001Can you please take the roll call? Of course I will. Board member Jeff Bennett, board member here. Elizabeth here. [Music] That's why here [Music] here. It's not Uh we want to welcome tonight uh the Columbia High School Excelsier singers. They've been generous enough to share their talents. We'll get We'll get up. Yeah, we'll get up. Thank you. Come on, man. [Music] Hello everyone. Uh this my name is Nick Diaz. This is um Excelsier singers or really kind of twothirds of Excelsier singers. The other third there's like something going around and um but luckily for us they kind of got sick in like equal se amounts per section. So it's good. Um we are going to sing a beautiful piece called Earth Song for you. [Music] First sing [Music] See this [Music] star with The soul
002cries out [Music] in power you [Music] and the [Music] Lord [Music] Christ have been my refuge. [Music] shall be my light of shining. [Applause] Hallelu Through darkness and pain [Music] and seeing [Music] Peace. [Applause] Peace. Next we will sing a South African greeting song. Flow no low fast. [Music] You la no love no love no love no love no love no love no No time. Oh. Oh. Oh, [Music] you can You [Music] Oh, oh yeah. [Music] Scarlet [Music] I love to [Applause] you know somebody [Applause] beast. [Music] [Applause] Thank you so much. Thank you. Thank you so much. Thanks for having us. Thanks for having us. Please take notice that adequate notice of this meeting has been provided in the following manner. That written notice was sent from the office of the secretary of the
003board at 2:30 p.m. on January 3rd, 2025. That said, notice was sent via email to Maplewood and South Orange Township clerks and the editors of the news record, Star Ledger, Tap into Soma and the Village Green. Now, I'd like to motion to enter into executive session at 6:42 p.m. to discuss attorney client matters, personnel, negotiations, and hibs. The length of executive session is estimated to be 75 minutes, after which the public meeting of the board shall reconvene and proceed with business where formal action will be taken. May I have a second? Thank you. Second, Gable. Uh, all in favor? Okay, let's go. Okay, everyone. We are now Seems are charging. We are now back in session. Did we kick this thing off? There you go. Okay, it's just going to be one of those nights.
004Um, thank you all for joining us tonight. Uh, I'd like to make a motion to What's going on? It's not working. I'd like to make a motion to approve the prior board meeting minutes on February 27, 2025. Um, and that would include the executive session minutes as well. Do I have a second? Thank you. Um, board member Bennett, all in favor, please raise your hand. Great. Thank you. The minutes have been approved. And now we will have student update. Thank you. All right. We have some recognitions. Uh, if you tuned in to last month's board meeting, you may have seen a fantastic group of students from Maplewood Middle School present a solution to traffic issues during drop off and dismissals through a project challenge from the New Jersey School Boards Association's steam tank challenge. Uh,
005this is obviously the steam tank team from Maplewood Middle School. And thanks to their innovative thinking, Maplewood Township and Maplewood Police are implementing their proposal for a one-way traffic calming plan during peak hours to enhance student safety. Well done to the MMS Steam Tank students and their teacher, Miss Zavaki. Uh, I also want to congratulate my Kaplan uh for being named uh Columbia's 2025 unsung hero by the Essex County School Boards Association and the New Jersey School Boards Association. Ma is a CHS senior who's being recognized for her dedication to supporting neurodeivergent students. Uh she spent much of her free time working with Columbia High School's special education program, particularly with students in the applied behavior analysis program. And earlier this month, Mrs. Bodner presented the award to Maya and highlighted her empathy, loyalty, and
006commitment to inclusivity. Mia plans to pursue a career in special education, aiming to make a lasting impact on students with special needs. Uh, I want to congratulate Columbia High School Maya Burkwitz and sophomore Abby Gettinger for receiving awards for their photography pieces at the Pingri School on February 28th. Uh, the 29th annual Pingri Student Photography exhibition was on view in the Hot Stadet Arts Center Gallery through early March. Nearly 200 digital and traditional film-based photographs showcase the best work of students from seven private and public high schools in the region. Uh, next, the Unsung Shirro's 2025 celebration at the South Orange Performing Arts Center last week honored remarkable women for their dedication to the community, and three individuals from SOMC were honored. Columbia High School freshman Student Council President Violet Kesler was recognized for her
007leadership and advocacy for youth. CHS counseling secretary, Miss Petrachio, was celebrated for her commitment to education and volunteerism. and Miss Nicole Josie, co-president of the SOSD President's Council, was honored for her tireless work in advancing inclusion and equity in Soma. Their contributions continue to inspire and uplift their community. Congratulations and thank you for your service. I also want to congratulate Columbia High School's AP Art students on the return of their annual showcase at SOPAC. This exhibition running until April 26th highlights their incredible talent across various mediums from paintings to digital art. And under the guidance of visual arts teacher Ms. Kapuchi, these students have worked tirelessly to refine their craft and share their creative voices with the community. Great work. Uh this past winter, South Orange Village and the Baird Community Center helped our South
008Orange Middle School immensely during a successful evacuation and reunification exercise. We especially thank Chief Marillo and Sergeant Leno from the South Orange Police Department as well as Community Center Director Matt Gray for their fast acting support. Their flexibility and willingness to collaborate on such short notice ensured a smooth transition for students and staff, providing them stability and care during the security procedure. Thank you. And then finally, congratulations to the Columbia High School girls fencing team uh for securing an impressive second place finish at the state championships, delivering many hard-fought spars throughout the seasons. Their dedication and perseverance throughout the season have been truly commendable and we are very proud of their athletic [Applause] integrity. So Oliver stole my thunder once again. Um we do want to just shout out our girls fencing team. Um, Mr.
009Sanchez classified them as a Cinderella team. Um, we want to let you know how very proud we are of all of you, how proud we are of the coaches, and we know getting that far is a heck of a lot of hard work. So, we just wanted to give you a heck of a round of applause and have you stand up, please, and just take that applause in cuz you deserve it. Thank you ladies. Wonderful job. Unbelievable. Thank you. You made us proud. She's here. Carissa here. She is perfect. Uh, one more wonderful shout out aside from the great news. No, she's not. Okay, coach. Yep. Do you want to? So, we have certificates for the girls. Um, a small thank you for uh everything you've done this school year. And I know, trust me,
010we know the work you put into everything. So, thank you very much, Coach Winstead. Oh, the mic's gone. I think it's gone. Yeah. Is the mic gone? Good evening, everyone. And as Mr. Bing said, they were the Cinderella team. uh they defeated the rank two team Montlair and advanced to the next round defeated the ranked number three team. We fell short in the last round against Livingston. So again, let's give him a huge round of applause because we were ranked number seven. Starting [Applause] off with the Saber team. Carol Aguila, 11th [Applause] grader. Maline Benson, 11th grader. Going to our foil team. Ely Benjamin, 10th grader. Samara Bird, 11th grader. Tegan Feman, ninth [Applause] grader. Simone Swingle, ninth grader. [Applause] Malayaia Valentine, 10th grader for a EPI level. Tia Goodson, who is also going to
011Ryder University to as a fencing player. [Applause] Silaangar 12th grader. [Music] We have a couple more. Yep. Sorry, I couldn't see. Sorry. Shimley Zing Alfoil, 10th grader. And I know she's recording right now, but without this manager, a lot of our ga games will not be recorded, Sonia [Music] Zenobi. And I got to give a special shout out to this team member. She was our clinch clinch um fencer for all three rounds in the states. We were tied. We fell short the second round. We lost 1413, but we advanced 1413 1413. We lost 1314. Delina Oadu, 12th grader. Epe, our superstar. Great job, ladies. [Music] Okay. One, two, three. [Music] Two. Big smiles. Thank you. [Applause] [Music] No. Good. [Music] Okay, we are now moving on to um Mr. Moody for Oh, sorry, I forgot
012you have another update, right? Yes. Thank you. Uh good evening everyone. I'm pleased to share that the Col that Columbia High School has maintained a level of consistency that we have not seen in quite some time. This stability is a welcome change reinforcing the integrity and image of our school in a way that benefits both students and faculty. In a time when schools across the country are facing uncertainty and rapid changes, having a sense of continuity is invaluable for both the academic and personal development of our students. While there is always room for growth and improvement, it is important to recognize the progress that has been made in creating a more structured and predictable environment at CHS. As student representatives, Oliver and I have been dedicated to ensuring that student voices are heard and that
013concerns of our peers are brought to the attention of the board of education. This month, we have focused on gathering insights into the current state of Columbia High School through through a comprehensive student survey. Our goal is to provide both qualitative and quantitative feedback that will allow the board to make informed decisions that reflect the needs and concerns of the student body. The survey covers a range of topics including school security, academic programming, and overall student preparedness for higher education. With the help of Principal Sanchez, we were able to distribute the survey v via email, and so far we have received 155 responses. However, we are actively working to increase participation as a larger sample size will undoubtedly help us present a more complete and representative picture of student sentiment. Even at this stage, the
014results has already provided valuable statistics for key issues at CHS. Here are some of the most notable findings so far. 81.9% of students believe that the removal and consolidation of course options for next year will negatively impact the academic environment at CHS. 50.3% of students do not feel that the presence of security guards contributes to a safer school environment. Only 16.8% 8% of respondents feel that CHS is adequately preparing students for higher education. Beyond the numerical data, the survey also included an open-ended section where students could share their thoughts on additional concerns and areas for improvement. We received 75 qualitative responses covering a wide range of topics such as concerns over budgeting, the role of artificial intelligence in classrooms, and a dire and a desire for greater transparency from the board of education regarding policy
015changes in the decision the the decisionmaking process. These responses provide valuable context to the numerical data, offering a deeper understanding of the challenges students are facing. As we continue to collect more responses, we will refine our findings and provide a more comprehensive report in the coming weeks. Our hope is that this data will serve as a useful tool for the board in making decisions that directly impact students experiences. We appreciate your willingness to engage with student concerns and look forward to working together to create a stronger and more supportive learning environment at Columbia High School. Thank you. I'll open up for any questions, but I want to say thank you so much for the updates and for doing that survey and hopefully you'll get some more respondents and then um it would be great to
016get like a export, you know, of of all those responses when done. Obviously, you'll you'll report at an upcoming meeting, but for the board to be able to just see those responses as well and whatever. Is it a Google survey that you did? Okay, great. I love Google surveys. So yeah, you'll be able to export that for us. Were there any questions comments? Yes, we I'll just note that I'm also really uh excited to hear about this survey. I know we talked about it uh when we were able to have you guys into uh our policy meeting uh a few months back and I'm really interested in hearing specifically those thoughts that the respondents had regarding uh things that they think the board could be doing differently to communicate information about how decision-m works. uh
017which can include you know trying to involve students in part of that and having that dialogue. So really interested in uh to the degree that you have specific recommendations that you can callull from the responses. We'd love to take a look at that. Thank you. Yes. Thank you. It's it's interesting to hear already kind of like the the initial responses that you've gotten. And just to kind of build on what board member Meyer was saying, I think it might also be nice to create more like birectional structures, right? Because I think admittedly many there's often confusion about like what does a board of education do, what do we not do, what are our responsibilities, what can we share, what can't we share. And so I also think it might be a potential opportunity for us
018too to think about how do we have or share that a little bit better with students too. So there is clarity um leading into and then to Will's point like what are those areas of concern and and how do we better involve or create create those opportunities too. So thank you. Okay great. So next it goes to Mr. Moody for your business update. Thank you. Thank you President Nubia. Um this is a short update uh regarding construction but uh I will power through it that we've got some good news on um a few schools essentially at Seth Bdon and Tuscan school final change orders have been submitted and are being reviewed by the district. Um at the Marshall school final punch list 99% completed closeout of documents 70% completed. So, the existing sprinkler piping repair
019damage change order is being sent out for signature and processing and three sheetrock column enclosures located at the window wall are to be constructed over spring break. Uh, Montro School final punch list 99% completed and closeout documents 70% completed. Uh, also at Colombia High School, the A-wing science rooms are underway. The media center is completed and turned over and the commons area is completed and turned over. So those are in use. Uh roofs coatings underway at the B-wing areas and that continues and renovation of existing guidance area is ongoing at Maplewood Middle School. Uh architectural punch list items are 90% completed. More work to continue. Receive and started work on the mechanical engineering and plumbing punch list. uh the FA trouble issues, replaced water damaged smoke detector on second floor corridor, continued updating graphics um
020on the building management system and integrating boilers. Uh addressed cafeteria and gym roof leaks and wrapped up remaining roof work. started submitting closeout documentation and based on the forecasted weather conditions, uh, scupper change order work will begin on the cafeteria roof and planning to remove construction trailer on Monday, uh, March 24th. So, uh, that took place already. South Orange Middle School electric service, Bennett, uh they cut in and submitted the PSENG for installation of the new water meters and energizing uh up to the appropriate devices. Uh updated electrical drawings are completed. Meetings need to be scheduled for review on site with contractor. Um then lastly, uh the South Orange Middle School building permits have been issued. Uh completed demolition for the two new bathrooms. New doors are on and installation will begin in the next
021week. Plumbing inspection for the new bathroom scheduled for next week. New electrical panels were delivered to the site. And they're marking out areas in the classrooms where the VUVs will be placed and installed. Uh the ventilation units and selective investigative demo work for the new RTUs in different areas. And that kind of concludes uh the construction update. [Applause] Thank you. Questions? Yeah, Regina, thank you for that. Um, do we have any idea when the uh girls locker room at CHS is slated to start work on? I don't have that at the top of mind at the moment. It's something that I could definitely check into. Yeah. Yeah. And and I know I I was I was going to bring it up to Bill as well. It just kind of hit me while you were going
022through all of that. So, thank you. So, I'll note that. Um, and do you know when what the status is for the furniture at for the library at CHS? I do know that it's been ordered. It possessed with the the different organizations who are delivering that furniture and I I know that it was a a significant lead time. I believe it is in April, but I don't have the specific date. Okay. But it should be April. Okay, that's great. And I just wanted to um thank you and Mr. Jigglio for um organizing the tours of the schools. I was able to tour Maplewood Middle School and see, you know, um work that's being done, work that needs to be done in certain places, and it was really helpful to um just lay eyes on some
023of the pieces that the students came and spoke about last time. So, I really appreciate that and um I welcome any opportunities in the future for any other um you know, if there's any other work that would be great for us to to take a look at. Yeah, thank you for that that feedback. The sentiments of our middle school students were were were heartfelt. We wanted to be certain to, you know, engage in that birectional uh sharing of information. And then also, it's great that that you've been able to to lay some eyes on it as well. uh as you know it's a it's the maintenance effort is is constant and ongoing. Um so thank you. Okay, great. Thank you for that update and for all the questions everyone. Um now I'll do the board
024president update. I'd like to share a high level recap of our efforts. Um, the board requested that the district create a fact sheet that reminded our school community of our DEI and integration policies, which remain unchanged, along with the state laws that mandate diverse curriculum, such as the Amastad law and the LGBTQI plus and persons with disabilities law. The letter reaffirmed our commitment to fostering a safe, supportive, and inclusive learning environment for every student we serve. This document was sent to the school community by our superintendent on March 4th. I'll provide a brief update on our progress toward the board goals for the 2024 2025 school year. Quarterly retreats. We've held two productive retreats focused on board governance, curriculum oversight, student achievement, and datadriven decision-making. In July, we'll convene again to review our self-evaluation, which
025we'll be doing in a few weeks, and refine our oversight practices in collaboration with the superintendent to achieve our effective board oversight goal. Maintaining NJSBA board certification, we have secured the necessary points and are awaiting final results from the NJSBA's wellness review of our policy manual. Upon compon, we will officially receive our board certification. Our board annual agenda. We continue to follow the NJSBA standard board calendar. Progress is reviewed regularly at exec committee meetings to ensure alignment and accountability. development of best practices through our policy and governance committee along with our board governance manual which was new this year. We have discussed ways to streamline our board meetings and board workflow committee alignment and reporting. We created and we created a suggested template for committee readouts at board meetings as well as implemented SOPs. Mr.
026Bing's favorite phrase these days for committee structures with respect to length of committees meaning length of our committee meetings ensuring goals are covered in methods of and methods to track members questions before and after committee meetings and lastly committee related to students and families recognizing that the superintendent has launched a children's cabinet with town leaders and stakeholders to address student resource gaps and needs from K to 12th grades the board opted not to duplicate these efforts cabinet meetings have already begun and more information will be forthcoming by the superintendent upcoming at the April 24th board meeting. Reminder that there is a budget adoption vote. We're also in the process of scheduling Michael Alves to come back of the ALS group to return and present the year 4 intentional integration initiative recap. Finally, a reminder that
027our superintendent shared with the school community via letter a few weeks ago that we agreed upon our salary increases for the three years of our teachers contract and are continuing to work on the salary guides with Sumea. Because we are under a gag order, we cannot share more details publicly. And now I'll read the board's president's statement. The school board meeting is a business meeting in public and not a meeting with the public. Oftentimes it may appear to members of our audience that the board of education takes action with very little comment and in many cases a unanimous vote. Before a matter is placed on the agenda at a public meeting, it has thoroughly been reviewed by the administration, the superintendent of schools and the board of education, after which it is placed on the
028agenda for board discussion and action at a public meeting. Okay. Now, we will have hearing of individuals and delegations. Yeah, I've got it. Thank you. Yes. Uh, thank you for coming in person and joining us online this evening. The South Orange Maplewood Board of Education values public involvement and respects that you've taken the time to address the board at tonight's meeting. As this is the board's business meeting, a friendly reminder to please be respectful as we take into consideration your valuable input, which will inform future deliberations and work by the board of education and its committees. The board does have time limits by policy and it will be enforcing those to enable as many people to speak as possible this evening. Each individual will be given three minutes to speak. The first public comment period
029is usually limited to 1 hour with priority often given to items related to the meeting agenda and the second public comment period may be limited to 30 minutes. Okay. So first we have Aaron Cers. Thank you. Hey, it's both of us. I wrote us in first and second. Um Jocelyn Ryan and Aaron Siders. We are the current co-chairs of the schools committee of the South Orange Maplewood Community Coalition on Race. Um we've just been a bit concerned lately over some of the comments we've been hearing some here, but mostly in the um uh the recent community forums hosted by Mr. Bang and Mr. Moody regarding transportation and budget um regarding the integration initiative. And we feel that maybe um people the community needs reminding of why it is that we are doing this. Um also
030we wanted to ask that the notes of the Rooker implementation committee be made public like the notes of the standing committees and like the uh notes of the special ed uh committee were before it became a standing committee here. All right. Good evening. If you ask South Orange Maplewood residents why they moved here, one of the top reasons is always the diversity. Celebrating diversity seems to be acceptable when talking about various housing stock, houses of worship, or restaurant options. But when we talk about diversity in our schools and making sure our school demographics reflect our community, we hear yes, but I believe in integration, but my child needs to attend this particular school because there is no room for yes, but when it comes to integration, either you are 100% for it or you are
031100% against it. Period. Some of the reasons stated are that it's inconvenient or because the cost of transportation has to go up to make it work. If you're against it for any reason, then you're choosing segregation. Brown Brown versus the Board of Education was 71 years ago. Two years ago, a New Jersey Supreme Court judge found that the state had a duty to address de facto segregation in our schools. Before the intentional integration initiative, we had two schools that were 70% white and one school that was roughly 70% black. That's what happens when you have neighborhood schools. And that is de facto segregation. For 28 years, the Coalition on Race has been pushing for a truly equitable school district. We know that this work is hard. It's messy. It's complicated. It's uncomfortable, and it's challenging.
032But when you believe something is vital, important, necessary, and valued, you have to be allin, even for the parts that are messy. We are all in. We hope that the district, the board, the community share our view and that there is no point at which integration isn't worth the fight. For the sake of our students, present and future, don't dismantle the good work because it's hard. Thank you. Thanks. Thank you so much. Next, we have Gabrielle. Thank you. I couldn't I couldn't read your handwriting. Sorry I didn't have your last name there. Apologies. Gabriel Taro. Uh hi everyone. Uh esteemed board members, superintendent, uh audience members. Uh I'm Gabriel Taro. I'm a junior at Columbia High School. And some of you might recognize me not least from an hour ago an hour and a half
033ago at this point when I sang with Excelsiers for you for you guys. And I just wanted to say thank you for having us first of all. And I also wanted to thank you on behalf of all of the arts programs for your expeditious work, your expeditious beginning of work on the stage because we we really do appreciate the fact that this that you guys take this seriously. But unfortunately, there is another challenge facing another program which I'm a member of the the orchestra program. You see, there are imminent funding cuts set for the summer or for the summer orchestra camp. And well, the vast majority of students in this program rely on free and reduced lunch. And we believe we as an orchestra program, as a community, believe that it would be disastrous to
034force people to pay for this program, which is what has been proposed. In addition, there is a prop the proposal is to cut the hours of the program, which would also be a which would also be an unfair burden on those who whose families work. And to be honest, this is an access this is an excuse me, an access and equity issue. And we hope you take we treat it as such. this the entire CHS arts community, not least myself, urges you to reconsider what would undoubtedly be a devastating blow to the summer orchestra program. Thank you. The two changes, cut hours and making people pay for it. It is currently free. Thank you. [Applause] Thank you so much. Um just looking online and I don't see any any online people. So that concludes public
035speaks. Um okay. So now committee reports. Um much of the work our board does happens in committees and the results are brought to the board meeting for action. Detailed minutes of each committee meeting are posted on our website. Um, not supposed to respond to public speaks, but Ruters is every other two months. We'll have a Rucker meeting in April, so we would only have one Ruckers recap online right now. Um, more to come. We'll now hear from the chairs of each of our committees with a few brief highlights from this month's meetings. And we can start I think last time we start from there. So, we'll start for with you. Thank you. Okay. Okay. So, the curriculum and instruction committee met on March 10th at 6:30 p.m. with all board me board committee members present
036along with Miss Bodner, Mr. Bing, and Dr. Wayel. We discussed progress and updates related to district goals, including the following highlights regarding goal one, college and career readiness. We heard more details about the plans for middle school math, including the creation of a student uplifting team to encourage students to take higher level courses. We heard about the use of data tools uh like link it for student placement recommendations and parent involvement in course selection because although the district will um have data to use to make math placement recommendations for middle school, parents are still able to make that decision for their children. At future meetings, we plan to take a look at any available data comparing the district recommendations to the parent selections. And we received an update on the selection process for new onrade
037level curriculum for sixth, seventh, and eighth grade uh courses regarding goal four family and community engagement. We discussed the upcoming curriculum nights for math and social studies um as well as participant survey feedback. We didn't review any pol new policies for adoption this month and there are no curricula up for board approval. We did discuss CNI related budget items. Highlights include new allocations for next school year um approximately $300,000 for middle school math and $45,000 towards freshman academy. Future funding in school year 2627 will focus on high school STEM. There are no anticipated CNI reductions for next year. This includes programming as well as supplies. In addition, we received and discussed other key updates. The CHS scheduling process is on track so far and without issues. Keep hope it keeps you know on that course.
038Uh the district is exploring a K8 cell phone ban and yonder bags for freshmen. Planning for Freshman Academy continues in order to support students at this transitional stage, including a new parent advisory committee. Um, as well as gathering broader stakeholder input and developing a replic replicable framework for future improvements. Another one of those SOPs, Mr. Bing, regarding chronic absenteeism, the district continues to monitor data and refine intervention strategies and will provide regular updates to the committee. Our next meeting will be on Monday, April 7th at 6:30 PM. Are there any questions? A full recap of our meeting can be found on the district website. Thank you. All right. The special services committee met on March 18th. All members were present with Superintendent Bing, Miss Jesse Maria, and Dr. Gilbert. We began with a CPAC check-in
039with their VP of policy initiatives, Miss Nasburg, reinforcing our commitment to goal 4.2, which is focusing on increasing our collaboration by engaging CPAC more readily. Um, in this meeting, we discussed our extended school year. Uh, the district discussed their plans for this program, ensuring that it would include clear communication, es especially as we are shifting from a 5-day to a 4-day model this year. Uh, the dates are June 30th to July 31st, Monday through Thursday. Preschool through grade 5 is at Clinton and grades 6 through 12 at Maplewood Middle. We also discussed progress reports and efforts are underway to improve the consistency and timeliness of special education progress report with enhanced training and quality checks. And finally, we discussed transition to high school for students with IEPs. Steps are being taken to strengthen support for
040students who are transitioning to our high school by ensuring appropriate staff attendance at IEP meetings. Following this discussion, we reviewed a committee goal that is also aligned there with dis district goal 4.2 on community engagement. And this goal focuses on developing an experience survey for uh families to establish a baseline measure of their experience with things like the CST process, inclusion, academic, social, emotional, and behavioral supports. Final feedback was provided and the survey was sent out this morning. And we look forward to hearing from our families. As an instructional update, um as established, there will be no changes for the K through5 ICRS model. The paired model will continue and case managers will continue as always to make placement decisions that are based on individual student needs. We did notice in the process in discussion
041of this over the last couple of months that there are disparities in instructional minutes as they're allocated across our elementary schools. So, we're also noting that and going to move it to CNI for discussion. We talked about our professional development plan. So the committee had requested a review of professional development that was provided this past school year during which no specific professional development funds were allocated for special services but internal nocost PD opportunities were provided. All special education staff participated in PD offerings for general education staff as well. The 2526 budget does include funding that will be allocated for training through the Institute for Multiensory Education, classroom management, co-eing strategies, related services, and the continuation of the collaborative problem solving training via more in-person coaching models. Additionally, as it stands, funding has been allocated to
042try and get all of our K- through5 ELA PO teachers to receive their uh certification from that Institute of Multiensory Education. And we're also exploring a partnership with FTU for Orton Gillingham. Because it's the season, we did talk at length about the budget. Um, one of our goals is efficient use of funds and educational resources for all students. Uh, we talked about the goal of conducting an internal audit and analysis of our legal settlement settlement and out of district spend. The administration discussed having our special education attorney provide a review of our legal expenditures for the committee to review. The district's also making projections for 2526 based on current and anticipated needs for par profofessionals. The administration believes keeping a close eye on projections and working alongside our school-based teams during the scheduling process will
043help ensure the paraprofessional support is effectively distributed and used. Additionally, with respect to the budget, the district is reviewing paraprofessional contracts alongside all other privatized services and conducting an analysis of internal staff members as it relates to certifications in special education that could assist in filling vacancies from within. For policy, we reviewed in a prior meeting, not this one, but we did review some mandated regulations that are up tonight for first read. Um, and the win for this month was that Seth Biden has been successfully using the collaborative proactive solutions method and they were very excited to share their successes and we applaud them for that. It's great. Um, our next meeting is scheduled for April 3rd confirming because we did have to toy with our dates. Um, and as we will vote on tonight,
044I'm looking forward to having board member Saka Gable officially join as a standing member of this committee. I think it will increase our synergy with CNI and be really effective. Um, any questions? Great. A full recap of this meeting is available on the district website under our board committee section. Thank you. Go ahead. All right. Just making sure. All right. The uh the municipal partners meeting was on Monday, March 24th. Uh the attendees were uh myself, board member Ben Wapatia, Superintendent Mr. Bing. Uh, in spirit was uh, Miss Nubia Dval Wilson. Uh, South Orange Township was uh, Mayor Mayor Sheena Colum, village trustee Dr. Olivia Lewis Chang. On the Maplewood side, Mayor Nancy Adams, town council Debel, and Pat Wary, our business their business administrator. Uh, it was a a continuation of the uh, of
045the school tour of the MMS steam tank presentations. So, uh, they presented to the township, which was pretty wild to see considering what we saw the a couple weeks ago from their presentation. How much has it evolved from the flow diagrams to the solutions to the actual footage? It was pretty impressive and it's good to see uh the students in action. I think we should make that presentation be more available to the public because it's it's pretty it's pretty self-explanatory. It's a good tour. Um, as it relates to the budget, um, Superintendent Bing gave an overview of where we are with the township, uh, which led to, uh, the upcoming scheduling with the board of school estimate meeting that we are trying to schedule now for, uh, April 7th as a preliminary session. Uh, a
046second meeting that is being scheduled for later in April. Uh, the meetings will be public. Uh the FFF FFT uh committee and the BA will be putting together a summary proposal to be sent to Bose prior to the prior to the 7th. Uh board member Nubia and Bill are working with Mr. Moody on what will be sent over for consideration. The focus will be on projects with the most budgetary implications. Facilities, transportation, special services were a few items mentioned. Also, uh Mr. Bing gave an update on the Yonder program uh which was just mentioned earlier. The approximately 147 students from MMS has participated in the Yonder program so far and we are considering expanding that to the freshman academy next year. Um that's all we got on that one because it was a lot around
047the the board of school estimate and that process of trying to wrangle everybody together to get that meeting in time. So keep you posted. Any questions? Not a question but just a comment um along the lines of the um the steam tank Yeah. challenge which was fabulous. I just wanted to note that we have resolution 4738F tonight um which includes a donation from the Achieve Foundation of of $3,000 to keep that going at the middle schools. [Music] So hello um sorry I was updating in in real time because I Yeah. Um, so the FFT committee met on March 12th with board members Meyer, Callahan, Bennett, and myself in attendance. I did want to start off and share that our own Tom Jigglio has been nominated as facility manager of the year. So big and he's
048going to get it. I want him to get it. Um, and I did just want to thank uh Tom and Frank uh Tom Jigglio, Frank Sanchez for the tour of the facilities. Um, you know, I tell you, um, so much passion and work goes into keeping that, uh, very old building in shape and and it was great, you know, someone who graduated in 2004 to see so many things not changed and so many things also changed and really updated and um, the student center um, in the old pool is just uh, really phenomenal. So, awesome job to that team. Um uh the committee uh received a construction update as you heard from Mr. Moody earlier. I'm not going to do that again. We also received an update that the department of environmental of environmental protection
049found that RSER field is not considered a wetland. Um Mr. Moody presented the 2025 2026 tentative uh budget PowerPoint. We discussed the potential smartphone ban at MMS and SAMS for the 20 2526 school year and the yonder packs for freshman academy. And for those who don't know that are these little bags you put your phone in it, lock it and then at the end of the day um you know you get that phone back. Uh lastly I want to highlight that the Wizard of Oz will be performed at Psalms April 5th, 6th and 4th, 5th and the 6th. So, get your tickets if you haven't already. And uh these are my highlights, but for more details, go to the district website for a full recap of the meeting um in the board committee section. The
050next uh meeting will be April 9th. And uh Regina, we are going to find out when that uh that the CHS girls locker room is updated. That is uh very important. So, we'll make sure we get that. And that is it. if anyone has questions. Thank you, Bill. Um, so I just wanted to ask a question about Ritzer not considered a wetland. So what what are the next steps? As we know when we last went to both that wasn't included and by the way this could be Mr. Moody, Mr. Bang, whoever wants to jump in there. Um, as we know that that budget was removed from what we ended up getting. So what are the next steps now that we know it's not a wetlands? Uh it sounds like Speizel is researching other things, but
051then what? Yeah, I think we do want to just verify that there's no flood hazard. Um you know, if we do turf, we we want to make sure that there's proper runoff, you know. Um but I I do think that the plans have changed a little bit. I don't know. Or what should we Yeah. Sorry. Yeah. No, he's Oh, come on. No, it's not. uh we still he still has parallel plans. So I think next step would be working with Tom and then bringing it to the board, take a look at what what they have and what we're thinking currently and what the costs are because obviously the costs have changed moving forward. Um and then we make some decisions. But I think he's ready to show a couple parallel plans, the uh original and
052then one revised and then some cost breakdowns. He's got he he drew out both. So it's it's he showed us about them a month ago. Yeah, that's it. All right. Thank you. Uh the policy and governance committee met last on March 4th. Seems like an eternity ago, but here we are. Uh it was uh myself, board member Brown, board member Bennett, board president Duval Wilson, uh and our terrific SLT staff. Uh we opened the session up with a presentation and discussion with our sort of special duty attorney, David Rubin, who came in and discussed the status of the executive orders and current uh uh environment we have with the federal government right now. uh the uh executive orders had come through and at that point the pending dismantling of the US DOE uh talking about
053what the implications would be for our district, when to expect things and the long and short is that it's not a great outlook but also not an immediate uh skyfalling. So uh we're we're grateful to have you know excellent counsel on that front. Uh tonight we have uh a number of different policies uh that came out of that meeting for second read. Uh there is a policy on athletic department and coaches, one on volunteer athletic coaches, one on school volunteers, uh one on ID badges for teaching staff, and one on ID badges for support staff. All of these came through first read uh at our last regular board meeting. Uh we have no changes and they're being uh put forward for adoption this evening. We do not have any policies put up for first read
054this evening. We do have four regulations that are up for first read. Uh we haven't had regulations on the docket for a while because it has uh we've had sort of a dry spell in getting regulations uh come through from the administration. And it is uh terrific that uh as a result of the very concerted and focused effort uh and uh some spare time that the administration somehow found uh they were able to push a few uh through the first of uh a number that we do expect to come because we are still fairly in a rears in our regulations. Uh so we have four special education regulations that come through. Now regulations are created by the district. The board does not create them, but in discussion we did give uh feedback on a few
055and the uh district was very uh generous and uh collaborative in making changes to add some additional protections for some of our students with disabilities uh in these regulations which we were very happy about. So those are up for first read this evening and then they would be adopted at our following meeting. Uh there was one policy that you'll see within our minutes which you should read for more information was considered for first read. That is the acceptable use of generative AI as it relates to students. Uh that policy is brand new and evolving the same way that generative AI like chat GPT is and we have a few more items to discuss there. So that's going back to committee and uh may be up for first read at our next meeting. We also discussed
056a few other policies. Among them were our policy 5530 on substance abuse. Uh making sure that we are implementing that policy and also that the language there aligns with our code of conduct and uh the policies we need in place especially considering substance use issues at CHS and off-campus. Uh we had a mention at our last uh regular board meeting regarding uh our corporal punishment policies 3217 and 4217 and the interplay that those have uh with policy 5561 on the use of restraint for students with disabilities which is not explicitly discussed in that policy but still exists. And at that meeting I completely reversed uh the discussion of uh how those two interplay which I'm correcting right here. So those are a piece that we've sent over to the special services committee for further discussion
057on. Uh and lastly, we discussed policy 2418 regarding section 504 and the need to have a regulation created for that to implement certain pieces of how those procedures work. That's one of the many policies for which we need a regulation and don't have one. It is on the radar of special services to get done. And finally, we discussed a number of the uh standard operating procedures that the district is developing. Uh we asked for a list and discussed some of the SOPs currently in process. Uh there are SOPs being developed for physical plant department. workers compensation uh procedures, district social media management, uh office of assistant superintendent regarding dating violence and suicide risk assessment uh in safety and security regarding our key card controls, school closing procedures, bomb threats and uh uh behavior threat assessment
058uh as well as a special education process. So those are in progress and our committee continues to uh track their development and that of other SOPs. And that's all I have. Are there any questions? One question. There's always got to be one, right? Um just a point of clarity with with SOPs, I guess, similar almost to a policy and I know I'm only speaking to special education right now. I know we have um planned review of particular SOPs happening. Would that is that something that we envision happening across relevant committees as SOPs are developed? O say one kind of has you know um some connection to FFT. Okay. Just from a process perspective. Thank you. And no for the record the superintendent is nodding his head. Yeah. Yes. All right. The personnel committee met on
059Monday, March 24th at 6:30 p.m. In attendance were board members Capadia, Sacket Gable, and myself along with Mr. Bing, Dr. Gilbert, and Mr. Adoyan. Um, as usual, I'm just going to say much of what was discussed is confidential. However, the public facing minutes on the district website include as much information as we can divulge. Um among the topics we discussed were um district goals and year one of the 5-year workforce diversity plan progress. So um district goal 3.1 was to conduct a comprehensive needs assessment. That has now been completed. The staff survey closed on March 18th, 2025. Um Mr. Adidoan met with the vendor earlier this week to review the data and he will be prepared to share more information at the April committee meeting and then we will share with the full board. Um
060still in progress um district goal 3.2 partner with minority serving institutions. Um Mr. Adoyan and his team have been working hard to expand their partnership with Montlair State with um student teachers. Um they I think at the last meeting I talked a little bit more about the cohort of teachers involved in an educational leadership program. Um one of the things they are also looking to do is to help our current staff members um gain special education certifications. Um and he's also looking to potentially partner with Orange School District to kind of put together one big cohort so they can move forward with that. uh along another update on that Rutgers Newark um I think that was in talks at the last meeting and so they've officially formed a partnership around student teachers from their urban
061teacher program. One of the things the committee asked for um as a follow-up was just providing data on the student teachers that we have in our district currently trying to understand kind of the student teacher to teacher conversion rate and pipeline especially as as we all have seen um you know the teacher shortage across the country less and less people going into the uh unfortunately um into education. So, you know, based on the data, maybe we can um find some information there. Um district goal 3.3 developing targeted recruitment materials still in progress. Um they've hired a professional videographer to engage in some of the services, some teachers volunteering to participate. Um and you know, the last thing I ask, just ensuring that the initiative has stayed within within their budget. Uh moving on, we had
062a discussion um just in terms of tracking staff evaluations. SLT continues to monitor the progress and I know that um between HR and CNI they're having the necessary discussions with appropriate leadership to ensure meeting the deadlines. And I think the last uh important topic um we did talk about the budget. Um can't really speak much to it, but we did have a discussion around salary increases and the 25 to 26 school year staffing plans. And that is all. The next committee meeting will be Monday, April 21st, 6:30 p.m. Questions, comments? Good. Okay, great. Thanks everyone. We'll now move to the action portion of the meeting. Um, are there just so I know are there any severs? No. Okay, great. Okay. Um, Mr. Moody, can you please read the resolutions into record and then we'll be
063open for discussion. Sure. President Daw Wilson. Um essentially we we'll be reviewing uh for action items 4736 through 4746 and then there are also two additional hand carries. So well does you have anything you want to add? Now, I'll just highlight really briefly, um, as uh, board member Sack Gable noted, uh, within our finance resolution is a, uh, a donation of, I believe it was $3,000 in the Achieve Foundation to continue the work, uh, that the Steam Tank is, uh, doing in the middle school, the tremendous work they did recently around uh, uh, MMS and uh, we, you know, love to see that happen and always appreciate the donations from the Achieve Foundation. We also had a great uh donation from TS Swanson from an anonymous donor for a few musical instruments which are always
064welcome and encouraged. Uh you'll note that there was a uh a transfer within our funds the um uh beyond the bell fund uh which is also called the latch key program had been run by the district of course recently that was handed off and now is a program operated by the YMCA. We had some money left over just sitting in our account from that that was now pushed over to the general fund for application uh elsewhere. Uh and uh as board member Callahan noted uh Bormer Gable is being uh welcomed onto our special services committee which originally had been organized with just three members. Uh we're happy to have a fourth. And uh lastly, we are adopting a corrective action plan for uh attendance at Columbia High School. We've had a few schools that have
065had corrective action plans that we've adopted required by law. Uh certainly we want to uh address the attendance issues and make sure that we have our kids in seats and ready to learn. Uh and that's something the district has been already addressing and this memorializes it in a plan uh as required by the state. Um, I also want to to highlight the uh committee update on our chart. Um, when I spoke with uh board member Callahan about this, I wanted to make sure she knew that I didn't purposely put only three people on special services. I was um my name was the fourth. And um as a leader, I think it's always good to know when you might be pushing it a little bit too much. And so I took myself out and I did
066I did attend a special services meeting. I think it was the one in January and you know we've had Bill and and so having that rotating scene isn't doesn't um create consistency and so I was happy that um we were able to have board member second Gable join and thank you and I'm happy with not being on. I got a lot of other stuff I got to do. So I appreciate that. Thank you. Any further discussion on those items? Okay, are you ready for a roll call vote? Board member Bennett, yes. Board member Brown, yes. Board member Callahan, yes. Board member Duval Wilson, yes. Board member Eker, yes. Board member Gford, yes. Board member Kapadia, yes. Board member Meyer, yes. Board member Saka Gable, yes. All right. Great. And then we have to hand carry.
067So, do you want to do a resolution 4747 of appeal first? Okay, great. 4747 first and then 4748. Great. Thanks. So for resolution 4747, board member Bennett, yes. Board member Bram, yes. Board member Callahan, yes. Board member uh board president Duval Wilson, yes. Board member Eert, yes. Board member Gford, yes. Yes. Board member Kabadia, yes. Board member Meyer, yes. and board member Sacka Gable. Yes. And then finally for 4748. Board member Saka Gable. Yes. Board member Meyer. Yes. Board member Kapadia. Yes. Board member Gford. Yes. Board member Eert. Yes. Board President Dwell Wilson. Yes. Board member Callahan, yes. Board member Brown, yes. Board member Bennett, yes. All right. Thank you. Okay, great. Um, now would be the time for that concludes action portion of the meeting and now would be time for the second hearing
068of individuals and delegates. Do we have any? No. Okay, let me see online. No. Okay. Okay. So, then that brings us to new business. And also, I meant to give an update on this um after our last meeting, but new business uh is for things that are pressing matters that we would need to vote on tonight if there was something that were immediately needed. And I feel like for the new board members, I never really properly explained that. Um but yeah, so if there's something pressing, that would be a new business item. We typically don't have them. No. Okay, great. So, I'll read future meetings. Uh, the board of education will meet again in public session on Thursday, April 24, 2025 at 6:30 p.m. Action will be taken. Mr. Moody, I will now I would
069now like to motion to adjourn this meeting on Thursday, March 27 at 9:32 p.m. May I have a second? Second. Thank you, board member Brown. All in favor? Great. Meeting is adjourned. Thank you, everyone. Thank you.