001Board of Education Policy 0162. The board of education of the Burough 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 clerk, Southbound Brook Board of Education, and any person who has requested individual notice and pay the required fee. Please stand for the pledge of allegiance. I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for it stands one nation under God indivisible with liberty justice for all Mr. Gorski a roll call please certainly Mr. Bell Mr. Dawson here Miss Gazino Mr. Incalcera Mr. Mr. Zupkco here, Miss Musen here, Mr. Minhas, Miss Hy here, Mr. Filmer, and Mr. Januzi here. You have a quorum present this evening.
002Thank you, sir. At this time, I will welcome Miss Patty back to the stage or the floor or whatever we're going to say today to deliver our ethics training for the year. Hey, I want to thank you for having me tonight. Uh, I also want to start with um congratulating you yet again um on receiving your Carol E. Lararsson Master Board certification and just for the benefit of your public um that is a tremendous accomplishment and and requires a lot of effort and training on the part of the board. So, how do you get there? Um, you get first your board certification, which means you have to have 16 training hours uh over a four-year period that include the majority the at least seven members of your board and the superintendent. So, that you got
003your board certification a couple of years ago. you continue to get your masterboard certification within two years to do an additional 10 hours of training. So that is 26 hours of professional development that your board that you have done so that you can serve your community and your children uh better and that really should be commended. There are there are not too many districts within the state that get the master certification. So, I applaud you and and and congratulate you because that is a fabulous feat uh for you uh and your community should be proud. Your your kids will benefit without a doubt. Uh so, we're doing ethics tonight and ethics is a balancing act, right? What you can and what you can't do. But we can't start any uh any um ethics presentation without
004our standard disclaimer which basically says we this presentation tonight is forformational purposes only. It does not recommend it does not represent um a legal opinion or legal advice. If you have if you need a leg legal opinion or legal advice, please reach out to your board attorney. This is really uh just about different things that um you can do. uh can hand to. So the school ethics act was um found was approved in 1991. Sometimes words escape me. I apologize. Um but I you I just want to read this. This is important. And I know that you've done some of this about ethics at your reorg meeting. But um I think this statement uh says a lot. It is essential that the conduct of members of local boards of education and local administrators hold the
005respect and confidence of the people. These board members and administrators must avoid conduct which is in violation of their public trust or which creates a justifiable impression among the public that such trust is being violated. And it's that last sentence that um I think you know it creates a justifiable impression. One of the standards that the school ethics commission uses in determining if a ethics violation has occurred is what we call the reasonable person standard. It's not always what you the board member think is ethical or not. It's what they feel a reasonable reasonable person might think. Um, and that's that's a you know, I don't know if that's a concept that's used anywhere else, but this the school ethics act is really there to preserve the public's trust and confidence that you are managing
006the district with integrity and their ch your their students are benefiting. the school ethics act um to achieve that the school ethics act listed some basic uh minimum ethical standards that board members must abide by or school officials at all times. Uh they also the act also has a list of disciplinary options that is available to the uh school ethics commission to make sure that board members are abiding uh by their um their these ethical standards. And really the code of ethics and the school ethics act really does help define and identify things that you know some of the roles of a board member and I think that's helpful. There are two different levels of provisions provided by the act. The code of ethics and the mandatory training requirement only apply to school board members
007or charter school trustees. The list of prohibited acts and the disclosure statements uh apply to all school officials and that includes some levels of administrators um as well as charter school trustees and board members and also um us at NJSBA have to uh abide by the list of prohibited acts and um provide our disclosure statements every year. the the school ethics act appoint or provided for a commission to um enforce the act. That commission is comprised of nine members appointed by the governor, two three-year terms. So, of those nine members, two are school board members, five are non-school officials, and two are school administrators. Uh again, they're appointed by the governor and as you see in the slide, there are a few vacant seats. Um I you know, I'm not we're not quite sure what
008method the governor uses, but um it is his decision. So the the financial disclosure statements that all school officials must provide, uh there's two levels. A new school official has to do it within 30 days of being sworn in or them starting their position. thereafter you have until April 30th of every year to provide your uh disclosure statements. It also the school ethics act also identified um mandatory training that is required of school school board members. Uh and the these have not really changed significantly except for governance one. Uh right now um the last two years you have to complete governance one within 90 days of being sworn in otherwise you're found to be out of compliance. Governance two and three you still have the full year to do that. Governance four you have to
009do the first year every time you are reelected. And you know we have many options. It's no no longer where you have to be in person. We have live virtual. We have self-paced online. We have in-person options, all sorts of stuff. So, if you need your gov two and three, um we also offer that um in in uh Atlantic City. There are one of the things that the school ethics commission can do is issue an advisory opinion to a board member. So, what is an advisory opinion? An advisory opinion is where a board member is concerned that an action that they may take would be considered a violation. So they ask ahead of time to the school ethics commission whether they feel whether they you know what their determination is on that action. Um and
010um you know they provide all the information. Uh the school ethics commission will issue an advisory opinion. they will they can make that advisory opinion public if six members of the commission approve that. If they make the advisory opinion public, they scrub it of all identifying information. And you'll see that um in in a few of in a few of the advisory opinions that we list. So, you don't know who it is uh or what district because then you might be able to tell who it is for the advisory opinions. Um and again you have to the board member has to ask for that information that advisory opinion before they take the action and they have to listen to that to that whatever that opinion states it the you know their board member some board
011members have said it's an advisor it's an opinion I don't have to follow it well if a police officer gives you their opinion that a certain action will get you a ticket or get you arrested and you do that action you really shouldn't be surprised if you get arrested or you get a ticket. Similarly, if you ask the advisory opinion uh and you don't follow it, if an ethics complaint is filed, it's likely that your penalty will be harsher because they they asked you asked and they told you and you said, "Nah, I'm not going to follow that." Um and these are advisory opinions that um and and one of the things we do this this uh training is updated every year so that it reflects the the the more recent opinions and ethics complaints
012um uh for review. Keep in mind that if you go to the school ethics commission which is on the uh NJDOE website, you can go year by year and look at all this information. Um, and it it really is even with these these are are several um that that we found are are pertinent. I will tell you that if you see the number that starts with A, A represents an advisory opinion, uh those numbers are linked and um you go ahead and send out this email, this uh PowerPoint tomorrow so that you can go in and click and um everything that's in light blue um the numbers are all linked so that you can find that. But for example, I'll just go through the first one. the um a school board member asked if they
013could review the resume of candidates before voting on the superintendent's recommendation for that candidate. And the school ethics commission said it's not really in their jurisdiction to determine whether you can or cannot review them. But if your district if if that happens in your district, if you are allowed to review, the role is very limited. you can only um look at it for observation um or assessment. Uh and you have to keep in mind this that the superintendent is the only one responsible for making a recommendation. So even if you look at it, you can't act on anything unless the superintendent makes a recommendation. And then if you look at the the fourth one which sometimes which is helpful, the uh bottom one A0724. So, a board member co-owns a business in town and they
014want to participate in fundraising requests to support the PTO and clubs through hosting events at the hosting events and advertising. The uh school ethics commission said as long as you are hosting those events and advertising to the entire community, um it's not likely a violation. If you if you if if you're only advertising through the school email system or to only to students, then it's potentially using your position uh as a board member to uh better your your business. So, um, as long as you do, um, fundraising and advertise to your entire community, uh, you know, like Chipotle and all those places do that, they put, uh, you know, even on their website, then then you likely likely would not be found in violation because you're not getting directly any benefit just from your families
015in town. And these are another another page of um of of uh advisory opinions. Uh, and these were all opinions released in 2024, but just to go through one AO424, this board member's adult children are voting members of a nonprofit board that has ties to the district and they're asking if they can participate in matters related to that nonprofit. And the school ethics commission said that you could consider the nonprofit as you would an employer, right? So your ch and your stu your children are voting members. You should really um recuse yourself from any kind of discussion or votes regarding that nonprofit. And and that's how far into the the weeds they sometimes go. And again, these are all um linked that you can um that you can look up and when you have time
016read into them. They they are quite interesting at times. Uh the other thing that a school ethics commission can rule on is an ethics complaint. An ethics complaint can be filed by any person anywhere. You don't have to live in Bound Brook. They can come from anywhere. Um and when you stream your meetings, it brings a whole new perspective to that. Um they have to um allege that a violation of the school ethics act is has occurred. If they do that, they have to file the complaint within 180 days of the occurrence of what they're saying happened. They have to provide a specific section or tenate of the code of ethics that they say you um violated that the board member violated and they have to provide the factual evidence u that for the um
017school ethics commission to consider. The school ethics commission does not have a parallegal. They do not go out. They do not do research. They only um look at the case based on the information you provided or the person complaining provided. Now board members have the opportunity to respond. So it's not like it's completely out of your hands. Um but um you know those are the what they need to do to um file complaints. And that information is all on the school ethics commission's website. And again they they they use the reasonable person standard. If a reasonable person thinks would be led to believe that the act was violated, the board member will be found in violation of the school ethics act. Basically, if it looks like a conflict, it is a conflict. Um the the
018next thing that the school ethics commission had um the school ethics act identifies is the series of uh penalties that is available to the school ethics commission for each level of a complaint. Uh because if if you have the a school ethics act and you have a list of things that board members can and can't do and what happens if they do the things they're not supposed to. have to have some method to make sure that board members and school officials are living up to um the school ethics act and the code of ethics uh all the time. So the first level that's available to the school ethics commission is a reprimand which is simply a rebuke by the governor I'm sorry by the commissioner of education. The next level is a censure. So that
019is a formal rebuke or formal disapproval by the commissioner followed up with a resolution in your local board meeting that identifies that's that's read and p and you know voted on that identifies a board member has violated the code of ethics. The next level is a suspension on any amount you know on whatever amount that they that they feel is sufficient. So what does a suspension mean in in real terms? If you're suspended um from by the school ethics commission that means you are become a member of the public for that period of time of the suspension. You can't sit on the deis. You can't go into executive session. You don't get access to any information that members of the general public um um don't you know if they the members of the general public
020get it then you will get that information. And so, you know, that's that's significant. The the final level, which doesn't happen too often, is they can recommend removal, complete removal as from of the school official from the board or the district or whatever. Um, we talked about there are are 10 tenets of the uh code of ethics. uh and they are there and board school officials are expected to abide by them at all times in their official capacity. They have they you know they can't forget about the code of ethics. Um and it these also the tenants help identify different roles that board members can and can't do. Um but to go through them kind of quickly and briefly and you know feel free to ask a question at any time. you don't have to
021wait till the end if you have a question um because this this is like a an info dump but go ahead. So the only thing I will say as a reminder if you're going to ask a question just call for the microphone so that it gets picked up for the recording. Okay. All right. So as I said there are 10 tenants. Tenant A is uh board members, school officials have to uphold and enforce all laws of the state of New Jersey uh and the state board of education and anything that pertains officially to school districts. When you look at the slide up above is the code of the different tenant the code and the standard um is suggested factual evidence that somebody uh must submit when they're saying that a board member violated a of
022the of the code of ethics. It's it's helpful. Again, that information is also on the commission the the school ethics commission u website. Um and and when we get to B, B talks about you will make decisions in the best term in the best interest of the educational welfare of all your students, not just some, not just the constituency that may have elected you. Once you are sworn in, you represent every student in Bound Brook. One of the the fun one of the four functions of a board is policym and that's what this tenant talks about that you will focus your attention on policym that and that's that's that's the level where you are not the day-to-day operations of the district but actual policym board makes the policy the administration sets the regulations and sets
023how those policies will be implemented and this one we like to use a lot that you will um carry out your responsibility to not to administer the district but with your fellow board members see that they are well-run. you hire your superintendent as the educational professional with the the expertise and the training to run the district. And so you um need to let your superintendent not not that it's a problem here, but but you know um you need to let the superintendent run the district and then you can hold the superintendent accountable through um the evaluation process. Uh and and that's really um where that goes. Um, this one is you only have authority. You recognize that authority rests with the full board and that you know part of the open public meetings act. You
024have authority when you're sitting at a noticed meeting with a quorum present and that's the only way a board member can take action. You can't take action. You have no authority to take any action individually away from the board table and that includes the president. the president have any addition they have additional duties but they they don't have any additional authorities um than the rest of the board and sometimes that's a hard one um and I know when I was on my town council I had authority to go in and talk to the police chief and expect that they talk to me which after being on the board just seemed wrong because like what do I know about being a police chief um like what do I know about being a a superintendent I don't
025have the training I don't have the knowledge worthy experience. So, um it sometimes it's hard for it's a hard concept for board members. Um you're not going to surrender your individual um judgment on your independent judgment on anything and you're also not going to use your position for the gain of yourself or your friends or your family. This is confident. This is about confidentiality. You will hold all things confident confidential until such time that they're not confidential because by rel which means like in an executive session periodically you may release the minutes if that whatever you discussed was no longer confidential things that are done in committees although because it's not a public meeting so you might consider them confidential until they show up on a board agenda for discussion um or they're in the
026in the the board you know the support of the committee. Um and and you know if by releasing confidential information you can real do real harm to people. You will only appoint the best qualified personnel after the recommendation of the superintendent. So, you can only um vote on the superintendent's recommendation and you never you can vote your conscience, but if if there's a recommendation that isn't made about a staff member or anything else, you have no authority to to just come in from left field and say you want to do that. That if it's not recommended by the superintendent, the board can't take action. you're uh um supporting and protecting your school personnel and the proper performance of their duties. You know, you can't go um in the grocery store if somebody comes up to
027you with an issue. It's really not appropriate for the board member to kind of chime in and either um negatively talk about a staff member or or positively. You just have to support them and and and listen to what the person is saying. Uh but but that's important like you are the employer and and you need to support them um what they're what they're doing and and and and if they're not that's under the superintendent's perview to take care of that. And this is kind of like the the almost the chain of command. Any complaints that you get, you refer to your superintendent. Uh and and you only act on those complaints at a public meeting, a notice meeting with a quorum, a majority president, a quorum president after the if there's a failure of
028an administrative solution, you have to you let the administration uh do what they need to do to investigate uh in and any any situation. if if it's um it's not the board member's job to do that investigation or to do anything regarding that other than let your superintendent know that an issue has come up. I mean I mean ultim ultimately these 10 tenants um identify the different lanes and the different roles of a board member what they can and can't do. Um so these are cases related to the code of ethics. Uh, and there are some interesting I hear. Um, there are some interesting um in here. Um, and just just so you know, some of these cases have been appealed. So, the determination might change. Um and um as a board member um just
029just know that if the commission has a recommends a penalty that is automatically reviewed by the commissioner of education who has the option of agreeing not agreeing or or changing or amending. Uh and then uh after the the decision is made, if it's upheld by the commissioner, board members always have the opportunity to appeal any case and you can appeal um the violation itself or the pen andor the penalty. So there there is a process. It's not like somebody files something against you and you're out of the whole thing and you wait. That's not that's not how it works. It is a a legal proceeding. Um but just to go through some one of these um and just so you you see what what it kind of what how to read them. They are linked
030um excuse me they are linked so that you can go in and read the full case. Now the the ethics complaints are not necessarily scrubbed of identifying information. um the the advisory opinions are because that should pertain if anybody has a similar issue. Um they they can look that up and see how they think the the the commission would would um go would uh rule on that. Um so in in C24 the second one um they a board members was um involved in the ongoing efforts of an HIV and code of conduct complaint about her child uh and it was on her child's record and she wanted it um reversed. Um she called the superintendent, the board uh individual board members and the board attorney to further her personal agenda. Um and because this is
031the the school ethics commission rule that the action is not related to her her duties um and reversal and the reversal directive um is actually asking for them to you're she's trying to administer or you know run the schools. uh and the the action um and by reaching out to other board members to the board attorney is something that is not available to to your general public. Uh they they can't do that. They can't call the board attorney at will. Um but they found that um this this board member was in violation of three tenants. C which you see on on on you can't really see on the bottom. C D and E. C is pol you're confining your action to policym you D is you won't administer the schools and E is that authority
032rests with the board. Uh the board member was uh issued a reprimand which is the first level of um of of penalty. This is an interesting one because um there is in this case a teacher was to be um discussed in executive session. The board member sent a text to that teacher um stating that the board member could accuse the board president and um and see it in superintendent of malfeasants if they did not if that asking the staff member if they received if they hadn't received it as a righteous notice. Um the board member made a personal pro the school ethics commission said the board member made a personal promise that they could take action if the teacher had not received a race notice. Um school ethics commission further ruled that by sending that
033message the board member acted beyond the scope of of being a board member. Um and that that action could potentially compromise the board. They found that the board member was in violation of the code of ethics of um of tenate E which is that authority rests with the board had a notice meeting with a quorum present not by one board member kind of going rogue and asking these questions and they recommended a reprimand. So a rec uh when when it says recommended reprimand it's still on on the cycle. could either be changed by the commissioner of education or it's being appealed. Uh this one I like to point out because this is shows that it's not just new board members that have errors in judgment or misjudged the situation. This is a board member who
034was um on the board for 15 years. Um and they ruled that they took inappropriate action that was beyond their role as a board member. Basically um the board member um there was an an an employee where there was an employment action about an employee that the superintendent was was recommending. The board member went to the employees house, picked up a letter from the employee to distribute to the board. um gave it to the BA to distribute to the board and told the BA not to give it to the superintendent. Uh and so that really um was outside the scope of of their job. Uh and you know to to further complicate things when that issue came up for discussion in executive session they did not recuse themselves. So there's there's many levels and this
035is a board member who's been on the board for over 15 years. By then you would think they kind of they kind of know better. Um but um and and so they did find that the board member was in violation of six of the 10 tenants of the code of ethics and they're recommending um a suspension of 60 days. Um so just think about that. It's like a 15-year board member. You would think that that they would realize this is not um what you should be doing. All right. This is a a campaign one um that they um and and it's again it's not the fact that they made a campaign video. They made a campaign video identifying themselves a board member as a board member wearing a school ID. Um and so um had
036you you can still do a campaign viso just don't say you're a board member and don't wear school uh district related either ID or a t-shirt with the district on and um that even though they use and we'll talk about the disclaimer in a bit even though they used the disclaimer um what they were you know kind of they used it but it really wasn't wasn't used appropriately And they did recommend a censure uh of this board member uh and that um of three of the 10 tenants. Um you know that this this is the board member uh the school ethics commission said the board member stood the chance of benefiting for themselves because they had formed a team and they wanted to do things that that there you know the the video said talked
037about things that they could do if you elected these two people whatever whatever that might be. So again, you have to be mindful of what what it is that you do. You have to remember that as a board member, you have to or school official, you have to abide by the code of ethics at all times. And as an elected official, you are held to a higher standard. And and that's really um you know, you choose to be either elected or appointed or however that goes. And you have to acknowledge that that as an elected official, especially school board, you're hel official, you're held to a higher standard. There there's um I talked about recusing if there's a um on that list of prohibited acts um that you can and can't do. Um really what
038a recusal signifies is that the board member has a legal conflict and they can't participate in the discussion or the vote. um an abstension does not reflect that. An absension you can abstain for numerous reasons, but if you have um a legal conflict, then you need to recuse yourself. And if you're not sure if your conflict is legal, reach out to your board attorney because they can help you. They can, you know, guide you in what that is. Um here's the list of prohibit acts. Um and really um again it talks says recuse yourself if there's a benefit of any of these if any of these apply to you or your immediate family for things like um if you any financial gain if they're financial involvement uh uh that may impair your objectivity. An example
039might be if you work for an insurance broker that works with school districts. Um, and and it may not be your district, but you have inside knowledge. Um, you should probably recuse yourself or at least have that conversation with your um with your schoolboard attorney. the you know in in the list of other considerations H is talks about it's it's it's not a conflict if what you're voting on or talking about um is um is not only you don't it's not only again to you or your child. And and an example of that would be if you're approving field trips and your child's going on that field trip. Well, the whole class is going on that field trip. So your child's not getting anything extra that anybody else isn't getting. So you know, so you
040can feel com, you know, comfortable that on field trips or school dances, whatever it is that you vote on that you can because your child is not getting anything um extra special. The School Ethics Act also defines what a benefit is and the definition is that it that if there's a direct indirect uh advantage, profit, privilege um or gain to you or anyone in your family, that would be considered a benefit. And again, the the determination that the school ethics commission uses is if a reasonable member of the public would think that you're you were not being objective. And so again, it's the reasonable member standard that applies more than your own personal um thought. Um and the one example of this is and again this is a school official. This is a superintendent or
041acting superintendent that um so it's not only board members right everybody everybody has this but this acting superintendent it was her first meeting um as being acting superintendent there was a list of 160 people um for to be school substitutes in the school her son was on that list of people she recommended that list be approved ultimately list, you probably should have read through the entire list before it went there. Um, but they felt that it it was it did create um, you know, an opin a view that she may not be objective because her son was gaining financially and so it was she was reprimanded for that by the by the commissioner of education. These next few slides talk about um how the the different uh ethics rulings on um conflict and benefits um
042looking at my time. So we go through there and really just be be mindful like this the the well I'll go into the second one just because to kind of show you what it is. a board member uh a board member voted on two resolutions to name a school building in honor of an elected official who was also her boss. um and the um the elected also her boss. And so um there and boss of 20 years uh and um the school ethics commission said that the longstanding relationship could create a justifiable impression um that the independent judgment or the objectivity of that board member um um was could be impaired, right? Because it's your boss. So if you name school buildings after her, you might get a better position or if you if it's
043an elected official, then you might one, you know, for something else. It might help you. Um and so they've uh school ethics commission did um recommend a censure of that of that board member. Through advisory opinions over the years, the school ethics commission has continues to define what a family member is, who a family member is, and what that relationship is. uh you see who an an immediate family member um is pretty straightforward, but then you get into who's considered a relative and then you it goes and and these are all come came up from either advisory opinions um or um ethics complaints. Um, so again, everything's very fact-specific. Um, and and um, in the what what you I handed out your BA has is an actual list of who's considered conflicted. We call it
044being conflicted. We used to put it on the slide, but it's so you can't really read it. So, you just have to be mindful of what you can and can't do if you have a family member um as listed here uh on uh in your fa in your you know as when you're a board member. So, we all know that as a board member or a school official, you can't hire a relative of a board member or your superintendent. However, they could already be here when you get on the board or in in the case of a superintendent, it could be that uh their family member, they work side by side or in two different grades or whatever it was and then that person's made superintendent. Then they don't have to fire their relative and
045you don't have to not take a seat on the board because your relative is here. um you it you it just limits what you can do as a board member uh in and in in different authorities that you have. Uh the administrator can't exercise any direct or indirect authority over their family member. A board member cannot take part in the employment any employment matters concerning your superintendent or any supervisor in the chain of command from your relative to the superintendent. So that limits what you can do. If it's a teacher, then it might be the principal all the way on up that as a board member, you would have to recuse yourself and not be part of that discussion. And as a board member, if you have a family member, um if you're per chance
046looking for a new superintendent, you can't take part in that search. You can't uh take part in the selection or vote to hire the new superintendent. And further, you can't do any evaluations of the superintendent. Um but yeah, you you know, there's other things you can do as a board member, but it is um you have to be mindful. And if you're not sure if your family member qualifies or your, you know, relative qualifies as um under this, just talk to your board attorney. So, collective bargaining is another um part of this. Uh and this chart shows the the different levels that you can you can participate in or not. If your family member or relative works in the district and is a member of the union, you can't be part of the negotiations and
047you can't u be part of the ratification vote. If it's yourself or your family member and they don't work in this district um but they are part of the same union, then you can't be part of negotiations. But after the salary guise, the uh memorandum of agreement and the top compensation package has been agreed to, you can take part in the ratification vote and then if the relative district um and is not part of the uh the same teachers union, then you can participate in negotiations. Then there's a few opinions. this an ethics complaint decision and an advisory opinion about uh campaigning and endorsement by your local union. So in the first case um it's recommend you know if you received an endorsement from your local union um it's recommended that you not take part
048in negotiations your first year on the board um but thereafter it shouldn't be an issue. Uh, and then if you're endorsed by a um by a local union or the statewide union, um it's not necessarily a conflict, but um if you got an if the endorsement comes with a financial contribution with the implication that you're going to vote the way they want, um then you should not take part. You should recuse yourself from that discussion. The other impact that um having a family member in the district has on a board member is um your committee assignments and these different um um advisory one's an advisory opinion and one's an ethics complaint. The difference is advisory opinions start with A and complaints start with C. Just so you know what the difference is. Um if you're
049a board president, you know, the board president selects um the committee chairs and the people to be on the committee. If a board president has a family member that works in the district, they can't select the committee chair or the com be on the committee or the committee members of any committee that would remotely touch the employment of their uh family member which is pretty straightforward. So if you know but but it does hamstring the super I'm sorry does hamstring the board president because there are things that they can't do. Um if you're a board member um you can't so the president can't assign the committees remotely touching them. A board member can't be on any committee that remotely touches the employment of whatever it is that their child of their family member be it
050uh negotiations be it uh personnel or anything that has that um that that touches upon them. Um then the other thing that's come out recently is board members using the advice of council defense. Um and so there are now um things that must be that you must do if you if a board member is going to use the advice of council defense. And the advice of council defense um doesn't make the violation go away, but it may make the penalty less. So, you could still be found in violation, just the penalty might be less. But if you're going to do use that defense, you have to these are things you have to do. You have to uh ask for and get the advice and follow the advice um before you took the action. Um you
051the person you ask for the advice from has to be qualified and knowledgeable to do that. Right. Right. You you can't just go ask somebody on the street corner um to do that. um you have to go ask a you know an attorney uh for that uh and that you gave all the important information pertaining to that to that person beforehand and then you actually comply comply with the advice that they gave. Keep in mind that it won't make the violation go away. It may make the penalty less. All right. we but you know board members you're here volunteering and I my I remember as a board member a lot of um volunteering just because you're a board member doesn't mean you can't volunteer you can volunteer you just have to be mindful of a
052few things you have to be mindful of your involvement with staff and students and how many um and how frequently you're in the building. You don't want to give direction to staff and students and you don't want to have you be in the building so much that people think you're actually managing the building. And I see your next coming in. These are just some different what might be a violation or not. Uh a a volunteer coach could be a violation because you you're giving direction to staff and students. However, um if you're going in to do ReadAcross America or to a you know, be a class parent in for a party. That should not be that likely would not be a violation. Um, and then the last sticky wicket, we're almost done, so I apologize
053to all your um is social media, right? Um, you you you never lose your first amendment rights, but you have to be mindful uh of your position as a school as an elected school official. Uh, and so when there is Hi. For all of our guests that are coming in, just please be advised we're in the middle of a presentation. So, if you could just keep your voices down, that would be awesome. Come on in. Thanks, everybody. Not too much longer. But just just be mindful of what you're posting. The the school ethics commission looks at the substance, context, and content to determine if a reasonable person would think that you were acting or your comments were made in your capacity. um as a school board member. Um there's a they recommend using the the
054uh disclaimer. This disclaimer uh is provided by the school ethics commission, but you don't have to use this, but you can say that you know your comments are made as a private citizen. Do not reflect any board member or the board or the district. That's essentially what you have to say. But it's not get out of jail free card. If if the school ethics commission looks at the content, context, and substance, you could still be found uh in in violation. That's loud. Um and so we go with um there's several questions and and answers here. Essentially, I've kind of just said that um that um just use the disclaimer that that's really helpful. Um, and then rule more guidance, don't um, if you have a campaign account or any any social media account that identifies
055you um, as a board member or your campaign account, once you become elected, it's not appropriate to use the campaign account anymore because board the general public doesn't know the difference. So, just want to say welcome to everybody who's here for the general board meeting. We're just finishing up some training, so if you could keep the side conversations to a minimum, that would be great. Uh, Miss Patty Reese here is delivering some training to the board. So, thank you. Yeah. And and and we're almost done. We're doing ethics training, which is which is a lot. Um, so just don't use something that identifies you as a board member. Don't be an we strongly recommend you not be an administrator of any social media account because likely they're private and likely you you get to make
056decisions on what stays and what doesn't and if there's if there's more than if there's a majority of board members part of that private group it becomes problematic. Um but if you like or share something from your personal account um it's and and it doesn't it it and it can't be confused with board business. you likely won't be found in violation. And as I said, we're we're done. Um, we've spent the last almost hour talking about as a board board members what you can and can't do. And I want to remind you of what there's so much that you do. There's so much of an impact and that um this is a volunteer job. Uh, and and I want to, you know, at least thank you for your time and effort. Um and and again
057for um this board and getting your master board certification uh really does show your your interest in improving the lives of your students. So I if there's any questions and I know you need to move on, feel free to reach out to me by email um or call me um and we'll go from there. Great. Thanks very much, Patty. [Music] [Applause] What's [Music] See any question? [Music] It should be leave it on. It's up to you. Just you leaving on. It should be fine. Yeah. But we'll see what happens. All right. Okay. Let just yell if it's a problem. All right. I got to run. There's somebody who needs uh who has a wheelchair. So, I'm going to bring him around to the elevator and bring him around this way. So, I'll be right back.
058Very nice. Thanks. All right, everybody. So, uh, welcome again to our board meeting for tonight. Uh, sorry to keep you waiting and I'm happy to see such a full audience. The good news is you don't have to listen to me read the open public meeting act because we already did that. And we're going to jump right over to Dr. Freeman and his superintendent's report. Well, good evening everybody and welcome to our May board meeting. It is very exciting to see so many people in the audience and knowing that we have all these wonderful awards to give tonight makes it a really special night. At this time we'll start with our students of the month. I call forward Dr. S for Lamont and Lamont Annex. [Applause] Right. So good evening. Um, congratulations to Nathaniel Vargas. Nathaniel,
059you want to come up? Come on down, [Applause] Nathaniel. So, Nathaniel is Miss Sanchez class. Um, Nathaniel is a big brother to his little sister. Nathaniel enjoys exploring the learning centers, learning the alphabets and numbers, and singing songs. Um, his favorite hobby is building with wooden blocks and playing with puzzles. Congratulations, Nathaniel. Yay! [Applause] Nathaniel photo. Yay! Nathaniel. Another round of applause for Nathaniel. Okay. Congr congratulations to Rob Robbie Barharm. Robbie, are you here? Right here. Come here, Robbie. Way to go, Robbie. Okay. Robbie is in Miss Jorge's class in kindergarten. Yeah. Robbie's favorite uh school subject is art and gym. His favorite hobbies are coloring, video games, and writing. his brother's bike. When he grows up, he wants to be a YouTuber or an art teacher. Congratulations, Robbie. [Applause] Say hello in the mic,
060Robbie. Yes. Congratulations, Robbie. Hey, congratulations to Ashton Ren Bargain. Ashton Ashton's in first grade Woods class. Nathan, I mean Ashton has a sibling named Nathan. His cousin Tristan who he like who is like a brother to him. His favorite school subject is reading and art. His favorite hobbies are drawing, dancing, swimming, cross word puzzles, and his career plans is he'll like to be a pilot in the Air Force just like his mom pilot. Wow. Awesome. Congratulations, Ash. [Applause] Okay, at this time I'd like to call Miss Cahas up for our Lafayette students of the [Applause] month. Our second grade student of the month is Angelene Torres Roso. Yay. Angelina. Angelene is from Miss Emaresi's class. She has one sister. Her favorite school subject is art with Mrs. Ackley and she loves gymnastics. And when she
061grows up, she wants to be a teacher and teach gymnastics after school. Congratulations, Angeline. You ready? Another round of applause for Angeline. Our third grade student of the month is Jadielle Corno Dionio. Jadielle. Hey Jadielle. Jadielle is in Miss Wararez's class. He has three siblings. He's fa his favorite school subject is math. He likes to play soccer and football after school. And when he grows up, he wants to be a soccer player and an engineer. Congratulations, [Applause] Adio. Another round of applause for our Lafayette School students of the month. And next up for Smallley School, we have Mrs. Winter. Congratulations to our fourth grade student of the month, Bethany [Applause] Salazar. Bethany comes to us from Mrs. Coker's class. She has one brother. Her favorite subject is science. She likes to play sports, mostly soccer,
062and she wants to be a policewoman when she grows up. [Applause] Congratulations to our fifth grade student of the month, Samuel Duk Galindo. Come on down, Sam. Samuel doesn't have any siblings. His favorite subject is math. His hobbies are to play tag with his friends and play soccer. And his career goals when he grows up, he wants to help his family with their farm. And he also would like to go to college. Congratulations. Another round of applause for Sam. And our sixth grade student of the month is Xavon [Applause] Wilson. Xavon is coming to us from Mr. Mel Serggo's class. Very let's see his video. Got to go over there. Look that way. He has one sibling. His favorite subject is ELA. His hobbies are playing basketball and talking basketball with me when he remembers
063to watch the game the night before. And his career goals are to be an NBA uh player or to do something in real estate. [Applause] That's right. Another round of applause for all of our Smallley School students of the month. And next up from Community Middle School, we have Dr. Santa Surma. Hello everyone. The seventh grade student of the month from the community middle school is Ismary Rodriguez Escona. As Mary was nominated by her teacher, Mr. Sanders has two siblings. Favorite subject is ELA and hobbies are chess and piano. And when is Mary grows up would like to be a [Applause] [Music] dermatologist. [Music] Another round of applause for his movie. The eighth grade student of the month from the community middle school is Mia [Applause] Balladeras. Mia was nominated by her teacher, Mr. Lei.
064Also has two siblings. Congratulations. Two siblings. Favorite school subject is social studies. Favorite hobbies are volleyball and soccer and want when grows up Mia wants to be go to college and become a hair stylist. [Applause] Dad is coming down. Another round of applause for our community middle school students of the month. And next up from Brown Brook High School, Mr. Smith. [Applause] Good evening. On behalf of Elbrook High School recipients of the Crusader Crusader Citizen of the Month Award, our first recipient, we have Juan Montoya Pala. Juan has one sibling, an older sister. His favorite subject in school is math. Juan enjoys playing soccer, listening to music, and spending time with his family. and his future career plans include becoming a professional soccer player or studying something related to sports. [Applause] Congratulations Another round of
065[Applause] applause. Our next recipient, Joelle Oriana. Joelle has one sibling or two siblings, one older brother, one brother and one sister. His favorite subject in school is the AVID program and AP Modern World. His favorite hobbies include playing soccer and hanging out with his friends. And his future career plans include studying counseling and psychology at college or university. Congratulations, [Applause] All right, family's coming in. Another round of [Applause] applause. Our next recipient, Bianca Hardy. [Applause] Bianca has four siblings, three sisters, and one brother. Favorite subject in school is history. She enjoys playing volleyball, shopping with friends, and traveling. And future career plans include CRNA. CRNA CNA maybe. I don't know what that means, but congratulations. It's a good career choice. It's a career. And last, but certainly certainly not least, we have Madison [Applause] Lamberts.
066Madison has one sibling, Shawn Lambert, a brother. Favorite subject in school is English. Madison enjoys reading, skiing, and hanging out with her dad. And her future career plans include studying either psychology or psychiatry. So, congratulations, Madison. One last round of applause for all of our students of the month as well as their parents because we know they wouldn't be where they are without you. Okay, at this time we have some special guests, some special honores. Uh we're going to take a minute to honor and recognize our governor's educator of the year from each school in our district. These outstanding individuals have demonstrated exceptional dedication not only to their students but also to their schools and the broader community. Each honore was thoughtfully selected with input from their building principal, fellow educators and parents reflecting the
067high regard in which they are held by the school community. We are proud to celebrate their remarkable contributions this evening. In recon of the recognition of their achievements, each educator will be invited forward to have a few words said and receive a beautiful trophy as we capture this special moment. Uh to our honores, I just want to tell you how deeply deeply grateful I am for all the hard work that you do, the care that you show to our students, your colleagues, and the community. We really appreciate you. Let's all give them a round of [Applause] applause. Okay, at this time, I would call up from Lamont School, Lamont Annex School, Dr. S. [Applause] Okay, introducing one of my many dream teams that I have over at Lamont in the Annex. Mrs. Meliso and Mrs.
068Pena, please come on up. Come on up. Come on. I have had the pleasure of knowing and working with this amazing team for the past six years. From the very beginning, it was clear that Mrs. Millisorggo and Mrs. Pena are a perfect match. Dedicated, compassionate, and always smiling. Their strong bond, shared vision, and genuine love for their students shine through everything they do. It's no surprise that both parents and staff nom nominated them for this recognition. They truly are a dream team. Mrs. Meliso is a pre-K teacher at the Lamont Annex Elementary School. She's been teaching there for seven years. She loves working with young children and believes we should always look at what they can do, not what they can't do. Mrs. Mrs. Melisle cares a lot about her students. She helps them learn
069and grow in every way, academically, emotionally, socially. She also works closely with Miss Mrs. Michelle to make their class a fun and welcoming environment. Mrs. Pena, known as many as Miss Michelle, was born in the Dominican Republic and moved to New York City when she was 6 years old. She's been happily married for 27 years, is a proud mother of three children and a new grandmother. Mrs. Mrs. Pena has worked in a school in our school in school for 20 years. For the past six years, she has worked in with preschool students in Bound Brook. Mrs. Pena is kind, hardworking, and care deeply about her students. She works closely with Mrs. Meliso, helping in fun and creative ways. She also speaks Spanish and often helps translate for families, making sure everyone can understand and feel
070included. Congratulations to Mrs. Meliso and Miss Pena. Mrs. Pñena, thank you. [Applause] Okay, next. I'm so into the ceremony I almost forgot. Um, next, uh, from Lafayette School, let's call Miss [Applause] Cahas. Our first educator of the year is Mrs. Stephanie [Music] [Applause] Ackley. Miss Ackley is a dedicated art teacher whose passion for art has enriched the Bound Brook School District for over 13 years. She consistently goes above and beyond to inspire her students through creative instruction. In addition to teaching second and third grades, Miss Aley contributes significantly to the school community by designing event decorations and leading arts initiatives. She designed, sketched, and painted our sensory hallway mural with our students, adding color and joy to Lafayette. Miss Aley highlights her students talents through local and national art contests. Recently, eight pieces were selected
071for a Somerset County show, and out of thousands of entries in the national contest, 25 of our students participated, nine of whom were selected for publication. Miss Ackley's dedication to fostering creativity and student growth makes her a respected role model and a valued member of the Bound Brook School District. Congratulations, [Applause] Stephanie. Our second educator of the year is Miss Renee Jacobs Grower. [Applause] Renee Jacobs Grower is a bilingual district speech language pathologist committed to delivering culturally responsive and comprehensive services to students across Bound Brook School District. She has worked with students from pre preK through grade three and ga grades 7 through 12. Known as Mrs. Renee, she leads engaging personalized speech sessions that support both academic and social communication. She helps students build real world skills and guides them through transitions between grades
072and schools. Mrs. Jacobs Growers builds strong connections with students and families. Her bilingual skills help her support Spanish-sp speakaking families, and her expertise in language development allows her to accurately identify language needs and provide effective services. Respected across Lafayette for her professionalism and compassion, Miss Jacobs Grower supports student growth with her clear communication, empathy, and a strong dedication to their success. Congratulations, Renee. [Applause] Can we take a picture? Are we taking pictures? Oh, okay. From here. From there. Oh, sorry. Sorry. I didn't mean to put you on the spot. All right. Another round of applause. And next up from Smalley School, we have Miss Winter. So, I'd like to bring up and honor Gina Petreski as the educator of the year for Somali school. [Music] And this is why we are so proud to recognize
073Miss Petruski as Small Elementary School's Governor Educator of the Year. Dedication and heart. Miss Petruski brings STEM to life through engaging hands-on lessons that spark curiosity and excitement. Her inclusive steam schedule invites all students to explore and grow, not just those in gifted and talented program, ensuring every child feels capable and inspired. A valued collaborator, she partners with colleagues to design high impact lessons that elevate learning for all. Her classroom is vi is a vibrant space where ideas flourish and students are eager to share what they've learned. Beyond the classroom, Miss Petruski brings meaningful connections, greeting students warmly each morning and guiding them as the newspaper club adviser where they find their voice and share their stories. Miss Petruski, your positivity, your creativity, and your unwavering commitment leave a lasting impact on our school community.
074Congratulations. We are so proud to celebrate you. So, we're going to come over here and take a quick picture. Okay, Miss Mson, right over there. Oh, I'm not You're not finished yet. Go ahead. Do the other one. Do you want to take them both down? Yeah, you can bring them both out. That was my mistake. Okay. And additionally, we are so proud to celebrate our service professional of the year, Mrs. Lee Eaton. We are so proud to celebrate you tonight. A well-deserved honor that reflects your deep impact on our students, staff, and school community. Mrs. Eaton is at is the heart of compassionate Smallley. Through her counseling, she creates safe, supportive spaces where students feel seen, heard, and valued. She's a trusted adult students turn to for guidance, reassurance, and hope, helping them build confidence,
075and resilience. A dedicated teammate, Mrs. Eaton collaborates closely with staff to support students in need, developing action plans that lead to meaningful growth. Her care also extends beyond the school, providing families with essential support through programs like the Backpack Program. Mrs. Eaton sees the good in every child. Her kindness, creativity, and belief in each student makes her an irreplaceable part of our school. Congratulations, Mrs. Eaton. We are so grateful for you and proud to celebrate you this [Applause] evening. Congratulations. And next up from Community Middle School, we have Dr. Santa Surma. It's an honor and a privilege to present Mrs. Kim Credatis as the community middle school representative for Somerset County Teacher of the Year. [Applause] For the past 11 years, Mrs. Cordatus has inspired countless students to believe in themselves and achieve their academic
076goals. With expertise in special education, science, and math, Mrs. Cordatus brings diverse teaching strategies to the classroom and is able to address a wide array of students needs. Outside the classroom, Mrs. Credatus plays a key role in developing and maintaining a positive climate and culture at the community middle school. Mrs. Cordatus is the Sunshine Club chair and makes sure all our staff's life's events are celebrated. She organizes multiple themed lunchons, breakfast throughout the school year, which staff have an opportunity to gather, have fun, and develop a family-like atmosphere. Miss Cordata supports our school's athletic programs and attends games and events along with her family in support of her current and former students. She's the seventh grade class adviser and schedules numerous fundraisers and organizes extracurricular activities such as the upcoming sixth and seventh grade move
077up dance students to science class trips and the seventh grade trip to Medable Times. Please join me in a round of applause for Mrs. Catatus in recognition of her unwavering dedication and service to the families of Bound Brook. And that is our family at events all the time. Wait, wait, wait. You got to stay here. Stay here. Please join me in celebrating Miss Henness Piccato as the community middle school representative for Somerset County Ed Specialist of the Year. Miss Piccato is a graduate of the Bound Brook High School, a graduate of Monontlair University, and is currently working on a master's degree in social work at Monontlair. Miss Piccato serves as a teacher associate at CMS and is tasked with assisting and facilitating instruction for our multilingual learners in math, science, and social studies. As a
078fluent Spanish speaker, Miss Piccado is able to bridge the language gap that ensures all students have a full understanding of classroom material. Miss Piccato has an immeasurable impact on students learning and has helped to break down barriers that in the past have been a point of struggle for both student and teacher. In addition to her classroom responsibilities, Miss Piccato assists with guidance mediations, parent conferences, and afterchool family events. Through her collaboration, enthusiasm, and genuine care for the success of each student, Miss Piccadoo's efforts have helped develop and foster a more inclusive and supportive environment for our Spanish-sp speaking families. Please join me in congratulating Miss Henness in recognition of her outstanding service to our community. We're making it hard on Mike. Another another round of applause. Last, but certainly not least, we have Mr. Smith
079from Bound Brook High School. [Applause] Good evening again. On behalf of Bound Brook High School, the Bound Brook High School family, we are proud to recognize two extremely important members of our school community as they are honored with this prestigious New Jersey Governor Educator of the Year awards. First, we celebrate our teacher of the year, Miss Joelle Smith, whose dedication and passion have made a lasting impact on our students and school. Joelle Smith is the epitome of what it means to be a dedicated educator and role model at Bound Brook High School. As a dynamic mathematics teacher, she inspires students through engaging lessons like scavenger hunts and gallery walks, creating a classroom environment that is both rigorous and welcoming. Her passion for math and genuine care extend beyond the school day with her students often
080choosing to spend time in her room before and after school. Outside the classroom, Joelle's impact is equally profound. She founded and expanded the school's volleyball program, teaches college level courses that offer students free dual enrollment credits, and juggles roles as a coach, tutor, professor, and mother with relentless energy, and dedication. Within the math math department, she is the senior leader and go-to mentor, generously sharing her expertise, resources, and support. Known for her meticulous organization, Joelle's overplanning and grading routines are matched only by her unwavering commitment to excellence. For her leadership, creativity, and deeprooted passion for teaching, Joelle Smith is more than deserving of recognition as teacher of the year. And we are proud to have her represent Down Brook High School as the recipient of this prestigious honor. Joel, you are truly limitless. Congratulations. [Applause]
081Next, I would like to introduce our educational specialist of the year, Miss Deb Pollson. Miss Pollson serves as the Bound Brook High School student assistance counselor. Her unwavering commitment to supporting our students well-being and success has truly made a difference in our school community. Deb Pollson is a compassionate and dedicated educational specialist whose steady presence and thoughtful contributions have made a meaningful difference at Bound Brook High School. Through her leadership of Red Ribbon Week, coordinating the ThinkFast interactive presentation on substance abuse, she brings creativity and purpose to promoting student wellness using engaging activities, daily messages, and schoolwide participation to spark important conversations around health and decision-making. As the adviser of the Pride Club, Deb fosters a culture of acceptance and inclusion, helping all students feel valued and supported. She is especially gifted at building genuine,
082trusting relationships with students, offering them a safe space to be heard and understood. Always willing to step in and support her colleagues, Deb is a reliable and respected member of the school community. Her leadership, care for students, and commitment to creating a positive school environment make her a strong and deserving recipient of this recognition. Deb, you too are limitless, and congratulations on this prestigious honor. Congratulations to the both of you. Thank you. Let's have another round of applause for all of our educator and support people of the year. Okay, before we move on to taking our um picture, our group picture, what I would like to do, I want to recognize another group of people, not necessarily to call them up for award, but to recognize them for a tremendous accomplishment that they achieved in
083the last couple weeks. For those of you who haven't seen the Instagram post, recently our board of education, uh was chosen by the uh Somerset County School Boards Association to receive the Carol E. Lararsson Master Board certification, the highest distinction a board can achieve. This is an extraordinary honor as only 5% of the boards across the state reach this level of achievement. So, I'd like to give them a big round of applause. them receiving the award was only fitting because I've never seen a board that's so dedicated comm so dedicated committed to the community and so engaged. So it's only fitting that they received this award and are placed in the five top 5% of the boards of education in the state. Now in addition to that award we received that night there were two
084other recognitions. One was for board member Danny Minhas who earned his new board member boardmanship certification, a key milestone for him in being an effective board governance. So we'd have a round of applause for him. He didn't expect that. That's why he's blushing. And and next, our fearless leader, our board president, Rich Denuzi. He was selected as the president of the Somerset County School Board Association. So, not only will be he be our president, but he'll be president for the county. I think that deserves a big round of applause. So, and to the board on behalf of the community, the teachers, the staff, we're incredibly proud of your your leadership, your dedication, and we appreciate the example you set for our community. Okay. At this time, would all of the parents and students of the
085month please come up to the stage to if I could ask the um educators of the year to stay. I'd like to get a picture with you as well. So, all the students of the month and parents, you can come on up. Hello. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Do you take a picture of everything together? [Music] So you Mike, you want to do it on the floor or the stage? Stage. [Music] Yeah, let's move this out of the way. That's a good idea. We need to throw a second. Yeah. Mike, they're going down. He's taking a picture. [Music] There we go. How close That's right. Can you get it? Ready? Okay. Okay, if we could have the teachers of educators of the year come up front. Mike. Mike, where would you rather have them? Huh? Where would
086you rather have the educators of the year? On the stage up there. Okay. Educators of the year, if you would please come forward with your trophies. With your trophies. Be easier. Yeah. Bring them up on the stage. Educators of the year up to the stage, please. Mike, direct them up to the stage. Yeah, it's too it's too busy down there. Too busy. Take let's see if we can take the trophies out and hold it and we'll go right up front here. Congratulations. Thank you so much. Thank you. [Music] I know that. One movie face. How are you? [Music] We don't need [Music] All right, you're ready. Congratulations everybody. start walking the neighborhood. Yeah. There is one thing um you know I this year I got the governor's award my district you know my district gave
087me I got a certificate I got a certificate and a black and white piece of paper and an announcement from last year they gave out a golden apple I But at least too bad you didn't win a lot of the states. [Music] We figured it out. What's that? LLD teacher. Who is this? Oh, S. Yeah, I love her. She's Yeah. And let me tell you, she's really good. She takes kids who really have issues and they I think everybody who is intending to leave has likely left. There you go. So, let's go ahead and move on to item 3.1. Just I want to acknowledge that while our student board member was unable to be with us this evening, he did send in some written reports both from last month and from this month. So, if
088you haven't already checked those out on the agenda, they were late ads. Uh, please feel free to do that after the meeting and uh send any questions that you have to Harrison. I'm sure he'd be happy to answer them. That moves us to committee reports. We'll start with education. Mr. Dawson, the floor is yours. Thank you, uh, Mr. Januzi. We had a great education meeting a couple weeks ago. Um, some exciting news. Uh, the district was recently evaluated in our preschool program. Um a lot of folks if you um are not deeply involved in education you could easily have the uh misconception that preschool is easy and all play. Um but it is not. Um it's there are our youngest learners. It's our first experience in the district. So, we were all uh really relieved
089to know that one of the many bodies that governs preschool education in New Jersey gave us a lot of really affirming uh validation and our programming, our curriculum, our approach, the way we enroll kids. Um and also um saw some areas that we also think are promising places where we can um consider growing and expanding the program and making future investments. So, we are really excited about uh that news and all the work that's being done by our staff, our administrators um in the preschool programming. Lots of good things coming uh from that program. We also talked about uh the KOGAT administration. So, KOAT is an assessment that we can use to identify students who may be gifted or talented. Um and we were really excited about the results. The results show that we're um
090having a broader way to identify kids who um maybe have not been identified before. Um kids who may be multilingual learners, kids who may have um a learning disability or an IEP, um kids who may need a 504 plan. Um a lot of those kids have a lot of talents and the deeper we look at them, the deeper we can uh nurture those talents. So we were excited about those results. Um, all promising things from uh, education. Excellent. Thank you, Mr. Dawson. Any questions for the education committee? All right. Hearing none. Miss Hy, not to put you on the spot, but since Mr. Bal is not here, would you mind doing an update for governance? Uh, I'll tell you in a second if I mind. Totally fine. I know I'm going out of order, but
091perhaps we could have Mr. Zepco do operations. Okay, you can throw it to me. That's fine. Okay. Well, operations was an exciting committee. We talked about a lot of different things. One of the things we spoke about which affects um going forward is going to affect some of our student body was the uh photos, the photo service, legacy studios about yearbook services, photo services. we uh that was brought up and added to the agenda and what we needed to talk about was uh basically looking at you know the bang for the buck the the pricing uh compared to last year. I know my son is a senior and the prices were um kind of high. So, uh, we just want to make it equitable for everybody when they, uh, because it's a special time of
092year and we want all of our parents and our students, uh, to enjoy, uh, uh, pictures that they're going to have for a lifetime. So, uh, we kind of went into that a little bit. We also talked about updates. We're excited to talk about the renovations for the weight room and new equipment uh, that was to go into the weight room. Um, there were a number of different types of equipment that were put in. are going to be put in. Uh I know that when I spoke to uh Mr. Gorski, uh the uh old equipment, we will uh make sure that it is safe and uh and and when we dispose of it or if we can recycle it, whatever the case may be. Um the installation they're expecting to uh you know uh be
093really quick uh put in there as repairs need to be done, painting. So the wait room is really going to look nice. Uh Mr. Skorski, do you have any additions you want to add to that or Dr. Freeman? No, sir. I think you covered it well. Okay. So, the and that's exciting because that's another issue that um you know, that's I I like to say things like that, you know, uh not a a pun towards what we're talking about, but that's a legacy issue. So, we have a wait room that will be enjoyed not just for, you know, the students now, but for the students in the future. And I want to thank the board wants to thank the administrative team for really getting behind that. Uh because I see, you know, uh it's it's
094it's such an important when you know our kids work out and they're really trying hard, they're performing to do the best they can and we want them to know that we support them um you know to have the right equipment. So that was really really exciting. Also talked about the bidding of custodial services. Bidding took place on Tuesday 29th of April. We had seven bidders that bid on the contractual services. The lowest was SJ services that won a bid at 999336. That's $999,936. Um do you Mr. Gorski, you want to go a little bit into that or because there were some specifics I know that you knew. There there are some developments that are um still materializing with that, but we are making the uh recommendation for the bid to be awarded tonight to SJ
095and we'll take it from there. Okay. So, that's something that's uh you know that'll be really comprehensive for next year. We also talked about lunches uh school uh lunches for uh this year for next year. Um apparently, you know, we've been doing really well. lunch prices are to remain the same for all schools. Um talked about uh how to uh improve or you know look at what we are currently serving. I know depending you know there we we were joking in the committee like depending upon the school uh will they'll have a different viewpoint of their lunch. Now the high school may feel certain way you know the middle school may feel a certain way. So, we want to make sure that we are um giving, you know, again, the best uh possible items to
096all of our students and staff. Uh and I know that that's something that I'm excited to talk about because that's something that again will really help us out. Finally, there were two other items. The one was um I'm going to tread lightly on this because the uh about the uh we had a vendor complaint uh for gym padding. Um, and I wanted to just make sure that we, you know, talked about that a little bit, but Dr. Freeman, would you like to Okay. Sure. So, the gentleman who was here a couple months ago, we uh we did a thorough investigation of his uh claim and we came to the conclusion that uh there was some fault on both ends. So, I brought it to the operations committee and what they explained was that they wanted
097to kind of uh take that into consideration. So, we're able to negotiate a dollar amount with him and that is on the board agenda tonight for approval. He agreed to it and it's on the agenda tonight for approval. Thank you, Dr. Freeman. Finally, one of the last things uh were brought up was was the sign in front of the high school and we uh we're looking at the we we have the electronic sign which is incredible, but we also have the other sign and the other sign's looking a little tired. So, we're trying to put our heads together uh in relation to seeing the best approach to navigate uh uh bringing the sign back to life and and and you know, sprucing it up a little bit. And uh I'm thankful that Dr. Freeman took
098this uh you know, as soon as I mentioned it, he took it right on onto his you know, his agenda. And you know, we're starting to see some ideas come forward. um we want to make sure that it's something that uh you know is going to be pleasing for everybody um and uh aesthetically uh you know pleasing to you know uh the students as well. So uh we're still looking into that. That's still in process. Other than that I don't remember having anything else but uh if there are any questions for my committee please you can let me know now. Otherwise that's it Mr. President. Thank you Mr. Zupkco. Any questions on a rather full and complete operations committee meeting report? All right. Hearing none, Miss High, we'll double back to you for let's do
099governance first. So, governance was surprisingly quick. Our committee meetings, there really were two two topics that um were discussed. One of the things that we have to do as a board is we we self-evaluate where we are as a board and the other thing is to do the uh superintendent evaluation and um what we propose or what we will be doing is um receiving the information and each one of us separately then does an evaluation for uh for Dr. Freeman. Then we meet with him, we discuss the results and we go from there. This is something that we want done by our next meeting so that it's all done before our July 1st um which then is you know we are in compliance with absolutely everything. QAC will be happy everything so it'll be good.
100The other topic that came up was um uh cell phone policy and that is something that we're looking into. We're investigating with other subjects. Dr. Freeman also has you know this has been a discussion at the superintendent's round table but it is something that we are still looking at so that we can get a definitive policy and what best serves our schools and that is it well done thank you Mrs. Hi. Any questions on governance? All right. Hearing none, Sue, we'll stay with you for HR. Okay. HR busy time of year. It's a very busy time of year right now. Um, looking at open positions, if you'll look at the agenda, you'll see a lot of different things in in personnel that are going on. Um, staff who are returning, etc. Um and this is
101like we always every month we say the same thing. This is really a live document and it is ongoing and it is just filling positions. We mentioned at last month's board meeting that there was the um went to the colleges went to uh Montlair and Kain and really for the college fair really looking at applicants and you will see that we have some new positions or new hires on for the next school year which is wonderful because we want to get them sooner rather than later. So this is good news that we're working on that. The other uh another thing that happened within the district and all teachers have been informed just were transfer transfers within the um district. We are looking at open enrollment dates which end at the end of this month for
102medical. It's really for uh for dental there are lot of increases in staff with the dental program. We are also looking at the assistant super superintendent position and we have had a number of applicants which is really nice to see which will then be selected down to the the top candidates and that will be moving on. We're hoping to have that filled by this summer. And the last thing which is an agenda item tonight which is wonderful but also sad which is we have Mr. Gorski who has is going on to bigger and well I don't want to say bigger and better well bigger and better things. He's spending a lot more time with his family and and we are just so thankful for everything he has done for this district. Uh yeah, it's hard
103to talk about this without getting emotional because he just is such a tremendous force. He is a voice of reason. He's calm when the things seem hectic. He's very organized. He's focused on what needs to be done. Um a true gentleman. I think the worst thing I've heard him say is heck and Michael. But just um what an asset to the Brown School District. He will be sorely sorely missed. So Michael, thank you so much for everything you've done for us. [Applause] All right. And before Miss High cries anymore, any other questions for HR committee report? Oh, very well said. Okay. Um, I believe there's no report force this meeting. Got it. So, we are up to item 4.6. Mr. Inc. Calcatera, anything from Southbound Brook? At our last board meeting, we finalized the schedule
104for the roof to be repaired over the summer and the asbestous remediation of two of the classrooms as is our ongoing project of two classrooms at a time so that it's not budget heavy. We also finalized a where we decided to pilot a cell phone program that involves using Lexan cases in the front of the room where the students cell phones would be stored so that they're still with the student but out of the student's possession. That's about it. Very good. Any questions from Mr. Incalcera? All right. Any final comments or questions for the committees in general? All right, we are up to item 5.1. This is open to the public for agenda items only. I don't see any members of the public here to my knowledge, just the staff. So I believe we are
105ready to move on. Item 6.1. Be it resolved that the Bound Brook Board of Education upon recommendation of the superintendent approves the minutes for the following meetings regular and executive meeting minutes for April 30th, 2025. I have a motion. Thank you, Miss High. A second. Second. Thank you, Mr. Zepkco. Any discussion hearing? None. Mr. Gorski. Roll call, please. Certainly. Mr. Dawson. Yes. Mr. Incalcera. Yes. Mr. Zupkco. Thank you, Miss Musen. Mr. Minhas. Yes. Thank you, Miss Hy. Yes. Mr. Wulmer. Mr. Januzi. Yes. But before you close, I think we have to revisit Mr. Inc. Alcatara. Abstain. So noted. Thank you. Mr. Januzi, motion still passes. Thank you, Mr. Gorski. Item 7.1, be it resolved that the superintendent recommends for approval the resolutions as outlined in district personnel resolutions. These are items 7.2 through 7.49. I
106have a motion. Thank you, Mr. Dawson. A second from Mr. Incalcera. Any discussion? All right, hearing none. Can we have a roll call, please? Mr. Dawson, yes. Mr. Incalcera, Mr. Zubco, yes. Miss Mosen, yes. Mr. Minhas, yes. Miss Hy, yes. Mr. Wmer, yes. And Mr. Januzi, yes. 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. This is item 8.2 through 8.19. May I have a motion? Thank you, Mr. Dawson. A second. Thank you, Mr. Inc. Calcater. Any discussion? Okay. Hearing none, a roll call, please. Mr. Dawson. Yes. Mr. Incalcera. Yes. Mr. Zupco. Yes. Miss Musen. Mr. Minhus. Yes. Miss Hy. Yes. Mr. Wmer. And Mr. Januzi. Yes. Motion passes. Thank you. Item 9.1. Be it resolved that the Bound
107Brook Board of Education approves the resolutions as outlined in board action resolutions. These are items 9.2 through 9.34. Have a motion. Thank you, Miss Mus. A second. Second. Thank you, Miss High. Any discussion? Move right along. I'll just take a minute to acknowledge I think Mr. Zupco already covered a bunch of items that are on the agenda that we're moving forward with. Some projects are really, really big. Some projects are really on the smaller end. But I just want to thank specifically our technology department for some of the innovative ideas that you guys are bringing forward. They might not be big dollar changes, but they have a significant impact on the experience that our students and teachers and community members all have when they enter our facilities. So, thank you guys for continuing to push
108the envelope and start to raise the the level of quality of our facilities. Any other comments or questions? Well said. All right. Unless there are any other comments, Mr. Gorski, roll call, please. Mr. Dawson, yes. Mr. Incalcera, Mr. Zubco, yes. Miss Musen, yes. Mr. Minhas, Miss Hy, yes. Mr. Vulmer, and Mr. Januzi, yes. Motion passes. Thank you. We are up to other matters to come before the board, which I have not received. So, we are on to item 11, which is new business. Any of the members want to raise or discuss anything at this time? Now is your This is high. I have quick and it's kind of old new business. Um but just to let you know that the alumni association is moving forward with the trophy cases and they're going to be meeting
109June 2nd um to I think they um already uh discussed with Berto they're meeting to uh look at the old case and see what they're doing with the new case. but they're really excited about moving along with this and also um uh interviews for scholarships are are very soon. So, we're just looking forward to that. That's great. Thanks very much, Sue. Any other new business items? All right, we are open to the public for discussion which again seeing no members of the public we will move on to item 13.1. Be it resolved that the Bound Brook Board of Education enter executive session as allowed by NJSA 104-11 for the purposes listed in the agenda including numbers 1 and 8. If I Mr. Jy just real quick I I based on something that came up I
110I think we should add number seven as well. Thank you very much. So items one, seven, and eight. May I have a motion? Thank you, Mr. Inc. Alcalcatera. A second. Second. Thank you, Mr. Zeppco. All in favor? I. We are adjourned to executive. here. Okay. So, we are up to item 14.1. Be it resolved that the Boundberg Board of Education approves the resolutions as outlined in approval of HIV cases under high school. This is just item 14.2. May I have a motion? Motion. Thank you, Mr. Dawson. A second. Second. Thank you, Mr. Inc. Calcatera. Mr. Gorski. A roll call, please. Yes. Yes. Thank you. Item 15.1. Be it resolved that the Boundberg Board of Education approves the resolutions as outlined in approval of HIB cases under middle and elementary schools. This is item 15.2. I
111have a motion. Motion. Thank you, Mrs. Tie a second. Thank you, Miss Mson. Uh, Mr. Gorski, roll call. Yes. Yes. Thank you. We have now exhausted the agenda and I will entertain a motion to adjourn. Thank you, Mr. Dawson. A second from Mrs. Hy. Any Oh, all in favor? I we're adjourned.