##VIDEO ID:s3Tp0SYaUWg## e e e e e e I'd like to call this meeting to order Mr mustell roll call please oh thanks Miss aosta here Mr Bono here Mr foki here Mr medo here Mr Rivera here Mr sabran present Mr Silva here Mr Holmes here Mrs kispa present and Mela juliani Giuliani thank you okay thank you in compliance with the New Jersey open public meeting law commonly referred to as the Sunshine Law the vinm board of education has caused notice and posting of this meeting to be sent to the following announcing time place agenda Etc The Daily Journal SNJ today the Press of Atlantic City V Bueno the clerk of the city of Vinland and the administrative office public bulletin board I'd like to ask the Winslow Elementary safety patrol to come on up and would everybody rise for the flag salute please flag of the United States of America and to the for it stands naice [Applause] would you please give them their certificates for thank you Mr mustell is there a resolution for executive session there is now therefore be it resolved that the Board of Education of the City of Violence school district will convene an executive session for the following reasons it's outlined njsa 10 col 4-12 discussion is about a collective bargaining unit agreement and pending litigation and any matters falling within the attorney client privilege to the extent that confidentiality is required in order for the attorney to exercise her ethical duties as a lawyer do I have a motion and second motion roll call please Mr Costa yes Mr Bono yes Mr fi yes Mr medo yes Mr Rivera yes Mr sabran yes Mr Silva yes Mr Holmes yes Mrs Scott ESP spotti yes thank you motion carries to resolution we'll go into executive session after the two presentations that was the plan yet Mr Yano do we have any special presentations yes thank you we have two special presentations uh for the first present presentation I'd like to ask Mr uh Greco principal of Durand Elementary School to meet me at the podium over here [Applause] this evening we have the opportunity to celebrate one of our very own teachers who has been recognized recently by the Department of Education our very own karolina Mills has been identified as the Cumberland County teacher of the year so let's hear for Carolina Millers thank you thank you just just come over here so tonight we wanted to take a moment to recognize the work that she has done on behalf of her ESL students at Durand elementary school and just to share with her how proud she makes us being being identified as the Cumberland County teacher the year and the work that she'll be doing for the rest of the years representing Cumberland County throughout the state of New Jersey providing professional development and working with the youth and Educators throughout the state so again congratulations on a job well done you make us very proud now I'm going to put someone on the spot there you go maybe not he has look at that some notes and uh she was also a state finalist that should be mentioned as well so if we could give her another round of applause for that there are two words that come to mind every time I'm asked to describe Carolina Mills and if you know her these words will make perfect sense resilient and Relentless maybe these two terms aren't always synonymous with education however if you know her and the story of her journey they make perfect sense she has overcome and endured a great deal to get to this point and she is also the most Relentless teacher in every possible way as her husband knows that I have ever met she is not willing to ever accept defeat and certainly will not accept anything less than the absolute best for her students it uh she truly represents everything great about Durand and our district so if you could please join me again in congratulating the 2024 25 kland County teacher of the year and state finalist Carolina Mills get a picture another big round of applause for kolina Mills next I'd like to invite Mr Ishmael bermudes our director for special projects and operations and Mr Cooper to recognize students who participated in the mentors on the green summer program all right so I'm going to begin by uh introducing Mr Cooper uh and mentor on the green um I had an opportunity at the end of the summer to actually attend uh their kind of culmination ceremony uh over the summer they held a program with students from the community several students of which were some of my former students actually which I was impressed to see them there and several other schools within the district um just about a week ago I had a chance to meet with Mr Sinclair Mr Cooper and their team um to share a little information with us about mentoring the green and the program that they're looking to uh Bridge uh golf with you know again real world um problem solving for students and really being able to teach them life life lessons through the game of golf so I'm going to turn it over to Mr Cooper to share a few words about the program and we're looking forward and thank you to the board for recognizing the students for completing their that program Mr Cooper well we back here again and I love the energy every time we come this time we came with a team um the program was a seven-week program over the summer but it's actually a 10we after school program so the next program will be October the 16th held at the arm Center and it will be indoor so we're excited to see how this is going to turn out we got the turf ready we got the hit and Nets ready and we're going to run once a week for 4 hours every Wednesday but our goal is to get this into the after school program um out of the 31 kids we graduate 32 was in the program one didn't make it because of personal reasons at home but all 31 graduated so that's a 99.9% success rate give it up for them out of the out of the young men and young ladies that we have that's a part of the mentoring agreement dream program 99.9% of them didn't want to play golf but because of the responsible parents because of the parents that hold their self and their children accountable they didn't let them quit by the second week you couldn't get them out the golf program because we mix mentorship activities with the life of golf and we teach them it's just not about the life of golf is about the the life of game right so the kids comes from 15 different cities viin is the biggest we have 17 graduates from violin but the program was so deep and near and dear to our hearts these kids don't graduate they go on we just bring a whole new group in now so now going to the arm Center we're going to have a total of 50 kids we're getting ready to bring in 25 more kids because there's a need for this program this program must be in the school systems it's is is nothing else to talk about we have a curriculum that we built out so it's not just us being mentors it taught the adults it taught the kids everything about this program because guess what it was never planned this program was never planned but it was planted understand where I'm coming from anything you do in life you got to plan you start school you got to get um lesson plans you start football you got to get the game plan this was planted into us from God so this is a solid foundation this is not going anywhere um Atlantic County went us selum County went us us a center gave us a $10,000 check for a first graduation for a new program so when organizations such as that jump behind you they've been in the business for a million years NJ fors been in the business for a little time to know what's good and for them to jump behind this program this program is not going nowhere I moved back from Atlanta a year ago because it was too much crime and too much murder here I'm born and raised here and I haven't left since I'm not going nowhere until we take this program all around the country it's needed so I'm going bring up one of our um a parent at the time but now she's we call everybody coaches so this is this is Millie she handles all the communications so what we'll do to make the the time go fast we'll call all the kids up at one time and then we'll go ahead and congratulate them and you can give them a certificates give it up for Miller um first uh thank you for the opportunity to come up here and um and and speak uh because this is a very incredible program I'm speaking on behalf of um a parent okay uh single Hispanic mother with two kids neither one of my kids are into any kind of sports they don't like basketball they don't like football they just not with it right so they like to draw um my daughter likes to sing and aside from that they're not open to any other um activities um being transparent they weren't open to the golf either but once we got there um and the kids United once we started incorporating the mentorship piece once we started to get the golf clubs in their hands and started to teach them about what it was about um like Coupe said it really is not about the game of golf it's about The Game of Life there there was no there was no turning back my kids are went from not wanting to to you know not knowing about golf to being on the front page of Atlantic City Press for multiple times now these kids are now um a part of this program and it has become a family so I urge you to support this program for other kids that are not into the sports like you know like like football or or or or basketball these programs from Young to you know to they're done school they're able to be a part of it but with this program they are able to have an alternative to that and with this program as you know it's no secret that some of the biggest deals are done on the golf course and there has this has never been accessible to them so now these kids are able to go in and learn life lessons and put them in a different platform so I don't want to take up too I could go on and on and on of the reasons why you should support this program but I promise you this will not be the last time that I will be up here so I'll save some for the next time that I'm here and I'll allow everyone else to speak thank you so much so we got right here so these who we have right now we have other kids coming but we um take the certificates and walk it back over we have a Devin Austin conratulations Joseph capriotti Joseph congratulations NY cobs okay how about Darius Finch Donovan Finch Ariel for Marcus uh folks Marcus Michael folks Sir Michael folks Jaden Cooper Jaden Le better te Le better I think that's it Milan Milan there go L we'll give you these you yes I will than you so good job where can we take the picture right yeah they're going to take e e for we're going to retire into executive session 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 does anyone have any questions on the hi report seeing none the approval of minut September 4th 2024 combined meeting and executive session any questions or comments do I have a motion so move SEC second roll call please Mr Costa abstain Mr Bono yes Mr foki yes Mr medo yes Mr Rivera yes Mr sabran Mr Silva yes Mr Holmes yes Mrs cispa yes motion carries do we have any committee reports Mr fi yes good evening the finance committee met Tuesday October 1st at 8: a.m. via Google meet in attendance was Mr mustell Mr Yano miss kriy miss kespa Mr Silva Mr Rivera and myself following topics were discussed grants an aid grants and Aid uh Wheaten grant for the Arts um Triad is helping apply for the Android Lloyd Weber Initiative for VHS South Auditorium new contracts Transportation jointure with absen uh RFP for Middle School reading math Intervention Program uh following facilities topics we're using maintenance reserve for hbac issues at rosi depalo Johnstone and Petway uh the audit is complete Food Service uh sa tier they're going to create a second lunch line and replace oven and some Refrigeration units uh also replacing the oven and fridge at Cunningham lastly we discuss litigation settlement minimum wage and fiscal year 2526 state state a thank you Mr Rivera good evening the facilities committee met on Thursday September 26 at 4:30 p.m. via Google meet in attendance are Mr medo Mr mustell Mr Fu and myself uh both Mr mustell and Fu reviewed current project statuses and of the following items wislo Phase 2 HVAC Dan barcy HVAC menny's HVAC finished and closed out sr3 windows VHS North and South projects are completely done and closed out at Duran windows and doors are completely done working to close out the project by 10124 District camera bid Phase 2 all three locations Johnstone sabater D Lago and Winslow are finished projects should be closed out within the next week cameras are being named and finalizing site Maps VHS campus signage roadside signage being worked on as signage is ordered this includes the new a Sela lettering for the building land Des signage for the front Marquee is now ordered and in progress the esip RFP the Energy savings Improvement plan is in motion site inspections are taking place and a complete review meeting is scheduled for 10:4 BHS North and Memorial Roofing is completed and projects are being closed out Dan barcy roofing project is completed and working to close out the project VHS North Water Source heat pump replacement this project was awarded to Alaska and now the contract is working to see when the project can be moved forward either this school year or the coming summer uh we have a couple of emerging items Theo and rosi HVAC units uh currently 16 HV HVAC units are leaking internally both between both school buildings uh Landis structural cracks are increasingly apparent along the back wall of the gym at Landis Mr farachio met with the structural engineer and to review the situation currently there is no immediate safety issue but but Manders and migi will prepare renovation recommendation to address the situation uh technology overview Mr Fu stated the Chromebook deployment was going well the last phase of changing out third grade devices will start in October cameras the department is finishing up the backend work to accommodate for the new cameras that were added to the parking lots in the three buildings and finally Network planning the department is planning for upcoming upgrades to the network for this summer upgrades will include all endof life servers to maintain and improve the current Network Mr Holmes on Monday September 30th the curriculum instruction committee met president were superintendent Yano Mrs Demari miss galuski Mr sabran Mr Silva and myself we discussed the professional development survey results Danielson 2022 evaluation rubric which will launch uh in the 2526 school year discuss mtss and inrs Overview at plc meetings for K through 8 and High School faculty meeting in October we also discussed the nth grade academy the special education updates inclusive education Initiative icr Program size exemptions will be done referrals transfers in Jed onsite visit on Tuesday October 1st the transportation committee met president War Mr mustell Mr Bermudez M re Mr Rivera Mr Bono miss m and myself driver recap for fiscal year 2425 there are 143 drivers budgeted 135 route packages which is drivers needed field positions 136 drivers on leave five substitute drivers 17 drivers in training four the average absence is in the afternoon for the month of September uh 2024 was 13 the team compared that to 2023 September and that was 16 the averages in the afternoon for September 2024 is 15 they compared that to September 2023 and those numbers those averages were 17 registration there are 44 open registrations as of September 27th registrations completed for the month of September is 215 joiners uh bua ACV is in progress the co-op total uh year date is 13 there were two accidents with minor property damage in the month of September Personnel items interviewed for clerical positions in registration were completed yesterday uh reposting for garage inventory clerk position hired diesel mechanic to begin November 4th 2024 the assistant coordinators two completed Ruckers program one received stien for transportation supervisor backup for September the positive we had a great positive start to the uh school year tiers have helped with packages working to address any issues brought to the team's attention routing will be address will be reviewed for greater efficiency following drts improve driver attendance worked with schools to improve bus procedures significant progress to complete open registrations team completed the state mandated training ongoing for any new drivers bus evacuation Dr scheduled for the week of uh September 30th gold day was celebrated for uh Childhood Cancer Awareness preparation for district report of transported resident students will be on October 15th Vehicles two new buses delivered and integrated into the fleet six buses from Monroe Township via gov deals all buses are titled three have been inspected waiting on registrations three waiting on inspection and reg registration two new Kia uh Vans one van was titled inspected waiting on the registration one van uh will be wait we we're waiting on titled inspection and registration assigned parking areas being prepared for driver's personal vehicles thank you any further committee reports do we have a a public meeting report by the board solicitor nothing to report thank you our student representative um Miss Michaela Giuliani senior class president good evening binland high school has had a busy first month before school year even started we had our 150th anniversary kickoff ceremony on August 20th with guest speakers including Senator Testa Senator asela County Commissioner loads mayor fucci Board of Ed president kispa and superintendent Yano our first day of school was a success and a little over a week later we had our first Club fair day which made Student involvement more accessible to the student body as a whole student representatives from each Club ran a table in the gym and talked to others about their missions by the end of the day there were hundreds of signups that Friday our senior class organized our senior Sunrise a tradition symbolizing the beginning of our last year together encouraging camaraderie among our classmates we got donations from Wawa Larry's Starbucks Duncan Amigo's B Bakery crumbs Cafe and Jim mean's Bakery I personally got up at 3:55 in the morning but the weather was beautiful and feedback from the and feedback from the class was overwhelmingly positive so I can say with confidence that it was definitely worth it the following week we had our parent University and college fair where students and their parents were able to learn more about the admissions process and meet representatives from over 40 schools another key moment of our year so far has been the establishment of a student section at Kon stadium for our home football games students worked together to make banners posters and decorate their section of the stands over 150 students sat in the section and cheered on our team for their 53 to zero win against clear viiew last week's game was neon themed and this Friday at 600 p.m. we will honor breast cancer Warriors and survivors with our pink game here at Katon Stadium against Atlantic City our Freshman Class of 2028 had their officer elections today and I am proud to congratulate president lric Rivera vice president Narita Toro secretary Jameson Matlock and Treasurer Jennifer Hall on their positions this month students will be celebrating Hispanic heritage in the libraries with the help of the art program also this month we have our first Spirit Week pep rally and dance of the year for homecoming the parade in football game will be on October 19th and are open to the public that night VHS students will have their homecoming dance students can't wait to find out the theme and there have been murmur of excitement and anticipation all week for homecoming thank you so much thank you [Applause] okay now we're going to have public comment on agenda items please limit your comments to three minutes Mr mustell Dr Tom mccan good evening VY Board of Education my name is Thomas mccan uh from Holmes Avenue in viand New Jersey uh before I make my comment about thank thanking the board I want to commend the class president miss Giuliani for doing a great job um as a piece of History I love history uh the one of the principles back in the day was her grandfather Dante Giuliani and I'm sure he'd be very proud to see his granddaughter as class president she's also president of our Historical Society so good job beautiful work I want just take a moment yeah that that deserves that that deserves that I just want to take a moment to thank the committee from the V board of education for fixing our sign out in front of this building here uh the national landmark sign H it's back in place and they did it in a very economical way led by Mr Media we certainly appreciate Mr medo's input with this and his leadership it's ironic 30 years ago we went to Mr medo for work on uh some of the things we did in this building U and he's continued to be a big help to us and what we did was we we were going to put two brick things out there and it would cost a lot of money what what the board has done very intelligently and we saved the taxpayers money by putting national landmark on the bottom of the current sign so this way we are being economically responsible but we are very very proud of our national landmark school right here in the center of violence so I'm glad and thank you again for your support and fast work have a good night thank you okay Patricia aesio l good evening my name is Patricia CIO L I'm a fifth grade general education teacher uh with icr resource in one of my classrooms I am addressing the board today about concerns about the tragedy that we now call currently are in our icr classrooms and special education I've been teaching over 20 years and in that time about 17 or 18 have been in fifth grade with icr after we were departmentalized uh we lost our all day icr support which teachers plowed through that part but could not understand why with our fourth and fifth graders having the maximum amount of academic content being taught to them with the least amount of support so we've tried to plug through and pass through but now unfortunately our icr teacher is being split among fourth and fifth grade which means we have even less support to offer our students of greatest need this is extremely concerning and heartbreaking for those of us who want to help our children and are being basically tied up in the process we are technically icr is allotted an hour for ELA and 30 minutes for math 30 minutes for math tech technically that's unacceptable our icr is split and so unfortunately the magic we used to be able to make happen to maybe accommodate some of our social studies and scientists are absolutely impossible to do this year because I've been doing this so long my icr group The Root Awakening had our first science test and just as usual come on back boys and girls we're going to go ahead and start and the problem was I couldn't fit my whole group at the back table why because my class is out of compliance I have nine kids when I should only have eight and technically two pending because I have parents who have actually opted not to have um special Edge services so that their children would not leave Petway which of course is sweet in thought but they're not getting the services that they need and that is a con a deep concern for all the teachers who are helping them and want them to be successful this school year so we are asking we are here here tonight to talk to the board to please change this situation it is unfair to our students of greatest need that they are not receiving the support that they deserve to be successful this year our hands are tied and we want to do the best for them and it is unacceptable what is happening right now especially in fourth and fifth they have science and social studies all year long the maximum amount of AC and miraculously K to3 they have icr Services all day long for all their subjects fourth and fifth they are cut at the bottom and then miraculously there's room for it in a mid Middle School not only do they have icr for all their subjects but then they have resource and they also have self-contain I need to ask you to finish up please every year when we go to do our IEP meetings at the end of the year more than half of my students who are classified end up in self-contained and resource so they're not even true IC our kids we are failing them and we need to do better thank [Applause] you Jennifer Smith um I too am an icr teacher I work at at Durand where most of our classes are also out of compliance of five self-contain classes three have 17 students they are supposed to be at 16 in the icr program we have nine students each in both fourth and fifth grade and they're supposed to be capped at eight the range of abilities in these groups necessitates putting them into even smaller groups in order to meet the legal requirements of their individual education plans there are sure to be additional student students who qualify for special education services this year I'm one of those people that also teaches fourth and fifth icr I have 18 students on my roster nine in each grade in my fourth grade class I have more students on my roster than does my general education teacher I service over 50% of that class two of my fourth grade students have an Autism diagnosis and require more time which I don't have my students receive no support in science which by the way is a state tested subject or in social studies I depend on my regular Ed teachers to modify materials for me my grades are at opposite ends of the building I go from fourth to fifth to Fourth to fifth I have one prep to modify curriculum make copies plan for ELA and math in both grades I'm trying to do double the prep work without double the time my prep period does not align with either of my grades so planning with my co- teers is impossible I trust try to grab a few minutes here and there to confer with them without sacrificing my instructional time this is the first year I can honestly say that I'm often unhappy at my job I can't accept that my students have to get the bare minimum because of the environment created the number of times I've told a student I'm sorry I can't help you right now I have to go is simply unacceptable it seems we have a problem with student placement combined with a lack of hiring it's become painfully obvious to those of us in the classroom that this problem is trying to be solved on the backs of special education teachers our general Ed teachers are frustrated as well as it's up to them to assume our responsibilities when we aren't there as well as to Now function as a special education teacher regardless of their certification status we're being told that people are aware that they are concerned and to hang in there but we're not being told what exactly is being done about it we learn that actions speak louder than words and right now the lack of action is telling us that we are severely under valued and that our mental health isn't even on the radar many of us are losing sleep and sacrificing time with family in order to find a way to make the impossible possible for our most struggling students we sit in meetings reviewing test data that shows kids are underperforming and think well how can I do better we know our students aren't getting the education they legally and ethically deserve and we're knocking ourselves out trying to fix it without visible meaningful change the district is going to find the teacher shortage going from bad worse we continue to show up every day because of our deeply entrenched belief that our students do best when we are there I know I'm out of time the relationships we have with our teaching colleagues and building administrators help to balance the constant sense of failure that we experience every day and eventually those relationships will not be enough for many of us to say that we can continue doing this thank you rock s de deenis no I don't see you hi hello I'm roxand duris I'm a fifth grade teacher at depalo I'm here tonight to ask each member of the current board and those who want to be a part of the new board as well as myano and Central Administration to please please investigate reflect and discuss the many changes affecting our current school year these changes may appear to be beneficial on paper but they are dis disastrous when put into practice the list is long but I have three that I consider to be in no particular order the priority number one class size just because the state suggests 21 23 and 24 to be the limit does not mean it should be less is best communicate with your teacher teachers let them have a seat at the table ask the teachers why and when you do please listen number two grade level and I'm talking about grade level size like how many classes that are there how many teachers especially departmentalized fourth and fifth grade we should always have at least four teachers for fourth and fifth grade despite class size and saying we can we only need three why our current triage it's a triage plan for ELA and math cannot be put into practice if there are only three teachers per grade level especially for ELA why because if you're the only Ela teacher you're responsible for three classes of 80 minutes only you lose time also with the switching however the curriculum requires at least 90 minutes and if you're not teaching social studies you can't borrow from it and I don't mean borrow at the sake of social studies you integrate the two you cannot communicate with the teachers ask the teachers why this isn't working and when you do you need to really listen number three icr classrooms in fourth and fifth grade currently violent public schools are meeting the needs of the district I have special um well not even we say disabled I have disabled children in my family I know exactly what the law is I sit as a parent and a guardian and you don't meet the needs of your District you meet the needs of the kids and if you can't you send them out I don't care if it's just one kid one kid then you have a teacher for them and we cannot and they are placed at a district if you cannot do it communicate with your teachers ask them why and when you do please listen thank you for your [Applause] time Regina Merkel good evening everyone Mr Lano board members nice to see you all my name is Regina Merkel and I am the fourth and fifth grade icr teacher at pway I'm here this evening to talk about changes ineffectiveness and accountability in our fourth and fifth grade classrooms that have icr students an icr program is designed to provide support services to classified students in the general education setting there are to be no more than eight students with IEPs in the general education classroom the IEP is a legal written document that outlines a student's educational needs and it is created to ensure that a child with an identified disability Rees specialized instruction at the end of the last school year we were told that changes were going to be made in the icr setting our special education director Terry galy informed each building that a kindergarten icr classroom would be added to each of our elementary schools even though a new position was created it was decided that they would not hire anyone for this new position instead one special education teacher would now be SP split between fourth and fifth grade icr classrooms that now means that that person is doing the job of two special education teachers in state tested grades in kindergarten through third grade an icr teacher is in the general education classroom the entire day they are there for all subjects supporting the classified students and the general education teacher for the entire day which is wonderful and that is how it should be for every icr student in grades K through five sadly when our icr students get to fourth and fifth grade they are only allowed to get 60 Minutes of language arts and 30 minutes of math that's it it is now up to the general ed teacher to modify R test alloud and give extended time to these students in Social studies and science all while trying to address their general education student needs the icr students that are now in fifth grade at Petway spent most of last year without a special education teacher because the teacher transferred in November to middle school and the district put a hold on hiring someone for financial purposes the vaa had to push this issue and a teacher was finally hired April 10th so these students are in dire need of more services not less I'm not sure if you are aware but out of the eight elementary schools many's has an icr teacher all day I need to ask you to finish up please okay thank you um anyway all of our concerns are basically the same but I do look forward to working with an Administration to try to find a remedy to help our students thank you Leanne [Applause] Burns good evening I am Leanne Burns I am a fourth and fifth grade in-class resource teacher at Rossi I currently have eight special education students in my fourth grade class and nine special education students in my fifth grade class which is over the highest number of allowed students by code I also have one pending fifth grader which would put me two over my schedule only permits me to spend one hour teaching the 8 fourth graders in their specific areas of need and math the next hour is spent working with the 8 fifth graders in ela where some of these fifth grade students are currently only reading at a first and second grade reading level I then return to fourth grade to instruct those eight students in ela where again some of these students are still working on letter sounds I end the day working back with nine fifth graders in math due to high numbers of classified students in our district some students are not placed in their least restrictive environment but rather where numbers permit them to be when I am on my prep period my co-teachers are teaching and vice versa we have no time to plan anything or discuss any issues that may need to be addressed while my co-teachers are excellent teachers they do not have the specialized certification and skill-based knowledge to know how to instruct special needs students nor do they have the extra time to address their specific needs as they also need to work with the rest of the class in addition to these issues in their previous years I was always able to assist in the areas of science and social studies this includes modifying tests quizzes and classwork as well as reading tests and quizzes allowed to those who have that accommodation in their IEP this is no longer available for these students as I am not in their classrooms during those specific times so they are lost during these times and sometimes they cannot even pick up a pencil to get started imagine how these poor students feel having been taught by two teachers all day for their entire educational careers only to have that additional needed support stripped from them down to a minimal two hours a day I went into education to make a difference for the first time in my 12 years I am not given sufficient time to make an true impact in these students educational lives as teach teachers we know there's so much more than just the educational connection there certainly isn't time for the personal connections that these children need it is such a disservice to them thank you for allowing me this time to speak about my passion my students the future citizens of Vinland let's do what's right by them and hire more teachers to fulfill their education James Cooper good evening I'm back again my name is James Cooper the founder of out of bounds and mentor on a green mentorship program um what I wanted to know was how do we move forward as far as getting back into the room with the superintendent to see if we can either put together um a game plan to speak at one of the middle schools um even if we go in there for four weeks once a week and we do something um pro bono so you guys can collect the data and see how we respond to the students and see how the students respond to us um the program is just important too important for us not to um be a part of the violent Public School Systems like I said there's a lot of other school systems jumping on board um from Atlantic County selum County um we also doing a partnership with NJ fors to get into some of the schools and what we're doing right now is putting together School assemblies our first school assembly will be next Wednesday um we actually doing two separate assemblies at woodtown high school they want to see what the assembly looks like so we can move forward to do different um counties camam County k May County Atlanta County and hopefully here Cumberland County but what this assembly is going to do it's going to show the Educators the principls the counselors how we interact with kids and it's going to be 300 kids each assembly so we got two blocks and each assembly is going to be 30 minutes so we got 30 minutes to interact with the kids um I've been doing this for over 10 years speaking in schools that have a 100 kids that have a 5,000 kids we just we we really know how to bring the kids together and send a message across but at the same time allow them to have fun so that's what we want to do with this program even if we come into the violent school systems coming through a school assembly we will accept that if we had to come through and do something pro bono we will also accept that we want to get a chance to show you guys that what we have like I said earlier it was not planned it was planted and that's the difference it's it's it's it's a foundation that's strong it's a foundation that the community believes in is a foundation now that our young mentees believe in and when you have a program the hardest thing to do with a program especially if it's a new program is to get the mentees to not only join the program but maintain in the program the second hardest thing is to get the parents to buy in on the program well we have both we have the kids in the program that we can not Shake loose and we have the parents that will not allow them to shake loose so with that being said like I said earlier we graduated 31 students 17 of them go to the violent Public Schools so please take that into consideration on how we can get back into the room and like I said we'll do a pro bono four weeks pick a school and we'll take it from there thank you so much for your [Applause] time darra Bachman hi everyone thank you for the opportunity to speak today uh my name is Dar Bachman I'm the associate director for NJ fors uh for those of you who might not have heard about NJ fors NJ fors is a program dedicated to fostering uh mental health Wellness uh support for County uh Cumberland County communities and kids uh our services are available to all the schools in Cumberland glosser and Salem counties uh our services are based on tier one two and three system uh tier one is open to kids from kindergarten to 12th grade tier 2 offer services to sixth grade to 12th grades and tier three offer Services uh to students from sixth grade to 12th grade through our services with the preventative awareness at our heart all we are trying to accomplish here is to build a village as you all know and as you have heard from many many Educators here today we are raising kids we are raising our future generation with very little resource and a lot of the time it's not that we our counties lack resources it's just time and energy and connections to make those resources connect uh with NJ fors one of the biggest thing we do is we identify what kind of gaps are in the counties whether it's uh food scarcity Transportation education academic special needs whatever supports we are lacking we look through the organizations business vendors across the community to see who are a who are available a and able to fill those gaps and provide those services and then instead of duplicating or replacing those services our team funds and partners with those programs and then we bring those programs to the community when I say community it's not just the kids of course the kids needs our support but it's the Educators who needs that professional development is the family who needs that support at home how to work with those kids how to help them at home it's a prevention approach not just from home from school but from Whole Community together so the more we get opportunity to work with the schools partner with uh organizations like mentors and greens out of- bound program we can bring more supports and we can help identify and fill those gaps with me here today our biggest ask is open the doors to us let us have those meetings with the schools let us tell them where we can do we can offer assemblies for 6 to 12 graders we offer group interventions all of the interventions we offer in group are based on evidence-based practices with proven models backing it up our staff is certified and trained to focus on those I need to ask you to please of course um and our tier three is one-on-one consultation which supports on actively managing weight list which we know after Pand pandemics going actively um so thank you for your time time and please please be open to talk to us and let us work with you we are here to help the schools we are here to bring Partners like mentor and greens and many other programs who can support and fill the gaps and bring more to the community thank you so much and have a rest of your good [Applause] evening Millie irizar hi I'm back so um thank you again for the opportunity to come here and um discuss the mentor on the green program what it means to me as a parent and as a coach um where we have been able to really um get the support and uh give these kids support uh give these kids mentorship give these kids um a an alternative to um other sports and things that they may not be into um this is a great um mental health piece for them and it keeps them out of trouble out of the streets it gives them other opportunities um but I would like to um give one of the uh students the opportunity to speak for herself and say what the program has meant for her go ahead Tyle hi I'm Tyle um and first off I wanted to say thank you for the certificates of recognition um truly this experience with Mentor in the green has been so ey openening for all of us truly because all of the mentors are so supportive all of the environment like the people that we are surrounded by and the environment that we set up for ourselves is so supportive there's never any kind of judgment people aren't scared to genuinely try something new um and at first I didn't want to do golf I didn't think it would be my thing and it was the same for a lot of other people in the program but as time went on and we began to learn more and experience more together and spend time together we truly grew a family there and it was just eye opening it was great experience and something that other people in different schools that don't have that same opportunity um as people would normally to play golf um to give them that opportunity in schools so that way they can also experience that family that Bond and the new life experiences that they get to learn along with golf thank [Applause] you Maran Kennedy I believe I apologize if I didn't get that right yes how you doing uh thank you uh for the opportunity to speak to you uh my name is Marian Kennedy I uh heard about the actual program I'm an actual golfer a Avid golfer uh I came out and I started just to to help the kids uh me as a professional now I actually work for the faia um many actually uh interactions I've had through my personal life as far as professionally uh a lot of advantures that came from me playing golf uh I think that I started when I was 30 years years old I think it's an unreal and un it's great uh opportunity for kids to actually get exposed to this sport at an early age for the focus for the time and everything that it does take to actually play golf there's more deals done on a golf course is very true than it's ever done in a boardroom uh you golf becomes and golfers become more like a fraternity um there is nothing that one golfer will not do if any of you play golf thank Mr Bono that you won't do to help someone else as far as if they want to learn it and they trying to do it the whole thing golf is not something that's normally affordable to a lot of people and anything that you could do to help kids that are not privileged enough to be able to afford to go to a regular Golf Course or be in those different programs it will be a true asset for them not only at this age but it will carry them through their entire life and their entire career so anything that you could do without out of bounds and mentoring on the green a lot of us have come out we became a family we volunteered our times I took a half a day every Thursday just to come and to be with the kids and it was a true blessing to my life so I would ask you just to really consider it because it has made a not only a great impact on the children but it's also made a great impact on us too as the coaches thank you very much and please consider it also another thing as you see the shirt that I have now it was actually made by one of our minties that's the one who that's the things that we see that we see the results of how we become one family that everybody is there together working together thank you very much you have a great [Applause] day Dan Sinclair hello good good evening how's everyone doing how's everyone doing good um thank you my name is Dan Sinclair um I'm fairly new to the area this is actually my first time at a a school board meeting and listening to all the issues I see why it's important that people really come out to this uh meeting um I like to speak about mentoring the green and out of bounds as well I'm not going to take up a lot of time I just want to say um like junior said consider our program because of the impact that it has on the kids it has a strong strong impact on the kids um some kids come in again like you heard all night how it changes uh once they come in they they don't want to play golf and the next thing you know they they're loving the thing I love the fact that the kids grow the kids grow from day one up until the day time they leave our program um consider this consider the fact that kids we never know what they have going on at home and when it's time for them to leave our golf program or our mentor on the green program um those those issues seem to be gone those issues seem to be a lesson after programs with ours with our mentors so again I'm not going to hold up too much time um thank you for allowing us to come and kind of do a little bit of a mentor and green takeover at the end and uh we really appreciate it we really appreciate your time thank [Applause] you Emy Vasquez hi good evening my name is aami Vasquez uh I am apparent concerned here to express my concerns regarding our transportation department I have four children in the district at three different schools uh I have experienc some Troublesome experiences this year as I have in the past years such as waiting over an hour in the morning and in the afternoons resulting in having to take the kids late to school missing time from work most recently my three-year-old daughter was changed without notice to parents apparently um I found out there was an overflow on her bus she came home with a new bus pass and it resulted in a change in the times for pick up from 8:00 in the morning to 7:00 in the morning and uh an extra hour in the afternoon as well and that's extremely way too long long for her to ride a bus I'm currently working on other options for my child's transportation in the meantime please help the transportation department with resources or staff to remediate these deeply concerning issues I have spent hours on hold and even tried emailing not able to get through I did get one email response it was vague leaving my questions and concerns unanswered I'm going to have to go in person to try to find some resolution to these issues that I'm experiencing on a positive note in light of this ongoing Transportation problem I would like to personally and publicly thank Marissa Terina she is the vice principal at my daughter's school and um she displayed outstanding dedication and Leadership for a vice principal about the second week of school she um demonstrated exceptional commitment to the safety and well-being of the preschool students at East including my three-year-old daughter Emily um there was a substitute driver in the afternoon it resulted in significant delays um Marica uh in a remarkable display of leadership personally rode the bus home to ensure the safety of these children despite the significant 2 and a half hour delay however the reassurance of having a familiar and trusted staff member on the bus made all the difference after waiting two and a half hours for my three-year-old child to get home um so I am grateful to have such a dedicated leader in our schools Marissa is truly an asset to the school Community especially to our very young three and four-year-old preschoolers I can't thank her enough and that's it thank you Jane betti my name is Jane bassetti I work at Rosy School 27 years in the violent public school system and I would like to talk about two topics first Transportation actually I have a shout out to Mr Bermudez and his team I have to get the kids on and off the bus every day and I have seen a difference in the buses coming in and going out it is almost there to TW to 2018 in 2018 we were done 10 minutes early before our 4:00 dismissal and we're getting there I in my opinion think the transportation department is doing a great job keep up the good work another thing I would like to talk about and this goes to Mr dubba and Mr Yano I would really like to see the safe school videos all be put out by July 1st on the internet I am fortunate that I don't have to work in the summertime so so therefore I have a lot of time on my hands and I would really like to see those videos put out by July 1st I've been talking around to some friends I have a friend in the bridon school system and the bua school system and those videos are put out by July first Mr Yano I attended your meet and greet when you were a new superintendent for the violent Public School Systems I suggested the safe school videos back then and I am pleading with you now for your approval for the upcoming school year of 2526 thank you that's all the sheets I have would everyone else like to speak no see none Personnel yep requesting discussion and approval regarding personal items 1.1 1.2 just go through them excuse me 1.1 through 1.5 as noted on our agenda comments and I believe we're going to be invoking the doctrine of necessity on 1.4 yes that's correct um so in regard to 1.4 some uh actual and or perceived conflicts have been identified um particularly and I'm just placing it on the record um with Mr Rivera Mr Silva Mr Medio uh and Miss aasta which would not allow us to have a quorum and Mr fi I'm sorry and Mr foki I apologize um and as such we will need to invoke the doctrine of necessity in order to uh to proceed with board matters and to vote on the urgency of this sidebar agreement um with the vaa so that being said um all members of the board will and can vote on uh item 1.4 in regards to this approval do I have a motion so move second second roll call please Mr Bono were you the second on that yes thank you Miss aosta yes Mr Bono yes Mr foki yes Mr medo abstain on 1.2 yes on the rest I'm sorry just to clarify goad the record Mr medo um you're recusing yourself from 1 point2 okay sorry I I think we're using so I'll mark that as a recuse instead of an obate yes please is that acceptable Mr medo okay thank you yes I mean uh recuse Mr Mr Rivera yes Mr sabran yes Mr Silva yes Mr Holmes yes Mrs kottis yes motion carries requesting discussion and approval oh excuse me actually I would like to um just recognize that uh Miss marado uh will be transferring from the palto school to Memorial School uh I know we're excited to have you at Memorial and I know uh the palto school will miss you and Miss Morano is angry with us but you know she supports your transition so thank you I see you over there so thank you Miss Marcado I also want to just say a quick congratulations to uh Dr Cornish uh who will be stepping up and supporting VHS South so uh congratulations to Dr Cornish and to Deb Quinn and the team who will be supporting her as she moves into the AP act an AP role for a determined amount of time in support of one of our administrators thank you requesting uh discussion and approval of procedures and operations 2.1 through 2.6 as noted on our agenda questions or comments do I have a motion so moveed second roll call please Mr Costa yes Mr Bono yes Mr fi yes Mr medo yes Mr Riva yes Mr sabran yes Mr Silva yes Mr Holmes yes Mrs cispa yes motion carries request discussion and approval regarding buildings and grounds items 3.1 through 3.2 questions or comments do I have a motion second roll call please Mr Costa yes Mr Bono yes Mr foki yes Mr medo yes Mr Rivera yes Mr sabran yes Mr Silva yes Mr Holmes yes Mrs scottbot yes motion carries requesting discussion and approval regarding Finance items 4.1 through 420 questions or comments do I have a motion so moved second second roll call please Mr Costa I'm going to refuse myself on item 4.10 yes as to the other matters thank you Mr Bono yes Mr foki I need to recuse on 4.6 4.18 yes on the remainder you said 4.18 4.6 and 4.18 yes thank you Mr Medio yes Mr Rivera yes Mr sabran yes Mr Silva yes to all I have to recuse myself on item 4.15 thank you Mr Holmes yes M Mrs kpot yes motion carries excuse me 4.15 was that the one that I wasn't in Clos session for that is correct then I recuse myself recuse or abstain either one I'll put you in for an exstension thank you regular agenda items none proposed items for review or discussion by um board members none approv approval of itemized bill pay list for August 2024 questions or comments do I have a motion roll call please miss aosta yes Mr Bono yes Mr foki yes Mr medo yes Mr Rivera yes Mr sabran yes Mr Silva yes Mr Holmes yes Mrs cottis body yes motion carries emergent items none old business none new business none board member superintendent remarks I'll start with Mr Rivera you have two minutes so I'm going to take 10 okay all right um good evening everyone um thank you to the Winslow safety patrol for leading Us in the flag salute thank you to well congratulations to uh Mrs Mills from Durant school for being named cumin County teacher of the year uh um especially proud because she's a Duran dolphin Fins Up um um thank you to each and every person that came up to the podium to speak we we've said this before if you know we appreciate the public and employees and staff members of the school district to come and speak to us because some of these uh situations as board members were're not aware of um or where we don't know the brevity or the the the the the Ness of how the problem is or how deep the problem is um I think that we should at least have a conversation um to see what's what's going on I fully trust our team administrative team um starting with Mr Yano all the way to the rest of his his team I trust him um his decis decision-making um process but there we should have a conversation um regarding this specific issue that was brought up tonight um just to see where we are just to see if perhaps we can improve in in a way that that is could be agreeable to both sides um and I don't want to put sides we're not we're not against each other we're we're trying to as a team um solve a solution solve a problem with a with a a solution um I think also the the mentors on the green program I think at least again a conversation should be had um with the with this um group um I I I myself I just recently picked up golf um I'm not very good at it so maybe I need to meet up with them um to give me a couple pointers but um I think it's it's a a program worthwhile at least listening to a conversation and seeing what they offer uh same with the the and I I'm sorry I forget her name the the uh mental health professional that came up and spoke about the services that they provide um I think it's also something that we need in our in our society today and in our school districts whether it be for our students our staff members our teachers um we can perhaps you know see what we can do with that as well um I apologize if I butcher this shat TOA to all of our Jewish uh teachers staff members and just the community at whole on a happy New Year that begins tonight at sundown for our Jewish uh uh Community um may be a sweet uh New Year um also Hispanic Heritage Month is ongoing uh we're about halfway through um the this district is celebrating many many events um I wish I could make them to make all of them but I is is just impossible um so continue on the good work that you're doing in the school district involving Hispanic Heritage Month thank you to miss mcka Giuliani for coming and giving us a report on behalf of the senior class and um a continued success for the rest of the school year we're month in we got a few more months to go but I've always I'm always hopeful that I know and I know that we're going to have a great year in the violent public school system thank you and have a great night and uh let's go Mets oh yes next month Mrs cottis body I want to go first okay thank you to our flag saluter from Winslow School I can't stop smiling when I see little kids and happy faces and um that's the best part of the job I had for 20 years Carolina Mills congratulations again our Cumberland County teacher of the year you do us all proud I'm looking forward to working with M Marcato in her new position it seems like uh wasn't very long ago I stepped into her classroom at barcy school to take a picture of a student activity at least it doesn't seem like it was very long ago but I have a feeling that it was good luck to you Daisy um the Menor program I agree with Mr Rivera uh interesting and provocative I'd like to know some more about it we'll see how that goes and thank you to everyone especially the folks that are still here for coming to the podium tonight I know that's not easy but your voices are important and we are listening to them because they highlight highight situations and challenges that we have and how we can face them together at least begin the process of finding Equitable Solutions now except for the usual and expected first month uh problems I think has all gone well from everything I've heard um so before you know it we're going to be talking about commencement 2025 that's how it goes thank you yes I'd like to thank the flag Salters from winow school um the mentor on the green program I'd like to congratulate Mr Cooper and his team and all the students who participated on in that program uh Miss Carolina miles I'd like to congratulate you for your for the award that was given to you um Miss Michaela Giuliani thank you for um reporting to us giving us an update on the high school the state of the high school um and also I'd like to thank everyone who came to the podium who expressed exactly what's going on in our schools we do appreciate it and you know we we'll work together as a team to get some type of Equitable solution thank you Mr F nothing at this time Mr Costa good evening um I would also like to Echo my fellow board member in congratulating um Mrs Mills um as being selected for the Cumberland teacher of the the year what an honor to have um this wonderful teacher in our district um I'd also like to take it this opportunity to congratulate Mrs Marcado I wish you the very best I know you're going to do a wonderful job um with respect to the programs Mentor On The Green I actually had the opportunity to attend the graduation of mentor on the greens and I can tell you that it was a wonderful wonderful event and the support that these children had to just to see the the faces of the children and see the proud parents um as they graduated from the program um it's not just learning about golf they actually have a curriculum designed for the entire program they basically take um certain values for example perseverance persistence um values that are very very important to people as well to to all of us um but particularly students as they continue to grow so it's definitely worthwhile having a conversation and seeing if there is a partnership that can be made as well as uh the other program um I'm all for partnering with our community to try to provide more services to our kids and then speaking of services to our children I have always been very very passionate about special education um myself son um basically was a classified student um from kindergarten all the way through graduation and I can honestly say that I I was very fortunate to have Miss Ocasio L and Mrs Merkel as my child's uh fifth grade teachers um they were co-teachers and I can honestly say without any doubt whatsoever that but for the wonderful instruction that my child received um he would not be as successful as he is now Mr Bermudez you're you're one of them um I can't say enough about having a special education teacher in a classroom in a general education setting for our fifth and sixth or sorry for our fifth and fourth and fifth graders um imagine if your child is unable to read at grade level now they have to learn science and social studies on their own what if they can't read what's on the Blackboard what if they can't read the test how can you expect that child to really absorb this my child needed assistance because and needed extra time he couldn't write very well he could type thank God for computers um but we didn't learn that until later on so you know he also had attentional issues which many of these kids have and needed to be pulled out um during test taking and he flourished in that kind of setting um but by by removing a full-time icr teacher in these critical grades um it's really doing a disservice so I really hope that we as a board um and the district as a whole can really do something about um going back to what we had we can't take away resources from the kids that need it the most um it's just it's a recipe for disaster and I I really believe that ultimately it's our kids that are not going to be able to keep up once they get into the more rigorous subjects in sixth seventh and eth grade despite the fact that my child was a classified student my child was able to participate in the amsa program my child is a very smart kid but because he had the support of these wonderful icr teachers that helped him and encouraged him and gave him the skills that he needed to compensate for some of the issues that he had so please as a board I hope that we continue to fight for these kids um these kids really really need these teachers so just wanted to put that out there thank [Applause] you not to repeat what you've already heard I agree with everything that Mr Rivera Mr sabran Mr Silva and Mr Costa said in addition I would uh hope to send Rich panis a speedy recovery he had double bypass surgery on Monday and he's looking towards a twomon uh recovery period possibly three and I'd like to congratulate our football team which creamed Clear View 53 to nothing and yesterday our boys soccer team won two to one against Ocean City which is a pretty big win for them thank you thank you um I'd like to definitely congratulate the Cumberland County teacher of the year what an honor and privilege it must be Dennis Rivera says it all the time we have the best District in the state and this is a perfect example of why and support of the positivity that comes out of violent Public Schools so thank you for all your hard work and continue success um thank you to everyone that came to the microphone tonight uh especially in reference to the icr and support needed it does take a village can't do it alone uh if we do not know the problems that are at hand from the boots on the ground how can we fix the problem so you brought a lot of positive reinforcement um and ideas of what we need and what we're lacking I andan it's appreciated by the board um and we know what it takes to get up at a microphone I hear it all the time I don't agree with it I think we need to see more of this within our district and I'm proud of each and everyone of you guys that came out tonight to say what you what you said at the microphone so thank you um and I agree with Mr Medio um everyone tonight what they said and also a special congratulation to uh coach Luciano on his tennis team for making the playoffs and went having a first Victory yesterday uh and continued success in the state tournament hopefully we bring a state trophy on thank you nothing at this just a a couple announcements uh tonight we have uh a few of our uh principles here this evening and I want to make sure to uh celebrate our principles and recovering principles who are sitting over here as well for happy National principles month uh it's because of their leadership and their dedication to the school district it's um incredible where we are because it's on their back with their work with our teachers so let's just hear it for our principes who are in attendance this evening we are super excited to continue the work back to school nights have been excellent so far few to go everything has been well done well attended engag in activities and lots of connections with our community our first CPAC meeting uh is uh was on the 24th we had nearly 70 community members partners team members we have a great Focus this year which is on family engagement engaging the parents in education so it's going to be a wonderful opportunity to connect schools community and parents uh we're we're a little more than halfway through our Hispanic Heritage Month lots of activities coming up sabot having their Hispanic heritage event on the 3rd 5:30 p.m. and then on the 17th we have the memorial uh Memorial School the Latin cultural celebration from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. I believe uh Mr Rivera will be uh probably dancing that evening to the wonderful music CU he loves to dance is what I hear uh also a couple really cool events coming up this weekend uh on Saturday Devon family Festival uh hosted by New Jersey first lady Tammy Murphy here at katone 11:00 a.m. to 3 P.M uh the night before Friday night we have another uh football game uh Michaela organized an incredible student section at our last game last Thursday and it was the best atmosphere I've seen uh in my time here at Van public school so shout out to the van high school team to our administrators who supported Michaela to the students who came out it was incredible so much fun was had um October 19th annual uh V High School homecoming parade and football game the parade begins at 10:00 we March down Landis all of our board members are encouraged to participate and walk with us as we celebrate another wonderful homecoming game uh the n9th annual family fund night October 22nd 6:00 to 9:00 p.m. at valent high school it's always a great time had there so just if you have a moment come on out and get some treats hay rides music and more I also want to point out that we heard uh from some of our teachers many faces that I recognize from my visits uh to schools uh high quality classrooms very involved engaged staff members um it wasn't noted tonight but it should be said that tomorrow morning there's actually a meeting already scheduled with the association reps to discuss some of the challenges that we've heard and there's already been meetings held prior to between Kelly Castellini and Terry golski and some of our association reps on this topic of providing additional support for our students and the last two years we've added five additional classrooms to support our self-contained programs the population continues to grow we've had over 39 students transfer into the district this year uh so it is a challenge that we see we are actively working on it and we appreciate the opportunity to collaborate with the association uh to look at these issues holistically and come up with a plan to resolve and and provide a better service to our students we know it's a critical um opportunity to work with for our babies and also to support our teachers because we want our teachers to be ready to go and not stressed out providing instruction and I know that is also the mission of the special ed our student services department under the leadership of Terry gusi so thank you and that's it for me I would like to just to agree with every one of my fellow board members tonight um I do want to congratulate Miss Mills um we are so very very proud of you congratulations Miss Marcato on the move over and to Dr Cornish and I would like to say before I close that I believe um since I've been on the board this is one of the best openings of the school year that I've seen so I have to commend our staff all of our staff our Administration and especially our vinent high school people over there so I would just like to and I'm going to end it on that so with that being said do I have a motion second all in favor