001All right. Good evening everyone. Please evening. Please stand for the flag salute to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands. One nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. Please stand for a moment of silence. Please be seated. In accordance with the Open Public Meetings Act, NJSA 10 col4-6, adequate notification of this meeting has been provided by advertising in the record and posting notice in the board of education administration building and filing notice with the city clerk. I hereby call to order the regular public meeting on Wednesday, March 19th, 2025 in the Hackinack High School Media Center at 6:17. 6:17 p.m. Miss Sing, can you do a roll call, please? Okay. Miss Alston Balaputra, present. Miss Emir Hamza, present. Mr. Carol is absent. Miss
002Cordial Alam, uh, not here either. Miss Gilmore here. Mr. Martin present. Miss Pringle present. Miss Harris present. Mr. Stein here. We have a quorum. Perfect. So at this time we don't have a student special presentation. Um our student report which is usually done by Chenica Thomas but I am sure she is practicing for the play um that is going to take place this weekend. If you get the opportunity, please please go and see our wonderful students perform. Um, be it resolved that the Hackasack Board of Education determs it necessary to meet in executive session on Wednesday, March 19th, 2025 to discuss legal, personnel, student related matters, HIV reports, negotiations, and other confidential matters. And be it further resolved that these matters will be made public when the need for confidentiality no longer exists. Can I
003have a motion to go into close session, please? I'll refer. Okay. Motion by Trustee Stein. Can I have a second? A second. Second by Trustee Pringle. All those in favor say I. Anyone opposed? Okay. So, we are now going into executive session. And I would say we would reconvene back by 7:45. And we'll notify the public if it's any longer than that. Thank you. Okay, we're back. Um, can I have a motion to go um in to go back into public? Thank you. A motion. Okay. Offered by Trusty Amarza, second by Trustee Stein. Um, Miss, can you do a roll call, please? Yes. Um, Miss Alston Balaputra, present. Miss Amir Hamza present. Mr. Carol's not here. Miss Cordro Alton here. Miss Gilmore here. Mr. Martin present. Miss Pringle present. Miss Harris present. Mr. Stein here.
004We have a quorum. Okay. Be it resolved that the Hackasag Board of Education approves the regular meeting minutes on February 26, 2025, executive meeting minutes of February 26, 2020. Oh, that's Oh, yeah. 2025 special meeting minutes of March 12th, 2025, and the executive meeting meeting minutes of March 12th, 2025. Um, Miss Sing, do a roll call, please. Sure. Miss Al Balucha. Oh, my apologies. Oh my gosh. Um, can I have a motion to approve the minutes? Okay, I'll make a motion. A second. Okay. By trustee Ammer Hamza, second by Trusty Pringle. Now missing to do a roll call, please. Miss Alson Baluch. Yes. Miss Ara Hamza. Yes. Miss Carol's absent. Miss Cordier Alton uh recused because I was not present. CB Miss Gilmore. Yes. Mr. Martin, yes. Miss Pringle, yes. Miss Harris, yes. Mr. Stein,
005yes. Motion passes. Okay. Um, so we're going to move on. So, there was a data presentation, but it's going to be presented in April when we have both math and ELA. Okay. Um, so we're moving on to the nurse presentation. Hi everyone. Hello. Good evening. Thank you for allowing me an opportunity. My name is Wendy. I am the lead nurse for Hackinack Public Schools since 2012. Um, I've been with the district since uh 20 2003 and I've only presented a few times. So, I consider it a great honor and a, you know, a good opportunity to kind of give you a heads up on what we do and who we are. Um, I want to thank uh Dr. McBride and Rosemary for, you know, allowing us to discuss this important topic that seems to have
006come up a couple of times. Um, and so tonight, my goal is really to just give you some clarity and resolve the concerns that you may have or that the community may have about the care of children and staff when the nurse is not in the building because I know that you guys have a lot of pressing academic things that we really want to uh, you know, sort of improve on and knowing that the health and safety is done is going to be a weight off everyone's shoulders. So, um, I just wanted an opportunity to make sure that you know the names of the nurses that work in the building. Sometimes, you know, we say the nurse, the nurse, her, she, and we really forget that the nurses in this district work extremely hard. You
007don't see them or hear from them very often until there's an issue. But these are the names of our nurses in the district. We have Michelle Hogan and Diana Deffina at the high school. Uh, we have G Marie Sheay and Miss Woolridge. We have um those are at our middle school. Uh very busy nurses. Quashima Bolds at Parker School, Miss Gillan, Janine Gillan at Fairmount School, uh Fanny May Hillers, we have a new nurse, her name is Rosalyn Kesler. Myself, I am at Jackson. And we have our early childhood developmental center, Lillian Alamura. Now, what you will notice there is that every nurse has a lot of credentials. Most of us have our masters, if not all, and some of us have two. So, we really do take our jobs very seriously. Thanks. So, next
008slide, please, Chris. Okay. So, I wanted to bring your attention because this has come up uh apparently at the meetings and basically um we already have a policy in place that deals with the care of injured and ill persons. Um it is a Hackinack district policy created in June of 2017. I left a copy on your uh table there. And the reason I bring it to your attention is because it clearly states that any injury or illness shall be reported immediately to the school nurse or in the absence of the school nurse, the building principal or designate. So that has been the standard in every school when the nurse is not there, they are the point person for what happens next. And that has already been a standing best practice policy which we all pretty
009much follow. It also very clearly states at the end, basic first aid may be administered by district personnel to ensure the safety and comfort of the injured or ill person until the school nurse arrives or until another medical professional arrives on the scene. So there you have it. Um basically uh we are covered when that's why we have emergency response teams and this is in policy right here. So that's the second thing. All right. And then the uh next slide, please, Chris. All right. So, basically, I just want to I'm not going to take too long. I know that's a lot of words, but I talk quick as you can see. And I just want to say that pretty much the standard of care is across the district the same, but it does vary per
010building because our populations are slightly different, our principal situations are slightly different. And so, um, what I want to say about this is that when the nurse is out of the building, which is typically at lunch, um, the high school and middle school alternate their lunch duties. So, there's always one nurse available and one nurse is out if, you know, for that short time. Um, they are complemented by the emergency response team, which is the ERT. Uh, nurses at the elementary school stay until the very last recess. Now, I know it was brought up that emergencies can happen at any time, but clearly recess is a high risk time for injury. So, we stay until every child is back in their classroom safely and and hopefully avoiding most of the problems throughout the day. Um,
011the other thing is that if we do have a child that is ill at the end of recess, we will typically take our lunch late and we will stay and in some cases we don't take a lunch and we miss a lunch. So that does happen. You just don't hear about that very often. Um, also the nurses take their lunch at the same time every day. So this is not something that, oh, I'll go at lunch this time or that time. Staff is well aware when their nurse is at lunch and they plan for that accordingly. Um, so this is just a quick snapshot here. If a child presents with a non-urgent complaint to their teacher and they are sent to the office, which I always tell my teachers, please don't send kids to the
012office because they don't know how to triage a kid. Um, what I tell my teachers is if you have a child that is complaining, you know, my finger hurts. I stub my toe at recess. And the teacher will say, "You know what, Jimmy, she's at lunch. Can you wait until she comes back?" Yes, I can wait. Okay. So, the teacher will say, "Dear Miss Lamperelli, could you please check on Jimmy's toe?" "Yes, ma'am, I sure will as soon as I get back from lunch." Then, if a child presents with a semi-urgent complaint that cannot wait for the nurse, such as a child vomited, perhaps they tripped on the stairs and now they're complaining of pain in their ankle. Um, the nurse will probably still be notified, hey, we had a child that tripped on the
013stairs and guess what? The child may be sent home at the discretion of the principal. So in that case we call upon our policy principal says you know what I don't like the way this child's ankle looks they seem to be crying I'm going to call the mom will come and pick up the child. Uh last one is if a child presents with an urgent complaint. So we had non-urgent semi-urgent and urgent. If it's an urgent complaint or issue that the um child has which is difficulty breathing um you know an anaphylactic reaction the emergency response team is activated for that specific issue andor complaint. Next slide please. Okay. So, really quickly, I just want to make sure you know that we have best practice, right? So, the slide I showed you before was more
014or less what we do um in immediate situations for, you know, case-byase basis. Um but each school year, the nurses have best practice for how do we make sure that we can go to lunch, enjoy a cup of coffee or a quick sandwich, and know that our our kids are safe and our staff is safe. And the way we do that is right here. Every single year we choose our EpiPen delegates and we train them and we make sure they know how to give EPI and we make sure they know where that epinephrine is. Um, nurse Gillan and Nurse Defina, we are so lucky here. We used to use our fire department, which kudos to our police and fire always, but they used to do our CPR training twice a year for staff for free.
015And now we have two nurses that are trained as um American Heart Association uh instructors and we do our classes twice a year and not only do they train them in CPR and AED, they train them again on EPI, they train them again on stop the bleed and they re you know review any questions about first aid. We also as nurses conduct code blue drills. So these are drills that we do in our building to make sure that guess what in a practice run we did really good or guess what we did terrible and we need to fix a few things. So we do that twice a year as well and we debrief and we say what did we do wrong? Oh my gosh somebody forgot to bring the AED we can't do that. So
016we have really good debrief meetings after that. We also ensure that our substitutes because sometimes the nurses are out sick as Miss Markx did um reiterate and we do use Miss Fenner to get coverage and sometimes those nurses don't know our buildings. But guess what? Every nurse leaves a substitute folder and in that folder it says if Jimmy comes to the office, please call Jimmy's mom. He's very, you know, he's anxious or whatever. We need very specific instructions regarding specific children to our substitutes. In addition, they have all the medical alerts for our school. Um, the na last couple things here is that we enter medical alerts into Genesis. So, we have a very excellent program and I'm so happy that we still have Genesis because it's a wonderful, wonderful platform, especially for medical. And
017the teachers, which I'm going to show you on the next slide, have a specific area that they can look and see if a child has uh a medical information uh or a piece of information that they need to know. In addition, we have to upload care plans for children and those are also visible to teachers. Um, we also have, so we're required to have first aid guidelines and rather than reinvent the wheel, the American Academy of Pediatrics has put out a document called emergency guidelines for schools. I'm going to show you that in the next slide, only going to take a minute. Um, we print that out for every office. And in the event that I am not there, um, my principal and my vice principal, if they have a child with a beasting, they
018can look it up and say, "Oh, okay. Being is this happening?" Yes. Go here. No, go here. And then they'll say, "Wendy, when are you coming back? I have a beast name." But, you know, either way, it's there for them and I'll show that to you. The nurse also provides first aid bags to every single teacher at the beginning of the year. So, we give teachers a couple of things like, you know, tooth cups and band-aids and gloves and nosebleleed uh supplies. And they are trained in our bloodborne pathogens every single school year via safe schools. Additionally, seizure first aid is, as you know, a requirement. And every two years we have to do Paul's law. Uh nurses are the only people administering medication um and oxygen. So last uh board meeting I was listening
019uh to the comment that was made and I believe the comment was well who gives oxygen and who puts a pulse oximter. Well in the state of New Jersey only a nurse or an EMT or a paramedic can administer oxygen. So, we are never expecting our teachers or lay people to put oxygen on. Oxygen is a form of treatment. It's a medication. No one does that but me or 911 and paramedics. Um, we also have to follow standing orders. Um, which means that we don't just get to decide, oh, gee, you know, Jimmy has a cut, maybe I'll use this or maybe I'll use that. Nope. Dr. Flores is our school physician. Has been since I came. He's wonderful. He writes orders every single year for nurses and we follow them. Um, and then lastly,
020if a child is ill and needs to be picked up and the nurse is not there yet, they are not sent back to class. They are typically sent to the nurse with an adult caregiver until I arrive back in the school. Now, in some cases, this does happen. And you know teachers we don't like we would never send a child back to class with a temperature let's say of 102 but nobody would really know that child had a temperature until I came back. So in some cases if a child has a mild headache they might be sent back. If I come back from lunch and I check Jimmy and he had a headache and it winds up that he did have a fever you know I call the parent right away. So hopefully that clears
021up some. Next slide. Oh can you open that link for me Chris? Yeah open. Oh yeah, that is the um Genesis page in medical and I took out the child's identifying information. But as you can see there, it says in the little where it says text for medical icon, see how it says call mother for any visits. Then it says um send student for any mild injury, asthma, seasonal allergies. So that area is specifically for a teacher. So, if this child has difficulty breathing, the teacher already knows, oh my gosh, this little girl has asthma. Let me make sure I get the principal right away to the classroom. And the part on the top where it says comments, that's all me. That's stuff for the the nurses only. See, okay, Chris. And then the last
022slide that I have for you is just to show you uh that he's going to open the link. Yeah. So, this is the emergency guidelines for schools. This is wonderful document. Um, Chris, can you go down a couple pages until you see like the algorithm for, let's say, an injury? Okay. Right. Good. Keep going. Keep going. This is the last slide, people. Sorry about that. Okay. Um, Right. So, here it is. EMS. This is when to call 911. It's very clear. Child has no pulse. Child is um, you know, moving the child could cause injury. Keep going. And then this is for emergency. Keep going. Keep going. Uh, keep going. Sorry. I just want to show you how easy it is. Uh, okay. First one. There we go. So, see where it says allergic reaction?
023This is so great because it's colorcoded. So, allergic reaction is the name of this um case, right? This incident. So, you look it up. Students with a life-threatening allergy should be that are known should have epinephrine. That's just a little sidebar. Children experiencing um an allergic reaction. Does the student have any signs of? If the answer is no, then that means you contact the student. Be aware of the student exposure. Watch for delayed symptoms. If it's yes, then they're going to say, "Check the student's airway. Look, listen, and feel. Start CPR." It tells you what to do if the nurse is not there. This document was developed by the Academy of Pediatrics because many schools were so blessed in New Jersey to have school nurses in every building. Thank you New Jersey for that. But
024in many states there are not nurses in every single building. So in Ohio you might have principles delivering first aid care because one nurse is taking care of five schools. So this is a document that has been you know around for a long time because this happens. So, I think that's all. I hope that this puts the community at ease. I hope I didn't go too fast. I hope it was informative. And this is the last slide which basically is also in your packet. Um, it is an article that was written by the American Academy of Pediatrics on medical emergencies in schools. And what it says right there, I just want to bring to your attention for all the community. When a school nurse does not when there is not a dedicated nurse on site,
025they typically design uh designate staff members trained in first aid to handle minor issues who also work with lo local health care providers to provide medical attention and they may send students home to be cared for by parents and guardian that in addition to that we may have first a train uh first aid trained staff which we do. Emergency procedures, we have those. State regulations regarding medical care in schools will v vary based on local laws and regulations, which in New Jersey, we have Janet's law, which means that we have to have an AED and five trained CPR people at all times. Um, and communication. Parents will be notified if their child experiences a medical issue requiring attention and may be asked to pick up their child if necessary. And that's how we do it.
026That's how it gets done. And so far so good. And as you know, uh, Detective Martin and Miss Markx, I know you're not a detective, retired Detective Martin, um, mentioned the last time at the board meeting that we did have a collapse of a student here in this library. And the nurse was at lunch, but um, I was at lunch, but the other nurse who had just started was subbing. And the emergency response team came together. We had done so many drills that it was just an amazing day. and the father came in to thank us for cha saving his child's life. And since that time, we've had five saves in Hackinack public schools. Um I'm going to knock on wood one there. And um you know, we we've been very blessed. We have really
027dedicated teachers who step up to be on our code blue teams and and are willing to be trained and take care of our staff and students when we step out for a cup of coffee. Any questions? Yes, I have. Oh. Um, when you when the nurse on the elementary school level, when the nurse is out of uh the building and the principal uh uh the the student is usually sent to the principal as you said and he'll make a decision. Um, is there a first aid kit in the main office that the principal has access to or do he use your office and know where supplies are that you can use for? Typically, the principal would depending on the situation. If it's a band-aid, the answer is yes, they have a small first aid kit.
028Um, if it's something more, you know, serious than that, uh, typically the student is brought, let's put a nose bleed, a fairly significant nose bleed, that child would not most likely be treated in the main office. That child will be treated in the privacy of the nurse's office. Um, where gloves and other supplies would be present. Um, and so to have a general first aid kit, I wouldn't want to do that for a couple of reasons. I never want the main office staff to feel that it's their duty to give first aid. So, the principal would most likely bring the student to the nurse. I don't even want my main office staff to feel that they have to take a temperature because technically that puts them in the role of an assessment and and a
029triage and that's not really their role. So, the principal will bring the to your office and he'll treat the uh most likely or he may call a member of the code blue team. call the blue. Um, and he probably would call me and say, "Hey, I have this kid here, you know, are you close? When are you coming back?" And I'll say, "Yeah, I'm on my way." And that's how we usually. And last question that I have will be um the uh principal sends, oh, if the principal uh decide that this student need to go home or call 911 upon your arrival, you usually uh will be notified that principal, then you'll follow up or how that works. Well, that's a great point because even Rosemary reminded me that often times when a student or
030staff member is acutely ill or suffering an emergency, um we are typically the people that call 911. I mean, the nurses have called 911 many times because we know it's the right thing um in that moment that needs to be done. But if a principal were to call 911, um I would have most likely already had a call and been on my way back to the school. Um, and at minimum I would have been debriefed upon my return that this occurred because typically there's a lot of follow-up paperwork. Um, and obviously the nurse would reach out to the parent and find out if the child is okay and you know what what happened. Um, and the other thing is for staff. We see staff during workman's comp injuries and also also for emergencies. So sometimes,
031you know, again, if a staff member, let's say, had an acute emergency, 911 was called, they would debrief me when I returned. All right. And uh I want to thank you and your and all the nurses for your service that you provide. Uh our students and staff as well. uh you you guys are um not that well recognized in my book but uh you do phenomenal work and as well as yourself as a lead nurse who take this as a very passion. I worked with you. I've seen you at work and I know what you're capable of doing and again on behalf of this board we all thank you and appreciate everything that you and the other nurses are doing. Very good. Thank you very much for that and I hope this answers your questions
032and please, you know, feel free to gather any other comments or questions and I'd be happy to address them if I didn't address them tonight. Thank you. Thank you so much. Appreciate it. Thank you. Thank you. All right. So now we are on and and again nurse Wendy just to say thank you also for answering the questions of our families that were kind of left still unanswered. Um thank you so much again. Very appreciate. Yes I hope so too. All right. So now we are on to our superintendence report. Dr. McBride. Good evening everyone. Good evening. Happy women's history month. Yeah. So we want to honor our amazing women who have changed history. women who rock and run the world, they say. Uh so again, honoring our wonderful uh women who are on this board,
033our wonderful women in the district and throughout our history. And I have the privilege of working with some amazing women who help lift us up. So I want to honor them as well. Um I was in a school yesterday and they were doing an activity and they asked, "Well, who is one of your sheerros?" So I decided to answer the question out loud. And so one of them is Miss Shirley Chisum. She was the first uh black woman elected to Congress in 1968 and the first woman to run for the Democratic Party in 1972. And one of her quotes was if they don't give you a seat at the table, you bring your own folding chair. And I love that philosophy of creating the spaces for at to the table. Bring it to the table.
034Exactly. Um so I want to honor her as well today. And we have some uh local individuals we want to honor as well. Miss Pedra Delvecio is who is a ESL teacher at Fairmont is a 2025 Women's History Month honore. She was recognized by Bergen County as part of their moving forward together women educating and inspiring generation celebration. So great job to you Miss Delveio. Uh, another one of our students, Miss Shaina Alba, with representing Hackinac High School at the Bergen County School uh, board of association of unsung hero honory. I think a few of our board members had the opportunity to go and and honor and and be in attendance. So, we want to celebrate her today. Indeed. Uh, happy St. Patrick's Day for those uh, who celebrated St. Patrick's Day on last Monday.
035Uh, we want to acknowledge also we are currently in the season of Ramadan. So we want to observe and and pay homage to those individuals who are celebrating Ramadan right now and they'll be engaging in Eid which is the uh breaking of the fast which which is actually marked uh the ends of Ramadan and that's happening on March the 31st. We had 27 scholars inducted to the National Honor Society the EC Mara chapter of the National Honor Society. So we want to again give special recognition to those individual students. We have many of us had the honor of attending and speaking and showing how much we are how proud we are of them. The academic the Kathlon team finished as the highest overall large school in the state and secured second place overall in the
036fiercely competitive state championship. This achievement came with a coveted prize. The team has earned one of only two spots representing New Jersey at the upcoming USAD national competition in Iowa next month. So we wish them well. We have Mr. Martin Rojas Ortiz who auditioned and was accepted into the All North Jersey Region One Jazz Choir. He will be performing with the group on April 6th at Livingston High School. In addition, he also became recognized by the Hackinac PTSA and Bergen County PTSA for his original composition entitled Chaos Hermosa. His musical piece is now being evaluated at the state level for his contribution to the theme imperfections. Martin will perform his piece on Thursday night at the PTSA ceremony at Bergen County Plaza. So shout out to him. Got a lot got a lot going on
037today. Um the boys indoor track team 4x400 meters relay team of four juniors Devin Dombre Dustin Dombre seven Garcia and Jaden Duza clinched bronze at the Nike indoor n the Nike indoor nationalists this past weekend with a time of 31968. They also were freedom division league champions section 4x400 group four champions. Newark group four meet record holders in the 4x400 Bergen County 4x400 champions. Bergen County 4x4 first team and holders of the Bergen County 4x400 meter record. That is amazing. One of our scholars, Mr. 7 Garcia was individually named as a two-time all-American in both Nike New Balance 400 meter and 4x400 meter events, third team allstate 400 meters, first team all Bergen County 400 meters, and first team all league freedom. He is also the Bergen County record holder in the 400 meters with
038a time of 47.29. And lastly, it's a lot going on. It's a lot to celebrate. A lot to celebrate. And the middle school boys basketball team recently won their championship. And I do want to give a special shout out to Hillers uh elementary school. I was there most of the morning. I think we went visited every classroom of the third grade. And so what h what's happening we're doing instructional walks. And so each leader has identified an area of concentration that they're supporting their teachers on in order to achieve their goals for the year. And so one of the things I ask is what do what am I expected to see when I walk into classrooms? And they say we've been working on X and you try to triangulate to see actually is it living
039in practice. And almost every class we visited we saw their priorities were small groupoup instruction. The second piece was studentled driven work as opposed to stage on the stage as well as student engagement. So I want to give a special shout out to all the staff and students at Hillers. Amazing job to all of the staff, our paris, everyone was working very digitally and and the kids were amazing. So I'll be visiting all schools. So I just want to give a shout out to them because they were yesterday. And now it's actual student superintendent report. Um for enrollment we have 5,32 students currently enrolled. Our attendance is 96.27%. Um, as it relates to our residency report in the month of February, we had two cases received and our year to date is 23. We had
040one residency verified year to date is 10. We had one unverified inh home visit and year to date is 14. Um, parents provided updated in district proof of residency. We had one in February. for the year there was eight and there were zero students withdrawn in February as a result of a residency investigation and the year to date is one. Um, as it relates to our HIV complete investigations between February 21st, 2025 and March the 14th, 2025, there were a total of zero founded, uh, five unfounded, five total, five pending, and one with preliminary determination of not HIV. And that concludes the superintendent's report. Thank you so much, Dr. McBride. All right. So, we are on to public comment. So, if uh hold on, something's not missing. Here we go. Public participation shall be governed
041by the following rules. If in person, a participant must sign the signin and be recognized by the presiding officer and must preface comments by an announcement of his or her name, municipality of residence, and group affiliation if applicable. Two, each statement made by a participant shall be limited to three minutes duration during the public session. Three, all statements, questions or inquiries shall be directed to the presiding officer and any questions or inquiries directed by a participant to another board member shall be redirected to the presiding officer who shall determine if such statement, question or inquiry shall be addressed by the presiding officer on behalf of the board or by the individual board member. And four, all board and or superintendent responses to questions or inquiries shall be held until the end of public participation. At
042this time, public comments is now open. If anyone here present would like to speak, make sure you state your first and last name. Got our own timer. Yeah. Okay. Good evening, Reverend Carolyn Davis. Good to see you all. Um, it's good to hear all those reports from the nurse. I congratulate her. I'm also a registered nurse, so I knew everything she was saying was uh on target. I just have a question. I've always been curious. When our students who are ESL students take the state exams, is it given in Spanish or do they have to take it in English? Well, before we um Mrs. uh Reverend Davis, did you want did you have anything else you wanted? I was wondering, you know, we hear so many good things about like tonight what our students are
043doing. And I think sometimes wrongly when the if the scores are all together and they're all taken together, not blaming those students, but it's hard enough to take those exams if you speak English and understand the language and if you're Spanish and trying to take that language. And I think it it may not be fair if they're all scored together and everybody says, "Oh, how is that scores are low?" So, I'm just trying to find out and if there's a way that they can be given those tests in their own language. That was my question. Okay. Thank you. Just wanted to make sure you had your full three minutes. Okay. Um, was um Mrs. Marks going to answer that? I'm sorry, Mrs. Marks, could you answer it in the microphone so that way we can
044Thank you. So, in year one of being in the bilingual ESL ML program, uh, the math assessment may be taken in Spanish. the ELA though because it's an English assessment may not sure yes if there's at the microphone our director of curriculum has more to add perfect thank you good evening um so a a student can be excused from taking ELA in English for one year okay and then math is given in um they do have the option to take that in in Spanish and direct instructions are can be read to them in their native language itself. Okay. Thank you. Thank you both. Anybody else from the public? Good evening. Good evening Victor from Hackinack. First, I'd like to um thank about those who are participating in these clinics or whatever you like to call
045them. So, Gina and Leila, I wish to thank you for attending these upcoming conference. I'm just making sure I would like to make sure that all of you attend these conference. They very important to let you know where the state and the government is heading. Dr. McBride, thank you. Like I said, hope everything is working out for you here. You have any issues, please feel free to reach out to discuss. Thank you. from the public. Good evening everybody. Bridget, I'm just here to address I think it's your new attorney who sent me a letter. Um I've been coming to these board meetings for a while. We had changing of the guards with the letters. I mean with the uh attorneys, but for some reason you sent me a letter introducing yourself as the new board
046member. Yes, I've got it. I have it on my phone. Mr. Nuda, is that your name, Jason? Yeah, I I sent you an email responding to your opera request. Right. Which is which I've never gotten before from any of the attorneys prior. So, I'm just kind of wondering why all of a sudden I'm getting a letter from the attorney about an opal request, which I normally do anyway. I It's been a few weeks now. I I believe your oper request had to do with some uh documents that may have been protected by the attorney client privilege and I was asked to respond. Okay. So, normally I would just not get a letter from you. You introduced yourself in the letter. I have it on my phone. So, I'm just I'm just kind of curious because
047it's never happened before and there have been changing of attorneys prior to you. So, I'm just kind of saying when I do these OPRA and I will do them for transparency and integrity and honesty about board and school district. Yes, I will do those. So, I don't I'm hoping in the future I won't get letters again. I would just get the Oprah response that I normally would get from Miss Lydia when he comes through. That's all. I I can only tell you your specific Oprah request that you're referring to was referred to me and I introduced myself so you know who I was. So you knew why I was responding. I need to know who. Like I said, I've been coming here before you even got here. I didn't know my reputation preceded me. No,
048I didn't know my reputation preceded me. That you needed to send me an email. I had no idea who you were when I got the request. Anybody else in the public? Thank you. Is anyone online? Hi, good evening everybody. Um, my name is Tony Jackson, Hackinack uh, teacher and a Hackinack parent as well. Um, I wanted to give a huge congratulations and just celebrate the efforts of um, everybody that was involved in the incredible Black History Month programs. Um, I think it's it's wonderful to see um, I happen to be out um, recovering from surgery and and sick at the time. Uh, but thankfully with my colleagues I was able to um to be a part of it and it was just uh, fantastic to see. Um, and I I referring to that, I want
049to say that despite there's a lot of external pressures right now, um, but it's crucial that we recognize how important it is uh, in the face of all of the anti-diversity, equity, and inclusion uh, initiatives that are happening right now for students, for teachers, and stakeholders as we're celebrating these wonderful events that are beautiful, you know, representations of Exactly. the the DEI that's being fought against uh to to support these initiatives and to support all of the people that are putting them together as well. So, I I hope that we continue to see efforts like this and I also hope that we recognize the substantial effort that it takes not just from the students but from the educators that are putting it together. Time is spent after school, time is spent during school. Um, and
050nothing is being taken off of the plates of the teachers and the staff members that are helping to put these things together. So, we're we're doing this coming out at night um and making sure that this is something that's important that is seen and experienced by all the stakeholders. So, I want that to be recognized because at a time where social studies and science often take the hit because they're not tested at the lower grades and so the focus falls onto uh math and NELA specifically. I want to make sure that we're not losing that in the actual practice of teaching and in the classrooms and in our curriculum so that those things are honored when we're celebrating these names. I want to make sure that everything that they stood for is still being held
051as important um and happening inside the rooms and also that the teachers who are sacrificing their time, putting in extra time. Um you know these these programs could be we could we could pay thousands of dollars to have programs like these put on and these teachers are putting these things on for free with these students. So, I just want that to be recognized, the work to be recognized, and for the DEI efforts to make sure that they're recognized, that they will continue. Thank you. Okay. Anyone else online? Okay. Excellent. So, at this time, the public comment section is closed. Um, I do want to say a few things. So, yes. So, just to kind of piggyback off what Mr. Jackson has said and everyone else. Um, just to kind of reiterate, there has been a
052lot of things, great things happening in our district, a lot of celebrations, a a lot of just everyone coming together for many different purposes, not just one centralized um purpose. Um, but it's all student centered activities, right? It's all celebrations about them. Uh the board has been at several events at the unsung heroes, the national honor society, the black history month event event which was truly a phenomenal the energy in the room. Uh watching all of the students from from the ECDC to high school was truly inspiring. Um some of the kids were, you know, like dancing right in front of us, pointing out to certain individuals out there. Uh it was so so nice to see. um the passion that all the kids had while they performed. Uh the youth art um expo that
053was at the Johnson Public Library was another true way where our community came together. The art teachers uh they did a phenomenal job from prek all the way to high school. That room was packed. Um if you went, you knew it was like walking into Grand Central Station at some point. Um, we had a student also playing um this the saxophone. I I mean it was truly like walking into a an art show, a true art show. Um, thank you to the library as well for hosting us. Um, the director um I also wanted to thank the the Rotary Club who also gave two of our students from the high school a scholarship. Uh that was also another great recognition of our students and their hard work. Uh the board has also been busy in
054uh we had a board retreat this month where we had our presenter from the New Jersey school boards Tim Tien who touched on topics of ethics, roles and responsibilities. We did a team inventory where we completed a survey and we were able to figure out everyone's um communication style and how we manage um certain situations. I'm not going to go into details on who got what score, but um everyone participated and it was a very great way to just see um the way people manage things, right? Like what roles suit each other. Uh we also had a special meeting where we approved the preliminary budget. Um and once again, thank you to our central office staff for putting that together to Miss Singh and her team. Uh it was, you know, just the beginning step
055right of getting our budget and then next month when you come we will have a much larger presentation um coming from missing and her central office staff. Uh and I believe oh one more thing I wanted to highlight. I did see uh Hillers is also highlighting on Friday to wear colorful socks day for world down syndrome awareness day. Uh so if you have colorful socks or crazy socks, please wear them on Friday in support of the cause. All right. So that is all I have for this. Oh, and another one more thing. Uh this Friday we are also going to be attending the women's leadership conference down in Trenton. So the women here on the board will be attending and I am very proud of that especially it is women's history month. All right. So
056at this time we're going to move on to our committee reports and resolutions and we will begin with personnel with our chair uh trustee Emraheima. Thank you so much uh Madame President. Um I would like to offer for consideration um items A1 through N. And I do just want to uh take the the moment to highlight um a couple of things. Um first and foremost that you know we are are finally able to really expand the capacity of our early childhood program. Um you know uh which is wonderful given the huge demand um for our program. Um, and also just a note that there is u mention of a a an a sidebar agreement at the end of the the the personnel resolutions that just um highlight our our school activities and clubs. Um so
057I would like to you know now make a motion to offer items A1 through N. Okay. So we have a motion from Trusty Ammer Hems. Can I have a second? I'll second. Okay. Second by Trustee Martin. Missing. Can you do a roll call, please? Yes, Mr. Cal's absent. Miss Cordier Alton, Miss Gilmore, yes. Mr. Martin, yes. Miss Pringle, yes. Miss Harris, I abstain on item N. and yes to all. Mr. Stein, yes to all. Motion passes. Okay, thank you. I'm moving on to policy and the chair is Trusty Pringle. Good evening. So for policies um that's being presented as first read for the board's consideration shows the letter M as these are mandated policies and are being updated to adjust changes in code policy 9163 spectator code of conduct for intercolastic events in a new
058policy and is also mandated because the New Jersey state intercolastic athletic association is requiring every member school district to adopt a spectator code of contact policy during the school year. The related regulations are being updated as recommended by Strauss SME, our policy consultants. Okay, so we have a motion from Trusty Pringle. Can I have a second? I'll second. Second by Trusty Ara. Miss, roll call, please. Miss Alston Balutra. Yes. Miss Amir Hamza. Yes. Mr. Carol's not here. Miss Cordiro Alton. Uh yes. Good evening. Uh missing. I would like to recuse myself first from the policy I mean from the personnel items. Uh again still pending information that I've yet to receive with regards to that. And I do approve the policy. I'm sorry. So you recuse from personnel, but you're approving policy. Yes, ma'am. Thank
059you. Thank you, Mr. Gilmore. Yes. Mr. Martin, yes. Miss Pringle, yes. Miss Harris, yes. Mr. Stein, yes. Motion passes. Okay, moving on to curriculum and the chair for that is Trusty Pringle. Okay. So for policies I mean I'm sorry for curriculum I would like to highlight C8 um that our academic decathlons are going to the finals. I also wanted to highlight uh C10. Um the sips and kicks um is a extracurricular program for students at Jackson who will be taught by a professional soccer player. Um I would also like to highlight C12. Um, we had a student actually placed in our state finals for wrestling. Um, they also won the championship in our um, well, they have they've made it to the championships rather and this will be taking place in Atlantic City on March
0605th through March 8th. And those are my highlights for the curriculum. Thank you. All right. So we have a motion from trusty Pringle. Can I have a second? A second. Second by Trustee Gilmore. Miss Singh. Miss Alon Balucha. Yes. Miss Emir Hamza. Yes. Miss Cow's not here. Miss Cordiro Alton. Really quickly uh just a quick discussion with regards to curriculum. I noticed that we have two board members uh two new board members that will be attending the NSBA 2025 and I'm just wondering if the entire board will be debriefed by them specifically upon return and will that be in a special meeting or at the public session um next month. We want you to come back and Yeah, we could do that. Yeah, we have no problem doing that. It wasn't intended, of course. Okay,
061great. How do you vote, Miss Gordon? Approve. Thank you, Miss Cordelton. Approve. Miss Gilmore, yes. Mr. Martin, yes. Miss Pringles, yes. Miss Harris, yes. Mr. Stein. Yes. Motion pass. Okay. Thank you. One, two. Nope. Test test. Okay. We're moving on to to finance. Okay. Finance. Our chair is Vice President Stein. Great. I'm offering D1 through D8. Uh I'd like to sorry I'm offering D1 through D8. Uh calling attention to D5 which is computer solutions uh to renew their contract and uh D10. Um, if there are any questions, it's the South Bergen Genture Commission. They supply uh transportation for us. Um, and it is a contract that we're approving tonight. Okay. Thank you. So, that is a motion from Trusty Stein. Can I have a second, please? I have second. Second by Trustee Pringle. Miss Sang,
062roll call. Miss Alen Balutra. Yes. Mr. Mayor Hamza. Yes. Mr. Carl's not here. Miss Cordier Alton, excuse myself because I do not have enough information. Miss Gilmore, yes. Mr. Martin, yes. Miss Pringle, yes. Miss Harris, yes. Mr. Stein, yes. Motion passes. Okay, we're moving to buildings and grounds and that would be our chair, Trusty Martin. Yes. I'd like to make a motion uh one E1 through E4 pretty much standard and yeah, make a motion on. Okay, so we have a motion from Trusty Martin. Can I have a second? I'll second. Second by trustee missing. Roll call. Miss Alston Balutra. Yes. Mr. Mayor Hamsa. Yes. Mr. Carol is absent. Miss Cordiro Alton approve. Sorry. Yes. Okay. Sorry. Thank you. Miss Gilmore. Yes. Mr. Martin. Yes. Miss Pringle. Yes. Miss Harris. Yes. Mr. Stein. Yes. Motion passes.
063Okay. Excellent. Moving on to community relations and our chair is Trusty Gilmore. Hi, good evening. So, um we had our second community relations committee meeting on u March 13th. Our first meeting was um just a brainstorming session. Excuse me. So, on this session, we had um there were tons of good ideas, but of course, we can't do them all. So I sent out a survey and um I asked um the members to select um their top uh choices and um the winner um was unanimous. We are going to plan a community health fair. Um we are in the planning stages. It's a huge undertaking but I know this is something that our community will benefit from and I think it will be a good um engagement for everyone to come together uh for a common
064cause. So I'm really excited. Thank you. Okay. Thank you very much. Uh other committees. So actually I do have something to report for other committees. Um for the joint city board committee uh which is Trusty Martin. It includes trusty Martin. It included trusteeza and myself. And we met with and along with Dr. McBride and Miss Singh. We met with the city council on March 11th. Um it was basically an introduction of the new board, the new leadership. Uh no commitments were made at this meeting as all this information is new information to the current board. Uh a lot of the stuff that we were hearing was just more information of us gathering and we did make we did schedule for a meeting in April and that's basically where we're at. Um we just heard a
065presentation from our demographer and as I said information is coming to us um by pieces piece by piece. Yes. Right. And that is all that I can say about the joint city board committee. Um anything for new business. All right. Now this is on to our second public comment portion where individuals may address the board on agenda or school matters of community interest for one minute. Do we have anybody here from the public that would like to speak? Anybody online? All right. Excellent. Moving on to board comments. We're on a good time here, guys. Uh we'll go to Trustee Austin Balaputra. Good evening, everyone. Good evening. Um last the February meeting was my first meeting, so I kind of just ease in eased into it. But there was one thing I wanted to acknowledge from
066February that was important to me. Um, February is Black History Month and as a school leader, I I'm proud of the school leaders that I've had an opportunity to learn from. I come from a community of diverse leaders, men, women, different religions, different ethnicities. Um, coming from the Hackinack community, but I think it should be acknowledged publicly that this is the first time that we've had an African-Amean superintendent. And I I would be remiss I I felt remiss in February that I didn't mention that. So for Dr. to Dr. McBride, I just wanted to say welcome and we're glad to have you. Um moving on, the art show piggyback off of uh our pres board president Harris what she said about the art show. If you haven't been, I highly recommend that you stop by.
067Um, I was particularly moved by the uh exhibit featuring Principal Lillian Whitaker, but I was also taken aback by all the artwork and the level and the quality even no matter what the grade was. I was like, I couldn't do that. First, like the first grader, I was like, this is high level. I I can't compete. Um, but one piece that stuck out to me the most is an American flag on the wall. And from far away it's just an American flag. But as you get closer to it, it's all these teeny tiny little flags. And all the students made these teeny tiny little flags that make up the American flag. And on their individual flags, it could be students from Ecuador. There's an Ecuadorian flag. There's his another student that was their new puppy.
068If somebody was their Japanese anime or um they play baseball or basketball, like whatever was about them. A lot of it had to do with their ethnicity, where they come from, what's important to them, whatever their values were. but from far away you see one thing but up close it's made up of all the little pieces and it's so intricate and it's probably one of the most hacks things I've ever seen and um it's quite moving and powerful and if you haven't seen it please go check it out I think all the artwork of all the students every school's represented the art department um at each school did an phenomenal job coming from as a child of an educator in the arts making sure that we see that as just as important as reading, writing,
069and arithmetic. I think that's something that this community does a good job of highlighting. But for the public, I think you must see this. This is not something you don't want to miss. And I also want to shout out Miss Vita Story. Thank you for our treats. We love you. Um I will be attending the New Jersey NJPSA legislative conference while my colleagues are at the women's conference. Um there are some there's some legislation that's on the floor of our state legislature that needs to be attended to. So I will be um attending to that on Friday and I think that's it. All right. Thank you. Thank you. All right. Trusty Gilmore. Um okay. Okay. So, I just want to um I have something kind of long to say, but I'll be fast. So, February
070was an incredible month filled with learning, connection, and celebration. Uh on February 21st, Trustee Ammer has a um Amir Hamza and I attended the mandatory school training in Princeton where we had an opportunity to meet and learn from other trustees across the state as close as our our counterparts in Tene. So, you know, that was pretty cool. Um, February was also heart month. My son and I were invited to come to the high school to speak to Miss Medina's and Miss Arvazoo's class. U, we spoke to all of the 11th grade junior classes about the importance of CPR and uh, we shared my son's story and the kids were really um, engaged. Um, and I was also honored to attend mostly all of the district's Black History Month celebrations except for Jackson Avenue, which I
071promised to get to. Um, but returning to Fairmont, where my son attended school was so special because I was an active PTA mom there, and it was my first time meeting Principal um, Bangg um, and witnessing his um, admiration for his um, his school was like watching a proud dad. So that was really special. Then um I was off to Nelli Kate Parker um which I always call Maple Hill because that's where um I attended um elementary school. Um that too also holds a deep place in my heart. Um but this year's celebration was bittersweet because we honored um the memory of principal uh Lilian Whitaker. But her spirit was definitely in the building. Um and Dr. Galliana, I just want to say that I absolutely love uh the gesture that you give to the
072children a little love and I want that pin that you wear on your on your suit jacket. And then I was off to Hillers. I had never been to Hillers before um except for to vote. But um I was welcomed with open arms by um Principal Sodto, Miss Bert, and other amazing staff members. Um there I watched some of our youngest students proudly honor African-Americans who have made a lasting impact um on their lives and that was truly inspiring. Their enthusiasm and hope for the future were absolutely contagious. Um the and lastly the district-wide celebration was truly a celebration. Um all of those involved um job well done. And I just want to leave you with a message that deeply resonated with me that I got from Hillers. Um, at the end of their presentation,
073a video came on, um, and a Mariah Carey song was playing 100%. And the kids, you know, they were flashing to different classrooms and all of the kids were putting up their fingers like this, the number one fingers, right? So, I just want to read you um a few verses from the song. Um, so the song is called 100% a champion's mindset. So, it goes, I'm not just a dreamer. I'm a believer, a go-getter, and a 100enter. No obstacle will discourage or dissuade me because I know my path leads to success no matter what. With determination and resilience, I'll give everything I've got and keep pushing until I reach the top. So, let's rise together, stay focused, and walk forward as champions. Put your ones up because we're all in 100%. I'm giving 100%, excuse
074me, until I reach the top. Um, so today I'm putting my ones up just like my other trustees because we are giving 100% to this district, to our teachers, to our administrators, and to our families. Um, because we want to keep striving and learning and lifting each other up. So that's all I have to say. I was truly inspired and thank you and get home safely. Thank you. Thank you. Hey, Trusty Pringle. That was great, Gina. You go, girl. Thank you. Okay, so I would like to start off with this is going to be our flag football team's second year. I'm so excited. We finally have a name for these young ladies. It is the Blazing Comets. And yes, I'm excited. My daughter's on that team, too. The Blazing Comets. Yes. Um, their first game
075is going to be March 31st at 400 pm. Guys, please come out and support these ladies. I'm leaving work early to be there, okay? I'm going to be there. Um, I believe uh it is going to be a home game and I believe they'll be playing um against Payic. I'm not sure, but I'm almost sure. Um, okay. So this month also outside of it being women's history month is MS awareness month. If those of you who do not know what MS is, it stands for multiple sclerosis. There's a lot of people out there that are suffering in silence. And just know that those people that are suffering silence, they don't have to because I've been there. I was diagnosed with MS back in 1997. Um, I was 26 years old. I'm 52 and I'm still
076here, but I want to partner with Eugina at some point because I always knew there was a purpose. Um, and I don't want to say that I got punished with this um this disease. I think it was more so of a blessing. Um because me not knowing, I was able to help a lot of people around me that were younger and had MS as I progressed and learned my disease and how to handle it. Um and I want to partner up with you so that um MS can have more of a awareness because like I said, there's people you could look at them and don't know what's going on. But when you're inside and you're tired of giving excuses on how your body may feel because you don't see what MS look like, MS doesn't
077have a face. So people need to understand that MS does not have a look. So just because you don't see them in a wheelchair or walking with a cane or whatever, just understand there's people walking out there that really need your support. And I just want to say that. So hopefully next year, you know, you can help me to where we could bring awareness to Hackinack and see how many people can come out so we can support them. So that's what I want to say. Thank you. Thank you. I don't want to forget um Trusty Cado out online. Good evening everyone. Uh, thank you for allowing me to attend remotely. Um, I did want to go back to February. Unfortunately, I could not attend either remotely or in person for that meeting. However, there was
078a comment that seemed to be the theme for the evening uh based on what I saw and it was stay focused. I believe the comment was initially made by Reverend Davis Davis and it said she said stay focused. Um I I truly believe that staying focused is applying to so many things in my personal life right now, but also in life with this board. Um the board of education for Hackinack absolutely does need to stay focused. Many of you chimed in at the end of that evening um as part of your message. So yes, do that. Um unfortunately and sadly however I think that the stay focused I think that they are large part um however I also believe that it more so relates to their agenda as opposed to how and why the things
079need to get done for the district. So I did want to I did want to mention that from from February. Um, also along with everybody else, the art installation was incredible. I know so many of those students. Um, and I'm so very proud of each and every one of you. Keep it going. Keep doing it. Um, this last month, we also had some amazing and incredible track stars uh from our indoor track team. Uh, too many to mention, but I'm pretty sure that if you're a comic, you are aware of who they are. Um, congratulations between the Nike, the New Balance, uh, the All-Americans. Thank you so much for representing the best of Hackin Sack and, uh, continuing the legacy. Many records broken, I believe, even a a new county record, uh, made by our
080Hackin Sack comments. Um, it was made mention earlier that there was um some concern over our new legal representation uh with regards probably to intimidating tactics is how I would classify them. Yes, Mr. Nmacher, continue shaking your head. Um, I personally find you to be extremely disrespectful. Um, I can reference an email in which you actually said to me you were doing me a courtesy and I would like to remind you as I did that day in that email that you work for the entire board. So, please remember that the next time that you address me. And I would also request that you advise the president and vice president, trustees my Harris and Stein to be sure to comment or respond accordingly to email requests that I have been specifically told I'm not doing publicly
081by several board members sitting here now. Um, Trustee Amar Hamsa, uh, Trustee President, uh, Mory Harris on numerous occasions. Uh, Vice President Stein has yet to chime in, but I'm assuming it's because he understands. I have sent emails. I have specifically requested information and I've not received it. I have sent text messages. I've not received it. I was specifically told, I think all board members were specifically told by President Trustee Mory Harris that any questions any of us have should be directed to her as quote unquote the board president and that she would then delegate these matters out to individuals if she didn't have the answers. So, I have to safely assume that the only reason why I've not received responses from anyone on the personnel committee or anyone on the curriculum committee is likely
082due to the fact that you've not been advised to let me know even though I'm asking. I can reference emails and I will reference them here with dates as far back as January 13th and now most recently through March 9th and even earlier this week that I have not received responses to um as I stated in those emails I know how to read, I know how to pronounce and I know how to fish. So you directed me to go to the board drive, find executive minutes, find meeting minutes. Um, but there's nothing there related to the questions that I have already presented and not have had answered. So if you need me to give you the specific date so that you can reference those emails and the questions, I will gladly do so. But I
083would like the entire board again because I I generally do CC the entire board on every question that I have. I have yet to receive those responses and unfortunately I cannot do my job as a board member if I'm excommunicated. So, not only have I not been assigned to any specific committees, but I'm also not getting information with regards to what those committees are doing, which in the past two years on the board, I didn't need to do because there was communication, there was documents that were submitted, there were informations, writeups that we would all get. So then if you had questions about that, you could ask, but you had a better understanding of what took place. None of that is taking place now and none of my answers, none of my questions are being
084answered. None of my emails are being responded to except with the exception of BAB BS Lydia Singh. Thank you so much. Um, and Dr. McBride, both of you absolutely always try to get back to me with information that should be readily made available to each and every board member regardless of whether or not they could be in attendance. So again, I ask please review my emails and direct me to where the information I'm requesting can be specifically found because I've gone into the board drive as trustee president my Harris has suggested I do actually told me that I do because she says that I don't reach out to her directly but I have and I get no response. Um so much so that we women of this board will be attending the New Jersey uh
085women's leadership conference this Friday because I requested to attend. I did not even get a response from President Trustee Mory Harris acknowledging that request. What I did get was an email that my registration had been accepted. So thank you to Lydia and her team for ensuring that that happened. And I'm very grateful that everyone of us will be able to attend. Another thing that I wanted to mention is in addition to Ramadan, which is still happening, um our Jewish community most recently celebrated uh Porum, which was between March 13th and March 14th. Uh in my current Bible study class, I did get to hear about it and learn about it further from the book of Esther. So, I would like to say um thank you to everyone um all of our students. Let's hope we
086have a better March and April as opposed to the things that took place in our high school specifically um in the January and February months. Violence is never something that should be taking place in schools. I think everybody here and online is likely aware. We had students injured. They were sent to the emergency room. They needed stitches. We had a teacher get hurt. All because students do not know how to behave. There's video of a student damn near naked from a fight in the hallway. It is disgusting. It is inappropriate. And I really hope that everyone learns from this. And I apologize to our staff who have to deal with this. And I hope that changes are being made and that our students realize who they are, what they're worth, and what they can do,
087which is better. Thank you and have a great evening. I appreciate it. Trusty Martin. Oh, I'm sorry. Yes, it's your turn. Okay. Where do we start? Um the um I uh did u miss a couple items I wanted to uh bring up during my um report for the committee. If you don't mind, madam president, it was just uh uh which was it on the um something on the side that took place that's are taking place and have taken place. The official um single point of entrance located on the west side of the uh espan of the uh um of the um Nell K. Parker School. uh that will be um completed soon in the memory of uh principal Lillian K. Whitaker. Uh that's going to be a a pretty nice area. So uh just tune
088in and we'll keep you updated on that. Um also um at the five and six and seven and eight school uh their air condition there is air conditioned in every classroom. I'm sure the parents be happy to hear that. Uh we don't need it now, but trust me, in the future coming up soon, we will. And you'll be happy to uh that it's there. Uh at the high school, uh that that's in the making. They um uh working on that to uh make that happen. Also, at the five and six school, uh the kitchen is being uh remodeled there. So, uh we looking forward to seeing that. That should be a very nice project for um our five and six school. And um the uh art celebration that we had uh at the library was
089a big smash uh sponsored by the Hackasak Rotary Club and um the director of the library, she did a fabulous job putting that together, her and her staff of course. Um I do want to mention that um our former uh past superintendent uh Tony Mlia he was a teacher here a supervisor and then became our uh superintendent of schools. they with uh 50 years I have to repeat that again 50 years of service to the library being on the library um board and with that he uh they dedicated a room to him uh with his name. So please stop by there, take a look at that. uh his um is really uh it turned out to be a really nice um room and um uh you know and then if uh you ever get a
090chance one day you'll get to see Mr. Mo just congratulate him. Uh he's doing a fabulous job here in our community. He been part of this community all his life. He still live here and uh he loved he loved the school system and uh very modest when you do talk about the achievement that he have made here in the school he said well that's my other life and uh this is what I'm doing now and um to everyone um our um to all the u women here sitting at the deis uh you are fabulous females you're fabulous leaders have these uh fabulous people here in the community doing good things. Um our um how should I put that down? Let me make sure I get that right. Trustee President Jennifer Harris my uh thank you
091for your service. Thank you for your leadership and um and as well to the rest of our trustees. Uh you guys uh keep up the good job. There's uh three gentlemen here, two trustees, and we will be continue on following your lead. Uh as they say, uh we the men are as good as our females that stand before us. All right. Thank you. That's all I have. Have a good evening. Thank you, Trusty Amrahamsa. Thank you so much. And um I mean, so many wonderful things to celebrate. Um, I I did just want to begin though by addressing and and kind of following up on on one of the comments that um uh Tony Jackson had raised in in his really thoughtful comments as well as Dr. McBride and and some of our other trustees.
092Um, one of the things that we've always viewed as our greatest strength in Hackinack uh is our diversity and unfortunately that is also one of the things that is under attack right now. Um it is a very challenging time. Um a challenging time for our administration in trying to deal and and and do all of this rapid response to the things that that our community is faced with on what seems like a regular basis. Um a challenging time for our teachers, our staff, and of course a very challenging time for our students and their families. Um, so I do want to just reiterate our commitment to making sure that the district um is a very safe and inclusive place for our entire our entire Comet community. Um, all of our students and their families, um,
093all of our administrators, all of our educators, all of our staff. Um, and I am very appreciative that, you know, starting with central office to, um, going down to our our teachers and and our staff, that everyone works very hard to make sure that we honor and respect uh, the diversity of our district. Um, and that we work hard to make our district a very safe and inclusive place. Um, I do also want to just remind folks, as I have in the past, um, that we have wonderful resources that our central office team um, um, have made available on the district website. Uh, so for any families that have questions about resources for immigrant families, students um, and for members of the LGBTQ community, please check out those resources on the website. Um, I also,
094uh, did want to acknowledge Women's History Month. I am really honored to serve alongside such amazing women on the board. Um, as well as our amazing president, including our amazing president, I should say. And, um, we have wonderful female role models across the district. Um, beginning with our two assistant superintendent. Um, and so, a huge shout out to all the amazing women that really helped to to make our our district thrive. Um, I also want to congratulate all of our Comets. um our athletes, our scholars, our our artists, um all of the achievements that Dr. McBride mentioned um that our other trustees have mentioned, the programs that we have had the the opportunity to enjoy um from the youth art show to all of the amazing events that have taken place from our our boys
095and girls basketball teams, our wrestling team, our our our track team, um uh our academic toathletes, uh I mean just such amazing achievements that really make all of us very proud. Um, so I really do want to honor our students for all of their achievements. Um, and uh, again I want to thank everyone who comes out to make comments publicly um, and we hope that more of you will come out to meetings and make comments uh, because we really do take those comments to heart um, and try and address them. So, to that point, I do want to again thank Nurse Wendy um for her wonderful presentation and for really um addressing some of the concerns that that parents have raised and um and I hope um that parents will continue to bring um any
096comments that they have, but also I want to encourage other members of the community and our staff. Um please always come to our meetings and raise your your concerns. You know, you're welcome. All of th those comments are always very welcome here. Um I do also want to um really um mention you know we're going into a time of a lot of um celebrations and observance uh beginning with uh tomorrow a holiday that I celebrate is is Norus uh the Persian New Year. Um and of course we are still in Ramadan and um and that will culminate you know with Eid. Um, and then of course before our next meeting, we're also going to be celebrating Passover and Easter. Um, so a huge um, you know, uh, good wishes to everyone who's who's celebrating all
097of these wonderful um, holidays. Um, and I look forward to attending all of the great events that are coming up uh, in the coming weeks. Um, and lastly, I do again just want to shout out Lydia and her team at central office. um um all of you for your great uh work in preparing the preliminary budget and so we're looking forward to seeing um the formal budget presentation next month. Um but again, thank you all so very much. All right, thank you. Um just in uh looking at the time as I jinxed myself, uh we do need to make a a motion to extend the meeting past 10, but I promise you it will not be that long. But per our rules, we still have to make a motion. Uh, so can I have a
098motion to extend our meeting past 10? Oh, okay. So that was from Trustee Stein, second by Yes. Trusty Gilmore. Thank you. Just making sure. Um, all those in favor say I. I. Anyone opposed? Okay. Excellent. Thank you very much. Now we're moving on to Vice President Stein. Thank you. Um, gee, I I'm glad I write good stuff for Leila. Uh, we always hear about how well our athletic teams do, and we had a phenomenal winter season for all of our sports, including bowling, which was not brought up. Um, but as a former graphic designer, um, you had to be at the library to see what our children are producing, whether they're in prek all the way into the high school. The artwork is phenomenal. There was a saxoponist who played I believe he's a freshman.
099Um but he entertained for I'm sorry. Eighth grade. Wow. Well soon he'll be a freshman. Um he the way he performed was wonderful. Uh again include showing how inclusive we are as Dr. McBride said. Uh we honored 27 people, children who are in deduct who were inducted into the National Honor Society here at the high school. Um I too want to thank the Jewish population for the uh celebration that we had of Porum and uh Passover will be coming up very quickly. Um and uh again a shout out for our track team. Every year they have a wings night where they raise funds for their scholarships. The wings night will be next Friday, a week from Friday um this a week from this Friday at the Rochel Park VFW on Psych Street. So if you
100like wings, please come out and support them for their scholarships. And um that concludes what I have to say. Everybody have a good evening. Thank you. Thank you. All right. So, I promised to be quick. Uh thank you once again to nurse Wendy for her presentation on clarifying for our families. Uh to be clear, I was the one who had mentioned the stay focused theme and we will remain staying focused as a board and as individuals um committed to our students and to our district and this is why we are all here and present. I am proud to say that all of our board members have officially completed their mandated trainings in time. Our financial disclosures in time, all the things that are required from us that have a due date of either between the
10190 days, 60 days, or 30-day time period. Um, thank you to also central office staff for helping us getting to those days. Um, because sometimes it requires a lot of registration and not much part on our end. I know he's looking at me. We did it. We did it. We made it. Um also, um for women's history month, you know, there's always this quote that um always stays with me in terms of not just women's history month, but just women in general. And the quote is always empowered women empower women. And we need to remember that, right? um as we go to these trainings, we want you want to know what is this going to do for me. It's not just for you. It's for you to also pass it along to others. And I
102think that's important. And when I see I look at this room, the audience majority, I would say the majority is is women, right? Um once again, I said this at our last meeting. What used to be the minority is now the majority. And this table uh represents that. the table represents that and I am very proud to be a part of it. Uh when it comes to so that the public is aware when it comes to emails technology it's very tricky in terms of how much you put out there um what you can put out there um and what you should not and things that is personnel related matters cannot be discussed via email. Those things are discussed in our close session. They are discussed in committees. They are important absolutely to to talk about.
103But you also have confidentiality that you must protect. We need to protect our staff. We need to protect our people. Uh so that's why respond to me directly. Excuse me. This is not the time. Respond to me directly. This is this is not the time. It absolutely is. Then we are mute. Thank you. Okay. Um, when it comes to committees, so previously, yes, uh, there used to be a form that people would fill out and you would put things that you felt was important for the rest of the board to know and agendas were not given to all people, all trustees at the time prior to committees. Now, what's different is that all trustees are receiving the information at the same time, which means if you see something that you have a question about when
104it's time for you to go to your committee meeting or if you don't, um, at least you have the information there in front of you. So, you have at least a good twoeek window to say, "Hey, I have a question about this. What do I do or what is being what is happening here?" So, you have two ways. You either show up to your committee or you can reach out to your chair or you can reach out to myself or to the vice president. Um, Trusty Stein, uh, Trusty Cado Outton, you chose on January 8th to not be in a committee. You had verbally said it and that's that's your prerogative. Okay. Uh, it is every trust's responsibility when you see the agenda, if there's something you are unclear, if you don't feel comfortable with
105to address it. I do not expect anybody to come here and vote on something that you don't know or you don't feel comfortable about. If you don't, you abstain or recuse. And if you are unsure, you ask uh the gentleman to my right over here if if it's something that warrants you to recuse or abstain. Um I believe I addressed um all that. Is there anything else that I need to add? If anybody would like All right. Okay. Um, a few things that is happening before we meet again. Uh, the high school play, uh, Charlie Brown is happening this weekend. A very huge production in our very brand new, beautiful auditorium, airond conditioned auditorium. Yeah. Make sure that you purchase your tickets because it is reserved seating. So, do not show up and think you're
106going to sit wherever you want. It is reserved seating. Also, uh the high school is also having a tricky tray, uh which unfortunately is the same day as our board meeting. So, unfortunately, board members are not um mostly I guess I'm assuming I'm hoping you guys will be here. Uh but it is a tricky tray. So, please go out and support our high school students, which benefits um our seniors and the rest of the high school community. And that is it for my board comments. I appreciate everyone for sticking around. And it is 10:02. Um, can I have a motion to close our meeting? I'll All right. Motion by Trustee Amra Hempson. Second by Trusty Pringle. All those in favor say I. Anyone opposed? I'm opposed. Thank you all. Have a great evening. It is
10710:02. I was about to take the soldiers again.