001Good evening everyone. Thank you all for being here tonight. Um it's a special night for um for us on the board. We have uh recognitions and they're always uh nice to see um all of our in this case the fall athletes. Um it's always a fun night to see all that recognition. So we did open our meeting earlier on executive session to conduct some business. So we will be starting immediately with agenda item which is a report. And the floor is yours. Good evening members of the board of education, administrators, and community members. My name is Tyer Andy. I'm serving as this year's student council vice president, and I'm happy to share a few updates from our honor school. Recently, student council hosted a volleyball tournament tournament with excellent turnout. Freshman held class elections, sophomores
002attended the Jo's presentation, and juniors and seniors participated in the college fair. Our theater department presented Little Woman in a Winkle in Time. in our Thanksgiving basket collection successfully supported 59 families in our district. For December recognitions, Michael Kelly was named safe driver of the month. Sophia Son was elected as Alex senior of the month and our BHS teacher and education specialist of the year by Ellen Kirk and Rob Zack. Several activities are coming up including the chop coin collection from December 8th to 12th with the districtwide pajama day on December 19th. the freshman chain grand fundraiser through December 22nd for a dollar. Key clubs coin race from December 15th to the 19th and pie the staff on December 22nd. We also have the on point ugly sweater contest on December 12th. Student raffles begin
003December 15th and winter spirit week from December 15th to 22nd and our winter cup rally on December 22nd. Thank you for your continued support of our students and school community. Have a great evening. >> Thank you very much. Um we do have on our agenda agenda item F public forum. This is for agenda enrollment. Anyway, no one signed up. So um that allows us to move forward to agenda item G, the uh the event of the night. So we have our fall allar athletes here tonight. Um we'll be to Dr. >> This is my easiest one because I turn it over to Mr. Zablo here and take over this presentation. Thank you. >> Good evening everyone. First congrats Dr. Forer. This is your last board meeting. Uh welcome Dr. Altoello and welcome Miss Scodenta our
004new principal who I believe is here. Um, I'm proud to be up here to honor and recognize our fall allstars tonight. Um, on behalf of the board of education and Dr. Forsawer, um, I want to express how proud we are of each of you guys for one uh, not only being allstars, but two, I'm going to reveal your guys' GPA later. Um, before I call up the athletes, I'd also like to thank the coaches, the teachers, and the families that are here um, who support them every step of the way. uh your encouragement and guidance are instrumental in shaping these young men and women into the individuals they are of today. Athletes, when I call your name, you're going to come up here. I'm going to go by team. You're going to stand up here.
005We'll take a team picture at the end. And then once we're done, all the individuals, we'll announce which team had the highest GPA the season. The first team we're going to start with is our cross country team. Our first athlete is Haley Benedict. [applause] Our second athlete is Olivia Delaney [applause] with second team Liberty Division. >> Our next athlete, Katie Kovac. [applause] is first team Liberty Division. Our next athlete, Nathan Kinsley. [applause] Nathan was second team Liberty Division and Peter Tober. [applause] >> Peter was second team Liberty Division. Mr. Mr. W is gonna grab a picture of the teams. [clears throat] >> Thank you, cross country. Congratulations. [applause] Our next team is our field hockey team. Our field hockey is going to start out with Emma Kadubic. >> [applause] >> We have Alexa Krauss. [applause]
006Emma and Alexa are both second team Liberty Division. We have Sophia Moralda. [applause] Sophia is second team. And we have second team Liberty Division Aiden Smiley. [applause] >> Our field hockey team had the most wins in a season since 2018 this year. Our [applause] next team is our girls soccer team. First up, we have Gabriella Eaggan. [applause] >> Gabby with second team Patriot Division. We have Alexis Steel. >> [applause] >> Alexis is also being honored at the girls uh state banquet for girls soccer. So, congratulations, Lex. [applause] We have Emily Nami, who is first team Patriot Division and the Fielder of the Year. [applause] and Joel Visc. [applause] >> Our girls team had their their first season over 500 since 2021. Good job, girls. Our [applause] next team is our boys soccer team. We have
007Marco Carini. [applause] Marco is second team Patriot Division. Cole Rosena is second team. We have Cam Tough. >> [applause] >> Cam with second team Patriot division. Next up we have Anthony Chrissa. [applause] Anthony was first team Patriot Division and he is invited to the uh all state banquet for boy side. [applause] Next up we have >> [laughter] >> Next we have Everett Jose Barrett. [applause] Everett has a ton of awards. Everett was the midfielder of the year uh first team Patriot division. He was named to All South Jersey and is also invited to the All State banquet. Next is Tyler Conungle. [applause] Tyler also is forward of the year, first team Patriot Division, All South Jersey, uh, and invited to the All State. [applause] Preston Lewis [applause] Preston was the defensive player of the year.
008Uh first team Patriot division all South Jersey and invited to the all state all state banquet. [applause] Liam Miller. Liam's not here, but he is goalie [applause] of the year, first team, and invited to the All State. [applause] Mr. Walder's going to take a picture. The boys soccer team won their division for the first time since 2019, and they were the number one seed in the state playoffs for the third time in program history. [applause] And last but not least, we have our football program. Uh, first is Captain Calvin Die. [applause] >> Calvin was first team for offensive line. Next we have Lucas Shorts. [applause] Lucas was first team kicker. Next we have Connor Braramley. [applause] >> Connor was first team defensive line. This is all for the national division of the West Jersey football.
009Next week next we have Carter Stump. >> [applause] >> Carter was first team as a linebacker. Next we have Jamari Glover. [applause] Jamari was first team as a defensive back. Next, Khalil Banger. [applause] >> Khalil was first team as a defensive back and probably had one of the most impressive games I saw against Robinsville with three or four interceptions. >> And our last athlete of the night is Luke Harris. [applause] >> [applause] >> Luke was first team as the punter, >> also auditions [applause] to all the athletes honored tonight. We also always end this night uh naming our GPA award for team with the highest GPA. Um we had 227 athletes at the RHS this fall which is just under a third of the school population. Our athlete GPA was 91.04 combining all the teams
010and all the athletes. The athletes that are in this room tonight have a GPA average of 91.5. So even higher. So, all stars and all star. [applause] Thank you guys for putting in the time both on the field and in the classroom um and being leaders in your community. This year's GPA winner was our girls soccer team with a GPA of 93.26. [applause] To our athletes being honored by the board of ed tonight, it's not just the recognition of your talent, but also the effort you put into the classroom in the community, take a moment to soak in this accomplishment. It's welld deserved. Congratulations again. At this time, anyone, any athlete that does not plan on staying, we can kind of go down to the foyer downstairs by the main office, and you can take
011pictures with your friends, with your team, with your coaches. Um, anyone that's staying and join the rest of the board meeting, thank you for coming tonight. [applause] for no surgery. >> That's not open. But at least if it doesn't hit that is an option and they can fix >> five months old this week. >> Oh >> yeah. What's going on anyway? Thank you everyone um who stuck around. Appreciate that. It's always good to see our athletes. Uh before we move on, I actually um number two in our recognition tonight is um on the agenda. It reads, "Sincere thank you to Dr. FJ for the third in the schools. Um, I did write something um for tonight um for Dr. Forer. So, I'm going to do something that I don't do too much for read just
012to make sure I uh say everything I wanted to say. Um, but I just wanted to take a few moments on behalf of the entire board of education um and the entire Gordon Regional School District community to express our sincere gratitude for uh Dr. Fortoffer um our interim superintendent. When Dr. for software returned to boarding town earlier this year. It was during a period of transition and a real challenging time for our district. We were facing difficult budget realities, tough conversations about staffing and programming and the need to rebuild confidence and direction. From the very first day he stepped back into this role, Dr. Forsuffer brought steadiness, clarity, and compassion to that work. He didn't waste any time reacqu re exc excuse me reacquainting himself with the district or its people. Instead, he immediately began
013listening to staff, to parents, to the board, and most importantly, what our students needed. His approach was never simply about managing a crisis. It was about building trust and helping us move forward with transparency, professionalism, and heart. Under his interm leadership, we navigated one of the most challenging buzz cycles in recent memory, restored key positions and programs through his tireless advocacy for additional funding and maintained a clear focus on student on the student experience. He brought people together around solutions, not just problems. And in doing so, he demonstrated to all of us what one important time looks like in action. On a personal note, my experience with Dr. Fortoer has been limited to this intern period. I wasn't for his first tenure, but I've often heard about the impact uh that his leadership brought to
014the district during those years. Having now had the chance to work with him directly, I can say I understand why those memories are held in such high regard. While none of us would have ever chose the difficulties that we faced, I'm truly grateful that this moment gave me and all of us the opportunity to see his setting leadership up close. Even in this short time, Dr. for software has left a lasting mark on this district once again. His calm demeanor, thoughtful decision making, and genuine care for our students and staff has guided us through uncertainty with grace and poise. He set the table for the next chapter of leadership in Wardentown, who's sitting right next to me, and I'm also excited uh to work with him. And for that, we are sincerely grateful. And I'll
015simply add this. While tonight is a moment of gratitude, the moment will come in its own time when the full measure of your impact shows itself in ways that reach beyond this evening. So, Dr. Forstoffer, on behalf of the board of education, our administrators, our teachers, our staff, families, students. Thank you so very much, sir. Um, thank you for returning when we needed it most. Thank you for your steady hand, your professionalism, and your belief in this community. Um, and thank you Leadership at its best is service. Thank you so much. [applause] It's like what do I do? Do I smile? You know [laughter] >> that's right. Yeah. You don't see my lip quivering under the mustache. Um I I I'll save any of my remarks still. >> Okay. So, thank you very much. >>
016Uh, next we have the CDA budget presentation. >> I'm as tall as she's Is >> that what you want us? >> No. Hello. Thank you for this opportunity to present tonight. As a refresher, CDA or Community District Alliance, commonly referred to as CDA, and the board in the Bordontown School District, share a unique partnership that provides one another support throughout the year. Let's see if this works. There we go. Um, CDA is a model of cooperation and collaboration where CDA receives infrastructure support in the in the form of office space and facilities and administrative and payroll supports from The district receives many things from CDA as well. Um the first being facility and field scheduling and rentals, management oversight of the pack or the performing arts center, summer camps as well as before and afterare
017programs. We currently facilitate and fund the STEM afterchool program for the district. And finally, we offer adult education and ESL classes through a Department of Labor grant. So, how do we do all this? Well, the re where does the revenue come from? We receive our revenue from three different paths. Rental income from the BPAC, tuition and fees from our summer camps and before and after school programs and a grant from the Department of Labor, which supports our adult ed program. I'm really happy to share that due to the excellent impact the adult ed program has on our community. We were our our grant was increased significantly which is allowing us to add a new component to our adult ed program. And starting in January, we are hiring, if you approve them tonight, um we're hiring
018a new college and career readiness counselor um to help with our GED folks. But the exciting part is it will also the the program that we're developing right now will be robust and we'll have evening workshops that will also be available to adults in the community that may need help um with career readiness and college help if they're looking to go back. So that's something that's going to help all the community. So stay tuned for these new offerings. We're we're just building it now. So that should be out before spring. our revenue supports. What do we what do we have to pay for? Well, we have three full-time staff. Um, we pay for their salary and their benefits. We pay for over a 100 part-time employees um throughout the year. A vast majority of them
019are town residents. Many of them it's their first job. So, I think that's a pretty important impact. We also cover expenses for many yearly licenses for the district um including Mastery Library, which is a scheduling and work order software program used throughout the school district. Um saving the district over $8,000 a year. We also pay for ASAP Connected, another online registration payment program for another 5,000 a year. um our credit card service provider. We we don't like many of the companies out there now. If you pay with a credit card, you're paying an extra fee. CDA absorbs that so our families don't have to absorb that and that cost us to a tune of over $30,000 a year. Um and that's after negotiating a better deal. Um we also pay for breakfast and snacks for
020our before and afterare students. And excitingly um for anyone who's interested in the arts um CDA in January is funding a new psych site right Dr. before summer. Is that same >> the the >> the psych lights? Did I say >> for the Yeah. Cy lights for the the psych back of the auditori back the stage? >> Yep. So, we're providing that to the pack. Um and that work is scheduled to start in January. Um and that is a cost of $24,000 for going right back to the school district. So, we're very excited about that. So, um, the performing arts, actually, I wanted to do this one first. Um, you can see that our facility rentals has remained pretty stable. Um, pretty pretty flat over the last three years. Um, went down just slightly, less
021than 2% um, last year. Um, but we're we're pretty pretty solid. I look forward to working with Dr. Aldo on finding ways to to increase these numbers going forward. Um, now our performing arts center is really a shining star in our in in NCD's programming. We're very proud of the theater productions that our theater um director puts together. Not only are they top quality um but they offer our students a chance to perform on stage and for the community to come and see live theater. If you haven't seen any of our things and you have an interest, I encourage you to, um, I'm always pleasantly surprised by the the amount of talent that's out in our district. We're also hosting 10 dance recitals in the spring and summer months. Um, this year, I'm not sure
022we can fit another one in. Our weekends are kind of taken at this point. So, our summer revenue also um slightly trending in the positive um but also very stable over these last years, which is saying something considering our enrollments have have gone down a bit um in the past few years, but we're staying stable this year. Um again, we are planning to offer six weeks of summer programming beginning June 29th and running through April 7th. the fees will remain the same for 2026 as they were last summer. And um that's saying something because prices are going up everywhere else. We offer a comprehensive camp experience that includes arts, athletics, culture, music, and the great outdoors. The good news here is that while our other local camps are significantly increasing their costs, we're keeping ours
023the same and we remain the lowcost leader um among our local competition. Um and it it's significantly different. So, we're very proud of that. Our goal is to help the kids have a fun summer while being in a safe environment surrounded by their friends. So, how do we keep our prices low? We keep them low by bringing activities to us. These are some of the activities just from this past summer. Um you can see the gentleman with the snake that's part of our eyes wild program where the children get to experience exotic animals. Um I wasn't touching the that snake but all the kids did. Um well most of them in this program they've gotten to um touch and interact with wabes. um and lots of other animals. So, that's exciting. Oh, a porcupine and
024a hedgehog are the others. We also offer um an interactive lunch called Pizza with the Police, which is designed to foster a positive relationship between our local police department and our campers. Um I know the students love this and I believe the police officers do as well. campers also um were able to take part in two programs, interactive programs called Tail Wise and Reading Rocks, and they promote the values of STEM and literacy in fun, magical ways. We also have a silent headphone disco, which is a tremendously popular day for our campers. Um it's a lot of fun. We added three new activities this summer. A gem mining experience. Um a fairy and gnome trail. Um, this one was my favorite. Um, our older campers created fairy houses. Um, and then once they were completed,
025they and some very, um, dedicated counselors went and created a trail which included bubble machines, um, berry music, and of course, fairy lights. Um at the end of the trail when the children came out um of the trail which was very heavily wooded um they were happy to see that the fairies and gnomes had left them little treats in the grass. So it was it was a really fun day. Um and the last new event that we did this summer was a visit with another set of local heroes, our firefighters. The campers were able to listen and learn in an interactive fire safety prevention as well as touch a fire truck and learn about the interesting components of that truck. I think it's also worth mentioning that since our camp overlaps with the district's extended
026school year programs, we CDA opens our doors and all of our special activities that I just shared with you to those students. um this would not be something that that program would be able to afford and so um we open it up to them so that they are able to enjoy that enhanced experience as well. So before and after school care I'm also happy to share that we are trending in a positive direction as well with our revenue. We currently are serving um over 299 students in our program which is slightly higher than where we were this time last year. Um because CDA is well aware of the financial challenges that the families are facing. For the fourth year in a row, we are not increasing our tuition. Um we're doing a lot of belt
027typing. Um, and we're doing our best to keep it as affordable as we can for the families in our community. Our programs are safe, our children are loved, there's a wonderful balance of homework completion and fun. In fact, we did want to say thank you to our families. So, for the first time um that I'm aware of in CDA history, we're having a CDA family appreciation day this Saturday. And we're inviting all of our families to bring their children for an afternoon of free child care. So, they can the parents get a little time to make their own holiday magic happen without their little ones in tow. So, that's going to be a fun afternoon for us here. Um CA well C stands for community and we do try to be engaged with the community
028as as much as possible. We have several long community organization several long relationships with community organizations some of which are the Burlington County Literacy Committee um Brad the Bordontown um residents against drugs. CDA is also very happy to welcome a high school senior, one who was actually um given an award tonight as part of the soccer team um as an intern in our office through the high school internship program. Um he's a wonderful asset. He's learning lots of stuff and we're learning lots from him, too. Um we also facilitate the yearly spring STEM fair and we'll do that again this spring. Um the date is April 15th. So if you have an interest, please mark it on your calendars. And a final thought, I want to thank you for the leadership and support that CDA
029has always received from this board as well as Dr. Forstopper, Miss Henry. And I'm excited to work with Dr. Altoello as we move into the new year. I would be remiss if I didn't say I don't do this by myself. My staff is amazing. I am blessed to work with the best staff and district leaders, including my admin, Antinet. If you've ever had to call, you've dealt with her. She's amazing. Uh Stacy Morano, our theater director, just a wonderful human being and very talented. And Christine Corkran, who leads our adult head program. So, thank you again for the opportunity to speak tonight. If you have any questions up there [applause] questions from the board, Just want to say thank you again. The stuff that you guys offer the community and our students, the way everybody
030has each other's back, it's like invaluable. Thank you so much. I appreciate >> um we have no unfinished business. So we will move on to agenda item I is our consent agenda with 13 items. I will ask for a motion to open >> second >> and thank you discussion on consent. See, please hold. >> Yes. Thank you. Next, our agenda item J. It's the committee reports. with two committee reports for this evening. First one is the policy committee to chair a second and give the floor. The policy committee met on December 2nd. Uh unfortunately I was unable to attend as I was unwell. Um but the uh meeting was attended by Miss Man, Miss Nikk, Mr. Schnowski, Dr. and Dr. Alto. Um the for tonight for voting, you'll see there's a number of deletions and
031then additions with the same policy number. Um that's removing outdated policies that refer to um programs that no longer exist. Um and these are changes given to us by our attorney. Um the only new uh policy that was introduced was our policy on uh AI. It is the district's first attempt um of of bringing an official AI policy to start the conversation. So that is in for first reading tonight. I highly encourage if you haven't already um everyone read it uh and reach out to the committee if you have any questions. Um Miss Pam, is there anything she she filled in for me for notes? Is there anything that you want to cover that should be mentioned? >> I know you covered everything. >> Thank you. Thank you, Mr. C and M. Man. Um, we
032also had a finance committee meeting um last night, December 9th. Members in attendance were myself, Miss Flats, Mr. Rivera, um, Miss Nasik, Dr. Fortoer, Dr. Miss Henry. Um, really the purpose of that meeting was to start officially start the budgeting process. We've been thinking about it all year, but to officially have a meeting to start the budgeting process for next year. Um the focus of the conversation was, as you would expect, um you know, looking at what our enrollment trends are, um what we project our revenue to look like. I've spoken um multiple times on how that revenue number is somewhat variable until um early March. Um but we do have an idea of what that's going to look like as well as where our expenses are and what opportunities we have to continue to
033um um do the best possible with the money that we do have available. Um so last year was very difficult. You heard me say that in the speech a little bit earlier, but what that has done is it has positioned us to um hopefully have things go a little bit easier this year. Again, it sort of is a roll of the dice until we see what the numbers are. But I am very confident that um our team here, Miss Henry, um Dr. Forsoft, Dr. um and our entire administrative staff really do have things under control and um this budget season should be um not as not as nasty as last year. It should be I'm hesitant to say well because you never know what the state's going to throw at you, but it really does
034appear at this point that we're positioned to really start to rebuild and and kind of and and kind of get back to what a new normal is going to look like. So that's that's encouraging as opposed to what things were looking like at this time next year. So um there will be several more finance committee meetings. We did not set a date yet, but um the members will know about that as soon as that is um set. We did also I should touch on we did also talk about um um the fact that we are um you know doing some referendum planning. It's still way too early to talk about what that's going to look like, but that was also discussed um in that committee. questions on that. Okay. Uh we will move on to
035agenda item K. That's the superintendence report. Um Dr. For the floor before we >> No, no, we'll do the vote first. >> Do the vote first. Okay. So, I'll ask for a motion to open on items one through four in agenda. >> So, move. >> Thank you. Miss Flats. >> Second. >> And Miss Man. Thank you. Any discussion? Did we get a copy of the 26? I don't see it here. >> It's in your pack. >> Is it in? >> It's not here though. >> No. Uh we do have the Friday June the last day for students is that >> so we didn't we didn't make that happen. So um we the faculty's coming back up one day. But yeah, we you know, we looked at all kinds of compressions and and quite frankly, it's
036not the um it's not the uh uh tradition, history, whatever here. Um but like during the spring break, we often have six days off and if we were to move that to a week earlier, could we do it with just five? And that would have been the thing. But that's not what we we typically done here as far as that vac that spring vacation. So, um so we left it as is and we'll just go with that. We just really wanted to make sure we didn't have to have kids coming back over the weekend, you know, for the final day. >> Although the attendance was awesome this year. They all wanted to come. They all came on that Monday, you know. I mean, obviously the middle schoolers came because they had promotion, but all the
037elementary school quite frankly uh you know, a lot of the high school kids, we had pretty high attendance rate that things. You all, you know, getting your book signed and all that stuff. So, No further discussion. Miss back, please. >> Mr. Jones, >> yes. >> Miss Glass, >> yes. >> Miss man, >> yes. >> Miss McCarti, >> yes. >> Miss Nasik, >> yes. >> Miss Rivera, >> yes. >> Miss Zola, >> yes. >> Mr. Chowski, >> yes. >> Thank you. Yeah, just a few announcements. We actually just mentioned the one sheet calendar, but we like to get that out as soon as possible. So having out for 26 27 does allow families to pick their plans for different events and vacations or whatever. Um so it's [clears throat] good to get that out. It's >>
038when you when you get it out that early, which we try and always, you know, get it out that as early as we can. Um yeah, there's always the risk that there could be changes, but we make every effort not to make any kind of dramatic change, you know. And um there are two built-in, you know, snow days. Um which we've not had to use very many, you know, and I guess, you know, it's not snowing as much as it used to. So I guess that's not a bad thing because I hate snow. Yes. >> I also never gave you off when I was here. So uh you know, I said you come in. It's only 6 in. Um you know, come on. But you'll be fine. Um [clears throat] so I hope that continues.
039Um the MIS retaining wall is done. So, uh, please go take a look and take a tour. And it looks beautiful. Um, and, um, I'm I'm sure our our two city reps were especially happy about that, but we all should be pretty proud of that because it went a little longer as construction projects tend to do. Um, and uh, but it is done. And tonight we will be um, the board will be voting in the personnel section for um, a next high school principal. So, uh, hopefully that's successful. We'll talk more about that later on, but I the reason I bring that up is um not only is this my last board meeting, but Mr. Walter is also leaving, so I wanted to I knew he left. I think he was here for the athletes
040and stuff, but um uh this will be his uh you know, his last two weeks, I guess, that are remaining also. So, uh he's been here a lot longer than me. I think he's like 36 years or something. 35 somewhere around there. So, um >> how many years? >> 33 and a half. Okay. must have done something prior but I know he's older than that. Um so um so that's that's what we require from our administrators just so you're aware. [laughter] >> Um it's not as odd for me to do as maybe uh for Rich. But I I do tend to write things down also um when I want to say something. And when I get the speech book out, you know, it's going to be a little bit um mine's eight pages, but I
041also use 20 fonts. So, uh, you know, that's, [laughter] uh, part of the problems, but, uh, turning 60. Yes. So, I'll say if you like, but I want you to be as uncomfortable as I was during that, uh, those three minutes, you know, when when you're talking about me. Um, so I I did I wrote it like a book. It's like I didn't write notes. Usually I like, you know, I had postits all over the place and stuff, but uh, I just wrote it like I'm doing a graduation speech. Um, but when I agreed to come back to boarding town, um, you know, I I was a superintendent. I've been doing that for 16 years. I was good for not doing a 17. Um, and uh, you know, I I I didn't mind working. I'm
042still relatively young. And, um, you know, like being a principal, it's a little bit more fun. You got kids. You know, there's no kids when you're superintendent. It's all grown-up problems. Um, but when you're a principal, you get to, you know, interact with the the students and that's kind of why most of us got into education to begin with. So, um, and I was doing a little bit of that in Hamilton until my my two years kind of came up and I couldn't any longer. So, so when I got the call, um, you know, I I was kind of figuring out what the, uh, what the issues were and I was hearing a little bit about it, but I really didn't have a full scope of of with the budget. Um, and I did underestimate
043uh, where we were with the budget. um you before accepting this um I did joke with the board that I'm I'm about to ruin a relatively good seven-year reputation in about two weeks u you know when I come back um which happened um but you know that I that was not at least that was anticipated um and I also told him somebody else I I I right here what they say >> that I doubted I would have returned for anyone else board in town was really because I didn't really necessarily want to be a superintendent again um you there weren't many plays. I like Georgia. I I mean, it was my favorite. It was, you know, the jewel of my crown as far as my career. So, um, you know, and I recognized that you
044had issues, but, you know, it's not like I'm some saint or anything. I mean, you know, I I came back because, you know, I I I thought I could help out, but I also said, well, I like towns and I kind of owe it to come back and try to get them through this. Um, it was hard. Uh, you know, the last 10 months have not been a cakewalk. I will tell you that the budget situation was worse than I realized. the remedy was harder than the community really wanted to accept. Um and and harder than the board wanted to accept. You know, I think you knew that would be coming in, but doesn't matter. I still had to be that messenger. Um somehow we made it through. I will tell you right now that
045without Miss Henry's uh budget acumen and knowing the numbers and all that kind of stuff. And quite frankly, with all of Dr. Atkins brainstorming um and pre-planning before I came here, I don't think we would have gotten through it. I mean, I guess we would have gotten through it, but it wouldn't have been we gotten through it in a much worse situation than we actually did. And I I really struggled with how we would have made that deadline if they hadn't done all that pre-work. So, uh what truly made it all come together though was is having that supportive board of education because if I'm battling the board also, um that's just going to make the issue so much worse. Um and I know all nine of you weren't here, but you know, seven of
046you were here and um actually we only had eight then because I think Mr. James had already left. Um, so we were working on that or getting ready to work on that, but I kept getting delayed because we're focusing on, you know, remaining solvents and um, and then of course Mr. Dean left a short time later. But every single one of you leaned in. You know, you you're willing to learn because you're relatively inexperienced. You know, you none of you had I don't think three years at that time. And um, you were all like in your first term. I think well except for Joe Dean, you were the most senior. You know, you and Laura, I'm sorry. Were you together? >> Okay. >> Oh, you're the first. Oh, someone take that away from you. But,
047you know, you asked lots of questions, you challenged, you know, like the questions were like, you know, why can't we or you know, and and provided some really good ideas. I I just hope that the community understands, you know, it's it's fine for me to sit there and say, "Yeah, this is a great board." But I hope you you recognize that the amount of effort and and quite frankly, you know, sleepless nights because, you know, when you got people who are blaming you for something that's really not your fault um for and I get paid, you know, you don't even get paid, you know, like you know, you know, I come I'm getting a paycheck, but you're not getting you're not getting that. Yours is all intrinsic. Uh you have no extrinsic motivation. So, I
048I just hope the committee understands or learns to understand your commitment to this district. That that's really what uh carried us through this, no exaggeration, crisis. Um I do want to say a word or two about each of you individually so you can all squirt them also. Um I'll start with Field Pearl. Uh Melissa, you're our newest member. You jumped in at one of the most critical moments. Uh you came in as we were beginning a superintendent search, which is I mean I'm not trying to toot my own horn, but it's one of the most important things that a board does is selecting a superintendent. you know, it's it's your CEO for the the company. Uh it's daunting for any board member, let alone somebody brand new who was trying to figure out what board
049members even do, you know, and and we all kind of learned that on the fly, but you know, you came in at a rough time. If you handled it with poise, you're a great listener. Um you learned and you grew. Um I think that trial by fire was probably very good for you. It probably, you know, it kept you interested anyway. Um and and Fieldsboro is lucky to have a very strong representative like you um to do it. So, thank you very much for stepping up when it really mattered. Um, our other newest member who wasn't here when I was picked, so you know, she can't take the blame for me. Um, Janice Nosik is one of our city representatives. Um, and but many of us knew Janice already, you know, she was not a
050mystery to us. Um, uh, she was a regular presence at our board meetings, uh, a very strong advocate for the city. Um, and, uh, Janice, I think, brings real passion, uh, honest passion. reminds us that it's okay to care deeply, you know, be emotional about something and to show it. Um, but rooted, you know, having it rooted in in like data or real facts or, you know, there's a real need for something. Um, so I think the board is stronger for having somebody like that who brings that to the table. U Melinda is our second city representative. Um, you bring such I guess happiness is you remind me of joy from inside out. You ever see the movie Inside Out? Like you remind me of joy in that, you know, like the character. Um, you're
051never negative, you know, but you know, you're just a positive uh a little ray of sunshine, I guess. I don't know. Um, and your optimism is infectious. Uh, you you radiate positivity. Um, but I think you really examine all the sides of an issue, you know? So, it's not just like, well, what's the expression used before? Like rainbows and butterflies, whatever. Yeah. It's not all that. Like, you you know, that's the surface. That's the first comment, but then you like dig deep and and you look at it from all the sides and you're pretty pragmatic. Um but you always feel better just being around you uh just because you're always so happy but you're also skilled at taking complex issues and break them down into uh I think smaller understandable parts. So again another part
052of this nine member entity that is needed. Uh Vender was the quiet one until Melissa came. Um now she's like a you know now you can't keep her quiet. Um but I've worked with her a lot in small group sessions policy uh negotiations. Um, and that's where she's um, you know, it's like masterful, you know, watching her work because she's so thoughtful. Um, she doesn't say much, but when she says it, she's saying a lot. So, you know, it's it's like the value of the words. Uh, that's something I haven't learned. I I go more for quantity. Um, but you get more quality from render. So, that's that's exceptionally important. You have a remarkable ability to summarize uh something that is huge and making it to that nugget or that's the same point. So, I
053I think the board needs that. Also, Carmen stands out as a fierce that's the word. I don't know why I think of fierce when I think of you. Uh, a fierce and thoughtful advocate for students, particularly with students with special needs. Um, she asks questions that matter, seeking to fully understand an issue. Um, and asking a lot of questions, which you need to have so that you can fully understand a position. Um, but what's also key because sometimes when you have somebody who's a strong advocate for a certain area, she's able to balance like fiscal responsibility with what's right, what's wrong, those kind of things, which is not something that's that common, you know. Um, most board of educations have a representative on there that tends to advocate for special education, but it's few or
054far in between that that they're so wellrounded to look at issues from many different sides. So, that's extremely important. Um, I I think your advocacy is grounded in your heart, but also good sense. So, I think you bring that to the table. Uh, Ryan, I Ryan started like right before I came here. Um, you were the newest board member at the time. I think I look at Ryan that's a true family man. Um, you know, he's the kind of guy I kind of want to like hopefully we'll like hang out afterward or something. I don't know. You're like you just seem like a you know, you're just generally a nice person. Um, but he's also, you know, a lot of you were parents and a lot of you have been parents, but um, but you
055know, he's he's several children in the school and I think you need to have that uh have some board members that are rooted in like what what we're really here for having the kids here in the school. Um, but Ryan's also a straight shooter, you know, and and you know, when people ask me what I want to eat for dinner, I the same thing every night. I want meat and I want potatoes. That's all I need. And that's that's Ryan. Ryan is like, I'm going to tell you like it is. Um, even in a mean way, in a nice way, but say, you know, let's just get to the facts. We don't have to dance around it and and pretty it up. Let's just be get honest, clarity, focus on the issue. Um, and I
056I think that makes our life a lot easier when you get to things that are you get let's just get to the basics of it and talk about it. Uh, Amy for the first, you know, five months I was here didn't even know she was in the military. Um, and then she left. So, that's how I found out or retired, I should say. You know, what do you call that? The military has different names for everything. but her contributions are really rooted in the understanding of the whole child and that's another aspect that you don't always see but having that extra component come to a board. Um you know athletics extracurricular not just looking at at academics not diminishing academics but recognizing that there's more to you know having good grades than being a full-rounded
057person. Um and and and her experiences that shape students and how they become. I I always think that her uh conversations and her questions also, but her points often enhance our conversations here and and help us move forward and understand the bigger picture more so than the particular issue that we might just be discussing. Uh Laura uh Pat was one of the first people I spoke with when considering my return. Uh I liked her immediately, logical, systematic, thoughtful, uh also emotional, you know, so you know, heart sleeve but you know, brain in her head. um and and blames empathy. You blame you somehow blame blend can't say the word blend empathy with um decision making. So I that's such a it's not an easy thing to do. I mean it's it's like I think you
058got to be born with that. You know it's not something that you learn or or you go to school for. Um her commitment to policy is extraordinary and and quite honestly befuddling. Um but uh you know but [laughter] uh but she uh but she does it and thank God uh you know that she's so committed to this because it's not something that anybody ever in the history here has ever been that committed to. Um I don't think most people will know how much she does behind the scenes. I think the nine of us know, you know, nine of you know, but I think outside of that, you know, um there's a lot that she does that that's quite and she's, you know, a true advocate for being a board member, you know, and and what
059it entails and what responsibility entails and and constantly learning, constantly, you know, turnkey her knowledge with us and promoting that others follow suit and and what she's learned. Um, but you know, she does so much behind the scenes that you'll I couldn't describe. And finally, Rich. Um, now I didn't know Rich before I came back. Um, but it didn't take long to recognize what an exceptional board president he has. Um, I've been lucky. The board presidents here have been Well, I see Mr. He so and but Mr. James. I I've worked with a number of board presidents that have all been um You're lucky. You don't know. You don't work anywhere else. You know boarding town. I've been in six places. I've seen the good and the bad. So to have somebody um who's just
060so good at at that role and totally understands the role of a board president um is something else. Um again when I came here he's the board president and he's you got like three years in. So it's it's something that you don't often see in boards. It's usually the you know the hanger on the person who's been here for a while that is assuming a good position. But you know he definitely leads with fairness and if nothing else and there's many other things but if nothing else he makes sure every voice is heard. So, you know, every board member has a chance. You know, he he does have these extra long pauses that make you want to, you know, jump in and say something. Um, so, but that's good because it makes sure everybody who
061wants to say something doesn't feel like, oh, you know, he was zipping along, went too fast, and I didn't get my opportunity. Um, but that kind of leadership is is uh rare and valuable. So I I hope you know I I sat and looked at this over the you know the weekend the past couple days and each of you is a little bit different but it's like kind of you know I was a biology teacher so it's like um you know the digestive system's important circulatory system is important respiratory they all have functions but you can't exist without you can't be a well functioning human without one of them. You all have to make that whole um it's the perfect mix. It really is. you know, you don't you don't see that. You know, there's
062I I keep thinking who's the weird. Um it's got to be me because I can't figure out between you with me. Uh you each bring something that's essential. I've been doing this for 17 years. I I will tell you it's it's not just rare, it's unheard of. You know, I hope you all just keep running and it just keeps, you know, you keep coming back because um boarding town's very lucky and how powerful a board like this can be. Um like I said, this 10-month assignment to finish up. This 10-month assignment was hard. Um uh it was certainly easier the last seven years when money was a factor, but it wasn't the driving force behind every decision. Um I shouldn't say the driving force. It wasn't the only force behind uh many of our decisions.
063Everything's harder now, though. It's harder for our staff. It's harder for administrators. Uh it's harder for our parents. Um and our job has to continue to be to make sure it's not harder for our kids. You know, we we want to make sure that they don't even notice, you know, that we have less money. you know, they they it's like a a little blip for them. They don't even see it happening. We're doing more with less. We just need to make sure that they don't feel the impact. We all will and and certainly our staff and and and administrators are are paying for it. You know, they're you know, they I I can't make it any easier than it is. Um we're doing what we can to to lessen the pain, but but moving forward
064is going to require innovation, creativity, courage, those kinds of things. I think you found the right person to do it. You know, I think you're you're very lucky. Uh with Dr. Atabell at the helm, I've never felt more confident in my 17 year career handing over the baton, you know, like it was really cool to watch the process. I never got to see it before, like how a board picks a superintendent. Um and it's it was so well designed, but um great things are coming. I can tell you, you know, great new ideas are coming to board town. Um and it's going to be exciting to watch. I'm going to stick around just to kind of um to watch what happens here. I think there's going to be bumps. You know, it's not going to
065be all butterflies and rainbows or whatever, you know, whatever it is. But, uh certainly with Jim here, I think you you you could be more set up. You got the perfect board mix. You got a a highly effective um leader at the top. Um last paragraph. Um these these months have been difficult, but I can't believe I'm saying this. Uh I love every minute of it, you know, coming back has been so invigorating for me. Like, you know, I think I don't want to be I might even do this again now somewhere, you know. Uh, you know, because the idea was that like I'm like, "Oh, wow." Like, you know, I can contribute. I can do something and come into a difficult time, hopefully do something, you know, a little bit better with it. Um,
066I believe together we build a strong foundation for Jim that you'll continue to build upon. And that's what we need. We put the footings in, you know, but that's the first thing you got to do. That's the first thing you have to do when you're building something new. Well, if you got the strong footings, you know, if you don't have good strong footings, then um disaster is going to come later on. So, I think you got the footings all in place. You know, thank you for inviting me back, letting me, you know, show me your trust. Um the privilege of being part of town once again. I can't wait to see what happens. And that's the end of Thank [applause] >> somebody or something, you know. [laughter] Seems like tonight is a >> rainbows and
067unicorns is the one I've always heard. [laughter] >> We're all very fortunate to have served. >> Um I'm done. We'll move on to uh agenda item now. Curriculum. Uh so seven items and I will ask for a motion to open. >> Thank you, Miss N. And Mr. Any discussion on agenda item L curriculum 1 through 7? >> There's that long pause mentioned in this speech. Seeing no discussion, Miss Pat, please pull the board. >> Mr. Jens, >> yes. >> Miss Glatt, >> yes. >> Miss man, >> yes. >> Mr. McCardy, >> yes. >> Miss Nikk, >> Yes. Mr. Yes. >> Mola, >> yes. >> Mr. Schnowski, >> yes. >> Motion passed. >> Thank you very much. Next is item M, personnel with 25 items. We'll ask for a motion to open. >> Thank you, Miss
068Man, and thank you, Miss Nikk. >> It was Miss Man for the motion and Miss Nikki for the second. Any discussions? Personel I have a question. Um on 20 item 21 um volunteer assistant wrestling coaches. I'm assuming that's for the high school um as >> Yes. >> Um but then we're also hiring an assistant wrestling coach. Why do we need to hire someone if we have all these >> Well, that's a position that's been negotiated. We have a coach and assistant coach. These are people that are willing to they bring us expertise that we can use. >> Yeah. And to speak just to speak to that um as always we thank all of our volunteers. Um Key Club was run here. The Bordon Town the Bordontown Youth Historical Society um wrestling. It's extremely positive to
069see our students serving as volunteer. I recognize uh the names on this list as some of my son's classmates and um it's nice to see our kids that are recently graduated still coming back to to um better our programs. It it just speaks to the you know the character of our coaches and our district athletics program. So um thank you for volunteering um and especially thank you to our students for for staying active in your district. Sorry. Um, I just wanted to, um, I personally know Donna Shipman and Brandon Arson. They're both totally different roles, but, um, I just want to wish them well with their next adventure, wherever it takes them. Um, I wanted to comment on Michelle. Um, how do we vent? Um, I'm just excited to meet you tonight. Um, and to
070work together in the future. And I also wanted to say I'm really excited to see that Miss Chang at BRS is going to be doing the track and wellness. The students adore her. She has like such a cool energy. She's just like one of the kids and she's amazing. So, I'm excited about that. This pauses just to make sure we get all the notes captured. Miss Pap is running dual duty tonight. Um, so you're okay. Take your time. >> Seeing no further questions, Miss B, please call the board. >> Mr. Jones, >> yes. >> Miss Glatt, >> yes. Man, >> yes. >> Micardi, >> yes. >> Miss Nasik, >> yes. >> M. >> Yes. Miss River, >> yes. >> Mola, >> yes. >> Mr. Shinowski, >> yes. >> Thank you. >> We are now on
071a >> superintendent. >> Yes. All right. [laughter] >> Yes, >> it's official. >> Uh we are now on agenda item N, business and finance with 12 items. for a motion to open. >> Second, >> Miss Glatz and Miss May. >> Any discussion on agenda 1 through 12? Seeing no discussion. Miss >> Mr. Jens, >> yes. >> Miss Cl, >> yes. >> Miss man, >> yes. >> Miss McCarti, >> yes. >> Miss Nelson, >> yes. >> M. Yes. Miss Rivera, >> yes. >> Miss Zola, >> yes. >> Mr. Schnowski, >> yes. >> Thank you. Uh, moving on to agenda item O policy with 1 AO. Ask the motion open. >> Thank you, Miss Glats and Miss Johnson. Thank you. Discussion on policy A through discussion when you're ready. >> Mr. Jens, >> yes. >> Miss Bl.
072>> Yes. >> Miss man, >> yes. >> Miss Bardi, >> yes. >> Miss Nikk, >> yes. >> Miss, yes. Miss Rivera, >> yes. >> Miss Zola, >> yes. >> Mr. Shinowski, >> yes. >> Motion carries. Thank you. Um, we're now going to I'm going to ask for a motion to We don't have a new business section um in this agenda. So, I'm going to ask for a motion to add a new business section as agenda item P. Um, which will then make the rest move forward in one letter. So, I'll ask for the motion to add new business first. >> So, moved. Thank you, Miss Solo. >> Second from I heard Miss McCarti first. Any discussion about new business? >> Okay, we'll pull the board. I think we can do that one without the roll
073call vote, but we'll do a roll call just to make sure. >> Did you want me to go ahead >> first? We have to create new business, then that would be next. >> Thank you. >> Uh, please hold the board this way. Mr. Jensen, >> yes. >> Miss Black, >> yes. >> Miss Man, >> yes. >> Miss McCarti, >> yes. >> Miss Nas, >> yes. >> Miss Pap, >> yes. >> Miss Rivera, >> yes. >> Miss Solo, >> yes. >> Mr. Chowski, >> yes. >> Motion carries. >> Thank you. Um, so for new business, um, the board has discussed and would like to put forward, uh, three board goals, um, for new business for the 26 calendar year. Um I will read the just the titles and the um description of the goal um as
074a motion. So and then afterwards, Miss Pap, I can pass this paper to you um for record keeping. Okay. So I move that we adopt the following three board goals. Board goal one, strengthen board governance, professional capacity, and team effectiveness. The board will enhance its overall governance effectiveness by strengthening team cohesion, improving policy alignment, using data more effectively, and ensuring all members participate in ongoing training and structured team building. So that's board goal one. Goal two, improve communication, transparency, and community engagement with the description of the board will build. The board will seek to build trust and strengthen stakeholder relationships by increasing transparency, expanding communication channels, and creating more meaningful opportunities for two-way engagement with families and community. And lastly, we have board goal three, which is to strengthen the board's committee structure and operational
075efficiency with the description. The board will improve operational effectiveness by strengthening committee structures, ensuring regular meetings and promoting consistent processes that support informed governance and align with district goals. So I move that we adopt those three goals as our board goals for the 2026 year. >> So moved. >> Thank you, Miss Gl. >> And thank you, Miss. >> It's okay. Take your time. Mr. Jens, >> yes. >> Miss Black, >> yes. >> Miss Man, >> yes. >> Miss McCarti, >> yes. >> Miss Nas, >> yes. >> Miss, >> yes. Miss Rivera, >> yes. >> Miss Sola, >> yes. >> Mr. Shinowski, >> yes. >> Thank you. All right, we have now reached the part where we have public comment, which is now agenda item two. Okay, Mr. Hling, the floor is yours. >> You know
076the rules about name and address. I I suppose three West Constitution are there is a threem minute time limit, sir. such a timer. >> No, I I came to this meeting just because I hadn't been here in a while and uh was surprised to find out that it was Dr. Foroffer's last meeting. Um I just have to again say thank you. Um I was involved with the committee that hired Dr. force offer and um again what you've done for this district by coming back and helping us through the problem I hope will not be forgotten. Um it was a monumental task and um it again thank you. Um I also want to comment on Dr. Forstoer's comments about interviewing this board. Um it it warms my heart that this board has come together the way
077it has. Um again, you're a very young board, but it certainly appears like the wheels are in motion and you're all working together and that is a fantastic situation for this district. So, thank you for your work. Thank you for your efforts. Um, again, I know you went through a very difficult time over the last 10 months and um, as somebody who's been on that side of the table, I can't thank you enough for your effort because it matters that if you can go home every night and tell yourself, you know, this district is important to this community and what you're doing matters. So, thank you for that. Um, and that's it. Thank you very much, Dr. welcome and uh you got big shoes to fill. >> Thank you very much, Mr. Is there anyone
078else from the public who wishes to uh speak? Okay. Um we will move to um P1 or I'm sorry Q1 which is public suggestions for the 2026 2027 budget. Okay, seeing no suggestions, we will move on to agenda item two, board comments, and we'll open the floor to anybody wants to speak. >> I want to say something. Um, so when I came on, I was sworn in January two months and we lost our superintendent at the time. We lost our president. Um, there was a lot of and I was brand new to the board. My anxiety level was at a thousand and I didn't know what to expect. But uh Dr. Foster has done a tremendous job in leading us um these 10 months. Um he has a way of delivering bad news where it
079doesn't seem as bad. He has a way a gift of giving you the facts with also empathy tied in there somehow. Um, he's a great storyteller. Um, and so I certainly learned a lot from him and I also was able to witness him in his uh last show, Death Trap, and he's an amazing actor by the way. So, just want to thank you again. >> No, he's not an actor in in his role as superintendent [laughter] outside. Um, so I just wanted to say thank you again um for your leadership, your time. You with my thousand questions, you've always answered them. Even one time he took a little late uh to respond to me than normal because he usually within a couple hours he responds and I was started worrying. I was like, is he
080sick? Is there something wrong with him? You know, um so yeah, I just thank you so much and will be missed. Thank you. >> I just have a couple things. Um, sorry, trying to get my head together here. Um, first, obviously, I'll keep it short because I'm sure his head's big enough. Thank you. We have really enjoyed u working with you. Um, you made what was an impossible time for the board manageable. Um, and you tolerated my policy crazy, which not everyone does. So, thank you. Um, enjoy your time away, but don't be too far. Uh, two things on a separate note I wanted to bring up. Um, first, I don't know if everyone reads the, um, SBA minutes that come out pretty regularly, but there was a fantastic um, article um, that I just
081thought should be shared. Um, it was about um, recent research that of over 40 studies um, involving more than 33,000 students found that universal social emotion social emotional learning programs don't just support student well-being, but they're find that they actually improve academic performance. Um, on average, students in explicit programs show a four-point increase in overall achievement, including a sixpoint gain in reading and a four-point gain in math. um programs that ran for a full school year even had a stronger effect with an average of around an eight point increase um which is comparable to from a student moving from a C to a B or a B to an A. Um so the takeaway is that you know isn't just a buzz word or thought like there are genuinely scientifically observed benefits academically to supporting
082your students. And so it was just a fantastic article. So, if you haven't read it and you're interested, I I'll share the link with anyone who wants it. Um, it's just nice to hear that the the work that we're doing does serve the students to serve their students emotional and social needs does help with their academic needs, too. Um, the other thing, which I I don't have as much information as I typically like to come prepared with, but I just kind of caught the end of it, there is a bill um it's been around for over a year. I think I think was introduced in 2024. Um but it just moved houses um and committees. Um there's two actually. There's S3915 which would require municipalities to share pilots with their school district. It would be
083a requirement. Um so when properties are granted tax exemptions um the school district have that that payment had to be shared with the district or um or else there there had to be some kind of inind support given to the district. um it would require municipality then there's S3 S469 which would require municipalities to conduct a cost benefit analysis before they approve pilot projects to to evaluate what the financial impact on the district school districts would be. Um so as of as of this month it has just left its first committee with some amendments now under review by the Senate budget and appropriations committee. Um S469 is also advanced. So u why it matters to our district obviously um this bill if it passed would generate more additional more stable income and funding for our
084school especially if there are uh affordable housing redevelopments and urban renewals that are going on in our town which there there seems to be. Um so rather than the municipality receiving all the benefits the schools would get a share and I think that's important. um which could help support staffing, programs, maintenance, and other district needs without having to increase local taxes. Um what we can do first and foremost, research yourself. Again, I didn't have as much time to review it as I typically try to have before I speak to it. Um but I I encourage our community or parents um to to send letters uh endorsing the bills if it is something um after you read that you feel would benefit our district. Um informed, track the bills, the progress, reach out to our legislators,
085um, and just help pass the word. The more the communications out there, the more likely that we'll move out of committee. Um, so that that was my Thank you. >> As we discussed about the realignment of some of the committees, we don't know if we have a legislative committee, but that might be something we want to think about. We do. There you go. >> Well, that's so then it's it's >> it serves two functions. It's so one the first function is tell us when there's >> what just is the first function there. There's a secondary role where um New Jersey school boards will actually find these bills also and support them and advocate for them at the state level as a representative of all school boards. So the legislative delegate also is our representative with
086New Jersey school boards to speak our piece on what we would like to see them support. Um and that's a great for this year it was a share role between our girls. >> Yes. >> I also want to thank you Thank you for your leadership, your dedication, and I've learned so much from you these past 10 months during our committees and everything. I'll be thank you. Thank you for that. And as Carmen said, you are an amazing storyteller and I strive to be an amazing story like you are. Thank you for your dedication. Thank you for everything you taught me. And I'm sure I speak like I I'll speak for myself. Thank you for >> I want to see you at events when your grandchildren become of school age will be >> next year. I
087guess he'll be applying for the uh preschool lottery. I don't know if he will be. He's actually in a pres. But [laughter] uh he'll be three next year. He'll be three next year. >> No, he doesn't. He doesn't. My daughter's so he'll never know which one he is. >> I wanted to say quickly, I know we don't we all know, but thank you for always respecting me on that side of the podium. listening to us as parents, as the public giving us making us very much feel heard enough that I felt confident enough to come to this side of the table and um really really changed my I mean obviously whenever you're behind the curtain you'll learn a lot more than you do. Um but um yeah so just thanks for always giving us that
088respect and then it just it made it a lot easier to transition from there to here um and feel confident. So thanks Okay, seeing there's that long pause again. So, seeing no further comment, um I will um I already said my piece, but I would just close with we know you won't be a stranger and we look forward to seeing more and thank you so much. And Dr. We know um through the process of how you got here. We know there's great things in store. So, we are super excited and super thankful that um we get to do the district um um that has you as our super. So, thank you also for being here. Um >> I had to sit there and listen to your pretty small hands. He had to sit listen to
089>> someone may have made someone may have made the comment about you know when do they get theirs. So, we made sure you guys >> So, thank you very much. But you're but you didn't have your mother here to to uh to hear it. But maybe maybe we'll arrange another time where should we come here. So okay. >> So there you go. So um uh seeing no further business I will ask for a motion to move. >> Thank you. Matz second >> and Miss Nikki. We are are all in favor. I