##VIDEO ID:CkQ12bhsaOU## e e e e e e e e e e e e e e okay good bill Heap is here we're good to go good evening everybody thank you for joining us in accordance with the requirements of the public open public meetings act chapter 231 pl1 1975 announcement I wish to announce that 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 meetings of public bodies at which any business affecting their interest is discussed or acted upon in accordance with the provisions of this act the school district of the cadams board of education has caused notice of this meeting to be published by having the date time and place thereof posted in the board administrative offices sent to the clerks of chadam bur and chadam Township the library of the cadams The chadam Courier The Daily Record The Star Ledger and tap Mr Dila Miss Allen here Mr delandra here M Kenny here Mr Ryan Mr Smith here M Weber here Dr Zang and M Chelli here eight president and accounted for perfect please join us for the Pledge of Allegiance if you are I was just really my pledge to Mary's outfit thank you you blocked the flag but it was perfect perfect okay so I don't have a whole lot of board business however I would like to just make a few comments about the fabulous L Kenny whose last meeting is tonight if anyone could believe it she's actually been here longer than Jill Weber so um lot I don't even know there are no words to express the amount of time you have given to this District it's immeasurable and we thank you we wish you all the best we hope we can call you for advice and I mean you're just amazing we are so lucky to have had you and thanks for being the leader that you've been thank you and these are for you oh from us thank you you mind if I say a few words I don't mind I'm going to go after you little did I expect um little did I expect that when I joined the board in 2010 I'd be sitting here so many years later it has been a privilege to witness and be a part of the positive changes in the school district of the cadams over these 14 years I've always viewed the education of the students being supported by three distinct prongs the parents the teachers and the administration and when these groups work together as they do in our district great things can happen I'd like to first of all all thank the parents who have supported the district there are many examples to choose from but I will highlight the creation of our stem curriculum which was initially advocated for by a group of parents who consistently consistently came to board meetings thanks to these parents and then the follow-up support of community funded groups like CF we now have a program that is serving as a model for other districts Statewide the second group I'd like to recognize are the teachers they are without a doubt the backbone of the district I'd like to thank them for their hard work and education to all of our students we should never forget the sacrifices and risks that they took in the September of 2020 that allowed us to open schools for in-person learning and provide our kids a sense of normaly when the world was in a state of upheaval finally I'd like to thank the entire Administration under the leadership of Dr Lusa under his guidance we have pursued a strategy of continual gradual Improvement mement to make us a very Dynamic and limber District to the many board members past and present I thank you for the time and attention this position requires I would especially like to recognize former president Jill Weber for her stewardship during many of my years on the board I am pleased to have been involved with adding new sports like fencing and girls hockey adding curriculum like ASL and various AP classes moving the start time at C CHS improving security at at all the schools making it a priority that each student has a laptop and Personnel decisions at all the schools which brings me to arguably the single best decision which is creating a smooth Pathway to promote Dr Lusa to the position of superintendent the list could go on but I'll close by thanking my friends and especially my family to Brian anid and Karen thank you for supporting my work on the board I can't wait to see what the district does next and I'd like to thank everyone in yeah like to thank everyone breath my turn my turn my turn all right don't make me cry more I know you're I'm not crying you're crying thank you who got that joke uh so thank you everybody um lad and I been on the board the longest she's got me beat right now by about a year and a day so if I last that long um I just wanted to we just want to Bid Farewell to an extraordinary extraordinary individual who's devot countless years not days not months I mean years decades to the board she's been a steadfast leader and a source of wisdom and an unwavering advocate for students staff and the community her tenure spans two superintendents well two and a half but we're going to go with two too many board members to count and way too many elections and referendums to count she's been part of some serious debates if not in front of the camera certainly behind the scenes don't let her shy demeanor up here fully you um I'm going to touch on a few things that L was involved in that she did not mention um maybe some of you guys remember in 2011 we faced a tropical storm Irene and at the time it forced us to close and at the time it was the costliest disaster in State history and just one year later one year later Superstar sity came through again we had to close the district Devastation on a far greater scale shut down for a weeks contend with flooded buildings angry parents wondering why we're not opening the school no electricity no pumps to pump out the basement no power no generator you couldn't get gas but through all that L was in every meeting you know rolling up her sleeves ready to go doing whatever needed to be done and then we thought okay gosh thank goodness we don't have to ever do that again because we can't imagine more disrupting more disruption but eight years later now we're in the middle of a global pandemic and again lot is right in the front row how we going to fix this how are we going to get the kids back to school it was not like oh let's sit and wait it was Forge ahead let's get it done we're gonna we're going to make this happen we're going to make it now so each for each through each of those Monumental challenge L was a vital part of the leadership team and sought to implement Solutions she doesn't take no for an answer ever Brian will attest to that uh the board often has the luxury to deliberate and make informed decisions but it's in those unplanned moments the Urgent moments where true leadership shines and lot is lot is very reserved public demeanor contradicts her Fierce vocal and steadfast Advocacy she shows behind the scenes her Relentless drive for excellence and accountability has ensured that the district not only endures but emerg stronger a lot of your dedication and vision have left an indelible mark on the district I'm not crying you're crying I know your counsel and wisdom and unwavering commitment have made us all better and you've truly shaped the community for the better hold on almost done bear with me folks um we again as Ann said we can't adequately express our gratitude and words but behalf on behalf of everybody we want to thank you for all the years of service your tireless work your unwavering your unwavering heart and commitment you will be deeply missed but your legacy will continue to inspire us all for years we wish you the best in the next chapter of your journey which I hope is to go down the shore with me um and we will continue to make positive improvements wherever you go and we do have a little gift for you two little gifts actually and would you mind grabbing that behind the curtain you'll see it um so I have a little Christmas ornament um that lot can put on her tree or not her call um it says Difference Maker a dedicated individual who can make a big impact even with just a small action or few words someone who makes a difference in the lives of others and that absolutely describes a lot of to a te and then we also have we also have a beach bag here again the theme is I'm trying to get her to go down the shore and I I put a k on it so that her husband and Sons can also steal it our debate l k l I'm like they're going to steal it anyway we might as well make it with a K and uh there's another bag in there but we just wanted to say thank you thank you thank you I appreciate thank you so much really [Applause] appr Dr Lusa you want to add anything it's uh impossible to ever outdo Jill Weber of course um but I'm glad that tonight L spoke enough that other people get to hear what we hear so frequently behind the scenes because she's not the most vocal person out on the stage and up in front but lot is probably the board member that most often calls me the day after a board meeting or the day after committee meeting uh to talk something through or to lend her insight and she almost always brings up something that I hadn't thought of considered myself and just like you said Jill it's just the years and years and years of those types of interactions and discussions that have helped get us through some storms literally and figuratively uh so I feel like I'll I'll be forever indebted uh to L and she mentioned that she was she became a board member uh in May of 2010 uh it was either that meeting or the one before it I think that I was appointed assistant superintendent and within a couple of months uh I had gotten to know lot well our kids even attended uh school for a short time at Southern bouard school together um there's just not enough I can say about L's friendship and her leadership on the board and all of those back channel uh lengthy deliberations about how to make the schools better and get through the tough times so I just want to thank you lot wish you all the best and uh don't be a stranger thank you thank you anybody else can't change your mind I can't change your mind the seat's taken already that it is but not the same nobody can fill that seat okay so that's all for me moving on to the administrative reports yeah moving on I also will mention that tonight is a gupta's final meeting with us uh so not quite 14 years but one in the book and uh Hana I didn't know you at all uh before you became the board liaison uh I have looked you up in Genesis I know you're a very good student and you've got great grades and you're applying to Great colleges but I just wanted to tell you I think one of your finest qualities is that you say everything with a smile you have a very cheerful disposition that I think um has been good for us to see and uh no matter what you want to talk about with us or what you share uh you always do it in a way that uh I think kind of brings light uh to the rest of us so thank you for the year service you did on the board yes we're going to miss you and then my final item is just a reminder uh I sent a note about this but next week we do not need to have a Personnel committee uh right before the holidays uh or sorry next week two days from now we don't don't need to have the Personnel committee but we will have the curriculum committee meet and we have a lengthy agenda in part because we plan to approve or present to you the programs of study at the middle school and high school for approval and we want to get ahead of uh some of the changes and and get a jump start on things as we come closer to the reconfiguration so it's just a reminder for the curriculum committee that we'll have a a longer meeting than usual but the Personnel folks are Free Birds on Wednesday night and that's it for my review report okay perfect business administrator's report Mr Taquila sure just two quick items um got a confirmation today from the architect that the contractor has received the uh interior security doors uh that are needed for the vesu project uh we have a meeting next week to iron out the uh installation schedule which hopefully will all be completed during spring uh winter break the only item that will be left open after wi winter break is the transaction window at the high school which should be installed uh sometime in February because that's not going to be delivered until late uh January on the other note um last week on December 5th uh the with the guidance of Phoenix advisors our financial adviser McManaman Scotland and Balman the uh Bond attorney the district uh successfully was able to refund uh 13 m865 of school bonds that were originally issued in 2014 uh the district will achieve a 4% saving on the outstanding interest which should result in approximately $85 to 90,000 of Interest saving a year which will directly benefit the borrow in Township since when the bonds were improved the burrow and Township are obligated to you know pay the pay the debt um so that will reduce their Debt Service payments uh throughout the next uh 15 years that's all I have unless there's any questions yeah go ahead um two questions Peter one on the finance so it doesn't change our budget whatever savings is directly the burrow in Township will just collect less for the school board correct the way I like to the way I like to explain it is once the borrow in Township or the V has approved the debt if the District heaven forbid close tomorrow they would still have to pay off the debt just like if you move out of your house and don't sell it you still have to pay the mortgage so it doesn't affect our budget one bit it's just less money that goes into fund 40 uh for The Debt Service which they uh the township and borrow fund separately from the tax dollars that run the operating budget okay okay so the residents will be happy about that the second question I have is either for Mike or for Peter for the reconfiguration for the middle school do we need the architect for any of that or is that going to be all internal yes we do we do we've been working with the architect we have a meeting next week or the end of this week I forget when it is um but we do have for certain interior projects the architect is helping guide us and do we have to go off for bid for any of that work or once the architect gives us the full scope of all the different projects some of the work will definitely need to be big okay so we'll be working we're meeting next Thursday to go over and they can finalize the plans this way we'll have numbers that we can include that construction in the 2526 budget and are you confident we'll have time to get the Architects planned get it ready for bid open the bids and do the work over the summer we should because we should be able to bid as early as April and once the school budget opens in may we can issue the POS and the contractors can get all of their ground workor done because it is mostly labor and walls not ordering items that have lead times it's mostly labor and reconstruction rather than ordering uh equipment gotcha okay but it all has to be done over the summer I'm sorry but it all has to be done over the summer yes it all needs to be done by the second week in August okay yeah because walls are pretty good for schools you like walls are good yeah we need walls thank you thank you Peter thanks Mike okay perfect ahana for your final update oh yeah you um my last report it's pretty short one but um so um the winter sports season has started officially and then um the Winter concert season is also Among Us so last week was the CHS choir concert that last Thursday and then there's also the CMS and CHS band Orchestra choir all the concerts um in the next couple weeks and then in January as well and then those will all be posted to the chadam high school YouTube channel and then On a related note um the CHS chamber and voices choirs will be performing in New York City next Tuesday so I'm very excited about that and that's actually all from me okay I amazing thank you well done for your last report exactly okay perfect uh moving on to committee reports for personnel I do not have anything to report and we'll meet again in the New Year okay perfect curriculum Miss Ross sure uh we met on November 13th um Dr Luso walked us through the process of how students schedules are built from the back end it was a pretty lengthy explanation um and quite interesting to listen to um but what the purpose of it was was to understand the revisions that will be made to the middle school schedule for the next for the 25 26 school year um so again there are a lot of details but I think the main takeaway is that the middle school schedule is expected to U more closely mirror what is currently utilized at the high school um with longer class periods um and it drop every 4 days but that will be much simpler than the current Six-Day class rotation at CMS if any of you have middle schoolers like I do it's always like what day is it what are we doing this you know so I don't even ask questions they figure it out but um so it'll be simpler and there are still tweaks and small changes to come but the Middle School teachers are enthusiastic and so just stay tuned because I'm sure there'll be a more lengthy presentation for the public once things are finalized um and as Dr Lusa mentioned our next curriculum meeting is Wednesday evening and that's it thank you perfect questions for finance and Facilities Mr Smith finance and Facilities is not met our next meeting is January 8th okay perfect and policy and planning Mr Ryan policy has not met since we since our last meeting the next meeting is February 8th okay January January January 8th okay perfect thank you um any lay on reports for anybody I have a quick one for CF um just a little recap from them they've awarded $188,000 so far over five grants um including things I've mentioned before the district Coral concert um the second grade seed to seed program and biology materials at the high school and there's just a reminder that if the public is interested to continue funding grants by contributing to the fall appeal and recognizing teachers with teacher tributes um any information that you need to do any of these things can be found on their website thanks of course you canor can I Susan I'm just going to back up to the curriculum um meeting which I attended and it was very complex and I think I left with a headache with the bell schedule but my question Mike with your 27 graphs and and charts and arrows and pointers at what point will you make a well the final decision be made because I know you're still tweaking it and all along are you keeping the teachers involved in what you're deciding or no you're kind of waiting until everything you know I asked this because I did Christmas in a box yesterday and everybody that came in there's a tremendous amount of anxiety you know the kids aren't sure they're going to have the same B bell schedule which lunch are we going to have some of the parents that are rising some the eighth grade parents could care less because they're onto their way to high school they don't have anxiety but um I was just curious and a couple of teachers have mentioned oh you know just please keep us informed so could you just give us a little highlight on how that how that's working well we've certainly been keeping the teachers informed um on the the election day when we had the full day of professional development which was just about a month ago I met for two hours with Mr or and the fifth grade teachers and we went through the entire presentation that I shared with the curriculum committee um the middle school has had the same so we're we're really just I mean I think the final decisions have been made they're pretty the schedule is pretty much the schedule that we're going to run the questions are now how we're fitting exact into the schedule some of those supplemental and elective uh offerings that we as I said to you guys has been slotted for that eighth slot and those are decisions that we're continuing to discuss uh but we're zeroing in on the final you know uh answers for all of those offerings too we just had a a supervisor meeting last uh Wednesday I think it was where we were addressing that very issue gotcha okay fantastic thanks I appreciate it so the teachers will be involved with the principal and then eventually the parents will you know have to learn a new schedule maybe yeah for the parents there isn't really that much of a change so you have eight CL you have eight classes that you select uh six of them are predetermined because they're the the four core of the World Language and the health and PE so six of the eight are are booked no matter what and then those other two periods are what we we would call right now cycles and electives and um in terms of recomend the recommendation process for students and then the selection process for the parents that's really all going to be the same that's not going to change much okay um the reason we want to get the program of studies approved uh a couple weeks or a month maybe sooner than we sometimes do is that we want to add a couple of options for students in the elective cycle realm and that will inform what kids and parents can select from but the process itself won't really be any different for parents it's transparent okay perfect great thank you for the extra information I appreciate it thanks again you got it okay anybody else nothing okay perfect Mr Dill um I'd like to motion for the minutes from the last meeting which what was what date November 4th November 4th thank you second thank you Mr Smith you can't second he wasn't good oh he can't second Mr Mr Ryan and Mr Del sand need to obain the uh motion to pass the minutes from 114 m Ross Yes M Allen yes Mr delandro M M Kenny Mr Ryan Mr I'm sorry Mr Smith and Mr delandro need to obain I thought I was there s Mr Ryan Mr Smith M Weber yes Dr Zang and M chii yes resolution passes 702 perfect thank you um okay this is going to be our first opportunity for public commentary hearing of the citizens during the public commentary section of the agenda is an opportunity for any member of the public to be heard about issues which are or are not topic scheduled for the current meeting to help facilitate an orderly meeting and to permit all be heard speakers will be asked to limit their comments to a reasonable length of time and if you would just sign in and state your name that would be great all right I'm always too short uh my name is Amy Kerr I'm a teacher at Milton Avenue and a CES building rep um we're here tonight to share some highlights going on at Milton and across the district um as we're now in the holiday season we're in full swing with giving back this fall under the leadership of PTO they organized many give back programs in October students were encouraged to bring back unwanted Halloween candy which was given to a local pediatric dentist Carter Smiles who buys the candy back and then all the proceeds are donated to Autism Speaks and my face and then he uh donates the candy in November Milton celebrated Veterans Day with the remembrance walk organized by our Veterans Day committee students and faculty brought in pictures of relatives who served in the armed forces our veterans committee committee then lined the sidewalks with the pictures classrooms had the opportunity to take a walk throughout the day and observe the photographs students then wrote letters to Veterans and we had a schoolwide donation Drive in which all items were sent to local veteran shelters and Memorial homes this month Milton PTO organized a collection of coats and pajamas our front hall has a great collection of donations coats will go to Jersey cares to help others stay warm pajamas will go to children in need uh we were partnering with the Children's Specialized Hospital so thank you to our PTO for all that you do our preschoolers are gearing up for their bridge program with middle schoolers beginning this month uh middle school students apply for this program and then they come to Milton one time a month to work and play with our preschoolers Mr visitation heads the program for Milton and organizes gross motor activities that the students participate in the culminating activity is our Field Day in June the middle school students come back they help run the activities and they uh support the preschool students throughout the game uh the music departments are getting ready for their winter concerts at Milton Mrs Maldonado has been preparing students for months they've been singing their Christmas songs since October so there should be some great performances by all the students um the chadam Education Association with the help of an njaa pep Grant was proud to sponsor the senior dinner after the Thursday performance of Peter and the star catcher we fed 100 Community member senior citizens and we look forward to a Repeat Performance for the spring musical in March and one final shout out is a congratulations to our own Milton for being ranked number four Elementary School in the state and number two in Morris County we're proud of the recognition and proud of the staff and students who made it possible thank you and happy holidays thank you Mrs Kerr from that little school that makes a big difference good evening to all Bill Heap uh Chad and burrow uh Miss Kenny uh you've been here at least as long as I've been coming to these meetings maybe even longer so I have some perspective on this uh this is volunteer town thank you for stepping up and volunteering in fact I think you volunteered to put a Target on your back uh people are not exactly rushing through the front door to be on this board and I know you're not doing it for the money uh you have put up with plenty of uh abuse I'm sure especially from people like me uh I will I've said this before and I'll say it again I think your finest moment was keeping schools open when it wasn't clear that that was the right decision I have friends who live in Newton Massachusetts I have in-laws in Radner Wayne Pennsylvania outside of Philadelphia and my nieces is teach in Fairfax County in Virginia they have similar boards to this and I don't know what they were thinking but they were thinking wrong because they kept their schools closed for over a year much to their detriment uh and so I think this is what leadership is all about you move forward in an uncertain world and so I thank you for that and I wish you well in the future and Miss Hannah uh thank you very much for what you did and I hope this is the beginning of a uh lifelong uh effort to volunteer wherever you go uh and good luck to you thanks do you have any trees left or are they gone okay perfect okay just wanted to make sure thank you Mr Heap anybody else okay we'll close that public comment section and moving on to the uh regular action items for personnel Miss Weber uh yes thank you an i' like to move action items A1 through 17 on the regular agenda and there is an addition of a18 on the addendum and there's an update on A14 also on the addendum I'll second it I seconded it agenda items A1 to 17 and theendum item 14 and 18 M Ross Yes M Allen yes Mr delandro yes M Kenny yes Mr Ryan yes Mr Smith yes M Weber yes Dr Zang yes and M chiarelli yes agenda items pass 90 perfect um moving on to finance and Facilities Mr Smith yes financing facilities I'd like to move B1 to b14 to a vote uh we'll highlight some donations here um we accepting the school health insurance fund a wellness Grant in the amount of $24,000 to fund Wellness activities as coordinated by HR um a donation from Bristol Meers squib of $2,000 to be used to support the chadam high school robotics club and finally the chadam Education Foundation uh donations that Miss Ross highlighted including uh biotechnology and the biology classroom a district Coral festival and from seed to seed so thank you very much for all the donations may I question yes on the um on the wellness Grant from shiff and the Bristol me squib how did we go about getting those grants to teachers or parents um bring them to our attention so you did that thank you all right it's awesome so you did that in case everybody anybody everyone didn't hear that M Grant commented that the wellness Grant is coordinated with uh human resources and our schools uh the shift which is our insurance provider on an annual basis and Miss Julie Ryan um was instrumental in obtaining the Bristol Myers squid Grant Bristol Myers squid Grant awesome that's right thank you Miss Grant okay perfect did anybody second you I don't think so I'll second it agenda items B1 through 14 M Ross Yes M Allen yes Mr delandro yes Miss Kenny yes Mr Ryan yes Mr Smith yes M Weber yes Dr Zang and M chiarelli yes gend items pass 9 okay perfect moving on to curriculum Miss Ross yes I'd like to move action items C1 to C4 on the regular agenda also noting that there are some calendar changes sometimes unnoticed so there's delayed openings just for CHS for um testing um not until March and may but just to make a note of those will anybody second M Ross Yes M Allen M Allen yes s Mr delandro yes Ms Kenny yes Mr Ryan yes Mr Smith yes M Weber yes Dr Z yes and M Chelli agenda item is pass 90 perfect uh and finally policy Mr Ryan Yes like to move action item D1 on a regular agenda I will [Music] second thank you agenda item D1 M Ross Yes M Allen yes Mr delandro yes M Kenny for the last time you may vote as board member Mr Ryan yes Mr Smith M Weber yes Dr Zang yes and M Chelli yes D1 passes 90 okay amazing I do not have any additional board business does anybody else have anything they want to discuss okay then we do have a brief executive session okay action may be oh okay perfect um okay this is our our second opportunity for public commentary again if you wouldn't mind just signing in and stating your name that would be great oh we know you I just wanted to say express my gratitude to L for her years of service to the board when I joined the board a long time ago a lot of it's already established on the board and she welcomed me and me Ed me in my position and she was just a true asset I think she's given so much to our community to our schools to our students thousands and thousands of students have benefited from having you on the board a lot of skills and finance are invaluable to our board she always provided guidance and for people like me who needed further explanation in layman's term was always there to explain to clarify and really provide um sound advice for our district to makeing sure we were in a healthy standpoint financially for the and always was an advocate for the wellness of our students so I want to thank you for helping me be a better board member I want to thank you for your long long long service to our community and you will be missed but your Mark will be definitely has been made and will not be forgotten so thank you Mich CL that was Michelle CL hi there I'm Colleen corz and I just want to say um a big thank you take a moment to express my heartfelt gratitude um for a lot of Kenny for her commitment to our students and the school Community for over a decade um lot is my friend so there's been many times that we've walked our dogs together and she's listened and explained the rationale besides the board of education's decisions and it helped me to understand and appreciate um all that the board does for our district so I want to say thank you again and the school district really um and also just for your unwavering commitment and passion for all the different committees that you served on so thanks again and they're big shoes to be filled with you colenz she's so nice too there are none there's no such thing okay perfect I would like to close this public commentary and we will adjourn the meeting and move on to Executive session where action may be taken