001I need to begin by reading the statement of adequate notice. The New Jersey open public meeting law was enacted to ensure the right of the public to have advanced notice and to attend the meetings of public bodies at which any business affecting their interest is discussed or acted upon. In accordance with the provisions of this act, the Mountain Lakes Board of Education has caused notice of this meeting to be published by having the date, time, and place thereof posted in the Mountain Lakes Municipal Building and sent to the following newspapers. The Daily Record, the Citizen, and the District website. Can we please rise for the Pledge of Allegiance? I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty
002and justice for all. >> Roll call, please. >> Dr. Don >> here. >> Miss Forman >> here. >> Dr. Hersshfeld. >> Mr. Johnson >> here. Miss Carney, Ms. McVey >> here, >> Miss Parker, >> Dr. Sheth, >> Dr. Silva McIntyre >> here, >> and Miss Parkowskis >> here. >> We do have an executive session tonight. Be it resolved that the Mountain Lakes Board of Education enter into executive session. We need a first and a second, please. We have Mr. Johnson and Miss McVey. The motion needs to be approved. All say I. >> I. >> The board shall recess into close session. Oh, I'm sorry. Be it resolved by the Mount Lakes Board of Education on this 11th day of May, 2026 at 6:41 p.m. as follows. The board shall recess into close session in accordance
003with the open public meeting law NJSA 104-12B1267 and 8. the general nature of the discussion including matters of personal confidentiality rights including but not limited to staff and/or student discipline matters and specifically legal matters. These matters will be disclosed to the public as soon as the need for confidentiality no longer applies although the board cannot guarantee it. The length of the executive session is estimated to be 60 minutes after which the public meeting the board shall reconvene and proceed with business. Action may take place and this resolution shall take effect immediately. So, we'll be back in about an hour. Thank you everyone. Everyone, we're going to come back into our meeting. All right. We need a motion to leave executive session. We need a first and a second, please. We have Dr. Don. We have
004Mr. Johnson. Thank you very much. All in favor say I. >> I. Thank you. And the board, the motion is approved and the board returns to public session at what is it? 8:05. I do apologize that we took a little longer to come back this evening, but I promise you we were doing good work for the district, but it's very nice that you're here and we're glad you're at our meeting tonight. All right. Before we get started, I want to just make a motion, just let the public know we'll be tableabling motion number 33 as we go into our meeting. Um, we have no student government report this evening, but we do begin by allowing any Mountain Lakes School District students who would like to speak an opportunity to come. That's our first order of
005business. If there are any students that would speak, let me just explain the rules. I have a little disclaimer that I read. You give your name and your address, and then you get three minutes to speak. Mrs. Parker times you, and she tells you at 30 seconds that your time's almost up. We don't do any back and forth. So, if you have questions, you get to answer ask them and then we answer them if we can. All right. I'm going to read the disclaimer if there are any students that would like to speak at this time. Are there any? Okay, then I'll read the disclaimer at this time. Public comment is set aside for the board to hear feedback and questions from members of the public. The board will take all comments and suggestions from
006the public into consideration. If you have more than one question, we request that all questions are asked within the time provided as public comment is not intended for back and forth dialogue. If the board is unable to answer your questions at this time, we will explain when and in what format the answers will be communicated. We request that you limit your questions and comments to three minutes and present all questions within those three minutes. Please state your name and address for the record. The board appreciates and thanks you for your attendance and participation in our meeting. So, who's first? Thank you. Hello, my name is Becca Horowitz. I live at 74 Kennallworth Road. I'm a senior here at the high school and I was captain of the girls basketball team this past season. Over my
007time here at Mountain Lakes, I've had two ACL and meniscus injuries and I've missed several full sport seasons. And my most recent injury happened during the third basketball game this past season at Lenipe Valley and I was out for the rest of the basketball season and my senior my entire senior lacrosse season. Under the previous basketball coach after my first ACL tear, I honestly felt like I was no longer really part of the team. And I vividly remember not being allowed to even go get a chair and instead had to sit on the floor of the Ox gym during practice while injured. And this past year after tearing my ACL again, my experience was completely different thanks to Coach O. Um, even though I couldn't play, she still made me feel like part of the
008team and included me by giving me ways to contribute like keeping score during drills or running the clock at practice, which is incredibly helpful as it work through mourning the end of my high school athletic career. Additionally, Coach O completely changed the environment of the program. In my first three years, there was zero consideration of team culture or supporting each other. And coach O put a major emphasis on being together as a team and what it meant to be a good teammate to one another. And as a result of her effort this year, all of the girls genuinely became closer, more positive, and more encouraging of one another. people actually cheered for each other, gave high fives, and supported each other, which may seem like small things that seem normal and may not make that
009big of a difference, but the presence of the little things like being a good teammate to everyone really mattered and were much less common during first three years of my time at Mount Lakes High School in comparison to this past year. What I think that really stands out most and what I took away took away from this basketball season is that this culture that she um built has lasted beyond the basketball season. and I can see it carrying over into the lacrosse season and to other parts of school. Coach Oo put a real effort into building a better environment and it really did work and I ask that the board consider bringing back the coach that had such a positive impact on the program in such a short time. Thank you. >> Thank you very
010much. Is there anyone else that would like to speak at this time? Hello, my name is Austin Johnson and I live at 17 Dartmouth Road. Hi, I'm Marcela Ashley and I live at 63 Laurel Hill Road. Um, we are freshman and we played basketball this season for Coach O. We are here to speak on behalf of our own experiences and respectfully ask for you to consider your position on coach O and her future as a coach at Mount Links High School. I was one of the two freshman on varsity girls basketball team this season. I was very grateful for the opportunity and learned so much while playing. She had encouraged us to do an AU team in the spring. Me and my two friends, Millie and Caitlin did. I've never stepped into an environment like
011that and felt confident. I've been to KM AU teams prior in clinics. The type of confidence I felt my first time stepping into that AU practice was something I've never had before. Feeling good about my ball handling skills, my shot, and my way to view the court. That would have never been the case if Coach O did not coach me this season. She discovered parts and talents in me that I did not even know I was capable of doing. Coach O, I think, is one of the most dedicated coaches I've ever had. The countless hours of film she would watch for scouting. The plays, game plans, and drills she planned for us is something you don't see in many coaches nowadays. She didn't only care about the team she had this season. She cared about
012the future of the program. Every day she showed up ready to work no matter what. She was tired, angry, stressed. She came in and gave it her all every time she stepped into the gym. It'd be really heartbreaking to not see the coach with so much basketball knowledge and experience leave. My experience was so fun and impactful. I too had a positive and productive experience playing for coach O this season. I feel that I improved as both a player and person under her guidance. Being on the JV team, she still spent equally as much time trying to help us develop as players just as the varsity players. The connection and trust we created between our team was very important. And Coach O built that trust with us through her dedication and commitment. Losing a coach
013like her would not only affect the team's performance, but also the sense of community and support that she helped create. She was absolutely tough on us at times, but that's a coach's job. Mount Leak's athletic programs have thrived under tough leadership. For example, Coach Wilkins and Coach Flynn are notoriously both hardcore coaches, and have had incredibly successful careers, have been respected and honored by the community and developed young athletes into better people under pressure. And as a first year high school coach, I'm sure Coach O has misspoke or mishandled a situation or two. Neither Austin nor I witnessed bullying, intimidation, or harassment. Coach O is simply tough on us, especially the freshman, because she sees our potential. Her coaching style was also a positive experience for me and effective in my opinion. The majority of
014for the majority of players on the team, we had successful season having a winning record, winning the sectional championship and reaching the state semi-finals. Based on our experience as freshman and the experience of all the players you have heard or will hear from tonight and for the future players of this program, we implore you to give coach O another chance and please consider her rehiring for the benefit for the benefit of all players current and future. >> THANK YOU. UM, I JUST WOULD LIKE TO MAKE A a comment. Please come on up while I'm saying this. We cannot have two people go at once. I didn't want to interrupt what you were saying, but for anyone further at this point, if you could go up one at a time. Thank you so much. >> Good
015evening. My name is Malia Campanero and I live at 90 Brier Cliff Road. This year, I had the pleasure of playing Mountain Links basketball. Being a freshman, I was very nervous coming into this season playing with new teammates in a different environment and against tougher teams. Coach O had made it her job not only to coach us, but to make us feel safe in an environment that especially as freshmen were nervous and anxious. Coach had really emphasized community, whether it meant attending junior Lakers games or making sure we were cheering on the boys. She wanted everyone to make to feel like one big Mountain Lakes community. She did this by having JV and varsity do lots of team bonding. At one practice, we all sat around in a big circle. At everyone's assigned circle spot,
016there was a plastic cup. And inside those plastic cups was a personalized note from Coach O and Coach Frederick. After we read our coach's note, we all wrote personalized notes about our teammates and left them in their cups. This was one of my favorite memories from any of my basketball seasons because I got to feel valued not only by my coaches, but by my fellow teammates. Each and every note that I read were all so personal, and I remember feeling so glad that I was part of that team. From our intense locker room pep talks to our laughs at practice, our team has always been very close. And this was very important to Coach O because she believed that being connected translated into how we played on the court. Another thing that made Coach O
017really stand out from any other coaches that I've ever had was that she saw potential in every single one of the players on our team. She treated everyone equally and with respect. When I began this year in JV, I had no intention that I would play varsity. Coach Joe had made it clear that regardless of the grade you were in, if you came to practice every day with the right attitude and gave maximum effort, you could earn varsity playing time. She wanted everybody's experience playing Mountain Lakes basketball to be the best that it could be. I remember the first time that I got into a varsity game. It was away at Mount Madison High School and it was a very big game for our team. I sat down at the bench at the beginning of
018the game, excited to cheer on my team and support from the sidelines. When Coach O yelled down the bench for me to go in, I heard everyone else on the bench cheer for me and it was such a memorable moment. The minute that I got in the game, I could hear Coach Joe yelling for me to run point. She believed in me enough to put me in during a close competitive varsity game as a freshman, and that is something that I will never forget. I am very grateful to her for giving me that experience. During the season, I had an injury that prevented me from playing in a lot of games. Coach always took the time to check in on me and see how my physical therapy was going and to encourage me that I
019would continue to be back playing soon. I'm asking the board of education to reconsider hiring Coach Joe for a second year and giving us all the opportunity to finish what we started, not only for me, but for the future of Mountain Lakes's girls basketball program. Thank you. >> Hi, my name is Caitlyn Wallace and I live at 129 Pard Road. I am here today because I truly believe Coach O deserves to continue leading our girls basketball program. I want to share some of the amazing things she has done that not everyone gets to see. Coach O is a dedicated, tough coach. She holds players accountable, pushes us to reach our full potential, and helps every player improve. At the high school level, athletes do not need an easy coach. They need someone who challenges them
020and helps them become better. That kind of coach is is hard to find, and it helps us grow, not only as players, but as people, too. This season, Coach O built a real community within our program. She spent countless hours planning practices, creating plays, and watching films so we can improve. She also organized team bonding activities like bracelet making with affirmations, bedazzling stations, and writing heartfelt notes to one another. Those activities helped build friendships, brought players from every grade together, and made our team feel connected. Coach O made JV and varsity feel like one team and said it too. We practiced together, supported each other, and worked um worked hard together. She encouraged everyone to stay and cheer for both teams, making every player feel valued no matter what team they were on. She also
021took time for each player individually, staying after practice to give extra help and one-on-one fe one-on-one feedback. She helped build um she helped build excitement around our program and made us feel important. Coach O saw potential in every player and if someone had a bad game, she didn't let that define them. She cared more about the effort, attitude, and hard work that than the score. Personally, I came into the season as a scared freshman with little to no confidence. I am definitely not the best player on the team, but Coach pushed me out of my comfort zone and helped me believe in myself. I became the first JV player to get minutes in a varsity game. Definitely not because of my basketball ability and that happened because the coaches noticed my work ethic and dedication.
022I stayed after practice working on layups, shots, and post moves. And coach, I recognize that effort. She cares not only about the ability, but also how players act after practice off off the court and how we treat our teammates. I understand that concerns are raised and I believe everyone deserves to be heard. However, I do not believe this situation should end with losing a coach who has done so much for so much to strengthen and improve our basketball program. Coach Oo truly cared about this team, this program, the community. She only wanted to help us improve become and become better. I believe she deserves the opportunity to continue coaching and building the program she worked so hard to create. >> Thank you. >> Hi, my name is Thalia Klein and I live on Six Center
023Drive. Um, I'm a junior and I'm going to start by saying that I'm sure if you've watched me play basketball, you know how much I struggle with my confidence. This is the first season that I've made a change and contributed. I've played for multiple club teams and have had many different coaches over the years of playing basketball, but coach O was the only one who truly saw the potential I had and worked with me personally to see what I could do better. Coach O has even got me onto a club team during this spring season that is specifically to work on my aggression so I could be the best I could be for next year. I felt comfortable asking questions and was constantly asking how I could improve because she gave me such good insight.
024Throughout all of the seasons I have played a sport at MLHS, I have never bonded with a team more than I did this one. I've made some of my best friends, and it was a season I will cherish forever. There was never a dull day at practice where we weren't having a good time and joking around. And honestly, if you told me during the season that I would be standing here now making this speech, I wouldn't have believed you. We went through so much the past few years as a team with our last coach. Now, unfortunately, I have to stress about my senior year next year being a mess because people chose to complain instead of learning to be tougher from a coach who wants the best from you. And it's honestly really upsetting. The
025most upsetting part is that our coaches started to feel more like friends. And now we've betrayed them. We will never find other coaches that will care more about the future of this program than they did. There was a perfect mix of telling them all of our high school drama and having a productive basketball practice. When they needed us fully engaged, everyone was engaged. And that is a skill I have not seen in most coaches at Mountain Lakes High School. Respect for them and their knowledge was what it was. Finally, I just want to say sorry to our coaches because they put everything they had into our season. Seriously, who thought that we would make the semi-finals and play in front of all those people. Out of all the hard work we put into the season,
026this reflects our program so poorly. I don't know when we stopped being able to take constructive criticism and started reporting people for encouraging us and challenging our skill. It's immature and I'm really ashamed about what we have come to. Thank you. >> Hi, my name is Sienna and I live on 78 Rockaway Drive. I'm here tonight because this decision does not just affect one coach. It affects an entire team, our program, and the players whose lives Coach O has positively changed. I want to say this clearly. Coach O is not a bully. She is a strong coach who holds players accountable, pushes players to improve, and expects discipline, effort, and commitment. That is what coaching is supposed to be. This season proved that we went farther than anyone expected us to because of coach. She
027made us tougher, more confident, more disciplined, and more united. She created a culture where players believed in themselves and worked harder for each other. She help she helped me personally regain my confidence, not just as an athlete, but as a person. Basketball is not just a school activity to me. I played club basketball since fifth grade and I want to play in college. This is one of the most important recruiting years for me and for other players on this team. But because of everything happening right now, we still have not had our banquet, end of year meetings, summer plans, open gyms, or direction for the program. Even though this started over two months ago, that directly hurts athletes who are trying to improve, stay prepared, and be recruited. I'm also one of the starting five
028players on this team, someone who spent countless hours with Coach O throughout the season. And I was never originally asked for my perspective by the athletic director. Yet somehow a decision this serious is being considered based on the claims of only three freshmen. That is not a fair representation of this team or this program. I'm also aware that students are not supposed to be called down together during situations like this. Yet the three freshmen involved were reportedly brought together by the administration. For a for a decision this serious one that could damage someone's career and reputation. Every part of this process should be handled carefully, professionally, and correctly. If procedures were not followed properly, then how can this truly be considered a fair and unbiased investigation? I was personally there for the situation being described
029and I heard exactly what coach O said. She said, "If these players are going to be a part of this team, they need to show commitment. If they cannot commit, they should not play for this team. That is not harassment or bullying. That is accountability. Athletes are going to be corrected and athletes are going to be challenged." The timing of these accusations also matter. These complaints only became serious after players became upset about being coached hard, playing time, and getting yelled at once. Being coached tough is not abuse. I also know that at least one player had concerns during the season. And when I encouraged her to communicate directly with Coach O, her response was that she didn't feel like it and that she didn't care. Communication goes both ways. Coaches cannot fix issues they
030were not told about. Coach O deserves fairness. She deserves the full story to be heard. And I want to be honest. If Coach O is not brought back next season, I cannot guarantee I will return either. Losing her would not just hurt one season. It would damage the future of this program and send the message that a coach can lose everything simply for holding athletes accountable and expecting commitment. At the end of the day, strong coaches are supposed to challenge athletes. They are supposed to push us beyond what is comfortable so that we can grow. Coach O changes program. >> Sorry, keep going. >> Coach O changed his program for the better. She believed in us, united us, and challenged us and helped us succeed. We achieved we achieved more this season than anyone expected
031us to because of her leadership. I hope you seriously consider the impact that has been made on so many players before making a decision that cannot be undone. And this is one example of coach O how she was towards us. The day before our semi-final game, she had us write these positive notes that Malia showed us for our teammates. And she took the time out of her day to write one for each of us. She wrote to me, Sienna, you are one of the most important pieces of our team. Your consistency, your voice, and the way you compete on both ends of the floor set the tone for everyone. You care deeply about this team, and that shows every time you step on the court. your leadership means a lot more to the team and
032you were just getting started. If this is >> we have to call it. I'm sorry. >> Okay. Way over. >> Um I just encourage you to rehire her next year. >> Thank you. >> All right. Sorry. We do have it. That's the sort of boardroom rules is the three minutes. So my 30 second warning is a sort of wrap it up. And I did let you go over because I didn't want to interrupt, but um we're not trying to be rude. It's just a boardroom rules. >> Keep going. >> Hi, my name is Karly Ross and I live on 24 Crestfield Road. So, when I look back on this basketball season, I realized it was about so much more than just games and practices. It was about confidence, growth, and feeling like I truly belonged.
033I've been playing basketball since I could walk. And after the awful last two years with the previous coach, my confidence was honestly at one of its lowest points ever. I wasn't really sure where I fit in. And I started doubting myself as both a player and a person. But this season completely changed that. And a huge reason why was Coach O. Coach O believed in me even during moments when I didn't fully believe in myself. She pushed me to work harder, supported me when I struggled, and constantly reminded me of what I was capable of. Because of her, I started gaining confidence again, and finally felt like I earned my place on varsity. What meant even more to me was the way she made me feel included and valued. Sometimes people don't realize how much
034a coach's words and actions can impact someone, but they really do. She made practices and games something I genuinely look forward to going to again. I think it is truly a shame of what she's been put through because of three freshmen and which two of them didn't even have firstirhand experience with her as their primary coach. I urge you to reconsider the situation and have coach O return next year for the benefit of current and future players. Thank you. >> Thank you. >> Hi, my name is Summer Sutter. I live at 826 Buonav and I was I'm a sophomore and I was a starting point guard this season. When I played basketball before coach Meg, I didn't feel valued. I felt like I was just my stat sheet. like the only thing that mattered was
035how many points I scored or how well I played. But when coach me came in, she made me feel seen as a person first. She told me that I was going to be our point guard and that she trusted me to lead this team even though I was only 15 and honestly still pretty new to this position. She didn't trust me because I was the best player on the court. She trusted me because she believed in my character. She told me I was fierce, relentless, committed, and someone my team could look to. Before her, being vocal was never something I was comfortable with. Coach Me taught me how to lead out loud. She taught me that. She taught me how to encourage my teammates, celebrate their success, and put the team before myself. She built
036a culture where every player mattered. Not just the starters, not just the leading scorers, everyone. For the first time in a long time, basketball felt safe again. It felt positive. It felt like somewhere we wanted to be. And those lessons didn't just stay with us on the basketball court. Just the other day during lacrosse, a player went down and Shay and I immediately rushed to pick her up. No one else reacted like that, but the basketball players did. It's in instinct for us now because coach me constantly reinforced what being a good teammate and a good person looks like. I'm a sophomore midi on defense and I'm louder than almost anyone else out there communicating with my teammates. That confidence and leadership came from Coach Meg. She taught us that leadership isn't about being the
037oldest person or the best scoreer. It's about accountability, energy, selflessness, and making the people around you better. Those are life lessons. Those are those are things that will carry us carry with us long after high school sports end. This season was special because it wasn't just about winning games. It was finally about having a health healthy culture again. After years where basketball felt stressful and discouraging, Coach Meg made it feel like a family. She pushed us to be resilient, disciplined, and strong young women who cared about each other. And the results spoke for themselves. Even after losing three starters and a thousand point score, we exceeded expectations and won sectional state championships because we played for each other. Every single player bought into the team first culture. coach may created and that doesn't happen by
038accident. And what hurts the most is how everything ended. Instead of celebrating one of the most meaningful seasons, our season ended with confusion, heartbreak, and uncertainty. We didn't even get a banquet. After everything this team accomplished together, we never really got closure. And I think that's why so many players, parents, and families are here speaking tonight because people felt the difference. We saw what happens when girls are coached with respect, belief, accountability, and care. No coach is perfect. >> 30 seconds. But coach Meg's intentions were always to help us grow, not just as athletes, but as people. If concerns truly existed, they could have been addressed constructively during the season. And I know she would have listened and learned. Instead, the people most affected by all this have been the players who finally found confidence,
039joy, and stability in this program. I can honestly say, Coach Meg changed me. She made me believe my voice mattered. She made me more confident. She made me a better teammate, a better leader, and a better person. And when adults make decisions about programs like this, I just hope they remember that behind those decisions are actual students whose lives are being shaped by the people chosen to lead them. Hi, my name is Shay Sutter and I live at 826 Bonap. I am a junior and was a captain of the basketball team. Over this past basketball season, our coach spent time focusing on things that at first didn't seem directly related to basketball. She emphas emphasized picking up our teammates, supporting each other, encouraging one another, and building trust. And honestly, she was surprised that many
040of us didn't already have those skills. She was shocked that we didn't seem to be a cohesive team and instead seemed to just be a group of individual players. I didn't understand what she was doing at first because I didn't even realize our way was somewhat broken. That says something important about the environment we come from. Too often ML sports have have been very individualized where players focus on stats, playing time, and personal recognition. But our coach challenged that. She consistently reinforced that we are one team and that every single player has value. So our first couple of weeks were dedicated to just that, getting everyone to buy into her philosophy that by working together, great things were possible for this year and many years to come. This is my ninth season playing sports at
041MLHs and I have had four different coaches throughout my time. I have a strong point of reference and I can confidently say that she is the first coach who has truly pushed all of us to become the best versions of ourselves. I've also experienced opposite kind of coaching where communication was negative and players were torn down instead of built up. After one one game, a coach, excuse my language, called us entitled and made us run sprints in front of the opposing team while yelling and cursing at us. Our athletic director was present and only stepped in afterwards to tell the coach to calm down. In environments like that, discipline feel feels more like humiliation than growth. And it becomes difficult for players to feel motivated, valued, or united as a team. In many sports, leadership
042is something that you only gain as a senior. But she saw something in me and gave me that responsibility as a junior. At the time, I didn't fully understand what it meant to be captain, but she taught me. She showed me that leadership starts with with making your teammates feel valued and important. That leadership isn't about yourself. It's about lifting others up. and she made it clear that when we work together, what we can accomplish as a team is far greater than anything we could achieve individually. She also challenged me to be a leader by working harder than anyone else. The lessons that came with the lessons came with a lot of growing pains. Coach Meg pulled me out of games and believe me, I was angry, confused, and frustrated. I talked to her and
043questioned her choices. She told me she believes in my abilities, but that she needed me to play at 100% all the time. Then when I questioned that that and told her that I always did, she took me out of the games and made a video highlight of me going 80% versus 100%. The proof was right in front of my eyes and I was grateful that she took the time to hold me accountable even when it negatively impacted the outcome of some games. >> The player I was at the end of the season was far stronger than the player I was at the beginning. And I and more importantly, the captain I was at the end of the season is someone I was proud of and can't say that about the captain I was at the
044beginning. The truth hurts sometimes and me gave me the truth. But I am forever grateful for it because she gave me the choice to use the truth to grow to resist the truth and never realize and never realize what I was capable of. That kind of lesson doesn't just impact basketball. It carries into every part of your life. Thank you. >> My name is Ryan Slock and I live at 8 Birwood Lane. Uh, originally I was not going to speak, but after listening to what all these players had to say, I kind of felt obligated to. Although I never got to play for Coach L. Um, that did not limit the impact that she had on me and honestly the rest of Mountain Lakes basketball and athletics as a whole. When people think of ML
045sports, they think of community. They think of the youth programs and they think of just everyone being together. Either with the lacrosse fun run every year or multiple players being a water boy for the herd. Mountain Lake Mountain Lakes athletics are built on community. From what I've seen in just under a year, coach was building something something comparable to these two sports. Being a very adamant fan of Mountain Lake sports, I can proudly say that no other sports sports coach cares more about the youth program than her. Besides Flynn, multiple times she would often encourage me and my friends to cheer on the players, even when we were told to stop. She wanted that high energy environment and a great playing and atmosphere. Additionally, before a state sectional final, she she bought the fans uh
046face face stickers and kind of and air bats for every single fan there. She wanted everyone to feel involved, and I can say that no other coach has done this, especially right before a sectional final. In just under a year, Coach O has laid a great foundation for the youth and high school program. And there honestly is no one more deserving to come back as a head coach next year. Thank you. Is there any other Mountain Lake student that would like to speak now? Okay. Then sincerely to everyone, thank you for coming to our meeting and for speaking and using your voice. We're going to continue on with the meeting and there'll be other opportunities for adults to speak at a later time. But to the students, thank you for being here. All right. Okay.
047Move. >> I thought the adult speaker. >> We were going to do that in the first session. >> Did I say something? >> One moment. We decided we were going to let the adults speak in the first public session, not have to wait till the second. That's why we're carrying on right now. But Dr. Herszfeld, did you have something else different to say? >> I just want to say that was great. I really really appreciate hearing everybody's perspective and I was so impressed with how all of you spoke especially in front of a big group which I know can be a little intimidating. I also just want to say if anybody has like to study or like homework like you like I just want to say like you can go no one will think any
048less of you and like we we won't think it's rude or anything like that. I mean feel free to stay but you can go if you want to or if you need to. If you have AP test, >> yeah, I just want to say like Wednesday. >> No, like feel free if you need to study, like go study. >> I mean, you can take them home and come back. You won't miss your spot. >> Okay, there. Thanks, Dr. >> You totally have enough time to drop them off and come back. >> Good reminder. Thanks, Dr. Hurst. >> My kids. >> Okay, same. Who's ready for ring? >> We're going to move on to comments and requests from the MLA co-presidents, Miss Realves. Good to see you. Talk about nerve-wracking. Uh Mike Alves, MLA co-president. Just
049want to say quick but uh very grateful thank you to our HSA, our board, and our administration for the wonderful and very welcome treats and notes that were were provided throughout the district during teacher appreciation week. It was a though they weren't orange and blue bagels which is okay but uh it was a really thoughtful reminder of the strong uh sense of community that exists here in Mountain Lakes and were really sincerely appreciated by all. So thank you very much. That's it. >> Thank you. We always appreciate hearing from you. Thank you so much. >> All right. Um we do have a presentation at this time. So I will turn the meeting over to Dr. Seagull. >> Sure. We have such a great audience here tonight. Uh we do have a presentation given that there
050are going to be a lot of people here who I think are still waiting to speak and we are going to have two more presentations related to district goals. What >> we were going to do district goal update. >> I think >> is there a way to make a motion to go out of order to let the parents speak? >> I think he was about to do that. >> Are you doing that? >> All right. I didn't know. Yeah. >> Yeah. Let him finish. >> Yeah. So, I assume I'm assuming that you're not all here to see the presentation about the district goals. Although I recommend that you should because this is uh there's a lot of lessons here. Obviously, you're here tonight uh to deal with your response to your coach and the basketball
051season, I understand. And there might be people here for other reasons. Uh but we do have our district law update. We will pause that and delay it for later. Um that's where we are on the agenda and we will make a motion uh to move up uh first public comment uh to agenda items only which we will uh broaden to get uh anybody who wants to speak up to the podium with the same uh confines of the threeminut limit. >> So that is that's hold on one second I have something to read and some um so that was a motion to move the public comment up further in the agenda. All in favor say I. Oh, I'm sorry. Actually think we need a first. We have Mrs. Foreman. We have Mrs. Parker as a first
052and second. Now I can say all say I. Thank you very much. And thank you Dr. Seagull for such a thoughtful recommendation. >> As long as you stay for I'm just kidding. >> Dr. Hersville, we were getting there because I know you weren't here in the first session. So we were getting there. All right. So with that in mind, I need to read the public disclaimer again. We are going to, as Dr. Mr. Seagull said broaden this to allow anyone who has a comment at this point to come up and speak. Same rules have to apply. You give your name, your address. We have three minutes. Mrs. Parker will give a warning at 30 seconds and then tell you when your time is up. So, with that in mind, is there anyone who has a
053comment at this time? >> No one. Okay, great. >> No. Well, if you do, you can come up to the podium. Just let me read the disclaimer. So, if somebody wants to get on up there, I'll read it. So, public comments are set aside for the board to hear feedback and questions from members of the public. The board will take all comments and suggestions from the public into consideration. If you have more than one question, we request that all questions are asked within the time provided as public comment is not intended for back and forth dialogue. If the board is unable to answer your questions at this time, we will explain when and in what format the answer will be communicated. We request that you limit your questions or comments to three minutes and present
054all questions within those three minutes. Please state your name and address for the record. The board appreciates and thanks you for your attendance and participation at this meeting. >> Wonderful. Thank you so much. Hi everyone. Uh my name is Franchesca Espazito and I live at 20 a um sorry I got to start over. Hi everyone. Good evening. My name is Franchesca Espazito. Um, and I'm sure everyone in this room tonight along with the state of New Jersey, um, knows that I had the honor, yes, the honor, despite the circumstances, um, the honor of being 2025, um, 2025's Pink Witches Night Out beneficiary. Um, and to that honor, I owe absolutely everything to Megan Olanowski. Throughout the months leading up to Pink Witches Night Out, I got to witness firsthand not only the goodness that goes
055into an evening um and comes from such an evening put together by Meg. Um but the goodness that goes into creating such an impactful legacy. They always say it's uh your character is who you are when no one's watching. And Meg's character, who she is outside of this school, um I believe is where it starts. and these girls are lucky enough to experience her in a leadership role so closely. Um, but sorry, got sidetracked. Uh, the whole evening comes from everything, but the goodness that goes into creating such an impactful legacy. I got to watch her firsthand handle hundreds of different things at any given moment with such a grace and patience and accountability and a dedication to the community that is something I have truly never seen before. Um her commitment um her one
056of the girls summer lead out loud that was incredible. I couldn't have pictured I couldn't have described Meg any better. That's exactly what she does um both on the court and outside um of this school. Um whenever someone is in her presence, you're met with um a certain calmness like everything's all right, a smile and a hug that sometimes can just be too overwhelming for some people and some people meaning my mom. She cries every single time that she sees Meg's face um because of what her presence does to somebody. Um, she overflows with uh such a joy being in Meg's presence. She cries tears of happiness every single time. You can only imagine her disappointment not being able to be here tonight to speak to the greatness um that Meg is. And um and
057with that, uh you know, I'll I'll conclude. I'll keep this short and sweet. Um we ask that you reconsider the decision made. Um, and I I'll conclude to let everyone else testify to the greatness that she is and brings to um, a community and an organization. So, thank you so much. >> Thank you. >> Is there another speaker? >> Hi, my name is Julia. I live at Nine Garden Court. >> And your last name? >> Avat. >> Thank you. >> I want to begin by saying that I do not know the details of the allegations before you. However, hearing Me's name associated with such negativity genuinely baffled me. From firsthand experience, I am confident to come up here blindly and speak from my heart to the character and person I know her to be. Many
058people know Mag as the founder of one of the largest fundraising organizations in our area, coordinating events that raise money and support local, but leave a lasting impact that exceeds the dollar amount. So, let me take you through the meaning in her life's work. I grew up in Dville and have fond memories visiting her mother's store. It was homegrown, authentic, and always a joy to stop in. Because even if you didn't buy anything, the kindness that you encountered left you better than you walked in. As a kid, it was the best gift bag to scope out on the table at your birthday party. With pretty shoestring ribbon, and tissue paper, you just knew what was inside was going to fill your cup. I started to notice small changes at the store, a new face at
059the cashier, or different Vera Bradley patterns in stock, but was too young to grasp why. Later that year, I had come to understand the passing of their store owner with nothing short of a courageous fight. The display windows and exterior underwent some remodeling, but the integrity and humanity remained true. Credit to Meg carrying her mother's compassion and filling the community with kindness. In tribute to her profound impact, she selflessly established a foundation to support local women with cancer and gather in honor of those we lost. Over the years, this legacy has grown and made lasting impressions on our community members, including my own. In an earthshattering instance, comprehending a loved one diagnosed with stage 4 cancer, I couldn't be more fortunate to have someone as honorable as Meg that built a foundation with an army
060of helping hands to carry our family through. What speaks even louder to me is who she is behind the scenes of the social media presence when there is no recognition and no audience. She so generously gives her time, energy, and heart to others. She has shown up for my family personally during difficult times yet effortlessly because her heart beats for good. At her core, she is someone who leads with compassion, integrity, and service to others. In the midst of navigating tough and unpredictable emotions in every interaction, she has demonstrated kindness, moral character, and a genuine desire to put good in the world. She has an absolute inspiration with the lengths at which she would go to make someone you care about feel like they are worthy of being on top of the world when they
061are against all odds. She's the type of person who uplifts people, advocates for others, and creates positive impact wherever she goes. Of all these qualities, coaching is about shaping young people into good human beings. As a former athlete myself, some of the lessons and values that have stayed with me most throughout my life come from the coaches who believed in me, encouraged me, and led by example. To me, Magg is not just a coach or a founder of an organization. She's a pillar of our community, and I urge the board to not align itself with what is taking place here. If you're truly committed to fairness, honesty, integrity, and the well-being of both these girls and those who will follow, you will make the decision to rehire Coach Me. Thank you. >> Good evening. My
062name is Robert Sutter. I live at 826 Bootin Avenue. Before I begin, I want to note that as a former assistant superintendent and superintendent of the Paripony Troyal School District, where we had over 7,000 students and over,900 full and part-time staff members, I have participated in hundreds of board meetings. However, this is the first time I have addressed a board in my own community. Let me be clear at the outset, student safety is paramount. any allegation of harassment or bullying must be taken seriously, thoroughly investigated, and handled with care. I do not believe anybody here disputes that. That said, I am deeply concerned about the process surrounding the recent HIV investigation involving the high school girls basketball program, specifically the precedent it sets for the Mountain Lake School District. By way of background, Mr. Olenowski
063contacted me because he was confused about the HIV process. During our conversation, he explained that after the superintendent substantiated an HIV finding against Coach Meowski, she was called in for a meeting. Unaware of the process, she sought legal counsel. During a subsequent conversation with her attorney, I was informed that the superintendent stated that Coach Olowaskki would not be rehired. I was I found that statement difficult to believe. However, the statement gave me serious pause. HIV investigations include a defined due process structure beginning with an investigation followed by a board appeal and if necessary an appeal to the commissioner of education. I have personally seen substantiated findings tabled, reconsidered or overturned through the process. When an adverse employment decision is communicated before the appeals process concludes, the process is effectively undermined and reduced to a procedural
064exercise rather than a meaningful safeguard. In other words, if Mr. Mr. Olowski is correct, this appeal was nothing more than a formality as decision was already made. I am also concerned about the completeness of the investigation. Mr. Olowski was told that all players were interviewed. My two daughters who were on the girls basketball team were not. Instead, they were called in by the athletic director and shown a private email their mother had sent to him. An email they my daughters were never copied on and were asked whether they agreed with it. If we go by the HIV definition, in my opinion, those actions substantially disrupted and interfere with my daughter's educational environment. My daughters were placed in a situation where they were implicitly asked to choose between their mother and an administrative authority figure that
065they see every day. The interaction troubled them emotionally and had a profound impact on how they view trusted authority figures. I find this highly unprofessional. If my family was to be involved in any way, I should have been contacted directly and proper protocol should have been followed. Process matters. When investigations do not follow protocol, do not include all relative voices or create the appearance of partiality. Confidence in their outcome is undermined regardless of intent. There is also concern with the community about the influence of personal and professional relationships. Investigations involving staff connected families must be handled with heightened transparency to avoid even the perception of undue influence. >> Um, >> sorry. >> Would you like to just finish that? Yeah. In closing, in closing, we owe our students protection, our staff due process, and our
066community confidence that decisions are made thoughtfully, not reactively. The superintendent makes recommendations. This board governs and decides outcomes unless and until matters proceed to the commissioner of education such as this may. I urge you to reflect carefully on what you preced you set tonight. >> Thank you. Uh just real quick just to remind people if you don't get your statement in in 3 minutes you can sit down and wait for everybody to finish and then you can come back like you're not limited only to one three minute >> comment you can make a second comment just in case there was any confusion. That's just some of the ground rules. >> No I appreciate you saying that Mr. We will make you wait until everyone else goes just fair but then you can come back up.
067>> Sure. >> Good evening board. My name is Luke Campanero. I live at 90 Brier Cliff Road. I'm here tonight representing my family who has lived in Mountain Lakes for 13 years. This past season, our family first experienced Mountain Lakes High School basketball. And from the first night, I was a believer in Coachello. I remember meeting her in a classroom when she introduced herself to the parents before the season began. What stood out immediately was her vision for culture, accountability, and growth of the girls. Over the course of the season, we watched her build something that quite honestly I have not seen in Mountain Leagues girls basketball during our time in town. Coach O did not just coach varsity basketball. She immersed herself in the program and the community. She attended junior Laker games, knew
068younger players by name, and made girls feel included and inspired. She encouraged support not only for the girls program, but the boys program as well. She was building a true basketball culture and a connected community. To be completely honest, I wasn't sure how my daughter was going to adjust the high school basketball. So when she came home excited after tryyous, energized after practices, and genuinely connected with her coaches and teammates, it meant a tremendous amount to us as parents. And it made me excited not just for her next three years, but for my daughter Rowan's future high school experience and for our youngest daughter, Elsie, in the years to come. That's why the way Coach is being treated feels deeply unfair and disparaging to her character. I believe the recent accusations surrounding Coocho are being
069driven by emotions by emotions of a few and hurt feelings, not a full and fair understanding of the overall situation. I think it's important that we recognize the broader impact of what's happening here. To the board of education directly, removing coach after one season will be a tremendous disservice to these kids, their families, and the community. We try to teach our children to be resilient, accountable, where to look for learning opportunities, and and how important second chances are. So, what message are we sending now? After one year, we're telling these girls that one difficult moment outweighs all of the positive culture, leadership, and growth that she worked so hard to create. And on the subject of accountability of her holding coach O to such high standards in this matter, I think we as parents also
070need to acknowledge our role in what transpired at the end of the season, specifically as it relates to the freshman Disney choir trip. I know I personally could have done a better job communicating earlier to the possibility of a possible conflict and reinforcing my daughter's responsibility to the basketball team and coach O for that. I'm sorry. We need coaches who challenge our children and prepare them for life beyond sports. I urge you to think carefully about this decision, not just for this current team, but for every future player and family who will come through this program. I appeal to the board to make an independent and principled decision rooted in fairness, transparency, and long-term commitment to these young student athletes. Please don't allow a narrow narrative to outweigh the broader impact Coacho has had on
071this program and these girls. If this board is truly committed to fairness, trust, and the long-term health of Mountain Lakes basketball, then I strongly believe Coach O deserves to continue leading this program and should be reinstated as a head varsity coach. Thank you. >> Thank you. >> Good evening everybody. You heard various perspectives tonight. Oh, I'm sorry. Address >> Ryan Klein. Ryan Klein. Six Center Drive. Um >> uh tonight you've heard students speak, you've heard former superintendent speak, you're going to hear a lot more parents speak. I want to offer this the perspective from a former board of education member as well as a school district uh employee my whole life. Um before we moved to Mountain Lakes about 7 years ago, I was on the board of education in a larger district, very political
072district. I understand that your guys' job sucks. It absolutely sucks. I apologize for that. I was there. I will say that it's a lot easier on this side. So, um, you know, I'm going to speak I'm going to speak freely. Um, you know, as a board of education member, um, you know, in conjunction with being a behav a district behaviorist, a school psychologist, and then a school, uh, school administrator for the last 15 years, oversee a lot of people and a lot of, uh, you know, and and a lot of, uh, personnel. Uh, I also know I know very very profoundly the roles of of a of a board of ed member. You guys don't run the school districts, right? You you oversee you oversee policy. You oversee finance, you hire the superintendent, we let
073the administrators, which would be myself, um, you know, really run the school, but you do have a responsibility to ask certain questions. In situations like this and small and small committee, that question would be, you know, when when it comes up time for the rehiring of of personnel, was progressive discipline measures, were they were they utilized? You know, that's something that I I would definitely as a board member ask ask that question. You know, when we look at the whole the whole of the coach, we're progressive discipline measures uh employed in this situation when it comes to time to rehire because any instructional leader worth their salary knows exactly um you know that our job as as administrators is to really is to grow and we have a firstear coach here who may have may
074have gotten hot may have may have said something but I think when you hear everybody's perspective you you clearly will know that that doesn't speak to the whole to the whole event. people are entitled to some mistakes as long as they're not egregious, you know, we we move on and and we grow as administrators. So, as as board of ed members and I was there, and I'm not saying to do it in close session, but you know, in in small committee, I would ask that question when it comes time because, you know, I I I think when you look at the whole picture, you'll you'll come to terms with the fact that we have a good coach here. She's done amazing things and uh and she should be given another shot. And thanks for your
075Thank you. >> THANK YOU. UH SHARON SEDTER, 826 Bhutan Avenue. Um my husband Bob and I uh have raised four daughters in this district. We have been a part of 40 sports seasons here and our girls have experienced the full spectrum of what what high school athletics can be, the good, the bad, and unfortunately the unacceptable. Across those years, my daughters and many others endured transgressions by coaches, including injuries that were not just accidental, but at times intentional. We did not run to administrators. We did not demand special treatment. We encouraged them to have direct communication, and when necessary, we spoke up. Our prior basketball coach, who who was here for six years, did irreparable damage to the girls and the program. Not only did she focus on six or seven players, she instructed all
076of my girls and many others not to shoot because they weren't shooters. She told my older daughter she needed to lose weight because she was too slow. And on the first day of practice, she remarked to my then freshman daughter that her shorts were too short and was she trying to impress impress the boys with her butt. We didn't file a HI because it wasn't harassment, intimidation, or bullying. It was just hurtful behavior and bad coaching. Instead of filing a HIP, all four of my daughters personally met with the prior coach at different times and shared their concerns. I personally met with the coach and offered feedback. After four years of concerns going unheard, I went to the AD with a list of 39 athletes who quit the program over her tenure. Other parents also
077went to the AD. We were promised interviews and corrective action, but not only did nothing happen, our concerns never even made it past the AD. They died on his desk. That is not oversight. That is not miscommunication. That is administrative gatekeeping. We trusted the system and the system failed us. Last year, a new parent came in and bypassed the AD. And only then did the administration act. And sadly, I suspect they acted not because they suddenly cared about the girls or the basketball program, but because they finally realized the liability created by ignoring years of documented complaints. Now, a season later, the administration is again failing us, but with the opposite extreme. Action didn't occur when it should have, and now, when change shouldn't occur, it is being done so impulsively, reflexively, and egregiously. A
078small group of disgruntled parents was allowed to bypass healthy communication and go straight to the same ad and administration who ignored legitimate concerns for six years. >> 30 seconds. >> And suddenly they acted with urgency. Personal agendas were allowed to dictate decisions and players were only interviewed if they supported the predetermined narrative. This is not just unprofessional. It's a breach of trust and ethics. You should be ashamed of how this was handled. Every level of leadership failed these athletes and the parents who filed this failed their own children by teaching them that when you don't get what you want, you eliminate the obstacle instead of speaking up or working harder. I appeal to you to not collude with what is going on here. If you are truly representatives of the community and are committed to
079being fair, honest, and trustworthy and are invested in this group of girls and the ones to come, you will rehire CoachM. I got to go, but I just want to excuse myself everyone. I'm so sorry I have to excuse myself. I regret that I have to leave. Apologize to the board and everybody, but thank you all for being here. I'm sorry I can't listen to everybody. >> Thank you, Dr. >> Have a good night, everybody. >> Good night. >> Hi, Erin Frederick, 10 Lafayette Avenue, Morristown, New Jersey. Um, good evening. My name is Aaron Frederick and this past year I had the privilege of serving as the varsity assistant coach for the girls basketball program. I joined this staff intentionally on a volunteer basis because I deeply believed in what coach Meg stood for and
080the type of young women she was trying to develop. Meg coached me for three years at Drew University. She helped me not only become a 1300 point scorer, but more importantly a confident, resilient, and accountable person. She taught me discipline, leadership, and how to say and do the right things even when it may be uncomfortable. That experience changed my life and it is the reason I chose to give back to this program alongside Meg. I volunteered my time while also working a full-time job because I believe this program should be about something bigger than basketball. And honestly, after watching everything that has transpired, I am deeply disappointed and disgusted by what this process has turned into. What concerns me most is the message being sent to young athletes. We are teaching kids that accountability and
081being challenged are somehow harmful instead of necessary parts of growth. And even more concerning, we are teaching them that truth can be manipulated when it becomes inconvenient. I was present for everything this season, practices, games, teams, events, conversations, and day-to-day interactions within this program. Based on that firsthand experience, what is being presented here does not reflect the reality I observed. Many of these players trusted me, confided in me, and spoke openly with me throughout the season, which gave me an even deeper perspective on the environment within this program. Coach Meg was demanding and structured, but she also built genuine relationships with these players. She joked with them, celebrated with them, and created connection within the program. What is difficult to understand is how moments that were clearly joking and team bonding are now being selectively
082taken out of context and reframed negatively after the fact. This team experienced success both on and off the court, culminating in a sectional state championship. Teams do not achieve that kind of success without trust, commitment, and strong leadership. What I witnessed was a coach who cared deeply about her players and pushed them because she believed in their potential. That kind of coaching is not harmful. It is valuable and has impacted me and many others in numerous ways. Because when strong leadership is punished, when accountability is portrayed as cruelty, and when narratives become more important than truth, we are failing these athletes far more beyond basketball. >> 30 seconds. >> It should not matter who you are, who you work for, how much money you make, or how talented you may be. No one should be
083able to distort the truth or jeopardize someone's reputation simply because it does not align with what they want or think they deserve. And if Mountain Lakes is the kind of environment that allows that to happen, then that is truly unfortunate. And at the bare minimum, I hope to teach the girls that standing up for the truth, what's right, and the people you love and respect is important. I stand firmly by what I witnessed this season and I urge this board to ground its decision in facts and fairness, not in a narrative that so deeply misrepresents both this pro program and the people who dedicated themselves to it. Thank you. >> Thank you. Is there anyone else that would like to speak at this time? >> Yeah. >> Okay. >> Kent Ashley, 63 Laurel Hill Road.
084Uh, good evening everyone. Uh, first off, I just want to say how how proud I am. Stop laughing. How proud I am of these girls. Sincerely, like for you to have the the courage and the character and the intestinal fortitude given the circumstances to get up here and say what you said. Couldn't be more proud of you. So, thank you for that. Um, I had a speech planned, but I started taking some notes when people were talking, when the girls were talking. Okay. um themes, descriptors of co that came up repeatedly. She built my confidence. She was inclusive. She really cared. She made me feel valued as a person. She made me feel seen. Do those sound like descriptors or themes of a coach who should be fired? Not to me. Those actually sound like
085qualities and characteristics of a coach that I want my daughter to play for. um and just be around for a long time. Okay. Uh so I thought that was notable. Um for my daughter Marcela, I'll hit on the confidence piece. I remember when she came home from tryyouts, um she told me, "Dad, I made varsity right as a freshman. That's pretty good." But then the next thing she said was, "Dad, I'm I'm scared. I'm nervous. I don't I don't think I can do it. The other girls are bigger. They're stronger. They're older. They play more basketball." But she said, "Coach Joe looked at me and she told me I believe in you. I'm proud of you. You can do this." Then she gave her a hug. She didn't have to. She just did. That's just
086how she is. That's who she is. And from that moment on, I can't put into words or overstate the benefit and confidence in the positive impact that Coach Oo had on my daughter. She went from someone that was nervous, I can't do, she mentioned this in her speech, the club team or the AU, I can't do it. I'm just I'm just not as good. To someone that said, "Dad, I think I can do this." To someone that said, "Dad, I can do this." And she did it. And it wasn't just by circumstance. It wasn't just by words. That's how Coach O made her feel. That's what a lot of the girls said tonight that she has a a way about her of making you feel something. It's not always what you say, it's how you
087make people feel. And she's very good at that. It's a specialty of hers. And it's really benefited my daughter. It wasn't always easy. At times early on in the season for some of the younger players, it was a little clunky. They turn the ball over, they'd get beat to the basket, they'd miss a shot. But what Coach never did, she never pulled them from the game and benched them. She kept them in there to deal with adversity. She coached them. She gave them encouragement. Something that not a lot of coaches do. Certainly don't do well, but Coach O certainly does. And I can't tell you how invaluable that is for these girls and how special it is to have a coach that coaches like that. I think it would be a grave injustice and a
088disservice to these girls to not have her return. And I appeal to you to reconsider your decision on bringing Coachel back. Thank you. >> Thank you. >> My name is Keith Bednar. I live at 78 Rockaway Drive, Bin, New Jersey. My daughter Sienna. This administration has failed my daughter her freshman year by what they did with the coaching. I went through this. I had to go above and beyond to get them to requalify to look at the coach that they have known about that has not been good. When's the last time this Mountain Lakes team has had a player that played basketball? My daughter plays basketball. who was at from the administration at the state section finals when these parents won an admin that works here was yelling at the coach. How does on Thursday,
089the first day after the game by the following to uh Thursday, Meg's not allowed to have it inside job? How does an administrator know already that we're already going to let the in five business days that this person could get all the way to where beg can't even have the team meeting. We have no banquet. Two months have gone by. 10 days it should take for a for a hip. Where are we? Two months. Where is this? This is administration. Two of the parents that are involved in this. One is a teacher here or works for the for the Mountain Lakes Board of Education is the driver on this. Why has it gotten this far? Because she's inside. How did it get this far? How? Right. Like that. Because she knows the administration. Now, two
090of the students were caught cheating in a test that had to be retaken. Now, let me ask you, would if they're cheating and their parents know they cheated, >> would they be willing to lie? >> I'm so sorry. We're going to ask that you don't talk about specific students. >> Students, yeah, we just >> And we're stopping your time, but if we could not talk about students, I understand it's your three minutes, but that's something that we ask that you don't do. >> That's the only thing we That's the >> par. Yep. Let's just keep it on the basketball. >> How much more time do I have? >> Uh, a minute. >> Okay. >> We stopped the clock though. >> You stopped it. I hope >> we did. We did. >> We stopped. >> Thank
091you. >> My biggest problem is where this is what had this is done. We finally get a coach here that allows freshmen to play. Like Kent said, his daughter got to play freshman. My daughter was told by last year, "Hey honey," by Joanne Smith, "We don't we don't you we don't play freshman here. You're only a f you're you know." So, let me ask you, how come all these things were left on the desk and the board of education has never heard about this administration right there? Administration. It is >> seconds. This is never this. The problem is not the board of education. The thing is now the board of education is finally going to hear the people and this is a problem. How this could we could have what does the administration care about
092girls basketball? We still haven't had a banquet. I sent an email saying this. Have anybody responded to me? No. So what do they care? If this was Mountain Lakes lacrosse, Mountain Lakes football, this would never be going on. Never. That's all I got. Thank you. Hi, my name is Jen Takis. I live at 52 Valley Road. Excuse me. I stand here as a former coach in M in the Mountain Lake School District for over 20 years. While most of my time is spent coaching lacrosse, I did coach basketball as well for eight years. I assisted coach Kell, a winning coach of 500 plus games and played for him at Mountain Lakes High School as well. I know the game well as I played in college and I can honestly say that this basketball season was
093the first time in a long time that I looked forward to catching a game and watching the team play. The vibe, the energy in the gym when the kids took the floor was really exciting. The kids played hard and with intensity. There were high fives from player to player, coach to player, and even us fans in the stands. There were smiles during successful plays and even kids not on the court were jumping up with enthusiasm throughout the game and excited for the success of their teammates on the floor. The stands were packed and there was a very good vibe. That atmosphere was created by a leader. Coach O was that leader. She brought in coach Kill to meet the team and talk to the success, excuse me, talk about the success of the program in
094the past and how they could get back there. I watched her bring all the parents to stand and take a picture with their kids at the with the STE state sectional championship trophy after that huge win. Those little things show her wanting to take the program to the next level and make it a family. She got her kids to buy into what she was looking to create in order for the team to be successful and successful they were. To win a sectional championship title in her first year coaching is quite impressive. I stand here tonight to show my support for coach. My own daughters have attended and will continue to attend her camp as they look forward to it every summer. They love her and her enthusiasm for the game. Meg is a great person
095and a great coach. I truly hope that when my daughters are older, they will be able to play for her and grow as athletes and young women under her guidance. Thank you. Thank you. >> Hi, my name is Stevie Bledo. live at 318 Claremont A in Montlair. Um I'm a health and PE teacher at West Orange High School and I've been coaching high school sports for the last six years. This year I was the JV coach um for the Mountain Lake girls basketball with Coach Meg. Um when I first interviewed for the position, I knew I wanted to work with Coach Me. I'll be so honest. I knew nothing about her other than she w um coached basketball previously. and she instantly made me feel so comfortable. She asked questions. She wanted to get to
096know me as a p as a person and not just as someone who would be working with for like 2 months, more like 4 months. Um, and that alone just made me want to be in this opportunity with her. Um, I have this whole big long speech written, but I think what the girl said really speaks volumes. Um, I personally felt the exact same way of how all of these girls feel under coach Meg. And I think that that alone, like they are the reason why we're here. This is why we do it and that matters the most. So they I feel the same way that they feel about coach Meg and she I I will be wherever she will be hopefully. So thank you. Thank you. Good evening. My name is Jessica Esteno, Six
097Center Drive. Thank you for the to the board for the opportunity to speak. I'm here as a parent who has seen two daughters through the basketball program. My older daughter, Abby, played for Joanne Smith for four years and graduated in 2023. My younger daughter, Tha, will be a senior next year. She played for Coach Smith for two years and just completed one year under Coach O. I also speak to you today as a college professor, someone who spends an enormous amount of time with young adults, as a lifelong athlete myself, someone who played sports in high school and college, and who knows the joys and the intensity. I'm here as someone who has known many coaches over many years across multiple sports. Indeed, I was raised by a basketball coach. I grew up in gyms,
098surrounded by the culture of coaches and players. There's something to be said for institutional memory. It's worth noting when it comes to the girls high school basketball program that those who've just arrived, who have just had their very first year in the high school under coach O lack institutional memory. While I do not want to spend my limited time recounting years past, it must be said those of us who've been around a while, who've seen older children through this program were are very happy to have started a fresh era. Coach O brought a new perspective, new energy, studied knowledge of the game and a new way of relating to our kids. Most importantly, my kid was energized and hopeful. What happened next was an honest mix. We watched the kids grow as a team. We
099had some real successes on the court. We saw the human growing pains of a new community, new coach, returning players, and some new players, too. Learning what it means to be a unit. I think it's reasonable to expect there were moments of intensity and frustration as well as moments of pride and connection. I don't expect our new coach was perfect, but I do expect us to give grace to allow for correction, group discussion and reflection, mentoring and reassessment. On behalf of all the kids and parents who've turned out tonight, I ask that the board allow for the rehire of coach for a second year with some room for humanity and growth. Thank you. Thank you. My name is Kelly McCormack. I live at 74 Kennallorth Road. I serve on the zoning board in town, so
100I understand the time and responsibility with that comes with public service. So, I generally thank you all for your time tonight. Becca Horowitz is my daughter. She was a captain on this year's basketball team. I want to talk about expectations, double standards, and what I think good coaching looks like. I was a high school varsity athlete who was recruited to play basketball in college. I've experienced good and bad coaching both personally and now as a parent of two teens playing basketball and lacrosse. I expect good coaches to be committed to their players, to hold them to high standards that help them to become strong young adults, good teammates, good humans, and to show them what it means to be accountable. As we've heard from a lot of others tonight, this is what I know that
101the administration and the parents in town see and very much celebrate with that in coach Flynn and Coach Fusco as they lead their respective boys teams here. Good coaches teach young people how to contribute to something bigger than themselves. Focus on the team instead of the individual player. I think Coach O embodied these expectations unlike any other Mount Lakes girls high school coaches that I personally witnessed here in the last several years after coach Topacis retired. She showed up for these girls in a way that mirrors how coaches Flynn and Coach Fusco show up for their boys programs. Coach O played a deep bench 15 or more players in many of the varsity games, not just six or seven like the previous coach. She wanted enthusiasm from the bench. She required JV players to dress
102for varsity games and she actually watched the JV games and cheered and coached from behind that JV bench unlike some of the other girls varsity coaches I've seen here in the last few years and that really matters to the girls. She built a culture where girls interacted outside their clicks became true teammates and friends and supported one another. She even went to some of the middle school girls travel games on several Friday nights at the Craig school to cheer them on, calling them out by name, which I thought was pretty great. So, why do we have such an aversion to to demanding this level of accountability from our young women when we are so comfortable expecting it from our our young men? There's a lot of families here tonight. You heard a lot of people
103from the community to to support this coach. That is not a coincidence. That is a testament. Some of you on the board know me. Um, and I you know that I have no room for BS. My senior kid couldn't even play most of the season and won't be here next year, but I'm here. So, I just feel that's important uh to be here. This is my first ever zoning board or school board I've been to. I normally stay in my lane on the zoning board. So, just wanted to come and support. So, my ask to this board is simple. Please don't dismiss a coach who did her job really well, far better than her predecessor. I am sure she made mistakes. If there were concerns, they should have been addressed directly with her. That's what
104performance management looks in the professional setting that I'm in. Give feedback. Give the opportunity to respond and address the hurt concerns. Make a decision based on the full picture. I don't believe that's what happened here. As Dr. Sutter said earlier, I'm asking the board to satisfy itself that pro that that correct process actually occurred. Listen to all that showed up here today and rehire coach. Thank you. Good evening. Um my name is Andrew Galloway at 98 Oak Road. I've been coaching youth sports and basketball for over 12 years. uh eight of those last 12 years have been in Mountain Lakes Boon Township. I'm currently the coach of a youth travel team of the sixth grade girls. Um so the program is very very near and dear to me um as far as building a pipeline
105to the high school. Uh over the years many of our girls both my girls grade and uh above you know year or two above and below have been attending coach u Meg's camp over in Dville run by her and her father. Every kid who attends that camp absolutely loves Coach Meg. Um, and through those camps, I've gotten to know Coach Meg. And especially since she became the varsity coach this year, I got to know her even more. Um, I know her as a person of integrity, of passion, of commitment, not only as a coach, but a local business owner, someone who really genuinely cares about young athletes. Um, I heard about the current situation that has brought us all here tonight. I'm not going to focus on the accusations themselves. Instead, I want to ask
106a bigger question. Uh what are we teaching our kids if the response to a conflict or adversity is to point fingers, place blame, um and you know, try to get somebody fired. Uh you what what happened to communication? what happened is sitting down with a coach and expressing concerns and working through difficult situations and teaching our kids to meet things head-on. Um, that's the reason why I have I didn't know it when I was younger, but that's why when I'm an adult, that's why I have my kids in sports. Um, you know, we want them to we want to teach them resilience to overcome adversity, uh, to deal with difficult situations and people and difficult moments in a healthy, productive way. Those of us who played sports, whether it's middle school, high school, or college,
107all have had coaches that push us hard. Some were demanding. Some said things that we didn't always like hearing. So, I'm not here to excuse or condone any type of inappropriate behavior from anyone. But I I will say this, coaching is not easy at the youth high school level. It's extremely difficult. It requires countless hours, emotional investment, and sacrifice, often for little or no money at all. Coach Meg has brought a level of basketball knowledge and structure and commitment to this girl's program we haven't seen ever. More importantly, she's invested in the future of the program. >> 30 seconds. >> She's come to my youth travel games without even me asking. She asked for the schedule. She just shows up. She's constantly working with the youth. Is she perfect? Probably not. But we're on a
108very slippery slope as a community. If we decide that one difficult situation should end a career and reputation, if we fire our coaches every time a conflict arise, no one's going to want to coach in this town. I truly believe that if you give Coach Meg the opportunity to come back, she's going to learn from this experience. She's going to work harder and she's going to create even a better environment. I respectfully ask the board to give her that opportunity. Thank you. Hi everyone, Michelle Lopolis to Eagle Rock Drive. My daughter Dylan was unable to be here tonight, so she asked that I come and speak on her behalf. She is a junior. She played on the varsity team and she played her freshman and sophomore year under Coach Smith. She noticed a dramatic change
109this year when Coach O joined the team. This year, Coach O placed a big emphasis on team, building on teamwork, on the value of playing as a team versus highlighting just individual players. And that really impacted Dylan as as a player. Um, Dylan also noticed and felt that there was an important um um an important lesson learned during practice when coach O created separate drills for each of the different positions and for each player. So that way each player can grow as an athlete based on their individual needs and direction. Um she was very disappointed. Dylan was disappointed that they did not have the banquet. Um that there was not an end of a year party or the team meeting. Um she felt that it was important that the that the athletes have closure. She
110thinks that um um they that coach O put in a ton of work studying all of the plays, watching the videos, talking to the athletes, and really getting to know them as a team. from a parents perspective, you know, sitting there on the sidelines watching them grow as a team and seeing, you know, there were pitfalls in the beginning and coach O even said that at the first parent meeting that we are going to lose in the beginning. We need to grow as a team and that's exactly what happened. you could see the team building throughout each game and as the season went on and then they got to and won sectionals. So, there is value in everything that Coach O put into the team. And if you hear all of these people, they're all
111speaking along the same theme. And yes, not everybody is perfect. And yes, people make mistakes, but we need to allow people the grace to learn from their mistakes and give them the opportunity to become a better coach. So, I and my daughter Dylan >> would ask that you reconsider and rehire coach out for next year. Thank you. >> Uh hello, my name is Joey Sluck. I'm a virtual lane. Um I didn't really prepare anything but after hearing what everyone has said uh about the positive impact that coach Joe has made I felt I should u I just want to start off by saying that board of me educators are uh volunteers and are not paid correct >> okay so testify brother I do I do I do a follow that back and forth this is
112correct >> yeah I do a follow up for that saying that um there's many reasons why you guys want to do and I believe that you guys want to properly represent the community parents students and make a positive impact act. I believe that's something that Coach O has done in her short time here. She's not doing it for the money. Uh she probably makes $5 an hour with how much she does and how involved she is with the younger community and the high school. Um as someone who's a basketball captain here, you could definitely see the environment that she's created. When any one of them makes a shot, gets an assist, makes a steal, you always see them point at each other or they're clapping. someone makes a three, their whole bench is doing celebrations,
113somehow not going to get tactical for it. But you could just see how much she has done in this community for such a short period. Um, that was something that you would never see with the previous coaches here. They were told, "Just give the ball to one player. You guys have no confidence. Let her run the show." They had 10, 15 players all confident making the right passes, decisions, steals, reads. And as someone who was a volunteer high school coach this past winter, you could definitely see what she was able to do in such a short time. All her all the parents were involved. You see photographers, video videographers at her games cuz she was able to get them there. Uh just everything that she did was seemed so positive. And as someone who's a
114three sport athlete here uh under Fusco, Buke, and Flynn, they have said a lot of things to me. A lot of things I didn't want to hear. But that's how I grew as a player. If someone's not hard on you, how are you ever going to be pushed to grow and improve as a person? And I believe that she has done that in the correct standards and making sure that every player was able to be their best at the end of the season. And everyone's talked about what type of culture she has built. I just want to say that as a volunteer coach, no one's really even talked about her success on the court. She had 19 wins in her first season. three of her losses were to sectional champions and every team that she
115lost to this year were in the playoffs and at least participated in a game. That's an amazing feature just on the court. So, I just want to say that um I think you guys should definitely reconsider your decision and honestly I don't think you will find anyone better than her especially what she has been able to produce in such a short time. So, thank you. >> Thank you. Hello, my name is Sam Harowitz. I live at 74 Kennallworth Road. My daughter Becker is a senior. I understand that there have been a lot of comments around the basketball coach and the girls athletic program. This evening, I'm here to ask about process and supervision because what I've observed raised serious questions about this ad how this administration handles personnel decisions and how this board oversees that
116process. Here's my understanding. When concerns were raised about any coach, whatever their merit, the question I'd ask of was whether the response was proportionate, structured, and consistent. Were all the stakeholders given an opportunity to be heard. Was there a defined threshold for what level of concern triggers a dismissal investigation? Does that standard even exist anywhere in writing? Last year, I raised concerns with this administration about a different coach and different circumstances involving my daughter's experience as a student athlete. I was told by the administration that these issues here are handled on a case-bycase basis. I understand that intent, but case by case without a defined framework isn't flexibility. It's discretion without accountability. It means the standard shifts depending on who is complaining and what is being complained about. To be clear, despite my frustration, I
117never called for that coach's dismissal. I wanted consistent standards and clear communication. I didn't get it then and what I'm watching now suggests the same absence of structure is driving a decision of much greater consequence. Now, let me talk about supervision. If this coach was genuinely mistreating players, the athletic director should not have been surprised to learn that supervision means presence, engagement, and follow-up, not just attendance at games. When my daughter was frustrated with her situation on another high school team last year, my wife and I encouraged her to advocate for herself. We suggested she speak with the athletic director and ask for guidance. He told her to approach the coach and ask what she could do to earn more time on the field. He didn't follow up. He didn't inquire. That was the last
118we heard of it. He attended every home game and remained uninvolved. So, I'd asked the board to consider this. If the concerns that led to this investigation were valid, the athletic director was either unaware, which means he wasn't supervising, or he was aware and took no corrective action during the season. A dismissal investigation should be a last resort, not a first response. Where was the intervention? Where was the course correction? This is a small school, less than,600 students or 66 600 students and a faculty and staff that everyone knows by name. A personnel situation of this magnitude should never reach this stage or come as a surprise to anybody in this building. After the season ended, the athletic director called players into his office individually without advanced notice to ask them questions as part of
119a formal investigation about the coach. >> 30 seconds. >> Some of those students parents were never informed their children had been interviewed. I found out because my daughter told me. I then told other parents they went home and asked their own kids. I want to be precise about what I'm saying. These are minors. They were interviewed without parental notification as part of what appears to be an investigation that has now led to a dismissal decision. And the interview with my daughter was conducted with another one of her teammates in the room waiting for her turn. That is not a minor procedural gap. That is an investigation that would not survive scrutiny in any professional context, particularly one with consequences as serious as this. The >> Sorry, do you want to finish your thought? >> Finish
120your sentence. Yeah, that's fine. >> The board's job is not to ratify the administration what the administration recommends. It is to ensure that decisions of this magnitude are made through a process that is fair, documented, and defensible. Are you comfortable saying that this process met those criteria? Because it certainly doesn't appear that way from the outside. >> Thank you. >> I'm just the timekeeper and the messenger of time. Apologies. >> Hi, Linda Petraelli, three uh 300 Colola Road. Um, good evening board members. I am speaking tonight not only as a parent but also as a board member of the junior Laker basketball program here in Mountain Lakes since 2018. In all my years involved in this program, Coach Me is the first and only high school coach who has ever come to a junior board
121meeting when asked. We have asked in previous years. Nobody has ever showed up to anything. She came to the board meeting. She gave suggestions. She wants to be a part of the community. She I also am the head coach of the girls eighth grade team, which they're here tonight in support of Meg. Now, with this being said, she came to our games. She knows my eighth grade girls. I say mine cuz I've had them since kindergarten. She knows their names. She goes up to them after the games, gives them support, talks to them. Unheard of. I mean, 2018 I have been on that board. No one has ever come to any board meeting when asked. She was asked once and came and came to the Brier Cliff RVs game, talked to the kids after the
122game also. Both teams went to the seventh grade games, talked to the girls, came to the practices. She needs to be here. She needs to build the program to what we all want it to be. She is an outstanding coach. I have coached for many years. No one a basketball season. We know it's the longest season. It is the long girls. It's the longest season. And to dedicate your time that willingly, that long, you don't get that. You don't. It's hard. It's hard. I do it. It's hard. But for someone like me to be dismissed like that, everybody gets a second chance. Everybody gets to be talked to. The kids who who get in trouble at school, they also get talked to and get to do it again. Why are are we as board members,
123as adults, as teachers, as parents, we all make mistakes whether she made them or not, whether we believe them or not, it doesn't matter. >> 30 seconds. >> She needs you. You need to respectfully ask the board to please consider rehiring Coach Meg. you will have a disservice to these girls. Empowerment, we know if you have daughters, is so important in today's times. We want our women to be strong. We want our girls to be strong. And she is right there. We'll never turn her back on any of them. Even if the girls who made this assumption, if they come back next year, I know in my heart she will never never hold anything against them ever. I know that. So, um I just want you to reconsider her. She's amazing. Thank you. >> Hi,
124I'm Donna Ross. Um 24 Crestfield Road in Bhuton Township. I'm here to speak in favor of Coach Me Olinowski being rehired as the girls basketball coach at Mountain Lakes High School for next year. Between my two girls, this is our seventh season watching Mountain Lakes girls basketball. And by far, it was the best season. I'm not talking about the fact that they were division one state champions or did well in their conference. I'm not here to talk about points scored or statistics that you could read about. I'm here to talk about a season with a dedicated, generous, and knowledgeable coach. Coach Olinowski saw a team that needed help with skills development, but also in team bonding and team spirit. And she helped create a team culture. She came into a broken program and the season
125and she came into the season with knowledge of the game, but also with goals and aspirations for a great season. She generously gave her time, shared her knowledge, and developed skills with individual players and the team as a whole. She provided opportunities for players of all grades to shine on the court during JV and some varsity games as well. This was not the case in previous years. Some players were told, and I quote, I play my seniors on varsity. So, we have freshman playing. It's amazing. This was truly the best basketball season for my daughter Carly, a junior who almost gave up the sport completely after her last two seasons with the previous coach who actually told her to start lifting because she was skinny and to not shoot because she can't make the shot.
126Coach Olanowski helped build her confidence back up and helped her overcome frustrations and struggles from her previous years. She accepted her as the player she was and helped her become a much better player and teammate. It was an enjoyable season with opportunities for improvement. I'd like to share a quote from a coach, Tom Landry. Just something I read I liked. A coach is someone who tells you what you don't want to hear. Who has you see what you don't want to see so you can be who you have always known you could be. While coach Meg may have told it like it is, not sugarcoating and possibly using some choice words, she helped improve the team tremendously and worked to establish an inclusive environment for the team with many opportunities for success. I find it
127a shame that they didn't get to celebrate the successes, especially for seniors that are moving on. My daughter was handed her varsity letter, which she worked hard to earn uh by the athletic director. Just handed. Here you go. Good job. So, I would like to thank you for your time. Please consider giving Coach Meg the opportunity to continue on as the basketball coach at Mount Lakes High School. Thank you. >> My name is Pat Bedar, four-seater court. Um, in December 2025, I ran into one of the freshman parents who happens to be one of the parents involved in making accusations against coach Olanowski. I congratulated her on her daughter being part of the starting five on the girls basketball team. During our short conversation, she informed me that some of the freshman parents were not
128happy with the new program. I certainly wasn't getting involved with discussing this with her, but I found it very odd at that time that she would tell be telling me this because she hardly even knew me and not going to a coach or an administrator. Well, the season goes by, four months later we're at and I heard no complaints, no concerns. The girls had, as you well know, a successful season, and I was therefore very shocked after the season ended to hear that a hib was being filed against coach Olanowski by some of these freshman parents. These parents had four months, remember I was spoken to in December about their concerns, to be proactive and reach out to the coach or the AD or the principal, and yet they did nothing. They did send their
129children to practices and games in what they later in March determined to be an unsafe environment for the girls to be in. I am sure these parents would have never spoken a word after the season ended had it not been for an instant incident in which they were found to be devious and they held information about their daughter's possible availability for the state championship game. Not only were the parents sneaky, they asked their daughters to be the same. I cannot believe that parents would cause anxiety for their children instead of teaching them to be honest and forthcoming. My heart truly does go out to these girls. Personally, I think this situation is parent driven and not what is best for their daughters or certainly for the rest of the team. I hope the board of
130education listened carefully to the girls in this room tonight. There was so much spirit, respect, and compassion for Coach Olenowski. It's apparent that you have considered the thoughts of three freshmen and their parents. Now, it's time to consider the thoughts of most of the team and their parents. Thank you very much for your time. Thank you, H. Uh, Heather Sluck ate Birchwood Lane. Um, I'm probably not going to say anything different than you guys have heard from everybody here, but I'm speaking not only as a parent, but as a coach. I actually started coaching Mountain Lakes basketball with Coach Kill and Coach Takis. And um, I really didn't want to like me or her father because we had a huge rivalry with Mars Catholic. But I saw from the get-go how great she was. And
131she's just she's amazing. I have three children, two boys and a and a girl. And you've heard from my boys. They have all played three sports for four years. And let me tell you, I have heard their coaches yell, scream, and yes, at times swear. It's not an attempt to belittle or bully anyone, but to help them grow as men and be prepared for life. This was the first year in Mountain Lakes girls basketball that I have witnessed a coaching staff that is not only knowledgeable about basketball, but also very positive and encouraging during games. I've also witnessed the coach hand out stickers to the youth minutes before a state championship game and trying to grow the program back to the way it used to be. I just I don't believe that a few parents
132should be able to push out a coach who's obviously not here for the paycheck but for the better of our children. And and also I I do remember a few years ago that there was a HIV violation where the field hockey coach was only suspended for two years and she was also rehired for future years. So I would hope that that'd be in consideration and keeping coach Meg because she's just awesome for the program. Thank you. Thank you. Is there anyone else that would like to speak at this time? two games for two years. I'm sorry. >> Okay. Thank you. >> Thank you. >> Is there anyone else that would like to speak at this time? >> Okay. Then I'd like to make a motion that we take a five minute break. >> I would
133like to say one thing. Oh, excuse me. Sorry. I'm sorry, but and I maybe some other board members might. Um I just want to thank all you all of you for coming. Um especially the students. I did hear the parents too. don't worry. But um you know, I'm looking at all the faces that of course I recognize given the age of my daughter and I just really want to say it's great that you all came out and spoke for something that you truly believe in and and the board members have great respect for that. Um, you know, no matter the outcome of anything that we have over the years have had students come in for, we have great respect when you come and speak at that podium, which is nerve-wracking in and of itself. Trust
134me. >> Thank you, Mrs. Parker. I was going to say, sorry, May I just say I was going to say if we could have a recess, but before we did that, I was going to ask if any board member wanted to speak or even Dr. Seagull. Um, why don't I have board members first and then I'll let Dr. Seagull go. But I was getting It's all right. We did that more than once. Mrs. Borman, >> I just wanted to also just tell you guys like I know it takes a lot to get up there to stand up there and to speak your mind, to say what you believe, and to say it with confidence and to say it with clarity. And it's just really refreshing to see students come and speak from a position of
135clarity that's based in reality and facts and not feelings. It really is very important for your future growth and it shows just what you have learned not only in school but from your athletic endeavors that you really have taken those lessons about truth and honesty and and being able to bring it to the public in such a way is it's really refreshing and and we really I really appreciate all of you not studying for your AP tests which is a little annoying but coming out here tonight to um share your thoughts And you know, it it definitely impacts us when kids come. So, thank you guys for coming. And to the parents, we hear you. I I don't want there ever to be a feeling that you're being dismissed or that we don't hear what
136you're saying or or that you can't come up and talk to us in the community. I mean, we're here for you to come and talk to. We You elected us, you know? We're here for you to come and talk to us and to pick up the phone. You all can find me. You know where I am. But I'm just saying like you can always come to us and and share your thoughts about anything like we're your representative. So please don't hesitate to do that. >> Is there any other board member that would like to speak? All right. Any other board member? I'll I'll go at the end. Dr. Seagull, do you have something to say? >> Yeah. So first of all, uh to the AP comment, the night before is not going to do anything.
137It's all the year's preparation. >> Bye. >> Had a good night's sleep. >> Fine. Don't don't don't try to cram. >> He's not a Taipei household like mine. >> Tell that. >> All right. So, you know, this is not a place where we typically have discussion, but I I have to say that I was very um interested and listened very attentive attentively to everybody's comments and questions. And there's a lot of things here that definitely raises questions to a lot of factors related to coaching and athletics. And while some of it, you know, I I I all I admire you entirely for coming out and speaking on behalf of your coach and the program and the history. Those are all things that I believe strongly in. There's also clearly some dissension in the program and
138questions about the process. And what I will say to you is that there is no decision that has been made formally. Uh there was uh we have tabled an agenda item. So there is not going to be a decision tonight. It's not a question about someone who's not going to be hired or or who's going to be hired. That no action has been taken and a lot of the information that you provided tonight um will certainly be taken into consideration. I hope you understand since the word HIV was brought up, we have to follow a certain path timeline for investigation. Uh we're not going to have a discussion or a meeting about it with parents and players or the whole team. Uh there's a lot of other information that came out tonight that speaks to
139the qualities of the coach and the program. All that will be taken into consideration, but no action is going to be taken tonight. Um I do have a lot of respect uh and and real admiration for the players in particular, but also the parents who speak very passionately about, you know, what they believe uh are the state of the program. Um, but there also is some things that we have to work on. Uh, regardless of who's at the helm. Um, there's there's some dissension. There's questions about the process. And I will tell you that as a superintendent, I will make sure that we look to improve in that area in terms of how we run our programs, how we work with coaches, uh, and and parents. And, you know, that was made clear to me
140tonight. So, thank you very much. >> All right. Um, I'll say this before our our break. Um, we're we're one of those families that hangs things on the fridge. We hang lots of signs and sayings on our fridge. And one of my favorites is is a small sign that says people should know where you stand. And what that means is you should have the conviction and the courage to stand up and say what you believe to the students especially tonight. Thank you for that. That's what you did. You came here and you did exactly what we hope we teach you every day from the teachers that we admire so much, our staff members, our administrators, and even our coaches. You stood up and you told us where you stand. So, we mean it when we
141say several board members, our superintendent has said, "We thank you for being here." Families as well, I always say, "Good kids aren't hatched. You do hard work to get them here." So, thank you for that. But honestly, we appreciate that you were here and we heard you. Please know that. All right. At this time, we're going to take a break. So, do we have a first and a second for that? We have Mrs. Foreman and we have Mrs. Parker. >> I'm going exactly now. >> This is just a break. All in favor say I. I. Thanks, everybody. >> All right. If we return to our meeting. >> Yes. >> We need a motion. >> I don't think we do actually. >> To come out of recess. Yes, we do. >> So, move. >> Yes, we
142have. We have first and a second over there with Dr. Hersshfeld and Mrs. Foreman. I'll say I. >> Hi. Thank you. Um, returning now to the presentation. Should we continue with that or do you want to roll it into the superintendent update or should we postpone it to another meeting? What would you like at this time, Dr. Seagull? >> Oh jeez, a lot of pressure. >> Shared presentation. So, I think we do we do have people here. We can make it very brief part of the presentation. Uh we did post for it. We published that that was going to be part of the meeting agenda. >> Thank you very much. >> Good with the slides. She goes very fast with slides. She's very good at that. >> All right. >> I'll I'll get this one.
143Go. >> Let's hope the thing is so late. >> Wait a second. >> My computer. >> You didn't bring your plug. >> No, I didn't bring my plug. >> You know the Jefferson Fisher. >> Not that version. >> Oh gosh. No. Not the hour version. Look at us. >> Oh, wow. >> Oh, there's photos there. >> I mean, can we just pause? That's board swag they're wearing up there. You see that board swag? >> Thank you. All right, >> you guys look adorable. >> Thanks for that. Thanks. >> That was that was um Wednesday. No, Thursday. What? Last week was staff appreciation week. And every day was a theme. We sent out a theme to all the the staff. wear jeans with and every day was a different top and Thursday was matchy matchy day.
144Match your match your person, match your department, match your grade level or match the people you're you work with. So there we are. >> I love that. >> Okay, so let's get started. So we'd like to u do a an overview. We we did provide an update a couple months ago on our progress with the four district goals and today we'd like to return to that and return to it with some outcomes and things that we've made progress on and some evidence and hopefully we could provide some entertaining photos here to keep everybody engaged. So, we've got four goals. Uh Brad, did you want to explain that picture? Mhm. >> So, yeah. So, anything with the herd on it has to be included in in a in a photo, but this is was made with
145our 3D printers. I I believe this was at the middle school. Um, >> Ivon is going to give uh a summary update of our first two goals, and I'm going to give a summary update of our last two goals. The goal two and goal four will have separate presentations in June, too. So goal one revolves around active learning in the classrooms which while we reference small group that also looks uh different in terms of student engagement that revolves around questioning problem solving critical thinking and such and so talking about that there was a lot of work you know across the board across the districts in various disciplines like to highlight some of the work that was done in Wildwood this year we talked a lot about the professional development that was focused on literacy in
146particular Um there was a lot of work there and that's why I'd like to highlight the fact that we had ongoing job embedded professional development and as a reminder of what job embedded professional development means we we had staff developers come to the building um one particular staff developer worked with the K2 staff. The teacher training is a blended model in which the teachers come together and meet with the staff developer for specific learning around small group instruction. And she also modeled that in the classrooms and kind of did like a little fishbowl work in the classrooms. And so teachers learned about conferring models. And that's just a fancy way of saying how to meet with students onetoone in small groups. uh how to build structures for independent reading, small group planning, like how do
147you plan for small groups, what data do you use, what engages students, and what's targeted instruction in small group and what does strategy instruction look like in order to build comprehension reading skills. The three to five teachers worked with their staff developer. They're working with the new units of study and writing. They'll be adop we'll be incorporating the new unit to study and reading come the fall. And the teachers learned immensely from Alicia Luick who's the staff developer for Mossflower. Teachers learned how to gather data for on the spot one-to-one conferring also how to pace their lessons, how to provide independent practice time for students because increased practice time means increased volume in writing and of course that would also mean increase volume in reading and how to provide feedback, meaningful feedback to students on
148their writing in real time. At Brier Cliff, we already have a site visit scheduled on June 1st. We're really excited. teachers, uh, special education and regular education teachers will be coming out that day for a site visit to go see some English language arts instruction revolving around what it looks like in terms of building a different type of instructional framework that increases student engagement and all the things that I just mentioned were going on in Wuawe when it comes to uh, building uh, incorporating models that give students feedback while also meeting with students regularly in small in mathematics. That's not one of our pictures, but I wanted to give an idea of what it means when we use this phrase of building thinking classrooms in the world of mathematics. This is like a trending and
149I want to say it's a trending phrase, but it's not a trending method. It's it's something that people are talking teachers are talking more and more about because there's a lot of evidence in the world of mathematics of how student talk and collaborative work to problem solve is critical to the process of building deep mathematical thinking. And that's just one example of what it looks like. And you what you see there are whiteboards on the board. They're numbered because what they're uh what they're stationed to do is teachers plan intentionally for pods of or groups of students to tackle problems together up at the board and talk through all of the mathematical reasoning that goes behind problem solving. So, it becomes an environment where it moves math away from the I sit and work by
150myself on one one item at a time and hope that I have it right and the teacher will then review it at the board and I'll check my work and it pushes it to a group model where kids are talking and problem solving together. That is the type of student centered instruction that we're looking to build and we've got a lot of momentum. We have teachers who are very interested and we see this already happening in in classrooms that I've seen firsthand at at uh the Briercliffe and then also here at the high school. Some other things revolving goal one our supervisors in terms of an administrative team are our supervisors meet with teachers on a regular basis not just for their department meetings but one-to-one meetings and small group uh common plan common planning
151time meeting in which they are talking about the very things that I just talked about in the pro previous slide. They also facilitated the articulation sessions that took place during the delayed openings. And using our strong evaluation framework, we also as a supervisory team, I meet with them on a monthly basis. We do a case study discussion as we talk through various evidences and common themes and patterns that we see come up through uh meetings that we hold with teachers during evaluation process time. As a full administrative team, I think a lot of the lingering questions and things that we consistently talk about are some of the things that are mentioned in the second bullet. The teams, all of the principles, the supervisors, myself, Brad, we do what's called walkthroughs. And our walkthroughs are informal.
152We and that basically means that we're entering into classrooms very unassuming and not evaluative. We'd like to visit rooms during non-evaluative time so that a we get to be a presence and see uh what's happening in the classroom, get to see how students are reacting to teachers here and see what teaching looks like in every different environment across our district. And so we don't walk around with checklists and clipboards. We like to really see and hear. So, a lot of times we'll come back to the table and talk about, well, what does active engagement look like? Just from the experiences that we've had as we're walking through our classrooms, what does it look like and sound like to see students actively engaged? How can varied response methods increase student participation? And what that means is
153traditionally teachers ask a lot a lot a lot of questions. And that's actually data driven number. Teachers ask questions, students answer questions. What are different ways that teachers can increase student participation so it's not the same students always answering those questions? What are different tools that can be used or methods that can be planned for so that participation in the classroom is 100% all the time? Everyone should speak up during lessons. And there's a researcher, his name is Dylan Williams, and he always says participation is not is mandatory. It's not optional. And that's just a leading researcher who talks about the importance of students speaking up in class because the person that's doing the talking is the person that's doing the learning. And so we talk about what does teacher clarity look and sound like
154during a lesson? and is the learning environment conducive to small groupoup instruction and to collaboration and to critical thinking and to problem solving. So these are questions that are constantly fueling our discussions right around the times where we're conducting our walkthroughs. Moving on to goal two, a little more picture driven feedback on how we've been doing with our goal. And right behind all the STEM learning, we have Mr. Sika who's our newly appointed this year science supervisor of STEM as well and he launched the first annual I'm going to call it annual because this is this was such a a great launch of STEM night and so he did a STEM night for the K to2 students at Wawwood and there were about 40 students who came with their parent either a mom or a
155dad or both and the really neat thing is that it was very well organized Mr. Mr. Sika had a group of high school student volunteers who facilitated all of the learning that took place um that night. And the students ran through sessions. There were three sessions for them. They did hoop ring gliders. You'll see that the picture on the bottom. Everybody's holding up their hoop ring gliders. They did paper cup rockets. As you can see the top picture there. They're making their paper cup rockets. And then the oozobots. I put a circle around the Ozobot. It's a tiny little mechanism. It's a little tiny robot and when the student kind of like a a young way of coding the robot by drawing a picture, it releases the message to the robot to follow the students
156direction. So they had such a blast uh giving, you know, coding directions to their Ozobots. Then the three to five students had their night on April 28th and about 30 students came with their parents and they had three different activities going on also facilitated by high school students. They did Puff Mobile's LED lightup cards. The coolest thing, you know, you go to a Hallmark store and it's like seven, eight, nine, $10 and you open the car and it sings a song or it lights up. Well, they made their own little light up card. Wow. And it was really really well done and very well planned and orchestrated. And then they did some Makey Makey activities. And that's on the top right. A Makey Makey is basically this this this uh oh gosh, how do I
157explain this one? Um it's this mechanism that you plug into the computer and it it provides all these instructions to create this electric energy from the computer to make your thing do something. So it's a various uh activities that the kids got to plug in and plug out to make this mechanism work. So it was a great night of discovery and a lot of fun and a lot of talk and it was great that it was sidebyside learning with their parent. Other things going on with STEM beyond the classroom just some highlights. Our aviation classes have had such a great time uh incorporating guest speakers now from the field into their classes and they had really specialized field trips to Morristown airport and Roxberry's aviation career day which is a really big event across our
158county. And I just want to give a shout out to our aviation teacher Vicky Cornell. She was awarded a scholarship recently from the readiness initiative for safety and education which is called RISE. It's a program to earn her FAA remote pilot certification. Wow. >> So, she'll be completing that this spring. >> Wow. That's cool. >> Really neat. Our computer science teacher or AP computer science teacher is getting ready now since it's coming up on post AP season and she has developed a speaker series and she've got quite a lineup of people in the workforce with all of this background. We have a chemical and biomolelecular engineer, a software engineer, cyber security, uh electrical and computer engineering, aerospace and mechanical engineering, data engineering, analytics, all these different fields that are coming in to talk to the
159students. So, it's really exciting and moving forward with STEM learning. Another thing that Mr. Seika launched this year, which is really neat, is a great way for communication to our community of what's going on in the classroom. So to start, he's got two newsletters a year this this year highlighting the different spaces where STEM learning occurs or perhaps highlighting a teacher or a class or a theme that's been going on. And so on the top right where you see number one, that's a picture of it's just one representation of the really neat innovative uh machinery that's in our high school engineering and design workroom. Picture two, it's hard to see, but that is a teacher bent over in Lake Drive, uh, teaching students how food gets composted, and they're using the pumpkin that they had
160during pumpkin season to do some composting right there at Lake Drive. Picture three, that's a wild little kindergarten class. It's hard to see there, but they are actually conducting an experiment with marshmallows, vinegar, and baking soda, doing a chemical reaction experiment. And >> I want to know what happens when you mix those things. They well it got messy. In picture four you see our little young student there, first grade at Wallwood using engineering and design to build marionets. And then picture five, we have our aviation and aerospace students that are making and testing hot air balloons which ultimately the science experiment there is learning about air density which is important for flight. And then uh next, the other really neat thing that was new this year is Mr. SEA, thanks to the Mountain Lakes and
161Bhin Township MLEF who sponsored the very first aviation club. And so he has been facilitating that aviation club and it started up with about 20 students who signed up, but he's had 15 students attend regularly on a weekly basis. and some of the missions that he has set up there. Picture one is an obstacle course mission. Uh two you see there uh is another mission where that student has to pick up an object while it's moving. In three, the top picture, you see students are actually building a drone from a kit. And then in picture four, there's a guest speaker from Bin Township. His name is Seth Hunter, and he's teaching students about RC planes and his experience as a mechanical engineer. I don't think it's cool. >> So really some some great great uh
162things going on in the world of STEM. >> I'm grabbing the >> more to come on that as M Mr. Seiko will be coming to present to you on June 4 uh 4th June 1st and some of the things that he'll be presenting on. We'll be solidifying our vision statement for STEM. um talking about the K to2 framework that we've been talking about in our STEM think tank about design thinking processes that are you know with continuity across the district redesigning our any spaces for STEM learning across schools and enhancing enriching curricula and resources. more to come. >> It's pretty great. >> Can we get a preview from Mr. >> Three slides? >> Two for goal three, one for goal four. Thank you, Mr. Reesi. That was a very uh comprehensive and helpful explanation for
163a lot of the great work that we're doing, particularly around our learning goals. The second two goals um are not as much connected to the classroom directly more to the community and the staff uh and then to the whole child. So our third goal and I will say uh as a point of um reference for board members uh I believe that this is the goal that we most achieved in terms of meeting our objectives and looking ahead to next year. I think what we've done over the last two years around articulation has built a structure and a culture around collaboration that we could build from. So I'm very pleased with the progress we made. The two slides here, the first slide is our direct uh articulation with RVS and Bin Township. And the second slide
164is devoted to the work uh exclusively with Mountain Lake School District. So just as a reference when we talk about articulation we're talking about the systematic systematic connecting of educational experiences uh across classrooms across below uh across and below. So that is vertical and hor horizontal articulation. And what you see here are some really uh important educational moments and just some fun community moments showing the articulation across the two communities. So to start with, we had three structured formal articulation sessions with RVS this year, starting in the fall with a launch meeting at Brier Cliff uh middle school and Wildwood Elementary School where we had the staff of each grade level and department meet together to start the process of articulation. In November, we had a shared professional day with both districts together that was
165housed here at Mount Lakes. You see the coffee truck on the right uh that we provided and got some support from parent organizations and then you see a lot of examples of the learning that took place which was completely integrated between Mountain Lakes and Bootin Township. Uh there were 42 workshops that were offered to staff on in the November PD day. And then on March 16th we had a half day of curriculum articulation between the two districts that was held at RVS. Um, and that was a really uh good starting point for the more formal articulation where we're looking to have some common practices and curricula uh K to8 but we also had many of our high school teachers participate in the articulation sessions. Aside from that there what it builds this structure is a
166lot of informal articulation. So, it's been reported to us and we've actually supported with release time teachers from both districts meeting together to continue the projects. Uh, and then this is work that we find to be really valuable for both communities and the students of our school. And on the fun side, we did have two family fun days. Uh, the first one was a winter um event which was actually snowing at it was very appropriate held at RVS. We had a a good uh hot chocolate and meeting with the superintendent and then they decided uh last week to put us in a dunk tank. So Mr. Fini wore his suit. Um I did not. Uh maybe he was better for it. So but the the both the first event given the temperature and time of
167year I was still surprised about how many kids and families were there. the one we had with the dunk tank um was also uh but it's a great way for the communities to get together and be social and show our connection >> from the Mount Lake side of things. I think one of the things that we realized we think of articulation across our our our sending district uh Bin Township but what about the great work that we can improve upon in articulation in our own district. So it started off in the beginning of the year and you see from the message that was given at the convocation it was shared between our joint leaderships. Uh that's a practice that carried through across the year where we held uh district advisory council meetings between central office
168the administrative uh leadership MLA and the MLEA. I know they are long gone now, but that work uh proved to be an exa e excellent example of articulation in practice and specifically this year we focused heavily on the work of restorative practices with students and staff. uh and specifically productive disagreement which I think is probably the best example of articulation that we did with a joint faculty meeting uh where we had a restorative circles where we had a follow-up meeting with a presentation by Miss Reesi around Jefferson Fischer's work and some strategies and practices. So when we think of articulation, we think first of curriculum and instruction, but it's also uh how we work together as a group. And from that, we've come up with some common uh communication guidelines for the district, which we're
169going to be happy to share at the end of the year. And then some shared values amongst professionals. In the beginning of the year, we also had articulation and professional development. All staff members had a chance to learn and apply different professional practices to how they do their own learning specifically around professional learning communities that was carried out across the year. We also as you can see here uh some of the work that we did over the summer and planning was to have joint uh faculty meetings between the different schools to ensure that our teachers are working together closely uh as well as with their departments. This year we also saw joint meetings between the child study team and the counseling team where there is a lot of uh convergence of topics and that was
170held uh monthly by our director of of counseling and our director of spe special education and that's across the different buildings and then also with the introduction of a curriculum supervisor or supervisor at Lake Drive we saw a lot more uh articulation of curriculum in Lake Drive program within the program and across into Mountain Lake School District. So that was an area of growth as well. So our fourth goal and the final slide, uh we will have a presentation in June more about this and this is an exploratory goal where we're looking at how could we better serve our students with their social emotional learning needs. Um and that plan does not have a a necessary outcome with a program or or in terms of an adoption of curriculum. So, we went into this year
171very globally looking at what could we what do we need here in Mountain Lake School District and what can serve our our needs. So, it started with the establishment of a committee that was comprised of all of our counselors and our relevant CST members, our school psychologist, social worker, student assistance counselor, our Thrive counselor, and our administration. And they looked at what were the identified needs of our students based upon their social and emotional wellness. And there is consistency which you'll hear about more in June between the areas of social awareness specifically empathy and emotional regulation that is across the board in all three of the schools all three levels. Uh we are gathering data still from Lake Drive. And then the third had to do with the area of grit and resilience uh in
172the academic area and in nonacademic areas. So those were things that came out of our work. more later. We also this year looked uh at five different programs that offer uh varied um resources and approaches to uh incorporating uh strong practices or best practices that are based on evidence in social emotional learning. We did uh adopt earlier in the year the use of panorama education to gather data uh about our students needs and that data will be analyzed and shared at our next board meeting. And then outside of all this work, we made a lot of progress just in staff development and student work. Specifically, we had 45 district staff members who became certified as mental health uh coaches through Thrive Alliance. And that was a 10-month program that our staff did both synchronously and
173asynchronously, some online and some in person. Um, we had a lot of peer leadership growth with our students at all three schools. We uh piloted the rocks program and the building champions program at the middle school. The rocks program was very successful in particular and we started to use it with our fifth grade students. you heard about the wellness summit at the high school and then over the last few weeks um we incorporated uh the fully valued educator professional learning for our Wildwood staff to be able to support some of the needs in improving the culture and relationships in that building. So those that's a summary of what was done this year towards this goal. Uh I think we did cover a lot in a relatively short amount of time. Maybe it wasn't as short
174as everybody wanted, but um I know there was a lot of really important and significant topics that were shared earlier that are going to be addressed and certainly part of the work that we do. But I think it's also important that we hear about the the goal work that was done over the course of the year, you know, to celebrate it, to recognize it, but also to question it and see what we can do better. So, thank you for listening and that's it. Thank you. Do any board members have any comments or questions on that presentation? >> No. It really did represent a lot of good work. Thank you for sharing that and giving us the update. It it may be only a few slides, but it represents hours and hours and hours of leadership
175and collaborative work that drives really good results for our students and our staff. So, thank you for that. All right. Um, moving on to uh the board president report. Just very quickly, let me say, of course, last week was staff appreciation week and so many good things happened throughout our schools as a result of the good work of our administrators and our central office. There was a lot of fun and a lot of gratitude that was shown um to the board and especially I want to say thank you to Mrs. Foreman. We did drop off our contribution to staff appreciation week and got some nice notes back from staff saying they really did appreciate it and it wasn't blue and orange bagels, but there was a lot of other good bagels there. So guys, I
176I think it was really important because we are the very lucky recipients of such good work from our our staff, teachers, staff members, administrators, and our kids are the bene beneficiaries of that. So thank you to everyone for supporting that. >> I'm going to interrupt you really quick. Thank you Joanne especially. You do this every year. You arrange the bagels, you drop off the bagels, and someone may help you or they may not. Sarah, thank you for helping this year. I was not able to do it that morning. It was fun. >> I was at the DMV with a 17-year-old. So, um, but you do it every year and I really appreciate. We all appreciate it. You make us look good. So, thank you. >> And I'm glad the bagels weren't blue and orange because
177I don't know if I >> That's kind of Yeah, it's too often. That's very sweet. But we are a group of 10. A a strong group of 10. Thank you. So, here we go. We move on to superintendent assistant superintendent update. Let's do anything. Okay, we did that. We move on then to how about the school business administrator update. >> Okay, then we move on to approval of minutes. Um, we need a first and a second so that we can hear this. We got Mrs. Foreman over there. We got Mrs. McVy over there. So, we're going to You vote yes. You wrote no, you vote abstain. Okay. So, with regard to April 13th, the regular M minutes, all in favor say I. I. >> Any no. >> Any abstensions? I'll stay. >> Thank you. So
178then for the executive session minutes of April 13th, all say I. >> I. >> Any nos? Any abstensions? >> There we go. Okay. So then we move on to April 27th. All in favor say I. >> I. >> Any no. Any abstension? That was for the regular minutes. And for executive all say I. >> I. >> Any abstensions? Okay. Then we move on to May 5th. There was a special meeting. All say I. >> I. >> Any nos? >> No. >> Any abstensions? >> Okay. We've got three abstensions. Dr. Hersfeld. >> You got it. >> Mr. uh Johnson and Mrs. Parker. >> Thank you very much. Any comments or quest requests from members of the public on agenda items? Well, we let you do it on any item. Any We did We suspended the rule
179tonight. anything from >> any comments I guess is >> anything >> any because we suspended that earlier. So if you would tonight we we we did that. I need to read the disclaimer. All right. So give me just one moment. >> Public comment is set aside for the board to hear feedback and questions from members of the public. The board will take all comments and suggestions from the public into consideration. If you have more than one question, we request that all questions are asked within the time provided. As public comment is not intended for back and forth dialogue. If the board is unable to answer your question in this time, we will explain when and in what format the answers will be communicated. We request that you limit your questions or comments to three minutes
180and present all questions within those three minutes. Please state your name and address for the record. The board appreciates and thanks you for your attendance and participation in our meeting. And again, Mrs. Parker will keep time. Thank you very much. >> Wonderful. Good evening. My name is Joe Oliver. I live at 90 Melrose Road here in Mountain Lakes. I have three sons in the school district. William in the class of 2028, Ryan in the class of 2030, and Benjamin in the class of 2032. As a preliminary matter, um I grew up in New Jersey. I went to Northern Highlands Regional High School. My mother was a member of the board of education for all eight years that me and my siblings were in high school. I remember many late nights of her coming home tired,
181weary, and uh so I thank you for your service to the to the constituents and I thank you for helping the students. I really do. Um I I wanted to be here tonight. I didn't know all that was going on with the girls basketball program, but I am a big basketball fan, so I was interested in listening to what was happening tonight. Um and I just wanted to make one comment. I wanted to be certain that um the very real fact-based and detailed concerns that multiple parents have raised about the boys basketball program are not going away and we have raised these concerns to the athletic director. There have been multiple parents who have raised them and I just want to be certain that the board of education is aware of the fact that there
182are concerns about the boys basketball program that multiple parents have asked the athletic director to address. Thank you very much for your time. >> Thank you. >> Would anyone else like to make a comment at this time? together. >> Thank you very much. Okay, then we will move on. >> Thank you for your >> Thank you for staying. Thank you for raising your concerns. >> Northern I appreciate it. >> That's where I came from. >> I know. >> You two have your moment now. >> I'm a Laker now. >> YOU'RE A LAKER NOW. Here we go. Thank you for being here and thank you for speaking. >> It's like Saddle River. Yes. >> Okay. We get to move on to Are there any communications to share at this time? >> Goes to Northern Highland. >>
183Um, no. >> Okay. Then we move on to the Bhutin Township report. >> One item. At our last meeting, the only action taken was approving the next year's budget. So that's it. >> Budget. >> We like that. Thank you for sharing that with us as always. Okay. Then we can move on to committee and liaison reports. We'll begin with committee reports, please. Are there Mrs. Foreman? Do you have a committee report? I actually do because I just it's facilities. I'm going to >> go right through it. We had a fantastic meeting on May 1st. Um, everybody was actually present which is very exciting. Um, and so we talked about the beautifification projects at Wildwood and Briercliffe and I know for those watching if you're still available, we have started phase one. So there's beautiful flowers
184that are being planted and they are going to live. Ryan, Mr. done is adamant about the new system for keeping things alive. And we're very excited about this first phase of the project because if you've noticed for the past several years, we've been doing a lot of tree work. We've been doing a lot of mulching. There's been different kind of shifts around the buildings just to make them more presentable. I love talking to an audience. It's like really fun. Usually no one's here. Um, and so we have some AI generated photos which I think Ryan said he would be able to give for the website so everybody can see what it's going to look like when everything is all done which is also very exciting and an actual positive use of technology which you know
185who who knew. Um, and so this also is not any additional expense. This was um funding that was already budgeted for over the course of the year. So this is not costing anybody anything additional. Um and Lake Drive and the high school are the next projects after Wildwood and Brier Cliff. And so we're really looking forward to that. Um and so the work on the Lake Drive and high school it because the the different calendars and the summer academy it's a little bit slower than doing the work at Wildwood and Briercliffe. Um and then we the the company that's doing it I just want to mention it's called Manila Landscaping. They're from Wayne. They do a lot of school-based beautifification projects and um they they've done a really nice job. So, I just want to
186shout them out. And also our amazing custodial staff and Mr. Dunn who just runs the project really well. I also wanted to give an update about the vestibules. I mean certain people have heard about the vestibules for many years. Um we have finally moved the ball down the field with the vestibules which is very exciting. We're going out to bid on um bid opening on 527. Um, so we're doing a, as everyone recalls, a prepackaged product. So we will have the vestibul at Lake Drive, the vestibuler cliff, the new little redesign at Wildwood all in one. So three in one. So hopefully we're looking for a favorable bid to come back. Please everyone pray to whatever god you pray to that this happens so we can get this rolling. Um, and we are in a
187really good position by the way for the timing of this bid. Unlike in years past where we were late to bid, we are like in the sweet spot for bidding which is very exciting. Um, and the Wildwood project is the most simple of the three projects and that should be done like if everything goes to plan before school starts in September which is also great. Um, so our new building principal will have his building handed to him all put together. It will be with the flowers with everything. It will be perfect. >> Um, I just have a quick little turf um cleanup project update. Um we are in the process of um moving some things around there. So there's still some debris, for lack of a better word, that's left over from the construction project
188and also because the two containers that sit there have to be relocated. And so we're doing all this at once. And so it it might look a little unsightly for a little while longer, but it's going to be gorgeous when everything is all said and done and all finished. So I just beg of patience from the community regarding the turf finishing. I mean the kids are playing on it and that's the most important thing. So all the stuff that goes around outside of it, whatever. We will we will get it done. It will be good and you won't have to worry about it ever again. Um the refacing of the stairs also to the turf, the new turf field um is being done with treated lumber. It's all going to be repaired. That's that's project
189I think is starting this week. I think Wednesday that starts, but I don't quote me on that. It may be Thursday. Um, and then the last thing I wanted to update is that we had our yearly playground inspections for Lake Drive in Wildwood, which I'm not sure everybody was aware, but this is a very important thing. And we have no issues. >> So, can everybody be excited? Like I said, sun >> the colors. >> Forget the colors. Like, we have no issues. Things are good. Nobody anything. Um, and so our next meeting is actually going to be a field trip. so that everybody can check out the redesign um at Briercliffe. >> Excellent. >> Yes. Very excited. So, anybody have any questions? >> Thank you, Miss Foreman. Any questions there? >> A lot of good
190news. That's >> fantastic. >> Yes. >> All right. What about any other committee reports? How about any liaison reports? >> I have one. I'm sorry. I'm the person. >> Sure. >> Um we have Lakers Sports Club has our I just want to make sure that I have >> cornhole. the cornhole tournament. Thank you, Dr. Herschfeld, for being a sponsor of cornhole tournament. >> Cornhole. No one. No one. >> Dr. Hersel. >> Oh, you're >> okay. Yeah. Look. All right. We got sponsors in the audience. >> What about wealth management? You guys sponsoring? >> Um, hold on. I'm trying to find this. >> We're not plugging this right now. I'm asking. I'm trying to solicit. >> Okay. It's uh 9:00 a.m. on the 31st at the turf. The main turf, not the new turf. Um and
191so we have several there are several sponsorship packages that are available. So um you know if you are gunning to go um before this Thursday if you can please get your sponsorship >> before this Thursday um we have a $500,000$1500 sponsorship level. All have different things that are included including recognition on the t-shirt which everybody loves a t-shirt. Um, and you can email Lakers with an S, sports club, all one word, atgmail if you would like to become a sponsor. But I would really love it if everyone on the board could at least commit to like attending, showing up, supporting it because this is the it's not that many hours. It's it's about it starts at night. >> Yes. Okay. >> Focus on it. It is very important. It is very important that um we
192register some teams to play in the tournament. It would be really nice. It's two-player teams. Obviously, it's cornhole. Um you can just choose to like register and then not play, but you support all the sports if you register and not play. So, please register. Okay, that's it. >> Thank you. No good. Any other questions there? That's fantastic. All right. Then we move on here to the report and recommendation of the business administrator, please. Yes, we have under finance, we have our presentation of bills under number one. Number two, so you're going to see a lot of um items on the agenda. A lot of this is forward thinking for next year. So we have our tuition for non-resident individuals and LEAs, new and returning students um for uh and you can see them listed here
193under district and then separately for Ivy Hall, Wwood, and Briercliffe. Number three, we have uh some travel that is uh for the end of the year into the summer for many of our staff members. Pretty extensive list of end of year travel including a site visit that um ties in with Mr. Reesi's presentation about uh our active learning environment. So that's great. Uh number four, we have the disposition of property uh which includes um some materials that were very outdated here in the library. If anybody has any questions about it, Mr. Sesi and I Mr. Reesi and I oversaw it. Uh Mr. Pausner who conducted this did a very thorough process to review this and um there are a lot of materials in this library that definitely need to go. A lot of it is
194emphasized around non-fiction. Obviously the age of the non-fiction is more relevant than the age of the fiction work that happens under facilities usage. Here these are um several events or programs that are ongoing for the summer and the end of the year under different classes which represents the fee structure. We have um a whole process here for number six, 7, 8, 9 and 10 regarding uh annual mandatory um things that we need to motions that we need to approve that focus on our chart of accounts, how we deal with outstanding checks, which is something that um we did shore up in our process for the auditing. That was one of the points that we had to look at. Our fact signatures, our purchasing manual, which was reviewed last year and made some significant changes, is
195going forward for this year. And then you see below here number 10 all the different individuals who have the ability to do signatures for deposits at each school and at the district level. That's number 10. So again this is all heading into the 2627 year. We have our petty cashache and custodian of funds. Similarly um what you see here at each of the schools in the board office we have the continuing appointment of Mr. Reesei um through the end of the year just in case um we've been as as the board secretary for meetings as as you know we have an interim BA Mr. Brennan who's helping us out but given the fact that he's part-time we want to make sure that we have Mr. on board in case there's any board meetings. And then
196we have number 13, all of the individuals who are assigned to be signatures for um different roles in the district, including some that are not even uh district um uh employees. Number 14, we have our annuity programs that are tax sheltered up for approval, our disability insurance companies. Um and then number 16, the use of our state contracts. And number 17, our cooperative purchasing. And these are all um groups that we typically partner with for these purposes. That goes on to page 10. Number 18, we have our uh annual adoption of our major hardware and software programs that we use that are very integral to the operations of our school. As you know, Canvas just says a little note, seems like they corrected what's going on. We did um Mr. Santos did a real um
197deep questioning of Canvas to ensure that privacy was protected and we seem satisfied at this point with the response that we got. Uh but Canvas is the um is the uh key company out there that is a student management system that we do use here. We also have our website management frontline which where everything is for staff all of our training and evaluations. Genesis which you all know about as a students school messenger which is used to send out uh blast messages to the community and to families and systems 3000 which Greg is the only one that knows how to use that but that's where all of our accounting is held. We have our membership under number 19 for our athletics uh association NJSIA. We have our membership fees and schedules for our athletics programs
198leagues that we participate in. Number 20 under professional services. You see here these are appointment for services that we use. Uh we do have have some professional development here that um Miss Reesi has assigned for leadership training consulting. This is a new contract. We have um our district physician. We have uh support that we get from the county regarding extra evaluations. Um and you see that all the way through that's really 5 through 10. On the back we have additional uh evaluations. So just as a point of reference here up through 13. So our district child study team, our therapists, they cannot nearly conduct all the evaluations that need to happen. So therefore, we have to assign out contractors, consultants to do evaluations. These that does not mean that all these people will be used.
199We just seek their board approval in case we need to use them. >> We have membership here for New Jersey school boards. Strauss Esme, which is our policy manual, really critical factor there. and um the Madison Institute which we are looking to use as a consultant group for strategic planning uh not to exceed 20,000. Uh the initial estimate came closer to 30,000. We're trying to get that number um a little closer to 10,000. So we put not to exceed 20,000. That will be another presentation later to come uh for strategic planning. But this is the meeting where we seek to approve all the different companies. does not mean that we have to use them. It just gives us the right to be able to use all these. Number 22 is our transportation contract. 23 is
200our contract for subscription busing. All this was discussed in finance committee. We have 24, our food service management company that we continue to work with and our food service uh prices. Number 26, our final topic here, which is our out of district placements. And I will say as a point of reference that this is um a greatly reduced number and this doesn't represent all the students because it includes ESY and the full year. So it is separated um but our number of students who are out of district right now um has been greatly reduced and that's a credit to the work that's happening in our district with regard to programs and interventions and services. So that is the whole business side of the agenda. Thank you very much. We need a first and a second
201in order to hear these motions. We have Mrs. Parker and Mrs. McVey. Thank you very much. Any objections to hearing these motions together? >> I just have an objection. I'm sorry to read. >> Yeah. No, I'm going to I want I just want to do it so it's separate. Can we just Can I just make an objection for something that we were going to discuss in the finance meeting tomorrow night that's on here? It's not an objection to like approving a food service company that we were going to discuss the food price, but this is on our agenda for tomorrow for finance. Um, and so I was just I want to object to hearing them all together and just pull that one out just so that we could just either agree to just table it
202until our next meeting just the pricing structure of it and and move on with the rest of everything al together. So I want to just make a motion to move out number 25. >> Second. So you're what you're asking for is a motion to table number 25. Yep. >> We have a second separately or hear it separately completely whatever you want. >> If you take it separate I know I know what you want. So I'm saying motion to table. >> Yeah >> because then it removes it. We can always put it back on. >> Perfect. >> So we have a second to ask to mo to table number 25. Before we vote I just want to clarify with Dr. Seagull by moving that. Does it cause any problems for Okay. So, we have a first,
203we have a second. Would anyone like to have a discussion as to why this should be tabled? >> Roll call, please. This is only to table. You're not voting yes or no on the motion. You're just voting to table. Roll call, please. >> Dr. Don. >> Yeah. >> Miss Foreman. >> Yes. >> Mr. Johnson? >> Yes. >> Uh, Miss McVey? >> Yes. Mrs. Parker. >> Yes. >> Bowskus. >> Yes. >> Dr. Hersel. Sorry. >> Yes. >> You came in late so I had you crossed off and I had my apologies. >> So order. >> We have now tabled motion 25. So I'll re ask the question. Is there any objection to hearing the rest of the motions together? >> Any comments or questions at this time? >> Mr. Johnson. >> Quick question on canvas. Have
204they offered any services? Because like 275 million students and I think teachers data, personal data were stolen. Are they going to provide anything to help with that? Have you heard? >> Doubt it >> that. So I don't know about 275,000 nationwide or globally, right? >> I thought I heard more than >> it was all the colleges. Everything. >> Yeah. So I know that Mr. Santos is working to ensure that none of our students data and privacy was compromised. >> Okay. >> We've been given sort of a high level assurance at that. >> Okay. >> But um I we're going to have to continue to dig on that. >> Okay. >> Good question. >> Can I just also say about this Ken thing? This was this is not like just like a isolated thing. This is
205just like the biggest of the things that have happened with this. So this is on in it's instructure I believe is the company right that runs it. It's on them >> to figure out whatever their problem is and you know it's not on Mr. Santos. I don't want him to feel like >> but he is as the as the IT director doing his diligence to ensure that our community is protected. >> It was 275 million users. It looked it was huge. >> Yeah. >> Any other comments or questions? >> Roll call, please. Dr. Don, >> yes. >> Miss Foreman, >> yes. >> Dr. Hersshfel, >> yes. >> Mr. Johnson, >> yes. >> Miss McVey, >> for all high school items. Sorry. >> Thank you, >> Miss McVey. >> Yes. >> Miss Barker? >> Yes. >>
206Miss Barkowskis? >> Yes. >> Everything motion's passed. Thank you very much. We move on to the report and recommendation of the superintendent, please. No, I thought we just did that. >> Okay. Uh number 27, we have a modification to a custodian who is districtwide who was part-time custodian, part-time uh in in a different capacity in the department is going to full-time custodian. And then we also have a position change for a um a par professional who was mis um labeled as 1.0 should be 0.97. So those are both revisions. We have appointments uh amendments recommendations. We have the appointment of Miss Barrett to the full-time business education teacher. We have the appointment of Mr. Chen to be the high school mathematics teacher. Um, we have a termination of an employee in the grounds department. We
207have the appointment of Miss Joyce to full-time. She was close to full-time as administrative assistant. We have uh an appointment of a Lake Drive staff member who is going to be replacing a retiree at the Lake Drive school. The adjustment here um was there was one digit off on this individual salary number six. Um so that's a correction. We have the appointment of the high school uh nurse CSN. Miss Phillips um who's replacing a retiree. That's all. This is for next year. and the appointment of a leave replacement occupational therapist at Lake Drive who has sign language experience which was pretty much a miracle to find someone. So represented here in the first um eight are a lot of big uh moves in terms of the district reappointing or hiring new people to fill in
208uh where we had gaps heading into next year. So, want to thank the administrative team uh for all the interviews and hiring that went through that process. We also have here the reappoint of a par profofessional in the CST um who's coming back. And we also have the reappoint of a leave replacement who's in for a maternity leave who worked so far at Wildwood for the first part of the year of the of the leave and will continue on until next year for a portion of the year. We have additional compensation for a lot of things going on. Understand that there's a lot of activities at the end of the year. Many of these are all of these are contractual. So these are chaperones for different projects that are outside of the the contractual day.
209We have uh sixth grade orientation. A lot of staff members from Briercliffe who were part of that. Um and then we have a lot of work over the summer. Again, much of this is for child study team to complete evaluations. And again, what we are approving is not that they are doing all this work. It's the ability to do up to this amount of work. So, we have a maximum amount the scope of the projects. And as many of you understand, uh, IEPs are 12 months. So, kids, new kids come into the district, they become eligible. So, these evaluations have to come even though our employees only work for 10 months. So that's why you see um all this work here under summer uh compensation and that goes all the way on to the next
210page. And then we have um continued service for our summer school program ESY which is mandatory. Uh we have both the district and for Lake Drive. On page 30 we have some familiar names here under substitutes uh volunteers and interns who were joining us back. Um we have a few field trips at the end of the year in May and June to approve and then uh tuition reimbursement. Um as we talked about in the opening, we are going to take number 33 off the agenda. Thank you very much. Need a first and a second. In order to hear these motions, we have Dr. Don and we have Miss McVey. Thank you very much. Any objections to hearing these motions together? Any comments or questions at this time? >> Roll call, please. >> Dr. Don, >>
211yes. >> Miss Foreman, >> yes. >> Dr. Harshville, >> yes. >> Mr. Johnson, >> yes. For all high school items. >> Miss McVey? >> Yes. >> Miss Parker? >> Yes. >> Miss Parks? >> Yes. Thank you very much. Is there any unfinished business at this time? Any new business at this time? >> I was going to make one statement. It's be 30 seconds. Um, we were talking about the identity like all the Canvas stuff. I want to actually comment on Mr. Santos taking an email down. A suspicious email went out I think to a lot of the students and staff the other day and before I could send I was I was actually forwarding it to Mr. Santos and Dr. seagull and before I could even finish he had it removed and it was about
212at 9:00 at night or something 8:30. It was it was not early and I it was odd and just I want to commend him for one paying attention >> but at 9:00 at night and taking down what could have been a problem. >> Wow. >> Yeah. >> Well done him. >> Nice. >> Well done about him. Any other new business? How about pending legislation? >> No. >> Okay. Then comments and requests from members of the public. We do have a second executive session. So we need a motion to enter into executive session. We have Mrs. Foreman and we have Mr. Johnson. Thank you very much. Um the board needs to approve this. All say I. I. Be it resolved by the Mount Lakes Board of Education on this 11th day of May, 2026 at 11:01
213p.m. as follows. The board shall recess into close session in accordance with the open public meeting law NJSA 104-12B1267 and 8. The general nature of the discussion including matters of personal confidentiality rights including but not limited to staff and/or student discipline matters and specifically legal matters. These matters will be disclosed to the public as soon as the need for confidentiality no longer applies. Although the board cannot guarantee it the length of the executive session people I am saying this for your benefit then estimated to be 60 minutes afterwards the public meeting of the board so reconvene and proceed with business action may take place and this resolution will TAKE EFFECT IMMEDIATELY OFF YOU GO we'll see you in a little bit >> motion to come out of executive session >> everybody say I >> I
214motion to adjourn. Second. >> Second. >> So move. >> I >> So move. I >> Perfect.