May 12, 2022 Board Meeting

001you're ready i'm ready for you all right okay the new jersey public meeting law was enacted to ensure the right of the public body to the public to have advanced notice of and to attend meetings of public bodies which any business affecting their interest is discussed or acted upon in accordance with the provision of this act the brick township board of education has caused notice of this meeting to be posted on the administration office bulletin board the official district website and channel tv 20 and sent to the administ sent to the ashby park press the brick time store ledger and municipal clerk's office i need a motion and a second to go into executive session motion missy whereas the brook township board of education has been formed pursuant to applicable new jersey statutes and whereas

002the board is charged with responsibility of performing all acts and doing all things consistent with the law and rules of the state board of education necessary for the lawful and proper conduct equipment and maintenance of public schools and public school property of the bricktownship district school district where section 7 of the public's meeting act permits the exclusion of the public from a meeting of the board in certain circumstances and whereas the board has determined that the circumstances exist for just an executive session and whereas the board has found the action described below to be necessary and proper now therefore be resolved by the board on may 12 2022 that the public shall be excluded from the discussion of an action on the executive session here and set forth the session will be approximately 15 minutes

003and the general nature of the subject matter be discussed is harassment intimidation and bullying reports is anticipated at this time that the above stated subject matter will be made public if and when it is deemed to be in the public interest to do so and the need for confidentiality is no longer required by the board mary ms hafner yes mr blandina yes is gagliardi yes miss parker yes miss piccala yes ms siebert yes miss walrum yes so okay i'm going to ask everybody to take their seats it's seven o'clock so we're gonna start the meeting so we can get a lot to cover tonight i need a motion in a second to return motion daisy i'll second it michael mary miss hefner yes mr blandina yes is gagliardi yes miss parker yes it's piccala yes

004siebert yes miss walrup yes i'd like to ask everybody to stand for the flag salute which is going to be presented by the brics schools air force junior rotc cadets 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 thank you often it may appear to members of our audience that the board of education act with very little comment and in many cases a unanimous vote please understand that before a matter is placed on the agenda at a public meeting the administration has thoroughly reviewed the matter with the superintendent of schools discussed it in appropriate boe committees and only then if the superintendent is satisfied that the matter is ready to be presented to

005the full board of education it is placed on the agenda for action at a public meeting board of education members are given advance notice to review the agenda and through the chair ask questions or voice concerns in rare instances when necessary matters are presented to the board of education for discussion at the same meeting that final action may be taken dr farrell will you introduce the presentations yes tonight we are honored to recognize our district teacher of the year and our school teachers of the year as well as our educational support people of the year dr anderson ah thank you dr farrell well after two years we are finally back in person to honor our governor's educator of the year recipients the governor's educator of the year program aims to recognize educators who have gone

006above and beyond in their service to new jersey's public school students this program recognizes excellence creates a sense of pride and brings public education and public attention to the work of outstanding educators the nomination process begins in november when each school community is asked to nominate teachers and educational services professionals each school committee forms and each school forms a committee and evaluates the nominations they receive using a rubric and announces their school representatives in december we come together as a community in may because may is teacher appreciation month i would like to thank erica robinson our tv teacher who devoted countless hours to producing this year's video tribute this video gives voice to our teachers and our educational services professionals and honors their dedication to our students and our profession i would like at this

007time to ask our board members in central administration to relocate to the first row of seats so we can enjoy our video tribute okay so we can go ahead with the video [Music] her classroom is one that is kind encouraging she is always creating optimal learning and opportunities for her students julianne is like a utility player at warren mutual she's our union rep she's in charge of our sunshine committee she's always at after-school activities as well as pto events she really just does it all she really is just a team player always creating great relationships with her students the staff and long-lasting relationships with her families i want to be remembered for someone who cared about her students and gave a hundred percent of her time i get my passion for my students each and

008every day when they walk in and have a smile on their face i'm doing my job and watching them grow throughout the year just gives me joy and that passion to come back each and every day the most important element i believe in my teaching style is classroom management because if you have good classroom management then learning can be successful and all the students will be successful my teaching philosophy is to create a safe environment for all students where they can be creative and not be judged i want to be remembered by my students as being a positive role model and wanting them to come back to school each and every day with a smile on their face sarah will always be remembered for her willingness and desire to do what's best for her students

009she's always a great resource for our colleagues and overall just does a great job every day with a huge smile on her face i'd like to be remembered for having a high energy and just making people feel comfortable to be around it's the best job in the world i get to come in every day and play while you know really making an impact on students and seeing their growth the most important element to my teaching style is making sure the child feels confident and is having fun while doing it my teaching philosophy is figuring out what a child's strength is and going with it and just keep building upon and building upon it so that you can address those areas of weakness i'd like to be remembered by my students as someone who made them

010feel a certain way that i made them feel confident accomplished that we had fun together [Music] one thing is really special about ms janet is she is so joyful she brings her enthusiasm into the class things and dances with them just like she's one of them she is a preschool person true and true that's all she thinks about working with her kids and she does a tremendous job with them i want to be remembered for having fun so i would say that my teaching philosophy is incorporating questioning and fun i think if you're enthusiastic then the kids get enthusiastic what's going on i think that's when kids get engaged in what you're doing i want to be remembered as the teacher that encouraged me when i thought i couldn't i can especially at the preschool

011level you hear that a lot i can't do that instead of a can i want them to say let me see how i can try [Music] miss fiber has a great personality that she can reach any type of child she reaches some of our students who come in here not speaking a word at all and by the end of working with her they're saying simple words and even expressions this bible's kindness and gentleness and dealing with all of the students she just brings sunshine into their lives and we're so happy that she's here with us mostly i want to be remembered for being kind to the children and that they had so much fun in preschool and that you're setting foundation for learning for the rest of their life i think trying to have the

012children develop confidence and communicating because communication to me is like just such a human connection and once they start to realize any kind of communication they can connect with another person i think that's just a great accomplishment for speech it's really very individualized so each child to me is individual so i approach it from that point at preschool i'm not sure if they'll remember me when they grow up but that they had so much fun somebody that was very kind to them [Music] i would say mrs bauman's classroom environment is very warm and welcoming you could tell that she strives to make it engaging she's really determined to make sure each and every one of her students succeed both academically and socially and emotionally as well she shows a genuine interest in their lives inside

013and outside of the classroom i would say what makes mrs baumann stand out is her calmness definitely her patience regardless of what the situation is or the obstacle she's facing she addresses everything with a smile on her face and a positive attitude i want to be remembered as someone who always cared about her students and tried to bring out the best in them i get my passion from teaching from my students their enthusiasm i think brings out excitement in everyone everyone is capable of learning you just have to find the right way to teach them everybody learns differently different learning styles and it's important to find what works for each individual student and also that everybody feels comfortable when they come to school i think you'll get the most out of them when they feel

014comfortable in the classroom that they're in [Music] mr novik has a vast toolbox of strategies that he uses with our students to help them face the different challenges that they experience day-to-day and he also helps parents navigate these challenges as well he collaborates with outside resources such as brick pal local churches so that he can collect food and gifts during the holidays for our students mr novik will be remembered for being someone that anyone can turn to at any time i get my passion for counseling because i was once a student i was a student of the brick i can remember what it was like to be uncomfortable to be unsure to be bullied so to try to make it a better world a better school and a better school system for my children and

015for the future generations i would say my teaching philosophy and my counseling philosophy are student-centered and eclectic instead of trying to make students adhere to what we do how do we tailor things to what they need i want to be remembered by my students as somebody that believed in them even the time times when they didn't believe in themselves that advocated for them that helped them and their families to have a better school climate that they had a better experience in school and that somebody that just didn't look at the student but also reached out to their family to make their lives better as well [Music] miss eller's classroom environment is a warm setting it's friendly the kids are smiling she is always smiling the kids are happy to be in her class and her

016students are highly engaged and you can tell that learning is occurring she's a bright light in our building she's someone that has immense amount of knowledge and caring and the students and staff recognize that i think people gravitate towards mrs ellers because of the person she is she's upbeat she's outgoing she always has a smile and you feel that she truly cares about the students and the staff and about lanes mill i want to be remembered for being kind and approachable and someone who let the children know that they could be whatever they want to be strive towards their goals to whatever it is they want to be i get my passion from teaching from my mother rita conlon she also taught in brick township schools for 25 years the most important element to my

017teaching style is my classroom environment i hope that it's all positive i try to reach the children in a whole group in little groups and individually total positivity my teaching philosophy is every flower blooms in its own time [Music] i think it's his caring for our student the way that he interacts with our student he truly attempts to engage with the student every day and provide the student with the best atmosphere and best possible relationship his attitude about coming to school and helping you can feel how much he cares and his patience when you meet mr jacobus you understand he is here for the best interest of the student and you feel that as an educator my passion for teaching comes from being able to be part of the process to teach children something they

018didn't know yesterday and watch them apply it the next day and as they get older my most important element to my teaching style is to teach these students as i would want my own children to be taught if i'm lucky i get to be remembered as one of many people that helped these students reach their full potential and to be their best selves [Music] kate has a wonderful classroom environment she's supportive patient kind kate is successful as a teacher because of her calm and patient demeanor with children her patient and quiet demeanor is really something that stands out she's silently strong is the word i would use to describe her the children respond so well and always try their best when they're working with her kate will always be remembered for being a wonderful teacher

019she serves on our crisis team and our inrs team and she's able to de-escalate behaviors when children are very frustrated and angry when i see a kid who is struggling to read and finally gets it and looks up at me and like i got it that reignites my passion every day my philosophy is that every child can learn and that every child needs an environment where they feel safe and loved 20 years from now when my students look back and think of mrs kohler i want them to know that they were loved and i want them to remember how i made them feel every day and i was genuine and then i encouraged them to do the best they can and take risks nurse rita is the kindest most thoughtful and caring school nurse that

020anyone could have she's worked tirelessly she takes her time and patience to deal with each child she's a support for our staff members on a daily basis and she just works so hard to make sure everyone's happy and healthy what i would like to be remembered for is that the students the parents and the staff could depend on me i kept my passion for nursing i think it's from my grandmother my grandmother lived with us all my life when i was younger she was very nurturing and caring not just for my family but for everybody so that's where i get my passion for nursing from the most important element of my nursing style would be communication with the parents and the guardians i have certain things that i constantly follow it's empathy listening respect and

021kindness i want to be remembered by my students as caring and providing a nurturing and safe environment for them [Music] when you walk into mike's class the kids are engaged it's a positive learning environment it's a space where they're able to take creative risks and celebrate each other's success michael day is an exceptional educator not just for what he does in the classroom for what he brings to our entire school community for someone who has been teaching as long as they have for 32 years mike does not show that in his demeanor he comes in with the attitude of a first-year teacher the same enthusiasm the same excitement i think there's something to be said for the arts or something that we should feel passionate about and mike is a great example of the type

022of educators we need in a building my own personal passion for what i do internally drives me but also the passion i draw from the kids passion begets passion i feel giving 110 each and every period of the day that i teach is really important i'd like to be remembered as just to somebody who started their lifelong growth in music and gave them that spark to want to continue to learn music whether it be being a choir or whether it be learning to play a piano or a guitar mrs stranero's warmth her kindness and her patience are one of the many characteristics that stand out in her care for the students and staff at emma haven's young even before the pandemic she was on the front lines and taking care of all the students that

023won the largest elementary schools in the district and is with her professionalism and her demeanor in tackling those situations even during the pandemic that makes her stand out so so much mrs stronera will be remembered for her ability to handle difficult situations in a professional manner and for the ongoing communication she has not just with her colleagues and the children but also to our community i want to be remembered here at emma havens for being kind but also being tough this age group from k to five is by far the best i love their stories i love their boo-boos you know that i have to fix and sometimes they just need a hug and it's it's amazing my most important element to my nursing style i would have to say just to be genuine you

024have to be loving and you have to be a mom on top of being a nurse and you wear many hats you just have to be there for them for whatever they need whether it's physical whether it's emotional whether it's mental [Music] mrs earnest always has a fun engaging and positive classroom environment where kids are always excited to learn her outgoing personality and willingness to contribute to the overall school community is what makes her an excellent asset to my students my passion definitely came from one of my teachers mrs patty eur she really mentored me not only through middle school high school college and even the first few years of my teaching career but my passion definitely continues to be fueled by my students excitement and their happiness when i go to pick them up

025from their classrooms they're excited to come with me so my philosophy really centers around being a nurturer i want to make sure i provide a comfortable environment for my students and really nurture their ideas nurture their confidence really celebrate all of their successes even the little ones so that way they feel comfortable sharing a crazy idea or a unique idea that nobody else thought of or really even just try to build something super ambitious that they know might not work out or they don't think it's going to work out because that's really where the learning occurs when they feel safe and they feel confident enough to take those risks each and every one of them really has something great to offer our community and even our world so i really hope that they can remember

026me as one of the people to help them discover what that is [Music] miss o'neill is a very hard worker and is always willing to make the best of any situation she works very hard with any student that she goes into contact with to make sure they're having a great day and doing their very best i think sonia will always be remembered for her hard work and commitment not only to our students but the other students in her class as well as the school i like to remember being kind and passionate and caring and always helpful making a difference i get my passion from the kids i love working with them good days some tough days it's all great and they're just wonderful the most important elements my teaching style is being patient and compassionate

027and giving the kids a chance to just come out on their own and learn things on their own and be there to guide them and help them my teaching philosophy is it takes a village i wouldn't be here today without the amazing staff at this school and dr bill and everybody supporting and helping me [Music] mrs warren's classroom environment is one that is inclusive it welcomes everyone and makes students feel safe and valued i would say what makes mrs warren so successful as a teacher is her dedication to each student in her class she makes a connection with each student on a personal level and encourages them to do their best each and every day what makes mrs warren stand out is her enthusiasm that she brings each and every day to her teaching the

028relationships and the encouragement she provides all of her students she will always be remembered for being one of vmes's finest teachers i think my passion comes just by seeing my students with that light bulb moment when they understand something that i've presented to them and it definitely doesn't hurt that they always say they love coming to school and they love being in our class and i think that's what gives me my drive and passion every day to come to school i use lots of humor in my classroom i love to joke around with the kids they seem to really respond to that i might tell a funny joke to get them to be less nervous about a new concept or i sing songs they don't love my singing but i do so i think that

029really to get them engaged is important i hope that i've had a positive impact in their lives because i know they have had in mind [Music] mrs ferreira is an outstanding service professional in the paraprofessional role what makes her so special is her ability to connect with our kids to encourage them to celebrate them and to help them strive for improvement each and every day what makes miss ferreira stand out is her positive outlook her belief that every student can achieve her desire to work with her team and her colleagues and her dedication to the students that she works with miss ferrara will always be remembered as a person who cares about every student that she comes in contact with i would like to be remembered for being caring of my students and for helping

030them to achieve their best selves i get my passion because i like to see my students succeed i like when my students like have that moment where they're excited for what they're doing when they're like felt good about what they achieved when i'm working with my students i try to treat them the way that i would like my children to be treated in a classroom i tried to bring like that caring touch to students who sometimes need that i want my students to remember me as the person who was kind with them and who helped them [Music] what makes her successful as a teacher is her heart and her kindness towards her students and her commitment to her children she does anything she can to make them successful not only during their eighth grade year

031but to give them the skills they need to be successful in life she's a foundational part of what makes think of her so special the most important element to my teaching style i think is the relationships that i build with the kids if they know that i care about them not only as a student but as a person then they're going to be more willing to help themselves and be more successful not just academically but socially emotionally in their lives outside of school these kids have had a rough couple years so the passion is making them come back and be a student again and learn how to adjust to being in a school and functioning like a student would be in a normal world i'd like my students to remember me as somebody who did

032the best that i could to help them to help them grow as a person to help them grow as a student and to be successful in life beyond just the academic classroom in eighth grade to go to high school and to find their own passion her passion for middle school students which is unusual the most difficult age is young adolescents and she has an amazing understanding and commitment to that age level i want to be remembered for always giving my students an opportunity to be their best the rapport that i've had been able to have with them over the past three years of working with the same kids is what gives me the passion to succeed each day with them my teaching philosophy is to build on student strengths identifying where their strengths are versus

033their weaknesses so students feel empowered for what they can do versus not for what they can't do i want my students to remember me as someone that was on their team that was a supporter a cheerleader for them [Music] mr seidelman's classroom is very student-centered the students are continuously interacting with their peers working on music putting equipment together learning how to use the equipment and the instruments and always learning how to be better in their craft of music he's very passionate about what he does on a daily basis and he continues to share his love for music with the students many of our students flock to his class because it's a safe environment where they're not afraid to take risks mr settlement has a great personality and everyone loves to go to him for things

034because of his smile and his energy that he brings to the building and they know when they go to him he's always there to support them i want to be remembered as a teacher that cared for his students i get my passion from teaching i believe from when music was taken from me when i was in college my father lost his job so i left school to help support the family and it wasn't really until then that i really realized how much it meant to me and i wanted to be able to give that back to other people the most important elements of my teaching style is just me being myself they lead a lot of what we do and i follow with examples there's more to than what's on the page to teaching in

035middle school there's teaching the whole student [Music] stacy would be successful in any position we put her because of her caring nature and willingness to help anyone in the building and she wants everyone to be successful stacy stands out in our building because everyone comes to her for everything she works on our technology she's here in the library she fills in she's the chairperson for our sunshine club she's the field hockey coach and she'll do anything that anyone asked her to do in our building mrs elmendorf will always be remembered for her willingness to serve everyone in the vmms community she is so caring and she wants everyone to be successful and the students and the staff and the parents of our community recognize that i always wanted to be a teacher since kindergarten and

036i am a product of bricks schools i went through herbertsville that's elementary vets middle school and brook memorial and now i've been here for 24 years just all my previous teachers and colleagues have ignited a passion for teaching the most important element to my teaching style is building relationships with them getting to know what subjects they like and being able to help them pick something and make them a lifelong reader i would like them to remember me as a friendly place to come visit and someone that would ignite a passion and education for them [Music] ben's classroom is really a sight to behold it's like walking into a rainforest you go in there there's flora and fauna kind of like being transported into a scientific kingdom what makes ben so successful as a teacher is

037passion for his content area he loves science he cares deeply about the planet and that combined with his ability to meet students where they are to be compassionate to their needs and connect with them and form relationships really is the intersection of that is what makes him a great teacher i think he believes so deeply in saving our world and protecting it for the future generations and he believes that the best way to do so is by educating the youth of today so that they can carry that on i think the fact that we do science is important getting kids to actually do scientific experiments and hands-on work i think is is really important for the kids because books and videos don't go as far as they used to you have to be able to

038do the real stuff in order to promote interest in it as i continue to learn more and become more aware i think it just promotes more interest in myself and the fact that i have kids that this really relates to at home and here so i think the more i learn the more i want to teach better i hope that they see them really into what i'm pushing to them and hopefully they come away with an interest as well [Music] what makes tracy so successful is really her compassion for her students one of the things that makes mrs reinhart stand out and so special is just her availability she's always there for her kids in the guidance office i think mrs reiner will always be remembered for two things one is her smile and her

039laughter she's always got a positive outlook on things she's always got a joke and a light way about her which makes her very approachable she'll also i think always be remembered for being dependable she is kind of a rock that all of us can look to myself included and always working attitude something that i know will never forget about it i'd like to be remembered as a nice person i'd like my students to think back and remember that maybe i helped them in some way maybe they were struggling with something and i helped motivate them or if they were being faced with a life decision maybe i helped guide them through that process in some way my initial attraction to the field of education came from my father he was a teacher and then he

040was a retired school administrator i try to be as student-centered as possible whenever i am faced with a situation working with a student i try to imagine what is best for this student in the long term [Music] leads our mentor program she's a member of irs she's a part of the pbsis and scl committees essentially miss erica crew is a must do it all for brett township high school it's really wonderful when you walk into mrs cruz classroom you're immediately struck with an environment that is accepting and supportive of students needs it's commendable to see mrs carew develop the relationships that are built over time through trust and really supporting an individual in what they need the most important element to my teaching style is relationships i believe relationships are the foundation to success in

041the classroom and success with everything we do with our students and without building relationships and looking at the individual needs of the students i don't think that we will ever get any further with the content i hope my students remember me as someone who cared about them as individuals and not only as students someone who valued their opinions and was interested in seeing them grow not only academically but as people and someone who listened to their concern and gave them a voice and a safe space to be who they needed to be when they needed it [Music] it's very easy to see that infectious personality that brings students and staff to her looking for that guidance and support that she's always willing to lend i personally admire her ability to collaborate connect and articulate information

042to both parents students and staff she brings a positivity to our school that i truly appreciate and admire i would like to be remembered for my rapport with students families and staff for motivating my students to do well in school advocating for my students and for helping them on their educational journey and future plans my passion for counseling began with my middle school and high school counselors as well as my college counselor i was so thankful for the educators who are part of my life and i want to give back and i was inspired to help our students navigate through life decisions i typically use the solution-focused approach to counseling centered on goal setting and problem solving to elicit positive behavioral changes i also encourage self-awareness self-exploration and self-understanding i want to empower them to

043make good choices and life decisions and i hope to help them on the transition to high school and on the journey that lies ahead of them [Music] [Applause] so i just i want to take my hat off to all the talented educators that are here tonight we are really appreciate your efforts as dr farrell always says student-centered teacher-led i think that video captured just how caring kind and committed our our educators are to student growth and how student-centered they really are so congratulations all of you i know your families and friends are so proud so let's hear it for them i hope some of your own children are standing and applauding for you and husbands and wives and spouses too um so we're not done yet because we get to now give you some beautiful

044gift bags some certificates and some flowers i want to thank heather decondi from lake riviera middle school she made these beautiful keepsake bags and i i hope that you enjoy a token of our appreciation so on behalf of the board of education we'd like to invite our teachers and our educational service professionals to come down receive their award and stand with your principal um for your official portrait with dr farrell and board of education president mrs walrab and so you'll also be given a a rose a white rose for our teachers and a yellow rose for our educational services professionals so we're gonna start from pre-k and then go up to the high school level um getting into position here that is for those of you i emailed all of our recipients and i said

045that we're going to take a picture by stand and repeat i didn't know what a standard repeat was until dr farrell came yeah i'm not a red carpet kind of girl but i really appreciate that it looks great all right so for your official portrait you will be coming and taking a picture with dr farrell and mrs walrab from harvardsville early childhood development center teacher of the year janet tiscio and educational services professional biba granvalds [Applause] there you go and then after the picture's taken they'll enter onto the stage from warren h wolf early childhood development center teacher of the year julianne moore an educational services professional sarah white from drum point road elementary school teacher of the year kate kohler [Applause] and educational services professional rita nittal [Applause] from emma haven's young elementary school

046teacher of the year michael day and educational services professional colleen straniero [Applause] from lanes mill elementary school teacher of the year diane ellers and educational services professional jason jacobus from midstream's elementary school teacher of the year ashley earnest [Applause] and educational services professional diana o'neal [Applause] from osborneville elementary school teacher of the year michelle bauman [Applause] and educational services professional brett novick [Applause] from veterans memorial elementary school teacher of the year michelle warren [Applause] and educational services professional shannon ferreira [Applause] from from lake riviera middle school teacher of the year kelly sperling [Applause] and educational services professional kylie loretta [Applause] from from veterans memorial middle school teacher of the year christopher seidelman [Applause] an educational services professional stacy elmendorf good job you're doing great from brick memorial high school teacher of the year ben shibley

047[Applause] and educational services professional tracy reinhardt from brick township high school teacher of the year erica carew [Applause] and educational services professional angela smith what so will you please join me in a final round of applause for all of our governor's educator of the year recipients [Applause] so so is that this time we're going to take three group photos a whole group then the teacher of the year and then the esp of the year afterwards i'm going to ask that you all take your seats so that we can introduce the district teacher of the year so let's just take a minute for those shots hi sure is everything okay i think they already took the whole for the whole group picture i'd like the board of education to join our staff so we'll get it

048all set up and then we'll have you come up oh i know in person so much better and now we're going to have one whole group right and i'd like dr farrell and the board of education to please join everyone on stage sure miss mcnamara if you'd like to go miss hanson the more the merrier i know i'm good here i've got to be in charge of the microphone no i'm not no viewers mr edwards mr chrysler come on go ahead this is a big party come join the party nice [Applause] we're gonna now um announce the district teacher of the year i don't think it has the stands does it if they want so it at this time we'd like to introduce the teacher district teacher of the year each of the teachers of

049the year complete a rigorous application for the ocean county teacher of the year a district committee comprised of teachers administrators and community members evaluates these applications and selects the brick township teacher of the year the committee reviews professional biography teaching philosophy message and educational leadership and this is a really challenging task because we have so many talented teachers that really are so deserving looking through the lens of the district vision of student-centered teacher-led this year's district teacher of the year has made a huge impact as a teacher leader starting a mentoring program leading the intervention and referral services process at her school and serving as a summer spark coordinator please join me in congratulating the 21 22 brick township teacher of the year erica carew thank you good evening dr farrell members of the board

050administrators fellow teachers family and friends i consider it both an honor and a privilege to be standing here tonight as the 2021 2021-2022 brick township teacher of the year it's been such a humbling experience to be recognized amongst the many exceptional educators with whom i've had the privilege of working the experience has given me an opportunity to reflect upon my career the path i've taken and the students that i've met along the way as a child when i was asked what i wanted to be when i grow up i cannot remember having any other answer other than a teacher someone recently asked me why and i couldn't come up with only one answer but if you can bear with me i'd like to take a moment and share a bit of the reasons with you

051when i was in first grade mrs dill had the most infectious laugh her favorite song was peace train by cat steven so much so that we all learned every lyric she set up an area in the classroom where we could listen to please don't laugh on the record player we could listen to 45s when we finished our work and there were so many to pick from her spirit and the environment she created in her classroom was one that i still remember have you ever had a pet ferret a student actually asked me that in class the other day the things you talk about when talk when working with triangles anyway my response was fun fact my fourth grade teacher mrs brown let us have a ferret as a class pet after i disappointed my class

052and told them that i was not bringing a ferret into school i continued to tell them how amazing mrs brown was that was the year i learned sign language we studied the solar system and we decorated the entire classroom to look like our galaxy we learned the best song about shooting stars i could but i won't sing it for you it was in sixth grade with mr roventine that i learned how to become an independent learner and every student in that class left in june knowing how to play chess i think it was in high school however when i made my final decision to become a teacher mrs bryce was the english teacher who made all the difference she taught freshman and junior english and was the advisor of the english club through which we

053experienced broadway and visits from authors when my guidance counselor suggested that i apply for the for the new jersey governor's teaching scholarship for education it was the support and encouragement of mrs bryce which gave me the confidence to apply i will be forever grateful to her because that scholarship made a world of difference in my life it's no doubt that it was the positive influence and encouragement of my amazing teachers that made me want to become one myself i started college majoring in english and my goal was to become an elementary school teacher shortly after i started i changed my major to math and i chose to broaden my horizons and earned my certifications for both elementary and high school math even though i was sure i was never going to teach high school someone

054once said you may not always end up where you were going but you will always end up where you were meant to be after teaching for almost 10 years as a middle school math teacher and then taking some time off to be with my family i re-entered the classroom working primarily in a high school setting and teaching math the experience was eye-opening i was especially drawn to the students who approached learning differently and when given the appropriate support they were able to thrive i realized that that was where i could make a difference i began a master's program and i started towards my certification as a teacher of students with disabilities and i am very happy to say that this is when i joined the staff of the brick township public schools district the past

055few years in particular have presented challenges that we could not have ever anticipated the covet experience is far-reaching and has impacted our students socially emotionally and academically it's never been more important than our in our current learning environment to approach teaching from a whole child perspective developing relationships with students and getting to know them as individuals is key to understanding their individual needs thinking outside of the box and finding ways to support students has become my mission i found that recognizing students as individuals and giving them a voice empowers them as learners a student-centered approach gives educators a greater understanding of each student and the supports that they need to be successful for some students it could be a brain break while others may require a little bit more the end result will be the

056same but recognizing that each child may need to get there a little differently is what makes for a student-centered classroom environment we recognize our children as individuals with individual needs the next step is to be their cheerleader to ensure that they have every support needed for their success then pandemic took a strong emotional toll on our students affecting their well-being and sense of belonging mrs bryce was my cheerleader helping me for prep for sats and never letting me believe that that scholarship was out of reach every child needs that this year the bths mentor program was able to prepare more than 25 students with mentors mentors provide those students with that extra layer of support mentors services serve as sounding boards cheerleaders and checkpoints they act as a bridge to other school resources guidance counseling

057services or other teachers for example to advocate for their students and to help address any concerns that may arise the personal stories that they share highlight the need for compassion empathy and social emotional learning our community works together to make sure that our students voices are heard and that they are given the support that they need to be successful the differences the difference that can be made by one caring adult can be tremendous i'm so very proud of the bths mentor program and i'm grateful to the mentors who have given of themselves to support this effort as educators we believe that every child can succeed this may look different for each student but our core belief is that success is attainable for each and every one of our students to achieve this we adapt and

058we think outside of the box we develop programs which may not exist or implement new ideas when there's a need as a coordinator of the summer spark program i got to know so many of our students and learn their stories making connections with students helped me to better understand them as people and to also understand their challenges having a mentor or the opportunity to attend the summer spark program allows students to see both school and themselves differently so that they too can believe that they will succeed i think about how mrs brown approached learning her hands-on approach used art and music to reinforce topics such as the solar system in our galaxy she created a learning environment where every student could be successful and learn how to believe in themselves just as much as she

059believed in them teachers are leaders who lead with empathy and empathy helps us to better understand the needs of our most vulnerable students recognizing our students as individuals and giving them a voice empowers them as learners and lets us know what they need to succeed believing that every children every child can succeed being their cheerleader is the heart of what it means to be student-centered teacher-led i'm honored to be to represent the brick township public school district a community that has such talented educators promising students and supportive families thank you you thank you so much erica it's at this time that we're going to take a brief recess um if you'd like to take some more pictures or anything like that or should you care to to exit we'll begin back in about five minutes

060about five great minutes for you well done if anybody wants to take a picture in front of the step and repeat with your family you are more than invited to do so goodness [Music] my childhood [Music] your food is over there team all right after three hours in my head it oh bye erika am i close enough here on yeah that's right okay we're gonna get started again is everybody okay yes okay i need a motion um and a second for approval minutes motion nicole second michael any comments discussion none mary miss hafner yes mr blandina yes scagliardi yes miss parker yes miss piccala yes yes ms siebert yes miss walrup i real quick mary there was one there was a typo on it and instead of brain on the game it said brian if

061we could just fix that and then yes um reports uh okay we will start with the superintendent's comments i listen i we were this was a long program i figured thank you miss well rob i had the opportunity to attend some amazing performances in the last few weeks actually in fact last night i was at the brick memorial's concert band spring concert incredible performance last month i had the privilege of attending our high school musicals right here the brick township high school production of the wizard of oz and brick memorial high school's production of mamma mia were simply amazing i really enjoy seeing our talented student performers our theater arts musicians vpa students are some of the best and the brightest we have to offer and i love celebrating them bravo each of the year

062last year last week we celebrated our talented educators for national teacher appreciation week tonight as you saw we honored the teachers of the year and the educational services professionals from each school congratulations to all of our teachers of the year and educational service professionals of the year what an amazing accomplishment to be honored by your peers is an awesome recognition we should all feel proud of this top back leg and congratulations especially to our school district teacher of the year mrs erica carew who you got to hear speak this evening i've been in many of these teachers classes myself and erica is something special erica is an in-class support math teacher at brick township high school her passion for her mentoring program that she helped develop is so evident i witnessed firsthand her passion for

063students in the senior advisory council meetings that she works with mr mosley and the mayor and she truly oversees a mentoring program with enthusiasm and exuberance well-deserved erica national nurse appreciation week also took place this week culminating with school nurse appreciation day yesterday rick schools is fortunate to have such a caring and compassionate team of nurses many you saw tonight as our service professionals of the year as well they ensure the well-being of our students and staff each and every day so thank you for your help to our nurses i want to congratulate all the retirees over this past year and some that are on for this evening and wish them the best in their future endeavors update on strategic planning strategic planning is starting to wind down we had another steering committee meeting this

064past tuesday and we'll have the next one at the end of june each subcommittee has presented and we anticipate surveys to be sent out over the next two months it is our hope to finalize a plan by the end of the summer and present and share out with everybody in early fall summer programs speaking of planning our special education department and our curriculum and instruction department are busy planning for our summer programs special education department hosted a virtual parent session on may 11 to provide an overview of the extended school year program cni department is hosting a virtual parent session on may 16 to provide an overview for this year's summer spark program a blackboard message actually i think a blackboard message went out tonight on the enrichment program and another blackboard message will be

065sent out with other spark information catalog and session information rick schools is proud to once again be participating in the brick township green fair which will be held on saturday may 21st from 10 a.m until 2 p.m at the bob anster cultural arts center on herbert road admission to the green fair is free we encourage all families to attend this community-wide event which will showcase exhibits information and demonstrations regarding conservation and sustainability from some of our schools greens teams green teams as well as various independent vendors this year's green fare will also feature electric vehicles and provide opportunities for test drives just this week we learned that the veterans memorial middle school sustainable energy club and its hydrophonic club won a ride on a platoon boat from the barnegat bay partnership for the rain barrel

066design for their rain barrel design the rain barrel waters orders the vms courtyards garden which is another club project that they did took months to sand the barrel down pre-coated create a design to align with the specifications combine the barnegat bay environment with sustainability and transfer the design to the barrels great job the mms as we wind down the school year we have a lot of end-of-year activities so many milestones to celebrate like award ceremonies proms promotions and graduations please take time in these closing weeks to recognize our amazing students accomplishments and celebrate them every year around this time i take the time to thank my central office administrative team thank you a heartfelt thank you this team is really one of the most hardworking and conscientious group of people that i've ever worked with

067i know that i could be tough sometimes but the product of our combined efficacy has been positive i recently read a leadership thought on choices chances and consequences leaders all make choices take chances and have to deal with the consequences good and bad every day this group faces challenges head on and lead by example thank you so much in reflecting on this past year i believe that i may have been our district's lead learner i learned that in tough times we could see many positive traits in people i've learned that brick schools students and staff are so resilient they all learn and lead in their own way and eat just taught me that as well i've seen people display capabilities that i may have thought they didn't possess character traits developed to help others and

068to contribute to a bigger picture and greater whole encourage to lead by example and teach others open-mindedness and understanding i learn every day from others and i thank all of our students and staff for making this district better every day leadership and learning are indispensable to each other in my opinion thank you dr farrell and i just have to say i am so glad that memorial junior prom is happening tonight and they're going and they're dancing and they don't have to worry about masks thank god so um okay our committee reports um ms hansen national education thank you mrs wolram our special education committee met on may 9th in attendance were dr farrell myself mrs wohlrab mrs siebert and mrs piccala we started the discussion with the preschool lottery and registration our preschool lottery was

069held the first week in may it was a huge success we're thankful for all the help from the technology department the preschool staff and the special education staff who are there to support a very successful evening the lottery grid is available on the district website with the selected and wait listed numbers color coded letters went out by mail this week to the selected and the wait listed students in the letter you'll find directions on how to respond about whether or not you'll be accepting your child's spot please read the letter carefully and abide by all the timelines if there are any questions you may call jackie janek our preschool coordinator and she will help you with any questions that you have we then started a discussion on the esy and enrichment programs for the summer

070this summer the special education department will be running our esy program every student in the esy program will be afforded two extra hours so the program will run from eight to two those extra hours will be for compensatory education due to the effects of covit 19. in addition special education students who would not normally be eligible for esy may be invited to attend two weeks of a full day specially designed instruction program to address the effects of covet 19 as well on tonight's agenda you're going to see see our dedicated staff who have been hired to work on both in both programs and the determination about whether or not a student requires either of these programs has been determined by the child study team and letters will be going home to parents this week on

071on the board agenda tonight you're going to see um um well not on the board agenda but actually we have posted several special education positions for the 2022-2023 school year um those positions are posted on apple track and on our website and we will begin interviewing candidates in the next few weeks and hope to have some candidates approved on our next board board meeting in june these positions include special education teachers teacher aides special education teacher coach supervisor bcba and rbts this week was special education week may 8th through may 14th our district has been celebrating and bringing awareness to special education and learning differences in a variety of ways in our district over 100 students entered a poster contest activities were developed in the classrooms by our cst members and special education teachers we

072tweeted every day highlighting special education students and activities and various contests around the district and finally our decorating contest the more competitive members of our staff throughout the district competed in a door decorating contest to demonstrate and highlight the inclusion of special education students in classrooms and activities many educators used the theme when we learn together we grow together with a class ice cream party at stake the competition was fierce congratulations to the winners at each level in pre-k miss courtney cox at warren h wolfe won that contest elementary school osborneville teacher samantha nardi won that contest middle school contest was won by ms boyle and miss derosmo at lake river middle school and if you get a chance to go over and see that it is outstanding what they did at lake riv and

073in high school miss courtney ari at brick memorial high school won that contest we have a short video to highlight some of the fun that we had this week's celebrating special education if you could run that now that would be great [Music] do [Music] do [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] do [Music] so [Music] [Applause] thank you miss hanson mr edwards facilities and finance thank you um so the finance committee met on may 5th we've got a short little video we're going to run for you oh all seriousness no video facilities committee met may 5th at two o'clock uh energy savings improvement plan mr pecorio talked to us about the district wide energy management system that's being installed for the bmsbmh system brick memorial high school they're 90 percent complete lake riviera is a hundred percent

074complete warren h wolfe uh work will be done the week of may 20th midstream's elementary school is going to be undone over the summer lanes mill elementary school uh also done over the summer veterans mower middle school 100 complete drum point elementary school 100 complete osborne elementary school 100 complete so we're really getting close to having the goals project completed throughout the district in regards to the solar power purchase power agreement mr picorio informed the committee that herbertsville elementary school is 100 percent complete and waiting for jcpennel shutdown to interconnect which is scheduled for may 14th leansville elementary school is 100 complete also waiting to be have the internet connect which is scheduled for may 14th brick township high school carports are complete the roof is 80 complete transportation building is 100 complete with the

075scheduled tie-in to be may 21st osborneville elementary school 40 complete drum point elementary school 40 percent complete 12th 20 complete in regards to the boiler replacement and combined heat and power at brick moira high school mr picorio informed the board of education that unit temp who's the contractor on the project plans on beginning the demo work before the end of school with most of the work occurring during the summer lanesville elementary school parking lot project before you inform the committee that earl did the repairs designated over the break uh spring break and that the additional fence work was completed except for the area around the at the back by the playground veterans more elementary school 2004 roof edition that work is scheduled for to begin in june the birkemoor high school penthouse seen the replacement

076of air handles replacement of the chiller the lake river middle school air conditioning the veterans memorial middle school boiler replacement and air conditioning emma havens air conditioning the vet and the veterans moore elementary school air conditioning drum point elementary school boiler replacement and air conditioning mr pecoria myself informed the committee that there were no bids on the bid opening we received no bids on bid opening we are going to put the projects back out to bid but at this point those projects will have to be done during the summer of 2023. lake river middle school boiler plant emma havens excuse me young elementary school boiler plant midstream's elementary school boiler plant lanesville air lanes elementary school air conditioning and lanes mill elementary school boiler replacement all those projects have been awarded they're all going to

077be completed in the summer of 2022 this coming summer the only item that we're aware of right now that could be a possible hold up is the electrical switch gear for lanes elementary school contractors saying that the estimated lead time on that equipment is 38 to 52 weeks that's a long time veterans more middle school roof a6 that's scheduled to be done this summer for potential high school roof 24 also scheduled to be done this summer veterans moore middle school solar removal that's on this evening's agenda for taking money from capital reserve to remove the solar panels for the roof warranty work same at emma haven's young elementary school midstream's elementary school parking lot we did take bids on that project we are working with the township on a couple of issues that we have

078with a piece of property that they own that's next door to us the bids did come in under budget bids come in at 655 000. the budget was 778 000. so we're hopeful to have that on the june 14th agenda for award rick moore high school parking lot reconfiguration uh that bid opening is scheduled for june 3rd with anticipation that will be on the june 14th board of education meeting for approval and then we discuss midstream's air conditioning in osborneville elementary school air conditioning we're still looking for funding to do those two projects and then we discuss the herbertsville and osborneville parking lot reconfiguration and discussions with the county on trying to come up with solutions at both of those sites most likely that work will occur in the summer of 2023 and our next

079meeting is scheduled for june 1st and then the finance committee met shortly right after that first item was the 2223 budget inform the committee that the county has approved the budget the budget user-friendly budget is posted on the website emma havens young elementary school requested a transfer funds which the committee approved for the purchase of furniture brick township high school requested a transfer of funds which the committee approved for the purchase furniture we had a brief discussion on courtesy busing in the district and again our next meeting for that is same day as a facility on june 1st and now enjoy this short video that will conclude our committee reports for tonight this will be the first public comments on agenda items only the board invites thoughts and reactions on agenda items each participant is

080asked to give his or her name prior to making a statement all statements shall be directed to the presiding officer 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 do we have anybody for public comment on agenda items mr finale nope we'll start with you change things up okay awesome first of all i'm not used to mr edwards cracking jokes but but it's a welcome thing thank you neither are we yeah i saw i saw this old guy leaving the building i said where you going he says i can't believe it everyone's apologized to me i'm so upset i'm leaving

081if you want to get rid of me apologize i guess i'll leave too second it's the second time this week i've seen some of us i don't know if you're aware the cheerleaders won what was that a state championship that you thought it was on yeah national national okay um just for my own curiosity under ci number one six of you are going to atlantic city who's paying for that you or the taxpayers i'm talking about the meeting lodgings and travel my own information number three last meeting i mentioned there was one item on the agenda when i tried to open it it says open your google account well number three did the same thing again this week i don't know why okay so number three under cni yeah okay when i try to open

082it i have to open up a google thing that's the only item it did i don't know under under operations number 18. uh it reads like we're paying 185 000 to remove solar panels so we can do warranty work on the roof is is that actually what's happening and if so why do we have to pay if somebody is doing warranty work under hr again my own curiosity yesterday i looked at items 10 and 11. and item 10 is all the tenured teachers oh i go down to the bottom and say all right got 698 and i was doing some salary analysis and everything i look at the same thing today and all those numbers are gone so if today was the first time i looked at that and wanted to know how many tenure

083teachers we'd have i'd have to count them i'm just curious as to why one day those sequential numbers are there one through 698 and the next day they're not there and the same thing happened with slide 11. they can answer that uh number 25. i know you're not going to answer what it is but if you can tell me what it is right a sidebar agreement between the bric school district and the btea what is it what is a sidebar agreement sounds like something we do when you're in court and number 35. i i'm guessing you have an agreement with the twu in brick township i would you tell me what's in there after you vote on it tonight so if i bring it up at the end of the meeting just give a quick

084thing okay and the other thing is there's all sorts of talk tonight and things on there about the summer spark program i said yeah i don't know what that is so when i went back to the home page to try to open it up and it says people sign in wouldn't let me if somebody could just tell me what is the summer spark program and i don't know if if my computer but if parents or somebody's trying to get in there they wouldn't let me in today okay and that's it okay dr farrell start you want to start with number one who's paying for the yeah new jersey school boards um actually they haven't had it in the last two years because of covid but it's been in atlantic city for 50 years and that's

085paid by the member districts as well as other districts for their school board members who are part of that association and it's a workshop over a few days i go down myself as superintendent some other administrators go down a lot of them is very worthwhile i've spoke at them before i get a lot out of it myself i think uh some of it on governance and some of the accredited courses for school board members and i'm trying to encourage i know what it is i just asked who's paying for it there you go yes district pays for that for everything travel board i think there's a limit um there's a limit by the state rule per diem right yes does the district pay for you to go to yes okay so it's all there's a

086per diem limit whatever statement taxpayers are paying for all of it correct okay number 18 the solar panels uh mr edwards you want to talk on that on the roof warranty yeah sure so unfortunately we have to remove the panels to be able to do warranty work the panels are the roof that the panels are sitting on is leaking so we have to remove the panel in order to fix it and then we put them back on of course okay so if i understand what you said the roof is being repaired under warranty but in order to fix the roof we have to pay to have the solar panels removed i used to think solar panels were great now i'm thinking they're not so great i mean there's no way that if uh if somebody

087does a roof and has to come in and warranty work on it that we can get them to well if you see outside here we have them in the parking lot now why me we have them in the parking lot now another option yeah but i mean that's great and i'm parked underneath it so i don't get wet but i mean is there no way if somebody has to do warranty work that it's going to cost the district 185 000 to remove the solar panels for them to do the warranty work which i'm assuming the work wasn't up to up the par if they're fixing it under the warranty i can only guess and i know this is out of my brains but if something after we put solar panels on a roof and as

088roofs age if something comes up that's under warranty we decided to put the solar panels on to get a savings so we'd be responsible to move them to get proof fixed which is free so yes that's just the nature of doing business when you look at the investment of solar panels and i'm not one of those guys 185 grand is a big nut to make up hopefully we've had cost savings and capital improvement savings just in the solar panels alone so the hr this is that year again mr chrysler the last few weeks has been under the gun where we renew staff you'll see a little bit more also in june renewing staff tenured and non-tenured by state statute usually happens before may 15th to give notice i don't know the format if it had

089a number i'm sure mr chrysler can give you the exact number what it was but that has been updated probably a few dozen times i'm looking across over the last two weeks to make sure that if someone for example was non-tenured wasn't left in the tenured if the last name was similar so it all happened between yesterday and today no they were updated on the website between yesterday and today what i'm telling you is that it's been a constant progress a constant update on those reports over the last two weeks i don't know the answer why numbers aren't that i wouldn't keep numbers anyway because it's alphabetical but i'm sure mr chrysler can get you the exact numbers so you don't have to count each name individually mr kleiswer if you'd get that to me

090i'll show you it doesn't make my job any easier when the numbers disappear when i want to go look at things it wasn't done for a nefarious reason just uh like doc said i can't hear you sorry about that can you hear me now okay uh it wasn't done for a nefarious reason uh just as we're compiling our data in the last upgrade as we are moving staff members and making sure they're accurate that column was just removed i don't normally track it for that purpose but it was for internal purposes to make sure everybody was included i'll be glad to get you that number i know i shouldn't ask this question dr anderson is smiling we have an online catalog with spark we were recognized last year with our spark program uh we've given

091multiple presentations but i know dr anderson would love i won't go too long on the summer program for you a good amount of time with my governor's educator of the year my question my question my my question really is a very simple one is the spark program something to do with making up what was what was lost or in covet it absolutely helps yes because we have we're using federal monies to extend our school year it's in essence a summer program for kindergarten through eighth grade we have the jumpstart program it helps math literacy and we also have our music academy so we have that that's a three week music program and we also have art and art immersion and math academies because we really want to boost our math scores so it's all it's

092a a program that's offered for about five weeks in the summer and some programs are offered every day others are offered twice a week we also have credit recovery so yeah it helps us address some of the issues the learning loss that occurred or unfinished learning that occurred as a result the that's the 20 that dr farrell pushed over there i could do a lot more but he i'll try to refrain from that and also the length the length it's paid for by federal funds and grants um but the link does it didn't work probably because that's my fault because when we posted it i asked ross to move it because i wanted to be more prominent so in in moving it it was it was operational within minutes so i'm sorry that you caught

093it at a bad time same thing with my secretary she had added something and the permission wasn't she fixed it by the way this is like an inquisition once one against 15. ah no okay okay and then sidebar bta sidebar when you have a contract with the union and there is a specific piece within the contract that you would like to change or you know or you'd like to negotiate again for a change it's called a sidebar so you're not opening up the whole contract you're opening up a piece of the content and when can i find out what that is after it's voted on hmm yeah when you come back up once once it's voted on okay and the same thing same thing afterwards you can't talk about it until it's right okay thank

094you i'll be back with a little more later okay can't wait any other public comment on agenda items seeing none we'll close that let me get back up to the top here sorry okay dr anderson thank you miss woolrab under curriculum and instruction super attendant recommends that the board approve the following items one through five i need a motion in a second i'll make that motion mike i need a second second missy any board discussion being none mary miss hefner yes is split mr blandina yes ms gagliardi ms parker yes miss piccalo yes ms siebert yes this will rip yes mr edwards operations thank you superintendent recommends that the board approve items 1 through 18. i need a motion in a second motion daisy second victoria annie board discussion being unmarried miss hafner yes mr

095blandina yes miss gagliardi abstain number six yes to everything house ms parker abstain number six yes to everything else miss piccala yes a seibert yes miss walrup abstainer number five uh vendor id 9402 yes to everything else mr chrysler human resources right thank you miss walrab tonight superintendent recommends items 1 through 37 for board approval i need a motion in a second i'll make the motion mike i'll make second nicole any board discussion seeing none mary miss hefner yes mr blandina yes is gagliardi yes miss parker yes miss piccala yes miss sievert yes miss walrup yes ms mcnamara policy planning thank you mrs walrab i apologize i had a problem with my computer under uh policy and planning the superintendent recommends that the board approve the following items one i need a motion in a

096second motion daisy second any board discussion seeing none mary miss hefner yes mr blandina yes miss gagliardi yes miss parker yes miss piccalo yes the seibert yes miss walrup yes this is the second opportunity for public comment each participant is asked to give his or na her name prior to making a statement all statements shall be directed to the presiding officer comments shall be limited to five minutes and each speaker may only speak once 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 anyone for public comment christina scott president tw local 220 brick new jersey i want to take a

097moment to say thank you to the board of education and all involved in reaching a contract agreement for our members this was a successful negotiations where we accomplished retaining current employees as well as having incentive for future employees this contract recognizes employees as the professional valuable employees with that they are with these salary increases working for the brick schools thank you thank you thank you any other public comment yes [Laughter] i graduated high school 125 pounds so i'm going to read my letter i voted about a week ago the dr farrell and the board of education i am writing this letter just to continue raising concerns over two issues which see which seems to be pushed by high-ranking officials and some special interest groups i know we are told certain things aren't taught here in

098bric and in new jersey but thing things seem to sneak in around the country so why not speak out before it happens here criticisms has been raised on items pulled from sample curriculum materials that are not in use in new jersey schools and have not been adopted by any new jersey school districts we are told there is much misinformation out there that that is not included in any of these guidelines now we have a misinformation department within homeland security and that in itself cannot be trusted so i must continue to at least express my opinion as long as i am allowed admit these concerns over the new standards governor murphy told his education department to review them for age-appropriate material and what we select in the state and brick should be sent home to the

099family members parents grandparents caretakers weeks before any child gets to witness them the parents should have the right to not only have their child opt out but should actually have their child opt in if they don't want to teach and advise and discuss these subject matters at home these matters should be left to the parents and not to some school-hired stranger that the student has only known for months or a couple of years i know we all hope the decision to implement these rules will be held off for another year but in reality they are a travesty to parenting and family life and should not be done oh and should be done away with immediately never to see the light of day again no elementary student should be subjected to the contents that is in

100the realm of parents and guardians because one must ask who is so qualified to know what age appropriate is for another person's child the other item i do not want to forget forgotten is off hidden but yet sneakily planted in lesson plans and books distributed in schools and school libraries is critical race theory why would anyone want to teach students that they are either privileged or oppressed based on skin color national origin or upbringing we in this country have given so many the opportunities they would have never had anywhere else i know there are some who try to conceal what they are doing and others who may try to distract from what they are doing because they realize that the not with knowledge honest people do not want the schools to indoctrinate children into their

101philosophy the new jersey department of education adopted new health and physical education standards in 2020 and there is much misinformation but children should be taught reading writing and arithmetic and other useful subjects like our teachers been teaching and got awarded to tonight and not be teaching some sexual orientation in schools who should teach our children about all the life lessons of race race relations and opportunities and about sex and sexuality should it be the governor or his hand-picked board should it be an administrator at a school should it be the mayor of east some town or should it be impact a parent who gave life to that child i never said it john sluck or 950 soviet court sorry about that have a good day thank you mr zeluka any other public comments yes my

102name is judy baker good evening it is not my intent to make people uncomfortable in what i say nor do i intend to argue other views that differ from mine it is my intent to have a better understanding as to what the curriculum holds for students here in brick and to be able to have access to what books and resource materials are being recommended for teaching in the classrooms in regard to the new initiatives being set forth it is my understanding that the new jersey law mandates diversity and inclusive instruction in k-12 grades this diversity agenda includes race and ethnicity diversity and gender and sexual orientation diversity it is to promote tolerance and belonging and to expose unconscious biases and the law also states that it includes religious tolerance i have concerns about sex gender

103and racial education as it is implemented into the schools particularly in the elementary age children k through third grades i am concerned how these mandates will be interpreted and implemented i have seen several books that i know to have been used in classrooms in new jersey parts of them in my opinion have been inappropriate for the suggested age groups and in one particular case a grave misrepresentation of the truth the public comes here to participate in the process because we care about children as much as you all do personally i don't wish to be here fighting for these things i value but i hope when i come up to voice my concerns that you will listen and take to heart my concerns education is held in high regard as it should be it can be

104emotional when it comes to the ways and means of educating youth we can and should make it a priority to learn to work together when it comes to making schools the most positive experience for every child and an entirely wholesome environment for all children as they go through their school years i appreciate your commitment to education and thank each of you for your tireless work i hope you will see that parents and grandparents have legitimate concerns and i hope we are welcome here to express our concerns and that you will take them under consideration i will close by asking this is there a list of the approved recommended books for use in the classrooms and implementing the new agendas regarding race sex education and gender identity and if so is this list readily available to

105the public thank you we stated last month that first of all the implementation of this has not begun because it hasn't been put into effect so that's the first thing and i'm talking about the family life and health and family life curriculum with the sexual or sexual education portion of that we have local control over any resources that are going to be last night's meeting if you could go back to even my comments and the superintendent's comments i talked about if it is to be implemented what the summer would look like with committees and notifying and communicating to parents grandparents uh guardians of the like about every resource we would be using so that list is no no we haven't picked there is no well i think right now what we're told it's implementing in

106the fall but um we're hearing like i said that it's going to be postponed it is totally up to local control as far as resources i can assure you there will be not only parental input and staff input on the committees with dr anderson she has a kind of a time frame over the summer to review those resources many as mr seleuca stated he said you know many of these sample lessons that he was talking about are not here and they're definitely not in brick as we said last last month we believe in parental input and grandparent input because we think that involvement helps our environment and helps our students tremendously so that's important to know when we're talking about parental rights and those things that's very important to have that open communication at the

107same time as an educator not a politician and someone that's concerned with brick schools any specific example with your child your grandchild right anything whether it's about any kind of curricular should be addressed to the teacher then to the principal if you're not satisfied obviously the central office here and then again at this board but sometimes we we hear what's happening nationally or statewise and we kind of extrapolate that to think it's going to happen here or we get paranoid we can focus on what's happened here by specific examples as much as we want parental rights which we we all agree with your parental opinion with your child opting in or opt out may be different in someone else's so it's important that you're involved with your child your grandchild any student that you have

108in our district and you're actively communicating with the teacher and the principle of that building and then we address them specifically to just broadly go out and say you know this could happen in a year this may happen in a year you know quite honestly it it's not productive for us getting better we you know we want to focus on brick that's what i'm paid to do is to focus on this district and i know this community and i understand this community and i listen to this community every month when they get up and talk and and you are heard as many of the communities across the county have been heard to the department of ed and the governor's office okay thank you thank you thank you any other public comment yes brand benedictus so

109i want to start out by saying that dr barrel is amazing every time i have a question he answers immediately and i really appreciate that um so here's another question um i am obviously a parent who is super concerned and i find that the most effective parent is one that is well educated as to what is happening um and of course i like my printouts of the njei um something that's i understand that we have control over the the books and the curriculum and things like that but there are certain things that are kind of this is how it is these are the mandates and something that was really concerning to me is the transgender student guidance for school districts and on the printout number seven is the use of facilities um and it says

110school district shall allow a transgender student to use a restroom or locker room based on the student's gender identity as a mom of a daughter who's going into middle school there's a huge difference between a sixth grader and an eighth grader i have seen as we all have some of the really concerning things that have happened if a child identifies as another gender fine but it's been misused and it has been taken advantage of and if somebody misuses that and takes advantage and happens to do something to another child that can't be taken back at all so are we going to allow different genders no matter what they identify as in a locker room in a restroom with another gender or are we going to have a special place for them to go because it

111worries me is that your only question that's my question is are we going to have a science okay but you don't have any other that was that was your yeah that was my question that was my question is i was giving examples and of what has happened elsewhere and what is in the njea as well so my question is do we have a special place or are they going to be put in with whatever gender that they identify as that's my question i don't want to defer to the board attorney just yet but i i will tell you that there is law with that in many instances there's common bathrooms as far as nurses room office for that that is choice because it's a very personal choice to all students but there is statute out

112there i'll defer to mr montenegro that says that is the case that for a student that identifies as a certain role they choose not to use a nurse's office restroom or another restroom that is their right mr montenegro can expound and that is dr farrell is accurate in what he stated about the law as well as the guidance from the department of ed so it's not mandatory it's something that when somebody identifies it's discussed as part of the overall program uh some will choose to use a separate bathroom nurse's bathroom a separate bathroom if you look in that guidance it also talks about to the extent anyone else is uncomfortable they also would have the equal opportunity to use an alternative either changing area or bathroom so that's how kind of balance the two so

113what are we going to do when the line for that separate restroom becomes so long because there's usually if they're going to a nurse it's one it's one restroom anything's possible i i can't tell you it couldn't happen i will tell you this those guidance documents that you're talking about the law that implemented that came out in 2017. the guidance came out early in 2018 we haven't had that issue in the four to five years since it's existed so okay thank you any other public comments mr finnelli it's okay somebody leave their glasses up here anybody leave glasses there you go sidebar first okay sidebar so um there were two sides there were two things that we we went through with the um that were on the btea one was a sidebar that allowed us

114to increase the occupational therapists physical therapists and speech therapists during the summer hours from forty nine dollars an hour to sixty two dollars an hour currently we currently we're spending 75 dollars an hour on through a um [Music] an outside group that hires them for us so that was a savings savings to the district the other sidebar in there was we also for summer hours increased starting in 2023 by two dollars an hour for our teachers and our powers para's going from nineteen dollars an hour to twenty one dollars an hour and forty nine dollars to fifty one dollars an hour also just to stay competitive in the area the union wanted it was something that the board wanted and it was in the best interest of the district okay and twu twu um crazy

115contract um it it there's i'm gonna explain it the best way i can you're probably going to have to read it to really understand it because twu for years was it was a union that by the time we really got in there and looked at the contract it was it was a bit of a mess we had a lot of people within that union that were making way below you know below minimum wage and minimum wage has just come up and by that i'm saying ten 10 11 an hour so we didn't do the typical contract in the first year what we did was we looked at how we might be able to go about and increase those starting salaries because we were going to have to because you have to bring them up above

116minimum wage by law so what we did was we went in there and but in doing that you also had people that were in the district for a very long time i mean we you know we do have people that have been in our district some of them were 40 years 43 years 20 years 25 years so while their first increase to above minimum wage was the biggest increase that they had gotten and they had worked here so long how could we separate them from new employees that were coming in and you know make sure that they felt valued within the district so what we did in year one was we gave um a twenty dollar a year uh we we raised those those salaries and we brought anyone that was under those salaries up

117some people were some people weren't in order to put a little separation between the new people coming in and the people that had been with the district for a long time what we did was we gave twenty dollars a year multiplied by the number of the years that they were in and basically what we did was we ensured that everyone got a minimum of a four hundred dollar increase so some people made out better than others as far as percentages i can't tell you that because that's how we worked that okay and then from there we went into year two three and four and we gave them in percentages and that was seven percent 7.5 and six percent even through doing all of this we're competitive we're now competitive we've had members within the twu

118who are thinking about retiring we send their retire retirements and decide that they wanted to stay with the district and while we are still we're not the highest believe it or not even with the numbers that you're hearing because you have to remember this was a union that salaries were low under minimum wage 10 11 an hour in in some cases um we're at least now competitive we have and and quite honestly at the end of this looking at the numbers they're being paid like the professionals that they are because they are professionals and they should be earning a decent wage and it took a lot of time to get to where this contract was prior to us going in and negotiating this and it's going to take us a little time getting out but

119this was a good a good and fair contract for all involved it fixed a lot of years of really underpaid staff members that are here and it showed gratitude and appreciation for a group of individuals that we could not function without they may not be in the classroom but without them the district doesn't run and they deserve to be treated as such and that's what this contract does you didn't have to do that much you didn't have to do that much selling well i just wanted to i just wanted to make sure you understood because you usually get upset when we spend money but this was well spent i don't always get upset uh we're talking basically bus drivers correctly well it's bus drivers it's cafeteria workers it's secretaries it's maintenance workers it's custodial workers

120i mean that's our twu is not like everybody else's twu we have a gamut of so yeah they've got seven six and six um seven seven and a half and six for the last three years the first year we did the um we had to move their salaries up to make be more competitive as well as we gave them um money towards their um years of service so we could meet on the bus drivers how much are we paying bus drivers right now we have one give me a number for bus drivers no no we're at 20 we're at 26 bus drivers i'm sorry 24 24 currently we're paying 17. i know what you're paying yeah now we've gone up to 24. yes you might not believe this is coming from my mouth but is

121that going to be enough well let me tell you um and that's why over the listen there again this was a group of people that worked with us understanding that it took time to get where they were and they didn't want to the district they understood the financial restraints that were in especially this being a big year and there are people within this union that agreed and it was and it they it passed well you know overwhelming support for i'm happy i'm happy yeah listen but i gotta tell you i know there were people that really the first year i only got a 400 raise yeah you know and and have been with the district for many many years but knowing that if he stays for the next four years you know we kind of

122make it we make it up there and we get there but we can't we can't afford to go just for the bus drivers to thirty dollars then what were we gonna do with everybody else it really was a great group of people working again what i'm trying to do is understand yeah i understand i understand two people you can't do out of there's got to be a teacher in the room and there's got to be somebody driving the bus and there's everybody cleaning there's got to be somebody fixing those buses there's got to be somebody cooking their food exactly so it was it was really a labor of love right guys it really was it really was i love them until i have to sit behind them when i'm rushed and get together and they're

123talking anyway the other the other just to answer your other question question real quick um was there the other item um that was opened was the um with the bta was the chapter 44 relief which basically will go into effect in next school year which the 23 school year 23-24 school year and basically what that does is it allows the the teachers we've negotiated and at that point the teachers can go into the state health plan if they if they so choose but it also says that if for some reason the state health plan goes away then it just reverts right back to where we are today okay okay the rest of my questions have to do with the last meeting and the things i didn't get to talk about and some of the things

124you talked about first of all i have to start by saying i misquoted at the last meeting when i mentioned five bilingual teachers and i was reading that right off the state report but it wasn't five bilingual teachers as i was corrected it's five bilingual classes which okay now i can expand on that for you and we'll add those are five certified bilingual teachers so when you say bilingual there could be a teacher that is bilingual so tom farrell may speak spanish and english but i'm certified to teach math the report you're looking at shows that the five certified bilingual teachers and you asked you know why are they all at one place while our bilingual program is at osborneville we may have multiple bilingual teachers that could teach math or even maybe have a

125bilingual certification but are doing something else but the way the state reports that is the bilingual certification for those teachers and i know ms mcnamara uh got you afterwards to help you with that so thank you i'd stand corrected happens once in a while um and i'm learning not to believe everything that i see on state reports but i want to talk about that at the last meeting uh which was basically a budget presentation you did a presentation on class size and i'm virtual i was wondering why are we doing class size when this is a budget presentation and i was i guess i assumed that you were implying that because the budget's going down the class sizes were going up and just to give you a quick summary of what i'm talking about um

126k through k in one was going to average 24. classes 2 and 3 was going to average 24. classes 4 and 5 was gonna average 26. grade six was 28 to 29 grade 7 30 to 24 grade 8 25 25 and the high schools would average about 23 because of all the different things so i looked at that and i looked at the state report and the state report says the teacher to student ratio was 12-1 and i looked at the numbers on the web page and it says the same thing 12 to 1. and then i took the 698 teachers and divided that into the 8446 students and it came out to 12 to 1. that okay 12 to 1 looks like a good number and then lo and behold i'm going through the

127rest of the report as i mentioned item 11 and 12. and item 12 is 116 non-tenured teachers that are not included in that 698. so actually in brick if my understanding my math is correct despairing the teacher the student student ratio is not 12 to 1 it's closer to ten to one and and if that's the case why does it say twelve to one on the website and why does it say twelve to one on the state report those teachers are there i'm assuming you got 116 teachers so if i add that up we don't have 698 teachers in brick we got closer to 814. so what what what is the difference with the teacher ratio and then here's how my mind works all right if you've got all these classes stop laughing at me

128if you've got all these class sizes at 24 to 1 right around there that's only half the teachers at 12 to 1 at 10 to 1 it's not even half the teachers so if you got all these teachers teaching these big classes what are the other half doing somebody give me some idea of how that okay we'll explain that do you want to just keep going with your questions so we can yeah well explain the rest of just the the talking about the report card that so that's your last question that's my only question and i got two more things to do when i'm done so what what's wrong with my numbers do you want to do you want to answer what's it i mean you you're looking at a list of teachers but you

129want to i mean it's well first of all we have 814 of roughly 800 let me educate you ask some questions so let me let me educate you um so the first thing is the budget has been very clear the last few years we always have showed class sizes in the budget since i've been hearing prior because of the effects of s2 i was very clear in my budget presentation and you look at class sizes would have been if we didn't add sections 37 and grade 5 in lanes mill 35 and 34 in osborneville 34 in emma havens in grade 2 31 or 32 was another one so we added five sections on the elementary level so that there's only actually there's no classes with an average class size on the elementary level which was

130our budget priority so that's why we showed you the class sizes not to say that it was close of money we were showing you our priority was to utilize resources to reduce the class size in elementary level that affects a lot of things whether it's disciplined a lot of things that happen on the elementary level so we did that and there's only one building with one grade that has an average class size of 30. so there's none over 30 anymore everybody's below which what you said that has not been the case from this year prior this next year will be the first time we have that by law and kindergarten you can't have more than 25 or you have to add at least an aid in once you hit 26 in kindergarten know that being

131married to a kindergarten teacher i hear that often when they're maxed at 25 how hard it is to handle 25 five-year-olds by yourself the ratio 12-1 is correct i don't know what number so i'm not going to get into a mathematical but i want you to understand that there are aids in class support and a lot of other classes whether it's classified or special education that sometimes could have two or more adults in that classroom because of state law whether it's someone that has a one-on-one or whether it's an in-class support teacher that works on the ieps and accommodations of the students and a gen ed student so when you just do the math and say and i'm doing this because i know when you look at the report card like you said you take

132the numbers for face value but there's so much more to that our student-to-teacher ratio when you look at all the different things whether they're counted as a power whether they're accounted under a certification is to 1. we're not our class sizes are not low where i came from the districts i came and i was i mean you start working over 20 in those lower grades boy parents were coming to board meetings like hey we got you know 25 in a second grade classroom now the second thing i'm going to say to you is i feel strongly and i i will tell you there's so many studies out there mr fenelli have added that class size on the elementary level contributes to a whole thing of less discipline better student connectedness and better performance and you're

133talking about the first tested grades especially grades three through five so our budget priority was to reduce class sizes on the elementary level by reallocating human resources that is why it was included in the budget it was included in the budget the last few years even prior to me to show the effects of s2 i wanted to show the effects of reallocating some teachers to get those class sizes down so that is why we had it in the budget presentation okay let me just say you haven't convinced me of one thing here all right you got x amount of students and i'm using your number eight thousand four hundred and forty-six mr mr finale if i may let me finish and you've got eight hundred and fourteen teachers not six hundred ninety-eight eight hundred you're

134facing your head they're where are these hundred and sixteen non-tenure teachers mr finnelli part of part of the teachers so do you wanna just may i mr finnelli in in the teacher both tenure and non-tenured listing are counselors nurses ot pt speech there's a num child study team members they're all considered teachers so it's not just the teacher in the classroom in addition to which as dr farrell mentioned and as i said in my presentation we are under state regulations as a public school system to only put a certain number of students in certain classes where they need to receive services that are are more targeted to assist them in growing both academically socially and emotionally so that listing of teachers is not just teachers it's our support our educational support staff as well i

135hope that helps so when it says teachers it's not really teachers it is t well they're they're under the teacher's contract they're under the teacher certification program so they're listed as teachers but they're guidance counselors and social workers and child study team members and speech therapists and occupational therapists and physical therapists all of the folks who in a learning community support every child in each child in their growth academically socially and emotionally okay just one other comment dr farrell you talked about two people in the room i'm assuming that's why you have 159 teachers aids on top of okay no they're the two teachers in a room occasionally when you have an in-class support situation you have to have us have a two teachers in a room a regular education teacher as well as a

136special education teacher to support the students in that classroom in addition to which you would have there is a list of teacher aides on the on the agenda as well there may be a need to have a teacher aid with those students so i i did say the budget we did increase our age because they're very important but they're not teachers they're as i said two minutes ago there are in-class support teachers that work with ieps by law an iep is a legal contract that in-class support teacher works with those classified students with a gen ed teacher in our inclusion classes our self not our self-contained where we have multiple teachers in a room so um that's very different than paris we also have powerful so the teacher the student-to-teacher ratio to 12-1 how do

137you how do you come up with that number how do you how do you differentiate how do you come up and say we got this many teachers and how do you know the state the state i don't know the state formula but it's been 12-1 and will be staying 12-1 because we are one of the most when you look at our class sizes comparative to other districts we're still higher so our teacher-to-student ratio by the state formula will stay the same uh i am told but i i don't know the answer on how it's out you can't you give them the number or they give it we give them a bunch of numbers but they create that ratio so it may include some things that i'm not aware of but i'll find out for you

138but that has been the same in comparative like i said to many other districts our 12 to one ratio is actually higher i have two more things about the report card you're going to allow me to continue well your five minutes is up and we went way over it so can we can we do that aren't you you're doing something on the report at some point yeah and he can email me at talk manager yeah we'll catch up with you after on that and we're going to be doing something with the report card coming up so can you save it for when we do mr finale as i say every time if you have any questions about the performance reporter report card you can email me anytime and i can find it out if i

139don't know it i only have one question i want a copy of the latest demographic report am i going to have to uh put an oprah request we're almost there we're almost there and it's going to be going up we we're going to look at it at one more planning committee meeting and then it's going to go public so we're almost there give us another month thank you i'll hold you to it any other public comments i'm sorry did i ally i always feel like i ran a marathon with you mr finale i said i always feel like i ran a marathon marathon after you back after you're done oh my goodness ally hello ali kennedy first of all um i want to say thank you and thank you to our bus drivers i drive

140four or five girls home from soccer practice once a week i don't know how they drive a whole bus worth so whatever they want is worth it and then some well matt you have you have more than bus drivers behind you [Laughter] okay so um i was not able to attend last month's meeting because i was homesick not covered sick just regular old pre-2020 sick i did watch on the tv though with my jaw on the floor for the most part i first of all i just want to say that i agree with mr finelli about the budget presentation and i would appreciate if it were a separate comment section so that we can hear the budget and then we have a full five minutes because i do like his questions and things like that

141so um secondly when we have people speak from the audience when we're at home we can't hear so unless they're here at the microphone when there's like back and forth happening we can't hear when we're home and i miss that part so just wanted to give that little bit of feedback sorry but mostly i'd like to use my time here to speak about the incredible experience my children receive while in the care of brick schools i see on social media all the talk about a sex ed curriculum i have heard at every single board of education meeting that brick does not participate in these crazy lessons that we're seeing online and thank you for that there are some um seriously crazy lessons out there but the keyboard warriors don't want to hear that they are

142not being used here they don't want to attend our board of education meetings because if they did they wouldn't have the opportunity to hear that our leadership can explain what we do teach and most importantly where to find our curriculum that's posted on our website my children are in sixth and eighth grade if you ask them these are real fun years for health class i i think back to my middle school years in health class the birds and the bees it's a normal thing for kids to learn in school i mean at my pediatrician's office they have all sorts of fun diagrams on the wall we want our children to hear about sex ed from trusted adults personally i'd rather they hear about it from their health teacher than from johnny who did his own

143research god knows where better yet do i want them to hear it from me of course i do so you know what i have open dialogue with my kids nothing is off the table i think there's a massive misconception out there as to what they are teaching in our classrooms there is no demonstration in health class no one is showing anyone how a meets be no one is talking about how a meets a or b meets b not in my kids classes anyway and not in any of my friend's kids classes i'm certain that on the elementary level these kids are not being taught any of that i'm sure who the whoever these keyboard warriors are think that they are i'm not sure who these keyboard warriors think they are actually teaching in our district

144we have the best of the best many of our teachers are parents and grandparents we all know they didn't go into their profession for the paycheck they are the teachers because they love the children and they care about our kids and they are going to do right by our kids do you really think that they want to be teaching the things that we're seeing online not one teacher that i've talked to does everyone needs to just take a deep breath and have faith in our administration okay enough with the sex ed thing so one thing that is changing is the way that our books are are defining family back in the day there was a mom a dad a son a daughter a dog and a picket fence today's family definition is a little different

145some homes have mom and mom some have dad and dad even the kardashians had dad who's now mom so if a word problem mentions johnny's moms or katie's dads is this really such a bad thing our kids don't even know the difference or last month dr farrell gave the example that a word problem may say johnny's dad cooked dinner and mommy went to home depot it's 20 22. this happens there was so much hate in the room it made my skin crawl i have no issue with my kids learning about different families or a high level breeze through on the birds and the bees but you know what i don't want them to learn that everyone is the same that one person is better than another we all bleed red we are all cut from

146the same cloth we are all human beings black white purple orange male female transsexual gay straight both none i want my kids to accept all people i know that the number one thing my children have learned in brick schools is kindness and compassion our family has been blessed with incredible teachers who teach my children that it's okay to be different i want my children to learn that some close-minded people who are only there to spew hate and that those people need love in their life maybe they're lonely maybe they've fallen on hard times and their heart is sad there was a lot of bible verse quoting going on last month so i wanted to share this verse with the people that need to hear it i need you to wrap it up the second commandment

147is this you shall love your neighbor as yourself there's no other commandment greater than these so in closing i'd like the board to know and the administration to know that i appreciate you i appreciate the teachers that make an impact on my children's lives i understand the obstacles that you have daily due to crazy government regulations i'm speaking on behalf of some of my friends who are honestly afraid to get up and speak because they don't want to have a target on their back to people in our community that is so sad that a parent wants to share that their children are happy and thriving but they feel they're afraid i want the people in the room with the hate in their heart to know that my family will pray for you i i really

148need you to we pray that you're finding me out for crazy darkness that's overcoming you and that you will find peace with yourself most importantly i want my kids and all their kids of breakfast to know that your parents and community members out there who see you and love you just the way you are thank you for my extra time thank you for your comments any other public comments good evening and it is a good evening i was very pleased to see the team could you please state your name and my name is mud how you doing is that good enough my name is frank huber former president of the board of education and brick now getting back to my point i enjoy it thoroughly doctor you do a wonderful job i think the teachers

149do excellent work in the district i know they do but we have to be aware that there may be some issues with teachers and students that haven't been addressed and that may be just in the classroom and not bought out to the parents i know parents have said some things to me that they've heard from their students in the district that they did not like but they usually don't come out and bring it forward to the board so i'm going to restate myself from last month that in the process of education in our public schools is it not repulsive for a privileged view of administrator teachers and staff to undermine the innocence of children if it happens in the district and it shouldn't we have to be aware that we have to take actions now

150as a as a former police officer and the state corrections officer i know that the district is responsible to report those issues to the police department is it not right mr attorney if that happens we we do need to know about it publicly we don't need to know about the charges but we do need to know publicly second of all we can all agree that parents and not the school government know what's best for their kids so when the parents come up here i expect and i do see the respect coming from the board and the individual administrators of the district and it is refreshing but we are entering serious times in our nation there are forces in our world that want to see the destruction of the innocence of children and i want to

151make you aware and i know you are so i want to thank you for your time and i appreciate your effort because being on the board of education is a thankless job have a good night gentlemen thank you any other public comment seeing none we'll close that portion uh board comment uh victoria you said i remember you said you wanted to i'm sorry i just want to say congratulations to all the award recipients this evening i'm so grateful for their shining example and for all those that that bring it 110 every day and didn't get the award this year i'm grateful for them also i am very proud of the innovative programs and student opportunities that we have highlighted in our district and in case you didn't see it are you getting this on the

152film there buddy okay in case you didn't see it the cover of the brick times says students grow sustainable food with in-class garden and when i was scrolling through social media this morning i came across an article that said students grow sustainable food with in-class garden and it was an article about our award-winning bmhs teacher of the year mr scheible and how he engages students in science and he he has like a hook and he he grabs them in and not just the high school kids he also has the elementary kids coming in and the middle school kids coming in and what's good for for our older students is even better to spark that enthusiasm in our younger students so i just wanted to say i'm proud of these opportunities that our kids have i

153also want to say that one of the things that our students are doing in the high school is partnering with a community service program called seeds of service also donating the food that they're growing and their efforts to help the needy in our community it's great to see all this nice stuff when you're sitting in the barber shop getting your hair cut um secondly i just like to talk about the brick township green fair because it is different this year our venue has changed we will not be in the high school this year we will be at on herbertsville road at the herbertsville farm and stead cultural arts center and um we're starting around 9 30 10 o'clock going till 2 and this year is our 10th environmental and sustainability showcase and the outdoor venue

154has some indoor resources like bathrooms and the event will be rain or shine with the exception of hazardous weather a number of um what the focus is on for the green fair is businesses and organizations and our schools which promote or foster community sustainability conservation stewardship reduced consumption or green um affects environmental and locally produced services and products our kids are going to be out there and they're going to have a table and they're going to want to engage you in what they've learned because their enthusiasm is overflowing so i hope to see many parents come out for this it's the saturday before memorial day weekend and i just want to thank all the people in the district including our science supervisor miss uh jen lane and our director of curriculum and uh special services

155who make these opportunities for our children available and just imagine how these kids feel coming out showing you how to make soap or hand sanitizer or or grow grow a plant with no soil so please come and enjoy their expertise and thank you very much for the evening i am i look forward to the um next couple of weeks where our students showcase their talents in uh and their academic prowess with um band concerts choir performances and um student awards for their great accomplishments for how hard they've worked especially considering the last couple years of the covet pandemic thank you for listening thank you victoria i'm excited about all the pretty dresses and tuxedos that they're wearing i'd love to see the kids pictures all dressed up um any other board daisy good evening um

156i just want to say i say this every year that this is my favorite meeting of the year this awards ceremony is way better than any award show you can watch on tv and that brick really does have the best teachers and support staff so congratulations to all of our award recipients and also thank you and best wishes to all of our retirees we appreciate all that you have done for our district and congratulations to all of our new hires welcome to brick schools and before spring break i had the privilege to watch the first play at lake riv since kovic struck mrs perdinia i might be mispronouncing her name so i am sorry made her director director debut with a show with a powerful message the jungle book i believe she said that she

157had a cast and crew including some alumni students with over 100 students total that in and of itself is quite an undertaking the set and props which were mostly made out of recycled items were visually awesome the student actors were incredible and the crew put on a fantastic show i learned that the encore teachers at lake riv and their classes worked together to put on this play getting almost the entire school involved in an aspect of the show really bonded their school community so i thought that was really excellent then i hadn't been to the freehold mall in almost two years however during spring break my daughter and her friend wanted to go shopping as i walked around by myself because i'm not cool enough to walk around or be seen with my 14 year

158old daughter i was pleasantly surprised to see um brick memorial's art students and their teacher mrs harzer painting elaborate and beautiful murals great job to the students and their teacher for creating art over their spring break and finally i was able to watch mamma mia at brick memorial i think it was two weeks ago i had to use all of my self-control to not get up and start dancing in that first act i did however dance and sing in my seat again glad my kids weren't with me because they would have been horrified by that but i did stay there until they invited the audience to dance towards the end of the show i was so blown away by this performance i wish i was able to see it again the directors miss o'brien and

159dr fitzgerald the advisors volunteers cast and crew were absolutely amazing i'm beyond impressed with the talent and enthusiasm of everyone involved i love seeing how much the drama club has grown at brick memorial over the years this show was broadway caliber they're sold out shows and standing ovations were a testament to all those who were involved bravo and just as we were saying it is palm season for our juniors and seniors and i hope that the brick memorial juniors are enjoying themselves tonight they deserve a fun night out and for the students going to the upcoming proms have a great time and stay safe and same thing i can't wait to see all of their beautiful photos so thank you daisy anyone else mike again i'd just like to congratulate um i just want to

160again uh compliment the honorees tonight the teachers and other staff members that receive accolades tonight i also want to compliment on the great program that was put together behind i thought the video program was very well and very uh um organized and put together with uh what we needed to see so i also want to congratulate the staff retirees and the new hires uh thank you very much and we'll see you next month thank you michael anyone else we're good um before i close um i just wanted to comment you mentioned the um the play at memorial the play at brick township high school wizard of the oz oh my god he was singing he was singing the lion song yes well i don't know about that but he was the lion in high school

161i heard all about that blah blah blah he was getting in the way of what i was hearing the kids but um he started singing the song um it was it was really it was fantastic the the the scenes the kids that when when the her when the uh tornado came that the way they were flying oh it was probably the best play i've ever seen at brick township island i mean phenomenal the kids were the dorothy her voice was gorgeous um but yeah i also went and that was that was really amazing too but we have some really talented kids in the in the district and um it was a really fun they were really really fun shows so congratulations to brick township also on on their amazing play one other thing sir to

162your your comments is no parent should ever feel hesitant or ashamed or you know concerned or i hear a lot well i don't want to get the teacher in trouble you're not going to get anybody in trouble by sharing your feelings and your thoughts about how your child is being educated what they're reading what they're learning asking questions you will never get anybody in trouble as a parent you have a right to at any point contact your teacher your school principal and ask for syllabus what they're reading if you don't like something have that conversation you can always ask you know i i don't like that book can i can she read or he reads something else communication with your teacher and your building principal and anybody else that your child comes in contact with

163is absolutely 110 percent your parental right and you have a right to that information that you need or want on your child so please do not hesitate that's the way we all learn that's the way we support and help our children that's the way we make sure we all know what's going on and brick is real i have never once had a problem before being a board member or now and asking my children's teacher about anything that they were doing in class so please i encourage you communicate with your teachers if you have any concerns with anything that you think might be going on in their classroom or anything that they're going to be studying so with that may 30th is memorial day school will be closed june 14th is our neighbor our next regular

164meeting which will be back at the um um bbc i'm sorry um and then june 21st middle school eighth grade promotion veterans memorial will be at four o'clock lake riviera will follow at six o'clock june 22nd we have our high school graduations brick memorial will be at 3 30 p.m brick township high school will be at 6 00 pm can i get a motion in a second for adjournment i'll make that motion michael second daisy mary miss hafner yes mr blandina yes miss gagliardi ah she had to leave miss parker yes miss piccala a seibert yes miss walrup