Dunellen Board of Education Meeting - 6/9/26

001This meeting to order. Item number schools and filing notice with the burough clerk. I hereby call to order the regular public meeting Tuesday, June 9, 2026 in the Lincoln Middle School Cafetum, 400 Denellan Avenue at 7:10 p.m. This meeting is broadcast live. For details, check www.denellan atelinschools.org. Moving to item number two. Mr. Pepe, can you please call the role? >> Mr. Anderson, >> present. >> Mrs. Condit, >> present. >> Mrs. Ibeck is not here. Dr. Gendrono, >> present. >> Mr. Mitchell, >> present. >> Mrs. Moore, >> present. >> Mr. Sad Noi is not here. Uh, Miss Shy, >> present. >> And Mrs. Shep is not here. We do have a quorum. >> Awesome. Moving on to item number three, executive session. The Denellan Board of Education will now adjourn into executive session to discuss items

002that fall within specific exceptions to the PO public open Public Meetings Act CJSA 10 4-12B. The confidential matters discussed by the board during this executive session include items related to individual privacy, collective bargaining agreements, pending or anticipate litigation, as well as personnel. Any discussion that does not need to remain confidential will be made public as soon as it is practical. Minutes of the executive session will not be disclosed until the need for confidentiality no longer exists. All individuals who may be discussed in executive session have been adequately notified. Action will take place after the conclusion of the executive session. We have a motion to go into executive session. Please >> move to go to exec. >> Second. >> All those in favor? >> I opposed. >> Okay. Okay, we'll catch you guys in about uh

00330 maybe so minutes or more. We may have a little bit to discuss, so we may be a little bit late coming back. They're probably going to be another 15 minutes or so. The conversation is going long. So, if if it's going to be any longer than that, I'll come back out and give you an up another update. But, I'm thinking 15 minutes. Okay, we are back. Sorry for the delay. Lots to discuss tonight. So, uh moving on to um item Oh, sorry. First of all, um I have a motion to come back to public, please. >> Move to go back to public. >> Second. >> All those in favor? >> I >> opposed. Okay, moving on to item number four on our agenda. Pledge of allegiance and moment of silence. Our flag is there.

004Please stand. I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. Will you all please remain standing for a moment of reflection and respect for our troops serving throughout the world, our troops who have served and our troops who have made the ultimate sacrifice in the name of our United States of America. Thank you. Moving on to item number five on the agenda, uh, recognitions. I'll turn this over to Mr. Ross. >> Thank you, Dr. Jendano. So, welcome all. It is amazing to see so many uh rec folks that we're going to recognize, beautiful family members and loved ones and friends and family out here. We're going to recognize our retirees um for the

005uh 2526 school year and also our educators of the year tonight. So, what we're going to do is we're going to have our principles, our administrators come up and give a nice little speech about each of our of the folks that we're going to recognize and then we have a gift for them. Um and uh we have the step and repeat banner which we'll put out into the middle. And so following all of the recognitions, we'll take about a 15- 20 minute pause. We have some cake and we encourage you to take lots of pictures. Sound good? All right. So, we have six retirees that are uh that are we're recognizing today. Um we're going to have two speeches and um because a couple of those folks are not with us this evening. So, I'm

006going to start with uh Mr. Tenant and Terry Anastasia. Miss Anastasia, come on up. You got to come up here. Terry, good evening. Well, this got to come closer. You got to hear me fall. There we go. Good. We try. Good evening everybody. Every town has its landmarks. Sometimes it's a ball field. Sometimes it's a town theater. Sometimes a street corner where everybody's got a story. And sometimes it's a music classroom. For years, Miss Anastasia's music room has been one of those places. Behind those doors, kids walked in carrying instruments that were way bigger than they were. Not knowing a scale from a sandwich, they came in nervous, uncertain, and sometimes convinced they couldn't do it. But Miss Anastasia saw something in them. She saw she saw what they would become. And that's a rare

007gift. Building a great music program isn't about notes on a page. It's about people. It's about showing up every day with patience when the same mistake gets made for the hundth time. It's about offering encouragement when someone wants to quit. It's about believing in students until they learn and believe in themselves. And Miss Anastasia did that. She built something that will last. Not just a successful music program, but a community. A place where students learn discipline, teamwork, confidence, and the joy that comes from creating something beautiful together, music. Now, I think we also need to recognize the sacrifices uh that deserve some special attention. Miss Anastasia has spent years listening to the beginners play Hot Cross Buns on recorders. Definitely not my favorite song over and over and over and over again. Think about that

008for a moment. Most of us hear that song a few times and move on with our lives. Miss Anastasia heard it played slowly, quickly, correctly, incorrectly, and in ways the original composer probably never imagined. If patience was measured in repetitions of hot cross buns, she probably would be the world record holder. And somehow she keeps smiling. That's who she was. Patient, compassionate, and dedicated. The concerts, the performances, the achievements, they matter. But what matters even more are the lives she touched along the way. The students who found confidence because they believed in them. The students who discovered a love of music because she opened the door for them. Years from now, students may not remember every song they played, but they'll remember how she made them feel. They'll remember the lessons she taught, the encouragement

009she gave, and the example she set. Miss Anastasy, thank you for every rehearsal, every lesson, every word of encouragement, and every note that helped build this incredible program you created. Your legacy isn't in just the music, it's in all of us. Thank you, and congratulations on your retirement. All right, this next one is a very special one. I think this might be the first uh retiree recognition by committee. So, we have a couple of our administrators today to speak about Mr. Dapoli. Before I talk about Mr. Napoli. I do want to just congratulate Miss Anastasy on her retirement and her what she's done with the music department over at Faber. Uh the true evidence of that is our teacher of the year this year, Mr. Sutera benefits from all of the hard work she did

010for all of those years getting the the beginners ready for middle school and high school and the success of the high school program is a testament to what Miss Anastasy started all those years ago. So we do thank you for that. As Mr. Ross said it is our privilege to be able to talk about our coordinator of athletics, our football coach, uh, teacher Dave Denapoli this evening. So, I've known Mr. Dapoli now for 18 years, but Mr. Tobin has known him longer. Mr. Tenant has known him longer as coaches. So we really wanted to give them an opportunity also to speak about him uh as as coaches and friends over the years. So Mr. Tenant, if you want to get us started uh for generations, Dave has been more than a football coach. He has

011been a mentor, a leader, a role model in the heart of this community. His impact reaches far beyond the football field. His dedication, character, and unwavering commitment to the students and families of Denellan has helped shape countless lives. Anytime I find myself meeting people from all over the state, they ask, "Where do you work?" I say, "Denellan." And in response, it's often immediate, "Oh, that's Dave Dapoli, football coach over there." That reaction says everything. Dave's reputation extends well beyond our small town. His name has become synonymous synonymous with dedication and community. People across the state recognize what Denellan has known for years that Dave Denathley represents the best of what education and coaching can be. For me personally, Dave was always there through challenges, successes. He provided guidance, support, and encouragement. He never hesitated to

012offer advice, lend a hand, or simply listen when it mattered most. His belief in people has always been inspiring to them to become better versions of themselves. The measure of a great coach isn't just in the wins and losses. It's the lives we've touched, the confidence we've build, the lessons that endure long after the final whistle. Dave's legacy is founded in the generations of students, athletes, teachers, and community members who carry those lessons with them every day. Long after today's games are forgotten, the future generations will walk the halls of Dylan schools and stories of Dave Dave Dapoli will remain. They'll be told by former players, colleagues, parents, and community members who experience firsthand the difference he made. In a small town where relationships matter and community means everything, Dave Dapoli has become a living

013legend. His influence has helped define Denellan and his legacy will continue to inspire this town for decades, maybe even centuries to come. When people think of Denellan, they think of Dave Dapoli. And for all of us who have had the privilege to know him, that's exactly how it should be. Thank you, Dave. Uh, I'll use this as a a chance to speak a little bit about my own experiences with Dave. Um, because I think it kind of brings to life uh just the kind of guy he is and you know the experiences that we've had. So, few things I first think about when I think about Dave. Uh my first year when I started here in 2002, uh the first one of first things that happened was that I recall that first year was him

014hooking me up with football shirts. Um and every year since then, I anytime I see a new staff member come in, it's always, "Let me get you a hat. Let me get you a shirt." It was just such a clear, tactile way, you know, to just see he really cares and he wants you to become a part of the community. He loves the town. He wants you to to join in and he wants you to wear the shirt as a part of it. Um, I think about the short regional final, you know, I'm just trying to think last night, what are the things that come to mind? I think of that moment uh at the Ruckers Stadium and, you know, the crushing loss, but the great great game and afterwards the students and the families,

015you know, just singing in the stands and it was awesome, you know. So, as a Bills fan who's lost a lot of games and watched a lot of games lost, I always mentioned in leadership class, which we shared 10 years together teaching leadership, that, you know, the fans that stick around after the loss and still cheer the team on, uh, really says something about the appreciation they show and the care they have because of the people that made that happen. And Dave was a big part of that. Obviously, leading a team that everyone loved whether they won or lost. Uh Dave and I with along with Paul here spent 10 years uh teaching a leadership class. Uh I always taught a lesson on appreciation like I said. Um but not just because of that class

016but also just the time that we had as a result of that class to talk about lessons with teaching ideas about coaching philosophies. you know, we were always trying to talk shop in a good way and it was just a lovely way to kind of continue to reflect on our craft as teachers and as coaches. Um, and I always appreciated that because if Dave would stop by and wanted to sit in my office or if I happened to walk over to Paul's office and see Dave there, I knew that not only would it be a lovely time and it would be it would be a nice time and a break in a way, but it would still be sort of our own little professional development. We'd be talking coaching, we'd be talking teaching, we'd be

017talking kids. You know, what is what's going to get to kids? What's going to get kids to learn? Um, he's always obviously willing to help. Anybody that knows him knows that. Whether it's, you know, helping you as a coach, helping you personally outside, uh, you know, he'll give you your number. He'll, um, unfortunately for for his wife leave and, uh, go help someone else. uh you know um so I like I said I always tried to like make a time to see Dave and I always enjoyed when he came by because to me he was a great friend in a lot of ways he's he's like home in a way kind of like Denellan became a home you know where you just feel comfortable you feel like you could be yourself uh when you're around

018Dave um you know he's probably one of the two people I would really credit with making Denellan a second home for me so I thank him for that um he's also a crier So, >> oh, writing it, writing it was probably worse than this. Um, and more importantly, and I know some people would would definitely resonate this, goes above and beyond always, right? Above and beyond your favorite, but uh I love him and thank him for everything. So, congratulations on your retirement. All right. So, so finally, it's been my pleasure working with him at the high school for the last 18 years. And a lot of those meetings that uh Kyler just talked about lasted well into the afternoon, well into the evening. And frequently there would be a call from Dorene and the question

019is do I answer it or not? Because he's supposed to be on his way home, but we're still sitting there talking. And so he would usually pick up and say, "Yeah, I'm leaving right away. I'm leaving." And inevitably 20, 30 minutes later, he's finally getting out of my office. but he does so much for us here at the school. Uh I've been lucky enough to have like Kyler said, we all have families, but Dave is our school family and he always calls me his little brother and I'm lucky enough to say, you know, he's my big brother. I have a big brother by blood, but he's been my big brother by friendship. And he's done so much for me as an administrator, me as a person, me with my family. As Kyler talked about, we

020we discuss in our leadership class different units. And one of them that I teach is empathy. And when I teach that unit, my example that I use for the students is Coach Dapoli. And as soon as I say that, they all go, "Yes, absolutely." Because I go, I am much less of an empathetic person than he is. But I have learned that over the years by being a parent and by being around him. So I owe him a lot for what he has made me. So we're going to miss him. But the great part is since he lives in town, he still comes to the games. Uh, so it was great to see him at Coach Johnson softball games this year. Uh, he he was there just to support the teams. He's going to be

021around in the fall, the winter, the spring, and we know he's going to continue to be Mr. Denellan and do everything that he can for the community. So Dave, we wish you health and success and happiness in retirement. And thank you. All right. So, now we're going to move on to our educators of the year. And this is a program uh in each school district uh in Denellan that is a somewhat unique tradition where each school uh recognizes one educator of the year and then the district recognizes one educational services professional um for the entire district. And that's really just because of the size. So, we're very excited to um start our recognition for educators of the year with our high school teacher of the year, CJ Suterra. Um he is our instrumental music teacher

022and uh he has done absolutely extraordinary extraordinary things with the music uh program at Denellan High School. So, uh I'll invite Mr. Lynchup and Mr. Sita, please come on up. So four years ago, we were lucky enough to hire Mr. Suter. Uh we had a little committee, me, Miss Anastasy, Miss Piano, and we interviewed a lot of candidates for this position. And we even had them do demo lessons. And when all of that was done, we sat down and talked and Mr. Suter was our candidate and he had big shoes to fill. The band director that was leaving had done such a nice job of rebuilding our program and we thought, "Okay, this program is doing it a fantastic job. It's where we want it to be." And as Mr. Satara came in to take

023over this program, he started to bring it to new heights that we we have not seen in a really long time in the middle school and high school band. Uh when we redesigned and did renovations on the band room, it was with a certain number of musicians in mind. And the problem now is we have so many musicians in that packed room. They're they're packed in like sardines. It's it's tough because he's got so many middle school and high school kids that want to play. And the thing about the high school band kids is they have to be to school by 6:55 in the morning every day, which is no easy task. But what it means is they want to play and they want to play for him. and he's built up this this program

024to the point where we now have multiple ensembles where the students are able to focus on different instruments. So we have our percussion ensemble, we have our brass ensemble, and we have our saxophone ensemble. Correct. in addition to the jazz band, our pep band, our middle school concert band, and our high school concert band. And so all of these groups, he's really pushing the musicians to do as much as they possibly can. They love doing it. If you were able to come to our concert last week, it was a marathon. But the reason it takes so long is because the students are playing so much and there are so many of the various groups that he has uh performing up there this past weekend. They performed and went to Dory Park and we were very

025proud when during the day they texted me to say they got a superior rating from the judges there. So, a fantastic job for our musicians and it really is a testament to the hard work and dedication. Uh, I know your wife wants to see you at home, but the fact that you spend so many hours here at school working with the musicians and the love that they really have for Mr. Satara is evident each and every day. And I know Lisa Marie can attest to that because when we had a violinist transfer into the high school, he made her a part of the band and it was a seamless transition for her. So we really want to congratulate Mr. Setera on all his great work and welld deserved on teacher of the year. All right.

026From Lincoln Middle School, we have Kate Beexa. Miss Beexa, come on up. Mr. T. So, when I started in the district, Miss Beexa was originally teaching at Faber at that time back in 2002. um she's been in the district since uh 1997 and has now been at the middle school for a while. Uh I've had the pleasure of now working with her again this year now that I've come back to the middle school and I I've quickly learned um that from my days being here late uh that she is often here later than I am. Uh we've talked about that. Uh but that Miss Beexa is just extremely reliable. Um it's it's nice that and we've talked to that she's now moved down to the first floor with her class. Um which makes a lot

027of things logistically nicer for her and the students we feel and would also we can see what's going on in the class and have more interactions with those students and with her. Um but she can just do her thing with her class and you would never know it because it's just never a problem. She's ultimate in terms of her preparation. Um, she handles the responsibility of teaching all of her students as individuals. Um, making sure that they each reach their own personal learning goals. Uh, she creates lessons that give each students a good access point into the content of the curriculum. Um, and even if that doesn't work, I know that she's adjusting because I've seen it firsthand and I know that she's working so long after school to prepare for the next day. Um,

028another thing is her patience. um the people that she works with has have remarked about that and I've seen it. Um I've been in her class and seen things that you know other teachers might react differently, but she is so patient with her students. Uh it's remarkable and and it's it's hard not to notice as someone that's taught before, but you know, the way she handles all the different things that are going on in the class, it might be a day where everyone seems to be sick and people are sneezing and coughing and she doesn't even flinch. Um, and it's just amazing. I I was in there for an observation. I I couldn't believe. I'm like, she is just rolling with it and just smiling and just going, okay, you know, let's keep going. I'm

029not breathing. I'm looking for a window to be open maybe. Um, preparing to call out sick the next day. but uh just so patient and just so lovely with her students and just lovely in general with her attitude and her approach to just being here, being in the school, contributing, being there for her students and like I said, uh the preparation in terms of her staying late just to make these amazing plans and to see it when it's up on the board where everyone's got their color and their station and it's all appropriate, everyone has a place to go that's appropriately challenging and pushes them to the next level, gives them, you know, Couple kids on the computer, a couple kids over at the kidney table with some small group instruction, couple kids getting caught

030up. Miss Breenidge helping and she's doing all the the work around Miss Beexa while Miss Beex is doing the instruction. Um, but everyone is knowing where they need to be and they're there and they're working and it's productive. Um, and then outside of that, she gives them lessons out in the community. They were just at Uncle Luigi's getting some ice cream today and they all came back just so happy. And what a great experience for them to do that. And what a great thing. in a town like this to have our students going out in the community and being a part of that and making those connections between the school and the community. Um the students love her and she loves them. Uh we all love Mrs. Beexa. Um she provides those meaningful lessons and

031uh again as it said in one of the nominations for her to be teacher of the year. Her impact on students in the district is profound. Um she's a team player and you know to recognize her formally is long overdue. So, I congratulate Mrs. Beexa on being the teacher of the year for Lincoln Middle School. It is welld deserved. The educational services professional of the year is a staff member who's in a non-instruction instructional position. Um, and this includes folks from special services and counseling and and other roles. Um, and this year we are very excited that the educational specialist of the year from Faber Elementary School is Miss Margaret Campbell. I think for the fourth time, I'm sorry, third time I'm saying good evening everyone. Um, but it is an honor to recognize Margaret

032Gamble as the school specialist, education specialist of the year. When we celebrate educators and specialists, we often talk about accomplishments, programs, and professional achievements. But what stands out most to me is something simpler and much more powerful about Margaret. It's that she believes in children. Every child that walks through her door is met with a compassion, respect, and unwavering belief that they that they matter. In a world that can sometimes judge too quick, Margaret has a remarkable gift of seeing the potential before others see it in themselves. She meets students where they are, encourages them when they struggle, and reminds them they are capable the more than they realize. Over time, I've known Margaret. Uh we've shared many conversations and one topic that always seems to find a way into our conversations is family. We

033have talked about our caring fathers, caring for our fathers and the importance of being there for the people who shaped us. Although my father's passed away, those conversations have reminded me that family is not just something Margaret values but a part of who she is. Her deep commitment to family influences the way she approaches her work. treating the students and families with the same care, patience, concern that she brings to the people she loves the most. Margaret is also a woman of deep faith. Her faith is not something she talks about for recognition. It's something she lives through in her actions every day. It is reflected in her kindness, her compassion, her patience, and her belief that every child has value and purpose. Whether she's helping a student through a difficult moment or supporting a

034family facing challenges, she leads with grace and an open heart. As I watch Margaret speak with children, I'm often reminded of my mother, an Irish woman who cared deeply about the world and the people in it. She believed in treating others with kindness and dignity. And she was quite and she had quite a way of seeing the good in people even when they didn't see it in themselves. Margaret has that same quality. She looks beyond the mistakes and challenges and sees the person in front of her and what they're capable of becoming. Just last week, my son and I visited the Martin Luther King Memorial in Washington, DC. As we walked through, we read several quotes carved in stone. And one in particular stood out to me. Darkness cannot drive out darkness. Only light can

035do that. That line stayed with me. And when writing the speech, it made me think of Margaret as we celebrate her tonight. She brings light to the lives of the students who may be struggling. She offers hopes to families who need encouragement. She approaches work with kindness, understanding, and compassion. Through what she does every day, she helps children build confidence, feel a sense of belonging, and believe in their ability to succeed. And outside of her role as a counselor, Margaret also knows how to enjoy bring joy into the room. Whether it's a fifth grade farewell or a field day, you can find her the night find her in the middle of it all with Miss Curtis at the DJ table mixing it up. Students on the move and Margaret absolutely in her element. She doesn't

036just watch the fun happen, she joins it. And if you see her dancing out there, you know she's not shy about it. And she's definitely got moves that the students love and cheer for. In many ways, guidance counselors help students navigate some of the most important moments of their lives. They are listeners, advocates, mentors, and trusted adults. Margaret embodies all those roles with grace and dedication. She understands that helping a child succeed is not just about solving problems. It's about building relationships and helping children discover their own worth. Tonight, we not only celebrate the outstanding guidance counselor, we also celebrate the person whose compassion has touched countless lives. Her work may not always be visible to everyone, but its impact can be seen in her confidence and the confidence of a child, the gratitude of

037a family, and the strength of a school community that is better because she's a part of it. Margaret, thank you for leaving children. Thank you for supporting families. Thank you for living in faith through service of others. Thank you for seeing the good in people and helping them see in themselves. Congratulations on being named the Nellan School Educational Specialist Year. This honor is richly deserved and we are all better because you make a difference in our lives. And now it's my pleasure to recognize this year's favorite teacher of the year, Miss Amy Balado. Come on up, Amy. Now, before I get started, I should acknowledge that Amy and I don't agree on everything. Amy's the devoted Pittsburgh Steelers fan. Well, I am a loyal New York Giants fan. >> Oh, man. Somehow, despite this lack

038of judgment, we've managed to work together quite well. It just goes to show you the schools are places of acceptance, understanding, and forgiveness. And then there's music. I am a massive music fan. And Amy is a Bonjovi fan. While I respect that, I think we can all agree Jerseyy's greatest musical gift is the boss, Bruce Springsteen. After all, Bruce has a museum dedicated to him, while Bon Joy has a rest stop dedicated to him. One inspires a pilgrimage. The other inspires bathroom breaks. But like great educators, Amy teaches us the importance of respecting different viewpoints, even when they're clearly wrong. What nobody can argue with is the impact Amy has during her time at Faber School. In what feels like a remarkably short period, Amy has become an essential part of our school community. As

039a second grade teacher, she understands learning begins with relationships. Every day she creates a classroom where students feel welcomed, valued, and excited to learn. Her kindness, patience, and enthusiasm helps her students build confidence, not only as learners, but as young people. In fact, kindness isn't something Amy talks about. It is something she lives. One of the most meaningful examples of this is her kindness club she started for her students. That club is a reflection of Amy's heart. She believes in teaching children that makes a difference doesn't require grand gestures. It starts with simple acts of caring, compassion, and service to others. Through the kindness club, students are encouraged to perform good deeds, think about the needs of others, and learn the value of making their school and community a better place. That is who Amy

040is. She doesn't just teach academics. She helps shape character. Amy's friendliness extends far beyond the classroom walls. She has a way of making colleagues feel supported, appreciated, and included. Whether it's offering offering a helping hand, sharing encouraging word, or simply brightening someone's day with her positive attitude, Amy has made a lasting impression on everyone fortunate enough to work alongside of her. The best teachers don't teach lessons from the curriculum. They teach through their examples. Amy shows her students and colleagues what it means to be a caring, dedicated, and genuinely vested in the success of others. Tonight we not only celebrate an outstanding second grade teacher, but a wonderful teammate, friend, and member of the favorite school family. Amy, your passion, education for education, your commitment to the students, and the positivity you bring to school

041each day make this an make this honor incredibly welld deserved. The impact you've had on the students, your colleagues, and our entire school community can already be felt. And we know that impact will continue for years to come. Congratulations on being named teacher of the year. We are proud of you, grateful for what you do, and lucky to have you at favorite school. And because it wouldn't be right to celebrate Amy without a little Bon Joy, I leave you with a lyric that captures what great teachers do every day for their students. Take my hand, we'll make it. I swear. Amy, thank you for taking the hands of so many students at Favor School, guiding them, encouraging them, and helping them believe they can make it. Congratulations, Amy Valo, Teacher of the Year. All right,

042before we move on, let's give one big round of applause for all of our educators of the year. All right, our last recognition for tonight is for the position of student representative to the board. And this year we're fortunate enough to have two representatives. So, Queen Emil, Lisa Marie Nevis, why don't you guys come on up? So, the student representative to the board is a really essential link position between the student body and the board of education. And these students have done an amazing job representing their peers, representing information from the school, the clubs, student government, and um discussing the successes that are occurring throughout the district. They're different in their approach. Um, but they've they've been very complimentary in in terms of the information they've been able to provide to the board. They also

043provide a really wonderful student voice to some of the conversations that we have at the board table. So, in on behalf of Dr. Jendano and the entire board of education, congratulations and thank you for your service to the Denellan Board of Education this year. All right, at this point we're going to take about a 15-minute break. There is uh cake over here. Um we invite you all to partake of some cake. Um congratulate the the educators of the year, the retirees, our amazing students. Please feel free to take some pictures. Enjoy yourself. We'll resume the meeting after that. Thank you all. Absolutely. Thank you. There you go. Happy birthday. I pray God. weekend. concern. I think you're right. How are you doing? I'll see you. jewelry. I remember Yeah, they were It's coming. Just Yeah.

044Okay, let's get back to uh back to business. So, moving on to item number six on the agenda, uh president's remarks. So, um I know uh we we we just had a great celebration. I just would like to reiterate uh congratulations to our 2026 educators of the year, Mr. terror, Miss Beexa, Miss Palato, Miss Gamble, as well as our retirees, Miss Anastasia, Miss Mr. Dapoli, um, Miss Fnarees, Miss Pavano, Mr. Ramirez, as well as Mr. Sanchez. So, we want to thank on behalf of the board, want to thank you for all that you've done for our kids and for our community. Um, our school community is so much richer because of the outstanding work you've done and the impression you've left on our students and the community. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. And I

045know they still have a report to do, but I also want to give a great big thank you to Queen Emil and Lisa Marine Neves uh for a great year as student representatives to the board. You made us whole. Um wishing you all great things as you move on to the next chapter. Um we are in the week or so of school with eighth grade promotion and DHS graduation only a matter of days away. It's a week. It's a week on June 16th and June 17th uh respectively. I'd like to thank Mr. Ross, the administration, the faculty, the staff, and our students for making the 2025 2026 year a great success. A lot has been accomplished this year, and I'm excited for all that we have in store for next year. I would like to

046just take a moment here uh to recognize Mr. Ross for the tremendous work he has done to turn our school district around over the last four years. When Mr. Ross came to the district in 2022. We were a school district that was maintaining status quo. And in the business of education, being status quo means you're falling behind while other school districts surpass you. As a board and as a school community, we asked him back then to turn our school district around and and move us forward. And he did just that, taking on the difficult work and making hard and sometimes unpopular choices to move our school district into a better place. He built systems and infrastructure that we can continue to build on that will carry us forward for many years to come. He accomplished

047too many great things to list here. All of which can be found on the annual state of the schools addresses on our website the years that are there. So I'll just simply say that Mr. Ross is leaving us in a way much better place than and in an even stronger position than when he first joined us. On behalf of the board and the Denellan community, we thank Mr. Ross for all he has done to make us Denelan strong. We wish him all the best on his next chapter. And to our broader school community, I hope everyone has a relaxing and rejuvenating summer and that I see all of y'all at uh our graduation ceremonies, promotion and graduation ceremonies next year. So, thank you everyone for your time uh and for listening. So, moving on to

048uh the next item, item number seven for superintendent report. First going to move to um item A and go to our student representative report. So, Miss Nves, Miss Me, you have the floor. >> Thank you so much. So, as per not having a report for the previous month, there's a lot of things to catch up on. So, we've had the honor roll assembly, the National Art, Honor Society, and Art uh Club field trip to the Princeton Art Museum. The NJSLA testing had been uh completed for the year. Outstanding student uh dinner had also happened. Uh the soccer tournament for uh the students that to compete in had also happened. um practicum has started a lot of things for seniors had happened. Uh decision day, senior trip and prom all successes. We had so much fun.

049I could speak for the both of us. Uh Denelli's had happened where the drama students had performed and sang and received awards for all the things that they done throughout the years and the performances that they had. Uh they were all recognized and it was very beautiful. Uh AP testing had concluded. Awards and scholarship ceremony had happened last week. um a young uh singer that had uh is rising. He had come to visit our school Don Inella. He had spoken to drama and choir students and performed for us. So it was very inspiring. Uh choir stu the choir concert and dance concert had also happened as per mentioned before. The Dornney Park field trip had also happened. U Mr. Suter, thank you very much for everything that you did for the students. and to be

050done is final exams and graduation. Thank you. As I attend my final board of education meeting before graduating and heading off to college, I wanted to take a moment to reflect on what an incredible year it has been for Denellan schools. I want to thank thank the principles and the people on this board for giving me the opportunity to speak at each meeting. I'm very grateful and I've learned so much from this experience. This year was filled with so many memorable moments, especially at Faber. From the fifth grade environmental showcase and the kindergarten harvest fest to the first grade young author celebration, the PBSIS color run and the third grade cultural festival. These events highlighted not only the creativity of our students, but the strong sense of community that makes Faber so special. It's wonderful

051to see students creating very beautiful memories through experiences like the Bubble Island trip. And we can also celebrate the outstanding accomplishments of Mrs. Amy Bilalatto and Miss Margaret Gamble for their well-deserved recognition. As for grades six and seven, there there will be an awards ceremony on June 11th at 8 a.m. Our annual field day for the middle school will be hosted on June 15th, which is always a very fun experience for the students. The middle school promotion and promotion dance will be held on June 16th. This is so perfect for students to socialize and spend time with their friends as they close on their last year of middle school. As I move on to the next chapter, I am grateful for the opportunity to have witnessed and shared in the success of this school community.

052Thank you to our students, families, teachers, and staff for making this such a meaningful year. I wish everyone continued su success in the years ahead. Thank you. >> Thank you very much. Richly appreciate it. Moving on to um item number B. And you guys are welcome to stick around if you like, but forward to seeing you guys at graduation. Okay, moving on to um item number B. Item B, excuse me. Um, construction updates. I will turn it over to Mr. Pepe. >> Turn on the microphone. Okay. So, for this construction update, we'll start with the same two um static items at the beginning. One is the project background. For people who are new to this conversation, you can read this paragraph to kind of get a sense of where we're coming from, how we got

053to where we are as far as this construction project goes. Um the recap, if you would like to see what has been discussed in our previous construction updates, they're all available on the district website. And moving on to uh three, we have a timeline this month. Our timeline has very uh uh has has really two things. Um there's a bunch of dates, but they're really two events. One is the one construction meeting we held since the last board meeting, which was on May the construction meeting was on May 21st. The rest is all related to an incident that occurred on May 11th. And if you know there were information that was sent out about this, but also wanted to make sure that I I give you an understanding of what happened. One of the uh

054subcontractors for our construction contractor was doing some cutting of cement. There are protocols that we have in place. There are contractual obligations to maintain the safety protocols and they did not um follow those protocols. Uh if you have any um understanding of how concrete works, you would know that when you cut concrete, it creates a a tremendous amount of dust. And what's used to keep that down is water. And so when the water hose that they were using to keep the dust down broke, rather than halting, they continued. And um without supervision, without anyone from the construction company telling the subcontractor, you need to stop. They proceeded to cut the concrete causing a huge dust plume that went through and actually penetrated into parts of the building. Soon as we became aware of this, we

055evacuated everyone that was uh known to be in the building. Uh mostly the at that time it was after the school day was over. So fortunately there weren't all of the classes. However, the aftercare program was there. Um the good news there is that the aftercare program uh rooms where they are is on the remote side of the building. So they had minimal um intrusion before they were able to get them and take them outside. Um after this happened, we kicked into the cleanup and remediation gear. So for the next day, uh for the rest of that day, we had our crew, our custodial staff, um under the direction of Mr. doing all kinds of cleanup um trying to get the air and the floors and the walls uh clean enough to be able to

056hold school the next day. While that was happening, we also had a meeting with administrators and our contra uh construction manager and our architect um talking about the situation, getting real time updates on the air quality because we have air quality testing going on uh continuously. Um it became clear by the end of the evening that it was probably going to be okay to go to school the next day and we felt that probably wasn't good enough. So we canled school at Faber Elementary the following day. So on May 12th, Faber Elementary was closed. May 22nd they did a makeup day while the other two schools were off on that um Friday. They that was the beginning of Memorial Day weekend. Faber Elementary had a half day. That was to make up for the closing

057on May 12th. Um, we did bring in professional cleaners. Um, we brought in our environmental company to do more air quality testing and just make sure that before we said staff and students can come back into the building that everything was good. Um the first reaction we had from the both the cleaning company and the environmental company was that um our custodial staff had done an amazing job and that it was it looked great, but we said we'll clean it again anyway. Um and so I want to give kudos to that that our staff because they did a phenomenal job quickly um addressing the issue, fixing what went wrong. And then um just as precaution, we brought in the uh professional companies Um, one other thing we dis we determined was that HVAC units may

058have dust collecting inside of the duct work and whatnot. So, what we did was we put um filters over the out um vents to get us through the rest of that week. And we also had um we brought in over the weekend a deep cleaning of the duct work so that by the time we came back on Monday there was absolutely no residue left from the um from the incident. We did have on May 12th we did have uh air quality tests that came back with acceptable levels of everything. So we knew we were okay to come back the next day. Um, on the construction side of this, we also issued a stop work order as soon as this happens. So, we told the contractor, you can't come back and continue doing work until you

059provide us with a sufficient safety plan to ensure that something like this does not happen again. And so under the uh guidance of our construction management team and our um architect, we were able to get that plan from them and eventually on May 26, they were able to return to the job. We actually got that from them quickly. We um the stop work order was actually rescended on May 13th, but they needed time. Not only the plan is one thing, but also being able to bring back um the right subcontractors and possibly make changes therein. They took a little bit extra time. Didn't come back till May 26th about a week later. Those are the two events um that happened. I'll give you moving on to the general updates. U we have on the website

060is the report that I'm reading from right now is on the website. So, I'm not going to go through all the numbers, but we are continuing to make progress with excavation and installation of footings, concrete peers, um back filling of of footing holes, and also the es excavation of the stairwells and elevators. Those are all in progress and moving along. Um we are also in the progress of installing roof conduits and uh continued demolition work. So, upcoming tasks uh include the continuation of all those things that are making progress, but aren't finished yet. some electrical and plumbing work. Um, probably the most key note for today is the project status. So, for the past two months, I've reported that our contractor has been telling us that there's delays um and giving us delay, you know,

061amounts of delays that we were not comfortable with. We have been in conversations through construction meetings and other correspondences trying to help them um identify exactly what the delays are and what can be done to make up some of that time and see where you know where we can help fix the um the progress of the project. With all of this said, we finally received since the last update that I provided to the public, we received an actual um date for delivery of steel, which is one of the next free uh critical points. And that delivery estimated date is August 18th. Now, that steel we originally according to the original plan was supposed to be here in April. So clearly there is going to be a delay with that you know that big of a

062delay. Um that doesn't necessarily mean that that number of months is how long our delay will be. It depends on um what other things can be done in a different order. And this is where our construction management team is supportive of the construction of the contractor to try and help them find ways to say, "Okay, now that we have that date, what other things can be done before or in a different order to make sure that we get as close to our original um end date as possible. Um that we anticipate there'll be a delay of some sort, but we are hoping to not have it be as as large of a delay as what they're saying. So that I did the best job I could as a non- construction person um to give you

063that. I I thought it might be helpful tonight because of the importance of that delay uh you know the the steel situation and the delay and also the May 11th incident. if board members have questions about that. I asked our construction manager um we use a company called Greyhawk and our we have two folks there um Akos and Rob and I asked Rob to come and just kind of give you a a better clearer understanding of how we got where we are with the project um just about how how delayed are we or what do we know about that and uh answer any questions that board members may have. So without further ado, this is Rob Dinan from Greyhawk. >> Mr. President, I don't know if this is on. >> Is that on? >> Maybe

064it's on. >> Oh, it is. Okay. >> So, Mr. President, Mr. Pepe, board of education members, uh thank you for having me this evening. Uh kudos to your report. Uh your report is uh spot on uh with what has been going on since the project started. Uh we took bids in October. Uh the construction work started uh late November with some uh very select uh demolition items that could occur and then over your winter recess uh it really started to go into uh full swing uh with uh demolition uh various abatement work that had to occur uh and then of course proceeding uh with footings and foundations. So um as Mr. Mr. P said the main reason that I'm here is to uh talk more about the actual delay uh that is in front of

065us and uh just like he said um our the baseline schedule anticipated that uh structural steel uh would be arriving in April uh takes potentially between five and six weeks weather depending uh to erect that steel uh and then it sets you up for all the followon activities basically building enclosure uh and then developing the interior of the project and eventually get you into closeout. So what happened was one the contractor was 25 days calendar days late on submitting um for his structural steel uh submitts and shop drawings. Uh what that is a submitt is basically that the architects and the engineers they look they examine uh they make sure that it meets all the qualifications that you bought in your specifications for the project and that of course it meets all the codes uh

066to be structurally sound to be erected. So there's a process in doing that. It doesn't happen overnight. Um and of course by the time they submit it, it was supposed to be submitted uh in mid November. They submitted I believe it was two days before uh the winter recess. So people go in winter recess. uh that submitt was turned around in requisite time uh probably about the third week in January and at that point uh it had a favorable action on the submitt so it wasn't rejected wasn't revised and resubmit it was approved as noted which that is key for the general contractor to release steel for fabrication so the contractor hesitated on releasing the steel for fabrication we immediately started asking him at the next several meetings Are you releasing the steel for fabrication?

067Are you releasing the steel for fabrication? They kept hesitating on the answer. Their schedule updates were not reflective of that information. In the process of them potentially because we never got a straight answer trying to release this deal, there was a slight unforeseen condition uh with the layout of the existing school. It does happen. Basically, the existing drawings had a column noted about two feet out from where it actually was. That does get picked up in final checks done by the general contractor subcontractor. It happens on a lot of schools, especially when we do uh renovations of existing buildings. Lots of times the information uh that uh your designers have that's available uh just isn't accurate. Okay. For for one reason or another. Uh back then it was drafting by hand. Someone could have made

068a dimensional mistake and that's really what it was. However, it only affected about 10% of the steel, not the entire steel. So if the contractor would have released in January when he picked up this discrepancy, um it would have been easily corrected. However, they decided not until Lan, your architect, had the opportunity to review the information with their structural engineer, provide the sketches, and for them to analyze the sketches that the steel would be released. They held up releasing the steel up until April. So, where it should have been arriving, it was just released for fabrication. That's basically the four months of time uh that has pushed everything unfortunately to the right uh which is the August 18th u scheduled uh delivery for steel. And the thing is we're taking their word for that in

069the schedule. We don't have any specific information from the from their subcontractor that yes, it's coming. So again, we're taking their word and unfortunately there have been several indicators on this project um where their word has not been their bond so to speak. So we continue to work diligently with them uh to get accurate information of which they have not been too forthright um to provide us. So we we do work with them uh on a daily basis um you know to keep the progress going as as best we can. So um subject to your questions >> are they providing critical path um diagram or at least critical path notes so that you'll know where the steel falls and all the other activities that go around it. So uh they are however okay they're only

070given as PDFs. So uh a PDF obviously most people know what an Adobe PDF is. Uh it's a picture okay uh it's generated by a scheduling program and part of the project part of the project specifications is that they're supposed to provide us an electronic file schedule. Okay. They claim that the PDF is an electronic file schedule. We've been disagreeing with them from the first project meeting. They need to give us what are called the logic files. So behind so if anyone knows anything about schedule I believe Mr. Cenoi does when you have a computer program uh it doesn't look like the output. Okay. It's a computer program. It does the logic. It has the relationships between activities. what has to you know finish to start start to start with a lag etc. And um

071these are all scheduling which I know that this board of member board of education member uh understands uh yes and uh if they would have given us those logic files what we have uh because that's what we do Greyhawk that's part of our business is is scheduling. We have software that actually goes in and reviews the logic files um to make sure that they're accurate. They from day one said they will not give us that information. We've been fighting with them for day one because we told them we don't want to be in the business of your schedule, but we want to help your schedule. So if we see something you know that you've made a mistake potentially, we'll make that suggestion for you to correct that mistake. And unfortunately while they have been to

072so to answer your question, they have generated a critical path. I have not been able to um thoroughly check. Correct. I I haven't been able to check that because they haven't given me the logic files and I'm sure you know sir that you can't do it from a PDF. We we have commented on on the PDFs uh as as best we can. Uh but it's even our comments when we give it to them uh they tend to rebute them saying that they're not rooted in logic and I turn around and say well give me the logic files. So uh it's um it has been a little it's been difficult. So I hope I answered your question. >> Do you have a process for key stakeholder escalations for concerns >> such as >> so I mean

073you are key stakeholders. So uh >> so the escalation for concerns on u understanding more information about when certain uh key deliveries and milestones are and uh probability of completion all those kind of more intricate factors so that we can get a clear understanding communicate that to our uh to the public. >> So um in conversations with uh Mr. Preppy and Mr. Um, I believe there's going to be some options discussed uh later on in executive session which will probably be able to give you a clearer answer uh to your question. I don't mean to defer it. There's just as you're aware many options which really needs to be discussed in executive session. >> I just want to point out real quick for the public that we are going to allow public com um questions

074before Mr. Dyn leaves. So, we just want to get the board member questions in person. No, I'm I'm the construction manager for the district. >> I have not worked with uh the general contractor who is Northeastern Interior Services. So, I believe they're out of boom. So, I believe they're out of Bon. Our architect has uh in in the past and uh when we took bids on bid day, all their paperwork was correct. So, in accordance with New Jersey statute 18A18A for public bidding in schools, if their paperwork's correct, you accept the low bid. I hope I answer your question, sir. Board members questions. Go ahead. >> Do you have any idea how far this pushes us back in this as far as the timeline of when the end of work was supposed to be done?

075Is it at least a few months now? >> So, right right now it's uh the uh date of substantial completion contractually is 31 December 2026. They're projecting uh late April of 2027. So approximately 110 calendar days. >> And is this going to add to the cost of the project because of that? >> No, sir. >> You said no. >> No. >> You're welcome. >> Board members, other questions. So, one of the things I'm thinking about is with when the steel should have been here, that would have allowed for a lot of construction to occur during the summer months while the children were not in school. Is that accurate? >> That is an accurate assessment. >> So, will we be working with them on determining then how this construction moves forward with the least amount of

076disruption possible while the children are in school? because I I would imagine that's something that's going to become a big concern not only for this board but of course for the community at large. >> Sure. Uh they'll they'll have to continue on second shift work. So right now a majority of the work that they do is on second shift. Uh if there's not a u noise odor fume generating activity uh for example you know running uh electrical conduits along the roof we allow them to do that in the daytime. So yes, they'll they'll they'll have to continue on second shift or weekends. >> And would that further delay the timeline that they've already projected >> once the building's enclosed? No. >> Okay. >> Uh they'll have, you know, temporary lights inside the building. They'll be

077they'll be able to work. >> Board members, other questions. >> So the delay that they're proposing really is has padding built into it that you could probably compress some of that timeline. >> We're hoping so, but we're hoping that um you know after all the things that have occurred in the month of May u that maybe they'll be a little bit more the word I'm looking for uh giving of the information that we've been requesting them for from them from day one. >> Thank you. >> You're welcome, >> Mr. Dun. I I'll say first of all, thank you again for uh being our advocate and uh wa watching over us uh for this project and for those that may not be aware for previous projects that had gone kind of sideways and getting us to

078uh completion on those as well from previous let's just say companies that did not do a great job. So glad that you're here to address those questions. Just to kind of build on, is it correct for me to assume that um we should not anticipate in a delay to opening school in in September? >> So, uh se September of 27. No, >> no. 2026, will we will we will we be in >> Oh, no. No. I'm sorry. I'm When we were talking April 27, I'm thinking right school year 2728. I'm forecasting out that far already for you. Um, no. There it's going to be basically uh the same situation that you have now ex when you when school is uh when school starts again uh this coming September. Um the steel should be uh partially

079erected by that point provided they've been honest to us uh in their last schedule update and um obviously there'll be some different constraints but school will be able to open safely. We do many projects uh throughout New Jersey uh where there's additions going on, school school occurs. Um we just have to put the constraints in place and we'll do that well ahead of time. >> Okay, that's that's really my biggest concern like that we'll be able to start on time as we as we had planned. I know we had talked about in in leading up to the project, you know, what were potential, you know, uh solutions if we run into something like this and I'm still hoping that we're not going to have to go there for those. But I think that's it's good

080to hear that we'll still be able to start school on time and >> it it'll basically be in the same state that you're in now operationally. >> Okay. >> Just the project hopefully will be further along. >> Okay. Board members, other questions. Okay. So, at this time, I'll um open the questions up to the public. If anyone would like to ask Mr. D any questions or support any questions regarding this topic of construction? Um um please come forward. >> Okay. Any other questions, guys? Last call. >> I think we're okay. Mr. >> Pepe, move on. Next item. >> Thank you for having me. Have a good evening every >> Thank you, Mr. D. >> Sorry, we're all looking at each other and I realized everyone else was looking at me. >> So, Floor is yours,

081Mr. Pepe. >> Floor is mine. Um I'm just going through the rest of the um other items for discussion. the general update. I really don't have anything specific other than to say that we're very excited to be a week away from the end of the school year and uh note that it was a successful one and looking forward to working over the summer to preparing for next year and what that brings and hopefully some progress on construction as well. The enrollment report is also in the um agenda that's posted online. Um just some general notes, Faber Elementary has um we're at the end of the year now. So if we compare back to this time last year, all three schools have decreased slightly a little bit in um enrollment, which is um I I can't

082say what exactly it's a result of, but I can say that we have been growing for a while. And so I think that it's kind of a a plateauing and maybe a little dip down and we'll see what next year brings. Our favor numbers are 602 as compared to 631 this time last year. Lincoln Middle School is 315 students compared to 339 this time last year. And Denellan High School is 408 compared to 411 um this time last year. So that's the enrollment report. On the agenda, there are a series of looking ahead dates. So, make sure you take a look and see what things you'd like to participate in, especially the promotion and graduation ceremonies, which we're very excited for next week. And that's all. >> Thank you, Mr. Pepe. And I just wanted

083to add, I thought it was very interesting looking at the enrollment report to see that our graduating class this year, if I'm not if I'm reading that correctly, is 110, which is the, if I'm also reading it correctly, the largest graduating class that we've had in a long time. I think the closest was likeund 10 something, right? >> Yeah. I I don't have the historical data, but it is 10 more than last year. >> The left to right. >> This is this is this year. >> Oh, I see. >> This is every month of this year. >> I see. I know. I guess it was the other one, but yeah. >> Yeah, there's another report. >> Okay. >> I Okay. All right. So, moving on to item number item number eight, public comments on agenda

084action items to be voted on tonight. In accordance with uh policy 0167, Board of Education recognizes the value of public comment on educational issues and the importance of allowing members of the public to express uh themselves on school matters of community interest. At this time, the board invites public comment on agenda action items to be voted on only. The board and administration will take notes during the public comment, but will not provide substantive responses to questions or concerns raised by individual speakers. The board appreciates and welcomes feedback from the community, but is not at liberty to engage in a back and forth dialogue with members of the public during this portion of the meeting. Prior to making your public comment, please state your name and municipality. Please note that all statements must be directed to

085the presiding officer. Please come to the microphone at this time if you would like to make comments on agenda action items to be voted on only. Prior to beginning your comment, please um please state the action item to be voted on uh that you would like to comment on. >> Good evening, sir. David Doll and I'm here to speak on behalf of um my discontent for the uh some recent incidents with the um the security uh guards at uh at Favor School and some incidents that that have been taking place there. So that being said, good evening board uh members, administration, staff, parents, and community members. stand before you tonight to formally express my lack of confidence in the leadership of this board, the director of the security and the superintendent. A vote of no

086confidence, it's something that should be offered not lightly in reserved is reserved for situations which leadership has failed to uphold its responsibility to students, taxpayers, staff, and families it serves. Unfortunately, many members of the community believe we have reached this point. Recently, during what should have been a routine drop off involving my son and his grandfather, it became evident that security coordinator Mr. Christian Young lacks the ability to conduct himself professionally and with humility. In attempting to have the driver of the vehicle in question move forward in line, stating he was blocking the door, which we watched the video, he wasn't, Mr. Young aggressively banged on the passenger window where my son sat starting startling him and dramatizing him. After a brief back and forth between the driver and Mr. Young, he abused his misguided

087authority and called the police into the situation. At this time, Mr. Young could be heard personally attacking the driver's character using vulgar obscenities while in the presence of children arriving at school, walking just feet away, putting on display his unprofessionalism. Furthermore, Mr. Young was heard lying several times regarding the number of interactions he had with the driver and recanting previous details. This entire situation was captured on police body cam video and can be provided at request. After involving the police in the presence of a child and encouraging the police to threaten to have the driver with being arrested as a trespasser, it's clear Mr. Young is more than willing to abuse his authority and will at will and turned a minor situation into a spectacle. If Mr. Young truly felt threatened by 75-year-old driver with

088a handicap placard. Maybe that's the first sign he isn't fit to protect our children. However, he could have exercised better judgment and waited for my son to disperse the car before creating this unnecessary scene. I can imagine if it was one of your kids, you'd feel the same exact way as my son had to sit with the anxiety and fear that his grandfather might actually be arrested right in front of him. Mr. The young is aggressive, vulgar, and has no understanding of how to conduct himself in the presence of children and in my opinion should not be carrying a gun. This opinion is shared by many parents as well as school staff as well as school staff who have known the driver for years have known him to never take make any problems here at

089the school at Faber School. In fact, his character is highly regarded and respected much more than that of Mr. Young, I assure you. Moving forward, after obtaining legal advice, the law states Mr. Young should know his obligations are to deter incidents such as this. Monitor facilities and enforce BOE policies rather than act as law enforcement as he once was in Piscatoaway. In addition, by law, Mr. Young should be aware that his power is no more than that of a civilian in this situation. having banged on the car door was in fact harassment and disorderly conduct. Mr. Young is not a special three. He cannot file complaints. He's not a police officer. Due to his lack of knowledge of the bounds of his power and self-control, Mr. Young has found himself in the middle of a

090hip investigation, having intimidated my child. The re the reality is Mr. Young can request a driver to move a vehicle, but has absolutely no authority over enforcing them to do so. Only the the Denellum police can forcefully make a driver move their vehicle and they should know that as well. Mr. Young does not in fact run this parking lot. Mr. Young is here to maintain a safe and orderly educational environment for our children and coordinating emergency responses with administrators and local law enforcement. Our second point of concern lies with Mr. Ferrett. On more than one occasion, Mr. Ferret has been seen playfully strolling around the school having conversations with female teachers rather than watching the kids fall at the playground. Also available upon request on video. When approached and confronted with the concerned of myself

091and several other parents, Mr. indignantly asked, "Is there a problem?" To which I answered, "Yes, we'd all feel more comfortable if you stayed and watched the kids at the playground should there be an emermergency." He then replied, "There are cameras. The kids are being watched." Which raised the question, why do we need him there in the additional salary to cover if it's as simple as someone watching some cameras from inside the building? This type of mindset and lack of concern on his behalf makes it clear that he doesn't possess the ability to be a constructive and proactive security officer our kids deserve. Mind you, Mr. Ferret did reluctantly leave the teacher side. Sorry, allergies. Reluctantly leave the teacher side to watch the kids, which made it evident that he knew in fact it was his

092responsibility. Lastly, and most importantly, is the matter of the safety and reunification plan, which is, as of May 6, has seen zero progress since the resignation of previous safety coordinator Jason Marinberg. It is general knowledge that officer Jason resigned due to having his hands tied and being restrained from implementing logical and practical protocols by Mr. Ross. Jason had roughly 90% of the safety plan and re reunification progress in place prior to his departure. He invested his personal time into these plans even during his sick leave keeping the safety of all students and staff members in mind. The new security manifest was left behind for his successor, leaving only loose ends to be tied up, such as contact Denellan OEM Homer Mosley, Denellan Police Department Lieutenant Dherty and Captain Beers, and lastly, Middle Sex County OEM

093Eric Martin. All these parties were in touch with Jason, and we're waiting on Denellan's finalization of these plans. Instead, Denellan schools and its childrens are sitting ducks in a crisis. Does the board even know of this issue and these plans are not finalized or implemented? If Jason was given the time and attention he requested, this would have been completed by now, long before now. Uh it's my opinion and that of many other parents that Jason should be asked to return besides the work mentioned just now about his and with regards to his relationships he's built with the students, parents, staff, and local police. Not only is he respected, invested, dedicated, but also thorough. We are way behind and once again because someone was hired by the wrong person to do the job. Our children are

094currently not safe. We will skip all the legal stuff. If Mr. Young hasn't done anything, what has he done? The board will be responsible for the lack of the safety of preparedness and lack thereof for our children. Thank you for your time in this matter and I hope you all take the word seriously. At this time it may be the first of many interactions we should have should nothing be done about these infractions. Enjoy the rest of your night and thank you for letting me be heard. >> Thank you, Mr. D. >> Any other uh public comments? Okay, last call. Okay, moving along to item number nine, committee reports. Uh so uh first going to move to the education report and we'll ask Miss Shimp to go ahead and uh take us through that please.

095>> The education committee met on June 1st. Present were Miss Ivac who is the chair, Miss Moore, myself, Dr. Gendrono, Miss Drapkin, and Mr. Ross. And we discussed a number of items including a wide range of staff professional development, coaching, and curriculum activities occurring throughout the district, information related to the ongoing grant work across the three schools, details about the preschool registration process for the 2027 school year, updates about the district's summer support opportunities, information about the LMS steam showcase, and a variety of other items and confidential matters. >> Thank you, Miss Shim. Moving on to um the personnel report. Uh turn to Nishep. Personnel Committee met on June 1st. Present were myself, Mr. Anderson, Dr. Dano, and Mr. Ross. We discussed a number of items including updates about the renewal process for tenured staff

096members, non-aligned individuals, and staff members in positions that are not eligible for tenure. Information about the hiring process for the full-time director of special services position and the interim role. details about staffing for the 2026 2027 school year, a sidebar on tonight's agenda to add three new extracurricular activities, two updated job descriptions related to athletics, and a number of confidential items. >> Thank you, Michelle. Moving on to uh C, operations. Um so um the operations committee met on June 1st 7 PM um present and during the committee meeting were myself uh Mr. Mitchell, Mr. Satanoi, Mr. Pepe and Mr. Ross. Um we discussed a number of items including updates related to the universal prek expansion facilities project which are outlined in the most recent excuse me construction update provided by Mr. Pepe. uh discussion about

097items for board approval tonight, including the acceptance of grants, the renewal of ESS uh for substitute staffing support, renewal of the district's membership with the New Jersey School Insurance Group and other items uh in a variety of uh confidential matters. So, uh concludes my uh report for the operations committee. Uh we do have policy, I'm sorry, we have a policy committee would be next. We do not have an update there. and negotiations uh committee um we will be discussing in in in executive. So moving along to item number 10 approval of minutes looking for a motion to approve 10 A and B which are the um the minutes from the May 5th as well as May 18th excuse me May 5th and May 18th uh board meetings. May I have a motion, please? >> Move

098to approve 10 A and B. >> Second. >> Open for questions or comments. Last call. Okay. Mr. Papy, please call the role. M excuse me, Mr. Anderson. >> Yes. >> Mrs. Gondit. >> Yes. >> Cybec is not here. Dr. Gendrono. >> Yes. >> Oops. Mr. Mitchell. Yes, >> Mrs. Moore. >> Yes, >> Mr. Sanoi. >> Yes, >> Miss Shyf. >> Yes, >> Mrs. Shep. >> Yes. >> Motion passes. >> Wonderful. Thank you. Moving on to item number 11, uh, board action items. Looking for a motion to approve um all of the items in in 11. Hello. May I have a motion for approving all the items in 11? >> Move to approve items 11 A, B, and C. >> Second. >> Open for questions, comments. I would just note that um this includes a number

099of um whatchamacallit approvals for staff travel which also includes the uh approval of New Jersey school boards which would be for October so that it would be for proving all of us to be able to go. Um did also want to add that there were was it the addition of three new extracurricular positions which I thought was fantastic that we did discuss prior. So wondering if there's any any other comments that anyone would like to make or any questions. I would like to request again that these be broken up so we can discuss them individually. There's so much one thing to discuss it when we do it this way. Do you know what to Mr. Anderson? Any other questions, comments? Last call. >> Okay. Mr. Peep, can you please call the RO? Mr. Anderson? >>

100Yes. >> Mrs. Condit? >> Yes. >> Dr. Mr. Gendrono. >> Yes. >> Mr. Mitchell. >> Yes. >> Mrs. Moore. >> Yes. >> Mr. Satanoi. >> Yes. >> Miss Shy. >> Yes. >> Mrs. Shep. >> Yes. >> Motion passes. Wonderful. Moving on to item number 12. Topics for board as a whole. Uh action items. Looking to approve uh 12A. Oh, looking for a motion to approve 12 A. >> Move to approve 12A. >> Second. >> Open for questions or comments. So for um for um for the public um 12A is a resolution uh that's crafted um so um by the New Jersey School Boards Association. Um, and it was a resolution really kind of reflecting and really as a as an response to the overwhelming uh health care costs that have been hitting all of the

101districts uh in New Jersey. As you recall from our budget presentation, um there was I believe a a 39% increase in our overall budget just for healthcare alone, which you know was good chunk of that uh 3 million that we were talking we needed to close. So, what this resolution is is really um a way for us to stand with other school districts around New Jersey to say to the state, to the governor, you know, you know, you got to do something here because this is killing us. Every single school district was hit with some sort of increase, different levels, but still very high. Um, so this was brought up at our county meeting back in May. I'm not sure more if you want, Mrs. Moore if you want to comment any further on that,

102but um >> I think you covered it except it was passed but unanimously I believe at the Middle Sex County School Boards Association and I believe they were the first county >> correct >> school board to pass this resolution to present to the state. >> Right. So this is not something that we're doing alone. And this is something that we're doing, you know, as a part of Middle Sex County, in support of our county, in support of all the counties in New Jersey who took a major hit um for because of healthcare costs skyrocketing this year. So, you know, um that's this year. We don't know what will happen next year. So, we need to say something now to be able to try to stop the stop stop that motion. So, that's what that uh

103that's what the resolution is about. You're welcome to, you know, go back into it, but that's that's what's that's the motion. That's what it's about. That's what is on the floor uh for adoption or to be approved is that re resolution. Any questions, comments? >> Okay. Mr. Pepe, please call the roll. >> Mr. Anderson, >> yes. >> Mrs. Condit, >> yes. >> Dr. Mr. Gendrono, >> yes. >> Mr. Mitchell, >> yes. >> Mrs. Moore, >> yes. >> Mr. Satanoi, >> yes. >> Miss Shy, >> yes. >> Mrs. Shep, >> yes. >> Motion passes. Wonderful. And we'll let our county president know if you wouldn't mind letting letting them know that we stand in solidarity with all of the other districts in Middle Sex County as well as all the other counties in New Jersey. Enough

104is enough. Moving on to item number 13, old business. Does anybody have any old business that we would like to bring back up? >> I have new old business actually. >> New old business. >> Okay. >> So, as I mentioned before, we bury all this this stuff in with the committees. I actually did have a question about one thing and I completely missed it because in 11C6 we have something called uh the creation of a law enforcement unit. Mr. Pepe, can you tell me anything about that? >> We created this last year. So, this is a renewal of just assigning the people to this. >> And the law enforcement unit are people who are designated to um make decisions regarding what information can be shared with law enforcement in certain situations. >> Thank you. >>

105Any other old business or new old business? Okay, moving on to new business. New business. Um, any new business? There's more. >> Yes. I just wanted to give an a little bit more of an update. As Dr. Dendrono said, him and I, he and I attended the Middle Sex County School Boards Association meeting in May where that resolution was passed. Um, we also got to hear an amazing speech from the Middle Sex County Educator of the Year >> talking about the importance of, you know, listening to and respecting teachers and all of the work that they do. It was a great speech. I was tearing up. So were a few other people in the room just hearing her passion for teaching, which was amazing. Um, we also got to see a really great student project

106um from uh Seerville students for their the Bomber Cafe. Beyond Bombers Cafe Cafe. Yeah. >> Where it's um their special needs students run a cafe after they turn 18 and help to learn the ins and outs of of running and working a business and working with people and another amazing project to see. So, just wanted to bring up those things from the from that meeting. >> That That's awesome. And just to mention to Mr. Anderson and I actually saw the Beyond Bomber Cafe when we were at Seville for the Unsung Heroes Awards. And I think we're kind of like, well, wow, they have their own coffee shop here. This is pretty cool. Inside the school. So, the the one that I think that we saw was actually a brick and mortar one outside, but I

107guess that was the in school uh version that we that we did see. So I think that's uh that was fantastic uh to be able to see that. Um I think just to also mention to we um I was also very much um grateful for the wonderful speech that we had from the lieutenant governor. I'm I'm forgetting his name at this moment, but it was a wonderful speech. Thank you. Um Caldwell um Dr. Caldwell, excuse me. Dr. Caldwell. Um, and his so he he was a board member um for 26 years, I believe it was, right? 26 years serving in New Brunswick as well as holding many educational uh leadership positions throughout New Jersey. and um it was you know not to blavorver the point and give his whole resume but the the the point

108is that there's a lot of strong support um from him and from his office to be able to you know help help the districts um in in New Jersey. So it was very reassuring and very uh heartwarming to to hear that that kind of support from you know from the top. Um are there any other new business items? I one more new business items. Anyone else has any? It's just going not to beat the dead horse, but I'm formally requesting that we go at least have a discussion about restructuring the format of the committee reports um and break it up. >> If you if you'd like to discuss that now, we can. >> I would like to discuss it now then. Go ahead. Um I feel when we clump it all together, yes, uh we

109get this agenda days ahead, but today I had I had something to discuss. I had gone through the agenda. I took notes and I still missed it because everything is put all together. And I think we said we save time when we put it all together. Well, how much time are we saving? Two minutes, five minutes at the most. Why can't we uh discuss these things individually? In case somebody has something to say about some uh a certain topic, it won't be overlooked. I I don't understand why it has to be clumped together. Other comments? I mean something we can certainly take uh we could certainly consider for next meeting. Um, I do want to just be sure that, you know, we are all prepared and ready for next meetings when we're we're here because

110I think that's, you know, if we if we've gone through the agenda and we've had notes, I mean, I I take that as my my thing on the weekend to go through and make a, you know, the weekend before to make a list of all the things that I want to to bring up. Um, so if if it makes it easier to discuss, we can certainly consider that. But I think that's that was perhaps the part of the concern, not just time, um, but also perhaps being sure that we're able to, you know, move move things along without having to wait. >> Um, I have been asking about this for months and it seems like it's just keeps getting kicked down the road. >> Um, >> I guess that's it. >> Other comments from board

111members? >> And oh, that was the other thing. It was changed without it was one day we came and it was changed all clumped together. We didn't really have a discussion before it was put together. >> Well, having discussion now, other board members, other topics, any other feedback, >> any other feedback? >> Personally for me, I agree with Mr. Anderson. It was easier for me to look I agree with him. I think it should be more organized in the different committees section. >> Thank you. Any other any other comments? >> I like it the way it is. It's more efficient. More taken. Any other comments? Well, can you expand on what do you mean by it's more as as far as time is concerned or >> as far as um forcing me to to have

112to read ahead to make sure I've gotten through all the items and as you saw that I saw I knew the different sections that were in there. So, I felt comfortable uh with the way it was structured and it made more sense that instead of having to break down on each one that uh if you understood all of it, you can just go ahead and vote on the the whole block. I mean, it's different views on on the point. I mean, I hear what you're saying and I do get it. just personal opinion that it seemed a lot better that I understood the whole block of information in there and I was able to make a decision on that >> and I'm on I'm on the same wavelength as you Mr. Sano other comments I

113would echo Mr. It's forced me to start making sure I take the time to review everything in advance. Um, I think it it does make me then pay attention and have to double check before the meetings, but it's it's been okay this way for me. >> Thank >> Yeah, my Google tabs are just like crazy with all the different sections open. >> Google tabs. >> I bookmark each section and go through it. And then because it's the account, it remembers from when I was at home and then I just open it up. It's all there. >> That's a good tip. I should do that. Any other questions? Or sorry, any other comments? All right. So, let's close this issue and we could certainly uh come back and see if there perhaps give it uh another

114try or try next time. What do you guys think? Kind of split down the middle. >> It's probably why my eyes are bad. >> Well, it's not necessarily an item we're we need to vote on, but if this is something that we have a consensus on right now, I don't see that we have a consensus. Okay. All right, then. Moving on to uh another piece of new business. So I think um one of the things that in in my mind in speaking with our field representative and you know seeing the the different uh challenges that we've had so far this year um and I know we've talked about this in in passing and in spirit and say oh yeah we should do this and we never actually get around to it. I think it's time

115that we we actually do um take this take this seriously and and actually complete this. And what I'm getting to is I think it's about time that we started to reinstate board self-evaluation. Um it's a process where we look at how we have done over the past year. And this is something that is not necessarily new. It's something that is part of the New Jersey School Boards Association toolkit. Just like we um evaluate our superintendent, we can also evaluate ourselves. Um, as I understand from our field representative, uh, this is something that the majority of school district school districts do on an annual basis after the CSA evaluation to be able to better prepare them for uh, goal setting as it comes to the next year and preparing for what happens in the in the

116next year to come to see how we did to kind of give a um, a scorecard I guess to ourselves also with input from um, from from other stakeholders within the community. Um but um yes, I believe this is something that we should um do. I was, you know, surprised to learn that it seems as though we've we've never actually done this as a board and um our field representative was also very surprised um that we have not done this. So I think this is something that we should move forward with and I would like to just open up that conversation to be able to see where you guys stand with that. So open for questions, comments. Mr. Sinoi. >> Yes. Do you happen to have what you define as majority of school boards? Does

117this out of like all the school boards is it a 50 70% majority? >> I'd have to go back to our field rep. I don't have a an exact number, but I can ask for one at least from the perspective because she covers um middle sex. Is it ocean? >> Right. But it still needs a definition of what majority means. >> Right. The second question is third party support. So I know New Jersey school boards provides this in the toolkit, >> but is there outside support so that the community can be confident that the school board's self-evaluation is is conducted and administered uh with an impartial party as as a way to support it. >> I'm sorry, can you say that again? >> Third party support like someone from the outside to help us do

118a self-evaluation to make it more transparent and more clear to the to our constituents. Um so we will have the assistance of our field representative to go through us walk us through this process and to add additional clarity to this process. So as you recall from when we do the CSA evaluation itself we log on to the New Jersey school board's website there is a specific uh section for us to evaluate their questions that are are prompted right for the superintendent. They provide um evidence all through the year or the the to support you know the the completion of the district goals as well as the standards that the superintendents have to uh follow. So there is a analogous set of questions that are developed from school boards um and it's it's on the website.

119I think they just published the most recent one uh most current one re current one recently so it's it's open for everyone to see and um we would so when you talk about third party we would be presenting that information or voting or not voting but filling out that completely information and assessing ourselves what's self-evaluation but then what comes from there we would be working we would similarly do a compilation of all that information like we did with the CSA evaluation um that then our field service representative would work us through so we would this is something that we would also be talking about that we could also share with the public on how we did so in terms of transparenc I'm not sure about the third party representative like someone wouldn't it wouldn't be

120like a search firm or anything like that doing that. would be us being evaluating ourselves. How did we do on this, you know, based on and really being honest about that, but also we could include other stakeholders from the community as we, you know, wanted to like this is not something that is legally legally required for us to do, but this is something for us that's in the toolkit that allows us to become a better board, >> right? But looking for support from probably school boards or another party in order to bounce the feedback off of to actually normalize it and to take like personal perspectives kind of attenuate it to to make sure we get the best effect out of the self-evaluation. That that's more what I'm referring to. >> Right. So, we would

121so um Marian has already penciled us in for August. So, if we we could start right away and be able to have her come to to sit with us in August to work through the to work through what our results are, >> right? The other factor is time and cost. uh that takes away from what we're contributing to our time to do the other policies and procedures for all our different committees as well as like with the CSA search and the construction. So self-evaluation does take away some time and is there a cost? >> There is no cost um in terms of no monetary cost. The only cost really is the time that we would like to commit to this and the resource of that time. So it it really is is up to us.

122There is no deadline per se. We have to set set that as to what we want. But it is an opportunity for us to gain insight in an anonymous fashion. Right? We can do that in an honest fashion similar to how we do it with the CSA evaluation to provide feedback to ourselves in terms of what we think we've done well, what we think we've not done so well and be able to give us guidance with the help of our field service representative as to how we move forward and what what things we can do to improve. >> And that's something that we would share that we would share with the public. Sorry, go ahead. I'd like to see some of the stats from other evaluations and how much time and efforts put into creating

123the evaluations from other boards. >> We can ask we can ask for that information. >> Good questions. Any other questions or comments? I think that in light of a lot of the feedback that we have been able to receive from the community um in addition to the learning that this has never been done by the board before uh and in our timeline of finding a new superintendent that this presents while I totally understand your sentiments about time will because doing the superintendent search in and of itself is a lot of time that We all do have to devote to such a big task. But I do think there could be a lot of value from what we understand of what a a board self-evaluation would be that would allow us to reflect on our strengths

124and also our weaknesses so that we have that prepared for ourselves when we are looking for a new superintendent and how we are making different changes going forward. Not just with a new person in charge in the district but also with the board itself. Thank you, Miss Shep. >> I agree with Miss Shep. I I think it's something that's important for us to do. I understand the time it's going to take and that's why summer is probably the best time to try to do this. Yes, we have the CSA search going on, but there's a little bit more time that we can devote to evaluating ourselves and especially with bringing a new superintendent in, seeing where our strengths are, what our weaknesses are so that we can work best to bring the best to Denellan

125and be the best board that we can for our students and our teachers matters and it should be done. Thank you, Miss Moore. Other comments, Mitchell? >> I would also like to add that it should be done also, especially considering the fact that it hasn't been done before. >> Thank you, Mr. Mitchell. The comments? So, um I'm getting the s sense that we I know we're missing one of our board members, but I think we're at the very least halfway, if not um almost at consensus. So, shall we go ahead and make a put a stake in the ground and do this? >> Okay. >> Yeah, sure. >> Then we have consensus. So, uh let's set a timeline. Again, we don't have to vote right now, but let's I mean, we let's let's set a

126timeline. So, as I said, Maryanne Wol is already pencled in and is excited to well, excited is the wrong word, but is really, you know, wanting to help us be better. Um, she has already, as I said, she we are on her schedule for the August meeting. I gave her that date. She will come and confirm that date. Um, at that time, she can walk us through, you know, the you know, um, you know, helping us understand information and I by that point we can also have those questions that you asked you asked about um have that information ahead of time. >> Just reflecting what mour was saying could we start working on this earlier because summer is probably the better time. >> Right. Right. But I'm saying right you absolutely we could start we

127could start tonight if we want to. So essentially what we what we would do is we would log into the NJSBA site as we did before. Um there is an option for us to begin a self-evaluation. We could start right now if we wanted to. It's a question of when do we want to have it completed by and when do we want to have a compilation of the results by and when do we want to be start discussing that and then Maryanne can help us through that. You know that's the that's that's the that's the time frame. So we can start like we can do it right after graduation. We could do it next week during before graduation if you really want. I think it's probably crazy to do it then. >> When is the

128August meeting again? >> It's 25th, right? I just wanted to point out that there is a very high likelihood that we'll be calling multiple special meetings over the summer as we work through the superintendent search. So if as long as we plan far enough ahead, I can include that in the advertisement as a topic for that agenda >> if you wanted to see when Maryanne's available and if you want her to help you get started on the process. >> Meaning that we don't have to wait till the August when we could do one sooner. >> Correct. >> Could you start it as a committee? >> What's that? started as a committee and then send out homework. We could do that, too. Who wants to volunteer for the committee? >> I'll volunteer for the committee. >>

129What's that? >> I will. >> Okay. Miss Moore, >> I will also, >> Mr. Mitchell. All right. Chairs. Um All right. So, we'll to Mr. Shano, to your point, we will, you know, as a I guess should we try to figure out a a date to have a completion by or entry data entry by? I mean, sorry. >> So, null, I want I want to try to make sure that we're all understanding this because it's late. I'm a little fuzzy. >> No, no, it's okay. >> If we think about the way we do our CSA eval, we get the green light to go ahead. We have an end date by which everyone's data is completed in um the schoolboard's website. >> Correct. >> And is is that chunk that we're talking about what we're looking

130to have completed by the August board meeting or do we need to do more than that before the August board meeting? So before the August board meeting or if it's an earlier one that we decide you know to to tag it to we would have you know it would be a question of when do we want um Maryanne to compile you know to take that information because you know how when we when we do the CSA self-evaluation we get the big file that has all of the information all the comments all the vote the uh you know liker type scale things that we fill out that we all look at and we discuss right so we're not going to necessarily be writing an evaluation for a superintendent, but we'll be it'll be basically to ourselves

131to to give us a reflection of what each of us individually sees and that and then so that would be the August time frame or whatever time we would, you know, decide if we wanted to do it sooner um would be for Maryanne to help us, you know, understand and what next steps we could take. She'll she'll have that information. We can share that with her as well. Um and she'll if we want to have her you know, walk us through the process before we start. We can ask if we want, but I think I think it's pretty straightforward since we've already done the CSA evaluation. Like, we're comfortable with that. It's it's the same it's the same process. I think that's by design. So, it sounds like it would be helpful to have Maryanne

132with us once we have the compilation of the data to then walk us through how we do that, >> which would mean that we would just need a deadline of everybody completing the board self-evaluation prior to I I guess a few weeks prior to the August board meeting date, >> right? Correct. Or if we decide to do it sooner than the August board, the the full board meeting date that we have currently scheduled as Mr. that eventually we're going to have other other meetings, you know, for for special meetings. We could also tag it to or add it to one of those as well if we wanted to to make it sooner than that so that we can because because keep in mind when we were, you know, July time frame, August time frame, we

133were starting to talk about what goal setting that's and that's that's the idea is to be able to apply what we've learned into our goal setting process. Now, this will be a little bit different this year because of the circumstances that we're in, but I think we still need to have that information going into goal setting, our goal setting process that we're still going to be doing it just with someone different. I >> mean, that gives us a good amount of of time. That gives everybody like more than a solid month. >> Yes. >> To be able to take the time to to thoughtfully complete it at the pace that they're comfortable with. >> Right. So today's the 9th of June. We want to say 15th of July or sooner. That's that's six five weeks.

134>> Do we think like the end of July if we're planning for August? >> Sure. >> If we if that gives us once school is ended about six weeks. So people that have vacations have things going on over the summer. >> True. >> End of July we get our stuff in so that in August whatever mean 25th or whatever August one or if there's an earlier one in August that we can get going. So if that's the goal does everybody here think July 31 have your board self-evaluation done it in Maryanne has time to compile everything and then we can meet in August. Does that seem fair? That seems reasonable. >> Yeah. As long as Marian's schedule doesn't have any vacations when we finish that off. >> Well, she committed it to that date already.

135>> That date, but I don't think she realizes she'd get information by end of July. We need to bounce that off of her and make sure her schedule can accommodate. >> I could let her know as soon as after after the meetings. Well, probably tomorrow. She's probably sleeping now. So, >> sure. I'm gonna say having worked with Maryanne that I don't think this is going to take her more than a day. >> True. >> Oh, >> right. So that three weeks is to account for the fact that she might be on vacation. >> Cool. >> Right. >> Say, >> but you should ask her the question, but my prediction is that she's going to say that's plenty of time. >> I think the CSA evaluation she had to us by the end of the day

136when it was finished. >> Yeah. >> So that's how quickly she turned that around. So I could imagine this would be similar. >> Right. That's right. She was she was on a medical leave at the time he still did it. >> She's a person on fire with that. >> Yes. >> So >> she's good people. >> Definitely. She's good people. So are we all agreed to this now? Uh July, what did you say is more 31st? >> 31st to uh complete the self the board self-evaluation and then we begin compilation right after that. >> Okay. Co-chairs. Cool. You'll drive the bus. All right. All right. So, you'll follow up with the emails. We'll be good. And uh that was me for new business. Any other new business, guys? Okay. Um moving on to item number

13715, president's remarks. I have nothing to add from what I've said before. I think I've said enough at this point. And I will move on to public comments. Item number 16 on any school related issue or topic. So, in accordance with policy 0167, 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. At this time, the board uh invites public comment on any school related issue or topic. The board administration will take notes during public comment uh but will not provide substantive responses to questions or concerns raised by individual speakers. The board appreciates and welcomes feedback from the community, but is not at liberty to engage in a back and forth dialogue with members

138of the public during this portion of the meeting. Prior to making your public comment, please make sure, sorry, please state your name and municipality. Please note that all statements must be directed to the presiding officer. Please come to the microphone at this time if you'd like to make comments on any school related issues or topic. Hi, Kimberly Green Denell. >> Make sure you speak to the mic so everybody can hear you on a recording. >> Okay. Can you hear me? >> Yes. >> Kimberly Green Denellan, I wanted to thank the board for scheduling the community forums with the search committee. I found that very helpful. I'm hoping this week has a better turnout than last week. Um, but if you can also stand on the special meeting on Monday, what the agenda is and what's

139the purpose of the meeting. >> Thank you. >> Is that's your question? >> Yes. >> Yeah. Normally we wait till the end, but this is a easy one. Um so that is actually the reporting out on the data that they're collecting. So what's going to happen that night is that the search firm is going to meet with the board in executive session to go over all the raw data, a lot of detailed stuff. Then they're going to come out and do a presentation for the public with like a general overview of the summary data. >> Any other questions? So, please 359 Beachwood Avenue, Middle Sex, New Jersey. >> I'm sorry. Can you please raise the microphone so we can hear you? >> 359 Beachwood Avenue, Middle Sex, New Jersey. >> And your name, sir? >>

140Kevin Rand. Um, so I know I'm a new face here. Uh, some of you might know me. I'm a student at Middle Sex High School. I'm a senior. I'm also, you might know me from the soccer field because I've played your team a bunch of times. Um, and you might know me because I'm on this Middle Sex board of ed. I'm the student leo over there. Um, and over there, bring up my speech over there. We I came to the board a few months ago, maybe February, about how about the issue of phones being banned next year. And it wasn't necessarily about phones. I kind of agree with the phones being banned next year, but the problems with the implications of banning phones on AI, right? In my school and many other schools, the way

141it goes is AI is banned on school devices, and so the only way for students to use it is on their phones. But banning phones means banning AI. Um, and I take away that conversation is what was important. It was that there needed to be some way for students to use AI without, you know, cheating and teachers being able to be confident that they're not cheating and teachers being able to control the environment and see what they do. Um, and so that after that speech, I went home and I decided it'd be a good thing to build with some students from Middle Sex. Um, and so that's what I'm here to speak about. It's called Honorly AI. That's what we named it. It's a fully registered LLC. >> I'm sorry. Can you say it again,

142please? Honorly AI. >> Honorly. Yeah. >> I'm gonna speak like this. >> Thank you. >> Yeah. Yeah. So, Honorly AI is a school controlled AI platform that's built to help districts give students access to AI in a way that is safe, structured, and actually helpful and useful for learning. So instead of them using random AI tools like chat GBT, now they have a education tailored AI chatbot that students can use and have like there's it's like an AI tutor but teachers can see everything that they say. There's automated flagging reports so messages that are you know cheating or students are frustrated or off topic. Those get physically reported to the teacher but the teachers can also customize how the AI behaves in the student like chatbot. So um since since building the platform we've rolled

143out with Middle Sex we were in the process of implementing it in the entire district. Um we had an initial pilot with a sample class a sample of classes from the district maybe 30 classes and the feedback was amazing. Um and now we're in the process of rolling out with the whole district. We're also working with Bound Brook for a pilot in the in the fall and we're working we're having conversations across the table with about 10 other districts and so we're looking to bring Honorly here to Dellon. So what makes Honorly different is that it's not just like another chatbot. Um teachers can manage classes, control student access, review conversations. They can do that either manually or through a live stream view where we have an AI model that literally summarizes each chat in

144a way where they don't they get it as a flow. You don't have to go through each chat manually. So it's designed for being easy for teachers. Uh they can also set expectations as in how they want the AI to behave. There's about a million settings on the website. So you know what type of assignments they're working on, what subjects, the you know leniency with those subjects. So do you want them to be able to write for you or not at all? More t more socratic everything you can imagine is on there and vocabulary all that stuff. Um and that's on a that's on a student and class level. You can do that as an individual for individual students and then you can also do that for the class as a whole. So we really

145focused on differentiation for students. Um we're also building towards larger partnerships including SAS SAS and district level partnerships because we believe responsible and a responsible AI in schools is going to be a standard part of education very soon. The same way 20 years ago, computer science wasn't what it is today or calculators. Um, not just a side experiment. Uh, there's also something new on the website we're calling Honorly AI adaptive insights, which is essentially it's the more personable version of this. So, with something like this, the applications are limitless. And we realize that because this is such a personable AI tutor, it can be differentiable for each student. And so the way it works is that each the AI learns from each student, you know, what it struggles on, what subjects it's good at, how

146it learns the best or the student learns the best, and it'll take those insights and not only do a better job tutoring the student, but it'll also give it to a report to teachers and administrators. So kind of like you can do that at the student level, the class level, grade level, school level, even district level. And so basically the idea with that is like most school all schools use testing for analytics for how their students are performing. But the problem with that is speaking as a student who I'm graduating in two weeks. I kind of have experience with this. Students don't really care about state testing because there's not there's nothing that we get out of it. All we all it means to us is waking up early and taking a test that doesn't

147matter at all to us. And so that's the that's the big thing my friend the statistic he gave me. It's like a 1.5 order of magnitude. Um and that's the difference between a 50 50th percentile and 75th percentile on testing and that's just for motivation. And so state testing isn't exactly an accurate you know model of how well students are performing. So the thing about this is that all of a sudden you are learning how the students are performing from the questions they ask their tutor and how they are doing with their personal tutor not state testing. So that's the big thing with honor adaptive. So for Denellan the opportunity would be simple. It's to give students modern AI access while keeping teachers, administrators, and families inside clear structure of oversight, privacy, and trust. We're

148not asking schools to handle students or hand students uncontrolled technology. We are giving schools the control layer around classroom AI because at the end of the day, whether you like it or not, AI is not going anywhere. And in 20 years, students are going to be using AI the same way they're using calculus, if not more. And so we have to not only give it to them, but teach them how to use it in a responsible way. And that's a big thing about Honor League. So our goal is to help districts teach students how to use AI responsibly and not pretend that it doesn't exist. And we would love for Denal to be the next part of that step. Uh that's all I have for you guys. I do have good goodies for you guys

149actually. So I'll come around and give those if I can. >> You last said >> I have like goodies for you guys. Oh, can I come around and give them? >> Certainly. >> Awesome. Please. As as they say, bribery gets you everything. Kevin, can you tell me what powers your platform? Yes. >> Thank you because a lot of models are specialized for different things. So we use a mix of deep infra models based in the United States. We also use Gemini and OpenAI, basically the big three. Uh, and then I guess for backend and hosting, it's everything's run through Google. It's the safest way to do it until we get our own servers, but we use uh Google Cloud and Firebase. Um, and everything that we use, we have a non what's it? Non-data retention

150agreement. So all of this data that's stored and students put in, it cannot be sold, it cannot be traded, it goes nowhere except for the servers. Uh, my partner, he wasn't here tonight, but he he works in a cyber security firm called NES Technologies. The uh the president of that actually works at our school, and they've worked together for like four years. So, we're really big on cyber security. We did with his name's Mr. Dino. He's the head of our tech department. Um we did weekly pen testing, like penetration testing to make sure that nobody can like get in and do anything. Really, the only way anyone could hack our server is to Google, which is a much bigger problem and would I don't know why you'd be hacking a small startup if you could

151hack Google. Any other questions? >> Board members, please. Any questions? >> Yeah, I like the fact that uh security model is really up there in terms of the way you're doing that, but you'll also have a lot of personal information from the students captured in a lot of this information. It doesn't matter that this the information is stored locally. There is always a chance that some of that data can be leaked. So what are your protections to normalize or at least to ensure that personal identifiable information for young students uh doesn't get associated with the actual student. >> So yeah, again we um again big I'm not the person to ask about it. I I wish my partner was here. A big thing that we focus on is cyber security. Um because we essentially started

152it with Mr. Dino and my partner's name is Trevor. He they they've been working together. They have I'm only sort of new to when it comes to technology and coding. I've only have like a year or two experience, but they have he's been working with AI and cyber security for over five years. Mr. Demino's had this company for his company for 20 years. And again, we do weekly penetration tests to make sure like nobody and steel data and um it's like breaking into >> Yeah, >> I know I'm not answering that exactly. >> Great a great way to answer it, but there's another perspective that you have to look at it. So AI built off of robotic intelligence and repetitive uh testing will take the information that you put in there from students and begin

153its own associations. So it will create its own associations and sometimes that information can come out to other students and protecting >> this in information I forgot what they call it fragmentation or what do you call when AI makes up stuff based off the information it has and feeds it back to the public and a lot of times it's not correct yes >> or at le fictition fictitious. So that's one of the things I'm just really aware about that >> AI sometimes doesn't have the controls and can give back to students personal information that can lead to rumors. >> I know what you're talking about. Um and with that again we have the not like I think it's called non data retention agreement. We have those with each of the AI providers like we specifically

154went to it and said we can't work with you unless you do this. And so, um, if if that were to happen, like anything that they put in, it stays to that specific student and it's it's not it can't go anywhere. It cannot. If it did, it's a much bigger problem that has to do with the actual company themselves, uh, those companies. >> Yeah, that's the thing with AI. It's it's growing and it's trying to think and and open itself so we can learn and do better. And sometimes I'm not too sure on the controls around that. >> Okay. You know what? Let me um can I get back to you on it? Um I'll talk to him and see what he can look into. Um my personal phone number is on there as well

155as my business email. >> Yeah, I've seen a lot of a lot of really bad information go out especially for military. Uh a lot of the u figmentation that AI creates is just put a lot of bad information out there. >> Yeah, I board me. There's other questions. >> No questions. But thank you so much for coming and talking to us about this and and kudos to you guys for just creating this. I mean, it's it's really impressive. >> Yeah. Thank you guys. Thank you. So, I mean, I gave most of you my business card. It would be very wonderful if any of you could reach out and maybe we talk over the summer in a personal meeting. I can give you a live demo of it. There's also in that packet I gave you,

156the I think the front page got cut off a little bit. There is a QR code that you can scan and it'll it will bring you to a like a an extension of the website that we made for a convention we were at where it'll you can you basically get a virtual ticket and you can walk through the student and teacher side play with it yourself as well as addition. >> Yeah. Thank you guys for your time. Very very much appreciated. Any other questions, guys? You good? How well does this work on iPads? >> So, it's it's designed for it works completely fine. The thing is it's designed for school devices. Obviously, if a student's at home, they're not going to like the reason the reason it works so well at the schools we've p

157tested with or not, just tested with is because students in school AI is banned on their school devices. So this is the only AI that would not be banned. And so you have to use this in school, but then if a student's using it at home, it's they're kind of just going to go on chat tot. But it can work on any any device. It's designed for mobile computer, etc. >> The re it says built for Chromebooks, but the reason why I asked because I work in a school district and their district devices are iPads, not Chromebooks. >> Yeah. So yeah, it would it would work perfectly fine with iPads. Other questions? Sport members. >> Well, I'll take the opportunity to say, Mr. Ran, first of all, giddy up. That was awesome. I'm so glad

158to see you. First of all, it's late. It's And you're you're here to uh talk with us about this. Impressive. So, sir, very impressive. >> Very much appreciated. >> Um, I do appreciate you coming here and sharing this with us. Um, I think this is great. I think this is fantastic. Well, something we'll definitely uh take into consideration. Um I I like the gumption, sir. I think uh this is great. Take the initiative to do so. And uh I think uh being an entrepreneur, go get it, man. >> Yeah. Yeah. So, let's get a meeting set up sometime. I'll show you how it works uh in person. >> I think that would be a great idea. >> Thank you guys. >> Thank you. Thanks for coming, Mr. Oh, and congratulations. You're graduating in two weeks,

159you said, right? >> Yeah. Yeah. We're a little bit later after you guys. Oh, thank you. Yeah. I I'm I'm going to Georgetown. >> Thank you. >> Oh, very nice. >> Um I'm a little mad at my school because for some reason we have to end at like the last week of June, which sucks before I leave. But hopefully I think they're going to try and re next week. >> Anyway, thank you all for listening. >> Thank you. Thank you. >> Any other public comments, guys? Going once, going twice. All right, moving on to um Oh, sorry. Before we move on to item number 17, uh two two quick things. I want to make sure, Mr. Pepe, that I get this on record. So, board self-evaluation committee ad hoc started tonight. Chair folks, you got

160the notes. Okay, cool. Just making sure. And um to echo um Miss Green's sentiment, we had a uh session, we had sessions last week, we had a session yesterday and there's one more tomorrow, right? And that's ahead of our uh June 15th date. So would encourage anyone who has not participated yet to please participate. Um and also invite everyone to come on the 15th as well to listen to what uh what kind of data we got. All right. So moving along to item number 17, executive session. Uh the Dillan Board of Education will now adjourn executive session to discuss items that fall within specific exceptions to the Open Public Meetings Act CJSA 104-12B. Confidential matters discussed by the board during this executive session include items related to um federal law, state law or court rule,

161individual privacy, collective bargaining agreements, pending or anticipated litigation uh and personnel. Um any discussion that does not need to remain confidential made public as soon as it is practical. Minutes of the executive session will not be disclosed until the need for confidentiality no longer exists. All individuals who may be discussed in executive session have been adequately notified. Action will not take place after the conclusion of the executive session. Uh may I have a motion uh to move to executive session, please? >> Move to go to exec. >> Second. >> All those in favor? >> I opposed. >> Okay. So, we will be adjourning from executive session as we won't be taking any action. I look forward to seeing you. The next scheduled full board meeting is July. >> Don't put me on the spot. It's

162okay. >> It's like 16. Let's see here. July >> 21st. >> You got me. >> So, the FedEx full board meeting is July 21st, but perhaps we'll be seeing you sooner than that for our special meeting on the 15th and perhaps other meetings we may have to call. Thank you so much everyone. Have a great evening.