##VIDEO ID:XElKhrBzA3s## good evening everyone evening how we doing this evening good good good and welcome welcome today is Wednesday September 11 2024 and this is uh the regular meeting of our Board of Education public notice of this meeting was given to all board members and Associates in a notice dated August 30th 2024 adequate and electronic notice of this meeting has been provided specifying the time place and manner in which this meeting is being conducted it was advertised in a Courier Post posted in all schools the administration office the municipal building the library the ble Center Ed with acres elmtown and the win Township Post Offices and this is our mission statement the mission of the winow Township School District a large diverse and growing Community is to educate all students to become independent lifelong Learners critical thinkers and caring and confident members of their Community the district and partnership with the community and in the climate of cooperation and mutual respect will provide an academic environment which values excellence and diversity encourages students to strive for personal excellence and assist them in acquiring the knowledge skills and attitudes necessary to contribute positively to a rapidly changing world go call please Mr asq present M re here miss Martin present Miss Nez present Miss uh Miss Peterson present Mr Shaw present Mr Thomas presid Miss pittz pres we have a quum thank you very much take stand for the pledge of and as we're pledging I would hope that we remember this date September 11 2001 and then what exactly happened uh in this in this land 23 years ago I pledge Al to the flag of the United States of America and to the Republic for it stands one nation God indivisible liy and justice and since so many gave your last do we just give 60 seconds of be m thank you uh I'm just going to recite the goals but not the objective uh our first goal for 2023 student achievement the second was to increase par caregiver engagement and education third was to Market our strengths and achievements to all stakeholders to increase capacity for greater parent caregiver community support and board members the reason why I've done that is because if you turn to page six on our agenda what you will see are the 2425 District goals that we created uh for the new year and or on our agenda to be approved so that's why I only read the headings of the of the goals I'm at the top of page two at this time Awards and presentations yes um Madam president members of the board and Community we do have a presentation this evening by Mr Dion Davis he is a director of human resources and he will be giving us 2324 H report uh Mr Davis good evening everyone good evening evening pursuant to New Jersey statute 18a 37-13 and New Jersey Administrative Code 6A 16- 5.3 I'm here to report and seek approval for the W Township School District school safety data which include substance abuse and harassment intimidation of bullying incident for the period of January 1 2024 through June 30th 2024 for members in your folders you should have the chart that you should present present out twice a year so our findings are as follows School number one for HIV there were eight alleged HIV incidents one confirmed for a total of nine HIV incidents for the time period there were zero weapons zero violence zero vandalism and zero substance abuse at school one which gave a total of nine incidents for that period School number two one alleged HIV incident one confirmed for a total of two HIV incidents zero weapons zero violence zero vandalism and zero substance abuse so School two had two total incidents for the time period School number three had two alleged HIV incidents one confirmed for a total of three HIV incidents again they had zero weapons zero violence zero vandalism and zero substance abuse for a total of three incidents at school number three School Number Four had one alleged HIV incident and that was it so they only had and they have zero weapons zero violence zero vandalism and zero substance abuse so School Number Four had one incident for that time period School number five zero violence zero vandalism and zero substance abuse School five had a total of five incidents for that time period School number six for alleged HIV incidents six confirmed for a total of 10 HIV incidents zero weapons zero violence zero vandalism and zero substance abuse so for the time period reported School number six had 10 incidents our Middle School seven alleged HIV incidents 13 confirmed for a total of 20 HIV incidents three instances with um either a knife or a blade or weapons violence there were 29 incidents that are characterized as follows 15 fights 12 assaults one threat and one instance of sexual contact zero vandalism and then five undetermined substance for substance abuse so the middle school had a total of 57 incidents for that report period and then our high school HIV a alleged HIV incidents one confirmed for a total of nine HIV incidents zero weapons there were 13 for violence characterized as seven fights and six assaults zero vandalism and five instances of marijuana so for that report period the high school had a total of 27 incidents so our total for summary for the period of January 1 2024 through June 30th HIV was 59 incidents weapons was three violence was 42 vandalism zero substance abuse 10 for a total of4 incidents for that area Mr DAV yes just a brief question sure the Middle School mhm substance abuse five undetermined substance we didn't know what it was they're under influences oner okay will give me any questions for with regards to the report that we have in Davis I have one how do we categorize the difference between F and I I can I can too okay I won't do the legal perspective but I will do how we determined it the school a fight is normally between two willing individuals an assault can be someone who just go up and punch someone um it's not a situation that could have been um instigated uh it was without cause or they just may have had an issue that happened in the community he saw him at school he just ran up to him just hit him you know um again maybe without cause or because you be snuck up on those are assaults uh because the person probably willingly did not fight back or the person just took it upon him or herself to just attack someone and therefore they are considered MS MR Mr U so Dr obviously when he retired hangs up the superintendent hat he's going to take my place I have nothing to add that was excellent thank you I question these numbers espe the totality of 114 your estimation uh where does that stand probably compared to other years or national average or where where that number where does that stand in in totality well I can't respond to National average however I can respond to where we stand here in wsw so when I look at our first period from last year um which would have been September 1 and 23 through December 31st to 23 we're at total of 89 but you have to keep in mind that's the beginning of school year so usually when they come back students are on that best behavior Etc a lot of times you'll see a lot of the behaviors after one when they come back so then I can compare it to report period two from 23 so January 1 of 23 to June 30th of 23 we were at 156 so it's now from the year prior if you want to compare report period to report period thank you you're welcome board members any further questions for Mr Davis regards to the summary that we have okay at this point board members I'm asking for motion to approve the summary of the school safety data report for the period January 1st 2024 through June 30th 2024 there motion yes Peterson move for approval of the summary of school safety data report period January 1st 2024 through June 30th 2024 Jo Thomas second move by m Peterson second by Thomas roll call please Mr asq yes M Dre yes Miss Martin yes missz yes M Peterson yes Mr Shaw yes Mr Thomas yes Miss P yes motion is car thank you m CH moving now board members correspondence M CH would you be any correspondence at this time no correspond at this time thank you moving now on our agenda board members I'm asking for a motion to approve the meeting minutes on our Board of Education that was held on Wednesday August 28th 20124 open and Clos session is there a motion Peterson move for approval of the following minutes of the board of education for Wednesday the 28 2024 open and close session Joe Thomas second move by m Peterson second by Mr Thomas any further comments or questions Madam president I do yes Mr Thomas uh I I vote a little uh concern uh first of all let me just say uh I I believe I'm the president of the Winslow fan I believe uh I went to school here and all my days of being here or sitting up on this board is to advance the agenda of the students and the engagement of the parents and achievement so I'm going to say my statement with a little concern because I know that at the end of the day if we work together we'll be able to achieve greatness here wi Township I'm expressing my concern regarding the ongoing lack of response to to my request which was approved approved by the entire Boe at our last meeting concerning the updated Studio 106 calendar event this request is vital for providing our community with the necessary information to gather their support and engagement not only for the benefit of our of our district but also to create a valuable marketing opportunity that we should actively explore it is deeply frustrating to note that this is not the first time one of my requests have gone unanswered I want to clarify that a lack of response to a Boe member equates to a lack of response to the community and this neglect of accountability is unacceptable we represent the interest of the community and as such this chain of Comm communication must remain intact I sincerely hope that this issue is not personal but rather than unintentional oversight as our commitment to inclusivity for both parents community members to remain at a top priority I often hear the phrase it is not the job of the B Boe to run the school but it is in fact our job to ensure the district operates effectively how can we do that we cannot ask questions and receive a timely response that's it Mr Thomas your comments are well taken and with regards to your request that you put forth at our last board meeting uh what I would say is that I do recall that Dr poti did state that that would be forthcoming yes and I can respond uh Madam president um because we all know that the day-to-day operation of the school district is my responsibility um so we need to just put that out there um the request that was made of of this board to me in reference to having that information available I did have a conversation with Mr um The Limited information that he had available at the time because he said to me the only given information that he has right now would be that they know that they will be uh publicly broadcasting all home football games he could not give me any more information for several reasons one First beginning of school year two many of the young people who were in The broadcasting program who did the televising last year are no longer there therefore these other young people have to be trained and also have to make sure that there's their that they have availability in order to do these things so at this point the only thing that I can give you would be all home football games will be broadcast but he cannot commit to anything beyond that because at this point the young people are not available and he still has to train additional young people in order to perform that task so um if anyone of course was reluctant in providing that information Mr Thomas it would be me and I uh would say today that that is what's going to happen according to the teacher who's responsible for TV production all home football games will be broadcast but he cannot commit to anything beyond that Mr Thomas is there anything further that you would like to be informed of that's exactly what I was looking for okay so it appears that um your request has been honor yes no is there more request has been honor I feel like f conversation should be had at another another convening time okay thank you Mr Thomas moving now board members again um we have motion second we have aoll minutes questions any any further questions roll call please Mr asq yes M Ren yes Miss Martin yes Miss nees yes Miss Peterson yes Mr Shaw yes Mr Thomas no Miss pits yes motion is carried thank you m chovy now board members I'm still on page two at this point I'm asking for uh reporting out from our committees let's start with our athletic committee Mr Tom yes Miss Madam President we do have a report from our esteemed wow athletic committee as you all well know in case you don't know shenica Brown self was nominated coach of the year I'm sure some other celebrations will be coming along with that our football team 2 and 0 record recent Victory defeated Highland 53 to 14 that was on our September the 7th Community Day the viewership on YouTube with our digital 106 for that game was 1200 viewers watch that game VR Studio 106 YouTube next opponent will be Williams Town 7 PM Friday coached by our future wall of Famer Bill Bel boys soccer one- two record Community Day Results tough game one to zero next opponent Paul six today at 6m if I can get two two tie two two tie there you go double overtime double overtime there you there you have it girlsfield hockey one and two record Community Day result next opponent gler click 9916 girls volleyball one in three record Community Day Results two- one next opponent Canon Academy charter 9:13 at 5:15 p.m. girls tennis one inone record next opponent Cherry Hill West 3:45 at 913 p.m. present in conversation of telephonic meetings with my committee people John Shaw and Mr ASU next meeting 2024 thank you Mr Thomas board members any questions athletic report thank you hearing moving now to our citizens advisory committee would be report yes president good evening everyone board members superintendent assistant superintendent um the meetings for the citizens advisory committee happened on September the 5th 2024 all minutes have been emailed to all the members on the board the meeting of the win Township citizens advisory committee for the 2024 25 school year began at 7:30 7:03 excuse me p.m with the BL of Allegiance members present with Board of Education member Rita Martin CAC members Christy ranuli Diane McKenzie Marcy tasel Rosemary Hoffman Gregory wake Jennifer M Meg Hogan ju before I go into the meeting I want to ensure inclusive and is also full of integrity and it's also to be transparent so we read these minutes it's just about what we discussed what was brought to our meeting so that everyone knows it's just what we were discussing in our CAC meeting not come up with any resolutions or recommendations without a formal recommendation submitted to the board which we have no on this top see and what we represent for the community and encourage communication between the school board and Community we reviewed the old business and um events that happened in W Township District were interwoven with the discussions prior to the CAC meeting Middle School and High School parents have been communicating that there were there was much difficulty accessing the encourse um program for their children so we discussed that in our meeting and we hope that we can come up with a better resolution and better communication um when we come up with new programs for that involve parents and Educators in our school to make sure that there's a link where the parents understand and how to communicate with the technical department which we were told if they had a problem contact the technical department many if we can one of the suggestions that we made during the CAC was um better and more effective communication to the parents from the district um via email or whatever however you communicate but via email Dr PO is excellent at doing rooc calls I think a rooc call would have been an excellent way of communicating to parents to let them know over because not many parents are adamant about looking at the websites and checking the website to see any new news is that board education's issue is that the administration's issue no the parents do have to have some kind of accountability for it however if rooc call went out for the our cour change just like I think more parents would had whatever problems that they that were having when their kids first started school and the first day of school not knowing what classes they were not knowing what buses to ride Blas Blas because a lot of M didn't reach the houses for some reason so whatever the reason that things happened that way it happened it wasn't the majority of the school of parents however it happened to one parent one parent too many so we can kind of look into how we can communicate better and effectively rolling out new Communications or new systems that we do in our school school that involves outside sources involving our parents we ask that happen so parents um don't talk about it at the CAC the next thing that we discussed was the security with the recent incidents that happened in Georgia and incidences that continue to happen Across the Nation with guns and violence um there was a couple suggestions in our CAC meeting about locks on the doors um many many of our locks in our schools have the locks on the outside versus on the inside and wondering if there could be a way that it could be looked into to do a flipflop where the teachers if in an incident happen they're able to lock the door from the inside and unable to and it happens to other schools and these are just suggestions so if we don't look into it to see how we can better secure our schools for our students to make we don't have any catastrophes happening in Township that would be great as Mr Davis so eloquently read his HIV report I heard if I heard correctly there was weapons three weapons incidences that happened during the January to June time frame I don't know which weapons they were but if those weapons were able to get into the school a gun can also get into our school so having a better insecurity for our students and for our staff we just ask that you look a little bit deeper to make sure that we don't have any incidences here at wiland we have it so far but just to make sure that we don't in the future um there was so much positive feedback coming back from the grand opening of your children's daycare Day School for the threeyear olds we would like to thank you for such a magnificent opening that happen um the administration Board of Education everyone who was um a part of that opening um assistant superintendent I heard that she was the the PIV point for making sure that was successful it has been noted by the community and they wanted us to make sure that we let you all know thank you and we also happy that the the telephone situation one the first day of school when the schools weren't able to be communicated through in and out that that was immediately resolve ASAP so thank you for the um making sure that happen um there were also parents and students that also came to us in and conjunction talking about the first day of school kids coming from the upper elementary school to the Middle School kind of lost not really knowing what to do never really used lockers before some had problems opening lockers so we as a CAC talked about how could we help that out I know I have a grandson at Monroe Town middle school and I know that when we do the tour for his school they have the National Honor Society kids that come and in and they guide the kids around show them how to do the locker show them where different classrooms are for each grade level and we suggested that maybe we can try to implement something like that here at WIS Township I know they have some kind of program happening at wins Township that welcomes the students back but something to help the transition from Upper Elementary School to middle school and from middle school to high school for the new students walking into the new environment and a new culture um we also would like to know um what is the results if there are any results of the state comprehension review um that was being performed to our school last year and if it's still in action we understand that you don't have the results yet but as soon as those results are are back we would like to be um known publicly so that we know how our school stands in the state and we also asked about the um climate survey but we were informed this evening that we do have them and they will be disseminated to the ones who are asking for him so thank you Dr PO for offering that information to Miss Martin and we also like to thank the board of education for successfully updating the policy to allow nonprofit organizations in our community to use the school buses and there was a couple other things that's on the minutes that I choose not to as a careair person um since everyone on the board already has it it's it's not necessary for me to really repeat it um publicly but thank you again for your time and hopefully that we can um continue to make 20242 25 a safe environment for our kids as well as a development um great educational environment for our children thank you thank you m very comprehensive and as you said these were basically suggestions U from um CAC as a result of communication with the the community and parents and um certainly it does not fall on death death years and um as a board certainly we can take all of that as you know as we have done in the past into consideration but I should say that it's good to hear the thank you it's always good to hear the thank you U from uh CAC the community as it relates to the things that um you feel that are very positive and beneficial for us so that's good news continue with our board reports will there be a report out of Education committee Madam president no report at this time we will be meeting on September 17th at 4M uh via WebEx thank you Miss p m president yes if I may just go back um to the CAC um in reference to um some of the issues with on hor I did do some a little bit of research on our website and I did find that we have parent portal administrators for each one of our schools I did provide that information um to the CAC members just as a uh Avenue for parents to go um so they have more success um in addition to the fact that if indeed they have problems they know that they can call call their school and ask for the principles or vice principls or the guidance counselors to help them through the process so I think as we move forward because it is a new software program that we're using we have to iron out all of the Kinks and sometimes it takes a moment but I just wanted to make that know well thank you m Martin that's very important and it's appreciated moving now uh on to our marketing committee would give be a report at this time then our policy committee next meeting will be this month September 26 um at 4M remotely any questions any comments moving on board members to page three at this point I'm asking for motion to approve the superintendent report as it begins on page three the top of Page Three Contin through the bottom of page six is there a motion move for approval of the superintendent's report recommendations approvals of the following items found on in on it page 3 through6 a through b seconded by Joe Thomas move by m Peterson second by Mr Thomas th question heing roll call please Mr ask yes m yes Miss Martin yes Miss Nez yes Miss Peterson yes Mr Shaw yes Mr Thomas yes Miss fit yes motion is carried thank you moving now board members at this time I'm asking for a motion to approve the business administrative board secretary report as it appears beginning in top of page seven and it continues through to the bottom of page 12 is there a motion Peterson move for approval of the business administ the board secretary recommendations approval of the following it page 11 I'm sorry let me restate that I went over to another page business just for clarity say U asking for approval for the business administrative for secretary report as it begins on page s and continues through to the top of page 11 M president I was stilling that so move for approval of the business administrator board secretary's report I'm a through found on page 7 through 11 second by Dill Thomas move by Miss Peterson second by Mr Thomas any further comments or questions hearing on roll call please Mr ASU yes M Dre yes M Martin yes Miss n yes M Peterson yes Mr Shaw yes Mr Thomas yes m yes motion is carried thank you m chief of board members I'm at the top of page 12 I'm asking for a motion to approve the Personnel report as it begins and ends on page 12 is there a motion Madame President I have to go back I have to recuse myself from item 22 page 11 item 22 page 11 yes under if this is Administrative board thank you m Peterson Peterson move for approval of the Personnel report a one through two down on page 12 second move by Miss Peterson second V Mr Thomas any further comments or questions hearing on roll call please Mr asq yes Mr R yes Miss Martin yes Miss Nas yes Mr Miss Peterson yes Mr Shaw yes Mr Thomas yes Miss pits yes M car thank you Miss Chico now I'm still on page 12 I'm asking for a motion to approve the personality rep as it begins and ends on page 12 I'm asking that again but but I had to go back and make the change with regards to uh Miss Peterson recusing herself so I'm simply I already did both of them I recused myself from the business administrative board secretary's report before I put the motion on the floor where the Personnel report okay so therefore at this time we're at the point where I'm asking for roll call oh I'm sorry we already did I'm sorry already for personel that's okay can we just do that Mr asq yes M Peterson and Miss stren yes m Martin yes Miss neis yes Mr Peterson yes Mr Shaw yes Mr Thomas yes Miss P yes motion is carried thank you Mico and board members for bearing with me I just needed to have that restated again at this time and our excuse me Mr fit um as you know traditional District however the individual whom I'm going to introduce now has been in the school district for a number of years um but when the position of supervisor special projects which Jack Mills held became vacant uh one of our teachers who's been in the district for a number of years applied and was a successful candidate she's here with us tonight m Michelle hon she's now the part of the administrator now Dr could you pronounce her name Michelle hariston hariston hariston yes and she's here tonight and I didn't want to pass over and not in sir as we have done all the other administrators particular they will build the principl be one of our middle man people so welcome [Applause] welcome thank you moving now board members to our agendum BR and I know that you have an opportunity to take a look at it so at this time I'm going to move forward and ask for a motion uh to approve on our agenda the superintendent's report as it begins um number one letter A on our agenda is there a motion Peterson move for approval of the superintendent's recommendation for approval of the following items item a number one found on page one second move on M Peterson second by Mr Thomas any further comments or questions hearing those R call please Mr asku yes Mr R yes Miss Martin yes Miss NZ yes Miss Peterson yes Mr Shaw yes Mr Thomas yes Miss P yes motion is thank you miss moving now the agendum ask me for a motion to approve the board secretary report as it appears on the event agendum beginning at the middle of page one and continuing through to the bottom of page three is there a motion Peters move for approval of the bu administrative board secretary a recommended approval of the following items a 1-7 down on page one through three second move by m Peterson second by Mr Thomas any further comments or questions hearing on real call please Mr ASU yes M Dre yes M Martin yes Miss neas yes Miss Peterson yes Mr Shaw yes Mr Thomas yes Miss P yes thank you m moving now board members I'm on the last page of our agenda page four and you will see our M for a motion to approve the Personnel report as it begins and ends on page four is there a motion Peterson move for approval of the superintendent recommend approval of the following action items item one one through three found on page four second move by Miss Peterson second by Mr Tom any further comments or questions hearing on roll call please Mr ASU yes M Dre yes Miss Martin yes missas yes Miss Peterson yes Mr Shaw yes Mr Thomas yes Miss P yes motion is Carri thank you m Chief moving now board members I am at the top of page 13 um the open public record act reest yes the W Township uh the wow Township responded to over request between August 23rd 20124 and AUST uh September 5th 2024 um for one person Anna Petco from Jump Ahead Pediatrics LLC um they wanted all information on the evaluation scoring and comments for the bidder's proposal in regards to to a recently awarded bid for RFP 224-1 and 20242 um I would also like to request a copy of The Proposal submitted and that was approved okay any questions comments with regard to the op request thank you m Chico moving now board members informational items Dr F yes yes madam president members of the board of community I have several information items for this evening uh first of all I'd like to mention that the opening of schools were very well uh received uh young people and the staff appear to be very excited to be back at school and uh we're looking forward to an excellent year as you well know our back to school nights have already begun and we are encouraging all the parents to please come out and attend the back to school nights uh as it has already been mentioned I would like to also reiterate the fact that at our next board meeting which is the 25th of September we will be honoring uh Miss jenica Brown head girls uh track and field coach for her most recent award um we are looking forward to uh honoring her not only for her most recent award but for her body of work over the years uh ALS like to mention uh one additional staff member who has received numerous Awards and uh the individual continue to resurf over and over again on behalf of uh the work that he and his students have presented um Mr Ingram and the TV production program has won an additional award as you can recall uh Mrs PLO at her presentation um at the end of last school year indicated that uh she was impressed with some of the things she found in the district and that she was going to submit uh to the New Jersey uh school public relations Association uh a piece from Mr Ingram uh for Statewide recognition we were informed a couple days ago that um that documentary that was submitted did win an award however she said that we will not know exactly what the award is is until October 10th when they have their ceremony um and that will be in mon Township and of course Mrs per say she will be attending and um we are hoping that Mr engam will be able to attend also on the same note Mr Ingram also informed us that there were several other opportunities made available to him as a result of the documentary I'm going to pass out to you board members of flyer and and I want you to have it because this one is very very important on October the 17th um the wo Township TV production program has been invited to an evening of the world's best short films um this will take place on October October the 17th um at 700 pm at the Scottish right Auditorium which is in collinswood New Jersey uh one of the renowned directors said this is the best short film show that he's ever seen uh this is very prestigious on behalf of not only bu School District but for the community because only the best will be presented at this um at this short fil program so uh Mr engg is very excited and of course we know that the 2023 NFL films winning film my joy has arriv which we showed here uh at one of our board uh meetings um we're very proud of that and at this point we're looking forward to uh and if anyone is interested that's why I wanted to provide you with a flyer if anyone is interested there will be a f $115 purchase uh in order to purchase a ticket uh but very prestige opportunity for the W Township School District and our TV production program I'd like to conclude with the awards from the TV production program um we were also informed that the New Jersey Statewide student film showcase at this year's New Jersey Board uh School boards Association Convention and workshop in Atlantic City uh our TV production program will be present presenting my joy has arrived on Tuesday uh October the 22nd and he is the last one on the lineup for that day usually they use the best wait the best make sure the best is there the best is the last or the last uh one that they will perform that day and they're saying that there's a potential that over 6,000 school board members school principal uh school superintendent as well as business administrators and any Educators who will be who will be present um The Best For Last and at that point uh for those of you who will be attending I'm hoping that you will take some time at of your busy schedule uh to be present during this presentation I've also extended the invitation to Mr Ingram um you know hopefully he'll be able to attend uh for that ceremony I think as we continue and I think it's good um that we continue to acknowledge those individuals in that District uh for their successes and I think Mr Ingram would be one of those individuals that we would consider to be up next uh not only has Mr Ingram and the public relations excuse me the TV production program uh has won Statewide Awards uh the TV production program is also uh receiving Nation recognition so um on behalf of TV production program and Mr Ingram we just like to congratulate those young people for a job well done and presenting and representing the Wiston count School District PES all right um moving to something very concerning at this point students who are attending home football games um are not being picked up after those games end usually the football games end around 8:30 8:45 uh we had a lot of young people whose parents aren't picking these young people up as a matter of fact uh Miss Lane shared with me um earlier this week that after this weekend's football game we had 20 30 young people waiting outside of the high school up until 10 10:30 at night unsupervised which means Miss Lane had to stay there until every one of those young people would pick up along with one of the police officers uh this cannot continue canot continue what what do you think possibly that we could do as a district I'm not sure what we can do as a district because um I'm asking the parents if you send your child to a football game and you drop him or her off it is your responsibility to make sure that either you or someone come back back to the game around 8:30 8:45 so that these young people can have a ride home um it's getting to the point uh I spoke to Chief Smith and I asked him to you know uh meet with me so that we can discuss uh what we can do because at this point these young people on our premises some of them may or may not even be our students we don't know that to be the case uh but it is the parents responsibility and some of these young people look like they wereing Miss Lan Middle School age so you need to tell me we have these young people standing out in front of the high school waiting on a Uber or whatever they call it and it's just not safe and it's unacceptable so we're asking the parents that if you're going to send your child to a football game and you're going to drop them off at the game you please make sure that you take the time to come back and pick them up or rrange for a ride who knows what could have happened if Miss Lane had left but Miss Lane and the police they can't stay there all night so we need to address that issue as soon as possible so if they do not have a ride then my recommendation would if they don't have a ride then you shouldn't let them come to the game but these young people out there are running aimlessly and in most cases they're not standing around quietly they're just running around back and forth in front of the school and it's just unacceptable so I'm asking the parents to please be uh responsible for your children Dr let me just ask a question with regards to that issue is possibly is it a possibility that perhaps maybe a letter could go out generally to the parents uh with regards to that issue at least letting them know that it is an issue with us and that at at some point it will be dealt with we don't want to deny any children but parents need to know even the parents who don't have children that come perhaps they have neighbors who come and they can talk to them at least um one of my suggestion is to at least let the community know that that is I think a glal call would be more effective fine um because a lot of times we send things home they don't read it it may not even get home we do send a lot of we email it but with our new system some people change their numbers it may not get to them um we'll do whatever we can because this is a safety issue for us and whether they are our students or not and I'm believing that majority of them um we can't have and and unfortunately most of them are young ladies so it's a problem for us we need to resolve it as soon as possible okay uh student enrollment is up in the school district now to date to date um we have 5,200 students enrolled in the school district um our official enrollment date is October the 15th but right now uh we have um over 5,000 students who have been in our district Inc at least one day but the overwhelming majority of the young people based on our account from the principles these young people have come to school on a regular basis so the enrollment is is going on which is a good thing um I would also like to announce that the New Jersey student learning assessment results are in um we just received excuse me we just received the student profiles today uh we have and will be sending those profiles to building principles those profiles will be mailed by the end of next week and we will um make sure that everyone is aware that the district test scores will be presented at our October 9th meeting which is the first meeting in October all right um and of course we'll make sure that enough information goes out so that parents will be aware of those needs uh Madam president that completes uh and concludes my um information items for this evening thank you Dr board member would there be any questions or comments with mident I do have one one question um current the enrollment which is a fabulous thing congratulations on that that positive move I just have a question what what grade is do you think the influx of children are are coming to well that that's hard to tell because they are spread out over the entire sour however um the easiest one for me to say to you is that our three old program we add add we add an additional 100 students to our enrad man uh but when you look at the other numbers Mr Thomas they're spread out across the entire school district and um just looking at the numbers because we only maybe aund or 200 more than we were last year because we at like 4,900 so it was up for the year before yes yes so for me to be able to tell which one had the most impact that will be difficult to say however that new program brought in you know so with regards to that and that's good news again our um enrollment is increasing I'm thinking about a comment that was made at the last forward meeting with regards it came from the CAC I think it came from m g as a matter of fact with regards to the fact that we course there's been a lot of building um throughout the township and um with that comes not only U single people but family and um School a children certainly um would be um be expected to be coming to this district and so Dr po um are we possibly looking in future maybe about a capacity issue or are we well at Point yes well there there are a couple things you have to consider um new construction does not guarantee additional suit right that's the first thing and and the best example is the building the development across the street from school four we were anticipating an influx of students we may have gotten three four students out of that entire development um we're hopeful that the new development will bring students to the school district and as I mentioned to um Mr Thomas they spread out across the district no one grade has a greater impact than the other however long range now if if it let's say if we take the high road and we do get numerous young people into the school district then the district has to consider something that we had in place 15 years okay so the plan and I have to remind those of us who've been around here for quite some time we floated a referendum in Winslow Township anticipating growth we recommended building a new school um Wilton's Corner we still own the land and still out there in that referendum we also indicated which we are fighting with now all schools would have been air condition schools one through four would have had a gymnasium built all HVAC work would have been upgraded and or replaced um the state gave us 50% of the cost we went out for the referendum which many would have to raise taxes to get the other half we lost three to one voted down from that point on maybe two years after we tried to raise taxes each time it was voted down 3 to one so my point that I'm making is if you want to start thinking about future plans and if the student population increased you have one of two things to do build on to the existing buildings or build another school if you're going to build another school you have to determine based on and you have to wait because you don't know where the influx of students are coming so if the influx of students are coming let's say at the middle school age then you may have to put an extension on the middle school if they coming at the elementary age then you may have to build another Elementary School High School sort of take care of itself because with those numbers we can accommodate some additional students but you have to keep in mind that in order for you to build or extend you're going to have to ask the community for tax dollars and that's why we have been doing the things we have been able to do using our operating budget which has taken us all of this time even to get to the point where we now have the money to air condition schools 56 a portion of the middle school and the high school we took we talking about 15 years but in that 15 year period we had major Renovations that were required because for those of us remember the buildings were in dur shap so there were other priorities that need to be done U so at this point um you have to wait and see if it's going to have that impact we or weave those young people into your existing facilities and if you start busting that cassims then you're gonna have to go back to the community and ask them are they willing to provide the additional tax dollars through a referendum to extend these buildings meaning build them on or build a new school um my last response to that is best wishes because it's been difficult raising money very difficult and I understand because we're talking about uh individuals who's made it very clear to me over the years uh that they are already paying enough taxes they're already stressed financially and we as a district have tried to make sure that we would never tax this community beyond what was already what with the minimum and we've been able to continue to progress and grow with M dollars and here we are but it's a good thing if the district continue to grow you have the capacity grow and as you know Mrs pits um contractors have come to us over the years trying to buy that land and we would never sell it because that's for the growth of the district and maybe in the years to come that's where the community will end up but at this point we will absorb as many young people as we can but if you get to the point where start busting out the sink you have no other choice all right all right Madam president if I can yes Mr I like to you know I know I I will say something when I think it need to be said and I I think this needs to be said about the what the uh Administration has done with that process um there used to be some talk about uh people leaving the school so we can debunk that now because people are coming into the transfer to the school I was in the uh the game football game this week and I heard three kids said I tell their mom they want to transfer to wedn though so I want to commend Dr po Administration for that financial management over the last five years to put us in a position because it's difficult I know nobody wants to raise taxes in winds so to put us in the position and that's a story that's never told that despite all and make the best of it not just like to commend him and his administration for that how do you feel about that well we we've done the best we can uh with what we had to work with and I appreciate it um but I think it's it's it's where we are is where we are we we're always cognizant of our community um just one because I think this is important because I have a high school and every time I turn around they need $200 for participation fee $200 for this she's in the drama club she has to buy her own uniforms and um the stuff that they have raising money for this I'm not going out there sell kids but anyway here's the point the point I'm making is we have never charge our children for any extracurricular activities we have never CH charge them for athletics we've never put them in a position even if instruments weren't available we purchased instruments for them so we have tried to provide our children with everything they need to level the playing field for them without any additional cost because we feel it's part of the education so um U it's important for us to know that we continue to provide our young people with everything they need in order for them to participate and of course some of my neighboring colleagues are in a position where they charge their children for everything Club you know dealing with their own needs but we would like to say that we try our very best to make sure our children have what they need thank you Dr board members moving on to Old business would there be any old that you would care to discuss at this time about the back to school nights and regards to um staff attending uh I would say to us as board members we've all been assigned um to uh various school buildings and I would hope that um we would be able to see within our schedule that we would be able to attend some back to school nights I would remind us that if indeed we're going to attend any back to school ni to make sure that we let the principal know that we would be um in attendance okay now excuse me the New Jersey school board convention excuse me now I believe that we all did receive an email from NJ Haskins and New Jersey school board has this um it's not a competition but what they're asking for us as board members to see which district can report uh that sent attendance at the New Jersey uh School Board convention that takes place yearly in October so I just wanted to remind us to see if perhaps this year we could be able to register 100% participation and with regards to that as far as board members um as we can look at this table we know that there is a vacancy and I want to remind board members that we are mandated by state to advertise to fill that vacancy which we have done and we have on a deadline according to our policy we advertized for 30 days and the 30 Days End September 19th and so therefore usually the pass after that um deadline has passed then we uh contact all interested parties to have them come to us at our next board meeting so in order to be um interviewed and then perhaps uh appointed at this time our next board meeting because again the deadline is September 19th so our next board meeting is the 25th and that is just a bit too soon to be able to complete all of the applications and have us as a board set up an agenda of questions also allowing our board secretary the time to notify the applicants with regards to when we would um like to have them to come in so therefore what I am um asking is a consensus is that we do that not at our next meeting which is September 25th but at our first meeting in October which is I believe October 9th making sure that we fill our vacancy within the 65 day period any questions Mr sha I won't be in attendance won't be in attendance October 9th okay thank you any other questions any other comment we'll be voting on it on October 9th we will be interviewing the [Music] applicant that night yes to fill the seat and that person will be can we do that without the absence of Mr sha yes yes yes absolutely because we still have a majority of I just want to remind everybody that we can make the appointment but that individual may not be able to be seated till passes the appropriate background checks a month later to beware that oober okay so board members that concludes any old business I would have and I no one else has any old business we can move to new business any new business that you would care to discuss at this time all right bit yes Mr um October 5th the Township's having another career fair oh um so I just want to make the community aware that the uh over at the bud duil Center um on October 5th I believe it starts at 10:00 a.m. um they there will be I believe at least four uh representations uh to look at if you're looking for any type of career change or you know getting a career started to you know TR trades uh and different variety of uh opportunities will be rep represented there so these are 40 employers so public and private Mr sh yes okay thank you Mr show any other information thank you moving now to public comment thank you madam president the winow toship Board of Education highly values the input of citizens making the important decisions that affect the children of our community we believe in the rights of citizens to observe board meetings to ensure that all of our citizens have the opportunity to attend Schoolboard meetings and over comment and to ensure that the board can conduct the important business of the district we ask the speakers follow the guidelines for making public comments the board secretary will recognize those individuals in the audience who wish to make comment ask that you kindly receive respect the following procedures one all members of the public attending please State your full name and only your town of residence three please limit your comments to four minutes four submit your questions andent we're unable to answer them this evening to the Board of Education with your name address and telephone number where you be contacted and your questions will be answered within a reasonable time frame and lastly employee board member other testifier or member of the public thank you thank you Mr at this time board members I'm asking for a motion for us to move into public comment Peterson move for approval to open public comment second move by Miss Peterson second by Mr Thomas all in favor any names thank you Miss Chico W New Jersey um the first thing Miss um you spoke on the board vacancy on the website it says by 2 pm on September the 18th 9 19 so I want anyone who's interested in applying that they know that it's 2 pm by Wednesday 2 pm September the 18th thank you quite welcome and I just have one quick comment in regards to um school one kindergarten teacher um it's nothing negative so am I able to mention her name no no okay perfect I just want to make sure okay but this particular kindergarten teacher I've had um as you all know I have a school of grandchildren and I have three sons who went through this entire School District um but this particular um year when my granddaughter started Cy Garden um she got her paperworks at home and I was reading through the package and I wanted I actually wrote emailed the teacher and commended her for her um initiative that she put out to us um now I have another grandkid that's in kindergarten and another grandkid that went to kindergarten last year and none of them received this but it was called a Handle With Care memo and that Handle With Care memo was to the parents telling them that if there's anything that she may need to know about that student when they come to school send that email to her and she will handle their child with care she will make sure that child has the needed attention that is needed to make sure they have a successful day in school that is the first sons have been go my sons and grandchildren have been going through this school district have I ever seen anything so profound come home in the mail that gave me goosebumps as soon as I read it so that teacher she'll know who I am if she looking at the board of education but that teacher needs to be applauded and I will call Mr Davis and let him know myself but um I'm not saying anything about him but I will call the principal of that school and let him know myself but I think that we will have so much more success in our especially in our early elementary school because those kids have attachment issues you know they're not used to being being away from their parents um they're in a strange environment it's a new culture if the teacher had that teacher engaged so well I know she those goals that the wiso Township school has with the community parent engagement and she she actually started that off and I wanted to Comm in for that thank thank you that be Mony even good evening I'm New Jersey um I noticed that in the athletic report there was accidentally a sport that was missed this sport is girl Saker and we're currently two and two and our next game is Tuesday September 18th and is the way against the lon City also the marching man starts their season this Saturday September 14th and they perform in Manchester the performance is scheduled for 7:45 no 7:40 and then I heard a comment about the football game last year the announcer made a announcement at the end of the third quarter to call your rise that there was only a quarter left and um I think it will be a good thing to do it they didn't do it on the first game I absolutely I forgot that was my fault I forgot to say something about the marching band and if anybody want to go see next weekend they're in they're in Williamstown so they are close by I believe the next two weeks after I know uh this weekend's a little bit of a hike but the next two weekends they are close by because I believe they're in Williamstown next weekend in Timber Creek the week after okay thank you Mr show uh Cedric Smith good evening everyone my name is Cedric Smith lifelong uh not liong long-term resident of cville I've had all my children educated here all of them has participated in sports my son is even on the wall of fame um I like to commend you guys on the things that I've seen in the last 30 years that I've been here um I am a official and I officiate three Sports being a proud parent of Winslow and also I'm employed at the WIS Department of Public Works as I'm going out into these different communities doing um these different schools this school far as the cleaniness the fields the environment that I see compares to all of them so some of the stuff that I hear and I see it bothers me but one thing that I hear and I see that there's nothing I can do about I'm hoping you guys might be able to address we are number one in this area we passed Camden the last two years officials do not want to come here and ref games because it is flawed last year I repped a couple basketball games and it took over two months before I got paid so when I'm hanging out with these guys and we're talking they don't just don't want to come here just because they're not going to get pain in a timely manner now this is not something that's new uh as far as with the new director but I'm hoping it's something that we can get remedy all the officials are already in the system we have several schools like Autobon and Clayton who may pay the officials the same day and I'm not even expecting that but I would hope that it's something that we can do so that we can get all the sports I'm just basketball football and Lacrosse so if you guys can address that I would greatly appreciate it so that when they're talking that stuff s smes you're getting paid for w now all right thank you very much thank you Mr actually I think we've um heard that before I think Mr Thomas sent and it is being addressed um it has been brought to my attention and um I had personally contacted several of my colleagues in other school districts and asked them how are they doing and how are they paying their officials because I am aware of the stigma that is attached to us when it comes to pay and our officials in timeing um and you're right I mean you officiate a game and here you come back to us two three times you still have the date the first time so we definitely have to address it um I'm in communication with Miss Lane um Mrs Bo and Mrs Chico uh but we're looking to fix it and I appreciate you coming in uh but I do want you to know it is a priority for us because um I'm hoping it's something we can fix right now so that we can move forward and have the good fish coming in appreciate it thank you app that one of the things that perhaps once we get um the background sufficient information from Dr PO is uh as a board we are a policymaking body and if that so that going forward in the future if we have to develop a policy that speaks to that to that then that is something certainly that is within our perview to do so that we can change that our that stigma that we have okay be greatly appreciated miss that concludes the people who signed up in person is there anybody on and there's nobody signed up on okay thank you now board members at this time I'm asking for a motion to adjourn our public comment Peterson move for approval to adjourn public comments second move by Miss Peterson second by Mr Thomas all in favor thank you at this point I'm going to hand it over to our still on oh you were referring to Sure talking that for good evening everybody there is a need for an executive session in accordance with the requirements of the open public meetings Act of the nine exceptions um you will be entering U will be dealing with one matters that by State Statute of Court role are confidential um as a matter of allw in this instance would be related to student disciplinary matters and we are entering in the executive session at on September 11 2024 at approximately 8:20 p.m. and 30 minutes hopefully lpate D in EXE session your mayor May up the action coming out of executive session thank you m president need a motion a second members I'm asking for a motion for us to move into our executive session Peterson move for approval to enter into executive session Thomas second move by m Peterson second by Mr Thomas call please ask yes M yes Miss Martin yes Miss Nez yes Miss Peterson yes Mr sh yes Mr Thomas yes yes thank you this point we are to our executive session e