due notice of this meeting has been provided to the retrospect on the C post as legal ads on January 5th 2024 flag United States of America and to the for stands Nation indivisible [Music] here here Mr Richie here M and ab um section 2.1 um a motion for the acceptance of the regular meeting and work session of April 18th 2024 second roll call M DIY yes Mr Kendall yes Mr Lex yes Mr Richie yes m rman yes yes a motion for the executive session of April 18th 2024 move secondi yes Mr Kendall yes Mr Lut yes Mr Richie yes M Rin yes M St yes and for the special meeting of May 2nd 2024 motion so move second M Dai yes Mr pend yes Mr Lex yes Mr Richie yes M rman yes M yes section 3.1 yes all do we have correspondence yes we do we have several correspondents and we are going to um have the 3 minute limit on the correspondence as we have for the public um comment section so that's in accordance with bylaw 0167 so um M you're going to you're going to time it is that correct that we decided in addition these these um correspondents are also available on as attachments in the board uh agenda okay and I believe board members reviewed them in advance based on yep um the first one is from Chloe Atkins uh class of 2027 uh Chloe's a freshman at the high school and Miss Barry's mandering class um last year she was Latin classmates have benefited so much from Miss Barry and manand and instruction um she gave some talking points Mandarin is the largest language spoken in the world Mandarin is the most successful language for native english- speaking people with dyslexia I walked in without without knowing zero Chinese many people want to take Mandarin for their 8th grade World Language High School Chinese language helped students use their brains in a new way many people wanted to join the Chinese club for next year which is the best club in our school to be a world leader in many jobs careers mannering would help you why are you learning German and French when there aren't even in the top four spoken languages Miss Barry is the nicest teacher she makes it fun for us to learn high school students who study and Lear mandering stand out in pools of college applicants especially for Selective regadi schools that is from Miss Atkins second letter is from um Miss desona Burch dear Dr car Board of Education I would like to thank you for the opportunity and experience of working in Haden Township School District it's with great pleasure that I had opportunity of meeting exceptional Educators who are Beyond dedicated to meeting the needs of their students as well as working with students who want to learn and do their best for the bright future that awaits them unfortunately my experience working in the district will come to an end in June based on unforeseen budget cuts if an opportunity of being rehired should be available in the future I would hope that I would be considered as an employee Who provided diligent and diligence and enthusiasm in my profession I will leave you with this message from the great Dr Maya Angelo I've learned that people will forget what you said people will forget what you did but people will never forget how you made them feel thank you for my years of working in h Township School District sincerely does Dem Moon uh the next one is from Kim and Tony scarnato um they're writing to the board uh in response to the news that the budget cuts will include the letting go of the elementary school counselor and the elementary school music teacher my two children in third and fifth grades have greatly benefited um The Counselor personally helped my son coping strategies as struggle to acclimate first day first full day first grade met my son son at school drop off on several occasions and allow him to have time and space you needed counselor successfully introduced her therapy dog to the children in stoy the children practice reading to the dog as well as learning how to appropriate appropriately treat the dog as a member of the school the loss will be tremendously felt throughout the school music teacher was successfully Run music class at sty incorporating rock star of the day award which my children are so thrilled to receive Sons participated in After School chorus despite being a mostly Sports Focus child my daughter greatly looks forward to joining chorus next year please reconsider these individuals to make their impact on elementary students in HK the next letter is from the New Jersey Association of school librarians dear superintendent thisara board members I'm ready to ask to we consider the decision to eliminate the full-time library media specialist with your District your library media specialist plays an important role in the lives and education of your students and staff members in hearing pH Dr fysic Caro's response in a recent publication regarding the whole child approach libraries certainly offer opportunities to stabilize the child emotionally help them enjoy the school school and help them Advance a little bit at a time each day it is unfortunate the roles of library media Specialists are often not fully understood or appreciated your school library media specialist carries out the responsibility of a reading teacher an instructional technology specialist and information resource specialist a professional learning facilitator an information literally literacy instructor co- teer program administrator and curriculum designer study SE improving time and time again that school librarians enhance the devel vment and education of all students that directly increase overall Student Success uh on January 4th Governor Murphy signed in log information literacy standard Bill making New Jersey the first state and the nation to require instruction in information Literacy for all K through2 public school students bill is vital on providing students with the skills they need to be critical thinkers require schools to teach the research process ways to access forms of information proper use of information resources research meth methods and distinction between fact opinion and point of view school librarians have been teaching information literacy skills to their students for years in addition full-time high school middle school and Elementary Librarians devote themselves each day to provide an invaluable education unique experience important opportunities having a full-time certified School librarian in your school makes a huge difference in the lives of your student staff administrators and Community um I'm sorry I if you are looking to raise achievement scores andure information literacy skills are being taught support the social and emotional needs of your students PR equity and diversity you need to invest in your school libraries and ensure each of your schools has a certified library media specialist this is from Beth brat president of New Jersey School Library Association uh this one is from Nikki schwender this regarding the elimination of the g&t program in elementary schools disappointed to learn the g&t program has recently provided p in Township educ Elementary Schools p in Township Elementary students is one of the potential positions being eliminated New Jersey law states that school districts must establish a process to identify these students which was met and also these students require modification to their educational programs the giting and talent of teacher has been ANC asset for her children she's the only teacher dedicated to our students requirements if her position is eliminated I would like to know how hdsd plans will continue to meet the needs of their students it is an undesirable task you have as a group to decide how to make sure each child has an equitable stake in their education and I do not MV as a parent with two children a small program just recently provided and only one resource established I'm ready to Advocate with consideration of the educational needs this position is in fact cut please offer the solution that will meet the New Jersey requirements with this program thank you for your efforts this is from Caroline tagm uh regarding the u high school media specialist um I currently have three children attending H Township School District One in the high school to the Middle School proud Community member our family has deep roots in h Township she's been an educated for 20 years happy to learn that state funding has been reinstated which will allow our schools to maintain some positions that have been lost and let it this news I would like to strongly urge you to reconsider your current stance and rehire our media specialist students will feel the impact of losing full-time certified School library media specialist specifically our school librarium she wears many hats in our schools and always there to assist students teachers parents and administrators alike it is undeniable in the best interest of our students to have a school librarian uh in their building the media center itself is an important center of the school media center functions as a third space space in schools and provide students with space that is not purely academically focused nor is it P purely socially focused while sound thoughts are unavoidable eliminating school media library specialist position would affect the schools for years and possibly be detrimental to our students academic social and emotional Futures please reconsider the cuton r our Med specialist this next one is from aan Reinhardt um tan is attended Edison Elementary School were middle school and graduated from Haden Township High School in 2016 she's always lived in Haden Township um and she has a master's degree and now one year from obtaining her doctorate from the University of Edinburgh I cleaned all this to say I'm very passionate about education and also that absolutely none of this would have been possible for me without the library at H High School I cannot tell you how disappointed I am that you considering Li in limiting the program Media Center are amazing resources and were staple of my learning throughout my years at War and hghs I used the media center regularly throughout my entire time when I was in my senior year there were two instances that set me up to do well in the University first was when the AP Biology class was taken for libring given the resources time and space to learn how to write a specific paper uh I learned how to use the website after being taught by Miss the library specialist as the website is not intuitive though the assignment for at bi biology was difficult it was an invaluable lesson which made me the only person in my first year of undergraduate who already had experience with specific writing pass my literature review course my first year with flying colors and those later skills which learn in the media center were put to good use once again with my undergraduate thesis uh she goes on to say how important the library specialist in the library was to her in schools and and how has helped her greatly in her uh program that is from tan rehart the last one is from an U I'm gonna I'm gonna quer her name and I apologize Z Eliot uh immediate past president of New Jersey Association of school librarians education librarian the College of New Jersey um as such you NS college students who come from school districts with strong library programs are better prepared for higher education uh sending you a letter issued by the New Jersey chapter Association College of resource libraries readed carefully as chains the local New Jersey study that proves the statement made above take consideration of the data provided regarding college readiness when making decision pertaining to school libr like I said they can all be found on the website you're welcome at this time we are accepting comments from the members of the board from the public for the board of education on items included on the agenda only again you need to state your name and there is has comments on the agenda items only right now my name is Mela Charo 433 East Emerald Avenue tonight I come before you to express my dismay and disappointment at the cuts this board of the superintendent have recommended and approved in in particular the elimination of a full-time media specialist as a retired educator I know the value of having a certified media specialist in a welle equipped Media Center available to all students I recently received this newsletter from Haden Township it contains the usual listing of events such as parades Pub crawls and festivals held in town on the very last page there is a short article highlighting the rising home values in hen Township the article attributes this Rising value these Rising values to among several other items a topnotch school district the article highlights four homes recently sold in the $900,000 range and questions if 2024 will see the year of the million dooll home being sold in h Township given this information let's look at some neighboring school districts that in fact have sold million dooll homes the Cherry Hill school district has an enrollment of 10,716 students in 19 schools it currently employs 20 21 media Specialists none of whom will be cut as a result of the state budgetary cuts do the math one media specialist for every 510 students this is just one reason why the Cherry Hill School District is known for its outstanding educational program our neighbor haddenfield much smaller than Cherry Hill but with an equally good educational program has an enrollment of 2766 students in five schools they currently have two media specialists on staff with none being slated to be cut one media specialist for every 1,383 students had Township currently has an enrollment of 2,17 students in seven schools and only one media specialist and those services are scheduled to be cut at the end of this school year that media Ser specialist Services every student in the school district Mrs tagm was hired as a media special was over 10 years ago her position with the district was in place long before Esser funds were distributed to the school system so her cut has nothing to do with the elimination of Esser funds and if if any of you were to talk to teachers and parents you would know you would find that Mrs tagm is respected by her students and colleagues for her knowledge of current literature and her ability to connect with students to help them develop strategies that will make them lifelong Learners from one media specialist for 2,1 7 students to none this is not what a top-notch school district looks like I think most people would agree that Cherry Hill and haddenfield have top-notch school districts so why don't we the residents of this town recently passed a board referendum which includes 3.1 million for a New Media Center it is my understanding that the construction is to begin in the summer of 20125 what will happen to all of the materials and resources you see around in this room I I would venture to say if excuse me all the materials and resources in this room if there is no need a specialist to oversee the storage and maintenance of these materials during the construction what will H or will there be another Financial catastrophe if the materials are misplaced lost damaged or [Music] stolen media Specialists are no longer those little old ladies that whose main concerns were keeping the card catalog up to date and tracking down the linoln fs and I will finish [Applause] shortly okay I don't typically respond uh to public comment but I didn't want to interrupt you miss Jericho okay thank you for your comment I will kind of you know my superintendence report is next just going to ask the board if I go out of order this one piece of business that we just decided about I don't know 40 minutes ago um or so um the recommendation tonight from the superintendent with the full support of the board and the business administrator the financials is that the media specialist Position will stay uh as is in the district with some potential permeations or combinations of J job responsibilities so um the position you know as of tonight is on uh for approval and will be approved as a specialist I like offer that a little bit order there's going to be similar sentiments that were read you know I would encourage you to continue to give the administration the Board of Education a little bit more of the gifts of time just received this state aid funding back uh last those was in Trent Thurs this is the shortest Runway we ever have had thank you for your patience um in helping us uh make the best recommendations we can with just portion of the money that was restored from Tren so I'll provide the rest of my report um when the time is right any other comments from the public on items on the agenda L is BR 50 507 Glendale avue I'm in sixth grade and a few days ago I learned that a music teacher Lisa Huff who had been my teacher in elementary school was getting laid off immediately I got very angry and upset because this particular teacher had been the one that had got me into musical theater and singing she had been a bit very big part of my life and I know other students feel the same I hoped she would have had the chance to impact many other students to come I'm disappointed that you are not EV valuing wonderful and kind caring teachers like her students will not get to experience Mrs Huff encouragement and her Talent as a teacher I do not agree with the choices you are making on this ma matter and neither do many kids in my district this music program has won an award for assuring access to music for all students but you are not investing in that program instead you are making it [Applause] weaker no more comments move to okay great thank you thank oh sorry sorry H 132 mad um ours is a close-knit community very small um you know our our values are are represented in our close relationships between our parents and teachers close relationship with our local schools I think this is why the community supported neighborhood schools so strongly they know their teachers uh their teachers know the parents um I think something that's been a great concern to this process for many in the community is that this has been build as a process that's really about dollars and cents um but I don't think any of the parents and teachers in the community really evaluate their teachers that way and there are impacts um for many teachers um and and I think a lot of people would like to see those things um being considered more seriously u in these conversations um you know things like talking to Department facilitators who have more intimate knowledge of um the roles that individuals fut play um the results you know where the cuts were made um kind of seems like you know administrators you know kind of competing with one another advocating for their um students and staff the result was elementary schools were really severely cut here um there are already thin resources are stretched among five schools whereas the middle school and high schools who um were really experiencing lesser Cuts share one building um it was of note to many that um you know there were no administrative cuts um despite the fact that um within this one building there are five principles and vice principles um there are three principles shared among the five elementary schools Alone um and you know frankly quite egregiously um is the equity issue here you know it's been commented for some time now um that head Township has had a hard time tracking teachers color um it's been highlighted by the state that we fail to do so um you know we only have that I'm aware of four teachers of color in this District maybe 60 teachers um somehow we're in a place right now where we're looking to lay off half of those teachers that that's staggering to me this is this is 2024 this is headen Township I just don't think that reflects our values I feel like I can't go anywhere in hen Township without ing how important Equity is to our parents to our teachers to everybody in the community um so you know it's just a big concern to me I I know that it was you know said at the last meeting that every Factor was considered um so was was Equity considered I think it's important if if everything is considered um then that means we know that we're laying off half of our teachers of color and I think that's a really big problem interrupt you right there um I don't have a problem with you addressing the equity issue has pertains to your wife but you can't bring another staff member into that and that staff member not that staff member so I didn't mention any else but that's fine [Music] so so you know I just think it's important to understand that you know we have very little representation in this District we have students of color they're not represented in our classrooms and we're removing half of those teachers of color now I think that's really problematic and I'm really disappointed that we're in this position right now having this conversation um this is a proposal it reflects on the values of our district um but once we act on this it it it reflects on the values of you as a board so I sincerely hope that you will um you think very carefully about the discriminatory effects of this proposal [Applause] stand here I was the back hi my name is Sandra scared from 43 Emerald Avenue my child was identified as gifted in 2017 not because the district was actively identifying gifted children but because my my husband and I were fortunate to have the means to have her evaluated privately by a neuros psychologist upon our parent nomination for what was then called the Haden Township Spectrum Program we w we met with Dr Warfield and Mrs medic and outlined A Gifted enrichment plan for my daughter after that nothing my child did not receive gifted services for 5 years not until 2022 after a gifted and talented teacher was h High please note that support for gifted children was law well before the 2020 strength ofing talented and gifted act in April 2000 laws were put in place for New Jersey districts to provide ongoing identification for children in grades K through 12 I obtained her District's NJ qac report through Oprah the data on this report reveals that fewer than five students were identified in grades K through 6 in years 2020 and 202 1 it is clear that our district was not actively identifying students prior to the hiring of The Talented teacher if Haden Township could not comply with the gifted and talented laws before hiring a designated teacher how does hat and Township expect to identify and provide services to the student population without one even today our district does not appear fully compliant our hat and Township website states that the gifted and taligent program now Called Quest is for students in grades K through 8 what about our high school students the New Jersey Department of Education website is quite clear that honors and AP classes do not automatically demonstrate that A Gifted student level of learning is being addressed topic two before last week's Board of Education meeting I wrote a letter to the Board of Education outlining how crucial guidance counselors are to our children's education eliminating a position in this area would be irresponsible and put our children especially our most vulnerable children at increased risk our district cannot claim to care about the social emotional well-being of students while simultaneously cutting headcount on what few experts we have in this area the essr funds applied to hire this position or much needed means to course correct years of neglect in this understaff area we simply cannot Backtrack on this progress now that we're facing an 106k reduction I urge the Board of Education to PR prze maintaining high impact directed child service positions and look closely for other areas of reduction when I look online at The District staff directory I cannot help but notice that there are upwards of 20 Administration support positions listed in the district main office in high school some may even be redundant perhaps we should reimagine those roles and find efficiencies there please understand that it's not my intention to diminish the importance of these roles and I don't mean any disrespect I am simply advocating for the PRI prioritization of positions with strong evidence supporting their impact on positive Scholastic [Applause] achievement good evening uh Chistina strong count resident educator I'm here on behalf of New Jersey school librarian I appreciate your response and regards uh to your fulltime School librarian but I do have some concerns you have a seven uh school system district and you're talking about equity and inclusion and it's really important to ensure that your school Librarian Is Not tapped out with the amount of responsibilities that go into an everyday Library program I do want to commend um your school librarian she her heart and soul is dedicated and she has quite a few friends who have contacted us but there is an indicator for school library media services that is found under the governance category indicator 4 governance 14 states that the District Board of Education ensures that all students have access to library media services that are connected to classroom studies in each School building so I do ask the board and uh Dr pisero um how do you see that being met I did hear you mention bearing roles so I just want to ensure that your full-time school liing will be in the role full time school thank [Applause] you uh I'm Megan luk my daughter Annie Luke from 261 Hopkins Road you have to forgive me because my speech was mainly when I thought the media Specialists was being eliminated completely but I'm going to shift a little bit so when my children first began Elementary School in this District it was stunned that the district had no librarian or media specialist at the elementary level and instead relied on parent volunteers to keep them running as an educator that formerly taught in Rader school district and who grew up in Pennsylvania this seemed incomprehensible to me I grappled with the fact that it seems impossible to instill a love of reading and small children when the district can't even fund the money and resources to run the libraries for the student however I chose to bite my tongue and not say anything about it because as I've been told on numerous occasion this is just how it's always been and had in Township the possibility of losing the media specialist position made me think about the importance of having a media specialist in all grade levels and for that I'm going to turn it over to my daughter to talk about her love of reading my name is Annie L I am in fifth grade at I love to read and when we go to the library of find interesting I would love to go to the school library every day but most of the time the librarian are there this year I think I've only Le to go to the library two or three times more I believe having a librarian is important because students if they need a book for a or a they need a librarian to tell you if next some people might only be able to get books from school liary if there is no Library stud may not be able to get any most for them to read reading is very important because it can teach your things and help you become a better reader especially if you are a b game some students have trouble finding things to do on a rainy day watching TV or playing on an Xbox or Nintendo might seem like to do but if you have a good book you can read it all day long if there's no librarian at the library then you can't get a book you end up watching TV on hearing the news of the school libr whenever I visit the high school I always want to go into the library I always look through the windows withs ands of books I'm always so excited for that will be my school library whenever I P this is because my school doesn't really have a library so IED to have libr a real librarian instead of parent volunteers if you get rid of the Librarians then that will never happen having a library at the library is pretty much a key element for school I think that some adults don't really about this but I will some students think reading is like school because teachers tell students to read all the time during school but reading is not school school is learning how to write responses essays and stories learning science social studies and Mas Librarians can help you with can help with all those new skills reading on the other hand is escaping to another world where you read all the way until vort dies and Away changes so getting rid of librarians is not good for the students or school please keep the Librarians and keep spreading the joy and [Applause] [Music] [Applause] reading hi my name is nich I'm from 50 East Greenwood Avenue and I am one of those neighboring District school librarians I've said this at previous meetings um it is truly stunning that we support you as Community Partners I came on behalf of Jenny's PTA I understand that yes today you decided to reinstate the librarian but I'm really inspired by how many people still are choosing to speak about the importance in this District because that is not the vibe that we have had um for those who don't know every Elementary School is run by that school's PTA Jennings is a title one PTA school or title one school um we don't always have parents who have the time in their schedules to um find you know find time to volunteer in their school so I appreciate that it's here now at the high school and the middle school level but I think that the town is showing that there is a greater need for that in this moment right now you don't provide any technology instruction to elementary school students and then they would be coming up to the middle high school and also not receiving um support so I really appreciate the letter that former student showed um these things have real life applications you may not always take what you're going to learn and apply it in a real world but at the same time this feels like a real house of cards I as a school librarian was so nervous like who do I get my support to my children rely on the nurs in the building every day we have used the guidance counselor more this year than I ever thought was possible so yes I'm so happy that you saved a position that like everyone in town is here for but like what are we going to do for the music teacher is the PTA going to come volunteer for that like I would like to know what the district intends to do to ensure that we have funding that is consistent and reliable because everyone that has a passionate like everyone is here with an issue that is the issue that they talked about but like every issue is of equal importance so I'm just really concerned that we're relying on the short Gap funding and I'm glad that we were able to see so many things that we were today but what is the plan to ensure we are not here next me and next year having these conversations for the same positions [Applause] again I'll answer a couple things that you asked um know I think 100 to parents wrote letters to our legislators um to advocate for school school funding we formerly prot tested and appealed the state aid cuts that uh were made unfortunately we were denied um I got a response from somebody in the Murphy's Administration claiming that the local fair share should be4 more million from our tax from our local residents um and that they're already giving us $4 million too mon State a um I was personally in treatened for 9 and 1/2 hours waiting to testify before the state senate um committee and uh we're going to continue to fight for uh the state funding are based that I have been told for a decade should be based on enrollment yeah um so we will um request the records for 20122 the Department of the treasury um information that was utilized to withdraw the state aid and the answer to your question Ser is of what we're going to do we're going to do everything within our power and more so if you have strategies things that you know we haven't thought of that you haven't seen come out of my office um by all means we're looking for suggestions so U we're fully committed to uh not being back in this role next year or in future years and um that's where we are this that's a perfect introduction thank you I'm Kate 18 He SP that this is my first Board of bed meeting I have two kids at Edison Elementary um I don't I did not appreciate your email at all I recent email which essentially um said that you had promised there was like your hands were tied regarding raising certain amount of tax money um to close this Gap so that we're not we don't continue to be in the situation and I just I don't appreciate that at all I don't think your hands are tied you made that promise prior to the referendum to get your referendum passed when the circumstances were different and so now because you don't want to lie to the people we have to get rid of like my kid music teacher the only thing that he thrives in right now and his reading interventionalists and Librarians I feel like cuts are just not acceptable none of this is acceptable I hope that's what everyone sitting behind me is here to say and express and and if it's taxes what like you're going to you're right the people who did this are in Trenton and we all need to um deal with that on a different level and this may be the cards that we're dealt with this is the amount of money that we have to fund next year fine but what do we do from here we have to close that Gap somehow and if it's raising taxes I'm sorry that you that there was a promise made to those people but I don't think they said oh okay we can get a turf field we can get new bleachers we'll get new APR floors you know we have to fix I mean yeah I get it we have to fix the moldy music room and the and the drainage system all these things need to be done but not at the expense of kids experience in schools and so if we're going to sell million dooll homes that we need to ask these people the people of our community to pay for it then yeah I didn't prepare a speech I'm just flying I just wanted to take this opportunity to communicate that to everyone here tonight yourself Dr fizo and the board that I don't cuts are not we're I we moved here because this was a great school district and like I can't imagine my kid doesn't have music or reading intervention or gied un talented all of these are essential and I really just urge you everyone to some figure out whether it's more taxes 10 I don't know I don't even understand the math $10 extra month I don't know but it it can't it's just not acceptable and I don't really appreciate an email saying your your hands are tied if if you're going to ex if you're going to explore all ways to make this money up then do [Applause] that thanks for coming out to your first meeting typically have public com works I Tred not to interrupt unless something I think is inappropriate uh so I want to let you finish and then if there's something if there's a question that you ask and I think is appropriate I can answer um I'll answer it okay um the when the law was passed when the res restoration of State funding was passed we receiving about $362,000 back the original legislation was going to let all districts who and there was multiple bills from different sides of the the political party we're going to let all districts U go back out to their residents and exceed the 2% cap okay to raise the remainder of the funds that were cut that still would have not made us whole because we have sign gaps that were mostly created from escalating costs in a lot of areas mainly special education okay when the actual bill was negotiated and signed it does not allow had Township the district Lake had in Township to go back out and exceed the 2% C they use a a uh calculation of District state aid in 2024 compared to 2020 and 21 and for districts that had less state aid in 2020 21 compared they what they have now are not El to exceed the 2% cap districts that have less now such as the district I live in my hometown District where my children attend school has less now than they had in 2021 that District would be eligible to exceed the 2% cap um so there was no choice to exceed the local tax levy for this year okay when at the time I wrote that email I wasn't sure exactly where we were going to land but I thought I understood the bill because I was there that day and I was fairly sure certain that we were going to be on the list but I have to tell you if we were able to go more than 2% cap it would have not have been my recommendation because it's tough times right now for a lot of people and there's many residents that live in Haden Township who uh don't have children in the district and I think we're primarily very concerned with the price of the bond par so when we did our campaigns a promise was made okay to not exceed the 2% C uh 2% cap and that they could comfortably predict where the taxes would be next year considering the 2% in terms of school taxes and uh this would not be the year to exceed 2% or I think we would lose a lot of credibility as a board and a leader having Force to say one thing and do another and I express that to our local legislators saw the video that day you know I felt that you know puts us all on a catch 22 um so in future years we may have some additional flexibility okay but this year it's just it wasn't there in terms of that particular Bill my name is ke bu can only make one sorry that's you've already lost credibility to these people I didn't prepare anything Christine M um 40 East cood Avenue I have two daughters at Jennings coming to the middle school next year very very involved in music I also teach in chry Hill I'm also a music teacher so obviously I'm going to be supporting the Arts and it's just a shame that it seems that it's oh cuts are coming and the Arts are always like the first ones to get cut um so I'm just here to support Mrs huff and her program and how how many kids she sees it's ridiculous I work in two buildings she works in five um it's it's a hard job and um she does a great job so I'm just here to support her and I do agree that if there was a way um to for the community to know that we're cutting this many people and these specific people and if there was a chance that they could say like I know what you were just saying about the taxes but if there was a way to do it and we could come out and support it I think that at least the people in this room would you know so um thank [Applause] you Regina Schmidt uh 269 New Jersey Avenue um I am also a music teacher and I also live in Haden Township um just this past weekend I saw Christine at the South Jersey band and Orchestra director Association and we could not believe there was like six music teachers there who were all having Township residents this is a community that draws musicians to it to raise their families because when we compare to Haden field we have it all over Haden field when it comes to music it's an integral part of the fabric of Haden Township has been for decades music at the elementary level is also mandated by New Jersey Law so I am wondering what is the true cut here the music classes will certainly be taught next year at the elementary level my guess is by a teacher who's currently in middle school or high school so what music programs are we cutting because we are certainly not going to be able to function with the schedule at the elementary level or abide by law if we eliminate Elementary musum thank you Mr wh for your comment um who right Schmid I'm sorry I'm sorry name wrong uh Mr Schmidt thank you very much for your comment I just want to remind members of of the community you're welcome to make public comment there's a few things I think that are you have to that I'm asking you to abide by please do not mention any individuals by name okay um especially you know in in in derogatory ways or ways that they may not know that you're mentioning that certainly want to speak for this huff and um say positive things you're welcome to do that okay um the second thing I would like to ask please do not speak derogatorily about any other District you know that we're better or they're better you know we say all the time comparison is that e Joy you know TR I hope you don't that we're better at handfield and everything okay handfield does a great job I apologize I'm not here it's okay it's okay I'm just level say Mr we have an asset in our music you had your public comment I'm level setting the public comment now for the rest of the community I would never want another at another board meeting for a superintendent to allow somebody to say that they have an all overhead Township in a particular Department okay um please don't do that we are very proud of our music M 401 strawberry J uh I was here last time and I was talking about nursing in elementary school and and how there is a gun in every elementary school so I'm hoping maybe some thought was given to it over the last couple of weeks but are teachers CPR certified do you have an AED in the building where are the asthma inhalers kept when uh there's no nurse there and a kid needs it are the epipens in the classroom for allergies should kids start doing that I mean you're making these teachers act as nurses now and that's not a part of their job and then you're making kids responsible for themselves it's I just don't see how you can make a cut to nurses or how you can even keep it as it is you need more of them they need to be in every single [Music] [Applause] School else okay I have a very lengthy superintendent report tonight but I did promise Brady here I know you have an AP test tomorrow do you want to make your student rep and go sure okay um so made the test uh T weeks have been really busy for most Juniors and seniors because of a testing uh the junior started off and took a test on Monday uh last Monday and since then it's been heting as kids are in and out of class depending on the test being taken that day uh but personally I've been heing pretty positive feedback both Juniors and seniors on their tests and all the work we've been putting in will make our time at rewarding tomorrow um unfortunately the physics one test is tomorrow morning so myself other the classmates will be busy with that but that leaves the afterno fre see ready um but physics 2 was push back next Friday um so I know these two kids are upset about that where once they finished with that test we'll be done for the year um and then at least senior's executive will be able to sit back and relax a little bit um this Monday we'll pick off our last spirit week of the year which is insane to be saying um but the student council decided on Jersey day for Monday Taki Taurus day for Tuesday twin day Wednesday and Fourth of July during Friday um week will conclude with our School's First mental health day on Friday during which students can choose how to spend their day so options were distributed to each of the grades um in like a ripple so that seniors got first choice um there were options like dodgeball Tai Chi journaling bird watching each hosted by a different teacher or a different group of teachers so it should be a really nice day for students to connect with their teachers and each other before we head into the last month of school also on that day some of the students members of Haw opposed to Predators everywhere will be leaving around 12: and between 12: and 1 with Miss Burke to go to event sky and visit the fifth graders they'll be able to ask us questions and do icebreakers as we teach them about biases and standing up against Prejudice the club's extremely grateful for this opportunity to spread our mission with the fature of how to touch of high school and it should be a really good time um and then we mentioned this at our last meeting but as almost everyone now prom is tomorrow we're all very excited for it this year uh the increase in prom proposals in the new venue had added to the energetic atmosphere and we're also just hoping for the rain to stay away and not ruin anyone's ha a lot of kids have also been talking about prominade and it should be busy there by the sound of it so Mr Pendle might with all those Mees but it should be a really good time and we look look forward to a safe and fun PR thank you do you have any test tomorrow I do not you you have any stud for tomorrow I pray this will be a good time I'll F you tomorrow what I said than you can hang whatever you want just Kidd you're always welcome okay she stay bigger than year the end of the year okay all right I don't know if the order says up there but I may have a little bit different order there's a lot there's a lot to report on okay and um you know a lot of positive things happen Okay first and foremost Paul stellis is retiring okay you talk about a man um that gave his whole self and a whole career to had Dr man is a staple of our English Department and um his retirement is on the agenda tonight and you know there there's one teacher in our district that exemplifies everything about H House of school district um Mr St knows every kid by name he has a smile on his face all the time he's been Innovative for his entire career um it we celebrate his retirement we celebrate his career congratulations to Mr ston budget update um it's first time in my career where um we had an opportunity to have the responsibility to change the level of Staffing between the public hearing on a school budget and the the May renewal list uh so through the work of the board of UC education uh and the administrative team you know we were able to successfully bring sever of the positions that were originally eliminated as part of the tenative budget back into the budget for next year and these positions will be approved tonight and these individuals uh in the corresponding roles will also be approved on the agenda and these will be with the full support of the Board of Education and they are a counselor a school counselor um formerly the elementary school one of the counselors uh will be back uh school nurse uh will be we're going to undo that cut we are going to uh have the Mandarin program continue at the at the high school and the middle school and we are going to unwind the bump from our know a senority tendered bump with our network technician bumping a non- tendered math teacher so that math teacher position will stay because the network technician position will stay and as you already know the media specialist position in the district um was also added in tonight um so we wish that we could have all all you know uh there's still a shortfall we're doing everything we can to maximize uh the number of programs and uh number of positions and we emphasized Safety First when we looked at these positions and um it's not just about physical safety it's also psychological safety and you know we're pleased that to bring these positions back but we're not satisfied with the The Current financial picture here and we have some am work to do uh going on for the future Bond reference update new road construction is our construction management firm they meeting with US Weekly first projects that are going to begin this summer are the IMR and VMR rooms unfortunately I don't have good news to share once again the students in the IMR and VMR rooms have been displaced because of water we tried internally to fix those areas we're confident that those rooms are safe uh we had testing done there is no mold in those rooms that doesn't mean that students should be there right just because there's no mold unfortunately they've been displaced we expect that they will probably be displaced until the end of the school year in very different areas of the building and the corridor then Mr barcaro with this department facilitar for trying to be creative organized destruction um as it continues we do have an update uh regarding the htea negotiations with the board it's my pleasure to congratulate um and you know the cooperation and acknowledge the cooperation between the board and htea we do have a memorandum of agreement which essentially means you know the two sides are you know have a handshake agreement and uh you know that still needs to be voted on and so forth but I'm pleased to report that's going in a very good direction I also want to acknowledge the work and um the leadership of Tabitha revas I don't know if she's here tonight my glasses one you see so far Tabitha um is her resignation is on the agenda tonight uh she's accepting a position unexpectedly in a school district much closer to her home but tabith has been the president of htea she's the second president that I work with in four years um and just like the last president um this is Nick durit uh Tabitha has been a pleasure to work with she's been a strong advocate for teachers she's been a strong representative for htea but I've also found our partnership to be uh very transparent and we've had great communication so I'm going miss Tabitha she's done great she's also a great teacher she's an excellent teacher um so it's it's a loss uh instructionally for us but we certainly wish her well science we we had a a a the crumble cookie teacher of the year at Gora Middle School Miss Colleen Kelly was nominated uh one of 60,000 nominees from across the country and she was awarded as the teacher of the year from the crumble cookie company and they provided a party uh for the entire uh class and there was plenty of extra cookies to go around for staff and so we had quite a celebration here congratulations uh think Mrs Kelly we've had some significant student recognition um Awards in the last month for rowing Scarlet steel Lily Atkins they Row for the South Jersey Rowing Club they have qualified for us youth Nationals in Florida Lily will actually represent the club as a power roller and is also being honored tonight by the Ronald McDonald House um for a Memorial Scholarship that is awarded to a Childhood cancer survivor on the basis of academic athletic and Community accomplishments so we congratulate her on this uh distinguished honor our girls lacrosse team uh huge Victory last night they are now the first time division Champions they've had a a nice win over our neighboring district and uh first time they've won the division group of hardworking girls and coaches it's a program that's continue to evolve and have more success H Township student Celia denino is being awarded a $1,000 scholarship from the New Jersey buildings and ground Association for commitment skill and passion for trades she will also be honored at a lunch in uh tomorrow on the board of education side and she doesn't know I'm going to do this tonight but she's works hard for this and she deserves this acknowledgement and I feel bad uh because she couldn't show up to the meeting because she had a board uh commitment Alli Rodman who spoke a lot during the work session uh has been honored with the distinction of certified board leader which is 60 BMA credits 20 more than is needed uh for uh to be to be a certified board certification um she's been leader on this board and whatever role that she's in and she uh is a great asset she couldn't attend that evening because I think we had the gring scy Comm I was roping her into something uh but also want to acknowledge the night where Aly couldn't attend Mrs sder was honored for our first time board certification and Mr Kendall accepted uh acknowledgements for 31 years of service on the school board I mean it's just it's pretty amazing uh so congratulations is the alley also Christen and Mr K John Memorial Day service is May 27th we get a beautiful in invitation every year from the West mod Fire Company the high school choir some High School choir members and some musicians will be on site I think it's at 10:00 a.m. at the Westmont Fire Company be a to get a reath there and uh they they they have a uh so we're hoping you know look something to do parents they out tonight Memorial Day is kind of a thing that it's a holiday that kind of gets lost in the shuffle as far as kids are concerned right um it's a good thing to observe and uh consider showing up May 27th for Westmont Fire Company we received a significant furniture donation from the hand of high school PTA the teacher work rooms here at the high school are lousy um and the furniture in there is is they've been in there for longer than Mr Kendall's been on the school board right and uh $166,000 donation from the Hat PTA uh High School PTA who went out and you know solicited furniture from uh group that was must have been disposing of it and we're accepting that donation tonight at the next board meeting we're going to honor four eighth grade students from l Middle School who are the winners on the national Spanish exam that's the highest distinction distinction that they can get congratulations to miss jetless who was their teacher and hopefully the students will be able to make it at the next meeting also like to acknowledge a few individuals who have collaborated with me really honestly really courageously and I'd say really respectfully on the topic of the grading scale uh we had another meeting this week uh allly and I were able to sit down with time Anderson Jerry McCarthy micle Kennedy and Mike Luke I think some of them may be here tonight in the back we're going to talk a little about grading scale as part of our um committee report I think Mr gway is here as well who was primary facilitator of that committee you I think uh you think we're making progress and we're wrestling with some complicated things and we're not always agreeing as you're aware many of you are here tonight but I I will say that I have valued working with those four individuals and uh I'm hopeful that we'll continue to make progress in this area I think that is all for my superintendent report I didn't see Tabitha here or Joanie is there an hdaa Spotlight yes there's not okay no presentations tonight we will move to 7.1 or to seven financing facilities um you guys want give was I just gave us her notes I want me to do it you don't mind uh so we discussed at the meeting that the health care adjustment that we could have taken this year would have resulted in a $22 additional increase in taxes it was1 $7,000 I misspoke at the last meeting and said it was $389,000 um before care and after care is on the agenda tonight we're increasing that the rates by $10 which we do every year uh Transportation costs we are looking for 2425 to find alternate ways to uh decrease our costs for Transportation uh we spoke last time about an SDA emergent Capital maintenance uh program that was awarded hadn't touch in the amount of $49,000 one of the things that we were going to use that for was for bus repairs they rejected that uh reason we're going to use it for concrete repair and asphalt repair in the district and tree triming that we've already done to we transfer that money over there and the kind of support repairs um we did get appra an appraisal for 500 roads Avenue um and we the appraisal that we got was from a realtor that feels we can sell it for around 3 75 to 425,000 however there would be nowhere for us to go um our keys have been accepted for auditor nursing and behavioral in behavioral intervention analyst and they are all on the agenda this evening I need a motion for 7.1 7.21 questions roll call Missi yes Mr Kendall yes Mr Lex yes Mr Richie yes M robman yes M yes SE eight instruction and program so shorter yeah can you do that absolutely okay so our meeting minutes from our curriculum and instruction meeting just a quick update currently we have approximately 110 students signed up for the preschool program kindergarten transition night was last night um for the parents and families at 7:00 p.m. in in the media center that was well attended we had approximately 60 families in attendance of incoming kindergarten students our 2024 summer enrichment program funded by Title One funds has approximately 100 students enrolled round two invitations are underway primarily to fill out some round out out some middle school and high school open seats and the offerings vary from Civics and model un designing with canva social emotional learning social entrepreneurship multi um multimedia art Etc summer school is still being explored for those students who need to close the gap um due to lack of attendance and master grade level standards a curriculum Council which you'll see on tonight's agenda funded by title two funding um is being organized to update and revise K through 12 um and preschool uh curriculum We are continuing to utilize our current resources to combat some of these budget cuts um and negotiate with some of our vendors to lower pricing whenever possible be on the lookout incoming 11th grade students who are enrolled in AP American government government are given the opportunity to take a financial literacy course over the summer taught by RJ Dusk and he will notify by the parents um and that meets a graduation requirement and gives the opportunity to kind of work ahead of schedule and then professional development is scheduled for tomorrow prom day and um we are set for that with some medical essential diagnostic information being provided PLC time and of the year wrapup and report card indicators being discussed and there's nothing on Section Eight so we'll move to vote on um we'll move move to section n um policy and Personnel so similar to Dr ficaro this is going to be a bit lengthy so I'm going to just ask your patience I'm going to try and walk through things step by step as they relate to first and second reading of policy personnel as well as grading scale recommendations from our parent committee the administrative team and our committee um as the board of education so on the agenda for this evening you will see eight total policies and regulation guides on for second reading you will also see eight mandated policies and one recommended policy on for first reading none of these include the grading scale specifically we will be Distributing a copy of the grading scale in just a minute to the board as well as the public um in terms of our recommendations in this present point and that grading scale um will be incorporated into first reading of the related policies at our June meeting okay but the policies that are on for second reading this evening um relate to sick leave as well as curriculum content and some related policies basically expanding the definition of who are within protected classes so that we're ensuring that we align with State Statute in those particular areas and then for first reading you'll see policies related to attendance as well as additional policies similar to to those on for first reading related to those protected classes so what I'm going to do is has kind of walked through the engagements that our committee has had as a personnel and policy committee as well as the administrative teacher counselor and student committee and the parent engagement committee so that you can kind of follow the path of of how we came to this particular board recommendation this evening so our personnel and policy committee met on May 7th we were updated on some of the budget updates as well as subsequent Personnel shifts um we looked at some staff attendance policies and we also looked at other components of the grading policies beyond the scale itself so one of the things that individuals should be publicly aware of is that the policies related to grading scale reporting of people progress Etc have not been updated at the state or District level since 2010 or 2011 we confirmed with our resources that there were no updates or recommendations that we had missed along the way and we have not that doesn't mean that we can't update policy but we have done our due diligence to continue to you know make sure that what we are doing presently is in line with State guidelines so that was kind of the first step in our process in reviewing those Pro those policies and regulation guides we also surfac a number of components separate from the grading scale that we wanted to address as a board as it relates to reporting of people progress making sure that the components within that policy and and subsequent regulation guides aligned with current practice how often are we meeting with parents what do report cards look like what is the online grading portal that we're using Etc um so that was a big bulk of our conversation together as a board committee on May 7th subsequently Dr pizaro and I met with a parent engagement um committee related to grading scale the following evening on May 8th it was a very robust conversation as Dr pikaro stated we were not always on the same page but we did feel as though the conversation was incredibly transparent and productive so coming out of that particular meeting um the parents made some recommendations to the superintendent as well as the Board of Education looking towards some type of 10-point grading scale that included pluses and minuses for the following reasons one they're looking to improve opportunities for Merit Scholarships by raising student GPA they're looking to create more great bands to create additional opportunities for students to separate themselves from the pack and reduce some of the bunching that we have reported on in in previous meetings they're looking to provide teachers with the opportunity to design as well as assign more rigorous cour workk while minimizing the impact of students GPA they're also looking to level the playing field with other districts that utilize some variation of a 10-point scale and one point of clarity that they wanted to make sure that we were making to the board as well well as publicly is that this recommendation is in no way um a request to make High School easier right it it's kind of driven by other factors and they wanted to make sure that that particular component um was clear also coming from the parent committee were some recommendations to the administrative team moving forward um they're looking to the administrative team to potentially consider a total points GPA calculation as well as another point that was discussed was the GPA formula for junior students specifically so presently we're using a denominator of 120 credits to report to colleges on student a junior students GPA when in review of a number of student transcripts most while it is possible for a junior student to earn 120 credits most students are earning between 110 and 115 credits so they would like just some additional investigation into that to get a set is that truly the most appropriate GPA for junior or denominator I should say of 120 credits to use for junior students when reporting GPA to to colleges from there um there were a total of nine meetings lasting over 6 and 1 half hours um among the administration um teachers counselors as well as students so there are 14 individuals as a part of that committee and that included multiple administrators at the high school guidance counselors teachers um as well as our board student board representatives and to 11th grade students so following that series of meetings which again to be you know completely open with the community was extended beyond our original timeline because we wanted to be sure there was ample time for students to provide their input as well as report back to the superintendent and board committee um that committee has made um some recommendations to the superintendent and subsequently um the board policy committee so after nine meetings eclipsing 6 and a half hours of productful productive and thoughtful discussion the grading scale committee feels comfortable making the following recommendations to the board of education's policy committee and I'm going to read this directly from from their text there are two specific recommendations here one that the board policy committee will be sort of recommending to the full board that that we consider and move move forward with our first recommendation is that the Haden Township High School remain current with our grading scale as this will satisi satisfy the committee's charge of recommending a grading scale that will not jeopardize students chances of admission into college many concerns were raised by the committee that any change to the grading scale could result in colleges reviewing HTS student applications differently thus impacting chances of admission another concern from the committee was that any change to widen the grading scale could be perceived by students teachers and or admissions officers as lowering the school's expectations in terms of rigor and what we value as outstanding and above average any change also brings about logistical concerns regarding what classes are placed on a new grading scale and difficulties that could present to teachers counselors Andor College admissions officers while the committee feels strongly about the above primary recommendation the committee's other charge of providing students with the potential for receiving more Merit money from colleges and universities is not met by the existing grading scale for this reason a potential change to the current grading scale was discussed at length during these conversations the values that we wish to project to all Haden Township School District stakeholders were discussed and included including the ideals of rigor High academic standards fairness and Equity with those ideals guiding our analysis of various grading scale options we would like to recommend a 9-point grading scale as a compromise to our current scale and in just a minute we'll distribute a copy of what this looks like so that there's there's clear Clarity in in that and this is why the recommendation was made by keeping our lowest passing grade at a 65 9ine point grade bands provide an equal distribution of grades a to dat so if you'll recall from previous conversations there was some concern about different grade bands having different values while this does widen the a b and c grade bands to include more grades at each level it still mirrors our current standards of what is outstanding above average Etc to differentiate students within a grade band pluses are in included in each grade band except for the a band the committee believed that minuses appeared to be punitive and that students who achieve a b should receive that full grade we also determined that we could not include an A+ at a grade point value of higher than 4.0 as a is set as our highest standard and I should note that a big part of this recommendation quite transparently was made from our students who said if a students are earning an a presently at a 93 to then give them an A minus at a 93 in this shift was not fair to them so a significant amount of of student input was weighed in in this decision- making process the grade point values for plus was settled on as a 33 increase since each grade band includes nine grade numbers the plus range represents the top third of that band hence an increase of 33 or oneir of a grade point among the seever several grading scales we discussed this scale was also determined to be well organized and easy to read and interpret for those outside of the Hoten Township School District mainly College admissions officers so as a personnel and policy Committee in cooperation with the superintendent we reviewed this recommendation at length on Tuesday evening and this particular grading scale of nine points is what we're recommending with pluses to the full Bo for a consideration as I noted there are several other components of this particular shift that need to consider to um that need to be considered so some of the administrative team charges at at hand moving forward are as follows first the grading scale timeline who does this affect when and how what what's that going to look like second the GPA formula and weighted credits a high school transcript review of both format and content as well as school profile revisions of format and content and then that charges us as a board committee and then subsequently a full board with a number of policy revisions drafts as well as items for review so those include the grading system and subsequent regulation guides reporting of people progress class rank honoring people achievement and high school transcripts so we're going to distribute a a full copy of what this would play for public understanding um but I wanted to make sure that you had a complete report not just of what we reviewed as the committee but the recommendations that came to us from the administrative team with the cooperation of students counselors and teachers as well as as Dr ficaro noted the very gracious support of our parent engagement group who has continued to dialogue with us and and move this work forward can I make a suggestion absolutely after you hand out uh the recommendation I would suggest a 5 minute break let the folks digest it Mr gway is here tonight okay I'd like for him to have an opportunity to just take some questions from the board because uh this got it got close and then um there was a little bit of difficulty deciding there were some decisions that need to be made at the very end so Mr greway is here tonight uh he can elaborate a little bit on the rationale and what transpired you know in terms of to help them land where they landed so 5 minute break I'd like for the board Mr reway and then drive all right folks we're going to go ahead and uh resume here okay K we're just going to open it up for questions to the board to you I you kind of the facilitator these nine meetings um I guess my first question would be just for the board like share kind of how the meetings went and you know just kind of pain a picture for how they were structured and kind of give so uh we met as Ali said I think we met of nine times and when we started our first meeting we really just wanted to present as much information to the committee as we possibly could I know some of the representatives on the committee were aware of a lot of things that were shared at board meetings but some of the members of committee may not necessarily have been so we wanted to make sure that they had any and all information that was ever shared with us um I haven't attended a lot of board meetings but that's my Friday morning ritual is watching every board meeting so I've seen everything and I've heard pretty much every uh everything that's been shared so um all the voices that have spoken at board meetings have been heard and any data and research that was presented or that was done on the administrative side was presented all of that was kind of fleshed out with the committee and and that took a while because there's a lot there was a lot that was presented and a lot that was considered so uh we really just presented information to start um and that was mostly me uh running that part of the meeting is just presing that information and from there we kind of we really tried to turn it over to the teachers students and counselors and let them kind of talk about we we tried to distill down what our values were at had C high school and the head intens school district and how our grading scale and gr grading policies and as Ali said there is a lot more that goes into grading and what's represented with the transcript when ultimately we have to still to still down a student's academic achievement to a number um but we wanted to talk about the values that we wanted to convey in that number in that grading scale in that school profile what do we want to convey to everybody that's inside and outside of having sship high school so that includes obviously admissions offices ad uh workers and employees uh our students our teachers our administrators our counselors our community members we wanted to we we really spent a lot of time just talking about those values and and as Alie said in there that report the values that we kind of distilled down to were I right reading it was uh Equity um fairness was a big uh word that was thrown out what is Fair um academic standards and rigor and through those conversations we talked about what that looks like we we went all over the place in terms of what that looks like in the grading scale we looked at uh eight point scales ninepoint scales 10 point scales we looked at variations of those scales we looked at equal grading bands we looked at unequal grading bands where summer eight sum are 10 we looked at pluses and minuses we looked at the low possible passing grade and potentially changing that and when it came down to it we we heard everybody's voice on the committee and while everybody's voice was heard we we did come up with we we had to refocus on the charges that we were given um when when you spoke at whatever board meeting that was to establish the committee to try to increase students chances at Merit money at universities well without jeopardizing chances of admissions into colleges or universities so when we came up with those two charges we couldn't necessarily find one grading scale that could necessarily meet all those charges there's a lot of uncertainty there there's no way to predict in terms of the the one charge of potentially risking chances of admission there's there's no way to tell how that will impact because we're not in those admissions offices we can't necessarily uh 100% bridge that Gap and pull that curtain back but based on all the data and research that that we've received and that we've listened to um we felt as though the only way to guarantee that is to stay with the grading scale that we have but we we fully understood that there were two charges that we were given and staying there does not satisfy the other charge which was looking for more Merit money so we tried to look at a grading scale that met that charge while still maintaining all those values that everybody in the committee agreed were uh important to us and keeping the failing grade where is I think that that is going to keep our academic profile kind of viewed in the same way was that part of it that was a part of the conversation um one of the pieces of information that we've heard from a lot of Admissions Office is that any change to a profile or particularly to a grading scale can sometimes set off some red flags some hey look now we have to look at this profile differently because the grading scale has changed so when changing the grading scale we wanted to try to find something that was somewhat similar to what we have and the values that we that we have in that scale while also being um not simplistic but clear and and the purpose of it being clear I have a few more questions but Jim and the board have anything to ask so one of the questions that we discussed in our committee and would love some more clarity around was the decision to omit the A+ right to do like so to do like a 96 to 100 or a 97 to 100 can you in your recommendation walk us through a little bit of that yes that was talked about a lot um in the the recommendation that we gave you know we a has always been the standard a is the highest standard and we we talked about in differentiating the a band if we were going to look at that including having an A and then an A+ but to do that we couldn't devalue the a at less than four a is the highest standard so then we'd have to give an extra boost to the grade point for an A+ we're afraid of you know what that would that would look like we weren't really sure what that would look like in classes there there are some classes that kids can achieve very highly on we weren't sure if you know an A plus in one class and an A in another class if that should be differentiated we we thought that if we're going to set the highest standard and which we have had 93 to 100 that 92 to 100 equals that high standard without having to give that extra bump at the very very top um there were a lot of ways we talked about we talked about maybe including an A minus but then we didn't think that was fair to the students that were already at the bottom of that grade that a grade band to then perhaps look at that punitively it's also difficult to say how a student would do in one grading scale versus another grading scale you can overlay that um you know once the grading scale changes you're not really sure going other questions for Kevin sure good good okay um I had two questions uh the first I guess the I understand the argument that you don't want to um change an 93 into an A minus but I guess was there any discussion about like making an A minus just like a 90 to 92 to avoid that situation we talked about all different uh grading policies and Grading scales so that a what you're referring to is a 10 point plus minus where a minus is 90 93 that was brought up well I meant like a 90 to 92 oh sorry sitation um yeah we talked about that um we talked about that in terms of how opening up those bands and how it it it trickles down to the the other bands and and opens everything up we didn't think that quite mirror the the level of riger that we've had up to this point in the scale that's my second question is um since the plus um grade seem to overlap what would be potentially a B+ and an A minus um would consideration be given to um like the grade points maybe a 3.5 instead of like a 3.33 like sort of in the middle of those two consideration absolutely was was given to that that was a a pretty long discussion as we were concluding uh our meetings when we were we felt like we were close to a scale that we felt comfortable recommending um the justification for a three for a B+ being a 3.33 when we looked at that and we did look at plus minus uh GR band uh grading scales as well when you look at a 9-point band uh using the B as an example it's a 9 it's 9 so it could be split into thirds well we thought that the upper third of that grade band and again looking at the B that would be uh me 8990 and 91 because it's the upper third of the grading band we thought that a third Point uh bump if you will for the B+ was appropriate mathematic you have any question I do I'm just trying to digest all it shouldn't be this complicated I mean it's it's one of those things when you look at on the surface it just feels like there's a lot going on I'm going to ask the obvious question first why not just go to the [Music] T just go to the 10 and not have the nine right it just feels like to me else does yeah uh we talked about that it was it was brought up among the committee um several of you know several committee members we looked at that again going back to looking at our internal values and what we what we um you know want to mirror in our students when we we project out that grading scale or that GPA um a lot of the committee members didn't feel like opening up all the way to ATT 10 was addictive or reflective of those guys and we thought it was perhaps too far of an adjustment from our existing I guess I'm just kind of going back and forth with this a little bit like there's some things that make sense and there's some things I just have kind of trying to just frankly have trouble digesting like the the D+ seems kind of like irrelevant to me right like if you have a d having a D+ doesn't feel like it makes that much of a difference um you know because it's at some point in time you got to filter out some of the numbers right so the C+ you just go with an A+ plus and a minus and a B+ and a B minus and go that way and then on that end and then the lower end it becomes just a c and a d i mean I can't I mean the Comm I I don't by no means I'm just we're just I'm just asking the obvious question right so the I'm not taking away from what the committee did I was not privy to any of those conversation I mean I I can't say this confidence but I'm I'm pretty confident a lot of questions that you're thinking were brought up I can't say that all of them were brought up by no means am I smart but um but I can't I mean this I'm I'm just speaking for the the committee in terms of what we were can I ask about the students I know there were students on the committee what what was their feeling when it went to not like 9 versus 10 students were students gave a lot of consideration to a lot of things um but I I just want to say when it comes down to it they one of the ideals that they valued was Rec can I ask another question um have you seen other districts using this grading scale we didn't look at other I mean we have we have looked at other districts but this committee was an internal committee and we didn't think looking at other districts we just looked at the values internally what we value at had Township what what's the the overall benefit of this one right is it do we feel like it puts the students in a better position to get Merit is that the is that so but we're not discounting the the the riger is that why we went to the the the basis of the nine yeah I would say [Music] yes okay last question I have and and this wasn't part of the chart so I you know going down I know that there was conversation about making 93 and a minus 92 and a minus and then starting to+ from there by keeping the 93 as an A and then going down to the 92 to making that an A okay um and we'll talk about weight and I know not for tonight but um that's not going to change the bunching that we have at the top I know that wasn't part of your charge we're probably have more kids now above the 40 than before considering I it's hard to translate but I just wanted to acknowledge that kids have one more point that that was a part of the conversation that came up and that was one of the reasons for including differentiation the grade bands with pluses or pluses and minuses um with the a band in particular like I said that was that was discussed about differentiating the levels to to address that issue but in the end the the committee decided that that wasn't in the student best interest to try to maximize their potential I'll wrap this up before I do do you have any other questions for Kevin on the board I just want to make the folks about there clear this is their this is just us going over this right we are not taking any action right now this is this is literally just our our going through this process is that the first time you're read seeing it if you emailed it to me I did not say it to call this first reading the first it's the first time the Bo's having a chance and it's not even part of the complete policy there's other parts of the policy need to be updated there's there's the formula which I'm going to talk about in a second um we're not there yet there's a lot of things that we're not there yet nine meetings from the Comm got through that recommendation okay you would have had 10 would have been 10 points no but I mean that's part of what we need to highlight too is that like this grading scale is 20% of one policy right so a huge charge of our committee has been not just the grading scale but what is the actual system what are the regulation guides related to that how are we reporting student progress what's the regulation guide related is that in the past regulation guides have only been recommended we don't have regulation guides in place that is not going to be the recommendation of this committee moving forward like there there's a lot of details for us to work through in terms of how are we reporting this to parents how are we reporting this through the school profile through the transcript through other mechanisms to external sources this is step one sure um and this is first reading of step one we're not taking any action on this right now but it it's my responsibility to to share with you where each of the Committees have sort of come up until this point and it's been a short run why thanks for coming out tonight I know you have little kids Kev um there's going to be some public comment on this tonight you can probably watch it tomorrow on YouTube I don't want to hold you um but I will say Kevin um when we met with the parent committee group that we met with didn't seem to be very hung up on where the pluses should go or where the cut scores can be Prime the primary part of that mean dealt with the actual formula you know and so we're going to have to take a look at that that's a huge part of it and that we kept coming up to in the committee yeah but we it would have taken a lot longer time so that we know that that's that's a big component we're going to have to deal with that administratively even if everybody agrees with what's on that paper I know that's not the case um the formula is still something that you know we hav't made much progress on that wasn't part of the committee's charge we're going to have to deal with that uh the near in the near future looking at what this means for the formul how the GPA is calculated uh and the waiting um just so the board just to remind the board typically you know if the students in an AP or honors class they get a grade it typically bumps them up GPA wise one full point with the a not quite as much as you're aware from few month ago um but this is something with the pluses in here that you know there's I will say at least from the parent group there was some concern about the point that fa yeah absolutely and you know our commitment as a committee and and with Dr picaro has been to have all of these components in place for the 2425 school year so looking at the grading scale the GPA calculation the revised School profile looking at the transcript like it it's going to be a busy summer and in those ways but that's that's our commitment that we've discussed internally I think bringing down to a 92 will help those kids achieve the top score and then the top third of that grade gives them that3 G so their GPA will naturally rise which should help Merit which should help Merit so not sure where going but thanks for facilitating and thanks for um I'm not leaving I just have a thing about sitting in the front row thank you Mr okay we are ready I need a motion for 9.2 through 9.29 :3 sorry it's 9:20 no here 9:30 9 okay all right um R call Miss Desi yes Mr Kendall yes Mr LX yes Mr Richie yes resol for re okay so May 16th 2024 resolution while Mr F steals has for the past 39 years dedicated his career to the students of Haden Township and has served is a dedicated professional educator endeavoring to provide the best possible education for our students and while the said Mr steals has able represented the Haden Township Board of Education in his role as an English Department facilitator since 2017 and an English teacher since 1985 now therefore be it further resolved the Haden Township Board of Education recognized the excellent service that has that he has rendered the said board Township of Haden and the said board of Education as well as the service rendered to the many students over the past 39 years in the field of education and that the board of education does sincerely appreciate his efforts in their behalf and also in behalf of all the students in Haden Township and therefore be it further resolve that a copy of this resolution be spread upon the minutes of this meeting and a copy be presented to Mr St right uh section 10 uh I need a motion for 10.1 to 10.10 move it second any questions just the we discussed during work session roll call yes Mr Kendall yes Mr yes yes rman yes yes and then we have um policy 11.2 for second reading that we need to approve so I need a motion for 11.2 so move second roll call yes Mr kend yes yes Mr Rich yes M rman yes M yes we are now at Section 12.1 comments from the members of the public for the Board of Education once again please state your name and we have I'm going to ask that you come to the podium because during the inter Mission we some people don't want to be on camera so when people stand at their seats other people on camera so go to the podium so just the person [Music] [Music] magnetic okay Jennifer Parker 105 Avenue 6 months ago many attended the November board eved meeting in the RMS APR I knew that when Dr car offered the community March or April for grad and skill conversation it would be budget season when you've been around long enough you know that can go sideways I'd like to say to the faculty and staff whose jobs have been put on the line I'm really sorry there's value in each of you the students in the town are better for having crossed your path I would not be here for the grading policies with my kids graduations behind me if I did not believe in what all of you do every day to enrich educate and connect with the students of pden Township I also knew that students have four years to create the best version of themselves on paper I knew that there would be no meaningful change for those who are in the weeds of college search they knew if the district could change their grading scale to pick up the '90s and ' 92s the 84s and 80 84s and if we can get those 70s to read a c we could um instead of D those students they would see good things ahead I tried to explain that the grading formula is a manipulation of numbers rather than averaging and that only the earned AP honors a are adversely impacted there are students who benefit from A's HTS procedures an example a student with 120 credits 105 credits are a from elective and College Prep 15 are from bees honors and AP classes that student comes out in hand Township on a transcript with a 4.0 on a 4.0 scale weighted and unweighted at every other school that 4.0 is an unweighted that student above at any other school is a 3.875 there are schools and applications and programs and scholarships that look for an unweighted grade hide Township is allowing weighted grades to go through they don't explain to the student how to unwe their their gpas because they only give them the one head Township students that have the weight um um 10 Township students that have this weight is 4.8 this lacks Integrity character and ethics this is no fault to any of the students waiting work in concert with grading scale together these policies can lift up a student so they can have the same chances as their peers across the country for precious americ dollars heading townships policies do not work in concert with one another one of their policies has sat idle while the Administration has used a procedural formula manipulating numbers in favor of District policy on the books it was always my understanding that Poli policy proceeds procedure more than a decade of students including my own have unknowingly seen GPA lower than they need be and that's on top of the AO gring scale this fails the students today we look at at 12% Municipal tax rate increase sorry if you haven't seen it in the retrospect plus our 2% cap at this point in time the district needs to take a hard look at their policies and procedures and do what is absolutely necessary for every student in the community Miss Parker that's time thank you respons and this doesn't cut it 269 Avenue um I to just share two facts number one all music teachers in New Jersey including myself are certified K through 12 General music band chorus Orchestra that's the certification two Elementary General music is mandated by the state of reg that's educational law according to the current proposal Haden Township's music program K through 12 will now be reduced from six down to five full-time teachers given the fact that all 41 Elementary General music classes must be taught by law next year what music programs will be cut to allow the remaining staff members to cover those classes it will not be the elementary General music what are we cutting can I have an answer no just [Applause] com M luk 261 Hopkins Road I just getting a quick look at the grade scale proposal so um just two quick comment comments on it so it seems from my point of view that when we're talking about what will happen to the bunching and the banding Etc is very theoretical uh we have data from student transcripts for decades right numbers on them i' ask that we run those to see what it really looks like and how it impacts students right so that's one kind of initial reaction to it the second would be um the red flag comment I know we're not to talk about other school districts I've spoken to administrators at other South Jersey school districts that changed and they said that the red flag issue was a nonissue for them period that there's really not a whole lot to it it had no impact whatsoever on students College admissions changing the scale so I would encourage the administration and the Committees to open dialogue with other schools that have recently changed there's a number of them you know C and Burlington counties um and I think we'll get some some feedback to the home that's [Applause] [Music] it Jerry McCarthy 806 West M AV I'm going to keep it short is my wife text me to told me to behave I just want you to know I'm extremely disappointed we have facts we have research and I don't think you even listen to half of it you seem to have your own agenda now and now I'm aware of that but I encourage you if we're not finished that we sit down again and you actually listen to our data we have facts we have spreadsheets we have data we seem to have more data than you so I'm hoping you listen to us thank you [Music] [Applause] hi I'm son Anderson a retired educator of experienced many's areas I'm a committed that by reference look this is a compromise okay a word which is not invoked these days I think this is a movement forward I compliment the school district Dr vakaro and all have worked on it to see to it that we have a compromise that going work for kids and I encourage you to think about as a compromise and then to pull back let it work and really make sure your kids get the benefit of a Haden education which includes many wonderful electives thank you I just like alau 782 West I would just like to say that that man's comment was completely a waste of his breath in his time um whoa ow that's out of balance listen that's that's not that's not appropriate that's not appropriate at all um all right let me restart then the grading scale you don't even need like data you don't need lo you all you need is log to uh to know that you're comparing one scale to another scale um if we're not on the same scale is 85% of the rest of the other high schools then we're at a disadvantage and they don't read the profile we're very clear with that so I mean that's all I have to say to that that's that's just logic uh second one uh time we're mentioning time as well we ran out of time you guys are talking about like a short Runway but and you guys are going to have to work work through the summer and all that kind of stuff we brought this up in October and we thought we gave you guys enough time to really work on this but it was just kicked down the road for a while we were told that the referendum was just as more important and that we would start this back up in March so the window of time that we have is very short but that's because of your own doing it's ministration is doing it's not ours we tried and we've been doing this for years we've been trying to get this off the ground for years logic if we're not on the same scale as other people in the in other high schools around the country then we are at a [Applause] [Music] [Applause] disadvantage just want to clarify for board when I referen the line short Runway was in reference to the budget us receiving the budget um restoration back Governor signed it earlier this meeting track days govern was that he signed it Monday today's Thursday and it's a short one Runway I still think we have a very lengthy runway in front of us in terms of decisions that need to be made around these policies we don't need to have to scre SC sth till AUST well and to be fair I use the same phrase in in saying in my comments so that's that's certainly a fair comment as far as that's concerned what we need to be aware of is it's not possible for us to put before the board just a scale there are so many other components of this and we've been working through all of the other components that's why I wanted to ensure in the information that was presented to each of you that every policy regulation guide for review for drafting for revision was included and some of these are 8 nine 10 pages long so I've reviewed every single one of these for the entire County as well as what is recommended at the state level and that is what we're working through right now and have been working through as a committee so yes you are correct in saying the runway for the gring scale specifically we have had a fair amount of time to work through that but we cannot present a policy in due diligence to this full board Bo that only includes a scale that is 20% of the text of the policy and the rest of that policy to be fair is in need of appropriate revision and that is our responsibility as a school board so in addition to the scale when we think about the reporting of people progress when we think about the grading system as a whole it is our responsibility not just to present a scale that represents the rec recommendations of the administration the board the parent committee the teachers and counselors but also to recommend a policy that is effective and appropriate for the entire grading system and the reporting of that pupil progress to our students to our families and to admission officers so I I I would love to say like yes this is this is first reading let's move it forward there's so much more here and I want to make sure out of respect to everyone in this room and everyone who has come out over the course of the past several months that it's done correctly not just with the scale but with the other components that are folded into those policies as well as the regulation guides that should appropriately accompany them yes K 1009 Emerald I appreciate the time and energy that the grading scale committee spent working to make change it sounds like the conversation for robust and I appreciate that but my concern is the same I've already brought to this group how can you have a grading scale committee without any access to an incredibly well-informed and knowledgeable group of parents who have looked at this issue from all different angles who have run numbers and researched hundreds of districts who have called colleges College admissions offices and inquired about the number of admissions professionals who are actually available to review their applications and how they found it is not mathematically possible to review all the application submitted these parents have looked at p c of student transcripts and talked to parents losing thousands and thousands of dollars and yet this wealth of knowledge is not made available to the grading scale committee along those same lines please don't refer to our meeting as a parent committee meeting or at least don't refer to me as being on the parent committee because it insinuates that the input you received was shared with the rest of the grading scale committee and it clearly was not I requested formerly that Mike luk be able to present his findings to the committee because I think it would really help inform the decisions that they're making and that never happened the last thing I would like to add is rigor is curriculum and academics a great in scale does not create r [Applause] this is from from the committee of parents that we met with that was not shared we think we shared all the all the information all the feedback from the the parents that we met with was that we would share with correct and as you noted earlier a good portion of the conversation really focused around that GPA calculation and you know we looked at the balance between how we encourage elective participation while also recommending a GPA calculation that was easily understandable to students to admissions officers um we acknowledg that more work and dialogue needed to to happen there around the GPA calculation we talked through some of the challenges with the junior formula as I shared during during my report but to be fair I mean a good portion of of the conversation with that parent group was around the GPA calcul as much or more than the actual grading scale coms hom 782 West bur Avenue without a school staff all that students have is an empty building it is just water without teachers sport staff nurses Librarians and counselors what we have is a building without a pulse Mrs Huff the music teacher who we saw received an award at last month's board meeting for essentially being the best in the country is having her job taken away our daughter who is a fifth grader Advance skyver adores her but it makes no sense to cut her music position millions of dollars million dollars of our money was given willfully willfully to an Administration who simply asked it from us we gave it willingly because we thought it help our students but a new pretty building means nothing without teachers and a certified staff this is tough as a rare and special person we have so few minorities representing the faculty we would like to have our students taught by teachers from different backgrounds races and ethnicities I cannot understand why there isn't a call for a minimal tax increase to fund these teachers and staff for next year next school year neighboring school districts who have had their state funding cut have taken measures to save the jobs of their valued employees Cherry Hill for example on this but then I also cannot fathom why this District does not have a running GPA in high school for students to keep track or why our school does not have a National Honor Society in place for our students or why we have a grading formula no one can explain but except for two people in the district or maybe a parent or two and why do we have and why do we have a grading scale that hurts our students emotionally and financially the retrospect reported today the taxpayers in town and Township will see a 12% tax increase for the town this is in addition to the property re assessment and the money for the referendum help us out the grading scale is free to change it will save us a lot of money with college tuition we are not getting what we need from the school what we need is a partnership between parents and administration let's make our schools better we can do it and we deserve better [Applause] I've lived in h Township my entire life I went to school here I worked here from 2003 to 2020 and now my husband and I are raising our two BO here I've never been more disappointed and frustrated with the leadership in hand Township for a variety of reasons this is not the example of decision making and Leadership I want for my children and I'm very concerned about the future of hen Township Schools parents are disenfranchised and staff morale is incredibly low I keep hearing things I keep hearing it's just different Lauren things have changed when I said at a previous board meeting relationships matter I meant it I've emailed and emphasize a district Equity committee meetings that relationships matter I won't stop believing that at the core of all of this the relationships we Foster and nurer with one another are at the center but the lack of transparency and the tone of secrecy has to end with th trusting relationships we will continue to suffer I began getting more involved as a parent this year when it was brought to my attention that our 8po grading scale in GPA formula are unethical and deceptive students and families have lost money due to the inability to secure Merit Aid and the financial burden on students continue to sore I wanted to learn more come together as a community and make positive changes for students this is yet to happen our Administration has intentionally kept parents away from the decision-making process of revising the current grading scale and the internal committee is biased for a variety of reasons I'm pleased to hear that the media specialist Position will not be eliminated however your description of the position sounds somewhat different than what is currently occurring and to Echo the thoughts of many and feelings of others that this position needs to be full-time and frankly we need more school librarians and media Specialists I also saw on today's agenda policy 2260 equity in school and classroom practices the choice to change the language from gender to sex is problematic using the term gender is more nuanced and changing it to sex exclud excludes marginalized students This concerns me for his concerns me for our students who do not identify within the binary I solve comprehensive Equity policy states was up and this is for the second reading an assessment of the School's district needs for achieving equity and educational activities and programs the assessment shall include Staffing practices and yet here we are as Mr Huff so clearly explained to us again we have a lot of work to do to repair H in Township culture and climate and keeping our media specialist maintaining our St our staff and changing this grading policy will help get us [Applause] thank you may I comment on policy 22 yes so the recommended changes for first reading related to policy 226 are mandated recommendations in accordance used with the language in New Jersey state statute so you will notice that one section of the policy intentionally uses the term sex another section of the policy intentionally uses the term gender that's certainly something that we can take under advisement but that is aligned with mandated requirements for us under New Jersey state statute we didn't change it we didn't change it if it's mandated we just need to seek legal [Music] councel any other comments no I just want to get we didn't change it from one to another correct so all of the changes that were on for first reading this evening were St changes that were mandated changes from the state level in order to be aligned with State Statute thank you based on the language that's included in their particular policies thank you