good everyone I would like to welcome you to our April 16th 2024 Board of Education meeting we are calling to meeting the meeting to order at 711 p.m. and if everyone could please rise for the Pledge of Allegiance a reading of meeting notice 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 interest is discussed or acted upon in accordance with the provision of the act the Verona board of education has caused notice of this meeting to be published in the Star Ledger posted with the township of Verona and the Verona Education Association iation posting of this meeting setting forth the time location and agenda were posted at the Verona Board of Education Office and on the Verona Public Schools district website copies of tonight's agenda and resolutions have been made available to the public via Board of Education website Mr CH can you please call attendance Mr wer here Mrs Vella here Mrs Farrar here Mrs prisco here m the Boon here we have quum thank you moving on I motion to approve our resolutions from our regular session meeting on March 26 so moved motion by Mr WKA second and five I'll second thank you moving on um to our agenda roll call roll call I'm sorry Waka yes Mrs frella yes Mrs Farrar yes Mrs Brisco yes Mr Boon yes motion passed thank you call up our athletic director so now I'm gonna call up our athletic director Mrs P if you could please come up to the podium for your presentation good evening everyone tonight I will be doing a winter recap up until yesterday I felt like with this weather we were still in winter sports um so hopefully we'll get some Spring weather going forward um I encourage everyone to follow the Verona Athletics um Instagram um there you can see all the excitement of our sports teams and the amazing accomplishments of our student athletes um starting off with boys winter track this winter season for boys track went very well the boys took second at sec's and second at State sectionals Ian zooki was the champion in the 800600 and 3200 meters he was the county champion in the 800 3200 and he was the state sectional champion in the 800600 and 3200 Ian placed third in his favorite event which is the 1600 and he qualified for me of Champions um Ian broke the school record of Dave AER if anybody knows that name um he was the gr of Runners back in 2008 um so for Ian breaking that School record that's an amazing accomplishment for him um he um broke the 800 meter record with 15867 so it's two laps around the track in less than 2 minutes amazing um seven boys qualified for group championships and I'm very happy to announce for the first time ever winter track and field is recognized for All Conference recognition first team Ian Zusi and Michael slar honorable mention was Jack Ladson and Michael Kastner swim the boys and uh girls swim team competed in the Liberty division their home pool again was the Montclair YMCA Sophia bof broke her own School record in the 100 freestyle she also received all conference honorable mention and on the boy side Kaaya gumay also received honorable mention wrestling the wrestling team finished the season with a 12- 14 overall record competing in the SEC Liberty division the team was 5 and one won the team finished ninth overall in Essex County the varsity team qualified for State sectionals the team participate in two JV tournaments as well individually the team had three wrestlers with 30 plus wins and two others with 20 plus wins at The District Tournament four wrestlers qualified for Regions at regions all the wrestlers won their first rounds and Jesse Wagner finished at the RW B1 level Jake Ferry qualified for the state tournament with a second place finish at regions he also achieved the 100 Victory Milestone this year finishing his career with 104 victories this achievement is even more impressive with his freshman year being a covid year limiting him to fewer matches than a regular career may have first team was Jake Ferry Joel Gonzalez and John stockelberg second Team all Liberty division was Jesse Wagner Christian Lori and Gavin gch honorable mention was Dante Palmer and Joey volon on to cheer now this is my first time as athletic director that we've had a winter cheer for our basketball programs and it was amazing the program got off to a great start with over 30 girls on the team the cheerleaders were led by senior Captain Alexandra Pama and co- captains Kayla Esposito and carart the girls cheered for both of varsity boys and girls teams each week each game the girls cheered from the bleachers during the action-packed games and performed an amazing halftime show during the winter the cheerleaders were also busy with getting our new competition cheerleading program off the ground Verona High School hasn't offered this program in over a decade and cheerleaders loved bringing it back to life to represent Verona High School the team was led by Juniors kamani McMillan Brooklyn vodka and Mia nicolato the girls worked hard learning new choreography and stunts and they went to four local competitions this season the girls placed at each of these competitions and each week they increased their skill level to end the season off at the New Jersey state competition boys basketball team finished with eight and 17 record while competing in the colonial division at the super essic conference there were many highlights this season beside despite the losing record both both our freshman and JV teams had records above 500 and each advanced in their respective County tournaments the varsity team took second in the annual Holiday Tournament The Varsity also Advanced to the first round of the county tournament off the court the team raised over $3,000 in their annual Shoon which get shared between their program and St judee's children's hospital they also collected used sneakers that were donated to got sneakers um they did this indirectly with the science department and it's a company who recycles use stre sneakers for redistribution John Luca chetto was um Colonial division All Conference honorable mention BGR ice hockey the vgr team lost 14 seniors to graduation last year and was prepared for a rebuilding season as the time began to come together as a team began to come together they showed some great signs of success by taking fourth out of 14 teams at the annual Essex County tournament vgr battled through a tough schedule but persevered to secure a second place regular season finish in the Kelly division in the njih HL just falling one game short of winning the division vgr opened the playoffs with a 5-1 win over Scotch Plains advancing to the finals against League champion Glenn Rock Glenn Rock beat vgr twice during the regular season by the scores of 4 to1 and 8-2 now why am I telling you this the final was an epic battle that will go down in history in the longest game in New Jersey hockey history taking five overtimes and 83 minutes to decide vgr beat Glenrock 2-1 to win the Kelly cup for the second time in the last three years um and as Reese reminded every everybody at the last um it's not about the wins and losses um she mentioned the sportsmanship award and vgr received for three times in the last four years the njih HL sportsmanship award overall it was an incredible successfully uh successful season for vgr hockey Jack McAvoy received second Team all conference girls basketball the girls varsity basketball team completed the season with an overall record of 19-8 12-2 in the SEC Colonial Division and sharing the conference title with pay tech they had a second place finish in The Holiday Tournament Advanced to the second round of the Essex County tournament and the quarterfinals of the njsiaa north 2 group two State sectional tournament the girls junior varsity basketball team completed the season with an overall record of 16- two they won the JV Holiday Tournament and played second in the JV S6 County tournament Jada Bednar was first team Colonial division Cali jaam MAA and Leah Hagerty were second team and Morgan Rossy were honorable mention all underclassman girls winter track and field the girls won their second consecutive State sectional Championship they were SEC Conference champions as well 10 girls qualified for group championships Gwen Neil was sec conference 800 meter Champion State sectional 800 Champion State group 800 meter Champion she medled in the 800 meter at the eastern state championship and she was a me of Champions qualifier in the 800 meters Mali O'Neal set a new school record in the 55 meter dash Gwen was first team all Group 1 800 and Mali was third Team all group 155 meters again the first time ever winter track is receiving all conference recognition for Liberty division first team went to Gwen Neely margarite Valera Lucia Grant Lauren Foley and Victoria niic second team was georgeanne Valera and Lauren chupek an honorable mention was malie O'Neal and Isabella Lambert very successful season uh winter season for our student athletes I'm so proud of each and every one of them thank you thank thank you Mrs Palmer for that amazing update it was very energetic maybe it's that Verona sweater you have um but no thank you I mean our students are so amazing and that was just but I would like to say thank you to our athletic director Mrs P for all that she does throughout the season but also for making those calls to make sure that the track team got recognition that they just truly deserve that they had not been getting and it was it was because of her that she reached out to um the conference and I believe the secc athletic directors to make sure that this was these students were recognized so thank you and I still say that after that pink out volleyball G uh basketball game we should have drove over to Cody Arena because we would have caught the fif the overtime game for sure but thank you again for everything and thank you to our congratulations to all our students on a great winter sports season moving on to our superintendent report good evening um one of the things that we've been hard working at and really researching uh using Mr Trent uh his expertise and Department of Education uh regarding the change to the non-resident tuition uh law that um is was enacted I guess earlier in um 2023 and is set to take uh effect September 2024 um there's one word in the new law that um is no one knows what it means so it it talks about the um board having a uniform T cost tuition cost um the interesting thing about the uniform tuition cost on March 5th 2024 we received a memo from the state that gave us our tuition costs are and it's not uniform so um I called the I asked Mr Trent and he looked at the law and it's not clear in the law and then uh I reached out to the county superintendent's office and spoke with the county ba and um they don't know so he reached out to the Trenton to the Department of Education and Trenton and they don't know so um I was counseled that we should go ahead and improve our tuition rates as we were um going to approve them and as we get clarification on the law we can update that for the following school year so it'll be okay for next year um but there was uh also other iterations of the law that said that we are required to use um our per pupil cost which is I think what the board was aiming to get to anyway um but I did then find uh another version of the law that doesn't have that particular um state in it so we're really waiting for uh the department to cify it and that's really just can you hear me when the legislature decides to um medal in education um then the Department of Education has to codify it or make the administrative code and that's where some of these things get worked out but right now um everybody's flying by the seat of their pants because no one knows what's going on um so you'll notice that the tuition costs are back on the agenda for tonight and it's kind it's a bad time to have this conversation because people are applying to our district and we don't know what to tell them with regard to what it's going to cost so uh approving that tonight will will um help us out and help the the folks that would like to send their children to our school district um so uh it's that time of year again I can't believe it uh this is I think the fastest school year on record even though it's been the same number of days as it is every year I've been setting up I began setting up my folders and started uh my component of the uh superintendent evaluation has uh started I should be done by miday third week in May probably if at the at most depending on what comes uh our way here um so that that should be we should have plenty of time to get that done by June 30th uh we are moving into New Jersey student learning assessment um Administration time uh we begin testing grades 3 and four the week of April 29th so we go April 29th to May 3rd uh those grade level students are assessed in English language arts with two units for a three-hour test um and math also has three units I'm sorry math has three units and that's also three hours the following week uh we administer the assessment at hbw with grades 5 through eight being assessed in ela with two units three hours same as the elementary math has three units for 3 hours and students in grades five and8 are also administered the Science assessment which has four units but it's three hours long the high school um because of advanced placement testing um uh for two weeks between May 6th and May 17th um they shift into njsla testing on May 20th and they test uh in grade nine with Ela um uh for two units for three hours and Algebra 1 uh for uh two units for three hours grade 11 then will take uh the Science assessment which is a 4H Hour 4 unit test once we're done with njsla our students in grades 1 through 8 sit for the last and final map growth assessment of the year and um uh then we can um start processing that in that those scores uh and information with regard to um it it's interesting to see the correlation between map and njsla and hopefully we'll see that same correlation that Dr Miller spoke about earlier in the year uh just a reminder that school will be closed on May 24th and June 4th because of inclement weather give back days we had three built into the the calendar and only used two um and we don't have to reapprovals far's advice and put the days that we would give back on the calendar when it was approved so it's an automatic thank you for that and uh just a word about high school commencement 2025 not this one next year we uh may have to move the date of high school commencement um Mr Cogdill his son is graduating on the same day at the same time and I'm quite sure he can't be in two places at one time um but uh it's we I've experienced this in the past we can actually graduate them a day early the only fly in the ointment is the plan for rain and colge and um cell University because we do hbw in the morning and the high school in the evening it's one day reservation we just have to work that out with Caldwell before we finalize that calendar so I will be coming to you with the calendar uh the 2425 calendar for a revision uh in the next probably by the next board meeting and since we've only had a week of school since spring break that's that's all I have tonight thank you questions comment just uh one question for me on the um student assessments uh for for those who had already completed their AP exams um how much of a grain of salt do we put or take from those student assessments uh when students have just completed their APS uh you mean in terms of their fatigue level yeah and their focus level yeah there I mean a lot so many of our students that don't take APS will sit for the njsla for several years in a row if you were taking an AP English test they wav the njsla for you they stopped doing that the state stopped um allowing that um I think the difference in level between the AP test and the njsla in English is so vastly different that our kids just those kids do really well anyway um I wish we didn't t our kids to death um it is better than it used to be I can say that we used to test them a lot more um especially when Park first came out that they were um several more hours in each level um so I think it's probably not the best situation and we've you know we've talked to the state we've talked to luckily we have a window it used to be the window was much smaller so they really were like back to back to back um and it's only the ninth graders taking y La so um not that many of our ninth graders are taking APS in the 11th grade though you get a lot of kids taking the science and and uh and taking AP test so that's the one day is or the two days they do it over two days and correct me if I'm wrong but I think the last like few days of the AP cycle are like makeup testing sort of schedule yeah the last three days of the AP cycle is makeup so it's not they do get a little bit of a break thank you Mr boon thank you moving on to our student representative report shado so as superintendent DJ zeppy said we are a we solid week out from spring break so um short one but um the music department will be hosting its annual Jazz night on Thursday April 16th in the learning Commons so um I believe Mr flood has been heading that program this year and they'll be performing uh and the spotlight players will put on their onea Festival on Friday April 2 six so that'll feature plays written and directed by Verona students uh in the auditorium and that is it for me lastly congratulations to Michael laari for being selected as Verona High School's unon KIRO for students who aren't traditionally recognized but still have contributions to the community and we are gonna have Michael come to the next board meeting so we can honor him he wasn't able to go to the ceremony for unsung heroes so we will honor him here just one other event uh you mentioned music um uh Mr Lynch is bringing some of the Wind Ensemble to the Verona library to do a a performance um I will check the date and and put it out there because I just went and we out of my head as to what day I don't want to say the wrong date um but uh that was the first a first in this community that they're doing a um and he probably didn't mention it to anybody but they are doing they're doing a nice performance at the Verona Public Library um real quick what was the Jaz date for that uh this Thursday April 16th I believe there's like a signup link that's been circulating and around the high school yeah also how's it going with um the representative for next year any success with that so I did host an interest meeting a few like before spring break uh got about like got a roughly like four sophomores coming up so there is interest and it's an elected position and uh so yeah elections will be to my knowledge be held in uh like September October again next year with the regular student council cycle so I I just pulled up the date it's uh will be at the library May 4th from 1 to 1:30 and it's chamber winds on we are going to into our um committee reports so we have our athletic our athletic committee mat thank you um so just a briefing we um at our meeting we had on April 12th we spoke um and thank you to Mrs pom and also to Spencer they got huddle TV the live stream so now all of our games that are taking place out on um SLO fields are live streamed so soccer football lacrosse boys and girls are all live live streams so that is up and running so thank you to Spencer for making that happen and Mrs pomy um I I spoke about the All Conference win track spring Leadership leadership took place um with our students Juniors and seniors took place at West Essex High School we have on May 1st our Ann will check up on our Turk fields which are believe it or not eight years old so they come out and check the condition of the fields on the turf we've been discussing the uh freshman volleyball pay to play that would start out as a pay to play also field trips we have coming up on May 20th uh Federal challenge New York Historical sociey June 11th um VHS Spanish in Middle Spain New York and then our uh VHS cheer will be going from August 12 to the 15th to Pine Forest uh cheer camp we are looking for a um JB field hocky [Music] coach any questions or comments thank you moving on it's not on our report but um our security committee mat hi so we Wing so we did meet we just met last night so um it was our first kind of official meeting although we have communicated um was myself Miss Ferrera and Miss DJ zeppy um we started by going over some policies that we are going to uh send to the policy committee um which is myself Miss Herrera m d jeppy and M sah um and uh we want to start to make sure our policies are up to dat and are in compliance with um all the regulations that they need to be in compliance with um we also had some discussions around um you know potentially some PD that can happen um as well as um communication that we will have to do not just to internal staff uh and administrators but to our community about the expectations um when people come to our buildings um how they enter and using IDs and most people are very good at it there there's there's not a whole lot of push back like you know there probably was the first few years but we still need to make sure people are aware um things like holding the door which we are trained to do from age is you know four or five to hold the door for the person behind you is not um really acceptable as far as the security measure is there anything else I think the other uh thing was our um goal to moving forward go to the through the security plans at each building and do really a line by line to see where we can improve what we're doing well um and then also just considerations of what do we need as a district so possibly going through that line by line will help us to determine some of the work that we can do really moving forward so just a real preliminary type of meeting so that we can get ourselves organized so we can do some um real changes that if they need to happen yeah I think the one thing that that really stood out to me and leaving is that you know particularly with this policy that we find a way to update the policy and then communicate it out and ensure that the entire Community like kind of just to repeat with what you said but that's really was my biggest takeaway was the the importance of understanding and knowing what what this policy will be and the expectations align thank you does anyone have any questions or this moving on um to public comments on agenda action items only there's anyone from the public that would wish to speak on anything that we are voting on you have um three minutes please come up to the podium you just need to state your name that we'll move on to discussion items are new and old fit anyone have anything I just want to mention um P event I don't think you might have mentioned it already but the tickets are available on the website and it's Friday March 3rd sorry May third yeah and uh Miss prisco did attend the um the comedy night at uh the Verona Community Center for the Project Graduation for 2025 yes it was the Juniors um it was a lot of fun um The Comedians were excellent so if it comes if they do it again next year I would recommend um people attend because it was a nice it was a nice night out um everyone brought food and drinks and it had a really good time so and one of the comedians is um a parent from District Jessica Miranda she's FN Brown I don't know if students are in she was very funny on to our moving on to our resolutions I need a motion to approve Personnel resolutions A1 through A3 and I'll second motion by Mrs F second by Mrs fella or is there any discussion Mr Cruz if you call Mr wer yes Mrs uh brazilla yes Mrs Ferrara yes Mrs prisco yes Mr Boon yes motion carries moving on to our educ resolutions I need a motion to approve resolutions B1 through B6 motion by I'll move it I'll second Mrs motion second by Mr Bo is there any discussion I just have a question about the cheerleading it's for next next fiscal year should we be approving it in this fiscal year or next school year I guess technically I'm I know there's no cost associated with it but is it is it we can approve it in advance okay I just want to make sure that's it Mr Walker yes Mrs frar yes Mrs Ferrara yes Mrs uh prisco yes Mr Boon yes motion carries moving on toward our Athletics and co-curricular I need a motion to approve resolution C1 on motion motion by Mr Bo seconded by I'll second Mrs BR is there any discussion Mr Cruz if you could please call R Mr Walker yes Mrs brazel yes Mrs Ferrara yes Mrs prisco yes Mr Boone yes motion carries facil so we moving on to our finance resolutions I need a motion please to approve Finance resolutions E1 to E7 mov motion by Mr W seconded by second Mrs f is there any discussions Mr Cruz if you complet follow Mr Walker yes uh M Rella yes Mrs Ferrar yes Mrs prisco yes Mr Boone yes motion carries moving oncy resolutions I need a motion please to approve resolution F1 so moved motion by Mrs V second by I'll second Mr any discussion Mr Walker yes Mrs Rella yes Mrs Ferrar yes Mrs prisco yes Mr Boon yes motion carries thank you moving on to our public comment section the agenda is anyone from the public would like to speak on anything please come up to the podium you have three minutes and just state your name good evening my name is Megan pelino full disclosure I Mar I weigh wear many hats in the district I am a teacher in the district for 26 years I'm also co-president of the VA but tonight I am here as a mom and a hockey mom I'm here to comment on the last board meeting's discussion regarding the renewal of the Verona Glenridge ice hockey Co op agreement for the next two years first and foremost I'd like to thank the board for voting for the renewal of this agreement for the next two years I was very surprised and a bit perplexed as to the concern a few board members had in renewing the contract for the next two years with Glenn Rich the fact that a few board members W were uneasy over a $24,000 payment for the co-op hockey program is very concerning if we as a district and you as a board are concerned over 24,000 and perhaps we need to look at other areas in the budget for savings the Verona Glen Ridge hockey program has been around for 30 years and to consider eliminating the program would be a disservice to our students and to the district I am a hockey mom my son is 10 years old and has been playing hockey for several years ice hockey is his passion my son does play at the club level but is looking forward to when he can play vgr in high school when he's unable to go attend vgr games he watches it on YouTube from his bedroom to Mr Boon's comment that if Verona High School hockey goes away it is not that these players are lacking in other opportunities to play hockey I disagree with the statement it is a parental decision to have your child play a club sport yes many kids on a club level and in a variety of sports not just limited to ice hockey if you pulled many sports many kids play at a club level however we would would we no long longer offer these Sports at the high school level just because the kids are playing Club I don't think so kids May Club may play Club Level Sports but in the end it is their hope and their desire to play that sport in high school being part of a high school sport club or extracurricular activity Fosters a sense of belonging and pride in representing their School Mr Boon also statement that the concern of losing something is minimalized it is not equivalent to to losing football or baseball I respectfully disagree with everything in that comment the loss would be massive to the current hockey players and the future generation of ice hockey players the ironic thing Mr Boon is that your son played ice hockey at VG VHS for vgr however now you find it pertinent to get rid of a sport that your son was able to partake in taking that opportunity away from current players and future ice hockey players and past ice hockey players that like to come back and watch the sport that they love playing the ice hockey program holds a special place within our school's extracurricular offerings serving not as not only a source of athletic achievement but also a pillar of unity camaraderie and personal growth for our students through this program students have had the opportunity to learn invaluable life skills such as teamwork discipline and resilience all while representing our school with pride and sportsmanship discontinuing the ice hockey prent would not only deprive current and future students of these opportunities but also send a distressing message about our commitment to providing diverse and inclusive extracurricular activities ice hockey like any sport provides a unique Avenue for physical activity skill devel skill development and social interaction catering to students with varying interests and abilities while I understand the need to make difficult decisions regarding budgetary constraints and resource allocation I urge the board to explore alternative solutions that allow us to preserve this ice hockey program that has been here for 30 years thank you thank you m is there anyone else from the public hello my name is jennif fro Sullivan I'm the parent of Graham larof who is a current freshman that plays on the vgr hockey team um I was not prepared to speak today I wish I was um so this will be more from the heart um so I just learned that this was up for debate about 10 minutes ago I put on my Verona sweatshirt I got in the car I grabbed Graham and I hustled on over here because it was that important to us and I told Graham this is how decisions get made that when if we found out that BGR was cancelled it would have been shocking to us and we' have thought how did we not know this and we would have to live with the idea that we had a chance to save something that we loved and we didn't do anything so I finished my quesadilla dinner and I hustled on over here with my brown sweatshirt and my son who plays on the hockey team um we're freshman this year I'm new I'm a new hockey mom I'm a new Verona High School mom and I can't believe that this would be up for debate it has been such an honor to be a part of such a great program that has offered so much to my son and to my family this year it's been amazing to be a part of a team that won the Kelly Cup this year that one um that was a part of New Jersey's longest hockey game ever I think to see those boys on the ice after 3 hours of playing was phenomenal my my husband and I have been going to the games this year to support our t Team to support our town to support our son and we have been amazed that um honestly that there Verona isn't more behind our team because it is so amazing um and we have learned that some years there's more Glen Ridge par participation and other years there's more Verona participation and we're just hoping that we have a few more years to build that momentum that has a long Legacy so that my son will continue to play that Verona other Verona students will begin to play so that's why I'm here today thanks thank you Kathleen Lin keing um a fellow former hockey mom still a hockey mom as with adult children and also a vgr board member for an extensive period of time because I am aware that sometimes the numbers are not there and they need Verona people to step up and I was a vgr board member for two extra years while my sons were in college so two schools one team that's all that really needs to be said tonight when a community of two different schools with two different backgrounds come together and play a sport that they love I grew up on Long Island every High School had hockey when I came to Verona and moved here and learned to love Verona I could not tell you how excited I was that there was a hockey program I knew my husband who does not even know how to skate would have boys that played hockey we tried for our daughter but she had enough being a fan what I will tell you about the two schools is to this day my sons who are here in in the room who are a captain and assistant captain of the 2019 team will tell you that they are still friends with their hockey players that they grew up with they're in adult two adult Leagues with vgr students that they played with my boys played for the blues and they played for a long time they were never on the winning team they never won the politics to be on the best team but what I would tell them is when you got to high school that's when you'll win freshman year Rookie of the Year BGR heart of the gold Year Award winners sitting in this room and they were the mcginness Cup champions they were also the team that beat Montclair for the first time in decades that they were able to beat Monclair what I'll say to you not all kids finish Club hockey my boys chose to focus on their Sports to focus on being on student council here at the school they focused on the other sport that they played they they played lacrosse they focused on having their sister here and doing the Verona rescue squad for their Community when you ask an NHL hockey player when they get to play with USA on their shirt they will use a shirt that says the United States of America and being on the American team versus it's saying the Rangers or the Islanders I will tell you those kids that come from blues or whether it's the Wolves they will oh I'm out of time but I will tell you they will choose their vgr shirt anytime all right I send over to my son yeah hello uh I'm Jared keting uh great speech mom uh and the previous ones too um I would just say um some of my best memories from high school were playing for vgr uh so I wouldn't want to see the program uh go away and not give the other Future Kids opportunities to compete for their the school um definitely preferred playing for vgr over any club team I've ever played on uh it was nothing like seeing the big V on the front of the jerseys so definitely a lot of fun um I I would say playing for this school would made me like a better student it kept me focused it kept me disciplined um just like any other athlete would say about their other um school programs here so um definitely try to keep the program alive uh I know my brother has some words he wants to say as well just quick but thank you hello everyone uh I'm Harrison keing I am a 29 19 graduate of Ron high school and I actually had Mrs pelo in the third grade at effing Brown um so uh I had a whole speech written but I'll just abbreviate so as I know there might be differing opinions amongst board members I urge you to consider the immense value that the hockey program brings to our school and Community for many of us former players it was a fundamental part of our high school experience fostering camaraderie discipline and a strong worth work e ethic both on and off the ice uh one of the unique aspects of our hockey program is that uh the team culture is cultivated through collaboration through Verona and Glenn Rich high schools by joining forces we have created not just a team but a family many of us many of the players I've had the honor of skating with uh are still my close friends and we continue to play in several men's leagues together carrying on the bonds we forged on the ice uh beyond the personal development Fosters the hockey program also cont contributes to the overall reputation and spirit of our school it showcases the talent and dedication of our student athletes drawing positive attention to their own high school and fostering a sense of community Pride eliminating the hockey program would not only deprive current and future students of the opportunity to participate in a sport that they love but would also sever a vital link to our school's history and tradition for decades hockey has been an integral part of Rona High School's identity and to discard it would now be a disservice to all those who have contributed to its Legacy thank you for your time and consideration thank you else hello um my name is Graham I'm a current vgr member and I don't play club or anything so if vgr went away uh I'd be not in the best shape because I'm not the best player ever and that's why I love vgr you know it's such a tight team we had a roster of like 12 or or like 15 it was more like a family than a team really like we all bonded we all had connections no one had problems with someone on the team it was just one big family yeah that's it pretty much yeah any else thank you very much for coming out sharing okay so our next schedule meeting is held for April 30th 2024 confid confidential session at 6 p.m public session at 7M in the High School running comes I need a motion to the meeting and we do need confidential it's non 10e review motion sure my motion second second all in favor it's 8m and we are going