the meeting is now call to order uh please rise for the Pledge of Allegiance and I ask that everyone remains standing for a moment of silence which I'll announce in in a moment I pledge aliance to the flag of the United States of America and to the Republic for which it stands one nation under God indivisible with liberty and justice for all we are observing this moment of silence in memory of Holly Howard who passed away on December 17 2023 Holly was first elected to the Board of Education in April of 1995 and she was reelected several times and ended her term of service in December of 2016 Holly was a compassionate board member who was dedicated to the best interests of the students we serve our thoughts and heartfelt sympathies are with her loved ones please be seated 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 interests is discussed and acted upon in accordance with the provisions of this act the East brunwick 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 located at 760 Route 18 East Brunswick New Jersey written notice was also provided to The Sentinel the Newark Star Ledger the home news and Tribune 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 videotaped meetings are not edited for any purpose individuals who speak at the board's public meetings should be aware of these videotaping rules good evening everyone uh this is the reorganization of the board which is the official uh first meeting of the Board of Education the uh reorganization of a board with uh reelected and newly elected board members the first order of business is the appointment of temporary chairperson so I ask for a motion uh as indicated on the agenda moved by Mr Winston seconded by Mrs Becker is there any discussion sir sir question do we take Ro for attendance oh you bring up a good point Mr ssar uhoh see what happens when I sit in your seat right into the Pledge of Allegiance and I apologize so secretary please call the we do need to ensure that's right I'm used to having that done to me you y so so in interest of ensuring we we have a proper roll call here uh Mrs Becker Mr sisar here Mr Cummings here miss gu here Mr Hong here Mrs LAX here Mrs Reese here and Mr Winston okay we do have a quorum so thank you for that Mr sore so uh having uh address that portion of the meeting uh the appointment of temporary chair motion by Mr Winston second by Mrs Becker is there any discussion on that seeing none may have um a Voice vote all those in favor I any opposed motion carries okay so next order of business is the administering of of the oath of office to board members and newly elected individuals so we will begin with Mr Cummings so Mr Cummings if you would join me front and center so please raise your right hand and repeat after me I Timothy Cummings I and Timothy Cummings do solemnly swear do solemnly swear that I will support the Constitution of the United States that I will support the Constitution of the United States and the constitution of the state of New Jersey and the constitution of the state of New Jersey and that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same and that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same and to the governments established and to the governments established in the united states in the United States and this state and this state under the authority of the people under the authority of the people and I do solemnly swear and I do solemnly swear that I possess the qualifications that I possess the qualifications prescribed by law prescribed by law for the office of member for the office of member of a board of education of a board of education and that I will faithfully and that I will faithfully and partially and partially in and justly perform and justly perform all duties of that office all duties of that office according to the best of my ability according to the best of my ability so help me God so help me God congratulations thank you Lori Herrick are you sure you want to do this oh yes I Lori Herrick I Lori herck do solemnly swear do Solly swear that I will support the Constitution of the United States that I will support the Constitution of the United States and the constitution of the state of New Jersey and the constitution of the state of New Jersey and that I will bear true faith and that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same and allegiance to the same and to the governments established and to the governments established in the united states in the United States and this state and this state under the authority of the people under the authority of the people and I do solemnly swear and I do solemnly swear that I possess the qualifications that I possess the qualifications prescribed by law prescribed by law for the office of member for the office of member of a board of education of a board of education and that I will faithfully and that I will faithfully impartially impartially and justly perform and justly perform all duties of that office all duties of that office according to the best of my ability according to the best of my ability so help me God so help me God congratulations thank you take your seat aren't you anxious best last or oldest for last right just lorx lorx you know the drill I know the drill I Lori LAX I Lori LAX do solemnly swear do solemnly swear that I will support the Constitution of the United States that I will support the Constitution of the United States and the constitution of the state of New Jersey and the constitution of the state of New Jersey and that I will bear true faith and that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same and allegiance to the same and to the government's established and to the government's established in the united states in the United States and this state and this state under the authority of the people under the authority of the people and I do Solly swear and I do solemnly swear that I possess the qualifications that I possess the qualifications prescribed by law prescribed by law for the office of member for the office of member of a board of education of a board of education and that I will faithfully and that I will faithfully impartially and partially and justly perform and justly perform all duties of that office all duties of that office according to to the best of my ability according to the best of my ability so help me guide so help me guide congratulations I don't want thank you the next order of business the chair will accept nominations for the board president from board members and attendance so may I have uh any such nominations Mrs ree thank you so much I have a short little statement it is my honor and privilege to nominate Lori LAX to continue to serve as president of the East Brunswick Board of Education Lori exemplifies all that is good about the East brunic School District and its Board of Education during her many years of dedicated service we have seen her serve honorably on every board committee there is from curriculum to community programs from policy to Student Services her breath of knowledge of community and educational issues have has helped guide the board during many challenging times she's exceedingly generous with her time sometimes I say to her how do you do it all day I mean often representing the board of District at multiple community events per day and then leading the board meetings well into the evening Lori cares deeply about all our East brunic students staff and families and she is proud to support our districts in its efforts to provide our Township's children with the very best education possible in a time when our students face increased external pressures Lori strives to make sure our students have as many resources as possible so that they can ultimately excel in whatever career path they choose Lori is a compassionate forward-thinking leader who is the right person to lead this board into the future I am proud to call her our president and my friend that is why I proudly submit her name for nomin as president of the East brunsick Board of Education thank you Mrs ree my pleasure are there any other nominations Mr sisar thank you for the benefit of the public I want to explain why I'm nominating myself for the position of board president might seem weird to some a few years ago I made a motion and it was seconded by Mr Winston to allow potential candidates for vice president and president to be able to give a statement of what they were going to do with their goals and abilities and receive questions in public from other board members that would be voting for that person the residents of this Township placed us all here they deserve to hear what our next board leadership intends to do to move our district forward from the intended leader the board denied our residents that opportunity and voted my motion down I will focus on a few very important issues to me that directly affect our residents which I feel current leadership has failed to handle correctly this is a quantifiable measure of success not any personal attacks based on feelings Mrs LAX is a wonderful person she's done great things on the board and she is a generous volunteer but I have certain professional concerns back in approximately 2019 a discussions began about maybe a need for a new high school and other uh large projects uh we had a meeting and there was Post-it notes that were placed at The Forum in 2021 the the need arose to implement ter temporary classroom trailers at Churchill School due to capacity issues and grade restructuring this removed approximately 700 of our students from a permanent building starting in September of 2022 delays by board leadership at the time informing the ad hoc committee to address this massive project of a potential referendum for a four-year High School were coupled with delays to get the recommendation back from the committee in November of 2023 a similar F public forum was was uh done except with QR codes this time not not Post-it notes to date the timeline originally shown to board members to go out for a referendum keeps getting delayed again and again maybe a referendum in 2026 30 months to build after that no estimations at all for potential impact of tax ERS board leadership has left our residents including me with many questions that lack answers and I want to clarify here Dr veski Mr Juliana and their team they they are Administration I'm speaking about board leadership the Board of Education needs to work with Mayor Cohen and Township officials as partners to benefit our taxpayers several years ago Mayor Cohen was invited to a retreat meeting with the entire entire board and we discussed upcoming projects with the mayor it was positive during the past few years of current board leadership our president has not facilitated a similar meeting with the mayor and the board and I don't blame May Cohen for this because let me share my experience with you with May Cohen it was maybe a year ago I'm not exact on the time I received a call from May Cohen to sit down and have coffee he expressed his desire to work together and he stated he had discussions with other members at well which I won't speak to this past summer I again met with Mayor Cohen and Mr Winston was with me at the time I stated to the mayor I do not represent the board I only represent myself but we should have better relations and any meeting that would be done would be coordinated with you Mr Mayor and president LAX at the time the mayor reached out to president LAX the proper response by a leader would be to facilitate another retreat with the mayor but instead president LAX joined by other board members accused me in a public meeting of improperly meeting with the mayor our board attorney has reviewed my actions and determined that I did not violate any policies and was well within my rights to speak to Mayor Cohen it's been a few months since then and a true leader would have publicly retracted the improper accusations president LAX was the president at the time she is not listen folks there are about 1,600 new apartment units SL housing units planned for the North End of This Township the demographic estimates are projecting hundreds of new students coming into the district we need to discuss possible needs for redistricting funding for the increase in teachers and classrooms needed discussions about any potential pilot funds when are we going to work with the township I could go on for quite some time but I will spare you because I can be long-winded sometimes to my fellow board members here are facts not feelings are you happy with the delays in a referendum that may reach $470 million while our student population grows every day are you happy with the president that hasn't facilitated a meeting with our partners Mayor Cohen and Township officials with the entire board the board president is the only person that can leaz on with the mayor and and speak to the mayor about meetings if you're happy with the past two years of shortcomings cast your vote but the vote that you're about to cast should be for me a true proven transformational leader change the status quo for better results thank you for your time thank you Mr sisar are there any other nominations from the board seeing none the nomination period is now closed and we will proceed into vote for board president uh to review the process pursuant to the board bylaw 0152 uh voting takes place via paper ballot I'll be Distributing these ballots in just a moment so I'm going to provide instruction to the board members on these ballots you will indicate who you are voting for of the two nominees or you may abstain and not vote for any nominee you will sign your name where indicated and you will print your name where indicated fold the ballot return it back to the chair and then once all the ballots have been received I will read the ballots and who voted for whom so are there any questions with the process okay please take one and pass it please than this whole okay nine ballots have been returned to the chair so we will begin with reading the results a vote for Mark csmar by Jeffrey Winston I vote for Mark sisar by Mark sisar a vote for Lori LAX by Lori Herrick a vote for Lori LAX by Lee Wu Hong a vote for Lori LAX by Vicky Becker a vote for Lori LAX by Tim Cummings a vote for Lori LAX by Barbara Ree [Applause] a vote for Lori LAX by Heather guas a vote for Lori LAX by Lori LAX Lori LAX is the duly elected board President congratulations Mrs LAX before turning uh the gavel over to Mrs LAX um I will also be proceeding on the vote for vice president on this process so uh the instructions are the same as before so at this time I will entertain any nominations for vice president Mr [Applause] Winston I was hoping I didn't have to make this particular speech based on the last vote but it doesn't surprise me we'll see if we have a second chance to make some something right here leadership means different things to different people for some it serves personal interest and polit uh and politically a stepping stone to other governmental positions others see it as a stage where they can create local self-pity and gave self-importance and acceptance and for some leadership is embraced as a means to only act in the best interest of stakeholders exploit opportunities for the betterment of the community and and mostly Inspire others to reach goals that exceed their grasp I nominate Mark sisar as vice president as being such an individual Mark has demonstrated that he understands the vital difference between being a leader instead of a cheerleader he consistently acts with intent offering suggestions that evolve and Elevate the district he embodies the basic principle that measurement and accountability is not something reserved only for our students but also Al Board of Education leaders District administrators and staff he also clearly recognizes the differences between quantifiable facts and personal feelings Mark is always LED with the basic principle that he does not have all of the answers but believes that most of the answers live in a group such as this and will be considered as long as there is a clear communication and a path of communication and approachability these attributes which currently are absent from this board these incredible personal qualities and behaviors which Mark exemplifies have come from a lifetime of achievement leadership and measurable incredible experiences along with results when Mark sesmar entered the middlex County corrections officer Academy he was chose he was chosen by his peers as the leader representing his class later in his career he again was chosen as his class leader by his peers while attending the New Jersey State Police Academy during his 26 years with the East bronic Police Department Mark Rose to the rank of Sergeant he achieved a perfect score on his Sergeant's exam not an easy task then as sergeant he was chosen to assume the role of traffic Commander which is a highly accountable position typically reserved for an officer with a higher rank of Captain his chief knew then what we know now in that Mark had the leadership skills needed for such a critical need mark would later rise to the rank of Lieutenant before retiring after 26 years with the East bronic Police Department Mark was then hand selected to serve on both the United States Secret Service along with the US Customs task force in 2001 Mark was called upon to be part of the task force to investigate among the worst moments in US history the terrorist attack on the innocent in the World Trade Center working with the federal government Investigation Unit assigned to that horrific event while part of his work with the US Customs critical investigations for which he was involved resulted in large currency seizures tied to illegal activities as part of that program East Brunswick was awarded $1.5 million of seized assets representing a a percentage of the successes Mark directly contributed to and could be absolutely pointed to his work thank you Mark as gainfully employed adult he returned to higher education and achieved a grade point average of 4.0 in his undergraduate degree and also a 4.0 grade point average in his Pursuit and successful achievement of his master's degree in Human Resources training and development at Sean Hall University for East brunswood Mark was a DARE officer in the East Brunswick school system for eight years students that knew Mark those days still refer to him as officer Mark to this day as my kids do all of them Mark's leadership and vision led him to form the very first necessary security committee on this board that exists today and when collaborating with our head of security devised a strategy that ultimately was implemented to arm the ssos in our schools recognizing that our top priority our is our students and our staff safety his diligence has made the East broser schools the security model sought after by other districts and recognize for the program's Excellence both Statewide and nationally thank you Mark as mentioned Mark along with me recognizes a gaping hole in the relationship between our Township and our district and as a private citizen he met with the mayor to discuss ways to better working between the two governing bodies this selfless and needed action when the board president learned of this meeting resulted in a 45-minute berading by many members of this board in public and elevated to an unjustified accusations of Ethics violations for which meeting privately with our mayor and as mentioned our own legal council later would dispelled and rejected any wrongdoing one would expect leadership to correct the record and retracted the faming comments and sadly but not expected that never occurred Mark knows that part of being a great leaders to remain humble and admit when wrong that's what leaders do this will be a difficult task to have Mark win and assume the seat is extraordinarily qualified to hold hold what the public does not know is that the decisions of the President and Vice President position on this board of education are traditionally determined right after the election results are announced in November through phone calls conversations campaigning deals subset of board members by a subset of board members that sit on this de this is why the same individuals appear in these seats regardless of failing track record year after year after year it is part of a social club aspect of our Board of Education with $190 million budget if there's another nominee I appeal to Tim Cummings Lori Herrick and Lee wuhong among others that join me and do the job that the voters in this town put you in the seat to do elect proven qualifi ifed and capable leaders that would benefit the stakeholders of our town and never prioritize the benefit of self or political interests I hope that you see this to be a fortunate opportunity that it is to vote for Mark sisar as our Board of Education vice president for 2024 thank you Mark thank you Mr Winston are there any other nominations for vice president Mrs Becker I would like to nominate Heather guas for vice president of the Board of Education Heather you don't have to talk to Heather for very long to realize how intelligent she is but that's not what just makes her a good board member she listens she has great Insight she's compassionate she's truthful she has a background in education she also brings to the board her experiences as a parent in this district and actually this year Heather has the unique perspective of having a child at the ele School level and also at the secondary level which gives her an eye to viewing what is going on in the buildings on an everyday level as a parent Heather also understands that the board of education is a consensus seeking group that is what we're here to do she works very hard to help bring about the consensus Heather also understands that divisiveness and division is not an inherent organic quality in any organization it is created and enabled Heather also understands that she doesn't use her seat or her time for self-indulgence and self-narratives just because someone says something doesn't mean it's a truth we've all heard that saying there's three sides to every story I would venture to say in some cases there's less just because someone says it at the top of their lungs with great conviction doesn't mean that that's what happened I've heard some very interesting narratives and almost fairy tales tonight so far I'm not going to spend our time discussing that I am going to reiterate that Heather is a good leader she understands what being a board member is and brings that transparency commitment professionalism and maturity which is why I would like to see her continue to sit in the very seat that she's sitting in for the coming year thank you thank you Mrs Becker are there any other nominations from the board seeing none the chair closes the time for nominations and we will proceed to uh the voting uh the instructions for voting are the same as they were for president please complete the ballots as they are passed around and then fold them and return them to the chair thank you he nine ballots have been received we'll proceed with announcing the vote a vote for Heather guas by Lee wuhong a vote for Heather gu by Lorie harrick a vote for Mark sisar by Mark sisar a vote for Heather gu by Vicky Becker a vote for Mark sisar by Jeffrey Winston a vote for Heather gu by Barbara Ree a vote for Heather GL by Tim Cummings a vote for Heather gu by Heather guas a vote for Heather gu by Lori LAX Heather gu is the duly elected vice president congratulations Miss [Applause] gu this is It's traditional to hit the board secretary the head when you comment right I guess I'm moving on to number nine adoption of the New Jersey School Board member code of ethics oh sorry about that we read these on uh we can if you'd like um would was it was it Vicky that you started this having each board member read one of these I think I would like to continue with that Mark would you like to start number nine we're going to go around the table the days I will uphold and enforce all laws state board rules and regulations and court orders pertaining to schools desired changes should be brought only about through legal and ethical procedures I will make decisions in terms of the educational welfare children and will seek to develop and maintain public schools which meet the individual needs of all children regardless of their ability race Creed sex or social standing I will confir my Bo action to policy making planning and operative and I will have those two frame policies and plans only after the board has consult those who will be affected by them I will carry out my respons responsibility not to administer the schools but together with my fellow board members to see that they are well-run I will recognize that Authority rests with the Board of Education and will make no personal promises nor take any private action which may compromise the board I will refuse to surrender my independent judgment to special interests or partisan political groups or to use the schools for personal gain or for the gain of friends I will hold confidential all matters pertaining to the schools with if disclosed would needlessly injure individuals or the schools but in all other matters he left I will provide accurate information and in concert with my fellow board members interpret to the staff uh excuse me to the staff the aspirations of the community for its schools I will vote to appoint the best qualified Personnel available after consideration of the recommendation of the chief administrative officer I will support and support School personnel and proper performance of their duties you want me to deta sure I will refer all complaints to the chief administrative officer and will act on such complaints at public meetings only after failure of an administrative solution thank you may I have a motion for this moved move my Mrs Becker second by Mrs uh Reese will the secretary oh is there any discussion will the secretary please call the role Mrs Becker yes Mr sisar yes Mr Cummings yes M gu yes Mrs herck yes Mr yes Mrs Reese yes Mr Winston president LAX yes motion carries um may I please have a motion for the bylaws policies and regulations so moved moved by Mrs Becker second by Mrs gu is there any discussion will the secretary please call the RO Mrs Becker yes Mr sisar yes Mr Cummings yes M gu yes Mrs herck yes Mr Hong yes Mrs ree yes Mr Winston yes president LAX yes motion carries may please have a motion for item number 11 meeting notices so move moved by Mrs Becker second second by Mrs guas is there any discussion all in favor I opposed extensions motion carries may I please have a motion for item number 12 official depositories so moved moved by Mrs Becker second second by Mrs G is there any discussion all those in favor opposed extensions motion carries may I please have a motion for item 13 official newspaper for publication of legal Public Notices moved second moved by Mrs Becker second by Mrs gu and I do have something actually for discussion on this um can we please change the home news and Tribune to the home News Tribune for the record going forward yes thank you so much all those in favor I have oos excuse me more discussion oh I'm so sorry no that's fine um why are we not adding a online uh presence beyond the home news uh so more of the public which is feedback I've gotten throughout the year that they're unaware of the meetings and agendas I think we have a representative of one of those online media uh companies here today I'd like to see either the tap end or patch added that seems to be the place where most people get their information you can absolutely do that we can do that do you need anything from us to do that or just tell you to do that you'd have to do it the next meeting the next meeting but you get you guys can absolutely advertise okay and tap into or the patch whatever tap into and tap into tap into we'll look into that bring it back to the board thank you very good point any other discussion Mr sisar yeah I was just going to say great suggestion Mr Winston I I no offense to the newspapers I can't tell you the last time I got news out of a newspaper so I think I delivered it to you that's how long it was on parchment but no I love the fact that we're actually uh you're going into the to the digital age with the online uh news sources so thank you for that anything else okay every all in favor opposed extensions motion carries um whereas the Board of Education must discuss matters which are not appropriate for discussion in a public meeting and whereas these subjects are within the exceptions to the open public meetings act and are permitted to be discussed in closed session the Board of Education intends to discuss matters as follows those items on tonight's agenda the length of Clos 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 bronck Board of Education will recess into Clos session for only the affers said subject and be it further resolved that the East brunic 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 meetings act moveed by Mrs Becker second second by Mr Cummings is there any discussion all those in favor I opposed abstention motion carries thank you we shall see you in an hour okay welcome back before we begin I just want to let everyone know the reorganization part two is going to be picked up at the next meeting and I would like to entertain a motion to move the good of the cause for the public to after the action items Mr sisar Mr Winston is there any discussion nope all in favor oppose motion carries okay and then we are starting with the superintendent report dras G I'm sorry I caught you that's all right dring on the job thank you president LAX good evening everyone congratulations to all the newly elected board members and new leadership looking forward to a great year so good evening everyone happy New Year the artwork on display in the boardroom this evening was created by students from chick Elementary School the art teacher of these talented students is Gregory Baron Tatiana McBride is their principal on Wednesday December 13th the special education department hosted a resource fair at East Brunswick High School this familyfriendly event was coordinated along with the East Brunswick special education parent advisory gr group also known as cpeg to Showcase dozens of Community Partners that support families in East Brunswick and middle sex County the event was fun and informative parents enjoyed connecting with experts in a low stress environment the providers included speech and occupational therapist Dental practices special needs law firms Care Management organizations and Buddy Ball Sports programs middle sex County's mobile family Success Center was also in attendance handing out bags of fresh groceries to demonst demonstrate one of the many forms of assistance they provide to local families information regarding cpad can be found now on the homepage of our website along with Lori LAX I had the pleasure of attending the Mu Alpha thas that's the math Honor Society induction ceremony on Friday December 15th and this is one of the first induction ceremonies we've had on a Friday and that's because the high school had been closed for repairs so it was great great to see the students and families there mu alha Theta is an organization comprised of a talented group of students who have been recognized both nationally and abroad for their combination of scholarship and service each of the 60 inductees have met the requirements for membership including distinction and college preparatory mathematics in addition to all other academic subjects and have demonstrated the ability to work hard show initiative and of course reliability the principal purpose of Mu Alpha Theta develop strong scholarship in mathematics and Inspire deeper enthusiasm for the subject these members have the opportunity to share their talents with their peers as they volunteer their time to provide countless students with additional help in their mathematics courses so that's greatly appreciated the High School counseling department hosted alumni from the class of 2023 and we have a couple of parents here that have a lum that already graduated and may have come back and that was alumni day on Friday de December 22nd the day started with a warm welcome from the administration and a time to reconnect with each other and the staff then 40 different class presentations took place where the alumni informed the seniors of their post High School experiences the application decision process and how East bronic High School prepared them for their goals there was a lot of discussion on dual enrollment courses work opportunities work study opportunities selecting a roommate and trade and Military experiences it was a valuable day for both the alumni and our future graduates so we thank them for coming back in sports the student athlete advisory committee selects two male and two female athletes to represent each school from the GMC who display sportsmanship academics character leadership and standout play from their fall ath atic teams our four athletes were Caleb Osama sanj kadum Ryan Berg and Amaya zerilla our winter athletes two from each of our varsity teams participated in the GMC sportsmanship Summit at the Woodbridge Recreation Center in December the athletes were selected by their coaches to represent East brunwick Public Schools the athletes share ideas with coaches and officials from their respective Ive Sports our athletes were part of close to 350 students from around the GMC who attended congratulations to our December high school athletes of the month students were selected for this Honor by the coaching staff based on performance demonstration of leadership effort and practice and of course for modeling exceptional character just a reminder Monday January 15th schools will be closed in observance of Dr Martin Luther King day that's all I have for tonight thank you thank you very much it's okay I wanted you to get done because I like to get to to the real report the important stuff important stuff right what's going on Chris tell us all the good stuff at the high school uh hi everyone uh in the past month students have been very busy at East Brunswick High School um with the Bandon Orchestra putting on a great Winter concert if you guys were there and the East brunck drama club having three successful nights of their drama production sho's Monsters the senior class Council also held their annual Mr ebhs pageant show which was a huge hit with all the students and parents as we all come back from winter break many clubs and activities are also um beginning to pick up again with the East Bruns of chorus having their concert in the coming weeks and Asian Club holding their Bubble Tea House night next Friday for everyone to come together and enjoy different parts of Asian culture and as we enter the New Year It Feels Like Us seniors are finally finish up finishing up our applications and many have heard back from the early application rounds over the break uh for myself I'm honored to say that I received a letter of acceptance from Princeton University over the break y thank you and many other students have recently began receiving acceptances as well so it's just great to see um all my fellow classmates all their hard work paying off and yeah congratulations Chris you didn't say if you were going to accept or not tell them what you're waiting holding now for holding now for a better offer yeah I'm still waiting for Harvard Marsh I figed stford that'd be too far away as a mother I like Princeton yeah good that's that's wonderful terrific see told you his report would be worth waiting for thank you so much okay uh may I please have a motion for all of the action items on this evening's agenda so move moved by Mrs Becker second by Mr Winston right um and then we're going to call for discussion the discussion is going to be for every item on the agenda this evening and I just want to give me one second um because I just want to not a question just a shout out I'm sure you all saw the water filling stations at Memorial and while my children are no longer there they are alumni of that school and so for Heather and for Liu I'm excited and a little bit jealous but thank you because I'm sure you're both active PTA members so um Mrs Becker is very excited just not I just have a question about um Dr veski it's uh under the facilities agenda item one the approval of um a drone use of a drone to assist in monitoring the progress of construction of the softball field hockey field at the high school so my question is that we've we've undergone many construction projects in the past why are we using drones for this one yeah just um that's a good question Mr specker and the board actually has a policy about the operation of drones um but for this purpose uh and I'll let Mr Juliana weigh in as well uh because he has a more intimate knowledge of it we heard very clearly uh from the community and the board um about when we engage in projects of this nature about giving you updates uh and the Drone uh with its capabilities would allow us to give the board uh photographic updates and and allowed to share with the community about progress on this important project so Mr Juliana do you want to that that's exactly right and and um it will also provide uh an added level of oversight for our Engineers um you know viewing things from a bird's eye view while construction is ongoing gives a much better um more comprehensive view than you know just Eyes On The Ground as the work progresses so this is um this is actually a A plus in in many respects so this is being done in response to um Community feedback that they'd like to be appraised about we had we heard clearly when we announced that we were going to do the um renovations to the to the field the community was very supportive and very happy that we about to do that uh and questions we've entertained from individuals are about when is it going to be done how how quick is it going to happen because as you remember we took the trees down that stayed that way for a long period of time and people thought progress wasn't wasn't being made uh so this will allow us to give both the board and the community some updates and I think it's important for anybody who doesn't have a copy of the agenda in front of them to understand that uh we are not operating the Drone that is being handled through our our engineers and it is an FAA certified um uh drone pilot who is going to be doing that that's under the contract of the engineers and they won't be overflying any other residential areas it's just isolated to to the work that they're doing at the field thank you I um out of all the things I thought of I didn't think of that I think think that anything that's going to be able to provide us and the community with feedback that we want in real time is good um could you just remind us what what um day we're aiming for or what we're being told will be the approximate completion date of this project uh Mrs Becker I will bring that to the next board meeting I don't have the project schedule here no problem but I will be able to share that at the next meeting thank you I know I know uh Barbara and Mark okay sure um and just piggy backing on that question about can it be done during off hours like in particular not in school is that the plan or is it have to be during school hour it it it will be done while construction is in progress uh it won't impact any students okay uh this is in a in in the area where construction is taking place that is tensed off no one is permitted there except construction workers okay Mark yeah I just wanted to add emphasis on the last line to piggyback off you Dr veski no cost to the district correct so it's something that helps our construction and there's no additional cost to the taxpayers awesome good good job yep Mr H so the same same item my concern is who's going to pay the uh insurance so with this person carry his own liability insurance yes they are fully insured and we have the Insurance certificates in anticipation of this moving forward okay that's great thank you any other discussion okay before I ask the secretary to call the role I just want to remind any board members who might be under Financial Services to abstain will the secretary please call the role Mrs Becker yes accept abstain on Board of Education item one minutes December 14th and item two minutes December 22 noted thank you Mr sisar yes Mr Cummings yes Miss gu yes uh but OB stating on Board of Education item two minutes December 22nd noted Mrs herck yes but sorry yes but abstaining on Board of Education number one minutes number two minutes and under travel report number nine obain as well noted Mr Hong yes exstension uh Board of Education item number two noted Mrs ree uh yes but abstaining on Board of Education item number eight uh travel report p24 3265 noted Mr Winston yes president LAX yes motion carries bringing us to the good of the cause for the public the Board of Education recognizes the value of public comment 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 comments at every meeting of the board and those wishing to speak are given 3 minutes um the board secretary will be keeping the duration uh keeping the time um and I also always like to remind people that this is your time to speak to the board please don't take um our silence or not answering any questions um as not caring about the issues you bring up and anything that needs further followup will be directed to the two ladies in front you can leave your information contact information with them that being said is there anyone tonight wishing to speak if you could come on up and if you could give your name and address for the record before you all speak thank you okay um hello uh is this okay yes all right okay um my name is ataka ganja a t k a last name is guu nja a I live in East Brunswick um you need my address uh Lori um yes you need the address correct okay 68 birkshire Way East Brunswick New Jersey okay um I can start okay um just want to say good evening to all the esteemed members of our Board of Education and superintendent veski I want to start off by thanking each of you and all of you all of those who came before you particularly the late Dr Joanne magistro for your hard work and dedication to making education the Cornerstone of our community my name is AA ganja and I am a proud product of the East brunic public education system as are my three sisters we started in Lawrence Brook and went all the way up to top graduate schools thankfully we are all doing well in our professions and we owe much of our our success to our upbringing in East Brunswick we pride East Brunswick on its diversity inclusion and the respect that we all have for one another in this community may that never change and may it only get stronger the public education system is the reason why I decided to return here to raise my child I am coming here tonight to speak about a very difficult topic but one that we can no longer stay silent about for the past 3 months since the tragic events of October 7th in Israel the world has been witnessing the horror that is unfolding in Palestine where 2.3 million besieged civilians have faced Relentless bombardment forced displacement expulsion extermination and now starvation to date there have been over 30,000 deaths two-thirds of them women and children um and thousands more under the rubble 56,000 injured hundreds of healthcare workers journalists and humanitarian Aid workers killed schools hospitals ancient Church churches and mosques bombed thousands illegally detained in guaza and the West Bank incling including children 1.9 million internally displaced persons and over 25,000 tons of missiles more than an atomic bomb that has been dropped over a 141 square mile area roughly the size of Philadelphia Now 23 un and um un and NGO agencies have found that the entire population of Gazza 2.3 million people are facing food crisis and are at IM imminent risk of famine I'm just going to skip forward because I think 3 minutes might be this might be too long for 3 minutes um and yet this is a human Arian catastrophe of Epic Proportion that the world has not seen before and yet we are not talking about this in our schools why is this this is strikingly at odds for an advanced school system like East Brunswick one in which I thankfully learned the history of the Holocaust in depth um I learned about the plight of the Jews during World War II who similarly faced dehumanization Mass expulsion and extermination I learned about the atrocities of ppot in Cambodia the genocides of Rwanda and Bosnia heroa the grave injustices seconds to the IND indigenous people of America and the founding of our country and mass enslavement of Africans leading up to the Civil War I just want to say the silence is what I'm really concerned about and what I feel like is making us all unsafe here and very uneasy so I need you guys to act on that and to stop being silent about it time thank you thank you m is there anyone else who would like to speak to the board this evening sure come on up and state your name and address for the record three minutes right three minutes three minutes okay cool I'll start it's time we over here too hi uh I'm Chad here eight Lantern Lane um I didn't come here to speak about Palestine but I'll add a little bit to it so uh she I share the same concerns as she does and when people say hey this is a foreign issue this is over there and not over here um it's it's really a US issue if anything else because I feel like our voice in this country when we say 30,000 people are dead or killed um not a lot of actions being taken place in our country in fact we're actually silenced you won't hear this about a lot of this stuff on the media like uh the only way you're really hearing about it is through social media that's the only way people even have a voice if you even see places like Facebook meta they're all silencing all this stuff in fact they're taking down a lot of these posts so um the only way we can make changes in this country is from a local level like uh such as even East Brunswick we need to let our uh what's it called our mayor know so we can let our governor know to let our Representatives know and work our way up there but uh yeah good that's all I really want to talk about Palestine but the actual reason I'm actually here today um have a bigger concern and unfortunately and I haven't been in too many Board of Ed meetings so I'm not sure if discussions have happened in the past about this and unfortunately I don't come with any solutions I but it's a conversation I just want people to have on the back of their mind and it's really the drug issue in the East Brunswick schools uh I understand that like uh vaping is something that you guys are uh pretty much on top of I heard that the bathrooms are being watched more often which is a great thing um and I love the fact that action is being taken on there but like I actually started hearing about things that were even more disturbing where people are actually getting drugs such as LSD meth and even cocaine now into in the schools and something like that really really Disturbed me hearing about this stuff because see one of these children take a hit a meth their their life is over uh that's something that is addictive they're always going to want that high again and uh I'm just really concerned over the children so I know I come with only a problem no solution but I just want that conversation to be on the back of like your minds so at least we can possibly come up with a solution and the biggest problem is uh guess what we we swap one down I feel like there's always another issue oh you stopped them from vaping they're going to pop some gummies during school um you start looking in the behind the toilets for drugs guess what they're just going to do a hand slap and there there's a transaction you don't even see it so I just feel like it's a cat and mouse type game with with this but at the end of the day we got to just look after what's best for our children so I just want to kind of throw that out there to you guys I appreciate your time thank you so much Mr Shakir is there come on up and state your name and address for the record my name is this is that good okay uh my name is Zena Zuri I live at 339 Danberry Court um I just want to um speak up in support of what was mentioned in regards to Israel and Palestine from the last two speakers I'm asking that we collectively come together as a board and a school district to support our students my son is a sophomore at the high school and he showed me some very disturbing Instagram posts that his classmates are posting so I know we're not having a conversation out loud or the student but the students are having conversations right so we need to come together to support the students to make sure that they're getting the correct information and they're learning about what's happening um it was a very disturbing image that has been shown on the media of men that were stripped down and tied and blindfolded and they said the image said they don't call it the Gaza Strip for nothing so this is something that another student is posting to their Instagram that my son is then seeing um so and I think back to other times here I I grew up in East Brook I graduated class 43 I remember back to 2020 when George floyer was murdered I remember a statement came out from the district there was a bunch of Education resources that went out I remember 911 I was in school during that um and I remember counselors were brought in we had the guidance counselors but they also brought in specialized counselors there was education that was happening and so I'm asking us to come together and provide that for what's happening now for our students now thank you so much Mr is there anyone else this evening that would like to speak yes sir if you could just give us your name and address for the record yeah my my name is Muhammad Sak uh m u a m m a s a q e e b and I come my address is 406 Riders Lane as a resident who has been through the entire school system racism bigotry ignorance has went widely unnoticed in our community in high school we had a class called genocide where we learned about the Holocaust Ron genocide The Armenian Genocide but not once did we talk about the Noba the Bengali genocide the ongoing genocidal persecutions that are happening all over the world against Muslims not just in Palestine but also in the US uh in 19 in 2019 in this uh high scho in East bun high school we had a student who was uh take had her job taken off and the school punished the victim of the hate crime we are seeing a rise of hate crime around us today including vandalization of synagogues mosque and attacks on rabbis and imams including in Newark where uh including Y where a person was murdered after opening the MOs the fuder time a hate comes from ignorance and as a educational system it is your responsibility to reduce ignorance among our community and it should never devolve into violence for Muslim and Jewish students we are often lift out of the many School uh programs because we are not accommodated for our food choices our clothing our prayer times our religious holidays or our own learning about our own history this does not increase the amount of study work or take away from from the time school because those who are not accommodated can't they don't have the accommodations to go out to school and because of that students and teachers are expected to continue their curriculum while St some students are lagging behind this only increases more stress and prop and decreases the entire grades for everyone else this is about fairness about building a safe and accommodating environment through a diversity of races cultures and religions I believe a great start with this would be having a Muslim heritage month we need to have more assemblies more events discussing the different cultural aspects and integrate them into our curriculum as much as we learn about other heritages and we also well actually that's time it but yeah we should definitely reach out for more uh progress about integrating these cultural aspects into our curriculum and we should have a silence for the Imam that it was just recently taken away because that has a large effect on a greater creative community in and especially in East buns thank you thank you Mr second is there anyone else that would like to speak to the board yes say your name and address hello uh you need name yes please uh Matthew Lei M A TT h e w l i b CC uh I am not of East Brunswick but I am of East Windsor 20 like 30 minutes from here uh my address is 233 wi CR dri WIS New Jersey um I uh I'm also here uh standing in support with my uh commad ATA um in support of uh Palestinians but specifically um because this is a Board of Education meeting it is important to talk specifically about uh that exact purpose education um I have been a photographer I have been a street field journalist for 3 months now since the events of October 7th um uh documenting and spreading the awareness uh of of the uh activism that is happening on the ground in New Jersey in New York uh Philadelphia and hopefully in Washington DC on January 13th um and one of the things that has become very apparent is the very real threat of silencing and um threats to students uh be they either in elementary school middle school high school um or in college specifically which a lot of students I have worked with um I myself uh grew up in Monroe Township where I half my f friends were from East Brunswick so my uh roots are just as much here as they are anywhere else um even though I am in East Windsor which is a town over um it is important to note that uh I was lucky enough in my education to be uh taught about Holocaust and genocide uh The Armenian Genocide and um I was taught by a Jewish uh uh Jewish teacher Miss Schwarz that um uh from that moment on uh I did a lot for understanding the very real threats of fascism and the very real threats of uh suppression and how genocide slowly digs itself into everyday life and um eventually causes us to not realize the actions that Humanity causes to other people um and one thing that is very threatening is how that fascism is slowly being rooted within our Educational Systems uh Rucker University uh for specifically has had their students for justice in Palestine chapter uh recently uh revoked uh those students have been silenced and they have not had their voices heard even though they themselves have also had threats and I it is also very important to understand that is not just Palestinian students not just Arab it's not just Muslim Students because a lot of what's happening is they try to pin uh a Muslim problem against a Jewish problem and that's not how it is it's a humanitarian problem uh I have been to Jersey City I have been to the East Brunswick uh town hall meeting and a lot of times people keep having this dividing line and that's not what we're trying to do we're trying to just simply educate people on what is happening because it is affecting Jewish students affecting Palestinian students affecting uh Arab Muslim Christian Buddhist um taist students anything it doesn't have to do with religion it's humanitarian thing and it's very important to understand uh that uh even if you think your children are not talking about this they are talking about this it's all they're talking about um and I have heard from every age range and I have interacted with them and everything thank you thank you Mr is there anyone else yes come on up and state your name and address for the record um my name is k nazin I'm at 16 vanle Road East brake um good evening everyone I'm here on behalf of my two kids who go to East Bron School for third grade and fifth grade I'll start off by quoting like two incidents that happened to my kids directly inside the East brake School environment right November last year my third grade daughter at Frost Elementary was shown an ASMR video which is generally meant for relaxation right but not this one this was a video of a turtle chomping on a map of Israel and Palestine eating away Gaza and the West Bank like this was not relaxing for my daughter she was very disturbed as she went home and told my wife about this secondly yes yesterday at Hughes my fifth grader was asked by another student if he was Muslim when he said yes he said all Muslims are evil go Google it right our children receive a lot of hate in the school environment they're not prepared to handle that many of these go unreported right we need to make sure our school environment is safe for everyone kids of all faith our children are not like equipped to handle such hostility even those who are probably mature enough old enough to handle these are afraid especially the Muslim Students so I'm requesting the folks in this Gathering to do something about the hatred against Muslims or people of all Faith doesn't matter if Muslims or Jewish we need to stop the hatred that's all thank you thank you Aram shocker atan charene good evening Board of Education members Dr veski and all the amazing staff members here at East Brunswick um I'm going to read off aa's statement because she didn't get to finish and she had some really good points but I'd like to reiterate what this gentleman over here said I'm not going to reiterate the situations that have occurred in the East Brunswick Township but a lot has occurred and there's been no action um kids are not upfront about talking about it because they feel really uncomfortable and that's a problem um all right so why when this is happening in real time are we not actively learning and teaching about this and why are we acting why are we not acting to stop it immediately last week I introduced a ceasefire resolution to the East Brunswick Township Council and Mayor Cohen this is being done throughout the town and City Council in America in order to apply pressure at the state and federal levels to pass an immediate and permanent ceasefire and unrestricted humanitarian Aid to Palestine today I am coming to the East Brunswick School Board to plead with you to stop being silent on this issue to start teaching our students about what is going on to give the staff students and families the support we desperately need if the school board truly provides itself on acceptance understanding and unity as superintendent weski stated and His official statement October 17th if you're truly working tiously to enhance physical security for every student then we need you to start talking about this and educating about this I am not a professional educator so I cannot advise you how to effectively navigate through these crisis I know that during 911 extra counselors were provided for staff and students I know during the unfortunate hijab incident in 2019 the township provided assembled for public discourse and similar Community forums were held during the George floid murder and black lives matter protest I know there are sophisticated systems in place to educate and support our staff through this tragic time and in turn they can systematically educate and support our students and families we badly need it we are suffering the children are suffering they need guidance about how to deal with their emotions how to process the grief how to use social media responsibly during this time how to deal with bias crimes hate speech and racial profiling the the horrific images and stories we hear on a daily basis on our screens are not normal for any of us to see let alone children while we teach them to look away ignore the plight of others though they are on the other side of the world will we leave them and our families to navigate this crisis on our own or will we teach our children to pay attention to injustices to fight for Freedom equality and peace and to feel a part of the change we want and need to see in the world these are some of the loing questions I want this board to consider and then I want this board to take action sorry that I was going 100 miles an hour uh but I'm going to go back to what I actually want to talk about um our children live in a era of social media they can decipher between actual images and AI images they're witnessing some of the worst atrocities that they've ever seen my son said they're some of the worst that they' he's ever seen worse than a horror movie whether that means providing additional support um or counseling but we need to provide something I remember post 911 I was not visibly Muslim but I was told to go back where I came from and then I was also called a terrorist that year I submitted an application for the Islamic Club of East Bruns because that's not what my faith represented but the my faith was being anyways no problem thank thanks Sarah guest please come up state your name and address for the record uh Dr wahed Baja 47 edar Street uh good evening uh all the gentlemen and ladies present here and also the Board of Education um happy New Year to everyone and also congratulations to all the uh reelected and newly elected members of the board of head um I am an educator by by profession and um I just want to um I'm not going to ask anyone about you know what statement you should put out or what position you should take whether it's uh you know Pro Seas fire or uh non proas fire but I just want to iterate that we are raising our next Generation uh in our school district and we need to give them the tools to interact with each other uh be able to engage in difficult conversations without being under the fear of uh labeled either uh islamophobe or anti-semite unless they cross those boundaries and if they do then they have to be taught in the right manner if we don't teach these things in schools where would we I'll just bring up a simple example my daughter um I I have three children in the East frenic School District the young the oldest one uh moved on to college uh my middle one uh she showed me a passage or piece that she was writing on this conflict which I thought was a very balanced it was you know um uh she didn't have to but of course it it it started from the discussion of October 7th and uh you know how that is reprehensible and all that and then she went into historical aspects and then she asked me do you think I will be penalized by my teacher if I submit this because sometimes when we don't say something that is saying a lot so when we don't say that you have the freedom to this is the place where we'll engage in ideas the marketplace of ideas in a manner that brings our communities together that brings kids together from different faiths if we don't give them that encouragement what will they grow out to be they will grow out to be people who just post uh abhorent and really really V stuff on social media so uh we have to take a stand here we have to teach them how to engage in difficult conversations we have to teach them that no matter what you engage in you will not be penalized and only then we'll raise children who will be the beacon of Peace in this world 10 seconds uh and otherwise will'll raise children who will just keep on being posting wild stuff on social media so uh I hope you'll take some action on that thank you thank you Dr B is there anyone else that would like to speak to the board this evening yes no no I just want to make sure okay see I'm going to then close the public public portion um I thank everyone for your comments tonight um as I said at the beginning we do not um address things that have been said but I just want to task you with something um it's very difficult because the Board of Education we're not global politics we're not even local politics we're a board of education our job is to run make sure that the district has run well um but there is something I would like to ask Dr frigo and Dr vesy to do because um give kids the tools to interact with each other Dr boo that was one of the things that you said that is something I think that we can do so I would love to see if there's any kind of reporting that can be done on how we are helping to facilitate conversations as I said we can't do anything about the politics of the world but we can do things about making sure that our children are having conversations and they are feel penalized because every student in this District needs to feel safe in their person and their beliefs in their politics and anything um so if it's possible to do something I'd love to know what we're doing in terms of um I don't know if it's assemblies or if it's I know we have a lot of great programs but if you could give us a little bit more about how we're helping these children to interact we we could we could give the board uh in the community a report at at another board meeting yeah um but if I could I would I would like to assure the members in this this forum tonight and and people watching this this recording a couple of comments were made about the mobilization of guidance support and supporting our students we did that uh the actual the the next day or the first school day after this event happened uh Dr Figaroa and I had a conversation uh they those individuals report directly to him and we mobilize them to provide uh you know direct resources to students um but we do acknowledge that students do not always share and so that's that's one of the challenges that we have is that students sometimes don't want to talk about certain things so we heard some very impactful things tonight so we'll we'll prepare a report for the board and actions that we plan to take that's the only thing and some of the actions we've already taken that we will share with the community the only thing I ask is if we follow up on the portion that falls within our control um this is bringing us to new and our old business Community report committee reports information items and for the good of the cause for the board um I want to say congratulations to um Tim and Lori and myself for getting pre- elected um Lori we welcome you to the fund I think you'll be a wonderful new addition um thank you to my fellow board members for giving me another year in this seat um and a lot of things were said about leadership the only thing I can say is a true leader is someone that finds a way to um take Division and and you know find a way to coexist and we are role models for our kids out there and if we ask them to be able to get along no matter what their beliefs are then I think that we should be able to do the same on this board so going forward that's what I'm hoping for in the new year um I think we have some great people up here that are all volunteers we always um tell people that you forget that we have a day job and then we come here on our evenings off to do this um for the betterment of the community so um I do applaud everybody that I serve up here with and um hopefully I will make you proud this year uh is there anyone else Mrs Becker um first of all I also want to welcome Lori and um congratulate Tim and Lori again on their reelection Heather and Lori on their um roles as leadership uh I wanted to first start off with something um nice and exciting for our town uh the recreation park Advisory Board had a meeting right before winter break and um there's a new recreational arts program that's going to be called the East Brunswick Symphony Orchestra and this is going to provide highquality musical performances but more important educational experiences it's a volunteer community Orchestra but it also features professional level players and there's going to be music education for adults ensembles and classes will be open to adult musicians 18 years and older of all skill levels and both residents and non-residents are are welcome to participate and the premier performance is Sunday January 21st at 3:00 at the EB community art center and I believe this is a center that holds two approximately 200 people if somebody knows otherwise please feel free to correct me so I would just urge you if you want to get tickets to go online and do it um the 21st will be here before we know it and there are a limited number of seats then I I would be remiss if I didn't um say something about our moment of silence for Holly Howard at the beginning of the meeting today um Holly was one of the people who um talked to me about serving on the board in 1999 she became my mentor and more important she was my friend she will be deeply missed you can't quantify what Holly did for our district and the students and staff in this District she had the most amazing generosity of time and spirit and she will be missed she will be missed thank you Holly Holly taught us a lot about being good board members Holly was a born leader and a kind soul and brought ice cream to negotiations meetings when we had 12-hour meetings so and the movie and the movie yes she's Irreplaceable Mr hung so I want to welcome Laur to this volunteer body everyone sitting here has a family sitting here have the his or her own children have his her daily job making up your mind to join is big step and getting elected is another step but education is a dynamic field being a board member is a very challenging getting elected to a good board member is just a very tiny initial step and I really hope you can uh take advantage of ngba middle SE County Schoolboard Association meetings resource and uh try your best to learn let's work together grow together and serve our student together Tim ditto dig it uh I want to give a quick shout out to Mr uh Hannis and the team at Churchill I attended last night for my seventh grade son the rising eighth grade U meeting which was just incredibly informative that and and just it's such a a pleasure to sit there and witness the expertise that you know we are surrounded by within our district all the teachers the administrators all the members that were involved in that um you know they just bring such such the expertise but also the care and the compassion to their roles as well and and I just want to highlight that um and uh say one of the things that I took away from that as a parent with three kids in three different schools here in the district is that I myself don't I I underestimated the uh usage of you going on the website and looking for information on the school at the schools particularly I just don't do that enough but learn that there's a heck of a lot of information there and would really encourage other parents to also take advantage of that as a resource uh when you're looking for information I'm going to be doing more of that and just wanted to share that as a takeaway but again big shout out to that team they did a great job thank you miss her thank you so I wanted to thank all the board members and administration you've all been so welcoming and supportive as I've gone through my transition um so thank you and it's been nervous but I look forward to working with everybody so thank you how do you feel about changing your name well I'm just kidding you get to be young Lori don't worry I was say why would she change her oh you Lori that's okay you know what we had the era of Mark one and Mark two so you know yeah now we have Lor Mark Mark now we that's right that's right she spells it the right way and everything I think that's the chair yes yes okay Miss gu um I wanted to Echo what Miss lock said and thank the board members for their support um I hope to be able to meet everyone's expectations in leadership this year um I'm fairly singular of focus when it comes to education I just believe that it is a lot of volunteer hours and there are so many volunteers within the district I mean we talk a lot and remind people that we're volunteers but I've spent a lot of PTA time in the last few weeks and there are just so many people who are actively giving back to the school whether it's here to speak up for their students or in this capacity or you just all kinds of parents in the school all trying to do the same thing which is I just think our singular focus is to nurture our children in the best ways to become the most comfortable competent adults that they can be and part of that is creating a very safe environment so I do hope we are able to in leadership um focus on that this year and help everyone come together toward our goals as a group I want to welcome Lori congratulations you made it through the first one and uh congratulations to Lori and Tim I am honored and excited to serve with you again that's all thank you thank you all right I'm going to remind you to get me your committee request and then I am going to ask for a motion to adjourn moved by the only Mark second second by he is there any discussion all those in favor opposed extensions motion carries thank you so much good night everyone happy New Year