001Yes. Hi everyone. Hi Dalia. And then we have Adriana's out on a last minute business trip. We're live. We're good. Like to call the regular meeting of the Boda Board of Education to order for Tuesday, April 29th, 2025. Please stand for the flag salute to the flag of the United States of America to the republic for which it stands. One nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. Thank you everyone and good evening. The New Jersey open public's meeting law was enacted to ensure the right of the public to have advanced notice to to attend the meetings of the public bodies at which any business affecting their interest is discussed or acted upon in accordance with the provisions of this act. The board of education has caused notice of this meeting to be
002published by having the date, time, place, thereof posted in the Boda Burough Hall, communicated by letter to the record, file with the clerk of the Bureau of Bora, and posted on the Bora Board of Education website. Uh, Eran, sure. Mr. Alic, absent. Mrs. Alvarez, present. Mr. Alvarez, present. Mrs. Cruz, present. Mr. Navar uh Mr. Soliva present. Miss Ruckett present. Mr. Chavez present. Mr. Miranda present. We have the court for the record. Uh Mrs. Alcal patrol had an lastm minute uh work event. Also present uh present is superintendent Damen Kennedy at board attorney Thomas Cobin. School Business Administrative Board Secretary Eran Epsil, Assistant Board Secretary Elizabeth Ruiz, and we have the lovely student representative Joanna Morales. Welcome, Joanna. Um, I'd like to open the floor to uh I'd like to move floor the floor citizen on
003agenda items only. Do I have a motion to move hearing of citizens? Motion, Mrs. Ruckett, do I have a second? Second. Mr. Chavis, any board discussion? All in favor? Any oppose? Anyone please come up? You can uh discuss anything on the agenda only. You have five minutes. Only state your name. We have anyone? Anyone raised? Do I have a motion to close citizen remarks? Chavez, do I have a second? Alvarez. All in favor? I'm sorry. Any board discussion? All in favor? Any oppose? Thank you very much. Moving to superintendent report. Good evening. First up, our student rep, Joanna Morales. Good afternoon, board members. I'd like to share a few exciting updates from Boot High School. This Friday, Mr. Fridman's English classes will be taking a field trip to the Princeton University libraries. Our yearbook is
004officially complete and the library ma the literary magazine is just about ready to publish. Our theater students recently had the incredible opportunity to attend a performance of Hamilton which was both inspiring and educational. We also hosted two successful events, Career Day and Bring your Kids to Work Day. Career Day featured a wide range of guest speakers including the mayor of Bagota, attorneys, health professionals, police officers, and even an event planner from Hilton. As we move into May, AP testing is underway and our teachers are working hard to ensure our students are well prepared. And finally, congratulations to our girls and boys track and field teams for breaking the sprint medley records from 2024 and 2009 respectively. Thank you very much. Also from my report, we have one HIV confirmed in the high school. Also, special
005shout out to our teachers of the year. In the high school, we had Mrs. Adams. In the middle school, we had Mrs. Sheepard. In Steam, we had Mr. Alosa. And in Bixby, we had Mrs. Popawit. So, as usual, in May there is a teacher of the year lunchon for all Burton County teachers and then in June we will present them with uh gratitude and awards. Next up is the budget hearing. Let me just get set up for that. The screen has to be moved over. There you go. Hello and welcome to the 2025 2026 BGO public schools budget presentation. I am Damian Fennady, superintendent of schools. I am joined by our business administrator, Irvin Epsil. Thank you for taking your time to learn more about how we plan to invest in our students, staff, and
006schools for the up school upcoming school year. We are grateful for the guidance and dedication our board of education. Special thank you to the members of the finance committee, board president Frank Miranda, finance chair, Mr. Chavez, and also trustees Robert Alvarez and BC Rucket. Their leadership ensures transparency, accountability as we build this budget. This year's budget is shaped by several critical priorities. Staffing to meet instructional needs, curriculum upgrades align with the new mandates, capital maintenance and improvements, and increasing special education and security demands. Salaries, benefits, and unfunded state mandates also play a significant role in shaping this year's financial plan. In Migota public schools, our top priority is making sure every student receives the right support at the right time. Our response to intervention or RTI framework helps us do just that. RTI allows us
007to identify students who need additional academic or social emotional support early and intervene quickly. We use universal screeners and teachers referrals to gather data that help us pinpoint exactly where each student needs help. For the 25 26 school year, we are doubling down on three fun foundational areas. First, reading by grade three. Research shows that students who read proficiently by the end of third grade are far more likely to succeed later in school. We use evidence-based reading programs and targeted interventions to help every child build a stronger foundation. Second, math preparedness. Math skills are cumulative and gaps in early understanding can grow over time. We're focused on building fluency and conceptual knowledge starting in the early grade so students are prepared for algebra 1 by 8th grade. Also, and third, student wellness. Learning starts with
008emotional well-being being. We're we're expanding access to counseling and mental health support, including interns from Fairly Dickerson University School Psychology Program thanks to grant funding. To support our students effectively, we use universal screening tools across all schools. In math, we use a Cadence CBM assessments for grades K through six. In grades seven through 10, we are transitioning from Renaissance Star of Math to curriculum based assessments that give teachers clearer insight into the student performance. For reading, students in grades K through five are screened using the Dibbles through Amplify MC class. For grades six and above, we will continue using the Renaissar Renaissance Renaissance Star Reading. And to understand students social emotional needs, we are using a mental health screener under the DOE mental based health grant with parental consent. Once we identify students in need,
009our RTI multi-tered systems of support help us deliver structured interventions. Each student receives a customized plan that includes the intervention type, frequency goals, and progress monitoring. Our goal is simple. Support students early and monitor their growth closely. Our RTI system is supported by strong meeting structures in every school, ensuring no student needs go unnoticed. At the school level, we meet three times a year to review beginning, middle, and end of year data. These meetings help us spot trends, set schoolwide goals, and adjust resources. At the grade level, team meetings monthly to meet monthly to identify struggling students, share effective strategies, and regroup interventions based on current data. And finally, individual student meetings take place monthly to develop tailored action plans for students who need the highest level of support. These include teachers, specialists, and and
010often parents working together. Protecting our school goes above and beyond buildings. We adopted layer cyber security strategies and maintain strong data backup system. Our facilities side, we completed major toilet upgrades at Bixby and the high school. This summer, we will begin on new security vestibues at Bixby gym and the school auditorium. Also, district-wide electrical upgrades will continue this summer. Referendum update. Our multi-year referendum plan continues to move forward. The CTE building and athletic fields remain on track for completion in June of 2025. Redistricting will go into effect this September with Bixby serving preK through two and steam serving grades three and five. New projects like the media center and the art room at the high schools are preparing to go out to bid shortly. And like I said earlier, the toilet renovation project in the
011high school and Bixby were completed last year. Planning for the future. Looking ahead, we are launching new CTE programs in automotive, culinary, and cyber security. We're hiring staff, preparing classrooms, and aligning with Perkins and certification standards. In literacy, we're adopting the new CKLA districtwide to meet new state requirements. And we're expanding SEAL programs with evidence-based interventions and our check and connect mentoring. Redistricting brings instructional benefits, strong collaboration, and more efficient resources use. We're expanding academic enrichment opportunities, including STEM programs with FDU and Bergenmies, new AP and dual enrollment courses, and new electives like fashion design and zombie geography. We are also improving athletic access and participation. So right here I have the board of education summary of revenue. As you can see here, it compares last year to this year. Two things I do want
012to point out is our state aid. Last year we got 17.5 million. And this year we got $18.5 million which is a difference about a little bit over a million dollars which was very helpful to us. Right now our total operating budget is over $36 million. From here you could see the revenue side where where we get our money to support these programs. About 40% comes from the tax levy with state aid now taking over 46%. Here is a summary of the appropriations. And this is more of when people want to go in and do a deep dive on their own. Pie chart with those same approach uh appropriations. So, here is our budget summary. The budget includes salary increases for all bargaining units and several key hires, new elementary teachers, RTI and EL ESL
013support, new guidance counselor, and again new CTE instruct instructors. We're also we're also continuing our one-toone Chromebook initiative, refreshing staff data and maintaining our robust internet and cyber security systems. New K5 ELA curriculum aligns with the latest NJSLA standards. Major capital projects are on track, including the gym and the auditorium renovations and final phases of the security vestibule installation. We will continue to have class 3 officers in all school buildings. And here's what everyone waits to wait for. So this year, what we were able to do is take the money that we put to work last year and give it back to the community. So although we were able to raise 2% taxes, which is going to help us in the future, we were able to keep the tax impact at zero by paying down
014our debt services for the referendum. Uh and that's us giving back to the community because uh we've been uh doing a good job with our money and our our referendum right now is on uh budget. So we are doing a good job there. So this year, because it happened to work out this way, because of the I want to say this right, the tax the house values in town, although our taxes are staying the same, you will be paying $77 less per year. So although the tax remains zero, right, because of the value the valuation of houses, it's you're going to see $77 more this year coming back in taxes. That's based on the new reval, just so you know, the average home for the average assessed home of 494, which is up, right? I
015mean, the average assessed home I I want to go back. I should have did that five years ago when I started doing the budget presentation. The average assessed home is probably up over $120,000 in the last I wonder with the town taxes going up if we're going to even notice. I can't speak to the town taxes. I can only speak to what we on our budget. So what we we're basing it off what we have been doing in our prior years. So based on our increment, our percentage and paying off our our debt service, we've actually given back. So, so something that I like to do each year and I I used to share with the staff, but last year I put in this budget presentation and I did include a little uh slide is
016some of the uh district accomplishments this year. And I would like to just point out again, I I've spoken about the referendum, but we we we got brand we have a brand new diesel 54 passenger bus to go along with our new um electric bus that we got the brand for a couple of years ago. We had to buy some new equipment for the fields, field groomer, and a lawn mower. We also had to purchase all new track equipment. Uh we also purchased 13 new interactive boards and we updated our website with a new app this year. educational opportunities. This year we expanded free adult ESL classes. We are in we are in Bixby in the high school and I believe we have over three classes filled with adult students. We we offer free afterchool
017tutoring. We offer free summer instruction. We've offered an elementary and literacy night. We offer, for the first time here in a long time since in my 15 years here, a SAT school at the high school where it made it easier for our kids to take the SATs and not have to go to another town on a school day. This year in the high school, we had a college fair for the first time in a long time with over 50 colleges and universities coming for our juniors, sophomores, and seniors. Steen had a mock presidential election. We provided box out bullying and social media video courses. New BHS STEM club. New model UN club in the high school. Bergen Academyy's enrichment program. We offer right now 14 dual enrollment courses that while you are in high school
018you can get college credit for not including the BCC early college program where certain students are graduating with their associates degree as a high school student. Are you one of them? Very good. We also offer a seal of biiteracy program where students are able to get certified that they speak two languages. We added a 10th preschool classroom this year and we are at our universal number and we also provide universal screenings in ELA math and SL SLE health and wellness. We started a major district-wide recycling program. We are now composting in the cafeteria. We had the school me based mental health grant. We upgraded our high hydroponic equipment. We are creating our own lettuce, tomatoes, vegetables, things of that nature. We expanded our check and connect mentors this year to go down to the elementary
019schools for students who are struggling to have teachers check in on them and meeting with parents more regularly. We also have the FDU school psychology grant. We've had therapy dogs visit security upgrades. Each school will have security vestibules in September, meaning you will not have to wait outside in the weather anymore to get into a building. We will be able to get you into the building immediately and have a transaction window where you could drop things off without having access to the building. We have upgraded our lockdown system with new clocks and 48 new stores were installed. We've upgraded our surve surveillance cameras, new two-way radios. We've also continued to update our cyber security strategy. And then last but not least, grants and taxes. This year, this year alone, our not counting, this is this
020year alone, we have close to 3 million in grants in work right now. That's a big number. And for the fifth time out of six years, there will be a zero tax increase to the community for this budget. So, this is just some of the things and I wanted to put it together to let you This is where we're going and what we're doing. As uh said to me the other day, um he said, "Think about what we're doing right now. We are offering students ages three through 21 education programs in BOD." now. And with the CTE building, we will be offering a whole different group of students a pathway after high school to go into the world. So, we're very excited about where we are going. A special thank you to Iran and the
021business department as always. He puts this together. It's easy to talk about something great, right? If it was bad, I might make him talk about it, but when it's good, it's easy to talk about. So, I do want to publicly thank him for his hard work and dedication and his attention to detail is second to none and the business department who helped keep him in check as well. Thank you. So, at this time, if there's any questions from the board, but then I think we do have to open it to the public as well to uh but right before we do that, um yes, thank you to Chang for the grants. Thank you to second to none in details. Thank you to Kennedy that never says no about progressing in different areas, projects. Thank you
022to Lindsay for all those documents. You make sure they're they're aligned. Uh thank you to our board of attorney because it just takes a team. Thank you to the children who support us. Uh but I got to say thank you to a board that stuck. If you look five out of six years, I can look at the faces here of who's been here for five years at minimum and you guys have stuck to it. you have not um you you just haven't lost sight of it of what we came here to do. And most importantly, uh you didn't get sidetracked by a lot of the shenanigans that happens somewhere below in our community. It just there's always something or someone or there's always negative negativity. You can either sit there and cry and use the
023chip or you could just pay forward because we understood what we came here to do. And and and hopefully you guys keep going. And hopefully you keep getting elected as long as in your heart you continue to progress in this areas in these areas and do the same thing. I must say it. I remember every single one of you had something to say whether it was positive or negative. And usually it was a complaint and I would often say, "Let's stop complaining. Let's start doing." And I got to tell you, as I look through this checklist, it has definitely and maybe I forgot, but I think it's met everyone's needs about what we should have had. And it's here. It's proof in the pudding. And the mere fact that five out of those six years,
024which it's five of our years, we had zero tax increase. And then obviously it's not sustainable to continue to do a zero, but we increase just in case we, you know, we experience, you know, national budget cuts in our board of education and we sort of stabilize, but we've had enough monies to circumvent that or to help balance it so that BGO doesn't suffer once again. All right. So, thank you. Thank you. Thank you so much. Thank you so much. I'd like to open the meeting to the public um on an hearing of the budget. Do I have a motion? No. Rucket. Do I have a second? Second. Mr. Chavez, any board discussion? All in favor? I. Um any member can please state your name. You have five minutes. No one. Do I have a
025motion to move close? Motion. Hearing on the budget. Chavez, do I have a second? Second. A vote. Any board discussion? All in favor? Thank you very much. Moving on to resolution 93 in buildings and ground section. How did you Oh, did I just skip? I'm like, whoa. Where? In the minutes. Hold on. I'm coming. Number four. Yeah. No, but we're not drinking death today. How did I get all that fork over there? Got excited. All right. No, no. I'm sorry. I I didn't number my stuff that I didn't. Moving on to 41. Resolution 41, which is approval of minutes March 18th, 2025 regular open meeting minutes. Do I have a motion to move 41? Motion. Chavez, do I have a second? Second. Mrs. Cruz, any board discussion? Roll call. Mrs. Alvarez. Yes. Mr. Alvarez. Yes.
026Mrs. Cruz. Yes. Mr. Navaro. Yes. Mrs. Oliver. Yes. Mr. Rakit. Yes. Mr. Chavez. Yes. Mr. Miranda. Yes. Motion carried. Thank you. There's nothing under policy. Do I have a uh I'm sorry. Moving on to 612. Resolutions in the educational section which is for approval of agenda item 61 through 611. Do I have a motion to move 612? Motion. Chavez. Do I have a second? Second. Lebo. Is there any board discussion? Roll call. Eron. Mrs. Oliver. Yes. Mr. Alvarez. Uh, I have to abstain from 6.1, but yes to Alvarez. 6.1. 6.1. 6.1. Uh, Mrs. Cruz. Yes. Mr. Lavaro. Yes. Mrs. Soliva. Yes. Mr. Racket. Yes. Mr. Chavez. Yes. Mr. Miranda. Yes. Motion carried. Moving on to resolution 717, personnel section, which is approval of agenda items 71- 716. Do I have a motion to move 717?
027Motion. Mrs. Rocket. Do I have a second? Second. I'll give it to Dalia Alvarez. Any board discussion? Roll call. Mrs. Alvarez. Yes. Mr. Alvarez. Uh, that's why I have to abstain from 7.6, but yes to. Thank you. Mrs. Cruz. Yes. Mr. Navaro. Yes. Mrs. Solivo. Yes. Mr. Rackett. Yes. Mr. Chavez. Yes. Mr. Miranda. Yes. Motion carried. Moving on to A14, finance section. Approval of agendas items 81 through 813. Do I have a motion to move 8:14? Motion. Thank you, Chavez. Do I have a second? Alvarez. Mr. Alvarez. Any board discussion? Roll call. Mrs. Alvarez? Yes. Mr. Alvarez? Yes. Mrs. Cruz? Yes. Mr. Navaro? Yes. Mr. Solivo? Yes. Mr. Rocket? Yes. Mr. Chavez? Yes. Mr. Munda? Yes. Motion carried. Moving on. Resolution 93, buildings and grounds, which is the approval of agenda items 91 through 92.
028Do I have a motion to move 93? Motion. Chavez. Do I have a second? Second. Navaro. Any board discussion? Roll call or font. Mrs. Alves? Yes. Mr. Alvarez? Yes. Mrs. Cruz? Yes. Mr. Navaro? Yes. Mrs. Oliva? Yes. Mr. Brackett? Yes. Mr. Chavez? Yes. Mr. Miranda? Yes. Motion carried. Moving to 10. Any committee reports? 111 old business 121 new business moving the floor a hearing of the public on absolutely everything. Um is there a motion to move well except personal matter conditional hearing any motion to move motion Cruz Cruz second Alv Mr. Alvarez any board discussion all in favor? Is there any member who would like to address the board? Please state your name. Yes. Come on. Hi. Uh, my name is Diego and this is my wife Sha Chen. And it's really more of a
029question where we moved to Bagota last year. We have an 8-year-old at speed and a 5-year-old at Bogart who will go to Big. Uh, but these children have been homeschooled in the past, right? And we do like the schools here. I want to say that and they like them. But for our own reasons, we may want to homeschool them again. So to keep it as simple as possible, we have two specific questions. If we were to homeschool our children in pagod, can they both participate in school field trips? And how could that happen? And when they I mean, they're eight and five, but when they get a little bit older, how can they participate in different activities specifically like sports and just be more direct question. It's really we're just wondering these things to help
030us gauge our decision on what we can or can't do. So, what I would say is this. The best thing to do is send me an email because I would have to check policy and speak with our attorney. I know in the past we have allowed homeschooled students to participate and extracurricular activities, but that was after school. I'm not aware of anything during the day like field trips and things like that. But again, if you send me a uh email uh and I I you can get my email. It's right on the website. It's very simple or call central office uh I'll get you uh your answers and there should be there is a policy on it online. I just don't know what the number is off the top of my head. So there should
031be a policy online. Yeah, there's a policy on it online. But Mr. Kennedy addresses Is that your only question? Yeah. And just from what I've heard here, can you explain to me from the budget what does the tax levy mean? That's a big part. Is is there a simple answer to exactly where that money comes from? What does it mean from the taxpayers in BOD? That's all from BGO. It's the collection. Gota. What's your name? I'm sorry. Thank you. the the library there they have a lot of museum pass and here like I'm wondering if I don't know this question for you or or direct me somewhere but maybe have the library you know maybe I know we're small maybe museum This library is a part of a a um like a consortium if you
032will. They're not it. It's for BOD, but they do collaborate with Hackinack with Tene. Um it would probably be best if you ask them because they have a lot of programs that nobody seems to know they have. And when you go in there, every time I go in there, I'm amazed. I'm like, "Oh, you do this, you do this." But yes, if you go there, they will give you a rundown. And if we don't have it, they will point you to a Bergen County library that does. They don't have Well, that's a town library, right? You can ask Mr. Kennedy in the same email. I guess we can figure that out if there's anything we do. How you get connected with the Bergen County Library System. Welcome to Bod. Yes. And welcome to Bod and
033thank you for attending. Yeah. Right. Yep. We're good. Anyone else? Do I Oh, no. We're not closing. Uh, we're moving on to Okay. So, do I have a motion to close hearing of the public? Alvarez, Chavez and Alvarez for a second. Any board discussion? All in favor? I no oppose. Right. We're moving on to executive session 141. Whereas the C, we have an executive session. Yes. Two minutes. Just a discussion. C231PL1975, also known as the Sunshine Law, authorizes a public body to meet an executive sess executive or private session under certain limited circumstances. Whereas set law requires the board to adopt a resolution at a public meeting before it now it now thereof be it resolved by the Boda Board of Education. It does hereby determine that it is necessary to meet an in executive
034session on April 29th, 2025 at approximately 7:30 p.m. to discuss matters involving negotiations with litigation personnel and that the matter discussed will be made public when confidentiality is no longer required and action pursuant to said discussion shall take place only at a public meeting. Action may or may action not be taken. The action will not be taken and it's only going to be like less than five minutes. Yes. And no formal action and it's advice of council on a matter. Do I have a motion to move? I'll rest. Motion. Oh, is it a motion to close? Uh just no. This is on the ex going into executive session which all right. So motion to move executive session. I'll rest. All in favor? A second? I was the I. All in favor? All right. Hey, Dolly.
035We have to move our hands. Hello. trying at the same time. Do I have a motion to open the public meeting? Reopen. To reopen the public meeting. Chavez Alvarez. Mr. Alvarez for a second. All in favor? I. Do I have a motion to adjurnn? Motion. Yes. Oh, Chavez. Second. BC. All in favor? I. Good night, everyone. Good night.