001I would like to call the meeting to order. In accordance with the provisions of the New Jersey Open Public Meeting Act of 1975, the Ottabon Board of Education transmitted notice of the meeting scheduled at 6:30 p.m. The Ottabon Junior Senior High School Media Center to the Retrospect newspaper and clerk and by postings on the Ottabon Public School District website and at the main and the Pine Street entrances of the junior senior high school. Roll call, please. Mrs. Ron Amy Davis here. Steven Wilson absent. Sarah Alison Lipsky absent. Mark Gaddy. Wilson abanches Alison Cox Andrea Robinson absent Jonathan Max All right. I just talked to Bill. There we go. All right. Whereas while the Senator Byron open public meetings act requires all meetings of the Ottabon Board of Education to be held in public NJSA 104-2
002sets for nine types of matters that may lawfully be discussed in executive session i.e without the public being permitted to attend. And whereas the Ottabon Board of Education has deemed it necessary to go into close session to discuss certain matters as are noted on the agenda. May I have a motion to go into executive session? All in favor? Any opposed? We will be approximately 30 minutes. All right. May I have a motion to reconvene the board of education meeting? All in favor? Any opposed? All right. Once again, I'd like to call the meeting to order and Ask everyone to please stand for the flag salute. United States of America to the republic for it stands one nation under God indivisibley and justice for all. Next I'd like to ask our student representatives to make their
003reports. Everybody, I have a couple things I wanted to talk about this meeting. The first thing is NJGPA teaching uh testing. The 11th graders took it last week. 98% of students took it. Only 2% are going to have to do makeup this week. The school day was not interrupted. Everybody else followed a normal school schedule, which is good because that is one of the big goals of our education committee and other committees on the board. Um senior trip is coming up on Monday. So any senior that signed up to go will be going to Disney until Friday. Um there is the art for unity event on April 1st which is with no heat in the garden state. There are all so you can submit like an art project. You can do like singing. You can
004do singing, writing, all that type of that's really cool. Um very nice for anybody in the community to show up. Um there are many college fairs and career fairs coming up around southern New Jersey. Um, if you look on the council corner which was sent to your a bunch of stuff about that and a bunch of links to things that you are able to access and go to to further yourself in that field. Our girls and boys winter track broke a bunch of records um over their season. They had a real season. We had a 4x4 team for our sprint medley relay go to Nike Indoor Nationals. Um they placed fourth out of 28 teams and had a 5-second school record. So that's really exciting. Congrats It is National Athletic Trainers Month. So, we wanted
005to say thank you to Liam Corbal, who is our school's athletic trainer job providing everything we need um and helping us with a whole bunch of stuff. So, thank you, Liam. Two weeks ago, there was Prom the Musical, which was a really great musical. He was whether that be in the cast and stage crew, everybody involved did a really great job. And then the last thing I wanted to talk about was Prom is coming up. Prom tickets go on sale on April 1st and then prom tables shortly after. So if you are a junior or are getting invited by one of those grades, super exciting. Buy your ticket. Yay. Jane pretty much covered all the bases there. Um but recently there's a many from welcoming committee that's uh being trying to be formed. Um I
006made the Google form and everything and there's a lot of participants. So soon we will try to crack down on that and get all the people in that because we uh are nearing the time for n from kids to come over here. Really excited about that. It's going to be great and really help from kids come over and blend in with their wheels. Great guys. Thank you very much. Any questions for our student reps? All right. Terrific. Next we're going to move on to arguably the highlight of our evening. We're going to have our students of the month spotlight for February 2025 and we are also going to recognize our staff members of the month. So, we will get started with our pre kindergarten students. For preschool, we have Nathan Williams. Is Nathan here? Come
007on up. [Applause] Yes, everyone's invited to come up. If you need to come with your special grown-up, that's absolutely fine. And make sure that you stay at the end so that we can take a group picture. Nathan Williams was chosen as student of the month because he demonstrates all the characteristics of swarm. Nathan prioritizes safety by following directions carefully and ensuring those around him feel secure. His focus on safety inspires others to follow rules as he gently reminds his classmates to stay on track. Very good. Nathan works together with his peers, demonstrating collaboration and willingness to support others in group activities. He naturally guides his peers, leading by example and showing a genuine interest in helping others learn. Nathan demonstrates a strong commitment to learning which helps him achieve his goals with determination and curiosity.
008Eager eagerly exploring new learning opportunities. His respectful attitude shows through his interactions as he listens, shares, and shows kindness to everyone in the classroom. Lastly, his mindfulness allows him to regulate his emotions and be aware of how his actions affect others. If he makes a mistake, he quickly apologizes without a grown-up around. When faced with sadness, he quickly bounces back and moves on with a sense of calm and understanding. His curiosity and eagerness to learn is truly inspiring. Nathan Nathan is an asset to have in our classroom. His teacher writes, "I am confident that Nathan will continue to inspire others with his presence and genuine compassion. We are so proud of you, Nathan. Congratulations." Okay, you take that. Thank you. And for kindergarten, we have Evelyn Whistler. Is she here today? All right. Hi, how
009are you? This is for you. Open it up and you can face the crowd as I read some wonderful things about you. Okay. Evelyn was nominated as the kindergarten student of the month student of the month and has done an exceptional job so far this school year. and always comes into the classroom with a smile and a positive attitude that is contagious to her classmates. Evelyn is a friendly Havlin Hornet who displays safe, respectful, and responsible behavior each and every day toward her classmates and teachers. She goes above and beyond to help her peers. Evelyn's hard work, passion for learning, and a desire to do well is a great combination for success. We are lucky to have such a responsible Havlin Hornet in our classroom and are very excited to award Evelyn student of the
010month. Congratulations. High five. Oh, the um Catalina La Palama is uh February's first grade student of the month. There she is. Wow. Congratulations. Right there. Catalina's teacher says that she is very deserving of this award for many reasons. She exemplifies all the PBIS traits of being respectful, responsible, and safe. Catalina is a wonderful role model for other students. She models respectful behavior by raising her hand, helping others, and following school procedures. She shows responsibility through her independence in completing assignments and knowing all the classroom procedures and expectations without having to be reminded. Catalina takes pride in her school work and always gives 110% effort. She has a growth mindset and is willing to take chances and challenge herself with activities that may seem difficult. She never backs down from a challenge. Finally, Catalina follows the
011rules of the playground and hallway so that she and other students can stay safe. Catalina started first grade as a quiet and shy student. She was reserved and often held back from interacting with her classmates. Catalina has found her voice and confidence. She has made many friendships and now initiates playing with her peers. Catalina is still quiet, but she is no longer reserved and shy. Catalina's academic and personal growth has been a joy to watch. Congratulations, Catalina. We and your teacher are excited to see what you do, what the rest of your brains. Congratulations. Good job. Harrison Venet Shaw Warren is February's second grade student of the month. All right, there you go. Harrison, you want to stand right there? In their nomination for second grade student of the month, Harrison's teacher states that Harrison
012is a model student in the classroom who always does his best work inside the our classroom, in the cafeteria, and on the playground. Harrison is a role model to his peers by always being safe, respectful, and responsible. He goes out of his way to help other students and is not afraid to do the right thing. In addition, Harrison contributes meaningfully to class discussions. He loves to share his knowledge with us about science and math. Harrison is quiet, but once you get him started on a topic that he is interested in, he will likely teach you a thing or two. Harrison's teacher is excited to see him continue to grow during his time here in Havlin and looks forward to hearing about the amazing things he will accomplish as he grows. Congratulations, Harrison. Alicia Shabbaz, known
013as Ellie. [Applause] Thank you. So, Ellie is nominated as the third grade student of the month. Ellie has demonstrated raw behaviors and qualities in every way. Ellie is respectful to teachers and peers. She takes ownership for her own learning by participating and asking questions during lessons. If she does not understand something, she is not afraid to ask for help. She is an She is in constant competition with herself and is always striving to get 100% on her assignments. Ellie shows achievement by always doing her best and taking pride in her work. She shows responsibility by handing in assignments on time and coming to school prepared for assessments. Ellie is a hardworking student who takes school very seriously, much more seriously than her little sister, and has a positive attitude while doing it. She has been
014a true pleasure to have in class. Congratulations. [Applause] All right, for grade four, Brody Preston. [Applause] All right, it is with great honor to recognize Brody Preston as student of the month for fourth grade. Brody always does his very best to exemplify roar behavior at Mansion Avenue School. He shows respect to both his peers and teachers. Brody shows ownership of his very best schoolwork. Achievement is shown as Brody always tries his best in everything he does. He also shows responsibility by always completing his assignments. Brody is a joy to have in class. He works hard and always participates in class. He is also always willing to help others. Congratulations, Brody. You're welcome. We have Fiona Conahan. [Applause] Fiona Conahan has earned the nomination of student of the month. Fiona consistently demonstrates Mansion's raw behaviors. She's
015kind. She's a kind, hardworking student who's always on task and puts forth her best effort in every lesson and assignment. She's consistently engaged in the classroom and enjoys working with and helping her classmates in small groups. Fiona's dedication to both her academics and her peer relationships highlights her understanding of Mansion's core values of respect, ownership, achievement, and responsibility. Congratulations, Fiona. Keep up the great work. Great job. The sixth grade student of the month is Trevor Gregoire. [Applause] At Mansion Avenue School, we were reminded daily of how the community and culture that we have cultivated throughout the years have helped to develop and nurture our students. Respect, ownership, achievement, and responsibility, or ROAR, are qualities that support and reinforce the colorful character of our school community. At Mansion Avenue School, we are fortunate to have model
016students like Trevor who mirror these traits. Trevor's contributions in our classroom discussions provide insight and clarity to all subjects. His strength in math is demonstrated by his ability to provide detailed analysis and problem solving skills. In language arts, he applies each reading and grammar skill to his own writing and takes pride in his work when using transitions in his essays. He remains curious and thoughtful regarding social studies and sub science subjects. Trevor plays hockey and baseball and is equally enthusiastic to participate in those sports. His sense of humor and appreciation for sarcasm is also the reason that he is so warmly loved by his classmates and teachers. It is clear that Trevor's commitment and discipline is demonstrated in his work ethic and approach to his academics. He works hard and challenges himself to do his
017very best. He is an active learner and supports his peers. Trevor is always polite and his demonstration of roar expectations are immeasurable. For all these reasons and more, Trevor has earned our designation of sixth grade student of the month. Congratulations, Trevor. And for seventh grade we have Ava Dill [Applause] Diachill. Ava Diachill has been selected as a seventh grade student of the month for her dedication, hard work, and well-rounded involvement in both academics and extracurricular activities. She is a diligent student who balances her time between soccer, band, and choir while maintaining a strong commitment to her studies. Since the beginning of the school year, Ava has demonstrated a keen interest in robotics, showing both initiative and enthusiasm in exploring coding concepts. She not only completes her assignments quickly and efficiently, but also takes the extra
018step to collaborate with her partner and expand on coding possibilities beyond what is required. Ava is always willing to lend a helping hand to her classmates, making her a supportive and valued member of the classroom. Her favorite subject is math, where she continues to excel with her problemsolving skills and determination. Outside of school, she enjoys spending time with her two sisters, her brother, and her two birds. Ava's curiosity, kindness, and strong work ethic make her a pleasure to have in class, and she is truly deserving of this recognition. [Applause] All right. And for our grade eight student of the month, we have Scarlett Lopez [Applause] Campos. Congratulations. Scarlett Lopez Campos has been selected as Ottabbon's eighth grade student of the month for her outstanding work ethic and positive attitude. She's a dedicated student who always
019puts in the best her best effort and actively participates in class discussions. Scarlet is known for her willingness to assist her classmates, whether by offering a helping hand with assignments or encouraging them to stay engaged. Her cheerful her cheerful personality and constant smile help create a welcoming and enjoyable classroom environment. She is not only a hardworking student, but also a kind and supportive friend to those around her. Outside of school, Scarlet enjoys swimming for Tavistock in the summer where she demonstrates her dedication and teamwork. She has a passion for English class and loves spending time with her friends. Scarlet's enthusiasm for learning and the abil and her ability to brighten the mood in any situation make her a true asset to Ottabbon Junior High. Her teachers appreciate her strong effort, kindness, and positive influence on
020her peers. Congrats to Scarlet on her this well-deserved recognition. [Applause] Congratulations. Lauren Hagen is the freshman class student of the month. I was looking in the big group over there. There you go. Thank you so much. Good job. Lauren Hagen is the type of student who reminds you why you chose to work in education. She consistently goes above and beyond, not only completing her work with excellence, but also striving to improve and challenge herself. Her hardworking nature and positive attitude make her a joy to have in the classroom. Lauren always has a smile on her face and is eager to help her peers where whenever they need assistance. She is a role model for her classmates, demonstrating kindness, dedication, and a strong work ethic. In addition to her academic achievements, Lauren is also a talented
021athlete, playing field hockey in the fall and preparing to participate in lacrosse this spring. Hold on. Her ability to balance both academics and athletics with grace and enthusiasm is truly commendable. Lauren's positive influence extends beyond the classroom as she leads by example with her determination and generosity. She's a student who not only meets expectations but exceeds them, making a lasting impact on those around her. [Applause] Congratulations. Rihanna Murphy is Ottabon's 10th grade student of the month. [Applause] Briana Murphy, Ottabon's 10th grade student of the month, is one of the hardest working and kindest students at AHS. She has maintained an A average in every class this year and earned an impressive 99.4 GPA last marking period. Always striving for academic excellence, Briana has enrolled in challenging courses and has not only risen to the occasion,
022but has truly thrived, demonstrating resilience, dedication, and a passion for learning. Her nomination for student of the month is not just a reflection of her outstanding academic achievements, but also her exceptional character. Briana is dedicated, focused, and constantly progressing in the classroom. But what stands out most is her kindness toward her peers, respect for her teachers, and consistently positive attitude. She embodies the values of rigor and excellence that AHS takes pride in fostering. Beyond academics, Briana has a passion for science and hopes to study a science related field in college. Briana's commitment to both her studies and her character makes her an excellent role model for her classmates and a deserving recipient of this recognition. Congratulations. [Applause] Aison Young has been selected as Ottabban High School's 11th grade student of the month. Aison Young has
023been selected as Ottabban High School's 11th grade student of the month for his outstanding dedication both in the classroom and on the court. Aison is a hardworking student who always comes to class prepared and ready to learn. He's known for his kindness and willingness to help others, always celebrating the success of his peers. His positive attitude and everpresent smile make him a pleasure to have in class. Aison is not only respectful to his teachers and staff members, but also serves as a role model for his classmates. On the basketball court, he reached an incredible milestone this year, scoring his 1,000th career point while helping lead the Green Wade to the South Jersey quarterfinals. We need him on the Sixers. With another season ahead, he currently ranks eighth all time in scoring for boys basketball at
024Ottabon. Beyond his athletic and academic achievements, Aison enjoys reading, writing, and cooking. He has two brothers, including a younger one who's a freshman at Ottabon. Aison has great potential academically and if he continues to push himself, anything is possible for his future. Looking ahead, he plans to study business in college and pursue a real estate license, demonstrating his ambition and drive for success. Congratulations, Aison. And our senior class student of the month is Payton Scott. [Applause] Payton is an outstanding student whose kindness, dedication, and enthusiasm make him a valued member of the Ottabon High School community. He is always respectful, caring, and willing to engage with both his peers and teachers, greeting everyone with a smile, obviously evident in the hallways and classrooms. Payton is a hard-working student who consistently puts in the effort to
025reach his full potential. If he encounters challenges, he takes the initiative to ask for help and find ways to improve, demonstrating his commitment to learning. His positive attitude and perseverance make him a bright spot in the classroom, and his determination to succeed sets an ex excellent example for others. Beyond his academic achievements, Payton has a deep passion for art and has taken on the challenge of expanding his skills, particularly in working with clay. He eagerly experiments with new techniques and seeks out additional resources to enhance his understanding of different artistic styles and periods. His curiosity and drive extend beyond the classroom as he actively studies art at home and borrows books to deepen his knowledge. Payton's dedication to personal growth is also evident in his involvement in extracurricular activities as a member of the cross
026country and track teams and the National Honor Society. His kindness, enthusiasm, and work ethic make him incredibly deserving of this recognition. With his passion for art, education, and his willingness to always better himself, Pton is sure to make a meaningful impact in his future endeavors. Congratulations, [Applause] All right. Next, we are going to recognize some of our staff members uh for the month of February 2025. And for our preschool on Havlin Avenue, we will start with Gwen [Applause] Klouse. Mrs. I'm Hang on one second. Mrs. Ledger, I'm sorry. Some people are leaving. Please, if you're able to stay, um, students, please make sure that you stay because we want to take a group shot and and faculty members too at the end. Thank you. Thank you for coming out this evening. Um, the Havland Avenue
027educator of the month for February 2025 is Mrs. Gwen Klaus. As a basic skills teacher, Mrs. Klaus provides push-in and pull out small groupoup instruction in first and second grade. The interventions that she provides help students focus on specific skills where they are struggling so that they can tackle problems and get back on track to meet grade level expectations. This type of support helps build tenacity and stamina in our students resulting not only in improved academic performance but also increased confidence and self-esteem. Mrs. Klaus models a can do attitude and celebrate success with her students. Their trust in her is evident as they seek her out for support when needed. In addition to the valuable contributions made in the classroom, Mrs. Claus seeks professional growth opportunities as well as ways to be more involved in
028our school community. She can be counted on to lend a hand when needed. And excuse me, I got ahead of myself. She collaborated with colleagues to plan the ReadAcross America activities for our building for the past two years. As a co-teer, she is a leader in the classroom and she contributes to professional dialogue with insight and using data to make informed instructional decisions for our students. Mrs. Klouse greets students with a smile, helps them succeed in school, and is an asset to our Havlin school family. We are grateful for her service and proud to honor her as our Havland Avenue Educator of the Month. Next for Mansion Avenue, we have Janine Gilbrook. [Applause] Yes, she didn't make it. The Mansion Avenue staff member of the month for February 2025 is Janine Gilbrook. Janine is always
029radiating positivity, consistently brightening the school environment. No matter what challenges arise, her upbeat attitude never falters. Her enthusiasm is contagious and it plays a key role in creating an atmosphere where both students and staff feel supported, motivated, and appreciated. Students are especi especially fond of Miss Janine. They trust her deeply and know they can rely on her to help them navigate even the toughest challenges. She has an incredible ability to meet students where they are and push them to achieve success. Whether it's academic challenges or social emotional growth, Janine provides unwavering support, encouragement, and guidance. Her dedication helps students not only overcome obstacles, but feel a sense of pride in their accomplishments. Janine is also a beloved member of the staff. She is has a remarkable ability to lift others up, often often reminding us
030why we chose to enter the field of education in the first place, for the love of students and the care we share for one another. Janine is always ready to lend a helping hand, share a kind word, or offer thoughtful advice when needed. She exemplifies the core values of teamwork, compassion, and dedication, making her an invaluable asset to our school community. For all of these reasons and more, Janine is truly deserving of this recognition. Her impact at Mansion Avenue is immeasurable, and we're lucky to have her as part of our team. [Applause] And for the Ottabon Junior Senior High School, we have Thea Reichi. [Applause] Good evening everybody. It is with great pleasure that we recognize Thea Richie as our teacher of the month. As a health and PE teacher, Thea consistently demonstrates unwavering dedication
031and passion for both her students and her craft. Her enthusiasm for teaching and commitment to her students success is evident in everything she does, inspiring those around her to engage fully in the lessons and activities she leads. Beyond her exceptional teaching, Thea goes above and beyond to contribute to the school community. She is always willing to lend a hand, whether it's covering classes, adjusting schedules, or offering support to her colleagues. Her flexibility and collaborative spirit make her an invaluable team member and her kindness and positive attitude help create an environment that fosters growth and success for everyone. Thea is not only a fantastic educator but also a wonderful person to work with. Her passion, work ethic, and caring nature make her a true asset to our school and we are incredibly fortunate to have her
032as part of the Ottabban family. Congratulations to Thea on being named teacher of the month and thank you for being a true example of pride and [Applause] excellence. Fantastic. All right, if we could have all of our students of the month and our faculty staff members of the month, you guys could just head over there to the glass doors. We'll get some pictures. of the month. We don't have any official presentations this evening, so I'm going to uh turn the mic over to Miss Allen to give us uh her superintendent report. Thank you. Uh on 3:14 we had our strategic planning work session. We had approximately 20 people in attendance, mostly teachers, a few administrators, and parents. We worked on the four major goals that you can see on the website. They were broken down
033into three actionable goals and action plans were developed. Um, now the consultant has the information. It will all get put into a finalized and brought back to the board to review, but we were very happy with the work product that we got out of that day's work. Um, I was going to talk about the NJ GPA, but our students did. We did have 98% attendance. That was fabulous. Thank you parents for supporting and sending the students to school to make sure we get that uh assessment done. One last thing was if you didn't have an opportunity to attend the school play, it was very I wanted to give a shout out to the students, staff, the crew, the everybody involved because it's a whole lot of people to make that happen. Parents involved as well
034and it was a really really nice performance. So I hope everybody got a chance to see that. Um I would just like to piggyback a little bit on um how wonderful the work day was for the strategic plan action committee. I was fortunate enough to be able to attend that day and just the collaborative efforts of everybody in the room. It was just very inspiring and and um just excellent conversations were had. I mean we we had a table where you had an AP math teacher talking to a first grade teacher. It was just um a a wonderful wonderful day and um I would uh again like to thank um Miss Allen for her work from beginning the project back in December when we did the student surveys and all the advertising to this point
035uh where we are right now. So thank you very much for your efforts in uh in helping us to achieve the strategic plan which we've been longing for for many years. Absolutely. Okay. Um moving on to approval of board minutes. May I have a motion to approve the minutes for February 19th executive session and public session? Roll call, please. Andrea Robinson, yes. Bill Wilson. Alison Cox, yes. Danielle D. Franchesco, Mark Gaddy, yes. Sarah Cen, Alison Lipsky, yes. Jonathan Maxon, yes. Amy Davis, yes. Motion passed. Thank you. All right. Next on the agenda is our first public participation session. The board of education recognizes 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
036and 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 district. For the first portion, public comments are invited on matters pertaining only to the agenda for tonight's meeting. And for the second portion, public comments are invited on all matters pertaining to the school district. Participants should announce their name, address, and any group they may represent if applicable. The board reserves the right to limit public discussion, and public discussion of a topic will be limited to 15 minutes, and individual speakers will be limited to three minutes. No participant may speak more than once on the same topic until all others who wish
037to speak on that topic have been heard. And please reference bylaw number 0167 of the Ottabon Public Schools Board of Education 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 comments sessions are an opportunity for citizens 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
038board 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 public comment? Hi, my name is Jay Maponey. I live at 30 East Merchant Street. Um, I represent the students of Ottabon Junior Senior High School. Um, we have come today to talk about the elimination of the position of the mental health um, assistant counselor position. Miss Ko is a beloved figure in our counseling department. She runs things like our grief group and our lunch groups which help many students. She helps with mental health counseling. She helps with interventions, drug and alcohol counseling. She is
039our homeless student liaison. She has many different different certifications than other counselors and other staff members in the building. So, she's able to help us in so many different ways. It's such a great resource for people who don't have regular ass access to things like therapy and other mental health resources. Everybody has such a high opinion of Miss Kao and she's able to devote such a great amount of time to each student and help with everybody's each specific needs. Nobody does the same thing as her in school as everybody else is more so geared towards school related things whereas she is somebody that can help you with anything that happens in your personal life. I myself have utilized Miss CBO when it came to things like the loss of my dad in my junior year.
040She when I finally came back to school, she called me down immediately and discussed things with me and helped me find resources. She's the reason why I went to therapy. She's the reason why I got on medication. We just want to say how upset we are about this decision for whatever it may be. And I now want to invite Marissa and Jamie up. Hi, I'm Marissa Derio. I'm a junior ner place old park, New Jersey. Sorry. I'm Jamie Reev and my address is 608 West Kings Highway Matt from New Jersey. We the students of Ottabbon High School strongly oppose the decision to eliminate the mental health counselor position. Miss CBO is an essential part of our school community, providing providing support, guidance, and a safe space for students who are struggling with academic stress, personal
041challenges, and mental health concerns. Mental health is just as important as academic success. And many students rely on Miss Cable for emotional support, crisis intervention, and resources that help them navigate difficult times. Removing this position would leave students without a trusted professional to turn to, negatively impacting our well-being in the overall school environment. We urge the administration to reconsider the decision to eliminate the mental health counselor position. Recognize the critical role Miss Cable plays in supporting students mental health and well-being. Ensure that students continue to have access to professional mental health support within the school. We need our voices heard. Please do not take away this vital resource. And yeah. Um should I read this? Okay. We got over roughly 250 signatures. Um, Miss Cable is an essential part of our school community, providing support,
042guidance, and a safe space for students who are struggling with academic stress, personal challenges, and mental health concerns. Mental health is not mental health is just as important as academic success, and many students rely on Miss Cable for emotional support, crisis, and resources that help them navigate difficult times. By signing below, we stand together to demand that Ottabon High School prioritize student mental health and keep the mental health counselor position intact. We're going to give you guys this petition and we invite anybody here that is here to support Miss CBO and the hopeful reversal of this decision. We would invite you to stand up right now to show your support. So, my dad died my freshman year of high school. I was 14. And I'm sorry, Miss Gabbo was there for me when I didn't
043really have anyone because I didn't really expect many people to understand what I was going through. But next year, my sister leaves and it'll just be me and my mom. And I know next year I will really struggle without Miss Cable. And you know, it's my last year and I truly think that she should like be here because she helps so many people for so many different reasons, not just like death, other things. She's a constant in everybody's life in the school and she's so essential to everybody and everybody's well-being. So, we just ask that this gets reconsidered or something is done about this. That's it. And that's all we have to say. Thank you. Thank you. Good evening. I'm Trisha Martell, president of the Ottabon Education Association, an educator in this district for 25
044years. Tonight, my comment pertains to operations agenda item 11. As you res review this tentative budget and move towards finalizing the official budget, I urge the board to prioritize retaining essential positions that provide critical and positive support for all of our students. These roles are vital to student well-being and academic success, and every decision should reflect what is truly in the best interest of our students. The safety and emotional well-being of our students are just as important as their academic growth. Our community, as reflected in the strategic plan, has recognized the need to support students mental and emotional health alongside their physical and academic development. These services are not optional. They are essential. I ask you to take the time between now and the final budget approval to explore every possible way to preserve these
045vital resources. Our students rely on them and it is our responsibility to ensure that they continue to receive the support that they need to thrive. Thank you for your time and commitment to our students future. [Applause] Good afternoon. My name is Leo Davis and I'm a senior here and I'd like to talk about the removal of Miss Cable's position. I'd like to start by saying I feel that I owe a lot to Miss Cable. She has helped me through a very difficult time when I lost a close friend to suicide. When I became incredibly distracted from school and sports, she helped me with getting back on track and I can confidently say that she has helped many other students in a similar regard. As for the mental health counselor position, I know that it stands
046out as one of the most significant roles in our school for much of the student body. We have students who may not have anyone to talk to at home and who cannot afford therapy services outside of school. So, this position stands as a fundamental piece of these students education. Without this role, personal life issues are going to steamroll over the focus for academic success or athletic success. And when these students start to fail their classes or lose in the sport they love, it's just going to make an increasingly worse headsp space for these kids. I have attended the strategic planning meetings that have been held here for the past two months and that have been coming up with plans on how to improve our school in the future. I saw countless times that teachers, other
047staff members, and people of the community noted wanting an improvement for students emotional and mental well-being and different facilities or techniques with helping them. Terminating this position feels like a step away from what our community, staff, and students want and need out of a school system. Miss Cable is a key element in keeping a healthy and hardworking student body, a key element to our school. Thank you. Hello. So, thank you for your time. Thank you for allow Okay, I'm not going to need the whole three minutes. Um, I'm Chris Bane. I'm at 1023 West Kings Highway in Mount Ephraim. Um, I just wanted to share a little bit. Um, Miss Cabo helped my son Luke recently. He was a freshman here at Ottabbon High School navigate through a navigate through suicidal ideiations, self harm, a
048suicide attempt, and gender dysphoria. Without having the mental health counselor here, I don't think he would have been as well supported as it helped him navigate through with the guidance counselor and with us as parents. We all work together as a team with therapists to get him where it's been he's been without self harm for two months and he is clear from suicidal ideiations. Um, Miss Cabo truly cares about our students, you know, our children's mental health. I would impede the board of education to show that you care as well by reversing the decision to eliminate Miss Cabba's position. Thank you. Hi, I'm Nicole Stallard. Um, 45 Story Avenue, Mount Ephraim. Um, I am also speaking on behalf of Miss CBO. Um, I don't have anything formally written or anything. I just wanted to come
049in front of you and say I really hope I'm an educator myself. I work in a middle school with the same age students and we and my district are adding more mental health care crisis counselors to our building because so many kids are in need right now. We are in midst a big mental health care crisis as most of you may know and hopefully maybe you don't know and you're not struck by it at home. However, I am my son also lost his father. for two of my sons here and my daughter soon to be here next year. Um, and they both utilize her to the fullest. Um, and anybody who has teenagers at home knows that getting them to talk to anybody is nearly impossible. We've been through so many counselors, outpatient, impatient, virtual,
050teleaalth, you name it. We've tried it. It didn't work. But Miss Kbo does, and she is about the only person that my 15-year-old will open up to right now. And as anybody knows, that's really important to have somebody. So, I'm encouraging you to please not take that away from not just my child, but everybody else here that clearly utilizes her and we really need her and we need this position. If not, we need more of her. Thank you. Hi, my name is Is Gabriella Reeve. Um, I graduated nine months ago. Um, and Miss KBO still to this day is in contact with me. Um, and if that doesn't speak for itself, then I don't know what will. Um, she has worked closely with me, um, since she got here. Um, she is the reason I
051graduated at all. Um, and she is the reason I am um I I moved out of my home. I um I am in my own apartment now. Um I am going to a trauma therapist because of her. Um and she has greatly impacted my life and my sister's life as well. Um so I'm not going to get into all of that, but I would just ask you to reconsider um eliminating her position. That's all. [Applause] Hi, I'm Katie Valerio, 9 Stand Piper Place, Ottabon Park, New Jersey. Um also here to advocate for to keep the position of the mental health counselor. Um when my husband was killed almost two years ago, I was unable to be a parent to my children. And without the support of the services that the school provide, in particular, Miss
052CBO, I don't know that my kids, my children would be thriving as they are right now. um a lot a lot of people in our towns recently had a lot of loss and she was able to pull together grief um support counseling for them. So instead of these children feeling isolated and alone, they had each other. They had other people that knew what they were going through. And I've have applauded the school, the administration, Miss CBO, for the necessary services that she gave because I don't know where my children would be right now. And I str I I implore the board to reconsider the decision because if the children are not here mentally, they are not here academically. So, we need them to be able to walk into this door and have someone that they
053can rely on and get them into the mental space where they can receive the education. Otherwise, it's it's not going to work. So, thank you. Hi, my name is Lindsay Quinn. I'm at 549 Maple Avenue. I'm also here for Miss CBO. And I looked at the numbers today and we have over 1400 students in this school and 9.5% will have a suicide attempt at some point. Um, and that's over 100 students in this in this school district alone and over 200 of them will have suicide audiations and over 500 will suffer from serious deep despair. I don't know how she alone would is going to handle that amount of kids and getting rid of her. Who who are we putting in her place? What are we doing to make sure that those kids are supported?
054It's a big number and that number is rising every year. It's not going down since co it's it's continued to climb at a steady pace. Districts around us are getting more and more people in that position and we're getting a rid of it. It's a scary thought. I never thought I'd be in a position to need that help and I remember the day that my son told me that he was suffering and I called here desperate and Mr. Miller connected me with her and she saved my son. She is the person that he goes to when he doesn't feel like he can make it through the day. He'll call me and panic. She has gotten him out of class in the adult panic attack. She's pro provided him a safe space as opposed to him
055needing to come home. She provides him that safe space to get him back in class so that his day is not interrupted so that he can continue his education. He's here 35 hours a week. Now, we have provided him services outside of school. we have gotten him a trauma therapist, but that's not an easy task and a lot of parents don't have those resources and it's a process. So, taking that out of his school day, it will be a devastating impact on our students here. Um, I just really want that decision to be reconsidered. I do know that a $155,000 budget cut is devastating and I don't know where we're going to make that money up. I know that losing that CO money that was supposed to be applied to mental health is also hard.
056But if anybody in this world thinks that 5 years after CO that our kids are done suffering from the effects of it, they're wrong. I think the effects are going to continue for years. Um I don't think after 5 years the kids are just over it and we don't still need to figure out how to support them. Um so just wanted to speak on her behalf. if if not her, we need to do something to make sure they're still supported. Thank [Applause] you. John Coochmeck for North Hood Avenue. I'm also speaking on behalf of mental health. Um, it's no surprise that people who have mental health problems, especially school, it affects them. Absenteeism, it affects their grades. Roughly 5% of kids actually never even finish school because of mental health issues. That that's a lot,
057right? Me personally, when I was 18, lost my best friend, I had no one. No one. Downward spiral. Luckily, I met my wife and she picked me back up. But I I really think you need to reconsider this, right? Mental health is incredibly important and there's a lot going on in this world today and it's confusing. Everything from social media, right? You have everything in front of your face. Kids have to actually deal with a lot more problems than we had to deal with when we were kids. Really reconsider this. [Applause] Hi, I am Sky Gang Gali. I live at 53 Pac Avenue, Ottabbon, New Jersey. I'm here tonight to advocate who for someone who advocated for me, that being Miss Cbo. I graduated in 2020 2023, all thanks to her. And it was a
058struggle. It was a big struggle. As you can see, not only myself, but my brother are here tonight to advocate for her along with everyone else in this room that you could see half more than half of this room stood up for her when looking towards eliminating her position. I believe that she should not at all at all be taken away from these students, let alone this school district, because of the impact that she has had on all of us. I apologize. Miss Cable provided not only a structured and activity-filled lunch group, but she provided a lot of help bringing students together that were going through similar issues that we would have never known about that being if we didn't have her. This brought me to have so many long-term friendships even out of high
059school now. and still being in contact with her and these students again that went through very similar issues as me being one homelessness and she helped me get through that being the last two years of my high school career and that being junior year and senior year the two hardest years of my education. So all props to her all thanks to her for helping me through that and many other students here. Thank you. Hi, I can't even hear myself, but hi, I'm William Cook. I live at 53 Pac Avenue, Autobon, New Jersey. Uh, I'm here to advocate for Miss Cable because Miss Ko was really the first person that I met in this school. Like, me and her went to school and we only had one year together. So, after 8th grade, it was really
060hard on me. So, I ended up going to Miss CBO and I learned that Miss CBO could really help me and beneficiate from what my sister has helped me with and structuralize with my mental health and I feel that eliminating eliminating Miss Ku would not help the structural that we have built up. I feel this is a step back forth. I know you guys and the board have lot to think about in money but mental health is number one and without mental health I feel students would not be focused. I feel my mental health sometimes I can't even focus in school sometimes and that's kind of hard. So I have to go talk to her sometimes. But when it helps to talk to somebody and let things out cuz I don't really let things out
061when I cuz as a man you're taught to let things like you're I I see that men are never supposed to cry in front of women, right? Right or wrong. But uh you're supposed to hold things in as a man and show that you're protective of others and their mental health. Thank [Applause] you. Good evening. My name is Romina Mako and I'm a freshman at AHS. I live at 28 North Davis Avenue. Like many of my peers, I am here to speak about the potential removal of one of our most important staff members, Mrs. CBO. All throughout the year, Mrs. CBO has worked tirelessly to support dozens of students dealing with various issues, whether they be related to school or not. Not only does she counsel students who reach out to her, she also goes
062out of her way to check in with any students she doesn't meet with regularly. A little hello or how was your day from Mrs. Cable can be enough to turn a bad day into a better one. Last year, she would walk around in the cafeteria from table to table asking about her days and listening to our responses. She made us feel seen and heard. The whole counseling department is essential to Ottabon High School's overall well-being. Each individual in the counseling department matters. And when you deem one of these positions as expendable, you forget just how hard they all work to improve Ottabon High School's atmosphere. Middle and high school students benefit greatly from counseling because especially during this age, mental health is extremely important to for their performance and overall quality of living. Lack of
063self-esteem, anxiety, depression, and anger issues are just some of the factors that could interfere with a student's ability to participate in class. All of these examples are real issues that the counseling department, including Mrs. CBO, help students cope with in a healthy manner. Mrs. CBO is a hardworking, caring, and vital member of the AHS staff, and eliminating her position from the school would be incredibly unfair to all the students that rely on her guidance. I really do hope you could reconsider your decision, and that you think of the students that have benefited and grown from her guidance and support. Thank you for your [Applause] time. Before we go any further with the public participation, we have exceeded our 15 minute time limit per topic. Does the board wish to take any action at this time?
064I'll second that. All in favor? Am I good to go now? I didn't want to be removed at my first board meeting in a while. So, uh, my name is Patrick Witz. I live at 428 West Graceberry Avenue. Um, I'm also here to speak about Miss CBO. Um, I'm speaking on behalf of the parents who have not had to interact with Miss CO. Um, my family has been lucky enough to, uh, not have experienced any of the losses, uh, any of the, uh, the setbacks that some of the other families have spoken about today. Uh but that doesn't mean uh we don't see the the value the the the love in this room um by expressed by some of these people and uh I didn't prepare anything because I didn't have a chance to prepare
065anything um I found out about it was it today yesterday um which in retrospect as we look back over the years we had a year and a half to two years worth of uh uh tours we took of the building to learn about where we were going to be investing the money. Rightfully so. Looks great, right? But uh we had how many forums, Mr. Leb, in regards to what the future of the Ottabon School District was supposed to be. And not once was any of this specifically brought up. There wasn't any opportunity except for this case in this instance to to do this. And you know, I I look around this room. I I look around the people behind me. I look around the people at the table. A lot of people I've coached with,
066interacted with. I know everybody in this room is here for the children. And if there's one thing that is being spoken loud and clear tonight is that we need to put that mental health of the children first. We need to consider where they're coming from, what the society has today, what kind of pressure they have on today, what kind of pressure we are putting on them as a society in regards to the tests they need to pass in regards to the way that they need to interact on social media to make sure that everything is acceptable. the way that they need to fall in line. And there's no substitute for having somebody who's a third-party independent caring individual like a Miss Capo who would help guide those students. And if there's anybody who wants to
067argue about that, I am all the ready to discuss financial planning. We can talk about putting an extra $5 into everybody's pocket. Sorry, I don't want to put the cart before the horse, but um if this is truly a financial situation, we need to have that conversation a little more open than just a 15minute speaking session in front of the board of education. So, thank you very much. Good evening. Hi, I'm Rachel Negro. I live at 251 West Kings Highway. Um I am here on behalf of Miss Cable as well because she like me is a social worker. So I think I just want to point out a couple things because we hear a lot of well someone else could do that job. Someone else can pick it up. Someone else can step in and
068that's not how it works. Mind you, March is social work month. So happy you social work month all our social workers. But Miss Ku was an MSW, which means she's a masterers of social work, which means she did four years undergrad, two additional years for her masters. She's an LSW, which means every two years she has to submit CEUs as well. She, uh, state New Jersey, you have to do things about ethics, uh, cultural competency, um, child abuse, a number of different things. 30 CEUs every two years, plus you had to take a a test to be, um, licensed in the state. So, I think to think that anybody could just pick this up an extra 15 minutes a day. Uh, I know there was comments about guidance counselors. I love a guidance counselor. There's
069nothing wrong with a guidance counselor. Um, but they have guidance counselor tasks to do. They are going to be getting people their college applications, registering people for PSATs, tending things to that. they are not going to be able to drop everything and pick up all of this work that she does, which by the way, as Miss Lindsay Quinn said, I am not even sure how one person could manage this entire school and she's doing it and taking it in stride. So, I'd really reconsider and I think we have to also put out there that her role is not something that someone else can just pick up. So, thanks [Applause] Hi, I am Chase Quinn. I live at 549 Maple Audabon, New Jersey. And I would just like to say as a student of the Audabon
070High School, Miss Cable was one of the most important people here for me. I have had panic attacks multiple times just this year and she has been there. Just today, I asked to go down to her office and in the next 30 to 45 minutes, she called me right down. We had a long talk. It was great. I'm very glad to have her at this school for me whenever I have a panic attack, whenever I get stressed. And as everyone here has said, I think it's a very important decision that you guys have made. But I think she I think you guys should think about that she should stay because she's helps every single student in our school and just been a great person for all of us. Thank you. [Applause] We just not want
071to deprive anybody of their opportunity to share their feelings. Again, I'm Trisha Martell, president of the Autobon Education Association, and this comment pertains to human resources agenda item 15. This particular agenda item states that the Ottabon Education Association has reviewed this rubric. The association was not aware of the existence of it and in fact has not had the opportunity to review it. This is now the second time this school year that a rubric has been presented to the board of education claiming it was reviewed by the association when that was not the case. I urge the board to ensure proper review processes are followed in the future. Thank you. [Applause] All right. Um, on behalf of the board, I would like to thank everyone who shared their personal stories and their comments with us this
072evening. Um, I think if you've been to our meetings, we've reiterated each month that our budget is and continues to be extremely limited. But with that being said, please be assured that the board takes mental health the mental health of all of our students in the district very seriously and services will still be provided with fidelity for our students. Moving on, I would like to recognize Miss Lipsky for governance. So, back in February, I mentioned that our January meeting, we reviewed a lot of policies um and had questions on several of them, but three of them we were moving forward for a first read. They didn't make the February um agenda, so they are on this agenda. So the first one 5112 harassment, intimidation and bullying, also known as hib uh on that one and
073these three that we have done were ones that we didn't have questions on because they were mandated by the state and state law. So in regards to hib harassment, intimidation and bullying, the policy had to be updated to and revised to add information from the section that included parental notification requirements and procedural guidance on when a school district must stay or pause the HIV investigation to allow law enforcement to conclude their investigation. So to put that in layman's terms under HIB is something that is statemandated and has very specific time requirements because they take harassment, intimidation, and bullying very seriously in New Jersey and obviously we do too in Ottabon because it has specific legal set time requirements of when certain things have to be done in the investigation. They then had to update it
074because sometimes with those types of investigation, it's not just a violation of school policy. It's illegal conduct under the laws and you know the laws of the state and county. So the police get involved. So when they kind of intersect and there might not be able to be done on that very tight time schedule under the HIB law, this now made that change so that there can be the investigation by the police while still maintaining the investigation for HIB but allowing there to be a little more flexibility so a correct and thorough investigation through both agencies can be done. So that's what that's all that was revised there as to policy 5460 high school graduation. This once again is something else that is mandated. This is a new requirement for the gra uh graduation requirement
075for high school graduating classes of 2025, 2026 and 2027. I am going to be one of the parents that also is going to be affected by this. So understand this is required and Essentially, it's a new graduation requirement that you have to complete and submit a financial aid application in a form prescribed by the New Jersey Higher Education Assistance Authority. Um, I do I believe that there are certain clinics that the school has. So, this is not something that you're going to, you know, two days before your kids supposed to graduate, it's going to be there. You will be hearing about this. You will know about this. information will be provided and also work sessions will be provided too. Okay. So that is the only change to that and then as to student smoking um
076it's a little behind the times actually but the it is once again mandated and that is because they had to say you also can't vape. Um, I think we already knew that you're not supposed to vape from school, but this is just something where portrait education is usually a little lags behind, is not the fastest of things. And so this is just updating the policy and it's statewide that electronic smoking devices, i.e. vape pens or vape anything is not allowed to be used in school by the students or anyone else. So, well, by the students. Um, so that was mandated. That's the change that we made. And so, those are the three that we did a first read of back in January. Do you have anything to add? All right. did not have a governance
077meeting this month and that is because death and sickness made it impossible but we do have one planned for April and we will be addressing uh the code of student code of conduct. All right. Uh any questions, comments or discussion on non-aggenda items under governance? I just had two quick things. Um, just uh because I know AI has been on our radar, New Jersey School Boards is hosting an AI conference on June 6th from 9:30 to 3:30 at the Mercer County College. June 6, 9:30 to 3:30 at Mercer County College. I think for members, it's $119. So, if you are interested in attending that, I just wanted to put that on everybody's radar. Um, and also, uh, believe it or not, it's time to start thinking about the um superintendence evaluation. So at our next
078meeting in April during executive session, we'll need to have a pre-conference meeting with Miss Allen. Um so um we'll make sure that can have that discussion and I just wanted to put that on. Okay. Um, can I get a motion on item number one under governance? Any questions, comments, or discussion on item number one under governance? All right, roll call, please. Wilson. Alison Cox, yes. Danielle D. Franchesco, Mark Gaddy, Sarah Ken. Alison Lipsky, yes. Jonathan Maxon, yes. Andrea Robinson, yes. Amy Davis. Yes. Motions passed. Thank you. All right. Next is operations. And actually before I recognize Mrs. Cox, I'm going to recognize Mrs. Ron case on the approval to be sent to the county. Thank you. So tonight we present to you a tenative budget to submit to the county office. As stated in the
079release of state aid on February 27th, the Ottabon School District received an increase in state aid of $8,147. However, the 2425 budget included a one-time stabilization aid of 69,917 which not available in the 2526 budget. Therefore, the district actually has a net decrease in state aid of $61,770 for the 2526 school year. The tenative general operating budget totals 28 thou 28,611,98. This re represents an increase of 3.6% over the 2425 budget. The budget proposes a tax levy of 3.4% increase which is comprised of the state allowable 2% increase and the use of a healthc care cost adjustment of $195,430 or 1.4%. The public hearing on the 2526 budget is scheduled for May 7th at 7 PM. At that meeting, there will be a more formal presentation and changes can be made before final vote of
080the 2526 budget. You Mrs. Ronis, I will once again recognize Mrs. Cox for operations. Thank you, Mrs. Davis. Well, since our last meeting, we've been busy. We've had two meetings, uh, one on the 4th and one on the 13th, and mainly about budget talks, and Deb just gave you, uh, the synopsis. Um, we're required for a balanced budget. It's been sent to the county. Um, we are in agreement with how it went. Um, but of course, we can make changes as Deb said. Um, we also had discussion of the New Jersey certified tuition rates um and uh uh with uh the tuition rates and the adjustments made with Mount Nephim and that everyone agrees with those numbers. Um we were working on securing more rooms for preschool. Um we were able to offer an additional
081classroom um for the upcoming school year which is very positive. Uh the the forums were talked about but of course that was mentioned tonight too. So no boring. Um there's a potential for shared services agreement. More will come so look for that to come as it's being um unfolding. And capital improvements have been put on hold for right now. Um, I just want to say, you know, the budget is tentative. We're required to get the balance budget to the county. So, things can change, but we needed to have something. So, um, on the agenda, uh, and our next meeting will be the first Tuesday of next month. Uh, we'll just, you know, our normal schedule. Um, on the agenda, you have your January board secretary reports, uh, cash reconciliation reports, and the transfers, safety drills
082as listed um the bills payable list for February March voided checks as listed a resolution for the submission of the tentative budget to the county um the preschool expansion aid budget narrative and workbook contract for heating control valves purchase of a new Ford F250 truck and a memorandum of agreement with the AAA which is the administrators association and that is All right. Any questions, comments, or discussion on non-aggenda items for operations? All right. Then may I have a motion for items 1 through? Questions, comments, or discussion on items 1 through 15? I just want to make it very clear that my understanding is that this is not we're not voting on the budget. This is not us voting on the budget tonight. This is literally a budget had to be submitted to the county to
083review. We have not voted on that budget. It was sent to the county for review. It will come back to us. That is when we will vote on it. And so that is that is what is happening today. And my understanding is the budget's already been sent because it was due today. A lot of board of educations have their meetings today or later in the month and but this was the due date. So this is not us saying yay or nay on the budget. It's just yay or nay on sending that to the county. So, as Mr. Maxon stated, it's not until later that we will actually decide on the budget and we all have been listening to you. So, in education, a lot of things come down to metrics and data and um you
084know, the numbers, right? And especially when we look at a budget, we're looking at numbers. But on the topic of mental health, a lot of it is not quantifiable, right? We don't know truly the impact that one person can have on the community. You never know that one thing that you said to somebody that made all the difference to them. We don't know how many students come to school each day knowing that they have supportive um adults, staff here for them. And if those staff members are not here, we don't know how many would then not come to school because of their anxiety or different things that they're going through. Our main job here is to educate the students, but we can only educate them if they're in the building and alive. This is my
085first uh I believe my first time as a full member of the operations uh committee during the budget. Um I just all other issues uh with you know notwithstanding I would like to uh thank um our business administrator and our superintendent for the amount of work they put in. It's a very tight schedule from the time that the state tells you how much money you're getting and the time that the county tells you you have to bring that budget in for at least the preliminary uh review. And I do appreciate the hard work that has gone into this. And hopefully um between now and then hopefully we'll get a lifeline of some sort, but we will have further discussions on uh the final budget. Thank you. I just wanted to go on record as saying
086that I hope we are able to look closely at the budget and reallocate some money for this position and also acknowledge that all mental health resources in the school are not going away. We still have mental health resources. It is this position that is being eliminated. Not a person, a position. I would like to uh just call attention to number 15, the memorandum of agreement between the board of ed and the Ottabon Administrators association. I would just like to thank um our negotiations team on um settling not just one contract but two contracts during the school year. So I'm very grateful for um all of their hard work and the late hours and the numerous meetings that we had and I'm very grateful um that we were able to come to an agreement with the
087administrators and move forward with their contract. All right, then. May I have roll call, please, for operations? Alison Cox, yes. Danielle D. Franchesco. Mark Gaddy. Sarah Coolen. Alison Lipsky. Yes. Jonathan Max. Yes. Andrea Robinson, Bill Wilson, Amy Davis. Motion's passed. Thank you. Next, I'd like to recognize Miss Robinson for education. Thank you. Um, our last education meeting was on February 25th, and at that meeting we had a presentation from Ms. McGilloway and Ms. Becca about the RTI program at both Havland and Mansion. We got a very good idea of what those programs encompass. We also um looked at the progress that's being made on the discussion regarding class rank and GPA at the junior senior high school. And we looked at what other districts do regarding their senior Disney trip. Um on tonight's agenda there
088are facilities requests and um workshop requests as well as field trip requests and practicum requests. Um the calendar approving the calendar is on the tonight's agenda. Um, authorizing Haden Township to use the tennis courts and a bilingual history assess social history assessment. Our next meeting is on March 25th, next month. Did you have anything to add? All right. Any questions, comments, or discussion on non-aggenda items under education? All right. May I have a motion then on items one through I want to make sure I have it correct. 13. No. Yes. 13. Items one through 13 under education, please. All right. Any questions, comments, or discussion on agenda items under education? Yes, I have comment I would like to make on agenda item number 11 on the education committee. This is the motion to approve the
089202526 Ottabon public school calendar. Um, it was tabled after I saw that although having been a member of this community where for the first probably decade that my daughter and I lived here, we were known as the only Jews of Ottabon, although we weren't. And they actually are more Jews now that are solely Jewish living in Ottabon. There are also blended families that are Jewish and Christian. And after years of coming to board meetings and saying, "Don't put major school events or testing on uh major Jewish holidays and having to fight for that." Uh finally, but once again, I'd be told, "No, we'll never do that. It will happen for one year and then the very next year, there'll be major testing put on there." Um on Russia Shana or Yum Kapoor our holiest of
090holy days. Then after once again coming and coming to board meetings then running for and being on well first being appointed to the board and then running and being uh voted to the board bringing up this issue bringing up this issue finally being told and I understand it was another administration that yes it's recognized that this is important and we do have Jewish families and it's important that they have the same access to their education. as, you know, non-Jewish students and and that we would always have at least two days set aside. And if you if you didn't need two days, excellent. You'd only get the days that you needed. If you needed three, you'd get two. You make do. Um but now there's a new administration and apparently um doing the right thing is
091only done when it is easy because I understand that it's hard to figure out the days and things like that. However, the right thing is to recognize that there are people there are they are a minority, but they exist and they are asking that their children not have to miss multiple days of school. Um, we don't do a spring break. Let's be honest, it's an Easter break. It's Good Friday and the week after Easter. That is what Audabon does because that's what Audabon has always done when I've mentioned that you could accommodate both and Passover. There's been outrage by other people because only Cherry Hill and Philadelphia do that. Well, shockingly, when there are more Jews in an area, they actually try to accommodate both Christians and Jews. And what that says to me when
092you say something like that, go be with your kind, Jew, because we're not going to recognize you here. That's what's being said. And the outrage wasn't that their child would be missing more school. The outrage is because they are a teacher whose school district would have different time off than their child and they would have to use personal vacation time if they wanted to have vacation with their child. That's what every parent does who is not a teacher. We have to use our personal time off if we want to have vacation time with our child when they have time off of school. That is what is done. So it wasn't an outrage over the child not getting education. It was not being able to have the same vacation time as the child and having to
093use personal time. It was also quite upsetting to hear that the reason why this time we did not get the promised one day off for Russia Shana was because if we g recognized a minorities minorities who have religions and want time off we'd have to recognize every minority's religion which was offensive and s overly simplistic. Why? In fact, one I have not seen one person who has come to this meet to any of these meetings or said that they actually celebrate Eid and want the school and their child would not be able to go to school because they celebrate Eid. No one has come forward. No one has mentioned that. So, no child is being harmed by us not taking off for Eid. I also found it offensive because it was very much akin to
094the things that I heard from homophobes when same-sex marriage was being um litigated and made part of our common laws and understanding because I heard homophobes say, "Well, if we recognize same-sex marriage, why we'd have to recognize any marriage like a a person who wants to marry their dog?" That's offensive and idiotic. Of course not. But that's what it felt like to hear someone say that. What we do have are Jewish people in this community who have been present and who have been missing school and major events and major school events because they were put on major Jewish holidays. My child will already miss days of Passover. you know if if we want to go and be observant to Simkura Shimia Zeritz Sakote she will miss all those times and yet it's when the minority
095and this is what we talk about when we talk about diversity equity and inclusion to constantly pick the minority fight for bear accommodations and when you've been told yes we understand we're going to do this and you've been fighting for this and you finally have it and the very next year it gets taken away. You're being told it doesn't matter. When it's hard, you're going to be knocked out the box because you're a minority and you're not worth us fighting for and honoring our obligations and what we said we would stand by. That's what happens. And I thank God that I don't believe there are any Native Americans in this school since we are having off the school is closed for students for Columbus Day. And so that is my comment about that and why
096I'll be voting no to number 11. I too was disappointed to see that um following the discussion at the last board meeting um this schedule did not change um when it comes to the Jewish high holy holidays. I don't know if I'm saying that correctly, but um you know, I think when we make the case about numbers and how many students this is going to impact, I think that does say that when people are in a minority, they their voice doesn't matter as much or we're not concerned as much. Um and so I too will be voting no on number 11 for that reason. Anyone else questions, comments on agenda? Okay. Uh I thought that there was one day off. Am I misunderstanding the calendar? Okay. But we are recognizing a holiday. Okay. I just
097wanted to make sure that that was true. Um and I I do believe we have Native Americans in the school. So, I don't want us to think we don't have Native American students here. Um, and I think we do have students who are fasting for Ramadan and celebrating Eid. They just, as you said, have not made themselves known at a board meeting. But again, there are students in the district who are celebrating these other holidays. Just want to acknowledge that. All right. Now I have roll call please on items 1 through 13 under education. Yeah. Are we doing the one? That's fine. We'll Okay, perfect. Okay, I'm going to call 1 through 13 on education. Danielle D. Franchesco. Mark Gaddy, Sarah Coolen, Alison Lipsky, Jonathan Maxon, yes. Andrea Robinson, yes. Bill Wilson, Alison Cox, Amy
098Davis, motions passed. Moving on to human resources. The human resource committee met last night. Um we reviewed uh staffing openings, retirements, and any potential staffing changes that might be occurring. Um I'm happy to report that Miss Allen and Mr. Burke are going to be attending an upcoming career fair to uh look for candidates to fill our open positions. I think that's something that hasn't been done before. So I'm really Oh, you're gonna be there. Oh, different one. Okay, I think that's I think that's a great initiative. Yeah, that's a great initiative. Um, we reviewed budgetary items as they are related to human resources. We did review the technology coordinators uh evaluation rubric and um the AEA contract, the hard copy of the contract was given to you tonight. So, everybody should have that. And then
099the AAA contract, while the uh memorandum of agreement has been signed, now that it's been board approved, Miss Garin will work on um the actual document and and writing the language for the actual document. So, we should have that um that should be coming next. Um we did review uh Miss Allen's action items for the year. Everything is current and progressing. Uh the only thing we just called attention to was making that um we have a document with the uh responsibilities for which for each one of the administrative staff members. So that that's that's clear and um and plain to see. Um that was it for the meeting. On the agenda tonight, we have motion for resignations with intent to retire. We certainly thank those individuals for their years of service and dedication to our
100district. We have a motion to extend a long-term substitute position and to extend unpaid leave of absence and a medical leave of absence. There's a motion to approve spring paid and volunteer coaching positions and extracurricular contracts. Motion to approve facilitators for professional learning and to approve district substitutes as noted. And also a motion for the rubric for technology coordinator. Do you have anything that you want to add? Do you want to change that? I have two things. Um, they're really just um typos. In number 15, the motion to approve the technology coordinator observation rubric should just say at the recommendation of the superintendent in schools. The words as reviewed by administration and audea should be eliminated. This is not a um union position. It's a a standalone position. So the observation rubric was developed um
101consulted with the HR committee and recommended to be adopted. U so that was an error that was just something that was cut and paste by my secretary and made an accident. In number 17, there's also a typo. Uh Mr. Kley is the principal of 10 to 12 and Eric Miller is the principal of 7 to nine. Their uh grade level seems to have inadvertently been reversed. So we'll fix that on the final draft, but wanted to point those things out. Um, I think that was everything. Thank you. Okay. Any questions, comments, or discussion on non-aggenda items under HR? All right. Then can I have a motion for items 1 through 17? Any questions, comments, or discussion on items 1 to 17? All right, roll call, please. Then for human resources, Mark Gaddy, Sarah, Alison Lipsky,
102Jonathan Max, yes. Andrea Robinson, yes. Bill Wilson, Alison Cox, Danielle D. Franchesco Davis. Yes. Motion pass. Thank you. All right. Next, we move on to our reports. You can see the HIV district report and our special program representatives. Uh Mr. Wilson is not with us this evening. So, we will um skip the educational services commission. Uh Mr. Maxon for Camden County School Boards. operations. I know. Yeah, I think that's something I agree. I think that's something we need to look all the time. All right. Maybe it's something that we need to Yeah, we need to revisit. Um maybe we'll hold static for the rest of this year, but that's something we can work on at our retreat in July. Yeah, I I noticed the same thing too, unfortunately. Okay. Um uh again, Mr. Wilson, Mr.
103Steven Wilson is not here for the education foundation. Uh Miss Ken for community outreach, Davis. Um So, I signed us up for Audabon Day, which is Saturday, April 26th. It will be from 11:00 a.m. to 7 p.m. There is a rain date of Sunday, the next day, from 1:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. So, I'll be sending something out to see if anybody is willing to help man the table. We can have different shifts and things like that. and also want to excuse me um think of an activity uh to help engage some of the kids and bring some of the community members our way as well. Um, I'll be signing us up for the Hatton Township Pride Parade as well for anyone that's interested in participating in that. And I'm going to be keeping an
104eye out for other events um that we can get out in the community and represent our schools. Pride parade there necklaces for board members who come. I won't mention what they look like, but it's just I know there was the there's a color run, aren't they? Are aren't the two PTAs doing a color run together? I think so. That might be I The date escapes me. Oh, yeah. Twin set me. That's exactly what I want to do. Yeah. No, not a bit. I think it's the end of this month. It's coming up the 30th. Thank you. I mean that's that's another opportunity too perhaps. Okay. Yeah, sure. All right. Um Mr. Gaddy for ad hoc. Um just another note on that. We obviously we're working all the time the the students coming over here then
105us going over there. That was one thing I've also uh talked to administration about. We have other districts around us that doc sending. So what can we learn from them about how they welcome in their sending districts. Um although majority of mount from comes at ninth grade there is a big cohort that comes at seventh grade as well. When I was talking with the um I guess it's the guidance counselor that that's in charge of seventh grade about the seventh grade trip. We had looked at before it was on the agenda to go to David Busters. We took that off. Only 11th grade did that. Seventh grade was looking for something else. um she did look into and she's looking to I think it's being board approved for Citizens Bank Park and to do it
106early in September so that all the seventh graders one of the part of the thing besides touring the park which is an amazing trip is you get to sit in the stands and eat your lunch and it would be a nice opportunity to have some team building and let them so it was something that she talked to me about was well how did I feel about doing it early in the year and it would really help with some of these concerns that we have about seventh graders whether it's choice I guess at that point it is choice but it's a lot of money from choice and outside of Mount Choice coming in at seventh grade, it'll be a great time to do that metriculating of all the kids together in a um less formal setting,
107more comfortable setting and do some different things. So, that's something we're already working on. I realize that's not addressing exactly, but we are working on many different ideas and acknowledging that there is that big change between sixth and seventh grade and a change between eth and nth grade with the population that's in the classes. It was our trip. I haven't entertained that. But there's a lot of we get a lot of choice in trying to get our kids within the building that it's choice kids coming in. outside together. I don't that would be a neat idea to have the seventh and eighth graders do their class trips together because I know it's a smaller Mr. Max and it's a smaller group at Mount calendar to make sure our calendars were as humanly possible. It's a
108great idea. another idea that is a little more small scale, not not like a special trip going somewhere because I can't remember, but I think it's only through sixth grade that we have field days. Yeah. Right. Because I saw my daughter wearing her and I was like, you haven't had one of those in a while, have you? But that might be something really nice because it also they would could come here and all of like Mansion seventh grade with our seventh graders or the eighth graders and you know, something like that. not man Mount Ephim, my apologies, doing a field day. Mr. Leb and I actually have have started conversation about what the end of the eighth grade year is going to look like and we were talking about bringing over Mount Ephraim for a
109field day of sorts. That's, you know, something we were in the idea stages of. We certainly don't have anything mapped out yet, but we started talking about for the end of the year for eighth grade, you know, as opposed to promotion or whatever. if we had a field day and had both sets of schools here, everybody for eighth grade that's stepping up to have like a big stepping up type of a ceremony. Are you a little scared that you and I were sharing the brain for a little bit? Apparently, you're a little scared, aren't you? Um I But to to Mr. Gaddy's point, like again, like all these ideas are are wonderful, but we we need to make sure that they are like memorial getting done, but they need to be they need to be
110memorialized. We don't need to be thinking about this like every year. Like let's stop reinventing the wheel. Exactly. There's there's practices and procedures for how we make sure that we include all students that are coming into the into the district. So I think that's that is it was the crux of the frustration. I think with both our our members of ad hoc and mount from members of ad hoc too that like like let's just get this written down somewhere so that there's a checklist and we can make sure that balls don't get dropped when you're here. So that's good. Well, she's the she's the student. Come sit back up at the table, Helena. Yeah. She can have a mic. Uh, definitely the field trip's a great idea, but another thing that I think would be
111cool is I know the eighth grade trip for both um Mount and Ottabbon is Tall Pines. So, if it's already the same field trip, maybe you could combine that one. And it's a bunch of team building things. It's like like you go to a camp and you do like a bunch of like cool things. So, that would be a great way, I think, to get people to talk to each other and meet each other. We're still working um to get some kind of a a joint meeting together with Mount Board of Ed. We're talking about potentially a joint training on doing the superintendent evaluation. A lot of us have been through it before. Wouldn't hurt to have a little refresher. And we also have a new field service representative. It's not Terry Lewis anymore. So,
112might be a good idea, you know, good opportunity for both of our districts to meet the new field service rep. So, Mr. Gaddy is working on that. Um, and I'm going to reach out to the field service rep, too, to see if we can get get some dates. Um, okay. Miss Lipsky for board member orientation. Our second informal uh board member orientation kind of meeting um with our newest board members and we had um Miss Cox and Miss Davis uh who you know doing this forever. They know the ins and outs, the ups, the downs. Um and myself uh and we met uh informally at a coffee shop. Um I think the response was positive, right? I see smiles. I I think it is very nice because it it gives people a chance to just
113The rule is there's no stupid questions, right? Like we want to hear like say what you want to say, ask your questions. We'd rather we know what you're thinking or wondering about so that we all know the right answer. Um, and so I I found it lovely and and informative and I I think everyone's kind of feeling the same way that this is a nice space to be able to, you know, without a without having a or anything like that and we can talk business, but it's not going to in any way, you know, be illegal or affect something except having a better understanding of how the board works ins and outs and um addressing concerns. Okay. Is do you guys feel that it was beneficial? Uh thank you Alison. I I love the um
114option to be able to be a part of this committee being a new person. Um I think I probably got it feels like one answer question answered compared to the ones that were going on in my brain. Um so but going on possibly happened for just being able to have someone um say, "Well, that's a really good um one question regarding this um committee and I think there was mention at some point of having like a mentor like a particular person assigned and I was just curious if that's still is definitely still in the works. It was just more of trying to get the initial this and that and then we'll move forward with that. Okay, that's the next step. Thank you. And I would like to um commend Miss Franchesco and the school and
115for um doing the the training work um for their governance one for that intensive weekend of training. Yeah. Yeah. I mean it's time away from your families which is which is always difficult to to manage. So appreciate that sacrifice of time for that immersive experience. really, right? I know. Yeah. No, I still like I still see her on Facebook. All right. Um, that's uh that concludes special program representatives. Uh, any board member comments? Just general. Oh, wow. Oh. Uh, she had you buy a hair there. Um, I just wanted to compliment the weekly wave, particularly last week's weekly wave, um, which is just like all the good things that are going on in the district. There were so many things and so many places where we were like a model and people were coming to
116us for advice or like how to run a program. I just thought that was really positive and there was a lot of positive stuff going on. So, thanks. For those of you that don't know, the weekly wave is something that Miss Allen sends out to board members, just kind of a synopsis for us as to what happened during the week. So, don't want anybody to think they're missing out on something. Uh, and preschool, they did a great job. I was able to sneak in to class. Kids were really excited. birthday in each class. It was great. I saw Miss Allan, I got a picture of you reading to my other daughter's class. Uh and uh it was it just seemed like a great week where they just celebrated. I think all the schools I don't
117know what was put on the screens in the school, but um last week several uh sophomores and some juniors in French and Spanish were inducted into the French honor society and the Spanish honor society. Um and it is very to do that. So I know that they had to work very hard because I believe they have to have something like a 95 or higher the entire for every yeah every semester. So it is hard to do and um so I just want to commend all of them for a job really well done. Next, we're going to move on to our second public participation. I'm not going to reread the uh paragraphs there. Everything is still applicable, but um the difference between this public participation and the first one is this is an open discussion, so
118it doesn't have to be limited to agenda items. Is there anyone who would like to make a comment under the second public participation? same thing 45. Is it on Nicole Stallard 45 Story Avenue? Um, I just want to say first, thank you for the calendar consideration because I do have children in Mount and in Ottabon. Um, and I purposely send mine here in seventh grade because I can't stand the disconnect. I don't like that my kids in Mount aren't offered the same programs here. Um, so my kids all come here in seventh grade. So my last one will be here next year in seventh grade. So I don't have to worry about the calendars. But this year was awful with the days not lining up of being off and it was terrible. So, thank you
119for considering it for the other families. Um, and also I think it's a great idea the trip collaboration. I also did notice that um that I think it would be a great thing to have those junior high um trips line up so they can kind of get acclimated. Um I know sports they they get acclimated but it better it'd be better to have other atmospheres too for them. So thank you for those. Um, the other thing which I know they're trying to work out the kings for are the Ottabban and many from days. Again, two towns that are tightknit and the both of their fun days are both always the same day, which is kind of frustrating because you can't be in two places at once. And I know they did adjust the times, but
120unfortunately like sometimes there's sports during a day. Not unfortunately, there's always sports during a days. So, it'd be nice to have two separate days where the towns can kind of, you know, unify. I know that's not really on you guys so much, but just to kind of voice it out there. Um, and then just pigging back um to what you said, Miss Davis, about um you said that mental health will always be addressed. Um, and I do appreciate that, but there are just certain things that you can't replace. Um, like we said before, the safe space with the bond that Miss KBO already created with these kids. Um, ripping that out in and giving them somebody else doesn't mean that it's going to be the same. It doesn't mean they're going to feel safe. Um,
121as Rachel said in her comment before, um, she's also way more qualified than her job than anybody else she'll try to throw in this position. So to just throw somebody in there is, um, setting a message that our kids are just not worth what they already have, which is really good, excuse me, and highly qualified. Um, as it shows on paper and it shows with rapport. Um, so I just I just really want you to really really consider that it's not just her position that we're talking about. It's it's actually not her position. We know that you will offer some kind of resources, but it is her. She's not replaceable for some of these kids. Um, she was here for them the time that their crisis happened. She supported them through their crisis, and now
122you want to throw somebody new in there that knows nothing about them. And it's starting back at square one for those students. It's maybe opening up more trauma that they kind of surpassed already, and now they have to go back to it to kind of get to a new spot. And some of them, it's just it's not feasible. Um, so I really hope that you guys can realize that you can't put a value on mental health. I know the state puts a value on our budget, but you can't put a value on our students mental health. So I really hope you will reconsider saving the money here on her and you know, just reconsider that we're actually saving lives, which is more important. So thank you for your time. else. All right, seeing that there
123are no other comments, um we do not have a need to go into a second executive session. So, uh the next meeting of the board of education is scheduled for Wednesday, April 16th, 6:30 p.m. back here in the Junior Senior High School Media Center. May I have Motion to adjourn the meeting. All in favor? Any opposed? All right. Thank you. Have a good