I mean that there's a difference like we have 400, you know, students maximum. So we're not going to have a freshman cohort, a sophomore, we'll have a CSA new tech cohort. Um and and quite frankly, I think part of that conversation, we've been doing that individual deep dive with students for a long time. Um with with who we are as a school, I think we've been able to say, "Okay, we've got 360 kids. We can get down and know every single one of them, understand what their needs are, and if they're struggling, put them in contact with with the right agencies or the right supports to to be able to graduate." So, I think it yes, we will have that structure. It it will look a little different at our school than it does at at North or East, but we absolutely will um work on that same that same model.
Any questions or comments from the board? Seeing none, Mr. Yates, roll call, please. On the approval of minutes, Mr. Brown, yes. Miss Moitz, yes. Mr. Dearcy, yes. Miss Fox, yes. Mrs. Null, yes. Mr. Thompson, yes. Mr. Peeleman, yes. Mr. Bach, yes. Mr. Conton, yes. Motion carries. Thank you, Mr. Yates. Moving to item seven. and superintendent report and administrative items. We need a motion to approve items 7.1 through 7.8. Do we have a motion? Motion by Miss Fox, seconded by Mr. Thompson. Before we vote, I'll hand the floor over to Dr. Smith. Thank you, Mr. Canton. Uh just given the time with the presentation and so on, I'm going to keep my comments short, I just want to recognize that teacher appreciation week is just around the corner and to thank our teachers and all their staff for their work and dedication day in and day out.
[Applause] Superintendent Student Advisory Council. After the speak and spark event, SSAC members carefully looked at feedback from our peers and community. We took the time to read every comment, suggestion, and concern to make sure we didn't miss any important viewpoints. We also, oh gosh, I can't pronounce that word. Disgregated the data which informed us of some common themes. After thoughtful discussions, we decided to focus on respect and communication as our top priority for the next school year. Other areas of focus are as follows: mental health and teacher student relationships, censorship and safe classroom discussions, cultural and relational responsiveness, the role of cell phones in the classroom. Though respect and communication will be our driving force, we will be embedding mental health mental health relationships and cultural relations relational responsiveness into our plans. We believe respect is important for creating a safe and welcoming school environment.
Going to jump in. Yeah. So, when we were introducing the cohort model and talking about why um it would work here, I referenced CSA New Techch. I talked about how they were small and we needed to make our high schools smaller because they were so big and we were looking at things that CSA Newekch, what were they doing? What was where was the magic there? So, um they very much do uh some of the things that uh the cohort models um are are doing in in the in the bigger high schools. Josh, to that point, can you I I know that the your building decided to repurpose a position recently. Can you speak to that change for that posting that went out just last month? Yeah, so we um going into this school year, we had a a math position open that we were not able to fill.
Children learn from each of us, each staff member, in what we say and what we do. Our teachers are a vital reason why our district's quality of education has been sustained even as our district's financial resources have decreased. Tonight's final budget is a powerful embodiment of appreciation for our teaching staff. Thank you. Thank you, Dr. Smith.
It affects how we treat each other, work together, and handle problems. Good communication is also key. It helps build strong relationships between students, staff, and administrators and ensures that everyone's voice is heard and understood. By focusing on these areas, SSAC aims to build a stronger, more connected school community. We are dedicated to create creating practical plans based on student admin feedback, and we look forward to collaborating with our building principles to make these values a reality. Thank you to everyone who shared their thoughts. Your input is greatly appreciated and it is essential to our vision in the future. Finally, though Calie is not here on behalf of both of us, we just wanted to express our gratitude and respect to our fellow board members. We have learned so much from each of you. Madame President Simon, President Vice President Gatewood, Mr. Poger, and Miss Johnson.
we we didn't find a candidate that we thought would add value at that time. Um and so we had that open position this this entire year. Um looking at at that position, we decided going into next year that we'd like repurpose that position as an academic coach to add one more member to our cohort team to look at the data with us to help provide supports for students. And so, you know, we didn't add an academic coach. We repurposed our math position as a as an academic coach because we were able to to make the math numbers work with our current staff. So, we're really excited about having an academic coach because the last couple years we've been doing some of that work. Now, having another person on that team is just going to add to the the ability to to reach more students for sure.
Before we vote, any questions or comments from the board? Seeing none, Mr. Yates, roll call, please. Roll call on administrative items. Mr. Brown, yes. Mowitz, yes. Mr. DeMarcy, yes. Miss Fox, yes. Mrs. Null, yes. Mr. Thompson, yes. Mr. Pelman, yes. Mr. Bach, yes. Mr. Compton, yes. That motion carries. Thank you, Mr. Yates. Moving to item 8, curriculum and instruction. Do we have a motion to approve items 8.1 through 8.4? Miss Bramoitz with the motion seconded by Mr. Dearcyc.
Each of you will be missed. Thank you for the opportunity to serve with you guys. It's been a great honor. So power has been our problem. Thank you. Okay, we're moving on to 9.3 for our board member comments. Any comments? I'll start. Go ahead. Start where you and we'll come around. Okay. Um, I was able to attend and participate in the staff volleyball tournament. Uh, really enjoyed the Yes, we did. Oh, yes, you participated. No, we did not win a couple games. We won some what do you call matches, you know, but not not not in not in a an actual advancement in the bracket, you know. Um, I really uh enjoyed the camaraderie laughs and just playing volleyball for the first time in years. Um, congrats to all participants and a call out to the bracket champions, notorious DIG at Asiggo High School and you've been served at Grand Park.
And I think it's implied where you're going you're not asking for money tonight because this is budget neutral. this decision is budget neutral. Is that that's Yeah, that's correct. Yeah. And I'll just add one more element to the I think this at least my brain at the beginning of the school year went to this as a possibility because of the lack of clarity around the accountability systems we have in place. each of the the four cohorts from each of the high schools, those eight teams have to take out the CSA students and move them over here every time they report and say, "Okay, well, these are CSA students and so their numbers look this way. Here's what our numbers look like." Uh and ultimately when those graduation rates are published in the paper and we celebrate them um those show up as north and east students now that account accountability system will be clear that those are CSA new tech students and their graduation rate is their graduation rate as well as the other metrics that come along with being your own school member.
Any questions or comments from the board? Seeing none, Mr. Yates. Roll call, please. Roll call. Curriculum and instruction. Mr. Brown, yes. Mr. Bowitz, yes. Mr. Marcy, yes. Miss Fox, yes. Mrs. Null, yes. Mr. Thompson, yes. Mr. Peeleman, yes. Mr. Bach, yes. Mr. Conton, yes. That motion carries. Thank you, Mr. Yates. Moving to item nine, finance and operations. We need a motion to approve items 9.1 through 9.19. Do we have a motion? Motion by Mr. Thompson seconded by Mr. Peeleman. Thank you.
Um, also got a chance to check out the college and trade expo last week. Uh, thank you to all the vendors and staff who made the event valuable to many students and families in attendance. So, all Okay. You just stole my college and trade expo line, but I was there. I was there, too. Oh. Uh, but but Mr. Cerrone has already covered it. So, yeah, we didn't coordinate it. You're right. We'll do better next time. Um, also, um, as Mr. Gatewood mentioned before, uh, the AVID showcase, I was actually at the Avid Showcase. Um, what I wanted to, first of all, kudos to everybody at at Old Post that participated in the presentation for that day. It was really, it was really well done. What I what really was wonderful to see was it was one of those occasions where we in 308 had people coming in from other teachers and educators from other school districts to learn from us.
The things that you've put up here are very high level intangible on paper right now. Do you have anything tangible that proves why this is the best option moving forward? Such as what are your improvements to projected attendance, your projected graduation rate, your projected classes that you offer on the CSA New Tech campus versus how much usage of North and East you'll have. So it it says program now we're going to make it a high school. So what what is the end result? What should we expect to see uh if we were to commit to this from a performance standpoint for the school? None of those things change. None of those things change in this model. The academic offerings, the opportunities for students stay exactly as they are today. So the only advantage is the data management uh separating out the data. I'd say the if you're going to put them in two categories, the data management that the whole team is dealing with, including our technology department, but then also from a a branding and recruitment perspective for new tech.
Uh, any questions or comments from the board? Mrs. Nol, I'd like to make comments about the budget, which I was not able to do before, but I wanted to point out to the board in case you didn't know that there were 300 districts throughout the state that had the opportunity to submit applications to the county superintendent and only onethird applied. I believe that they did not want to accept passing the state's burden to their taxpayers. I believe that our district is now telling the state that they are off the hook, that it is just aokay that they just give us $1,100 per student in Marlton. I don't think that's acceptable. Also, we have more residents staying in our town. Their kids are here. Their grandkids are here. They don't want to move. They like it here as I do. And I'm afraid that this will force a lot of our longtime residents out and that's really sad.
Um we there was a lot of information that was that was disseminated. Um there were tours done um in small groups. There were students that were involved. The students were amazing. I mean, these were again, these were elementary school kids that went up to went up to individuals and said, "Hello, my name is What's yours?" Um, "What school district are you from? Let me tell you what we're talking about today." I I they were just so well prepped. Um, anyway, it just it just kind of warmed my heart. So, uh, well done to Old Post and all the people of Avid. Um, so just a couple of quick things because the next board meeting will be all about our new board members as as it should be. So I'll um I guess I'll say my um my goodbyes now. Um it's been great. Um uh when I left in 2019 um they' presented me this gift and it had one of my campaign posters on there and it said in case of emergency and had a thing break the glass and uh and and then there I was again, right?
I the only thing I have in a branding issue is last year we sat here and watched the top 10 uh at East and there was a kid that didn't use the East logo. They used the new tech logo. So the branding works when it's needed and when it's desired. I just I'm struggling to see. I mean if it's a brand and an identity and all that and it's not going to result in improved educational outcome, I'm struggling to see where it's an advantage. There's the I guess we could get our entire technology department to add some some context to the work that they have to do because I don't have a number as far as the number of hours or um you know kind of the the amount of technical hoops that are being jumped through at the state level or sorry at the at the district level as well as the fact that Norse guidance department has to do a whole lot of work.
Yes. Maintain the middle school team model. We all agree on that. We want to keep independent study. We want to keep class sizes down because that is so important. We wanted our paras to keep their benefits. We want to also restore fund balance and other things. But to add in so many additional positions and also take the 7.5 million for capital projects at this time in this uncertain economy and also on the heels of large increases over the past few years. Did we forget about that? And it wasn't just Esham Township, it was Lenipe Regional who increased above 2% also last year. So, in total, my taxes have increased $1,200 in the past three years alone, and now they're going to go up another 900. That is a lot of money. It really is. I'm sorry. It's just too much. And there was another way in my opinion.
So um yeah, you know, I guess you never know. So I always hate like uh making promises I can't keep. So I guess you never know. But I'll always support the schools and um and um and all the work that's done here. And there's been some great things that have been done. um to say the least. I do want to formally apologize, but this is kind of my last weeks as a parent of a student um in the district and so I apologize, but my wife has made it clear that I will be at Aiden's lasts this week. So, there's going to be some things I miss, including uh the retirement dinner. And I know I'm not supposed to embarrass you, but I cannot thank you enough. And so, thank you Ursula, I'm saving my comments for next week because Ursula said I could do it.
We don't have all of that. um quantified because there is no downside. So it's there used to be a downside in that if you did this kids could not participate in extracurriculars and co-curriculars. State changed that uh actually a long time ago. U but after new tech was established the state changed that. So um it was probably even in the summer when we started looking at it and saying okay what are the downsides? What if we did this? what would happen that would take opportunities away from students. Couldn't come up with a single one. And then had this long list of all of the bureaucratic and the time the logistical work that has to be done more at North and at East, but also at New Techch and then in our technology department. It became a a pretty clear it'd be good to have an estimate of that.
We could have taken some. We could have restored what we all agreed upon. We could have even taken some and did some of the capital improvements, the most urgent needs, and we could have gone out to a referendum. We just discussed district goals in March at our board retreat because we needed new ones. We needed updates. Goal number two, some of the board members couldn't go and some others left early. They had other commitments. Goal number two, initiate and complete a district referendum for capital improvements. However, there was a lot of work to be done. A lot of work would have to go into this, but it targeted a fall 2026 um bond referendum and it would be a lot of work between now and then, but this is what was presented to the board that we needed 80 to$100 million worth of improvements. So, um I just don't know why we abandoned that idea.