##VIDEO ID:IEAOEurmYHw## okay I would like to call this meeting to order will the secretary please call the role Mrs Becker Mr Cummings here Mr go Swami here Mrs gu here Mrs herck Mr Hong Dr James Mrs ree here president LAX here we have a quorum the others are in traffic and will be joining us in a bit but we will rise to salute the flag please I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America to the Republic for which it stands one nation under God indivisible with liberty and justice for all okay the New Jersey open public meetings law was enacted to ensure the 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 and acted upon in accordance with the provisions of this act the East brunic board of education has caused notice of this meeting to be published by having the date time and place thereof posted at the Board of Education offices written notice was also provided to The Sentinel the Newark Star Ledger the home News Tribune the alternative press of East brunwick and the municipal clerk of East Brunswick all Board of Education meetings with the exception of executive session discussions are videotaped for later broadcast it is the policy of the Board of Education that videotape meetings are not edited for any purposes individuals who speak at the board's public meeting should be aware of these videotaping rules good evening I'm going to ask for a motion whereas the Board of Education must discuss matters which are not appropriate for discussion in a public meeting and these subjects are within the exceptions to the open public meetings act the Board of Education intends to discuss matters as follows those items listed on tonight's agenda the length of close session is estimated to be 1 hour after which the public meeting of the board shall reconvene and action will be taken now therefore be it resolved that the East bronic Board of Education will recess into close session for only the affers said subjects and plee further resolve that the East bronic Board of Education hereby declares that its discussion of the affers said subjects will be made public at a time when the Public's interest in disclosure is greater than any privacy or governmental Interest being protected from disclosure in accordance with the open public meeting Act moved by Mr Cummings second second by Mrs G is there any discussion all those in favor opposed extensions motion carries thank you so much we will see you in an hour okay welcome back hi to my special visitors my favorite class all right you're in for a treat we're going to start with the superintendent report for all of you aspiring superintendant to be out there H wonder who they are thank you president LAX um before I start with the superintendent report I would like to make a statement it has been my honor to serve as superintendent of East Bruns Public Schools over 10 years along with a dedicated team of professionals we have advanced East Brunswick and academics Athletics and the Arts more than anything I want to return East Brunswick to the Civility and cooperation that attracted me to this position in 2014 tonight I will administratively pull item number eight under Board of Education action items that would have rescinded my existing contract and would have asked this board for approval of an new contract I do not wish to put this dedicated board at odds with the community no further action on my contract shall be considered until a new board of education is reorganized in January of 2025 and now for the superintendent report this is really about the district so can we be civil about it wasil the artwork on display in the boardroom this evening was created by students from Memorial Elementary School the RT of these talented students is Margaret Sasso Cheryl Jones is the principal on Monday October 7th Dr Herb Palo supervisor of educational technology presented developing a district strategy for AI from Vision to reality to the middlex county school boards Association they were impressed with East Brunswick's leadership in the rapidly evolving field of AI and its appropriate educational U utilization board members Lori herck and Lee will hung attended the presentation the first full week of October is designated as the week of respect in the state of New Jersey as part of the anti-bullying Bill of Rights every school with their student assistant specialist and climate committee creates activities lessons and spirit days to support our ongoing message of inclusion and acceptance the focus of the week is to reorganize all or recognize all groups within our community and find ways in which our schools can include and respect all main themes for this year were on acceptance good manners empathy honesty and forgiveness students enjoyed dressing up to support themes as well as having classroom lessons and activities in the month of October each of our community-based elementary schools in partnership with keeping middle sex moving is hosting a walk to school day the goal is to teach children in Middle sex County the importance of walking safely and the benefits of walking as a means to get to places exercise and help the environment on this evening's agenda is a resolution of proclamation for a national principles month I'm proud to recognize the critical instructional leadership of of our principles and secondary assistant principles we appreciate their dedication and commitment to all students in the East brunwick School Community also on this evening's agenda is a resolution or Proclamation for fire prevention week which which is October 6th through October 12th according to the National Fire Protection Association this year's theme is smoke alarms make them work for you and we are grateful to Fire Marshals Jason Wayan and sha verie the fire prevention Bureau and all the volunteer firefighters who serve the East Brunswick community in sports field hockey remains undefeated 90 and 5-0 in the GMC they are the three times Red Division and GMC Champions and looking strong in defending their title so congratulations to them coach Terry McKibben recorded his 250th career win in boy soccer at the high school with a one- zero win over St Thomas aquinus congratulations to our September high school athletes of the month students were selected for this Honor by the coaching staff based on performance demonstration of leadership effort in practice and of course remodeling exceptional care character parent teacher conferences will take place on Tuesday October 22nd through Friday October 25th they are single session days for all students with lunch serve for grades K through six and just a reminder on Sunday November 17th the East Brunswick Education Foundation will be hosting their second annual 5K walk run bear crawl and Kids Fun Run get in those steps while meeting new neighbors supporting school spirit and helping to F grants across the district please visit our website at ebnet.org for registration and thank you very much thank you we have a couple of proclamations as Dr veski said the first one going to ask for a resolution of appreciation for Fire Prevention Week whereas according to the National Fire Protection Association smoke alarms make them work for you as the official theme for fire prevention week October 6 through 12th 2024 promotes potentially life-saving measures that can mean the difference between life and death and a fire developing a home escap plan with all members of the household and practicing it regularly ensures that everyone knows what to do when the smoke alarm sounds and use that time wisely and whereas East bruni's First Responders are dedicated to reducing the occurrence of Home Fires and home fire injuries through prevention and protection education and where is committed to ensuring the Safety and Security of all those living in visiting our town including our educational community the East brunic Public Schools welcomes East bruni's fire and Emergency Services Personnel into our schools to educate our students now therefore be it resolved that the East bronic Board of Education recognizes October 6th through 12th 2024 as fire prevention week and encourages all the people of East bronswick to heed the important safety measures of Fire Prevention Week 2024 and to support the many public safety activities and efforts of East Bron's fire and emergency services and be it further resolved that the East brunic Board of Education appreciates the effort of East Brunswick's fire and Emergency Services Personnel to make our community a safe place in which to live motion by Mrs herck second by Mrs Reese is there any discussion okay all those in favor opposed motion carries so to walk out and give these Y and then yes oh I'm so sorry she got to go he told me that okay and then we'll do we'll take a actually we'll take a break we'll do you before the principls because you're the pride of the princip thank you thank thank you very thank you app oh yeah absolutely hold on thank you really quickly I just want to say thank you to the uh the board of ed for as always allowing us to come into uh all the schools and and talk about fire safety as as it's obviously we all know how important it is um I do see some principles in here so thank you for helping us get the kids uh all ready to go uh we finish up tomorrow with frost and Lawrence Brook uh it's been a great week we love doing it and we hope to uh come back again next year and and keep it going I'm sorry we go end I'm sorry this fire district one they do kindergarten uh they'll be doing it till the end of the month as well uh first to Fourth we finish up up tomorrow so um we thank you again for allowing us to come and and do this with everybody so thank you all right this is my bad um so for my friends there let's put your phone on um this is reishi he's at the high school where you guys are going to be seems like forever from now and he's going to tell you really exciting things that go on at the high school and in a couple of years you never know one of you may sitting here so you think about that I know I said you could sit there but you have to sit here first so you tell them what they have to look forward to yeah absolutely it's a it's packed house today I'm a little nervous but I'll do my best um it hasn't been too long since we last met uh but a lot lot has happened over the course of the last two two weeks so let's buckle up and get into it the most recent event to OCC at ebhs was yesterday's PSAT testing day sophomores and juniors spent the most of the day testing on College board's new online testing system I heard a mix of responses some said perfect 1520s While others were just happy they finished after the P Juniors and sophomores spent the day creating Disney theme posters for next week's Spirit rally seniors however had a fun-packed day from start to finish following a brief meeting in the morning seniors went Station to Station playing trivia Sports and participating in game shows students were able to bond with new and familiar faces and take a break from the hectic schedule that the start of school year brings my personal favorite moment was watching Four seniors have a dance off battle in order to determine the winner of our game show the day culminated with the class photo in which the bleachers were decked out with white shirts and smiles the week however wasn't just host to the P Pat testing day but also our annual respect week along with dressing up this respect week Spirit themes staff student leaders and clubs spent the week working towards promoting inclusion we emphasize bringing up those around us and helping the school move forward together over the course of the last two weeks there have also been a lot of new opportunities at ebhs this week teachers now have been dropping into classes and staying after school on Tuesday Wednesday and Thursday to provide St tutoring to students this allows students a chance to meet with their teachers privately and and to discuss questions or concerns they may have students falling behind on work are struggling with class can now catch up and feel confident on test day in addition based on interest from our students our dance team was able to go was able to get go from a club to a full-fledged team starting next year talking to one of the members of the dance team she said that this allows Thea team to transition from only being able to perform at school events to being able to compete against other schools competitively the dancers spent all year rehearsing and having now having the ability to represent their school on a competitive level is something that they will treasure speaking of girls Sports our field hockey team moves to an undefeated record of 11-0 this comes after their dominant 0 Victory vers Monro on senior night Ruckers commit and captain of the team Samantha Arnold says his team is putting 100% into their practice every day and their consistent effort is starting to pay off the biggest game of the regular season will come next week versus Oldbridge the next few weeks are action-packed and the year is starting to kick into full swing the first and most notable thing is the festivities and excitement of homecoming week perhaps the most anticipated week of the entire year it will be as us kids like to say very lit spirit week will be held Monday through Friday with themes like sleep Sleeping Beauty day in which students will come to school dressed in their on Wednesday the class councils will deck the hallways out with Disney spirited decorations and on Thursday H Court will be voted on and announced and the Magical dance will take place that evening this week the week will include with Friday morning's pep rally and Friday night's homecoming football game I can't wait to experience my last hoko and Sh her all with you next meeting despite all the after school planning the grueling homework and the mindbending tests I can confidently say that this year is unfolding just I just as I hoped it would thank you all all right come on how do you do excent oh did he just did he just tell you he's going on his college visit that's why he's right now oh right now go go go thank you so much make us proud thank you so much don't forget to get your note that's right get your note yes enjoy your principal's out there watching you that's right so it's it's very um appropriate now now speaking of principles um because this is what this is what we're turning these little guys into up here um and that takes a lot of different schools for him to get to that seat um and a lot of the principles that are here with us this evening and some that are not so I've got another uh resolution of appreciation from my board move that the Board of Education approved the following resolution whereas schools Inspire the next generation of professionals political leaders artists Educators and others who contribute to a healthy and prosperous Society and whereas principles and assistant principles are responsible for providing instructional leadership and Professional Management in our schools and whereas principles and assistant principles set the academic tone for their schools and work collaboratively with teachers who develop and maintain High curriculum standards set performance goals and objectives and ensure high quality instruction and whereas School principles and assistant principles are responsible for the safety of their students and staff and the security of the school and whereas principles and assistant principles are key to implementing state and federal education reform in New Jersey and whereas the month of October 2024 has been declared National principles month and is dedicated to recognizing the significant contributions of our nation's principles and assistant principles and to the enthusiasm they have for providing quality educational experiences and guidance to their students and whereas the East brunic Board of Education recognizes and appreciates the skills dedication and commitment of its principles and assistant principles and the challenges they face daily now therefore be it resolved that the East brunic Board of Education recognizes and commends its principles and assistant principles for their continued service to our children motion motion by Mrs herck second by Mrs gu is there any discussion sure Mrs ree I'll say for both uh because I didn't want to interrupt before so I'll mention just the fire and the the the principles for our for our fire officials thank you so much for all that you do and for our principles I I thank you for every day you make a big difference in our kids lives I always tell the story about how principal Warren picked up my son Robbie he was falling in the street in the ice and she took him by the Scruff of his neck and it picked him up so he wouldn't fall down on the road and so now he's in college and uh so you know they our principles make a big difference in the lives of each and every student and they're there day in and day out and really they make you know I remember you used to tell a story you only go to the principal used to be when you get in trouble right but now principls friends so it's a very wonderful difference and we thank you for all that you do lunch with principal is a reward principal for a day yes right how do we feel about our principal guys good thumbs up all good thumbs up all right he gets two thumbs up see I think Le want to to say something yes so I just want to comment for both for all the fir workers thank you very much because your job is deal dealing with life and death MH so so your job is very critical to the community to the community safety and community's future so I as a East BR residents as a as a father and as board member I want thank you for your daily job seven seven days a week 24 hours a day you know it's always on a lot Whenever there is a alarm you guys will show up thank you as for the principles if way say is BR is bigger Community but people always say which school are going so we have 11 schools which means e BR is kind of we can say it's divided by 11 small communities so the principles you are the your community leader when you CH when a student got problem it's unlikely to call Dr vasi they will call you so you very critical so if we think the East Bron public school as a building you the principles as the Cornerstone it's very critical thank you very much for your daily devotion so I visit multiple schools during the early school hours every school the principals were there so that is very important this is your contribution so you deserve this honor and I hope you keep doing good job keep leading the community keep Mak is public school better thank you Mrs GL well I I want to thank the fire prevention team um I especially want to thank the way things are presented in such an age appropriate way for our students um I know that I have now been firmly lectured about that we cannot have the mailbox as a meeting place because it's right by the house which i' never said was the meeting place but apparently she's been thinking about it really hard so second grade has worked out the meeting place and just really appreciate the time spent in the schools to the principles I was considering tonight I'm in an interesting position because I realized earlier tonight that by the time I'm done with my kids I will have spent 25 years in this school district and with this spread and in the past week um my youngest has talked so lovingly and with such admiration about principal Jones and just such a role model for her about what is the right thing to do from a seven-year old's mind or six-year-old's mind almost seven but my oldest is at the high school and she's getting ready to do the teacher practicum through the class and her greatest desire was to go back to Memorial and she immediately wanted to know if I could reach out and find out what Mrs Jones thought about that so the impact of the principles is so longlasting that an 18-year-old is still wanting that positive affirmation from her principal and that same 18-year-old has asked me yet again to buy her a Hawaiian shirt so apparently at every level the principles are just having an impact on the culture and the way the students feel about going to school so thank you absolutely okay all those in favor opposed exstension some motion carries absolutely let's we have Dr Ed bashore principal of the high school we have Jennifer Cunningham assistant principal at Churchill Junior High School we have Russell patranco principal at H Upper Elementary School we have Enoch Nichi assistant principal at H congratulations we have Dr n Delgado principal at Frost Elementary we have Kristen gustina principal at bound Elementary we have Cheryl Jones principal at Memorial Elementary we have Rachel whiton I'm sorry Cheryl I'm sorry we have Rachel weon cor acting principal at Lawrence Brook Elementary and among those who could not attend tonight because of a variety of commitments Joan schilowitz principal of Irwin Elementary Joseph satari principal at warnsdorfer Elementary Dr Michael gasal principal at Central Elementary Tatiana McBride principal at chick Elementary Len Pinko assistant principal at the high school Christopher Yano assistant principal at the high school Eric ad DEA Santos assistant principal at the high school Matthew Hannis principal at Churchill Junior High School Ivanovich assistant principal at Churchill Junior High School Alexia DeLuca assistant principal at Churchill junor High School and Thomas usar assistant principal at hamers shold Upper Elementary and I just want to say to all of you thank you very much you are the team that makes things happen you are you are part of the leadership of this district and you do it with such phenomenal Excellence every day and I'm impressed by all of you so thank you for everything you did all right so not to lecture anyone but everyone saw how our friends in the front clapped so excitedly and I'm hoping that we're going to return the favor for them now because now it's your turn you guys ready okay so this is my favorite our learning across the district the first graders at Central Elementary are off to a great start this year they are learning to solve addition and subtraction problems in math students are learning a variety of ways to tackle their problems they start the year with a toolkit full of manipulatives that can help these toolkits include connecting cubes number lines magnetic counters and a whiteboard with a double frame on one side and bar diagram on the other they start with the concrete tools to solve problems and then gradually become more abstract through models and equations and would you like to introduce my favorite teacher okay I didn't want to steal your thunder well hello I'm Lindsay Lori um I'm special education teacher at Frost School congratulations Dr Delgado for principal's month um I'm the pep chair formerly The Pride chair for the East buwick Education Association and we have scheduled learning across the district this year five times so we'll be seeing you um Pro pep and our East spun Education Association is out in the community we're in the schools um funding different grants just like we're going to present to you tonight with Miss Key's first grader so thank you so much for having us thank you so much hello everyone we are off to a great start in first grade at central element today my first graders are going to show you their math skills our first two topics in our envision math program focuses on teaching a variety of addition and subtraction strategies so I'm sure all of us have heard heard or even said ourselves how math is just different now compared to when we were in school and learned it and I often tell my families it is different um instead of just drilling memorization we really work to build number sense with our children we want them to understand the relationships between numbers and manipulate them to see that they can be manipulated in first grade we learn how to solve problems using a variety of tools um and just like you had read they often start with manipulatives and concrete Concepts and then move to more abstract Concepts so we want students to understand how to use each tool and also think about what strategy works best for them to be able to solve math problems accurately and efficiently so let me go to the next slide um today my first graders are going to teach you how we use our math tools but before we start I want to give a special thank you to the East Brunswick Education Association at the last board meeting doctors and Vicki mentioned the grant money available through the ebea and njaa to Foster teacher and parent partnership last year the ebea gave Central School two grants one for a math night where the ebea purchased math toolkits for every first grade and second grade student and we showed parents how to use them and games that we could play so that way it could carry over to home as well and they also funded A literacy night where each first grade classroom got two sets of decodable books and we were able to show decoding skills and games to kindergarten and first grade families okay first graders are we ready yes okay all right get ready for your math problem okay Madison has nine blueberries and Martin gives her four more blueberries so how many blueberries does Madison have in all go ahead and solve it and in preparing for tonight I asked each student to pick whichever tool they liked best and they're going to solve the problem using that tool and then explain to us how they solved their problems okay so first up we have nia nia used her connecting cubes to solve this Nia tell us what you did so I put nine nine cubes I started with nine cubes then I added four more cubes and that makes 13 great job and up next I have Mora and Tessa I'm gonna hold it up for them okay you tell them what you did first I did nine counters and after I did four more that makes 13 and Tessa also use this is called a parts and whole mat sometimes a bar diagram Tessa used the same thing but she used her marker to make a model instead go ahead T first I drew Nine Circles and then I drew four triangles and it equals 13 it fell on the floor just leave it it's okay up next to zann and he used a number line first I started at 9 and first I started at 9 and then I took four Hops and it landed on 13 so my sum is 13 and finally we have James can I hold it up I did nine uh squares and I and then I added four circles and I know that this is one 10 frame because it is filled in and now I um put three more and equals 13 that's the sum so before I close out tonight um there's one more piece that my students actually told me that they really wanted to share as well when I told them about the presentation together and we talked about math class all of them said that they wanted to share their favorite part of math this year which is an online program we're using now called success maker um which is aligned with our Envision program this program is responsive to students and able to differentiate math challenges that students will see and needless to say it's been a very big hit so far so they each just want to tell you their favorite part come on and mor sorry so I like the pretzels because it's drag and drop and after you're done with that they tell you how much pretzels are now and and when they say like eight and um three um that It Go 11 I have rockheads and first my favorite it's we need to um take away them and that's funa and jam I like the shortest and the longest because you have to press the circle it's either um a circle or a square it's either green or blue and when you're done you hit done if it's if it's correct um you hit next and then it's on the next problem if it's wrong you get one more chance of if you get it wrong the next time it tells you the answer and z and Jane I like them solving the math equations um cuz there's a little pin pad to help you so you click on the box um and then you press the number that you want want it to be to for the answer of the equation and then you can um hide it by pressing the little line if you press two numbers it equals the next number if you hit the X with the arrow it it's delete um so the number is um back out and if you hit the line it's the pin pad closes and it goes small and those are my first graders this year thank you Miss KY thank you Lindsay and the pep pep sad um for learning across the district our favorite um and Nia Mora Testa James you guys did an incredible job thank you excellent I'm cute prison LAX can I make a comment congratulations you very very nice job Mr Hong wants to tell you guys something so the Young Learners thank you very much you know I I don't use the manipulate numbers I use managing numbers everything is about Mass everything is about numbers if you can manage number well you can manage everything I want to share my own experience I was a chemist doing the drug dis new drug Discovery from work so one of my major Target was attack the hypo C virus is the biggest virus in human body but it's almost is a b but there's small dent there so I calculate I use computer calculate the size so design my inhabit which future Medicine by by the micro M so I have to match the number and finally I got it I I was Major in for the uh hyptis virus first small molecule uh medicine on this planet so keep doing good job you guys are so lucky have such a wonderful teacher have such supportive ebea and support and we he to support you so keep doing good job remember everything is about MTH if you can manage the number well you will manage your life you will be very positive contribution to this country thank thank you again oh I'm sorry I just said we're going to take a very quick recess so our Young Learners can get home and get to bed thank you again for coming out thank you don't go far okay who doesn't love learning across the district so now we are up to the public portion for the public uh good of the cause for the public the Board of Education recognizes the value of public comments on educational issues and the importance of allowing members of the public to express themselves on school matters of community interest to protect the privacy of all students and staff concerns regarding individual students and staff members should generally be addressed by first meeting with the appropriate administrative staff in order to permit the fair and orderly expression of such comment the board should provide a period for public comment on every meeting of the board residents are welcome to speak up to three minutes and I just ask that when you come up to the podium you please state your name and address for the record good evening everyone Lou figuroa 101 Rus Lane uh I'd like to start by uh thanking again the firefighters that were here this evening all the firefighters uh for what they do every day and also for the education to give our kids because in this District we're very fortunate the firefighters really care a lot of them are parents they're in the schools and they really make a difference so thank you uh one thing that I will also say is this District does a phenomenal job of is hiring administrators we have the best principles anywhere um dedicated hardworking they solve problems every day they make do with what they have and they support their teachers they work with their parents and they take care of our kids so I wish they were still here but thank you to all of our principles much appreciated what you do every day uh this evening Dr veski uh I know what you had to do and what you said tonight um took a lot of courage in my mind uh I believe that it was a difficult decision I think it was the right decision um I will tell you that and I'm sorry that kids are gone too because this is exactly what happens in a great country like we have we have dialogue we have people saying we have needs and the people who are in charge please listen to us and I think tonight we saw that but it does take courage to do that and it wasn't easy I'm sure as a board there was probably a lot of conversation about that but I want to thank you for at least the way you said it the way you did it and I think that's the right thing as I've said before Dr vesi is not the issue here the issue is the board we as a group The the board as a group has to make sure that the superintendent is held accountable and that's really the whole thing so I think tonight we saw the start of I hope some healing because I know there were a lot of concerned residents and I think after tonight at least we may be going in a direction where there's healing I know we have an upcoming election I know there's some great candidates in this room I wish all of you tremendous amount of luck and I know whatever H the this District decides I know we'll be going forward and all of us I hope whether you we win or we lose I hope all of us go forward together thank you thank you Dr Figaroa is there anyone else that would like to speak to the board this evening meate your name and address for the record please anab Bron nine racetrack um I had the privilege of growing up here in East Brunswick going to school here graduating from high school raising my family here getting my dream job here in 1987 teaching at hamers shold and I witnessed our schools being designated as nationally recognized Blue Ribbon Schools I got to help get the bond referendum passed for a new hamers shold and I was so proud to teach in this District I was proud to watch the schools improve year after year and become the Envy of other districts in the state East Brunswick truly exemplified Excellence now in 2009 Governor Chris Christie imposed devastating Cuts in state aid East Brunswick was hit hard and it was a terrible time deep cuts and programs and Staffing had to be made really it's not dissimilar to what happened to us this spring but there is a difference between the budget crisis of 2009 and 2024 superintendent Joan magistra led by example she went to her principles and administrators and she said look we can't close the budget Gap people are going to lose their jobs the least we can do is share the sacrifice she reopened her existing contract renegotiated it and voluntarily took a pay freeze the rest of the administration and the principles followed her lead and the teachers union contract was also up for negotiations and it too was frozen and I never forgot what she did because she was truly an inspiration and I'm genuinely glad that the discussion on the superintendent contract has been put off until after a new board is seated it would have put the incumbents in a terribly awkward position because if they voted to give the superintendent a raise the voters would react negatively at the polls on November 5th and pretty much ruin their hopes of an elected office but that still doesn't negate the fact that this board not once but twice was willing to renegotiate the superintendent's contract with a pay raise we can't afford textbooks substitute teachers or professional development but we're renegotiating the contract of one of the highest paid superintendents in the state I really wish our Administration was is eager to present a solid plan to move forward with either the renovation or construction of a new High School as they are to pad their retirement account instead of wasting time on contracts how about figuring out a way to relieve the overcrowding at Churchill how about figuring um how about holding the administration accountable for the terrible staff morale try as they might poor staff morale is going to negatively affect the kids our staff has been intimidated into silence and are not allowed to speak out to the problems that are going on but I can and I will whether I get elected to the board or not it doesn't really matter as long as these issues are brought to the public because there's a microphone on both sides of the de thank you Dr Brun is there anyone wishing to speak to The Jack live at for Springfield Road um for those of you who were at the uh PTA uh candidates Forum last night um this is going to sound redundant I was asked the question about um if I was a board member how I would address the issues of anti-Semitism and islamophobia um in the district over the last few weeks I've had the privilege of sitting down with members of the Muslim Community and members of the Israeli community and heard their stories I've heard stories of kids who were turning off a bunson burner being told not to because Hitler didn't finish the job I've heard about kids walking between classes being called terrorists just because their nationality I even heard about one student who left East brunwick because he felt so intimidated and is now in Israel in bomb shelters telling his parents he feels safer there than he does here and I'm scratching my head East Brunswick New Jersey where we live it doesn't make sense now this is this is a global problem and we're not going to solve World Peace literally World Peace here but we do have the opportunity to address it um in our towns and more specifically in our schools um I know the kids bully that's that's a fact it happens in every school it happened when I went to school and it always has but this brand of bullying is up several notches and you know you think about where are kids hearing this I I to the bottom of my core I hope it's not at home but I really blame social media this is where our kids are getting their education and we have the opportunity to stop it we have the opportunity to stop it and reverse it and teach the truth and there are different there's a truth for each community and there is a lot of healing that has to happen I know there's a day of um professional development about bullying coming up but this this specific subset of bullying requires much more there are a lot of free resources out there that each of the communities offers and we have some great counselors in the district and I think we really need to double down or triple down or quadruple down on development for them also for teachers I think teachers might be overhearing some of this but realize if they take one student to task for what they've done that Community is going to get outraged and they don't want to risk the outrage and causing Resurgence of all that hate that's going on in schools so my vision my hope is that if we get the right people involved to create conversations between students between parents and counselors we can actually be a role model for other schools in the state and the country and I'd like to chair it if I get on the board thank you Mr lit is there anyone yep okay come on down good evening Jennifer Figaroa 101 Rus Lane uh I have a safety concern with the arrival drop off at a Churchill Junior High School this is my third year dropping a child off at Churchill each morning two years ago there was a security guard stationed at the curb of the seventh and e8th grade building that helped with the flow of traffic and red Ed parents if they weren't following procedures that guard was there for about the first half of the Year outside but after procedures were SP were set and expectations were clear drop um drop off was pretty smooth last year in the same area of the seventh and eighth grade entrance there was a security guard that was posted at the curb for about the first month of school and again establishing the procedures and expectations for the drop off and for the most part the drop off was fine um a few in a few issues but um drop off reminders were sent out this year being my third year at dropping off at Churchill uh there has not been a security guard posted at the curb at all and I've seen many near misses cars are pulling up ahead in the line cutting into the line as cars are attempting to pull out into the flow of traffic parents dropping off on the left side of the oneway street where students are opening their doors and stepping out into the flow of traffic I saw a child almost get hit um I spoke to Mr Hannis the principal at Churchill over two weeks ago but I haven't seen a change I drop off every single morning um so I have two questions one have there been cuts to security this year as well and is student safety no longer a top concern for our students thank you Mrs Figaroa hi Mark ssar 100 fresh ponds Road first of all to everyone that's running uh the incumbents the new folks that came out I think it's wonderful that we have a large number of people instead of just two people stepping up for three spots and we're scrambling to find somebody else so I do wish you all luck and and I mean that with my heart if you care what I think but you know everybody that knows me I always say what I think anyways um I am supporting uh Dr figuroa Dr Falco Mrs Figaroa and for the one-year slot uh Dr anab Bron which would have been my slot for next year nothing against the other candidates I know it's a tough job and any one of you that steps up and tries to do it you know um I I appreciate that and that's about all I have to say tonight and you know a little bit of Dr veski I I think that's a that is a great move to uh to wait for the new board because it is in kind of flux so I from I do compliment you on that as well so good luck to everybody and uh like they say be careful what you wish for sometimes if I can make a little joke but it's it's a wonderful feeling when you see stuff like we saw in the front row tonight the president act you're right those are the best nights when when the kids get up here and uh you know they speak better than I do and I've been doing it for how many M years up here on on this Earth so thank you very much everybody have a good night and happy Halloween thanks Mr SAR Aaron Jenkins 24 West Amhurst I apologize that it's Tak me a while to get here to bring this up but I would like to discuss graduation one of my daughters was named had her name called Mr penko stuck out his hand to shake hers she walked right by him Dr vesy you went to raise your hand for all of about 2 seconds then put it down down before she got to you president lock she walked right by you as well so later on I said what was that about she said I refuse to shake the hand of people I don't respect most parents would feel their child was disrespectful I was very proud of her Dr veski you spent many minutes in all of these meetings that I've attended Defending Your Service giving the Pledge of Allegiance during graduation you did not even turn and face the flag you talk about disrespective servicemen you Illustrated it at graduation she would have walked right up to Lou and hugged him as he is more a part of her High School the time than anybody else on that stage at 17 years old she was aware what has gone on in this board and did not want him to receive juvenile repercussions this is the impression the school board left with a graduating senior upon rewatch I saw the other students that did not shake hands as well they have their own reasons but it was the same outcome the board repeatedly spoke about community and how we need to be a community and come together for support well I want to say job well done you have created a community of people that had little knowledge interest care about the board prior to the announcement of terminating Dr Figaroa I am one of them you created an amazing community of people that want better for the school district we want to remove the toxicity of this board the board that President locks you just referred to as quote unquote my board the fact that this contract change was even brought up is a clear sign of what is going on here we see you and now you see us and you will see us come out to the polls you will see us coming together to support the children of this district and do right by them everybody on that ballot that is not currently a board member wants to make a difference in our community so when the election results come in change walks in the door Pat yourselves on the back job well done in getting this community together for a better district and the demise of a dictatorship full of false promises and lies thank you thank you Miss Jenkins uh good evening board members my name is Nicholas Cabrera resident of 205 fresh bonds Road I would like to address the recent discussion regarding the superintendent's pay raise and contract extension while I understand that the board has decided to delay the vote I must ask why bring it up at all I wonder if this is an intentional move perhaps to create the illusion of solidarity with the community by postponing the vote for a more favorable time this suspicion arises because the topic has already been brought up twice to the floor it feels like a strategic delay rather than a genuine consideration potentially with the intention to shoot it down now only to bring it back later for approval under less scrutiny especially during an election time during tonight's meeting it was stated that principles are the Cornerstone and leaders of their small community if that is the case what then is the role of the superintendent dependent how can we justify rewarding an individual with a pay raise and a contract extension when the district is facing serious issues how can we reward someone who is not providing the support and Leadership necessary to fix the problems at hand this becomes even more concerning considering the district's nearly $8 million deficit under the superintendent leadership programs have been cut positions eliminated and yet we are debating a pay increase in contract extension later for the individual overseeing this financial mismanagement during my short short time working in East Brunswick and speaking with many community members I frequently heard from employees who spoke a fear of reprisal from the superintendent and Bernie this Administration seems to be running a culture of intimidation or even building administrators fear speaking up I urge this board to reflect on the principles of ethical leadership delaying a vote for strategic reasons does not serve the community nor does it address the real concerns about leadership transparency and accountability decisions should be made in the best interest of students staff and Community not based on political maneuvering or fear remember you are all civil servants thank you Mr Cabrera is there anyone else that would like to speak to the board hi I'm Tom scani to Morgan place um just want to start off I thought with the little kids today was phenomenal you know I mean really and showing it up on the board and everything that was great and that kind of gets me to what I want to talk about is um you know I'm hearing stuff about how we want to charge PT and boost the clubs to use the school and things like that um I've been involved in coaching for 48 years I currently coach at St Thomas aquinus and uh I've coached here I was a girls coach here for two years I just think when you're trying to charge people who run booster clubs and ptas my wife was on the PTA her job was head of fundraising all my kids all five of them so she was there for like 17 18 years raising money she probably raised about 50 Grand in that time but they're raising money why would we charge anybody that is servicing our kids any fee at all I don't get that so I just really want to kind of you know like coaching I have to raise money for my team every year it's a lot of work put a lot of time into stuff like that so you know just to spend extra money to have a me meeting and stuff it's taken from the budget it's taken from the kids look at the kids we had today they were phenomenal why would we want to charge the PTA who is doing everything for them and they all pay a membership it used to be 10 bucks I don't know if it's still $10 but why would we charge them so I kind of urge all of you to really reconsider that I think that would be a a good move not to do that all right thank you thank you Mr St hello my name is Katherine NN I live on Old tenant court I just need to clarify that I have been upholding the law that the district has been breaking for five plus years recycling is mandatory it's a law I have from the start been telling you to follow the law and I have been Vin vindictively harassed lied to and employment discrimination everybody should know that I was the recommended hire by the supervisor of world languages to the cjhs French position then when it went to HR it didn't go through I wonder why to overturn the recommended hire by the person in charge of deciding who's the best candidate for this there has to be some real reason and then I find out that the position since the beginning of the year for the first month was taught by a Spanish teacher who doesn't speak French hello you have done Crime After Crime After Crime follow the law thank you Miss T is there anyone else that would like to speak to the board this evening okay oh you know I I had a whole lot I wanted to say excuse me can you state your name and address course I'm sorry Mark Sher 7 Falcon Road I had a lot I wanted to say uh it was going to be direct Bernie but he's not here and I had some things to say about the contract extension and uh well we're not voting on that so I'm just going to say that um I'm grateful to be here in East Brunswick and I'm supporting uh Figaroa Figaroa Falco and buun because I want to build a healthy learning environment for our children and a healthy working environment for our teachers and um I want to see our board work towards solving problems in a better manner than they did at the last board meeting I think the way that you tried to whatever it was that you tried to do at the last board meeting was indicative of how you've solved problems in the past or how you how you've addressed problems in the past and how you may address problems going forward and that's unacceptable so uh that's it shato Figaroa Figaroa Falon and Brun we can win this thing thank you Mr Sher is there anyone else that would like to speak to the board this evening okay seeing none I'm going to close the public portion um so president LAX since you've closed um good of the cause can I just make a a few Corrections because I think it's important for the community to know uh I'm just giving information for the community um I wanted to assure Mrs Figaroa that we will look into the issues that you brought up immediately tomorrow safety is our top priority and we don't want to have anybody injured so thank you for bringing that to us I'll talk directly with Mr Hannis again um PT we do not charge any facility fees for ptas we have a security officer aness s so that is usually assigned to a building uh for the evening if a PTA has a meeting or event that could be handled by that uh one single security officer the district absorbs that charge we have we have talked with the ptas and they understand that if they need additional security for any of the events that they they run uh that there will be a charge for that security officer but the district pays the entire cost of custodial um maintenance after PTA events why why would we have the choice sir you can't yell from the audience I question sir you can't yell from the audience sir you have to stop okay um what I can do what I can do is I can put I can put something together that we'll share at the next meeting uh for information in the superintendent report to clarify and Mr scani if you would like to also follow up with um Dr ves's office and get um more information because this is this is unfortunately is not the Forum um to be able to have the back and forth we always say that but I think he's trying to answer your questions and let you know so I understand yes try to clarify absolutely and that that's why I think we'll we can we can do that if you would like to talk to uh Mrs mandor in the back I I don't see oh there she's raising her hand yeah then you can then we'll get you an answer directly yeah I just sorry Matt we just I I can see he wanted to just make sure he was answering it um um I I think um and Mr sisar probably said it best in terms of um people running for the board whether they're here or out there I think it's great running to be um volunteers be careful what you wish for is probably um more true than you know thank you Mark um but you know we always say this and um and I forgot who said um social media bad um is it Jack um thank you Jack um but there is and I always say this and you know I'm sure I'm going to get Snickers and people are going to laugh but the reality is it's really very hard to do a job when someone says something and you don't get to respond and this evening you know Dr figer is absolutely right this was very brave and courageous of Dr fesi for the record this was not the board's decision the board was not happy with this decision and I know that a lot of you feel that we heard the community but um I can tell you that maybe four or five emails came in I don't know how many phone calls you may have gotten it really was not the will of the community um and I generally I not a big social media person not on social media much myself um but I'm going to do something I don't generally do I'm going to read something from social media um because everyone comes up here and tells us we're terrible and tells us that um the entire Community is against this board and this man but I will I would like to say that I truly believe it's a very small number of people um and a lot of this has started with someone who posted on social media who took the job of being a campaign um God and choosing who candidates we're going to be and posted on social media the following the order of operation one win four seats in November two attempt to sway one board member to break away from the pack and form a majority to oust LAX as president three if number two fails wait one year and win the next three seats through this group four new board majority does not renew Victor veski contract five new superintendent Lou has the pleasure of firing BG this is what we are doing so this was the um the motto or the intention of the take back our EB schools now I don't care why people want to run for the Board of Ed but I think we at least have to be honest um you don't run to try and take over the schools um the superintendent all the principles that we applauded tonight and the assistant principles they do report to this man he has hired many of them so their success is his success I just think it's something that we need to keep in mind and and really at some point it has to go back to being about the kids again because I know for myself when I got up here it was to make the district a better place because I've spent my whole life here um you can Snicker it would be nice if you'd be respectful I listen to every person that gets up there but you know I I can't teach you people not to be bullies you know and unfortunately that's what happens a lot you know we ask our kids to be better behaved and then people come in here and say I speak for the town and they speak for maybe three people five people and you want to know something I will listen to every person that speaks for three people or five people because that's what I was elected to do I don't have to agree with you to respect you or to represent you um but it would be nice if you would give a little bit of respect up here um and I am sorry that you made that decision um and I think if I speak for this board when I say that it is a shame and I am looking forward to having this conversation in the future but I will say you can say wow you're out of order that's fine but you know but remember something just because you say it on social media doesn't make it true and anyone that looked at the contract was mistaken if they think that there were any raises in there actually not only are there no raises in there above the cost of living it's actually under the cost of living our other bargaining units get more increases and I would never take that away from our principles our supervisors or our hardworking um teachers and support staff but it's very interesting that the one who has the least amount that's what you're upset with but again I super problem look I'm not trying to fight with you I'm really not but but but there is that reality at least if you're going if somebody wants to come and they wanted to look at the contast at least at least speak from from Facts I have no problem with anyone that says this isn't the time or that you don't agree with it you don't have to but at least speak from Facts so it's not an open Period I'm sorry and I'm starting this I'm happy to talk to anybody after I close the meeting and you can ask me whatever you want and I will answer it okay um anyway um it's it's just a shame because we really should be celebrating things like our principles we should be celebrating the fine work of the people that put their lives on the line and we should be celebrating these children um and okay so all right well I'm actually going to call for a u motion uh to combine this evening's agenda items so moved by Mrs G and second by Mrs Reese is there any discussion on any items and I will call to your attention that we have removed um the personel addendum item number two under HR yep so without that anything else you have any comments or discussion on Mrs excuse me Dr James I don't mean take about your hard work number seven um under the financial services I just want to thank them I can do it at the end go ahead yeah after the motion there has be a motion a motion I did the motion was um okay that's okay you can speak now oh oh okay that's okay this is fun I get to school Joe a little bit okay great um I I know it's a bit of a weird time but I did want to bring us back to a happy place here just for a second and give a thank you to the Hammer PTA uh Hammer's PTA president is here in the audience and she along with jully climac the events chair uh really spearheaded a large gift which is on the agenda tonight um it's an over $8,000 gift uh for picnic tables that will be in the hamers shold courtyard this is something that the PTA has really been um working hard on so that our fifth and sixth graders will have more use of outdoor spaces um they can go outside now for lunch and and give them some time to get some of that fresh air and really use those beautiful Courtyards um that we have and I just want to commend the PTA for um their years of work on age appropriate outside spaces um at at hamers shold uh the prior two years since the hamers shold switch the PTA donated uh $999 each year for recess equipment and I'm just uh really proud to see this donation make the agenda so uh thank you so much Maryann and your team thank you Dr James very and thank you for bringing you back to the positive um so just to remind you any discussion on the agenda because it was just asked Mrs gu you have um I just wanted to say I I took the time to read the policy changes that we have and I think that they're timely because October is disability awareness month and a great deal of the language changes that were made um align with the law which is more inclusive and I I sat and read and I appreciate that the law is moving in a direction to recognize and be more inclusive of all groups with protective policies that's all thank you Mrs herck yes um so I have a couple things um under Board of Education number one bylaws and policies our second reading as to how we elect a member for a vacancy I just would like uh clarification and maybe Mr Jobe you can jump in here um I was asked by somebody who said that it was posted on social media that our if we had a vacancy to fill we would be voting in private um and I just want to say for the record and maybe you can confirm that our policy has has stated and does state that we do all voting for vacancies in public that is correct that's what the state law requires and just uh this earlier this year you fill two vacancies and those votes occurred in public and they've always occurred in public and it's mandated not only by board policy but by state law okay and so the board policy follows the state law okay thank you um under financial services number one um the acceptance of the funding for Special Olympics um unified Champion schools I'm very happy that again that we received that funding this program provides inclusive Sports opportunities youth leadership whole school engagement by contribut uh contributing to a positive School climate and then I just want to take a second under uh I think we're under Student Services number four for the nursing service plan um included in the uh service plan was the report for the 23 24 school year um and the report provided um and covered a vast range of services that are administered by our nurses and I just think that after looking at it from medication orders to assisting with emotional health concerns food assistance um vaccinations for like flu shots and trainings I just think it's important to thank our nurses because our nurses um it the amount on here is just amazing of the services that they provide um uh doing food drives holiday food assistance I mean the numbers here as to how many visits you know for from students and screenings that they do um it's important that that we recognize the hard work that they do so thank you okay thank you Mrs follow sure I just want to follow up on Miss comment on the board appointment for the election that would be just to make sure everybody's clear on that that's anytime that that a special election occurs right so if we have a vacant seat and the change here is that um the process would be the same as when a President and Vice President are elected so everybody would submit their choice for the candidate and it would be passed to the center and uh you know made known to the public so little bit of a Different Twist but uh essentially accomplishing the same thing so just clarification thank you Mr coming is there any other discussion okay well then oh did you I have one question actually um few of my few parents reached out to me about saying that when the parent teach I'm going to stop you for one second is it is it regarding the agenda because we're going to have the good of the cost agenda is done no I'm good with the agenda oh no then I'll just let me take the vote and then I can okay so gu the secretary to please call the role Mr Cummings yes Mr go Swami yes Mrs guas yes Mrs harck yes Mr Hong yes Dr James yes Mrs Reese yes president LAX yes motion carries bringing us to committee reports information items and the good of the cause for the board and I'm going to start with Mr gwam please repeat sorry about this is a very general simple question actually uh for the parent teacher conferences when the communication comes in and by the time the parents goes to block the time with the teacher the blogs get full but there are parents who have not been able to select a time how can we resolve this because because I have been one of the parent who was not able to do select a time because they were full by the time I go but are we not putting those time or those those brackets as per the total number of students so that everyone get a time to talk to the teacher I think the dry will speak to this but also on the technology side we're aware that when we open the um opportunity to fill one of those slots for the parent teacher conference there are people on their phones literally waiting to to select that slot so we have a lot we have a lot of people going in at the same time so it's it's it's really difficult because of the number of people that are going in but Dr bully in terms of the number of slots um for the for the lower grades the teachers would have enough slots in the in the secondary schools where they have uh many many students if a parent couldn't get a slot scheduled they can always reach out to the teacher and and have a communication a phone conference or some out of some other op and they're very good about it and don't they prioritize as well I think students in need I think that's part of it too is a open and parents that are given priority if the need is greater but I I've like Mrs re I've I've had that where my child by the time I got on some par out and I also have faced so was thinking that I teachers are really good about that yeah no they are thank you oh I'm sorry Mrs ree hello sorry my glasses on I wanted to uh thank uh Dr Herb Palo I attended an AI conference on Tuesday evening at hammerel that was geared towards Churchill and the high school and I don't have a very Hightech way to show this but I just thought I I'd show um what what he's doing with our AI Ed Center and the teachers that work in this area so this is a scale for the teachers and students and it's an easy read format so students know what level of use of artificial intelligence they can use with their homework I mean they're dealing with this day in day after you go to Facebook now it actually has Ai and Facebook even if you don't ask for it so they're going to have to deal with this and also for jobs that we don't even realize that are coming about so there's uh level zero is AI free that that assignment you shouldn't consult Ai and then it moves up the the chain one two and three so uh there's editing refinement or if this of something that you really can use Ai and but you have to site it and teach them how to site it so I want to just say thank you for that and I'm sure we can get the date there's another one for the uh the 15th the 15th uh of October right for the element for the elementary students because yes they're using it too so it's pretty impressive and I wanted to thank uh the administration for that and um I also wanted to mention um the PTA uh you thank you to the ptas for having the uh candidate night it was informative and helpful and I want to thank our ptas and I want to Reit reiterate that we're very thankful to the ptas I myself was a PTA president and involved with the PTA for many many years and we very much appreciate many people on board we have been involved or are currently involved with the PTA and we do appreciate what you do day in and day out it makes a big difference and some of my best memories are on the PTA so I don't want to get all choked up because but it was a wonderful experience and I also want to thank our uh security team uh there was some discussion at of security at Churchill and what have you um we appreciate you telling us these things we do respond to them I always felt safe even with the terrible school shootings and other things that were going on in the world when I send my kids up my my daughter just graduated last year in June I always felt safe sending them here to the east brunic school system so I really want to take this opportunity because uh they should get the credit our security folks are the Envy of the entire State um when they go to conferences to talk about security and that is uh something that Dr veski has worked very tirelessly on with our security folks and when people were first deciding whether they should be armed whe they shouldn't be armed who should we bring in what should we bring in are we were way ahead of on that so thank you very much for all you do for our students I appreciate that and um uh you know I just want to say I wasn't going to really uh I thought there was no need to address it because the contract I thought he did a very uh self selfless thing uh in that respect uh he wants he cares more about the students in the community than his you know his own personal interests but it's hard to sit here and hear all the negative comments I I'm not saying there's not room for improvement I am not uh I'm a parent I'm a I'm a resident we have to be friends after these things the election is over we work together as a community and I want to work we all want to work with the community but I just feel that the tenor that we're speaking to one another is not what we would want to teach our children and um I got into this I don't have any aspirations for higher office um I I don't have um any other political plans I I did it as most as everyone here did it to help the kids and um we're not looking for your praise but we're just looking to have a civil discourse uh we actually teach us in the high school how to debate and and some of the anti-bias training that's going to be coming in is also discussing how to have a civil discourse on topics that you disagree upon because that our diversity is what makes us strong and so I I just want to let you know that no matter our opinions on any topic I hope we can talk to one another with the kind of respect and kindness that we are trying to teach to our children we have fine teachers here we're very fortunate our administrators are excellent and we hear you and I think we need more um forums where the community can speak um uh you know the rules of the board meeting are such that there's a a limited time and we can't it's not like the British Parliament where they yell and they scream at each other and the in the British Parliament and they yell out at the next person and yell out at the next person that would devolve into chaos and so I just hope that we can maybe do a meet and greet or things like that I I know that I would be I would be happy to do that I'm sure that many board members we'd have to find the right venue for that but I just hope that you realize that the reason we a large part of why our values of our homes are going up is because of the schools and a lot of things are going well and of course again there are things to do to improve I I'm here I live here I understand the challenges we face but how we talk to one another does make a big difference and I hope we can work together to do that thank you very well said Mrs Reese and um Dr veski maybe it's time for another Post-it night um for a way for the community to get to talk to you to us um I know that was very successful a few years back where people do have concerns that they want to bring in less than a three minute time period so that was a that was a great activity actually yeah ladies no please okay are you sure I am so sure okay thanks how we should talk to one another thank you for modeling it yes so um just a few things so for New Jersey school boards Association um we had our legislative committee meeting last Saturday in Trenton where talks continue about school funding formula special education pilot money and transportation cost um there were two legislators there from District 16 um South brunwick is one of the towns that they oversee um there is a lot of discussion about how South brunwick has made um major Cuts because their funding over the past few years um and I have to say though that there's at this time um there's no updates to the formula they're trying to create um a task force or um get together some sort of committee um and I don't I'm not hopeful or optimistic that come our next funding cycle um that the for the formula will change and so um knowing that and I also think it's important to be clear that the formula um you know when they talk about our district ping our like District Fair Share um you know it's really at first this funding formula was to take um money and make sure that it was properly allotted through all districts including ones who um you know needed the the funding extra and so um I don't know I think it's going to take time um as far far as the formula um but we're we'll remain optimistic about our future and then to talk about Dr PLO again um Mr Hong and I attended New Jersey school board meeting on uh Monday evening and he gave a great presentation to um school board members from across the county and there were even some from Mammoth County that came that wanted to see um he gave them a presentation on AI and our district how it's been used um everybody was very impressed by him he talked about how he not only uh that he takes teacher and student participation that he has focus groups and feedback groups um that he works with students to work through the AI process um what's their feedback to stoplight as Mrs ree said um and you know how we went about setting up policies and how we're working on dis uh different uh levels for each you know the different grade levels and um I just think it was pretty amazing we have like an AI site a website um that other districts are using that provides resources and information and they're coming to us and I think that just shows how strong we are in many areas um in our district especially when it comes to technology and Technology advances um I know he's not here tonight but um I will also say this um many people that I talk to to in um that work in the district um they don't ever give themselves the accolades they give it to others and I think Dr Palo was one who talked very highly of his supervisors the people that he works with the teachers the principles and how open everybody is to having a collaborative working environment and learning from each other and asking questions and he even said cuz I was like Dr PLO tell me like I have concerns about AI right right sometimes I use it for some of my grand reporting or like looking up information and I know what it's there is not accurate and so how do we find those tools to check and to make sure that it is and he was like Mrs herck you're going to love like slide number five in my presentation because it's like using AI as a tool right which is what it is a tool um and he says that like he has these discussions with teachers and principes um and other parents that are concerned and that and that's why he's doing these uh you know parent University nights where people can ask him questions and have dialogue because it's important to hear everybody's views and I just feel like he like it's an example of how we do things very well that other towns other districts are looking to us um regarding policy and regarding how we're handling advancements in technology so I just wanted to say thanks thought I think that's good for everybody in the district that's working on it I think it's it's a great example thank thank you Mrs gu and then Mr H so um oh go ahead Mr H I'm sorry go ahead no no go so I'm sorry so uh I'm serving on the executive board member for Middle six County Schoolboard Association the reason why we invite Dr PLO for that AI uh presentation is because is bronic job regarding AI is the force of the kind where the true leader for the state of New Jersey even the almost first leader in this country so we decided to invite him and he did impress all meeting attendees and I'm really proud of him and he did give a lot of credit to Dr vaski and Dr Bon so and uh both their leadership so he he at his job is because of the the leadership I agree with him so um m County School Board Association will invite Senator van Gul he is the senator education committee chairperson to Middle Middle St County for the budget meeting after the election so I'm going to send out the invitation to the board members and the board member elected the reason why I make the arrangement is we want the newly elect board member now know how the budget is decided and give you the opportunity to ask questions this year only I personally me met this Senator twice while in a very private situation I'm very disappointed about the state's Direction I don't think will get big boot for next year but South bronic each time when we met him say they show up a lot of people showed up they ask question they even form a group to tr to his office so and in November after election we'll have the meeting I'm going to send out the invitation so anyone who is interest please join at least you'll tell him what your concern is and what impact bad negative impact to East bronic last year hopefully we can get something if you don't cry you're not getting the milk I have two boy two 10 boys so the the one who cry loud he always get fed first so that's I met him twice you and I'm going to meet him again and I'm going to meet him again so at least I tell him we need the money that's the you know people said we can save something from one project we can cut one project or We Rent Out one space this is peanuts compared with the the budget only the money from the above is the line share that's the direction we should put our effort on at least I'm trying I'm Ling very hard and hopefully someday we can get more money thank you thank you Mr H hi um I was willing to wait because I just needed to gather my thoughts a little bit I had quite a bit I wanted to say this evening I'm going to condense a great deal I would like to say that I spend a lot of time at the high school level in town and at the elementary level um and then I see everybody in between because we're at every sport um and I also wanted to wait till the end because I'm a teacher and I just have such a hard time not focusing on people talking when other people are talking it's I don't know is that Nails on the chalkboard but kids don't get what that means anymore but um I've been listening to people talk and the feedback that I have gotten and I spend way more time on athletic fields than I ever envisioned I would when the kids were small the conversations that I'm having are that people were happy with the way school started it was a good start to school I'm talking to kids kids are happy they're doing well I stand outside a pickup every day parents are just talking about how their kids are thriving the biggest problem seems to be that there's sort of congestion at the bottom of the slide at our elementary school and what to do about it which has become a rather serious problem but the feedback that I get I am out in the community a lot I do talk to a lot of people the feedback I get is positive or small questions and we direct people to talk to Dr ves's office you know call the ladies in the back they are very responsive um the very first time I had a problem in the district was the night before my oldest was supposed to go off to hamers shold and for everyone who sent a child off to hammers shold it's just terrifying for the parent and not so much for the kid but the parents like I freaked out with the first kid and I realized late that night that our bus pass was wrong and I didn't know what to do and I called a friend in the neighborhood who called Mrs lox who called Dr veski and Mrs LAX and I were not friends or maybe acquaintances at that point but she got on the phone he got on the phone and Mrs LAX called me back a few minutes later and said to that if we were up early and I am that the ladies would call me at 6 to give me the information that I needed so that my son could get on the bus it was 10 years ago I won't forget it because I see people going onto social media now asking questions can anybody tell me why this is happening and they talk about all the different social media groups they went to ask call Dr ves's office those ladies are incredibly helpful and from 10 years ago and I had nothing to do with any of this they helped me out really late at night and I was just a very nervous new hamers shold mom and they solved my problem for me for 6:00 in the morning they had to wait till they got here to be able to look at this the stuff here here but people are looking for answers everywhere and complaining very very loudly but they're not calling the schools they're not calling the principals they're not calling Dr ves's office the answers are here you know the question about there's a lot of questioning about what was going on at Churchill with English and there's a lot of good information to share about that I was super impressed that we are able to with that extra period individualized for students not just students with iups but we're able to individualize to meet kids needs who have different levels of Need for help to catch up in English or math that's not something other districts are able to do the other thing I wanted to talk about is there is a lot of negative and I agree with Mrs locks it comes from a smaller group of people in my mind because I just see so many people because I spend so much time at sports but the small group is very loud about crisis so I want to talk about the way I hear people talking about us from the outside other people in the county say that we are the only ones with the ear or the later start time for the older kids this is research based I can go back at least 35 years when I was in school that older children need a later start time no one else has been able to accomplish this Dr veski saw the opportunity to do it we have that other districts ask how we got that other districts come here to look at our security other districts come here to ask questions about how we do what we do I hear people asking how we managed to get to this level and wishing they had the same level of security Dr veski did that we have that there's a great deal that we have here that I'm excited and grateful for that come from the fact that he's Visionary he sees opportunities and I find him to be responsive during the pandemic we got a lot of those calls and I know by the end it was kind of a joke like too many calls too many calls but he kept saying like the community wants to know people are fearful people are home people don't know what's going on and so there was the dashboard online there were the calls going out he kept touching Basse with the community trying to figure out like we'll bring it down to once a week we'll bring it down to this that responsiveness that didn't happen elsewhere in the county people didn't know what was going on in the Schools staff said at the time that they were part of the conversation here in East Brunswick as they should be that didn't happen in other places we have that because that's who he is as a leader I find his availability to be something that I worry about because he has a high school age child and I feel that he shouldn't be working as many hours as he does but he does he just sees opportunities he's a Visionary leader and as somebody who's been learning a lot about leadership in the past few years management leaders are good they can keep a place on a good path but Visionary leaders are something that's very very difficult to come by he sees opportunities for our students and he makes things happen that other places don't have it's not an accident that our children have these things that other places don't and it really is just a tribute to him there is a shortage of school administrators in this state we have one who is so far beyond the ordinary and I would just like to refer back to something that I learned from him during the pandemic he talked about that they were trying to problem solve each week and they had times that were problem identification and then there were times that were solution oriented and he said you can only identify problems so long then you need to work on Solutions you need to Stage that some problem identification lots of solution finding and he's good at that so he doesn't draw a lot of attention to himself but I want to say this is somebody who has made things here no one else has people wish for people want the Excellence in the teams it starts from the top and I just wanted to say that this evening thank you thank you Mrs G Mr Cummings you thanks president L I'll be quick um I wanted to thank those of you who came to the uh meeting this evening there's some new faces I think in the room but I also uh especially want to thank those of you who stayed at the meeting this evening um we know collectively that our ability to move forward uh is Reliant upon our our our communication in a respectful manner with one another right we need to be able to treat and communicate with one another respectfully and if we can't do that we're not getting anywhere and we won't get anywhere so thank you for those of you who have committed to being in the room tonight and engaging in this manner and and uh continuing to do that um very quickly I attended the walk to school day uh with the war stofer crew yesterday I believe that was uh great group of people and I I going to just Echo some of the the you know sentiments that I've heard from fellow board members this evening but you know when I when I'm experiencing or when I'm coming into contact with the teachers with Mr satari the principal there's such an amazing positivity radiating from these people um that I am just incredibly grateful for as a parent and as a member of this community and I've said it time and time again that I count my blessings daily for being a part of such an amazing group of people um and I think we need to keep talking about that too as we're talking about the things that we're working to make better uh we get a lot of negative comments I would love to hear more people coming here telling us about the good things that are happening as well I think we need that energy so um I myself I'm grateful I know my wife shares that feeling with me uh and I'm looking forward to a continually bright future for all of us working collaboratively and respectfully together thank you very nicely said all right well then um we have no need for an extra closed session so I am going to ask for a motion to adjourn moveed by Mrs herck second second by Mrs gu is there any discussion all those in favor opposed exstension motion carries thank you everyone have a good night