001I like to call this meeting to order. This is a regular session of the township board of education held for the purpose of transacting appropriate board business for chapter 231 1975. Notice of this meeting is advertised in March. Copies of the agenda of this meeting are appropriately posted and available. Mrs. Barta here. Mr. Brandon here. Mrs. Cabana here. Mr. Chen, Mrs. Hermy here. Mr. Johnson here. Mrs. McBride here. Mr. Mills here. Mr. here. Also present Mr. Fertini, superintendent principal. We have a quorum. Thank you. Please stand for the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for it stands nation. We have several presentations this even going to start out with one not agenda today is going to be presenting project for welcome I will admit I had a sneak preview of
002the green I actually have the actual presentation that's okay whatever you put up Yeah. Yeah. So hello uh I am T Mishra. Uh I was a student here a year ago. Um yes I was a student here a year ago. Uh I am a boy scout right now and I am almost an Eagle Scout if this board could help me with my project that I plan on leaving here at RDS. Um this is my previous school. My sister still goes here. I have a lot of memories linked to this place and I was thinking you know as my final thing as a boy scout I wanted to give back to this school. Um I also got help a lot of help from the green team both of which Mrs. and Mrs. Noah are part of
003and they've given me a lot of guidance through all of this and I want to fully commit to this project. I'm not going to hang up in the middle of it and say oh I'm too busy. I don't have the money for this. I have the resources like necessary and I will go through. So this is the basic blueprint you could call it of the plan I'm going to be making here. So this is going to be going to be the rain garden right now. This is at the entrance of the school. It's kind of ditch there that just has a tree stump and a bunch of rocks surrounding it. So that's where I plan on removing all of that and making a rain garden. It would be right next to the walkway and water
004from the ditch the school has already made would pile up there. It would be clean. Any trash in that water that was brought in would be taken out and the water would go to the forest and the lake making it cleaner and more bright. These are a few more photos of the actuator. This is a photo off of Google maps. You can see that's the entrance parking lot. And then that's this is the actual area. And then as you can see, a bunch of rocks, tree stump here. And then there's also a pipe right here that leads under the walkway. And that's actually how the water gets to the forest. This is a more close-up plan of what the garden will be looking like. So, there's going to be a special kind of plant here
005called hardy plants. They're plants that can withstand, you know, different temperatures, harsh conditions, things such as oil, salt being piled on top of them. they can handle that and they will clean that out of the water that will go down these rocks, you know, slowing the flow so the plants at the bottom can properly absorb the water given to them. During rainy seasons, sometimes during the spring or maybe right after winter, uh the water down there will act as a mini swamp, allowing for different animals and plants to grow there as well. And if the rain guarding and most likely when it overflows, it will be going through that PVC pipe going onto the other side then going to the forest. So these are a few of the plants uh I will be using. So
006this is the pasak sedge I believe is that one over this one. Um it should be placed in the wetest areas. That means all the way on the bottom. So that way it can absorb all the water and grow properly. It's it has the proper nutrients needed to provide life to things like butterflies, you know, dragonflies, bees, all of that. Uh the soft brush right here, it's going to be in a circle around the middle part. Uh it won't directly be on it because too much water will harm it. So it'll just be a little bit above it. Uh the Jersey blueberry uh mid-level same as the other one except these are blueberries and they will provide food to different animals such as rabbits, hairs, bunnies, foxes, deer. And then the plants on top, you
007know, those hardy plants I talked about, cardinal flowers, these ones, they're going to be absorbing most of that, you know, toxic water you could call it. It'll be stopping like major things that infest the water like plastics, rubber, salt, oil from absorbing all of it. These are some of the animals that may be attracted by this rain garden. There would be bees, rabbits, foxes, birds, butterflies, frogs and toads during the rainy seasons, the molivia tackles there, insects and other, you know, smaller and different. So, this is the basic timeline I have for how I will start this project. Uh after this board meeting, hopefully I'll be allowed to actually get my troops signature on it. And then I will find a professionals to test the soil for pre-existing nutrients to make sure I don't need
008to put too much fertilizer or anything else needed for the soil. Uh me and a few other of my friends will plan out or plan out where to find and buy all the plants needed. Uh and during this summer, uh we will work on the garden for two to three days. So day one will be the removal of all existing things there. So we're going to be digging the hole deeper. We're going to be getting rid of all the rocks and getting rid of that tree stuff in the middle. We will rearrange the rocks into the plant I had from before. And we'll start by planting the stronger plants on the edges and then a few plants in the middle sections if we have time for them. there's enough people. The third day is really
009just to make sure everything is done. You know, add all the plants in and then just test it once again to make sure all the plants are stable and watering them once in a while. And after every month, I'll do tests both in the river, the forest or the lake, sorry, the lake, the forest and the garden itself. And then maintenance for it could be done by the students here. It could be done by my crew. It could be done by a mountain. But it's it's a opportunity for service hours for other people. The maintenance itself include removal of plastic bags if they can get into the part of the garden. Uh the trimming of the shrubs, checkups, like I said, we're going to be testing the soil. uh removal of any other large unwanted
010objects, some rocks, anything like that gets in there. Uh repairing of the sign board uh that I'll talk about that more later. And a possible hour and a half of hour to hour and a half of service hours to anyone who needs you know down for high school or just for themselves. So, what this garden will achieve, as I've already stated, it will help give clean water to the surrounding forest and water its bodies. It will lead to better plant plant growth in both of those areas, and it will attract more species. And uh as I said before, I was a student here, so I know during multiple of our during multiple of our science classes, we talk about ecosystems and having one right here at the school for students to observe would be amazing
011for them to see and actually, you know, face to face have a, you know, see a rain garden or an EOS system and it will help provide a basic plan for other students or faculty members to make rain gardens in their own home or other lakes for some other plans for the rain garden. Well, other than the rain garden is refreshing the signboard that's right next to it. Uh it will have information on the rain garden such as the animals there, how it works throughout the seasons, the plants, uh you know all the cycles, water cycle, carbon cycle, things like that. Um and then again having service out opportunities to all students, members of the school, things like that. [Applause] I really appreciate working with students especially the students who come back. So once again,
012thank you for anyone questions for assume we have to do some sort of um Oh, for the approval, I'll come back at a later date. Maybe I'll send I'll probably send an email to either you or Mr. Fertini. I just need a online or in-person signature on uh I just need a online or in-person signature of a piece of paper. It's called the uh Eagle Scout worksheet. I just need uh anyone on this board really to sign that and I'll be allowed to go through with my project. Okay. If not, we'll wait. Oh, thank you very much. That was a wonderful presentation. Thank you. Can I ask one question? So, I think your presentation was really great because it makes me think I need a different, but I'm just curious and maybe I missed it,
013but how do you plan to fund the purchase of all those beautiful plants? Um, I know maintenance might be community service hours for some of the kids in high school, but that initial fund um funding. So, funds will be given by myself. Uh the green team I believe has offered a few funds and then a external group has also uh said that they would allow me to have some of their money to purchase the plants and the resources needed to make a garden. Thank you. Thank you. So you could ask for donations that I was going to say don't feel obligated to stay for the rest of our meeting. You know, we understand you have other things to do. You're welcome to, but we don't want you to feel obligated to. That's all I wanted
014to say. Okay? You'll feel free to if you have to go, you know, as we move on. Thank Thank you so much again. Thank you. Thank you guys for listening. Thank you. And with that with that we'll go on to our next uh presentation or workshop. I would say for Charlene Peterson our New Jersey school boards association field service representative will be working with us on our board of evaluation that we did a couple months ago which question about how to use those results and welcome Charlie. Thank you. I'm just gonna [Applause] And I also have a put a summary together. Well, first I wanted to start out, I guess, acknowledging the board receiving its board certification right at the Mayors County meeting. So, that was an exciting time. And I know that you guys
015won't stop there, right? I'm guessing that you're going to get the Caroli Larson award again, right? And uh keep going. So, that's another 10 hours of working together and 14 over the next two years. Um and also wanted to you know recognize Grace for her length of service that she was also acknowledged as a for you know serving your community for 10 years and again that's a big commitment for that time. So like Barry said um you know we're here to talk about the board self evaluation tonight and you guys completed it was kind of in early May. Um so just again wanted to acknowledge the fact that a board self evaluation is not required by the state anymore but it is considered to be a good governance practice for those boards that continue to
016fill it out. It is you know part of the the certification process as well. So, we kind of just barely snuck it in there right before I think we finished May 2nd of the meeting was like the board of stuff. Yeah, bless you. Um, so, um, but you know, I have to say as I was looking it over and I don't know if you guys have had time to really dig into it, but, um, like it to me it was really clear how much your board has evolved. Um, like you talked about things that you have already accomplished, but you still want to do more, right? Like the needle is really moving, it seems to me. So, I just kind of wondered how you felt as a group as you reflect on your work together
017as a team. Just kind of wondered how you feel about your governance work and the work that you're doing together. And just kind of wanted to get some of your observations. just in Yeah, it doesn't have to be related to the board self, but just in general kind of your reflection on your work together as a board team. Well, I feel that I mean we are more conscious like about what we're doing um and kind of being a little more conscious about how what we do applies to the goals that we're trying to achieve like a board like our board goals specifically. I mean always the district goals in mind but um we've had some I mean we've had some very concrete challenges that were deadline driven in terms of contracts. So that was, you
018know, those were things we definitely had to focus on. But um in terms of supporting the superintendent and see Yeah, I feel we've had a lot and I think the board is holding the same direction. I think we're working together very well. Um, you know, and I I just think uh we had some new members that first tried to vote and turn over getting to know each other, but I do think a really good job of I'll say executing I would say that we held um we had like all said we've met many many things going on in the last couple years and all of you have risen to the challenge of all the challenges that we've had to meet to meet all those obligations and goals that have you know that we have done
019and you know it's commendable that you know each person you know without each of you it wouldn't work so thank you all for for all that you've done um I mean there's so many things of having short notice um you know meeting schedule. Thank you all. I mean and I think even more than that just even the like the comments and way you describe the work you do has changed to me that there is a a lot of reference to goals a lot of like student achievement is referenced much more with this just kind of the the focus of saying like we know now or we like like we're rolling up our sleeves and we're more than just coming in here to approve things. We're just coming in here to just kind of work together
020while we're here that we are having a deeper understanding of kind of what our responsibility is to have that long-term view to to make sure that, you know, that we are leading this place, you know, you know, strategically as we're looking at how to move forward. And I, you know, to me that was just evident in the way that you the language that you use and the way you, you know, described your work. So, it's more than than just accomplishing a lot. It's the way you're looking at the work that you need to accomplish in your own. You're looking at it through the lens of kind of not just like a work but like a strategic word, right? That was like a governance kind of mindset focus and it to me it was coming out
021in your language and how you talked about who were working for self evaluation. So I just kind of wanted to acknowledge that. Um and there were a lot of things that you guys said in ter I mean in terms of you know a lot of things you're working on were a lot of things that you want to you know continue to you know improve or do more with um so just kind of wanted to go through a few of those things and I also feel consistently I've always said you guys always scored like we are the hardest scorers of any book on themselves and you continue to demonstrate that as you But but in a way it's you know it's honest feedback and it is um you know I think you really took the board
022self evaluation and like I almost can get a story or I almost can see what your year is going to look like and how things need to hold um based on the things that that you wrote and that you said. Um so just kind of wanted to just go through a couple things. You know, one of the things that we always seem to talk about is in looking at your goals kind of what that um you know, that challenge of, you know, how are we doing tracking them? How are we doing measuring them? How are we doing staying focused on it? And then how are we communicating to the public? Um what you know, what accomplishments are being made with respect to the goals. So there was some mention in here saying that we're starting
023to kind of get planned together, right? that we're starting to have a process. So, I just kind of wonder kind of where you feel like you are with that and where do you see yourself going with that? I know I can say that the vision will be that goals would be to have an action plan, you know, once we set the goal, okay, here it is and then periodically update the board on like this training, for example, for the board certification, you know, we here's how many credits we have. Here's we need here's what we've done so far. That's the vision. The execution of course we have to work out. We did get some of those other challenges before during the year. But but I think we will see where we want to go. I
024think we'll get there. I think for me the biggest challenge that came up in that area and this is the theme we always have is the communication. I don't think we did a really good jobing how we did a long way progress. We've made progress. I don't think we did a really good job. I think we can always do a better job. So then how do you see that happening? Well, we're one of the things we talk about tonight is a newsletter to the community news on what we're doing, what we've achieved, things we still have work to do on I'm expanding here. I don't know what we're going to do to be we could be getting feedback from the community through we'll reach out to we're hoping to reach out. That's one aspect. We
025can post it on the website too. We achieve something we should say just like a little note from the board you know. Yeah. This is not I don't think they don't think the public has any idea how we're doing. I think we don't understand that. It was like evident because it was um one of our highest scores was considered vision, mission and goals like in our planning but like one of our lowest scores of ourselves was how communicating. Yeah. So it's very clear the newsletter that was going up at the last meeting could be centered around the board goals perhaps you know here's the goals we set and how we're accomplishing that keep us on track to our public direction and then other things can be revenue the center of other than anything else that
026would be to me to me from what I've seen for this one year the drive and the sincerity to do better and be better not only as an individual individual board members but collectively is very evident. So that's something that I've been impressed with along the way. That's something I think we should celebrate communitywide. should know their accomplishments and things that they do to make themselves better workers. Yeah. I mean, and kind of governance is kind of sometimes one of those lost or those forgotten aspects, right, of what um when you think about the accomplishments in a school district, you think about the students and what are our staff doing, but you know, there's definitely how the board functions and what the board does has a major impact on all of those other things as
027well. So the point is important to recognize the knowledge that you impact with that name. So and really the message that you send to the staff, the message that you send to the community is based on your commitment to the work that you're doing. Um then the next section we looked at policy and again it you know seemed like the board you know pretty much on top of right the regular policy work that comes in but then again kind of saying okay now we want to go a step further right and say okay how do we now then take that and maybe look at the policies being a little more proactive to kind of make sure are they aligned with what what we're doing and then also kind of saying and how do we even
028we um better reflect or you know see if we can reflect kind of the values of the community right and the values of the board. some policy. Someone mentioned it would be nice if they could be more a little like locally, you know, kind of locally, right? So, just kind of keeping keep that movement, right? Um and the next section was student achievement and there in that area like I said um it's just kind of evident throughout the entire evaluation but you know definitely clear in here as you know you're saying that every board member was focused on it is like a paramount goal and even you know you somebody it was even mentioned one of the comments that you restructured your committees that you had like two committees that were kind of combined and
029focused on that and something else and decided separate them to make sure then that it was given the attention that it needs. Um you mentioned the that there's an increased use of data by the that you're seeing and working with um and you know celebrating staff and student accomplishments. Um that that again is that okay but we can always do more right saying okay we're doing good with this but we could continue to do more for all of our students. we can continue and kind of that word communicate surfaces through everything, right? Like it surfaced through the goals, it surfaced through our student achievement, it surfaced through the work, you know, you're doing as a board like in your committees. Just kind of one of those kind of themes that just kind of emerged throughout
030the day. Um and then the next part was looking at your your governance work and again you know just kind of as you looked at the words that the way the board describes itself like respectful, efficient, well prepared, understands your role, has a strong commitment. So like unified. So those are all things that like you are kind of beyond having to worry about those types of things, right? like you're all like we know what we're here for and we're not going to let those other things distract us from what we're here for. So we we recognize that we have to conduct oursel this way in order to accomplish the other things. Um so probably there was like several comments about onboarding of new members. So just kind of and that was the lowest indicator on
031the board self evaluation. So just kind of wondering what your thought was or about that or what to do with that. I think we've discussed in the past having some type of mentorship while we're on boarding and particularly for people who've been on the board longer who are really even not to throw Barry but president, vice president, whomever to kind of take somebody under their wing, mentor them, talk to them about governance, you know, what to expect in your trainings the first year and just the format even. We had um had been looking at in governance different new member orientation. There's like you could tell there were formerly binders but it's a document that has like pertinent information and we've um talked about what what it would look like you know to have from like
032phone numbers to direct links to the proper folders or where to find them. So formalizing it. Yeah. Formalizing it a little better or like we do. Um it it's not Yeah. I mean not as complete as they want. It it's very good on the on the administrative side saying like this is what our report looks like, this is the contract, you know, right? But there's there's just more. There is more. That would be good. The mentorship is good. your first year on the board, it's like coming into a novel in the middle of it. Who are the characters? What's the plot? Like it takes a while to figure it out. So having a mentor like let me connect the dots. And we also committed I guess school boards presentations at workshops and other places that
033we get copies of one school district presentations. We got copies of those too. I think it was on our agenda, but we had to push it back a little bit because we're working on some other things. Yeah. Since we didn't have any new members, there was there was a survey that the National School Board Association did asking people how long they felt like they knew what they were doing after they got on the board. And the average response was like two years pretty much about that people felt like it took them before they okay now I get now I I get what I'm supposed to be doing here, right? So yeah, so that's kind of to the point of what can we do to kind of help shorten that learning curve and kind of make
034that two years less if we can, you know, recognize that, you know, we want to help you get up and running as quickly as you possibly can and feel comfortable doing this work. So that's great that you've got some of those other manuals. Um and the I don't think the Washington Township board just did a really um good job with the calendar they did like a 12 month calendar and beyond a board calendar they also calendar out all their committee work and have that like 12 months um so I can share that with you again. So it's was the first time I've seen someone take it beyond okay this is what we do every month as a board but then they said okay but then this is what these committees do over a 12 year
035period. Um then the next section was looking at resource management which again was you know a high area for the board and then probably as much as you know we know that you're doing the best you can with what you've got and um you know committed to student achievement health safety security your infrastructure needs have good audits and you know the board understands its goal in this process that kind of the overwhelming theme in the comments was looking about revisiting the referendum I'll have to believe in kind of reassess um that. So kind of starting to see word goals formulated right as I was looking through this and I'm sure um that's probably something that is not off the table yet. Right. So um and then the the last section of this runs leadership and
036again that's where that communication comes back right of just kind of making sure that everything we're doing and it really is a challenge because as much as we do it's just things evolve so fast and that the needs continue to grow and people's lives and things you know we're the ones that have to continue to find new and better ways to to reach you, right? And um you know, kind of those days of thinking, well, if they're not here at our pool meeting, then we must be doing everything right and everybody's happy. Instead of saying like that doesn't diminish our obligation to try to communicate to our community, to hear from them, and to be connected to them. So, how do we continue to strive to do that and make that happen? So I guess
037that's maybe kind of where your newsletter thing comes in, right? Is that you and then I guess I kind of gloss over. So you also kind of talked about communication from committee. So just kind of wondered I saw that was mentioned that you have like a reporting out it still seemed like there were comments about like what more can we do? So I just kind of wondered how you feel about the information you're getting from a committee that you're not on and kind of how you're managing that as a maybe you have suggestions because I think about it I know someone mentioned this in the past but we often get our community reports we're all guily of it but I'll I'll tell sometimes I don't write the notes the right time and I think the
038communication at first hear a lot when we report out on the committees and find out things and how can we kind of bridge that gap a little and how we can meet together collaboratively to discuss things that have happened behind the scenes a little bit more and bridge that gap. It's just my opinion. So I guess kind of like some trying to do it like through scheduling, right? saying like our committee meetings have to happen here so that we can get the notes and the information so that when the full board meets and we have to have our board meeting we've had time to review that versus you know a lot of times the meetings are either happening like right before the board meeting or the you know or sometimes like that and boards have
039tried to be intentional and say okay this week is going to be the committee meeting week this week is going to be a week to get the reports out and then this is the week the boards is going to be so that you are not stuck in that cycle, right? So, it's just kind of more figuring out how to schedule them away so they can have that access and then also like a way to make sure that the that the communication is well organized. Like there was one board that just kind of had like a calendar and they like loaded the document like on this day this is the agenda and then had the like the committee meeting minutes to it and you know so that everyone knew where to go look for it and
040had access to it. So, I'm not sure how you're managing getting the information out to the rest of the board, but that kind of should be the goal, right? That you come to the meeting tonight, you should have the information you need to be making informed decisions and having important conversations and tonight should not be the first time you're learning these things, right? So while you know we kind of say that while reporting out about what's happening in the communities is helpful really the the main group that should be benefiting from that will be the the community stakeholders because as a board ideally you have already had access and seeing that information. So, it's kind of a horrible way to just kind of summarize to the public that what's been going on. And our meetings
041are a little like that's not a bad idea. We have the meetings next week of that um to keep it more on schedule maybe. Um but our meetings don't always line up to the same meetings. Some of them do, but not all of them. I mean something that we think about. I mean we tal it's we talked about like maybe governance should take this on but I don't I think it's more of a collaborative you know conversation you know I feel in the past we were a little more intentional trying to be like the second Tuesday or the second Wednesday every or the first Monday of the month it's going to be this meeting. So you just knew and then even if you didn't get the notes to you know ask hey how was your
042meeting happened and it was on a calendar you know so having a little more awareness is you said two weeks before committing meetings then you know when it's that week get the notes done it gives you plenty of time likeing story of be intentional about it, right? Make sure that you are getting information. I think there was even a mention about like when it passes, right? So, how was that? So, when are you getting the Monday, right? Yeah. Is that posing to be a challenge for I mean like would you prefer it be Friday or is it Monday? Maybe not ideal, but it's working. Or I think Friday would be great too if by that Friday all board committee committee reports were in, you know, and then you just need to go look at the
043folder. That's the other report. set an alert in Google forms where people drive share with everyone. That might be a nice way. be like a standing calendar thing or just things like no extra steps doing anything. It's just like the agenda reports available at the same time. That's automatic. We don't have one person. We decide as a collectively if we want to try to schedule meetings that way to do that. Yeah. That seems like a good idea to talk about or whatever later. But now of course talking about it better, you know, if you all think that's a great idea to try this drive because then we tried the first, you know, the first holiday, then Tuesday, Wednesday, but that never works because the board meetings move around. There's holidays, the school calendar moves around.
044So that's usually runs a foul when we try to do the first whatever month but if you tie you know district look at where the board meetings are you know two weeks back you know okay committee meetings you know there's something we said you know it's a very intriguing idea to keep keep things in a good way I think we just generally come upon the group chair right so they can work within that meeting Yeah. So, so if we all think that's a great idea, many chairs, you know, both of us try to, you know, look at the board calendar and go two weeks back and schedule those meetings. I mean there's I mean there's some there's some debates like governance that doesn't necessarily have stuff on the agenda for example that there's some things
045that don't necessarily have that I would say but yeah ones that are very much tied agenda driven like program personnel policy finance all but Um but doesn't mean does anyone use the Google calendar on your schoolus calendar invite So I use it. It's funny. I use it for myself and then I think I I created a board committee with things. You guys take things. I do. I don't know. Yeah. So like I put the high school graduation, you know, like I put certain things in my own but I you know there is a there's a board of ed committees group that we're all in. And so I just when I add to the calendar I Yes, under that under that ear further on we did discuss having planned uh committee meetings in advance associated with
046the calendar but um we did have something like two weeks prior to four set up we could plan for which would basically like a guideline as best as we can that way. We probably will schedule it out through June anyway. So now we're going to July, August, September. So we all agree. Let's try to try to do that for moving forward. actually many people meet the school year. Now we got here. I have one minor suggestion. Maybe when we're incoming meetings, this is this just might just be an idea or best practice that, you know, we have the agenda on the computer and they just fill in our notes in the moment and then post it and then we're all accountable. So then I think where you really like this is the calendar agenda. It's
047like all I do have agendas for the personal program for example the topics date um and members members present and future dates I'll print those out everything's already I love when there's like different agenda items like topics and things you would like to discuss and use the standard one that came just to keep using it over and over and over. And if there's something in that bucket to talk about, we talk about it. If there's, you know, sometimes there's things we'd like to talk about, but we don't get to talk about, but they're still there to remind us that they're there for one similar similar thought. I sometimes think that we discuss a committee should we have So which makes sense in some casual [Music] that we're voting on whatever motion is board meeting we
048should if it's significant try to right like I would love to get the agenda and be like I know right I usually prize going back to the talking that we talked about that already drafted out two weeks prior that week things are chang but I would say a lot of what we've been voting on the last several meetings have been called right checks that need to go out Right. Right. That did come out. I agree. But we I mean I think with our motions anyway. Yes. But I know personnel goes through all the personnel motions they have to right there. So all that is discussed but that's but they might. Yeah. Zoom out. Yeah, but the Friday agendas definitely go to something like Well, they just need big ideas, right? the big idea was going
049to translate into a motion. That would be great. Yeah, and then the last part of this, you know, the board was this is the first time that we put board goals on right on the board self evaluation. So the first time was before that you had the opportunity to to kind of do that. So the board was clear that a couple year goals were achieved. talking about agreements and board certification. Um said, you know, then the other ones perhaps that there's still some more, you know, opportunity to do more work there, you know, with kind of the referendum and the progress. Um and then supporting supporting the superintendent for a successful transition and then planning for negotiation. I said your your work is spelled out before us here, right, of of what's coming up. And
050then I just put that the very last piece on here which is on the back page which actually came from the book to governance board referenced before. Um, and so I just kind of wanted to just kind of show you like they talk about a board that's doing what it's supposed to and kind of what the positive drivers are for work. Um, of just kind, you know, as you look at these things and kind of saying, "Yeah, like that's us, right?" Like they focus on governance, they focus on the governance mindset that you are interested in like just not having qualifications but being engaged. uh when they say like how many votes, not saying how many votes do we need to make this pass, but how well do we all understand what we're voting on
051and that that's what's important, right? Um kind of looking at things in the strategic perspective, being proactive and forward thinking, supporting the government's functions of the board, and having board superintendent. So those to me are all things that describe how you do your work. wanted to share as much as you know you described it yourself just to kind of see it you know laid out like that all that I had about your good self evaluation unless you have any other thoughts about Who knows? You might keep seeing me there. 19 hours towards Carol Lawson. That's right. Yes. I have to keep walking into the retirement system and say cancel. Keep us posted. We would love to have you back. Yes. Well, I think it could be through the end of August. They like I said,
052they just asked me to stay on you're going to see us through the car. You said June. I said August. Well, we're making a good day. So, and again, thank you so much for 2026. Yeah, that's what someone said. Well, I see your workshop. I'm like, no, we definitely line in the sand. The end of the summer is the line in the sand. Just want to again say thank you so much and just what a pleasure it is to work with your amazing journey and I really appreciate. We have a little little gift from you. another great summer. I'll hug it for every appreciate it and like I said, I I'm just so proud of you guys and what we've accomplished and just to kind of watch you grow and evolve and just I just
053feel like you're in an amazing place right now. in your retirement. Hope to see you soon. Okay, see you later. And let's see our brings us to annual report from school submission of the state student safety data system. Super excited here. Um, so by law, all New Jersey public school districts must use the student safety data system to report all incidents of violence, vandalism, and weapons, substance abuse, and HIV incidents that occur in their schools. So this information is collected to fulfill state and federal reporting requirements. So the following information is information. Um, so it's a fiscal year. We have had a total of seven incidents. Um, one of them was violence, classified as silence. uh one classified as vandalism, zero substance abuse, zero weapons. We had five HIVs that were confirmed. Um and then
054seven alleged. So that's for the year. That's for the year. Thank you very much. I did run into our student represent high school graduation last evening and he said not make it this evening. I can understand why he's graduating out or I'm sorry and We have board business motions A1 through May 14, please. I'll second. Any questions, comments, discussion? that pertain to the school year beginning July 1, June 30. If not, the question is on the adoption of board motions May 1 through 14. Yeah, we have a motion. So for A1 through A14, all those in favor say I. I. Say no. Any obstac That brings us to the business administrator report. Okay, we have a lot of good things to report. Um 2025 commencement. So the preparations have all been underway uh from facility
055standpoint uh for the commencement on June 20th pending good weather and uh the commencement will be held in RBS. reserve parking spaces than usual before the board and along the grass field adjacent to the ceremony for any board members that have attending they've already told me so we relay that information up front so they're expecting uh we met with the architect Mr. for and I met with the architect. If you recall in the past, we had authorized the architect to do a feasibility study just to see um potential areas for a future referendum what you can do because you really have to look at the the environmental issues, any issues. So with that um they hired the engineers and they did all those studies. They met with us to give us really a broad brush
056view of it and I'm waiting for the final report. We met with the committee facilities committee this evening to go over that and I think this line will be reporting on it later. Um and uh summer roof project that we've been planning is through the budget. Um they're going to start delivering materials and possible tear off on Monday the 23rd after schools out. Um, we discussed with the the facilities committee staging areas for the supplies and the parking lot are going to be doing the wing from where the fish tank is all the way down to the hard room floor down there. Um, and it's not only roof replacement, a lot of things on there like masonry, gravity vents, things like that. So, more than just roof replacement or other factors involved. So that starts
057on the 23rd and we're looking to finish up uh substantially by the first week of August. So we'll keep them on schedule. The last moving contract two projects will be great. Um came on time, came on budget. Uh the audit for the 2425 school year is tenatively scheduled to August 4th. So we're as we close down finances, get ready for that. um looking at vacation schedules. Uh the New Jersey schoolwork conference, I think some of you folks have already told me whether you want to attend or not. Just uh keep in mind, just email me and then as we get closer, I'll cancel out any reservations when you get not going. Um we didn't register as a group. So after the conference is over, anybody in the board can access even though we didn't attend
058access online any materials that might have handed out. So here's actually a good one. I attended a uh my annual conference in Atlantic City for the association of school business. Um and they give out each year several thousand scholarships for high school students. A lot of like my colleagues are K to 12, so they have high school. We don't we have links. So at the end of the conference, we throw their name tags in and they draw. I was one of the recipients of I think five or six five or six scholarships. So I contacted uh Mr. Seagull, Dr. Dr. Seagull over at the over at the Mountain Lakes to say uh if he could award one of these to you know the high school senior. Um I gave him some criteria. I made up
059the criteria, but I think it kind of addresses um you know the spirit of what the scholarship is about. They're all donated by the associate members for New Jersey as they all collectively you know put the scholarship together. So um based on the criteria Bin Township student that was financially deserving deserving of a scholarship a student who actively engage in school or community service activity maintained good grades attendance in school uh has enrolled in a freshman class or a four-year college in New Jersey and also has a desire to enter the field of education. So keep the scholarship to somebody who's going to give back. So, it was great. I was really surprised when they presented up on the stage. So, I will I haven't heard back yet, but uh I know they had their
060awards ceremony. They had graduation. So, I think it might be a nice bonus for student $1,000. Thank you. Couldn't keep it myself. No, it'll go to good use. And I know that, you know, my kids being the recipients of a number of different scholarships, it helps. You know books are expensive, things are expensive, it's tuition. Great. Thank you. That brings us to the supervisor board. Once again, I want to say thank you to today for his desire to give back to the school community. Uh in addition to today's desire to give back, we have another former RBS student, Abby Bolinsky, working on her gold award project for Girl Scouts. She's creating a summer reading program for all students. Uh we've sent out a flyer on her behalf to send to get the word out and
061we set up a collection box for books in the lobby and we collected hundreds of books. So she's going to be doing that with someone which is really nice. Uh a shout out to Mr. Monica who hosted a real life application of math by doing math on the wall on back in May. Once again back in May the debate team traveled to St. Elizabeth St. Elizabeth University to compete and they did very well. Um, on Tuesday the 3rd of June and Tuesday the 10th of June, I did two math meetings to show showcase our new math programs, uh, new math courses. Uh, once again, I plead to the community, if you have any kindergarteners out there, please register them because it helps us serve our planning purposes. And I do have very, very good news
062and I'm glad Mrs. Warren Wolf is here to hear this. We have been awarded the systematic uh change grant. Uh Mrs. Morgan Roth and Mrs. Wilson applied for this grant earlier this year. This grant represents a powerful opportunity to deepen our commitment to inclusive education. So over the next year, it will enable us to better support both our students and staff as we transition toward a more inclusive program and practice. this systematic change initiative. The grant is a three-year partnership for all particip inclusive facilitator funded through the New Jersey inclusive practices initiative. This collaboration will provide sustained support resources and professional development as work together to build a more inclusive school environment. the video and the presentation slides that I gave you for the math presentation tomorrow. They'll be posted tomorrow. Thank you. Thank you.
063Thank you for doing that. Very nice. It's great. It's great. That brings us to I'd like to say thank you to Mrs. Cobort for stepping up and leading our Washington DC trip, making it very memorable and delighting for all our eighth graders. I attended along with Mrs. Mongan, Mrs. Savage, Mr. Monaco, and Mrs. Neritage. And I'd like to also say thank you to the HSA for helping out with the expenses. Thanks again to the HSA for working together with the school to make fun day uh a very special day and enjoyable for all our students. Thanks for pivoting when of a nature did not cooperate and and be willing to come back another day. Today, uh congratulations to our Trep students and their mentor, Mrs. Z for the best marketplace to date. I spent a
064lot of money there. Great job to all our entrepreneurs and thanks to the Ed Foundation for underwriting this valuable program. Uh once again, the shout out to Mrs. Kovar and Mrs. Martell. Both our upper grade course and band students had achieved a rating of excellence at the high notes festival and we had a wonderful time at dor. Congratulations to Miss Snider's class on their having been chosen as one of the 50 finalists in the student treasures publishing national book competition. They presented their book to the school community earlier this year. And next uh is our spotlight on student work. Uh spotlight on student work is exemplary work done by students in preschool through third grade and displayed in the lobby on a monthly basis. Our spotlight students in kindergarten are Yvon Sakod, Gray Prasad, Kaisen
065Glander, and Ali Elton Thawi. In first grade, Harrison Nubie, and Colin Ricker. Second grade, Jordan Given, Marley Weatherford, Phipe Frank, and Hunter Glendon. In third grade, Joey Ponty, and Luis Chanel. And now for the Falcons of the Month. Copins of the month are students that exhibit a dedication to learning, leadership skills, great attitude, and strong character traits to promote a positive school climate. Fifth grade, Emma Matthews. Sixth grade, Ariel Marillo. Seventh grade, Lucha Lent. And eighth grade, Brianna Tom. And that concludes my nominations. Thank you very much. Also had a chance to read correspondence one and two. over section number one. The first public comment period will be limited to agenda items only. The second public comment period will be open. Please be mindful that public comment periods are available to me to give comments
066and feedback to the board. Personal matters and day operations are not appropriate subject to board. Please note the most effective resol questions may be directed to school personnel for board through email. Please state your name and address for the record. All comments are five minutes. I wish to address the board on agenda items. Starting with the right board of education. All right. It was a long one. Um there was a lot going on. So they started out there with three presentations. The first one was Laker shout outs which is nice. They were basically um recognizing students for achievements in arts, academics, and sports. It's way too many to go through and I couldn't type that fast, but a few notable ones were on a map competition. Uh, one of the I guess it was nationwide
067and they were trying to figure out which sports should be in the Olympics always votes on which sports are out. Um, so they put they built a model to determine which sports should be in and out of 155 teams, uh, they finished in the top 5%. Um there were three national merit finals uh for this graduating classes. Um and then golf finished in the sectional finals. I think it's the fourth year in a row section. They had another presentation which was great honoring the retirees uh from the district. You can see there's a lot of great passion pretty emotional some 20 30 years. So they did a really good job talking through them. They they had a presentation um from each of the principles in the school for teacher or administrator that was retiring job
068on that. Um there was a good presentation great presentation on postsecary outcomes. Um so they went through under guidance council went through all the factors that went into the admissions for class. Uh very interesting to hear what colleagues are thinking, how that's evolving over time. Um early decision right now seems to be one of the um I want to say easier ways, but there's a higher acceptance rate on early decision there is everything else. So they definitely sort of encouraging people to do that. Are they still um more SAT scores? Yes, it's definitely scores are bad. Not all schools, but it's definitely coming back in a lot of schools. Absolutely. Um there's more equity though. We talked about this a lot. Uh he was very blunt saying that there were certain schools when he um
069basically met with them said we don't like um it's it's not a race thing, it's a socioeconomic. Uh yeah. So they it was uh definitely they're looking to have I'll call it zip code mountain lakes not mountain lakes zip code is what they they were considering it mountain lakes the high school but basically they don't like this zip code is what they're saying um they're trying to get more underprivileged kids in socioeconomics so it's a little it's getting a little bit harder so very counselor. Yeah. Um application and acceptance rates were I wrote this at 59%. I was writing fast so I'm assuming it was pretty good acceptance rate for us. Um they did a whole presentation too which is hard to take all the data down on what schools we go to. There's I
070know one of the things I remember is there's a move towards more state schools specifically itself the SEC I think they attributed that to Instagram but there's like a page you'll go to yeah state schools are up there's more people applying and getting into state schools uh which is very interesting you know there were five of the four or five of the IVs were represented Harvard I noticed was only like I think that wasn't on there but there was somebody diabetes just were all represented at least. Um I think that's it. I can't remember what else they had other schools. They talked about earlier things in that and uh data shows strong public schools um increase over private is what I just said. So you had some of the private schools dro so that was
071a long presentation but really good one and insightful. Um unfortunately the whole public had left that presentation. So, nobody heard it. But um the video's up there. Can you listen to it? I don't know. I got to see if the slides are up there, but you can hear his good there's a good voice over on it. So, you want to kind of listen to that. Dr. Se Dr. Seal gave an update. He met with CPAG and Hot Lakes and had a good communications continuing dialogue with CPAG. Um they had the the graduation last night. Uh congratulations to the class of 2025. they just had they had it outside um and uh they had a record number of grants submitted. So obviously they'll give credit to the administration not less education foundation and the ETF as
072well uh for all their help and working on trying to get these grants. So I think that's a good thing just like we have here. They're trying to get some grants. That's it. Thank you. Yep. To the futures of schoolboards association. Nothing schoolboards association reported on it last meeting this afternoon educational services commission a week ago. Um once a year they're they're still on the school year where they position there. But um in a nutshell um they represent an assembly which is every school district in Mars County and a few outside of Mars County. So it would be 40 some districts and for those 40 districts they elect 15 school districts to be on their board of directors. Um there have your trustes here. So township is again on the board of trustees and um
073other than that just routine business special education education last week that brings us to Valley Public Schools Association. So HSA developed new leadership um for next year and voted in new people and then we've had two field days in the last week and fundraising is pretty much ended for this year and that's kind of my home president vice president and I think some leazison committees who visited your president and vice president your president Yes. Okay. And then leon committees state. Uh, one thing I'd like to report on is the annual township fireworks presented by Terasend. Uh, the date is Saturday, July 26. Rain day is July 27th. Fireworks at dusk at the RV fields. Free admission. All are invited. Stand by is the best fireworks show with our weather. I'm not sure we're going to
074have a rain. I know. Fantastic. Like an hour. It's good. Yeah. I said curiously you cannot see them like firehouse. I don't know why. You would think they'd be high up in the sky, but you can't see them. Oh, you got to walk across the street. You would think you can see them, but you can't. That brings us to people green. So, the green team had their um June 3rd green fair and it was really well intended. Um almost two dozen vendors andformational um organization there just sharing all their missions. It was it was fantastic. Um we had a lot of great activities for the kids. There's art station popcorn lizard guy there and then beautiful farms from Rockaway had um and Kristen Brown who know um she helped um with that as well and
075so they had like unicorn like walk you know they had homie rides and hips and chicken and just not a super feelood event. really was wonderful in the second half of the night. Um I would say like the heavier hitters like there was Dr. Co from who teaches environmental science and state came and NGT on sustainability and how which is protecting our woods, wetlands and water. Um and they all gave like 10 to 15 minute presentations and it was some Q&A. It was just uh we learned a lot. school who's a bar was there from people from many years back. Oh, really? Yeah. Hopefully we'll do it again. Thank you for spearheading it and making it happen. Thank you. Positive feedback. And that brings us to facilities and transportation. They met recently. Yeah, we met
076really recently a couple hours ago. Um so no doubt but um sorry but um just FYI the one motion that's on the agenda is an annual motion. We did not talk about that but that's an annual motion. Um just to piggy back on what um said earlier the roof replacement starts uh Monday. Uh it's about 25% approval and after this project's complete we'll have about 28% that hasn't been updated since 2022 and over um should be wrapping up early August and should not affect the summer day for classes. So that's just kind of update that. And then um as we figure out next steps for facilities for potential referendum, there was a um wetland study um commissioned so that we could understand if there's going to be any environmental impacts if we were to consider
077any different. So that's a good place to start. the rules that we're doing 25% now, right? 20%. So the piece that's left could be done. What's left is probably a little bit because there so it's probably more than Okay. like one more summary doesn't fit into the referendum and then we probably look at another summer. Got so is the report finished or have the time I can touch on that. You want to touch on that? Yeah. So he so initially we uh approved it and they had the engineers on the environmental and all that. So I'm waiting for he met with Dr. Mr. Not yet. Sorry. Um, it is complete. I'm just waiting at the summary report. But, uh, the key is, you know, it was again was a broad rush bird's eye view of
078looking at areas that potentially could, you know, is anything going to impact if we want to do something in the future. So, that part's just waiting for the final report, but we have some good information to sort of plan. Yeah. Motion facilities motions one and two. Is there a second? I'll second. Any other questions coming? Any questions on the adoption of facilities? Motions one and two. All those in favor say I. I. Anyone post say no. Any extensions? The last meeting that questions or discussion. Mrs. Ba. Yes. Mr. Brandler. Yes. Mrs. Cavana. Yes. Mrs. Herman. Yes. Mr. Johnson. Yes. Mr. Brian. Yes. Million carry. Next on the personel. The only thing that isn't I apologize. I did not get the notes out and I own that. But there's really only two appointments that you would
079know about except the LBTC that we're hiring and then the maintenance technician. Everything else is standard right here, right? Is there a second? Second. Any other motions, comments, or discussion? Mrs. Mrs. Barta, yes. Mr. Brandler, yes. Mrs. Cabana, yes. Mrs. Herman, yes. Johnson, yes. Mrs. McBride, yes. Mr. Brings to the program. They did meet also around the same day as personnel. I do apologize for not having here a few different directions since then few things here and there. Um so I apologize it's motion motions. Is there a second? Any questions, comments or discussion? Mrs. Marta, yes. Mr. Brandon, yes. Yes. Here. Yes. Johnson. Yes. Mr. McBride. Yes. Mr. Mills. Yes. W. policy or I don't think the policy as the last we have not and my notes were up after our meeting back in May
080regarding these two policies um and they were on for the first read in May and now they're on to I don't think it's going you but it's not it shows on here no I have new batteries in here. [Music] Everyone has a big microphone. So anyway, so these are policies. We did the first meeting and now they're after. Wow. Well, thank thank you for your policy. With that, may I have a motion for policy motion number one? I'll move. Is there a second? I'll second. Any other questions, comments, or discussion? If not, the questions on the adoption policy motion number one. All those in favor say I. I. And post say no. Any abstensions? Any governance? The governance has not been This is the last board meeting. We will meet sometime soon, I'm sure. And
081with that, we have open session number two. The second public comment period will be open to any topic. Please be mindful that the public comment periods are available to enable public comments and feedback to the board. Personal matters and day-to-day operations are not appropriately resolved with the appropriate staff members or Mr. Champ concept. Questions may be directed to the Berkeley school personnel board and meeting station record number five minutes. If anyone from the public wish to address the board on any yes Megan Johnson 33 Hillrestress group um it hit me that this will be the last board meeting when my kids are still in the K through eight school. They'll be over in Mountain Lakes and I've attended meetings sporadically over the years. Sometimes they're very crowded, sometimes they're very thin. And I just wanted
082to take a moment to express my appreciation to the teachers and the staff that have had such a wonderful impact on my kids. Um they've been reflecting over their time here at RBS over the last couple weeks and it's hilarious to hear what stands out in their minds, what memories they have. Um with that also the new administration. Um it's been a wonderful year and you guys really had to hit the ground running. the communication has been fantastic to the point that at one point I did wonder if all of the children were just testing the new folks in the building or we just had you know more insight as to what was happening around the building. So it's really appreciated and I think that's that's probably the latter in our case you know they
083are kids they test me all the time. Um, so I just wanted to say thank you and and that the work you do would not go unnoticed and we often as parents don't necessarily come forward and recognize the good things that are happening just sporadically, right? You know, we can say teacher appreciation week and we we make the effort but um yeah, I wanted to to thank those groups and then also the board. I know you guys are volunteering and giving up a lot of time out of your lives and the work is hard and can't imagine it's always the most fun thing to be doing. Um, and late nights and again a lot of times we only show up when we've got concern more questions rightfully so. We need to make sure that's happening.
084But I just want to take a moment before the kids are out of the building to just say thank you to the community. That is such a wonderful place. Thank you. Thank you very much. Very much appreciate it. Yeah. Is there a word of any matter? Thank you. That brings us to old business to come before the board. Yeah. Uh the newsletter. So obviously that was brought up this evening and you know some of us have talked about it a little bit and I think it's an opportune time being that it's the end of the year to get one out immediately and I thought I talked to Mr. Mr. Fine about kind of giving his highlevel bullet points of successes and contributions to the district being his first year and then if we could collaborate
085tonight on what we think our top five or top 10 are as board put it together I'm happy to write it up and then we can blast it um by Friday but in no particular order the grant should be on I know that kudos and that should should know that they're working to be a security team. I think that's a great master board certification contract negotiation settled right teachers teachers like I'm not sure you could say I said contract so that lakes would probably I think right articulation [Music] a lot of we've done a lot more. Dr. Seagull's been very um appreciative of the communication role plays as well. So I think that's something that he's called at many times. I think we should um I think that this effort that um we're undergoing with
086restructuring the map is a huge thing to highlight and it's been a source for a long time and I think that like just the way we had the kids had to end up doubling not a sore spot in that I feel like all kids were served students were served But I think offering that is great. I just feel like each kid is going to be able to help. I'm just really happy about it. I don't need to explain. Would you agree on this? Like curriculum enhancements and development for math and LA. Yeah, but I think it's more specific. I think you need to be more specific. Yeah. Also invite people if they have questions to reach out to most of your I can I think it's a great idea. I love the idea and um
087I can definitely get you several points. Tomorrow is better. I can let me rephrase. I can definitely get you several gold by tomorrow. And and please feel free to send me any verbiage or you guys think of anything. Now I have high level notes but just I'll send it out and make sure that everybody comfortable. Comments and thank you for doing that. No problem. Um, and then just to kind of piggy back off of it, and this is just my vision, but I wanted to kind of flush it out with everyone that we do this, you know, the beginning of the year, kind of right before the holidays and then, you know, springtime and then year end. So, four times a year, um, from this perspective and our perspective. Okay. Yeah, I mean I definitely
088think just um revisiting how we did on our goals, right? The district and contacting me. I think what's really helpful too is you know committees and what we have achieved in committees like one or two items from the chairs and incorporating that on those quarterly type newsletters, but the end is the longer one, right? And so the group should be on there. Yeah. And I was mentioning the number of teachers that are like mentioning LA. Yeah. Did my Thursday just get busy? Yeah. Do this. Yeah, sounds good. Then circulated once. Thank you. Thank you. Yes. Thank you. So, how when you say blast it out, how how so I think you know the vehicles are being a virtual backpack. Um I don't know that we'll be able to get into the project by Friday. Yeah.
089Deadline typically Wednesday. Oh, and they're off tomorrow for June. That should stay home, right? Just put in the next one whenever we look on our website. Okay. But also I mean we when it came down to um sending information out about the negotiations contract, can we send a message to the school or Mr. TV message and watching it. Yeah, that'd be great. Yeah.