##VIDEO ID:P49CUaMuThw## e e e e e e like to call this meeting to order the New Jersey of public meetings law was enacted to ensure the right of the public to have advanced notice of and to attend any meetings of public bodies at which their interests may be discussed or acted upon in accordance with the provisions of this act the hington board of education has caused notice of this meeting to be published by having the date time purpose and placed thereof published in The hton Gazette and the press for Atlantic City and posted on premises please stand for the flag Sal to flag United States of America the stand nais the results of the 2024 school election are as follows Kelly Donia 3,718 votes Shan McLoud 3588 votes Christine Scola 4,284 votes and Luke Kya 3,669 votes um we will now have our Oaths of office swearing in Coya will be the honorable Michael donio good evening everyone and happy New Year um it's a pleasure for me to be here and uh thank all of you for what you do for behalf of the students and the people in the town I want to thank Mr U Ramsey congratulate him on his um becoming your superintendent I think it's always great when you promote somebody from within and somebody who knows the culture knows the town knows the people and uh expect great things from him and uh all of you that put your time in every year uh on behalf of me my family and the people we thank you for the time and effort that you put in I'm happy to be here tonight to swear in Luke cya um I follow what goes on here at the board it seems to me that he's a worker seems to me that he goes beyond just going to meetings and things of that nature seems to me that he was heavily involved in your new addition that just got finished and lending his expertise to that and for that he should be congratulated and I'm happy and uh proud to be able to swear him in tonight put your left hand on the Bott raise your right hand I Lya i l swear do solemnly swear that I will support the Constitution of the United States that I will support the Constitution of the United States and the constitution of the state of New Jersey and the constitution of the state of New Jersey and that I will bear true faith and Allegiance and that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same to the same and to the governments established and to the governments established in the united states in the United States and in this state and in this state under the authority of the people under the authority of the people people so help me God so help me God I lukya I luk Kya do solemnly swear do solemnly swear that I possess the qualifications that I possess the qualifications described by law described by law for the office of member for the office of member of a board of education of a board of education and I am not disqualified and I am not disqualified as a voter as a voter pursuant to law pursuant to law nor disqualified nor disqualified to conviction of crime to conviction of crime or offenses listed by Statute or offenses lifted listed by Statute and that I will faithfully and that I will faithfully impartially impartially and justly and justly perform all of the duties perform all of the duties of that office of that office according to the best of my ability according to the best of my ability so help me God so help me God [Applause] thank you next we will have Mrs Kelly donio being warn in by The Honorable Nelson Johnson good evening everyone schools schools schools we have three of them in this community and to my way of thinking they are the most important buildings in the town uh the elementary school was built when I was on the school board this school was built after a whole lot of effort by a whole lot of people Bob capair and Will's father reached out to me and asked me to chair the committee to get it approved we busted our hump and I don't know how many of you remember this we won by 23 votes if 12 people had changed their mind we would be in this building that's how elections work sometimes so I'm delighted to be here Kelly mother entrepreneur School Board member you juggle a lot of balls well I'm very proud to be here to minister the o to you and again uh all the new members I wish you well there's only one new member right the only thing I can guarantee you is that you'll get an education I I konio I konio do solemnly swear do solemnly swear that I will support the Constitution of the United States that I will support the Constitution of the United States and the constitution of the state of New Jersey and the constitution of the state of New Jersey and that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same and I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same and to the government established and to the government established in the united states in the United States and the state of New Jersey and the state of New Jersey under the authority of the people under the authority of the people so help me God so help me God I I konio konio do solemnly swear do solemnly swear that I possess the qualifications that I that I possess the qualifications prescribed by law prescribed by law for the office of for the office of of education Board of Education and that I am not disqualified and that I am not disqualified as a voter as a voter pursuant to New Jersey Law pursuant to New Jersey Law nor disqualified due to any conviction nor disqualified due to any conviction I know that of a of a crime or offense of a crime or an offense listed under New Jersey Law listed under New Jersey Law and that I will faithfully and that I will faithfully and partially and partially and justly perform and justly perform perform all the duties all the duties of the office of the office of the Hamilton Board of Education of the Hamilton Board of Education to the best of my ability to the best of my ability so help me God so help me God congratulations thank youel [Applause] thank you thank you thank you and next we will have Mrs Christine Scola being sworn in by mayor Greg wolf good evening everyone uh first thank you for having us here this evening and uh I'm not from Hamilton I'm the mayor of mon Township uh where this young lady Mr Christine skull works and I can tell you uh I followed the election here in Hamington uh we were excited about it because we know at the end of the day Miss SCA is a loyal person who is very dedicated and committed to her community as well as our community in monor Township and she will do great things uh with this school district and on his school board so with that I am honored and privileged to be here this I stay your name chistine schol do solemnly swear or affirm do solemnly swear or affirm that I will support the Constitution that I will support the Constitution of the United States of the United States and the Constitution and the constitution of the state of New Jersey of the state of New Jersey and I will bear true faith and I will bear true faith and allegiance to the Saint and allegiance to the Saint and to the government's established and to the governments established in the united states in the United States and in this state and in this state to the best of my abill to the best of my ability so help me go so help me go I state your name I Christine scol do solemnly swear or affirm do solemnly swear or affirm that I possess the qualifications that I possess the qualifications prescribed by law prescribed by law for the office for the office of member of Board of Education of member of Board of Education and I am not disqualified and I am not disqualified as a voter as a voter pursuant to pursuant to nor disqualified nor disqualified due to conviction of a crime due to conviction of a crime or offense or offense listed in the statute listed in the stat and I will faithfully and I will faithfully impartially impartially and justly and justly perform all the duties perform all of the duties of that office of that office according to the best of my ability according to the best of my ability so help me God so help me [Applause] God you hold on hold on hold on hold on hold on go back hold on one more and lastly we will have Mrs row Hunter being sworn in by our board solicitor William doniel make sure I bring it U good evening everyone if I have to say good evening to you good evening to you uh good evening to everyone out there normally when the lawyer for the board is speaking at a meeting it's not going well for the board however the exception is when I get to do this every year for all the districts that I represent dozens of districts throughout the state of New Jersey it's wear in members uh it is I can attest throughout the state it is a tireless often thankless job where you are generally working for our most important resource our children so I thank the board members in attendance I thank the people who run uh it's important in our participatory democracy to have valid elections that are overseen and of in which people seek to do the best they can for their community so without further Ado would you please put your left hand on the Bible right hand I st your name i r Hunter do solemnly swear do solemnly swear that I will support that I will support the Constitution the Constitution of the United States of the United States and the Constitution and the constitution of the state of New Jersey of the state of New Jersey and that I will bear and that I will bear true faith and Allegiance true faith and allegiance to the same to the same and to the governments and to the government established in established the United States the United States and this state and this state under the authority of the people under the authority of the people so help me God so help me God I state your name i r Hunter do solemnly swear do solemnly swear that I possess that I possess the qualifications the qualifications prescribed by law prescribed by law for the office of for the office of member of a board of education member of a board of education and that I am not disqualified and that I am not disqualified as a voter as a voter pursuant to law pursue to law nor disqualified nor disqualified due to conviction due to conviction of a crime or offense of a crime or offense listed statute listed in statute and that I will faithfully and that I will faithfully and partially and partially and justly perform and justly perform all the duties of that office all the duties of that office according to the best of my ability according to the best of my ability a God God congratulations thank [Music] [Applause] you thank you okay roll call Mrs bernado here Mrs Burns here Mr qua here Mrs Donia here Mrs Fallon here Mr fala is absent Mrs Hunter here Mr Lions here Mr paa here Mr chipon here Mrs Scola here and Mr Thomas is absent okay um we will now vote for prman before we begin I'd like to make a statement to the to put into the record good evening I would like to begin by expressing my gratitude for the opportunity to serve alongside my fellow board members and advocate for students families and staff of our district however I must voice my deep disappointment with the current leadership of this board as board members we are held to the highest standards of Integrity transparency and respect for the Democratic process unfortunately I believe the actions and decisions of our board's leadership have been under have undermined these principles first both the President and Vice President of this board are conflicted due to having relatives who work in the district while this is not a violation of policy it raises valid concerns about impartiality and the perception of fairness leadership should be neutral and prioritize the interests of all students and staff when I brought this up in the beginning of the year and the information about the New Jersey ethics opinion last year you all ignored me additionally we continue to receive meeting agenda gas late and addendums are often provided the day of the meeting the practice is not only unprofessional but it makes it extremely difficult for the board members to adequately prepare and make informed decisions the finance committee which is crucial to our District's Financial Health meets just one hour before our board meetings this leaves no time for board meetings to review for the board to review the minutes or to discuss the committee's recommendations meaningfully this rushed approach is irresponsible and it creates mistrust in our processes I also really wonder if they want to hear from the public last month my son Matthew donio a junior at Hamilton High School came to speak during the public portion of the December meeting rather than being welcomed and respected for sharing his concerns about a potential schedule change when Matthew walked up to the podium Mr Lions turned to Mr Coya and said said we've got a Heckler this statement was not only unwarranted but deeply disturbing students should feel empowered to engage with their school board not discouraged or disrespected we welcome student input in fact at the same meeting our student representative was never informed about the change in the meeting time as Leaders Mr Coya and Mr Lions I challenge you to do better in the past few months I've had many people in the community complain about things happening in our schools and I know I am not alone to those individuals I will tell you that I will continue to do my best to follow policy and to do the right things for our students what is perhaps most upsetting is the continued support by my fellow board members they that they give to this leadership by remaining silent or complicit they allow these issues to persist and fail to uphold the accountability and the Integrity that our community expects and deserves we teach our students in school to do the right thing no matter how hard it is I voed concerns several times over the over the last year and nothing changes and in the new year I will continue to stand up and voice my concerns we are here to serve the community and I urge my fellow board members to reflect on these concerns and work collaboratively to resolve the to restore the trust and integrity that our roles demand our students and our community deserve nothing less so with that being said I'd like to make a motion uh to nominate Mr John Lions as president of the Board of Education I'll second that are there any other nominations motion to close Mrs berado yes Mrs Burns yes Mr Coya yes Mrs donio no Mrs Fallon yes yes Mrs Hunter yes Mr Lions yes Mr plea absolutely Mr shipon yes Mrs skola yes Mr Li [Applause] we'll now have nominations for the office of Vice President I nominate Mr luk Co I'll second it any other nominations take a motion to close nominations second roll call Mrs bernado yes Mrs Burns I agree that there should not be two conflicted members as leaders and for that reason I vote no Mr COA yes Mrs donio no Mrs Fallon yes Mrs Hunter yes Mr Pia yes Mr chipon yes Mrs Scola yes Mr Li yes wish [Applause] car this is the first of two opportunities for the public to be heard at this meeting if you'd like to address the board on any of the action items on the agenda you can go ahead and come up to the podium state your name and address there will be a second opportunity at the end of the meeting see no one in the public I'll close the first public comment move into the action items on the agenda tonight we have action items number one through seven I'll take a motion on items one through seven so second Mr Pia first Mr ship second if I could just be heard on uh number three the school board member code of ethics of board members as part of the recitation am minutes that has to be uh Incorporated that you have reviewed those we would ask that you sign off them review them U please do your training as required I would suggest to you the buing rule in public school education for board members is you do not run the schools you Ur your R follow that you will uh be able to comply with this code of ethics clearly if you have any questions on any action you cance counsel's uh assistance or advis from the school ethics commission question oh and also get your financial disclosure forms in there that's that's the other biggest thing that um I am also a well-known fit member for many many years um if a member of my family wants to be on the substitute list is that a conflict because it's not a fulltime position and it's only part time uh well I don't have it in front of me I think your nepotism policy allows a family M to be act as a substitute I will go check that to confirm but my anticipation is that that will be allowed okay thank you welome m berado yes Mrs Burns yes Mr Coya yes Mrs donio yes oh I want to yes I want to recuse on number one just I know that there's no conflict but with the perception of us having the same last name and technically being related through marriage I don't want to vote for or against it Mrs palon yes Mrs Hunter yes Mr Pia yes Mr Shion yes Mrs Scola yes and Mr L yes motion carries next we go to person L item number eight motion first Mr P second question Mrs bernado yes Mrs Burns yes Mr Coya yes Mrs donio yes Mrs Fallon yes Mrs Hunter yes Mr paa yes Mr chapion yes Mrs Scola yes Mr Lions yes motion carried that takes us to the end of the published agenda um as far as board committee assignments and board committee reports we have another board meeting in just two short weeks so we'll get work on assigning board committees as quickly as we can so keep an eye on your board member email for that certainly anyone most of us have been here Mrs Skol is new so we'll talk about that but uh if anyone's interested in doing something different certainly reach out we can talk through that and figure out how way to accommodate everyone so they can be engaged in the way that they see fit um Mr do you have any comments from or I don't I'd just like to congratulate uh the board members just sworn into office I look forward to working with each and every one of you and providing the best uh possible education for the students in this community uh I know from working with you guys the students in hington and Waterford and fome deserve nothing El so congratulations happy New Year and I look forward to working with you in the thank you uh we do board member reports just go comments to make obviously we're do we're going to meet again in two weeks and get back to the regular program I'll start to my left with Mrs Burns I'd like to welcome Christine um so I'm new here um and I just wanted to um tell you that I was deeply honored to sit here today um and be a new member on this school board uh first and foremost I wanted to express my sincere gratitude to each and every one of you that put your trust in me I appreciate it um I'm committed to transparency accountability uh open communication um throughout my tenure here on the board I look forward to working with the dedicated staff The Faculty members the support staff the administrators um your tireless efforts uh are the backbone of the school district uh to the parents of the Community member community and the community members um you have a voice and I promise you together that that voice will be heard um to my fellow board members your dedication here and your um willingness to put our students first has been truly inspiring and I appreciate it and I look forward to working with all of you um swearing me in tonight um my longterm my long friend um and now my also my boss um mayor Greg wolf um I appreciate you taking time out of your day uh to be a part of mine I appreciate that um last and and most special uh a thank you to my family as I see you guys all sit here tonight I appreciate it um it's humbling um to my husband John and my son enio I love you both thank you for always supporting me um and once again thank you all for believing in me and um I can't wait to get started but I have no report tonight thank you report just a happy New Year and congratulations and welcome to Mrs scha looking forward to working with you just happy New Year everyone and congratulations to our board members and City board members and looking forward to a great year yes uh thank you Mr Lions I'm also truly humbled and grateful for uh being reelected again to the board of education for another three-year term I'd like to also thank thank you to all the voters the supporters my family whove put their trust in me yet once again I remain committed to serving our students staff in our schools together we will keep moving forward to ensure the best possible future for education in hamton and finally I'd like to wish everybody a happy and healthy New Year right split thank you no real report tonight I we have a lot of interesting things happening and we had a great 24 and 25 we're hitting the ground with an addition on to our ECC second floor and other exciting projects so I look forward to serve with the entire board welcome the new members and the returning members and let's hit the ground running uh thank you for having me back happy to be back for another year looking forward to working with everyone again and working with you now as well to miss thank you no report I just want to congratulate Mrs skola and uh every everyone who won this year I want to wish coach Lanetta good luck and happy New Year to everyone and that's my report just thank you for uh supporting me and voting me back into office thank you to my awesome family for also supporting and encouraging me and sticking by me and I look forward to a successful productive year and I look forward to working you with with you Christine as well all right uh I'll Echo the board's thanks certainly thank you to all the board members who choose to volunteer to serve the community and the students and the staff here and thank you to all your families for you know allowing you to spend your time here with us it is a lot of meetings and a lot of work and if you put the appropriate amount of time in as a Schoolboard member you're away from your family family a lot we all know that so it shouldn't go unacknowledged um I'm looking forward to having a great 2025 I think we got a lot of really good work done last year we are a board of action I talked about that at our last January meeting uh we're going to keep that Tempo and momentum going and we've got a lot to do there's a lot of projects the board will collaborate on what I believe to be an ambitious agenda to get a lot of things done I know Mr Ramsey's got from the staff have lots of plans for us to consider lots of options and things that they want to expand so very excited about all that definitely looking forward to all the possibilities to keep all the momentum going here um this brings us to the second portion of public comment meeting so anybody in the public wishing to be heard I come on up to the microphone give us your name and address and you can have a few minutes with us well well my address is I live in Franklinville so we don't have to worry about that first off I want to thank the uh Mr Ramsay I want to thank the board of education for this opportunity in 1989 uh the the Dr Benedetto School Board hired a 20 6y old assistant coach and had no head coaching experience and I think that turned out pretty good for the for the school um that's my brother Pete um and now I thank Mr Ramsey uh for taking a chance and the school board for taking a chance on someone that's going to be 60 years old in in March but uh also I want to thank Mr matina I want to especially thank Chris Sako uh when when we met with with the interview process he did a great job he was very thorough uh his vision match my vision um and I think my my vision matches everyone in this room so I'm excited to hit the ground running and um you know and raise good young men here that that the school board our school is proud of and that their fames proud of thank you very much looking forward to getting started thank you thank you thank you [Applause] for okay I see no one additional for the public portion I'll entertain a motion to adjourn mov first second second all in favor meeting a Jour thank you everyone