##VIDEO ID:KS6U7Ob9mn0## 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 June the times posted on a district website placed in the board office and in each of the district schools and sent to the Plainsboro and West Windsor Plainsboro West Windsor Public Libraries and plainsburg and West Windsor Township clerks this is reorganization meeting of the West Windsor Plainsboro Regional School District for the period of January 25 2025 through January 2026 in accordance with the state Sunshine Law adequate notice of this meeting was provided by sending a notice to the time date and location and to the extent node the agenda of the meeting to the home news again the Times West Windsor Plainsboro public libraries copy of this notice has also been posted uh or have been posted in the board office filed with the Plainsboro with Plains borrows and West Windsor Township clerks placed in each of the schools and posted on a District's website okay the results of November's election West Windsor Elizabeth George Shier received a total of 10,513 votes congratulations okay okay we have pu in Plainsboro we have pu abano who received 4,466 votes and in Plainsboro we have aanta received a total of 4,41 votes congratulations okay at this time um we'll uh we'll do the oath of office and we'll what'll happen is is you'll raise your right hand and and you'll uh State the oath and I'll start on my left side with Miss jera okay I Elizabeth George Shera do solemnly swear that I will support the Constitution of the United States and the constitution of the state of New Jersey and that I will hear true faith and allegiance to the same and to the governments established in the United States and the state under the authority of the people so help me God I Elizabeth George chera do Sal swear that I possess the qualifications prescribed by law for the office of member of a board of education and I'm not disqualified as a voter pursu into RS 19 col4 4-1 nor disqualify due to conviction of a crime or offense listed in njsa 18 colon A-1 12-1 um and that I will faithfully and partially and just justly perform all the duties of that office according to the best of my ability so help me God okay congratulations thank you okay and next we'll go to miss bonsel I Pua bunel do solemnly swear that I will support the Constitution of the United States and the constitution of the state of New Jersey and that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same and to the governments established in the United States and this state under the authority of the people so help me God I Pua bunel do solemnly swear that I possess the qualifications prescribed by law for the office of member of a board of education and that I'm not disqualified as a voter pursuant to RS section 19 4-1 nor disqualify due to conviction of a crime or offense listed in njsa section 18a 12-1 and that I will faithfully impartially and justly perform all the duties that office of that office according to the best of my ability so help me God okay congratulations all right Miss sha your chance I aanta sha do solemnly swear that I will support the Constitution of the United States and the constitution of the state of New Jersey and that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same and to the government established in the United States and this state under the authority of the people so help me God I a jantaa do solemnly swear that I possess the qualifications prescribed by law for the office of member of a School Board of Education and that I am not disqualified as a voter pursuant to rs1 1941 nor disqualified due to conviction of a crime or offense listed in njsa 18a 12-a and that I will faithfully impartially and justly perform all the duties of that office according to the best of my ability so help me God okay congratulations okay at this time um I guess we we'd like some photo ops if you would like it's your chance family members if you want to stand in front of the flag or in front of the board or I should put this in here because I don't need to pass this the board table that's board tables fine yeah I'll get out of the picture e Girl Scout [Applause] good okay this time we'll do a roll call we start with Miss bonso roll call just a yes here okay Miss chenera yes here miss hoe yes Miss Krug yes Miss mccuan yes Miss migga yes Miss sha Miss Shetty yes Miss zovich okay we are a board not board we but a board um all right at this time we're going have nominations for president I'm going to open the floor you guys can nominate um and then when the nominations stop we'll close the floor and then I'll ask for vote so at this time I'm opening the floor uh for nominations for president of the board I'd like to nominate uh grayan mckuin for president she's been president this past year and done a wonderful job guiding the um the board with her patience her um her kindness and um all that she does for for us so I would like to uh nominate gry and continue being the uh president for this upcoming year okay any are there any other nominations okay hearing none I'm going to close the floor so this time uh a yes or a yay will mean a vote for Miss MC Miss MC we'll start with Miss bonsel yes Miss chenera yes Miss hoe yes Miss Krug yes U okay next Miss malga yes Miss uh Miss sha yes Miss Shetty yes um and and last last is M Miss mcon yes okay [Applause] congratulations no no y the next order of business will be uh the voting uh for the vice president floor will be open nomination made thank you thank you so much and uh and happy New Year everybody and congratulations to our members that were sworn in today um next I'd like to get a nomination for uh VP I nominate Pua bonsel for vice president great thank you any other nominations for VP okay uh I can close that now and uh ask for a roll call vote okay okay we'll start with Miss chenera yes Miss ho yes Miss Krug yes Miss McAn yes Miss migga yes Miss sha yes Miss uh Shetty yes Miss sponsel yes okay congratulations [Applause] so as part of our reorganization and congratulations Puja as they switch over off uh into the background here um as part of our reorganization there are several items we need to vote on to continue the regular business of the school district um can I get a motion for items numbers 7 through 34 uh Liz and Louisa are there any questions or comments okay okay okay we'll start with Miss chenera yes Miss hoe yes Miss Krug yes Miss maliga yes Miss sha yes Miss Shetty yes Miss sponsel yes Miss McAn yes uh thank you and that closes the reorganization portion of our agenda and now we can move on to our regular business items um uh Dr adal do you have any all right suffer a tragedy in our community um with the loss of a student at High School South on New Year's Day um I want to thank the staff and students um and the members of the community uh for all the support and heartfelt condolences um to the Ansari family um over the past uh week um uh this past Monday uh at High School South we did have um a crisis team response um um and I want to thank the administration members of the counseling staff as well as members of our extended community that came in support of our students um had the opportunity to speak um with shahir's family last week and uh they were very clear and wanting to remember shahir um as as a excellent student a student that had that they were incredibly proud of as a proud contributor and volunteer to our school community into our greater community and to his faith community they were proud of him as a son and as a brother and as a family member he was an active contributor in our cricket team and our Muslim Student Association and they wanted him to be remembered for his contributions in various ways um and for his commitment to community and to others um so um we thank the Ansari family uh for their willingness to let us share a little bit about their son um um and and I thank the South Community um for all that they've done in support of the family um with that there was some um some questions about timing of messaging and whatnot and I just wanted to share that with every tragedy and every loss um we take the lead as a school district from the family um so our timing is sometimes um impacted by the timing of um what what the family needs um in that particular circumstances um the school Community will never be the one that necessarily breaks the news but we're never going to be the one that breaks the news to a family member um so we will always um you know take guidance from the family on timing um and that's what we did on this particular um situation um based on the the family's Faith um and cultural beliefs um there were services that happen quickly um in accordance with their with their beliefs um and we honor that um and we ask the community to honor that um so again when unfortunately as a community we have experienced tremendous loss over the last several years um in every circumstance we follow um the guidance of the family and the and and when when necessary the guidance of from law enforcement um depending on inves ation so I'll just say that every circumstance is different and we will always uh defer and work with other agencies and families in those circumstances um to that end I also wanted to just sort of pause and recognize um another member of our Comm our Greater Community mayor kantou um this past uh Thursday uh Plainsboro Township had their own reorganization meeting uh had the opportunity to attend as uh the community came out in in tremendous uh support of Mayor kentu in the recognition of his 50 years of community service it's his uh 50th year on Township count committee uh 44 as mayor and he did step back from the role and responsibility of mayor uh to allow for a transition in the in the Plainsboro committee uh but he is staying on um and he will be a very active contributing uh member of that committee over the next two years of his term um but it was a a tremendous um reminder of the importance of community service and the contributions that a group of individuals can make um because the mayor is very clear that the power really came from the power of the committee and there's three members with over 30 almost 30 years experience including Mr Lewis who's in the audience um at that particular uh meeting um the governor came in recognition of the mayor and and had some very kind words but Rush Holt and Linda Greenstein and uh Senator zwicker and others every mayor from the local area so it really was a a very heartfelt welcome uh uh recognition of Mayor Kent's service um and his family of course was in attendance also want to recognize that the reorganization that Ed Yates was elected mayor in Plainsboro and those of us that work with Ed I believe it's 28 years on the committee right and he's one of the junior members um so uh and David bander will be the uh will be the deputy mayor I also wanted to welcome our new board members and aant welcome to to the board um and I did want to also just pause in remembrance that this is board member appreciation month um and while there's a resolution on the agenda this evening um you know we just want to extend our thanks and gratitude to the members of the board this is a community service role uh run by you know volunteers who give graciously of their time away from their family um on Tuesday nights in particular but other nights throughout the year um and and and there's tremendous amount of conversation and collaboration as they serve as the representatives to our greater School community in helping the guide the administration with respect to decisions for behalf of our students and the impacts that those decisions make to our greater community so again my thanks and appreciation to the board and with that I'll close my comments thank you thank you Dr aderhold uh and we appreciate this School District so um this is great and now I'm actually going to turn it over to our student Representatives we have uh Rachel Joseph and Anna Chen from High School South and Johnson Lynn from High School North so looking forward to hearing from you and getting your report all right hello we hope you all had a great break and a Happy New Year and and I are so happy to be back obviously over the past month we've had a long break from school but our Sports programs have been active and getting at it these past couple weeks both High School South and North hosted their Winter Classic Holiday Tournament for the girls and boys team South's wrestling also attended and placed well at a couple invitationals but we would like to especially highlight our South boys and girls swim team who hosted their pirate Invitational once again making this the 43rd year that they have hosted this meet um both teams did extremely well with our girls team placing second and our boys team placing first and the boys 200 medley relay broke a 16-year-old meet record so we're glad to see all the success of of our programs and look forward to seeing more as the winter season continues jumping back to before break our music department specifically our Orchestra and band have held multiple winter concerts celebrating the holiday season and now I'll pass it off to Anna for clubs and activities thank you Rachel before winter break started student council held their annual winter spirit week and rally the students were split into two team gyms and the underclassmen competed against each other in the auxiliary gym and the upper classman competed in the new gym our pet band and specialized dance teams put on performances while our winter sports teams ran out in front of other peers South also ran a successful Holiday Drive spearheaded by one of our lovely teachers Miss Hayden for the Pei kids South has many exciting events to look forward to in 2025 this Friday the Norths versus South basketball games will be hosted between the two schools with varsity teams competing at North there will also be many upcoming senior nights for winter sports teams where they will honor their senior athletes with both our wrestling and boys basketball programs celebrating theirs next week student council expects to hold their second annual Winter Wonderland event for elementary students later this month and students part of the AVID program also look to host family day and tomorrow night Juniors will continue their college application journey in the in-person Junior College Planning event hosted by South now I'll turn it over to uh North yeah and students had the opportunity to go to compete against their other classes and also grades and also our our music department and our choir held their Crystal knock which was a really intimate show where they didn't use any mics and was just held in the choir room during break many of our seniors wrapped up their regular decisions applications for colleges and we are wishing them all luck in the next couple months and our winter sports are now fully in swing with many of our teams experiencing unprecedented success our boys basketball team has started 8 and0 for the first time in North history and we have dominated our opponents by an average of 14 points per game and kind of to highlight the season one of our games Was Won by a game-winning shop by senior Malachi Jeffers Vieira against Somerville and the final seconds of the game and their next game is against Princeton day school tomorrow at High School North 5:30 p.m. which a lot of students are looking forward to the north swim team has also experienced similar success and they are three in one and they have a meet against hope well later today so we're wishing them luck at their meet and the north fencing team has also had a strong start with the record of 2-2 winning their last two games against Homedale and Somerville they're looking to continue their win streak this Saturday against in ceto high school High School's North student council will also be hosting Harlem Wizards for the very first time since covid and it's open to all grades across wwp families can buy tickets to watch our District's teachers take on the harm Wizards anywhere from elementary school teachers to high school teachers will all be participating in a basketball game on January 17th and that's all we have for our school thank you that's awesome thank you guys for the report I know you guys had a really long break but it sounds like you guys didn't lose your Rhythm because you just as busy as ever so thank you so much for coming out this evening and uh we look forward to having you again for your next report so have a good night guys um now that takes us to our first opportunity for public comments the board oh gosh oh apologies I missed a really big really big introduction and presentation uh might want to cue the kids to leave so now that the the kids are leaving um I would like to turn the floor over to Mr Jeff cesy our board attorney for our annual ethics presentation and training and if I could share um soon as the presentation's done I'm going to pass this form around if you could sign it stating that you witnessed the presentation and then return it thank you all right so uh first of all congratulations to all the reelected and newly elected uh board members um I know you guys have been through this before uh Mrs Shaw this is your first time lucky you I I know what you guys are all thinking is this real life or is this just fantasy this is real you get to do it again lucky you guys um so just for a reminder this presentation does not replace individual uh the individual ethics training required for all newly El elected and appointed board members that's our little uh caveat so uh so are you ready you ready for this all right um it's guaranteed to blow your mind all right U this is this slide actually to me is probably the most important of all the slides um and I highlight the area that I find to be the most important um this is your role as board members right you are uh a public body so what you do matters as a public body as members of the board um what I like to point out is is you want to avoid conduct which is a violation of their public trust which would create a justifiable impression amongst the public the public that such trust is being violated those words justifiable impression are are critical it's not just a violation of the act so an actual violation it's creating an impression a justifiable impression um that can violate the act so the major tenants of your role as board members are you are the governing body of the school district you're in charge with high level policymaking decisions you're only the entity can take an action not individual board members and we're going to discuss all this in detail um your decision-making Authority is is limited you don't administer the schools that's the job of administration um and you obviously not must must engage in conflicts of interest and this is all governed by the code of ethics njsa 18a 12- 24.1 so the first one and I and as I've said this before I'm sure in Prior presentations I don't like to generally read at you but this is the actual law that you are supposed to be following so I'm going to read this to you uh a is I I will uphold and enforce all laws rules and regulations of the State Board of Education and court orders pertaining to schools desired changes shall be brought about only through legal unethical procedures so follow the rules and uh for those of you don't remember um I'm going to show you a couple cases for each of these um if it starts with a C that's a case if it starts with an A that's an advisory opinion uh and if you have any questions write any of this feel free to ask uh but just as an example c58 14 a Bo board member violated The Code by trying to issue a rice notice to a district employee without following the proper legal procedures seeking board authority or Consulting with the board I mean quite honestly the only person the board can rice is going to be the superintendent superintendent's obligation to Rice anyone else um c104 the board president violated the code when they contacted newly hired employee and told them that their appointment was void because he directed the superintendent to remove the individual's name from the agenda but the superintendent failed to do so um I mean that board member I'm sure was thinking you know at this point if an Ethics complaints filed he's thinking save me but board member was ultimately removed B this is something you always keep in mind throughout your uh whenever you're acting as a board member kids come first right that's why you're all here that's why administration's here um I will make decisions in terms of the educational welfare of children and will seek to develop and maintain public schools that meet the individual needs of all children regardless of their ability race Creed sex or social standing um I would also tell you there's a few of those missing if you look at the Led there's some protected categories that don't make it in there that probably should but the Crux of it is you give it all you got you do what's best for for kids and just uh another case example board member violated the code when she refused to leave executive session while a board discussed a matter involving a a family member the SEC penalty was initially a censure but reduce the reprimand um because board Council said it was okay but just you should always rely on councel but in this case maybe not all right um c28 23 while discussing a matter of an employes actions and possible discipline in executive session a board member had the ba distribute copies of a letter that the employee wrote to the board but instructed the ba not to give a copy to the superintendent uh in addition the member stated uh she had been in contact with the employee had picked up the letter from the employees home noted she was representing the employee because they are friends um and look this is a pretty standard stuff you can't give advantages to to folks um I mean you can't just say hey you know you're my best friend you know I'm I'm gonna help you out you don't get to do that you're not the representatives you're administering the school district so you got to keep that in mind um see look at the big picture I will confine my board action to policymaking planning and appraisal and I would help to frame policies and plans only after the board has consulted those who will be affected by them is the major one you're you are policy makers right that's your your main role is uh you have a policy committee you are running the district through the policies so c614 very quickly board members conducted a visit a board member conducted a visit to assess a candidate for assistant superintendent without board authority you really shouldn't ever be involved in while the SEC may give a little leeway Our advice is always you don't get involved in in any evaluation any interviews uh any exit interviews of Staff other than a superintendent that's it um A10 is is just for those of for for the new folks here uh is the advisory is is an example of an advisory opin excuse me opinion violated The Code by volunteering for a school club where member had contact within control of student Personnel Resources and administration as well as received orders from District personnel and administration uh we'll talk about volunteering a little more because that's a whole another area that that does create issues I know it's questions we've had in the past um but in that situation the board member failed to combine their actions to policymaking planning and Appraisal um D no micromanaging not this board but there are some boards with board members who may say you know I don't care I want it all um and they want to oversee and and be involved in day-to-day activities and it happens um but here you say I will you have to remember I will carry it my responsibility not to administer the schools but together with my fellow board members to see that they are well-run uh an Evidence of violation would be a board member gives a direct order to school Personnel or becomes directly involved in activities or functions that the responsibility of school Personnel or the day-to-day administration of the school district or Charter School um so it can um it can be easy to blur the line right um you know you guys get to hear a lot of information you get to know a lot of information that line can get blurred sometimes you can get I mean there's a landslide um of of information that you may get so you can easily cross over from a data uh excuse me from policymaking uh oversight to day to-day that's if you have questions about that always ask us but um just keep that in mind you don't want to cross over in the day-to-day operations all right c1124 prior to being appointed to the board uh a member was appointed to be a volunteer coach for a high school football team despite being appointed to the to the Boe the member continued as a volunteer coach the SEC found that simultaneously serving on the board and being a volunteer coach in a district violated the act so I mean think about it this way um you know this basketball season right you may be an assistant basketball coach volunteering um you know you you uh you know when you're Co you just feel alive when you're coach uh you know you you're volunteering you get elected to the board and you're having a great season you want to continue you want to hear we are the champion playing when you're done um but uh you have to say to yourself what what do I want to do I want to be a coach or do I want to be a board member I can't be both uh so you have to understand because as a board member when you are acting as a volunteer coach they're still going to view you as a board member right so you have to know that there's that line things do change when you become a board member a1510 board member violate the act by participating in an exit interview or mer observing next interview as it would be it would breach the board memb obligation for frame from becoming directly involved in activities that are responsibility of school personnel and would equate to micromanaging like we said before you don't want to get involved in any Personnel matters other than what's brought to you by the superintendent that you need to vote on as a board as a whole um c646 the board member violated the code when they he unilaterally visited the school and took pictures of open windows in the middle school and items in the board office bathroom which he then spoke to reporters about um I don't know why a board member would do that like I don't whe they're thinking like tonight I'm gon to have myself a real good time and go take pictures of the of the in the board office um but people do it and that's when they get that's when action is taken by the school ethics Commission all right uh E I will recognize that Authority rests with the Board of Education will make no personal promises nor take any private action that may compromise the board that seems self-explanatory but but they're do they're I'll talk about it a little later uh and we talked about it before the ethics commission and the office of administrative law have used that language May compromise the board in two different ways so it's it's not particularly clear we'll talk about that a little later but I I while this seems like it's an easy one don't make any uh personal promises or take any private action it's not as clear as you would think especially when you're involved in social media uh so c164 board member violated the code when they made a personal promise to a candidate for assistant superintendent by advancing the possibility of his employment with the district and promising to resolve a contract issue for the district which had the potential to compromise the board uh I mean this is individual ual this is board action they're taking as an individual you can't you can't do that remember you function as a whole there we go f i will refuse to surrender my independent judgment to special interests or partisan political groups or to use this school for personal gain or the gain of friends um evidence of a violation board member takes action on behalf of or at the request of a special interest group or person's organized and voluntarily United in opinion and who adhere to a particular political party or cause or use the school in order to acquire some benefit Financial Financial or otherwise for their member uh or a member of their immediate family or a friend um I mean you may say to yourself oh you know you're the best you're my best friend but and I'm I'm going to get you a job but you guys can't do that that's not your role here as as board members um the board functions as a whole you take your your lead from your superintendent C 3614 board member May endorse candidates up for election to the board if the endorsement is made as a private citizen and not as a board member or on behalf of the board um if you guys recall I've talked about this in the past you need a disclaimer I'm I'm speaking as uh an individual not on behalf of the board these are my own personal opinions that type of thing um uh I mean if you if you go and um endorse someone and don't say that or you endorse them as a board member and it happens it's like hey look I'm a I'm a I'm a board member and I think this person should be on on the board I mean you're G going to have mud on your face you will um it'll be a big disgrace F no personal gain uh a294 board member who owned operated a business could not continue in connection with Educational Foundation to offer a fundraising offer fundraiser charging students and splitting profits between the business and Foundation as it could be perceived as using a position for personal gain um this is to protect you guys I I mean this is one of those situations where if you look at at this advisory opinion you're like you know what this may benefit the kids and and it may um but it can certainly be used against you as board members saying hey look you're profiting off of this and and even if it benefits both sides um so you know just keep that in mind um that you you you can't uh excuse me you can't do that um a1314 may continue as a freelance journalist however must not report on board issues and must ensure that no information uh that was discussed Solly in executive session is disclosed um C 4407 violated The Code by publicly posting confidential information that a staff member was removed from the school and hospitalized for a medical condition you get confidence so you'll see some of these um hit different areas of the code or of the of the statute um so I mean there's confidential information you guys are going to get as board members and you have to keep that uh confidential um you know so so you got to think like this these things may violate multiple parts of the co code um not just that particular one 82414 conflicted board members may not participate in the board search for new superintendent as confidential matters pertaining to search criteria might be disclosed by the board um so excuse me I apologize you know with some of this stuff you know you may feel like you and I'll use I'll use an example um when you're getting certain information you may have that confidential information uh a good example is like if there's a public issue right you have an issue that the public knows about they're getting all the information wrong you know what's right and you could feel your Mercury Rising like your internal Mercury Rising um and are you gonna let it all hang out no you're not you're going to have to um keep that confidential The public's wrong they don't know what's happening but you have to keep that stuff confidential a206 would not violate The Code by sending a letter to the editor expressing his opinion about the budget or making a statement to the press so long as in the letter or statement you do not hold yourself at as a board member and information is accurate and not confidential again use the disclaimer uh the disclaimer is critical this is hard to read here sorry um I can keep a secret G this is I will hold confidential all matters pertaining to the schools which if disclose would needlessly injure individuals or the schools in all their matters I will provide accurate information and in concert with my fellow Bo members interpret uh to the staff the aspirations of the community for its schools um so I use the example like you're going to get confidential information you may be doing a a uh superintendent search obviously the community thank you uh the community is uh going to be interested in that so you may be um you know sitting around you know picture you're sitting around the holidays um with family over uh maybe having a cocktail not that I'm encouraging it um sitting by that red fire light and um they ask you about the superintendent search you have that information you know about it you can't disclose it you can't that's an Ethics violation right there oop sorry I think I jumped and where's my spot sorry there we go sorry uh c718 board member was censured for responding to and having a social media message reposted over an alleged student discipline incident of a high school student the message identified the student's school grade level gender and specific details about the incident and length of suspension imposed it doesn't matter if the information's out there in the public if you're getting a confidential out confidentially in executive session can't discuss it uh c919 board member was reprimanded for inadvertently copying a Community member on an email that was intended to go to all Boe members and the CSA uh where in discussions that were held in executive session over staff members parent complaint over security issue was revealed so this is one of those be careful reply alls right this was not intentional didn't mean to do it intent does not matter you still did it it still disclosed so you hit that reply all um just there was I don't recall what the actual reprimand if it was reprimand centure I presume it was reprimand but it's still a violation of the code H listen to your superintendent's recommendation I will vote to appoint the best qualified Personnel available after consideration of the recommendation of the chief administrative officer um evidence of a violation board member acts on Personnel matter without a recommendation to superintendent so that said like that would be like I'm we're going to hire a principal right we're going to hire a principal without the superintendent recommending it we're going to hire a teacher with the superintendent recommending it can't do that now the superintendent recommends it um can you vote no you can we don't but you have to have a reasonable basis for you can't just vote no uh there has to be some reason reasonable reason for it um I don't love this one but this advis your opinion board member May participate in an interview committee for a candidate for a high level administrative or supervis your position I'm G to advise you no don't do that um it there's nothing good that comes out of that as soon as you ask a question as soon as you um open your mouth it's going to be used against you stay with away from it um c3502 board member if the commission did F this is why things are not always that clear sometimes inconsistent board members violated the code or did not violate the code when they voted not to reappoint an employeed to former position with the district despite the contrary recommendation the principal and superintendent so that's an example of you can you can vote no on these things but you can also get in trouble for voting no so it's it's it's a fine line um not everybody will get that Bartles and James but I appreciate it um so thank you for your support so this is I I will support and protect School Personnel in the proper performance of their duties C 4907 board member violated The Code by sending a letter to the superintendent copying the State Board of Education and executive County super superintendent accusing the superintendent of allowing employees to violate board policy so this is an interesting one to me the issue isn't sending a letter to the superintendent or telling the superintendent that a board that that an employee is violating board policy you should do that the issue is copying the State Board of Education and the county that is this is internal you have internal information it needs to be handled because you could be wrong quite honestly um it needs to be investigated that's your job to refer to the superintend not to refer to the county not to refer to the state it's very specific and uh we will touch upon that but that is where the issue uh came about uh c535 the board member violated The Code by sending an email to the superintendent that was also sent to the ba and all other board members asking the superintendent to provide an accounting of her personal uh her personal leave um that's is not supporting the superintendent and it's also an individual idual action not a board action so keep that in mind as well C 2511 always shake my head on this one board V member violate The Code by posting a picture of the superintendent on Facebook with a comment now if we can only do something about our local terrorists that destroy dreams and burn Futures Mama Mia Jay I will refer all complaints to the chief administrative officer and will act on the complaints at public meetings only after a failure of an administrative solution um evidence of a violation board member acts on or tries to resolve a complaint or conducts an investigation or inquiry before referring the complaint to the superintendent uh uh other than at a public meeting or prior fairly of an administrative solution um I mean imagine it like you say you know I want to ride my bicycle come down to the school and do my own investigation uh that's not your role you're not the investigators that's what the administration does that's where not only you're not using proper channels you're getting involved in day-to-day operations C 2505 provid to The Code by going to the principal directly in connection with a parent complaint rather than referring the complaint to the superintendent as board members you guys will hear things from the community from staff from students um you hear complaints you don't go to the principal you don't go to the teacher you go directly to the superintendent that's it that's your job is to go to the superintendent you you have a different role than a parent now if there's an issue when you are the parent of a child well then you follow the chain of command that's a different role it's why you're wearing separate hats and you got to keep that in mind that you are wearing separate hats if you have questions about how you're supposed to handle ask ask the questions before you you act we'd rather be proactive than reactive c247 board member violated The Code by not providing the superintendent with letters because he didn't like the superintendent's management uh the board member went to the administrators to address the issues it's clear violation you're not following proper channels you're administering the school district um I will tell you to take a look at this one yourself but this is your conflicts um and this well the purpose of this one is for negotiations when you're we're negotiating uh with the labor organizations whether you can or should be involved and in what level of involvement you may have um also if you have a relative depending on the definition of relative that works in this school district what you can and cannot vote on um typically the chain of command of supervision for that individual but this is why we uh usually pass out that questioner at the beginning of the year so if you haven't gotten it I'm sure you will and we determine what conflicts you have uh I think most of you were pretty good but um to the extent you're not you know we we'll discuss it my what I always tell you is just ask us ask us if you have a question or concern whether you should be uh voting on a particular item um and again this only applies to negotiations basically and when it comes to negotiation we're going to tell you uh if if you do have a a family member in the school district um it's pretty straightforward you're not really going to be involved if you have a relative outside of the school district in another school district well then we have some questions to ask then we need to know what's their what's their job what's their job title what's their role in the association what's their role in negotiations what's role in the grievance procedure that type of thing um and it's very fact sensitive so we'll go through that get that information and then we'll tell you hey look you can be involved or you you can't be involved um I actually had to ask Mark with this manant I I apologize um because I'll give him credit this was his slide um this was his issue so um that is from Taken I didn't know that I'd ask did you know that oh well I I didn't get that but he he explained it to me that I remembered so this is about your training right um and this has happened so uh we're we're intimately familiar with this the SEC amended its administrative regulations to provide for mandatory penalties for those who do not complete their training requirements in a timely manner um so you can't say you know nothing really matters to me so if you don't complete your training requirements by 12:31 you'll get a letter from the SEC advising of a date that training must be completed or an order to show cause will be issued otcs is order to show cause if the training is not completed until after the otcs is issued but before the SEC issues a decision you'll receive a censure if training is not until after the SEC issues a decision but before the commissioner issues a final decision you'll receive a suspension of 30 days if you provide written notice to the njsba or and SEC of comp of uh completion uh or 60 days if you do not provide ritten notice if training is not completed by the time commissioner issues a decision um you know it's easy come easy go you'll be removed uh staffing companies this is advisor your opinion advis that employment of a board member sister by a substitute staffing company that had cont a contract with the board for substitutes would not conflict the board member for negotiations or participation in all issues concerning the district's superintendent uh building principal or budget that's because it's a third party it's a staffing agency um that's the distinction there if you use in District Subs then it may be a different story um advisory opinion 8314 board members a spouse is employed as a substitute teacher this is the difference the board member may not participate in any Personnel matters of those in the chain of command of the board member spouse that's the distinction there substitute is employed by The District substitute Staffing a um but that's why you always ask when there's ever any contact you may have with with the district all right beware of social media this is the biggest issue we see is is social media issues uh it causes more problems and I get it's you know an age of social media and you want to be on social media but you're board members now and you have to be cognizant of the fact that whether you mean it or not people are going to say oh that person's a board member um they're they're on our Board of Education they're going to view you as that and that's where that whole justifiable impression thing comes in right if you're giving the justifiable impression if you're talking about a school district issue on social media you may be talking as a private citizen and this is where there's a conflict between the First Amendment rights your first amendment rights and your rights as a board member um and it's it's it's a little tricky and I'm going to tell you it's the ethics commission hasn't been particularly consistent with it um just ER on the side of one either having a disclaimer in there uh or two which I prefer don't be on social media talking about anything related to the School District c718 Board member was censured for responding to and having a social media message reposted over allege student discipline incident so we and we talked about that before that's um was just just reposting that's all it was uh c1915 and c2015 SEC found two board members violated the act when they posted uh on Facebook that a substitute teacher who's also running for election for the board was unemployed and engaged in misconduct as a substitute teacher not withstanding the fact that the statements were not true and actually applied to another teacher the commission found that it violated both I and G and issued a reprimand so doesn't take much so c561 19 and 5719 uh and I and I'm going to note as you can see below a similar case uh the board member to the in this one the uh SEC found that board member violated the act when they made offensive posts on their personal Facebook page that were anti-muslim UMC found although they were personal uh the post on on on a personal Facebook page and were not made in the capacity of Bo member and the content of the post were personal opinions the B member violated the act as it was Private action that may compromise the board um did they use that may compromise the board language and undermine the public trust um the member was only censured because uh he had not run for a re-election therefore removal was not an option now c1121 the SEC found that allegedly racist remarks on a personal Facebook page and not violate the act now the person said they're they're they're I guess Facebook was hacked but as said even if it wasn't hacked um they were they weren't acting in a capacity as a board member um they the post did not constitute personal promises or specific actions attrib to board and the complaint was dismissed I can't square that so it's why I tell you I don't it's not particularly consistent avoid it um Chris told you earlier we have these acknowledgements receipt make sure that you sign them and return them and congratulations you made it through another ethics presentation Another One Bites the Dust um but we will not let you go yet do we have any questions anybody any takers all right thank you thank you Mr cesi oh wait we do have a question hold on yeah I know you were going to talk about a little bit about volunteering because I know a lot of us are involved in a lot of organizations and and clubs and whatnot I apologize yes so um yeah and we always tell you guys hey look if you have questions about volunteering come to us come and ask us because it's that's one of those things where you have to be cognizant of what your role is you the SEC the doe they want they want volunteers they want folks to volunteer everybody wants you to volunteer um but you have to understand Your Role you can't direct staff no matter what you mean you may be volunteering and you're doing it I mean obviously you're doing it you're volunteering doing out of the goodness of your heart right um but people still view you as board members there any way you slice it they're going to look at you as board members when you're doing it for a school district function right or or in any way involved in the school district maybe it's a homecoming thing or something like that right um You have to be careful of directing staff directing students things of that nature um so it's it is very fact sensitive issue which is why we always tell everybody hey tell us what you're volunteering for and we'll do an analysis of it and let you know how to handle it whether you can volunteer whether you can't volunteer and if you do volunteer what to uh watch out for and how to conduct yourself I me I guess yeah thank you because I think every year we have these uh similar type of questions volunteering and in terms of like you know a lot of us are involved in PTA and school things so and I you know I do reach out and talk to you guys yes I know you can do both um but sometimes when I hear this presentation I'm just kind of like ah is it yeah because it's not always that clear and and the other thing we can do you saw that there's advisory opinions right so if there's if we don't know the answer we we'll send we'll send a letter to the secc and ask for an advisory opinion we'll give them the facts and that will cover you it should cover you but as you can see if they're not always consistent so I'd rather error on the side of asking them if we don't know the answer but yeah it it's and I hate to have this presentation and scare you guys but we a little bit we want to um but yeah just it's the easiest thing to do is just to ask and and get an opinion because it is fact sensitive Y and if be a volunteering outside organizations not like within school well it's more school connected like so it's it's it's more like hey are are teachers involved our students involved uh if you're if you're like look if you're a volunteer uh coach in a in a in a in a community League that's different right it really isn't connected to the school district so that that's not an issue okay all right all right what we have one more yes um what about roles that may involve finances like in in these volunteer type of positions that might be like your like a Treasurer right like a Treasurer um that's always a little touchy when it comes to money obviously um so like a PTA treasurer for example I think that's kind of where you're you're you're going with it um it's probably easier to be president than Treasurer to be very honest with you because you are involved with money um as a board member so is that justifiable ression thing um it could be perfectly fine but then it may not um that's one of those I'd want to do a little research on and get you an opinion if that was an issue but always a little careful with handling finances when it's in any way touches or concerns the school district okay good questions thank you so much I I love having the real life examples and we do have one more question okay so outside organization so let's say that um a board member is um doing College interviews on you know for their own for their alma mater of students who might be in District how would you feel about that college interviews of students that are in District currently in District um that would be something I'd be a little more because you now you're you're you have some more control over over students and um so it is outside but you're also dealing directly with students so it's a little concerning uh but it's also like hey you know you may be an employer right students looking to work somewhere um you just have to be careful because you it can look like there's personal promises or you're giving gains to friends as a board member so that's where that line is I I would be a little careful with that do we have any any other questions for Mr kesy all righty well thank you so much for your presentation and our annual ethics training okay now now we can move on to the first opportunity for public comments the board invites thoughts and reactions on agenda item items and items of concern from members of our community who are present each participant is asked to give his or her name and address prior to making a statement which will be limited to 3 minutes in accordance with board policy 0167 all student statements shall be directed to the presiding officer this public comment period shall be limited to 60 minutes do we have any comments feel free to come up to the podium if you do uh or we do also have a second opportunity later seeing none okay I will close this first public comment period and um uh since we don't have any uh Board of Education committee reports uh since we're starting a fresh year we can move on to the voting portion of our meeting so can I have a motion to approve Administration items numbers 1 through four uh Dana and Liz any questions or comments okay we'll start with Miss Krug yes Miss chenera yes Miss ho yes Miss malga yes Miss sha yes Miss steedy yes Miss uh bonsel yes Miss McAn yes uh we don't have any items for curriculum and instructions so can I get a motion to approve Finance items numbers one through n uh Louisa and scha any questions or comments okay we'll start with Miss hoe yes Miss shedy yes excuse me again miss chener yes Miss grro yes accepted stain on um C1 A and B A and C1 a okay next we have Miss malga yes Miss sha yes Miss bonsel yes Miss MCU yes and now can I get a motion to approve Personnel item number one plus the green addendum UHA and Louisa uh any questions or comments okay we'll start with Miss Shetty yes Miss ho yes Miss chenera yes Miss Krug yes Miss malga yes Miss sha yes Miss bonsel yes Miss M yes and before we move on I just want to acknowledge a retirement that we just approved um Renee Hutton CMS secretary is retiring after serving 23 years in the district so we appreciate you and thank you so much for all your years of service to wwp and and congratulations on a very welld deserved retirement good luck to you and now can I get a motion to approve uh the Board of Education minutes for November 19th uh Puja and Dana uh all in favor say I I I uh any abstentions yes I abstain do we have any bison reports no any new business okay now that takes us to our second opportunity for public comments the board invites comments from members of our community who are present each participant is asked to give his or her name an address prior to making a statement which will will be limited to 3 minutes in accordance with board policy 0167 all statement shall be directed to the presiding officer and this public comment period shall be limited to 15 minutes do we have any public comments for this evening to to close us off no seeing none I will close this second opportunity for public comment and we can move to adjourn so can I get a motion to adjourn um ly and AA uh all those in favor say I I I all right there we have it thank you and again Happy New Year's