[Music] pursuant to the public meetings act chapter 231 the public laws of 1975 this meeting notice was sent to the Asbury bar press on June 27th 2023 and was duly advertised in the Press issue of June 30th 2023 all Municipal Clerks of the town the burs within the Regional High School Districts have been duly notified and the requirements of the postings is met on June 27th 2023 please stand and join me in PL to the flag of the United States of America stands indivisible Mr scan are there any changes to the executive agenda uh just one second me uh just take roll call there it's okay no no I'm filling in for Mr Boyce so uh Mr acet yes Mrs capella here Mrs Higley here Mrs La here miss maau here Mr priest here Mr Messinger here Mrs Bruno she's absent with notice and Mr Bruno here you have a quum thank you yes and we have to go easy on him and and to to your first question in addition to the items that were noted on the agenda that was printed prior uh to the meeting uh the board also discussed for exception number three uh the student discipline uh matters uh as well as uh other student matters and Bo also discuss uh for exception number eight Personnel items as noted on the agenda that's all okay great may I have a motion to approve the January 4th reorganization meeting M La Mrs Capel second any discussion board we not hearing any discussion roll call please Mr asol here yes Mrs capella yes Mrs Higley abstain Mrs Lavin yes Mrs M yes Mr P yes Mr Messinger yes and Mr Bruno yes motion passes just as sideo Communications are on file with the board secretary we're now going to throw it over to Dr Hazel with her superintendent report thank you Mr Bruno good evening uh just a few updates uh for our board and for our public uh we are very excited as a school district each of the schools will be hosting spring musicals um there's an exciting array of musicals that will be going on uh beginning at the end of February through uh March uh those dates of our musicals can be found on our district website as well as our school calendars and our advisers and students um you know work so hard in putting together uh just exceptional performances uh for the school uh as well as the local community as well uh we always get tremendous turnouts uh for those events so we're super excited about that um thank you Antonio hi Antonio and it was nice seeing you with the maror basketball game as well yes it was yes um the New Jersey uh graduation proficiency assessment that is the New Jersey test of record um that will be occurring in the Freehold Regional High School District and in all six high schools Monday March 11th through the 14th those days will be early dismissal school days you will see a resolution on this board agenda um to uh adjust our calendar to meet the needs of our students uh taking those assessments um and those are days that really um the expectations for our students for our Juniors who are taking the test uh really to have the best test environment uh for them uh a number of support programs uh parents in the junior class have received notices from the administrators in the building about all of the supports that are available to the students um after school if any students um and their families with would like um their children engaged in those really gives them an extra level of preparation uh before they engage in the standardized assessment um as I've mentioned uh to the board and to the public before uh this year we are going through a self-study um we are going through our middle States accreditation um this is when the Freehold Regional High School District uh there's an outside uh objective entity Educators that come to our district for a series of days um and spend time with us really looking at every facet of our educational organization um and really just you know honing in on the quality and the student achievement um that Fosters you know continuous School Improvement uh that's really the purpose of this uh evaluation it occurs every s years uh we have planning teams and structures in place uh we have a district system planning committee and we also have school component planning teams uh it's essential um this is a process where we want the input from all of our stakeholders uh parents were surveyed in the beginning of the school year in regard to uh their child and and their experiences uh with the freeh hole Regional High School District and their particular High School um and also there were staff surveys and student surveys and when I went to visit the classrooms in November um I really conveyed to the students you know how important it was uh for them to complete those surveys and to really share their voice in regard to their academic programs and their full comprehensive experience that they have um in their high school and um you know we were very very pleased um you know over 8,000 students you know participated in that survey um and our team the system team and the school teams have been combing through um all of that data so that we really you know gain Insight um into our constituencies and um you know their views and feelings on you know the educational program uh and the comprehensive experience that we offer here at the free hle Regional High School District um we facilitate ated a meeting on January 31st with our system team we have student Representatives um that partake in that process with us um and we have uh two uh senior students that serve on the executive student cabinet that are going to share their experience in partaking um in you know meetings with myself as superintendent in our executive student cabinet meetings but also the processes that occur at the district level and at the school level in order to get student you know input so we'll hear from them in just a moment uh but for the board the district um will be um having their middle States visitation um it's on December 9th uh of 2024 so you know this upcoming fall and they will the visitors will be with us till December 12th um so really that's an opportunity it really is just tremendous validation of the great work um that is done you know here at the Freehold Regional High School District across all of our schools and all of our programs um so without further Ado I think it's you know um you know really uh for the for the board and for our public to really hear firsthand um from two of our students uh who serve on the executive student cabinet there are six members on the superintendent's cabinet this evening two of them are here are repres representative uh from Colts Neck High School uh JJ uh Celli and our representative from Manalapan High School Emma braan so I'd like to invite both of them to the podium I know they want to share uh their experiences on the cabinet and their work in particular with the middle States process good evening hi everyone my name is JJ selli and I'm a senior at cic high school em and I represent the executive student cabinet the executive student cabinet works closely with the superintendent and serve as the student representative on the board of education can you speak closer cuz I can't hear the words you're saying I'm sorry M and I represent the executive student cabinet the executive student cabinet work closely with the superintendent and serve as the student Representatives on the board of education this year this year we are participating in the middle States accreditation planning process for our middle States visit in December 2024 the second middle State system team meeting on January 31st included stakeholders from The Middle State's internal coordination team as well as parents industry partners and members of the executive St the cabinet at this meeting we we reviewed the profile of The Graduate reviewed survey data from students parents and teachers and began to draft our objectives for the next seven years of the middle States's Association accreditation thank you J good evening my name is Emma roberman and I'm a senior at manin high school at this meeting we participated in providing feedback on several proposed objectives one one was to sustain our high achievement levels in the New Jersey graduation assessment in both math and English this objective highlights our commitment to upholding the strong academic performance in our district ensuring all students are well prepared for their Futures two increase opportunities for student participation in learning communities including our CTE programs and career Focus concentrations additionally efforts are under way to enhance dual enrollment opportunities enabling students to earn college credits during their high school years the final objective is to enhance how information about academic progress and future goal planning is shared with students and parents by 2030 following this meeting each of the six high schools will provide feedback on the proposed objectives setting the stage for the third cycle developing action plans for the forthcoming seven years great thank you so much so we'll have one additional systems team meeting uh students will partake as well as um our administrators and our staff throughout the district um in April uh but right now we are in the uh feedback Lo process where um the outlined objectives are now uh being shared with um our staff in each of the six buildings so we're excited for that feedback I also want to thank uh Mr Bruno uh our board president who participated and has participated um in our system team meetings um it is always so beneficial um to have his representative voice um in our large room as we are going through kind of the planning processes and really going through all of the district data and Survey information from our constituents so thank you so much you know Mr Bruno for being a part of that and for sharing the information uh with the board um this evening uh we have a report uh from our auditor um Mr Bob swisser is here with us this evening uh who will really step through and this is really timely and prepar ation for uh when we present our annual budget um to the public at an upcoming board meeting um but I know uh today you will step um through for the board um the internal controls and and our you know uh finances and where we stand um as a district at this present time so thank you Mr swisser for uh being here this evening thank you um I'm actually filling in from my brother he is the one that actually ran the audit here he got I got the called it 6:15 tonight that it wasn't feeling well so uh went to the bullpen and I'm here to speak to you tonight um we appreciate it thank you no no worries uh so you know in doing the audit U we're here to determine whether your financial statements are it's a financial audit and a compliance audit are your financial statement is fairly stated and are your records in compliance with the rules and regulations of the state of New Jersey um you know we're not here to determine if you're efficient and things like that but more on the accounting terms you know financially and compliance wise uh so what we do is we design tests we review your internal controls we test your records your payroll your cafeteria uh up and down uh you know your your purchasing things like that to determine if things are in compliance and once those uh tests are all done we're able to form an opinion uh and we have an unqualified opinion in this this year's report your financial statements are fairly stated uh as far as compliance uh things were in very good shape we had one minor area of non-compliance uh it's actually a good thing um the state of New Jersey has lots of rules and regulation but one of them they have is you can't have too much money reserved in your cafeteria and uh in freeold we had a little bit more than you're allowed to have you're allowed to have three months average expenditures and so we're slightly over that so you'll have a corrective action plan uh that you'll adopt that will basically say we're going to spend some more money on the cafeteria uh you know buying equipment and things like that to bring that that Surplus down um you know o overall the district is in a good Financial shape uh the fund bounces are down slightly from last year but nothing to to write home about um the one thing I always I like to say about three old Regional School District is you know we do 38 school districts this is the only District we have where the finance off can actually write their own report um you know in the in the real world outside of you know School boards and municipalities uh the the client writes the report and we commit an audit it uh that's not the case in probably 98% of the school districts in New Jersey but Freehold your Finance staff Sean and Trish do a great job they're able to put together fin stat themselves and we actually do an actual audit um i' be glad to answer any questions about the audit process or anything in particular about the freeold report if anybody has any questions any board members have questions I don't think there's any but thank you very much we love to hear that yeah you're you're in very good hands hear that and we know we're very fortunate to have those two yes um and business staff um Mr Boyce's staff and Mrs Smith they do an incredible job they do they do a great job absolutely they put up with me once twice a week though but thank you so much and I hope your brother's okay thank you I have one question for you um looking at the surveys um was there anything on there out of the five or six that surprised you you know typically yeah um you know we shared at our systems team meeting and traditionally this is actually the third middle States um that I personally have been through in my career and it was done you know our survey at the beginning of the school year where we had you know those tremendously hot days um where our district was on an early dismissal schedule um so sometimes you know in reading through those it was around kind of our facilities um you know it would be great to have air conditioning um also at that time um you know um you know some of the students you know were talking through you know Transportation uh because sometimes at the beginning of the school year until all of the routes are totally established and everything is in sync we sometimes experience you know some late buses so there were um you know some issues that came up you know regarding Transportation um you know air conditioning you know fac you know facil like concerns but you know overwhelmingly as we read through these I think I just need to you know those were the things you know some of those we have no control over in Food Service kids are always talking about you know the food choices and the snacks and stuff um those those are common but it was really you know overwhelmingly positive um from our students which was over 8,000 students that were surveyed just really talking about their experience both in the classroom and outside the classroom about their experiences their connections to the teachers about their learning in school and what the high school has done for them uh was really compelling and reading through actually you know I was thoroughly impressed and I say this to the team all of the time on just how articulate the students were in conveying um you know their feelings on their experience in their High School um I believe you know that is a credit uh to the work across this District uh both at the central office level administratively and you know and really most importantly you know to our teachers and to our advisers that are working so closely with our students each and every day um you know I say it's really relationships engagement and then growth for the Regional and that was really compelling in what I read when I was going through um those written comments and those narratives uh from our students and as well from our parents we didn't have uh we had a couple of you know hundred parents respond I would have liked to had more um you know um written you know feedback from our parents but our students and our staff um really um gave us a lot of information number 8000 it is thank you yes yes thank you we're going to go to our board reports and we have Finance tonight they met on Tuesday and Mr messenger from marbor is going to give that presentation all right thank you well uh there were really three topics for the meeting that we had this past Tuesday night as um Mr swisser just noted his brother John came to the meeting and walked us through the most recent audits so we really uh got an extensive update going Line Line to Line on what the uh surpluses were budgeting expenses etc etc um that was the topic that we spent the most amount of time on uh with respect to the architect of record RFP we had five firms submit bids uh we we had an evaluation team uh that consisted of members of the administration and what this evaluation team did is they scored and commented on each firm uh and one of the one of the things I want to point out that um we thought was a good thing is one of the members of the team uh is a forab building principal so it was nice to have uh someone who has experience in a building and deals with the various incidents and delays that may impact uh our students uh Visa construction projects that might be going on so that was good and the bottom line is uh the team identified spel Architectural Group as the top choice for the architect of record and the appointment of them is on tonight's agenda and then lastly the the uh third and final topic was just giving an update on the paving of the malber high school parking lot and that's it Mr President thank you very much and now we're going to have a motion to approve E3 may I have a motion to approve E3 motion Mr and we have two any discussion board not queing any discussion roll call please okay Mrs Capell yes Mrs hi yes Mrs lav yes Miss maau yes Mr pesi yes Mr AA yes Mr Messinger yes and Mr Bruno yes motion passes yes Mr yes so um changes to the agenda yes uh in addition to the items that are noted on the agenda uh the following changes uh for G6 approval of change status please note that uh mariss Sandra Collins is being removed for G7 leaves of absence we uh board is extending Bridget Gage Dixon leave of absence uh through April 9th 2024 and G10 approval six period assignments note that the follow names are being removed uh Marinda Collins Courtney Kowski Samantha Katz Lindsay pit sneck and I apologize for mispronouncing and Ruth Shu also the following attenda items are being added for G1 approval of resignations resignation of Jennifer Patton effective date March 99 2024 G3 approval appointments please add the name Lauren quick long-term English teacher long-term substitute English teacher How High School uh March 4 2024 through May 30 2024 G10 the following additional six period teaching assignments uh Lori Hunter Courtney Kowski Samantha CS Ruth Shu and Kelly whitling finally there's one additional uh resolution item tonight uh it'll be resolution H7 be resolve that in accordance with the New Jersey Public School contracts law the freeold Regional High School District engages spel Architectural Group as architectural record to provide professional Consulting architectural and Engineering support as per the agreement on file in the office of the board secretary you wear two hats well thank you okay now we're going to have um public participation and I see we have M Mr scoy and Mrs scy you kind of come up as the team how are you they're from Colt neck actually from how their son goes to Colt neck good evening good evening my name is Julie Skully this is my husband Sean um I am a parent of four boys two that have graduated from KAC and two that are currently still here I'm also the president president of the Fifth Quarter Club which is a nonprofit um organization which supports the Colt s football team here um all of my boys play football here and I started this organization 10 years ago so is my 10th season um the reason I'm here today is on behalf of the football team we are the only School in the district um that is unable to use the audio that is intended for our football games at the field the polls that are intended for our speakers are not being used used instead the speakers were taken down and placed on storage units facing away from our field which doesn't allow our parents fans anybody to hear because they're facing away from the field um they were taken down because of a resident who lives behind the football field who continuously badges our Administration about the noise on a Saturday afternoon calls our principal calls the superintendent to say that the noise is too loud um we are also required to use a decel reader we take this decel reader with the principal with the ad and we go to the other side of the field and we make sure that we're correctly using the um speakers we were forced as a club to purchase our own speakers because of the lack of hearing anything um pertaining to the game a few years back this person had boxes built to house our speakers um to keep the sound down we have five Saturday games a year it's five that's all that we do and they're on a Saturday afternoon um it's not fair that every other school in our district can use their speakers to their full capacity we we are not allowed to use them from because of one person um I've had so many complaints being the president of this club from parents that they can't hear the cheer team can't hear their music the dance team when they go out at halftime can't hear because the the sound has to be at a certain level um I've called it's embarrassing the main focus here is for our players our band our cheer our Dance all the students who come to cheer us on I have called The Board of Health many times and we are following the guidelines and the person in charge tells me what needs to be done they are in awe that this is happening at what is supposed to be a fun and inviting event for the school and the Town even with the decimal reading at the required level this person still calls our superintendent still calls Administration to complained um something needs to be done it's sad that one person has the power for the last 10 years to have such a negative impact on so many student athletes and in my opinion as the president of this club and we have a board also it it's disheartening that when we go to other schools in our district that on a Friday night or a Saturday afternoon we hear everything that's going on except when we come to coln really something needs to be done we would like that the speakers be put back on the polls that they're there they're intended for we have these huge polls in our stadium and nothing is on them because the speakers are facing away from the stadium I think it's a disservice for and it's not fair to be honest because the other schools are doing it I live in Howell I could hear how high school on a Friday night till 11:00 I know it's because one person is is complaining but not this one person can't have this much power to to shut us down that we can't hear anything on a Saturday afternoon it's not it's 12:00 in the afternoon and I know this might not seem like a big deal but for the last 10 years this has been going on and like I said I've had four PE boys come through this program um and I've been fighting this fight for 10 years thank you I just want a side note um congratul is your on season thank you and you know you brought up four great young men thank you and uh so thank you for that thanks thanks for listening we have one more Jeremy Ross good evening evening just so you can hear me um good evening to the board thank you for this opportunity uh for my wife and I uh I'm Jeremy this is Vanessa from 75 Le and roting freeold um we do have one issue that um we're very passionate about and that that's why we are here we are parents of twins in two separate high schools col neck high school and freeold burrow high school and we're here as a plea to please reconsider consider the current graduation schedule that's in place for June um Dr Hazel I apologize if you didn't get a chance to read an email we sent earlier today so I'll try to do my best to summarize um it's basically uh created a conflict uh we know there's a dozens of conflicts identified and our conflict due to the fact that we have twins um you know we do feel that it's unfair and and logistically unfeasible to attend two separate graduations that are currently set with a St time of only one 1 hour difference apart this schedule as is uh immediately creates a situation where we would miss the end of one ceremony and the beginning of another at best um what is more concerning is uh disconcerting is the fact that we would be missing significant Milestones of achievement that both of our sons have earned through their hard work and dedication um they both started their High School careers during one of the most significant harmful pandemic events in our country's history and throughout the time in high school in Freel bur and cols neck they persisted and didn't allow the setbacks to keep them from achieving personal and school goals they both deserve the full support of their entire family to see them Reach This Pinnacle of their High School experience um we are aware that there are several families in our unique situation being the parents of twins we're not the only ones there are a few um we're also aware that the schools have received specifically at least 55 different conflicts with the proposed dates and I know that number is is growing as supportive parents uh we've given hundreds of hours of time money and effort into supporting the Freehold Regional High School District programs including the RC program cols neck wrestling team Colts Neck lacrosse team freio bur music parents National Art society and several other programs over the past four years we volunteered selflessly and given our time on nights weekends and throughout the summer to ensure the success of each and every one of these programs when other staff members and teachers are unavailable to assist and have never asked for credit or recognition for our service to the freeold Regional High School District because of this the thought of not being a full part of each graduation extremely upsetting and creating immense tension in our family which is why we're here um we would implore uh Dr Hazel if if it's in your power um and members of the board uh we would implore you to reconsider the span of time time between the graduations to allow us a chance to experience this with each of our son's achievements um I know there are challenges to six graduations all taking place in a single day um I understand that we understand that we would challenge you to logically reconsider the idea of either hosting six six graduations over two days at more convenient intervals or creating more time between the graduations to minimize conflicts like ours giving our dedication to the Freo Regional High School District we will insist that accommodations be made to eliminate the hardship on our hardships on our families um we've done our court for the last four years and now ask that we be afforded some empathy over this situation um I will say uh already uh Dr donu in some conversations with him has been a tremendous support we appreciate everything that he's done within his span of control at Colts Neck to uh assist us with that accommodation we're just asking some empathy uh for our family and and all the families that uh share this same burden coming into what should be a very exciting time where now we have to kind of stress out and have that burden on on how we can actually make this work so you have a 3:00 graduation at high school then you have a 5 yes and we're fortunate there's an hour between their families that are simultaneous graduations as well we have a four and a five correct Mr Mrs Russ yes yes yes um so you know congratulations you know to to your two sons and and this is a tremendous Milestone you know in for your two boys and and for your family um you know our district used to be and then not going to go through the entire history where the district had one graduation and um over time you know the administrative team um you know really assessed every conflict um you know that's in our district and did do our very best to accommodate you know the families every year the conflicts are a little bit different there are some years where we can hold two graduations and leave more time in between there are other years like this year where we need four graduation times due to the number of conflicts and in particular schools that your boys attend they're in conflict with every school um you know we are graduating you know over 2500 students uh myself and my team and and our six High School principles um you know do our best to you know make this a special moment for every graduate and for every family um that's what we take great pride in in terms of our preparation for these events I know Dr donu and Dr Ross um will do everything and we've done this before um in the years that we've transitioned from one graduation of the district to multiple graduations to be able to put in all accommodations you know to really help the family in terms of parking specialized seating I'm sure Dr Don has kind of walked you through that in some situations even you know names are called at different times to allow for time this you know the four times um you know really the two days let me address the two days um the day of graduation is our last day of school so our students the seniors come to school that morning uh for their graduation practice and kind of the last time to be with their class in the school building um so they still need time for their practice and for what they need to accomplish at the school and then be able to go home get ready and be able to come back in time to be able to do all the lineups and preparation you know at the school so it really is not feasible for us to be able to you know make the time any earlier because we're instructing school that day have graduation practice going on and then really getting an entire building ready for the facilitation of graduation um so the times with the four I really can't accommodate and the two days that next day um is not a day that our staff is with us so graduation day you know is there and we use that as a range we hope we never have to use um because we would really be on a skeleton staff for the facilitation you know of those programs so you know we do our best um you know for all of our graduates as well as still running you know school on that day um to meet everybody's needs we will do everything you know within our power to support you and any other you know families that need it which we always do um and going above and beyond but in terms of you know the day this is the day we need to do it day on graduation day and I can't you know go to five times or you know do any spreading out or we're too late in the evening or can't finish what we need to do during you know our morning and school day thank you and I hope our plea will serve uh families in the future when there is time to properly consider yeah and each year we look at every every student every you know conflict and do our very best in organizing it and we will do whatever we need to do um you know for your boys and and your family thank you to the members of the board for thank you thank you good luck congratul congratulations there's no other public participation there no other public participation I have a motion to approve G1 through G14 second I have any discussion not hearing any discussion roll call Mrs sley um yes but I'm say G2 L Mr Mr Mr a yes Mrs Capel yes yes yes okay I'm sorry I couldn't hear I apologize Mr messing yes and Mr Bruno yes motions passed I have a motion to take H1 through I2 program operations building transportation and phal plan moyy discussion please not hearing discussion roll call Mrs lav yes Mr M yes Mr P yes Mr as yes Mrs cell yes Mrs hickley yes Mr Messinger yes and M yes motion car now I have a motions to take J1 through K2 educational programs and administration motion I hear one I hear Mrs ziggly okay and second I think cell cell second discussion board no discussion call please Mrs maau yes Mr P yes Mr as yes Mrs ciell yes on everything except I and uh Mrs Higley Yes except on j16 I I stay from MTH and on K1 Dr I think so Mrs Lavin Mr mess yes and Mr Bruno yes motion's Carri thank you any board member has old business tonight I just like to um compliment Laura L who I worked with when she was building supervisor and um she was very conscientious and I enjoy working with her just and I'm going to do the same so um Laura was a good friend um a colleague we worked together at hal High School for a little time and um a lady who has come over personal and um just a very strong person and um a great worker and never complained so um we'll miss her she's been a custodian um substitute custodian um a building supervisor and then of course District supervisor and she'll be retiring as of July 1 with over 25 years in our system so um we're going to miss her good person anybody else with old business M you going any anybody with new business yeah if I could Mr President yes Amanda has some too go ahead okay you want me to go first you go first m okay I just want to thank Jeremy B bravman for being here tonight the first winner of the presidential reward as being the best employee District thank you Mr bro and almost undefeated in the division one wrestling uh school okay we'll just go on to uh yes I could um so this past weekend on February 3rd was the Southern Regional Conference for uh NJ HOSA future health professionals which is a club uh geared towards students who want to pursue uh careers in healthcare um and we had quite a good showing from the prle regional district uh the two chapters from W high school and free burrow High School um and I just like to recognize those uh students who placed uh in the top eight of their uh competitions so in Behavioral Health arav Bary from freeold high school placed second uh in CPR the team of sarin Ahmad and Ronald milarski pre old high school placed third in Dental science Gabriella Hana from freeold high school play second Alan Sultan also from freeold high school placed sixth the EMT team from Malboro High School of Gian Scalia and Adil sorro uh Place third in human growth and development miles Kaplan from M placed sixth in medical spelling Alyssa tab tabachnik from Malo placed seventh in sports medicine uh nicholet lutnick from maloro placed first and Isabella cardia cardo excuse me from three old high school placed eight um and all those who placed fif or above uh are now qualified for the state competition which will be held at the end of mar thank you do we have any new business board members any new is this okay I'd like to make a motion we well I was you were really slow tonight with that I just would also just do it before I said one second second yeah I just want to recognize uh Mrs Cohen uh from thean and MaryAnn who are here uh with us this evening thank you uh for always um partaking in our board meetings and being such a great uh representative of nelvin High School uh and supporting us on everything so thank you for being here tonight now who's the mayor this time around after you congratulations so we have a motion for this we have a motion and I just wanted to thank the other administrator I just want to thank all the other administrators who are here tonight too get my okay all right Mr can we can we just if I can for one second I want first all say Mr you did a good job t f for Mr Boyce and you know to go over the audit report but I think we need to say what a great job Mr Boyce and I know I think it's worth repeating what a wonderful job they do so thank you you too shy to be up here tonight is that did you have anything we'll talk about we'll talk about that okay I have a motion to adjourn I heard one and I need a second second M all all those in favor everyone's in favor okay I know all right 8:46 we are done thank you