001[Music] good evening and welcome to the franklin township board of education regular meeting today is thursday july 25th 2022. john can you do roll call please mr psy here mr grippo here dr hopkins here mr johnson he's on the phone here okay thank you and sammy let us know that he's going to be out of town and i shouldn't touch this and dennis is on the phone i mean i'm sorry walter is on the phone we're starting off great okay john could you read the open public meetings act please in accordance with the open public meetings act public law 1975 c-231 sunshine law copies of this public meeting notice were sent to the courier news the home news tribune the star ledger the franklin reporter tap into franklin township franklin township clerk manager district schools
002offices and associations pto president and posted on the district website thank you dennis would you lead us in the pledge of allegiance of please and into the republic of which it stands one nation under god indivisible with liberty and justice for all thank you dennis bill would you read the mission statement please sure mission statement of franklin township public schools franklin township public schools embraces its diversity forces excellent educational innovation and empowers all students to achieve their highest potential thank you can i get a motion to adopt the agenda please so moved by seconded by walter or why dennis sorry all in favor opposed our agenda is now adopted and now we're on to the superintendent's report thank you first item pandemic protocols 2022-2023 on this evening's agenda the board is considering the 2022-2023 pandemic
003protocols to guide the school district the protocols are well aligned to the latest guidance recently issued by the federal state and local health officials earlier today we uploaded to our website a presentation that we believe does a good job summarizing the protocols i encourage everyone to take some time to review the presentation prior to the start of the school year in short the protocols really do allow the district to return many of its operations to pre-pandemic status while remaining mindful that the pandemic is still with us major changes to the protocols include the elimination of contact tracing quarantining of close contacts and the minimum social distance requirement with that said the district will continue to monitor county state and local levels of covid19 and will continue to work with local health officials in the event
004layered protection prevention strategies such as contact tracing or social distancing and or even masking need to be reinstated again i encourage everyone to review the presentation online and of course if there are any questions feel free to contact your assigned buildings administration or my office directly start of the 22-23 school year earlier today we also posted a welcome letter written by myself to our website again i encourage everyone to take some time in the next few days to review the letter in the letter i explain that on monday august 29th 2022 which is this coming monday we will open the genesis parent portal the genesis parent portal gives a family access to important information for the new school year including your child's bus pass your homeroom assignment and or your child's schedule however prior to
005gaining access to these documents you're going to have to complete a series of other documents or at least acknowledge a series of forms that are also uploaded to the parent portal students in a little less than two weeks as always everyone's hard work is appreciated so again day one september 7th it's just around the corner next week and the week after you'll have some time to fill out forms and retrieve bus passes and all the other good stuff which are sitting online things are getting adjusted and cleaned up right now and will be ready for downloading on monday thank you my board president's report is extremely brief thank you to everyone who worked hard and people worked extremely hard over the summer we think that when school closes in june that school stops but it
006doesn't there's been a lot of hard work in curriculum um facilities as john just mentioned and the business of running the school still continues so thank you to everyone who worked so hard over the summer we appreciate it and i'm sure i'm speaking for everybody on the board we're very excited for a safe and healthy and happy and productive school year 2022-23 so um that concludes my uh board president's report and now we're on to comments from the public can i get a motion to open that so we'll move by argument seconded by dennis on favor all right opposed public comments are now open uh five minutes per speaker on agenda items only if you're calling in please press star five to unmute yourself see no comment madam president i moved the close to public
007session oh john did you have anyone okay motion to close public comment by bill seconded by second mike all in favor opposed public comment on agenda items is now closed and now we're on to our committee and liaison reports bill can you please read the safety report okay um the safety and security committee met on wednesday april 10th via zoom members were my self-chair initiated decide dennis hopkins lori maris altered it mr wilson and dr rivali the use of metal detection wands the committee met and discussed the new policy policy number 7444 use of handheld metal detectors any accompanying regulation the policy committee also met previously and reviewed the same policy and regulation earlier in the week the board attorney had reviewed the policy and the regulation which provides additional details on how and when
008handheld metal detectors will be utilized in schools on school grounds at school sponsored events the committee's questions and concerns as we discussed them were addressed by administration and the policy was placed on the agenda for review by the full board of education at their august meeting the regulation will be placed on the board meeting agenda for review and approval at the september meeting items for review and discussion the committee discussed the preparation for the opening of school dr rivali and mr wilson informed the committee that the secure vestibules in all of our schools are fully functional now and ready for operation school safety related concerns identified in conjunction with school level safety teams and the franklin township police have all been addressed the meeting was adjourned at 7 20 pm thank you my commute to
009facilities and finance autonomous walter as the report with him sure i'll do facilities first and then i'll look for the finance the facilities technology and transportation committee met on tuesday august 16th of this year at 6 30 p.m remotely present were president la court myself as chair dr hopkins mr jackson dr valley mr toth mr bonanno miss betchy mr coretta mr ellis mr mcnamara and miss deblasi we discussed some energy things at claremont the claremont solar report so mr ellis provided the committee with the claremont solar report as per mr ellis the system has generated approximately seventy five thousand dollars in revenue uh to date we also talked uh about a possible dinner program uh through the food service uh margaret de blasi advised the committee about barriers to operating an after hour hours meal
010program to all students some of the barriers included student eligibility staffing shortages supply chain issues and student participation we also discussed uh capital projects where mr mr toath advised the committee that all summer renovation projects have been completed and mr mcnamara advised the committee that his staff is preparing the buildings for the opening of school and q sac facilities review our meeting adjourned at 7 50 pm give me one second finance the finance committee met also on tuesday august 16th via remote starting at 6 pm present where mr jackson is chair president la court dr hopkins myself dr ravalli mr toath uh miss betchie mr bonano and mr ellis we reviewed the view the bills list in financials the committee revealed the bills list for the month of august and the board secretary report transfer
011report bank reconciliation and void check report for the prior month we discussed contracts the committee discussed the award of the following contracts award of annual contracts to s-c-e-s-c for out-of-district transportation for i think this is three three three million seven hundred thousand dollars let me send a zero there john award a three-year contract to pma as a third-party administrator for workers compensation claims for 216 an award to contract a royal disaster recovery for abatement and cleanup work from the fhs pipe break for eighty seven thousand dollars an award a contract to classic floors for the refurbishment of the fhs gym floor for fifty one thousand dollars we discussed charter payments the monthly payment was one million seven hundred forty three thousand nine hundred seventy one dollars and the total year to date is four million
012seven hundred and fifty nine thousand four hundred sixty five dollars our meeting ended at six thirty pm thanks thank you arden could you do personnel please sure the personnel and negotiations committee met on august 17th the meeting began at 6 13 pm members present were walter jackson sami chabon dr hopkins nancy lacour dr wally brian bonanno and jackie schneider i as the chair was not present for that meeting the committee reviewed and discussed the following items merit pay presentations dr brenda sophie director of pupil personal services mr john toth assistant superintendent for business and dr dan logren assistant superintendent of curriculum and instruction presented to the committee the outcomes of their individual merit goals for 21 2022 school year in accordance with their individual employment contracts and njac 6a 23a 3.1 personnel report august 25
0132022 number two review draft of the personnel report for this board agenda appointments include teachers paraprofessionals secretary and interim vice principal extracurricular appointments include franklin high school clubs and activities home instruction alternate education program curriculum revisions job descriptions special education coach academic coach mathematics literacy revision mr bonanno reviewed the creation of the special education coach and new job description and the academic coach job description revisions diversity hiring practices mr bonanno reviewed the working document of best practices for hiring a diverse staff prepared by mr plumber supervisor equity and inclusion community-based instruction paraprofessional chaperone mr bonanno shared a draft of a job description for a proposed type and position for paraprofessionals paraprofessionals approved for this would accompany our transition students to different work sites practicum internship affiliation agreement with cardwell university mrs schneider reviewed affiliation agreement
014for speech language specialist internship and finally for the good of the order dr value reviewed the timeline for upcoming principal interviews for claremont elementary school thank you thank you lori would you read the curriculum and the policy reports please i don't think i have policy but i'll read curriculum now i have the policy here if you want thank you bill would you read policy yeah sure after you want to do curriculum instruction committee meeting occurred monday august 15th via zoom at 6 pm the committee members president were myself laurie maris as chair miss nashida desai and miss nancy lacourt ex officio dr daniel longren and dr john lava ravalli our new business proposals for board consideration included district nj cusack planning team the team consists of district stakeholders that will gather evidence supporting a successful
015new jersey quality single accountability continuum otherwise known as nj cusack review district professional development plan for 2022 2023 this plan identifies the professional development activities planned for district staff members as well as the data gathered to support the need for these power for these professional learning opportunities district mentoring plan 2023 2022-2023 this plan identifies arrangements that have been made to support the successful induction of new district certified staff members district evaluation onboarding plan 2022 this plan identifies a process for onboarding teachers and administration who join the district after the annual orientation activities for teachers or evaluation calibration activities for administrators every august memorializing the 2022 summer curriculum changes these changes include updates in new jersey's nine curriculum content areas identified on tonight's board of ed agenda we also discussed the novel study pilot which was
016for secondary english the purpose of this pilot is to offer a balance in our current reading program between independent reading and book clubs with whole class novels the following novels have been identified for the pilot for sixth grade new kid by jerry craft for seventh grade three keys by kelly yang and eighth grade pride by ibby zovoi georgian court special education study this master's thesis study will examine special education practices through georgian court university september twenty twenty two through december twenty twenty two we also discussed jewelry and metalworking four course proposal this independent study would be available to students looking to build on their learning experiences from jewelry and metalworking one through three finally we also had a couple of discussion items around the district nj process this review process focuses on monitoring and evaluating
017school districts in five key components that based on research have been identified to be key factors in effective school districts instruction and program fiscal management governance operations and personnel the meeting concluded at approximately 7 15 pm thank you thank you bill would you do policy please so the policy committee report is similar to the security and safety report that i just read but i'll read it for the purpose of the minutes the policy committee met members sami shabon the chair william grippo laurie marist dr rivali nancy lacourt mary clark and orville wilson were on this virtual meeting the committee met and discussed a new policy policy 7444 use of handheld metal detectors and the accompanying regulation the policy committee had reviewed the policy at last month's meeting and had some questions about its implementation since
018that july committee meeting the board attorney further refined the policy language and the regulation was drafted to provide additional details on how and when handheld metal detectors would be utilized in schools on school grounds and at school sponsored events the committee's questions and concerns were addressed and the final version of the policy was shared with the safety committee and security committee later in the week upon review by that committee the policy was placed on the agenda for review by the full board of education at their august meeting the regulation will be placed on the board meeting agenda for review and approval at their september meeting and the meeting was adjourned that evening [Laughter] so those were both committee meetings on use of handheld metal detectors one was the policy meeting and the second was the
019security meeting thank you bill and now we're on to does anyone have any liaison reports no okay now we're on to new business i would like to make a motion to move the following r1 monthly reports m1 minutes of board meetings a1 travel and related expense reimbursement a2 affirm harassment intimidation and bullying decisions a3 facilities use a4 district goals 2022 and 2023 you want me to pull that out okay i will repeat i would like to make a motion to move the following r1 m1 a1 a2 a3 a5 maximum allowable cost of independent educational evaluations for the 2022-2023 school year a6 semi reimbursement corrective action plan a7 acknowledge revision to policy appendix a8 new policy first reading a9 updated pea budget a10 employee exam b1 warrants and payrolls b2 financial reports b3 contract approvals a
020through l b4 change orders none at this time b5 award of bid transportation student to and from revision b6 award of competitive contract for synchronous world language instruction delivery service b7 award of a competitive contract for youth development mentorship program at the high school and the middle school b8 supply chain assistance sca funding c1 out of district student school year 2021 2022 c2 field trip destinations none at this time c3 field trip applications none at this time c4 district nj sec planning team c5 district professional development plan 2022 2023 c6 district mentoring plan for 2022 2023 c7 district evaluation onboarding plan for 2022 2023 c8 memorialized minor curriculum changes c9 georgian court special education study c10 course proposals and revisions c11 novel study pilot and textbook approvals p1 approved 2021 2022 administrator merit pay p2
021revised job descriptions p3 create position p four new job descriptions and p5 personal report number two dated today august 25 2022 so pulling out a4 and making a motion to move everything else so the motions for r1 m1 a1 through a3 a5 through a10 b1 through b8 c1 through c11 p1 through p5 can i get a second second second you said that seconded by lori any discussion dennis i'm good nishida bill any discussion no lori no thank you mike walter no okay john can you roll call please yes dr hopkins yes mr jackson yeah miss maris yes miss singh yes dr smith yes president yes motion carries thank you can i get a motion to move a4 district goals 2022 to 23. move by ardenman seconded by me sunisha can we read those before we
022vote on them so dennis would you read the first one health and safety continue to ensure the health and safety of students and staff through policy procedures promotion of wellness programs and facility upgrades that enhance safety and security measures seek out and support those who will benefit most from positive behavior programs and mental health supports and bolsters social emotional programs to protect and support students staff and our community thank you nishida would you read the second yes equity continue the elimination of systemic racism and lingering white supremacy and remove access barriers so all students have equal access to rigorous academic programming ensure that all races are included in the structure of the district and any attempt or practice to dominate a race or highlight another unfairly will not be tolerated thank you arden would you
023do the third staffing support current staff through high quality professional development and opportunity for growth while recruiting and sustaining a diverse high quality workforce thank you bill would you do the next one yeah rigorous programming support policy and programs that address learning gaps learning recovery and learning acceleration to assist students in reaching their full learning potential identify engage and support students who show the need for expanded levels of rigor continue the expansion of innovative college and career readiness programs thank you lori would you do the next one yes sustainability and green initiatives support and create policies to reduce waste and lower energy consumption foster environmental awareness among staff and students and encourage the school community to engage in environmentally sound projects with each school achieving sustainable jersey certification thank you mike would you do last
024sure community engagement work to further relationships and incorporate a multitude of strategies to connect with and listen to stakeholders in order to celebrate and proactively promote the school district within the community at large and to ensure family engagement of students attending the franklin township public schools thank you so it's been moved and seconded any discussion mike no thank you lori no thank you bill arden just on the goals i just want to say that that particular meeting that we had the board of ed retreat was one of the most um stimulating board meetings we've had and these goals were really uh worked over for longer than we expected and it was is worthwhile and it was good to have the back and forth with the board members and the administration and to carve out what
025we think is best for the district thank you argument any discussion no thank you yoshida thank you dennis just to echo what bill said that um just to put the public at ease that we as the board members really took deep dive into these goals and took very deep consideration along with the superintendent and his staff and hopefully we have met the mark for the public but we did not um leave this room without addressing these each individual goal very thoroughly that's all thank you walter do you have anything um no i just want to say great job team that's it thanks thank you um while i didn't attend physically i was on the phone remotely and it was a very robust conversation and probably one of the longest goal-setting meetings that i think that
026we've had in a while and we also had the opportunity of having lenny stevens from john hopkins to do our board training for us on diversity equity and inclusion john can you do roll call please yes mr psy yes mr grippo yes dr hopkins yes mr jackson yes miss maris yes miss singh yes dr smith yes president of course yes motion cares thank you so these new goals will be at the top of our agenda um and this is what the superintendent will base the district's goals on so um good job and now i would like to congratulate our newest hire gal mcgee who is our vice principal at franklin park school so um congratulations and i think maybe your principal wants to come up and say something and then we'd like to have hear
027your thoughts [Applause] always ready president lecourt some rebecca solomon the proud principal of franklin park school and i'm so excited so humbled and excited to have gabe mcgee join the franklin park family but more excited to have her join the franklin township public school family because i believe that gay's future here in franklin township is bright and i'm so excited to bring her to our district so without further ado ms gay mcgee our new vice principal thank you i'd just like to say thank you for the opportunity i look forward to working with each and every one to make sure that all of us our students reach their highest potential thank you very much and welcome to the family when we're done your your family can go up come up and take pictures and i
028think that your daughter has flowers for you good move sweetie can i get a motion to open public comment on move by arden seconded by dennis all in favor opposed public comment on any item is now open if you're on the phone please press star or come up to the microphone madam president seeing no one coming forward i move to close the public session bill one second john did you have anybody no so second moved by bill seconded by den or dennis i don't know why because i keep wanting to be conscious of the fact that walter is on the phone so i apologize dennis yeah about too you're messing me up with that so public comment is now closed and now we're on to board member comments mike do you have anything no thank
029you are you quiet laurie do you have anything nothing tonight thank you bill i'm sure you have something uh just back to the district goals um we did uh agree that mid-year we would uh schedule another uh in-service for the board where we could review and progress monitor i remember that rebecca from my principal days progress monitoring progress monitor the goals and how they're doing so madam president if you could see that that's scheduled for july or february we'd appreciate it thank you i will nishita do you have anything i do um i wanted to also talk about the goals i have been on the board for five years and this time when we worked on the goals i felt that everybody was very mindful of what the community had wanted and we had a
030thorough discussion and it produced amazing results and i hope that it is what the community wants and we our students gain from it that's one um second welcome back to the students and the teachers i'm excited for the new school year i'm crossing my fingers for you and me as i teach as well um and have a fun school year that's it thank you thank you dennis yes um next time we stand or sit in front of the public we will be two three weeks into the school year i'm excited we we finished off the class of 2022 in a strong way they are now off to their future endeavors college military or the job force and i'm excited i'm excited for the teachers i'm excited for the boy i'm excited for the public that
031we are stepping into the school year 2022-2023 and we gonna start off running that's all i have thank you i'm sorry i wanted to sit on and congratulate miss mcgee welcome to franklin park schools thank you walter do you have anything uh yeah real quick i would like to congratulate gabe mcgee i'm excited about what you're about to do at franklin park best of luck to you please feel free to at any time reach out to the board because we are definitely here to support um everything that you do and um to my fellow board members it's been a great uh past school year i'm looking forward to the new and amazing and challenging things we're about to do in the new school year and to all the franklin knights and warriors out there get
032ready get ready to get ready we about to start something absolutely new fun and challenging so get ready for the new school year because it will be here very soon thank you thank you and walter are you available to decorate any more dorm rooms [Laughter] i gotta i gotta check with the foreman chloe um thank you walter there's a lot going on in school a ton of stuff for parents and kids to get involved in a lot of school sponsored organizations i encourage you to be involved in your child's education it's important be involved in your school if you can volunteer where you wherever possible there's so many opportunities encourage your your children to get involved in in the many extracurriculars that there's so many that franklin offers it's daunting but get involved and have
033a fantastic school year because this is just going to be a really good one i'm really proud of the work that we've done so with that can i get a motion to adjourn i can't because i didn't speak oh man like you know what i miss one meeting and i'm blowing it that's okay president the court i just want i'm just gonna take over i just want to congratulate miss mcgee for joining the franklin family uh franklin park school is very close to my heart that's where i started as a pto parent my kids went through franklin park school so you are in you know phenomena you're in a phenomenal building under the leadership of ms solomon and i know you guys will do wonders and i just want to welcome you to the large
034community as ms solomon said to the franklin schools also wishing all the teachers the students the parents in a phenomenal year stay safe get vaccinated if you still are not get boosted and come back to a new school year a healthy school year let's go warriors thank you thank you and i actually forgot to say thank you for running last month's meeting i really appreciate it so um now can i get a motion to adjourn move by what second okay moved by nishita seconded by artificial favor we're adjourned [Music] you