please stand for the flag salute I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the rep for stands one nation God indivisible with liy and justice for [Applause] all the New Jersey open public meetings law was enacted to ensure the right of the public to have advanced notice of and to attend the meeting of public bodies at which any business affecting their interest is discussed or acted upon in accordance with the provisions of this act the Cedar Grove board of education has caused notice of this meeting to be advertised by having the date time and place thereof posted on bulletin boards in the district published and or and or transmitted to the Veron Cedar Grove times and Star-Ledger newspapers filed with the Township Clerk and posted on the district's website can I have a roll call please Mr grandi here Mr marzulo here Mr pic here Mrs Keegan here Mrs Dora here good evening I hope everyone had a restful uh and enjoyable spring break despite the rainy weather uh I would like to take this time to thank our entire home and school School Community for their continued support and for working with the district during this process of leadership change as we enter this exciting new chapter we're faced with the opportunity to welcome a leader who will guide us into a future filled with endless possibilities and boundless potential the selection of a superintendent is not simply a decision of administrative significance but a declaration of our commitment to Excellence and our dedication to the success of every student under our care as we embark on this new chapter together it is essential to reflect on the importance of leadership in shaping the direction and success of our educational Community a superintendent possesses a unique blend of expertise passion and dedication to inspire and Empower others to reach their full potential it is a role that requires a strong Vision strategic planning and unwavering commitment to Excellence our new super attending comes to us with a wealth of experience a clear sense of purpose and a deep rooted belief in the transformative power of Education we are confident that he will lead our school district with compassion and courage to ensure that every student has the opportunity to thrive and succeed together as a United school Community we will embark on a journey of collaboration growth and and empowerment his guidance and Leadership will challenge us to think creatively creatively act with integrity and strive for continuous Improvement in all that we do okay we have one item on the agenda tonight and under Personnel I would like a a motion for number one don't move second um I'm gonna I'm going to read it before go ahead yes oh thanks you want everything I do I do uh just so that uh everyone knows uh uh Paul is not going to vote tonight on the uh resolution and that's not because he doesn't want to or doesn't agree with it it's because uh his son is now coaching baseball and uh that would be a conflict for him to vote so uh uh I didn't want his not voting uh to lead anyone to believe that he's not fully on board with this selection thank you Mr Edelstein be it resolved that the Cedar Grove Board of Education appoints Dr Peter turnamian also known as Dr T as a superintendent of schools effective July 1 2024 and ending on June 30th 2028 be it further resolved that the employment agreement has been submitted to and approved by the interm executive County Superintendent according to standards adopted by the commissioner of Education pursuant to njsa 18a 7-8 J and njac 6A 23A d3.1 be it yet further resolve that the board hereby authorizes the board president and the business administrator slbo board secretary to execute on behalf of the board the employment agreement by and between the board and Dr Peter turnamian can I have a roll call please Mr Grandy yes Mr marzulo yes Mr pakain Mrs Keegan yes Mrs Dora yes yes at this time Mr pic is going to describe the process and first um in regards to my exstension I I I just wanted everyone to to be aware that um Dr T has my unwavering support um going through this process having sat in that position for many years he's going to truly provide us with the leadership I believe we really need at this point in time to take us to the next level um he and in that process you'll see how comprehensive it was and how this board board should also be thanked for the time they spent because it was in multiple evenings over the the last 6 weeks um but as you know school boards was our search Consultants meaning like if you use appy track or anything like that that is how the resumés for this position come in however they allow us as a group to establish the criteria and I think one of the most important things that the committee uh the community as well as as our committee worked on and should know about is that we felt it was imperative that we find a seated superintendent that we wanted someone that had experience that was in this position understood the position in moving forward and that led through our process of of interviewing we had approximately 36 candidates um some some met our criteria some did not um we brought eight in to be interviewed prior to the interviews two of those eight had already selected and been off off positions that they accepted um we then continued with our interview process and through that interview process Dr T went through three sets of interviews plus a presentation to the board on his 90day plan entering the district so it was a comprehensive process that we went through with him within the scope of the application the application also included three essays these essays were based upon issues that we are facing as a school district and how each candidate would address those issues obviously over enrollment right now facility issues um some fiscal issues so these were kind of questions that were posed in the candidates had to write their answers which then became a lot more comprehensive also with all these I I often got the question from from colleagues and friends you know did can parents on the committee can you have teachers on the committee administrators and and the answer to that is in 2024 and a little earlier no you cannot and the reason is is because of confidentiality if a candidate is looking to leave an existing District where they have a contract that they have at that point in time but would like to come that is one of the reasons that that process has not followed any longer and therefore it is basically a confidentiality issue and then fin you know everyone is everyone is vetted through their references and in the business and if you've been in the business you know who these references are and I was very fortunate to be able to to to deal with the references that were presented they were all outstanding board members administrators and a previous Commissioner of Education that I know that Dr T worked for so having those people vet the individual we are very confident and and I I would like to thank him for the time that he spent with us being grilled on some evenings and giving us the a true true match to the paperwork he presented because a lot of people in the business present paperwork but then do not match in real work Styles what they say they can do on paper uh Dr T and answering his questions did that so I thank the board and everybody this was an outstanding process and we're very happy to have you Dr T thank you Mr P would anybody else like to say anything will we move on I just you know I want to I might as well right uh take the opportunity you know I'm very excited for Dr T to come on board um you know we're we're you know Cooperative board here we work together well and uh you know he had me at hello and D would always laugh and say you know we go through the process in the inter but I am very confident uh in Dr T's leadership ability the way he answered the questions uh just his presence about him is a great fit for Cedar Grove I'm really looking forward for him coming on board um and I think we could all say that U he just had an outstanding job with the interviews and knocked it you know hit a home run and I think Cedar Grove hit a home run so thank you Mr marillo all right after conducting an exhaustive and rigorous rigorous search and selection process the board is excited to approve Dr turnamian as the next superintendent of schools for Ceda Grove Public Schools effective July 1st 2024 throughout the selection process Dr T demonstrated a deep commitment towards leading our schools forward to greater levels of achievement while also being committed to investing and building strong healthy relationships with all of the many stakeholders in our community Dr T comes to the role of superintendent of schools with 30 years of educational experience after graduating from the University of Rochester Dr T joined Teach for America and began his career as a middle school language arts teacher over the course of his career Dr T earned a master's degree in teaching and learning from the Harvard Graduate School of Education and is doctorate in educational Administration from Sean Hall University during his tenure as principal he was awarded a blue ribbon by the federal government and named a reward school by the New Jersey Department of Education Dr T served as the assistant and Deputy superintendent for new Yark public schools and worked as an Adjunct professor at Sean Hall University he was twice a guest speaker at Harvard University principal seminar and he has been the recipient of the cultivating quality education award most recently Dr T served as a superintendent of of schools for Rockaway Township and Washington Township school districts where he expanded the stem ini initiatives across all grade levels launched improved communication systems and formalized enhanced data management systems to better inform the intervention services when asked about the opportunity to become the next superintendent of schools for Cedar Grove Public Schools he stated I know Cedar Grove to be a tight-knit community filled with great pride and deeply dedicated to our schools the opportunity to serve as the next superintendent for Ceda Grove Public Schools is the greatest honor of my career I am equally humbled and inspired to join a school Community steeped with Rich traditions of Student Success where students well-being and positive development will be the central focus of all that we do over the course of the uh coming weeks the Board of Education will work with the current Administration to ensure a smooth transition for Dr T dates and times for public presentations by Dr T will be announced shortly Dr T will be meeting with our administrative teams he'll have opportunities to address building level faculty and staff and will be be visiting all our schools please join the board in welcome Dr Peter turnamian Cedar Gro next superintendent of schools yes thank you thank you so much uh for that very warm welcome um I cannot overstate the amount of joy and enthusiasm I feel for the opportunity to begin to come and work and lead the sear Grove Public Schools um it's a great honor I very much look forward to the forums that we're going to be organizing in the coming weeks and I most look forward to getting to know all of you um so that we can work together to make sure we're creating supportive environments for all of our students and all of our schools uh so it's just a great thrill great honor for me and my family thank you for your faith and your support for the full board and to the community I look forward to in the coming weeks getting to work more closely with all of you so thank you again at this time I open the public for comment on items on the agenda see nobody we close that portion of the meeting uh announcement of future meetings our next meeting is com thank you sorry do I address everyone say name okay Jessica Mills Jerry and your address 112 Franklin Street Cedar [Music] Grove congratulations I just wanted to take a minute to um bring up and I know you haven't even started yet it's early on but I have a really deep interest in security and safety for our children in the schools and to that end I have some uh collaborations that I've been doing with a certain company I don't want to bring that up now it's just sort of to like tee up the conversation about Safety and Security and improving that because it's so scary and I'm just tired of as I'm sure everyone is living in fear about you know active Shooters specifically so I just wanted to mention that that at the meeting and I would look forward to conversations with everyone and yourself included so just wanted to mention it thank you congratulations again thank you okay I close that uh portion of the meeting um announcement of future meetings our next meeting is April 30th it will be held at Northend Media Center Clos session will begin at 6:30 and uh public session will begin at 7:30 and then the following meeting is May 21st and that is at South End same time 6:30 and 7:30 um have a motion to adjourn all in favor hi hi hi meeting adjourned thank you everyone