##VIDEO ID:QDGO8OybL3c## check check check one two check check one two e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e show all right good evening everyone my name is John to I'm the school business administrator I'd like to welcome you all to the annual January 2nd 2025 board uh Edison Township Board of Education reorganization meeting right now I will read the winning candidates for school board as of 2024 November candidate Ralph ero 18,18 votes candidate uh Jerry shei 7 1,355 votes candidate ronok Patel 18541 votes I now have here with us Congressman gutenheimer to administer the oath of office first we have Mr ronok Patel please step up here turn this way there you go want me to your wife yeah how are you bu I'm Josh what's up man what's your name right over here beautiful yep nice to meet you that's hey yeah we right yeah yeah you raise your right hand you raise your right hand there you go ready I ronic Patel I ronic Patel do solemnly swear do Solly swear that I will support the Constitution of the United States I will support the Constitutions of the United States and the Constitution and the constitution of the state of New Jersey and the state of New Jersey and that I will bear true faith I will bear true faith and Allegiance allegiance to the same to the same and to the governments and to the governments established established in the united states in the United States and this state and in this state under the authority of the people under the authority of the people so help me God so help me God ionic Patel ionic Patel do solemnly swear do solemnly swear that I possess the qualifications 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 Board of Education and then I am not disqualified I'm not disqualified as a voter as a v pursuant to for pursuing to RS RS 19 19 4-1 4-1 nor disqualified nor disqualified to the conviction to the conviction of a crime of crime or offense listed off or offense listed in njsa in njsa 18 18 12-1 12-1 and that I will Faithfully I faithfully impartially impartially and justly and justly perform all duties perform all duties of that office 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 now I I brought this from Washington for you a certificate and this we flew a flag over the United States capital in your honor this one above the capital literally in your honor of this office uh with this certificate recognizing that this flag in clue in your honor and here is so we'll hold this up and do a picture together if everyone wants to get get in here move this a little bit okay excellent go see I would like to call up now Mr Ralph ero [Applause] congratulations again okay okay I Ralph Aro I Ralph ero do Solly swear you solemnly swear that I will support the Constitution I will support the Constitution of the United States of the United States and the Constitution and the constitution of the state of New Jersey and the state of New Jersey and that I will bear true faith and I will bear true faith and Allegiance and allegiance to the same to the same and to the governments established and to the government 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 so help me God so help me God I Ralph ero I Ralph ero do solemnly swear 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'm not disqualified and I'm not disqualified as a voter as a voter pursuant to pursuant to rs19 rs19 4-1 4-1 one nor disqualified nor disqualified due to conviction of a crime due conviction of a crime or offense or offense listed in njsa listed in njsa 18 18 12-1 12-1 and that I will faithfully and I will faithfully impartially impartially and justly and justly perform all duties perform all duties of that office 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 come on you crushed it you this we do a family picture hold [Applause] excellent right thank you very [Applause] much up there I would like now like to call Mr Jerry shei [Applause] okay I Jerry she I Jerry she do somly swear to Solly swear that I will support the Constitution that I support the Constitution of the United States of the United States and the constitution of the state and the constitution of the states of New Jersey of New Jersey and then I will bear true faith and I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same and allegiance to the same and to the governments and to the governments established established in the united states in the United States and this state and the state under the authority of the people under the authority of the people so help me God so help me God I Jerry she I Jerry she do solemnly swear do Solly 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 Board of Education and that I'm not disqualified and I'm not disqualified as a voter as a voter pursuant to RS pursuant to RS 19 19 4-1 4-1 nor disqualified nor disqualified due to conviction due to conviction of a crime of a crime or offense or offense listed in njsa listed in njsa 18 18 12-1 12-1 and that I will Faithfully that I will faithfully impartially impartially and justly and justly perform all duties perform more duties of that office 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 [Applause] congratulations take this me [Applause] [Applause] is it okay if I I'd say just a couple words you know they brought me out here so I got to give you your money's worth uh uh seriously H happy New Year everybody thank you so much to the board for having me and the board leadership I'm very grateful superintendent thank you so much for those of you who don't know me I'm Congressman Josh gimer I represent Northern New Jersey the top part uh of the state so it's it's great to be here Bergen County pay County Sussex County it's not far away I I I urge you to visit um and it's really an honor to be here as we uh continue our work in this great New Year together to make Jersey an even better place to live to raise a family uh to go to school of course our Great Schools we got the best in the country in New Jersey we've got the best Educators in the country we're very blessed and lucky to live in this great place and I want to thank all the local leaders in Edison uh and I want to congratulate again not only the people who got sworn in today but everybody who has made this happen all the family members and friends and please give everybody a big round of applause and to all the board members I will tell I want to say thank you to all the spouses and the kids uh it's not it's a lot of time that you give uh it's a lot of yourself it's a big sacrifice that you make but also your families make my wife reminds me about this all the time uh in fact I'm headed tonight to Washington to get sworn in for my term tomorrow in Washington so I'm excited um and uh my you know my wife reminded me you know I've got a 12-year-old uh son and a 15-year-old daughter so we're in the thick of it in the school so I know what everyone's going through you know we just have such great public schools here in Jersey and a diverse community and friendly Neighbors in Edison is a perfect example I believe of how much Jersey has to offer in fact our schools here have educated some of the greatest Minds in the past and continue to all of our future leaders are coming out of here so many of them it's a great place we've got astronaut Mark pisy was here David Brian graduated here I don't know if any knew him he was a songwriter and keyboardist for Bon Joy um so you got talent all across the place as some of you know Edison is the home of course at Thomas Edison's famous Meno Park laboratory I'm you know I'm a bit of a nerd for history I've read a lot of books about Edison he you know not only perfected the light bulb and the and recorded sound for the first time but he once said there's a better way to do it find it and uh and I think you know both between Jerry and Ralph and ronic they will continue not just to do things better they will always look for new ways to find and discover for our schools to make them better I know everyone here does the school board does um and and everyone in Edison Township Public Schools do to try to make things always better for our kids because listen we're all here for our kids uh you saw a couple of them today for our future right it's all about them and that's what this is about really for all of us you know I think you start to get to an age you realize it's not about us it's about the Next Generation making sure they're prepared so we can compete and win as a country we live in the greatest country the world's ever known right by far and when we put our country first which I'm always very focused on put a side party put the country first work together and realize that we're all in this together we do so much better when we solve problems together and work together and I'm on the intelligence Committee in Washington not because I have extra intelligence um but that's where we we oversee like the CIA and the NSA all the drones um kidding kidding about the drones um uh but what I realize is you know you see all these people who want to do us harm around the world every day and you realize just how blessed we are to have the best men and women protecting us here at home around the world our law enforcement our firefighters our First Responders our servicemen and women a lot of them who couldn't be home during this holiday with their families and it's because and and you realize at the end of it it's because we have this gift that they're protecting the flag our democracy what we have and we should never lose sight of that right of this gift that we all have but it comes from teach it's education that's the base of it all teaching people like right giving them information so they can we can grow and succeed and be and be ready for the next Generation so anyway I just want to say Jerry Ralph and Eric thank you so much it's an honor to be here I do want to say a couple words about each of them because Jerry for the last 10 years has been committed to public service with a passion that you know drives him to make a difference every day he's lived in Edison been married for 32 yearsan 32 years uh which is pretty impressive theyve never had a single fight in 32 years uh their son Andy received a PhD from my alma actually uh and his daughter Heidi is a captain in the US Army which is amazing you know amazing um uh so I don't know if it's Harvard or the US Army which is better but they're both pretty good um we thank uh her for for defending our freedoms that's what I think for always the Army over Harvard by the way any day of the week but seriously thank you for defending our freedoms uh as a member of the Edison school board when Co hit our communities Jerry you know LED efforts fundraising efforts to get gift cards ens sure our kids could have meals and and and provide for the community uh and reflecting on how hard the pandemic was Jerry said it's also showcased the resilience of our community and our commitment to finding Solutions in the face of adversity and I that's how he's always LED and uh as someone as you may know I'm always focused on making life more affordable for families Jerry's been right there on the Zero tax increase initiative in Edison he helped secure a more than $100 million historic investment to renovate the school district without costing a nickel to Jersey taxpayers I love that excellent job and he's a huge Buffalo Bill fan we're not going to hold that against him I'll applaud for saving money and lower taxes not for the bills let me be very clear um uh You've Been instrumental Jerry in the fight to raise our investment into our most important resource our children uh and um I know you'll continue to do it in a fiscally responsible way and set our district up for more long-term success congratulations again I do want to talk for a second about Ralph if you don't mind um who's been a resident in this great Community for 33 years um Ralph's wife Donna and their three children Nicholas Michael and Danielle are all graduates of the same Edison public school system that Ralph has been a dedicated supporter of and leader of for more than 20 years he's been an educator currently teaches math and as a son of an educator myself I know how much uh that sacrifice takes every day and as we were just talking about his knowledge extends Beyond just the classroom his coach soccer basketball football baseball softball I not only does he serve as the Mid-Atlantic Regional commissioner and on the international Board of Directors for Babe Ruth but he's been a volunteer for Babe Ruth and Cal Ripken baseball and softball for 30 years overseeing games across states in the Mid-Atlantic and even helping to run the World Series for different age groups of boys and girls in his free time I don't know when that is but in his free time uh I just want to thank him for as an educator on the school and being on the school board and helping make this community stronger and better I know he'll continue to do so to find further success in 2025 and supporting the faculty and staff and improving our facilities here and ensuring our children receive the quality education as they ever do in Edison congratulations again you call balls and Strikes every day I'm a Steeler fan what what's going on here is it in the water at the school board uh really Steelers are tough fans you know you know travel well I know exactly uh finally I want to mention a few things about the newest addition to our our Township Board of Education ronic uh who has been a resident for 17 years and is a proud parent of a of an Edison student ronic has been an active member of the PTA helping lead Book Fairs clothing drives and charity work he's someone who always keeps others in mind donating blood every 3 months uh which where are very grateful for helping others that way you'll be giving blood in a new way here um um every uh with an exper with experience as an accounting and operation specialist as an international staff accountant I know that you will make a great impact on Edison students as as ever as ronic told me quote whether it's improving School infrastructure expanding opportunities or engaging the community every step we take in education builds a better future for everyone and I think that speaks very loudly to what you believe and your values and what you're going to do I know you spend your free time with your wife and taking your son swimming and to taekwon do classes and a play soccer on top of all this one of the most impressive things about ronic is that he's trilingual which is very impressive if you tell me you are not a Giants or jets fan we're gonna have to talk about this uh uh I watch cricket cricket oh man way to dodge it there man ronic with your with your knowledge and dedication to Edison I have no doubt that you will find success in your goals of addressing overcrowding and ensuring all our classrooms of air conditioning and tutoring and after school programs all without increasing taxes more affordability lower taxes helping our families here in Edison every day I love the spirit I love the energy congratulations on your election and to all of you God bless God bless our great country thank you so much congratulations thank you all right thank you yeah thank you Congressman we're going to take uh a short 10-minute recess uh for anyone would like to take a picture or feel free to step out and and and grab a glass of water or something we'll be back in 10 minutes thank you e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e all right we're going to bring the uh thank you we're going to bring the meeting back to order uh next up I will be calling Ro Mr ero here Mr Lugo oh thank you corrected oh it's next item you guys that's why I'm not the board president thank you thank you thank you all right Mr Lugo here miss Ana Patel here Mr ronik Patel here Mr Vel Patel here miss Pang here Mr Rano here Mr she here miss wght white here we have a quum please stand for the pledge I pledge alleg to the flag of the United States of America the stands nation indiv liy and justice for all thank you in accordance with the open public meetings ACT public law 1975 c231 Sunshine Law copies of this public meeting notice were sent to the home News Tribune and the Star Ledger on January 4th 2024 members of the public May participate that regular meetings in accordance with the bylaws of the board and applicable state law okay first order up for business will be to call for nominations for president do I have a nomination for board president uh Mr Patel yeah I I would like to nominate jery for the board president okay do I have any other nominations for board president any other nominations like to nominate Mr Joseph Romano any other nominations other okay members of the board you have your paper ballot in front of you once you complete that please pass it forward so that I may tally I have a vote from Mr vichel Patel from Sor they all came thought I thought they we had them my bad I read the oh you read not well not well you good okay okay we have a uh vote from Mr Vish Patel for Mr Jerry sh we have uh a a blank Sor yep I have a ballot with no Boe members name on it but this is obviously I'm assuming Mr Joe Romano voting for Mr Joe Romano me okay we have a vote for Mr Jerry she from Mr Jerry sh we have a vote from Mr Chris Lugo for Mr Joseph Romano we have a vote from Miss an Patel for Mr Jerry sheet we have a vote for Mr ronic Patel for Mr Jerry she we have a boat from Mr Jerry she for Mr Jerry she well one of them looks like it was it was blank so someone didn't fill their name out that was me probably Mr she okay that would be so miss white is for Mr she noted Mr ero uh has one vote for Mr shei and Miss Pang is a vote for Mr jerrye congratulations Mr jerrye you've been elected [Applause] board I got so we can follow along we're going to call for paper ballot force all right so uh can I have a nomination for uh board vice president um i' like to nominate oh sorry I'm sorry I would like to nominate Chris Lugo okay any other nominations yeah I'd like to nominate uh Mr Bishop Patel okay any other nominations okay so you have a paper ballot in front of you uh please uh you know write in who you're voting for got nine got n okay I have a vote for Mr ronic Patel for Mr visho Patel I have a vote for Mr Christopher Lugo for Mr Christopher Lugo I have a vote for Miss anena Patel for Mr Vel Patel I have a vote from Mr vop Patel for Mr vop Patel I have a vote from Miss White for Mr Lugo I have a vote for Mr Romano for Mr Luc I have a vote for Mr Erico for Mr Lugo I have a vote for Mr Jerry shei for Mr vop Patel and I have a vote for Miss Shannon Pang for Mr vichel Patel congratulations Mr vichel Patel Swit I think to your left okay thank you everyone so with now we have a motion for the parliamentary procedures can I have a motion motion second Shannon and vop Patel yes Shannon V sh y please yes Mr ero yes Mr Lugo yes Miss an Patel yes Mr Ric Patel yes Mr Vish Patel yes Miss Pang yes Mr Romano yes M white yes president sh yes motion carries next is the adoption of State mandated code of ethics John I think you need to read it right uh usually board attorney reads oh okay I'm sorry the the resolution do you want in the interest of brevity the statute is what it is the resolution what is with is AB brevity you w wave the reading and move for adoption okay we used to read it but I'll read that's fine I would prefer you read it if you yes sir no that's why I asked whereas title 18a col 12- 24.1 code of ethics for school board members requires that a board member shall abide by the following code of ethics for school board members one I will uphold and enforce all laws rules and regulations of the State Board of Education and court orders pertaining to schools desired changes shall be brought about only through legal and ethical procedures two I will make decisions in terms of the educational welfare of the children and will seek to develop and maintain the public schools that meet the individual needs of all children regardless of their ability race Creed sex or social standing three I will confine my board action to policym planning and appraisal and will help to frame policies and plans only after the board has consulted those who will be affected by them four I will carry out my responsibility not to administer the schools but together with my fellow board members to see that they are well-run five I will re recogniz that Authority rests with the Board of Education and will make no personal promises nor take any private action that may compromise the board six I will refuse to surrender my independent judgment to special interest or partisan political groups or to use the schools for personal gain or for the gain of Friends Seven I will hold confidential all matters pertaining to the schools which if disclosed would needlessly injure individuals or the schools in all other matters I will provide accurate information and in concert with my fellow board members interpret to the staff the aspirations of the community for its School eight I will vote to appoint the best qualified Personnel available after consideration of the recommendation of the chief School administr uh School Chief school officer I will support and protect School Personnel in proper performance of their duties 10 I will render I will excuse me I will refer all complaints to the chief administrative officer and will act on the complaints at public meetings only after failure of the of an administrative solution now there be resolved that the school board members serving the Edison Board of Education acknowledge that they have received a copy of the code of ethics for school board members and understand the responsibilities they are undertaking as members of the Edison Township Board of Education uh Mr President president uh you should ask for a motion in second sir yes so uh all board members you have a piece of paper in front of you this is the time to sign this paper and uh after you finish pass down to the bo secretary sir you still need a motion yes I know thank you yes now can I have a motion to approve the uh the code of ethics Ralph Faro have a second second Mrs pen R Please Mr ero yes Mr Lugo yes Miss Ana Patel yes Mr Vish Patel yes Mr ronok Patel yes Miss Pang yes Mr Romano yes Miss White yes president she yes motion carries next up we have uh public comments yeah public comments for Resolutions only any public has comments about resolutions the only resolution is about meetings corre the meetings that's the only uh resolution any comments about the meetings the school board meetings okay go ahead AJ good evening and happy New Year congratulations Mr shei for being a president and Vishal Patel as a vice chair or vice president the new board member ronuk Patel congratulations thank you we have very high Hope from this board AJ and I was surprised with the uh the voting that happened but hopefully we will all forget about the differences we all come together as one body and work towards the the benefit of students parents and the taxpayers thank you sir thank you so uh any other comments about the meetings for the coming uh school year back oh oh okay I'm not used to this I'm sorry Happy New Year to all and congratulations to all our new members old faces and new faces Beth taly 15 Midwood Avenue um I see we're doing a tour of Edison for our meetings this year I'm just um did you guys take into account um when the certain meetings are going to be when you're going to have like recognition for students that they're their you know at like maybe Edison High or JP that it's a big enough Auditorium when you have teacher recognition is that going to be at you know one of the high schools so we have the space for it and I see that JP Stevens is in March's meeting the auditorium is going to be done by then those are just a couple questions was that like taken into account those recognition nights and that they're at the schools that are big enough to hold those audience because we have a lot of kids that we always recognize for all their Good Deeds that's my only question questions okay I don't need to ask superintendent I think the answer is yes and yes that is correct knowing Eddie is definitely [Laughter] yes okay now we have uh okay open discussion board members uh board member comments so anyone oh yeah we didn't vote for the resolution sorry okay roll call I'm am sorry for moot get rusty you got Rusty after I'm so sorry I make a motion do I have a second second okay ero pan okay Mr ero yes Mr Lugo yes Miss Ana Patel yes Mr ronac Patel yes Mr Vel Patel yes Miss pen yes Mr Romano yes Miss White yes president she yes motion carries all right now we have uh board member comments so board members anyone okay J okay I'm going to go back to the meetings and she's right that they're all over the place now but just you know my own opinion you know and I'm just one person gen one person uh I think or it I think they should be held at the high schools as they have been this you know we the high schools are big they can accommodate the seats are comfortable for the people that come we have those big screens when we do our presentations W which we do quite often um and thirdly it's set up so much better for Patrick and the boys with their um you know with your video I think we should take that into consideration I know they want to show up the new uh you know the new gyms and auditoriums that we put in and they are beautiful they're gorgeous you could take my word for it I've seen them uh but uh honestly I think you know in my own opinion that I think it would be best if we kept them at the high schools right now we have just Edison High but when JP is up and running you know that's going to be a good thing but you know I'm just one so that's that's it thank you any other board members yes Chris yeah I just like to wish hearty congratulations to our three new board members Mr Jerry shei uh Mr Rik Patel Mr ero uh Mr Ralph ero and to our newly elected president Mr shei and uh vice president Mr uh Mr PTO and I just wanted to take the opportunity to wish everybody here and the rest of our Edison residents and our students I hope you everyone had a great holiday season and just wanted to wish everybody a very happy healthy and safe prosperous new year thank you any other board members yeah ronic good evening everyone thank you all those who are here today to attend the swearing in ceremony congratulations to jerc for getting elected as a president and Vishal Patel for getting elected as a vice president for Boe I'm not only very excited but it's very high privilege and honor to be a board member at this time and to serve for the wonderful Edison parents students teachers staff member under the wonderful lead leadership of Dr Elder Ali I'm very thankful to the voters of Edison who put their faith in myself and my team and God us elected with such an incredible margin I'm very thankful to my family supporting me tremendously during my election further I would like to thank all my friends who helped me during my election especially former Boe president berel pel who inspired me to run for this position and mentored me all the way through the process it is hard sus to fill his position for myself but I will keep getting guidance from him the current board members and superintendent to serve the district the best one of my huge passion is helping the teex fa and I will work hard to commit towards fiscal responsibility being a parent of a child attending first grade in B Franklin School of Edison I'm very passionate about education and I have a huge faith in our teachers and staff members who put tireless tireless effort in our efforts in our education system I have a lot of respect for you all and I look forward to working with you all and and help in any way I can I would like to thank everyone of you who are here councilman Rich Brasher councilman aay pel Congress Congressman Josh go Gotham goer who was gracious enough to give us oath of office member of ETA the entire administrative team and member of public any parent who needs anything I'm here to help in any way I can I look forward work with with the superintendent and fellow board members to continue our district sign and student three thank you everyone on once again thank you anybody else oh I'm sorry happy New Year everyone nice to see everyone right here and all new member welcome to board thank congratulations Jerry as a president and vice president V Sal Patel I know Jeri I don't need people to know like too many years and years but I need some moment to know people so I know jishi I don't know raav but let's see we work together and I know Rona P I always see in Temple right so I don't want to say much but just work as a team we have some goals in this year so I hope 2025 is good good for us so we can achieve some goal right so if any help just Reach Out us and once again we have a great team Dr Ali all Administration team that is great trust me we don't need to tell them what to do they do their job so please reach out to us if you need any help we would like to thank you everyone have a nice evening thank you thank you Angela any other board members can I go yeah well so I want to wish Happy New Year to everybody and uh congratulation to all the new board members I want to thank all the board members for electing me and trusting me to serve as a vice president and I'm looking forward to work with everybody as a team I also want to express my gratitude to administrator teachers and parents uh for their education for for for the school district and improving School District um just like Addison know Township is Vision you know my vision and my passion is to innovate uh sorry Inspire our students to be the best version of themselves um to innovate to solve the problems that we are going to face for the dynamic future and to elevate the entire Community for the growth and and uh opportunity for everybody I'm I'm committed um to serve the community with my passion and uh relentless effort towards the growth and I have no doubt with with uh one team as in know one Community one team we can uh Aspire and achieve the brighter future for our students for our teachers for parents and and for the community as a whole thank you okay any other board member comments all right see now I have a statement i' like to make I am truly honored to stand before you today not just as a newly elected member of the Edison board of education but also as the upcoming president of this esteemed board I want to extend my heartfelt thanks to the community of Edison for placing your trust in me and my team um uh for the school board together we form a dedicated team committed to the education of our our children and the betterment of our schools I would also like to take the moment to express my special gratitude to Congressman Josh gimer for sing me in and soring me and my fellow running mates in we support and your support and commitment to our community's educational future mean a great deal to all of us first I want to acknowledge my fellow board members who have joined me in this journey each of you brings unique prospectives and experiences I deeply respect as we move forward I believe it is essential that we set aside our differences and work collaboratively to achieve our common goals let me repeat that again I believe it is essential that we set aside our differences and work collaboratively collaboratively to achieve our common goals our Prim mission is to put the interest of our students first by uniting our efforts we can create environment that truly embodies our model Inspire innovate and Elevate our commitment to inspire each and every students begins with creating a welcoming and supportive environment for our teachers and staff they are the backbone of our Educational Systems and when they feel valued and supported our children are positioned to survive thrive to elevate our educational standards we must also provide our Educators with continuous training and resources this includes equipping them with the necessary knowledge to handle new technologies and adapt to the evolving needs of society by investing in our teachers we are ultimately investing in our students Futures as as we embark on this journey I want to outline a vision that will guide our work over the coming year and beyond our platform priorities continuing school expansion enhancing our facilities ensuring Equitable access to transportation and enriching educational programs will be at the Forefront of our agenda we have a shared responsibility to ensure that our educational system not only meets the current needs of our students but also prepare them for the challenges of Tomorrow this means providing vocational training and stem opportunities that align with evolving job market as well as supporting our extracurricular programs that help Foster teamwork leadership and personal growth I want to emphasize our commitment to our students and Families Our pledge to up parental rights is is fundamental to building a collaborative and constructive relationship between the school and the community we want to ensure that our voices we want to ensure your voices are heard that you feel supported throughout your children's educational Journey furthermore we must ensure our facilities are equipped for the future our commitment to air conditioning all classrooms providing free sat tutoring and expanding pre seating reflects our dedication to creating an environment where every child can Thrive as your president I will priori I will prioritize transparency open Communications and a community engagement I encourage each and every one of you to stay involved whether through attending board meetings through participating uh in school events joining PTA ptso or sharing your insights of your initiatives your input is invaluable in in shaping the future of our schools in closing I want to express my gratitude once more for this opportunity to serve I am excited about what we can accomplish together in the coming year let us remember to put our differences and put us side our differences and focus on shared Mission inspiring innovating and elevating our students and our community Together We Are One Addison and together we will ensure that the Edison school district is a place where every student can succeed every family is heard and our community shines bright thank you and let's make this year a remarkable one for our students our school and our community thank [Applause] you uh if no more board member comments I will open up public comments so MO hello everyone good evening first of all I would like to say happy New Year to everybody and out there and here as well and wishing you guys a very prosperous healthy and happy New Year that being said um congratulations to Jeri on the president ship here and visha for the board vice president and everyone else here thank you for your service actually and volunteering all these long hours day by day every time to make sure our kids get everything they need in our schools there's nine board members here you guys are collectively working for only 18,000 students 19 schools 2700 staff members and everyone here that is a taxpayer in Edison and we want to make sure that you guys represent those voices above all the future generation needs your votes to reflect what their needs are and I hope you guys put that as a priority before you make a decision on any kind of voting that you need to do is it right for our kids if so then yes if it's not move forward all I ask is just put that as your main priority our kids deserve your votes you are representing them so I want to say congratulations to everybody thank you for your service and wish you all well thank you I'm I'm supposed to ask for name and address but for Mohan you don't for M no no you don't [Laughter] need any other public comments yes Jeff Matt revnak ta president first of all congratulations to the three board new board members ronic Jer and and Ralph and congratulations to Jerry and Vishal for being the leaders of the group for the next year uh ETA has always looks forward to working with you we believe in working together um want to appreciate Dr Al delli unfortunately we ended 2024 in not the greatest way it was called the water main break here in Edison but he was in communication with me throughout including yesterday with the return to school and thank God we had water in all our buildings today but there's one other comment I want to make um and this is a role model for what we talk about here with service and dedication and to our students last week we lost one of our former presidents and it's not a political statement regardless of what party you're part of you know and that was Jimmy Carter you got to admire the man for what he did especially after the presidency um the humanitarianism the peace that he tried to push throughout the world and that's the role model for any one of us and what public service and and you know what what you can do to help people is about so you know what he'll never be remembered as being the greatest president in the world he was a one-term president but he will be remembered I always say one of the greatest most upstanding men to ever hold position and I'm proud to say he was a graduate of Annapolis so Mr she by the way this year I can say it now that you're back on the board Navy beat Army this year you always were digging at me so I had to get my little little digging okay so anyway but uh again Happy New Year to everyone hopefully 2025 will be a great year and I look forward to working cooperatively with the administration and the board as we always have thank you thank you very much thank you always go Army be Navy yes Joyce Joyce no Maria you're next J Freeman uh Happy New Year to everyone and congratulations to everyone in your positions that you're in and congratulations for a hard race that you won also I like to thank each person that's on the board of bed because I know that it's a thankless job and you do a hard work and your way from your family hours on hours on in and you as a unit try your best to move Edison forward and you know I have self selfish reasons for wanting Edison always to be number one since that's uh where I graduated from from JP Stevens so that's what I want but I appreciate you guys for allowing people freedom of speech and able that you guys don't have armed guards here so that we're not able to say and express oursel freely okay just saying you know what I mean so thank each thank each and every one of you and uh I'm hoping that the year is that much better because I know for myself that education is a equalizer and my grandmother always said that's something they can't take away from you and that's how you have a better future thank you thank you Joyce Maria Maria Orchid 83 Jefferson I'd like to say congratulations to everyone thank you so much for all the efforts that you do congrat congratulations to the three new board members I look forward to working with you uh I'd like to say thank you for Dr Arelli for supporting the community we appreciate it that you opened the schools when the residents didn't have Services uh I'd like to say thank you for passing the calendar now I can update my calendar and know where I'm going when I'm going uh this Saturday I'd like to say I think Tiny Mites is having a clothing Drive they rep the Edison Jets Edison Jets field and that'll be from 1: to 2:00 uh now that I have the calendar I can uh update my calendar thank you so much for all your service we appreciate it thank you Anthony Anthony Damron 25 Wy um happy New Year everyone uh congratulations Mr shei Mr ero and uh Mr Patel um I don't know why the hell you guys wanted to come back and do this but I'm asking myself the same question um I also like to uh recognize the uh former elected officials here uh Mr Rivera is here I see Mr mohen Joyce I think that's a great example they uh they carry uh by continuing to show their faces coming to these meetings and um you know leading by example so uh thank you to them um lost my train of thought there uh and that's oh you know what I wanted to say the i' like to see um on a completely separate note um the high schools possibly be opened up and used for tournaments you know at for these different sporting events wrestling comes to mind because I see these other districts uh as I travel now to the other districts little NES in in wrestling um which I'm a I it's a great sport to go see actually wrestl these kids give it they're all it's really impressive um but these other districts they make a ton of money with these tournaments um so I don't know how that would work out and who who needs to talk to what but uh that that even though the Jets are open up their field there's no reason why the the the two high schools at least we can't open it up to to some of these tournaments and and and get some of that Revenue here it's it I'm just telling you these places are packed and uh you know um I'm sure the parents would uh would like that as well so just a just a thought um that's really it so good to see Jeff how you doing Jeff I saw him over there all right guys thank you thank you and thank you for suggesting we look into it anybody anybody else yeah David Happy New Year and congratulations to the three newly elected board members and congratulation to Jerry and uh V show for the board President and Vice President and also thanks to the rest of the board members to volunteer your time and help to run the school and thanks to the superintendent to running so large school 18,000 student um the election last year runs together with the president election means that there are lot of you know voters turned out in Edison to vote so what we are like the voters are expecting is that based on the agenda the priority of the school they give us a very clear answer for the future director of the Boe so hopefully this year we wish all of the board members work together if you need any kind of like you know the kind of you know direction that tax P parents want to go look at this election result that's the thing we wish the all of the board members together with a school superintendent and admin to work together to make the Edison school a better one thank you thank you okay yeah any first timers yes right good evening everybody first of all I want to wish everybody a Happy New Year and um I want to say congratulations to Jerry ronic and Ralph for getting back on the board um I I really don't know you ronic but I've heard good things Andre has spoke very highly of you so I wish you the the very best of luck Ralph you're a pro at this you've been doing it for a long time Jerry as well you know I think you have a good head on your shoulder you know I know we disagreed in the past but but I think we all have the same intention in moving this District forward so I wish you the best of luck thank you Chris my man you're one of the most solid people I met so good job throwing your hat in the ring for the vice presidency I honestly think you deserve it um you you put your heart into this um and I I I really wish that you the vote would have went your way because I do think you deserve it nothing againsts you visal but you and I just don't see eye to eye I really don't want to discuss what I know I'm just that'll be for another day um but Chris I give you mad props for throwing your hat in the ring and and doing and doing what's best for Edison other than that I want to wish everybody good luck on the board I I appreciate you I know the level of work it's difficult it's hard it's hard to agree it's easy to disagree so my suggestion is you know meet talk discuss keep everybody in the loop assign committees that are actually produ Ive where individuals are working or paired to their talents not just going to a committee and just to get a vote of some sort so I wish you all the best of luck um and I'll see you at the next meeting thank you and thank you Brian for your service on the board any other first timers any other first timers see now for a few Point name my address please mop Patel Earth okay first of all thank you for your service Brian for the past uh year three years that you were on the board also I want to reiterate what Anthony said he is 100% on point we had a basketball tournament for the uh boys basketball team uh the Hawks at JP Stevens this past weekend before the holidays so he is 100% correct we do need to invest a little more time into our Sports and I urge all the parents it's it's so sad to see when I go to these games you see the away teams parents showing up at our home team game and our parents are not even to be seen there's a few parents literally you could count them in four of your fingers right and it's sad to see that you don't support the kids that you need to encourage with the with the energy that you bring to the games so I encourage all the parents that are watching to go out and invest in your kids invest some time and be the be the force that brings them to their greatness and I feel we need to create a little bit more of a culture within our schools the the principles need to do a better job M Dr Ross does an amazing job promoting all the students and sports we need to do that in all the schools middle schools especially in JP we need to make sure that the kids know that there's a game going on so they show up for their friends as well so if we can have the different departments work on creating a culture that is going to enhance the experience for our kids that's why we also need APS and all that is all great they're going to have those brain synapses working but you need to get the whole brain synapsis working so Sports is a key make sure the parents listen and go to their games that being said Friday tomorrow there's a game going on against North planfield for the B boys basketball team so show up thank you thank you Mo any other public comments any other public comments C can I have a motion to join the meeting motion second Mr romano and Mr lug oh right all in favor all right meetings adjourned thank you thank you e