[Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] pursuant to the open public meetings Act adequate public notice has been given by the secretary of the eam Township Board of Education in the following manner posting written notice on the official bulletin board at the Board of Education Office emailing written notice to the Burton County Times And The Courier Post filing written notice with the municipal clerk of eam Township Mr Yates if we could have a roll call please roll call Mr Brock here Mr boach Excuse me Mr Brown here Mr Demari here M fox Mrs null here Miss Lee here Mr Thompson here Mr ficaro here Mr comp here thanks Mr jates um we will now head into I my list executive session we need a motion to move into executive session whereas in njsa 10412 allows for a public body to go to into close session during a public meeting and whereas the Board of Education of eam Township has deemed it necessary to go into close session to discuss certain matters which are Exempted from the public and whereas the regular meeting of the Board of Education will reconvene following the end of close session at approximately 7:30 p.m. now therefore be it resolved that the Board of Education will go into close session for the following reasons as outlined in njsa 10412 items 2.3 to 2.4 do we have a motion motion by Mrs null seconded by Miss Lee any questions before we head into executive session seeing none Mr Yates roll call please roll call Mr Bach yes Mr Brown yes Mr Demari yes Mrs null yes Miss Lee yes Mr Thompson yes Mr fisicaro yes Mr conon yes we're in executive session all right thank you we'll see you all at approximately 7:30 [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] n [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] he [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] la [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] pap [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] oh [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] yeah [Music] yeah [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] a [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] here [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] oh [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] yeah [Music] [Music] [Music] yeah [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] nah [Music] would all those who are able please rise for the pledge I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America to the repu for which it stands Nation God indivisible liy and justice for all thank you for reading our mission statement tonight will be Mr Bach the mission of the eam Township School District is to promote excellence in an environment that engages students in meaningful learning experiences in partnership with students dedicated staff families and Community the district provides a strong Educational Foundation that will Empower our students to achieve their unique potential Embrace self-directed lifelong learning develop the skills necessary for appropriate risk-taking and responsible decision-making protecting themselves respecting themselves and others problems solve individually and collaboratively and become contributing members of a diverse Global Society thank you Mr Bach now hand the floor over to Dr Smith for our presentations tonight thanks Mr canthon I would like to uh acknowledge we're we have some presentations tonight for students and with us we have the all South Jersey Mart middle and deacy middle students who we're going to play a piece for us first and then we'll get into the uh certificates so uh Mr wer take it away [Music] [Applause] e [Music] m [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] that was amazing we're going to we're going to give certificates to the students now and uh Mr canthon our board president if you could join me on the stage for that um as I'm walking up I'll just say uh this is the biggest stage we have but it's certainly not the biggest stage they've played on uh because if I'm right you recently were playing at row right as part of all South Jersey so uh and it you found sounded absolutely fantastic uh just want to recognize also Mr westner Mrs Smith and Mr Li for their work with the kids um if we can give them a round of applause as well so uh what we'll do is we'll walk to you you can stay seated we'll we'll hand you the um certificate you can stand and be recognized at that point and then when we're done with all the certificates you can we would love it if you could all stand up together and we can give you one big round of applause and then parents can come down and take pictures and things like that okay so just you know it's adult celebrating you the uh all right we'll go with Victoria Lee perfect railan Lee thank [Applause] you Victoria Victoria Lee [Applause] Rohanna anath Stephen Chu that right that's your last name right Steven Chua Maria Ibrahim Dana [Applause] Kerber Robin [Applause] petski and Arnav [Applause] sethy and our nav correct me if I'm wrong but you you were first chair cello in this all chef jersey Orchestra right let's give him a round of applause for [Applause] that so now I'm going to step to the side parents if you want to come closer please feel free take a picture of all the kids together all right if we have one last round of applause for all the kids on our all South Jersey Orchestra members congratulations [Applause] students and stuff but um it's a little bit evening of the Arts it's great to have a such a great audience for that too uh so we have another winner and I'm gonna ask Casey gford from Cooper levenson to join Mr kanton and myself up front for this so uh and if Kate gly is here art MMS art teacher if she can come on down yeah yeah yeah yeah and then um our certificate winner as Miss G's coming down Charlotte dumbrowski is she here [Applause] Charlotte so so um there's so Charlotte do I want to Ste thank you um so my name is Casey gford I work at Cooper Levens and we have the pleasure of being the board solicitor um so I actually sit here at most of the board meetings uh so I'm really happy to be here tonight for a positive reason and get to share a little bit of background about our firm um each year since 2008 Cooper levenson has v invited area school children to designs for our firm's holiday cards um the holiday card contest is just one of the elements of our efforts to show support for commitment to community and children and the Arts and schools and to help us raise awareness for our chosen charity which was created by our founder Jim Cooper um whose daughter was a teacher and told him that many of her students went hungry throughout uh when times when they weren't in school so our charity is let us eat please and it was founded by Jim Cooper our founding partner um and it helps ensure that local children who depend on School meals get enough to eat during the summer when schools aren't in session um so this year we chose six card designs of the hundreds of entries and uh Charlotte here is a seventh grader at marleton middle and she won and in addition to the plaques um both Charlotte and Miss Gormley are going to get gift certificates so Charlotte will be getting a $50 gift certificate and Miss Gormley will be getting a $100 gift certificate um to buy art supplies and um we also just you know I know all of you I come like I said to all of your meetings and I just want to thank you uh in addition to traditional art classes your Orchestra and everything thank you for supporting the Arts um and just know that you know every year you guys have every year since I've started I think you guys have had winners because you you truly do always submit such great pieces so we really appreciate it and if you hold on one second I'll give this to you okay awesome thank you Miss gford let's give a round of applause for Charlotte Miss and and you got to get it yeah I was gonna say um you can't see it probably from too far away but it's um want you want to talk about it talk about your um I don't know like yeah I just thought about it thought was like a really cool idea for like Christmas and how like like I guess like feels like home so I don't know if you can hear that but it's a log cabin in the most beautiful wood setting and she thought it kind of symbolized like home at Christmas you know and and for me like just little details so there's smoke coming out of the chimney which to me means people are in there you know and I just like art tells a story and you def definitely tell an amazing story with this artwork so so I just can't wait to hear I feel like there's going to be other things ahead in your future you stay with it you know so awesome thanks Charlotte get a picture e [Applause] I'd be remiss to not just add parenthetically that uh this is the ninth year in a row that a student of Miss gormley's has won this contest which is like I don't think the Celtics even their streak was uh was quite as long as that um far you know so um it's an amazing accomplishment Miss Gormley um no that was a that's it so uh after presentations that's the part where I say any parents who were here or family who were here for the kids recognition part you're welcome to stay through the rest of the meeting but if you want to uh head home and and go on to other things uh we totally understand and you're absolutely welcome either way um most people choose to head off to other things but board meetings are fun too so you're welcome to stay all right thank you Dr Smith the meeting will now be open to the public referencing agenda items only however if your questions or comments pertain to litigation student or Personnel items or negotiations we would ask that you see the superintendent after the meeting since we do not discuss these matters in public please please limit your comments to 3 minutes per person and please state your name and address at the beginning of your public comment um so public comment now for agenda items only at the end of the meeting we also have another session of public comment for any item you should speak about so is there anyone who wants to talk about agenda items today going once can you hear me okay so I'm not sure where I found the agenda but I'm a resident of writings of Mayfair uh correct me if I'm wrong but they were talking about moving to Macy moving the school from tocy to another uh School correct me if I'm wrong before I go any further um so what I would say is first of all welcome and and we're glad for public comment there isn't any item on the agenda relative to that topic so if you don't mind waiting there is going to be a second public comment at the end um about any items at all but but there's but nothing relating to Dei on the agenda tonight yeah all right seeing none we will go hi good even Trish everheart 25 Derby Court I'm here to talk about TBA it's my understanding it's an agenda item correct so I was on the board when we started TBA 10 years and plus ago so I am saddened to hear that there was a letter that went out that said that TBA was going to be closing it had a storyed past I'm sure you know some of you sat on the board at the time uh we had been facing a lot of fiscal challenges and through some creative um brainstorming we came up with a plan to Institute this program at the purple Hall at MMS and we were able to overcome litigation and issues from the state we marched on Trenton not Washington to save TBA and the public got involved and rallied behind the board when we were facing these challenges so I'm a little dismayed I guess that we didn't reach out to the public or share that perhaps it wasn't making as much money as it was in the past so did you as a board um you know look into options to raise and increase Revenue ask people to pay a little bit more to go there did you work to find creative ways to keep TBA and service the families and the community in the way it had been for the last 10 years I was dismayed as a previous board member to see that a letter went out saying that it was going to be closing and I understand you wanted to let the parents know that but I was dismayed that we didn't have the opport opportunity to have the board vote on that or have public discourse in front of the public regarding such a just a beloved institution and program for the district so I want to express my disappointment over that to the superintendent and the board leadership I'm also wondering because I am hearing there are speculations on what might be happening with that Wing um wondering if maybe perhaps instead of closing it you would consider putting some of the preschoolers in that facility I understand it serves 6 weeks old to maybe four years old so maybe you could use those rooms for preschoolers and maybe not have to perhaps turn it into a wing for fifth graders and have to spend money that isn't going to [Applause] be Miss everheart I'm sorry I'm sorry you know I have to apply it evenly to everyone so was I supposed to you are approaching the three minutes okay so please consider the possibility of keeping that as a resource for preschoolers I would hope that surrounding districts actually the neighboring district is using an outside daycare Center to have some of their preschoolers and I would hope that we wouldn't have to choose to do that when we have something right here although I don't support using it as a fifth grade Wing I implore the board to consider keeping it open and just reconditioning it and repurposing it like we did with another school in the district for a way to keep things here and help the families that are using it thank you hi my name is Lisa Weber and I'm G to piggy back off of that because I'm one of the families that is dealing with this closure of TBA my name is Lisa Weber as I stated my daughter Charlotte is currently to and a part of TBA I was notified the first week of January right after the holidays when I was back to work after having to take off to take care of my child which fine it was the holidays but you let me know at 1:00 in the afternoon on a Wednesday when I had just gotten back to work just started a new promotion at work to let me know that my daycare was closing in June and good luck to you and on top of that I'm an accountant for the federal government and your cold and quite frankly disrespectful letter stated that it was because of money I know for a fact that I am paying 1575 a month for my daughter to attend TBA on a 5-day basis and I understand it's not totally your fault that the cost of child care is exorb in this country however I pay a lot of money and on top of that I provide everything for my for my daughter's well-being I provide diapers I provide wipes I provide food I provide all creams all sunblock everything so truthfully what I want to know is how in the world is TBA actually losing money when I'm paying that much money a month and supplying you with everything my daughter's room alone brings in 6,300 bucks a month and there are multiple other classrooms full of more students paying pretty much close to what I'm paying so I would really love an explanation as to how TVA is losing money because again I'm an accountant I understand the numbers so if you could you know expand on that tonight it would be really really great thank [Applause] you Justin O'Brien one Cranberry Court also here to talk about TBA um where is TBA actually accounted for in the budget because I looked it's public it's not really there so we're just taking your word that it's losing money essentially how much is it losing don't know you didn't say you said there's a $700,000 shortfall but in the budget presentation for this year's budget you said in it that you would cut either this school you would close um or you would sell two properties that you own did you sell the properties to try to make up the shortfall don't know you don't s on your website uh the projected enrollment of the tuition free preschool versus TBA enrollment what is that what's the difference TBA staff from my understanding still hasn't been offered a job yet anywhere else in the uh District um why wouldn't you increase tuition to make up the shortfall um that you knew about I I don't understand and the premise and it's behind closed doors there's no real transparency here other than this meeting where you haven't given us anything we're talking before you tell us the facts which is interesting um and my son has thrived underneath of that compared to other places where he has not it seems like there is an indifference on the board to what the actual citizens who you answer to want and uh yeah thanks anyone else like to make any comments about the agenda all right closing that section moving to approval of the minutes we need a motion to approve items 6.1 through 6.3 do we have a motion motion by Mrs nll seconded by Mr Thompson any questions on the approval of the minutes Mr Yates roll call please roll call on the approval of the minutes Mr Bach yes Mr Brown yes Mr demara yes Mrs null yes Miss Lee yes Mr Thompson yes Mr fisicaro yes Mr conon yes a motion carries thank you Mr Yates moving on to item number seven superintendent reports and administrative items we need a motion to approve item 7.1 through 7.9 do we have a motion motion by Mr Thompson seconded by Miss Lee before we head over to the vote I'll hand the floor over to Dr Smith thank you Mr canthon I want to say a few words first about uh what's going on this week in our schools so it's great kindness week which is a national campaign and kindness counts and matters every day in etsd every week each school is celebrating kindness this week in various ways from theme days to coin drives to to sharing ways to be kind over the announcements and how to promote cooperation as well which is another District theme this year at school and at home thank you to all our staff for their passion dedication and creativity when it comes to helping our kids learn and show kindness your words tone and example carry tremendous weight all of us together students staff families and community members have a common stake in spreading kindness the micro moments of countless daily interactions as opportunities to lift each other up to choose to be patient to be kind individually and collectively truly matter as this month is a school board recognition month in New Jersey on behalf of our district and personally I'd like to express deepest thanks to our board of education for their countless hours and tireless work all voluntary and dedication to the best path forward for our children whose education and growth is nothing less than the most important responsibility as human beings the very I'd like to also uh give a few words to a very important upcoming event on Friday February 2nd it's our Eve sham education foundation's annual Gala fundraiser double down for em education at the mansion in Vorhees it starts at 7 o' all proceeds benefit eam students tickets are available at eam education foundation.org hope to see everybody there um I'd like to say a few words as well about a few other things uh an agenda item this evening which was uh the recommendation for approval of the closure of teddy bear Academy on Friday June 28th of this year this closure was communicated at the beginning of the month in order to give families as much time as possible to make arrangements for the um time after June of 2024 are District gave this decision much consideration TBA loses money okay and I I heard some uh you know the public comments however much it loses and that amount may vary it really never made money it maybe broke even some years but without ECC to carry it along there is no hope it will make money and with our district facing the seventh straight year of state aid reduction our district which is responsible for educating not as a daycare center but as a k prek to grade8 District we cannot afford to run a program losing money for kids that as a district type we not responsible for to the detriment of the kids that we are responsible for and that will be plain that if that hasn't been plain as we G through six years of state aid reduction it will be as we Face the seventh this is understandably the most difficult year to identify reductions for and I can't stand up in front of our community and talk about reductions to the kids we have to serve to pay for a program that's losing money for kids we don't and you you're welcome to disagree with me but ethically I can't do that our our district thus can't operate TBA after June 28th our district does also plan to pursue State grant money to provide tuition free preschool as every District around us is either already doing or is in the process of implementing we're behind on that we got tuition free full day kindergarten done that was fantastic it's amazing so thankful and grateful to the community for that that was yesterday's accomplishment for every other District now we need to work on what other districts have already done which is tuition free preschool once we do that 50 of our 72 kids in TBA are preschool aged TBA would be moot through that as well the teddy bear Academy has been an important resource for our community an incredible Resource as spoken to in the public comment hard fought Blood Sweat and Tears to create it and the context at that point made a lot of sense context is always changing and we must change with it I'd like to thank teddy bear Academy director Leah puler and all the TBA staff for their invaluable work over that time continuing through this spring whove provided quality child care in our community for the past decade all current TBA staff will be offered other positions in our district to start after June 28th I'd also like to move on from that topic and speak to another which is some rumor circulating about the possibility of fifth graders moving to Middle School at some point in the future I'd like to make clear that information regarding the 2425 budget and future plans for next year or any year beyond that will be first publicly shared at our tenative budget meeting in March questions and concerns that come about through rumors are completely understandable that presentation will be live streamed and of course I'll share it in my update weekly as I have in the past patience is appreciated as we follow our standard budget timeline which always means public information shared in mid-march the final budget approval of the 2425 budget would be in late April or early May providing time for stakeholder input once that public information has been shared equally important before the first release of information publicly just as we did last year our district will be holding meetings just with staff in early March to talk about the budget around the kitchen table of our District staff and that's very important because as we move through all these years of ch reduction of course the first few years and every year we're just trying to cut non Staffing related items but that gets more and more difficult as you move along because 82% of our budget goes to salaries and benefits so at a certain point when you're climbing up higher in that tree to find savings you've moved past non- Staffing and you're into Staffing and it's only right and proper that we meet first with our staff to talk about those things patience and respect for our necessary timeline is greatly appreciated our work right now is to identify $2.5 million in savings AKA and cuts and that's due in part to the state aid reduction so 719,000 were projected to lose which may change right and it changed last year a few times and increasing costs in a host of other areas which you know as we know from just living these days and and following the news is happening across many many Industries um so as we climb higher in the tree searching for solutions that also means a much more difficult climb and a slower climb but I would say as with each prior Year we will continue to steer by our mission that is our North Star at all times which is to maximize our resources to support student growth and student achievement and we're attempting as in that process as much as possible to turn challenges into opportunities as difficult as that is and that concludes my superintendent's comments Mr canthon thank you thank you Dr Smith there any board members who would like uh to comment or have any questions on item number seven Mr n thank you Mr C then I wrote a few notes down so um I'm sorry I I wrote small but I'll be brief tonight's vote to officially close teddy bear Academy is not just about the deficit that has unfortunately appeared this year the decision to close teddy bear Academy is the first of a series of calculated steps to Forever change eim Township School District what do not fool yourself once TBA closes the contractors will come in the classrooms will be undone and the work by previous boards will be demoed please don't forget we were elected by the community and taxpayers we are supposed to be Financial stewards of taxpayer money are we going to spend money to undo something when we already have a preschool there we're looking toward applying for preschool funding so in my mind this makes zero sense so I have [Applause] cannot this makes zero sense to me and I cannot approve this we can have teddy bear Academy remain open and still go for preschool money they are not mutually exclusive so I say please slow down and I'm asking my fellow board members to slow down because once this is closed there are things to come that this community you will not be able to stop [Applause] thank thank you Miss is null would any other board member like to comment seeing none roll call please Mr Yates on administrative items Mr Bach yes Mr Brown just administrative items is it just administrative items yeah it's 7.1 through 7.9 not the closure do you have your agenda opened no no to all no to 7.4 yes to 7.12 3 and R so to clarify you are voting yes to all but 7.04 is Mr demarcy yes Mrs null yes to all but 7.4 yes to all no to 7.04 is noted Miss Lee yes Mr Thompson yes Mr fisicaro yes Mr conon yes the motion carries moving to items eight we need a motion to approve item 8 .1 through .4 do we have a motion motion by Miss Lee seconded by Mr ficaro uh would any board member like to comment on any items under curriculum and instruction seeing none roll call please Mr Yates on curriculum and instruction Mr Bach yes Mr Brown yes Mr demarcy yes Mrs null yes Miss Lee yes Mr Thompson yes Mr fisicaro yes Mr conon yes that motion carries thank you Mr Yates moving to item nine under finance and operations we need a motion to approve item 9.1 through 9.11 do we have a motion motion by Mr Thompson seconded by Mr fys Caro would any board member like to comment on any items pertaining to finance or operations seeing none roll call please on finance and observations Mr Bach yes Mr Brown yes Mr deari yes Mrs NL yes Miss Lee yes Mr Thompson yes Mr fisicaro yes Mr conon yes that motion carries thank you moving to item number 10 under Personnel we need a motion to approve item 10.1 through 10.10 do we have a motion motion by Mr demarcy seconded by Miss Lee would anyone like to comment on any items as it pertains to Personnel seeing none roll call please Mr Yates on Personnel Mr Bach yes Mr Brown yes Mr Demari yes Mrs NL yes Mr Miss Lee yes Mr Thompson yes Mr fisicaro yes Mr conon yes the motion carries thank you Mr Yates moving to item 11 policy I believe we have no policies moving to item 12 committee reports are there any board members who would like to share a committee report okay we'll close out that section moving to Old business business of which we have none moving to new business of which we have none we'll move into the second open public comment this meeting will now be open to the public referencing any items of Interest however if your comments or questions pertain to litigation student or Personnel items or negotiations we would ask that you please see the superintendent after the meeting since we do not discuss these matters in public please limit your comments to 3 minutes per person and please state your name and address at the beginning would anyone like to comment on any items of Interest hello my name is Cindy Rogers I spoke to you at the last board meeting regarding rumors of a plan to move our fifth graders out of their home INE home Elementary School I have two children in the eam Township School District my son is in third grade so any decision would impact him pretty quickly and my daughter is a sixth grader here at the middle school so any changes to the Middle School structure would also affect her last March during budget presentation we were shown a slideshow show on slide 25 there's a list of possible measures that would be taken if we did not pass full day kindergarten many of us were under the impression that to protect the structure of our schools our fifth graders in their elementary schools and the teams at middle school we would need to vote Yes so even though our children already left kindergarten even though I already paid $11,000 for my children to to go to full day kindergarten I voted yes that yes vote was not about kindergarten that yes vote was to protect the leg that is Eve sham Township School District the structure that is eam and the community that is eam we're barely coming out of covid the change the children that this change would affect are the ones hit hardest by the lockdown and the slow return to normal they lost a lot of their childhood don't take their home school away from them several years ago in my district Drama teacher I helped spearhead departmentalization in my school we proposed the idea to my principal we had to do research and a site visit next we represented to various groups and stakeholders in the district including the PTA and Pac and the curriculum committee of the board after all of those approvals we were tasked with making a mock schedule to ensure that this new idea worked that process took a year and a half and it only affected 70 students in three teachers this current plan or possible plan would affect all of our schools every child in fourth and third and second and so on would affect our middle schoolers our sixth graders our seventh graders so many teachers fifth grade teachers Middle School teachers let's not forget Administration counselors nurses Specialists many things need to be considered and explored before making a change as big as this I'm asking you to slow down board members you need to ask questions ask why and how much ask to see bus schedules and the added costs ask to see a mock school schedule and the added cost ask for a breakdown of how many students will be in each class each Hall each lunchroom will you hire counselors nurses specialists teachers's age how much will this cost because it doesn't make sense to me to change what's working and it doesn't make sense to me that it would actually save money if it's space you're looking for create an Early Childhood Center use the teddy bear Academy Wing or take back Evans but leave the relationships that have been built in the elementary schools intact connecting with their teachers and School staff having a school identity getting to know the school resource officer all of these are so kids feel connected and when they're connected they can learn and grow and Thrive the legacy of Eve sham is built on this structure it's time tested we have evidence that it works it's good for kids please don't change what's working thanks good evening uh my name is Colleen Ellis I live in Westbury Chase um to Echo the sentiments of the woman who very eloquent SP spoke before me um many of us voted to fund full day kindergarten based on the slide that was presented previously thinking that we were voting against some of the changes that are rumored to be being proposed now and that's concerning and the reason that it's concerning is not just because it's a displacement for our kids but also because there is a lack of transparency from this Administration and this board when it comes to communicating with the taxpayers who fund the school district I one of the parents whose child was excluded from the after Care Program when this board voted to go with a contractor who would not support students with certain disabilities and who required certain accommodations and that may be old news for many of you but it's not for me because I had to change my work hours and affect my career because of a decision that was made by the board and when I and other parents emailed constantly for months asking for answers to whether our children could be included and why they might be excluded the only person who answered we was Mrs null and thank you for [Applause] that these decisions that you're making have people on the other end of them and I understand that you have a hard decision to make and that we're losing funding but my child is not a number on a balance sheet he is a human being and it feels very much like he's not seen that way by many of you sitting up there I would ask that should these changes come to light where fifth grade may go to the Middle School please consider the special education programs I have a child in a multi-grade classroom he's in second grade or first grade now he'll go to second grade in the same classroom then he'll go to a 3 four five class what happens to that program if these changes go through our children with special needs often seem to be an afterthought to this Administration and this board and as a parent of a child with special needs and as a school-based speech and language pathologist who works with children with special needs that is hurtful and disgraceful further I would just like to say that I support the women who are about to speak behind me about taking a good look at literacy program in eim Township because it's failing my child is dyslexic and he was not learning to read with the program that we have in place it is not evidence-based it is not based in the science of reading and it's failing probably 40% of our kids even the ones that do not have learning disabilities my son is now receiving Orton Gillingham based instruction that I had to fight for and demand and he's thriving ma'am you're approaching 3 minutes so please r your comments I would be happy to so please have some transparency for the people that put you in office and the people whose children are being affected by these changes thank you good evening my name is Melissa Gil sorry I'm a Woodstream uh resident at 228 conastoga Drive um my name is Melissa Gail and I'm here tonight to speak about rumors and speculation that our fifth graders could possibly be moved out of their home elementary schools for the last 11 years I've considered myself a proud eham Township School District parent I've praised and complimented our schools our Administration and staff and our students I volunteered my time from day one and have truly believed in making our schools a better place for our children as PTO president at vanzan elementary school I have seen firsthand the importance of school Community for elementary schools this most definitely includes our fifth graders from the moment they walk the Halls as a kindergartener each year is built towards their final celebration year as a fifth grader and do we know how to celebrate our fifth graders our PTO Works tirelessly to raise funds to support our students and a big portion of that money goes to our fifth grade we celebrate didn't acknowledge them with celebrations and events and they anticipate these moments from when they start Elementary School it has been one of my greatest Pleasures watching these shy and timid kindergarteners progress into confident and proud fifth graders please take moving our fifth graders from their home elementary schools and dismantling the legacy of our school district off of the table countless resurch has shown that fifth graders are more appropriately served in an elementary school setting our 10 year-olds thrive in an environment where they are given responsibilities and roles that correspond to their maturity level they become leaders in their schools through student council and safety patrol and role model models for their younger children buddies to our kindergarteners and first graders emotionally and psychologically it is inappropriate to ask our 10-year-olds to process the issues that face middle schoolers research has shown that fifth graders have more in common with their fourth grade peers than they do with sixth graders and our elementary schools do an amazing job of boosting the self-confidence of our fifth graders by giving them these responsibilities in our schools why should this change if we're truly tuning in to the needs of our students we need to consider their learning environment and where they are most likely to not just survive but succeed thank [Applause] you hi my name is Andrea Tierney I live at 241 con took a drive um my name is Andrea Tierney and I'm a parent of three daughters in this District I've also been a teacher for over 20 years during that time I taught at the elementary middle school and high school levels I'm here to express my serious concerns about any potential plans for restructuring the current model of our elementary and middle schools we know that this is only speculation but with two decades in education I am aware that the planning phase for a March budget presentation is happening now our family moved here just over two years ago and the current model as it is is why we M were most attracted to Marlton even with the challenges in the current housing market we would not consider man Laurel or Mar uh moristown because the students's transitioning multiple times before reaching High School my colleagues who live in these towns have consistently share their frustration about this there are several concerns that should be discussed about bringing large populations of a single grade together in one building but with only three minutes to speak I want to focus on what I feel is the greatest loss when moving fifth graders out of their home schools our schools are pouring resources in the social emotional learning and rightfully so we know that learning cannot exist when the migl has hijacked feeling as if they are in a safe environment where they are known and understood as critical and this takes time researchers in the field of psychology have extended this conversation to the concept of mattering there is no year more than fifth grade where our students are given the opportunity to fill up leadership roles in their school Community our St our students at VanZant serve as members of the student council B Hall safety first grade buddies and overall School leaders I know the pride that this opportunity has brought to my oldest daughter and the thought of my other children losing this is disheartening she's felt as if she mattered not just to her family but to the community that she was a member of I know that the rebuttle for this loss is going to be that fourth graders could just fill these same roles but I can't think of any current elementary teacher that would tell you today's fourth graders are ready for this our current fourth graders have begun their educational experience with lockdowns and remote learning this has impacted their emotional growth in ways unlike ever before the instability and mental health of our students is no secret your voters came out and supported efforts to put more resource towards this why would we do something that's only going to negate this effort the worst thing our district could do is to put these children through more stress by moving them from the safety of an elementary school middle schools are volatile even for our older students many of our children who are flourishing in fourth grade have found this transition to Middle School to be challenging just this past Monday my husband and I met with Dr Smith to discuss an awful situation that my middle schooler experienced this is not an environment for younger students moving fifth graders from their sheltered Elementary School is the most counterproductive measure I can think of this population is too fragile after what they've experienced the community is aware that there are serious budgetary concerns but the option of moving fifth graders and restructuring middle schools is not worth saving on what is ultimately costing us why not work together with your community Excuse Me Miss can you sorry you're at 3 minutes so if you could wrap up I'm finishing okay why not work together with your community members to advocate for funding Cherry Hill did this and they received a significant amount of change in their funding I would encourage you to use us to work with you thank you thank you hi I'm Angela lamort I don't have anything planned but I just want to kind of speak from the heart here I am a teacher of over 20 years and to piggy back off of what the previous woman just said the emotional distress that these kids have today versus years prior is I see it every day and it breaks my heart the kids who are performing well or the kids were always outgoing they even those kids you don't think have any issues going on of so much I've seen it my own children from time to time and to take these these children again reiterating these covid babies that went through lockdown went through all these changes and now are coming out of the other side thriving just now thriving to throw them into another change and I know it may not seem like anything I don't know how many of you have little kids but it's a big deal or if this is to happen next year these fourth graders now my my oldest was in fifth grade last year she loved her last year of fifth grade it's a big year it means a lot they get the do all these special things those kids in fourth grade right now if this is to happen next year they're not having any of that now and they're going to find out the last minute all of these changes not to mention the kids who are in middle school that they're going to be restructured another change they just started Middle School the emotional distress that these kids face every day forget covid just in our regular world with everything it's too much it's too much and I know money is an issue but at what expense at what expense these kids need us they need you to make decisions for them and secondly the transparency issue when we were voting great we're getting free kindergarten finally but on the backand of that was that no this is all news now that oh because we're doing that now we have to restructure everything if there's no transparency there's no trust and right now my trust is plummeting be transparent there will be understanding thank [Applause] you hi uh good evening I want to to start thanking everyone I know you guys volunteer for this you're not getting paid so we do appreciate your efforts and thank you for taking the time to listen to our concerns because as so many of um the previous parents stated we're trusting you you guys really impact our children so thank you for listening uh my name is Christa anelli uh 152 Thornwood Drive um if anyone that I know there's a lot of groups tonight but if you support revamping the English uh language arts program for eim if you could just stand up so they can see that we do have support tonight um I stand before you once again to ask that you review the language arts curriculum being implemented within our school district the current curriculum and minor revisions that occurred over the past summer continue to be insufficient in supporting our children's reading writing spelling and grammar skills in fact many District employees who are also parents within the community have reached out to me in confidentiality ex expressing appreciation for our efforts and to confirm that they share our concerns but they feel silenced by District administrators I ask how does the district elicit input from all lower elementary teachers in the development of their curriculum we must work together to revise the Lang language arts curriculum in order to meet the needs of all students and ensure we are meeting the updated 2023 standards that Focus so heavily on foundational reading skills in fact one of the highlights from New Jersey governor Murphy's state of address was the importance of phonics Governor Murphy stated it is simple an emphasis on on Phonics and reading instruction is essential to the lifelong success of our children I couldn't agree more with this statement and sadly esam's curriculum has missed the mark for many years in implementing a proper research-based explicit and systematic phonics program Governor Murphy discussed a new plan to improve literacy rates focusing on Elementary School literacy and emphasizing bonics based reading strategies and other best practices because only 42% of third grade students in the state of New Jersey has met or exceeded expectations in English language arts according to State tests unfortunately only 39.3% of esm's thirdd graders are meeting or exceeding English language arts expectations and 60.7% of our third grade students are not meeting expectations based on the 2023 state test results so what is E's plan to address this alarming statistic it begins with a true phonics program and the proper professional development training for our wonderful teachers not just a manual thrown to them the day before school begins our children have already lost so much instructional time it is important we make the appropriate changes today you're three minutes hi Jaclyn rc5 kirkbridge Court um my name is Jaclyn Ry I have two children in the district currently and two more coming in um I have a first grader currently um and I've also been a teacher for 12 years I'm currently an instructional coach right now um first grade's a little bit new to me so um when I found out this year that my daughter was struggling a lot and really behind um my husband took and my husband and I both took a look at you know what we were doing and what you know we weren't doing at home and I started to dive a lot into the research and I found out talking to colleagues reaching out to specialist um you know talking to the reading specialist in Eve sham that you guys don't have a research-based curriculum and just to piggy back off of um Mrs ianelli I just want to reiterate how important that is um we do have a signed POS petition that I know that you are aware of um we have 200 signatures and I think it's very powerful and important for you guys to hear some of those comments that I would like to read tonight um one of those comments um I'm signing because my eighth grader who has been in the district since prek is not proficient in reading or spelling we've had a yearr round weekly tutor for her since second grade as well as our daily work on our own and she still fails to be anywhere near grade level the lack of phonics and spelling has been a concern of ours for years I am hoping that changing will fin changes will finally be made comment two I'm signing because I'm extremely disappointed my children cannot spell and are not strong readers or writers they desperately needed and did not receive explicit phonics instruction when they were in grades K to2 they had outstanding teachers but when I would bring up my concerns the teachers would always tell me they were not allowed to teach phonics and could not give spelling tests I'm a special ed kindergarten teacher and use foundations all my students leave kindergarten reading and I was devastated when my own children were not reading going into first grade my children benefited from Reading recovery but still did not have any core phonic skills the reading instruction is not enough to support our Learners and needs to be sorry needs to be updated by our district comment three as a parent of a second grader who struggles with reading this is one of my biggest fears he loves school and loves to learn however I see his frustration grow when reading is upsetting we have a amazing schools supportive admin and downright amazing teachers and they just need the right tools to support our students these are only a few comments as I know I only have three minutes to read tonight Eve sham School District the writing is on the wall you can step up to be the leaders and education you claim to be by incorporating research-based structured approach to Literacy for all of your students you can wait now or the state will eventually mandate it the choice is yours [Applause] hello Amanda gun F link sway good evening my name is Amanda gun parent of three children at Rice Elementary I'm an educator parent having the honor of working in public education for the past 15 years as a school psychologist I'm thankful to have the opportunity tonight to discuss my experiences and concerns I have in regards to eam Township School District's Ela curriculum my journey regarding this topic has been a long one conversations for my current fourth grader began with his teachers when he was in first grade and have continued with his teachers every year since it was not until third grade I reached out to the building principal and now in fourth grade having had conversations with District leaders I share this to demonstrate my efforts to follow the chain of command and place trust in the district however at this point three years later I have very little trust that the district is providing adequate instruction within their general education early literacy curriculum my conversations over the years have provided a window into the deep rooted philosophies the district is blindly adhering to in face of Decades of research disproving these methodologies namely queuing methods as a reading strategy and the overall de-emphasis devaluing of fonic instruction to support reading and spelling tonight I will highlight my concerns to the lens of my experience advocating for my fourth grade child's spelling needs to provide a broader context my son was identified as a struggling reader and entered the districts in intervention programs in both first and second grades however the intervention programs offered by the districts do not employ the recommended structured approach to phonic which would have helped develop his reading and spelling skills instead my Som was provided interventions that are considered insufficient by research and meeting the needs of struggling students in literacy when I address these concerns at the teacher level the responses I received include phonics is not a word used in eam spelling tests are old school research doesn't support them none of them can spell we need a new program I was also told if I took my concerns to the district leadership I would be told my son is approaching middle school and he can just use spell check these comments certainly cast doubt and a lack of confidence teachers have in the curriculum they are delivering however my lack of trust in the district extends Beyond these comments at a recent intervention and referral services committee meeting I was told my son's spelling errors weren't concerning because his meaning could be conveyed the messages I have received from eam are in stark contrast to the research so what does the research say in regards to spelling research demonstrates a strong relationship between spelling and reading snow at all summarize the real importance of spelling for reading as following spelling and reading build and rely on the same mental representation of a word knowing the spelling of a word makes the representation of it sturdy and accessible for fluent reading research demonstrates a strong relationship between spelling and writing the US Department of education's Institute of Education Sciences asserts writers who must think too hard about how to spell use up valuable cognitive resources needed for higher level aspects of composition ma'am you're at 3 minutes so please wrap up poor spellers May restrict the words they write and which inevitable loss of verbal Power Research demonstrates the utility and value of spelling assessments research demonstrates there's substantial evidence favoring explicit teaching of spelling research demonstrates spelling AIDS are not sufficient research demonstrates the value of spelling in the employment sector when fa Please wrap up I am when no I like thank you thank you Maya cerk and 25 cry Circle I'm a parent of two kids in eam Township School District I'm standing here to today to ask that you take a deep dive into the current language arts curriculum and research how insufficient it is in teaching our children basic reading spelling and grammar skills I started noticing reading and spelling concerns in first grade with both of my children I began reaching out to their teachers who consistently told me year after year that the curriculum does not focus on spelling I taught both of my children how to read prior to entering kindergarten using phonics however the lack of phonics instruction in our district has consistently held my children below benchmarks the only solution that was just approved for my fourth grader was additional guided reading instruction if the current instruction isn't working why would more of the same instruction work I thought seeking help for my children outside of the school was the answer however as you may imagine tutors are expensive and between school work after school activities finding the time became apparently difficult so I took it upon myself to research and provide instruction to my children they did not want to listen to their mom they said that is what my teacher's for and while I they are correct how can teachers teach our children if they're using outdated education at home I'm sorry if they're using outdated and non- research-based approaches it has been a struggle for over three years of additional education at home and I'm failing and I'm failing because phonics and spelling is not being followed up in the his their classroom and there is absolutely no emphasis on it I would never have thought that the school district would fail our children in the very basic literacy as it has I ask that any one of you step into our schools see the writing work hanging in the Halls take the time to read that the words on those pages it is a sad sight to see how much money and time will I now need to spend for additional instruction outside of school for my children to succeed in basic literacy it's shameful that the administration does not see what's happening in our schools or maybe you see it and for whatever reason choose not to act either way you're breaching your fiduciary duty in your positions in an email to me from Dr superintendent Smith on December 8th of 23 you stated our students outperformed all 2023 New Jersey test Ela and Mass state averages with the exception of grade three however in Governor Murphy's State of the State address he said that the state's current approach to literacy instruction has not led to the desired results if you look at those numbers the district slightly went above the averages Maybe by 2 or 3% I ask you Dr Smith and everybody else sitting here did you get your current positions as superintendent and all the other positions by being average when is it okay to strive to be average that is certainly not the standard anyone should be teaching our children especially our school district thank you for your [Applause] time Amanda Perry 19 Partridge Court good evening some of you may now be putting a face to a name that you've had come across your desk as most recent as tonight I'm here tonight for the very first time to make sure that this topic stays relevant on your minds you the E sham Township Board of Education has specific components that you must include in the district policies and procedures regarding Hib you also must conform to all applicable case law statutes and regulations luckily for me I'm beyond familiar with what case law and statutes are because part of my job every day consists of case law statutes with the New Jersey laws against discrimination now aside from all of that at the end of the day under New Jersey statute 18a 37-15 you the eam board eam Township Board of Education have the control over the contents of the Hib policy for the district you can't take things away and I understand that but what you can do is you are granted the ability to add any additional components case law Etc as you feel fit for this District yet it appears this District took the easy way out and did not put any additional thought or effort into the policy did each of you know that policy 5512 is a replica of the model policy and guidance for prohibiting harassment intimidation and bullying that the state of New Jersey Department of Education put out and revised in August of 2022 did you know that policy did you know that one of the most important policies that involves the safety of students in this in this district is nothing more than what the state provided as a template for districts to utilize part of this District's policy apparently it's not bullying when a child lifts another child up off the ground from behind unbeknownst to him and slams him to the concrete unprovoked per this District's policy it's not bullying when a child has continuously singled out another child over and over again taunts said child makes fun of said child laughs at said child kicks said I'm I'm just going to caution you and I will give you additional time but no no I just want to caution you I know you're not saying names um just obviously you're responsible if anyone in the room is aware of who you're speaking about that's fine oh sir you're addressing the board not the public so as long as the board can hear you that's all that matters please face the president and address the board thank you okay thank you [Applause] transparency sir again please face the board you're addressing the board not the public I'll address the board like this no sir if stand up address the bo if you had no idea that they were going to do the structuring before what two days ago if you knew sir please turn around and address the board if you let me just be clear if you didn't know stand up if you didn't know that they were going to do this restructuring and this is news transparency that's all we want I'm addressing the board I'm letting you see that we just don't know what you guys are doing here we knew that free Kinder education was coming and we voted for it that was informed to us we realized it and we voted but we are shocked and it's news to us that the restructuring is coming I don't know enough information about this but I will be get getting educated and I will address the board appropriately I know the Quorum is to address the board but it's important to be transparent I'll be back thank you sir uh your name please your name please Nicholas Bernal 23 ran thank [Applause] you hello hello my name is Christina San Fran RI I live on Arendale Drive in uh Marlon I thank you for your time um I know it's not easy to hear all of these important messages but I think the time is valuably well spent um I must be honest I am somewhat confused um it's my understanding that the community of IIM have voted the members of this board into these positions to represent our opinions and our voices uh and while you are silent and asking for patience in regards to the potential restructuring of fifth graders we are talking we are telling you what we want uh we are here tonight and we there is a petition that's been circulating for just over one week only one week and already 350 signatures have been received and it's [Applause] growing if you if you have not reviewed that petition yet I encourage you to do so it is www.change.org eam fifth grade additionally um earlier Dr Smith mentioned the importance of turning challenges into opportunities and I agree with that as personal life values um and this scenario in this room is a a very big challenge the budget is a challenge however there is an opportunity here to benefit from the wealth of knowledge of people here in this room from the creative problem solving skills of the professionals that live in this town yet it's not being taken advantage of the opportunity in fact is being shut down under the guise of asking for patience and therefore it's closing the door on potential open conversation and transparency as the person right before me eloquently mentioned mentioned if we wait until March to hear more about this plan that would only leave one and a half months to potentially have a scrambling conversation with a lot of chaos that's not enough time and with that I pose the following questions to the board that I hope you truly sit on and take some time to think about before you vote which I think will be in May but I'm asking can the topic of potentially moving fifth graders into a middle school setting be brought up within a poll for parents to complete how do parents feel about it can there be a poll that's sent out can the building that's used or was used for TBA be uh used for incoming preschoolers if not how will the retrofitting of that building be funded we just heard about the debt that are or the funding cuts that we're receiving how will that new retrofitting be funded how will the busing of all these new fifth graders going from you know who were once in Jagger now going all the way to decy how will that be funded and I did some very brief research about how other districts in New Jersey are using that preschool funding many of them are successfully using that funding to contract with other local preschools why is that option not being looked into further rather than trying to squeeze so many new preschoolers into the existing buildings the space doesn't seem adequate and so again I appreciate your attention to all of this and I know that we may disagree on the processes but I do respect each and every one of you as individuals and I hope that you can respect me as an individual and respect respect the parents here as individuals as well as your voters and as your constituents thank you hi everyone I'm Kelly wel I live at 28 Paddock Road and I'd like to encourage the district to fully revise its English language arts curriculum I've recently heard some members of our community say that phonics is just forent students with dyslexia or other reading problems and this just isn't true general education students will not be bored with phonics many children need explicit reading instruction to decode words and to read fluently as Christ ianelli said during the 2022 to 2023 school year only 39% of our District's thirdd graders were at or above grade level in English language arts 39% that's it this wasn't an anomaly those numbers have pretty much held steady for the last several years and my issue with that is it means that 61% of our students are not at or above grade level in English language arts as a district we can and we should do better so I urge you to make the current English language arts revisions that are going on right now a major revision thank you hello my name is Angela Stewart I'm at w kirkbridge Court I wanted to talk about my two daughters um one of which is in third grade at rice she is according to her teacher a top speller in her class however every time she goes to do a worksheet in math because we don't get spelling homework sent home when she does a math worksheet she cries because she can't spell words and it's hard for her and she's a top speller so I want to support the fact that we need phonics instruction and my first grader who has an IEP also is struggling in Reading she left kindergarten without knowing all of her letter sounds so she left behind she started first grade behind she continues to remain behind because she's not receiving the correct phonics instruction I work for a school that uses foundations in Wilson and we need to make Chang so that we can meet the needs not just for special education students but for all of our general education students we just voted for full day kindergarten are they going to leave not knowing their letter sounds because that's how my daughter left kindergarten and it was half day but she left not knowing her letter sounds and not being able to read going into first grade she's starting to learn how to read but still does not know those sounds so I now have her go to a tutor once a week and I want to do my part as a parent but it's not my job to teach her to read it's your teacher job it's your job as Administration to make sure that she has the right curriculum that's being followed and research based methods so that she's able to read I want to support it I want to support our teachers I want to give teachers tools so that they're able to support my child and I'm doing things outside of that but it's not my job it's your job to make sure that kids are able to read thank [Applause] you all right we would anyone else like to to comment on any items of Interest all right seeing none we'll close out that section I just want to thank everyone for for coming to comment speaking in the microphone is not easy um there were a ton of we've been receiving a lot of emails with a lot of good research um there were more people who came tonight with well researched written out documentation supporting um the views that were shared tonight if you guys are if you guys are struggling with things trust me the board is as well um I would implore all of you if you did prepare um words tonight to to speak to please do email them to us so we could read them again um especially if there's research as well we go through all of it it's very helpful hearing it all in this compressed time zone is tough um so if you guys are taking the time to prepare written out documentation please do send it to us as well um just so we can reate what you're saying Dr Smith just like to Echo Mr Canon uh thanks to the public who came out we have our meetings in this space because we do want to hear from people and uh that is the best process that we can follow in order to gather input you know for rumors that are out there um I guess a glass half full possible way to look at that a little bit is it does mean on our end the widening circle of stakeholders that are providing input on something also increases the chance that there will be talk about about whatever is being discussed you know and lots we we have had a discussion as far as budgetary concerns when you're in the long seven-year tunnel that we've been in goes on every month of the year there is essentially no end to the budget timeline um when it comes to f kindergarten and ballot questions just to kind of like reframe that for everybody a ballot question the reason we use ballot questions is because ballot questions can pay for things that aren't in the regular budget so when a ballot question passes it's fantastic it's extra money to pay for something that's extra Beyond what's already being paid for so it doesn't fix state aid reductions it doesn't fix Rising costs in other ways it adds something that wasn't already there but it can't pay for things that are so you know our our fiscal challenges um which are extending into the 2425 school year have been ongoing and would be regardless of of fully kindergarden or valid questions and we don't even know what's going to happen after this year right so um I'd love to say say that this would be the end of the tunnel but to be honest um I I I it doesn't it would be um almost uh too optimistic to say that uh we we have been expected as a Township to pay more and more of a local tax levy to cover our our our budget every year the state doesn't release its formula but we know the out come of it which is that they view our town as as being capable of paying more and the state pays us essentially gives less um and uh someone brought up the idea of um advocacy we've done advocacy in that regard I've spoken for every year straight um to the state legislature it fall as as well as the other one-third of districts in the state many of them doing the same thing there were sometimes in those hearings where we were the only School District uh and we're competing against every other state agency that's also seeing its funding slashed and there were so many that I had never heard of before every year you know can't even imagine all the different ways that that state aid flows across our our state it's fall on deaf ears every time um nothing's changed and that doesn't mean there isn't always a role for advocacy it does mean that it would take and someone mentioned Cherry Hill it took 20 years in Cherry Hill before they started to see a difference and a lot of organization Grassroots on the part of stakeholders um just to understand the frame of of what that means and we would love to support any we would applaud and love to support any um advocacy efforts together thank you thanks Dr Smith uh moving to board member announcements would any board member like to make an announcement Mr dearcy yeah just real quick um as it was said earlier in the meeting by the superintendent the EF is holding their uh annual Double Down event on the 2nd of February uh I believe that's at the Mansion on Main Street you could go to the website register for it um just to announce uh the board members were working individually uh on two baskets for that event and we're pulling the funds within ourselves to to support that so uh if you can support that it helps the district out a lot thank you thanks Mr Marcy would any other board member like to make any announcements Mr Brock I just want to thank all the parents for coming out and speaking um please make your voices heard um that is you know what we need we need to hear from you um so please keep that up please let us know you know what's on your mind and thank you for coming out thanks Mr Bach any other board member like to speak uh just to mention um it's just the carry off of what Mr Box said Community decisions need Community input so if there's comments concerns questions keep coming out the meetings I wish every meeting looked like this it's it's good to see the public getting involved thank you thanks Mr Marcy I agree anyone else can speak seeing none we need a motion to adjourn you guys want to stay here motion by Miss Lee seconded by Mr Thompson all in favor thank [Music] you [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music]