001like to Whoa. I'd like to call the meeting to order. Uh, Mr. Edwards, roll call. >> Miss McCala. >> What should I say here? Yes. >> Roll call. >> Uh, Miss D. Benedictus. >> Yes, Mr. >> Mr. Henry. >> Yes. Here. >> Mr. Maleri. >> Yes. >> Sorry, >> Mr. Mr. Master Serio, >> Miss Kennedy >> here. >> Mr. Mesmer >> here. >> Public me. Ready? Yep. Okay. Sorry, I just had to get my computer going here. [clears throat] >> The New Jersey open Oh, wait. Do I say Jim? No. Mary Jim. [snorts] The New Jersey public meeting 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 any business affecting their interest is discussed or acted upon. In accordance
002with the provisions of this act, the Bricktown report of education has caused notice of this meeting to be posted on the administration office bolden board, the official district website and channel BTV20 and sent to the Aspbury Park Press, the Brick Times, the Star Ledger in Miss Clerk's office. Motion a second. >> I need a motion and a second to for executive session. Victoria second, George. >> So there. >> So we got one and two. All right, Miss Pala. >> Yes. >> Miss Benedict. >> Oh, Mr. Edwards, I think you have to read the >> Oh, you're right. >> the section before we >> Miss Mary. [laughter] Resolution of the Bricktown Report of Education to convene a closed session pursuant to the Oplex meeting Act. The session will be approximately 15 minutes and the general nature
003of the subject matter to be discussed is as follows. Harassment, intimidation, and bullying reports. Miss McCala, >> yes. >> Mr. Henry, >> yes. >> Mr. Maleri, >> yes. >> Mr. Masterio, not here. Miss Kennedy, >> yes. >> Mr. Mesmer, >> yes. >> All right. Be back. >> [laughter] >> And we are back in session. >> Salute to the flag. >> Will everyone please rise for the salute to the flag and a moment of silence. To the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for it stands one nation under God indivisible with liberty and justice for all. Please be seated. >> Okay. Uh Dr. Frell, can you please introduce our student representatives? >> Good evening. I'm Erikica Bakornney, the president of the BTHS student government. I'm excited to share this month's BTHS
004Dragon Report with you. But first, I would like to begin with the Lake Riviera Middle School report. We are proud to announce that our Golden Laker Loot attendance program saw significant growth this year. During marking period 1, we recognized 313 students for maintaining excellent attendance, fewer than two absences. That number rose to 377 students in marking period 2. This achievement reflects the dedication of our students and the incredible support of our families. Congratulations to our 2025 2026 honores. Miss Holly Walker has been named teacher of the year for her innovative student centered classroom leadership and her dedication to academic excellence. Joining her is Miss Nicole Kadaloo, our educational services professional of the year, who is recognized for her vital support and commitment to the well-being of the entire Lake Riviera community. Both educators exemplify the
005heart of the Laker spirit through their tireless dedication to our students success. The winter edition of our school newspaper, the Laker Ledger, will hit the presses at the end of this month, so keep an eye out on your email. Meanwhile, our student reporters and editors are already hard at work preparing the spring edition. The manga and book club has officially launched its 2026 season. Nearly 40 students stayed after school for our first meeting in January. The club meets monthly after school in the library. All students are welcome and interest continues to grow as readers come together to share their love of books and graphic novels. Our LEA program just ended this past month. Our multilingual learners are working hard every day to strengthen their speaking skills, build confidence, and use new vocabulary in meaningful conversations.
006Our athletic teams have had an exciting season. The Lake Riviera boys basketball team has shown noticeable improvement, demonstrating growth through hard work, determination, and teamwork, both in performance and in the win column. Our girls basketball team had an impressive run at the St. Peters tournament, earning victories against strong competition. They ended the season with an 8-4 record. Most importantly, the team has consistently displayed outstanding sportsmanship, earning praise from opposing coaches and officials at every game. We wish our eighth grade players well as they move on to high school. The Lake Rivera wrestling team began the season facing tough competition and has made tremendous progress. The team finished the season strong by beating Tom Shver South. The team worked hard all season pushing each other to get better each practice. Patrick McGordy finished the season undefeated,
007winning individual tournaments such as the blue tournament, Ocean County tournament, and the Tri County tournament. Spring sports registration is open in parent portal now through March 6th. Our student council has been busy planning the eighth grade dance, selecting a theme, and creating centerpieces. They also sold Valentine's Day grams, spreading kindness throughout the school. The National Honors Society, the National Junior Honors Society has begun its application process for this school year. Current NJHS members visited sixth and seventh grade classrooms to explain the community service they provide and how students can apply. Miss Prince held an application orientation after school to guide students in the application process. Important dates and information have been shared with home room teachers, post in Google Classroom, and posted in the LRMS digital backpack for students and parents to access. Applications will
008be submitting applicants will be submitting their applications and writing the essay portion of the process on Monday, March 16th. Good luck to all applicants. Our music department is gearing up for a very busy spring. Junior and senior bands are preparing for the district arts festival on March 5th and the spring concert on May 19th. Voices from the Lake is rehearsing for both the district arts festival and the spring concert. Rehearsals will be limited over the next two months as our drama club works daily to prepare for performances of Honk Jr. on March 20th and 21st. Congratulations to all cast and crew. Ticket information will be shared soon. Art Club continues to be a creative and engaging opportunity for our sixth, seventh, and eighth grade students. The club is open to all middle school students and
009provides a welcoming space where creativity, collaboration, and artistic expression thrive. In January, students worked on a recycled art project in support of our green team initiative. In February, students explored the work of artist Keith Herring. Inspired by his bold lines, movement, and uplifting theme, students created vibrant dancing hearts filled with positive messages. This project encouraged creativity while also promoting kindness and self-exression. We are excited to share that these artworks will be displayed at our district art show on March 5th at Bricktownship High School. We are incredibly proud of our students creativity and look forward to showcasing their talents to their community. In science club, students recently created snow using baking soda and conditioner. They enjoyed making snowballs and snowmen while learning about melting and freezing points and discussing how snow forms in nature. The Sigma
010Math Club competes nationally by by participating in five challenging contests throughout the year. Students work independently to solve five rigorous problems which are then graded and compared with submissions from middle schools across the country. After each contest, students have the opportunity to continue sharpening their problem solving skills by playing math games against one another. We meet in the cafeteria during home room and especially look forward to celebrating Pi Day in March. Finally, spirit week took place from February 2nd through 6th, bringing energy and school pride throughout the building. This week concluded with our highly anticipated staff for student basketball game. We're excited to welcome Terrence Berkeley from the Bricktownship Police Department to LRMS to present to our seventh and eighth graders, a program spec specifically designed for middle school students about internet safety, cyber bullying,
011and their digital footprint on March 5th. Thank you for your continued support of Lake Rivera Middle School. Every achievement we share tonight, whether in the classroom, on the stage, on the court, or in our clubs, reflects the strength of our community. When students are present, supported, and inspired, they rise to the challenge and shine. Now, on to BTHS. This past weekend, Brick's birthday was celebrated at the rec center. The student community connected council helped run the event, assisting at craft tables and food stands. Every month, BTHS recognizes a staff member of the month, nominated by the student body for their positive contributions to our school. The February staff member of the month is Mr. Mass Andrea. He'll be highlighted in the upcoming February newsletter. We do not share this information monthly, but wanted this month
012to share one of our many steps we take to cultivate a positive school culture by unifying students as staff towards achieving our school goals. The students participated in spirit week this week, although it was cut short from the snow days. Following that, the SGA did a great job putting together this year's Battle of the Classes, which took place today. After different events and challenges, the senior class took first place. The National Honors Society has begun a book buddies program where our members visit elementary schools to read to the students. Winter sports have been going great. Congratulations to the hockey team for winning their division this year along with the overall Shore Conference Championship. They fought hard, winning three games in overtime before securing their title. The boys won their first round of states yesterday against
013Freehold Burough. We are playing in round two of states this evening. Girls swimming ended their season with the short conference tournament, placing 10th overall. Ava Guano broke two school records with a 5766 in the 100 backstroke and a 20930 in the 200 individual medley. Sophia Watts broke the record swimming a 5527 in the 100 freestyle. The boys and girls basketball teams will compete in their first round of states tomorrow. The boys are away against Ewing at 7:00 p.m. and the girls are playing home against Freehill Burough at 4:30. Coming up, BTHS will host the district arts festival on Thursday, March 5th. The event begins at 6:00 and will have performances throughout the evening. The PTSA is hosting a craft fair on Saturday, March 14th from 9 to 3. There will be over 100 vendors present
014along with pictures with the Easter Bunny and multiple Easter egg hunts. Everyone is encouraged to attend as it will be a great day for the whole family. BTHS will be presenting a special education resource and transition fair on Thursday, March 19th from 5 to 7:00 in the BTHS IMC library. All are welcome and invited to attend. The Dragon Drama Club will present Little Shop of Horrors on March 27th and March 28th with with a special preview show offered to our local senior community center on Thursday, March 26. On Tuesday, March 31st, BTHS will hold an event for all grade 11 students, Dragon Destinations Road Map to the Future. At this event, students will have an opportunity to explore post-secary pathways. All students and parents are strongly encouraged to attend this event as it will greatly
015assist with future planning. That's all for today. Be sure to stay connected to BTHS events and inside information by accessing our school website, SJA Instagram at BTHsSGA, and our school Twitter at BTHS Dragons. You can always see our happenings monthly through Dr. Cajun's Dragon Review. Thank you for your time. >> Thank you, Erica. That was wonderful. It's my understanding you're a big hockey fan, Dr. Casian told me. >> And you're we're playing tonight. >> So, are you on your way out now to go support our team? Thank you. Thank you for supporting our team. [applause] >> And do you have a ticket? >> Oh, that was hard to come by. >> [laughter] >> Thank you. Oh, and now we're going to hear from Michaela Goran representing the Mustangs of Brook Memorial High School. >> Good
016evening everyone. I'm Michaela Goran, your 2025 2026 BMHS SGAA president. And here's your monthly report for February. We successful close to semester 1 and a smooth opening to semester 2. Thank you to all our stakeholders who worked together to navigate our schedule between final exams, school closures, and weather related delays. Your flexibility and teamwork made all the difference to for our students. Congratulations to our Musting Players for tremendous production of Silent Sky. This marked our second set of performances this year and featured a dramatic play presented with two separate cast over 4-day run. A true testament to the depth of and talent and dedication within our theater program. Hard to believe, but it's the time of year when we be plan to begin for next year already. Thank you to our guidance department for meeting
017not only with our BHS underassmen, but also with our rising nth graders from our middle schools to begin their scheduling process and to ensure a smooth transition to high school and next school year. Congratulations to our mocktra team for once again advancing past the opening weekend of the Ocean County Championships before falling in a hard fought final to mates. They now turn their focus to tonight's Mars Cup challenge against our sister school, Brick Township High School. It has been an incredibly successful winter season for our athletic program, highlighted by a very busy and exciting week for our Mustangs last week. Congratulations to Shay McDonald, who was invited and recognized at Ruckers University for girls and women's and sports day. Our wrestling team captured its 20th sectional state championship at home, an incredible milestone that is
018tops in shore conference history. In newly hired coach Steven Giano's first season, the Mustangs defeated Hopewell Valley for the championship and then upended West Essex in the group semi to earn a trip to Ruckers University through group three championship, ultimately finishing as group three state runnerup after a tough battle with Desla. Our boys basketball team earned a home game in the state playoffs following a big week that included a win over rival Bricktownship High School and a senior night victory over Rariton. They will host Northern Burlington tomorrow at 6 p.m. Our girls basketball team begins its state playoff run after advancing all the way to the semi-finals of the Shore Conference Coaches Cup. They play tomorrow at Middletown South. Our bowling team has enjoyed outstanding seasons. The boys won both the Ocean County Championship and
019the Shore Conference tournament where while Nick Mancela won the Invisual Shore Conference Championship and we also James Gillan bowl at perfect 300 this season. The girls finished a close second in Ocean County but won the overall store conference championships and will play for the South Jersey group three sectional championships tomorrow. In the world of track and field, we had several athletes qualify for our overall state championship, including our girls relay team of Samar Robinson, Salone Kelly, Morgan Blan, and Tory Hudley, which finished fifth in the sectional. Our boys relay team finished sixth and consists of Tyrone Gonzalez, Ricky Dylan, Shawn Fowler, and Anthony Wilson. Anthony Wilson also won a Central Group Three Championship, and a big congratulations to Junior Jackson Ellis who won the Central Jersey. and then overall group three championship and shutout. And
020of course, a big congratulations to our Brick Township ice hockey team for winning the Shore Conference Henchin Cup. Finally, we look forward to hosting a special evening for our school's community on Wednesday, March 11th. Our Brick Memorial and Beyond event will welcome our rising 11th, 12th grade, and families as they learn how to finish the BM career strong and prepare for life after high school. while our rising nth and tth grader graders and families will explore the many academic, athletic, and co-curricular opportunities that Brick Memorial High School has to offer. Now, on to our vets report. BMS is very excited to share all the great things that have been occurring for over the last few months. Recently, we recognized two VMS staff members for the impact that they had on the school community. The VMS
021Governor's Educator of the Year, Rebecca McNellis, and the VMS educational support member of the year is Deb Skorninsky. On to activities. Thank you to the BMHs counselors for visiting VMMS on February 3rd to talk about our eighth graders about high school scheduling. During March Madness, VMS students and staff will be competing in a 32 team bracket based on weekly attendance percentages. Let the games begin. Now for clips. Our drama production had stepped into the world with nothing is quite as it seems as our VMS drama club proudly presented Alice in Wonderland. The whimsical imaginative sequels by Louisis Carol. This magical production stars our talented sixth graders Jenna Castner as Alice who tumbles into a dazzling world full of curious characters, surprising twists and unforgettable adventures. Our students have been working hard to bring this enchanting
022story to life with creative energy and theatrical flare. Join us on April 23rd and possible April 24 for an evening of wonder, laughter, and excitement. You won't want to miss this spectacular journey through the looking glass. The chorus. Please come watch our chorus students dazzle you with exciting variety of musical genres at this year's arts festival on March 5th in our spring concert on in May. We are looking forward to thems performances of District Art Festival on May 12th. Girls basketball ended the season 9-2. They were 8 and0 in the division and won the blue division championship. Boys basketball ended the season and they finished second in the blue division championship. For wrestling, they finished with an 8-2 record. Spring sports begin at the at the beginning of March. Information for each sports and physicals
023is posted in the students activities Google classroom. Thank you for your time. >> Oh, thank you, Malla. That is wonderful. [applause] Thank you. >> I need a motion and a second for the approval of minutes from January 22nd, 2026. >> Motion, George. >> Second. Allie. >> Mr. Edwards with the vote. >> Yes. Yes. >> Yes. >> Moving on to superintendent's comments. Dr. Frell. >> Thank you, Mr. Mesmer. We had a busy but bittersweet month for Bricktown School. Lots of trophies on the shelves as you heard and you'll hear more, but some familiar hurdles on the horizon with the budget which I'll talk about a little bit tonight. First, let me congratulate the board of ed first. Um, I know the mayor sent me the letter last month when the mayor did a resolution for January's
024board of education member month. I recognize them here. Um, for all of our board members that do a just phenomenal job. It's a it's a thankless job as I always say, but it's it's volunteer as well. Uh, these jobs. Uh, I will share the resolution in the packet. I will not read all of the resolution, but I want to thank the township uh council as well as the mayor for recognizing our board members in the month of January for board member recognition month. Thank you again board members [applause] and a congratulations to Miss Pala uh for being reappointed to the Brick Township um sustainable committee by the mayor. Thank you for serving on that committee as well. [applause] Uh, a special shout out to our district PTAs. I see Miss Sts uh, sitting here. Uh,
025last Tuesday evening, I was able to attend the Ocean County PTA Founders Day celebration dinner, which was a fantastic night. Uh, Brick Schools was so well represented with eight different school PTAs from brick in attendance alongside some past state and and county presidents that were brick schools PTA. >> brick strong. I mean, I think more than half of that room uh was represented in brick. We had Mrs. Tree and topless as well the vets memorial uh middle school principal as well as myself in attendance. Not to mention this, the evening kicked off with our stellar Bricktownship High School uh jazz band playing some old standards, which was absolutely awesome. Uh just a great night, and it's great that our own uh Kristen Stur serves as the Ocean County PTA president. So, thank you. It was
026an awesome night and thank you for everything you do with PTAs in our district and in the county. [applause] Moving on to our students. Um, our students continue to excel in a variety of areas. Uh, both curricular, co-curricular, on the courts and fields, off the courts and fields in the classrooms. Uh, first, congratulations to all of our fifth grade DARE graduates. I went I was able to attend a few ceremonies. We're so grateful for the Brick Township Police officers and our municipality uh for delivering this critical program that addresses critical risks that our children face today. Uh as you heard some of the congratulatory notes on the sports, I'm going to start with we got a huge uh food service sustainability grant for Bricktown High School and our fantastic food service department worth $5,000. $5,000.
027[applause] It's >> gonna be 15. I just heard I know Mr. Edwards sat through a virtual long meeting [laughter] this afternoon. >> It's going to be 15. Uh this is amazing and it's a tribute and thanks to our fantastic green team. We also got one for Veterans Memorial Middle School for $2,000 uh for this uh sustainability grant. So, fantastic job uh by all them. Congratulations to our newly inducted high school national honor society members. I know uh we had a few induction ceremonies through December and January and I didn't speak at the last month meeting with uh superintendent's comments so I wanted to recognize them. We had our Brick Memorial Mustang players production of Silent Sky which was awesome. We had our uh our recognize our brick memorial mock trial team advance to the county
028championship. I still think they have the brick the the mayor's cup tonight over at town hall between brick and brick brick memorial on that. Um in athletics, as you heard, our co-op combined ice hockey team won the short conference Hansen Cup. If you don't know, it's named after our first athletic director, um Harold Hank Hansen. So, um it's an awesome place to have that, you know, home where it belongs, that cup. Uh they're playing tonight against Manisquan in the second round of the state playoffs. So, awesome job by our hockey team this year with that as well. Uh congratulations Brick Township High School girls swimming team division champs. And we had uh a few of our female athletes recognized at both Brick Memorial and Bricktownship High School. They were recognized at for Ruckers University girls
029in sports as well as our short conference uh national girls in sports day uh for that. And of course you heard the wrestling team captured Brick Memorial wrestling team captured its 20th sectional state championship this year and that's pretty impressive. [applause] Moving on, Brick Memorial Bowling. Both girls and boys bowling teams won county and shore conference championships this past month as well. [applause] So, congratulation to all of our uh students. They continue to excel in so many different areas, you know, in and out of the classroom. Um so, we removed our 2526 revised calendar uh from tonight's board meeting. um as I feel that every time I have it on and approve it, we seem to have a snowstorm right afterwards. So, I'm starting to think it's a little bad luck, but as you all
030are aware, uh due to the inclement weather, our school district calendar continues to be a work in progress. Uh with the way this winter's been going, I just want to hold off a little and have an adjusted plan in place over the next two weeks. I'll continue to communicate this plan with all stakeholders, board of education, parents, students, and staff as soon as possible, and we plan on ratifying that at the March board meeting. But let's hope for no more uh inclement weather days. Um budget process. Every year around this time, I start to uh kind of give the bad news, but at least get us going with what the budget process is, the timeline. I try to provide a succinct summary and put it into common nomenclature. Not like our our business administrator does
031a fantastic job with the budget, but I want to try to make it as simple and easy to understand uh for all of us. Um including explaining the timeline just which recently changed yesterday um and some of our difficulties. If you're new to some of these meetings, uh you'll hear of those difficulties. If you've been coming to some of these meetings in the six years I've been, unfortunately, uh it's kind of the same old story. Um our operating budget is approximately 160 million. 85% of our operating budget is salaries and benefits about 130 million. And that's in a good way. That means we 15% is discretionary expenses. Many other districts, many other operating budgets, salaries and benefits can be 75 to 80%. That tells you we're kind of mean and lean. It's all about our
032people that we have. In addition to the fact that we've cut over 500 positions in the last six years I've been here. Salaries and benefits without any changes in positions or programs, just keep in what we have are projected to increase a little over $6 million. However, our revenue side, what we get in is strictly limited. If we increase our tax levy by the 2% cap, we have approximately 2.7 million in additional revenue. If we once again get 6% in state aid, and I want to say if because we've been hearing some different points, that would add about 900,000 in additional revenue. And that's unlikely from some of the recent conversations we've been having uh with county and state officials. So presently, unless something changes from the state, which every year it seems to change,
033our revenue side can only increase by about $3.64 million. Last year we utilized 3.2 million in surplus to balance the budget. That means we're short about 5.6 million really to start this first iteration as we're going through. We're still meeting with our program managers, our principles and administrators and supervisors uh on that. Even if we could generate a similar and surplus this year and utilize $2 million for next year, of which we have to replenish 2 million for last year, we would still have a projected shortage of $4 million. Unfortunately, this shortfall could mean a reduction in 40 plus FTEES. Every year I say FTE is just a full-time equivalent staff member and that's kind of the worst case scenario for the first iteration of the budget. By the end of March, we'll have to
034submit a tenative budget uh which by law has to be balanced. Mr. Edwards will tell you a tenative budget means absolutely nothing. Um I don't know why they require it uh because things change. Last year, I don't think we finalized our budget to June with all the changes from the state with stabilization aid, etc. Um, and I I want to emphasize the first iteration in my experience here has been the worst case scenario. Um, because we don't even have our state aid numbers yet. Uh, the timeline has been moved back because the the governor's budget address was moved back. we have a new governor. So, our budget numbers were pushed back. So, I I actually think we're pushing back one of our board meetings like a week um to submit the tenative budget. And then
035in April, we usually finalize our budget, but the last few years that has not been the case. We've actually have pushed that date a few months on. So, we're still hearing from the state regarding our actual numbers, potential waiverss, maybe additional stabilization aid like we did this year. So, we expect the budget to evolve over the coming months. Uh, please know we're in the very very very early phases. Uh, as I said, ongoing discussions are still being had with program managers. Um, okay. I did I talked about the county submission has been moved as well as the timeline for from the governor's budget address. you know, be assured that as we navigate these financial complexities, I want to emphasize we still have a strong commitment to our students. I know every board member here, every
036administrator uh looks at our students as our compass, our north star. And while the preliminary budget figures present a significant challenge, uh we will continue to advocate for the resources our schools deserve both on the state, I've been doing it on the national level as well a few weeks ago and on the local level as well. Um because we want to continue and our schools deserve that continued recognition of celebrating all the achievements of our students and staff. We appreciate the community's support and patience. I say this every year. I I refuse to say that we do more with less anymore. I I'm I'm actually embarrassed by saying that. Um and I do think our state needs to really change this budget formula and I'm hoping that that is the case uh with the new
037governor. But we can continue um we appreciate the community's continued patience and support as we finalize this budget that really honors our district's mission and goals. uh moving forward. Lastly, just uh a reminder, I hope to end on a positive note here in superintendent's comments. Lastly, a reminder, please join us for the celebration of our visual and performing art programs on March 5th at the district arts festival which will take place at Brick Township High at 5 from 5:30 to 8:30. Dr. Cian, I think 5:30 to 8:30. Um, one of our stellar events, annual events. I think it was the first event I went to when I started March 1st, 2020. Six years ago, I started and I I think we joked it was like a super spreader. I never saw that many people at
038a school district event. I walked around, met so many people uh thousands uh of parents and students at all grade levels. So, if you get a chance, I encourage you to get out to Brick High uh on March 5th for our district arts festival. Thank you. >> [applause] >> Thank you, Dr. Farrell. Uh, moving on to committee reports. CNI, Dr. Anderson. Oh, thank you, Mr. Mesmer. The CNI committee met on February 6th at 10:00 in attendance for Mrs. Bala, the chairperson, Mrs. De Benedictus, Mr. Henry, Miss Munz, our elementary ELA and science and social studies and K to2 ESL supervisor. uh Mrs. Bey, our uh elementary math and science and Excel and Title One supervisor, uh Dr. Farrell and myself. Um first, we reviewed the uh items on this month's agenda, field trips and student
039teacher placements. Since we met, we did add three grants on this month's agenda, and I'm really excited about them. Uh one is for uh high impact tutoring. the state is offered a grant in which we're eligible to receive $320,000 assuming we meet the um the award um the requirements of the award and so um that would allow us to provide tutoring next year um uh for our third through fifth grade students. So really hoping to receive that award. We also have a a STEM grant that we put in for to try to get some robotics uh for our high schools. Uh and also the preK uh submitted an application to have a rating evaluation of the program. And so those are three things that were added um and that are on this month's agenda. We
040also looked at our mid-year benchmark assessments um which we used to track student progress and idea identify areas of instructional intervention. Miss Munz provided a review of the results from Dibbles and Lexi assessments and Mrs. Bey provided an analysis of I Ready mid-year diagnostic reports. Uh I shared the systemic improvement model that drives our student achievement and components of the model include our multi-tered system of support, our intervention, our interventionists, our coaches, our teachers, extended day and enrichment support. Mrs. Bey provided an overview of our enrichment program which is called Excel. It stands for enrichment of exceptional creative engaged learners. She highlighted a field trip that the Excel students took to visit uh Mr. Shley's AP course in which they conduct experiments in his hydroponic and aquaponic lab. Additionally, I highlighted the success of our
041STEM program. Mrs. Pierce, the STEM coordinator, has done an amazing job preparing our students for the New Jersey school board steam challenge. All nine STEM team projects were accepted into the competition, which was actually, fun fact, developed by Mr. Henry several years ago. Um, and then I decided to take a look at our community engagement and our part community partnerships. Um, and I provided them with some updates uh, regarding important dates. Uh, we have NJGPA coming up. Um, that's going to be the week of March 16th. We're also going to be publishing our brick bridge at the winter edition and uh report cards and I Ready and Dibble's midyear reports were posted and sent home on February 6th. Um and I just wanted to share with you this presentation will be uh put on our
042board agenda on our uh website rather. Um, I recently had an opportunity to meet with our dedicated school counselors and they were just so impressive and it was just so deeply moving to hear all the work that goes on in our schools during holiday time to make sure our families have what they need. And so I asked one of the counselors, Karen Nagel, who's the vets elementary school counselor, to lead the counselors in compiling a list of all of our initiatives, the things that we're doing to support um our families and in partnership with our community and I I shared this presentation. Uh we have over 25 partner organizations and by no way is this ex lost this list exhaustive because there's still so many more um partners within our community that are did you
043know that are uh behind the scenes supporting families. We supported over a thousand families and all 12 schools um were supported. um all the the community members in that um identified by our counselors were supported. Our partnership um exists of organizations such as the Salvation Army, the Knights of Columbus, our police athletic league, our seeds of service which operates as uh an outgrowth of visitation church, uh brick morning rotary club, our brick elks club, and our brick Presbyterian church and so many more. But those are the the major organizations that are supporting our community um at all levels. Uh whether you're working at Warren Wolf and Herbertsville with Stephanie Shade or at Emma Havens with Stephanie Bono Gray and Carly Cura or Lanes Mill with Jen Fabo. They are working tirelessly to support our families.
044Denise Worth is at Drum Point. At Vets Sal it's Karen Yeel and Jennifer Holland. At Midstreams, we have Lauren Odok. Uh at Osborneville, we have Dr. Brett Novik, who by the way is retiring this year. And over the last several years, has worked with the Salvation Army to collect $200,000 in donations for our district. And so, he has really led the way in in that that support for our community. At the middle school level, we have Kate Hendrickson. At Vets Middle, at Lake Riviera. At Vets Middle, we have Barbara Favado. And at the high schools, we have Angela Smith who's coordinates that as being the uh supervisor of guidance, and Kevin Mcnite at Brook Memorial. Um, but the work they did, and I could go into such detail about all of the schools and all
045of their initiatives. Um, so please take some time to review this on our district website. Um, because it's not just about them reaching out to organizations and having uh, you know, donations in terms of food and clothing and um, gift cards. We also are having our students support our students with our early act clubs and our interact clubs and our giving dragons. So those are just some examples of things that we are doing to help make our kids um more supportive of each other and also to fulfill our district mission statement which is to you know help them to be altruistic in their future. So by the numbers in terms of collective impact we supported over a thousand students and families. All 12 schools participated whether it were holiday gifts, Thanksgiving meals, Christmas meals, food
046pantries, clothing and supplies. Um it just has an huge impact on our on the families who would need it most. And that's not to even mention our private donors. We have many private donors for this this district including uh Pine Belt Chevrolet um has paid off our uh balances for our uh free and reduced lunch students in the past. Uh we also have our PTAs who've done an incredible job, you know, leading the the support for their school communities and our PTOs as well. So, if anybody wants to donate or get involved, uh please you can reach out to me. You can reach out um on our district website or any of the coordinators I mentioned. Uh it's their first initial of their first name and their last name at brickschools.org. Um because together we're
047really doing a lot to change lives and I'm just so proud of them. So, I thought I'd share that with you today. [applause] Thank you, Dr. Anderson. Moving on to facilities and finance, Mr. Edwards. >> Yes, thank you. Uh facilities committee meeting was held on February 18th. In attendance were Miss Kennedy, Miss Pala, Mr. Henry, Dr. Farah, myself, Mr. Porio, Miss Kashman from Sweet Architectural, Mr. Dubovich from FVHD Architectural, and Mr. Yor from Neta. Uh first item of business we discussed was the Midstream's elementary school kitchen edition. Mr. Yur informed the committee that uh we're still waiting on a table for the project to be closed out depending delivery. It was originally scheduled to be delivered February 15th uh and that he's reached out to the contractor to get a revised delivery date. Warren HW
048Wolf um air conditioning Mr. Y informed the committee that the work is substantially complete. He indicated that the testing and balancing report is scheduled for next week. He noted that the estimated close out on the project is approximately four weeks. Herbitsville air conditioning. Mr. Yur informed the committee that the radiator removal has been completed. He indicated that an electrical change order needs to be discussed with the contractor totaling approximately $12,000. He noted that the estimated completion time frame of the project is approximately four weeks with the remaining work being testing and balancing and that is scheduled for the spring break. Osborneville Kitchen Edition, Miss Cashman informed the committee that the final walkthrough was completed. She indicated that the contractor is adjusting the punch list corrections and the closeouts are in progress. Midstream's air conditioning. Miss
049Cashman informed the committee that the punch list was performed on Monday 216. She noted that the sub code official is reviewing ballard requirements. She also indicated that the electrical engineer is still reviewing the solar panel degradation issue as it relates to the future electrical demands of the building. Osmerville air conditioning. Miss Cashman informed the committee that the punch list was performed on uh 216 as well. She noted that the coordination is ongoing for remaining inspections and documentation for closeout. Bricktownship High School ADA chairlifts. Miss Kashman informed the committee that her firm visited the site and has provided a proposal to conduct an assessment in order to develop the project estimates. I informed the committee that uh I preferred a ramp solution over the lifts due to long-term maintenance concerns. I noted that I would review
050the proposal and get back to the committee. At that point, all of the architects left the meeting. Uh snow procedures. Mr. Preorio discussed with the committee snow procedures for the district. He indicated that the snow operations plan is now being reviewed, including assignments and equipment deployment. Miss Kennedy asked what equipment the district has in regards to snow removal. Mr. Pory responded that the equipment includes plows, trucks, I'm sorry, plow trucks, UTVs, tractors, and grounds maintenance support staff. He noted that there were many challenges during the recent storm and thank the township for their assistance. He noted that future operations will place emphasis on building access for teachers and staff during the storm response and the next meeting date is me is uh March 10th. Next, finance. Finance committee also met on February 18th 4:45. Mr.
051Mesmer, Miss Kennedy, Dr. Farrell, myself, and Miss Richardson. Um first item, Dr. Farrell discussed with the committee the need for larger capital improvements in accordance with the strategic plan. He noted that improvements are too large to be included in the regular budget and therefore a future referendum should be considered. He indicated that more discussion should occur over future meetings to determine projects costs and timing. Cafeteria operations. Myself and Miss Richardson discussed plans to increase spending in the cafeteria operations so that future cash reserves do not exceed the maximum allowed. I discussed the cafeteria office current staffing and proposed future staffing. Miss Richardson discussed future healthy menu options to add to the healthy options already offered. Dr. Farrell suggested doing a parent survey to get feedback on options to be offered. Mr. Mesmer indicated that the
052issue the district has is a good one. That is that we're actually have too much money in that program and that it should be promoted as good news, which we're working on. State aid litigation. Dr. Farrell informed the committee that he is working with the attorney to obtain parent and student names to be added to the litigation on behalf of the district to support the case that the lack of state aid has caused educational shortcomings for students. uh the 220 202627 budget. I informed the committee that the state will most likely push back the budget process as it's rumored the governor will not give the budget address until March 10th. As Dr. Faron indicated, now we do know that that did happen. Um I also noted that it the tenative budget submission was going to
053be pushed back uh in the March meeting. We would need to change in order to make adjustments to the budget on state A is known. So, we do know that I did do it. So, just to get off the minutes for a second, um surveyed all of you as far as moving the meeting from March 19th to the 26th. We have four board members who've confirmed they can make it. So, I think we should move ahead with that. So, um uh >> yeah, we'll we'll take care of that tomorrow. All right. Uh one board member gave me a maybe Mr. Henry, right? He's he's got he has a prior commitment at one of our elementary schools that >> Is that going to be six o'clock? >> I assume so. Yeah. Yeah. >> Okay. >> Yeah.
054So, we have a we have four confirmations. One maybe. Um and I'm still waiting on the other two. I two non-responses at this point. Uh next, Schneider Electric contract. I informed the committee of a contract with a vendor for work on the HVAC unit at the technology center server room in which the vendor would like the state governing the law governing law to be Massachusetts rather than New Jersey. Uh the board of attorney did not recommend that we move that to Massachusetts. The committee discussed the potential of seeking another vendor to do the work. I indicated that we would review it further with the um with the facilities department to determine if there's another option that could be attained. Bus cameras. I informed the committee that 67 buses now have camera systems. Of the 30
055that are still waiting, uh nine have been purchased and are in the installation process. Since our meeting, those have been done. So, those are now taken care of. 10 are on order with the New Jersey SIG safety grant. Uh those 10 just came in, so they'll be done next week. And 11 are being ordered with uh breakage funds for the current year from salaries uh in the transportation department so that by the end of the year, all the buses will have active camera systems. Sustainable School Food Service and Cafeteria Initiative. Dr. Frell informed the committee that Brick Township High School worked with Miss Richardson to apply and obtain a grant from the sustainable jerseys for schools. Um, as noted earlier, it's a $5,000 grant with the eligibility to obtain another 10,000, which Dr. Cajun indicated
056to me earlier that we will get. >> He's pretty confident. Yeah, he's confident. I like it. Um, next meeting March 10th. And that's all I have. Thank you, Mr. Edwards. >> I got applause. All right. >> Applause. >> You got applause. I didn't [applause] >> You didn't have >> some good news in there. >> All right. This will be the first opportunity for public comment and will be for agenda items only. Each participant is asked to give his or her name prior to making a statement. All statements shall be directed to the presiding officer. Comments shall be limited to 5 minutes. Anybody have public comments on agenda items? >> All right. Hi, I'm Kristen Sts. Um, I didn't really plan on speaking at this portion, but since you brought it up, I just want to
057say thank you for um, spotlighting those community partnerships that happens. Thankfully to one of them were on the agenda tonight for the Brick Morning Rotary Club. gave us a significant amount of money to purchase racks and stuff to get a food pantry going at Vets Middle. Um, so we're following in the footsteps of Vets Elementary and Leadeds Mill. I know they've got them operating. So completely generous and fantastic. And I really hate asking parents for money when we don't have to. If there's really great opportunities out there, I don't have anything solid yet, but I did have a call last week with United Way who wants to pilot with us and then expand into other Ocean County schools. So, that might be another opportunity for all of us. Um, and then the budget. I wasn't
058expecting you to bring it up tonight, but I have a little bit of a positive light. Next week, March 2nd through the 4th is the National Legislative Conference in Washington DC. We do have eight representatives from New Jersey going. I sent a survey out to my school. I got two responses. So, if there's anybody that wants to share anything to go to our legislators at DC, feel free to reach out to me and we will it's a strength numbers thing really. If nobody's participating in the surveys, how are they going to hear our voices? So, if there's anything you would like me to share with them, I've got the state president's cell phone number. I will call her tonight. If there's anything else you guys would like to share. So, that's all I have for
059this. I'll be back at the second part. >> Thank you. [applause] Thank you, Kristen. Um, as I said last summer, so I'm on the national governing board for superintendents and we actually went down to DC last summer. I was representing region six. Um we met with many of our federal legislators, um congressmen, senators, um both sides of the aisle in their offices. Cool part I shared last summer, um you know, they talk about underground tunnels with like a little rail that goes from the capital to the Senate building or to the congress. It exists. I uh able was to get down there and come up through the capital rotunda. That was pretty cool. But we've been advocating and it has actually helped in federal funding. Last year we saw a slight increase in our federal
060funds. Um but you know our fight has been for six years. I don't want to pinpoint our fight but as you know we've lost 207 27 million in state funding in a six-year period. So, um, you know, and that's been really a tough fight. I know when I first got here, we had parent groups. We were going to Trenton. Uh, Mr. Edwards, myself, we testify at Trenton. This board has been tremendously supportive in helping that. Um, but yeah, any help we could get, whether it's on the national level or not, I do think we should try to focus on our state level though because that's really the best bang for our buck and where we need the most help. So, I wanted to share that with you. Anyone else for public comment on agenda items?
061>> Okay, moving on. Uh, Dr. Anderson, can you introduce curriculum and instruction, please? >> Thank you, Mr. Mesmer. Under curriculum instruction, the superintendent recommends that the board approve items 1 through six. >> I need a motion and a second. >> Motion, Alie. >> Second, George. >> Mr. Edwards with the vote. >> Miss Pala. Oh, sorry. >> Miss Pala. >> Yes. >> Mr. Henry. >> Yes. >> Mr. Malieri. >> Yes. >> M. Miss Kennedy. >> Yes. >> Mr. Mesmer. >> Yes. >> Up next, Mr. Edwards. Can you introduce operations? >> Uh, yes. Superintendent recommends that the board approves items one through Hold on. Mary didn't give me my numbers. Where's she at? Mary. 1 through >> 20 20 >> 20 >> I need a motion and a second. >> Motion Alley. >> Second. George. >> Mr.
062Edwards with the vote. >> Miss Pala. >> Yes. >> Mr. Henry. >> Yes. >> Mr. Malerie. >> Yes. >> Miss Kennedy? >> Yes. >> Mr. Mesmer? >> Yes. >> Dr. Anderson, can you please introduce human resources? Thank you, Mr. Mr. Mesmer. Under uh human resources, the superintendent recommends that the board approve items 1 through 31. >> Need a motion and a second. >> Motion, George. >> Second, John. >> Mr. Edwards with the vote. >> Miss Pala, >> yes. >> Mr. Henry, >> yes. >> Mr. Malieri, >> yes. >> Miss Kennedy, >> yes. >> Mr. Mesma, >> yes. I just want to welcome any of our new hirees like I always do every month and congratulate our retirees as well. So, welcome and congratulations. >> Any [applause] new hires? Congratulations. Moving on to policy and planning.
063Dr. Anderson. >> Thank you, Mr. Mesmer. Under policy and planning, the superintendent recommends that the board approve item one. >> I need a motion and a second. >> Motion, Ali. >> Second, George. >> Vote, please. Mr. Edwards. >> Miss Pala? >> Yes. >> Mr. Henry? >> Yes. >> Mr. Malerie? >> Yes. >> Miss Kennedy? >> Yes. >> Mr. Mesmer? >> Yes. >> Okay, moving on. Uh this will be the second opportunity for public comment. Each participant is asked to give his or her name prior to making a statement. All statements shall be directed to the presiding officer. The board is not required to respond to comments during this session, but may address them during the board's comment section. Comment shall be limited to five minutes. Do I have anyone with public comment? Good evening, ladies
064and gentlemen. I'm Susan Richards here on R. Richards, R I C H A R Ds, on behalf of Miss Jamie Kerr, K E R. Good evening. Uh it's been brought to my attention that there have been some uh incidents of discrimination against Cadence Kerr, Jaime's daughter, uh discrimination and willful and gross negligence. So, I'd like to start off with that. Uh I wanted to start off with uh the IEP for Cadence. We need the IEP rewritten. Uh, Cadence has I'm gonna go on the record here. >> So, Miss, if I may, and whoever is controlling the uh clock, if you could please pause it. So, Miss um I think you said it was Miss Richards or Pritchards. >> Richards. Richards. Richards. >> Uh, Miss Richards. So, you are entitled to read what you prepared there.
065You can talk about the IEP. You can make the allegations that you have to say. Um, but I will just caution you that this isn't a congressional hearing. This isn't a question and answer uh session. You can ask questions. I would recommend that the board not respond to them because this isn't the appropriate place for this. If you have an issue with the IEP, child study team is the way to go. If you believe >> I have a couple of issues, the IEP is just is >> part and parcel. It sounds like >> the least of them actually. >> Understood. And if you have allegations like you say that there's gross willful negligence, um the proper form for that is court. Now, like I said, you are free to voice your displeasure. You're free to
066bring this to the board. Uh, but the board will not be commenting on these allegations because this isn't the proper forum for it. But that said, I just want to make sure that you understood that before you continued. And if you had questions or expected responses or answers from the board, you won't be getting them tonight. So, as long as that's clear, um, you can continue. >> That's fine. If you don't want to rectify what's the what's taking place against Cadence, that's fine. That's not what I said. So, just to be clear, I'm not saying that if you have something because right now they're just allegations and again, they may be true, they may be false. Um, all I'm saying is that this isn't the proper forum. Um, >> okay. I just want to go
067on the record. >> You certainly can. You certainly can, but I just wanted to be clear that I'm not saying that I want this board to not rectify a problem if it exists. I'm just stating that this isn't the proper place to be having these comments. That there's a better forum potentially for it. That is all. So, go ahead. >> Okay. So, I just want to go on the record. Um, as I said, I wanted uh the IEP rewritten. Cadence has a nurse. I'm a nurse, by the way, ladies and gentlemen. Uh, she has a nurse. Uh, this is from her progress report from her doctor's notes. She has a 2Q depletion, a 16p depletion, a chromosomal abnormality. >> She has cerebral palsy. She has a hearing deficit. She's on the spectrum, autism spectrum. She
068has global developmental delay, a history of recurrent uh UTI, moderate hearing loss to the left ear. She has some gate abnormalities, sensory processing disorder, speech aria, and most concerning, she has seizures. Uh, it's been brought to my attention that the nurse is not allowed to be in the classroom with Cadence. Uh, in light of these mor co-orbidities that she has, that nurse must be in the classroom with her. She has seizures. Ladies and gentlemen, if she has a seizure and the nurse is in the library as she has been told to remain in the library until there's a need uh for the restroom, what can happen to Cadence? She can have a grand mall. She can go into a coma. Something more catastrophic. I don't even want to say the word. Something catastrophic can happen.
069She has to have a nurse with her at all times. I've never heard of a nurse assigned to a child relegated to the library. That's unacceptable. She need We need the IEP to be rewritten and we need the IEP to reflect that Cadence needs a nurse not in the library. She needs a nurse with her in the classroom at all times. So, that's uh one of the topics. Uh since I'm on the nurse uh since I'm on the topic about the nurse right now, I wanted to stay on that. Uh there was a a class trip to the mall, a CBI class trip to the mall a few weeks ago, uh where Cadence came home very upset. She was not allowed to purchase a sweater that she wanted. I think it was at Old Navy
070or a store of that nature. The mother had sent money with her, sufficient money to make whatever purchase she wanted. She was told she was not allowed to make that purchase. Uh that evening, Cadence was mortified. She could not stop crying. She couldn't fall asleep. When she the mother finally did put her to sleep, she was unable to remain asleep. She was so upset. When this was brought up, when my client brought this up to the teacher, the teacher uh said that this that basically this didn't take place. She said they had a specific amount of time. This is from the notes, the response to the of the teacher to my client. We had a specific amount of time for shopping prior to prior to lunch. The last store requested was Old Navy. Uh we
071gathered a group and we were exiting K and scrabbed the sweater and wanted it to be purchased. It was not an item she had been looking she had been looking at during that time in our store. My discouragement in her making the purchase was solely due to being an impulse buy. Um my discouragement had nothing to do with the price of the item or the money. Uh so on and so forth for brevity. I know we have five minutes here to be succinct. That's what she said. Uh, and she the teacher denies that Cadence was upset. But I have here a statement from her nurse that remain the nurse that remains in the li in the library. And here it is. This is verbatim from the nurse. >> You have 15 seconds just to let
072you know. >> Anyway, the nurse says, "I was going to text you yesterday. Kay wanted to tell you herself." She went to Old Navy and was looking for clothes. She wanted to The nurse wanted to buy the the sweater herself. The teacher forbade the nurse from purchasing a gift for Cadence. Uh I have other things. Uh there's a play. >> Your time is expired, miss. So, and again, I appreciate you giving this comment and I will just reiterate one time when before you go. Before you go, it's just that this board is not trying to silence you. We are not trying to cast judgment on whether or not your allegations are true. Those things, if they are true, are concerning. Um but like I say, this is not the avenue for it. the superintendent can
073be contacted if you'd like to continue this discussion there. I would deeply recommend that you get in touch with a child study team and have them retain an attorney to possibly file something either in the OA or the court. But that said, I can't give you legal advice. >> I'm not asking for it. I'd like to formally request at this time 60 seconds. >> No, the that is not something that is contemplated within our policies. >> May I ask the superintendent? May I address the superintendent? >> Mr. Superintendent, may I ask for 60 seconds of your time and then I will sit down. >> After meeting, I'll see you. Hang out. >> Thank you, sir. Thank you. >> Thank you. Anyone else have public comment? I'm back. Um, Kristen starts again. So, I just wanted
074to say thank you to Dr. Frell, George, and John for coming to several events we had. Uh, including the founders day. It was great to have some representation. Um, and they the the gentleman here at the end came to our healthy lifestyles fair event and of course it snowed like unbelievable. We still had 150 people come. They both showed up. I think it's great when we can show each other support like I come to your meetings, you come to mine. Um, [laughter] so I just wanted to thank you guys for doing that. And we do have another event if you'd like to come. We're doing it for the first time ever, a STEM event. I know John will be there [laughter] on uh March 26. It's a Thursday. Um, it's the first time we're doing
075it. We're trying to get some more family events. >> The next board meeting is going to be that date. >> No, it's not. It's the 19th. Did you change it? >> Mr. Ed, [sighs and gasps] >> what time? >> 6:00. >> It's right across the street. You can run over for a second. [laughter] >> It's 5 to 8. >> You can make a stop over. Um, but we're do we're definitely trying to get some more family engagement events and stuff and focusing on health and STEM and arts and more things like that. And I don't know if this would be the appropriate forum to ask, but because there is the district art festival next week, is there an opportunity because the next national PTA reflections arts program kicks off April 1st. Is there any possibility
076of like a table or promoting because I'd love to see more schools actually participate in it. Um because there are grant and scholarship opportunities for kids that excel up the levels. I don't know who the who's in charge of it. >> You're going to like [snorts] me or hate me, but I'll be there. [laughter] >> Oh, I got her emailing. Oh, yeah. And I don't know what I was thinking. That band was fantastic that came to Founders Day. I don't know what I was thinking. And I thought it was going to be like eight kids in a jazz band and it was amazing. >> Oh my 25 of them came. They took up the whole front of the room. They were fantastic. I don't think they wanted to leave. I think they would have stayed
077all night if we let them. Um and they said they would come to any event in the future, too. So I will gladly have them. So that's all I got. Thank you guys. >> Thank [applause] you. >> Mrs. Tree and Topless wanted me to do a shout out because that January 29th event was amazing and there were so many vendors, 30 vendors, 150 participants. It was just fantastic. So, thank you for spearheading that and very excited about March 26th. >> Any other comments? >> Any other uh public comment? >> Seeing none. >> Yeah, Mr. Pharaoh. I I just wanted to add to reiterate I see a lot of new people in the audience. So um over the last year in second public comment um we take all public comments not a Q&A and anything that
078I need to address I will make sure any person's concerns are connected to either the right administrator or at least help them navigate uh the process. Um especially when it comes to special education. Many of the parents out here understand that there's a real fine legal process that has to be adhered to um in many areas and working your way up that chain of command or chain of communication and then exhausting it and getting an advocate will only benefit you and your child. And I'll be glad to stay afterwards and at least help point some people in the right direction. obviously not giving any advice or talking because even the superintendent does not get involved with IEPs which is a legal contract. Um I'm sure you've heard about other administrators that if you do override
079those kind of process um you could be in trouble or the district could but I could definitely help you navigate that process, point you in the right direction. Also make sure that that concern is going up the appropriate channel and getting to the right people. All right. But that always helps um us and board members and administrators uh before board members. So if if we can uh try to do it that way, it makes it a lot easier on everybody involved. Um so to get back to you, Mrs. Kirk, right? Miss Kirk >> Richards, I'm sorry. >> Miss Kirk's your client. I will see you afterwards. I'll help. We'll even walk to my office a little uh try to point you in the right direction moving forward and give you my number and we can
080follow up. You're welcome. Okay. Uh, moving on to board comment. Um, who's George at the end there? >> Yes, please. Thank you very much, President Mesmer. First of all, thank you all very much to everyone for coming out this evening. Uh, anyone watching at home or watching on YouTube live, thank you very much. Uh, we always appreciate uh your interest uh and concerns and comments, whatever you may have. Uh, thank you for everyone who has made any sort of contribution, continues to do so in the district. uh teachers, faculty, staff, um certainly on behalf of our students and uh thank you to our uh residents and our taxpayers who make all that we do possible. Um Dr. Frell, thank you for what you've mentioned for schoolboards recognition month. Uh actually, I still have the um
081resolution that you gave us. I didn't realize I never took it out of my binder. Uh that was very nice of you. Thank you. And I'd like to thank the mayor and council here in Brick Township for their recognition. I was able to attend that event with uh Mr. Henry uh and Misty Benedictus uh to receive recognition on behalf of the work that's done by school boards across the state of New Jersey, including ours in here in Brick Township. And um in that spirit uh to uh Kristen Stirts because you're out in the audience tonight, thank you very much for all that you do for uh the PTA uh and anyone who's involved in the PTA or PTO at the high school, middle, elementary, preK level, uh across this district. um and all the different
082events that we had in the likes of Founders Day. Um the different shows that we've had, whether that be at Brick Memorial High School with a Silent Sky and um the band concerts. We had the North Side concert where we had a Midstream School, Veterans Memorial Elementary School. Uh Lanes Middle School, that was wonderful. Uh the Drum Point Road uh band concert. Uh I got to know Dr. Odd a little bit better. Uh our new principal there. That was my elementary school growing up. Uh, and it's nice to have uh a new uh and friendly steady hand there uh because they were looking for one for a long time. And actually, it's interesting. He's uh not only a friendly person, he's a neighbor. He lives in my neighborhood. Uh I was able to realize that.
083So, make a new friend out of someone in the district. And um the work of individuals such as uh Miss Cloud and Miss Harrington. Uh their band concert was wonderful at Emma Haven's Young School. Uh I would like to congratulate the students who graduated from DARE. I went to their ceremony at Veterans Memorial Elementary School. I was there with Dr. Frell and Mr. Henry. Um and uh one of our members of the township council, Lisa Serena, was there as well. And um I'm sorry that I couldn't make it to anytime I can't make it to any particular event. In this case, the Osborne Bill and Lanes Mill Dare graduations. I was sick that whole week. Um so I apologize for that. And um I could go on, but but most of you probably like to
084go home. It's cold. Uh the the good news is the next time that we meet it's not going to be like this most likely because it'll be our first official springtime meeting. We'll be out of winter by then. Muritz, I'm sorry that we can't necessarily stay for the whole time at the event to which you alluded. Thank you. I I don't want to sound um like some sort of um kromagin necessarily, but in all sincerity given what's manifested tonight, uh frankly we this is because we're waiting on the budget address. So uh if she were here tonight, I'd say, "Governor Cheryl, could you please move this a little earlier so we could do it?" But I [laughter] I don't know if that's going to happen, but anyway, uh we'll see what happens. Uh anything new
085and exciting potentially hopefully positive uh manifestations for this district. Uh thank you all very much. >> Thank you. Thank you. >> Thanks, George. >> Thank you, George. I always appreciate your comments and and Kristen, by the way, really really nice job. Well done on the on the healthy lifestyle fair. Um, I think there was like you said 150 people there, the 30 plus vendors and and and George and I really enjoy being there. So, thank you for that. Great job. So, I want to put a little context to the steam tank challenge that we had nine teams actually um get selected to move on to the semifinals. 610 applications or teams submitted this year because I had talked to the coordinator just a little while ago. So that means out of 610 teams, nine teams
086were selected to move through from brick alone. So they have to face the challenge of um going through the next round of judging and I believe there's going to probably select about 300 teams actually went through. So of those 300, nine of them were our teams. It was great. So I also had the honor to be invited in to mentor some of those teams. Um I met at Brick High School. I met three or four teams um a couple weeks ago and I will be going into Brick Memorial to mentor probably three or four additional teams next week as well. So I love doing that with the teams because their innovation and their creativity whether they're solving a problem or they're inventing something or they're, you know, creating something sustainable that makes their environment a
087better place. Whatever they're doing, it is incredible what the students are doing. So I really look forward to that. I also attended the um the play Silent Sky that was put on by the Brick Memorial High School Mustang Players. And so for those of you who don't know what that is about, that was about a 19th century astronomer Henrietta Levit who um was and in that day astronomers who were females were not really recognized as full astronomers. They were just kind of more like secretaries or documenting or data collectors. So she kind of that was the story of her rising to the top and really demonstrating perseverance, science, and really the role of women in history. So I thought it was well done, you know, and I've been to other plays before with musicals. This
088was different because this was a story. These kids were really into drama and acting and it was well done. So um I'm glad I had the opportunity to attend that. So, and as George said, I want to thank everybody for attending tonight and your comments or comments and your time spent here is always I mean always appreciate it. So, thank you and have a pleasant night and safe travels home. >> Thank you, John. >> Thanks, John. >> I just want to start uh try and try to piggyback on what we talked about legislative advocacy. I I get a lot of training from the New Jersey School Board Association and we have a a full-time lobbyist too actually that are known to our legislators and we're always being taught how to connect to certain bills, budget
089issues, different things. So, the New Jersey Senate Education Committee has several new and reintroduced bills coming through this spring. Um, they meet on Thursday or Monday at the State House annex at 10:00 a.m. The the the website is NJ.state.nj. us. You can follow a bill. Um you you know you could say you know I'm uh I want to favorite this bill and then every time there's a hearing on it or something uh a motion or a vote you'll get notifications so you can um watch that. Um that's on advocacy. I do want to shout out a couple things on the agenda and what happened in in schools the last couple of weeks. Congrats to brick hockey. Um great job mock trial. We are so proud of you. You are a great display of dedication to
090excellence in our district. Um I saw some pictures of the 100th day of school. Uh they were hysterical. What a blast. the kind is that kindergarten >> elementary >> or elementary >> and I saw I saw several >> I saw several Mr. hero look alikes. Um the one of the things I I just wanted to mention was about the partnership health centers and what was on the agenda tonight and what's been going on in the district. It really appears to be a a great decision and very successful for the district, a great service that we can offer to our our uh faculty and staff. It it's just a wonderful program and if you don't know about it, go on the website and look it up. Um it's a great convenience for our young teachers and
091young young families. Um, I want to thank Tim Purio, the custodians, the maintenance workers, the transportation staff, uh, everybody who grabbed a shovel. Um, I just want to encourage Dr. Farrell, please do not hate snow. He told me he hates snow because it takes so much planning and and rigor. He used to love it. I'm going to get you a new sled. So, [snorts] um, I really appreciate all the efforts that everybody did to pull through with delayed openings and everything else. And I especially appreciate the patience of the parents waiting to get their kids on school buses. I know that's um that's a big deal. I'm going to miss a couple great events coming up in March. The STEM showcase, the arts council, the special ed resource and transition fair, um chorus and plays.
092It's just um I'm like a little busy this month and I can't make those events, but they are worth everybody's attention and time because you never saw anything until you saw our um our uh special education resource evening. Uh it's a great thing that the district does for the kids and for the parents. Thank you. I'll see you. And and I really do appreciate all the patience with the snow and the ice. It's just so unbelievable. Today I was pulling out of my street and there was this gigantic construction vehicle from the county and there were three um men digging something out. And as I drove by them, I rolled down my window and I said, "Thank you. Thank you so much." And I never saw bigger smiles. And they waved back to me and
093they felt good being appreciated. And I think we just need to pass that on to our own uh staff. Thank you. [applause] >> Thanks, Victoria. >> All right. First and foremost, a little update, but Brick is beating Manisquan 0ero to one in the second period. That's 0 to1. We're up. They just scored. It was 000 at the end of the first period. So, so sorry that you see me over here like I'm getting updates. So, it was 0 to zero at the end of the first period and now we're up zero to one with a beautiful goal and the boys are on fire. That's what I'm being told. So, um Okay, now so I can read my notes. Um, I just want to give a shout out to the green team at BTHS for your
094$5,000 grant. Congratulations to VMMS for your 2025 sustainable grant. Thank you to VMMS PTA. Kristen, you're such a rock star for the two iPads that you donated. Thank you to the VMMS PTA and Brick Morning Rotary Club for the racks and the garment rack. Um, and I have a note here. Kristen would love to hear what you're doing with this, but you already told us a food pantry. I love that. I love that. Um, thank you to the anonymous donor for the $2,000 towards our cafeteria program. Um, thank you to Dr. Richard Caldez for $700 in tools and ground maintenance supplies for our facilities department. Congratulations to Warren Wolf. Did I is this right that they won the $1,000 Grow New Jersey Kids Rating Student Activity Award? I wasn't jumping ahead. Right. All right. So,
095congratulations to Warren Wolf. um uh for that award. Go Janick. Um the what is this? Motions Center for Independent Living Partnership to provide pre-employment training services for our students. I love that. That was awesome. Um congratulations to our retirees and welcome to our new hires. Thank you to our volunteer coaches and adviserss. You know, our our teams aren't just one coach. We there's several coaches and like you've heard we we don't have a million dollars to be paying them all. So some of them are paid and some of them are paid pitily little amounts. But you know so to give your time and energy to our students is just I'm so grateful for that because without so many of you um we just wouldn't be able to do it. In particular I'm going to shout
096out to Coach Brown who's a volunteer coach at BMHS for the golf team in the spring. Um, I appreciate you because without you, we wouldn't have that JV squad. Um, Coach Jalanskis does a great job with our varsity kids, but we need you, Coach Brown. So, thank you for that. Um, thank you, Dr. Farrell and your Farrell and the team for listening to our concerns and questions about the calendar. I know you probably can't stand when you're doing an update because, you know, I'm the first person on the telephone. So, um, thank you for pulling it and let's let's get back to that. Um, okay. Now, um, two things I want to shout out. The STEM seminar, I can't see any of you without my glasses, but I can't see my notes with my glasses.
097So, the STEM seminar on March 10th. I've told you all that I'm a class of 2026 parent, which is crazy. Um, but my son has been in the STEM Academy for four years and they present their passion projects. Um, so this is very like I chuckle about this. So my son's passion project for his STEM senior project is the traffic flow pattern at Brick Memorial High School in the morning. So this kid has been working on different ideas and he's got three different presentations of of how we can do it with our current current No, he's he's gone back and forth. They've Yeah, they've um like the project we can do with no money and a project we can do with no budget. And it's really like it's really but these kids have fantastic projects.
098So if you have some time on March 10th, you should definitely get out there. It's really um it's really a great event. Congratulations to all our sports team. My phone is lighting and I want to look at it, but I'll wait. Um shout out to Mr. Purio and your facilities team for another stellar snow removal. That first storm had some crazy challenges because of the ice and the timing of the storm. And um Mr. Pecurio answered all of my questions and reflected on his plan and tweaked his plan. And I have to say that you guys really did a fantastic job with this. Um sec you did fine with the first storm, but you really did fantastic with the second storm. And um if I never ever see another snowflake again, it will be great
099and fine with me. Um I even saw Mr. Percurio in his bright orange jacket um snowb blowing in front of Warren Wolf Elementary School the sidewalk. So Tim, you're a rock star. Thank you so much for all you do. Congratulations and good luck to our sports teams. I'm just going to check when I'm done, but I'm going to just check and if I have to update, I'll be right back. >> Oh no, two. >> That was a very quick change. >> Oh lord, did I curse us? All right, thank you all. Thanks for coming everyone. >> [applause] >> Thanks, Allie. >> All right. Uh, moving on, looking at the calendar, uh, March 4th, early dismissal day for students only. And the next meeting right now, as we mentioned before, scheduled for the 19th, that's probably
100going to be pushed back one week. It will be pushed back, not probably. It will be March 26th at 6 PM here. So, um, I need a motion and a second for adjournment. >> Motion Alley. >> Second, George. >> Mr. Edwards, with the vote. >> Miss McCala, >> yes. >> Mr. Henry, >> yes. >> Mr. Malgi, >> yes. >> Miss Kennedy, >> yes. >> Mr. Mesmer, >> yes. Thank you. Last try.