##VIDEO ID:z50YYIrYsHc## advanced notice of and to attend the meeting of the public bodies at which any business affecting their interest is discussed and acted upon in accordance with the provision of the act the board secretary has caused notice for this meeting to be published by having the date time and place thereof posted on the bulletin board located in the hallway outside of the administrative offices a notice was provided to The Courier Courier News the home News Tribune and the middle sex burough Clerk we will now have our Flag Slip United [Music] States stand naice Mrs Jana okay I have the announcement of the election results I and at jordano business administrator board secretary certified at the following were elected to the middle sex B Board of Education at the annual school election held on November 7th 2024 as identified in the exhibit which may be viewed using the link the election results will become part of the minutes members elected for a three-year term Mrs Danielle parenti Mrs Sharon Schuler Mr Thomas Thorton member elected for a two-year term Mrs Patricia Reynolds member elected for a one-year term Mrs Odette Jeffrey and now I will administer the oath of office to our newly elected board members you want to off come to Podium just raise your right hand and you can read it all together that I will support the constition of the United States constition of the St new JY and I will be true faith and Al to the Govern established in the United States and theth of people iif prescribed by laice of ofeducation I am not disqualified as a voter pursu to RS 1941 disqualified due to conviction of a crime for offense listed in njs per the duties office [Music] stay here just [Music] now I'd like to open for nominations for the office of President call oh sorry Mrs Bay M Jeffrey brother Mr nicolay Mrs pen pres Mrs Perry Mrs Quinn present Mrs Rey here Mrs Jer here Mr thoron here now I'd like to open the floor for nominations for the office of President I would like to nominate Daniel baren for president second do a second I don't know any other nominations okay now I just need you to fill out your ballot for president there's one for president and there's one for vice president if you could fill out your president ballot and just pass them up okay Mrs Reynolds a vote for Mrs parenti Mr Thornton vote for Mrs parenti Miss Jeffrey vote for Mrs parenti M Mrs Perry vote for Mrs parenti Mrs Schuler vote for Mrs parenti Mrs peny vote for Mrs peny Mr nicolay vote for Mrs parenti Mrs Quinn vote for Mrs parenti congratulations Mrs peny [Applause] yes who want okay thank you at this time I would like to request nominations for office of Vice President I would like to nominate Mrs Sharon Schuler others okay same practice sorry sorry okay Mrs Reynolds voted for Mrs Scher Mr thoron vote for Mrs Scher Mrs bruny vote for Mrs Schuler Mrs Schuler vote for Mrs Schuler Mrs Quinn vote for Mrs Scher Miss Jeffrey vote for Mrs Scher Mr nicolay vote for Mrs Scher Mrs Perry vote for Mrs Scher Sharon Scher is our new vice president [Applause] thank you the Board of Education adopts the New Jersey school boards Association code of ethics for each board member um so what we'll do here is we'll go go around and each person will read one of the letters I'll start and we'll go this way Sharon will be next around everybody have it yeah [Music] one okay good be it resolved that the middle sex Board of Education adopts the New Jersey school boards Association code of ethics and that each board member shall abide by these principles in accordance with board policy and njsa 18a 12-24 do11 I will uphold and enforce all laws rules and regulations of the State Board of Education and court orders pertaining to schools desired changes shall be brought about only through legal and ethical procedures I will make decisions in terms of the educational welfare of children and will seek to develop and maintain public schools that meet the individual needs of all children regardless of their ability race Creed sex or social standing I will confide my board action to policymaking planning and appraisal and I will help to frame policies and plans only after the board has consulted those who will be affected by them I will carry out my responsibility not to administer not to administer the schools but together with my fellow board members to see that they are well-run I will recognize that Authority rests with the Board of Education and will make no personal promises or take any private action that may compromise the board I will refuse to surrender my independent judgment to special interest or partisan political groups or to use the schools for personal gain or for the gain of friends I will hold confidential all matters pertaining to to the schools which if disclosed would needlessly injured individuals or schools in all other matters I will provide accurate information and in concert with my fellow board members interpret to the staff aspirations of the community for its school I will vote to appoint the best qualified Personnel available after consideration of the recommendations of the chief administrative officer I will support and protect School Personnel in proper performance of their duties I will refer all complaints to the chief administrative officer and will act on the complaint at public meetings only after failure of an administrative solution thank you um now we are going to approve the annual meeting schedule of the middle sex board of education for the 2025 calendar year to be held the third Wednesday of each month unless otherwise specified at 6 p.m in the media center of the middle sex High School located at 300 John F Kennedy Drive Middle sex New Jersey 08846 um now we have 3.08 is approval of annual organizational items number one is our bylaws policies and regulations number two our official newspapers for advertisements three official official depositors and custodial of funds as listed approval of action items 3.06 through 3.08 as presented so move second does anybody have any questions okay M Jano can you please take the r Miss Jeffrey yes Mr Nikolai yes Mrs parenti yes Mrs Perry yes Mrs Quinn yes Mrs Reynolds yes Mrs Schuler yes Mr thoron yes thank you we will now open the public comment portion of the meeting comments at this time can be on any topic please come to the podium and put your name address email address and subject of your comment into the record book before speaking please give your name address and subject of your comment to miss Annette Miss gordano business administrator board secretary direct your comments and questions to the board president you may speak on two separate topics for up to three minutes each good evening every good evening everyone first I want to thank the people I ran against congratulations it was a challenging but rewarding process and have a great deal of respect for anyone who's willing to step up and advocate for the community that said I need to address some serious concerns on how this election was handled first the district's decision to involve the board attorney to investigate my eligbility as a candidate was entirely inappropriate the authority to determine El a candidate's eligibility FL with the county of Elections not the local Board of Education they have simply no no jurisdiction by stepping into a rule reserve for the county the district misused resources and overstep its legal Authority second I want to address the censorship of an article written by one of my classmates for those who are an aware the student wrote a story about my candidacy for the school as part of the student publication this this article did not endorse my candidacy it simply covered my decision to to run in my platform despite this the district cited policy 5721 independent Publications to justify blocking its publication claiming the content was prohibited under school policy let's examine that decision policy 5721 was last updated in 2003 over 20 years ago in prior to my birth it prohibits materials that promote favor or oppose any candidate for election of for the board however even this article had had a full blown endorsement which it did not it would have been stole fully legal under the New Jersey new voices law of 2021 the law explicitly prohibits schools from exercising prior restraint over school sponsored media unless its content is uh liable obscene incites violence or violates federal or state law not of these conditions happen to this article I consulted with a lawyer who specializes in student press law and he made it clear that the the district's actions would likely fall under legal scrutiny the lawyer advised the new voices law is one of the strongest protections for the student journalist which his group actually fought to bring it to law uh ensuring they have the right to engage in free speech through school sponsored media as long as the contest does not follow under those exceptions I uh mentioned before this would almost he mentioned that it would be uh an almost slam duck a dunk case in court the situation highlights a larger issue the need to review outdated policies policies like 5721 written in 2003 don't reflect modern laws technology or the understanding of current student rights contining to rely on RI out relying on outdated policies not only Lees the missteps like this but also creates an environment where students and staff may be silenced or unsupported the district May must take a proactive approach to review and update policies to ensure compliance with current laws and alignment with values in a uh modern School Community by censoring this article the district ignor state law disregarded student rights and said a harmful president schools should teach students to speak up critically engage in dialogue and speak up not silence them without dat it or misapply policies at the end of this day I ran for this board because I believe in this District its students its teachers and its potential while I might have one I'm not stepping away and I'll continue to advocate for Trans parency fairness and accountability in the district because this this community deserves no less finally I want to congratulate and wish uh the best of luck for those who have uh who's been sworn in tonight uh thank you for stepping up and serving our district I hope your term is both uh productive and rewarding and I wish you success as you work to move our schools forward thank you thank you okay we will now close the public comment portion of the meeting do we have any ongoing business new business I just I just wanted to make note that I am actually attending tomorrow in Somerville the um it's a public forum about the um School U funding formula they're reviewing it and they're having some public um input sessions so I signed up to go tomorrow night so there is a Formula there is a Formula it's the hardest formula you'd ever want to read supposed to be like um but there is a Formula yeah thank you for thank you I just want to congratulate the two of you on President and Vice President and thank you for taking on the duties of the RS thank you I'm excited to have a productive year with all of you continue forward okay any anything else okay then I'd like to make a motion to adour Second all in favor you [Music]