me with the small token as we um as we uh present the awards and to get the to get this all started I would very much like to um ask U the our team back there to queue up our videos so um I think in this case I'm going to ask the all of the members at the deas if you would to move into a reserve spot Miss stes if you can stay close to me that be great so we can transition and you know our our principles have done a wonderful job really uh setting the stage to give you a glimpse of really just a small glimpse of what our Educators and Educational Service professionals do for our kids each and every day and why they were selected for this honor so without any further Ado I am going to shut down the mic and move out of the way [Music] respected by students parents colleagues and peers Mrs Kathleen Bolan is the definition of a master teacher she is the first to arrive and the last to leave she is a role model for all who are lucky to work with her she advocates for each of her students students planning and executing Innovative and engaging lessons that Captivate our three and foury olds which is no small feat Mrs ban stays AB breast of best practices in Early Education especially with the research surrounding the science of reading to ensure that she offers to all of her students the opportunity for growth she values and cherishes each child she teaches and they know it congratulations Mrs band [Music] Miss Beth diano is an outstanding power professional in the self-contained classroom at w Primary School on a daily basis Miss Beth engages with students and colleagues with kindness enthusiasm and dedication she always puts her students needs for her own and steps up without ever being asked Mrs Damiano is is extremely competent she is attentive to detail and is very precise when collecting data on students she is adept with technology and will always help col in need her students rely on her consistent and good nature Den to support them through their daily routines congratulations Miss [Music] Beth enthusiasm for teaching is infectious and it creates a vibrant and engaging learning environment that has had a profound impact on my child's love for education I appreciate her adaptability patience and firm but loving classroom environment Mrs Bernie nurtures strong readers she actively participates in ongoing training and development staying updated on the latest teaching methods and best practices her tireless efforts to enhance the team's Collective knowledge and for proactive approach in selecting the best language arts curriculum make her an exceptional candidate for this esteemed recognition her ability to communicate and share her ideas make her a valuable team member she exemplifies the qualities of an exceptional teacher and is a role model for all [Music] Educators she is the kindest most thoughtful person Mrs Kaden tends to Medical hygiene academic and social emotional needs her compassion is Limitless she is punctual and willingly stays when Vans are running late Mrs Caden is always moving always cleaning always helping she is the most reliable staff member and I can always count on her she always finds positive things to say even in the most trying situations every day Mrs Caden shows that good people exist in the [Music] world Mr ranga has been an incredible teacher for 22 years all of them here at Central School Mr ranga has been an asset to the wal Township Public School District and particularly to cental school during that time his dedication to ex students the community and to consistently developing and improving instruction to reach it students is a common fact throughout his career Mr ranga always finds ways to help out the community and students who can forget his dedication to enhancing our annual Li as well Mr R's passion for education and his care for his students over these years are a few of the many reasons why we are so excited to celebrate Thea as the 2023 2024 teacher of the [Music] year Mrs boldir has been an aspect to the kindergarten team at Central for 10 years her kindness dedication to helping all students and her attention to the unique needs of students in this gr have guided her throughout her time at Sunday School Mrs continues to support the teachers and students at Central School each and every day no matter the ask Mrs boulderman is always ready to rise the occasion and help where necessary we're so thankful and excited to celebrate Mrs bman as our 2023 2024 Educational Service profession of the [Music] year Kelly Buckle is an educator who truly loves learning and teaching it is evident in everything she does her teaching is Hands-On meaningful and always consists of best practices her students are always motivated to learn and they have so much fun in her class she connects to her students in such positive ways that leaves such a meaningful impression on them she is the teacher that has children work on sem activity the very first they school she is the teacher that you can find playing kickball with her students during recess she is the teacher who provides additional extra help things to students to help them succeed she is the teacher who loves to read and discuss novels with her Learners she is the teacher who differentiates instruction to meet all of her students needs she is Old Middle School teacher of the year Kelly Buckle's passion for teaching the love of her students and her dedication to education makes her an asset to to Old M school we are very proud that Mrs Buckle is our teacher of the year at Old mid [Music] School Rosemary larco is an instructional power professional at Old Mill School her dedication and love for her students is evident every day she reinforces a culture of learning she possesses a plethora of strategies that reinforce positive student Behavior she connects with children and they know how much she cares for them she provides effective support to students success she is devoted to our students learning and their happiness her calm and loving nature always makes our students feel loved we are very fortunate to have Mrs larco at the midle [Music] school team of positive energy enters West belar school every day this beam of positivity is Mrs fizar enthusiastic kind caring energetic and she possesses an extremely hard work worked eort these are just a few adjectives that describe some of the characteristics why Mrs fazari has been selected as the teacher of the year Mrs bazari has taught second and fourth grade for the past 11 years she is an exceptional teacher whose creativity inspires her students to demonstrate their learning each and every day her positive attitude serves as a motivational tool for her students this establishes a uniquely caring and supportive learning atmosphere for her students her melodious Jingles help students understand and remember content and they love these Jingles Mrs bazari is a teacher leader for her grade level and our school she takes an active role in professional development and the curriculum Mrs vieri designs and creates the annual yearbook she is admired by the students parents staff and the administration West Belmar school is truly proud to have shanon bazari as the recipient of the teacher of the year congratulations to you Mrs feri on this well served [Music] honor Evelyn Bonnie Farley is one of the smiling faces that greet you when you enter West Belmar school she is very caring kind and is tremendously hardworking which helps makes West Belmar a special place to come to school for the be cups the staff parents and guests this has earned her the educational professional for the 2324 school year Mrs Farley works as the lead food service coordinator for our students supporting their nutritional needs she makes sure every student has a breakfast or lunch each day she's always willing to assist students staff and parents with any task there is never an assignment or job that is too big or small for her she consistently gives 100% of her efforts to West belar School on behalf of the staff the students and the school Community we congratulate Mrs Farley on being selected as the educational professional of the Year well done and deserved Mrs Farley congratulations [Music] wall Intermediate School is proud to have selected Mr Ryan as this year's teacher of the year it doesn't take much digging to recognize that his kindness is never give up on a kid attitude and honest and caring nature are what Stand Out most about him these qualities although simple are the ones that mean the most to a students as a principal I can say that Mr Ryan is a true asset to the school instructionally he is great but without the qualities mentioned earlier the total package would never get pulled altogether in his lessons he makes time for modeling guided instruction and independent work opportunities with art projects designs and Concepts that are unique and challenging for the students he takes the time to show off the kids Work by displaying different areas of the school he shares our national junior art Honor Society and is a true leader amongst his colleagues we are proud to have Mr Ryan represent wall and immediate school and all that is good in the Prof question of [Music] teaching Mrs pen has been named Wall intermediate school's educational support person of the year and it's no surprise that the why she was chosen Mrs Penn has all the qualities one would come to expect from a healthcare professional she's become a valued resource and sounding board for parents students and staff when needing to ask questions Garner an opinion or provide information on school health related policies in times of a crisis Miss p is able to provide key medical advice and stay calm under stressful situations as she tends to the needs of the student she is reliable honest and trustworthy and most importantly for someone in her role she ises Common Sense personally I can attest to how much value and perspective she adds to our school teams as an exceptional employee and valued member of our school we can say congratulations Miss benen on award well [Music] served [Music] we are very proud to honor Mr Jared mof as wall High School teacher of the year Mr mof has been teaching health education driers education and physical education at wall High School since 2009 for the past two years he has been the Unified sports program coordinator and Coach Unified sports is an offshoot of the Special Olympics it joins people with and without intellectual disabilities on the same team students train together and compete on a team in games such as kickball and flag football it was inspired by a simple principle training together and playing together is a quick path to friendship and understanding Mr mof was an integral part of the successful launch of the Unified sports program at wle school and so many students have benefited from this experience over the past two years over the course of his career at wall High School Mr mof has consistently worked to provide a more inclusive educational environment for all of our students we are proud to recognize Mr mof as the w High School 2023 teacher of the [Music] year we are very proud to honor Mr Mike Nasi as the wall High School Educational Service professional of the Year Mr Nasi has been a par professional and coach of w High School since 2017 he has worked with multiple students with a variety of disabilities and he has consistently done so with Grace and compassion teachers who have worked with Mr maazi over the years have noted significant positive changes and growth the students that he is assigned to Mr anas's Dedication to the students at w High School extends beyond the school Deb he has participated in overnight field trips to chaperon his students and as a coach of several Sports of wall high school he is beloved by his students we are very proud to recognize Mr Nasi is the wall High School 2023 Educational Service professional of be [Music] here well I have to tell you one of the perks of the job is actually getting to make these announcements in the classroom with respective principles it is an exciting time and I and I'm so um I'm so happy that we were able to capture some really great video so you can see it in the moment because um there's something about seeing the shock and uh yeah just I think it just adds um I would very much like to uh thank Miss Jen serwitz for all of her work putting these videos together and um she definitely possesses um a talent that I do not so I thank you um now for the hardware part of the ceremony are you ready okay I need my glasses so I'm sorry I just want to make sure if we're starting with primary or the high school first they're usually it's see they tough the usually that way okay first up from Primary School Miss Kathleen Bolan where are you there you are congratulations again stay here okay next from primary school may I may Beth Damiano come on down congratulations Allenwood you're up Kristen Bernie Miss Bernie come on [Applause] down congratulations Miss Janet Kaden Educational Services professional come on down representing Central School Mr Joseph ranga come on down and Central's Educational Service professional Miss Maria boulderman come on down congratulations okay Old Mill school you're up Miss Kelly Buckle where are you there you [Applause] are also from Old Mill School our Educational Service professional Miss Rosemary lavarco y scooch scooch from West Belmar School Miss Shannon fazari come on [Applause] down okay and West belmar's Educational Service professionals Miss Bonnie Farley congrat congratulations from Intermediate School actually I wish the screen wasn't down so this way we can appreciate some of the work um May Mr Michael Ryan come on down W all of his fine talents on display behind and our Educational Services professional from the Intermediate School Miss Carrie Penn okay from wall High School Mr Jared mof was unfortunately not able to come this evening but I would love to give him a round of applause out there we hope you you you hear us Jared and uh also from wall High School Educational Services professional Mr Michael nastasi there he is I would also like to give a shout out to Miss Kim keer who has been uh instrumental in making sure that all of our recipients receive um wonderful um tokens from the Board of Education with the correct spellings of their names so she works really hard so thank you and that the font is correct okay Miss sertz if you would I know I would love to see a big picture we're probably gonna have to scooch there's that word again I I'll take a few in a row yeah let's try to do that yes okay we're gonna [Applause] bra e e e all right as we have folks um clearing out the board would just like to again congratulate these outstanding educational professionals um folks are just clearing out and celebrating and they are certainly due their moment in the Sun so in just a moment we'll move on to the second presentation all right at this time I'm going to turn the floor over to Dr handerhan uh once again to make a special presentation introduction okay once again I'd like to congratulate all of this year's educators of the year and Educational Service professionals um it is just amazing to hear the laughter um during our and the happiness and joy during our meetings so uh that was a that was certainly a special treat so thank you and thank you for coming out tonight um this evening we also have an additional presentation and uh for those of you that tune in regularly um periodically throughout the school year we've been focusing on the seven mindsets and we highlight a particular mindset um at specific meetings so it is my pleasure to introduce to you Miss Tiffany Steiner and Miss kin VAR as they introduce the next mindset thank you Dr handerhan and actually we are recapping our last three mindsets so um we did want to feature some of the activities we did to celebrate everything as possible passion first and 100% accountable and then we're going to warm you up and prep you for our next uh mindset what is amazing about this evening is we we are showcasing students but I have to tell you when I looked at all of our teachers of the year and and um Service Pro providers of the year so many of these activities are activities that they have done on their own above and beyond the program so um for example just with the the High School Mr mof who does Unified sports so um it's really nice to be able to be here this evening and recognize eyes not just our wonderful children and what they're doing but the adults who are really Behind These opportunities and as you can see um with everything is possible our four critical components of dreaming big embracing creativity thinking positive and acting and adjusting there were several activities that fed into those themes so we just featured two of these from West Balmar and from Central Elementary School and wall intermediate where they had their everything is possible therapy dogs and at West belar yes it's back roller skating yeah good times I'm going to invite Miss Skil VAR to uh go through our next sorry thank you thanks for having us back we appreciate it our next one was February passion 1st talk about Hearts everywhere um this is where we really focused on focusing on our own strengths exploring our interests taking a stand and being authentic so not only did we teach kids in the classroom they took it outside the classroom and blew us out of the water as you can see we have Allan um excuse me we have the Gratitude quilt from Central School we have blankets that were collected and donated to Meridian Hospital on the hospice floors um we had Allenwood excuse me jumping their little hearts out for the American Heart Society um Old Mill was doing Black History Month most of the buildings did everything for you know did something for black history month but we're just featuring Old Mill right here um I also wanted to say we didn't we had a video we wanted to show you but I was in charge of the tech besides Mr hyim and it didn't work not surprising so um the high school took it upon themselves to work with um certain classrooms and certain clubs peer leaders the social club and they made videos and they are on the website they are on our newsletters if you have a minute please take a take a quick look at them they're not very long they're a couple minutes each um but again the fact that it's all about finding your passion and finding what you're passionate about and how to support each other it was a phenomenal display none of which was in the curriculum so all of these pictures you are seeing not that are Wonder wonderful counselors have not g gone above and beyond in their lessons but our teachers our club leaders our Sports our after school activities our principes everybody down to whoever is walking our buildings have taken this and ran with it so I just really am so proud to see all of that happening and none of this is the classroom work that is being done um the last one is 100% accountable I'll let Mrs Steiner present that oh okay I'll present it um this is the one we just did in March 100% accountable this is where we're talking about owning our life being accountable for our actions overcoming overcoming excuse me limiting beliefs those are those automatic negative thoughts that plague us all day long um focusing our energy putting good energy into the world to get it back and growing through life so as you can see our board members were phenomenal they were reading our heroes our it was just great watching um all of these stories come to life off the books Through The Eyes of the presenters reading them um our high school students got into that with read Across America they just grasped this and ran and one thing we also were able to do this month we had our first Community leadership committee where we had representation from all aspects of the community from the school to the board president and board members to our super attendant to um our business administrator to our HR representative to everybody we had the chief of police with us we had parishioners we had priests we had I can't even I'm leaving so many people out but come together for the sole aspect of we want to be accountable we want to live passion first and we want to do everything we can to help our students here so it was a committee that came together and has agreed to continue and hopefully that will set the pace for how we can make this community one whole place with all the same perspective or or accountability um and then we have coming up our last live to give that's going to be what we have next um so you're going to find some fun stuff next time but as you can see um we had some principles get in the action with bingo go and uh principal OK um they had a wonderful time and it's all about living to give so thank you is there anything you wanted to add it's great I just rambled sorry thank you so [Applause] much um the the meeting um that was referenced with the community leaders also include Township committee uh committee people um it was really outstanding um and the Seven mindsets there's a tremendous amount of information on the website if anyone's interested in looking into that um and again we are trying to partner outside of the walls of the school district so that this becomes a CommunityWide initiative Miss G and Miss Steiner are working tremendously hard on this um and the nice thing is that the messaging is going all the way from the primary school through the high school out the doors and into our community and at the end of the day that's what we need right we we need our our kids engaged with other community members um it's been a tremendous undertaking that has been received so positively um and I hope to see it really uh Blossom and continue so thank you uh ladies for the tremendous work that you're doing um at this point in time I would also like uh I'm going to be going into my president's report um before recognizing our high school students of the month I do want to also point out um in terms of uh how proud I am of our District administration our superintendent our assistant superintendent who works so closely with our principles to make the reveals at the schools for our professionals um as they were celebrated it's such a team effort I think it's important for people to understand that our Administration works very closely with our building Administration and also our teachers um our support staff we're really trying to build community within our district as well when that's strong our kids win so I think that you can see from from what was presented here that they did a beautiful job at this time I'm going to recognize the wall High School certificate students for the month of February 2024 for 9th grade Casey Martin marted Noni uh grade 10 Daniel Hennessy grade 11 Braden Buckley and grade 12 Emily T verdict our nights of the week for February 5th uh junior Steven midus uh February 12th kaln Avery for the week of February 19th we had ninth grader Michael delesio and for the week of February 26th we had freshman August St stedronsky um the board is thrilled to recognize as I mentioned our Governor's educators of the year and our governor Educational Services professionals award recipients um we'll be continuing to share that information online if anyone's interested in take taking a look um the board is in the process right now of continuing to review the budget which continues to evolve and will do so until we vote on the final Budget on April 23rd I think it is important for people to realize that we are approving a tentative budget but that continues to be worked on continues to be investigated and there's still a tremendous amount of con um the discussion that's going on with that I would like to thank the elementary schools that um invited the board to participate in read Across America as you could see for Old Mill we had several board members that participated and represented um and at the end of the day that is just a huge treat for us um to be able to interact with the the little the littles as Dr handerhan likes to call them um and it was awesome to see so many of our um Administration also participating thank you to everyone in the community who came out and supported that I would like to thank the wtaa for the invitation to participate and Pitch hit for an ESP esps are educational support professionals the board has already and is continued to be scheduled to Shadow par professionals operations Personnel bus drivers administrative assistance Cafe personnel and um custodial staff we are looking forward to meeting uh with all of those folks and gaining a deeper appreciation for the very important roles that they play on our team in the district every day and at this time uh I would like to remind folks that there is a High School Musical coming up the second week of April and know everyone enjoyed Shrek we're going to hear a little bit more about that as the uh meeting goes on um that there's a lot of really great things going on um in the district I know we have Mayfair coming up um all kinds of different activities at the elementary schools in the intermediate so I hope that our community will take note of that support when you can attend when you can um spring is here right what 11 o'clock tonight I got my flowers on so hopefully with spring all kinds of renewed interest and energy so um let's get behind the kids and and the PT and the administrations at the school and really support what they're doing at this time that's going to wrap it up for me I'm going to turn it over to Dr handerhan for her superintendence report thank you Miss Stites I would like to extend a giant thank you to the wall High School color guard and our student representative to the Board of Education Mr Christopher Daly for joining us this evening um I would also like to congratulate all of our teachers of the year and educational service service Professionals of the year we are so so lucky uh you have chosen to to educate and support wall students um it it's a two-way street uh we have so many talented employees that choose to work with the children of this community and I think it's important it's an important distinction and I thank them for that thank you to principal Antonello for sharing some of Old Mill read Across America highlights with us and also to miss Gil and Miss Steiner for being 100% accountable tonight in implementing the seven mindsets speaking of Miss Steiner um Miss Steiner along with Mr Josh tenant and chief sha o' hallerin will be honored this Thursday evening by the Crimson Knights Foundation at the annual spring Gala at the Spring Lake Manor please visit our website for details uh once again the special services department would like to invite the district to participate in World Down syndrome day on Thursday March 21st 2024 there is a global campaign called lots of socks where everyone is encouraged to wear fun and colorful socks to show advocacy for the rights inclusions and well-being of people with Down Syndrome the idea behind lots of socks initiative is an acceptance of all of our differences and What Makes Us unique while also remembering that we are more alike than different it is observed on this day March 21st 3:21 due to the trimme I probably Mis pronounce that um tricy 21 chromosomal difference that causes Down syndrome so uh please this Thursday if you can think about it please wear some really colorful and exciting socks so we can uh be together as one as we um you know support everyone in our community April is autism acceptance month all are invited to join the wtps community in wearing blue on Friday April 12th to demonstrate our support of autism acceptance April is also the um it's Child Abuse Prevention and awareness month the district is forly recognizing this to highlight the importance and commitment of all children's safety and well-being uh both within the Wall Township borders and Beyond so uh child safety is something that um all of the adults in our our immediate community and our community at large all of us um have really an obligation to keep our children safe so we want to work together and we can certainly show um show our unity in doing so um I'm going to definitely be redundant by congratulating the wall intermediate school's cast and crew of Shrek the production this past weekend was fantastic thank you to miss Frances Mr Ryan and Mr courhouse for all of their expertise and effort with this fine production uh mark your calendars on April 11th 12th and 13th because you will not want to miss this wall High School spring production of Fiddler on the Roof please visit the high school's website for times and ticket information actually it's one of my favorite show so I'm super excited about it last week I sent an email to the wtps community discussing a pending calendar change to this year's school calendar this year's calendar has two snow days remaining if the weather continues to follow a warming trajectory I will ask the board next Tuesday to adjust the calendar again in this is next Tuesday so March 26th so the proposed adjustments will be to close school on March 29th also it's also Good Friday we currently have a half day scheduled and the proposal will also close the schools the Friday before Memorial Day in the event we need to have an emergency school closing between March 27th and May 23rd school will again be in session on Friday May 24th let's really keep you know let's really work on that um on behalf of the Board of Education I also um I wish to extend our heartfelt condolences to the family of Jerry schy Jerry schy was a longtime science teacher and coach at wall High School um it is very very clear that he has made a tremendous he has made a tremendous positive impact on the Adolescence in his care throughout the years and he will certainly be missed by many many individuals so again our condolences to the schy family on this evening's agenda you will see the tentative school budget for next year um again uh misses outline this and I'm I'm really going to um really punctuate it and and stress it because it is important U the key word is tentative next year's school budget is currently a work in progress we are required to submit the snapshot of our work in progress to the Doe by March 20th a great deal of time and effort on the part of the board of educ ation and Central Administration is dedicated to not only developing the annual budget but refining it we are in the midst of this refinement process now as many of you are aware the budgeting process includes the work of the board committees and full board budget Workshop sessions held in public our next full board budget Workshop will be held on Tuesday March 26 this Workshop is open to the public and can be viewed in person or via live stream please keep in mind a budget Workshop session is not a budget presentation it is an opportunity for the full Board of Education to work on next year's budget the budget will continue to be refined even after the workshop session on the 26 as Miss St said the budget presentation and public hearing is scheduled for April 23rd that that wraps me up so back to you Miss ties thank you Dr handan at this point um we're going to move on to the Board of Education report um I'm hoping that we're going to have a couple of our members just give us a little bit of a snapshot as to what they've been up to with the schools M djan go ahead um it has been a busy month as you've seen for um the board members to actually participate in the day-to-day operations of the school not something that we get to do we come here and we we hear about it in committee meetings and we vote on the business of the school but we rarely get to see it in action and wow we had a great month uh Mr Mali uh Mrs barbier and I had the opportunity as you already saw a couple times to participate in the wonderful read Across America program at Old Mill School uh it was it was a lot of fun I had a first grade class and they were very engaged and they asked me lots of questions and most of it was not about the book but we had a great time um I also um want to thank um G Mar and Miss uh Kelly bond for arranging for me to participate in the pinit for um educational sport Personnel uh their coordinated efforts I was able to um Shadow uh Miss walderman who is a power professional in the intermediate school and what a wonderful opportunity that was to actually see what we do here in the classroom and I got to um experience the uh fantastic read 180 Program that we are utilizing in the Intermediate School to help those who just need a little extra help with their reading uh the class was engaged it was fun and I I got an education and I got to be in the hallway during change of class um that reminded me a lot when I was a student myself and finally this weekend uh my sixth grade son and I went to see Shrek Jr the musical these kids put on a fantastic job my goodness they are so talented the sets were fantastic and I was really Amazed by how many of the Intermediate School students participated between the lighting crew between the set crew and the cast was tremendous the they did a wonderful job and and we were highly entertained and I can't wait to see Fiddler on the Roof thank you thank you do we have any other board members Mr malof thank you president sites uh I'd also like to say I went to see Shrek as well now Shrek for me my kids were just a little bit older than when Shrek came out so I didn't really know the story at all but uh I picked up on it uh pretty quickly uh just I understand that this I know that this is a a process that started back in October I've had a little experience in schools with uh in middle schools in particular uh with plays and Productions and musicals I understand understand the amount of work that goes in the dedication that the uh the students the staff the advisers have uh and also the parents uh who have to uh uh you know pick their kids up late or bring them in early maybe they come in on a uh on a weekend but it was it was a wonderfully age appropriate experience and I congratulate everybody uh that participated in it uh I was also happy to uh to be part of the read Across America program at uh Old Mill last week and uh I think I was uh actually so excited about doing it and and talking to the kids that uh they had to give me the hook because uh high school kids were coming in so they said M if you're you're finished you got to get out of here but I had a great time uh and I'm also looking forward to pitch hitting at uh at Central School uh next week with the food services and custodial staff and I'm looking forward to that very much thank you thank you do we have anyone else Mr Nasser yes president Stites uh just quick update from the uh referendum the front steps are going through their 28 day cure time before we put the railings posts and other structural items on there uh the timeline to finish that is before the end of April there are two change orders on the agenda uh related to the foundation of Allenwood uh there are some leaks that that we need to make repairs that is in the old section of the building uh that was built approximately in the 1920s uh the roofing notice to proed project went out our H there's another resolution on the agenda for the HVAC bids for Allenwood and Old Mill the recommendation is that they be rejected and we rebid it um that's from the architect uh as it came in over budget uh Phase 2 and three are going out at the end of this month and then late April early May respectively um West Belmar site work was approved by the Soil Conservation District which is a good thing uh any project that disturbs more than an acre we have to have another layer of approval with the county um there's a ton of interest in the bidding of the bathroom Renovations I think we have 12 uh biders so far that have picked up uh bid packets so um I should be good uh the athletic field design is progressing and uh yeah it's been a busy month thank you thank you Mr Nasser just to clarify when you mentioned that the steps are curing the steps at Allenwood school that is correct yes thank you do we have anyone else for the board report Mr Smite just as a followup with regard to the bids there was 15 biders that picked up for the uh interior Renovations which is the bathrooms uh however unfortunately at the bid opening no none of the biders have submitted a bid so we had no bids for that uh and that project is being read vertis as well thank you okay that's going to conclude the Board of Education report or update at this time um as far as committee reports um we will be approving minutes their minutes are published online um do we have any reports from any of the committee chairperson okay seeing none we're going to move on at this time I'm going to be opening the floor for public comment on agenda action items so again this commentary is on the um topics that we're going to be voting on this evening you please use the podium downstairs or the podium up top do we have anyone for public comment Betsy cross I live in wall congratulations to all the teachers tonight that was nice to see um could you give us uh I see you're talking about the business administrator search and people are concern that we might just handpick somebody or have somebody in mind if you could give us an update on that are we still paying Mr riggy I his emails if I send him something it doesn't get kicked back so I'm guessing we're still paying him um if you can get back to me on that um that was great that these two were accountable Tiffany and um her colleague there but why can't the Board of Ed be accountable I I don't get it SPS all I see is being paid 556 th000 on the referendum the roof for 634 th000 um change order six change order 7 I did post on Facebook before I came over everybody's asking what's going on why are we doing it and I just screen shot it and sent six and seven um I can't understand we're 26 21% over budget so somebody comes in if I asked to build a house my home and the guy said it's going to cost 750 and then he came in and said oh I'm sorry it's going to be 910,000 WR as a check for another 150 no that's not how it works you're paying 20 we're we're we're at 21% over we're not even done we didn't even know if the steps were okay so uh you know Adam says is this great professional for all this stuff we get one one wrong thing after the next I went to that bid opening I was kind of surprised when Mr um SMI was like pulling the signin out of my hand I mean what the hell is going on here now we can't even get any bids um and that started that started early just like tonight's meeting um could you go over your putting in your tentative budget 543,000 under what well which is it if we're doing so great why are we budgeting another half a million more when we budgeted over 17 million on benefits last year you know this is why the Attorney General Banking and insurance and controller's office are saying yeah keep sending it over I keep sending it cuz something's not adding up and to say that stuff is confidential is ridiculous um you know we're paying Brown and Brown $55,000 a year we we need to have them do the work you need to show us you know what's making sense what's not making sense um I can't understand the woman leaving from vac that worked here I think less than a year is Cashing Out $4,000 in vacation pay if you work here for a month you get to cash out two weeks pay it's ridiculous that happened with that last HR guy uh you got to do better please give us updates on the bus compound people are wondering what's going on there and uh that nights and training that is so disappointing you need to figure out uh where to get that money back thank you Mrs cross thanks do we have anyone else from for public comment okay seeing none I'll be closing the floor for public comment at this time may I please have a motion to approve the consent agenda I'll make that motion I'll second Mr wandra Mr maloff Mr Smite take a roll call Mr anesia yes M barier yes Miss dgani yes Mr malth yes Mr Nasser I'm going to abstain on 13 A and B and I'm a no on 15 C yes on everything else noted Miss shimo yes Mr wandra yes Miss STS yes thank you all right um at this time that's going to conclude our business for this evening may I please have a motion to adjourn make that motion Mr wandra Mr adeso all in favor thank you very much everyone have a great evening e