001[music] said he's ready. He said he's ready at 7. >> Okay. Good evening. This is a public meeting of the board of education of the Clark Public Schools. Adequate notice of this meeting has been given in accordance with PL 1975 chapter 231 and a special notice was made in conformance with the section 13 of the act. >> Can we get a motion to return to public? Miss Lonus followed by Mr. May. >> All in favor? >> Which one do you want? >> All in favor? All >> in favor? >> They all said I. >> All right. So at this time, can we just raise for rise for pledge? To the flag of America and to the republic for it stands. One nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. >> Have a roll
002call, please. >> Mr. Aalonus, >> here. >> Mr. Benovinga. Mr. Breedy [snorts] >> here. >> Miss Calgary. Miss Harrison >> here, >> Miss Guerrero >> here, >> Miss Hickman, Mr. May >> present, >> Mr. Sorl >> here, >> and Mr. Dash >> here. >> Having seven board members, we have quorum. >> Now, can we get approval of the minutes? Can I get a motion? Miss Guerrero, followed by Mr. May. Questions or comments? Get a roll call, please. >> Mr. Yes, >> Mr. Breedy. >> Same. >> Miss Harrison. >> Yes, >> Mr. Guerrero. >> Yes. >> Mr. May, >> yes. >> Mr. Sorl, >> yes. >> And Mr. Douglas? >> Yes. >> Motion carried. >> All right. So, at this time, we'll open the we'll open it to the public for agenda items only. So, if
003there's something on the agenda that you would like to discuss, now would be the time to come up, state your name and your address. At the end of the meeting, we'll have time for non-aggenda items. So, seeing none, we'll move to the next portion of the meeting. We have personnel items 1 through 18. Can I get a motion? Miss Aalonus. >> Followed by Miss Harrison. Any questions or comments? Roll call, please. >> Yes. >> Mr. Breedy. >> Yes. >> Miss Harrison. >> Yes. >> Miss Guerrero. Abstain on 1 3 4 5 6 8 10 11 14. Yes on the rest. >> Thank you. >> Mr. May. >> Yes. >> Mr. Smurl. >> Yes. >> And Mr. Duncan? >> Yes. >> Motion carried. >> Miss Aonus. >> Yes. Uh I would just like to say that
004um we are accepting Mr. Mr. Dom Monaco's retirement and it is bittersweet. I've known Mr. Demono for a long time and I thank him for his 28 years of service here in the Clark schools. However, I've known him before he even had a certification to become an educator. Um his family goes way back in the area of education because his mom was a speech pathologist Arlene in Rowway schools and his father was not only a high school principal in Roway but he was also the assistant superintendent. So Rick had a very good background in education and I was very glad that he followed in his family's footsteps. So again, it's with bittersweet feelings that we accept your resignation. Again, thank you for your service and very well wishes. And one more thing, um I just
005want to make note that there were 14 of our teachers this year that had um 100% attendance this year without taking a single day off. And as educators, that's a difficult thing to do because again, um, with all the students that the teachers have to deal with, there are always different diseases and colds and viruses that are going around. So, it's remarkable that the teachers don't take any time off. And um, I just want to thank all of the teachers for doing their due diligence. Thank you. >> Thank you, Miss Small. >> Yeah. I'd just also like to uh echo Miss Echolonus' statement and congratulate Mr. Del Monaco um on a fabulous career here in the Clark School District and I was also fortunate enough to see him um kind of transition through his career
006as as an educator. um my children had him as a teacher. Uh was a soccer coach um and then became uh principal over at the high school and here at Compy's worn a number of different hats within the district and he's been effective in in every role that he's had. Um we were fortunate to have him. Um his dedication and his commitment to the district um is really kind of unparalleled in terms of what he's done. So again, Rick, congratulations on a on a wonderful career. Wish you the very best in the future and uh thank you for everything you've done for us. >> Thank you, Mr. Small. >> Mr. May, >> I'd also like to say the same. Uh growing up in Rawway, I knew the Del Monaco family very well. I even sold
007hot dogs at the sideliner stands with your grandfather back in the 1970s. So I kind of show my age when I say these things, but great family. Your father was an educator in Row High School. who was principal for many years. I knew him well. Uh I was on the uh rowing honorary PBA with him for almost 50 years as well. So um you were an instrumental part of my children's education at conf. You desire your your retirement is welld deserved and I hope you do well and I wish you the best. Thank you. >> Thank you Mr. May. All right. So moving on, we'll move to curriculum and education. We have items 19 to 20. Can I get a motion? I see Miss Aalonus and Miss Harrison. Any questions or comments? Seeing none, a
008roll call, please. >> Miss [clears throat] Aotus, >> yes. >> Mr. Breedy, >> yes. >> Miss Harrison, >> yes. >> Miss Guerrero, >> abstain on 19. Yes. On 20. >> Mr. May, >> yes. >> Swirl, >> yes. >> And Mr. Douglas, >> yes. Motion carried. >> Thank you. And now board governance. We have items 21 to 28. Can I get a motion, Mr. Breedy? Followed by I need one more, Mr. May. May I get a roll call, please? >> Seconus. >> Yes. >> Mr. Breedy, >> staying on 25. Yes. On the rest. >> Mr. Harrison. >> Yes. >> Mr. >> Abstain on 25 27 28 and yes on the rest. >> Mr. May. >> Yes. Moral. >> Yes. >> And Mr. Douglas? Yes. >> Motion carried. >> Thank you. And then finally, we have finance
009items 29 through 43. Can I get a motion? It's Mr. Small, followed by Mr. Breedy. Any questions or comments on those? Roll call, please. >> Yes. >> Mr. Grey, >> yes. >> M. Harrison. >> Yes. >> Mr. Guerrero. >> Abstain on 31, 32, 33, 42, and yes on the rest. >> Mr. May, >> yes. >> Mr. Swirl, >> yes. >> Mr. Dunker, >> yes. >> Motion carried. Thank you. At this time, we'll hand it over to Mr. Grandandy for this report. The superintendent. >> Good evening and thank you, Mr. Donursuit. I'd like to echo um the many congratulations to Mr. Domico. Um 28 great years of service here in Clark schools, Rick. Um second to no one, Rick's knowledge of school law, his commitment to our kids go beyond compare. Rick never wa wears a
010watch. is always willing to give his time. I know whenever there's updates from the Department of Education, many times they can be elusive and I can call Rick and he's already on it. I'm going to miss working with you so very much, Rick. And again, whenever we look to implement a new initiative, he'd always ask, "Is it going to help kids?" And that was his benchmark of whether or not we should move forward. and we're going to miss seeing you here daily, Rick, but you always have a family and home here in the Clark schools, too. So, thank you for everything. We're also accepting the retirement of Miss Anna Radcliffe, a science and special education teacher at our high school, and we wish Anna the best of luck with her next life steps. And as
011Mr. Clan has mentioned on this evening's agenda, we're approving our perfect attendance recipients for last school year. And many congratulations to them on their good health and their dedication to their profession. We're accepting the donation of landscaping materials for the area around the electronic sign at the Frankie Henley School from the Frankie Henley PTA. And this is just one example of the many of the much good work they do for the school. Eighth grade open house took place last Tuesday night and it was preceded by an honors academy information session. Our academic and extracurricular programs were highlighted and the feel of the evening was really to make the students and their parents feel at home. They went on independent tours that were um assisted through videos that the teachers and the students participated in. Our
012goal is always to retain our eighth graders since ALJ is where they belong. And many thanks to Mrs. Ala, Mrs. Possi, Mr. Denucci, and their team for organizing such a stellar event. Our interest survey for the Princeton Review SAT preparation class sponsored and paid for by the board of education went out on Friday and is due back November 13th, and we're encouraging our parents of our current juniors to look for that email and to take advantage of that opportunity. Every district is required to report to the public twice yearly detail detailing the number of incidences of violence, vandalism, sub substances, weapons, and confirmed HIV cases that have been recorded for the given reporting period. In this case, January 1st, 2025 through June 30th, 2025. Three cases were reported for ALJ, one being violence and two
013substances, two for Carl H. Comf both of which were HIV confirmed cases, none for Henley School and one HIV confirmed for Valley Road for a total of one for Valley Road. With Veterans Day being next week, many thanks to the men and women who gave so very much for our country. And on behalf of the Clark Public Schools, because we won't have another meeting between then and now, happy Thanksgiving. Thank you and have a great evening. >> Thank you, Mr. Grandandy. All right. All right. So, at this time we'll have report of the committees. Miss Sagalonus. >> Yes, I have something because uh recently there's been some misunderstanding about um the ranking of uh Clark schools and there was an article in the newspaper regarding uh our rankings and I'd just like to read portions
014of the article to you. Clark schools score in the top third in the state. And as the article proceeds, it says, "The Clark Public Schools System is proud to announce that each of its schools scores roughly in the top third of schools or higher based on the New Jersey school performance reports released by the dep New Jersey State Department of Education. The reports from the New Jersey DOA examine proficiency, growth, graduation rate, absenteeism, and progress towards English language proficiency. Each school is given a summitive rating which is the percentile rank of the schools across the state. The district performed higher than the state, county, and district factor group average for students meeting or exceeding expectations in English language arts, math, si, and science on the New Jersey student learning assessments. So just as a clarification,
015our clerk schools are doing very well according to the New Jersey State Department of Education information. So I just wanted to make that very clear. Thank you. >> Thank you, Miss Aalonus. Any other report of committees? >> Mr. Yeah. So just real quick, not really a report, but I just a couple quick shout outs um to some of our athletic programs. And I I know I'm going to leave a few out, but three highlights. Um, our football team just recently concluded its season um with a 7-2 record going on to the state playoffs. So, congratulations to them on a on a great season. Um our girls field our field hockey team uh just recently lost in the county final to Oaknull two to one in the last 30 seconds of the game with um Oaknull
016being ranked as the number one team in the state of New Jersey and number six in the country. So a great job by by our field hockey team as they get ready to prepare to play in the state tournament. And congratulations also to our girls soccer team that lost one- nothing to Westfield uh ranked number five in the state in their c in their county semi-finals. So um really just a great job by those by those uh three teams and I know we've had success in our other programs, but I just wanted to just quick shout out to those programs for the for the recent success that they've had and we're just really proud of our student athletes and how they perform not only on the field but off the field. Thank you, Mr. Smarl.
017Any other new or unfinished business? All right. So, seeing none, we're going to pass it over to Maddie for the student update. >> All right. So, to begin, at the preschool, students began the grocery theme in the tools of the mind curriculum where they began to engage in imaginary play related to roles in a grocery store, such as being a cashier or working with produce. The family project this month was to decorate a pumpkin and then present it to their class. Henley Elementary began the month by celebrating the week of respect, focusing on kindness and consideration towards others. The school held an assembly to encourage students to show respect in their daily lives. As a part of the school's social emotional learning, positive behavior interventions and support program, student hero representatives in grades 3 through
0185 participated in their first monthly meeting to promote the message of respect. These representatives then shared what they learned with their peers in buddy classes. Later in the month during Red Women Week, the school promoted healthy lifestyle choices and anti-drug awareness through events such as Walk Against Drugs and a soccer kickoff in PE classes. Under the theme, Life is a puzzle, solve it drug-free, each class decorated a large puzzle piece that was later assembled into a mural, symbolizing how everyone plays a part in building a healthy, supportive community. To wrap up the month, Henley celebrated fall and Halloween with a pumpkin decorating contest, a Halloween parade, and classroom parties. organized by the Henley room parents. October was a busy month at Valley Road Elementary School. The school celebrated the week of respect organized by Sarah
019Bedillo with activities teaching students the importance of kindness and respect. The PTA fall bookf fair was well attended and storytime night for kindergarten and first grade was a highlight with students arriving in pajamas to hear their teachers read stories. The PTA clothing drive was also a huge success. Valley Road also took part in American School Violence Awareness Week. I'm sorry. Um, featuring presentations on school safety from the district's juvenile officer and safety coordinator. The PTA pumpkin sale for fall and fall fest were both major hits, drawing families to enjoy games led by staff members. The fall fest featured activities such as a life-sized tic-tac-toe game and a pumpkin ring toss. The month concluded with the annual Halloween parade, and class parties. Looking ahead, November will include parent teacher conferences, a Veterans Day assembly featuring local
020veterans, visiting classrooms, and marching through halls, and a PTA vendor night for early holiday shopping on November 21st. The school will also host picture retakes, a thankful reading night for grades second and third on November 24th, and a wizards assembly and colonial women assembly on November 21st. The month will conclude with the VRS Thanksgiving parade on November 26th where each class will march with themed balloons, floats, and costumes. Over at KF Middle School, they will host their annual arts integration day on Wednesday, November 5th, where students will participate in a variety of artsbased activities throughout the day with several special guests joining in on to enhance the experience. Picture retakes are scheduled for February, November 14th, Feb, sorry, Friday, November 14th. On Saturday, November 15th, Comf Unified Sports will participate in the Turkey Splash and
021Dash to support Special Olympics. Information on how to join or donate to the Comf team is available on the school's website. And additionally, applications for the Governor's Educator of the Year program are now available on the CUMF website with nominations due by November 19th. Finally, at Arthurell Johnson High School, October was a busy and exciting month. The school hosted its annual eighth grade open house which saw a great turnout and many student volunteers assisting throughout the evening. Students also enjoyed a variety of spirit events including homecoming football game and dance, the powderpuff game where the senior girls took home the win as well as the senior Halloween parade. The school also celebrated its second Arthur Johnson Hall of Fame induction recognizing outstanding alumni. Academically and extracurricularly, students are continuing to excel. Mr. Mr. Van Bergen's
022marine biology classes took a field trip to Sandy Hook, while the band earned fourth place this weekend at the Hershey Park band competition. The school also held a club fair during its Flex and Lunchbox to encourage student involvement. In athletics, the girls field hockey team advanced the county finals and the girls soccer team reached the C County semi-finals, showcasing the hard work and dedication of ALJ athletes. Additionally, the school host a financial aid night on October 14th and administer the PSATs on October 15th, supporting students in their college preparation process. >> Thank you, Maddie. >> All right. So, at this time, we will open up the floor to the public for um non-aggenda items. So, if you have anything you'd like to talk about, come up to the the podium, state your name, your address.
023You have three minutes. Uh my name is Bill Draggy, 47 Post Road, Clark, New Jersey. Um, and uh, I'd like to talk about uh, Governor Murphy's executive order which says that you have to teach the children trans transgender courses and abortion courses. And I want to mention that that's an executive order. and the next governor that comes in, he he he he would he would uh if he's opposing that, he would just make an executive order and say that is null and void. So, um I just like everybody here to know that tomorrow's election is quite important. Um he goes if Cheryl Mickey Cheryl gets in, it's probably going to be the same old thing. This is transgender education to little kids and abortion courses. Now the president in June, president of the United States,
024President Trump came out and said just the opposite. You cannot teach transgender courses and know to uh children and you certainly cannot do any hormone modification on children and any operations on children if they want to change their gender. Whereas Governor Murphy just had made a law made executive order which makes all of our schools do just that teach transgender education. Now I would like to know whether uh although it's in one day it may not matter much but are you obeying President Trump or Governor Murphy on the transgender education. >> Mr. J, I'll start by saying I think we've been very transparent of the curriculum that we are teaching and it's always available and I don't know if after last month you reached out to Mr. Grandi about the curriculums, but he was more
025than happy to send you the curriculum so you can read through them. >> I tried that's another thing. I tried to find the curriculum. I look for an hour today on board of education um website. >> If if you send him an email e- r a ndeclarkschools.org, he'll be happy to send you the link directly so you don't have to look for him as he stated last month. >> Yeah. And I would think that since uh um according to the Supreme Court ruling not too long ago um in June um in June I believe uh they said that you have to uh give the course descriptions because the parental rights um uh override uh anything the governor might say according to the Supreme Court. So if if they cannot find this >> Mr. popped out
026of it. >> Your time is expired. Thank you. >> Is there any other questions or comments from the public on non-aggenda items? Mr. Del Monaco, 59 Mildred Way, [laughter] New Jersey Terrace, only for the next two months. Thank you everybody for your kind words. By a rough count, I think I'm at about 20 of your kids. I've had all the way from your two little sixth graders, Mrs. Harrison and Mr. Breedy, up to your Mr. Small and Mr. May. I got to say late 30s. If they hit 40, please don't tell me that. Okay. Um, but it's truly been a pleasure to work with all your kids. And it's just an example of the kids that I work with every day in Clark. And I've been fortunate enough to be involved in Clark all my
027life, my all my education career. Um I started out in um business for about 10 years. I was an accountant like Mr. Small there um for a little while and I decided to change careers and not once did I regret my decision and that's mostly because of where I landed. I landed in Clark um did my student teaching came here landed in Clark and the kids the parents everybody's been so supportive of me and it's really been a great great career in Clark and I can't thank you enough for that. Thank you to Mr. Grande for all you've done um for me. I'll miss our conversations, but you always can call me and you know chat. No problem. >> And mostly I like to thank all the people I work with uh over the years,
028especially my staff at Comp this year. They are absolutely terrific. Um a great bunch of people. Um most of them, not most of them, a lot of them actually were former students. Um and it's great. I have so many of them that work that are former students. And as an educator, um, if you're in education, you know, that's the greatest compliment you could see when you have kids that you've taught, coached, or been with since they were little kids, and now they're working with you as colleagues. Um, Miss Clark, thank you for all you've done for the past nine years with me at Com. We've done a great job, I think, with things. And, um, it's been a great thing. She's just happy to get rid of her work husband now for a little while.
029And, uh, she'll only have one husband for right now. So, that'll be good. So, she'll be happy for it. But, thank you all for everything. I appreciate your kind words. And it's really been a pleasure to work in Clark. Thank you. [applause] >> Thank you, Mr. Del Monaco, and thank you for your years of service. And we will miss you. And remember, once a crusader, always a crusader. >> Um, is there any other questions or comments from the public? Okay. So, seeing none, we'll close that portion of the call. Can I get a motion to adjurnn? Mr. Brady, Mr. May. All in favor? >> I >> thank you. Have a good night. [music] >> [music] [music]