e e e e e e e e I think it's the chair with all the balloons Mr cologne good evening everybody Welcome to the Board of Education reorganization meeting scheduled for Monday May 13th I'd like to call the meeting to order and ask everybody to please rise for the flag salute I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the Republic for which it stands one nation under God indivisible with liberty and justice for all in accordance with the requirements of the open public meetings act I wish to announce that the New Jersey open public meeting law was enacted to ensure the right of the public to have advanced notice of and to attend the meeting of bodies at which any business affecting their interest is discussed or acted upon notices announcing the date time and place for this meeting were sent to All concerned individuals associations and sent to Union County local Source in accordance with chapter 231 of public law 1975 um at this time I'd like to ask uh president Cho if he would like to make some remarks uh yes thank you uh Derek so good evening and Welcome to our May school board meeting this is our board reorganization meeting where we squar in our new board members and vote for the new board president and vice president for the coming year as I look back on the year there's much to be proud of in terms of what we accomplish in our schools but my remarks will focus on those who deserve the credit for how some of school district continues to be among the best you know as a board member one has a fir row seat to all the components that are responsible for our great school system first and foremost obviously is our amazing District administration and the staff in our schools the principal supervisors teachers ERS AIDS and support Personnel who go above and beyond for our students the take employees here in Summit we have so many partners School dist students you know departments like police fire Community program very many parent Le organizations such as SEF who will be presenting the spring grants tonight PTO boosters snpa Spark all who provide countless hours and financial support along with Community organizations like the YMCA first a squad and the connection and of course many other I've not mentioned you know together they've created a strong foundation for our school district that will continue to allow our schools to be among the best possible I'd also like to thank my fellow board members for their dedication and service to the district during the year their Collective efforts make being the board president an easy job I do need to give a special thanks to our departing board member highlighted by the balloons here in case you didn't know who he was Michael Cologne who has Spanish his six years serving on our school board you know Michael had the fortune or Misfortune to have experienced all the consequential major issues a school board would have to deal with during his tenure the surprise resignation of the superintendent after a contract extension the pandemic shutdown hiring a new superintendent operating during the pandemic multiple staff contract negotiations and a major Bond issuance I'm sure I've missed a few things through all these situations Michael's diligence thoughtful analysis and collaborative working style were critical to the outcomes and decisions made everyone working with them on the Committees each year will test to how prepar he was having alwaysed all the M materials before the meeting he always shared his experience from past years but allowed new board members to ask questions and express their viewpoints we all learned so much working with him over the past few years and we will miss his presence in our community meet committee meetings and board meetings going forward thank you Mike for your dedication and service to the Su School District we are far service just a couple of words from me as well Michael I mean what can I say your contributions to this community as a board member are massive between negotiations operations facilities policy every every aspect of our organization you were virtually an expert on all of it and personally I have learned from you and I have grown because of you and you're truly going to be missed so thank you very much for everything you've done [Applause] so I'll acknowledge that uh I wasn't sure whether or not I was speaking in this meeting or last month's meeting and so I had a 20 minute speech prepared for last month's meeting uh for one purpose which was to to break Yan's impressive streak of meetings in under one hour uh which is amazing actually given some of the meetings I had a few years back uh but since this is really W's meeting uh got rid of 19 minutes of the 20 and really have one one important point to make uh and that is to say that that everyone here on the days uh has helped me to succeed in applying uh one very important rule of my mothers uh which is to always leave things better than you found them I will acknowledge that when I joined this board six years ago I was concerned that it wasn't possible to leave things better than I had found them we had a strong board and for as long as I can remember we've had a high performing school system sitting here today I can happily and proudly report to our community that our public school system has continued to ascend focusing on a whole student education that includes a robust and Innovative curriculum you don't always hear the word Innovative and curriculum in the same sentence certainly for Public School Systems uh extraordinary co-curricular and extracurricular programs and a commitment to fostering a healthy learning environment in every building and classroom the goal of all this is very simple to provide each one of our 4,000 students with the knowledge tools and support to grow into the absolute best version of themselves during their time in Summit and throughout their lives I would like to offer a very sincere thank you to superintendent Huff your cabinet our principes supervisors Educators administrators support staff and to every member of this talented and committed Board of Education you have ensured that the education of our health and healthy development of our children is the single guiding principle for everything that we do and for that I would like to thank you thank [Applause] you Mr cologne for those remarks Mr clone congratulations um and now probably some of the most important words that you've ever heard while you're sitting on this board is you may now step away from the deis and never to return take my rose you may take your rose uh and with that I will offer I will uh give the administer the oath of office first uh to miss con if you would please join me at the podium all right I would ask you to please raise your right hand fa hand on the Bible and please repeat after me I Melanie con I Melanie con do solemnly swear solemnly swear that I will support the Constitution of the United States that I will support the United States and the constitution of the state of New Jersey and theti of state and that I will bear true faith and Allegiance and that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same to the same to the governments established to the governments established in the United States and the state the United States and the state under the authority of the people under the authority of the people so help me God so help me God I Melanie con I Melanie con do solemnly swear Sol that I possess the qualifications that I possess the qualifications prescribed by law prescribed by law for the office of member for the office of member of a board of education of a board of education and that I am not disqualified that I am not disqualified as a voter as a voter pursuant to RS pursuant to RS 19 colon 4-1 19 colon 4-1 nor disqualified nor disqualified due to conviction of a crime to conviction of crime or offense or offense listed in njsa listed in njsa 18 18 colon 12-1 12-1 and that I will faithfully and that I will Faithfully partially partially and justly and justly perform all duties perform all duties of that office of that office according to the best of my ability according to the best of my ability so help me God so help me God congratulations welcome and now I will ask Miss Justice to join us move over please raise your right hand left hand on the B please repeat after me I will lead a Justice I will lead a Justice do solemnly swear that I will support the Constitution of the United States and the constitution of the state of New Jersey and that I will bear true faith and Allegiance true Faith to the same and to the governments established in the United States United States and the state under the authority of the people so help me go I will lead a Justice I will lead a Justice to solemnly swear that I possess the qualifications that I prescribed by law by la for the office of member the Board of Education and that I am not disqualified that I am not disqualified as a voter as a vo pursuant to puru RS 19 colon 4-1 nor disqualified do do due to conviction of a crime or offense listed in njsa 18 colon 12-1 and that I will faithfully impartially and justly and perform all duties of that office according to the best of my ability so help me go congratul and now I ask Mr maicha to please join me at the podium please raise your right hand and put your left hand on the Bible please repeat after me I W Carlos MAA iOS do solemnly swear solemnly swear that I will support the Constitution that I will support the constition of the United States of the United States and the constitution of the state of New Jersey Conti St J and that I will bear true faith and Allegiance and that I will bear true Faith Al to the same to the same and to the governments established government established in the United States United States and this State and State under the authority of the people under the authority of so help me God so help me I Juan Carlos MAA I do solemnly swear do Sol swear that I possess the qualifications possessif prescribed by law prescribed by law for the office of member theice member of a board of education a board of education and that I am not disqualified and that I am not disqualified as a voter as a voter pursuant to pursuant to RS RS 19 colon 4-1 191 nor disqualified nor disqualified due to conviction of a crime due to conviction of a crime or offense or offense listed in listed in njsa and JSA 18 colon 12-1 18 121 and that I will Faithfully that I will Fai impartially and justly and justly perform all the duties of that office perform all the duties of that office according to the best of my ability according to the best of my ability so help me go so help me go congratulations welcome aboard thank [Applause] you all right congratulations Mr con Miss Justice and Mr maicha and with that I will take a roll call Miss Stanton yes here Mr MAA here Miss Kelly here miss Justice here miss ER here miss con here Mr Cho here all right we have a car and with that at this time I would like to ask for nominations for the office of board president I would like to formally nominate Alita Justice for the office of president Board of Education of the 24 25 school year walita has served on the board of education for three years during which time she has been a member of all board committees this Factor alone makes her an ideal candidate for the presidential position by serving on each board committee while has gained an in-depth understanding of all essential board policies procedures and educational goals while also developing a vast and healthy knowledge of what it takes to successfully lead a board during my time on the board I've worked directly alongside wiita on the operations committee finding her to be an excellent communicator and collaborator someone who is a mindful thinker that continually continuously puts forth ideas recommendations and questions that are sound well thought out and directly aligned with the board's views on important fiscal responsibilities as well as educational values of our district additionally W's ability to be a leader and a team player go hand inand and she values input from every single member on the board taking the time to not only hear your views but discuss at length and provide guidance and or feedback when you seek clarification while is genuinely interested in helping board members be their best while serving on committees where they can Thrive and grow both personally and professionally and while her abut ability to communicate with the board is beyond strong her ability to communicate the needs of our community is even stronger her position that Kent Place as Chief equity and inclusion officer provides her a deep understanding that directly reflects this this year's board goal that focuses on the value of diversity the promotion of equity and the support of mental health wellness and social emotional learning the educational Insight she has in this department makes the entire board better equipped to support our community and its stakeholders finally walita strives to do good her head and heart are always in the right place she cares about every member of this board every member of the cabinet and each and every one of our students in this District she wants the district to thrive to continue in academic excellence and to be the best and I believe this is the most important trait of all I find all of these traits invaluable to our board and it gives me great pleasure to nominate her for the next board president and I request this board support in this nomination thank you thank you Miss Stanton may I have a second please hi thank you Miss con are there any other nominations for the office of President hearing none we will take the role Miss Stanton yes Mr MAA yes Miss Kelly Miss Justice Miss erde yes Miss con yes Mr Cho yes congratulations motion [Applause] carries at this time I'd like to take um nominations for vice president I'd like to nominate Melanie col I wish I'm known to prepare speech Kelly ni send me a memo on that one sorry um but I would like to take a moment to speak to Melanie's great qualities and why I think she would be an excellent vice president for the Board of Education um I would say that Melanie leavs leads with quiet leadership she is and caring and she is deeply committed to the mission that set forth on the board of education website and that we all hold ourselves accountable to she thinks creatively outside the box she reminds us often that learning takes place in many ways and not just always the traditional ones we point to and I think that that in creativity that thoughtfulness and that caring makes her an excellent asset to this board and I have no doubt she will serve eloquently and rightfully um in her role as Vice President are there any other nominations a need a second I'd like the second okay she'd like a second all right there we go thank you all right Miss Stanton yes Mr maicha yes Miss Kelly yes Miss ER yes Miss con up Mr Cho yes president Justice yes motion [Applause] carries now we are moving to our presentation yes I'll invite the board out into the public one one two one two we have a microphone it is Ron Ron can you hear me right it is my pleasure to introduce this next group uh twice a year they go through a grant process to evaluate the district needs and the submission of Grants from Personnel across the district administrators and teachers alike and twice a year they deliver they overd deliver we are able to do so much more because the some Educational Foundation and year after year they show up and they deliver for the students of our community I couldn't thank you for all that you do I can thank you enough I really thoroughly enjoy working for you and this grant cycle will not disappoint so without further Ado Summit Education [Applause] Foundation all right got to do this without feedback all right uh good evening I'm Shelley Donnelly and along with my partner Susan Daniel uh we are here to introduce the the just moving around too much okay [Music] all right it's oh there we go okay all right we just finished up our spring 2024 Grant cycle and we are excited to be here tonight to share the grants we're awarding along with our grants commit and the SCF board we have reviewed and approved grants for this cycle with a total of $470,000 354 there are 41 grants that are spread across all nine schools in different categories before our presentation of the grants I would like to recogn the many Partnerships that contribute to Our Success first I would like to thank our superintendent Scott Huff the director of educology can you hear meh I would also like to acknowled [Music] this and of thank you for all your time endless Heth and dedication we also like to thank our teachers and administrators we stud support exem to invol goals the 41 grants in the spring cyle are AC tonight we will be presenting the grants let align with the district go first we will talk about social and emotional learning with distri number one next we will cover learning through Innovation language art and mocus these goal number three is where we will discuss the scham BR that includes experiences for all students in the area of science technology engering the district team curriculum prepares our students future opportunity and finally will learning we'll start off with the social emotional learning in this category we have 11 grants totaling over $4,000 these grants teach critical life skills for building confidence problem solving having healthy relationships and respecting others in this category we have five therapy dos this popular program brings certified therapy dos teachers and administrators report that therapy dogs these we will F the insurance certification will have access who visit the Wilson Primary Center and the return of Bor also therapy dos fromat Comfort visit Aton giving the students the opportunity to practice reading with the comfort and support of their therap and last the Middle School Eva classroom will rece ASF the benefit of therapy dogs by providing and comforting Pres also in the category of Social and emotional learning fund theer leadership program at Middle School programes to 25 to 30 GR leers in helping new students become acclimated to the middle school as well as assisting function such as student par orientation reading El students also in the student social and emotional learning category is First Choice second an assembly presented Station Beginning administrators reported that it an impact the assembly explored the importance topic of addic following the assembly even meet students break out session questions another Grant in the social emotional learning C day is an impactful day experience graders 25 led by two highly trained facilitators administrators reported that after this year challeng decrease in compared toing the and the last Grant I will highlight social and emal is social instit this is School social Institute is a technology tool that provides resources for both parents and [Music] Educators last year thatat Middle School advisory program literacy St also align with the district one are the grants that from culturally program spring we have four Awards in thiss the learning of the American reevolution at lers and students a glimp of how by Reams and understanding of and our our last our last is a collaborative project with the upper art classes this grant will bring a professional artist to theom the presentation will focusing their art using Mak techniques the students will create artor based on their okay hope you can hear me too thank you I'm move um to the the district second go learning this weing two GRS is for pilot of the Panorama platform will enable effectively support students by giving them realtime information on attendance grades Target interventions based on a view of the whole child the second Grant in learning through Innovation category is for whiteboard tables at Franklin Franklin currently has these tables in their first grade classrooms where they have found that they promote collaboration and student participation this grant will fund the whiteo tables in the remaining classrooms at Franklin next move to the language arts grants SEF is proud to continue its support of the district's science of reading curriculum in the past few years we have helped to provide over $200,000 worth of decodable books to kindergarten first grade and second grade classrooms across the district this spring we have six grants in this category for a total of over the first two grants these texts will feature characters from a wide range of backgrounds cultures and experiences to better reflect the students own identities next continuing scf's commitment to the science of reading SCF will fund a one-day professional development for the principles and Lead administrators of all five elementary schools plus the primary centers this training is geared towards how School administrators can support the shift to science of reading in their schools additional grants in this category will fund a program to live stream author visits for all ele elementary schools and to purchase a book findinding machine for the Franklin library in our next category math we have two grants for a total of over $422,000 the largest Grant in this category funds reflex math an engaging tool for students to practice math fact fluency SCF previously funded a three-year reflex math subscription which showed measurable Improvement in student performance this grant is a continuation of that for another additional three years now we move to the district's third goal in our steam category SF has funded many successful stream steam grants for the district including the steam Innovation Labs at the elementary schools we are happy to see this support continue this spring with six team Awards totally over $230,000 largest steam Grant and our largest single grant for the spring cycle is to two new steamers at lcj SMS as part of the ongoing Bond project new steam classrooms are being created at LJ and the curriculum is being expanded next year to include design and Innovation and theater technology and film classes as with the steam Labs at the elementary level SEF is proud to support Staffing for the first two years of of this new curriculum allowing the district to quickly Implement these exciting new classes for the students at the middle school additional steam Grant cycle include the creation of an outdoor bird habitat at Breon and the purchase of robots for a new seventh grade robotics en coding class and the revitalization of the lcj SMS fond to provide additional Outdoor Learning environment in our final category we have 10 we have approved 10 learning environment grants totaling over $100,000 as instruction involves so does the furniture classrooms en furniture and other equipment to enhance the adjust Des for all three fourth grade classrooms at Lin the spring cycle SCF will also fund cing reading Corners in the third grade classrooms at Bron and a flexible reading SP in Jefferson Library continuing in the learning environment category grants to the cycle inory variety classroom equipment SCF will help Franklin complete their sets of front row Juno Speakers schoolwide by systems to the remaining classrooms we have a grant for a classroom screen an online Washington School schools some teachers and administrators have once again found to enhance the education of our students District [Music] and again an 4,354 this school 2024 Grant cycle thank you [Applause] one two [Music] oh just in time when you hear a number like that over $1 million over the last many years is quite staggering and it's just quite amazing as well so once again thank you all very much for your efforts and what you do for the students Su of public schools and next next on our agenda is a student representative rep accept the loans to accept the grants my apologies can I get approval to accept the summit Educational Foundation spring grants all right Miss Stanton yes M MAA Miss Kelly yes Miss ER yes Mr Cho yes president con yes president Justice motion carries right okay and with that our student board representative report there's no uh student report this evening so moving on we will move on to the new president's address give me one second okay let me Begin by saying it is an honor and privilege to serve on this school board and as with any board it is those who pred us who leave a legacy which will inform our work moving forward as I begin this new role I want to extend a very heartfelt thank you to Chris Bonner Vanessa primac Donna Miller Michael colog and Yono for ordering my steps providing continuous support and sharing meaningful insights throughout my board Journey each of you have taught me how to be a better leader listener collaborator and critical thinker as a Schoolboard member I've also learned the importance of firmly staying in the governance Lane allowing the superintendent with the assistance of the cabinet to provide Direction on the day-to-day operation of the school district and as an educator this board has given me an outstanding professional development opportunity leading to a greater understanding and appreciation of the importance of public education my goal for this presidency with the help of my fellow board members is to remain aligned to the board's Mission which is to set and uphold the standards by which we provide the students of the summit public schools with a superior educational experience in a way that is Equitable financially responsible and free of political influence in closing I'd like to share a quote from one of my heroes Mari and Wright element for quote simply States how board members should think about their Collective work education is for improving the lives of others and for leaving your community and World better than you found [Applause] it and with that we go on to reorganization appointments and designations and that is a double n n second any discussion on reorg items a through double n hearing none Miss Stanton yes Mr MAA Miss Kelly yes Miss ER yes Mr Cho yes vice president con yes president Justice yes motion carries and now we have recess yeah I'll take a five minute recess five minute recess e e e e e and now we will have the superintendent's comments back in okay thank you president Justice and congratulations Mr Micha president Justice and vice president con I am proud to share that we had 63 candidates attend the summit educator recruitment Expo on May 1st we received great feedback from all the participants and we're excited to continue this event annually thank you to everyone who came out to learn more about the career opportunities here in Summit and to our teachers and administrators who represented their school in exhibit hall thank you to all the parents and community members this past week who donated food and gifts to our teachers during teacher appreciation week every week is a good week to appreciate our magnificent and final announcement for the opening due to the emergency closures that we had this school year the last day of school for students is June 4 that's Friday June 14 and students will follow a single session schedule for the monthly happenings in the schools at the primary centers the second annual International night will be held in the Jefferson Elementary Gym on Wednesday May 15th from 6:30 to 8:00 P.M we have many families who have volunteered to share food traditions and knowledge about the various backgrounds of our students and families as as the end of the year is quickly approaching students are also excited for the very special events ahead especially field day which are scheduled for both primary centers this week at Brighton Elementary School for the first time in many years both Brighton fourth and fifth grade students their teams won Battle of the books the fourth grade Brighton bosses and the fifth grade Revenge of the Nerds teams earned first first place in several rounds of the book trivia against teams from other elementary schools in the district all of the students did a fantastic job and discovered new books throughout the competition thank you to our elementary Librarians for organizing this year's Battle of the books Jefferson Elementary School enjoyed the Jag play in a spring concert the fourth and fifth graders participated in these special events and we are proud of how wonderful the staff and students performed and we're so lucky to have so many talented students at Washington Elementary School they enjoyed an amazing fourth and fifth grade concert this past week students in the band Orchestra and choirs got to Showcase their talents in front of family and friends new to this tradition Mrs White hosted an art show on the same night invit inviting parents to view their artist work it was a great time had by all and at the middle school is proud to host Unity day a full school day solely dedicated to fostering social emotional growth among students through collaborative activities and service projects benefiting the local Summit Community and Beyond this initiative aims to to cultivate empathy and understanding among students for their peers and The Wider World throughout the day students will engage in various service projects gaining insight into our community's diverse range of service organizations the high school May is mental health awareness month in an effort to show support for all team dealing with mental health issues students helping students the mental health awareness Club at Summit High School is hosting events throughout the month of May for the high school community activities include making stress balls poking hosting bake sales visits from therapy dogs and planting in the Zen Garden in the world of Athletics congratulation to Summit High School senior student athletes who have committed to their to continue their academic and athletic careers in college next year Jack bronowski football Wesleyan University Jake pro prasini football Montclair State University and Nate Roberts track and field cross country bat college and congratulations to the following seniors for their selection at the 2024 Union County scholar athletes of the year for Summit High School Bridget Grennan soccer she's is captain captain of the ice hockey and Lacross teams and Sebastian Eric soccer captain and volley volleyball captain and our Varsity Boys Tennis finished second among 15 schools in Union in the Union County tournament Ben leov placed first in the second singles flight and in art the music the music program spring concerts are in full swing across the district our band Orchestra and cor students in grades four through eight have performed over the past three weeks and have done a wonderful job rounding out the concert season will be our high school ensembles who are performing on May 21st 22nd and 23rd congratulations to all of our student musicians on a successful year in music and the paper mill Playhouse announced the 2024 Rising Star Award nominations and honorable mentions and we are proud to share that Summit High School theater received 12 nominations the winners will be announced live at a ceremony at the paper mill Playhouse in Milbourne on June 11th and that concludes my report okay are turn the microphone on there you go approval superintendent's decision 83 83 I get a motion second Miss Stanton yes Mr MAA yes Miss Kelly yes Miss ER yes Mr Cho yes vice president Co yes president Justice yes motion carries there any additions orions to the agenda uh yes there are excuse me um approval of there are there was one change it's approval of the following staff members to receive the curriculum rate of $50 per hour for up to 20 hours each for the development of the reading strategy 67 and reading strategy 78 curriculum paid via time sheet we're changing dedri Kennedy and krie kahali to Aisha Hussein and Christina kinari and that's it and with that we will move into our committee reports starting with education thank you um the education and Student Activities Services committee met on May 9th from 2: to 3M for 60 minutes in attendance was yon Cho Jennifer ER president Justice Dr Corda director of curriculum instruction superintendent huff and Dr Mah director of student Personnel Services um under discussion at the meeting was the Strategic Equity plan uh Dr Mah presented an overall summary of progress on the plan the equity plan includes these priority areas access and success professional development multilingual programming stakeholder engagement and Recruitment and Retention in the first year substantial progress was made with 34 elements of the plan completed 20 in progress and two to be started in the 2425 school year some highlights include access and success shifts in both intervention and enrichment piloting new material for tier three at the elementary level and increasing access to honors na AP classes moving from an application model to an eligibility model professional development small groups explored micr credential opportunities and currently are working on creating book studies around belonging to be used for the 2425 school year multilingual programming development and implementation of new instructional materials along with opening access for students at the middle school and and creating additional scaffolded courses for students in grades 9 through 12 specifically for our newcomer population and students with interrupted education stakeholder engagement provided two-way translation devices for staff that work with the public and launched an education campaign for our policy around harassment intimidation and bullying Recruitment and Retention we were able to identify new universities to explore Partnerships with and widen our attendance at recruitment fairs across local universities while we are proud of our progress we are also committed to continuing the work in the years to come and then the committee moved on to discussing coffee with the board president the committee discussed some items regarding curriculum and co-curricular topics that came from the April board coffee and conversation a few topics discussed including the desire for honors level English and history options and suggestions to change professional development days to Fridays only on future District calendars initial discussion took place at this meeting and a broader discussion of topics and next steps will take place at Future meetings um no recommendations at this time and the next meeting is to be determined and um thank you walita for taking these notes in my absence um so are there any any additions from those attending the meeting questions from the board y there a question around excuse me um I was wondering if the commit at all talked about the US news world report rankings came out at the end of April and if there was any discussion on what were some of the drivers of the change of Summit High School ranking I know rankings in you know totality one doesn't mean everything but it would be helpful to understand if that was discussed thanks it wasn't on the agenda okay so it was not discussed on the agenda of the meeting get I was going to say then can we please add that to the agenda for the next meeting thanks thank you vice president come next would be the operations committee I will be reading on behalf of Michael cologne the operations committee met on May 8th for a total of 50 minutes Administration in attendance were Derek Jess and Kathy Sarno board members and attendance were chairperson Michael clone and both myself and walita Justice remotely we first discussed the rod grants as presented in last month's committee readout the district has qualified for the New Jersey Rod grants for roof repairs and Replacements at Brighton Jefferson lcj SMS and shs the grants available to the district total slightly more than $5 million representing 40% of the 12.16 million total estimated project cost for all four roofs the remaining 60% of the project total cost approximately 7.6 million would require funding from the district given that this amount exceeds the funding available with the district's capital reserve account the committee reviewed the option to finance the project with a bond issuance the bond issuance would be for the aggregate pro project cost of 12.6 million after the completion of the projects receipt of the rod grants would reduce the net debt for the projects to 7.6 million the committee reviewed the district's historical debt levels back to 2003 and determined that an additional 7.6 million in net debt to the district's current debt level of 51.9 million would result in the district's I'm sorry would result in the district being at the higher end of its historical range of debt as a percentage of the district debt limit however the additional debt would not res a peak of this financial ratio which happened in 2015 a formal funding proposal will be presented by the administration to the committee next month with a potential Boe vote to follow we then discussed RFC or R I'm sorry rfps and project bids the business office provided the committee with an update on the Food Service RFP process two proposals in response to the RFP were received one from the incumbent service provider pomptonian and a second proposal from arar based on the comprehensive review of each proposal the Administration is recommending that the district retain pomptonian as its food service provider for the upcoming year the committee discussed the key elements of both proposals as well as the criteria for evaluating the proposals which included food quality local food sourcing accommodations for allergies and special ter diet needs and based on the discussion the committee supports the administration's recommendation to retain pomptonian other pending District rfps include proposal requests for Physician Services Paving the shs rear driveway area and removing asbest below the floors of lcj SMS and Brighton it should be noted that the asbest in these buildings was contained and does not prod present exposure risk however the removal is related to Construction in the buildings that will be done and has offered the opportunity to remove the asbest efficiently without any disruption in addition to these outstanding rfps the business office is also preparing an RFP for the construction of the playground at Jefferson we then discussed the Food Service update the March p&l for districtwide Food Services was $3,324 bringing the year-to DAT pnl to $165,800 78942 of this year-to dat amount being derived from the federal SCA Grant Additionally the business office provided a positive update on its higher yielding cash investment vehicles which has generated $169,500 in interest year to date they also provided the committee with an update on the district's qsac quality single accountability Continuum audit which is a New Jersey Educational audit designed to monitor school system quality standards across the state the business office is pleased with the progress of the audit and does not expect any material is issues with the final qsac report the committee recommendations are the approval of pomptonian as the district's food service provider for the 2425 school year the next meeting is GBC any additions from I guess just F do you have anything any questions from the board okay are you talking about the total change in expenses or the total of their management fee so the management fee for the current year is $157,000 the management fee in next year's budget is $169,000 but the reason for such a large increase is because the New Jersey Department of Agriculture is now requiring additional items to be placed in the management fee whereas before they were not so for this year be included in the management fee is also fingerprinting costs manager travel expenses auditing costs time and attendance software reporting training for their employees as well as advertisement for their employees and the nutritionally analyzed menu services so if you back out those costs and treat them separately as they were charged for this year their actual management fee increases only 1% okay we are now now moving on to the policy committee and the policy committee met on Wednesday May 8th for 30 minutes uh board members and attendance were myself uh Jennifer ER and Eileen Kelly who were both um via video and committee members and attendance were Rob Gardella discussion items policy 2200 curriculum content mandatory revised policy 2200 revisions include replacement of the protected categories list with the code ation States requirement for superintendent to develop procedures to address and eliminate bias the curriculum committee recommendations are first reading 2200 second reading of policies 1140 2260 and 5570 regulation 2260 policy and regulation 5530 our next meeting is to be scheduled Jennifer I do you have anything any other board members have questions thank you and we will move on to Communications the communications committee did not meet this month month but I do have two things to share uh first the communication survey the summit Public Schools distributed the links to the school-based communication survey to all parents and staff members on Monday May 6th the survey will remain open for people to respond for the remainder of the week and will close on Friday 17 we are encouraging all parents and staff members to fill out the survey and order for the district to evaluate its practices and make improvements for necessary and of course as you all know the board is reorganizing so the board reorganizes during this may meeting and we welcomed a new member to the board a press release will be distributed tomorrow to introduce the community to our newest member as well as inform who's taking leadership through presidency and vice presidency this a standard practice after each organization meeting and moving on we don't have negotiations I don't believe yes um negotiations and Personnel committee met twice in the past month on Monday May 6 11:30 one hour committee members Michael cologne Jen ER and myself along with staff superintendent Scott Huff Rob CA and Derek Jess discussing confidential contract uh Personnel contract matters and we also met again uh earlier today May 13th uh at 300 pm. for two hours for the same topic and same people in attendance and then we can move on to leison reports that's saw appr totaling $47,375 there's endless hard work time and energy put putting put into reviewing and approving the grants each cycle in this spring was no exception so on behalf of the entire board I want to say thank you SCF is an enormous gift to our district and we not only see but appreciate the tireless dedication involved um their year in review spring for excellence brought in $110,000 this year so it was again a large success General donations were up 63% this year with donors giving at higher levels um more money but less donors and their spring for excellence date is already out so save the date for March 8 2025 the last meeting of the year will be June 4th at 800m where they will finalize their board slate for next year thank you thank you any other no okay then we will move to public comments yes thank you madam president um anyone wishing to speak shall first seek recognition by the presiding officer please come to the microphone and state your name and address in a clear audible tone for the record please direct all comments to the board president and not an individual member of the board please remember to conduct yourself with the Corum and respect on speaking and addressing the board unless additional time is granted by the board president please please keep your comments to three minutes or less in addition please note that this portion of the meeting is for public comment and not meant to be a back and forth board members and administration will not respond to questions or comments at this time however information will be provided by the appropriate individual as soon as possible so we're open to the public if anyone would like to comment and seeing none on agenda items well on agenda items first and then on non-agenda items don't all Rush up all right seeing none may may we have a motion to close public comment please thank you Miss Danton thank you Mr Cho any discussion all those in favor any opposed so moved approval of our board minutes any discussion all those in favor any opposed any extenstions motion carries culum instruction program any discussion Miss Stanton yes Mr maicha Miss Kelly yes Miss ER yes Mr Cho yes vice president con yes president ke president Justice yes motion carries [Music] any discussion Miss Stanton yes Mr M Miss Kelly yes Miss ER yes Mr Cho yes president con yes president Justice yes motion carries School Board operations motion second any discussion Miss Stanton yes Mr maicha Miss Kelly Miss ER yes Mr Cho yes vice president con yes president Justice yes motion carries personel through motion please any discussion Miss Stanton yes Mr MAA yes okay I'm sorry I didn't hear Miss Kelly yes Miss herde yes Mr Cho yes vice president con yes president Justice yes motion carries policy any discussion Miss Stanton yes Mr maicha Miss Kelly Miss ER yes Mr Cho yes vice president con yes president Justice yes motion carries meeting can I get a motion second any discussion all those in favor I any opposed any extensions and the motion is carries and we are adjourned at 7:42 thank you e e