001Good evening everybody. Today is Thursday, June 4th, 2026 approximately 7:32 to uh today is the special meeting of the board of education, Franklin Township Public Schools Board Administration campus main conference room. Can I have a motion to open up this meeting? Seconded by Bill, seconded by Jimmy. All in favor? I can have a roll call. >> Mr. Demangio, >> yes. >> Mr. Grio, >> present. >> Miss Maris >> here. >> Mr. Parker >> here. >> Mr. Feet >> here. >> Miss Welsh >> here. >> Miss Wilson >> here. Dr. >> here. We have a quorum. Um, Brian, can you uh read the Open Public Meeting Act statement? >> In accordance with the Open Public Meeting Act, public law 1975, chapter 231, Sunshine Law, copies of the public meeting notice were sent to the Courier News,
002the Home News Tribune, the Star Ledger, the Franklin Reporter, Tap into Franklin Township, Franklin Township Clerk Manager, District Schools offices and associations, PTO presidents, and posted on the district website. >> All right. All right, folks. Um, let's do the P pledge of allegiance. Uh, Lori, can you lead us? >> Where is 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. >> All right. All right, folks. Uh, we're going to uh open up comments to the public from the public. Five minutes only. Uh, agenda items only. Can I have a motion to open up for u public comments? >> Motion to open public comment. >> So moved by So moved by Nick, seconded by Bill. All in
003favor? I >> I um public is yours. >> This like at a wedding where you have to wait for the groom and bride to dance first. Um, can't speak and write at the same time. Um, well, I'm here to welcome the new guy. >> Who Who's the new guy? We don't know who's the new guy yet. >> Well, I guess we're going to find out later. Um, I'm I was ready to come up when he was already up here. I guess I'll wait till he he comes later. Uh but uh I just wanted to say while this isn't your last meeting, John, we are going to miss you. The this place has changed over 10 years and it's because of you. These these other people help, but they did their best when they stayed out
004of your way. So, we're going to miss you and I hope you can tell uh your successor about uh the great relationship between your this form of government and our form of government. Thank you. >> Anyone else coming up? Mr. President you almost got caught there. >> Hello. Uh Deb Pillo um Franklin and I'm waiting for Wendy. She's not here yet. My co-president um at the Franklin High School PTSO, Dr. Maroon, we would like to welcome you. Hasn't been officially announced, but we would like to welcome you. Um, and we're so very, very, very excited to have you. We look forward to having a longstanding, successful, happy relationship with you. Um, we thank Dr. Ro Valley for all that you've done, but we're looking forward to this new chapter. Thank you very much, >> Mr.
005President. Seeing no one else from the public, I move to close the public session. >> Second. So moved by Bill, seconded by Nick. All in favor? >> I >> so moved. All right. We have one uh item on the agenda and uh which is P1, the superintendent contract approval. And I'mma read it. P1 approve individual employment contracts with Dr. J Maroon from September 1, 2026 or sooner thereafter through June 30th, as detailed in the exhibit attached here to and made a part of the minutes. The contract shall remain confidential until approved by this board. Can I have a a motion to approve it? >> So moved by May. >> Second by the board. Brian, um, give us a roll call on that one. >> Mr. Degio. So, I'm good with everything, but officially I will
006abstain. >> Mr. Griffo, >> are we making comments now, Mr. President, or just voting? >> I will allow comments before we adjourn >> from the board. >> Okay, I vote yes. >> Miss Maris, >> yes. >> Mr. Bar, >> yes. M. >> Yes. >> Miss Welsh. >> Yes. >> Miss Wilson. >> Yes. >> Dr. Hawkins. >> Yes. >> So move we have our new superintendent as of September 1 before I have um Dr. room come up. As uh with the last board meeting, as you could tell with the dates, we have a little gap here and we we need someone to fill in that gap and steer the ship steady while that gap is here. And with that said, um as announced last time, Dr. Dan logger will be our interim superintendent as of July
0071. Dan, can you come up to the podium and say a couple words for us? It's >> your first test, Dr. Ler. >> I will just say um thank you board of education for putting your trust in me. I am >> you we lost us. But I think I am I think we need a better >> but I think I'm most excited about our superintendent. I think he did a great job. >> Hold on. You used the mic. >> Yes, you do. >> All right. technical difficulties >> as of July 1. This is this is going to be your ship. So, >> testing testing. So, in a word, thank you. We're all excited for Dr. Maroon. I'm excited for the summer. It's going to be a real busy and fulfilling summer. and thank you for
008putting your faith in me. But I'd rather the attention be on Dr. Maroon and of course Dr. Ravali. Thank you. >> All right. Um the time everybody been waiting for. After 4 months of searching for our next superintendent of schools, working with the consult group and creating a profile for our next superintendent, reviewing so many resumes and interviewing candidates for long hours. We even the the the superintendent that u Dr. Maroon could test to, we put him through the ringer. But our board education have found the right person Dr. Jamal Maroon. I will ask Dr. Maroon to introduce himself after the well the board already and we will post a video message from him on our website tomorrow. You can also speak to him after the meeting or when he returns in September to lead
009this district. Thank you again. The podium is yours. Uh good evening everyone. I'm not normally nervous. Uh but today is a little extra nervous because I have my parents here and they don't usually travel with me to work events. So, I want to thank them for being here. Um, first I'd like to begin by expressing my sincere gratitude to Dr. Hopkins and the members of the boards of the Franklin Township Board of Education for the confidence that you've placed in me and for the opportunity to serve as the next superintendent of the Franklin Township Public Schools. I also want to take a moment to thank everybody who is here today. Uh, members of the admin team, uh, who've been incredibly welcoming and warm as I've come in. uh members of the various associations in the
010district, members of the community, including Mayor Kramer, um and all of the council members who are here, uh Debbie from the PTO, um and all of the other community leaders who are here joining us today. Um I recognize the importance of this decision and the responsibility that comes with it. I'm honored by your trust, humbled by your support, and excited to begin the work alongside of you in service of our students, staff, families, and community members. I'd also like to take a moment to thank my family who's here with me. >> Sorry, it's been really emotional lately. >> All right. I want to thank all the members of my family and friends who are here with me, uh, including Father Simon Elhesh, the pastor of the St. Charbell Church on the corner of Franklin Boulevard
011in East Avenue. my mom, my dad, my siblings, my family members, my friends, and my wife Lisa. And thank you for your continued support, your encouragement, your patience over all these years. Uh your belief in me has helped guide me through every step of my personal professional journey, and I'm grateful to have you here to share this very special moment. And to my two sons, Nas and Sav or Nif and Savino, thank you for always being my biggest supporters. Uh you have shared with me thousands of students, countless evening meetings, weekend events, and more school activities than most kids could ever occur. However, through it all, you've always cheered me on. You've kept me grounded, and you've reminded me every day why this work matters. Everything we do as educators is ultimately about creating opportunities
012for children like you. And I think that's what drives me as I do my work. So, I want to also take a moment. Um, she's not here, but members of the Manville board were saying they were going to try to come, but we had our scholarship night, and that's where I was prior to coming tonight. Um, and I want to thank the members of the Manville community for their for the opportunity to serve as their superintendent. I am incredibly proud of the work that we were able to accomplish over the last 5 years as superintendent and the previous five years before that. I'm grateful for all the relationships that I was able to build with the students, the staff, the families, and the board of education, and I look forward to that here. So, for
013me, tonight is extra special and extra surreal because Franklin is more than just a community where I'll work. It's actually the community that helped shape who I am. My parents immigrated to the US to escape a civil war. Sorry. Um they they came here to build a better future for our family. They arrived with little more than $50 and a dream. >> Sorry. Time to get this. I'm telling you, I got to start over. This is uh it'll be now or when I retire when I cry like this. And that's about it, right? Um thank you. Uh so my parents immigrated here with $50 in a dream to escape the civil war in Lebanon. Um they arrived with little more than $50. Um and they brought they decided that they wanted to provide their children
014with the opportunities they never had. Like many immigrant families, many immigrant families here in Franklin right now, they settled where they had family connections and that brought them to Central Jersey. And I always wonder why we didn't go to LA. The weather there is fantastic, right? But we're here. that my family originally settled in New Brunswick and my parents worked really really hard to build a life for our family, my siblings and eventually we moved to Franklin. Um, we lived on Arlington Avenue. My mom still is there and they wanted to have a safe community where their children could grow and thrive. But more importantly to my parents, they wanted to be close to St. Charbell Church, the parish that they helped build. And that helped grounded us in this community. For me and many
015of for me, many of my important childhood memories were made right here. I spent countless hours playing ball in our parks and on our streets and getting yelled at for playing ball in our parks in our streets, participating in community events and building friendships that remain important to me today. I'm almost positive Mr. Grippo gave me detention, but I can't really prove that. And my connection to Franklin has remained strong over the years. No matter where my life has taken me, Franklin has always been my hometown. And that's what makes this opportunity extra special. Joining Franklin Township Public Schools is not simply the next chapter of my professional journey. It's an opportunity to give back to my community, to give back to the place that I call home. For more than 20 years, I've been
016privileged of serving as serving as an educator um and serving students, staff, and families in various roles and most recently as a superintendent in Manville School District. Through these experiences, one belief has remained constant. Every child, every child deserves to be known, supported, challenged, and provided with opportunities to succeed. I believe that strong schools are built on strong relationships. They're built when students feel valued, when staff members feel supported, when families feel welcome, and when communities work together towards a shared vision for success. Franklin Township has a very proud history, exceptional staff, talented students, supportive families, and a strong tradition of excellence. And for those of you who know how far Manville away, it's literally the next town over, we would always look to what Franklin was doing to see what we can do and
017how we can grow and get better. Um, so with that said, I'm very, very excited and recognize that I'm joining a district that has many strengths that are already in place. And I'm excited to learn from those who know this community best. And I would be remissed if I didn't take a moment to recognize and congratulate Dr. John Revali on his retirement. Over the past several years, I've had the chance to work with John as a colleague here in Somerset. He's been a mentor to me and to many others in the field. For a lot of superintendents are in our area. Like I said, Franklin has been a district we looked for and look to that especially because of our focus on equity, strong community partnership, and thoughtful leadership. John, you've done a tremendous job
018leading this district and I'm looking forward to building on the work that you have created and I wish you nothing but the best in your retirement. I'm grateful for the relationship that we've built and I look forward to you staying in touch and hearing all about Penn State and the RV and all that good stuff. And as we prepare for this new role or as I prepare for this new role, my first priority will be in listening and learning. I look forward to meeting the students, the staff members, the parents, the community leaders, and all the residents in the township. I want to understand what you value most about Franklin, what aspirations you have for our future, and how we can continue to continue to build on this district's success together. I believe that solutions
019best emerge when people feel heard, respected, and included in the process. My commitment is to lead with transparency, collaboration, integrity, and relentless focus on what's best for our students. The work ahead is important and together we will celebrate successes, navigate challenges, and continue creating opportunities that prepare every student for a successful future. So, I'm incredibly excited to begin this journey with you. I apologize for crying. And thank you again to Dr. Hopkins and the board of ed for this opportunity. Thank you to my family and friends for their unwavering support. And thank you again Franklin Township for your warm welcome. I look forward to serving alongside of you in the years ahead and for the first time as your superintendent to be. Go Warriors. Mary, you want us to take the picture now or before
020we adjourn? Let's do it now. >> All right. Let's go prop. >> Yeah. Hey, really nice. Well, this side gets Bill. He's going to be jealous. Sorry. Lo, Bill. All right, folks. Uh before before we adjourn, as I've stated, I'mma I'm going slip in the good of the order for the um board members. Uh, for the good of the order. Uh, Mayor, you have anything for the good of the order? >> Oh my goodness. Dr. Hopkins. Dr. Hopkins. What did I say when we were walking up here? Do not call on me first. I got to get my thoughts together. >> Well, I'm good. >> Okay. >> Um, welcome. Where is Dr. >> Oh, there you are. Welcome on board. Uh, really looking forward to having you with us. Yeah, I I I see I
021see your son Steve pointing at him and um yeah, it's it's it's going to be a fun and challenging and beautiful journey. >> All right, thank you uh Claire. >> Dr. Marine, welcome. We look forward to working with you in the many years to come. >> Thank you. >> Um go ahead, Nate. >> Welcome. Congratulations. and I have my list started. I'll see you in September. >> Uh Jennifer, >> welcome. >> Um Jimmy, >> I will uh seed my time to uh Bill Grio. >> Uh Lori, >> welcome Dr. Maroon. We've spoken a lot over the past couple of weeks and um I'm very excited about your ideas for the future and where you're going to help us grow even further in Franklin. So, welcome. >> Thank you. The floor is yours, Bill. >> It's
022your turn. >> All right. Very good. So, um, first of all, I only thought that Italians cry. So, welcome to the club many a time. I've done that many a time. And Jamal, you've been in my office many times. So, I I remember you've come a long way, baby. Right. The first thing I want to do is to congratulate Brian Banano on a fantastic job that he did for the engineers. He provided pizza sandwiches, but not only that, he um worked with the management team that put this together, and he really had a servant's heart for many, many, many hours. I'm going to ask the new superintendent in September to figure out a way to give him some comp time, but we'll work on that. He the man really worked to make sure that everything
023was an integrity, and I usually uh give Brian a hard time, but tonight I want to be easy on him. He's he did a wonderful job for us. The second guy who did a wonderful job is John Ravali. uh he did move the needle on this district over the last 10 or 11 years. I remember the first time I met John and I invited him at the time I was doing the Fourth of July fireworks in Franklin. I raised the money for it, all that kind of stuff. something had changed. But I remember that 11 years ago on July 4th, he I introduced him to Mayor Kramer at the stage and that's when the relationship began between the school board because John was focused on making sure that the municipality and the and the board
024of ed has worked together. And over the last 50 years that I've been here, this is my 50th anniversary, by the way. You'll hear about that more later. But anyway, over the last 50 years that I've worked here, it always wasn't like that. There were times that those guys up front there wanted to gut the sue board for the taxes because we had a vote on the budgets. But since then, it's been peaceful and it's it's it's been a great ride. And John has been truly um a a charismatic leader in Franklin Township and a person who cared about the students, listened to everybody. I don't always get along with him because I, you know, I don't mix words with people, but I really have the highest respect for everything he's done, for our pursuit
025of helping the Franklin Food Bank, for our pursuit of a new YMCA in town. He's been a cheerleader and made big progress on that project and so many things the preschool program. I could go on and on. Zoo fall and everything else. So, John, we're going to miss you. Um, and I I'm sure that Jamal will follow in your foot in your footsteps. Um, I talked about the rigor of the of choosing Jabelle. There were many fine candidates and I compare this I'm glad we have a member of the clergy here. I compare this experience that I had with a conclave. Now you all know what a conclave is. We just have our wonderful hero Pope Leo the 14th. That was a conclave. This was a conclave. They locked the door. Brian stood in the
026hall. Oh, I thought I didn't know if he had a gun or not, but he stood in the hall. He locked the doors. Couldn't go out. He had to go to the bathroom. You had to knock on the door. No one was allowed in. This was five or six nights, five till 6 to 11 every night cuz we wanted to make sure we had the best candidate. We didn't always agree. Then we came together. It was a fantastic experience, the bonding and the respect that we all built for one another to get this guy up here. And uh it it was really it got to one point that one night they took out a box and had paper ballots. I said what is this? This is what they do in the cysteine chapel and and
027not to vote for him but just to work for the process. It was it was just a wonderful wonderful experience. So Jamal, I I welcome you on behalf of my own history in Franklin. I'm hoping that you create the footsteps that John Ravali started. Thank you and God bless. >> All right. >> And his 80th birthday party is in October. I'm I'm going to extend good the good of the order to the captain members um that's up here. Brian, you have anything for good of the order? >> I try not to speak, Dr. Hopkins, as you know. Um, Jamal, I had the pleasure to talk with you a few times. I expect we'll do great things together. Um, we might have to bother somebody here on his boat or in his RV or in his
028pool every once in a while, but I look forward to working with you. Um, and and your family because you'll see this is a family, too. So, good luck. And thank you, Mr. Gripple. I'll uh I'll have my request into you next week. >> And um >> Oh, I forgot one thing, Mr. President. I wanted to dedicate my favorite Frank Sinatra song to Mr. Jamal. We have high hopes. All right. And um everybody keeps talking that Dr. Vali is um leaving tonight. He still has a month with us. So I'm not going uh but >> anything for the good of the order for you? Sure. Everybody's saying all these wonderful things. >> Absolutely. But I had three weeks left. >> Nice try. >> And so is Dan. He already stole my chair. >> No, Jal,
029I'm happy for you. I'm happy for your family. I'm especially happy for this community. I know you as a caring, empathetic, thoughtful leader. We've had many of conversations about students and programs before. Uh I know you have the best interest of students always at the forefront of your decision-m uh and it's always at the forefront of your mind. I I could not be happier for this community. I think they're in wonderful hands. I can't wait to see the good things that you will continue to do here, the programs you'll create, the work you'll do with the cabinet members, the work you'll do with the board. Uh, I'm truly excited. I hope I'm invited back to visit. I I I certainly love this community. It's been a wonderful community. Um, and and I honestly I mean
030this from the bottom of my heart. I could not be happier for this community. So, good luck to you. My number's the same. You have it. You had it before. You'll always have it. Whatever I can do to support you, I will answer. Not for him, but for you. Thank you, Dr. Rali. And um what I would say is um I appreciate I'm not going to say my goodbyes yet to uh Dr. Rali because you still have another board to run um in June. So I'll save that for then. But I'm going just talk about this process. Uh I'mma echo number one what um Bill said, Mr. Gripple. Um, Brian Banano did a heck of a job and um, at least organizing the meetings and Bill said six. It was absolutely more than six. It
031was at least 11 or 12 or it was a lot. We had rounds of interviews and um, we we we would stay in the conference room till 12 1:00 at night. It it was it was grueling and um but we did it for the love of this district and um like Bill said that um we had a lot of candidates had um some good candidates but just like um the cream the um something had to rise to the top and um what I will share with the uh district is that your last interview with us, it was a wow. When we challenged um Dr. Maroon, um cuz we came in the the consultant team gave us um some scripted questions before we met the the the the last couple of candidates. We ripped that script
032up. We said we gonna write our own questions and we gonna give it to him cold uh as uh they not gonna have a chance to think about it and uh he came into the room. We uh asked them a question about this district. He took up opened up his computer, put the the the the information that we asked him onto the screen without even blinking. And that was we knew you was the guy and uh we um we put uh September one we going to put our faith and trust in you. You have an excellent cabinet that you walking into and uh a cabinet u that has uh a lot of years of experience. But um but with that said, like I said, I'm not going to go on and on, but welcome aboard.
033And um you was the strongest of the strong. With that said, can I have a motion to adjourn this meeting? >> Motion to adjurnn. >> Hold on. We had a lot of things saying cake and moved by um Nick and second by who? Bill. Bill. Bill, you was that quick on the draw? >> You sure? All right. All right. All right. With that said, be in a journal. Heat. Heat.