001All right. I call this meeting to order. At 6:00 p.m., the New Jersey Open Public Meetings Law was enacted to ensure the right of the public to have advanced notice of and to attend the meetings of public bodies at which any business affecting their interests is discussed or acted upon. In accordance with the provisions of the act, the East Rutherford Board of Education has caused notice of this meeting by having the date, time, and place thereof provided uh to the record and South Bergenite newspapers to have published and posted in the vestibule of the Burough Hall and Public Library. Copies of agendas are available 48 hours prior to said meetings in the board of education office andor posted on the East Rutherford School website www. e rb.net. Uh please stand for the flag salute and
002remain standing for a moment of silence in honor of the members of our police department, fire department, first responders, and armed forces. >> 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, liberty and justice for all. You may be seated. >> Roll call. >> Miss Caruso >> here. >> Molly >> here. >> Miss Mena >> here. >> Mr. Sanders >> here. >> Miss Shmley is absent. Mr. Banka >> here. >> And Miss Laruso >> here. Uh, fire exits out to the front of the room and to the left. All right. School business administrators report. Mr. Verach. Thank you, Madam President. Up here. Sorry. Okay. Starting off with the buildings and grounds report from Mr. Abatiani. Custodia cleaning efforts continue
003to demonstrate a strong commitment to upholding exemplary standards of cleanliness across the district through the implementation of enhanced cleaning protocols, ongoing professional development, and effective operational support. We've seen steady improvements during both day and evening shifts. Uh earlier last week, he um Mr. Batshani met with his custodial staff to review current cleaning practices and discuss upcoming maintenance projects. These ongoing com conversations help ensure that all team members remain aligned with district expectations and are wellprepared to maintain a clean, self safe and welcoming environment for our students, staff, and visitors. Maintenance update at McKenzie. The renovation of the two gang bathrooms, the boys and girls have been completed and the results look amazing. Uh, as we prepare for the upcoming school year, routine annual maintenance is actively underway across the district. And this is just a
004summary. the gym floor resurfacing. We are awaiting the contractor for scheduling for all three schools. Grease trap cleaning. Uh we're also waiting the date for the vendor to come in. The kitchen hood safety control inspections and replacement. Again, Mr. Batishani is waiting for dates. Fire extinguisher inspections. Uh same thing. We are waiting for dates when metro fire will come in. bus fire system inspections and fire extinguisher servicing. If I'm not mistaken, that was completed earlier this month. Completed projects, the shrub replacement at Lincoln School, elevator inspections across the district, and the fire suppression system inspection. Uh let's see, the the administration building and roof replacement. The project was awarded. Thank you once again to the board last month. There was a meeting on July 10th with myself, uh Mr. about Shaunie, the architect and the
005contractor and we discussed scheduling. The start date will depend on securing materials and finalizing paperwork with the architect. The vendor Lumar Roofing did mention it was either the last week of July or the first week of August. So, they are well aware uh of that that we need to have that project completed before school starts. So, uh I will keep the board posted when it happens. So, either last week of July or the first week of August. Those are the two weeks. Uh LinkedIn school air conditioning issues with classroom units. Uh we recently encountered an issue with multiple classroom air conditioning units. Water overflowing from from the drain pans causing ceiling tiles to collapse. Um Mr. Batshani immediately notified myself, Mr. Jen Casper and Mr. Valardi. The architect uh contacted Doco. They had a Zoom
006meeting uh was held to address the situation. Two days later, Doco sent their HVAC contractor to look and troubleshoot the units. In addition, Mr. Abatani also brought in a um because the units we have are Dacin and only certified Dacin uh HVAC contractors could work on the date they came in to evaluate the issue as a backup plan to confirm his findings. The root cause has been identified and since the warranty has expired, we are now moving forward with the necessary repairs and Mr. Bratz County will provide an update in next month's report. Transportation update. We continue to actively seek to recruit part-time bus drivers and aids to strengthen our transportation department and ensure coverage for all routes. While the past year brought several changes, each issue was addressed promptly and effectively leaning to noticeable
007improvements in service and reliability. Uh this past week, actually last week, Mr. Shani did interview a few candidates for the bus aid as well as lunch aid. So hopefully we'll have a name for you if not next week uh in August. And actually one of our part-time bus drivers um interviewed to make her a full-time bus driver. So that will be up for vote uh next week to make one of our part-time drivers make her full-time. And it's much more efficient. uh we've talked to her about what she can do in between uh bus routes, whether she can help out as a lunch. She could also help out Mr. Batashani and the business office with transportation requests. So, we are we definitely are looking forward to her becoming a full-time employee. Uh let's see. Let's
008see. I think that's about it. Uh I do before I get to the Mashio's uh report as you're all well aware July 14th uh we experienced some uh weather with the rain, the wind, thunder, lightning. Well, on July 15th, I reached out to uh Mr. Bratshani uh by text message because I know sometimes the districts we have issues with water with flooding. So I texted him at 7:18. And I just reached out to him and say, you know, Frank, how's everything with the with the buildings? Are we experiencing any flooding or water issues due to the storms from last night? He said, no, but he did inform me that there were partial outages here as well as Lincoln. So, at that point, uh I spoke to Miss I spoke to Frank and he what he
009did is he contacted the district electrician. He also contacted PSNG to assess the matter. The electrician arrived on site first and determined that the power outages were not inside either Lincoln or the board office, but it was outside. Once PS&G arrived on scene, they assessed the situation and informed Mr. Bashani that the transformer, the big green rectangular box needed to be replaced. That was the that was the source of the problem. Had to be replaced. Uh PNCG informed Mr. Bashani that the power needed to be turned off to both locations in order to replace a transformer. Um, Miss Barali and at this point, Mr. Batshani reached out to Miss Bali to let her know. She had reached out to me to inform that all staff in the board office needed to relocate to FA as
010well as the Lincoln secretary. We needed to go over to FA. This was about 10:00. We went over there. We continued our day around 10 10:18. How do I know? Cuz I was in the building still. Power was off. The power went off uh here as well as Lincoln. Once that was done, I spoke to Mr. Bajashani. Had them contact the police, the fire, and our alarm company just to make them aware. This is what's going on. Make them aware of the situation. All right. Doesn't end there. So around 12:14, I spoke to him and I said, "We need to reach out to Mr. G. He has to know what's going on. Yes, he's in Italy, but he has to know what's going on. He's superintendent of schools. So, got to love WhatsApp. Um, we
011reached out to him. We let him know what happened. We told him the steps we took that we took. He was very happy. He was very satisfied. He asked all the questions and we said, "We did it. We did it. We did it. Everything's done." And then after that, I called our board president, Miss Laruso. I made her aware all the necessary steps that uh Mr. Bachani and Miss Barali that we informed Mr. Jen Caspro, we called the police. We called the fire. We called the alarm company to make everyone aware of what was happening. And I'm glad to say that the power was restored to both the Lincoln and the board office at 4:22 p.m. So, I want to go on record by saying a huge thank you to Mr. Batshani for all of
012his work, for him and his crew, all the phone calls going back and forth. Uh really, I couldn't have done this without him. So I I have to thank him publicly as well as Mr. Barley for hosting us over at FA. So it was good we were able to continue our day. Okay. Well, hold on. So on so power comes back up. But there's more. Yeah. Like an infomercial. On July 16th, I um I spoke to Frank and he wanted to assess the situation, make sure everything was okay, everything was working properly. He discovered that the elevator at Lincoln wasn't functioning properly as well as the walk-in freezer and the access points at FA were nonoperational. So, you know how you swipe in at FA? They weren't working externally and internally. So, at that point,
013the elevator was they were able to reset it without contacting Schindler. It's working properly. Not a problem. Next, he contact Mashios and Jay Hill, who's the vendor who fixes our food service equipment about the walk-in freezer. J Hill arrived on site and they determined what the issue was with the freezer. They said there was, this is what they're saying, was a blown electronic contactor and it was replaced and it's now working properly. So they left around 5ish. So one of our custodians stayed here to ensure that the work was done and they left. And then with the access points uh for FA, we called JCT. They were contacted to address the access point issues. Again, they were the both internal and external doors. All the doors JCT identified that the issue was a computer board.
014The computer board was replaced and the issues were resolved late as uh yesterday late afternoon. It's okay. All right, Mashios got to love the weather. Gotta love the the weather. But but again I have to thank Mr. Batashani and his crew because of their diligence to make sure that everything is working properly, functioning properly. The second he realized something wasn't working properly, he made the necessary phone calls and kept me and Miss Barali informed. So, okay, Mashio. So, their profit and loss, we're very happy to announce that at the end of the 2425 school year that we do have a net income just short of 55,000. It was 54,56643. I don't have last year's currently, but it is certainly improvement. I I want to say last year was in the 20s, I think. So, that
015is a huge improvement. I I do have to thank Mashios because it is a it is a partnership and we work together to to ensure that this food service program is sustainable. Okay. Uh let's see. Approval of the monthly facility calendar for August 2025. There really isn't much. I don't think there was anything. Um no. Uh approval of the district use of facilities application. pull that up. Oh, this is Yes, the wreck. This has to do with the recreation. Um, as you can see, they're requesting to for basketball. They're requesting to use FA Lincoln and McKenzie. There are some, I believe, Saturday dates. Also, they're requesting FA school for vol for women's volleyball. They're also requesting McKenzie gym for indoor soccer. that will start in January of 26. They're also requesting FA Lincoln and McKenzie
016for little league baseball and softball. Uh that's only for a few weeks in March. We will reach out to Mr. Bla. Make sure that they are not using actual baseballs and softballs. >> They usually do. They use >> Okay. Just to make sure because we want what we want our gym force to stay in good operating condition. And then the last one is the adult open gym basketball that is from late March to mid May of 2026. Um see F1 approval of payroll for June 2025. F2 approval of resignation payout for vacation days as per contract 2024 2025 that has to do with Dr. King Dobson. F3 approval of tuition extraordinary aid services contract and agreements for the 2025 2026 school year. Let me pull that up so you can see that. And that is
017for the commission of the blind. We already did approve this back uh the board did actually approve quite a few of these in June. And F4 is the adoption of the new bid threshold. I'm very happy about this that the state increased the bid threshold for QPA from 44,000 to 53,000. So, uh, everybody, every BA in the state should thank Jim Shu for creating this, uh, resolution for us. So, that's the resolution before you. It is going from 44 to 53. That really does, uh, help the district a lot. Right now, uh, the bills list of, we will have two bills list. uh one for June from the uh from June 24th to June 30th to close out the 2425 school year as well as the July bills list. So you'll have two. So uh
018Mr. Banker, you'll have two to to look at for June and July. Uh the financial reports, it all depends. Uh the business office is working tirelessly that we're working very hard to close out 2425. until we close that out, I cannot send the necessary reports uh to the school treasurer to go ahead and have and for her to uh reconcile uh the accounts. So, I did send her an email just to let her know. So, please don't be alarmed if you don't approve it next week. We do have until August and once that's approved, I send that information over to the county. And I think that's it. Yes, I think so. Okay. Need some water. >> Yeah. Going on. >> Um, any discussions? >> I just had a comment. It was just more of you
019can thank the rec department because I know we've asked for them to put in things ahead of time. So, we kind of have the whole year approved now, which will be great. So, I just >> you can send them a thank you. >> Yes. >> Actually, I it was between myself and Miss Baron. We made a note to ourselves on a Google calendar, reach out to Mr. blow val and ask him for the dates. And I think that's what helped us instead of waiting last minute. If he knew the dates, just give it to us, fill out the application. And so I'm glad it worked out for uh for all parties. Any discussion? No. Okay. I thank you, Mr. Verace. You're welcome. >> Um unfortunately, Mr. Jean Caspro and Miss Barali uh couldn't be here
020tonight, but if we have any questions on the on their agenda items, uh let us know and we'll have answers. >> Yeah. Okay. Um we do have one item to vote on tonight. >> That is correct, Madam President. That is P six resolution appointing the interim superintendent. >> Yes, >> that's correct. >> That way we can get that ball moving. >> Okay. You want to do that? >> Personnel items now or or just >> um Yeah. But Oh, no. I just wanted to know these two that are resigning, what were their positions? >> Paris. >> They were Paris. >> Okay. Thank you. >> Yes. And if you read their letter, some of them give the reasons why they were they were leaving, >> but yes, they were both Paris. >> That's correct. >> Um All
021right. Um Miss Caruso, you want to P6? >> Oh, put it down. >> Yeah. Yeah. again just P6 upon the recommendation of No, not even not even >> Yes. >> Yep. Upon the recommendation of the board of education, we hereby approve uh make a motion to approve P6 resolution appointing an the interim superintendent Frank Scara Field. >> Does she have >> second? >> Any discussion? >> No. No. Okay. Roll call. Miss Caruso, >> yes. >> Miss Collie, >> yes. >> Miss Mena, >> yes. Mr. >> Sanders, >> yes. >> Mr. Banker, >> yes. >> And Miss Laruso, >> yes. All right. Um, I will move on. Any old business? any new business? I do have two things. Okay. So, one is the board retreat. Um I got we do have somebody that can come. Um
022she can come on August 7th. That's a Thursday night. That was one of the dates that we all agreed we could make it. Um, so my question is, do we want to do it at our regular time, 6 o'clock, or do we want to push it till 7? And I'll get back to her. >> What's the time? >> I was going to say, how long? >> I don't know. >> Does it typically take Well, [Music] >> because I'm technically I'm away that week, too, but I'm coming back for it. So, >> so all right. Well, then we'll we'll miss you. >> It doesn't matter time. I guess it's just if it's going to be like >> six. >> Okay. Because I don't know how long it takes. So, stick we'll stick with six. >> Yeah.
023>> What? >> Yeah. Um Okay. Okay. So then the other question she wanted to know and I'll address this with uh Giovani when he comes back as well is do we also want to address the district goals that night >> as well? What I you know very passionate about the district goals making sure that the board was involved. So I >> gladly get my >> Okay. So what she said usually happens is the superintendent does write them up. he presents them and then we can give our input based off of what >> okay >> he presents >> that will be given >> I could yeah I'll I mean it'll be on it's still going to be a a formal meeting because we're all meeting so it'll there'll have to be some form of write up
024yes >> okay so that's the first thing um the CSA search as a whole, as a committee. How do we want to do it? Do we want to start it off as a committee for like round one and then round two everybody or do we just all jump right in and do it as a whole like we did the interim search? >> I personally so loud. >> That was so loud. >> I personally would prefer to do it as a whole even if we have to sit there just so everybody can agree. I liked having the input from all of the board members and hearing their feedback. That's my personal opinion. So, if you guys would agree, I don't mind sitting through another five hour session with you guys. Um, my preference, but again, board
025majority. Um, Miss Lus already also that I would that would be my preference as well. >> Okay, >> I agree. >> A whole Okay, Jeff, >> are you not fond of that? >> A hole is great. Yeah. >> All right. Okay. All right. Perfect. Well, it might be longer because we got a lot of resumes. So, we might be doing two I would probably multiple days of interviews for this one. >> We should have prefaced that. >> So, >> no. >> Well, we're going to interview everybody that applied. >> No, not everybody that >> search everybody. Yeah. Well, look, >> I said I texted everybody. I got the file. It's got like 30 something resumeumés. Um, so I'll forward that out to everybody. You know, everybody look it over. Come with your notes like 30
026something and 30. Yeah, it was. Um so like we did we'll meet we'll discuss the resumeumés then we'll call the potential >> candidates. How quickly are we looking students? >> Um >> yesterday >> like I said I I'll send out the files tonight as I'll share the Google folder with everybody tonight. we can start looking it over. Um, if you know everybody wants to do their homework and have candidates that they want to call by our board meeting next week, you know, and then we can set up interviews. Then we can pick an interview, couple of interview dates next week and we can get that ball really moving then. Do we want to interview the internal candidates first? >> Um, I mean they I would say if we're if we can come up with a
027good set of a few why don't we interview that way we don't waste like >> right >> Mr. Rajie, do we have a lot of internal candidates that have applied? >> two internal candidates. >> So, but we can discuss that after everybody looks at the >> resumes. At the resumes. Okay. Yeah. >> Okay. All right. Anybody else? Nope. >> Well, we still have to go to exact. We still have So, >> it want to open. >> Well, I am that that's going to be next. >> All right. At this time, I'm going to open to the hearing of the citizens. Open public comments on any agenda or non-aggenda items. State your name and address for the record. Address the board president. Each person wishing to speak will have five minutes each. Anyone wishing to speak
028will be given the opportunity to do so. Okay. See, >> yeah, >> one of these days he's going to humor us and come and say something. All right. Uh seeing none, I close to the hearing of the citizens. Um at this time, we're going to adjourn to executive session. Um, how long do you think we're going to be? >> Um, >> I guess there's two issues. I got to fill you guys in on those potential litigation issues and then where that's at and uh one other item. So 30 >> 30. >> So you have like legal matter and advice counselor. >> Yep. >> Uh yeah, potential litigation and personnel M. >> Okay. >> Or contract personnel matter. >> Okay. uh resolved that in accordance with section 8 of the open public meetings act chapter 231
029the board has the authority to adjourn to close session to discuss matters pertaining to legal personnel negotiations attorney client privilege and/or student matters said matters uh will be made available upon a determination by the board that the disclosure of the minutes will not detrimentally affect any right or interest of the board. The board expects to return to the business portion of the meeting in approximately 30 minutes. >> No formal action. >> So motion. >> Second. >> All in favor? >> I. >> Any opposed? Okay. What? >> Oh, you don't want my I could bring sandwiches. >> Should go to shop, right? I'll >> go to shop. Actually, this is very quick. No. >> All right. A motion to return to the regular order of business. >> So moved. >> All in favor? >> I. >>
030Any opposed? Okay. Before we adjourn, just to note, our next meeting will be held on Thursday, July 24th at 7 pm. Okay. 7 PM to give Alex and Giovani time to come back from their conference that that morning. That's right. >> Yeah. >> That's right. >> Yeah. >> We will probably figure out. >> Okay. >> All right. So, motion to adjurnn. So, move >> second. All in favor? I. >> Any opposed? Meeting adjourned.