001The flag. I pledge algiance to the flag of America to the stands one nationice for all. the New Jersey open public meetings law was. Sorry about that. I'm not on. [Music] How about that? Can you hear that? Yes. All right, forget it. The New Jersey open public meeting law was enacted to ensure the right of the public to have advanced notice of and to attend the meeting of public bodies at which any business affecting their interest is discussed or acted upon. In accordance with the provisions of this act, the Cedar Grove Board of Education has caused notice of this meeting to be advertised by having the date, time, and place thereof posted on bulletin boards in the district, published, and/or transmitted to the Verona Cedar Grove Times and the Star Ledger newspapers, tap into online
002news, filed with the township clerk, and posted on the district website. Can I have a roll call, please? Board member Grande, here. Board member Marzulo, here. Board member Palak here. Board member Keegan here. Board President Dara here. We have a quorum. Okay. Thank you. Good evening everyone. Uh at this point I'd open the meeting to the public comment for agenda items only. Seeing nobody move to close that portion of the meeting. And um we have a very busy evening tonight. We have a lot of information, a lot of resolutions to pass. We have a lot of uh students to recognize. Um but before we get to the presentations, I'm gonna ask Dr. Tmanian to address the community with his update. Thank you, Madam President. Thank you. And good evening, Cedar Grove School Committee. I beg
003your pard and I just wanted to take advantage of having a bit of an audience tonight to talk about a few very important updates that are on the horizon for our schools. But before I even do that, a real shout out to our athletes. Um, congratulations. It's been such a joy uh to watch you compete this year and to achieve the unprecedented for our softball girls and and the unprecedented repeat. Um, we could not be more proud of you. I I must say on a personal note, I'm also a father of three, so I've been around youth sports uh for the last 10 or 12 years watching my children go through it. And to be honest, it wasn't that much fun. They weren't very good. Um, and so watching you all compete the way you
004do has just been such a joy and we could not be more proud of you. In a few moments, we're going to have you all come up and recognize you and get a nice photo on the stage with the board as well. Okay, before we get to that, a few important announcements for our community. Uh, we have some exciting resolutions on our agenda tonight. After much work over the last six months, a dedicated board working very difficultly, very very diligently, our new BA Rob John Bannon, uh we are in a position to make a commitment tonight to in to install a new turf baseball field, a multi-purpose field here at the high school and we expect to break ground this summer. So by the next spring season, our boys will also be playing on a
005brand new turf field. So we're very excited about that. Um, second, uh, I'd like to, uh, alert the community that if you haven't yet today received a second community newsletter, you'll be receiving that within the next couple of days. It's a four-page newsletter. I'm going to ask you to pay particular attention to the first page, uh, where we begin to outline the potential for various referendum projects that we'll consider as a community as early as March of next year. The referendum projects will range from very significant safety upgrades and infrastructure upgrades that are needed over the next 10 years, but they also contemplate some potential redistricting. And there's a couple different ideas that we're considering and debating. And so over the next three to four months, there's going to be opportunities for all of our
006community members to engage in focus groups with me and others in the community so that we can hear from you about what your priorities are. And then as we come back to school in September, I should be in a position to talk to start to present to the community what some of the costs are related to some specific projects. Uh so we're very we're in the process now of submitting projects to the state for review. After they approve those projects, they'll send us back what the state aid would be for specific projects and then we can start start to narrow and sharpen our pencils about what the overall cost of those projects will be. Tonight, I essentially want to announce the beginning of what will probably be a six to eight month engagement of a
007lot of communication back and forth, and I'm looking forward to hearing from as many of our community members as possible. And then just lastly, a very serious congratulations to all of our graduates. We have a pending high school graduation coming up this Thursday and all of our three promotion ceremonies that are happening tomorrow in our three our two end schools and our middle school will be happening here. Um and with that I think President um Madam President unless there's anything I forgot on the anything else you want me to highlight. I don't think so. Anybody say something? Um no I was just going to echo a lot of the things that um Dr. Termanmanian spoke about regarding the referendum. I know we've been talking about this referendum for a long time or feels like a
008long time. Um, and what we've discovered to Dr. T's um, report is that we do have a lot of infrastructure, aging infrastructure that needs to take a priority. Um, I think that the infrastructure issues are are large much larger than we initially anticipated. So the way that we are hoping to roll out the referendum through the focus groups once we get a lot of input back from the community is in tiered levels. Our mustave, just to put it in very simplistic terms, things that are mustave if we want our buildings to remain open and functioning. Um, as far as safety reasons, I'm referring to things like our uh HVAC. And HVAC is not just air conditioning. We're talking about our heating systems that are uh very old and at any time can shut down. And
009we all know what happens when there's no heat in the buildings. The buildings can't open. Many of us have experience what that looked like in the past when we lost a building and needed to relocate at the drop of a hat. Um so the idea and some of the options that we are considering is to roll it out into tiered levels. I like to say the musthaves and then the enhancements and then the enhancements are leveled as well. Things that would be a f a first level enhancement and then second level enhancement and then obviously we all have wish lists. Um but the input from the community is going to be paramount. This is your your referendum not ours. Our job is to present all the various options and what we think um educationally is
010the best way to go. but also trying to be as fiscally responsible as possible. Some of the options that you're going to read about in the newsletter on the cover page might be an option that you might not particularly like or think is the best way educationally. Remember, we are um we're put in this position to look at things both educationally and fiscally responsible. So, we will try to be as transparent as we possibly can as this unfolds. I cannot encourage you enough to be involved. If you have any input, please reach out. um attend the focus groups because ultimately this is the community's referendum and we will present what the voice of the community wants and then we will go to vote and then the best advice I can give you is please go
011vote and um have a a say at the table. Um but we there's a lot a lot of information that will be coming out in the very very near future. I know we have been talking about this for a while and I'm sure some of you are saying now you know we've been hearing this but we are at the point now where we have done extensive background and uh research on our buildings you I don't know if you know but we brought in a new architect to have a whole new set of eyes looking at it and it's really been positive um the feedback has been very helpful and so we are now at the point or close to the point where we are able to put out some of the various options and in
012the near future um on the probably the next board meeting you will see or start to see some of the potential projects. That doesn't mean we're doing every project. That doesn't mean when we pass a resolution that this is what we're agreeing on. These resolutions are have to be presented as a possibility and then as the numbers come in from the department of ed what kind of debt services we'll get that's when we will start to narrow it down or sharpen the pencil as Dr. D likes to refer to on how we want to move forward. So um stay involved and uh we will do our best to get the information out as timely and efficiently as possible. Anything else that I miss? Yes, you may. Having been here my entire life, I do think
013that as a community, you're at a crossroads. What we have to do within the the school district is very important. As Dawn mentioned, the infrastructure, you know, if the roof is leaking, we can't come to school. I hate to say it, but the heating system is from when I was here. And so, it tells you where we are. And those things are priorities that need to be done. But our job, this isn't, and I want to emphasize this, this is not our referendum. Is our recommendations on what should be prioritized in the referendum, but it's ultimately going to be your choice. Our responsibility is to maintain educational excellence to keep you moving in the appropriate direction but then keeping fiscal responsibility and keeping us balanced in finance and your taxes and so forth. So we
014do have an important job upon us and I want to congratulate my my colleagues here. We've had a number of retreat meetings that I think the community should know about that we've had during the day. Now, I'm lucky I'm retired. These individuals had to take work off for the whole day and deal with these subjects. And so, they are really committed to doing what's best for the community. But now, we need your involvement, your input, your understanding of these projects. And as we all know, is really going to set the tone for what we can be as a school district in the years to come. So, I really do encourage you to to ask questions of any of us. We'll go speak to you. Focus groups, I think, are a great idea by the superintendent.
015And as we get closer into the projects and begin to lay out the fiscal responsibilities and how those fiscal responsibilities are going to impact you, how it's going to impact your taxes. We all got the letter, right? We're all being re-evaluated this year. And so, everything will have to play into this perfect storm for us during this time period. But please get involved. Ask the right questions. Whenever you need the right information, you must ask the right question. I just want to share how important and I know that you know you're probably sitting out there listening to this and we have seniors and juniors and you're probably not going to reap the benefits of it but how important it is for you to understand how important it is for you to understand how your home
016values go up even though your taxes might go up but if you're considering of relocating and and moving the sale of your house is going to be uh you know important to that. So this is going to drive that up. So it is important to you. It is also important for you to understand what's going on and sharing that with the community. So even though you might not be here to see the completion of it, it's important for you and you guys play an important part to bring this back to the community to hopefully have a successful referendum. So great point. Okay. Presentation. Yes. Let's move to the presentations. Thank you. I appreciate everybody's attention with that. Okay. And can we do the receiving line again with board members? Receiving line. Sure. We get favor.
017Good evening everyone. How are you doing? First want to congratulate all you athletes here. Congratulations on everything awards. Parents, congratulations for raising these wonderful student athletes that you have here. You guys um all of these kids are great kids. So that's to you. Um right now the first two awards which is the student of the month are April and May. So let me start with April student of the month theme was time is now. This student stood apart from the rest that they truly made the most of every discussion, every soccer match and every moment of listening. She always was exchanging a smile and saying hello to every peer or faculty member. Her positivity is contagious and their words of encouragement, support to everyone who shared their high school experience alongside them. This award went
018to Romero. She was student of the month. She couldn't be here today, but I still want to get Now we have May student of the month. May student of the month theme was Panther Pride, a well-deserved honor celebrating his outstanding contributions to the school community. He has consistently demonstrated a remarkable commitment to fostering a positive school environment, his peers and his teachers alike command, his supportive nature, always willing to lend a helping hand or encouragement beyond his strong interpersonal skills. He was also highly engaged member of the school, actively participating a wide array of school activities and functions, enriching the experience of everyone involved. His dedication and positive input became a truly exemplary student especially with the Panther. Congratulations on [Applause] right there. Now we're going to go into the valator. Congratulations Jonathan Williams on
019being named Theater Grove High School. This incredible achievement is a testament to your hard work, dedication, and intellectual curiosity throughout your academic journey. Your commitment to excellence has truly shown through and this honor is richly deserved. As you embark in your next chapter, we have no doubt you will continue to achieve great things. We wish you the best in the future endeavors and celebrate this significant milestone with you. Please receive. [Applause] Congratulations. on achieving this esteemed title of valictorian of the Cedar Grove High School class of 2021. This remarkable accomplishment is a true testament to your exceptional intellect, relentless hard work and unaware commitment to academic excellence throughout your high school career. Your dedication has set a shining example for your peers and we applaud the region's pinnacle of academic success. As you prepare to
020deliver your valued journey ahead, we are confident that your future endeavors will be marked by continued achievements. The entire Cedar Grove High School community celebrates with you on this momentous occasion and wishes you all the very best as you step into the next chapter of your life. Please come up to [Applause] Thank you. [Applause] I'm kind of sad kind of being up here. You know, it's it's been a really really good season, fall, winter, and spring, and we have a amazing senior class where we're kind of about to lose. Um and and and our athletic department's kind of at like a pit. So So tonight's kind of a little bittersweet, and you know, um kind of to to say the least. But I would like to welcome you all here tonight to help us honor
021our spring athletic recognition of our championship teams from this spring season. Tonight I not only want to celebrate success but continue success. It's one thing to win a championship is another thing entirely to do it again and in some instances even again. Our teams, athletes, and coaches have helped create a culture of commitment, of excellence, and these programs have proven that championship habits lead to championship results. Please help me give a round of applause to all of our repeat champions that are here with us tonight. I'm going to start first off with our girls track and field teams who for the fourth straight season captured the Super Essence Conference Independence Division Championship. The team finished 7 and0 during the SEC Independence Division Meet season. They capped off the championship season by running away with the
022SEC Independence Division Championship meet. Congratulations to our fourth straight SEC Independence Division track and field And when we call you up, kind of come down the line and head on to the stage. Gabriella Ballinger, Jasmine [Applause] And our coach is coach Khal Minger. [Applause] Our 2025 SEC Independence Division champion. [Applause] Oh, no. Facebook. Thanks, Eric. [Applause] Next is our baseball team who had another outstanding season under head coach Ben Cordasco and won a super conference. Colonial Division Championship for the second year in a row. The team finished the season with a 19-7 record and went 8 and2 in the SEC Colonial Division. After not winning a conference championship since 2014, the team has now won back-to-back conference championships and has reached at least the state semifinals um for the past three seasons. So, we're very
023um we're very close. I think we're going to get over that hump. Congratulations to our SEC Colonial Division Baseball champions, Carter Herew, [Applause] Ronald Gri, Dominic St. J, Jack [Applause] Chris Halbert, Jack, Xavier, Ryan, [Applause] Marcus, [Applause] Leo [Applause] John Rea, [Applause] Nick Pa, John, [Applause] and our senior is Matthew Fela. Matthew Norman, [Applause] Nick, [Applause] and Ronnie Sheridan. [Applause] You guys want to get together a little bit? You can come up. Couple more right here. Nice to [Applause] Last but not least is our softball team who is led by Nicole Valardi and family. She's going to kill me because she's a lot like me, but but I what I'm about to read. Um, I give a lot of kudos to her. Um, she's she's been a spearhead of this. She's a leader. I want
024her to at least stand up and kind of be recognized. We talk a ton and I know we we have very similar feelings about this stuff. So, um, but but um, she she deserves to be recognized there. Um, this team finished the season 25 and five this year and went nine and one in the Super Sus Conference American Division to win the SEC American Division Championship for the first time since 2019. Our SEC American Division is the highest division you can play in. Right now, only two of our high school teams are in that division. Um, so in my eyes, it's probably harder to win that than a state championship. So, so it's something to recognize there. um to win the SEC American Division. They beat state number one ranked Mount St. Dominic twice and
025had top 20 state ranking wins over both Livingston and Colombia. During their state playoff run, they captured the NJSIAA North two group one sectional championship for the third straight year, outscoring their opponents 44 to one in those four games. They capped the historic run off last Friday night, winning the NJSIA group one state championship by defeating Autobon High School 6 nothing. This was the third straight group one title in a row, which basically is the first time ever. I know people are saying it's the second time, but the first time happened two hours prior. So really, it's the first time a public school has won three straight softball state titles. Um, so another thing I wanted to acknowledge there. Although this group over the years has thousands and thousands of strikeouts and hits together, they
026left a legendary mark on Cedar Grove softball history and athletic history as a team. Here are here are just a few more of their accomplishments. A three-year record of 75 and 16 playing the best teams in the state year after year. one Essex County tournament title, one SEC American Division Division title, three straight state sectional championships, outscoring their opponents in these three years, 145-2. And for the second time in NJ's state history, three straight NJA group one state championships without giving up a single run. They won 5 nothing, 5 nothing, and six nothing this past year. the backto backto back group one state champions [Applause] Gabriela Katana Olivia Willis, [Applause] Maline Carter, Brianna Clark. [Applause] Juliana Rosamano, Kate Fab, Lena Willis, [Applause] Ava Bachenko, Nina Kudo Ariana Leon, Catherine Loft, Caitlyn O' Conor, Bellisol, [Applause]
027and our seven seniors, Marina Bryant Daniela D'Angelo, Sia Fernandez, [Applause] Gabrielle, Gabriella Fore, [Applause] Casey Town, [Applause] Eva Okal, and Leah Win [Applause] and Coach Nikard. [Applause] There you go. Let's go. One last time for you ladies. Let's go. [Applause] Good point. Congratulations. I know it's not my right. Nor do I think I do. Yeah, don't want to hear the rest of this. They're like, I might take a sip of my coffee. details of Yes. Thank you. Thank you. Good night. Good night. Good night. Get home safe. Thank you. Thank you. Have a good night. Congratulations. Enjoy your last couple days. So much appreciate everything you guys do. Enjoy your last couple days and a great summer. Of course. Good to see you again. Take care. Good night. Amazing. Nobody's interested in anything else. But
028it's good. I'm glad. That was nice. That was beautiful. Okay. Shall we move on? Move on. We're at uh committee report. We'll we'll start with finance. Sure. So, really quickly, we did have a uh finance committee meeting on um these still aren't working on June 12th. Find your teacher, please. They're going to the video. They're not um there's a malfunction with the speakers, but if you do speak into it, it will be on the video. Okay. Okay. Sorry. I'm sorry. Okay. Great. Thanks. So, we did have a finance committee meeting on June 12th. Um really all of the items that we discussed are in the business section of of this meeting, but I do want to um recognize uh uh Eric and and Dr. T for that matter for that matter. um have really done
029a good job of identifying uh areas where we could shop around, go out to bid um and really reduce costs in certain I I would call them key areas, but significant costs at this point. Uh a good example of this is the uh the transportation bids that um that are in this in this uh agenda. Uh we're take taking that out for bid um is saving actually about $180,000 a year with I would characterize it as uh limited to to to no reduction in in service standards as well. So I just want to recognize the two of them for uh for good work in that respect because it's more than it's more than just you know that this this one time. It's it's been a series of these and so uh those little victories are
030are good for the district. So I just want to recognize Yeah, exactly. But that's it. That's all I had to say for finance. Thank you. FA um had good fortune to um meet with the South End FSA last Wednesday. Um we covered a number offormational items uh that were prevalent for that group in regards to where we are in reference to the referendum. Um how the districts are really doing a great job using data to drive their instruction in the classrooms and really it was uh primarily focused on uh the referendum what some of the possibilities are moving into the future and uh where we will be going with Dr. and his focus groups. Go to personnel. Yes. Uh personnel Dora and myself, Dr. Mini met on June 9th, Monday, June 9th. I like to
031say this is a very busy time of the year, May and June. When it comes to the area personnel, uh our administrators along with the uh Dr. have done a great job to make sure that all our positions are really being filled in a timely manner so that there aren't any uh issues moving forward in the school year. Uh so everything that is is on the agenda tonight was part of our discussion that evening on N presate. I just want to add happy father's day to all the fathers and all the people that are in the fathers. Hope you had a enjoyable day. It was everything you wanted it to be. Thanks. to wish the seniors lots of luck moving forward. Looking forward to graduation on Thursday and the promotion ceremony tomorrow at the middle
032school in attendance for that as well. Congratulations to the eighth graders moving up to watch their children move on to the next part of their journey. I know some of that can be challenging emotionally the college students. I promise you it's all good. Let's get Okay, so let's We got a lot of business to move today. So get started under the business administrator's report. Can I please have a motion for G1 through G27, please? Second. Any discussion? Roll call, please. Board member Grande, yes. Board member Marzulo, yes. Board member Pal, yes. Board member Keegan, yes. Board President Dara, yes. Motion passed. Under the superintendent report, general administration. Can I have a motion for H1 through H4, please? So move. Second. Any discussion? Roll call, please. Board member Grande, yes. Board member Marzulo, yes. Board member
033Pallik, yes. Board member Keegan, yes. Board President Dara, yes. Motion passes. Human resources. A motion for I1 through I16. So moved. Second. Any discussions? I could just add note of recognition under one of the resignations this evening uh Janine Barbosza uh for her over 20 years of service to our schools in variety of different ways uh bringing new programming, new resources, many different levels of support to our teachers across our schools. Uh the most recent um initiative dating back three years is the Lego summer camp which will live on this summer and beyond and is nice very nice speaks to the legacy that Janine has brought to our district. So I just want to acknowledge and appreciate her and and wish her best in her career journey. Board member Grande. Yes. Board member Marzulo, yes.
034Board member Palak, yes. Board member Keegan, yes. Board President Dra, yes. Motion passes. And there special services J1 and J2. Move. Second. Any discussion? Board member Grande. Yes. Board member Marzulo, yes. Board member Pallak, yes. Board me, Board member Keegan, yes. Board President Dara, yes. Motion passes. And finally, under curriculum and instruction, a motion for K1. So move. Second, board member Grande. Yes. Board member Marzulo. Yes. Board member Pak. Yes. Board member Keegan. Yes. Board President Dara. Yes. Motion passes. Great job. I before we go on to the next portion, I just want to again publicly thank the administration for all the work. That was a wonderful announcement to be able to give the community today. excited to see that come to a big thank you for everybody. Yeah, it was a team effort. Thank
035you very All right. At this time, I'd like to open the meeting to the public for any school related items. Come on up. The board of education recognizes the value of public comment on educational issues and the importance of allowing members of the public to express themselves on school matters of community interest. Public participation shall be governed by the following rules. Please start your preface your comments by stating your name, address, and resiliation applicable. Please mindful of your state and link. Please address your question. Hi, uh Jessica Horton. I live 91 Winding Way in Cedar Grove. Um so I had a question about the flags. So last June, I know there was like a lot of people from the community There had been talk about no longer flying the pride flag at all of the
036schools and the board had assured the members of the community that there was no plan to no longer fly the pride flag at all of the schools. But back in February, a notice came out entitled Ced um new flag pole at Cedar Grove High School. And the entire paragraph is talking about the high school. And then the last sentence is um make sure I read it correctly. Um, all other flag polls on school property will be dedicated solely to flying the American and P flags. Um, I think that that was kind of ambiguous because the title was the Cedar Grove High School flag pole and the whole rest of the paragraph was talking about the Cedar Grove High School. Um, but apparently that means that we're not flying the pride flag at any of the
037other schools because I went to North dropped my daughter off in June and didn't see the flag anymore. And I know this seems small to a lot of people, but like in kindergarten, walking my kid up and seeing that flag and I just felt like so safe and so welcomed knowing that this community would fly something that's just such a symbol of pride and hope for that the LGBTQ community. And it's a community that had such such a fight to be able to be seen, you know, come out into the light and be seen and be accepted. And I feel like it's a step back. I was wondering if you would consider flying the flags in all of the schools next June. So, we haven't had public comment for a while. So, just to remind
038So, what I'd like to do is um hear the public comment and um so if we have one speaker or 20, we hear them all. I'll take notes and my commitment to the community is as we once we close public comment I will then comment on the comment and share and that's when I'll answer questions to the best of my ability and things like that. Okay. So I guess my question is if you'll consider it and what it would take from the community if you need to see uh school involvement, see a petition, see I don't know what you would need to see to apply that again. Thank you. Hi. Do I need to hold it? No, I don't think so. Okay. Um, Jannine Patel, 87 Stevens Avenue. Um, first I'd just like to say
039I just heard that Miss Barbosa is resigning. I'm very sad about that. I'd like to say that because she has helped me so much throughout the years um getting classes for my son who as you know um has gotten extra classes because he's so bright we had to go outside of the school take them online whatever we had to do and she helped me so much with that and I'm this I think this is going to be a loss for you guys because she's amazing and I just like to say that second thing I just came from a music matters meeting and from my understanding our stage is a mess and it needs to be refinished. So if it's not in the budget for next year, if it's something that can be considered. I was
040told that the newsies that rented it left tape all over that they didn't take off and it's not easy to get off from what I understand. So just curious to know if that's something that Thank you. Can I close that portion? Yes. Okay. So, thank you. Um, let me just start with the piece about the stage and the music matters. I'll commit to following up with that and see what the situation is and I'm sure we'll work to remedy that as quickly as we can. Um, to the comment specific to the pride flag. Um, so a little bit of history in terms of my transition into the district a year ago. Um it was almost a several month period where I listened and did listening tours and got feedback from a variety of different stakeholders
041about a variety of different topics. Um, I regret the upset or disappointment I should say that the decision to not fly the pride flag on the same flag holes as the American flag and the P flag at the end schools in the middle school um has caused uh for the our speaker this evening. Um, however, I do want to emphasize that the decision uh to move forward uh was driven by student voice. Um, we have a GSA club here at the high school and it was important to us that the flying of a flag, the flying, the ceremony, all of that goes into that was driven by students and by student voice. And so I am proud to share with you this evening that that was done this year. Um they rose the flag here
042at the high school. Um and they were part of that process. And so that was the intent behind having that uh new additional flag pole installed. in terms of action and board action and what happened in the past. I think one of the things I learned a year ago transitioning into my position is there was a lot of confusion in the community about who was making what decisions and where things lie. And so I want to just be as clear as I can. This was not a board action. This was an administrative action. It was informed by a variety of stakeholder feedback over a period of time in my first year here. Um and I tried to craft an approach that did focus on students and put students first. Um and uh you know I
043I also was important to me that it was a unifying a strategy that built on consensus um for what was a reasonable approach going forward. And so uh I will always keep an open year. I will always take an inperson meeting for further discussion. Um uh at this time um the way we honored Pride Month in our community I'm very proud of. Um I know I attended several ceremonies um and I saw a lot of many pride flags around the community and I share your sentiment that they are inspiring. Um and I'm proud that as a district we continue to fly the prideful here at the high school, the pride flag here at the high school. Um and then just in closing, my door is always open. if you would like to engage in further
044discussion. Thank you. With that, I'll end my next meeting. Yep. future meetings. Next meeting will be July 22nd at the high school 7:30 and then the following meeting will be August 26. I move to adjourn the meeting. All in favor? I thank you.