[Music] good evening thank you for bearing with us as we work through a brief technical difficulty we're just going to give Mr mcau a minute to get back upst okay you're rolling great good evening and thank you you for your patience we're going to get started welcome to the May 2024 Hoboken Board of Education meeting thank you all for being here if you are joining us this evening to speak on agenda or non-agenda items please use the signup sheets located at the podium in front of me miss good can you please read the statement of compliance yes this meeting is being held in Conformity to the open public meetings Act njsa 10 colum 4-6 proper public notice of the meeting was published in the local papers on January 5 2024 which was the annual notice and April 2024 if any vo member or member of the Publican attendant believe that this meeting is in violation of the open Public's meeting act the hoken Board of Education requests that they make a statement at this time the board wishes to make those in attendance aware that this meeting is being recorded on video and will be broadcast by the board at a later date on CA TV channel 77 and files channel 46 the full meeting reporting will also be made available on board docs which can be accessed to the district homepage the Hoboken board of education is committed to preserving the deor of the public process and is mindful that we live in electronic age of computers cell phones and other electronic communication devices nevertheless we request we respectfully request that all meeting participants kindly silence their electronic devices during the course of the meeting and if use of the device is necessary we ask that you please leave the meeting room if you need to conduct personal business thank you Miss K please rise rise for the Pledge of Allegiance I pledge alance to the flag of the United States of America and to the Republic for which it stands one nation under God indivisible with liberty and justice for all M good would you please call the rooll Miss Angley here miss katamori here miss Dela Mr delator here Mr Grana here miss Conor here Mr kutle here miss Norwood here miss mcer here you have a quarm thank you Miss good we're going to begin our meeting this evening with student recognitions for the month of April student achievement is at the heart of every decision that is made here in the Hoboken Public School District and we're so grateful to have each one of you here this evening I know there are some families in attendance with young children who may be getting close to bedtime at the end of their recognition or perhaps they've been up late because they've been rehearsing for Harry Potter so please feel free to depart at the end of your students recognition or at the end of the recognitions or whenever you need to because we're going to move straight through with our meeting this evening so to kick off our with to kick off the recognitions I'm going to turn the podium over to assistant superintendent Sandra Rodriguez Gomez good evening May is an incredibly busy month but I want to begin by celebrating and acknowledging both the Jewish American and the Asian-American native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander communities as we honor their profound contributions to our great country in addition to celebrating these cultures I would like to acknowledge the efforts of our students in grades 3 through 12 as they are currently in week two of njsla State Testing they have been so focused and we are confident that they will share the best of themselves I am delighted to bring greetings to all in attendance and a warm welcome to the members of our Board of Education superintendent Dr Johnson administrators faculty community members student and their students and their special guests of course their families in a few minutes I will be introducing our talented principles and they will take the podium to share detailed information and wonderful anecdotes about the students being honored here this evening today we acknowledge and celebrate the hard work of our students who are being celebrated as students of the month for the month of April you will hear about unrelenting effort and Powerful results these students were driven to succeed and their efforts have certainly paid off we are so proud of each of you and can't wait to hear about your current academic journey and your plans for your future this month a small shift we will begin with Connor's Elementary and its vice principal Mr Hamlin as I understand that Dad has a flight to catch uh Mr Hamlin will then call the Joseph F Brandt principal Mr Bartlett to the podium and he will follow the same pattern introducing our next presenters supervisor Hernandez principal sorine and principal Pika pitra of Wallace Hoboken middle and Hoboken High School each will celebrate their school's selection and absolutely pause for a picture opportunity again thank you for being with us this evening and with that I would ask vice principal Hamlin to join me at the stage at the [Applause] podium at this time I'd like to call up Briel Frank the Conor April student of the month all right congratulations to Briel Frank a third grader in Miss Hall's Home Room class at Conor's Elementary School Miss Hall shared that Belle has grown tremendously this year both personally and academically as we've been preparing for the njsla Briel has demonstrated great growth and zest when writing descriptive expository essays and creative Nar narrative essays Belle is someone who shows effort each night on her night rights challenging herself by adding extra detail and reasoning when explaining and elaborating Brielle is a devoted reader sneaking in a second to read at any chance she gets she loves mythical fantasy stories one of her favorite authors is Harriet mooncaster she also loves the babysitters club collection and the Diary of a Wimpy Kid series Belle has been Stead fast in her math fact fluency development becoming a masterful multiplier and divider her effort has been and continues to be honored and celebrated she has earned the qualified effort award at one of our marking period pepper rallies this year Belle has earned honor rooll recognition each marking period throughout this school year outside of school Briel has developed a love for the Arts she has a passion for musical theater one of her proudest moments was auditioning for The Sound of Music last year and being cast as Marta this year she has a part in hoboken's production of Harry Potter and the cursed child opening tomorrow night come out and see Brielle Belle shares I like to act and sing and dance because it really expresses your emotions and feelings I like to express them because I'm a big person with big emotions Belle dreams of being an actor or a choreographer one day she would also love to be an author Brielle added I would probably use the same publisher as my dad because he's an author too Belle is in the process of writing her own play today principal Addie had a chance to chat with Brielle for a little bit regarding her being awarded student of the month Belle shared that when she first found out she was awarded the student of the month for all of third grade at Connor's she was so surprised and excited and she started hugging all of her friends after the pep rally she saw her picture showcased on the display at Connor's and was so excited to tell both of her parents and celebrate over Pizza when she got home Belle shared that she feels like she was nominated because she shows tremendous effort during math class and is continuing to approve on her writing tasks Belle Belle's parents shared the news of Brielle being awarded student of the month was so wonderfully received they're so proud of Belle's effort eort and growth in school Belle not only shines academically but she's an incredibly caring friend classmate and student she has tremendous empathy well beyond her years she's also a wonderful role model to her 5-year-old sister Julia and her 2 and 1/2-year-old brother Dylan she's considerate and thoughtful with her grandparents and her cousins Belle with your passion work ethic positive energy and drive you're capable of achieving anything you set your mind to your classmates parents siblings grandparents Miss Hall principal Addie and I are all proud of all that you have accomplished so far this year and all that is yet to come you are so deserving the student of month award for third grade for all of Connors and for our entire school please join me in congratulating Belle Frank the cter student of the B [Applause] my da is a I'd now like to introduce the principal of Brant Elementary School Mr [Applause] Bartlett good evening Dr Johnson Mrs Rodriguez Gomez and members of the board and our community members and our guests at this time I would like to ask Douglas Celli to join me at the podium [Applause] congratulations to Douglas grelli the Joseph F Brandt student of the month for April 2024 douge was nominated by his fifth grade teacher Miss doer he was nominated because of his contagious positivity helpfulness in the classroom and kindness to everyone Doug is a DED is dedicated to his work completes assignments on time and shows determination when faced with difficult challenges m Miss doler said douge is a student of many incredible talents his impressive skill set and notable work ethic will undoubtedly lead him to success in the future I'm very lucky to have a student like him in my class recognizing douge here tonight is especially awesome for me coming to the end of year number six as the branch School principal that means that douge is one of the students who has been along with me for the entire ride since he was a kindergartener I've had the distinct privilege of watching him mature into a capable confident young person who will without a doubt use his gifts and talents to the benefit of those around him as he continues on his academic Journey Doug's previous accomplishments include winning the kindness award earning the spot on the academic honor role including the principal award for Straight A's on his report card earning the music award and the Mandarin Ward at our most recent academic pep rallies this past March douge placed first on the parallel bars for his level at the New Jersey state gymnastics meet helping his team earn second place all around douge is an AS to the school and to the student body because he acts as a role model to children in all grades and subjects he consistently shows respect to the entire prank community and always knows how to put a smile on the faces of his teachers and peers Doug's favorite hobbies are cooking baking and potery he enjoys the subjects math music and social studies he does gymnastics and is always a fun student in class he wants to go to Ruckers for college and he'll quote figure it out when it comes to his career there's nothing wrong with taking your time Doug said I've been waiting a long time for this award and I feel honored please know that we've been honored to have you as a student at Brand the entire time you've been with us Doug and this award is simply a manifestation of what your teachers and I have known all along you are bound for great things please join me in congratulating Douglas Catelli the brand student of the month for April 2024 at this time I'd like to welcome to the podium supervisor of special services from Wallace Elementary School Miss Jennifer Hernandez hello and good evening we are here tonight to celebrate Derek [Applause] berer Derek was nominated by his fifth grade teacher at Wallace School Mr stanic Derek stands out as an exceptional role model in the classroom earning the admiration of his peers with his unwavering commitment and enthusiasm his active engagement in classwork showcases his dedication while always going the extra mile in completing assignments and homework Derek thrives on challenges especially in mathematics consistently striving for academic Excellence Derek's participation in class discussions is both enthusiastic and insightful reflecting his eagerness to learn and contribute Derek interacts with his classmates and teachers with remarkable politeness kindness and respect creating a positive and inclusive learning environment beyond the classroom Derek demonstrates empathy and Leadership by readily assisting classmates in need in the school Community his compassionate nature and willingness to help others are truly commendable outside of school Derek is passionate about lacrosse basketball and other sports Derek's enthusiasm for athletics extends to his favorite subject math where he enjoys applying analytical skills similar to those needed in sports when it comes to reading Coraline stood out as Derek's favorite novel looking ahead Derek has ambitious plans for his academic future he aspires to attend either ruter North Carolina or Syracuse for college where he hopes to continue his Lacrosse Journey while pursuing his education Derek sees lacrosse not just as a sport but as a potential career path aligning with his quote never give up on what you you are working for this motto motto encapsulates Derek's determination and drive guiding him in both his academic Pursuits and athletic Endeavors let's hear it for Derek our April student of the month next I would like to welcome principal sorine of the Hoboken Middle School to the [Applause] podium thank you good evening everyone at this time I would like to welcome to the podium hobok Middle School student of the month for April MAA Gregory [Music] our seventh grade team nominated mea for her exceptional contributions and positive impact on our school Community Miss rosm commends mea's commitment to Excellence consistently achieving an A&A and ranking among the top students on Class Dojo her willingness to help others and her role model as a positive influence make her a valued member of our school Mr English e these sentiments highlighting mea's supportive nature and encouragement of her peers to to stay focused and do their best her academic prowess reflects her dedication and positive approach to learning recently she won first place in the seventh grade Hudson County law Day poetry contest maer's poem was selected out of hundreds of submissions across H Hudson County in math class Miss Pia describes mea as optimistic open-minded and always striving for improvement while offering support to her classmates her kindness and helpfulness are evident to everyone mea has also been selected to be the Hoboken Middle School Ambassador for our incoming sixth graders her leadership ability makes her a perfect candidate to guide our future hobok Middle School Tigers as they enter middle school and Beyond mea's friend Stephan shares that she was the first person who gave who gave him a chance as a friend when he first moved to Hoboken she's a great friend and he has no words for the things she has done for for him during the transition to new school she is the reason why I auditioned for the Harry Potter and the cursed child I can't wait to perform with MAA this weekend maa's involvement in extracurricular activities like the National Junior Honor Society and the Hoboken Public Schools theater Department further demonstrates her dedication and versatility Mr Mr Benson expresses his pride in mea's commitment to theater and leadership in the junior thespian after school program Mr B is so proud of mea she is so dedicated to her craft as a thespian she often takes on leadership roles in the junior thespian after school program by Leading warm-up activities her enthusiasm for theater is unbridled she works extremely well with her peers in creating original performances in the classroom setting setting she sets a great example of what is to be expected she was always kind and positive mea is so deserving of this recognition when asked mea shared that she was shocked because she did not expect this recognition she also expressed that it is an honor and it made her very happy and it really just made her day in her Spare Time mea likes to horseback ride play tennis and hang out with her friends mea aspires to be an actress in the future and hopes to one day be on the big screen the sky a limit mea I look forward to seeing you one day on the red carpet mea you are an invaluable asset to our school community and I am delighted to recognize you as our student of the month please join me in a round of applause for ail the [Applause] at this time I would like to welcome up the principal of Hoboken High School Miss Robin p p good evening everyone at this time I'd like to introduce and call up to the podium yelin Dominguez Hoboken High School's [Applause] a disappear for a second I knew I saw okay YN Dominguez is a young woman who brings positive energy to our school Community every day she takes pride in her learning and her ability to help build a positive environment she asks insightful questions of her teachers and peers driving discussion and deepening understanding yelin is a hardworking student who is dedicated to doing well she actively participates in class asking and answering questions she isn't afraid to try new things and she Embraces failure as the learning opportunity Mr Terry shared that she is one of the most dedicated students in the 11th grade yelin was one of 50 students selected for the seeds College Scholars Program from a rigorous pool of over 400 applicants throughout New Jersey this 17 17mon academic program is designed to help top performing students prepare for college in addition to excelling in her schoolwork and helping out at home yelin works after school at a children's center she loves working with young children and hopes to study early childhood education in college when she graduate graduates from Hoboken High School y yelin challenges herself academically with over a 4.0 GPA she balances her time and her schedule well ensuring she's able to maintain her academics with co-curricular activities as well as her after school job today I watched her take the AP language and composition exam and she was focused and doing fabulous how was was it it was good it was good I think Mr Huggins prepared them well I asked yelin um to share some thoughts about her High School experience and future aspirations what's her best experience in high school joining the soccer team as it drove me to be more confident and take care of myself physically what drives her and she said knowing my responsibilities and understanding that I have to get up and do what I need to do regardless of how I feel aspirations impacting young lives I want to travel the world and expose myself to New Perspectives and cultures my dream college would be anywhere that allows me to go for free and that is very good smart girl very smart girl she enjoys running exercising reading and listening to music her her closest friends and I know yasen since they were freshman walking in together and serenity her friends would describe her as someone who is fiercely independent but always there when they need advice F favorite co-curricular activities running playing soccer and working with young kids Future Vision in 5 years I see myself in a state of learning I see myself traveling and discovering what I want to do and achieve in the years to come making the most of every opportunity Yin your dedication your positivity and drive make you an exemplary student and a deserving recipient of student of the month [Applause] [Music] [Applause] congratulations and I'll give you congratulations to all the students who were recognized this evening we are so proud of you next we are going to hear from our Student Government Representatives uh we'll hear from a representative on behalf of both Hoboken middle and Hoboken High School I would like to welcome the Hoboken Middle School representative Nishan Bala Mr Bala would you please join us at the podium for your report my God [Applause] good evening good evening Dr Johnson Miss Rodriguez Gomez hoken Board of Education and all others in attendance tonight my name is Nan Bala and I am an eighth grade student at Hoboken Middle School it is a privilege to stand before you this evening to represent Hoboken middle school and share the exciting events and programs from this spring I would first like to highlight our grade level field trip sixth grade students visited the Metro poan Museum of Art seventh grade students visited the Modern Museum of Art eighth grade students visited grounds for sculptures all trips provide students with opportunity to explore different types of incredible artworks and cultures it has also been a successful year for Hoboken Middle School steam tank 31 HMS team Tank teams advance to the semi-final round which is the most in Hoboken Middle School history a special congratulation goes to one of our seventh grade teams who made it to the finals Christopher Christopher Melly Elliot kazel will be competing at the end of this month with their project title startup therapy AI on May 3rd Hoboken middle school held its second annual Tigers God Talent assembly for students and staff this assembly provides students with the opportunity to not only showcase their talents but for us to come together as a whole school and recognize our academic achievements as well Mr Sing addressed it students in a motivational speech highlighting the significance of being a tiger and what it looks like to come come together as a community HMS students and staff Ms took their talents to Stage by jamming to Metallica singing their hearts out and playing the piano Mr sine rers with his jump rope skills two h m sure bursting with Talent speaking of talented tigers please join me in congratulating the Hoboken Middle School cast of Disney Descendants the musical for the foxy nominations Monclair State University foxy theaters night Awards recognizes excellence in theater Productions throughout New Jersey The Descendants received a total of 10 nominations including the outstanding production of a Middle School Musical and the outstanding achievement of an acting Ensemble it is a huge honor to be nominated our Junior thespians look forward to the award ceremony that will be held on May 20th also please join me in congratulating the Hudson County law Day poetry contest forers this year's theme for the law Day poetry contest was how can your voice be heard in democracy all students at Hoboken Middle School participated in this wonderful opportunity Jordan McKenzie received first place for for sixth grade mea Gregory received second place for second seventh grade Sienna Garcia received honorable mention for 8ighth grade Jordan MAA and Sienna will be honored in the law day award ceremony on June 6th by the superior court of New Jersey Hudson Vincy age I would like to extend a special thank you to the hmss PTO for hosting several events in March the Hoboken Middle School P held its annual faculty vers parents student basketball game at Hoboken High School to many people's surpris faculty and parent players took the win yet again don't worry our HMS Tigers will be able to be back and better than ever next year on the court the Hoboken middle school PTO collaborated with the Hoboken Middle School student council to plan and host our great level dances in April the theme was a night in New York City students enjoying getting dressed up and dancing with their friends the best buddies Middle School friendship chapter played a pivotal role in the success of of New Jersey friendship walk held at seeden Hall University on Sunday May 5th 2024 our exceptional chapter with their dedication and hard work raised over $3,500 earning recognition as the highest fundraising School chapter and the highest overall These funds directly supported the best budd's Mission promoting and including empowerment for all individuals with ID through various programs Hoboken Middle School best buddies is immensely proud of their members and support from their Community I would like to close by sharing some exciting information at Hoboken Middle School there will be parent information session for sixth grade students taking for the incoming sixth grade students that will take place on May 22nd our taret for day series will begin the week of May 28th with each Elementary School visiting their designating days June 5th students will welcome all fifth grade students from Connor brand and Wallace for Target of the day at 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. the National Junior Honor Society induction will take place on June 12th Field Days on June 13th and the e8th grade moving up ceremony will take place on June 18th thank you Hoboken board of education for allowing me to speak before you tonight and I look forward to seeing you next [Applause] month thank you so much for that very thorough report there's lots of exciting things happening at Hoboken Middle School next I would like to welcome the Hoboken High School representative Jenna Serio to the podium for her report highlighting current Hoboken High School events good evening my name is Jenna Serio and I'm the Hoboken High School student government board representative this evening I'm also honored to speak with you this evening and provide you with an update on the latest key achievements from Hoboken High School for the class of 2024 our senior prom will be held this Thursday May 30th in Jersey City New Jersey at the Liberty house the red carpet festivities will also take place at Hoboken High School on Grand Street beginning at 5:30 p.m. for the Red Wings Care Coalition our three student organizations the National Honor Society student government and the Spanish Honor Society have hosted the senior citizens prom on May 2nd 2024 at Hoboken High School Hoboken seniors enjoyed dinner dancing and music it was a successful and amazing event the senior citizen prom was covered by a podcast hosted by CNN called CNN five things it will be on the district social media this week going into AP testing many Hoban high school students have spent the past 2 weeks AP testing for various courses it is both exciting yet very stressful time for our students and our teachers we want to take the time to acknowledge all of the hard work our students had in preparing for these assessments but also our amazing Red Wings Educators who have prepared us so well to excel this past month the Hoboken High School student government philanthropic committee dropped off donations of much needed supplies to the Hoban volunteer ambulance corpse it was a schoolwide effort led by our Student Government we donated towels soap sanitizer phone chargers clorex ripes and more all in all over 300 pieces of supplies were delivered and donated we'd like to thank Juniors Haley Dobson and Genevie Fink for your tireless organization of this event now for recent news on Redwing Athletics the Red Wings baseball team walked off against McNair High School in the second round of the Hudson County tournament in nine innings by the score of 3-2 the Red Wings Are Back In Action today against St Peter's prep in the quarterfinals of the Hudson County tournament senior Samuel Perez was named player of the week by the HC for the girls varsity softball team they defeated Hudson Catholic in the second round of the Hudson County tournament 118 both Haley Dobson and Mishka Marcado had home runs Alexa bero had a triple the girls moved on to the quarterfinals where they verse Carney today we would also like to acknowledge our Student Government president Alexa brero who recently obtained her a 100th career hit a 100th career stolen base and 100th career Run for the Red Wings her efforts for her efforts she was named player of the week by HC and finally for the Red Wings girls lacrosse team they added another win to their season against tenly defeating the Tigers 5 to3 Gabriella tanelli anchored the Redwing defense tallying 17 saves the Red Wings offense was led by Emily Eisen Skyler Kowalski Marina boin and Lena rawhouser all scoring goals two of them assisted the Red Wings have two more games remaining this season and finally to round out this report our monthly lunch yawn with Hoban High School administration will be held on Friday May 17th 2024 at 12: p.m. thank you very much for this opportunity to speak and thank you for always supporting our Student Government at Hoboken High School and we look forward to seeing you at our other events go Red Wings [Music] thank you so much to our student representatives for their very interesting and detailed reports we truly appreciate them next we will go into committee reports miss good do you have a business administrator's report tonight no I don't thank you Miss good Mr Grana uh do you have a curriculum report this evening thank you president can you hear me yes thank you president Mur the curriculum committee met on May 9th 2024 and in attendance for M koring Dr Johnson M Rodriguez Gomez and myself for the consent agenda U the curriculum committee has four items for the agenda I sent these to you all previously and they are 9.01 9.02 uh for the acceptance of two approved grants 93 for the submission of new rant and 9.04 which is the approval for field trips the committee recommends a yes vote on all of these items a few things for your calendars um as we've been talking about um HHS has been very involved in moving through the AP testing phase that is through May 17th so that should finish up by um I believe that will be Friday njsla which is taking up a lot of the district attention all grad through 8 will be completed through this Friday and the high school will be May 20th through May 23rd Kaplan test prep has being completed for AP courses but there will be spring prep yet to come and the revised New Jersey student learning standards in ela and Mathematics are coming content changes in math and Ela are being socialized and with staff the curriculum updates will be finalized over the summer um I have a curriculum update and the focus was on Orton Gillingham there's a lot happening first um Orton Gillingham routines or OG will be implemented throughout the literacy block and ILP learning visits there was a workshop at Connor that was attended by all grade one teachers the focus was on implementing within ILP and the 90minut literacy block teachers reflected on their own practices and crafting goals for the shifts in environment and structure really positive feedback is that this exercise was well received by teachers of all levels and experience a collaborative culture at work administrators will also go through the presentation on the content approach that they can be clear of the expectations in these two areas as you know we also partner with the institute for multi-sensory education or MC on OG implementation here's what's happening training for July for all remaining teachers k through2 we also train 10 OG administrators so that they can recognize and great great practices and actually monitor for accountability supervisor GAO will Implement onsite and third the Orton Gillingham Academy initiative this is the next phase of our work with systemic and explicit OG work we will train two types of instructors classroom Educators teachers in every grade level and k through eight space will be trained over for summer for certification the attent of this additional layer of development is to have OG certified teachers timely and informed and onand for interventions and addition we will providing certification preparation for specialized teachers and reading Specialists the committee thinks this is a great example of how we win as a district instead of school by school approach we succeed by teamwork across the district just two more quick updates president earlier this year the Committee reported to you that Hoboken Public Schools was a identified in the study at Stanford University and reported in the New York Times the report highlighted how Hoboken mean Performance Group hobo can maintain performance growth and minimize learning loss before during and after covid well this is how it gets done in fact the MC Institute reports both Sandra Rodriguez Gomez and chrisy gdio have been leading the charge for the implementation of making the Hoboken Public School District to be a leading example of how we com learning loss caused by the pandemic this is a huge effort and the committee would like to recognize the major efforts of these two professionals via this report thank you president thank you Mr gr I will now turn it over for facilities to Mr delor the facilities committee met on Thursday May 9th in attendance were Dr Johnson miss mcgurk m delara Mr cige and myself we discuss all agenda items and recommend and all for approval a few updates facilities use requests the pulse with Peter B will be hosting the balam Menendez debate on May 17th here at Demis from 5: to 8:30 p.m. doors at Connor School due to supply delays these will not be installed until the first week of July energy audit the audit being conducted by Snider Electric is underway and will be completed in about 6 weeks HMS scaffolding building will be evaluated one last time next week once giv the okay scaffolding will be coming down one section at a time lastly the gym here at demeris will be reigned during the summer in anticipation for next year's Sports season that's my report thank you Mr delator we'll now turn it over to miss kanana for finance thank you good evening the finance committee met on Friday May 10th at 11:00 a.m. in attendance were Dr Johnson miss good miss katamori miss Angley Mr Kell and myself we reviewed and Rec and recommend agenda items in section 11 and 12 for approval couple of items I'd like to point out 11.06 through 11.09 we have a number of contracts service agreements and professional agreements most relate to next year 2024 2025 we also have 11.13 donations I'd like to thank 7 by 24 exchange Metro New York and Jersey cares for Their donation and last but not least we have our budget our budget was presented to the public on April 30th and also the district had provided two information sessions for the public on May 7th and today we will be voting on the approval of the budget for 2024 2025 and that concludes my report thank you thank you Miss kanana we'll now turn it over for governance to miss katamori good evening governance committee met on Thursday May 9th 20124 in attendance were Dr Johnson Mr keld Miss Norwood Miss mcgurk and myself the committee discussed all agenda items and recommend all for approval as is typical throughout the school year there are a number of appointments resignations as well the approval of new substitutes workshops and Staffing for the district's various events and extracurriculars on the agenda this agenda includes the following 10.01 and 10.02 include the acceptance of resignations of cert certificated staff and Par professionals We wish all of these professionals good luck in their new Endeavors um 10.03 is the appointment of certified certificated staff for the current school year 2324 10.04 includes the the appointment of various certificated staff for the 2425 school year 10.05 brings a number of Staff up to the state mandated per hour minimum wage um 10.06 includes the decision of certain appointments for the current school year um and 10.07 through 10.09 covers the appointment of various additional staff for special services summer positions 10.10 approves the staff and our rates asso with associated with shering the elementary HMS and H HMS and H HMS together um HMS and HHS together spring concerts 10.11 through 10.13 cover the appointment of HMS of staff at the HMS and HHS levels for the current school year including in the athletics department 10.14 through 10.22 covers the annual appointment of the district's various tenured and or non-tenured certificated and or non-certificated as well as atwi employees for the 425 school year 10.23 approves various scholarships to be awarded to members of the 2024 graduating class we thank all of these individuals families and organizations for their support of our seniors as they leave the nest and go out into the world in future endeavors 10.24 covers various lead requests 10.25 um is the approval of the official release of the NJ doe 2223 Hib scores for the district um which are attached to the agenda 10.26 approves various additional substitutes as we do throughout the year and finally 10.27 includes the approval of various workshops and conferences to be attended by our staff and faculty and that is my report thank you Miss katamori and finally we have Miss Norwood with Wellness thank you the wellness committee met on Thursday May 9 and attendance were Dr Johnson Miss Angley Mr delator Miss delara and myself there's one Wellness item on the agenda recommending the approval of two Red Cross certified lifeguards for the Hoboken High School pool and the committee recommends the item for approval the committee also discussed a number of other items eron's law signed into law in 2019 requires all New Jersey school districts to incorporate age appropriate sexual abuse prevention and awareness education into the New Jersey student learning standards from prek through grade 12 the district has applied for the New Jersey cap grant that will help meet the requirements associated with the legislation that requires the training of school Personnel on Sexual Assault Awareness and prevention the New Jersey child assault prevention training fulfills the Aaron's law compliance requirement during the week of May 20 fifth graders will be receiving lessons on puberty and personal goal setting the instruction will will be delivered by fiscal education teachers last week their parents were sent an email explaining the intent of the instruction giving them the opportunity to view the videos and providing them with an option to opt their children out the communication also included the video for last year's parent lesson on nutrition and finally due to high demand the district plans to introduce girls flag football as a club sport at Hoboken High School next year thank you thank you Miss Norwood I will now share a brief president's report I have to say with having the um HMS and HHS Representatives here it makes my life a lot easier because there's a lot less for me to report out on but first I'd like to say congratulations once again to all our students who were recognized this evening as well as our student representatives from Hoboken middle school and Hoboken High School it is not easy to get up here in front of a room of people where it's going to be recorded and read out everything that is going on in your school Community we appreciate all the hard work that goes into that and we're really grateful for your presence at our meeting the month of May brings a lot of excitement as the end of the school year draws close and I don't know about all of you but you feel like you know the you're kind of hitting the gas at 100 miles an hour as things get ready to wrap up but I would be remiss if I didn't acknowledge last week being Teacher Appreciation Week um the teachers here in the Hoboken Public School District deserve gratitude for for all that they give our students and I'd like to ask everyone to join in a round of applause for our teachers cuz they truly are [Music] spectacular and then second as Miss Conor mentioned during her Finance report we will be voting in our consent agenda this evening on the adoption of our budget for the 2024 2025 school year and we've discussed this in several meetings and reports but I just want to give a high level overview in case anyone missed out on any of it back in March on the 19th we adopted approved a tentative budget for the 20124 2025 school year that included all school and Department requests with no Cuts or reductions during the time between when that tenative budget was approved and the budget hearing that we had all requests were evaluated and adjustments were made to mitigate the impact on taxpayers while maintaining investments in our student staff and Facilities that budget was presented to to the community on April 30th and there's a recording of that available on board docs and on YouTube should you care to review it in an effort to provide the community an additional opportunities to understand the 2024 2025 budget process there were two Q&A sessions which were held on May 7th at Calabro in the morning and then in the evening here at Hoboken Middle School the sessions were successful and we would like to thank the community members who took the time to come out and attend we hope you found it valuable we certainly found engaging with all of you very valuable the budget for this year maintains and expands curricular and co-curricular offerings for the upcoming school year with an increase of $385 for the year or $32 a month on a home with an average valuation which here in Hoboken is $526,000 and it's important to remember that that is the tax valuation it's not what that home would sell for in the market um this represents an increase in our local school tax levy of $8.8 million to $ 67.5 million for the upcoming year this budget fulfills our contractual obligations to our Stellar staff and sets the stage for continued growth in both academic achievement and enrollment also want to wish continued luck to our boys volleyball baseball and girls softball teams as they continue to have success in their spring season if you have noticed a lot going on around Hoboken High School you are not imagining it last night saw postseason or I guess County tournament boys volleyball along with the dress rehearsal for har Potter happening side by side which I mean actually seemed sort of like it was amazing and also chaotic and beautiful um the US premiere of the high school adaptation of the Broadway Mega hit uh will be tomorrow evening will be opening night and last night saw high school students from all over New Jersey in the audience as well as members of the Broadway cast and production team so we wish the entire cast and crew the best of luck during their five shows this week which start tomorrow evening at 5:00 p.m. if you haven't gotten your tickets uh you may want to look on Facebook Marketplace because they seem to be you know they seem to pretty much be gone but they're certainly extras floating around out there so that concludes my report for this evening although I will say the next time we are all here together in this room the class of 20124 will have uh flown The Nest so I just want to send them all a really kind thought in the coming weeks because I know that these are the weeks of your life that you will remember for for quite a while and we're just so proud of all of you so next we'll go to public comments on agenda items and while miss good gets the signup sheets I just want to share our disclaimer that is a reminder before we open for public comments over the years and most recently the board has been asked why it does not prohibit or stop comments about School District employees from individuals who speak during the public comment portion of the meeting the short answer is that the law present prevents the board from censoring comments made about District Personnel the board does not condone nor is the board a party to comments as such however just because a speaker may have the right to say what he or she feels it does not absolve a speaker from liability for any comments that could be viewed as defamatory by an employee should speakers say something that subjects them to a civil suit the responsibility Falls squarely on the speaker and not the board board policy requires that all speakers please state your name municip IP ality of residents and B business affiliation if any speakers are allowed 5 minutes and vice president Angley will quietly motion when you have 30 seconds left please address all comments to the chair board policy states the board welcomes comments on matters of interest to the board but this is not an opportunity for a dialogue or debate between speakers and board members or the superintendent Miss Waiters [Applause] y'all know my little phone for quality assurance purposes um I have an agenda item but I also want to add something to the superintendent she's on a her report is on agenda item right yes okay so with that being said I just want to give I'm trying not to get emotional I want to give kudos to Dr Johnson so many people so used to when I get emotional I come up to the um Podium not meaning nothing but I call people out whatever you want to call it but we always was hit with a tragedy we always hit with a tragedy and when when people quick to judge who you are when you show different in your actions that's why I'm here to be the bigger person to say you did a wonderful job any any other comments whether good or bad I'm going to tell yall like it is I don't care care that's Pat waiters but I want to give credit when credit is due for one reason I spoke at the city council meeting right after the death because I was so emotional two days prior to Damian getting shot I reached out to the biggest highest Authority in her and was ignored and it bothered me so bad that I was emotional so I took it out on everybody and everybody made a little joke about me and what I said at the end of my speech but I had to say this today cuz the first thing out of everybody's mouth is what happened in the school district how did she handle it I want to say you did a phenomenal job because all hands was on Deck you had every building sold up you had the kids counseling was available no matter what teachers door opened up they could go in there and really get counseling and a hug and positive reinforcement to let them know it's going to be okay it's okay to cry it hurts all of us so they see adults cry and they looked at it in a very different way so when you say leadership that day you led like a leader Dr Johnson I have to place that on the record I went to every school I left a not at your door to miss pick and I said let me see what they going to do y'all know how I am I'm not going to I went to every school and said what did they oh Dr Johnson took care of it we giving them coun and we trying to let them understand that you know he's an employee not only employee he was a role model I worked in this same building and watch him give kids positive reinforcements to pull their pants up go ahead in your classroom it'll be over in another 20 minutes you don't want to read but go in there to give them that positive reinforcement so I witnessed this and it was such a loss it was such a senseless loss that I was afraid like me trying to handle everything like normal you had my back and everybody else back in Hoboken Dr Johnson very impressed I was very very proud of you I know that was a bit much you might need a vacation too after that because it's still unreal it's still coming like you know like it's hard to really accept but what what you did when it first happened if we could ask you just to keep the counseling whatever they can do we'll really appreciate that we really will I just wanted to say that and then number nine with the um nine page 630 the um I know of you familiar with the Amistad act but this is a grant for the africanamerican studies I hope you all will support that tonight you see it 9.2 okay that's it thank you so much and thanks we will move on to consent agenda is there a motion motion second miss good would you please call the rooll Miss Angley um I am going to abstain on 10.23 and yes to the rest Miss camori yes Mr delator yes Mr Grana yes Miss Conor abstain on 10.23 and yes for the rest Mr clel yes Miss Norwood yes m G yes motion passes we will now move on to public comments on agenda and non-agenda items Miss waiters I want to ask something about the summer programs here at the high at the um High School the pool Recreation any type of sport SPS I mean can I somebody reach out to me to my regular Hoboken schoolly address and plus I'll leave p. 927 yahoo.com I spoke with Gary Greensburg from the Boys and Girls Club any facility y'all can open up I don't care if it's a reading program whatever please try to get in touch with me so I could try to enforce that I'm trying to convince moms stop always saying it's not there and take the opportunity cuz it is there and sometime they simply just don't know but we really need to get these kids doing something this summer is right around the corner even if you open a facility just say like a meet and greet a sociable moment for everybody to socialize just to get them out and get them started they really need to be positively reinforced with what happened and what took place okay thank you thank you Miss waiters um Mr Manny [Applause] sorry let's move this a little bit up we don't have as fancy a microphone as the city council does Justin on own it's okay at least you have a a little uh place where I could put my notes uh Madam president thank you very much for recognizing members of the public myself Manuel R Sol Hoboken um I would just like to say take a few few moments to use my my public comment in regards to a few things that just passed right now and acknowledge and thank um the efforts of the people who do the hard work in getting the grants and the donations as we accept them the school district um is desperately always um in favor of having um these donations and the Outreach that you do and all the hard work that goes into that and I'm sure that the school district and the children are um appreciative and will benefit greatly from it so I just want to thank thank you for that because sometimes um we always come with uh grievances but there should be times to acknowledge some of the uh good happenings um as well as I would also like to um make sure that um we always keep in mind our teachers and our um School staff in regards to when anything should change in the budget maybe that you just passed that um we never forget the teachers in their salaries and making sure that they are safe and and that they have the impus to continually come to work as they do because they know that they will not be um either laid off or fired because of our budget so that is important uh to always keep the teachers in our um Minds when we do any negotiations I would also like to say before my time uh expires I I I do also want to say um to with um great appreciation um to Dr Johnson um for her efforts um these past weeks and for the community because if the community is affected the school district is affected because the children are in the community um the tragedy that happened that occurred a couple of weeks ago um it was it was felt by a great number of the great numbers of the community and um the efforts of the school district to to help the students that um knew this individual his name is Damon Murray um that that was a great gesture and everybody that um was available and helped the children again I just want to acknowledge that because it um it was a a a great loss for the community and the children who knew him when they were in the council meeting were it was very emotional if anybody has not seen that council meeting I urge you to watch it and to see how the community was feeling how hurt how one individual that we perhaps never meant uh affected so many people so that's why the work that's done in the school district and in the community is very important I urge um my fellow residents of Hoboken to to come out to all the meetings to this to the school meetings to any other meetings and and to join that Community as well they are welcoming they want everybody to come down and and all of you as well you know it is important to for them to see what they're able to achieve so again Dr Johnson I thank you I thank your staff I thank uh all of you for your um for your efforts thank you again and have a good evening thank you that's the last one so we will now be going into to Executive session for purposes of discussing matters covered by attorney client privilege we will not be taking action so when we come back we will just be closing out the meeting we will be approximately 45 minutes do I have a motion motion second miss good please call the rle Miss Angley yes Miss camori yes Mr delor yes Mr Grana yes Miss Conor yes Mr CL yes Miss Norwood yes Miss mcer yes [Music]