001I want to call I want to call the meeting to order. Mary, roll call. >> Miss Pala. >> Miss Kennedy. >> Mr. Benedictus. >> Here. >> Mr. Henry >> here. >> Mr. Mr. Maleri >> here. >> Mr. Mesmer >> here. >> Miss Ayanum. >> Mr. Edmunds. >> So if anyone's wondering, Elise is listening for my daughter in the starting lineup at Montlair tonight. >> So she starts clapping. >> Fingers crossed. The New Jersey, excuse me, the New Jersey open public policy 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 with the provisions of this act, the Bricktown Board of Education has caused notice of the meeting
002to be posted on the administration office bulletin board, the official district website and channel BTB20 and sent to the Aspberry Park Press, the brick times the star ledger and minister clerk's office. >> I'll ask everyone to please stand for the salute to the flag and a moment of silence. I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands. One nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. >> I would also like to share some sad news um about the passing of Mr. Mel Percy who served as a dedicated administrator to the board of education as both the business administrator and superintendent. Our thoughts and prayers are with your family during this difficult time. Thank you. Dr. Frell, can you um announce the student
003representatives? >> Sure. It's my pleasure. Uh welcome back to the start of a new year. We have two new student representatives on our board of education. I tell you, when you listen to their bios, you'll see that we truly have our best and our brightest. Uh from Brick Memorial, our student representative is Michaela Goran. Michaela is a high achieving senior and student leader who serves as a student government association president. She's a dedicated member of the National Honor Society, a compassionate peer leader, and is involved with the active minds club. Michaela's goals for the school year are to significantly increase student engagement in all the Brick Memorial's programs and opportunities. Additionally, she's committed to enhancing and advocating for the Mustang social media platforms, ensuring they serve effective communication and advocacy tools for the student body.
004Welcome, Michaela. And from Bricktown High School, it's Erica Bakornney. I had the pleasure of meeting Erica actually last spring talking about some of her college and career goals. Um, can I say go Irish because she's a huge Notre Dame fan which is big in my family. Many family have gone to Notre Dame and she's interested in attending the University of Notre Dame. Um, Erica is an exceptional member of the Brick Township High School learning community, embodying the spirit of leadership, dedication, and academic excellence. A standout student athlete and one of the top academic achievers in her class, she balances a demanding course load with remarkable involvement in all of school life. As a varsity athlete in both girls soccer and swim, class president, student government president, vice president of the National Honor Society, peer leader,
005and founder of the BTHS sailing club. I think you lifeguard too on the side. I don't know what else you do. and she leads by example and inspires her peers through her commitment, passion, and drive to make a positive impact on our school community. Welcome, Erica. Welcome and congratulations. Uh this month we're going to start off with Michaela. Michaela. >> Hi, I'm Michaela Gordon and I'm your 2025 2026 SGA president. We have gotten off to a great start at Brick Memorial. The tone was set even before the first days of school when we successfully welcomed the class of 2029 to our school community at our freshman orientation that took place on August 26th. Many of our teachers and staff and students volunteered their time to join our administration and helping our new 9th graders walk
006the hallways and see their schedules and meet their teachers the first time. The day concluded with a packed auditorium full of parents who were introduced to what the next four years was going to look like for their sons and daughters. Once school opened, Mr. Tuca and our administration met with all the students in the class meetings to review expectations and emphasize our school mission of being respectful, responsible, and integrity-driven students. Then we welcomed the school year the right way with our welcome back pep rally. Parents of all grade levels had an opportunity to acclimate to the new year at our back to school night that was held last Thursday. It was a great evening to emphasize the importance of strong partnership between home and school. Last Friday, students participated in our annual activities expo where
007they had opportunities to explore the wide range of co-curricular activities offered at BMHS. From clubs to academic groups to performance ensembles and service organizations, the expo encouraged every Mustang to get involved and find their place within the community. Academically, our advanced placement dual Roman students have already begun meeting with staff to discuss their academic pathways and future goals. We are excited to begin selling our homecoming tickets from September 29th to October 8th on the bus platform that will cost $20. Homecoming 2025's theme is blackout and will be held Thursday, October 9th before the big brick first brick football game. Good evening. I'm Erikica Bakornney, the president of the BTHS student government. I'm excited to share this month's BTHS Dragon Report with you. I would like to begin by expressing my gratitude to the board of
008education and Dr. Frell for this opportunity. In August, our freshmen were welcomed and introduced to the school at freshman orientation. Our marching band and cheerleaders were present on campus to set the stage and offer a spirited welcome to the class of 2029. As they arrived for orientation, students heard from Dr. occasion. Our assistant principles, Mr. Marvin, Miss Bindella, and Mr. H, and their class adviserss. Students had an opportunity to attend an activities fair, tour the building, and receive important information. All students were reminded of building expectations and procedures at the beginning of the year grade level meetings facilitated by administration, guidance counselors, and class adviserss. The focus of each grade level meeting varied depending on the grade level with a common theme of emphasize emphasizing the importance of our school's core values and taking pride
009and ownership in our learning. We ended our first week of school with a dragon walk to celebrate the start of the school year and fall athletic programs. We are excited to announce that Bricktownship High School has once again been recognized as a sustainable school and will be honored at the 2025 sustainable jersey for schools award ceremony for achieving bronze certification with an impressive 195 points. This is the second time BTHS has received the bronze sustainable school recognition award. We are also excited to announce that Nicholas Estz, BTHS senior, has been named a commended student in the 2026 National Merit Scholarship Program. Commended students are recognized for their exceptional academic promise demonstrated by their outstanding performance on the qualifying exams. Onto our club report. The Multicultural Club is hosting a spirit week this week to honor
010and celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month, highlighting the rich traditions, history, and cultural cultural contributions of Hispanic and Latina communities. The celebration created meaningful opportunities for students to learn from one another and to take pride in the cultural heritage that enriches our school. Elections for the class of 2029 officer positions are currently underway with the application process. Voting will take place next week. The National Honor Society eligibility meeting for new members was hosted on September 15th. Interested juniors and seniors with a GPA above 94 have started their applications. Our peer leadership program is up and running. Students will begin working with our 9th grade gym classes. This program is supported by our school-based program. The ROC cadets recently attended freshman orientation, back to school night, and the seer 5K run in Seaside. They will be attending the
011Ocean County Columbus Day parade on October 12th and the Norwegian foot march at the Joint Base on October 17th. Now for our sports, the football team has gotten off to an impressive 3-0 start. The players have worked hard and have been dedicated to the process and right now are seeing strong outcomes. Their latest game was a victory over Tom South who beat them last year. They have a tough stretch of upcoming games, but look forward to the challenge. Boys soccer is celebrating their seniors against Tom River East on October 7th. The boys have a winning record so far with three wins and two losses. The Brook Township High School volleyball team is off to an impressive start to the season, boasting a 5-1 record through the opening stretch. The team's strong play has been fueled
012by high energy, consistent defense, and a balanced offensive attack that has kept the opponents on their heels. A major highlight of the season came last week when senior Danica Toledto Solari reached a milestone moment, recording her 300th career dig. Come support the girls at their senior night on October 8th against Freehold Burough. The girls soccer team has started their season with a record of 23 and 1. They'll be hosting their senior night on September 26th at 5:00 p. p.m. against Pinelands at Drum Point Sports Complex. Olivia Russell from the girls cross country team meddled at the Battle of Ocean County Park this past Friday, placing 22nd in the freshman two-mile race. Kira McHugh also meddled, placing 11th in the senior girls 5K. Field hockey is currently standing with with a record of 3 and two,
0131 and0 in their conference. Our BTHS marching band has been incredible this season, performing their show, What Lurks in the Dark, at halftime of every football game. We encourage everyone to come see them perform and show your support as we host music fest this Saturday, September 20th at BTHS. Next, we have our future events. Underassman pictures will take place on Wednesday, September 24th through Friday, September 26th. The schedule has been distributed to all students and parents. It will be posted outside of guidance. Every student should get their picture taken, even if they do not plan on purchasing pictures since it will be used for student ID cards. Homecoming will be hosted on Octo on Thursday, October 23rd. Court nominations are open in the 2026 school classroom. The court will be announced at the dance and
014the winners will be announced at the football game the following day. That's all for today. Be sure to stay connected to BTHS events and inside information by accessing our school website, SJ Instagram at BTHs SJA, and our school Twitter at BTHS Dragons. You can always see our happenings monthly through Dr. Cajun's Dragon Review. Thank you for this opportunity. [Applause] >> Okay. Uh I need an approval of minutes for the August 26th executive session regular meeting. >> Russian George. >> Second. Fran >> Mary for vote. Miss Pala, >> yes. >> Missy Benedictus, >> yes. >> Mr. Henry, >> yes. >> Mr. Malieri, >> yes. >> Mr. Mesmer, >> yes. >> Okay. Reports. Um, Dr. Pharaoh. Well, welcome back. Uh, start of a new year. Um, welcome back, an enthusiastic welcome back to all our students, staff,
015and parents. Hope everybody had a great summer. Uh, I still get very excited when the students and staff come back to start a school year. Kind of as a fresh start. Um, I don't know, you could feel the energy a lot, especially in the hallways when the students are here. Uh I was honored to give the staff convocation once again to kick off this year uh where I re-emphasized our district vision and mission as well as our district goals. And to reiterate, which I like to do at these meetings often, if we aspire as an organization to make all of our decisions that are student centered, implement those decisions through our faculty and staff, the practitioners with fidelity and foster and buying and connect and communicate those decisions with the community, right? Student centered, teacher-led,
016community connected will be successful. And once again, this school year, our goals are focused on student attendance and student achievement, as well as providing all the supports and interventions to assist our students in that endeavor. We welcomed our newest students into our preschool and kindergarten and help transition grade six and freshman into their new schools via our orientation programs at each of those levels. Some of our schools already held their back to school nights. Have I have had the pleasure of attending some of these already? Our schools are really really are student centered, teacher led, and community connected. In the weeks just leading up to the new school year and during the summer hours, our leaders, teachers, and staff devoted countless hours to creating a student- centered environment. Our teachers collaborative with their colleagues to
017prepare for an exciting school year. While principles welcomed parents not only at our back to school nights, but to visit the school. At back to school night, our principles shared school goals as well as providing an opportunity for families to meet their child's teachers and learn more about the upcoming school year. A connected school community generates a lot of energy and plenty of excitement, and we're excited by the promise of what this new school year holds. Just to close, uh, patriotism is a core value I know of this community especially. So, I'd like to take a moment to reflect on our solemn and important day that we celebrated recently, and that was Patriots Day on September 11th. Our schools came together to commemorate the anniversary of the 2001 terrorist attacks, and through a variety of
018age appropriate activities, our students learned about the significance of that day and this day. Moving forward, the focus of these commemorations was not just on the tragedy, but also on the enduring spirit of courage, compassion, and unity that emerged from it. We took this opportunity to honor the heroes of that day, the first responders, the military personnel, and the countless civilians who acted with selflessness and courage. As a district, we believe it's our duty not only to educate our students on core subjects, but also to instill in them a sense of civic responsibility, historical understanding, and empathy for others. These are the values that make communities just like we have here in Brick very strong. Thank you. >> Okay, moving on to committee reports. Uh, facilities and finance, Mr. Edwards. She didn't start. >> She
019didn't start. >> No, she didn't start. There was a hope. We were hoping >> soon. Pay attention. >> Yeah, I don't have to pay attention anymore. She's not playing. >> Sorry. Facilities meeting uh on September 11th at 4:00 in attendance. Miss Kennedy, Miss Ayanone, Mr. Mesmer, Dr. Farrell, myself, Mr. Porio, Miss Cashman from Speasel Architectural, Miss Garrett Leardi from Speasel, uh Mr. Williams from Speasel, Mr. Dubich from FVHD, Mr. Chone from FBHD, and Mr. Kapor from DMR. Uh first item was the VMMS boiler replacements and air conditioning. I informed the committee that the project is s substantially complete and we're all good there in that building. Uh just got to get through the punch list now. uh Wormwolf Elementary um Wormwolf Early Childhood Development Center. I still want to call it elementary, sorry. Uh the
020unit ventilators are fully installed with the controllers reinstalled. The electrical connections uh were to be completed within two weeks on the second shift. The cabinet unit heaters are installed next week and expected to provide heat by the end of September. The condensing unit lines are set are nearly complete. All the rooftop units are scheduled to be replaced the the uh on the 6th and 7th of November when school is closed and be operational by November 10th. The VRF systems and IDU cassettes are in progress and the startup schedule for those is September 23rd and substantial completion for that project remains December 19th. Herbertsville Early Childhood Development Center uh pretty much the same but I'll go through it. The unit ventilators are installed. Uh startup is expected at the end of September when the condens condenser
021units and boilers are ready. The condensing unit pads are being framed out within the week and the pores were scheduled for Saturday. The units to be operational by the end of September. The boiler installation is pending arrival of the permanent hot water loop pump which is scheduled for October 15th. The temporary pump to be provided to ensure classroom heating. The rooftop unit deliveries are expected September 11th with the installation to occur on Saturday to avoid downtime. The VRF systems and ceiling cassettes um and installations are pro progressing on second shift. The roof, excuse me, the roof work has been complete and the substantial completion on that project is December 19th. Midstream's kitchen. Um the exterior finishes for the rooftop unit startup, duck work, and ceiling work are complete. The final plumbing, fire, health, and inspections
022passed. Final building electrical inspections passed and the temporary um certificate of occupancy was issued with the the final certificate of oxy to come the week of the 15th. The uh data rack was installed for the security and camera coordination, food service equipment, and new serving line and double oven have been installed. And we have a project meeting for that project coming up on September 23rd. Uh that kitchen is operational right now. Uh just to inform the committee we are up and running there. Osborneville kitchen uh Miss Cashman from Speedel informed the committee that the work is progressing despite the delay in the ramp and a few other items. The final certificate of occupy and turnover to the district is expected to be September 29th. Midstream's air conditioning. Miss Cashman informed the committee that the school
023opened with a huge effort by the contractor and our custodial staff and based on coordination with the BOE and the staff regarding AC requirements. Uh currently they're preparing the 30-day energy demand and usage study to determine whether further steps and possible upgrades are needed to complete the HVAC startups. OES Osborville Miss Cashurn informed the committee that the school is open. Uh the work is continuing on second shift but uh the HVAC project is just waiting on finalized electrical work and startups. And then the long range facility plan I review with the committee the proposals for the architect with that were received from the architects of record. Uh the next meeting is scheduled for October 6th and then finance committee. >> So I have a question about facility reports. Wow. Is that loud? >> Yeah, it
024seems loud. Mine does too. Seems very loud. >> Um when the proposal is decided, what the heck is going on? Will it be shared with the uh BOE members? >> Of course. Yes. Yeah. >> Okay. Thank you. Um, finance committee, same day, 4:30. Mr. Mezer, Miss Ayanro, Miss D. Benedictus, Dr. Farrell, and myself. Uh, civil engineer of record. I informed the committee that we still have not completed the review. Um, and there's currently no work for the civil engineer. So, a recommendation will be held to a future meeting. State aid litigation. I informed the committee that we have a kickoff meeting with the attorney scheduled for September 25th. Advertising. Uh, we got two new advertisements for the district. Health Village Imaging is going to do a stadium banner at both high schools and J&B Foods
025trading as Jersey Mike's is doing a banner at both high schools. Next meeting is scheduled for October 6th. >> Policy and planning, Dr. Frell. >> Yes, thank you. Uh the policy and planning committee met Wednesday, September 10th virtually. Uh in attendance was Mrs. Debedictus, Mr. from Algeri, Mrs. Polla and myself. Uh we reviewed the already approved first reading of policies that are on the agenda tonight for second read. Uh new a new first read policies and some new updated first read policies tonight as well as an abolished policy. Um we'll meet again in October um because there seems to be a flurry of uh policy updates and alerts both from the state DOE as well as Strauss Esme who we utilize. >> Thank you. This will be the first opportunity for public comment and will
026be for agenda items only. The board invites thoughts and reactions on agenda items. 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 five minutes. The board will not during the public portion of this meeting discuss matters involving employment, appointment, termination of employment, negotiations, terms and conditions of employment, evaluation of performance, promotion or disciplining of any specific or prospective or current employee and or student. Do we have anyone for public comment on agenda items? Seeing one. Come on up. I >> hate going first. I feel like I always go first. >> Yes. Good evening. Um, honestly, I thought with the cell phone policy being on the agenda tonight, it seemed to be a hot topic on
027the street, so I'm surprised uh more people aren't here, but um I just wanted to say I know it's a it can be a really divided issue and we can easily argue both sides regarding the ban on the cell phone use in schools. And I do respect the fact that there are valued arguments on both sides and I don't take lightly the concerns that parents and students do have about safety and communication. You know, for me as a parent, I've seen positives and I've seen negatives of technology. And to be honest, I can sometimes be viewed as an uncool mom because I have very strict monitoring on my son's cell phone where every text he gets I see in real time. Um, so it's kind of it is disappointing when you see vulgar language, inappropriate
028comments. Some of these group chats are 20 to 30 kids in them and you don't know whose phone number is who and trying to figure it out. Um, but at the end of the day, our children are in school to learn. That's their number one job and cell phones have become one of the biggest obstacles of that goal. They're a constant source of distraction, pulling students away from instruction, disrupting lessons and interfering with teachers um that our educators are working on too hard to provide. And beyond academics, we can't also ignore that these devices are one of the most harmful influences on our youth mental health. feeling anxiety, depression, cyber bullying, and constant pressure to keep up with each other. Now, I want to be clear so my words don't get misconstrued because this is
029not directed at all students. Many are respectful. Many use their devices responsibility responsibly. But the reality is we are seeing troubling trends. Disregard and disrespect towards teachers, staff, and any authority figures needs to stop. Uh allowing constant access to these phones only fuels the problems. And I don't care what they're doing. if they're texting, watching YouTube, scrolling social media, trying to be viral, it's not needed in our schools. Uh, we also have to remember that there are emergency procedures and safety plans already in place. While I hope we never ever have to be used, um, they do exist to protect our children and it should not fall on the teachers to constantly police phones in the classrooms. Their responsibility is to teach and our responsibility as parents is to ensure that our children are using
030the technology respectfully and responsibly. And finally, if you do feel strongly on this issue, remember that it's not a local concern just here in brick, but it's part of a national conversation. Too often, it feels like things like this don't come talk, sorry, we don't start talking about them until they hit a BOE agenda. Um, when really these conversations should be starting at a higher level. Uh, there are great opportunities to speak to your legislators, representatives, advocacy members with the national PTA that can help you address these issues in real time. You know, after weighing all that, I have to say I do support this ban. It's, you know, it's not about limiting students and their access, but protecting our learning environment. They're supporting our teachers. I really feel like we need to back up
031our teachers in this aspect. Um, because that's what they're paid to do. They're paid to teach our kids, not to monitor and police cell phones. So, that's where I stand on that. And then the second thing I just wanted to discuss real quickly was a comment on operations number 11. I just wanted to take a moment to highlight the donation of the 500 books and the unique opportunity it truly is for Vets Middle. A few weeks ago, I got a call from the New Jersey PTA president, Sharon Roseboro, and she told me that there was a deal Walmart wanted to, you know, do something with us. I was a little bit taken back. I had no idea what it was. I didn't know if I applied for it and forgot about it. Um, but we
032were selected out of all of the schools in the nation. 20 schools were picked. We were one of them. Uh, so I just want to, you know, thank the generosity of the National PTA, Kellogg's company, Walmart, um, Mrs. T and our principles. We all got on a call with them. We are going to be receiving a donation of 500 brand new books for our school library and ELA classroom libraries. And more than that, uh, the representatives from all three organizations are going to be coming to Vets Middle to host a special reveal assembly to our students and staff. And the celebration will also include a visit from Tony the Tiger mascot with Kelloggs. and Walmart's going to be providing healthy snacks for our entire school and kickoff. So, I just wanted to share those details
033because it looks like just a blurb on a agenda. So, thank you guys for your time. [Applause] >> Anyone else public uh comment on agenda items only? Seeing none, Dr. Mr. Anderson, can you introduce curriculum and instruction? >> Thank you, Mr. Mesmer. Under curriculum instruction, the superintendent recommends that the board approve the following items one through three. >> I need a motion and a second. >> Motion Brand. >> Second, George. Mary, vote. >> Miss Pollo, >> yes. >> Mr. Benedictus, >> yes. >> Mr. Henry, >> yes. >> Mr. Maljeri, >> yes. >> Mr. Mesmer, >> yes. Mr. Edwards, can you introduce operations? >> Yes. Um, superintendent recommends items one and two and items 4 through 13. >> I need a motion and a second. >> Motion Fran. >> Second. George. >> Mary. Vote please. >>
034Miss Pala. >> Yes. >> Mr. Benedictus. >> Yes. >> Mr. Henry. >> Yes. >> Mr. Maljeri. >> Yes. >> Mr. Mesmer. >> Yes. Mr. Edwards, can you introduce HR? >> Oh, man. I was hoping Tom was going to do the superintendent recommends. I wanted to hear him talk about himself in the third person. Uh, sure. The superintendent recommends items 1 through 30. >> I need a motion and a second. >> Motion. Brand. >> Second. George. >> Mary. Vote. >> Miss Pala. >> Yes. >> Miss Benedictus. >> Yes. >> Mr. Henry, >> yes. >> Mr. Maljerie, >> yes. >> Mr. Mesmer, >> yes. I do want to welcome and congratulate. I think we have a few um new hirees. So, I want to congratulate you, welcome you. This is a very special school district. We're excited
035and happy that you chose Brick uh to come to work. So, thank you and welcome. >> Can I say something about HR, please? Um, I want to welcome Mora Maulharn to the Brick Public Schools Special Education Department. Are you here, Mora? Um, you're you're joining a great department and the people that you're going to supervise are going to be um uh greatly blessed by what you know. And I just wanted to say that Brett and Darla Novik are retiring and I will miss them so much. Their contribute contributions to the district over the years have been unique to them, have been steadfast, have been earnest, have been um just so committed to helping the children in our district. And they are model people and I hope that they've spread all their sparkle to everyone they've
036worked with. Thank you. Dr. Anderson, can you introduce policy and planning? >> Thank you, Mr. Mesmer. Under policy and planning, the superintendent recommends that the board approve the following items one through three. >> Can I get a motion in a second? >> Motion B. >> Second. George Mary, vote, please. >> Miss Pala, >> I did have a question. Is that okay? on the um 5000 series with the use of electronic communication devices. It says that discipline will be decided by the building administrator and I'd just like to know if that would be consistent from building to building and if there are going to be guidelines for the administrators as far as that goes. So a as we discussed in our committee the regulation that accompanies that has been gone through and all the building administrators
037over the last year that definitely had they all have guidelines for that. It is a progressive disciplined policy. It is a work in progress uh and that the company regulation to the policy has been distributed and worked on with our admin team actually the last year. So, I know uh we spoke before about coming. This has been something brick has really taken a year and didn't rush to last year like many other school districts. We kind of piloted it in a few schools and then we utilized our admin team with the help of Miss McNamera for a long time and helped Dr. Anderson um to go through that. The accompany regulation is also in there um for that as well. Uh it'll be added after tonight, Mr. college just so you know to our code
038of conduct because it'll be adopted tonight and I feel it will be a work in progress both from the board's perspective and administrator's perspective and I hope I hope we have the support of parents which is what I heard and I I think we do. Thank you. >> Thank you >> Miss Pala. >> Oh yes, >> Misty Benedictus. >> Yes. And I did have something just to add real quick. Um as uh Dr. Carl said we have piloted it in last year in a few schools and one of them was Vets Middle which my daughter attended and you could definitely see especially on the bus especially with the recording of bullying and fights and all the chaos that occurs. you could see that it wasn't happening as much because the students were not allowed to
039have the phones and honest as a parent I think this is great and it wasn't something that as Dr. said it wasn't rushed to. We did, as I said, pilot it in two schools. What was the other one? >> It was brick high. >> Oh, that's it. Okay. But >> so I mean, I saw really good things. And again, as Kristen said, if there's an issue, speak to the principal. Don't go jump down the teacher's throat or the bus drivers because oh my goodness, those poor bus drivers. They have so much in their hands. I cannot imagine. But I think this is great and I'm looking forward to seeing lots of amazing changes. >> Mr. Henry, >> yes. >> Mr. Maljeri, >> yes. >> Mr. Mesmer, >> yes. Okay, this is the second opportunity for
040public 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. Comment shall be limited to five minutes. The board will not during the public portion of this meeting discuss matters involving employment, appointment, termination of employment, negotiations, terms and conditions of employment, evaluation of the performance of, promotion or disciplining of any specific or prospective or current employee and or student. Does anybody have any public comment? Seeing one. >> I'm back. All right. So again, I'm Kristen Cers. I just wanted to share two updates. Again, I we touched on them when I was here at the last meeting uh with the meet the candidates event. It is going to be for next Thursday, September 25th. Since last month's meeting, I did get
041one last minute phone call in. So, I just wanted to share that we will have one more PTA co-sponsoring the event. And so I want to thank Osborneville Elementary for joining Vets Middle, Vets Elementary, Lanes Mill, Drum Point, Midstreams, and Warren Wolf, bringing us to a total of seven sponsors for this event. We're, you know, excited. Submit your questions. And I look forward to seeing you all on camera live next week. And then moving on to county news, I did want to share, I know I touched about it being uh bringing back an inbounders in-person founders day celebration. We have it scheduled. It is paid for and on the books for Tuesday, February 17th at 6 p.m. at the Clarion Conference Center in Tom's River. Tickets are available for sale on our website at ocptas.org.
042We encourage not only just our executive board members, but our principles, administrators, and even you, superintendent, to join us that evening um to celebrate all the good things that we've got going on at our PTAs within Ocean County. And also happy to share we it was on we had our meeting the night after this one so I couldn't quite announce it then um but I asked for people to join the committee and I can't believe it. This is very shocking. I had four people reach out. One of them made the vote for that meeting. So I did want to announce we do have um the position of our scholarship committee chair filled with our very own brick uh Christy Perfetti Williams. She's been a great volunteer for me over the years. She said she would
043never do a chair position, but here she is. So, uh, we'll have the opportunity for any of the graduating seniors from our Ocean County PTA high schools, including Brick, Lacy, and Manchester, will all be eligible to apply for the scholarship. So, we'll have more details about that in the new year. Um, and then after that, after that meeting, uh, we at our next one, we will be filling several additional committee roles, including events, legislation, juvenile protection and safety, and special education. So, as soon as that's official, I'll announce those names as well. Um, excited because they all are brick representatives. Um, we do, however, still have some vacancies in bylaws, membership, publications, and reflections. So, again, if anybody is interested in getting more involved, please don't hesitate to re, you know, contact me. I come
044here every time. I'm at Vetsa all the time. And we do have our website and email as well. And then finally, just a quick reminder that the National PTA grants and awards portal is closing on Wednesday, September 24th. It's a great opportunity for any PTAs to apply for funding and recognition. It's very brief. It takes no more than 15 to 30 minutes to complete. So, you know, I encourage everybody to continue applying and thank you for your time and I will have some more exciting updates next time. [Applause] Anyone else for public comment? Seeing none, this uh all right, we're gonna move on to board comment. Uh George, any comment? >> Yes, please. Thank you very much, Mr. Mayor. Uh thank you all very much for coming. Good evening. Um I'm trying to think of
045what I could say. This meeting was much shorter than I was expecting. Candidly, much shorter. Uh so I'll try to keep this short, frankly, thinking that many of you probably would like to go home. Uh and I apologize. I've been yawning the whole time. It's not you personally. It's my allergy season. U it fluctuates all the time. But thank you all again for coming and um thank you to the young lady who came up to the microphone uh through times actually. I'm sorry. >> So thanks for calling me out. >> Oh, absolutely. Uh it shows you show it well. Um for whatever that's worth coming from me. I um what you said was certainly very valuable. Uh and in that spirit, uh certainly I'd like to express thanks to um Kelloggs and Walmart for their
046donations. Uh, I shop at Walmart constantly because frankly I'm always trying to save money, especially in this economy. And um, I just got my masters recently, so now I have student loan debt about which to worry. Um, so that's just a compoundment. But then also uh, I never really eat Kellogg cereal, but I guess if I ever have if I ever have a craving for a brand muffin, I'll take Raisin Brand and just mix it in to as a thank you for them for making this donation to Brick. Um, and in reference to I'm trying to think of what I should say. I'm sorry. uh you never know quite what to say because you write down notes for these meetings and then you have the nature of being live and in person and then you
047think what new things are going to come like even before we got up here tonight the laptops wouldn't work. I'd like to thank the young gentleman who's sitting in the back uh for helping us put together the laptops. That was one because uh it's so irritating to do something from such a tiny device uh like the phone that you it's so much easier to do the laptop or just print it out. But I don't have a working printer at home. I've been saying I'll hook it up. That's been that's been for about 5 years now. I just it's an effort in futility. But anyway, um in reference to something more serious, frankly, I'm very happy with the cell phone policy because uh I have a personal bias in favor of it. When I was in
048middle school, uh I was harassed and bullied constantly. And um that included both in-person bullying and um social media or even just texting, calling, whatever the case may be. Um, and that affected me uh in a very negative fashion for many years. Uh, I couldn't quite undo it in my head. It compounded with an autism diagnosis and just overall uh efforts in trying to socialize and mainstream um and impacted self-worth, self-esteem. And even now, depending on a certain phrase or certain words or ways that people can express themselves to me now at age 26, it brings me back to my time as being 11 years old. You'll learn lot more about this if you ever spend time in therapy. I minored in psychology precisely because I figured well these people are probably tired of hearing
049from me these therapists so maybe I could try to analyze myself. But anyway um for the children in our district uh who have experienced these issues and God willing this will not lead to something that cannot be undone in the lives of these students. I think that this is very much a step in the right direction uh for overall progress for our students uh and in our society especially in light of um what took place last week unfortunately is one particular event uh on the national stage on national news with uh a polit a particular uh political figure. it doesn't regardless of his or her um leanings or your own leanings frankly um that violence is not the answer whether it be inflicted against someone else or inflicted against yourself because you're not happy with
050something someone said to you related to being harassed to being bullied um and I think that this is a step in the right direction and I look forward to moving forward with this policy and to a brand new school year and thank you very much to our lovely honorable distinguished student representatives who will be joining us we're very happy to have them for the new school here uh and the work of our central administration. Thank you. And to our fellow board members uh and legal counsel and um well actually going back to what I said earlier, you probably all want to go home. Uh thank you all very much. Thank you. [Applause] >> Thank you, George. >> Ditto. >> John, any comments? No, >> I just want to welcome everybody back to a new school
051year. I have no doubt that this will be an amazing year because this is an amazing staff and administrator. So, welcome back. Lots of safety and health for everybody. Um, I do agree with the policy. I'm glad that it was the the banning of the cell phones. That's I've seen a lot of it in my time in education and I couldn't agree with it more. So, it's why I said yes. Other than that, I'm going to keep this really short and sweet. And so, everybody have a great night and safe travels home. Thank you. >> Thanks, Fran. Anything? Any comments? Welcome back. Um, big shout out to Michaela and Erica. They were amazing. I really missed having them here, having our students here. Um, and Kristen, seriously, girl, you're killing it. >> I don't Amazing.
052Amazing. And thank you to Kelloggs and Walmart. Like I love how we're getting so many people involved and helping our students and and making things go smoother for them. I mean, our budgeting is not that great. So, all the help is amazing and all the new um the new revenues like the um the solar and we're getting all the the books and the banners on the scoreboards. Just every little bit really comes together and helps. And as as our little slogan said that we're um we need our community and thank you to the PTAs. I mean again these PTAs are awesome. They're helping. They're stepping up and hope everybody has an amazing year, has had a great first little bit and we can get home because 4:30 comes really really early for me. So yay.
053Thank you guys for cooperating. Thanks, Fran. Victoria, anything? >> I would also like to extend my thanks to Michaela and Erica. The commitment they're making is is huge and what they offer uh to the board and uh people in attendance is is is it only comes from them otherwise we wouldn't know. So, I really appreciate their commitment. Kristen, I have to ask you a question. Meet the candidates. It like how is that going to be broadcast? And are all board members going to get an invitation? >> Um, so it is broadcast through a virtual link that the League of Women Voters sets up. It is it's posted on our website. I can't vouch for every school, but if you go to VMMS, pta.ptboard.com, there is >> VMMS. PTA.ptboard.com. I've got it posted on our website.
054So, there's a link to register for the event and submit questions. Um, as far as I know from the live aspect, the only people that will be on the camera are the candidates, the moderator, and the representative from the League of Women Voters. Um, I don't know if necessarily a personal invitation is going out to each of the existing members. Um, but we need to sign up. >> You can you can sign up to register. You have to be registered to get into the room. It does hold up to 500 people. I'm not worried about it getting that high. It'd be really awesome if it did. And it will be available for um replay rewatch um the next day. They'll send the link out. So, if you miss it, you will have the opportunity to
055watch it at any time. Even all the past ones are still on the League of Women's Voters for for as many years if you guys have been doing this. >> So, am I going to be able to pick it up from Europe? Because I'll be in Europe on that day. I've never been to Europe, so I don't know what the internet access is like over there, but um if you can't, there's a way to rewatch it when you get back. >> All right. Thank you so much. That that's such an important thing for everybody in the district to uh pay attention to. Um just briefly, I represented the brick board of education last Saturday at a morning meeting in West Windsor. Um it was the county leadership conference for the year. Um people came from
056all over the state on on a Saturday morning. Uh we had a great session and of course the topic was how do we increase attendance at our meetings? Um Dr. Farrell uh told me that he would um include in the weekly packet the dates of those those meetings. Um, tomorrow I'll be at the New Jersey School Board Association representing Brick as a member of their board of directors. And the next Ocean County School Board Association meeting will be on September 25th at the Clarion in Tom's River or you can join virtually. And um the topic comes from a supervisor from Tom's River who will be talking about how AI impacts our students and our school. Um again, I'm going to miss the Novix and I hope everybody has a most wonderful year. Thank you. >>
057Thank you. Um, I just wanted to say welcome back to the students and also thank you to the for the donations um for the books and the shed. Donations go a long way in this district. You know, with such tight budget that we're, you know, struggling with each year, anything anyone can give is uh very we appreciate it. Um, also if anyone has an extra scoreboard laying around, um, we could really use that at Brick Memorial High School. Uh, I know we have a big brick versus brick game coming up in three weeks. So, if anyone has any ideas or any connections, please let us know. Um, because we we get a lot of requests about that. though. Um all right, looking at the calendar of events, um school is closed September 23rd for Rashashana,
058October 2nd for Yan Kapor, October 13th for Columbus Day, and our next regular meeting is October 16th at 700 p.m. Can I get a motion and a second for the meeting adjournment? >> Motion Grant. >> Second, George. Mary for the vote, please. >> Miss Polla, >> yes. Misty Benedictus. >> Yes. >> Mr. Henry, >> yes. >> Mr. Meljeri, >> yes. >> Mr. Mesmer, >> yes. Thank you.