notice is hereby given of the reorganization meeting of the Board of Education of the town of Westfield in the county of Union New Jersey at 700 p.m. on the evening of Wednesday May 1st 2024 in cafeteria B of Westfield High School 550 Dorian Road Westfield New Jersey the purpose of the meeting is to transact the regular business of the board and to transact any other business to come properly before the board this is to advi advise the general public and to instruct that it be recorded in the minutes that in compliance with chapter 231 of the public laws of 1975 entitled the open public meetings act the Westfield school board on Friday April 26 2024 caused to be posted at the office of the Board of Education located at 302 Elm Street Westfield New Jersey and delivered to the Westfield leader The Star Ledger the Westfield Library the town clerk of Westfield tap into Westfield and patch.com a meeting notice setting forth the time date and location of this meeting sonel would you lead us in the flag salute so the results of the uh local the school board election at the annual election held on April 16th 2024 Leila melli sonel Patel and Julie Steinberg were all elected for three-year terms and now I'm going to swear in each of the new members so if you want to meet we'll do Lila first and then sonel and then Julie in the middle here will off off 12 [Applause] States unit States r to than EST of for [Applause] now that the board members are sworn in we'll do a roll call so Rob bonao here Ken Diamond here Brendan gallagan here Charles jinus here Lea melli sonal Patel here Kristen Sonic schmeltz Julie Steinberg oh Mary wickens you're on the next page the next page sorry yeah and the next order of business will be the organization of the board so I will now take nominations for the position of board president this process is governed by policy 152 and will proceed as follows I will take nominations from the board members which must have a second to move forward if there is more than one nomination for the position I will record all of the nominations and seconds after I've received all the nominations I will ask if there is any discussion after discussion we will have a vote on the nominations in the order they were received when more than one person has been nominated for a single Le position the board will vote on candidates in the order in which they were nominated the person with the majority vote of the members of the board present and constituting a quorum shall be elected in the event no candidate receives a majority vote of the board members present and constituting a quorum the proc procedure shall be repeated until someone receives a majority vote of those board members present officers Shall Serve for a term of one year so can I have a nomination for board president do I just say the name or do I give my whole reasoning now uh no just say the name I'd like to Robin Rob I'd like to Robin I'd like to I'd like to Rob I'd like to nominate Rob bonao for president okay do I have a second second do I have any other nominations for board president any discussion sure so um I wanted to nominate Rob for president of Westfield's Board of Education um because Rob is an extremely dedicated board member who has served as co-chair of the curriculum committee he's also an active member of the finance facility committee and serves as the liaison to Westfield High School and the Recreation Commission since being elected two years ago Rob has shown himself not only to be a willing team player but a strong leader his tenure as vice president indicated his pragmatic skill skills not only with his interaction and communication with all stakeholders but with his impartiality Rob is proactive approachable and knowledgeable and it has been an honor working with him and getting to know him I'd like to add um as vice president Rob has consistently demonstrated exceptional leadership and dedication to our educational Community his collaborative approach meltz yes Julie Steinberg and Mary wickens yes okay now we'll switch seats because Rob congratulations you're the new board president I will hand the meeting over to you if you want to make a few comments and then you can lead us in the election of the vice president I appreciate the help in the furniture reorganization as well um so I'd like to take a so thank you all very much I I'd like to take a moment before we proceed to the rest of the meeting um to discuss the upcoming board year the positive work we have ahead of us uh and we're going to find that work to be largely unprecedented I think in the district it's very much an exciting time for us here uh I want to begin though by thanking the most recent past presidents of the board for all the work they've done Amy root Brendan gallagan and sonel Patel have taken to Heart the philosophy of the district since Dr Gonzalez became superintendent and certainly since I join the board that staying the course is not enough each of these leaders improved the function of the board its meetings and its interaction with the district and the community they also navigated some of the more challenging issues before the board exceptionally well so thanks to each of you not only for your service but also for raising the bar I'd also like to thank my fellow board members for trusting me with this role and for all the work you have done and will do to support the district and our students this is truly a collaborative process and I I certainly have seen that everyone on this board has that correct and collaborative mindset um and is here certainly for the benefit of our district and for our students um my goal here is to continue the good work that Amy Brendan and sonel have done and that the boards before us have done done uh while further building on the role of President one of the ways I'd like to do that is to grow in frequency and means the way our board communicates with the community we have an outstanding communication team in the district and I want the board to utilize them more the conduct of our board meetings is governed largely by Statute and the setup is designed to make meetings more of an information exchange they're not designed for dialogue which is often what those who come to our meetings are looking for well I'd like to think our meetings are the hot ticket in town every other Tuesday the fact is that most come to them because they have a question or a concern and while we can't change the structure of our meetings we can add opportunities for that dialogue and that's the first thing I'd like to do over the course of the year we'll create more official opportunities for ideal exchanges but I'll also make myself more available to visit with Community organizations schools or just groups of concerned parents to hear out their concerns and assist in getting questions answered I also want to ensure that we're getting information out to the public in a more proactive manner the district does an excellent job anticipating needs planning for the future and developing a strong foundation for the improvements that are to come we are and have under Dr Gonzalez's leadership taking items that have been talked about for years and making them happen improving fields for example was something joked about as the functional equivalent of waiting for gdau look outside now however and see two rebuilt softball infields why because this district and this board are committed to moving rhetoric to reality we need to improve at letting the public know about all of these positives and my goal will be to ensure we educate the public about the board what it can do is doing how far we've come and all that we have on our plate so to that end I'd like to wrap up by putting my words to action as we know there's significant unrest on our college campuses this is concerning to the parents in our district that this unrest could spill into our district please know that the district is prepared to address any of these concerns through systems that we already have in place after speaking with Dr Gonzalez today we can report so far no significant uptake in any anti-semitic or other discriminatory actions or activity in the district I can also report that our teachers and students have as they always have had resources at the ready to address any concerns they might have through counseling which further supports the investment we made in counseling last year and in academic resources and staff collaboration to address any current event questions that may happen in class we also have a policy recently passed addressing student demonstrations which gives the district the tools to ensure that any act to obstruct the schools or their orderly function will be dealt with quickly and definitively as always specific concerns and requests for further information can be addressed to teachers and building principles who have the most up-to-date information on the operation of our schools the policies of this district and board board are clear discrimination anti-Semitism and threats against any member of our community for any reason will not be tolerated please keep in mind though that as our students teachers and community members work through these difficult times to try your best as July to approach discussions with empathy before judgment none of us are perfect and we don't always have the right words what we do have is our community and we move forward best when we move forward together thank you so now back to business um the next door of business will be the election of the board vice president uh that will be done utilizing the same processes and procedures as the uh as the president uh so no need to repeat those uh so I'll start same way by calling for nominations for vice president for a second once all nominations are in we can move to discussion so uh any nominations for a vice president uh Brandon I'd like to nominate sonel for vice president um second for that Lea uh now any other nominations for vice president okay seeing none I'll close that and move to discussion all right uh just to explain my nomination uh for many of the same reasons that I nominated sonel to be president last year uh those stand uh the leadership team of Rob and sonel has been a Phenom phenomenal Duo uh and I believe that'll be the same going forward this year uh just because you switch seats doesn't mean you guys are really changing how you guys how I see you guys operating as a team and I'd like to see that continue for the sake of the board Kristen okay um I Echo what Brendan just said um I have to compliment sonel on her on managing some of our most challenging meetings with grace and patience um you're practical you're balanced in your approach you're organized and you always encourage teamwork and communication and for those reasons I wholeheartedly nominate or will support um sonel to continue leading as board vice president any further discussion all right Patty Comm have a vote please rob bachio yes Kent diamonds yes Brendan gallagan yes Charles jinus yes Leila melli yes son Patel yes Kristen Sonic schmeltz yes Julie Steinberg yes Mary wickens yes congratulations sonel thank you okay let's see theth okay next item for business is a acknowledging of receipt and reciting the code of ethics applicable to school board members uh each of the board members has a copy of the code of ethics in their folders um I'll start by reading the first and I think we'll go I guess we'll start with son with the second and and work our way around uh until we've until we've read each one there are 10 items so first 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 and ethical procedures 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 I will confine my board action to policymaking planning and appraisal and I will help to frame policies and plans only after the board has consulted those who will be affected by them I will carry out my responsibility not to administer the schools but together with my fellow board members to see the fa well run I will recognize that Authority rests with the Board of Education and will make no personal promises nor take any private action they may compromise the board I will refuse to surrender my independent judgment to special special interest or partisan political groups or to use the schools for personal gain or the gain of friends I will hold confidential all matters pertaining to the schools which if disclosed would need needlessly injure individuals or the schools in all other matters I will provide accurate information and in concert with my fellow board members interpret to the staff the aspirations of the community for its school I will vote to appoint the best qualified Personnel available after consideration of the recommendation of the chief administrative officer I will support and protect School person Personnel in proper performance of their duties and back to me for number 10 I will I will refer all complaints to the chief administrative officer and will act on the complaints at public meetings only after failure of an administrative solution uh and with that we will move to our uh what I believe is our sole announcement of the day uh that is a resolution by the board of educ recognizing outgoing Board of member Board of Education members Sahar aiz I'll read that resolution into the record uh whereas Sahar aiz served for three years on the Westfield Board of Education with dedication to the children families and community members of Westfield and whereas Sahar aiz served as vice president of the Board of Education from 2022 to 2023 and whereas Sahar aiz strongly advocated for Innovative educational programs Improvement of District facil facilities and fostering a learning environment in which all students can be successful and whereas during her tenure Sahar aiz was a member of the curriculum instruction and programs facilities and finance and long-range planning committees and whereas Sahar aiz also served as board liais onto the PTO ptso of Wilson Elementary and Edison intermediate schools now therefore be it resolved that this board of education recognizes Sahar aiz for her volunteerism and service on the Westfield Board of Education from 2021 to to 2024 and be it further resolved that this resolution be presented to saharis on May 1st 2024 and be it further resolve that a copy of this resolution attesting to the appreciation of the Board of Education becomes part of the official minutes of this meeting we do have a copy of the resolution framed which we'll make sure to to get to Sahar thank you again for your service uh with no other announcements uh we'll move to public comment during this portion of the meeting members of the public are invited to address the board of education on any topic as a courtesy allow current students and staff of Westville public schools to speak first the board requests that individuals sign in and state their name Municipality of residents and group affiliation if applicable for the record and ask that all remarks be directed to the board president or designate not to individual board members or staff the board asks that members of the public be courteous and mindful of the rights of other individuals when speaking specifically comments regarding Personnel matters are discouraged and cannot be responded to by the board students and employees have specific legal rights afforded by the laws of New Jersey the board Bears no responsibility nor will it be liable for any comments made by members of the public if a matter concerning a District staff member is of Interest or concern to a resident the matter should be referred to the responsible building principal superintendent of schools or the Board of Education either by telephone letter or email although the board may not respond to items raised during the public forum all public comments will will be considered please note that if any member of the public becomes disruptive during the meeting the board president May terminate or part terminate the participant statement continued disruptions may result in removal from the meeting or adjournment of the meeting each speaker's statement will be limited to 3 minutes in duration since this is a reorganization meeting there will be this will be the only public comment for the meeting you guys are making it easy for me thank you um seeing no one at the podium we will close public comment and move to the reorganization action items that we have so uh I would like to move items a through QQ under the reorganization section of tonight's agenda do I have a second second Kent um very quickly just for the for the public there's a lot of items here but just to summarize that the actions that the board is going to be voting on tonight uh items a through establish regular public board meeting dates policies and rules item e appoints District Personnel the roles required by the New Jersey Department of Education item F through H permits the appointment or transfer of Staff by the superintendent between meetings in emergency or time sensitive situations also allows for the transfer of budget lines and designates authority to the business administrator to sign purchase orders items I through e relate to approved newspapers TSS fiscal authorizations Banks annuities purchasing Cooperative agreements and appointments of Professional Services item FF establishes hourly fees and tuition charged to out of District students if they are accepted into programs in Westfield those rates are generated by the state items GG to JJ approve membership in the njsiaa and adopt their rules and regulations and items KK through QQ approve existing curriculum textbooks activity related items for the upcoming school year evaluation models and field trip locations note that if other curriculum updates are forthcoming they'll be brought to light at Future meetings when they're when they're ready to be presented so that's a very quick summary of a very very long set of pages any discussion or questions seeing none we'll move to a roll call vote please rob bachio yes Kent Diamond yes Brendan gallagan yes Charles jinus yes Leila melli yes sonel Patel yes Kristen Sonic schmeltz yes Julie Steinberg yes Mary wickens yes motions carry uh we'll now move to any unfinished business any new business any liaison reports you guys are really making it easy uh seeing none uh I will uh I will ask for a motion to adjourn second second by Lila all in favor so move the meeting is adjourned thank you good job Rob bonio