e e for e e e e okay man have your attention please we're going to start the meeting the O Township Board of educa Board of Education acknowledges that the law of the state establishes that members of the public including members of the board have the right to record public board meetings I'm reading the wrong thing I know on the top pursuing to the New Jersey open public meeting as NJ 4-10 adequate notice of this meeting has been provided by advertising such notice in the home News Tribune the Asbury Park Press the board office the schools and on cable vision 118 and Verizon files 24 and filing by such notice with the Township Clerk this meeting was scheduled for Tuesday March 19th uh 2024 the board will take action on payment of bills and other agenda items the Oldbridge Township Board of Education acknowledges that the law of this state establishes that members of the public including members of the board have the right to record public board meetings using audio or video recording devices provided that the active recording does not interfere with the business of this public board meeting therefore the board makes it known that any such recording is to be considered the private recording of the individual and in no manner represents the official record of this board the board therefore takes no responsibility for such private recording and completely disavows for any future use thank you Mr wiell roll call please danant tuno here gordano here ji here Francisco here lent present Marquetta mazone here Slade here and solowski here we have a quum would everybody please rise for the pledge e e e would everybody please remain standing please move the Board of Education to acknowledge the death of Nancy Lee Rose McFarlin retired guidance counselor and teacher thank you okay Mr slay code of ethics the board member will recognize that Authority rests with the Board of Education and make no personal promises nor take any action that may compromise the board thank you Mr Slate okay can I get a motion to accept the addendum please missone will motion it Francisco will second thank you okay roll call please Dan tuno yes Jano yes jri yes Francisco yes lent yes Marquetta mazone yes sled yes Sol C I yes resolution to accept the addendum passes okay we have a lot of recognition tonight so okay our student representative okay the approval of the minutes please Daner will move can I get a second Francisco will second roll call please Dan tuno yes Jano yes J yes Francisco yes lent yes Marquetta mazone yes Slade yes solowski yes resolution for approval minutes passes okay again I was saying we have a lot of recognition tonight we have I believe I don't know how many retirees but quite a few years Miss L good evening yes we have a total of 10 people retiring with a total of 206 years as being part of the district and I want to just thank you and wish you a happy retirement enjoy your time away from us now can I get Mr sadino to go over to the podium please okay number uh two on the recognition is our German teacher I believe can I get uh Miss maone you're going to join Mr move the board to recognize brsh smithz on receiving the certificate of appreciation from the US Department of State for her work as a german-american partnership coordinator her efforts demonstrate the importance of Language and Cultural studies to ensure and continued commitment to Foster and enrich the german-american relationships for more unified Global tomorrow thank you good evening good nend she's going to stand very far away from me just in case I ask her that she has to speak so she wants to make sure I don't bear with me this is long and coming um good evening good nain 2024 marks an exciting anniversary for berbert students and Global diplomacy as a whole for the last 11 years students in the orridge German World World Language Exchange program have been sewing the seeds of change on the world stage by fostering and building a strong International relationship with their brothers and sisters across the Atlantic specifically at steinbart gymnasium in duburg Germany our students have built friendships and ties akin to familial bonds our German exchange program I'm really proud to say has received local and international recognition along with Awards such as the one that I'm really proud to present here tonight none of these amazing experiences and opportunities which have been bestowed upon our students are possible without excellent leadership parent teacher Community advocacy um and support from Boards of Ed and administrators it truly takes a team however tonight I'm here to recognize one such individual who has played a key role in not only designing improving and raising the bar but for tirelessly working to assure that orridge students receive the very best in World language education FR schmittz is a mentor a friend a support system and a leader for the entire world language Department districtwide she doesn't just teach her students she engages them in experience that you cannot get from four walls in a textbook she is humble and all she does I have learned she does with a passion and a love for her craft and her students the relationship that she has built over the years with gap the german-american partnership program continue to go strong to grow stronger no doubt because of her due diligence and her persistence with the belief that all our children must learn about the world in which we live our German exchange program has glow has grown in the last 11 years affording countless students the opportunities to visit a land not uncommon to our own but also with a shared vision and a goal for a better world so FR Schmitz congratulations thank you for all you do thank you for transporting our students to a new land every time they enter your classroom you are not only a friend and a colleague but someone who truly embodies what education should look like every single day Don kashan thank you and congrats yes can we get a picture sure t for you Mr sadena would you get into picture please I mean you are the superintendant [Applause] okay Mr sadino you're at the podum already can I get uh M Francisco to join them thank you I know we had reached out to Mr fella um I don't know if you see Mr F you here I do not see him but I will read the recognition and we'll make sure that he gets a certif certificate um move the board to recognize Mr Vincent fella for his prompt actions uh at a school sponsored event and his willingness to help a student in need uh we are very grateful and fortunate to have someone in our own uh parents and and a citizen who when he saw a student in health distress went over and helped out and helped our trainers so we are very grateful so thank you Mr F thank you can I can I keep Miss Francisco for the next one yes we're going to move to number four okay move the board to recognize our High School athletic Trainers for always going above and beyond for our student athletes tonight we have with us um our athletic director Mr Dan deino but our our athletic trainers Steve Lina Jane Maine and Colin mascola thank you very much for all you do please come on we G to go over for pictures anyway but Stephen Colin Jane and Colin come on up for the picture didn't you um just to summarize that so A few weeks ago we had a student uh participating in an athletic program and he went into a a health situation and within moments our trainers were there the AED machine was there and everything was done to ensure the health and safety of our student going forward so we're very grateful all right number five yes we have the girls b team uh Miss lent would you join U Mr sadino Please Mr Domino can you join us up here can you just read through all of the yeah I'll do all okay so first up we have girls bowling here to accept the award as coach forchetti Coach Porter within the uh Varsity bowling team uh congratulations on winning the GMC Red Division back to back seasons and also for the first time in school history won the Central Jersey sectional Championship congratulations and a shout out to coach fet who was uh named GMC Coach of the Year this year you want to take it I thank you okay next we have the girls wrestling the girls wrestling team next we have up our girls wrestling team here to uh accept the award is coach post and Coach Baker and the wrestling varsity girls wrestling program yeah sure congratulations on winning the GMC girls up here girls F we got first timers up here uh congratulations on the GMC Conference Championship first time in school history as well great job [Applause] girls go okay a Kodak moment very good some of you you can kneel down some of you this way the whole group can be photographed come on remember if you can't see the photog the photographer can't see you okay very good okay Miss Len would you stay there with Mr sadino can we have Miss Mone up there also please great job ladies there's the next one perfect and last we have our varsity cheerleading team come on up okay oh stay right over here right already this is not a team that's not up here often right um so just congratulations again to the varsity team for winning the group four state championship and the co-ed state championship this season [Music] [Applause] congratulations [Music] [Applause] okay can we have a big hand for the girls bowling the girls wrestling and the cheerleaders thank you for coming okay okay now now we're on number six all the dogs that are here this evening I guess they can come up with their yes with their therapy what is that they handlers uh Mr Slate would you also go up there please thank you okay so for this one we'll do it a little different after I call the Handler and their dog up just uh assemble yourself on the stage and after we get everyone up we'll take the the picture then so I think it's a very special recognition uh as as districts we try to do so much around mental health and there's been so much research on the positive reinforcement in mental health that having a therapeutic animal an animal assisted intervention does in these situations I've witnessed at firsthand within this school uh Daisy and I work with an organization that we have dogs that are deployed to situations such as um yaldi Texas uh Nashville Tennessee and most recently Maine uh where tragedy strikes and the dogs go in for for support for uh First Responders and for for schools so I know I've seen it firsthand and there's so many dogs that come and bring benefit to our each of our schools and I just wanted to take this opportunity to recognize them actually the brain child behind this was Scott maella who said this would be a great opportunity and he's absolutely right so thank you Scott for bringing this up so as you get your name called please come up with your dog receive your certificate and you get a cup of positivity and kindness and the cup is filled with treats for your K9 partner so can we first have from Carpenter Elementary School Tanner and Sue Klein make room this is a big [Applause] dog say hi there you go for those of you who do not know uh Tanner is a bernes mountain dog very good they are the gentle Giants from Cooper Elementary School d Daisy with Bennett gerwitz gtz is Daisy [Applause] here okay also from Cooper Elementary School the house dog KOCO Chanel with principal Kathy Gada y a few dogs might have stepped outside to take care of a few things do not this is Coco Chanel and Kathy G okay they might not be coming you're going to go to the [Music] stage from Madison Park Elementary School Sydney with principal John [Applause] Daly Daisy's greeting everyone as they go by from mcdot elementary school Jade with carollyn [Applause] Vaso Jade is wearing a pearl necklace from Memorial alementary School Remy with Mo Rosemary laach Remy I could have sworn I just saw her Remy no she might have went outside we'll get her back here and if she can um from Miller Elementary School Shiloh and T grelli they might have not made it we'll just read them all from shirah elementary school Sophie with Roger Regan [Applause] Sophie you from Shephard Elementary School Grady Jamie [Applause] Conway from Oldbridge High School Cooper with Cheryl [Applause] Mackey [Music] last on our list but could not make it is Splash from the grade n center with um Danielle to could not make it tonight so thank you everyone for all you do we'll get one good picture Daisy will be joining them e e all right thank you so much everyone yes thank [Applause] you thank you thank you so much thank you thank you bye Sue okay we had a great we had a great recognition tonight okay can I get a motion to move recognition please lent will move it Mone will second thank you roll call please discussion any discussions this is my favorite meeting so far you mean because you have a couple of dogs yourself right um yes I I had a few things yes um so I had Miss selli in seventh grade Jim and health so I'd like to congratulate her specifically on her retirement I'd like to once again thank the trainers and Vince and F for their quick actions on that day to save that student and congratulations to the girls bowling girls wrestling and cheer teams thank you thank you anyone else roll call please Slade yes danant tuno yes gardano yes Jodi yes Francisco yes lent yes Marquetta maone yes and solowski yes resolutions 1 through six for recognition pass thank you okay do we have a superintendent report yes we do um I'm going to keep the I'm going to do progress towards goals first and then we'll do superintendent report and um I do have some presenters for you uh but first I just want to keep the the board and the public uh informed about something we're very proud of that took place this year and it started it started in January it's continuing through May is our New Jersey high impact tutoring Grant uh we were one of several districts that applied for the grant and we're proud that obers Township Public Schools was awarded funds to have a high impact tutoring program here within our district students were invited to this program once the grant was awarded uh based upon a specific criteria and teacher recommendation as of now 85 students are in the program uh before or after school in 11 of our all 11 of elementary schools there are grouped uh oneon-one and some of the groups have a two to one grouping uh two to one grouping or three to1 grouping uh we continue to offer spots for students as we get requests and have room within the school all of the data that we're collecting in ela and math uh is done every month and we will continue to progress monitor for that and to see the growth of our students or Township Public School started our program before most districts even got uh the grant money on and everything going within so we wanted to give our students the greatest opportunity because we knew that the the grant um had expired before uh June so we wanted to give the most contact days with our our staff as possible um and it was a great opportunity for own our own quality teachers uh to work with our students in these small group ratios um our instructional coaches are facilitating uh the bridges math is a great opportunity for the intervention I want to give a lot of credit to Dr kandria for again working with this Grant and heading up this a very vital student services uh portion of it and I think one of the most important things that we've collected from this is many parents who are our taxpayers are saving a lot of money right now they're saying that they were paying for outside Services uh whether Chain Services or individuals to provide the tutoring for their children and now they're in involved in this program and all of that money that they were spending on tutoring um they can put back to their family because they're getting the tutoring here free within our schools so I think that's a very good service we're providing uh as a district to these families and our and our students so great job and um continuing to great work our teachers who are again coming in early or staying late to work with these students so much appreciated you guys do heroic work um I also want to take the time to as part of the superintendent's report just have to go into my notes Here one second um we were struck by tragedy a few years ago uh with the passing of a student and right away we got involved in working with uh the parents the El bombs uh and Mr elom has been in constant contact he didn't him and his wife have not taken the loss of their child and just felt sorry for themselves the family they wanted to make our schools better and our communities better and we've had continuous meetings uh about a program within uh having a program within our schools um that is a national program called hope Squad so we there was a meeting that kind of kicked it off tonight we have Christy Wy here tonight she's going to give us an update on that program and then I'm going to ask Mr elom to come back to the come to the podium and give a his perspective and then I know he's going to have a few of our students who were also spearheading this and were friends um and they want to give their perspective why it's important and probably being showing their gratefulness to this board for supporting such a very important Mental Health Resource um so miss Wy if you want like to join us at this time and Mr albon uh press the button on the microphone thank you okay thank you superintendent cadino the board parents thank you for letting me share a little about Brady and how Brady's voice is being heard loud and clear good evening my name is Scott elbel and alongside me is my incredible wife Michelle and wonderful Mackie I've been living in Oldbridge for 20 years Michelle has been here her whole life we're we're we're parents to two wonderful children our 18-year-old Macky who's graduating this year and about two hours ago just got accepted to TCM n j we're so proud of you Mackie and our beloved Brady who at 15 years old became our guardian angel in September 2022 twitch from Al degenerous show Robin Williams Kate Spade Anthony Bourdain Brady elbel all appeared very happy smiling on the outside but deep down they were struggling hiding it not wanting to burden others unfortunately there are many other others that are that desperately need help we must openly discuss mental health we must encourage and support our kids to seek help over the past 18 months we met a lot of parents who also lost a child to Suicide we found comfort and Common Ground unconditional love we all love our kids that's the bottom line we're all out here trying to do the best we can for our kids like every parent here we're United in the Relentless pursuit of our children's well-being unfortunately mental health tragedies can strike any household at any time it's a reality we wear on no one but one we cannot ignore tonight we're carrying a message shaped by grief and hope the mission of Brady's voice is to help kids cope with their mental health our Crusade is to equip the youth with the tools and support to courageously face and overcome their mental health struggles just the other day I was watching Rocky and he was talking to his son about resilience in the face of life's harsh reality realities he said that the world ain't all sunshine and rainbows it's a very mean and nasty place he spoke strongly about perseverance moving forward despite the hits we all take seeing the resilience of Brady's friends who have stood up with strength and bravery fills our hearts with immense Pride Brady's friends are amazing we held a wellness Fair last year had 80 volunteers most of them were Brady's friends they raised ra money at school's volleyball game the Honor Society raised money at at Old Bridge day they even visit Brady at the cemetery thank you Michelle and Macky the two pillars of my life embody remarkable strength and perseverance their ability to move ahead through immense tragedy is not only inspiring it's a vital life lesson I'm humbled to learn from every day life has forever changed we are devastated heartbroken so very sad though there's a drive within us compelling us to get up and help this is Brady he moves us sparking change and touching Souls every day Brady was one of us a good caring friend a jokester who could light up a room a kid who had a knack for making everything seem all right he took great pride in wearing his Junior ROTC uniform and won national awards he was a born leader he even talked about applying to West Point Brady had lots of friends and a great girlfriend he loved his friends family and dogs and he knew how much everybody loved him Brady was just trying to navigate this wild ride of life without burning others behind his easygoing exterior Brady was dealing with a lot more than he L on and kept deep dark struggles bottled up he set the bar high for himself sometimes too high which meant even the Small Stuff felt big and heavy he once wrote about being a professional overthinker and how stress could easily get the better of him he was talking to a therapist and trying to work through his anxiety but Brady being Brady played it cool afraid that showing just how tough things were might turn his world upside down Brady's voice has emerged from our darkest moment a call to action that Rings clear and Urgent there are countless other bradies silently struggling with their own battles tonight we are representing every parent every sibling every friend who has felt the sting of mental health challenges in their loved ones the numbers are alarming the most recent CDC report indicates one in five high school kids seriously considered suicide think about that one in five kids seriously considered suicide one in 10 kids attempted suicide but let's not dwell on these numbers instead let's act on them this is where Brady's voice steps in we envision a world where no child feels the need to M their struggles where mental health awareness alongside essential life skills ensures a balanced focus on both the mental and physical well-being of our children our first event on global Suicide Prevention Day last year was a Beacon of Hope over 500 residents came together to explore Avenues of support from traditional therapy to holistic approaches like yoga and art therapy the community's response was uplifting but our work is just beginning tonight I ask the Board of Education and all parents will you stand with us will you commit to supporting the mission of Brady's voice to help kids cope with their Mental Health to end the stigma of suicide and to enrich our children's lives with the resources they need to thrive for those that are struggling with their mental health there is hope and help for you you can call 988 which is the National Suicide crisis Lifeline you could talk with them anonymously and ask general questions um and you could even text with them there are many other places to seek help for example my wonderful sister Robin is now on the board of a nonprofit called coordinated Family Care they work with families to coordinate care with for youth experiencing many different challenges it's an invaluable free service to Middle sex residents access to Coordinated Care Family Care is managed to perform care and their number is right over there and the website in Brady's memory let's dedicate a moment of silence a moment to honor Brady's life to reflect on the love we for him and to make certain no child feels isolated on their Journey that every subtle Cry for Help is acknowledged and that Brady's voice and his legacy is not one of tragedy but one for transformation and hope let's take this moment now and silence to remember Brady and all that he has inspired and now chrisy we'll speak further on our initiatives and how we could all be part of this vital change thank you thank [Applause] you wow thank you Scott and Michelle and Mackie um so he says Brady's voice and his legacy is not one of tragedy but one for Trans information and hope and so what we know mental health suicide prevention is all about Hope and connection and we are so excited a little bit about me my name is Christy Wy I'm the vice president of programs for a nonprofit in Fort Worth Texas called the Jordan Elizabeth Harris foundation and we do suicide prevention for children teens and adults and we were the first ones to bring a program called hope Squad out of Utah and I have had the honor and privilege of implementing more than 150 hope squads uh across 25 districts Charters and um different states but I am also a suicide lost survivor I lost my father to suicide in April of last year and he was a police officer but I also struggle with depression and anxiety and have had suicidal ideation as well so everybody in here I always say this when I speak that I know it's not easy to talk about suicide because ultimately someone has either lost someone to Suicide or you know somebody who's struggling or you could be struggling so everybody be kind and gentle with yourself but that also means that just like Scott said we're not talking about this right we're not talking about our mental health because there is so much stigma so what I am honored to work with Brady's voice and the Oldbridge Township and Oldbridge high school is to bring a program called hope Squad to Oldbridge go nights so Hope in Hope Squad stands for hold on persuade and empower the foundation of Hope Squad is a suicide prevention training called QPR which stands for question persuade refer and it's the three simple tools that anyone can learn to Save a Life from suicide so I compare it to QPR sounds like CPR who in here knows CPR so CPR is an emergency intervention for someone who's not breathing QPR is an emergency intervention for someone who may be struggling or thinking about suicide and so who has actually done CPR okay does it take bravery and courage to step into doing CPR and doing those compressions absolutely does it take bravery and courage to step into a mental health conversation yes but we can save a life and so QPR is the foundation of Hope Squad which is a peer-to-peer suicide prevention program where students are nominated by their peers to perform intentional Outreach to those who may be struggling and so let me make this very clear are we training students to be counselors or therapists no no no no but what we do know is that seven out of 10 kids will tell a friend that they're struggling but then the friend won't tell a trusted adult so what hope Squad is doing is teaching friends peers teaching everyone to look out for each other and then saying hey let's go talk to uh superintendent citadino and go see Daisy right it's that encouragement to get the help that we need so hope Squad was started by a high school principal his name is Dr Greg hudnell and he was a high school principal and in his uh District they were averaging about two suicides a year and had been for 10 years and he was called to identify the body of a young man who had taken in his his life in the park across the street from the school and when Dr hudnell tells his story he talks about the fact that he threw up and then he got in his car and just sobbed and he said what are we missing so he got a group of Community stakeholders together Educators uh mental health uh leaders businesses and said what are we missing and what we know is we're missing kids we're missing teenagers your voice is so important right and so Dr hudnell when he started the program he said that we've all heard the African proverb it takes a village to raise a child it takes a community to save one I'm so proud and honored to be here and just want to say thank you to Brady's voice and the charge that you are leading in making sure we don't lose one more child to suicide and superintendent cadino citadino and Dr Sasso thank you for your commitment I'm honored and then I just want to go back to Scott's words I'll find it will you stand with us will you stand with us will you commit to supporting the mission of Brady's voice to help kids cope with their mental health to end the stigma of suicide and to enrich our enrich children's lives with the resources they need to thrive will you stand with us thank you thank you thank you uh good evening uh my name is Caleb Santiago uh and I'm here with my friend Alyssa to discuss the topics of men's Mental Health on September 15th 2022 a very close friend of mine Brady elal uh took his own life uh his death shook me to my core and not a day goes by where I do not think about him but what I could have done to help him well I'll never truly be able to know I believe Brady never spoke to me about his troubles because we were two teenage friends there is a common tragic stigma that real men don't cry that if you as man want to voice your troubles thank you that you were weak this cannot be farther from the truth Bry was 15 years old when he passed away he was a boy I would have rather had Brady cry into my arms and voices troubles and worries than to have him take his own life no one expects to lose a 15-year-old friend much less to suicide we always wonder if we could have picked up on the signs BR and I were joking around the day of his passing and I told him that I loved him he responded saying I love you too baby girl I expected to see him the next day because I had no reason to believe that I wouldn't we were unaware of how much he was hurting and I never would have guessed to reach out he even went as far as to sign community service slips in RC to volunteer the week after he would take his own life I expected him to be okay because I had no reason to believe that he wasn't but I was mistaken like with Brady you never know what is going on in someone's mind that's why it's so important to be kind to everyone to be empathetic offer a listening ear and try to learn how to identify the signs of friends and TR [Applause] trouble it is important to remember the fact that anybody can struggle just because they don't fit into a certain stereotype does not mean that they are incapable of hurting on the inside the biggest ass that we have is to consider the complexity of the mind and remember that it has no boundaries or rules that justify what is What feelings are are valid or invalid on the topic of mental health it is important to remember that just because someone is portrayed as big or tough does not mean that they have the same brick wall around their emotions anybody at any point can be affected mentally in Brady's case he truly was happy with those that he loved but he has his own emotions on the side that nobody saw it was diffic difficult for us as his friends to try to pinpoint what could have caused this or what we could have done differently to help but what we have come to learn is that the biggest change anybody can make is providing a safe space for someone to talk about their emotions without feeling the need to put on a fake face reaching out and offering guidance or a shoulder to cry on or even just a reminder that they are safe can go such a long way Caleb and I thank everybody for listening tonight and we hope that you can learn alongside us about how to notice somebody that may be struggling and how to take even the smallest second out of your day to offer a helping hand forget the stair stereotypes forget the sigma open your eyes and open your mind to others as it can make a bigger difference than you [Applause] think hi everyone my name is Julia Rowan I had grown up with Brady our families live down the street from each other and were part of the same family friend group that comes together for holidays like Fourth of July Memorial Day when Brady died it jarred the community nobody knew that he struggled Brady silently struggled more than 20% of teens silently struggle it is our job as a community to make sure that people have access to help and know that it is okay to ask for that help there is a stigma that if you are dealing with mental illness you're crazy or broken and this in turn is a large reason as to why people who need help don't reach out for that help for fear that they will be labeled these words by their peers adults and society as a society conversation around mental health is considered taboo one that most people would rather shy away from but we need to reform the way that we treat conversations about mental health and how we view those with mental illnesses we need to be able to talk openly about mental health and make it known that it is just as serious as physical health we need to make sure kids teens and adults all know that there are people who will listen to them I want to make sure that people know where they can find help in the orridge school system there are amazing counselors and staff who will listen and offer guidance and support there are also help lines you can call or text at the national and state levels such as the New Jersey hop line the Trevor Project hotline created for lgbtq Youth and the 988 suicide and crisis lifeline the more people who are aware of these forms of help the more lives that will be saved because asking for help doesn't make you weak it makes you brave and strong normalizing conversations surrounding mental health and working towards ending the stigma surrounding mental illnesses will make reaching out for help not seem like such a daunting task the most important thing to remember and the message that I hope resonates with you all is that you are important you are not alone and your life matters thank [Applause] you and then one more this is from Gabby and Gabby lives in the UK this was one of Brady's best friends in the UK and Gabby says it's okay okay to not be okay a simple sentence with a not so simple meaning it's okay to not know what you're doing it's okay to feel upset or angry it's okay to feel lonely it's okay to not feel happy all the time it's okay to be vulnerable being vulnerable can be terrifying because you are revealing the emotions that you are truly feeling we now live in a world where we have to put up a front and act like we're strong even on the days we feel as though we are worthless but it's okay to not feel strong we live in fear of sharing emotions as unveiling the truth could result in judgment or pain but it's okay to share your feelings and be vulnerable no one should be scared to share the way they feel there should be no judgment in the way someone feels only comfort telling them it's okay to feel that way with reassurance that someone is there for them to talk to mental health is something that is not talked about enough someone around you could be struggling and you wouldn't even know someone might be struggling in silence because they're scared to reach out and it shouldn't be that way when I first heard about Brady I never really wanted to talk about the way it made me feel I was scared to talk about it as I thought it would make me seem fragile however as time went on I realized as I started sharing his story and my favorite memories of him it made me happy talking about it I then began to share his story with as many people as possible I completed a physical challenge raising money for mental health and spreading awareness by reading a speech to hundreds of people with his story touching so many hearts the one thing I want you to take away from this is that it's okay to talk about the way you feel and it's okay to be vulnerable because at the end of the day we are all human and we are all entitled to feel emotions thank you [Applause] all Mr president that concludes the superintendent's report and progress towards calls thank you any special committee reports yes okay you're first Marge okay um on February 28th a special services meeting was held Miss edin Alie presented about the bookshelf app um she also presented and discussed a preschool inclusion grant that she has secured for the district and I just want to to thank you for all the hard work you do in looking for additional opportunities to benefit our students also on the agenda was staff concerns and injuries and student behavior and discipline over 75 attendees mostly staff members talked about injuries sustained while working in schools some requested CPI training and others talked about the need for additional behavior training and requested more on-site presence of members of the child study team and bcbas all shared serious concerns about student behaviors and their feelings of helpless helplessness in trying to address the current and past problems in their classrooms and schools in response Dr Tui created a task force to address these multiple but related issues the first meeting of the task force was held on March 4th at Glenn school and the task force included representation for multiple roles teachers P professionals a school principle parents and Central Administration members of the various groups work together to identify issues regarding policy staffing needs PD and training and procedures and to consider possible solutions once we begin to address the issues that were raised I will report out on the progress um following the in in in the following Boe meetings thank you anyone else okay yes um we had a finance and operations uh committee meeting um Committee of the the whole executive session we discussed the budget and um we will be voting on the preliminary budget tonight um as many of you know we have been going through the S2 budget cuts over the last few years and um unfortunate that's going to have an impact this year so um as the superintendent and the president of the Oba uh published a joint letter asking for support I also asked the community to email the governor and um explain the problem that over is having with the budget cuts while he gives other districts unne necessarily large amounts of money that they have to waste and spend on things they don't need when we just have to just inflation alone with um our necessity expenses um it's going to be hard to come by this year so make sure you let your voice heard to the governor and um after curriculum I had a remark about curriculum so thank you Mr jur thank you any others Jen do you want to okay uh we had our curriculum meeting on the 13th last week and our first order of business was to discuss the summer school programs that we are offering and Dr tuy reviewed those so that was um informational for us and thank you Dr tuy if you have any questions you can ask us um the SE second topic of discussion was um our music program in general just across all of our grade levels and all of our schools and we had such an amazing turnout from the community from our staff to support our music students there was some really great discussion wonderful questions asked and I know that it is a conversation that's going to continue happening um to see how we can continue to improve our music program here in the district thank you thank you Jennifer Christina do you want to do food do you want me to okay um so we had our food service meeting uh again another Well attended community meeting um on a side note it is nice to see a lot of community interaction at these um committee meetings because it helps us do what we're here to do um but we want to thank Aramark and their Regional rep Franchesca for coming um and hearing our concerns uh thank you to our noon hours and our kitchen staff for coming uh we are having a follow-up meeting in April um to talk with arar about the food program um just some other dates to put on your calendar we're having a buildings grounds and transport ation meeting on March 26th um so that's going to be kind of Transportation 101 on how the routes are um decided and the status of our buildings and grounds uh the care and Dei meeting is going to be uh March 27th the Dei committee is going to be first and Care meeting is second uh curriculum meeting is going to be April 10th and the next Food Service meeting is April 24th the other committee that met was the technology committee so we thank you Mr yanelli for letting us know kind of where we are with the status of our technology pieces in our students computers and we discussed staff computers and um office staff computers and some different ways to extend the longevity through our um our computers and things like that so again thank you to Administration thank you to the community and thank you to the fellow board members for making these committee meetings fruitful and productive thank you thank you anyone else yes could I just mention something about Food Services I just want to thank Tim Shalia for bringing delicious food to our food services meeting for us to taste um and I can't wait to see what you bring to the next meeting thank you anyone else Mrs yes yes yes um so I had to leave the curriculum meeting early but um there was one parent that mentioned how many people students in band they're also on the honor rooll and uh take a off AP courses which is a a reasonable correlation considering what it takes to be good at an instrument and um once again I just have to tell the high school students if you have to choose uh take as many AP courses as possible uh don't worry about getting honor roll that's kind of overrated what's more important is getting as many college credits as possible uh getting threes or fours on the exams going to cane and getting your degree in two years so that is the path I recommend unfortunately I couldn't say that at the meeting but that's um well it's I I was say I was say at the curc I was going to say at the curriculum meeting yes so that's my advice thank you thank you Mr jeral anyone else no um I have something it's not a um committee report I just want to say something to Mr elb and Mrs elb um so as someone who struggles with their own mental health I truly commend Mr and Mrs Elum for turning such a hard situation into something positive and giving people hope I had the honor of speaking with Mr elom on numerous occasions and each time I do he inspires me more and more I have lost many friends and family to mental health I myself am a 10-year recovering addict that's the way I dealt with not having to feel emotions Mr Elam I told you this I told you this before I 100% support you and Brady's voice and I will do whatever I can to help because if we could save one person then we did our job thank you for bringing this to such light and anything I can do please let me know thank you hearing of res hearing of residents on any agenda item items just what's on the agenda anyone no okay we have no policy curriculum professional development can I get a motion to move curriculum professional development one lent will move it jorel second one through six any questions any discussion no Rock please mark Kea maone yes Slade yes Dan tuno yes Jano yes JRE yes Francisco yes lent yes solowski yes resolutions 1 through six for curriculum passes thank you can I get a motion to move Finance 1 through 21 we move it can I get a second D second any discussion can I um I'm sorry now go ahead go ahead um number 15 I just wanted to double check wait we're on this one right okay um I just wanted to double check that I see uh we're requesting the approval of capital reserve to withdraw money to do and I see part of that is the playground upgrades in the elementary schools um is that going across all 11 elementary schools or and what are the upgrades to those we did have um on Pace that was for 12 all 12 schools um the upgrades would be um just to keep it uh safe for students a lot of the um mulch looking to the rubber mulching or the grounding um and some of the the equipment as well uh okay the other thing um I just kind of want to talk with the public I'm kind of trying to talk to everyone I know about it I didn't realize until I got into in-depth conversations about the budget and learning sitting here that we essentially have like two checking accounts for lack of a better term we have our capital account and our general operating account and we're not allowed to withdraw from the capital account to pay our general operating so when we sold Nike Airbase we can't pay our salaries and stuff with that money so I didn't realize that until I got into it so when we're talking about the budget and going forward the Capital account it has to maintain taking care of our buildings and our grounds so so it was news to me I just wanted to share it with the public and let you guys you know in on that part thank you anyone else roll call please lent yes Marquetta mazone yes Slade yes danant tuno yes Jano no for 15 yes for the rest J yes Francisco yes solowski yes resolutions 1 through 21 for finance passes thank you non-certified personnel office oh I'm sorry Athletics I believe okay Athletics one through two I get a motion to move Athletics J D make the motion Miss on a second thank you discussion Ro call please Francisco yes lent yes maretta commone yes Slade yes Dan tuno yes gardano yes JRE yes and solowski yes resolutions one and two for athletics passes thank you non-certified personnel office number one can I get a motion to move it Francisco will move can I get a second M will second any discussion roll call please ji yes Francisco yes lent yes maretta mazone yes Slade yes danant tuno yes G orano yes and solowski yes resolution one for non-certificated personnel office passes thank you non non-certified Personnel operational lent will move it okay one two and the addendum please and the addendum any discussion roll call please was this for operational yes who who is the motion okay gardano yes jri yes Francisco yes lent yes maretta mazone yes Slade yes danant tuno yes and solowski yes resolution one for non-certificated personal operational passes thank you one and two Mr Mr including the the correct noncertified personel now other one 1 through 7 can I get a motion to move it J will move it can I get a second J second any discussion there is an administrative correct correction on this item number two has um let's see this is for other for item where is it sorry and item number two we're changing the program to re item number two part A MD goes to Rd MD goes to re okay any discussion roll call please will move it no we had movement Dave has to roll call this is for other correct yes yes Dan tuno yes gordano yes jri yes Francisco yes lent yes maretta maone yes Slade yes and solowski yes resolutions 1 through 7even for non-certificated personal other passes thank you certified person through one through 10 can I get a motion to move certified Personnel one through 10 please move it fris Go a second separating number six for voting purposes there there is an administrative correction on this as well for item number six the first two supervisor ERS the there was a miscalculation on their daily rate the daily rate should change to $757 can I ask a question on this one yes so I think last week I had asked a question about exactly what the rules were for the supervisors um over the summer some were teaching uh summer school or supervising summer school um and then some was for curriculum writing I just wanted to be um clear on which curriculums we're writing and is it the teachers that are writing the curriculum or is it the supervisors together just want to understand better exactly what this is sure so this upcoming year the math and English uh standards have been changed by the state uh so the K through 12 Ela and math standards have to be revised so the teachers do all the rewriting of the curriculum but the supervisors um help to oversee that at the beginning of the summer and then they review the curriculum before it gets to the agenda in August so they work to uh review the curriculum make sure it's in line with the standards and then it gets on the agenda for August to ensure that it's available to teachers for September thank you anyone else I just um want to welcome John kakie to the uh District he will be teaching culinary at the high school is he he's not here is here John if you can yes thank you yes for coming congratulations okay I separated number six uh for voting purposes uh a b and c I'm going to separate that I'm voting no on a b and c and yes on d and e no on six A and C no B and C no d and e yes d and e yes okay anyone else roll call please SL are we voting everything but six 1 through 10 voting on everything yes Dan tuno yes jirano yes jri yes Francisco yes lent yes Mara maone yes and solowski yes resolutions 1 through 10 for certificated Personnel passes non-certified Personnel transportation we have one two and three including the addendum can I get a motion to move Transportation please lent will move it can I get a second D second any discussion roll call please mazone yes Slade yes Dan tuno yes jir Dano yes J yes Francisco yes lent yes maretta and solowski yes resolutions one through three for non-certificated personnel passes thank you Transportation one and two can I get a motion to move Transportation lent will move it Joor second any discussion Roa please maretta maone yes Slade yes danant tuno yes gordano yes jri yes Francisco yes lent yes and solowski yes Transportation resolutions one and two passes thank you supplies equipment and services one and one through three can I get a motion to move one two and three Jody move it lent will second any discussion Rockall please lent yes Marquetta maone yes Slade yes danant tuno yes gordano yes jri yes Francisco yes solowski yes thank you resolutions 1 through3 passes for supplies equipment and services miss lanus one through five can I get a motion to move one through six can I get a motion to move one six miscellaneous M move it can I get a second Francisco will second okay who second okay roll call please any discussion no I just want to add just one thing as a discussion item um for those of the members of the public were paying attention this is where the calendars were um we we've had a this conversation administratively and with some board members so we've decided to do is the board would like more options so by the April meeting we'll we'll like to have maybe a third option for the board on the 2526 calendar and alternative measures in which to get feedback and communication from the public once those are made public so um look out for around the April meetings and the information on the calendars will become public again and in ways in which you can uh share your thoughts obviously emailing the uh members of the board is always uh direct and effective thank you thanks Dave my email box thanks you for roll call please Francisco yes lent yes maretta maone yes Slade yes danant tuno yes Gano yes jri yes and solowski yes resolutions one through six for miscellaneous passes hearing of residents on any school district items anything to do with the school I see no takers huh any old business yes go ahead um I'd like to thank uh the El bound family and Brady's voice for sharing your family and sharing Brady with us um for taking up the charge and turning it into something positive thank you to Mr sadino for and Mr saso for bringing it you know into the community um and I think Oldbridge is doing well with it and looking forward to working together in the future thank you thank you anyone else I have a kind of a new business item and I just want to I do want to we we gave our uh memorandum our memories of uh Nancy r at the beginning in a moment of silence um for those of you um who didn't get a chance to work with Nancy Rose she probably one of the classiest uh women I've ever met and a true warrior for uh doing the right thing and working to support students and the hard times they had gone through uh she was a teacher first at Carl Sandberg school and then when I was a new principal at uh jonaa school was one of my first interviews and when I interviewed her and I saw her her Fest and her energy and her love for children I said I have to have this woman on my team and she became my one of my first hires and she did a great job and she's known by everyone for that love of life and uh we lost her much too soon so all love and respect goes out to her her family friends um who were impacted by her loss thank you Mr sadino for those kind words on another note that's totally different but just seems to be getting traction I don't there's some discussion among other boards about the April L eth Eclipse now again when we had a pandemic I said I must have missed the pandemic in superintendent school because that was certainly something I didn't expect and you know you get ready for every storm but the 100-year total eclipse um of of course would fall under my watch and so some school districts are now looking at taking an early dismissal day because while we're not in the direct path that goes right over the greater uh Buffalo area uh for we are in view of the the um the eclipse and of course we're in view of it right when our elementary school students dismiss between the 3:00 and five o'clock window so some districts are looking at early dismissals that day so the kids can be home and safely under the roof so they don't look at the the sun um other schools are buying everyone um solar eclipse glasses so that if they do choose to they're they are protected my feeling is this and this is my fear like every every weather event I will buy the glasses or I will do the with your support as a board um or do the early dismissal and it'll be a stormy rainy day in which there will not be a a chance to see the sun in which direction it's coming from and everyone will say that I was an idiot because I bought glasses and an early dismissal for something that didn't happen and we'd have to wait another 100 years for another total solar eclipse over this this area so any board members thoughts directions you know all right anybody's in public can also email me as well and fill up my email box with solar eclipse thoughts so one of my uh PTA board members also told me that the same day the comet officially called 12b Pon Brooks uh Comet also known as the devil's comet is due the transformation of its two horns during the same day so it'll be a very I feel bad for the bus drivers with the elementary school and the uh the way the world's going to take off that day but who knows um I wish it was happening during school and we could make it like an educational event but it is like when I talked to Mr Andrei or I emailed him um who's our planetarium teacher he said it like it's 3:15 to 3:30 is kind of like when we're seeing it which is right as those kids are getting on the bus so that's where like I don't I don't know how to handle it so thank you anyone else yes yes are we still on like old business new business is this where we are okay um I don't I had a couple things on here but I'm I'm just going back to this Eclipse I think I was in I don't know seventh grade maybe I think there was an eclipse that year and and we made it so I'm kind of hoping that it's going to be okay well it's not that the kids wouldn't be okay it's more so like for them to see it yo if they're getting on the bus you know do you send the glasses to school do you know this kid has glasses that kid K has glasses like you know cuz I even you know so what are you saying I I'm I don't know I think this is part of the discussion right like if it's supposed to happen at 3:15 do we get glasses for all the kids and but then like who's not want who's not wearing their glasses properly and then the parents are going to complain also well I feel like as though if you give them glasses you're kind of like encouraging to look at it and are the and are first are first graders and you know going to wear them properly you know they're not going to fit right that and I feel like then there's going to be a lot of on o let me look at this off on off and that makes me more nervous than anything else so yeah maybe let's not draw attention to it just go on our day like it's we'll tell we will tell everyone on social media in the news not to talk about it that day exactly perfect okay so the other things I wanted to say were um I just wanted to thank um the elbon family for just being so brave and taking this and turning into something positive um I know for sure that you are going to have a positive effect on this community so thank you and you also know that I am I'm here to support you so thank you um and then I just wanted to go back to um the curriculum meeting for a second what I want to say isn't really part of like the report but I guess it kind of is um just to make sure that I acknowledge this when I sat down in that room that night and saw all of the people there um and I I know I don't just speak for myself but you can feel the love in that room and the way that our parents and Guardians and community support our music staff and how much love they have for them and respect for how hard they work with their children um I was just kind of Blown Away by the emotion in the room so it's definitely something that I want to continue working on and those individuals that I want to continue working with so I just wanted to to acknowledge that so thank you to all of you who came out that evening thank you can I piggy back off um Elena the marching band the indoor percussion and the high school music program really go and support other uh sports during their um their games and things like that so they're having a pasta din dinner and indoor percussion send off on Monday April 15th and I think as a community you know we can all come together and support them as they go off just like they come and you know play during the football games and things like that so if we could support all of our community and not just the athletes that'd be awesome thank you anyone else no okay we're going to have to go into an executive session uh so I'm going to have to close up the meeting I want to thank everyone for coming uh and I want to thank the uh people that are cheering the uh all the Committees what a fantastic job they're doing this year we never had that many people coming to our meetings I guess it's the advertising of word mouth or whatever but keep up the good work thank you need a motion for exact for personnel okay I need a motion to go executive session please miss motion I need a second Jan second thank you good night all