001Hello. Good morning. Here we go. dude. Yes. >> We're not going to hold you up all night. >> Perfect. >> You get together. Yes. >> Thank you. Sure. >> I just Good evening everyone. The executive session of the Wayne board of education regular meeting of August 21st 2025 was convened in the conference room of the Wayne board of education 15 driveway New Jersey. Statement of compliance setting forth date time and location was read in accordance with the requirements of the open public meetings act and a roll call was taken. The meeting was recessed is now being reconvened. I ask everyone to please stand for the flag salute followed by a moment of silence. I pledge algiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands. One nation
002under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. >> Please be seated. Thank you everyone. Mr. Cedadino, >> congratulations on your first meeting. We'll take the administrative report. Okay. Thank you. And it's been a pleasure uh since Friday, this past Friday being my first official day here in Wayne Township leading this amazing school district. Uh getting to meet uh so many wonderful people. I just want to thank uh this board and the community for being so welcoming. Uh this is a great time of the year for all educators and families as we look forward to the uh new upcoming school year. We're very excited about the start of the year. I want to take a moment to thank all of our 12-month employees who have worked so hard over the summer to make sure the
003school year starts off well organized, supplied, well-maintained, and ready to return uh for our second and third and fourth uh which September 4th will be our first day of school with students. The second and third, we'll have our inservice for our staff. So to do that, you have to have new employee orientation. You have to welcome our our staff in. So this week we had a very busy week in our school system. We held our annual new employee orientation on Wednesday and today we welcomed 30 certified and 18 non-certified employees to the district. And I'd like to thank u Mr. Pavlac who um represented the board of education and and spoke to our new employees and Miss Pototts uh from the WA who also welcomed them and gave them very insightful information on need to
004be successful. Uh the new orient employee orientation is comprehensive. It provides all new staff with everything they need to have a great start in their employment the system. Personally, I was able to meet with the new staff and give them tips on uh for their future employment success. Additionally, I utilized some of my personal professional experience in school safety and security to provide training for all new staff members. We also had our administrative team retreat this week. The administrative retreat was also a great time and a wonderful opportunity and pleasure to meet with dedicated collection of leaders. As a team, we explored the school leadership connections in Simon Senk's work that leaders should eat lasts. A uni, we developed a unifying theme for the school district and the importance of empathy and family in the
005operation of all our schools. All of the professional developments this week was supported by the presence of my K-9 friend Daisy. She was there all three days. Um I was also very pleased to have Captain Dan Daly of the Wayne Police Department there to give an insightful uh update to our leaders about the SEO uh and SRO that are representing our schools, keeping your children uh safe and our and our staff safe in the up andcoming school year. It's wonderful to have that partnership with the local police department. I ended my night yesterday. I was invited to the Wayne Valley football kickoff dinner. It was also a hall of fame dinner. It was a great opportunity. We had uh one inductee who um I think was part of the 1967 team. He flew in from
006Perth, Australia to receive his induction. Um and there was also the 1988 team that was I believe 90 and one in their that year and uh had some wonderful representation of that and it was great to see the young athletes there um as part of the team and with the new coach and I I wish them and all of our teams in Wayne great success uh this this school year. We did get uh data from our access scores. Our access scores are for ELLs. It's an assessment from the New Jersey Department of English Language Development Assessment for all K to2 multil- language learners. Uh this is administered annually in February and March with the results released in June. There are four separate subtests listening, speaking, reading, writing. Students receive language proficiency level of 1 to
007six with a cut score of 4.5 needed to exit multilingual status. This year our participation rate was a total of 335 students across gate grades K to 12. All of them took that ACT the access for ELLL's assessment and this year uh this is 25 more students that took it in 2024. You can so you can see the trajectory and the change in our our environment and our culture becoming more diverse within our schools. The participation rate for accessing ELL's assessment is 98%. There is uh there are 34 different languages spoken in our Wayne schools with the top three being Spanish, Turkish, and Arabic. By comparison, in 2025, 32% of the students who took the test assessment scored at a proficient of four or higher. This was a 28 as compared to 28% in 2024.
008So we had a 4% increase in our proficiency. When comparing Wayne's access for ELLL scores across grade levels, there is consistency in the numbers of students scoring at or above the cut score with each of the grades K to 5, 6 to 8, and 9 to 12, showing 31% of our students scoring four or higher on the assessment. uh this uh demonstrated the language acquisition and emphasized more of their growth. I do want to take this time to highlight on the agenda today. We will be adding uh two administrative positions. Um we're very fortunate to have this talented group of leaders uh with us. Uh we'll have John Pineette. He will be the principal at Albert P. Terhoon Elementary School and a familiar face Jay Schaefer as the assistant principal at Wayne Valley High School.
009This concludes my report. Thank you to the board. Thank you. Uh this portion of the meeting will be open to citizens for comment on agenda items only. Residents are asked to state their name, address, and subject matter. Comments may be limited to three minutes per person. Members of the public are discouraged from speaking negatively about an employee or a student. Board bears no responsibility for comments made by the public. Comments regarding employees or students cannot be legally responded to by the board. Other comments may be responded to tonight or at a subsequent meeting under old business. Do I have a mover? >> Move second. >> Dan matters. >> Anyone from the public wishing to address an agenda item? It's the only items that are on the agenda for tonight. >> Please give your name and
010address. >> All right. Um, hello. My name is Sean Axone and my residence is 60 Parkside Court, Wayne, New Jersey. I'm here as the president and co-founder of the HOSA chapter at Wayne Hills High School to advocate for the funding of HOSA and STEM clubs at our school. If you were to search up what HOSA is, you would first likely find its full form. It stands for Health Occupation Students of America. And to some degree, this is an apt description of HOSA. It has educational resources and holds competitions for students with an interest in the field of health sciences. However, this description is not enough to quantify what this organization has meant to me and many of the other students at Wayne Hills High School. You see, there are many students at our school with
011genuine interest and passion for medicine or nursing and other healthcare related fields. And for them, HOSA has acted as a place for them to dive deeper into the field that they want to pursue for potentially the rest of their lives. It acts as a place for more than 50 students to learn about what the field has to offer while sim while simultaneously connecting them with other like-minded students from whom they can learn of other opportunities such as programs or conferences that would allow them to further enrich themselves in health sciences. And thanks to HOSA being an international organization, these connections go beyond simply the sphere of our school or our town. They can easily get in contact with the young leaders from around the world who can give them advice from a position of shared
012personal experience. For dedicated students who genuinely want to do more, HOSA gives back as much as they are willing to put in. Something I believe is not easy to find. HOSA has been running at our school for only about a year or so far. And though it was difficult to navigate at first, we have gained a lot of experience this year on how HOSA runs as an organization and the resources they provide beyond simply competitive events, which was a large focus of our last year. Now with this understanding and experience on which to build on top, we have the capability to do so much more in upcoming years. Running drives, providing you volunteer resources and opportunities for students, linking them to medicine related collegeformational sessions, and even connecting them with professionals who can help them
013understand things as fundamental as the careers that they want to pursue, which it goes without saying has a profound effect on students lives. And the reason why I personally believe that HOSO is so important is because of the lack of STEM clubs and opportunities outside of simply core classes at our school. If a student with a genuine interest and passion wanted to get more involved without an organization like HOSA, it would be easy to feel lost or without direction on how to get involved. I was certainly that way my freshman year. If by having an organization such as HOSA to guide students and nurture their love for the subject, we can reduce the friction for students to look deeper into something constructive that they enjoy, we can send more students into university or just into
014life, more wellprepared with a love for what they plan to do. And the great thing about HOSA is that despite being focused on health sciences, it covers an incredible breath of subjects for students to engage in. Um, they have competitive events ranging from nutrition to medical math, organic chemistry, and even physics. So really all the forms of sciences are represented there. So please um I've come before you today to ask that you carefully consider the value of organizations such as HOSA or other STEM clubs at Wayne Hills High School when deciding the allocation of funds for the club for this year. Thank you. >> Thank you. >> Good evening. My name is Santia Gonzalez and my residence is at 8 court department AB in Wayne New Jersey. I'm the current vice president of the HOSA
015chapter at Wayne Hills and here to speak about the significance the significance of HOSA at our school. To start, we brought in multiple guest speakers from James St. Joseph's Hospital this year, providing insights about medicine and related careers to students. They provided key insights and answered questions about college, extracurriculars, job life and many other aspects essential to preparing and informing the students about healthcare careers. In the single year that host was running at Hills, it also allowed me to create a network with students from all over the world, making friends all the way to Korea and China. I created this network by winning second at regionals, second at states, and then placing for the international leadership conference. I have always taken advantage of the opportunity of having this organization knowing the incredible programs and doors
016it opens. At the international leadership conference this past June, I had the privilege of representing New Jersey and our town in the competition of pharmarmacology for the first time ever. Entering a room filled with students from across the world, renowned doctors, nurses, and leaders was unlike any prior experience. I was not just competing but made these close connections and learned so much truly inspiring me to pursue a career in medicine. This experience is truly life-changing, especially for a low-income student like me who never imagined the opportunities an organization like HOSA would provide, especially in our first year. Had Sosa is not just a club, but an internationally recognized career and technical student organization that truly makes a difference in students lives and is essential to preparing them for the workforce and future careers, providing technical
017knowledge and relevant soft skills like problem solving, communication, and leadership. Especially in our current time with shortages of doctors and nurses, this is a crucial organization for inspiring future generations and providing tools and access to this career field. Regarding leadership, hosta office positions for students at the state and international level as well. Many of their underassmen sitting in this room have dreams of becoming state officers on the future for this organization. One of the highest honors representing our town and state. These positions are unmatched experience for them in their future careers and college, which would only be possible if our chapter at Hills is reinstated. On behalf of my peers and many of us sitting here today, I kindly ask that you reinstate funding or work out a solution for us so that HOSA we
018can continue to grow, serve, and represent our school and community at the local, state, and international level. While at internationals, I was also saddened by reflecting on the possibility that I that I might be the only student from Wayne for the first and last time ever to go to this conference and represent my school. I hope that this scenario is not the case at all, but instead that each year more Wayne students are able to become state officers and also represent our town at internationals. Thank you for your time. >> Thank you, gentlemen. >> Anyone else? Anyone else from the public on an agenda item? >> Not quite sure it's an agenda item, but Hello, Mr. President. How are you? >> Well, sir, >> commissioners, my name is Dr. Corey T. McKini, resident here in
019Wayne, 62 Fieldstone Place again here in Wayne, New Jersey. I'm I'm now here for a second reason, but my primary reason for showing up here today was to greet you all because I know very well what you go through. I am a current uh retiree. I gra I retired from the Bake Board of Education after 30 years 22 as an administrator. So I know your role and I know it's not always easy up there. So greetings. But my initial purpose was coming to meet Mr. David Sendino. Did I pronounce that correctly? Because as the new Welcome to Wayne, sir. Welcome to Wayne. I when I I saw your name, I said I got to I got to come and meet you. I wish I would have known about the Friday's game. I could have show
020saw you in that environment. But um good to see you. Welcome and I wish you well in your new endeavors. I'm not going to take up a lot of time, sir. Um I I'm also running for council at large. So when I see these fine residents here to my right, I am now have a double purpose here at this meeting. I'm going to see what's going on with these people to my right that I also support. So, I'm going to relinquish the mic and say thank you very much. >> Thank you, sir. Anyone else from the public on an agenda item? >> Hi, how are you? Uh, Mike Jakaro Wayne, >> I just want to make a comment in regards to the school calendar. I know, sir. >> It's not an agenda item. We'll have
021an open session at the end. >> At the end. Okay. Sorry. Thank you. Anyone else from the public on agenda items? >> Seeing no one, I move to close. >> Second. >> Mr. Gano, Mr. D, you want to respond or you want to speak to the boys later? >> Perfect. You you took my thoughts. So, I just wanted to speak to the two gentlemen uh for the HOSA organization. It's I know it's something that I was able to assist in my previous district. Uh stay behind and I can see how I can assist you after this meeting. Sounds good. >> Thank you. >> All right, let's move on to the agenda. Do I have a move for the agenda? >> Second, >> Mrs. Lamandry. >> Mrs. Regaloso, >> Mr. Board President, do we have any
022revised items tonight? >> Um, >> revisions. >> Not that I was aware of. >> Okay. I just wanted to check. >> Uh, that went out on the That went out on Monday. >> The revisions was my understanding. >> I was just looking at the page here. Okay. Are there any are there any revisions to the agenda? >> I I'll read it. I'll read it then. All right. Approval of a resignation. >> Uh Jolola Zace, approval of additional compensation, block lunch, custodial staff, revision from $15 an hour to $1,549 an hour. Um, Lisa Baserati, Erica Gonzalez, Manuela Hernandez, Somalia Kamat, Rosa Sad, Mior. Uh, black launch supervision, Wayne Hills, Wayne Valley from $1,500 to $1,000. Marketing period quarter each. Remove uh, William Eustace, Kelly O'Neal, Kathleen Barcino. Number five, approval of appointment of certified and non-certified
023substitutes. Elena Hajivok substitute $140 a day. Approval of mentor payments uh Christine to Mary change the name effective uh approval of transfer effective date should be changed from 10125 to 9125. These are all under HR number 12. HR13 approval of power professional assignment. Pat Rado, Wayne Valley High School. Revision to attachment from first name um number 133 from Nicoleta to Nicole. Approval of appointments of extracurricular activities number 14 under HR remove on GW middle school attachment secondary extracurriculars 14 and 15 TPS club number 27 Alyssa Misella production plays musical step 4 Alyssa Misella student council rep four at 050% at 1585 Um resol uh resolution that the board of education um number 21 resolution that the board of education upon the recommendation of the superintendent approved the 2526 school year revised job description as recommended
024by the personnel committee assistant superintendent of human resource and professional development principal um B41 principal elementary school B42 principal secondary school approve to hire for emerging vacant positions. Number 22, resolve the board of education upon the recommendation of the superintendent approves for the time period August 22nd through September 10th. The superintendent to hire emerging vacant positions needed for the school um for the schools approved at the August 21st personnel committee meeting. Um, school resource legal approval. Uh, item one, approval of sidebar between the Wayne Education Association and the Pay County Education Association in the Wayne Public Schools. Now therefore be resolved Wayne Township Public Schools approves from a period from September 1st 2025 through August 31st 2027 a full-time release for RS to serve as the Pay County Education Association President During this period and
025authorize the president of the board of education to execute the agreement on behalf of the board. The business administrator and superintendent are authorized to take all further steps required of terms of the settlement to further implement the same. They're the only revision. Any discussion? Seeing none. Roll call. >> Yes. Yes. >> Yes. >> This portion of the meeting is open to citizens for comment on any topic. Residents are asked to state their name, address, and subject matter. Comments may be limited to five minutes per person. The board of uh members of the public are discouraged from speaking negatively about an employee or a student. Board bears no responsibility for comments made by the public. Comments regarding employees or students cannot be legally responded to by the board. Other comments may be responded to tonight or
026at a subsequent meeting under all business. Do I have a mover? >> Move. >> Mr. D. >> Mr. Batter. >> Good evening everyone. My name is Kamala Anupindi. a resident at 18 Viskaya Court here in Wayne. I with my family have lived here in Wayne for 25 years. I'm here on behalf of the Indian-American community to ask the Wayne board of education to consider making Diwali a school holiday. I want to take a minute here first to thank Wayne Township in general, Mayor Vanuo and Parks and Recreation Department for recognizing Diwali for the past two years and allowing us to use the the front lawn of the community building here to launch a massive party every Diwali day. I hope some of you have taken advantage of that and we have that coming up on
027October 27th. Again, what I'm hoping for is that the board of education will follow their lead in recognizing this holiday. Diwali is a festival that is celebrated by nearly a billion people. Let that sink in. A billion people worldwide of multiple faiths, Hindus, Sikhs, and James world over celebrate it as one of the most important festivals of their faith. Why are we here now? Right. I'm especially emotional today because I just dropped my daughter off at Satan Hall University. She graduated from the Wayne school system. She's embarking on her school journey. But last week we celebrated a South Indian festival. It's one it's a a ritual dedicated to this goddess of wealth called Lakshmi Lakshmi. And when we do a ritual we call it puja. So it's called bar lakshmi puja. And after the ritual
028we tie this knot that you see this yellow thread it's coated in turmeric with nine knots. Each knot represents a part of the body of the goddess Laxshmi. Just like you have a way for representing blood of Christ for certain segment of uh Christianity. That is what we do at the end of this ritual. We celebrate the goddess Laxshmi and we hope she protects us. My daughter throughout her school life in vain refused to wear this to school. This holiday always falls towards the end of the summer and a week later school begins. She would cut it off and go. Yesterday she came to me and says, "Mama, my thread is loose. Can you please tie it?" And I said, "It's okay. It's going to come off because that's what I always did." She said,
029"No, either tie it or give me a new one." That made me shocked and it made me think why and I know the reason why because she's rooming with three other girls of Indian origin and for the very first time in her life she's very comfortable and proud of practicing her culture and her religion publicly without any fear of being judged. It's sad, isn't it, that she went through the Wayne school system for 12 years and never went felt comfortable doing so. And why is that? Because this was actually a wakeup call for me. Because we have created a a situation for our children where they are not comfortable practicing their faith and practicing their culture in school. Imagine Imagine a child of Christian faith being asked to go to school on Good Friday. Imagine
030one of Jewish faith as being asked to go to school on Passover or Rashashana or more recently somebody of Muslim faith asking to go to school on Eid instead of celebrating with their family. We don't have to imagine because all of us Indian-Americans our children have been doing that every single year. They are making that tough choice to be in school learning instead of learning to practice and be proud of their culture and heritage. When children are not given the time to celebrate holidays and to engage in rituals that are important to them, that define who they are, they are losing out on their culture. Having to choose between going to school so that homework doesn't pile up and staying home to celebrate results in forcing very young children and teenagers to make a decision
031that they do should not have to make. Make no mistake when we and when we do this we are forcing the children to miss out on learning to miss out on their culture and if this happens year over year we are generating or fostering a system where the adults become ashamed of their own faith of their own culture and of their religion. Now statistics let's talk statistics right uh a scholar and professor and a local v uh am I going over give me a two minutes please indulge please >> one minute okay so let let's say it's when people make the mistake of you know if how much accommodation should I provide right that is it reasonable to eliminate all religion rather than make a physical space for other religions people often think that you
032know if I include religion a I'm taking away from a religion GNB. It is not a zero- sum game. There are 29 districts in New Jersey that have recognized Diwali as a public holiday and some of them are not driven uh heavy on Asian population. Montlair has only 5%. Wayne has 8 to 10%. It's not a zero sum game. We can make accommodations. They're smartly using Diwali as an inservice day instead of using a holiday. So all Indian-American students are contributing massively to all the students experience in school. Four out of five valadictorians in the past five years and vain hills have been of Indian origin. Two out of five in valley have been of Indian origin. Five state captains of tennis teams have been of Indian origin. SDA captains, soccer captains. Now why are
033we forcing these high achieving children to make that choice? So equity in student experience is what we are speak seeking. Diwali is a major cultural and religious observance day. Observance on school calendar will honor Wayne's diversity and will reduce absentism and build enormous goodwill among a community that contributes so much to the student experience in Wayne Township. Thank you very much. >> Thank you, ma'am. [Applause] [Music] >> Good evening. My name is Sia and I'm 9 years old. On Diwali, I celebrate with my friends and family. It would make me proud if my school gave us the day off so we can enjoy together together. Thank you. [Applause] Hello, my name is N and I'll be in first grade. Dvali is a celebration of lights. and it means a lot to me. I would feel
034really happy if my school recognized a a holiday just like other big holidays. Thank you. [Applause] >> You're going to have a hard time topping that one. >> Yeah, that's my son and my daughter. Good job, guys. >> Hi. Good evening members of the board. My name is Pernando and I'm happy to be part of this uh Wayne community. Before I begin again, I want to warmly welcome our new superintendent. We look forward to your leadership and your partnership in serving our children. And I also want to extend my gratitude to our assistant superintendent, Dr. Kasmar, who I've been bugging since last year. And she's been very patient in making sure that we know what we need to do in order to get this test done. And so I really appreciate that and sorry to
035bother you so much. We're here this evening to respectfully request that Diwali be recognized as a school holiday. This is not a new idea. As Kamla mentioned, there's over 29 school districts in New Jersey that already recognize this as a public holiday, which reflects the growing diversity in our state and the importance of honoring all communities. Wayne has the opportunity to join them and lead by example. This request is not just about one tradition or one community. It is about what we want our schools to stand for, which is diversity, inclusiveness, and respect for all cultures. When children see their holidays are celebrated in the schools, they feel acknowledged, they feel seen, they feel valued, that they truly belong in the school system. And when children who do not celebrate those holidays and they see
036this holidays being celebrated or having a day off so they learn more about those holidays, they gain understanding and appreciation for their classmates and they learn about other cultures which are the lessons that go beyond the classroom. Wayne is a community that grows stronger through diversity. Recognizing Diwali would be a meaningful reflection of that truth and a message to every family that they are respected, included, and celebrated here in Wayne. We are hopeful that under your leadership, our district will continue to set an example of unity, fairness, and respect for all. I thank you for your time for listening to us and your continued commitment to our children and families of Wayne. Thank you. >> Thank you. Good evening everyone. My name is Yisha. I'm a mother of six-year-old who goes to school in Maine.
037Um here we all are together with a very bright idea which includes lots of firework sweets and a whole lot of lamp. So let me actually explain what Diwali is. Diwali is like Christmas, New Year Eve and Fourth of July all rolled up in one package. Uh except instead of Santa we have sweets. Instead of resolution, we light up our houses and instead of staying up late, um actually, you know what? We do stay up late. So, please do not make our children come back to the school next day. Just imagine celebrating your biggest holiday with your family, eating whole lot of sweets, and waking up 7:30 a.m. in the morning and going to the math test, pretending that we didn't stay up late last night and eat like 14 different sweets. It's a lot
038for the children's. Um I think this is our humble request to the township of Wayne to just give us one day instead of setting up an alarm clock and lighting up a lamp. Just allow us to celebrate with our family, eat lots of sweets and we promise you our children will come back to the school next day spiritually refreshed and also sugar crushed. So the teacher has to be careful and I think this is also going to pass a very good strong message that Wayne Township recognize all the culture value and respect and uh it allow us to celebrate our biggest holiday with our loved ones. I think we I really appreciate that you will consider this request and allow us to celebrate this just one day. I mean India has so many festivals we're
039not asking for all of them just one and allow us to you know not our children not to choose between heritage and homework. Thank you. >> Thank you. >> Hello again. Uh Christmas is a very special holiday as well. >> Sir, can you state your name and address please? >> You want me to state it again? >> Yes. >> Mike T. Wayne, New Jersey. Christmas is a very great holiday. It's the birth of our Lord and Savior. And I was very surprised to notice in your calendar that it's not mentioned at all. Christmas Day is not on your calendar. Lovely holiday, everybody. It sounds wonderful, but what about getting back to America's values, including Christmas back on the calendar? You know, it'd be great if you could satisfy everybody. There's over, I think, 150 religions
040in the world. So, you're going to start with one and start with another. What I'm saying is America was founded on Judeo and Christian values. Okay? And I'm even more horrified to see that, I didn't know this, that Veterans Day is no longer on the calendar as well either. So the men and women that gave up their lives, their limbs to keep us all safe in our country don't even get a day of their recognition, like I said, fine. I wonderful. It sounds beautiful, but what about them? What about the vets? What about Jesus Christ? What about mentioning Christmas on the calendar? You can't you can't satisfy everyone. If you could, it would be a wonderful world. Um, that's all I had to say. Thank you. >> Thank you. >> Okay. Hi, my name is
041Kaya D and I reside at 113 McDonald Drive. I love our town because of how diverse it is. But the problem is diversity comes with inclusivity. As someone who's actively in the Wayne school system, I'm being a freshman at Valley this year. Actually, I've had my name mispronounced on countless rosters. You know, when they pause at your name, you're like that that's me. That's that's me. Um, and it's really hard going to school and trying to also follow all of these traditions on the same day. I'm trying to do my algebra homework, wondering why Johnny needs 35 watermelons and my mom's hollering at me from the other room to run because we need to start praying. And I think for the last four years I have left, I would just really appreciate if for once
042my religion could be included. If I didn't have to feel jealous because the other kids have Christmas. because now I have my own and now I can finally feel represented. So I would really appreciate you guys took careful consideration of this. Thank you. >> Thank you. >> Good afternoon everyone. Good afternoon. Good evening everyone. Uh I'm Disha Shar resident of 42 Allen drive Wayne New Jersey. I'm here for two reason. one to support like want to request Diwali as an holiday in school and the second my uh my little one is in James Fallon she's a student in James Fallon and she's going into fourth grade and I was recently made aware of a potential plan to consolidate classes so in third grade they had four classes and I heard that there is a potential
043to consolidate four classes into three classes so being parent I'm concerned about uh the quality of education and individual attention. So I would appreciate if you can share like the measures being taken to ensure like continue high quality of education and individual attention. Thank you. >> Thank you. >> Hello everyone. My name is Christy Salentacis um 14 Garvey Road and um I also wanted to address the classroom size issue that we have at James Fallon Elementary School. Um I have two children at James Fallon and um we transferred in from a a private school um three years ago. We've been incredibly happy with the um education and support that our kids receive at James Fallon. We transferred in because mo both of my boys required additional um support for their education. They both have IEPs.
044They've been getting amazing support at James Fallon and we've been so happy about that. Um last year my son's um fourth grade class for the first time I think had um well both of the fourth grade classes had 28 kids. we notice a significant um increase in his the the amount of struggling that he's had he had in his reading comprehension. Also a lot of confusion about what um what the classwork was, what's supposed to be on tests. Like there was a huge difference from where the year before he had 24 kids in his class to the following year where he had 28 um kids in his class. He um he does have a a shared par profofessional. That shared par profofessional obviously was the only other aid in the class and had to also
045divide her attention to so many other kids. So the incoming fourth grade class, my second son is going into now. As the previous parent mentioned pre last year had 21 kids in the class. This year they're all slated to have at least 29 kids, but they are expecting that potentially they might go up to 30. There's I'm sure many of you know there's a um nationwide um research organization that researches class size. The recommendation for fourth and fifth grade class sizes is 23 kids for optimal school um and uh academic success. So obviously and uh New York City as you know has created laws so that they've capped fourth and fifth grade classes to 23 kids per class. We're so far beyond that now where we're heading to 29 and 30 kids. Um uh there
046are solutions. I believe that you know they could be long-term and short-term solutions. I would hope that we look into some short-term solutions which could be um obviously the school would need a new teacher but there there are additional spaces that could be created for another class because currently the issue is that we have all of our teachers are being are being used and the classes are being used but classes can be repurposed. I I know longer term solution. The whole district is working on the fact that there's so many kids coming into um into the district and obviously um more space is going to be needed and long-term solutions are needed. But I really hope that some kind of short-term solution can be provided for our kids because there are lots of kids at
047James Fallon that have IEPs and 504s and they already have difficulties learning. they're, you know, the school tries to support them as much as possible. Like I said, they do a great job, but the teachers and the aids are really going to be limited this year with 29 kids. So, I hope um some some creative short-term solution can be provided. And um I didn't come here to talk about Dewali, but um I think it's lovely how everybody is um talking about this um you know, lovely holiday that they want to celebrate. And I think it's great um to be inclusive. So I support that as well. Thank you. [Applause] Good evening. My name is Fenel Patel. I reside at 39 Wala Way right here in wonderful town of Wayne. Uh, superintendent Sitadino, welcome. We've been
048a back big fan of the previous superintendent and we looking forward to have a wonderful uh tenure of yours. My youngest one is going to be graduating this year out of Wayne school system. My other one graduated last year. He would not had uh they would not have have this benefit of festivals of Diwali if it becomes part of Wayne education system. However, I'm here to support the petition and the request from the community. Why Diwali? Look at the size and number of this community. Huge community showed up to support and uh word that uh need. It's about time they need u recognition in a school for for a holiday as well. There are more than 400 signatures received in a petition prepared by one of the volunteers of the community requesting this holiday. uh
049of u of Diwali when we look at the numbers look at just last five years or maybe more look at the validictorian which community has provided the most you will see consistently one and that's this community this is the caliber the students provide the students when are there have to go to school as mentioned by Kamla before on their day of holiday they suffer we lose lose two ways. One, they lose it academically because they may not be able to focus while their heart is in their home and they lose culturally. They don't get connected to their culture since they don't get to celebrate it. put ourself each individual being out here especially on the dis have their own private culture and if we had lost that culture a few generation back where we would
050be this is the loss we might be uh seeing in this generation who might may not have seen so far beyond that as mentioned um dual is not just a festival of certain race or religion is the festival associated with rightous iousness. It's just the right thing to do for Wayne Township to recognize this big community and their culture and festival as part of the Wayne Township school system. There are 29 or so community has already accepted this. Wayne, one of the top five town recognized by realtor.com nationalwide. We're going to be 30th, but 30th is a good number to start with. We don't want to be 35th. So I um humbly request if you can put in your agenda and let's get as many vote as possible for 27 26 27 year to make
051Diwali as a school year holiday. Thank you very much. >> Thank you sir. >> Anyone else from the public wishing to speak? >> Seeing no one move to close. >> Mr. Pish Serino >> on on the topic of the Dvali calendar. I know it's something that I have spoken to a gentleman up here. I'm looking forward to setting together a meeting where we can discuss some further options going forward. I know that it's something that uh Dr. Kazmar has talked to that I understand we're not looking for a change for this 2025 because Dvali is just around the corner. Uh we realize in 2026 that Dvali falls on a Sunday. Um so we are going to get together. Um I I'm humbly inviting myself and Dr. Kazmark to one of your homes for Dvali this
052year so we can become better educated about it. And we look forward to that and coming together with some solutions um that meet and hear your your concerns but meet the needs of our students and our other our community. So please accept that invitation. and I hope we can partnership together in that. Um the comment uh about Veterans Day, um the calendar indicates days off. It doesn't indicate days of learning. And I've been a in education now for close to 30 years. I've been a principal uh superintendent for majority of that time. And I also think it's important to note that I come from a military family. I was raised by a grandfather who fought in three major US conflicts. And I take great pride in the work of our veterans and their role in
053our country. Um I can remember being a little kid as my grandfather is being saluted going to through Meguire Air Force Base. Um just to take me to um on the post to uh go, you know, he he would go to the um the Army store in N the Air Force store in there. um depending what kind of base it was or could be a PX and I was just very proud of that. Um for Veterans Day, I've always taken the role that we have a better role as educators to educate students on that day. If we said to have a have a day off, is there educational value in that? Are they going to spend the day um visiting a VFW? A majority of students, I don't know if that's the truth. I'm sure
054some families will, but I know in any school and district in which I'm the leader, you'll get instruction in the classroom about the role of veterans in our country and the role of veterans in forming a great nation that we have. And we'll have Veterans Day assemblies, which has always been a practice here in in Wayne schools and we invite veterans into our schools to reach our students. Um, which it may not be as practical if the students had the day off. Um so I think that and on those type of holidays there's better learning that takes place uh in those holidays to learn the history to learn that and get those experiences. Um and that won't change. It's only going to get stronger. Um I know I spoke about the host club. We're going
055to meet and talk there. Um uh the fallon enrollment that is enrollment is always a fluid topic right because students students enroll um student enrollment changes and you look for the best solution. I know that my previous my predecessor superintendent and the interim superintendent. I'm the third superintendent uh addressing the topic along with um my my assistant superintendent and we're going to continue to work with that. I I know that we have plans with the new principal there to reach out to the fourth grade parents, bring them in and talk about possible solutions that meet their needs as well. I don't know if you want to address anything else on that topic as you've been kind of the point person on it. >> Um, sure. So, as it stands right now, the plan for Fallon
056School, the Fallon enrollment hasn't changed in the last three weeks. It's been exactly the same in the last three weeks. So, it's about 28 to 29 students in each of the classes. So our cap number in fourth grade has traditionally been 28. When the number goes over by one, there's additional support provided in the classroom. With the previous principal and the and through the last month, the plan that's currently in place and has been for the last three weeks involves additional support into the current class. There are some power professionals that are there's a power professional that is certified teacher who's been assigned to fourth grade to support small groupoup instruction. There also are quite a few students that are pulled out into smaller groups for math ELA time which brings the numbers in those
057classrooms down to approximately 23. So during math and ELA time the classroom numbers are smaller. We are obviously concerned that if additional students move in the numbers go over 30. That isn't ideal. It's not something that we are looking to do. But we also are mindful has a unique situation separate from our some of our other buildings in relations to classroom space and instructional space. As one of the one of the parents said, it would need to be repurposed. It does impact instructional situations in the building. There isn't an extra room that we can reallocate. So that's a concern for us. Additional teacher would need to be hired. Fallon does not have the staff to support an additional move into that room. So, we would have to hire an additional teacher that would require, you
058know, some lead time. There would be classroom with a sub potentially for a little while. Um, or a transfer would require teachers that may not be familiar with fourth grade is a critical grade. We don't want to, you know, have new teachers be placed in there. So, we are considering additional expansions, but that does require it does it does present unique challenges specifically at Fallon compared to some of our other schools. So, are we considering it? Yes. And I've spoken to several parents about this, but it's not the current plan as of today. Those decisions will be made over the next week. >> Thank you. Any old business? new business. Yes, >> Mr. Fab. >> So, as we're talking about class size, um, everyone knows what's been going on with trying to find solutions. Um,
059and in the past, we've come up with some ideas that I guess, you know, for whatever reason, the town didn't want to make those choices. And as class sizes are increasing and we are seeing a lot of these other buildings um coming in, I would like to um make the following motion. I request that the administration explore the feasibility and implications of moving fifth grade from elementary school to middle school and 8th grade from middle school to high school. This examination should include an analysis of educational impact, developmental appropriateness, facility capacity, staffing, transportation. The administration is requested to report the findings and recommendations back to the board for further discussion and consideration. Thank you. >> Have a motion on the four. Do we have a second? Mrs. Regalosa, any discussion? Mr. Patterson, >> what would
060the cost of this be? That's part of the assessment. I'm asking for an assessment, not that they make the choice. >> So without a bounds on cost, we're asking for an unbounded cost of an assessment to be put in place. >> The assessment is requested to be done by the administration, not bring in a consultant. There should be no cost having our administration review this. Do you know how much of a burden this would put on your staffing? >> Again, just hearing the um proposal at this time. I'm not sure how at this time. I I know that we are in the process of hiring a few people for our team, but I can't answer to your question as to what what >> and you're significantly understaffed at this present time as well. >> We
061are understaffed right now, but the board provides us with a challenge. We'll face it. Um, could I make a secondary motion to table this until we've had time to understand the cost and impact on the administration? >> Mr. Gardert, >> at this point, you have a motion that's been made and seconded. I would have a vote on the motion. >> Mr. Real, >> Mr. Faber is just um asking that we explore options. It cost the township nothing and I don't see there a problem with looking for solutions on the overcrowding. >> I was just curious about the timing of the um redistricting report that we were waiting for. Do does anyone know what the timing would be? >> There's a redistricting meeting next week to discuss the in order to do the redistricting they have
062to be in schools when the students are there. the educational part of that. So that would start in the fall. >> This motion does not have a deadline put on it. It doesn't have a specific date because obviously we know that it's not something that could happen in the next month. We're looking at something potentially that could happen in the next year or two. This is a proactive task. So I'm not saying I would like an answer in the next 30 days. It's something to put on the books so that it's there. It's recognized. And if you're understaffed, we can wait a little while to get it done. I just would like to have the motion out there so that it can be worked on. >> Mrs. Mandry, >> I too um agree and I
063think everybody in this town agrees that with the um increased enrollment, with the facilities that we have, with the um budget that we have, with all of the repairs that we've had to do, um obviously we have to be creative and we have to collaborate with our community and with our fellow board members and more importantly with the administration. We have to find um creative ways to get this done while maintaining excellent academic achievement right opportunities for our students. So our goal and we were elected as board members here to make these kinds of decisions simply to um suggest or come up with some ideas because obviously we're sort of backed into a corner here, right? And we're hearing all of the public talk about their children and the expectations that they have for maintained
064academic excellence and opportunities to learn and to grow. And the only way we can do that is to make it a comfortable learning environment. So, our goal as board members, and I speak for myself, but I think I speak for some of my other colleagues, is to represent the community in meeting the needs that we've heard expressed. Thank you very much. >> There's only one way you're going to look for a solution to the problems we're beginning to see in class sizes. We're already seeing a number of students coming in from the Abalon Bay project on Valley Road and it's not even open yet. There's a small portion of it's open and we've already begun to start seeing the impact with enrollment. I think we need to look at alternatives. the the concept was used
065here before in Wayne um many years ago when I was in uh middle school. That's I'm ancient. Um but I think it's it's something that's worth looking at and our administration's going to look at it. I mean there's many pieces to that puzzle. The most costly one is transportation. It's not cheap to school buses now are pushing the $200,000 mark if you can get them. Cost for a driver. How what's the impact on staff? So, there's a lot of pieces that need to be explored and they're things that the administration can handle. It doesn't come with a price tag, their salary or their salary. Um, we do have a um a redistricting uh company looking at um our district now. They're completing their demographic study which with all the new building they'll have more concrete
066numbers to work with than our last demographic study where we couldn't get certain numbers because nobody had them. So I I think looking I think there's no harm in looking at this because there's no cost associated with yes it's time and time is is there's a cost on time but I think we need to start being innovative in what we're looking at and that's why I will support the motion roll call. >> Oh >> I would just like to also recognize everybody for being here tonight and for standing up for something that you believe in. It's a beautiful thing as a community. >> We're voting on the motion right now. >> Oh okay. Sorry about that. Sorry. My bad. I resend that. >> First motion. >> Correct. >> Yes. >> No. I believe the timing
067is wrong. >> Voting yes or no. Comments are over. It >> says I'm not going to comment. It'll be yes. >> Yes. >> Any other new business board member comments? Um, just to recognize Mr. Batterill, I appreciate the alarm you had on it because we are short staffed right now, but since Mr. Faber said there's no time limit, you're not rushing to do this. >> I'm comfortable with when Superintendent Sadino is ready to go do it, we're telling them go do it. We are a civilian oversight committee. We don't legislate, but these are the kind of things that that we do do. Um, so that's the reason why I voted yes on it. Um to further as a personal note when Mr. Sadino was talking about Veterans Day and how it is an education day,
068it's far more than an education day in many cases. Um my son who just turned 20, happy birthday, Anthony, and let him know he's I'll be on tape so he'll see that one. Uh when he was in he just turned 20, so it was a few years ago and that's one of the reasons why I say because it was a few years ago and we're still doing it at George Washington Middle School. um his teacher said, "You know, you can invite a vet in to come sit and they have a ceremony." And he invited my dad. My dad just turns 91 next month. He was a veteran during the Korean War, but not in Korea. He was during the Korean War. He was a a veteran. And he doesn't go do anything. He doesn't take
069pictures. He's just, you know, get off my lawn. I think my son's going to be the same way. He's going to be the future get off my lawn guy. uh he went and he had a chance to sit and bond with his youngest grandson who was in the seventh grade. To this day, my son still says, "I remember the day papa went as a US Army Corporal. He was a machinist in uh in uh Austria in Salsburg, Austria. And there's a picture if you want to go into the into George Washington Middle School. There was an entire display out of every year pictures of different veterans coming in. Some came in in their uniforms, some didn't. One of my neighbors came. He's no longer with us. His wife's got a beautiful picture of him. My
070father doesn't take pictures for anything. I got a snapshot of him from that I took on my phone. So, it's something I cherish. So, while it's just it's not just a learning experience, it helps make connections. We have a wonderful Veterans Day program. And I want to put that on the public record that we don't ignore our veterans by not putting a couple of words on a calendar. They have actionable meetings that mean something to not only the students and to the staff, but the veterans who feel appreciated. I know that because my dad felt appreciated and to this day still does. So that just let people out there know we don't ignore Veterans Day. It is exactly the opposite. So that's my talk for the day. >> Love that. [Applause] I wanted to give
071a welcome to all the new employees that attended orientation this week. Um, welcome back to all the other employees. Um, and welcome to um, Doc uh, Mr. Cadino, your your first official meeting here tonight. Um, uh, as for Veterans Day, I've I've had the privilege and the honor of attending um, what Mr. Leonard and his staff do for for the veterans on Veterans Day. It's a it's a great program at George Washington and I know some of the other schools also have that. Um I mean I've been in Wayne for 17 years. I grew up in Queens. Um I was proud to hear that we have 34 languages spoken in Wayne. It's almost there. You know I know Queens has over a hundred. Um so and I have one of those long names too. So
072I feel you. I know uh how it goes. Um, so thank you everyone. I know it's probably, you know, some of you your first meeting or most of you your first meeting here uh at the Wayne Board of Ed. So, welcome. Um, so, you know, I hear it from my wife, too. You know, we're uh Christian uh Orthodox, how come we don't have our Easter on, you know, a day off that those days and, you know, uh other other u main holidays? So, it's it's very tough. And and the answer that I've received, you know, even being on the board is, well, it's an excused absence, you know, uh, by the by the state of New Jersey. There's a whole list of so many, you know, and it's an excused absence. So, my wife's not
073happy with that, you know, answer, but, you know, um, that's what it is, I guess. So, um, but we're trying. Our our new superintendent, you know, is is very agreeable and very open to to listening. So, uh, so we'll we'll we'll continue the discussion. I know it's it's, you know, it's going to be in October this year and then next year it's on a Sunday, too. So, it's a little little tricky. Um, I just wanted to um commend our administration for finding what was on this agenda. It's buried in this agenda, but we're going to receive 5 million in state aid um for the preschool uh facility uh enhancement grant. We're going to receive a preschool facility enhancement grant so we can build uh out PRNIS to solve a little bit of our uh enrollment
074issues. Uh, as was mentioned here, you know, we're already getting enrollments coming in for Avalon Bay already. So, um, you know, maybe you heard otherwise that, you know, oh, it's it's going to take a while. No, it's already here. I was surprised myself. Um, we didn't do the education committee, but we we we had an education committee. We'll talk about it, I guess, the at the next meeting. Um, so, um, what else did I want to comment on? Um, so there's there's, you know, we're open to solutions. We're listening to solutions. Um, the solution of moving fifth grade to the middle schools and then eighth grade to the high schools and expanding there. I looked at the crowd and I saw some people have like a mini heart attack and some shaking their heads. Um
075so you know we'll we'll definitely explore that. So um um yeah with that um uh students there's less than two weeks to go. So uh you know get ready uh prepare yourselves um start going to sleep earlier and uh we'll see you soon. >> Favor. So, just to give you some background as to how this idea about this thing came to me, I'm sitting and I'm thinking about the situation that we find ourselves in. And I've been reading the emails from people that have been coming in. They've been addressing the size of the classrooms and the issues that we have. And I think back to the last budget cycle that we had and where we had to cut money and we had to cut teachers and we had these other things. And basically, if you
076look at it, we already explained that that's going to be an ongoing situation. There's no near-term fix that's coming that could address this issue. Let's just say that we're able to put another referendum on the book for next year. Okay? Then we're going to expand schools, but by the time you break ground in the school, you probably have a couple of years before that building will be ready. And so, you're looking at four or five years potentially down the line. and we're not going to get enough money to add additions to all the schools. Redistricting puts a lot of people in a difficult spot where, you know, it's going to potentially change high schools and, you know, there's a much bigger picture there. So, trying to come up with a solution that doesn't put too
077much of a burden on the structure and puts people in a school that they're ultimately going to end up in eventually just a year earlier. Seems like something that could potentially work. Will it work? I don't know. But I do know that we don't have very many options. So exploring options and things that could potentially give us relief if it's a year or two years from now, that's what we're trying to come up with because, you know, we understand people are worried about taxes. They're worried about having to cut teachers. So, you know, we're trying to come up with solutions. like, you know, at the next meeting I'm probably going to have a motion that we explore um getting uh gaming licensed so we could put bingo in the schools and have casino nights and
078things like that. I mean, you know, potentially try to get people more engaged in school and, you know, have people raise revenue or look at having a potentially fall festival where, you know, everybody comes out to the school and we have everybody get together from Wayne and building more of a community and raise money that way. Like I'm just I'm trying to come up with things that could work within the framework of what we have today. Will they work? I have no idea. Are they even allowed? Well, I know we can get a gaming license. I did look into that one. But, you know, these are things that, you know, they may not make a tremendous impact, but at the end of the day, it could mean we save a couple of jobs for teachers
079if we do some of these things. Or, you know, we could cut the classroom size down. But redistricting, when you look at the size of the classes, if you move five kids from one school to five kids to another school, and then the following year enrollment goes up in that school, you're going to find yourselves right back where we were today. So, it's not really potentially a long-term fix. So, that's what I'm trying to think of is what could potentially bring us a long-term fix and relief until hopefully this the state gets its act together and figures out how to fix the issue that many of our townships are are feeling. Um, I'd also like to say I respect all of you for coming out tonight, um, and addressing something that you find very personal
080and, um, I appreciate the way that you went about it and the messages and I, you know, I actually, you know, agree with what David said. I think that I'd love to celebrate Duality because I love the Fourth of July and fireworks and I actually can get some. So, if you want me to come, I can bring some fireworks. >> Um, >> October 27th, join us in the law. >> All right. I'll be there. But thank you very much for coming and you know we do hear you and we obviously always want things to be inclusive. So that's our objective. Uh to all the kids have a great start of the year. We hope that this is your best year at Wayne schools yet and welcome and we look forward to seeing what's going to
081come from you too. Thank you. >> Anyone else? Stratish. So, first of all, I want to welcome uh Mr. Cidadino to uh to the position and to his first meeting and to the kickoff that he's managed to start so far. Um uh I had the opportunity to sit down with him on Monday uh and spend what I thought was going to be a short talk. We end up talking for about an hour uh in the end about leadership and about support of the the school system and about where things were going. was actually quite an enlightening conversation uh about his uh uh approach to leadership in general. Um uh probably fresh on the heels of your administration as well. Now now I recognize where you were pulling in some of those comments from. Um but
082I I do want to say that I appreciated that talk and that talk was uh uh quite good. Uh now it focused a lot on being able to build the um uh the system that we have uh and making sure that we are hiring the right people that we are looking after those people that we have here as well. Uh and so I'm very keen to ensure that that's a a direction that we go and we ensure that the people that we do need to come in to fill the many positions that we have are the right people and we can build on top of that. Um I also want to say something on the classroom sizes uh and stuff. You know there are across the segments of the schools and the grades and everything
083else we have there's about 51 of those across the elementaryaries uh at the moment and there is one of those that has an issue uh at the moment right in in uh in Fallen as we know right uh there isn't a systemic issue that is occurring across all of these yes there is an increase enrollment yes there is going to be pressure put on these at various different places but we also have the demographic study that is coming we also have other things. I personally have been elected here to work on the recommendations of the of the district and to ensure that the recommendations of the district are in the right direction. Um and so that enables me to ensure that those things are happening so that they can properly prioritize the work that needs
084to happen. And that's why I believe now is the wrong time. If we are focusing on building the administration on focusing on ensuring the right people in place, I want to support Mr. Cidino to be successful in the role that he's in and then to put additional stuff on those. I understand there's no end date which came uh after many of the comments uh and so on, but not putting that onto the plate at the moment and saving that for later. Having a conversation with him would have been a better way of being able to find the right time to put that in. So, I voted no based on my support of Mr. Citadino and the direction that we need to be able to go to build the district. Thank you. Anyone else? >> Mrs.
085Walle. >> Okay. I'd like to welcome our new superintendent, uh Dave. I know he has his sleeves rolled up and he's working hard uh to keep Wayne um number one uh always. And um he is a great pizza maker. I'll tell you that much because I I witnessed this the other day. I saw him rolling the dough and and baking the pizzas and feeding the staff. And I want to say thank you very much because it was very much appreciated. Um the other thing I want to say is every once in a while I asked myself why do I sit up here and why do I do this? And then as I was uh saluting the flag I heard the voices of these beautiful children and I said to myself that's why I do it.
086Um to the young uh lady over here with that is when they stop for your name. Look at this one. This is my name. No one could ever say it straight. But you know what? always be proud because that's your name and that's who you are and you let them know how you say their name. I was thinking about something with Denali. I don't know too much about Denali. I'm Polish. I How do I say it? >> Dvali. See, I can't even say it right. I'm Polish. I'm from Garfield, but I would love to learn about it. And And you know what? I bet there's a lot of children that would love to learn about it. If you have a book or you have a certain story or you'd like to talk about it, I
087think your teachers would love for you to talk about it in front of the class and just share with them the experiences that you share. Ex explain to them why it's so important to you and why it means so much to your family because you know learning is what we do. We always learn and learning is very very important. So I just wanted to make that quick suggestion. Um, the other thing I wanted to talk about was these these boys over here with the is it the HOSA? I'd like to learn more about it. I maybe you could write a proposal to the education committee at the board of education. I know they do it at PCTI. Uh, are you familiar with them? Or if you could you could reach out to the director there.
088They're very helpful at tech. I'm I'm sure they would give you some points and how to proceed. Maybe there's grants, you know, but we would like to learn more about it. So, please keep us keep us in a proposal right to the education committee at the board of ed. Um, have a wonderful school year. Teachers, uh, students, you're back. Okay? And I hope you had a great, safe summer. That's it. >> Um, I I'd like to thank you all for coming. I know your time's valuable, but thank you. Uh we we definitely uh we're going to sit down and have some discussions um concerning it. Um the school calendar is so complex. You have to visit 180 days between September 1st and June 30th. And every year we hear, "Oh, you're getting out too late.
089You're getting out too late." We say, "Well, we'll start a week earlier." Oh, no. We can't start before Labor Day. Well, but we can work on something. And we I look forward to sitting down with all of you and we we'll definitely, you know, come solution. We have some time which is the best part. We're not under the gun to do it right away. So we we we will find come up with some solution. Um I've talked to superintendent uh we've talked we've spoken about it and uh he's got some unique ideas and you know what that's when you get a turnover and everybody's screaming and yelling, "Oh, everybody's leaving. Everybody's leaving." But when you get new faces and new ideas in, it's great because sometimes, you know, when you're here a long time, you
090get caught in your box. And it's very refreshing um with Mr. Sadino here and as he builds his staff and which will be a quite competent staff uh from what I've seen with this hires so far. So, I'm looking really forward to that. Um, Veterans Day. We, if anyone, and my colleagues have spoken to this, have anyone has gone to a Veterans Day in a middle school? Oh my gosh, the programs they put on, they put on lunchons for all the grandfathers, fathers, uncles, whoever the relatives are. These kids hear stories from some of these uh soldiers who fought in wars they don't even know about and they talk about their experiences. It's a wonderful time and you know the fact that we can educate students on these things is better than giving a day
091off when they're on the basketball court or you know going here hanging out over there. It's educational and that was one of the uh concerns um years ago when we looked at not taking off this holiday. And the directive from the board to the administration was fine, we won't take it off, but you have to have programs in every school. We have to talk about it. We have to honor these people and people from some of the, you know, Korea, Vietnam, there's not many around today. We're slowly losing them. We're losing a part of that history. And I think as a district, we're keeping that alive here uh through the presentations um we made. Um, I had an opportunity to speak to the administrators this week and welcome them back as well as our new
092staff who's energetic and ready to go. Uh, you know, the one thing about the start of a school year, kids hate it. Teachers don't like it that much either, believe me. Um, but it's kind of of a magical time for everybody. Um there's a lot of energy, a lot of hope, limit limitless potential um that we see. It gives everybody an opportunity to hit that big reset button and reflect where they've been and where they're going. You have seniors coming into high school who will be out of school in another eight months. you know, it's the chance that we get to embrace new teachers, new friends, and set some goals and growth for our achievement. Um, you know, I welcome everybody back and we look forward to having a wonderful school year with a great
093administration in place that this board spent a lot of time and hours to make sure it happened. So to everyone I wish you a great school year and folks motion to adjourn. >> Motion to second. >> Mrs. Regaloso, Mr. Pacos. Good night everyone. Thank you.