001Call to order. This is to recommend to advise the general public that compliance with the Open Public Meeting Act, the Little Lake Harbor Board of Education calls to be posted at the office of the Board of Education located at 307 Frog Pond Road, Little Lake Harbor, New Jersey and faxed on January 18th, 2022 to the Asbury Park Press, Atlantic City Press and to the office of the Municipal Clerk of Little Lake Harbor. A meeting notice set forth the time, date and location of this meeting. We have a roll call vote. Ms. Erber. Mrs. Roth. Mr. Berry? Yes. Ms. Sembler? Dr. Snyder? Yes. We all please stand for the Pledge of Allegiance. Okay, moving on to the approval of the minutes. Can I recommend a motion to approve the following minutes? Can I have a motion?
002Motion. Can I have a second? Are there any questions? Can we roll call vote? Mr. Kell? Yes. Ms. Ertler? Yes. Mr. Berry? Yes. Ms. Zalesnok? Ms. Sembler? Yes. Dr. Snyder? Yes. Motion carries. Moving on to board presentations. Can we start off with George J. Mitchell building highlights and screen set up? Thank you so much. So I have two of our amazing second grade readers from Ms. Gavea's class with us to share the highlights for the George J. Mitchell School. So Michaela DeAngelis and Nathan Minkler. Welcome to the W.W.W. School. Friday we eat, but we don't have no food to eat. We just have to go to work and do the school. Our Holy Spirit week started on Monday. Every day we can show our Holy Spirit by following our food day. The Grinch and Max
003also made some good breakfast. The fourth grade students will be added to winter function tomorrow. They will be changes all day and winter function. The ever-classy slot time to the self-discovery. They did a great job. Our adoption party will be held this week. The three of us will start Friday afternoon. We hope everyone enjoys their time off. Thank you for having us tonight on first time all day long. Great, they did an amazing job. They practiced so hard. We're always so proud of our readers who come up and help us talk about the great things that are happening in the Mitchell School. So awesome job, Makayla and Nathan. As for our students of the month, this month, we focused in November on gratitude. It was our character trait. So our students are selected each month
004on the students that show that character trait throughout the month with what we do in our classroom and in our school community. So first, I'd like to recognize our Kindergarten Student of the Month, Madison Smith from Ms. Kaufman and Ms. Travis class. is a type of student that every teacher hopes for. She is kind, helpful, and always uses wonderful manners. Not only has she transitioned into kindergarten with ease, but she demonstrates a great attitude every day. We are grateful to have Madison in our class. Our next student of the month comes from first grade, Logan Curtin from Mississippi School of Class. From Mr. School Road, Logan is a wonderful student and friend. He brings such a positive feeling to our classroom every day. He loves to help his teacher and friends and has the kindest
005heart. We are so lucky to have him. Our next student of the month also comes from first grade of Mr. Most's class, and that's Paul Hetzel. Dr. Ramos wrote, Paul is a caring and kind friend to everyone he meets. He has a positive attitude and always tries to be helpful with students and staff alike. He is always well behaved, hard working, helpful, and is a pleasure to have in his class. Our next student of the month is from Ms. Roscoe's room, also a first grader, Olivia Roberts. Roscoe wrote, Olivia is a wonderful student. She is caring, generous, and displays gratitude each and every day towards her peers and her teachers. She describes herself as having a kind heart. Congratulations. Oh, I'm so sorry. Congratulations. And our second grade student of the month is Brandon Walton
006from the Scevaeus class. Brandon has shown a great deal of growth and confidence. He is a hard worker who tries his hardest. He is a very kind student that likes to help others. Brandon is a terrific student and shows his gratitude each day when he comes to school excited to learn. Congratulations, Joel. we go. I do have just a brief video to share with you. Ms. Mon put together a video just recapping our first part of the school year. And as we enter 2023, this is a little reflection of what we've done in 2022. So please enjoy and watch some of the amazing things that are happening in our school. The student government hosted a Veterans Day Appreciation Assembly. We sent out invitations to family members of students who were veterans and we were lucky
007enough to have about 25 participants. At the assembly, the student government spoke honoring our veterans. The veterans went into the media center and enjoyed a breakfast hosted by Mr. Samy Sini and a lunch donated by the Little Lake Harbor Township Education Center. Some of the day, some of the students were allowed to stay in the media center and present to the classes that weren't able to attend the assembly. It was great getting to listen to their stories and see the cool things they brought in this day and time. Mr. Denny, Mr. Anderson, Ms. Andrews, Mr. Page, Officer Nino, Ms. Dreyer, Mr. Simon Sini, and the teaching staff, Dr. Vronsky, the technology team, the student government, and of course, all the veterans that took time out of their day to participate in our event. Many exciting
008things. PT elements and band concerts, successful fundraisers, and school parties and celebrations. In closing, we would like to take this time to wish all of you a happy, healthy holiday season with your family and friends. See you next year. Excellent job, gentlemen. Let's get to our students of the month. We're going to start off in Ms. Paredes' class. Teresa Fiorella. Here's what Ms. Paredes had to say about Teresa. I am proud to announce our student of the month is Teresa Fiorello. She is an excellent role model and teacher to her fellow peers. She is always the first to offer and help out in our classroom community. Her positive attitude is infectious and has not gone unnoticed. Way to go, Teresa. You are destined for greatness. So congratulations, Teresa. From Mr. DeWitt's class, Harper Meeker. Come
009on. Harper is a bright and engaging student. What makes Harper stand out is her ability to lead by example. She always demonstrates the traits we look for here at FrogCon. First, she is kind and polite to her teachers and classmates. Second, she works exceptionally hard each day to be a better student both academically and socially. Finally, she brings joy to everything she does. It is my honor to nominate Harper May Griffiths to the podium. Next, from Ms. Truex's class, we have Jazir Glover. Come on up, Jazir. Uzair is a model of good behavior for his peers throughout his kindness and helpfulness. He is respectful to everyone and works hard when given a task. His positive attitude is greatly appreciated in and out of the classroom. His teachers are so proud to recognize him as this
010month's student of the month. Congratulations. Next from Ms. Bezos' class, we have Frederick Humphries. Freddie, come on up. When given the opportunity to choose the student of the month, I immediately thought of Freddie. Freddie is a wonderful friend to all the students in the class, as well as a hard worker. He always puts 100% effort into every assignment he is given. Although Freddie is reserved in class, his quiet leadership is evident. Freddie is a role model in every way, and I am lucky to have him in my class. Congratulations. And from Ms. Andrews' homeroom, we have Mr. Jackson Simoncini. Come on up, Jackson. Jackson comes to school every day ready with a great attitude and ready to learn. He is highly organized, fully prepared, and participates in all our lessons. He also volunteers for class
011jobs, was chosen to be a safety, plays in the band, and was elected to student government. I cannot wait to see everything he is able to accomplish in the future. Congratulations. And last but not least, from Ms. Arnold's homeroom, we have Travis Coons. Travis, come on up. Purple team selected Travis Coons. They believe that the most deserving student this month is Travis. Travis exhibits our school's three behavior expectations of being safe, respectful, and responsible at all times. Travis's curiosity drives him to ask good questions and be an active participant in his learning. He stays on task and completes his assignments to the best of his abilities and is always mindful of when things need to be turned in to his teachers. Always helpful in the classroom, ready to lend a hand and give assistance to
012any Let me move closer. is Miss Jessica Griffin. So just a quick, for some quick recognition, from Mrs. Krause and Miss Willscroft, they did select a parent as a volunteer of the month, Miss Jessica Griffin. She has volunteered in the past for school events. This year she's donated a plethora of goodies and treats for Halloween. She set up a camera Apple station for the 6th grade purple team. She also came back later to make spin art on campus with the students. Additionally, she is always the first one to send in supplies to the class community. She's a rock star and Mrs. Krause and Ms. Wilsbeth truly appreciate her. So thank you for volunteering this morning. Everyone is welcome to stay for the additional presentations or the rest of the meeting or if you need to
013get home. Kids, please take a cookie on your way out and congratulations to all of our students of the month. And our leaders, that was an excellent job. Those are some giant cookies. Okay. Alright, moving on, we have a community school update presented by Erin Lodis. Hopefully I see Joe asking. behavior policy and behavioral laws. The new behavioral policy was put in place on September 26 to encourage new behaviors to create effective communication between students and families and to outline the program's expectations and goals for the students. Behavioral laws have been started with the goal of resolving an issue before behavioral policy is initiated and followed. Behavioral laws give the student the opportunity to think about the behavior, what was wrong and what could be done differently. The job notices have also been distributed. One
014student from grades K-2. The non-student from grades 3-6 are chosen each month for being kind to their friends and showing good positive behavior throughout the academic year. The students are provided with a good job certificate for in-home along with choosing from the prize package that they have in the law. A new employee handle was created to give guidance to all community school staff members from both counselors and counselor training to assure that they know what exactly needs to be accepted in the master's program. enrichment classes soccer shots are actively being discussed to bring into the community school for all students preschool through sixth grade with a tentative start time in february or march we are also speaking and planning with the sound garden in three holds of the musical theater sessions in the months of
015march april and may in the drama club program for the summer camp 2020 both soccer shots and sound garden are still in the planning stages Contact has also been made with fellow staff members who have offered to go to some great classes for the Hawaii Harbor students. There has also been a community school Facebook page created for all families to follow. It was created for families to follow for important information such as changes in the core of aftercare, tuition reminders, and in the upcoming months, some of the registration will be posted on there as well. enrollment and new hires as of september 21st 2022 we had a total of 172 students enrolled they are currently at 184. to date we are enrolling five more students from our latest for care effective january 2023 100 drop-in
016coupons have also been purchased since the beginning of our first school year community school has eight four approved staff members every between the months of october and december Increasing staff members results in the ability to offer more and more support. Thank you all for taking the time to listen to the positive changes that have been happening with the community school since the beginning of the school year. Myself and my staff are extremely excited and look forward to the upcoming months of work together to create a safe, fun, and start-up program offered for our students and a little like our other students. What is your student-to-counsel ratio? And then I just want to say, I really think for me as a parent who's used aftercare a lot, and more recently since COVID, enrichment classes are huge
017because if you feel like your child is there doing something enriching, it kind of makes, I guess, the paternal guilt feel a little less. So I'm encouraged to see what... I have another question. The behavior logs, are they for every student? Is that a matter of protocol or is that policy related in relation to that? Thank you so much. And welcome to the district. Okay. Moving on to Girl Scout presentation by Tiffany Middlecoop, PTO president. I'm going to guess cadets. and we will continue to support them. Thank you very much. Was that the bronze award or silver? Bronze. Great job girls. I know it takes a lot. 20 hours is a lot of time. Okay. Moving on to report of the superintendent. Thank you. I just want to remind the board members we've had some
018concerns from people that are listening in on YouTube land that they can't hear. So it's important to talk into your microphone. So if you want to pull it closer to you when it's time to speak, just make sure you're talking into your microphone. I feel like they've gotten louder though. They have tried to enhance it. They are trying something new this month to make it easier. I think for the public too, we need to do something about that microphone. Oftentimes they're telling us they can't hear the people in the audience. I think it's once again just speaking into it. People kind of back away from it, but we can maybe have a whole list. Sure. Thank you, Girl Scout. I have a few updates. In January, I will be giving a mid-year data review and
019the status of the district, so we will have our new members on board for that. One of the incoming members met with me and has reached out to Dr. Snyder and is requesting that the board participate in a webinar. That is 90 minutes. It deals with Robert's role training. It's about $2,000. So I just wanted to broach this with you now, but when our new members come on, we can revisit this in January and get some more details on that. Some of our students participated in a math competition recently. Students from Ms. Wenzel and Ms. Harper sent the letter out to parents and guardians. So these were students in the STEP program in grades two to six. And I am pleased to report that 12 students received honorable mention, scoring in the top 50% in
020the nation. There were over 20,000 participants and Travis Carpenter scored in the top 10% and received an honor roll. So we're really proud of those accomplishments in math. Way to go to the teachers and the students. I'm going to hand out in a moment a draft of the next year's school calendar. I'm going to give it to you now in December so you can look at it over the break. We can start talking about it in January and get some feedback. We did send it out to the association to see their feedback on that. I was supposed to meet with them today at 4 o'clock and our schedules just didn't allow so we're going to reschedule that and have some feedback on that. We had an ESL inter-district party recently. It was hosted at the
021George Mitchell School, and it was ESL students from all of the surrounding school districts and their families, and it worked out really well. The students were super excited about that. We have started our social and emotional learning club after school with Ms. Munn and Ms. Betts, and that is funded through a grant. We have started after school programs such as drama and Mr. Henderson is doing something with games and getting kids interacting that way. We've also sent out the invitations for our academic program that is going to start in January. I want to thank the PTO for their laser show assembly and all of their hard work. The students really enjoyed that and all of the other events that they have are absolutely amazing. Our safe return to school plan has been updated. It will
022be on the district website. We are required to update this every six months. There's also a place on the website that parents or community members can offer feedback. Any changes that are made will be on the plan as well. One of the major changes that we've spoke about in the past is that there's no more free breakfast and lunch provided, and families have to fill those forms out now to get that service. I want to thank the new board members, Mr. Filicello and Ms. Martin, who's here this evening, and Mariel. We had a nice meeting, went over some particulars about being on the board, what to expect, some policy and procedure, and I gave them a lot of homework to do. So hopefully they pass the test in January. Thank you to Mr. Keeb and
023Ms. Roth who could not be here this evening. She had something come up, but a sincere thank you to the two of you. The last three years have been wonderful with you, always very supportive, and thank you for your time and dedication to the school district. I'm going to be hosting a virtual sit with the soup January 18th at 6 o'clock. All are welcome to attend. You do have to RSVP for that event. And then lastly, Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, and thank you to our school family for everything. That's all I have. Do we have a copy of this? Yep, I'm going to pass it around here. It's basically the same as it is this year, but take that with you and we can talk about that in January when we have our new members
024on. Moving on to Residence Forum, agenda items only. The Board of Education recognizes the value of public comment on educational issues. The Board requests that the public respect a three-minute time limit in commenting on agenda items as cited in Policy Number 0167. General public comment will occur later in the evening. Would anyone like to speak at this time? Seeing as there's no one, moving on to Board Work Session. I do not have much this evening, but... The policy committee did meet to discuss one of the policy that I don't even know the policies number off the top of my head Regarding students' orientation we're going to discuss it further before it comes up for a first read Does any other committees have any other updates that they'd like to give at this time? I'd like
025to report on the seminar that I attended the school law forum And it was very interesting. It was at 8.30 to 3.30 on Wednesday, the fifth exact day. However, the things I took away, it was supposed to occur during the convention, I was told, but they separated it out and they provided it for attorneys, mainly attorneys, and there was about eight or ten. So the things I took away was information on the Oprah information, like protecting students. In particular, things can be open, however the student information has to be redacted and if we can't assure that or related information that's given in that open request, if it can't, if we can't beyond a reasonable doubt assure that the student's identity wouldn't be obvious or released, then we could refuse to give that information. The other
026thing I took away was under for diversity and equity and inclusion. One attorney explained how legislation throughout the years follows the culture. They updated us on all the past legislation. And they commented on religious liberties and case law that's come involving schools. Nothing specific to curriculum was mentioned, just with regard to teaching religion. some cases and special ed was covered at length and the stress there was the importance of spearheading solutions versus letting things get to the litigation phase. I can share the presentation with anybody who would like to. I have the powerpoints so if you're interested please just let me suggest. Can I, during work session, I'd like to just move, make a motion to separate out the health and PEAT for a later time. out of the policy and procedure number E, just
027separate it out to be voted separately later tonight. And I'm requesting, I was thinking of board forum, but if Mr. Green has a different suggestion, I'm going to add that back in. We're not yet at that section in the agenda, so I assume you're referring to someone that I... And then vote on it separately immediately after. Not moving on to finance. Recommend a motion to approve finance items A through W. Can I have a motion? Motion. Can I have a second? Are there any questions? We have a question. With regard to O and P, I had asked previously, and I thought I had emailed as well, and I did think I received a response. I'm assuming this is in regards to the fact that finance is no longer supporting our transportation. Yes, that's correct. Okay,
028originally when you had mentioned to us it was just going to be software I thought that we were going to have to purchase And now we need a consultant as well Yeah, there's a lot involved in our transportation department. The district previously ran the transportation department. They had a full-time Right, right. I know. I'm just trying to figure out the pattern here. Is Pylance still servicing equals what at Tuckerdale? They are. So then what was the decision just to terminate with us? So I mean yeah more of a pines answer but mr. Tallarico just thought it was too much and they had he had been getting compensated for quite some time to do it so that's why the agreement was Dismantled with little like harper. It's just it's a lot for him to do everything.
029So is he compensated from the other districts? Yes, it's a small amount. It's really minimal that he does for them. So then what have been prudent to Compensate him rather than hire a consultant. He didn't want to do it. And I feel talking about something for... This is a contracted agreement? Shared service. Mine was never made aware of. Lisa, do you understand a shared service for transportation? The contract written up. He had just historically always done all the runs. So... There it is. We have to get it for... I think it ran through... I see that. First. I guess I would just like to hold on that because I also too, what's the joint venture with Middletown? I know it's a small amount, but I just, Middletown's not very close to us here, so. So
030that is approved blanketly because they provide our out-of-district placement routes in some cases if we can't provide them. And that is just the set fee that they're going to be charging us. It's completely separate than O. P is completely different. We just get into the jointure if we have added district placement routes that we can't handle or we can't find a driver for. So I guess, oh, there's a lot too many different questions because without an attachment for a contract, she's being compensated $100 an hour, I'm assuming? Yes. I sent out correspondence to the board over the weekend. Yeah, I did see that afterwards because it was in the bottom of the, so I didn't expect to see that at the end. I did see that but I saw that I was being offered but
031I didn't see the dollar amount. That just seems very high to me for a consultant. I know you said that it was, I know it's less than paying someone with benefits but I guess I would still like some more information on this on how much would actually we think would be needed. I'm sorry, how much would be needed for what? How many hours we'd actually need a consultant. Probably a lot less than what's written there but we just want to be safe in case something comes up. You did a comparative, didn't you? You reached out to someone at the district. Okay, so what I did, where I got this information from, I contacted a former transportation director. He's the retired transportation director for the Tom's River School District. And he has 25 years of experience.
032I talked with him. He's a colleague of mine. hourly rate is he stated the ongoing rate for transportation coordinator is somewhere it's somewhere it's between $75 and $120 an hour and he does he's expressed to me that if we if this was someone that knew the district as well as well as you can because she was the former transportation director here and if we did in fact like her and he said that you're getting a possibility of absorbing it through our district instead of hiring additional staff Absorbing the responsibilities. I would have to work about 120 hours a week. Under your responsibilities? Yeah, it's under. It's non-curriculum. So there's day-to-day phone calls that come in. There's issues that come up. Just recently, like over the weekend, with the coastal flooding, arrangements had to be made
033for three of the buses to detour. These are the kind of details that the transportation coordinator would handle. Okay, and there has not been anybody else to facilitate that, just this person from violence now was drawn. They were responsible for all of that for our district. Are you referring to the transportation director of violence? Yes. Yes. I guess I'm a little concerned that 300 hours might be on, I realize this is not to exceed it, but if we have 180 days and someone has to be on demand or something to handle something like you just stated. That's under two hours a day, not including the route plan that would have to take place in the summer, which takes how long to do? That's an extensive process, right? So Doris and I sat down and discussed
034how many hours we felt would be appropriate for this, and this is probably overshooting. I'm very familiar with the district because she used to be my transportation coordinator here, and she said I could do what needs to be done within less than 300 hours. No, it's it's the the transition has been very amicable Okay, it's been Nick and I have met numerous times to go over different things He's also sat with Doris and discussed just about everything So So now it is he did is he when is it effectively over? It's probably technically never is because anytime I need to call Nick for something I guess I would like to see the contract between Pine Lens previous and maybe compare to see what Eagleswood and Tuckerdin are doing also. I guess I would like to
035have the full picture before I make it, just for me. I'm interested to know how much was compensated before, how much we compensated Pine Lens. Well, we didn't. We didn't. Nick had said that prior to that, but my question is, was he being compensated from Eagleswood and Tuckerdin? He personally is not. It's just what finance will build back for the work that's being done. So his salary doesn't change regardless. He's not getting extra money for that. But it's minimal. They only have a couple routes. Any other questions on finance items? Just on item M, the Board of Education approved a resolution to purchase natural gas services through the alliance. You had mentioned it's bulk rating through school districts. It's more advantageous. Is this something that could go up in price, though? Is it typical in
036relation to electric services where you contract with a different company and the prices are reduced for one and then change? No, it's a separate for the entire time. It's done through a bid, and it's a separate for a specified time. And we did this just for saving money. It's something that has been done for years. Mr. Kell. Ms. Sandler? Ms. Erber? Yes, with the exception of O until I get more information. I guess I abstain on that one. Ms. Lesnock? Yes. Mr. Berry? Dr. Snyder? Yes, also with the exception of O. I just would like some more information regarding that. Should we be voting no or abstaining? No. Okay, moving on to facilities. Recommend a motion to approve facility items A and B. Can I have a motion? Can I have a second? Are there
037any questions? Mr. Kell? Ms. Erber? Yes. Mr. Berry? Yes. Ms. Lesnock? Yes. Ms. Semler? Yes. Dr. Snyder? Yes. Motion carries. Okay. There is no technology items at this time. Is there any new business at this time? Okay. The following items are being presented for informational purposes, community school financials, as well as correspondence from Mr. Cole, the facilities manager. Number 16, personnel. Recommend a motion to approve personal items A through N. Can I have a motion? Can I have a second? Second. Are there any questions? I just would like to comment on Ms. Wilscroft's resignation. I just want to give this a moment. Ms. Wilscroft was my daughter's teacher during COVID. During the heart of COVID, we left in March and we did not come back. And I will say, What an amazing person woman Teacher
038she is she didn't miss a beat She ran it I wish I had her abilities But she ran that classroom almost the same as she would have if she was in person and my daughter was a routine every single day From the day the school closed until the end of that school year and I am eternally and forever grateful And I just would like to wish her the best of luck I have a question on number six, WT. Now, are we requiring a 30-day or 60-day notice? It seems to me that the critics here are resigning from here and going over to Thailand. Is there a reason for that? Losing an HT, Registered Behavior Technician? Your question is for number six, Ryan Anderson? Yeah, what is your question? No, resignation. Number six. Hold up. B6,
039I think she's referring to. Yeah, B6. Harley Campbell. Yeah, I think my phone was, but I have a list. Yeah, it's here. So what was your question? So are we requiring a 30-day or 60-day notice? So there are 30 days, the RBTs, and it all depends on when she resigned, when she sent her letter in. So there are 30 days. So 30 days she was giving us. Sure, yes. And we've lost a couple. I thought they were we need an RVT. So you'll see on there later. We are replacing her with there's someone else being hired and I think we did post today for an RVT. So we have we're getting Ryan and then we're posting for Carly's position. So we haven't replaced her yet. Not yet. We just posted that. And then do they
040report to Marissa Elwood? They report to Kelly Bonera and Marissa. Yeah, I just I know that Marissa is a. And then one more question. The negotiations, what's the status of that? I see a lot of... We can't talk about that. Okay. Do we need a board member on there? Because it seems to be running a long time. So should we have a board member on that committee? We don't have a board member currently on that committee. We don't have a committee for that right now. Well, we can discuss it. I think one may be needed. We can go back into executive if necessary and if you want to discuss it further. Any other questions? Can we have a roll call vote? Mr. Kell, Ms. Erber? Yes. Mr. Berry? Yes. Ms. Zaleska? Yes. Ms. Semler? Yes.
041Dr. Snyder? Yes. The motion carries. Okay, moving on to Hib, I recommend a motion to approve harassment, intimidation, and bullying items presented and discussed in the executive session. Can I have a motion? Motion. Can I have a second? Second. Are there any questions? If not, can we have a roll call vote, please? Mr. Kell? Yes. Ms. Herber? Yes. Mr. Berry? Yes. Ms. Zelenla? Yes. Ms. Sembler? Yes. Dr. Snyder? Yes. The motion carries. Okay, moving on to policies and procedures. Recommend a motion to approve policies and procedures items A through F. Can I have a motion? Motion. Can I have a second? Are there any questions? Well, I have questions. I wanted to pull out the item A for a separate vote. If she wants to do it, I'm supposed to initiate it. Okay, well, whatever.
042second so let's have a discussion on it so I wish we had that printed out for everyone to see the attachment so I don't does anyone have a copy of the attachment for what you're referring to so you want to separate you want to separate me just yeah just that HMP okay so do you want to let everyone know what voting on whether we're separating we have a motion so we're discussing it before we vote so you have to let everyone know What what it is that you're separating okay, and that you want to vote on? Okay, well how we make the motion you second it right okay in which standards there's a very standard to you know we're gonna we're gonna discuss it at that time Okay, just a vote. Oh, just just okay.
043All right is everyone okay with that so we're gonna do Let's take a vote to separate the health and PE standards into We're going to separate 18E, which are the curriculum standards for health and PE, into their individual standards to vote on them at a later time. Now, motion is separate. Have a roll call vote on that motion to separate out E and vote on that separately. Mr. Kell, Ms. Sandler, Ms. Herbert. Yes. Mr. Berry. Yes. Ms. Eleznach. Yes. Dr. Snyder. Yes. The motion carries. And so are there any... Questions on A through F excluding E. The policies are under here for revision. Yes. Student suicide prevention. Well, the revision was that we take out notifying the parents immediately when a child has a suicide threat or self-harm threat. And I don't know if I
044agree with that. I mean, I understand it can't be done immediately all the time. Can we say as soon as practicable? Something like that. Because in the current revision, the assessment is done internally before even the parents are. We're not saying they're not going to be contacting. We're saying that we're going to be going through the process and taking care of the child first to make sure that is assessed if they need immediate assistance, and then the parent is contacted. Oftentimes, after the investigation is done, it's not as... as we originally thought. So it is more important to actually do a thorough analysis first and to investigate and then to contact the parent. But we are contacting the parent. Right. But if it was my child, I think I would want to know sooner rather
045than later that this is going on in the school rather than waiting for an internal team, which wasn't identified really as the suicide intervention team, to look at it first. And then maybe it could be a couple hours that long. Maybe it should go to the policy committee first. Well, I guess also, too, who is our suicide, what is the protocol? So it would go to the administration first, and then we would contact a counselor or someone on the child study team if the student is an IEP, and then that job would be assessed. But we do have people trained in the district to assess the situation. The new service that Kelly has spoken about previously, that company is coming in in January. So we will have the additional support from them. Does anybody else
046think? I'm going to say this, just as someone who's devil's advocate and not being quite like, in the heart of the moment, if something is happening and you think a child is concerned about harming themselves, number one, you can think about all the training that you have and you do what you believe is right, but your first thing is going to be to protect the child, I think. And then contact a parent. I don't know that that's going to be in your timeline of things to do. I think you're going to think, okay, what kind of, that's going to be. Natural and well, I guess that's a question like I mean everyone's question of the media could be like as soon as you think of it Yeah, yeah, I mean I guess I just I
047think that the students well-being is going to be the thing that's going to be of the utmost concern Yeah, I guess to change the wording is that they revise it again I'll be back to that because you know, I got all I've got to have my second Okay, so can we have a roll call vote for items 18A through F excluding E? Mr. Kell? Yes. Ms. Ermburt? Yes. Mr. Berry? Yes. Ms. Zeleznak? Yes. Ms. Sandler? Yes. Dr. Snodder? Yes. Motion carries. Moving on to informational items. The following items are being presented for informational purposes, enrollment, and tenancy. Moving on to E. I'd like to make a motion to approve all the health curriculum as written in our attachment except for the standard 2.1.5 SSH number two. What was that number again? 2.1.5 SSH two. One
048dealing with sexual orientation and gender identity. On the ground, you know, this is my... my concern, that it's dealing with romantic and sexual attraction, inappropriate for age group, and the gender identity, which is elusive and vague, having no real consistent terms or definitions, and poses safety risks for our students. And I would say confusion for our teachers, the administration staff, potential liability, and first and foremost, safety. to our female population. So I would like to accept all of the curriculum as presented except for that one. I want to know what everybody thinks about that. I just . Need a second. Sorry. Now. So I just want to say that Removing one of the standards still keeps us out of compliance with what we're supposed to be doing according to the New Jersey standards and what
049the teachers have worked on in terms of curriculum. I have not seen them being confused delivering these standards. They spoke many times. They worked really hard on this over the summer and into September. And it's easy to make assumptions of what that standard would derive, but that is not what is being taught. With that standard, the curriculum is very clear. It gives examples of lessons that are going to be taught. And once again, we're talking about two lessons in May that are about 45 minutes each. And parents have the ability to opt out of those lessons if they have feelings such as you do for them. And they get to opt out, and then we're still in compliance with all of the other students that will be participating. Well, I understand your concerns, but there
050are no materials attached to this particular standard. And as I said, the definitions and the terms are very elusive and vague, and they're not founded in factual information, educational information. Well, I think that personally, I think the state has, this will be the only way. This does not belong in education. This is social engineering. indoctrination. I'm going to also talk about the people who have terribly upset and gone through this type of thing in their life and now they're crying out, please slow down on this, that if they could go back they wouldn't, but it's irreversible. I think it's cruel to confuse kids, even warn them of this stuff. So there is, in short here, I will never vote for this. I don't care if we're out of compliance. If it's a tax dollar thing
051you're worrying about, then this is not, this is about morals for me. I can't do that. When I was a kid, my parents, they gave me a compass. They told me how to use that compass, and many times in my life, I haven't, and I've gotten lost. But I've always been able to go back to that compass to find my way. I'm thankful. And at that time period, when I went to school, schools were there to enforce the use of that compass that my parents gave me. Nowadays, I think that they're in direct opposition to a lot, actually most parents, when it gets down to this kind of stuff. I am all for this curriculum teaching the golden rule that we are to love everybody irrespective of how you, of anything. We are all of
052the same value. We're all of the same worth. And all students, all children should be taught to love one another as they would love to be, as they love themselves. That's what we should reinforce. We all in favor of that. But when you start getting into this stuff, I cannot ever afford this. So you do what you want, but I don't care what the state says about this. If we are 99.99% in compliance and they want to hold funding on something like this, well, then let the community get involved and tell me to go pound salt or fight them. But I can't approve it. To your point, Howard, too, there's never been any curriculum-related litigation that we know of thus far. And just to remind everybody, the transgender guidance that came out in 2019, I'll
053just remind everybody what the DOE did at the end of it. When they cited resources in this guidance, they said, please be advised that these resources are provided for informational purposes only. Neither the New Jersey Department of Ed nor its officers, employees, or agents specifically endorsed these resources or the entity hosting these resources. Please note the New Jersey Department of Education has not validated the materials related to these resources. I know that the staff has worked really hard on this. I'm also going to say that, you know, saying that it's only two 45-minute lessons, you know, is that doing something that people feel is valid, giving it that little bit amount of time? Is it, I guess I don't know what purpose it's serving. Is it answering children's questions? Is it creating more questions? What,
054I just, I agree with Pam that it's a great area and that that particular standard itself, I don't know that at that age level, It's and it hasn't been done yet, so We're trying to get out of these kids basically I don't know if you remember but when our kids were in fifth and sixth grade at least mine I was longer time ago you couldn't watch that whole video without sending the sign the form and You got to watch the entire thing before it happened and this it's just there's a lot of just And I know it's not that I don't have faith in you. It's who comes after you. We don't, you know what I mean? It's, we're leaving it once we open that door. We don't know if it's written that it can
055be, it could be. That's right. I agree. But I mean, there's a lot of great stuff in this curriculum. I was reading through it and welcoming and enduring understanding is to welcome all kids. and treat everybody the same and I believe our teachers are doing that. It's just our education to be factual and that leaves a lot of room. She's only in 8th grade. But now she wants all these clothes that have mushrooms on it. So I felt the need to have this discussion with her because, not that I'm a child of that age group, but I was like, you do know that drugs can be edibles and things like that. It can be in gummy bears. And she had no idea. And so that was a hole somewhere that was in that gap that
056we talk about drugs with regards to marijuana and pills and alcohol. But we don't say that someone contains your food. or something like that and it can have the same effects. So, like to see it would help us know if there's any holes that us as parents would have to fill also or if it's appropriate or that we feel consciously that it's appropriate. I think it's... On the table is to vote it in without that stamp. I guess or the option is do you want to table it until next month to see the exact material. I think we've discussed... the materials that were given to us. I don't think we should delay this any longer. I ask, is it possible to see the exact plants? So the lesson plans were provided, they gave sample lesson
057plans when we did these presentations a few times, and when it gets closer to May, a parent could ask to see the sample lesson plan. It's not a secret. So absolutely, I mean, we have until May, and if a parent requests before they fill their opt-out form, they could request to see the lesson plan. But we have to remember this is more than a lesson plan. It's a standard. It's a concept. so that many lesson plans can be developed around this standard which says that gender, we have to differentiate between sexual orientation and gender identity. Which, I'm sorry, what standard was this exactly? Can you, 2.5 SSH2. It used to be when you send your kids to school, they would learn prepositions, parts of speech, diagram theorem, they would learn geography, and that's, Parents always
058assume, and I think still do assume, and we've been into stuff like this. I don't know parents, and if you say there's no confusion about this, as an educator for nearly four decades, I'm confused when I have a student who wants to go by a different name, saying that they'd like me to call in and discuss their student. I can't say. Say the parent can't know what and I'm terribly confused by this. I see a kid sitting there who is by just a dumb shop teacher's perspective emotionally needs help by professionals that I'm not. But I can see that from experience. So I'm confused. It doesn't seem like they're getting the help they need. And so I don't, and I'm, by law, I can't tell the parent. Maybe the parent even knows that the name
059is different than what's in my rule book. But I can't say that. That's, I, this is, these kids need help. I'm not doing this out of hate, believe me. I'm not, these kids are, well, anyway, I said it. It's based on minor students' feelings instead of, and the parents you write. These kids that I have are in high school. Well, that was high school. You know, theoretically, in law, by the law, a kindergarten could be talking to another kid in class and say, yeah, I think I want to be. And so they can come into school and say that, and by law, am I wrong? By law, that has to be, you can't really talk about that at home. And it also allows for a student to enter the administrators in toll. Ask me if
060I'm in a continent, something that's happening at Pinelands, I'm not. I'm talking about in education. Okay, never mind. I understand. So would anyone like to enter the executive to discuss this further? I'm not putting any pressure, I'm just asking. I only need this one yes for that to say. There's a motion on the table, though. So we have to vote yes or no on that. We're going to make a motion to go to executive to discuss it, and then we'll come back. One person has a question. I'd just like everyone to be cleared before they vote. And then we'll come back. Motion to go to executive? I want to talk about an executive related to this motion. I'll say what I'm going to say. Let's just say it there. And then you can come back
061and say it here again as long as it's a board. So did anyone give us a motion or no? Thank you. Motion to go into executive for purpose of turning the line. Can I have a second? Mr. Kelp, Ms. Sandler, Ms. Lesnock. We should be about 15 minutes and then we will be returning to public session. We are re-entering public session and I believe we decide. Was there a motion to table this until... Yes, if you wanted to... If you want to table it, you have to say I'd like to sub-motion to table it to the next. It would be the first and then we'd need a second. No, I need a second. Mr. Kelp, Ms. Sandler. Ms. Erber? No. Ms. Zelezno? I just want to make a statement. Again, it's no disrespect to anyone
062who was involved at all in the curriculum development whatsoever. Number one, we value the work that you did and continue to do with it. We just want to make the right decision. It's not an easy decision. And that's all I can say for myself. I don't know if anybody else wants to say anything. Okay. Moving on to 19, informational items. The following items are being presented for informational purposes. Enrollment and attendance reports, fire and emergency drill reports, and health office reports. Moving on to number 20, public comment. The floor is now open to members of the public. The Board of Education recognizes the value of public comment on educational issues. The Board requests that each statement made by a participant is limited to three minutes, as cited in policy number 0167. There is a sign-in
063sheet located on the podium. Please sign in before you speak. Anyone like to speak? He's our new board attorney, Mr. Lee. Okay, the last two board meetings have been about other charges being barricaded, how they would like to go to the top. President, will you ask the attorney his advice as to whether to opt in an appropriate decision? This is a chance for you to give public comment, not necessarily for us to respond at this time. I feel it would be very appropriate to give advice to this current Senate. I'll begin. He doesn't agree or agree with his opinion. I'm sorry to interrupt. We have 30 minutes. I would if nobody else did. Would anyone else in the audience like to speak first? Thank you. Okay, that closes out public comment. Okay, moving on to
064board forum. Is there anything anybody would like to say? I would like just the issues that have come up over the last couple of board meetings to task the administration. I would like to see them form an assessment team of sorts to discuss the enrollment, the increased enrollment, and then come back to us with your solutions, proposed solutions, because that is an issue. So it's in our strategic plan. Right. So it's something that's going to be starting. We're going to be forming a group to look at that analysis. Okay, because I know this is... Strategic plan goes over five years, so I don't want to take that long and the PCR I've been asking for as well this board needs the PCR as well as ESSER funded positions to make informed decisions in budget season
065so if you could please provide us with that Yes, I can. Okay. Thank you. Okay. I would just like to thank everyone all the students that presented tonight Everyone, I'm sure there were, I saw some things on Facebook with some great contests for the holiday season. I just wish everyone a healthy holiday, a healthy and happy new year, and look forward to seeing you back in 2023. And have a good evening. And then can we just have a motion to adjourn? All in favor? I forgot to thank you in type publicly. I'm sorry. I did it before. All in favor? Any opposed? Any abstain? Okay.