##VIDEO ID:Ee-VtmJr80E## in accordance with public law 231 both adequate and electronic notice of this meeting was provided to the press the Galloway Township Municipal Building and the district website on January 6th 2025 at this time we would ask that all members of the Republican board stand for the flag salute it will be led by Mr Dace however at the completion of the flag salute we ask that members of the word and public remain standing for a moment of silence in honor and memory of President James Jimmy Carter Jr our 39th president of the United States thank you thank you thank you at this time um one point item 1.4 is to report the election results held on Tuesday November 5th 2024 for three full year terms of board candidates that's Mr Richard Dace Miss Alexa Basher Blau and Miss mine Avery Mrs Hal Ela will now do conduct the oath of office to Mrs Avery Dr Basher Blau and Mr Dace e e e e e thank you we will continue with our roll call Mrs Carmen Mrs Chester here Dr penter here miss Laria here Mrs Avery here Dr Basher Blau here Mr Dace here Mr Gentile here and Mrs hermano here I'm now requesting a motion to appoint the board president and I'm opening nominations for president of the Board of Education suette Carman I second at thank you a second is not needed for this vote any other nominations we will have a roll call then to nominate susette Carman as president of the Board of Education to to appoint Mrs Carmen Mrs Chester yes Dr Parmenter yes Miss Lura yes Mrs Avery yes Dr Basher Blau yes Mr Dace yes Mr genel yes Mrs herel abstain I'm now opening nominations for vice president of the Board of Education nominate Alexa Basher BL any other nominations at this time we will I will do a roll call for Alexa Basher Blau as vice president of the Board of Education Mrs Corman yes Mrs Chester Dr Parmenter yes Miss Lura yes Mrs Avery yes Dr Basher Blau abstained Mr Dace yes Mr Gentile yes Mrs herel yes thank you items 1.11 is to establish the annual Board calendar as attached items 1.12 is parliamentary procedures 1.13 is fees to received notice as per board policy 1.14 adoption of bylaws and policies 1.15 adoption of assets obligations and contractual agreements 1.16 ratification of all existing contracts and agreements 1.17 adoption of code of ethics for school board members and item 1.18 is to approve items 1.11 through 1.17 can I have a motion for approval of items 1.11 through 1.17 so moved can I second it thank you Mrs Corman yes Mrs Chester yes Dr permenter yes Miss laa yes Mrs Avery yes Dr Basher Blau yes Mr Dace yes Mr genel yes and Mrs hermano yes at this time Mrs Nixon if you would move over to the secretary position and Alexa if you would join me at the head of the table for our spots and then uh we'll continue with the regular meeting good evening everyone at this time I must announce that I have to leave the meeting because I have a prior commitment that was already scheduled before this meeting was rescheduled thank you I also just need to say that I do have a prior commitment I'm I'm not leaving right at this moment but um even if we are still continuing the meeting at the time that I need to leave which is around 7:30 or 7:45 I will be leaving at that time Miss Nixon you can just note that for the record thank you and on behalf of Alexa and I we want to uh thank the board for your vote of confidence at this time we will move on with the regular minutes I'm sorry with the regular meeting we do have approval of meeting minutes tonight from December 9th which was a regular meeting and also executive meeting can I have a motion to approve those minutes please so move second all in favor I any abstain any objections thank you moving on to public comment for this evening at this time we will open the floor for public comment the board values and welcomes comments and opinions from residents this meeting will now be open to public comments 5 minutes per person on agenda genda items only at this time if there are non-agenda items that will be an opportunity to speak at the end so again this is for agenda items only public comments on non-agenda items again will be at the end of the meeting if your questions pertain to litigation student or Personnel items please see the superintendent after the meeting as board does not discuss these matters in public depending on the nature and complexity of your questions the board secretary may ask for your contact information so that someone can get back to you with a response as a reminder this is a public meeting and all Commons should be appropriate and for a public setting and May in a respectful manner if you do have comment this evening on non on agenda items only come up to the podium now state your name and address and sign in please and the podium is right in front here yes good evening I'm G take it Susan colettes uh I want to talk tonight about board ethics um that we kind of went through it really quickly and adopted it but I I think it's important for the community to have an understanding of that is that okay okay yes it was on the agenda yes thank you um today I'm here to discuss a crucial aspect of our educational governance the ethical standards that guide the actions and decisions of a school board member in New Jersey as outlined by the New Jersey school boards Association these standards are not merely guidelines they are the foundation upon which trust integrity and accountability are built in our school systems as members of school boards your entrusted with the Monumental responsibility of shaping the educational landscape for our children this role requires not only Knowledge and Skills but also an unwavering commitment to ethical conduct the njsba has established a set of ethical standards that serve as a compass for Schoolboard members ensuring that we act in the best interest of all students and our community first and foremost the NJ SBA emphasizes the importance of Integrity school board members must always act with honesty and transparency fostering an environment where trust prevails this means disclosing any potential conflicts of interest and refraining from using positions for personal gain when board members demonstrate Integrity they set a powerful example for our students and staff alike reinforcing the values of honesty and accountability that we wish to instill in our schools secondly the NJ SBA underscores the principle of respect school board members are expected to treat all individuals students students parents Educators and fellow board members with dignity this respect extends to valuing diverse opinions and fostering open Communication in a climate where respect Reigns collaboration flourishes and we can work together to address the challenges facing our schools another critical aspect of ethical conduct is the commitment to equity the njsba calls on Schoolboard members to ensure that all students have access to Quality education regardless of their background or circumstances this means making informed decisions that prioritize the needs of underserved and marginalized communities by championing Equity we affirm our dedication to creating an inclusive educational environment where every student has the opportunity to succeed moreover the NJ SBA encourages Schoolboard members to engage in continuous professional development ethical leadership requires ongoing learning about the evolving educational landscape legal obligations and best practices by investing in our own growth we enhance our ability to serve our communities effectively and make informed decisions that reflect the commitment to Excellence and education lastly the njsba ethical standards emphasize the importance of collaboration Schoolboard members must work collectively and constructively with one another as well with administrators teachers and Community stakeholders this collaboration is vital for developing policies and initiatives that reflect the needs and the aspirations of the communities we serve in conclusion the ethical standards that are set forth by the New Jersey school boards Association are not just rules this is an essential framework for the work as Schoolboard members by upholding these principles of Integrity respect equity and continuous professional development along with collaboration we could Foster an educational environment that not only meets the needs of our students but also inspires trust and confidence in our leadership thank you for your service thank you Mrs coletes is there any other public comment this evening on agenda items okay seeing none I will turn the meeting over to Mr sanelli for presentations please thank you very much uh first and foremost I just want to welcome everyone back and happy New Year um also a special thanks to our maintenance staff uh their their leader actually happens to be with us tonight Mr rock over is Ste thank you very much to you and your staff for staying ahead of and proactively addressing the recent winter uh weather I know that that was not easy to stay ahead of uh so thank you very much as well as also Integrity Transportation um obviously driving a bus is a challenge to begin with and to maintain bus safety again in this winter weather and these conditions as of recent um they are to be commended for their work so thank you also Al in addition uh Mr valver if you can please pull up the uh slide uh January as some of you may or may not know is also uh board recognition month uh We've also posted this on social media as we celebrate the work that our board members do uh each and every day uh serving on the board of education uh is is a commitment and also we want to thank them all for their unwavering support to all students uh ultimately uh each board member did re receive and you can see a little placard there and I'll read the placard something I started a few years ago um but ultimately once again we're going to start uh continue with that tradition and I'll just read to you because it's it's small but I'll read to you exactly what this says members of the gwi Township Board of Education and recognition of your service on the board a book of your choosing will be purchased and placed in our school libraries they have the opportunity to list the title of the children's or young adult literature and then return this to me that book placard would live in each and every one of our libraries celebrating their work as public servants on the board of education so again thank you very much for all the work that you do each and every day thank you so before I continue with the rest of my typical report um I want to and and looking at the audience here tonight I do want to uh clarify how board meetings and public comment work and review some misconceptions that seem to be circulating around our district please know that as superintendent the gwe Township School District we appreciate and understand the concerns raised by a few individuals related to policies that affect our children schools and Community specifically opposition to the district's transgender policy 5756 please know that both myself and our Board of Education value comments from the public we will continue to respect the opinions from the public who share their view on either side of a topic with that being said I've had the opportunity to speak to a few members of the public who have chosen to make public comments over the past year or even months I've always found those conversations to be respectful regardless of one another's opinions on a topic and it is my hope that the dialogue will continue to remain respectful whether private or in public for the parents in the audience please know if you have questions about a school matter you can always feel free to go to your child's teacher first if you need additional information you would contact your child's building Administration or my office if you have not received assistance at the building level for those with us here tonight who may not often get out to a public meeting please note the following the first public comment portion of this meeting was for agenda items only only as you just witnessed this comment period is done to allow the public the opportunity to share their opinion on an agenda action item prior to the board taking such action toward the end of our public meeting as you know there is a second opportunity for public comment this public comment portion of the meeting can be reserved for Mo most items however the board of course does not discuss staff or student Personnel matters nor litigation in public in addition I am sure you have noticed that I continue to use the word comment please know that this is not a town hall meeting and the board nor myself will get into a question and answer session during any public comment portion of the meeting the intent of public comment is to allow for the public to share their opinion with the board of education for the board to consider in addition through the Board of Education committees work is completed between board meetings therefore as the meeting continues and action is taken it may seem as if there might not be much discussion that is because the majority of work has taken place within committees and should a board member have any questions or concern about an action item they have the opportunity to reach out to a committee chair the board president the superintendent or board secretary moving on in response to some of the misinformation out in our community and Reis at some of our prior Board of Education meetings I'd like to share some simple facts with those participating in our meeting tonight first curriculum a lot has changed over the years and now more than ever information is at our fingertips compared to when many of you here tonight were in the classroom or even had your own children in our schools should you desire to view any of our district curriculum you can access our website at www. gtps . k12.us from there on the link you can look for departments and then simply click on the curriculum instruction drop down menu you will find every content in grade level easily accessible which has been carefully curated by our curriculum office staff and administration in conjunction with our professional teaching staff which is further aligned to the New Jersey Department learning standards furries and litter boxes there have been recent references to furries and litter boxes please know that there is absolutely no truth to any litter boxes being used in our schools for students who may identify as a furry naturally it is my hope that this continued dialogue ceases in our school Community as it is simply not true School nurses also over the past few months there has been reference to or the misconception that during the school day our School nurses support the physical transition of certain preschool through eighth grade students from one gender to another our School nurses adhere to the highest ethical standards and are the utmost professionals such statements are again simply not true and as stated in public at no time can a school nurse even in min an aspirin without parent Guardian permission let alone hormone enhancing or replacing medications such physical transitions would only be viable outside of our public schools and through the support of a parent Guardian again it is my hope that we can move past such misinformation transgender policy the board has had a transgender policy in place since 20 2019 until the board changed policy providers in 2023 and began to reapproved policies including the transgender policy which occurred in December of 2023 the policy is based on guidance from the State Department of Education based on the 2017 law signed by then Governor Chris Christie which directed The New Jersey Commissioner of Education to provide school districts with gu guidance on transgender student rights there has been debate whether this policy was mandated or not and while the attorney general has agreed that the policy is not mandated the guidance from the New Jersey Department of Education Commissioner of Education New Jersey school boards Association and our policy advisor has not changed parent Guardian notification don't get me wrong we want each and every parent and guardian to be a part of their child's life in an effort to further develop a healthy relationship where our students your children feel comfortable having an open and honest conversation with a trusted adult in their own home while that is the reality in most cases rest assured that some students only feel safe and supported within a confines of their school or classroom in those cases we work closely with the students and help them understand that they need to form relationships with their parents and discuss difficult issues no matter what those issues may be as we all know if a student in school wants to be called by a different name for example the other students in the class may talk and their parents will ultimately most likely find out anyway therefore our goal is not to exclude parents but rather we want to encourage our students who may be afraid to talk to their parents to open up a dialogue with them in a supportive environment in closing over the past 25 years I have served in public education both the world around us and within our schools things have changed while those changes have occurred over time the constant for those in public education has been and will continue to be that our schools are a safe and inclusive environment for all students regardless of their race religion economic status gender identity or expression sexual orientation or any other feelings a student may have on the lgbtq plus Continuum please realize our schools are not a means for the promotion of or for the physical transitioning of students but rather a place where all students feel valued heard and accepted and make no mistake our students within agawi Township School District and surrounding communities are listening and watching thank you at this time I'd like to turn it over to our attorney Amy Al Kelco for her attorney's report thank you very much [Applause] thank you very much Happy New Year everybody congratulations to our board members that were elected to our President and Vice President since the last time we were here I've had the opportunity to work with the district on some student matters some contractual matters and some personal matters as well as preparing for negotiations thank you thank you very much at this time item 5.2 is our student enrollment and rep report as attached our out of District suspension report is item 5.3 is attached and item 5.4 is harassment intimidation and bullying as as attached no vote is needed there are all informational items for our board thank you moving on to crin instruction please at this time we would like consideration for items 6.1 through 6.4 as listed and attached can I have motion to approve items 6.1 through 6.4 please so moved second is there any board may I have a roll call Mrs Carman yes Mrs Chester yes Dr Parmenter yes Miss Lara yes Mrs Avery Dr Basher Blau yes Mr Dace yes Mr Gentile yes and Mrs hermano yes at this time I'll turn the meeting over to Mrs Nixon for finance and Facilities please please thank you item 7.1 through 7.15 are up for your approval can I have motion to approve items 7.1 through 7.15 please so move is there is there any board comment may I have a roll call please Mrs Corman yes Mrs Chester yes Dr permenter yes Miss Lura yes Dr rer BL yes Mr da yes Mr Gentile yes Mrs hermano yes at this time turning the meeting to over to Mr sanelli for personnel please so item 8.1 is uh retirement at this time is a resolution to accept with regret the letter of in of intent to retire from the following um miss Patricia souro Smithville 10-month secretary with 21 years in the district at this time we are looking to move item 8.2 as listed thank you can I have motion to move item 8.2 so move second is there any board comment may I have a roll call please Mrs Corman yes Mrs Chester yes Dr permenter yes Miss Lura yes Dr Basher Blau yes Mr Dace with regret yes Mr Gentile yes and Mrs hermano yes back to Mr Santilli please at this time we are looking to move items 8.3 through 8.5 as listed and attached can I have motion to approve 8.3 through 8.5 please so moved second do we need 8.6 and seven under one voting Yes actually I that's I stand corrected 8.3 through 8.7 as listed and attached thank you can we amend that motion uh Mr Gentile for 8 33 8.7 I so move and seconded second thank you can I have a roll I'm sorry is there any board comment roll call please Mrs Corman yes Mrs Chester yes Dr permenter yes Miss Laria yes Dr Basher BL yes Mr Dace yes Mr gentil yes Mrs herel yes do we have any new hires this evening uh no okay moving on to policy was there a policy meeting this month no okay Mr Santilli so at this time uh there was no policy meeting so these are all for second uh and final reading so items 9.1 through 9.7 as listed and attached can I have motion to approve items 9.1 through 9.7 so moved second is there any board comment uh yes um should I bring this up now now or a new business I'd like to put 5756 back on the agenda for February and I have my reasons it would be on new business okay thank you any other board comments can I have a roll call please Mrs Corman yes Mrs Chester yes Dr permenter yes Miss Laria yes Dr Basher Blau yes Mr da yes Mr Gentile yes Mr hermin now yes moving on to Old business so at this time 10.1 is the affirmation of Hib determination reports and also 10.2 is a revised 2425 calendar uh for the district it's just a simple reflection and change due to the um use of the um because of a snow day the the reserved um emergency closing day uh unfortunately had to be taken back um that was built into the calendar so that's been revised and reflected here as attached so looking to move items 10.1 and 10.2 is listed and attached can I have motion to approve items 10.1 and 10.2 so move second is there any board comment may I have a roll call Mrs Corman yes Mrs Chester yes Dr penter yes Miss Laria yes Dr Basher Blau yes Mr Dace yes Mr gen yes and Mrs herel yes at this time we'll move on to new business uh we do have an item board retreat discussion it was just a reminder to reach out to board members you've uh got an email asking for dates that you would be available so please respond to that email and we can set up a date for our board retreat moving on Mr sanelli so items 11.2 and 11.3 I'm looking to approve those two items due to some re changes in administration can I motion to approve items 11.2 and 11.3 so moved second any board comment yes I would like to add on to new business do I do that now or do I after this vote okay any other comment roll call please Mrs Carman yes Mrs Chester yes Dr permenter yes Miss Lara yes Dr basher BL yes Mr Dace yes Mr Gentile yes Mrs hermano yes and at this time Mrs Herman now you had an additional comment thank you yes um I would like to add back onto the agenda 5756 for these reasons um and first of all yes you did have a policy Mr Celli that's been in place since 2019 51457 and I read it and I thought wow what a great policy because it actually informs the parents and it talks talks and it communicates with the parents and it Fosters a great relationship with parents however in last year 5756 became available and if you actually read the policy and I asked parents to read the policy you'll see there's a big contrast and the contrast is is that parents will no longer have parental rights they do not have to advise parents if their children are being called by different names going into a different bathroom whatever the case may be they do not have to and if for some reason the parent disagrees with the child and it becomes contentious at that point the superintendent can actually go to the school board attorney and I have problems with this because parents should have rights they mention the students all the time and how we're looking out for them and what about the parents are we looking out for the parents the parents actually voted us all in not the students by the way and the parents should have direct authority over their children not the school and not the state so I have a problem with 5756 I'd like it to be put back on the agenda for February me and Jenny were not sworn in yet we were not allotted or afforded the ability to actually read it and get engaged in it so you voted it in during the lame duck session before we could get here and I think that was purposeful unfortunately and we need to discuss this as a board because it doesn't have anything to do with the students as much as it does the parents who deserve their rights there are First Amendment rights and we all know what they are that's what makes America so great that's what makes America so great the First Amendment rights the first amendment in the Bill of Rights there's five things in there freedom of religion freedom of speech freedom of press freedom of gathering um petitioning your government freedom of assembly that's what makes America so great and parents deserve those rights and it needs to be back on theend I could address your your question you want to get 56 I'm sorry I got it let me finish 57 5 6 back on the agenda for the February meeting my question to you is have have you discussed this with the policy committee well from what I've been told um by my attorney the policy committee chairperson doesn't have that kind of power it's the board that does so we're the ones that voted in but we operate as a board of committees so it has to go to the policy committee first well you only have two on your committee right now how many do you need you need three right so I'd be happy to be on that committee okay well that's at my discretion and I haven't made that determination yet okay well I just got on as president now it would not have been appropriate for me to make that determination before this evening's meeting correct so you can make it now not have no I'm not making it now I'm flat out telling you I need to look at it well I think the board should Mak decision not the committee okay and I I appreciate that and respect that all right but I think it needs to go through the proper channel so Amy correct me if I'm wrong it should it go to the policy committee or what is the appropriate committee poliy so your committee policy authorizes the creation of committees to um make recommendations to the board and act in advisory capacity so typically what you guys do is if someone has an issue you recommend it to the board so the policy committee under your bylaw says this committee reviews and provides input on all policies okay so if you could then discuss with the policy committee what your comments are and what your suggested changes would be so that it's not you know just a random thing right I mean if you if you want to change submit what your change what you would like to change in the wording it's not random it's just repeal it like a lot of schools have because you already have you already have a policy in place that's actually good before this one if that's what you would like to do discuss it with the policy committee and then after they discuss they'll bring it to the board okay thank you sure is that a motion yes I'd like the motion to put that on to the agenda it doesn't go it goes to the policy committee and then they would put it on are you sure that's accurate is that not accurate I don't think that's accurate so I just read what your committee by law is and what you do with the committee process so as a board the committee reviews policies so traditionally this board if there's an issue it goes to the committee and the committee then refers it back and your bylaw for a committee says the committee reviews and provides input on all policies so what I would suggest is that any changes you would like or the repeal would then go to the committee the committee could review and then make a recommendation and then that recommendation would go to the whole on the agenda on the regular agenda it is not correct are there any other comments at this time under new business seeing none we'll move on to informational items please so 12.1 the board calendar is um pending approval but we're still finalizing the board retreat so at this time um board meetings are listed for 2526 with a TBD for the board retreat special events for 12.2 uh have been listed as well and we certainly encourage all of our board members in the community to come out and support all of these different events a variety of things coming up um first one here steam night at Arthur ran elementary school is on 16 followed by Reeds and Rolland steam nights in both the end of February and then also March districtwide band Festival right now slated for GTM gtms in March more information to follow and most importantly a very large event in celebration of our people of the year and retirees held by the Education Foundation uh will be on May 2nd so please save the date for that as well thank you at this time we will open up the meeting for public comment for non-agenda items again the board values and welcomes comments and opinions from residents this meeting will now be open to public comments 5 minutes per person please if your questions pertain a litigation student or Personnel items please see the superintendent after the meeting as the board does not discuss these matters in public depending on the nature and complexity of your question the board secretary may ask for your contact information so that someone can get back to where the response is a reminder this is a public meeting and all comments should be appropriate for a public setting and made in a respectful manner please come to the podium state your name address and sign in please good evening my name is Elaine Santo Reverend Ela Santo and I just want to say thank you for your time and for your service at this time I would also like to State I am a resident of Smithville I have been a long-term resident of Galloway Township for 57 years but I wanted to read as I had mentioned last meeting I brought up the issue of the policy 5756 because parents are not informed and that was a concern that I had and most parents do have and unfortunately as I had stated that not everyone in the community was familiar with this and so I wanted to know exactly exactly how you go about informing them so I think information has gone out and we have support to say that parents need to be informed I just want to reiterate that this is not mandated by the state it is a policy and as stated there are other policies that you can certainly ensure um I would just like to read paragraph 15 of 5756 for those who are not familiar with this that the school district shall accept a students's asserted gender ident identity parental consent is not required a student need not meet any threshold diagnosis or treatment requirements to have his or her gender identity recognized and respected by the school district school or School staff members in addition a legal or court ordered name change is not required there is no affirmative Duty for any School District staff member to notify a student's parent or or of the student's gender identity or expression again they do not have to not you do not have to notify the parent I have a I have a concern about this I think everybody should have concern about this this in itself it shouldn't be so here's what I propose there is no law stating schools must keep parents in the dark about their child's perceived or assert a gender identity to do so is both unethical and dangerous the Office of the Attorney General has acknowledged in court that policy 5756 is not mandatory so therefore I personally and along with others I I agree urge the Galloway Township Board of Education to repeal policy 5756 to more closely align with local residents and the majority of parents across the district so this is my concern and I hope that you hear it um thank you for your time thank you are there any other comments this evening to come before the board if you can come to the microphone state your name and there's a sign in sheet as well hi my name is Caitlyn Stenson and my address uh is 504 East pascan Avenue here in Galloway okay um yeah so again my name is Caitlyn Stenson uh I'm the president of the Galloway Family School Association and the Arthur an Family School Association I'm also a volunteer soccer coach um a Sunday school teacher and a graduate of our Galloway schools um perhaps most importantly though I am a mother of two boys who attend Galloway schools I'm here today to address the madness that has been surrounding our District's so-called transgender policy number 5756 uh after watching the comments from the last several board meetings specifically last month and certainly probably again tonight as well I felt there are some important things to say members of the board you may recall some of these comments from last month's meeting where one commenter said quote there is a Darkness moving across the country she wasn't wrong but I believe uh she was misguided the darkness is not the way in which our district chooses to respect all of our students with regard to their gender identity or the name that they wish to be called this Darkness instead is the ignorance that has made its way to our community there have been so many people who have come up here asking you to explain 5756 out of sheer ignorance little effort is required to visit the district website and read any policy you'd like for yourself in fact I have a copy here so if anybody would like to read it please stop by one speaker from last month asked if you'd sent copies of policy 5756 home to parents however um just would like to point out that there are well over 100 policies for our district and well over 3,000 students um so I don't necessarily think it's a reasonable use of our resources to print that would be what 300,000 pages of policy and send it home when it can be easily accessed via a Google search in about 15 seconds it's ignorant and it's lazy the same people who are uninterested in doing this amount of work required to locate the information themselves are the people who have stood before you and asked if our teachers are handing out prescriptions to students or referring them to surgeons for gender reassignments or maliciously keeping hidden folders with all of the nefarious details uh about children who feel differently about who they are and how they are perceived again this ignorance is staggering I've heard so much about parental involvement from people who for one are not parents to to students in our district and for two have not cared to be involved in any other regard with our students and our district aside from coming here to cause chaos and fan the Flames of a fire that to be frank wasn't even burning anyone to begin it one of my biggest issues with the cry for Parental involvement is the the irony of it all in one breath these commenters say we need parental involvement what if it was your child that had come to school and asked to be addressed by a different name we would want to be involved you would want to be involved here's the thing that parental involvement starts at home so do it be involved start by creating a safe space for your children or grandchildren start by building a relationship with them such that they don't feel afraid to come to you with how they're feeling start by trusting your children when they say they know who they are and listen to them start by talking less and listening more and keep your disgust for the other to yourself if you already do that if you already have that relationship with with your child then I have to ask what are you scared of what are you angry about that some other kid might feel a way that you don't agree with and will have a safe space to express that why do you feel that you need to rally the troops to show up here and pester the board every month about a policy that you have grossly misinterpreted and twisted into something so ridiculous that it just appears as a caricature of itself when you talk about it my boys are young but I like to think that I'm building such a relationship with them but here's the thing there might come a time when there's something in their life that they don't want to talk to me about and if that day comes I know that they have a safe environment here at school with teachers that they can trust and policies like 5756 and many others that will protect their well-being in difficult situations members of the board I am sorry that you have to sit here meeting after meeting and waste time listening to utterly irrelevant complaints and opinions that pull Focus from important issues I understand that this is a complex and nuanced topic I understand as a parent wanting to know everything about my kids and what they're doing and I even understand some concerns about this policy but we don't have to agree with one another's points of view to be understanding of them thank thank you thank [Applause] you are there any other public comments this evening if you can come to the microphone state your name and whether or not you're a g resident and please limit your comments to five minutes thank you yes my name is Thomas bassford I a gall resident for the record I am a member of gall Township Council but my question is uh Miss Herman Allen it seems like another board member want to have a vote I don't understand why we can't have a vote but I know in most forms of meetings and so forth we go by Robert's Rules of and if somebody were to make a motion and that motion gets seconded there has to be a vote maybe that's a question for the solicitor if that's the case or not I don't know what bylaws and how your board is governed or not I think the solicitor has answered that but if you could reiterate again so the question was originally to me was should it go to the policy how it is yes but to Mr basford's Point yes anyone can make a motion at any time if it's seconded then you would have a vote okay so if M heral makes a motion and it seconded whether it's this meeting or next meeting there must be a vote by the full board on that motion but we operate I think what what I think what Mrs Hala was saying was um we operate as Board of committees so our traditional standard is I'm sorry if you'd like to speak go ahead so so so in that case there can never be a motion and a second because if the commit doesn't want that to happen that's it'll never get to the full board is that what you're trying to say go ahead so what I think uh the board president was trying to say is that we refer things to the Committees for review so what I believe we were trying to say was that the policy should first go to the committee for the policy committee to review and have them bring back their recommendations as the bylaw says they review all policies to the board for the board to vote separate and apart for that if Miss herel wanted to make a motion to add something to an agenda she can at any time you can have a second have I did want to do a motion and you guys told me no no what we said was this is the way it works you never actually made the motion I tried because you said not I couldn't I had to take it to the you would let me finish talking please if when we're done public comment if you would like to make a motion you can certainly make a motion if there is a second you can have a second and you can have a vote absolutely to add something to the agenda okay so we can make a motion tonight and get seconded to add it to the next agenda correct with a roll with yes with a roll vote Yes of course if it passes but if it fails of course it doesn't go but at least there will be a vote because I'm a little confused too from when I what's the problem of having a vote I mean can everybody can vote their conscience on whether they agree with it or don't that's fine but I I I'm a little confused about why not just have the vote and be done with this if nobody wants to hear at every meeting she's not just have the vote and be done with it and then everybody will know how every board member feels and the public may stop coming coming to the meetings and talking about the issue because it'll be resolved once and for all that that's what I'm confused about a little bit so thank you certainly are there any other comments this evening so I believe oh if you can come to the microphone state your name and sign in please and please limit your comments to five minutes thank you hi good evening good evening my name is Patrick o'keef I am a Galloway resident um a Galloway parent and I wasn't sure if I wanted to speak tonight but I did just want to address a couple of um things since we're since we're sharing um first I want to uh say thank you and I appreciate very much the superintendent's remarks tonight um I was hoping that everyone would be listening and further understand the implementation of the policy I am saddened that that does not seem to be the case um but I'm here tonight um in response to remarks I heard from the last meeting um there were board remarks in hopes that the public would come out point one um with the assertion that the public at large um agreed with this um condescension on what the board was was doing doing to the public well one I answer the call I am here tonight um in respon of that and I want to be very clear that I am 100% opposed to the division toxicity and misinformation that is being led by that charge I am frustrated as a parent that the place where my child comes to learn is being weaponized to make a political point I think that that is very much evidenced by the fact that a town councilman can come up here and dictate how the how the um the the rules and policies are being handled um the the I have been an educator for my whole career I worked for Galloway Township for almost 10 years and I have always tried to create opportunities for students safe environments for students and I know that that is the intention of the board I implore all of the board members and administration as a whole to remain focused on doing just that I'm heartened by the fact that those were the that was the language embedded in the superintendent's remarks and I hope that we can realize that just because people come month after month to harp on the same divisive language that that is not representative of what is best for our students that is not representative of our community as a whole in closing I was very disturbed by another comment that I heard on the recording last week by a board member that they hoped everyone could pull their students from public education to me that type of a statement is you know personally defensive as an educator but frankly disqualifying someone who doesn't believe in our public education system I don't want to hear their opinion on anything else having to do with it it does not have the best interest of our students at heart it is offensive to the hundreds of people that come to work on behalf of the public education system every day and it is irresponsible for someone to hold a seat up there with the responsibility of thousands of our children and and be very upfront with how they feel about that environment so I thank the board for their time I know service is very challenging um and I am happy to be one of those people that shows up every month if it feel if that if that is what is warranted by the by the Relentless negativity brought to this body thank you thank you [Applause] Mr are there any other public comments this evening please come to the microphone state your name and whether or not your gy resident and please keep your comments limited to five minutes please we can hear you if you could bring speak closer thank you wait I don't think it's on can everyone hear me there go thank you first off I want to say that anyone that takes the time to run for the school board that looks into it enough to care about what's going on with our students they should be applauded regardless of what their stance is on any policy they're not there because they don't care they care because they're there because they do care they also care about the parents rights and they care about the parents rights for their children because there are kids not the school's kids and not the state's kids if a survey was given out in Galloway to all the parents and they were to ask to vote on whether they wanted to be informed of anything consider you know concerning their child and gender identity I think most parents would want to be informed I could be wrong about that but I believe they would be and that is the crooks of this and of this policy now I've been wondering about it because 20 years ago this wouldn't have even been an issue I can't I can't phanom how we got to this point and I asked people and I talk to people that are in the know about this and the general philosophy seems to be that increased visibility of trans students reflects social progress towards social acceptance okay but the quote Thomas Soul much of what are called social problems consists of the fact that intellectuals have theories that do not fit the real world from this they conclude it is the real world which is wrong and needs changing the relative stability of past Generations under traditional Norms would imply that the increased visibility today reflects a form of social or psychological confusion rather than progress visibility of gender diversity today may not necessarily indicate so societal progress instead it could suggest a breakdown in previously functional Norms creating confusion rather than Clarity in the past adherence to traditional roles may have offered a stable framework for most individuals with fewer instances of questioning or dissatisfaction the perceived increase in unhappiness with a signed gender could be a byproduct of removing these stable Frameworks rather than an inherent truth about identity now I don't know if any of that's true but I think it's possible and I think that we rush to conclusions and we rush to set policies that which may or may not be true more thought is needed and BAS basically the main thing here is that people are asking is for parental consent and parental inclusion the school board in the state won't be there to pick up the pieces when things go wrong they're not there to bury the coffin if things come to their worst and I really don't see how giving a parent a heads up is hurting anything now I also understand that the School Board received a letter which may have set off a lot of the fireworks here tonight in which once again dark politics were brought up do dark politics invading our school board as far as I know the dark politics were already here so what do I say Cen Spiller the president of the New Jersey Education Association the NJ EA and use the NJ EA money and has Don donated over $35 million to Super packs which then use the money to fund scen spiller's campaign if that's not unethical I don't know what is thank you very much that's all I have to say thank you thank you is there another board comment this evening Mr Herman now if you could um if I could have a conversation with you after the meeting if you would stay that would be fantastic thank you if you could state your name I'm I'm pretty sure we know who you are but just for the record if you could state your name thank you good evening my name is Kelly Grace I am a long-term um resident of Galloway even I want to thank you for your time and allowing us um this is not ever intended to to brow bead any of you I have a respect for your position and I try to address it in such a way and I just want to make it very clear for those who have been in the last meeting that oh we're not taking opportunity to come see you whether it's just an Tilly whomever I'm directed to to get some answers that's not true and you folks do answer quickly and try to address everything now is it addressed to a degree that helps me understand why we have a policy in place one of my questions was okay not that I'm happy that the policy is here but do you have a written protocol that a parent who's not allowed to know and that's not the irrationality of this this is not a negativity session this is so that everybody here understands just address your comments understand okay thank you I understand that people are upset it's negative but we want to make it very clear you take away the right of a parent knowing whether they're 12-year-old 14-year-old 9-year-old are having a crisis with and you the parent are not allowed to know and let's say the school doesn't know that I've got my child in counseling you don't know that but yet you you've gone ahead and created a secret file that's the issue here the issue is so great and I don't understand why it's not seeable I like I explained Mr stily that I had a cousin we with open arms unlike his own immediate family welcomed him in his transgenderism my father never allowed for any type of racis ism none of that Open Arms he was late in his transgenderism and when he did we welcomed him I believe it was a sad life for him because because he chose to to disconnect from everybody even the family that loved him I have a love for people who have a situation like this but what it that was a grown man I'm talking about children still living under a roof of a parent that has the right to know this and I do want to say that I didn't get any answers to the school's policy what is their internal policy on how to address a child and I never did get a response from ruers who is I believe a connection to like maybe addressing to the schools on how to handle it never got an answer from them so that's concerning and and that's that's what I wanted to say tonight it's not to say every time we're going to bring up negativity it's just to reiterate the fact that you're still leaving the parent out I love those children that are confused that need to have proper assistance I don't know who you're bringing to them I don't know how much education they have or counseling what's their skill set I don't know and you're not willing to share that with the public and I don't understand that part so I did want to make that clear that yes indeed you do address you have for me immediately it wasn't successful to my need of wanting to understand but I want to make it clear this board does indeed address things to people as quickly as possible and it's always been quick and I thank you thank you would you like us to oh okay if you could state your name and whether or not you're G resident and please keep your comments to five minutes how much time do I have I don't want to violate any times five minutes sir okay great I just need to set the context of course my name is wikins I've been a pastor for over 65 years and will celebrate my 88th birthday in March I give that background so you don't think I'm some daughtering old fool and a bigot and homophobe for several years I have served as a Chaplain for hospice especially during the height of the AIDS epidemic and so most of the young men that I prayed with and cared for and ministered to and often went to their funerals died because of their lifestyle that's not a judgment a very painful time in my life the danger of this uh this U bill is is that it does strip from the parent The Authority that God has granted them it would be a awesome if every parent was filled with omniscience so they knew exactly what to do but my point is this is that once you decide to pass this and because you have stripped the parent of their Authority then you become accountable for the life and future of these children I don't know any of you yet I know after tonight each of you will be in my morning prayers but my point is this let me encourage you before you to make a decision who actually maybe some of you have I have taken some time to research the surgery that is done on these children it is first irreversible and secondly it consigns them to a life's Mission or a life style of medical treatment for the rest of their lives our medical community our faithful people the the the psychiatric community and and we have people that are gifted and called to care and to minister and and to advise regardless of race religion or creat or gender the these professionals are trained to advise parents and children and so it it when when this begins to disappear from that possibility you know then someone has to be held accountable well that's a part of what government is When government in any shape or form local state federal makes a decision they move into a place of accountability that is irrevocable also so please consider that and if you have some time take some time to te to read what m ation is done to these young people and young adults who make this decision to transgender thank you is there any other public comment this evening I was asking if there was any other public comment this evening and I think there's a gentleman right there who going to help you with that microphone and the Walker to your there you go if you can come to the microphone state your name and address and keep your comments to five minutes please helloo you all know me my name is Sher ashnik I'm from Galloway um Car Lane in Galloway I've been a resident here for um over 30 years and um I just I I believe a couple people um Patrick o'keef and Caitlyn Stetson made some very um good comments um as well as the superintendent at the beginning of the meeting so I don't want to reiterate that although I would encourage people in the community that are watching this or people that watch this video to listen again to the superintendent's comments at the beginning as well as some of the others that we've just heard from Patrick and Caitlyn um I'm here to say a few things and the only thing I want to say is that the the opinions and the things that have been being said at these meetings regarding trans kids regarding the LGBT Community do not represent the majority of our community as evidence tonight if you can see there's more people here it's because they saw the chatter on Facebook they saw the things that were being said and the misinformation that was being promoted and are now awake and they have gotten educated on what is going on okay the other thing I want to talk about for people who may not know is parental rights groups okay the comments I just heard the last couple comments I just heard to me reaffirm exactly what my what my suspicion was parental rights groups like moms for Liberty like liberty and prosperity Seth Gman New Jersey family policy Center um Sean Highland those are loc those are groups in the state that are behind the parental rights movement we have people here on the board that are affiliated with them I know that okay but what these movements have done is they have taken policy 5756 which has been around as the superintendent said for several years now it is suddenly a problem and it's claiming to be a problem because of parental rights however the comments again that I just heard along with comments I've been hearing for a very long time reaffirm my suspicion that this is not really maybe part of it is about parental rights but it's more about LGBT anti anti-lgbt anti- inclusion because all these policies if you look at any of these parental rights groups websites are all lumped together anti- inclusion um opposal to opposing the sex ed Edge standards health education book bans the um freedom to read act attacking our Librarians all those things are also lumped in with policy 5756 and also as evidence it's not about parental rights it's questioning even what does it mean to be lgbtq and making comments like have been made and have been made at previous meetings are hurtful and in my opinion wrong you may not understand something and that's fine and you may not agree with something how am I still on yes you are okay okay however you don't have to be able to wrap your head around something for to for it to be right okay and I like I said I'm thankful that more people came tonight and um I thank the board and I thank Mr Santilli for getting ahead of this and and confirming with us what is exactly going on so thank you thank you m kashnikow resident and please keep your comments to five minutes good evening my name is Richard Goldberg good evening and I've been a gway resident for 49 years now I guess and first it come for a couple reasons first to thank the Board of Education I know you haven't had a raise in a while and you're all still up there meaning they never have because they don't um but second I'm coming because I'm concerned conc erned at the huge amount of time that's being spent discussing aard of Ed policy um that is very important but is nothing new is common sense and affects very few students policy 5758 is was and isn't an important effort to protect children who feel threatened who are afraid sometimes to disclose the person than they feel they are I think every person that came up to to this mic has spoken to the board has said they do not hate trans people um they love gay people all these things and and I'll take them at face value but sadly that's not everybody in a child's life this is a dangerous world for Trans and gay people especially adolescent they are not accepted by the people often who they need most um by their parents by their friends by their family I heard somebody up here tonight saying she embraced one of her relatives but his family did not it's a difficult time for them and counselors Mental Health Specialists almost universally tell us it it takes a toll on young people and the statistics on depression and suicide are alarming so the policy we're talking about is nothing knew it it's been around as everyone at this point should know since 2017 during the Christy Administration sort of parallels policies regarding used to be Youth and Family Services you know protecting children who are in danger against the possibilities it calls for Professionals in school to respect and accept accept students by two things calling them by their preferred name and their gender pronoun and checking with the child before sharing their preferences with anyone those are two things that are not unreasonable in my mind and are not difficult for people for educators I was an educator for 40 years in both parochial and Public Schools teacher and administrator and in my experience if a child doesn't want this information about them shared um they have good reasons Andor realistic fears to keep this private with a counselor or somebody at school and this needs to be respected this policy also affects very very few students and it's not like teachers are constantly getting requests to change the name they call a child or the gender and it mostly applies to Junior High and Senior High students I'd be surprised if any student in Galloway has ever come forward and made this request at school so in closing I think a much better use of our time would be if the board could work together all the board members to come up with workshops for families on the challenges children face in our community and in society especially transgender students and also work a great deal more on curriculum for all the students when we're spending time on this there's a world of issues that need to be addressed in education you all know about a I you know about technology but there's a lot more that needs to be done these initiatives could unite all of us I thank you for your time thank you are there any other public comments this evening if you could state your name and whether or not you're Galler resident and please keep your comments limited to five minutes hi hi um Tony darpino from 365 South leig Avenue Galloway spoke uh last meeting and um I just want to apologize to the board and say I was a little harsh okay no apology necessary and I uh I realized that um I had a great conversation with Mr sanly and uh I'm very much appreciative of that and I'm here to uh I'm here to be a bridge tonight that's my comment that's how I would describe this comment and I think um we heard the description of you know the roles of us super as us school board that to be you know um inclusive and collaborative um and I think that also goes into um how we think about policy right and this is specifically to the committee that's evaluates policy because we now are fully aware of how this process works you know um and what I would say is the reason I say a bridge is I would ask for the policy committee to think about an amendment to policy 5756 to me that seems inclusive and collaborative so um it was communic to me that that process would look like the committee then communicates to the superintendent and the solicitor for a possible amendment to that policy um and if that part of the amendment would be in the terms of parental rights or the option for parents to know I do believe that through the abilities of the solicitor and the superintendent they could adequately create proper definitions for you know drastic measures or very bad situations I'm sure that can be worded appropriately and so that's why I would say I think there's a lot of back and forth here I think we need to think about possibly what that would look like if you don't want to continue to hear this week in and week out and you don't want to continue to hear that and I'm just going to leave it at that thank you thank you appreciate it thank you is there any other public comment this evening and thank you for listening to what we were saying as well seeing none I will now go around the board are there any other comments from Mrs Chester yes I have a couple of comments first of all um a full year after we had this conversation um someone mentioned something a minute ago that I feel like needs to be clarified once more we do work with the bog Center at Ruckers University and somehow people still think that transitioning and transgender creating transition plans are the same thing they're not so I'm going to read you the mission of the bogs Institute because as the parent of special needs children it disturbs me that people are upset about this the bog Center as a University Center for excellence and developmental disability values uniqueness and individuality and promotes the self-determination and full participation of people with disabilities and their families in all aspects of community life as a catalyst and resource the bog Center through Partnerships and collaborations builds capacity and organizations systems and communities in a culturally component manner the bog Center prepares students through interdisciplinary programs provides Community training and technical assistance conducts research and disseminates information and educ ational materials this is for special education students this is creating transition plans so that they can be productive citizens of our society they can be a part of it please please I implore you to look it up before you connect it with transgender it's not even the same thing and it's offensive to those of us who are parents of of children with disabilities it really is second I want to thank Miss coletus for talking about the ethic eics um consider the ethics that we have to sign as board members I think that people don't really realize that we sit up here we're not just sitting up here staring at you we're not not answering your questions because we don't want to hear you we absolutely hear everything that you have that you have to say but we are held to a very high ethical standard a higher ethical standard than most boards and I don't know that everyone realizes that we do have to sign it we have to sign it when we are elected we have to continually go to training and there are trainings that are available to board members throughout the year many of our board members choose not to attend them so I really think that it's important that people know that njsba the New Jersey school boards Association offers us training throughout the year on a variety of topics it's not just local policies it's state policies it's art education it's everything that's involved in our school systems Statewide and he people make a choice you make a choice on whether or not you were going to be involved in that whether or not you're going to be a part of it or whether you're just going to sit up here and create Strife within the board and what we've gotten for the last year is just constant strife and it's disheartening it's disheartening as a parent it's disheartening as a board member um we have people who uh the same two to three people are showing up at our school events um and there are nine of us that sit up here so I really think that people need to be conscious of that become involved in the board you didn't just come in here to um harp on one policy one of your jobs is to support our faculty our our staff our students it it's our job to do that it's what you got elected to do it's what you signed up for so I I just I really take issue that um there are a lot of people who are only involved in one part they choose not to get really deep into what all of the parts of being a board member are because it is deeper than just sitting up here once a month we um I'm absolutely offended by people who think that we don't read everything that comes across our desk we get things every single week and every single one of us sits here and reads um bulletins that are pages long we do know what's going on and we do go and research everything that comes to our desk so please we're we're not paid and I'm not mad about that I'm just saying we do do the we do go and research all of these things and we don't just sit here blindly we are absolutely listening to everyone but this is the public school system and everyone means everyone it's not just one side it means we have to listen to both sides and we have to respect both sides thank you Mrs [Applause] Chester Dr Parmenter thank thank you Mrs Chester I'd like to say congratulations to our school board members who were reelected also I attended two of the um music productions in December I attended the Arthur ran musical production very nice very nice very nice I also attended the um the Middle School production um they were both excellent and it was just so heartening to see the students of there um performing and just being so happy and joy and caught up in the season so thank you to the administrators and the staff and the students from uh those schools and I know that the other schools did excellent as well um as Mrs Chester said you know part of what we do is to support our students and our staff so going to these different Productions is really important we need to be seen at these things the students need to see us the staff needs to see us and the parents need to see that we're there because we do care so I'm going to to close with that and also I'm going to say happy new year thank you thank you Dr perer Mrs Lara yes congratulations to the new board members that are here and I do know that we're all here I I spoke to all of this for the children and being said that I just want to make one thing clear someone said something about some of us are part of Mom's Liber I don't even know who all those people are I'm I'm only here representing ing the parents and the children so I don't know how that's misinterpreted but when I decided to be a school board member I came only because I just felt it was my duty as a parent and a grandparent and a former teacher to be involved when I was a teacher we always had parents and and children I mean everybody knew what everybody was doing and I still believe in that as a parent I think we ought to know that's uh I I I do pray for all this squit I Pray for the children I pray for this world to tell you the truth because it it's getting a little crazy and I don't want crazy I want people that love and care about the children and a parent if you're a parent in here surely you really want to know what your child is doing I mean that's how I feel that and that's what I'm I'm I'm here for so I just want you to know I'm not against the LBG I'm a Christian we love everybody we want to protect everybody but I think it starts in the home I really believe God wants us to start in the home and so that's why I feel the way I do so I just wanted to share that but I'm not part of all that other stuff that some of the people were talking about I don't even know some of those those agendas I'm just here because I believe believe God called me to be here for such a time as this thank you thank you Mr da well Happy New Year have a safe healthy new year for everybody out there staff and parents and I really don't have a whole lot to say I have one question now about policy 5756 being put back on the agenda it goes to the policy committee does the policy committee recommend it or do it automatically put on the policy committee would recommend any changes and then it would be at that point they would recommend with any changes or amendments to it that's correct right okay that's all I wanted to know and also um Oprah's a lot of Eagle fans out there so everybody can say Fly Eagles Fly starting Sunday Chum one thank you thank you Mr Gentile thank you at a meeting I believe it was back in September I asked for a moment of silence and I'll asking for another one today after our last board meeting specifically on December 18th one child and one one teacher went to school in Madison Wisconsin to Abundant Christian uh Abundant Life Christian School they both were shot and killed the child 14-year-old Ruby Patricia ver varara the teacher 42-year-old Erin Michelle West I wanted to give voice to their names earlier this year children and teachers were shot in Georgia I had read their names earlier I'm going to read them again Mason shermerhorn 14 Christian anula 14 Christina armley a teacher 53 Richard Ricky aspel 39 it has been said this evening that we are tired of people coming and talking not true I want to hear what everybody has to say I really wish somebody had raised the issue of guns in our schools tonight I really do and I'm glad there are members of city council here because back on May May 24th 2022 on the very day of the ovali gunot gun shooting of students down in Texas I was so concerned I went to the St to the municipal council meeting which was holding a meeting that night I was the only one there to speak on this issue I asked for a moment of silence the mayor granted it I volunteered I could not represent I was a school board member at the time because of the ethics uh constraints under which we operate so I couldn't stand there and say hi I'm Jim jantile I'm a Schoolboard member listen to me I went as a private citizen and I volunteered to serve to form and serve a committee on youth advocacy issues and to try and get our municipal government and our schools to jointly address issues of violence in our community I was told I would be contacted I wasn't I went back 2 months later I was told I'd be contact conted I wasn't I went back in August of that year I was told that a preacher would be reaching out to me no one did we have a youth advocacy Committee of on our board I know there are three members of council here I believe tonight at the conclusion of this meeting I invite one two or all three of you to meet with me I was chair of that committee Lasher I may be chair this year because I very much very much would like our municipality and our school to work together for our kids it's frustrating to it was incredibly frustrating me as I'm sure you can share that no one reached out to me as a private citizen and no one else was there and tonight no one mentioned violence in our schools and violence to our teachers what about the parental rights of a parent who sends their child to school and some other parent has allowed a gun to be found in that home and that child is killed what about those parental rights and what do our our politicians say and what do our religious leaders say our prayers and our thoughts are with you of all people of all people this weekend Elon Musk Elon Musk with regard to a scandal in Britain with regard to the abuse of children said at some point the thoughts and prayers of politicians have to be acknowledged as not being enough I keep looking in that corner I don't mean that to you guys I'm sorry but it's not enough it's not enough we can we can talk talk about policies and hypotheticals Etc children are being killed by guns that are readily accessible in our communities by children who tend to be alienated because nobody picks up on it we have a responsibility to every child in our community they're not they're not the state's children nobody's suggesting that but they are our community's children so please be aware Please be aware of the our our teachers going to schools to face this possibility every day don't think our kids don't know it's a possibility every day in in the Madison Wisconsin killings the the sheriff's officer said the 911 call was called in by a second grader a second grader is calling into to the police saying her classmates are being killed and what do we get votes in prayers that's what we get so I'm here after the meeting I invite any of the council people come for maybe we can start a dialogue uh I didn't mean to put on spot but here I can say I'm a school board member so I'm a school board member but I would love to engage in that conversation I would love to bring the municipal Council in so that we can begin to work in concert to address the the the the the issues of our youth in our community and perhaps begin to work in concert thank you thank you thank you Mrs herel yes hi before I motion thank you for that um I wanted to add a few things um there is a huge misconception of I think what I am trying to accomplish what I'm trying to accomplish is a also a mother and a grandparent but I am a Schoolboard um person as well is the fact that parental rights is taken out of this policy when in fact it was in the initial policy so you might be tired of hearing it but parents have and should have rights and authority over their children this is the thing these policies are like the foundation like the Bedrock of the school this is what people go by this is what people do teachers aren't allowed to out kids um parents are afraid of there's a lot of parents that would like to know really what is going on in the schools maybe their son's going into a girls bathroom they don't know I've never bought up anything about litter boxes and stuff I mean I mean I I don't even know what any of that's about my whole mission is to make sure parents have rights now you're all parents right you're all grandparents do you want to know what's going on with your kids in school when something's going on with your kids in school they're your kids you're the one raising them you're the one that's giving them the values that they have so yes I want to I want this repealed the reason why we can't amend it I mean we could but I'll tell you why we can't amend it and just take out parental make sure parents have parental notification is because the Attorney General will sue the school like he's suing other schools all those schools did up north was want to give parental notification and because of that the Attorney General is suing them but we so repealing it is much easier because a lot of people are a lot of schools are repealing it now again there's so many things that can be said you don't have to like me you don't have to dislike me I I'm really here for the parents whether you believe it or not that's that's why I ran do you think I want to take this abuse not at all I I care about the kids I care about the parents and I do like the public school system my kids went to the school my son played lacrosse for abs suami my other son yes I did take him out of the public school when this kind of nonsense started and it has nothing to do with LGBT it has everything to do with the rights of parents you can say whatever you want but that is my sole mission to protect the parents to protect the parents to protect the students you're not protecting the students if you're not protecting the parents they're the ones that vote Us in here so sooner or later we have to step up to the plate like Martin Luther King said Junior it's always right to do the right thing at the right time this to me is the right thing and I don't get it I feel like I'm in a Twilight Zone with the board and with everybody else when they keep thinking oh we don't want to give parental rights what is wrong what is what is wrong with that what is wrong with wanting to give parental rights to parents I just don't get it so you know I can sit here and talk forever but I'm not going to uh I just want you to understand what my intention is because I'm a God-fearing woman and I love God and I love my family and I love this board they might not like me I'm not particularly fond of some of them but I don't hate them I pray for them I think we can start working together and I think Hearts just need to start really talking about these topics and stop saying things like like you know you got to come to this thing well show up at all the board meetings too I mean if you want to go to you want to go to a a Christmas thing great but also show up at all the board meetings it's important it's important that we stick together we are a community and we are to love God with all our hearts and our neighbors as ourselves and I do love my neighbors I love every single one of you I have nothing against you you can say whatever you want I will have nothing against you I really really want us to think about this parents deserve rights and they need to know what's going on on with their kids all right so that's really what I wanted to say and yes the freedom to read act has been passed the governor passed it so the board it will go under the purview of the board of of the school board and the school board will need to address that and have a committee and they will have to make sure that whatever the model policy is sent down from the njaa is something that's acceptable again for parents because Librarians are immune they cannot be sued but at this point teachers are being sued by Librarians parents could be down the road so it's important that we make sure we protect our parents and our families there's a lot going on the rabbit hole goes really deep so please listen to me when I say this it has to start here at the most basic place the policy we need to change it so I would like to motion and please I hope the board's listening to me and I hope the board cares instead of just disliking me listen to what I'm saying I would like to motion to repeal or put actually to put this on for the next board meeting in February I'd like the motion to put this on put what on the 5756 so you want to put 5756 what about it like our Point either repeal it or give parental rights give give parental notification which are you well you said I have to go to the committee and talk to them well if you're making a motion now Mrs her you need to tell us I'd like two motions then one to repeal and one to amend since they which are you wanting to vote on first one motion to repeal thank you so you're you're asking for a motion to repeal 57 56 cuz you already have something in place so can I have a motion to Second Mrs Hero's motion yes I second it okay so as Mrs Herman has stated we're now going to ask for a roll call to repeal policy 5756 now is that correct is that what you're asking for yes please please is there any objection to that from our solicitor did I have that correct no the motion on the table is to repeal so it mean to remove the transgender policy from the completely remove it from our policies okay and that's what you're asking for so yes but keep in mind there is a policy already on that already addresses this okay so thank you yes does can I have a roll call we have discussion well the the motion is to repeal it so we're voting if we want to repeal it right now if we vote Yes then it will be repealed if we vote no then it will not be is that correct from our solicitor correct correct sus that I thought it was going to go to committee first that is not what Mrs Herman now is asking she's asking now to vote to repeal policy 5756 she's made a motion it's been seconded okay so at this point we're going to vote if you agree with repealing it then you should agree and vote Yes if you disagree with repealing it then you should vote no at this time right now this is what we're doing so does everybody understand it'll never be on our agenda again that is correct if we repeal it even though the committee reviews it and looks at it the committee will not review it because she's asking for a motion now so could I ask for a point of order on under Roberts rules my understanding is when a motion is made in seconded there's discussion on the motion I that wrong okay cor so that's what I'm asking we have a motion and we have a second should we not discuss the motion before a roll call that's my question do I have that correct the board can have any discussion would like to have motion on the table correct so and and part of it is one I want to discuss the reason for my vote and see if anybody has anything that might convince me differently I have spent first off point of order I think we just affirm this policy 109 1.14 is that correct that is correct so we unanimously just approve this policy nobody on the board objected we had agenda it 1.14 we approved our policies and we approved our bylaws so we've already approved it tonight unanimous with regard to this policy I do have significant questions about one of them is that I think it belies the interaction between the child protective services statatory scheme and the mandatory reporting that falls upon a school board as as opposed to not reporting and at what point does the Child Protective Services System get involved and at what point when that happens what happens to the family and the concerns the policy is silent on that that concerns me in addition I went to three workshops essentially sponsored by Miss Herman now and I don't know that I saw anybody in this room here I went to one in February went to one in May I want to one in August where this policy was on the Forefront and I stayed through the mall for the last one in August because I had to leave because I had a trial schedule the next day on the very issue of parental rights because that's what I do parental rights are an incredibly incredibly incredibly complex area of the law there's no absolute parental right and the case law since the 1920s has said that in New Jersey so I went there to listen to if there was any new insights I could gain from with regard to the issue of parental rights if there was anything constructive that I could perhaps flesh into this policy so as to see if we could uh address my my concerns with regard to that uh and in addition uh I'm concerned about kids who are placed at risk of harm kids who are placed at risk of harm because honestly this is a policy about youth it's not a policy about parents it's a policy about youth it's a policy about protecting children who may be at risk of harm which is where my analysis falls back to then we fall into ngsa 96- 8.21 and the whole Child Protective Services scheme and what does that mean and what does that mean and what does that mean to a family okay so for us to start blowing this stuff up without a a genuine discussion with regard to those issues concerns me in addition I have heard it said that the attorney general has said oh this is not mandatory I don't know where that was said I've heard anecdotally he said it in the course of a of a legal argument uh with regard to an injunction held in the Morris County month County somewhere up there where there was an injunction filed by the Office of the Attorney General the division of law seeking to enjoin another school districts implementation of a modification of the policy and perhaps that was said in that injunctive hearing I don't know because I've never seen a transcript of it I do know this that the Office of the Attorney General the division of law uh the Attorney General themselves do issue opinion letters you can go to their website you can look for them there's no opinion letter with regard to this because I've looked and I've looked many many times why because I know the community is concerned about this policy I also know that when you go to the divisional law website and when you look at attorney general opinions it says our opinions do not control state agencies what we say is not man mandated to control the state agency so whether the Attorney General informally said this is a just advice or not uh not mandatory whatever hasn't said it formally and even if it did it's the Department of Education that promulgated this regulation not the Office of the Attorney General in addition any modification of this policy and indeed I think any recision of this policy will result in the the Galloway uh Gallow uh board Public School District being brought for superior court of New Jersey much like they did with M alipin alleging one thing that nobody has talked about which is and everybody says who said they read this policy seems to have jumped over the provision that says one we're an inclusive District Two the law against discrimination prevents the law against discrimination prevents no one has talked about that the law against discrimination a statute that was passed by our our legislature in the 1960s and the supreme Supreme Court our Supreme Court has said is one of the one of the jewels in protecting people in the state of New Jersey is gives the Attorney General's office authority to bring an administrative action against any any entity that it feels is violating that statute that is the action that is pending against the man alipin School District when the man alipin School District changed its policy the Attorney General's office sued them administratively under the law against Administration and then enjoin them in Superior Court against implementing a policy and at that injunctive hearing at that injunctive hearing a superior court judge said it is very likely that the state of New Jersey will succeed in his law against discrimination law suit against suit against man alipin and therefore granted the injunctive relief that injunction was then appealed to the division an oral argument on that was heard I think on November 19th I've been checking the uh the appella division website daily since then to see if that decision has been handed down it has not yet been handed down I've read all of the briefs submitted say we do actually do research on this stuff I've read all of the briefs submitted by the manalan school district and amikas brief submitted by some some uh policy group uh the brief followed by the Office of the Attorney General and the manalpan brief and the Attorney General's brief both join the issue of parental rights and whether or not this policy is violative of constitutionally protected parental rights we are waiting for the appell division to give us guidance on this once the appell division and the courts in New Jersey as I said are the ultimate Arbiters of parental rights I'm not you're not nobody here is the courts are when the court begins to give us some guidance with regard to that we can take a look at this policy in light of what the courts have said is acceptable then we reduce our risk for a lawsuit from the state of New Jersey we reduce our risk for the possible violation of laws against discrimination we act intelligently with regard to an issue that is incredibly emotional and what's our job our job as board members is to act intelligently about an issue that is incredibly divisive and emotional in the community I have spent hours and hours and hours and hours on this issue over the last year on a policy that we just unanimously approved tonight so I would suggest let's wait until the Appel division hands down its opinion let's take a look at what the Appel division does with regard to the issue of parental rights and whether or not this is violative and if it is how we can work around that and then let us fashion a policy accordingly that we know will not be interpreted as being violative of the law against discrimination will not be interpreted being violative of constitutionally protected rights and we can actually fashion a policy that is consistent but we need to do this knowingly we need to do this intelligently we need to do this informed and that is our responsibility and we are not there yet I would anticipate we can get we will be getting a decision from the Appel division I'm surprised we don't have it yet they usually turn them around 30 days and it's been almost two months to me that's hopeful because that means maybe they are actually grappling with this constitutional issue on this policy then we have to deal with the fact of course if one party doesn't like the decision theel division madees they can go to the state supreme court for CT and that opens a whole dist different issue for us but the bottom line I understand this application I understand Miss Herman's position I think of all the board members I've shown that I respect her concerns because I've been to all of these workshops that she's she's she's held and run but I haven't heard anything there that has changed my concerns I haven't heard anything read anything by any of the policies mandated or set forth by New Jersey policy Institute or any of those others I haven't seen anything in any of these briefs that gives us any guidance I think we maintain the status quo oh and in addition interestingly in the manin brief the the the brief who the the the the the district that filed the objection to the injunction the district that was being enjoined at the plary hearing that they had they could present no evidence no evidence that this policy had any of the effects that anybody was concerned about the brief indicates that there was a there was a concern about such and such and such and such but it turned out not to be anything to be concerned about that was the testimony at the injuncted proceeding according to the record so I think we as a board need to do what I Perce to be the intelligent thing we hold off we wait to hear what the Appel division says we make a determination based upon that we make an informed decision about the law according to a cutting de Edge decision by the ultimate Arbiter of parental rights and that is the superior court so I suggest that we I am voting against this motion for those very longwinded reasons thank you Mr Gentile thank you for your passion I I can't say enough how much I admire you and and what you had just said um is there any other board comments at this time plain simple English he's saying we just hold off on doing anything until we hear what the courts recommend or say is what it is correct Amy correct yeah I would just like to add um so Mr gentiy I love listening to you too but you are an attorney so you know you know a lot more than most of us at the same time it's New Jersey so we do know where the um this probably will end up which will be in the Supreme Court in New Jersey and at the same time could it possibly even win there I mean it's really questionable because it's New Jersey and our governor is very much for this policy so I would just say that okay if you don't want to repeal it at least put it um on the table for the next meeting so I can speak to the um the committee about it because I do believe parental rights right now it's it's already a year too late I mean the parents should have parental rights it's already a year too late it should already be in place and I think parents deserve that again they're the ones that vot us voted Us in they're the ones that pay the taxes for the school to pay the teachers so um I would like to put it second Mo I would like to motion again but the motion's on the table we've already got it we've got a got to vote finish voting so you have two choices is you can withdraw your motion or you can vote well we might as well vote on this one so I vote yes we're not you just said I can vote no like we vote on everything else we do a roll call it's a motion we've second it we're at the point where we're making board comments so you've made your comments does anybody else have any board comments no seeing none may I have a roll call please Mrs Chester no Dr permenter no Miss Lura yes Dr or sorry Mr Dace no Mr Gentile no Mrs hermano yes vice president Basher Blau no and president Carman no at this time the motion does not pass it will not be repealed are there any other board comments just like to make another motion what is your motion okay so I would like to motion to put this on for the next meeting so that I can discuss this I guess with the policy committee who's ever going to be on that and um try to amend it for Parental notification so there's a motion on the table to amend the policy go back to the policy committee excuse me point of order can we have a clear motion please well that's the best I can do because we have to come to the committee I guess that's the motion that's what I said earlier that's what I said earlier go to the committee first or the policy committee first and discuss it to see what action could be taken in so previously in the meeting tonight when you brought that up it's my understanding that the board president was saying and I echoed what our typical practice is it would go to the committee the Committees have not yet been formed because we just reorganized so you can ask and I would say I believe the board president was asserting that tonight in public she's saying whenever the whoever is on the committee your comment and what you would like to take place should be written down and then we'll be shared with the committee and the committee will review at their next meeting and then that information whatever the report from that will be will then be brought up at the next meeting in February I believe is what the board president was trying to say yes so you don't have to have a motion on that if that's the way you want that to happen because that's the way the board president is saying that is happening if you want to make a motion to just have the policy on the agenda in February for a discussion then that would be a separate motion there's two different things but the committee process that we had talked about earlier the board president already indicated that your comments should be given to that committee for review okay understood so what I do think is um we should put it on the the February committee um meeting if we can do both I mean what I'm being proactive here so put it on the meeting for February so I motion for that again can we have a clear motion please I would like to put the policy 5756 on for February so that we can discuss um amending the policy to what to amending it to give parental notification is that a clear enough motion okay so there's a motion on the table I second it so we have a first and a second to to put on the agenda for February to amend policy 5756 as currently written but no suggestion as to what the amendment should be yeah the suggestion was to give parental notification to take we can't just say to give parental notification we need language is what we're saying we're trying to explain to you we need the actual language that you want to amend it to okay we'll have it by then if I talk to the committee so we'll have The Language by then right so I think the question though is you're asking the board to make a motion now what do you want on that specific motion that you're asking the policy to say to be added to for February okay fine then strike out anything on 5756 that takes away parental consent that's what I wanted to say say one more I just gave it 50 756 what I would like is for anything that's on this policy 5756 that has anything to do with parental consent that they don't have parental consent that they are given parental consent I don't I don't know the exact wording right now but that's what a motion has to be specific right that's how that works okay give me a second Mr gentill you want to help me you're an attorney no you don't want to help me okay fine I think I'm going to make a motion I would like to make a motion to table this until as Mr jle suggested that the the ruling come down from the courts that states what they're doing I'm sorry so I just want to get my head straight there there's an application and second if I could speak yes okay basically my concern with this motion and the reason I'm not going to help is because to file to make a motion you should sit down and engage in deliberative cognitive process and not just do it on the FL through the Committees right now there is no application there is no motion that indicates what Provisions are seeking to be stricted that I in my opinion I'm going to vote no on this motion because there's no real clear direction as to what exactly the board is being asked to do the words parental consenter being used when I think the real objection seems to be affirmative obligation to provide notice Etc I think the motion is too vague at this point in time I'll be voting now against it in my opinion as well I think from a financial standpoint to engage in this and to get sued by the state of New Jersey is not fiduciary responsibility for our board to take on when we know that that's going to be the result if we do vote this at this point so I also think that that's consideration that we need to to take into account when we're having this discussion and what motions when Mr gtil has made it very clear that this will be rulings will be coming soon we we don't know when but soon we think right so I I think that that's something that the Board needs to consider as well we don't want to incur additional attorneys fees and have to go and fight a lawsuit that is quite honestly not necessary at this point is there any other comments yeah I'm going to vote no until we find out exactly what is put back into the uh policy number I'm not going to vote on something I have no idea it's like saying I vote now and read it later no I want to read it first before we vote on it and I'll vote no for it bring down any other board comments before we go ahead and and vote okay may have roll call can I confirm the motion that we're voting on is the final motion is to strike out anything that has or takes away parental rights in policy 5756 5756 that's correct okay Mrs Chester no Dr Parmenter no Miss Lura yes Mr Dace no not until I can read exactly what's in it Mr genel no Mrs hermano yes vice president Basher Blau no president cman no are there any other comments from the board just can I make the silly motion that this go to committee that is the normal process we don't need to motion that so that can absolutely happen do we have executive session this evening I do have a comment uh Madam president yes yes yes you were going to make a motion to table this matter I'd like to motion that we table that we table the discussion on 57 let me see what it is 5756 5756 until after there has been a ruling by the appell of court and if it stops there but if it doesn't by the superior court of New Jersey I second that motion but technically there's no motion out there to table so typically you table a motion that's out there for the first and the second the table you're you're asking to table the discussion of 5756 till until a decision is made by the New Jersey depel Court yes is that an an adequate motion or still not Okay no Okay so if if so I you've already had um Mrs Chester say we're going to policy you said going to policy um so that would be the appropriate path correct okay and then you also are aware of policy because you're on the policy committee so you can make a motion at at a future meeting if that's what you want to do any other comments Dr Basher BL I think enough has been said this evening so I don't have anything to say other than happy New Year I could not Echo that anymore we do not have executive session can I have a motion to adjourn please so moved all in favor I meeting adjourned thank you