Hillsborough Board of Education Meeting 11 22 2021

001provided on november 18 2021 to the hillsborough beacon and the career news um ms rodriguez maybe have a little call please [Music] here mr oliver here mr paul here is that here here thank you ms rodriguez um may i now take a motion to move into executive session and i'll read the notice whereas the open public meetings act chapter 231 of the laws of 1975 provides that a public body may exclude the public from that portion of the meeting of which the public body discusses certain matters for which confidentiality is required as permitted in section 7b of the act resolved by the board of education of the township of hillsborough and the county of somerset and state of new jersey as follows the matters to be discussed are attorney-client privileges privilege matters and negotiations with

002the hillsborough education association the matters discussed in executive session shall be disclosed to the public when the need for confidentiality no longer exists may have a motion in a second second thank you mr marini thank you mr pulcifer all in favor we are now in executive session we expect to be back here at 7 30. thank you executive session mrs rodriguez if we could have a roll call please mr gillette yes mr kid mr marina present ms maroon here miss nurse here mr oliver here mr pulcifer here is that here mr gila here we have a forum thank you ms marie rodriguez um may we now all please rise for the pledge of allegiance i'd like to acknowledge the correspondence as listed as received and then move into committee reports if mr gillette could give

003the operations minutes all right i wasn't set up yet but that was pretty quick right so committee reports okay so uh operations committee met on uh november 9th uh we started off uh with a um referendum update on the referendum projects that have been occurring over the last two years from uh mr deluca um he uh told us that things were moving along parking lot hillsborough elementary school was delayed a little bit um with the drainage piping but that's going to be completed soon uh 60 of the roof work is complete at hes um and uh they continued we're continuing to work on the pumps for the boilers um this was a couple weeks ago so a lot of this has probably been completed by now um the uh the main outstanding project is the

004building maintenance system uh and they're still working on that now next we had the review of the policies which you'll see on your agenda for tonight some of them i think right yeah the ones we reviewed uh let's see um we had an update on a uh negotiations matter uh we had the update on the audit uh we changed we have a new auditor this year for the first time they started a little bit later that audio would usually start we're already in november we don't have the completed audit yet or maybe it's just coming within the last week i don't know but when that's finished we'll we'll have that um we talked about the um what dr has talked about glass board meeting uh the vaccination clinic at the high school and um i

005think that was it was actually a pretty uh brief and concise meeting thank you thank you mr gillette mr oliver if you would give the human resources committee minutes human resources committee met on november 9th we've discussed the extension of interim supervisor we talked about the webmaster stipend losing the webmaster she's retiring and talked about filling that position with some interim work kind of doing a little two-fold and doing something for um technology um we reviewed proposal for some clubs um which we're recommending for approval one requiring a little bit more information we had a couple of personnel matters to discuss and we talked about a little bit of a pandemic that's probably being experienced through many school districts about losing good teachers to either other districts or retiring so we talked about some ideas

006how we can move forward and understand how and why we're losing good teachers and discuss some staff surveys so we're going to share some additional ideas more to be determined as we move forward into the new year thank you mr oliver um as i said before if the people who are not wearing their masks of you could please wear your mask or leave the premises and then get a mask to put on we'd appreciate that very much thank you miss stats with the alliance uh report of all just to want to make sure everybody is aware that the municipal alliance addresses uh substance abuse awareness and education uh the missile lines met on november 12th um we discussed a chris herron foundation grant that would give us access to his documentary the first day and

007there was a lot of flexibility with that and we also uh we're told that the pride survey was given in the district and that had questions related to drug and alcohol use covid mental health and lifestyle thank you ms dots next on the agenda if i could have a motion and a second to approve the november 8th 2021 executive minutes so moved thank you mr marini thank you mr pulsifier all in favor any opposed any abstentions thank you um may next have a motion to approve the public session minutes from november 8th 2021. thank you mr pulsar thank you mr marini any discussion all in favor any opposed any abstentions thank you next we have comments from the board and public on the action agenda only so i will open it up to the board

008first if there are any comments on tonight's action agenda ms nurse not okay so then i will open it up to the public for comments on the action agenda only and i will read the preface we very much welcome input from the public during board meetings there will be two 30-minute periods of time that the meeting will be open for public comment where members of the public are invited to comment which they may do so if they are attending in person during the first public comment period members of the public make comments on items that are listed on tonight's agenda before the board votes 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 feels may be of concern to

009the residents of the school district as per bioware 167 before you state your comment you will be asked to provide your name and address there's a three-minute limit on public comments please understand that our public forums are not structured as question and answer sessions but rather are offered as opportunities to share your thoughts with the board in instances where the board believes there is a misunderstanding or inaccuracy the board president or superintendent will address the comments there may be times when a member of the public makes a comment or asks a question about personnel or hiring decisions kindly note that the open public meetings act and the privacy rights of public employees encompass therein do not permit the board to discuss personnel issues in public session if you have a comment on the action agenda

010the mic is open there is a podium on the side where you can put your name um before you come up to the podium good evening henry goodhue hillsborough education association uh just in reference to the action agenda specifically the retirements and resignations i appreciated the point that mr oliver brought up as to what was being discussed in the hr committee but as i spoke to at the last board meeting we're in now in a position where we're chronically losing staff at every meeting specifically from certain departments and we're seeing that happen yet again at this board meeting and i realize that there's a lot of stuff that can be done but even just on a simple search i went back to 2019 and looked at the number of resignations from the board meetings in

011the month of november and we have now more than tripled that in this month and that's a trend that we can't sustain if we're gonna appropriately stuff these classrooms and educate these kids so i i strongly encourage the board to take a look at what's going on get to the bottom of this and figure out why we're hemorrhaging good people who otherwise wouldn't be leaving thank you thank you for your comments is there any other public comments seeing none i will close public comments and then turn it over to the superintendent for the action agenda thank you mr trugan the superintendent recommends that the board of education approve the education agenda as follows 9.129.3 motion to approve professional travel related expenses motion to approve staff for the esser uh ela learning acceleration program and motion

012to affirm the harassment intimidation and bullying for the attached cases thank you dr entinas um ms nurse yes can you please separate out 9.2 sure so may have a motion and a second for 9.1 and 9.3 thank you mr prosper thank you miss maroon all in favor aye oh sorry i'm sorry this is your role paul welcome sorry mr gillette yes mr marini miss maroon yes miss nurse yes mr oliver yes mr falcifer yes it's that yes mr gil yes thank you miss rodriguez may now have a motion and a second for 9.2 thank you mr pulsar thank you mr marini is there any discussion i just um i i mentioned this before but um my vote today is based on the fact that i wish that i had seen a brief presentation about what

013those funds were going to and what programs were going to be established with them thank you ms nurse any other comments seeing that if we could have a role come is rodriguez mr gillette yes mr mourinho yes ms maroon yes miss nurse epstein mr oliver yes mr pulcifer yes miss that yes mr heon yes motion passes the superintendent recommends that the board of education approve the human resources agenda as follows 10.1 to 10.15 motion to approve retirements and resignations as listed and i'd like to uh thank mr burma laurie honigman and terry yesman for their service to the students of hills of hillsboro motion to approve revised appointments motion to approve revised mentor assignments as listed motion to approve revised sixth period coverage and revised science lab coverage motion to approve revive revised leaves replacement

014assignments also to rescind a mentor contract motion to approve a transfer and change an assignment and a contact trained change is listed motion to approve appointments as outlined motion to approve a student teacher as well as a mentor motion to approve seventh period coverage and pre-approve extra coverage and motion to approve extra coverage thank you dr antonis may have a motion in a second thank you miss nurse i can't thank you miss marin any discussion i'm miss rodriguez if we can have a roll call please mr gillette yes mr marini yes miss maroon yes miss nurse yes mr oliver yes mr pulsa firm yes miss stance yes mr heel yes motion passes superintendent recommends that the board of education approve the operation agenda as follows 11.1 to 11.8 motion to approve the monthly financial statement

015as well as the monthly bills motion to approve the non-public expenditure resolution a motion to approve out-of-district placements for 11.4 11.5 and 11.6 motion to approve policies and regulations for first reading is listed and motion to approve policy and bylaws for second reading as listed thank you doctor in tunis may have a motion in a second so moved thank you mr marini thank you ms nurse is there any discussion if we could have a roll call please mrs rodriguez mr gillette yes mr mourinho yes miss maroon yes miss nurse yes mr oliver yes mr pulcifer yes miss staff yes mr heel yes ocean pastor thank you and i'll turn it back over to the superintendent for the superintendent's report thank you mr trujillo welcome to tonight's board meeting i'm sure everyone joins me and looking

016forward to a restful peaceful thanksgiving and upcoming long weekend as a reminder in addition to half days for conferences this week all staff and students have a half down wednesday november 24th without sounding too repetitive i would again like to remind parents and students of quarantine requirements and if families plan to travel for thanksgiving travel includes anywhere outside of new jersey pennsylvania new york and delaware quarantine is seven to ten days if a student tests negative three to five days after travel they are required to quarantine for seven days if a student does not does not get tested they are required to quarantine for ten days if a student has positive they must stay home for 10 days after the positive test the district continues to follow the cdc guidelines for travel please cooperate with

017these guidelines although we all look forward to the loosening and relaxing of restrictions we must remain vigilant keeping our schools open full days five days a week and the health and safety of our students and staff must remain our first priority congratulations to the hillsborough high school theater for the outstanding production of puffs or seven increasingly eventful years of magic and magic this past weekend kudos to the cast crew and student leaders for their hard work and to the director artists carpenters photographers lighting tech and seamstress made it possible our fall athletic wrap-up congratulations to all of our fall athletes as their season comes to an end it's exciting to share that the girls cross country team is skyland conference delaware division championship champions and the field hockey team is skylin conference delaware division co-champions

018the football team is currently 12-0 they are big central conference champions nj siaa central five sectional champions and will be playing for an nj siaa regional championship on december 4th versus kingsway at rutgers university at one o'clock as a reminder to parents please complete the covet health affirmation statement from the genesis parent portal before next tuesday november 30th to ensure timely access to student report cards that will be posted on november 30th as you may recall there was some conversation last meeting about the removal of a piece of student artwork from a display case in the middle school those display cases typically rotate and they are transitioning to educational materials including some honoring national native american heritage month there was some confusion initially as to whether or not the materials were in fact student artwork

019which was not clear at the time the poster was removed nonetheless i want to emphasize that the district is committed to respecting students rights of free speech and expression within the school setting as our courts have outlined and is also committed to providing an educational program that is inclusive and is free of harassment and discrimination of any kind i continue to receive feedback on a myriad of decisions made surrounding any number of topics or events some of the feedback is filled with anger and frustration while others filled with gratitude and thanks the dichotomy of this feedback in each of the situations is predictable based upon the differing opinions within the community over the past 20 months or so at the risk of sounding like a broken record i again request that parents students and staff

020remember that we knew as we opened schools in september that the priority was to keep schools open with this in mind it was also shared that not all activities would be able to resume their typical manner i do understand the gravity of the decisions i do understand the disappointment and fear i do understand that we all want what we want i also understand that this is just not possible right now if we're going to keep the priority as keeping schools open while there are some who believe that one event or activity is favored over another this is simply not the case creating a is an answer however i believe it is not the best answer and often creates confusion and more importantly creates a level of risk unnecessary at this time collaboration with the local

021health officials and our school physician continues on an ongoing basis we continue to see the increase of covet 19 cases especially after extended days off from school or following holidays this trend is expected to continue to continue throughout the upcoming holiday season i shared this at the last board meeting and i will do so again we carry the weight of every decision we make each and every day for the 1400 staff members and 7 300 students we know that these decisions do not make everyone happy and i understand that while it may seem inconsistent every situation is truly looked at individually what has also been consistent is the promise to re-evaluate and adjust decisions as time continues to move ahead discussions i have had with the new jersey department of health the local health the

022local department of health and the district physician indicate that their predictions for an increase in the number of coveted patients will continue throughout the holiday season before stabilizing during the winter we absolutely must remain vigilant and allow the process to unfold based upon the situation at the moment of decision-making high-risk behaviors of several increase the risk of potential exposure to many i've said this many times over the course of the last several months so the fact that i am not approving overnight field trips at this time ought not come as a surprise however it seems that's important for me to reiterate once again that overnight field trips are not being approved at this time i believe it to be irresponsible to allow overnight trips for a team or group of students which may raise the

023risk of potential exposure to others moreover our district physician is not advocating for overnight events at this time until minimally after the holiday season it comes as no surprise that travel and overnight hotel exposure is high risk given the rising rates inability to not share transportation and hotels as well as other variables the decision to not engage in overnight events at this time remains a reasonable one finally on behalf of the board we are sending wishes for good health happiness and memorable moments with family during this thanksgiving please take a moment to relax and refresh as this year's holiday season begins thank you mr trujillo thank you dr antinas and i also wanted to make a statement just to address the incident the last board meeting i wanted to share that board members abide by

024the code of ethics and no individual board member has any authority to direct any staff member to act it's okay for a board member to express a concern and at no point did a board member give a directive to censor a display at the middle school thank you and so next what i would like to do is open it up to the board for any comments before i open up to the public and then the board will have another chance after the close of public comments to make any discussion so okay so then seeing none from the board at this time then i will go to public comments as a reminder to the public this is the board meeting where the board conducts its business in public as you saw just earlier as you come

025to the podium please put your name before you come to there's there's a sheet of paper to write your name down prior to coming to the podium and there are many people who wish to speak tonight so i please ask you to adhere to the three-minute limit so that as many people as possible can speak tonight we have a timer ms rodriguez has a timer next to me you will hear the beep and i will ask that you please wrap within three minutes and if not then i will ask you to stop at the three minute mark so again should i read it again okay so i'm going to read the comments again so you're familiar we very much welcome input from the public during board meetings there will be two 30-minute periods of time

026that the meeting will be open for public comment where members of the public are invited to comment which they made you so if they are attending in person during the second public comment period members of the public make comments on any school or school district issue that a member of the public feels may be a concern to the residents of the school district as per biola 167 before you state your comments you will be asked to provide your name and address there is a three-minute time limit on public comments please understand that our public forums are not structured as question and answer sessions but rather are offered as opportunities to share your thoughts with the board in instances where the board believes that there is a misunderstanding or inaccuracy the board president or superintendent will

027address the comment there may be times when a member of the public makes a comment or asks a question about personnel or hiring decisions kindly note that the open public meetings act and the privacy rights of public employees encompassed therein do not permit the board to discuss personnel issues in public session so with that we welcome the first speaker good evening members of the board of education my name is theresa alex and i reside on 120 mitzvot i'm a currently a freshman in hillsboro high school but the reason i'm here tonight is to express my concern on the censorship of the black lives matter poster in the middle school now you might not have known this but i myself along with my friend divya docker worked on creating that poster and when you took down

028this poster you not only disregarded an issue that impacts thousands across our country but you invalidated our personal opinions that expressed using that poster now i'd like to clarify that when i created this poster it was never with the intention to offend or attack the police i respect the police and i understand that their job is certainly not a feasible one but the fact that you automatically resonated me being black lives matter to me being completely against the police just choose your ignorance that you hold on this topic if you all truly want an explanation as to what i wrote i had a black we had a black lives matter with the names of those who are perish due to police brutality surrounding it above the fisted names we wrote this needs to end and

029below the names it was written stop police brutality now please keep in mind that i wrote stop police brutality and not stop the police to be honest there is no two-sided argument to police brutality because there is no other side to the value of human life being violated by someone in power i define police brutality as an excessive and illegal use of force by law enforcement in which a victim is stripped of their dignity and self-preservation i do not believe you can fight another side to that when you censored this poster you censored my opinion which i made myself nobody in my life neither my teachers or parents ever forced me to have the opinions that i have today and for that i will always be grateful i made a decision for myself to be

030black lives matter but i never made a decision to be against the law enforcement rather this was an opinion that you tried to decide for me based on your assumptions over our intentions i want you to think about it like this each and every system even if the smartest people are a part of it could never be completely perfect whether it be our family systems our school systems and our policing systems there are flaws in everything and no one is above or higher than to which we cannot judge them everyone is subject to judgment but it is only through judgment that we can spark change and innovation these are the thoughts that race through my head as i hung my poster high proudly in our middle school hallways and it is these very thoughts now

031that bring me here tonight to ask you to reconsider your decision i will leave you with this last thought from robin sharma a person who lacks self-expression is a person without personal freedom i also have a small public thank you if you could just wrap up your thoughts please i also have a small public comment from david docker who could not be here tonight but one of her opinions stated she says i have such dismay for the removal of our creation this was a simple attempt from inspiring students of hms cares to showcase the brutal and very real reality of police brutality as john oliver mentioned there is a young gentleman sitting putting his life on the line for the safety of others however let this be a point he is here to protect not

032to murder the pressure that was created by myself and teresa in no way portrayed that the sole job of the police is to kill the excuse me i'm sorry are you reading um somebody else's yeah yeah i'm sorry we have a large um group of people and i i really do appreciate that you've come to speak to us tonight but we do need to adhere to the three minutes okay i'm sorry thank you very much for your comments [Applause] alia merchant 20 miller drive could you speak a little louder aliyah merchant 20 miller drive good evening board of education members my name is aleah and i'm a freshman at hillsboro high school you may remember me from hms cares when two of my peers and i spoke last year about microaggressions and how they should

033be included in the curriculum i would like to start my speech off with a quote from psychotherapist amy morin choosing to avoid uncomfortable feelings often offers immediate short-term relief but avoidance can lead to long-term consequences i have come here today to talk about the recent removal of a black eyes matter poster in hillsboro middle school from hms cares hallway of racial healing when i learned about the situation and why it was removed my first thought was how could anyone feel uncomfortable with something as simple as a poster placed by a few 13 to 14 years olds but as i sat down to talk about it with my peers former teachers and members of the community i was able to sort my thoughts into words this brings me to my main point this feeling of discomfort

034that many parents and students felt looking at the poster is extremely important change doesn't come easily and comfortably despite how despite how much certain people might hate it getting uncomfortable is the first step to changing the community so i'm proud to say that the poster made by two of my peers worked i'm proud that when people looked at that poster they were forced to think about police brutality and the harm it brings to to communities in order to change the community people need to think about subjects that make them uncomfortable this feeling will help spark the ideas and change this community desperately needs this is why i hope you will rethink your decisions about the removal of the poster some of us speaking tonight are only in high school we have seen the first-hand effects

035of racism in our community i have been a victim to it myself on multiple occasions the poc community of hillsboro wants to see a difference in our town we look to adults in our community to help make that change i look to you members of the community with a large amount of power to start this feeling of discomfort and use that feeling to help spark change that change for the future generations of poc students thank you and have a good night thank you very much [Applause] um miss howard before you begin um if we could just have the people who are not exactly in my line of sight who are not wearing a mask if you could please put your mask on as i requested earlier if sir the gentleman behind the person's like your

036thank you if you could please put your mask on we would really appreciate that per [Music] the governor's executive order for public school buildings all right thank you what go ahead thank you okay [Music] all right good evening my name is joyce eldridge howard 75 weber avenue i'm here tonight in response to my viewing of the most recent hillsborough board of education meeting and i would like to first commend dr trubulski for his clear concise clarification of the display of one of the elements of social justice and injustice from slavery to the present i would also like to commend the librarians input and the conscientious efforts of the students involved in the hms scares club most of us know that the board of education develops policies that govern school operations in compliance with state and

037federal laws and regulations we all know that school boards employ a superintendent to lead and manage the school district and to serve as the chief executive officer of the school system i believe that dr antonis is doing a fine job during this very difficult times superintendents are also responsible for the management of the schools and the administration of all school board policies and are directly accountable to the school board however the implementation of curriculum in the schools is a direct responsibility of the principals and teachers while in compliance with the new jersey state department of education not only should we all be assured that the school environment is safe principals teachers librarians and counselors must all continue to have high expectations for all students i know this is being addressed due to health uh hillsborough

038student outcomes published in the local newspapers during the past year and previous years and during my short tenure as a member of the board however the declaration of independent states we hold these truths that all men are created equal that statement has not always held water beginning with slavery to the present day as demonstrated given the times that we live in i believe that hillsborough schools are on the right track i view the reaction to the timeline has been a good thing because it has opened up dialogue among many in our community what has happened in our country is beginning to trickle down to some local localities and we would prefer not to be a part of that club what has occurred has also provided all of us with an awareness that we should get

039involved and stay alert all i ask is that we all continue to provide positive truths and examples for our students and our community so that we can make a productive difference for the present generation and generations to come i i would like to thank the principals the teachers the librarians and counselors for all of their efforts as concerned adults we must all care and i repeat care in order to make an encouraging impact for our future generations to me the c for care credible a accurate all respectful and e [Applause] good evening dr antonis and members of the board of education my name is tuian lay and i have lived at four ivy lane in hillsborough for 33 years and served on the board of education from 2010 to 2013. while serving on the board

040of ed i learned that we are most effective when we consider the needs of the students first and not just one segment of the student population but the school community as a whole it sounds simple but you actually have to be conscientious about it i'd like to talk about the black lives matter poster that was included in the hallway of healing and discussed at the last board meeting within the context of listening to all perspectives when the focus is on students we understand why there is a need to have the hillsborough middle school hallway of healing it tackled the issue of racism celebrated pride month and meant a lot to the students who created it it allowed students to express their evolving understanding and start a conversation about these issues tonight you have heard the

041students dismay and concerns about how their poster was misrepresented as anti-police when their intention was far from it that when a poster that was part of a whole way of healing causes a reaction other than healing to other students and members of the community it gives us as a community the chance to explore why it allows each of us to try to understand another person's viewpoint so let's make this an opportunity to have a much needed conversation in our town i encourage hillsborough residents to lead the country by example and have difficult but necessary conversations for the sake of our students i encourage dr antonis to re-establish the community partnership network originally established under dr schiff dr entunes was in fact instrumental in orchestrating the series of meetings and i would be happy to help

042in whatever way i can during these meetings we had breakout sessions for timely issues as a potential breakout session we could i invite our community to explore why a black lives matter poster might be interpreted as anti-police to some when it is a simple truth for others our common ground is our wish for all of our students to have a safe school environment that allows them to have in order to thrive and become the best that they can be thank you thank you [Applause] good evening board and thank you for the opportunity to speak my name is janine bason i live at 211 valley road i stand here tonight as a taxpayer and a mom in support of board member john oliver the newspaper article did not do this administration any favors the thought that

043anyone would be offended by mr oliver's statement asking for a counterpoint is simply astounding i am all for the freedom of speech or expression but there needs to be a point and counterpoint for each poster displayed this way they all can have an opportunity for a sense of pride even as this district is continuing to push an agenda for racism division and hate i am a little confused as to why a high school student work of art was on display in the middle school in the first place what is even worse is that you allowed the union a coalition led by a member who ran for the board and an administrator from this district have a newspaper report on it this act may very well appear to members of our community as using leverage or

044a position of power to get a point across and that is very concerning mr oliver was correct in stating that if you have a point a counterpoint must be made there are children in this district that have parents who are in law enforcement and i'm sure they are not happy with that one-sided opinion i have a cousin who is currently a sheriff in brooklyn new york and another cousin who's a retired new jersey police sergeant so i am personally offended that a counterpoint presentation was not entertained i hear first-hand stories what my cousins have to deal with i am embarrassed to sit around my table this thanksgiving with my family and admit that this school district our school district is only presenting one side of the story teaching and encouraging that one side deserves a

045spotlight and not the other is hypocritical at best and not providing your students my children the opportunity to think for themselves and form their own opinions and to show their pride for those officers and sheriffs and sergeants who do good and wonderful things for our community i previously spoke in front of you about crt in our schools i am saddened and disappointed that the subject is constantly skirted around by changing the name of your divisive and racist program to sel social and emotional learning does not change the content of the materials being presented social and emotional learning is something that should happen at home school should be teaching the subjects needed for education our community our children my children me i do not see color i wish all of our educators administrators and board members

046did not as well i hope other parents and community members who feel the same way find the strength and courage to speak their hearts and not be afraid of backlash either upon themselves or their children from the board educators or administrators that have different opinions thank you for your time and thank you for serving us mr officer thank you miss jason [Applause] um before you begin ma'am if you could just put your um mask up over your nose i appreciate that sorry hi my name is megan mazer i'm 613 boozer lane and yes that is a real street in hillsborough i want to say first that i'm a parent of two boys in this district and having been a parent of a child with special needs um in this past in this district the past

04711 year has been an amazing pleasure your teachers and staff and nurses in special education are beyond the most amazing people you will ever meet and go above and beyond each day for these children i can't even express my gratitude to these teachers and i'm just impressed every day with them and as well as my other son who is in regular ed each of his teachers have been amazing now that being said at the last meeting i was extremely disappointed in the speech given by mr trabalski i agree with our school's academic integrity is at risk because of individuals like himself that use our child our children's artwork as a pawn to promote his own version of social justice in our schools we have seen over the past year the terror and destruction that this

048organization promotes as an administrator of the school he should have well known that parents have a right to express their concern over showing anything regarding black lives matter as they are considered by many to be a terrorist group if you want to promote social inequalities in our country go for it there are plenty to choose from but you must also represent represent the other side by showing the courage strength that our police have every day they put our their lives on the line for us and at our the first ones we call when we are at our weakest moment in our lives and sometimes the scariest as a parent of a child with special needs whose comprehension comprehension isn't that of a neurotypical child my son would take that sign as a literal fact that

049his life means nothing because he is a white child it is important for us to believe and show our children that their color of their skin doesn't matter it is important what their merit is and how hard they work and who they are as people it is not the school's job to show our kids what is moral that is ours as parents morally correct mr chapulski needs to be reminded as an administrator he needs to stand neutral on such political issues our children are the children of hard-working americans not the children of rioting destroying racists like black lives matter this kind of propaganda only pushes racism and hatred in our community and divides us as a group of adults further away from each other rather than pulling us together i want to silence our children

050ever instead i would much rather teach them history the good the bad the ugly the gritty everything learn from that see how others have worked together and reacted to things and move on from it and continue to move forward rather than constantly pulling negativity back into our lives learn from each other grow with that i will end by saying that black lives matter has no place in our schools and mr trevolsky may want to think about why parents felt more comfortable speaking with mr oliver over this issue rather than himself thank you thank you good evening my name is chris geraldi 940 river road lifetime resident of hillsborough professionally i'm a police officer but tonight i'm here as a resident and concerned parent in the district recently as we know there's been a lot of

051discussions surrounding a controversial display located within hillsborough middle school now i know that my opinions on many things tonight may not be popular with everyone especially some in this room and in this district but i know that there are just as many people that my opinions will resonate with many of which have remained quiet in fear of being singled out looked at or even treated differently while personally i believe there is a place in every school curriculum for the history and current affairs regarding things like racism equality police brutality and even the black lives matter movement i do not believe there is a place in our schools to advertise things like blm posters a poster sorry black lives matter is a movement which currently has its founder in new york city vowing that there will

052be riots fire and bloodshed in his own words if mayor-elect who's also african-american eric adams brings back plain-closed anti-crime units units that were previously disbanded under the defund the police movement which ultimately led to the surge in violent crimes that they are experiencing there today you heard that right we have posters within our district supporting a movement that is inciting violence at the thought of reducing crime that being said i want to be clear that i don't discredit or downplay any of the positive change blm has created for those who are aware may of every year is known as law enforcement appreciation month just a few years ago a hillsborough high school employee was kind enough to collect pictures of law enforcement officers from within our community including family members of school staff she made

053a bulletin board to celebrate law enforcement appreciation month where she included the quote blue lives matter her heartfelt meaningful gesture lasted only a few hours before a staff member complained ultimately she was ordered to take it down because it was offensive to blm there was no media called there was no public discussion at board of ed meetings and there was no public acknowledgement of the individuals that were affected and quite frankly upset over this i have a picture of it for anyone that wonders now i'm not comparing the two things to each other but i ask this question how do we have discussions about these posters supporting a movement that is supporting crime currently but we don't support those who stop it organizations within the district such as borough cares which is represented here tonight

054has done work previously on the topic of police brutality which was the focus of the blm poster however in my role as a police officer many members that were on there have spoken to me about their disappointment in the group's conversations specifically that their disinterest in hearing any opinions that vary from their own i know both minority and non-minority employees of this district that have left the group because they were made to feel that their experiences and opinions are insignificant if we want to create lasting change in our community we need to have the uncomfortable conversations that include all of the stakeholders in closing i urge the district to ensure that we bridge the gap between what is happening in our schools and our local police department start initiatives which bring officers into the schools

055to interact with the kids similar to what happens right here at iris like 20 more seconds yes thank you times have changed and now more than ever we need our kids to interact with the police be willing to confide in the police and most importantly to trust the police we should not be taking an approach that creates a divide there's enough of that going on in the world thank you to the board of ed mr oliver and whomever else was an intricate part of bringing these concerns to the forefront while much of it may be silent and fear of retribution you have more support than you know thank you for your time and i look forward to being part of the meaningful conversations that may come from this but please come with an open mind

056thank you mr gerald good afternoon board um good evening board my name is jonathan alvanese and i'm 11 years old attending uh aries and i live on 120 taylor avenue pillager in new jersey i'm writing this letter because i think wearing a mask in school should be optional this probably seems crazy to you especially after water pandemic we had two years ago i'm fed up with masks i feel parents want some massive children that's fine but as we are trailing into winter rooms upon rooms are turning the heat on it's truly hard to breathe and many of my pupils and i feel very overpowered harris is tired and not just heiress other schools too i am taking a stand to speak my opinion to get the word out my fellow classmate xavier walker has to

057be yelled at every day by the teacher because his mask slips down the teacher thinks he does it on purpose but he doesn't all the teachers are talking about how kids should be able to voice their opinions but as you say that you don't give us the freedoms that an average american citizen should have i think that teachers hate him too stop controlling us give us our freedoms thank you for your time this shall not be taken lightly and should be handled with thought care and um consideration sincerely jonathan always thank you very soon thank you very much for sharing your opinion good evening board jason albanese 120 taylor avenue i'm standing here before you tonight as a parent taxpayer and a voice for the people there are many people that are not willing to

058stand here and talk due to a company policy or because they own a business so i'll speak for them last meeting mr trubilsky stated he was upset a poster was taken down in the middle school the poster in question is about police brutality and is the very core of what's wrong with this country we are pushing divide and racism through the children they deserve better than this i am concerned for the children of this district and the administration administration for acting this way i'm not saying either party is right i am saying there needs to be two different points made and let the children decide but that's not the case here verbatim for mr trubilsky this display included an element with a point of view around the very real issues of policing practices social justice

059and equality in america and that image was censored today and removed over my objections i'd like to know what those are since mr jaboski has his finger on the pulse of law enforcement community and how they conduct themselves i do not know mr trubilsky's background i do not know if he served in the military but i do know he was not in law enforcement i do question his point of view since he has never had a gun pointed at him and had to make a split second decision if you were going home going home to his family or there was a knock on the door letting his wife and kids know that he wasn't coming home there's a double standard here that needs to be addressed dressed either both sides get input or it all

060gets taken down miss antoine is the superintendent of the district it would make perfect sense to me if you were to walk through the school see if there's compliance with these issues while i still have a few moments i would like to address teachers and administrating administrators using social justice or excuse me social media to defame parents based on their views first of all that's bad for the district second even worse if you are conducting yourself that way during the school day third you have rights and opinion not to degrade or dismiss parents based on opposing views as stated in policy 3282 use of social networking working sites number two must uphold the district's value of respect for the individual or and avoid making defamatory statements about the school district employees students and their families

061number six shall not use social networking sites which are would be detrimental to the mission and function of the district number eight shall not post updates to their status on any social networking sites during instructional hours including posting statements or comments on the social networking sites of others during school times unless it involves a school project employees must ensure that they have approval from the superintendent of schools or his or her immediate supervisor for use of such i can provide screenshots of the complete disrespect of parents carried out by at least one teacher and one administrator during the last three months please let me know that this is necessary but i'm sure you're aware and are handling this situation thank you very much [Applause] good evening my name is lauren spencer i live at 1809

062william mary common i'm an instructional assistant in this district i'm speaking tonight as a staff member a resident a husband and a father we live in a society in which we are all bombarded with the topic of racism it dominates the news social media and now our schools our kids are being drowned by the 24-hour news cycle in the swamp which is social media information is flowing at an exponential rate and the kids can barely slow it down much less turn it off completely my plea is that we give our kids a break they should be focusing on reading writing math science world languages history and trades with all that they can't handle fighting racism our kids are having a hard enough time getting re-acclimated to school many are struggling to perform in the amount

063of mental health challenges is staggering our teachers are being offered trainings like me and white supremacy understanding unconscious bias while studying books as such as white fragility race is a con is a constant focus and not and is not the character of people racism is about a person's heart and not their skin color a person is racist because of their belief system not their skin color we must stop reducing everything to race it's counterproductive and it continues to divide we can't have our kids exposed to images and messages that we are not prepared to address responsibly we see the display of hms as harmless and that may be true on the surface however we can't begin to understand what each of the 1200 kids truly believe about it all it takes is one kid to

064take it in a negative way and we have a tremendous problem if we're allowing the information to be seen then we are responsible for every interpretation and reaction and there is zero percent chance that we are thoroughly reaching each of the 1200 kids instead we should focus on each student as a contributor to the greater good of our school culture a higher self-worth must be the message the profanity in our halls and classrooms has to stop the basic respect for authority needs to be addressed the dress code should be revisited to reflect higher standards and morals how can we expect our kids to respond to racism effectively if they don't have the fundamental tools to respect themselves and the others around them we the adults have the challenge to cultivate such an environment as adults

065we must model the behavior raise a level of expectation and develop a high standard of accountability for all parents students and staff this is why the parents must be the primary source of navigating this topic of racism the school should be a supplemental resource i will teach my son about it and how to handle similar topics i've been called names such as the n word sell out and oreo because i'm black but i act white and i don't even know what that means but thankfully by the grace of god my parents have guided me to forgive love and pray for all who may offend me because these people know not what they do i believe hillsboro is a good place filled with fantastic people this is proven because i went through all the schools and

066i graduated from here i've taught and i've coached at several of these schools and my son will potentially go and attend these schools i pray that my words tonight will lead to more meaningful conversations and everybody here sees that i represent all people here as a child of god god bless thank you very much thank you mr spencer [Applause] um oh so in consideration the fact that we have many people waiting to speak we only had one speaker in the first 30 minute period i'd ask your indulgence that we extend the comment section for an additional 30 minutes um so if i would take a motion in a second and to extend the public thank you mr gillette and thank you mr oliver um all in favor aye any opposed okay so we will now

067extend the thank you mr gillette we will now extend public comment for another 30 minutes good evening thank you for that extension anna mailer 11 hunt club road resident and student assistance counselor at the hillsborough middle school i'm here to talk about safety first i want to thank you for your ongoing commitment to the physical safety of everyone in our buildings throughout the pandemic as a counselor my focus is the emotional safety of all students every child has the right to be physically safe and have a sense of belonging and connection to their school thank you for committing to this by adopting the district goal in september to continue to promote multicultural awareness gender sensitivity and an appreciation of the diversity in the community thank you for expanding our turnkey program to meet this goal

068and supporting my courses on racism trauma anxiety and the lgbtq safe zone training my courses offer participants an opportunity to reflect on their own identities and experiences a process described as the archaeology of the self doing deep work of exploring our personal histories and thinking about how issues of race class religion and gender identity live within these courses serve to create a brave space for self-reflection knowing your own story so you can be open to the stories of others as a counselor i'm entrusted with many stories shared by students who struggle to navigate their place in this chaotic world amid discrimination and divisiveness these students and their families live daily with another type of pandemic one that is rooted in racism homophobia transphobia and other forms of bias we don't have to look to the

069media to see it you are all painfully aware that the hip cases in our schools almost always stem from beliefs that some people are better than others i want to conclude my remarks on behalf of students and colleagues who have also shared their stories with me despite positive strides we've made we have staff members who do not feel our district ethically supports them to be their authentic selves they have a valid fear of harassment feel isolated and invisible gender-based marriage equality has been legal since 2015 yet we have staff who identify as lbgtq plus who do not feel they can display family photos or mention their same gender partner they worry that parents will not want their children to have them as a teacher they worry about losing their jobs and they really worry about

070our lgbtq plus students so if adults feel this way how can our students feel safe and affirmed it is no coincidence that these students are at a much higher risk of suicide yet one of the simplest easiest no-cost suicide prevention strategies is acceptance in the community when it comes to safety i call upon you as though who hold as those who hold the power to dedicate the same level of commitment and resources to both physical and emotional well-being of everyone in our school community district goals cannot just be words on the website you set the tone for the climate of our district with action not silence i urge you to bring diverse voices to the table to dialogue and inform policy decisions provide more funding for an inclusive curriculum and professional development embrace the reality

071that when there is true equity for all everyone benefits thank you thank you [Applause] good evening my name is theresa mastrata and i have been working in hillsborough as an educator for nine years i'm a second grade teacher a turnkey trainer and a borough cares member one of the courses that i teach is called me and white supremacy part one white privilege this year in my second grade class we learned about perspective perspective may be a big word and an even bigger idea but my second graders have come to understand it they know that perspective is the way that you see something and that depending on the information you have access to your perspective can change recently comments were made at a board meeting about turnkey courses that were perceived as uncomfortable or controversial topics

072this is one person's perspective i would like to offer you another to consider think about what white privilege means to you right now everyone is on a different level of awareness of their privileges and the role their skin color plays in their everyday lives if you are white it is possible that you have not had to think much about your skin color now i want you to try to imagine that you are someone who is not white imagine that from the time you were a child you had to work to find books media or other content that showcased someone who looked like you imagine that your textbooks or other school issued materials misrepresented people with your skin color or diminish their contributions in favor of the white people who held power imagine being taught by

073your parents that you need to be extra careful of your actions in public places in order to maintain your physical safety for many white people these are not experiences that we have struggled with yet they are the reality of the everyday lives for many of our community members the purpose of my turnkey class is not for teachers to learn what white privilege is and then bring this content to their own classrooms the purpose of my class is for educators to begin recognizing how white privilege has impacted their own life experiences it serves as a lens for them to view their own thoughts and behaviors through it helps teachers understand the perspectives of marginalized groups of people the purpose of this course is to make educators more aware of the impact they have on people of

074color this course addresses standards set by the strong evaluation model that the district uses these standards include promoting cultural sensitivity and respecting students diversity specifically language culture race gender and special needs as our community grows in diversity it is crucial that white educators begin to examine how their actions affect their non-white students there is no quick fix for this it is not an easy practice it takes dedication persistence time and bravery however the more courageous we are in delving into difficult topics the more our most vulnerable and marginalized students will benefit from my perspective a teacher who engages in this type of professional development is exactly the teacher i would want for my children thank you [Applause] good evening dr antonis and the hillsborough board of education my name is donetta johnson i live at

075one taylor street i speak to you as a parent and as a business owner and as a resident of greater than 35 years um first of all go writers um congrats to the new sectional champions um we are all in this together we are not just the products of our environment but indeed we are the creators of our environment i'd like to express my sincere appreciation to the board of education for your leadership and your courage in stepping out of comfort into discomfort the board of education greenlighted a variety of trainings for our excellent and hardworking teachers to ensure that they have the tools to create a mentally healthy environment for our students including environments that address the challenges of our most vulnerable students by stepping away from what makes us comfortable comfortable into areas

076that make us uncomfortable and into the messiness of our ongoing struggles we create and encourage conversation debate and ultimately solutions for an inclusive healthy and stimulating environment an environment that we want to model in school and also model as we exit the school system into our lives this is exactly what our children deserve and what we owe them our children need safe spaces to examine our past and to understand the mistakes that were made and critically examine our here and now and how we participate and behave as we move forward as we must move forward not backwards into our shared future i hope that we are secure enough to allow our students to express how they are processing the world around them artistically as grown-ups and not draw false parallels to not being supportive of

077our hard-working police black lives matter the counterpoint to that is not that police are good the counterpoint there is no point to that black lives matter the existence of a people is something that we should all be working toward as an african-american mother of two black sons i am grateful to the students that stood up with their artwork that expressed support for black lives and i am grateful for those who understand that the struggle and work for equity and fairness with policing is not anti-police let me repeat it is not anti-police it is pro-american it is pro-future and indeed it is pro-police thank you for the opportunity to speak here [Applause] hello my name is samantha vichelle i live at six peterson road and i'm a junior on the hillsborough high school dance team during

078my freshman year i made the varsity team and it was that experience that solidified my desire to dance at the collegiate level as you have heard or will hear tonight the precautions being taken at dance competitions meet or exceed the current hhs guidelines the need to perform this season goes far beyond trophies or accolades when our dance team earns a bid to regional or national dance competitions it is here and only here that we are exposed to college recruits without this exposure and experience to list on our resumes dancing at the college level becomes unattainable colleges are now holding live dance tryouts and our team has not competed live since february of 2020 unlike other teams at the high school our season runs seven months out of the year we have put in countless hours

079adapted to many challenges and continue to put in the hard work even though the certainty of our c of our season remains unanswered the mission statement of our district states that all students will be led into a successful future it has been so incredible watching my peers in the marching band capture a state championship this fall and experiencing the thrill of a football championship this past weekend i just ask that you afford our dance team the same opportunity in representing with pride the hillsborough township school district thank you for your time [Applause] hello my name is christine teepel and i live at 235 hockenberry road i am the proud parent of three children two hillsborough high graduates and one high school sophomore my sophomore has danced since she was three years old and she loves

080it this year she decided to take her love of dancing and participate in a sport that would give her an opportunity to be part of the high school a high school team she joined the varsity dance team since this summer this team has practiced together for more hours than i could possibly add up in order to choreograph and practice three different routines that they wish to compete at several regional and one national competition the regional competitions are not overnights their competitions begin in january so basically their season has not begun if you know anything about dance teams the competitions are like the games if they were to practice since august and not attend a competition this year it would be like the football team only running drills and never once playing a game against another

081team unfortunately the dance team is still waiting for approval for their competitions despite having submitted all the correct forms and requests in a timely manner delaying approval for these competitions and continuing to not make a decision at all could jeopardize their entire season and result in missing the deadlines for these registrations if gymnastics was allowed to have their meet cheer was allowed to attend their competitions the play was allowed to go on and every sport and academic team at this school was allowed to compete both indoors and outdoors why has the approval not been given to the dance team we are the only team out of 26 in the state of new jersey that has not been given approval to compete by their district even montgomery's dance team who receives medical advice from our district

082physician dr mandelbaum has been given the approval by their district these girls and their coaches have worked hard creating to be created a team to be proud of that represents hillsborough high school these girls are athletes that deserve the same respect as every other sport team and club at this school please give them the approval they need so they can compete and have a normal season like every other team thank you [Applause] good evening my name is kristen commune and i live at 800 robin road i'm a proud hillsborough special education teacher resident and dance team coach i have had the honor to coach the dance team for the last four years it is not a secret that the last year and a half has been super difficult i have seen firsthand the struggles my

083dancers have experienced emotionally and mentally my job as a coach is to help the girls become better dancers but more importantly help them remain strong confident young women the dance team engages about 30 students and their family families annually who otherwise would not be engaged at the high school the hhs dance team has become a part of a tight-knit dance team community in new jersey won various regional awards and is a nationally ranked team our program has given students opportunities that they would not have been able to have without a team summer camps college combines college clinics master classes regional dance competitions national dance competitions community events opportunities to work with award-winning choreographers the organization of fundraising events to teach younger dancers in the hillsborough community and to dance at some sporting events reflecting on

084the current season thus far the girls are desperate for some normalcy and to be able to compete virtual competitions were a good compromise last season but we're in a very different place now and virtual competitions are no longer an option when our team attends competitions we are never in direct contact with another team and always remains six feet or more away from all others our team remains in our team bubble dance organ organizations and schools hosting competitions have worked very hard to follow all cdc and school protocols some protocols that are taking place are single team dressing rooms masks worn by all athletes and spectators modified award ceremonies all mass worn when traveling and the continuation of following all school and state guidelines as you can see these events are run similar to the many

085athletic events hillsborough has organized safely this year our dancers deserve the opportunity to showcase the hard work that they have invested in our program since august they have watched other hhs programs compete and flourish i hope that with the collaboration of myself the administration the dancers and their families we can support the hhs dance team to perform safely and complete in an in-person 21-22 competition dance season thank you thank you for your time before we get to the next speaker before we get to the next speaker i just wanted to make a um i typically don't i would wait till the end of public comment um but however there was with respect to the dance team the the approvals have been they've been approved for in-state competitions the only no overnight competitions have been approved

086so that is my understanding and that may take some time to trickle down to um the advisor but that was my understanding so i just wanted to let the students know that and you're welcome to continue to speak this is not excuse me i'm sorry it's not a back and forth of this i just wanted to clarify that that is that is my understanding perhaps we could follow up offline thank you but please if the students would like to continue you may uh good evening my name is kayla baker i live at one huey lane my name is kayla baker i'm a senior and the current captain of the hillsborough high school dance team i've come to speak on behalf of our upcoming dancing season as a team we have had the opportunities to perform

087during halftime at the varsity boys soccer games along with performing at one high school football game the team and i are forever grateful for the opportunity to showcase our talents at school functions but we are longing for more opportunities ways this can be done is allowing the team to perform at the winter sporting events attending our regional competitions and allowing us to attend our national competition in orlando florida throughout the season the team works for an extensive amount of time to perfect our routines that we take to competitions both the regional and national competitions present great opportunities for the team this gives the team a chance to represent hillsboro both at the regional and national level competition competitions present a an opportunity for dancers to be noticed by numerous dance programs throughout the country due

088to the success of the team i'm currently talking and being recruited by multiple dance and college programs us being on us being unable to perform sets us back especially those in the college application process or those who are will be getting up beginning that process soon our competitors are getting stronger while we are losing opportunities other programs such as wrestling and basketball are running and getting these opportunities to help them succeed they are unmasked and in much closer contact with other towns and each other but within our competitions we stay with our team only and even our spaced out from other competitors every competition we go to will we [Music] 19 mandates but regardless of the mandate of each competition we will still be wearing our masks until the moment we perform i believe we

089have worked hard and have earned the right to perform at all of our upcoming competitions this season thank you thank you very much [Applause] hi my name is lexie lapresti i live at 110 flanders drive and i'm a junior i'm a third year varsity member and captain of the hillsborough high school dance team my coaches the parents and the dancers have worked and sacrificed so much for this team we are a fully parent funded sport the pandemic has affected all of us in different ways but i am confident in saying that for myself and my teammates being able to continue to dance and create together has been very beneficial to our mental health i'd like to respectfully request that my team and i have a normal in-person competition season dance is not a close contact

090sport and we have and will continue to follow all rules set forth by the department of health also if we do not attend in-person competitions it is putting us at a disadvantage for college recruitment local and national competitions are watched heavily by college recruitment coaches and often invitations to audition are gained from having been seen at these local competitions i've watched my sister and my friends have full seasons in their respective sports and i am hoping that we will be able to have the same thank you thank you [Applause] hi my name is addison yes ilonas and i'm a sophomore on the hillsborough high school dance team i'm here as a student athlete child of a pandemic and a member of the hillsborough high school dance team these past two years have come with so

091many changes insecurities challenges and fears we woke up one day and suddenly we lived in a scary new place although so many of us students look fine on the outside there are so many anxieties and worries inside of us coming back to school this year was a bright piece of hope we wondered was our lives starting to go back to normal friday night football games in-person dance practices our hope was renewed that we would finally have a regular true dance season we have been working tirelessly on our routines and our parents and coaches have given us so much although i was a freshman on the team last year we were in a much different place and competed and performed virtually in our masks as a dancer or a performer performer in general you thrive off

092the crowd nothing means more than making your audience feel something and to perform with your team we started our season in august and have been training hard every week to perform on the regional and national stage we are asking you to give us the opportunity to reach our goals and pro and approve us to compete regionally and nationally this is extremely beneficial and crucial for us in the aspect of college experience and recruitment that goes on at these competitions being at a disadvantage to other dancers of those who have competed in person for two whole years is intimidating scary and just simply unfair since we should have no problem doing so as well based on the circumstances of other programs within our district competing with everything being said i hope you consider our needs as

093athletes and students and making them a priority thank you hello everyone my name is mia roykers of 19 newell street and i'm a junior at hillsborough high school today i'm speaking on behalf of the hillsborough high school dance team to start i wanted to inform you all about the dance team experience as a dancer on the team for the past two years in addition to this year my freshman year was normal and all in person luckily and that year was full of hard work dedication growth and amazing opportunities to both meet new people and experience a whole different type of dance as opposed to studio dancing going to competitions is such an important part of a dance team because it gives us the drive to work to be the best in our previous years we've

094done extremely well in these competitions and we are nationally ranked on the other hand last year we were initially entirely remote then very limited regarding practices competitions and other activities that we would normally take part in in person this season was extremely difficult for us but due to the circumstances we still managed to have our full season by doing virtual competitions and practices the difference between experiencing competitions in person and being up against other teams live along with in-person practices is much different than filming the filming videos of our dances and sending them in or having to use zoom or google me to practice the connection between dancers and coaches and the necessity of in-person practices and competitions are all detrimental to the dance team experience i'm here asking as asking as a member of

095the hillsborough dance team along with the rest of the team and our families for the commodities to continue to excel as we have in the past it's essential that we are able to go to go back to normal like other high school activities and sports have been able to this year our coaches and parents have put in so much time effort resources and passion into this team and us dancers have put in the same along with working hard for so hard for so long to strongly and confidently represent our school in hillsborough as a whole and it is so important to do this at these regional comp regional and national competitions as well thank you so much for your time and consideration thank you for your comments [Applause] hi my name is jessica graham and

096i live at 50 wesley road and i'm a freshman on the dance team i've been waiting years to finally be able to represent hellsborough with an h across my chest going into freshman year is a nerve-wracking experience but when i got to meet my team over the summer it helped me prepare and be more confident for the upcoming year dance team has opened up so many opportunities for me already and allowed me to start to build lifelong friendships with my teammates i've been able to learn more about what it means to be a good leader to be responsible to be accountable for my actions and the importance of time management throughout these past couple of months i've learned if you want something bad enough you should never give up when we got to dance at

097a few soccer games this year i finally felt the impact that dance can have on not only me but other people from that moment on my team and i had felt the drive and continue to push to perfect our competition routines and represent hillsboro this competition season my team's hope is that with the collaboration of the administration coaches and our parents we can come up with a way the dance team can compete safely at all regional and national competitions during the 2021 2022 season thank you thank you for your comments hello my name is emily anna and today i'm here to talk about the dance team and everything it stands for as someone new to the team i'm not familiar to how regular practices slash activities used to be before the pandemic but what i

098do know is that these four coaches are doing everything that they can to make everything seem like it would be before the pandemic the dance team is quite literally my entire life right now ever since i quit studio competition not only has this team brought me nurturing friendships but has also helped my mentality and my confidence surrounding dance altogether not only are the coaches goals to make us better dancers but is also to support this school as well if not support provided competitions and nationals how can we do this our program is being limited by these restrictions and we understand that everything is messed up because of the pandemic our dance program is helping us with our futures and many of these alumni in this room go to colleges with number one in the country

099dance teams we hope we can all work together to give this season dance competitions and nationals where we can show off our high school thank you thank you thank you very much good evening my name is tricia salonis 813 108 court my daughter addison is a sophomore on the hillsborough high school dance team i'm here to inquire with the board about the status of the approval of the four regional and state competitions in january and february as well as the national competition in florida in february as of today we received approval for the one january 9th regional but no other approvals have been granted at this time our girls have been practicing tirelessly for these competitions since august these are the only competitions they will have this year other sports have home and away games

100approved through february sports such as basketball and wrestling where there is very close physical contact with the damn dance competitions the girls are kept in their team bubble and do not interact with other students at other schools when they perform their routines they are the only ones on the floor and will never be within six feet of another team additionally the competitions follow all school and new jersey cdc guidelines all new jersey high school dance teams including montgomery have been approved to compete so why haven't we the latest update from the new jersey cdc on november 16th of 21 states practices and competitions for indoor and outdoor organized sports including indoor and outdoor interstate youth sports may resume in accordance with health and safety protocols there are no limits for indoor or outdoor practices and

101competitions these dancers and us parents have made so many sacrifices for this dance team in order to be a part of these in-person competitions there is a social and emotional aspect to this that cannot be overlooked or taken for granted the mental health of our children depend on these opportunities to play sports and to perform there is a range of physical emotional and interpersonal benefits that arise from these experiences dance is not just a sport or an activity for this team these girls are artists and performers who pour their heart and soul into growing their skills perfecting their routines and actually being able to perform in person additionally there's an impact for these girls college careers as well part of the college recruitment asks for them to identify their high school performances colleges are now

102having in-person tryouts and our dancers have not performed live and in person since february of 2020. this puts our students at a huge disadvantage in the college application process the college recruitments occur at the competitions that we are seeking approval for there is inconsistency with school policies and other programs and that of the dance team why are our dancers denied the same opportunities as their peers how do we explain the discrimination against our dancers when other events that have no physical distancing are approved this is unfair and inequitable they are much closer together with other students just walking the hallways during their school day than they will be at these competitions these girls have lost so much over the last year and a half this is more than just a performance opportunity for their these

103girls this is their connection to this high school to their peers to their teammates and to their craft i ask you to please allow us to have a normal competition season including all regionals and nationals thank you thanks thank you for your comment before we continue may i indulge your board with another we've finished our 30 minutes um we'll do a 20 a 20 minute with just the people who are standing here so if i could ever first uh first in a second thank you all in favor please go ahead good evening cindy is ski drive thank you for listening to everyone here who's come tonight i wanted to thank the board for your tireless public service really and deeply because being away from your families and listening with such attention for so long is

104definitely a feat i also want to thank the board and the administration for supporting evidence-based decision making it's often unpopular and i think extremely important so thank you for that included in that evidence-based decision making from my perspective is the professional learning that encourages inclusivity in our district at the beginning of my career nearly two decades ago i had the benefit of such professional learning myself and the evidence shows that it saves lives so i appreciate you supporting that type of programming and if any questions exist about it i encourage you to reach out to folks in the district who are passionate about this because we care about our students and i think that the thing we can all agree on is that we are here for the students and keeping them safe thank you

105again for your service thank you dr [Applause] hi my name is sanja nabata 39 tippett street hillsborough new jersey and i'm a 9th grader currently attending hhs if you don't remember me this past spring i spoke at a board of ed meeting with two of my classmates and we talked about the importance of educating kids on microaggressions additionally last year i participated in hms cares and the hallway of racial healing which is one of the main reasons i'm here if you don't already know the poster that has sparked recent controversy was actually put up in the hallway of racial healing i understand that during the speech i may be reiterating some points already said before but it's important for me and the rest of hms cares that i share my perspective of the situation i'm

106a person of color and i'm very very proud of it when my classmates and i were making the posters and artwork for the hallway of racial healing last year my heart swelled with pride for the beautiful work we were doing we were spreading awareness about racism and black lives matter this project made me so hopeful for the future of this country and for the future of anti-racism the hallway of racial healing meant more to all of us than just a hallway filled with anti-racist or controversial posters it was a symbol for the work we were putting into making this world more equitable for everyone trust me politics and critical race theory weren't in mind last school year especially last school year everything was virtual and i can tell you i personally was probably thinking about

107the new ariana grande album that was just released to think that we ever had anything hateful towards the police that risked their lives to protect us every day is an overstatement i was never forced to join hms cares or have a viewpoint of an equal future forever for everyone i chose to have these beliefs just how i chose to participate in hms cares just like how i chose to make the posters for the hallway of racial healing and spread awareness when that poster made by two of my classmates was taken down my heart perpetually sank i couldn't believe that in my own community art work towards an anti-racist community had been torn down and destroyed why that's the question i've been asking myself for the past week why was such an impactful poster made by

108young student voices taken down i personally couldn't come up with an answer because that poster meant so much more to me than a piece of paper that my peers made for a club it meant that we were acknowledging all the pain to black people in the past and therefore taking a step towards equity specifically black lives matter is a movement combating especially police brutality towards black people i just want to repeat that this movement is not anti-police but it's instead recognizing all the lives that have been lost and working to educate people and make a move to stop this from happening again we will continue doing anti-racist work as before and are even more motivated to make this community a better place for everyone no matter their physical or emotional appearance to address another issue

109there's also been retrogressing discussions surrounding the turnkey workshops that spread awareness about the lgbtq plus community in school to give context these workshops help teachers understand how to help students in the lgbtq plus community for example in these workshops teachers might learn how to help an lgbtq plus student come out or how to help stop discrimination against lgbtq plus students personally i think the response for these workshops is awful and i find it horrible that people are uncomfortable with letting other people express themselves at the end of the day we're all human and all deserve an equal opportunity at life so i ask everyone to please consider the fact that there's no place for hate in this world some of the things i've said in the speech might not really might not really resonate with

110some of you but we have to consider other points of view in order to create change please take a listen to all the wonderful student voices out there that can help everyone have a broader vision and who are the future of this world thank you so much and i look forward to speaking in front of you again thank you for your public comments [Applause] good evening mary beth delisi nine steps drive hms literacy teacher and parent of a current high schooler i want to thank the board for the turnkey training sessions being offered this year in the past i really found some of the courses to be repetitive centered only on technology and after taking course after course after course on google sheets it was sometimes difficult to find courses to fulfill the six hour

111requirement but this year the variety of offerings um they're just so much more relevant these courses include tech training self-care for teachers and creating inclusive classrooms that respect all and honor historical truth i appreciate this diversity of training offerings that give myself and other teachers the tools to learn more about topics such as race sexuality and gender topics that directly impact the students in our classrooms at the middle school students in eighth grade literacy classes recently read a historical text called the first americans and that was a letter written by the grand council fire of american indians to the mayor of chicago in 1927. in the letter the council president implored the mayor to teach history authentically with all of its glory as well as its ugly truths in the textbooks that they were selecting

112tonight i am asking the board to ensure that we continue to do the same thank you and have a happy thanksgiving thank you for your comments hi amy salinger sixth grade math teacher at iris and ata treasurer can we do budget input now oh absolutely okay i thought this was the right stop uh right part um as you you know you ask for budget input starting now and leading up until you create the budget so i just wanted to mention that um next year my understanding is iris will be eliminating asis we've eliminated advanced classes this year at the sixth grade level and moving more towards an rti model um my understanding of that model so far involves um interventionist specialists that will be either pushing in or pulling out groups of students who are

113struggling so if we look back i think it was two years ago where we eliminated positions and we have less staff that we're working with as we move towards creating a new model and a new way of doing intervention i would like the board to consider staffing and how it's going to affect that new model because i think for sixth grade right now my numbers could be wrong um there would be three teachers serving the entire sixth grade for intervention because there would be no more asi classes so just something to think about as you move forward looking at appropriately staffing this new initiative thank you thank you [Applause] hello what uh didier jimenez didier jimenez uh 348 gemini drive hillsboro jersey is it good okay uh so i ran uh recently into a quote

114by the daughter of martin luther king and it felt like a hit close to home uh and this is something that she said on her official social media she said so many people haven't listened to or read my father's words beyond the end of i have a dream and it shows uh and i felt that you know what we're going through as a town it really you know made me think about things uh and just even about the history that martin luther king was hated when he was alive uh you should see their newspaper political cartoons about him how they portray him it's awful stuff uh and you know we can't ignore the reality that we have a system that historically has been hurting african-americans the most from jim crow laws that were studied by

115nazi germany to learn how to they could do their own discrimination to the war on drugs that put more african-americans in jail to other social issues that also involves police because we have a path to incarceration we have a path that leads to for-profit prisons we have a system that is not working out for a lot of people and muslim african-americans and in 2020 the hillsborough community came out in support of black lives matter uh and i am so proud of them because they understand that we're there to bring awareness to those issues to those people who barely have a voice but a social media handle to bring out information about somebody who suffer just like george floyd uh did um and you know uh our our group that organized so we work with the

116local pd to make sure that everybody's safe everybody's concern was to make sure that the hillsborough community safe make sure they had hand sanitizer water make sure everybody stay off the roads make sure we communicate it currently with the local police department because we have the same goals to make sure we bring that awareness that being black lives matter does not mean being anti-police because we can't do those events without them and we really appreciate every time we collaborate to make sure safety is number one in our community thank you thank you mr [Applause] hello priscilla sununu here 2206 jamestown common um i'm here to voice my opinion or my thoughts on the removal of the poster from the middle school and the subsequent comments made by members of this board specifically linking the actions

117to critical race theory i'm not really here to debate any issues as i don't believe this is the forum to have that i'm speaking as an hes hms and hhs hss sorry hhs alumni who has experienced overt racism in the hillsborough school subject as early as the fifth grade and i believe that it is all of our goal in this room to provide an enriching and balanced experience for their students and i just hope that the board continues to consider the experiences of students of color in hillsboro as it is already a very polarizing place to be as a student of color and i've been very proud to watch the progress made especially in the last two years of forums discussions avenues of discussion that i didn't have as a student and i was not

118that old so really great to see the improvements thus far but hoping that those improvements are protected as students who are of color don't get don't get to go home and take off their skin color and they're constantly uh reminded of that so um i believe is their intention for the students to create a dialogue around what matters to them and that's exactly what they have succeeded in doing and i hope and you you take into consideration what i and many others today have said as more importantly the students experiences are very real and deserve attention and most importantly continuing for students have a safe space to express themselves in hillsborough thank you very much is there any other public comment before we close the public comment portion if anybody else would like to speak

119if you could line up so that we could um put your name on the on the sheet thank you good evening my name is rodney williams i'm from 101 everett close i've lived in hillsboro since 1991 when i moved to majestic knowles development with my wife renee i'm an hr consultant for my own firm specializing in diversity equity and inclusion and i also serve as an associate minister at fountain baptist church and summit where i co-lead the social justice committee that's been partnering with the summit police force to develop a more transparent policing process by forging a better relationship between them and communities of color this evening i stand to say that more or less for 30 years i've been quietly proud resident of this town i've watched my daughter kamari successfully navigate the local

120school system from the y through hillsboro high school graduating in 2020. i participated in rec leagues voted in the elections and supported local businesses never been uncomfortable traveling about town and during the last election cycle the mayor and a few other local politicians even knocked on my door to ask my opinions and solicit my vote i haven't been overly concerned about racial profiling by the police or about overt racism and discrimination here even though i'm sure it exists here as much as anywhere else especially based on some of the comments that have been called for here calling black lives matter a terrorist organization for an organization that seeks the same respect for our lives as white lies this nation has a long and sordid history of inhumane treatment of peoples of color and in particular

121black american is people pie and it remains viable because of the same parents who stood by while lynching was a social event notice scholar kimberly crenshaw put it this way racism is like a bestows at one time it was put into every building but now that we know its deadly effects we look to remove it from every single one of them even if it means tearing down the building and rebuilding please note that i said i was quietly proud and that i hadn't seen any overt signs of racism until now because when i read the school board member john oliver had the audacity to censor or in his words question a student's freedom of expression artwork in a school project because he as a white male could impose his will on what constitutes acceptable representations

122of my community i became outraged this will not stand i'll be quiet no more we're starting a black and other people with color parent group to ensure that the town and the schools know that we're here and we can be a resource for you but if anything like this happens we'll be your nightmare mr oliver you need to remember that in your comments you left out parents when you spoke of those whose interests you represent you said and i quote we need to go back and look at what we're doing and how we're portraying things because your point as educators as elected officials as board members as police officers we need to look at both sides end quote you exhibited this very bias that you noted in seemingly requiring that the student's artwork needed to

123represent a perspective that she may not agree with that's paternalistic white racism and i'm guessing that you don't want to be seen in that light personally or professionally so you're admonished that we will be actively watching thank you for your comments is there any other public comments okay seeing none then i will now close public comments and i will reiterate again that the board members abide by the code of ethics and no individual board member has any authority to direct any staff member to act and at no point did a board member give a directive to censor a display at the hillsborough middle school i would also like to thank the students and the people who had spoken tonight with decorum and civility we appreciate that which is a good example for our students who

124are watching and then with that i would like to turn it to the board miss fufana if you would like to begin i want to commend the other students here tonight for their advocacy and additionally their dedication i also want to acknowledge that i can't imagine how challenging this year must have been for administrators parents students and our entire town these unprecedented circumstances have made it beyond difficult for all of us to regain a sense of normalcy but i do know and appreciate that it is the first priority of all educators in this district to keep us students safe however as we've begun to shift back to our regular activities i know that myself and many other students here today feel as though certain privileges have not been extended to all activities that are part

125of hhs from girls softball softball to choir to academic teams and now dance team the coveted restrictions clearly have been significantly more harsh in comparison to other predominantly male sports i know that football culture plays in a really important role in our school environment but the comments made tonight further demonstrate that these activities are equally vital as a member of the school dance team we followed restrictions on covid meticulously and cautiously for the past several months i know that our safety is the first priority and we'd never want to jeopardize that but for many students looking to pursue pursue dance or dance in college the lack of in-person opportunities has detrimentally impacted our growth as dancers and also our development as people i cannot be more grateful that we have a school that is so

126invested in our health and well-being but the inconsistency in the coveted restrictions can at times be discouraging for many of the groups that have been working tirelessly to perform compete and showcase their abilities i also want to bring up the situation that happened at the middle school i know there was a concern regarding certain statements that pose the risk of biases and animosities among students but upon hearing my peers speak i do think if possible we should work to toward reevaluating what we deem as detrimental i know as controversial i know that myself and other students just want to feel like we're an environment where we are supported for who we are well i know this situation is not directly related to students censoring something that they not only created but was intended to celebrate

127and acknowledge the contributions and struggles of a group of people is not much different than invalidating the existence of students who identify with that group i know that there are certain perimeters that we as a school and as a town have to follow when it comes to controversies controversies but i don't think that identity is something that is debatable the sentiments shared by students tonight show exactly why we need more things like this display and why it is important that they aren't looked at as political matters but instead crucial parts of our safety and learning environments while navigating the pandemic rising tensions and academics i do applaud our school community for taking action but moving forward i ask that as a community we consider how sometimes immediate or restrictive solutions although done with good intentions

128have a direct impact on the livelihood of students in a way that something potentially controversial ever could thank you thank you thank you mr fauna any comments from the board miss stats um i think i think what one thing we all have in common is that we want what's best for our students uh obviously we disagree on how that happens um i'm concerned that uh it appears to be that there's a like two sides to the issue of regarding i guess the uh the poster and related views but i don't think there are just two sides there's there are so many nuances regarding racism diversity equity um there's multiple multiple uh viewpoints um and what concerns me is that when we create these two camps and uh ultimate a lot of times we end up

129resorting to labeling someone we disagree with with a really pejorative term like if if either they're racist or they're indoctrinating our children when like i said there's nuances if someone's just asking a question maybe we should just listen to their point of view and avoid judgment and avoid labeling what i am happy about is that for years now our curriculum addresses the issues of racism and diversity in a rich way and i anticipate that it will even continue to expand doing that um i look at this issue of removing the poster as as misguided as it was i do think that's just a blip i don't think that represents uh what's going on in our school district um the hall of racial healing and the displays related to the african-american experiences in history that's part

130of providing a full education for all of our students no matter what their color that uh is important part of a full curriculum and what i'm also heartened by is and i i believe uh this has been said before is how respectful everyone has been tonight regardless of their own point of view everyone has spoken respectfully but what i really admire again is the poise and eloquence of our students uh i'm always impressed by that i look forward to hopefully having presentations about uh examples of uh anti-racism or addressing racism and equity uh within our curriculum and obviously this is not the forum for any kind of dialogue but i look forward to that opportunity in some format to have dialogue uh and two-way communication uh between people that come from different points of view

131and hopefully we will be continue to listen and consider each other's point of view without resorting to labeling thank you thank you is there any other comment from the board mr oliver well i i've been sitting here very quietly this evening and i almost feel like this is like a law and order episode that we need to go back and recap some things that happened two weeks ago so there were some individuals came to the podium a couple of weeks ago and talked about censorship and i've heard the word censorship i i heard my audacity and the outrage of what i did let's go back to the previous episode so we can continue with tonight's episode i made an inquiry to the administration based on several constituents who saw a poster in the middle school

132and they asked what the content of that poster was so as a board member i questioned it i asked the administration and the answer i got about a week later was it was part of black history month it was supposed to come down in june it's coming down and the next item that's going up is about indigenous americans now in the past two weeks i've been called a racist i've been called a member of the kkk i've had phone calls to my house and i have been criticized so if anyone in this audience thinks that they're going to silence me for making an inquiry for what is going to be in our students best interests as ms stats just said it's about our students the speaker that got up talked about a poster that was

133very well done by the students however i was told the poster was made by a media specialist not a student and i commend the students for speaking here tonight and giving your point of view and making that poster right because you believe in that and that's what you're supposed to be doing is believe in that we need to look at counterpoints and points the speaker said it was a poster relating to social justice and social injustice so when i got the answer that said it was part of black history month it's coming down it was supposed to come down in june it's coming down now and there's going to be a new display comes up it was an answer i got i don't know why it was still up for so long why it shouldn't

134have been maybe another topic like i could think in history of i remember as a young man reading um fdr right pearl harbor was bombed mr gillette you're you're a history buff right and and we put asian americans in internment camps and i think what a horrific because of the color of their skin because of their nationality they were put in internment camps but we were afraid of what happened but we've we've come a long way but i feel like because i made an inquiry i'm being singled out and that's just unacceptable i i know a couple of people that spoke tonight and again wholeheartedly i commend those students and you need to continue to speak out about these things right officer geraldi who is a tremendous asset to hillsborough township and the police force

135spoke very eloquently tonight and i apologize the one gentleman who spoke this evening who went through our school district and is now a teacher here thank you thank you for coming up and speaking right very eloquent you made you made the point our kids have had enough of this we need to be aware of it we need to teach it to them but they need to make their own determination is there something that's going to come up about a police officer running into columbine or marjory stoneman school with a a handgun going after kids with arks the protection that they give us i i want to have the point and counterpoint but it's not about the poster the poster was very well done it's not about censorship it's about a board member speaking out for

136what somebody in town or a group of individuals in town are questioning so you're doing the exact thing that you're criticizing me doing you're criticizing me for just asking simple questions and answering and asking those very very tough questions that we need to face every day i hope we put this behind us i hope this ends there have been newspaper articles i am not going to be silenced by any of these topics i will continue to speak out for the taxpayers the stakeholders the students the teachers right or wrong i want to hear both sides of the story i want to move on president trujillo you brought up dance was approved there were some notes that i had the dancers looking to attend four in-state competitions has that been approved mr oliver the as far

137as i understand the first of the dance competitions was approved the the nationals that the students are talking about in what in disney world has not been because it is falls under overnight travel so that is not going to be proved at this time and given that it is i believe i looked it up in early february unlikely at this time okay so my notes tell me that there's four in-state competitions that do not require overnight are all four of those approved or only one has been approved at this point as far as i understand one has been approved at this time and we can we will i will um follow up with doctor and tunas when we speak and get back to you okay because i you know i just want to bring up

138a point this is a growing concern that i have and i think a lot of people have we've we've sat through uh and i'm happy to sit through these meetings because i think we get paid overtime after july right um however i'm seeing a pattern right you know so we had choir drama we had um academics and girls from the dance team thank you thank you for coming here tonight coaches parents as a former parent of a dancer i know how important it is i know how hard you work this pandemic has been mentally draining on everyone but more importantly our students uh you know these little niceties these competitions this is what it's all about i i think you said it very eloquently you've been preparing since august the competitions are where we're at

139when i hear we're one of 26 districts in the skylines conference that isn't allowing this i question that i know there's major major concerns for deadlines to get your applications in to attend these things we had choir we had drama they had to sell pickets we did get it approved but my concern is that it's taking too long because of all the other administrative things that we have to do so i'm asking can we move forward with this i know miss maroon you're you're a dance coach yourself um i reached out to you about a week ago you said your your team is competing can we get this as a top priority on our education committee to sift this out to give these girls the answer that they deserve that they should be able to

140compete for in-state competitions no overnights and make it 26 of 26 districts in the skylines conference that can compete i think it's very important that they could reserve their spots to maintain that protocol that social distancing that these venues could have the ability to space them out as they've been directed so you know timing is somewhat imperative in this yes so um in regards to that i have been made aware of it and using my i guess past experience as a former dance team competition coach um i have been um in talking to dr antoonis and will continue these talks um she'd informed me today actually that the the one in state has been approved and we are in the talks of getting the rest and again with the regards to overnight yeah my school

141is not doing the overnights as well it's yeah and and i just you know again i'm not a scientist i'm not a doctor i i understand that decision what i have trouble understanding is if we approve one why can't we approve all four i mean can we get this done so mr oliver [Applause] so i just like to remind the board and the public that these as we as i said during the um when the students kid come for the academic teams these are not board level decisions this is part of running the district so it is an administrative decision and as dr antonis has repeatedly said she will reevaluate the requests um [Music] you know as as the situation evolves so she has she has approved the first competition that is in early january

142i do not i'm not aware of the dates for the other trips but as i said to you mr oliver when doctor tunis and i meet later this week we will discuss that um and it's really not anything that it's really more as an update like it is not a board level decision again i just want to reiterate these are time sensitive issues that we've experienced we've had numerous clubs eloquently come up to the podium and speak up i see this as an ongoing pattern i'd like to resolve this and i and i think we all want to resolve it i think what's what's what's really difficult right and i'm going to speak for doctor and tunas in the administration they are doing a really great job in keeping our district safe as i talk

143to other board members in other districts they let me know that their sixth grade um has closed down because of covet cases we have not had to do that knock on wood right that we have not been had to do this it is not oh excuse me excuse me so this the administration the superintendent is doing everything that they can to keep our district open in school full days five days a week and as she said she evaluates the data as it comes in she is in constant consultation with dr mandelbaum i was briefed on her conversation um late last week and dr manzelbaum has he he is he is the district's advisor right and so if if a another district is not ask for his feedback as there was um then that is kind

144of out of his control right so doctor in tunis does seek his his advice and from what i understand that he is he does not advocate for overnight travel at this time at least not through the ex excuse me this is not a public back and forth so mr oliver i will update you with um as soon as we can i don't need to be updated the dance game needs to be updated and as i said this is an administrative decision to be updated they've suffered enough they need some positive news [Applause] is there any other comment from the board miss stats and then miss fufano i i understand that uh safety and health is definitely the the top priority here but i guess there's an appearance of inconsistency and timely decision making so i

145support that along with the concern for safety and and health um for this to be a concern for the dance team in particular and again maybe i don't i i i guess i don't know the whole story but it just seems to be uh not a consistent action [Applause] again i'd just like to reiterate what was previously mentioned i understand that's an administrative decision and i appreciate all of the um authority figures taking the time to consider our circumstances but it's really um concerning and almost discouraging to see um particularly male sports allotted a plethora of opportunities where as specifically our school dance team has not been acknowledged um perpetually since it's started at hillsborough and then additionally not to dwell or and i don't mean this disrespectfully but the whole idea of students being

146tired and not wanting to talk about the race in classroom i like i am tired i'm tired of watching people look like me on the news being misconvicted or murdered and then be in classroom settings where i'm not allowed to express that upset or even have my own existence be invalidated and i do understand that politics and other controversial issues are meant to stay out of the classroom but the display at the middle school was neither of those things and i'm not placing the blame on any board members or administrators who expressed a concern but it's more so that there was the inquiry about a counterpoint i don't think there's any counterpoint to identity or existence or advocacy and so that's just something for me as a student and i know fellow students of color

147um of well are increasingly concerned about so thank you thank you [Applause] his mr i'm gonna circle back to the activities and athletics um because i am in agreement that you know there are things that are time sensitive and we continue to see a pattern of a new group of people reaching out um through email or coming to a board meeting and i'm just hoping or suggesting that maybe um head administration can meet with the directors of all these groups the athletic director the whoever is in charge of all of the clubs and other competitive activities meet with head administration and see what has been approved what has not been approved what is still closed down and maybe re looking at that to see if we can open anything up to save um you know

148i loved hearing uh when students come to hear but um in the end if they don't show up that means everything's going well and everybody's happy so um maybe we can just make this concise and inclusive of everybody all at one time if we can get those people together to debrief the head administrators thank you ms nurse any other comment from the board okay seeing none then i will take a motion to adjourn thank you ms stats all in favor we are now adjourned to you in two weeks have a happy thanksgiving