001I'd like to call this meeting to order. In compliance with the New Jersey open public meeting law, commonly referred to as the sunshine law, the violent board of education has caused notice and posting of this meeting to be sent to the following announcing time, place, agenda, etc. The Daily Journal, SNJ Today, the Press of Atlantic City, Mr. Dweno, the clerk for the city of Vinland, and the administrative office public bulletin board. Would everybody please rise for the flag salute? I ofty justice for all. Roll call, please. Mr. Mr. Bono here. Mr. Fio, Mr. Harris here. Mr. Holmes here. Mrs. Perez present. Mr. Rivera here. Mr. Silva here. Mr. Sabrana present. Mrs. Kaspati here. Mr. Merell, is there a resolution for executive session? There is. Now therefore be it resolved that the board of education of
002the city of island school district will convene in executive session for the following reasons is outlined in NJSA 10 colon 4-12. Discussion is about a leased property employment matters and any matters falling within the attorney client privilege to the extent that the confidentiality is required in order for the attorney to exercise her ethical duties as a lawyer. Do I have a motion? So moved. Second. Second. Roll call, please. Mr. Bono, yes. Mr. Harris, yes. Mr. Holmes, yes. Mrs. Perez, yes. Mr. Rivera, yes. Mr. Silva, yes. Mr. Sabrano, yes. Mrs. Katispati, yes. Motion carries. Mr. Jana, do we have any special presentations this evening? Yes. Uh, Mr. Russo and I will be present in the New Jersey Public School Collaborative. I'll be down at the podium in a moment. Mr. Russo. Thank you. Good evening. Uh
003tonight, Mr. Russo and I would like to uh present to you some of the work that we've partnered on with the Ruckers Public School Collaborative. So we're going to provide you a summary and some forward planning information. Okay. Thank you. So the collaborative, what is it? It's about bringing stakeholders together in our public education system to work on systems and initiatives for the improvement of teaching and learning. The core of what we do as a school district. Uh this uh program and research is has been conducted by Ruckers since 2013. Uh a book was written the democracy and democracy and reform in public schools a case for collaborative partnerships uh by Saul Rubenstein Charles Hexure and John McCarthy uh all who work at Ruckers University. Saul Rubenstein is uh one of the professors that that
004we've had a chance to to meet with. The research shows that there's 40 years of reform has largely failed. Reform efforts such as Abbott uh in our school district here throughout the state and and nationally. But what has been found to be effective are collaborative partnerships between management and the union between central office, school leaders, management and the associations UAW, VA so on and so forth. When unions and management collaborate and work together to make decisions, you actually can find 12.5% increase in student test scores in math and language arts. So when Mr. Iano first brought this to me and he gave me a book. I was very skeptical as I am of most, you know, changes in education or so-called educational reform models. But as I read this, I delved really deeply. I read
005it cover to cover and I actually read most of it twice and underlined things. This is an educator's dream because this is a paradigm shift. It's a mindset change. 40 years of uh whole school reform or reform efforts have largely failed not here in Vinland but across the United States because they're led by the wrong people. They're either led by industry who are not necessarily educators who have different motives or they're only led by one part of the stakeholder or one group of stakeholders, right? Be they school administrators or whomever. But what this does is it shifts the paradigm and it says the answer and the only way really to improve our schools and improve the outcomes for our students are to involve all the stakeholders together who have a say, who have some agency
006in what we do. And when you engage people, you make everyone a part of the process, you have greater buyin. It uses the association or the union in general terms because we're the folks that provide the education and many educational efforts that we've done across the country in New Jersey and even here right in our past have largely failed because they have failed to gain educator buyin. This model is different. It gains educator buyin by making us part of the process. And if there's one thing that educators all want to do is to be part of the solution, we need and want right to work on some things together. So this shifts the focus of what school administrators, boards, and unions do from that confrontational thing about grievances or contracts every couple years to the
007one goal that we all share. Let's put most of our energy into the goals that we share, which is making outcomes for students better, which is increasing student learning. If we put most of our energy into that and most of our time, that moves it forward. So, what we've done, Mr. Yano invited me, I read the book. Um, members of central administration and some folks met, we discussed um some pilot schools early in the fall and we met with Saul Rubenstein over uh Zoom. We had a virtual meeting in February. We actually traveled up to Rutgers, New Brunswick and we went to the uh school of labor and management studies and we had a wonderful workshop. This proves the model. You know, essentially the the the genesis behind this is that when you put different
008minds together who see problems from different positions, you get better solutions. So there's a little simulation where you do something as an individual and then you do it with a group of people and they collect all the results and the results quantify mathematically that the group results are always significantly better. And that's what this book outlines. If you don't have it, either the district will buy them for you or the association will for your summer reading at the beach. And um it proves it right. Moving test scores up is huge, 12 and a half%. But that's just a small part. You increase buyin, you increase morale, you make people want to stay, and you make educators want to engage in the process. So that was the first uh trip up to New Brunswick. We went
009again on April the 4th and we participated in what the Rutgers team calls their interd district network conference. So we were there with a massive uh number of other schools from across New Jersey. Uh some who were visiting as far uh as far as uh from South Africa. The entire nation of South Africa is adopting this as their public school model. Um we met with what were called rollalike teams. um union people met with some other union people about how it works in Newark, how it works in Matuchen, how it works in Delran, and what it's done for them. And then in the afternoon, we as Vinelanders, uh Mr. Yano, uh Mrs. Deari, and representatives from our four schools, we sat and we brainstormed together. And I think it's we have some really exciting things
010planned. On June 17th was when we had our follow-up meeting here at Landis. We brought the four school teams together, the leaders, union, and the participants, and we had a great conversation about what will we do next. And what we came up with is during the summer, uh, central office and each of the school teams, we're going to develop a series of brochures, activities, uh, introductory materials so that when the pilot schools kick off their programs in September, they'll have a unified presentation that kind of defines what the collaborative public school model looks like. Uh the schools that are involved are Wallace, Barsley, Winslow, and Jstone. Uh and then in fall in fall of 2025, those pilot schools will begin forming their collaborative partnerships in their buildings to sustain these collaborative efforts. At the district
011level, we'll also be starting you know our del our district level collaboration teams central office inviting in the association leaders as we plan professional development let's say as we look at evaluation data as we set up assessment work we're trying to work more closely together as Mr. Russo noted when we bring in different perspectives we'll get a better final outcome. So this works because it goes beyond that traditional conflict that unions typically have with management, right? Because we instead of working 85% of our time on the 15 things that we disagree on, we're going to spend 85% of our time on the 85% of what we do agree on. Right? When you involve educators in school-based decisions and planning, it significantly increased uh staff and most importantly educator buyin. When educators buy into the efforts
012and the models, the programs, the curriculum, it has better outcomes for students. Happy content educators are better educators. Better educators of course help our students succeed. What the schools also report that are already participating in this is a reduction in grievances because what this does is it forces the people on the school level and on the district level to talk to each other. That's the genius, right? It creates an opportunity for dialogue. I've said for many years at this microphone and and beyond it that when we talk about any of our problems, we always come to a solution. The problems arise when there is no dialogue. So this builds in a framework to have educators in a school with the management of the school at a district level, yourselves, the central administrators, some of the
013the union leadership, we have dialogue. We're going to work on problems proactively and that's the key. Almost everything can be solved ahead of time and uh with reduction in grievances, we have uh also less transency of the teaching staff. You will retain more teachers. The research says and proves uh in New Jersey and California and about uh 20 or 30 schools nationwide, people don't like to leave these schools as employees. So it's a joint design for professional learning. Teachers, administrators are going to collaborate and map out their professional development. uh for example um these are um efforts that will make everything more relevant and more relevancy in the classroom is what leads to student growth. And just following up on that, as we work together collaboratively with our with our association reps and and teachers
014and our collaborative teams, you know, we'll also become more efficient because we'll be able to identify programs that might be better aligned to the needs of our students by involving our educators who are on the front line in that decision-making process. So it be we become more efficient, we become more focused, we're we are able to make better decisions when we bring in our VASA reps, our VA reps, and our central office folks as well. with the support of of our board of education and and as stated the evidence is clear. When you have these collaborative partnerships, you build morale, you build buyin and you build energy and synergy around your initiatives. So the Ruters faculty have done a lot of uh research in New Jersey and in California and across the country, but New
015Jersey is now becoming ground zero for where this is working. And it's working at all types of schools from bigger districts like Newark to smaller districts to districts that are more impoverished and districts that are more wealthy. Um what's very important though is that the outcomes uh have even higher impacts in high poverty settings. All right. So this is essentially something that we've been waiting for for a long time. Um significant predictors of higher and faster growing test scores. We all know where our scores are and where we would like them to be. This will have the biggest impact and move the needle on that better than any other effort we can make. We don't need AI. We don't need more computers. We need better collaboration between educators, managers, planners, boards, and uh we can
016get there. So with teacher collaboration, high partnership, school districts report more frequent data uh driven instructional conversations, better mentoring, cross uh grade planning, and the outcomes. Um besides a significant improvement in student test scores, teacher retention, right? So, we're in a situation where we're bleeding staff and we have vacancies. That's all across the United States, not just here. But this is a district that attracts, retains, and uh will keep people here for careers with a methodology uh like this. And just as an example of what it would look like, you know, we have our shared goal, which is to increase student achievement. And then you'll see the district leadership team in the middle there with you know composed of a variety of perspectives and uh uh professions. Then we have the association. We have the
017board and then we have our four pilot schools. Those fi four pilot schools will then be the entry point for the remainder of the district to look at the success that they're having and then hopefully expand this in the following years to additional buildings. Right. So what do we get out of this is as we said um measuring for student test scores at about on average language arts and math 12 and a half% increase is a national standard. In many cases it's been more um districts with high concentrations of poverty have had even higher increases. And this is a given that student, you know, standardized test scores are not a sole or even necessarily the best indicator, but they are an indicator, right? A rising tide lifts all boats. And when we have good things
018happening in our schools and our staff feels that they're listened to, they're taken seriously. Their views are not only just tolerated or heard, but they become part of the decision-making and part of the conversation. That's what tends to improve instruction. we more efficiently use our resources. There's nothing worse than abandoning things one or two years later because we find out they didn't work. Well, why didn't it work? Because one person picked it. But if you involve greater voices from the get-go of the practitioners, you will find we'll have lower supply budgets. We're not going to waste materials and supplies that we adopt and find out, well, that didn't work, right? We'll probably get it right from day one when there are more voices. So increased uh impacts for students um more successful teaching, higher impact
019teaching and the last uh thing that I'll leave you with is the word trust. This is an experiment in some ways, right? And it's something that we invent as we go along. But one thing that we have to learn to do and what we learn to do with this workshop is something very difficult and that's to trust each other that we're all here for the right reasons and that's advancing the outcomes for our kids. If we have that in mind, all other things can be taken care of. Thank you. On this last slide, we just have a couple stats about who else is involved. We noted it early earlier. 31 districts in New Jersey, 250 plus schools, 10,000 teachers, 160,000 students impacted. About 12% of New Jersey schools are involved. Uh and also the entire
020nation of uh South Africa, which is really incredible when we had the opportunity to to hear from those practitioners at our Rucker events. So one, I would like to publicly thank uh Mr. Russo, you know, for the partnership and and it's all about building trust and moving forward together and thank the uh the board for also supporting uh this process, this endeavor that we've got ourselves locked into and to some of our school leaders who will be, you know, helping lead the way in developing this public school collaborative here in Vinland. We are the only south uh South Jersey school district. Uh we will be a lighthouse district for uh Ruckers. will be the trainers of the next generation when Milville and Bridton and the other school districts uh in South Jersey want to be
021involved. That's the next step. Thank you. The critical uh juncture is that we want you to be involved in it, right? You're the leaders of our district and we need you as part of our our group and at the table. Thank you. Thank you. There's a question. It sounds like a great program and and I'm just wondering what what when can we expect how long down the line before we start to see some results like test scores and things like that? It it's going to take some time, right? Right. Because it, you know, empowering it. Our schools are not designed for this model, right? We have a very hardcore tradition of, you know, the principal is the is the leader of the building, the the superintendent is the leader of the district. Changing that mindset
022takes time. The folks who are involved are are super excited. I know I see Miss Tomlin here and Miss Rossado from um from Wallace. I'm not sure if Mr. Pierce is here, but we also we we have these school leaders who are invested in opening up and becoming vulnerable through the process. So, it's going to take a couple years of time, but I think what you'll see is improvements in climate and culture that then lead to kids wanting to be in school, teachers wanting to be in their building every day, and their voice will be heard, better decisions, better climate, and then you'll see the test scores come through. You want to add something? Yeah, great question, Mr. President. I think what we have to do is start slow. That's one of the lessons that
023they gave us and they cautioned us if we try to attack everything in year one. We'll run out of energy very quickly. We'll get frustrated because there's some you know conflict involved and a lot of discussion u that takes time. So really what they recommend is that we we try to pick some lowhanging fruit achievable projects. They can be anything from beautifying your school, making people feel better being there, right? Uh is a first step. You start to build trust. The the teams at the school of the union association leader in the school or some other educational leaders, the administrators start to work together. They build a greater degree of trust. The second time we move up, maybe now we're talking about professional development planning or curriculum planning or you know a policy that's going
024to be in front of you. It could be about cell phones for example. Right now, how do we impact kids? And as time goes on, it's a constant process of re-evaluation. What did we do? Did it work? Do we retrench? Do we move on to a new goal? And what we're going to see is scaffolding, you know, and then eventually we're going to see those outcomes. But most of these schools have already been doing this for about 10 years. I have one question. Um I see most of these schools now the high school there's no plan to are any of the schools in in New Jersey doing anything like with a high school will it reach that high or I know we are not doing that I'm just curious. So we started with four schools
025small scale so we could build up some success build up some positivity and then we're going to open it up to our other leaders. the leader has to be interested, right? The the the association in that building, our teachers need to be interested in doing this because it it does take a lot of time and and collaboration and trust development. So, we hope to eventually get this to all of our schools, but it's going to take it's a multi-year process. Because I just saw that they were the lower, you know, level schools, elementary and then we had just Mrs. Cot spending my whole career at the high school. Change tape. It's so big. No, no, no, no. I know that. I was just I didn't know if it was just targeted for middle and elementary,
026but if it could that's what I was asking. Other districts like Newark are trying to adopt it from prek through 12. We just thought in in discussions it's so hard to enact big changes at this big two building campus that we wanted to see if we can get it working on a slower scale and we started with two elementary and two middle schools. Comment superintendent. It's kind of like what we're doing now with the student collaborations at the schools. Correct. Absolutely. So, you know, we've touched on it at the middle school and high school level, right? So far, right? What did you say? Those student led means high school, then we brought in middle school. And the plan for next year is to bring in elementary, working with our school leaders with elementary level, working
027with fifth grade students to get their voice, you know, heard as well. So, that's that's the next layer. And now you're just going to do more of that with the staffing. Now it'll be you know working with let's say uh Wallace school is planning a specific instructional event and activity they'll bring their team together and instead of it a plan being developed by one person the plan will be developed by the community that is interested in supporting that process having different outcomes come together different voices different perspectives and just starting from there. So it could be as deep as you know uh setting up the color run at Memorial School or or or a multicultural night or it could be on the day that the school has to develop their building based professional development day.
028What will that look like having the team come together with teachers? You know what are we going to offer? Who can present it? How's it going to be designed? So changing that dynamic that's going to be I think where a lot of time will be spent. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. [Applause] Are there questions or comments on the HIP report? Seeing none, we have public comment on agenda items or any other item or any other matter. Please limit your uh time to three minutes and state your name. Mr. M Marita Diaz, 729 West Oak Road, Violent, New Jersey. Um, good evening, Superintendent Yano, members of the Violent Board of Education. I have had the privilege of working in this district for 22 years. And during that time, I had the opportunity to collaborate with
029number of outstanding leaders. In all that time, I can say without hesitation, wait, sorry. I have had the opportunity to collaborate with a number of outstanding leaders. In all that time, I can say without hesitation that Mr. Yano has been one of the most committed and effective superintendent I've worked with. Our district thrives because of the equity and structure he has put in place. And under his leadership, our students and staff are given the support they need to succeed. Mr. Yano's dedication to ensure the best interests of both students, staff, and at the former forefront of his decision making him making has been clear and it has and is because of his leadership that we are moving in the right direction. I firmly believe that consistency is the key to the continued success of this
030district. What is not broken should not be fixed. We've seen the positive impact of Mr. Yano's leadership and we allow Mr. Yano to continue his leading us towards a brighter future. We all strive to do what's best for our community. Thank you. Farah Rivera. Good evening. I'm Farah Rivera, 333 East Walnut Road, Violin. Um I am here to support um a VHS high school teacher. His name is Mr. Malachce. He's an ELA um teacher. We recently found out that he was going to be put on the table to be let go. Um my daughter is a first year freshman. Um she has succeeded her first year at VHS and we're eagerly happy that she has become this great student. And I want to thank Mr. Malachce for everything that he has done. He has created
031incentive programs for these students. he has promoted um reading like my child has come home and said Mr. Malache said put my cell phone away stop being on social media and read a book there aren't too many teachers out here that are still enforcing reading books we are on our phones all day on social media on Tik Tok and I just thought that I'd come down here and support Mr. Malache because I think that what he's done and the programs that he has implemented for these students to read to put the social media away to put the phones away is something great. We need more teachers like him. So I just wanted to come out here and support him and hope that he is given another chance and continues to be a VHS teacher. Thank
032you. [Applause] Carly O'Donnu. Good evening, board of education members, central administration, and my fellow administrators who are here tonight. As I close out my first year at Dr. William Many School as principal, I wanted to take a minute to thank the board of education and Mr. Yano and his entire team for their continued support and leadership. When I began my administrative journey in 2021, Mr. Yano was new to the district. At that time, we were navigating the uncertainty left behind by the pandemic, and I had deep concerns about student achievement, school safety, and overall staff morale. But from the moment I stepped into my role as assistant principal at many, I immediately felt the support from Mr. Iano, his team, and this board. Through administratormies, book studies, school visits, observations, and meaningful, constructive feedback, I
033knew I was a part of a system where leadership was hands-on, collaborative, and focused on real progress. The concerns I once had are now areas where I've seen tremendous growth. With the leadership of Mr. Yano and Mrs. Dearie, our supervisors, teachers, and fellow administrators, we've made academics a true priority. We've committed to being instructional leaders, digging into data, collaborating in PLC's, and making decisions grounded in what is best for our students. As I reflect on this school year, I'm proud to say that every grade level at Veny's has shown strong growth in both reading and math. The implementation of the new reading program in kindergarten and first grade has been a gamecher. For example, 70% of our kindergarten students are now reading on or above grade level. that that's not just my success, it's our
034success as a district team and it is something I'm incredibly proud of. School safety was another concern I raised early in my career under Mr. Yano's leadership. We welcome Mr. Leonard Wolf whose presence and initiatives such as armed guards, routine building visits, and consistent communication had made have made a significant impact. As an administrator and a mother, I'm grateful every day for the steps we've taken to keep our schools safe. Just today, we kicked off our first day of administrator academy. Retirees Carmy and Sylvia offered thoughtful thoughtful advice, reminding us to lean on each other. I'm proud to say that we've built a leadership team here in Vinand where that is truly the case. I can reach out to any colleague and know I'll be met with support, honesty, and willingness to help. That kind
035of trust makes my do job not just fulfilling, but enjoyable. To the board of education, thank you for being visible, engaged, and committed to our students. Your presence at our school play, our fifth grade moving up ceremony, and read across America have meant so much to our school community. I hope you'll continue to visit many. And finally, to Mr. Yano, thank you for your mentorship and support over the past few years. You've helped transform a passionate kindergarten teacher into a confident, capable, capable leader. A superintendent who calls you when you have back surgery just to check in is a true leader. I'm going to end with this. If you told 10-year-old Carly, who grew up cheering at violent high school events with her father, that one day she'd be leading a school in this very
036district, I'm not sure she would even believe it. Thank you, and let's continue to grow together and do great things for our students and community under the leadership of Mr. Yano and this board. [Applause] Charlie Santos Good evening. My name is Shirley Santos, a retired bilingual teacher and a grandmother of two students attending VPS. I'm here tonight to participate in the discussion of one of the most critical decisions a board makes, a vote on the renewal of a superintendent's contract. And this is not merely a procedural vote. It is a decision that will profoundly shape the trajectory of a school district for years to come. I stand before you tonight to advocate unequivocally for the renewal of our superintendence contract, building upon a foundation of proven success and a clear vision for the future. We
037all understand the immense responsibilities that come with this position and the challenges that constantly emerge. It requires not only a strategic vision but a deep commitment to every student in our district and our current superintendent has demonstrated these qualities not just adequately but exceptionally. I had the privilege of being a teacher under his first two years as a superintendent and while retired both as a volunteer and a community member which has given me the opportunity to see the impact of the superintendent's vision from two different perspectives. Mr. Jonno has f fostered an environment of collaboration and support starting with the strong partnerships with agencies and community organizations through the CPAC committee he began and the extraordinary back- to-school extravagana which is in year two and to all the exceptional work around portrait of a graduate
038wi graduate which has thrived under his leadership. Academically the our students are thriving. We've witnessed a notable improvement in graduation rates which have steadily increased improvements in math and English language arts standardized test scores and showing significant gains in both literacy and mathematics across all grade levels. We have seen an improvement in attendance as well. And these are not mere statistics. They represent real children achieving real success. This progress is a direct reflection of the instructional leadership and focus on student success championed by our superintendent. Renewing this contract isn't just about acknowledging past successes. It's about investing in continued progress and stability. It ensures that our district maintains experienced leadership, a consistent direction, and the momentum to build on the significant achievements already made. disruption at this critical juncture would risk derailing the positive trajectory
039we are on. Therefore, I urge each and one of you to really consider the compreh comprehensive evidence of our superintendent's performance, his strong leadership and collaborative spirit and how it has benefited our students and district. Because ultimately, that's what it's all about. It's about our students and nothing else. And frankly, given the demonstrated success and positive trajectory of our district under his guidance, not renewing this contract contract simply makes no sense. Let us vote to renew his contract so we can provide the stability and the continu continuity our students, staff, and community deserve. Thank you. Jessica Marcato. Good evening board members and community members. My name is Jessica Marcato. I have had the pleasure of working with the violent public schools districts for 21 years and counting. I'm also a proud parent of an upcoming
040junior and a long life member of this community for over 30 years. I am here today to share my thoughts on the agenda item 7B. Having seen past superintendent, some of which have been quite effective. I can honestly say that none have matched the dedication and leadership of our current superintendent, Mr. John. He has been a committed, highly visible leader within our school community and steady presence, collaborative spirit and strong focus on student success have truly made him a valued pillar of our district. His contract is now up for review and I believe that both the district and our community would benefit greatly from renewing it. Considering the positive impact of his leadership, he has done an exceptional job boasting morale across our schools, our community, and among our students, which is something Violin hasn't
041experienced at this level before. Given the accomplishments we have sincerely, we would hate to see him. We would hate to lose him or any positive energy our community spirit has gained, especially during the difficult times that we're now facing as our fractured nation desperately searches for unity and renewed hope. And finally to Mr. Jonno, thank you. [Applause] No more yellow sheets. Is there anybody else wishing to speak? Superintendent recommendation. Excuse me. I guess we have one more. Please give us your name. Thank you. Good evening. My name is William Turner. Uh, and I just wanted to come and speak on behalf of the VHS superintendent. Uh, I am a resident of Violin. I'm also a student of Violin High School. I'm also alumni of Landis Middle School and an alumni at Violin High School. Uh,
042and a proud father of two small children who attend Violin uh, school district. Uh I am in strong agreement with the other speakers uh who have spoken out tonight for Mr. Yano. Um he has stood tall in the face of adversity in a variety of school community issues and student achievement as evident here tonight. his collaborative spirit um and positive relationships not only with the violent education association but also he has a full support of the district's administration which I think is highly important in a day when DEI diversity equity and inclusion is unpopular Mr. Yano has gone the extra mile not only to hear community concerns but he has collaborated with the community to add value to marginalized voices and groups. I have been blessed to be a part of this equity committee that
043he meets with on a monthly basis. Um collaboration and shared visions are not buzzwords for Mr. Yano. they are actually action words that he models and takes seriously. So, I just wanted to share my support for Mr. Yano, tell him thank you, and uh continue to do what you're doing. Thank you. Superintendent recommendations. requesting discussion and approval regarding personnel items 1.1 through 1.6 and I believe Miss Grace has a statement about 1.6 and I believe a couple board members may have a couple questions about that one too. Yes. So if I may just on item 1.6 6. I just want to clarify that any decisions uh pursuant to that resolution uh from June 26, 2025 through August 6, 2025 will be placed on the agenda for board approval and ratification at the August 6, 2025
044meeting. Mr. President, does um this resolution include terminations? I saw it was all about hiring. Is terminations included in this resolution? this specific to hiring to prepare for September. Okay, perfect. Thank you. Will we still be meeting for policy and personnel committee meeting in July? For the month, we'll meet at the end of July for the August to prepare for the August meeting. We'll we'll review all of the recommendations that have been made through the month of July. So, you'll see all of that in writing. Thank you. Any further questions? Do I have a motion? So moved. Roll call. Mr. Berno. Uh, yes to all except I recuse myself from 1.3. Mr. Harris, yes. Mr. Holmes, yes. Mrs. Perez, yes. Mr. Rivera, yes. Mr. Silva, yes. Mr. Sabrana, yes. Mrs. Scottis body. Yes. Motion carries.
045At this time, I would like to uh congratulate uh Dana Blakeley for taking on the position of director of transportation. Let's hear for Dana. Deep breath. First, I have to thank God um for his guidance, his grace, and his strength throughout this entire journey. Um I absolutely want to thank the board, the board members, the administration um for believing in me and giving me this opportunity to be here and serve as the supervisor of pupil transportation. I want to thank my husband, my children, my mentor, they my grandchildren, they all been my foundation, my support, my backbone, just there for me all the time. Um, I have to give it up for my amazing team that's here with me for always supporting supporting me, believing in me, and keeping me on my toes at all
046times. Um, just thank you for everything that you guys have done for me throughout my journey at the board of education. And I continue to think I'm going to take registration and transportation to new heights. Thank you. [Applause] Congratulations. Requesting discussion, approval regarding procedures and operations items 2.1 through 2.6. Questions or comments. Do I have a motion? So moved. Roll call. Mr. Bonto. Yes. Mr. Harris. Yes. Mr. Mr. Holmes, yes. Mrs. Perez, yes. Mr. Rivera, yes. Mr. Silva, yes. Mr. Sabrana, yes. Mrs. Scott, yes. Motion carries. Motions carry. Requesting discussion and approval regarding buildings and grounds item 3.1. Before we I just want to tell people what this is. It's um Vinand High School South complex being used by the city of Vinland. Fireworks Friday, July 4th. Rain date July 5th. City of Vinland um
047police department national night out Tuesday August 5th. And family night um and trunk or tree event Tuesday October 21st. Questions or comments. Do I have a motion? So moved. Second. Roll call. Mr. Bono? Yes. Mr. Harris? Yes. Mr. Holmes? Yes. Mrs. Perez? Yes. Mr. Rivera? Yes. Mr. Silva? Yes. Mr. Sabrana? Yes. Mrs. Katispati? Yes. Motion carries. Requesting discussion and approval regarding finance items 4.1 through 4.23. Questions or comments? Motion. So move. Second. Roll call. Mr. Bono. Yes. Mr. Harris. Yes. Mr. Holmes? Yes. Mrs. Perez? Yes. Mr. Rivera? Yes. Mr. Silva? Yes. Mr. Sabrina, yes. Mrs. Cottispati, yes. Motion carries. Proposed items for review or discussion or adoption by board me or superintendent's contract of employment renewal. Madam President, move to provide notice to the superintendent of non-renewal of this present contract expiring on July 30th,
0482026. Is there a second? I have Excuse me. I'm going to do questions. Okay. Questions or comments? Mr. Boner. Okay. Okay. Uh, good evening everyone. I'm going to use a a football analogy. Four years ago, our team, this district was on the one yard line on the wrong side of the field. We were just going through the pandemic. We were we were we were questioning where to go next. Around that time is where Mr. Yano came in. Since that time, our team has been marching down the football field, has been marching, making plays, a pass here, a pass there, a run here. And we see it evident by some of the individuals that spoke tonight. And we see it evident as a high school graduation rate passed right down the middle. The portrait of a
049graduate, ninth grade academy, CPAC, engaging the community like never before. Promotions of some of our best and brightest to positions of vice principal and principal. The relaunch of the violent education foundation. Armed guards that was discussed for years and we finally got it done. Attendance is up across the district. Test scores are up across the district. and bring in individuals from the outside of our district that fit great with the culture that we're currently building here in Violin. The studentled meetings of high school students and middle school students, engaging them to see what they would like to experience here at Violin Public Schools. So right now it is not the time to change the quarterback. Right now is not the time to get the backup of the third string to continue this drive that we
050have towards the end zone. It is not. It would be foolish in my opinion to do that. And this is not a knock against any of my fellow board members. I respect each and every one of their opinions. Each and every one of them I respect. But in my opinion, it is not time to change our quarterback. [Applause] Not only this, but our community deserves to weigh in on this matter. Parents of this school district do not know this is occurring tonight. teachers, educators, administrators do not know or did not know until a couple hours before this meeting this was occurring tonight. It is not fair to have not have all our stakeholders weigh in on a very important decision, a decision that's going to affect our school district for years to come. [Applause] And
051personally as a parent of children in this school district, I have the full confidence in Mr. Yano that he is doing the job that we tasked him to do four years ago. I am fully confident that with his leadership and with this board, we are going to reach that end zone. And I am fully confident that he is the man for the job right now and for years to come. So that's why I am in support of renewing his contract for the determined amount of time that we determine. But I am I am in full support of that. And uh solicitor, I have a question. This vote tonight, is it based on the current individuals that are here as board members or is it based on the quorum that's allowed? because obviously we have one
052board member that's not here. Sure. So pursuant to NJSA18A17 uh-15, it's actually based on the full uh majority membership of the board. So it would be the the total nine. Okay. So I I have a a proposal. I propose that we postpone this vote and and have a proper conversation regarding this involving all stakeholders because this is a giant decision. We are only in year two of a five-year plan. We need to see this out. We need to see the progress that I know is going to happen and is currently happening and we need to see it come to fruition. So, I propose that we I propose an amendment that or propose a resolution that we push this further down the road at a determined amount of uh whenever we decide that. But I a
053motion tonight to vote to table this resolution. Second. Is there any more discussion or is Dennis the only one? So So right now there's a motion to table on the floor. Correct. Cedric second it. What did you say? I said is any other board member allowed to speak or is Everybody's allowed to speak. Oh yeah. All right. So Dennis, thank you um for your words. the the bar in my opinion in our district needs to get set higher. A lot of things over this past year and a half that I've been on this board, it seems like we keep lowering the bar and expectation for our students. Athletics, we always had a high standard for our athletes and violent always. We lowered the grade point average down to I believe 1.95 I believe is what
054it is. Correct me if I'm wrong please. Um days absent we have a big truency problem in our district. Was brought to my attention by our guidance department that students were allowed to graduate this year that didn't uphold standard. Me being a business person in the city of Vinland, I take that very serious. I'm also a graduate of Ireland, class of 95, I worked very hard. Education didn't come easily to me. I had to work extra hard. I had to go to school. I had to go to class. I had to pay attention. I had to stay after, get tutors. I had to work very hard. But I when I went to high school, I took that very serious. Worked hard to get my diploma. It's not just a piece of paper that we hand
055out at the end of every school year. There were students that graduated this year with over 50 days absent. The state requires 10%. Okay. At a level, why are we lowering our standard and allowing kids to graduate with over so many days absent? We're again continuing to lower our standard for our students and I'm not okay with that. We need to raise the bar. A lot of these things that were discussed tonight are because we have a cohesive board that are helping drive and make these decisions happen. Yes, we do. We do have a cohesive board and we work together to achieve all these things that are happening. This tonight presentation, violin and Ruckers public schools collaborative. That's a great thing for our district. We've been saying it for a long time. Why aren't we
056listening to our staff members? But you you talked about employee morale. I don't know what you guys are hearing on employee morale, but I'm hearing the exact opposite of what I saw tonight. Okay. And I appreciate every one of you and I know some of you guys that came to the microphone tonight and your words mean a lot. They really do. This is not an easy decision for us board members. Okay. But there's also some things that are behind the scenes that we do as board members that the public's not savvy to. Just like the things that you do with Superintendent Yano that we're not savvy with. We're not here for the day-to-day operations. We don't get to see him at that level unless we take the time like I have and I've worked side
057by side with Mr. Yano at the schools with the student meetings, the one that I mentioned tonight with this collaboration and it's a beautiful thing. It really is. So I see the really good in Superintendent Yano, but I also see some stuff that I really have a hard time with and I struggle with. And me as a board member, I have the right for that opinion. Again, I I work closely with with everyone and Superintendent Yan knows my feelings. We've talked. We have an open open dialogue. If I ever have an issue, I bring it to his attention. I sat with him in his meetings or one-on-one meetings in his office and we talked about it. But the standard I feel like we just keep lowering the bar and making exceptions for students that really
058aren't doing their part. You bring in community to help these students. Bring the parents in. If the parents aren't okay with a good proper education, we need to educate them. We need to bring them in. Sign the contract for our students just like all the other schools do in other districts around. Okay? We should be upping the bar, not lowering it. That's where my head is at. And we are moving in in the right direction. And I think we can and we can continue to do that. But we have to take a closer look at raising the bar and being you mentioned the word trust and honest. We have to be trust and trustworthy and honest to the entire board and the entire community, not just the people that are making the decisions. You know,
059if you make a mistake, own it and let's talk about it. Don't sugarcoat it and don't pass the buck to somebody else. Okay, so that's that's my take and we are heading in the right direction, Dennis and I and and it's a big part of the entire team. Excuse me. Sorry. Thank you, [Applause] Mr. May I? No, can I respond to some of the points that they made before or just want to you know the athletics GPA uh change was a recommendation that came from the athletic department which aligned violin with NJSIA. I know it's a change uh there was a lot of um push to be competitive in all our sports. We pushed our students to achieve higher than that minimum mark, but we had put our students at a disadvantage. And this came
060from the athletics department and I supported it because we want our students because we know athletics saves kids lives. Kids that are involved in sports, we were needlessly uh allowing some students to become uh ineligible. Uh we raised their grades, brought them up, and now they're able to participate. Uh students allowed to graduate uh who didn't who had more than 50 days. the the 10% uh percentage indicates chronic absenteeism only. It does not have anything to do with graduation requirements or attendance requirements. Our attendance policy requires students to be present for a certain amount of the year. So when the student reaches 40 or more days, they're in a nonredit status. Uh the high school administration for the last two years for the first time in recent memory actually under my direction used the attendance
061policy to actually tell students sorry you can't graduate because you didn't get the courses. You didn't you weren't in school long enough to acrue credits to get those classes to meet the graduation requirements. We have kids right now who were supposed to graduate who are signed up for summer courses to retake their their classes that they didn't get credit for. So, I'm not sure where the narrative is that we're allowing kids to graduate above a certain level. Some kids had challenges. Some kids had medical issues that were significant that required them to be in a hospital for two months. We're not going to penalize those students because they had a medical condition. We're going to support them. administration worked with those students. [Applause] That's I want to and we discussed this topic. So, so, so
062we just wanted to make sure we're on the same Absolutely. But the message that I received from guidance was that the calls were made and the directive was put out for them to call these students, parents, to let them know that they weren't going to graduate. and then that changed and they're upset and wondering why it changed. Obviously, if a student has a health condition or an IEP or, you know, behavioral issues, then there's exceptions to be made, but the standard is 10%. And that's 18 days out of 100 day 80 days of school, guys. It's not, you know, missing 50 days or 60 days, whatever it is, of school. That that's that was my point in the whole and I just want to clarify it was the exact opposite that happened. Kids were told
063they were going to graduate incorrectly and it was rescended when they went back and recalculated and realized that they had made a mistake. And that came from the guidance department and uh Deb Quinn, our leader at the 1112 building. She helped educate our folks that they were calculating the information incorrectly. They had to call parents up and tell them, "Sorry, we made a mistake. Can I see that in writing or can I get requests open request some type of records on the I I can have the principal of the school absenteeism in the high school and and the amount of students that graduated over that 10% state level or but but it's not 10%. 10% is the chronic absenteeism." Historically, it should be 20 days. when I was in high school, couldn't miss more than
06420 days. If you did, you had to go to um you know, it was almost like a summer school where you had to make up that time. So, what's it called today? I'm sure you have time where these kids can make up their time for being We have so students have to in years past, we had funding to provide summer programs for students to get into a summer program. Now we have the ability if a child needs to make up up to two classes the district plays for the student to enroll in an online uh program. I think it's called educier right edgeser and so we have students enrolled in that they have to show evidence that they are in enrolled they have to pass that to get their to get their diploma so they're
065in in a non-graduation status some of those students that were like two classes away we let them walk because they showed evidence that their parents had paid for those courses or we paid for the courses for them. So, uh, but we have all that information. We can we can share that with you. Yeah, we would love to see it. Mr. Pres, so I just wanted to say Dennis, first of all, I know you didn't mean I appreciate what you said about not calling us anybody on the board foolish. We work very well together. This board um sits together, they talk together, they work together, they're they're respectful of each other and each other's opinions. I've come to know them as my friends and also have a lot of respect and they're my colleagues as well.
066So, um all I want to say is the only part that I wanted to say was that I don't know how um people don't know that this is on the my phone has been blowing up. So, um and not only with teachers and parents but with people in the community. So to say that they weren't aware, you know, maybe that's been your your um experience, but it has not been my experience. So I just wanted you to know and it's obvious by the letters we've been receiving and and things like that. So it's they know that it's on the agenda for tonight. So that's all I wanted to say, but I respect what you said. Yeah, you can say what my clarification was that the community didn't know it was happening tonight. They the people
067that Okay. So, the people that are reaching out to me knew. Yeah. Okay. They they didn't know. I'm just I mean, we we both have a different experience obviously, but Yeah. Exactly. Um and and that could that is certainly the case, but um everyone that I've that's contacted me did not know this was happening tonight. It's been the rumors have been out there for for a few months. Yeah. But they did not know this vote was happening tonight and and mine's been the opposite. But I just wanted to clarify that. Mr. Rivera, u you said this wasn't a knock on any particular board member and then you said we'd be we were we were being foolish. Is that what you said? That is what I said. Yes. Well, I don't appreciate that comment because I
068may be a lot of things, but I'm not foolish and I take this very, very seriously. Noted. We're talking about this man's employment and the future of the school district and our children, our staff, and our taxpayers. This about the most important thing I've ever done, and I don't consider myself foolish. the decision in addition to spending 10 years not say individual was foolish. Excuse me. Said the decision would be foolish not any certain individual or go the people making the decision were being foolish by doing so. Okay. We we have a we have a difference of opinion. I'm offended by it anyway. So if I wouldn't be the first time John if I could just indicate there is a motion to table on the floor and that's a procedural motion not a substantive motion.
069So at this point, Miss Katispati, if we can just work out the motion to table, which again, it's a procedural motion that needs uh the majority of the present members, not the majority of the full membership. So that would be uh four affirmative votes. I believe Mr. Holmes seconded that motion, didn't you? Roll call, Mr. Bono. This is to what? Explain, please. This is the present motion to table uh the to delay the the vote this evening that was proposed for 7B. Correct. No. Mr. Harris? Yes. Mr. Holmes? Yes. Mrs. Perez? No. Mr. Rivera? Yes. Mr. Silva? Yes. Oh, sorry. Mr. Silva, you have to recuse yourself. I'm sorry. I recuse myself. My vote is going to be yes, though. Mr. Sabrano, no. Mrs. Scottispotti, no. The motion to table does not carry. With a
070vote of three yeses and four nos and one recusal. Now, that being said, Sandra, correct me if I'm wrong. You you mentioned that the entire board has to be here for No, I I was just mentioning what um what what membership is necessary for procedural versus substantive motion. Understood. So, at this point, we revert back to the initial motion at hand in terms of the uh non-renewal. So, Miss Katispat, you're more than welcome to open it up for additional discussion or the vote. Is there any more additional discussion to that? We had a motion in second call. Mr. Bona. Yes. Clarification, please. We are voting yes on renewing or again. Are we voting yes to renew? So the the statute says that the board is obligated to provide notice of nonrenewal. So I understand that's
071a little bit of a double negative here. So the the motion pending is to provide notice of nonrenewal. So a yes would mean that there would be no renewal. Does that make sense? It does. Thank you, Mr. Harris. Sure. The motion is to provide notice of nonrenewal. Okay, my vote is still Mr. Holmes. No. Mrs. Perez, yes. Mr. Rivera, no. M Mr. Silva must recuse himself correctly. That's correct. Say it. Mr. Silva. I recuse myself, but it's still a no. Mr. Sabrana. Yes. Mrs. Katispati. Yes. I believe the motion does not carry as it requires a majority of the full board which would be five votes. We have four yes votes, three no votes and a recusal and and one absenteeism. Correct. So the motion does not carry. Motion does not carry. [Applause] We have
072to do it bill pay list. Do we have a motion and second? So moved. Mr. Bono, yes. Mr. Harris, yes. Mr. Holmes, yes. Mrs. Perez, yes. Mr. Rivera, yes. Mr. Silva, yes. Mr. Sabrana, yes. Mrs. Scotty, yes. Motion carries. Mr. Holmes. Just a question, Sandra. Where do we go from here based on the vote for the superintendent's contract tonight? So the the statute does not require there to be notice of renewal. It just requires statute of uh sorry notice of non-renewal. So should there be no notice of non-renewal up until January 31st, 2026, then the contract uh the existing term is is essentially extended for the same term automatically 5 years. So, we have until January 31st, 20226, correct? To provide notice. Very good. I just have a question and I need to recess with
073um Miss Grace for a second. Bear with me. Did that answer your question, Mr.? Yes, ma'am. Thank you. Board member comments, Mr. Rivera. No further comment. Mr. Harris. Yes. Uh, just want to take a minute. Uh, I know we're beyond it. Just want to explain my vote. Can't hear you. I want to explain my vote. I don't think I made a lot of friends tonight. Made some enemies. We're not here today. Uh, this is my first time on the board. I have been up for two days. Uh, I want people to know I received all your texts, all your calls. I listened to them all. Didn't have conversations. And for those that I told I can't talk about it because I'm not on the board. That's just the rules. Uh I don't agree with having
074to vote for a person's contract a year before the contract is expired. Having said that, I'm in this position. Uh I've had people tell me abstain. I've had people tell me don't show up. Uh for me that's and I don't want to call call anybody names and make a mistake but for me that's not the right thing to do. Uh for 30 years I was a law enforcement officer and I don't uh run from my responsibility. uh for those that have uh enlightened me on things that were said about me. I'm not going to make it about me, but uh I heard I heard the things that were said about me during my election has nothing to do with tonight and that didn't play into me uh play into my decision. Uh this is not
075about me tonight. I just wanted to take a minute to explain my vote. And for those that were uh my friend prior to this, I'm sure you'll be my friends afterwards. The good thing about it is for those who weren't really my friends and now they're mad with me, mad enough where they're not going to come around, well then they weren't my friends anyway. Uh my last point I want to say congratulations to Dana She deserves it. Uh I wish her the best. If there's anything I can do, let me know. Uh and I was fortunate to be a juvenile officer. And I know when you need things done, who are the people that you call? And now she's in a key position. I wish her the best. Uh I hope I was able to
076explain myself a little more. And uh thank you. [Applause] Mr. Silva, just want to congratulate Miss Blakeley. Um, looking forward to working with you. And that's it for me, Mr. Holmes. Yeah, I could uh jump out of my seat right now. Just, you know, if you don't, and I don't want to be religious, but if you don't believe in prayer, you really should because I've been praying on this literally since it happened. and the things that were coming against Mr. Yano um as you can see prayer works and Mr. bono to any of your concerns. All of these things can be worked through and it's just a discussion that you need to have and trust that administration, not only Mrano, but his central office and our building administration that's here tonight, they're doing what's right
077by our kids every single day. So saying things like, you know, taking a guidance counselor's word over a superintendent and principles that sit out here tonight. That that you know doesn't sit well with me. We have to build trust between board and superintendent and I shook my head when you said cohesive because you as you can see this is a split board when it comes to the superintendent and we've known that for for for the past at least year and a half. Yes. So, we have to work together and it's a partnership and everyone's got to come to the table and be honest and be forthright in their dealings and not say one thing to the superintendent, one thing to me and one thing out in the streets. Yes. Absolutely. Thank you, sir. Thank you.
078Good morning, Mr. Bono. I'd like I'd like to congratulate the entire class of 2025 on their graduation. Uh, congratulations, Mrs. Blakeley. Good luck in the position. It's a tough department down there from right here, but I think you can handle it. I think we Yeah. Um, and enjoy your summer for everyone that has the two next two months off. Thank you, Miss Perez. Mrs. Blakeley, congratulations. I hear great things about you. So, you bring them to higher higher levels. Like you said, you go, girl. Take care. Take care of business. Um, Mr. Harris, I'll always be your friend. You're a good man. And as we've spoken, this whole board, these are these are people with integrity. These are good people. Okay? We have difference of opinions on certain things. We bring different things to the
079table. And I've been praying as well, Cedric. I've been praying as well. I've been praying for my fellow board members. And I've been praying for Mr. Yano. And I've been praying for this decision. These decisions do not do not do not come lightly. We do stay up at night. We care about not only Mr. Yano, not only the central administration, but we care about the teachers. We care about the administrators. And let me tell you, we care about the children. So I I have the utmost respect for each and everyone. They they stood on their conviction and now we just keep moving forward and doing what's the best for the what do you say Mr. Rivera? We're the best school district in New Jersey. Have a great evening everyone. Mr. Sabrina, Miss Blakeley, did they
080give you a 10gon hat and a badge so you could say there's a new sheriff in town? For three decades now, 20 as an employee and 10 sitting up here. All I've been hearing, not all, many times I've been hear about quote unquote the mess in transportation. I don't believe it's a mess, but there's obviously lots of work to do. I wish you the best of luck. I know we're all committed to helping you any way we can and so have at it. Uh well, I wish all of our students a safe summer and our staff a little bit of rest anyway and blink your eyes and you'll be back doing it again. Thank you, Mr. Yaniano. Yes. Um congratulations to the class of 2025. Uh incredible ceremony. The threat of rain was on the
081horizon. We kept it moving quick and we shut it down just in time. A huge shout out to everyone who made that day possible. Our security team, our transportation team, our teachers, our administrators at the high school. I see Mr. Adams in the back over there. I know everyone was stressed was stress and facilities, the work that they did to get everything ready. and also uh our city uh officials uh L Traumatana who helped organize you know the city's response and support through our police department or EMS and boy was EMS on call we were filling up those uh those ambulances with folks who were just not feeling great in that heat. So overall amazing day. Kids are excited. We're working with the class president, Michaela Giuliani, to find a way to um have an
082opportunity for those students who are interested to have an experience at at the high school where we can have our speeches, do the awards, the part of the graduation that was not uh we weren't able to complete. So I know Miss Kasp Kaspati is also involved in that as well and Deb Quinn and Mr. Adams and Mr. Mason as he takes leadership in July. Um, we also kicked off our admin academy today, which was an awesome day with our new administrators that just got the job and our administrators who've been around and administrators who are retiring and leaving us. Uh, we worked on Danielson today, our teacher evaluation tool. Super exciting. Tomorrow we'll go into school law and inclusive education. We want to wish all of our students, families, staff members a wonderful summer. Stay
083healthy and safe. U wishing our board members some rest through the month of July. We don't have a board meeting which is uh exciting for all. Uh stay healthy, safe and and look forward to seeing you again. You know our board in August and our students in September. So thank you so much. [Applause] I'd like to congratulate the class of 2025. It was a very fastm moving fast-paced graduation. It was kind of exciting because one minute I went to take a drink of Gatorade. Of course, Cedric's handing it to me and the name started getting read really, really, really fast. And then I see Mr. Yano and Miss Quinn run it off the side. We got to get going. We got to get going. So, but it was it was a wonderful um graduation. I
084hope we can do what Mr. Leani wanted us to. I need to thank all of our teachers and staff for what a wonderful year. I hope those of you that can get a little bit of a rest, get some rest. Miss Blakeley, I've heard so many good things about you, especially from Mr. Harris. So, um, I I wish you well and I I truly believe that you're going to be able to do what you said. Um, to my fellow board members, this was a tough decision and a lot of angst for a lot of people. Um, not one person in here made a decision very lightly. There's been many, many sleepless nights, many days. Most of us have full-time jobs and we're still doing this. This isn't just a once a month thing. This is
085a 247 for many board members. And I respect all my board members. Mr. Harris, we have been friends for years in the past and we're going to be friends for years in the future. Not many there are, you know, not everybody's going to have or agree on every decision. We just have to be able to work together. So, with that being said, I hope everyone has a great summer. Don't forget the fireworks next weekend here and then um National Night out in August, which is the night before our board meeting. So, have a great night. Do I have a motion to adjurnn? Second. All in favor? We have executive