So, so that is um essentially that part of the school improvement midyear update. Um I don't know if you want me to continue to roll into what would be the school climate improvement plan. Um um I defer to >> the team. >> Yes. Okay. Uh school climate improvement plan. So this was uh part of the state mandate that said uh we have to put together a specific school climate uh improvement plan. So we took a look at a lot of different indicators. We looked at our school our our data. We looked at our um our survey data um from multiple years and developed a plan. You'll see something similar. The format will look fairly similar, I think, for all three of us tonight. So, you'll see some of those things. Apologize for the size, but I really tried to keep it to two slides uh to give you a general overview of the things that we're doing.
Um, but just giving you kind of an update here was that uh we're currently under under the getting the design work done. hoping to have that done by the end of March so that we can go to bid in the beginning of April and complete those renovations uh between June and August with a substantial completion date of August 21st. So just a little little update there. So the impact of that is uh athletes and students that are using the weight room during the summer would be relocated probably to the maintenance garage which apparently has happened in the past. Um but that would be what happens while we're we're doing the HVAC. Um the only other thing with this project is you know the basic understanding is that we could tie this into existing RTUs and if that's true um then the project should be fairly simple um in the event that it's not it could potentially push that June to August timeline but we won't know that until the end of March when we have the bid package.
Um and also kind of working with teachers connecting with students and making sure that they have an outlet um is as far as their is their needs are concerned and I think that that may have something I would like to think that that had something to do with it. Um and we'll see as that as time progresses because we'll have the same questions going forward. It's a good question. >> Yeah. >> Thank you. I appreciate that. You're right. The small number. Um and also if you haven't been to the Wallflower Music Festival, >> you got to go. >> Thank you. >> I'm just saying I think I already have my tickets. >> Any other board members have questions? >> No question. Just to thank you. I really appreciate Wildflower's approach to education. I think it's something >> our city needs. I appreciate you guys. >> Thank you.
I'm here if you have any questions. Thank you. Thank you, Charles. Next is DAB, >> chair, vice chair, and members of the committee. I'm Jun Tulio. Um, the DAB supports the intent of this measure, but we offer comments and we stand by our uh testimony. Thank you. >> Thank you very much, June. Ryan Mimoto, Hawaii Farm Bureau. >> Thank you, Chair Hawaiian support. >> Thank you, Robert Vince on Zoom. Good afternoon, chair, members of the committee, Robert Bence, um, member of the HA hemp task force. I have submitted written testimony with amendments. Unfortunately, this bill adds fees and regulations that would make it impossible and it's narrowly focused on a economically unfeasible method. the expanding it to all industrial hemp. Uh grant priority to hemp farmers who have grown in the state successfully completed at least one prior to 2025. And uh the big part of that in get the grant to the a department not in June's department.
So, right now, we're graduating a number of students over about a hundred from Wip Pahu High School. um a great program with the sila biiteracy. Just like they have similar glide paths around getting youth into healthcare settings, we need to make sure that we have our youth have a glide path into interpretation services because uh these positions are necessary under title six for all of our state agencies to also provide language access. Mahalo. >> Thank you. >> Mike Nulan not here. >> Not on Zoom chair. Okay, thank you. Oh my god, we have about 20 others in support of this measure. Anyone else wishing here wishing to testify on this measure?
Very close. I think we got knocked down in the pre-quarter finals. to have join us once again. >> Yeah, we can't let that happen again. >> No, it is actually on my calendar. >> Thank you very much. >> Post high school post high school. But this is the ad. She'll she'll if you're interested, which I hope you are, she'll give you the whole list of sign up and all of that stuff. And um like I said, there was a new champion last year, so time to knock them off. >> You got it. >> Thank you. >> Yep. Thanks, Dr. Santa Surma. All right, we are on to item 13. Resolved that the Boundberg Board of Education enter executive session as allowed by NJSA 10 col4-11 for the purposes noted in the agenda under items 1 37 and 8. May I have a motion? >> Thank you, Mr.
So with all that said, I guess it was everything was so multiaceted that you showed like what is really the problem like the really core problem that we're trying to solve. Is it student achievement or is it something else? >> Well, I think as you can see from the slide presentation, there's multiaceted situations going on. One is the concern for the class sizes at the middle school level. So um that's one problem. the um inequities in time away from students not only within the middle schools but also at the high school and elementary level uh related to the middle school. Um and then the ability to further enhance our multiple multi multi-tered system of support with students to get us over that achievement um gap that we might be seeing at at the middle school level. So there's not really just one answer to that.
And I don't know I mean I would assume the board want to host one. You know, I don't know if there's a grassroots committee that would also be doing something as well, but um I think we should probably do or the board should sponsor at least one or the tribe board, you know, together collectively. Yeah, I was cons as I've been thinking about this as a not as an advocacy, but as a way to show the public what we're what we're up against. And some of one of the ideas I had was have a forum at like the high school one night and invite the department heads to talk about the issues that they're facing, moderate it, and allow the public to ask questions. Right? I mean, how did how did we get here? What are we doing as a community that has increased our costs that we're needing to do this?
Uh physical safety and security uh is an important piece of what we do here every day. Um we're working so far, we've done Alice training with staff. We've done SRP, which is standard response protocol training with both students and staff. Talked about emergency response protocols. Some of those next steps are going to be working on Alice training with students in particular. Um, what has been most impressive and continues to be uh I think is our partnership with our local uh law enforcement and emergency management systems. They are fantastic. Um, the fact that I I say over and over again, our SRO is always here to support. I know Steve got a chance to meet him today. Um, and then our youth officer Mitch Heler always comes up over time and it's been great to have those partnerships and Mike Connors as our fire marshall will come over and observe fire drills and give suggestions.
>> Okay. Um, any questions about the weight room motivation? >> Yes. >> Right. >> Yeah. Thank you. Yeah. So, what I So, what I understood you to just say is basically you had encumbered funds that were not yet unencumbered. What was the project that you're linking it to? >> Yeah. The project number is 01359. It has to do with um RTO's and HVAC replacements of the high school, a specific area of the high school that includes includes the weight room. So, we were just >> Okay. So, this makes total sense. >> Yeah. >> This makes sense to do that. It actually was. Okay. Yes. Got it. >> Yep. Yep. >> Thank you. >> Um and I would say some of that is offset because if I know that when we wrote that the initial plan for that project number um the wait room had not materialized yet, but some of this is offset by some of the EPC work that we're doing right.
Well, I was really grateful that you explained what a forest day was because at first it wasn't it wasn't clear. >> So, thank you for that. >> Wasn't us, too. We're just ironing it out. So, >> it's amazing. Sounds great. >> It's really going well, though. >> Okay. At this time, I'm going to open um to open the public hearing. So, if there's any public comment regarding Fileflower, that can be done at this time. Okay. I'll go ahead and close the public hearing. Thank you. So, if I understand correctly, this isformational only. So, uh, no vote needs to be taken at this time. Um, so thank you, Wildflower. At this time, we're going to ask Blue Other. Hello again. So, we also have Blue Oak with us this evening, and they are in their charter petition as well. They presented in January. The ed services team is currently reviewing it.
June is not capable of following this program. Big problems with June. >> Robert, your time's up. Thank you very much, Robert. >> Anyone else wishing to testify on this measure?
Hearing none members questions. >> I guess guess I have a question for University of Hawaii. >> Are we looking at this as a credit or nonredit? Um it's not clear in the legislation and that was um one of our requests in the testimony. Um it could you could if the bill could either specify whether one whether nonredit is preferable or credit or both combination of both. The advantage to nonredit is because in the bill it says that intent is to serve also community members. Um if you wanted to open up access so that the admissions requirement and the high costs of credit based tuition weren't a barrier to community members then the nonredit option would be a plus. positive perhaps that could be done through outreach college. Um and again because Monoa offers languages that the other campuses do not that could help um provide the the workforce demand that folks colleges offer languages.
Minhas. A second. >> Second. >> Thank you, Mr. Dawson. All in favor? I. We are adjourned to executive. All right, everyone. We are back in session. Up to item number 14. >> Sorry, up to item 15.1. Be it resolved. The Bound Brook Board of Education approves the resolutions as outlined in approval of HIV cases under middle and elementary schools. This is item 15.2. I have a motion. >> Thank you, Mrs. High. A second. Thank you, Mr. Zupco. Uh, roll call, please. >> Mr. Belt, >> yes. >> Mr. Dawson, >> yes. >> Miss Gazino, >> yes. >> Mr. Hy, >> yes. >> Mr. Januzi, >> yes. >> Mr. Minhas, >> yes. >> Mr. Bulmer, Mr. Zupkco, >> Motion passes. >> Thank you. Item 16.1. Be it resolved that the Bound Brook Board of Education adjourns. May I have a motion? >> Motion. I'm going to give the motion to Mr.
And then coupled with the fact that we really need to increase our course offerings to students prior to ninth grade. That's that's another facet to this. And by moving computers to sixth grade, that gives our seventh and eighth graders the ability to have a little bit more choice in their UA. Another thing we didn't uh allude to or talk about in this is we want to offer more students the ability to take Spanish one at the eighth grade level. And the reason for that is because with the new high school pathways, the direct admit to Indiana colleges is Spanish. So the direct admit through Indiana colleges is not French or German or anything of that nature. And we have a teacher currently in both buildings that teaches Spanish. Right now they teach Spanish one three periods a day and then they teach uh world languages and cultures three periods a day.
Again, not in a way of, you know, we have to do the override, but as a way to say, this is how we got here. This is the these are the steps that we've taken as a town, the decisions that the town has supported along the way >> to get us to where we're where we're needing to do this override. >> Yeah. So, no. >> So, you know, I just have I have a couple of questions. Um, so in terms of the school department's making cuts even with this override number passing. Um, do you know do you know how what that dollar figure is? >> I don't know what the dollar figure is. Um, but it's it's not it's not inconsequential. Um, >> and have have Have you made cuts on on the general government's side? >> If we if we don't pass an override, we're I mean, we've got a general idea of what that looks like.
So, that's been great. Um, and we're trying to develop these beforehand before we do emergency drills. We're trying to develop the uh communications beforehand. Um, and also have a set of of communications uh which also come with the standard response protocol. When there is an emergency or a need to go to a secure or a hold, we're working to draft those. We have some templates we're working on to make sure that gets out a little bit quicker and a little more um information to parents and families and students as they need it. Restorative practices is a big conversation that's part of the state legislation in terms of what we should be doing. Um when we work on restorative practices, I think it'd be really important for me to highlight um the concept of restorative practices and it's different than what uh some people assume, which has to be restorative circle.
That >> you mean the donation? the donation wasn't >> the the the HVAC renovation >> because it's it's for a c certain part of the school but because we have the EPC as well that helped free up some of the funding in that capital project for this instead. >> Got it. Okay. So the anonymous donor they're going to replace all the equipment in there substantial all of it. >> Yeah. >> Okay. >> I I don't know what the configuration is. John um John Paracino unfortunately he wasn't able to be here tonight but he has been working with that donor and they kind of have a vision to what that would look like for the space but yeah everything um the hesitation was obviously like the new equipment rusting with >> it's awful it's awful in there in the summer >> yeah it's awful >> so it's all it's all new equipment it's not you know fairly >> used brand new and nice new floors Wow.
Um, and they are here. They have had some leadership transitions. So, I have on the mark Vicky Wanakott, board chair, and Lauren Cesca, a board member, have started the petition and are planning to present with a few other students and parents. Welcome. Welcome on up. >> Okay. Hi, I'm Vicki Wanikott. I'm the chair of the Blue Oak. Hello. I'm the chair of the Blue Oak Charter Council. I've been with the school since um 2017 uh a little bit after I retired from teaching and my grandkids got into Blue Oak kindergarten which was a truly magical place. Um, I took a tour of the school, became convinced it was a good way to go and became part of the board and now I'm the chair. Um, tonight we have um, Blue Oak. Blue Oak offers a grounded education in holistic principles of Waldorf. Our school offers a unique developmentally appropriate curriculum that integrates academic excellent with the arts naturebased learning in every season and social emotional development through stories from many times and places.
Members, any questions? Okay. On this measure, we have six in support, zero opposed, and two with comments. 12. Okay, moving on to 2576. Uh, prohibits persons being perse excuse me, prohibits persons being prosecuted for or convicted of a crime of criminal trespass on egg land from owning, possessing, or controlling a firearm or ammunition. Uh, let's see. First up is Haley Chang from the Office of the Public Defender. They are opposed. on Zoom. Godfrey Akaka from the Native Hawaiian Gathering Rights Association. >> Aloha. Um, we support this bill. Um, there's been a lot of misunderstanding about native gathering rights and in my written testimony, I kind of explained how we need to be respectful of boundaries. Um just the other week we had in our homestead um hunters poaching and shooting towards um our uncle right next to us and they almost got shot because the hunt the poachers were shooting deer into somebody else's farm.