e e e e e e e e e e the adequate notice of this regular meeting as required by the open public meetings Act was provided by the posting mailing delivery and filing of this notice on January 11th 2024 this notice was on that date posted on the bulletin board in the township office sent to The Courier News and tap into Warren and filed with the Township Clerk of the township one all in accordance with the requirements of the open public needings act please rise with Pledge of Allegiance I will call the role Mr here miss this this white bomb M Keller here Mr Metta here Mr AO here Mr Tor here Mr Valentino here Mr Weinstein here Mr Zan here the quum whereas the open public gings act njsa 104-1 permits the Board of Education to meet in clst session to discuss certain matters now therefore being resolved the Board of Education adjourns to clst session to discuss material to disclosure of which constitutes an unwarranted invasion of individual privacy action will be taken if upon return to public session the length of the meeting is anticipated to be part in 15 minutes and be it further resolved the minutes of this close session be made public when the need for confidentiality no longer opposed abstain the board is in exec say 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 second all in favor opposed abstain the board is back in regular session resolve at the board ofation private session all right this is on the minutes Mr desde yes Miss Keller yes Mr wetta yes Mr AO yes Mr tour yes Mr Valentino yes Mr W yes Mrs on yes motion passes 8 Z correspondence and information Dr thank you Mrs Zan for correspondence the board received one email regarding Security in the Hib investigations there was one investigation at Central School which was not confirmed one investigation at Warren Middle School which was not confirmed and on the suspension report one in school and one out of school suspension at the middle school and one out of school suspension at Central School thank you Dr Mingo we will be doing annual adoptions this evening Dr Mingo do you have any comments on the anual no does any board member wish to pull any of the annual adoptions for a separate VOE or discussion uh I would option one okay the rest motion to adopt the annual adoptions Section 8 items two 3 a through 3w 4 a f 5 a 5 e 6 and 7 a second I will call the role on the annual adoptions Mr deide yes M Keller Mr Metta yes Mr AO yes Mr T yes Mr Valentina yes Mr Weinstein yes Mrs Z yes motion to pass okay Mr Metta do you wish just to have a separate vote on this or also have discussion SE for V all right then motion to adopt anual adoption Section 8 on we have second second I'll call the rooll Mr deide yes M Keller yes Mr Metta no Mr AO yes Mr Tor yes Mr Valentino yes Mr Weinstein no Mrs all yes motions pass excuse me motion passes six good evening we have quite quite a crowd here this evening um good evening and welcome to the May 13th meeting of the Warren Board of Education I actually have four separate sets of remarks this evening any one of which would be more than sufficient for this spot on the agenda but each are important so I apologize in advance for the length of my remarks this last week marked the annual fifth grade Capstone project presentations at each of our K5 schools our amazing fifth graders had the opportunity to showcase their presentation and research skills focusing on plausible solutions to zero hunger good health and well-being quality education and gender equity along with other members of our community fellow board member and vice president Laura Keller as well as invited dignitaries from outside the community I had the honor of judging 12 of the presentations at three of our K5 schools the entire Community including these students teachers mentors parents should all be very proud of all the work that was done researching learning and making a plan on how to make positive changes in the world I'm I am confident that these Young Learners are on their way to shaping and improving the world we all live in Miss Keller would you like to share anys can everybody hear me yeah good um I this is the third year I was a judge and I absolutely love this event um I'm gonna start with a plug for anybody always think for judges so next year this time put a little mental note in your in your calendar to to sign to be a judge the the the students have 10 hours to research a topic that they likely have never researched or thought about before and to come up with a solution for it that's actually tangible and actionable and they don't get much support from teachers that's by Design the parents can't help them and then they have to prepare to present in front of a bunch of strangers or or so um and it's not not only an opportunity for them to learn about a topic they're not familiar with and to figure out how to define a problem and to find solution but the actual experience of doing the Capstone exercise is an opportunity to work with people they've never worked with they're not paired with their friends necessarily they have to learn how to work together to delegate to divide up the work which is very good preparation for the room as we all know um so I just love this event I love being a judge for it and I want everybody to kind of put that mental thing for next April this is we really encourage um adults sorry kids but adults to participate in this because it's really wonder thank you Miss Keller on May 20 at 7 o'clock there will be an informational overview of the wung hills Community shared services regionalization disability study being led by the Rowan School regionalization Institute the overview will discuss the parameters of the study the timeline Community involvement why the watchong Hills Regional High School and watchong Boards of Education asked to initiate the study and what opportunities the study could illustrate for all of the school districts in the watan Hills cluster pre-registration for this information session can be found on the Watchung Hills Regional High School website I understand that the session will also be recorded and available for later viewing for anyone who cannot attend again this overview will be held on May 20th at 7 o' early on the morning of May 3rd 2024 the training professionalism and dedication of our staff in an emergency situation was put to the test early that day the Warren Middle School received a bom threat toter super attended when addressing the staff quote the examples of Staff members jumping in to do whatever needed to be done are countless and any attempt to highlight specific examples would only serve to lead out others we saw the best of what makes Warren Middle School great and how quickly the staff responded to the first announcements regrouped as the plan shifted outside the building and supported students and their families in the midst of trying circumstances on behalf of the Board of Education I want to thank the Middle School teachers and staff for their calm professional dedication to our students I want to thank our district security staff who have worked hard to train and support all our staff in responding to just such a situation I want to thank our Administration who in the midst of a potential crisis guided a full District response that saw administrators in other buildings rapidly deploy to ensure that students and staff throughout the district had the necessary support as they started their school days and finally I want to thank the Warren Police Department for its immediate response which supported by other law enforcement was instrumental in the safe and Rapid clearing of the threat and the return of the Middle School to operations our gratitude for the support of the local police cannot beated I also want to take this moment to repeat comments I made at the township committee meeting on May 9 when I was invited by mayor sillo to address the committee what many may not know is that this is not a one-time moment of Excellence over just the last two months during the ordinary operations of a school district our schools have called upon police EMS and fire and on our own security and teaching staff on 10 different occasions to respond to emergencies whether responding to Medical emergencies suspicious vehicles on school grounds car accidents near school property additional support during an event at the high school or the May 3 bomb threat the Warren board of education has relied on these same professionals some of whom are volunteer First Responders to come to the aid of our staff and students Warren is one Community we are all interdependent and working hard to make Warren the best home for all our families a place where we socialize work serve and educate so on behalf of the Board of Education I wish to extend our thanks and gratitude to the Warren Police EMS and fire and to the Warren School District administration teachers and all of our state and finally I'm happy that tonight I'm in a position to share one more concrete way in which all of Warren works together one Community where whether through the work of the Town committee or the Board of Education we are all striving together towards the same goal at its May 9th 2024 meeting of the township committee Mr George lzo Committee Member and Lea Zone from the committee to the Board of Education announced an Innovative and praiseworthy plan to make a distribution of $150,000 in Pilot funds to the Warren Township Board of Education for the 2425 school year the funds will be designated for the purpose of improving technology and will have the secondary benefit of reducing Rising operational costs of the district we expect that this is the first of what will be continuing conversations regarding pilot proceeds and the needs of our community pilot funds are managed exclusively by the township which is not legally required to provide any of these funds to the schools this fact makes the proposed share in Pilot proceeds truly grounding after many years of conversations between members of the township committee and the Board of Education we are grateful for this mutually beneficial and purposeful way way that the town committee has committed to support all the District employees students and their families a more formal press release will be forthcoming along with the signing of a $150,000 agreement but let me take a moment to recognize the last two years of teams that have worked towards this phenomenal outcome on behalf of the township committee Mr Daniel croen Mr George o and Miss Vanessa Kean have worked as leaon supported by Mr Crane Mark crane as Town Administrator and on behalf of the Board of Education Mr David gry Mr Scott Otto and myself supported by Mr Chris Hegel as board administ this outcome would not have been possible without the continual efforts and Good Will of these respective teams and all the committee and board members superintendent's remarks Dr thank you Mrs Z it's great to see everybody here tonight we have a lot of celebrating to do I'm going to start that with a couple of announcements that are not related to the um recognition that our principles will share first on the student side two Warren middle school students won cash prizes for their performance in the New Jersey water environment Association student essay competition Jasmine Goya was runner up for the north section of school and Mason maruchi was second place for the north section and third place statewise congratulations to both of them congratulations also to war Middle School student Ava Bak Krishan for her honorable mention in the trust for sustainable living student essay contest answering the question how can nature help us achieve the United Nations sustainable development goals in my community I'm going to say this one twice because I didn't believe it the first time I read it from Dr Cooper but AA is the only student from the United States to be recognized with that achievement so the other recipients are from all over the world I didn't even have to say it twice they got it faster than I did uh and then there's also been a couple of important recognition dates recently uh May 1st was school principal day so and all of our School principles are here today thank you for everything that you do for our schools each and every day May 8th was school and nurses day and we have at least one of our School nurses here and as Mrs Zan was talking about the emergency first responders and reminded that our first line of defense from our staff side is often our School nurses to those very same incidents so thank you to all of our School nurses and last week as many of you probably know was teacher appreciation week and how fitting for us to spend this uh first board meeting after Teacher Appreciation Week doing just that with the rest of our um Public Presentation so thank you all for being here and I believe we're ready to turn it over to our principles I believe that's correct presentations s good evening it is my honor to announce Mrs Joan to as this year's teacher of the year from Woodland School the characteristics that make Mrs to such an amazing educator begins with her commitment to her students and her passion in helping those students meet their potential Mrs to skillfully crafts lessons that are differentiated to me to meet each individual need she approaches each year and each assignment with a positive attitude and a dedication that is always impressive her infectious smile and nurturing ways continue to create a positive en environment Mrs to has had some of her own personal challenges in her life throughout each of those challenges she has been a model of resiliency and determination which have earned her the ultimate respect of the entire School Community students and staff see her as a role model and a person they can always count on Mrs to treats her students as if they were her own Mrs to also has the most sincere admiration from all of her colleagues and is known at Woodland School as a master teacher she again puts the needs of others before her own she collaborates extremely well with everyone and her co-teaching classrooms have been the model of excellence in our district one of Miss to's colleagues writes Mrs to's impact extends far beyond the classroom leaving an indelible mark on the hearts and minds and is an essential part of our school spirit and our culture she provides a warmth and kindhearted spirit that brightens the mood of those around her she naturally brings a smile to the faces of all students and staff it is so easy to see that she loves her job she loves our school and most importantly she loves her students to me the best compliment you can give a teacher is a huge impact that they've had on the students and their colleagues without question Joan is that teacher without question we are lucky to have Joan as part of the Woodland family she truly represents all that is great about being a teacher and is gifted in so many ways most importantly she's an even better human being congratulations to Joan to Joan Joan could not be with us tonight because she's actually at her daughter's senior night for lacrosse so told her that's a that's a good excuse um moving on it's my pleasure to announce Sue francon as Woodland's Educational Service professional of the year now in her 11th year Sue francon is beloved respected and always friendly par professional at Woodland School Mrs francon is the definition of Excellence each day she works to ensure that students have what they need academically socially and emotionally she's one of the first to greet students upon arrival and her smile and nurturing demeanor play a significant role in ensuring that all students feel welcome and safe Miss frano wears many hats through her days at Woodland she can be observed in all parts of the building helping students navigate Social Challenges during recess ensuring that students are eating balanced meals in the lunchroom or helping a student in any way they need she truly is a team player and works to ensure that every student feels supported Miss francon will help any student any staff or any family in need and she approaches every challenge with a we got this attitude time and time again parents will comment that Mrs Fran own Presence at Woodland School is Monumental and making feel like their child as a home away from home there's no question that Mrs francon is a go-to person for every staff person in the building building she has the ultimate respect of her colleagues and was an unanimous choice for the educational services professional of the year one of her colleagues wrote Sue plays a pivotal role in establishing the Woodland School environment as a true place of belonging she embodies the true Spirit of team player and is an outstanding candidate for this award personally I can't say enough about how lucky I am to work alongside Su francione she truly represents everything great about our school school just last week the PTO handed out framed hearts with words written about each staff member here are some of the words that the students shared about Mrs francon she's the first person I see every morning and is always welcoming and clearly has a kind heart she always makes us feel safe she brightens our day and is endlessly helpful and my personal favorite Mrs francon is the rock of our school the entire Woodland Community joins me in congratulating Mrs francon for an award that is so well deserved her efforts through the years have always made Woodland a safe and happy place for students staff and their families congratulations so e Mount horb school is extremely proud to recognize Mrs Michelle McMahon as this year's Governor's educator of the Year award hello McMahon Clan how are we doing over there doing well good good numbers over there Mrs McMahon has had her heart set on teaching since she was a little girl playing with her giant chalkboard she would invite neighborhood friends play the teacher make up test and even correct papers her formal career began in Philadelphia where she taught fifth grade to 35 students after one year in Philadelphia she took a second grade position in Morristown New Jersey for seven years here is where her leadership qualities were fostered noticed and promoted as the quote helping teacher Mrs McMahon also completed her Masters during this time Mrs McMahon has now been in Warren Township for 11 years teaching various Elementary grades her classroom has that palpable magic that is difficult to truly identify and impossible to teach her students are excited to come in each morning I see it thrive in her presence make progress each year and then return to visit complete with hugs a year later Mrs McMahon's skills are many but a standout quality is a safety that she creates in her class for all types of Learners to thrive take risks and push themselves beyond their comfort zones she's masterful and consistent with holding children accountable to the very high bar that she sets as a classroom teacher she employs a style that is engaging thought-provoking and very inclusive of her students her lessons most often include two-way dialogue she learns with her students and outside of the classroom she contributes in so many ways she's a resource to many a friend a confidant and a leader she participates in schoolwide functions contributes to committee work and helps to set Direction in so many areas within the school her colleagues listen to her when she speaks her care for her students and their progress Knows No Boundaries she creates and maintains excellent relationships and often helps them to better parent their own sorry she maintains excellent relationships with her with parents and often helps them become better parents as a result she's by all measures an outstanding educator it is clear that her little self would be extremely proud of her current self with the many accomplishments that she has and had she she's had in her illustrious career most notably this far the not horb Community is very lucky to have Mrs McMahon on staff and we are also so very proud of you congratulations Mrs MCM Andrew Lincoln that was a nice touch right there boys well done Mrs provado uh could not be here with us tonight but I am going to very proudly read what I prepared uh to support Mrs pado she is this year's Mount hb's educational services provider uh award recipient Mrs P's teaching career began in South Brunswick as a middle school English teacher from there she's been in special education for 12 years she's a Bachelor of Arts in Lit Literature Communications and a MERS of Education in English education with the past 11 years Mrs pado has provided one-on-one support to special education students in Warren Township this has included the lldd and ABA settings and she's currently in her sixth year as a onetoone pair professional in our preschool disabled program Mrs pado possesses innate qualities that continue to allow her to be anything to any student that she comes in contact with this simple fact has allowed her to be tremendously successful with our most challenging groupings of children over the years whether working with very young autistic children differently abled students in an elementary resource room or our very diverse preschool population she's masterful with her technique technique approach care concern and understanding with each child having been in the proverbial thick of it with Mrs and a few of our children even in crisis she is never anything less than calm and thoughtful and always thinks about safety and forward progress her mindset is one of growth optimism and hope even when sometimes the data doesn't suggest that progress has or will be made her colleagues love her are inspired by her and desperately want to work with her years ago her colleagues elevated her to The Unofficial head parah position with this role she advocates for all of her par professional colleagues and in this role Mrs pado is never anything less than a total Class Act even when issues may bring tension she's thoughtful honest direct and takes part in the creation of a solution knowing that Mrs pado is a member of a classroom brings everyone a great sense of calm any job or suggestion is given to Mrs pado it is guaranteed to be done both to the best of her ability but also in an absolutely top-notch fashion all Mrs pado knows is above and beyond with her own effort and the quality of her product the mount horb Community is extremely lucky to have Mrs pado on staff and we are all very proud of her I hope you're watching at home Mrs pado congratulations right Celeste I would like to introduce Mrs Celeste ustri as Central School's Governor's educator of the year not unlike other High Caliber teachers Mrs possesses a refined and intentional pedagogy a professional demeanor and the earned respect of her students families colleagues and supervisors what sets Mrs austri apart however is her dedication to go the extra mile for her students and her community Mrs Ash's first priority is always to develop relationships with with each individual student she comes in contact with she gets to know her students and their families and plans lessons around their specific interests and motivations instead of recycling lessons each year she regularly finds new ways for students to practice the application of skills based on student Choice third fourth and fifth grade students who have routinely found School hard are bolstered through leadership opportunities teaching younger students and representing Central in the community this year Mrs austri students created a zoo they work together to conduct research transform their classroom and host visitors outside of School Mrs austri attends student recital sporting events and other proud moments her students participate in she values the social and emotional security of each student as much as the academic achievement she's often the first person to volunteer for committee work family nights or PTO events outside of school hours despite teaching students in intermediate grades when she heard there was an was a need for additional extracurricular activities for our youngest students she developed a new after school club catered to these Learners she does this while also tirelessly pursuing her own professional growth always after the next certification that she might use to benefit her students Educators who earn this honor are awarded with a monetary gift to use in their classro while recipients are always thoughtful about how to use it Mrs asrey went above and beyond she thought about what might benefit all students she used her money to research and create Lego carts that the entire school could share because she believes that the Val she she believes and values that the building of community is a Cornerstone for learning her commitment to her students and broader School Community is unparalleled her Innovative teaching methods commitment to professional development and active participation in community events Inspire and encourage those around her most importantly each of her students know without exception that they are loved congratulations Celeste all right Fran I got to make sure I can see you and the girls all right Mrs Franchesca frzone is Central School's recipient of the educational services professional of the Year honor as an instructional coach Mrs frzone works with students teachers and administrators to support and guide on all things instruction prior to serving as an instructional specialist she had emerged as a teacher leader developing Innovative and captivating lessons and inspiring her students to love learning in her current role her job description is endless she dedicates herself to mentoring new staff acquainting them with curriculum Frameworks and educational resources serving as a Lifeline for first year teachers navigating the challenges of their early careers seasoned Educators often call on Mrs frison as a brainstorming partner when faced with a new challenge she collects and curates resources both proactively and in response to specific requests often times the meeting she attends takes take place after or before school hours she serves on a variety of committees she's an integral part of inrs and takes a leadership role on the seal committee she's been a driving force this year behind the Capstone experience the ELA program pilot and supporting a community of belonging as Central Saw nearly half of its student population change as a result of rezoning always seeking additional knowledge Mrs frizon continues her own professional development too she meets regularly with Consultants attends workshops and stays up to date on current research afterward she shares her knowledge with colleagues creating Warren Academy courses around topics in classroom management technology and subject specific pedagogies above all she's flexible responsive and solution oriented she's often the first person called when something goes arai in real time whether it be a challenge with devices or software she troubleshoots and Taps into resources until a resolution is found even when what is being asked is outside of her area of expertise or even her job description just this morning she became the solver of Technology glitches during njsla Fran is approachable and dependable she has earned the trust of her peers who feel comfortable asking her for support and guidance while much of the work Mrs fron does is behind the scenes the impact is felt by all in our school Community congratulations Fran alt is proud to recognize Mrs Tara lento as our recipient of the governor's educator of the Year this school year marks Mrs Leno's 18th year of serving children in Warren Township alone as a special education teacher she began her career working in Woodland School and soon found her home at alt where she has served as a resource room teacher for many many years Mrs lento is known throughout the building as the Upper Elementary expert for developing accommodations and modifications for students with a wide array of learning needs she is the definition of a team player consistently offering her time expertise or access to her keenly organized binders containing a wide array of carefully crafted learning tools and assessments that she's developed over the years Mrs Leno's love for her students is the driving force behind her success she works TIR tirelessly to understand and appreciate the uniqueness of each child this is one reason why she was nominated by a record number of colleagues and parents this year the nominations captured her Talent as a quote master of differentiation with the perfect balance of firmness and compassion when she works with her students she's been able to transform our most reluctant Learners into students who seek to work with her a parent noted how Mrs lento Works tirelessly to make learning fun for the class and offered a prime example of her strategic expertise this parent noted how Mrs lento harnessed the competitive nature of her son and used it to make math a game to his interest this is one example of countless ways that she learns about her individual students and uses her knowledge to engage motivate and Inspire them as lifelong Learners Tara lento is an exemplary educator who puts children above her own personal well-being and has demonstrated devotion like no other she has faced significant personal challenges but never stopped thinking about the needs of her students she has the mindset of a fighter fueled with the determination to find a way for her students to succeed despite the most challenging needs or circumstances her passion to support her students is a force to be reckoned with and we are honored to recognize her as our Governor's educator of the Year congratulations alt is now honored to recognize Mr Oscar alaro as the governor's educational support professional of the Year our school was fortunate to begin working with Mr alaro in 2022 when he was seeking to build upon an already impressive resume of Life Experiences after serving our country as a United States Marine working in the financial industry in New York City and opening two successful Taekwondo Studios Mr Alfaro was eager to further his positive impact upon the World by working in schools and earning his teaching certificate with his unique skills and attributes Mr Alfaro was quickly moved from a broad professional paraprofessional role serving all students to a role in which his heart and dedication support our students with emotional regulation impairments in this role Mr alaro served as a Dependable member of a team where he was consistently ready to take Direction and maintain a standard of respect for these students in need of love and support almost instantly Mr alaro made a profound impact upon our entire School Community he is the epitome of humility and all that he does and serves as a model of patience care and warmth one of his nominations noted how Mr alaro is is the definition of an educational support professional describing how he remains positive in very difficult situations and helps to maintain an effective learning environment within the classroom his support of Education extends well beyond the classroom as well Mr alaro respon to Medical emergencies on the school's medical emergency response team as well as the building prices team but one of his most direct impacts upon our school Community is his work after school hours as the adviser of a taekwan dove club for children of all ages and abilities while this club naturally centers on focus and self-discipline Mr Al Faro also works to modify the program for students with significant special needs he has created an enrichment opportunity that is exe an Exemplar of acceptance and belonging for all students as stated earlier it is an honor to recognize Mr alaro for the Governor's educational support professional of the year we are truly honored that our students in our entire School Community have the privilege to work with him as an outstanding model of citizenship dedication and eagerness to serve others congratulations M good evening I'm going to apologize to you first that my voice should give out on uh Friday I chaperon the seventh and eighth grade music in the Parks trip with our class and I was a little too zealous in expressing my joy at riding roller coasters which resulted in this so here we go it is my honor tonight to present to you the war Middle School educator of the Year O'Brien specken Mr specken has been a member of the Warren Middle School family for over 18 years although originally a math teacher it was through grade seven science that she distinguished herself as a master teacher her regular classroom instruction provides our students with engaging Dynamic lessons that Empower students to be curious while learning the foundations of her science she is highly skilled at applying her expertise to help students understand complex ideas in everyday ways in addition to her instructional practice Mrs beckin is the grade seven team leader in this role she serves as the voice of as a voice and energy of a dynamic group of professionals while reserved with her comments when she speaks the team listens at the core of her leadership is a vision for creating a positive School environment for all our students very much look forward to Mrs Speck's class as she meets them wherever they are and finds ways to stoke their interest step into her classroom on any given day and you'll find students huddled together over microscopes and feature dishes exploring and asking questions of one another for her part Mrs specken guides students by creating Rich experiences that invite students to apply their knowledge and discover Mrs Beck's compassion comes from her deep love and Devotion to her family she's a proud mother of five children who along with her husband Kevin are the center of her experience her empathetic approach to student development is a quality that is greatly appreciated by our parents and students alike patience and understanding are an active part of her classroom culture Mrs specken is a model teacher who is exemplary in her professionalism and her Humanity please help me congratulate Mr spe Mrs moon is a consumate professional who has served Warren Middle School in a variety of ways during her eight years with us we first came to know Mrs Moon as a substitute teacher while her two sons were still in elementary school she distinguished herself as highly reliable and quickly became the substitute preference this led to both short and long-term positions as Mrs moon always made herself available to step in when needed the opportunity presented itself for a par professional position Mrs moon was our logical Choice even though it deprived of us of a highly reliable sub over the last four years Mrs Moon Mrs Moon's flexibility calm demeanor and patience has given her students the opportunity to find their way back to their educational Focus as as they work through areas of challenge Mrs moon is understanding and kind and serves as a valuable resource for students as a devoted mother of two young men she shares this nurturing supportive approach with her WMS students along with the ability to proactively address student issues and provide the need of support finally Mrs moon is a highly reliable colleague who contributes to our school community and culture in many ways she serves as a resource for other par professionals as well as members of our child study team we are proud that Mrs moon is a member of our Warren Middle School family and are pleased to award her the educational services professional of the year uh we have one additional recognition that is outside the governor's educator of the Year tonight it is my honor to share with you two awards for Dr Simone Miller for those who did not know Dr Miller she is sixth grade science teacher at Warren middle school has been part of our district for 18 years she's also the proud mother of two adult daughters and a wonderful person to know walk into Dr Miller's classroom anytime and you will find her working side by side with students her exemplary practices guide students to explore the natural world around them and understand its workings through scientific explanations her practical approach to science empowers students to analyze the importance of the sun moon stars and atmosphere on our planet Dr Miller while patient is also demanding she equip equips her students with tools and vocabulary to describe and Define their environments while becoming Young Scholars thus I am happy to share with you that earlier this year Dr Miller was recognized by the National Association of geoscience teachers as an outstanding earth science teacher for the state of New Jersey this recognition goes to Any teacher who covers a significant amount of earth science content with their students Dr Miller is one of 10 teachers to be recognized nationally in addition Dr Miller is a state finalist for the Presidential Award of Excellence in Mathematics and Science teaching the pem St is the highest honor bestowed by the United States government government through the White House it is specifically for K12 science technology engineering and Math teachers to recognize those who both have a deep content knowledge of the subjects while they teach and the ability to motivate students and engage students to be successful in those areas Dr Miller is one of three finalists representing the state of New Jersey please join me in congratulating Dr Simone Miller for both of these professionals acheve thank you I'd like to invite all the recipients their families and the administrators to have pictures taken we have a backdrop over here so we're going to pause the the meeting for a few minutes here so you can all do that okay have Bre Bre to B that'll always be e e e for here for that hell look keep some so I'm gonna summon my board members back please get back to work so a big thank you to the all of the staff and teachers that were recognized this evening um I think it's apparent that we are very blessed with sarly fabulous teaching staff we're very grateful for them moving on there is nothing on discussion for the C so we're going to committee reports curriculum and Technology committee does not have a report out this evening so moving from there to finance operations and security um the finance Operations Security committee met Wednesday May 1st with all members present although it was a somewhat lengthy meeting the uh content of the meeting really was just a detailed look at the project lists for the upcoming approval of the five-year new five-year Capital plan for board members you can take a look at the minutes for what that discussion looked like that discussion is ongoing um it is the hope the committee its next finance committee meeting will be able to um arrive at a final um approval to present something to the full board um in addition to the review of The Five-Year Capital Improvement plan the um committee also um approved the presentation of the contract appearing tonight is B eight for the science labs um and that is all moving on from there to the Personnel negotiations and communication committee Miss Kell yes the Personnel negotiation Communications committee met on April 29th we reviewed the salary recommendations for non-aligned staff members which is on the agenda for public tonight and at the March 18th Board of Education meeting this committee had been tasked by the full board with reviewing the district's opt out procedures and to report back to the full board with any conclusions and recommendations during our April 29th committee meeting we discussed the current policy and procedures or being excused from certain classroom instructions the relevant policy is policy 5250 excusal from a classer program which is consistent with state law our related procedures to that emphasize the importance of teacher parent communication and parent understand understanding of the content being taught at the middle school parents are advised by Health teachers on back to school night what is covered and when in the pr they encourage parents to email them for additional information or any questions they may have if the parents choose to opt their student out they email Mr V with that request at the elementary level Family Life content is delivered in a video torment parents and Guardians are advised in advance of the video and given the option to preview if parents choose to opt their student out of watching the video they email the school princip in addition to the above information shared with parents and Guardians by teachers the summer registration form in Genesis provides parents a summary of all topics addressed in each grade level's Health curriculum a link to the board approved curriculum documents and information about how to proceed if parents have questions or wish to have their child excused the committee Mr Weinstein Mrs fbom and myself discussed the above procedures what I just and considered whether any improvements can be made overall the committee feels the current op out procedures work well parents are taking advantage of the option to review content so we feel they are effectively being made aware of any sensitive topics we feel it is important to rely on teachers to make parents feel comfortable with the topics being T parents have the right to choose for their child if they don't want their student included in the lesson and the process is simple requiring an email to the principal separate from the the district's Health curriculum we are required to provide Child Abuse Prevention programming to children in kindergarten and grade as discussed at the March 18th board meeting the typical Advanced notification about that program did not go out to parents at several classes at M School the Administration has addressed this issue internally and with the external provider in addition to the regular notifications about this program beginning next year notice will be provided in the summer registration process as well we believe this redundancy will further enhance parents access to information about critical topics like this thank you Miss Keller and there is no report out on the ad hoc strategic planning committee so we will move now to the first opportunity for public commentary this is the first of two opportunities for public commentary I ask that anyone interested in addressing the board please raise their hand or use the raise your hand feature on Zoom each speaker is asked to limit their comments to 3 minutes please begin your comments by stating your name and address and by directing your comments to the presiding officer that please know that the Board of Education welcomes and encourages input from the Public Public commentary is intended as an opportunity for the board to receive such input but is not intended as a Q&A session following public commentary if appropriate the presiding officer or the superintendent May provide some response with this first opportunity we ask that your comments be limited to items that appear on tonight's agenda there will be a second comment opportunity for all other comments later in the med so at this time look to our audience does anyone in the audience wish to speak yes please hi Nancy Andrews the president of the Warren Township Education Association I just wanted to take this opportunity to congratulate all of our recipients of the governor's education of the Year Awards they are excellent examples of what exemplary education looks like the WTA is proud to have these men and women represent us so congratulations on your well-earned recognition thank you thank you miss Andrew for your comment anyone else in the audience seeing none is there anyone in our Zoom audience that would like to be heard at this public commentator seeing no one do I have a motion to close motion to close second all in favor I opposed abstain this first opportunity for public commentary has now closed Dr mingle do you have any items that you'd like to draw attention to under it report consideration I do thank you uh first under the reorg agenda substitute pay was approved and I just want to mention for the members of the public that for the last four or five years or so we've been uh we changed from a only a periodic review of our substitute pay to an annual review and as a result our substitute pay is highly competitive for the area and if you know people who are substitute teaching working as substitute nurses or as par Professionals in other places we would love to have them join us here in Warren and uh we we try to take care of our substitutes because it's really important that we have the highest quality men and women in those positions and so I just wanted to point out that that's on that that was on the agenda the board already approved that as part of the reorg as a way of making sure that our substitutes feel valued as they are I also wanted to highlight item B8 which Mrs Zan mentioned earlier in the finance report out that's the middle school science lab at HVAC upgrades just want to thank the finance committee Mr Hegel as school business administrator and everybody who's worked done this this is the final set of projects tied to the most recent referendum this is updating all of the science labs at the middle school which were original to the building 52 years ago and are in due need of this upgrade and it's it's really nice to have that project moving forward as a result of several years of hard work by a lot of people and then finally it's it's hard to tell just by looking at the agenda but this meeting is the most challenging meeting of the Year from a an agenda development standpoint because it is one all 400 or so of our employees are reappointed or appointed for the next year and so I want to thank Katherine Gorski who's went through her first meeting as human resources coordinator in a year where there was also a new wtea contract which made making sure all the salaries were right extra challenging and important uh she was supported by a lot of people including Mr Hegel and the entire business staff and and many others but uh great job it's a lot of work to pull together for this agenda especially we only had two weeks to between meetings so thank you everybody and we're happy to have everybody on the agenda tonight for approval thank you Dr mingle does any member of the board have any item or board consideration that they wish to pull for a separate Vote or discuss okay seeing none I do believe we have an addition uh we have an additional item a for resolve at the Board of Education affirms the recommendation of the superintendent and the special board subcommittee regarding student 62 2203 that's of a section so motion to approve items for board consideration A1 through A4 B1 through B9 and C1 through c23 second right I'll call the role on the consent agenda Mr Desai yes M Keller yes yes Mr wetta yes Mr Otto yes Mr Tor yes Mr Valentino yes Mr Weinstein yes Mrs Z yes thank you okay there is no unfinished business for this evening on new business we have the njsba delegate assembly and for that I defer to our representative to the assembly I think I'm the alternate but I will be the representative now um we are going to figure out attendance for Saturday which is when it is uh to be sure that we have someone there and then we report back during the next board Mee okay um just uh in furtherance the copies of the 14 resolutions that are on the agenda for the um delegate assembly for Saturday will provided to the um board members in advance does any board member have any comment with regard to any of the 14 resolutions okay so absent any comment then um the direction to the delegate would be to vote in accordance with the recommendations of the New Jersey school boards Association is everyone comfortable okay does anyone have anything else they'd like to say with regard to the delegate assembly okay see none this is now the second opportunity for public commentary and it is open to any topic you wish to raise to the board's attention again I ask that you raise your hand or use the raise your hand feature on Zoom remember that comments are limited to 3 minutes and please state your name and address before beginning looking first to the room and seeing nobody now going to zoom is there anyone in our Zoom audience that would like to address the board last chance all right see nobody do I have a motion to close second opportunity there a second on motion all in favor all opposed abstain okay do I have a motion to the Jour motion second all in favor I opposed abstain the board is adour thank you