001We all ready? >> Good evening. I'd like to call this meeting to order. Uh for those who wish to provide public comment remotely, a Google form was posted on the district website at 6:30 p.m. Those remote comments will be addressed in the second public comment section. This meeting, which is hereby called to order at 6:39 p.m. is in compliance with the notice requirements of the law. Public notice was posted in the office of the board of education and communicated to the municipal clerk and the daily record on January 15, 2025. Can we please stand for the flag salute? >> I pledge algiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for its one indivisible andice for all. >> Miss, could you read our mission statement? >> Sure. Working together as
002a community, our mission is to welcome all and provide opportunities for our students in a safe and accepting learning environment to become creative, empathetic, resilient, and who choose to make an impact. >> Thank you. Mr. Hime would like to introduce our presenters. Good evening everyone. Our first presentation this evening is our NJPA results. Is that better? >> A little closer to the mic. Little closer. Okay. >> Good evening everyone. U the first presentation we have for this evening is our NJ GPA results presentation by Mr. Patrick Pandovo. Good evening everybody. Um, so tonight my name is Patrick Pendalf. I'm the director of student intervention and district testing and I am reporting on the NJGPA, the New Jersey graduation proficiency assessment uh that 11th grade students took this past spring, believe in March. So all 11th
003grade students are required to take this test. This test is considered a graduation requirement. It is measuring and this is the the state's words whether the students are graduation ready. There's two separate tests that they must pass. A language arts test and a mathematics test. The language arts test uh measures from 10th grade standards and the ma mathematics test is from algebra and geometry standards. So the cut score used to be 750. A couple years ago they changed it to 725. So remember the students needed to get that 725 in order to pass the exam and meet the requirement. If in the spring they don't pass that exam, then they can take it again this October. If they still don't meet that requirement, then there's a menu of assessments with cut scores that's on the
004next slide that they might go into. Then that's stage two. They might meet that requirement. If they still don't meet the requirement, then students uh can participate in a portfolio assessment that's organized by their guidance counselors and their teachers. The only caveat is in order to get to that point, you can't just say, "I'm just going to take the portfolio assessment." You must at least sit once for the NJGPA. So, there's the uh there's the cut score scores and the litany of uh tests that students could have for the second uh pathway. And again, if they don't meet that after they've already sat at least once for the NJGPA, then that third pathway uh then is an option. So, uh this year, let's see how we did. Now, remember, there's no growth model with this
005particular exam. The students either they passed or they didn't. And if they passed, they're considered graduation ready. If they didn't pass, they're not considered graduation ready. So, our 11th grade students had 65% of our students passed compared to the state at 80%. Um, that's that 15 point lag is actually a growth from last year because last year in language arts was only a 9point uh lag. And then in mathematics, we actually went from 34% to 39% which is good. shows improvement. However, if you look at uh from the state when from 50% to 58% so that also grew up to 19 point difference. The only thing remember keep in mind with this exam the exams designed for students who are graduation ready in 11th grade. The assumption is that they've gone to school in a
006New Jersey public school for 11, if you count kindergarten, 12 years. And that's not really true of most of our population. We know that if we students who are in district, they from when they're young and go through the system do very well. Here in language arts, students who are in the system 10 years or more, their mean score was a 767. Five years or more is 759. And then we have a lot of students who weren't here that long and they were around the cut score, but some were very or well below the cut score as as well. And then we look at the next slide with math. It's similar. However, it the the 725 is just making it. So that's that's definitely an area where math for the state is a little bit
007less is a little more challenging. So even even our students that were here 10 years or more were just making it. Uh five years or more they're almost there. Uh but then you see again there's a a lag behind them being scores for students that have not been here all that long. But but again for the most part it shows that we are keeping up with the what I think is at least we're keeping up with the programming and we are aligned to state standards. So we have to uh report by subgroup and uh by race is is there's not much of a subgroup when it comes to race. you have to have at least 10 students from each subgroup to be reported. And in a lot of cases, that's not true. We only have
008one other subgroup besides Hispanic. And it's still only a tiny bit above what the uh recording number is. You know, that group did do well, but really overall it's it's statistically insignificant. However, if we look at the next slide now, the general education students language arts and I have that highlighted in yellow had a 92% passing rate on the NJGPA. That's actually 12 points above the state average. That is that's very very good. uh in mathematics the 55% still is a little as threatening three points below that state average which you know isn't as good but you're going to the special education students are are disabled they're they're learning disabled they're going to struggle a little bit with a test like this um and a lot of our ML students are really are they're new
009to the country and as far as like language arts is concerned depending Depending on the research you read, it's either 10 or 13. It's very very difficult to pick up a a language that fast, never mind the the command that you would need to be uh do well on this test. And like I said, this test really is designed for students have English was their native language. They've been in New Jersey public school for 11 or 12 years. So that's that's going to be a struggle. And even with mathematics, um we really don't New Jersey has always had higher standards in the United States. And a lot of times we don't know the background that they have uh some of that some of our students have come from. So we don't know if they have
010the prerequisite skills uh to be attacking the curriculum. But Mrs. Norman, Mrs. Rodriguez are here and they're going to talk about the MLS and they are those students are making very good progress. They really are. All right. So now normally on a normal presentation there's a more specific like plan of action. um right now that this uh this particular NJPA doesn't really it's not a uh cornucopia of uh of data. So you know the action plan for now is to concentrate in mathematics on the four subjects concentrate on problem solving higher order order thinking multi-step uh multi-step problems focusing on small groups that were near the cut score. So maybe that's and that's that's for the current the current 12th graders who might didn't didn't pass the kids who just didn't who just were below
011it if we can just push them over the top to pass it in the uh fall that's the ideology behind that and again teachers will continue to collaborate in PLC's professional learning communities uh and look at assessment data whether it's data from the classroom you know teacher made formative assessments or data that is done on different online assessments also that that's not up there. There are practice NJGPA exams online uh from previous released items that students can practice uh that the exam before they take it. And you know language arts uh the same thing. This is the skills up there are foundational skills that are I mean it takes me back you know 15 20 years when I was a fifth grade teacher you know focusing onformational text uh focusing on citing the evidence uh
012really enhancing uh the metacog the metacognitive process of of thinking about what you're thinking through different types of clo close close reading strategies the relationships between uh reading and writing and making sure that's in synergy that leads to the reading and and writing uh automaticity and that's that's and that's ultimately that's what they're looking for um for a person who's graduating high school in New Jersey to be able to have those those automaticity skills that shows that uh that they are proficient and and again the use of different formative assessments uh that teachers use or PLC's uh that drive further instruction And like I said, uh the team uh Mr. Chewy, Mr. Carl, uh will be a pro the NJSLA presentation will be uh more detailed uh in like I said, I think it's probably
013November. The NJSLA scores haven't been released yet. So, we really have uh some preliminary data, but we really don't have specifics. And that that exam will provide more specifics on uh future action plans. Thank you very much for the presentation. Uh I know I had a conversation with Mr. Carl because I wanted to understand a few things. Um I look forward to the data that comes out in October, November time frame. Um because I really would like to see based on our average score for 10 years or longer to see how we compare to uh schools in Mars County and also the our district factor group to see you know where's our placement as far as our average because to me that would seem like that's the baseline that we have to look at to
014see if there is growth you know each year for that 10-year period because that's the majority of the students. you know, is there growth in staying with the state average or exceeding it? So, I look forward to to seeing that. Does anyone on the board have questions, Dr. Ser? >> Thank you, Mr. Pandalfo. Um, and thank you for saying that this um test has no growth model. Right. That's the basis of my first question. So how are we using I ready and link it to ensure that our children are achieving because this does not allow this is a snapshot of a day of the 11th graders only right it doesn't allow us really like we you did compare our results from 2025 to 2024 but those you were comparing apples to oranges because you were
015comparing 11th graders to who were then 12th graders right >> so if you could explain how we're using link it and I ready which provide us with much more um current data and does allow us to track students yearbyear >> that would be helpful. >> I I believe because I was talking about different formative assessments and I believe that the formative assessments that's used in I Ready is looking looking at that data and grouping students according to the levels that they're at and according to what skills they might need extra work on. And that's really the the driving force a lot of times with the formative assessments behind those PLC's. >> Okay. Thank you. Um, of the interventions that you listed, are these continuations of interventions that we've been offering, are there any new interventions
016that the team has come up with that you think might, you know, turn the tide? >> Mr. Hime? >> Yeah, I could jump in and answer some of those questions actually. Um, and regarding the link question you asked as well, u, I definitely want to share that, um, it is administered three times per year to provide consistent and comparable growth data for each student. Item level reports identify specific standards, skill gaps allowing the target uh retaching and intervention piece as well as data teams use the results to adjust instruction with marking periods not just after state testing results. And then for our continuously from last year, so we have targeted small group instructions in algebra 1, geometry, and algebra 2 based on linkits benchmarks and foundation classes. Example, math foundations for algebra 1 afterchool tutoring
017programs focusing on priority NJGPA math and ELA skills using link benchmarks three times per year fall, winter, and spring to monitor student growth and adjustments in instruction and integration of NJ GPA items uh types of priority evidence statements in classroom lessons and common assessments. And then for the new for the 2425 school year, expanded push in math and ELA support during core instructional blocks at the high school. Content specific NJGPA prep for identified students targeting the highest priority evidence statements from our um our trend analysis. uh new teacher collaboration protocols for reviewing linket benchmarks data in conjunction with NJGPA evidence statement performance trends and early indications of students for interventions by reviewing grade 10 and midyear grade 11 link results against NJGPA priority standards. >> Thank you. I have one more question and I apologize
018this one just occurred to me during the presentation. Um our goals obviously we want to are twofold for our students. It's probably more like a millionfold. But we want our students to be prepared for life after high school, right? We want them to to right. These are proficiency tests. We want them to be prepared. The but the other part is we want them to graduate. Um how many students and I I again I did not give you this question in advance. How many of our students do not graduate because they don't pass the NJGPA, don't meet that second tier requirement, and don't meet the portfolio requirement? And I apologize. >> Are there students that don't graduate >> because of this testing requirement specific? Not because of attendance, not because of grade grades, not because of
019credits, but because of this testing requirement. >> I I don't want to misspeak so I would have to research that a little bit more. Uh but let me write it down. I'll get back to you. >> Thank you. >> Okay, Mr. Shower. >> Thank you, Mr. for your presentation. Um, and I know that you've been doing this for several years now. So, uh, piggybacking on what Dr. Sander just asked, the three pathways that we have used, those are consistent over the past several years. Is there any one pathway that achieves the results better than the other? And is there a way that we can work I'm sure you must work those pathways into the interventions. I I would think um with the ones that have success, the pathway that has success, do we work that
020into the interventions? >> We I know we the the teachers try to make sure that as best possible they pass the NJGPA, but to be honest with you, the the the litany of exams there. There's there are some and I don't know an exact number that don't but the portfolio is because I know sometimes this test is so difficult that the kids the kids really if they they had the their drugs they would say just give me the portfolio you know but they have to go through the process. So I do believe and I don't have an exact number that most of the students that don't pass the NJ when I say most definitely more than 50% that don't pass the NJ GPA uh end up with doing that portfolio assessment. Thank you, >> Dr.
021S. I have an answer for you. >> Thank you. >> Thanks to the administration watching uh at home. I appreciate them. U so the to answer your question, none of the students um they they graduate. The the ones that don't graduate are because of loss of credit or attendance. >> Okay. Thank you and the administrators at home very much. >> Thank you. um kind of a comment, kind of a a question which a question I I don't expect to be able to be answered tonight. Um first, I um I think that this is a perfect example of of sometimes the topline numbers not necessarily telling the whole story. Um, you know, if you if you look at this, you know, just just just the district-wide numbers, not, you know, necessarily all inspiring, but when you
022look down into some of the subgroups, you see some very bright spots. Um, obviously, I think those subgroups show where we need to do work. Um but I am curious if we know um you know where we stand and I would say not compared to other Morris County districts because with all due respect to our our neighbors in Morris County, Mor Do is a very different district to almost every I would say every uh other district in the county I would say compared to similar districts uh around the state. Um I would love to see that comparison um in the subgroups specifically um because you know there's like I said there's there's there's areas where we're clearly doing something right and there's areas where we clearly need to improve and and I would love to
023see those comparisons because possibly we could use those districts as guides for what we could do differently to raise those numbers. Yeah, I know. I know who's just speaking from and I'm speaking off the cuff and I don't have any anything to back this up, but historically uh if you compared Dover so back um I was a teacher about 15 20 years ago and historically if you said you know a DFGA the district factor grouping and do we really were in the state we were at the top and we were like number one or pretty darn close to it. So, I mean, my guess is we're probably still pretty good. >> Just a guess. >> And and that's what we've always had seen when we compared to the district factory group, but it is a
024good comparison in Mars County because there are times when we were tops in the state for math at sixth grade level. Um, so it's just good to see because that maybe um there there may be some similarities between boot or some other district within Mars County, but the district factory group gives you a really good indication. Any other questions? Okay, next presentation. Thank you very much. >> Thank you. Thank you. For our second presentation for this evening, uh we have the access results presentation by Miss Norman and Miss Rodriguez. Hello. You can go to the next one. All right. So, we're going to present the 2025 access results. Just a little background knowledge on what the access test is. It's part we're part of the New Jersey is part of the WEDA consortium which is
025made up of 41 states, territories and federal agencies and their mission is to advance academic language development and achievement for culturally diverse learners. So what is access? It is our annually we need to give this annually to assess the English language proficiency of our ML students. Um it measures listening, speaking, reading and writing. And then it also helps us once we get the results to be able to place our students with the correct programming and the right supports. We monitor monitor their progress over time. And it also helps us decide when a student is ready to exit the program. Um a student needs to score a 4.5 or above in order to be considered to exit the program. So our standards for the WEDA are just help guide instruction and assessment. They connect to the
026academic content and they are for social and instructional language but also the academic for all language arts, math, science and social studies. And so these are our proficiency level. Students scoring between a 1.0 and a 4.4 4 remain in our bilingual ESL program. And students who score at a 4.5 or higher, that's when we look at them and decide if they are eligible to exit our program. We've included um a sample individual score score report. This is what we receive on each student tested and what we share with the parents and with each school building. You can see they are scored in the four different domains, listening, speaking, reading, and writing. And then what we really look at is that overall score at the bottom. Um, and usually we get pretty consistent scores across the
027four domains, but sometimes we do have to look at the specific domain and take those things into consideration. We might have a student who is reading and writing very well um scoring proficient but in speaking perhaps it's a little bit lower and so then we have to take other things into consideration. Is it a personality um thing where maybe they were really shy or hesitant to uh reply uh during the test because they do take the test in a room with other students. the speaking domain. We try to keep them in small groups, but even still, we can't do one-on-one um with the exception of kindergarten. So, they do have some peers around them and some students will just click next because they don't, you know, want to speak into the microphone. So, we do
028take scores. We look at overall, but we do look at the individual domains as well. This is just a sample. There aren't a lot of samples available um on the test, but this is a grade one sample for um I believe this is writing and then we can look at a high school sample also writing and it kind it gets more challenging with each section. Okay, our ML enrollment, as you see, since June, we've been I've been personally tracking the enrollment since June 2022, and we had some significant gains, but for this upcoming school year, we sort of are experiencing it's leveling off. We're not seeing huge jumps in numbers. Um, in addition to the 1,279 MLS we have in K to2, we do have 180 of our preschoolers that have been identified as eligible
029for uh to be multilingual learners. That's really a placeholder. Um, as of now, the state hasn't given uh guidance as far as what services to provide preschoolers. They just ask that if they've been identified as possible MLS, we screen them before kindergarten. Okay. So, thanks to all of our data in link, we now are able to show multi-year results. And here are our elementary K through five results. And you can look at the numbers from 2023 and now 2025. Um, I do want to point out that 58% of the students that were tested have been in do for two years or less. And also students earning an overall score of 4.5 or higher are eligible to exit our program and therefore no longer take the access for L. So, if you're wondering why there's so
030many zeros in that level five and level six, it's because most of the students that would score there are no longer taking the test. And the few that you see in there probably were just below a 4.5 in the previous year, therefore still taking the test. Um, so I feel like it's an it's kind of an unfair it looks like this big drop, but there aren't students in that score range taking the test. Next slide. Okay. And here we have our sixth, seventh, and eighth graders. 55% of the students have been in do for two years or less in just grades six through eight. Um, I think that's important to note because if you've been with us for two years or less, it's really hard to gauge how much you're progressing until you've been with
031us a longer time. Right? And it also indicates that a lot of those students are being exposed to English for the first time. Um, so we're pretty pretty proud of our scores. Um, we can go to the next score to the next uh slide. Oh, okay. So, these are our high school scores. Um, as you can see, we have 46% of our students who have been in do for two years or less. And again, we do see some numbers now past the 4.5, but it goes back to the same thing. Once they hit that 4.5, they stop taking access. Okay. So, this is our it's basically the same view, but now K to 12 as a district. And you could see from 2023 to 2025. And it's broken down by again K to 5, 6
032to 8, and 9 through 12th grade. And you can see that level one dropped from 45% in 2023 to 32% in 2025. So that's a that's a reduction in our lowest proficiency. It's going down, which is what we would like to see. And our level threes have increased from 20% to 23%. And our level four has have increased from 7% to 11% which is bringing our students closer to the exit. So some notable trends are that we are decreasing in our level ones are we have a stable beginning. The level two remains steady at 2728. This is indicating that we are continuing the progress through the stages. We have a consistent increase in mid to high proficiency. So if you see developing went from 28 to 29, expanding went from 7 to 11. And then
033we have this year we had 64 students who exited with a score of 4.5. And that's an increase from 30% compared to last year and 92 from 23. So this particular slide you may have not seen yet because I added it shortly before um the meeting to address some questions that had come up. Uh we did a little bit of research on the national uh report and compared it to our results. And so we have a little bit of information and we plan to keep digging. Our 2024 access results show strong year-over-year progress for our English learners, especially compared to national post-pandemic trends. Um the national research confirms that English learners across the country have not yet returned to that prepandemic proficiency level. Um, and we're seeing a lot of decline in early grades, specifically
034in listening and speaking. Um, Dover's overall growth, we our average proficiency was 2.5 um, last year and now our average proficiency is 3.0. Um, that's 77% of our students showing positive growth. I can also tell you that when students reach a 3.0, zero, that's when we start strongly considering um having them transition into a monolingual setting with support. And so the fact that our average score is a 3.0, that's really really positive. Um our early grades, kindergarten through 2 grade, have the large have shown the largest gains. um most moving out of that entering RA range, which is great because if we're looking at, and this isn't the case for everybody, but a lot of our kindergarters who come in as MLS into our dual language program, um by second grade, they are well out
035of that beginner stage. Um upper elementary, we've made some very good gains as well. And finally, in secondary, it's a little more modest. Um and that is completely um understandable and expected because we know that students uh develop their language a little bit slower by that age. Um so while most of our students are still below 4.5 uh 4.5 being that proficient in English level we do uh compared to the national average is above in basically stronger scores and gains. So these are some expansions that we have for the upcoming school year. We're going to be rolling up dual language up to fourth grade. Uh we're going to continue professional development through the support of our bilingual ESL coaches. We're going to be doing in-house dual language professional development series for educators. We have enhanced
036bilingual BSI support for student success. Uh we're going to broaden our sheltered instruction training with refresher courses and content specific workshops. We're going to pilot a new uh phonics program for K1 dual language classrooms. And we are expanding our for co-eing for ML English and advanced symposium at the high school at as well as advanced ESL for students in seventh and eighth at the middle school. >> And that is it. We're ready for questions. >> Thank you. I really appreciate all the work that goes into the presentation. And I know there's a lot of data behind that and it I it's going to be crazy trying to figure out the trends, but clearly, you know, the growth in proficiency is is notable and and the the size of the the number of students that go
037into your program keeps increasing and yet the the proficiency is still going up. um when they enter level one and if the students stay with the program and they keep progressing, what's the average time it takes for a student to exit the program? >> That is a complicated question. Um >> each child is different. um >> it it does take an average of 3 to seven years to become proficient in a language. We do see for instance our dual language students who entered in kindergarten the first year we had dual language now they are going to fourth grade I would say the majority are now um a 3.5 or higher many whom would have would could potentially exit um the program and have been given the option but the parents um you know feel very
038strongly about the students learning in both languages So they remain in the program. Um so you know from kindergarten to let's say third grade because they have not yet entered fourth to have to have acquired an entire language is pretty significant I think. >> Yeah. No that's great. Uh any other questions from the board? Dr. Sainer. >> Thank you both very much. And the slide I appreciate that it's going to go to my head. People calling in from home slides but I I do sincerely appreciate it. Um I did have some other questions that popped up um while um I was watching this. You mentioned that prek students um they have to be screened, right? If they are identified um as MLS, they must be screened before kindergarten. Do we screen newly arrived or newly
039enrolled kindergarten students? And do we screen all students if we have reason to believe that you know that they are MLS at home? So, we screen based on the home language survey once the students come in. If that the home language survey warrants them being screened. If they're new, they're getting screened. Our prechool kids were the same thing. That's how we identify them and then they get screened. So, anyone who home language surveys, we're we're on it. >> Okay. That's wonderful. And I I I'm going to talk a little bit about it when we get to curriculum, but the um amount of programming that we offer here is a testament to our dedication to helping students achieve that second language. Um and and should be celebrated because it it should be the norm here to
040have two languages where it is quite the opposite. Um, but I also saw in your presentation, um, I really thought, uh, the data on the number of students who successfully exit the program. Um, I thought that was really compelling. And then I know the district has, um, dedicated significant resources to sheltered English instruction. Um, and now that we're offering uh, refreshers and content specific uh, PD, that's amazing. And so I know that probably comes from both of you. So, thank you very much for your presentation and for um all that you're doing to help our teachers, help our students succeed. Thank you, >> Victoria. I saw your hand. >> Oh, thank you. Thank you so much for your presentation. Um my question is if a parent does not want the child enrolled and they have
041a score, I think you mentioned 3.5, you will consider in a case- by case basis. um what is the process for that child to transition to monolingual. Sorry. Okay. So, basically any child we screen who qualifies for bilingual education, every family um is able to decline services. That's their legal right. uh we notify them of their results and what their our recommended placement is and then sometimes there are families who for different reasons uh decide that they don't want their child in dual language or ESL and so we have a meeting with them. We explain, you know, what a monolingual class for that child will look like. uh explain clearly what they're declining and they um sign a form and for that school year their child does not um need to be receiving bilingual or
042ESL services. They do still take the access test. That is a state requirement. >> Thank you. >> Yeah. And a new thing with the state too I should mention is that previously if they declined services they only had to decline once and that was it. They just kept taking the test every year until they reached a level of proficiency where we could exit them. But the state now is requiring us to renew those uh that that declination yearly. So they get their child's results. We tell them what the recommended placement is and should they still decide that they don't want to be part of the program, they still have to come in and meet with us and sign off on that. We just want it's important for them to know, you know, what they're deciding,
043what they're giving up or what they're gaining. Either way, we like them to make an informed decision. >> Appreciate it. Thank you. >> Mr. Shower, >> I do have a question. First of all, thank you very much to both of you. I I each year these reports get more complicated and have many more layers and um your final edition of that wrap-up page was excellent. Thank you very much for that. Um and I I think my question may go to Mr. Haime. Um I know that tonight Mr. Subagul in his report is reporting a loss of over $90,000 for the ESA >> funding which includes our title one and some of this program and I would think would be affected by it but yet we are having more prek students who are being identified that
044we're going to be including them. So our numbers are going to keep rising. Are we preparing ourselves for the loss of funding for these programs? >> The answer is yes. >> Thank you. I >> thank you for that. >> constantly thinking about it. >> Mr. Miller, I have a question if I may. >> Yes. >> Um, Miss Rodriguez and Miss Norman, um, can you explain what shelter instruction is for those of us that may not know what that is? So sheltered instruction training is basically a set of of of tools of strategies that our classroom teachers can use to accommodate instruction, make the content more accessible for our students. a lot of adding visuals, uh, eliminating things that are too wordy, minimizing, um, not minimizing, I'm sorry, up frontloading vocabulary, graphic organizers, and the initial
045training, we had somebody from out of district come in, and it's a 15 hour 15 or 18 hour training for our teachers. But we've now turned to we've gotten our ESL bilingual coaches certified to become trainers within the district. And so they are going to be able to not just continue to train do that initial training, but now they can go back and revisit those teachers who had the initial training, but now want to see, well, how does this apply to my high school biology class or how does this apply to my fizzed class or my health class? and they can really make it a homegrown training and work with them and work on planning and get more into detail than what the initial training offers. >> So, is it safe to say that all
046teachers take the training? Like all >> we're getting there. >> Okay. All right. Thank you. >> Anyone else, >> Mr. Miller? And and I apologize, but um I wanted to thank you for your question. I wanted to add one thing that's really important with the sheltered English instruction is that when you exit students out of the program at 4.5, they're not native English speakers and so they're still going to require support in the regular ed classroom. And so the the fact that our teachers are equipped to handle um to assist those students who have, you know, 4.5 but are not native um speakers is tremendous, right? They're not just kicked out of the program, you're good enough. they're continuously supported until um they are proficient. >> Anyone else? Thank you very much. Okay. At this
047time, I'd like to open the meeting to the public. The board recognizes the value of public comment on educational issues and the importance of allowing members of the public to express themselves on school matters. To ensure fair and orderly expression of such comment, each statement shall be held to a time period of three minutes. Public comments limited to items on this agenda shall be entertained for approximately 30 minutes upon the discretion of the presiding officer. Please understand that public comment portions of our agenda are not structured as question and answer sessions, but rather they are offered as an opportunity to share your thoughts with the board. The board may or may not respond to public comments. However, all comments are considered and will be investigated and addressed as appropriate. Please be courteous and mindful of
048the rights of others when providing comments. Comments may not be abusive, obscene, threatening, or irrelevant. Please understand that students and employees have specific legal and privacy protections. The board is not permitted to respond in public to comments about students or employees. Please be advised that you are commenting at your own risk. any public comments that are directed at a particular individual or individuals could subject you to legal liability for defamation. Is there anyone from the public that wishes to address the board on items on the agenda? I don't see anyone. So, I'll close the public portion. And do we have a motion to approve the July 15th uh executive session and regular session minutes? >> So, move. Do we have a second? >> Second. >> Any comments, questions. >> Roll call. >> Mr. Suedo? >>
049Yes. To both. >> Miss DS? >> Yes. >> Mr. Mor? >> Yes. >> Miss Phillips? >> Yes. >> Miss Penellis? >> Yes. >> Dr. Sinner? >> Yes. >> Miss Shower? >> Yes. >> Miss Son? >> Abstain. >> Mr. Miller? >> Yes. >> Okay. I'm not aware of any communications to the whole board. Does anyone remember seeing anything? >> Okay. Uh on to the president's report. Uh good evening again. I hope everyone has been enjoying a relaxing summer. Uh the work to prepare for the year ahead has been in full swing. Over the past month, there has been tremendous coordination between our board, superintendent, administrators, and teachers to ensure we are aligned in our expectations, transparent with our community, and laser focused on our mission, providing the best education possible for every student in Dover. I
050want to recognize and thank our administration and teaching staff for their hard work and preparing for what promises to be a very exciting year for our students. From updating curriculum to readying classrooms, their dedication is evident and it sets the stage for student success on day one. As a board, we continue to plan for Dover's future. This school year, construction will begin on the North Dover annex, which will house all of our district sixth graders. This project not only opens additional space in our elementary schools and do middle school, but also strengthens our ability to provide a more focused and developmentally appropriate learning environment for our students. I hope many of you have seen the community flyer which details the renderings of the new annex. It showcases both the vision and the functionality of the
051space. Importantly, this expansion is fiscally responsible investment for our taxpayers that will yield long-term educational benefits. In addition, our purchase or soon to purchase our soon to be purchased uh former Dover Sport uh building marks another important step forward. This facility will allow us to bring many of our preschool students back into the district where they will benefit from an enhanced early learning experience. It will also reduce the district's reliance on costly transportation to external preschool partners, allowing us to reallocate resources directly to our classrooms and programs. We are entering an exciting chapter in Dober public schools. With the support of our community, the expertise of our educators, and their shared commitment of our board, we are building the conditions for every student to thrive. Together, we will ensure that this school year is one
052of achievement, growth, and and pride for the entire district. Okay, with that, uh, Mr. behind me. >> Good evening everyone. Uh so for my superintendent report I'm going to kick off with I want to share with everyone. We had our backpack distribution uh in July. It was a great success. We had over 300 community members come over and pick up backpacks at Belmont. Um that was once again thanks to our liaison coordinating it together as well as our uh supervisor of school counseling who also uh supported in this endeavor. And our families came in and were able to get not only book bags but also supplies and fill out lunch applications or any other uh paperwork needed prior to starting school which is a great very great way to kind of get everybody started on
053the right foot. And uh our leas also gather data to kind of see how many of our families are in need. will continuously provided the supports throughout the schools as well which I'm very excited about. I also want to share that um we also distributed about 250 book bags at the county uh baby shower which was hosted by connecting do uh very well organized were well put together and we were there representing do public schools and also providing some of the supplies. So we're also able to give away about 250 book bags there. So in total over 500 book bags were distributed in the month of July which is very exciting. Uh do public schools also has earned high performing status with uh NJ DOE entry review. Uh we are pleased to announce that DO
054public schools has been officially designated as a high performing by New Jersey Department of Education following the recent new uh New Jersey quality single accountability continuum intimusac process evaluates districts in five critical areas. introduction in program, fiscal management, governance, operations, and personnel. In September of 2024, the Department of Education issued uh initial placement results identifying areas for improvement for our district. And over the past year, our district has worked diligently to address these areas with a DIP approval in November 2024. During the interim review conducted by Morris County Office, the education in July of 2025, Dober public schools achieved at least 80% in all five categories with final placement scores as follows. Instruction and program um 70 77% was the initial placement. The interim placement is 80%. Fiscal management was at 92%. In uh placement
055is 92%. governance at 100% in placement at 100% operations at 98 in placement in 98 and personnel at 98 and in placement at 98. This designation means that the commission of education will recommend the state board of education that our district be certified providing through thorough and efficient system of education until the next NJS um review. The accomplishment reflects the dedication, expertise, and commitment of our teachers, administrators, staff, students, families, and community members. Together, we have shown that Do public school continues to uphold high standards of academic excellence, fiscal responsibility, effective governance, operational efficiency, and strong personnel practices. Congratulations to the entire Dover public school community for achieving this outstanding recognition. Uh, Ready Set School, our technology event is, uh, kicked off today at Academy during the day. Tomorrow will be North Dover's time to
056host starting at 10:00 a.m. and then followed by DMS on August 19th starting at 6 PM and DHS August 20 and 26 starting at 6 p.m. Our ready tech are ready set school uh events provides our community an opportunity to be able to pick up the technology, get everything set for the score start of the school year as well as an opportunity to fill out lunch application, registration forms or any prerequisite documentation needed prior to starting the school. So, I encourage all of our community to please come out and support the event. Last year, we had a great success and we wanted to continue that as we continue to prepare our families and our students for a wonderful upcoming new school year. Um, the North Dover gym floor is done and it is beautiful. The
057floors look excellent. And our mascot uh is right there in the middle of the floor representing our uh our um our mascot for the district. So, I can't wait to see uh the expressions our kids and our families facing when they see that beautiful floor in North D. Um, I have a new announcement about our chat box on our website, which I'm very excited about. Um, we're excited to announce that we've launched a new chat box feature on Dora Public Schools website. This tool is designed to make it easier and faster for our families, students, and staff, and community members to get answers uh to their questions. With a chat box, you can ask questions in real time. You receive quick responses about school events, policies, and services. Easily navigate to the information you need
058and connect with district staff for further assistance. This feature is part of ongoing commitment to improve communication, accessibility, and support for our school community. And uh convocation is right around the corner. On August 25th, we're going to be welcoming back our staff. We're excited. Uh last year we last year we had a very positive convocation. We're hoping to uh bring in a very new positive uh new year to our staff and we're excited to share all the new ideas and and um brainstorming that we've brought together as a team. I want to thank the administration who's gathered with me every week during Wednesdays to really sit down and plan how our year is going to be for our staff, our students, and our families. And they've really have come together as a team to make
059sure that we've planned everything out for a summer so that we can once again kick off the year on the right foot. and our admin team has sent out letters or sent out or is sending out letters to our community to welcome our families back to school with important information regarding opening day. So, please make sure you look out for those pieces. Uh, and that is all for my report. Thank you. >> Does anyone have any questions for Mr. Haimey on his report? >> Okay, Mr. Sabahulu. >> Good evening everyone. Uh, I'll be talking about the items on the finance section. Item seven, we conducted RFP process for school vehicle maint maintenance and recommend balair services at the lowest qualified bidder. Item eight, we finally received our ESA grant numbers. The total allocation is $90,620
060lower than last year's allocation. Overall grants around like a $ 1.5 million. So it's not a big percentage, but still we have to plan accordingly. Item 28. In accordance with chapters 47, we are providing a list of vendors with whom we had contracts in the prior year. This resolution serves the per permission to either renew or not renew these contracts for 2526 school year. And we we also added the addendum uh we secured a contract for the north elementary school and one portion of East Elementary School roof replacement. So it's going to start a Thursday. uh we finally uh got the time and hopefully we're gonna uh finish it before the school starts. If not, we can uh they can work uh after hours and the weekends, but it's going to be very tight before
061the school start. But little things here and there is going to be done on the weekends or after the students leave. This concludes my report. >> Any questions for Mr. Sabahulu? >> Okay, moving on to Mars County Educational Services Commission. We're meeting tomorrow. a legislative report. Dr. Sainer. >> Thank you, Mr. Miller. Um, a number of items were um addressed and signed by the governor since our last meeting. Um, some of these um I have reported on that we're waiting for his signature. Um, and so I won't go into great detail. The entire report is in the shared folder for anybody who's interested. Um the early expanding early childhood education act um or the New Jersey Universal Preschool and Kindergarten Act makes various updates to preschool funding and sets new kindergarten requirements. Preschool services contracts
062exempts contracts for preschool education services provided by a licensed child care provider or head start program and supported by preschool education aid from public advertising and bidding and permits the contracts to be awarded by a resolution of the board of education. The IEP meeting guidelines and working group. This is important for our special education families. Um now, um certain information is to be provided to a parent at least two business days prior to the annual IEP team meeting and establishes a working group within the NJ DOT. Under the law, at least two days prior to an IEP meeting, a school must provide the parent or guardian with a written statement including the students current levels of academic and functional performance, the list of names of any required IEP team members who are seeking to be
063excused from participation um with their um input into the programs and services and an invitation for the parent or guardian to provide their own input or feedback on proposed services and programs. Um, the no fee option for school lunch payments requires boards of education to offer a no fee option to parents and guardians for making school lunch and other types of payments. Protecting student data amends existing law to limit disclosure of financial information. mental health resources on ID cards. Revises revises existing statute to require public schools and higher education institutions that issues student ID cards to print the telephone number for mental health and suicide crisis resources on those cards. And the school meal nutrition standards requires all schools in New Jersey to comply with previous nutrition standards for the national school lunch program and
064federal school breakfast program adopted by the US Department of Agriculture. This concludes my report. >> Any questions for Dr. Sainer? Okay. The Marsh County, New Jersey School Board's Association report. Miss Downs. >> Good evening. Uh there are no current meetings, but the MCSBA has provided the calendar of events for the 2025 2026 school year. It starts on Tuesday, October 7th. They're having the hybrid meeting uh with the location at Newton High School. The topic is from budgets to brilliance linking school finance to school uh to student outcomes. Uh and Monday, October 20th to Thursday, October 23rd is the NJSBA workshop in Atlantic City. Tuesday, December 2nd is another hybrid meeting um at Montville High School and the topic is empowering education AI for enhanced learning and community engagement. Wednesday, February 4th is the virtual winter
065meeting with the topic of creating a positive school culture addressing ethics, cell phones, and HIP. Uh Thursday, March 5th, is the unsung hero awards ceremony and Wednesday, May 6th, is the hybrid uh spring celebrations meeting at West Morris High School, Mendum High School. This concludes my report. >> Thank you very much. Okay. Um >> Oh, >> hi there. Sorry. Um I just wanted to add to that that um you had offered that any board member volunteer >> for the Mars County School Boards Association for the legislative committee and I did volunteer for that. Um after many back and forth between the numerous members of the committee um I was advised yesterday that the first meeting via Zoom will be September 3rd. Um, and I we haven't received an agenda yet, but I know that one
066of the hot topic ideas were being to discuss HIB and the numerous new changes to the legislation for that. So, I'm offering that if there's any questions or comments that the board would like me to bring up during that Zoom on September 3rd, uh, please just let me know. >> Thank you, Mr. Shower. >> Okay. Uh, administrative approvals. We have a um items 1 through 11. Do we have a motion to approve? >> So moved. Second. >> Okay. Any discussion on those items? Uh I know that includes um our board goals that we had worked on at our retreat that are listed there and the district goals are also listed. So any questions on those items? Mr. McCor. Um, are there any changes to the organizational chart beyond the addition of the uh the new
067position? Is that the only change that was made? >> That is correct at this time. >> Um, on item seven, the coaching evaluation system, is this new or is this a renewal of the ex is this just just the existing process that has been in place for the last couple of years? >> That is correct. >> Okay. Any changes being made >> to this evaluation? No. Not at this time. No. Any other questions? >> Roll call, please. >> Mr. Seto, >> yes. >> Miss St? >> Yes. >> Mr. Mor? >> Uh, yes. On all but item seven. >> Miss uh Miss Phillips? >> Yes. >> Miss Penellis? >> Yes. >> Dr. Center? >> Yes. >> Miss Sher? >> Yes. >> Miss Son? >> Yes. >> Mr. Yes. Okay. Personnel. >> Um I would like to
068make a motion to approve personnel items 1 through 17 including the agenda. >> Do we have a second? >> Second. >> Any discussion? Dr. Sainer. >> Um I have a few questions. Um there are some reassignments that are happening very late in the summer with school starting in about two weeks. How are we helping in supporting these staff members as they transition to their new roles? A >> as a team, you know, we try to avoid any last minute changes like that because we know it does interrupt the the flow of of getting ready for school start, especially when we want to give teachers an opportunity to be able to prepare ahead of time. Uh but when these sitrations do come up uh the team knows to provide as much support as needed in regards
069to setting up the classroom uh providing the instructional piece whether it's through our supervisors or administrative team. So we definitely work as a whole to assist that because we know that it does create a disruption. >> Thank you. Um several of our new teacher hires are also being hired as permanent substitutes. Could you please explain this? >> Sure. U several of our new teachers are just recent uh graduates and have not yet secured their official teaching certificate and it can take up to six to eight weeks for the certification u process to occur. Uh the summer is a busiest time for certification process. It will be requesting expedited for some of these candidates after the BOE meeting uh to ensure that these candidates can start. We also approve them as substitute because they all have
070a substitute certificate. >> And then my last question involves substitutes. Our list of substitute both regular and permanent reappoints seems very short. Are these adequate numbers of substitutes to um staff our district? >> Yes. Uh we are also under a contract with edu staff um they are substitute services that instead of going with them 100% uh we don't want to give them complete control. Um we are using them as a supplemental to already our substitute pool that we have in district. >> But you're happy with the amount that we have or are we still hiring for? We can always use more. Uh so we'll always keep looking out but we we got the pool to work off of. >> Okay. Thank you. >> You're welcome. >> I have a question Mr. Miller if I may.
071>> Sure. >> Uh Mr. Hime have we secured any mentoring teachers, master teachers to mentor our new teachers, first year teachers yet or is that something that happens you know at the beginning of the school year? >> The we have a pool of mentor teachers in district uh that they're um assigned to work with our new teachers. >> So does that happen during the summer? Like do we assign like do we ask them to be mentoring teachers or does that happen at the beginning of the school year? >> I believe it happens uh and I I can I have to double check exactly how the process works but I believe it happens through HR department. Uh they'll request for any teachers who already have that men who have been approved to be mentors. Um and
072then from there then the the partnership is created so they can then start with with the work. >> Okay. Thank you. >> All right. Um, and I would like to take this opportunity and introduce our new edte principal, Miss Jennifer Stein, who's here in the audience. Uh, she's going to be our new principal starting uh in in about two 60 days hopefully. Uh, or less. Um, uh, but welcome to the team. Welcome to the Door family. Uh, we're excited to see what you're going to bring to uh, East Door Elementary. >> Welcome. Welcome. >> Okay, we have any other questions, Mr. McCort? Um, this has just come to me, so I apologize for not asking in advance. Um, um, Mr. Peterson, is that former Lieutenant Peterson from the Dober Police Department, or is that a
073different person? >> He did work in Dover. I'm assuming it's the same. >> Okay. Okay. Is that a new an additional security guard or is that a replacement? >> It's a replacement. >> Okay. Any other questions? Can I ask I'm sorry. Can I ask for a clarification on Mr. McCort's question? I don't understand between I don't understand the difference between a new security guard and a replacement security guard. >> An addition I meant isn't an additional security guard as opposed to a replacing someone who's leaving. >> Thank you very much. >> Okay. Anyone else? Roll call, please. >> Mr. Suedo? >> Yes. >> Miss DS? >> Yes. >> Mr. Mor? >> Yes. >> Miss Phillips? >> Yes. >> Miss Penales? Yes, >> Dr. S. >> Yes, >> Miss Shower. >> Yes, >> Miss Sness. >>
074Yes, >> Mr. Miller. >> Yes. >> Okay, negotiations, you're on again. >> At this time, negotiation committee is working on salary guides and hope to have resolutions for next board meeting. >> Thank you. Uh governance, Miss DS, >> the governance committee met in person at Belmont on uh July 22nd for approximately 45 minutes. Members in attendance were myself, Mr. McCor, um Miss Phillips, Mr. Haime, and Miss Selenus was absent. The committee discussed individual board training and reporting back to the full board. We are in the process of constructing a template. Um there will be no quarterly report in August as we are adopting new board goals which include um board goal one is advance student achievement through datadriven decision making making. Um board two goal board goal two is strengthen board governance through targeted training.
075Board three. Board goal three is enhance community engagement and communication and board goal four is to ensure accountability on progress towards board goals. Um Mr. McCor asked if we could update the agenda to set it up to see what goals the committees are achieving. Uh, the next meeting is set for August 26. And this concludes my report. >> Any questions for Miss Downs? >> Okay. Uh, student achievement and curriculum. >> Thank you. The student achievement and curriculum committee did not meet, but we were busy reading the approximately 66 curricula on uh, the agenda for approval tonight. I would like to sincerely thank the teachers and administrators that have worked so thoughtfully and diligently on um these curricula. BOE members will notice as they read them that the first page is a detailed weekly plan that
076is a great resource for any teacher, but will be particularly helpful for new teachers or teachers new to a course or grade level. While I would like to mention every curriculum, um we would we'd all like to go home tonight and I would like to give our families some of the notable information from these curricula. Um for example, um as I mentioned earlier, there are numerous ML curricula from ML biology and chemistry to a variety of ESL classes at all levels to address the need of our many many um ML learners. There are differentiated courses such as chemistry and honors chemistry to meet our students where they are. Lots of new and revised business curricula such as law for business and personal use marketing, social media marketing, and entrepreneurship to name a few. We've had
077the opportunity to ask questions about the implementations of the new G&T curricula. And one of our units in our nth grade English curriculum is thou shalt not catch Feelings. So that sounds amazing. and students in ceramics 2 will complete a unit entitled to give is to receive about using art for advocacy. So, a lot of innovation in those um curricula and again a huge shout out to our teachers and administrators who have worked hard and there's another 20 or 30 coming along in September. With that, I would like to move that we approve items one through six. >> Do we have a second? >> Second. >> All right. Well, it's pretty close. >> Yeah, I'll take Mr. M. >> Any questions on uh any of those items? >> No questions, but just a comment uh
078to echo what Dr. Ser said, "Having um lived with someone who both helped write curriculum and now who helps supervise the writing of the curriculum, I uh can only imagine what these teachers went through to get here." Also, shout outs to their spouses. Um it this the amount of work that goes into this is something I don't think enough people appreciate and and I just want to echo those thanks for the work that has been done. Uh, this is this is incredible. Um, and thank you to everyone who participated. >> Any other comments? >> Roll call. >> Mr. Seto, >> yes. >> Miss Downs, >> yes. >> Mr. Mort, >> yes. >> Miss Phillips, >> yes. >> Miss Penellis, >> yes. >> Dr. Ser, >> yes. >> Miss Shower, >> yes. >> Mes, >> yes.
079>> Mr. Miller, >> yes. >> Okay. Community relations. >> The community relations committee met on August 5th. Uh the sole item on the agenda was to review the applications for the 2025 2026 uh citizens advisory committee. Um and I am pleased to move agenda item one which resolves the appointment of the following individuals to the citizens advisory committee for the 2025 2026 school year. Erica Anderson, Jerome Anderson, Aiden Aragon, Lisa Berg, Joshua Bermudez, Jamie Frisk, Robin Klene, Robert Mains, and Helina Skates. Um, Miss Berg, Mr. Mains, and Miss Gates all uh are returning for either their second or third year on the committee. Um the uh next meeting of the community relations committee is tenatively scheduled for September 2nd. Uh the first meeting of the new citizens advisory committee uh will be on September the
08030th. >> Okay. So you move that item. >> We need a second. >> Second. >> Any discussion? We have roll call, please. Mr. Ato, >> yes. >> Miss DS, >> yes. >> Mr. Mor, >> yes. >> Miss Phillips, >> yes. >> Miss Penellis, >> yes. >> Dr. Center, >> yes. >> Miss Shower, >> yes. >> Miss Son, >> yes. >> Mr. Miller, >> yes. >> I want to thank all the members of the public that are part of that committee because their input will be very valuable uh to our board. >> If I could also just add, Mr. President, that um there is one spot left. Um we can appoint a maximum of 10 people. Um this today we're uh appointing nine. So if there is anyone in the community that that missed the application
081uh window and is interested in serving um please feel free to reach out to any board member. I'm sure they will then pass that information along accordingly and and we can address it if if it comes up. >> You provide food for the committee. >> I'm willing to >> Okay, that's good. >> We provide food for thought. Okay, Miss Panales, policy. >> The policy committee is eager to meet next month >> and we're still in the process of rescheduling our meeting. >> Okay, great. Finance and facilities. >> Thank you, Mr. Miller. Um, the finance and facilities committee meeting or the facilities and finance committee because every time I write it, I write it differently. um met on July 22nd at the Belmont building. Uh administration in attendance was Mr. Haime, Mr. Sabulu and Mr. Toe,
082our district buildings and grounds uh department head, which was very nice to meet him in person. That was lovely. Um members in attendance were Mr. Miller, Miss Asavdo, myself, and Dr. Ser. We discussed um review of the process at what point we were at for the route 46 former do sport building. The full packet of information with the application had been sent to the state department of education for approvals and we again continue to wait for those uh response from those approvals. The HVAC upgrades to Do Middle School and North Dover Elementary, which are the ROD grant projects are moving along and I would think probably very close to being done soon. I would hope. Um there was an addition from Hannah Construction or HVAC um of almost $20,000 and we did ask Mr. to
083for a comparison to see if we could possibly do the same results in district and thank him very much for his research and his comparison shopping and it we'll stick with Hannah construction for that addition instead of doing it inhouse but I appreciate his efforts and answering our questions also um let's see what else did we talk about there was extensive discussion in reference to transportation and where we were going to to move the buses. And I know that Mr. Hymate did announce where the buses will now be housed, which is not far from where they were formally housed after several different options were discussed and mold over. And again, we thank the committee thanks Mr. Haime, Mr. Toth for all of their and our transportation department also for all of their effort in uh
084doing that. Um and uh let's see, Mr. Miller did discuss the district newsletter so that we can get some of this information from all of our committees out to the public um in a timely fashion and we definitely want to keep our public updated on the sixth grade annex construction and um and where we're spending your tax dollars. The Do High School generator, which I believe is right out here somewhere, the pad and piping and electric work are all complete. We're just waiting for the generator itself to be installed. And I believe that was it. Our next meeting will be um August 26th. So I um I'll move on to asking for I'll make a motion to move items number one through 29 with that last minute addendum for the North Dover roofing which thankfully
085will be done hopefully before school starts um on the finance and the facilities. >> Do we have a second? >> Second. Any discussion? Dr. Sam, >> I have a bunch of questions. Um, Mr. Savaholu, could you please explain why the coaches um that are not in district are now uh under finance and not personnel? >> Uh because they're not paid through the payroll. >> Okay, thank you. Um can you explain why there are so many unposted checks from June? >> Uh that's because of the like uh when we take the June and July, there are two different fiscal years. So system shows it differently. That's why unposted doesn't mean anything. It's just like it didn't post the reports but it doesn't mean like the check is not can is not checks are not cancelled. >>
086Okay. Thank you. Um can you explain why on the bill's report we pay both JCPNL as well as direct energy marketing? >> Uh we utilizing ASUS uh that's through the uh actual county. uh we get discounted uh rate uh for the supply but service we have still have to pay JCPL. >> Okay, thank you. Um how can we have a negative food service balance? >> That was like actually uh we had too much last year so we put some uh uh people working in the food service in the payroll which is totally allowed but we have to uh find a happy medium so it's only like $6,000 but we can always adjust going forward. >> Okay, thank you. Is Little Minds Academy a new prek provider? >> No, it's not. Uh they bought Bridges to
087learning, so we just need to change name on the contract. >> Okay. Thank you. And I'm uh a question that I had was we have a list of grants. I think there's eight um different grants. They come to the amounts when they're listed are over $376,000. Um, and I wanted the public to know how hard our staff members were working to bring in additional funds. Mrs. Shower mentioned the loss of $90,000 in funding and so our staff members are working so hard to bring um other funding into the district and uh I will be bringing it up as student achievement and curriculum to find a way to kind of seamlessly share that with the public. And so a lot of these grants when they are um submitted come before a student achievement and curriculum, but
088we don't always we don't get every grant. But I would like to highlight for our community both how much our staff members are bringing in and how these grant funds will be used to for the benefit of our staff and students. That concludes my question. >> Thank you. Any other questions? Um just uh want to echo what Dr. Sanders said concerning the grants and thank everyone uh for the many hours of work that they put into um what essentially helps us offset um any as she pointed out uh cuts um as well as any possible tax increases in the future. These grants go directly to to helping our budget and I really appreciate all the work that went in to achieving what is a really insane amount um of grants. Um my only question is
089item 29. Um and I only asked this because I believe Dr. Ser had asked about the original donation back in July and what that was for and we weren't sure and now we're rescending it. So if you could maybe provide some insight into what this is. >> Actually uh we were thinking that there were going to be free shirts but they want to advertise local businesses. They g like the information from 1500 local businesses and they were going to print it on the back of the shirt. Actually I caught at the last minute so we don't feel comfortable because we don't even know what they're going to advertise and as a district I don't think we have a policy to advertise anything in the district. That might be a policy committee thing but so that's
090why we cancel that. Thank you, >> Mr. Miller. Um, I neglected to add something to my report that I know we did also have um a lot of discussion at the meeting. Uh, the uh Dover Police had made a lastm minute request for an emergency use of our one of our uh buses for their junior trooper academy, I think it's called. Um, and I know that Mr. Miller and Mr. Himeme and our transportation department tried to work really diligently to help them out with their last minute emergency. So, thank you very much for that also. >> And thank you. Any other questions or comments? >> Roll call. >> Mr. >> Yes. >> M. St. >> Yes. >> Mr. Mor? >> Yes. >> Miss Phillips? >> Uh, yes. But I will recuse myself for payments to
091vendor 1950. Miss Penelis, >> yes. >> Dr. Ser, >> yes. >> Miss Shaw, >> yes. >> Miss Son, >> yes. >> Mr. Miller, >> yes. >> Okay. We have upcoming board of education meetings September 16th, October 14th, and November 18th. We also have uh the Dober Fire Department uh put in facilities request for the Dober High School parking lot for a pump and hose testing on August 18th and the 23rd. They do that all day. It says 8 to 4. >> I'm gonna say yes, but I can let you know once it starts. >> Okay. >> A lot of water. Okay. Do we have any old business? >> Uh, new business, Mrs. Shower. >> Yes, Mr. Miller. Thank you. Um, as many of you have probably already seen through the um, school boards association newsletters
092and updates that we have, uh, the semianual delegate assembly is going to be occurring in uh, November and they have a cuto off date of October, Friday, October 3rd, 2025 for the uh, resolutions and I I know that we have not had any discussion of an interest or need in forming a resolution to be submitted. But I just wanted to put that out there for us. I will be uh attending the delegate assembly on behalf of the board. So, uh, Mr. Miller has the forms and he has the process down, Pat, because he took part in it the last time the board did it. So, I'm just going to put that out there. I know as far as our goals, we don't have anything that would require the input of a resolution, but I thought
093it was important to mention it. Thank you. Okay. Um, nothing else. I think we'll move into the second public comment. Uh, the board recognizes the value of public comment on educational issues and the importance of allowing members of the public to express themselves on school matters. To ensure fair and orderly expression of such comment, each statement shall be held to a time period of three minutes. Public comments not restricted to items on this agenda shall be entertained for approximately 30 minutes upon the discretion of the presiding officer. For those who wish to provide public comment remotely, a Google form was posted on the district website at 6:30. Remote comments will be read by a member of the board of education. The board of education will alternate between in-person and online comments. Please understand that public
094comment portions of our agenda are not structured as question and answer sessions, but rather they are offered as opportunities to share your thoughts with the board. The board may or may not respond to public comments. However, all comments are considered and will be investigated and addressed as appropriate. Please be courteous and mindful to the rights of others when providing comments. Comments may not be abusive, obscene, threatening, or irrelevant. Please understand that students and employees have specific legal and privacy protections. The board is not permitted to respond in public to comments about students or employees. Please be advised that you are commenting at your own risk. Any public comments that are directed at a particular individual or individuals could subject you to legal liability for defamation. Is there anyone from the public that wishes to address
095uh the board on any topics? Is there any comments online? >> No. >> All right. Well, I'd like to close this portion of the meeting and uh entertain an adjournment. Does anyone have a motion? >> So moved. >> Second. >> All those in favor? I >> opposed. >> Okay. Have a good night, everybody.