good evening everyone sorry for the delay uh the executive session of the Wayne Board of Education work session meeting of February 8th was convened in the conference room the Wayne Board of Education $50 driveway New Jersey statement compli 74 daytime location was read in accordance with the requirements of the open public meeting act St meeting was recessed now I ask you all to please stand for the flag Ser followed by a Moment of Silence ask you all during a moment silence to remember uh one of our Wayne detectives who Jason Clemente who passed away yesterday 52 years old uh Jay worked in our schools a number of times as an officer and ask you to please remember I pledge Al 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 thank you everyone please be seat so good evening as you can imagine the last few weeks have been a whirlwind of activity about the referendum and tonight we LA Signs available Mr moffett's office for all the board members who would like um some some BL signs and they're also be to distribute in the community so we're working on that we also have a video that we're going to share with you in a few minutes during the executive session the Board of Ed discussed the Safety and Security matter related to the referendum vote which is scheduled for March 12th in response to concerns about security and the prohibition of police officers of poing locations will be using an emergency day to close school on March 12th so all district schools will be closed on the day of the referendum March 12th this week I was very happy to meet with Karen to share more about the referendum I held copy with the superintendent visits at Tunis Lafayette and Pines Lake also Scott kofax and Anthony Wayne for next week I'm also happy to attend faculty meetings which I've been doing I attended faculty meetings at ECC Tunis and Lafayette and upcoming is the rest of the schools over the next few weeks um this week is National School counseling week sponsored by the American School counsel Association this week is set aside to focus public attention on the unique contributions of professional school counselors Within school systems and how students are different as a result of what school counselors do National School counseling week highlights the tremendous impact school counselors can have in helping students achieve School Success and plan for a career Board of Ed is also recognizing our counselors through um resolution tonight merg administrative item R3 which is a proclamation for National schools counseling okay next week on February 15th we have a community Forum about the bond reference them program will be produced by our students from Wayne Hills and will be in the format of a talk show it'll be broadcast on Wayne Hills TV channel 77 or you can attend live or you can watch a recorded version the event starts at 7:00 p.m. in Wayne Hills Auditorium also this week we're developing a series of podcasts designed for commuters we're unable to attend some in-person events so what we're doing is we're basically creating podcasts about different issues related to the referendum and all of which will ask under 20 minutes so at this time what I'd like to do is Miss Lee are you ready to show the video no okay I'll keep rolling so we're going to show a video that we basically produced for the referendum it's very nice it's a really great collaborative work but um we'll move on so the New Jersey I'm sorry the New Jersey Schools to Watch program recognizes Excellence at the middle school level high performing schools maximize student growth support learning for all students and prepare students for high school School College Inc Success New Jersey is one of 18 states that use this program to improve middle school education George Washington Middle School received this recognition previously and applied again today I'm happy they moveed ahead in the process George Washington Middle School hosted a team of evaluators from the school SWAT program as in the past a team was here to meet with the parent committee student committee staff committee and a meeting with the principal they also embed themselves in the school throughout the day to monitor classes and programs was very happy to be able to attend one of the national Signing Day events held at each of our high schools both for wonderful celebrations for our student athletes for continuing their academic and athletic careers at the college level along with their coaches and family members con student athletes from Wayne Hills and nine from Wayne Valley were recognized for moving ahead in their academic and athletic careers um reminder a quick reminder that next weekend February 16th and 19th is a wellness weekend also the HIV report I'm reporting the following data related to harassment intimidation and bullying in the wind countri schools there were 15 incidents of HIV that were investigated since the last report and six of those cases were found to be actual cases of HIV Tracy okay you good okay you have to decide who gets the Academy Award again Zoom sound we steering hi where's the S what about that Arrow while we're waiting I'll read the revisions to the board agenda for tonight we will be adding under T emergent human resources number 3 T3 approval of revised items we'll be adding number 11 employee ID number 3200 District revise and date of unpaid leave no benefits from February 2924 to June 30 2024 we'll be adding number 14 approval of transfer and abbreviate the transfer is for a Sarah Pano a long-term social worker at ECC transferred to long-term social worker at District no change in salary moving on uh under emergent X under legal we'll be adding three items tonight the first is approval of uh Hib determination that action reads as follows resolve that the board affirm the superintendent's decision on hip case number 55 SL uh 2023 2024 following appeal as required by New Jersey sa 18a 37-15 parentheses B parentheses 6 parentheses e uh we'll also add X2 approval of settlement agreement and release that action reads as follows resolve that the Board of Education upon the recommendation of the superintendent hereby approves the settlement agreement and release in the matter of student ID number 834 294 3880 docket number EDS 01271 d24 agency reference number 2024 36909 dated February 1 2024 as attached by reference and further authorizes the board president and secretary to execute same on behalf of the board the business administrator and superintendent are authorized to take all further steps required by the it uh excuse me by the terms of settlement to further Implement saying and lastly X number number three we're adding to the agenda which reads as follows resolve that the Board of Education upon the recommendation of the superintendent hereby approves the following administrative Lees leave for good cause and that is uh staff ID number 9406 C custodian the facilities PC account number 50-41 d44 backc uh paid leave starting February 6 2024 that concludes the changes to or additions to tonight's agenda Township has a long history of providing excellent public education and giving our students an abundance of opportunities to succeed however our facils are so that we continue meeting this expectation POS approve the bond referendum on March 12 these needs can be met at discount tax rate with the help of State a more than 60 projects at 15 different schools state aid would cover $39 million of disinvestment preventive and reactive maintenance is a significant part of the district's daily operations our school buildings need continual repairs to protect community's investment and to position the district for a strong financial future for instance improving Energy Efficiency now will leave more financial resources available to focus on education by repairing roofs and replacing window we would strengthen What's called the building envelope at our schools updating the Building Systems would reduce the risk of repairs and increased cost efficiencies modernized systems would also play a significant role in the health and safety of our students and staff Community input identified safety as a top priority and we listened that's why this referendum includes funding to complete the important goal of establishing a two-stage security entrance at every school that does not already have a support feature we also paid close attention to new Housing Development around the Wayne Township those are a great sign that our school district is attractive to home buyers it also means we need more space at the pness Early Childhood Center a new wi would be built to accommodate Rising enrollment in that area that site would transform into a prek through grade by school with three classrooms at each grade level and dedicated space for individualized small group construction creating the space is essential to maintaining appropriate class sizes for all prek through grade five students and setting up our youngest learners for Success these essential upgrades would touch every school and District in various ways through boilers that more efficiently our buildings classroom vingers that more effectively bring fresh air and modernizations that allow a greater level of control over HVAC systems and both of our high schools we look forward to improving elevator access so that emergency equipment in fide renovating our locker rooms that have seen about 60 years of daily use bring their lighting and ventilation systems up to Modern Standard and outside replacing old bleachers that meet today's codes for safety and accessibility Wayne is a sought after and desirable District due to its consistent High State rankings and its Suburban setting with this referendum we propose improvements to maintain these standards for a strong future the board Administration worked hard to ensure fiscal responsibility first we specifically focused on projects that could capture $39 million in state aid this comes from taxes on residents already paid to the state we want to bring some of that money back to lank Township second the referendum is time with debt being paid off from past investment one made when voters authorize to sell bonds to build Anthony Wayne Middle School voter approval will take that old payment and use it for new Investments so as One debt is paid off a new one would begin the net increase for home assessed at the average in way Township would be an estimated $254 per year please make an educated decision by learning more about the proposed improvements and the financial strategy of this Bond referendum on the district's website you'll find a link to check your home sucess valum frequently asked questions and their answers and all the forms and details you need to vote then use a vote by nail Ballot or go to your poll to vote on Tuesday March 12th casting your ballot is only way to make sure your voice is heard we want to have stronger accessibility for the future budgets for the future security for the future buildings for the future education for the future them just for that stepped start sounds that way although I did like Mrs Zell's CIO appearance I like little ones all right this portion uh we're going to open to the public on agenda items only this portion of the meeting is open to Citizens by comment on agenda items only residents are as state the name address and subject matter comments may be living for three minutes per person members of the public are discouraged from speaking negatively about an employer or a student the board Bears no responsibility for comments made by the public comments regarding employees or students cannot be legally responded to by the board other com comments may be responded to tonight or at subsquent meeting under old business do have a move move second anyone from the public on an agenda it seeing no one all right close second do I have the Mover for the agenda move the agenda for any discussion on the agenda items see none we'll close Mr favor uh yes to everything I Mr Fus due to a personal conflict on X1 Mr gardano yes Mr lamandre yes Mr Paul yes Mrs ralo yes Mrs W yes Mr Pacos yes and Mr pavlac yes motion carries any old business new business committee report uh yes committees uh tonight the finance committee met it was attended by Mrs WK Mr Faber administrators Mr Moffett and Mrs liik at 5:03 p.m. we approve the meeting minutes of December 6 2023 our new finance committee members uh reive a copy of the board committee handbook and uh we looked at the focus of the finance committee we reviewed the agenda items we went over the various reports with the new committee members so that they're familiar uh it was essentially a crash course in fund accounting tonight so we went through the transportation agreements to Capital maintenance Grant uh which is a special uh NJ doe and SDA Grant uh uh emerging checks emergent pro project applications U for the pness envelope project so would you be ready uh emerging contract for the environmental Consulting uh for any environmental impact for for pness so that we're ready again else we uh looked at the possibility of uh uh new electrical service generator and related work for the data center for any any quotes uh or uh uh withdrawal from capital reserve we looked at some uh facility projects um trying to see my notes Here we had a referendum update um for second round Rod Grant and SDA ECC uh doesn't appear that we're getting any more uh the business office uh was still waiting for the certificate of excellence so they went in hear back there Mrs Li was able to secure a refund of $1,200 for that um we we have uh uh an accounts payable manager recommendation um to um it was a recommendation to have the position fil tonight uh we're uh we had a mid year review of the December financials those are due uh with the county um by March 1st uh we went through the Enterprise funds which are uh monthly adjustments for Food Service before and after care in Safety Town and we touch base on the 2024 2025 District budget uh the new committee members agreed to post the budget information uh by using the the virtual binder and the process uh we have the the budget plan document um so the principles of each school and every school are uh under review uh with their departments for so we can have uh so the administrators could have Revenue assumptions and uh major appropriation drivers uh we feel the questions on the budget um uh one more item here uh the meal policy there's a small edit where we're going to use the word cannot versus shall and uh that's the report thank you okay the uh facilities and transportation committee met on January 16th uh it was there was myself Mr Bill um Mr pavlac Miss Tietz Mr rain Mr skitzki and Mr mofin um much stuff happened uh we had an approval uh for a to room application at South for L at Rooms 12 and 13 so that's ongoing infrastructure um the Next Generation science uh Labs at uh Wayne Hills are close to completion and we are now at Wayne Valley High School going through the design stage on parts of the uh Next Generation science standard lab um up pness we had Architects and best this testing on the roofs and windows for part of the rod Grant we're waiting on that um there is uh some fabrication materials for March April delivery uh over at uh I believe it's over at the data center yes trying to read my own handwriting here um there's also discussion we have an older generator that we're going to be removing and having a new one put in but we're going to be reusing the old one so there's no loss on that uh in those situations um the previous external plans going uh was put out we're waiting for State approval as we do with most things uh for State approval uh we're also looking at uh th day a Ryerson partial roof look we're looking at some of the roofing uh needs there Wayne Hills there is a flu issue that they're looking at also over there very the Department's very very efficient at that uh I want to take a side step on this this was uh the end of January middle of January the weather was really really bad so I want to send out a salute to the maintenance people uh for doing everything he did and pre-sold in the parking lots it didn't turn out to be as bad as thought it was going to be but of course if we didn't do it it would have been snowmageddon so we're very glad that they did their job and hats off to them uh had an excellent job on that um we are still looking for drivers for buses uh right now at this point as of the meeting of January 16th we are a short three driver we account for four in andout for illness so you can we could use anywhere between 11 and 17 drivers uh for these buses um speaking of the buses we retired some of our vehicles s not the auction made $177,000 on the old uh stuff we're very very efficient uh when it comes to money and not wasting it especially when it comes to facilities materials very happy to see that um we're putting in for four uh New Field blankets for the ball fields the old one the ones we have down right now were fantastic success so expanding upon that is great there was one I believe that might have been damaged they want to work on looking at that one somebody last year peeled it back to play a bowl game which was not the smartest thing in the world to do and we hope that doesn't happen again but um we're very very high on these uh situations uh we're looking into getting uh work vans uh we call the White Fleet versus the yellow Fleet which the buses these the vans that the uh maintenance people drive around in different parts of the district and um sounds like they're being held together with duct tape and a couple of rosary prayers here so we're looking to try and get those up and uh get new ones for those so that's we're only putting out stuff that's really really essentially needed of these cases and that's pretty much what we covered at our meeting so the education uh committee met tonight February 8th in attendance Donna rman myself Miss Wendy LeAndre and Matt jordano we received and are moving forward with two new volunteer clubs one at the middle school and one at the High School Mrs rman provided an update on canvas Learning Management Systems which is part of the district go that's about itk uh the Technology and Safety Committee met this evening myself Mr Paul uh Dr toac and Suzanne fante uh reviewed the SOP handbook for committee uh we talked about Technology and Safety um minutes from the last uh November 2nd meeting our voice over IP phone project is now complete um we had some issues with our internet uh going up and down which was an Optimum issue which has been corrected not would uh new District website will be coming out uh going live soon uh our new data center is about ready probably a month or two to be uh completed uh there were two new positions we spoke about a junior network engineer and a system network administrator uh we talked about the replacement of laptops for our secondary teachers as well as the purchase of new Chromebooks uh we'll be rowing out Chromebooks into kindergarten um next year they will stay in school we're not going to have the kids bring them back and forth that is a great idea um we also talked about some infrastructure and some uh cyber security uh we'll be in the high school come September we'll be growing out canvas for our staff and students and uh the Elan schools in middle school will be staying with Google classroom at this point so we get that that conversion done and that's it any other committees this board member comments I just wanted to say uh you know our our students are learning a lot this month it's Black History Month I also wanted to um uh thank everyone for for the video today uh I think it's uh it was enlightening and I think it's a good tool to to to spread out so our our community members are informed whether they want to vote Yes or whether they want to vote no um I happened to skip the Rangers game last night and tune in to channel 77 and watch the town council meeting and I noticed to my surprise that the bond referendum was uh was brought up and um I think there was some confusion out there um the mayor started to speak about the bond referendum I believe he said that we should kick it back his in his personal opinion was to kick it back to a lower amount I think he was comfortable with 100 million he said uh I found that very curious that he left off you know the $40 million piece for the pris school uh which uh I think I need to remind the community that you know there's there's a lot lot of residential development uh going towards that area um there is 1,360 units by the old Toys R R Us and Jeffrey way coming in 244 units coming in at pness 232 units by the G in Route 23 473 units at Avalon Bay 105 units built by kov kov naion on Hamburg Turnpike 98 units at the waybridge plaza Hamburg Turnpike and Jeffrey way 449 units at the old GF and these are all currently approved projects with more to come for waying to get that affordable housing number in there so if uh you know for those that are keeping count or if anyone's a little slow on their calculator the current approved projects are 2,961 units so let's say there's a kid in every unit that's 2,961 kids well that's not going to happen right right so let's say one out of every four of those units has one kit that's 740 kits one out of every four units so I just want people to think about that um then uh councilman Scali said you know he didn't he doesn't know of any uh place where property taxes increase and property values increased I think he beli there was an inverse relationship I think maybe there was some confusion with the words Bond being thrown out there cuz usually with a bond if you look at a financial Bond bond prices go up yields go down yields go down bond prices go up I think that's what uh the confusion was I mean the folks in Upper settle river that are paying $35,000 you can't get a $300,000 house you know they're all like $2 million over there so there's plenty of studies where you know property taxes have gone up and property values have gone up um councilwoman uh Ritter I think identified uh correctly that our school system is the crown jewel of Wayne so um there's there was a lot to digest yesterday um everyone you know should just be informed you know figure out for yourself you know what makes sense for for our school district and for our town for your property for your your your children your grandchildren um and just just um thinking about that um and I believe uh I'll see everyone on next week uh Thursday at the uh Community Forum um it was advertised by uh council president uh Mr DeStefano so see everyone at the community forum else thank you um so yes I also hope to see everyone and who has questions about the referendum to come next week we're very excited to see everyone at Hills and put put that kind of an event together so we can have a nice dialogue about the improvements that um are needed we saw a great video today which I think looks fantastic and I hope it gets shared wide um across our town and now I'll switch my gear a little bit I would like to acknowledge the Wayne Valley cheer team who's had so far an amazing season there are some great really great athletes there uh they had won their National division in Florida they also just won the big North Independence division champs and are one of the eight teams who are going to be performing next Friday on the 16th at the American dream mall so I think that's very exciting and they have couple other compet itions but one worth mentioning State's competition at Brookdale College in Florida is on the 24th so I'm hoping they will finish as strong as they started but it's an amazing team of athletes athletes and they should be proud and we should all be very proud of them so thank you any else so with regards to the referendum I'm new on the board and I had some insights during the time sitting on the other side as to why we needed the referendum but I kind of didn't really understand much about it and I said I would do the investigative work understand why we need it and then tell you whether I supported it and at the last meeting I said I support it and I think what really needs to be said here is that we don't like the fact that we have to do this referendum it's not something where we're doing it because we just want money or you know none of us get the benefit of any of this it's all to keep the kids safe it's all to make sure that the buildings are maintained if we if a building goes down and you know for a flood or whatever the situation is we don't have enough room at our other schools to move kids around right now our schools are so full right now as we stand that we don't have the flexibility so you know we didn't choose the developmental plan that's being executed we're dealing with you know trying to manage that process with the hand that we've been dealt so it's not easy for us to do this because we're all weighing taxpayers too we're all going to be paying additional taxes but again it's the investment in that we can't afford not to do some of these things because once the building is going into disrepair it gets worse so when you see a crack in a building once water gets in that in that crack and freezes and expands it makes the problem worse so if you don't deal with it as you need to it just gets more and more expensive the longer you delay so you know I I would love to have the mayor come down here and sit down with us and have a conversation about how he suggests that we deal with the plans that he's put in motion as to what needs to be built or how we're going to address our low-income housing because we don't have all the information that he does in terms of why he made the choices that he made we're just dealing with the information that's been put in front of us and trying to do what's best for the town and the kids and that's it thank you iel we stand at a critical juncture in this community with 2900 new housing units coming our way ensuring continued excellence in our school is more important than ever right now that's why the board of education is presenting this referendum to you it's a thoughtful plan to address both infrastructure needs and increased enrollment I understand some of you have concerns and I respect that the mayor last night raised some points and I want to address some of them directly yes Rising costs are a challenge especially for salaries and benefits as a board member a taxpayer myself I share those concerns and responsibility of spending taxpayer money this is why we meticulously prioritize projects based on the expertise of our facility Department professionals not the architect every dollar in this plan is allocated to an essential repair and the reopening of pregnance Elementary School a vital step in accommodating a growing student population remember delaying necessary repairs like have been done in other projects lead to higher costs later everything's going up by the day so to do it to do this project in peace meal could double the cost of it in 5 years by investing now we save money in the long run and we Safeguard the quality of our schools which is a Cornerstone of Wayne's identity some have suggested this peace meal solution but here's the truth peac meal approaches are costly and disruptive they create unnecessary delays and strains in the future instead let's seize the opportun Unity this plan isn't just about fixing old problems it's about preparing our children for the future we need modern facilities and resources to equip them with the skills they need to thrive in an Ever Changing World raising taxes is never easy and I deeply appreciate your trust we recognize everyone sitting at this table recognizes this burden and we explored every alternative to funding and options that are available to this board unfortunately it Bond referendum Remains the only viable path we have for many people who don't understand we do not have the ability to go out and bond projects without voter approval the township due to the way the law is written the township could go out and spend spend $100 million Bond referendum tonight and all they have to do is open the meeting to the public to and each member of the public can speak for about three or five minutes whatever they choose that's the system We inherited that we didn't create it however this isn't just about the board or the schools it's about investing in our community's future strong Co schools attract families boost property values Drive economic growth this investment benefits everyone in Wayne now and for generations to come and for those who don't believe that home values are driven by the by having a great School District just email me I'll send you four five six 10 research reports that show it does talk to the ruers they'll tell you first first thing they do when a family moves in here they're talking about how are the schools parents who get up at our meetings who have complaints say we chose this District because of the schools so a comment that oh people just move here because it's nice is irresponsible in my opinion I urge you to learn more about this referendum attend informational meeting next on February 15th ask questions engage we have questions up on our website we have a thought exchange up we will answer your questions I'm confident we can work together to get this done we can make this the let's make this the right choice for the kids of Wayne as well as the community and as both Mr Faber and Mr Paka said we inherited this we had no input into housing where it was going to be how many units there were going to be we just get told and when you just get told you got to start planning 2025 September of 2025 children will be coming into our schools from these new developments look up on Valley Road one building gone already next one's gone they are projecting to be in there Avalon Bay by May of 2025 rting GF is a property on elps road 2025 we're getting it all at once folks and I'm not giving a doomsday I'm telling you the facts and I'm responding to comments that were made I would be happy to sit down with anybody from Valley Road who wants to sit down and talk would be more than happy to have the conversation as with anybody sitting around this table everyone has their opinion I respect opinions but let's assure oursel that the facts being put out there are correct at this point we're going to move back into executive session we have some legal items we need to discuss we will not we'll probably be in executive session half hour we will not be taking any action I'm sorry at this time we open the meeting for anyone who speak on anything sorry real passionate there um anyone wishing to speak on any item motion second anyone wishing to speak now we're going into exact thank you everybody thank you thank you thank you thank you