e e e e e e e good evening call to order for the uh regular board meeting for the WatchOn Board of Education today's May 23rd 2024 7 p.m. please stand for the Pledge of Allegiance pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the Republic for which it stands one nation under God indivisible with liberty and justice for all welcome to the meeting of the Board of Education the Bor of Wong please be advised that in this and all meetings and the board are open to the public and media consistent to to the public open public meetings act chapter 231 laws of 1975 and that advanced notice required therein has been provided this is a regular board meeting with Board of Education of the buau of Wong at which formal action may be taken this meeting is being live streamed in District website where a recorded a recording of the meeting is also will also be posted the public will have an opportunity to be heard as shown on the agenda at points in the meeting provided to for the public to address the board recording and photograph and photographing other than the private personal use requires consent of parents or Guardians whose childrens's may be included in the image roll call Mr Karen B Johnson please Mrs aaro here Mrs Amadeo here Mr fr is currently absent Mr Gonzalez here Mrs Harvey here Mr Ang Gracia here Mrs jet here Mrs Santos here Dr Vince's Kua here thank you at this time we're going to have a presentation from Legacy construction Management Inc Mr Connor O'Brien of construction project executive you can take it off if you're too that's okay let me know if you can hear me uh good evening uh for the people who do not know me my name is Connor O'Brien project EX executive and one of the principles with Legacy construction management um I'm here tonight to give you an update on the referendum uh and the upcoming uh projects for this summer go to next slide so um so far there's a list of some of the uh highlights of the completed projects um the faculty room upgrade that was completed um we also completed the window security film case workk for Bayberry and Valley View there is other case workk that is coming up for some of the other summer projects but we did uh do that for both schools the Valley View music room upgrades uh exterior sidewalk and concrete repairs about 85% of the it upgrades uh which was cameras access controls communication systems and uh firewall um some still are on the uh closing out and I will be communicating with Aaron uh as those projects come uh nearing the end uh we also were able to to get through uh the required and known abatements um for the projects that have been done as well as the ones that are upcoming um what I put together here is just a a schedule that is visually easy to follow in in my opinion um what this is showing is just updated for uh May of 2024 um we currently are in the phase of the procurement which is obtaining all the equipment the material some material has been then delivered to the site already and stored on site trailers um but that's in the stage that we currently are in um coming in June once school lets out we'll start the construction that will go um from June July and August with uh full-on construction and then shown in the gray there is what we call the closeout phase which is punch list any open items that we need to um get closed out as well as the documentation for warranty and uh close out specifications and uh stuff of that nature um the Bayberry Valley View hbac that shows it goes back into procurement um that's for the chiller the Chillers have a very long lead time so we actually will not be um 100% complete but the stuff that we do this summer we will get that closeout documentation done so that's why it shows that go out transitioning back throughout June and July procurement still does continue as we getting material um but we will be in construction so that's why it just shows the construction base um The Outdoor Learning Commons as well as the softball field um tentatively um that's a a move in Target with the schedule right now um but uh we will look to set up some meetings and uh have conversations with the administration on the next steps with that uh in the early fall so that is potential to move the start of the design there um and that is anticipated um next summer to do work for that um for this summer 2024 projects just give an update where we're at this is for the HVAC upgrades the toilet room upgrades meteor Center renovation the front office renovation and the Man Trap in Valley View here uh we're going to have another on-site coordination meeting right before the construction starts make sure everybody's on the same page and there's nothing that needs to be Rec coordinated um contractors continue to come to the site and Survey after hours uh that's coordinated with myself and Ricky as well as the contractors we do have started getting material deliveries um they'll continue throughout the summer as I just mentioned um we will mobilize all construction activities um for your next board meeting um dumpster deliveries they'll get scheduled we're working on obtaining all the permits and the construction will commence on 617 of 2024 so a little bit more details about the HVAC upgrades that will be happening Valley View and Bayberry um there's going to be univent Replacements uh rooftop replacement energy recovery uh ventilators exhaust fans throughout and as I mentioned the Chillers um reason it's there chillers won't be there but there will be um some setup and coordination uh for preparation for when they do arrive um the new units will be integrated into the existing BMS system there'll be coordination with the vendor that's already on site and you guys have a service contract with um there'll be rooftop duck work that gets installed and insulated U we are also the school engaged in a direct install program for two rooftop units here at Valley View um that's been confirmed that that is um equipment is expected to arrive next month it'll be installed as well um this summer um oops sorry and the one last thing that was on the slide there before it went so before the prior to the uh kids and students getting back and teachers um the fresh air system for the HBC will be made sure it's it's active so there won't be an issue with kids coming into the building and and not having the fresh air system going um the control work that goes into that there's always a slight lag behind from when the control work gets fully implemented into the system that Ricky and Aaron can get access to um but they will be function to BU able to be safe into the classrooms um the Bayberry toilet room upgrades um secure vestibule transaction window and the casework so uh there's select uh classrooms that are going to have toilet room uh upgrades with new floors ceiling replacement in those toilet rooms and in those select classrooms that did not already have it done we'll also have Cas work uh we did throughout um winter and uh February and January um have meetings set with um teachers and the architect to go over some of the the needs and stuff for that casework um so that has been done and it is ordered so that'll be here for the summer um there'll be a new security transaction window put into the office area um there'll be um multiple walls that get painted in select rooms as well as the corridors um and again the substantial completion for that is set per the contract prior to the school starting again the closeout punch list stuff will carry uh potentially into the school year but that all that work will be scheduled after hours so that doesn't impact the school function um the Valley View art room main office as well as the media center so the art room um is going to get reconfigured for the use of the space there is HVAC upgrades in that contract separate from the hbac contract we just spoke about they'll have ceiling upgrades um they'll be exposed portion of the ceiling as well as uh acoustical ceiling tiles the floor is going to get replaced there'll be new casework and there's uh also Plumbing upgrades with the sinks uh for the media center uh again that space will be reconfigured as well as have HVAC upgrades um ceiling upgrades that's going to have ceiling tiles as well as a acoustic uh ceiling board um different from the other areas that's just again for the acoustical uh use of that space uh floor will be replaced Place uh casework uh and I don't think the plum upgrade is supposed to be there might have been a copy uh the main office um the reconfigure of the the space and the use of it there'll be ceiling upgrades as well as exposed and ceiling tiles or will be replace the casework and again um at the front entrance there that is getting uh redone to be a more secure Man Trap entrance and then the plan is as of right now I will do another presentation in July and then as well as in the early fall August okay it will be in August and then sometime in the fall that's what I have for the presentation thanks Conor we have no board meeting in July because closed our bill okay I will be here in July I you guys will not be here any questions or anything honor is there any I'm not privy to the specifications but uh we're going to be demoing a lot of HVAC equipment dozens of univent univ ventilators and the rooftop uh some rooftop equipment chillers is there anything in the specification or you know what the uh recycle scrap um disposal plan is for all that equipment uh a lot of times more times than not the contractor will scrap those they'll they'll engage in a scrapper um if it's a huge cost to throw those in a and it's a waste to throw them in the in the facil landfill yeah so they they I have not seen it where it goes there maybe a piece of pipe or something that gets part of the demo might get thrown but there's money in scrapping that yeah so it's at their um determination what to do with it after correct but I mean it technically they're supposed to uh you know scrap and recycle materials that can be recycled but we will be huge waste in huge cost to them that's out of their pocket to throw it in regular dumpster so I don't foresee that being something they would engage in but we can follow up thank you I'd just like to commend our uh Ricky and his staff because I understand from a previous uh meeting that we went through the uh the entire winter without a single complaint uh from a parent or staff on the uh temperature controls of our class class rooms and building space so um I do commend uh Ricky for that I think he was able to uh purchase some control equipment I think it was under $100,000 or maybe quite a bit less than that and uh seem to fix uh all the problems that we had heard about uh from uh people in our meetings and otherwise so uh fortunately we're going to be pulling all that ripping all that equipment out and uh replacing it with 6 Million worth of new equipment but I do commend uh Ricky that we went through we got through the entire winter without a a single uh temperature complaint being brought not just to the board but to the administration as well from what I understand so thank you to our team that that's just your personal opinion right Mr Ang Gracia no I asked uh I asked in a committee meeting no I understand but your your personal opinion as to that we're wasting money on replacing everything now I think you're putting words in my mouth no no that's that's what you said it's a shame that we're going to be replacing everything since everything's just been miraculously fixed well I'd like to give credit where credit is due there was not a we got through the entire winter without a a single uh complaint to the our board whereas we had uh quite a few um in previous years and we had um our Administration report that there was no complaints made uh to the administration for the entire winter so I think that's commendable it is commendable but it doesn't mean that things don't have to be replaced because you can't keep putting Band-Aids on things and expecting them to work okay I guess that's than thank you $6 million moving along guys regardless of the $6 million they're at their the end of their lifespan like yes they may be functioning but what's the point in being reactive versus proactive look I'm not looking to review the entire um history of the referendum I just wanted to uh share my my um I I think it was uh pretty impressive with uh really just replacing a few small spare parts that uh Ricky was able to get our district through an entire winter without a single complaint we got lucky thank you Mr O'Brien I would like to just add a couple of notes that was beyond the presentation um during the construction of this summer the school will be shut down um to allow the um as much construction work to happen without any um sort of coordination with anybody used of the building um so that has been um coordinated um and yeah I'll be providing an update that will be shared out to the public not actually coming to give a meeting in July so I did want to clarify that so um and what else do we have and we I will also be um putting together Communications that could be shared with uh the neighbors as far as the construction and what's happening so they're where um it will be noisy there'll be a lot of deliveries and trucks so that um it could be shared with them so they're um hopefully we'll minimize any any issues from their side thank you that's it thank you thank you have a good night you too you too hey at this time we're going to move into an executive session whereas the open public meetings act and JSA a 10 col 4/11 permits the Board of Education to meet in a close session to discuss certain matters now therefore be it a matter rendered confidential by federal or state law student matters we shall return motion to so moved second all in favor I discussion okay we shall go my phone from 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 okay at this time we're going to move into principal reports um from our babber elementary school as commissioner good evening Dy Victor principal Bayberry I'm actually doing both principal reports tonight um I'll start off our second graders performed their play wing it during the week of April 24th students did a great job singing dancing and acting with the guidance of Mrs Riley and their second grade teachers on May 2nd we attended the governor's educator ESP of the Year breakfast we were thrilled to celebrate the contribution of our Somerset County recipients especially our Watchung staff congratulations to Valley View's educator of the Year Nora Morrison and educational support professional Dan Rango and to Bayer's educator of the Year Melissa Bianca and educational support professional Laura Cuomo it was a really nice breakfast and a nice honor for them as well teacher appreciation week was the week of May 6 thank you to our PTO and everyone who took the time to express their their gratitude to our staff it was greatly appreciated Valley View Middle School opened its doors for its annual treps Marketplace on May 8th 2024 the event showcased 20 students working individually or as partners selling homemade products such as cake pops phone chains Mother's Day cards and virtual reality headsets the TRS Club sponsored by the Wang burrow Youth Services Commission started meeting in February students began their Journey learning about the skills needed to start their businesses meetings included weekly interactive workshops incorporating product development business finance advertising marketing and sales the workshop guidance and the support of peers and family allowed entrepreneurs to apply what they had learned and build their businesses tr's participants donated 10% of their total profits to a charity to be selected by the TRS Club the entrepreneurs are already planning their products and services for next year we welcomed our new kindergarten students and their families for visitation on May 9th students were engaged in play-based activities while their parents attended an information session with me to learn more about Bayberry excuse me our fourth to eth graders completed njsla testing last week makeups will take place until May 31st the third and fourth Glee Club performed the national anthem at the Somerset Patriots game on Friday May 17th afterwards students enjoyed the game with their families and some of their teachers thank you to Mrs Riley for planning this great opportunity for our students our preschool had their end of year celebration and performance on May 21st with parents proudly in attendance students sang a few special songs with Mrs Riley and then watched a slideshow of photos from the school year thank you again to Mrs Riley the preschool teachers for their hard work and dedication kindergarten attended the Turtle Back Zoo on May 22nd it was a hot yet enjoyable day class trips are in full swing at Valley View the 8th grade visited the Intrepid Air and Space Museum on May 20th the fifth grade attended Liberty Science Center today the sixth grade is scheduled to go to Patriots stadium next week to call culminate their baseball and statistics unit finally the seventh graders will explore conservation environmental concepts with Hands-On activities at Duke Farms in Hillsboro on May 6 I think that might be June 6th May 6th has passed okay thank you to the PTO for helping fund and support all of these educational activities the e8th grade commencement ceremony is scheduled for June 12th at 6:00 p.m. in the Valley View gymnasium and by finally the last weeks are packed with exciting and engaging activities we are looking forward to a strong finish to the school year thank you have a good night and a great long weekend thank you thanks Denise thank you gonna go let me just y so good evening um Denise talked about a lot of things but you would be amazed that there were even more events than that I I feel like between all of us we can't even make it to all so um we started off our time since the last board meeting Oh Aaron if you could do the slideshow sorry I do try and show your children so enjoy it we started off our time since the last board meeting with our red walk for Autism Awareness um and individually you can keep flipping through individually all of our Bayberry students contributed to a display of actions that they can make and take to help with acceptance that bulletin board was just beautiful and I think there's an up close shot next there you go with some of the things um that they can do to take action for acceptance um the Watchung Garden Club including our former Board of Education member Gail O'Donnell the township represented by councilwomen Sonia ABI Habib and our fabulous DPW workers worked with our Bayberry Garden Club students um to plant a tree for Arbor Day it's uh right out in the front of Bayberry off if you're standing uh off to the right towards the parking lot they did a great job and they had a lot of fun as Denise said Miss Riley did an amazing job once again these are some pictures from the second grade play I love going to these things it's really so much fun the kids are terrific the content's tied to the curriculum I I love it so this one Denise told you is called wing it they were I I loved it they were telling me about Ornithology they also had an assembly with Raptors tied to it it was pretty great there's your owls but there it was a lot of fun I loved it um we celebrated teacher and staff appreciation week this is at Bayberry but it was also at Valley viiew the first week in May I also just want to Echo the thank yous to the PTO to our own board of education our principal s the students for celebrating our wonderful um teachers we also are so fortunate to have amazing pair professionals counselors Librarians nurses therapists and child study team members to support student learning as well as our leadership team we appreciate you not just that first week in May but I promise every day thank you the pictures you're seeing there I am with one of the virtual reader things um the pictures you're just seeing are from the treps marketplace at the middle school also a ton of fun our student entrepreneurs presented the most amazing lovely Innovative products um Denise shared that this program is funded by the Youth Services Commission um the representative from the county was in one of those first pictures and I'm grateful that they not only fund the program but they take the time to come and meet with the students and ask about their projects the next pictures are from our Bayberry art show and Glee Club presentation and I'm just going to tell you it blew me away the depth of artists for in Inspiration the variety of art created I you can see this it is beautiful I have to acknowledge um art teacher Katie Higgins for the tremendous effort of including every child prek to 4 there's going to be a picture coming up I want to highlight of her there she is at the top um she is painting a new mural that we're having at the front of Bayberry a welcome mural um in American Sign Language when it's done you'll see at the top it spells welcome and at the bottom each of the hands are going to have a different um is it a flag Denise thank you to miss Higgins she did an excellent job I knew you were going to talk about it um um they're going to be holding a piece of paper with uh the word welcome in different languages I knew it was something yes so we try to represent the different cultures that Bayberry but it was it's it's going to be beautiful she's very very talented um thanks Aon on May 6 I attended the finch techies spring graduation and showcase at ferve this is an amazing program for our middle school students and students from Berkeley Heights they get Hands-On authentic experience with coding and Robotics that's our steam teacher Morgan Landy she also teaches in the program you I think you would just be amazed and so proud of what these students accomplished um this this group of young women came up with an app um that was fabulous it was it was a lot of fun it was based on the idea of a dating app but it's how you find a tutor to help you with your classes was just brilliant and then the next um are two of our students that drone is actually a Pharma drone it is able to deliver medical supplies um in areas where people can't access them or medicines to people that are not able to leave their home it was really interesting Y and now I'm up to Friday night already you wouldn't believe how many many things are happening in the district this was our night of stars here at Valley View also terrific artwork thank you to miss Nester um and we were able to attend all of the different grade level concerts Mrs Morrison um LED each band everything was great I know that I especially loved the stomp set I think there's a picture of that somewhere there you go um it was just amazing to see the kids did a tremendous job and again again thank you Mrs Morrison for making sure that all of our musicians are included um you can stick there for a minute Aaron on Monday night there's no picture of this one because it was an online information session um but on Monday night we had an online information session related to the grant we got with the high school for a feasibility study on regionalization there is now a regionalization committee tab on the district website where you can find information on the Grant and the study um this meeting was recorded and as soon as I get a link that will also be on that tab so anybody that is interested can see um and there are even um people that you can contact with additional questions this picture you see mayor jubin up there is from our fifth grade DARE graduation on Wednesday morning um thanks to the watang PD always to our own officer Pete quos for organizing our dare program and and again for mayor jubin making the time to attend is one thing but actually modeling for our students the importance of this program um they brought um the Dare bear I think he's a bear might be a tiger I'm not sure but they brought him and the kids really enjoyed um taking pictures with the the Dare guy there he is and office off Pete always we love officer Pete um so that was wonderful and then after school today it's hard to see but that young lady's headband is made out of all bottle caps and her entire outfit the skirt's a trash bag but the entire outfit is upcycled this was part of our trashing show today um our designers and their models presented outfits completely created with recycled and upcycled materials um the design the people who designed the outfits as well as their models had to appear before a panel of Judges described their designs and materials you can keep going um it was so impressive I I have to say come come to the next picture Aon that one beautiful with the train and then the next these two young ladies the fan is made out of a book the skirt newspaper I don't know if you can see but there there's Chopsticks all kinds of recycled Sparkles and the other young lady's skirt is completely made out of chip bags total chip bags it was again incredible to me um recycling is a required component of our New Jersey science standards and and I have to say I am just so impressed by the authentic instruction that happens here the problem-based learning that that makes this meaningful to our students right so that that's the last slide but um next Wednesday May 29th 6:00 right here in the same APR here at Valley View we'll be having our second um transportation Town Hall I'll be joined on the panel with Karen Bishop Johnson our ba as well as Tim sty um the ba from the high school this session will also be live streamed and we will be talking about um the trans portation contract will be approving tonight with the the new components based on what we learned this year as well as talking about our K to2 Transportation um initiatives and the things that we're going to be doing differently in the district for the new school year um please be reminded that the district is closed for students tomorrow May 24th and Monday May 27th for the Memorial Day weekend I know know everybody's excited to kick off summer and to have some relaxing time but please remember Memorial Day is a day where we honor those um people who served and gave their lives thank you Karen okay uh the business office like usual is busy uh not sure when that ever stops um we have opened the 2425 school year in our systems which is a big accomplishment um um with June 13th being our last day uh we payroll is having a very challenging time because to for the contract we actually have two paychecks due on the same day on June 13th so um we are trying to deal with that challenge and get everybody paid appropriately and that is mainly I think that's pretty much it payroll purchasing we're trying to wrap up we're starting to go through open purchase order to see if the items are coming not coming close ones that we don't need and start you know starting to take orders in for the 25y year the um it's a little bit of push on the orders we're worried a little bit about the deliveries this summer and that the teachers need to start their September Day with their supplies so we are cranking in there that's it for me thank you okay we're going to move on to committee reports um Personnel committee Mr fras the Personnel committee met on Thursday May 16th at 5:30 uh it was a virtual meeting in attendance were myself uh Jen Anthony and Dr Glazer uh we discussed the esy Shar Services agreement and weeded staffing recommendations but because it was so close to the to this meeting we couldn't add it on to this agenda so it should be on the next one um we discussed a uh a new teacher appointment um a revision step uh unpaid absences a leave replacement and the approval of a substitute as for new business we just discussed the board retreat the regionalization committee which we'll get into um once we actually hit that point um the transportation Town Hall which Dr Glazer already mentioned um we discussed a little bit about the 12mon calendar uh which should be done Rel L soon on there for approval tonight sorry it's already done and yeah thank you curriculum committee Mr W yes yes we met on Thursday May 16th and it was virtual from 4:00 to about 5:25 we finished and um the administration that was there Dr Glazer was there our principal from Bayberry School Denise vickner principal from Valley view Karen kid was there and uh our steam teacher Morgan laly was there committee members vice president B of Ed Muhammad uh fge myself fatimas Santos and Dory Harvey okay items on the from the administration we had the EF student tour their educational stores uh tours and Valley View steam teacher Morgan laly began our discussion about the EF student tours and the options they provide the biz's ridge tarf tour was chosen by Valley viiew administrators for its proximity to home and the F the focus on Steam subjects that our students are studying at Valley View the tour combines engineering science and the culture of Elise all liability rests with EF Tours tours are funded by families of students with suggested activities to fund raise the trip will be in July 2025 and Rec recruiting uh recruiting will begin shortly um there's going to be an info session on June 5th to be considered for the this opportunity and let's see and you have to check valy view website for that b Bayberry classroom Learning Gardens Bayberry school has two outdoor areas that were once used as outdoor classrooms and Learning Gardens a third grade teacher would like to restore the these areas we are presently in the Project's exploratory phase it is a large undertaking and needs to be well organized water and maintenance are important aspects to its its success the watch and Garden Club our Department of Public Works and Town Council Members are available to assist with this project all right the esy shared services agreement with Long Hill Township has been finalized watching and Long Hill have determined it's in the best interest of both districts to share the cost of services and Facilities each skill uh school will provide its own teachers and the program will run for 20 days from June 26th to July 24th Monday through uh Friday from 9:00 a.m. to 1: school is closed for the 4th of July the Millington School in Long Hill will host one staff orientation day and a parent night before students begin the program okay our principls have scheduled Field Day activities for a day of fun and games at Bayberry and Valley View schools our PTO will provide ice pops for all participants our board retreat needs to be changed from the original date of 620 to June 10th from 5: to 7:30 our superintendent will provide the board with the doodle to indicate when all are available and I think this the June 10th is the one that we all agreed on right we're good okay uh the njsba representative will uh review the board of self assessment and facilitate the development of the board and District goals for 2024-25 at this meeting we spoke about the regionalization committee and the transportation town hall and the 12mon calendar Dr Glazer asked the committee if they were in favor of closing the schools on certain days for all employees due to the lack of employees in the buildings during these days the committee was in favor of closing the schools on the Day suggested this will have no impact on teaching staff or students and will save on heat electricity and other costs that are needed to keep the schools open I think that's it thank you Mr f um now we're going to move on to uh policy committee Miss Harvey sure the uh policy committee met on Wednesday May 15th from about 6:00 p.m. to 9:08 p.m. it was virtual in attendance was uh Dr Glazer Mr Gonzalez myself Miss Amadeo and Miss Jette uh the committee went over the following agenda items um bylaw 0143 board member election and appointment the committee discussed feedback given to us from Mr Ang Gracia and Miss Aguilera uh the committee members gave suggestions as well the committee agreed not to include some recomend recommendations provided since they are for the process and should not be included in the bylaw since bylaws don't have regulations the committee requested more time to consider taking out the language in the existing bylaw to interview an executive session appointing a replacement to a vacancy without interviewing candidates and adding that the Board needs to meet to decide what process the board will follow when filling a board vacancy the committee asked to revisit this byw over the summer months the committee chair uh will follow up with the boards njsba fi representative to just clarify some of the items being considered for addition or deletion from the existing bylaw and this is not uh currently recommended for a first reading then uh we reviewed policy 1140 educational Equity policies affirmative action Dr Glazer reminded the committee that she provid updates to the community regarding staff professional development and her superintendent remarks Dr Glazer uh will work on ensuring that staff hired mid school year receive the proper professional development within the policies required time frame this policy is on for a first reading then there's policy 1523 comprehensive e Equity plan Dr Glazer recommended that the committee hold off on reviewing this policy since the NJ dooe will shortly provide updates uh this policy will be reviewed possibly at the next committee meeting we're thinking if they may if they make the updates by then if not it'll be at a subsequent meeting uh this is not currently up for a first reading and then we had policy and regulation 1530 equal employment opportunities uh the committee agreed to update the policy language and this policy is on for a first reading uh the same thing for 1550 equal employment SL anti-discrimination practices we agreed to the language it's on the agenda uh policy 2200 curriculum content the committee agreed to remove the secondary school information from the policy since it doesn't pertain to our district Dr Glazer will find out uh which option the principles recommend and email the committee with their preference this policy is on for a first reading which uh it's not oh it's not you didn't have the answer oh okay okay gotcha gotcha uh policy and regulation 2260 equity in school and classroom practices we agreed to the language it's on the agenda for a first reading uh policy and regulation 2425 emergency virtual remote instruction program Dr Glazer discussed how to keep the remote instruction technology up to date and relevant for the staff so they can easily transition to remote instruction during during a state of emergency this policy uh is up for a first reading policy and regulation 2440 summer session uh this is not a mandate policy um and regulation so the committee agreed not to adopt them at this time it is recommended that if the superintendent and principles want to develop summer enrichment programs the committee would then revisit the policy if the administration proposes conducting summer programs in the district they will need to hire staff for the summer program and those positions would need to be budgeted this is not currently recommended for a first reading uh regulation 24 60.9 special education transition from early intervention programs to preschool programs we agreed to the language and the policy is up for a first reading uh regulation 24606 special education instructional material to blind or print disabled students um the committee agreed to the language it's up for a first reading and the same for policy 3161 examination uh for cause so potential board agenda items there's a couple of policies that are on the agenda for a second reading none of the committee members received feedback from other board members and no one had any questions or concerns about the second reading uh under the new business a lot of this was already discussed we did review the petition the committee received an update the board author authorized a special Council to answer Mr andia's petition against the Board of Education and the committee was informed that Mr engracia filed an amendment to his petition which was placed in the board packet for all the board members to review as this progresses more updates will be provided to the committee and then I don't think anybody went over the CSA evaluation um the committee explained the previous regular superintendent evaluation process and acknowledged that the board agreed to follow a modified process at the board retreat at the beginning of the year uh the agree the agreed upon modified process eliminates evaluating the superintendent on leadership standards uh since the superintendent had not worked in the district for an entire year the committee reviewed the modified CSA evaluation process and awaits further directions from board leadership and I believe everything else was covered you now we're going to move on to operations and finance Mr fre the operations and finance committee met on May 14th at 5:10 p.m. um first we discussed a referendum update which was just us talking about Connor coming in and giving the presentation that he just gave um we also recently had two storage containers of equipment dropped off here um which is good that we're starting starting to have equipment coming in um there's we also noted that there was an issue with the software of the fire alarm system again there is no actual issue with the fire alarms like if there is a fire they will go off the only issue was us connecting a new device to the fire alarm panel which we need to do for the referendum it won't necessarily affect in terms of like speed or anything it won't affect how it's done but we do have to work that out before we can you know continue and install those fire alarms um we also discussed the Outdoor Learning Commons and field um which has a as of right now a $936,000 combined estimated budget with the field costing 485,000 and the Outdoor Learning Commons costing 41,000 um and the estimated amount left after completion will be around 1.2 million um the project plan and uh revised ref rendom budget um has been posted on the website and like Connor said we will be communicating with all the neighbors to let them know about the projects uh there will also be a timeline review with the principles custodians Etc all affected staff at the end of May U just because we have to close down the buildings uh we're still also working on the deciding which Furniture we want I believe it's for the media center and the art room and the art room we got that done yesterday great so we have that done uh as for the roof results we did a um sorry an insulation test just to see if there were any um issues with leaks uh a part of the roof just needs to have the drains fixed which is an estimated $5,000 to fix and replace the leaking drains or sorry that's just 5,000 to fix it and then uh and we're still working on the uh the cost of actually replacing it we don't expect it to be too much but there's a chance that we might just replace it instead of um fixing it uh we did an infrared and nuclear test to test for moisture content uh that cost $2,800 and since it came so far underestimate uh we're planning on checking rechecking the moisture in the spring um if the moisture content comes above 27% which is it's current standing we will look into roof placement of that area uh as for board agenda items uh we just discussed the sale and disposal of unwanted items in the art room uh an addendum for uh ESS which the contract allows the school district to increase wages for employees which could actually end up costing us less um we discussed the transportation agreement with bong Hills uh at 4% which is lower than the estimated 5.7 uh the agreement has been completed which is on now on the agenda to be approved uh the professional service providers contract must be reappointed which is also on the agenda uh we discussed the amendment to the cafeteria plan which will adjust to a a regular IRS year um and this is an employee benefit plan this is not a food plan the O special services contract is on the agenda there is an authorization to make payments during the summer for referendum projects and we also discussed pay applications as for other items we discussed the rization committee uh which again I will discuss shortly um the board retreat is tent tentatively scheduled for June 20th since the APR is closed um we will be attempting to find another public location date here June 10th 10th oh yeah sorry we switched it to June 10th so we're going to be doing here uh we also discussed the transportation Town Hall um we are yeah which is on the 29th let's see and then we also discussed the 12-month calendar what time did you start and did you end the meeting uh we began at 510 we ended at 9:20 p.m. thank you Mr BR okay um board lean reports um Mr fras again legislative oh right I'll keep it short I have it a much longer version but I'll abbreviate it for you guys uh because you guys can look it up anyway on Tuesday May 14th Governor Phil Murphy approved legislation that will restore a portion of the school aid Cuts some school districts will experience under the fiscal year of 2025 state budget proposal uh it will also Grant property tax levy cap uh flexibility to districts that have witnessed an overall decline in state aid and recent budget Cycles the bills were sent to his desk by the legislature the day before and the governor also signed legislation that will permit districts to submit their budgets after the state approves the fiscal year 2025 Appropriations act uh you guys can look those up and then on Friday May 17th Governor Phil Murphy signed another bill into law evaluation review task force uh this establishes the New Jersey educator evaluation review task force to study and evaluate the educator evaluation system established pursuant to the teach NJ act and implemented in New Jersey Public Schools so if you guys want to read up on that you can thank you okay um um Somerset County Board of Education Services Le on Miss Harvey oh I have no update we don't have a meeting until June thank youo Somerset County Board of Ed board Somerset County School boards Association Le on no update today okay um Miss agaro no update today just um everybody needs to think about the workshop that's coming up in October and whether or not they'd like to attend okay and regionalization um so there isn't really much of an update since the last meeting that we had where I explained everything but I did want to specify again this is a visibility study we are only testing to see how well it would work if it would end up saving us money and all this is provided by a grant from the government so we are not actually paying for everything we're getting a demographic study which is great because we don't have to pay for it and we had the meeting on May 20th which I think Dr Glazer already mentioned but you can uh watch that meeting if you have any questions as well thank you all right seeing that there's no PTO we or cpeg here we're going to move on to comments from the public um on agenda items only we welcome input from the public there are two times during the meeting when the public is invited to speak first opportunity to the comments on the agenda items only is now the second opportunity for the public is is towards the end of the meeting total lot of time for public comments is 30 minutes before you make your comment please state your name in Municipality of residents in the event it appears the public comment portion of the meeting May exceed 30 minutes the presiding officer May limit each statement made in participant to three minute duration our public forms are not structured as question answers uh session but rather are offered as opportunities to share input with the board in instances where the board feels the respones needed the presiding officer or superintendent will address the comment the New Jersey stute does not permit the board to discuss Personnel or hiring in public session names of students should not be used members of the public should consider their comments in light of legal lights rights for those affected and identified in their comments and be aware that they are personally legally responsible with potential liability for comments that they make to the board the board shall not be held liable for comments made by members of the public seeing that there's no members of the public with comments we're going to move on to action items um if uh Mr Gua can you move your action item for us I move administrative items one approve minutes of previous meetings two affirm the superintendent's hi report three approve the 12-month employee calendar four accept Bayberry and Valley View School security drill report i' approve special education placements thank you second please Dr Vince's Kua discuss oh yeah I'm sorry discussion no only to the extent that for item number one I'd like to when we do take a vote uh separate in some way the um approval of the regular meeting minutes and the executive meeting minutes but that can just be handled in my course of voting I think right yes yes I'll break it down thank you okay roll call okay Dr Vince's Kua yes Mrs Santos yes Mrs duet yes Mr Ang graia for administrative item number one approve the minutes of the previous minutes like I had mentioned I would like to uh vote Yes to approve the regular meeting minutes noted the three uh dates in April for the executive meeting minutes I would like to vote Yes for the February 22nd 2024 yes for the March 18th 2024 uh no for the April 8th 2024 abstain for the April 23rd 2004 i' accused myself and April 25th uh no April 25th 2024 yes for item number two three four and five okay yes sorry two three four and five yes yes all right I think I got that um Mrs Harvey yes Mr alz yes Mr fr yes Mrs Amad yes M igly Arrow yes motion passes okay um Mr Gracia can you please move personel items sure I move Personnel one approve B1 approve appointed certificated staff two approve appointment certificated staff three approve change of assignment four approve unpaid absences five approve appointment long-term substitute six approve appointment District substitute teacher second any discussion call please okay Mr fras yes Mrs Harvey yes Mr Ang Gracia yes Mrs jet yes Mrs Santos yes Mr Gonzalez yes Mrs Amadeo yes Mrs aaro yes Dr vincis Kua yes that was everybody right motion passes okay Mr fr operations Finance I make a motion to move uh operation item one approve payment of Bill two approve transfer of funds 2023 2024 three accept Financial reports four approved payment application five approved payment application uh six approved professional development SL School business and related expenses seven approved Transportation joint sh with watching Hills Regional High School eight approved VY shared services agreement nine approved Amendment Amendment to the cafeteria plan 2024 section 125 of the flexible spending account 10 approve Legal Services agreement with the special conflicts and Council 11 appoint profession 11 appoint professional service providers 12 uh also approve special education providers 13 approve appointment District treasure 14 approve audit engagement letter and 15 accept donation and 16 approved prek tuition rate second any discussion I just like to thank the PTO for the schol plastic bucks that's a large donation and a lot of books so thank you very much thank you more call please okay Mrs is Amad yes this is AG Aro yes Mr fras yes Mr Ang Gracia item C1 yes and C2 yes three accept Financial reports no four yes five yes see six yes s yes eight yes nine yes 10 approv Legal Services agreement no 11 12 13 14 15 and 16 yes okay Mrs jet I'm okay with all but I'm going tostain on number three I just didn't feel like I knew enough about it so I'm just going to stay in on that one and what is number three number three was accept Financial reports a b c d are I'm sorry are you saying no are you abstaining sorry abstaining staining okay okay um okay Mr Santos yes Dr Vince Kua yes Mrs agaro yes Mrs Amadeo yes Mr fr yes Mr Gonzalez yes I don't know if you got me but my response is yes thank you motion passes okay curriculum um mred if you can please move curriculum ads got to find them okay right here okay curriculum items okay number one adopt program and curriculum number two adopt K to 8 District textbooks number three adopt evaluation instrument for certified staff number four adopt evaluation platform for certified staff and administrators um the ex is policy that's four things second any discussion roll call please Mrs agaro yes Mr fras yes Mrs Harvey yes Mrs jet yes Mrs Santos yes Mr Ang graia yes Mr Gonzalez yes Mrs Amadeo yes Dr vincis Kua yes motion passes okay M can you please move policy items um I move E1 uh these policies for first reading p140 educational Equity p530 equal employment opportunities r530 equal employment opportunity complaint procedure p1550 Equal Employment anti-discrimination Practices r550 Equal Employment anti-discrimination Practices P 2260 equity in school and classroom practices R 2260 the same in school and classroom practices complaint procedure p2425 emergency virtual or remote instruction program R2 2425 emergency virtual or remote instructions program uh r24 60.9 special education transition from early intervention programs to preschool programs R 24616 special education instructional material to blind or print disabled students and uh E2 second reading um bylaw 0169 board me board member use of electronic mail internet uh bylaw 06902 board member use of social networks uh p552 harassment intimidation or bullying P 8461 reporting violence vandalism harassment intimidation bulying alcohol or other drug offenses R 8420 emergency and crisis situations R 2419 school threat assessment teams second any discussion roll call please Mrs Santos yes Dr vincis Kua yes Mrs jet yes Mrs Harvey yes Mr Gonzalez yes Mr Ang Gracia yes Mr fras yes Mrs Amadeo yes aaro yes motion passes thank you okay any Board of business yes I do can I say something now yes okay why not I just want to make sure this is the right time know all these procedures okay I just want to address the ethics violation vote regarding Anthony at our last board meeting on April 25th after a thoughtful reflection I asked if I could resend my vote and was told that cannot be done that's fine I learned that it's my hope that the ethics change uh charges have not yet been filed and if they have I think they should be withdrawn I too needed more time to review the candidates um resumés one half hour wasn't enough for me it may have been sufficient for some members who may have known some of the candidates have I didn't know anybody I would like to read the letter I sent to our board president for our members and also for the people of Wun to understand why I wanted to resend my vote and I'll just it won't take long I know you want to go home but I have to tell you this because it makes me feel better all right in reference to the resolution and authorizing of CH charges with the school ethics commission brought against Anthony and Gracia at our Board of Ed meeting on April 25th I watched the meeting on our website to make sure I understood the intent and the content of the resolution because it was only read to us by the board president and I would have appreciated a written copy of the resolution before the meeting to fully understand its contents before I cast my vote even though I was not sure about the intent I cast my vote in the affirmative late that evening after returning home from the meeting and watching it again on our website I came to fully understand the spirit and the intent of the resolution and I realized it was not my position on this issue I clearly support the right of our board members to have access to all background and application information as soon it is cleared by the administration with no restrictions I clearly cannot understand why any board member would want to be encumbered by any restrictions imposed on information that should only be reviewed by the board members themselves in summary I fully support a formal policy that would make this information available to all board members I fully support Mr angra's petition to bring the resolution to this uh to this issue that would benefit all current and future board members I do not want the attorney to pursue bringing ethics charges against Anthony I want to resend my vote that was my letter I wanted you to know and I wanted the people of watching to know why I wanted to resend it so thank you anything else I I don't know what any of us can actually say about any of those things without getting into legal issues so I guess we're not going to discuss it further I think can we say that the ethics charges aren't related to specifically the request for more time right it's there other issues yeah so yes anything else I wanted to ask um Dr Glazer um uh having seen the presentation this morning from the contractor um and being a newer board member would it be possible to schedule at some point maybe a walk through to see some of the changes that have been made or talk through some of the before after so we are planning as soon as we're done I think you heard Connor say tonight we're figuring everything it's on the summer and what's been completed should be done by October we're hoping to do a big ribbon cutting actually not just a walkth through we want to invite everybody into the media center Library space the Art Space um we will be having in the gym here at Valley View um by then the floors will be redone they'll have the new um Adventure Course that uh W donated so I expect that we're going to have more than a walkthr I hope it's a a big Community celebration but that'll be in October great the Valley View graduation do you want to mention when that dat is you can Valley View um e8th grade moving up ceremony is Wednesday June 12th at 6:00 p.m. great okay any comments from the public seeing that the public is not here so we're going to move to the adjournment of this meeting so moved tyen any discussion all in favor say I hi have a good night everyone for