##VIDEO ID:_H6HFb1PASg## hun and Regional Board of Education was called to order adequate notice as required by the open public meetings Act was provided on December 17 2024 by posting the notice with the respective Clerks of the city of Lambertville B of Stockton and Township of w dwell and advertised from the hunon county Democrat the United States of America the Republic stands one nation indivisible lice for Begin by reviewing the election results that were certified on November 5th by the board of County canvers of Hunter County New Jersey um in the municipality of lamberville City there was 3563 registered voters there was a total of 2,713 ballots passed uh elected to a three-year term was Martha Dennis with number of votes 1589 and Brian ke is elected to threeyear term 1,650 unfortunately Martha couldn't be here tonight due to illness the municipality of West Amel Township there is 2,547 registered voters 1,979 total ballots were cast candidate for three-year term Jennifer Bachelor was successful with 961 votes um so now this time I will ask Jennifer Bachelor and Brian keys to stand and to take their oath of office it FR wonderful right if you guys are just read simultaneously from the paper starting with I then state your name that I will support the Constitution the United States sorry I got I know how to read [Laughter] fa I Bachelor do swear or affirm that I will support the contitution of the United States and the constition of the state of New Jersey that I will bear true faith and aliance to the same and to the governments established in the United States and this state under the authority of people I the qualifications a member of the Board of Education and that I am noted as a voter to NJ RIS 1941 of crime or offense listed in New Jersey statute 181 and that I will Faithfully partially and all the ofice to theil you guys just sign those all right Al Roo Martha Dennis J Pete here Gallagher here Brian Keys here keski Michael Strauss here Ronnie Todd Marino here lry here and Jennifer Bachelor here all right all right um at this point I would like to move to the election of President I will call for nomination for the office of board president no second is necessary at the close of nominations I will take a roll call vote for each member ask me to State your selection for board president if there is only one nomination I would conduct a Voice vote of yay Nays or abstentions um so at this time I would like to open nominations any other nominations all right then I will close nominations all those in favor I any oppose any exstension so congratulations Mr Gallagher hand off the okay uh I thank you and I am honored and humbled as always by your this this opportunity and I thank you and I can only promise one thing that this will be the last one so we get to vote on the people of stock get to vote on in November so um but I do thank you I am great uh let's see so now we uh we do need to elect a vice president um so I will call as um Andrew did I will call for nominations for the off board vice president no second is necessary at the close of nominations the board secretary will take a roll calls over to each member asking you to State your elction for vice president if there is only one nomination then we will do a voice note again so with that uh I will open the nominations would somebody please nominate everybody's president I'd like to nominate Ronnie Tod Marino are there any other nominations for vice principal see none I will close the nominations and um so we'll have a Voice vote all in favor Ron the vice president I anyone oppose anyone obain congratulations Lon I look forward to work definitely look forward to a good year I think this is going to be a very strong year um establishment so we do have a few items uh to uh take care of um we do need to establish our board committees we do have six six standing committees that we uh have typically had here for a number of years um so we do need to make a motion and approve that those committees be carried over to the new year um I will say this um I'd appreciate if you have thoughts on committees that you'd like to be on um or you know anything that you want to change just let me know in the next couple of days and we'll have some you know we'll have updated committee appointments for 2020 and typically once uh we know who the Committees are on like typically we would meet for CR give them this Wednesday but we're not going to do that few days so we'll start like our committee round next Wednesday probably that will be curriculum and then from there the following week um our meeting is a little later this month because we're off U for MLK so it's not until January 27th so we have a little more time so with that uh I need a motion to establish committee so moved so moved by Aaron can a second please second second by Jen thank you any discussion on that uh if there's no discussion this is the voice for also did did did you say that if we have thoughts on the committees or first like if you have if you have a commit if there's a committee that you would like to be on just let me know that private okay I mean you can let me know it publicly either way but for now we can we can like discuss the structure that's why it's opened up now so that we can discuss before we make our this is the time to discuss before we vote so if there is discussion let's have yeah so I I was I know that we've talked I know Gina and I have talked a little bit about um the buildings ground transportation financing safety has a lot and it usually has a lot of the agenda items and and um being that our committees are only for people um if there was any I didn't know because I hadn't talked to anybody else about it but if there were any thoughts anyone else shared any thoughts on looking into redistributing that in some way we separating maybe Finance or I don't know I just that's always the one that there's you know a lot um around that and I don't I don't know if it's because the buildings and grounds go hand inand with Finance because want the money for the building in the ground is that kind of where it's at well so historically um pre- regionalization in the first year or two of regionalization we had a separate buildings and grounds committee and a budget finance committee so we did have at separate um the board at that time probably in 2015 or so decided that it would be most efficient to combine because you do talk about the exact same you were there was a lot of redundance in buildings and grounds and and finance because obviously that's you know that's where the money is um there's a lot of redundancy with with finance and with curriculum because that's the other big area where the foney is do but there's a lot more you know a lot in one on curriculum too so you know that's kind of why we left it the way it was um I am open to discussing that considering you know if if this is that was a board then right and that was a sense of the folks that were on the board at that time but if it's the sense of folks now that we that it would be better to split that into two committees um I'm open to uh you know I'm open to that whatever structure works the best I'm just switching from my read to my distance classes because I like to be able to focus on people places um so uh um we don't have to decide that tonight but you you know you're raising a point and I know I don't know that maybe everyone here has considered that but if you have thoughts on that let's you know folks we can talk about I mean the structure wise is fine the other thought I had was um is is there do we have to stay with committee and I know you've been really good about your Syndicate made it you know filling in the seat and that that's all people kind of and I realized that from month to month you probably want to stick so that people follow a topic through that covers multiple meetings but I was just wondering if there was any way to I don't really cycle through or rotate or have a chair one chair maybe that gets another person into that meeting I don't know unless if everybody else is like really happen with that operate I just thought so I'll just say I'm sorry Micha so I actually I see Jen's Point as well with building and grounds that it does take on the majority of our workload and when we're voting in large group uh that said I I I do think that they do logically go together go together um but as I had indicated before I think really coming out of that meeting um that we do get communication a little bit more so that we can we can figure it out I I I drag Andrew johs I think as we get everything and call him to make sure that that the agenda is in line um but I do think logically they what if we did meeting that's that's kind of what I'm saying and so historically we always did and those were supposed to be submitted and posted in advance of the meeting I know that that has not always been done and so it should be we should restart that make that a focus perhaps a board goal for 2025 to say let's make sure that whoever the committee chair is that they're putting out notes and minutes until that there is some plan and that that stuff is posted in a timely way and I know as when I was a committee chair I was sometimes challenged to post things in a timely way because you got kids and work and life and all kinds of other stuff but we can certainly make that a goal for this board right now we are doing I'm sorry to interrupt but we are we're doing it for uh school and Community curriculum um and Personnel right we should be doing it for all of them um so that will be that that should be something that'll be an emphasis that's on me for not paying close attention to it so I'll do a bit of job I think if I may add pleas president G um Jim Jim I think that it would be helpful as well if there if it's known at the time the minutes are submitted or the meeting minutes like what is being put forth to be voted on sort of being listed I think we know usually in the committee hopefully maybe we don't all the time because there might be like a follow-up thing that we need to add um so I don't want to make it too structured so that it becomes ridiculous but I also like the idea of sort of being able to digest notes related to votes sure the well so some of the I mean obviously um when you're in the committee and so I'm just going to jump back for a second to address something else J one of the things philosophically I believe that it's best when we have four people in the room for committee meetings you know or engaged or involved with and that is why I've always sort of reached out when I know there's a vacancy and again this is something that could fall on the committee chairs so and all falls on us then too to say oh I'm not going to make it to the meeting because you know it's not great whenever you go to a meeting and it's like oh there's two people here and the other people coming no I don't know I haven't heard anything from them so we you know letting if you know you can't make it letting the chairman chairperson know and giving them enough at lead time that they can then contact someone and say Hey listen would you like to sit in I am always willing to sit in by um but I also like to I like other people to sit on on Mees because I want look committees can change from year to year and they should and they probably will a little bit this year because everybody needs to be exposed to everything that's going on here so you know I don't need to be on the curriculum committee in 2025 I have been on the curriculum committee it's a fantastic wonderful committee but other people to be on a everybody should be on the policy committee at least once in their three-year term right because the policy committee is really one of the most important committees we have here as a board they're supposed to be driven by policy so you know um philosophically I that's something I believe in if that makes any sense so um sorry no just minutes I mean I mean at so yeah so we'll focus on minutes um uh there will be changes to committees and that's why I ask if you have preferences if you say you know what I would love to be on bu ground or I would love to be on school and Community or I I really think that this would be a great place for me that know I cannot promise that everybody's going to get on every Community they want to be on it just there's just not enough you know when you have four people there's somebody who's not going to get what they want but um you know I want to accommodate everybody and do the best that we can I just wanted to say back back to the concept of splitting up buildings GS Transportation finance and safety I understand that there might be some redundancies but I wonder if since there is so much heft to that committee's work if having more people from the board understanding it at a committee level might really be beneficial to the board as a as a whole I know it might be you know a little bit more work and I you know I acknowledge that but I don't know I so if you're being rund it at least you have three people on one and people who are not yeah then so you're maximizing the number of board members who are who are engaging with this in committee having one person in common then could be that's and again I will say that when we did this in 2014 or 2015 we made the switch all of those people had been board members some of them had been board members for quite a while so this was a very experienced board this is a newer board a less experienced board so no less talented and no less excited to work with all time um so that might you know perhaps that uh is something that we should consider um so I'm open to that um and then the other thing um with the meeting notes I I think that that is a great idea um and I right now the the ones that are done get posted on on what is it called not on Bo dos there's so many I was about to say on course not that um but there's no way of knowing when they're posted except to constantly go on and look so um push not first yeah for me it would be and I don't know how others feel but it would be helpful if if just there was like an email or something that said they they're posted or I don't know something like that just so I think everyone and it's also then kind of like a reminder oh well look at that you know we since so what we used to do was that the you know when the agenda these minutes would be posted before the agenda was sent out on Friday so Thursday or Friday till the board meeting when the agenda goes live so that way when the agenda goes live you know that you can go to buildings and grounds you can click on the attachment as a board member The public's not able to actually the public isn't able to read the committee meeting they're actually able to they're able to read all the committee meetings except Personnel yeah so they can so so as board member you can go in and you can say okay here's the agenda here's the minutes and then you may have a question and say well this isn't really covered very much in minutes what's this all about that we're voting on um but that will also clearly you'll have the agenda so you will know what you're voting on um and so you can and then you can then there's an opportunity gives time for you to ask answer the questions gives him an opportunity to prepare so and you know the only thing I would say that is then it's just important that we get it right sometimes I know we'll get like minutes the day of the meeting yeah so in order for you guys to be able to see him on the Friday we got to have at least Thursday so and I can even remind you in my weekly on Thursday night week you know the week before a board meeting that you know don't forget the minutes are available for all the committee if be I almost think there should be a deadline like a do or die if there are no if the minutes aren't submitted by a certain point then what what's the point like just report out in the meeting I I don't know but the difficulty is the finance is That's Thursday beforehand oh and so that that's a really I'm still triggering out committee meeting times and inut so but I mean it's again that's it is I mean typically the way G is you take the minute like and I know curriculum though you literally take the minutes during the meeting so like at the end of it you're pretty much done you may have to do a quick look over just to but for the most part if you do it during the meeting then you're good to J you could even if you wanted to take them in BO dots you have access to be able to do that so if you wanted to take them right on the agenda that's in BO dos you could do that as well really I'll take a Word document exactly okay we'll get there I'll I use it every week so in any case it's just it is a so that's a commitment from the committee chairs to say we're going to do minutes we're going to submit minutes a few days before you know by Wednesday or whatever if the agendas are going to be coming out on Friday I don't think they have to be as formalized right they could be notes from the meeting simply be a couple of paragraphs and say this is the date this is who attended and this is what these are the things we talked about um and I can share so and you know obviously most if not all of you are going to wind up being chairs of some of one committee or another so um I can share examples if you'd like from from past ones you can you know do it however you there's no like standard right just knowing that it's going to be out there the Public's going to see it so as long as it's not bureaucracy for bureaucracy I'm good I'm support it um so what I'd like to do what i' what I'd like to do tonight is we have a motion before us to vote on the six committees that we have now we can make changes to those committees and we can do that at any time in 2025 so I would love to hear from people you know after this meeting not just your committee assignment but if you know your thoughts on you know give you I want to give you the opportunity to think about to think about that and let me know what you think that sound okay perfect yeah thank you then um are there any other discussion or on the committee on the committee establishment of committees if not then I believe The Voice vote is still appropriate here so all in favor I anyone oppos anyone okay um we do have a couple of I'm going to switch back over to these Sor right we do have um we do have three items uh of action to take one is the accepting this New Jersey uh School Board code of ethics um one is adopting all of our policies and bylaws so policies that are in place continue to be in place for the 20 for for this year kind of strange that we have to do that on a yearly basis when our schools are on a fiscal basis of you know July 30 or July 1st to June 30th whatever and then designating our our media Outlets because that's where we have to publish our noices um so what we have done in the past is that we have this everyone should have a copy of this code of ethics for Schoolboard members and so what we've done in the past is we have gone around the room and um we have read items the items a through J individually so what we can do here tonight if everyone is on board with that is I will start and I'll read item a ask read Item B and we'll go around the table okay and we'll just keep going around until they're all done um so with that uh this is uh code of ethics school board members a school board member shall abide by the following code of ethics school board members item a I will uphold and enforce all laws rules and regulations of the State Board of Education and court orders pertaining to schools desired changes shall be brought about only through legal and ethical procedures Item B I will make decisions in terms of the educational welfare of children and will seek to develop and maintain public schools that meet the individual needs of all children regardless of their ability race greed sex or social standand item C I will confine my board action to policymaking planning and appraisal and I will help the frame policies and plans only after the board has consulted those who will be affected by them D I will carry out my responsibility not to administer the schools but together with my fellow board members to see that they are well known E I will recognize that Authority rests with the Board of Education and will make no personal promises nor take any private action that may compromise the board it don't F I will refuse to surrender my independent judgment to special interest or partisan political groups or to use the schools for personal gain or for the gain of friends item G I will hold confidential all matters pertaining to the schools which if disclosed would needlessly injure individuals or the schools in all other matters I will provide accurate information and in concert with my fellow fellow board members interpret to the staff the aspirations of the community for its scho h i will vote to appoint the best qualified Personnel available after consideration of the recommendation of the chief administrative officer I I will support and protect School Personnel in proper proper performance of their Duty Jay I'll refer all complaints to the chief administrative officer and will act on complaints at public meetings only after failure of an administrative solution amen um under Item B so we do need a actually we need a motion to approve items a b and c okay so I'm seeking that Mo move they move by m can I have a second second second by Brian thank you very much um any discussion on the code of ethics that we just read or on the adoption of policies and bylaws or designating of our media Outlets that we this [Music] TR Dem I was to say just so you're aware I saw that to you so there was new a new law that was just signed in by the governor um specifically and Jim this will kill you but as of the beginning of January there will no longer be print versions of Star Ledger to threat time for Hunter and County Democrat so it does provide the opportunity for notice that could be posted electronically rather than physically does that mean the electronic versions of those papers or does it mean yeah yeah to go still to go to publication and they so they there's they call it it's legal advertising so certain things that you know statutes that require certain notices government notices you know um to be to be advertised which just not doing it in PR anymore in the little sixo Pip you know a guy who works for newspaper you know and a guy who likes to read like s the world that we live in buying new only of US law is only shortterm right now so there there will be an update to it but there's but but I did hear that the Trenton Times and Star Ledger aren't going to have print issues any printed isses anymore start um I will say this on with regard to policies and bylaws you can see there there's 9,000 we have nine 10 sets of policy 10 10 policy groving okay um so the 3,000 and 4,000 sets are very very similar one is for teaching staff the other is for court staff but if you were to look at those you know the policy 3,115 is almost identically word for word as three as 4,000 um when I started on a school board we didn't have St SM we didn't have electronic policy things we had these big thick finders and so and as a board what we committed to and what a lot of boards committed to what they used to recommend was that everybody read one section of policy every month and we would that's how we would review our policies and then if somebody said oh there's typo here or this is something we should consider changing that's how we would do that I'm not saying that we have to do that I am saying it's a great practice especially if you're relatively new on the board is a great way great exercise for you to become familiar with the policies and what they said so I every year I encourage people consider reading one section it doesn't take as long as you would think well some of them some of them are really fast some of them there's only like 10 or 12 follow other ones a little bit more but if you do that you go through your entire policy cycle in a year and then you can restart it again the next year and that's how weuse um just something to throw out there forious consideration uh any other discussion on items a b and c not need a roll call can we do okay perfect all right uh in that case all in favor of item ab and C anyone oppose anyone obain make with that we come to the period of public comment see we have some public and this is your opportunity to comment you don't even have to stand up tonight just you want to you don't even have to give your names because we know who both of you are so if you have something you'd like to say if you want to do a PTO update or anything like that um okay do we have any online comments we're not even T yeah we are oh are we no we don't have any no people at home nope okay with that I will close the period of public comments and uh I will seek a motion to adjourn uh so move byon second second second by Brian uh any discussion on the motion all in favor I anyone oppos didn't think so thank you everyone for coming out on Snowy January night um if you have