001hello and welcome to the Monday February 24th 2025 Hillsboro Township Board of Education meeting in accordance with the state Sunshine Law of New Jersey adequate notice of this meeting of the Hillsboro Township Board of Education was provided on January 8 2025 to the hillsb beacon and The Courier News Miss Leber can we please take role Mr Davis here Miss Jackson here miss Craig here miss lonning Bader here miss Lee Miss nurse here miss stats here miss Chio here Mr Marini here we have a quorum we'll now take a motion to move into executive session whereas the open public meetings act chapter 231 of the laws of 1975 provide that a public body May exclude the public from that portion of a meeting at which the public body discusses certain matters which confidentialities required as permitted
002in section 7B of the ACT resolved by the Board of Education of the town of Hillsboro and the county of Somerset the state of New Jersey as follows the matters to be discussed are a student disciplinary man matter a ation of two grievances and negotiations the matters discussed in executive sessions shall be disclosed to the public when the need for confidentiality no longer exists can I get a motion in second so second all in favor all right we'll return around 7:30 thank you thank you e e e to hello and welcome to the Monday February 24th 2025 Hillsboro Township Board of Education meeting we are now back from executive session uh Mr Miss LEF could we please take rooll Mr Davis Miss Jackson here miss Craig here miss lonning Bader here Mr Lee Miss nurse
003here miss stats here miss Cho here and Mr Morini here we have a quorum can we please stand for the Pledge of Allegiance Al flag States all right I'd like to acknowledge the correspondence as listed um and we will move on to committee reports um if we could start with HR sure okay so the HR committee met this past Wednesday February 19th we started with um updated job descriptions for the assistant superintendent for curriculum and instruction and the assistant school business administrator we then moved on to T discuss to sick Bank applications uh we had talked briefly about unaffiliated director's contract and we had um a wonderful opportunity to meet the person who is being recommended uh for the role of assistant superintendent for curriculum instruction all right thank you very much uh can we
004move to education Miss Jackson thank you yep we uh met on February 11th and um we too had the opportunity to meet uh the assistant superintendent candidate uh for Visual and Performing Arts related arts we discussed title changes course title changes we reviewed the dreams Grant uh and policy revisions for Hib smoking student parent complaints High School graduation requirements all right thank you for the update I think for operations we had to postpone that for negotiations okay great thank you and I will uh complete the rounds with governance um that meeting occurred on February 19th uh we did discuss uh potential title change for an administrator uh we discussed uh just the topics and approach uh for the community engagement night um that we agreed to uh we discussed our pending board retreat update and
005what will be included in that um and then we discussed the potential unfortunate as always but state aid Cuts uh the maximum amount that we have been instructed that we may lose and while we always hope for an increase in state budget um we always plan for the worst case scenario just to be on the safe side uh so that concludes the uh minutes all right so we'll move on to board president's report okay so we do have um two Proclamation and a uh recognition uh for Black History Month whereas during Black History Month we celebrate the many achievements and vast contributions of African-Americans to the economic spiritual political and cultural development of both our nation and our community and whereas the 2025 theme of Black History Month African-Americans and labor highlights and celebrates the
006various impactful ways that work and working of all kinds free and unfree skilled and unskilled vocational and voluntary share common ground with the collective experience of black people and whereas the observation observance of Black History Month reminds us of the continued need to mitigate racism and build a harmonious community and whereas the Hillsboro Township Board of Education continues to work toward becoming a more inclusive community wherein all people are respected and recognized for their contributions and potential contributions to our community State country County and world and whereas the hillsbor toship board of education is proud to honor the history and contributions of African-Americans in our community now therefore be resolved that we the hillsbor Township Board of Education who hereby recognize February as Black History Month we had further resolved that we the Hillsboro Township
007Board of Education urge all members of the school Community to recognize the contributions made by members of the African-American community and to actively promote the principal rules of equity and Liberty okay uh next I will move on to the uh recognition of a Hillsboro Middle School student uh whereas the Hillsboro Township Board of Education is committed to fostering Civic engagement and recognizing the academic achievements of his students and whereas the Veterans of Foreign Wars post 8371 sponsors the annual Patriots pens scholarship essay contest to encourage middle school students to explore explore American history and their own experiences in contemporary society and whereas this year's Patriots pen theme how are you inspired by America challenge students to articulate their patriotic views in a compelling essay and whereas vibu dat a student of Hillsboro's middle hillsbor middle
008school submitted an exceptional essay that demonstrated insightful reflection and a profound understanding of the contest theme and whereas viu's essay was selected as the best entry by the hillsbor memorial VFW Post 8371 earning him the distinction of local finalist in The Patriot pens scholarship essay contest and whereas babu's accomplishment reflects his dedication to academic Excellence his thoughtful engagement with American ideals and his ability to express his views with Clarity and conviction now therefore be a resolve that the hillsb to Board of Education hereby proudly recognizes and commends vibu dat for his outstanding achievement as the local finalist in the Hillsboro Memorial BFW post 8371 Patriots pen scholarship essay contest he further resolved that the board extends its congratulations to viu his family and the faculty and staff of hillsbor middle school for their support and
009encouragement via further resolve that this Proclamation be duly recorded in the minutes of the Board of Education and a copy presented to viata as a symbol of the board's esteem and best wishes for his continued success here oh yeah come on let's get a picture thank you chair and on uh thank you board and thank you for attending this but Vu uh did a great job on the essay the essay is the Patriots pen award as the chairman just indicated and it entail entails uh all sixth seventh and eighth graders in the Montgomery area Hillsboro area and Branchburg area and uh he's he was a finalist which says a lot essay uh entails uh 3 to 500 Words and it's got to be done in less than five minutes so thank you very [Applause] much
010all right and with that I will conclude the uh board president's report and we'll move on to the superintendent's report thank you Mr President congratulations again on your essay that's uh fantastic um a couple things I want to mention I first wanted to say uh yesterday I had the opportunity to go to uh ruter and see our boys swim team compete in the group four finals they did a valiant effort they didn't come up uh on the on the Winning Side this year but again another fantastic season from a lot of our winter teams including the boys swim team that made the group four finals so I just wanted to say congratulations to you and my understanding is as a young team you'll be back there next year um I also wanted to thank um
011the entire Hillsboro Community and all of my principles for organizing a food drive over the past month month and a half and some of that is still coming in we have literally brought thousands thousands of items of food to the community Assistance Network the food pantry here in Hillsboro and that comes from you as the residents of Hillsboro uh donating um food items uh that are needed by people in our very own town so thank you very much for your generosity and principles thank you so much for organizing that a couple of you still need to get your stuff delivered over there but it's very much appreciated I now uh have the pleasure of introducing our next uh assistant superintendent of curriculum and instruction and before I do that I would like to say that
012I think um if I have any positive qualities as a leader um I think it's that I can relate to a lot of Staff members here in the Hillsboro Township Public Schools um I was a teacher I was a coach I was a club advisor I then became a curriculum supervisor department head I was a vice principal I was a principal then I was a director and assistant superintendent and a superintendent so basically if you've done a job in a school district I have done it and uh I am so proud to introduce Dr Lisa rimus to the community of Hillsboro because she has had a very similar path uh she has been a teacher she has been a curriculum supervisor she has been a middle school principal uh she has been a director at
013the central office in charge of special education uh we went through a very laborious um and I mean that in a good way uh interview process we had outstanding outstanding candidates that made it very difficult and Dr rimbas uh Rose to the top um we are thrilled to be having her and uh Dr rimus at this time I would like to intro bring you to the podium to say a couple words to introduce yourself to Hillsboro welcome to Hillsboro Dr aimus thank you good evening everyone um I just like to take a moment to express my sincere gratitude to the Board of Education Mr vuli Dr Regan Mr pituko and the entire interview committee for their thoughtfulness and thorough selection process it is truly an honor to be con to be considered and chosen as
014the next assistant superintendent through my research and conversation with many staff members here in Hillsboro I've seen firsthand the Deep commitment to your mission empowering all students to excel while discovering purpose and joy in their educational Journey that passion is inspiring and it reaffirms why I'm so excited to become part of this incredible Community as I reflected on this evening and prepared for tonight um I saw on the agenda that a middle school student was going to be recognized and our governor educator of the Year recipients were going to be here tonight this truly reminded me of the Incredible strength of redwood trees so if you bear with me for a moment redwood trees have survived for millions of years with some fossils dating back to the Jurassic era they're secret their Roots intertwin beneath
015the surface stabilizing and supporting one another while sharing their nutrients this connection is what allows them to stand tall for centuries over the past 30 years as a teacher supervisor principal and director of special services I've learned that Education Works the same way when we connect when we live lift one another up and when we share our strengths we create a powerful thriving Community like the Redwoods and like the incredible students and Educators that we celebrate today we are stronger together I would also like to take a moment to thank my parents who came from upstate New York to be here with me today my children um JP who is here with me and my sweet daughter and that's why I'm a little emotional who's away at college at um the University of Alabama go
016roll Tide um and my husband for always supporting me and my drive to use education to change the world I congratulate everyone this evening on um their honors as a governor educator of the year and our student and I really look forward to joining this exceptional community in July and in in growing our service together for the students thank you [Applause] Thank you Lisa and I just do want to say you're you're not hired yet because your appointment's down on the agenda a little bit so you got true I'm sorry you got to stick around with all things considered and hope FAL we are we are looking forward to your July 1 start date and I think you're going to be an incredible asset to the district and and add so much value we're all
017looking forward to to working with you and if you get a chance meet some of our incredible Educators who are here tonight after they get called thank thank you again and I will say my my current life is intersecting with Hillsboro because one of my former PTA presidents is being recognized tonight so I'm extremely excited for it is a small world it is thank you thank you oh yeah you go as a board president makes his way over to the the table we are we are here for the most exciting part of the evening and principles if you'd like to join him up there too as I will I will call all your um staff members up uh at each time but you can just be there to receive them as they come up you
018know being an educator particularly in uh in these trying times uh is not a glamorous position but I'm so thrilled and excited to see people who show passion for students on an everyday and and daily basis and uh really be recognized not only by their administrators but by their peers as well um so what I'm going to do is I'm going to put up a little slideshow that I have for today's both teacher of the year and educational support Professionals of the year and then I will call um our our award winners up that you can give your principles a high five as you walk by if You' like then come and see President Marini we have both a proclamation as well as an award for you and it's really amazing um what some of
019these people have done for for many years for our school district and I'm glad that they had a chance to to give us a quote or something that they thought about getting this award um as well so as we move on into our teachers of the year I would first like to congratulate Amsterdam Elementary School's Katherine Nikolai and Katherine did pull out a quote that was meaningful to her saying art has the role in education of helping children become like themselves instead of more like everyone else thank you Katherine Teacher of the Year from auton Road Intermediate School Melissa lvll and Melissa wanted the Hillsboro Community to know that she feels incredibly grateful to have earned this award in a district that shaped who she was as a student so that she can give back
020as a teacher she looks forward to inspiring the next generation of Hillsboro students congratulations Melissa [Applause] from Hillsboro Elementary School Teresa [Applause] Mintz Teresa said it's an honor to be selected as teacher of the year and she works very hard to make a welcoming safe and inclusive classroom that validates her students identities as well as challenges them to be the best that they can be receiving this award makes her feel that her dedication to her career has been recognized and is being celebrated and when I came to hes yesterday she's also willing to hand out random facts about fish to people so if you need to know anything about a fish she can tell you something right there thank you Teresa Carlin Dunn Hillsboro High School's teacher of year familiar story that we heard already
021too having grown up in Hillsboro and gone through this school system Carlin States is such an a special place to her she feels honored not only to have received the governor's education of the year but that she gets to work in a school every day that played such a huge role in her life thank she wants to thank everyone in Hillsboro who's made her years so wonderful from her first day of kindergarten until being teacher of the year at the high school congratulations Carl from Hillsboro Middle School Susan Nami Sue stated that Maya Angelou's well-known quote I've learned that people will forget what you said people will forget what you did but people will never forget how you made them feel that encapsulates her teaching philosophy she knows that her students might one day forget
022how to use a semicolon correctly but she hopes they will never fail to recall how they felt while sitting in her classroom when they remember their eighth grade literacy experience her goal is that all of her students will recall feeling comfortable confident and included congratulations Sue from Sunny meat Elementary School Elizabeth [Applause] markwart Elizabeth has said that teaching is the one profession that creates all other professions to be recognized for this work is both humbling and a reminder of the incredible responsibility and joy that comes with shaping the future this honor is a reflection of the amazing students supportive colleagues and wonderful community that make teaching such a rewarding Journey congratulations Elizabeth from triangle School Ron pessin Ron decided to quote Johnny Carson who once said never continue in a job that you don't enjoy
023if you're happy in what you're doing you'll like yourself you'll have inner peace and if you have that along with physical health you will had more success than you could have ever possibly imagined congratulations Ron from woodfern elementary school Shannon [Applause] McCrae Shannon pulled a quote that says if some students are unresponsive maybe you can't teach them yet but you can love them and if you love them today maybe you can teach them tomorrow she stated that receiving this award is an incredible honor and a reflection of the passion she pours into her students school and community on a daily basis this recognition reaffirms her commitment to fostering growth celebrating diversity and advocating for those who need it the most she's Beyond grateful to be part of such a supportive school and to have the
024opportunity to make a lasting impact on her students lives and I do want to say Shannon that you have the record for inviting me to your classroom most frequently of Any teacher in the school as well as sending me a Christmas card every year so I appreciate that congratulations Shannon from Woods Road Elementary School Lynn [Applause] Kelly Lynn states that she's incredibly honored to be named teacher of the year especially among such a hardworking and deserving staff teaching has always been more than a job it's about building kids up when they need it the most believing in them and helping them see their potential there's no greater reward than knowing I've made a difference and it means the world when students even those from 20 years ago still reach out moments like these remind her
025why she loves what she does she's grateful to be part of such an amazing School community and to do this work alongside such dedicated colleagues congratulations Len now if I could ask that you all still wait there for your Educational Services Professionals of the year and recognize them for their outstanding effort as well and we'll start at Amsterdam Elementary School with faith kransky faith says she is deeply humbled for being selected as an ESP of the year for Amsterdam school it is such an incredible honor it's a privilege to be able to empower students to learn support our colleagues and continue to grow as a professional congratulations Spate [Applause] now this one could be a little complicated first let me congratul e [Applause] from Hillsboro High School Amy Thompson [Applause] Amy stated it's such an
026honor to be recognized as Educational Services professional of the year in her unique role at HHS she's had the opportunity to support over 4500 students as they prepare for their next steps After High School including four of mine I've she's met so many wonderful students and families and enjoys getting to know the seniors during their final year as they prepare for adulthood she always hopes that her work can be a small part of shaping their successful futures wherever like T life takes them thank you Amy both personally and professionally from Triangle Elementary School Olga [Applause] Pell Olga stated she's very humbled and proud to receive this award as an instructional assistant for 20 years it was great to be recognized for her dedication her knowledge and professionalism congrat ulations Olga from woodfern elementary school Tracy
027[Applause] pilaka Tracy States it's a great honor to be chosen as wood Fern's ESP of the year she's grateful and truly appreciate the award working with students gives her the opportunity to make a difference every day she's proud to be part of the wonderful woodfern staff congratulations Tracy and from Woods Road Elementary School Kristen [Applause] Ross Kristen has stated it's an honor to be recognized as ESP of the year for her commitment to support students with their daily needs she is grateful for when her work is recognized by her fellow peers congratulations Kristen [Applause] being recognized like this and being given a proclamation and a small token of our appreciation pales in comparison to what you do for kids on a daily basis and I know for most of you nobody most of you all
028of you nobody does this for an award maybe I'm going to be called up to a board meeting and and given something nice you do it for what you see uh the smiles and kids every day for making those differences for making sure they are loved for making sure that they are learning and for that I think you guys deserve a standing Round of Applause from everybody [Applause] here all right we're gonna take a five minute break so people want to take pictures and and chat before we continue the board meeting thanks e e e thank you uh thank you everybody we're going to continue on with the meeting congratulations to all there you go uh thanks everybody uh for joining and we're going to continue on with the meeting all right we'll now move
029on to the approval of minutes uh motion 9.1 motion to approve public meeting minutes 12725 9 two motion to approve executive session minutes 12725 can I get a motion in a second so move all in favor I all right uh we will now open it any comments from the that's missing I I'll read the other one uh we now open up for public comment on the action agenda which is missing from the agenda but I will one second here I can recap you I I could probably do most with my heart at this point we very much welcome in from the public during board meetings there'll be 2 30 minute periods of time that the meeting will be open public comment where members of the public are inviting the comment which they may do if
030they're attending in person during the first public comment period members of the public May comment on any issue on the agenda before the board votes that's not on there during the second public comment period members of the public May comment on any school or School District issue the member of the public May feels may be of concern the residence of school district by 0167 before you see your comment you'll be asked to provide your name and address address there's three Li limit on public comment please understand that our public forms do not structur as question answer sessions but rather opportunities to share your thoughts with the board instance where the board believ there's a misunder understanding or accuracy the board president or superintendent will address the comment there many times a member of the public
031makes a comment ask a question about personal Hing decisions kind note the unug mees act and privacy rights of public employees Compass there end not the board to discuss personal issues in public session so this is anything on the action agenda or budget if there's any comments okay seeing none we will close public comment before move to the action agenda any board members want to make any comments or anything okay seeing none we will now move to the action agenda thank you Mr President I'd ask for the board's consideration to approve the following motions in the area of Education professional travel related expenses affirming the superintendent's HIV determinations 2425 District calendar motion to H sorry Visual and Performing Arts related arts course title changes staff for the administration of portfolio assessments for seniors overnight trips
032field trip destination family math family science sessions application for the dreams Grant and the continued long-term suspensions of two students whose names are on file in the office of the superintendent can I get a motion and second second okay uh any comments or questions or adjustments to the agenda Miss that'ss uh regarding 11 a lot item 113 um I think I'd like to table that because I think that the proposed change is to move the professional half day and uh instruction half day from June 3 to June 10th because of the change in the primary days now going to be on June 10th um so but related to that I would like to propose that we uh have June 10th off and at the risk of uh using up our snow days if we have
033any snow days left have one of those snow days uh be used as a day off on June 10th but I'm suggesting that we table this and and discuss this in committee okay so we have a motion to table do we have a second a second all right uh any discussion before we vote to table okay seeing none uh can we first take a a rooll for tbling 113 can I just make sure I understand we are tbling it so that it can go back to the to talk the agenda possible okay yes Mr Davis yes Miss Jackson yes Miss Craig yes Miss lonning Vader yes Mr Lee yes Miss nurse yes Miss taat yes Miss truo yes and Mr Marini yes motion passes uh now back to the action agenda 11 the entire 11
034action agenda are there any comments and questions on the remainder of the agenda just no go ahead Miss stats I just want to acknowledge that I know there's been a lot of work that has gone into uh uh what's was created for June 3 and what was uh possible for uh June 10th and I appreciate all that work and uh and sub subsequent work that going to happen if we do change it okay thank you okay seeing no other comments can we move to roll on the 11 agenda except for 11.3 which has been Ted Mr Davis yes Miss Jackson yes Miss Craig yes Miss lonning Bader yes Mr Lee yes Miss nurse yes Miss stats yes Miss jio yes and Mr Mary yes motion passes thank you in the area of Human Resources I'd
035ask for the board's consideration to approve the following motions retirements and resignations appointments appointing the assistant superintendent for curriculum and instruction for the 2526 school year Dr Lisa rebimbus who you all met change in employment status leaves of absence coaches co-curricular advisers TurnKey Trainers for 24-25 SAT test coordinators a mentor approving the maintenance and mechanic revised salaries six and seven period coverage group changes revised job descriptions and extra coverage can I get a motion in second so Mo second any discussion before the board votes okay seeing none can we please move to roll Mr Davis yes Miss Jackson yes Miss Craig yes Miss lonning Vader yes Mr Lee yes Miss nurse yes Miss stats yes Miss jio yes and Mr Marini yes motion passes congratulations Lisa you're official [Applause] in the area of operations I'd
036asked for the board's consideration to approve the following motions monthly bills monthly financials financial status line item transfers the bid for the replacement of the fascia at woodfern elementary school settlement agreement second settlement agreement designation of signatories out of District placements accepting a donation and approving the disposal and sale of obsolete equipment can I get a motion in second any discussion by the board seeing none we'll move to rooll Mr Davis yes Miss Jackson yes Miss Craig yes Miss lonning Bader yes Mr Lee yes Miss nurse yes Miss stats yes Miss toio yes Mr Morini yes motion passes thank you in the area of policies and regulations uh I would ask for the board's consideration approve the following policies uh motion to approve the policy for second reading and motion to approve policies reviewed by
037the education committee for first reading can I get a motion in second second any discussion by the board seeing none will move to rooll Mr Davis yes Miss Jackson yes Miss Craig yes Miss lonning Vader yes Mr Lee yes Miss nurse yes Miss stats yes Miss jio yes Mr Morini yes motion passes uh we'll now move on to the second public comment period we very much in from the public during board meetings there will be 2 30 minute periods of time that the meeting will be open for public comment where M of the public are invited the comment which may do if they're attending in person during the second public comment period members of the public May comment on any school or School District issue that a member of the public FS may be of
038concern the residence of the school district is for B 0167 before you see your comy ask provide your name and address there's a limit on public comment please understand that our public forms are not structured as question answer sessions but rather offer as opportunities to share your thoughts with the board instance where the board believes there's a misunderstanding or in acty the board president or superintendent will address the comment many times a member of the public makes a comment ask a question about Personnel hiring decisions kindly note the open public meeting Act and the private privacy rights of public employees Encompass therein do not permit the board to discuss Personnel issues in public session time's up uh seeing seeing no individuals we will now close public comment uh we can open up to the board
039if there's any comments or anything they would like to make uh I kind of just want to build off what Mr vuli already said about um some of the winter academic sports teams at HHS um so the academic team on JV um their record was 90 and they won first in Somerset County the varsity team is 8-1 and they got fourth in County um ice hockey is moving on to round two playoffs They just won their game today um and then for basketball both the girls and boys JB teams won the Somerset County tournament um the girls are moving on to States um after having I think an undefeated season and then the boys lost in their finals but they're still moving on to States this Thursday thank you for the update I believe the
040girls team is the top seat in their section so yeah looking forward to that game this the girls basketball right girls basketball they beat Ruckers prep which was like the first time ever big win big win all right any other board members okay seeing Oh Mr Davis yeah just a brief comment um I'm breezing through uh one of these first reading policy ch changes are the ones about smoking and uh one of the changes or it's really just a a grammar change really it's to change the word will to the word shall which essentially makes it more emphatic uh and implies a more immediate action and it says the principle if a student is caught indulging in one of these things the principal or design shall immediately notify the parent and the superintendent and uh
041why is that good you mean coming to me specifically or the parent the parent I think as much as possible we want to just involve parents in anything that may be a disciplinary situation um and smoking on campus certainly would um there may be minor infractions uh at all grade levels where administrators you know just kind of talk to a student and perhaps a parent isn't but uh having a a substance on campus any kind of substance that is not allowed rises above that hey get rid of that there does need to be parental contact on that and I I want to make it clear although I am notified of these things it's not necessarily an it's more important to be dealing with the parents as well as the student at first and eventually I
042find out these things but it is reported up to me okay see no other comments I'll take a motion to adjourn so move second all in favor I all right we'll see you next month thanks everybody thank you everybody