##VIDEO ID:xLBIEV4yYp0## good evening welcome to a meeting of the Mountainside Board of Education in accordance with the state Sunshine Law and state regulations adquate notice of this meeting was provided by mailing a notice of the time date location and instructions for accessing the meeting to the Union County local source and the Westfield leader filing the same with the burough Clerk seeing the notice at the main access store of the Mountainside Board of Education building and the mountains side Board of Education website these meetings are reserved for board deliberation and for the review of items contained within the agenda the board reserves the right to vote on action items the board welcomes the participation of interested individuals we encourage questions about specific School practices incidents or events to be brought directly to the school administration public comment will be permitted at the beginning of the meeting for agenda items only each participant is asked to give his or her name and address prior to making the statement an addition time will be allotted at the end of the meeting for public comment on any item speakers shall limit their comments to three minutes roll call please Bill Dylan here Michael Goodwin here Dana c Petro Jordan Heyman here Vivan poo here Candace shano Carmine venis here at this time I would like a motion to to go into executive session it's 6:34 so moved second we will be returning in 1 hour all in favor oppos motion carries see you in a bit e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e good evening we are returning from our executive session it is 7:37 can we please stand to salute the flag I pledge algi 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 welcome everybody hello um can I please have a motion to approve minutes from November 12th so move second any questions or comments roll call please Bill Dylan yes Michael Goodwin yes Jordan Heyman yes Vivian poopo yes Carmine Bennis yes I do not have correspondence no correspondence um at this time I would like to open up the floor for public participation on any items that we are voting on tonight please come to the podium state your name address seeing none we're moving on I do not have a president's report and I will hand it over to our superintend you good evening everyone so before we get started with some of our presentations we have a couple of different presentations I'd like to share with everybody this evening um and thank you for coming out so before we do our Patriots pen I wanted to share as uh the board is aware and the public may be aware we did just recently ly send out a survey to the parents of Mountainside this included current parents as well as parents of students who might currently be in high school and so to share a little bit of information on the survey itself you'll see we had 314 total responses um which was a really nice response because uh when you sent out a survey get two or you may get a lot so I was very very pleased at the broad scope of responses that we received you can see by the chart this shows where what age group so many parents may have responded multiple times what age group they have students in we had them anywhere a very large percentage are at our younger grades PRI K to Su too strong in are three to five six to eight but we also had a really nice percentage who responded who were both in high school or out of high school so a number of people who shared um what I found interesting on a number of these pieces we ask the parents to rank the most important aspects for our high school experience and we can see that um we ranked with five being most important to them so those who scored at or responded at a four or a five very strong ly the most important aspects core academic courses and rigor parental communication um advanced placement courses if that was applicable for their child they were looking at clubs Sports Counseling Services diversity and special education services so we really went the gamut and we saw a variety of responses that came the the piece that is very important as we talk about this and we share this is we are in the midst of as was shared out we are in the midst of our current um contract with Governor Livingston high school at Berkeley Heights and we renegotiate a contract at the end of the 2627 it ends in 27 um school year so looking at high school opportunities for our students how to really strengthen the exposure and opportun unities for our students and where they attend um so what was very important when looking at a high school academic rigor and support I'm thrilled that that was most important because we also feel that way here in Mountainside um a graduation rate keeping that at as close to four years as possible test scores could be sat Act and jsla the New Jersey student learning um portions the percent of students who attend a four-year college that tends to be a reflection on the what the product and the programming that students are exposed to very important to our community is proximity to Mountain Side the time it takes to get from one location to another um and then the other really important aspect that we looked to our parents for was based upon their knowledge and what they know of Governor Livingston as a high school how confident are they that they would choose to send their children there for high school and knowing that many of our parents have options they may be looking to Union County vocational schools they may be looking at private schools so all of these different opportunities that are out there for our students we wanted to gauge our parents and their feelings on um our current high school program it and so I know it's rather small but the blue at the bottom is that they would definitely plan to send their childood governor Livingston that was 49.5% we have 26.7% who stated that they were likely to send their child to GL 18% who are considering other educational opportunities in this area here was a very small percent percentage that said that I think I would choose to send them to a different high school and an equally small who percentage of that um so we're looking around four or five% um saying that they would definitely send their child to a different high school so all of this information um is important for us as a board to consider as we move ourselves forward and look long term at the best programming opportunities for our students and it is important information for us to really have heard from the community and um the board takes that that information very very seriously so as they continue forward and continue to look um at programming for our students ensuring that the strong programming that they get here in Mountainside continues and follows and is there for them in high school so that they are able to move on and really be well prepared for college and everything Beyond so there are a number of other aspects um that were covered some open-ended pieces that the board is taking into consideration as we look forward because we want to look at wherever and whatever we provide our students that we are listening and hearing what concerns there may be and ways to develop stronger opportunities Partnerships um so that our Mountainside students will Thrive as we know that they do here wherever they go for high school so that is the information that we have um quickly in addition the district spent a great amount of time working on our strategic plan for the next five years this also involved Community input so we had three different Community Based meetings that began last spring we worked in conjunction with New Jersey school boards Association and we really had great brainstorming opportunities and chances to discuss what was important for the next five years so from 2024 to 2029 for Mountainside what did we feel were important ways to strengthen education for our Mountainside School District as a group there were three overarching goals that we came up with one was expanded educational opportunities to support student achievement and once approved by the board these strategic plans will be on the website and we will continue to revisit them throughout the next five years as we accomplish the goals So within these goals we are looking for opportunities for our students to be active learners to really have understanding of their own education as well as understanding of technology that was a big piece of the conversations and I you know I defer to many of the board members who attended we talked a lot about increases in technology and what does that look like for our students and how do they manage technology um going forward so using instruction to help them to manage not only in the classroom but what we're seeing on social media what we're seeing with how they are being exposed to so many pieces and helping them to really filter and determine what is important in in for themselves um looking also another big piece and you'll see this throughout a couple of our goals leveraging the resources we have in our community a big part of conversations at some of our groups was how do we get opportunities for those who have great experience in the community and bring them to our students giving opportunities for them to learn from others whether they are senior groups whether they are people who have unique experiences or unique opportunities um coming from a different background and a different um way of approaching a task and so that really was a large part of some of those conversations and you'll see that within the Strategic plan as as well um looking at our curriculum to again make it Global making sure that we are giving strong awareness of career opportunities for our students so that they have opportunities to see what's out there um as well as Global awareness what else is happening in other parts of the world other places we all know that the careers for many of our students who are younger they haven't even been invented yet so those careers have being on that opport those opportunities to um help our students be prepared enhancing our enrichment opportunities that comes from across the Spectrum from our gifted and talented which really played into the recent um public question that we really um got support through the community for of enhancing our gifted and talented opportunities hiring a staff member for that and making uh other opportunities accessible to everybody our second was aligning with something I already said parent guardian and Community stakeholder involvement that was very important to the board and the community members who helped to craft this plan so expanding those opportunities with the PTO enhancing these opportunities for educational opportunities on social media um and increasing that volunteer involvement so again very some of these goals align and our third Partnerships and grants for sustainability sustainability especially for a small District was a large part of many of our conversations so exploring alternate funding sources we feel that that is very important for the community of Mountainside we greatly appreciate the support we got on the most recent public question but we understand that there needs to be broader opportunities because of The Limited federal and state funding that we receive as a smaller District we want to get creative and look for other opportunities where we might be able to increase funding revenue streams and funding opportunities to support important programming um looking at our facilities what do we need to do to make sure our facilities are strong for the next five years and Beyond what does that look like for our growing population of students what does that look like for our classrooms for instructional space for our staff so conducting a facilities um audit and then really creating a good long-term facilities plan for how to address that for ourselves what I already talked about surveying grades 9 to 12 needs of the community so we are best preparing to meet the needs of the community and all students so while we do have this contract that is up in a few years this was still in addition a separate conversation and very important to the community members who attended our strategic planning so I'm very happy to see that a number of things that we're already doing align with the community needs and desires um and then finishing it out we are looking at examining our subject by subject Partnerships with our receiving District to make sure that all the way from K through 12 our students have a seamless opportunity for education so that when they reach high school they're not starting something brand new without having that really strong structure that gets them through the door on equal footing with their counterparts from a different middle school so that's very important um and really looking for opportunities to support our existing staff and staff retention it is not a surprise to anybody that staff retention of teachers is difficult in all districts we Mountainside is not unique to that but it is very important that we look at it from that perspective and we find and identify opportunities to retain our strong staff and Recruit new Educators so we have opportunities when we look at professional development our substitutes um looking at the well-being of our staff supporting them just as much much as we support our students and utilizing staff surveys to gauge their feelings and their needs um when it comes to culture and climate and those opportunities so this is a broad um overview of the Strategic plan that is going to be in front of the board for approval and then we'll be shared with the committee and the community right um so now the moment you've all been waiting for just real quick on that how often are these reviewed and tweak updated so we go back to the Strategic plan throughout um the five years there will be periodic reports out to the board okay um no less than twice a year um just updates Where Do We Stand what have we accomplished um some of these are faster than others so for example the parent Serv that took place so we are now reporting out these results so that information happens quickly some of these take longer because the um facilities project you know to do a full Facilities Review it's a matter of approving somebody Gathering their data sharing that feedback and then talking at the committee level of prioritizing any projects that we may need to and then presenting that to the board so but throughout the next five years all of these will will be reported out whenever there are milestones and portions that are met yeah I just um the one thought I had was this is there's nothing I disagree with on on here um but maybe an ad right where we know that we've got to solidify a high school partner within this time frame and I don't know if I'm just isolating this line where it almost stops at the survey but then it if there was another step or a seeing it through to completion that a contract is signed for the long term with whatever the partner may be right um because I if I think about like where a lot of our attention and a priority through 29 is it I think it has to be listed here somewhere right to to solidify that end date of June 2027 so just I I maybe just another line I don't know where belongs and it's it's a result of this um that's what I was just asking so so for the next time um if we want to add that and say this one's complete but as a result we're adding another one off that that would be my only recommendation okay right other questions from the board on it once we approve it's going to go on the mountain side website yes I'll stay there yes okay oh yeah the one the previous fiveyear plan is on the website it and it lives there and it's stays there um and so this will just replace that because it's now updated and moving forward yep I'm glad I'm glad for some of the some of the items that do feel like they're 2024 only that we've got some language that at least allows us to maybe revisit for example like a parent survey so I mean it's a moment in time but perhaps there's a need in a year from now or two years from now same for staff climate survey that sort of a thing thought we handled that well I felt maybe our prior plan was a bit by the time we got to today it's like this thing's been done and dusted for a long time so this this feels like it's um a Little More Alive and something we can we can address I know they we do it right now and we hope to be able to guide off of it but it I'm hopeful that there's enough in here that we feel like we've worded it to be able to say do we want to do this again does that need to be looked at one more time I agree with Bill I mean there's I think we've for example intentionally worded the alignment curriculum wise over a window of time to be with TBD if it remains Berkeley height so be it but like that's we're not committed a certain direction by by virtue of what's in here which is nice um so yeah that's that's worth thinking about for sure yep absolutely and um I want to please I want to personally thank the members of the strategic planning committee so that was Dana G Petro Mike Goodwin and Jordan Hyman they reviewed the Strategic plan provided feedback participated um as along along with other board members participating in the meetings so really very very important that this is a collaboration and that these goals are those of the board and the community and I think that you know for for the next five years for that and not that these are the only things we're ever going to work on yeah there are so many other things that happen on a day-to-day and are our priorities but that we were really able to hone in and take that feedback um I appreciate the feedback and and the participation from the board as well yeah can I say one more thing which is and I I it's really your comment but I'm going to try to repurpose it which is that like we often lean on the same people to help us with things in terms of community involvement etc etc we had great turnout in this case I'm going to botch it but across the three sessions 50 60 different non-board members who showed up from you know members of the community to the mayor Etc be great to see some of that continue as we get into some of these line items and opportunities to show up at school or help us with funding help us with Community Partnerships and all the different ideas that are here like let's let's not do it as a one off this is I'm I'm looking at you but I'm talking out like let's let's you know there's a lot of opportunity to do more for kids in school and out of school and I think we've set that table here but hopefully we'll we'll see that pay off in in the next couple years good thing is they put all their emails on a sheet yes so really we know who you are keeping Out YouTube yeah right the parents that had like they didn't have kids in the school system they twoy old there was a lot of them absolutely great great to see that's very important they're looking ahead yeah absolutely absolutely and that's what this is I mean for that five years it's really what do we want to build what does the district want to become in those pieces excellent anything else on that one let's go to the fun stuff all right fun stuff there we go all right so I am very excited that wh we don't need that let's go to this slideshow instead there we go all right so welcome those of you and I appreciate those of you who are able to show up this evening I know that um it's a very busy time of year so we are very excited we had the opportunity at our Veterans Day assembly to recognize the students who participated in this year's um thefw Patriots pen essay contest and so this evening I want to announce the three top winners for each of our Middle School grade levels and for those of you who are here I do have certificates for you so hold on one second helps if I hook you in all right so this year the no you don't want you that does not need it unless anybody wants to do my work that would be helpful so this year's um topic was my voice in America's democracy and that was um a topic the students worked on themselves Mr Young is always such a great support for this program and helping out the students as they work towards this so we're going to start with our sixth grade winners and I will come over on this side as it's easier for us to go so we were able to celebrate and then have some snacks after the students were uh recognized during the assembly so in first place in sixth grade um and if you are here please just come on over for your certificate first place in sixth grade was Amelia Lee congratulations in second place in sixth grade was Joseph [Applause] altavilla congratulations J and in third place in sixth grade was Gabriella ero and so we will make sure that Gabriella gets her certificate in seventh grade we had Aaliyah grai she is not here with us this evening to change what I can change change the slide thank you all right um second place also not with us this evening Michael Silva and third place in seventh grade Caitlyn Freeman all right so seventh grade is busy elsewhere in eighth grade in first Place Jada Santos congratulations thank you for coming from Bas if you had a game I hope you won in second place Amelia [Music] woo and in third place Emma demic so we will recognize all of our students um and I do want to be sure to recognize that you know this would not happen without so many other people this the Veterans Day assembly is such an important tradition here in uh Deerfield and over the years it's not only important for our students it's important for our local veterans who come and are recognized and celebrated and I know it's an event that they look forward to um we really thank VFW Post 10136 um for ader mlin such a strong supporter of our district and supporter of all of these programs and a great collaboration between ourselves and the community um in addition as you can see so many others who are really um a part of what makes that day so special we have our boy scouts who are part of the raising of the flag and the we have our class president leading the Pledge of Allegiance we have students playing to the colors um we have you know our band our choir so so many people who really made this day very important and memorable and so I just wanted to make sure to recognize and celebrate all of them so we appreciate all that you have done we appreciate you and your essays and thank you for those who shared them on that day and um that is what we have so thank you for being here with us this evening you are welcome to stay for the rest of the board meeting however we do not take it personally if you decide that you might have one or two other things that you'd rather spend your evening doing but congratulations to our students again thank you and have a wonderful holiday [Applause] all right do we have any questions or comments on any yeah I need to know did the basketball team win or lose yeah did they win I didn't get an answer well I'm sorry would you play okay get him next time thank you by bye congratulations once again the boys won boys won all right no more questions comments move on all right uh J I just want to say thank you for the survey um I think I want to thank the 314 people that we got it from uh you know it's the opportunity to you know show our community where we're going so thank you uh we're moving on to our business administrator report it too soon so I need to move feels way we just finished as I share with the board we will be recognizing our teachers and educators of the year at our January meeting so we were very excited to recognize them here in the district and we'll be recognizing them at our January meeting not the reor not the reorg no the January 21st board meeting our regular meeting so because we've got on a whole meeting or two not talking about budget we thought we'd add budget to the schedule again um Johnny could you just go to the next so we just wanted to share with you the the calendar preliminary calendar of where we are with the budget um we are working on the budget for next year um already um all of the department heads and principles have been given information regarding the budget um they are gathering information that they will submit back to me in early January and then we will Mrs Walling and I will review those budgets and we will put them into the uh Master budget and create a draft we don't get state aid until it's usually the end of February um the governor does his budget address usually at the end of February and we get state aid 48 hours after his budget address that's usually the last week um we sometimes get indications of what might happen but not usually um so we'll be preparing budget assuming state aid figure say stay stable um if we happen to get additional state aid we'll be happy if we get less state aid we won't be happy um the but the board meetings have been scheduled to fit in March and April with the state timelines for the budget um so what that means is our March 18th board meeting you would be asked to adopt a preliminary budget that has to be submitted subed to the board to the county by March 20th um that date I doubt will change that's pretty firm set in statute so I don't see any changes to that date unless of course something happens with state aid um if state aid is later than expected then they sometimes do change that date um so depending on what's going on at the state level it's possible um and if that happens then we might have to change a board meeting date but right now or at a board meeting or something for right now that's the schedule um the and those are firm dates like if that budget has to be there March 20th unless they change the deadline um we are right now projecting that April 29th we'll have a public hearing on the budget and submit the final budget right after the April 29th date um you have about a two week period that you're have to hold the public hearing Within two weeks um April 29th is on the early side of the two weeks usually but we don't have state election calendar out yet um but as soon as we get that we'll update this calendar if need be so this is where we're at um you know the same story holds as usual we have right now we're expecting a 2% cap on our tax levy increase um I have heard Rumblings that they may have additional um areas of the budget that we might be able to exceed that 2% cap but that's again just been a little bit of Rumblings um transportation comes up time and again because we all know those costs are rising much more than 2% um special AED also comes up but nothing is said on that right now but you know the same story applies again where with a 2% budget cap we're looking at a very tight budget um we have increases in in many of the areas of our budget that make up a majority of our budget they're increasing more than 2% um and we're doing our best to contain those costs but uh I don't expect this to be an easy process again this year so that's where we are um more information will be coming and we'll probably have some more detailed stuff to you we'll certainly be meeting with Finance um probably late January um to start talking about preliminary numbers and where we are anybody have any questionss about the calendar budget process may have answered this in the past we we memory serves I think over the summer we had to accommodate additional special ed costs from Berkeley Heights do we we have that factored at this point now and anything different about process going forward that we need to account for or we don't have their new numbers yet okay um for this year y um but we're we're we're in better shape than we were last year um last year we had all kinds of things that came to us at the end of the year that we didn't know about yeah um we believe we know about most of those things got it that was really the question yes good answer so and I did I actually reached out to the ba in burgle heads to ask for their enrollment numbers um because that was also an issue last year we had different enrollment numbers than they do um we we don't have enrollment numbers we have to get it from them so we want to make sure we we have those numbers got it do we have them from him yet or okay how do our reserves V uh well our reserves right now are at 2% so which is the most we can carry um we do have some reserves in maintenance and and capital reserve they're not huge um but we can't carry any more than 2% in reserves by law but we are we are we have yes and I don't expect any issues getting through this year's budget um this year's budget we solid we've got everything covered you know barring any you know boiler blowing up that's a good right we're we're good when you say this year you mean finishing the 20 25 right December 31st right right right next week we're good now without without using the reserves correct correct yeah so you know borrowing any major major you know event happening but uh if you recall last year we had to dip into those reserves to cover some the special cost where we're not in that situation for sure okay any other questions or comments thank you thanks D thank you Dana okay moving on to our Berkeley Heights report yep uh so our last meeting Berkeley Heights at GL was November 14th uh um just quick student updates shared at that meeting the Highlander marching band finished second in a state competition uh GL French Club did a chocolate moof sounds awesome uh the girls volleyball team won a third straight state champion or state sectional and won State semi finals that was November 14th they lost in the state championship uh unfortunately that was November 17th at Franklin um we're honoring them at this week's meeting on Thursday um The Hilltop players uh put on lend me a tener that was November 21st through the 23rd um we also recognized there were six National Merit Scholarships Scholars rather this year um whom we recognized at the last meeting there was a really good presentation from Dr janas Jasco on School counseling um if anyone wants it or after this we get a question about slides I can probably grab them um she just went through what counseling services are offered to all 9 through 12 um thought it was interesting she noted there's there's currently about 175 it's 175 to1 student counselor ratio um and uh she also talked about the college fair uh which was October at GL there were 127 schools uh I guess we we have like a it's it's an in demand college fair we tend to get good turnout at least in compared to other Regional or what schools pull in for their college fairs um there number of just buildings and grounds updates um but of note is the fact that there's four new large TVs installed in the GL cafeteria so for those who are watching board meetings or watching on screens from board meetings uh it looks a lot better we also extended Dirk Phillips as the interim assistant superintendent that's through genan 31 I assume that that role will be discussed once their new superintendent starts uh on Jan one we also approved uh James Shriner as the interim assistant principal at GL through December 31st he was the interim athletic director uh until CJ Hendrick started November 11th and we approved a new student movement against cancer Club at GL and the the corresponding adviser uh we also approved the wrestling Co-op and ice hockey Co-op but those are both were both pending legal review I don't know if we've had further I think there's some back and forth on Final language but it's approved pending right those additional questions that were in there uh and the next meeting again is this Thursday the last full scheduled meeting of the year at GL um among agenda items will be the we're approving the 20 25 26 Calendar which hopefully has as much alignment as we could possibly get align on I know we're not starting necessarily at the same date right but um the main holidays the main holidays are yeah the main breaks completely spring break over La so we're we got that we got that I don't know how much back and forth there was on that one Janet but there was uh Mr Nixon and I had some very good conversations about um the the uh various iterations and versions that were going out yes um there's definitely some things that look different just because of you know we close for the primary elections because we have voting here in in our buildings y um they they don't there may be a couple of other days they start sooner than us because they do bring their staff back in August yes um September 2 first it's my expectation that our calendar will be on the January agenda so it will be we'll be putting together our final drafts sharing it with the mea yep as part of our discussion with them sharing it with the board um and I'm expecting ours but the the main pieces the the major breaks are that's good because some of their many variations were not fully were less align than the than the ultimately approved version yep yeah they'll start school for those who car September 2nd it's right after Labor Day Tuesday uh and for those with high school juniors their graduation day 2026 is June 177 if I got that right so that calendar will be on on the agenda for Thursday to approve Jan sorry what is the ratio between students to counselor 175 to one that's a good ratio IO a good ratio yeah he's the expert look at me I remember having 250 it's probably it's probably better than it was last year because the school population's down that's good to know to have that if you do a survey around the county maybe now maybe be being a roll and drop somewhat but that's pretty good really okay I'm glad you I'd be the first to say a little concerned when I heard that's no understanding that there's that that's that's normal ratio a good ratio like one counselor per grade isn't it usually like a through you know the alphabetized alphabet A through a through f for 30 something years I knew everybody in that family I thre it I'll share my experience just I frequently speak to the GU ccer in high school and they're always available uh for any questions so that number would have alarm me too had I not experienced that they're um an hour away from responding to an email or always open to have you in their classroom or I just happened to do the college November or junior year um meeting and it went great and she had several lined up so um it's a shining spot over there is the the guidance program I can second that I like anything else though that's you got to say this I'm not getting the information or I'd like to know more or my kid didn't tell whatever it is if you want it but they will they are very responsive I have found that too yeah yes including from day one when they you know when they meet with you here it's already started it's Dr Janos was down meeting with our gu school counselor and others just last week yeah so all of those conversations have already we got the we great parents already received the letter dates coming up there you go slow what's that which one um Mrs Ross sent an email to all eighth grade parents about the dates coming up and scheduling your your class session and stuff who knows I'm probably delayed on a I probably owe money to a lunch I'm cut off correspondence I can it to I just got to go pay my all those cookies in the cafeteria they're buying get me de keeps bouncing can I add that I mean I've been on the board for a while now I think this is the first time that um we get a I guess a feedback from the uh go the Berkeley Heights superintendent um asking us for our opinion with the uh calendar so that's appreciated I've been I've been very pleased Mr Nixon um during his time as the Acting Superintendent has really um we've had good conversation and he's always been available should there be questions um and and given opportunities so I look forward to working with the new superintendent when she comes in yeah Dr um and uh but do appreciate um Mr Nixon's availability and willingness to just really communicate and share information as we've needed it yeah and I can say that as a board member and as a parent especially so I appreciate that he's had quite a year tell you that yeah yep okay that's it that's all up thank you let's move on can I please have a motion to approve under administrations items 1 through five so move second questions or comments roll call please Bill Dylan yes Michael Goodman yes Dan to cro yes Jordan hman yes yes car benis yes may I please have a motion to approve under budget Finance items 1 through six so moved questions or comments second oh who second second questions or comments roll call please Bill Dylan yes Michael Goodwin yes Dan Jordan hman yes Vivian poo yes Carmine venis yes can I please have a motion to approve under uh Personnel items one through six so mov second any questions or comments I'll say the obvious great news that we've got a Spanish teacher back in the classroom I know that wasn't a given I know we um we debated it and and and leap of faith in finding a fix across so so thanks Janet for continuing to look even though it may have been easier to not to um and my question I know we talked about basketball last time everything working out okay with the co co- basketball coach approach and all that yeah they won so it must be working out um and you do see on here that adjustment um from Madison Phillips from being the assistant coach to a co-coach part of that was due to timing and availability of our Mr Stoddard as our coach just because he's not physically in the building so there's times there's pieces we felt that this was the appropriate way to approach it for this season um but both are working really well together been very pleased um and I know that both the boys team and the girls team are off to do a good season as they're getting themselves started great um and also I will share number item number two really excited that we were able to find a replacement media specialist Mrs Bradley who had resigned um for an alternate position closer to home but finding somebody midye this is uh Mr Chango is just graduating um like this week um as he finishes up his program so similar to another staff member that was previously approved will start with us as a long-term sub um and then become um go onto guide once his certification is uh finalized so excited to have somebody to to join us for that position as well excellent um J can we get a copy of the uh schedule for basketall girls and boys yeah thank you that thank you roll call please Bill Dyan yes Mel Goodwin yes Dan yes Jordan hman yes Vivian poopo yes car yes can I please have a motion to approve under curriculum just item one second any questions or comments yes roll call please Bill Dylan did we sorry did we get the list yes it was an attachment it's on the computer too if you okay Olive stain it's here yes Dana Jordan Hyman yes Vivian poopo yes carine V yes attach can I please have a motion to approve under policy items one and two so move second any questions or comments I do have a question um I was curious on how the service animal language would impact our no dogs policies and signs and all the rest so well in full support of this but it made me think about is there something else that potentially needs to be tweaked as a result of this or am I just overthinking it bottom line is you know as just as we would with um other policies should there be a medical or a documented need for a student or a staff member to have a service animal then that supersedes that some of those General pieces okay so there's nothing that needs to be necessarily in this policy but it would defer to um the medical need in order for them um to have Equitable service would really overarch um the the no dogs policy say at a basketball game you know at a outside event so there would be that that understanding that it is there for a purpose and do we as a district differentiate the legitimacy of a service animal or not it goes underneath for example so what's part of the wording is that we might require certification yeah that the animal is properly vaccinated documentation on it so we have the ability to look for further um understanding as to the ra rational and the reasoning does someone need a doctor's certification within it we talk about that we can inquire as to whether the animal is required due to a disability what task or work the animal has been trained to perform um and therefore it needs you know that would give us some of that um bottom line that goes with it um but we do cannot require documentation including proof that it has been um licensed so we have to follow through and predominantly this all applies to students with disabilities yeah so that there would be a correlation there would be a correlation that goes within yep I didn't realize yeah I wanted to protect that part of it um without having somebody trying to abuse the loopholes or something like that yeah understandable U fully supportive of it I just it made me think about our recent uptick and I think was the safety uh perspective that we did a year or two ago in the Strategic plan so y okay thank you yep absolutely any other comments or questions roll call please Bill Dylan yes Michael Goodwin yes Dana c Petro yes Jordan Heyman yes Vivian poo yes Carmine Ben yes uh any old business new business I've got one um which is maybe just a seed plan for us to discuss in January we used to start our meetings at 7 we now start at 6:30 we don't know show up at 6:30 do we want to have a discussion around starting at 7 table it for later we can discuss it now but I seems worth at least a discussion so that we can you know we can get going at seven okay if if we're gonna if we're gonna you know or or or split the difference but feir that's my question you know sometimes we start a meeting we don't have to stay in there an hour sometimes we do maybe it could be a half hour if you start at 7 we could be finished at 7:30 you know that's that's way used the the BH meetings used to used to be 30 minutes for exact then then they required we there was so much in there that exact same issue went the other way that was 30 minutes now we we're an hour sure a lot of people you're right it depends if if we did that I wouldn't want us to necessarily consider starting our meeting any later so right it would be can we compress exactly into the 30 depends or right I'm only taking back to it was only if it's necessary to say the extra time otherwise people just keep going on yeah I just know we all have some us are in New York and it's hard sometimes to get like 6:30 people coming from New York yeah that changed it what do you guys think s versus 630 go I prefer the 6:30 just if we if we need the full hour just because of having younger kids getting home Quicks earlier helps but I do think that there's we can definitely compress it and start 7 to 7:30 and then started Mee at 7:30 and then if we need a second EXA go afterwards but I think a lot of times we kill an hour because we have it and we're waiting and we talk and stuff where maybe we can really just kind of hone in the agenda that has to be understood that if we have a second exact we really have to stay later I mean we can't we can't be rushing I mean that's one thing that we're spoiled sometimes because it's nice to just start early and get home early but there'll be things that we'll have to discuss second session I feel like we've needed the hour of exec this year more than we've not needed the hour but you're right it's we have to go come in with you know just open mind and saying we might stay well can we just like change the time if we feel like there's a lot to talk about Jan and say guys there's a lot which way do you want to do it do you want to do 6:30 or seven no because you need the public yeah you have to advertise for the public yeah I'm fine with 6:30 but I would be agreeable if the group thought seven is more appropriate I'm good with whatever I don't think uh shortening the exact in my opinion what I've seen being the newest member on the board that we've ever been able to shorten ex before you got here it was real short BL it on me but either way I shortening now we an hour it was shorter it was shorter it was half an hour right so and we managed to get through everything every now and then you may need more time most of the time you could get through do we need that as an agenda item going into the meeting for reorg or we just decide it then like do we have to put we have to change the meeting we have to advertise right no sorry can we can we take the time on January 5th six six six six six to discuss it or do we need to make some sort of motion here to add it to the agenda no you can discuss it just yeah you just need to know before that I mean you could also if you know the next meeting coming up is like to to Dana's point if you happen to know you know January 21st or whatever that meeting is like we're gonna need an hour if you know it in enough in advance then we can advertise we would lose our audience if we kept changing the time though that's true maybe we would gain an audience your public star we always kept our public starting at 7:30 Chang the executive to 6:30 or 7 typically a two we when where you need to go out and advertise and the you know the what we use for example the Westfield leader that has a deadline of a third it comes out on the Thursday so you just you want to have ample time to uh put that notice out there yeah we went to that because we had three people who were working in New York and they they could push it back right yeah Dante right yeah Dante Chris the girl what was her name there was oh Genie where she was a rep to for G Parker yeah Parker yeah yeah right Parker right Parker lber yeah and there was somebody else definitely up for discussion I'm good with whatever um yeah I have one uh Janet from a from a co-op perspective we do wrestling and ice hockey now right um if if a a parent approached me about considering another sport is the is the appropriate uh process to have them reach out to Mrs JS um to what would what would the what would the process be we would send out a survey for interest to see if there was more than one student or we'd have to you know look at yeah I would say that their first would be to reach out to Mrs jenss they could also reach out um I would CC Miss Castro because she is this year's um true athletic coordinator true okay um so I'd have them reach out to both of them take a look at it we can take you know see then it becomes really is their student interest so very similar to how volleyball started we did a survey we took a look at that that interest and then it's also a matter of is there a coach who is capable willing interested in order to be able to do it if it's not on the stipended list yeah it then really comes down to looking at um is it something that gets negot it in now we do have a number of sports that just haven't existed in a while but live on the stien list good point because they had approached me in such a way as Columbia offers this can we go there as a co-op like wrestling and ice hockey but if interest is big enough he would just then potentially create our own team do Vol corre and then if not if there was one and again they're asking can we go there we don't know whether they are already maxed out at Columbia for that sport wrestling is one where they really wasn't too too many so it made sense for the co-op same with ice hockey I think with New Providence and Westfield so or New Providence and Berkeley Heights um so it's a question of what does that look like and is there even space availability at that program yeah and so therefore I would I would start I would start there perfect well I I saw with that was you have to get sufficient port participants sometimes you run the sport you have good intentions but you can't feel the team or whatever thing the way it was approached to me and probably not the topic here was U looked like Columbia needed a few more players this person was interested and probably had one or two classmates that was also interested so that they were trying to leverage the existing co-ops I think they were using wrestling in their scenario to me and we're just trying to be curious about how to yeah that was that was a problem the yeah number you want to ask about uh eval committee or do you want me to do that uh yeah so one one more for for new business um for the for the board to consider I I recommend when we're doing the reorg uh that we add a new committee um specifically dedicated to evaluating and uh working towards the uh High School send receive uh relationship right so we've got this contract that ends June 2027 um but yet we don't have a specific committee I think we threw around things like RFP committee or high school committee evaluation committee um I I do think that we as a group have to begin to prioritize that and put a small working team against it um to understand what what are we going to do right I'm fearful that the that time will be here before we know it and if we don't begin to isolate our own time um I think we're going to continue to just stay in place so nothing for tonight but I just if you're interested think about it and I don't know the formalities um of is that the new president that we elect would bring it up or I so I guess my question to you guys would be what would I need to do to make that a little bit more official of a request before we walk in the door for the reorg right I think board just decide that I think that's I think that's great idea um and then the question the piggyback is do would we still want do we still need a separate Berkeley Heights committee which exists currently that's just a talking committee that's just for communication yes and then the other one would be for actual negotiating or evaluating or you know so we can combine both I think one yeah one runs an evaluation process and one either is the is a talking conversation committee question mark you need it or becomes the if the board should decide the negotiating committee for starting conversations on a contract there as well so there's that's a question as well if you have two like where where does the T of feel like it' be nice if it was one and then yeah I think what we have to decide is would the RFP committee be be responsible for Berkley Heights and any other options or would we want to isolate Berkley Heights because we have a Bley height committee already and there's a work relationship but there's more than one thing that we really want to work through with them our existing relationship and the future right um so is it one or two is what we' kind of consider so if it was both I think that it would the same people with the convers the talking conversation would have a lot of information to help facilitate the conversations with other schools of the wants okay so I think like being the same people even if it's two committees being the same people I think it would be beneficial in my opinion just so it's not having a conversation with the two groups of okay make sure you cover this make sure you talk about this because this is what we talked it was everybody kind of is on already knows I think the only um but it's the only part that we would want to consider is do you want to mix the negotiations with the existing uh next the more day-to-day related items that the Berkeley Heights committee should be addressing coordinating graduation invites and co-op programs and what's working and the the relationship of the of the two boards so I can say that that their president Gail who's been here has has asked she's asked recently when is our contract up I suspect that they'll want to start some conversations with us at some point so it'd be nice to have people who answer that phone call when we get it to to have those conversations or or we are proactive about it either way um and I yeah if we were we're not voting on it now but but I mean my take would be you probably want two two different two different groups that are working on that whether it's the same people or not to just just divide the divide the workflow one that's that's working on this track and one that's that's because yeah you want you want to have a relationship committee that also is building toward a contract I think yes and the terms that would go into it which while it doesn't expire until you know technically September 2027 it we we probably need the time calendar year 25 into 26 to get it yeah done 2027 is not that far away it expires in June or September may I thought it was June actually June June yeah okay so so that's not the end of the school we got two years so that will be our current our current sixth graders correct I trust you we messed this up last time so I'm not gonna I'm not gonna try up there well they'll be the last grade to go up there they the 2027 current sixth graders will be 2027 in June they will go up there but then every so our fifth graders and Below will be affected by the change the new contract new contct the new contract yeah any changes or the new contract or whatever okay that's right okay that that's really do business yeah that's great I love that you suggested that I think that's really crucial that we need to implement yeah and we're going to start at 6 600 p.m. on the 6 right we're we've already advertised that we have changed it so we will have it as an earlier meeting that night right okay January 6 at six right y 166 there you go okay let's move on any committee reports oh sorry I'm sorry the one other thing that we wanted to bring up was uh talking about the uh pole banners for Blue Ribbon Y and wanting to gauge board interest um in putting some on Central Avenue I'm very pleased to share that we already have ordered a uh sign for the front of right at the middle school entrance is where it would go um the PTO is supporting that so it will be a blue ribbon National Blue Ribbon School sign um Crest as well as some new lettering to save Deerfield School um right at that space and then just last night I met with with the Watts foundation for to speak to a number of Grant requests and they gave me a call today to say in addition to a number of other requests um that they are going to fund they are going to do a 2d rounded Crest in the foyer so it'll be indoors right at Deerfield in that foyer area um and if you haven't been there yet please stop by the PTO helped to fund a brand new carpet it's nice it's not sick six of them pieced together anymore it is one large uh carpet with a beautiful with the Husky um logo right in the middle nice um so very pleased that they have really supported um both of these areas but wanted to gauge board interest um in doing some banners that could go on um on the like on the uh telephone polls so size-wise similar to what we see around town um for the veterans and for others um and I did get approval from the buau to put them out on Central Avenue nice good on our side of the street or both sides or really it's up to us to to determine so that is my original thought was you know because some of them are a little bit um uded because of trees if you drive up and down Central Avenue right in front of the building um some do have some extra wiring just the way that they put in um when you leave Deerfield and immediately look left where the digital sign is so in that open space that's kind of in front of the of Miss darling's room there's two telephone poles right there wide open and very very accessible um there's then there's another one right on the corner at the exit then we have two houses um so we do have access but I really would uh I'd love to hear from the board um as to thoughts of number and and space and those types why we need permission from the town we probably need permission from public service if we're putting them on their polls well they the town has already done them on other polls so we would definitely make sure whether or not we needed to check with pscg or or ver you know I think pscg is um so we would double check but just again wanted to check they're about $300 per B um and so wanting to gauge just interest and uh thoughts I would say yes end um a lot of the visitors that come here enter through the back way so over on this side whether it's in the parking lot in the back uh yeah so I I would ask that the sign is not only be limited to Central app but we figure out a way to uh make our success known in the back here and I don't know if that's our on our own things or or whatnot but we we have a number of we have a number of Lights back there we've got more traffic back here than we do up front and and and why wouldn't we even consider maybe a light pole or two over by Beachwood those kids are going to be coming to Deerfield and their part of the town as well I mean are we only restricted to just my my only concern is the Restriction is that you can only advertise that we are not a National Blue Ribbon District we are a national it is a national blue ribbon school so I'd be just concerned about there being a misunderstanding of seeing a sign over there even though it may say Deerfield School on it when we get them um printed I just think that it might cause some some question if you will um having them over at at Beachwood um and that was one of the very few things that the at the doe level um they were very very specific in the wording and that is specific to who we are not to it as a district is there a length of time I know sometimes there they'll allow you to put it up but it'll only be for a month or two things like that do we have any idea the O the o one are still up yeah yeah again it must sign 2024 so we do the sign it in the crest it has 2024 so yeah there's a 2011 I wondered how long the actual Banner stayed on the post before someone took it down right um that's up to us okay you know because we're not looking to utilize any of the space that the town already uses what I had done was I reached out and asked my my but I definitely hear what you're talking about out back and and I'm trying to link it through to retention and uh Employee Engagement so I don't want to have have a couple of dollars you know not it's in support of our strategic plans I I think showing up to school every day knowing that you work at one of the best schools in the entire country is directly align to our retention and and our strategic plan so if we have to approve an extra three banners at 300 each okay um I think we I think we could figure that out then what I will do is I will work with um Mrs jenss I will work with Mr Johnson we will take a look at our facilities what does it look like in the back what are our poles there what do we have over here and I'll come back to the board with a recommendation of a number and locations but what I do ask is during the daylight take a drive up and down Central and in the back and and if you have some suggestions as to where you think they would look best just shoot me an email let me know because this way you know you drive it more often than I do so where my eyes go may not be with others do ban on the tennis bow cour I mean yeah yeah I think we should you could be in charge good what they call ground to to ceiling graduation in the gym you know I think we should other ways graduation being a big one I think we should definitely have some some Florida ceiling pop up um that aren't as expensive I know kind of what the going rate is on on those so shouldn't be $300 we also talked um the PTO in addition to uh many of their other really lovely donations they are purchasing a new Podium for here at Deerfield nice um and it's got It's got the ability to write hook in immediately and so the front of it um Mrs JS and I were chatting about so whether or not we do something on the front of it in order to you know to to show that as well Dan it's got to talk this year so we get a brand new Podium I see how you work spee speech digit sign yes we have a couple graduates this year right three of you ohs of us three headed so I will work with that I'll come back with a recommendation and we'll go for that yeah I think overall very supportive I mean absolutely we love it yes okay okay any committee reports we met a strategic strategic planning committee obviously that was November 14th I think we've covered that but yeah thanks for those who are part of that okay all right we're moving on to uh public participation on any item of your choosing please come up to the podium see none we're moving on um I believe we do not need a second um executive um at this point I guess can I have a motion to adjourn motion happy holidays everybody second okay meeting ends happy holidays we'll see you back in January absolutely