001All right, good evening everybody and welcome to our May Board of Education meeting. Happy to see the auditorium packed with so many of our students and educators and we're eager to honor your accomplishments. Before we do, let me just take a minute to get some administrative activities out of the way. I'm going to read New Jersey's Open Public Meetings Law statement. We'll do the Pledge of Allegiance and then we'll get right to the festivities. So, the New Jersey Open Public Meetings Law was enacted to ensure the right of the public to have advanced notice of and to attend the meetings of public bodies at which time any business affecting their interests is discussed and acted upon. In accordance with the provisions of this act and Board of Education Policy 0162, the Board of Education of
002the Borough of Bound Brook has caused notice of this meeting to be posted in the Board office and at Bound Brook High School and mailed or faxed to the Courier News, Bound Brook Borough Clerk, South Bound Brook Board of Education, and any person who has requested individual notice and paid the required fee. Please stand and join me in the Pledge of Allegiance. Madam Secretary, a roll call, please. >> Here. >> Oh, Jesus. >> Miss Sahai? Mr. In Cacace? Mr. Januzzi? >> Here. >> Mr. Minas? Miss Musson? Mr. Balmer? Mr. Zupko? >> Here. >> We have a quorum tonight. >> Thank you very much. Uh skipping President's comments for tonight other than to say I am as excited as everyone here is for the end of the school year. Glad we got our NJ SLA testing
003out of the way and congratulations to each of our building administrators and teachers who contributed to that and good luck to everybody for the last few weeks keeping it together before we get to summer [laughter] vacation. Dr. Freeman, over to you. >> All right, good evening everybody and welcome to our May board meeting. We have roughly 3 weeks left to school. You can count the days. Everybody is still working hard. I'm happy to report to the board and we're excited about a a great ending to the school year. At this time, we are going to call up Mr. Ross in place of Dr. S to announce the students from Lamont School, the students of the month. >> Okay folks, welcome and thank you everybody for being here. We're going to start off with our pre-K
004students of the month. Our pre-K student of the month is Leslie Guerra. She is teach >> [applause] >> Come on up. Come on up. Come on mom. Everybody come on up. So, she has one sibling Mason who's here as well. Her favorite subject in school is doing her garden study and you like life cycles. Yeah? Yay. And her favorite hobbies are wrestling and soccer and her career plans are to work in a toy store. >> Oh, nice. >> [applause] [applause] >> Moving on up to kindergarten. Arya Davis. Come on, Arya. >> [applause] >> So, her teacher is Miss Pemberton. She's in kindergarten. And she has a sibling, Zuri. Her favorite subject is science and math. Um she loves playing on the playground, helping her dad cook, and riding your pink And when she grows up,
005she wants to be a police officer because they catch bad guys. >> Yeah. Mom and [applause] Dad, come on down. >> [applause] >> Okay. So, we move up our grades to first grade. Lamont Annex Student of the Month is Jason Del Aquila. Jason, come on up. >> [applause] >> Teacher is Miss Stella. Um siblings Rachel, Brianna, Cece, and Andriana. Am I correct? There we go. I love math because I like subtracting and adding. You are putting things together. And favorite hobby is sport, which is baseball, and he likes hitting the ball. And with the career plans he grows up, we have another police officer in the making. Congratulations. >> [applause] [applause] >> Thank you. >> And next up for Lafayette School, we have Miss Kenny. >> [applause] >> Miss Cahess is sorry she can't be
006here today. However, for our second grade student of the month, and I'm not sure if she's actually here, Daisy Reyes Sandoval. Is she here today? >> Daisy! >> [applause and cheering] >> Daisy's in second grade in Miss Zimmerman's class. She has two sisters and one brother. Her favorite favorite subject is ELA. Her favorite hobbies are playing soccer, and her career plans are taking care of animals. >> [applause] >> And our third grade student of the month is Hayler Bello Hernandez. He is in third grade in Miss Wars' class. He has one sibling, Thomas. His favorite school subject is math. His favorite hobbies are playing tag. And his career plans are NASA. >> Wow. >> [applause] >> Just making sure that is correct. >> And next up from Smalley School, we have Mrs. Morgan. >> Okay,
007so our fourth grade student of the month is Hunter Hernandez. >> [applause] [cheering] >> Hunter has one brother who is uh graduating from preschool. He thought it would be awesome if he was also student of the month cuz he thinks he should be. Um his favorite subject is science because he gets to learn about energy and things. His favorite hobby is to look at Halloween decorations and Halloween robots. He called it a different word that I couldn't quite make out. And then he wants to work at Spirit Halloween when he grows up to set up the displays. He actually has a practice shop at his house that he works on now. Congratulations. [applause] >> [applause] >> Our fifth grade student of the month is Nyla Valdez Benia. >> [applause] >> So, she has one sister
008who's 16 years old. Her favorite subject is also science because she likes space theory. Uh her favorite hobby is gymnastics and watching documentaries. And because of those documentaries, when she grows up, she'd like to either be a lawyer or to clean up crime scenes. I thought it was amazing. [applause] >> [applause] [applause] >> And our sixth grade student of the month is Lara Abot Abando. >> [applause and cheering] >> She has one older brother. Her sub Her favorite subject is ELA. She feels she's good at and she likes to write essays. Her favorite hobbies are playing volleyball and soccer and she wants to be a businesswoman when she grows up. Congratulations. >> [applause] [applause] >> And next up for Community Middle School, we have Dr. Santa Surma. >> [cheering] [applause] >> Hello everyone. Please help
009me welcome our seventh-grade student of the month, Tyler Salazar. >> [applause] >> Tyler was nominated by his teacher, Mr. Sanders. Has two brothers. Tyler's favorite subjects in school are physical education and social studies. Favorite hobbies are playing soccer with friends, gaming, and wrestling. And when Tyler grows up, he wants to attend college, become an engineer while also wrestling. And pretty nice goal, win a national championship in wrestling and wrestle in the Olympics. Congratulations. >> [applause] [applause] >> And the community middle school eighth grade student of the month, Jezara Deloach. >> [applause] >> Now, I always know when Jezara gets to school because mom makes sure everybody knows. Let me hear it. >> [laughter] >> A good day everybody. Uh Jezara was nominated by her teacher, Mr. Lay. Um has one sibling. Favorite subject in school
010is art. Uh favorite hobbies being outside, listening to music, and spending time with friends. And when Jezara grows up, she wants to help people by becoming a nurse just like her mom. >> [applause] [applause] >> And last but not least, we have Miss Mrs. Larson for our high school. >> [applause] >> Good evening. I would like to recognize our first student of the month, Ava Puga. Ava has two sisters. >> [applause] >> Her favorite subject in school is geometry. Her favorite hobby is volleyball. And her career plans when she um finishes high school is to go become an OBGYN. >> [applause] >> Mom and Dad, you want to come up? >> [laughter] [applause] >> Our next Crusader of the month is Arnal Munoz. Arnal has one sibling, Alexander. His favorite subject in school is phys
011ed. His favorite hobby is listening to music. And his future career plans is he's considering becoming a lawyer. >> [applause] >> Here comes Mom. >> [applause] >> Our last two students of the month cannot be with us. They both had to work tonight, but we would like to recognize Brody Alair. Brody is an only child. >> [applause] >> His favorite subject in is also phys ed. His favorite hobbies are playing video games, drawing, art activities such as painting in his free time. And his future career plans, he is part of our um RVCC program and one of his future career plans is going on to trade school for welding and making a career out of that. So, congratulations, Brody. [applause] And our final Crusader of the month is Lily Baker. Lily has two siblings, Emma
012and Jonathan. [applause] Her favorite subject in school is history. Her favorite hobby is reading and spending time with her family. And her future career plans are to become a high school teacher. So, congratulations, Lily. >> [applause] >> Okay, at this time, we have the pleasure of calling forth our teachers of the year for each school. We will begin with Lamont School and Mr. Ross who will announce the Lamont School Teacher of the Year. Teachers of the Year. >> Teachers of the Year. >> Yes, hello everybody. So, we're going to talk to about our educational service professional as well as our teacher of the year. I'll start off with the educational service professional of the year for Lamont School. It's Claudia um Gurriel. >> [applause and cheering] >> Thank you. Let's Let's raise the roof for
013Claudia. >> [applause and cheering] >> Let it be known in this little piece that doesn't mention that you do have youngsters in our district. Three youngsters in our district, so we needed to make sure that that was added to our bit. So, this is somebody who's truly has her heart here. Tonight, we're going to proudly recognize Claudia as the educational service professional of the year for Lamont Annex. Uh she's a valued preschool teacher assistant whose dedication and care positively impacts students, families, and staff every day. As a bilingual educator, she helps build strong connections in both languages and helps people figure out how they can better work with home and school and create a very welcoming and supportive environment for the youngest of our learners. She is known for her professionalism, kindness, and willingness to
014always go above and beyond. Her commitment to children and families reflects the very best of our school. So, congratulations, Fatima. >> [applause] [cheering] [applause] >> Okay. >> So, our teacher >> Okay. >> So, our teacher of the year for Lamont Annex and Lamont is Jennifer Bates. Please come on up, Jennifer Bates. Yes, thank you. So, if you get a chance, Dr. get to know her backstory, it's one that humbled me and makes me very proud that she is here. So, please ask her about that. But, we proudly recognize her for the teacher of the year at Lamont because she's a dedicated early childhood educator with over 17 years of experience um and to proudly serve Bound Brook community for the past 4 years. She believes deeply in building strong connections and lifelong learning and creating
015classrooms where children feel safe, valued, and encouraged to grow. She approaches each day with compassion, dedication, and unwavering commitment to her students and her family. Her strength, resilience, and care inspire everyone around her. And from just reading her story, I can tell you that is very true. And that lasting impact is felt in this community always. So, congratulations, Jennifer. >> [applause] >> And from Lafayette, we'll have Ms. Kenny come back to the mic. >> Lafayette School is proud to recognize Ms. Reese >> [applause] >> as our educator of the year. As a dedicated special education teacher, she goes above and beyond each day to support the academic, social, and emotional growth for her students. Ms. Reese creates a classroom environment where all students feel valued, supported, and capable of success. Her compassion, patience, and commitment
016to inclusive inclusive education make a lasting impact on our school community, and we are grateful for all she does for our students and family. Congratulations, Maddie. >> [applause] [applause] >> At Smalley School, we have Ms. Morgan. >> Okay, so our educator of the year for Smalley is Mr. Melisurgo. >> [applause] >> Mr. Melisurgo is an exceptional educator whose greatest impact is the connection he builds with children. Students know they're seen, valued, supported, and never alone. He creates a classroom where emotional well-being is nurtured alongside academic growth and where children feel safe taking risks, building confidence, and discovering strengths they might may not see yet in themselves. As a coach and mentor, he teaches perseverance, teamwork, and self-belief extending these lessons far beyond the classroom. Through innovative student-led projects, he empowers students to lead, collaborate, and
017take pride in meaningful accomplishments. Children turn to him for encouragement, guidance, and a trusted adult who'll always listen. And many years later, they come back to see him. Uh one student shared, "He helps bring your spark back." Having grown up in Having grown up in this community himself, Mr. Melisurgo gives back in a way that leaves a lasting imprint on generations of Smalley students. And for his compassion, advocacy, and unwavering dedication to chil- children, sorry, helping children grow into their fullest selves, Mr. Melisurgo is profoundly deserving of this nomination or this >> [applause] [applause] >> He has his kids here, so you should be very proud of your dad. And our um educational service professional of the year is Ms. Tilia Carrera, who I did see. Yes, come in. >> [applause] >> I think she
018also has her kids here. You should be very proud of your mom. I think I saw them. So, Ms. Carrera's greatest impact is the trust she builds with students, families, and staff. She creates a safe, welcoming space where students feel heard, supported, and empowered to grow in confidence while developing the skills to navigate challenges. As our social worker, she's often the first person students turn to in difficult moments, providing guidance, advocacy, and a steady presence. Families know she listens without judgment and supports them with compassion and professionalism. Staff rely on her as a trusted partner when students need additional care and support. Her willingness to step in wherever needed reflect reflects her unwavering commitment to the entire school community. For her dedication, her heart, and profound difference she makes in the lives of many, we
019are very proud to recognize Ms. Carrera as Small Schools Educational Specialist of the Year. Congratulations. >> [applause and cheering] [applause] >> And Dr. Santa Sermer for Community Middle School. >> Hello again. Please join me in welcoming the 2026 Community Middle School Educational Special Specialist of the Year is Brianna Debetta. >> [cheering] [applause] >> As the CMS School Counselor, Ms. Debetta is the stabilizing force for students and families at CMS, and probably for me as well. Thank you. >> Her calm demeanor, thoughtful problem-solving, and objective perspective help guide the school community through complex academic, behavioral, and emotional situations. Ms. DeVetta works tirelessly to ensure concerns are resolved and students feel supported through the process. As the state CMS state testing coordinator, Ms. DeVetta ensures all schedules are organized, all details are checked, and every student is
020given the best opportunity to succeed. Beyond her formal duties, Ms. DeVetta is the yearbook club co-advisor, National Junior Honor Society co-advisor, chaperone for the Washington, D.C. trip, and is present at virtually every school event. Please join me in congratulating and honoring Ms. Breanne DeVetta, CMS Educational Specialist of the Year. >> [applause] [applause] >> And please join me in welcoming the 2026 Community Middle School Teacher of the Year, Mr. Mike Ratliff. >> MR. RATLIFF. >> [applause] >> MR. RATLIFF IS THE COMPUTER science teacher at CMS and so much more. Mr. Ratliff delivers high-quality instruction that combines real-world applications with rigorous academic expectations. Through engaging and accessible lessons, students develop coding proficiency, problem-solving skills, perseverance, and collaboration. He fosters a safe and supportive, inspiring classroom culture where students feel respected and respected and motivated to grow. But
021beyond the classroom, Mr. Ratliff, he is the co-advisor of our middle school robotics club. He volunteers his time to support the school play with sound system operations, and he chaperones a multitude of school events. Most importantly, Mr. Ratliff headlines our school pep rallies and can can get the students going like no other. For these reasons and countless others, please help me celebrate the CMS Teacher of the Year, Mr. Mike Ratliff. >> [applause] [applause] >> And last but not least, we have Ms. Larson. >> Thank you. I am proud to recognize our Governor's Educator of the Year, Mr. Pierre Abd. Mr. Abd has been a valued member of the Bound Brook community since 2008, serving as an exceptional French teacher, mentor, coach, and leader. His classroom promotes authentic communication, cultural awareness, and real-world language application, while
022encouraging students to grow as confident global citizens. Through engaging instruction, students develop meaningful connections between language, culture, and their own experiences. Beyond the classroom, Mr. Abd has dedicated years to the Bound Brook soccer program, including 9 years as varsity soccer coach. He also advises student organizations, mentors colleagues, and supports school-wide initiatives. His leadership, innovation, and commitment make him a highly deserving Teacher of the Year candidate. Congratulations, Pierre. >> [applause] [applause] >> And our educational specialist of the year is Kristen De Portier. Nurse Kristen. She proudly serves the high school nurse bringing experience from both school and hospital settings to support student physical, mental, and emotional well-being. A graduate of Baumberg High School, she is dedicated to giving back to the community that shaped her. Ms. De Portier combines evidence-based adolescent care with a compassionate, holistic
023approach while maintaining experience in emergency and cardiac care through her hospital work. She collaborates closely with families, staff, and community resources to ensure students receive comprehensive support. Her commitment, professionalism, and advocacy positively impact the health and success of the entire school community. >> [applause] [applause] >> On behalf of the board, the students, the community, we thank you for your commitment to our community uh and all the hard work that you've shown and we're very proud of you. At this time, uh teacher of the year, if you would remain, we want to take some pictures with you. At this time, we would like all students of the month and their families to come up to the stage to take a group picture. >> Woo! Hey Mike, are you ready? Can all educators of the year come
024to the front for a picture, please? Come on. >> You wanted the office. You want her at the office. >> Don't need the gavel cuz we never adjourned. Okay. Uh unfortunately, our student board member is not with us tonight. I believe he is preparing for prom tomorrow evening, which is much better use of his time. Uh but we look forward to his next report. Uh that brings us to committee reports. First up is education, Mr. Dawson. >> Thank you, Mr. Jay. Uh we had a great meeting a couple weeks ago. Uh few things on the agenda, we spoke about the proposal for a chess club at Smalley. Uh we're all very excited about that. Chess has so many benefits and uh speaking for the board, we really appreciate all of our staff members who volunteer
025to spend time after hours with our kids. Those are the memory making moments for many of our kids, whether you're leading a club or coaching a sport, um all of that work is deeply appreciated by the board. Um Mrs. Griffin told us about all of the wonderful programming that is coming up over the summer for our students. Um there's really a variety of things for kids at every level. There's a kindergarten readiness program for our preschoolers. Um students in K to 2 have programming in math, ELA, related arts, even bilingual programming. Um grades 3 through 6 have math, ELA, but also PE, STEM, art. Um same with kids in 7th and 8th grade. Um when you get to the high school level, kids have a variety of options in math, science, um US history, driver's
026ed. Most of us probably identify a number of folks who would benefit from some driver's ed time. Uh ESY program is available for many of our students. There's also an enrichment camp for kids in 2nd through 8th grade that blends arts, sports, STEM activities, science, cheerleading, and dance. And lastly, as a group, we talked about um staffing for the upcoming school year, determining um section numbers, class size numbers, um and we're well on our way to uh finalizing those plans. We had a productive and exciting meeting. >> Well done. Any questions for Mr. Dawson in the education committee? All right. For governance, we actually have Ms. High with a brief report, I believe. >> I do, and I have the briefest of reports this month. Um we met where we had met um a couple
027weeks ago. We really just received um two policy alerts, and they're they were so brief that we we didn't receive one until last Friday. And the other one was concerning health care and looking at resolutions, and this is something that we will be covering at our June committee meetings. And that's it. >> Thank you, Mrs. High. Any questions on governance? We're going to stay with Mrs. High for human resources. >> Okay, human resources. First thing we do every month is we go over the personnel status. And what's happening right now is that there are interviews set up. Right now it's maintenance and instruction. And there were seven openings as of the committee meetings. But there were new postings put forth to interview for positions for the 2026-2027 school year. Which is bizarre, but that's where
028we are with that. Um All teachers were given their contracts and uh to sign and return to the Board of Ed office. Um contracts were also mailed out to those who are on leave. We spent a little bit of time just going over um job descriptions for student facilitators, etc. and what would go into each of the those just to strengthen our to for understanding of what responsibilities are. And we reviewed the Omni contract, and this is um a third-party 403b provider. And just looking at the possibility of taking out um uh hardship withdrawals, and that's something that they we will be discussing with them and then get getting back to you as soon as we can. And that's it. >> Thank you, Mrs. High. One comment that I would add, while it's not part
029of the regularly scheduled committee meetings, the HR committee is continuing to meet regularly to debate and discuss negotiations with both the teachers union >> completely >> and the administrators union >> Thank you. >> So I know you guys are spending a lot of time on that and the effort is very much appreciated. Any questions for Mrs. High on human resources? All right, up to Mr. Zupko for operations. So operations again to steal some thunder from Mrs. High was a little brief. The board continues to uh be very thankful for our BA and for all of the decisions and things that are being done through that office. We talked briefly about our general fund accounts and the fact that we are looking to have a surplus which is always a good thing. >> [snorts] >> We
030talked about some possibilities for the future. It was kind of basically a brain searching session to say that we were looking at the what could be done in the future such as possibility of some expansion or possibility of making some uh increased parking throughout the town for some of our teachers but we are we're just looking at it was like making a wish board basically looking and seeing what we can do with the economic climate currently as well as the future. The board is also very thankful for Dr. Freeman and his administrative team because of the relations we have with the town council. We talked about how we are continuing to make that relationship become very very healthy and uh and some of our discussions went into what the future holds with that. So it's
031basically a very brief meeting of what could be and what is, but uh that we're in very good shape and again we thank the business office for putting us there as well as for the upper administration team for making some very sound decisions. And that was pretty much it, Mr. President. >> Very good. Thank you. Any questions for Mr. Zupko? All right. Moving on to our report from Mrs. Hi for Somerset County Educational Services Commission representative. >> Um at our last meeting what we discussed just with the educational programming. They currently have 150 students and they are in the continual process of intakes and interviewing new students. They have an anticipated um population of 50 students for the ESY program and they are expecting a few more. Um their staffing needs there it's transportation and
032they're currently conducting second round interviews for the to run the transportation department. They're looking for a nurse, a new lunchroom person, Spanish teacher, TAs at the present point time. They also are looking to um expand their autism classrooms. Um presently they have five students and which requiring a personal TA and they are looking to expand that program. There is also the ba ba bum the NJCESC which is the New Jersey Council for Educational Services Commissions and that is members of a variety of ESCs that from around the state. They meet and they discuss just their shared administrative goals. Uh Uh the building project update is they have the ShopRite Bistro and they're doing alterations to that. And they're kind of they're changing it to a career center cafe where it looks really the the architectural
033plans are wonderful. And what they're doing is having it so that students can um run that from the ordering to the cooking and then have it for uh meeting places so that when families come for intakes, they could do that. And they're thinking of you know, inviting boards to come and see, have a meal there and just see what that is looking like. Um and the only other news there is the there will be upcoming negotiations because the teacher for teacher contracts. And administration administrative contracts, but one is in process, the other is coming shortly. >> There you go. >> And that's it. >> Thank you, Mrs. High. Any questions on the S- EASC? All right. Mr. Incalcaterra, you're up for South Bound Brook report. >> In South Bound Brook, we nominated two student board
034members to the board that will be actually appointed on our 27th meeting. They are non-voting. We had the final reading of our budget. We have the end-of-year testing currently winding down. And uh a successful teacher appreciation week. That's about all. >> Sounds good. Any questions for Mr. Incalcaterra? All right. Any other final comments or questions for committees? Everybody's ready to move on. Got you. All right. So, at this point, we are up to item 5.1, open to the public for agenda items only. If anybody is interested, please approach the podium. Seeing no one, we'll move on to item 6.1. Be it resolved that the Bound Brook Board of Education, upon recommendation of the superintendent, approves the minutes for the following Board of Education meetings. Regular and executive meeting minutes from April 29th, 2026. May I
035have a motion? Thank you, Mr. Incalcaterra. A second? Thank you, Mr. Dawson. Any comments? All right, hearing none. Ms. Lee, can we have a roll call, please? >> Sure. Mr. Bell? >> Abstain. >> Mr. Dawson? >> Yes. >> Mr. High? Ms. Incalcaterra? Mr. Januzzi? >> Yes. >> Mr. Minhas? Ms. Mousson? Mr. Volmar? Mrs. Upko? Motion passes. >> Thank you. Item 7.1. Be it resolved that the Bound Brook Board of Education approval the resolutions as outlined in district personnel resolutions. These are items 7.2 through 7.39. May I have a motion? Thank you, Mr. Zupko. A second? Thank you, Mr. Incalcaterra. Any discussion? Okay, hearing none. Can we have a roll call, please? >> Sure. Mr. Bell? >> Yes. >> Mr. Dawson? >> Yes. >> Mr. High? Ms. Incalcaterra? Mr. Januzzi? >> Yes. >> Mr. Minhas? Ms.
036Mousson? Mr. Volmar? Mrs. Zupko? Motion passes. >> Thank you. Item 8.1. Be it resolved that the Bound Brook Board of Education approves the resolutions as outlined in district education resolutions, items 8.2 through 8.16. May I have a motion? Thank you, Mr. Dawson. A second? Thank you, Mrs. High. Any discussion? Hearing none, can we have a roll call, please? >> Mr. Bell? >> Yes. >> Mr. Dawson? >> Yes. >> Mrs. High? >> Yes. >> Mr. Incalcaterra? Mr. Genovese? >> Yes. >> Mr. Minhas? Mr. Wilson? Mr. Balmer? Mr. Zapka? Motion passes. >> Thank you. >> Item 9.1, be it resolved that the Bound Brook Board of Education approves the resolutions as outlined in Board Action Resolutions, items 9.2 through 9.34. I have a motion? Thank you, Mr. Incalcaterra. A second? >> Second. >> Thank you, Mr. Dawson.
037Any discussion? I do think we have one donation. Should we say a quick thank you? I believe it's to Joe's Meat Market for their contributions. Always great to see the community coming out in support of our programs. >> On uh I have a question. >> Yeah, absolutely. >> On We're We're on nine, right? Nine? >> Yes. >> So, on 9.24, do we need to uh abstain for those members that are listed or >> That is a good question. So, this is regarding the uh funding for board members to attend >> 24? Okay. >> I don't think we can all abstain because then we can't approve it. >> Yes. >> So, we should abstain if we're traveling? >> Yes. >> Okay. So, we have seven members who will be attending. I just want to make sure
038if we all abstain, it's the remaining members that are left and a majority of them would be carrying the vote, correct? >> What do you Do we want to table this to >> Just give them a second. >> I want to say yes to everyone else. >> Okay. Okay. >> Who? Who's special? See that. >> [laughter] >> Okay. So, would it be administratively more efficient for us to uh move 9.24 separately from the remainder of the items? Or do you want us to move everything in one shot? >> Yeah, we can do separately. >> We'll do 9.24 separately. Okay. So, right now we will be doing a roll call for 9.2 through 9.34 with the exception of 9.24. Miss Lee, whenever you're ready. >> Okay. So, uh certainly so uh exception of a 9.24 uh
039Mr. Bell. >> Yes. >> Mr. Dawson. >> Yeah. >> Mr. High. >> Yes. >> Mr. Incalcaterra? >> Yes. >> Mr. Januzi? >> Yes. >> Mr. Minhas? Ms. Mosson? Mr. Balmer? Mr. Zapco? Motion passes. >> Okay. Now, on the matter of 9.24, I will entertain a motion to approve. Thank you, Mr. Zapco. A second? Thank you, Mr. Incalcaterra. So, Ms. Lee, I believe we'll back up to a roll call. And for the board members who are covered within this agenda item, yeah, just note if you are abstaining from voting on yourself. >> Um yes, with the exception of myself, uh for which I abstain. >> Mr. Dawson? >> Yeah. >> Ms. Ahai? >> Yes. >> Mr. Incalcaterra? >> Yes. >> Mr. Januzi? >> Yes, with the exception of myself, for which I abstain. >> Mr. Minhas?
040>> Yes, with >> Ms. Mosson? Mr. Balmer? Mr. Zapco? Motion passes. >> Thank you. Uh we are up to item number 10. Uh I have not received any other matters to come before the board, uh which brings us to item number 11, new business, which uh any of the members can introduce if you are so inclined at this time. All right. Seeing none, we are now open to the public for discussion. Anybody interested, please approach the podium. I don't I don't think it's on trial. How about now? >> Oh, you got it. >> All right, I am Shadrach 453 Boswell Avenue. Number. In June of last year, my son attended Multicultural Night at Smalley School. At that event, he was harassed and physically threatened by two adults, Yusuf Powell and Tameisha Smith. The adults escalated
041the situation to the point where it became necessary for Dr. Freeman, Anthony Egan, and another staff member to intervene in the matter. To date, I haven't been informed of any consequences for those adults. I made a request to review the security camera video of the incident and was told I would have to wait until the video was edited to blur the facial images of students in attendance to protect their identities. I viewed this as an unnecessary delay as this was a public event with many adults in attendance taking pictures and videos of the event and intentionally or not capturing capturing images of the students in attendance. There was not any expectation of privacy in this environment. The district claimed that the facial images were protected by FERPA. It's highly probable that's not the case. In
042the end, I reviewed a zoomed-in version of the original with blurred facial images. So, while the offenders were entitled to a complete view of the incident, the father of the victim was restricted to a a more limited view. Now, given that the district consider the recording of student record, I made an attempt to obtain a copy of the video by accessing my son's student record. This evolved into a lengthy, multi-step process. Step one, I contacted Principal Santa Surma at the middle school to make my request. That was on May 1st. As she requested, I forwarded my request to his secretary, of step two. Step three, she refers it back to him. Step four, Principal Santa Surma refers me to Christine Lee, the business administrator. I assume that's her sitting over there. Am I correct? Is
043that a yes? >> I'm sorry. >> Are you Christine Lee? >> Yes. >> Okay, I was trying to Okay. Step five, I contact Christine Lee. She refers me not to another individual, but to two departments. IT, information technology, and registration. I inform Step six, I inform her her referral is not helpful. I need a point of contact, an individual. Step seven, Christine Lee in her capacity as OPRA conduct pedestrian informs me that I need to submit an OPRA request for the student response record issuance. Step eight, sensing that this didn't sound right, I kept it simple and sent her an email with three basic yes or no questions. Here are the questions. Number one, does the district require an OPRA request each time a parent has the need to obtain student records? Is this method
044consistent with the district's policies in New Jersey law? Is this policy document? Step nine, Christine Lee responds today, not answering my question, but reverses herself saying an OPRA request is not required. So, it's just a ploy. That's all it was. And but she includes that the video that I'm asking for does not exist. This is something that I watched with my own eyes. Mhm. So, this lengthy, complicated, multi-step process was so complex that the district's highly paid business administrator, Christine Lee, that handles the district's business and financial affairs, was confused. She couldn't even handle it. So, how would you expect your average parent to handle it? Does anybody think that's an acceptable process to go after a student record? >> Yeah, I don't believe that we're going to be responding, but you're welcome to continue.
045>> Okay, consider it reported. >> Yeah. >> That's it. That's all. So, at this point, it's not just about the video, but it's about this abnormal process. And who orchestrated it? Now, who's the epicenter of the problem? You can start with Christine Lee. All right? The ploy about submitting the OPRA request was silly. It's just another way to drag it out. You know, whatever the OPRA request timeline is, 7 days, 10 days, whatever it is. But it's ridiculous. And her being the custodian, the OPRA custodian, should know better. And that's it. >> Thank you very much for your feedback. It doesn't sound like a great situation. We will follow up with Dr. Freeman following the meeting to make sure that there is resolution and that everything is closed to the extent that it can be.
046>> I hope so. Cuz other parents shouldn't have to deal with this. And it's about the obstruction. All right? You know, sometimes you can push back on somebody and they'll go away. All right? That shouldn't be That shouldn't be happening in the school district. >> Yeah, again, without all of the uh the facts, we appreciate you bringing this to our attention. We will definitely review. Uh I don't want to, you know, offer opinions or responses relative to the motivation of the you know the the treatment you received. >> Mhm. >> But acknowledge as a parent myself that if I were in that situation, I would hope for as much support from our administration as possible. >> Oh, one one thing that I forgot that I want to include was that in Christine's response to that.
047Let me find it. It goes on about the security footage might or might not be a part of the student record. All right. So, it's just got to be good. It's you know, now we're going to you know play around with it. And on the 26th of uh March Dr. Freeman responded to me and said, "Under the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act, the video in question is considered part of a student record and must be handled in accordance to So, that's my basis for requesting the video and it does exist regardless of what Christine says. >> Understood. >> Thank you again for your >> Thanks for listening. >> feedback. Yes. >> All right. At this time, unless there are any other public comments, we are up to item 13.1. Be it resolved that the
048Boundbrook Board of Education enter executive session as allowed by NJSA 10:4 -11. >> I was forgetting >> for the purposes outlined in the agenda under items 1, 3, 5, 7, and 8. May I have a motion? Thank you, Mr. Incalcaterra. A second? >> Second. >> Thank you, Mr. Zapka. All in favor? >> Aye. We are adjourned to executive. >> Mhm. Mhm. >> Mhm. >> All right. As chair, I would like to recognize Mrs. High for some additional comments. >> Well, um we have the Memorial Day parade coming up, which is taking place rain or shine. Um there's a there will be a little speech at the library. From there, move down to the Brook Cinema, which will be open and for um people if they need to use restrooms, etc. That in the Bound Brook
049um theater too is also where the registrations are going to be taking place and you'll see people have t-shirts will have t-shirts that they're white and they have a big flag on them and it you know, those are the people who will be helping just to make sure that everybody is there. I'm going to send a um uh an email to everybody just with all the final details. Um I couldn't go to the last meeting because we had negotiations. So, I'll get all that information to you. >> Excellent. Thank you, Mrs. High. We are now up to item 14.1. Be it resolved that the Boundbrook Board of Education approves the resolutions as outlined in approval of HIB cases under high school. This is item 14.2. May I have a motion? Thank you, Mr. Dawson. A
050second? Thank you, Mr. Zupko. Roll call, please. >> Certainly. Mr. Bell? >> Yes. >> Mr. Dawson? >> Yes. >> Mrs. High? Mr. Incalcaterra? Okay. Uh Mr. Genovese? >> Yes. >> Mr. Minhas? Ms. Mussie? Mr. Volmar? Mr. Zupko? Motion passes. >> Thank you. Item 15.1. Be it resolved that the Boundbrook Board of Education approves the resolutions as outlined in approval of HIB cases under middle and elementary schools. This is item 15.2. May I have a motion? Thank you, Mr. Dawson. A second? Thank you, Mr. Minhas. A roll call, please. >> Mr. Bell? >> Yes. >> Mr. Dawson? Mrs. High? Mr. Incalcaterra? Mr. Genovese? >> Yes. >> Mr. Minhas? Ms. Mussie? Mr. Volmar? Mr. Zupko? Motion passes. >> Thank you. Item 16.1. I will entertain a motion to adjourn. Who was that? Mr. Incalcaterra with the motion.
051A second? A second from Ms. Mussie. All in favor? I. We are adjourned.