[Music] and to the [Music] [Music] [Music] for our [Music] I'd like to call to order the tonight's meeting Mr Jones can you please call the rooll Miss barve here Miss Bower here Mrs Boral here miss Brody missani Miss Williams here Miss Winkler here Dr Kowski here Mr Murray here for is present please rise for the Pledge of Allegiance I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the Republic for which it stands one nation under God indivisible with liberty and justice for all all right so the goal will be to get everybody out of here relatively quickly so we'll we'll try to speed things up because I know not everybody wants to be here for us St budget meeting it is it's a good meeting um so uh first we had our executive session we went through the Hib reports Personnel suspension detention and our legal status report we have nothing uh as far as attend additions to the agenda go and Dr Mass superintendent report yes thank you so so tonight we have an exciting meeting even though it's going to be quick so here here are some of the highlights tonight we will hear an awardwinning poet we will recognize our amazing athletes we will review and approve our revised school calendar for 2425 and we have a very engaging present ation regarding our budget from Mr Jones for our 2425 school year um I also wanted to acknowledge that earlier this week we had our first Workshop led by the organization imagine called how to talk to your children about grief in the world in this session a takeaway is how grief is a universal emotion in response to loss the loss can range from the personal to the global such as the loss of a parent the loss of lives in Ukraine the loss of lives in Gaza the loss of lives in Russia the loss of lives in Israel the loss of a friend the types of losses that we have as humans is unfortunately endless but it's something that we all experience so this work brings us together as a community to stand in empathy with each other in our Collective grief to support all of our children I would like to give imagine a thank you tonight for supporting and leading the district in this [Applause] work thank you Dr Mass business administrator report Mr Jones I was going to defer my time to the budget presentation sounds good board president announcement the New Jersey open public meeting law was enacted to ensure the right of the public to have advanced notice of and attend the meetings of public bodies in which any business affecting their interest is discussed or acted upon in accordance with the provisions of this act the scotch PL family board of education has caused notice to this meeting to be published by having the date time and place thereof posted at the Board of Education offices located at 512 Cedar Street Scotch Plains New Jersey such notice was also provided in written notice forwarded to Union County Hawk Star Ledger and the Township Clerk of scotch Cains the burough Clerk of Fanwood and the annual notices of regular scheduled meetings as adopted May 9th 2023 we'll now go over to our student board representatives for their report yeah so one first thing is spring Sports have just kicked off so softball baseball lacrosse Spring Track um and boys volleyball just started uh oh and golf golf can't figure golf um another thing is our exchange students so we had two groups of exchange students in the high school over the last two weeks so I had hosted a student from Spain and there was also a group from France that was here too for the Spanish exchange students they came and watched The Adams Family which was going on last week which was amazing they visited New York City twice they visited Washington DC and they toured the elementary schools and gave presentations to little kids which is awesome it was awesome having them here and it's sad to see them go but um one other thing is that the end of the markting period is coming up on April 12th and spring break starts next week yay thank you Mac um like Cyra mentioned we had reparatory theaters production of The Adams Family last weekend we had four consecutive soldout shows and and I was a part of the cast and it was a really amazing experience and a really great show we also had NGA GPA testing last week for the juniors which is a graduation requirement and also last week it was a busy week we had senior citizens day hosted by sgaa and we had around 100 seniors from the community come to the high school we had Rep Theater perform five numbers from The Adams Family we had the moon glowers jazz band play name that to there was Bingo performance from the cheerleaders and a lot more fun activities and that's a really great event to be a part of um and lastly like SAR mentioned spring break is next week and I know students are looking forward to it so they're not alone thank you I I think also senior activities right there's a fundraiser tonight at Dairy Queen for der Queen there's a bunch of activities so head out to Dairy Queen and get a nice and everyone's favorite wrestling coach is their wrestling teams hosting a popcorn fundraiser so everybody loves popcorn make sure you go see coach Fabiano to uh put your orders in the Instagram so thank you very much guys all right so we're going to move over to recognition instructional updates so we're going to start with the recognition so the first is going to be our PTR Reflections poetry contest winner uh giovana flea for merit of for literature so giovana if you could come to the microphone up there and read us your wonderful [Applause] poem good evening Dr Mass Board of Education faculty and community members I am jaavan flea a fifth grade student at Malcolm e netting ham Middle School it is an honor to be here tonight to share my poem hopeful every day I'm so proud to represent netting ham with my poem that received the award of Merit for literature at the state level in the intermediate division in the PTA Reflections program I'm thankful for the netting ham PTA Who provided my opportunity my opportunity my netting ham teachers especially Miss litz and Mr fron for my and my family who have always encouraged me to do my best and write creatively please enjoy my PO hopeful every day I am hopeful every day I am hopeful in every way when I see enemies shaking hands I hope for peace across the lands when we're open to differences I feel hope excluding people is a Noe knowing that we all belong helps the world go right along when I meet people with hearts of gold it's amazing to see what the world holds I am hopeful because a good deed goes a long way even a friendly smile can change someone's day I feel hopeful when kids can be leaders speaking our minds there's nothing sweeter sharing our minds and feeling heard a positive mindset is preferred I am hopeful because I have a chance to learn and grow we can be educated for what we don't know taking opportunities and finding success can give us a future Above the Rest I am hopeful every day I am hopeful in every way when I see the dreamers the hopers and the wishers with a chance I'm hopeful because our beautiful world can [Applause] advance that was fantastic thank you really great thank you anybody have any comments I I am like sorry go ahead started talking I I just I'm so hopeful and I love I love that I'm I'm so appreciative that you got to share that and really proud of you for representing our district um I'm so impressed with your dialogue and your dialect and how you animated that so beautifully thank you for sharing that with us it's beautiful yes that was my comment as well that the enunciation and how you presented your poem it was just fantastic it was very outstanding job and the fact that you're only a fifth grader and you stood out among all the entries I'm so proud of you thank you congratulations thank you since Dr kulakowski mentioned only fifth grade could her fifth grade teacher please stand up next to [Laughter] [Applause] her behind every great [Applause] poet and if we could have Mrs litz and PTA and our poet come in the front for a picture please come right up here John Mooney would you please take this picture hold on hold on wait there Thank You by way I can't wait to see you in 11 grade and uh now I'm going to uh for the first time I'm actually going to get to call uh Dr Ryan Miller [Applause] up well I thank you everyone it's just a big relief at the end of the day that's the only way I can describe it I don't know what to do with the hours on Saturdays and Sundays anymore but I'm sure I'll f Sports and activities I have yard work you can do [Laughter] helping I was at the athletic director's conference last week and we had a speaker come up and he said that it's a wonderful thing to be involved in athletics because we get to watch ordinary kids do extraordinary things so I pushed back on them a little bit so I said I think you're wrong I think we watch extraordinary kids do extraordinary things because to be an athlete in this day and age and to and really be involved in any extracurriculars with the level of academics that are required with the level of pressure that's put on these young adults is something that us grown adults probably could never handle I know I can't handle it their schedule and what they do so my push back was they're not ordinary in any way shape or form because they have stepped out and said look at me when they could have stood in the back of me and that's what I'm so proud about every time I look at our athletes and when I see young poet who came up here who wow uh incredible um you have this opportunity to say nah I'm just going to be in the background or I have this opportunity to say no I'm going to stand out in front I'm going to represent my school my community my parents and my family so to the athletes that are here I thank you and we praise you I'm really excited though because I have much better people to bring up than me uh the first person I'd like to bring up is uh coach of our swim team coach Jessica who's going to honor one of our [Applause] athletes every year he tells me I have to do it and then I'm behind his bike every year silly me um here tonight to honor Billy sheret she has been a member of the varsity swim team for four years and in that time she has four Union County championships four school records and when you look at the county results she will have placed in the top three and actually usually a top two in any of the eight individual events on there uh she managed to qualify for me to Champions in seven out of the eight individual events so she's just extremely well-rounded swimmer it's done a great job for us but she's even a better person has stepped up and done anything we've asked her to do usually sometimes it's me changing things around last minute and she's never flustered She carries herself really well and she's been great role model for our younger swimmers come on up Billy whereas 20234 varsity swim teams had a remarkable season and whereas the team performed at a high level during the season as well as the Union County inter schass Athletics Conference Championships held at Ruckers University on January 21st and whereas the following athlete distinguish themselves with the following achievements Billy sheret first placed 200 individual LLY in 500 freestyle and whereas Billy sheret has had an outstanding career at the spfs spfhs earning County championships through out her career and being a key contributor in generating positive results the swim team has had her leadership and dedication are examples for others to follow as she extends her swimming career at the University of Kentucky next season now therefore be it resolved that the scotch PL education recognizes and congratulates the Billy Sher and her head coach coach Jessica holick and assistant coach mine codney and volunteer coach Drew the shy for their outstanding achievements and wishes them continued success in all future [Applause] endeavors should we get a picture of that annually annually Dr Miller can you bring those folks back up for a picture please J Billy came all the way here you might as well get a wonderful thank [Applause] you I think over the last 20 plus years uh coach Kagel and Coach McGriff have had the honor of coming here two to three times a year to honor the athletes that they're a part of and it's my honor to introduce Coach Jeff Kagel and Coach Richard McGriff for some of our track [Applause] athletes we have uh four student athletes that were supposed to be honored here tonight are uh two young ladies couldn't make it here so we're just going to talk about them briefly uh Delan Farley is a sophomore she was the uh State sectional champion in the 55 meter dash uh also broke the school record in the 55 meter dash uh she's only sophomore uh she's 15 years old so she's actually uh young for a sophomore also one of the younger sophomores she one of the best Springers in the State uh bright future ahead of her she had an awesome season this year uh Sarah aoli is a senior she was our top pull volter this was actually her first season doing indoor track um it's kind of hard to pull volt in the winter it's too cold outside and we don't have an indoor facility for her uh she was the county champ sectional champ she placed in a group meet she qualified for the me of Champs uh she broke the school record uh she actually tied the Outdoor School record indoors so she really had a phenomenal season uh she had to put a lot of time in outside of practice going to private facility to uh to get her jumping in but uh Sarah's also a top level student uh she's five AP classes including mine uh so she she's a a perfect example of Balan student athlete uh unfortunately Delan and uh and Sarah couldn't be here with us tonight but uh we do have U story tradition uh girls track the field and Delany and Sarah have been continuing that unfortunately we only have one season left Sarah but Dy we have a season plus two more years so they're both phenomenal kids phenomenal athletes and Coach MC's going to talk about our young men okay um mean come on up um the two gentlemen I'm thinking about uh am um zuar and um Ian Hopkins um they're both seniors um and they're both hurdlers and like I see this every year about the hurdlers you know our school is known for we we had since rovo nemi has been here you know there's pressure be at Scotch PLS you have to be a good hurdler you got be a good hurdler if you want the hurdler got to be one of the best and both these guys have been one of the best I mean from starting from last year I mean they people don't know but in the summertime just after the season's over they they were also their national champs their national champs in the shuttle hurdles stuff like that when they they went to the Nike um sorry yes that was the New Balance outdoor Nationals where they won the National Championship in the shuttle hurdles set the the meat record and so from there you know there's a lot of expectation you're coming back this year and they came back and a had a little friendly competition between both of them about who was going to do what and how how good but it's good in in our sport you need to be that when you want need to be there try to be the best on your team you try to be the best in the state you try to be the best in the county and that's what they were uh I mean um he runs hurdle for us and part of our great shutle hurdle team that's national qualifying team that they they went to and um became in second in the at the Nike indoor Nationals but but a sprinter at the 55 meter dash is where he really excelled where he was our County champ the sectional champ and there um just missing the school record um this year but I'm kind of I'm proud of him because he came out and said that's what he was going to do this year and he went out there and he did that he ran that that and you know I make a lot of I tease him a lot but he ran great he was one of the best in there and of course his um teammate and his Nemesis Ian they also he went through same thing he was on that national team outdoors and that national team indoors in a shuttle hurdle also but we had uh we had the national u20 champ last year and um in a hurdle and enan told that guy that he's going to run this time he's going to be better and their team was going to be better and he was our anchor of this team he was I anchor that team let that team out there and he also was the state champ in that 55 meter hurdles indoors and made it to the Met Champion that and also a to the med champ also in a 55 meter dash thought 200 meter dash there um so they represented our school well and the very high expectations to be a male hurdler in Scotch Plains and and these two guys were two great examples of what can be done what if you put your mind to it so we're very proud of both of these young men and how they represented our team before I read the resolution I just have to say you two come up every year and say it's going to be tough next year BR people up so congratulations both of you and your all of your coaches whereas the 2023 24 Varsity winter track program had an outstanding season competing in level high Lev meets in Toms River New Jersey New York City and Staten Island whereas the following members of the track program dis distinguish themselves Amin Zar 55- nor2 group 3 and un County Champion Delaney Farley 55- group 3 and Easter Nationals Champion Ian Hopkins 55 High hurdle group three Champion Sarah CI Paul ball North 2 group two group three and Union County Champion whereas these athletes through their tireless efforts are leaders and examples for their teammates school and Community now therefore be it resolved that the Scotch Plains Family Board of Education recognizes and congratulates the 2023 2024 Varsity track program and their coaches Jeff Kagel Rich McGriff Dan dowy and Ken Hernandez for their outstanding achievements and wishes them continued success in all future [Applause] ende thank you Mr Miller getting a hang of there Dr [Applause] Miller so with with regret uh coach Gracie was unable to be here today which I'm pretty sure all the bers already know um just because of the way he communicates and the way he's got about his over 13 years uh it was coach grai was one of my first hires when I got here as a head coach and I could not have been more thrilled more uh honored to have a gentleman like coach grae running our program and to see what he's been able to build uh good luck to whoever's got to follow that one including clown has got to hire somebody uh so the success coach I asked Coach G to give me something that was his words and not mine and coach gy gave me some information he said the success of the high school bowling team goes beyond just winning games it exemplifies teamwork sportsmanship and the ability to overcome challenges with resilience and determination it seemed like every team we went up against would all shoot their highest series of the year against our team whether it was Lynden Cranford or Delbarton in the state tournament everyone did everything in their power to beat our Bowlers their ability our ability to throw quality shots in pressure-filled situations speaks to our ability to adapt to different Lan conditions and stay mentally strong and persevere when challenged friendly internal competitions fuel the team throughout the season they would push each other in practice to get better the upper classman were always willing to share their knowledge to help the newer Bowlers improve part of the lengthy bus rides home from practice or a match we're always dedicated to the bowlers announcing their career high game and series we always seem to have something it's here for because there was constant Improvement throughout the season some of the accomplishments for both The Varsity JB they had a combined record of 32-2 32-2 which is amazing both teams had the highest game and highest Series in Union County for their divisions both teams won their respective divisions for the second year in a row the varsity team is the Union County Champion for only the fourth time in school history Matt Arnold LS Masano and Moro D Roo all qualified for the njsi AA individual State Tournament and Mr Gracie would like to thank the Board of Education for his opportunity to be the bowling coach for the past 13 years he wants to thank the parents who would also drive all those different places uh who would make the Eight Mile dve Lindon which takes about 45 minutes um and he wants to thank the four graduating seniors Matt Lewis marrow and Matt for all the hard work and all the leadership you've shown throughout this throughout your four years congratulations to our County Champion Bowlers who need to stand up and be recognized might as well come right to the middle [Applause] [Applause] whereas the 2023 2024 Varsity bowling team had a remarkable season advancing to the semi-final round of the New Jersey North 2 group 3 sectional tournament and earning the CH Conference Championship and whereas the 2023 2024 bowling team was comprised of the following athletes Matthew Arnold Reed buer Matthew capazo Mo Moro D Roa Benjamin Fay Jacob fredman Joon Al lesi Nathaniel larcy Devin mcalli leis Masano Grant Preston Michael Savar Jason sedo Brandon steer and whereas the team competed in the Union County inter Scholastic Athletic Conference Championship on January 20th at the Jersey lanes and earned the Union County team championship and whereas The Varsity bowling team exhibited outstanding Talent dedication and teamwork throughout the season and was led by head coach Ryan gracing this team received the well-deserved recognition from fellow students staff and the Scotch Plains Family communities for their outstanding efforts and accomplishments now therefore be it resolved that the Scotch Plains Fanwood Board of Education recognizes and congratulates the 2023 2024 out uh Varsity bowling team and their coach Ryan grae for their outstanding achievements and wishes them continued success in all future endeavors congratulations J [Applause] [Applause] it's been a while but it's really really exciting to introduce our wrestling program Mark FAO assisted by John sches and Jesse Martinez and our wrestlers I believe there's three of y'all here so you should just come right up and uh before I go and Coach FAO is a far better speaker than I am uh the level of commitment and commitment to Excellence that these three gentlemen along with uh coach GL Sanford uh have put into our wrestlers have embarked on some first time ever things have occurred first time for girls wrestling first time County champions ever as well as one of the largest programs in the county because the focus is on education based Athletics and not just to focus on winning but to focus on Improvement and daily Improvement and what makes me proud to have individuals like this behind us is their focus on individual daily Improvement every day coaches thank you for what you do thank you everyone uh so we have John Bole Harper shimko and Jalia Richards now I did this on purpose I didn't prepare anything in advance because there's sometimes when I speak I like to speak from the heart um of what I truly you know what comes to me right off the bat and you know we have County Champions right here all three of them we had John Bo that was a county Champion we had Jia and Harper who were County Champions um um the two young ladies right here first time in school history they were County Champions um so huge accomplishments but we can't always take all the credit for that as I'm listening to the other coaches here because one thing we speak about so often in our wrestling program and some of you may have heard about it it's uh laamia which means the family and right here we have multiport athletes we have football softball football as lacrosse and all of these coaches have helped get them to this level to be so successful because they're successful in other sports as well and it all translates and we're all connected here at Scotch Plains we didn't get them there by ourselves and if you look into the crowd their parents are here family members grandparents because what they do has created that mindset to be successful and grow and strive for greatness we're so proud of them for their work ethic for pushing themselves julan Harper as freshman coming into this sport for the first time which is a tough thing but they took it in stride and they worked hard and they never stopped and John Bole not seated first in the T did something that we haven't had a county champion in 3 years now so it's been a while but I want to thank their coaches and their family because without them and without laamia we wouldn't be able to get here we are so proud of you and you earned this and we have great things to come next season Round of Applause for all that was like a Tony's award speech so I don't know how to drill whereas The 2023-24 Varsity wrestling program had an outstanding season competing in high individual matches quads and tournaments the boys competed in the Union County inter Scholastic Athletic Conference Championship at Union High School on January 20th and the girls competed on February 14th at Scotch Plains Fanwood high school and whereas the following members of the wrestling program distinguish themselves John Bole 190b County Champion Harper shimko sorry 132 pound County Championship Julia Richard 120 pound County Champion whereas these a athletes through their tireless efforts are leaders and examples for their teammates school and Community Harper shimko and Julia Richard are the first girls wrestling County champions in not only the history of Scotch Plains Fanwood but also within Union [Applause] County now therefore be it resolved that the Scotch Plains Fanwood Board of Education recognizes and congratulates the 2023 24 varsity varsity wrestling programs and their coaches Mark Fabiano John stz Jesse Martinez and Elizabeth Sanford for the outstanding achievements and wishes them continued success in all of future endeavors which will we will be a part [Applause] of Amy go [Music] [Applause] back no not um go to the mic go to the microphone I just want to give a thank you as well to um because you know Dr he's here and for those of you that don't know Dr heisy um he was a wrestling coach and he um he wrestled and he's been helping out a wrestling program and he's always busy and you know he comes in the room and he helps and he helps some of our uh you know our upper weights like John Bole and the um other guys and you know this might be his last year helping us you know being able to come in the room and help us out so um I just want to you know give another round of applause because he contributed to the success of our program um and throughout the year so Dr heisy thank you so [Applause] much so this concludes the recognition portion of the meeting so for those of you who do not want to stay and watch the budget presentation you don't have to um if you do want to stay please do can iug uh I don't know Joe are you announcing who the principal is tonight um um do you have a hope for kind of know who like the collective Top Choice was and I like I I I we just met him we were impressed I was impr so I have to that's the when we talk when he came in we were like be like kind of judg his you he started speaking answers really great yeah yeah that's funny you guys are getting good at this I guess we don't have to all right we'll move put all very important it's like a movie theater [Music] now would easy so far easy so far yeah yeah I have a meeting like I represent a couple boards in Northwest Jersey and I have a board meeting Monday night where they're um choosing to it so that's going to be fun oh yeah y true be plenty of public comment about that we have a couple of people here tonight who are ling they just walked in to theal you to yes I wanted to go we to see how we ended up going FR just this the two of us only sat for 45 minutes and then Saturday I saw it with her friend just kept getting better oh my god seriously you're so good I can't imag I feel so and I feel like every year I like I know it's going to be good but then the it's like you better than like they're so good so the evening that we always look forward to is the planning for the following school year while we're in the midst of the good work of the current school year I know that our business administrator Christopher Jones has been very busy um in putting the budget together and getting a much feedback from both board members and administrators and just before the presentation I would just like to thank christop for for the hard work that he's put forth in in this effort so the proor it's the proor is the can May me the wire over there or over there it was good it was good yeah was good a minute ago Compu yeah because you can it's in the computer so right okay the disc from the drive and reboot the so in all the work that we do we always go back to our mission the budget included so the mission of Scotch Plains Fanwood Public Schools is to educate every student to become a confident and caring lifelong learner who can communicate and contribute positively to the rapidly changing World The District in cooperation with the community will provide an academic environment which Val Excellence initiative and diversity so even though we're going to see a lot of numbers and spreadsheets stay grounded in our mission and additionally we also value the work that we do in strategic planning and the budget is aligned to those goals in addition to use all funding efficiently to maximize the community's investment in our children's education allocate resources to advance the district's 22 to 25 strategic plan diversity equity and inclusion educating the whole child Community Partnerships and engagement facilities and infrastructure respond to challenging economic climate without impacting instructional programs or services and ensure that our schools are secure well-run and wellmaintained so good evening everyone as we dive into curriculum instruction portion of our budget presentation it's important to remind ourselves that the core work of any school district is teaching and learning everything we do should be in service of providing our students with the best possible educational experiences and outcomes however we must also recognize that our ability to expand and enhance program programs is often constrained by the financial realities we face like many school districts we're grappling with increasing expenses in various areas which puts pressure on the amount of funds available for new initiatives despite these challenges though we remain committed to making strategic investments into curriculum instruction priorities for the upcoming 2024 2025 school year first we will continue implementing the annual goals outlined in our strategic plan as Dr Mass mentioned this will involve ongoing program development and professional development initiatives focused on two core areas educating the whole child and diversity equity and inclusion as as part of our commitment to Dei we're excited to enter year two of our teaching for social justice Academy this Innovative program is designed to inspire and prepare the next generation of Educators with a particular focus on attracting and supporting future teachers of color by providing our high school students with what happened there we go um so as I said this initiative is um designed to inspire um and really promote the the next generation of Educators with a particular focus on attracting and supporting future teachers of color by providing our high school students with opportunities to explore issues of social justice and develop their understanding of Dei we aim to cultivate a pipeline of diverse culturally respons of Educators next we aim to expand our dual enrollment offerings this year we're partnering with Kane University to offer a course titled Holocaust genocide and monitored Humanity this will provide our high school students with an opportunity to earn college credits while engaging with this important subject matter and finally we're enhancing our enhancing our middle school program by expanding elective choices for grade 7 and 8 which will allow our middle schoolers to explore a wider range of subjects um and develop their interests and passions it will also give them an opportunity to really practice the kind of decision- making and choice making that they'll have to make when they get to our very expansive um elective offerings at the high school we believe these targeted investments will significantly enrich the educational experiences of our students within the constraints of our budget and we'll continue to be thoughtful and strategic in the allocation of resources to ensure that we're always putting the needs of our students first okay so first thing I want to highlight which I've talked about many times um in the meetings here over the p over the several uh several the whole year really uh is our enrollment um it is the highest enrollment we've had since the end of the baby boom up 100 we're actually up a as of today you know 157 students um from last year um and the District demographer does forecast that we have an additional uh enrollment next year up to 350 students additionally after over the next two years um and we are schools are currently at capacity we'll have a vote in September for the purchase of a new building we'll remove some of the pressure on schools there'll be more to more to come on that over the next coming months with a significant amount of community outreach uh regarding that that boat in order to create additional classrooms uh we're V vacating the space next month so this is is our uh last board meeting in this space um and we'll be able to um bring at least no eight classrooms into this space uh that will start soon um so the increase in enrollment is driven by birth rate we have families moving into town um and new developments as well and just to prove the families in the moving in the town when we look at the you know second grade going to third grade or you know third grade in the fourth grade all elementaries um schools uh increased uh last year and that's ex excluding any new development so there's been um um an increase across the border in many buckets that have led to this uh the enrollment which is um it's a good place to be from a community perspective I believe so the first thing I want to say about the budget overall is that this is a you know a maintain programs and services budget we have had some targeted cost reductions and administrative costs um but in general it is a it's a maintained budget um I think you've seen in news and I talked about this last year as well continue to have unprecedent historic increase in costs um above historical levels um continued bus driver shortage is driving a large increase in expenses and our cost in transportation have we I'll have another slide on this um have dou doubled since the 17 more than doubled uh since the 17 18 school year and just as a reminder uh all Transportation contracts are put out to bid and we are required by the state to take the lowest bid so we are U making sure with a very high focus on keeping cross the low we have a new bus route that we're going to need for next year um for school one in netting ham uh it will be needed because our current buses we have are are overbooked um healthcare costs continue to be a challenge uh last year were able to negotiate lower costs uh so this year our increase is only 5.9% uh and I think um you know coming out of covid um I think healthcare costs across the board uh have been up uh most organizations I think you can read the news about that um we are looking all options reduce our cost going switching insurance providers um you know the pension cost so I know the Miss po just presented their budget and they had similar uh concerns around that the state continues to push down p cost down to a local level um and it's a it's not just an increase in the pension cost it's actually a percentage of the total uh cost of pension they keep they continue to increase so it puts pressure on the local budgets um in terms of salaries last we we've hired nine teachers this year um we expect to hire at least that many next year as well and that doesn't include we have a additional periods that ex that existing teachers have been so typically teachers are teaching five periods we've had a significant uh uptick in teachers uh teaching six periods um and in due due to teacher shortages uh substitute costs are significantly above historical averages um in addition we've had starting salaries uh for difficult to recruit positions have increased and I'll go through um the other expenses uh in another slide so this is the slot I was referencing when it came to Transportation so there was a revamp in the in the State uh education uh State funding uh for state aid for schools uh seven years ago and we were uh a beneficiary of that and you know we have over five million increased funding uh for state aid which is a good story but you know the opposite of that as this chart shows this is that every dollar of the state aid increase has gone towards the in increase costs in transportation um the blue here is the state increase state aid increase and the it's cumulative over the years and the red is the transportation cost increased um so it's you know something that's definitely being um addressed at the state level it's something that's a constant focus of their as to see to try to get it get a handle on it uh and for state aid this is I do expect that this is our this is our last major increase in state aid this year so sort of a standard slide just to let everybody know sort of where our expenses are the vast majority of our expenses are fixed because it's you know expended to the salaries it's 71% of our budget but the transportation piece continues to be a higher percentage of our budget um and just you know as I mentioned before we are we do take the lowest bidder every single time with all of these routes so this are the other expenses coule some things I want to highlight here on this slide so special education services of course are State mandated and we have do not have much control over those um we have um are at a district tuition is it it shows here that it's it's down but it's only down because after coming out of Co we were required to um maintain services for students between 18 and 21 and those students are now aging out if we back that out out of this number actually our costs are up 400,000 year over year so again significant increase there we're seeing the Trends International news you know nursing shortages s shortages of Professional Services you know occupational physical therapists um 15% increases uh rate increases again those are mandatory Services we have to provide to our students um cost of Technology continues to increase cyber security needs in order to meet cyber security needs we have to uh continue to build out that and that's in order to get insurance coverage we have to have certain uh items uh for cyber security so um we continue invest in those as we need to and uh do it enrollment of course we have um we have to get new new iPads for those students so higher student populations equals additional cost for technology um and then as I um um as I previously mentioned we are vacating this space so we have uh a cost for our new uh Board office relocation uh and lastly uh you know for the new sections that we've taken on this year and we expect next year uh we need um additional funds for uh anything related to curriculum uh for the students to use in the classrooms s could you just clarify the last two numbers and columns they're the same but there's a $900,000 difference that's wrong yeah it's the number that in that 223 is wrong the 913 is wrong every other number is Absol is 100% correct I'll update it when you post it on the website yeah yeah yes okay so what does this mean for Revenue so we have a tax levy increase 4.2% um so we are capped at 2% the state does allow to 2% for two items really and that's for enrollment and for healthare and so that is the um the increase here um that that's how you get to the 4.2% uh again I mentioned that we are we had the increase in state funding this year 1.1 million increase in state funding um just to mention the maintenance Reserve we're using West maintenance Reserve uh for this year's General operating budget um but we're still maintaining levels at at at 20 ,000 for uh roof repairs um because our roofs are um um aging we uh so certain sections of certain roofs are aging and the repairs are increasing um and we are you know maintaining extra extraordin extraordinary Aid at higher levels than we typically do extraordinary Aid is something that the state doesn't actually tell us how much money we're getting until we won't know until July um how much we're getting now and then uh interest income as well okay um estimated taxes so Scotch planes and these are es you know we don't you know we don't implement the taxes we sort of just take take numbers and we populate them and the town will finalize these numbers but the estimated taxes for scpl 4.23 monthly cost approximately $35 a month uh Fanwood 3 7 $2 month and the reason for the difference is um the county tells us if really they tell us there there's things it's called U value it's called like rateable is basically for your homes and The Spook between towns and you need the county sets it so the county says here's what it is and that equalized value that's listed there they give that to us and then we sort of implement it and that's it isort pluck and FL nothing that nothing that we set or have any control over it's fully controlled uh at the county level okay now going more a little bit more fun stuff Athletics so we had a lot of presentations obviously have good year for athletics I want to highlight some other items um gymnastics Champions fifth year in a row girls volleyball sectional finalist boys basketball divisional champ second year in a row uh boys volleyball um this is last spring uh number two new jersey.com number one volleyball and state um and uh County Champions fifth year in a row winter track we just saw the highlights of the SE them this year for that um and then last year Spring Track obviously we had a 4x4 All-American team uh approximately 400 athletes each season and um still maintaining around 20% participation uh in athletics for all student athletes um and just want to say you know thanks to uh coach faion wasn't here I didn't say to say thank you to him for um you know the girls program this year he's uh really advocates for athletes and uh to get that program going and have success in the first year is uh is great I don't know if people know wrestling is my background and have a daughter and I hope that Russ so very happy about okay go ahead barnards so as we review the budget for the upcoming year we want to highlight our ongoing commitment to maintaining a strong and vibrant Fine Arts and Music program in our schools the images you see on this slide capture the essence of what we strive to provide our students opportunities to explore to create and to excel in various artistic disciplines these snapshots showcase the diverse range of artistic experience that our students engage in every day we firmly believe that the Arts are an essential part of a well-rounded education they really do work to educate the whole child they not only Foster creativity self-expression and personal growth but also develop critical skills such as problem solving collaboration and communication that are crucial for success in all areas of life that's why even in the face of budget constraints we have made a conscious decision to prioritize funding for our Fine Arts and Music program the images on this slide are a testament to the success that our students have attained in various domains excuse me these pictures paint a vivid portrait of the outstanding accomplishments that our students have achieved these successes Are Not Mere coincidences they are a result of hard work dedication and support from our entire School Community our students teachers staff parents and administrators they're also a reflection of the district's unwavering commitment to providing our students with resources opportunities and guidance they need to excel academically socially and emotionally our budget plays a crucial role in sustaining and enhancing this culture of success by allocating funds strategically we ensure that our students have access to high quality educational programs and a wide range of um extracurricular activities that allow them to explore their interests and develop their talents here we see that we have our governor teachers of the year and an exemplary teacher of the year and as we said earlier teaching and learning is at the core of all that we do these teachers were recognized this year and are the representation of our caring and dedicated entire staff and here we see Community effort along with our student leadership to bring about programming in our schools our strong Foundation is solid because Educators partner with families and our community here we celebrate students learning the importance of their civic involvement Community sponsored events such as super sports Saturday which was the first ever and a softball youth day that was put together by our very own own student representative CRA um having having the softball um High School softball players bring up our our youth softball players in in a really fun day in all of these opportunities students also participate as leaders and it really is at the core of what we do and not to be overlooked in our budget process and I believe that is our last slide [Music] so this room anymore thing in this room thank you Mr Jones questions for Mr Jones on the presentation not not such a question as much as I think a point regarding the transportation that you brought up that I think is just um something you know as I can't speak for the entire board but for myself that you know we've been watching consistently um for the past six years just continue to increase um and it's something that we've had some in-depth conversations on internally but I think that um and I appreciate that you're pointing out that there is um State legislation and um just as it to the public to to public knowledge that as board members um the New Jersey school boards Association and there's communication amongst us so when we see situations um and and the what's going on with the transportation costs it's just really important I think to not note that um it finally is getting some legislative attention that's it all budgeted out that was a great presentation nice slides clearly laid out so tonight we're we're going to be looking to approve the tempor the the tentative budget the final budget presentation and approval is next month is that correct yeah um this is uh we submit to the county um and there's typically no changes between now and next meeting and there's a public hearing on the budget uh at the next meeting um but yeah but yeah and then we'll that'll be the final approval and specific commentary from the public just on that budget next meeting yes and it's mandated by a mandated yep by the state okay so we need a motion to approve the tenative budget that was presented that's in the agenda uh with all the additional details listed in the agenda do we have a motion so moved do we have a second second do we have any other questions or comments is this roll call or is this roll call I would do a roll call yeah okay yeah we do we could do it let me see give me one second pull up who was who was second Miss wiler okay Miss barve yes Miss bow yes Miss borov yes Miss Williams yes Miss Winkler yes Dr wowski yes Mr Murray yes motion carries we'll now move to the first of the two public comment sections in accordance with Scott Swain's family Public School bylaw 0164 and 0165 the meeting will be opened for 15 minutes for public comments maximum 3 minutes per speaker speakers addressing superintendent items business functions or other word business will be heard first if time remains speakers May address other matters speakers please state your name and the town in which you reside board use the public comment period is an opportunity to listen to Citizen concerns but not to debate issues or in to question and answer session or cross-examination between the public or the individual members be aware that not all issues brought before the board will be resolved that evening board's May respond to public comment by seeking additional information or by delegating the authority to investigate the issue to the superintendent or his or her designate I will now open the public comment section so if you have a public comment please come to the mic state your name in the town in which you [Music] reside John Denning Scotch Plains when last I spoke here I asked the board to follow their own policies that request was met with active interference when I finally was allowed to read the policy I was proven right I asked a serious question about a force behind racial and religious bias within the district and the president chose to make a joke out of the response this is characteristic of the way I've seen policy treated in the district our repeated written requests that policy be enforced to protect our children who are not responded to we learned that policy was merely a tool leveraged by the convenience of those who wielded its power the only reference to policy I ever got from the district was a letter authored by the district to my wife and me fabricating unrealistic scenarios under which our children could be targeted and punished a move I took in an attempt at intimidation at best and a threat at worst we questioned how anyone whose living based on dealing with families could send such correspondence the message was me to me was clear back off or your children will be targeted by manipulating policy normally I am concerned about my children facing off against adults and the administration due to the Gap in age and experience but when it comes to character I can assure you my children have the upper hand another egregious example of a policy violation District policy prevents surveys that would reveal information regarding students religious social or political views our 8-year-old child was placed with an activist teacher my wife and I raised concerns with the principal and we mandated confidentiality a week later our daughter announced that she was going to invite a fellow Christian from the class to our Church's youth group we asked her how she knew this girl was a Christian the innocence of her answer was both beautiful and terrifying her response was Miss name redacted had all the Christians rais their hands our blood ran cold as soon as she was out of earshot I turned to my wife and said did we just hear that this teacher is hunting our child and those with similar beliefs we met with both the teacher and the principal to address this issue it was a blatant violation of Britain school policy and they just didn't care they thought it was fine for a teacher pushing their own views to catalog the religious beliefs of their students so blatantly even our 8-year-old daughter could there was no concern over the violation of policy or the impact on our family we were told it's just fine so I'm going to direct a question to Miss Williams Because when it was time to come out of the pandemic you were the only one that had the courage to express your apprehensions rather than tow the party line of we're all glad to be doing this so I'm relying on your courage assuming Mr Murray does not suppress your response should the teacher have been allowed to ignore policy and do so with the affirmation of the principal and second while I don't know your religious beliefs if something like this happened to you would you feel comfortable sending your child back into that classroom thank you you are obligated under policy to respond by the way we went through that last time correct and we will not be responding at this time thank you Mr Denning G Morris Fanwood since it is women's History Month I implore you to take action before women's sports literally become history I would again like to remind you about one of the glaring problems with policy 5756 at a girl's basketball game in Massachusetts a team forfeited after two of their players were injured by an aggressive biological male player this is simply about fairness and safety a girl's team should not have a biological male on the team is not fair to the girls on the field and is certainly not fair to the girls in the locker room let's not wait for there to be a problem please consider amending the policy so it is fair to the female athletes I think this is becoming a bigger and bigger issue I just I literally on the way over here just heard they're dealing with it in Manhattan uh as we speak in the Board of Ed there so please consider consider this for the safety of the kids I I think it was it was a huge overreach and people didn't even notice it and I think this is a this is a big miss my understanding is that that policy came straight from the state but is not mandated you guys can choose to implement parts of it all of it none of it you can do whatever you want with it it's not a mandated policy you really need to consider this I think it's extremely important to protect women's sports thanks thank you Mr Morris anybody would anybody else like to make a public comment John Denning Scotch Plains Miss Williams I'm sorry you were not allowed to answer the question um but turning my attention towards the overcrowding in schools um 14 years ago when I moved here I saw Parkers and said this is a lovely place but it's going to be housing someday uh we are way behind the curve in this issue um and buying the new building in Fanwood is not the answer its location is not a good fit um and introducing another school simply would mean that parents are going to have to tra take their kids to more and more schools um a better solution would be to incentivize people to use out of District resources for a fraction of what it cost you to educate a child you could free families of the burdens of the high taxes that obligate them to send their children here the district fundamentally operates as a monopoly um and if you were to break away from that you could uniformly across the district reduce the number of children reduce the overcrowding reduce the SP expenses and reduce the tax burden on the community I think what we need here is some creative out of the-box thinking rather than just perpetuate the current Monopoly that's playing out here so I encourage some deeper thinking rather than just throwing a large Capital project at this along with continual annual expenses that aren't going to solve the problem thank you thank you Mr Denning any further public comments okay seeing none I'll close the first public comment section and we'll have another one later in the meeting uh we'll move on to additional reports letters to the board seven emails were received by the public and were sent to the appropriate administrator we can now move over to committee reports does anybody have any committee reports I have a curriculum report okay curriculum committee met on March 12th uh we began with an update on the fifth grade content partnering um at the the Middle School principles Dr Dumis and Dr Holloway spoke to us about a model known as platooning where teachers each teach three subjects and then switch with another teacher for the other three subjects um and this allows separation and instruction for each subject to be more in depth teachers reflected that teaching three subjects rather than five lightens their planning load yet allows this to be much more purposeful co-planning also allows for collaboration and partnership as well as getting feedback on student needs some teachers are responsible for teaching math and science others teach language arts and social studies and all of them teach writing from the student perspective it allows a better transition to middle school because it gives them a bit of movement between classes as opposed to going straight from elementary school to the sixth grade where they change every single class then we had a presentation about the Middle School uh program schedule redesign uh the principles and the content supervisor spoke about planning that occurred over the last three years and supporting the Strategic plan uh particularly the the view of whole child focus and development of student agency through authentic learning by examining the master schedule they sought to ensure the master schedule reflects the district's strategic plan and supports the whole child and convened to schedule redesign team that looked at alignment of the schedule with values and strategic plan held focus groups with students and families looked at other districts evaluated needs based on the njsla and map testing data the plan is to maintain the Six-Day schedule and um and and the course offerings in fifth and sixth grade however the proposed changes um are to add exploratory courses in seventh and eth grade as uh Dr McGary mentioned during the budget presentation um we're reallocating time from the math Explorations class and the star class instead there will be six elective choices which will remove Bandon course from the uh physical education rotation so instead of having to miss Jim to go to uh Vander chorus they'll they'll have uh options to do that as electives this change allows for support and opportunity for everyone more Choice enrichment and and flexibility the students who need more support based on test data can get it during these periods also these electives introduce students to and provide a bridge to some of the courses that are offered at the high school seventh grade elective options will include making money moves digital game design journalism Digital Arts band and chorus and eighth grade elective options will include making money moves digital game design broadcast journalism Digital Arts band and chorus we also talked about the creative summer workshops program for this summer uh Miss pth and Dr Mallette described 44 courses for the summer reflecting an increase in the offerings over what we've offered in the past the expansion um includes things like drum Zone Studio two piano and cooking classes as well as nine kindergarten level options there will be 20 teachers last year there were 12 other offerings include stem art crochet computer skills um and staff salaries are covered by the cost of the courses paid by the registrant uh we also talked about the upcoming solar eclipse on April 8th and planning that's happening uh particularly in our science department and with our teachers uh our supervisor G Faria uh spoke to us about using the opportunity to educate students and the community about the eclipse the district will provide solar eclipse glasses for all of our students and will study what is happening in class the week prior to the eclipse sending information out to parents and focusing on the science behind it and safety there will be grade level appropriate lessons including read alouds and art projects and our next meeting will be April 9th thank you Miss Winkler any other committee reports M Williams I have a we a wellness and Equity meeting we met on March 7th um by a zoom and we had a couple agenda items um March 14th we had a m there was a ministerium meeting um Dr Mass also spoke about the Imagine Workshop which happened on March 19th at 700 p.m. about um how to talk to your children about grief um you know loss can be anything and that was a very important Workshop so very happy to see that in our district our next meeting will be Thursday April 11th and that concludes my report thank you Miss Williams welcome any other committee reports or any questions for Miss Williams or Miss mler I don't have an official Community report for um community relations but we did get an update on some of the um things that are going on across our district um it's okay if I could share some of the initiatives um that that stood out maybe a little bit more to me than to anybody else um so one thing that I think is fantastic that I'm I'm I'm I love seeing um across the the district is um March's music in our schools month and there's so much cross collaboration uh netting ham jazz band and Crimson choir performed at Brunner Evergreen and school one uh their annual Elementary tour is uh was that was on March 14th and then on March 15th the Terrell Jazz and select choir went to um Kohl's and begin um so I thought that was fabulous I'm seeing a ton of it was you know read Across America um read Across America week we had a lot of local um parents uh community members come in and then some famous authors came in as well um which was really cool I think John Mooney did too oh did we get a picture of that [Laughter] John um we had um I for those of you that don't know and John Mooney I'm going to direct everyone to your Facebook page for this one um one of our custodians at at Evergreen uh s Gano um is up for a um the custodian of the year I think it is correct he is a finalist one of 10 and I cannot remember the website so if you go to the SPF tap you'll find it there please you can vote daily um we're really extremely proud of that you can vote daily on every Devine is April 12th right thank you I had that written down I didn't look at it so Amy you can vote daily on every device okay get all your devices out it's a national competition it is a big deal and um actually I really did enjoy reading about the competition itself as well as about s and they um it's a really good opport opportunity in addition to some uh cash rewards a bonus for the school we get some cleaning supplies umy come on John just get up here a party he gets a trip to Las Vegas and um you know it's just really great recognition really heartfelt students said parents absolutely love my son remembered him he's 22 and he remembered him so I said vote yeah I I I I put reminders on our phones um and then uh we had a fourth grade visit to netting ham again um I you know just that cross collaboration peer-to-peer mentorship um we had anal career day where um family came in um members from the community to school one um and then uh the other thing I want to say that um I think we got them all oh uh we had an amazing I know we brought up you guys brought up Deca um and so not only did the 20 students place at the state competition two weeks ago 10 students will be competing at national competition which is in Vegas Anaheim California or Anaheim close close same time zone and um um every that that's that's and there's a lot more good news too but I summed it up I think pretty well thank you m morof we did have a finance committee meeting on March 11th uh tenative budget review and referendum update which I think we had both today so any other committee reports seeing none move on to enrollment report which we have all gotten and we saw that in the tentative budget so we will move on to superintendent and curriculum Dr Mas okay thank you so for um first the the hibs if the board could please approve the nine hibs discussed in exec on February 22nd and next if the board can approve the field trips that are listed and for the school calendar is back um what happened here is we we made a couple of modifications um we on November 5th is election day and because it's a presidential election school is going to be closed for staff and students um in our first published calendar January 29th was uh there was there was a date that was left out so now January 29th in recognition of Lunar New Year school is now closed for students but it will be professional de development for staff um we continue to have three emergency days built into the calendar and if no emergency days are used schools will be closed on May 23rd if more days are needed they will be taken from spring break starting April 14th so and I won't say what I said last year so I'll just keep that to myself around paas and for the next piece if the so that is the school calendar and that's it yep holiday calendar was not yeah the 12 month holiday calendar was the the number four okay and the school calendar was number five do we have a motion to approve those four items so move have a second second do we have any comments or questions on any of that information all those in favor I opposed extenstions motion carries those are approved we'll move on to Personnel Dr Mast so so the Personnel um as discussed in exec tonight um has some extra special content because we are asking the board to U approve the recommendation for our next High School princip principal um Warren Hines who is currently uh an assistant principal in Westfield um and and we we are um very pleased to to make this recommendation he has brought um inspiration to every part of the process and comes very highly recommend it in all of the references that we spoke to so I think he has has certainly big shoes to fill but I think he will really help us write a wonderful next chapter in the Scot plain Fanwood history so I asking that the board to approve the entire Personal Agenda while highlighting that it includes that appointment and I will like to say just to put people at ease he is a UNCC guy and if you know anything about UNC they hate the Duke Blue Devils so he's coming to the other side and now he can be on the scotch plane side and um be a fan of the other Blue Devils so um moving on to the actual vote do we have a motion to approve the Personnel report which includes the hiring of the new high school principal so moved Dr kowsky do we have a second second Bor off do we have any comments or questions or roll call vote Please Mr Jones misss barve yes Miss Bower yes Mrs Boro yes Miss Williams yes Miss Winkler yes C Kowski yes Mr Murray yes carries we will now move over to the business functions Mr Jones yes um first one staff training no related services for this meeting number two number three uh accepting the EF grants uh number four postponing the next meeting uh number five is a camera replacement it's on the agenda because uh we're using our preferred vendor is State contract vendor and once you're over a certain dollar threshold has to be on the agenda um number six library book disposal number seven uh non-public initiatives and these are uh we um by state mandate uh manage the um funding uh certain funds of non-public schools um and this is sort of a it's just a state manded process uh eight is the lease I discussed the budget presentation nine is uh a grant application for preschool Aid if we get uh we get $50,000 in preschool Aid every year and this is part of a standard uh application 10 is summer concrete work we're approving 11 is additional environmental work at 3:30 South AV the building we're looking to purchase in Fanwood uh 12 um fire drills uh St these are standard reports Financial reports 13 14 dispersement listings and 15 paying bills do we have a motion to approve the items that Mr Jones went through so moved M Bar do we have a second second Miss bow Mr Jones can you just please expand upon what we're doing here with office space leasing so that we can make sure that everybody understands that we're vacating this but we're leasing other space because in the interm we need somewhere to go but we also need space so that's why we're building out this space and vacating here so may just mention yeah so uh last meeting we approved D um a proposal from our Architects to come in redo this space uh we're submitting that project to the state um Monday I believe um and then we'll go out to bid um most likely in June but you know we need the space because we are out of space at our schools in order to um create new classrooms and not have overcrowding and our other schools we'll create the space here and the space here will be um some Flex space some preschools uh preschool space as well cuz preschool space we have flexibility uh to move from different schools so you know for example if we take away a preschool from one school that opens up a classroom there and we can have the preschool here instead so it'll allow some flexibility within the district um we are moving to uh 330 3113 South Avenue which is happens to be um across the street from this new school we're looking to purchase um um and we're working with them now and they're doing some improvements into the space for us um and yeah so we're looking to move there um May 1st so it's going to be uh very quickly a very quick uh this will be cleared out pretty quickly over the next few weeks um uh that will and then we'll start clearing uh getting this prepped for uh work to turn in the classrooms and just to be clear to Define this space it's not just this room it's the entire Board office yeah the entire Board office from where you walk in all the way to the back um will be completely cleared out and turned in the classroom and it just be an extension of Evergreen is that what it's yes okay yeah thank you any other comments yeah I just want to comment that I was um excited to read the list of the EF Grant recipients and the different projects that they're going to fund uh from the district I think it's really I think it's amazing that they do that every year and these are some interesting projects and I can't wait to hear how how they go and we appreciate their support 100% anyone else any other comments all those in favor I I opposed all right motions carry we're going to move on to board policies I Believe Miss wikler has a second and final and then a list she's going to read of first readings back to policies all right so for first read you you all have received the report I will give you a quick looking for it now quick update on what the policy report says uh much of the policies that are on this list the biggest change to them was um was updating removing the list of protected categories from the policies and replacing it with references to the actual administrative code which is a more expansive list of categories but um but that's that's the biggest change to most of these policies uh beyond that uh policy 1140 educational Equity policies and affirmative action also um information addressing the comprehensive Equity plan has been removed from this policy and relocated into policy 1523 um I'm looking to see if there's anything else significant that I want to mention uh not really most of these changes are pretty uh pretty standard the the P226 equity in school and classroom practices um also includes removing the list of protected categories to replace it with reference to the code but um also some information regarding student access to adequate Counseling Services was removed and relocated to policy 2411 um and there were references to some of the curricular mandates that came from the state that were added that's that's the the book of the the changes you can