001meeting to order. In accordance with the provisions of the New Jersey Open Public Meeting Act of 1975, the Audubon Board of Education transmitted notice of this meeting scheduled at 6.30 p.m. in the Audubon Junior Senior High School Auditorium to the Retrospect newspaper and the Borough Clerk and by postings on the Audubon Public School District website and at the Main and Pine Street entrance of the Junior Senior High School. Roll call, please, Mrs. Roncase. Here. The act requires all meetings of the Audubon Board of Education to be held in public. NJSA 10-4-12B sets forth nine types of matters that may lawfully be discussed in executive session, i.e., without the public being permitted to attend. And whereas the Audubon Board of Education has deemed it necessary to go into closed session to discuss certain matters which are
002exempted from the public and as are indicated on the agenda. We have a motion to go into executive session. Motion. All in favor? Opposed? All right, we will be approximately 30 minutes. Thank you. Presentation from the is going to be resigning. Education, we as a board will discuss a little bit about the interviewing process to fill that vacancy. If you are interested in coming to interview for that position. you to check out our website, the Audubon School District website. Information about that will be up there most likely by Monday the 12th. And then it will also be posted in the retrospect, but that probably won't be there until June 16th. So again, you can check out our website for that information once we discuss the details tonight. about how that process is going to occur.
003And then you may also go to... the county website because petitions will need to be filed with Canton County if you are interested in running to become a member of the Board of Education. Petitions have to be filed by the last Monday in July, which I believe is July 31st. So if you are interested in seeking out a position with the Board, those petitions will need to be filed. You can go to Canton County's website or our website. Go New Jersey School Board's website for that information. Having said those two things, we're going to move on with our Spotlight program for our students of the month. We are so happy to recognize these students and very pleased to have their families with us here as well tonight. So for anyone who hasn't been with us
004before in regards to student recognition, what will happen is we'll go through three different gardens all the way through the 12th grade. We're going to roll up and read. We'll come up. We'll try to get them here so you can get a shot. If you want to come up and get a shot at your time. I always say this too. If anyone would walk across the stage. So let's get them up. Stage right. Camera left. Walk this way. Nice. Walk across. And then at the end, we'll take a picture of all the students that we're going to be able to pre-k and graduate student. I know this month was a quick turnaround. So hopefully we have a turnaround. So, no further ado, pre-k to graduate student of the month is Anna Rose Griffiths. Anna Rose
005Griffiths is nominated as the preschool student of the month. Her teacher says Anna Rose exemplifies safety when she transitions from the classroom to outside by walking in line. She works together with her friends to clean up the classroom. Anna Rose has grown leaps and bounds this year by doing things she once found challenging. When she achieves success, she has the biggest smile on her face, which warms my heart. She is respectful to her teachers and peers. Anna Rose has a heart of gold. Big friends feeling sad? She'll bring them a stuffed animal and sit with them until they feel better. I'm very proud of her accomplishments and wish her much success in kindergarten. The Kindergarten Student of the Month is Ellie Poulin. Elia Kulin is nominated as the Kidney Glide Student of the Month. Her
006teacher says, Elia is a kind and caring friend to all her classmates. She is respectful to her teachers and peers and always eager to lend a hand. Elia is a very responsible, hardworking student. She puts forth effort into everything she does. She is very polite and has a good role model to her classmates. She always keeps our classroom safe by pushing in chairs when friends forget. Elia is very artistic. and has become a great illustrator to go along with her writing skills. We really enjoy having Elliot as part of our school family. Lilliana Diadem. Lily is nominated as the first grade student of the month. Her teacher says Lilliana has been doing a wonderful job in first grade. She has worked hard to meet her academic goals this school year. She is always putting forth
007her best effort. She shares in group discussions and is respectful to her peers and teachers. She is friendly and welcoming to all of her classmates and students in the building. She is always willing to help someone in need, whether it is safely guiding a friend to the nurse or cleaning up after others in the classroom. Lily is a student you can depend on to complete her homework and assignments when they are due, showing responsibility at a very young age. We are proud of the hard work Lily has shown in first grade. Keep up the good work, Lily. Second grade student of the month, Xavier Egan. consistently demonstrates being safe, responsible, and respectful in all that he does throughout the day. He works hard and is an excellent role model for his peers. Xavier makes good
008choices and is respectful to everyone. He is willing to help others whenever he can and always finds the positive in any situation. Xavier is going to be a very successful. Congratulations, Xavier. Brady Trothers is nominated as the third Great Student of the Month. Brady consistently exemplifies your expectations and behaviors. He shows respect to peers and adults by listening intently to what others are sharing and contributing to the conversation. He demonstrates genuine kindness towards everyone. Brady is a friendly student who always makes sure to include others both in and out of the classroom. Brady takes ownership of his work by asking questions for clarification and completing all work on time. He is an active participant in all of our class discussions. Brady is a self-motivated and responsible student who strives to do well. He comes to
009school every day with a smile on his face and a positive attitude. He is an excellent role model for our classroom community. Congratulations Brady! He definitely shows poor expectations and mention of him. Without a doubt, Lucas shows respect to all staff and peers. He is always kind in his actions, works well with anyone, and is always willing to lend a hand. Lucas has been working hard all year to achieve goals that he sets for himself. He has shown a positive growth mindset and works hard to overcome obstacles he faces. He goes above and beyond class work and always wants a challenge. His love for learning is something that I truly admire. Lucas has taken ownership of his learning. He's always an active participant in class discussions. He checks his work and thrives on knowing he
010can always do better. He takes responsibility for classwork as well as jobs within our class community. Lucas is truly a role model for his peers. I'm proud to nominate Lucas as the fourth grade student of the month. Respect, ownership, achievement, and responsibility, war, are the qualities that help to build character within our students. At Mansion Avenue School, we are fortunate to have model students like Sofia Lopez who emulate these traits. Sofia participates in various sports ranging from soccer to swimming. It is clear that her commitment, discipline, and leadership learned in her sports is also demonstrated through her work ethic and approach to her academics. She works hard and challenges herself to do her very best. She is a fantastic role model and a conscientious student. Her positive attitude and great sense of humor have no
011doubt contributed to her ability to connect with her peers. Sophia is always polite and her demonstration of lower expectations is part of the person that Sophia is. For all these reasons and more, Sophia has earned our designation of 5th grade student of the fall. Congratulations Sophia! If you want to go up those stairs and have this beautiful walk across the stage, maybe do a little stop. They're closing in on you in a headshot. No one's stopping you. It's a great picture for your parents. Okay, Amber Freegartner is nominated as the sixth grade student of the month. Her teacher says, Amber is always there for her classmates. Most students refer to her as our class mom because of her caring ways and amazing organizational skills. She never hesitates to help anyone academically, socially, and or emotionally.
012She is respected by everyone because of the high level of respect she shows everyone else. Amber is a true leader by example. She makes everyone around her want to be better. Her hard work and enthusiasm for school has never gone unnoticed. We are confident that Amber will be a shining star in seventh grade next year as a great addition to the junior high. Congratulations. Allison is respectful to her teachers and enjoys spending time with her friends. Be sure to look for Allison on the track when she competes in the cross country and spring track. Congratulations, Allison. Bridget Mattson is nominated as the eighth grade student. Her teacher says, Bridget has been an incredible student all year and could have won this award any month in September. Her hard work and positive attitude is something that
013all students should try to emulate. She consistently goes above and beyond her projects and is always leading discussions and participation in class. Bridget helps her fellow students whenever they are in need and is a model for all others here at Audubon. Great work this year, Bridget. For our freshman class, we have Brekna Begum. I broke the streak. Brekna. is a kind, courageous student with strong leadership abilities. Breckma is open-minded and models respect for everyone. Her gentle, helpful, and honest nature makes a positive impact on our school community. Breckma was a part of both of the Words Have Weight events and worked impressively with our younger students. Brettna conducts herself in a mature manner that is greatly appreciated and adds to the classroom environment. Congratulations Brettna. And our sophomore class, Jen Ayala Sanchez. Jen has such
014a kind soul. He greets all staff members with a friendly hello each day and it is greatly appreciated. In the classroom, he is always willing to help a classmate. If they have a question with something or spends time at the end of the day returning chairs and computers to the rightful places to help out, he's always polite, understanding, and kind. Jan has moved to our school last year and has really gone into his own and has had another great year. We are proud of you Jan and can't wait to see what your future holds for you. Congratulations. The 11th grade student of the month is Matthew Dickey. Matthew's teacher says, Matthew is an honest, friendly, and engaging student who has positive relationships with students and staff. He has made significant growth over the years in
015his academics and attitude towards school. Matthew is putting forth effort to challenge himself in higher level courses. He is motivated and sets goals for himself. We are all so proud of what you have been able to accomplish and we know you will continue to find success. Congratulations, Matthew. In all the work we work on, asks questions if she is unsure and is always willing to answer questions or help others when needed. Kennedy is a dedicated student who performs well academically while being involved with so many other activities. She is a role model for those around her and for younger grades. Kennedy is a member of the All-Eastern Choir, All-State Choir, and received the Camden County Best of the Class Award in Performing Arts. from our school. Kenney plans to be a physical therapist in the
016future. You're a great representative for the school and the district. Congratulations. Alright, next we're going to continue with another wonderful section of our meeting this evening. We are going to recognize our retired students. representing recognizing eight different staff members that are retiring if you look at the agenda they serve on average over 20 years within the district and many of them serve time outside of our district prior to moving to Audubon I will say I will miss them all but I also know this year we had six retirees return in some kind of capacity to work for the district and there were others that were around so although they may be retiring I think we will see some of these faces so our first one up is Wilma Fitzpatrick Thank you and congratulations to all
017our students of the month. And before I start talking about Ms. Fitzpatrick, I would like to congratulate all of our other retirees who are here this evening with your families. Ms. Fitzpatrick is not able to be with us tonight, but I still learned something about her after having some conversations. So it is my honor to speak on behalf of Wilma Fitzpatrick. Ms. Fitzpatrick is retired from her position at Audubon High School as a library media specialist. However, this is not where she began her career. She started off as a health and PE teacher before taking time off to raise her children and run the family business. She would eventually sell the family business and move to New Jersey and return to the gym as a health and PE instructor at Pennsboro Middle School. While at
018Pennsburg, she also did some teaching at Gloucester County College and accrued some advanced degrees. Ms. Fitzpatrick transitioned to the library as she started her new endeavor as an assistant librarian at Gateway Regional High School. In 2002, Wilma was hired at Audubon High School as the school media specialist. Among the many things she accomplished while she was here, I'll mention a few. She created the first Audubon School District web page as the webmaster. This next one is self-proclaimed, that she purchased the first whiteboard for the Audubon School District. She taught a television and media studies class at Audubon High School for seniors and juniors, where students wrote, broadcast, and filmed a daily morning announcement show over the TV in each classroom. She also coached the Audubon High School and Collinswood swim team. So on behalf of
019the Audubon Public School District, we thank you for your 21 years of service to our community and we wish you nothing but the best in your retirement. Thank you. Michael Jenkinson cannot be with us either. Able to attend tonight. He had some medical watching. But Michael, if you're watching me, text me. Good, thanks. I was lucky to hire Michael Jenkinson on February 15th, 1995, which was one year after I started. He was hired as a part-time, 19-and-a-half-hour custodian. That was in the beginning when we started hiring part-time people. July 1977, 1997, I hired him as full-time custodian. One month later, I hired him to become the night foreman. for the district and he never looked back. We never looked back. Thanks to Michael, we were able to make the facilities department part of the educational
020process. Previously, when there were functions, the facilities department was the last to know and leave the day off. Michael, with communication with the staff and the administration, worked together to see that our department was part of the process in the early stages of planning. This was such an improvement in our time and scheduling with labor. Michael was very responsible in getting, was also responsible in getting the district on the same schedule of building use prior to it being on computer. Michael would sit every night and check all the different usage schedules to make sure there were no duplications of rooms usage and believe me there were many. but Michael took pride in making it all work out. During the 94 and 04 renovations, when much of my time was being used for the project, Michael
021stepped up and covered my back. Always be grateful to Michael for everything he has done and accomplished for the kids, district, and all of us. Michael, I know you're watching tonight, and I want you to know we wish you all the best on your recovery. Thank you for keeping our district in good health. the best to you and your family. Mr. O'Payer is not here either tonight, but it's my pleasure to speak on behalf of Mr. O'Payer, Mr. Scott O'Payer, more affectionately known by our students as Mr. Lott. Scott started at Audubon High School in January of 1986, what's 37 years as a member of the Audubon family. Scott's career here at Audubon was a little bit different than most teachers. So he really had two jobs. He was a full-time Health and physical education
022teacher during the day and then he was our athletic trainer after school hours. So Scott's day started around 7.45, he would teach until 2.30 and then he would be our trainer. Depending on the season, he could be here until 8, 9 or even 10 o'clock. During his career, Scott chaperoned the senior trip 18 years. 16 of those years he served as the only medical professional. So there was no school nurse on the trip at that time. While still performing the duties of being a chaperone, which they're not meant to be when you're in Florida. Scott helped with many of the school blood drives and he often helped out our nurse in emergencies and also would cover once in a while when needed. Scott found time to work in his off time in the summers. He
023worked six different Maccabi games. and that's the athletic training. And these are international athletic events similar to the Olympics. They were held in Israel and Argentina. During the summer, Scott's kind of a quiet person, but he liked to travel a lot. And speaking personally, he was a great help to me when I took over as athletic director, as he did have great insight on how everything ran and really helped me with scheduling. and a lot of different things in our department. And he would always go that extra mile for our athletes. If he had to come in earlier, stay late to make sure that they were ready to compete, he was here. So it's just not going to be the same next year without Scott, and if it's about the education department or the training
024room. And if Scott's watching, just want you to know that you're going to be missed, and we wish you the best of luck in your future. Thank you. So you don't have to cross the stage? You've had enough stage time. I'm just so grateful to be able to thank you in a very public way to for all of the things that you have done. I know I'm emotional too. For our kids in music and arts. And I think back to the very first time that we sort of officially met, you know, like we're working together and it was the summer. I started in Mansion. So it might have been July, and you came to tell me what you did. And you had Judy with you, which was great, and just sitting and listening and hearing
025and getting to appreciate the things that you did at Manchin Avenue School and continue to do through the end of your tenure there. You know, I think also about things like, I miss your little song, Ditties in the Morning. We miss that very much. I do still hear Let's Go Band though from my office. So, you know, things do continue. But just thinking about how over COVID we looked at each other and said, how do we keep instrumental music alive when we are remote? And even through reinventing yourself and the program and keeping the kids involved and excited about music through that difficult time, you were a champ in learning great things, things that you didn't really like all that much, technology, but doing it anyway. And in the end, what do we have? We
026have had consistently for years and years. top-notch building program at the elementary that has allowed the kids to get to the high school and just soar with experiences that they would never have had without you. So thank you so much for everything that you've done and I wish you well. You're retired but you are here all the time and we appreciate that about you so do come to visit all the time. Thank you. who meet the Magmurray standards of accuracy and reliability. Some people might say that I'm detail-oriented, but that puts me to shame. It's been a pleasure to work with Mrs. Magmurray for almost all of my career. She is one of the most dependable people I know. There are a lot of people that may not even know the Child Study Team exists
027or what we do. It truly is a team of people that work together with a variety of responsibilities and expertise. And in order to keep our office running smoothly and supporting the district properly, many, many details must be accounted for. The Chanticlee team and district have been fortunate to have Meg look after so many of those behind-the-scenes details for over two decades. I imagine that there are also people who don't know how great and unexpected Meg's comedic timing is. Or that she always said good morning and goodbye to every person in our office every single day. Meg has been an integral part of our team. Her dedication to her work is unmatched. She could always be counted on. Her consistency was both stabilizing and comforting. She was always present, both in her attendance and focus.
028During COVID shutdowns and with tasks complicated by so many more variables, Meg never complained or missed a beat. It's been a privilege to have worked with someone who is so invested in the success of our team and so devoted to their role. On behalf of the Child Study Team and Special Education Department, we thank you Meg. for your dedication and service. Congratulations on your retirement. So I'm going to be speaking on behalf of Ms. Donna Stack and I'm going to be reading something that was written by her direct supervisor, Mr. Corley. On behalf of the administration, staff, and the myriad of students you have taught over the years, we cannot thank you enough for the mark you have left on Audubon Junior and Senior High School. Your passion for English and love of teaching has
029been apparent for anyone who has the pleasure of being in your classroom. The expectations that you provided students truly set them up for success, not only in your class, but for life. The time you spent grading students' work is incredible. Feedback created better writers. You were an indelible member of the eighth grade team. The dedication to your craft has been noticed and truly appreciated. You are not only an incredible teacher, but a phenomenal person. Your kindness and caring nature will be missed. We wish you a healthy, happy, and enjoyable retirement. You have truly made a mark on Audubon Junior and Senior High School. Thank you. We have seen a multitude of changes in special education in their years. She's also part of a group that has adapted and adjusted to many leadership changes. The district
030has been fortunate to have her loyalty and dedication for 22 years. has been the life of the party, to department meetings and gatherings. In fact, she even caught me in the hallway before we came in and asked if we were going to dance together up on the stage. She's brought energy, positivity, and a great sense of humor. And I'm pretty sure she's going to dance at some point. She's a perfect example of someone who makes working here feel like working as a family. Eileen can be counted on to tell a great story from the past or to brighten a room. In addition to her dedication to students in the classroom, Eileen has fostered a responsibility to community service through the Interact Club and other volunteer activities. She is a giver of her time and energy
031to help and serve others. Eileen's desire to support others pairs well with her enthusiasm for fun. She's often the first person to suggest ideas and be involved with caring for a colleague. And also the first person to enjoy a laugh over shared experiences or a teachable moment. Her fun personality, her involvement within the building and special education department, and her warm-hearted connections with staff will surely be missed. On behalf of the Child Study team and special education department, we thank you. For your dedication and service, and you can dance if you'd like. Mr. Miller is coming up to recognize Nancy Woldemar. She'll get these papers and this is what I want you to do. She says, thank you. That's for having me pick you up at the house to bring you here. Tonight I have
032the pleasure of saying a few words on behalf of Nancy Waldemar. It truly be loved to respect a teacher, colleague, and friend who has dedicated the last 25 years of her life to our students and staff at Audubon High School. During those 25 years, Nancy demonstrated an unwavering commitment to her profession. and she leaves teaching while still at the top of her game. In the classroom, she held to a standard and demanded excellence from her students. She was tough, but she was fair, and everyone appreciated her as a teacher. Beyond the textbooks and lesson plans, Nancy always went above and beyond, taking the time to understand the unique needs of each student and getting to know them on a personal level. With a caring and compassionate approach, She served as a trusted mentor and someone
033who was never afraid to tell a student what they needed to hear, when they needed to hear it. The classroom was not just a place of education, it was a safe haven, a space where curiosity and dreams were encouraged. Nancy's dedication touched many lives in ways that words fail to capture. She not only imparted knowledge, but also instilled many of her students with a lifelong love for science, a sense of wonder for the natural world and the courage to pursue their dreams. Nancy's dedication to creating a positive and inclusive learning environment has created a ripple effect, touching not only the students but also the colleagues who have had the privilege of working alongside her, myself included. Nancy's colleagues describe her as a true team player, as someone who was always willing to share her expertise,
034lend a helping hand, give an honest opinion, or offer words of encouragement when needed. Her selflessness and dedication to making a positive difference in the lives of others should serve as an example for us all. As we bid farewell to Nancy, we express our deepest gratitude for her commitment, her tireless efforts, and her immeasurable contributions to our students, school, and district. While she may be retiring, I have no doubt that her legacy will continue to resonate within the hearts and minds of the countless students whose lives she has touched. Nancy, we hope that you carry with you the knowledge that your impact will forever remain imprinted on the hearts and minds of your students and colleagues. The lessons learned from you extend far beyond the realm of biology or anatomy. On behalf of the student,
035staff, and administration, I want to thank you for your exceptional service, your dedication, and for being a true inspiration to us all. Congratulations and best wishes for a joyful retirement. retirees receive not only a plaque but a copy of the resolution that's in the agenda. So thank you for your service. On behalf of the Board of Education, I also want to thank you. Just looking at all those years of service for each one of you, it is very impressive and clearly shows your dedication to the District of Audubon. We thank you and we wish you all the best in your retirement. We'll take a minute or two to transition. We have the measure reports. And one of the things I definitely want to say, because I know that they're way too humble to say about
036themselves, is that these folks are true leaders. They have undertaken an endeavor to really put themselves out there and learn a lot about equity. And then beyond that, take that information, really work hard, really dive deep into who they are as people, and really get themselves trained, not only with initial training, but then further training beyond that. We'll talk a little bit about that. However, I really just wanted to thank them. This is just a small representation of the total group that we have on the Equity Council. One of the things I definitely want to Mentioned too is that this is a multi-year process and it's important that it's a multi-year process when we're talking about working on a culture in the district that is going to be more welcoming. That's really what we're striving
037for. But to really move culture, for it to really take hold, it takes years to develop. So that's exactly what we're doing. We're being patient with it, and we're making sure that we're moving at a pace where we can bring everyone along with us. So as you all come up and speak, if you could just introduce yourselves, where you're from, that'd be great. And I'm going to turn it over. I'm a special ed teacher at . As Seamus mentioned, we are really focusing on making everyone feel welcome. So whether they're students, they're staff members, their parents that are coming to our building, from the moment that they step into our buildings or into our district, we want everyone to feel welcome. So we work a lot within our committees, but also individually in our buildings,
038and really this year focusing on our staff and getting to know each other better. really reaching out to them and hearing from them and then coming together as a group like she said there's only a few of us but there is at least one representation from each building here so this is a planned approach to enhancing equity in audubon's practices but why this training every person within your system must feel included valued and know where they belong and this requires everyone so like i said everyone that walks into our building should feel welcome DEI, Diversity, Equity and Inclusion work is done while it leads to belonging. So, you know, that's pretty much the message that we're sending out. We want everyone to feel belonged no matter who they are. One of the high school counselors,
039I have students in grades 9 through 12. It's been a privilege to be a part of this committee. I'm very excited about the work that we've been doing and look forward to continuing to do. You can see here, I hope that you can see the headlines that are highlighted on this page. What they represent is that the... The United States is becoming increasingly diverse. That each year, each 10 years when the census takes place, we have new information. The 2020 census confirmed that our population is more multiracial than it's been in the past. While the white population is still the largest race group in the United States, it is decreasing. And this last census actually showed that it's decreasing more rapidly than was expected. and our initiative is not just about race. I'm going to
040give you a moment just to read some of the data that's here on this slide. I think it's pretty important. It represents some of our marginalized groups in our district, although it's not specifically about the Audubon District. We can all agree that some of the statistics, especially in the first two bullets, are pretty staggering. This initiative is about belonging, and it's for everybody in the district. not just certain students of color, not just students who fit in any particular group. It's for all of our students. And it's about school climate. School climate is one of the most difficult things to change. It is a slow process. And it needs to take, it takes place over years. But if done well, if done planned, it can make a difference for everybody in the district. And that
041is truly the goal. Everybody. To belong and to feel included. So, if you look at New Jersey's data, I won't go through and read everything, but I just wanted to highlight that we can see that children of color are disproportionately suspended from school and are also more likely to never see a teacher of their same race within their years in school. In fact, one in five schools in New Jersey employ zero teachers who are not white. I'm going to fast forward into Audubon and why we're doing this training. This is who we are, so you can take a look at those statistics and see that we're not quite as diverse as some schools in New Jersey, a lot of schools, but over the past decade, our population has continued to diversify. We also have a
042number of students receiving special education services and English language learners. our job as educators to make sure that everyone is working towards that sense of belonging. I'm Christine Carayores. I teach Spanish at Mansion Avenue School and I teach ESL, or our English language learners, at Mansion Avenue School and Audubon Junior Senior High School. So there are some areas of identity where we have this concrete and quantitative data. If you take a look at the identity wheel, these are many areas. of identity. There are so many areas of people's identities that we can't see on the outside when you just look at someone. For example, family structure, gender identity, religion, things that are very important. And so in our work, you know, we understand that there are some identities that people... can't hide, right? Like your
043skin color or what you look like on the outside. But there are many parts of people's identities that we all carry around that people can't see. So we were working also on, again, just that umbrella of inclusiveness and making everyone feel like they belong in Audubon School District. When children feel that they're welcomed and belong, then they are more motivated to work and achieve, which is our goal. I'm going to talk to you a little bit tonight about the work that we have done so far and then our plan for the future. So this year we did some staff training at all three buildings and our focus for training this year was to have staff take a look at their own identities. We asked staff to view each topic with their own personal lens and
044using their own experiences. We used powerful and impactful discussions and activities to allow for self-reflection and self-awareness. This year we focused on identity, culture, privilege, inclusivity, and belonging, which is our goal for that belonging for everybody who comes into our schools. So the process, last year the administration and the equity team We're trained. Many members of the equity team then went to a train-the-trainer workshop. This year, we turn-keep that training to staff. Next year, our plan is to finish the training but also bring in practical approaches and applications. We will also be collecting data to set goals for the future. We just wanted to end with this slide, if you want to take a minute and read it. And we thank you so much for your time. ultimately as you can see it's a multi-year
045process uh you know in order for us to truly make headway in this we felt the need in our partnership with rowan to make sure that the staff get some awareness of where they fall in this and then from there we can we can certainly move forward and set goals and you know really hopefully move the district in the right way that pretty much concludes the presentation anything from the board But so there are of pieces of data that we need to be looking at. When we take a look, I'll give you a prime example of one. If you take a look at the makeup of some of our classes, you can look at data on race and that's something that we have right at our fingertips and we can see how many students of
046color are in something say like an AP level or special education or things of that nature. So that's an example of some of the data that we'll be looking at. Manifesting it. Yeah. Sure. Sure. So, you know, one of the things that certainly was really beneficial this year, we've talked a little bit about more tough weight and we were able to. develop that whole presentation because of our partnership with Rowan. We had Dr. Oswald come out and he worked with our Mansion Avenue staff, he worked with the students from the high school, he worked with some of our high school staff in creating this presentation that really addressed a really specific need. So, you know, there'll be certainly a lot more of that kind of stuff to come. But the reality is too that, you
047know, You know me well enough to know that I'm not going to sugarcoat this. In order for us to truly make any headway, we need to make sure that the staff is ready for this. It's taken years, decades, for our culture to be where it is. And in order for us to progress, it'll take some time, too. So that takes a lot of training. Go ahead. Three years plus, and this coming year is the last year. Yeah, so the goal is to be able to, by the end of year three, have some goals that we're working toward moving forward. The reality is it doesn't just end at the end of year three. Certainly a lot of the work that we put in to work with the staff, to train the staff, to analyze data, to
048develop goals, yeah, that's all within that three years. But if we're truly trying to improve culture, It goes beyond the three years. Am I answering your question? So, that is something that we'll be developing throughout the course of the year, next year. That's why, you know, we're sitting here saying that we're going to be taking a look at the data. And, you know, we don't want to just presume to know exactly where the issues are and what the issues are. We have to take a look at the data and have a clear understanding of any of the systematic issues that we might be facing. So, I don't want to... sit here and make a promise that we're going to have presentations every month throughout the course of the year next year when you know we
049need to make sure that folks have a deep understanding when we say the words privilege or we say the words microaggression or we say the words Bias or any of those things that people actually know what it is that we're talking about part of this is making sure that the the terminology that we use that everyone has a clear and consistent understanding across the district and Once we get there then we can have a true dialogue not something that's based off of what you may have heard on this new station or that new station it's it's based on what it is that we have come to understand as a community in Audubon A lot of this is really focused on what's happening right here. I know that there's a lot out there. We've seen a
050lot of that stuff out there come and try and infiltrate into Audubon. But we've been steadfast in our approach to making sure that we're focused on what's actually happening here. So that requires us to really take a look at the data that's in front of us. So if we don't have that data, we're not going to be addressing it, or that's just going to fall out of the wayside. Let's pause for a second and understand that a big piece of what we're doing is ensuring that the staff has a clear and consistent understanding so that regardless of what group a person may identify with, that they are working in a way and using language in a way that doesn't make that person feel uncomfortable. Now, as far as the data piece goes, That part of
051the conversation that we have is there a way to actually collect that data that isn't intrusive or makes children feel as though they're being isolated or ostracized or identified or outed or anything like that. So we have to, of course, proceed delicately as we move forward. Currently, as I mentioned, I'm not aware of any of the data, any data that we have in-house on that. And I'm certain that... this group, myself, the administration, if there was a way that we could certainly do that sensitively, we won't shy away from it. The other piece too is that, just as we mentioned, that this isn't just about black and white. This isn't just about... any particular thing. We could be talking about socioeconomic status, we could be talking about all kinds of different things. And that's really
052what that identity wheel shows. I'm pretty certain that the board has a copy of this presentation, right? I would encourage you to take a look at that. That would certainly give you a little bit of a sense of when we start talking about things like identity, that's part of it. So again, I'm not trying to skirt around your question. I'm just trying to be as honest with you as possible that we have things and we don't have things and that's the most honest answer I can give. Yeah, you know, I mean we're going to be exploring as many different ways to collect information as possible and the hope is that we can have the equity team and the administration and other thought leaders throughout the district sit down and take a look at that information.
053Now, a climate survey may be a part of that, but you know, we're going to lean heavily on our allies at Rowan to make sure that we... progress in a way that is again sensitive but I you know I wouldn't be opposed to doing that for sure. It's interesting that you say that because that was part of the conversation I just had with Dr. Oswald, who's our representative from here from Rowan. And part of that was in developing goals, is it something that is going to be just its own entity or is it something that becomes part of a strategic plan? So if that's the direction that the board is going in. I'm pretty certain I can speak on behalf of the whole equity team that, you know, if that's a part of, you know,
054defining who we are as a school district, I'm pretty certain that every single one of us would want to be a part of that. So you guys know where I work. You can just invite us. Just data, but going to those marginalized students or students, what can be done differently? Like, it's nice to know that there's three black third graders. But you have to ask the people who are impacted what they need. We can't just assume what they need. Yeah, great. You know, we need to make sure that when we are taking a look at data that we're looking at both quantitative and qualitative data. So part of that is actually having conversations with students, with families, with community members. All of that's going to be really important because you're right, we might have numbers,
055but that's just bones, right? Like we need to flesh it all out. So that'll certainly, you know, any kind of data that we use, we'd have to have both elements of it. So I agree 100%. Yep, any other? All right, thank you everyone. And thank you, Equity team, by the way. You guys have been amazing. Good work. All in favor? Aye. Any opposed? See what's happening. We're in the referendum. We did the resolution. I have been talking with PIPA, Suncathedons. the coordinator for the Safe Routes to School, and then also with Michelle Geiger, who's part of DriveLess.com. They're actually really synonymous in regards to what that is. And then I want to thank Mr. Blumenstein, as well as Amy LeBary, and then Christy Romero, who are community members that are working with F2. We're trying
056to confirm a date so we can talk together as a group in regards to the trainings that will need to be had. and then some of the other pieces that go along with that and where we're putting our bike racks at Haviland and Mansion. The elementary principal will be part of that. School safety specialist, Mr. Miller, who's in the audience, will be invited to participate as well. And then, obviously, Mr. Burke. Right now, we're looking at first, second week of July. conflicts within schedules they're sharing some information with us in regards to the training and the best rollout because it's it's not just about making sure we have bike racks making sure that we have safe routes and there's training and information that's needed not only for the faculty and staff but for our students
057our parents and caregivers so really looking forward to that and i want to thank the group for pushing And the group knows I've been behind it the whole time. Took a little bit to get us where we are. There was a lot happening, but we want to make sure those safe routes are set for us. Through governance, was really supplies and making sure that supplies they needed, no supports. I was able to work with Tom to talk about some of the things that were on their list that were generated and the contract they had with the provider. As a whole, there's several members. PTA, so there's Samantha Bednarak, Ray Martin on case two, and then Barbie Ledner and Bonnie Smunsell, the principals for both the elementary schools, because we had to pivot somewhat quickly because
058some of the things were already happening. There's pieces now that we know that are off those lists, so we won't be asking students for tissues or parents and guardians. or tissues or cleaning wipes or pencils, colored pencils, markers, dry erase markers and crowns. There's also things on the list that are really part of our supplies already that were shown up on the list like scissors. There's glue pieces and the construction paper. There's lots of materials that we provide in-house. The goal moving forward is really to take a look at those lists and make sure if we're budgeting for the 24-25 school year that we're able to do those in-house. We'll also be looking at the junior-senior high list. So that group was able to kind of work with the vendor and turn around that fairly
059quickly. And the principals along with their teachers too at the different grade levels. So I'm really appreciative of that and also want to make sure everybody's aware of where we really want to take that. There will be conversations really with operations as we go throughout and get towards the budgeting season for next year. So that's a great push for us as well. And then last but not least, I put on here a little bit of a thank you. In this digital age, you know, there really should be a thank you button on the computer because of all the things we do to support one another. I'm going to just take the time because it's our last really board meeting for the... the school year is to try to thank everybody and there's lots of things
060and a lot of people that are a part of it whether it be administration coming out tonight and recognizing the faculty and staff that are retiring and also being here to represent the students the administrative assistants that work behind the administrative team to support them and us in our efforts there's so much that they do cafeteria staff new to serve Our food service program has been strong and we're looking to move forward. I know there's conversations to really get that salad bar over at Mansion. And then also the garden that they have where they're running their sales now is to try to get some of that to be part of what the students are actually eating during the school day. We don't have enough of our garden to feed them for all of it, but
061they know they're eating some of the foods that they grew themselves, so important. And it's nice to have that relationship with Future Cert to have those conversations. Our custodians setting up, whether they're setting up for board meetings or getting ready for referendum work and moving things. Working all night to make sure that the students come in the morning and the staff to a clean building. They do so much. The business office, all the work they do, time of year, you think we're winding down, but we're really winding down. because we're closing out accounts and we're also making purchases for the following school year. There's really no slow time in the business office and we're appreciative of them as well. Our coaches and extracurricular staff, the environmental piece that's happening today and I know our team
062had to put in a little bit. I'm not quite sure what's going to happen with the meet that's scheduled on Friday and Saturday, but hopefully the air quality improves. Our extracurricular staff, some of the staff members that were recognized tonight, some of our retirees, do so much for our kids. We really listen to them and then take their suggestions as a lead to some of the programs that we offer. We had a break here yesterday. Or was it today? It was yesterday morning. We were listening and talking, but one of the things that came up is the fact that some of the clubs that come up really came through the students. You know, they wanted the Dungeons and Dragons club. So they found somebody that was interested in it. We didn't have one before and
063they created it. We didn't really have students listening to their wants and needs. I'm so appreciative of them. Going to maintenance, maintenance right now, like I said, we have so much work this summer. Our maintenance crew and student workers are just doing an incredible job. Our paraprofessionals, all our aides, better. in some capacities, teachers within there, whether it be academic or social, emotional, and supporting the faculty and staff. The teachers and certificated staff, obviously as a school, so important. Certificated staff, as Ms. Bissinger made a comment, some people, we don't recognize the child study team. There's so much they do, the school psychologist, the LTC, OTP teams. the school counselors who were represented today, technology department keeping me up and going right now. We're running new lines everywhere and right now they're running lines for
064our doors and security systems. So appreciative of all the work that they're doing. Student workers, we have and we're privileged to take on some student workers that are Some go into the tech. They actually go into the field afterwards. We have a student worker that's not a student worker anymore that's an employee for the district. We're a student tech worker. Over the summer, we're going to, as we pull out stuff out of one classroom, pull the ceilings down, put in new lights, put the ceilings back up, run lines, paint the room. In some cases, they're removing the carcass and putting vinyl down. They're going to be helping with that along with our custodian and the Aiden's crew. So the student workers really help us moving and the tech workers are phenomenal. I did this alphabetical.
065Lots of times I do it so if the board's not aware I always try to do that because then you can say there's a hierarchy. It's just alphabetical. Transportation. They don't think about us as a walking district but we do have in-house transportation. Folks want to schedule for our athletics and extracurriculars, but then we have some teachers that drive our buses and then we have some drivers for us. We're fortunate to have that and then the support of the board. So it's just kind of an end of the year look at a lot of different roles and responsibilities and working together with the support of the board and the community as a whole. There's some great things that are happening. within this department we'll move on with the approval of board minutes may i have
066a motion to approve minutes for may 3rd public session 10th public session may 10th executive session and may 25th public session yes yes yes yes yes Alright, before we move into the participation section, I want to make a couple of corrections. Item number 13, page seven, item number 13, strike the word boot. It should say implementation and professional development. Number five, so there are a few here. Staff member I-415, school should be the junior senior high school. Strike mansion. Looking down the list, staff member ID 614, Strike Haviland, and it should say Mansion. It would be the second one, maybe the fifth grade. Thank you. So the first, 850, the fourth grade, Strike Haviland and make it Mansion. Seventh grade, Strike Mansion and make it Junior Senior High School. And the same for the ninth
067grade, under staff member 850. is on page 26, number 68. Page 26, number 68. Say Donna, staff, English teacher. Say English. Public participation. This is the value of public comment on educational issues and the importance of allowing members of the public to express themselves on school matters of community interest. In order to permit the fair and orderly expression of such comment, the Board has set aside two portions of this Board meeting for public comment on any school or school district issue that a member of the public feels may be of interest to the residents of the school. For the first portion, this portion, public comments are invited on matters pertaining only to the agenda for tonight's meeting. For the second portion, public comments are invited on all matters pertaining to the school district. Participants should
068announce their name, address, and any group they may represent. The board reserves the right to limit public discussion. Public discussion of a topic will be limited to 15 minutes, and individual speakers will be limited to three minutes. A participant may speak more than once on the same topic, until all others who wish to speak on that topic have been heard. Please reference bylaw number 0167 of the Audubon Public School's recommendation manual. The board uses the public comment period as an opportunity to listen to citizens. Not all issues brought to a board meeting will be resolved at that particular meeting. Complaints stated or actions requested by the public may be taken under advisement by the board for investigation, discussion, action, or disposition at a later date or time. The public comment sessions are an opportunity for
069citizens to share their opinions and remarks with the board. It is not a question and answer session. The board may or may not respond to public comments at the time they are made and is under no obligation to do so. The board does not endorse public comments nor will the board be held liable for comments made by members of the public. Any individuals who may be the subject of public comments, including district employees, shall retain all rights against defamation and slander according to the laws of New Jersey. Having said that, is there anyone who would like to make a comment on agenda items only? up the Safe Routes Initiative or to seeing that crew combined with just like the equity plan, the Safe Routes Plan is something that we're looking for. And then I mentioned
070Kristi and Amy and their support so far and we consider seeking their availability for that meeting in June and trying to get their attendance at that meeting. In terms of our student reps, I want to thank them for their work this year. And it was the first year that we did that. So we monitored the first two to come on this year. Dr. Davis, if you would consider it, I think it would be useful to maybe have an exit interview. But I'm willing for how things went this year. Although it was the first year and it was exciting to have them, I think. There's still a lot of room to grow there. And I would like to make sure that Monica and the next year coming up or any meetings, maybe we can discuss that
071a little bit more as a retreat. There's a lot more that we can do to include students. And I saw a little bit about that at the last meeting. we were all talking about something and monica said well you know i have something to say about that and we heard the student voice so i think if we can create space for that to happen more often um i have a motion please for item number one under governance any questions regarding those policies Allison Cox? Yes. Andrea Robinson? Yes. Allison Lipski? Yes. Amy Davis? Yes. The motion is passed. Thank you. Next, I'd like to recognize Mrs. Cox for operations. Thank you, Mrs. Davis. We have not had a meeting since our last board meeting, and we don't have one scheduled yet, but we will be meeting
072next time. I don't need to report the meetings, but we do have an extensive list on the agenda. We have our normal reports for March and transfers and our bill list for May. We have the safety drills that were conducted in May. We have a list of the outstanding student activities checks. We have a... support agreement a residency support agreement with these investigations and handle a care contract for training of our staff and a motion to approve reasonable rate limits on independent evaluations stepping stone contract for services and student support online iep systems training for child study team members and secretaries schedules of taxes to Audubon from Audubon and Audubon Park. Resolution authorizing the transfer of current year's funds to the maintenance reserve and capital reserve. That's 16 and 17 respectively. We put a cap
073on that. It's $500. That's the maximum that goes into those reserves. Professional service agreement with Underwood Engineering for the referendum project. Insurance for lead testing in school security drills. A list of contracts removed for the 2020-2024 school year. There's a rescinding of a motion to withdraw monies from the maintenance reserve for the children. and the boiler at mansion avenue school motion to approve the transportation for the fall 2023 season for the athletic teams that we would use carter's with hadfield had heights had friendship and gateway as needed the motion for the approval of the 2023 sports schedules and all the activities in the transfer associated with those events And a change order in the referendum projects of $75,053. And then a change order. Thanks. Do you have anything to add? Any agenda items since they
074haven't been here? Can I have a motion then for items 1 through 25? Questions or comments? Question is for 6B, and that would be helpful. um this budget uh 22 23 is very tight um but we just put an up-to amount we don't really know but i would guess more closely closer to 50 000. i think it's closer to 75. my comment was that this is one of the best Yes I'd like to recognize Mrs. Shivo for education. The Education Committee has met on May 22nd and during our committee meeting, Mr. Lev and Mr. Michael gave a committee presentation on a new RTI program that's being implemented for 7th and 8th grade level. It will be known as WIN, What I Need. We'll first start at the second grade level. This is due to the
075large sixth grade group that we transferred to the promotion avenue. It will help make your transition easier and it will provide them with the supports that they received at the promotion avenue. Also, the Edmonton Council piloted multiple resources during the school year for social studies and they decided on studies weekly for grades K-5 and actively learning for grades K-E. Well, I'd just like to really thank the administrative team and the faculty and staff for presenting at some of the different board meetings or the sub-community meetings and then also at board meetings. And for everyone really coming to the realization that when we look at our numbers and our support for the community... We need to carry them over into seventh and eighth grade. There's work that needs done at the high school level too. But
076it's a step moving forward. As we start our board meetings and recognize students for all their achievements, it is our focus. When you think about making decisions for money, students are our focus. So we make sure we have staff members that are supporting our students, whether it be reluctant learners or students that are excelling. It speaks a lot to one, us looking at data and then making our actions and making our recommendations and supports in that fashion. So I always add that to that part. So I'm appreciative of everyone who played a role. And there are parents that would involve those conversations too, based on the different supports and things. And we also listen to our students in regards to what they need. So a few of those have helped. Thank you. Yeah, it's really
077get the discussion. You can do the whole thing. Yes. who would return to attend school in the North Carolina Public School District in the 2023-2024 school year in accordance with policy number 5111. And permission to approve membership in the New Jersey State Athletic Association in the 2023-2024 school year. I know the Jews cross the street in 2005 and 2000. Motion to approve the home down instruction for the school district to visit the high school when June 6th. But also to provide a presentation by the Department of Education for $68. Motion to approve some administrative placements. Most of the special services. School district services. Translations. Translation. Interpretation. Any questions, comments, or discussion on the non-agenda items that Mrs. Scheidt mentioned? And a motion then for item number one. Motion. Roll call please for item number one.
078Jim Blumstein? Yes. Tyler Pacheco? Yes. Allison Lipsky? Same. Andrew Robinson? Yes. Nancy Schadl? Yes. Stephen Olson? Yes. Amy Gage? Yes. And a motion then for items number two through 11. Second. Second. Roll call, please. Yes. Allison Cox? Yes. Allison Lipsky? Yes. Andrea Robinson? Yes. Lisa Chado? Yes. Steven Wilson? Yes. Jim Blumensheim? Yes. Amy Davis? Yes. Motion passed. Thank you. Moving on to the human resources, the human resources committee met yesterday evening. We reviewed the items that are on the agenda. We also reviewed open positions in the district. Just sort of a note of conversation. I kind of continued a conversation that started at the early childhood advisory committee meeting regarding the teacher shortage that all districts are experiencing right now. So we were kind of brainstorming and talking about some different ways. to increase our
079teacher populations and how to bring our high school students into that fold as well. So the committee talked about some of those things. Dr. Davis shared some ways that they're thinking about encouraging pursuing careers in teaching here at the high school. So that was just an interesting conversation that we had. Dr. Davis discussed the administrative responsibilities and the chain of commands and his plans to review that over the summer. And then again, we also discussed our plans for negotiations as our contracts are expiring in 2024. Mrs. Roncase will be sending out the contracts to Georgia School Board for review. I also ask that we make sure that Ms. Aaron has the contracts as well for the group. I think you have the administrative contracts, but I'm not sure that you have the education association contracts.
080I agree with that. I agree with that. We'll make sure that you have those. And as with all the committee agendas, I encourage you to take a look at the human resources. Any questions on non-agenda items? What was discussed in the meeting? Dr. Nims, did you want to add anything? The meeting discussion, one of the things that we talked about was in the first conversation, through our eight meetings, we also talked about taking your child to work, that they don't have students come because the students come to school. Yeah All right, so on the agenda for this evening, there are a motion to approve requests for FMLA as well as requests for unpaid leaves, a motion to approve long-term substitute positions, a motion to approve many first-year contracts, and we welcome those individuals who will
081be joining our district, a motion to approve four resignations, a motion to approve revisions to long-term substitute agreements. Motion to approve the superintendent's salary for the 23-24 year as indicated in the contract. Motion to approve revision to reappointment salary. Motion to abolish two positions. Motion to approve voluntary transfers. Motion to approve the position for full-time BLA and mathematics interventionist at the junior-senior high school and the staff of the employment positions. Motion to create a position for a full-time self-contained preschool position at the, at Haviland and to also approve the staff worker. Motion to approve the 2023 extended school year program. Motion to approve summer hours for a variety of district staff as indicated on the agenda. Motion to approve a substitute teacher and custodian. Motion to approve the extracurricular contracts for 2023-2024 school year in
082accordance with the contract. Motion to approve a variety of fall coaching positions for the 2023-2024 school year. Motion to approve our ticket takers, no fall personnel, and volunteer coaching positions. Motion to approve our summer student maintenance assistants. Motion to approve the RTI Coordinators, the RTIWIN Committee Members, the ELA Instructional Framework Committee Members. Motion to approve new teacher supports. Motion to approve the threat assessment teams for the preschool, for Haviland, Manchin, and the Junior Super High School. And motion to approve an attendance makeup proctor. Motion to approve student from Widener University for internship. Motion to approve an overload. And last but certainly not least, motion to approve the resolutions for all of our retired B-2 students. all right can i get a motion then for items 168 under given resources motion second any questions or comments
083dr davis yes um i'd like to do a couple things in regards to well one would be some of the reservations although which staff to stay, but I know two of the staff members that are resigning. One is continuing their pursuit for a certificate and an education, and then another is moving forward as an educational consultant. So all of them are leaving us for now. They're still supporting the profession, so that's good to recognize too. It's also important to note that we do have some staff members that are on for appointments that are coming from other districts. And it says a lot when someone may be a veteran or senior teacher and are electing to come to Audubon and in several circumstances for a decrease in salary. I would just like to comment on how
084thrilled and I know the board feels the same way we are to see the interventionists at the Junior Supervisor Hall. Excellent step in the right direction with regards to the language arts and that kind of thing. Very exciting to see that. All right. May I have a roll call, please? Allison Cox? Yes. Upstate 138. Allison Lipsky? Yes. Andrea Robinson? Yes. Nancy Schiavo? Yes. Stephen Wilson? Yes. Jim Blumensheim? Yes. Jared Tricker? Yes. Amy Davis? Yes. Motion passed. Thank you. Moving on, you can see our HIV district report. and the reflections there. And then we have our special program representatives. Mr. Miller is not here this evening, so I will move ahead with the Academy School Board Association. I was not able to attend the meeting. Mr. Shiavo, did you attend the meeting virtually? Yes. A lot
085of the members of the school board members were in service. And there's also a presentation from the, it's a new tool, right? The down to the left. Yeah, a tool for negotiations. Yeah, negotiations that they have on the website. And that's just a lot more information. Yeah. All right. For the Audubon Education Foundation, Mrs. Cassidy was our representative. Dr. Gates, thank you. We have, there was a meeting right before our last board meeting, so we haven't had one since. But we've been writing out there, written up in parts to the United Grace. Was there a general meeting or something? No, but I could report something. I've been attending to a committee comment about later, but they were at the most recent, two representatives from the AEF were at the most recent stand. What it is
086that they do, we're looking for a little inspire to get involved. And so we had a good conversation. Partnered with the PTA and other groups and did the grow. I don't know about the money that Grace is getting. That was the last, but it is. I mean, they've done a lot of work. So there was nothing right now. They did report on some grants that they've been giving out. And they have money. And they're going to score more rates and more dollars. I look forward to having a conversation with them as a member of the PTA. they want to make sure they're recognized because they can celebrate some of the things they've done so today we talked about the website and development too so people are going to understand what and they can also see
087all the good that comes from the aaf and they know it just in my short you know four you know plus years we've just done a lot for our students and programs moving on to our community outreach committee Mr. Miller attended our on Friday as our representative and he did some activities with the kids and we had a good showing. I guess there's going to be another third Friday so we'll be reaching out to you soon to see if we have anyone who wants to volunteer for that and the fourth Friday. And thank you for our shirts. For the Audubon Mounding and Urban Admin Committee, we have not had a meeting, but we've tried to get together over the summer. But just being on behalf of that committee, I'm super excited to hear about that.
088A new report for the Board Member Orientation. So I'll move on then to Board Member comments. So one of the things that we also are doing in the Audubon Board of Education Community Outreach, we are going to have a town of 548. tomorrow. So I really want you to join us. Please do. It's something I want. Another thing that I wanted to show you in this board session is my first year on the board in January. I put a proposal to the board that I think we should encourage that we put up a protocol now. on our email signature and also on our webpage. I understand that it's not something that you can... force that we're on the board to do. But particularly since this is a department, and I appreciate the faculty council, the
089information that I already shared with the majority of the board members, different studies that have shown that having a program that has shown allyship and support can be very, very helpful to particularly to children. And then when you look at the data from the equity council presentation this morning and specifically talks about this was on right in the beginning which was on page two the why of our categories and this is something that's coming through with all the data that shows that the incidence of bullying and also the number of suicides, for people that are gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender, you're essentially looking at one in four or one in three of these children all the way through college are attempting to commit suicide and so many, many are . And I think that for
090the board to have a program, it doesn't seem like much, but it shows that you're an ally, that you're safe, you're a safe space, and that we truly I want every student here at Audubon to feel safe and respected and included in every aspect of their education and life in this community. And so I would just ask that maybe, and I don't know if it's something that we have to put on the agenda, and maybe just something that we all... Yes, I'm going to, or no I'm not, or maybe just if you don't understand it, but I think it's something that is important. Particularly at this time, particularly after that presentation and that. Because it is quite frankly horrifying to me that one in three trans children attempt suicide. I mean that's horrifying. You can
091mute the second people trying to do that. Right. So you're not a secretary. Yes, that's the one thing that just popped into my head. In terms of email, it's usually just myself that's sending out. If there's communications between myself and community members. Where do you see it going? Well, I would say also kind of a webpage. We have a web page. on the district's website. And so I would say that where it has our names listed, it would literally have, right after our names, our program for disease. It also, I know I did it for myself when I did my little bio. I put my program as my last sentence. It is something that's really important to me. So I think those are two ways that anyone can see. For the Board of Education, you
092can see every member and if you are along with them. And I just feel that it would let students, parents, other communities, state board members know that like i would like to make a suggestion um I'll put it in practice. just like to say that i understand her i'm sad to hear that we were going to step down she was a very well conditioned to support she taught me a lot about her and that will be difficult to follow up on that is connected to outreach and also just i want to make a comment about dr I've been going to the PTA in the last year. I'm a member of the Haviland PTA and I have a definite newfound appreciation for the work that they do. They came through six schools. There's a core group
093of six to eight in Haviland Mansion and they really have taken the program to another level in the last year. It's just very impressive. and I just wanted to give them a shout out. But more specifically, I just want to thank Dr. Davis and Ms. Delbert for supporting it. But having the UPTA put on a black top and actually having them shut down the street was a great event. to have a safe space to have fun. But with the construction, as Dr. Davis knows, sometimes there's things that they put in place and it impedes what groups had planned. We were kind of getting crushed there the last minute. I want to thank Dr. Davis for stepping in literally in the 11th hour to make sure that the Black Cop was safe in this space before
094everything that they had planned. We need to address this situation with our vacancy. I would also like to add to what Jim said. Lori, you tremendously missed on this point. and those are of the very large weight of the bill in her absence. So we are going to advertise. So Ron Pace will take care of that for us. We're looking to interview at the July meeting. Is that, I don't want to agree with that. That's kind of, sadly, how we've done it in the past very recently. Not sadly that we had to join us with Lipski, but sadly we had to go through this process so much that we kind of don't know what goes on now. So that would be the July 19th Board of Ed meeting. And that interview would take place in
095open session. So we would go into the second and sixth period like we normally do, come back in at 7. We'll have students at 1, correct, for June? No, we close out. We're not? We close out May to June. OK. So then we would proceed right to the interview. Any objections, any thoughts, any contributions to that? I was just going to say, are we going to change the question? I was going to ask that. I was wondering, given the nature of the position, this person will be filling the spot. We can't require it, but could we in the advertising strongly encourage somebody that we're looking for someone that also will be committed to the work? This is how you apply it. We can't require it. I'm wondering if you could just strongly nudge the person
096in the cabinet and say, hey, if you're going to run, you have to get it in after. Is that what that is? It's a complete fun path, right? After the interview. So we could not hold it. But it has to. Always been a painful part. And you don't know who's going to lose it. I think in the past there's been more space between the term and that if you wish to pursue forward, it has to be a very meaningful period. So she's in one year. So she was out with Senator Sobel. The person will be in one year. but they have to come in their application form. I tell them. No, what I was thinking is if she were a midterm, they explain in the posting that this is for a position that's served until
097end of state and then you would run for a term of one year or two, whatever it is. Right. I think it should be compartmentalized. kind of formalize it that way so it always goes out that way so anyone who's interested knows the board's interested in someone not only completing the term but potentially coming in whether it be for a year or two years or three. to one or three-year term understand July 31st as the deadline. Do we want to establish a date that the letters of interest need to be submitted by? Last time we did it pretty closely. We didn't want to ask. i think last time we had it like the monday before so we want to keep it that close july 17th july 17th so letters of interest will be due by
098july 17th and then mrs ron case will share those letters I can put it in a couple times. Like, June 16th is the first time I would be able to run it. Do you want me to run it on the 23rd and 30th? Yeah. Well, that, yeah, that's a given. It's going to go on the last night. Yeah, it's on social media. Yeah, it's going to be on Facebook, Instagram. Okay, all right, so then we're established that the letters of interest will be due by July 17th and the interviews will be due by the next one which I think is going to be a trickier thing to figure out is we need to establish our retreat dates. Typically we've done this in July, typically it's been a Saturday. Do you want to send me an
099email with your availability in July? Two Saturdays. Two Saturdays right now. Well, the first should be up. Is that the holiday weekend? Yes. Saturday morning is July. January. Okay. Do we want to use... Yes. Yes. Yes. 6 p.m. July 12th? I'm open. I'm open. It's not just me. I'm due July 5th. I can do the fifth. What about choosing a year old at the club? I'm choosing 26. 26. Did you skip over the ninth one? I was literally treating staff. Well, I mean, then I have one secret to keep it in the 19th, so do I go on the 18th or the 20th? No, it doesn't. How about the 20th of July? That way we won't conflict with HR. Here we go. No, no, no. It's just my mom's desk. I'll reschedule. It's okay. You're
100not here in the 20th. 17th. Can I volunteer to make a Google Calendar and go to the book review? So that's a good idea. I mean, they think that's a better one. August 2nd. So are you happy with the winning? August. I'm going to explain your August. August 2nd. You're not going to get that one. What about August 16th? So if we have a board meeting. Board meeting. What about August 7th? Do we actually plan on it? Sure. is that too late? Like, headed into August, you mean? Why don't you just move it out here? We'll see where everyone wants it. I mean, it's really the sooner the better. Right, because it needs to be. Personally, I think it's better to have it sooner. Because the admin team, yeah. For the following year. Right. All
101right. So I'll make a June, a July calendar and the first week. And we'll just do it without. Simple Google Doc and you can just save your bill. Okay. Look ahead for the calendar for the July 1st slash early August retreat. Okay. Real quickly, I just wanted to thank Mr. Blumenstein, Mr. Wilson, and the Slipskies for their work on the evaluation. I'll be putting that together, especially in light of our work. Any other board member comments? Second public participation? Anyone? The board is going to move into a second executive session. Can I have a motion to move in? Yes, if you are hiring a judge, would you be willing to hire a judge and just appoint someone to go into your absence? And then take on the issue for the day. Yes. Are we here
102for the engagement discussion? First part. There's two issues for executive discussion. This is James and this is Pat who participated in the first half. And then I'll play. But if they leave the building, we just need someone to come in and run the meeting and run the meeting so that everybody can go about their business. All right. I will appoint Mr. Blumenstein to run the meeting in my absence. Yeah. Can I have a motion for that? Motion. Second. All in favor? Aye. All right. Can I get a motion? Yeah. Can I have a motion to go into executive session? Motion. All in favor? No. And no action.