e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e all good my ear all right hi everyone the spart Board of Education regular meeting what no it's on the sparta Board of Education regular meeting is called to order at 6:01 p.m. Lee would you mind reading that sure the New Jersey open public meetings law was enacted to ensure the right of the public to have advanced notice of and to attend the meetings of public bodies at which any business affecting their interests is discussed or acted upon in accordance with the provisions of this act the sparta board of education has caused notice of the time and place of this meeting meeting to be published in the New Jersey Herald The Star Ledger tap into spa.net and notice of the meeting has been posted on the sparta Township School District website right Joanne can we get a roll call please Miss K here here miss gagman present Miss McMichael here Mr pesi here miss cander here miss sarapo here Dr Serrano Mr wood here Mr Morris okay we can start with the Pledge of Allegiance Al to the flag United statesis andice for okay can I get a motion to go into close session motion a second second thank you everyone in favor I I okay we're going into close session to talk um or to discuss confidential student matters attorney client privilege and personnel and we are expected to be back out in approximately 1 hour anything else for e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e uh be resolved that the Board of Education closes executive session and enters back into the public portion of the meeting at 7:16 p.m. Joanne can I get a roll call please miss Kier here miss gagnan present Miss McMichael here Mr pesi here miss cander here miss sarapo here Mr wood here all right we're going to get started with District recognition no no presentations okay up next are presentations Dr Beck looks like we have Dr Beck Tara rosi and Dr Jane Esposito for this evening good evening uh for those watching at home usually we uh post the presentation that we are presenting up on the website so you can view it while you're at home tonight uh or this evening we were still revising it um into a later hour so it's not posted tonight for you to follow along but it'll certainly be posted tomorrow what we are presenting And discussing tonight is uh regard regarding the use of cell phones in schools uh we're going to talk about things that we have been dealing with and addressing all school year and uh and where we will be heading next with uh based on what's been happening so two things are driving the discussion and driving the need to have this discussion tonight one is we currently have a policy a board approved policy that is in regard to cell phone use in in schools uh and it is uh extremely outdated uh in that policy it references pagers uh multiple times uh evidently there's a problem with pagers um that that's currently in the policy and also currently in the policy is is basically the fact that uh at no time should any students be using cell phones uh or such devices in school uh and we know that's certainly not the case in the current day so there's obviously a need to revise and update the policy uh based on it being outdated and based on what we are seeing as needs in our school building so I am joined by uh Dr Jan bazito supervisor of mental health and wellness and Miss Tara Rossi who is our assistant superintendent and um so over the course of the past school year our administrative team and staff from around the district have encountered and addressed many issues surrounding the student use of cell phones in schools we engaged in numerous meetings with one goal as a priority continued commitment to creating a safe healthy and optimal learning environment for all students we've encountered issues with cell phone use as it pertains to affecting teaching and learning has as it affects student mental health as it affects District safety security and operations so first to discuss how it affects uh mental health I will bring Dr esposo up H hi good evening um thank you so much for allowing me to take some of your time to talk about this very uh important topic so you know as we know like with technology and the advancement of technology and it's coming at us at you know warp speed um there it's it's s such a great thing to be able to take this opportunity to talk about how this advancement in technology is really affecting us as as human beings and particularly how it's affecting uh our youth and their development so some things I'm going to talk about tonight um are the effects of Youth mental health how does our cell phone use um affect our youth mental health and I want to say it's not just the you know not just the cell phone it's not just social media it's the excessive use of the uh screen time of the cell phone use and of course of social media so what do we know um at this point you know as research is coming in um what do we know we know that higher levels of screen time use are associated with poor mental health what does that mean um so we're talking about you know depression anxiety uh behavioral issues we're talking about inattention uh irritability um and even at at worse uh addiction how does that happened um some of the contributors to that are certainly um you know kids when they you know they feel like they're missing out you've heard of fomo you know it's that anxiety um it could be lack of sleep uh we know that sometimes it's too much cell phone use you know at nighttime it's the blue light and it's those feelings of inadequacy I mean even as adults you know when we see other people's pages and posts you know sometimes it looks like everybody's life is so wonderful and beautiful um but we as adults you know with hindsight and foresight we recognize that that's not real right our youth um are not a ble to really separate themselves from that and that could cause a problem there's also the issue of cyber bullying so when we talk about the excessive use um we know that there's a dose response relationship so the higher level of doses of screen time use um could have an impact on having um those type of uh poor Mental Health on the other side what are we talking about and when we talk about excessive so you know we all know that we're using our phones a lot but when you actually quantify it with a number it can be pretty startling so some of the things that we know is that on average uh youth are checking their phones anywhere from 2 to 498 times a day that's a lot um on average 237 notifications you ever see when you know you put your phone down and it's just continually buzzing and that happens about 23% during school and five 5% at night time Tik Tock it's being used by 50% of our youth anywhere from 2 to 7 hours a day Instagram and Snapchat took up most time about 32% so we know that our youth are using the phones 90% of the time one of the challenges that we're having is that uh you know you have to consider this social media is designed in highly sophisticated ways to use behavioral psychology to use neuroscience sence and artificial intelligence to promote behavioral reinforcement and behavioral addiction so that's a big hill to get over um you know the social media platforms their goal is to make money um but as you know as us as parents as Educators we have to take that into consideration when we're looking at how do we mitigate this the good news is is that there are positive ways that we can mitigate it and one of the ways is media literacy exactly what we're doing right now having those conversations bringing this information home to our families um talking about setting limits reducing use daily non-screen time and in-person interactions so again this is not about um you know Banning cell phones it's not it's just about having an awareness having discussions and being able to put in those uh positive uh interventions so again thank you for your time if you have any questions please feel free to reach out to me thank you all right good evening everyone I'm hoping I could read that it's one of my first concerns at the moment um these old eyes here maybe my glasses need to be updated but um I want to talk to you briefly about the effects of cell phone use and increase screen usage social media on um teaching and learning so obviously there'll be another point in time for us to talk about the solutions proposed um but that is the work in progress and we want to talk to you about the reason why that's become an Initiative for our school district as it relates to teaching and learning and so first we want to recognize that cell phones are a tool and they are part of our culture so our kids are growing up with them um technology is developing at a rapid pace and it's not necessarily good or bad it's a technological tool and how we help them navigate the use of that is what matters the most um and so the space that cell phones have in our class rooms and the impact it has on teaching and learning specifically learning um is something that has a vast degree of research continuing to grow and and so our goal is to spread awareness um bring attention to that and really make thoughtful considerate decisions about how to navigate the growing body of research that I shared on the screen above or next to you and so one of the first things this research has accumulated this isn't NE you know grounded in Sparta specifically um the challenges with cell phones are not specific to New Jersey to Sparta or to the United States actually and so around the World um education systems are trying to navigate the best way to support learning to support students recognize positive uses of technological tools while bringing um awareness and support to our students so we know that 51% of students um have reported that they do use their cell phones for non-educational purposes in class 80% of students believe that they self-report that um their performance in the classroom does suffer because of self phones 35% of high school students have admitted to using cell phones to cheat on an assessment or an exam um 10.6% is the number of or the amount that we see in lowering test scores or a reduction in performance among students who are regularly distracted by messaging and notifications on cell phones 70% of students admit to being distracted by their phone in class and we see 94% of public schools across the United States recommitting to to how to support these concerning pieces of evidence um self arms are interesting because on one hand um we know that the impact and effects could relate to student safety um and then on the other end of the spectrum the effects are so invisible that being in their pockets look like they're away and not bothering anyone as kids are getting 273 notifications over the course of the day buzzing in their pockets impacting their attention impacting their focus causing stress anxiety and lack of learning um so we will continue to share solutions to that we're going to that was part of this presentation um just where we are headed and what the work will entail um and again overall it's about bringing awareness and cooperation together to take care of our kids so thank you for your attention so I'm sure nothing that has been shared this even besides specific facts uh specific statistics none of this comes as breaking news and shocking news right we all acknowledge that uh cell phone use has become an issue especially with our with our children with our students um one last area that we wanted to discuss was the effect that cell phones in schools have had on safety security and operations of schools uh in our school district specifically so issues continually are encountered and addressed by Administration child study team and our threat assessment teams and these situations include but are not limited to um cyber cber bullying and harassment this is during school hours um and of course happening outside school hours as well which is less of our control uh cyber bullying and harassment threats made via text social media and other apps sharing of inappropriate content via text social media and other apps taking of photos and or recording of videos without permission of students or staff has all taken place not just this year but in the past couple of years in our schools research has shown reduction in these instances in schools that have taken proactive measures to address cell phone use in schools so what have we been doing what have we what has taken place so far uh this school year we decided to really focus uh on this initiative uh and we've been in stakeholder engagement all school year stakeholder input the internal stakeholders that we have been engaging all school year has been the administrative team um District staff and teachers uh the ideas committee which is the uh the sea uh Board of Education round table that was recently created and the care team uh formerly known as the threat assessment team um these discussions have taken place uh frequently uh amongst all of these stakeholders and of course as a district and as a as a administrative team and staff we have been doing a lot of research on this and the research has been presented that's just a snapshot of the research that we have conducted and learned over this past school year one of the things that comes out when you look at the patterns throughout research and throughout the information that you know we're we're having more and more provided to us is the importance of Grassroots movements and collaboration so working together as a school system outside Partnerships collaborating Schools parent Community um and not relying on technology vendors and and um big Tech to put age appropriate restrictions or to help us solve this problem it has to be community- based and it has to be led from the bottom up and that is really where Solutions are going to make the biggest difference for our kids and will require us not to wait for someone else to solve these problems and address these concerns so we have worked with several different districts um it's been very helpful because there some of them are already in um the exploration of of how to approach this a little bit differently um and so we can learn from them what's working and what's not working they've been very Comm communicative as have we when when being asked by others um we established a partnership we've had a partnership with the sparta Municipal Alliance we're really grateful for that work um this is a an initiative that they're working on as well so um we're looking at different programming um and and deciding how we can engage in all aspects of the community to just to grow awareness and and spread information um the municipal Alliance has supported us for some time there are things that are already in our buildings um that we have partnered with them on um some of those examples are up there for you to see lead Circle groups peer leadership initiatives and the Align program um they have been fortunate to acquire new funding through the opioid settlement and so they've been able to expand the supports that they can provide um also rebranding their messaging from do not do drugs which obviously is important um but really looking at enhancing and promoting Healthy Life Choices which includes you know substance abuse and more things that are really affecting our kids and making sure um we're addressing their physical and mental well-being so those were the measures that have been taking place and and will continue to be ongoing uh but what else are we going to do next the next steps are to revise our current policy I mentioned uh that our current policy is certainly outdated so it needs to be updated into 2024 stand standards in 2024 terminology first and foremost um and then we have to acknowledge in that policy um we have to make sure it's updated for modern day relevance but we have to acknowledge in that policy that an absolute ban as is basically stated in that policy now is not what our education um environment looks like right now that there will be times and spaces for uh the use of cell phones in the classroom and that's what we need to adjust our policy for and um that's more of the broader guidelines of what we will use and then the uh the individual schools will revise their handbooks accordingly which is the next step that you see there address needs of students and staff with a focus on really the focus is on middle school and the high school um the focus being on those buildings because that's where the cell phone use is taking place obviously as you get younger in our grade levels and in our buildings the uh cell phone use uh obviously becomes a lot less um what I want to make clear when we're talking about revising policy and updating policy I want to make clear that um we are not going to revise a policy that is going to be an outright ban on cell phones that's not what we're doing uh we but we need to update the policy to reflect what is currently taking place and what um what we feel should be the space and times that the cell phones are acceptable to use uh the timeline is on the right hand column there we're going to continue to engage stakeholders as we've been uh we're going to continue uh as we do every summer the handbooks in all buildings are updated every summer but uh this summer in addition to the regular revisions that take place uh the revisions will also focus on um cell phone use based on the policy and uh what the consequences repercussions may be um when violating that policy the timeline is the policy revisions we are aiming to revise the policy this summer so as you know how policies work uh they need to go through two readings we are aiming to have the first reading of the revised policy at the July meeting the second reading of the revised policy at the August meeting and then um all of that taking place for September implementation really the purpose of this evening's presentation uh was to make sure that we don't just show up in July to the board meeting with a revised cell phone use policy and have the uh the public the parents wondering what the heck is going on why are we doing this we wanted to make sure that everybody was UND was understanding um exactly why we are taking these measures so in conclusion um what we're not necessarily going under a paradigm shift but what we are doing is uh recommitting to the consistency in the implementation of best practices because as I mentioned now multiple times what the policy reads and what actually takes place in our school buildings does not match up so we need to uh definitely make sure there is consistency and I just want to reiterate if you take anything out of this and you want to go share with uh other parents and friends so you know what was presented this evening we are not trying to ban cell phones that is not uh where we are going we are just going to revise policy and practices to make sure there's acceptable use of uh of our cell phones in the buildings all right um in the meantime again July will be the the reading uh of the the first reading of the policy if anybody watching at home anybody in the audience tonight has any questions suggestions regarding any of this feel free to to reach out to to any of us and thank you thank you okay up next is our student Representatives report I cannot believe that we are already in June it feels like you guys took just took your first seat at the table um so we let's hear what you guys have to say first of all we would like to give a shout out to Kaye O'Brien who is here tonight and Jake kerer for working with us on the executive student council this year our senior council members graduating next week have had a great experience working with all of the grade levels and the advisers throughout the past year and years prior we also want to thank the sparta schools and Sparta Community for all of the great memories it's provided us and now to introduce our new executive board some of the officers attended tonight so we have Devon dos is going to be the new president and Marin burn will be the new vice president they're both here tonight and they will be they will also be your board Representatives next year uh Gianna rir is going to be the secretary and Treasurer and then Abby weisbeck will be the historian just now going into some other things that have been going on around this part of high school so first off I want to give a huge shout out to Bel fura who actually just won first place in the whole state of New Jersey for Javelin right yeah so good A little pop it up for her real quick and next off kind of talking about the seniors last day of high school we had the start off with the senior Awards which were awesome and then went through the Senior Walk where we're able to see our old teachers definitely kind of a great way of feeling very nostalgic from it and also we ended off with the field day which was a great way for everyone to kind of get that feeling of being a kid again we're playing Gaga and all the old games that we used to play as a kid which I thought was amazing and should kind of be a tradition for the next couple years and so last SE sport of high school is wrapping up the year with finals having started on Wednesday and the official last day of school being next Thursday which is also in graduation is going to be held and we just want to say from me and Sarah want to say thank you to all of you guys out here they might look scary but they are really some of the nicest people that you will get to know and they're very great to work and we just want to say thank you for that [Applause] okay can I have a motion for the approval of minutes motion second any discussion everyone in favor I okay the superintendent report all right um so just one more time I I believe I I acknowledged them last last month but this is their last meeting so I also want to acknowledge Sarah and part Parker uh as an absolute pleasure to work with um and welcome to the new officers uh I will be reaching out to you soon well as we start to approach the new school year what we do is we have pre- meetings uh before the board meetings we did not have one this month I apologize and uh and then you know just to talk about what's going on at the board meetings and then any concerns you may have and it's it's a nice ongoing discussion that we've had um starting actually last year with Mr wood and moving on to this year um so thank you um um on this evening's agenda you will see our District's safe return to school plan recommended for approval the embedded emergency virtual plan is an NJ dooe requirement for annual submission and is necessary to have in place should we ever need to revert to remote instruction due to natural disasters or health related school closures the safe return to school plan is a federal American Rescue plan requirement to be updated and submitted every 6 months as it is tied to Federal funding it appears that with Esser funds expiring that perhaps this will be the last time we need to approve and update the safe return to school plan part of the plan's requirements is to solicit feedback from the community so if anyone has any suggestions regarding the safe return to school plan please feel free to reach out to me had we had our pre-meeting with if I had scheduled the pre meeting with our students here I we would have not reiterated but I'll do it anyway uh the athletic achievement that was achieved yesterday from Bella fura is also part of my superintendent report can't be overstated it's a huge accomplishment um while our spring athletic teams had many accomplishments of note I would like to point out one individual achievement this evening that is fresh off the press from yesterday Bella fura who already set a School record in Javelin and earned the group three championship in Javelin yesterday won the meat of Champions which makes her the outright state champion in Javelin which is unbelievable so congratulations again and thanks for stealing my thunder Parker please join me in congratulating our Project Lead the Way biomedical engineering teachers for the second year in a row we have been named a Project Lead the Way distinguished High School congratulations to Sarah Pano Lisa cumins and Mr s for everything you do to make these courses amazing for our students one retirement I would like to acknowledge on this evening's agenda is Paula scan uh she has served the district as a uh secretary most recently in the high school she served the district for 21 years so congratulations and thank you to Paulo and regarding retirements throughout the year I have recognized all of our retirees in a monthly superintendent report at the board meetings I'd like to once again acknowledge all of our retirees from this school year and recognize the countless hours and years of hard work and dedication that our retirees have selflessly given to our students and our district earlier this week M Rossy and I met with sea leadership as we do every month as we wrapped up the school year meetings this week I just wanted to publicly thank Ms Delia and Mr bis for their collaboration throughout the school year while we may not all there's more while we may not always agree on all matters the professionalism and genuine conversations that take place on a regular basis are certainly appreciated and part of a healthy working relationship between the sparta Education Association and our District administration lastly I would like to wish all of our parents students and staff a very happy and safe summer and thank the entire Sparta Community for another successful school year thank you can I have a motion to move 11.1 the approval of the hi report motion thanks Craig second second em um any discussion Joan can I get a roll call please miss Kier yes Miss gagnan yes Miss McMichael yes Mr pesi yes Miss cander yes Miss sarapo yes Mr wood yes do we have any delegate liaison reports no okay moving on uh we're going to move on to public comments the public comments are invited on matters pertaining only to action items at this time please State the action item number as well as your name municipality and group affiliation if appropriate for the record each participant will receive 3 minutes to speak once you have alloted you once you have had your allotted 3 minutes to speak you will not be permitted to speak again until public comment number two all statements should be directed to me as the presiding officer the board or Administration may or may not respond to any questions or comments at the conclusion of public participation number one anyone would like to hi I'm Julia madani wage New Jersey and this is in reference to 15.7 please excuse my unusual attire as I just left a wedding to attend this meeting thank you for affording me the opportunity to speak I've been working in child care for 7 years after graduating college and entering the business world I quickly realized my heart belongs in education from there I began working as a par professional at Alpine in my par professional role my heart was immersed into the world of special education each day presented new opportunities for me to learn and understand how I can best support Student Success I was enthralled with how much knowledge I gained and how well established the school system is here in Sparta this gradually paved the pathway toward my aspiration of becoming a teacher for two years I've poured my heart in Soul into working full-time taking night classes in an alternate root program to earn my teaching certificate and achieving my goal of becoming a prek inclusion teacher in my 3 years of working at Sparta I've created Everlasting relationships with students parents and co-workers each educator brings a unique set of skills experiences and insights to the table whether we integrate Innovative practice or address diverse learning needs collaborating with my team has been transformative throughout my career I've worked closely with special services to Foster an environment of inclusivity and positivity in my classroom teaching can be such a demanding profession there are days I walk out in tears as I wonder what other strategies can we try how else can we best support the needs of each student with that my passion for this career is the driving force behind my dedication preschool is a unique grade level in my interview for this position I was asked why prek without hesitation I responded with because of the boundless potential and development of autonomy of this age level no two days are ever the same in the world of pre and that's what makes it so exhilarating I thrive on the spontaneity and unpredictability of teaching prek knowing that every moment is a chance to spark curiosity Foster connections and create lasting memories that will stay with my students long after they leave my classroom as an educator I understand the dynamic and evolving world of Education I do not and will not claim to know at all with each day comes a learning opportunity with each student comes a learning opportunity I treat every student as an individual as some students may have more diverse needs I utilize the Education and Training like Handle With Care and professional development opportunities that I've been provided I am eager to engage in ongoing learning while expanding my skill sets and practices and adapting to new techniques and strategies I will continue to reflect during and after teaching to consistently show growth and Improvement in my professional development goals again I want to extend my gratitude to each of you for listening I hope you take my knowledge and passion for Education into consideration to continue working in the sparta district and thank [Applause] you good evening everyone uh I will address uh 159 which is the staff renewals and uh for this I will actually be speaking uh as a Sparta council person and as your current mayor uh just to give you a little context as you go into that consideration I I thought it would be uh helpful to share my own experience uh recently being mayor you get invited to a lot of award ceremonies uh and recently got to go to the senior Awards and I see two of the recipients to my left here um who collected a heck of a lot of awards and as I sat there and saw all the awards from AP Awards to kids who can speak two languages uh to literally I thought I didn't know how long it was going to go with the number of kids who graduated with a 3.75 grade point average and so as I sat there I think it's really important to give a thank you to you the the board superintendent Beck uh but most specifically the people who made this happen which is our teachers and as I sat there I realized that those accomplishments were only possible through through the teachers these kids come to them kind of like uncut gems you can see the kind of glow of talent and but it needs work and it's the teacher's job to extract that talent and my gosh did they I mean we had eight AP Awards we had multiple language Awards scoring high on all kinds of exams and that was only possible through the help of the teachers and also being on the stage you get a really kind of Bird's eyye view of the connection between the child and the teacher and what I saw was when the recipient would come up and get the award from the teacher you could see that connection you could see how they had worked over four years and built a level of trust and that teacher had pulled out of that child something the child probably maybe knew was there or maybe didn't and I think it's just a remarkable remarkable Testament of the talent of the teachers that we have here in addition to the talent of the student and so I just wanted to share that uh I know every member of council was extremely proud of our students we're proud of our teachers and we thank all of you the staff and so again I wish everyone a fantastic school year but I thought it would be appropriate as we conclude this school year to end on a very positive note and it is we have an extreme talent in this community and that's something I learn about every single day when I go out and my hope is these kids as they go and uh on their Journey they remember to bring those talents back to Sparta bring your talents back not to copy LeBron but bring your talent back to Sparta because we want to be a welcoming place for you that you can hit a job here you can contribute to your community because you're a great asset and all of y'all are a great asset so thank you the The Coincidence of the mayor speaking on talent for teachers as all of these people are here to support this this teacher uh what's the number 15 157 uh I'm Mike Morano my kids in Miss madani's class uh I'm I'll make two points the First on communication uh communication I used to be a teacher and I know hirings and firings go very quickly um I've left education and have since worked a lot with professional mediation uh and what in my experience what I've seen is there's it's usually a misunderstanding at the root cause of a lot of problems many issues can be resolved early with open communication and I say that because my kid came home having been questioned uh the next day her teacher was gone uh there wasn't a lot of communication put out in this process it's not likely that there was an opportunity for the teacher and the parents to sit together and have a conversation around what happened and why if that conversation didn't happen it's a disservice to our process here and it's not too late to have that conversation and that's my next point is Miss madani is is not in her tenure year not in her tenure year I know she's been working in this school for a number of years prior full-time never an issue uh but this is not her tenure year so let's not rush to make a decision that doesn't need to be made right now there's ample opportunity in the near future to continue the evaluation to look at the assessment and if there's any kind of cause for concern any pattern or Trend in Behavior we can let her go at any point um so I'm a little confused at why we're rushing so those are my two points I implore the board please consider this um in This Woman's young career in 15 years I hope she's still there when my daughter is doing her walk out we're experiencing a shortage of teachers we have to keep the good one on people are leaving the profession I'm one of them Miss badani and as you're going to hear from the parents of her students is not just a great teacher she's a great person let's continue to retain the talent in our district thanks [Applause] sorry it took me a minute to sign in I thought it was just my name good evening my name is Lisa Morano and I'm here to object to action 15.7 to resend juliia madani's contract for next year I strongly believe that Miss madani belongs back in the classroom with our kids I taught at Alpine School many years ago some of your children I knew then that that building that staff this community was so special we moved here so that my children can experience the top quality education that I knew firstand this District had to offer the staff at Alpine are wildly talented and passionate and Miss madani is no exception to that as one of the class parents I visited the classroom often and have witnessed Miss madani's demeanor and talent in the classroom every interaction I've seen between her and the children has been one of gentle care respect and attention I leave her classroom largely impressed by her and her actions my daughter has never come home buzzing with joy until she met miss madani when I asked her what's her favorite thing about school the answer is always being with Miss madani even as the year went on and she made stronger connections with peers that answer never changed I have also witnessed the impressive degree of inclusivity she has in her classroom Miss madani has met all challenges with a remarkable amount of understanding and individualized Care I've seen her flawlessly Implement difficult strategies for both Education and Care she so clearly works cohesively with the child study team to implement the best support methods for our students I have no doubt that she has likely had glowingly positive classroom observations this year and if you came into her classroom you would think she was well seasoned not in her first year I if you don't know her personally she's kind she's patient she's loving her climate is warm yet respectful of boundaries when my younger son is frustrating I hear my daughter tell him Dean it's okay to make mistakes when we make mistakes we're learning when I ask her where that came from it's Miss madani Julia madani is teaching these children valuable life lessons and coping skills for social emotional intelligence alongside academics she's the type of teacher they will always remember and I have no doubt that if Miss madani were to stay in our district she would become a fan favorite many requests would come annually for parents wanting their children to be in her class we need more teachers like Miss madani who go above and beyond for our kids and although Julia madani has worked in Alpine School for a few years as a non-tenure teacher and a former teacher myself I know she's not entitled to due process but what I ask the board is to please consider the plentiful letters and emails that the parents have taken the time to write in support of Miss madani as well as all of the support in this room tonight it's not common that so many parents jump to the defense of an educator let alone a firste teacher this public outpour of support should speak volumes to the type of teacher she is removing Miss madani from the classroom is not only a disservice to the children currently in class but those that are supposed to have her again next year and also the future children at telling Alpine School that would be nothing shy of lucky to have her as a teacher thank you thank you [Applause] anybody else oh there we go a lot of people good evening my name is Christina Leiden and I'm also here for 15.7 I'm a parent of an Alpine preas student I'm here to encourage the board to vot the board to vote against resending Miss madan's teaching contract as a presol School parent I frequently find myself in the company of other class parents in the pickup line at birthday parties during school events and soccer games throughout the year I've shared in countless countless conversations where moms dads and kids have expressed utmost gratitude and appreciation for our teacher we've not only marveled at a first year teacher bringing a curriculum to life in engaging and fun ways that Foster love for learning but also a teacher who has carefully and thoughtfully helped our children through their indiv idual challenges overcoming fears of being away from their parents fears of the bathroom fears of making friends fears of new shoes after old shoes broke Miss madani has not only done this but has communicated and partnered with parents along the way parents walk away from conversations with her feeling the love support security and care that our kids receive in the classroom every day oh Jee last year also at Alpine in the same class this class had a different teacher the overall sentiment in parent conversations like this was my kid seems to be doing okay and I thought there'd be more engaging activities in the class our teacher left left last year in the final month of school after an investigation similar to the one that has brought me here today but this year is different we parents stand by Miss madani countless letters of support have poured in for our teacher we don't know specifics of what what happened in the class but we know that whatever it is it can and should be resolved without the district and our CH children losing their teacher this year my daughter Amelia has excelled academically she is prepared to confidently enter kindergarten more importantly she's developed socially and emotionally Amelia is self-aware determined and hold strong to a belief that she could do hard things these character traits have been nourished in Miss mad's class once she told excuse me once she hold me she heard me tell her father that he was being annoying she let me know that those words can wrinkle a heart forever those wrinkles never come out mom she said I asked her what should I do and she recommended I apologize to her dad and tell him that I would marry him every day she learned this in the classroom with Miss madani she reminds everyone how important it is to be kind be respectful and be responsible that is the Alpine way she says I hope as parents your children have a teacher that has touched your kids' lives in the way Miss madani has touched ours if you have you know that expressing this gratitude and the significance of it in a board of ed meeting you'll never do it justice it's simply not possible again I urge the board for the sake of Sparta children to hold tight to their teacher to that I'm sorry I urged the board for the sake of the children to hold tight to this teacher miss madani her and teachers like are the key to Excellence in our schools and our community do not support a recommendation to resend her contract [Applause] please Jenny Derek's tap into Sparta uh 15.34 first reading on honoring students not to be nitpicky um G presentations number two this is for regulation 5440 annual academic Awards and academic Excellence dinners so while we're at it while you're doing the revision why not make it accurate there are two dinners but most AC academic awards are presented in daytimes in school uh ceremonies so just again nitpicky but maybe we could make it accurate thank you thank you all for being here um today my name I'm speaking on uh behalf of 15.7 my name is Kristen scanland and I'm a parent of a prek-k student in Miss madani's class I stand before you today to advocate for Julia madon and request that her contract be maintained I would like to express how instrumental and inspire iring Miss madani has been throughout this past year providing our daughter with the knowledge confidence and support and genuine love of a true educator our daughter emulates miss madani's positive personality Grace and colorful style she expresses the joy of being able to hold miss madani's hand as the line leader taking pride in each daily role that she has G given even if it is the Caboose the rotating stations and daily mindfulness that is taught by Miss madani is Progressive keeps our daughter interested and informed now on every family walk we take no piece of litter goes unnoticed as we do our due diligence in retrieving it and taking care of the Earth because we know how important it is to reduce reuse and recycle yoga and stretching have now become a part of our bedtime routine because we have learned the importance of taking care of our mind and our body the goal I had for my daughter entering pre3 was for her to be able to write her name by the end of the year with the guidance of Miss madani she was able to accomplished this goal halfway through the year and now is able to write each letter of the alphabet independently I can honestly say that my daughter has not been the same since the absence of Miss madani and in my mind and heart that speaks volumes I believe that miss madani is an asset to our school district and would love nothing more than to continue to have her as a leader to our daughter next year in prek4 for these reasons I strongly urge that each and every that I strongly urge that you retain Miss madani as an educator thank you for your time and consideration [Applause] hello uh my name is Kyle scanland uh and as my wife mentioned we have a four-year-old in uh prek 3 with Miss Julia madani here uh it's great to see just the over elming support that you're seeing in this in this room for Julia madani um our daughter Elanor absolutely loves Miss madani and these past few weeks have been very difficult for her to understand why her belov teacher is no longer in class each day Eleanor has received such a high level of Education this school year under the tutelage of Julia madani and we want nothing more than the opportunity for our daughter to continue learning from jul IA as she repeats prek next year being a teacher in today's day and age is no simple job what Miss madani has done with her class curriculum and the different learn the different stations and learning objectives is truly remarkable our daughter comes home each day excited about the lessons being taught and she has quickly learned so many valuable life lessons such as reduce reuse recycle how the weather weather system works understanding how nature is important to our environment and so much more Miss madani's passion for teaching is evidence is evident once you step foot in her classroom but what's more important is how much love and admiration all of our children have for their teacher simply put Miss madani is a great educator and it would be an immense loss to AES to lose her creativity and passion for learning our family moved across country to New Jersey in the fall of 2022 with a focus of finding a community where our children would would receive a top level education in our search we quickly discovered what sets Sparta apart from the rest and to have Miss madani as our daughter's very first public school teacher is everything we dreamed of when we made our move your judgment here today impacts every one of our children but more importantly it impacts a great person and teacher in Julia madani I urge everyone on the board here to reflect on moments in your life or your career where maybe you faced adversity yourself and how a little leniency and patience in those moments could have a profound difference in shaping your character Julia madani is a great teacher and an even better person please find it in your hearts today to do the right thing and reinstate her immediately as evidenced by the support of all the families here that are speaking on behalf of Miss badani we would very appreciate very much appreciate your decision thank [Applause] you he's way taller than I am okay I'm Stephanie Rothman and I'm also speaking on item 157 my daughter is a student in Julia madani's preschool class this year Miss madani made her feel safe cared for smart Brave and trusted at one point this year my daughter was afraid to use the restroom because she thought she was going to get locked inside remember how young these students actually are Miss madani quickly communicated this with me and my husband and suggested she' give her a special classroom job as door opener to help her develop the fine motor skills to help her feel safe and confident going to the restroom she's creativity to not only help her but make her feel safe and special instead of brushing it off as an irrational fear and we appreciate the communication throughout as well my daughter has thrived this year and grown not only academically but socially and emotionally this year more than any other year prior to this year Devon didn't speak she cried at birthday parties dance class and any social event including her own birthday she clung to myself and my husband she wasn't able to tell us about her day and she was painfully shy we voice this as our main concern and goal to miss madani in the beginning of the year now we can't get Deon to stop talking she will talk to to anyone and everyone because her confidence has grown so much this year let's get back to birthdays a 5-year-old's birthday is a big deal our daughter spent months talking about her birthday with her new confidence she was so excited to celebrate her birthday with her class and her teacher which she absolutely adors well what happened on her birthday the entire class including Devon was home with the stomach bug Devon was absolutely devastated until Miss madani took the time out of her day to call and sing Happy Birthday to her to let her know that she was thinking of her and couldn't wait to celebrate again when she was feeling better Devon felt like she was talking to a celebrity and spoke about miss madani calling her for weeks she forgot that her birthday was spent in the bathroom and she only remembers that her favorite teacher called her and sang to her I wasn't surprised to hear that other parents experienced their child being given individual attention for their unique needs as well I was however shocked to hear that such a talented teacher was being thrown this curveball as a special education teacher of 15 years and an early intervention developmental specialist I was truly impressed by m madani's teaching style and classroom management techniques this year she took a new curriculum and made it fun and engaging while addressing the vast needs and abilities in her classroom she differentiated all lessons to meet the needs of her inclusion classroom of 3 to 5-year-olds and she did this all while making each student feel special unique safe and important our family is so grateful for Devon to have had this year with Miss madani Sparta is lucky to have such a talented teacher in their dist District it would be such a disappointing disservice to the students of Sparta to neglect them from having her at some point in their educational careers our only hope is that our younger children will have her in years to come [Applause] hello my name is Stephanie ulis and I'm here to speak about 157 I first met Miss madani in 2021 when I dropped my then nonverbal son off at school for the first time as you can probably imagine my nerves that morning were pretty high because I was worried that the staff would not fully understand his needs however the anxiety that I was feeling began to go away from the moment I handed him over to miss madani she reassured me that everything would be okay and they immediately smiled at each other and he walked into the school so happy without even looking back as time went on I could see his excitement every time he saw her and my worry became a thing of the past shortly before spring break of that school Year my son began to talk and it was so great to hear little tidbits about his day from him which was which always included the fun activities he did throughout the day with Miss madani later as spring break was coming to an end I asked my son who he was most excited to see when he went back to school and he immediately smiled and said miss madani their bond throughout this time in PR only became stronger and remains that way to this day when he sees her in school as a mom I can't thank her enough for all she has done for my son I am now fortunate enough to be the power professional in Miss madani's classroom for the past three and a half months and I'm able to see her hard work and dedication to her students she's always coming up with fun educational activities to get the children excited about learning and it's been so wonderful to see how much they have learned from her but apart from that her love and compassion towards the her students is undeniable the students love her and are constantly drawing her pictures and giving her they light up every morning when they walk in and see her our classroom is filled with drawings and paintings made for her she is a great educator and is highly missed by her students for the past 3 weeks since her absence every single students every single student has expressed that they miss her and can't wait till she returns every student not allowing her to return not allowing her to return to her classroom would be a disservice to her students and other children within Sparta having been a parent and now Pier I can honestly say she deserves to be a teacher within our [Applause] district Craig you listening Sparta 15.7 I am here in front of you to speak on behalf of Miss madani and the impact she has had on my child and other students within the district as you should know Miss madani has been an employee of the district for several years as a par professional and a teacher with no prior complaints or previous accusations as you have heard tonight or will hear tonight miss madani is well loved and appreciated by her students and peers at Alpine I can't believe you're actually here having this discussion my son was in Miss Ban's class for 2 and a half years which was an inclusion classroom when my son started her class he was non-verbal and had a very short attenion during this time Miss madani I'm sorry during this time with Miss madani he started to thrive with speech fine motor skills and social skill skills this was not because he was just in school this was because of teachers like Miss madani who actually Lov their job and engaged with the kids to keep them interested in learning some may think this is just a preschool teacher but it's more than that as a preschool teacher She lays the foundation for every other grade moving forward my son is now thriving in kindergarten due to miss madani I can say with 100% certainty that my son would not be where he is academically socially and developmentally if he had anyone but miss madani in his class the fun and creativity she brings to the class is what every parent should hope their child gets in the classroom if this District does not renew Miss madani's contract it would be a massive loss to the children of Sparta I urge the board to please renew Miss madani's contract on behalf of the children in this town is my understanding that this is simply because she does not have tenure I want you to think that this is someone's livelihood that you're voting on she's a young teacher and we need her I would ask that every member of this board think carefully and form their own opinions based on the testimonies you hear today thank you [Applause] is there anyone else all right so Meg McDermot again 1517 so as a class mom I have witnessed firsthand Mrs madani's exceptional skills and dedication to my child and the other children in the class Mrs madani is an incredibly kind nurturing soul Who's gone above and beyond to ensure that each child feels loved and supported in her classroom she has created an environment of safety Positive Growth where children not only Thrive academically but also socially and emotionally she has taken the time to understand what motivates each child and tailors her approach to meet their unique needs and interests such as my son who's obsessed with Spider-Man these simple yet thoughtful dressers show her dedication to building strong connections within her students Mrs madani actively incorporates activities and lessons that Foster essential social skills such as empathy communication conflict res resolution through her efforts she has um implemented strategies at school that have had a positive impact on him both at school and then I have replicated these at home and seen amazing growth in my child my son helps teach my younger uh son how to calmly work through his emotions and stay in the green and oftentimes also provides me with much needed guidance and reminders I've always felt confident that my son is an a safe nurturing environment under Mrs madani's guidance his uh his genuine excitement to attend school each day share his outside experiences with her and in turn share School experience with my husband and I demonstrates the Deep trust and SEC and security he feels in her care I cannot speak highly enough of Mrs madani and the positive impact she has had on my child and our family I wholeheartedly feel that removing her from Alpine School and this year's classroom would be a disservice to our community and future student students Mrs madani's exceptional qualities as an educator and compassionate Mentor make her an invaluable asset to any educational institution thank [Applause] you uh my name is Robert Otto um Miss madani is my child Max's teacher and actually I wish he was up here because he has no problem with public speaking and he would have made short work of this I'm not so great with that um but I know that teaching is difficult I've taught elementary through college not to I've had opportunities to teach those ages and it's incredibly difficult parenting is similarly difficult parenting basically someone else's child uh which I think as a teacher of prek you're doing that and you're teaching them is an impossible task and so hats off to all the teachers that do that but miss madani has done it with ease uh with our child now our child came into this uh school system as a child of covid he missed a lot he didn't socialize as much as we would have hoped um we were worried about you know the bathroom stuff and all that and as you've heard Miss madani excelled brought him out of his shell got him sorted with the bathroom um any bathroom issues and she was incredibly patient and kind um I don't have a anything to say she provided critical care support and nurturing to you know our most precious things in this world all these parents that are here um so while I respect that you guys have a process and you probably need to act you obviously need to act on these things um we're not privy to what allegations were made but uh I can just speak to my child's um blossoming ner being being nurtured by Miss madani uh in this past school year his just the crushing emotion of Miss Madan was not in school again today is so incredibly difficult and I would just you know we have aity of Educators we have an even greater uh POS of good Educators in this country in this um area in this town and I would urge you not to just toss one of them aside um you guys have spent 3 years I understand um with Miss madani making her into you know what she is now and to just you know as parents we're seeing the dividends of the investment of three years that you guys have put into her and I think it would be foolish to have to start that process again I think um there's too much to lose and I don't understand it I haven't seen um any indication of anything other than professionalism and courtesy and care and you know her treating our children the way that we want them to be treated um so I just ask you guys to think carefully when you make your decision [Applause] else is there anyone else can I get a motion to close public comment number oh you're coming up sorry I was looking down go ahead hello my name is Michael heresi I'm here to speak on 157 um Miss madani is my son Jay's teacher and he is a wild child and that's an understatement if I'm being honest and Miss madani has done nothing but get him to focus she created this thing where she will get him to go out and jump on a trampoline she'll take him on a walk he'll do jumping jacks anything to burn the energy so he can focus back on what the task is and she's nothing short of amazing and it would be a tremendous loss if we did not keep her thank [Applause] you evening my name is uh Joe imperio I'm speaking on the uh issue on 15.7 I believe um so I I'm just here to say two things that I'm for the reinstatement of Miss madani back into the classroom and uh secondly um Miss madani thank you um I just want to say thank you for being such a dedicated and caring teacher to my daughter um now I don't know Miss madani uh me thanking her just now probably constitutes say the second sentence I've ever said to her um but the the positive impact that she's had on my daughter that I know full well um when me and my wife uh first moved to Sparta we came here with the intention of you know putting our kids in the best um school system that the state had to offer and when my daughter uh got to miss madani's class we knew right away we made the best decision moving here uh as our first parents said you know we're at a shortage of good teachers don't make the mistake of losing one thank [Applause] [Music] you anybody else make a motion CL all right I'll try this one more time is there anyone else can I get a motion to close public comment number one motion second second all in favor I anyone opposed all right we're going to move on to personnel and policy can I get a motion to move 15.1 to 15 1539 motion can I get a second second Emily is there any discussion the only discussion I want to um initiate is just thanking everyone for coming out tonight Joan can I have a roll call Miss Kier yes Miss gagman yes M McMichael yes Mr pesi yes Miss Lander yes to everything but I need to abstain on 15.7 Miss sarapin yes Mr wood yes okay we're moving on to curriculum can I have a motion to move 16.1 to 16.14 motion second second thanks Lauren any discussion J Miss Kier yes Miss gagman yes Miss McMichael yes Mr pesi yes Miss cander yes Miss seraphino yes Mr wood yes all right moving on to finance can I have a motion to move 17.1 to 17.25 can we have discussion please oh I'm sorry yeah um wait it's mtion motion first I'm sorry go ahead motion second second second okay now discussion discussion please um so I have a statement prepared regarding 1719 prior to our vote um it's no surprise to anyone how I feel about the current state of and history of our District's legal spending for whatever reason some of my colleagues have developed a sense of loyalty to Mark zider while I can't reason with it I can certainly try to respect it however I do want to go on the record to say I find it deeply concerning that this is one of the only contracts that our board is refusing to take out for a proper competitive bid several of us have specifically asked that we explore all of our legal options to assess whether there are more fiscally responsible options available to our district and to be clear with this vote we're being told no if you support Mark Zimmer's contract renewal tonight through shank price you are voting no to even entertain other potential bids and as I've expressed I've heard plenty of excuses and not many good reasons to justify this so I will now say what I have to say directly to Mr zider publicly although I have expressed these concerns to him I would like to list the reasons why I find your contract renewal problematic and some of the history leading up to my decision tonight I have the following concerns your your initial appointment to the board a disgraced former board member filing attorney ethics allegations against you involving an alleged violation of confidentiality in our district the mysterious nature of the recision of those allegations the recent surge of neighboring districts terminating your contract at least one of those districts considering malpractice charges against you the Civil Rights lawsuit your representation in other districts has prompted or in another District I should say has prompted from the state attorney general your legal advice in the sparta District particularly surrounding policy and Personnel matters over the last 2 years billing practices through which I notice we are paying not one but two shank price attorneys for Oprah oversight as we're being build by both you as a partner and a fellow associate of yours and to be clear we can't claim to be saving the district money on an associate attorney's reduced hourly rate when in fact we're being charged for both your both of your individual work plus charges to confer with one another you have been found guilty of unlawful oper redactions with the GRC on at least two separate occasions the fact that our district outspent 67 of 74 comparably sized districts across the state in legal expenditures alone for the 2122 school year the fact that our district budgeted $150,000 for legal fees for the 2223 school year but ended up spending $237,900 year after year we seem to be spend overspending in this area sometimes by tens or even hundreds of thousands of dollars so to clarify Mr ziner while I do certainly appreciate the last discussion we had truly these concerns and the opinions and research that I've done are all exclusively my own this is not a personal matter between us it's once again a matter of financial liability I think Mark zider representing this district is a financial liability and I think after raising taxes 5.8% last year it's nothing short of neglectful for us to not bid out this contract and that is no slight to miss black who is consistently exploring and finding ways for us to save money as a district and I think as a board we should do our part to support those efforts since my colleagues are likely refusing to take this contract out for a proper competitive bid I recognize there's little I can do or say to change the outcome of this vote tonight I'm sure Mr zider will be our attorney for another year but we can't claim to care about our District's Financial State when we blatantly ignore areas of problematic overspending again some of us have asked that we explore our legal options as a district and to be clear we are being told no and it saddens me to think of the programs resources and even staff that we could possibly fund if we took a responsible look at our legal options all of this said I will work alongside Mr zider professionally just as we discussed and I will strive to build Mutual trust and Rapport between us I will say our engagement since I've come to the board in January have been very positive and respectful which I appreciate but our professional relationship does not alleviate all of my concerns I do believe our district can do better when it comes to our legal spending and this contract in particular and as a result I'll be voting no to agenda item 17.9 to renew our board attorney Mark Zimmer's contract through shank price as the proper RFP process has been denied thank you [Applause] um I'd just like to say as you know I'm new to the board um so I don't have a lot of history with Mark zider but I do just think it's fiscally responsible overall just to put our biggest expenses out for bid I asked in the last meeting if going out to bid would cost the district anything um and I was told there's no Financial cost to this so I just think it's financially responsible to look at all our options um and be fiscally transparent as possible [Applause] and just to follow up with Emily and unlike Caitlyn I actually don't have much of a gripe with Mark I don't know too much about him and I don't know much of the history but what I do know is how we spend our money really matters considering the fact that Caitlyn and I recently won off of our stop raising taxes slogan because we really need to stop raising our taxes and when we have uh when we' come off of a 5.8% tax increase and we have a referendum incoming um I think going out to bid is the minimum of what we should do where we're not suggesting that we should immediately firemark or uh we need to make any drastic changes but I don't see a single issue wrong with going out to Bid And when I was looking for a reason as to maybe why we shouldn't go out to bid the only reason I really kind of picked up was oh I really don't care or I don't really have the time to do so and as a board member of the public who got voted in that's precisely our job and it's extremely valuable and important for us to do our due diligence when we're dealing with not our money but your money the taxpayer money um and recently I got I was made aware of at a recent Town council meeting that for every tax dollar spent on the municipality 63 cents goes to the schooling so when considering two-thirds of your tax dollar goes to our schools it should be spent adequately and appropriately and to look back on what Caitlyn said she said 68 out of so when looking at comparable school districts out of 74 74 being the one that spends the most on legal expenses in number one being the one that spends the least we're number 68 out of 74 we're six schools away from being the bottom of the list for spending the most on legal expenses and if we don't want to take any sort of Step not even talking about immediately faring Mark but not even to take the step to go out to bid I have a really big personal issue with that and I I hope that will transpire come time election season I'd like to offer a differing opinion as someone who sat on the board for several years um and had the opportunity to work with Mark ciner um a board can choose to go out to RFP for Legal Services certainly but if a board majority is uh pleased with the services to the board we're not required to do so um and I would say that our money has been as a taxpayer and as a board member I would say their money has been very well spent with Mark Sider and his firm they have a very strong special education arm um which has showed empathy to our families um experiencing issues as well as um just zealously protecting our district which does in fact save money in the in the long run um I have seen the level of of detail and attention uh that Mark zener brings uh to his legal reports and the amount of care and attention he brings to board members often not charging for calls um to be able to discuss issues and to clarify um matters he's also been noted for his excellence in school law um we have to make decisions based on our district and I don't think it's fair to bring in to discussion um other districts and what is going on we can't just as we can't speak to all matters um in detail he can't provide that detail of other districts with that confidentiality um but I have been very impressed and I um am happy to support the renewal of this contract I think it's the best direction for our district anyone else d Miss Kier yes Miss gagnan yes to all items except 1719 which will be a no Miss MC Michel yes Mr pesi yes Miss seander yes Miss seraphino yes except for 17.1 19 which is a no Mr wood Yes except for 1719 which is also a no okay moving on to operations um can I have a motion to move 18.1 to 18.9 second second Joanne miss kyli here yes Miss gagnan yes Miss McMichael yes Mr kesi yes Miss cander yes Miss sarapo yes Mr wood yes do we have any old business anything for new business no no we don't need a motion okay so we are moving on to public comment number two um excuse me Wendy I just wanted to to see are we planning to make a motion to accept the uh evaluation I'll ask Mark but I think he said that we didn't need to do that I think that be a motion for we hope be had till July we by July yeah it has to be by July 31 so we can look at it yeah I was moving on to public comment but we can take a minute to discuss new business if you have something well we don't need to make a motion if you have something to discuss you can for his we don't have we're cheing are you talking about the Personnel issue no oh okay so he's checking he doesn't think that we need to but we have until July 31st we if we don't do it tonight if he checks we'll do it at the next meeting if we need to okay so public comment number two public comment number two has the exact same rules as public comment number one you have 3 minutes you're not permitted to speak after that 3 minutes um you should should have all of your comments directed towards me we may or may not answer any questions or comment and this can be on any matters pertaining to the school district just make sure that you sign in and all that good stuff good evening my name is Angela Delia and I am the very proud president of the sparta Education Association I'm here this evening to share the last good news report for the 2324 school year first I'm on behalf of the association I would like to extend a heartfelt congratulations to all the seniors who just left no uh um our members have watched them grow and now wish them the best as they move on to the next phase of their journey I can say with pride and certainty that it has always been our priority to guide our students to their version of success as we know June marks the end of the school year and for some of our members this June marks the end of an era this year the sea is wishing a happy retirement to quite a few of our members Doug Krauss Susan Goble Patrick pagola uh Petro Piccolo Suzanne Russo Margaret incantalupo Andrew Lowry Susan soy Susan Tessier Katherine cayen Patricia Curtis lilan Farrell Victoria ladu Teresa McMahon Wendy Anor Katherine Reese Katherine Willie Christine collister Suzanne davalo and in August Paula scalfani it takes a remarkable kind of person to choose public education as their career path and for those of us who have been around for a long time we have seen its Evolution and every day brings a new adventure for those members who have served this school district please know that you are appreciated and you will be missed we hope your next chapter brings you joy and happiness this chapter is done but we know your stories are far from over our members will be hard at work throughout the summer teaching learning organizing preparing building coaching so in reality the grind never really stops but rather just slows down a little before you know it we will be back at it in welcoming new students and staff but until that time the sea Wishes the board and the community a safe health healthy and restful summer thank [Applause] you I'm sorry um is there any way that I can request a renewal of that last order or the motion can you revote no no no we're in public participation now anyway so if you want to speak you have to wait oh okay thank you hello Patty Sparta um I had to step out so I missed some of what was being said about the renewal for Mark seder's contract and um what I did here were some really good and valid points um I Heard Chad say that out of I think it was 74 districts in New Jersey we spend more than 68 of those districts in legal costs I ALS o heard um well I didn't hear but it may have come up that Mr zider has also been um ousted from two different boes this in the last year and I just I hear what you're saying that you find tremendous value in Mr Zimmer's legal council but I wonder what how do you think like what message are you sending to the community when we hear these facts they're facts and we're not even going out to bid because of lack of time lack of effort um it sends a really terrible message and for those of you sitting board members that are looking to be reelected this coming year um I just wanted to state that on the record that this is um a disservice to your community and to our tax dollars thank you [Applause] uh good evening um my name is Gran wenber I live in Sparta I'm just here tonight to address an issue I see with the rubric uh that's set in place for a sixth grader uh to be placed into seventh grade math um so my daughter uh has a 91% average for all three marking periods so far in math Six uh she's also in Step specifically for math um she's always made honor role or high honor role since starting Middle School um she has all A's in her classes this year uh except for one B last marking period so there are three placements for seventh grade math in general math 7 pre-algebra and algebra so our daughter Ella is being placed in the lowest level math class math 7 and in our opinion that's going to severely hinder her math trajectory for high school just as a comparison um our oldest daughter uh easily placed into pre-algebra in seventh grade six years ago and our middle daughter meline uh went into into geometry in sth grade two years ago so there's a lot of faults we find with the rubric that's determin determining this math placement so there's a parameter in the rubric called characteristics that support student learning and that's G given a very large nine points on the rubric and our daughter was given 4.5 out of nine so despite all the positive things I said before that she's a high honor all student she was given a 4.5 we don't even know what that means um none of this reflects any of the emails we've had with a math teacher or other teachers throughout the year they've said she's a really good student there's no issues with in class she's doing well so this was our first kind of Warning Sign something was off with the rubric uh in previous years our understanding is this teacher recommendation category was only given Five Points not nine so we've reached out to the department uh head for math um we we've really gotten nowhere we've been told we simply do not have uh do not qualify to appeal um and and this really this is not what happens in other schools in Sussex County um we've talked to other teaching professionals that we know and reached out to so just as a parent of an honor rooll student gifted and talented student um you know I I have the right I should have the right to appeal my child being placed in the lowest level math class it just doesn't make any sense at all um and in fact we we feel that everyone should have the right to appeal um right now you have to fall between one to two points of the overall rubric assessment to even be considered for for an appeal um which we think is ridiculous so you know the I mentioned the trajectory to to college before so you know oldest daughter uh is doing SATs um and she's not doing well on the mass section even though she's an honored student it's time sir thank you okay sorry um so you know what I'm gonna ask here is there can we request a a motion to reconsider this it didn't seem like uh 1507 it didn't seem like there was any any discussion or or can is that yeah so I should have said this earlier the board is very constrained about what it can say publicly about personnel and staff issues so as Miss gagnan pointed out the board listened attentively but they're Limited in terms of what they can respond with so that's number one number two in terms of rev voting the the action portion of the meeting has already taken place and then lastly by by Statute the board cannot appoint a staff member without the superintendent's recommendation so short way of saying that there's nothing further that can be done this evening well I mean I know it's been a while since Robert's Rules usually there's an opportunity to recall a motion um I and we all reached out to the superintendent with the assumption that that was the that that was what was going to happen prior to the board meeting right these decisions happen before we actually get here a number of people emailed I even stopped by was told they didn't know where he was received no call back I don't think anybody got an email back either I would hope that there would be at least some discussion all these people came out to vouch for This Woman's character this could be a mistake it's the second year in a row that someone's been uprooted from this classroom I I would request that I mean at least in a remotion go to a a close session where you can have the discussion what what is the reason why are we losing this this good person we can't discuss that you're right I'm sorry that's it's not an appropriate question but um I mean will will somebody motion to put this back on the table that that can't happen without Dr Beck's recommendation Dr Beck will you can you take it back and and have a more thorough conversation please that's not my recommendation at this time and you can't tell us why your recommendation is to resend This Woman's contract no the the board has been made aware I'm sorry what what the board has been made aware the board has been made aware and no one else gets to know why we're losing a valued teacher we can't we can't like I said before we cannot discuss that publicly is the rep from the paper listening that's a that's a legal requirement we're not allowed to discuss Personnel matters of this nature publicly okay I know that's not satisfying to people I understand that but that is the law we we we listen but we can't respond on certain issues student matters personnel and the like understood so has there been a discussion about this or is it not supposed to be a back and forth we're going to listen to you but it's not supposed to be a okay it's just a similar comment that I'd like to make Christina I'll sign in but I'm a little bit confused about the process that brought us here Christina Leiden a parent of a prek student who spoke earlier um it was my understanding that we were here today to vote on the the weight of resending a teacher's contract and I don't know if like the people around this table are aware of this first year teacher that just about every parent maybe minus one parent Who's involved in what could be a misunderstanding has stood and spoke to the character of this teacher and um to hear you say like as the board you you can't make a decision or you can't weigh in or that's not your role I'm I'm just a little confused in the process like what is the voting for The resending of the contract and I also really really do believe this should be discussed more and I think you know I'm not a teacher but I'm so disappointed Ed to find out what it is I'm a nurse one of the number one trusted professions in the world and I'm I'm really disappointed to find and learn through this experience how teachers are supported through the organization through the industry what's the process for personnel issues how they funnel through the board what kind of ability you have as a professional to make a case when an allegation comes against you uh it's my understanding that this teacher hasn't spoke to the administration about the allegations personally she wasn't given the time um I don't know firsthand but I I do want to share I'm so disappointed that this is what this is thank you I apologize can I just say two things quickly I didn't realize there was a time limit so just requesting two things uh one is for a daughter to be reevaluated for Mass 7 and also just a re-evaluation of the rubric for for maass six thank you yeah yeah I wait till the public participation is over but yes hi craigy listening uh I just want to say um how disappointed I am your name I I just did Craig you listening how disappointed I am uh with the district right now um I know I'm not the only one um we moved across the country over here um and we end up buying a house in Sparta because of the schools um it's no shocking there's a shortage of teachers right now um the fact that you guys are just willing to to ruin this girl's livelihood it it's it's shameful honestly I know we can't go into details on what happened but I know that she wasn't given um due process you guys are treating her as if she was guilty none of you guys even talk to her I what's what's going on here that's not what this country is founded on it it's shameful how you guys have handled the situation and and Dr Beck I I plore you please reconsider this is a great teacher this District can't afford to lose more teachers this District just went to make prek for every student and I just please please reconsider yeah if I could just uh second that um your name again Kyle scandin uh father of Elanor scandin who's in Mrs madani's class um I guess I don't know why I'm directing to everybody I should just really be talking to Dr Beck because you are the decision maker in this aspect um as a you know father of a four-year-old daughter who's going to be repeating prek next year and seeing as Alpine Elementary has gone through multiple teachers teaching this specific class in the last two years is what what exactly are the characteristics of the the teaching role that you're looking for that apparently Miss madani is not able to to offer I'm I'm just questioning that particular to your assessment sir just to be clear this is not a back and forth we listen to you after the public comment period is closed we'll respond to the extent that we can so your comments are welcome now we'll respond at the end but it's not supposed to be a back and forth I understand I understand but you know we chose Sparta because of the education system and I would like to believe that when people are appointed voted into the board that it actually means something but if it's just the opinion of one person then what's what are we doing here why did we why did so many families show up tonight to advocate for an incredible young woman when the decision was made by you Dr Beck I I don't know what else to say are we gonna are we going to be in the same position a year from now where my daughter's going to be losing another teacher and we're have to explain her I guess this is how things roll in Sparta where you you'll have a teacher for a little while and then something goes wrong boom they're out ins a new one is is that really what the lesson that we're going to be teaching our children I don't it seems wrong okay and if I had known that prior to moving to Sparta maybe maybe I wouldn't be standing here today okay so I just want you to think a little bit more about the human and the impact that you're that you're impacting here there's a lot at stake for Miss madani we've all advocated how much she means to us as a teacher and I really implore you to to reconsider please thank you hi everyone I'll sign in after Kyle um respectfully I know many of you from other avenues um here on this board I'm a huge advocate for the district not only as a former teacher but I serve on the board of the sparta Education Foundation and I just want to say that I'm so disappointed in the display of the lack of support and genuine Talent today um as someone who used to teach as I stated before some of the children of the board members I don't know you Dr be I taught here many years ago but again this school is special we came here for a reason as Kyle said when I left the this District on my own accord we were moving for his job I was devastated this building and this district is so special and the staff is so talented and I wouldn't be here today sticking my own neck out as I choose to participate actively in our community and for our schools if I didn't believe with my whole entire heart that this person belongs in the classroom so ultimately I still respect each of you for your volunteerism and the time that you spend serving on this board but it is so unfortunate to lose somebody per an unjust recommendation on Dr Beck's part to not dissect the results of the investigation at hand and place her back in the classroom is just negligent every staff member in her an inclusion classroom should be educated on how to handle every child in that classroom and their need and I will leave it at that thank you Mark I just have a question over here sorry um are you able to explain just like the process in general of personnel to the public just so they understand what happens when there is any type of personal issue that's the discussion that you saw us have yes absolutely I was going to wait till the public participation session was closed and dive into that a little bit deeper sorry I would have come up sooner Jenny Derek's I'm just um asking for an update on the school expansion program uh district and board goals we discussed this at the last meeting if there's no one else can I have a motion to close public comment number two motion second second everyone in favor hi could I just jump in the discussion first to get Jenny derk's question out of the way is that okay um so just Jenny let you know about the uh district and board goals everything so far so good we're just waiting on some like INB building admin teams to happen have some more discussion before we really Hammer anything down to the public but I believe August we're looking to present our district and board goals to the meeting so look out for August but in the meantime I'm sorry okay sounds good uh and regarding school expansion U I believe you're talking speaking to the referendum right uh yeah I updated the board this evening because there was some uh confidential information um regard that I had to update them on but uh there was something that was holding us up uh a possible opportunity is all I can say um that's by the wayside now so uh we're back on track um and we are now talking about the next steps and um what those next steps are choosing a design and when to go out for a referendum vote so we are uh we're moving forward so let me um let me piggyback a little further on what I said before without talking specifically about the particular staff member at issue um by law one of the exemptions to the open public meetings act for public discussions is matters of personnel so in order to maintain the Privacy rights of individuals those are is issues that the board discusses in what's called closed session or executive session as you know we had an executive session for about an hour before the public portion of the meeting started I'm not going to delve into what we discussed there obviously for confidentiality concerns um but by law any staff member who is discussed in closed session gets a notice ahead of the meeting it's called a rice notice informing that employee that the board may discuss matters pertaining to the terms and conditions of their employment in Clos session the employee then has the right to wave their right to privacy and have that discussion take place publicly so they're basically waving the right to to privacy they don't get to come into the Clos session what they're saying is we'd like the discussion about me to take place publicly again I'm not going to speak about what happened with this particular staff member I just want you to understand what the process is and so that's why we discuss um Personnel privately in close session and that's why there was very limited discussion properly so uh from the board of education on this particular um topic um by law also uh a board cannot appoint a staff member terminate a staff member transfer a staff member without the superintendent's recommendation and so what that means is a board couldn't raise a board member couldn't raise their hand tonight and say I appoint Jane Smith to be a middle school teacher for the 2425 school year that could not happen without Dr Beck's um recommendation and that's why all these Personnel issues that come up are the recommendation of the superintend superintend recommendation of the superintendent by law it's in 18a 27-41 um there was another comment about you know board members interviewing staff members the board is a policymaking body they set policy they plan and they appraise so it is not up to board members to uh get involved with um interviewing staff members uh giving due process to staff members that's again an administrative function that's up to the the superintendent the various principles or whoever they designate so again I just wanted to make it clear that it is not a board of education role to to get involved with with having direct dealings so to speak with staff members so I hope that clarified some of these issues for you we're done with the public participation now sorry and I would just say along those lines um well I can't speak about this situation specifically uh these decisions obviously don't come easy um it's it's tough on on my part to to uh to hear uh the impact um but have additional information as well um and it's unfortunate that when decisions are made that full information cannot be shared with the public um it's it's really a point of frustration but uh I understand where you folks are coming from um I just have more information um I just have one other thing to add you can always email questions after the fact and we can if we can answer them we can answer them and as far as I think Lisa mentioned some parents didn't get emails back um our cap abilities as board members uh as far as like he said interaction with teachers um also interactions with public is somewhat limited only the president is um able to comment on behalf of the board or the superintendent so a lot of times we see your emails but we are not able to directly respond to them answer your questions say anything about the emails we would have to forward them to the president or to Dr Beck um so if there was confusion on why people didn't get emails back um a lot of times it's for that reason so I don't want anyone to think that your emails go unread um all of the emails that we got some got more than others um but all of the emails are read by board members we do see them so your your emails were read I wanted to make sure that you guys did know that anyone who emails us it is read and just to add to that too I want to thank Dr Beck because I absolutely share that frustration um but I appreciate what you just expressed and I agree wholeheartedly so thank you for coming out just from a finance perspective I wanted to address um the comment from Miss RZ regarding the the spending for legal I just wanted to reiterate what we have um spoken about in the past in the in the 2223 oh sorry in the 2324 um general fund budget presentation um where the budget increase was yes 5.8% but it is cited in that slide that the average tax levy effect with interest increase in ratables was indeed 3.4% which you will see also in your tax bill so just to correct that it was not a tax increase of 5.8% but rather a budget increase in that amount and um as I had shared with the board prior when I asked for um a slide from our Auditor in terms of what is the legal spending for the last several years years since we've been with um with Mark Zimmer's firm um you've seen years where it's gone up and it's gone down and it was on the the downward turn um the slide that IID shared with the board was that legal spend is 25% of the the if you look at a pie chart of the general that General excuse me I'm look back at this I don't missp here our general Administration expenditure breakdown which represents one % of the budget so I applaud I applaud my members for say my fellow board members for saying let's stop raising taxes so much I guess is really what we mean truly but we're looking at 0 25% of the total budget here so I do think everyone is taking measures to mitigate spending but since we are talking about facts I wanted to reiterate that thank you if you don't mind since that's regarding something I said I want to make sure that I clarify um I hear what Lauren is saying and I know that that was something that she presented I want to say at the February meeting perhaps at the point to the auditor and uh the total admin costs and the percentile that's based off of um but that still doesn't take away my concern and I will reiterate that we had budgeted $150,000 for the 2223 school year last year and ended up spending $230 7 9,997 so I'm not sure where nearly you know obviously exaggerating but almost $100,000 over budget um whether it's 1% whether it's 15% whether it's 25% I think every dollar counts to Chad's point and that isn't even considering the 2122 year where we spent far more we are on a trend and I find that Trend problematic and again whether or not we agree on the number because a point was raised by Dr Beck which I again wholeheartedly agree with it's what we are paying our attorney for it is regardless of who the attorney is what are we paying for and that is there are is a whole Myriad of issues relating to that which I understand I know you had mentioned special education earlier I'm looking at the situation holistically it is not a one approach I'm not only looking at Oprah I'm not only looking at General legal or ongoing anything um it is a whole approach and my concerns remain I want to say we're close to and Mark correct me if I'm wrong nearly almost a million dollars since 2019 does that sound about right so this is my point where I I feel like this is an area within our purview and again I will reiterate that while miss black Works tirelessly constantly to explore ways for us to save money and frankly you do too as our finance chair looking at you know smaller contracts much smaller contracts and and finding small thousands I say why not just take it out for a bit just just here our options and what I'm again and not to offend but I I feel like I'm hearing more excuses than reasons so again if anyone has any data or facts relating to why we shouldn't go out for a contract or excuse me a competitive bid I would love to hear them sorry I just I'm going to end with this zealous defense of our district and sometimes it does take dollars to do that we have we have a large District we have five buildings we have teachers to protect we have students to protect we have a high population of special ed students that we're happy to serve we have a very diverse community of Learners and staff and it is zealous representation of our district and that is where I come from so I just I respect all of I respect your concerns and let's continue the conversation for sure I'm I'm all in um and I will add to that I agree with you in that respect but I again think that that's a fraction of the whole I think we're looking at overspending and uh there are areas within that large Spectrum where I think we could do better um and I will be holding us on the board end accountable to that that number anything for the good of the order I have something but it's super positive um so a few things I just want to thank all of the effort that went into Pro uh planning the monogram dinner the scholarship dinner uh Emily and I were able to attend the National Honor Society induction and I was not aware of how busy June was so um thank you so much to everyone who uh worked so hard to make those events possible for our students um congratulations to the outgoing class there are many we will miss um and lastly I also again want to reiterate thanking or congratulating uh our librarian Kelly keif who just returned from a weekend in Boston with the author of the DI Diary of a Wimpy Kid series uh Jeff Kenny so um she was recognized in a national contest and I think that especially given the year that she's had she deserves uh all the credit and recognition in the world so congratulations to miss kif on a hard-earned uh placement in a very competitive competition I just had uh one last thing to add that last Friday um many towns in and surrounding communities participated in the annual torch run for Special Olympics Sparta had quite a showing of community members students um teachers administrators come out and support that on Friday um if anybody witness everybody going through town it's quite an event to see it's very heartwarming it's a lot of fun and then we had a significant number of students participate in the Summer Olympics over this weekend I don't have results in front of me for that so hope at the next board meeting we can um talk about those students and what they accomplished over the weekend but I just wanted to make sure it went noted that um it was quite an event and they were super successful this weekend they had a g gorgeous weekend for it so um that's all I have um I just want to say one thing oh sorry applause applause um I want to say congratulations to all the retirees of the district that was a long list a lot of people that really had a profound impact on myself and my education and who I ended up being um and it's welld deserved I hope they enjoy an Endless [Applause] Summer all right can I get a motion to close motion second second everyone in favor I I it one more time for