##VIDEO ID:bZCCycHBoXY## I would assume it's anybody good evening how's everyone so good to see a full house this evening could it be car School 5 is performing could that be it okay well for whatever reason it is so great to look out and see so many parents in the house so I thank you so much now one really brief short um announcement before we begin the the meeting once our wonderful students have performed I would ask that the parents stay for about three minutes because we have a very special announcement we would you know we don't want you to miss okay are we all right with that okay well then welcome to the wiso Township Board of Education regular meeting today is Wednesday December 11th 2024 public notice of this meeting was given to all board members and Associates and notices dated August 30th 2024 and December 2nd 2024 adequate and electronic notice of this public meeting has been provided specifying the time place and manner in which this meeting is being conducted it is advertised in The Courier Post it was advertised in The Courier Post posted in all of our schools the administration building the municipal building the library The Bu dubal center Edgewood acres elmtown and the wiso Township Post Offices and this ladies and gentlemen is our mission statement the mission of the wiso Township School District a law large diverse and growing Community is to educate all students to become independent lifelong Learners critical thinkers and caring and confident members of the community The District in 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 the skills and the attitudes necessary to contribute positively to a rapidly changing World roll call please Mr ASU present Mr Chester Miss dreaden Miss Martin Miss neeves Miss Peterson pres Mr Shaw pres Mr Thomas yes pres and Miss pits present we have a quum thank you can we now stand for the Pledge of Allegiance I pleas the flag of the United States of America the stand naice 2024 202 a imp best practice for delivering instru students this sh includ conduct weekly administrative monitor teaching and learning consistently review student assessment dat to guide and redirect continue to provide supplemental activities iding enrichment period to address student efficiency V achievement for nth grade math to create a safe and positive learning environment for students strictly enforc The District student C conduct focus on Upper Elementary School students modify student behavior and early grad reinforce positive behavior and a specific in genuine way approach discipline with respect and desire to see good in all schs three inre parent caregiving and Community engagement and education provide opportun for two-way communication continue with communication cons focus on refining our communication method message to better Market our schools continue with our public relations thank you Mr Jester board members I'm at the top of page two Awards and presentations at this time board members we will go to my right and sit over there so that our wonderful students can perform Dr Carter can you introduce your uh school please [Music] [Music] good evening ladies and gentlemen good evening ladies and gentlemen good evening good evening I'm Nathan Carter I'm the principal of Winslow Township School number five joining me today as you all know um are members of our band and Orchestra um this is actually a combined Bandon Orchestra um we have students here from school number five and School number six um first let me thank all of the parents for coming out on this rainy evening to make sure that your students arrived here um they have been preparing for our upcoming Winter concert uh which takes place on January 30th actually at school number six um they've been practicing every Wednesday I know you've heard them practicing at home as well they are under the direction of two absolutely phenomenal teachers uh Mrs Nancy Jan and Mr Tim garton uh Mrs Jan is our Orchestra teacher Mr Garten is our band teacher and I I say that they are phenomenal teachers because year in and year out um they enable our students to produce a quality of sound um that does not um I'll say no other Elementary School band or orchestra that I've ever heard compares to them um and and I truly mean that year in and year out so now I pumped you up guys you gotta you got to make it come to fruition right all right so without further Ado I'm gonna turn the program over uh to our Orchestra please join me in welcoming Mrs Nancy Jam thank you Dr car you put us in the lot of pressure here um wow it's wonderful to see see all of you here this evening and um uh the weather can be even more beautiful than this evening um so the orchestra this is the advanced Orchestra consists of the fifth and sixth graders uh we will be presenting two songs uh same for the band They will be presenting two songs and we will begin with a piece um by Alex dley called Noble Blues Noble Blues now you wondering what does the what is Noble Blu the bow so the string instrument the violin sholo Viola and the Bas they all have a a bile an instrument and a b that complements it so it's like two separate instrument so all these student they have to develop two separate skills learning how to pluck on the violin or the viola and as well as using the bow so that's very complicated task however this piece is called Noble Blues meaning they only going to be doing plucking without the bow so you might think oh that's very easy but actually it's not it is very challenging to plug together as a group but you will hear it so hope you enjoy Noble Blues for e [Music] [Music] you give them another round of applause for doing what they did just like Miss Jan said the fifth and sixth graders aand is fifth and sixth graders as well School School six they work very very hard not only do they have to come and practice and have lessons with us keep their academics up and they also have after school band every Wednesday Orchestra and band we have after school every Wednesday so give him a round of applause put that it's dedication and pride right there and hard work first s that the band would like to do for you is pleasing [Music] [Music] [Music] a [Music] oh [Music] [Music] oh [Music] [Music] you [Music] [Applause] the next song the orchestra will play for you is called Quanza celebration Quanza [Music] celebration for [Music] [Music] [Music] la [Music] la [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] h all [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] n [Music] [Laughter] song that the band would like to do for you is titled holiday medy it's uh Up on the Housetop J St Nicholas um jingle bell and we wish you a merry Christmas we hope you enjoy [Music] la the [Music] [Music] la [Music] [Music] [Applause] [Music] pap la [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] la [Music] [Music] [Applause] [Music] very [Music] [Music] [Applause] [Music] you for thank you excellent job boys and girls ladies and gentlemen that concludes our presentation for this evening thank you again indicated me earlier that there is an important announcement that certainly I'm going to wait for all the board members to come and take their seats and again I would like to congratulate our students for their performance especially the strings because well weather like this absolutely affects your string instrument and it makes it a little bit more difficult but your sound was great and to our band Mr band leader your transition was very smooth it really really was and I do know that we're all familiar with soccer moms and athletes but let's give a round of applaud for the moms of these performers also and as we know in sports the coach is important but believe me a band leader is just as important and he has to make sure that the rehearsals are there he has to make sure that his chill his uh performers are on keing in not so thank you so very much thank you I think you should stand up uh parents of all band and Orchestra students if you would please meet your children in the side hallway um anyone that is picking up your your child to take home if you can meet them out on the side hallway you can exit through the doors to my right here up front all right thank you parents just one minute and you'll um for this announcement we'll just wait until the students exit and we just want to have your attention for okay maybe two minutes two minutes okay maybe two minutes [Music] right right and also mention the great job thank you very much [Music] okay they're waiting around let's good evening parents may I have your attention for just a moment please I have some exciting news to share parents please your attention just for two minutes because you're going to want to hear this exciting news so I I think most of you know that uh this a couple weeks ago that um actually last Monday Wednesday yes that the high school football team won the group for New Jersey state championship so we are the New Jersey state champions so on this Saturday we will have a parade of Champions and that will take place starting at CC Church all the way down to school 3 at um at the conclusion of the parade at school three will be an awards presentation so we hope that you can attend so the other really good news is I can only share just a tidbit but if you tune in to television tomorrow morning at 9:00 I promise you that there is a surprise for you and you will not be disappointed I can't share all of the details but it is definitely worth looking for so can you kindly tune in tomorrow morning at 9 o'l to fox29 all right thank you very much thank you parents I can't tell you sorry it's all [Music] over e e Bo yes Madam President we have two pieces of Correspondence can you hear me yes you can all right the first one is dated December 4th it's from Kenneth Parker and it's addressed to uh Dr potit it reads dear H major potit first thank you for your continued service and Leadership throughout the years congratulations to the congratulations to the njsiaa group 4 New Jersey state champion Winslow Township High School Eagles football team outstanding achievement an amazing display of leadership dedication sacrifice and perseverance it's awesome to see Faith teamwork and Community engagement in full display I am writing to inform you I will be supporting the Winslow Eagles football booster club with a nominal contribution in the amount of $2,000 to be paid incrementally winow Township School District and the winow Township community will always hold a very special place in my heart in closing thank you Dr poti dedicated members of the Board of Education Administration faculty staff students parents Guardians Community stakeholders for your unwavering commitment to service and commitment to Excellence sincerely Kenneth J Parker senor thank you Miss Bo the second piece of Correspondence is dated uh December 9th 2024 it's from Clyde Hughes to Miss Cheryl pittz Miss pittz on December 26 front runner news J front runner new jersey.com will be naming Winslow head football coach Bill Benton as one of our 2024 newsmakers of the Year award F FR NJ which covers the black black and Latino communities in South Jersey annually highlights people of color who have stood out over the past year because of their positive actions we are looking forward to recognizing coach belon and hope you are wi willing to join us in telling them congratulations for $100 you can place a clickable 30w line ad that will appear under your honores entry a clickable 512 by 512 pixel ad which will appear under his or her entry for $200 your contribution will also receive recognition by FrontRunner new jersey.com on our website and our social media Outlets over the rest of December and throughout the month of January if you are unfamiliar with our work please click on I'll read this line https uh colon double back slf FrontRunner new jersey.com and see how we are covering your stories flyde Hughes from FrontRunner new jersey.com and that concludes the uh correspondence for this evening thank you Miss boy uh board members at this time we need to uh make a decision as you heard as to whether or not with regards to the fact that this uh news Outlet is going to honor uh our own coach and as you heard we can um respond and show our also appreciation in one of two ways for $100 in one once it's published um there we can do a 30w complimentary sentence or for $200 we can send them a picture with our logo uh and also with some words under it now I need to know board members whether you would uh what is your desire would we want to send the do a $100 or a $200 ad comments Madam president I do have a comment but I wanted to know if I could address the first uh correspondence and then go to the second correspondence and any order that you prefer well let's do this now since this is on the table now let's I would like to us to make a decision on how inde we're going to um respond with regards to the uh request for Coach Belton and then certainly Mr Thomas we can go to to your um to your second item much appreciate [Music] it Peterson moved that we purchase a $200 ad with a pcture supporting the uh recognition of coach belon who is also a graduate of Edgewood School System SEC second motion okay by uh Miss Peterson the motion and second by uh Mr Shaw would would there be any questions all in favor I any Nays so it's been approved thank you uh board members and uh therefore um Miss Bo you can contact UM Mr Hughes because I think in the letter he indicated this um uh we can contact him uh at least before December 26 I think that's mentioned in the letter I don't see the deadline but I'll reach out okay thank you Mr Thomas yes thank you madam president just to piggy back on what M Miss Peterson was saying about the Edgewood grad uh Mr Kenny Parker also was a Ed grad yes we we was in we wasn't in the graduating class but but he was a colleague or school made of mine and just to give you a background on how the athletics department and athletic committee been trying to work together to Foster that type of environment so we can get some you know some some public dollars some private dollars into to support our athletic Athletics and support our academics as well and he was uh uh very instrumental in also doing the Hall of Fame he made a a sizable donation for that as well and just to continue on what he's doing he came with another endowment like that as well and I had several conversation with few other people because of what we're doing not just in the athletic department but in the Educational Department as well are willing to make endowments I would just ask and suggest that we have a mechanism in place to make sure that the when these endowments come in that is being accounted for and put in a place where we can really track what's going on with them funders and I also would add that we make sure we send Mr Parker any other person that that comes in with that type of significant contribution uh uh as thank you letter very good recommendations uh Mr Thomas well taken and I'm sure that um that will not be difficult to do and I think it would be most appropriate for us to do that okay all right any any other comments moving now at this point board members I'm asking for a motion to approve our uh meeting minutes from our regular board meeting that was held Tuesday November 26 2024 Open session is there a motion moved by Mr asku second by Mr Chester any comments or questions hearing none roll call please Mr ASU yes Mr Chester yes m dreaden Miss Martin yes Miss neeves yes Miss Peterson yes Mr Shaw yes Mr Thomas yes and Miss pittz I'm going to go back to Mr Thomas Mr Thomas I think you may want to um recuse yourself from that from the minutes of last meeting please strike my previous comment and I will recuse myself thank you Mr Thomas and Miss Pitt yes motion has carried thank you Miss bu moving now board members to board committee reports um would there be a report out of our athletic committee now Mr Thomas you can make your comments now or wait later in the agenda for information items I like to make I like to read the statement it goes appropo with what we're talking about Dr car just uh uh announced an environment of what's happening with our our our uh football team and I just want to give an overview not just the football team but the whole athletic department and how our athletic committee been working diligently not just with the athletic department but with the uh booster club to Foster that type of environment and we just like to make a statement we just feel like we we we should make a statement and I just like to read it if I may okay Mr Thomas Winslow Township Eagle state championship the winow Township High School football team has made history by capturing the state championship title A Monumental achievement that showcases their hard work talent and resilience the team's outstanding performance has brought immense prize to winow Township United the community in celebration of this significant Milestone a community celebration and parade the honor this achievement winow Township is hosting a grand parade this Saturday this event is a collaborative effort involving various groups of individuals all coming together to recognize the success of the Eagles and the spirit of Winslow Township the parade promised to be festive CommunityWide and celebration featuring winow Township High School Marching Band delivering electrifying musical performances cheerleaders adding energy and enthusiasm with their routines National Honor Society representing the academic ACC conferment of Winslow's Township Winslow youth football highlighting the rising talent in the township the mullers local community contributors joining the celebration Santa Claus bringing a holiday chair for families and children dignitaries and officials including Winslow Township Mar Marie Lawrence Camden County Commissioners Jeff Nash Al Dyer and representatives from Senator norcross's office Community Spirit winow winning together events like these like this showcase winow Township unique ability to Rally around his Youth and SE celebrate achievements as one community from students to local leaders every participant embodies the winning spirit that defines our Township the pray will not only celebrate the eagle success but also reinforce the values of collaboration pride and support that make Winslow a modelto community Unity we invite all residents to join the parade festivities this Saturday to honor our state champions and continue building a winning wiso Township together we celebrate Excellence un the incredible potential of our community go Eagles thank you Mr Thomas very well stated moving now board members would there be a report out of the citizens advisory committee no report at this time thank you would there be a report out of our education committee yes Madam president winsler Township School District educational committee meeting minutes Tuesday December 10th 2024 from the district dist WebEx the education committee was called to order at 4m. Via District's WebEx board members present Freedom Martin and Julie Peterson committee chair administrative Dr darthy crocamo assistant superintendent and education committee leison members discussion topics 20242 textbook replacement new curriculum the district is currently examining language arts literacy programs for grades K through 12 for potential adoption during the 2526 school year several math textbooks for middle and high school are being reviewed as well School staff shortages New Jersey task force report initial recommendations from members of the task force on public school staff shortages in New Jersey the task force on public school staff shortages in New Jersey has recommended sever veral actions to address the educator shortage including competive competitive compensation advocate for competitive compens compensation packages for educators improving improved working conditions work to improve working conditions for educators teacher preparation programs partner with local colleges and universities to develop teacher programs that meet New Jersey needs mentoring mentor and support aspiring Educators from middle school on remove recruitment obstacles used administrative and legislative actions to remove obstacles to recruitment the shortage of Educators in New Jersey is a pressing issue that has left districts struggling to find enough candidates to fill teaching and support staff positions two Winslow Township School District shortages we currently have 21 vacancies 11 in special ed two in art one each in gifted and talented health and PE learning disabilities teacher consultant and school psychologist C pin land environment grant school three and six only one school will be awarded the Grant and school number three has expressed interest student safety and traffic pattern at school number three this is an ongoing issue that must be addressed by the township at one time the township had a police officer in the area the district has never funded crossing guards perhaps this is the task that the citizen advisory committee would like to take on and that concludes our report for the education committee thank you Miss Martin board members would there be any uh comments or questions with regards to our education report thank you moving now to our marketing committee would there be a report out of our marketing committee uh I just wanted to note that the Strategic plan that the marketing committee had been working on during our last meeting has been provided to the board members and is in your folders uh hopefully that'll help the incoming marketing committee committee after uh reorg um and that's all okay thank you Miss NZ moving now to our operations committee would there be a report out of our operations [Music] committee thank you Mr Jen at this time there was there would be no report out of our policy committee but stay tuned moving now board members I'm at the top of Page Three I'm asking at this time for a motion to approve the superintendent report as it begins at the top of Page Three and then it continues through to the well to the bottom of page seven is there a motion move by move by Mr ASU second by Mr Chester would there be any questions or comments hearing none roll call please Mr ASU yes Mr Chester M dreaden Miss Martin yes Miss neeves yes Miss Peterson yes Mr Shaw yes Mr Thomas yes and Mr pits yes motion has carried thank you moving now board members I'm asking with there be a motion oh to approve the business administrative board secretary's report as it begins at the top of page eight and continues through to the bottom of page 11 is there a motion moved by Mr ASU second by Mr Chester would be would there be any comments or questions yes Madam president I do uh uh number one is a dexo report I know last year was having and I think one of our findings was that we had some money that we could not spend can you hold on for a minute and and let us know what Paige and your referencing Mr Thomas page eight page eight okay the beginning of the report under six letter a number one sxo report okay thank you the question is I know uh some time ago we was having uh some concerns not concerns but it was a good concerns that we had money that was uh in abundance in that area is that under that report and if so what is the update on that particular uh situation okay the situation as it stands and I believe that was from our 23 audit uh that we had excess funding we tried to go out to bid actually we went out to bid for equipment it came in very reasonable and it caused our over it um this year we are having oh I'm oh I'm sorry it's kind of hard to look at you yeah yeah I know and that's what yeah we have to remember to speak directly into the mic because again that makes it much easier for folks who are streaming in to hear us um it well let's go back to this report this report is not that this is sedexo just giving us an update as to where we are what they accomplished during the first portion of the year they do in their contract they do have a an allowance or um that they're supposed to make for us they're reporting to you that they're on target to make that amount for us this year um as for that audit finding from the prior Year we will have that audit finding again this year because there's only certain things that you can purchase through Food Service fund and you have to depending on the size you have to get approval so as we go through and update uh equipment since we have money we're going through an updating equipment um at some point if you bought everybody new tables if you've bought everybody new ovens if you bought everybody freezers there's only so much you can do you it has to be spent on food service so um but we are on track again because like I said we put out a bid last year uh most of the equipment has come in but I've looked at their um fixed asset records we still have some items that were purchased and they're past their useful life but they're running and I said doesn't matter if it's got a 15-year useful life and we're in year 16 17 or 18 we need to replace it before it goes down so there will be another bid going out and like I said we've purchased some cafeteria tables that were needed so we're working on it thank you any further comments or questions as it relates to the business administrated board secretaries report yes one question Miss Peterson page nine under professional development number 12 and 13 okay per D and Bas $15.84 that's from Union Township uh School District and then one from Nork is 13 and it the pan base is 541 is it just cheaper because norc is closer than Union City no they have a student um it's a um let's say this one you said 12 and 13 Union has a student that's down here they are riding our bus so we take the cost of the bus how many students are on that divide it up and that student gets charged um back to the mic 1584 a day as opposed to the one in Newark they're riding a school bus our bus must have more students on it because their cost is only $541 per day thank you thank you for that clear okay any further questions with regards to the business administrative board secretaries report all right hearing none roll call please Mr ask you yes Mr Chester Miss dreaden Miss Martin yes Miss neeves yes Miss Peterson yes Mr Shaw yes Mr Thomas yes and Miss Pitts yes motion has carried thank you Miss B moving now board members I'm at the top of page 12 before I ask for any action on the Personnel report I would bring your attention to page 13 page 13 item number a where it says terminate ations and we're going to I mean I'm sorry item number five where it says terminations and we're going to remove that from our agenda because that has been resolved so therefore board members at this time I'm asking for a motion to approve our Personnel report as it begins at the top of page 12 and continues through to the middle of page 13 is there a motion mve by Mr ascu second by Mr Chester any further comments or questions hearing none roll call please Mr ASU yes Mr Chester yes Miss dreaden Miss Martin yes Miss neevis yes Miss Peterson yes Mr Shaw yes Mr Thomas yes and Miss pit yes motion has carried thank you Miss Paul moving now board members to that nice little pink sheet that we usually get that is our addendum so therefore at this time I'm asking for a motion to approve the Personnel report as it appears on our addendum beginning with page one and continuing through to the middle of page two is there a motion moved by Mr ASU second by Mr Chester would there be any further questions or comments hearing none roll call please Mr ASU yes Mr Chester M dreaden Miss Martin yes Miss neevis yes Miss Peterson yes Mr Shaw yes Mr Thomas yes and Miss pits yes motion has carried thank you Miss bull moving now board members still on the agendum I'm asking for a motion to approve the board secretary's report as it appears on page two and continues through to the bottom of page five is there a motion moved by Mr ASU second by Mr Chester any further comments or questions hearing none roll call please Mr asku yes Mr Chester Miss stren Miss Martin yes Miss neeves yes Miss Peterson yes Mr Shaw yes Mr Thomas yes and Miss Pitts yes motion has carried thank you Miss P moving now returning to our regular agenda we're at the open public records act Miss Bo yes Madam president uh between the period of November 1st 2024 and December 5th 2024 we received and responded to two requests the first one came from Mr Joe Thomas uh the request was for Boe policy concerning emails among board members that was supplied it was approved and supplied the second request was the policy on the role of the solicitor and conflict of interest in non-public meetings that was denied no policy could be located thank you Miss bu moving now board members I'm at the top of page 14 informational items Dr camro Madame President I have one additional uh informational item the board had requested that we take a look at our website and that we do something toward upgrading the website so I'm happy to report that pretty soon we will have a new face uh for our Facebook I know that when we return from the Christmas holidays that the website the new website will be live Oh yay thank you does that conclude the information that concludes my information thank you Dr caramore moving now board members to Old business would there be any old business you would care to discuss at this time moving now to new business and do I have to say our fabulous football team do I have to say that no but what I can what I would like the board to know is that again as U you heard Mr Thomas state in his statement that there will be a parade of Champions Saturday and it's it's the it's as of the collective Endeavors of our Township mayor and governing body and the Ws Township Board of Education so therefore as you also mentioned the parade will be at 10 o'clock however at the there will be a stage there because there will be a brief presentation and award ceremony and board members are expected to be on that stage and as I indic ated in uh earlier text to board members I need to know at this point how many of our board members will be in attendance so that we can make sure that we have the chair for you and I did hear from Mr Shaw I know I heard from Mr Shaw I heard from Miss dreaden so I do know that uh is there any other board members who can let let us know this evening that you'll be there Saturday Madam president Miss Martin Miss Martin thank you Miss Martin I will not be in attendance you not be in attendance okay any others I'm sorry Mr ASU Mr ASU thank you Mr ASU Mr Chester thank you Mr Chester any other board members Madame President I'm going to try my best to juggle two meetings I am a good presiding office officer of one I am well aware I am well aware of your schedule Miss Peterson and um certainly uh it's going to be absolutely great that you're taking the time to step away okay so if I'm counting correctly uh Dr Caro one two three four five six myself seven we can count for seven I did not I did not over Overlook Mr Thomas because Thomas Mr Thomas is one of the program coordinators so without a doubt we know that he'll be there so um thank you board members looking for a very exciting Day on on Saturday um any oh with regards to the the uh timing board members as you as was indicated the parade starts at 10 o'clock um my advice would be certainly perhaps to get there by 10 o'clock because of course if you come later the street is going to be blocked off because of the parade at least this way if you get there by 10:00 we you can be seated on stage and you can see the parade as it comes past um so that would be my advice but your schedule is your schedule uh as long as you're there at least by 10:45 because that's when we expect that's the guesstimate of when the brief program will begin any questions no questions okay any other new business Madam president I have I have I have a new business I want to ask a question okay Mr Thomas I have several questions but the one simple question that I'd like to know as you can see I've been trying to gain information how should I gain information or items that I need answers to uh what is the policy on that and how can I make sure that I get the information that I'm asking questions for now information on policy issues or what just just like for instance like how many people I asked a question how many people going to be at the parade the township is asking me so I can put chairs on it so when I ask a question different informational items I need answers to it it seems like when I'm asking these type of questions I can't get answers I maybe I'm asking wrong maybe I'm going about it the wrong way I just want to be directed in the right way uh on how to get information that I need to carry on the things that have been assigned and how we can move uh you know certain projects forward that's certainly understandable uh Mrs Thomas and the answer to that is this as you know you um from the school board's position have been uh asked to be the program coord coordinator and you are have coupled up with Miss um nikisha cream from the townships position show you are uh together it's a joint uh Endeavor and hopefully by Friday now you can of course you already have communicated with Miss um Ken but also with Dr Caro because hopefully by Friday that's the point at which we're going to have the program and all of the pieces in place so you can ask questions of course Dr Caro and miss miss cream because those those that would be your two points of information can I ask that we have it by noon on Friday because Miss cre is wait is waiting I am uh transferring information to her and that's the information that we need to know exactly how we're going to direct certain things for that event okay and by Friday the stage would be in be be in place right with the chair so we need to know sooner than than later okay how many people's going to be on that stage and just different questions so I won't have to opr and stuff like that right we'll have to no you would not this this is not an incident of opening as far as knowing exactly how many people uh I spoke to the mayor this morning and she's going to also she asked me how many of us how many of us would be there but to directly answer your question the the best uh answer to that would be to directly connect with Dr Caro Dr Caro are you okay with that I'm fine okay Mr Thomas it's a collective atende de thank you okay you're welcome any other new business yeah I just wanted to mention uh I know we saw School five and six bands perform tonight uh last night I had the pleasure of attending the middle school band who was here last night and they performed as well so it's a testament to both Miss Jan and Mr Gart on how well our band does we had orchestra band and choir perform it was a great performance uh kudos to the uh middle school administrative team who've now had two late nights as well as parent teacher conferences going out so shout out to them getting that done um the only uh comment that I would have on last night's performance is unfortunately our choir um was performing here without mics so I don't know if that's something that that we could look out because it was very hard was sitting front row and unfortunately I couldn't hear The Choir performing last night so that was my only commentary on that yeah um Miss NE as you said the choir was performing without mics correct is there anything um that we can comment M I'm not aware of that um we didn't receive a request for the use of mics so I'll have to follow up with Mr sh shrier okay all right that's easy enough we can make sure that that won't happen again thank you Dr carel Madam president can I I have a question to it in in that lane too as well sure I know and first of all let me apologize for missing last board meeting I charge it to my head and not to my heart understandable um but I know one of my questions that that D in was that we was going to have a discussion on our our our our internet capability and our technical assistance capability it's it's been several times that when we have different stuff whether it's the microphone or the internet or something that has to do under that technical uh apparatus is not working in a in a in a performance that can project our our greatness to to the public uh I'm still uh suggest that we do have a a discussion or a workshop to see what can be done uh to to fix that because we've been going on that for about two years now so I'm just asking that we we we set aside some time for that process that that particular topic and that's understandable on I'm sure Dr um Dr car can respond to that but let me just say one thing that I've noticed and you see right now I'm holding the mic one of the things I have learned especially since we had our campden School Board Association meeting last um actually it was last week we have to remember to speak into the mic it's not always technology it's not always the equipment we have to remember to speak directly into the mic so Dr car yes so some of the issues that we were having with the um with the microphone Mr Thomas is because they have come to the end of life we already have replaced I mean have an order in to replace those and we're just waiting for those microphones to arrive we already have secured services for additional backup support but of course that takes time but all of those things are already in the works okay thank you Dr cmore sure any other comments board members yes madame president Miss Martin I would like to mention that on Saturday December 7th 2024 I attended the delegate assembly there were seven resolutions that we took a look at um and seven resolutions that were passed there were many more some were pulled some were changed um I did send an email to each board member stating that um there is one resolution in reference to the um fact that there are many newspapers that are beginning to go away and there is a question or there was a question about being able to inform the public about the the public meetings for the different school districts so there was a resolution that was passed allowing us to do electronic if we do have the luxury of having what we have it's nice but we can now do social media social media as well as the school's website okay that's good to know Miss Martin that's very good to know and um also I believe it was on either Monday or Tuesday Governor Murphy signed into law a 3446 freedom to read act so I just wanted wanted to make uh each of the board members aware of that um if you have any questions about the delegate assembly as usual you can always email me or call me thank you Miss Martin no problem Oh M football game ST I wanted to commend we were thank you Mr Jon and I concur I believe Mr Martin uh would also agree with that because since three of us wrote on that um as well as I would like to take this opportunity to publicly um thank um the ad for putting together all of that in a very short period of time kudos to her and her staff for doing a fantastic job and I really wanted to do that publicly and that's Miss Tashi main that is correct thank you Miss Martin any other comments yes madame president yes Miss Peterson as we were at the stadium I noticed that we had a tremendous amount of support from other school districts in our area they were wearing their jackets so kudos to the relationship we have built with other districts in Southern New Jersey our stadium side was almost filled so I thank the relationship that we have built with other districts that they would support our youth also thank you Miss Peterson any other comments M yes Mr Shaw let's not forget how well the the marching band and the cheerleaders performed especially has cold and with those snow coming down in that state CU it got cold in that Stadium yes it did thank you Mr Shaw any other [Music] comments All Right Moving down excuse me Mr Chester [Music] W child allow $1,500 tax [Music] follow now Mr Chester that stiping would be coming what from the VA yes excellent so Dr caramore I see she's taking notes so I'm sure that we will take action to move on that uh uh to absolutely that's that is really good news to know thank you Mr Chester any other comments any new business thank you moving now Mr long thank you Madam president uh members of the board the Winslow Township Board of Education highly values the input of citizens and 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 offer comment and to ensure that the board can conduct the important business of the district we'd ask the speakers follow the following guidelines for making public comment the board secretary will recognize those individuals in the audience who wish to make comment please respect the following procedures one all members of the public attending Schoolboard Mee meetings must treat each other and the board with respect two please State your full name and town of residence uh your street and address number is no longer required please limit your comments to four minutes uh in the event we're unable to answer your question questions please submit your questions to the board of ed with your name address and telephone number where you can be contacted and your questions will be answered within a reasonable period of time and lastly individuals offering citizen comment are not permitted to make personal attacks on any District employee board member other testifier or member of the public thank you ma'am thank you Mr La board members at this time I'm asking for a motion to approve our moving into public comment move by Mr ASU second by Mr Chester all in favor I any Nays thank you Miss Bo yes madame president it looks like Devon Davis good evening board members good evening evening my name is Devin Davis I live in AA what brings me here tonight is I would like to schedule executive meeting to revisit the excessive punishment that was given to my daughter I have followed all protocols and procedures to bring me to this point that I'm standing here in front of you today Friday November 22nd my daughter asked permission to go to a family member's house I gave her that permission at the end of the school day 1:38 p.m. she then got on her cousin's bus she called me when she had reached the family members house in P section cville to ensure me that I knew where she was and that she was safe approximately 3:30 4:00 after school hours my daughter and her friends was walking down C Road when an adult male drove up to my daughter and her [Music] friends and said if you had any problem with my daughter you can fight it out at this time my daughter was in front of villain OFA court on cille road as she then proceeded to walk away minutes after my daughter turned around and mother and daughter was approaching aggressively at this time my daughter had no choice but to defend herself against a student that is three times her size at 5:00 that day my daughter was picked up and she had told me what had happened Monday November 25th my daughter had a good day at school Tuesday November 26 my wife had received a call from Miss Gibson 9th gr principal to inform that my daughter is being suspended for 10 days for getting on the wrong bus and an additional 35 days for getting into a fight that occurred after hours in cille that's a total of 45 days out of school in which 35 days of that time would be alternate schooling which means my daughter will be home on a Chromebook that the school provided and I say this with respect the Chromebooks are not update not updated and they barely work and when covid happened kids was forced to do schooling on these Chromebooks that is hindering their learning curve because of the condition they're in when I came up to the school Wednesday November 27th I sat down with ninth grade principal Miss Gibson and principal Miss um to talk about the excessive punishment that was given to not both students just my daughter because of her getting on the wrong bus I asked him about the matter I was told parents came up to the school to report that my daughter and their daughter which are both students of Winslow Township High School had gotten into a fight and that my daughter would be suspended in that he couldn't give me any other information because he said it's a police matter now when I spoke to officer Gunston he had informed me that there would be no physical paperwork he could have given me to go to court with because it was a report and no charges and no charges were filed to know exactly what had happened because first it wasn't on school property and secondly not one staff member teacher from winow Township High School was there to know or see exactly what had happened and as noted in Winslow Township guine handbook section five transportation bus misconduct first offense one to three and school suspension second 5 days bus suspension third 10 days suspension off bus fourth removal it also states that the number of days out of school suspension were determined by the severity and frequency of the occurrences and that bus drivers must check identification to ensure the students aren't getting on the wrong bus to ensure that students aren't getting on the wrong bus that's not being enforced by the bus driver because of the situation we have in front of us today this is my daughter's first year in high school she's a Ab student she loves art modeling gymnastics tracks and helping others excuse me Mr David and um hopefully you're coming to the end because you're 4 minutes okay okay because we need to respond to you okay so you're at your 4 minute Mark you're at your 4 minute Mark so we okay okay she's a Ab student that loves BK modeling gymnastic track and helping others the impact of this punishment the Imp fact that this punishment has had on my daughter mentally physically and emotionally is traumatizing for any 14-year-old to go through especially when this punishment that was handed down to my daughter could affect her future and when I called to get help from a board member to see if there was a way to revisit this whole situation I was T to like I was a student and not apparent which is very unprofessional and hurtful in closing I've went to Winslow Township High School and I loved to Heir there was times I hopped on the wrong bus to go see my friends now hold it Mr Mr Davis I'm sorry I really am sorry but again I'm finishing I got 20 words to say 20 words 20 words I went to Winslow Township I love to hear there was times I hopped on the wrong bus to go see my friends and there was times that I hopped on the wrong bus by mistake but I wasn't punished to the Max and not once in high school I recall a teacher staff or board member that doesn't care about a student's education and this punishment is affecting her education and possibly her future so I'm asking the board to please revisit this punishment because I'm a firm believer and right or wrong and when there are adults especially parents that encourage and ultimately made this fight happen for my child to be the only one punished isn't right Mr Davis you've had Mr Davis no Mr Davis I think we've been very very fair with you okay and so we would um and you want a response and our attorney Mr long will respond so one of our one of our difficult things as a board at these these individuals who are elected to represent um the district is that they're unable in this public setting to respond specifically to what you are uh stating here this evening yes it's not because of lack of interest sometimes people perceive it as such I can tell you I I know them all very well and I'm sure they're concerned about your situation but they I cannot allow them to comment publicly while you can we are not permitted to mention your family your name your child anything like that understand so there is an appeal process on long-term suspensions of 10 days or more in which you can re can appeal I've try in an appropriate matter it you you are legally entitled to a hearing before this board under the law for a long-term suspension must happen if you request it following the appropriate procedure so I would encourage you to work up the chain of command those those I have issues should go with Miss car Dr Caro and and there should be uh an opportunity for you to uh appeal and appear before the board which happens in closed session yes then there can be more of an open dialogue but you definitely have that appeal right I just want to make you aware of it but the the silence that you're going to hear after I stop talking I don't want you to perceive that as lack of interest because that's not the case they just take a note to follow the law and they and they for the most part been pretty good at following I did speak with Mr Davis and I told Mr Davis what he needed to do in order to appeal we spoke twice before the board uh Mr Davis we did speak twice and the last conversation we had I said to you that you could write a letter and request a hearing before the board and you you that's not what was said on the phone out of your words with all due respect there's not going to be a give and take I'm sorry I'm sorry take its public comment period understand I want you to understand clearly send an email send a letter drop off a handwritten note do whatever you want to do you will get a hearing before this board I've done that I've tried you've made the appeal you've submitted that request yes I'm I'm here I spoke with Miss parkham no did you submit a written request don't worry I will send a I was send a request going and I've been getting no calls back no nothing no response just follow your appeal and we'll get you where you need to be sir you just just put it in writing that's all I ask should be in writing it is in writing okay thank you're welcome sir Miss poil J pill [Music] good evening good evening good evening um I want to start off by saying I agree I'm super proud of the football team they are shining a bright light on the township positively I'm hoping that while celebrating the state championship team I hope that there are some efforts and place to provide and support them with snacks and drinks free of charge in the coming season I'm also wondering if funds for Rings or jackets that could be used to give to the team so those items would be um you know less out of their pockets I also want to plead for help with the topics on tonight's agenda such as providing a respectful social emotional environment without retaliation I'm asking for more professional accountability aligning with all the fancy job titles in the district how would I be able to schedule a meeting with all board members to resolve matters that are unresolved and continuing despite attempts to have conversations with appropriate staff Miss bill as far as uh scheduling a meeting with the board members as it relates to an issue that you may have with regards to your child that is the role of the administration so now there is an appeal process depending on your situation where you can appeal it and if at the end it be Qui it ends with a um a meeting with the school board then that's you followed the process but just for the school board to say in a situation like this well we meet with you that is not our role and Mr long will also come on that yeah I I would just also say that I I don't know the specifics and it's not appropriate for us to respond to an inquire here and I don't want to do that of you ma'am at a respect um but if under certain under certain circumstances the law is very clear and concise of when when you do not get satisfaction from the administration which is your first line of action whether or not there is an appeal process for you to come before the board so that I don't know the specifics and I'd be glad to speak to the administration about it but some things do permit to go to the board and some things by law end at the superintendent assist and superintendent level and can go no further under the law because the board doesn't have any Authority or power they can only do what the the P enact the powers like long-term suspension automatic Board hearing absolutely as a matter of law entitled to that if you make that appeal request some parents accept it okay some parents do not accept it so whatever your situation is I would strongly encourage you to follow the chain of command it's teacher principal assistant superintendent done it's already done so my question again tonight is now there are still more issues arising when it comes to my child and now to a point where we are breaking the law because my child is being denied lunch see I I I I it's very difficult for me to respond or have a conversation with Dr Caro about that in public so are you are you seeking a response from me Mr La I'm not actually seeking one Dr Caro but if you care to resp so I can tell you that the issues that Miss po uh pill has do not fall under the jurisdiction of the board these are administrative issues not if my child is in school for a certain amount of hours and they're not eating that is not correct the board cannot address those issues again miss pill well I've already addressed them with the building principal and they can't fix the issue either and I've you know I've cced you on those emails as well again the board cannot address them so with regard to copying me on the emails you're absolutely correct I have seen them it's still a building level issue that has to be addressed by the building principal so I have to send my child to school and each day run the risk of them not eating correct that's what you're telling me well actually I didn't say that those were your words that's what I heard so Miss po Hill if you want to have a meeting with me all you have to do is to request that in your emails you simply are copying me on the emails that you are sending to the administration I am aware of the administration's response back to your emails and the fact that you do not agree with how the administration is handling those does not mean that they're not being addressed well they're not being addressed so Miss po Hill if I would just make a statement I would suggest that before you leave tonight that you make an appointment to actually have a meeting with Dr Cara one onone I hear what you're saying but I don't think you're understanding that each day that there is a delay opening or a early dismissal my child runs the risk of not eating lunch so again tomorrow I'm going to have to worry about if my child is going to eat or not so while I'll be scheduling a a a meeting with her I still run the risk of him not eating Dr Clark Deo is there any situation which the child resp I know that can for all of our early dismissals the schedules are modified all students still receive lunch well that's not what's happening is what I'm saying would you just make sure that the child receives lunch tomorrow and me with the administration thank you Dr car thank you very much the only reason he ate today is because I came there so he could get lunch yeah we would never want your child to go hungry during the school day that that's not acceptable by anybody and that's why I Dr claro to check on that to make sure that that doesn't happen before you meet with her hopefully sooner rather than later okay I'll be at the next board meeting okay thank you Miss Bo Madame President that's all that have signed up this evening is there anybody in the waiting room not at this time not at this time therefore board members at this time I'm asking for a motion to adjourn public comments move by Mr ascu second by Mr uh Chester all in favor I any nay thank you Mr long uh thank you madam president there is a need for an executive session in accordance with the requirements of the open public meetings act we will be entering into an executive session on December 11th 2024 at 8:31 p.m. of the non- exceptions under the law which permit us to uh exclude the public it would be number one which would be items which are confidential uh and this deals with a um a child and the implications of a policy on that child and the second would be uh item seven would be uh matters relating to any pending or anticipated Administrative Hearings or litigation and this would have to I think is's only one grievance left Mr Davis or or you're still going to bring up two correct you have Mr Davis has two grievances to just brief the board on correct that's what I understand thank you so those two items and I would anticipate that we would be an executive session 30 to 45 minutes thank you Mr long so therefore board members at this time I'm asking for a motion to approve our moving into executive session move by Mr ASU second by Mr Chester roll call please Mr ASU yes Mr Chester Miss dreaden yes Miss Martin yes Miss neevis yes Miss Peterson yes Mr Shaw yes Mr Thomas yes and Miss pits yes motion has carried thank you Miss B at this point board members we're going to adjourn to Executive session on