##VIDEO ID:4vB1nVmAvuI## the public comment statement the no smoking or vaping on school grounds now can I please have everybody stand for the Pledge of Allegiance Al to flag of the United States of America to theice okay announcements just the results of the election so the election was held on November 5th uh 2024 I'm not going to read every total in full um but the total votes cast were 50,60 747 votes Mr Brian Cohen with 8,835 votes and Mrs Jenna Carrero with 8,281 votes so congratulations okay so those three new candidates that uh one existing candidate but those three candidates can you please come up and we will do the administration of the oath of office okay thank you so uh please raise your right hand the other right here we go okay please repeat after me I please state your name I Brian Cohen do solemnly swear or affirm do solemnly swear or affirm 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 that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same and to the governments established in the United States and to the governments established in the United States and in this state and in this state under the authority of the people under the authority of the people so help me God so help me God I please state your name I BR do solemnly swear or affirm do solemnly swear or affirm that I possess the qualifications prescribed by law that I possess the qualifications prescribed by law for the office of member of a board of education for the office of member of the Board of Education and that I am not disqualified as a voter and that I'm not disqualified as a voter pursuant to RS pursu to RS 19 semicolon 4-1 19 semicolon 4-1 nor disqualified due to conviction of a crime or offense nor disqualified due to conviction of a crime offense listed in njs listed in njs 18a 18a semicolon 12-1 semicolon 12-1 and that I will faithfully and that I will faithfully impartially impartially and justly and justly perform all the duties of that office perform all the duties 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 congratulations thank you okay so now your name tags should be set up so you are able to now take your seats good okay congratulations again to our three candidates okay so now just to open up the meeting officially with the N member board I'm going to take a roll call vote so Mrs bomo here Mr here Mrs Carrero here Mrs Gandhi here Mr hayatt here Mr lonsky here Mrs Mendes here Dr MTZ here and Mrs seart here okay now we are going to move on to the election of board president um in accordance with bylaw 0152 before we get started our board attor is just going to make a quick highlight of the policy so everybody's informed of of how the procedure and the process should work good evening everybody I just want to make sure that everybody knows the process that we're going to follow we're going to adhere to our uh board bylaws bylaw number 152 let me just read three of those paragraphs real quickly and then I'll summarize it uh for you after that the Board of Education shall elect one of its members as president and another as vice president at the first meeting in January January any board member May place a board member's name and nomination for board President and Vice President a second on the nomination is not required election for each office will be conducted by a vote when the nominations for that office are closed will do the president's position first once that's completed we'll move on to the vice president's position after the president has been selected the board secretary will then call the role on the nominated candidates upon being called in the role each board member shall State the name of the nominated candidate who he or she wishes to fill the office in the event no candidate receives a majority vote of the members of the board present and constituting a quarum the procedure shall continue until someone receives a majority vote the person with the majority vote of the members of the board president constituting a quarum shall be elected in the event no candidate receives a majority vote of the board members present and constituting aquarum the procedure shall be repeated until someone receives a majority vote of those board members present and constituting inquir what that means is we have nine people here this evening so five votes obviously would constitute a majority and the quarum all that means is we had less than nine it would have to be a majority of the quum but since all nine are here this evening we need five votes when we open the floor for nominations anyone can make a nomination we then ask for additional nominations as you want to have after we close nominations each board member will be called on by the role you don't vote Yes or no you just vote of the name of the person that you want to be selected as the president and then we'll do the same process for vice president anybody have any questions good okay like to open up for nominations of board president Dr MTZ I am nominating Brian Cohen for presid board president Mr Cohen's resume highlights his exceptional education expertise leadership experience and a deep understanding of board operations many of us interviewed him last year and have heard his insightful feedback at the podium in my years in education and on school boards his experience knowledge and Leadership Stand Out Among the most impressive I've ever encountered Ryan Cohen's career in service to public and private education and government spans decades throughout his career he has served on corporate and educational boards including committees relevant to addressing Marro's needs today he is well-versed on the issues that are critical to public education across our nation and in in our local school district importantly Mr Cohen has been consistently engaged with this board offering thoughtful advice and counsil to Administration it's clear this Board needs fresh leadership and I'm confident Mr con will provide it with competence and vision thank you do I have any other nominations Mrs seart uh my nomination is for Valentina Mendes I remember not that long ago when I would watch or attend our Boe meetings and felt both frustrated and disappointed by the lack of PL Public Communication from previous admin board leadership and board members for that reason before I nominated or V for a member for presidency I'd like to provide Insight on my thought process for me personally since these thoughts are mine and mine alone I feel a sense of seniority is earned on the de as I begin my third year here having attended trainings the njsba convention being involved with committee meetings budget discussions executive sessions and general board member business discussions I still recognize the obligation to learn and better myself regardless of my life and career experiences being a school board member is unique in the sense that we're not only working specifically to enrich our school district but are given the responsibility to listen to the voices of our constituents when I nominated Miss menes as board president it had nothing to do with our friendship forg outside this working environment ironically the three newest board members at last year's reorganization meeting shared the same insights as to why they prepared the nomination to nominate her as well it's because she possesses the leadership skills to navigate the complexities of having eight other board members who have differences in opinions without showing favoritism she has always LED humbly and by example Valentina has completed over over 21 njsba training sessions achieving nearly 25 credits although she has an impressive professional resume she completely submerged herself this past year to grow stronger as board leadership okay thank you is are there any other nominations for board president seeing none I'm going to look for a motion to close nominations can I have a motion this Gandhi can I have a second all in favor all opposed extensions okay okay so we have the nominations have been closed we have two nominations historically our practice has been so now that there's two nominating candidates you will each have an opportunity to speak to the board as a whole of why you feel like you should have that nomination so if anybody would like to go first good evening everyone first I'd like to thank all of you for being here tonight and for always the continued support of us and the school district it's a privilege to serve alongside each of you and I'm grateful for the trust you placed in me during what was undeniably a tumultuous us here tonight as we consider who will lead us as board president I want to take a moment to reflect on the responsibilities of this role and why I believe I would be a really good candidate to continue serving in this capacity over the past year I've worked diligently to ensure fairness and equity in all decisions including the selection of committee chairs which was made with the intention of balancing perspectives and empowering each member to contribute meaningfully I have made every effort to Foster collaboration Among Us understanding that the strength of this board lies not in individual power but in our ability to work as a cohesive team unified by our shared commitment to the district success it is this collaborative spirit that makes it difficult um for me to support another candidate tonight while I respect professional accomplishments we must recognize that experience in one realm does not always translate immediately to effective board leadership being sworn in as a first-time member tonight and stepping into the role of President feels candidly premature leadership is about understanding the complexities of the board navigating relationships and making informed thoughtful decisions all of which take time to learn I have attended many professional development training sessions as a board member on topics such as creating an effective board conflict to cooperation geni in schools understanding Oprah demystifying school rankings ethical mindfields School law conferences to name a few another board member had stated that we took back control it shouldn't be about taking back control our Focus must remain on serving the district not control or advancing potential personal Ambitions for a new member the best way to lead in the future is to begin by learning taking time to understand the nuances of the board engaging in professional development observing areas of opportunity and working collaboratively to support the team this District means the world to me and I hope I have demonstrated that through my actions I've attended nearly every function to which we've been invited representing the board professionally ensuring our presence reflects the importance we place on our student staff and Community I've taken the time to learn listen and to act in a manner that hopefully prioritizes other needs before all else the role of board present is not about title or recognition it's about responsibility service and the ability to unite us as a board I've approached this role with seriousness humility and a commitment to fairness and while I welcome new voices and perspectives I also believe there is value in continuity and experience especially given the challenges we've faced together over the past year but I do want to thank everyone who supported me last year and for all of you on the board who allowed me the opportunity to lead it has been an honor and I deeply appreciate the trust you've placed in me I remain committed to serving this board wherever this vote lies and this district with Integrity dedication and a collaborative spirit thank you so much so I'd like to start by first thanking Dr MTZ for U making this nomination uh yes I am newly appointed to the board but I will say that um being new to the board doesn't necessarily speak to the ability to be a leader I remember a time when I was a new parent I remember a time when I started a new job I remember the time when I was first given my leadership role and now here in the board and many of those times came without any experience but I did the job and I did the job well and my two kids here are a good demonstration of that being a president of this board requires a lot of experience in the context of what I would say soft skills as well as hard skills leadership is probably the most important part of being a president of this board someone who has the ability to collaborate communicate reach across different perspectives and build a consensus so that this board and this District can be supported going forward our town is said something very seriously in the last two years the way it's voted for this board it has said it wants to change I represent a new candidate I represent the opportunity to sort of be part of that change and I hope to bring my 30 plus years of experience not only in education not only in government not only in government process but in also in the ability to lead us forward going for the this year of 2025 I want to say that before I even consider this position since the day I was elected I reached out to both my fellow board members I also reached out to our Administration to sort of build a partnership something that is extremely important for whoever sits in that seat and I've done that I've had conversations with you I've had emails with you and I've spent nearly 15 hours with our Administration since no since November 7th learning about the issues in this that this board faces the challenges that our district has its Vision going forward for our administrators and I hope that in the seat that I can fill as president I can help to carry those Visions forward and build the consensus that I that this Board needs so I ask that you sort of support me I ask that you sort of look at this and say this is an opportunity for us to be able to sort of move forward and that I bring the skills that are needed to sort of um Carry the good work that the district has done the good work that the board has done forward into the 2025 year thank you okay thank you so with that we're going to move to the election of board president so again when I call your name please just State the name that you are voting for Mrs bomo Valentina Mendes thank you again this is not in order so Mr Cohen Brian Cohen you Mrs Carrero Brian Cohen Mrs Gandhi Brian Cohen Mr hayatt uh Mr Brian Cohen Mr alansky Valentina Mendes Mrs Mendes myself Dr misz Ryan Cohen and Mrs seart matters MZ okay so majority goes to Mr Cohen congratulations okay you can come up here and get me out of here put me over here again good evening everyone um so first thank you for to everybody you know thank you for um your support in the election and thank you also for your support around the table and I hope that you know we don't have as many five4 votes going forward um and that this board really does build more of a consensus and I want to thank you know uh Val Mendez um for her leadership this past year uh and Michael Lansky for his leadership and I must say that I do hope that their good guidance their experience um both from last year and from years past um will be you know I'll be the benefactor of that so please you know um that is the most important part about filling the seat is that you do gain your own experiences but you also learn from the others so I look forward to working with you and working with our the other board members as well so um thank you for that and uh with that I guess we'll move on to the next part of our agenda nominations for vice presid so we're going to take nominations for vice president um Dr MTZ I am nominating Chad Hyatt vice president of the Marboro Township School Board Chad truly doesn't need an introduction but I think it's time that I tell you Chad really is the man is brilliant kind thoughtful and giving he didn't come into the world with a silver spoon in his mouth he worked his way through college and has a very high profile position the man is a born leader he Brian Cohen is a Visionary he knows how to lead and he knows when to step back and let others shine when I make a motion it's after deep thought and consideration I'm proud of my choice to nominate Chad for the position of Vice President thank you any other nominations for vice president miss Seward I am uh staying consistent with my nomination for Valentina mes for vice president president in the spirit of collaboration that everybody is speaking of and um I'm trying to choose my words wisely but uh Mrs Dr mtz's nomination just comes to a surprise for me um and I just uh I'm just G to thank you any other nominations for vice president seeing no others motion to close the nominations please miss Gandhi second Miss Mendes thank you okay and all in favor I any opposed any extensions okay so we will now go to a roll call for oh that's right thank you uh so since we have two nominations we'll allow them to sort of each have the same opportunity to say something in favor of their nomination uh again since we have Mr hayatt and Miss Mendes you guys can sort of decide if you would like to see who goes first sure thank you sue Dr misit for that I'm wiping the tear from my eye um the only thing I would I would say is I Echo a lot of what Mr Cohen had said uh during his nomination process I think it's about building collaboration uh it's working together um and supporting teachers and administrators and that is a huge passion of mine but I also think it's about how we can improve the reputation of this district and how we can engage the community and that's that's a significant desire of mine this year so I think I would follow suit in what Brian said and wanting to build that consensus but more importantly to me is goting relationships with administrators and teachers in the community at large that's where my passion is that's where my career has been focused on um public Communications advocacy and engagement and that's how I would support as vice president so thank you Dr misz thank you Mr hi Miss Mendes hi I I'm not going to read that whole speech again um I I did just want to say that all the things I said before but um just you know I think that board leadership is important a we did talk a lot I know you and I spoke Mr Cohen and I spoke to a lot of you about us coming together I spent the whole year saying can we work together better and I think that this is an opportunity for two people that maybe wouldn't always be tied together to have the opportunity to collaborate and work closely we will anyway and if you need my support you know I'm here I offered that before and I know Dr misit you and I spoke about that too but I think this is a nice opportunity for us to work collaboratively together um in board leadership capacity the other thing is just when I think of leader I have to be honest and I don't want to say it with disrespect but I think that that leadership should be portrayed and I have a lot of trouble with you know I don't want to speak poorly of just of anybody sitting here I just want to say that some social media behavior of putting down other board members and and and not that there was not across the board I'm just saying that it's it's as a leader it's difficult if we're not Rising above some of that and so I would just hope that whoever is in this role just doesn't do that any longer longer and has a level of professionalism since they would be the leader of the board and representing the board so that that's where I stand but again no disrespect to anybody and it's totally okay I just wanted to say my peace thank you thank you Miss Mendes Mr Caravella I believe the next step is for us to take a roll call yes okay same thing please just State the name of who you're nominating for vice president Mrs bomo Valentina Mr Cohen Chad hayatt Mrs Carrero Chad hayatt Mrs Gandhi Chad hayatt Mr hayatt uh Mr hayatt Mr Lansky Valentina Mendes Mrs Mendes me Dr MTZ Chad haatt and Mrs seart Valen mes okay majority Mr Hy congratulations congratulations Mr hayatt so um we are going to uh go to public comments next so Mr caravell um do you have a list is it possible to take a recess like we had talked about to take pictures with the family who have come for our swearing in please I'm perfectly okay with that motion for recess motion for recess second second all those in favor all those in favor 10 minutes 10 minutes how's that thank you right e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e can we get a motion to reconvene please miss Mendes second Miss Dr MTZ all in favor anyone opposed abstained we're back in roll call please Mrs bomo here Mr Cohen here Mrs Carrero here Mrs Gandhi here Mr hayatt here Mr alansky here Mrs Mendes here Dr MTS here and Mrs seart here thank you okay so we're going to we're back in session and we're going to start with public comments Mr carella so I just have uh one on my list right now Mrs pierick good evening Jessica pck Morganville New Jersey congratulations to the new board members as well as the newly elected president and vice president I want to thank all of you for the time effort and dedication you bring to this role as a former Board of Education member I know and understand the many late nights and long hours involved in serving our community so thank you this evening I come to you with one statement and one question once the the curriculum committee is formed I urge you to review the phonic program at the elementary level the current sips program is outdated and many districts have transitioned to using more comprehensive programs like foundations which we currently reserve for special education students and those in basic skills additionally many districts have adopted supplemental pushin programs such as hegr to strengthen phonic instruction and address reading challenges early through targeted intervention I recall this being discussed a few years ago as a pilot program at the prek level and I encourage you to revisit it my question is about the gifted and talented programming for grades K to3 could you please provide Clarity on the proposed changes to the program for the 2526 school year thank you for your time and I look forward to this board focusing on education thank you Miss pnck so as you know this is our first day so um we are going to sort of you know be putting our committees together and we will definitely be getting back to you so thank you very much we appreciate it is there anyone else on the list would anybody else like to speak I am Charles bomo I live at two Landmark Lane in Marboro and I would like to First greet everyone and say good evening and I would like to greet the marbor Board of Education sitting board members the audience and people who are watching this meeting live from home while I can go on and on about the endless achievements and accomplishments of sitting board members my mom Danielle bomo and the candidates of the 2024 Mar Board of Education election I won't bore you instead I will congratulate all and my mom especially she always looked she always looks after me as I progress in my journey throughout the maror school district education and as I reach New Heights as I am educated Mom thank you so much for your wonderful work not only what you do for the entire maror Community but what you do for me and how you look after me in every step of the way and Juliana and Gabriella as well Mom I love you and appreciate you for all the work you do in this community thank you Maro Juliana hi I'm Juliana and this is specifically for my mom I'm so proud of you and how much work you put into this I truly can't explain how appreciative I am for you being my mom congratulations thank you both for your comments Mrs bomo would you like to reply thank you and I love you guys too thank you any other yeah that's that's well worth another round of applause anyone else for public comments okay motion to close public comments Miss Mendes second Mr lonski all in favor any opposed abstained public comments is closed okay so we're going to uh continue with our agenda we're going to organizational matters next on the agenda Mr lansi if you mind sure organizational matters superintendent of school submits the following resolutions for approval one attendance officer two affirmative action Officer school and classroom practices three affir of action officer Employment Practices four District Section 504 coordinator five Title 9 coordinator six meeting schedule seven Committee of the whole and regular public meeting dates eight form of agenda Workshop meeting nine form of agenda regular meeting ISO move thank you second M Mendes any discussions all in favor roll call sorry y roll call Dr MTZ yes Mrs bomo Mrs Guerrero yes yes Mrs Gandhi yes Mr hayatt yes Mrs seart yes Mrs Mendes yes Mr alansky yes and Mr Cohen yes okay next item on the agenda is financial matters would you uh take that sure financial and business operations matters the superintendent of school submits the following resolutions for approval One banking institutional signatories two approval of depositories three petty cash accounts four authorized signatures is so move thank you second Mr lonski any discussions roll call sure Mrs Mendes yes Dr MTZ yes Mrs bomo yes Mrs Carrero yes Mrs Gandhi yes Mr hayatt yes Mr lonsky yes Mrs seart yes and Mr Cohen yes okay next item on the agenda is policy development and community relations matters Miss Mendes the super intendent of school submits the following resolution for approval one governance manual is so move thank you can I have a second Miss Palomo any discussions roll call Mrs Carrero yes Mrs Gandhi yes Mr hayatt yes Mr lonsky yes Dr MTZ yes Mrs seart yes Mrs bomo yes Mrs Mendes yes and Mr Cohen yes okay we're not going to have an executive session tonight so we will be U adjourning next I have a motion to adjourn Mr hayatt may I have a second Miss Gandhi all in favor any opposed any abstained we're done have a great night