say e e evening good evening one and all once again welcome to the well Council Board of Education regular board meeting tonight uh I'll be sitting in the of president who is getting a much needed rest so bear with me as we walk through this agenda to get us completed and get us on to the next phase of our journey public notice of this meeting was given to all board members and Associates and a notice stated January 5th 20124 adequate and electronic notice of this public meeting has been provided specifying the time place and manner in which these meetings is being conducted it was advertized in the C of V posted in all schools the administration office the municipal building the library the Bud D Center Edward acres elmtown and the winow Township Post Office mission statement for the W counc School reads as follows the mission of the winow Township School District a large diverse and growing Community is to educate all students to become independent lifelong Learners critical thinkers caring and confident members of their Community The District in partnership with the community and in the climate of cooperation and mutal respect will provide an academic environment which values excellence and diversity encourage students to strive for personal excellence and assist them in acquiring the knowledge skills and attitude necessary to contribute positivity to a rapid changing World roll call mrq President M dread here miss Maron present Miss pres M Peterson present Mr Shaw present M [Music] Thomas Mr Thomas pres and Miss K she will be abent thank you we have a for alleg FL flag [Music] stes ask you District go District go is achievement continue to implement best practices for delivering instruction to students utilizing all available and appropriate instructional models this shall include develop plans to increase the graduation rate decrease chronic tax increase in benchmark scores in fourth grade ELA end of gear accountability for All District staff and stakeholders two increase parent caregiver engagement in education provide opportunities for two-day communic two-way communication with District stakeholders implement the culture climate survey three Market our strength and achievement to all stakeholders to increase capacity for greater parent caregiver and Community Support by working with commun um Communications consortiums continue with our public Rel ation and marketing plan continue to work with the various advisory committees in the district focus on refining our communication methods and messages to better Market our school district thank you Mr ask I can people there be any awards or presentations there will be no Awards or presentations this evening Mr Vice President thanks a lot there superintendent Miss Bo will there be any correspondence at this time yes Madam oh excuse yes Mr Vice President we do have one piece of Correspondence uh it came in on if is from the New Jersey school boards Association it's dated March 12 2024 and it reads in part dear Joe Thomas congratulations you have satisfied all the requirements for the new board member boardsmy Jersey School Board Association board member Academy those requirements include earn a minimum of 10 credits through attendance at Academy sessions the New Jersey school board associational and annual workshop and a variety of County programs the new board member award recognizes professional development in areas critical to effective School Board governance we recommend you for your we commend you for your commitment to your school district and for dedicating substantial time and effort to improve your skills and knowledge concludes it is my honor to congratulate you on your achievement and to thank you for your dedication and commitment to the students of your community be well and be safe sincerely Timothy Corell Ed do executive director and C thank you there m truly grateful we're going to move along to our minutes I will now request a motion to approve the following meeting minutes of the Board of Education regular meeting Wednesday February 28 2024 and open and close session with their motion Peter SIM for approval of the minutes for the Clos and open session on February the 28th 2024 Miss Martin second move by Mrs Peterson second by Miss Martin comment a question roll call Mr asq yes Miss Dron abstain Miss Martin abstain Miss neis yes Miss Peterson yes Mr Shaw yes Miss Thomas yes Mr Thomas yes and the motion is carried thank you Miss Paul I will now proceed to the board committee report is our student rep here I will start with our athletic committee do I have a report from the athletic committee yes we do Mr Thomas winning athletic updates the new ballot National has sophomore Olivia aaro closing out her indoor season with a huge personal record running 57.4 n excuse me record alert on day two of the New Balance Nationals the Winslow girls track team broke the existing School record in the Sprint Med relay running 4 minutes and 16 seconds congratulations ladies for putting it all out there great day number one at the new bance indoor Nationals Jasmine placed fourth in the Middle School 400 running 58.4 Mariah placed fifth in the same race both running 58.6 CC placed fourth in the Freshman 400 running 57.2 Tristan ran a season best 1 minute and 1 second Sky ran 59.6 great job ladies super sophomore Messiah Bronner on being selected to the South Jersey track let me just give theti Association I believe all all South Jersey team as the multi-event performer of the year uh for the 55 hurdles at 8 seconds 8.4 8.45 seconds the long jump at 19 uh foot three um what's triple jump triple jump okay uh 39 foot3 and the high jump at 5 foot4 um what a great meet of Champions the wiso girls track team out on an amazing show freshman siia Robinson placed seventh in the 400 Brooklyn Roberts plac fifth in the shop foot with a major personal record of 39 three and one of the most versatile athletes in the state Messiah Broner placed in all of her individual events Mr I play second in the long and triple jump and third in the high jump the 4x4 team of Sky Sean and Simone Olivia o and S Dean and siah Robinson play second congratulations Jeremiah Jones uh uh for placing eth in the state championship wins oh seven-year-old for place eth at the State Championship uh Winslow young wrestling thank you so much there Mr Char any questions or comments for that okay moving right on let will there be a report from my education committee no report at this time thank you m p uh next on will there be a report from our operations committee none this time thank thank you so much m r moving right along will there be a report from our marketing committee none this time our next meeting is next Wednesday at 6m thank you so much will there be a report from our policy committee this time next will there be a report for my cic yes okay good evening everyone good L Township School District citizens advisory committee our meeting was from March the 7th 2024 beginning at 7:05 the attendance was F Cooks W GL Meg Hogan Diane McKenzie chrisy Marcy thel Greg W abson were um Rose Mary Hoffman General from o representing the Board of Education was Rita Martin a brief discussion was held about the cac's role and how we can reach more parents for their input suggestions included more social media media exposure with pictures on the district website members attending events members of op school also miss Martin suggested ways to gain accessibility to the buildings lenty discussion on technology in the schools specifically Chromebook availability and making Chromebooks available to all students for use at home in school during the 2024 25 school year assigning technology to students would not only allow students to proper to the proper resources for schoolwork but will also bridge the gap with parents parents without home computers will be able to access the parent portal and contact teachers as well as many other aspects of their child's learning experience this is encouraged this encourage a more parental engagement it was suggested that the money that money be put in the budget each year to purchase Chromebooks so that students of all grade levels eventually will have one it is suggested that we to start with the middle school and high school as the first schools to receive them for the next fall year parent engagement ideas were discussed including following the following having the parents required to sign up for the parent portal at the beginning of each school year and proof an update our it to make mobile optimized it is extremely hard for parents in the community to find information from mobile devices and evidence shows that most individuals search on mobile devices in this current age maintain update on all websites main pages and school Pages update school district and School Facebook update district and School Facebook pages regularly professional days were discussed as well specifically the need for all staff to be included in areas that will improve safety and other relevant topics secretarial and security officers to be included in these professional days official recommendations by the CAC proposed cell phone policy was discussed and the CAC approved making a recommendation to the board to table the second reading and send the proposed policy back to the policy committee to consider and make revisions as necessary R agreed Miss Martin agreed to make a motion at the March 13th for the Education meeting to table the the second reading she also agreed to send a copy of our recommendation to the board members so that they would have it prior to the meeting a second recommendation was approved by the CAC the CAC is recommending at this meeting that the all the data from the climate survey be distributed to the public the CAC further recommends that the action plans for the district in each building that were mentioned by Dr poti based off of the survey results be made available to the public as well so they can see the action steps occurring and the progress being made other topics that we discussed was paging system at the high school when down creates a safety hazard and all repairs should be done as quickly as possible ban room door is missing a door which poses safety concerns during lock down and should be fixed quickly human trafficking education as a possible topic for the school to address with students have the district take full advantage of the many free resources offered in our Township by nonprofit groups to help our students and many need in the many needs in many needed areas promote these resources on our website use the district website to introduce and promote these organizations this would enable the district to expand its resources at no cost to them our meeting adjourned was on was adjourned at 9:27 p.m. and I would like to read the last two things IID like to read is the recommendations that the citizens advisory committee has tonight um that was approved by all members pres the citizens advisory committee is recommending at this meeting the aggregated collected data from the climate survey be distributed to the public the CAC further recommends that the action plan for the district and each building that were mentioned by Dr cque based off of the survey results be made available to the public as well so they can see the action steps occurring and the progress being made the second recommendation by the CAC based on valid concerns by the parents and students on the proposed changes to the district cell phone policy make on the last Board of Education meeting the citizens advisory committee is recommending that the board members table the second reading on the policy change and send the proposed policy change back to the policy committee for further reconsideration and revision as necessary the proposed policy does not allow for teachers to have students use their cell phones during their classes for instructional purposes it doesn't allow students to use their cell phones at lunch to check for messages to them from work home or their coaches or teachers also the two day out of school suspension on the first infraction needs to be reconsidered and that concludes the CAC minutes from our meeting thank you thank you so much any question comment vice president yes um the um CSA has made a recommendation the CAC has made a recommendation and we're asking if we could table uh the recommendation prior to public comment uh when we get to that portion which I believe is next then you can make a recommendation to make a motion to to okay thank you so much all right so right now we're at the superintendent report um ask motion to approve the superintendent report and his recommendations that starts in the middle of page two and goes to the bottom of page six is there a motion Peters for approv superintendent report which includes recommendations for action item A and B number under a one 1 through 29 and then B found on page 2 through6 second Miss Martin move by Miss Peters second by m Martin comments question question does that include tabling uh with the cac's recommendation hasn't been made yet where is that superintend report yes I'm number one okay so you have a a motion and a second to approve the superintendence report um and there was a question asked does it does this include the adoption of the um item number two which is the second reading of policy 5516 use of electronic devices and yes it does because no one's made a motion otherwise too late no and so at this time I'd like to make a motion that we table page two number 10 a second so there's a motion to table A2 which is a cell phone policy electronic device policy and a second a motion to table by Robert truls of order takes priority over other motions it's also not subject to debate um under Robert's Rules of Order which um is something that I've looked at in the past so there would be a roll call on um a motion before we move the entire superintendent's report on the motion and the second to table it two on the on the proposed policy it does require five affirmative votes to be tabled a 44 means it does not there's eight people here tonight so 44 means it is not tabled and then we'll proceed um under the regular agenda if unsuccessful if successful then it is tabled and we move forward without that item so if there's a motion and second Mrs Bole it would be appropriate to to call take a roll call on item uh superintendent report A2 which is the policy under consideration at that location Mr ASU no M dreaden no Miss Martin yes Miss Peterson no Mr sha um yes Miss me yes Miss Thomas no Mr Thomas yes so a four yes Mr and a four no the motion to table does not carry meaning it's included in the motion and second to approve and I'd like to make a motion to Mo public comments well that the ability to control the agenda move the agenda would be appropriate to go to the um individual who is chairing the meeting who has the ability to move the agenda uh and move agenda items along that is the the public portion is on P 13 so we'd be moving it up to this point in the middle of a motion in a second which is highly unusual but I I guess you could do it um it it it would be up to you Mr Thomas but you may want to pull your board to see if they would be in agreement yes who who's in agreement with uh changing the public comments uh to be moved up into a right now so you making a motion no I'm not making a motion entertain a motion for um changing the order of the day yes entertain I'm asking for motion to change the order of the day to change the order of the I have a first by I have a motion by m and I have a second by m Martin roll call Mr asku no Miss dreaden no Miss Martin yes Miss nandz yes Miss Peterson yes Mr Shaw yes Miss Thomas no and Mr Thomas no oh I got my check marks messed up so I'm going to need your help I got four four yeah so it doesn't carry so it just goes into the same order yes all right let's move right along we're moving along board members I'm at the top of page seven asking for a motion to approve the business administration reports was a motion let's go back to that on the superintendent report that um Mr Thomas respectfully uh starts at the middle of page two and ends at the end of page oh no do not we have a motion in the second any comments or question roll call Mr as yes M dreaden yes M Mar yes exception of page two a two and your vote on that M my vote on that is no okay thank You' yes n yes but also accepting item a can your vote on that thank you Miss Peterson yes Mr Shaw yes with the exception of item number a uh number two that's a no M Tom yes and Mr con yes with the exception of item 82 my vote on so the superintendent report um is and the items listed therein are all approved the vote um on item A2 is 4 to4 which means that does is not approved moving along board members I'm at the top of page seven asking for a motion to approve the Min administrative reports and rectifications beginning at the top of page seven and go to the bottom of page 10 is there a motion to move for approval of the business administrator board secretary report and recommendations found on page 1 through 18 item A and B second Miss Martin move has been made by Miss Peterson and second by Miss Martin comments questions roll call Mr as yes Miss Shon yes Miss Martin yes Miss meand yes Miss Peterson yes Mr Shaw yes M Thomas yes and Mr Thomas thank you moving along Thomas vote Yes yes thank you motion is carried okay moving along I just have a change for the Personnel report uh under a three resonations approve the following resonation of for the 2023 2024 school year we're looking to delete that okay so I'm at the top of page 11 asking for a motion to approve the personnal report and recommendation begins at the top of page 11 and goes to the middle of page 12 is there a motion Peters moves for approval of the superintendent person personel report the superintendent's recommendations approval of the power action item 1 through two 4 through six down on page 11 through 12 second Miss Martin we got a we got a motion by Miss Peterson we got a second by Miss Martin roll call Mr ASU yes Miss dread yes Miss Martin yes Miss neis yes Miss Peterson yes Mr Shaw yes Miss Thomas and Mr Thomas yes motion has carried all right folks we go to addend and that's that pink sheet that we have that's the agend we got three different topics on the agendum the first one will be the superintend cour uh I am asking for a motion to approve the agenda on page one starting with the superintendent report and going to the middle of that page one pet for approval superintendent report which requires recommendations for approval for Action items item a one and two second M Martin Miss Peterson gave the move made motion to accept the report I have a second by Miss Martin comments and questions roll call Mr ask yes Miss Dre yes Miss Martin yes Miss neand yes Merson yes with accolades to um the village of Camy County Mr Char yes Miss Tom yes and Mr Tom yes the motion has carried going on to that same pink copy asking for a motion to approve the agendum of the administrator report that start from at page one and goes all the way to the third to the middle of the Third p is there for appr secret report board secretary's recommendations for approval the following action 1 through found on page 1 through3 second Miss Martin I have a move by Miss Peterson and I have a second by Miss Martin comments and questions roll call Mr as yes M dreon yes M Martin yes Miss M yes Miss Peterson yes Mr Shaw yes Miss Thomas yes and Mr yes motion has carried we're still on that page three in the middle of Page Three we going down to the bottom of page three asking for a motion to approve the addend under the Personnel report Peterson move for approval of the personnel's report superintendent's recommendation of approval for the following action items 1 on page second Martin move by Miss Peterson second by Miss Martin comments and questions roll call Mr Askin yes M yes Miss Mar yes Miss yes Miss Peterson yes M yes Thomas yes and Mr Thomas yes moving along the page 12 open public records act Miss fo are there any yes Mr Thomas period of January 23rd 2024 and March 7 we received and responded to two one was Melanie Bernie from the Philadelphia empir she requested the settlement between the winville countship school district and Matthew brosman and Michael delaro in the civil lawsuit against the district and former teacher okay Nicholas the second one came from Jim Walsh from The Courier Post settlements lawsuits against one slow District by mass and Michael and those were the two that we received respond thank you m just moving right along uh informational items any informational items for tonight Dr yes uh I have one information item uh Mr Thomas but before we move to the information item I just wanted to uh go back and mention uh that the board approved tonight on page six number 26 the preschool budget Workshop um that preschool program is of course for our three and four year olds here in winds Township School District um it's an excellent program we are able to service our three and four year olds here in the community um the registration process is now uh ongoing I'm encouraging all the parents who have a three and four year old by October 1st to get that registration done as soon as possible they only 15 students per class those classrooms fill up really fast um but it's an excellent program so we encouraging uh the parents to take advantage of that as soon as possible I would also like to acknowledge on the same page number 29 the acceptance of of a donation um of $1,000 from Mr Thomas for in support of number 28 the social emotional uh learning intral program at school six we also um also hopefully enhance School five we'll be looking at doing some things a little differently to help those young people uh outside of the classroom uh to do some things that will help develop those skills that are necessary uh for them to be successful so I just wanted to point those uh items out I have one informational item uh there is a need of a special meeting of the board to to approve the tenative budget uh for the 20242 school year um that approval must be submitted to the state by March 20th therefore I'm recommending to the board this evening that you consider holding the meeting on Tuesday March 19th at 6 or 6:30 whatever your is U so that we can meet that deadline and get that tenative budget approved does anyone have an objection for not meeting on Tuesday March 19th is that possible that we can all meet at what time you said at 64 6:30 whichever is convenient for the majority of the board questions comments on that uh no if no one has any objection then we that Dat 6 o' will advertise that as a special meeting 6 o' Tuesday yes any objection 63 60 whichever is convenient for you 6 or 6:30 is it 6:30 or 6:00 6:30 6:30 63 6:30 it is because it is very important that all board members are pres um Mr Thomas that concludes my information items for this even thank you so much Dr moving into Old business is there any old business that needs to be discuss um I actually had a question um I was in receipt of the minutes from the last Team Summit meeting um I was just curious if we have any details on how that event is going to run and what the purpose of the event uh that's that's being ched by Miss Kelly Thomas Kelly Thomas do you want to answer questions that may have question format I understand that students participating their organizing so students at the middle school sth and eth grade will participate in panel discussions there will be four panel discussions um it is stud um we have on middle school that will be working with the students to create the panel discussions um the Youth Organization will be there to give information to the students and hopefully have them sign up to participate in program now open to middle school students or U Middle School grade and Mr Thomas do you mind I know it's not an official committee but I can read my minutes absolutely okay so the Team Summit uh committee met on March 6 at 12:30 in attendance Jo Thomas jul Peterson and Kelly Thomas the committee discussed youth organizations in community that are confirmed to table the Team Summit and other poal organizations that will be invited to Summit and those confirmed organizations are South County Library NAACP chapter girl students Mee in the summit panel as of today those dates have been confirmed Mr Shire is also Distributing flyers and information to students at the middle school to increase student participation students will be able to register to attend guidance counselor and that date of the Summit is April 20th 202 thank you Miss thas I also a part of the committee and that committee is doing some good things to impact our stud in our community especially at a young age and this commendable work all right any new business Thomas ail forward the Team Summit what is the time the team uh the time is 10 to 3 okay thank you yes any more questions turn all right we're going to close Old business we're going to go down to new business is there any new business questions comments concerns all right moving right along now we going go into public comment thank you uh Mr vice president before I begin I would like to say that having been at the last board meeting I know when we were at the auditorium at the high school there were comments made with respect to the board uh electronic device policy um that that policy was listed for second reading tonight and while I don't disuade ever disuade anyone from uh the opportunity to speak at a public meeting in accordance with our rules and regulations um that motion has failed so that policy did not take effect tonight and will not take effect tonight and any future action will be advertised placed on our agenda uh and be made available to the public was it didn't no table what was the vote on the doesn't pass need five votes to pass okay does not pass okay yeah absolutely 44 does not pass it needs five affirmative votes hear so you needed five votes to table it you needed five votes to pass it so what didn't occur through it being tabled occurred through the 44 vote that's why I said to Mrs Bo I lost track I had recorded nine votes and I know that's impossible because there's only eight people here so in my recollection I thought everybody's essentially voted the same way as they did during the um during the uh motion to table but there was a motion to move the superintendent report and four individuals said but no as to that item too so it does absolutely um require five votes I confirmed that wasn't playing on my phone I was confirming that through the legal research and through confirmation with one of my partner who both agree 100% that a 4 four means that it fails now you do not have to go through a first reading again because it did pass first reading but if it's relisted or modified it's modified you have to go through a first reading it's put back on the agenda in the same form um and then in that case it can be considered at the next meeting for second reading but not tonight so any questions on that are we clear I'm sorry if that wasn't clear but I thought I made that I thought I said that at the time I apologize so with that being said and clarified uh the wissow challenge Board of Education highly values the input of citizens in making important decisions that affect the children of our community we believe in the rights of citizens to observe board meetings to ensure that all of our citizens have the opportunity to attend uh board school board meetings and offer comment and to ensure that the board can conduct the important business of the district we ask that the speakers follow the guidelines for making public comment the school board uh secretary will recognize those individuals in the audience who wish to make comments we would ask that you kindly respect the following procedures one all members of the public attending school board meetings must treat each other and the board with respect two please State your full name and your town of residence three please limit your comments to four minutes four submit your questions to the Board of Education with your name address and telephone number where you can be contacted your questions uh will be answered within a reasonable time frame the event we're unable to do so tonight and lastly individuals offering citizen comment are not permitted to make personal attacks on any District employee board member other testify or other member of the public thank you Mr vice president have I move that we open our meeting to public comments second Miss Martin we got a move by Miss Peterson we got a second by Miss Martin take a voice V all in favor Miss Wanda gold good evening once again my name is Wanda GL thank you yes um I just just three things and I'm going to make it real fast okay so I don't want any responses pleas this all right last week what last meeting that I came to I asked the board to please um give us as the public um your goals your actionable goals your measurable goals that you did that you're doing and for your goals for the district goals and the board education goals um so far I have not received a phone call nor email or anything to let me know what has been done what has been taking place and where we stand with any of those goals the next thing is is the cell phone policy I find I'm I'm I'm totally totally disappointed tonight that the board did not give it an opportunity to be tabled for the policy review board to go back and relook at the the policy I do appreciate that it wasn't second for tonight but I'm totally disappointed that it does not matter to you what the concerns are from our community in regards to that policy um and third in regards to the Chromebooks I went and visited a school today um Hamilton High School one walking into that school was a breath of fresh air versus walking into WIS Township High School second the opportunities that they offer in that school for it to be such a small District I am I am totally surprised that wiow Township don't offer those same things for us being one of the larger districts in Camden County so I would ask if any of the board members if you have a free time or opportunity to go visit some of the surrounding schools and see how they are up to date today with technology where wio Township is not and we're not providing that for our kids and our school district to be ready to move out from this school district into the world of digital so if you can all please take the opportunity to go visit some of the surrounding schools Williamstown Canen high and Canon which is a urban area has it and also Hamilton those schools are offering the technology of the movement for their kids to keep excelling for the future thank [Applause] you g apologize Jose that and then next uh so the New Jersey legislature aims to amend the Oprah open public records act um in the next coming weeks um possibly next week so these amendments will severely obstruct the Citizen's ability to obtain government and public records that would have been easily obtained prior to the changes of Oprah and with that being said so how does this board plan on responding uh when the changes of Oprah are enacted into law and specifically when it comes to maintaining openness and transparency as is expected in Democratic Democratic body and when it comes to processing and fulfilling those requests we follow the law so you're not going so even though they're going to make it harder now they're still going to there's this these folks up here when they're sworn in take a note they will follow the laws of the United States the laws of the state of New Jersey and I know that some have taken the position that the O walls will make it more difficult um for the public to obtain records um I think for the common citizen that's not completely accurate with all due respect um I think for those request that come in from businesses that are data mining to use our information um to solicit their own personal business I think to that extent it will have an impact I can tell you that the uh Board office does spend a considerable amount of time um all in favor of transparency I've not looked specifically at the bill now what it says but I have seen what both sides have said about that but it's not that they're going to do or not do it's they're going to follow what the law is because they have to um it there broad discretion to whoever is the record holder to just deny on the basis of and that there's no followup on it so that's just my only concern so right now there's no such thing as harassment so somebody could come in and the new like 100 times 100 times and and still can't say now and they're just and there are times that people do try to use it as a harassing device um frankly I'm in favor of of the way it works presently but we you know my opinion doesn't count and the school board um is secondary and is subject to the supremacy clause of the New Jersey Constitution which means that if they pass a law at the state level we must follow it here if we don't we can lose funding there's a lot of things that we can lose if we don't follow the law and get cited in audits that we receive so um this board as long as on the solicitor will follow the laws and if there's an objection which a lot of people have it's not law yet um I would suggest that you direct uh your attention to the state legislature and your local legislators who represent you and let them know as you very uh articul did tonight of your opposition to any change thank you you're welcome D Mar and I live as you guys probably already know I'm a current Junior at the high school today again I'm coming to you this week on S policy is a big thing to the school to the student body of the high school as you know technology is currently a part of our world yeah the the school district's first goal that you say at every meeting is talking about student achievement but yet we're suspending students for as simple as checking their time in the hallway or checking their messages from their parents or other people I agree that using our cell phone is wrong and there should be appropriate consequen consequences but why are we suspending and why can't we look at other consequences such as detention ISF or what about even Community surveys we must consider we must reconsider the proposed St policy stud show that suspensions are unproductive form of punishment our forces need to shift towards ensuring our pupils remain within the school premises with watering technology for their Advance since wio countship acknowledges its importance for college preparation and um yeah that's all I have for tonight thank you for your time good afternoon board members I hope your evening has found you well I'm Ezekiel TR Jr a 12th R high school student um I come this evening to address uh as stated from Miss B and Debbie Murphy about the cell phone policy as well as what M mentioned earli um the band room door um being absent firstly I would like to say that the suggested pH policy does not align with the best interest of our students suspension could should be considered to be Last Resort as research has demonstrated its ineffectiveness in addressing student Behavior it is crucial for us to prioritize having our students present on campus and embrace technology as it will greatly benefit our future in uh and address to the band in door I am representing the wi band as the drum line captain and um it is not only the band door but also a classroom that holds the orchestra concert band and marching band within it um the bandor has been um missing since the or the end of the winter break meaning the beginning of January filed multiple reports on it and since then we have heard back from our supervisors about the missing band door uh it is very important as our music department of band is one of the loudest and most disturbing to the classes within the hallway as well as our upcoming musical taking place next week uh it will also be a dressing room for the females so we would need to find some sort of replacement or figure out some sort of um for the dressing room as they have nowhere to change for the musical and there are multiple changes within the 2hour period that all I [Applause] have Madison Anderson my name my name is Madison Anderson I'm a junior at the W Township High School um I have Amendment proposal for the cell phone policy I have 373 signatures for the policy for the cell phones um this is all student representation on um you know the policy and how we feel on it um at the top it is written the student body of WS countship High School United as one voice would like to express our concerns with the unfair punishment being set forth by the new cell phone policy we the UND sign do not agree to punish the punishment of suspension from the school is just or Fair we need to be in school and our school records free of blemishes in order to ensure a best future and lifelong opportunities we hope that you embrace our technology as our future please support us by amending our proposed policy and reflect teachers discretion discretion with consequences starting with detention and maintaining suspension as our last resort I have a ton of signatures here I feel as if um we should be allowed to use our cell phones in the hallways in the um Courtyard and um you know like if coaches or teachers text us or if we need a ride home or something um the Chromebooks they're you know pretty beat up so cell phones in the classrooms for like educational use for teachers discre is very important and the bandor i in the musical and it's coming up the 21st in the 20 through the 23rd we're performing Beauty and the Beast everybody's welcome to join it is a very amazing production um yeah vandor very big problem so thank you you can bring me and then Sandy Anderson good evening board my name is Sandy Anderson I am a parent of uh two high school students at the high school I am following up my daughter I did sign up for time in case she ran out um I do actually also want to really touch case with you on the detrimental um new policy with suspensions in general as an option in our Township and in our district I implore you to educate yourself on the most recent findings on the um other opportunities there are to use that time to better help our students instead of having a detention a suspension and internal suspension These are times when we have our students who are at the most risk um of repeat offenders or making other poor choices this is when they have access to Behavioral Health Services um social workers um anyone who can help these students to go onto a different path or Road there is a student in our district who is currently served 45 days suspension um that to me is just absolutely awful we are we are literally shutting the door on his future regardless of what their offense is one rotten mistake should should not take away their education um there are other ways to reach these children at an earlier age even at our Elementry kids that are fighting and getting into problems put them in a detention with a therapist bring those parents in and help them to give those students the leadership skills they need early on and stop just throwing our students away with detentions it's it's it's enough's enough you guys really need to think about this and educate yourselves on other options thank you thank [Applause] you Marissa green um I'm R green I'm a sophomore here at L High School uh tonight I came out because of the crucial uh aspects of the school disciplinary policy um most of students here in W Town High School have been subjected to immediate suspension for not wanting to give up their phones for two validated reasons number one the school subjectively isn't responsible for losing any personal devices which is unfair and number two parents waste a whole month of phone bill money down the drain if s child gives up their phone we understand that we shouldn't be on our phones and is our responsibility to use them when we need it but we use it which we take responsibility for but the suspension for our cell phones it says a lot um I myself May 2023 have been suspended for 4 days for my cell phone which was fairly cruel um another thing that I'd like to point out is every time that a student gets suspended our absences are taken away um these days can be used for vacation a personal day mental health day any type of dat that you may need and those suspensions take away those days um um with this in mind I believe the district should be committed to implenting alternate disciplinary policies rather than focusing on thetive act instead of immediate suspension after refusal of giving up cell phone we should be able to have options of after school detention or I or in school suspension um so that way that students can reflect on their actions and receive additional support to address any underlying issues adding on to this this also gives us a chance still be counted in school instead of having that absence and as I'm aware of the teacher this was an option back in the day but I believe that this should be given back um with implenting these alternate punishments students can aim to be more engaged in education while addressing behavior issues effectively plus we can be more academically focused and engaged more within class instead of being punished for small inconvenience furthermore I think there should be open communication within the students parents and faculty to ensure that disciplinary actions are fair and transparent I urge all members of our school board to support these ideas in disciplinary policy if accepted we can create an environment where students can feel empowered to take responsibility for their actions and grow into responsible members of the society Ono can become stronger students stand up more we don't deserve these punishments we just need clarity thank you [Applause] R Hill because on February 8th my grandson was suspended for having a cell phone was so need to say can you pick me up after school um he's an honor student I've never had any prior to that um and we respected that he broke the rule he was suspended and he had a letter put in his file I spoke to the teacher to make sure there was no other problems in the classroom and I want to tell you boards that you need that if this policy is passed please make sure that the teachers are aware what the consequences are because I had the teacher tell me had I known what the consequences were I would not have sent him he's an exe exemp student he has a positive attitude toward learning in school he is courteous and respectful to the teacher and it was embarrassing from an ex employee from this district for teach you to tell me they were not aware what the consequences were my concern now is since this was uh they acted on it in February 8th I've asked can his we can't reverse that he was suspended however can his file be uh taken out of his file because he's an athlete who's looking to be recruited and I'm concerned what it's going to reflect on his in in his fil and no one the principal said to me I can't do anything I'm just following administrative orders but again please be clear with the staff that they know what the consequences you want the kids to know but make sure that they are aware because it's embarrassing when a teacher has to tell you that they were not aware of this of the consequences for this behavior and apologize thank [Applause] you deedie scan good evening